The veteran trainer looked around the group gathered before him.<span style="color: red">Alright, every we've got! Come on!</span>He pulled the Pokeballs from his belt and activated them. The space began crowding rapidly as the others did the same. From the trainer in red came the Raichu Eleyna had seen him with earlier, a Pidgeot, and a Charizard with a scar running across the left side of his muzzle to the underside of his eye. The Pokemon emerging form the other trainers were nothing to scoff at either. She saw a Nidoking, Umbreon, Samurott, Serperior... and on. She suddenly felt very small surrounded by these Pokemon and their trainers.<br/><br/>The shaking and booming from the Suicune beyond the buildings immediately drew the attention of the Pokemon who looked at their trainers, then each other in confusion, suddenly being dropped into a battlefield. The Charizard shot the red trainer a raised eyebrow.<span style="color: red">Pretty bad.</span>He responded.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">Listen up, we've got a pissed off giant Suicune currently ripping this town apart. This isn't a battle for glory this time! People's lives are at stake and we're the only thing between them and this Pokemon!</span>He looked around the group.<span style="color: red">We've got one chance at this. One shot to take this thing down. Raichu, you're our big gun. The moment you hit the Suicune, you move. Its going to come down on you with a fury. All of you, don't attack unless the Suicune has its back turned! We can't afford to take a direct hit! We hit and run, wear it down! Charizard, Pidgeot, your air born. Keep high and keep moving. Charizard, you're running defense on that ice beam its got, Pidgeot, keep any water attacks from Charizard. If you've got an opening, take it! By Raichu and the other electric Pokemon time to land the damage!</span><br/><br/><span style="color: red">Raichu... we go on your attack. Its pissed but it doesn't know we're coming. You hit it with the biggest damn Thunderbolt you can, then get the hell out of the way. Stick to the rubble for cover. Everyone got it? Good... In positions! Get ready to break and spread out, get the Suicune surrounded! It can only hammer one target area, so we need to be a dozen!</span>He nodded to Raichu.<span style="color: red">Alright, you're up.</span><br/><br/>Raichu nodded and darted away toward an alleyway. Eleyna watched as the other trainers did the same, splitting up with their Pokemon, looking for launching points, picking their next maneuvers through the rubble. The red trainer was busy heading up a fire ladder to the top of the nearest building for a vantage of the coming battle. Eleyna could do nothing but watch, and she felt helpless, but beneath that helplessness was an excitement, a sense of the conflict about to erupt. She wanted to watch. She<i>had</i>to watch.<br/><br/>She followed the path of the Raichu, and spotted it as it darted out from the alleyway into the streets. Eleyna creeped to the edge of the alley and peeked out. There was the Suicune, something had caught its eye. Raichu stood in the street, unseen and tensed, drawing electricity through its body, charging an attack.<br/><br/>The Suicune had bounded between street corners and stopped as it looked and spotted a group out of cover, running to evade. It looked at Jay, Jake and Aisha. They had strayed too long and were now the target. The Suicune turned and prepared to attack.<br/><br/>Eleyna could feel the electricity in the air. She could smell it as tony bolts arched from the Raichu. Her hair began to tingle and the stray strands began to rise as the static around her body grew from being so close to the building charge of the Raichu. Eleyna backed up, putting distance between the Pokemon and herself.<br/><br/>As the aura around the Suicune began to shift, and the air temperature began to plummet as the ice began was called, aimed at the three... there was a sudden blinding flash like a jagged line cutting through the Suicune. Not a split second later the thunder followed, a boom so loud and powerful that anyone in the open would have been deafened by it for several minutes.<br/><br/>The Suicune's attack stopped and it tensed, every muscle responding agonizingly to the lightning that cut through it. The Suicune faltered, stumbled, then turned, furiously launching an assault down the street the Thunderbolt had come from. But Raichu was already on the move, zipping between buildings to get clear of the attack. Not a moment later a powerful blast of wind burst from the alleys like a tempest as the Pidgeot and Charizard took off, launching into the air with powerful wing strokes.<br/><br/>The town, which not moments before had been dead of life save those few survivors desperate to escape, was suddenly alive again as trainers and Pokemon began moving, re-positioning into and among the rubble and buildings. Eleyna retreated, as the world around suddenly erupted with explosions as Pokemon began unleashing volleys into the Suicune at every turn. She tried to retreat down the alley the trainers had come from but a blast shook what strength the wall to her right had left in it and it crumbled, cutting her off.  The only way she had to go now was back through the alley, back into the street.<br/><br/>She reached the edge of the alley and timidly peeked out. She saw the Suicune ahead, it took a pair of fire blasts to its flank, side stepped, fired at the attackers only to feel the sting of an attach from its other flank. The Suicune turned, spotted the attackers positioning and launched an ice beam. The trainers and Pokemon in the position weren't fast enough and were saved only by the rubble the Suicune had been busy creating earlier. It pressed its attack, but before it could cut through the wall of rock and concrete it was hit from above by a sudden gust and jet of flame as the Charizard and Pidgeot dove in to pull its attack from their pinned allies. The Suicune turned, saw them and uses Hydro Pump, determined to put the Charizard down. But as the spray neared, Pidgeot rolled, putting itself between the attack and its target, then spun, generating a powerful gust straight into the water attack, cutting through the water and breaking its momentum turning it into little more than a spray of mist.<br/><br/>The Suicune roared in anger and the flicker of the ice beam began as it tracked the two across the sky when suddenly there was another incredible boom as Raichu let loose another thunderbolt into the water Pokemon. The Suicune faltered again and spotted the Raichu dodging through a felled building that was missing one of its walls. The Suicune blasted into the hallways and rooms, blowing splintering wood and wall into dust. Raichu was quick though, and managed to stay just ahead of the attack while the building behind him crumbled.<br/><br/>As Suicune searched for the Raichu in the rubble it was reminded of the other Pokemon on the field. A flurry of razor leaves cut into it, making it cry out in pain and anger. Charizard and Pidegot dove down between the buildings at high speed, banking through the town, lining up a strafing attack on the Suicune which landed before it could counter attack the others on the field. It responded immediately, diverting the ice beam it had aimed at the grass Pokemon that had attacked it right at the Pidgeot. The streak of blue and white was cut off as the Charizard dove into its path, taking the hit. The ice wasn't very effective against the Charizard's fire type, and did minimal damage, keeping both Pokemon in flight.<br/><br/>Another barrage from the Pokemon on the ground had the Suicune turning again, then again. It was getting frustrated now, the constantly pecking at its back and flanks driving it into a fury. Another Thunderbolt hit it from behind, and the Suicune whipped around, not waiting to see a target, not waiting to spot the Raichu, it just attacked, firing its Ice Beam into the building, cutting through its supports. It didn't want to hit the Raichu anymore, it wanted to bury it. Inside the building the act of evasion had become survival. All around Raichu things were collapsing as the Ice Beam sweapt through the building, creating jagged shards of ice, like teeth, tearing and puncturing the walls and beams, bringing down sections of the ceiling at a time. The Electric Pokemon leapt away as a shard of ice suddenly burst through the fracturing wall ahead of it. He cleared a pile of rubble as the ceiling came down nearly on top of him and leaped out of the second story window, hitting the ground and rolling before scrambling into cover and panting. The damn Suicune was getting wise. Another hit like that and he'd be done for.<br/><br/>A muted barking caught the Raichu's attention. He leaned from cover and spotted a Growlithe crouched behind a fallen slab of concrete. He nodded for the Raichu to come over. Raichu shot Growlithe a look,<i>are you nuts?</i>The Growlithe uttered a low growl and woof,<i>don't be stupid, trust me.</i><br/><br/>The Raichu frowned, but at the very least the it could see what the Growlithe had in mind. He zipped across the street, and followed Growlithe into another of the buildings to the Suicune's flank. But as they neared a felled wall that would give the Raichu a clear shot, the Growlithe paused, waited for an open then began exhaling large volumes of smoke and running across the opening, creating a smoke screen. The Growlithe barked quietly from within and the Raichu dared to step out. The light outside shone through the smoke, but everything within was obscured. He could attack undetected!<br/><br/>Raichu sounded his approval and Growlithe moved on, enlarging the smoke screen, pouring smoke through the building to cover their next move. The Suicune wheeled, and fired a pair of shots to either side of a retreating duo, a Machamp and a  Samurott, suppressing them. It heard the thunderbolt charging this time, felt the electricity rising in the air. The Raichu was close,<i>very close.</i>It looked, breaking its attention from the other Pokemon giving them time to retreat, then hesitated in surprise. The buildings were filled with a black haze. It could hear the Raichu somewhere, but it couldn't tell where. Then, suddenly it saw an arch within the cloud of smoke, and the thunderbolt went off, hitting the Suicune square in the face. It jolted and staggered from the hit. The moment it recovered it attacked, firing blindly at the smoke - but Growlithe and Raichu were already gone, dodging through the alleys into the next building.<br/><br/>The Suicune took a staggered breath, and retreated a few steps. Another volley came from its flank, then another from the opposite direction. He leapt, fired and attack, turned and fired another, Two hits came from above, it turned, aimed, a thunderbolt cut across its back, it missed. Another attack, then another and another and another. It turned and turned, wheeling. It couldn't keep up. The Pokemon defenders had found a pattern, a rhythm of attacks. The Suicune couldn't focus, couldn't engage one without being struck by two others.<br/><br/>Suicune snarled, and howled in fury. It leveled its head and the crystalline crest on its head, and a light began to flicker as energy began building for the hyper beam, against which cover no longer mattered.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">The Hyper Beam! Take it down!</span>The veteran trainer yelled, from the rooftops.<br/><br/>A Machamp that had been aiding its fellow Samurott stepped out and grabbed a large slab of debris that made its ample muscles bulge under the weight. It yelled and stepped, heaved and hurled the slab at the Suicune. The missile collided with the pulsating black mass above the Suicune's left shoulder and the Pokemon screamed in agony faltering and falling to on leg. Its head jerked and the hyper beam launched into the sky and detonated blasting an unnaturally round hole in the clouds above.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">Now! Everything!</span><br/><br/>Eleyna watched as the fireball hit the Suicune, and toppled it. It reared and howled in pain as it fell but jerked as another attack landed, then another. It collided with the earth as every Pokemon emerged at once, and unleashed everything they had. Water hit fire and became steam, debris broke and crushed throwing dust into the air, and soon the fallen Suicune was consumed in a cloud as the barrage of attacks continued, disappearing into the haze, flashing and thundering on detonation, casting out more dust. The barrage never seemed to end, then, one by one the Pokemon slowed and stopped. Charizard and Pidgeot were perched on the roofs of the buildings, looking over the cloud which the Suicune lay within, and waited. They all waited.<br/><br/>Eleyna stepped out of the alley into the street and watched. The cloud slowly dissipated until they could see a silhouette within and the faint rising and falling of shallow breath. The Suicune lay battered and broken, no longer able to lift itself. Eleyna slowly approached, as did the others, a ring farming around the fallen Pokemon. Eleyna looked the Suicune in the eye, and the darkness that had pervaded its vision was gone. Tears ran from its ruby red eyes, tears of anguish and sorrow. There was a sadness in her eyes that Eleyna couldn't understand.<br/><br/>From the crowd Growlithe emerged, and looked at the Suicune, then stepped forward and kneeled down, bowing its head in reverence. The Pokemon all around began kneeling in a unified recognition of what the Suicune was. The trainers looked on in surprise, some confused. The Suicune closed its eyes and seemed to nod, letting out a shallow breath. Eleyna looked at the black mass on its side, saw it close now, like warped and twisted flesh turned black. Curious, she reached out, but a hand clamped around her arm and kept her where she was.<br/><br/>Professor Pine stood beside her, one hand holding the recorder, the other grasping her wrist.<span style="color: darkgreen">Don't touch it... we don't know what it could do to a person.</span><br/><br/>The Suicune's breathing slowed, then the rise and fall of its chest ceased. Eleyna didn't know why, but she wanted to cry as the great Pokemon's life came to an end in this place. She gasped and jumped back as the Suicune's body shimmered and seemed to begin dissolving.<span style="color: darkgreen">Back! Everyone get back!</span>Professor Pine yelled, holding out his arm and pushing the crowd back. The Pokemon looked on in reverence, unfazed.<br/><br/>They all watched as the Legendary Pokemon dissolved into light, breaking apart like shimmering sparks rising into the sky and fading away. The black mass remained, and as the Suicune disappeared they could see the tendrils that extended from it, running through straight to her heart. When the last of the light had risen and becoming nothing, The black mass fell to the ground and hissed and shrank, leaving behind only darkened earth as it burned itself away.<br/><br/>For a long moment no one spoke. The trainers looked at one another in confusion, none ever having seen something like what they just beheld. The silence was broken by a growing cheering and shouting as the people who had looked on from the hills and treeline came running back toward the town crying out in joy for the heroes that had slain the attacking Suicune. But to the group standing around now an empty patch of broken earth, there was no mirth or glee, only a dubious ignorance.<br/><br/>The Professor stared for a long moment then shook his head.<span style="color: darkgreen">That was no Legendary Pokemon...</span>He mumbled. He looked at the group of trainers.<span style="color: Darkgreen">Come on.</span>He marched through the crowd and many of the trainers followed. Eleyna included, as did the veteran in red. Eleyna paused, realizing she had been holding Growlithe's Pokeball the entire time, clutching it. The Pokemon was still standing over the empty ground where the Suicune had been. He turned, looked at her, but there was no fight in him now. He was tired. Eleyna triggered the return on the Pokeball, then followed the Professor.<br/><br/>He led them to the lab which had largely escaped damage, and stepped inside. He hurried about, righting fallen equipment while the trainers came in.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">What do you mean that wasn't a Legendary Pokemon?</span>The veteran asked.<br/><br/>Pine seemed not to notice the question as he plugged in the recorder and began replaying the video over a wall of smaller screens stacked to form one large screen. He hit a few keys on his PC and spoke into the mic.<span style="color: darkgreen">Professor Oak, this is Professor Pine from lab 2214 in Yugen. The town of Saisho has just been attacked by a Pokemon. I'm sending you the data and recorded video. I need your assessment immediately. I think... well I don't know what to think. This is to be considered priority one.</span>He hit a few more keys.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">Hey!</span>The red trainer yelled, loudly. Pine looked at the gathered group.<span style="color: red">What do you mean that wasn't a Legendary Pokemon?</span><br/><br/>He looked at them, annoyed.<span style="color: darkgreen">Have you ever seen a Pokemon dissolve like that? Just disappear? Or heard of a Suicune that size?</span>The trainers remained silent.<span style="color: darkgreen">I certainly haven't.</span>He struck a series of keys and spoke into the receiver again.<span style="color: darkgreen">This is Professor Pine on Minami Island to the Environmental Study Center on Azuma... there's been an attack on Saisho, and I need you to begin watching weather patterns very closely... and water purity levels. Report any changes immediately.</span>He stepped away from the PC.<br/><br/><span style="color: darkgreen">I have no idea what just happened. A Suicune of that size... its hard enough to believe but the rest of it... I have a theory, but its pointless without some kind of evidence. I need you to track down where that Suicune came from.</span>He looked at the trainers. Several scoffed or laughed in disbelief.<br/><br/><span style="color: navy">"You want us to go looking for where that thing came from? What if there's more of them?"</span><br/><br/><span style="color: darkgreen">That's precisely what I'm worried about. I don't think that Suicune was hostile. I think it was driven to hostility by whatever that... that growth it had on it was. Some kind of disease or corruption. Wherever it came from, there could be more. If there's a chance of another attack like this, or perhaps something worse, then we need to know.</span><br/><br/>The trainers looked on in disbelief, save a few.<span style="color: red">Alright... </span>The trainer in red said with a nod, making the dozen badges glisten.<span style="color: red">I'm in.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Orange">Me too.</span>Said the trainer that had the Machamp and Samurott.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Well, I mean, I could help.</span>Eleyna offered timidly.<br/><br/><span style="color: red">No.</span>The veteran trainer looked at her.<span style="color: red">Thank you but no. If what the professor is saying is true then we can't have you... or any of you that aren't league level trainers coming along. Even if you want to help... you'd be putting yourselves at risk, and us as well.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: darkgreen">He's right. There's no way I can condone anyone that doesn't have extensive experience battling Pokemon going.</span>The Professor added. Eleyna looked at them, and suddenly felt like she had at the Cafe - cast out, denied the chance to be something better, to learn from masters. She, and the rest of them were being pushed aside because they weren't good enough.<br/><br/>Eleyna fought to keep her lip from trembling in anger and turned, leaving the lab and adjusting her bag on her shoulder which had miraculously stayed with her through the whole ordeal. She stepped outside the lab as the Professor began handing out Transcievers to the group that had stepped forward.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Stupid... </span>She muttered and kicked a piece of broken stone. She looked around at Saisho. It had become lively again, filled with people, though the mirth and excitement that had once permeated the air was gone. People were assessing the damage, some simply trying to pull themselves from the shock of what had just happened.<br/><br/>She looked up as others left the lab, other trainers that hadn't made the cut. She recognized a few of them. Three she had seen at the Arcanine battle. The others, though, she didn't know.<span style="color: blue">So...!</span>She said speaking up and looking at the group.<span style="color: blue">I guess we're all kind of in the same boat now... huh.</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>