RPG OtakuBoards Survivor: Game On! <PG>

[Blayze]

[size=1]Shadow was walking along jauntily, whistling to himself. Dammit, it must have been that Blissey. Too much exposure to the energy of the egg was making him like this.

Suddenly, something massive flew out from behind a tree and smashed him in the face, throwing him to the ground. He rubbed his nose. That hurt!

He leapt to his feet and saw something huge, and lizard-like lumber out from behind the tree. It was a huge, purple lizard-like Pokemon, with a huge tail (that must have been what hit Shadow).

[b]"Nidoking!" [/b]it shouted, and ran towards Shadow, its single horn aimed at Shadow's chest. The hedgehog leapt over the charging beast, and slammed a Pokeball into its back. It was captured.

[b]Congratulations...y...y...y...you have c-capturedddd a Nnnnnnidok-k-king...

[/b]His Pokedex was working still, if a little less clearly than before, but it was still working. At least now he still had some company in this.
[/size]

[Ellerby]

[color=#333333]Mario walked through the forest with both hands on his backpack. He only had 5 Pokeballs left and than what? What was he going to do after all his Pokeballs were gone? He was unsure at the moment and decided it would be best not to think about it at the current time. All his concentration had to go towards catching Pokemon.

"Troaa!" the sound shattered Mario's ears. It sounded like dinosaur, but bigger.

"Troaaa!" this time the roar was followed by earth quaking footsteps. Something was running, and it was big. Mario quickened his pace and eventually started running.

Looking behind him he saw a huge dinosaur pokemon that was brown with leafy green all over. It had four legs and a long neck with fruit growing from it. And that was nice and dandy and all, but it was stampeding right towards Mario. Something was chasing it.

Eventually, the Pokemon made it's way to Mario and with a short jump he managed to avoid being stomped on. Quickly pulling out his Pokedex, Mario climbed up the leg of the running dinosaur and sat on his back, feet flailing in the air. He pulled out a Pokeball and tapped it against the huge Pokemon. It was sucked inside and Mario fell to the ground with a large thump.

"Congratulations, you have captured Tropius. Tropius' data was added to the Pokedex. Tropius, the fruit Pokemon. The bunches of fruit around Tropius' neck are very popular with children. This Pokemon loves fruit, and eats it continuously. Apparently, its love for fruit resulted in its own outgrowth of fruit."

Mario sighed with relief. He was about to put his Pokedex away again when it interupted him.

"Seviper, the fang snake Pokemon. Seviper shares a generations-long feud with Zangoose. The scars on its body are evidence of vicious battles. This Pokemon attacks using its sword-edged tail."

Mario slowly looked up and saw a sharp red tail flying through the air. At him.[/COLOR]

[JJ]

[Color=DarkBlue]Ada looked around. It seemed like this cove was dead, but Ada knew there was something here. The Lickitung and Poliwag were not the only two Pokemon here. Ada walked to the edge of the lake, where a huge area of mud sat. As she carefully walked in her feet, she met something slimy.

Ada screamed and jumped out of the water as something rose from it. Ada whipped out a Surviour Ball and tossed it, hitting the mass. It disappeared inside, and the ball wiggled, then busted open. Ada caught the ball and cursed as she called out Pretty.

It disappeared under the water and Ada dove in after it, yelling behind her, "It's not getting away from me!"

Pretty and Yuna just stood on the shore, watching as Ada and the pokemon disappeared into the dirty lake water.

The water was dirty and Ada could barely see. She tossed the Pokeball and smiled as it zinged. Of course, it just flew back to her; so Ada had to continue swimming. She cursed the 'mon as it stopped. She tossed the Pokeball once more and let out a yell as it flew back, filled with the Pokemon.

On shore, the Pokedex chirped. "Marshstomp, the Mud Fish Pokemon. It can walk, likes mud, and can also swim."

"That was helpful." Yuna muttered as Ada broke the surface.[/color]

[Ellerby]

[color=#333333]Mario just barely dodged the lethal blow and scrambled to his feet. He carefully studied the Pokemon that was now glaring at him. It was a black and purple snake with an axe for a tail and fangs to go with it. How pleasant. The snake opened it's mouth and jumped Mario's head. His head!

The plumber ducked and turned around, grabbing the neck of the large viper. But Seviper was too smart for Mario, within seconds Mario had the Pokemon's tail swiping down at him. He had to let go of the snake.

So, Mario jumped to the side and Seviper stopped the attack seconds before impact on his own long body. Readying an empty Pokeball, Mario charged the fanged beast and jumped at it. Seviper looked in his direction and nimbly slithered out of the way, causing Mario to land on the grass. Mario got back up and charged again.

Seviper ducked down but Mario was ready this time, he grabbed the Pokemon's neck [i]and[/i] tail. Immobilizing it completely. Seviper was at least 8ft. long so Mario had to hold the tail and neck together. Now all Mario had to do was get to a Pokeball... somehow.

He dragged the snake over to where he had dropped the Pokeball and carefully curled one arm around the neck and tail, bunching it together leaving one hand free. He slowly bent down and got the empty Pokeball, than hit it on Seviper's face as hard as he could. Mario did [i]not[/i] like this thing. But the dazed Pokemon was captured.

"Congratulations! You have capture Seviper." said his Pokedex. Mario gathered his things and orgranized them once again, putting everything back in its place.

He continued on his journey and eventually found his way out of the jungle. He was glad to see the open field in front of him. It was completely covered in tall grass and... CJ?[/COLOR]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Shadow's last encounter had left him slightly battered. That Nidoking sure was violent...

He sat down on an old log, just for a minute, and suddenly he found himself falling backwards off the log and hitting the ground. He snored gently. He was exhausted...

------

[b]"War...tortle!" [/b]said a croaky voice. Something snuffled round, nudging Shadow with the tip of it's beak. He smiled, and rolled over. It nudged him again. He groaned.

[b]"Not now, mommy...I want to stay home today..." [/b]he mumbled. The thing nudged him again, and he woke with a start. It was still dark, so he hadn't been asleep for long, but what had woken him?

He looked around, and was suddenly face-to-face with an odd-looking thing, a turtle, standing on its hind legs, with pointy ears and a big curly tail. And it was purple.

[b]"Well, I've seen some odd-looking things in my time..." [/b]he suddenly noticed it was a turtle, [b]"Wait...I've had a bad experience with turtles. It might even have been your daddy that attacked me. Big thing, huge water cannons coming out of its shell? Ring any bells?"

[/b]The thing looked at him, apparently rather puzzled.

[b]"Wartortle?" [/b]it questioned.

[b]"Ummm. I don't know what that means. I guess it must be your name. Say, Wartortle, do you wanna come with me? It'll be fun!"

[/b]The Wartortle seemed to recognise the word "fun," and immediately nodded its head.

[b]"Alright then," [/b]said Shadow, taking a Pokeball from his belt. He tapped Wartortle on the head with it.

[b]Congratulations. You have captured a..............Wartortle.

[/b]Apparently his Pokedex took a little longer to search through its files after being smashed to pieces on the floor.
[/size]

[Raiyuu]

[color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]As Xiaoyu laced her shoes back on where the beach met grassland, she became aware of something watching her. She straightened up and pretended to shake sand out of her hair, moving her head from side to side and looking around.

There! In the shadow of a small mound of grass was ... it looked to Xiaoyu like a weird cross between a silken-coated pedigree dog and a peacock. The dog stared at her with an aloof expression, its nine tails spread in a fan behind it.

[b]"You're beautiful," [/b]she said, captivated.

[b]"Indeed," [/b]replied the Pokemon. Xiaoyu started. All the other she'd captured could only say their names. Was this one called Indeed?

[b]"You can talk?" [/b]she enquired by reflex, realising it was a stupid question about a second later.

[b]"Indeed," [/b]it replied. Maybe that [i]was [/i]its name...

[b]"You wanna come with me?" [/b]she asked, deciding it would probably see through any subterfuge she could think up. Best to just ask directly, and she could chase it i it didn't want to, right?

[b]"Indeed," [/b]the dog replied again. Xiaoyu gently threw a Pokeball, which the dog caught in its mouth, disappearing in a flash of red.

[b]"Well you were the easiest catch yet," [/b]she remarked to the ball as she picked it up. [b]"But I'm not letting you out if you're going to be all snooty!"

Congratulations! [/b]piped up her Pokedex. [b]You have captured a Ninetales. [/b][/font][/color][b][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple]It is said to live a thousand years, and each of its tails is loaded with supernatural powers.[/color][/font][/b][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]
[/font][/color]

[Solo Tremaine]

[color=#503f86]Krystal's Staff wasn't the most practical device for cutting up Chansey's eggs. Really, they were more like egg-shaped marshmellows than proper eggs, as the shells felt soft and spongy, and they stretched and bounced in exactly the same way that normal eggs don't.

She grimaced as she pressed the tip of her Staff down onto the egg, squidging it into a much shorter, fatter egg than it was before.

"This is useless!" she cried, looking disdainfully at Chansey's Pokeball. The big pink creature had been very helpful in lending its ovules to her in the first place, but it didn't give any indication as to how you were supposed to access the eggy goodness inside. It wasn't even as if they were normal egg size- this had to be at least a foot tall, and hardly bitesize.

She needed to cut it. But-

The grassland echoed with a resounding 'slap' as Krystal's hand met her forehead in a moment of dramatic realisation.

"Scyther, was it?" she sighed, rifling through her pockets to try and find the right Pokeball. It may be a psychopathic mantis thing, but it had what she needed!

A bright light lit up the grass for a brief moment as the Pokeball burst open. In the darkness, Krystal could see Scyther's rather ominous form looking around.

"Scyther, I need you to chop this egg for me. I know we got off to a bad start, but-"

"Scyther!" the creature growled, folding its claws.

"Please? I'll let you eat some. It's just that my friend-" indicating Lara with her own bruised hand "-really needs medical attention, and these have healing properties. I need it too, truth be told."

Scyther gave her a cold stare for a few seconds, then swiped his claws across the length and width of the egg while it was still in Krystal's grasp. She blinked, and the egg fell into four neat quarters. She almost yelled at it for not giving her any warning about potential limb loss, but was more thankful for its contribution.

"Thank you!"

She picked up the pieces of egg and moved over to Lara. The bits of egg still wreen't exactly easy to manage, but at least they'd be easier to chew down than a full-sized Pre-Chansey.

"Lara, wake up!"

The injured tomb-raider stirred slightly, murmuring formless words in the domain of semi-consciousness.

"Lara, wake [i]up[/i]! You need to eat this," Krystal pleaded. Lara said something incomprehensible involving her butler, then fell back asleep.

Krystal sat firmly on the ground, folding her arms indignantly and wearing a look of annoyed frustration. The slices of egg sat piled in front of her, looking... eggy. Idly, she took one of them and placed it between her teeth. It tasted oddly sweet, and once it (or part of it) was inside your mouth it actually dissolved pretty easily. She drew the line at regurgitating it into Lara's mouth, though. They didn't know each other that well yet.

Krystal froze- she was aware of a movement behind the tree to the left, and a faint sniffing noise. Something was investigating them. As silently as she could, she drew a Pokeball from her pocket.

A tiny, fox-like creature walked proudly into the makeshift campsite (with no fire), sniffing the air with its elegant young nose. It could smell the eggs. Slowly it drew nearer, until...

Krystal flicked the Pokeball out of her hand and knocked it against the animal's leg. It looked round in surprise only to find itself vanish in a burst of red light.

The Pokedex '[i]ding[/i]'ed accordingly. "Vulpix. Fire Pokemon. At the time of its birth, Vulpix has one white tail. This tail separates into six if this Pokemon receives plenty of love from its trainer. The six tails become magnificently curled."

Krystal cooed at the Pokedex's description. "Very pretty!" she giggled, moving back to try and force-feed Lara some Chansey egg.[/color]

[JJ]

[Color=Red]"So, have fun underwater?" Yuna asked as Ada swam to shore.

"Nasty, the water's really dirty, although I think it's just the mud." Ada replied starting through the mud again.

Something moved under her feet and Ada immediately threw a ball towards it. It didn't hit anything and the shadow shot off. "Marshstomp, you're up and you'd better catch that thing."

Marshstomp nodded and Ada grabbed hold as he began to swim towards it. Ada tossed a Ball to try to slow it down, but it just kept swimming. Ada was going to leave this damn lake after she caught this little bugger, but now was time to catch him before she ran out of breath.

The Pokemon decided to dive deeper and Ada took this as her last chance to catch it. She tossed the ball as hard as she could and watched as it slowly floated towards the 'mon. After a painstakingly long wait it hit and clicked, floating back to Ada.

Ada did not realize it at first, but this time she had run out of air. She started to struggle and Marshstomp hit turbo and swam to the surface, almost losing Ada twice. They finally broke the surface and Ada gasped.

Yuna saw her and started to wade out towards her, but decided to wait instead, listening as the Pokedex went off. "Barboach, the Whiskers Pokemon. This pokemon has whiskers and uses them like a catfish."

"That thing's doing this to spite poor Ada like everything else in the challenge." Yuna said, sighing.[/color]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Shadow walked on, desperately trying to find his way out of the forest part of the Safari Zone. He had spent too long in there.

[i]Alakazam...

[/i]What was that? A voice, like the one he had heard earlier, all the way back at the beginning of the challenge. What had that one said? He couldn't remember, but he must...

[i]Abra...

[/i]Abra! That was it! He had caught it a while back. But he was beginning to feel drowsy, as if the whole place wanted him to go to sleep. He stumbled a little, then fell flat on his face.

[i]Alakazam...

[/i]There was the voice again. What was this one saying? Alakazam? Like it was doing some kind of magic spell? Why would it be doing that?

[i]Kadabra...

[/i]A different voice now. Kadabra? As in Abrakadabra? Interesting. He fumbled around on his belt for a while, then pulled out a Pokeball that had already been filled. He released the Pokemon inside it.

[i]Abra...

Kadabra...?

Alakazam

[/i]They were talking...but what were they talking about? No matter, now that they were distracted, Shadow didn't feel sleepy any more. He got to his feet, and threw a Pokeball at the larger of the two Pokemon that had just appeared.

[b]Congratulations. You have captured....an.........Alakazam.

[/b]Alakazam? Really? Well, he would have to catch Kadabra just to make the set complete now, wouldn't he?

--------

OOC: Claim Kadabra
[/size]

[Raiyuu]

[color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]Trying hard not to yawn and give herself away, Xiaoyu crept through the long grass, hunched over to make herself as innocuous as possible. It had been a long day, and now it looked like being a long night; what she really needed right now was a good night's sleep, but the challenge called for more Pokemon to be caught, and so she carried on creeping towards the deer.

It didn't seem aware of her yet. It just stood there, looking majestic, occasionally bending down to munch some grass.

Xiaoyu nearly caught herself admiring its antlers. She had to tear her eyes away, telling herself to remember what the Pokedex had said: [/font][/color][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple][b]The curved antlers subtly change the flow of the air to create a strange space where reality is distorted.[/b][/color][/font] [font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple][b]Those who stare at its antlers will gradually lose control of their senses and be unable to stand. [/b]She knew if she fell over she'd probably just fall asleep, so she stared at the deer's rump instead.
[/color][/font][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple]
Xiaoyu stepped on a twig. The crack sounded incredibly loud; the Pokemon looked up, startled, and turned to bolt.
[/color][/font][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple]
[b]"Nonono!" [/b]Xiaoyu cried, giving up all attempts at stealth and sprinting towards the surprised animal. It started running, but she'd got close enough now - she threw up a Pokeball and volleyed it, just like all those games of Tekken Ball but with an object the size of a tennis ball, instead of a beachball. The ball lit orange with her energy and powered in a direct straight line at the fleeing deer, striking it and sucking it up before dropping, smoking, to the grass.[/color][/font]
[font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple]
[b]Congratulations. You have captured a Stantler, [/b]the Pokedex chirped, before going on to repeat its earlier warnings. Xiaoyu pocketed the ball and continued walking. If she stopped, she'd probably keel over from tiredness...
[/color][/font]

[Blayze]

[size=1]Shadow looked up and down at the spindly figure that stood in front of him. It was holding two spoons, both of which had just bent with no extra physical contact. The thing's mind was strong.

Shadow ran towards it, Pokeball outstretched. But there was some kind of psychic barrier in the way. Shadow reached out towards what he thought was clear air, and his hand made contact with something. It felt kind of like a bubble, not completely solid, a little flexible.

[i]Kadabra...

[/i][b]"You can't get in my head," [/b]said Shadow, [b]"Not again. I'm prepared. I'm...ugh..." [/b]He stood completely still, his eyes having a glazed-over, far-away look. His arms snapped to his sides and his legs snapped together. He fell to the floor, and was unable to move.

[b]"I really don't wanna say this, but...Go! Alakazam!" [/b]he shouted. One of his Pokeballs vibrated, and the larger creature he had just captured emerged. It looked at him, and then to the Kadabra.

[i]Alakazam...

Kadabra...

[/i]Suddenly, a hazy blob moved from Alakazam's head towards Kadabra, at high speeds. It smashed through the psychic barrier that Kadabra had erected, and threw Kadabra backward into a tree, knocking it out. Shadow was released from the psychic control.

[b]"Yes! I knew capturing the bigger one first would pay off!" [/b]he indulged himself in a small victory dance. He then picked an empty Pokeball (he was fast running out), and captured Kadabra.

[b]Congratulations. You have....captured......a.....Kadabra....

"You're quick," [/b]he said to his Pokedex. He re-absorbed Abra and Alakazam into their Pokeballs and walked away.
[/size]

[Raiyuu]

[color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]Dawn was breaking. Little bird-Pokemon were singing, little rabbit-Pokemon were yawning and sunning themselves, and a great big elephant-Pokemon was sitting by the edge of a river, showering itself.

Xiaoyu had walked along the edge of the grassland, where it met the beach, until she'd come to this river, which flowed out into the sea in a sheltered little cove. She'd given up on stealth after Stantler - she was just too tired to move with the precision that required. She'd ignored all the little birds and rabbits and waited until she chanced across something big and slow; easy to hit, difficult for it to run away. Perfect.

Wearily she chucked a Pokeball at the elephant's leathery hide. It vanished in mid-squirt.

[b]Congratulations, you have captured a Phanpy. [/b][/font][b][font=Trebuchet MS]During the deserted morning hours, it comes ashore where it deftly uses its trunk to take a shower.

[/font][/b][font=Trebuchet MS]Xiaoyu didn't hear beyond the word "Phanpy". She'd keeled over into the soft grass, collapsed with exhaustion. She dreamed of talking animals and red light.
[/font][/color]

[JJ]

[Color=DarkBlue]Ada luckily got out of the lake without any trouble, being sure to watch her footing as she stepped onto the mud. Yuna and pretty both laughed at her and after she made it she laughed as well.

"Well, I'm done here, what about you Yuna?" Ada asked putting her shoes back on.

"Unless you're planning on stepping on something else, I suggest we leave." Yuna replied, smirking.

"Haha. I swear, Mog is so going to get it after this challenge." Ada muttered as they walked out of the cave.

Unknown to the pair, two sets of beady eyes watched them as they left. They quickly disappeared, but Pretty noticed them at a fleeting glance. She was about to go investigate, but she was called back before she could

"So Yuna, where shall we head now?" Ada asked, letting Lugia out.

"How about the forest again? There were a lot of Pokemon in that area." Yuna replied, mounting Pidgeot.

"Sounds good, Lugia?" Ada asked as she too mounted her Pokemon.

"And we're off." She replied, lifting off.

The two's flight seemed incredibly short as they already noticed land within five minutes of take off.

"That was fast." Ada muttered.

"We're flying faster, time is short, no?" Lugia reponded, causing Ada to nod.

"Ada, there's something..." Yuna started as Ada turned towards her. She didn't see the powder as she coughed.

"Yuna?" Ada asked looking for her, but she could not turn her head.

"Lugia! Help!" Ada called out, panic in her voice.

"I can not help. You need to fight the paralysis. Fight. I'll land and try to take care of the bug that let the powder out in the first place." Lugia responded landing and gently placing Ada on the ground.

Already, Ada had begun to struggle and as Lugia flew off, she began to get feeling in her arms again. Ada continued trying to move her legs and cried out as she felt her toe move. Within an hour, Ada could stand again and Lugia came back with something in her mouth. It was a Pokemon and it looked hurt. "What happened to it?"

"I found it in the forest. Hurry up and catch it so it can heal itself." Lugia said, setting it down on the ground.

Ada nodded and pulled out a ball. She tapped the poor thing and listened for the Pokedex. "Dustox, the Poison Moth POKEMON. This POKEMON likes light and has dust on its wings."

"I'm going to break that stupid thing." Ada muttered as she stuck the pokeball in her backpack.

"Did you find Yuna?" Ada asked.

"No, I did not see her." Lugia responded, but I did see someone who looked like your kind in a clearing right up there. She seemed asleep." She responded, using her head to point Ada in the right direction.

"Thanks. I'll go check it out." Ada said, calling Lugia back.

Ada walked through the trees and noticed that it lead back towards the cove they had just flown from. She did not think twice about walking across the sandbar and was surprised when she stepped on Ling Xiayou.

"Go away. I'm still sleeping." She muttered, knocking Ada away.

"Ling, don't make me pour water on you." Ada whispered, flicking a bit of water in her face.

Ling jumped up and whipped her foot to Ada stomach. "Don't even..Ada?"

"Yeah, how's it going?" Ada asked, chuckling.[/color]

[Raiyuu]

[center][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]~[Some glomping later]~[/font][/color]
[/center]
[color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]
Even just a short nap had re-energised Xiaoyu, though not quite back to her usual hyperactive self. She called up Pikachu from his ball and sat him back on her shoulder.

[b]"If I fall asleep again, spark me awake, 'kay?" [/b]she nodded to the cute little mouse.

[b]"Isn't that a bit overkill?" [/b]wondered Ada, concealing a grin.

[b]"Maybe ... " [/b]Xiaoyu conceded. She prodded Pikachu's nose and looked him square in the eye. [b]"Not hard, 'kay?"

[/b][/font][/color] [center][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS][b]~~~~~~~~~~~~

[/b][/font][/color] [left][b][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]"I'll be surprised if we find anything in this savannah," [/font][/color][/b][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]Ada commented. [b]"To be honest, I'm surprised we haven't captured every bloody creature in the Zone between us all."

"I'm hu~ungry," [/b]complained Xiaoyu. [b]"Not tired though," [/b]she hurriedly added for Pikachu's benefit, before promptly falling flat on her face in the grass.

[b]"Oow!" [/b]she complained, looking back to see what she'd tripped on. It was a purple shell, with holes for legs and a head. As she pulled out a Pokeball, a greeny-brown head snaked out of one hole and looked at her inquisitively.

[b]"Shuckle," [/b]it said, and was sucked into the ball.

[b]Congratulations, you have captured a Shuckle, [/b]bleeped Xiaoyu's Pokedex. Ada's took over for the description:[/font][/color][b][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple]It stores BERRIES inside its shell. To avoid attacks, it hides beneath rocks and remains completely still.

[/color][/font][/b][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple]The two exchanged glances, looking from each other to their Pokedexes. [b]"That was weird," [/b]they commented simultaneously.
[/color][/font][/left]
[/center]

[JJ]

[Color=DarkSlateGrey]"I really hate my Pokedex." Ada said outloud.

"Don't be so pessimistic." Xiayou replied, tisking.

"If you'd heard some of the crap it's come out with, you'd hate it too." Ada muttered.

"Hey, come on. This thing can't last that much longer." Xiayou said, poking Pikachu in the belly.

He responded by lightly shocking Ling Xiayou and caused her to fall over again. Ada chuckled and kept walking, all the while, wondering if Yuna was all right.

"She has to be OK. She's a smart woman..." Ada commented, causing Ling to look her way.

"Who're ya talking about?" Xiayou asked, looking curious.

"Yuna. Shortly before we met, she and I were separated. I'm a bit worried." Ada replied.

"Don't be, you're right, Yuna is a strong woman." Xiayou reassured, patting Ada on the back.

"We need to keep catching, I think." Ada said quickly, pointing to a small pond.

"You want to take another swim?" Xiayou joked.

Ada gave Xiayou a half dirty look and let Barboach out near the edge of the pond and chuckled as he wiggled in the little bit of mud there was.

"You need to see if there are any pokemon in there." Ada told him.

"Barboach." He said diving into the water.

Ada and Xiayou watched as he dug at the bottom of the pond, finally poking something out hiding. It shot to the surface and sprayed Ada in the face with water. Ada responded by throwing the ball at it with all her strength. It smacked the pokemon and then sucked it in, where it lay, unable to do anything else.

The Pokedex quickly chirped, "Azurill, the Polka Dot POKEMON, this POKEMON is bouncy and can throw itself around."

"See what I mean?" Ada said, fishing the pokeball out of the pond.

"Yeah, you're kinda unlucky around here, no?" Xiayou asked, chuckling.

"Oh god, don't even get me started." Ada responded, calling Barboach back.

"So, where are we off to now?" Xiayou asked, watching Pikachu.

"Shall we go look for Yuna?" Ada asked, looking around.

[I]"I hope she says yes."[/I] Ada thought.[/color]

[Ellerby]

[color=#333333]"Yo cracka, what chu be doing all up in here?" CJ asked Mario. Mario gave him a blank look.

"Well-a.. I'm-a looking for Pokemon, of course." Mario said. Wasn't it obvious? "Aren't you?"

CJ sheepishly looked at the ground.

"Wella.. I haven't been 'aving much luck. These damn bishes won't chillax and sit down for one damn minute for me to chuck the bish ball at dem! Speaking of the damn ball, is so small! Like daaamn, how I s'posed to be able to catch sumfin wif this thang?!" CJ finished and sat down, stumped.

"Well-a... why don't you-a give me some of your Pokeballs and I'll-a catch them for you?" Mario explained thoughtfully. The poor gangster wasn't having much luck catching Pokemon. CJ nodded and gave Mario 5 Pokeballs.

"If you-a see the others.. do the same." and with that, Mario ran off because he tought he had heard a Pokemon. He looked back and CJ was walking the other direction.

"Phraaa!" he heard. Mario looked to his left and spotted a small elephant.. well, it wasn't [i]too[/i] small. It also had armor on its back. The Pokemon curled up into a ball and rolled at Mario.

Pulling out a Pokeball, Mario leaped over it and chucked the small sphere right down on it. It was sucked inside and Mario's Pokedex started talking.

"Congratulations, you have captured Donphan."[/color]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]Crash mounted Suicune's back and once again raced up a mountainside, heading for the flaming cave opening, but so intense was the heat coming off the near white-hot flames, that they couldn't get within ten metres of the entrance.

Crash withdrew Suicune into it's ball, for it was panting quite heavily from the heat. How the hell was he supposed to get through the flames, and capture this pokemon?

And then he remembered the Poliwrath he had captured many hours ago. Fumbling through the ball in his jacket pocket, he finally found the one which the pokedex identified as Poliwrath. Holding the ball out, he depressed the white button, and Poliwrath emerged into the shimmering night-time heat. Seemingly unfazed by the heat coming off the flames, the Poliwrath looked at Crash questioningly.

"Uuh, do you think you can, y'know, put that fire out, or something?" Crash asked.

Nodding affirmatively, the Poliwrath turned towards the fire. A low growl rose from it's belly, and then it opened it's mouth wide, and to Crash's amazement, a massive stream of water burst forth. Probably several tonnes of water smothered the flames, which guttered and died, the cave mouth releasing huge gouts of steam. Holding one arm over his eyes protectively, Crash and Poliwrath walked into the cave. It's walls were covered in a fine sheen of coal, yet were as smooth as glass. Poliwrath walked bewhind Crash, a towering beefy figure, which to be honest, gave Crash a lot more confidence.

The passageway broadened, before opening into a large underground cavern. It fell for several hundred feet, and continued into a warren of tunnels. As Crash peered over the edge, he saw a flaming figure disappearing down one of the tunnels. Withdrawing Poliwrath to it's ball, he quickly brought out Ariados.

"Quick, we need to get to the bottom of this cavern, and chase that pokemon" Crash said. With practised ease, Ariados attatched a piece of webbing to a pillar on their side of the cavern, and sent another flying through the air to the other side. Picking Crash up in two of it's forelegs, it ran across the thin strand of webbing to the center of the cavern. Attaching a second piece of webbing to the first, it began to abseil down, unspooling webbing gradually. After a few minutes they were at the bottom, and Ariados cut the line, sprinting off after Crash, who was already halfway to the tunnel entrance.

Just as Crash felt that he was reaching the limit of his endurance, the tunnel he was racing through opened into a small cave. At one end stood the giant dog, not flaming now, but fiercesome enough. It howled, and leapt forward, charging at Crash. Fortunately he leapt to the side as a ball of flame sizzled through the air where he had just been standing. With a grunt he threw a pokeball at the pokemon's side, as it's charge carried it into the tunnel. The red glow spread outwards, and the all at once the pokemon was captured. Crash stayed lying on the ground, breathing heavily from his exertions.

"Congratulations" piped Crash's pokedex "You Have Just Captured Entei. This legenday fire pokem..."

It stopped halfway through, as Crash pressed the 'Skip' button.

"Damn, which I'd discovered that one before" he chuckled.[/size]

[Doukeshi]

[SIZE=1]Lara was vaugely aware of a large wet sensation spreading across her cheek. She tried to summon her strength and control as a heavy lethargy ate away at her
fragile hold on consciousness. Her mind was fuzzy and she seemed to struggle an eternity with returning awareness before sounds around her slowly penetrated the fog in her mind.

Heavily lidded eyes opened a fraction, though all she could see were dark shapes against an even darker backdrop. Her mouth was cotton dry, the wet sensation on her face coming from the dewy grass she found herself resting on. Lara shivered, though not from the cold, her skin was red hot to the touch and dry. Fever no doubt. Limply raising a feeble hand to her neck she grimaced as she probed the wound there, inflicted by the Gligar.

Rolling on to her side Lara keened as a wave of nausea gripped her. Dry retches heaved from her stomach, though only a small amount of bile was expelled.

[B]"Oh God.."[/B] Lara whimpered as her shoulders shook from the strain.

A soft hand rested on her shoulder, rubbing lightly to sooth Lara's shaking form.

[B]"Here." [/B] Krystal knelt down and offered Lara a small piece of something. It looked white and rather soft, Lara didn't quite know what to make of it. Seeing her friends confusion Krystal chuckled softly. [B]"Its okay. Eat it, it will make you feel better."[/B]
Lara had no energy to argue with the fox and so tenderly took the white item, placing it in her mouth. Tasting oddly sweet Lara expected to start retching again but as soon as she swallowed a calming warmth spread from her stomach throughout her body. Energy spread through her tired limbs, the fever receeded and her bones no longer ached with every movement. It was as if a thick curtain had been lifted from her allowing the light back in. Sitting up Lara looked at her companion in astonishment.

[B]"Where did you get this, its incredible."[/B] Krystal only smiled and pointed to the small pink pokemon sat beside her.
[B]
"Chansey!" [/B] The thing waved at her, a small blush creeping across its features. Lara leant over to thank the pokemon. With her movements she accidentally knocked her pack over. A single pokeball rolled out, connecting with a small brown hump in the grass. The ball immediately opened and a red flash lit the dark sky.

[B]"What the-"[/B] Lara gaped.

[B]CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE JUST CAPTURED DIGLET![/B]

Lara and Krystal just stared at one another. Shaking her head Lara grasped the errant ball.[B] "I'll be damned..."[/B][/SIZE]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Yuna was separated from Ada when she breathed in another type of powder. She didn't notice it at first because it didn't hurt like the poison powder. But she turned to look at Ada and found she couldn't.

Pidgeot blew away the rest of the powder that lingered in the air, but he couldn't do anything about what she had already inhaled. Yuna fought against the paralysis, she slowly felt mobility return to her limbs. When Yuna looked around, she noticed she was at the base of the volcano again.

[B]"Pidgeot, where'd you bring us?"[/B] Yuna questioned.

[B]"Pidgeot!"[/B] it crowed.

Yuna wondered what had happened to Ada, she was worried for her because she didn't know if she was alright. She considered going to search in case but then shook it off because Lugia would take care of her, and she was a strong woman, maybe they would bump into each other again.

She looked up at the volcano and shrugged, since she was already here, she might as well take another look around, she hoped she could find more fire pokemon. Yuna returned Pidgeot to his pokeball and started to walk up the path, she remembered the heat from before and started to sweat again. She pulled out a pokeball and released the creature within.

Ponyta neighed happily and reared up on his back hooves pawing at the air. Yuna smiled and calmed him down, stroking his muzzle softly.

[B]"May I ride you?"[/B] Yuna asked politely.

Ponyta neighed and nodded with excitement. Yuna climbed on and put her hands on his neck, stroking it gently as he took off up the path, galloping. She started to sweat as they got higher up and every now and then Ponyta would let out a loud neigh and would rear for a bit, at first Yuna was startled but she was used to it. She realised he was probably calling out for the other horse creature she had seen when she had captured Ponyta.

When they had gone quite a distance, Yuna got off to give both of them a break. She let out a heavy breath and wiped her arm across her face to get rid of the sweat. Ponyta was constantly rearing and neighing.

He looked disappointed and walked back beside Yuna so they could continue, though they suddenly heard a loud neigh in return. In no time the horse pokemon she had seen before had returned, her flames waved as she galloped, her hooves didn?t seem like they touched the ground. She galloped up beside Ponyta before she came to a halt. She sniffed Ponyta carefully and nuzzled him with her nose. They made sounds to each other, little whinneys and neighs. Then she lifted her head and stared at Yuna who gulped, holding up her hands in defense and peace.

[B]"I haven?t hurt Ponyta in any way, but I needed to capture it for this challenge, that?s why all of us have been capturing pokemon. I think you?ll be freed after it?s finished. Can I capture you? You can stay with Ponyta, and I promise I won?t hurt either of you."[/B] She explained, babbling a little.

The larger horse stared at her, before slightly inclining her head and she stretched her front left leg in front and bent the front right leg as she lowered itself in a bow. Yuna carefully placed her hand on her back, it was warm, but not searing hot as the flames should have been. Yuna smiled and sighed in relief as she held out a ball, she prodded it with the horn that sat on her forehead and watched her as she disappeared.

"Rapidash, the fire pokemon. Very competitive, this pokemon will chase anything that moves fast in the hopes of racing it. With incredible acceleration, it reaches its top speed of 150 MPH after running just ten steps."

Yuna released the newly acquired Rapidash and stroked her carefully.

[B]"Can I ride on you?"[/B] she asked carefully.

Rapidash nodded her head and Yuna lifted herself onto her back, putting her arms on her neck. Rapidash walked over beside Ponyta and Yuna returned the smaller horse to his pokeball.

[B]"Let's go Rapidash."[/B] Yuna told her.

She nodded and cantered along the path, her canter was faster than Ponyta's gallop, but she didn't gallop because then Yuna wouldn't have a chance to see or catch any pokemon.[/COLOR]

[Raiyuu]

[b][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]"Sure, let's look for Yuna!" [/font][/color][/b][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]agreed Xiaoyu, nodding enthusiastically. [b]"The more the merrier!"

"Right! Then it's time you experienced travel by Lugia," [/b]Ada announced, releasing the psychic Pokemon from its ball. [b]"Let's search around for my friend from earlier," [/b]she suggested to Lugia as she swung up onto its back and offered Xiaoyu a hand.

[i][b]I'll fly high. It'll be easier to spot her from higher up.

[/b][/i][b]"Ooooh," [/b]exclaimed Xiaoyu, [b]"you're talking right into my head!"

[/b][/font][/color] [center][color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS][b] ~~~~~~~~~~~~[/b][/font][/color]
[/center]
[color=Purple][font=Trebuchet MS]After about half an hour of peering down from cloud level, they spotted what could be Yuna, moving extremely fast across the volcanic plains. Lugia swooped and landed in her path, causing her Rapidash to rear up.

[b]"Oopsie!" [/b]cried Xiaoyu, sliding off Lugia's back as Yuna struggled not to fall backwards onto the dusty ground. [b]"Sorry Yunie!"

"It's okay," [/b]she replied, regaining her balance. [b]"Good to see both of you are all right!"

"Is that another one of yours?" [/b]Xiaoyu asked, pointing at the cowlike creature behind Yuna. The sphere hunter turned. [b]"Um ... no, I don't know where he came from."

"I call him!" [/b]cried Xiaoyu, volley-punching a Pokeball at the dazed-looking Pokemon, which was just standing there watching them, its eyelids half-closed in an expression of pure [i]fick.

[/i][b]Congratulations, you have captured a Miltank! [/b][/font][/color][font=Trebuchet MS][color=Purple][b]In order to milk a MILTANK, one must have a knack for rhythmically pulling up and down on its udders.

[/b]Xiaoyu's face crinkled up as she processed the images that message called to mind. [b]"Let's all forget we heard that, shall we?" [/b]suggested Ada.
[/color][/font]

[Ellerby]

[color=#333333]Mario scurried through the plains looking for more Pokemon. He was getting sick of this catching Pokemon thing, but he had to do as much as he could for the team, considering he had lost every challenge he'd been in. Yet he was still in the game. And that was the [i]most[/i] important thing.

Mario stopped and held still for a moment, he had thought he had heard something. A pokemon? Probably.

"Trio, trio, trio."

The noise rang through Mario's head like an annoying bug. The stupid thing wouldn't shutup!

"Where-a are you?!" Mario yelled. The noise stopped.

...

"Trio, trio, trio." Mario screamed and stomped his feet.

"TRIO!"

Mario had stepped on the Pokemon. The worm, worms rather, were just above 2 feet tall. They were three brown worms melded together in a hole. Mario calmy patted one on the head with his index finger and apoligized.

"I-a did not see you there..." Mario said as he pulled out his Pokedex. He clicked the large white button and listened intently.

"Dugtrio, the mole Pokemon. Dugtrio are actually triplets that emerged from one body. As a result, each triplet thinks exactly like the other two triplets. They work cooperatively to burrow endlessly." it stated as a matter of factly.

Mario tossed the Pokeball at it and the Dugtrio let itself be captured to Mario's surprise.

"This is-a getting easier and easier.." [/COLOR]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Yuna was happy she got together with Ada and Xiaoyu, now she knew Ada was alright, and she had company which solved her problems. Ditto looked happy that they were around too.

[B]"Xiaoyu, climb on."[/B] Yuna called, stroking Rapidash's neck soothingly.

[B]"What? Won't I get burnt?"[/B] she asked, moving closer.

[B]"You're ok with her, right Rapidash?"[/B] she asked the flaming unicorn.

She nodded and pawed the ground with her hooves. Xiaoyu accepted that and grabbed Yuna's hand, she was suddenly lifted up and onto the horse's back. She found that it felt warm and slightly tingly.

[B]"Hey, what about me?"[/B] Ada questioned.

[B]"I haven't forgotten about you."[/B] Yuna smiled, she pulled out another pokeball and released Ponyta, who was happy to be free again.

[B]"Ponyta, you'll let Ada and Pretty ride you, won't you?"[/B]

The horse jumped and nodded enthusiastically. When he was calm, Ada was allowed to climb on. And now they were all mounted, they could continue on at a faster pace.

Yuna nudged Rapidash's sides with her knees lightly and she did a slow canter while Ponyta galloped to keep up.

[B]"Keep a look out for any pokemon."[/B] Yuna called out.

They reached a bunch of cliffs, and slowly a dopey camel like pokemon wandered out from behind a rock, it just looked at them.

[B]"Mine."[/B] Yuna sighed, she dismounted Rapidash with ease and walked over.

She gently laid her hand on it's back and immediately took it away, her hand was burnt and it stung. She called out Poliwag and quickly asked him to soothe her hand with water, it fired a jet of water then pleaded to be put back in his ball because of the heat.

Yuna wiped her hand on her clothes to dry it and try to soothe it but it was stinging painfully. She pulled out a pokeball, and the metal helped to cool her hand.

It looked up and opened it's mouth wide, a stream of flame was shot out and Yuna had to dive to the side, Ada and Xiaoyu were safe because the horses dodged easily. Yuna got up on her elbows and threw the ball at it's large body.

Numel was sucked in quickly and Yuna got up, looking at the burn on her hand.

[B]"Numel, the fire/ground pokemon. Numel is extremely dull witted - it doesn't notice being hit. However, it can't stand hunger for even a second. Numel stores magma of almost 2,200 degrees F within its body. If it gets wet, the magma cools and hardens. In that event, the pokemon's body grows heavy and its movements become sluggish."[/B]

[B]"Great, just what I needed, another dull witted pokemon."[/B] Yuna groaned, putting away the pokeball.

Ada and Xiaoyu laughed slightly, they'd all had their own misfortunes with pokemon, but Yuna had the most, said by the pokedex, dull witted pokemon.[/COLOR]

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]Crash got back to his feet and looked around the now empty chamber. Sighing heavily, he put his arms above his head snd stretched as far as he could. He was so sore, and so tired from the day's exertions. He was going to be in a lot of pain whenever he woke up after the challenge.

Ariados was still standing at the entrance to the chamber, but it stepped aside as Crash walked past. Following him down the tunnel to the central cavern, it suddenly chittered, and extended one long foreleg to tap Crash on the shoulder.

"What is it? Another pokemon?" Crash asked, as Ariados waved it's legs at a side tunnel.

Crash hefted two pokeballs, and uncertainly walked forward into the dark tunnel. Torches ensconced at irregular intervals in the other tunnel and main chambers were good enough to see by, yet this tunnel had nothing, nothing at all.

Crash's eyes gradually adjusted, but only to the degree that he could see walls just before he bumped into them.

Crash fumbled in his jacket pocket, and pulled out his pokedex. Once again, he used the screen's glow to see in the dark. Something glinted low to the ground, before disappearing from sight. Crash looked closer and saw a small snake kind of creature, bruwwoing frantically backwards, whilst spitting and hissing at him like a thousand kettles on the boil. Crash quickly threw a pokeball at it, but misjudged his aim and it bounced off the wall, just as the creature disappeared into a hole in the rock.

"Damnit" cursed Crash, punching the wall in anger. He had been so close!

He pulled out Feraligator's ball, and released it.

"Open up that small burrow in the wall there I need to capture the little.... bastard that got away!"

Feraligator hefted it's massive tail and spun, thumping the wall loudly. Cracks appeared in several places. Another crash and pieces began to fall off. Then, sticking it's massive claws into the burrow entrance, Feraligator exerted it's massive strength, prising the hole apart, as larger pieces of rock crumbled off the wall. Eventually, a large chunk of rock fell off the wall, and the pokemon's makeshift burrow was exposed. Crash quickly threw both pokeballs into the burrow, and with a flash of red light one of them was suddenly fully.

"Congratulations. You Have Just Captured A Dunsparce. Th..." Crash pressed the Skip button. God, it was beautiful.[/size]

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Krystal and Lara were both back at full strength now- so much so that they couldn't even sleep, and were instead showing off their collections of [color=#503f86]Poké[/color]mon with great glee.

"...and this one's... Zangoose, I think. It was just sleeping in the middle of the forest."

Lara laughed in reply, her [color=#503f86]Pokéballs piled up in front of her, having just been subjected to a rather girly show-and-tell.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"Well, Magmar was certainly the most dangerous for me," she said, holding the lava Pokémon's ball catiously as if the fiery creature were about to leap out at any moment. "I almost lost my hair."[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]Krystal giggled. "That would be a shame. You have nice hair."[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"Although it desperately needs a wash!" Lara inspected her long ponytail, which was close to matted with dust, dirt, soot... the Lotus Garden and its luxurious lakes was looking incredibly appealing now. "And you're not so clean yourself," she added, with more than a hint of mischief.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]Krystal feigned shock. "You mean I'm [i]less beautiful[/i] with all these rips, bruises and dirt marks?"[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]The two began to laugh uncontrollably. The relief of no longer being in hideous bodily pain was too much for them, and the exhausting demands of the challenge were starting to take their toll on the Heroines' sanity. Plus, Krystal began to wonder whether Chansey's eggs didn't also have other, rather more recreational side effects.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86][SIZE=1]"[i]Hoowwwwl...[/i]"[/SIZE][/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"What did you say, Lara?"[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"I didn't say anything."[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"Oh, heh. I thought-"[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"[i]Hoowwwwwl[/i]!"[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"Ah."[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]Instantly, the two of them grabbed a Pokéball each from their pockets and headed towards the cource of the noise. They crept quietly through the grass, moving as swiftly and smoothly as possible to avoid rustling the leaves.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]"[i]HooooWWWWWL[/i]!"[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]It was much closer now; the creature's voice sounded unsuitable for howling, and had a much higher, piercing tone to it. Lara and Krystal drew about twenty feet away from a large rock in the centre of the long grasses, on which a shadowy Pokémon stood braying to the sky. They readied themselves for its capture.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]After one last, piercing howl, the Pokémon lowered its head and sniffed the rock underneath it. Its deep red eyes pierced the darkness, fierce and threatening. It moved to jump into the grass; as it did so Lara hurled a Pokéball at it, deftly avoided by the targeted creature. It let out a growling yelp then charged into the grass. Lara leapt over to retrieve her Survivor Pokéball while Krystal did her best to track the monster.[/color]
[color=#503f86][/color]
[color=#503f86]Her telepathy wasn't being as useful as she'd hoped. All she had to go on were her fox eyes; she could see alright in the dark, but this creature probably had the adventage.[/color]
[color=#503f86]
Something pounced at her side- without thinking she swung her foot round and clouted it with her metal-soled boot. The object reeled into the dark, righted itself and growled again. Before it had a chance to attack again Krystal lobbed the ball. It hit the target squarely in the face, and the Pokémon disappeared in a flash of red light.

She took in a deep breath, then whistled out a sigh.

'[i]Ding[/i]'. "Mighyena. Bite Pokémon. Mightyena gives obvious signals when preparing to attack. It starts to growl deeply and then flattens its body. This Pokémon will bite savagely with its sharply pointed fangs."

Thrusting the chatty Pokédex int her pocket, Krystal looked around for her companion.

"Lara, are you alright?"[/COLOR][/color]

[Desbreko]

Falling. . . . Falling. . . . Samus braced herself for impact, and finally it came. But not in the way she was expecting. Sending up an enormous fountain of water, Samus plunged into a subterranean lake. Her suit absorbed most of the shock, but not without taking a large hit on her energy reserves. And she just knew she would have some bruises the next day. Falling still farther, her feet finally came to rest on the lake bottom.

Samus activated her gravity suit enhancement, tinting her armor purple and applying a filter to her visor to aid in seeing underwater. She could move freely now, the drag of her heavy suit gone, but everything remained pitch black around her. She switched to her thermal visor, and now faint red outlines could be seen through the murky water, marking the features of her surroundings.

Space jumping up through the depths of the lake, Samus landed ashore near the edge of the cavern. The ceiling was low, only some thirty feet above the surface of the lake. Looking around, she could make out the opening of the tunnel she had fallen through. Again powering up her space jump boots, Samus was making ready to continue her ascent when she heard an inquisitive voice.

"Fairy?" The soft voice echoed across the cavern for a moment. Samus readied her cannon; she was taking no chances after that Steelix. "Fairy! Clefairy, fairy!" A dot appeared on Samus' radar, straight behind her; she spun around, pointing her arm cannon at the small creature. Apparently frightened by this, it bounded off down a tunnel, taking long, floating strides.

Morphology: #035 Clefairy
Adored for their cute looks and playfulness. They are thought to be rare, as they do not appear often.

[i]Clefairy?[/i] Samus thought for a moment, then ran a search through the Pokédex information she had downloaded to her log book. Pulling up the entry for Clefairy, she glanced over it and sighed. [i]And I let it get away.[/i] She postponed her return to the surface, setting off down the tunnel in persuit.

"Fairy fairy!" "Clefairy!" "Cle? Fairy, clefairy." "Clefary?" The normally gentle voices of a host of Clefairy echoed down the tunnel to Samus, sounding more than a bit agitated. She probably had something to do with that, but she continued on. No sudden movements this time. . . .

The tunnel opened up into a smaller cavern, half a dozen Clefairy standing in the middle. It was plain to see they were talking amongst themselves, but Samus had no clue as to the subject in question. Noticing her standing at the mouth of the tunnel, the group turned to stare at her. Neither she nor they moved for a few moments, and then a single Clefairy -- the one she had met before? -- slowly began moving towards her.

Standing in front of Samus, it uttered what sounded like a question. "Clefairy?"

Samus blinked, not sure what to do. She slowly knelt down, bringing her height more in line with the Pokémon's. "Don't worry," she said, wondering if it could understand her. "I won't hurt you."

Apparently it understood, as it nodded then took another step forward. "Clefairy! Fairy, cle, clefairy? Fairy." It pointed back down the tunnel they had just traversed.

"This way?" Samus also pointed down the tunnel, and was met by an affirmative chorous from the entire group. Standing up, she watched the Clefairy in front of her start down the tunnel and then beckon her to follow. She did so, the rest of the Clefairy following. "The lake?"

The Clefairy had stopped at the bank, pointing down at the water. "Fairy," it said with a nod, then began making gestures with its arms.

"Wait, slow down," Samus said as she tried to make sense of the gestures. "Lake. . . . something about the lake. Rising? . . . Rising water?" This elicited a vigorous nod from the Clefairy before it continued. "So the water is rising. . . . Moving? . . . Flowing? Stop? . . . The flow has stopped?" Another vigorous nod.

Suddenly, everything clicked in Samus' mind. This was an underground spring where water flowed up from underneath the mountain. But something was blocking the water from escaping to the surface, forming the rising lake and endangering the Clefairy's habitat. It also explained why the Steelix had burrowed through to the surface: to escape the flooding caverns.

"I get it," Samus said with a nod. Challenge or no, she couldn't stand to let these creatures drown. "Wait here, I'll take care of it." The clefairy cheered as Samus activated her gravity suit once more and somersaulted out into the water.

Composed primarily of bendezium ore, this boulder appears to have broken off from a stalactite.

Even with the thermal visor's sensitivity maxed out, it was difficult to make out anything in the depths of the cold springwater. Samus switched to her x-ray visor, peering through the stone walls rising up around the water filled cavern. And there it was: A massive rock, covering the lowest tunnel leading out from the cavern. She scanned it, trying to determine the best way to remove the blockage.

[i]Bendezium,[/i] Samus thought with a grimace. She knew what that meant -- she just hoped the rest of the cavern could withstand the blast. Rolling into morph ball form, Samus dropped a power bomb at the base of the rock, then began space jumping back to the surface as fast as possible. She was propelled the last few yards by the bomb's shockwave and burst through the surface to land back by the Clefairy.

"Faaiiiryyy. . . ." The cavern shook from the blast, and continued shaking, as the original Clefairy clung to Samus' leg. Then the water began to recede. Slowly at first, then faster as the broken boulder was swept away downstream. "Fairy fairy, clefairy!" The group of Clefairy began dancing around Samus and she smiled.

"I need to go now," she told them, putting a slight damper of the Clefairy's celebration. "I know," she said reassuringly, "but I'm busy. Would one of you like to come with me, though?" The Clefairy at Samus' feet perked up upon hearing this and practically jumped into the Pokéball that she held out. She smiled again, waving at the rest of the Clefairy before beginning her long space jump back up the Steelix's tunnel.