*Nathan's POV*

Relieved that this other Trainer had found Voltflare, I quickly thank him before asking,

"What happened while you were looking? I heard some fighting and shouting, so I came running, and..." I stop myself when I see Maxwell collapsed against a tree.

I assume that was his doing- good going! Now we have more time to... Wait a second- Ecruteak!!

"Sir, I know I've already bothered you enough, but can you come with me to Ecruteak? I don't think I will be able to stop all of them..." I plead.

"All- of them? Which 'them'?" he responds, seemingly bewildered, and I finally let up and tell him what I heard over my walkie-talkie.

Besides, I owe it to him to tell him what is going on...

I take a deep breath and begin.

"Are you familiar with Team Rocket?" I ask, knowing that he has some connection to them when his face goes pale.

"How did you... Are you one of them?!" he pulls out a Pokeball, his gaze darkening. I hold up one hand in defense, sighing and finally saying,

"Formerly... I abandoned that criminal organization when I discovered the true horror that goes on behind the scenes. An experiment... They took my research too far... And my friend was fused with his parents, mentally scarring him beyond compare. I feel responsible for what happened to him, so I have taken it upon myself to end the injustice that caused him that harm!"

"I see... How does that relate to Ecruteak?" The man still seems skeptical, so I pull out my Rocket-issue walkie-talkie.

"This little device tipped me off," I say indignantly,

"They plan to burn Ecruteak to the ground in only a few hours' time!"

"They... They can't be serious... My home, my family... They shall never harm them! Come, we need to protect Ecruteak- right now!" He dashes off into the forest, heading towards the city. Without hesitation, I recall Voltflare and chase after the man.

We emerge from the forest to see the city in utter chaos- the place is already overrun by Rocket grunts, and many of the civilians are running in terror. Thankfully, neither the people, nor the city, have been greatly harmed by the criminals. The mere presence of Team Rocket, however, gives the place an eerie feeling, matching the one in the hidden HQ at the bottom of the Radio Tower.

As we approach, one of the older townspeople, an old woman, walks up to us and begs us, tears in her eyes. She points to a small house behind her. I can only assume that the house is hers, and it is currently under attack by goons.

"Please, can you two help me?! My... My husband... And my precious Skitty!..." Her voice quivers, and she looks like she could use a hug or something to cheer her up.

"What happened?" I calmly ask her.

However, her sobbing soon reaches a crescendo, and I realize that I won't be able to get any more information from her.

Pulling Voltflare's Pokeball from my belt, I walk over to the house in question, and I press my ear to the door. I can hear shouting from inside.

"Give it to me!" somebody yells. A few seconds later, a man screams, and I hear a piece of furniture being shattered. The same voice retorts,

"No, I won't let you have her! She means so much to my wife! I won't let you have her!"

Another object inside breaks, and I know that I don't have any more time to listen to the commotion inside.

I fling open the door and see a Team Rocket grunt harassing an older gentleman. The goon had been throwing the many decorations around the house at the elderly man in an attempt to knock him unconscious, which accounts for the shattering sounds I had heard earlier. The senior citizen is currently under the small coffee table, clutching a small pink cat Pokemon in his arms like it means life, itself, to him. I realize, immediately, that the Pokemon must be the Skitty that the older woman from earlier was crying about.

As the two slowly turn to look at me, a smile crosses the Rocket thug's face.

"Well, well, well... Look who decided to finally show his face again! I figured you would go into hiding after you so rudely stole that precious research project!" The grunt pulls a Pokeball from his belt and throws it at the ground. The sphere explodes in a ball of light, and a small purple spherical Pokemon, a Koffing, rises into the air. The gas spewing from the many holes in its sides is sickening to breathe, but I know that I can't let that stop me.

"Hmph! Don't you refer to him as an experiment like that! I ruined this Pokemon's life for the 'advancement' of Team Rocket. Now, I realize that I've been fighting for the wrong side all this time! Team Rocket doesn't deserve my technology- they don't care about Pokemon! And I'm going to prove it by bringing the criminal organization down with me!" I shout, throwing down my own Pokeball to reveal my newfound friend in a flash of red light.

Voltflare looks around and stretches. Obviously, he isn't used to suddenly appearing from a Pokeball like that. Then, his gaze settles on the offending grunt, and I see a small crackle of electricity course through his paws. He's just as ready to fight off this criminal scum as I am.

However, before I can issue a command, a harsh voice from behind me causes me to turn around. I recognize the man as Proton, but, instead of interrogating me, he walks past me and says to the grunt, in a very commanding voice,

"Come. We're leaving. Now."

The confused peon looks at me, then at the old man under the table, then back at Proton. He shakes his head, muttering something about an unfinished mission.

"Come," Proton repeats, and he leads the dejected grunt out of the room. I hear him say into his walkie-talkie as he leaves,

"We've done all we can for the time being. There's no point in fighting here if we cannot win against Elijah. The boss already has another plan in motion- return to HQ and regroup. Immediately. Over."

Proton puts his device away and shuts the door to the house. I follow him to see that the entire group of Team Rocket thugs is leaving Ecruteak City in a hurry.

Soon, the citizens begin to return to their proper abodes, and I look at Elijah with respect. His Lucario is standing next to him, smiling.

"Good work," he says, returning the Aura Pokemon to its Pokeball.

"Now, were you successful with the rescue of that Skitty?" Elijah asks me.

"That Pokemon is very important to..."

"It's all fine now, grandson. Our precious Skitty is safe," says a voice from behind me. I turn to see the elderly man leaving the house and hugging both Elijah and the woman with open arms.

"Thank you," Elijah says to me, smiling through his grandfather's embrace.

"But I think I'm going to stay here for a while. I need to be here to protect my family..."

"Ooh, who's this little cutie?" the old woman interrupts him. She stoops down in front of my partner, and I realize that she's talking about Voltflare, and I try to explain his origins as best as I can to her.

"He's a Hybrid," I tell her. I figure I can tell her at least that much

She looks at me with a blank expression in her face, but I didn't really expect that she would understand science behind that term.

She at least seems to like him. That's a start... Maybe it won't be so hard for society to accept him... I think, and Elijah bids the two of us goodbye.

I wave back to him and his grandparents one more time, and we begin to start down the path towards the next city, when Voltflare's stomach growls for the second time today.

Oh... Right... I said we were going to get something to eat here, didn't I...

Obviously, the old couple had heard the noise, because the woman asks,

"Is your little friend hungry? Well, the least we could do is give him something to eat. Come on, everyone! I'll go prepare a feast for us all. It's getting late anyway, and the city has you and Elijah to thank for saving it."

She disappears into the house without another word, and I jog back over to Elijah and his grandfather.

"So this is your hometown?" I ask him, attempting to find more about the mystery Trainer.

He seems like he had a dark past with Team Rocket... I wonder what really happened...

"Ecruteak's a small, quiet town. Just the place for someone like me... Say, Nathan- fancy a battle while we wait for dinner?"

A small smile crosses my face, and I realize that this is my chance to prove to Voltflare that I can take care of him.

He's seen Elijah fight, so... if I can win when I fight Elijah, I may be able to further win his trust that way...

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" I tell him enthusiastically.

"Wait, we should probably take this to the forest- we wouldn't want to damage Ecruteak..."

"Agreed. Come along, Voltflare. You can watch us battle!" I turn to my buddy, but he seems reluctant to come along.

Food is the only thing on his mind...

I sigh, knowing that he won't come until he's had something to eat.

"Well, we can just fight after dinner. I'm sure there will still be enough light then..." I am interrupted by a loud call from the house,

"Dinner's ready, Elijah! Round up everyone and let's eat!"

Elijah turns to me and quickly recalls his Lucario.

"Well," he says,

"Let's go inside. I have a few questions to ask your Pokemon, anyway."

I follow Elijah and his grandfather inside, and I see that the place has been completely tidied- not an ounce of hair is in the wrong spot. The table in the corner of the room is laden with all sorts of different foods, and I have to wonder how one woman could do all of this in a little less than an hour.

"Come, take a seat," Elijah's grandmother says, greeting me when I enter and directing me to a chair at the table. She sets down a bowl of assorted Berries on the floor next to me, and Voltflare bounds up to it.

He must have been ravished... I think to myself, and the rest of Elijah's family sits down in their own places. Coincidentally, Elijah is seated right next to me. He turns to Voltflare and asks, with a few short Eevee phrases in a dialect that even I didn't recognize.

"So, what was life like in your village? Your old home?" Elijah asks him. At least, that's what I assume he said, basing my conclusion off Voltflare's response to him.

*Voltflare's POV*

"Much less hectic than anything that's happened today, that's for sure! In any case, our village had everything that any Eevee could possibly want- a community, an education, and an opportunity to evolve..."

At this point, Elijah cut me off.

"Did you ever get the chance to evolve?" he asks.

"I... I think I did. I got to touch one of the stones inside the cave that most of our Eevee go into to evolve, so I would assume that I did. But now..." I trail off, as a single tear falls down my face.

Elijah sees the drop and catches it.

"Don't be sad," he consoles me.

"Just be happy that you're alive. If Team Rocket needs you as desperately as Maxwell implied, you must be something special, indeed," he says, turning back to Nathan.

I smile, slightly, and look at my chest.

Mother and Father are in there, somewhere... Part of me...

I lose myself in my own thought and turn back to my bowl of Berries, my stomach reinforcing my urge to eat.

...

After about half an hour of discussion all around me, Elijah and Nathan stand up and grab a few things, thanking Elijah's grandparents in the process.

"Now you two be safe!" the old woman says.

"I wouldn't want either of you to get hurt this late at night. Who knows what could happen?!"

"Don't worry, Grandma. We'll be OK!" Elijah tells her before walking out of the house. Nathan beckons to me,

"Come on, buddy. You've got to see this!"

He, too, disappears through the doorway and shuts the door behind him. I stand at the door, pawing at it from every angle, but to no avail.

I can't seem to get this to open! But, Nathan...

Elijah's grandmother gets up from the table and pulls the handle open. The outside world comes into view once again.

"There you go, little guy." She smiles sweetly, and I quickly follow Nathan and Elijah outside. I see that, even in the dim moonlight, Elijah has already found a suitable clearing to the immediate right of Ecruteak City. The two turn to me when I appear, and Nathan calls me to his side.

"Now," Elijah says,

"Are you ready?" He holds the red-and-white sphere in his hands out towards Nathan.

"Because I sure am! Rhyperior- let's do this!"

He throws the ball to the ground, and, in a flash of light, the ball explodes to reveal a massive Pokemon that looks an awful like a Rhydon.

But, at the same time, it's different... I can't help thinking, looking at the massive Pokemon's brown skin and elongated horn. I had seen the Pokemon before, but the thought of it being related to a Rhydon only just now crosses my mind.

Not intimidated in the slightest, Nathan slings his own "Pokeball" at the ground, and the enormous metal Metagross steps out of the ensuing light.

"Metaaa!" the metallic behemoth roars, crashing two of its four fists together in preparation.

"That's more like it! Metagross, use Ice Punch!"

At Nathan's command, the metallic Pokemon's fist turns a bright blue, and it promptly slams its inundated arm into Elijah's Pokemon. As the attack connects, Rhyperior is pushed backwards a considerable distance, and a large wall of ice begins to spread around it. In a mere matter of seconds, the entire Pokemon is frozen in a blue wall of cold, hardened ice. Elijah curses his luck and commands his Pokemon to use Earthquake.

However, the encapsulated Pokemon is not able to power through the immense sheet of ice, and Nathan laughs.

"Guess your Rhyperior just needed to chill out! Metagross, Zen Headbutt!"

"Metaaa!" the Pokemon roars and tucks in its head. In a flash, the Pokemon charges at Rhyperior, shattering the ice with a blow of incredible force. The Rhyperior is flung backwards, and, when it crashes to the ground, it does not get up again. Elijah sighs and holds out his "Pokeball." A bright burst of light surrounds his Rhyperior, and it quicjkly disappears into the object.

"Hmph, that Metagross is truly a fearsome foe! Lucario, let's show that metalloid its place!" Elijah says, and the bipedal Lucario that saved me from that Manectric appeared out of the light from his Pokeball.

"Close Combat!" he yells, and the Pokemon runs at Nathan's Metagross, feigning to the left before jumping in front the right and unleashing a flurry of punches on the Pokemon. My ears are assaulted by the sound of the pounding of metal as the Pokemon continues to attack.

By the time Metagross is able to knock Lucario away, it had landed at least ten punches, but neither Nathan, nor his Metagross seem to be incredible fazed.

"Metagross, Earthquake!" Nathan yells.

Wait... Earthquake!? I panic, and, with a pound of Metagross' enormous legs, everything around me is flung fifty feet into the air.

Luckily, I catch the branch of a tall tree before I hit the ground, but Elijah's Lucario isn't so lucky- the Pokemon lands on its side in an incredible painful position and utters a sharp cry of pain. It tries to get up, but the Pokemon doesn't have enough strength to do so.

"... Is he really going to power through my Pokemon with just a Metagross?" Elijah mumbles to himself.

"Good luck, my ace! Finish this for me!" he finally says. His Latios appears from the next Pokeball, ready for battle. However, before either side makes a move, Latios sees me in the tree and flies over to my vantage point.

Hold on you two- I need to help out your friend. it says into everyone's mind, zooming towards me with incredible speed, yet gracefully stopping on a dime in front of my position in the tree.

I already know what it's asking, even before it says a word.

Nodding as he draws closer, I let the Latios grab me and gently pry me from the tree with its blunt claws. He then descends to the ground and deposits me next to Nathan.

There, now we can continue... Latios' telepathic voice echoes in my head, and he assumes a position next to Elijah once again. Both Nathan and Elijah nod in affirmation.

"Latios, Draco Meteor!" Elijah calls out, and Latios points his head to the sky and roars. I follow the Pokemon's gaze to see several small meteors descending from the sky.

Metagross looks up in alarm and punches the first few into rubble, but the sheer amount of falling objects soon overpowers the Pokemon, and Metagross emits a metallic screech of alarm when the bulk of the meteors slams into the Pokemon.

After every single meteor has bounced of Metagross and landed on the ground, the metal behemoth falters, falling to the ground shortly after. Elijah grins.

"That means I..." he begins to say, until Metagross roars in defiance.

With the last of its energy, the Pokemon cloaks its fist in a bright blue and forces it into Latios. Latios utters a weak cry of pain and falls to the ground, defeated and too frozen to move an inch. However, Metagross' legs give out, almost at the same time, and it finally closes its red eyes. Both Nathan and Elijah recall their Pokemon and shake hands.

"I guess it's a tie. Well played. I can see that you and your Pokemon have been through much together." Elijah says, turning to head back to Ecruteak City.

"Come battle me some other time, but, for now, I wish you luck on your journey. I'm going to stay in Ecruteak and make sure no Rockets come troubling us again."

With those parting words, Elijah leaves the two of us, and I turn to Nathan, a few questions of my own to ask.

endBTw}