The ILEX Team

The Sawsbuck paused his Aromatherapy and stood to his full height, ears pricked forward, listening. He had heard something moving in the bush -- a falling tree a ways off. He remained mostly motionless, his small tail twitching in agitation, until the culprit appeared silently, almost motionlessly; the Haunter from before floated through the underbrush, looking upset until it reached the borders of the pleasant smell of Aromatherapy. Then, it seemed to calm itself, as did the great cervid, who dropped his head again to the Blissey and Umbreon. They looked calmer than they did, a bit more rested and relieved, but he thought he caught a glimpse of irritation in the Blissey's eyes when the Haunter returned.

"My name is Chosen." he started, his accent thick but not hard to understand. "Saw everything happen, I did; what a terrible thing to happen." There was sadness in his startling green eyes for the Milotic he never knew, and his voice went quiet. "We shouldn't stay here long; I reckon we'll be bait for an attack if we linger." He bent his long legs into an awkward bow, tipping his antlered head: "Get on. I'll take you someplace safe." His thick winter coat stifled the dry heat of the sun, unusual for this time of year; the Sawsbuck could tell the seasons with the changing of his coat and antlers, and was never wrong. Winter would come soon, and hopefully with it, a lull in the Infection.

"Get on. I'll take you someplace safe."
Chosen said, as he bent down to let them on his back.
The horned creature was twice his height, and seemed like he could definitely do some damage with his antlers if provoked.
Plagues' gaze fell as he pondered the creatures' words.
He knew that he hadn't the strength to fight off anything until he had gotten some rest, but he felt ashamed that he not only failed to help his friends, but could barely survive on his own.
...and now I lost Arnie too, it seems...
He wasn't sure what happened to the Cubone after he had passed out in the den. Plague cringed at the thought of him wandering the forest alone...or worse.

"None of us can do this alone..." He said with a sigh as he gazed at the looming trees, silently cursing his own weakness.

Plague got to his feet and shook himself, making small bits fall off his now lusterless coat.
"Thank you for your kind offer. I think I have the strength to walk on my own."
He nodded at the Sawsbuck and did his best to look stronger than he felt.

One day, I'll be strong enough.
One day, these monsters will no longer be here.
I promise, Tullie.

Hope nodded to Chosen for the kind offer. "Thank you... But I'll pass. My size would definitely weigh you down." she waved her short stubby arms in a flustered and embarrassed manner. "Still, we can rest up at Slowpoke Well. It is sealed off from the infected quite nicely, and we have lots of food too." she pointed in the supposed direction of Azalea Town.

Offering hospitality is what we do... Right, Nurse Joy?
Memories floated around at the thought of her former trainer and owner. She sighed, it was indeed what they do, and she would have to take these travellers in as well, like she always did with the passing trainers so eager to beat Bugsy and so eager to move on. It was tradition, and she wasn't very good at attacking, but her defense and healing made up for that. Yes, she will take them in.

"If I can lead you there," the Blissey smiled. "And if none of you mind, it's this way." she hopped off in the direction of the town her knew so well and now so cold and abandoned. The home for her in all these years and the place for rookie trainers. She has seen many, from Chikoritas to Totodiles to Cyndaquils, she's seen them all. They were the ones following the trainers around. Some had Pidgey and Sentret and all those friends they had caught along the way... Now it is very much abandoned, and Hope thought of the remaining things she could do to invite people and Pokémon to stay.

Xander was relieved when Chosen confirmed the attack of that giant rotting sea serpent that cost the life of Ruby, thus giving a good reason for the rough time he gave to that Blissey. Then, he realized that even if he actually saw it, then why he didn't came and help, even if it was helpless? Wasn't the least to do in these times of crysis? Xander shake his head to clear those bad thoughts away. It was not the time to start this here. All the rumble he did with the tree had surely alerted numbreous infecteds, maybe even.....


"Still, we can rest up at Slowpoke Well. It is sealed off from the infected quite nicely, and we have lots of food too." Right. It was the place they agreed to go after leaving the cave. Plus, since it's sealed from the infected AND have a large stock of food, it would probably be the nearest and the safest place to go.

As they departed, Chosen offered to them a ride on his back. Both Plague and the Blissey declined, and Xander didn't ever bother to answer, because he floats in the air with ease. He then realised that even if the Umbreon told the buck Pokémon that he was strong enough to walk, his shaking legs and and the unbalanced body of his could only prove the opposite. Silently, Xander pat the head of Plague, and told him:" It's okay if you're weak right now, especially after what happened. Don't be shy to ask for help, it's vital for having a chance to survive this hell."

As Xander followed the Blissey, hunger began to annoy him. His thougts came back to that little Cubone he saw with Plague earlier. Maybe if they could met again, that would cheer him up a little? He asked to the BLissey:By any chance, did you happen to have seen a little Cubone around here?"

[OoC: Sorry for the delay DX Having a new job mean less time spending on internet! I'll make sure it won't happen again.]

Chosen's frown quickly turned into a quiet smile as the others turned away his offer for help -- that meant they were strong enough, even after the incident at the pond, to help themselves. They were all smaller than he was, however, so the great antlered Pokémon kept watch at the back of the moving group. Slowpoke well, huh? He'd only been there once or twice, as he knew it was close to Azalea Town...and getting close to towns was bad news for the cervid.

The Sawsbuck's ears twitched as they swiveled all around, listening intently for any sounds in the nearby underbrush. While traveling on the path was dangerous by way of exposure, traveling in the trees had its disadvantages, too...especially for tall, antlered creatures like him. Behind his glasses, the great deer looked troubled. He watched the three ahead of him interact, but still felt too awkward to join in.

Cerberus came to a stop at the edge of the huge forest. He looked back at the direction he had come from. The once great city of Goldenrod was now out of sight. He let out a low growl, wishing he could have that meal he so dearly longed for. His tongue started to hang out of his mouth as he started to imagine it, his prey helpless to his power as he started to devour it. I hoped he would have better luck here in his own territory, a forest that all Mightyena were born and raised. If he hunted here, he knew nothing could possibly stop him.

He put his nose to the ground, trying to pick up a possible living sent. He managed to pick up a faint sent. He managed a smile, even though he no longer had much emotion left. He raised his head and let out a howl, before he ran into the depths of the forest.

They had all managed to make it through the forest without much more incident, and Plague couldn't have been more relieved. They were just passing the old oak tree that he had obliterated the other night.
There wasn't much of the infected corpses left. Plague wondered what would have been desparate enough to eat them.
Do...they eat their own?...he thought, as he stepped over a rotting appendage of a now unrecognizable pokemon.
Or was it something still alive...desperate for food...?

"This was where I was staying after I got separated from Toluca, my...trainer..." Plagues' voice was ragged and full of sadness.
He stared at the shattered bits of wood as he continued.
"We were attacked by a mob of infected Gyarados on the coast nearby. They used powerful water moves...threw her and Cyndaquil out to sea. I waited near the coast for days, combing the safer parts for them both...but they...never washed up..." his rings shuddered, pulsating strangely.

He didn't want to face the others; he didn't want them to see the tears that had welled up in his eyes.
He reached underneath the skull and wiped away his tears angrily.

"I'm sorry. Let's get to your friends at the well." Plague sighed heavily and fell in with the others as they continued on the path to Azalea.

(OoC- Why was 'Afternoon' only one post? xD)

"By any chance, did you happen to have seen a little Cubone around here?" that was the Haunter's question to Hope. "Well, he was with me when you snatched Plague... But now I don't know where he is since I left to find you." she replied, with a somewhat accusing glare at Xander. "Alright, it's just this way." she pointed to the well that was hidden behind a few houses. "Grab some Potions from the shops if you wish, but there's a few corpses here and there." she pranced about among them.

When she had reached the well, she lifted the round stone slab that covered the entrance, the climbed down. "If the last one of you to come down is able to, can you replaced the stone on top of the entrance?" she called out to her team.

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Edge of Azalea Town|Late Evening (12)

Xander was relieved that the little Cubone, despide still being lost somewhere in the forest, was still alive. It could always cheer up Plague. He was also aware of the glare of the Blissey she gave him, but he ignored it.

As they passed near an old obliterated oak, Plague began to told his story of what happened and why he's there. He then turned his back on them, to secretly wash the tears from his face. But Xander did notice it and, despite the fact he wanted to cheer the Umbreon, he couldn't find the words. He just silently praise for the safety of his comrad's friends.

"Alright, it's just this way." the Blissey suddenly said. They had finally made it through the Ilex forest. "Grab some Potions from the shops if you wish, but there's a few corpses here and there." she added then. As Xander looked at his new comrads, he replied: " Since I'm the only one with hands, I think I'm the one who'll search for the potions."

When he took a peek inside, Xander couldn't retain a shocking "Gasp" as he witness the remains of what were the unluckies last residents in the shop. "She said only a few corpses, right, but Arceus, I wasn't prepared for this mess!" though Xander as he float over many undescribles pieces of flesh and bones that covered the floor of the shop. He was glad he didn't have to breathe, because he could sense the smell was really awful, even worse with the humid temperature they had in the past few weeks. Xander looked on the shelves, but they were all empty. When they fled, the humans probably raided that shop and take whatever useful item they could get. He finally spotted a bag, containing some potions and many berries. As he was about to left by a broken window, Xander spotted a shinning can in the remains of what it seemed to be a refrigerator. He take the can and look at it. It was a Lemonade can. How lucky he was to find that!

When he returned to the entrance of the Slopoke Well, Xander stopped, and watched carefully around, to spot possible danger while the others climb down the ladder. When he was alone, he entered the well and, gripping the round stone slab, he closed the only exit of the well, hopefully protecting them for incoming ennemies.

The infected Mightyena was no longer running through the forest. Instead he was walking. The sent he had been following had disappeared awhile back and he couldn’t find it again. So instead of looking for it again he decided to just try and find something else to hunt. His stomach groaned for food, and yet no matter how much he consumed he would always want more. “Blood, need.” He growled, hoping to find something that would quench his hunger for the time being, even though it wouldn’t be long before he wanted more.

Cerberus had found his way to a lake, were he stopped and looked into the water. He stifled a growl as he looked at his reflection. The blood seeping from his chest wound now started to drip into the water, turning the shore he was on to a light red. Disgusted with his new appearance he took his claws and slashed the water, distorting his image as he turned and walked away.

He put his nose back to the ground, trying to pick up any possible sent that could lead him to his prey, but Cerberus wasn’t getting anything. Frustrated he ran back into the woods and found his way to a path that humans used to get to Goldenrod City. He thought about going back to the city, try his luck in catching those two pokemon once more, but he knew they would have probably left by now. Not liking being out in the open he ran back into the forest.

Arriving at the Slowpoke Well, each took turns climbing down. The Blissey had no issue in getting down the ladder.
Humanoids and their ladders...

He gazed out towards the town, seeing the outline of the Haunter floating in and out of the destroyed store.
I guess he found some useful items. Plague thought, noticing his hands were full of glittering objects.

He turned his attention back to the hole. He couldn't jump, as it was a rather high fall. He carefully put his rear paws down onto the rungs of the ladder, clinging to the cool stones that made up the outside tightly with his claws.
He continued down in an awkward fashion, until he reached the bottom.
He sighed with relief as he felt the moist earth underneath his paw.

He trotted to the side, getting out of the way, so the others could make their way down.
Taking in his surroundings, he gasped at how many LIVING slowpoke had been holed up here.

"Wow...it is nice to meet all of you." Plague said quietly in the direction of the resting pokemon.
"Thank you for sharing your home, and taking care of Arnie while you did." He nodded towards the frilled pokemon.
"It is certainly nice to know that he wasn't alone that entire time..." Plagues' ears wilted as he thought of the young Cubone.
But maybe he is still alive, somewhere.

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject.
"Do you take care of all of them? Surely they can't venture out..." He sat near her and motioned towards the resting pokemon. He wondered how well a Slowpoke could fend for itself, considering it's natural plight.

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Slowpoke Well | Late Evening (13)

After closing the exit of the well, Xander catched up the others. A shriver went through his gazeous body when he saw all the Slowpokes that were there, watching them with their silly eyes and absent-minded expression. He taked out what he found at the shop, and made the count: 7 berries (Most of them are Oran, some are Pecha and one is a Rawst one), 4 potions (2 labeled as Ice Heal, one as Awakening and another one without any label), and of course the Lemonade can.


He then started to share the berries with his comrads, only keeping one for himself."So, what should we do now?" asked Xander to the others. "Now that we can safely think about it, we should decide what we should do next, because I'm clueless."With a discret movement, he gave the Lemonade to Plague, telling him: "I think you'll ned this more then any of us right now."

Cerberus managed upon an old den, it was empty but it had a lot of lingering living sent. Which is why it had drawn him in. He looked around, hoping to find something to eat, but there way nothing, which didn’t appeal to him all that much. So he decided to try and follow the sent. If he was lucky it would lead him to whoever had used the den, or it would lead him to the old residents dead, killed by another infected. Her couldn’t let that happen, but he couldn’t rush like he did last time. The last thing he wanted was to lost this sent like he did that other one.

He took a good whiff of the den as to make sure he got the sent memorized. Being a canine, he was very proud of his sense of smell. It had not deteriorated which he was glade about. Having the sent now memorized he started to follow it, making sure not to move to fast, but not to slow ether. So he was doing something like a trot, if canines can trot anyway.

He managed to follow the trail to the edge of the forest, not caring if he was leaving the shelter of the forest behind him, this prey was to good to pass up. And the sent was getting fresher with every step he took. And soon he was at the edge of an old town. He looked around, hoping to spot something edible, but there was nothing. But the sent of the living was strong here, like they had just arrived. He managed a grin as he stood there. It was everywhere, and he couldn’t wait to sink his fangs into whoever left it.

Rain dreamed of his mother, Anne, and old memories that returned to haunt him. He suddenly remembered images of a strange, yellow mouse that had a strikingly similar resemblance to him. The only difference was the color of the circles on her cheeks, tail, and ears. Instead of blue being the color of these appendages and facial areas, the color red was the substitute. Rain slowly awakened from his slumber and pushed himself against the wall of the laboratory he escaped from. He lifted his head to, once again, see the open vent of the building. Many times he had thought of going back to save his mother, but she would certainly refuse help from him or any other. Rain pouted as he slowly walked away from the laboratory. Tears began to fall from his eyes with every succeeding step toward the lush forest before him. Rain did not know where he was going, and he didn't care. All he wanted was to be in the arms of his loving mother again.

After walking for miles, Rain's journey brought him to a place unfamiliar to him. The ground was hard, grey, and rough. The place was filled with many square structures, much like the laboratory. Rain gazed at these massive structures in wonder as he continued to pace through the town. THUNK! "Oww!" Rain whispered as he put his hand on his head. He raised his head to see what he ran into. A broken sign stood tall from the ground. AZALEA was what the sign read. Although Rain could not understand what was written, he memorized the symbols.

Rain stepped to the side and continued his stroll through the town of Azalea. He followed a white fence all the way to the end of the sidewalk; however, the gruesome carnage which covered the courtyard past the fence stunned the small Minun. Oh! was all Rain could think as he lifted his tiny hand to his mouth in fright and shock. Every step seemed to make a loud thud as Rain drug his feet with every step toward the fallen. He stared wide-eyed at all of the corpses' faces as he passed them. Some faces filled were filled with horror, others with despair or grief, and even some with no faces or heads to determine what their emotions were. Rain came upon a small deceased girl with a small pink backpack. Every inch of the girl was mangled and torn apart along with her bag. After looking away in sadness, Rain's eye caught a small plush Barboach toy that was flung from the backpack during the attack on this little girl. Rain stepped toward the small toy with his gaze fixated upon it. He did not know what it was or whether it was real or not, but something drew Rain towards it, to pick it up, to hold it.

Rain picked up the small toy and held it in his arms. Suddenly, a voice started to speak in his mind. The voice repeated I'm here. Don't worry. I'm here. Don't worry. I'm here. Don't worry. The voice sounded much like his mother's. Rain swerved in every direction to see his mother anywhere nearby but saw no one. He didn't understand what was happening, and the voice continued to echo the same words in his mind. "AAAAAAH!" Rain screamed as a sharp pain thrashed around in his head. Rain shut his eyes tightly as he slapped both of his hands onto his head as if to hold his skull together. The Barboach toy fell from the small Minun's hands. Rain opened his eyes. The pain stopped. He looked down at the small toy he had just held in his arms with much affection. "Mother?" Rain said confused as he stared at the small toy. No answer came. Rain picked toy up once more and heard the voice again, except, this time, there was no pain. Yes...I'm here... The voice said no more. Rain closed his eyes and quietly said to himself, "Don't worry mother. I'll protect you this time." Rain held the small toy in his arms and squeezed it.

Rain heard another set of voices, only this time, they were coming from the opposite end of the town where a small well sat. Unaware if the chatter coming from the well was from friend or foe, Rain strode towards it in hopes of finding some live pokemon to help him. Arriving at the well’s entrance, he used one of his hands to grip the small parts of the brick that, due to weathering, jutted out. While carrying the small doll in his other hand, Rain was able to reach the top of the well. He knelt down on the thin bricks, which bordered the hole, and poked his head out over the well to see how far it went. The darkness of the evening did not allow the small Minun to see a lot, but he was able to spot a ladder that led down the well. Rain hopped across the hole and grabbed one of the ladder's rungs. With great difficulty from holding the Barboach toy with one hand while using the other to climb farther down, Rain reached the bottom of the well and could hear the conversation between the voices clearly. The bottom was pitch black, mucky, and humid. There was no visibility in any direction except for a small, orange beam of light, which looked much like fire. Rain approached the small beam and noticed it was coming from the other side of a wall. He felt the obstacle before him to determine what blocked his way. "Wood? How would a tree be growing down here?" Rain said aloud as he knocked on it. The voices suddenly stopped. Rain, realizing whatever was talking was on the other side of the wall, was frightened and began to run around in the darkness with his arm stretched out to find the ladder.

"I think you'll need this more then any of us right now." Xander quietly said, as he placed the can of lemonade in front of Plague nonchalantly.

Plague gave the Haunter a thankful look, his shoulders sagging from exhaustion. He put his paws around the can, remembering how Tullie had bought these often, filling her backpack with them.
Plague let a small chuckle escape his mouth as his thoughts went back to the past.
The nights around the campfire, resting on her feet, keeping her warm, traveling and wrestling with Cyndaquil and Strix...he had missed this terribly.
He turned to look back at the others that had been accompanying him, wishing he didn't feel so damn lonely.
His forlorn gaze turned back to the can. He pushed it over to its' side and was about to open it when suddenly, a flashback overcame him, filling his vision.
The chilling water, the choking, suffocating feeling in his chest and throat, Tullies' screams and the terrifying roar of the Gyarados flooded his senses.
Plague groaned in fear and pain as the images flashed before him uncontrollably. His body quivered and shook as he lay there with his paws covering the empty sockets of the Honchkrow skull that masked his own.
I can't...I can't let them see...I can't lose it!...Stop being so fucking weak!
Plague could hear his father screaming at him.
Stop being so fucking pathetic! You're nothing but a failure! You failed your pack! You don't deserve another chance!
His fathers' voice, dripping with rage and disdain, reverberated in his head, becoming his own.

Plague clenched his jaws together painfully, trying to keep himself from screaming. As exhausted as he was, the rage that he felt knew no bounds. He knew that if he ever let it out, he would hurt others that happened to be near him...and he couldn't let that happen.

Forcing his paws away from his face, he hoped that his actions hadn't attracted any attention. He didn't want to have to explain why he was so utterly fucked up.
He dug his claws into the can in front of him and bit into the middle hard, puncturing the weak aluminum with his teeth. The sharp metal cut his gums, but he didn't seem to notice.

The liquid inside spilled out of the holes, as he quickly lapped at it. His gaze was fixed on the far wall, and his eyes were glowing a deep crimson from the intensity of his emotions. The deep red light reflected off the white bone of his mask, illuminating the hollow skull in a sinister glow.
The syrup-like drink filled his belly as he began to feel his energy return. The taste of blood also seemed to soothe him, pacifying his need for the release of this darkness that threatened to consume him.

As his energy returned, his vision cleared. He started to pick up sounds from the pokemon around him, and listened to the conversations that were going on.
The others were wondering what the next step was.
His beaked muzzle rose from the empty can and was about to speak when a knocking sound came from the entrance.
Everyone went silent as all their eyes went to the heavy wooden door.
Plague looked at the others, and he could see that they all shared the same thoughts, for all their eyes were wide with fear and surprise.
"What do we do?"

(OoC- sorry it took so long, I've been super busy)

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Slowpoke Well | Late Evening (14)

As Xander was about to told his plan to the other, he heard a knocking sound on the door. Everyone stopped talking and was looking at the door, both surprised and terrified at the idea that an infected was nearby."It seems that we aren't alone anymore..." Xander told to the others.

"What do we do?" suddenly asked Plague, his mouth still dripping some drops of the sweet breveage Xander gave him earlier. He seemed to get better, and that relieved Xander."What do we do? Easy! You and the others get the Slowpoke in safety, deeper into the well. Be prepared and always look back, just in case. I'll go investigate what's going on." he answered. As he was about to get through the door, Xander could sense the worried look the Umbreon was giving to him. Slightly turning around, he added: "Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine."

His eyes being already accoutumated to the darkness of the well, Xander noticed that someone climbed down the hole, since the lights of the day could be seen where the ladder stand. He also noticed movement, despite he couldn't identify what was happening. He knew, however, that his priority was to close that damn entrace, so no infected could come here and try to force the door.


He floated through the ground, and reappeared near the well. The stone slab had been pushed aside, somehow. As Xander mutter, he put back the stone slab on the exit of the well, and praise that this time, no one will try to push it off. Now that it was done, Xander had to deal with the "intruder". He couldn't think of what was in there, but he will find out.


Xander stopped when he began to get the impression of being observed. He looked around him, he couldn't saw what was glaring at him. He ready himself, because he knew deep inside that he's going to have to fight.

Cerberus wondered around the empty town, following the sent as best he could. If it weren’t for the sent of the dead starting to mix with the sent of the living, there wouldn’t be any trouble locating his prey. He looked in abandoned homes in hopes that they had taken refuge in one of them, but that was too much to hope for.

“Come out, little food. Cerberus hungry for flesh.” He growled. Normally what he says makes no sense cause he says it out of sentence. But there is the odd time when what he says does make some sense.

He walked by the Pokemon Center, but there was no sent but death coming from it. So he moved on. He started to wonder if maybe they just passed through, but he had a feeling that they were here. He could feel it in his undead bones. “Come out. If do, I make death painless.” Telling them stuff like that was a sure way to tell them to stay where they were. He wanted food, he didn’t care if they came out or stayed hidden. He just wanted to sink his fangs into some living flesh.

He started to give up on finding them, the PokeMart had some faint sent, but it was mostly from all the dead bodies inside. After he checked out the gym he was going to give up and go back to the forest. But then he noticed a well. And what was coming off it was living sent, and it was fresh sent to. He stifled an emotionless grin. He noticed that the entrance was open, so it would be simple to get in. but then something appeared out of nowhere. It was some kind of flouting purple thing with hands not attached to its body.

Cerberus stayed low to the ground as the purple thing started to move some kind of stone slab over the entrance. Cerberus started to flex his claws, which scraped agonised the stone street. He needed to make a move before that thing disappeared. So he charged out of his hiding place and ran at full speed to where it was. Then he leapt at it, his huge jaws opened wide, a small shadow like sphere starting to form in his mouth as he got ready to use his Shadow Ball.

"Yes! I found it!" Rain shouted as he grabbed the ladder in the darkness of the well. Alright, I have to hurry now. Who knows how far away those things are he thought as he started to pull himself up the first rung. No doubt they will follow me, but if I can hide somewhere up there, Rain thought as he looked up maybe I could observe them from the top to see how they act and what they look like without revealing myself. Climbing to the surface was difficult; he could only climb with one hand because his other clutched the small Barboach, which he dared not leg go. Straining himself, Rain climbed from rung to rung as fast as he could, and when he reached the middle of the well, Rain heard a gritty sound, which stopped after a few seconds. Fearing the worst, Rain started to leap up the rungs of the ladder. Although he knew this maneuver was risky, the thought of being torn to pieces encouraged him.

When Rain first entered the well, he could not see the top. The moonlight did not reach the top of the well thereby giving the top the same shade of darkness as the bottom. Since the top of the well was not visible when Rain went down, he did not expect it to be visible when he went back up; therefore, Rain was unaware he was climbing towards a blocked entrance. Reaching the surface of the well, Rain made one final jump but, instead of shooting out the top, bumped his head on the slab. "Aagh!" Rain moaned painfully as he fell deeper into the belly of the water pit. Rain crashed to the ground, although he should have died, he was merely unconscious.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine." The Haunter said, as he floated out the entrance.
Growling with apprehension, Plague turned to herd the Slowpoke deeper into the well.
"We must get everyone deeper into the cavern!" He barked at his comrades as he nudged a young sleeping Slowpoke with his beak.

Suddenly, there was a scream and a splash that came from just outside the door.
"What the hell!?" Plague cried as he sprinted to the door.
Plague knew from the cry that it was a young pokemon, but if it was infected or not, he was unsure.
He shoved open the door cautiously with his shoulder, poking his head in through the crack and peering outside.
There, in a shallow pool of water, was a small yellow pokemon.
Plague glanced up, looking at the darkness above, then back down at the unconscious pokemon.
Plague crept closer. It was face down in the water, and not moving.
Is it dead...? It must have fallen from the top...
Plague sniffed at it carefully, searching for any hint of infection.
...This one is odd...he doesn't smell dead...he must have belonged to a human...he has their scent all over him.

"The water must have saved you kid," he muttered as he picked up the baby pokemon by the scruff and carried him out of the shallow water.
Dropping him gently to the dry ground, he turned it over with his paw to get a better look at this new pokemon.
Hmm, I don't recognize it...nothing I've ever seen before.
This one had large gray patches on his cheeks, and rounder ears than a Pichu...he would know-he sometimes made meals of Pichu when he couldn't find anything else.

As he sat back, he noticed it had something soggy and sagging in his nubby arms.
Plague nudged it with his beak, and investigated further with his nose.
What the hell is this..?
It wasn't alive, and it wasn't dead either. It looked like a water pokemon of some sort. It reeked of humans, even after it had been sitting in well-water.

Plague sat on his haunches, gazing up at the top of the well. He wanted to help Xander.
I'll take this one to safety, and then I'll go up. The others can handle a small handful of Slowpoke.
Plague leaned over the helpless Minun and gently picked both him and the soggy thing it was carrying up and took them into the safety of the Slowpoke Well.
His nose scrunched up as he growled quietly.
Yuck, this thing tastes disgusting. Plague thought, the rancid water from the Barboach doll saturating his mouth.

[OoC: ARGH! Skip my turn. I didn't had time, 'cause it's the POUTINE FESTIVAL IN HERE! Let's just say that Xander had been hit by the Shadow Ball, and was blasted off against the houses, uncounscious, BUT NOT DEAD, 'kay?]

The infecteds Mightyenas attacked hit the Ghost type sending it flying against the side of one of the houses. It then fell to the ground unmoving. But Cerberus knew that it wasn’t dead. He didn’t hit it hard enough to kill it, and colliding with the house wouldn’t be enough to kill it ether. He landed on top of the stone slab with a thud. He then howled in victory as he jumped off it and slowly walked toward his prey.

The ghost pokemon lay still, and it didn’t have much of a living sent, but Cerberus knew that it wasn’t dead. As he got closer his grin grew ever bigger, revealing sharp blood stained fangs, until he was finally standing over it. He let out another howl before attempting to bite into it.

(OOC: Sorry, there isn't much I could do at this point. Sorry for telling everyone after three days but my character can't really do anything until he regains consciousness which is probably going to happen after a while because he kind of fell down a large well. I will post next time. Sorry again.)

Plague gently placed the small yellow pokemon down at the foot of the cervid.
"He fell down the well, watch over him. He's not infected." he quickly muttered as he turned and dashed back to the entrance. He sighed as he looked at the ladder.
At least it'll be easier going up rather than going down...
He made his way up the damp ladder, moving quicker than he had before.
As his paw touched the cover of the entrance, he heard a bone-chilling howl, right above him. The lid jiggled a bit as the creature that was on it jumped off. Being a semi-canine pokemon, he knew that this howl was one of victory.
His heart skipped a beat as he thought of the Haunter out there.
Oh no, Xander!
He inched his paw under the lid and moved it as quietly as he could until there was enough room to get through. He poked his head up and looked around.

He caught sight of the howling pokemon, just to the right of the well. It was slightly larger than himself, with long dark purple and gray fur. It was stalking towards one of the buildings, where a purple clump lay in a heap, unmoving, against it.

Xander!
Plague growled and narrowed his eyes. He leaped out and quietly crept towards the gloating pokemon. As he got closer, the canine howled again and bared its' bloodied teeth.
Plague sniffed the air, hoping to pick up as much information about his enemy as he could.
This thing isn't alive...
Plagues' anger flared at the sight of an infected. His eyes and rings began to glow, and his ability Synchronize went into full-effect as he readied himself for a fight.

He protracted his claws and flattened his ears against his head as he lunged forward with a quick attack. His sharp claws dug into the soft earth as he charged forward, colliding with the canines' exposed side.

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Azalea Town | Late Evening (15)

"Urgh...." Xander tried to move, but he simply don't have energy anymore. The Shadow Ball attack caught him off-guard, sending him flying on one of the houses. He was thankful for being a Haunter, otherwise he could had feel the pain to have many broken bones, which wasn't good for the moment.

Xander fight for being conscious, but he knew he couldn't win. He was conscious enough to hear the beast that defeated him howling at it's victory. Then, it began to approach Xander, slowly, but determinated. Another howl make Xander shriver a little. "So, this is how it's end? Being beaten badly after losing comrades? Life isn't fair..."

He was about to give up, when suddenly the beast was shoved out of the way by something black and purple. Xander's sight began to get really fuzzy, but he think he recognised Plague. He couldn't keep consciousness anymore, and fell unconscious.

Cerberus wasn’t ready for the sudden impact in his side, which sent him skidding a few feet on the street. Surprise was all he felt, which was odd since he couldn’t feel anything. He lifted his head and faced his attacker, snarling at it. How dare it interfere, this wasn’t its fight, so why? Was it another infected wanting to steal his prey? He wouldn’t let that happen, he started to stand back up and slowly walk toward the new pokemon.

“Bad, you no inter-” his voice was cute off by a weird feeling. His vision was starting to get a little clearer, and then it went fuzzy. “What?” The glow in his eyes started to dim, and he started to lose all strength in the legs that caused him to fall onto his side. He started to feel searing pain all over his body, mainly from his chest. Then everything was clear.

The old Cerberus had managed to finally take control of the body, but after being buried deep inside for so long, he had no idea where he was, or what had happened. “Where… where am I?” He managed to say, but it was so low it could barley be heard. He tried to lift his head but he was just to existed and weak to manage even that. We felt like passing out, but he couldn’t, he had to stay awake. “H-how did I get here?” he said in the same unhearable tone as be moved his head to get a look at where he was. He could manage to move his head he just couldn’t lift it.

Then he noticed the Umbreon. It was standing there in a defensive position like it was ready to attack him. “Who are you?” Cerberus managed to get his voice a little higher. Though he didn’t think it heard him since it was still in the same position. Then the pain returned and he let out a whimper. He had never felt pain like this before. It was worse then the time he fell down a cliff and hit a tree so hard his back hurt for weeks. But the worst of the pain was in his chest. And he remembered the fight with the Arcanine. How it had slashed his chest causing him to bleed to death. He didn’t know what was going on, or why, but he needed, “help…”

(ooc: Because of Plagues synchronize ability, the old Cerberus was able to resurface. But because of the state his body has been in, he is going to be in searing pain for a long time. And the last thing he remembers is his trainer’s face, so he’s got no idea what he’s done before now.)