~PO-KE-MON!~

[FoxTrott]

"We should signal them. Show them where the island is."

They'll find it.

"How?"

Wait and see...

~~~

The solar beam shot high into the sky, seemingly piercing a hole in the clouds. It shone a light briefly in the distance, revealing a tower looming on the horizon. A pier jutted out from the small islet it stood on, and two figures were standing on it, one much taller than the other. The clouds converged again, and the island was shrouded in darkness once more.

"Am I the only one that saw that?" called James hopefully.

[Dokeshi]

Ryuk rubbed his eyes and yelled out to James," I think I saw something... It might be our best bet." Crawdaunt went towards where the island was with a nudge.

[Gifted]

"I saw it!" Teale said. "Come on guys! Tentacruel, that way!" she cried, pointing toward where she'd seen the island.

[Raven]

Sabrina fidgeted uncomfortably as Scyther followed the others. She knew they had to rest, but she didn't like the look of the people on the bridge. Or that there was a contest on an nonexistent island. "Why are we trusting that these people won't hurt us?" she whimpered, not loud enough for even Scyther to hear above the storm.

[FoxTrott]

After a while, they reached the island. James crawled onto the pier, and laid there for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of being on solid land. Flaaffy jumped up, and shook out her fur. Lanturn floated, exhausted, in the surf, until James returned him to his Pokeball. He sat up, and glanced around.

There was only one person on the pier; a fair lady with long, dark brown hair in a dark dress that reached the ground. The pier lead to a small island with barely enough room for the tower-like castle that was on it.

"Welcome," said the lady peacefully.

[Gifted]

Teale leapt joyfully onto land, followed closely by Haylee. Teale returned Tentacruel and -when he set Sabrina down, of course- Scytherto their Pokeballs before leaning down. "You did great," She said, hugging her pokemon, and getting "Chiko! Chiko! Chiko!" back as an awnser. She stood up then, letting Haylee stay on the ground, and faced the lady. 'Thank you," she said. "We're happy to be here,"

[Dokeshi]

Ryuk sat on the pier and patted Crawdaunt's head and spoke to it," Thank you, why don't you take a nice nap?" He withdrew Crawdaunt to his ball and stood up, brushing off.

[Raven]

Sabrina watched the lady. "Weren't there two people here a minute ago?" she asked quietly.

[FoxTrott]

The lady shook her head at Sabrina. "No," she said, in the same calming tone as before, "just me. I apologize dearly for the weather; I've no idea where the boat has gone, though..." She motioned towards the double doors of the tower/castle. "Please, come inside."

"With pleasure," mumbled James, getting to his feet. The lady walked swiftly over to the double doors, and opened one as James walked in. Inside was a beautiful foyer, with a grand staircase leading to an upper level with rows and rows of doors. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Flaaffy looked up at the sparkling chandelier enviously, wondering how she could get up there. The photographer was simply awestruck.

"You all have invitations, yes?" the lady asked, tilting her head. James started, and looked frantically through his soggy backpack. He procured a barely legible piece of paper, and handed it to the nicely-dressed woman. She gave a forced smile, and pocketed it.

[Dokeshi]

Quickly, Ryuk followed them inside, he had enough of the rain for now.Ryuk reached into his pocket, his invitation had ripped in half but was a bit more legible than James'.

[Gifted]

Teale made a face when asked for the invitationj and sproduced a piece of paper in the same condition. She was amazed by the foyer, like nothinmg she'd ever sween before. Haylee was dazzled by all the twinkling lights and couldn't wait to explore.

[FoxTrott]

The lady took both Teale and Ryuk's invitations, putting them in her dress pocket with James'. She turned to Sabrina, and before she could speak, James added, "She's with me." The lady nodded, and addressed the trainers.

"My name is Cassandra," she said cordially, "I'm the head maid here. Master--the one who invited you--is away at the moment, and shall be back by the start of the battles on the fourth day." She handed out a key to each of them, except Sabrina, with a number written on it. "This is the key to your room, of which are up the stairs. Miss," she addressed Sabrina, "you can accompany this young man," she motioned to James, "in his room, assuming you are okay with it. You all have full reign of the manor until the start of the battles. The dining hall is to your left, and the main hall is to your right, where Master will address you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, or any of the other maids you see wandering around."

[Gifted]

"Oh wow!" Teale said as she took her key. "Should we get something to eat first or check out our room first?" Haylee ran to the stairs, babbling excitedly. Teale grinned. "Yeah, I thought so too," she went to follow her Chikorita. "Hopefully I'll see you guys again before the battle starts, see you later," she said to the others before following Haylee up the stairs.

[Dokeshi]

Ryuk nodded and spoke to the others," Yea I hope to see you guys," He let Raven out of her ball who began exploring and decided to steal a piece of the chandelier before following her master. Ryuk walked up stairs and soon found his room.

[Raven]

Sabrina sighed and glanced at James. "We should go take a look," she said, then headed for the staircase. She was dripping slightly, and didn't look at all like she belonged in the grand and twinkling mansion. She didn't feel like she belonged, either.