Thanks for the review ambling-soul! I love the fact you like this fic so much. I promise you that it gets better once Amy gets going. But for now, she's stuck training.

Disclaimer: I own the Outsider trainers and Eric. But not Pokémon, sadly.


The lake was deserted. Amy stopped a short distance from the water's edge and gazed around, her eyes glittering. A small smile appeared on her face as she slid the three Poké balls out of her belt. Behind her, she could hear Eric and Oliver panting as they hurried to catch up with her.

'Are you sure that here is the best place?' Eric asked, glancing around more nervously. He remembered all too well what happened here last time.

'Yes,' Amy said determinedly, 'it's quiet, there are no people about and we need to get over the bad memories.'

'No-one except them,' Oliver corrected, pointing some distance away to a group of lads who were emerging from the wood.

'What do they want?' Amy muttered grumpily, storming across the grass towards them, 'excuse me! What are you doing here?'

The leader of the group looked around in surprise. 'Hullo?' he said.

'What are you doing here?' Amy demanded, eyeing their fishing equipment and snorkelling gear.

'We're going to catch us a legendary Pokémon,' leader said proudly.

'With that lot?' Amy asked.

'Yeah,' the leader said, suddenly not as cocky, 'why?'

'Sorry,' Amy said, 'but do you see a cave with a mystical creature in it. No because it isn't here. Now go away, you're disturbing the peace.'

'It's underwater,' the leader told her, in a tone that suggested that Amy was stupid.

'No it's not,' Amy replied in the same voice, then normally, 'I should know: I nearly drowned in this lake only two days ago.'

'Is that true?' the leader said over Amy's head. Amy guessed that Eric was behind her.

'Yeah,' Eric said.

'Darn!' the leader cursed, 'bother! F-'

'Not in the presence of youngsters please!' Amy cried out.

'I know what that word is,' Oliver objected as the other trainers slouched off, 'he was going to say f…'

'Oliver,' Amy interrupted calmly, 'if you continue with that word, when we get home I am going to tell Doreen who will wash your mouth out with soap.'

'Fiddlesticks,' Oliver said quickly.

'Much better,' Amy said happily, turning to face the boys, 'well, now that it's peaceful again, shall we begin?'

Amy sat with the three Pokémon trying to work out where to begin. Eric stood with Hoothoot on his shoulder and Oliver was helping Amy keep the three starters under control.

'I want to start with a race,' Amy said, 'to judge speed and all that.' Eric nodded understandingly.

'Why?' Oliver asked, bewildered, 'Chimchar is going to be the fastest and Turtwig is going to be the slowest. Simples.'

'I need to know how much faster Chimchar is and how much slower Turtwig is,' Amy said simply.

She stood by the starter Pokémon at one end of the lake and asked Eric to stand three metres away. She raised her arms in the air as the Pokémon lined up. 'Ready,' she called, 'steady.' She let her arms drop, 'Go!'

Chimchar was the clear winner, streaking ahead of Piplup and Turtwig who were nearly equal in speed. Amy was chewing her lip as she joined them and Oliver could tell instantly that she was worried.

'I didn't think it would be that close,' she murmured, staring at the worn out Piplup. Chimchar was bouncing up and down, celebrating its victory. Amy turned to the boys.

'Alright,' she said, 'I have three lessons for each of the Pokémon lined up for today. Each time, we're going to have a starter and work with that Pokémon for about an hour. We'll then have a break and then start on lesson two, with a different Pokémon this time. Lesson number one: speed.' Amy turned to Eric, 'Eric, could you run with Chimchar?'

Eric nodded. 'Sure,' then he looked confused, 'where are we running?'

'Around the lake,' Amy said, pointing across the glittering expanse of water. She knelt down so she was level with the Pokémon. 'Chimchar,' she said, 'I know you can beat Eric. I want you to be so quick, you're back here before he's gotten three quarters of the way around the lake. Got that?'

Chimchar leapt up and squealed in delight. Then it turned and looked slyly sideways at Eric.

'Go!' Amy cried and Chimchar leapt into a run from a standing start.

'Hey! That's not fair!' Eric yelled, racing after the disappearing fire Pokémon, 'come back here!' Hoothoot hooted in distress and flew off after its master.

'Oliver,' Amy continued as Eric's cries got quieter as he got further away, 'can you work with Turtwig? Get it to fetch this,' Amy pulled a ball from her bag and handed it to her younger brother, 'and keep tabs on how long that takes. It should get quicker.'

'Where did you get this?' Oliver asked, turning the rubber ball over in his hands. It was quite well used, covering in claw and teeth marks.

'It was Furret's,' Amy explained, 'Doreen let me have it to train my Pokémon with.'

'That was nice of her,' Oliver said, but he didn't look or sound like he meant it.

Amy didn't look impressed. 'Just get moving, squirt.' Oliver sighed and bent down to Turtwig.

'Here, Turtwig, here!' he called, 'look! Fetch!' he threw the ball.

'Turtwig is not a dog!' Amy snapped as Turtwig ambled away after the bouncing rubber ball. Oliver followed it, grumbling. Amy returned her attention to the waiting Piplup. 'You and me are going to go over there and practice running,' she told it, 'we're going to get you up to speed!'

Half an hour later, Eric flopped down next to Amy's bag. He breathed in heavily and Hoothoot settled on his stomach with a soft hoot before collapsing. Amy and Piplup, who had been watching them whilst jogging on the spot, stopped training to come over to them. Chimchar, still seemingly full of energy, greeted them warmly, but could barely make it over to them before it dropped. Amy scooped it up and laid it against her, stroking the top of its head whilst she caught her breath. Piplup immediately started vying for Amy's attention.

Oliver took the ball back from an exhausted Turtwig and led the way back to the resting group as Amy giggled and patted Piplup on the head. She lay back against the grass, Chimchar against her shoulder, Piplup by her side, calming her breathing. Not far off, Oliver crashed to the ground.

'I'm tired,' he complained.

'You've barely done anything,' moaned Eric, 'all you've done is stand and throw a ball meanwhile some of us have actually been having exercise.'

'You don't know how hard it can be to stand upright and throw a ball,' Oliver snapped, 'my arm aches now.'

'I ache all over,' Eric lamented.

'How about a fifteen minute break?' Amy suggested. The boys groaned.

'Can't we make it longer?' Oliver asked.

'No,' Amy said, sitting upright and fishing in her bag for something. 'I think certain people deserve some special treats!' she pulled out a box of Pokémon food and suddenly became a very popular person indeed. 'Alright! Calm down!' she laughed as all the Pokémon jumped at her, trying to get at the food. Turtwig's collided heavily with her stomach causing Amy to rock backwards, the Pokémon food spilling out of the box and all over the grass.

'Oh no,' Amy murmured, gazing upside-down as the Pokémon dived for the chunks lying in the grass. She rolled onto her stomach and watched as the Pokémon fought over the few blocks of Pokémon food. Chimchar pushed Piplup roughly out of the way, who fell down and started to tweet sadly. Amy scrambled to her knees, scooped it up and fed it blocks from the palm of her hand.

When all were full, Amy took a long length of rope from her bag and handed one end to Eric. 'Enough running,' she said, 'it's skipping time!'

'You're going to make them skip?' Oliver said incredulously watching Amy and Eric walk in opposite directions until the rope when taut.

'When I did gymnastics, the coach would make us skip for ten minutes before every session,' Amy explained, 'it increased our speed and our agility, she said.' Amy paused for thought before admitting, 'actually, most of the training techniques I'm working on are based on my gymnastics training.'

'When are we getting around to actually using their moves?' Oliver complained, lying on his stomach to watch as the Pokémon gathered in the middle of the skipping rope.

'Tomorrow,' Amy said, 'I've got a schedule lined up: three days of this week we work on improving qualities like speed and evasiveness, the other three days are based around improving moves.'

'What's the last day for?' Eric asked over the top of Oliver who was saying, 'there are seven days in a week you know?'

'I know that, squirt!' Amy snapped at him, 'the last day is a rest day. I don't want to overwork them.'

Oliver raised his eyebrows, sighed and left Amy to it.


'Come on, Amy! We need to get going!' Oliver yelled into the trees. He waited before adding, 'Now!'

'Be right with you,' Amy called back, struggling through the undergrowth, Chimchar on her shoulder.

'What have you been doing for the last hour?' Eric asked. He had been with Turtwig, trying to build its evasiveness by throwing rubber balls at it whilst in a confined space. It was clear that Turtwig needed a lot more practice.

'You'll find out,' Amy said cheekily, winking at him, 'won't they Chimchar?'

Chimchar raised its arms in the air from the top of Amy's head, laughing. It gripped hold of Amy's hair as she picked up a squealing Piplup and carried it in her arms. Turtwig nuzzled her foot before leading the way to the boys who were preparing to leave.

'That was a good day training,' Eric chuckled, 'do you think that Hoothoot and I could join you tomorrow when you're training moves.'

'Sure, why not?' Amy said, but her voice sounded distant, as if she was thinking about something else.

'What's wrong?' Eric asked, stopping as Amy slowed.

'I was thinking about the trainers from earlier,' Amy admitted, 'I've heard Doreen talk about Outsider trainers who would storm the lake in search of Mesprit but I've never believed that anyone could be so stupid as to believe that they could really find a legendary that easily.' She stopped and turned in the direction of the distance figure of Mt Coronet rising in the distance. 'Do you think that there are Outsider trainers searching for Spear Pillar as well?'

'Probably,' Oliver said, 'so what?'

'What do you mean "so what"?' Amy demanded.

'They're just trying to find legendary Pokémon, what's wrong with that? They want to get stronger, that's all.'

'Is that all? I doubt it. I think that many trainers search for legendaries so that they can have an advantage over other trainers.' Amy stalked off, the starter Pokémon desperately clinging to her, 'let's face it Oliver, most Outsider trainers think of nothing but their own power and strength and want nothing more than to be the best.'

'Now hold on!' Oliver yelled, running to get in front of Amy, 'that's not true!'

'Give me one example of an Outsider who doesn't care if they don't get a legendary Pokémon,' Amy shouted back.

'You don't!' Oliver cried out. His sister turned away, not meeting his eye, 'you don't, do you?'

Amy sighed. 'I don't know,' she admitted quietly, 'I don't know. It would be amazing but,' she looked up at her expectant brother, 'I'm not sure I could cope with it...'

Oliver wasn't sure how to reply. Eric saved the situation by stepping in and saying, 'you know I bet that there are many Outsider trainers who aren't interested in legendaries. The difference is that you don't meet them because they're quite content to stay at home and train, or breed or are into contests. There are so many things that trainers can become, you never know what you might grow into.'

'Thanks Eric.' Amy raised her head to the sky and said, 'I know now what I want to do on my Pokémon journey. I want to prove that Outsiders are not all about power and catching legendaries.'

Oliver turned his back on his sister and slouched off. 'Good luck with that,' he muttered, causing Amy to run after him in anger. Eric laughed as the siblings vanished, picked up the Turtwig who was running as fast as he could after its disappearing trainer and hurried after them.


'Chimchar use Ember!' Amy cried out. Chimchar puffed up and exhaled the fiery attack. The rock smouldered slightly. Amy sighed and scratched the disappointed Chimchar on the head. 'We'll set it alight by the end of the week,' she said encouragingly, 'you'll see.'

It was the fourth day into Amy's week and Amy was beginning to become anxious. Not only did she have to prove that she could be a worth trainer to Professor Rowan by the end of this week, she then had to choose the Pokémon to take on that journey. She had to be honest; she didn't have a clue which starter she wanted. Amy wouldn't let that put her down though. She had to prove she could do it before she could get the one she wanted – whichever that would be.

'Now let's try that new move,' she said, 'use Flame Wheel!' Chimchar took a running leap towards the rock. It jumped and began to spin. Fire engulfed it as it rotated. It hit the rock, hard. There was a pause. Chimchar jumped back to Amy's side. They watched the rock. There was a small flicker and then it went quiet.

'Oh well, nice try Chimchar,' Amy said turning and heading over to where Oliver was sitting with Piplup, ordering the penguin Pokémon to aim Bubble across the lake and trying to coax it into a Bubblebeam.

'Bubblebeam Piplup,' Amy called out. Piplup turned its head slightly, noticed Chimchar sitting smugly on Amy's head which pulled a face, and aimed a perfect Bubblebeam as far as it could go. There were several splashes heard from somewhere near the middle of the lake.

'What?' Oliver complained as Amy sat down beside the proud Pokémon, 'I've been trying to get it to do that for ages.'

'Completely against what I told you to do,' Amy said with a smile, patting Piplup on the head, 'besides, it's my Pokémon. Well done Piplup.'

'With your Chimchar,' Oliver continued, pretending he hadn't heard what Amy had said, 'I think you should practice against something a bit more flammable, like a tree.'

'And how do you propose we put out the tree once we've set it alight?' Amy asked pointedly.

'Piplup?' Oliver said weakly, knowing he had just been backed into a corner.

'Amy,' Eric approached, Turtwig at his feet, 'we need something better to practice Turtwig's razor leaf on.' He held up an item that used to be a rubber ball. Turtwig looked shamefacedly at the ground.

'Turtwig!' Amy exclaimed, coming and kneeling beside the embarrassed Pokémon, 'that's nothing to be ashamed of; it just shows that you've gotten stronger.' Turtwig looked up hopefully. Amy jumped to her feet. 'I know, we can use Piplup's bubble attack. Turtwig can aim at those.'

'That means pitting Piplup against Turtwig head-on,' Eric told her, 'are you sure that they can handle

Amy turned and looked down at the two starter Pokémon. Her eyes met their determined gaze.

Amy nodded. 'I'm sure they can.'

Eric and Turtwig faced Amy and Piplup. 'Remember,' Amy said, 'this isn't a battle. We just want to improve Turtwig's razor leaf right?'

'What's the problem with a battle?' Oliver teased from the sidelines, 'afraid of hurting your Pokémon?'

'No,' Amy snapped, 'I just want to improve their moves before we get onto battling with them.'

'You can't go the whole week without battling at all,' Oliver pointed out.

'What do you think we're working on for the last three days?' Amy asked.

Oliver blinked. 'You said the last day will be a rest day.'

'Most of it will be,' Amy growled, 'now shut up, squirt. Piplup, use Bubble!' Bubbles blossomed in the air between the Pokémon. 'Okay Turtwig, I want you to pop all of them with razor leaf!'

Turtwig dipped and spun its head. The leaves ricocheted off in all directions. Amy grabbed Piplup and leapt out of the way as the leaves slammed into where they had just been standing. When the dust cleared, there was still one bubble remaining.

'We need to work on that accuracy,' Amy said, climbing to her feet. Turtwig hung its head. 'Don't be sad!' Amy said hurriedly, running to Turtwig's side, 'that's why we're training. No-one gets it right first time round.'

'Correction…' Oliver began.

'Shut up, Squirt!' Amy shouted over her shoulder, 'if you can't say anything helpful, don't say anything at all.' Oliver looked away, muttering. 'Let's try it again until we get it right.' Turtwig gazed up at Amy, a smile wide across its face.

Oliver turned his back as the attacks continued. 'Come on Chimchar,' he said as he passed the fire Pokémon, 'let's work on that Ember whilst they fight.' Chimchar looked between Amy, who was watching Turtwig with a fierce determination, and Oliver, who was looking equally determined not to get involved with the Piplup/Turtwig match-up.

'Come on Chimchar!' Oliver yelled when he saw that the fire starter wasn't moving. 'You want to get tougher don't you?' Chimchar quailed as Oliver's anger raised several notches.

'Oliver!' Amy moved away from the popping challenge to approach her younger brother. 'Oliver, that's not the way to treat her!' Amy knelt down and scratched Chimchar's head. 'Go with him,' she said gently, 'but don't let him force you to do anything.' She looked up at her brother. 'You hear that Oliver!'

Oliver nodded once. 'I heard.'

As he walked off, Chimchar at his heels, Amy looked back at the other two starters. A line creased her forehead. She was once again thinking about the Pokémon she had to choose. She knew, deep inside, that there was no way that she could make a choice between the three. Sighing, Amy returned to Piplup and Turtwig, pushing the decision from her mind. She didn't have the think about that –yet.


Hope you enjoyed that. I wanted to get the feeling that Amy was training hard, without actually having to tell you everything she did.

And what was she working on with Chimchar, you'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Next time: Amy faces Professor Rowan's challenge to see whether her training has paid off. And who will she choose? Keep with us to find out!