Story

This is the summary of everything that has happened in the RP. The extra chapters can be found on Side B.

Section names link to the post that started them.

## Chapter 1

### **Day 8**

*Awakening - The Village of Illusions - Now... let the game begin*

Rhapsody and Pooch were heading to Kusba through the forest. Rennaj spotted them in his Lucario form, and decided to follow. When Pooch caught his scent, Rennaj used Close Combat to knock her out and run away. Z023 arrived at the scene then, and Rhapsody threatened them, thinking the Lucario was theirs, which made Z023 shift into a Porygon-Z. Recognizing the transformation, Rhapsody asked them about the rules, which Z023 confirmed they knew. After returning Pooch to her Poké Ball, the two shifters agreed to travel together and introduced themselves as they headed to Kusba, with Rhapsody giving Z023 their nickname, Z.

Meanwhile, as he was running away, Rennaj encountered Sarah and pretended to be a normal Lucario. An Umbreon carrying a package arrived, followed closely by a Rufflet. Rennaj stole the package, shifting to his human form due to the time limit (surprising the two Pokémon), and Sarah attacked him with a Shadow Ball to try to make him return it. Rennaj brushed it off and opened the package, revealing a Poké Puff; annoyed that it wasn't something valuable, he threw it back to Umbreon. A Buneary arrived then, kicking the Rufflet down from the sky and shortly followed by two Helix grunts, Leslar and Vaila. Vaila said they had seen a small girl buying the pastry and that she had left her wallet behind, so when they saw Umbreon, they went after her thinking she was the girl's Pokémon. Rennaj and Sarah started asking questions, but as Vaila had to check something on a device on her wrist, the less experienced Leslar was the one who answered, making it obvious that they were hiding parts of their story. Vaila mentioned something had come up and they should leave, but when she said they were from Team Helix, Rennaj grabbed Leslar by the shirt, demanding to know where the 'research' was, and Sarah let out Teccy. Umbreon asked Sarah to leave and she did, following her away from the confrontation. After terrifying Leslar for a while, and not getting any new information about the research besides 'Google it', Rennaj left.

Elizabeth woke up behind the Pokémon Center and fainted. Lambert, who had been working inside, went out and found her. As he was helping her, Elizabeth made a mention to the rules. Hygre approached them to ask if they were fine, and the three entered the Pokémon Center. Hygre told them she was looking for her Zorua, who had been missing since that morning, and left after Lambert and Elizabeth said they hadn't seen him. Elizabeth started shifting, and Lambert quickly took her to a room in the back of the Pokémon Center along with some food. Elizabeth managed to maintain her human form, but shifted to a Glaceon once they were inside the room. As they were gone, Kage entered the Center, worried about his Gastly, Shima. Lambert decided to see what was going on and Elizabeth, panicking when left alone, accidentally used Icy Wind and froze the room.

Gaes woke up close to the village and made her way to Kusba, where she bumped into Rhapsody and Z and agreed to walk to the Center with them. Kage went outside then; Shima initiated a confrontation with Rhapsody, but it was resolved as Kage apologized. They all went inside the Center, Z making weird jerky movements. Lambert left back to the room, noticing it's current frozen state and covering Elizabeth in a blanket, making her shift into a human again. Gaes checked the map and found she couldn't read, but controlled herself and asked the nurse where could she stay. She was directed to the room where Lambert and Elizabeth were in. Kage followed Gaes, arriving right after her as Lambert and Elizabeth were still trying to explain why was everything covered in ice. And after Pooch was healed, Rhapsody and Z exited the Center.

The shifters in the frozen room introduced themselves and started talking. Elizabeth mentioned she didn't remember anything, making Gaes and Kage suspicious. Realizing this, she quickly directed their attention to Rennaj, who's voice could be heard in the main entrance. Lambert went out to make sure Rennaj didn't start a fight, with Gaes following soon after. Rennaj seemed violent, so Elizabeth returned to the room, where Kage still was. Rennaj asked about Google, so Lambert turned on the PC. When Rennaj asked about Helix, Gaes went to the bathroom to collect her thoughts, accidentally shifting into a Mawile. Lambert found Team Helix's website, which unluckily contained no useful information. After a few more unfruitful searches, he turned off the PC.

Umbreon led Sarah to the Pokémon Gym, where she revealed she was in fact a male Zorua. Zorua thanked Sarah for the help, and gifted her some berries. He was amazed that Sarah could turn into a Pokémon, but as they were talking, he remembered he had forgotten Hygre's wallet at the bakery. Sarah returned Teccy, offered to go with him and shifted to an Absol, much to Zorua's delight. Zorua led her to the center of the village, pausing in front of the Pokémon Center when he saw people inside.

Kage asked Elizabeth about the shifting. Elizabeth got scared and used Blizzard, which didn't do much since she was still in her human form. Panicking, she ran away and almost tripped over Sarah. Gaes exited the bathroom and, finding the entrance blocked, hid behind the Poké Mart's counter to eavesdrop. Lambert thought Sarah was a wild Absol and thought she was foretelling a disaster, which made Zorua get protective over his new friend. They both told the group that Rennaj had stolen Zorua's package, as Kage went to the entrance to ask Lambert what was going on. A pair of Abras teleported some boxes to the Center, which Lambert helped get to the Mart's counter. Zorua sneaked inside the Center and startled the Abras, who latched onto Elizabeth and Rennaj before teleporting away. The nurse went to get Hygre, and left Lambert to watch over Zorua. Zorua told Sarah to go ahead and she did, followed by Kage.

Rhapsody, Z and Pooch went to the forest to give Z space and time to practice shifting. Fia woke up nearby and almost immediately shifted into an Arcanine, stumbling away and finding them as Z was trying to stand up. She asked if they knew what she was. After a short conversation with Pooch, she said she woke up without memories, making Rhapsody and Z recognize her as a fellow shifter. The three of them shared information, and Fia shifted back to her human form. Pooch found out that Rhapsody and Z hadn't asked about Team Helix, and told them to go back to get information. With Fia and Rhapsody as human and Z as a Porygon-Z, they went back to the village, just in time to see the nurse leaving the building. Fia went after the nurse as Rhapsody and Z went to the Center.

Rhapsody and Z entered the Pokémon Center to check the map. Z discovered they could not only read it, but could also remember some information about the region. Rhapsody mentioned Z's ability to speak English, which made Zorua go to excitedly ask them if they could show him. Zorua suddenly addressing them startled Z into shifting to Porygon-Z and fall on their face. Lambert rhetorically asked loudly if everyone was in the game, signaling Gaes' hiding place in the process and making the Mawile reveal herself as a shifter too. Lambert called for a round-up of information, in which Zorua told them what he knew about Sarah and that he was a Gym Pokémon, and the rest introduced themselves and the form they thought they originally were. Hygre arrived at the Center then, closely followed by her Zoroark, to pick Zorua up. Lambert said he wanted to issue a challenge with Mawile so Hygre left to get ready. Gaes got angry that Lambert included her without consulting first, so when naming her moves, she gave three real and three fake ones. Lambert asked Rhapsody to participate too, and after agreeing, the group left the building and headed towards the Gym.

*The First Group - Battle against the Gym Leader - This is such a good show*

Hygre was waiting for them, and after a brief introduction to the League, Lambert chose to challenge her with a Level 2 Double Battle. Rhapsody and Gaes went into the battle pretending to be Lambert's Pokémon, and Hygre used a Stunky, a Poochyena and two Nuzleaf. The battle extended more than it should because of Gaes' prank of using a different move when Lambert ordered her to use one of the fake ones, and because Rhapsody got hit with Swagger and had difficulties attacking for most of the match, but they managed to take down all of Hygre's Pokémon without either of them fainting, winning the Midnight Badge and a Murkrow for Lambert among other things. Hygre mentioned a group a friend of hers wanted to join and, when Z asked, confirmed she had been talking about Team Helix and gave the group directions to Vertia, telling them to ask the Gym Leader there. Zorua gave the group two cellphones before running off with his trainer. Gaes wasted no time in experimenting, accidentally speed-dialing the firefighters in another town before Lambert took the phones away. The group went back to the Pokémon Center and got healed. Rhapsody threw a fit and flew away, Z going after him. Lambert, Gaes, Pooch and Murkrow went to the clothing shop, where Gaes purchased a belt. By the time they came out, Z had calmed Rhapsody down, and the group departed towards Vertia. On the way, they stopped to check Murkrow's stash and Z made plans to go inside a computer the next time they were somewhere with internet, and after that, they set camp up for the night.

### Extra scene 1

*\*Ring... Ring... Rin-\**

???: ..... .........

Vaila: Scout Vaila, ID 59573, reporting from Kusba.

Leslar: ...Hang on, wasn't that Sidley's number? Who's that guy?

Vaila: Leslar if you say one more word I swear I'll ditch your body on the side of the road.

Leslar: Eep?

???: .... ... . ........ ..... .. . ......... ...... ...... ........ ......... .. .. ....... ....... .... .... ....

Leslar: Er, yes?

???: ..... ... ....... .... ...

Leslar: 59245.

???: ........ ...... .......... ..... .... .. ..... ... ...... ............. ... .... .. .... .... .. ..... ... ... .... .. .... .. ... ...... .. .... ... ........... ... ........ .. ... ...... ........ .... ............ ... ....... ......... .... .... .. .. ........ .. ..... .... .. ... ... .....

Vaila: I'll get to the point then. Less than an hour ago we encountered a Category One. It consisted of an Umbreon carrying the same item we had seen in a human's possession. We decided to investigate because the human showed abnormal behavior, but retreated when we got the information about the village.

???: ........... ..... ... ... .... .......

Vaila: I will- ...!

Buneary: Buneary! Bun bun ary ary buneary!

Vaila: Buneary? What's gotten into you?

???: ..... .... .. .... .... ....... ... .......... ..... .. .. . ...........

Buneary: Ary ar! Ary, ary ar! Buneary ary buneary aryary,  buneary bunear, buneary bun buneary buneary!

Rufflet: Ruuuuuuuu! Rufflet ruuu! Ru ruuu rufflet ru!

???: ... ....... ...... .... .... ....... .. .. ....... .... ........... ... ........ .......

Vaila: What!?

???: ... ... ..... ..... .... ... ...... ......... . ... ... . ......

Leslar: The guy dressed like a Lucario that tried to punch me and the one with the Absol hairstyle?

Vaila: ...

???: ...

Leslar: ........Oh.

Vaila: I request permission to murder him.

???: ....... .......

Vaila: Orders then?

???: ... ......... .. ..... ..... .. ...... .. ....... .. ... ........ .. ... ...... .... ... .... ........ ... .... ....... ... .. ...... .... .... ... .......... .. ... .... .........

Vaila: And about those two?

???: ..... ........... ....... ... .... ... ........ .... .....

Leslar: Does this mean we get a promotion?

Vaila: I'll hang up now before he says anything else.

???: ........ ........

Vaila: Goodbye.

Leslar: But he hasn't answered my question ye-

*\*Click\**

### Extra Scene 2

"Yes, hi! So rare of you to call personally! Was just with a challenger, gimme a minute... Okay, free to speak now! Mm? Yeah, had an official one three weeks ago, but I won. Sure, I can do that! Any reason? ........Ah, that sounds nice. Wish I could be on vacations myself but honestly if I leave the village for more than a day it could end up in ruins. You don't say! Can you believe Zorua send a couple people with the delivery Abras? For some reason customer service isn't answering and I lost John's number - *Malamar don't you dare touch that TV while I'm on the phone* - wait, can you give me John's number? Great, send a text so I don't forget. Have to go heal some of my Pokémon now. Yeah, Level 2! Let me tell you, that guy could have wiped me out in less than a minute but he had the worst luck ever. Ah well, even with that I couldn't take down any of his Pokémon. Level 2 is too easy. Mm? I sound happy? You know me, I like it when others use Dark-types! Have to prove to everyone they're the best. Yeah, an Hydreigon. It was slightly odd though... Hm? How so? How to say it... it was strong, but way weaker than an Hydreigon should have been. It looked perfectly healthy so it couldn't be that... Yes, I'm sure, I've trained those before. Hm, he used a traded Mawile too, could tell it wasn't caught by him because it disobeyed some of the time. Mm? No, he wasn't. Believe me, something like that would have stood out. Let's see... Thick guy, 'round thirties to forties, short white hair, severe case of Resting Grump Face. Real nice white leather jacket with shoulder spikes, reminded me of a Glalie. Maybe I should get shoulder spikes... Ah, you're right, I'd have to change mostly everything. Unless I have two battle outfits. Now, there's an idea! Eh? No, he was with a short child with pink hair and kinda unnerving golden eyes. There was a logo on their shirt but it wasn't that one... Oh, I couldn't tell their gender and felt it'd be rude to ask. Kid didn't speak much so it wasn't important. But they had a Houndour so I liked them. I think the guy was the dad? Seemed old enough at least, though they didn't resemble each other. Anyway, why the sudden interest? You usually don't ask me to describe my challengers. Really? If you say so... Nah, wasn't a problem. I'll keep your request in mind. Alright, talk later. Tell Soimar I say hi. Have a good trip!"

## Chapter 2

### **Day 9**

*Second Town - The Rampaging Kabutos - The bunny could've decimated the dragons*

Chompers had roared in his Tyrantrum form in Route 90 before shifting back to human and exploring the area. After reaching Vertia, he saw a wild Dunsparce had started to follow him around. Sine, who had been walking around the forest for three days, approached them but fainted shortly after due to her exhaustion. Chompers carried her to Vertia's Pokémon Center with Dunsparce following them. Meanwhile, Rae woke up in a field, freaking out enough to shift into a Rapidash. She encountered Laren and Anoma, who had been rounding up the Kabuto that had escaped from the labs he worked at, and Anoma gave her directions to Vertia. There, she found Chompers and Sine, and after Sine confirmed she was alright they all introduced themselves as shifters and went to the Pokémon Center. Rae left to get healed, and Chompers set Sine down in a couch so she could rest. After Sine recovered, she thanked Chompers by going with him. They went to an alley so Chompers could shift to his Tyrantrum form without being seen, and started discussing about where to go next. Nero saw Chompers shifting as he was flying in his Garchomp form, and landed nearby with Killa on his back to comment on that. Chompers felt threatened by that and he prepared to fight, letting out a roar.

Zoey was in Route 89 along with Tama, where they were approached by Jasper and Garrett, who were lost. Tama immediately told them Zoey was a shifter. Jasper said they were in the same boat, and Zoey offered them to travel together since Tama knew the way to the closest town. Jasper didn't want to, but Garrett convinced him since they didn't know their way. Three Kabutos crashed into the road then, one of which attacked the shifters with a Mud Shot, thinking they were predators. Jasper took this as a cue to fight and used Ice Punch on one of the Kabuto - but since he was in his human form, the attack did nothing. Zoey ordered Tama to jump into the fight. Tama made a Kabuto fall asleep with Yawn, and Jasper shifted into an Azumarill and took down the other two, but not before one of them defeated Tama. Zoey grabbed one of the fainted Kabuto to take it with her, much to Jasper's anger. Then, Evelyn, who was in her Fletchinder form, crashed through some bushes, and Garret approached to help. Almost immediately after, Anhew arrived too, being chased by a Seviper after she had eaten some of its apples in her Deino form. Laren was the last one to appear at the scene, and confirmed to Zoey and Jasper that the Kabutos were his, returning them to their Poké Balls. He apologized for the trouble and led the group to Vertia. Anhew had still been confused as she had woken up recently, but as Garrett checked up on her, she followed them. Zoey picked Evelyn up to get her healed, and carried her to the Center. While they were healing their Pokémon, Lacie arrived following Kit, who made her trip. Emil, who had entered just a bit after Lacie, saw this and helped her up. The people at the Center heard Chompers' roar; Laren and Jasper went to check it out, closely followed by Zoey, as Garrett, Evelyn, Anhew, Lacie and Emil stayed in the Center, with Garrett taking care of the scared Anhew as Lacie and Emil talked about their plans.

Laren went to the alley, where he started asking Sine about Chompers. Jasper challenged both Chompers and Nero, aggravating Chompers, whose trashing made a hole in one of the walls. Reminded he couldn't let harm come to the town, Laren called three of his Pokémon, who talked Jasper, Chompers and Nero out of the battle. Zoey left, as Sine started asking Laren about Team Helix and Jasper stayed to eavesdrop. Allison and Cassandra arrived at Vertia and stopped to rest at the Center, after which they went out to check on the ruckus outside, while Evelyn took advantage of the open door to fly into a deserted alley to calm herself down. Nero ran off, switching into his human form and returning while pretending to be his own trainer. Chompers got stressed by the crowd and left, followed by Sine. Allison and Cassandra continued asking about Helix, so Laren told them about the abandoned building he used to work in, as Nero left. Laren told Allison and Cassandra he'd show them the way in a few hours, so they agreed to meet at Laren's house later.

On the way to Vertia, Gaes added Bree to her team after he collided onto her and she defeated him in a battle. Z had fainted due to lack of food, having forgotten their new human body needed it, and Lambert carried them to the Center, where Gaes offered them some water. Zoey entered, and Tama wasted no time greeting everyone and telling them about Zoey. Pooch approached Tama and after a small talk explained she shouldn't tell everyone about shifters. Garret and Anhew left to look for Jasper, the latter returning Tama to his Poké Ball. Kit ran off too, Lacie going after him, as Emil received directions to the Pokémon Gym from the nurse and headed over there, followed by Zoey.

Evelyn saw Garrett and called out to her. Allison and Cassandra found the group, as Jasper came back in his human form. They all started introducing themselves, with Allison going to the Center to pick up Cassandra's bag. Anhew recognized Evelyn's voice, and Cassandra summoned a small flame to prove she was a shifter, followed by Jasper making ice and Evelyn making a breeze. Cassandra noticed Allison was taking too long and went to fetch her.

Z shifted to his Porygon-Z form in the bathroom and returned to enter the Center's computer, to look for information. They discovered their serial code had been altered and they couldn't look for it, and exited, retreating to a back room. Allison arrived and found them there, in the middle of a panic attack. Rhapsody went to check on Z with Pooch, and Allison told them what was going on. Z started to spark as a result of using Discharge, so Allison confirmed she was a shifter, as Rhapsody told her everyone in his group was one too. He called Gaes and Lambert over, interrupting the talk they were having about their lives before the Game. Allison told them to leave Z be until they were feeling better, and about what Laren had said, before Cassandra entered the Center and left with her.

Emil entered the Gym. Zoey shifted into her Purrloin form and entered after Laren. They confused Zoey for a wild Pokémon, and Laren told Emil he'd be back in a few hours. Zoey attempted to speak to Emil, who let Nix out to talk to her. After a while, Zoey went off to the digging site while Emil waited at the Gym. Eventually, Laren returned, with Zoey arriving a short time later. Laren told them about the reunion in his house and went there, followed by the two shifters.

Chompers went off to hunt, while Dunsparce showed Sine where to find berries to eat and she practiced a bit with her Sigilyph form. Chompers came back with a Poké Ball he found, and Dunsparce decided to let himself be caught. After eating, they decided to head for the digging site. After wandering around and finding some Plates, the duo went back to the Center. Chompers hit his transformation limit then, reverting to his human form.

After everything, Allison, Cassandra, Jasper, Anhew and Evelyn waited at Laren's house for him to come back. Lambert, Gaes, Rhapsody and Z went to train and practice combos in the mountains, with Gaes taking the chance to train Bree. Rhapsody caught a Trapinch there and named it Bugface. Then, they all went to Laren's house, with Cassandra starting to make sandwiches and feeding everyone. Laren, Emil and Zoey arrived, and Laren took out a map and explained three ways to reach Taismog, where the abandoned building was, also giving extra maps to the group so they could orient themselves. After some questions, it was decided where everyone would head to. Allison, Cassandra, Jasper, Anhew and Evelyn would go through the cave to the north; Lambert, Gaes, Rhapsody, Z and Zoey would go to the south; and Emil would go around the mountain. Laren also handed them his old Helix uniform sans the goggles, which Lambert took. Lambert also handed Allison one of the cellphones he got from Zorua to keep in touch. Lambert, Gaes, Rhapsody, Z and Zoey went to the Gym for Lambert's challenge, with the latter two shifters spectating. The rest of the group went to the Center, sans Emil, who went to the digging site. Allison took the chance to reserve two rooms for the shifters to spent the night in.

*Night Reunion - Jasper vs Cassandra - shifterfightshifterfightshifterfight*

Once on the Gym's battlefield, Gaes and Rhapsody went down to fight. The battle went smoother than the one at Kusba, despite being of a higher difficulty and Gaes being on the receiving end of a Yawn, and Lambert got the Ancient Badge. After explaining to Zoey how to become a Gym Leader, Laren left, and the group went back to the Pokémon Center. Zoey left to get a Bag, and Chompers approached the rest of the group, curious about their talk of Poké Balls, only to end up picking a fight with Rhapsody. Z attempted to hold Rhapsody back, but Chompers attacked, and there was a small scuffle until Lambert separated them, with Gaes distracting the Center staff in case anyone shifted. Qrow stole Sine's Dusk Stone, making him evolve into Honchkrow, as Rhapsody stormed out of the Center, followed by Z. Sine demanded payment for the Dusk Stone, and she and Chompers followed Lambert and Gaes outside, to the clothing store where Rhapsody and Z had reunited with Zoey. After buying Z a hat, they all went to the digging site, so Lambert could find items to give Sine in exchange for the Dusk Stone.

Jasper and Cassandra shifted into their Pokémon forms and went to train. After beating up a Stantler, Cassandra challenged Jasper to a friendly fight, and he accepted. Despite having a disadvantage because of her type and Rivalry, Cassandra withstood Jasper's Aqua Jet and Dig, countering with her own attacks until her Wild Charge made them both run out of energy.

Allison, Evelyn, Garret and Anhew stayed at the Center to help teach Anhew how to walk.

Emil and Nix were exploring the digging site when they ran across Styg, Laren's Rampardos. After Emil survived a headbutt-greet, they all introduced themselves, and Styg helped Emil find some items before they parted ways.

Rhapsody went to the mountains to train, where he caught a shiny Axew and named him Tusk.

### **Days 10-12**

*The Dream - Three Paths, One Destination - Taking bets on which group will have it worse*

At night, all the shifters met at the Pokémon Center, and had a small reunion to introduce themselves and exchange information. That night, everyone had a dream about a woman explaining the rules were going to change. Shifters who had the dream woke up with their first memory. Before setting off to Taismog, Zoey found and caught a shiny Solosis. Allison and Sine went to have a small talk with Laren, in which he gifted them an Aerodactyl and an Omanyte, respectively. Evelyn decided to stay in Vertia.

The first group went through the caves, with Jasper going away on his own to fight wild Pokémon. Near the end of the caves, a wild Fennekin started following the group around, which Cassandra caught. They made it through the caves and trained for a bit, with Cassandra and her new Pokémon catching a Skiddo for Anhew.

Emil set off and caught a Croagunk on the way. Sine and Chompers went towards the mountains, with Sine catching an Onix and Chompers catching a Nidoran while they were preparing for the journey on their own. On their way there, they met Emil and decided to travel together, forming the second group. They got delayed by the sheer number of wild Pokemon, but reached the road to Lifferoad.

The third group reached Fastfall soon enough, with Gaes catching a Phanpy on the way, but filming in the area meant a good part of the city was closed. They decided to stay and wait it out.

## Chapter 3

### **Day 13**

*First Path - The Mystery of the Ghost-types - Fixing other people's mistakes, definitely MC behavior*

Meeres was walking around Taismog when Kim bumped into him. Kim got angry and blamed the other, and when Meeres tried to point out it hadn't been his fault, Kim challenged him to a battle. Eos went out of her Poké Ball, excited to play, so Meeres accepted. It became clear neither Meeres nor Eos knew much what they were doing, and when Meeres showed he could understand Eos, Chespin stopped the battle to talk about being shifters. After a bit, Meeres and Kim had a disagreement on which direction to go to, and they separated.

Ellie woke up in the forest. While exiting it, she tripped and rolled into a tree near Cedric, who was guarding the entrance, shifting into a Vulpix upon impact. Allison, Anhew, and Cassandra approached, wanting to go to the forest path Laren had indicated, so Cedric pointed them to the sign where it said entrance was forbidden and said they'd need the Gym Leader's permission. Around that time, Jack and Sark approached them with Regina, who asked what was going on in her trainer's behalf. Cassandra explained, also showing she could understand Pokémon. After Anhew got on Gogurt's back and Ellie, and Jack and Sark joined the group, Cedric led them to where the Gym Leader, Driemen, was.

Being asked why entering the forest was forbidden, Driemen explained that a group of Ghost Pokémon had been attacking travelers, making them get lost for days. Jack asked about it, saying they liked Ghost-types and would like to help, so Driemen said he'd allow them to enter the forest if they could win a Badge. He also mentioned that a couple of members of Team Helix were currently in town, and then left to prepare for the battle. Cassandra and Allison went outside to have a private talk for a while, where Cassandra convinced the other to let her participate in the battle in her Pyroar form. When Allison went back to the others, Cassandra following as a Pokémon, she told them the other had gone to find leads on the Helix members. Jack borrowed Gogurt from Anhew

Deciding on a Triple Battle with two challengers, Allison sent out Cassandra and Arrow, and Jack sent out Regina. They defeated the first two Pokémon, but Cassandra got hit by a Confuse Ray. She used Heat Wave, which made Sark panic and faint, and after some close calls and Cassandra falling asleep, they defeated Driemen. However, Gogurt fainted in the battle, upsetting Anhew. So after getting permission to enter the forest, they headed towards the Pokémon Center to get everyone healed, Cassandra going off to switch to her human form before coming back, though the timing made Jack realize who she was.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Vaila, Leslar and Storm were picking up a shipment of coffee. Kim entered the Center and healed his Pokémon, noticing and approaching the Helix members. After introducing themselves and explaining what Helix did, Vaila mentioned they were looking for Absols. Kim offered to help, and after thanking him, Storm left. Vaila started explaining the details when Allison, Anhew, Cassandra, and Jack and Sark entered the Center with Cedric, and Allison approached them to ask about Helix.

*Second Path - Gym Battles and Cute Contests - I like the new dragon, explosions are fun*

Gaes, Lambert, Rhapsody, Z, and Zoey met up as soon as an announcement came that Fastfall was accessible again, Zoey arriving with a newly evolved Globbers after the training they did. It was on their meeting place that they saw Valda and Flooey, so Tusk and Globbers went to talk to Flooey to see if Valda could understand them. At the mention of the word 'trainer', Valda snapped at Tusk, but when Flooey moved him away she calmed down somewhat. March, who was nearby, overhead the two Pokémon and tried to listen for more. Rhapsody noticed and snapped at him, and March's Frost asked what they meant when they mentioned 'normal Pokémon'. Lambert recognized March's clothing to be similar to a Metagross, and when March admitted being a shifter, Lambert invited him to join the team. When asking about Team Helix, Valda addressed them to listen to their information too. Gaes took the chance to taunt Valda, which angered the woman enough to grab Gaes by the wrist and threaten her; which made Gaes flirt, aggravating Valda almost to the point of attacking her and Tama. Luckily she stopped when Tusk stepped between them. Lambert mentioned battling the Gym Leader, and they all decided to go together to ask about the possible ride to Taismog.

On their way to the Gym, Tae made her appearance by being thrown out a rigged window. Valda identified her as the Gym Leader, so Lambert stepped forward to talk to her. Upon seeing Valda, Sawk signaled to Tae how similar her hearing aids were to a Noivern's ears, and she asked the group if they had any Noiverns, trying to see if they had the one that had wrecked a car a few days ago (which amused Valda, since she had been that Noivern but wouldn't be recognizable in her human form). Gaes said Lambert had traded for a Noivern (and mentioned Valda might have one, too), which made Tae suspicious enough to let out her Lucario to escort them to the Pokémon Center to check the Noiverns. Gaes asked about Contests, and Tae mentioned a Cute one happening in around an hour. Z piped in asking if she could give them a ride to Taismog too, which Tae agreed to.

On their way to the Center, Valda ran away. Lucario followed, but didn't reach her before she shifted into Noivern and flew off. Thinking the human must still be nearby, Lucario stayed to look for her as Valda flew to the Center to meet up with the rest. Zoey and March left to find information, and the rest of the group went back to the Gym, Gaes and Rhapsody switching to their Pokémon forms.

Rhapsody switched back to human form to challenge the Gym with Lambert. Valda, Qrow, and Pooch were the ones who fought first, with Valda thawing out from an Ice Punch freeze and defeating the Medicham like she had wanted. Pooch and Bugface evolved after the battle, and Tae and the referee Ade left after telling the group to be back in 2 hours for the helicopter ride to Taismog.

Zoey found some information on the library, including a mention of Shadow Pokémon, which felt familiar. She didn't remember anything about it, though, and went back to the Center where she reunited with the rest of the group. Gaes convinced Lambert to enter her in a Cute Contest

*Third Path - The Secret, Revealed - Were they supposed to learn this much right now*

Chompers, Emil and Sine were on the road to Lifferoad, not having seen any wild Pokémon around for a while, when they crossed paths with Leonard. Leonard and his Togekiss looked like they had gotten into a bad fight, which made Chompers and Sine suspicious. Jeff arrived then with his Weavile, about to attack Leonard, but paused when he saw the trainers. Leonard asked the group if they knew anyone who had lived in Lamorak 50 years ago, and when Emil asked why, challenged them to a battle in exchange for the information. Chompers and Sine agreed but Emil refused, leaving the group and heading towards Lifferoad on his own.

Leonard and Jeff sent out a Tropius and a Bibarel, both of which only knew HM moves, while Chompers and Sine used Driller and Aster. With Tropius getting her stats lowered by Tickle and paralyzed due to Driller's Glare, and a timely use of Aster's Protect, the shifters were victorious.

As Emil was about to reach the town, an out-of-control Tauros emerged from the forest and attacked. A Nidoran hit the Tauros and made it miss, giving Emil enough time to shift and let the Nidoran and Rook on his back before he ran away back towards the others. He reached just before tripping due to Tauros' Earthquake. Leonard and Jeff stayed out of the battle. Chompers defeated Tauros, but not before it knocked out Emil, who turned back into his human form. After a few moments of shock, Leonard suggested they all go to the Center to speak, and offered a Max Revive for Emil.

At the Center, Chompers, Emil, and Sine explained what they knew.

Summarized until this post.