I've had my shares of ups and downs during my time in Pastoria. I talked to Cynthia for an extended period of time. I think we're at the point in our relationship that I can ask for her phone number next time.

It started off awful for my Pokémon, but it's slowly getting better for us. Most of us, that is.

And even though the ship we were on sank, I had a lot of fun before that happened.

Right now though, I am miserable. Absolutely, completely, miserable.

"Ack!" I yelp, as for the one thousandth time, as I'm sucked waist deep into the bog that is the Great Marsh. If I wasn't wearing these awful bright yellow overalls that are provided to you upon entry to the Safari Zone, that instantly make you appear like a sanitation worker, I'd be caked in swamp mud.

Surely, Lucas heard me just now. "Are you going to help me?" I stick my hands straight up in the air for him to grab.

Instead, he plants his behind on a fallen log. "You got stuck in another one five minutes ago," he tells me tiredly.

"Well, excuuuuuuse me for not being able to tell what parts of this stinking swamp are deeper than the others. It all looks the same!" I'm able to wriggle around a little bit, and change which direction I'm facing, but getting out by myself is a ridiculously difficult chore.

"Besides," I continue with a pout, gesturing to Lucas. "You've fallen in your fair share of times too. And, this was your idea, so you need to take responsibility." Lucas's grand idea for cheering me up and taking my mind off things was coming here. I suppose it's worked. Technically.

"I will. In a little. Something about falling in the swamp makes Pokémon come out to see the commotion." He points to my left, and I turn to see a few of the Pastoria City mascots, Croagunk, have decided to make an appearance.

Only to point and laugh at us, though. It must be an absolutely hilarious existence for the Pokémon around here, taking turns appearing to be catchable, but not really, and watching people making fools of themselves trying to navigate the swamp.

I'm not throwing any of the food that I bought at them. All they're getting from me is a faceful of mud!

Shame almost all of the Pokémon around here like the mud. Lucas tosses a couple of Safari Balls at them almost as an afterthought, which of course are easily dodged by the extremely healthy wild Pokémon, who jeer at my misfortune one last time before exiting, stage left. I wave my hands in the air like a maniac again.

"Heeeeeelp!" I yell, as obnoxious as possible.

Part of me feels like he's stronger than what he's showing right now, as he again fails to extract me from the mud.

"I'm tired," he says, making excuses for himself. "Why don't we take this time to rest up so we can enjoy what the rest of the day has to offer. I know you're excited about the showmatch between Wallace and Cynthia. Who do you think is going to win?"

"If Cynthia was battling a hundred times, I'd pick her a hundred," I tell Lucas.

"But?" he prompts me, knowing me well enough to know there's a caveat incoming.

"I know firsthand how contest battles are different from regular ones," I admit. "Wallace is going to be near impossible to beat."

"Some people think he can make a run for Champion in Hoenn, so he's no slouch in that department either." Lucas muses aloud. "Kinda makes you feel safe, with all the stuff going on around Sinnoh, with poachers and Team Galactic. They'd have to be crazy to try something with two champion level trainers around."

Yeah, well, Cyrus and Hunter J don't exactly strike me as the rational type. "What about the famous band that's supposed to play? Have you found any news about that?"

"Only that they're a rock band, and that they're from extremely far away," Lucas tells me as he shrugs. "I'm sure they'll be good. How hard can it be to get the people going when they're already this excited?"

As fun as that all sounds, I can't look forward to it while I'm waist deep in this muck! I spy someone prancing through the Great Marsh without a care in the world, somehow not being bogged down by the marsh.

I wave him down. "Hey! Can you give me some help, please?"

He manages to make his way here and gives Lucas a hand on pulling me up. "Thanks!" I tell my savior.

The man's smile is so wide, it's creepy. "Don't mention it! I can't very well let you die without giving you a chance to get away!"

There must be mud in my ears. What did this guy just say? A look at Lucas confirms that I'm not hearing things. "I wouldn't have let her go under," my friends says slowly.

"As if drowning is what you need to be worried about!" the man exclaims, his voice sounding more and more unhinged by the word. "That danger is nothing compared to the package!"

"What package?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"It doesn't look like much, but it had that big red button that I love so much. One that's begging to be pushed, you know. I poinked it, and it started that beautiful countdown! Now all that's left is to make sure I can see what happens when it hits zero! Cheerio, kiddos! Don't stick around too long!"

He runs off, and Lucas and I stare at each other dumbly. "Was he talking about a bomb?"

"It could be a prank," Lucas mutters weakly, both of us trying to stay on stable ground and not get swallowed in a mud hole again, as we do our best to follow that crazy man.

I can feel one of my Pokéballs shaking madly in my pocket, like one of my Pokémon is about to burst out of it. It's Absol's Great Ball. Lucas's eyes widen as I show him. "I don't think this is a false alarm."

Bringing out a Pokémon gets you disqualified from the safari, but I think we're way beyond that. "Absol, are we safe right here?" I ask my Dark-type, after summoning him.

He shakes his head urgently and leads us out of Great Marsh, almost back to the front safari gate. We do our best to warn everyone, human or Pokémon, that there might be a bomb around here somewhere, and soon there's a bit of a crowd following us.

Something is off about this, though. Terrorists go for population centers, or things that have symbolic value, which means there are plenty of targets around here, as awful as that sounds. There's no point in bombing a swamp.

Is there? I'm about to discuss that with Lucas, when I notice Absol go completely still.

Boooooooom!

The terrifying sound is the first thing I hear, then the awful sight of the black plume of smoke, interlaced with fire like a volcano erupted, and finally the sickening smell of smoke and things burning. Many individuals fall down, some from shock, and some as a result of the ground rumbling beneath us, as the rest of us stand and watch more who knows how long, in total, horrified awe.

Lucas's distraught expression matches pretty much everyone else's here, and I recall Absol for now, grab my friend's hand and all but pull him up through the gate, up the stairs to the observation deck, where Ursula's been watching us struggle through the swamp this whole time through long range binoculars.

Our friend isn't laughing now, though. I squeeze in between her chair and the binoculars to take a look for myself, as she stammers something about being glad we're safe.

I don't even want to describe this. The whole earth has been scarred, and the entire patch of ground ruined and defiled permanently. Trees have been torn from the asunder, ripped in half, and tossed around like twigs, to say nothing of the crater of fire where the plume of smoke's origin is.

This kind of brutality doesn't even seem real. Trees and plants and the environment is bad enough, but there's arms, and legs, Pokémon and human, strewn about, and even what's left of a person's head, which is enough for me to break away, stomach churning, and heave like I'm going to throw up on the spot.

What kind of power is this? Why would anyone do this? I desperately need answers, and that guy from before is the only lead I have. We have to find him, and capture him, if he is truly responsible.

I head downstairs, seeing people are still emerging from the Safari Zone in one's and two's mumbling and stumbling in their shock. Even the safari staff, Pokémon Rangers, and police officers seem stunned. They coalesce into a crowd, all milling around the one figure standing tall, strong, shirtless in the middle like a life preserver that's barely keeping you from sinking into the darkness. Crasher Wake seemed a jolly, easygoing fellow when I last met him, but he's the complete this time.

His eyes are hard as a wave-battered cliff, as he would say. His voice is calm, but it's a deadly calm, like the one before a storm.

"What's the meaning of this! Who dares to inflict violence and terror on our wonderful city, on a day of festivities of celebration. Wherever you are, know this; whoever attacked us will suffer the consequences! And if I find out anyone was withholding information about this, you'll suffer them too!"

I suppose that is my cue, unless I want to suffer the consequences. I make my way through the mostly stunned crowd, Lucas close behind me, when he realizes what I'm doing, until we're in front of Crasher Wake.

A smidge of the tension in his face, body and voice drops as he takes us in. "Good work out at sea, lass. The crew of the Ophelia told me how well you battled. You've done this city a great service. I'll thank you properly another time."

"I'm about to do you another favor," I tell him grimly. "I think I know who did this."

Instantly, his gaze becomes Staraptor sharp. "Who," he says softly, though there's so much anger conveyed in that one word.

Crasher Wake is a different man from the other day, that's for sure. Best stay on his good side, les I want to get squashed like a grape.

"We met a man in the safari who said he pushed a button that started a countdown," Lucas elaborates. "We thought it was a joke, but…" he trails off, and Crasher Wake whistles at two police officers.

He claps us both on the shoulders and half moves, half lifts us towards them. "Set these two up with sketch artists," he instructs them. "They think they've seen the culprit."

"I can do you one better," I blurt out, having caught something in the corner of my eye. "He was smiling then, and he's still smiling now." The only person in the whole crowd who is, actually.

Lucas, Wake, and the two officers turn to see where I'm nodding at, where the deranged man still wears his wide grin, even as people are crying and comforting each other, all around him. Crasher Wake holds up a fist muscles tightly corded in his arm.

"I'll go. Better if he doesn't think we're onto him." The massive masked man raises his voice. "Everyone! Return to your homes, hold your loved ones close, and await further updates. In my honor as a gym leader, we will get to the bottom of this. I swear to you, on my honor as a gym leader, that we will."

His police officer's disperse the crowd, as he makes way for the man we saw earlier. Lucas and I follow him at a distance. Our number one suspect doesn't try to make himself scarce.

Crasher Wake is holding back his emotions in the pursuit of the truth, and playing it cool, for now. "Hello, there," he begins, not giving anything away. "I got a tip from a couple of friends that you might have some insight on what happened."

"Well, I suppose I could help," the man begins, stretching the first word out. "My insight is great, considering I was right there!"

All the politeness evaporates from Crasher Wake's voice. "Is that a confession," he growls, as intimidatingly as any Gyarados.

"Technically, I didn't really do anything, the bomb did all the damage," the deranged man says. "I was only the person who delivered it to the site, and started the countdown. That isn't much compared to making the damn thing, is it?"

"Oh, I think we can find something to charge you with. Let's not make this any harder than it has to be." Wake says, advancing upon the man.

Even as the much bigger man looms over him, our suspect's smile never fades as he starts backing up. It's doing the opposite, in fact. "Oooh, I just love a good chase! Something about the chance that you could though, gives me that thrill! That high! And if you actually catch me, I'll come quietly! What do you say!"

I've never seen somebody so messed up in my life. He stops and whistles sharply. "Golbat, use Haze!"

A screech in the sky answers him, but we're all looking the wrong way, because no Golbat appears. Instead, before we can react, the man pulls a ball full of smoke from his pocket and dashes it onto the ground, consuming all of us in a thick, opaque, purple fog.

I'm forced to cough and wheeze from the smell, as well as cover my eyes with one hand while trying to wave away this thick smoke with the other. How the bomber is able to taunt and laugh at us during this, I don't know.

"Try to make this a little interesting, okay, Mr. Gym Leader? I sure hope your big-boned body doesn't get stuck in the first door you're forced to go through!" he cackles, somewhere to my right.

When it finally fades, he's nowhere to be seen, and Crasher Wake slaps his thigh bitterly. Before he can swear, though, someone comes up to him to whisper in the masked man's ear.

The gym leader grimaces. "The Safari Zone is clear!" he calls, catching the ears of all the police officers, safari staff, and rangers left in the area. Let's go see if we can't rescue some survivors." He sends the police officers to put out a description of the man, along with an all points bulletin report, but Wake himself heads into the Great Marsh.

Lucas goes to follow them back inside the swamp, before I grab on his arm. "We're just going to let him get away?"

"We missed our chance," he tells me. "Now the most important thing is seeing if we can't save some people."

I vehemently disagree with that, considering that guy was begging for someone to chase him. As Crasher Wake, Lucas, and those other kind souls with strong stomachs head back into the swamp to look for survivors, I slip away, towards the eastern gate of Pastoria, the direction where I heard his voice last.

My target hasn't gone far. He's right at the entrance of the gate on the opposite side. I keep one hand on Absol's Pokéball, in case he tries more funny business. It appears he's waiting on me, by the way his face lights up when he sees me approaching.

"Yes! Fantastic! I was hoping someone would try and come after me. No one's ever succeeded in catching me, though, considering my incredible skills, and the fact that I pulverize people with my Pokémon!"

If I had Glaceon, I'd have her use Water Pulse and Icy Wind and freeze this guy into a block of ice. But I don't. That means this is going to go down the old-fashioned way. "Your streak ends here," I tell the bomber, which only makes his creepy grin grow.

"We'll see about that! Golbat, use Haze!"

I scoff, keeping an eye out for another Smoke Ball. "You think I'm falling for that again?!" Right as he bolts, I hear a screech in the sky, this time with wings flapping, causing me to curse inwardly.

You gotta be kidding me. He actually has one? At least we have concrete confirmation that he's a bad guy, since he owns a Golbat. "Absol, Razor Wind!" I shout, watching the guy sprint down Route 213 towards where Lake Valor is.

The fog that Golbat breathes on us is dissipated by the swirling winds, and Absol slices through them, sending blades of air at Golbat, who matches with its own Air Slash.

"Cancel and Sucker Punch, whenever you're ready," I whisper. Absol flicks his tail, and lunges forward to slam into Golbat.

The bloodsucking bat retreats before flying in with a Poison Fang, but one good Psycho Cut puts it down, and we burst through the gate onto the rockier part of Pastoria's beach.

He's talking to himself this time, next to a large rock climbing wall, currently devoid of anyone. "That was the most powerful explosion I've ever seen, considering how small the bomb was! Whoever made that was a genius. And this was just the test run! Imagine what the real one will do!"

My eavesdropping is paying dividends. I knew there was no good reason for bombing a swamp. This is a test run! But for what? Tonight at the concert?

We can't let that happen.

The bomber waves to me cheerily. "Oh, you made it! I was just admiring this nice wall before it came tumbling down!"

He doesn't have another bomb here, does he? I look up at the wall and see what he's talking about. "Orthworm, Rock Slide!"

What appears to be a feature on the wall comes to life, slamming its body into it and sending an avalanche of boulders down. Absol and I run away as our quarry does the same. Orthworm slams down heavily onto the ground, sending sand flying everywhere.

It looks kinda cartoonish, but it clearly is tough, taking the first Psycho Cut and Knock Off from Absol without flinching, and forcing him to use Detect to dodge as it throws its body weight around, trying to press down on Absol.

It tries to entrap Absol with a Sand Tomb, which is when I recall him before his limbs become wrapped up in sand. How heavy this thing appears to be makes me think it's a Steel or Rock-type. Only one way to find out. "Absol, return! Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"

Definitely a Steel-type, by how its tiny eyes bug out in fear as Charmeleon materializes. He breathes fire onto it until he can't spit out any more, but it's my turn to be surprised as Orthworm is still in front of us.

I squint a little harder. Is it just me, or is it not as long as it was previously? Did it shed its tail to survive? "Flamethrower again."

This time, Orthworm dives underground, but Charmeleon isn't making the same mistake he made a few days ago against Ash. He cuts off his spray until he feels the hole appearing under him, hosing Orthworm down with fire as it appears to knock it out.

Where did that freak go… surely the only place to go is further down the beach, unless he somehow doubled back while we were distracted. Running around in circles is sort of a chase, I guess.

I listen to my gut and run down to the ocean front. I spy him on a small dock, chatting up a pretty lady on a jet ski. I recall Charmeleon as we get close to water. Can't risk him falling in, of course.

I'm really tired of this guy treating this like it's a game. "You're the first decent pursuer I've had in a while! This is fun, but I've got some data to deliver. Ciao!" He grabs the woman and throws her into the water, laughing as he revs her jet ski, though he makes sure to spray us both with some water before he leaves.

Well, shit. How am I supposed to catch him now? I don't see another jet ski around here. One shirtless prince charming lifeguarding is majestically running over, hair flying in the wind, to save the day, while his partner takes over…

Bingo. I pretend to slip on the dock and flail around in the water like I can't swim, which isn't that hard considering I'm still wearing these stupid yellow overalls, and the Floatzel I was looking at earlier is in the water in a flash to save me. The Water-type inflates his floatation sack, but glares at me when he realizes I did that on purpose, and I don't want to get out of the water.

"I do need help," I tell the Water-type. "That guy who stole the jet ski earlier, I think he's responsible for that explosion earlier. We have to follow him."

Floatzel listens, and he fires up his tail propeller. We quickly close on our target, who's skipping on the water and donuts like he's drunk out of his mind. Which I know he's not, scarily enough.

Until Floatzel screeches to a halt like there are a bunch of land (water?) mines in our way. He's not wrong to be wary, considering there are two floating red orbs in front of us, no doubt connected to a forest of tentacles beneath.

I've had my fill of fighting jellyfishes, but it seems we've finally ran into the Tentacruel I've been expecting. Everything I've learned about battling in water over the past several days has to come into play here, or this has all been for naught.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Basculin, I choose you!" I shout, throwing out my fish Pokémon, seeing as Floatzel is currently occupied, keeping me afloat.

Tentacruel is another Haze user, as it surrounds itself in a dense fog, to the point the red glow isn't even visible to us.

"Surf!" I call. Basculin creates a huge wave to swamp down onto this fog and get rid of it, but I'm ready for Tentacruel's counter, which is no doubt ensnaring us or poisoning us while we crash down on it. As soon as Basculin is about to connect, I have him jump off the wave with Aqua Jet, and land somewhere behind Tentacruel, away from all its stinging tentacles.

As I suspected, it raised its body up so more of it is out of the water now. I know Basculin is swimming back to our side.

Our opponent rushes us with Waterfall this time. "Scary Face!" My trust pays off, as Basculin leaps from the water and snarls like a Gyarados, making Tentacruel slow down while in fear.

I remember what I was taught. We have to play to our advantages! Basculin can change directions in a split second, while Tentacruel floats along with the waves. That's a huge gap in speed, not to mention Tentacruel suffering from Scary Face.

"Waterfall!" Basculin charges forward with a waterfall's force. This time Tentacruel covers its tentacles with poison and prepares to jab us with them.

Nice. "Pull up and use Psychic Fangs!" Basculin screeches to a halt, sending out a manifestation of his jaws that chomp through the Poison Jab, inflicting serious damage to Tentacruel.

"Take Down while it's stunned!" I follow up with. Basculin is a glutton for pain, though, and he charges into Tentacruel with what seems like Double-Edge to me.

Our enemy is still somewhat healthy, firing Sludge Bombs at Basculin. He needs no direction from me to dodge them, speeding through the water as explosions are left in his wake. "Waterfall again!" I yell, mentally preparing to switch things up again to outwit Tentacruel.

This time, it allows the attack to connect, and then immediately tries to wrap Basculin up. I'm still one step ahead, though. "Water Gun!" Basculin shoots the attack point-blank range, using Tentacruel's head to properly himself backwards, away from the danger.

It's getting mad. The giant wave it's preparing to ride and crash down on us is evidence of that. But we have one more gear in us.

"Wave Crash!" I shout, making Basculin extremely happy. He takes a swimming start, and summons the most violent wave you can imagine, the ones that smash against cliffs at full force to batter away and erode them, chunk by chunk.

Basculin blasts through Tentacruel's Surf with ease, sending the jellyfish Pokémon flying backwards. Without having to risk getting stung, Floatzel can race around it, with Basculin right behind us.

"Awesome work!" I holler to him from Floatzel's back, even as I recall him once we hit the pristine beach in front of the hotels and resorts of Lake Valor. The jet ski is ashore here, not to mention the jerkface waving at us from the top of the staircase.

Seeing no traps laid for us this time, Floatzel and I march onwards. Usually, there are kids who play here, but it seems everyone has been evacuated. Just as we're about to hit the stairs, Floatzel yelps in pain, static crackling around his body, and falls to the ground in a heap. I look down where I placed my foot, and see an ugly face smiling at me, camouflaged by the sand.

I can't believe it, but I'm thankful for wearing these awful rubber overalls now. Saved me from getting shocked. I bring out Bellossom as the Stunfisk emerges, lifting its tail up and sending a weak electric charge at us.

Starting out with Thunder Wave. Fantastic. At least we have counterplay nowadays. "Aromatherapy!"

Bellossom brings forth a soothing scent that cleanses her of the paralysis. Unfortunately, it doesn't do the same to Floatzel, who's been knocked out. I really want to check to make sure he's okay, but this thing needs to be dealt with first.

"Leaf Blade!" My Grass-type twirls into action, slashing at Stunfisk with her four blades of fused Magical Leafs.

Stunfisk is not without its defenses though. This thing also knows Sludge Bomb, blasting away until Bellossom has to grumpily throw the dripping and eaten away remains of her Leaf Blades to the ground.

"Petal Dance!"

Our opponent's reply is to slam its thin body against the ground, creating tremors that don't do a lot of damage to Bellossom, but frustrate and slow her down as she's trying to get into her dance.

"Try Moonblast!"

Another Sludge Bomb deals with that attack pretty easily, and now I'm really starting to get annoyed.

Why am I having so much trouble with a stupid Stunfisk! All this thing can do is sit in one place and wait for some unsuspecting fool to step on it! If its ambush fails, it's useless!

Wait. What am I doing? "Teeter Dance, Bellossom!" Bellossom totters around as if inebriated, and Stunfisk upon seeing that buries itself in the sand to hide its eyes, as it was previously.

I pick up Bellossom and run right over it, immune to its static as I am with these rubber pants. It's kinda unfortunate that I have to leave Floatzel behind, but with all my medical supplies in my bag, which I didn't want to bring into the Safari Zone, I'll just have to hope it will wake up soon.

As we start taking the stairs, I look back to stick my tongue out at Stunfisk. Only problem with that is, Stunfisk isn't there.

There's a hole in the sand where it's supposed to be. I set down Bellossom and almost do a three-sixty, scanning the surrounding area for where it could be. I know this thing can hardly move. So where did it go?

I almost fall all the way down the stairs as it comes flying down from the sky to land on one of the steps in front of me with a giant plop. How the hell does Stunfisk of all Pokémon learn Bounce?

Luckily, it's out of its domain now. "Teeter Dance again!" Stunfisk tries again to bury its head in the sand to avoid looking at Bellossom, but unfortunately for it, there's no sand on these stairs. It quickly becomes confused, flopping and splashing about uselessly like a Magikarp.

I'm not going to risk this thing bouncing again, and landing on my head this time. "Magical Leaf!" Bellossom pounds Stunfisk with her rainbow-colored leaves until it's not moving at all.

Sadly, her short little legs make taking the stairs a challenge, so I recall her so I can take them two at a time. I scramble up to the top, where the bomber is waiting for me in front of the doors to one of the restaurants. Actually, it might be the one where I battled Ash.

"Amazing!" he compliments me profusely. "You've actually managed to avoid four of my traps! I can't remember the last time someone got this far! I might actually have to pound you into the dirt!"

He's running out of Pokémon though, isn't he? He should only have two left, even if he has a full team. But he still is not engaging me in a Pokéball, instead slipping inside the building. I charge in after him, and am confronted with my worst nightmare.

One of those fancy-schmancy parties, where everyone eats tiny bites of food off of silver platters, and drinks expensive alcohol, and generally tries to show off how stupidly wealthy they are.

I guess I could shove all these people out of the way. They might get mad at me, considering I am covered in various amounts of sand, mud, and ocean water.

What would Ursula do? Create some chaos and slip through unnoticed, right? Let me see…

I grab a glass of red wine from a passing waiter. He looks me up and down. "I'm sorry ma'am," he says, staying professional even after looking at my ridiculous getup. "I'm going to need to see some identification."

"Oh, don't worry about that," I reply breezily. "I'm not going to drink it."

He's very confused. "What are you going to do with it, then?"

I wait until I see the whitest dress possible, and nonchalantly throw the contents of the glass right onto the lady. Her infuriated squawk as she grabs who she thinks is the culprit and starts shaking them is the spark that throws this sophisticated party into a mess.

Normally, I'd apologize and offer to pay the dry-cleaning fee, but I'm sure she's never going to wear it again.

Once I've muscled my way through and can breathe again in the courtyard, I take stock of who I've been facing. We're almost at Lake Valor. This guy has been laying booby traps all along the route, Which means there's probably one here. I bring out Absol again, and make sure to look in every single direction, including up and down.

"You sense anything?" I ask Absol, seeing as my human senses are not up to task. His attention seems to be focused on a line of trees that seem to be well-watered, by the way they're absolutely full of leaves.

Which makes me want to facepalm, considering there's a short one that's almost completely wood and has barely any leaves. I know how to deal with this.

Glaceon's Rain Dance would be perfect, but in her absence, a nearby hose should do the trick. I turn on the faucet and send Sudowoodo running for the hills as soon as the water spray is aimed in its direction. Five down, one to go.

My nemesis is waiting for me on the flat expanse of grass that leads up to Lake Valor. I crack my knuckles in anticipation as Absol steps in front of me. "End of the line, pal."

He's out of clever quips, it would seem. "Only for you. Go, Golisopod!"

Another Pokémon I've never seen. It looks like some sort of oversized, top heavy insect. Surely its bulky arms and giant head are way too big and heavy for its tiny little legs to move around.

My first impression isn't accurate, because it's coming straight for us at lightning speed! "Detect!" I scream, but Absol can't even use that in time, before Golisopod slams into him, with frightening force.

Knockout force. Absol hits the ground and lays there forcing me to recall him, as Golisopod awkwardly waddles back to where it began.

It is a slow, lumbering Pokémon. What was that move, though?

"Go, Bellossom!" If it is a Bug-type, then Charmeleon should be my last to finish it off.

I'd bring them out together, but that last double battle at this very restaurant left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Pin Missile!" Our opponent shouts. Golisopod's claws glow as it holds its arms out like turrets, sending spiny projectiles our way.

"Moonblast!" Bellossom's small frame means she's able to hide behind her own attack as he holds in front of her like a shield, before sending it forth.

"Liquidation!" Golisopod's arms get covered in water that turn into blades, before it uses its new swords to slash through its attack.

It looked way too comfortable using that move. Is it a Water-type as well as a bug? That throws a wrench in things, considering Charmeleon won't have any easy time breaking down a Water-type.

Freeze-Dry would dominate this thing, but I don't have Glaceon. Instead, let's hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the butt. "You're up, Charmeleon!"

"Aww, way to be a party pooper! You don't see me using an extra Pokémon!"

I ignore my opponents whinging. Maybe you shouldn't have abandoned them all, then. Rather than reply, I focus on my Pokémon, who aren't pointedly looking anywhere other than at their teammate.

"Are you two going to be so stubborn that you're going to lose again?" I ask pointedly, appealing to their pride, "or are you going to put your differences aside for the moment and work together?"

They still are refusing to look at each other, but Bellossom sticks out her hand, which Charmeleon takes briefly. Thank goodness.

Just in time, too. "Hydro Pump!" Golisopod fires a huge torrent of water straight at Charmeleon.

"Petal Dance!" Bellossom is there, holding the water back like she did with Jellicent back on the Ophelia.

"Dragon Dance!" Charmeleon takes his time, trusting in Bellossom's petal shield, to do the dance right and really let the power flow within him.

"Lunge!" Golisopod charges forward, breaking through the petal shield with ease, but before it can bear down on Bellossom, Charmeleon is there, dancing circles around the much bigger and slower Pokémon, peppering it with Fire Punches.

"Liquidation!"

"Leaf Blade!" Golisopod enhances its arms and turns them into watery swords, but Bellossom counters with her grass ones, pushing it back. She sends them all flying at Golisopod, forcing it to block, and then twirls out of the way so Charmeleon can blast it with Flamethrower.

Bellossom throws in a Moonblast to explode on Golisopod's head along with the river of fire, and then the most ironic thing ever happens.

Our opponent shows that surprising speed that it used against Absol, but in reverse, as it flees the battle unceremoniously. A cloud of dust follows its hasty exit.

We take those. Our opponent doesn't seem to appreciate the irony of his Pokémon abandoning him. "You're done," I declare, challenging him to try to escape once more.

He holds up his hands, as a run over grab one, and twist it behind his back. "Thanks for indulging me," he says, still smiling. "That was so much fun!"

This guy is deranged. "Shut up. I hope you find prison excessively boring." I shove him forward, and in the meantime I'm able to spare a few words for my two Pokémon.

"Thank you," I tell them. "Well done to you both. You have all the potential of being a great combination."

At least they are responding to me individually, if not to each other. That's progress, in my book.

It's a very long walk, down the stairs, all the way across the beach, where Floatzel used to be. Either he got up on his own power or some good samaritans helped him out, but I'm thankful whichever way. We walk back past the rocky cliffs, and through the gate back into Pastoria City. It takes so long that it's evening by the time I march into the police station.

You'd think there would be more than one Officer Jenny in here. "Every other policewoman and canine officer is out in the city right now, still searching for threats," she informs me. They've already got the sketch of the guy, given by Lucas or Crasher Wake or somebody, so she slaps some handcuffs on my captive bomber and shoves him none too gently into a concrete, single window room.

We can still see him creepily giggling to himself inside there. "Did you find anything?" I ask, to distract myself.

"Absolutely nothing," she replies, relief in her voice. "It really seems that this was the isolated work of a madman. Thank goodness that he chose to test it in the Great Marsh. It could have been a thousand times worse."

My thoughts exactly. This smacks of Team Galactic. Covering up what they're doing via some method or another. Where that theory doesn't add up is this bomb. They aim to have the power of legendary Pokémon on their side. What do they need a bomb for?

"We've searched the city and surrounding areas inch by inch," Officer Jenny continues. "Cynthia and Wallace have decided to go ahead with their match, deciding that they would not be cowed by terrorists, personally guaranteeing the safety of whoever decided to attend."

What an insane thing to do. If even one person gets hurt, people are going to be calling for their heads. I guess when you're as strong as they are, a Champion and one in all but name, you can make those promises, because you know they'll be able to live up. "So they're battling right now?"

"Yup," Jenny says nonchalantly, like this isn't a once in a lifetime opportunity to see two champions going at it live. "The band wanted to go through with their concert, too, but their security was reluctant, until the suspect was caught. I suppose I should tell them…"

I deserve a reward for tracking this guy down, right? I mean, I've been looking forward to this for days. If Cynthia and Wallace and Crasher Wake and the police think they have everything in hand, far be it for me to try to insert my own opinions in there. They have way more experience, expertise, and are far better trainers than me.

Though I suppose we'll see how Crasher Wake and I match up, soon enough.

"Where are they holding their battle, anyways?"

"Oh, I think they're holding it at Lake Valor, actually."

… You have to be kidding me. As I sigh, and prepare for the long walk back, Officer Jenny assures me of something.

"Don't worry about this guy." She pounds a fist into her palm confidently. "He may not be saying much now, but we'll have him talking like a Chatot soon enough!"

Yeah, I'm not worried about him not talking. I'm more worried about what he's going to say.

----------------------------------------

As you might expect, I totally miss the battle. I can't even ask around for who's one, considering the concert is about to start when I arrive. Music is blaring, girls are screaming, phones are waving and everyone is shoving against each other to try to get closer and get a better glimpse or picture of their idols.

Having discarded the overalls on the way, I can't even rely on them to save me from getting pushed around. Whoever is about to perform, they have the aura and fandom of any superstar from back on earth. So who are they? And why does everyone seem to have a white-haired wig, albeit some of them in different shades?

I somehow end up next to an absolute banshee, but even her voice can't compare to the volume of the speakers around this place, perfectly situated to amplify the sound to the maximum.

Having never seen an Exploud, I can't say if they're louder or not. But that's the only comparison.

A black curtain descends on the stage as the entire arena darkness, making sure that we need to rely on our sense of hearing.

"People of Pastoria!" A man bellows with his deep baritone voice. "You asked for them? We got them! Now, are you ready to get this party started!"

Everyone around me cheers as loudly as they can, but it's not enough.

"I said arrrrrrrrrreeeeeee youuuuuuuuuu readyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

The next cheer manages to satisfy him. "Introducing the Fantastic Fiore! The Super Squadron of Siblings! The one! The only! The GO-Rock Quaaaaaaaaaaads!"

What did he just say?! I'm pretty sure I know these guys.

And gal. She's the first to step up, with her violin. Screams of "We love you Tiffany!" serenade her from every corner of the arena, mostly from the boys, but from quite a few of the girls, too.

Tiffany's bright smile matches her hair. "Open your ears to our melodic attacks!" Her violin solo hits a few high notes that frenzy the crowd even more.

I'm pretty sure Garret with the bass is up next. "The sound of our songs will have you stopped in your tracks!" He holds up his bass guitar to parallel to himself for his own solo.

Clyde's got more drums here than I remember. Wonder if he needs them all to wake up his Slaking. "Our rhythm and beats will have you pounding the ground!"

Billy's last, as is right for the leader of this bunch. He of course, has the electric guitar, end his solo on a few dissonant chords that mess with our ears. "Our melodic ambition will make us be crowned!"

They all chant together now. "Hearing our tracks will cure your indifference! So open your ears, and don't be so ignorant!"

Their leader steps up and pulls his mic from its stand. "Pastoria City, are you ready to make some noiseeeeeeeeeee!

Kinda redundant, but the loud roar in response is the Go-Rock Quads cue to start their first number. As good as they are, and they are fantastic, I'm still on edge. There's something penetrating even the cheering from the crowd and the amplified sounds of their instruments.

I hear cracks, one after another, in a steady beat. It can't be another bomb, right? Is that gunfire?!

It's only when they crack again, exploding across the night sky in flowery patterns, that I relax. Fireworks, huh?

A terrible day has turned into a magical night. May as well enjoy myself. I don't know how many more of these we're going to get.