Cherrygrove Champion: Best of the Best

by Colorful Blades

Join Cutter as he journeys through the Johto Region with his trusty Larvitar at his side. As he travels through Johto, will he be able to become the Champion that Cherrygrove never had, or will the obstacles that stand in his way be too much for Cutter to overcome?

1. Happy Birthday

Today was the Cutter's 17th birthday and the day he could finally get a pokemon. According to the Pokemon League, he couldn't be a certified trainer until his 18th birthday, but on his 17th, the Pokemon League allowed future trainers to get their first pokemon. That way they were able to bond with their first pokemon before setting out on a journey across the region.

Cutter had been waiting for this day to come since he was a child. He loved sitting around and listening to his parents tell him stories of their training days. Back in their time, you could set out on your pokemon adventure at age 10, but too many kids were dying and getting hurt. Because of this, the League decided to make the official age 18. Athe mark of adulthood, people could be trusted to embark on a journey.

"Cutter," called Cutter's mom from downstairs, "Someone's here to see you." Cutter's mom had never been an excellent trainer, but she nonetheless she had gone on a journey of her own. Cutter loved to play with her pokemon and listen to her tell stories of trying to get gym badges, but almost always failing spectacularly. She was much better at making friends with pokemon than battling with them.

"Coming!" yelled back Cutter as he slid on a pair of khaki shorts and a white t-shirt, topped with a hardy vest. He pulled on his hiking boots as he stumbled out of the room and, not even bothering to tie them, ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

He sped into the kitchen and nearly knocked over his mother who was putting away a jug of Oran juice. "Oh, watch out Cutter," scolded his mother.

"Sorry mom," Cutter smiled, hugging her. He pulled out of the hug and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Cutter, this is Mrs. Grace from the Day Care outside of Goldenrod City, dear," Mrs. Robinson informed Cutter, gesturing to a woman that Cutter hadn't seen until now. She was small and wrinkly with steel-gray hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her face was neither smiling nor unsmiling, but she did not look like someone Cutter would want to mess with.

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Grace," beamed Cutter, not able to hold in his excitement. His stomach was practically exploding with Butterfree. He knew what was coming next. He had been waiting on this day.

"And you as well young man. You turn 17 today, correct?" Mrs. Grace questioned, her voice softer than her steely gaze led Cutter to believe it would be.

"Yes ma'am!" Cutter squeaked, ecstatic. His mother had gotten the head of the leading Day Care in Johto to provide him with his first pokemon. What a mom, he told himself. He was sure he would be thanking her nonstop for the next couple of days.

Her eyes twinkled at the excited boy but her hardened face remained the same. "And do you know what you want for your birthday present?"

"Oh yes. I've known for forever." Cutter beamed, his mind racing with all the pokemon that he could possibly want.

"Well, what is it?"

"A pokemon, ma'am," Cutter said, his voice trembling. He was struggling to keep his excitement at a respectful level, but the Day Care owner seemed to understand the what he was feeling. She too used to be a trainer, he was sure.

"And do you know which kind?" she asked, her voice calming Cutter's nerves.

"I have a certain couple in mind that I would like, but I'm willing to take practically any pokemon," Cutter told her. He knew that any pokemon could be strong with the right trainer, and Cutter planned to be that trainer.

"Well, I don't happen to have any pokemon here with me," the old woman confessed. Immediately, Cutter's face fell. He was sure that he was going to be getting a pokemon for his birthday. But then what is she here for? Maybe to teach me about pokemon? Seems expensive to get her all the way out here just to teach me about pokemon. Any breeder could do that. Grace, upon seeing Cutter's downcast look, continued. "But, I do have a pokemon egg!"

"An… egg?" Cutter asked, his excitement returning, although more hesitant than before.

"I have brought a pokemon egg. Your mother and I figured that you should raise the pokemon from birth, and what better way to do that than with an egg? We agreed that it would be the best way for you to have the strongest bond possible with your pokemon. Does that make sense?"

"Yes ma'am, I think so," Cutter said, slightly confused.

"If a trainer is able to raise a pokemon from before hatching, the pokemon in the egg gets a feel of the one taking care of it. It's kind of like imprinting, but before they hatch. The pokemon will actually imprint once it hatches and that serves to further the bond. It will look to you like a caretaker, but also with an undying love. If the trainer and pokemon make that bond as soon as it hatches, it surpasses the bond that a trainer and a caught pokemon will have."

Understanding flooded Cutter's face and he smiled as his mind wrapped around the breeder's complicated words. "Yes ma'am. I get it now."

The breeder smiled and took a backpack off of her back. She handed it to Cutter, who took it gingerly into his arms. "In that bag is your egg. When you pass by my Day Care in the future, stop in and show me how it has grown, if you don't mind."

"I will," Cutter smiled as tears of thankfulness filled his eyes. "Thank you!" Cutter called, but it was to empty air. The woman had already turned and gone.

Carefully, Cutter set the backpack on the kitchen table and unzipped it. Inside there was a glass tube with a layer of plush at the bottom to protect the delicate egg that sat on top. The egg was a sandy green color with red and black diamonds covering the middle. It was about the size of a football, albeit a tad bit rounder.

Cutter pulled the tube out and set it on the table. He leaned down and pressed his face into the glass, wanting to get as close of a look as possible, staring at the egg in awe.

After a moment of allowing her son his time with the egg, his mom broke the silence with, "we're headed to lunch soon, Cutter, so brush your hair."

"Yes ma'am," Cutter replied, still not taking his eyes off the egg. He was already in love and he didn't even know what pokemon it was.

xx

The next six months dragged on, but Cutter made the most of them. He got a job at a local farm to save some money for his journey and he spent time with his family to pass the time. But finally, on a warm spring evening, it happened.

Cutter was sitting on his bed reading a guide on the various pokemon of Johto when a sharp crack rang out around his room. "AAAHHH!" He screamed and fell backwards, startled, pulling a pillow over his head for protection. After he realized he wasn't being attacked, he threw the pillow off his head and looked around, confused as to what caused the noise. Then another, louder crack rang out. He swung his head around, and found that the noise was coming from the small, sandy colored egg. He leapt off the bed and crouched next to the glass case. Hairline cracks snaked across the shell that he had been taking care of these last six months.

Five minutes inched by, then ten, but to Cutter it felt like an eternity. He remembered the woman saying that it would take some time for the baby pokemon to break the egg, but that it was imperative that they do it on their own.

A half hour later, and a tiny brown appendage, the same color as the egg, broke through the outermost layer of the shell. Quickly, the little arm retreated. Then it punched through the shell again. This went on for another couple of seconds. Cutter chuckled to himself as he watched his new pokemon try and make its way through the shell of the egg.

Finally, the whole top of the egg shattered and a tiny little horn could be seen. Cutter pulled the top of the glass case off and looked down into the egg. The skin that was visible so far was all the color of the egg, with the exception of what appeared to be black eyeliner underneath the eyes, which were not yet open. After another five minutes of struggling, the entire egg had broken open, along with the glass case, its gooey, embryonic contents spilling out onto his carpet. His mom was going to be furious, but that was at the back of Cutter's mind.

The small pokemon sat on the padding on which the egg had previously rested and slowly opened its little black eyes. On its stomach was a red diamond, and to the left and right were two black diamonds. They appeared to be a place where the pokemon's sandy skin simply didn't grow. Cutter knew that this was an aspect of the pokemon's future dark typing.

"Larvitar," Cutter whispered, awestruck. He had mentioned Larvitar to his parents once or twice, but not often. Cutter knew that Larvitar were the most expensive Pokemon eggs to get ahold of. Plus, they were extremely, extremely rare. Their final evolution, a pseudo-legendary called Tyranitar, were known for their awe-inspiring power and ability to wreak havoc both on and off the battlefield. Back before modern day civilizations, Tyranitar were known to destroy entire villages simply out of anger. His family wasn't exactly rich, either, so how his parents afforded this was unknown to him. He had truly been expecting a Spinarak or Sentret. Not only were those common, but they were easy to train. His parents had gotten him a rare, expensive, and difficult to train Pokemon. Cutter was ecstatic and knew that he was up to the task. It would be a long and difficult process, but Cutter was ready.

An ear-popping screech brought him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Larvitar was crying. Is he using Screech attack? Cutter thought to himself, but quickly decided that Larvitar was just crying, considering it was a baby.

"Hey, hey.," Cutter whispered softly. He didn't want to scare the newborn any more than it already was. Slowly the baby pokemon looked to his new trainer and his crying quieted, then finally stopped completely, leaving the room still and silent except for the combined breathing of trainer and pokemon. Looking up at Cutter, the Larvitar's eyes grew wider and it reached its stubby arms upwards toward him. Slowly and gently, Cutter wrapped his arms around the newborns midsection, using one arm as support for its head and the other as a cradle. Its conical made it hard to hold so Cutter spent the next couple moments readjusting until he found something that he assumed was more comfortable for both of them. Cutter found his arms growing tired because even though Larvitar was a baby, his body was made of rock, so it was still heavy. And its skin was rough like sandpaper. With each adjustment that Cutter made, the sandy skin scraped his arms more and more raw, sure to leave them hurting for a couple of days. Cutter drowned out the pain, instead focusing on the baby in his arms.

"There, there," Cutter cooed softly, stroking the smooth red belly of his newest friend. They stayed like that for a while before the baby grew restless. Writhing and squirming around in Cutter's arms, the Larvitar struggled to right itself. Cutter set the baby down on the carpet and turned to grab his Pokedex off his desk.

"Larvitar. The Rock Skin Pokemon. This Larvitar is a male. Larvitar feeds on soil. After it has eaten a large mountain, it will fall asleep so it can grow. This Larvitar is a male and it knows the moves Bite, Leer, Tackle, and Focus Energy. Its ability is Guts which increases the pokemon's attack when inflicted with a status condition. Larvitar is newly hatched." the Pokedex droned in its monotone voice.

"So you're a boy," Cutter said to the Larvitar, who cocked his head in confusion and looked up at him. Even though all pokemon are born with an innate understanding of human speech, babies have a harder time of it than fully grown pokemon. Until they have been around humans for an extended period of time and grow to learn their language, there isn't much they can do to understand.

Moments went by with the two of them maintaining eye contact. Finally, Larvitar broke the stillness. He reached up with his stubby arms, a sign that he wanted his trainer to pick him up. Cutter happily obliged "Man, you're gonna make me stronger huh? You sure are a heavy little guy." Cutter knew that he would only be able to pick up Larvitar for the first couple weeks before the small pokemon got to be too heavy. Before evolution they got to be about 150 pounds and grew exponentially in their first couple weeks after hatching. By the time they set out on their adventure in six months, the Larvitar would weigh close to 100 pounds and Cutter wouldn't be able to pick him up anymore. After that, the next fifty or so pounds before evolution would come slowly. He had read that it took three to six months for Larvitar to evolve after they had grown out of their baby stage, which took about six months.

Larvitar got restless again, so Cutter set him down. Larvitar began to try out his feet and waddled around, falling down more than once as he taught himself to walk. Larvitar spent the next twenty minutes exploring Cutter's room, but every few seconds would look back at Cutter to make sure he was still there. Cutter smiled as his heart filled with love for the little pokemon.

An hour passed with Larvitar exploring the room for a minute then returning to Cutter's arms, then back again and back again. The whole-time Cutter was reading all he could about Larvitar and their line in his Pokedex. Finally, Larvitar decided to stay in Cutter's arms and the exhausted baby pokemon drifted off to sleep. Cutter rubbed the Larvitar's belly gently as he slept.

After a while, Cutter heard the front door open, then slam shut. His parents had made it home. "Honey, your father and I are back!" called his mother. Cutter didn't answer for fear of waking the newborn, which just made his mom yell back louder. "Cutter?" pause. "Cutter, don't make me come up there." Another pause. "Alright I'm coming up." He heard his mother's feet stomping up the steps and he knew she would be upset that he didn't answer, but he figured she would get over it fairly quickly once she realized why he didn't. "Cutter," his mother said as she swung the door open. Her eyes landed on the carpet wet with egg-matter. "WHAT IS THIS ME-," she yelled, but stopped when she saw the once sleeping Pokemon lying in Cutter's arms. At the rude awakening, the Larvitar began thrashing and screaming again, scraping even more skin off of Cutter's already tender arms. The baby was surprisingly strong for something so young. "Oh my. Cutter. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize…" His mother trailed off, looking apologetic.

"Hey. There's no use in crying like that. Shh," Cutter cooed to the wailing infant, rubbing the red scales on the infant's stomach, calming him. The Pokedex had assured Cutter that most of them enjoyed that, and it appeared that his Larvitar was no different. His mother stood there marveling at how her son was taking care of the baby.

"Honey, what's all that racket?" Cutter's father asked as he walked into the room. He saw the newly hatched Larvitar and quieted immediately, just like his wife had. The two of them just stood there smiling happily at their son and his newborn partner.

"Goodnight, Cutter," his mother whispered as she kissed him on the head.

"Night mom. Night dad," Cutter said back in a hushed tone as his parents left.

Cutter stood slowly and steadily and laid Larvitar down on his bed as comfortably as he could. He got all the pillows and blankets he could find from his closet and began making a makeshift bed. After he deemed the shoddy sleeping arrangement relatively sleepable, he laid Larvitar down in it and covered him up before curling up next to him. The Pokedex said that since Larvitar were coldblooded they would need to be kept as warm as possible for the first month, and the best way to do that while also increasing the bond was to sleep with them. After that first month they were able to sleep outside of constant warmth and the trainer's embrace, but for now Cutter was happy to do it. He looked around as Larvitar slept and realized his room was a mess, not to mention the burning in his arms. He looked down and saw that they were rubbed completely raw from holding the writhing Larvitar with its sandpaper skin. He chuckled and began to say goodnight to his new partner, speaking ot it softly. "Hey little buddy. How are you doing? My name is Cutter. You're my new partner and hopefully my best friend." The little Larvitar twitched in his sleep, completely unaware Cutter was talking to him. "You and me, we're going to be the strongest pair in the history of Johto, you know?" Cutter smiled to himself and cuddled up as close as he could to the baby Larvitar. He closed his eyes, but before he drifted off he noticed the Larvitar pushing as close to him as he could. Cutter smiled to himself and wrapped his arms even tighter around his new friend.

xx

Cutter was awoken two hours later by the screams of the baby. He jerked upright, fearing for his life, not knowing the cause of the screaming. His heartbeat slowed when re looked down and realized it was only Larvitar crying. Cutter sighed and picked up Larvitar, muttering to it, humming, anything to get it to stop crying. After five minutes, it was silent again. Cutter waited, just to make sure it didn't wake back up, but before he could put Larvitar back in its own bed, he drifted to sleep as well, cradling the baby in his arms.

xx

The sun was shining through his window and Larvitar was crying again. Cutter opened his eyes and looked groggily around, confused as to how he got on the ground and why his arms were burning. His eyes landed on the baby pokemon in his arms and it all came back to him. He looked over at his clock. 7:21, it read. "Great," Cutter muttered, "Saturday, and I'm already up." His tone was sarcastic, but he was as excited as he could be. It was his first day with Larvitar. He laid the Pokemon back on his bed, brushed his teeth, applied some ointment to his raw forearms, and got dressed, putting on a long sleeved shirt to protect his arms from Larvitar's rough skin.

He picked up the small Larvitar and carried him downstairs, eager to begin their first day together. He was greeted by his smiling mother and a Clefable setting the table. "Good morning honey! How did you sleep?" The bipedal pink pokemon greeted Cutter with a wave and a smile. How the Fairy pokemon was so chipper even in the early morning, Cutter would never know.

"Great," mumbled Cutter, the tired in his eyes showing, but his smile genuine.

"How is your Larvitar doing? Did you give it a nickname?"

"Give him time to breathe, Les. The kid just woke up and by the looks of it, he didn't get the best night's sleep," His father smiled as he walked into the room. "I remember those days. Trust me Cutter, your nights only get shorter from here." Cutter's father, unlike his mother, was an excellent trainer bac in his day, even making it to the finals of the Silver Cup once. The backbone of his team, Ledian, sat on top of his father's head. Ledian were generally very weak pokemon. Somehow Cutter's father had unlocked an unseen potential within Ledian. "But yes, tell us about it."

"Larvitar is good. And no, no nickname just yet. He did manage to scrape up my arms pretty bad with all of his thrashing, but it's nothing."

"Oh that's great honey. Just great." Cutter spent the next twenty minutes eating breakfast and talking to his parents about when he would start his journey with Larvitar and where he planned to go and everything in between. Cutter finished breakfast and walked his dishes to the sink. "I've got to go. I'm sure Larvitar is hungry, so I'm going to find him some food."

"Do you know what he eats?" Questioned Mr. Robinson.

"Yes sir. Rocks and earth. But since he's still so young, pebbles and dirt. Which we have plenty of," Cutter said, referencing the garden his mother kept.

"Alright then. You take care," his dad said.

"And don't stray too far. There are Pokemon and your Larvitar can't defend you yet," Cutter's mom added.

The next six months went by in a blur. Larvitar's horn grew, its skin toughened up, and they even began to work on fighting. Larvitar was young, but it was strong. Larvitar certainly would be able to hold its own. It may not win every battle right off the bat, but it sure wouldn't get creamed.

"Larvitar. We leave tomorrow, you know," Cutter said, panting from their jog through the sand. "We've spent the last few months growing and running and working hard, but tomorrow is the day we really get started. Are you ready?"

"Laiir," Larvitar grunted, nodding his head in agreement.

Cutter smiled and scratched the rock type behind its horn. "Well, it's getting late. What do you say we go in and get to sleep? It's an early morning tomorrow, buddy." Larvitar's only response was to jump and run towards the house. Laughing, Cutter chased him.

Cutter woke up early the next morning, ready to begin his adventure. He hopped off his bed and shook Larvitar gently awake. Larvitar sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes, sand littering the already dirty carpet. Larvitar's constant shedding made it basically impossible for Cutter to keep his room clean. Cutter quickly dressed himself in a pair of running tights, for protection, khaki shorts, a compression shirt, also for protection, a t-shirt with his hardy hiking vest, and his hiking boots. He picked up his backpack and quickly sifted through it, making sure everything was there. He knew it would be, having already put all of his clothes and supplies in the storage balls the night before, but it still felt reassuring to check anyways. Once he was satisfied that he had everything, he headed out the door, Larvitar at his heels.

"Larri," Larvitar trilled excitedly. Cutter wasn't sure who was more excited to start the adventure, him or his pokemon.

"Good morning honey," said Cutter's mom as he reached the kitchen. "And happy birthday. I made you a plate of eggs and Tauros sausage and Larvitar has a bowl of his favorite rocks from my garden. It's a special day," His mother said with a wink, waving a spatula as she spoke.

"Thanks mom!" Cutter said through a mouth full of eggs, nearly choking in the process.

"Lar!" Larvitar exclaimed and began eating with the same passion as his trainer.

"Like Trainer, like Pokemon," Mrs. Robinson laughed. "Your father really wanted to be here to wish you well, but he got called in today. Something about a breach in security at the lab. Anyway, these gifts are from the both of us. Just know he loves you." She placed a box wrapped with red and gold cellophane paper on the table in front of him and kissed his forehead gently before returning to the dishes.

Cutter tore into the paper, revealing a large cardboard box. Cutter ripped open the top of the box, and inside were five Pokeballs, a great ball, a storage ball, five Potions, a super Potion, and a small tub of berries. Cutters jaw dropped and tears welled up in his eyes, thankful for the gift. "Wow mom. Thank you." He wanted to say more, but he feared he would cry if he kept talking, so instead he sprung up and wrapped his arms tightly around his mother, startling the skittish Clefable that was picking up his plate at the table. "But how did you afford the great ball? They're very expensive."

"It isn't every day your only son turns 18 and starts his pokemon adventure," she said with a wink. Everything in the gift were invaluable to trainers, especially the storage ball. They were a relatively new invention, but they were like pokeballs for items, storing up to sixty pounds of inventory per ball. Without them, trainers wouldn't be able to carry around everything they need.

Cutter pulled a poke ball out of the box and turned to his starter, his face plastered with a grin. "Larvitar, I haven't officially caught you yet, but I need to so that you are officially my pokemon. And I promise that you won't be in this ball for long, just long enough to register you as my pokemon." Cutter paused, letting Larvitar grasp his words. "So, what do you say?" He was confident Larvitar would agree, but there was that second of unknown that had Cutter's stomach turning with apprehension.

"Larri," Larvitar grunted with a confident nod, although Cutter saw his eyes glimmering with fear and anticipation. It seemed that they were both feeling the same thing. Cutter gave Larvitar a comforting smile and pressed the ball to Larvitar's forehead, sucking him into the ball with a flash of red. The ball wobbled for a moment in Cutter's hand, but quickly came to a rest, dinging its completion. Larvitar was Cutter's pokemon. Cutter released Larvitar and rubbed the Pokemon behind its horn, eliciting a warm grunt from his new pokemon. "Are you ready to start our adventure?" Cutter asked, his voice trembling with excitement. Larvitar smiled and nodded, sending a shower of sand onto the floor.

His mother sighed at the mess and said, "Be careful honey. There are lots of dangerous Pokemon out there."

"I know mom," Cutter sighed. They had been over this a thousand times.

"You're going to New Bark Town, right? That's only a week's walk if you don't get sidetracked. Then you have to come back this way anyways. I swear, Cutter James if you don't stop in and say hello on your walk back through, I'll kill you. I really will," she said, her voice catching in her throat and her eyes threatening to overflow with tears.

Cutter smiled sadly at his mother. As excited as he was to get out on the road, ,he hated seeing his mother cry. "Mom. I'll be back in two weeks, I promise. And I'll stay the night here on my way from New Bark Town to Violet City."

"You promise?" She asked, tears streaming down her face.

"I promise," Cutter said as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too," she sniffled, pulling out of the hug and pushing him toward the door. "Goodbye honey." Cutter turned and he and Larvitar walked out of the door, ready to start their adventure, his mom following them out and waving her last goodbye.

As Cutter and Larvitar neared the edge of Cherrygrove City, Cutter looked back at the quaint town that he had grown up in. Larvitar just looked up at his trainer curiously. He just shook his head, a tear in his eye. He wiped it away and turned around and they began their journey.

xx

Forty-five minutes later and they approached the edge of the woods, marking the real beginning of their journey. "Well Larvitar, this is it. Are you ready?"

"Lar," Larvitar agreed.

"Alright then, let's go." The outskirts of the woods were bright with the morning light and the sun streamed through the leaves, dappling the ground. The further in they got, the darker the forest became, until finally the only source of light came from the thin beams that the dense forest above let in. The two of them, trainer and pokemon, walked in silence through the wooded area.

"Hey buddy, what do you say we work on some of your moves?" Cutter asked during one of their water breaks. It was a little before noon and they had been walking for almost five hours, only pausing for water or to listen when they thought they heard a pokemon nearby. "I don't want to run into a trainer in here and you not be prepared to battle."

Larvitar nodded, a grin on his face. he had been waiting to learn how to do more than just tackle and bite, but he was patient with his trainer, allowing him to go at his own pace.

"Let me check the Pokedex," Cutter said, pulling out the mobile red pokemon encyclopedia. "I know what moves you can learn, but let's see which ones we should focus on first." Cutter scrolled through Larvitar's information, making note of the moves he could learn early on. "Looks to me like the first moves we're gonna be learning are Sand Attack and Rock Throw. Those are both pretty basic," he said, pocketing the Pokedex in his vest. "You'll have them mastered in no time."

"Larrii," Larvitar yelled, excited to get some good moves under its belt.

How to go about this? Cutter wondered, pacing around the small clearing they had stopped to take a break in. "What we could do is practice Rock Throw by having you tear off chunks of smaller rock from larger rocks, but there aren't really any rocks here to do that with," he noted, looking around and seeing only shrubbery. "And if there are no rocks around in your battle then that won't work. We need to work on your ability to pull rocks up from under the earth. That'll be a little bit harder, but worth it in the end, I think," Cutter muttered, at a complete loss. "With Sand Attack, you just throw sand at your opponents to blind them, and considering your body is constantly producing sand, that should be simple enough."

Larvitar just stared up at its trainer and Cutter pulled the Pokedex back out, and looking at Larvitar's page again. "It also says here that you're able to form rocks using your body. Do you know how that works?" Larvitar was silent. "I'll take that as a no," mumbled Cutter. "Let's try pulling from the earth after we try from your body I guess. Although that might be harder to create rocks rather than pull up already existing ones," Cutter rambled, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about, even though the only one around was Larvitar. "Alright. Let's go with Rock Throw first. Try tightening your core. Focus. Really focus. Try and create a rock." Cutter realized he sounded like an idiot, but no one was around to hear. "Hold your hands out in front of you and focus all of your energy into the spot between your hands. Make a rock appear." Twenty seconds went by. Then thirty. Nothing. Cutter studied Larvitar as it focused, walking around his starter, looking him up and down, not really knowing what he was looking for.

A minute went by before he got an idea. "I've got it!" Larvitar stumbled and fell, startled by Cutter's sudden outburst. "You know those holes in your sides? Try focusing all your energy there." Larvitar began to focus again, this time on the black gaps in his side like Cutter told him. Another twenty seconds went by and then thirty. Out of the holes a brown haze began to seep out. Cutter smiled and pumped his fist silently, but he stayed quiet, not wanting to break Larvitar's concentration.

Larvitar, sensing that something was happening, began to put everything his little body had into procuring a rock. "LAARRI," Larvitar roared, procuring a sound larger than Cutter thought the small pokemon could make. Then followed a pop and a small thud. Larvitar opened his eyes and looked up at his trainer. Cutter was happier than Larvitar had ever seen him. Larvitar looked down and by his sides were two small rocks, each no larger than a golf ball. But still, he had done it. They might be tiny and weak and not capable of doing any more damage than causing a bruise, but still Larvitar had done it.

Cutter knelt down to his partner, and pulled the sandy Larvitar close to his body, hugging him tightly. "You ready to try again?" Cutter asked, releasing his pokemon from the hug. Larvitar nodded and stepped back, ready to do it again.

xx

After about an hour, Larvitar had managed to create rocks the size of baseballs, but Cutter wasn't ready to stop there. "Alright Larvitar, time for phase two in learning Rock Throw. I know you're mostly focusing on forming the rocks, but now you need to work on actually throwing them. So as soon as you know that the rocks are as big as they're going to get, give it one last push, grab the rocks before they leave your side, and throw them." Cutter had no idea if this was going to work, but it was the best idea he had.

"Lar," Larvitar agreed. Larvitar closed his eyes and began to focus again, concentrating harder than ever. Larvitar gave it one last push and swung his arms forward to grab the rocks, but there were no rocks for him to grab. He looked up at his trainer, confused.

"You missed them. They fell before your arms got there. But that's okay! Try again," Cutter said comfortingly and patted his trusty partner on the head.

Larvitar took a deep breath and began to focus everything he had into his core. He gave it one last shove and scooped up the rocks to throw them, but once again, they weren't there. He looked back to his trainer to see what he was doing wrong. Cutter just shrugged his shoulders, as bewildered as his pokemon. "Let me watch from the front and see if I can figure out what's going on."

Cutter stepped to the front and Larvitar began to focus again. He put everything he had into his tiny core, pushing out the brown, rock forming haze. He swung his arms and, once again, nothing. He looked up at Cutter who was smiling. Larvitar cocked his head in confusion, slightly angry that his trainer was laughing at his failure.

"I figured it out! You're closing your eyes. You've got to keep them open so you can see what you're doing. Let's try it one more time. You're going to get it this time, I just know it." Larvitar kept his eyes open and on the brown haze leaking from his body. Larvitar grunted and swung his arms, this time catching the newly formed rocks. Cutter cheered and Larvitar tossed the rocks in the air in celebration.

"That was great Larvitar!" Cutter exclaimed, laughing, before adding, "you just have to remember to throw the rocks!" Cutter reached down and rubbed Larvitar's head, eliciting a contented hum from the Rock Skin Pokemon. "What do you say we try one more time, and then we can take a break? Try hitting that tree right there," Cutter added, pointing to a tree right off the path about fifteen feet away.

"Larri," Larvitar grunted as he began to create the rocks. He gave it one last push, grabbed them, slammed them together creating a rock the size of a cantaloupe, and launched it at the tree. The rock landed several yards short of the intended target, but still, Cutter couldn't have been prouder.

"That was it Larvitar! That was so amazing! Next, we'll work on your accuracy, but for now, let's take a break. I'm tired and I didn't even do anything."

xx

Cutter and Larvitar rested for a little while next to a pond in a small clearing before Cutter decided it was time to move on. They travelled on through the dim forest for another two hours, not seeing any other trainers and just working on Larvitar's Rock Throw as they went.

Larvitar had not only doubled the size of each rock, but his accuracy was nearly perfect. Sand Attack was looking great too, but that was an easy move to conquer, considering Larvitar just had to push the sand from off his body.

Cutter and Larvitar stepped into a clearing framed with trees when a voice called out "Hey! You there!" Cutter looked up, startled. In front of him, across the clearing, was a boy about his age. "Let's battle."

"Okay. One on one?" Cutter asked the boy, surprised at his abruptness, but maybe that's just how trainers were.

"Yeah. I'll have you know I just started on my adventure yesterday, but I've already got three Pokemon," the kid boasted.

Cutter rolled his eyes. He knew that more pokemon did not equal more strength, especially early in one's journey. "Come on over here and let's get this show on the road," Cutter called out, ignoring the kid's obvious taunt. "You ready Larvitar?"

"Lar," the little Pokemon replied, holding up a clenched fist.

"We gonna start or what?" The boy asked, readying a pokeball in his hand.

"I'm ready when you are?" Cutter countered confidently.

"Let's see you beat this!" The kid yelled as he threw the pokeball into the air, and in a flash of white light appeared an Elekid. Cutter looked from the pokemon to the trainer in confusion. Didn't this kid know that electric wouldn't do anything to ground types? Then again, he was just a beginner, and not all beginners were destined for greatness like he was.

"Liika," The Elekid sneered as electricity crackled between the prongs on its head.

"Larril," Larvitar countered, swinging his horn as he stepped forward, issuing a challenge to the small electric type.

"Larvitar it's bigger than you, but don't let that scare you," Cutter called to his starter. "I'll let you make the first move."

"Big mistake, cause my first move is also going to be my last move." So he's cocky, Cutter noted. "Elekid, Spark!" The small yellow pokemon windmilled its arms, building up electricity in its fur as it ran towards Larvitar. It was surprisingly fast for such a bulky little pokemon, but Cutter knew just what to do to counter it.

"Larvitar, we've been working on your speed for a while now. Wait until it gets closer, then jump!" Larvitar readied himself as the Elekid closed the gap between them. "Now!" shouted Cutter when Elekid was close enough. Larvitar grunted in response and flung himself to the side, stumbling but remaining on his feet. He regained his balance and turned to the Elekid who had tripped. "Now, stay back from it and Sand Attack!"

"Elekid, another Spark!" Elekid began swinging its arms again, running towards Larvitar.

"Larvitar jump out of the way again!" At the last second, Larvitar jumped out of the way, but one of Elekid's swinging arms connected with Larvitar, slamming him into the ground. The electricity itself didn't do any damage thanks to Larvitar's ground typing, but the force from the blow still did.

"Larvitar, get up and use Rock Throw!" Cutter bit his lip and let out a breath as Larvitar stood up shakily, but okay. He was made of rock, so even a relatively hard hit from a strong Elekid wouldn't do much.

The other trainer seemed to know that Rock Throw would do a lot of damage to an untrained Elekid so he had to act fast. "Elekid get in close." Elekid sprinted towards Larvitar, windmilling its arms to build up electricity. Larvitar began to focus and a brown haze seeped from within his small body, creating rocks as quickly as he could.

Elekid was fifteen feet away and Larvitar was still forming the rocks. That'll have to do, Cutter figured. He waited a half second more for Elekid to close in more before yelling "Now!" Larvitar gave it one last shove, the rocks almost doubling in size from the last burst of effort. As they began to fall, Larvitar caught them and slammed them simultaneously into the face of the Elekid who was right in arms reach of Larvitar. Elekid flew back a few feet, and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Realization of Larvitar's washed over Cutter and he ran over to his starter and embraced him, trying to pick up the heavy pokemon but failing, resigning to just a simple hug. "You did it buddy! You did it!" Cutter was laughing, overcome with joy at his first win.

"Good match," the other trainer said begrudgingly, handing over the allotted amount of prize money after he recalled his Elekid to its Pokeball.

"Hey you too," Cutter smiled, glad the boy wasn't taking the loss too hard. "That Elekid of yours is strong. What's your name, by the way?"

"Terrance. I'm from Cianwood but I got my sister to teleport me to Cherrygrove this morning. Since Cianwood is an island, I didn't want to start from here. I just started my adventure yesterday."

"Cool! I'm Cutter. I got started this morning," Cutter told Terrance, happy he had made a new acquaintance.

"You just started this morning and Larvitar already has a Rock Throw that strong?" Terrance asked incredulously.

"Yeah!" Cutter chuckled. "I'm just getting on my feet. But me and Larvitar are pretty tired. I think we're going to call it a day and bed down here for the night. Do you want to join us?"

"Sure," Terrance said, smiling, making Cutter smile back. He was glad he didn't have to spend his first night out in the wilderness by himself, even if he wouldn't admit that to the boy. "I'm pretty tired, and I know Elekid is too." Cutter pulled out a can of beans and Larvitar walked to the water's edge to find some stones. Terrance released his three Pokemon and began searching through his bag for some Pokemon food.

"Spinarak and Zubat. Nice!" Cutter said, gesturing towards Terrance's other two pokemon.

"Sure are," the other boy beamed. "Cutter, meet Spinarak and Zubat. I caught Zubat last night. Then I caught Spinarak this morning while she was still asleep. It seemed unfair, but I figured, hey! I'm a new trainer. I need all the help I can get." He laughed and scratched Spinarak on the back gently.

"True!" Agreed Cutter. He wouldn't admit it to Terrance, but he was jealous that the other boy had more than one pokemon.

After talking for some time, the boys settled down to sleep. "Larvitar, do you want to sleep out with me or in your Pokeball?" Cutter asked, even though he already knew the answer. Larvitar curled up on the ground next to Cutter's sleeping bag and Cutter smiled, petting his rocky friend. "Goodnight buddy."

xx

A few hours passed when a sharp crack from the forest woke Cutter up. He was immediately alert. The last several months of sleeping with a baby pokemon taught him how to wake up quickly. He looked around, trying to figure out where the sound had come from, but his eyes couldn't make anything out in the darkness. Larvitar had awoken as well and was glaring at a dark spot in the tree line "What is it buddy?" Cutter whispered to the Larvitar.

"Larrri larv," the Larvitar grunted softly. However how well Cutter had grown to understand Larvitar's sense of speech over the last six months, he still had no idea what they young pokemon was saying.

"Do you want to go check it out?" The Larvitar nodded in response so Cutter crawled out of his sleeping bag as quietly as he could and began to creep towards the bushes, flashlight in hand ready to be turned on when Larvitar gave him the signal.

"Larv." Cutter flipped on the flashlight, but nothing was there.

"I guess it's gone. Oh well. Let's get back to sleep." And with that the two partners laid back down. Cutter drifted off almost immediately, but Larvitar stayed awake for the next several hours, determined to keep his trainer safe from whatever threats the forest might offer.

Cutter and Larvitar woke the next morning less rested than they would have liked. It was their first time sleeping outdoors, and it was not nearly as glamorous as Cutter hoped it was going to be.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position and threw his arms up over his head, stretching and letting out a yawn. He glanced over at where Terrance had been sleeping the night before, but the tall, red-headed trainer as gone. "Oh," Cutter said glumly. He had been looking forward to travelling with the boy, at least for a little while. "Oh well," Cutter muttered as he rubbed Larvitar behind his horn and the small rock type pokemon cooed with pleasure.

He stood up and began packing up his things, not wanting to waste too much time in one place. He was ready to get going.

"Hey Cutter!" Cutter swiveled around as he was rolling up his sleeping bag and saw Terrance emerging from the forest's edge across the clearing.

"Terrance! Hey! I thought you had left us," Cutter called back, a smile on his face.

"Naw, I just went to take my pokemon to eat. I went into the forest because there's more food for my pokemon there. Zubat and Spinarak both like to catch their own food." The boy shuddered slightly.

"Oh yeah. Larvitar just eats rocks, so he's pretty easy to feed! But I'm sure it'll be more difficult when we get into more urban areas." Cutter finished rolling up his sleeping bag and placed it neatly within a storage ball next to a map of Johto and a journal.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to travel together?" Terrance suggested. Cutter didn't reply for a second because he had half a granola bar in his mouth, so Terrance quickly added, "just to New Bark Town. From there we both go our separate ways, but for now, as early trainers, it's usually best to travel with someone?"

"Yeah! I was going to suggest the same thing!" Cutter smiled, happy that he and Terrance were on the same page.

xx

The rest of their journey through the woods to New Bark Town was uneventful and slow. Cutter and Larvitar perfected Rock Throw and Sand Attack and they even began to make some headway into Sandstorm, the next move Cutter wanted Larvitar to learn. Since Sandstorm was meant to be sustained for long amounts of time over a large area, they just worked on it being a more controlled and higher powered Sand Attack because Larvitar didn't yet have the stamina to perform a true Sandstorm.

They continued to have one-on-one battles, but after the sixth day, Larvitar was getting too tired to battle. There was only so much potions could do. What Larvitar needed was a good rest at a Pokemon Center.

xx

It was seven a.m. on the morning of their ninth day and Cutter and Laritar were working on Sandstorm before they started the final leg of their journey to New Bark. "Focus on it being a sand attack, but instead of just throwing it, try and make it rise from your body and move around in the air." While Larvitar was having trouble with Sandstorm, Cutter was having trouble explaining just exactly how Larvitar should perform the moves. Larvitar did as Cutter told him but it didn't seem to make much difference.

"Hm," Cutter murmured, rubbing his temples. It is too early in the morning for this. "We've been working on this for the last couple days and you're able to make it into a stronger Sand Attack, but we need to make it more… elemental? And the Pokedex says that you won't be able to fully control the earth until you're evolved, which won't be for a while." Cutter pondered this for a minute before it came to him. "What about a miniature Sandstorm? It doesn't have to go all around the field, just make it envelop you. Focus it and sustain it. Unlike sand attack where you release the sand, continue your control on it. Something else that might help is keeping the sand connected to the ground. Try and make it into a vortex that travels on the ground. That way you can keep getting new sand from the ground and you can keep the elemental control in your realm, not in the air."

Cutter and Larvitar worked on Sandstorm until even Cutter was tired. By the end of the training session, the small pokemon was able to keep the sand flowing for about fifteen seconds before it fell out. Elemental control was difficult, especially for young pokemon.

"You're doing great Larvitar. Let's give it one more shot before we go back to Terrance."

"Larr," Larvitar grunted in agreement, his breathing heavy and labored from the labor of the last hour. He closed his eyes and dust began to swirl up from around Larvitar's body and formed in a tiny ball around. Larvitar put all the energy he had left into the Sandstorm and with a final push, the ball expanded four feet around him, a sphere of pure swirling sand, easily his was his best attempt so far. Cutter pumped his fist silently, not wanting to break his starter's concentration.

"Just a little longer!" Cutter called as the Sandstorm faltered slightly, but after a second it held. Larvitar was so tired, though, that he couldn't keep full control of it, and it flew out from his body and collided with a tree, exploding on contact and coating the small clearing in a brown dust.

"Great job, Larvitar!" Cutter laughed, spitting sand out of his mouth. Cutter motioned to the Larvitar who began to follow him back to camp. They had reached the opening of the clearing when they heard a small growl behind them. Cutter spun around and in front of him on all fours and covered in sand from the Sandstorm was the tiniest Teddiursa Cutter had ever seen. Cutter gulped, worried, because usually when there was a Teddiursa this small, there was a mama Ursaring close behind. Cutter pushed that to the back of his mind. He could deal with that if the time came, but for now he would stay alert.

"Larvitar, you up for a battle?" the boy whispered to his friend. Larvitar nodded and stepped forward shakily, still exhausted from the training. "Are you sure?"

"Larriv," Larvitar grunted determinedly.

"Sandstorm!" Cutter called as he pulled an empty pokeball from his vest pocket. Larvitar started a Sandstorm, pulling up dirt around him, making him practically invisible, but the little bear wasn't about to go down without a fight. The tiny brown pokemon rushed at Larvitar using what appeared to be a very basic Quick Attack. Cutter was taken off guard because the Ursaring line were generally bulky and not fast.

Teddiursa leapt into the Sandstorm but quickly threw itself back out, unable to take the harsh lashing of the sand. Even though it was small, the sands in the Sandstorm still whipped around violently within its small confines.

Teddiursa wasn't about to give up, though. Without slowing, Teddiursa began to circle its foe, the glowing stars of Swift forming in the pokemon's open maw. Teddiursa reared her head back and launched them directly into the Sandstorm, completely disintegrating it. "Larvitar, Tackle!" Cutter called as the Teddiursa sped back in with another Quick Attack. He was sure that Larvitar could handle whatever the untrained Teddiursa could throw at him, but he didn't want Larvitar taking unnecessary injuries.

"Larri!" Larvitar lowered his horn and charged.

"Now push and fling!" Cutter cried out, a smile playing at his lips. Push and fling was simple. It was basically just Larvitar using the opposing pokemon's momentum against them. Once the attacking pokemon got close enough to Larvitar he would lower his horn and then fling his head upwards to throw the pokemon up and behind him. It wouldn't work well on bigger opponents while Larvitar was still so small, and once he evolved it would have to be adjusted, but for now it worked. Cutter was excited to see this tactic play out on a pokemon not expecting it. So far it had only been used on Terrance's Elekid who vowed to help him as long as he helped the other boy with his own variation of a Thunder Punch.

"Eddu," Teddiursa yelped as it flew into the air. Cutter watched with a smile as it worked nearly to perfection. Teddiursa went a bit too high and not quite far enough behind Larvitar, but the ratio of height to distance could be worked out later. Larvitar landed a Tackle as soon as Teddiursa hit the ground, throwing it backwards.

Surprisingly, the little bear wasn't done. The pokemon pushed itself up onto two feet and glared at Larvitar who stared back unflinchingly. A dusty brown haze poured out of the indents in his side, a Rock Throw in the works.

With a defiant but weakened, "Eddu," Teddiursa ran at Larvitar again, this time more warily. The rocks continued to grow as Teddiursa closed the gap between the two pokemon. "Run and slam them!" At his trainer's command Larvitar grabbed the rocks and ran at the Teddiursa, whose claws grew a dull white with an underdeveloped Scratch.

As the two met halfway, Larvitar sidestepped Teddiursa, who reacted quickly, throwing her paw out and landing the Scratch. If Larvitar wasn't made of rock, it might have done some damage. As it was, though, Larvitar absorbed the scratch and allowed Teddiursa to barely get past him before turning and slamming the watermelon sized rocks into the back of the bear's small body.

Teddiursa crumpled to the ground and as he readied the pokeball, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The tiny bear began to push itself back up. That is one resilient pokemon, Cutter admitted to himself. He figured that it was weakened enough to catch, even if it did still want to battle. He threw his pokeball, sucking in the Teddiursa with a flash of red. After ten seconds of frantic shaking, it seemed that this pokemon really was a fighter, the ball dinged it came to a stop.

"We did it Larvitar!" Cutter cheered, jumping up and down. "We caught our first pokemon!"

"Larri,"Larvitar yelped back, joining in on the excitement.

"How about we check out this little guy, huh?" Cutter asked as he picked up the pokeball, his hand trembling slightly with a sort of nervous excitement. The first pokemon he ever caught was right there. Larvitar nodded.

With a flash of white light, Teddiursa appeared on the ground in front of Cutter and Larvitar. It glared angrily at Larvitar but didn't stayed still, which Cutter took as a good sign.

"Hey Teddiursa," Cutter began, hoping the tiny bear could understand him, maintaining firm eye contact. Even though Teddiursa was young, he needed to establish dominance. If he didn't make it known early on that he was in charge, that could lead to rebellion later on. "My name is Cutter and this is Larvitar."

"Lar," Larvitar grunted his greeting and nodded at the new pokemon.

"We want to become the strongest trainers in Johto. Maybe even the world someday," Cutter added hopefully. "Do you want to join us? I can make sure you get as strong as you can get, and maybe even stronger than that. How does that sound? Do you want to come with us?"

Teddiursa glared at Cutter, not breaking the eye contact, seeming to think this question over for a moment. Finally, the little bear gave a jerk of its head. "Alright then. I'm going to grab you an Oran Berry from my pack for you to eat so you can gain back some of your strength, and while you munch on that, I'm going to scan you." Teddiursa nodded again. He had no idea if Teddiursa understood what he was saying.

Cutter reached into his bag to pull out an Oran Berry and the Pokedex. He handed the Teddiursa the berry who took it warily from his hand. He aimed the Pokedex at Teddiursa and a red light ran over the pokemon, identifying it.

"Teddiursa. The Little Bear Pokemon," The Pokedex droned and Teddiursa looked at the strange machine in alarm. "If it finds honey, the crescent mark on its forehead glows. Teddiursa allows the honey to soak into its paws which allow them to constantly stay sweetened, which the Teddiursa will lick whenever it pleases. This Teddiursa is a female and knows the moves Scratch, Baby Doll Eyes, Swift, Quick Attack, and Fake Tears and its ability is Quick Feet which increase its speed when it has a status condition. It is eight months old."

"Huh," Cutter murmured. So Teddiursa is a little older than Larvitar but clearly not as strong. We can fix that with a little training. The moves aren't great but she's still young. That ability will be nice, especially when battling opponents that rely on status conditions. Both of my pokemon's abilities rely on status conditions. Interesting. But if she's older than Larvitar, why is she so small? Aren't Teddiursa usually bigger. "So, I'm asking both of you this. Would either of you like a nickname?" Larvitar nodded enthusiastically while Teddiursa hesitated. After a moment, the Little Bear pokemon nodded its head jerkily.

The three of them spent the next couple of minutes picking out nicknames, most of which both Larvitar and Teddiursa shot down.

"Silver?" suggested Cutter, holding his head in his hands. At this point he was just tossing out random ones, so he was surprised when Larvitar perked up. "Silver?"

"Larrivi!" Larvitar squealed, uncharacteristically jubilant for the rock type.

"Are you sure?" Larvitar nodded excitedly, rubbing his horn on Cutter's chest, immediately wearing the material thin. Mt. Silver was the largest mountain in the Johto region and Cutter figured that Larvitar had some sort of connection to the place. It was probably where his mother and father were from, and somehow Larvitar knew that. "Silver it is then," he said smiling.

"And you Teddiursa. You're up." Teddiursa, who was curled up in her trainer's lap, had taken a quick liking to the boy, but not to his nicknames. She was, it seemed, even pickier than the Larvitar.

Finally, Teddiursa decided on Bellow. It would be a fitting name once she evolved into Ursaring, but for now it was just a hint of what the Tiny Bear would become.

xx

As the human and two pokemon made their way back to their camp from the night before, they heard a loud whoop ring out from beyond the woods. Cutter ran with Bellow and Silver close on his heels. He didn't recognize the holler as Terrance's.

They stepped into the clearing to find Terrance returning his fainted Spinarak as a tall, older trainer with pitch black hair and a Marowak by his side smiled smugly back at him.

"That'll be 150 pokedollars," the older trainer said as he swaggered over to the red headed boy. Terrance pulled out a wad of bills and slapped them ashamedly into the opposing trainer's hand.

"Try not to lose all your pokemon to just old Bones here next time huh?" The trainer smiled gesturing to the large Marowak who grunted in response.

"And who are you?" The trainer's eyes narrowed as he noticed Cutter standing at the edge of the clearing. "Do you want to lose to me too?"

"Oh, no. Neither of my pokemon are in any shape to battle. Sorry." Cutter said, struggling to keep his voice steady. The older trainer was obviously more skilled than either he or Terrance, and Cutter really didn't want to be robbed—or worse—today. Silver stepped forward, swinging his horn angrily.

"Your Larvitar doesn't seem to think so. He seems like he wants to want to fight," he grinned, his tone sarcastic and jeering.

"No. You're in no shape to battle," Cutter said to Larvitar firmly. Begrudgingly, Larvitar stepped back to his trainer, never taking his eyes off the large Marowak or boy.

"Smart move, kid. I'll see you losers around." And with that the older trainer sauntered off into the woods, his Marowak following closely behind.

"What was that?" Cutter questioned, walking to Terrance, who was busy applying potions to his weakened pokemon.

"Some older trainer who was wandering by. I challenged him to a battle. I didn't know he was that good or else I wouldn't have. None of my pokemon lasted longer than five seconds. It was crazy," Terrance sighed, shaking his head. Cutter could tell that Terrance was upset with himself, so he decided to drop it. He knew he would be angry if he was in the same situation. "But it looks like you got a new pokemon! Teddiursa?"

Cutter grinned and looked back at the bear. "Yeah!" Cutter was happy to talk about the newest addition to his team. "This is Bellow, my Teddiursa."

"Eddui," Bellow cooed softly at the ginger, making him laugh softly.

"She looks tough," Terrance admitted. "What do you say we head out? I've already packed up all of my stuff."

Cutter nodded in agreement, having already packed up all of his stuff before going to train that morning. "How much longer is it?"

"We should get there by this afternoon as long as nothing awful happens," Terrance replied.

"Well let's hope that nothing awful happens!" Cutter laughed, picking up his bag off the ground as Terrance led the way into the woods.

xx

Sure enough, by three that afternoon, New Bark Town was in sight from the top of the hill that they stood on. It was a tiny town with a population of less than a thousand, but that's why Johto's number one Pokemon Professor, Professor Elm, conducted his research there. He didn't have to worry about too many people messing with his studies.

"I'll race you there!" Terrance laughed, falling into a sprint away from Cutter before he even finished the challenge. With a smile and a good five seconds behind, Cutter took off running.

"WHOOOO!" Cutter yelped as he ran down the hill, a huge, dumb smile plastered on his face, the wind whipping at his clothes and face, making him teary eyed. Silver ran behind him as fast as his stubby legs would carry him while Bellow sat on Cutter's shoulder. The brown-haired trainer couldn't be happier.

xx

Cutter wandered through the streets of New Bark Town, Silver waddling along beside him and Bellow perched on top of his shoulder. Terrance was walking on the other side of him, Elekid at his heels. "So, where do you think Professor Elm's laboratory is?" Terrance questioned, looking around at the buildings on either side of the road.

New Bark Town was a simple town, not even having a Pokemon Center or PokeMart of its own. It depended on Professor Elm and his laboratory to provide care and healing for their pokemon, which he did without complaint.

"My mom told me that it would be easy to tell. Biggest building in the town," Cutter replied, preoccupied with the young Larvitar pulling on his pants leg. "Silver, you know I can't pick you up. You're too heavy for me."

"Lar," Silver complained.

Cutter sighed and crouched down, setting Bellow down in front of him next to Silver. "Hey. This is the first town we've all traveled to together. You know what that means?" Silver cocked his head in confusion while Bellow scratched at the ground, not paying attention to her trainer. "There will be some other beginner trainers here that we can battle for practice. That means that you'll get your first real battle Bellow. How does that sound?" Bellow looked up at her trainer with a bored expression. Cutter frowned and picked Teddiursa back up as Terrance led the way once more.

xx

Nearly half an hour later, Cutter and Terrance turned onto a simple dirt lane on the very outskirts of New Bark Town, almost out of the town completely. at the end of which sat a huge white building. "That's gotta be it," Terrance assured Cutter.

The two boys made their way down the dirt road and Cutter went to knock on the door, but before he could, it swung open, revealing a brightly lit entryway and a plump young woman with a smiling face. "Yes, how may I help you?"

Cutter jumped backwards, surprised by the door opening so quickly. "Oh, um. We're new trainers. And we came here to to to register," Cutter stuttered.

"Ahh of course. Come on in," the woman said, her voice soft and comforting. She must be used to dealing with new trainers, Cutter figured.

The two followed her in, and she shut the door behind them, locking it with a firm clunk. "I'm Hannah, one of Elm's assistants," she said, spinning around to face them, her glasses slightly askew on her round face. "Sorry it's so bright in here. During the day, we have to crank up the lights in order for the electrical flow to be sufficient enough to feed the electric pokemon. They feed off the generators around back that are connected to this building." She marched past them and paused in an open doorway across the room. "You said you need to register? Well, follow me," she added, turning, not even waiting for their response.

Cutter and Terrance sped after her, struggling to keep up as she navigated the labyrinth of hallways in the lab.

"Here we are," she announced, stopping suddenly at a large white desk in what Cutter counted to be the tenth room they had gone through. "Sorry we had to come so far back. If the Professor were here, we could use the main registration desk in the front, but since he isn't, we have to come back here." She moved around the desk and flipped a switch on a small white machine, straightening up a few papers as she waited for it to turn on. "So, who's first?"

Cutter nodded to Terrance who stepped forward. "I am."

"What was your starter?" she asked as she began typing on the computer in front of her.

"An Elekid," Terrance replied, gesturing towards the small electric type at his feet.

"Where are you from?" she questioned, not looking up from the computer.

"Cianwood. Started out a week and a half ago."

"And how did you get here?" Hannah asked, finally looking up from whatever it was that she was typing.

"My sister teleported me to Cherrygrove, and I journeyed from there."

"Alakazam?" Hannah inquired.

"No, Kadabra actually," Terrance replied. "It's building up to evolution currently. That's why my sister had her Kadabra teleport me so far. He's pretty close to evolution, if I'm not mistaken."

"Ahh. Yes. Based on that confused look on your face, you don't know the specifics of the Kadabra to Alakazam evolution, do you?" Hannah asked, looking at Cutter.

"I'm afraid I don't," Cutter replied sheepishly.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," she smiled, and Cutter felt that she meant it. "The only reason I know is because one of Elm's big ongoing projects has to do with evolution of pokemon via unnatural methods. For example, Kadabra. See, most pokemon like your Larvitar or Teddiursa, will evolve once they're old enough and have gained enough experience. But some pokemon don't evolve based on age or battle experience. The Abra line is known for its psychic abilities and teleportation, so once Kadabra has built up its psychic abilities enough, generally done by increasing its teleportation distance, it will evolve. Elm is currently researching more into the specifics of it, but nothing I'm allowed to share currently."

Cutter nodded, not sure he really understood, but it still sounded cool. "I knew Kadabra didn't evolve regularly, but I didn't realize it happened during teleportation."

"Do you have a Pokedex?" Hannah asked, returning her attention back to the computer. Terrance just shook his head. "That's alright. I can get you filled in manually."

Hannah spent the next several minutes asking Terrance a variety of questions. Cutter tuned it out after a few of them and just looked around the room.

"And you?" Hannah asked. Cutter was staring at a poster on the wall of Professor Elm with a Seaking and didn't hear her.

"Cutter," Terrance whispered, nudging Cutter with his elbow.

"Hm, what? Sorry," Cutter said sheepishly, swiveling his head back to face Hannah.

"Do you have a Pokedex?" Hannah asked, smiling.

"Yes!" Cutter answered, swinging his backpack from his bag and rifling through it. He finally found the small red device and handed it to her.

Cutter spent the next few minutes actually paying attention, but lucky for him his Pokedex did most of the work. It already had all of his information programmed into it, so Hannah didn't have to ask him for anything, except to confirm his birth date.

"Alright," Hannah said, handing Cutter back his Pokedex. "You two are all set to go. Before I walk you out, would either of you like for me to heal your pokemon? We don't have a Pokemon Center here so I would be happy to take care of that for you."

The two boys nodded enthusiastically as Cutter returned Silver and Bellow and handed their pokeballs to Hannah, who turned and placed them on a large, gray machine that lit up with a fluorescent blue. "None of them have any intense injuries correct? Just tiredness and soreness from battle?"

"Correct," Cutter replied. The three waited there in silence as the machine finished the healing process.

"They're all healed and rested. I can see you two out then if there's nothing else I can assist you with," Hannah said with a smile.

"Wait, we don't get to meet Professor Elm?" Terrance asked as Hannah led them back to the front of the lab, navigating her way through the maze.

"He's not in New Bark Town at the moment, I'm afraid. He's not even in Johto at all. Away on important business," Hannah frowned, disappointed to deliver the bad news.

"Dang," Terrance muttered, kicking at the floor. "Can you at least tell us what the business is?" Cutter looked at Terrance in disbelief. He wanted to meet the professor just as badly as Terrance, but he would never ask a question like that.

"One last thing," Hannah began, stopping at the entrance to the lab, completely ignoring Terrance's question. "Once you collect four badge, you are able to store your Pokemon here for free. Until you collect four badges, it is a small fee per month. But you don't have to worry about that until you have more than six pokemon. Even then, you don't have to store your pokemon here if you don't want to. There are various facilities dedicated to that sort of thing or you could talk to your parents about taking care of them. At least while they're young." She smiled warmly at them, then, with a wink, added, "I wouldn't recommend your parents keeping a full grown Tyranitar that doesn't belong to them in their backyard."

"Thank you Hannah!" Cutter laughed as he and Terrance exited the laboratory. Hannah waved goodbye and shut the door.

"What a bummer about Elm," Terrance proclaimed as they walked down the dirt road, back toward the town.

"Yeah. It would've been awesome for sure." Cutter stopped, crouching down to pull out a couple of Oran Berries. "These are for you two, for being so well behaved in there. Thank you," Cutter said sincerely to Silver and Bellow, handing them each two berries. "You can have more to eat once we get to the campsite, but that was just a little treat for now. Bellow, once we get to a town with an actual store, I'll get you some honey. How does that sound?"

The Little Bear pokemon grinned, her razor-sharp teeth glinting in the afternoon light as she nodded her head excitedly. Cutter scratched her forehead, right in the middle of the pale-yellow crescent moon.

She closed her eyes and gave a soft "eddui," of delight.

"And you," Cutter said, turning to Silver. "Pretty soon we will be back in Cherrygrove and you can have some of Mom's garden rocks."

"Larri," Silver hummed contentedly as Cutter rubbed behind his horn.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Terrance asked. "We do need to sleep somewhere. It'll be dark in a couple of hours and I don't want to start journeying again until tomorrow."

Cutter pulled out his Pokedex and began to type. "Well, according to the Pokedex, there are a few trainer campsites ten minutes outside of the city. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!"

xx

Cutter and Terrance wandered into the campgrounds, which turned out to be just a huge field with tents scattered around it.

"There's still an hour or two of daylight, so I think we're going to get some training in," Cutter said. "I haven't really had a chance to train with Bellow yet and I want to see what she can do."

"Do you want to battle me?" a girl's voice called. Cutter swiveled around to see a short, blonde girl holding a pokeball, staring him down.

"I'm always down to battle," Cutter responded, smiling. "Two on two?"

"Sure thing. I may be just a beginner but I promise I'm tough," the girl scowled, as if daring him to argue with her.

"So am I, so this is perfect," Cutter smiled.

"Guess I've got my work cut out for me then," she said, smirking. "2 on 2 battle. No subs." The girl tossed a pokeball, releasing an Oddish, and Larvitar stepped forward. The small purple pokemon shook the leaves on its head in what Cutter was sure was supposed to be menacing, but mostly it was just cute. Cutter smiled and the girl glared at him, making his smile shrink.

"Silver, use Rock Throw!" Silver glared at Oddish as a brown haze seeped from the black indents on his torso.

"Oddish, run in close and use Absorb." Cutter stifled a laugh as Oddish began to run, or waddle really, toward Silver.

"Wait for it," Cutter called out. "Now!" Cutter cried, as soon as he was sure Oddish was close enough.

"Lar," Silver grunted as he let the rocks fall into his hands. The Larvitar hurled the first rock at the Oddish's feet. Oddish stumbled and Silver's next rock connected with Oddish's face, launching it back several feet.

"Oddish no! Are you okay?" the girl called out.

"Oddish odd oddi," the Oddish confirmed as it pushed itself onto its feet using the leaves grass on top of its head like arms.

"Good girl. Fine then. Time to play the distance game. Oddish, Razor Leaf." The Oddish began to spin its head in an odd circle, building up momentum before releasing the razor-sharp leaves, sending them flying towards Silver in a green blur.

"Silver, jump out of the way!" The small rock skin pokemon attempted to jump out of the way, but Silver wasn't built for speed and the razor leaf clipped his left side. Larvitar was looking tired and the gouges in his rock were noticeable. "Silver, are you good to keep going?"

"Larri lar." The Larvitar grumbled resolutely, forcing himself up. Cutter noticed that he was favoring his right side.

The girl pumped her fist in the air and yelled, "Oddish, use Razor Leaf one more time!"

"We won't fall for the same trick twice," Cutter said to himself. "Silver use Sandstorm, quick." Immediately sand began to fly off of Larvitar, forming a swirling orb of sand all that encompassed him completely.

"I need this one to be your biggest yet. Come on buddy you've got this." Cutter's words rang out clear for the Larvitar and he began to put everything he had into it for his trainer. Concentrating as hard as he could, Larvitar willed the sand around him to rise up and the sandstorm grew to be nearly 6 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter, easily the largest one the young pokemon had ever created. "Now release!"

"LARRI!" grunted the Larvitar as he gave one last push. The Sandstorm flew across the field, easily destroying the leaves the Oddish had released and quickly crossing the distance between the two opposing pokemon. Cutter and the girl had both covered their eyes and when they looked up, both of their pokemon were collapsed, fainted. Oddish, from the attack and Larvitar from sheer exhaustion. He had never put forth so much effort into one attack.

"Return," both trainers called out in unison.

"You did excellent buddy," Cutter whispered to the pokeball as he gently kissed the it. It quivered once before Larvitar settled into stasis.

"One to one," the girl called out. "I'm sending out my Poliwag." The girl threw another pokeball, this time releasing a small blue bipedal pokemon with a black swirl in the middle of its white stomach and a tiny pink mouth.

"Another armless pokemon. You got a thing for those?" Cutter called out with a chuckle. "Bellow, time for your debut." Teddiursa bounded out, in awe after watching her friend Silver battle so well. She hoped to be able to battle as well as he did and make Cutter just as happy.

"Poliwag, use Bubble! And stay far back, those claws look sharp." The Poliwag tensed its body and from the swirl in its stomach released a flurry of small, highly pressurized bubbles.

"Bellow, Swift on the Bubbles!"

"Eddu," growled the Teddiursa as glowing stars formed at her maw. With a flick of her head she released them, popping the Bubbles and creating a beautiful display of gold and blue that Cutter would have marveled at, had he not been battling.

"Now run in fast with Scratch. Try and get in close and stay close." Cutter's newest partner bounded towards the Poliwag with surprising speed for something so small. Within seconds, Bellow had made it to Poliwag and had begun to slash at her opponent with small, razor sharp claws. They glowed softly, signifying just how far Bellow had to go until she had mastered even a small move like Scratch. A real Scratch would make her claws shine bright. But even with the underpowered Scratch, when they made connection with the Poliwag's rubbery wet skin, it hurt the little blue pokemon.

"Liio," the Poliwag yelped as it stumbled backwards, its two stubby feet unable to keep it standing.

"Keep it up! Scratch again!" Bellow flew into a storm of Scratch attacks, clawing relentlessly at the helpless blue pokemon.

"Poliwag, Water Gun!" Cutter's opponent called out desperately, seeing that Poliwag was in trouble.

The tadpole pokemon shot a blast of pressurized water from its stomach swirl, but Bellow was quick enough to pull its head back and dodge the Water Gun before using another flurry of Scratches.

Cutter marveled at the ferocity with which his partner was attacking. The attacks weren't refined or powerful by any means, but Bellow was giving it everything she had. And to top it off, it seemed as if the Teddiursa had a knack for moving. Not only was she fast, but she was quick and agile as well, bobbing and scratching. She was never in one place for more than a second before popping up in a new place. Then suddenly, there was nothing left for Bellow to Scratch. The Poliwag had disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Poliwag was too slow. There was no way she was going to be able to hit your Teddiursa. Good battle." The girl was walking towards Cutter as she talked. "I'm Carly."

"Cutter," he said. Cutter thought she was cute when they were first talking, but now he realized that he had severely underestimated her looks. She was gorgeous. With blond hair that flowed down to her neck and blue eyes that sparkled in the setting sun, she could easily be a model. She reminded Cutter of a gym leader from another region that he had seen on TV once, but he couldn't think of her name.

"Let's sit down. My camp is right over here. You two can set up by me if you like." Carly led the two boys over to where her sleeping bag was set up.

"That was awesome, Cutter," Terrance exclaimed. "Teddiursa is so fast. I've never seen one so fast. At least not in person."

"What do you mean?" Cutter asked, the confusion evident on his face.

"Well," interjected Carly, cutting off Terrance before he could speak, "pokemon of the same species are genetically the same. For the most part. But sometimes pokemon adapt to their surroundings and based on what they need. And sometimes the Ursaring line will produce baby Teddiursa that are smaller, lighter, and, overall, faster, if that's what their environment needs. And it looks like that's what happened with yours. She probably won't be as strong as others in her line, but what she lacks in sheer power she'll make up for in speed and quickness."

Cutter paused for a moment, taking in her words. Considering she had just started out on her journey, she certainly knew a lot about pokemon. "Oh. That makes sense. That's why Bellow is so much smaller than other Teddiursa of the same age," Cutter replied.

Cutter, Terrance, and Carly gathered around the campfire. Cutter and Carly released their pokemon. "We won, Silver! Bellow beat her Poliwag! Isn't that awesome?" Cutter asked his starter, expecting an excited response in return. Instead, Silver looked down, refusing to make eye contact with his trainer. "What's up buddy?" Larvitar's only response was to turn away from his trainer. "Silver. What's wrong? If you don't tell me, I can't help you fix it."

"Lar la lari," the small pokemon mumbled, jabbing a tiny clenched fist at Bellow.

"You're upset because of Bellow?" Cutter asked confused. Larvitar nodded dejectedly, rubbing his paw in the dirt. Then it hit him. "You're upset because you fainted and Bellow took down a pokemon without fainting?"

Larvitar just nodded again, still staring down at the tiny mound of sand he had conjured up. "Silver. Look at me." The Rock Skin pokemon looked up at his trainer dejectedly, barely making eye contact. "You took down an Oddish. You had a type disadvantage and you've only been in one real battle. You didn't even faint because of the Oddish. You fainted because you pushed yourself harder than you ever have before and made your sandstorm the biggest and best that it has been. That's nothing to be ashamed of bud. I'm so proud of you."

"Larv?" Cutter's first partner asked, looking up at his trainer.

"Yes really. I could never be anything but proud of you buddy." Larvitar smiled and pushed his horn forward, Cutter meeting him halfway with his forehead. They pressed forehead and horn together, both closing their eyes and smiling, becoming one. "Thank you for battling so well. Both of you," Cutter said looking over at Bellow as well.

Bellow yelped and leaped into Cutter's lap, Cutter responding scooping her up with a hug. "Let's get some potions put on you. Silver, how do those cuts on your side feel?" Cutter asked, gesturing to where the razor leaf attack had left gouges in Silver's tough hide.

"Larvi lar," the Larvitar said, trying to act tough. Cutter saw straight through it.

"I'll get both of you a potion. How about that?" Larvitar shook his head in protest. "Not cause you're in pain. Just cause we're going to be battling and training a lot more these next couple of days and I need you in prime condition." Cutter paused. "How does that sound?" Reluctantly Silver relented and allowed himself to be sprayed with the medication. Teddiursa gave no protest and accepted it.

"I'm going to go to bed," Terrance said. "It's an early morning tomorrow. I'm going to head out. Go my own way."

"Oh," Cutter replied, the announcement hitting him like a punch in the gut. He knew that they would split up after New Bark, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. If he was being completely honest with himself, he had forgotten that they would eventually go their separate ways "Where are you going from here?"

"I'm going to go to the river to the east of New Bark and see if I can't find a strong water type. Then from there, I'll probably head to Violet City. Falkner won't stand a chance against my Elekid," Terrance said, smiling as he rubbed Elekid between his prongs, electricity jumping between them as a result.

"Nice!" Cutter said, but he felt anything but nice about it. "Well, I'll see you in the morning to tell you goodbye," Cutter said to the other two. The three trainers said their goodnights and everyone got into bed.

Bellow pushed her way into the sleeping bag, burrowing down by Cutter's feet. She licked them softly before settling down. Silver took his place a few feet from Cutter's head where he would keep watch until he drifted off to sleep.

"Goodnight guys. See you bright and early for a good day of training and traveling," Cutter

whispered to his friends before drifting off to sleep quickly himself.

xx

The next morning Cutter was awoken by Bellow crawling up from the foot of his sleeping bag, sunlight just barely steaming over the tops of the trees.

"Ugh, what time is it?" mumbled Cutter, pulling his Pokedex out of his backpack to check the time. "6:30? You couldn't have stayed asleep any longer Bellow?"

The Little Bear pokemon cocked her head, confused as to why her trainer wasn't fully awake just like she was. "Fine. Since you're up I guess I'll get you some food." Cutter pulled himself out of his sleeping bag and dug around, finding some pokefood for Bellow. As he dug for food he noticed that Carly had already left. "Oh well," Cutter mumbled. He felt a tug on his shirt and Cutter turned to see Silver. "You hungry too?"

"Lar lar," the Larvitar nodded. Cutter rubbed the sandy pokemon on his horn, scraping the skin of his palm a little, then turned back to dig some more food out for his starter to eat. Even though Silver could survive on the earth alone, a little extra food didn't hurt him.

As his pokemon ate he leaned back against a log that marked the edge of their camp and scrolled through the information in his Pokedex about Teddiursa. He wanted to see the moves they could work on learning and training they could do today. He knew that he wanted to perfect Scratch and work on some different strategies with Swift, but in terms of new moves, he was stumped. Slash could come eventually, but first Scratch had to be perfect. Lick was an option, but generally one would need a ghost type teacher in order for a normal type, or most other types for that matter, to properly learn and perfect ghost moves. The otherworldly energy was so incredibly foreign to most other pokemon that learning ghost type moves was a near impossible challenge. So, Lick was out of the question, at least for now.

Then it hit Cutter. Metal claw. As he worked on Scratch, he could also begin teaching Metal Claw. The beginning of teaching steel type moves generally just involved hardening the body part being used in the move, which in this case could be the claws. After the claws were hardened, they could figure out where to go from there.

"Well Cutter, I'm heading out," Terrance said as he strolled over to Cutter, Elekid by his side and his pack slung over one shoulder. "It was nice to travel with you."

"Same to you man. I can't wait to battle you next time we meet," Cutter smiled, standing up to shake the boy's hand.

"Neither can I. You're going down for sure," Terrance replied with a wink. "See you around." Cutter watched as Terrance walked away, not looking away until he had disappeared into the forest.

"So, what do you two say we do a little training before we head back to Cherrygrove?" Cutter asked his team. His two pokemon cheered and Cutter smiled. "Alright. Bellow, we're going to work on perfecting Scratch. Right now, it's doing damage, but it's not reaching its potential. I want you to go over to those rocks over there," Cutter pointed to a small cluster of rocks at the edge of the forest, "and use Scratch on them over and over again. Not only will that help Scratch get stronger, it'll start developing your claws for Metal Claw." Teddiursa nodded in agreement and began to bound over to the rocks. "One more thing girl. Constantly move. I want you working on that speed. We'll do some running exercises later, but for now I want you to constantly move while you're attacking. Got it?" Bellow smiled, or as close to a smile as a Teddiursa could get, her razor-sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight and dashed back to Cutter. She nuzzled his leg then sprinted away again.

"Now for you," Cutter said, looking back to Silver. "I want you to work on Sandstorm. But we're going to add a twist to it. Right now you're focusing mostly on sand from your body and the ground, but what do you say we throw some rocks in there too?"

Larvitar cocked his head in confusion, "Lar?"

"I want you to use Rock Throw while you're using Sandstorm. But instead of making big rocks like we've been working on, I want you to make small rocks. A bunch of them. And constantly release them while the Sandstorm is around you. You don't need to catch them and throw them, just let the sandstorm take them. Make sense?"

Larvitar thought for a second before nodding determinedly. "Alright Silver. You work on that over here. Don't focus on making the Sandstorm big right now either. Just try to focus on both of them happening at the same time. We can perfect it later."

xx

Two hours later Cutter was sandy and sweaty, the sand mixing with the sweat and dripping down his face like a mud slide. Even though it wasn't even close to midday the sun was still beating down on them. Cutter collapsed onto the ground smiling despite his tiredness so early in the day. Both Silver and Bellow were making excellent progress. Scratch was close to perfect. Her claws were definitely getting harder and Bellow was fast, faster than Cutter had realized. For now, her stamina wasn't the best, but they would get there. She had excellent natural instincts that kept her bobbing and weaving, not just running in straight lines.

Silver had almost perfected what Cutter was calling Rocky Storm. He still wasn't able to keep the sandstorms up for very long, but he was able to create small rocks and have them fly around pretty quickly. The stamina would come in time with training for both of them. Cutter would definitely have to see the two of them battle. They seemed to be relatively evenly matched with Larvitar probably having the upper hand, simply because he was basically impervious to normal type attacks. Other than that, he could see the match going either way. He smiled to himself softly. He was going to have a good strong team someday, he could just feel it.

"Hey you two, let's get on our way. I want to be back in Cherrygrove in a week from today," Cutter said as he pushed himself up. He had promised his mom he would be back sooner and already knew she was going to be upset that he was late—several days late. "We're going to have to move at a faster pace than coming here but we can do it."

xx

As they journeyed back towards Cherrygrove, Silver created and threw small rocks, and Bellow scratched every tree and rock that they passed. They didn't stop again until the sun was at its highest point. Cutter pulled out some food, not even bothering to ask if they were hungry. They seemed to always be hungry.

xx

The next several days went just like that. They trained as they walked. Silver was able to control small Sandstorms with rocks in them for longer. Bellow had Scratch down perfectly and her Baby Doll Eyes and Fake Tears were developing nicely.

It was midafternoon a week later and Cutter and his team emerged onto a path from the woods. "Yes!" Cutter exclaimed loudly, startling his team. "This trail is only a mile from Cherrygrove. We'll make it back right as Dad is getting off of work. Let's jog there, get in a little bit of cardio before you two get to eat good tonight!" They set off running with Bellow leading the pack and twenty minutes later had arrived at the front door of Cutter's old house.

Cutter leaned down to Bellow, "you've never been here, but this is where I used to live and grew up. My mom and dad live here. You're about to meet them. They love me a lot. Like I love you. Don't be afraid of them." Bellow nuzzled Cutter's leg. She wasn't particularly shy, but you could never tell just how exactly a pokemon would react to new people. "And Silver, you remember Mom and Dad, right?" The Larvitar nodded with a smile, probably thinking of the rocks from Cutter's mom's garden, his favorite treat.

Cutter opened the door, but not before Bellow could climb up Cutter's body and perch on top of his head. "Mom?" Cutter called out.

Out of the hallway stormed a very angry mother, just like he had expected. "Cutter James Robinson. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Cutter winced, stepping back slightly as his mother's tirade continued. "You said you would be back in no more than two weeks. And you didn't call. Not once. I was worried sick. I wanted to call the police but your father insisted I was just being overemotional. I just-," his mother's words were cut off by a hug and Cutter could tell that she really had missed him if the death grip of a hug was anything to go by.

"I'm sorry mom. There was no pokemon center in New Bark so I didn't have access to the video phones. And I got caught up travelling with someone who wanted to go a bit slower so he could train more. But I'm back now." He smiled softly, hoping that would calm her.

She smiled back, cupping Cutter's face in her hand. "Dinner will be ready in an hour. Go upstairs and get settled in, it's good to have you home."

Cutter took a deep breath, scared to break the news to her. But, he powered through. "Mom, I'm leaving in the morning. I want to challenge the Violet City Gym in about a month. And it takes two weeks to get there and that would give me about two weeks to train before challenging the Leader. And that's if everything goes according to plan." He paused as she looked on expectantly, as if waiting for more. "I have to leave tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. But I have to be ready for the Silver League Conference in two years."

"I understand honey. Don't worry. You can still sleep in your bed. And get a good shower," she smiled at him and he sighed with relief. Overall, that whole interaction had gone much better than he was expecting it to.

"No, no no," his mother chimed as he turned to walk away.

"What?" Cutter asked, looking back.

"Who's this cutie?" she gestured towards Bellow.

Cutter laughed and introduced them.

"Well hello Bellow," his mother cooed before declaring she had never met a cuter pokemon. Other than her darling Clefable, of course.

Cutter clambered up the stairs to shower, his sore legs groaning in protest. When he walked into his room post shower he realized that his pokemon could use a good cleaning as well. With Larvitar's skin being so sandy, he would just need to be wiped down with a damp cloth. But Teddiursa would actually have to go into the bathtub. He wasn't sure how she would feel about that.

"You two need baths," Cutter told them. They cocked their head quizzically. "Water. Soap. Clean," Cutter explained. Suddenly Larvitar began to violently shake his head, sand rising up off of his body like a defense mechanism. "Silver no. You don't have to get in any water. I'm just going to wipe you down with a damp towel. You don't have to get in any water. Don't worry." Larvitar calmed, the sand falling down onto the floor. Another mess Cutter would have to clean.

He started their bath time by wiping down Silver, who took it surprisingly well. At times, it even seemed like the Rock Skin pokemon enjoyed it. The washcloth Cutter used was torn to shreds, however due to Silver's sandpaper like skin.

Then came Teddiursa. Bellow was a different story. She had never had much interaction with water other than drinking it, it seemed, and by the end of it Cutter wasn't sure who was wetter—him or Bellow.

He dried himself and her off, laughing at the huffy look she was giving him, and cleaned up his bedroom and bathroom, which were a mess thanks to Bellow's resistance. "Mom, I'm going to run to the store. There are some supplies I need to get tonight before I head out in the morning," he called out as he opened the front door to leave.

"Your father just got home. Let him get changed and then we can all go together!" she said back, sticking her head into the hallway.

A few minutes later the family headed to the store. The evening was pleasant and Silver and Bellow walked out with Cutter and his parents. His father was especially happy to see him, but even happier, it seemed, to meet Bellow and see how well Silver was doing.

At the PokeMart Cutter got a brush and honey for Bellow. He figured she would enjoy being brushed. Plus, it would make her prettier and it would be a chance for them to get to spend time together.

For Silver, he got a poketoy that was advertised as "THE TOUGHEST POKETOY ON THE MARKET!" Cutter chuckled when he saw it, the letters bold and yellow. Cutter knew that Silver didn't like not being able to sleep next to his trainer, but as he had gotten older his skin had gotten rougher, eventually making it impossible for them to sleep next to each other. Hopefully the poketoy would help. Then they made a quick stop by the Pokemon Center so that Silver and Bellow could be healed so they didn't have to do that the next morning.

For the rest of the evening, as Cutter and his family sat around the dinner table, eating a delicious, home-cooked meal, Cutter filled his parents in on all of his adventure so far, from catching Bellow to Silver taking down an Oddish with a type advantage and everything in between. Cutter told them the story like it was some grand adventure, when in reality it had just been a few weeks at the very beginning of his journey. Still, his parents were amazed by all of it, or at least they acted like they were.

Several hours later, after stories from his parents' traveling days as well, he excused himself to go up to bed. He had an early start in the morning.

xx

Cutter woke up around 7 am and, for the first time, was awake before both of his pokemon. He woke them gently and they got ready to head out as quickly as they could. He scarfed down a breakfast of eggs and toast while his parents stood by and watched amusedly. Then his dad gave him a ride to the edge of Cherrygrove on his way to work.

Cutter's father slowed to a stop and placed a hand on his son's shoulder before giving him a comforting squeeze. "Bye Cutter. Be safe, and don't forget to call your mom. She misses you." Cutter smiled and thanked his father before hopping out of the truck. He watched as the dust from the dirt road overtook his father's truck and it faded from view He released Silver and Bellow and they began to walk.

Cutter and his team stayed on the path through the forest, and the next few hours were uneventful. They were about to stop for lunch when Cutter thought he saw movement ahead of him. It lasted no longer than a second, so Cutter convinced himself it was just the wind rustling the branches.

But as they continued to walk, his uneasy feeling refused to fade away. "Shh," he whispered to his pokemon, gesturing for them to be still. For a moment, Cutter saw nothing and figured he had just made it up, but then he saw it again.

He began to creep forward, motioning for Silver and Bellow to follow behind him. Suddenly an older man leapt out of the bushes. Cutter screamed and fell backwards. Silver and Bellow stepped between them, both baring their teeth, ready to fight.

Cutter gulped and stared up at the old man. He was a little shorter than Cutter was, but in better shape. The man had wispy white hair on top of his head and a beard that came down to his chest. He wore a torn yellow robe and no shoes, yet despite his bedraggled appearance this man gave off an air of authority and power and he stood tall and proud.

"I challenge you to a battle, trainer!" the old man croaked. It sounded like he had been a heavy smoker back in his day. Or maybe it was just because the man lived in the woods and didn't speak much. "I see you have pokemon and therefore you cannot refuse."

"Whoa. You scared me there," Cutter laughed as he stood back up, dusting himself off. "I'd be happy to battle you, but I'm allowed to refuse your challenge."

"No boy you aren't. You must be a newbie. There's a law that says if you have pokemon and you get challenged to a battle you must either battle them or pay the loser's fee," the old man retorted. Cutter was uneasy, but the man looked like he probably had some tough pokemon that he didn't want to have to deal with and, probably, couldn't deal with.

"Sir," Cutter began, trying his best to be respectful yet firm, "that law was abolished years ago. Too many skilled trainers were challenging weak trainers and hurting their pokemon or stealing their money." This was true. Around the same time that the training age was changed, this law was also changed. Too many casualties and new trainers quitting or turning to crime because of it. But why doesn't this man know that?

"You're lying boy. I can see it in your eyes." The man was starting to creep closer. Then, faster than Cutter would have thought possible, the old man pulled a pokeball from his neck and threw it, releasing a clearly powerful Skarmory that screeched and ruffled its metallic feathers.

The Skarmory, like its trainer, stood tall and proud. The silver feathers stretched from the bottom of its torso to the top of its neck, and under its wings were more metallic feathers, but they were red instead of gray. Its legs were a silvery metal along with its head and feet. All in all, the bird was a majestic and powerful sight to behold.

"Sir, I don't want to battle you," Cutter said, knowing that there was no way either Silver or Bellow could even hurt this Skarmory. Fear was finally seeping into Cutter's body and both Silver and Bellow could tell. Sand started to rise around Silver and a growl formed in Bellow's throat, threatening the Skarmory to just try and attack her trainer. The Skarmory didn't even glance at them. "I'm just going to leave now, okay? I'll go back the way we came." Cutter started backing away and motioned for Silver and Teddiursa to follow him.

"You're not going anywhere. I said we must battle."

"I'll pay you the fee, sir? Would that be alright?"

"No. I demand a battle. Don't want money."

Cutter ran over his options in his mind, but there were few. He could try and return Silver and Bellow, but more than likely that Skarmory could easily get to him and slice him in half before he could reach his pokeballs. But if he tried to battle it would end just as poorly. Cutter decided to concede and battle. "I'll battle you sir, but the only two pokemon I have been these two."

"That's fine boy. Just give it everything you've got." The man's tone was mischievous and he had a sly smile that Cutter didn't like, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Bellow, you're up first. Show them what you've got," Cutter sighed nervously, afraid for his pokemon's fate.

"Celine," the man nodded before making a series of clicking noises and the Skarmory, apparently called Celine, nodded in return, but it was a slight nod that Cutter barely noticed. So he commands his pokemon without using words? Cutter asked himself.

Cutter sighed before commanding his pokemon into battle. "Bellow use Swift!" Bright golden stars formed at the maw of the Little Bear pokemon. She let them charge for a second before, with a flick of her head, she fired them directly at the Armor Bird pokemon.

Instead of trying to dodge them, the bird simply raised her beak and let the attack hit her head on. An angry look plastered Bellow's cute face. The last couple of days she had been using Swift on stray Caterpies and they usually fainted after one or two attacks. She hadn't yet encountered a challenge that just took the Swift straight on, much less without reacting at all. She didn't like it. She took it as an insult to her strength.

She fell onto all fours and sprinted toward the Skarmory. "Metal Claw!" Teddiursa's claws hardened and glinted a dull gray, signifying the progress she had made in Metal Claw. She slashed at the torso of the great bird, but suddenly, the bird was gone. With a great leap and flap of her wings, she was fifteen feet above Bellow.

"Above you!" Cutter called out desperately. "Quick Swift!" Quick Swift was a technique they had been working on that was similar to Silver creating small rocks. Bellow would quickly make several small swifts and then run into a quick attack as she fired them. They didn't expend as much energy or focus, allowing her to stay on the move. It wasn't perfect yet since that they had just started learning it, but it was coming along nicely.

Celine dove towards Bellow and the Little Bear sent a flurry of tiny Swifts at the bird as she began to sprint away, Celine spinning through all of them gracefully. Cutter couldn't help but stare in awe at the bird's skill.

But as fast as Bellow was, the powerful Skarmory was faster. Before Teddiursa could get more than a couple feet, the Skarmory had her pinned to the earth with one foot, and with the other, Celine the Skarmory was preening her feathers, looking haughty and proud.

But trapped as she was, Bellow was not giving in, firing small swifts that the Skarmory wasn't even bothering to dodge. She just let them to bounce off her metal armor, doing less than no damage. "Return," muttered Cutter, knowing it was a lost cause. "Good job Bellow. You fought well until the end." He kissed the pokeball and returned it to his vest pocket. "You're up Silver. Just do your best and stay back," Cutter sighed. At least Bellow wasn't hurt.

"Larri," the Larvitar nodded in agreement and ran onto the field, ready to avenge Bellow as best he could.

"Not bad for a Teddiursa so young and fresh. But you have a lot to learn," the old man smiled as he twisted his mustache.

For some reason, that made Cutter angry. He grit his teeth and called out, "Silver use Sandstorm. Don't focus on big, just make sure it's concentrated and strong." The Rock Skin pokemon began to make sand rise and fall and swirl all around its body until it was nothing but a shadow in the cloak of sand. Unfortunately, the sandstorm was so small that the Skarmory was guaranteed to hit Silver if she went at the Sandstorm, but Cutter didn't plan on letting her get that close. Not yet at least.

"Rocky sand and let it lose," Cutter called. The Sandstorm, now filled with tiny rocks, flew free, no longer held close by Silver. The Sandstorm flew across the field and Cutter shielded his eyes as its winds kicked up dust around him. Yet again, Celine took the attack head on. When the Sandstorm died down a few moments later, Celine had still taken no damage. Cutter could tell that Silver was angry, but Silver stood his ground, not allowing his emotions to get in the way of his battling.

"Return Celine," called the old man. "You did well old friend. But we're going to let a new friend battle." He returned the ball to his neck and pulled a different one out.

"Oh no," muttered Cutter. Surely whatever he's about to release will be just as strong, if not stronger.

"This is my newest friend." He tossed the pokeball and in a flash of white light appeared a Cacnea, a grass type native to Hoenn. Cutter only knew what Cacnea was because of a documentary on deserts he had watched in school. The Cactus pokemon was short, probably half the height of Larvitar. It was circular and green with two club like arms that were longer than its body. Its whole body was covered in dangerously sharp spikes and its legs appeared to just be elongated, thicker spikes. It looked up at Cutter with big eyes and he thought it could almost be cute. "Pear, you're about to battle. Get ready."

"Curra," the Cacnea gurgled, bouncing from one spiked leg to the other happily.

This old man looks like he's been out in the wilderness for years. How did he get a pokemon that was native to Hoenn? Hoenn is closer than Unova or Kalos, but it's not somewhere that a man living in the wilderness could get to easily. The thoughts were pushed from his head when the man commanded Cacnea to use Tackle.

"Silver wait for it. Then push and flip." Larvitar waited while the Cacnea ran, or waddled, much like the Oddish, as quickly as it could to him. When Pear was close enough, Silver pushed his horn under the Cacnea and launched him upwards. Pear wasn't moving fast enough to have very good momentum, so it just landed right behind Silver instead of flying farther away, and the old man didn't miss a beat.

"Needle Arm!" The Cacnea's arm glowed a bright green as the thorns covering it doubled in size.

"Silver look-." Cutter's cry of warning was cut short when the Needle Arm slammed into Silver's back, throwing him several yards away. A few seconds went by with no movement from Silver. Cutter sighed and reached for Silver's pokeball. But then, shakily, Larvitar pushed himself up, unwilling to be done quite yet. He was clearly in pain, but he wasn't about to let his trainer down. "Yes!" cried Cutter, relieved that his friend was able to stand after the super-effective attack.

"Impressive. Pear, use Absorb." As the closed the difference between the two, its arm glowed green again. A physical variation of absorb.

"Silver, Sand Attack."

"Lari." The Rock Skin pokemon fired small bursts of sand from its body at the Cacnea, but it wasn't doing anything.

"What the heck," muttered Cutter. "Push and flip again, to the side." Instead of waiting for the Cactus pokemon to get to him, Silver ran forward to meet him, which Pear wasn't expecting. With the added momentum, Silver was able to launch Pear slightly farther than before. "Now, Tackle," yelled Cutter who was beginning to gain some hope. Before Pear could hit the ground, Silver turned around and Tackled Cacnea, throwing it into a tree.

"Carruc," the Cacnea gurgled weakly as it struggled to stand.

"Rock Throw, finish this!" Cutter yelled.

Larvitar concentrated and pushed to make the biggest rocks he could as he ran toward Pear. He gave one last push, caught the rocks, and slammed them towards the Cacnea.

"Pear, use Needle Arm on the rock," the man called out, unnaturally calm considering how close to fainting his pokemon appeared to be.

Needle Arm and Rock Throw collided and Cacnea was thrown backwards, slamming into the tree again. Pear forced himself up, but was barely able to and Larvitar was struggling to stand. The blast had damaged Silver more than Cutter had realized. Now, it was just a waiting game to see who fell first.

"Silver, you can do it!" Cutter cried out. He knew that if Silver could stay standing just a moment longer, then Pear would collapse first, and they would win. "You can-." He was cut short as Silver collapsed ending the battle.

Cutter pulled out Silver's pokeball and recalled him, before returning it to his vest. The man returned Pear as well and began to walk towards him. Suddenly, Cutter was fearful again. This man was powerful and now Cutter was completely defenseless.

"Good match. Your pokemon have potential, as do you," the old man remarked, the craziness completely gone from him.

"Wait. What?" Cutter asked, completely confused.

"Nothing, nothing. Here. Use these on your pokemon." The man said, pulling out a potion from his bag and handing it to Cutter.

"Wait. Sir," Cutter began, his mouth agape. "This is a max potion. These things are crazy expensive. How did-."

"I get one?" The old man finished Cutter's thought. "I'm not as crazy or as poor as I first made myself out to be."

"Who are you?" Cutter asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I've been following you for the last couple of hours," he said, twirling his mustache as he healed his Cacnea with another max potion. "I watched you train as you walked and decided I wanted to battle you. You were fun, especially with Pear. She hasn't had much battle experience yet." As the man talked, Cutter released his pokemon and began to spray them both with the max potion on their open wounds before finishing the potion off by pouring it into their mouths. "I can help you refine a couple of those techniques if you would like."

"Yes sir. Please," Cutter said, jumping at the opportunity. He didn't know who this man was or what quite to think of him, but he knew he couldn't turn him down.

"How about we eat lunch and then we can work? How does that sound?"

"Awesome," Cutter said, his stomach growling loudly at the thought of food. He laughed. "Guess I'm hungrier than I thought."

"Come on out," the old man called as he released three more pokemon. Celine came outf. The next two caused Cutter to stare in awe. "This is Miner, my Excadrill, and this is Lady, my Pangoro." The Excadrill, a steel and ground type, had a silver and gray body. Its head had a protruding cap covered in metallic spikes, its arms the same way—white and covered in metallic spikes. All in all, the Subterrene pokemon strongly resembled a drill. A drill that held itself with pride, much like the Skarmory.

Then there was the Pangoro, a dark and fighting type. It appeared to be smaller than most Pangoro, but Cutter knew very little about the Kalos region's pokemon. However small he thought it was, it still towered over him and even under its thick black and white fur, its muscles bulged visibly. The Daunting pokemon had completely black eyes and a small twig hung precariously from its lip. Protruding from its back were two long tufts of fur, resembling a cape.

Cutter was brought out of his awe of the pokemon by the man setting down a few bags of berries. "I have all kinds," the man remarked, referring to the berries. "For both Silver and Bellow I have Chople berries. Bellow can have just straight Chople, but for Silver I'll mix the Chople with a Babiri berry."

"What do those berries do, sir?" Cutter asked. He had heard of these berries, but wasn't quite sure what they did. He craned his neck in to get a better look at them. They were very rare, he knew that for sure.

"Chople berries help build up a resistance to fighting type moves, which both of your pokemon are weak to," the man explained. "When Silver evolves into Tyranitar eventually he will have a double weakness to fighting types, due to his part dark, part rock typing. Babiri berries build up a resistance to steel type moves, which Silver is weak to as well. It's smart to start building up these resistances early on while their bodies are still developing. Both fighting and steel types can be devastating and common, especially in the Silver Conference and overall, the competitive world."

As the man spoke, Cutter pulled out the bucket of honey for Bellow to soak her paws in. Her paws had tiny, special ducts that allowed the honey to soak in and be stored for later so she could suck on them as she went about her daily life. It helped especially for wild Teddiursa who didn't have honey constantly available, but Bellow wouldn't pass it up either.

"Where can I get berries like this? They're very rare, aren't they?" Cutter inquired.

"Yes they are. And expensive too. I have a good harvest of them here. Honestly it's hard to get a steady supply of them unless you're an established and relatively wealthy trainer," the old man admitted.

As Cutter's pokemon finished their lunch, they began to interact with the three older pokemon and Pear, although Silver was ignoring Pear. The older pokemon were very tolerant of the two young ones and entertained them quite well.

While the pokemon played together, the two humans made idle chitchat while they finished their meal. Cutter told the man everything he had experienced so far. He told him that he hoped to be the best trainer in Johto and, eventually, the world someday. Cutter told the man some of the pokemon he really admired and who his favorite trainers were.

Throughout the entire conversation, the man didn't laugh or act like his dream was unreachable or silly like the kids from Cutter's town did. Quite the opposite, actually. The man was very supportive. But he also made sure Cutter knew that it would be a long and difficult road that would sometimes not seem worth it.

"But as long as you look at your pokemon and know that they're fighting just as hard for you as you are for them, you'll realize why it's worth it,"' the man smiled, gazing lovingly at his pokemon playing in the clearing. "When all of you are sitting around a campfire at night, just being together, that's when you'll realize it's worth it. Even if you never become the champion of the world someday, you can still realize that everything you have done has been worth it. Even after the tournaments and trophies fade away, your pokemon and your memories will still be there." The man grew quiet and Cutter absorbed what he had said. Something made him think that not everything had gone in this man's favor. "What do you say we train?"

Cutter jumped up and proclaimed, "Yeah!" His pokemon looked at their trainer curiously. "Silver, Bellow, it's time to train!"

"Silver is going to start with Miner. Miner is going to work with him mostly on Sandstorm, but if Silver is a quick learner, then Miner will move on with what he feels is best." The man shooed them away to begin before moving on.

"Bellow will split her time between Celine and Lady. She'll start with Celine, who will work with her Metal Claw. Considering that your Bellow has had no training with a steel type, her metal claw is impressive. It's very weak, sort of like an over glorified Scratch, but the fact that her claws are as hard as they are is an accomplishment. The other half of her training with Lady will involve speed and power. As you noticed, Lady isn't as big as one might expect a Pangoro to be. The average Pangoro is seven foot and 300 pounds. Lady here is barely six feet tall and 200 pounds. I noticed that Bellow is smaller than most, am I correct?"

"Yes sir," Cutter said, trying to soak in everything the powerful trainer was saying.

"My Pangoro was born with a mutation. A mutation for a smaller frame with less muscle mass but the ability to be quicker and lighter on her feet. Where Pangoro is from, their main predator is Pyroar, a very fast pokemon that travel in packs. Pancham and Pangoro, unlike the Pyroar, are not herd pokemon nor are they particularly fast. They were strong, but when the large groups of Pyroar began targeting individual Pancham and Pangoro, they were going down without so much as a whimper. So, as it happens in nature, adaptations began to occur. The Pancham began to be born smaller and lighter. They couldn't hit as hard, but they could run. Thanks to this adaptation, the Pangoro line were able to escape from the Pyroar. Up until a couple of years ago the Pancham-Pangoro population was considered endangered, but since the adaptation occurred, their population has increased significantly. I'm guessing that this is what happened with your Teddiursa. Funny how even in different regions, the same things can happen to similar pokemon." Cutter nodded in agreement, hanging on to his every word. "So with Lady, she's going to teach Bellow how to hit hard using momentum, but also using that momentum to keep on moving past the hit. Your Teddiursa is fast, you just have to capitalize on it. Understand that it's still relatively rare. It takes a long time for adaptations to become common. The Teddiursa-Ursaring line has not been known to have this adaptation until recently. Capitalize on this difference."

Cutter nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"You and me will just hang back and watch them train. My pokemon know what to do. But you need to stay in sight so that your pokemon believe that you're invested in this and care," the old man said. Then, turning to the pokemon, "You all can begin. Miner, Celine, you two know what to do. Lady, you can come sit with us until it's your turn." The Pangoro wandered over to the two trainers who were sitting by a tree, but instead of sitting, Lady opted to stay standing instead, looking out with her all black eyes.

Cutter watched as the pokemon began to train. They started off by talking, or the pokemon equivalent at least. He watched as Silver stepped back and watched the Excadrill perform a small sandstorm. He watched as Silver attempted to replicate it, but apparently, Miner the Excadrill was not satisfied with the performance of Larvitar. Cutter turned his attention to Celine and Bellow. The Armor Bird was making its claws flash and screeching at the Little Bear, and Bellow was rapt with attention.

"Call me Ray," the old man, Ray, said. Cutter wracked his brain, trying to think of any famous trainers with the name Ray, but none came to mind. Maybe he wasn't anyone Cutter had ever seen before. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he knew who this man was, somehow.

"And I'm Cutter. I don't think I ever introduced myself either," Cutter reached out his hand and Ray took it, grasping it firmly.

"You said you're from Cherrygrove?"

Cutter nodded. "Yes sir. I used to live in Azalea Town until I was five, but some… stuff happened there and we moved to Cherrygrove," Cutter explained as he watched Silver work on Sandstorm. "I don't really know what happened. My parents would never tell me, but I think it had something to do with me. All I remember is that it wasn't really our choice. My parents fought lot right before we moved. Other than that, I have no idea." Cutter sighed. He hadn't thought about that part of his life in a long time. He was older now, so it might be worth revisiting with his parents. Maybe they would tell him something more.

"I see," Ray said, blank faced. Cutter noticed that the old trainer was very good at keeping his emotions masked. He could only imagine what Ray was thinking. "You have no idea other than that?"

Cutter looked over at Ray and asked, "No sir. Do you know anything?"

The man hesitated for a split second before answering, just barely long enough for Cutter to notice. If he hadn't been paying attention to Ray, he might not have picked up on it at all. "No, I'm afraid I don't. I'm sorry if I made it seem like I did. I'm just interested is all." Ray paused. Then, as if to change the subject, said, "Do you like Cherrygrove?"

Cutter thought about lying to the man, telling him that school was great and that he loved it, but there was no point in lying to Ray. This man wasn't his mom or dad. Ray wouldn't be overbearing or plead with him to tell them what was wrong. "It was fine. School was okay. The kids there made fun of my dreams of becoming the World Champion, but I enjoyed playing soccer and researching pokemon stuff. I actually did a lot of research on regions outside of Johto. Since I grew up here and my dad was a good trainer back in the day, my eyes were constantly opened to new pokemon and places. We weren't super wealthy or anything, but my father traveled a lot in his training days so I got to see his foreign pokemon, which were very interesting to me. That's what led me to research so much about other regions. I hope to travel to all of them and win the league in each one."

"You do know how hard it is, correct?" Ray's tone was firm but there was a twinkle in his eye. "I'm not trying to discourage you at all, I just want you to know that the road to World Champion is a long and difficult one filled with heartache, defeat and disappointment. There can only be one, you know."

"I know," Cutter admitted. "But I have to try. I've dreamed of this since I was a child. Other people are fine with getting desk jobs or being teachers but I've never been as happy as I am now, traveling with my pokemon. And I know that so far nothing bad has happened. But with my pokemon by my side, I know that I'll be able to handle it."

"Good," Ray replied with a smile. "If I were able to push you off the path of your dreams that easily, then it wouldn't really be your true passion at all."

They sat in silence for a few minutes watching the pokemon train until Ray called over his Cacnea. "Pear, I want you to attack the Larvitar and Teddiursa randomly. Don't go full force, but don't hold back too much."

"Carruc," Pear gurgled before waddling away.

"Wait, what? Why are you having your Cacnea attack my pokemon?" Cutter asked incredulously, leaping up.

Ray grabbed Cutter's wrist firmly, pulling him back to a seated position. "Your pokemon need to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time. While there may be only one other pokemon battling them, they need to constantly be aware of everything at all times. Don't worry. Your pokemon will be fine. They're more than capable."

Cutter thought for a second before conceding. "Yeah. You're right," he admitted. He watched as Pear snuck up behind Larvitar and hit him with an Absorb covered arm right in the back. Larvitar stumbled and looked around to find the Cacnea smiling at him. Silver went to Tackle Pear, and Miner stomped, a wall of dirt rising up from the earth between Silver and Pear, making it apparent that Silver was not to engage in battle with the Cacnea. He immediately turned back to his mentor, his eyes shining with awe. He wanted to be able to call up walls of earth.

"Wait, Silver can't fight back?" Cutter asked.

"Silver can defend himself before the attack, he just can't fight back. He needs to focus on training but keep an eye out at the same time. But Silver should have a much easier time of keeping track of Pear than Bellow."

"Why's that?" Cutter asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Larvitar are part ground type, part rock type, so they have an innate and natural connection to the earth that just ground or just rock types don't have as strongly. Now I know that Tyranitar isn't a ground type, but if you help Silver to develop this ability now, it will remain just as strong when he evolves and loses that dual typing." Ray paused as Miner pulled up another wall of earth, destroying the Sandstorm that Silver was conjuring. "Part of Miner's teaching will be to train Silver to feel the earth as an extension of himself and as a body part to be utilized, not just a tool or a place to stand." Cutter nodded in what he hoped looked like an understanding nod as he watched, even though he was still a little confused.

As time went on, Cutter saw that Silver's Sandstorms were becoming more refined. No longer were random bursts of sand flying out of the storms or the sides quivering, signaling a collapse in the attack. Clearly Silver was making progress.

Then there was Bellow, who had finished up with Celine and was now working with Lady. They were sparring, simple hand to hand combat, no moves allowed. The Daunting pokemon was showing Bellow how to twist with the punches and to constantly keep her body moving, even when she wasn't running.

Cutter smiled when he realized what Lady was teaching Bellow. She was teaching the Teddiursa how to fight like a fighting type—her only weakness. If she was able to fight with the same mobility and form as fighting types, then that would make her that much harder to beat. For now, not many fighting types were as small as her, but when she was an Ursaring it would make a huge difference. Bellow was a quick learner, constantly twisting and turning, bobbing and weaving. She would duck or turn when the Pangoro threw a punch, then attempt to throw one right back. Lady would, of course, block or dodge the blow with ease, but Cutter could tell that Bellow was making progress.

Another hour had passed and Silver was effectively stopping Pear from attacking each time the Cacnea tried to sneak up on him. Ray said it was because Silver was, more or less, effectively using the ground as an extension of himself, feeling out with the earth to see where Pear was at any given moment. Bellow didn't have the same advantage that Silver did, but she made do in her own way. Since she was constantly moving, it was hard for Pear to sneak up on her, and she was able to keep her eyes out everywhere with all the different vantage points.

Ray broke the silence, throwing out a little advice to Cutter. "Normal types are very good at picking up moves of other types. Sometimes though, they just need a little catalyst. Sometimes that catalyst is something like having a pokemon of that type help them with the move. Like Celine being steel type and Bellow trying to learn metal claw. Sometimes the catalyst is the weather or the time of day." Cutter nodded, hanging on to ever one of Ray's words and continued watching the training.

After another hour Ray halted his pokemon. "I'm going to have to call it a day. You need to journey a bit farther before you're done for the day. And you should work with your pokemon yourself as well." Ray smiled, his eyes crinkling, and Cutter couldn't help but grin back at the old trainer. "It was wonderful to meet you." From his satchel, the man pulled out a small sack that he handed to Cutter.

"Thank you so much, sir. You have helped me out an incredible amount today. Thank you," Cutter said as he turned to put the sack into his backpack. When he turned around, Ray was gone. Cutter shook his head, not knowing what to think. "Did you two see where he went?" He asked his pokemon, but they shook their heads, just as confused as their trainer.

xx

They traveled for a few hours that night and when they stopped for the evening, Cutter decided to finally check the bag that Ray had given him. He pulled it out of his backpack and as soon as he opened it and saw the contents, he gasped. He emptied the bag onto the ground to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. Lying on the ground from the bag were two medium sized bags of Chople berries and two small bags of Babiri berries. There were four max potions, two revives, a TM that contained Mega Punch, and an ultra ball.

"No way," Cutter breathed, marveling at the gifts that Ray had given him. How had this man who seemingly lived in the middle of the wilderness afford these? And why would he give them to Cutter, a trainer he had just met that very day? Cutter wasn't going to complain but this just confirmed his suspicion that this man was no ordinary trainer. Everything that was given to him in that bag was extremely expensive. When Cutter was a better trainer he knew, he would have to come back and find the man and battle him to show him his thanks.

xx

The next week went by uneventfully. Cutter battled ten trainers over the course of those seven days, and he won all of them, his pokemon shining spectacularly. All of the trainers he had battled had been traveling the same amount of time as him, but he still managed to sweep them.

Silver's Sandstorm and Rocky Sand was incredible. He could maintain it for basically the whole battle and control the size of it perfectly. Bellow never failed with a Metal Claw and in battle she never stopped moving, making her a near impossible target to hit. Cutter had also taught Bellow her own form of push and flip. Bellow's version was called grab and flip and it involved grabbing the opponent as they ran at her, but it was basically the same and it worked just as well, her speed working in her favor for building up the momentum needed.

xx

It was the morning of his eighth day and he was more than halfway to Violet City. Cutter had been working on Silver and Bellow's non-damaging moves for the last several days. Bellow had perfected Fake Tears and Baby Doll Eyes and they had moved on to a combo of the two. The Little Bear pokemon would use both Fake Tears and Baby Doll Eyes at the same time. The Fake Tears, worried for the small, crying pokemon, made the opponent let its guard down and Baby Doll Eyes made Teddiursa so cute that opposing pokemon became less likely to attack, and even if they did attack it would be weaker than before, afraid they would hurt the Tiny Bear. The two moves worked perfectly for the already cute Teddiursa. When she played soft with the Baby Doll Eyes and Fake Tears, other pokemon's guards fell down completely. While the opposing pokemon were under this cute spell, Teddiursa would run in and deliver decisive blows with Quick Swift or a Metal Claw.

Silver's main defense was Sandstorm but Cutter had been working on teaching him Screech. It was pretty basic. Silver would Screech as loudly as he could, and the soundwaves, so high frequency, would and startle the opponent so badly they weren't able to properly defend themselves, more focused on blocking out the awful screeching. It wasn't a damaging move like Uproar or Boomburst since the soundwaves weren't high or frequent enough, but it did well enough for what it was. They found Silver wasn't fast enough to capitalize on the momentary lack of defense if he was still too far away, so Cutter trained him on running while he used Screech. Eventually Cutter planned on him creating a huge Rock Throw while he ran using Screech, but for now he just needed to get Screech down.

Cutter was engrossed in his Pokedex as they walked, trying to figure out what moves and strategies to teach his pokemon next. He wanted them to both get at least one more move before Violet City just so their move pool was large enough to deal with whatever threats the Violet City Gym Leader threw at them, and that wasn't including Mega Punch. He intended it to teach to both of them.

As Cutter scrolled through the moves Teddiursa could learn naturally, one in particular stuck out to him: Feint Attack. It was a dark type move and would be perfect for when her conventional fighting type battle strategy wouldn't work against psychic types. Feint Attack allowed the pokemon using the attack to cloak themselves in a shadow of dark type energy and blur out of sight, opposite the direction that the pokemon originally seemed to be going. Then, while cloaked with the dark type energy, they would essentially tackle their opponent, but since there was a dark type energy infused with the attack, it was more damaging than a regular Tackle. The problem was that Cutter had no idea how he would teach it to Bellow. Like Ray had said, normal types had a natural ability to learn a wide variety of moves of other types, but a lot of times they needed a catalyst, and Cutter had no idea what that catalyst would be.

He knew no one with a dark type other than his father, and he wasn't going all the way back to Cherrygrove just for that. He would have to find another way.

For Silver, he was debating between two moves: Rock tomb or Rock Slide. Rock Tomb would just be Larvitar calling rocks up from the earth to encase the opposing pokemon in, essentially, a tomb of rock. Rock Slide would involve Larvitar calling up or creating rocks, throwing them into the sky, and then firing them in all at once from above, making it as similar to a natural rock slide as possible. Both moves their strong points, but both could be difficult to learn. Rock Slide would be incredibly nice, especially since Falkner, the gym leader of Violet City, used flying types, and having rocks come from above would make it much harder for the flying types to dodge. But Cutter wasn't sure if Silver had the strength yet to make that many rocks fly, let alone call them up and aim them as well. Rock Tomb would be harder to use on the flying types, but it was often used as the foundation for Stone Edge, and Stone Edge was an incredible move, the strongest rock move Silver could learn. Cutter debated in his mind, but eventually settled on Rock Tomb for the time being.

It was early afternoon when Cutter finally stopped them for lunch and training. They scarfed down their lunches of Chople berries and pokemon food so that they could get started, Silver and Bellow just as excited to train as Cutter.

Cutter began to explain to them what the next couple of hours would entail. "Silver, you're going to be learning Rock Tomb. Rock Tomb," he said, "is different from your other rock type moves because for Rock Tomb you have to call up rocks from the earth, you can't form them from your body, and you don't throw them. You call up the rocks around the opposing pokemon, and if it's successful, it traps them, encasing them in the rock. You want to go start working on that?" Silver nodded and ran off as to begin his training.

"Bellow I want you to work on Feint Attack." Cutter explained the basics of Feint Attack to the Little Bear and when he was sure she had a decent understanding, he sent her off to train as well.

For the next hour Cutter let them work on their moves on their own as he did a little training himself. He did sprints, push-ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and he even attempted to climb trees, which ended up being a total failure.

Cutter stood up straight, trying to catch his breath after a particularly long set of sprints and went to see how his pokemon were coming along. Silver was doing well, the rocks he was creating small, but definitely resembling what a Rock Tomb was supposed to look like. "Keep it up Silver. You're getting there," Cutter smiled.

When he went to check on Bellow, he found that she had made little headway, if any. The feinting part of the move was fine, she was fast enough to make it work. She just wasn't catching the hang of the dark type energy. Honestly, Cutter didn't know how to fix it. He remembered what Ray had said about normal types needing a catalyst but he didn't know what that catalyst might be. He decided to end training for the day and continue trekking on towards Violet City. As they walked, Feint Attack was all he could think about.

xx

The next couple of days passed and Cutter still hadn't thought of a solution. He was cuddled up next to Bellow, stroking her soft fur, close to falling asleep for the night. I should get to Violet City tomorrow. I can wait until the day after to challenge Falkner. Give my pokemon time to rest. They definitely deserve it. I'll think more about it tomorrow. He cracked one eye open, marveling at the darkness. He couldn't even see Bellow right in front of him. These are my favorite nights. It's so dark without the moon. And then it hit him. Darkness! It's night time. Ray said that the time of day could be a catalyst. Maybe this is it. Maybe Bellow needs to try the move in the dark, when there is no light to disturb the dark energy. This is it for sure! "Bellow, are you up?"

"Ursu?" Bellow growled meekly.

"I know how to master Feint Attack." Cutter felt Bellow's ears perk up. Cutter explained his thought to Bellow. He knew that they could practice the move tonight, but it was too dark for him to be able to tell if it would work. Cutter didn't mind that though, if it meant that Bellow got Feint Attack down. They stayed up for another hour, Cutter, unable to see anything, hoping that progress was made. Finally, both of them worn out, they went to sleep.

The next morning when Cutter woke up, he wanted to try the move out immediately, and Bellow was ready. They got packed up quickly and the three of them ran along the trail, eager to find a trainer to test it out on.

They ran on for half a mile before Cutter decided to return his two pokemon so they would be rested for the battle. It took Cutter a while considering it was barely 7 am, but after another mile and a half, he happened upon a boy that appeared to be about the same age as him.

"Hey," wheezed Cutter, tired from the extremely long sprint.

The boy looked over at him. "Yeah?"

Cutter stood up, having finally caught his breath. "Want to battle?" Cutter asked, having finally caught his breath.

"Sure," the boy shrugged. "One on one?"

Cutter nodded and the two boys took their places on opposite sides of the field. They both tossed out their pokeballs, Cutter choosing Bellow and the other boy sending out a Sandshrew.

"Sheri," the small, golden pokemon chittered. It stood on its back two legs and even from a distance Cutter could see that its claws were sharp and that its tail was long and thick. "We're battling, Cashew," the boy called out.

"Bellow, Quick Swift!" Cutter shouted, wanting to get the first move.

"Urus," Bellow growled, falling into a Quick Attack, small golden stars forming at her muzzle.

"Defense Curl!" Cashew curled its body up into a tight little ball, protecting itself from the barrage of stars Bellow shot at it, but the force of the swift sent the Sandshrew rolling backwards. "Now Rollout!"

Cashew lashed out with its thick tail, slamming it into the earth. The force threw Cashew forward, sending itself, rolling at Bellow. The Little Bear pokemon was too fast for the Sandshrew however and easily stayed away from the rolling pokemon.

"Let it get close then use Feint Attack!" Cutter called. The Sandshrew changed direction and rolled at Bellow, faster than before. Cutter held his breath as Bellow waited and then, at the last second, cloaked herself in a dark energy, feinted left, then slammed into the Mouse pokemon, sending Cashew flying.

"Yes! Bellow perfect!" Cutter yelled, jumping for joy. The opposing trainer just stared at him like he was crazy, but Cutter didn't care. Bellow had pulled off Feint Attack well. Cutter was brought out of his joy by the opposing trainer ordering his Sandshrew to go in with a Tackle.

"Meet him in the middle, grab and flip, then Swift," Cutter called quietly, not wanting the opposing pokemon to hear him.

Bellow rushed forward and as the two pokemon met, she grabbed Cashew and flipped him over her head, slamming him into the ground behind her.

Using the force of the slam, Bellow jumped into the air and fired a full powered swift straight into the back of Cashew. The Mouse pokemon did not get back up.

Cutter collected his winnings from the trainer and thanked him for a good battle. As the other trainer walked away, Cutter turned to Bellow. "Awesome job, girl! You did excellent. And Feint Attack was perfect!"

Cutter released Silver as he dug pulled the honey jar out of his bag. He let Bellow soak her paws in it for a moment before putting it up and continuing on their way.

xx

Three days later and they had arrived in Violet City. Cutter marveled at the town as he walked through the streets, each apartment building nearly the exact same. As he wandered around the town, searching for the Pokemon Center, he saw the building that made him come to this town and start his journey in the first place: The Violet City Gym.

Cutter leaned down to Silver and Bellow and said, "That's the gym. That building is going to contain our biggest test yet. In just a couple of days we are going to battle the gym leader in there and come out one step closer to becoming the best of the best." Silver and Bellow cheered and Cutter smiled. He knew they were ready.

xx

Hey guys! So I'm currently going through and editing all of the chapters! Hopefully these edits made it better! Thanks for keeping up with the story and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Like, review and subscribe! PM me if you have any questions or thoughts!