THE PLOT

[Alexius Kendall]

Darkness clung to every corner in this place, seeping through every crack in the wall and forming twisted shapes on the ground. No windows where adorned on the great and tall walls, and no lights had been installed. The constant hiss of steam travelling through pipes seemed to usher all around the place, unless it was the murmered signal of an ekans lurking somewhere in the depths of the darkness.

She psuhed the door open with a bang, causing it to clash with one of the steel pipes and to alert whoever owned the gym that she was here. A thin figure bounded in, laughing and clapping her hands as she bounded into the gym hall. Soft light poured out from the door and provided a shaft of light from where she stood.

Looking upwards she spotted the gym leader, flashing him a grin. "Hay! You!" she called up, waving her hands as if he hadn't noticed her yet. "I'm here to get that shiny badge from you mr frog guy." Smiling, she waved a pokeball in the air, before tossing it and letting her Murkrow escape.

The bird fluttered round the gym hall, apparently reveling in the place. He found roost on one of the steel pipes shaded from view. Oh how the Murkrow so loved the darkness, away from the bright and cheery places that invoked fear within his heart. He would go anywhere with Alexius, but out into such a place still invoked him with fear. Here however, he was in his elemenet, a silent predator just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"So you gonna come down here and fight me? I don't have all day you know" she commented, laughing a little and bouncing. It was obvious she was exciteded and a little bit overly confident. What did you expect? It was her first gym battle. After having trained with the Riolu, this would come as easy surely. She just hoped that these creatures where not as nimble as he was.

Even if they where, she would destroy them.

"Ehhh and what type is this gym any way? Dark?" she added, glancing around for any kind of indication.

[Temp. Gym Leader]

Croagunk had just sat down to meditate when a resounding crash from the front of the gym distracted him. Looking up, he saw that the gym doors had flown open and a strangely dressed girl was standing in front making an unbelievable amount of noise. The girl addressed him directly, challenging him to a battle.

"Another for the Venom badge I guess."

He rose to his feet but remained on the podium examining the Murkrow she had just released. It was a dark type as far as he could see. That was fine, but flying types he was less sure about. His concentration was broken once more by the girl's cries and twitches.

"You have no patience do you? Good. I don't see you lasting to long, I accept your challenge. And no, girl, this is the poison gym as the sign outside clearly states."

He gave a -sigh- and stepped down, lifting a few pokéballs as he did so. If all the girl had was a Murkrow, he would win for sure. He cast out a pokéball to release Zubat. Why not fight flying with flying?

[Alexius Kendall]

In the shapeless darkness the murkrow took flight, becoming one with the very inky black as it skimmed through the corridors of dark. The Murkrows shadow became imprinted on the ground for a moment as it circled, it's wings becoming elongated and it's hat seemingly bigger. Within the shadow the Murrkow saw a Honchkrow, the promise of his future self. This only filled his dark heart with new confidence.

"Oh I will take that badge, mr frog thing, and for your information your sign isn't quite clear enough. Not that it matters, whatever type you have I will still pwn you" smiling, she looked up into the soundless darkness, green eyes flicering in search of her Murkrow. Calling out, she cried to the bird, "Pursuit, knock it off guard before it even knows what hit it."

The Murkrow heard the command, so happy she had issued a dark command, and he felt his heart beat with perfection. Speeding up he flew through the pipes, tracking down the Zubat. Pointing his beak forewards he drove himself towards the Zubat, red eyes open to the world and ready for the kill.

[Temp. Gym Leader]

Zubat flapped upwards to face the Murkrow only to find it darting towards him at full speed. Murkrow's beak impacted painfully into Zubat's chest. His wings faltered for a moment before he steadied himself. The zubat rose almost to the ceiling of the gym to get out of Murkrow's reach and hung there in wait of his master's command.

"Zubat, use supersonic. We don't want another hit from the bird."

The zubat swooped down to face the Murkrow once more and screeched sharply, yet silently. Distorted rings flowed from zubats open mouth and drifted towards the Murkrow.

[Alexius Kendall]

Just as the Zubat used Supersonic, Alexius withdrew her Murkrow, apparently wanting to save the dark bird for later and to not be confused. "Hay if you want to play the game that way then I'm not letting you wreck my Murkrow, he's had enough greif" smiling, she withdrew her second pokeball, sending out her Mudkip.

Muddy looked up to the roof where the Zubat was, padding across the ground that still felt wet, and suddenly seemed to come up with a plan. Tiny eyes lit up as he bounded across the slightly wet ground, stopping at one of the pipes where the Mudkip could clearly sense water flowing through. Wagging his tail a little he looked back to his master and barked, though she seemed to take no intrest, and so the Mudkip figured he had to fight for himself again.

Slamming his head against the pipe in a tackle it cracked, and sewage water began to flow out. Muddy water was starting to flow around Muddys ankles and he barked in glee. Alexus however had a slightly different reaction.

"What the hell are you doing Mudkip? That's disgusting" she frowned, running over to the Croagunks pedastool and hopping on it so as not to get wet from the flowing water.

Mudkip however carried on with his plan, lowering his head to the crack in the pipe and taking in some of the polluted water. As his cheeks seemed to swell up a bit, he looked up to the Zubat, and unleashed the torrent of muddied water up into the air.

[Temp. Gym Leader]

With its previous target gone, Zubat turned its supersonic on the newcomer, screaming once more at a frequency beyond hearing. The air seemed to bend in on itself as the unheard sound coarsed towards the Mudkip. Also at that moment, the Mudkip fired a jet of water towards him.

Croagunk raised an eyebrow as the stream of filthy water impacted with Zubat, throwing him against the ceiling. t dropped slowly, its wings dragging, to the ground squeaking pathetically. It sank slowly under the sewage water until Croagunk returned it to the pokéball. Sighing, he lifted a second pokéball up.

"Well that was rather short-lived. Not enough time to enjoy it. Never mind, this should do."

He tossed the pokéball into the lake of sewage. From beneath the surface, the ball burst open and an Ekans emerged. It rose its head high and stared at the mudkip opposite.

"Bite, Ekans."

The snake headed for Mudkip, jaws wide and hissing sinisterly. Its bright white fangs stood out easily in the makeshift swamp, their length and sharpness thrown into prominence by the surrounding dark.

[Alexius Kendall]

Mudkip was hit full on by the supersonic, and he started runnning around in circles, huge eyes growing smaller and bigger every couple of seconds. Doing a sudden back flip Alexius looked on with a look of sheer "wtf?". "Uhh... What does super sonic do?" she asked as the Mudkip tried to tackle himself and started growling angrily as it's tail kept running away from itself.

Mudkip then rolled on it's back, performing a barrel roll before leaping up and looking towards the strange snake creature as it bit the mudkip right in the soft parts of it's belly. Screaming in sudden pain the mudkip's tiny legs flailed as it cried out to it's master to save him, who only stood on the sidelines with her hands pressed to her mouth as she looked like she was going to cry.

Then as the Ekans withdrew itself from the bite, she suddenly saw exactly what it was. grinning she suddenly started leaping up and down and pointing at it where as he mudkip whined in pain. "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" she screamed, her hand now waving at the ekans in sheer excitement.

Mudkip however, strugled to stand, a new anger glowing within one of his eyes where as the other still grew bigger and smaller. "Kipp!! the mudkip cried before diving the water that was now flowing out, kicking back at some of the sewage to perform a mudslap towards the ekans, hoping to blind it and then hit it with a real water gun.

[Temp. Gym Leader]

The waves of sound resonated inside the mudkip's head plunging it into a state of utter confusion. As it began running around erratically, Croagunk turned his attention to the ekans advanciing on the helpless creature.

It sprang from its attack position, sinking its fangs deep into the mudkip. Croagunk turned, grinning deviantly to Alexius. He was expecting her to mourn her mudkip's suffering, but she seemed exited, and not because of the thrill of the fight. It seemed she had taken an interest in his ekans.

"All my pokemon were caught near this town. I have trained them since however."

The mudkip flailed in the sewage sending a wave of murk towards ekans. The attack left little impact on the ekans, but its glowing eyes had been completely obscured by muck. Rearing back in frustration, he succeeded in shaking most of the dirt off. Still half-blinded, it lunged once again at mudkip, or at least, where it thought he was.

[Alexius Kendall]

"SO LIKE THE FOREST THEN? OH FUCK YEAH BITCH I'M GETTING A SNAKE THING AFTER I GEt MY FUCKING BADGE" Laughing she randomly jumped in the air, highfiving some unknown person before calming herself and turning back to the battle.

She watched as the ekans lunged forewards, slamming his head against a pipe and breaking it wide open. As the steam poured out, the ekeans was instanrtly launched back, but at the same time the water began to bubble viciously. Muddy felt the water heat up, until suddenly he was scourching, struggling to get out of the burning warter. Crying to Alexius he begged to be returned, salty tears coming out of hs eyes as he blindly tried to find a way out. Yet the confusion had set in and insdtead of crawling up one of the pipes he dived downwards, feeling his body going limp as he passed out.

His essence was absorbed and Alexius gently kissed the ball, putting it back onot her belt and then going back to her only other pokemon, chewing her lips, she tossed it out, releasing the bird into the air. Soaring ever higher he spun in the air, looking downwards at the boilding water. "Don't go in there Murkrow, it's hot and if you go in it someone might try and eat you" she winked towards the bird, before gnawing on her own arm suggestivly.

The Murkrow seemed to get the gist, flying upwards to the top of the gym, scouting for the pokemon before diving down effortlessly with a pursuit, wings ucked in tight to his body as he fell from the heavens.

[Temp. Gym Leader]

The ekans crashed into a pipe causing steam to spray viciously into the water below, boiling it within minutes. He smiled at the mudkip, writhing in the boiling water, before Alexius withdrew it. The ekans was hysterical, shaking madly. As entertaining as this was, it wouldn't help him win the battle, he would withdraw it to let it calm down for a while.

He lifted the pokeball just as Alexius opened her next. The murkrow that emerged wasted no time in speeding after the ekans. He struck the ekans hard from behind, catapulting it across the ground. Croagunk lifted his head to look at the girl, shocked at first but then slowly grinning.

"You are cruel, girl." His grin widened. "Very cruel."

He held up his third pokeball and released the skorupi onto a rack of pipes near the edge of the battlefield.


"Be careful." He said gleefully to the skorupi, which looked terrified.
"The water is a little warm."

[Alexius Kendall]

Lifting her hands above her shoulders and swaying, she stretched and added, "Cruel? Oh dear, mr Coragunk, you haven't seen anything yet" winking, she turned back to the battle. Seeing the Skorupi she stiffled a laugh, bug? God damn how crap could you get. Bug pokemon where just the worst, and best of all, they where weak to flying. Clicking her fingers she spun on the spot, she looked up at her Murkrow.

"Go find it wherever it's hiding and peck it's brains out, Murkrwow" grinning, she jumped up and down watching the Murkrow glide into the skies to search for the Skorupi. He had already grown two levels after finishing off the ekans, which filled him with new energy and raw power. He knew what would come with one more level, which would help severly with this gym. Haze. If anything was the poison him before he finished them off, he could clear the effect away. Smirking with this potentialy devestating new power, he became only more determined to hunt down and kill this creature.

He spotted it crawling up the pipe, and chose not to burst or event attempt to enter the pipe, sensing it could be ever so dangerous. Instead he simply landed on the roof of the gym, looking down angrily towards the pipe, awaiting the Skorupi to appear so that he could slaughter it.