It was late afternoon in a forested part of Route 14, with the sun starting to think of setting, as five young travelers began to grow weary after a full day of walking. A debate broke out amongst them about whether they should stop and set up camp.

"It's not even dusk yet," Ash remarked, glancing up at the sky. "I bet we could go another hour, at least. Maybe two."

"Two more hours?" Madison responded from behind him, her disappointment and sore feet coming through clearly in her voice.

"Well, we don't want to be late making it to Laverre City."

"We can still make it even if we stop soon," Serena replied. "We have time, and it's not that far. We're not in the same rush as when we were traveling to Lumiose City."

"We don't really have much of a schedule at all anymore, do we?" Brock wondered aloud. "Without more showcases to attend, we really just need to make it to the Master Class and the Pokémon League. We've got time to spare."

"Well, don't forget, Serena's not the only performer here," Iris rebutted, glancing back at their younger companion.

"That's true." Serena looked back toward Madison as well. "What does your schedule look like? What showcases are you going to compete in? I forgot to ask before."

"The next one is in Couriway Town," Madison answered.

Serena's eyebrows shot up. "Couriway Town? But that showcase is close to the end of the season. Even if you win, you'd have almost no time to get a third Princess Key."

"That's the only showcase that Barrett can attend, though," Madison insisted. "I can't do any Performance Battles without him, so…"

"Do you have to do a Performance Battle for the remaining showcases?" Iris asked. "Aren't there any others where you can just do a solo thing instead?"

Madison frowned. "There are, but they're not on our travel route. They're in a bunch of other cities that we won't make it to in time."

Ash nodded, listening even as he kept his gaze forward, hesitating for a moment before speaking up. "Well… maybe you shouldn't be traveling with us?"

Madison's eyes shot open wide, his words feeling like a gut punch. "What?"

"I mean, it's not like traveling with you has been bad or anything," he quickly clarified. "But if you're trying to compete in showcases, it's better to get to as many as you can, right? And if our travel route is getting in the way, maybe you should… you know… take a different one." The others kept quiet, not wanting to seem eager to kick her out, though Iris gave a nod in agreement.

"Oh…" Madison looked down, her mind wrestling with this suggestion, not happy with how much sense it made. "Yeah… I guess that's a good point…"

Serena started to speak up, wanting to offer words of comfort, before she was silenced by a growl from somewhere nearby. Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking around for the source of the noise, then jumped as a large bush immediately next to them began to rustle threateningly. While most of them took a step back, away from the angry bush, Ash took a cautious step toward it instead. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and onto the ground, and they both inched their way closer as the bush growled once again, lower-pitched this time. As the trainer pondered his next steps, an orange-and-white mass leaped out of the foliage at him, hitting him in the chest and knocking him onto his back.

As Ash took a second to regain his bearings, slightly dazed, he could hear the sound of Serena and his friends calling out his name, but the sounds of panic quickly subsided. He tried to sit up, but there was a weight on his chest holding him down, one that seemed to be moving. Tilting his head up, he came face-to-face with a dog-like Pokémon with orange fur, black stripes, and a cream-colored mane. The Pokémon yipped at him excitedly, its tail wagging back and forth.

"A… Growlithe?" he wondered aloud, recognizing the species immediately.

"What's that?" Madison pulled out her Pokédex and aimed it at Ash's assailant, never having seen a Pokémon like this before.

"Growlithe, a Puppy Pokémon of pleasant demeanor and great diligence," the device reported. "It drives enemies away with barks and bites."

"What's a Growlithe doing here?" Brock took a step closer, as the Puppy Pokémon hopped off of Ash's chest and moved toward his feet. "They're not a native species in Kalos."

"I've only ever seen one here before," Serena chimed in. "I've never seen one in the wild." Ash managed to sit himself up as the Growlithe tugged eagerly on his pant leg, growling in a non-threatening manner.

"Growlithe?" A woman's voice could be heard from nearby, along with the sound of footsteps. Everyone turned to look as a young woman in her mid-20's emerged from the trees, bearing shoulder-length red hair, a white shirt, a brown leather vest, and faded jeans. She gasped and covered her mouth as she took in the scene before her, with Ash still on the ground. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! Growlithe didn't hurt you, did she?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Growlithe just surprised us, is all." He glanced back down toward his feet, where the Pokémon had ceased tugging on his pant leg, and was pawing at it instead. "She seems more like she wants to play than fight."

The woman sighed. "Yes, that's her problem." She walked over and kneeled down next to Growlithe. "How many times have I told you not to run off, you little troublemaker?" The Pokémon yipped in response, not appearing to realize she was being chastised.

"What's wrong with a Pokémon wanting to play?" Madison asked, confused.

"It's a problem when she's supposed to be training to be a guard dog." The woman stood up. "I'm sorry that Growlithe gave you trouble."

"It's fine, really." Ash slowly stood up, reaching behind him to dust off the back of his vest. "Why are you training her to be a guard dog?"

"It's something I've been doing for years," she explained. "My name's Cindy. I can show you my Growlithe ranch, if you like."

"Growlithe ranch?" Brock spoke up, very curious about what seemed to be a high-level Pokémon breeding operation. "Sure! We'd love to take a look!"

Cindy smiled at him, nodding. "It's not far from here. Follow me." She turned and started walking back into the forest, with Ash and his friends following her. Growlithe ran about in circles around their feet, clearly having an excess of energy to burn off.

A few minutes later, the forest gave way to a large meadow, with a large ranch house situated close by. Attached to the house was a large, fenced enclosure that covered at least an acre, which housed what appeared to be around two dozen Growlithe. Several of them noticed their approach and walked up to the fence, curious as to these newcomers.

"Oh wow, look at all of them!" Madison exclaimed. "They're all so cute!" She glanced back toward Cindy. "Can I pet them, please?"

"Only the ones that come up to you on their own," Cindy advised. Madison grinned and rushed over to the fence, reaching out to run her fingers through one Growlithe's fur.

Brock looked over the Pokémon with a careful eye, seeming satisfied with what he saw. "They look like they're in great shape, at first glance." He turned back toward their new host. "And all of them are going to be guard dogs?"

"Guard dogs, sheepdogs, maybe even police dogs… it depends on the pup," the woman answered. "Growlithe are really useful as guard dogs. Very loyal, very protective, you know. But they're not native to the Kalos region, so they're very hard to find here. That's why I started breeding them myself. I raise them, train them, and then sell them to whoever needs one. Business has been great so far."

Ash nodded, watching as the rogue Growlithe ran up to the fence, barking at her friends on the other side. "But this Growlithe, she's been harder to train?"

"She's been practically impossible to train," Cindy clarified. "I've gotten almost nothing to stick so far. She just wants to play with the other Growlithe all day, or with me. It's like she has infinite energy."

"So what are you going to do if you can't train her? Will you just keep her here?"

"No, I don't think I can do that. She's too much of a distraction to the others." Cindy frowned. "I'll probably have to find someone to adopt her. She'd make a good pet, especially for someone with children."

Iris shrugged. "That doesn't sound bad, really."

"It is what it is," was Cindy's response. "Not every Growlithe is cut out to be a guard dog, and that's alright. It does feel a lot like wasted time, though."

"Hm…" Ash thought to himself as he watched the disobedient pup stick her nose through the beams in the fence. "Have you ever given her any battle training, or anything like that?"

Cindy shook her head. "No, never anything like that. I'm not a Pokémon Trainer. Just normal obedience training."

"I wonder if she'd respond to that?" He turned to face her. "Do you think I could give it a try?"

She raised an eyebrow curiously. "Give what a try? You mean battle training?"

"Right!" He nodded. "I've trained stubborn Pokémon before. I bet that if she learns how to battle, it'll be just the discipline she needs!" He started to get excited, talking himself more and more into it. "What do you say? I could try it out right here at the ranch, while we're here."

Cindy mulled this over for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders. "If you want to give it a try, it's fine by me. Just don't be surprised when she doesn't listen to a word you say."

"All right!" Ash kneeled down next to Growlithe, who turned and looked at him curiously. "Growlithe, you want to try learning how to battle? I bet you'll love it!" She let out an energetic bark in response, standing up on her hind legs and grasping the bill of his cap in her jaws, snatching it off of his head.

"Wh… hey!" Ash reflexively grabbed at the top of his head, before reaching out for the cap in the Pokémon's jaws. "Give that back!" Growlithe leaped backwards, turning and running off with his cap in her jaws, already enjoying this game. Ash ran after her, much less amused, as the others watched.

"Well, he's already off to a rip-roaring start," Brock remarked, as Ash continued to chase Growlithe around the meadow.


Nearly an hour later, an exasperated Ash had Pikachu and Absol facing each other inside the fenced-in portion of the ranch, about twenty feet apart. Growlithe was standing nearby, watching the two curiously and waiting for something to happen; after so long with so little progress, Ash considered it a victory that he had gotten her to stand still.

"Okay, Growlithe, watch carefully," he advised. "Absol's going to attack with a Shadow Ball, and Pikachu will dodge. Then he'll counterattack with a Quick Attack." He turned back toward his Pokémon. "Alright, Absol, go!"

Absol grunted and opened his mouth, forming a black Shadow Ball and firing it at his smaller opponent. Pikachu deftly leaped out of the way, charging forward with blinding speed toward Absol, as Growlithe watched. He slowed himself down a bit before leaping into the air, weakening the impact before his body collided with his sparring partner's; Absol took the impact head-on, barely damaged at all.

"Great! Alright, Growlithe, it's your turn!" The Pokémon yipped and bounded into position, tail wagging, as Ash grinned wide. "You're going to do the same thing. Dodge the Shadow Ball, then attack with Tackle!"

Absol formed another projectile, smaller this time, and shot it out at his new opponent. Growlithe leaped out of the way in the same manner as Pikachu, avoiding damage, barking energetically as she crouched forward, hind legs raised.

"Great! Good start!" Ash's grin grew, excited that he might finally be getting somewhere. "Now after that, follow it up with a tackle attack!" Absol fired off another Shadow Ball, and Growlithe once again leaped out of the way. She crouched forward again, tail wagging, pawing at the ground.

Ash frowned, rubbing his head, as he heard Serena walking in his direction, carrying a large plate of prepared food. "Huh… why isn't she attacking? She's dodging just fine…"

"She must like the dodging more than the tackling," Serena replied, walking past him. "Look at her. She's treating this as a game. She's doing the fun bits and ignoring the work bits."

Ash groaned. "Come on… we've been at this for an hour and she hasn't even attacked once." He slumped forward, starting to feel defeated, as Serena continued on and placed the food on a picnic table close by.

"I did warn you," Cindy's voice joined in, as the older woman walked by with an armful of plates and silverware. "I've been working on her for months, with no luck." She was followed by Brock and Iris, who were carrying the remaining parts of a delicious meal that Brock had cooked in Cindy's kitchen. Madison trailed after them, with her arms full of water glasses.

"Yeah, I know…" he conceded. "I know she's listening to me, but she's not, like… listening to me. It goes in one ear and out the other."

"Take a break, Ash," Iris suggested. "Come and get some dinner. Growlithe will still be there to not listen to you later."

"Yeah, alright." Ash turned and walked over to the picnic table, where everyone else was sitting down to eat, starved. He grabbed a collection of bowls out of his bag, setting them on the table and starting to fill them with Pokémon food. Once the first bowl was full, he reached for a Poké Ball on his hip and opened it, releasing Houndour into the meadow.

"Alright, Houndour, you're first." Ash set the bowl of food down on the ground, quickly stepping back as the dog Pokémon rushed forward, starting to wolf down his meal. Ash let out a sigh before releasing his other Pokémon, starting to fill more food bowls and place them on the ground.

As Houndour ate at a breakneck pace, he paused as heard the sounds of eating around him. Looking up for a moment, he could see Snivy and Pikachu sharing a food bowl to his left, with Absol eating his own bowl off to the right. He looked up toward Ash, confused, as the trainer set another bowl of food down, which his Drapion gratefully walked up to. Houndour blinked a few times, looking a bit taken aback, before he returned to his own food bowl, eating at a more reasonable pace.

His meal was interrupted by a yipping sound to his right. Glancing over, he could see Growlithe leaning in close, her face inches from his as she barked at him, tail wagging. He growled angrily at her, not wanting to be interrupted, or even worse, not wanting to share his meal. She backed off momentarily, giving him space, but immediately closed the gap again, tugging playfully on his ear with her teeth. He whirled around and barked at her, enraged, causing everyone at the table to jump.

"Growlithe, cut it out," Cindy commanded sternly. "Give Houndour some space so he can eat." Ash started to pour a bowl of food for Growlithe, hoping it might distract her, but Growlithe was undeterred, yipping back at Houndour and pawing at his leg. Houndour roared and lunged toward her, snapping with his jaws; Growlithe leaped backwards, turning and running off as Houndour gave chase.

"Hey, stop! Both of-" Ash started to run after them, but he found himself blocked by a green vine. He glanced down at Snivy, who was smirking as she shook her head. Ash blinked and looked out at the two dog Pokémon again, watching as Houndour chased after his aggressor. Growlithe nimbly dodged one of his lunges, pivoting quickly and leaping toward him, causing both of them to tumble along the ground. Houndour pushed her off, resuming the chase once again.

As Ash and the others watched the two Pokémon roughhouse with each other, they could see Houndour's behavior gradually shift. He slowly stopped growling, and instead of trying to bite his prey, he started to pounce on her instead. Ash watched in amazement as the two rolled around, running in circles, shooting light Ember attacks at each other in a playful manner.

"Wow… look at that," he remarked, a bit stunned. "I've never seen Houndour like that before."

"Well, what do you know?" Brock grinned, amused. "Look at how much more relaxed he is. Maybe he just needed to blow off some steam."

Cindy raised an eyebrow as she swallowed her bite of food. "Have you been having trouble with Houndour, too?"

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "He's always been really aggressive and angry. I've never really gotten him to relax before." He saw Drapion approaching Houndour's food bowl hungrily, and he quickly grabbed it and placed it on the table, next to Growlithe's bowl.

"Well, hopefully this does the trick," Serena chimed in optimistically. "I guess Snivy knew what Houndour needed better than we did."

Ash grinned wide, nodding in agreement. "Snivy's really great like that. She's good at knowing what my other Pokémon need, settling conflicts between them… it's a big reason why I wanted her to come along with me." Snivy's chest swelled with pride as she turned back to her food bowl, continuing to eat.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Madison added. "She's almost like the group mom."

Snivy abruptly stopped eating, eyes shooting open as wide as they could, her mouth hanging open. She could hear the sound of screeching brakes in her head.

Madison scooped up another spoonful of her meal. "I hope Houndour will- ow!" She grabbed her head, startled, as she was hit by a flying food pellet. She turned her head to see Snivy glaring at her, blushing furiously as she protested in her own language, gesturing to herself with her hands and her vines.

"Geez, what was that for?"

"I don't think she liked being called the group mom," Ash observed, ignoring Iris, who was trying very hard not to laugh out loud.

"Well, what else would you call her?" Madison retorted. "She takes care of the other Pokémon! She acts like a parent does!" Snivy turned her head away with a hmph, grabbing the food bowl and moving it further away from Madison, continuing to eat with her face red and her back turned away. Pikachu scurried over to continue eating as well.

"Well, she doesn't look too happy," Serena remarked.

"She'll be alright," Ash reassured, lowering his voice as he leaned in toward Madison. "Honestly, you're not wrong." He started to take another bite, before another food pellet hit him in the head as well.

The group continued to eat and talk for several minutes, until their attention was drawn by the return of the two playing Pokémon. Both of them trudged forward slowly, exhausted, their fur mussed and covered in scorch marks, as they approached the table. Growlithe sat at Ash's feet and looked up at him hungrily, asking for dinner with her eyes. Houndour did the same, looking up at him patiently, without any growling or glaring or any other signs of aggression.

"Finally wore yourselves out, huh?" Ash grinned and reached for the two food bowls, placing one in front of each Pokémon, and the two leaned down and began to eat, side by side. Ash kept his eyes on Houndour, quietly excited that this normally incorrigible Pokémon was finally behaving more reasonably. After a moment of watching, he reached his hand down and rested it on Houndour's head, petting him gently. The Pokémon immediately stopped eating and growled warningly at the trainer, eyes glaring.

"Sorry, sorry…" Ash retracted his hand, though the grin stayed plastered on his face. Houndour returned to his meal, and soon Ash did as well, as the conversation at the table continued.


Hours later, the visiting trainers were all getting themselves ready for bed, in a large room near the back of the ranch house. Cindy had offered them lodgings for the night, which they had graciously accepted, and she had prepared a handful of cots and air mattresses for them to sleep on. As Serena tied her hair up, Ash walked back into the room, drying his face with a small towel after washing it.

"You know that Growlithe is sleeping in the house, instead of outside with the others?" He set the towel aside. "She's curled up on a couch. She really just does whatever she wants."

"She's definitely the most stubborn Pokémon I've seen," Serena replied, glancing back at him. "So, do you think you might want to try again tomorrow, or…" She was a bit worried about broaching the subject, but their travel schedule was front and center in her mind.

Ash shook his head, sitting on his air mattress. "No, I don't think so. We don't have time to stay here much longer. We need to keep going to Laverre City."

Serena nodded, lowering her arms as she finished tying up her hair. "Are you okay with that?"

He shrugged. "I mean, it's disappointing, but what can I do? We were at it for hours, and I didn't get anywhere. It would take way more time than we have for me to make any progress, at this rate." He leaned back, propping himself up with his arms. "Besides, it's not like this is the end of the world for Growlithe. She'll get adopted, and she'll have a nice family who can play with her as much as she wants. She'll be just fine." Serena smiled and nodded in agreement, thankful that Ash wasn't going to be upset by them leaving.

As Iris and Brock chimed in with their own perspectives, Madison sat quietly on her cot, watching them with her hands clasped in her lap. She had been wrestling with a difficult decision all evening long, and the more she thought about it, the more it had stressed her out. She knew that she needed to talk with somebody about it, and soon. But who?

Her eyes quickly moved from one traveler to the next. Serena was out of the question, for obvious reasons. Ash meant well, and was very kind-hearted, but it didn't seem like deep thinking was really his forte; she wasn't sure he could add any meaningful perspective. Iris was far too intimidating, and Madison was scared of being yelled at. That left Brock. He seemed like the smartest person in their group, being a doctor-in-training, and he was the only one who was an actual adult. Maybe he would have the mature, thoughtful responses to her questions that she needed.

"Hey, Brock?" Madison stood up, and everyone else turned to look in her direction. "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure," Brock responded, a bit surprised, not sure what question she could have for him. "What is it?"

"It's… about Roselia," she lied. "Can you take a look?" She turned toward the door to the ranch's living room, not wanting to talk about this in front of the others.

"Yeah, no problem." Brock grabbed his bag and followed her out the door, closing it behind them, as the others quietly wondered what Madison wanted to talk about.

Once the two of them had walked over to the sitting area, Brock opened up his bag, reaching for a stethoscope. "Alright, what about Roselia did you want me to take a look at?"

"Um… Roselia's fine," Madison admitted, looking down. "I had something else I wanted to ask."

"Oh… huh." Brock closed his bag up again. "Well… what is it?"

She sat down on a recliner, keeping her eyes down. "Brock… do you think I should leave?"

"Leave?" He sat on a sofa across from her. "You mean, stop traveling with us and go your own way?"

Madison nodded, hands clasped on her lap. "I've been thinking about it ever since Ash brought it up, and I still don't know what I should do. So I wanted to ask someone else."

"Well…" Brock mulled the question over for a minute, trying to figure out how to answer. "Maybe we should weigh pros and cons. What are the benefits of leaving?"

"Well, the obvious one is that I get to participate in more contests," she answered. "I have a lot more of a chance of making it to the Master Class that way. And… I don't know, personal growth and stuff, I guess, from traveling by myself."

"Right, all that stuff," he remarked, a hint of sarcasm coming through. "And what about the benefits of staying?"

"If I stay, I get to keep traveling with Serena. I can keep learning from her, and getting better…"

"Now, hold on a minute," Brock interrupted. "You've been traveling with us for a while now, but I have to be honest, I haven't seen a lot of learning going on."

Madison faltered. "I… I mean, we did some practice in Camphrier Town, and…" She struggled to come up with another example.

"So, one practice session in what, the past month and a half?" He frowned. "Does that seem worth it to you?"

Madison didn't answer, feeling her face heat up from shame. She brought her knees up onto the chair, holding them to her chest, keeping her eyes low, not wanting to meet Brock's gaze.

"What's this really about, Madison?" He waited a moment for a response that didn't come, before putting on a gentle smile. "You can tell me anything, I promise. I'm training to be a doctor. We're good at keeping things confidential."

She slumped forward, resting her chin on her knees. "Serena… she's been so helpful, so encouraging, and…" Her voice grew quieter. "…I'm scared I can't do this without her."

Brock paused, eyebrows raising, taking a moment to digest this. "You mean, without her supporting you?" Madison nodded weakly, the movement barely visible, and he continued. "Well… you know she'd still be supporting you even if she's not there, don't you? I'm certain she'd be happy to call you, talk about performing with you over the phone… it's not that different from your parents, right?"

Madison hugged her knees more tightly, her voice growing bitter. "Can we please not talk about my parents?"

"Er…" Brock paused again, realizing he'd inadvertently stepped on a landmine. "Yeah… sorry."

She sighed. "I know I could call her, but it just doesn't feel the same," she continued. "She wouldn't be there at the showcases, in the audience watching me, and… ugh, I don't know." She covered her face with her raised legs, so only her eyes were visible. "I feel sick just thinking about it."

"I understand." Brock nodded, trying to meet her eyes, but she looked stubbornly away, feeling too vulnerable at the moment. He took a minute to synthesize his thoughts, trying to think of how to say what he wanted to say. "I guess what I would say is, don't worry so much about the Master Class. You should think about what would help you grow more as a person and as a performer. If you think spending more time with Serena will make you stronger, you should stay. If you think that traveling alone will do that for you, you should go. Maybe think about that for a little while."

Madison nodded, not looking very happy with this advice. "I thought you were going to tell me what I should do."

"Sorry, but no." Brock shook his head. "Part of growing as a person is making hard decisions." He stood up, looking down at her. "I'm sure you'll make the right one for you if you think about it long enough." She stayed quiet, trying to come up with some response, when a shriek from outside caused them both to whirl around.

"What? Was that Cindy?" Madison quickly hopped off of the chair, as Brock sprinted toward the sound, finding the door that led to the enclosure and throwing it open. She followed him out the door, gasping as she saw the state of the enclosure. All of the Growlithe that had been resting outside were now gone, and in their place was Cindy, lying face down on the grass, nearly motionless.

"What's going on?" Ash stepped up beside Brock to survey the scene, with Iris, Serena, Axew and Pikachu behind him. He quickly spotted the ranch owner unconscious on the grass. "Oh no! Cindy!" He started to run toward her, but was immediately blocked by Brock's arm.

"Don't, Ash! Look at what's out there!" Ash stopped his charge, squinting as he tried to see what was in front of him through the dark of night. He was barely able to make out a light blue powder lingering in the air.

"What's that? It looks like… is that Sleep Powder?"

"That's exactly right." Brock dove into his vest pocket, pulling out a surgical mask and strapping it onto his face, before running out onto the field and kneeling next to Cindy.

"Someone must have come by and used Sleep Powder to steal all the Growlithe," Iris realized, her hand clenching tightly into a fist, as Brock lifted the ranch owner up into his arms.

"I can't believe it…" Serena was wringing her hands as Brock walked back, Cindy's head drooping onto his shoulder. "How did none of us notice this? When did this happen?"

"Judging by the amount of powder in the air, it must have happened not long ago," Brock answered. "I'd say fifteen minutes at most."

"Fifteen minutes…" Iris found her anger being replaced with despair. "Who knows how far they could have gotten in that time…"

"We need to call Officer Jenny, right away," Ash chimed in. "Maybe she can-"

He stopped himself as he felt a warm, fuzzy sensation against his leg. He looked down to see the rogue Growlithe at his feet, looking out at the field in shock. Ash felt his stomach turn into a knot at the expression on her face, imagining what she must have been feeling. He started to kneel down to pet her, to offer some words of comfort, but she immediately leaned down and started sniffing at the ground, walking back and forth along the edge of the enclosure. Everyone watched her for a few moments, before she looked up and began barking viciously, starting to run off toward the forest.

"Whoa!" Ash exclaimed. "Do you think she has their scent?"

"Let's follow her and see!" Iris started to run after Growlithe, holding Axew tightly in her arms. Ash followed after her, thankful that he had managed to grab at least one Poké Ball before running outside, though due to his haste he wasn't sure exactly who was residing inside. Pikachu climbed up onto his shoulder, cheeks already sparking in anticipation.

"Madison, stay here and call Officer Jenny!" Serena advised, following after Ash. Madison nodded, turning and racing into the house to get her phone, as Brock laid Cindy down on the closest couch.


After following Growlithe's nose for several minutes, the three teenagers spotted a truck parked amidst the trees. Three adults, two men and one woman, were carefully loading numerous sleeping Growlithe into the back of the truck, from a large wooden cart that was parked next to the vehicle.

"Look! There they are!" Ash shouted without thinking, alerting all three of the Pokémon thieves. All of them ran forward, placing themselves between their haul and the advancing trainers.

"Who are you kids?" one of the men demanded, a tall and lanky fellow with a thin mustache and a trucker hat. "What are you…" He stopped mid-sentence as the lone Growlithe ran out in front of Ash, growling at the three poachers.

"Wait, how did we miss one?" The woman, a long-haired brunette, turned to glare at the third thief, a shorter man with blonde hair and thick-rimmed glasses. "You told me you got all of them!"

"I did get all of them!" the bespectacled man protested. "I got every single Growlithe out there!"

"You had better give all of those Growlithe back, right now!" Iris barked, as Axew leaped out of her arms and onto the ground.

"Why don't you make us, you little brat?" The woman stood in front of Iris and tossed out a Poké Ball of her own, summoning a Barbaracle, an orange-and-black rock-like Pokémon with four arms and a hand for a head. The blonde poacher threw out a Poké Ball as well, which deposited a Forretress, a white, hard-shelled, floating bivalve Pokémon; Serena took a nervous step back, not having brought any Pokémon with her. The final thief stood in front of Ash, bringing out a large, brown, bear-like Pokémon with a white ring on its chest, which Ash recognized as an Ursaring.

Ash turned to the Pokémon on his shoulder. "Pikachu, you battle with Serena. Make sure she stays safe, alright?" His companion nodded, dutifully leaping to the ground and standing across from the enemy Forretress, waiting for Serena's first command. Ash looked back at his own opponent, reaching for his own Poké Ball, but it opened itself before he had a chance to grasp it. Houndour emerged onto the field, standing next to Growlithe, snarling at the Ursaring in front of him, ready for battle.

"Whoa, uh…" Ash was taken aback for a moment, but he didn't have time to question it. He turned his gaze back toward his opponent. "Alright, Houndour, let's go! Use Fire Fang!" The Pokémon growled and dashed forward, baring his fangs, which were glowing red and covered in flames.

"Hit 'em with Slash, Ursaring!" the opposing trainer commanded. His Pokémon began to wind up its arm.

"Dodge and bite its arm!" Houndour leaped to the side as Ursaring swung, dodging its sharp and powerful claws. The fire Pokémon leaped forward and sunk its flaming jaws into Ursaring's forearm, causing the bear Pokémon to howl in pain, swinging its arm wildly and dislodging the attached Houndour. A grin spread across Ash's face, upon seeing that Ursaring's arm had been scorched.

"You little… get that runt with Fury Swipes!" Ursaring started marching forward, raising both arms to swing them this time.

"Back off and use Ember!" Ash countered. Houndour scampered backward and opened his mouth, spitting out several small bolts of flame at his opponent, which hit their mark perfectly. Ash started to issue another command, but before he had the chance, he heard a growling sound from his other side. He looked down and watched as Growlithe opened her mouth as well, shooting out her own Ember attack and dealing even more damage to Ursaring.

"Growlithe, you want to fight, too?" The fire Pokémon bared her fangs angrily, pawing at the ground with her claws, ready to deliver some payback to the humans who had stolen her friends.

"Don't let those two push you around!" the thief ordered. "Knock out that Houndour with Hammer Arm!" Ursaring lifted his arm, forming a hammer-shaped bundle of energy on the end of it, prepared to swing.

"Houndour, dodge to the side!" Ash commanded instinctively. "Growlithe, use Ember again!" He watched as Houndour escaped the slamming Hammer Arm attack, before turning back to the other Pokémon, hoping against hope that she would obey him. To his amazement, Growlithe did exactly as she was told, spitting out an even larger Ember attack, forming a small fireball that collided with Ursaring's back. The enemy Pokémon cried out and stood up, hissing in pain as he did so. Ash could see the skin underneath his fur had turned a fiery red, an indication of a burn.

"Great job! Now both of you, run at him and use Bite!" Both of the dog Pokémon rushed forward with their teeth bared; Houndour leaped up and chomped on Ursaring's arm, while Growlithe bit down painfully on her foe's leg. Ursaring swung his limbs around, trying to damage his assailants.

"Use Hammer Arm on that Houndour!" The bear Pokémon roared and lifted its arm high, slamming it back down into the ground with its foe still attached, its fist hitting Houndour right in its ribs. Houndour yelped and flew backwards, landing painfully at Ash's feet, having taken a heavy blow from the attack.

"Good! Now hit it with Slash!" Ursaring lumbered forward, wincing in pain as its burn acted up again, but powering through it, eager to deliver another blow. As Houndour took a minute to get dizzily back to his feet, Ash's attention turned back toward Growlithe, gears turning in his head.

"Growlithe, run at Ursaring, and while you're doing that, keep using Ember!" Growlithe immediately took off, opening her mouth and issuing more flames, which began to spread and cover her entire body. She ran as fast as she could, building up both momentum and flames, her target in her sights.

"Ursaring, look out!" the poacher commanded. His Pokémon turned around to see Growlithe barreling toward him with a Flame Wheel attack, far too late to dodge. She leaped upward and slammed into its chest with full force, staggering Ursaring and knocking it onto its back. The Pokémon groaned and tried to stand, but the combined assault was too much, and he fell back to the ground, spent.

Ash pumped his fist victoriously, energized. "You did it, Growlithe! That was a great Flame Wheel!" Growlithe turned to him and barked excitedly, before turning her gaze back toward the defeated poacher. Ash's attention was drawn to his right a moment later, as Barbaracle fell limply to the ground, defeated by Iris and Axew. Turning to his other side, he could see Pikachu leap into the air and swing his Iron Tail down into Forretress's shell, knocking it painfully to the ground, where it made no attempt to get back up.

"Who are these kids…?" The blonde-haired poacher started backing up. "Quick, let's get out of here!"

"No way!" Ash pointed forward. "Pikachu, cut them off! Don't let them get away!" Pikachu zipped around the trio as fast as lightning, cutting off their escape route, his cheeks sparking threateningly. The thieves turned around again, only to find Axew, Growlithe and Houndour surrounding them, preventing them from fleeing in any direction. All of them soon heard the clear sound of a police siren, distant at first but approaching quickly. Ash couldn't help but smirk as the color drained from the faces of the three criminals in front of him, who had no choice but to stand still and wait for their arrest.

Minutes later, Officer Jenny had handcuffed the troublemaking trio and was leading them into the back of her police car, which she had very carefully navigated through the forest, on the same path that the crooks' getaway truck had taken. The area was littered with the stolen Growlithe, who were beginning to wake up and wander around, confused. Nearby, Iris scooped Axew up into her arms to congratulate him, while Pikachu leaped up into Serena's embrace, nuzzling her cheek happily as she giggled. Ash knelt down in between the two Pokémon he had battled with, resting one hand on each of their backs.

"Both of you did amazing!" he praised, turning toward Houndour. "You're a strong fighter, Houndour! Your trainer must be really proud of you!" Houndour snorted and turned away, not looking very pleased at his words of praise, though he didn't pull away at Ash's touch, either. Ash didn't press the issue, looking toward Growlithe instead.

"You were awesome, too! You battled hard and you saved all of the Growlithe at the ranch! You're going to be a great guard dog after all!" She yipped happily, tail wagging, her eyes energized even though her body was exhausted. Ash grinned and ran his fingers through the tuft of fur on her head, excited that he had finally managed to get the playful Pokémon to focus and battle. He couldn't wait to return to the ranch and tell Cindy the good news.


The next morning, the five traveling trainers were awake and feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. Ash and Iris were helping Cindy get the dining room ready for breakfast, while Serena was pacing about and looking up information on her phone. Madison was sitting on her cot, brushing her hair, as Brock finished packing up his things. As the young performer set the brush aside, she turned her head as she heard her name being called in a familiar voice.

"Hey, Madison!" Serena wandered back into the makeshift bedroom, holding her phone aloft. "I just found out something that I think you're going to be interested in!"

"Really?" Madison sat up. "What is it?"

"So, you said that there were no other showcases on our route where you could do a solo Freestyle Performance, right?" Serena was grinning, already excited to deliver the news she had discovered. "Well, I was taking a look, and it turns out that the Anistar City Showcase made their Performance Battle round optional a couple of weeks ago."

"Wait, really? They did?"

Serena nodded. "Apparently, they didn't have as many entrants as they wanted. Not enough performers had a Battle Partner to work with, just like you. So now performers can do either a Performance Battle or a Freestyle Performance." She grinned wide, lowering her phone. "Isn't that great? Now you have another showcase you can enter!"

"Yeah…" Madison should have been happy about this news, but she was still heavily conflicted from the day before. After the brief conversation she had with Brock, staying with Serena and going to Anistar City felt like weakness. It felt like giving in to her fear and insecurity.

She watched as Serena walked over to her own bed, packing the last of her things into her bag. She kept her eyes on Serena's face, taking in her glowing smile, the smile that helped to chase away her doubts and fill her with hope, the smile that represented all the encouragement and support that Madison had never received at home. At that moment, Madison decided that she couldn't give that support up.

"That sounds great, Serena," she continued. "I'll have to get to work practicing a new routine."

"Great!" Serena zipped up her bag, not noticing any of the conflict residing on Madison's expression. "I'm sure you'll think up something really clever. Your last showcase was really excellent."

"Thanks! I hope so." Madison watched as Serena walked out of the room, off to help Ash and Iris get things ready for breakfast. With her gone, the only other person left in the room was Brock, who was watching the exchange with an amused smile, arms folded.

"Well, it looks like you'll be traveling with us for a bit longer," he spoke.

She nodded, her eyes falling to her lap. "Do you think I made the right decision, Brock?"

"I think you made a very hard decision," he answered. "That's all any of us can ask." He strolled over to the door, giving Madison's shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he walked past. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, not feeling very confident in her choice, before she got up to get breakfast as well.


"Thank you all so much for everything." Cindy was standing outside, bidding the travelers farewell as they prepared to depart once again. "I would have lost everything if not for you. I owe you so much."

"Of course, Cindy," Serena answered. "I'm glad we were able to help. And thank you for letting us stay here last night."

Ash was about to say something along the same lines, when he felt something brushing against his leg. Looking down, he saw Growlithe pawing gently against his pant leg, yipping at him excitedly.

He laughed and kneeled down next to her. "Sorry, Growlithe, but we've got to get going. And you've got some training to do. You're going to become a great guard dog soon, just like you were last night."

Cindy snickered at his comments, covering her mouth with her fist. "You haven't seen her at all today, have you?"

"Huh?" He looked up at the older woman, confused. "No, but why?"

"Growlithe is worse than ever now," Cindy explained with a grin. "She's spent the entire morning attacking the others, trying to get them to battle her. She's become obsessed."

"What?!" Ash's eyes bugged out. "But she did such a great job last night! I thought we'd finally taught her to listen!"

"I guess the only thing you taught her was how much she enjoyed battling." Cindy shrugged. "She hasn't listened to a word I've said, just as usual."

"Ah, geez…" He looked down at Growlithe once again, who was wagging her tail, once again unaware that she was being chastised. "And I thought we were making progress…"

"Like I said, not every Growlithe is cut out to be a guard dog, and that's fine," she continued. "This one could make a good battler, though, in the right trainer's hands. I think you should take her with you."

"What? Really?" Ash blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?" He was trying his best to conceal his excitement, though his best wasn't very good.

"Absolutely. It's the least I can do, after everything you've done for me and the other Growlithe." Cindy grinned, looking down at her disobedient Pokémon. "It looks like she's pretty taken with you, really. So it's just as well."

"Wow… thank you, Cindy, so much!" Ash was beaming as he stood up, grabbing a Poké Ball from his bag and enlarging it, preparing it for capture. "What do you say, Growlithe? You want to come along with us and do some more battling?"

Growlithe barked loudly and affirmatively, leaping up and down, more excited than she'd ever been. Ash grinned and tossed a Poké Ball toward her, and she leaped up and caught it in her mouth, to the amused delight of the travelers. She was converted into energy from the inside out, as the Poké Ball sucked her in and fell to the ground, rocking back and forth. It didn't take long for the ball to come to rest, with the Pokémon inside putting up zero resistance.

"This is so cool! Finally, I've caught a Fire-type to battle with!" Ash declared, running up to the ball and picking it up.

"And it's your sixth one," Iris added. "Now you've got your full team together for the Kalos League."

"No way." Ash shook his head, as he attached Growlithe's Poké Ball to his belt. "I'm not going to stop catching Pokémon just because I have six. I'm going to catch as many as I can get my hands on, to fill out my team even more."

"I knew you'd say that." Brock chuckled. "I'm glad to hear it. It's good to give yourself as many options as you can."

The group bid their final farewell to an extremely grateful Cindy before turning and re-entering the forest, making their way back to Route 14 and resuming their journey toward Laverre City.