DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All writing and original characters are copyright 2008 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment.

Slowly, Atra began to regain consciousness. She heard voices talking in the background -- human voices.

"Alright, so just to confirm," said one unfamiliar voice, sounding much deeper than Jeff's, "for your Shiny Plusle and Blastoise..."

"I'm getting your Hippowdon, Staraptor, Ampharos, Dragonite, and that Articuno I wanted. Oh, did I say Kabutops? That, too. Those six." That voice was definitely Jeff's, though both voices sounded a fair distance away.

"Yeah, that's fine. I just want that Plusle. Well then, shall we?" asked the other voice.

"Sure, put them on the trading rack and input your stuff," said Jeff.

Atra slowly opened her eyes to see she was in a dark room, filled with deep blue colored walls and a glow coming from over where she saw the two silhouettes of the Trainers. She recognized this room: it was a trading room! Jeff and the Trainer he was trading with were over by the trading machine! But from the sounds of it, it didn't sound like it was too late.

However, trying to remain as still as possible, Atra noticed that she was still in Ignis' grip. She didn't want to call out attention to the fact that she was awake. At least, not until she thought of a way to break free. Perhaps she could still save Elly if she could just get to those Poke Balls.

"Well, well, look who decided to wake up?" remarked Ignis, noticing that Atra was awake. "Oh boy did I have some fun with you, ahaha!"

"You're sick!" exclaimed Atra, who began struggling to break free of Ignis' grip, though once again failed to. All she did was attract the attention of Jeff, who had placed one of his Poke Balls on the trading rack already.

"Atra! You're already awake! You are really starting to piss me off, girl," said Jeff as he walked over to Atra. "I'm going to have to put you back to sleep, then." He reached for Effloresca's Poke Ball. "Go Effloresca!"

With a flash of light, Effloresca was once again released from her Poke Ball and saw a familiar scene. She quickly glanced over to see that the trade hadn't yet been initiated nor completed, so she felt somewhat relieved.

"Effloresca," said Jeff, "I'm going to need you to use Sleep Powder on Atra again! She keeps waking up! In fact, make it an extra dose."

Effloresca looked back up to Atra to see her squirming, though much less vigorously than she was earlier. She wanted so desperately to use a different powder, like Poison Powder, to make it look like she complied and just have Atra fake sleep for a few seconds, but didn't know how to communicate that to Atra without making Ignis suspicious.

The flower Pokemon thought about it for a few seconds before Jeff told her to hurry it up. She knew she had to at least try. "Atra... please, listen and listen carefully, oui? You must fall asleep. You must. Listen carefully... please, ma cherie... you love her and you-"

"Shut up with that nonsense and just put her back to sleep already, Effs!" shouted Ignis. Atra, however, seemed to be listening intently.

"Please, Atra, just fall asleep, even if it is not me, non? Even for just a short while, otherwise there will be consequences, non? Please, understand that I do not want to put you to sleep and you must not want to be asleep, but you must be asleep, oui?"

"Effloresca, any time now," said Jeff, rushing Effloresca along.

Finally, the flower Pokemon released a purple powder from her flower petals and shot the powder all over Atra. At first, it made Atra cry out in a strange pain, though after clenching her teeth, she quickly appeared to be coping with it until she let out a weak sigh and fell limp as a noodle in Ignis' arms.

"Right, now where were we?" asked Jeff, walking back over to his trading partner and placing the second of his Poke Balls on the trading rack to trade.

"Not yet..." mumbled Effloresca in a low, quiet tone.

"Not yet?" asked Ignis, wondering what the heck she meant by that. "What are you yapping about?"

"Almost..." she mumbled again, only hoping that she was being heard.

"Hey, you better answer me! What are you talking about?!" shouted Ignis, getting sick of Effloresca's cryptic words.

"You are le repulsive, Ignis. I will never have sex with you again, non," she said out of the blue, causing Ignis to appear highly flustered at confused.

"W-what?! What the hell are you-" Ignis was interrupted by Atra, who broke free of his grip while his guard was down, then landed a bit awkwardly on the ground. "You bitch!!" he shouted.

Atra briefly glanced over to Effloresca with a look of mild gratitude towards the flowery Pokemon she once despised. "I don't know why you did that," she said, "but thanks." With that, Atra quickly got up and dashed over to where the trading racks were.

As she approached, Jeff noticed his Weavile was still awake and intent on causing what he saw as more mischief. "Atra!! I'm getting really sick of this! I don't want to have to do this, but Ignis, I need you to knock out Atra!" shouted Jeff, pointing back at his Blaziken and feeling a bit guilty for making such an order, but knew he had no other choice.

The other Trainer just stayed back, trying to avoid the conflict. Ignis, after nodding his head, scoffed Effloresca and charged forward, chasing down the Weavile he was ordered to deal with. "Hear that?! I get to take you out!! I'm gonna make you sorry you were ever born, ahaha!!" he shouted to her.

Atra had already made it to the trading rack, though Ignis was quickly gaining on her. She saw two Poke Balls sitting there, side by side: one of them contained Elly while the other contained Tsunami. If she took them both, she'd have no free claws to fight Ignis with, leaving her unable to defend herself other than dodging; however, if she chose the wrong one...

She finally decided to leave it up to fate, only hoping that her choice was the right one. She picked up the Poke Ball on the left, then leapt away from the trading rack and began running for the door.

Ignis saw that as a time to strike, so with a swift motion, he dashed over to Atra and gave a lightning-fast punch to her side, knocking her away a few feet onto the ground. She still clutched the Poke Ball she was carrying, though.

"You weak pussy," he remarked, walking over to her with his arms crossed. "You're weak, you've always been weak, and you'll always be weak. You know what's going to happen if you try and run for that door: I'm gonna hit you, punish you, and then fuck your brains out when you're knocked out like Jeff instructed me."

Atra got back up on her feet, then turned around to see the Blaziken standing right by her. "I hate you," she muttered, growling and scowling at the cocky Pokemon.

"Ahaha, you have no idea how much I hate you, too, you little twat," he said in an arrogant tone. "Jeff always gives you more credit than you deserve, like you're some sort of skilled battler or something, when it's strong Pokemon like me that do all the real work. You score some glory for finishing up fights when I do all the actual fighting. Then, just to be the snob you are, you go run away to your corner and mope all day long about your poor miserable life."

"I don't care about that!" yelled Atra. "Right now I want only one thing, and that's to take Elly and get out of here. I want you to leave me the hell alone for the rest of your sorry life." She gritted her teeth, feeling more pain from the poison Effloresca inflicted on her earlier.

"Too bad that ain't gonna happen. Bitch. Ahaha! Ohhhh no, like I said, your ass is going to be the sorest thing you've ever felt when I'm done with you! Ahahaha!"

The Blaziken swung his fist right at Atra's face, though she managed to block it with her free claws. Her block surprised Ignis, though he was quick to fire another punch at her with his free fist, slamming it against her face and sending her back several feet, rolling on the ground.

Atra got up, then charged towards Ignis, slashing at him with her lone set of claws. He was sidestepping and dodging every swing she was making at him. Perhaps the pain from the poison was affecting her ability to fight effectively. He then used his powerful leg and kicked her right in the chest, sending her flying into the wall and falling down onto the floor, face first. The Poke Ball fell out of her claws.

Ignis walked over to where Atra had fallen, standing proud and confident in himself for being the superior battler. "This is going to be fun, ohhhh, I can hardly wait to stuff you like you deserve, ahaha!" he cackled.

Out of nowhere, he felt a sharp stab against his back, causing him to tremble and fall to his knees. It was Effloresca! She had hit him with a powerful Poison Jab attack. "Mes excuses, ma cherie... But I cannot let you do this to her."

"What the hell, Effs?! That's it, I'm gonna kill you, too!" he shouted, getting back up onto his feet and turning around to swing a fiery punch at his flowery friend. She nimbly stepped back and dodged it, then proceeded to dodge several more punches the Blaziken threw at her, giving Atra time to recuperate.

Atra got back up to her feet with a stumble, feeling a great deal of pain in her body from the Blaziken's attacks in combination with the poison she'd been suffering from. Any normal Pokemon would have fainted in seconds from such pain, though Atra was determined to stay strong and reclaim the Poke Ball that fell on the ground while Effloresca provided a distraction.

She shrugged it off and stumbled over to where the Poke Ball had fallen. She picked it up and looked at it, knowing that if she made the wrong choice, she'd lose Elly forever. If Elly weren't in the ball she was holding...

"Effloresca! Ignis! Stop fighting!" shouted Jeff as he ran over to his fighting Pokemon, shifting his attention off of Atra and trying to break up the other skirmish taking place. He'd never seen Effloresca attack Ignis like that before and was beginning to wonder if the boat trip made his Pokemon cranky, because they sure were acting exceptionally weird.

"Jeff! Forget about the Blastoise! Things are too messed up. I'll do it all for just the Plusle, okay?" shouted the other Trainer Jeff was trading with.

Jeff looked back at the Trainer. "Yeah, sure, Greg. Go ahead and press the button; Atra's only got the Blastoise. I'll settle these two down." He continued trying to get Effloresca and Ignis to stop, but was failing. He started reaching for his Poke Balls, trying not to waste any time in returning Effloresca back to her Poke Ball so Ignis could do his work.

While Effloresca continued taking Ignis on in battle, though, Atra heard her worst suspicions confirmed: the ball she was carrying didn't have Elly in it! She was still on the table!

She clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, then used her little remaining strength to sprint over to the trading rack, tossing the Poke Ball she had to the side. It was too late, though. After the other Trainer pressed the button, she saw the Poke Ball containing Elly sucked into a tube and into the machine, with the six Poke Balls on the Trainer's side getting sucked in as well.

"Elly!!" she shouted, jumping up onto the machine and clawing at it. A stray blast of fire shot in her direction from Ignis, who temporarily shifted his sights on her again now that Effloresca was returned to her Poke Ball. It narrowly missed her, though, but it was enough to get her worried.

The trading screen showed the picture of a Plusle moving from one side of the screen to the other, as well as the six other Pokemon Jeff wanted switching their ownership and entering Jeff's side of the trading machine.

Knowing nothing else to do, she jumped over to the other side of the trading machine and near the awaiting Trainer. Atra let out a fearsome screech as she displayed her claws and teeth, attempting to intimidate the human long enough for Elly's Poke Ball to spit out of the machine.

He appeared heavily frightened by the Weavile's menacing figure and backed off against the side of the wall. "Ahhh! D-don't hurt me! I just want that Plusle, that's all!" he exclaimed.

She had no intentions of hurting the human so long as she could get Elly. Though the pain in her body was reaching new heights, she knew that she only had to escape with that Poke Ball and she'd be safe, with Elly.

Her time with Jeff, Ignis, Effloresca, Tsunami, and everything else she'd known was all resting on this one moment in time. All of the Gym Battles she helped fight seemed to pale in importance compared to the severity of the situation she was facing now. Should she fail, she'd be separated from Elly for the rest of her life -- the one Pokemon that not only loved her, but she could proudly say she loved back. Not only that, but should she fail, she'd be beaten and abused by Ignis until the end of time, assuming she wasn't released by Jeff first.

As those thoughts poured through her mind and emboldened her with an adrenaline rush unlike any she'd ever felt before, pumping her veins with energy and the ability to sustain herself even through the overwhelming pain, discomfort, and exhaustion, she heard the sound of a Poke Ball falling beneath her and onto the tray. It was Elly!

She jumped down and snatched the Poke Ball from its tray before its new owner could claim it as his own. The sight of the precious Poke Ball made her endeavors worth it, but she knew she couldn't release Elly just yet, as carrying her in that ball would be the safest way to transport her through the rampant chaos of the trading room.

Out of nowhere, another blast of fire flew in Atra's direction, hitting her head on and scorching her body with an intense heat. The blast knocked her down to the ground, falling several feet and landing on her back, though she never let go of the Poke Ball.

"Ahaha! Don't think we're done, 'Atty!' I hope that burns your ugly fur right off, ahaha!" Ignis walked over so he was on the other side of the trading rack, staring at the fallen Weavile. "I almost don't want to knock you out, just so you can be awake while I make your life a living hell."

"Bas-... tard..." mumbled Atra, struggling to get up, only managing to get up on one knee.

"That's what they'll call our ugly mutt if I end up knocking you up rather than knocking you out, ahaha!" cackled the Blaziken. He hopped across the trading rack with a mighty leap and then landed on top of her, inflicting even further damage and forcing her to cry out in agony. The Poke Ball fell out of her hand and rolled over by the Trainer, who was huddled in the corner.

"Get off of me!!" cried Atra, overwhelmed by the amount of pain coursing through her body. She knew that if she kept it up, simply getting knocked out would be a miracle; she'd be lucky if she didn't die. She struggled with all of her might in an attempt to get the Blaziken off of her, though, as expected, failed to overcome the force of his powerful body.

"Not before I'm done with you, ohhhh no, not before I'm done with you, ahahaha!" He pinned her arms down and reached his beak in for a kiss, to which Atra repelled and avoided. He ended up kissing along her cheek, scratching it slightly before licking it pervertedly. "And your little flower bitch traitor friend won't be able to help you now. Looks like you're my new fuck-toy, ahaha!" He thrust his hips against her in an obscene manner.

She could feel him crushing her, taking great delight in overpowering her and coming close to abusing her. His member already began slipping out of its sheath and rubbing against her soft, slightly singed fur, sending shivers of repulsion down the Weavile's spine.

Not only that, but she glanced over to her side to see the cowering Trainer reach forward and grab the Poke Ball that contained Elly, then begin getting up from the ground. "Elly!! Elly!! Ellllyyy!!" cried Atra, desperately pleading to the divine forces that some miracle could get her out of the situation she was in now.

The Trainer ran forward and shook hands with Jeff, who apologized for the confusion and chaos Atra was causing. He paid it no mind, though did recommend that Atra either see a Pokemon Therapist or be put down.

As the cruel Blaziken continued dry humping Atra, bringing himself closer and closer to fully raping her, Atra slipped away from reality. All sensation and comprehension of what was happening seemed to simply vanish, leaving her frozen in a moment of time with only her thoughts.

She thought of Elly, the cheery Plusle that she was fighting for. The chatty twit that she nearly killed not once, but twice, all because she just wanted to make a friend. The little wimp that followed her around like a lovesick puppy. The compassionate individual that actually listened to her story and comforted her through her rough times. The first Pokemon she ever considered to be a friend. The friend that she grew to love. The mate that she always wished she'd have.

'Elly... This really is it, isn't it?' thought Atra to herself, hearing her thoughts echo across the black void of her internal consciousness. 'I never... even got to say... goodbye...'

Memories of her experiences with Elly raced through her mind, painting the previously black scenery in a vivid display of scenes and times with her. She saw in those flashing scenes when she first met Elly and how much she despised her, though really for no reason. She saw herself crying and Elly cheering her up. She saw their first awkward kiss together. She saw Elly showing her just how amazing an orgasm was. It was like her entire life with Elly was rushing by in what seemed like half a second, yet an eternity at the same time.

'She really did love me... and... I really do love her...'

More and more thoughts of Elly continued zipping through Atra's mind, showing scenes of them together, scenes of them apart, and scenes of what the future could have been like. She saw them cuddling together on a beach, then lying beside each other under the stars. The tension of battle felt, in this imaginary future, so unfamiliar and unnecessary. She no longer had to prove herself and her strength, since she had Elly, and that was what she saw as the most important thing to her.

Just how far her relationship with Elly had come in a mere six days was remarkable. But once she overcame the boundaries of her old stubbornness and antisocial attitude, she realized that a friend like Elly was what she wanted deep down inside throughout her whole life.

More random flashbacks; this time, they showed scenes that she'd filtered out or ignored throughout her life. All of the happy Pokemon she came across during her adventures with Jeff and his other Pokemon. All of the happy Pokemon that she cared absolutely nothing about at the time. She saw pairs of Pokemon in love, cuddling and kissing each other, and remembered just how she used to detest such emotion solely because it seemed weak.

'I really was the weak one...'

She then saw Leto, straight from one of her fantasies about him. It was just her and Leto under a moonlit field, staring into each others eyes. His eyes seemed so beautiful. His fur, his soft, fluffy fur, made him so handsome and appealing. That charming smile he occasionally bore made her swoon deep down, though she'd always keep that tough appearance of hers.

As she relived her fantasy, she noticed that he was shrinking in size at a rapid rate, until she was the one looking down at Leto instead. Though with a blink of her unconscious eyes, the Zangoose from her past vanished and was replaced by a small yellow Pokemon with dark red ears and plus-shaped cheeks.

'Atty!' exclaimed the figure, her familiar voice resonating through the valley of her mind and bringing her a tremendous sense of comfort.

'Elly!' Atra thought back, hearing her voice in her mind, though not moving her mouth inside of her vision.

'Atty... You're the most awesomest Pokemon I know,' spoke the figure, though, as with Atra, without moving her mouth. 'You need to fight, Atty. You need to fight just one more battle.'

The moonlit field they were standing in turned to an aerial view of the trading room Atra was in earlier. They were looking down at it as if they were standing on a glass wall above the scene. She saw the Blaziken's body over her while Jeff and the other Trainer were exchanging parting words. The whole scene seemed to be frozen in time, though it seemed like it either just happened or was happening to her right now. The sensations in her physical body could now be felt in her astral body.

'That's...' thought Atra.

'Yes,' the figure spoke, its simple word resonating. 'You're dying, Atty. Your body is afflicted with burns, poison, fatigue, and horrible injury. It will only get worse. Worse to the point where you, as well as any other Pokemon, will certainly perish.'

The Plusle's haunting words mortified Atra as the harsh sensation of her own pain traversed the astral valleys of her inner self and coursed through her mind. She really did feel as if she were dying. The pain was far greater than any pain she'd ever experienced in her life before. Ignis' attacks were just too strong for her to handle.

'Am I... going to die?'

'Yes,' the figure answered. 'You are going to die.' The entire scene below them shifted to a blood red tint in reaction to the figure's frightening words. 'It's just a matter of what you choose to do before you die. I don't think you're weak, Atty. I know you have the strength to keep fighting and save me... But... If you knew you would die ten minutes after saving me, would you choose to save me and spend those final minutes with me, or live the rest of your life without me?'

'...' Atra's mind was drawing an absolute blank. She didn't know how to respond to such an ultimatum.

'You have that choice, Atty... you have the choice to continue fighting or to give up. To succeed or to fail. To die or to live. Which do you choose?'

'I... I...'

To Atra's sides, she saw all of the memories of her and Elly play through her mind at a blinding speed, though she could see and remember every minute of it. Beneath her, she saw the scene appeared to be moving again, at the pace of normal time. She saw the Blaziken continue grinding his body against hers, knowing that it'd only be a matter of seconds before he forced himself into her. She saw the Trainer begin running off with the Plusle's Poke Ball.

Though everything just seemed to stop as the moment Atra first kissed Elly out of her own free will played through her mind, slow and sweet, culminating every feeling she ever felt for the little Plusle into that one moment where she was courageous enough to act on her feelings, open up her heart, and realize the warm, indescribable sensation that is known as love.

'I'd be a cold and hollow shell without you... that's what I was before I met you and that's what I'd return to without you in my life. I really am dead without you, Elly... and if I'm going to die, I want it to be fighting for you. If I have to die, I want it to be by your side. I can't die alone... I can't die without saying goodbye and letting you know... that you were the only ray of sunlight in my gloomy life, but were bright enough to light my skies forever.'

'If that is what you feel... fight, Atty! Use that strength! Fight with every last breath of life you have, Atty! Fight!'

Atra felt her visions swirl around her. Everything; the scene below her, the memory of her kiss to her side, and even the vision of Elly right in front of her. It all swirled around her, creating a vortex and sucking her inside. The vortex sunk down, and she felt like she was being pulled back into her own body, back in reality.

The dominant Blaziken lay on top of Atra as she returned from the rift in her reality, feeling the full weight and forceful presence of the powerful Pokemon slamming down on her.

Using her newfound strength, just as he was preparing to thrust down onto her, possibly inserting his hard member inside of her, she quickly used both of her feet, locked them beneath Ignis, then sprung them forward at full force, sending the Blaziken flying off of her and crashing into the trading machine.

She rolled over, panting heavily, then pushed herself up so she was standing upright again. The room she was in seemed to be spinning as a consequence of her weakness, but she knew that she'd have to keep fighting. She knew the fight was far from over.

While Ignis was recovering from his fall, Atra glanced over to see Elly's new Trainer hastily running outside of the room and Jeff racing to see if Ignis and herself were alright.

"Ignis! Atra! Calm down, already! You're out of control, Atra! You need to stop!" shouted Jeff.

Atra didn't want to hear that, though. She knew that Jeff didn't realize what was going on nor would he ever. He was completely oblivious to the severity of the fight she was waging and to what lengths she'd go to save Elly.

She started running towards Jeff, trying to remain stable enough to run. The poison from earlier was still sapping the strength out of her body. Though the poison inflicted by Pokemon is almost never fatal and heals with enough rest, it does still cause damage and hamper functions, and that coupled with Atra's already severe injuries was pushing her past the point of safe health.

As she neared Jeff, she sprung up into the air and leapt towards him, claws ready to strike. She screeched at her Trainer, trying to intimidate him as well. He backed down and dodged her out of fear, allowing her to land and run past him, towards the exit to the room.

It took Jeff a moment to fully grasp what his Pokemon just did. She nearly struck her own Trainer. Maybe his trading partner was right about her... "Atra..." he mumbled, still taken by surprise at her actions. He snapped back to it, though, realizing that Atra was, in fact, running away and couldn't let that happen. "Ignis! Get up and go get Atra! I don't want her running away! If you have to knock her out... do it."

Ignis, who had just gotten up, rubbed his head, covered his shrinking erection, then nodded at his Trainer's orders. He then ran forward and charged after Atra, who had just left the room that they were in.

There were a lot more Trainers and other humans in the main lobby of the Pokemon Center. Atra looked around for the Trainer she was chasing, only to find several other Trainers looking at her in fright, either out of intimidation or worry for the bruised Pokemon's serious damage.

She saw the man from earlier run out the front door of the Pokemon Center, so she quickly ran after him, though was stopped at the entrance by a Nurse Joy and a Chansey.

"Where are you going, Weavile? Look at you, you poor thing!" said Nurse Joy, noting the Weavile's significant wounds.

"We'll make sure you're healed up, don't worry!" said Chansey in a cheery tone. "Just relax and everything will be-"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence, though, as Atra swiftly charged at them to try and get through the door. The Chansey stepped in front of Nurse Joy and successfully blocked Atra from escaping. Atra responded by swiping her claws at the Chansey, scratching her pink body repeatedly.

"Stop that, Weavile!" shouted Nurse Joy, trying to pull the Weavile away from the Chansey, though only getting a scratch across the arm in return.

The distraction of Nurse Joy and the Chansey gave Ignis just enough time to catch up with Atra yet again. He ran into the room, spotted Atra fighting with the Chansey, then charged over in that direction. "Gotcha, bitch!" he mumbled to himself as he drew closer to her.

Atra saw Ignis approaching and knew she had to act fast to get away from the two healers. She jumped back, then made a mighty leap into the air, jumping over the Chansey and landing behind her, right at the door. She then ran out the sliding door in pursuit of the Trainer that had Elly.

A few seconds later, Ignis barreled through the Nurse Joy and Chansey, chasing Atra out the door and into the parklike area the Pokemon Center was in the middle of.

While Atra was inside of the Pokemon Center, it must have started raining, because it was raining at a pretty steady rate. It actually felt soothing to Atra, refreshing her and cooling her down as she chased the Trainer. He was running as well, trying to avoid the rain, but Atra was running much faster than he was and almost caught up to him.

With a bold leap, she lunged forward, claws extended and ready to strike, then slashed the Trainer in the back, knocking him down.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed in a panic, oblivious to what just hit him. He rolled over onto his back and saw the Weavile from earlier approaching him. He would always think of this moment whenever he heard the word 'terror,' because that was the epitome of it -- the Weavile's menacing figure petrified the frightened Trainer.

Atra eyed a Poke Ball on his belt, so she jumped up onto the Trainer, standing on top of him, snatched the Poke Ball from his belt, then pressed the little button in the middle of it to make sure it was Elly inside.

With a beam of red light, the inhabitant of the Poke Ball was released. To Atra's disappointment, it wasn't Elly, but rather a purple Marshtomp.

"Heartglow! Help!" shouted the Trainer to his Marshtomp, causing the Marshtomp to assume a battle ready pose.

"Get off of Master!" exclaimed the Shiny Marshtomp, firing a stream of water at Atra, knocking her off of the human.

She quickly got back up on her feet, though, but rather than trying to fight the Marshtomp, she went back for the Trainer, stealing another one of his Poke Balls and instantly releasing it. Again, to her dismay, it didn't contain Elly but another one of the Trainer's other Shiny Pokemon instead. It was a blue Turtwig!

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, throwing the Poke Ball to the side. She pressed her claws firmly against the Trainer's chest. "Just give me Elly! All I want is Elly! Where is she!?" Atra shouted, crying out near the end.

Of course, the Trainer couldn't understand a word the terrifying Weavile was saying. All it seemed like to him was that she wanted to kill him and make all of his precious Shiny Pokemon watch the process!

The Trainer's Turtwig flung a sharp leaf toward Atra while his Marshtomp sprayed more water, though neither of their attacks phased Atra in the slightest. Instead, it was a well-aimed kick from a certain Blaziken that sent her up into the air and off of the Trainer's chest.

Ignis smirked, then followed up by spewing small spurts of fire up into the air after Atra. A few of them got through the rain and singed her fur before she crashed down onto the ground. "You're really going to fucking pay for that earlier. You were mine, bitch! You made a fool of me!"

Atra started getting back up. "All I want... is Elly. Why... why can't you just understand that...?" she said through heavy panting. The Weavile finally stood back up on her two feet and faced the Blaziken. "I don't want to deal with you ever again! I just want to get away with Elly and that's it!"

"Tough!" he shouted back, giving her another arrogant smirk. "You don't understand how things work, do you? I am the strongest! I am the alpha, the prize, the champion! You're weak, you've always been weak, you'll always be weak! If you thought your life sucked before, you'll think back to those days as the best days of your life when I'm done with you!"

Though Atra could stand up to the attacks of the Trainer's Pokemon, she knew that she couldn't do the same with Ignis. He was just too strong. But, she knew she needed to fight him or else she wouldn't be able to get Elly's Poke Ball from the Trainer.

This was it: the fight that Atra knew she had to win. Her final battle against Ignis. She was at a serious disadvantage, given her already substantial injuries coupled with the urgency to keep her eye on the Trainer as well, but if she didn't fight, she knew it would all be over.

Taking Ignis by surprise, she leapt forward at him and violently slashed him across the chest, landing right by his feet. She then used somewhat of an uppercut slash to strike his groin and cause him to stumble back.

She didn't want to relent, though, so she pulled both of her claws behind her, then slashed them forward against the air to strike him with one of her dark type attacks, Night Slash. It struck, but did comparatively low amounts of damage.

"Ah, aha, ahaha!" he cackled, regaining his composure and cracking his neck. "What was that?" He dashed forward and punched her right in the stomach, causing her to cry out. He then spun around and kicked her head, sending her spiraling to the ground and nearly breaking her neck.

Atra coughed, spitting up blood and feeling her head spinning around. As she started to get up, she was lifted up by the scruff of her neck by Ignis, who held her there and laughed at the weakened Weavile.

After laughing for a few seconds, he dropped her and then kicked her in the gut, sending her flying several feet away. "Ahaha, well that's it!" he proclaimed, crossing his arms and resuming his laughter.

The Weavile really felt that one. It definitely broke a few of her ribs, or, if she were lucky, just extremely injured them. Regardless, though, she started getting up, finding every ounce of strength in her body to sustain herself.

She looked over to see the Trainer and his two Pokemon fleeing. She knew that she couldn't let them get away, otherwise there'd be no point in fighting Ignis in the first place, so she got back up onto her two feet, shook her head, then ran after them, enduring the pain emanating from her ribs.

"Ahah- huh? You just don't die, do you?!" he shouted, noticing Atra still chasing the Trainer. "Aha, and when I say 'die,' I'm suuuuure I mean 'get knocked out,' aha, ahaha, ahahaha!!" He ran after her, following Atra, the Trainer, and his Pokemon into the streets of Lilycove City.

The streets were littered with cars moving to and fro, all with their headlights piercing the falling rain. The Trainer stopped near the edge of the street and shouted, "Taxi!" A yellow car pulled over to the side and let he and his two Pokemon inside.

Atra caught up to the Trainer just as he was getting in the car, though he had shut the door by the time she arrived. She saw the car begin driving off, so she ran as quickly as she possibly could after it, then, seeing no other option to keep up with the car, took a daring leap at full force towards the car and managed to catch onto the back of it.

Ignis had gotten at the scene, too, to see Atra on the back of the car. He wasn't ready to let her get away just yet, oh no. He walked over to the side of the street and jumped onto one of the passing cars, then climbed up onto the top of it.

Being a capable fighting type Pokemon, he had an impeccable sense of balance and could remain balanced on top of the moving car. Thankfully for him, though, the car's occupants didn't notice him.

When the two groups ran into a stop light, Atra climbed up onto the top of the Taxi and clung onto it tightly, feeling a bit more at ease than simply hanging onto the back of it. Ignis, on the other hand, jumped over to another car, then to another, until he was just one car behind Atra.

"Ahaha! You think you can get away?!" he shouted, crossing his arms and laughing at the sight of the Weavile.

She reluctantly stood up and turned around to see Ignis on the car behind her. "Damn you!" she shouted over to him, clutching her chest to withstand the pain.

The light changed to green and the two cars began accelerating, driving forward and messing with Atra's balance. She fell down onto the roof of the car and held onto it for dear life.

The rain began pouring even harder, now with flashes of lightning striking the sky and rumbles of thunder booming through the city. The fiery Pokemon didn't particularly care for the rain, but shrugged it off. To Atra, it was now so hard that it began stinging her back rather than soothing it, feeling like millions of tiny needles falling and piercing her fur.

At the next stop light, Ignis suddenly jumped forward and landed on the Taxi with Atra, landing right on her back. She cried out in excruciating pain from the force of the Blaziken's weight crashing down on her. "Ahaha, did I hurt you, 'Atty?' Ahaha!"

Before she could answer, they both felt the car sway to the side and slow down, parking. The Trainer and his Pokemon got out of the car, looked up at the Blaziken and Weavile on the roof, then hastily ran away as fast as they could. He heard the commotion happening on the roof and had to get out of that car!

Atra looked over to her side to see the sight of the Trainer getting away, though she was once again pinned down by the brutish Ignis. Her last glimmer of hope was fading away as she felt the car beneath them begin to move, slowly turning back into the main lane.

"Ahahaha!" cackled Ignis, slamming his talons down on Atra's arms, pinning her down even further. "There goes Elly! You'll never see her again! Ahahaha!"

She watched as the distance between her and the Trainer widened. Everything seemed hopeless; perhaps she really had failed. She'd never see the small Plusle that showed her what happiness was ever again. Instead, she knew she would wait out her days being abused by Ignis, who would no doubt never forget her feelings for Elly and, with his kindled burning desire to inflict suffering to her, would make sure the last days, weeks, or months of her life were the worst she could have. And without Elly, they would be, Ignis or not.

There was no way she'd ever want to live like that. There was no way she could go on without Elly. She realized just how much Elly really meant to her and just how much she would give to see her again, if even just to see that cheery smile she always wore.

'You have that choice, Atty... you have the choice to continue fighting or to give up. To succeed or to fail. To die or to live. Which do you choose?' Those words echoed throughout Atra's mind. She thought they were for earlier, but now realized that, perhaps, they were reserved for this very moment in time. It all seemed clear to her that there was only one option.

"If I have to die..." she said, enduring the enormous amount of pain she was in. "I... I want it to be... fighting for you...!" With that, Atra made the only other move besides giving up she could make. Using all of her force, she rolled off the side of the speeding car, sending both her and Ignis down to the perilous street at high-speed.

"What the-!?" exclaimed the fiery Pokemon as he fell down with her, crashing beside her. After taking the impact from the landing, Atra had landed on her back, free from Ignis' grip, with her arms and legs stretched out, and Ignis landed farther to her side and in the middle of the lane.

A brilliant flash of light and deafening roar of thunder filled the sky, blinding Atra and Ignis to the incoming car that was about to strike. By the time they noticed it, it was too late.

Atra wailed out a horrific screech of excruciating pain as she felt her right arm flattened and crushed by the oncoming car. The pain overwhelmed her; she couldn't tell if it ripped her arm right off or not, but she was instantly certain she'd never be able to use it again.

However, Atra's pain was minuscule compared to the price Ignis had to pay. Seconds after Atra's arm was flattened by the car, it crashed into Ignis, crushing his legs and the front of the vehicle smashing right into his head, striking the life right out of the Pokemon Atra had grown to hate with every cell in her body. She'd finally won against him...

The fight may have been over, but it would have all been for naught unless Atra could save Elly. She completely snapped from the intense pain coursing through her body and instead felt light as a feather, as if there was no pain at all. Her desire to save Elly was empowered her to the point where pain could no longer be felt and the only thing her mind and willpower would allow her to concentrate on was reuniting with Elly.

She used her healthy arm to get herself up while the people in the car got out to check out the dead Blaziken. She stood up, saw her limp arm dangling from the side of her, lifeless and bleeding at a rapid rate, then let out a heavy sigh.

Holding her limp arm with her healthy one, the near-dead Weavile used the little remaining energy she had to run in the direction she saw the Trainer run, determined to pursue Elly until she could run no more, in which case she knew she could at least die knowing she tried.

She ran away from the car wreck and into the park area where the Trainer was running into. She ran with all of her might, all of her strength, and all of her will. The pain in her body was too overbearing for her to even realize, though her determination made her impervious to the feeling.

As she entered the park, the heavy downpour began subsiding, leaving nothing more than a light shower sprinkling down from the heavens. She could see a human running through the rain and had to take a chance that it was the Trainer with Elly. Of any time for her to be right, she hoped with everything in her heart that it was him and that she could save Elly.

Atra sprinted with all the endurance she had toward the Trainer, her sense of sanity quickly fading off to nothing. Her only goal -- the only thing that was important to her -- was seeing Elly, if even for just a moment. She made her decision that she'd be strong for her, and she was determined to keep to it.

She was gaining ground on him, catching up until she finally was just mere feet away from the running human. His Pokemon were no longer with them, suggesting they must have been returned to their Poke Balls, which would undoubtedly make her task all the more difficult.

The Weavile jumped forward and tackled the Trainer to the ground, causing him to yell out for help in shock and panic. She was so tempted to put a claw through his head, just to end his chance to escape with Elly, but managed to retain enough sanity to refrain from doing so. Instead, she slashed at his back, tearing his shirt, belt, and pants, as well as spilling blood on her claw.

"Aahhhhh!!" cried the Trainer, yelping in pain from her attack. He struggled to get up from under his predator, managing to push the comparatively light Weavile off of him long enough for him to roll to his side and see his pursuant with his own two eyes. "Not you! Not again! Why won't you leave me alone?!"

She got back up and approached the human, aiming for his belt that contained several Poke Balls on it. With a swift swipe, she grabbed one of them from the belt, and held it up to his face. "This had better be Elly!" she exclaimed.

The Trainer, of course, couldn't understand her words at all, but he was starting to realize that perhaps she was after the Plusle that he traded for earlier, since she was intentionally rummaging through his Poke Balls both now and earlier. "W-wait... It's that Plusle I traded for, isn't it?" he asked her, causing her ears to perk up.

"P-please... just let me live... you can have it, I don't care... I just don't want to die!" he said, reaching down at his torn belt for the Poke Ball that contained Elly in it. He quickly grabbed it in his hands, then presented it to the Weavile. "This is it. The Plusle's in here. Just don't kill me!"

Atra tossed the other Poke Ball to the side and grabbed the one the human offered her. She looked at it and felt with absolute certainty that Elly was inside. It filled her with a wonderful sense of hope and excitement, which were practically the only things fueling her body now.

Cautiously, she brought her claw to the little button in the middle of the Poke Ball and pressed it, hearing a click and watching a beam of red light shoot out from the ball. From the red light appeared the Pokemon she'd been through hell and back to save: it was Elly!

The Plusle looked around as she was released from the Poke Ball, surveying the strange scene. She was no longer on the ship, but rather in the middle of a park, with a human and... and Atra! "Att-" She noticed the Weavile's intense bleeding and battered bruises. "Ah! Atty!" she exclaimed, running over to hug her friend. "What happened to you?!"

Atra used her good arm to reach around Elly's head, petting it softly. It felt so good being able to see her again -- everything she had to go through to get to this point seemed so worth it. "Elly... I'm so glad to see you..." she said weakly.

The pain in Atra's body started catching up with her, as did her exhaustion. She could no longer sustain the strength to keep standing, so her legs gave in and she fell forward onto the Plusle, who was trying to keep her up.

"Atty! Atty! Oh no, Atty!" She helped her down, then rolled her over so she was on her back. As she did so, Atra cried out in agony due to the excruciating pain from the crushing of her arm. "What happened to you?! Where are we?!" she exclaimed.

Atra coughed and cried out in more pain. "Elly... I just... I want you to know... I love you," said Atra. "You were-" Atra coughed. "You were traded to that human over there... I was going to lose you... and never be able to-" She coughed again. "Never be able to say goodbye..."

Elly looked over to the human, who reached over for the Poke Ball that Atra had tossed to the side. "You...? What did you do?"

Atra let out another cry, tears of pain and joy filling each of her eye. All the pain she was enduring was worth it just to be with Elly. "I saved you... I chose you, Elly. I chose to succeed... to win... to be strong... to..."

"But you're hurt! You look awful! What happened to your arm?" Elly walked over to it and looked at it, almost shuddering while doing so. It looked like a good chunk of it, from the shoulder on, was completely flattened and boneless.

"Who needs it... as long as I have my eyes to see your smile, I don't need anything else..." Although she missed her arm already, she knew that she wouldn't need to worry about it for too much longer. "Elly... I just want to be with you... can you-" She coughed. "Can you please... smile...? I don't want to see you sad..."

Elly crawled onto Atra's chest, seeing her wince a little bit from doing so, then tried to fake a smile to help cheer Atra up.

"That's not it... Elly... don't be sad. Think of everything I did just so we could be together and smile for that. Smile because I can say I love you without doubts or regret."

The Plusle started forming tears of her own. Atra was so sweet she could hardly believe it. As one tear fell off her face, indistinguishable from the rain, she gave Atra that smile she so desperately wanted. "I... I love you, too, Atty."

"T-thank you..." She smiled back, holding back her sobs and cries just long enough to do so. The Weavile then used her claws to bring Elly's head closer to her, close enough so they could share a sweet, tender kiss.

The feeling of her lips joining Elly's filled Atra with a sense of completion. It made everything seem right. It made all of the pain go away, all of the tears dissolve, all of the sadness vanish, and all of the fears disappear. She felt connected to the one thing in her life that she cherished more than anything else.

Atra temporarily brought her lips back a few inches, giving just enough room to talk, though still keeping her eyes closed. "You know," she said softly, "I don't think I realized I loved you... until I thought I'd lose you, when I knew I did... and then, after I lost you... I think I realized just how much I love you."

Elly reached her lips forward to continue the kiss, touched by Atra's sweet words, though also wondering something. "Atty," said Elly, bringing their lips apart once more, "you knew I was going to be traded?"

The Weavile rolled her eyes to the side and sighed, then gave a weak, "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Elly.

"It was inevitable. I couldn't do anything to stop it... I didn't want our last moments together to be sad and filled with regret, because then I'd hate myself for the rest of my life." Atra turned her head to the side and coughed, coughing up some blood. "I'm sorry. None of this would have ever happened if I just told you. I guess our last moments together will still turn out to be sad and filled with regret, huh?"

"Atty? W-what?" The Plusle blinked her eyes. "N-no! You'd better not give up on me now! Atty!" She understood what Atra meant by her last line and wouldn't stand for it.

"Elly... I'm sorry... But I made my choice..." Atra felt even more pain surge through her body, particularly from her shattered arm. "You're worth it..."

Tears started pouring out of the Plusle's eyes. She knew that Atra wasn't joking and couldn't stand the thought of losing her. She'd never be able to go on if she watched her best friend in the whole world die right before her very eyes. "N-no... no... n-n-no! Atty! No! W-we're gonna be together forever! I love you!"

"I love you... Elly... uhhn... but I... ahhhhn!" Atra cried out in pain once again, this round even more excruciating than the last. It felt as if every bone in her body were being plucked out of her, one by one.

"Atty!!" Elly screamed, hugging against Atra tightly. "No!! Please, please n-no!!" She was crying out almost as much as Atra was, overwhelmed by the sadness that she was witnessing. How could she live her life without the Weavile she'd fallen in love with?

"Elly... you-" Atra couldn't refrain from screaming, feeling an intense pain strike her chest. "Y-you... were the on-ly... ray of sunlight..." She gave another deafening scream, feeling the pain sweep through her body. "In-in m-my... gloomy life..."

"Atty!! No!! Attttyyy!!" She buried her face against the Weavile's chest and poured out a flood of tears from her eyes. Her sobbing was as incessant as Atra's pain. It was as if she shared all of the pain flowing through Atra's body and felt it overwhelming her as well.

"B-but... were b-bright enough t-to..." Atra gave one more deafening screech as her body began shaking beyond her control, causing Elly to hold onto her tightly. She was convulsing, completely powerless to end the process she knew was happening. "T-t-to... light m-my sk-ieees... for-ev-er..."

The little Plusle was wailing out in pain and sorrow, unable to bear what was happening. It felt like she was dying, too. "A-Attttyyyy!!"

Suddenly, Atra's convulsions stopped. Her violent shaking and trembling ceased. She just lay flat on the ground. Elly looked up at Atra's face to see her looking right at her with a look of love and satisfaction in her eyes.

"I... love... y... ou... El..." Before she was able to finish her sentence, she let out a weak sigh, then became entirely silent. Her head slowly turned to the side; her eyelids remained open. But at least she was smiling.

"At-ty?!" Elly shook her friend's body, shaking her chest yet yielding no response. She was limp and lifeless. An unbearable pain sunk to the Plusle's gut, rendering her unable to cry, unable to speak, and unable to realize that her friend, her love, the Pokemon she most admired, was gone forever.

When it finally hit her what had just happened, all feeling in the Plusle's body left her. She collapsed beside her fallen friend, falling unconscious and almost hoping she, too, would never wake up so she could follow her friend as she'd done so many times in just the few short days they'd been together.

While Elly taught Atra just what it was like to be happy, Atra taught Elly just how painful it was to be sad. But she knew that she couldn't stay sad, because tears and sadness aren't what Atra fought for.

Though her time with Elly seemed all too short, Atra felt better in those six days than she had in her entire life. None of it would have been possible without the persistence of the little Plusle. Elly was someone to talk to, someone to confide in, someone to hug, someone to kiss, someone to cry to, play with, laugh with, adore, admire, love, lick, mate, fight for... even die for.

Her last moments, painful as they were, were the happiest moments in her life. To be able to conquer her life of never-ending hopelessness and see Elly for one last time was worth the price she paid to get there. To see that lovely smile, the smile that cheered her up when she was down, that sweet, innocent smile... to see it just one last time... it was worth it.

Atra died smiling, knowing just how much Elly meant to her and how much happiness she brought to her life. Her biggest fan grew into her closest friend, into the one and only Pokemon that she loved and loved her back.

Elly really was the light that brightened her gloomy life, and her light would truly shine on for all eternity.