Emry's screams mingled with hundreds of others after the living bomb exploded over Porytech's float. She ran away from the street and was soon tossed about in the roiling sea that was the panicked crowd. The girl suddenly found herself smacking the pavement, air whooshing from her lungs in a grunt. For a few terrifying seconds, Emry tried to scramble up and hoped nobody would trample her. A strong grip on her shoulder made her yelp. Solomon lifted the blonde onto his back with ease and weaved through the crowd. For a second, Emry glanced back and frowned as she watched the avatars battle the attackers. Then she tore her gaze away while the Lucario carried her out of sight.

There weren't many guards in the area. Many had been discreetly dispatched to confront a rowdy trainer near the end of the parade route; it was unknown whether or not this disturbance was linked to the Alliance. The remaining officers occupied themselves with helping evacuate the crowd and protecting the defenseless humans.

One guard rushed toward the demolished Porytech float. He shoved aside chunks of debris, coughing on lungfuls of foul smoke. The officer expected the worst. What he did not expect was the blue blur that leapt out of the wreckage. A Greninja hopped up the tail of the nearby Azelf float, surveying the battle from above.

Soon later, the smoke cleared up enough to let the guard see Ms. Huang. The sight astonished him. Several bruises and burns covered Justine, and a stray hunk of splintered wood protruded from a bleeding and spasming forearm. She looked remarkably well, though, considering she should probably be dead. Porygon-Z also sported some dents and scorch marks, but it still had some fighting energy. The pink Pokemon narrowed its eyes and hovered forward but stopped when Justine shook her head.

"Greninja," she barked hoarsely, "Water Shuriken the Pinecos!"

"Ma'am," the guard firmly told Justine, "you can't stay here in this condition. If you can walk, I'll escort you to medical aid."

Ms. Huang stared numbly at the man, dazed and deafened by the explosion. Eventually she understood the gist of his message. Justine gave him a defiant frown at first; however, a wave of sickening pain in her arm convinced her to follow his lead.

"Stay put and keep an eye on Greninja," Justine grunted to Porygon-Z while the officer helped her to her feet. "Try to make sure he doesn't kill anything this time." Then the guard supported her while she slowly shuffled away from the battle.

Greninja unleashed a shrill battle cry as it leapt off the float, did a double front flip just because it could, and didn't even flinch when it landed twenty feet below. He leapt toward the leader's Pineco and blistering speed. At nearly point-blank range, the frog Pokemon formed two spiked weapons made of water in its hands and fired them at the bug type. The whirling shurikens dug deep into the Pineco's tough shell. The weapons melted back into regular water after they hit, but the damage had already been done.

"Pineco!" the middle trainer ordered. "Bug Bite!" The Pineco shook off its pain and lunged forward with surprising speed, latching its jaws onto Greninja's arm.

For a few seconds, Greninja simply stared as the cocoon Pokemon drooled on his arm. Its ability to endure two Water Shurikens had mildly impressed him, but then its counter-attack was too pathetic to be even halfway exciting. How... disappointing. Greninja audibly sighed as he lifted the Pineco off the ground and, with his free hand, shot a Water Shuriken directly into the Pokemon's eye. The Pineco didn't even have time to scream in agony before it dropped like a rock, spurting blood from what used to be an eye. Greninja fired one more shuriken into its torso for good measure and then hopped back to defend Porygon-Z. Watching the mayhem and violence, the poor normal type looked distressed enough to blow a gasket or something.

Near the back of the parade, the female member's face turned red at the sight of her Golem's death and her shaking hands clenched. She didn't really look grieved or angry; the closest way to describe her expression would be frustration over losing. Things continued to get worse from there. Pineco fainted from two fire moves before it could even launch a counter-attack. Koffing tried to Self-Destruct near the wrong Gardevoir. Now her Baltoy was asleep merely ten feet from her, and two of the avatars themselves threatened to do the same to her... or worse.

The female trainer swayed a little, drowsiness muddling her thoughts for a second. Then she quickly reached for something on her belt. A flash of light, a glimpse of golden brown skin, and the next moment, she was gone. The trainer Teleported moments before certain doom.

Over on the other end, a Koffing sneakily hovered between floats. Somehow it had gone unnoticed among the mayhem. The poison type waited for the perfect moment to strike, and that moment came when the blue-haired avatar collapsed. Koffing emerged from behind the head of the Raikou float, hovered directly over Lucas, and coughed up a foul and toxic spew of Sludge.

The front trainer gritted his teeth in pain, gulping in small breaths that still tortured his bruised backbone. He quickly assessed his situation. His Pokemon [i]had[/i] managed to blow Suicune to smithereens... well, the float. But he didn't have to mention that little detail when he told his story, right? Other than that, this fight was a wash. The best he could do now was live to fight another day. A flash of white light, a glimpse of golden brown skin, and then the front trainer was gone, too.

Lucas had left the middle trainer unconscious after a display of martial arts. Or, so the avatar thought. A few seconds after Lucas ran off, the man groaned and pulled himself up to a sitting position.

"Heh, stupid Pokemon," the leader rasped defiantly, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips. "Think they're so tough. Well, it's gonna take more than one measly hit to take ME down!"

Right on cue, Alain's Dark Pulse hammered the man's side. He tumbled a few yards and landed in yet another puddle. The leader lay bleeding, definitely knocked out, and possibly breathing.