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It was an early day and an early start for Kyrene, who pushed a dark lock of hair from her face and sat back in her chair with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes. Her desk was littered with stacks of research papers, books, and a laptop glowing dimly for all its glory. Stifling a yawn, she penned in a final note to one of her papers and placed it carefully on top of one of the many stacks that blanketed her desk. She turned and flipped her laptop closed, and the contraption powered down with a hum, as if glad to be finally getting some rest.

Suddenly, a knock came from the open doorway and she turned to see Nurse Joy standing passively with her hands clutched together. "Kyrene, you mind taking over the service desk for a while? There's a line of trainers waiting out there to have their Pokémon treated."

Inwardly, she groaned. More bookwork. Manning the service desk meant taking down trainers' names, filling out a Heal Form, and filing it away for whatever purpose later on. "Okay," she yawned. "I'll be right there. Just let me get my coat."

As she organized her desk for the last time, throwing away a paper cup of cold tea into a bin that was already overflowing with them, Nurse Joy stood at the doorway. "You work much too hard at this, Kyrene. These reports coming in about some sort of Pokémon plague... I didn't think they were true until we got a couple of them in last week." Her expression turned solemn. "They are not... themselves. What could possibly be causing them to turn so dark and uncontrollable?"

Kyrene gave a quick glance at her desk, full of research papers and her closed laptop, as she shuffled into her white lab coat. "I'm not sure. But I intend to find out."

OOC: Ok, Riolu was captured already, if any other character is in that situation, they can meet her.

Empira walked up to Comet and bowed. "My lord, I have a report on our project." he said. "The infected Legends are doing well but there is an...inconsistency that we haven't been able to sort out yet." he said, troubled by it. "It seems the virus is...imperfect...some pokemon...aren't contracting it." he said. "And there is...worse news than that."

Comet's Mightyena set next to him, allowing him to pet her, though she was begining to lose her loyality to this evil man.

Miki walked around her cage. She didn't know what was going on but she didn't like it. She was just waiting for a scientist to open the door to get her out, then she'd make a run for it.

OOC: How is that?

Kyrene manned the service desk with an artificial smile, her head leaning on her hand tiredly. "Name, please."

"Greg Norse," replied the trainer. He looked like he was ten and wore a green baseball cap on his head. These kids were getting younger and younger each year. It's no wonder they kept having to return to a Pokémon Center.

"And how many do you have with you?"

"Four."

Kyrene slipped the trainer a Heal Form to fill out as she catalogued the name and Pokémon count. "Fill this out and hand it to the Nurse when she's ready to take you in. Have a seat in the waiting room. NEXT!!"

"Blood from a Pokemon who is immune to the virus can pass the immunity to other pokemon." said Empira. "And it can even be a cure to our Dark Pokemon." he said. "We're still working out the kinks but the anti-virus from their blood might even be able to be transfered like the original." he said. "But this hasn't been confirmed yet as our Dark Pokemon haven't lost once." he said. "But its something to do research into. We don't know how the immune pokemon are effected by the virus yet, just they cannot contract it." he said. "Other than these imperfections, the virus is working as planned." he said.

Brook listined to Empira, she was fairly sure he was plotting a coup, to take power from Comet eventually but he'd been extremely careful if that was his plan, no one had any proof. She had no idea what he meant by a lot of his scientific terms but it seemed some pokemon weren't reacting to their plan as they'd like.

"Yeah, I don't know what they're doing." said Miki. "Some man dressed like a Regigigas injected me with something in the arm but it didn't seem to do anything. I think he expected it to but it didn't." she said. "He got real mad when that happened though." she said. "I'm getting out of here when someone comes to open the door to examine me, I'll let you out too."

OOC: I know you talked this out with me. Do the immune Pokemon react as we talked about? Getting the power boost from the virus but not the negative effects? If so, Riolu can use Aura Sphere now instead of when she's a Lucario.

OOC|| Hope you don't mind Thomas raiding on Pigeot and Amelia, and for Mello sneaking into the Pokemon Center. X3 He might cause a bit of a scare.
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Thomas was soaring in the clouds early that same morning. He still had the feeling that he was in mortal danger and with that he remained skyward, staying clear of any humans that might have been lingering below on the ground. He was a young Lugia, only slightly smaller than a full grown one, which made it that much easier to hide. However, he didn't feel safe at all on the ground, hidding or not.

Off in the distance, he managed to catch movement both in the air and on the ground. His dark violet eyes squinted to clear his vision with the dim light provided by the rising sun and was surprised to see a Pikachu being chased by a large Pigeot. Eyeing the large bird from afar, drawing ever closer as he flew, Thomas realized that it was only slightly smaller than he was and predicted that if he were to go investigate and threaten it, the Pigeot would put up quite a fight, one that could potentially be too much for the young Lugia. However, seeing that Pikachu flee like that made Thomas push the negative thoughts aside and he flapped his great wings and dove for the Pigeot.

Thomas had his eyes locked onto the bird's back. He had the intention to tackle the Pigeot's back and push it into the earth, to pin it. The outcome was one that could not be determined right away, and Thomas began to have second thoughts. 'What if this is too much for me to handle?' He asked himself as he gained speed by dipping his head with a steady decline in altitude, heading stright for the Pigeot. Whatever was to happen, Thomas knew he couldn't back away now.

Mello had been wandering the trail in the forest since dusk. He was bored out of his mind, and although he could think for himself, for the time being, he wasn't able to find a single thing to do; whether it be attacking an innocent Pokemon or harassing a traveling trainer. It would have been a awkward situation if that had happened, for one would think an 18-year-old boy randomly attacking a passerby is very, very strange. Still, there were no victims worth teasing.

While walking along the dirt path, he came across a small pool of water. He knelt on one knee and scooped a handfull of water before releasing it over his head. His fingers ran through dark brown hair, making sure the water reached his sweating scalp. Mello released a sigh of relief before looking down at his reflection in the water, and he grinned. Cascading from the rippling water was a discolored Latios, it's blood-red eyes glaring back at the boy. Indeed, this kid was a Pokemon in disguise, an infected Pokemon. Earlier in the week he had been captured by a group of people called Team Darknight, and although he was captured he managed to escape and roam on his own. The virus that flowed through his viens had made a permanent effect on Mello, causing him to lose control very easily, but knowing this he was also fleeing from the trainers whom had captured him and had given him the dreaded virus. So far he had been successful.

Once he felt refreshed after rinsing his head and sipping at some of the water, Mello continued down the path, slowly but surely making his way towards a building with immense lighting. The Pokemon Center. A sly smirk creased Mello's lips as his pace quickened, bringing him right through the doors of the establishment. Dark red eyes scanned the area, taking note of all the trainers and there Pokemon that were waiting for treatment. Unknowingly he had missed the comotion outside with the Pikachu and Pigeot, although he would have most likely dismissed them anyway; he had a much better target. He casually walked up to the front desk after a young kid with a green baseball cap walked away with a Heal Form to fill out and looked sharply at the woman at the front desk.

Kyrene looked up and regarded the dark boy standing in front of her. After spending the whole morning handing out Heal Forms to children, she was almost taken aback by a teenager standing on the other side of the desk.

Quick thoughts lightninged through Kyrene's head as she adjusted the glasses perched loosely on her nose. The boy was good-looking, she'd give him that. She'd been courted before by guys better-looking than him, but without any sort of hesitation, she turned them all down. Kyrene was strictly business when it came to her studies and working at her Pokémon Center.

She cleared her throat and turned to the computer console beside her, ready to input the trainer's information. "Name?" she inquired over the rim of her glasses.

OOC: What about my question?

"Yeah, I guess." said Riolu. "The shot did hurt but other than that, no effect." she said. "Anyway, do you see a button or anything? There may be a button to open all the cages at once." she said. "And let all these pokemon out before they get infected, that should throw a large monkey wrench in their plan."

"I injected the Riolu myself." said Empira. "It didn't do much other than a little pain from the shot." he said. "We will see just how she reacts, once we learn enough about her, shall I have the lab hands...desect her?"


Brook's eyes went wide. Disect?!

The other trainers in line ducked out of the way and shouted angrily at the Pikachu that came barreling past them. Some staggered out of line, yelling at whose ever it was to put a leash on it. The sudden disturbance jerked Kyrene from her sleepful state as she jumped to her feet right as the Pikachu collided into the leg of the boy that was standing in front of the desk.

"What's going on here," said Kyrene loudly. "Whose Pikachu is this? No Pokémon are permitted to be outside their Pokéballs in the waiting area!"

She sidestepped around the desk and saw the Pokémon gazing intently at the boy, who only seemed to be returning its gaze with a solemn expression. In a light, scolding manner, Kyrene looked from the boy to the Pokémon as she stooped over to pick it up. "Sir, if this is your Pokémon, I must ask you to -- Oh my goodness!" Kyrene's scolding look turned to one of shock and horror as she caught a glimpse of the Pokémon's right eye, which appeared to be badly scratched over. Normally, Pokémon are able to take attacks, even powerful ones, without being scarred or bruised, but the lasting impression of the claw marks that must've raked over this Pikachu's eye looked rather severe.

"What happened to this Pokémon!" she demanded at the line of young trainers, but each of them only looked at one another and shrugged or remained quiet.

"It's not even ours," a small voice from one of them squeaked.

That only left one other option. Kyrene looked at the boy who was still standing motionlessly in front of her desk, his eyes turned to cast an unwaivering stare at Kyrene and the Pikachu, which Kyrene returned with a look of poison as she stormed behind her desk again and pushed a button. "I have a Case 3 emergency here. Pokémon in need of urgent medical attention, stat!!"

In no time, two Chanseys appeared behind Kyrene, guiding a stretcher, upon which, Kyrene carefully placed the scarred Pikachu. Judging from the way it bolted in, it seemed to be in a good and healthy state, but she didn't want to take any chances with that nasty-looking scar. Whose ever it was, she wanted to have it looked at right away. The Chanseys wheeled the Pokémon away and disappeared into another room.

Once they'd gone from sight, Kyrene turned abrupty to the boy, her brows furrowed. "What kind of trainer ARE you?" she hissed callously.

Thomas was taken aback with surprise that his sneak attack actually worked. Usually he was too quick to judge about perfect timing and his plan would falter, but today must have been his lucky day, or he just made the correct calculations with his attack. Either way, he was filled with self satisfaction; for the time being. As the dust began to clear from the impact, the young Lugia took a moment to look the Pigeot over, still pinning it to the ground as it squirmed to get free. His eyes widened when his gaze fell upon the bird's head, it's eyes glowing an eerie bright red. 'That's not right...' Thomas thought to himself as the passersby scurried to safety around them.

"Stay out of this, pipssssqueak."

The Pigeot hissed at him and managed to squeeze itself out from under his feet to take flight. Thomas pivoted on his toes, not letting te bird out of his sights as he stayed on the ground, ready to dodge if the infected Pokemon decided to charge at him. The young Lugia growled as he watched the bird circle around him in the air before he, too, decided to become skyward. He flapped his large wings and bolted towards the Pigeot with amazing speed and met the Pigeot as it dove towards him. Thomas tried his hardest to turn on a dime but, as expected, he didn't react quick enough and was hit square in the chest by the bird's powerful beak. He lost his balance and fell from the sky with increasing speed until he met the earth with a sickening thud. The ground around his wounded body had been torn and cracked, a trail leading from the impact to where he skidded to a stop on his side.

Thomas groaned in pain before looking up at the bird still circling him. How could he win this battle without causing any more harm to himself? He became lost in thought for only a few moments before he came up with a plan; he'd try using Aerostrike. A swell of determination caused Thomas to stagger to his feet and inhale a great amount of air, and when he felt he was prepared, he released a white beam from his mouth that was directed towards the flying Pigeot. The young Lugia was challenged by trying to keep himself steady, but if he were to fail at this, he hadn't a second thought of giving up just yet.

The young woman at the front desk took a few moments to react to him standing so strangely in front of her. But when she cleared her throat she finally uttered a single word.

"Name?"

Being a Pokemon, Mello couldn't speak English like the humans do. He remained quiet and only stood there with the same menacing smirk from when he first walked in. Just when he had the idea of causing havoc in the building, Mello felt something ram into his leg which caused him to growl slightly through clentched teeth. His burning red eyes slid down towards the Pikachu. Anger began bubbling up inside of his chest which began to cause a reaction within his mind. He was begining to lose control. Before he began to squeeze his head with his hands, the woman at the front desk briskly came towards him and the Pikachu.

"What's going on here. Whose Pikachu is this? No Pokémon are permitted to be outside their Pokéballs in the waiting area!"

Mello could say nothing as he was enveloped in pain coursing through his head and down to every inch of his body. When he heard footsteps come from around the desk, he managed to open one blood-red eye as he cringed.

"Sir, if this is your Pokémon, I must ask you to -- Oh my goodness! What happened to this Pokémon!"

The dark boy only groaned in agony in response, and cringed when a trainer from behind him spoke up. His body began to tremble as the pain increased and worked its way throughout his artificial body as the nurse called for help. When the two Chanseys had gone with the Pikachu, the young nurse turn towards Mello with a disgusted look on her face.

"What kind of trainer ARE you?"

Mello suddenly ceased to shake and as he was knelt on the ground his lips parted with a toothy grin, his dark brown hair covering his eyes. However, an eerie red glow seeped through his bangs as he steadily rose to his feet. His head straightened up at he peered at the young woman before his human form began to disenagrate to reveal a discolored Pokemon. Mello was now in his true form, a dark Latios. Instead of white it was cloaked in a dark grey and the blue scales had been replaced by jet black scales. Indeed he was one of the few infected Legendaries, but he was the only one whom had escaped from Team Darknight; or so he thought.

His eyes had stopped glowing when the transformation had been complete, but when a sudden gust of wind began swirling within the confines of the establishment they began to fade in a blinding red glow. Mello roared with rage and hovered in mid air as the wind began to strengthen and as his anger took total control over him.

[Somewhere up in the ozone]
Razza's stripes were glowing a yellowish tinge as he slithered through the clouds. Although he was high up and away from the sight of any eyes below, he could sense the happenings of what was occurring down on the ground. He felt compelled to be at a certain place, at a certain time, not even knowing himself what drove him there. All he knew was that something was happening.

From the clouds above, Razza swiveled his eyes around and finally saw what he was meant to; a dark Pidgeot engaging in combat with a Lugia. How curious, Razza thought, as his stripes shifted to a sickly yellow-green. He hasn't quite seen another legendary in quite some time.

Something told Razza to attack the Lugia. The dark Pidgeot was discolored... like him. And like Pokémon must fend for each other. Razza violently shook his head and roared out, his stripes now glowing orange in color. He knew the Pidgeot was on his side. But for as long as he could Razza fought the urge to interfere. He wanted to see how this would play out.




Kyrene stood petrified as the boy transformed. She believed she may have fallen asleep at her desk and this was some demented dream of hers after studying Pokémon viruses for the past week on seventeen cups of tea a day. Her body froze as all the boy's human characteristics melted away to reveal a discolored

"Whooooaa!! A Latios!!" One of the young trainers squealed, taking out a Pokéball from his belt. "I want to catch it!!"

"No way," the others said, pulling him back. "Come on, let's get out of here!! We came here to get our Pokémon healed, not creamed in another fight." In a screaming mass, the young trainers all fled the Pokémon Center, leaving Kyrene alone with the dark Latios. All around her, wind kicked up, tugging at her hair and whiling papers around in every direction.

In her studies of Pokéruses, Kyrene had only come across a small excerpt on Pokémon discoloration; a brief side note that attributed a Pokémon's devious color scheme to extreme rarity or...

Kyrene looked closely at the Latios' flashing red eyes.

...corruption.

Nothing Kyrene read in her books could prepare her for this moment. She was scared half to death, but there was an ember inside of her that burned through the fear; the same ember that made her stay instead of fleeing with the other trainers. She slowly backed up and pressed herself against a near wall, keeping her eyes locked on the levitating legendary before her. Her hands cautiously reached down and brushed against her own Pokéballs attached to her belt. She hoped she wouldn't have to battle, but she couldn't allow this evil Pokémon destroy the Center.

Mustering up all the courage she could, she spoke up defiantly at the Latios. "Leave here at once!!"

OOC: Considering your posts are very long, maybe we should wait for Selene.