Trek Through Union Cave::A Secret for Rei

Max realized he's made a mistake and gave up the sack sheepishly but when the girl began walking off Max knew he had to stop her. There was no way she would last long with poachers everywhere.

'So what's your master plan?' Max said pulling her back. 'Walk up and ask sweetly if they could let all the pokemon go? It's not gonna be that easy these guys are pros' Max said. He hoped she'd listen to reason. Or maybe she'd just be stubborn an continue by herself.

'You need help and so do I' Max explained. 'If tackle these guys together we might have a better chance of freeing these pokemon.'

Rei halted, a sudden chill in the air growing. She turned around, her red eyes seeming to burn a hole in Max as she glared at him. Her hair stood up at the ends, freezing over as did her skin. "Do I look like the kind of person to ask someone sweetly?" she growled out in a low voice, keeping the volume down to avoid attracting attention. The water in the air around her began to condense, and snow even began to appear around her.

"Now you listen to me," she started again, a smirk seeming to form on the face of her Sneasel. He knew both sides of Rei, and loved her for them. "I don't need you or anyone else. I could take these suckers down with my own bare hands if I wanted to," she said, raising her haind again as ice crystals formed over it. "I'll say this once more; Stay out of my way."

She turned, facing deep within the cave once more. Sneasel hopped over to join at her side as she took another step. "What you do is your business, but stay out of my way as your well being is not my concern," she said sternly, "My concern is that of the Pokemon being held against their will in those cages. That is all." Sneasel seemed to stick his tongue out at Max before turning and walking with Rei again. Though she sounded cold and harsh, her tender side could be heard not in her tone of voice, but the words themselves.

Max couldn't believe what he just saw. This girl was out of this world. She made ice sprout out of her hand. Max just stood there as she brushed him off with a stunned look on his face. She had shunned him. Max felt worthless and contemplated just leaving. But the moans of the pokemon kept him from leaving. He couldn't just leave them, especially if his Growlithe was in there.

Max thought about continuing through the cave but his brain sparked an idea. If he could steal one of the poachers uniforms, getting through this cave would be a breeze. All he'd have to do is grab a lone poacher, knock him out and he'd be on his way to saving the pokemon. Max hid behind a dark corner waiting for someone to walk by. He quickly looked back at the strange girl as she did her own thing. Max wondered how she would go in saving the pokemon.

Jennifer's body ached all over. From the top of her head to the soles of her feet, her muscles screamed for rest as she moved cautiously through the darkness of the cave. Her head was throbbing the most, though, and it made her wish for a nice, warm bed to curl up in and take a long nap. But there was no place to rest in a wet and musty cavern such as this.

Stupid. I was so stupid! If I had been more careful of my footing, I wouldn't have fallen down here in the first place! She mentally kicked herself for her carelessness.

It had never been her intention to travel so far into Union Cave in the first place. The only reason she found herself in such a location now was all thanks to her Eevee, Paprika. Not that Jenny blamed her Pokemon for her situation-- The Eevee was only curious, of course. Paprika had smelled or heard something from within the cave that caught her attention, and she was bound and determined to find out what it was. Unfortunately, her curiosity caused her to bolt from her Trainer's side, running into the cave with hardly a second thought. Jenny was quick to follow, but in her chase she had slipped and fell through to a deeper level of the cavern.

Now her body was aching and she was horribly lost... she didn't know which was worse.

"Eevee..." Rika squeaked worriedly, gazing up at her Trainer in concern.

Jenny put on a small smile. "I'm fine, Rika. Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find our way out of here soon..." She trailed off, growing quiet as she listened carefully. Was she hearing things..? It sounded like there were vehicles in the cave... big ones. Trucks.

The Eevee's ears perked up as that same curious spark from earlier filled its eyes. Again, she took off running, causing her Trainer to dash after her, frantically calling out the Pokemon's name.

Paprika didn't stop until she ran head-first into someone's feet. After shaking off the impact, the Eevee found herself staring up at an unfamiliar Trainer with pure white hair.

Rei had finally been getting on her way, away from the irritatin boy. However, she soon heard the light padding of feet, a few pairs of them at that. Thinking that it must be Max again, Rei halted in her tracks, a snarl crossing her face a bit. She hadn't had the chance to go much further, and he was already back for more? The boy didn't know when to quit, or at least that's what she thought as she spun around to confront him.

"I thought I told you I-" Rei started, halting mid-sentence as the small Pokémon ran into her leg. Her facial expression quickly softened from the snarl it had been a moment prior. She was silent for a moment as she looked down to the creature, looking back up at her. Sneasel had walked in a few steps, only to turn and see the mysterious Eevee at his partner's feet. He quickly hopped back to her side, examining the Eevee as well.

Rei knelt beside Rika, holding out her hand. "Don't worry, I wont hurt you," she said softly, though still lacking the sweet tone that many females had. Still, it was clear she was sincere with her words. "Are you also a victim of these Poachers?" she asked, before hearing its trainer's footsteps from the direction the Eevee had appeared. However, unable to see who it was, Rei slunk back to hide in the shadows, clinging to Dratini as Sneasel followed suit. She beckoned for the Eevee to follow, in case there were more Poachers on their way into the cave.

Dratini had disliked the prior arguments between Rei and Max and as it seriously had a disliking for confrontation it unfortunately began crying loudly. A couple of poachers from nearby heard the noise and began searching around having a hard time finding the group but following the noise which was growing louder each second.

Max heard the poachers coming from a distance he knew that he couldn't take them out together so he let the two walk by. But as luck would have it one more was trailing behind them. Max readied himself to give this guy what he deserved. But as the guy drew closer Max worried about certain things.

''What if this guy has a taser? What If I don't knock him out first strike? What if he has some ultra powerful pokemon on his side?'' Max thought. He was racking his brain full of possibilities and almost forgot how close the poacher was. This made Max have to make a split second decision.

As the guard drew close to the corner, the last thing he expected was a solid fist connecting to the side of his head. He was out like a light the second Max hit him giving Max a bit of a buzz. But he had to focus. He threw all of his clothes in his pack and replaced them with guards clothes who he had stripped down. They were a little big but not enough for anyone to notice. Max finished the job up by tying the poacher up with his own whip and gagging him with his own socks.

Max chuckled to himself as he looked at the end result. A grown man with a sweat sock shoved in his mouth and unable to move. He was still unconscious but when he comes to he's gonna get the surprise of his life. Max dragged him behind a boulder. Out of sight, out of mind.

Max decided to go back the way the guards came to see what he would discover. It was better than going back after that white haired girl again. She was no help to him. As Max walked deeper into the cave, he wondered what lies ahead...

Little Paprika wasn't sure what to think. The white-haired girl seemed friendly enough, but she was... different from Jenny. This piqued the Eevee's interest, and she gave a friendly tilt of her head and flicked her ears as if to show herself harmless.

But when the other Trainer backed into the shadows, Rika curiously took a few steps to follow until Jennifer had caught up.

"Rika, what... are you doing?" Jenny panted, trying to catch her breath after the chase.

Paprika whimpered apologetically, but her attention was stolen from her Trainer as the cries of another Pokemon filled the cavern. The sound frightened the Eevee, causing her to leap about frantically, almost hoping it would make the Dratini stop crying somehow.

Jennifer was a bit startled by the sudden cries as well, but there was a more pressing matter that came to her attention...

Someone was coming. Coming fast. Friend or foe, Jennifer hadn't the slightest clue. But yet, whether it was the suspicious atmosphere or the crying of the Dratini, something told her she needed to hide.

Her first reaction was to scoop up Paprika into her arms, then she quickly backed into the shadows in hopes that she wouldn't be seen. She didn't want to get into any trouble, after all.

Rei flinched as Dratini's cries echoed throughout the cave. "Shh, hush now Dratini, please," she pleaded gently, trying to calm the young beast. "Please Dratini, for all our sakes...if we get caught we'll never find your family," she said, holding the Dratini close to her. "See it's okay Dratini? He's gone, no more fighting, see?" she cooed gently to it as sweetly as she could possibly make her voice.

Sneasel kept a watchful eye, watching as the Eevee began to approach before another trainer coming up. He was ready to leap into action, when he realized that it was indeed the Eevee's trainer, and not a poacher. He lowered his claws, but he didn't have much time to rest as his attention was drawn down the cave well. He heard footsteps, heavy and in a group. "Sneasel," he said sharply, yet quietly enough to not send it echoing throughout the halls. Rei nodded, ducking back further behind a large stalactite as she pulled the hood over her head. She knew her white hair stood out, but hoped that the combination of the hood and darkness would make up for it.

Rei then turned her attention to the new girl, who had followed suit in ducking into the shadows. She was only a few feet away, and Rei was trying desperately to shush the Dratini. She hoped that it would calm down, and that they would be passed by, unnoticed. However, both she and Sneasel were prepared for a fight should it come to that.

Suddenly, a Houndoom's head stuck around the corner sniffing the air it clearly being deaf before turning and running away with speed. Dratini had stopped crying in shock and fear of their almost certain discovery it just looked round to Rei before resting it's head on her shoulder calmly and gently.

Max had lucked out. Scoring a pair of keys from the guard he'd knocked out and his uniform. He may have everything he needed to free the pokemon but he had no idea where they were. Going back the way he came was pointless as there was nothing to be found. He was walking back in the direction where he had met the white haired girl earlier. Max hoped she wasn't still there, he didn't fancy dealing with a girl who could freeze you to death.

As he walked back he noticed the two poachers that passed him earlier where snooping around with a houndoom. Max was lucky enough to sneak past them while they were distracted and he continued on. As Max walked deeper into the cave he heard a small cry. It wasn't loud but it was clearly from a pokemon. Max heard a few shhhh's before he stuck his head round the corner. And surprisingly he saw her yet again. The white haired girl with the Sneasel and Dratini. Only now she had an accomplice. Max was suspicious to this as she didn't want his help but the help of someone different. Max could only assume she had lied to him and was actually up to no good with this Dratini.

Max didn't know what to do. He didn't really want to start a ruckus and cause the other poachers to hear him. But he didn't want the Dratini to stay with her. The two girls had yet to see him and he felt he could quite easily snatch the Dratini and set it free without much hassle. But Max knew better than to mess with this girl. She'd already displayed her powers to Max so he decided it was best to ask questions first.

'And what are you doing now?' Max asked in a loud whisper. 'I don't think hiding out will get those pokemon saved. Unless that's not what you want to do?'

Upon hearing another voice, Jennifer jumped back a little, surprised to see another Trainer hidden in the dark shadows. Now she understood why her Eevee had taken such interest in the darkness.

The strange Trainer, however, wasn't nearly as frightening as the large Pokemon that suddenly poked its head around the corner. Jenny covered Paprika's muzzle to keep the Eevee from letting out a yipe as she held her own breath, closing her eyes and wishing to be out of this cavern. Thankfully, the Houndoom didn't seem to take notice of any of them, and it soon left the area.

The surprises weren't over yet, though. It was hardly thirty seconds after the Dark Pokemon had left before another stranger approached. The tall young man didn't look much like a Trainer... not with that strange uniform he was wearing. Jenny could've sworn she'd seen it somewhere before, but she wasn't entirely sure. It certainly was strange for a boy to be wearing an outfit like that in a place like this.

Suddenly, her mind clicked. The crying little Dratini, the strange sound of trucks roaring throughout the cave, the boy in the uniform...

"Poachers!" she squealed in a hoarse whisper.

Paprika wasn't sure what a "poacher" was, but it was obviously something to be scared of. She put her ears back and let out a low growl, directed towards Max. Rika was already fairly certain that the white-haired girl meant them no harm, but this boy in the uniform looked fishy.

'Calm down' Max said reassuringly. 'I'm no poacher. I'm here to look for my Growlithe and set the pokemon free. I'm just undercover.'

Max saw the familiar shape of an Eevee in the shadows. It was trying to growl but had its' mouth forced shut by its' trainer. Max shot daggers and the white haired girl who'd rejected his offer to help earlier and decided to give her a piece of his mind.

'Looks like you're going well.' Max said sarcastically. 'You won't last five minutes in here with poachers round every corner. I'm going to the main holding area that I heard two guards discuss earlier. Anyone with a brain is welcome to join.'

Dratini said something to Sneasel before laughing and smiling. Dratini just wrapped it's body around Rei's neck as it would be an easier way for her to carry him relaxing there calmly.

("Max...please keep to an order, you didn't give my character a chance to respond before you posted again. Let's try to stick to Mark>Me>Silver>Max from now on, ok? [outside of battles and such, of course.])

Rei's red eyes flashed a bit from the reflection of the dim light in the area. She watched silently as the large beast stuck its nose around the corner, sniffing about blindly. She held the Dratini close, Sneasel also staying close as she lightly breathed to avoid detection. Once it was gone around the corner again, she changed her glare to Max once more. She snarled, showing her own canines a bit as though she were an animal herself. Sneasel readied himself should something arise.

Her first instinct was to simply shift her weight, swinging it all into a well-thrown punch to his jaw. However, she now knew the Dratini wasn't well prepared for confrontations so she resisted for its sake. Instead, she stood, brushing the dirt from her knees as the Dratini curled around her neck. Sneasel snickered with the Dratini a bit, watching his trainer have the utmost control though he knew her heart was racing wanting to knock the boy down.

"You best watch your mouth, boy. I told you, I do things my way. You're lucky I didn't freeze you over first thing when I saw that uniform," she said, huffing slightly before turning her attention to the girl and Eevee. "As for you...what are you doing down here?" she asked, trying to avoid conflicts only for the Dratini's sake. Normally, she would probably have tried to scare the girl off, but under circumstances it wouldn't be wise.

"You know what? I actually don't care," she said, turning down the hall. She and Sneasel began to walk down it, Rei's arm jutting out aiming to shove Max out of her way as she passed him. "I'm gonna do what I came here to do," she said, walking quietly down the dark hall. She had to find where the Poachers were keeping the Pokemon, so she kept looking onward, whether the other two would follow suit or not.

(This is just her personality, guys. She's just...not friendly toward people XD )

If Jenny was confused before, her head was absolutely spinning now. Her relief to know that this boy wasn't a poacher was short-lived as a confrontation arose between him and the white-haired girl. Apparently they'd met before, and weren't too pleased to see each other again.

She was in a real mess now. "Poachers around every corner," the boy had said. Yes, it certainly was a mess. But what could she possibly do about it? She'd only wanted to find her way out of this cave...

But the boy had also mentioned something about setting the Pokemon free. Indeed, there was no telling what those awful poachers would do to all of the Pokemon they had caught. The thought sent shivers up and down Jennifer's spine.

The air seemed to grow even colder when Rei turned her gaze to the younger Trainer. Jenny could've sworn she saw ice in those cold eyes, and she felt ashamed for staring so impolitely. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when the girl turned and began walking off.

Paprika, on the other hand, seemed a bit disheartened at Rei's departure. The Eevee leaped from its master's arms and began bouncing after her, careful to keep a safe distance but close enough to not lose sight.

Jennifer was taken aback by Rika's desire to follow this stranger. This girl seemed so cold and reclusive! What did the Eevee see in her?

"Rika..?" Jenny bent down a little to call the Pokemon back to her.

But Rika had no intention of walking away from the situation now. She paused and looked back at her Trainer, giving a few determined yips as if to call Jenny forward.

A heavy sigh escaped the Trainer as she hesitantly began following after Rei.

"It seems Paprika's taken a liking to you... You guys are here to help free the Pokemon, aren't you?" She kept her voice quiet, though just bright enough in hopes of making light conversation. Maybe this seemingly cold-hearted girl wasn't so bad after all..?

(sorry you mentioned in chat the other day that I should post and I wasn't sure when you meant.)

As the two girls walked off, Max realized he didn't need them anyway. He should have just carried on and not cared what happened to them. He had strong pokemon, keys, a guards uniform and a rough idea of his surroundings. He was gonna free those pokemon with or without them.

Max carried on the way he was originally walking. He wondered if this was the way to where the pokemon were kept, or just another guard area. It didn't matter if it was or wasn't because he wouldn't be caught anyway. But if it was the wrong the way those girls had clearly gone the right way, meaning they would get to the pokemon first. Max didn't mind too much who released the pokemon as long as they were released. But he wanted to check if his Growlithe was among them first.

As Max lost himself in a trail of thought he realized he was coming up on a big metal door which had no place in a cave unless something dodgy was behind it. Max realized this could be it, where the pokemon were! He grabbed the handle and gave it an almighty tug opening the door. He stepped inside and the room revealed itself...

Dratini started acting strangely slithering down from round Rei's neck and along the corridor eventually reaching another strange door Dratini having it's nose twitch. Dratini backed up and looked to the door once more this time using a rather surprising but noisy DragonBreath attack (Egg Move) which caused the door to break open the smoke from the burning door fading and drifting out as the corridor filled with the cries of pokemon.

(If you wish Max we can say there were multiple rooms with pokemon in seen as they are hunters they will have loads of pokemon)

Rei glanced down behind her, seeing the small Eevee following her steadily. She was a bit shocked that the Pokemon didn't yield when its trainer called to it, and was even more surprised when the girl decided to follow and speak instead. Rei was used to her cold demeanor scaring people off easily, and not used to them so readily following a Pokemon's instinct instead. She simply stared at the girl as she continued walking on a few steps, Sneasel guiding her until she silently turned forward again.

"So, her name is Paprika. Interesting name," Rei said quietly as she walked on down the hall. It was quite a few more awkwardly silent moments before she continued on with the 'conversation'. "Yes, I'm here to set the Pokemon free. That other boy was merely here to find his Growlithe, who might not even be in here at all. His plan wasn't to set them free until I said it was mine," Rei said, before growing silent again.

It wasn't long until they came up to the large steel door, Rei halting a few feet before it and staring up. Hmm, now how are we going to get through...I could- she began mentally planning, when Dratini crawled off of her and a loud crackling was heard. Rei looked down just in time to see a fiery blast of DragonBreath, the explosion causing Rei to take a step back and partially cover her eyes with her forearm.

"I suppose that works too," Rei said, as she followed Dratini into the room. It was horrific the site she saw as the smoke cleared, hundreds of Pokemon trapped in cages barely large enough to contain them. Held against their will for the profit of greedy humans. It really wasn't a wonder why Rei had such distaste for human contact, after seeing the cruel things they could do. "We need to get to work quickly," Rei said, glancing around for any Poachers who might have heard the explosion.

She turned to Jenny and Paprika, "You obviously didn't come here for this. I suggest you leave now, or prepare to fight. I'm sure there are some poachers nearby, so we need to move quickly to release the Pokemon." Rei turned back to the room, her and Sneasel running into it. "Dratini, find your family. Sneasel, use Ice Beam on the bars, then use Crush Claw to shatter them!" Rei ordered. Sneasel quickly complied, rushing over to a nearby cage and carefully freezing the bars before rearing his claws back to swipe with a powerful blow to them in attempt to break the weakened steel. Rei began rushing around, freezing the locks as she picked up a trash can and attempted to break the locks off with it.

Jennifer kept silent after Rei finished explaining herself. It seemed this girl really did have a good heart... somewhere in there. Either way, Paprika didn't have any problems with Rei, so Jenny would hold her tongue and her judgment for the time being. She trusted her Eevee to know a nice person when she met one.

When the Dratini slipped down off Rei's shoulders and proceeded to unleash a massive Dragonbreath attack, Jenny was caught off guard. She slapped her hands over her mouth to keep from shouting in surprise, and was quite relieved when the Dragon type closed its mouth, seeing that it had finished its job.

But Jenny didn't have a chance to slow her fast-beating heart before another unpleasant surprise nearly knocked her off her feet.

Cages everywhere you turned, each with a Pokemon trapped inside. Stacked up one after the other, displaying the creatures within like perfect black-market merchandise. The sight alone made Jenny sick to her stomach.

"You obviously didn't come here for this. I suggest you leave now, or prepare to fight. I'm sure there are some poachers nearby, so we need to move quickly to release the Pokemon." Rei spoke, snapping Jennifer out of her thoughts.

It seemed a battle was close at hand for those who tried to be heroes. Jenny didn't like the sound of that at all... What could she possibly do if those horrible poachers showed up? She cast a weary glance down at Paprika, who let out a high whimper in return. It wasn't like she or the little Eevee would be able to do much in a fight. But looking upon the other Pokemon, held in their small personal prisons, waiting to be shipped off or taken away to have who-knows-what done to them...

Jennifer wouldn't stand for it. She couldn't if she wanted to.

With a deep breath she turned to Paprika, then nodded. "We're not going anywhere. Not until these Pokemon are free." she said in as firm a tone as she could manage, despite her growing fear. She did her best to focus on the task at hand, picking up a steel bar, which she didn't wish to think about what it was used for in such a place, and began trying to pry the locks from the cages.

The dark room had not what Max had been hoping for. It was storage room was Max's first guess. He was disappointed to say the least. He had gone the wrong way and it was annoying to think that girl had been right all along. She didn't need his help at all. Max wondered if his Growlithe was with the pokemon they found. It was a longshot that he'd be here anyway but it was the first glimmer of hope Max had had about finding his Growlithe in months. Max decided before he left he may as well have a look around, see if there was anything interesting. Max opened one of the many boxes and inspected the contents.

Growth Hormones - Made in Sinnoh the label read. There were boxes full of the stuff. Max wondered why there were dozens of boxes of Growth hormones in a poachers hideout....... Then it hit Max. It was so obvious. They were gonna use them on the pokemon to make them evolve! It was disgusting. To interfere with nature in such a way. Max imagined all of the pokemon who were going to have to suffer through this monstrosity of an experiment. Max realized that all of the boxes with the same label were unopened. They clearly hadn't started injecting the pokemon yet and just like that, Max's brain sparked an idea.

'Alright Heracross give me a hand!' Max said releasing the pokeball. Heracross came out in his usual energetic way. Max handed Heracross a box full of the hormones. 'Alright Heracross lets get to work' Max and Heracross worked quickly, destroying every last bottle filled with the hormones. Max was pleased with the result and it was sure to give those poachers a nasty surprise when they come back in. As Max dusted off his hands and got ready to leave he heard a voice blare out of the radio clipped the collar of the poachers shirt.

"There has been a break in at the main holding cells, all available units head down there and take care of it " The voice said. Max realized it was the two girls. Max's first instinct was to help them. But he knew that girl had made it explicitly clear that she wanted no help from him. But if they were in trouble they could use their help. But if they don't he might just be shunned again. There was no point in weighing up the options all day he had to go down there. Max opened the door and closed it after himself before breaking into a run.

Dratini headed through the room looking to each cage hoping to see his family breaking each cage open with a mini DragonBreath in the locks breaking each out at the same speed as Sneasel eventually he reached the biggest cage at the back with a Dragonite and some Dragonair in he backed up firing a Dragon Breath at the lock full power it breaking open as smoke filled the room it cleared the Dratini evolution line moving through the room where they stood at the large doorway exiting and standing again looking down the corridor to all the guards who were coming Dragonite and two Dragonair, then Dratini and 3 Dragonair. All of them then launched a DragonBreath attack in perfect sync heading to the Poachers with power and speed.

Rei continued along, freezing and smashing locks. She glanced back at the girl once, and saw that she chose to stay. It was brave, as the girl was clearly not powerful, but that only made the act a bit more courageous. However, Rei merely turned back to what she was doing, slamming down the metal bin onto another frozen lock with a loud crash. She continued doing this, the number of cages slowly dwindling until she heard a loud crackle followed by a small explosion.

Rei placed her hands over her ears, which were now ringing from the contained blast. Still, she finished opening the cage she was at, fightin to put her hands back down to complete the job. She looked over, watching the Pokémon slowly parade out the door when she heard feet pounding the ground in their direction. She turned, takin an offensive stance, as did Sneasel. Yet, she was even more surprised to see the Pokémon fight back, launching attacks at the poachers. Suddenly Rei's mind merely went to the boy who's taken a Poacher suit. What if he was getting caught in this cross fire? She grit her teeth, snarling a bit. As annoying as he was, she couldn't let that happen.

She rushed forward, finding Dratini once more. She kneeled beside it, touching it to gain the attention for the moment. "Dratini, there is an innocent out there. We need to protect that boy. I trust you, cover me," she said before standin and looking into the chaos. She felt like she was at the eye of the storm in that moment alone, when Sneasel joined at her side. The two quickly ran into the battle, throwin punches and searching to protect Max.

A lot seemed to happen all at once. The sound of locks and cages being busted open, Pokemon crying out as they were freed, and the explosive attacks performed by the Dragon types as they charged on towards the approaching poachers.

Jenny inched back from the oncoming enemies, wielding the iron bar for defense. She was not looking forward to facing such despicable people as this. She blinked and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Rei rushing into the battlefield, right into the chaos.

The first thought to cross Jenny's mind was that this white-haired girl was absolutely insane. But surely there had to be some reason she was heading into that mess...

When Jenny caught a glimpse of the poachers as they ducked and fled from the attacking Pokemon, it finally dawned on her. There was a boy wearing one of those uniforms, and he wasn't one of them. He was here to help the Pokemon, just like she and Rei were. Jennifer certainly hoped he wasn't in that mess, but that was probably why Rei headed out there in the first place... though, from what Jenny could gather, the other two Trainers didn't like each other much.

No matter. Either way, it was probably best for the three of them to stay together as much as possible during this fight. Besides, Jenny didn't want to be left alone at a time like this. But what could she do to help?

Her attention was turned towards her own Pokemon, who was whimpering and jumping around in small circles nervously. Though the Eevee was little, maybe... just maybe she could be of some help.

"Rika," Jenny said, kneeling down next to the Eevee. "I need you to go help the nice girl find that boy in the uniform. Remember him? Dressed like a poacher, but he's here to help us. We need to find him, understand?"

Paprika let out a few excited yips in return, dancing about a little before dashing off to follow after Rei.

"Just please, be careful." Jenny crossed her fingers. She knew Rika wasn't very strong, but she always trusted the Eevee to know a nice person when she met one.

After hearing the explosion Max had decided it was best to stay back unless he was needed. The Dragonairs seemed to have the oncoming poachers under wraps and they had the girl and her Sneasel for back up. While it wasn't the bravest thing in the world it was much better than him or his pokemon getting hurt in the crossfire. Max crouched low and watched the scene unravel infront of him.

It seemed as if the poachers weren't going to win this one as more pokemon were set free while more poachers were defeated. And the pokemon who were set free seemed pretty eager to get some payback on the poachers so it wasn't the best day to be a poacher. As he thought this Max realized he was a poacher, or at least dressed like one. He decided he better be safe than sorry and started to change into his regular clothes.

While he pulled his shirt over his head he noticed a small Eevee running towards him. She didn't seem interested in the poachers just him. Max remembered that new girl from earlier had an Eevee and it was most likely hers. But why it was running towards him Max didn't have any idea.

Max didn't want the little Eevee to get hurt and he knew how fragile Eevees' can be as he had one himself. He ran towards it quickly and scooped it up in his arms and kept going back towards where the cages were. The white haired girl had gone into the battle between the poachers and he pokemon, but the other girl remained at the cages with an iron bar in hand.

'This little guy yours?' Max asked. 'Didn't seem right to leave it in the middle of that mess'