The Masters of Battle

It was two o�clock, and the group arrived behind the bridge where Kaumi was scheduled to battle. There was a glint in his eye as he fumbled with his pokeballs. His opponent was there, checking her pokemon. She turned and looked at Kaumi; Dark noticed her and her own opponent flashed into her head. That mysterious look�and wait! Now that she thought about it, they both wore brown pants and nice button-up gray shirts.

She brushed her orange hair back with a hand. The crewman-referee brought down the flags. "Pinser!"

Kaumi didn�t even seem to reflect on his pokemon choice, but instead, threw a pokeball. "Machop, go!"

They stared each other down- trainers and pokemon alike. "Vicegrip!"

The large beetle scooped Machop into its pincers and squeezed. Machop looked amused and wasn�t being hurt. Pinser gave up and dropped Machop, taking a deep breath.

"Now we make our move, right Machop?" Kaumi whispered.

"Ma-chop!"

"Use your Karate Chop!" The muscle-flaunting pokemon closed in and let a quick hand fly right into Pinser. It coughed, then soon regained itself.

"String Shot!" A thin web of white silk tied Machop neatly where he was.

"Chop," he muttered remorsefully, shaking his head. With a smooth motion, he brought his arms out and the web easily broke.

"Fine then! Earthquake!" The pinser put on a mean face. It brought its foot up, and pounded it down forcefully. The deck began to rumble, and Machop suddenly seemed immobile. "Now, hit it with Head Butt!" Pinser�s sorry excuse for a Head Butt worked this way: It charged at Machop, head lowered, and knocked him with its pincers. They both sweatdropped.

"Let�s finish this. Low Kick!" Machop spun around and smashed its foot through the air and into Pinser�s face. It stood there a moment, and Kaumi looked surprised. But then, as everyone had thought would happen, Pinser fell over. It just sort of collapsed backwards onto the deck.

"Machop is the winner!"

"Wow Kaumi, that�s skill!" Cass patted him on the back with congratulations.

"I wasn�t expecting that! Gah!" The orange-haired woman held her hands on either side of her head. Pinser was still in a heap before her. "Hmph. Return." It went back into its pokeball when she saw Dark looking at her.

"Who are you?"

The woman scoffed. "Whadda you mean, �who am I�?"

"I mean what I said."

She brushed her hair back again. "I�m Zora, T.D. staff."

"TD?" There was an odd pause between the two. "You look so much like that man�"

"Your opponent? That�s right, he said he battled a scrawny and stupid young girl like yourself earlier." Dark�s face grew hot and Cass put a hand on her shoulder in warning. "That was Bryce. He�s also on staff. We�re on call in a few, I�ll see you later."

Kaumi sighed. "She was awfully confident for just having lost."

"Dark, let�s cool it, okay? Our next matches will probably be sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. There�s this big dinner banquet tonight you guys. Let�s all go in our best!"

"Cass, we don�t have any good clothes."

"And that�s why we can go to the shop on the ship! It�s for the occasion, come on!"

The girls took off down the deck with Kaumi hurrying behind. Cass led Dark into a fancy store full of Chinese dresses and men�s dress outfits.

"Cass, how�d you know this was here?"

"I saw it on my way to my match!" She walked to the woman at the desk who was watching them cheerfully. "Excuse me, why are all these dresses and suits the same?"

She smiled. "Chinese style is the theme for the Banquet, so that�s all we sell. Pick out the color and design that suits you; each is one of a kind! We�re having a contest for the best-dressed tonight as well."

The three of them rummaged through the fancy clothing. "Dark! Come here, you gotta see what I found!" Dark stepped casually over to her cousin, who was pointing enthusiastically at a dress. It was, as all the others, a typical long Chinese dress. It was a deep green with royal purple trimmings and a matching flower in the bottom left corner. Dark noticed that for a little extra cash, you could buy an accessory pack that matched the dress. This one contained royal purple sandals, two bracelets (purple and green), a stick of purple lipstick, and green diamond-shaped earrings. She took the dress to the counter, and Cass saw hers right behind it. She wanted to surprise the two, so she folded it and the accessories neatly and bought it after Dark had left for her room.

When Cass stepped out, Kaumi had finally decided on his suit. It was navy blue with forest green trim and silver buttons. The shoes were navy as well. He ran to his room.

On a stroll outside, Dark walked around by herself. She was near the bow of the ship, and leaning against the railing. That�s when she saw two people walk by; mysterious looking and wearing those gray and brown shirt and pants. However, they weren�t Zora or Bryce. One, a bit shorter than the other and with large glasses, jogged along side the tall woman carrying a clipboard. When the tall one moved her lips, the little one jotted down things. Dark wasn�t just going to sit back at this one, she wanted to know who these people were.

She approached the tall woman. "Excuse me."

She looked at her with slight irritation. "Yes?" her dark voice boomed.

"I was wondering who you people are. I heard TD, and saw two others dressed that way."

The short man pushed up with glasses with a single finger and spoke, "I�m-"

The woman waved a hand and silenced him. "I am Carmen Vax, and this is my assistant, Louis."

"Vax? I recognize that�"

"I�m glad you noticed. I am the daughter of Lance Vax, the Dragon Master in the Indigo Plateau tournament so many years ago. Yes�and I am the leader of Team Dream, arch rivals of the Shadow Gang."

She knew Team Dream! Formed about fifteen years ago, they were founded to counter Team Rocket in every particular. However, they were involved in pokemon lab testing, and they even developed a few new pokemon attacks. They were not, in any way, affiliated with the Dream League, but their name was known all around. Their nickname was �Masters of Battle�, as only extremely good trainers were hired. The staff wasn�t made of the talented trainers though, only the high positions. Carmen saw the recognition on Dark�s face.

She smiled. "What is your name? I didn�t get it."

"Dark."

"What a unique name. Dark�Perhaps I will see you tonight. Most of my team is here." Her eyes twinkled. "You�ll have fun battling them. Most of my subordinates are weak trainers."

After the odd encounter, Dark went back to her room. She�d get ready to go to the Banquet done in her best. Something made her think though. If most of Team Dream was on the boat, then it would be disaster to have even one Shadow Gang member on board.