I woke up early that morning. It was quite unusual of me, especially without an alarm clock. It took me a second to figure out why, then I got excited. 'My first Gym fight. My first serious fight.' I had a quick breakfast, I was too nervous to overeat. I was about to leave the building when I turned around noticing July sitting at a table in the corner, where she was crying on the phone.

I looked at her for a while, not knowing if saying something would be rude. After a while she sniffed and wiped her face with a handkerchief. 'Maybe I'm intruding, but still...' I thought as I approached. "Are you ... okay July?" I asked with some hesitation.

July looked at me from her side and shook her head. "I suppose saying yes would be a pretty stupid lie, right?" She said trying to smile as more tears rolled down her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked again. July looked embarrassed for a second, then she nodded.

"Yesterday I went to the gym and ... I lost." She said. She noticed my puzzled look and then quickly continued, "Come on, I'm not one to get angry enough to cry if I lose, especially the next day. The thing is ... I lost to one of the candidates to get the Pokédex. And he said some things that were... true, maybe, but not nice." She said and stopped a few times to think. Obviously there was something else too, but I didn't want to press her too hard to try to solve the problem.

I decided to talk to her instead, see if she had anything to say, "July, listen. I've known you for how long, three days? I don't know much about you. I could say you're a good person, but that ends there." I held up her hand to keep her from replying "But Andrew says you're a good person too, and he's known you since you were little."

"How do you know?"

"He talks. A lot." I said and July chuckled, "But listen, Professor Oak would never pick failures, am I right? He had a hundred candidates for the Pokédex and he chose YOU. And remember, this is a project he really cares about. Do you think he would risk giving it to a random trainer, just because she is friends with his grandson?"

July swallowed, holding back tears. Then she nodded. "Raziel, I need advice on something ..." She explained her problems with Bulbasaur to me. The fact that she didn't obey her from day one, how Bulbasaur had won relentlessly ... until she didn't, losing without ever hitting the enemy a single time.

"Now I'm worried about her. It may have been difficult, but she ... she is my starter. I wish she could be my friend. You ... Do you think there is something I can do? "

I thought. No, I didn't have an answer. After all, we had about the same experience as trainers. But ... "July, if you are so incompatible, then why is she still with you?"

July looked at me puzzled "What do you mean?"

"I mean, although Poké Ball are quite complex items, it's not impossible for a Pokémon to flee if they don't want to be trained, and from what you told me, I understand that you fight with her often. She could have tried to escape. Instead, Bulbasaur always fought for you, albeit in her own way …" I shook my head "I don't know, maybe I'm trying to read too much into it, but it doesn't seem like the kind of Pokémon that would stay with you if she really wanted to leave. Maybe you can try to convince her to collaborate with you, instead of doing everything alone? " Then I got up. "Good luck July, that's all I can tell you. I'm sorry I can't help you more. "

We said goodbye and I left, leaving her alone.

-x-

July thought. She had not considered that, but it was true. Why was Bulbasaur still with her? She had multiple opportunities to leave, as July often kept her out of the Poké Ball, even at night when the girl was asleep. Bulbasaur was strong enough to run in the wild if she wanted to. She might have set up a den in the Viridian Forest, run back to Oak's Lab, even back to her breeders. So why was she still with her?

She took the Ball in her hand and opened it. Bulbasaur looked downcast. She had been since the evening before, after the nurse had brought her back from the healing machine. It was clear her defeat had stung hard. And it also made July realize something else: she was sad at seeing her like this. "She might not like me, and I might not think she is perfect, but this is wrong. She is just not this kind of Pokémon. This is a mess."

Back at the Academy, they would often talk about how to deal with defeat. How it was not the end but just a miss, something you could always get back from. But clearly Bulbasaur would have disagreed.

July began to pat her gently on the head. At first, the reptile looked dumbfounded, but surprisingly she didn't try to stop her trainer.

"You know, you have been quite hard on me, but I see you act even harder on yourself." She said. The Bulbasaur now scoffed, trying to act tough. She still did not stop the Trainer. For the first time, July realized something about Bulbasaur: She held a high standard for herself as well. She had thought the Pokémon was just acting like that against her, but it was clear that wasn't the case. "She probably never faulted me for losing. I bet she spent the night faulting this failure on herself." Which was true, she supposed, but… No, it was also her fault. A better trainer would have done more to calm her temper before it came to that fight. In fact, she had thought losing was the only way to calm her down. "Nice trainer I am…"

"Listen, I don't know if you can take this in right away, but listen. It wasn't only your fault for that defeat. It wasn't only mine either. We both made mistakes. I pretended to ignore the problem, you acted like that. We both failed." Bulbasaur looked up at her "Let's start over, shall we?" She asked.

The Bulbasaur didn't do much. She just sat there, looking like she was thinking about the whole situation, accepting the gentle pats on her head. And July felt that maybe, maybe, things would have gone a little better from then on.

-x-

"So, are you ready?" Copycat asked once the two returned from their usual training.

Darren smiled proudly. "You can tell, we've made great progress and I think we're both ready." Mark, much less convinced, nodded "We also went to everyone to greet them since we will leave the gym." Darren continued.

"Everyone huh?" She looking and walking away "So I guess Doddy and I are nobody."

"I meant everyone…" he tried to find an excuse to correct himself, then looked at Mark. "From Mark's father's Dojo. You know, after the course and the kindness shown by Koichi's students. " He replied following her and ignoring Mark's surprised face. "So, what are you going to do Copycat? Will you continue to take the theater course despite everything? "

"Yup. I will be the greatest actress in the world, also better than Diantha. " She said with a smile. Her voice changed to perfectly mimic that of the actress in question, a Kalos celebrity that both trainers knew, especially since she was an Elite Four, and Darren especially for a couple of movies of her that her friend had him shown. But Copycat had always had a soft spot for international cinema, so he probably knew her much better than they did. "Anyway, here we go. Home sweet home ... at least for a little while longer. "

"So your parents eventually sold it?" Mark asked. Copycat's house was on the outskirts of the city, a beautiful little building. Probably better than Darren's house.

"I mean, the Super train is a fantastic idea. Once completed we will be able to reach Johto without needing a ship or crossing the Blue Plateau. I just wish they didn't have to build it where our home is. " She said with a sigh, "Well, there's no need to add a sore point as we say goodbye. Wait here, I'll go get Doddy and Chansey. " She continued, and then ran into the house.

The two waited. They and Copycat had been friends since they were children, but now they would be apart for a long time. It was ... sad, in a way, but she had her dream to come true and the boys had theirs. As they thought, she walked out of the house followed by a Doduo and a Chansey. Darren and Mark smiled, and gently stroked the two Pokémo and Chansey began to dangle happily when Mark stroked her head. Doduo then turned to them and cackled a "Bye!"

"The first time you did it, I almost had a heart attack." Mark said with a chuckle

"How did you know that Doddy could do it? I haven't found a single text that said anything about it. " Darren then asked.

Copycat shrugged. "I have no idea. I was practicing for the drama club and he repeated one of my lines. He scared the shit out of me. "

Darren nodded. He knew that even Professor Oak had come a time or two to hear Doddy speak. It had been quite a sight in the beginning, before the news was forgotten once it was realized that he wasn't really talking, but just repeating the phrases someone was saying near him. However, for many scientists this opened up the possibility that many other birds might express themselves in some way. Apparently the Chatots, originally from Sinnoh, were the best at this.

"Anyway, I think it's time to say goodbye." Copycat said, taking a small envelope "Here, a gift for your journey."

Darren and Mark did the same "And this is for your career." Darren said. Obviously, they had agreed to exchange gifts, but they were happy nonetheless.

Darren and Mark opened their respective package, and it was just what they expected. A disc with "Mimic" written on it with a red marker and under "TM 31". They both smiled.

"I am sure you will make good use of it. Certainly more than me. " She said, "Take care of it, rumor has it that the second generation of TMS is in production and that it will not contain Mimic."

The two nodded as Copycat opened her gift. She widened her eyes as she read the title. "The Ice Mask Collection ... How did you find it? It went out of production after the accident on the set three years ago! "

Darren and Mark smiled "It's a secret." They had actually spent the day before looking for a movie that the girl didn't own, until they learned that Koichi and Darren's father had several films from that collection, and they managed to get them all. They asked if they could give them away and both parents agreed. Koichi wasn't a big fan of movies in general, while Darren's dad never liked the Ice Mask movies too much.

The three smiled and hugged each other "I'll miss you Copycat." They both said.

"You two too." She replied "Good luck with your trainer career."

"Good luck to you with your acting career." Mark answered.

"Send us a ticket for your first movie." Darren said with a wink. The three laughed and greeted each other.

-x-

"All right, gym challenge, gym challenge ..." I thought as I walked across the field with Gastly by my side. I had just defeated one of Brock's trainee. A trainer named Liam with a Geodude, which Gastly got the better of. Of course, I healed my Pokémon after the battle was over, since no rules forbade it.

I didn't run into any other trainer of my level, although some skilled trainers from western Kanto stopped me to make sure they didn't have to face me. Eventually I passed the field.

"Welcome." Said the brown-haired man sitting on one side of the arena. He was shirtless, his abs glistened with sweat, and he was drinking what appeared to be an energy drink. His eyes were two almost completely closed slits. "I'm Brock, the Gym Leader with the rock-solid defense. I assume you are a challenger."

I nodded "Y-yes, that would be my first challenge ..."

"Yes I imagine." He said with a smile, "Well, you have to be a good trainer if you've made it this far. Did you run into any of my trainee?"

"Yes, Liam."

"Oh, a tough guy. Yes, I think I will like this fight. " He said standing up and closing the energy drink. "Two against two for the Boulder Badge."

"I only have one Pokémon, so it would be two against one." I answered, Brock nodded and pointed to the opposite side of the arena.

I took a deep breath and started walking "Well, let's see if I can do it ..."

-x-

Raziel and Gastly stared at the Gym Leader, as they walked to their position on their side of the arena surrounded by rock. Brock grabbed a towel and cleaned himself of the sweat and then put on an orange shirt resting on a rock, then prepared two Poké Ball. He quickly put the second one on his belt and threw the first on the field. Geodude prepared himself, apparently shadow boxing.

Gastly entered the field. 'More rock licking? Dammit, tastes like dirt.' He thought looking at the Geodude, still shadow boxing.

"Uhm… Hello?" He said, staring awkwardly at the Geodude.

"Oh, you are approaching me?"

"I… What?"

"Instead of running away, you are coming right to me?" The Geodude asked, preparing himself for the fight by taking a stance.

"Uh… Ok I am not gonna question this." He said. The Gym Leader gave the start and Gastly darted forward. "By the way, yes, I am approaching you."

"Oh-oh, then come as close as you like." The Geodude replied, before throwing a punch. The Rock Throw missed when Gastly phased through it and stared at Geodude right in the eyes.

"Thanks friend, I will." He said, replying with Night Shade. The usual darkness enveloped Geodude, who took a step back, shaken, before jumping back on the offensive.

"Gastly, watch out for the rocks!" His trainer called. Gastly kept his eyes on Geodude "What rocks?"

At that moment Geodude shattered the ground and started throwing rocks at him. "Oh those rocks." He said, dodging one and phasing through another.

"No one can deflect this 20 meters Emerald Splash!" The Geodude shouted, launching a barrage of Rock Throw. Gastly phased through most and dodged the others, though one hit him square in the face. He closed his eyes reflexively, even though the rock came out from his body once he phased again.

"Now, three things." Gastly replied darting forward "I don't need to deflect it. It's not 20 meters. And those are just rocks." He said, dodging the last rock and hitting with Lick. The raised hand of the Geodude went limp. The Pokémon quickly curled covering his eyes with the remaining arm and rolled to the side, preparing to dodge the Night shade, but instead Gastly Licked again. The remaining arm went similarly down, paralyzed, and Gastly smiled.

"Road Roller da." He whispered, staring right in his eye with Night Shade. And Geodude's sight went dark.

-x-

Brock observed the arena "I have the impression that we missed something in that fight." He said recalling Geodude.

I agreed. Gastly was a talkative fighter, and not knowing what he was saying always annoyed me.'How I wish there was a way to understand Pokémon.' Brock picked up his second Ball.'Ok, what will it be? An Omanyte? The other fossil? Or ... ' Then an Onix crashed into the field, roaring defiantly.

"Of course..." I mumbled, looking at the nearly 28-foot snake staring at Gastly. "Ok Gastly... Dodge!"

The tail of the Onix snapped forward, like a giant stone whip, assuming it was Rock Throw. Gastly avoided it by rising high, almost at the height of the Snake Pokémon's neck.

I ordered a Lick, but I knew it would barely damage Onix. Maybe if I had been lucky I could have paralyzed his neck and brought home the victory, but ...

'I have to do it.' I thought. I didn't like winning like that, but I didn't have much of a choice. "Gastly, knock it down!"

Gastly nodded and levitated upward, dodging a headbutt that was probably another Rock Throw. Then I noticed the Pokémon's tail.

"Behind you, phase!" I screamed. Gastly looked back and screamed, managing to fade just in time before the flurry of stones that the Pokémon had caused by hitting the ground with its tail could hit him. Then he smiled and stared into the Pokémon's eyes.

The Onix closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Gastly crouched down and used Night Shade.

"I thought it would only work if the Pokémon has its eyes open." Brock commented observing Onix.

"No." I replied, "Eye contact facilitates everything, but it is enough to even make contact with the attack to cause the target to be damaged by the energy resulting from the terrifying hallucinations it causes based on their worst fears. Ghosts are truly amazing creatures. So if the victim is asleep he can still be subdued by Night Shade. "

As if to confirm this, a dark shadow enveloped Onix's head. The Pokémon groaned, but did not wake up. Night Shade hit the Pokémon again. It's still.

I was surprised. It seemed that the Pokémon simply refused to go down, and Brock didn't seem worried at all. Then Onix woke up, his tail arched and hit Gastly on the side with another Rock Throw.

"Damn." I said "Okay Gastly, he's weakened, now we just have to take him down!" I screamed. Gastly nodded - or glanced quickly at the ground, hard to tell - as Onix leapt forward and then disappeared underground. "WHAT?!" I screamed harder. I knew the Onix could do it, but why? A Gengar's Levitation was unreliable, but a Gastly's wasn't. "Gastly, go high enough it won't be able to reach you." Gastly nodded and levitated upward until he reached a height of over ten meters, more than enough to be out of Onix's reach. Brock was simply cracking his knuckles and stamping one foot on the ground, without the slightest concern.

Then Onix emerged from a rock on the side, coming about three feet below Gastly.

"What?" I asked when the serpentoid emerged roaring arching its back to rotate.

"Onix isn't like its evolution, but it's tough enough to dig through stone." Brock explained "Rock Throw."

Onix spun in mid-air, its tail cutting the side of the rock it was coming out of, while the stones flew in the direction of a stunned Gastly. The Pokémon was hit a couple of times, while Onix landed on the field, somewhat disoriented for some reason.

-x-

Gastly grunted as both rocks hit him in the face, throwing him back.

"Your next line is: 'Was this your plan from the start?'" The Onix shouted.

"Was this… Arceus dammit shut up! Are all Gym Pokémon like you two?" He asked, darting down.

"Night Shade, Quick." Shouted Raziel. He nodded. If the big guy disappeared underground, he was probably going to lose the next time.

He moved down and jumped right in front of the Onix, preparing to use Night Shade. It was a risky move to stay that close to his face, but there was no way he could…

Then Onix opened his mouth and a barrage of rocks flew out.

-x-

Onix eat rocks. This is what I remembered. This allowed the Pokémon to dig faster, which made it very popular with farmers and other burrowing Pokémon.

"And I completely forgot ..." I said, as the stones came out of his mouth in Gastly's direction. I gritted my teeth, now ready to see my partner fall to the ground, with his Poké Ball already in hand.

Instead Gastly simply advanced, taking a stone full in the face, but still managing to execute Night Shade. Onix roared in panic, then fell to the ground.

For a few minutes there was only a dead silence. Then Brock started laughing. At first softly and slowly, then he burst into a thunderous laugh that rang throughout the Gym.

"Excellent, excellent. This is what I call a rock-solid defense! " He said, "You really surprised me. I thought that last attack was decisive, but what does he do? He gets a boulder in the face and then uses Night Shade! Ah, this was a worthy challenge!" He said he, then put his hand on his belt, looking for something, and finally took out the Badge and took a container with a disk.

He advanced, and I did the same. We met in the middle of the field, and the Gym Leader smiled. "Really well done, boy. Here, this is the reward for your victory. The Boulder Badge. This glittering trophy will remind you of your victory against Brock, the Gym Leader with the rock-solid defense, a testament to your strength and stamina today proved equally great. In addition to TM Bide as a tribute to the victory. " The Gym Leader smiled. "Two against one and you came out the winner anyway, with no type advantage. Really remarkable." He added.

"Th-thanks." I said stammering for a second. "May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, my friend."

"How did he tell Onix where to jump from? He was clearly ready to target Gastly, so ... "

Brock nodded. "Unfortunately I can't answer the question. This is part of one of the trump cards of the Gym Leader here, unlike the tactic itself. I guess you don't watch most of the fights in Gyms in the League channels. "

I nodded. I only watched a few battles that were televised, but obviously most of them were against trainers with seven badges or some special events, such as Gym Leader fights. I usually just watched the League.

"Well, suffice it to say that many people ask me the same question, but I can't really answer without revealing the work behind one of my aces." He explained to me.

"I see. Thank you anyway. "

"Oh no, thank you for your excellent fight. Hope to see you and your Pokémon on television soon. I will keep the video of our challenge as a souvenir! "

I was sure he was just trying to be nice, but I smiled anyway as I said goodbye to the Gym Leader and left, my heart was beating wildly "I did it."

-x-

Raziel left the gym and Gastly followed him. His trainer was so excited he had even forgotten to put him back inside his Poké Ball. "Thanks dude, is not like I got hit by five rocks square in the face or anything." Gastly thought. Then he thought back at the fight.

He had not expected to be able to hold against that last barrage. No one would have expected him to do that. So how come he had done it? 'I won.' He thought. The full realization was still hitting him. He had won against the Onix.

He sighed in relief. And then started falling down. "Ah shit, my spiritual adrenaline…" He mumbled, before his sight went dark.

He felt himself recalled in the Ball at the last second and smiled.

-x-

Andrew was sitting on a rock, thinking, looking at his team. Charmander was running around the field, playing with some Rattata he had somehow befriended after beating it. Spearow was resting on a tree nearby. And he was ... "Trying desperately to find a way to win this damn fight."

He had spent days training, and yet he was just not sure what he could actually do. Charmander and Spearow had no real moves against a Rock-type. 'Ground, Grass, Water, Fighting ... Easy to say, pity I can't actually use any of those.' He thought. 'And then there is the issue of an attack. If either of them gets hit twice at best, I am done for. No, I ... Dammit!' He thought punching the rock. He flinched, immediately regretting the choice to do so.

He had felt pretty confident just the day before, but then he had met a trainer with a Geodude. Not even one particularly strong, and yet the guy had almost beaten Charmander, winning only because the Rock-type's defense was a bit lacking and his Pokémon had managed more hits. But that would never be the case for someone that boasted a Rock-solid defense.

He looked at his Pokémon, Spearow had just resumed training after resting perched on a branch, while Charmander had defeated yet another Rattata, then noticed a rock, and decided to try something.

He told Charmander to attack the rock with Ember, until it started to have a reddish color from the heat. At that point he ordered a Scratch and… nothing… the Pokémon's claws barely scratched the rock.

'Well ... at this point I can only count on the power and continue to train them hoping that they outperform Brock's first badge Pokémon.' He thought, even if that could also mean falling behind the others ... Sure he could skip Brock for now and face him later, but the idea of continuing the journey without badges while the others would already have one made him feel uncomfortable 'And already I was forced to skip Viridian City.'

He remained engrossed in his thoughts as he continued to watch, with little hope now, as his Pokémon train to hit the rock.

Until he heard a metallic sound. He noticed Charmander and Spearow in amazement, then began to make noises of delight. Intrigued, Andrew walked up to them and it was there that he noticed that Charmander had left obvious claw marks on the rock.

'But ... Scratch couldn't do that.' He thought incredulously ... and yet ... the proof was right there in front of him, and he was sure that Kanto's Charmander specimens would not normally learn moves that could do such a thing of course.

He grabbed the Pokédex and started looking at his Charmander's data, and when he read his moves his eyes widened.

"Maybe we can do it instead." He said smiling proudly.

-x-

July looked at the museum. She had figured it was better to give Bulbasaur a bit longer to process, so she had decided to give a visit to the Pewter Museum. The Grass-type was walking behind her, deep in thought. Truth be told, the girl was deep in thought too, but she knew she needed time to calm down. And who knew, maybe they could have bonded a bit.

She looked at the exposed fossils. The two bigger ones showed a Kabutops and an Aerodactyl, skeletons millions of years old. 'Damn, those must have been quite big.' She thought. The idea that prehistoric Pokémon could now be resurrected from Fossils was astounding, too bad that only Kabuto, Omanyte and Aerodactyl fossils could be found in Kanto

In addition to the two skeletons, there were also images depicting the living Pokémon with their original appearance. The images of Omastar and Kabutops were a representation of the artist based on 'a now lost fossil', according to the description, while that of Aerodactyl was based on its Mega Evolution, which experts agree to be what the Pokémon originally looked like. without the alterations due to the resurrection. She wondered if the Pokédex could take a picture and load it into the system. 'The Professor is many things, but not an electronics expert. He probably should have hired someone else for a similar function.' She thought pointing it at the Kabutops fossil. Instead of showing Kabutops, the screen showed the image with the text MissingN°.

'As I imagined, it cannot identify it.' She noted.

July sighed and proceeded. The rest of the museum was full of less impressive fossils. An entire exposition was dedicated to those discovered by Brock.

The top floor was divided in two. On one side, a space exposition. She looked at it. Meteors, a diorama of the Moon landing, and more stuff of that kind. She had never been interested in fossils, so she moved to the following room.

Here, she found an exposition on ancient civilizations. The oldest thing was a depiction of what appeared to be some sort of giant shining flower. People around it were… worshiping it… or maybe begging it for mercy? Hard to say.

Most of the exposition focused on the Legendary Birds. Those had lived in Kanto and Johto since ancient times, and there was a rich iconography on them. She stared at a ten feet tall statue of Moltres, wondering if the real Pokémon was that impressive.

"Admiring my family collection, miss?" A voice asked from behind. She turned around to find herself face to face with what would have been the most stereotypical depiction of an archeologist she could think of, like he was a try-hard cosplayer of Orre Jones minus the whip. From the hat to the brown jacket, down to the shoes. The only difference was that this man had long brown hair and was about five years older, if she had to guess.

"Your… family collection?" She asked.

"Indeed. Colby Speadgey, at your service. And no, the name is not made up."

"I have friends named Red, Leaf and Blue, I can believe it. Some families have peculiar tastes. My name is July Touki. I think the name is a corruption of Juliet, or something like that. Anyway, what do you mean your collection?"

"I come from a long line of Trainer Archeologists, researchers in the history of humans and Pokémon. And once upon a time, archeologic research used to be a bit more 'grab what you can and keep it or sell it' and a lot less 'this stuff needs to be put into a museum'. In recent years, my family has gifted most of our artifacts to the Pewter Museum. You are looking at them right now." He said, his smile going ear to ear as he explained.

"I see." July said "That's quite amazing. But, Trainer Archeologists? You mean…"

The man smiled and opened the left side of his jacket, showing a shining Boulder Badge. "Indeed, we are both. That's why now that I am freshly graduated from my Archology course, I am taking the League challenge." He said proudly.

July nodded, but she didn't know what else to say. That was when Colby Speadgey – what a surname – continued "So, the Bulbasaur is yours?" He asked, pointing at the Grass Pokémon. She nodded again.

"Great Pokémon. I have always been envious of Pallet. Pewter gives you a Poison or Flying-type at graduation. That's how I got Idol." He said, opening a Pokéball. A Golbat flew out of it and immediately perched herself on the Moltres statue.

"Idol come down from that statue!" He shouted, but Golbat remained perched on it.

"Damn it." He sighed "We have never been… on the best of terms. At first I remember she wouldn't even listen to me in combat, as ashamed as I am to admit it."

July looked at Bulbasaur "Tell me about it. So… how did you solve that problem?"

"Honestly? It kind of happened. Idol lost a bunch of fights we took during university, and started to understand that working with me was better than working against me. I don't think there was any real trick to it." He replied. Idol scoffed, clearly unhappy about the comment, but she did not move. "If you are having similar problem, I can only suggest patience."

July nodded "So, are you going to Cerulean next?"

"No, with Viridian's Gym closed, I plan to fly to Cinnabar. I have been there on vacation once or twice, my Pokémon know the way." He said.

July thought about what she knew of Cinnabar "Fire-Type Gym? I don't think I'd want to take it on any time soon."

"Ahahah, yeah, I suppose so. Well, good luck for your Gym Challenge then." He said, smiling and walking away "And don't worry too much. Humans and Pokémon are meant to live together, we did so since long before Poké Balls. That's what history teaches us. Work with her, and she will work with you." And saying so, he walked off "Farewell July, hope we met again." Idol sighed and then took flight, following him outside.

July pondered what he had told her and smiled. "I guess he is right." She turned to Bulbasaur "So what do you say, want to try the Gym again?" She asked. Bulbasaur thought for a moment, then nodded. July sighed in relief, and started walking, clenching her fists. 'I can do this.' She thought.

-x-

Darren stared at his belt. Six Poké Balls, plus all the others he had just deposited on his PC.

"Let's see." He said touching them one by one 'Here I have ... well, Free, Peat, Apachai, Tuffball, Erica, Guard ... Yeah, and with the others in the PC they should all be.' he thought 'Too bad he only found two that didn't want to evolve. I guess it's true that the strange ones are rare.' he continued.

"You have done?" Mark asked sitting on one of the tables of the Pokémon Center, clearly bored and with his Machop sitting too, despite the short stature of his species.

Darren nodded. "Yes, I think I have chosen the best for this challenge."

"Well ... at least one of us has more options ..." Mark mulled softly, still visibly nervous and worried.

"Take it easy. It will go great. We also trained one more day just to make you feel safer. " Then he opened three Poké Balls, and the Pokémon inside jumped out. The first was his starter Butterfree, named Free, his Pidgey Peat and his Jigglypuff, Tuffball, who smiled and walked over to get his head stroked. "Okay guys, I'd say we found all the friends we wanted and trained enough. Now the gym is waiting for us, ready? " He asked as he gently stroked Tuffball, who gave a small smile of satisfaction. The other Pokémon nodded, and did what they could to find challenges.

Darren opened his book. It was an old tome, written by Professor Fuji and Professor Oak years ago. A lot of information in it, which listed the biology of Pokémon, was defined partially incorrect or simplistic, but it was that book that made him choose the path to become a trainer. He had read a hundred times the text written by Professor Fuji to perfection. "Many men have dreamed of finding and befriending all the Pokémon in our vast world. 'Catching them all' is still a cherished dream for many. And maybe one day someone will succeed. " He read "I will, Professor. I will succeed. I'll catch every species of Pokémon in the world! " He said he enthusiastically.

"Including the Legendaries?" Mark asked.

"EXCLUDING the Legendaries!" He corrected himself by putting emphasis on that 'excluding'.