{Cera}

Cera focused, trying to direct her telepathy to be as soothing and assuring to the boy as downright possible. Her telepathy, she could sense, wasn't working well enough so that Sam was brought out of the illusion of his memories, only they weren't as bad as what they could be. She shook with anxiety over having to support her own trainer like this.

"Jackson!" Cera said. "Get Leif's Pokeball and recall him!"

"What about Sam?!" Jackson asked.

"I'm trying to keep him occupied!" Cera yelled. "I don't think this is a normal flashback! So long as those pheromones stay in the air, he won't stop seeing the same vision! Do it!"

{Jackson}

Jackson climbed atop Sam's leg, looking at the four Pokeballs that hung from his waste.

"Which one is Sam's?" the Mankey asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's the one furthest from to his left!" she said. "Get it now and go onto the battlefield!"

Jackson took the Pokeball furthest from the front of Sam's body into his paw, pressing the button to open it. A flash of red light appeared to burst out of it as fast as a lightning bolt. Jackson saw the Treecko clinging to the boulder captured by the beam of light and taken into the Pokeball. Jackson placed the ball back onto his belt.

As soon as she did this, the audience began to gasp in confusion, loud mumbles being heard about this. Jackson stepped up to the arena before jumping onto one of the Rock Tomb and looking at Brock.

"What?!" Brock asked. "What happened?! I did not see Sam recall his Treecko! What happened?!"

"Leif has been recalled!" she yelled. "I am your opponent!"

"Has he been returned at Sam's behest?!" Brock yelled. "I demand to know why I did not see Sam return his Pokemon!"

"He did!" the Mankey yelled. "Now, forget about it and fight me! I am your opponent, your battle is now with me!"

"So be it," Brock said. "Onix, attack with Slam!"

The Onix swung its tail at Jackson to which she leaped up to dodge the tail that broke the Rock Tomb beneath her. She dashed toward the Onix, using the boulders of the Rock Tomb as spring points to leap from. As soon as she got within the area the Onix's main body. She leapt from the top of the boulder to hit its side with Karate Chop, holding her fist against the boulder of its body she had broken as it toppled down.

"VROOOM!"

Non-vital areas. Jackson told herself. Non-vital areas.

The Onix fell to the ground, kicking up dust and roaring. Jackson dashed toward the Rock-type and, just as she appeared right up against it, attempted to sweep beneath its tail with her leg. However, the Rock-type was quicker than she anticipated and bent its body away from her leg.

"Too fast," she told herself.

"Now use Dragon Breath!" Brock yelled.

The gargantuan Pokemon raised its head and released what appeared to be a silver gust of hot air from its mouth. It hit Jackson squarely from above, singing the tip of her fur before blowing her aside like a leaf in the wind. She flew into an opposing boulder before falling to its base and struggling to pick herself up before her arm muscles felt stiff, causing her to give way and fall back to the earth.

"Damn," she said. "I'm paralyzed."

{Sam}

Sam looked around, seeing he was in a totally different place. He was no longer in his old home town, no longer seeing it being destroyed. He looked around, remembering the crowd he was battling for.

"Sam," Cera said. "Are you feeling better?"

Sam looked down to see the Smoochum beside him, slowly remembering his old life at his old, familiar home was over. This was his new life, fighting and killing for a living with strangers he'd met only a few days ago.

"Sam!" she said. "Jackson's in trouble! She's fighting Onix and from what I could see she's losing!"

"Cera," he said. "Where's Leif, I thought he was fighting."

"Not anymore," Judeau said. "We had to return him to his Pokeball he was doing so poorly in battle."

Sam gritted his teeth, looking at the massive Rock-type as it swung its tail at Jackson. The boulders from the Rock Tomb had almost all been broken as the tail smashed apart every boulder it hit. What scared Sam was that, from as far as he could tell, Jackson was barely evading the Slam attacks, her feet only a few feet above where Onix's tail had just appeared. It looked as though her speed had decreased.

"Why is she moving so slowly?!" Sam asked. "She's a Mankey, she should be a lot more nimble than that!"

"I don't know," Judeau said. "But as far as I can tell it happened as soon as she was hit with a move that Brock called Dragon Breath."

"Dragon Breath?" Sam asked. "I…I think Professor Oak told us that move can paralyze Pokemon!"

"Oh, so you remember that but not my evolution," Judeau retorted. "Way to have some selective memory, kid."

"Should I go into battle?" Cera asked quickly. "I can super-effect Onix with a Powder Snow, it being a Ground-type."

"No," Sam said. "My plan with Leif was that he would hit those Rocks hard and fast with super-effective Grass attacks by utilizing his speed over their power. The reason that didn't work was because Onix are fast for Rock-types, and a well-trained one like Brock's has probably trained extensively to maximize that advantage. What Jackson needs to do is utilize her raw strength over Onix's."

"How?" Cera asked.

"Watch," he said. "Jackson!"

That caught her attention. Sam could see her jumping backwards into the air, waving back at him. The Onix rested its tail to the side, obviously tiring from swinging it so much. However, his Mankey looked just as tired.

"I need you stand still!" he yelled. "When Onix attacks with its Slam, you have to face its tail head on!"

Jackson apparently did as he said because she turned to face where its tail was resting.

"Onix, Dragon Breath!" Brock yelled.

Jackson jumped to the side, avoiding the gust of silvery air.

"Now use Slam!"

The Onix roared before it swiped at Jackson with his tail.

"Catch it!" Sam ordered.

The Mankey opened her arms wide as its thick tail it the front of her body, dragging her as she held on into one of the last remaining boulders from Rock Tomb. The rock shattered as Jackson's back slammed into it, her body obscured by a cloud of dust and stone chunks.

Please be alright. Sam thought. Please be alright.

As soon as the dust disappeared, he saw Jackson standing in the remaining rubble, holding onto the end of Onix's tail like it was for dear life. Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

{Jackson}

"Onix!" Brock yelled. "Move your tail!"

"VROM!"

It attempted to move its tail from her grasp but all Jackson did was cling on tighter. Jackson's arms were squeezing tightly against the end of the Rock-type's body, the rough boulders it was made of tearing slightly against her skin. Jackson's entire face was pressed tightly against the Onix's rough, dense skin, poking through her fur into her stomach and eye. As it attempted to move its body she gave it another squeeze, causing it to lose its balance as it couldn't stand without its tail being on the ground and toppled over.

"Damn it!" Brock yelled. "It can't move! Onix!"

"Now Jackson!" Sam yelled. "Throw it into the air!"

The Mankey held the end of the Onix's tail as hard as she could before taking its body and whirling it around in her arms. She did it for a revolution and a half before throwing its body upwards and letting go. It was quite a sight to see to see the Rock Snake Pokemon fly about ten, maybe twenty feet or so, before taking headfirst dive to the ground. When its enormous head crash-landed into the earth below such a loud rumble was let out from beneath it that knocked Jackson off her feet onto the ground. She stood back up, witnessing as it attempted to slightly lift its head up, before jumping onto a boulder to get a better view of Brock.

"You're Onix is dead," she replied.

He returned his Pokemon to its ball. The crowd began to roar with excitement at the defeat of their gym leader, raising a thunderous sound of applause. Brock walked from his position at the end of the arena to the middle, looking at Sam. He raised his arm, signaling for the crowd to quiet to which they obliged.

"The victory has been earned by Sam Turner of Pallet," Brock said. "If you would be so kind as to meet retrieve your gym badge, I'd be happy to give it to you."

{Sam}

Sam walked halfway to the battlefield, careful to step of the remains of shattered rocks. He arrived in front of his former opponent who held out a shiny piece of metal, colored gray in the shape of an octagon. The tired boy took into his hand before being handed very thick billfold of money.

"As battle I award you the two thousand dollars reward."

Sam stood stupefied at the statement. At most, he expected five hundred dollars, six hundred if he was lucky, but certainly not this much. He held the billfold of cash in his hand as though it were a child.

"Sorry I don't award as much as others," Brock said. "I know most gyms give more but my town is short on cash now."

Sam almost fainted at the statement, knowing this was actually a lesser reward. He immediately wanted to tell Brock he didn't expect a fifth the amount but he instead decided against it. If he did that would make him look foolish, like he didn't know better. He instead replied with a quick "thank-you". After stuffing his money in pocket on the inside of his bag, Brock also had the courtesy to hand Sam a disc held in a strong plastic case. Inside resided a disc that was labeled TM 39 on the front.

"It contains Rock Tomb," Brock said. "If you put it next to a Pokemon's head they may be able to use the information inside to learn how to use it. However, once a Pokemon learns Rock Tomb by using the electricity inside the disc, the TM can no longer be used."

"Thank-you," Sam replied.

{}

Sam sat on the edge of the bed, filing through the money he held. Honestly, his feelings were quite mixed. He was holding something he'd desired for so long, real money. Money enough to finally afford anything he wanted, spend it anyway he chose. He could have anything he wanted with this cash and, if he so chose, plan to buy a home with it. Sam had never seen so many dollars in a cluster in his entire life. The feeling of his fingers running across the tops of them filled him with a sort of giddiness that was almost childish.

However, in the back of his mind he had pushed back into a corner feelings that had caused him to feel uneasy. In their moment of need, just when his Pokemon were losing from an unexpected obstacle, he caved in to the pressure. He lost it. Sam because so enwrapped in his own memories he forgot everything around him existed, including his Pokemon that were putting their lives out there for him.

Sam had been told by Cera and Judeau how Jackson had to climb up his leg and return Leif, a job meant for a trainer. Then Jackson went out and fought that Onix on her own, having to rely upon herself without his aid. It was a low moment for him, having to have his Pokemon do everything and make all the decisions while Cera tended to him like an overprotective parent. In that moment, he was useless to Jackson, useless to Cera. Useless to everybody.

And it will happen again to. He thought. If it happened now, there's no telling when it would happen again. I let myself get distracted and nearly killed my only friends. I'm going to let them die, everyone sooner or later. Jackson, Cera, Leif… When I would go staring off into space and fail them so that they die. Just like I failed Mom. Just like I failed Grace.

He sniffled slightly at the thought.

I guess Judeau was right. He thought. I'm not fit to be a trainer. I'm not fit to be a leader and trying to help these guys to survive. I don't... he was right not to trust me. I don't have any merit and here I am using them all to help me survive like a manipulative sociopath. I…I wish I could apologize to him, tell him he's right. I…want Judeau to know he was right not to trust me.

"Sir."

Sam bolted out of his stupor, looking in front of him. He saw the nurse look at him with an annoyed scowl as she looked at him from the door. She was handing him his tray of Pokeballs while in the doorway.

"I came to give you your Pokemon," she said. "Seeing as how you just walked away I figured I should give them to you since you weren't going to take them."

He took the four Pokeballs from the tray, holding two in each hand.

"Oh," she said. "Sir, I can't be responsible for giving your Pokemon personally when I have other work to be doing. Please, don't do this again. Are we clear?"

Sam tensed up at her words, hating her just for saying that.

"Shut up."

She recoiled at his words.

"Excuse me?"

"Shut up," he said. "I'll have you know I won against your town's wimpy ass gym leader. I killed all his Pokemon and I enjoyed it and they makes me better than you. You bring me my Pokemon because I deserve to be treated that way, because you're my bitch."

The woman looked at him with a mix of fear and resentment, tears welling up in Sam's eyes.

"Get out of my face," he said before shutting the door in her face.

Sam went to go bury his face into his bed, almost as if he'd suffocate himself before looking back at his Pokemon through their transparent Pokeballs. They all had sleepy, almost peaceful expressions, as if inside the world of blood, danger, and despair was just a distant memory. Sam put his face to the balls, wetting Judeau's and Cera's with tears.

Let's keep it that way. Let's keep this world a memory. Let's never have anyone die or be lost along the way. Let's survive and stay together. Because we all sure as hell know that the world doesn't give a shit about us, that's for sure.

Sam took a while before he decided to let his Pokemon out. He placed their Pokeballs on his bedside for who knows how long, just trying to rub the tears out of his eyes. He went to the small bathroom allotted to him, doing his best to get the red out of from around his eyes. He found splashing water from the sink doing a decent job at it. He took a small hand towel to rub at his eyes, looking at himself in the mirror to calm himself.

Okay. He said. We're cool. We're cool. We are going to be cool. I can't let them see me like this. To them, what I did back there was just a fluke and they won't know any different. They won't because I won't let them know.

Sam sat down on the bed before stuffing the money back into his bag. He held the Pokeballs out, hanging his head low, not daring to look at them before positioning his fingers over the buttons.

"Come on out you guys," he said lowly.

Four beams of light flashed from the balls as the materialized in the small room in front of him. Cera, Judeau and Jackson all looked as though they'd just woken up from a long nap before staring up at him.

"Hey guys," Sam greeted with feigned enthusiasm. "Feeling rested?"

"Oh yeah," Jackson said. "We're doing better already. That healing trip sure hit the spot."

"Great," Sam said as he kept staring at the floor. "That's good to hear."

He looked back up at them, noticing for the first time Leif was lying on the floor, almost motionless except for his eyes that kept calmly looking back at Sam then to the wall.

"What's wrong with him?" Sam asked.

"I don't," Cera replied. "Maybe the Swagger is still having an effect on him."

"Could be," Judeau said. "Maybe being brought back to his Pokeball didn't work the way you though it would—"

"Aaahh!"

They all turned to see Leif had let out a short scream. His neck sprung up a few feet, his arms stretching to almost ridiculous lengths. His legs grew to, forced to be longer and more bent in shape with longer, wider more developed feet. Leif's once short, round snout elongated with the rest of his head into a more reptilian shape. His skin's chlorophyll-colored pigment turned a darker shade of green as his thick tail flattened and slimmed into leaf that split into two long fronds. From the back of his head grew a long, wispy leaf that looked like a blade of grass. Finally, around his wrists sprouted and grew three short leaves on each arm that sprung up like a knife's switchblade.

When the evolution was done with, Leif stood up on his newly powerful legs, almost as if he would spring into action on them at any moment. He looked up at them with his new slanted eyes.

"A…a Grovyle," Cera said.

"Never seen one of those," Jackson replied.

"What were you expected?" Judeau asked. "For him to become a Fire-type? How's it feel to be evolved?"

Leif looked down at his claw almost like a curious specimen.

"I don't know," he said. "It feels weird having become this. I thought I'd never evolve."

"Well you did," Sam replied. "Guess that's something to be proud of."

The Grovyle smiled back up at his trainer.

"Indeed it is," he said. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well," Leif replied. "We did just beat the gym leader of this town. If what Cera told is true and you accomplish to win money, where are we off to next?"

Sam laid back onto the bed, trying to think.

"Good point," he thought. "Where do we want to go?"

"What's nearest to here?" Cera asked. "Sam, you could check your Pokedex."

"How would that help us?" Sam asked.

"There's a map on it," Cera replied. "There's a little icon to the bottom right corner that looks sort of like a flag. You click on it and it'll show you a map you can view."

"Oh, thanks," Sam said as he pulled his Pokedex from his backpack.

He took it into his hands, doing as Cera had instructed him before enlarging and looking at the map. Judeau, Cera, Jackson and Leif all hopped on the bed beside him to look at the map displayed on the Pokedex's screen, trying to get a closer look at the screen. He found Pewter City pretty quick, a large dot on the screen where the labeled Viridian Forest surrounded it on all sides, except for what seemed to be a narrow mountainous valley not even a mile from its eastern border that continued to a large and wide mountain range. That narrow valley was labeled Route 3.

"I think we found out where we're going," Sam said.

"How can you be so sure?" Jackson asked.

"Not far from this town is some mountainous terrain that stretches to something called the Mount Moon mountain range," he said as he used his finger to drag it to a dot larger than the one that signified Pewter City. If we cross over those mountains in one of its less steep areas we'll arrive at a place called Cerulean City, a town I know for sure has a gym at it."

"How do we know this map is correct?" Judeau asked. "After all, it's not hard to figure it would get us lost."

"Actually it's pretty sound," Cera answered. "Since Professor Oak, the one who programmed the Dex, is a prolific researcher he usually works with all kinds of scientists and professionals from biologists to physicists. He's gathered information from plenty of topographers and, using the same kind of signal that updates a PC box, it updates these maps whenever new information crops up."

"So, this map is updating constantly from a wireless connection to Oak's lab?" Sam asked.

"Exactly," Cera assured. "Did you think Oak was sending to trainers out there without any kind of information?"

"I just didn't know the Dex could do that," Sam answered. "It'll be helpful from now on. We'll head out tomorrow because tonight we're getting some sleep."

His Pokemon all nodded.

{Judeau}

The Flaafy lay curled up at the foot of the bed similar to what he'd done last night. Cera dozed on a pillow on the bed while Jackson leaned against the bed's metal leg. Lief was using his leafy arm as a makeshift pillow as he fell asleep right outside the bathroom door. As sleepiness crept up on him, he felt tired thought amble their way into his mind.

Maybe I had been too hard on Sam. Judeau thought. I mean, from how I saw him order Jackson to fight he showed to be quite capable. As hairy as things get, I can't really blame Sam for not be totally cool under the threat of death every day. It wasn't his fault Jackson almost died back in the forest, I shouldn't hold it against him. It's not right of me. I—I'm sorry Sam. I was wrong. I…I hope you can forgive me being a smart-alecky grump while just doing your best.

{Sam}

The gates opened in front of him and his party for them to see the outside around him: nothing much more than barren earth with thick patches of grass. The five of them walked out of the way as the gates closed behind them. He was careful to lead himself and his Pokemon out of the city at a pace that wouldn't make them run into the carts beside them.

The wooden, wheeled carriers pulled by Ponyta and Rhyhorn strode beside them as they exited Pewter City. The early afternoon sun felt very good on Sam's eyes as he stared straight at the beaten path ahead of them that led to road down a far-off valley. There were many valleys that were in the side of the mountains in front of them, the carts pulled by Pokemon each being pulled into different ones. He looked to the side to see in the grass there was a bit of rustling coming up with the ends of tails and wings poking out at the top of the grass.

"Where are we going now?" asked Leif.

"That valley," Sam said as he pointed toward the ravine empty of driven carts. "Stay near me guys, I'm just a weak, defenseless human out in the harsh elements. You'll have to protect me."

"Eh," Judeau said as his fur began to spark up. "No problem. We got it."

They walked in relative peace up to the large, almost sheer slopes of the mountains on either sides of them. The ravine in between the slopes of the mountain was a bit unsettling to the boy who'd always grown up in flat farmland he wasn't used to the sight of large mountains to his side. It kind of made him long for home with his family back when his dad was around.

Sam often hated this kind of remembrance. It was a desire to go back to the past that triggered a sense of nostalgia of events he could do nothing to change yet crept up on him regardless. When he'd feel scared he'd often go back to those memories of when he was only a child. He remembered how back home before the war started and all the adults were dragged off to be made soldiers, the land around Pallet Town was actually pretty nice to look at. He could vaguely remember most of it as rows of freshly tilled farmland instead of the rough terrain of the field it was now. Since they were subsistence farmers with only a hundred or so living in town what excess they had they let the wild Pokemon feed off of in exchange for letting them use their land for farming. However, after only the age of ten or so, without anyone to till the fields, it had devolved into little more than the meadow it was today.

"Sam."

He snapped to attention, not realizing he had been lost in thought.

"What were you thinking about?" Judeau asked.

"Oh," Sam sighed. "Nothing. I guess I'm just scare of these cliffs, that's all."

"Maybe you should pull out that map of yours," Jackson said. "It'll help us navigate through here."

Sam did as she obliged and took his Pokedex out from his backpack, opening the map on it after flipping the screen on it up. The map predicted the way to the next town, very much farther westward, was a community only eleven to twelve miles away called Crater Town.

"It shouldn't be much more than roughly ten miles away," he said. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open for anything that tries to kill us."

"Speaking of things trying to kill us," Judeau said. "I haven't seen any wild Pokemon since we've arrived at this place. It's hard to tell but it doesn't appear there are any Pokemon around here. Or at least none I've seen."

"Yeah," Cera said. "Wilds usually swarm to attack humans. Why have they not appeared?"

"Well whatever it is let's just be glad we haven't seen any so far," Sam replied. "Could it be possible they know you guys are strong so they're not looking for a fight?"

"I don't think so," Jackson said. "In greater numbers they're more likely to take their chances. It's not likely they'd be too afraid of Pokemon they've barely seen to attack."

Now that they'd mentioned how there was so little movement the silence around Sam became eerie to a fault. They walked down the path in front of them until they came to a rough spot where a ridge blocked there path, forcing them to climb up to reach separate part of the mountain. It went on like this for a while, walking in a bit of quiet while climbing some small ridges, traveling along the spine of a small, branching hillside without much going on as Judeau began picking up a bit of a conversation.

"Yeah, well back home, before we had to leave, I used to climb mountains like this with my herd from time to time," he'd go on. "I'll admit it was kind of fun when we'd walk for miles on end being so high up. I always thought it made sweet grass that was there all the more better."

"Sounds nice," Cera said. "How close were you to most everybody in your herd?"

"Some," Judeau said. "Most in my immediate family. I was one of the middle children. We Mareep and Flaafy usually have several mates though, so I got used to having other siblings. I hate to say it though but a lot of my siblings looked down upon whoever was younger, usually because they felt they'd take away from the greater supply of food. I tried keeping up with the younger of my brothers and sisters but whenever they'd get in trouble usually it'd only be my mother, me or a younger one to help out. I had two siblings who died because the older ones just didn't give single shit about them, kind of wanted them to die."

"I'm sorry about that," Cera replied. "That sounds awful."

"Yeah," Judeau said. "And it didn't get any better when we came over here. Those generationals treated us like shit."

"Generationals?" Cera asked.

"It's a term for Pokemon who were born in the environment they lived in," Jackson explained. "As opposed to newcomers, Pokemon who left their old land for a new one."

"Oh," Cera replied. "Like how Judeau left with his herd to Kanto."

"Right," Jackson answered. "Generationals and newcomers usually were at each other's throats from where I came from. Most of them come over from Johto and there was just too many to have enough space, water and food. There isn't much you can do, regardless."

The five of them stepped down from the small spine of the hill to walk onto flatter land where the mountainous hills were more spaced out.

"Where to go now?" Cera asked.

"The map said to keep heading directly west," Sam said.

"I thought I saw other paths that went along paved roads," Leif said. "Shouldn't we take those?"

"Those are for the carts you saw earlier," Sam replied. "Crater Town shouldn't be much farther ahead."

"Wait, Sam-!"

Leif was interrupted by figures appearing from the mountains around them. Sam looked around to see humans in gray rags, similar in color to those worn by the trainers at Pewter City. They descended the slopes of the mountains, their Pokemon to their sides. Sam counted quickly, noting there were eight in total. One boy with a Surskit to his side approached Sam.

"What do you want?" Sam asked.

"We need payment," the boy, who couldn't have been more then nineteen, said. "Otherwise we won't be protecting you from the wilds any longer."

"Protecting us?" Cera asked.

"Why do you think no one gets attacked on these roads?" a girl snarled at the Smoochum. "It's because we're putting out lives at stake to make you travelers feel safe."

"So now you're going to give each of us at least ten dollars," a twelve-year old said. "Or we'll this particular path for you to fend for yourselves."

"No!" Sam said to the older boy. "That's unfair! You can't just leave us here at the mercy of the wild!"

"We will if we choose so!" a Pidgey at the girl's side said.

"If you don't have much we'll take some food instead," a woman in her twenties said. "Bread if you have some."

Sam glared them all down.

"How about we put that up to a test," Sam replied. "A battle, with my Pokemon versus yours. Fair?"

"Sure," the nineteen-year old said. "We'll do this with double battles! Two at a time, all of us get to fight."

"So be it," Sam replied.

{}

The battles went by fairly quickly. Cera knocked most of the Bug-types out with Powder Snow while Jackson beat back everybody with either a Scratch or a Karate Chop. Sam mostly sat back as the two of them near-effortlessly curb-stomped the opposing Pokemon. The only time Sam had to do any real strategizing was when the oldest boy's Nincada threw so much sand in Jackson's eyes she couldn't see any more to which Leif was thrown in to finish it with a Quick Attack.

After an hour or so when the fighting was finally finished Sam put the money back into his pack, the pocket the cash was stored in becoming fat with dollar bills. However, he barely registered the joy of seeing more money as his opponents around him glared back at him, begrudgingly acknowledging their loss. They seemed to bore holes in him with their eyes.

"What?" Sam demanded. "You accepted the battle. Now not only do none of us have any protection from the wild Pokemon but you lost money."

"You idiot," the twenty-year old said. "Our Pokemon are weak because we have to replace them so often. They die from all the violence and fighting they go through, giving us almost no time to train them."

"That's not my fault," Sam spat out. "You should have thought of that before ambushing us like you did. Now move out of my way."

The trainers did so only begrudgingly as Sam shoved them out of his way, his Pokemon flanking his sides. After he was in safe distance of the trainers he sat down on the slope of one of the many small ridges, looking towards the horizon. There wasn't much day left, the sun beginning to peek in the late afternoon sky.

"Great," he said. "We lost daylight from that fight with those bullies."

He sighed before turning to his Grovyle.

"Leif," Sam ordered. "Go find another path through these valleys. See which was is the safest so long as it leads in the direction we were going."

"I understand," Leif replied. "I'll scout out to see if there are any Pokemon nearby while I'm at it."

He departed in a leap. Sam took out his canteens while pulling some food out from his pack.

"We'll stop to rest while he's at it," the trainer replied. "I hate to admit it, but those asses may have been telling the truth. They may have been what stopped other wilds from killing our asses."

Cera took some of the meat Sam had bought from Pallet into her stubby arms, stuffing into her mouth in a hurry. Judeau took a bite of some of the cabbage Sam scraped out of the containers. Jackson, however, didn't seem to be hungry.

"Sam," she said. "I think I saw you maybe the angriest I can remember back there. Are…are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said while stuffing his face with dried meat. "It's these kinds' of bullies I grew up with back in Pallet. They're meaner and use it to their advantage to push others around."

"But is that really necessary?" Jackson asked. "For you to act this way?"

"Why should we care?" Sam asked. "We're always getting pushed around, what does having an attitude matter?"

The Mankey shook her head.

"To be fair though," Judeau said. "They were acting like jerks before he was."

"Not necessarily a good justification," Cera replied.

"Does it really matter?" Sam asked. "If I push back all it means is that they won't think we're spineless. Besides, we have other things to worry about."

"Honestly that does sound kind of childish," Cera said.

Sam made an aside glare to her.

"Anyway," Jackson said. "I think we're wasting daylight. Leif may not find a very safe route like we want him to. I'm fast so I may be able to quickly go ahead of you guys, looking out for wilds and you three can follow me. If I find anything dangerous, I'll turn tail and run and you guys will already be ahead."

"Sounds like a good idea," Sam said as he stood up. "But won't Leif miss us?"

"I don't think so," Jackson said. "After witnessing his agility and keen sight firsthand in sparring matches, I think he'd be able to find us just find without knowing our exact location. Also, I think he prefers the time alone."

"How do you figure the second part?" Cera asked.

Jackson sighed and shrugged in reply.

"Just doesn't seem to be the touchy-feely type if you ask me."

"Makes sense," Judeau said. "Unlike the rest of us, we have no idea of Leif's background. That girl said she found his ball in the dirt as though someone had tried burying him. It makes sense for a trainer who didn't want him to abandon him and, as a result, Leif doesn't like getting close to others."

They all sighed at the thought before Jackson jumped onto a ridge of one of the slopes and started climbing forward. Sam and his other two Pokemon followed her.