[Elrond]

Nighttime in the Berry Forest was much more eerie than Katrina had imagined it. Without the sun pouring in between every crack in the canopy, the forest had lost its warm, golden hue, and had taken on a dull, gray haze. Nocturnal Pokemon were beginning to venture forth from their dens, and Katrina heard the distinct, foreboding call of a Noctowl not far to her right. A chill ran down the girl's back as she trailed closely behind her blond-haired guide. After a while, however, Katrina noticed that the amount of ambient noise had died away, and there appeared to be loud yelling in the distance, towards which she was being led. Suddenly, the boy in front of her stopped and spoke, "This must be it."

Katrina agreed. They had come into an enormous clearing, which Katrina thought must have been made by the evil corporation. Only a few feet in front of herself, the trainer could see a hole in the ground where a tree had once stood - now chopped down and its stump uprooted. The clearing was set up like an enormous encampment: it held numerous, large canvas tents, piles of wooden crates, and an assortment of different vehicles, even one small helicopter. On the opposite edge of the clearing, a crude road had been carved out, leading into the forest. The left-most edge of the clearing opened out onto the western sea, where Katrina could finally see that the sun no longer reflected off of the gently undulating waves, and where the S.S. Rocket seemed to have taken refuge. And in front of the ship's boarding platform stood two burly men, neighbors that Katrina recognized, viciously fighting off the Rocket members trying to board the ship.

Indeed, Katrina and her guide were not alone in the clearing. It was alive with action: All of Three Island seemed to have turned out to rid the popular vacation spot of the pestilent Team Rocket, including the motorcyclists that some of the villagers had wanted to expunge just hours before. Katrina released Barry's Vulpix, in order to be ready should she be challenged as well. However, it wasn't just a battle she was looking for. Katrina wanted her Pokemon back. And she thought she knew where she would find them.

"Katrina! There you are!" exclaimed a familiar voice from nearby. Barry, with another of his Pokemon in tow, made his way toward her, ecstatic that she was safe. He embraced her, and she didn't care that he was still drenched with sweat, and her blond guide walked away to find a battle.

"Barry, I caught two more Pokemon, so I probably won't need yours anymore," Katrina said, recalling Vulpix and handing over her friend's two Pokeballs.

"Really?" Barry asked, surprised. "That's great, Katrina! What'd you catch?"

"A pair of Ralts," she answered.

"Hmmm," Barry replied, his eyebrows furrowed once more. "Why don't you hang on to Vulpix and Growlithe a little longer, just in case. I've got other Pokemon, you know."

"All right. Listen, Barry, I need to find my Pokemon. And I think they may have been loaded onto the ship already."

"What makes you say that?"

"When Mr. Vanni - that's the leader - captured me, he took my Pokemon and stuffed them in his pocket." She tried to describe the way Mr. Vanni looked to her friend, then asked, "Have you seen anyone like that?"

Barry thought for a moment, then replied, "No, I can't say that I have."

"Then I'd bet he's hiding somewhere on his ship," Katrina said finally.

"He can't be," her friend said. "There are people searching the ship right now. They haven't said anything about anyone, or any Pokeballs, on board." Katrina frowned, disappointed. "In fact," Barry continued, "We haven't seen any Pokeballs anywhere."

Katrina wanted to say more, but just then she was interrupted. Someone entered the clearing by way of the service road, riding on an elegant-looking Rapidash and yelling, "Team Rocket's got more people coming!"

It was then that Katrina noticed how pitiful the Rocket members in the clearing looked. There were far fewer than Katrina imagined should be there, and most had been finally subdued by battling villagers. The boy who had ridden into the clearing began hastily explaining that he had found a cave on the edge of the forest. There, he had met a Rocket exiting the cave who had tried to grab him. The boy had ridden away on his Rapidash, and the Rocket had gloated about reinforcements arriving at the camp shortly.

The boy was right. It wasn't long until a huge crowd of men and women in black suits pushed their way past the guards stationed on the forest road and into the clearing. However, the villagers were ready. The Rockets released malicious-looking Pokemon into the clearing, and found themselves defied by an islander or two each time.

An Arbok slithered across the misty ground, then drew itself up to a huge height in front of Katrina. The girl shrieked, suddenly noticing that Barry had already been swept into another battle, and his back was to her. The man turned to see Katrina's predicament, but she collected herself and released Vulpix onto the forest floor to defend herself.

It was then that Katrina noticed how tired the fox Pokemon was. They must all be just about beaten... Katrina thought to herself in despair. However, she knew she would have to battle the Arbok herself as its trainer walked up behind it.

"Vulpix! Confuse Ray!" Katrina yelled, hoping her Pokemon would have enough energy left to defeat this opponent.

Caught up in the heat of the battle, she didn't notice the two flashes behind herself. Two white figures, the newest additions to her team, had let themselves out of their Pokeballs so that Katrina wouldn't see. The blue-haired Ralts looked up at the snake Pokemon in front of Katrina in horror, but was brought back to his senses by a soft slap from his partner, who scolded him momentarily. The two Pokemon murmured to eachother quietly, then nodded simultaneously and, with a whoosh, disappeared, leaving their trainer to fight off a difficult opponent with two tired Pokemon.

******

The two Ralts materialized in pitch blackness. The green-haired Ralts said something to her friend, then emitted a bright blast of light that brightened the cave just enough for the Pokemon to see. Suddenly, a voice in one corner of the room yelled, "Hey! Who's there?" The man didn't get to see who had arrived in the cave before a rock picked itself up and hurled itself at his head. The green Ralts rolled her eyes at her partner as the blue-haired Pokemon stuck its tongue out at the Rocket member. Then, they looked around themselves, hoping they had arrived in the right place.

The Ralts, having explored many of the forest's hidden areas, had known about the Rockets in the cave for some time. When they had heard their trainer's predicament, they knew almost immediately where they might find her Pokemon. And, lo and behold, they had teleported into a dark cavern, filled with bags of Pokeballs, guarded now by just one bumbling man.

The blue-haired Ralts whispered something to his companion, sensing something. He ventured out of range of the other Ralts's Flash and began rummaging in one of the bags for a Pokeball. The other Ralts followed closely behind, illuminating the bag. Within moments, her friend withdrew his hand from the bag, holding a red-and-white sphere. The Ralts tossed the sphere behind himself indiscriminately and began rummaging in the bag again. Meanwhile, his friend ran back to catch the ball, then scolded him once more. The blue-haired Ralts rolled his eyes, and just moments later pulled out another Pokeball. He grabbed his friend's hand, and the two disappeared, leaving the cave in total darkness once more.