Whitney versus Sakura/Falkner versus Janine

"The next battle will now begin!" DJ Mary shouted from the announcer's box. "This match will be between Whitney of Goldenrod City and Sakura from Cerulean City. As Whitney and Sakura walked up to the stage, Machine contacted all the Pokedex Holders through a special function of the Match call. It allowed Machine to talk to as many people he wanted to, despite them having different types of Pokegear. The other Pokedex Holders had this as well and so, they connected with Machine to hear what he said to say.



"Anything so far?" Machine asked speaking to everyone through his Pokenav. They all responded with the same negative response, including Yellow, whom was patrolling the skies. "Damn it..."



"Anything on Gold or Silver yet, Machine?" Kusa asked as he flipped his tracker for both of them and saw something that made him gasp. "What is it, Machine?"



"Gold and Silver..." Machine started to say, however, he couldn't get the words out. He showed the tracking system to Crystal as she gasped as well.



"What the hell are you two gasping about? Did something happen to Gold and Silver?" Green asked both of them.



"Yeah..." Crystal said as she spoke as if she was scared straight from what she saw. "Guys, you won't believe this but... Gold and Silver... are GONE from the tracking system whatsoever!"



"Gone?!" Yellow asked surprised. "What do you mean? Like have they disappeared or something?"



"Yes, Yellow!" Machine responded to her through his Pokenav. "They've disappeared completely. I can't track them anymore."



<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Maybe that means they found out about the trackers and took them out and are heading here." Rich said. "That's always a possibility."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"It is but... it doesn't really seem logical. I mean, how the hell would they be able to find the trackers I put on them? Do you guys suppose that someone else took them off of them?" Machine asked as they all tried to think about for a minute.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"It honestly doesn't matter right now." Hakel said, sighing. "Unfortunately, we have more important things to worry about right now. Look, the match between Whitney and Sakura is beginning."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">All the Pokedex Holders shut off communication with one another and looked down at the match that was beginning.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">It turned out that Whitney and Sakura had chosen their first Pokemon. Whitney had chosen her Miltank and Sakura had chosen a Starmie. As the battle began, Whitney made the first move shouting, "Mil Mil, Rollout now!"

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Her Miltank rolled as fast as it could towards Sakura's Starmie in a ball form, however, Starmie was too fast for Mil Mil.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Starmie jumped into the air above Mil Mil as Sakura shouted, "Starmie, Rapid Spin!" Her Starmie slammed directly into Mil Mil knocking her down onto the ground. Then, just as Mil Mil stood back, Sakura was already ordering her next attack shouting, "Hyper Beam now!" Her Starmie fired a gigantic blast of orange energy at Mil Mil, knocking Mil Mil for good.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Ahh, Mil Mil!" Whitney shouted, surprised that Sakura's Starmie was so fast.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Miltank is defeated! In the second match, Sakura from Cerulean defeats Whitney from Goldenrod!" DJ Mary shouted, announcing the end of the match.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">''These battles are amazing and I really appreciate the fact that Professor Pine was able to get us in without paying but... Gold, Silver, AND Brandon's disappearance seriously disturbs me. What the hell could they be doing right now? ''Machine thought, annoyed by the fact that they were gone from this important right now. He was sure all the Pokedex Holders thought the same thing as him and he could see it by how uneasy everyone was. There was something not right about this entire tournament and all the Pokedex Holders could feel it in the air.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"No wonder they are our Gym Leaders! These are some of the best battles I've ever seen! So far, Jasmine from Johto and Sakura from Kanto have won their matches! And now, we have Round three!" DJ Mary said as two people from each side of the Gym Leaders stood up and jumped into the air. "Of the Sixteen Gym Leaders present today, three are new to their appointments! And two of them are now going to battle! Violet's Falkner versus Fuchsia's Janine! Battle start!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Meanwhile, in another region, a young boy ran through a tall forest from a few men in red cloaks that covered their entire body. The young boy wore a black garb similar to that of a shinobi shozoku, however, he was not wearing any armor over his body. It covered most of his face besides the upper section of his nose and his eyes. He wore black fingerless on his hands and he had leggings tucked into his trousers secured by a black belt. On his feet he wore tabi, a form of clothing most ninja were to wear to induce stable footing with a white sock worn underneath the tabi. He also had a few scrolls strapped to his waist, by the same belt that was holding his leggings in. Inside the scroll, were signs that, once tapped would release his Pokemon out of its Poke Ball.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The men in red cloaks were obviously the Reddosuta Shikaku. But, unbeknown to everyone else, this boy had something they wanted. Something they needed desperately and they were chasing through a forest in another region to capture him.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The boy raced through the forest, past the trees and jumped out into a clearing where the Reddosuta Shikaku were already waiting for him.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Boy," One of the members said, stepping up to him. "Give us the Shojiro Ishibashi. We know you have it."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"What will you do if I don't?" The boy asked, giving the member of the assassins a smug look.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"You insolent little brat! You will give us the item in question or-" Before he even got to say another word, the boy had already made a direct blow through the man's chest, killing him instantly. His fist was literally through the man's chest as he pulled it out of there, showing the blood of a dead enemy thrown onto his hands.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"So..." The boy said as he smiled at them, throwing the blood from his hands onto the ground. "Anyone else want to try stealing the Bridgestone from me or would you like to end up just like your comrade back there?"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The Reddosuta Shikaku looked at one another and began thinking that because they had all surrounded him, there was no way he could be able to take them all down easily. They believed that they would eventually overwhelm the boy and he would give up and hand over this 'Bridgestone' item that the assassins apparently needed. Big mistake.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The Reddosuta Shikaku all charged at him from different sides, however, he was ready for all of them. He made a stance and watched as enemies from all sides tried to take him down. He stopped one of the enemies from attacking him and then jumped into the air above them all. He spun down towards them as if he was a rocket and slammed his fist into the head's of two of them. The two fell to their knees, made completely unconscious by this one boy's attack.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Three more tried to come at once, however, it was no use. He elbowed one of them in the face, kicked another in the stomach, and then rammed the last enemy onto the ground. The one that was kicked away also hit through ten more of them, knocking them off of a cliff nearby the forest. The boy then picked up the one who was rammed into the ground and then spun him into some incoming enemies, knocking them away.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"You can't beat me, you bastards." The young boy said. "Don't underestimate one of the Pokedex Holders."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"You're one of the damned Pokedex Holders?" One of the Reddosuta Shikaku members asked as he nodded to them.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Correct." He responded as he took off the hood that was connected to his black garb. "My name's Brandon, one of the better martial art members of the group."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Get HIM!" One of the higher up members shouted to them all, as they all jumped at Brandon. Brandon back flipped a few times, dodging them and then kicked another in the groin, knocking another a few off the same cliff as before.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Brandon then dodged another one's attack and took out one of his scrolls around his waist. He opened it up, threw it onto the ground and released one of his Pokemon out of its Poke Ball. "Come out, Hitmonlee!" Brandon shouted as his Hitmonlee was released out of his Ball. "High Jump Kick now!" Brandon and his Hitmonlee jumped into the air and then readied themselves for a kick. They were able to take double the amount of the enemies this time, sending a few twenty more flying backward. "Hitmonlee, follow up with Blaze Kick now!" His Hitmonlee dashed the left and then kicked a few more away with a blazing foot of glory. Brandon spun into the air and pulverized a few more members of the Reddosuta Shikaku when he landed on the ground.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">This fight between Hitmonlee and Brandon against the many Reddosuta Shikaku eventually ended afterward and finally, they could move on.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Nice work, Hitmonlee." Brandon said, taking out the same scroll as before. "Return, for now. Now, where can we-" As Brandon turned around, someone took hold of his face. The person lifted Brandon up into the air as he struggled to get free saying, "Who... who the hell are you? Let me go you bastard!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"I don't think I can do that, Brandon." The person said with an evil tone to his voice. "As much as I would like to let you go, I can't allow you leave my clutches. You understand, don't you? You know, after all, I'm Machine's cousin. But unfortunately... we're on different sides and I can not allow you to leave right now. The Bridgestone is actually very important to one of our members to travel through time with. Or rather... to attract a certain Pokemon out of hiding. We must harness this energy and travel back in time."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Why... would you want to do that?" Brandon asked, still struggling to get free.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Because if we do that..." The person said, previously revealing himself as Pulse Emerald. "...We can stop the Dragons, Pokedex Holders, and light from ever surfacing. We can eliminate you and your team once and for all. Now, die." Pulse's hand suddenly shone a bright red light as he kept hold onto Brandon's face. Brandon's entire body began to shine as part of his skin began to fall off. When Pulse opened his eyes wide, Brandon's entire body was blown apart violently, however, for some reason, he didn't eliminate Brandon.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">After Brandon had been destroyed from the inside out, two more members of the Reddosuta Shikaku appeared before him. "Rai, Kris, I'm glad you have appeared. Give this..." Pulse said as he tossed an oddly colored stone to Rai. "...Bridgestone to the Masked Man for his grand conquest. Also tell him, he may have a new experiment to work on now. I want that boy to become 'one' with him."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"But Pulse," Kris said as she looked down to Brandon who had seen much better days. "This boy is obviously dead. Or did you not eliminate him?"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"No, I did not. I decided to keep him alive for a certain reason. Take him to the Masked Man and allow that dirty old bastard to work with him. I will search this place for more of them." Pulse said as he disappeared, as Rai and Kris nodded to each other. Rai slung Brandon's dead body over his shoulder and then disappeared, along with Kris by his side.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">They appeared to the Masked Man with Brandon set on the table in front of him. "What the hell do you two want?" The Masked Man asked as Rai and Kris bowed to him.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"I apologize for the intrusion, Masked Man but... we have two new items for you." Rai said as The Masked Man looked at them intrigued and asked them to stand up. Rai handed him the Bridgestone and pointed to Brandon, who had not moved since he was defeated by Pulse. "Pulse would like to give you the Bridgestone and this boy. He says he wants you to become 'one' with him. I understand you know what that means."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Yes, I do." The Masked Man said as he took the Bridgestone from Rai. "He wants me to give up my free will by becoming 'one' with the boy you have given me. I know why he truly wants me to do this but that, is not for you to understand."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Very well. We understand. Well, since our work is done here, we will leave you now, sir." Kris said as they both bowed to the Masked Man once more and disappeared from the room.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The Masked Man took off his mask, which could not be seen in the darkness of the room. He looked down at the near-dead Brandon and said, "Well... It seems fitting that one of the Pokedex Holders would become 'one' with me. But now... if they truly discover who I am, they will be truly confused. Yes, this is a good idea. The process begins... NOW." The Masked Man put his hand over Brandon's near-dead body as he hand began to glow. The process was truly beginning.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Back at the Indigo Plateau, both Falkner had already called out their first Pokemon. Falkner called out his Noctowl and Janine had called out her Grimer. Falkner's Noctowl smashed its head into Grimer's stomach, however, it wasn't powerful enough to do anything to Janine's Pokemon. "Let me introduce myself again! I am Falkner and I specialize in Flying-type Pokemon!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Just as Falkner said this, Janine made a hand sign as if she was a ninja. She then put her hand next to her Grimer as her Pokemon began to shrink.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Grimer's getting smaller!" Bugsy shouted from the Johto Gym Leader's bench.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"It's Minimize." Morty stated, beginning to explain what was happening to Janine's Pokemon. "The Pokemon shrinks itself and makes it harder for other Pokemon to attack it!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Soon after, Janine's Grimer had completely disappeared from the arena. Falkner and his Noctowl tried to look around for it, however, it was no use. "It's gone! Where did it go?" Falkner asked, truly surprised.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">A few seconds later, Janine's Grimer reappeared below Falkner and his Noctowl and shot up a blast of black sludge up at it. Luckily, Falkner and his Noctowl saw this coming and barely were able to dodge it, and because of that, Falkner had gotten slightly bruised as they dodged. ''Sludge Bomb! She's an expert on Poison type Pokemon... ''Her Grimer sent another blast of sludge up at Falkner and his Noctowl, however, they were able to dodge it easier this time. "Damn! Just one hit and that's it!" Falkner shouted as he and his Noctowl flew around the sky, dodging each Sludge Bomb that came their way. "Her attacks are merciless! And Grimer's too small... I cannot pinpoint the direction of the attacks!!! There's no way I can attack! Wait a second! I've got it!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Falkner and his Noctowl dodged another one of their attacks and then pointed down from where the attacks were coming from shouting, "Noctowl, Foresight!" His Noctowl's eyes glowed red and then it sent a beam of red energy from its energy. Noctowl pinpointed Grimer easily and then, taking his chance, Falkner shouted, "There!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Return!" Janine shouted as he tossed a Poke Ball at her Grimer, calling it back to her, immediately taking out another Poke Ball after it. "Come out, Ariados!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"It doesn't matter which Pokemon you use! I will not fall for the same trick twice!" Falkner shouted as his Noctowl began to fly down at Ariados. "I will engage my best Flying-type attacks!" Falkner ordered his Noctowl to swoop down and pick Ariados. It then spun Ariados through the air, throwing it to the ground. "I won't give you the chance to attack!" As his Noctowl swooped down for another attack, Falkner saw something flicker in the light. "Wait! Stop, Noctowl!" His Noctowl stopped at exactly the right moment, as a large spider web appeared before everyone.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Nice work, Falkner. You stopped just in time. You're very sharp." Janine said, laughing behind her mask.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"If Noctowl had crashed into that web, we'd be trapped! Ariados managed to spin this web while being attacked by Noctowl!" Falkner stated, as Janine nodded to him.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"That's right! And that's not all!" Janine shouted as she threw her hand up at him. Ariados shot a web at Noctowl's body, catching it by the wing. "To create the spider web, Ariados has to spin the sticky protection thread from its spinneret! Ariados can produce attacking threads from its mouth!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Falkner and his Noctowl fell onto the ground, as his Pokemon was wrapped by Ariados' web. "Fine, return!" Falkner called back his Pokemon to its Poke Ball and took out another one. "Come out, Skarmory!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"It's too late!" Janine shouted as her Ariados shot another web from its mouth, instantly catching Skarmory as it came out.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Skarmory!" Falkner shouted, amazed by Janine's Ariados.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"The attacking thread is so sharp, it can cut through anything! You did well switching to a Pokemon with a hard body but it's only a matter of time before I cut through it!" Janine shouted as Falkner fell to his knees.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"She's good..." Falkner said as he raised his fist into the air. "But, I won't lose here!" Falkner slammed his fist onto the ground, realizing that the battle may have almost been over for him. "I've already come this far, following my father's footsteps to become a Leader! I must win and bring glory to my father!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Janine realized what Falkner had said as she repeated, "Follow my father's... footsteps..." She then turned around and thought she heard someone laugh at her. However, no one else heard it and then, as she turned around, she saw something that looked very familiar to her sitting in the crowds. ''That man! ''Janine thought as she heard something zip through the air and slice off spider web that encased Falkner's Skarmory.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">When she turned around, Falkner caught a Poke Ball in his hand and saw two prongs coming out from the side of the Poke Ball. "I'd advise you against getting distracted! My Poke Ball's are attached with Skarmory's transparent feathers! And like Skarmory, these Balls can be take flight and be used as boomerang's!"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"You have indeed aroused an interest about this new attack. However..." Janine said as she called back her Ariados and turned around to the stands. "We shall battle again when the time comes! Excuse me for now!" Janine jumped off of the battlefield and landed on the stairs of the stands.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"She's giving up?" DJ Mary asked surprised. "Janine left in the midst of a battle! It's a walkover! And the winner is Falkner! But, but-"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Falkner had jumped out of the battlefield as well and headed up to see what had happened with Janine. Janine got to the top of the stairs and looked around thinking, ''I can't be wrong! That was my father! But... isn't he supposed to be dead?''

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Falkner finally got up to her and asked, "Hey, wait up! What happened?"

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"… Falkner, please forgive me." Janine said, beginning to break down in tears. "Forgive my sudden departure... I..."

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"Don't worry, Janine. It's alright." Falkner said, obviously forgiving her, even though he didn't really understand why she left.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"You mentioned that you'd follow in your father's footsteps and and became a Leader." Janine said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It seems that I have fought with a similar opponent again... I guess this is my fate."

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">"I have no intention of asking you what you saw amongst the spectators but... I have had this bad feeling that there's some hidden force influencing this entire hall. If it's an uninvited intruder, I'll locate him, no matter what! I'll do whatever I can to help you out!" Falkner shouted, as Machine thought about what Falkner was saying.

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">''Damn... I guess we weren't the only ones who felt that strange tenacious feeling in the air... If Falkner and, possibly, Janine feel the same type of the thing, then it just can't be our senses acting up. ''Machine thought as he looked around. ''What I need to get to the bottom of is what strange feeling this is... Is the Masked Man messing with our heads or is the Reddosuta Shikaku behind this?''

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<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Machine watched as Falkner and Janine walked back to their seats on their benches as DJ Mary began to announce the next battle. ''Whatever it is, I need to stay focused on the mission at hand... Four Gym Leaders down, only twelve more to go! Which one is truly our enemy?''