Ash grunted with exertion as he pushed forwards, the ache in his legs getting worse. Around him his Pokémon ran forwards, keeping pace with their trainer. He glanced to the side to see Pikachu bounding along and smiled down at his friend. Pikachu grinned back for a moment before concentrating on the run.

It had been three months since Ash had left Pallet Town, and a few weeks since Ash had started to focus entirely on training. They had moved twice since they had found their first home, with them being driven away from the first area by a territorial group of Beedrill. Ash chuckled at the memory of them, surging out from the forest just a few days after they had set up camp. He wasn't sure he had ever run quite as fast as he had that day. Their second home was abandoned after a couple of weeks as they had struggled to find food there. But the third location was perfect. Ash jogged past the edge of the hill that they were running around and his home was spread out in front of him.

In the distance, a cliff rose high above them, an easy 80 foot climb to the top. A small waterfall surged out of a gap roughly halfway up, forming a pool at the bottom. Although it lacked fish, the pool was perfect for drinking water and bathing. Ash remembered the first time that his Pokémon had insisted he wash. After so long travelling he had forgotten how much he must stink, but Bayleaf had not. He had been unceremoniously dumped in the pool and held under until he agreed to wash himself properly.

While the pool couldn't provide food, it did lead out into a stream that could. If they followed the stream a couple of miles it merged with a much larger river where fishing became much simpler. And following it was easy – the stream meandered its way down the valley that Ash was now leading his Pokémon down. One side of the valley was rocky which had given them plenty of opportunity to practice agility while the other was heavily forested. Inside the forest grew yet more food that Ash was learning to work with. He had been grateful to his grass Pokémon for stopping him eating something poisonous but two months on he had learned. Now he only occasionally threatened to kill himself by eating. And with firewood so close at hand, staying warm at night was easy.

After they had settled, Ash had decided that they would stay for a few months at least, making the most of the chance to train in a remote area. Once he had made his sweeping declaration he set about building a rudimentary hut for himself to sleep in. His Pokémon had taken to the challenge enthusiastically but without any great aptitude for architecture and the first few attempts collapsed within a few hours. Each of Ash's Pokémon came up with designs of ever increasing complexity before Charizard had arrived. The Flame Pokémon had joined them a fortnight after they arrived. He had swept in and taken one look at the latest construction before incinerating it with a blast of fire. After that he had taken it upon himself to build a hut fit for his trainer. Nobody had wanted to admit it, but it had been the first one that had actually looked good, let alone survived more than four hours. Surprisingly, Charizard hadn't even bragged about his achievement.

Ash glanced across at Charizard who was puffing along, letting out small bursts of smoke as he strained to keep up. For a Pokémon who was so agile in the air, he hated running. But once he had heard what Ash was doing with his team, he knew that he had to come back. No Pokémon had thrown themselves into training more than the prideful powerhouse and the benefits were already clear as he moved towards the front of the running pack.

Ash plunged across the stream for the final time and charged up the bank on the other side. His Pokémon matched him still, forcing themselves onwards. As they reached the cliff they came to a halt and Ash looked around, a grin on his face.

"Climb."

He leapt at the wall in front of him, gripping the handholds that he was getting to know so well. As he reached the top he glanced down. Several of his Pokémon had beaten him, with the smug look on Sceptile's face telling Ash that Sceptile had won. To his surprise, Eevee bounded up just behind Ash, rubbing herself against his leg. Ash grinned down at his newest Pokémon who had taken to the training with a zeal. She had been with him just a few days and seemed determined to push herself as hard as she could.

Ash looked down at the final few Pokémon coming up the cliff and saw Torkoal haul himself over the edge, claws scrabbling on the stones. Torkoal limped away, looking upset as Ash looked around at the rest of his Pokémon.

"It is four miles back home." Ash said, pointing at the path which led to the valley once again. "Let's go."

The group set off once again, Ash setting the pace as they ran. Many of the group were tired but they kept going. Kept working, kept urging each other forwards.

It was some forty minutes later that they limped into the camp. Ash collapsed in a heap, with many of his Pokémon copying him. He allowed himself just a few moments before he struggled back to his feet.

"Come on guys." Ash said. "We need to start stretching. Then it is time to sort dinner."

There was a good natured groan from the Pokémon that made Ash laugh as they recovered and started working on sore muscles. Ash looked around at his Pokémon, pride in his expression. It was only when his gaze fell on Torkoal that his pride slipped.

The Coal Pokémon wasn't stretching. Instead he was sat down with tears running out of his eyes. Ash headed over and crouched next to him.

"What's wrong Torkoal?"

Torkoal let out a plaintive moan and nudged Ash's arm. Ash stroked his shell and spoke quietly to his Pokémon, but Torkoal was clearly not happy. He let his legs collapse underneath him with a tired moan. Ash sat down next to him and Torkoal rested his head on Ash's lap. After some time Torkoal withdrew into his shell, leaving Ash to climb up. Several of his other Pokémon had noticed, but none of them commented. Ash sighed and turned to prepare the food for his Pokémon, putting Torkoal to the back of his mind.

Ash awoke with a start and immediately groaned in pain. Everything hurt. His hand hurt from where he had managed to burn it while cooking the night before. His knee hurt from where he had crashed it against the cliff wall while climbing. Worst of all though, his legs were still sore from the run earlier. Ash lay in his sleeping bag for a moment longer, but he forced himself out of his hut when he heard movement outside. The majority of his Pokémon were asleep, the fires that they had made earlier were down to their embers. Ash saw a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye and started to move towards it. As he walked past Charizard Ash nudged the Flame Pokémon who woke up.

"Charizard, something is there." Ash whispered.

Charizard growled quietly and raised his tail. As the flame on the end grew bigger, the campsite was thrown into sharp relief. The shadow froze and Ash looked into the guilty face of Torkoal.

"Torkoal?" Ash asked in surprise. "Where are you going?"

Torkoal whined and shook his head starting to hurry away but Charizard was quicker. He leapt forwards, his wings cushioning his landing, blocking Torkoal's way out.

"Torkoal, what is going on?" Ash asked blankly.

Torkoal whined again and shot a burst of flames at Charizard who ignored them as he glared down at his teammate.

"Torkoal!" Ash shouted, surprise making his voice rise in both pitch and volume.

Torkoal looked at Ash and stomped closer to Charizard who was still blocking his passage.

"Torkoal…" Ash said, understanding dawning on him. "Are you leaving me?"

Torkoal nodded and nudged at Charizard who was unmoving.

"Why?" Ash asked.

Torkoal turned and looked at Ash. He with his head towards the Pokémon sleeping around them and then made a running motion. He shook his head.

"Torkoal." He said sadly.

"You don't want to train anymore?" Ash asked. Torkoal nodded. "But you don't have to leave."

Torkoal met Ash's eye and his trainer's heart fell.

"You want to." Ash concluded. Torkoal nodded as tears started to leak out once again.

"Why?" Ash asked again.

Torkoal didn't answer, instead turning away and charging at Charizard. The larger Pokémon knocked him back easily with a wing, looking at Ash for leadership. Torkoal landed on his feet before charging again immediately.

As Charizard knocked Torkoal back for the third time, Ash had had enough.

"Let him go Charizard."

Charizard looked at Ash in surprise before folding his wings back against his body. Ash knelt down in front of Torkoal who was now looking at his trainer.

"Wait here one moment." Ash said. He rose and headed back for his hut. Inside he started rifling through his things, mentally chastising himself for having his living space such a mess. A few minutes later he eventually found it and exited the hut again. Torkoal was waiting patiently for him while Charizard growled softly as Ash reappeared. Ash reached them and knelt down in front of Torkoal once again.

"This is yours." Ash said quietly, holding out a Pokéball. Torkoal looked at it before looking back up at Ash, tears flowing once again. Ash placed the Pokéball on the ground and stood up.

"I'm sorry you are leaving Torkoal." The young man was struggling to keep the emotion out of his voice as he talked. "But I wish you the best. You are always welcome back."

Torkoal nodded before looking down at the Pokéball. A burst of flame erupted from his mouth, scorching the ball. Damaging it. Weakening it. As Ash watched, Torkoal leapt up and slammed down on his Pokéball, shattering it. He turned and strode away from his now ex-trainers camp. Had Torkoal looked back he would have seen the hurt on Ash's face but he never did. He never saw Ash's expression as for the first time in his life a Pokémon walked away from him for no reason other than he didn't want to be his Pokémon anymore.

A/N

I'm aware that this is shorter than my usual work but it was just an idea that I ran with to its conclusion. Torkoal was the first to leave and I wanted that covered in a bit more detail. I've released it with The Worst Goodbye since they are so closely linked. A bit more of an authors note is at the end of the next chapter.

Iama2p