A/N: Frostbreaker is back, and with another great chapter for you all! This one is going to directly feed into the next, so don't worry your little heads about it. Please R&R and enjoy, my awesome readers.

Oh, and for all you readers that keep telling me that shiny Pokemon are no stronger than common-colored ones, yes...I know that. However that was one of the things I wanted to change in this story, and I'll say that it'll prove very important in future chapters, so don't go all nerdrage on me.

To Geefriend – Lidia is a Feraligatr and Rick's unofficial adopted daughter. Ada is the Kirlia, Gracia is a Pidgeotto, Zane is an Ivysaur, and Osiris is a Houndour. Orpheus is a Haunter, and he makes an appearance in this chapter. Rick's Haunter was named Tomel, and he left upon finding out what would happen to him if he stuck around.

An Awakened's abilities mimic those of a certain Pokemon. For example, Tim is the Awakened version of a Lucario. That being said, like the Pokemon they mimic, they can learn moves by training or using a TM/HM, though they can't learn any moves that the Pokemon they take after is unable to.

Awakened Pokemon are much fewer in number than Awakened humans, but yes...a human that was to befriend and spend a lot of time around such a Pokemon would develop Pokemon abilities. They would be a pseudo-Awakened in that they could use Pokemon abilities, but would not be as strong as a "true" Awakened, and cannot understand Pokemon. Their physical form would not change though.

English is my native and only language.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or original story elements associated with the Pokemon series, manga, or game. All rights go to their respective owners.

Chapter 4: Making Good

Timothy's PoV

"Timothy...oh Timothy..." sang a familiar angelic voice.

I knew exactly who it was, but I felt too comfortable at the moment in Geanne's grasp. As always it was warm and inviting, but most of all, relaxing.

I could literally lay all day in her arms and never get sick of it.

Still, I knew that my living alarm clock wasn't going to let me stay in bed any longer, so I begrudgingly freed myself from Geanne's warm embrace and opened one eye as I yawned. I scanned the room, and found Trisha floating in front of me with a wide smile on her face, clearly happy to see me.

I smiled as I stretched and rubbed the soft down of her neck. "Good morning, beautiful. How was your night?"

The Latias tittered gently and smiled. "Better than Rick's."

I rolled my eyes as I stood and nodded. "Yeah...the guy's speech filter must be broken or something. I wonder if another knock to the head won't fix that..." This earned me a glare from the Sacred One, so I sighed and rolled my shoulders. "Fine fine, I'll leave him alone. I can't control what the others do to him though." I covered Geanne back up before grabbing some clean clothes and heading to the washroom with my towel in hand. "Wait for me downstairs and I'll make us some breakfast after I clean up a bit."

Trisha then gave me a seductive grin and moved closer to me. "Are you sure you don't want company?"

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Why yes, I would. How did you know?"

This apparently caught the eon Pokemon completely off guard, as she started stuttering in broken sentences before I began laughing. She then rolled her eyes and giggled softly. "Okay okay, you called my bluff."

I shrugged. "I figured you were just messing with me, seeing as how you're still uncomfortable with the concept of staying the night with me."

Trisha sighed and nodded. "Alright you've got me. It's...it's just..."

I stopped her with a smile and a rub of her cheek. "I'm not sure why you're weird about it, but I'm patient. If and when you're ready to tell me what's really bothering you about it or work it out, I'll be waiting for you."

The Latias nuzzled my hand and nodded. "Thank you, Tim."

I nodded and retreated to the washroom. "Anytime, Trish. I'll be out in a bit."

I quickly showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth before dressing in jeans and a v-neck tee, then headed to my room to toss the clothes into the washing pile and wake Geanne. Even after sharing a bed with me for the past few years, morning was still not the Gardevoir's favorite time of day, and like always, it was a chore to get her up and moving.

I set her washed gown onto the bed and lay a fresh towel next to it. "Take a shower and then come downstairs, love. I'll have breakfast waiting for you." I then kissed her cheek softly, and heard her mutter "thank you" before she stood and wrapped the towel around her bare skin, heading towards the washroom herself. Confident that she was now awake enough, I headed downstairs to prepare breakfast for everyone.

When I arrived at the foot of the stairs, it was in time to notice Darcy peeking through the cracked-open door that led to Rick's room. I silently snuck up behind her and tapped her shoulder, causing the Sneasel to nearly scream in fright. She then turned to glare at me and I just smiled as my chest shook with silent laughter.

I raised my eyebrow at her and looked to the door, then back to her. "You're rather interested in Rick, aren't you?"

Contrary to what I'd expected of her, Darcy didn't deny it at all. She just nodded slowly and looked back to the door. "He's different. He's like you in a lot of ways...but also different."

I pursed my lips and nodded. "He is definitely unique." I then followed her gaze to the door as I heard some murmurings from within the guest room. "Do you think he might be the one?"

The sharp-claw Pokemon was silent for a long time before shrugging with a frustrated sigh. "I'm not sure. I haven't known him long enough, so I can't say with any certainty."

I rubbed my chin softly before turning away. "Well I'll see if I can change that. I might be able to talk him into staying for another week or so if I play my cards right. I'd like to become better friends with the guy as well as watch over him, so it would work to both of our benefit if he stayed a little longer to train and hone him and his partners' skills."

"How do you think his abilities will manifest?" Darcy asked me as she turned to look me in the eye.

I looked off into space in thought to myself and shrugged softly. "I have an inkling, but it's not enough to be able to be certain."

"And what does your 'inkling' tell you?" she asked curiously.

I grinned and shook my head. "Not telling!" This caused the Sneasel to frown and grumble something under her breath, which caused me to chuckle softly. I patted her shoulder and motioned to the kitchen. "Why don't you wake him and his group up and herd them to the living room. I'm going to prepare some food for us all." Darcy nodded with a smile and opened the door leading to the guest room. I just chuckled at her behavior and headed for the kitchen.

Rick's PoV

I was pulled out of my dream by the feeling of someone shaking me awake while whispering my name. Seeing as how I was having a particularly good dream, I simply cursed in my sleep and rolled over with Ada in my arms.

That was a mistake on my part.

The next thing I knew, an overwhelming feeling of cold shot through my body, followed by a growl. "Rick, get up!"

I whipped around in shock to find Darcy standing there with a frustrated look on her face. I growled right back at her and sat up. "The fuck was that for?"

The Sneasel sighed in annoyance and pointed to the clock. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past ten minutes, Rick."

"Tits..." I muttered under my breath. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed my eyes before standing. "Why the hurry to get me up anyway?"

"Because it's nearly eight in the morning and Timothy is making breakfast for all of us. He told me to wake you up." she responded, now calming down a bit.

I ran my hands through Ada's hair to wake her, but kept my eyes on Darcy. "Did he tell you to try and freeze me?"

"No," she quipped with a grin, "that was my idea."

"Of course it was..." I muttered. I then turned around to see the Kirlia rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, so I quickly released all my other partners from their Pokeballs. "Come on everyone, breakfast time. Let's get a good meal, because we've a lot of training to do." I leveled my gaze with Darcy next, still annoyed with how she'd awakened me. "Lead the way, slag."

"What did you just call me?" the Sneasel asked as she walked towards the door.

I smirked. "It means 'girl'."

"Oh...okay." she responded. I chuckled inwardly, but kept it to myself to keep from getting maimed.

The six of us arrived out in the family room to find Lidia speaking animatedly with Gunnar, Brutus, and Jade.

I sat down next to the female Feraligatr, and she turned to me with a smirk. She ran a claw over my cheek and chuckled. "I hope that bruise will remind you to keep your mouth shut. You're lucky your nose didn't get broken or something."

"Your concern is stifling, Lidia." I sarcastically remarked. I then scanned the room quickly. "Where is Tessa anyway? I'd prefer to apologize for acting like such a knob-end yesterday."

Jade motioned to the kitchen. "She's cooking breakfast for you at the moment as a way of apologizing."

I raised an eyebrow at the Serperior. "And why is she apologizing to me? She wasn't the one being stupid yesterday, I was."

"True," Jade responded with a sigh, "but she still should not have reacted so harshly. She could have killed you."

I chuckled and shook my head. "If you knew the sorts of things I've been through, you'd know I would have been fine either way."

"What do you mean?" the Charizard asked, his tail flaring a bit.

I shrugged. "Well, I've been frozen, burned, poisoned, almost drowned, and had heat stroke."

The group looked to Lidia, and she nodded. "It's true. He has a habit of getting into dangerous situations...there's no telling when he's going to do something stupid. Me and the others always have to keep an eye on him."

I smirked and rubbed Lidia's neck. "And I'm eternally grateful for that, dear."

"Alright, everyone outside for breakfast!" yelled Timothy's voice from the kitchen area, so I obliged and led my group out to the back of the house.

It appeared that today would be the day that I met all of Timothy's flat-mates, as the entire back garden was filled with twenty or so Pokemon. As soon as they saw me though, the conversations lulled to silence, and I was on the receiving end of stares...which in turn began to make me very nervous.

It was like being naked in the middle of the Tournament Coliseum.

I decided to break the silence by saying something completely random, so I shouted, "The answer is green jelly with a straight jacket and sausages."

There was utter silence before a humanoid apparition materialized in front of me. The hair was violet and spiked back, while a mouth full of sharp teeth smiled menacingly. The being was a near-completely human, and wore a violet jumper and slacks with black boots, a black belt, and a white undershirt. The only thing that definitely told me that this was in fact not a human were two serpent-like red eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" it asked, nearly laughing.

I shrugged. "I figured everyone was wondering what my most awkward wake-up was, so I thought I'd share."

The man stared at me for a few minutes before smirking. "You're okay, kid." He then extended a hand to me, and I noticed as wisps of violet energy softly wafted over him like smoke. I took his hand and he shook mine. "My name's Orpheus. It's nice to meet you."

I looked at his hair, eyes, and teeth before I made the connection with a gasp of surprise. "You're a Haunter!"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yep! I gotta say, it's pretty fun to scare people by disappearing or flying around at night. Unless humans look in my eyes or look at my teeth, they can't tell I'm actually a Pokemon."

"Yeah, and you almost got the police involved last time, man...so tone it down from now on." Timothy added.

I shrugged and sat down on a rock, Ada nestling between my legs as the food was served up to all of us...and I was very pleased with the meal. Poached eggs on toast with sausage and beans. In other words, the perfect breakfast. Only one thing could make this more amazing...

"Brown sauce anyone?" Timothy asked while holding a bottle of thick brown sauce.

Thank you, Arceus...thank you.

As usual, Ada and I shared my meal. It was the type of thing I'd used to do with Lidia when she was really little, and now I found myself raising Ada the same way. I mean, she was just so cute and I could tell she liked it too.

Hey, I'm allowed to have my effeminate moments too.

"So," murmured the Absol, "I've heard that you raised a Pokemon from an egg as your own child. Is this true?"

I looked at the tall, humanoid dark-type and nodded, jerking my thumb in Lidia's direction. "I found Lidia's egg abandoned on my journeys through Johoto. I left it alone at first, because I knew that the Totodile evolution line could be very dangerous...and I wasn't going to be stupid enough to make her mum angry." I took a bite of sausage and offered the same to Ada, which she gently took without hesitation. "Anyway, after passing by the egg a few times over two weeks, I figured it to be abandoned...so I nicked it and took it with me." I put a bit of beans on the toast with some yolky egg and took a bite, savoring the mingling of flavors. "Anyway," I said while swallowing the flavorful food, "Lidia hatched a few days after I had taken the egg. Bear in mind that I was only seventeen at the time, but I oddly found myself raising her like my dad raised me – father to child. Upon that realization, she became my daughter. It doesn't matter to me that she's 'adopted', or even that she's a Pokemon..." I smiled at Lidia warmly, and she grinned lovingly back. "I love her as my own daughter, and that's all that matters."

"What have humans thought about it?" Timothy asked in tandem to the Absol's question.

I shrugged. "I mean a few of them have a problem with it, but why should that matter? To me, that would be the same as a human disliking another human's human child. To that, I politely tell them to 'fuck off', and I go on my way. It's not their business how I raise her or how I look at Pokemon." I glanced again at Lidia, and felt the familiar parental instinct kick in. "Lidia and I are closer than I've ever seen another trainer and Pokemon." I then gestured to the other four of my group. "They're my family. When I'm sad, they comfort me...and I do the same for them. We lean on each other in times of hardship, and we share each others' fears, strengths, and happiness. It's something I wish more trainers would implement into their training for Pokemon."

Timothy nodded his head slowly, deep in thought. A few moments later he stood and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Raikou, come here! There's someone I want all of you to meet!"

I gasped in shock. "Raikou? As in the Legendary Beast of Johoto Raikou? That Raikou?"

Timothy grinned and nodded. "The very same. Not just him though."

Three tall figures appeared from the berry orchard, moving at mind-blowing speed. All three stopped behind Timothy, and I immediately recognized them as Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. All three were humanoid in form, and so were wearing clothing to keep their more "private" features hidden.

Entei's face was exactly the same, except that his mane had become long, wild hair and the smoke that would usually be along his back was instead billowing out from his hair. He wore an open red vest and gray shorts, and the "shackles" still were worn along his beast-like ankles and wrists.

Raikou's build was the same as Entei's, except taller and slimmer. The clouds were still carried upon his back, and every now and then a jolt of lightning would arc out in the air. He wore a gray tee and blue jeans, along with black fingerless gloves.

Suicune was shorter and slimmer than both the others, but no less intimidating. Her long violet hair fell gently along her shoulders and back, and in her hair was what looked like a crown or tiara of icy blue. Her ribbon-like tail seemed to defy gravity as it floated in the air, and her face was flawlessly soft and smooth. She had a very athletic body, obviously favoring speed, and so she wore white shorts and a simple white tee shirt that said, "If these were brains..." I found the comment on the shirt a little odd seeing as how slim she was, but I certainly wasn't going to say anything to her about it.

Timothy then motioned to me with a smile. "This is Rick. He's another Awakened from Johoto."

The three Beasts of Johoto stood unmoving for a moment, but then Raikou made his way over to me. The tall thunder Pokemon looked me over before nodding. "You don't appear to be dangerous..."

"Brother, must you always be so suspicious?" Suicune asked, while Entei simply smirked.

The volcanic Pokemon approached me next with a smile. "Don't worry about my brother here, as he was the same way with Timothy at first." He then extended a clawed hand. "It is a pleasure, Awakened One."

I grasped the Legendary's hand and shook firmly. "Likewise, Mr. Entei."

The volcanic Pokemon released my hand and grinned at Timothy. "Mister? I like this one."

I looked to the aurora Pokemon next in awe. I'll admit, I've always had a bit of a trainer-boner for Suicune...meaning I wanted to capture her and such, not fuck her.

Suicune also looked to me and smiled. "I recognize you..."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Umm...I'm pretty sure we've never met before."

She shook her head, still sporting her smile. "My brothers and I wander the land still, searching for other Awakened Ones." Suicune placed a finger on her chin for a moment before nodding with a wider grin. "Yes! You were in the Ilex forest a week ago, weren't you?"

My eyes widened at this question, but I nodded. "Yes...yes I was. You were watching me?"

"Lady Suicune has a habit of spying on people." Timothy explained.

"I do not spy...I observe." the Legendary retorted.

Timothy chuckled. "When you're hiding from the person you're watching, it's called spying." He then looked to me and the others. "Anyway, let's finish up breakfast and clean. You're going to be training with me today, Rick."

I looked at him curiously. "Training how, exactly?"

Timothy grinned and stood up. "You'll see." He then grabbed his empty plate and walked into the house.

I looked worriedly at Gunnar and Brutus. "It's gonna hurt, isn't it?"

The Feraligatr shrugged. "Depends on what he's going to do. If he trains you the way he trains with Tessa, yes. If he trains the way he trains with me, still yes."

"Does he happen to train with any cute little Pokemon that he wouldn't ever want to hurt?" I asked nervously.

Brutus shook his head. "Not anymore. It used to be Dante, but now that he's evolved, the Lucario trains full-force with Timothy as well."

"Great." I grumbled. I pulled Ada up onto my lap and began to feed her while finishing off my plate. "Hopefully I don't get any broken bones or anything, because I can't afford the hospital bills."

"You'll be fine, dad." Lidia assured with a smile. "He's going to train you, not try to kill you."

I sighed. "I hope you're right."

I then heard the door open again, only to reveal Tessa and a...shapely humanoid shiny Nidoqueen. At this, all the others around me cleared off, leaving just me, Ada, Tessa, and the Nidoqueen. I felt very intense waves of hostility radiating from the Kirlia on my lap, but I kept my cool for all our sakes.

'She better have a damn good reason for coming over here...' I heard Ada say in my head.

I kept my eyes on Tessa, but my thoughts went to Ada. 'First, no cursing for you...you're too young. Second, I need you to stay calm.'

I felt the Kirlia's assent more than heard it, but she still sent, 'Fine...she better watch herself though.'

"I um..." started the Blaziken, obviously nervous, "I wanted to come and apologize."

I kept a stone face as I looked to Tessa's eyes, and I subconsciously felt my cheek burn a little. "For what exactly?"

The fire Pokemon sighed and lowered her eyes. "Are you really going to make me say it?"

"I think we both know I can't make you do anything Miss Tessa, but I'd appreciate it, yes." I responded flatly.

She sighed and looked me in the eye again, and I felt Ada's body grow hot with what I could only perceive was anger. "I'm sorry I punched you. I overreacted, and I shouldn't have done that."

I felt Ada's emotions hitting their peak, so I held her close against me and she instantly calmed down. I then looked up at the fighting/fire-type and shrugged. "Well maybe you did overreact, but I probably shouldn't have said what I did...at least not out loud." I then placed the Kirlia behind my head with one leg on each side of my shoulders and stood, slowly and methodically. I looked Tessa directly in the eyes and extended my hand. "I'm not one to hold grudges, especially when I'm partially in the wrong. I'm willing to put this behind me if you are."

"Just like that?" the Blaziken asked, aghast.

I nodded. "I was a cunt, and you punched me...it's not anything I haven't been through before. This isn't the first time my big mouth has gotten me in trouble, although it is the first time it earned me unconsciousness."

Tessa accepted this and grasped my hand in her own, shaking firmly with a smile. "I'm glad you're so forgiving. Tim was going to have it in for me if I couldn't fix this."

I raised an eyebrow as I released her hand. "Are you afraid of him or something?"

She shook her head. "No, but I do love him. If he's unhappy, I'm unhappy."

I shrugged. "That makes sense." I then looked to the curvy Nidoqueen, and found my eyes wanting to bug out of my head. "Umm, hello. I'm Rick...what's your name?"

Happy to have been included in the conversation, the poison-pin Pokemon giggled and bounced a little...again causing me to have to resist staring. "I'm Neeka! It's nice to finally meet you, Rick." I extended a hand to shake, but instead she enveloped me in a bone-crushing embrace, pressing my face right up against her chest. This in turn caused my knees to give out on me, and I fell to the ground in a heap. Neeka giggled and helped me up. "You're fun! Oh, I need to tell Rina all about you! Bye!"

Tessa, Ada, and I all watched the Nidoqueen bound away before the Blaziken turned to me. "She didn't mean anything by that. She's like that with everyone."

I shrugged. "I can't say I'm all that bothered by having my face squeezed into her bosom. She is a little intense though."

"Yeah," Tessa started, looking off towards the corner Neeka had disappeared around, "she's perpetually a Nidoran, with all the energy and giggles to go with it. She's one of my closest friends around here though, and I love her to death." The blaze Pokemon then looked at me with a nervous expression. "So...we're good, right?"

I looked back at Ada, and she nodded slowly. I then turned my head back to Tessa and smiled. "Yes, we're good. If I say something stupid again, just slap me or something. No knockouts anymore."

"You know, you could always avoid all of that by just watching what you say." Tessa remarked as she began walking towards the door to inside.

I chuckled. "I don't trust myself enough for that."

Tessa arched her eye at me and smirked. "I'm not sure whether to be happy you're honest, or sad that I'm probably going to end up hitting you again."

I shrugged. "You can't have everything. Anyway, I should probably meet with Timothy now. He's putting me through some kind of training, and I would rather not be late."

"Good idea." Tessa said with a grin. "He's a stickler for training, so it's to your benefit that you not be late, and do everything he says."

I nodded and waved goodbye before heading towards the front of the house.

I arrived to see Timothy had changed his clothes into a traditional black kung fu uniform. He was seated on the ground, waiting for me as I rounded the home to the front.

He stood when I approached, and smiled. "Glad you could make it. Is everything cool with you and Tessa?"

I nodded. "Everything's good."

"Good." he answered simply. He then turned around and grabbed something off of the ground, then turned to me and presented a white uniform like his. "Put this on."

I raised an eyebrow as I took the clothing, and eyed it suspiciously. "Why do I have to wear this?"

Timothy pointed at my clothes. "Because jeans aren't flexible, and your shirt will end up just getting in the way. This uniform fits snugly, and will allow you full range of flexibility."

"You act like I'm a gymnast or something." I grumbled.

He smirked. "I can always get you a spandex leotard."

"No, I think I'd rather leave some guesswork when it comes to my privates, thank you." I remarked quickly.

I quickly made my way inside and changed before heading back out, dressed in the martial arts uniform. I had to admit, it was extremely comfortable and breathed well. It did indeed allow me to move without the fabric restraining me, but still allowed a slight bagginess so that I didn't look like a dork.

"You know, I could get used to this. Why don't you wear these all the time? It's amazing." I said, praising the new clothing presented to me.

Timothy shrugged. "Not really my style. I'm more of a cargo shorts and button-up shirt kinda guy. I've got four more in that size with varying colors if you like them that much."

I smiled. "That would be amazing."

Tim smiled and nodded. "Alright then...but enough small talk." He took a relaxed stance and cracked his neck. "We came here to train, so are you ready?"

I removed Ada from my shoulders and set her down on a bench by the door, then turned around. "As I'll ever be. I'll warn you that I only have the most basic training when it comes to martial arts, so don't try and kill me or anything."

He smirked. "You're lying, but that's okay."

I was nervous, as he'd called my bluff. "Umm, what are you talking about?"

"I can read Aura." he answered simply. "Yours says that you were lying."

I was honestly not surprised, given the abilities he possessed, but was still a little confused. "My aura? I have an aura?"

He kept his stance, but nodded. "All living things have an aura, even plants. It's true that only beings like myself can call upon that aura's power at will, but we all have one."

I sighed and nodded. "Well I guess the Meowth's out of the bag then, so-to-speak." I took a basic jeet kune do stance, while I noticed Tim had taken a nonspecific karate stance. I smiled and beckoned him. "No need to put it off any longer then. Come on."

Tim smiled, and rushed me.