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Luka looked across at Hiba. "No. I love them too much. And, to be honest, I think it would be detrimental to their health if I released them now. Kai, my Pignite, has never lived out in the wild. Neither has Squirt. The only ones who have had any experience of fending for themselves are Tayla and Misa, but, I don't think they want to go back to their homes. Misa, who would probably do the best out of them, looked so happy when she said I was travelling, her eyes glistened at the sight of the sea. I think she wants to travel too." Luka's eyes hardened. "Ghetsis can try whatever he likes to try and get me to release my friends, but, the bond that I feel with them is one that I personally cannot sever and one that I don't think my Pokémon want to sever. My Pokémon saved me once, so, I believe it is my turn to save them however I can."

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a moment. "The liberation of Pokémon is meaningless. What does it do? It hurts people and it hurts Pokémon. The equality of Pokémon, now, that's a different story. Humans and Pokémon, we all live in this world together. So, shouldn't we all work together to make the world a better place? Pokémon can understand us. That much is clear. We may not be able to understand Pokémon, but, that doesn't prevent us from having some form of communication with them. If we could listen to them and learn what they have to say, then maybe, we could all have that bond."

He looked again at Hiba. "What do you make of it? Do you plan on releasing your Pokémon?"

((The trust we have has been forged by the flames of all the battles we've been through? Is that the Skyrim reference?))

Luka nodded. "I think that we may be in the minority with our un-breakable bonds with our Pokémon..." He had looked around the banquet hall and could see so many people looking at their Pokéballs and questioning themselves. "I think, maybe that bond may be easier to break for some people." He stared off solemly into the crowd. How could people abandon their friends?

He shook himself out of that thought and took Hiba's next thought into consideration. "The Collectors are terrible, yes. But I know there are a few trainers out there that try to catch them all for the purposes of learning from them. Have you heard of Professor Oak? Who am I kidding, of course you have. Everyone has heard of Professor Oak. Well, he has a lab in Pallet Town in Kanto that houses so many Pokémon in quite a large area for the trainers that work for him in collecting data on Pokémon. From what I can gather, they're looked after well and stuff, so, I think it depends on the mission. Trophy hoarders are just dirt, but, those that do care about all of the Pokémon they catch even if it is a huge amount, then, maybe they're alright."

That was something he had learned from the stories written by the guy. Apparently, he had tried to catch them all for Professor Oak and had done a pretty decent job until he reached Sinnoh where things didn't go quite according to plan. But, apparently, he had gone back to Sinnoh over the years and slowly completed his Pokédex for Sinnoh. It'd taken him years but he mentioned at the end of his last book that although he knew that he should probably come to Unova, he just didn't have the time to go catching Pokémon anymore. So, he lived in Pallet Town, writing his books with his wife and enjoying life. It was a shame, Luka kinda wanted to meet him, but, these things happened. You couldn't have every dream come true.

((XD I have to say, although I still love songs, I ain't quite as on the ball as I used to be with them.

Also, that summer break is never gonna get finished. XD

So yeah, if you like Thrillers and Crime books then you should enjoy the stuff by Jo Nesbo. The Snowman was definitely very interesting. biggrin ))

What did that place look like again? Wayne had been to Kero's house exactly once. He remembered that it was big with a nice garden but... yeah, that was about it. He flew through the uptown residences, scanning each street as he soared on by.

Yes, Wayne was flying.

Well, levitating. He held onto Solosis tightly as his legs dangled behind him, the little green psychic using Self-Telekinesis to keep them aloft. This was way faster than running. The Light Screen that they had up in front of them not only kept them from splattering any bugs, it also provided enough torchlight to see in the dark streets.

There were still a few people about. While many had gone to the banquet, it was far from all of them. Wayne got a fewer odd looks than he might've expected; but of course, pokémon trainers do weird s**t all the time.

---

Zack grabbed Elizabeth by the wrist. She looked back in surprise, which faltered when she saw his expression. Bad news.

"We have to leave," Zack said quietly. Ghetsis' speech was over and his troops were circling around him in formation. Ghetsis sat at a table, all manner of fine meats and wine laid out before him. He was to be a part of this banquet himself, to be seen smiling and approachable. It was for his image. There was a gap in the troops so that anyone who wished to talk to him could.

"Sir, the one you wanted us to watch..." a grunt said in his ear, too quiet for anyone to eavesdrop. Ghetsis' eye slid to the side; Zack led his family by the hand and out the doors. The Plasma leader smiled. The grunt nodded and left.

The same grunt watched in silence as Zack shoved people away from a waiting taxi and ushered his family inside, slammed the door, and a few seconds later set off. He turned inside, picked up a radio and said two words.

"Get ready."

((Authors spend more time rewriting their books than they do writing them razz ))

(( http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/PMarshall_2006/TKmaru.png Here you go, TK ))

((Roooooose! It's not long until a timeskip, but it's only 9pm! This party's just getting started! Where the hell is Eunmi??))

Hiba greed, the professors where different, they had some sort of insatiable love for Pokemon. Hiba was about to continue to conversation until he'd seen the big G sit down, completely approachable. Instead, all Luka got was a "Yea." along with a Nod as Hiba was looking towards Ghetsis. clearly Hiba was distracted.

Suddenly, the Muscled Trainer stood up. "The only way where gonna get any answers is to talk to the person who are the center of our question's." He said with a single nod towards the Ghetsis. "You coming?" he asked with a sideways glance at Luka.