I tossed a trio of pokeballs behind me. "Keep those scumbags busy, you three," I ordered as they formed. Jynx, Tentacruel, and Golem were strong fighters, and more than capable of operating on their own. They could hold off the four Roche Corps thugs while I and the rest of the team dealt with their leader.

"Hector," the bastard said with a deceptively friendly smile. "Good to see you again."

"Don't pretend we're friends," I snapped.

Mordin Roche's friendly smile turned mocking. "Not friends? Why, Hector, I'm insulted. We grew up together!"

"Don't call me that!" I said angrily. "You lost all right to use that name when you killed Professor Maple!"

Roche lost his smile entirely now, his handsome face going stony and cold. "Very well then, Mr. Masters. We both know what's to come."

"I'm not letting up get away with this, Roche."

"As if you could stop me."

He tossed out a pokeball, and I did the same. He began with his Mienshao, of course, which is why I started with Ninjask.

"Ninjask, get behind it!" I called. Faster than my eyes could follow, the buzzing bug whizzed around Mienshao's comparatively slow jab, and struck at its back, raking at the graceful creature's back with his pincers.

"Like we practiced, Mienshao," Roche said calmly. It tensed, then leapt into the air, long tendrils of fur trailing behind it. Ninjask tried to dodge, but a twitch of Mienshao's wrist sent a tendril drifting in a different direction, where it tangled in Ninjask's wings. In a trice, Ninjask was pulled in and slammed into the floor, hard.

"No!" I shouted. "Get out of there! Vibrate!" Ninjask obeyed, vibrating his wings at top speed, shredding the furry tendrils and freeing himself.

"Do not fail me!" Roche snapped. Mienshao shuddered, and, disregarding its torn tendril, attacked again. It ducked around a sphere if shadowy energy Ninjask conjured, and thrust its bloody stump forward, striking at Ninjask. Ninjask collapsed, but so did Mienshao.

I shuddered. "You're a monster, Roche," I whispered. He shrugged in response.

I didn't have time to recall Ninjask before he tossed out another pokeball. This time it was an Umbreon, rings glowing a luminous gold. I threw out Ursaring. I wanted to keep my first partner safe from the brutal battles Roche forced.

I had Ursaring extend his claws further as the Umbreon glanced towards the ceiling. The faint moonlight that shone through the skylight brightened almost to daylight, casting sharp shadows and tinting the world red. I wasn't sure what it accomplished, but I was glad for the time it gave Ursaring to prepare.

I decided to start simple. "Slash it to bits," I called, and she stalked forward. The Umbreon, however, blinked disarmingly, then somehow slipped into its own shadow. Ursaring glanced around, confused, and was suddenly struck from underneath as the feline emerged from hers. The bear attacked, but missed, still baffled.

I growled in unison with Ursaring. "Punch it!" I called. She clicked her claws together and blew on them, sending sparks flying, then leapt forward and struck. Umbreon staggered as flames burst around the impact, but glanced up towards the moon. Its rings glowed in the light, and before my very eyes its wounds healed!

"Break it!" I ordered, and Ursaring obeyed. With a mighty roar, she charged forward and struck Umbreon in a mighty karate chop! There was a sickening snap, and I felt bile rise in my stomach as I realized that Ursaring's attack had broken the cat's back.

Roche's expression didn't change at all. He just sighed, as though the death of one of his Pokemon was something the happened every day, and tossed out his third pokeball.

I took the opportunity to look over my shoulder at how the three I had assigned to keep any grunts from interfering were getting on. I saw that Jynx had been knocked out, but Golem stood protectively over her body as Tentacruel lashed out at Golbats and Mightyenas with his poisoned tentacles.

And speaking of poison. As I turned back to my own battle, I saw that Roche had sent out a large Nidoking. It roared, shadows casting its face into sharp relief.

"Slash it!" I ordered Ursaring. She roared and stepped forward. But before she reached Nidoking, it grinned grotesquely, and raised a hand. The shadows fled it as a spark appeared, the moonlight seeming to focus on the center of its palm, and a moment later, it held a ball of fire. With a shrug and a throw, it tossed the ball towards Ursaring, who shrieked as she burned.

I ignored the gorge that rose in my stomach. I couldn't let Roche get away with his scheme! "Don't stop!" I called, feeling ill.

Ursaring obeyed and fought through the pain, reaching forward to strike feebly at Nidoking. Roche laughed along with his partner, and it reached forward to grab the great bear.

Nidoking lifted Ursaring above its head effortlessly, and with the same sickening snap as earlier, broke her spine.

"No!" I called, as Roche laughed pitilessly.

"What's the expression?" he asked. "Turnabout is fair play."

I threw out my last and greatest Pokemon. "You'll die for this! Clefable, use a light beam!"

Clefable formed already charging himself from the sharp moonlight. A bare instant later, a ray of green power shot from his outstretched finger, slamming into Nidoking's side.

Nidoking stepped forward, pushing through the beam, and grabbed Clefable by a spike. It roared, and grabbed another one. With a tremendous display of power, it tore my best friend and lifelong partner in two pieces.

I was numb. I barely registered the next few minutes. Tentacruel and Golem had mopped up the grunts and come to join the fight, but quick fell - Tentacruel to a powerful thunderbolt and Golem to a torrent of water.

Roche laughed as Nisoking tossed the corpses of my Pokemon aside. "You e been a thorn in my side for a long time," he said, sounding jovial and happy, "but no longer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a god to enslave and a world to conquer. Nidoking... take out the trash."

The hulking Pokemon snorted in acknowledgement, and stomped over to me. After dragging me over to my Pokemon's corpses, it raised me up, sniffed at me, and, with a final roar, tore me in two.

A/N: Yes, this is to be continued...

A quick summary of the battle here – note that I let turn order get a little mixed up at one point and in one case added a recoil to an attack with no recoil.

Ninjask: Aerial Ace
Mienshao: Vital Throw
Ninjask: Bug Buzz
Mienshao: Reversal (added recoil)
Ninjask faints
Mienshao faints
Umbreon: Sunny Day
Ursaring: Swords Dance
Umbreon: Faint Attack
Ursaring: Metal Claw (missed)
Ursaring: Fire Punch
Umbreon: Moonlight
Ursaring: Brick Break
Umbreon faints
Nidoking: Flamethrower
Ursaring: Metal Claw
Nidoking: Superpower
Ursaring faints
Clefable: Solarbeam
Nidoking: Superpower
Clefable faints
Nidoking: Thunderbolt
Tentacruel faints
Nidoking: Surf
Golem faints