((Sorry I've been gone. My life has been the very definition of hectic, lately. Sorry~))

Raven smiled. The other girl seemed like she would put up a good battle. She pulled out two pokeballs, and threw them up into the air. A laser shot onto Onyx and Zeke, pulling them back into the pokeballs. "Garnet, back up," she said to her Arcanine. Garnet reluctantly did as she asked.

"Now, I will battle you." Raven laughed, and stroked her Milotic before she stepped back to make room for the battle. Seraphiel didn't show any anger. She simply had an emotionless glare on her face. If pokemon could play poker, Seraphiel would definately have the best poker face.

"Seraphiel, use twister!" Raven said, and her Milotic began to twirl around in a circle. It created a twister. Seraphiel then stopped spinning, and got on one side of the twister. She pulled her fanned tail back, and hit the twister, sending it straight towards Jewel, Crystal's Raichu.

((It's okay. c:))

"Jewel, dodge it with dig!" Jewel hurrily dug deep into the ground, and by the time the twister neared, she was already safe underground. Well, safe from the twister at least. Knowing she still wasn't deep enough, she continued digging. Soon, she was deep enough to ensure that the Milotic couldn't attack her. The holes were even too small for the Milotic to fit in. Then, to be extra safe, she covered up the hole, and awaited a command.

"Okay Raichu, start charging," Crystal commanded, making sure she was loud enough for Jewel to hear. She was underground, after all. Even though she couldn't see it, she was positive her Raichu was charging because she could see a faint light coming from the almost fully closed hole, and she could hear a few static noises.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Sapphire were still tracking down the Murkrow.

Sapphire, who was doing her best to try and sense Dusk, seemed a bit bothered. "Eon eon eon, eon eon eon eon. Eon eon eon," she said, her normally calm voice sounding slightly worried. (Translation: I can sense the Murkrow, but I'm also sensing a human nearby him. This might mean trouble.)

"Free? Bu, butter butter free," Freedom answered, not as worried as Sapphire. (Translation: You do? Well, it can't be that bad.)

Colette realizing that the Murkrow was most likely injured gave him a max restore. "There, better?" She asked him and set him back down feeling that this was more comfortable for him. She held the orb out in front of her and studied it some more. "It's more of an oval than a circle shape. Were did you get this orb?" She asked Dusk again.

Once she'd healed her Pokemon, Becky decided to head home. She flew on Screech's back to her house.

"Let's see..." she muttered. "I'm going to need Flare back on the team. Her Flame Body ability will help me incubate the egg I got. Speaking of which..." She glanced down at the mysterious egg that Matt had given her before hurrying off.

"...I wonder what you'll hatch into?" she whispered. She realised that the egg was pulsing with a dull blue light. She felt a warm feeling wash over her.

"Skareeee!" Screech cried, and slowly started to descend. Becky clutched her new egg tight.

"Well, well, I didn't expect to see you back so soon." Becky's mother said cheerily as Screech landed right in the middle of the garden. Becky dismounted.

"Hi, Mum." Becky said. "How's Flare doing?" He mother gestured behind her.

"Flare's doing quite nicely." she said. "And it looks like she missed you!" Becky was taken by surprise when Flare the Volcarona landed on her head.

"Volcaaarooooo..." Volcarona purred. Which was weird, Becky thought, because she didn't think that a huge fire moth could purr like a Purrloin. 

"Nice to see you again, too!" Becky laughed. "Flare, I think I'll need your help with something." Her Volcarona let go of her head.

"Volcaa?" Flare sounded puzzled.

"See, I've got a new Pokemon Egg..." Becky said, holding up the new egg. "Could you perhaps hold it for me to help it hatch?" 

"Volcroooo!" Volcarona happily buzzed. She flared her wings. Then she gently took the egg from Becky's hands and held it tenderly.

"Thanks, Flare." Becky said. Flare was obviously taking good care of the egg.

"It looks like you'll be sticking around for a while." Becky's mother said. "Well, how about we have a quick battle, just for old time's sake?" Becky grinned.

"Okay, Mum!" she said. "Just don't expect to win!" 

((Becky VS Mum WHO WILL WIN? xD BTW, a few of Becky's Mum's Pokemon will be from the older generations)).

Raven watched as the Raichu dodged Milotic's twister. Crap. Now what will Seraphiel do? She can't dig, and the hole is too small for her to go through. Plus, that Raichu was crafty, so she covered it up. Hm... After a moment of pondering, Raven smiled, and assumed her battle stance. "Seraphiel, use hydro pump on the sand. Try to cave in the Raichu's tunnel."

"Milo! Milotic," Seraphiel said before nodding. Water began shooting out of her mouth onto the ground, completely soaking the sand. If the ground got wet enough, it would cave in Jewel's little tunnel that she had made by using dig.

"Arc! Arcanine!" Garnet jumped from side to side, and let out a few happy yips. On the inside, he was nothing but a big teddy bear, but he tried to act all tough. Raven chuckled at the sight. Garnet was attempting to cheer her and her Milotic, Seraphiel, on.

"Jewel, Light Screen!" Crystal commanded. She could've made Jewel escape the tunnel, but that's just boring, and Jewel might not escape in time. Plus, Crystal liked to do things that most people usually wouldn't do in tough situations. And chances are, people would probably choose to escape rather than protect.

Even though Crystal had commanded her Raichu fairly quickly, the water was already heading towards Jewel. Despite being afraid the water would get to her, she decided to trust Crystal and do what she said. Putting two paws out in front of her, she focused her mind and managed to create a small barrier. It wasn't much, but would be enough to keep her from getting soaked. Raichu's aren't Psychic, but since Light Screen was a Psychic move, Jewel had to learn to focus her mind like a Psychic type to learn the attack. Realizing that she still had a little more time to build her barrier before the water hit, she built up electricity and transferred some to the barrier, making it stronger. Then, she focused hard and waited for the water to hit.

In less than a second, the water came rushing onto her barrier. Jewel focused as hard as she could, and tried adding more electricity and power. The rushing water was strong, and Jewel was struggling to keep her barrier from disappearing or breaking. Some water slipped under her barrier and passed by her feet, but that wasn't enough to hurt her. And if the water couldn't pass, she would've been blocking it forever.

After what seemed like forever, the water had passed. Jewel broke the barrier, and took a deep breath. Not like there was much air to breath under the ground, anyways. To let Crystal know she was fine, she yelled 'Chu' as loud as she could in a voice that meant, "I'm okay!". But even though she had protected herself from the water, she was a tired out from protecting herself.

Relieved that her Raichu was fine, Crystal decided it was about time she attacked rather than that girl and her Milotic. "You ready?"

"Chu!" She said, sounding as happy as she could. She was tired, but she didn't want to disappoint Crystal. Then, she patiently waited for her Trainer's command.

"Okay Raichu, dig more holes!"

Jewel nodded even though Crystal couldn't see her, and dug more tunnels. Then, she popped out of the ground in the middle of the battlefield. She looked around quickly, and then popped back under the ground. She kept repeating this, popping up out of the ground in several spots creating many holes connecting to her tunnel. Then, she went right into the center. And this time, she didn't cover up the holes. She waited for Crystal to tell her another command. Having done this trick many times before, she knew what the command would be. But what she needed was for Crystal to tell her when to do it.

"Ready, Mum?" Becky called. Her mother gave her that sort of 'what do you think?" look.

"Of course I am!" she replied. "Remember...only three Pokemon each!"

"Sure thing, Mum!" Becky said, giving a sort of salute. This made her mother laugh, as she drew out a Pokeball.

"Go, Azumarill!" she cried before summoning her Pokemon. Azumarill was Becky's mother's first Pokemon and she'd raised it from a tiny Azurill. It may have looked cute, but I was really powerful.

"Azuzuuuuuu!" Azumarill growled.

"Go, Half Tusk!" Becky summoned her newly evolved Haxorus into battle. 

"HAXOOOORUUS!" Half Tusk gave an almighty roar that made even Becky shiver. Half Tusk glared at Azumarill. 

"You take the first move!" Becky called over to her mother.

"You seem confident." Becky's mother giggled. "Very well, then. Azumarill, use Ice Beam!" 

"Aaazuzuzuuu!" Azumarill launched the attack.

"Counter it with Dragon Pulse!" Becky ordered. Half Tusk did as commanded. The two attacks collided. Neither Pokemon were harmed.

"Azumarill, use Bubble Beam!" Becky's mother commanded. Her loyal Pokemon did this, and the attack struck Half Tusk. Half Tusk winced in pain.

"It looks like Azumarill has become stronger..." Becky whispered. "Half Tusk...use Dragon Claw!" This attack hit Azumarill, who flew back and hit the hard ground.It struggled to it's feet.

"It's ok, Azumarill..." Becky's mother said. "Use Bubble Beam once more!" 

"Half Tusk, the time has come to use  Iron Tail!" Becky commanded.

"HAXORAAAAA!" Haxorus roared. His tail glowed as he ran forward. He dodged the Bubblebeam attack. But Azumarill was taken off guard and took the full force of Half Tusk's attack. It flew back and Becky's mother caught it in her arms; it had fainted.

"Good job, Azumarill." she whispered to it, recalling it to it's Pokeball. Then she looked over to Becky. "Great job!"

"Thanks, Mum!" Becky called back, walking over to Half Tusk and patting him on the shoulder. "You were great, too, Half Tusk!" Half Tusk blushed and looked almost embarrassed at the praise.

"Haxaaa..." he said, before Becky recalled it.

"Now here's your next opponent..." Becky's mother said, throwing another Pokeball into the air. "Go, Alomomola!" Becky almost laughed as Alomomola was sent into battle. She wondered how it kept itself balanced on it's fin on land. It seemed to defy the laws of physics.

"Okay, here goes..." Becky muttered. "Go, Nala!" Soon, her Liepard stood ready for battle. Becky knew for a fact that her mother's Alomomola was rather silly looking, but was also a formidable battle oponent. She'd have to be strong...

Raven thought for a moment. She pulled out a pokeball and said, "Seraphiel, return." A red laser beam shone on her Milotic, pulling her back into the pokeball. She turned to Garnet. "You ready, boy?" she asked, eyes full of happiness.

"Arcanine!" Garnet barked before going in front of Raven, where Seraphiel was earlier.

"Garnet, use agility," she said, taking in a deep breath afterwards. She had no clue what Crystal was planning.

Garnet did as he was told, and jumped from side to side until all you could see was a blur. He then stopped. His speed had sharply increased, and he had a greater chance of dodging attacks now.

"Okay, Garnet. You're a good distance away from the holes. Wait until the Raichu pops out. This is like those arcade games. When the Raichu jumps up, use fire fang, okay?"

Garnet nodded, and let out a menacing growl to signal that he was ready.

((Actually Crystal had another plan in mind. :P Nice guess though.))

Wow. She seriously thought Jewel would pop out of the holes like that? That's stupid. It would only make Jewel vulnerable to attacks, and wouldn't do them any good. But since Garnet was far from the holes, their original plan wouldn't work. Crystal thought for a moment, and then thought of another plan. "Jewel, pop out of the hole farthest from her Arcanine."

Even though she didn't know what Crystal was planning, she quickly peeped out from a hole to see where Arcanine was, and then scurried through her tunnel to the hole farthest away from the Arcanine. Then, she stuck her head out, now vulnerable to attacks. Why'd Crystal tell her to do that? She didn't know how this would help them win, but she decided that if Crystal said it, then she must have a good plan.

Soon, Freedom and Sapphire reached the Murkrow and.... a human girl. Both Freedom and Sapphire's eyes widened when they realized that the girl was Colette. Remembering that she was Crystal's friend, or at least it seemed so, they deemed her to be completely harmless and approached both of them.

 "Eon eon eon," Sapphire said to the Murkrow, her voice calm but meaning business. (Translation: I need that egg.)

Arcanine, using his extreme speed, bolted towards the farthest hole from him, where Jewel was peeping out. In a matter of seconds, he was only a few feet from the hole. He jumped into the air, ready to pounce onto the Raichu.

"Garnet, use fire fang!" Raven yelled, her voice completely enthusiastic.

Garnet's mouth caught on fire, and he pounced towards the Raichu, snarling all the way. If things went like Raven had planned, Garnet's fire fang would land a direct hit.

((Pokemon are able to use their abilities in this rp, btw. So Jewel can use her Static to paralyze, Arcanine can use his Flash Fire (assuming that's his ability), and so on.))

Perfect time for her plan. If Jewel can make it back inside the hole in time, she can send a thunderbolt up the hole as Arcanine is above the hole. But judging from the Arcanine's speed, Jewel might not make it in time. "Raichu, pop back under the ground and shoot a thunderbolt up the hole!" Crystal said as the Arcanine headed for Jewel. 

Jewel popped back in the ground as quickly as she could, but although most of her body was inside the hole by the time Arcanine got there, part of her head wasn't. Garnet's fangs chomped onto her head hard, and Jewel's first defense was to use her ability, Static. She let out small shocks of electricity, paralyzing Garnet.

Darn, Jewel got hit. But at least she paralyzed Garnet. And now's a good time to attack. "Jewel, try and use Thunderbolt!"

Jewel, using as much power as she could muster, released powerful charges of electricity, electrocuting Garnet.

((I hope that's not powerplay. ^^; Garnet was touching Jewel, so if she released electricity he wouldn't have been able to dodge it anyways. I can change my post if it's unfair.)) 

Sidney continued to watch helplessly as the battle went down.  He wore a broad grin when the Arcanine landed a flawless Fire Fang on the opposing Pokemon, though this turned to concern when the Raichu had struck back with a Thunderbolt.  And that Static was another issue.  Honey- toned eyes followed the action with desparation, and he couldn't help but think about how his Murkrow was faring.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Dusk nestled in the arms of a kind trainer.  He nodded in delight when she'd used the Max Restore on him, then gesturing in the direction of the beach to indicate where the egg had been found.

His red eyes narrowed as his new enemies approached.  But he had something they didn't now, and that was Colette.  His menacing stare focused on the Espeon, who'd come to claim the egg.  He snarled, sounding a screechy 'Krow', meaning a simple 'No.'

He pivoted around to gaze into the blue eyes of Colette, pleading for her to take his side.  Despite the fact that he'd a more sinister appearance to him, he'd hoped she'd stand up for what he deemed right.  And that was doing whatever it took to please Sid.

((Manaphy is from the...  Fiore region, I think.  So I don't think Sarya would mind ^.^)) 

Garnet landed clumsily on the other side of the hole, about ten feet away. He winced as small bolts of electricity traveled through his fur, making sounds like a bowl of rice crispies. However, in the time that he was above the hole, before he landed, the thunderbolt had hit him head on. In return, his flash fire ability had caused the Raichu to get a nasty burn when he used fire fang.

"Garnet, stay back! Wait for their next move! Try to fight the paralysis!" Raven yelled, clenching her teeth. This was going to be a tough battle for both her and Crystal. But even if Jewel was stronger than Garnet, Raven wasn't going down without a fight.

((Wolfie, Flash Fire doesn't burn the opponent. It raises the user's attack if they get hit by a fire move. But since Fire Fang has a small chance of burning the opponent anyways, it's fine.))

Jewel let out another pained 'Chu' as the burn slowly took away her HP. The burn was painful and would eventually eat away all her HP, but depsite being tired and having a nasty burn, she managed to stay standing. She glanced at Crystal, who seemed like she was thinking of a plan, and then looked at Garnet. He looked like he was in worse shape than Jewel.

Crystal stared at Jewel, and then Garnet, thinking about what to do. Since Garnet was paralyzed Jewel could easily attack him, but Jewel was still tired from blocking off the water, plus she had a burn and had just been hit by Fire Fang. Should she just give Jewel a break and switch into another Pokemon? She looked at Jewel again, and she seemed like she knew what Crystal was thinking, because she let out a 'Chu' that meant, "I can do it." But Crystal knew Jewel wasn't in good shape, because now she was struggling to stand. She better do something before the burn finishes off Jewel.

Crystal looked at Garnet, and then looked at all the holes in the ground. Arcanine was a Fire type, meaning he had a weakness to ground type. If Jewel could pull off one more Dig, this time actually attacking with Dig rather than using it to build tunnels, she might be able to knock Garnet out. Then, she looked at Jewel again. She sure looked beaten up, but she still looked strong enough to attack.

"Jewel, you think you can still battle?" Crystal asked, giving her Raichu a concerned look. Jewel nodded at her even though she wasn't in good shape, and prepared to attack. That Raichu is sure determined. "Okay, Jewel, use Dig on that Arcanine!" If she just said 'Dig', Jewel might think she meant to dig tunnels everywhere. But this time that's not what she meant. She wanted her Raichu to dig and then jump out of the ground under Garnet.

Jewel didn't bother to nod this time. She jumped into one of the tunnels she already made, and continued to dig towards Garnet. Soon she was under the ground that Garnet was laying on, and prepared to pop out.

((Bump.))