Fishing with Feet,

A Pallet Pair #4:

Fishing with Feet, and

Battling for Badges

Joey Remshaw flopped on the grass beside the river with a weary sigh, letting his borrowed bike crash to the ground. "My feet are killing me," he moaned, lying back. "We have to have moved twenty miles today."

"We have to make up time," Ivonar Marain insisted, setting her jaw as she put down her own borrowed bike's kickstand. She hid her own relief to sit down behind her scowl. "Whoever that other trainer was in Viridian City, they're not going to get ahead of us!"

Manx, the tailless Persian, fell on his stomach with a weary sigh, not caring, for the moment, that his feet were splayed in four different directions. He sighed as a pooped-out Eevee with a static-stiff tail curled up against his side. Another Eevee, with a thick coat of soft fur, managed to climb on his back before she, too, lay down. A third Eevee, this one somewhat smaller than the others and with a slightly darker pelt, leaped off Ivonar's shoulder to lay in her lap. A Pikachu, dragging her tail, half-carried, half-dragged the fourth Eevee - one with a black-tipped tail - to where the Persian lay, then slid off her feet to lean against his soft flank. Manx glared at her half-heartedly, then lay his head on the ground with a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes wearily, momentarily regretting that he had been too stubborn to return to his pokéball. The moment passed quickly, doing nothing to help his sore feet feel any better.

"We're not stopping for the day, are we?" Ivonar demanded.

"As far as I'm concerned, you can go right on ahead without me," her human companion replied bluntly. He sat up, then gripped one of his sneakers in both hands and pulled it off. He pulled off his sock and stuck his foot in the water with a sigh of pleasure. The cold water felt good on his reddened soles. "I'm stopping for the week."

"Remmy!" Ivonar cried, her voice dangerously close to a whine. "We can't stop for a week! We've barely started!"

He grinned as he took off his other shoe and sock. This time, he took the time to roll up his pantleg before putting his foot in the water. He pulled the other one out, rolling up the now wet pantleg, and put it back in. "Put your feet in the water, Eevee, it feels great," he told her. "And I was just joking. We can stop for a few hours to let our feet return to normal, can't we? I mean, the nurse told us the guy left on foot. We were biking all of yesterday on the main path. We must have passed him a long time ago."

Ivonar frowned, biting her lip. "I wish you wouldn't joke," she muttered. "I'm serious. We were the first trainers out of Pallet, Remmy. We should be the first to get badges."

"You'll get your badges," he assured her, then reminded her, "but I'm just tagging along, remember?"

"Oh, please!" Ivonar chided him. "You don't want to go home with nothing, do you? For the last time, you have a talent, Joseph Remshaw. A gift. A -"

"Why do I doubt that this is the last time you're going to tell me that?" he interrupted with another grin. "I made one good move, Eevee. One. Count - one. Uno. Une. One."

Ivonar shook her head stubbornly. She kicked off her sneakers, then bent over to take off her socks. "I saw you," she retorted. "You should have seen your face. You were so into it. I cheered, and you didn't even blink. It was like it was life-and-death to you."

"It was." He wiggled his toes under the water. They were starting to go numb from the chill. "I wasn't going to let Saurus get hurt."

"Get-" She glared at him angrily. "Remmy, Saurus likes to fight! He isn't worried about getting hurt!"

"At least one of us is," he snapped, startling her. He looked away, his usually intent expression sullen. His normally straight-line mouth was turned down. "I hate the battles. What's the point? How many times have your mom and dad told you that fighting is wrong, huh? How many times have your parents told you that it's wrong to hit people, or hurt people, or attack people?"

Ivonar frowned. "This isn't about people. It's about Pokémon. It's different for them."

"Is it? Pidgeys and Rattatas coexist peacefully in the wild – it says so right in the Pokédex. It's proven fact. But how many trainers battle Rattatas and Pidgeys against each other? It's unnatural."

"I- I never thought of it like that," Ivonar murmured. She thought of her own Pokémon, and how she had gotten them. "But battling is necessary, too. It makes Pokémon stronger. If Manx had been trained when he was a Meowth, before my mom found him, he might've stood a chance against whatever took off his tail." Manx opened one eye, glaring at Ivonar for bringing up the unpleasant memory, then put a protective paw over the bushed-tailed Eevee beside him. He closed his eye again. "If Rahta had been trained, whatever happened to him might not have."

"Generally, the only reason Pokémon get trained is to protect them from other trained Pokémon," Remmy stated flatly. "Pokémon work fine on their own until a trained one comes along and beats them up."

"You really hate this, don't you?"

"I don't hate it." Remmy slid closer to the water, soaking his legs to his knees. He swung his legs and kept wiggling his toes, to fend off the numbness the cold water threatened him with. "I just don't completely agree with it, that's all. That's the problem sometimes - I always see two sides of things. There's never just one way of things. There's always at least two. Sometimes more. It's like- EE-youch!"

"Like youch?"

Remmy wasn't amused. He threw his weight back, lying on his back as he threw his feet in the air. Something blue and sleek, its legless body glistening in the muted sunlight, flipped through the air over his head, to land a few yards behind them. "I got bit!" he yelled, surprised. He rolled over, getting on his hands and knees. "What the heck bit me?" He crawled forward, to the serpentine creature that lay wiggling on the ground. "What is it?"

"I have no idea," Ivonar replied, getting up. She walked over, and crouched down next to him. Remmy sat back, kneeling, and picked up the creature. It was about as long as Ivonar was tall and eel-like, but its head resembled that of Ivonar's Charmander, Char. Two swooping, pale gray fins grew from either side of its lizard-like head, and two dark, royal violet, frightened eyes stared into Remmy's own, detailless gray ones.

"It's okay," Remmy said softly. He held the long, eel-like lizard up to look at it from his own eye level. Its tail lashed weakly below it, then stopped, as it regarded him with its gentle, beautifully violet eyes.

"It's so beautiful," Ivonar whispered, smiling in spite of herself. Manx chuffed out his nose, opening his eyes a little to see what had them so worked up.

The serpentine tail stopped lashing completely, and the fear in the creature's eyes faded away. Suddenly, its eyes narrowed as its tiny mouth turned up in a smile. It squealed slightly, a little, whistle-like croon.

Ivonar got up quickly, going back to her bike. She dug in one of the side baskets, and pulled out her Pokédex. She'd done a little custom programming to get it to do what she wanted it to, in the rare cases such as this one, when she needed it. She pointed it at Remmy and what he held in his hands. The mechanical machine intoned:

"Dratini, a dragon Pokémon. Long considered a mythical Pokémon until recently, when a small colony was found living underwater. Evolves into Dragonair and Dragonite."

"A Dratini?" Ivonar echoed. She'd heard about them, but what she'd heard was that catching them was as good as impossible. "You stick your foot in a river and fish out a Dratini?"

Remmy grinned, chuckling a little. The Dratini's eyes narrowed even farther in an even happier expression. It crooned its odd, high note. "Guess I got tasty feet." The Dratini's eyes closed as it trilled cheerfully. He rubbed its head. "Kinda cute, ain't it?"

Ivonar giggled, shoving her Pokédex back in her bag. "Kind of?"

The Dratini tossed its tail upward, and wrapped it around Remmy's arm. It cooed as the entire length of its tail wound gently, but firmly, around the length of his arm, right up to his shoulder. His mouth fell open as it wound, coil by coil. He shook his arm a little: the creature held firm. "Hey!" It trilled again, slipping out of his hands to coil back on itself, now twisting up his arm to rest its head on his shoulder. "What're you up to - besides my shoulder, huh?"

Ivonar giggled again. "Remmy, don't look now, but I think you've reached Pokémon number six."

He looked at her, a little startled, then at the Dratini, whose length completely hid his arm from the wrist to the shoulder. It had its large, tender eyes shut as it snored softly. "No way I can-"

"No way, buster," Ivonar cut him off, crossing her arms firmly. "There isn't any chance of you giving a Pokémon to me this time! It bit your foot, you fished it out - I haven't even touched it! Besides," she giggled, "it seems more attached to your arm than you are."

Remmy laughed. He watched the Dratini's face carefully as he stood up. It didn't even twitch, though the tip of its tail wove gently back and forth. He walked back to the river, and put his feet back in. Ivonar sat beside him. She was wearing shorts, so she didn't have to worry about rolling up her pantlegs. "I guess it is, huh?" He frowned a little. "Wonder how you can tell what it is? Male or female?"

"I guess it'll let you know when it wakes up," Ivonar teased.

"Oh, be qui-IEE!" This time, rather than reacting as badly as the first time, Remmy simply lifted the pained foot out of the water.

It was small, smaller than the Dratini, maybe two feet tall. Its small, puckered mouth was overextended to clamp on Remmy's foot. It stared wide-eyed at them. "Not another catch!" Remmy groaned. He shook his foot, but the terrified Poliwag couldn't let go. "Get it off, please! It's biting me!"

After a moment, Ivonar managed to stop laughing long enough to grab the small Pokémon and pry its frozen mouth off of Remmy's foot. "You're a regular Slowpoke!" she giggled. She crossed her legs, putting the Pokémon in the hollow between her knees. She rubbed her hand soothingly, back and forth, over its smooth head. "Except you use your feet instead of your tail!"

"Without a tail, I use what I got," Remmy replied wryly. He pulled his unbitten foot out of the water, and tucked it underneath his other leg. He cringed as he looked at his foot. "Jeez, now I'm bleeding. Great." He looked, scowling, at the four dots of red that slowly grew larger on his foot. "I can feel the other four on the bottom."

"Stop whining," Ivonar told him, standing again. She put the Poliwag down on the ground. Going back to her bag, she pulled out some medical tape. She glanced at her Kakuna, still free of any pokéball, before turning around. It showed no interest in hatching into a Beedrill. It simply rested in her bike basket, staring blandly at nothing in particular. "First Manx's foot, now yours," she said, shaking her head. "It's either me or one of the Eevees next!"

"Or back to Manx again." Remmy grinned at the halfhearted glare Manx gave him. Then he looked at the Poliwag, frowning. "That really hurt, you know," he told it. It whined softly, cowering.

"Oh, leave it alone," Ivonar scolded him. "Gimme your foot." She knelt down, dipping a corner of a bandana her mother had packed in her gear in the water, cleaned off his foot, dried it with the rest of the cloth, and quickly wrapped tape around his foot twice, to cover the small holes. "They're barely puncture wounds. They'll be gone without a trace in a couple days."

"Yes, Mom," he replied.

She glared at his grin. "Knock it off," she told him tolerantly, standing up again. She wrapped the roll of tape in the bandana and quickly shoved it back into her side basket. Then she picked up the Kakuna, and, holding it close, sat back down at the side of the river. She stuck her feet back in. "Let's see if I can catch anything. How'd you do it?"

"Just swing your legs and wiggle your toes. Keep moving."

Ivonar sat there for a few moments, the Kakuna watching disinterestedly. She'd been keeping it with her as much as possible, hoping that it'd like her by the time it evolved into a Beedrill, so she wouldn't have to keep it in a pokéball all the time. In spite of her bad experience with Beedrills, the sound of their wings was kind of soothing. "Wonder how long before he hatches," she murmured.

"Depends how long it's been a Kakuna," Remmy said. "Usually takes about a week."

"I know that." She frowned, resting her hand on it. It blinked, but otherwise didn't respond. "I just wish I knew when he's going to hatch, so I can be ready, you know? I don't want to be asleep or something."

"Put it in a pokéball while you sleep. Then it won't hatch while you're asleep."

"I don't want to do that." She rubbed her hand on the Kakuna's hard husk. "That wouldn't be nice to you, would it?" The Poliwag toddled over to the Kakuna, curious. The Kakuna's cold eyes shifted, looking at it skeptically. The Poliwag frowned a little, as if confused. Ivonar smiled at it. "What's wrong, little guy?" The Poliwag looked at her, uttered an odd, chirp-like sound, then looked at the Kakuna again. "You better not be considering biting him, too, because then he'll harden and break whatever you have passing for teeth."

Remmy chuckled. "Ivonar, you can't just get a whole herd of Pokémon following you around! You have to use your pokéballs eventually. That's what they're for."

Ivonar pouted. "Hey, you don't like battles? Fine. I don't pokéballs. At least, not in most cases." She and Manx shared a mutual glare.

Remmy grinned to himself, shaking his head. He patted his new friend on the head. It trilled softly in its sleep.

*

After an hour, they put their shoes and socks back on, and Remmy rolled down his pantlegs. "I can't believe I didn't catch a thing," Ivonar pouted. Static scampered out of the water, his tail's bushiness unaffected by wetness. He shook off: he'd been having fun in the shallows, swimming with the Poliwag, which hadn't gone away.

Remmy cringed as he slipped his sock over one of his feet. Now, both were bandaged. "You can have Ouch-Three."

"No chance. It's your feet. Besides, you already gave me Ouch-Two."

Remmy frowned a little, gingerly putting his sneaker on. "What is it about my feet? In an hour, you catch nothing, I catch three Magikarp." Each time the Magikarp had bitten his foot - but only the foot Drake and the Poliwag had not bitten, of course - Remmy had shouted, "Ouch!", so, at least for the moment, they were called Ouch-One, Ouch-Two, and Ouch-Three. He cringed as he put on his other sock. "I don't know which of us is luckier."

Drake trilled from where it was firmly wrapped around Remmy's waist. Remmy laughed, rubbing its head. "Hey, didn't mean it to sound that way. It's just that I'm going to have to bike with really sore feet." Drake trilled, loosening its grip on his waist to slither up his back and put its head back on his shoulder. It was so long, it could still wrap around his waist twice, even with its head on his shoulder. He hadn't been able to figure out if Drake was a guy or a girl, though.

Ivonar gently but firmly wedged her Kakuna in the right basket on her bike. "Come on, Remmy. Enough fooling around." She put on her cracked helmet, then got on the bike. She took Sweetie off her shoulder and put her in the front basket of her bike.

Remmy stood up and stretched. "Okay, Drake," he said, patting the Dratini on the head, "hate to do this, but you have to get off. I can't bike with you wrapped on me." Drake whimpered, hurt, but wound around his legs, looping down to the ground. Remmy went to his own bike, getting a pokéball out of his bag. "Sorry, but you're not like the Eevees," he told the Pokémon. "For one thing, you're a water Pokémon, and it's not fair to keep you out of the water most of the time. For another, you're just too big."

Drake pouted a little, looking at him with sad, royal violet eyes, but it slithered across the grass to encircle his feet. Aiming the enlarged ball down, he tapped the button. In a flash of red light, Drake disappeared into the ball.

"Eee!" Static cried, still standing on the riverside. He stood next to the Poliwag, which still hadn't gone back into the water. "Ee, eve vee?"

"Eevee," Remmy said, addressing Ivonar, "I think Static wants to bring his new friend along."

"No way," Ivonar said, shaking her head. "You fished it out. It's yours."

"Aw, just take it. What are you going to do with a Magikarp? You could use a stronger water Pokémon."

Ivonar glared at him. "I'll have you know that Nuisance is a strong enough water Pokémon, thank you very much."

"Static's attached to it."

"So? Let Static keep it."

"Static's yours."

Ivonar was about to retort, when she realized she'd backed herself into a corner. If Static kept it, and Static was hers, that made the Poliwag hers, too. She scowled at Remmy's sudden grin. "I hate you."

"Oh really?"

She sighed, chuckling in spite of herself. "But only in the best possible way." She reached into her bag to get another pokéball.

"Well, then, that's okay."

Ivonar pulled out the pokéball, then frowned. "I can't keep it, though," she murmured. "I have my six. Char, Nuisance, Manx, Pidge, Ro, and Rahta. Either I have to send it to Professor Oak, or I have to send someone else."

"Professor Oak will probably take good care of it."

Ivonar shrugged a little. "That's true. Let's see if we can do this the easy way first." She tossed the ball underhanded. It struck the Poliwag in the forehead. With a pop it snapped open, and the Poliwag dissolved in a flare of red light. The ball wiggled for a little while, the button glowing red, then stopped. The button's glow faded. Static stared at the ball for a little while, seemed to shrug, then started butting it with his head, bringing it back to Eevee. She giggled as he pushed it across the grass. "Why thank you, Static," she told him, picking him up. The ball turned white, then vanished. "But I'm afraid your new friend isn't going to be with us." She put him in the basket beside Sweetie. "Are you ready yet, Remmy?"

He climbed onto his own bike, strapping on the helmet the Pokécenter garage worker had so kindly given to him. "Guess so."

Manx picked up Cole by the scruff of the neck, carrying him to Remmy, who put him in the front basket of his bike. Cole complained until Chia hopped into the basket with him. Manx then grabbed Fluffball by the scruff, giving her to Ivonar to put in the side basket without the Kakuna. "Prrt," he snorted, shaking his head. He gave his whiskers a quick cleaning with one paw, then started off down the path again.

"I agree," Ivonar cheered. "Let's go!"

*

"Well, it's…" Ivonar tried to come up with something better to say, but only one word came to mind. "…gray."

"Very gray," Remmy agreed.

They wheeled their bikes into Pewter City. It was smaller than Viridian City, older. There was a hint of history in the air, along with a staleness that came from a bit too much dust. Somehow, the entire city reminded Ivonar of a dusty attic filled with treasures from the past, hidden away in neat little chests disguised as houses.

"Wonder where the gym is," she murmured. Manx snorted.

"If there's a Pokécenter somewhere, we can get a place to stay besides outside, and maybe ask where it is," Remmy suggested.

"Wait!" Ivonar hurried forward, to check out what she thought she'd seen.

She was right.

The structure was huge and granite gray, more of an edifice than a building. It was huge! She stared in awe as Remmy hurried to catch up. "Big," he commented.

"Very big," she agreed. "Very old," she added.

"Very," he agreed.

"We ready?"

"More importantly, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever b- no, wait!" She put down her kickstand, then got out her Pokédex. "Look around us," she told him. "This whole place is built out of rock. How much would you be willing to bet that the gym leader here has rock Pokémon?"

"That'd probably be a safe bet," Remmy agreed.

Ivonar flipped open her Pokédex. "I know it isn't all that strong, but that Poliwag is a water Pokémon, and water Pokémon can have an advantage over rock Pokémon. Better safe than sorry."

"I guess so. You're going first this time."

"Huh?" She looked at him, confused. Then she understood. "Oh. Yeah. Okay." Then she hit the side of the Pokédex. "Come on! I want to transfer Pidge back to Professor Oak, you stupid machine! I want that Poliwag! Work!"

Remmy sighed. "It's not cooperating?"

"Very funny." Ivonar scowled. "It keeps telling me I can't transfer Pidge back to Professor Oak because I have too many Pokémon. But I want to transfer him so I don't have too many Pokémon, not the other way around!"

"Maybe it's jammed."

"Maybe." Ivonar sighed. She leaned gingerly against her bike, careful not to tip it over. She glanced at her Kakuna. "I've had you four days," she told it, frowning. "You might hatch while I'm in there." She sighed. "Guess I'll put you in a pokéball, so you don't." She reached into her bag, taking out an empty ball, and enlarged it. She tapped the button again, then touched it to the Kakuna. It disappeared in a flash of red light. A moment later, with a more muted flash of white light, the ball disappeared too. "Remmy, why don't we go in? You go first. If I can't get this to work, then that's that, but I want to try to get that Poliwag back."

"I guess so." Remmy opened the door, then gestured for Ivonar to go in first, but she waited for Sweetie to jump from her basket to her shoulder. Manx pulled Static and Fluffball out of their baskets. Chia picked up Cole and jumped out of their basket. Finally, the eight of them entered the gym.

"Who goes there?"

Ivonar stopped short, and looked up from fiddling with her Pokédex. Manx stopped as well, sitting beside her, and stepped on Fluffball's tail to keep her from scampering onto the gym field. Remmy stopped just behind Ivonar, and looked as well.

He sat on a slightly raised platform. He was a few years older than them, dark-skinned and lean. His features fit his hometown, with his narrow eyes and sharply cleft chin, sharp cheekbones and wide shoulders. "What do you want?" he demanded rudely.

Remmy stepped around Ivonar, walking onto the gym floor. "I want to go home, actually," he replied, "but my parents insisted I do a little training first."

The young man snorted. "If you're not serious, go home. You waste my time."

"I'm quite serious," Remmy assured him. Chia grabbed Cole before he ran onto the gym floor. Manx's other forepaw moved to step warningly on Static's bushy tail, so that he didn't attempt the same thing. "Unfortunately, I have to challenge you to a match."

The young man's eyes shifted to Ivonar. "Is she a supposed trainer, too?"

"She has dibs on the next match. She's having trouble transferring the Pokémon she wants, so I'm stuck going first."

"I only do one match a day."

Remmy looked at Ivonar. She sighed heavily, shrugging a little. "Then she'll go tomorrow," Remmy suggested.

"Fine. Whatever." The young man stood up. "My name is Brock," he snapped. "Here's the rules: two Pokémon each. You can withdraw them and send them out and all that, as much as you want, but you can only use two. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good. I hate to repeat myself." Brock turned around slightly, and hit a switch behind him.

With a loud rumble, two sides of the gym started to move. Remmy jumped back, off the field, as two huge glaciers of rock slid into place over the gym floor. Brock stepped easily down from his little platform onto the fighting field: Remmy had to climb up a bit to get on.

Brock unhooked a pokéball from his belt. "Geodude, go!" he shouted, throwing the ball. It snapped open, and, in a flare of red light, what looked like a large rock with a face and arms came into being. It floated in thin air, glaring at Remmy.

Remmy frowned a little, considering his Pokémon, before pulling a pokéball out of his coat pocket. "I choose Saurus," he declared, holding out the pokéball. It opened, letting Saurus go.

"Geodude, tackle attack!" Brock barked, as soon as the Bulbasaur solidified. The Geodude zipped through the air, straight for the Bulbasaur.

"Saurus, dodge!" Remmy snapped. The Bulbasaur shot right just before the Geodude crashed into him. "Return the attack!"

The Geodude barely had time to turn around before the Bulbasaur rammed into it, but it barely flinched.

"Geodude, rock throw!" Brock shouted.

"Geo!" the Geodude declared, zipping out of Saurus's reach. It grabbed a rock from the field and chucked it at the Bulbasaur.

"Saurus, deflect it with Vine Whip!" It took both vines, and Saurus flinched in pain as the rock hit the long appendages, but bruised vines were better than bruised body. "Leech Seed it, now!"

A determined look crossed Saurus's face, and he closed his eyes. A small seed sprouted from the bulb on his back. Saurus opened his eyes again, glaring at the Geodude, and the seed shot from his bulb, as if blasted from a cannon.

"Geodude, dodge!" The seed fell harmlessly on the field.

"Saurus!" Remmy snapped, his eyes narrowed. "Leech Seed again, as fast as you can, one right of the Geodude, one left! Now!"

Saurus grit his teeth. Leech Seed wasn't exactly an easy move: it took concentration to force the seeds out of his bulb, aim, and shoot them. But his trainer had already proven that he was good at his work, so he did as he was told. He forced a seed up, aimed, and fired it, slightly right. The Geodude moved left to keep it from hitting its right arm. But, as it moved, its narrow left shoulder was hit with the second seed. Feeling its energy, the parasitic seed burst open, entangling it in a sudden forest of vines. Surprised, the Geodude crashed to the ground. There was a faint glow as the seed began to drain its energy.

"Tackle it!" Remmy ordered. Saurus ran forward, ramming into the rock Pokémon. It didn't hurt as much as it had the first time, now that it was cushioned with the thick vines. "Again! Don't let it up!" Saurus rammed the Geodude again, a third time, fourth, even a fifth.

Before he could aim a sixth, though, the rock Pokémon began to falter upward again. The vines of the Leech Seed loosened, falling away. "Geo… dude," the Geodude slurred. It rocked in midair, dipping right. "Geo…" Its eyes rolled up. "Duuuuuuuude…" It crashed back to the ground on its back.

"Impressive," Brock said, raising one brown eyebrow slightly as he recalled his Geodude. "You show promise, though you're obviously an amateur." He pulled out another pokéball. "But beginner's luck isn't all there is to winning battles, kid. Go, Onix!" He threw out the second pokéball.

The flash was huge, almost blinding. A harsh roar filled the air as the enormous Pokémon within the ball was set free.

Though Ivonar's chin dropped, no hint of surprise crossed Remmy's unnaturally serious face. He looked up at the huge Pokémon with emotionless determination. "Saurus."

Saurus, meanwhile, stared with his mouth open. A Geodude was one thing: it was at least his size! This thing… he wasn't even as big as one of its segments! It was huge! How could anything hurt something so gigantic? He looked at Remmy with sheer disbelief. What could he possibly do to weaken that thing?

But, fortunately for the Bulbasaur, that wasn't what Remmy wanted. He held out Saurus's pokéball. "Return." Saurus was only too glad to do so. Remmy put away the pokéball in one pocket, then pulled another out of another. He looked at the ball for a moment, considering, then held it out. "Give it your best shot, Drake." With a flare of red light, the Dratini materialized in front of the Onix.

"A Dratini?" Brock gasped. "Where'd you catch a Dratini?"

A vaguely smirk-like expression crossed Remmy's face for a moment, then was gone. "It kinda caught me, actually." His sharp, determined face returned. "Drake, Water Gun, right in the face!"

The Dratini glanced at him, surprised.

"Onix, Bind!" Brock shouted.

Drake twisted around again, but was too late before the giant Onix caught it in its coils and squeezed. The Dratini squealed.

Remmy bared his teeth. "Drake!" he shouted even louder. "Water Gun in the face!"

The Dratini twisted itself to face the Onix, opened its small mouth, and shot a thick, cold spray right in its eyes. The Onix roared in pain as it flinched. Its coils loosened. Drake squirmed free, its slick, rubbery body sliding easily against the Onix's hard segments. It fell to the ground and hurried to get out of the way as the Onix thrashed, trying to get the water out of its eyes.

"Drake, Pound!" Remmy shouted. "Keep focused on the head!"

Drake turned again. So, the Onix was an enemy, huh? Its beautiful eyes narrowed dangerously. It slithered quickly to the Onix, and, before it could attack again, began winding itself up its segments, heading for the head.

"Onix, slam it against the ground!" Brock shouted.

The Onix tried to obey, but Drake was too fast. Before the Onix could slam it into the ground, it was on its other side, safe from crashing to the ground. The Onix thrashed, slamming into the ground again and again, but all it did was weaken itself.

"Onix, go underground!" The Onix reared up, preparing to do as it was told.

"Drake, get clear!" The Dratini slipped off the Onix as it crashed into the rock floor, slamming through it. "Water Gun it as it goes down!" Drake reared up, spraying the Onix's segments as they disappeared. The floor rumbled with the Onix's underground roar of pain. "Follow it down and keep gunning it!" Drake leaped into the hole.

Brock had obviously sent the Onix underground in hopes of giving it cover, but with one fault to that:

With the Dratini down there, too, it was trapped.

"Onix, come back up! Now!" Brock shouted as loudly as he could, but the Onix didn't return. The underground rumble continued for a long minute, then fell silent. The entire gym was silent. Brock, Remmy, Ivonar, Manx… everyone's eyes were on the hole in the middle of the gym. What would emerge first?

Suddenly, the rumble returned. Rocks shot into the air as the Onix burst out of the ground close to where Brock stood. It sailed into the air like a whale breaching from the ocean, crashing to the ground and scuttling as fast as it could from its exit hole. It was easy to hear its labored breathing in the quiet of the gym.

From the second hole, Drake calmly slithered out, giving Brock a cold glance before it continued after its adversary.

"Onix!" Brock shouted. "Body slam!"

The Onix turned, but it had obviously slowed down. It knew its opponent was strong, so it was wary. It took careful aim. It looked its enemy in the eye, trying to judge if it would dodge left or right. It shot forward, its aim perfect.

"Drake, Leer!" Remmy snapped. The Dratini met the Onix's careful scrutiny with a powerful glare, its gentle purple eyes burning a harsh blue. For a moment, the Onix seemed to falter two feet from the Dratini, caught off-guard. "Water Gun, now!" Drake opened its small mouth, and blasted the Onix as hard as it could from point-blank range.

The Onix, in a half-hearted attempt to avoid the attack, veered left, but all it did was cause its own attack to fail. It slammed into the ground, hard. The Dratini kept spraying it in the head. The Onix closed its eyes, groaning in defeat.

"Enough!" Brock snapped.

"Drake, that's enough." Remmy echoed. Drake stopped spraying the Onix. It slithered across the gym, winding up Remmy's legs to anchor itself around his waist, with its head resting over his shoulder.

"Onix, return." Brock held out the Onix's pokéball. It disappeared in a flare of red light. Then he regarded Remmy - and a smile broke his chiseled face. "For one, I was willing to write it off as beginner's luck," he said, "but I see now that I was wrong. You really have a skill with your Pokémon, kid. How long have you been training them?"

"Truthfully?" Remmy rubbed Drake's head. "I've had Saurus for almost a week. I just got Drake this morning." He chuckled, grinning. "I was lucky it knew what I wanted it to do, because I didn't know if it did."

Brock raised one eyebrow. "Then I guess it was luck after all." He reached into his pocket. "Luck or no, you still won. The Boulder Badge is yours." He pulled his hand out of his pocket again, and walked across the gym floor. He held out his hand. Remmy reached out, and he took the small gray badge in his hand. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Remmy looked at the small badge for a moment, then showed it to Drake. "Look what you and Saurus won, Drake." The Dratini trilled, cocking its head to the side in curiosity.

Brock nodded. "A victory is a victory, as much for the Pokémon as it is for the trainer."

Remmy shook his head. "All I did was suggest what to do. They did it. It's their victory." He rubbed Drake's head again. He looked at the badge again, not exactly sure what to do with it.

Brock saw the look of confusion on his face, and laughed softly. "Some trainers pin their badges to their shirts, or inside their jackets," he told him. "Others carry them in boxes."

"Oh." Remmy frowned a little, then shrugged. He pinned the badge to the collar of his jacket. Then he held out his hand again. "I'm Remmy, by the way." Brock shook his hand. "That's Ivonar over there, but most people call her Eevee."

"Eevee?" Brock frowned a little, then shrugged slightly. "People just call me Brock." He patted the pokéballs clipped to his belt. "Better get these guys to the Pokécenter, if they're to test Ivonar's skills tomorrow."

"Saurus could probably use some attention, too. Your Geodude got his vines awfully bad with that rock." Still rubbing Drake's head, Remmy started to walk off the gym floor.

"I'll see you there," Brock called after him, heading back for the platform. "I have to close down the gym."

Remmy was careful to keep a straight face as Ivonar looked at him knowingly. "I told you, you have skill!"

"Just as I told you that last time wasn't going to be the last time you told me that," he retorted, heading out the door. Ivonar hurried to follow, leaving Manx and Chia to round up Cole, Static, and Fluffball. "And as Brock just said, I have beginner's luck. It'll pass."

"Why are you so desperate to deny that you have a talent, Joseph Remshaw!"

He slowed down to let her catch up, so she could see his grin. "Maybe I like my head the way it is."

"Huh?"

Remmy just laughed, kicking up his kickstand as he tried to wheel away his bike without returning Drake to its pokéball, but it didn't quite work. Realizing that it was making his job harder, Drake slithered off Remmy, twining itself around the frame of the bike, resting its chin between the handlebars. Ivonar hurriedly put Static and Fluffball in the front basket on her bike and Cole in one of the side ones, let Chia perch on the seat, and wheeled her bike after Remmy. Manx trotted after her.

*

Ivonar looked at her skeptically. "So you're not Nurse Joy from Viridian?"

The nurse shook her head, smiling. "Oh, no. People are always asking me that, but I just tell them, there's a few of us Joys out there. We just happen to look a lot alike, that's all." She took Saurus's and Drake's pokéballs into the back room.

Remmy flopped onto a couch. He craned his neck so he could look down at his badge without touching it.

Ivonar flopped down next to him. Sweetie jumped off her shoulder into her lap. "Aren't you proud of yourself?"

"I'm proud of Saurus and Drake. What do I have to be proud about? They earned it, not me."

Ivonar rolled her eyes. "Not this again…" she muttered. She rubbed her forehead. "Remmy, why-"

"Because I don't believe it, okay?" he told her, looking at her seriously. "Like Brock said, I have beginner's luck. I was lucky Drake knew all those attacks. I was lucky Saurus was able to use so many Leech Seeds so fast. I was lucky Saurus's vines were strong enough to knock aside that rock. I was lucky, Ivonar. I am not skilled. I am lucky."

Ivonar rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but didn't bother disagreeing. Remmy could be just as stubborn as she was sometimes.

The door whooshed open, and a now familiar, tall, lean figure strode into the Pokécenter. "Hey, Remmy, Ivonar," Brock greeted them with a smile. Remmy nodded to him as he walked passed. Ivonar offered him a little wave. He rang the bell on the desk.

"Be there in a minute!" Nurse Joy called cheerfully.

Ivonar glanced at Brock, then did a double-take. His ears were all red…

The nurse returned, then smiled broadly. "Why, hello, Brock!"

"H-hello, Nurse Joy," he stammered.

"What brings you here? Did someone win a badge?"

"Uh, uh uh-huh." Brock smiled a little strangely. "And how are you, Nurse Joy?"

"Really! Who got so lucky?"

"Him." Brock chucked his thumb over his shoulder at Remmy. "Nurse Joy, are you-"

Nurse Joy leaned away from him, and smiled at Remmy. "Congratulations!"

"Say that to my Pokémon, okay?" Remmy called back.

Nurse Joy's smile widened. "I'll do that." She regarded Brock again. "You'll have to wait until we're done with his Pokémon, I'm afraid. We're totally full at the moment. It won't be too much longer, though."

Brock smiled almost drunkenly. "Okey dokey," he replied. He watched her wistfully as she hurried back to work.

"Full?" Ivonar groaned. "I guess we're camping out again tonight!" She pounded her fist into the couch. "Unless they'll let us sleep in the lobby…"

Ivonar moved her fist as Brock wandered over, so he could have space on the couch too. "If you don't mind a bit of crowding and lots of little kids, you could stay with me," he offered, sitting down.

"Really?" Remmy asked, surprised.

"Sure." Brock smiled. "It's the least I can do, after you beat me like that. You're sure you haven't been training for awhile? A couple years, maybe?"

Remmy shook his head. "Just started last week, and only 'cause my parents kicked me out of the house. I didn't want to."

"You didn't want to?"

"That's what I keep saying," Ivonar told the older boy. "I mean, Remmy has actual talent, but when I try to tell him that, he either dismisses it as luck, or says it was all the Pokémon, without any of his help."

"All I did was suggest what they do," Remmy said again. "They didn't actually have to do it."

"But they did, and because they did, they won," Brock said.

"That isn't necessarily true," Remmy disagreed. "If they can win with me telling them what to do, they could probably win without me, just as easy."

Brock shook his head. "When Pokémon fight, they run on instinct. That's why trained ones fight better than wild ones. Trained ones learn to consider their moves, to actually plan instead of simply reacting. But even then, most Pokémon aren't as smart as humans. They don't plan as well, or as far ahead."

"I was totally winging it back there," Remmy insisted. "I wasn't planning ahead. I was reacting."

"Sometimes," Brock said, "instinct works just as well as planning."

"So you totally take back what you just said about planning?" Remmy asked with a grin.

"Well, er- I- um…" Brock rubbed the back of his head.

"Don't bother," Ivonar told him with a grin. "Remmy likes to back people into corners."

"That's not true," Remmy disagreed.

"Is too," Ivonar retorted.

"Your Bulbasaur and Dratini are as good as new!" Nurse Joy called from the desk. Immediately, Brock's entire face turned brilliant red. "Your Geodude and Onix will be ready in about half an hour, Brock." Remmy got up to get his pokéballs.

Ivonar elbowed Brock. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Swell," Brock replied with a goofy grin.

Ivonar rolled her eyes. "O…kay," she muttered, dropping the subject.

*

"Like I said, I hope you guys like little kids."

"I have a little brother," Ivonar told him. "I can stand them."

"I have a little brother and a baby sister," Remmy added. "I think I can handle it."

"I have ten little brothers and sisters," Brock said. "One or two doesn't compare."

Ivonar and Remmy traded half surprised, half worried glances. "Ten?" Ivonar echoed.

"Yup. Get ready." Brock stopped at the house they were in front of, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. "Hey everybody! I'm home!"

A little girl ran up, bawling. "Sammy made me trip and rip my skirt!" she screamed.

"I did not!" another voice shouted from farther inside. "It was Johnny!"

"It was not! I didn't do nothin'!"

"Hey, hey, none of this," Brock said. He picked the girl up, balancing her on his hip. "I'll get your skirt as good as new in a minute, okay?" The girl sniffed. "You're not hurt, are you? No bruises to kiss all better?" The girl sobbed softly, then shook her head. "Okay. See? It's no harm done, then." He put her down. "This is Remmy, and Ivonar," he said, motioning to the other two. "They're staying here for the night. Show them where they'll be staying, okay?"

The girl nodded, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. "Okay." She held out her wet hand to Remmy and Ivonar.

The trainers traded another look. Ivonar smiled weakly. "Lead the way."

The girl pouted a little, then turned and started walking further inside.

Further into the house held no less chaos than the first room. A group of little boys swordfought with a broom, a baseball bat, and a couple of tree branches. A group of girls squabbled over a plastic tea set. Two kids played a quiet game of cards whose rules weren't immediately apparent - something about putting one card down at a time, then, for no apparent reason, putting down two, which made the other player laugh and take the pile of cards and shuffle them into the cards he held facedown in his hand.

"This is my room," the girl leading them said, stopping at the room with the tea set war. "You can stay with me, Ee-var."

Ivonar cringed, then tried to hide it behind a smile. "You can just call me Eevee," she told her.

The girl looked at her oddly. "Why?"

They'd left the free Pokémon outside. With all these little kids, Ivonar was wondering if it was safe to bring them inside. She was also starting to wonder if it was safe for her and Remmy to stay inside. "'Cause I like being called that," Ivonar replied.

"Hey!" a boy shouted. "There's a Pikachu outside throwing an Eevee around! We gotta stop it!" There was a mad rush for the door.

"No, wait!" Ivonar shouted, running after them. Remmy was right at her heels. "Leave them alone! Don't-"

"Pi-ka-chu!"

There was a brilliant flash of yellow light, and Remmy and Ivonar were forced to jump on a chair to avoid the sudden rush of bawling children back into the house. "Brock!" they screamed. "Brock! Brock! The mean Pikachu out there zapped us!"

"They must have gotten too close to Cole," Remmy murmured. Ivonar nodded. Though Chia tried to help Manx keep some control over all the Eevees, it was quite obvious that the black tail-tipped Eevee was her indisputable favorite.

Both of them yelled as the chair they were perched on tipped over. They quickly put it back upright, then ran outside.

Manx was standing in a crouch, his ears laid back, Sweetie, Fluffball, and Static safely under his body. Chia stood a little away from them, Cole held firmly in her paws, her own long ears drawn back and held flat to her skull. "Chu," she muttered darkly.

Manx stood up a little straighter, turning his ears so that they faced outward instead of backwards. He glared accusingly at Ivonar.

"What, it's my fault he has fifty million brothers and sisters?" she retorted to his cruel gaze. He snorted. Ivonar picked up a quaking Sweetie and put her on her shoulder. "Come on, you guys. Better go inside." She looked at Manx. "Either you should be glad you don't have a tail to be pulled, or you should go into your pokéball to protect your ears, too."

Manx snorted again, flattening his ears a little, and pouted. He picked up Static in his mouth.

Chia shifted Cole to one paw, and used the other three to scamper up Remmy's pants and shirt to perch with the Eevee on the human's shoulder. Her ears remained back, a dark look on her face.

Remmy, Ivonar, and Manx went inside, where they were greeted with a glaring Brock surrounded by his brothers and sisters. "The Pokémon can stay," Brock snapped, "but only if they don't hurt anyone."

One of the little girls whimpered and buried her face in his pantleg. "That mean Pikachu zapped me!" she wailed.

"Chi?" Chia's ears came forward again. Then she scowled. "Pika chi, chi pika pika chu ki cha!"

"The only reason Chia 'zapped' anybody was that she was afraid you might hurt Cole, that's all," Ivonar told them gently. She reached over to pet the Eevee Chia was hugging tightly. "Imagine if you were run at by ten really big people. Wouldn't you be a little scared?"

The younger children looked thoughtful as they understood. The older ones frowned a little, not really willing to admit that they'd be scared.

They all just stood there for awhile, not really doing anything.

Manx snorted, putting Static down. He yawned, then strode forward. A few of the children moved away, frightened by the large cat, while others looked at him curiously. He leaned heavily against Brock's leg as he meandered passed, with Fluffball at his heels, then wandered into the kitchen.

Ivonar laughed. "I think Manx is telling us it's dinnertime."

"Let's eat, then!" Brock said with forced cheerfulness. "Tommy, Johnny, Suzie, set the table. Patty, could you help me bring the food to the table? The rest of you sit quietly. No fighting, okay? Mark, get two more chairs for Remmy and Ivonar." Half the children ran one way, half the other. After a moment's pause, Ivonar and Remmy followed the second half away from the kitchen, to a small room filled with a long table. Five chairs were lined up on each side, with one chair at the head of the table. One of the other children returned, lugging two more chairs. Remmy helped him set them up opposite of the head of the table, and he and Ivonar scrunched together. The Eevees scampered under the table, except Sweetie, who refused to leave Ivonar's shoulders. Chia kept a sharp eye on the children from where she perched on the back of Remmy's chair. Manx slipped under the table as three children approached, one with a stack of plates, another with fistfuls of silverware and chopsticks, and the third with a large tray of cups. By the time they had set the table and taken their places, Brock and the tenth child came in with heavy trays of food. "Dinner!" Brock called brightly, placing his tray a little left of the middle of the table. The girl beside him placed hers next to it, then slid into the last free chair on the side of the table. Brock took the chair at the head of the table. Everyone bowed their heads for a long moment, their hands clasped together, then looked up and started passing around the dishes. Everything was passed to Ivonar and Remmy first, then passed down the sides of the table to Brock, then sent back. Plates piled high, cups full, everyone dug in. A noticeable amount of vegetables went under the table to the Eevees, and some meat went to Manx, too, much to his pleasure. Brock constantly rebuked those giving tablescraps, and Ivonar joined in, but Remmy just smiled and joined in on the "illegal" activity. The meal was loud, chaotic, and enjoyed by everyone. No one left hungry, and, in spite of several squabbles, no one left angry, either.

"That was wonderful!" Ivonar groaned, leaning back in her chair. In the middle of the meal, Sweetie had joined her brothers and sister under the table, when she realized she was missing out on treats. Chia remained on Remmy's chair, but happily nibbled at an apple she'd been given. She still gave any of the children who came close wary glances, but the brave ones that reached up to give her a pet didn't get any resistance, or "zapped" again.

After dinner was just as fun, now that all errors had been corrected and misunderstandings settled. Fluffball, Cole, and Chia led several children on a merry chase throughout the house, while Manx lowered himself so far as to give a couple of the younger, lighter children rides on his back, before Ivonar could scold him for being a bad guest. Static pranced and pounced himself exhausted by chasing strings, baseballs, wads of paper - anything the children wiggled or rolled for him to chase. Sweetie purred herself silly as she went from lap to lap, tickled and pet in every conceivable way, until one of the girls brought out a stiff-wire brush. Her purr rumbled throughout the building at the gentle, firm brushing, which brought her brothers and sister (and Chia) running to see what they were missing. A small fight broke out over who got to brush who - considering there were only four Eevees and ten children - but by bringing out Rahta and Ratzy, with one child brushing Chia and two brushing Manx (considering he was easily twice as big as any of the others), everyone got in on the fun.

In the end, Ivonar passed out happily in a chair in the living room. There was a small commotion when Nuisance broke out of his pokéball, which scared the children, who in turn scared him witless, but Brock was quick to quiet them all. Nuisance flopped facedown on Ivonar's feet, falling quickly to sleep. Manx curled up on another chair. Sweetie slipped out of the arms of the girl who had been cuddling her and curled up on Ivonar's stomach. Fluffball and Static lay on top of Manx, who grumbled a little, but didn't chase them off of him. Remmy dozed off in a third chair when he only meant to lay across it for a moment, his head on one arm rest, his legs hanging over the other. Chia and Cole curled up together on his stomach.

After their guests had settled for the night, Brock hurried the other children off to bed. He brought out two blankets, one for Ivonar, one for Remmy, but at Manx's soft growl and pointed look, he went back for a third. With a weary smile, he was happy to fall into his own bed at last.

*

Ivonar woke up with a crick in her neck, bewildered for a moment as she tried to figure out where she was. She could hear Nuisance's soft snoring, but she couldn't see her feet, or him, either, for that matter. Sweetie purred softly in her sleep from where she was curled up under Ivonar's chin. Manx, Static, and Fluffball formed an odd pile of curled up bodies in a chair nearby. Remmy lay sprawled sideways in an armchair, his head on one armrest, his legs hanging over the other, a blanket thrown over him. Chia's head peeked out beside his, and a pair of long brown ears showed that Cole was in there, too. A blanket covered Ivonar, too. Manx lay on a third, while Static and Fluffball lay on him.

Someone tugged on some strands of her hair. She winced. "Are you awake yet?" someone whispered loudly.

"Almost," she replied dryly. "Why?"

"Brock said he'd wait for you at the gym. He left some breakfast out for you. He said we weren't supposed to touch it, 'cause you're guests."

Ivonar gasped. Now she remembered! After spending the night in the hospitality of a nice guy, she had to get up, eat the breakfast he'd left for her, then go and try to knock out his Pokémon. There was something ironic in that… She smiled grimly to herself as she took Sweetie out from under her chin, gently kicked Nuisance off her feet, and pulled the blanket off of her. Maybe Remmy had a point…

*

Soon, they were back, right from where they started, but there was a new order to where they stood, now, and a new feeling in the air.

It was Ivonar who stood on the field, not Remmy, her hand at the pouches in her pokéball belt. She frowned a little. Soon after Remmy's fight had begun, she'd managed to get her Poliwag back, but the Pokédex insisted it was a Poliwhirl. Stupid contraption. And Professor Oak wondered why she hadn't wanted it…

Manx sat silently, a little behind Ivonar. He'd made it clear on the way back to the gym that there was no way he was going to battle the Geodude or the Onix. He also made it just as clear that he wasn't going to go back into his pokéball. No matter how much she yelled, pleaded, whined, or threatened, he was going to observe. That was it.

Remmy stood on the sidelines with the Eevees now. Sweetie had been hesitant to sit on his shoulder, but eventually she accepted her place out of the way. Chia sat with Cole and Static on the floor. Fluffball squirmed in Remmy's arms: she wanted to be with Manx, on the field.

Brock was all business once more. "Two Pokémon each. You can withdraw them and send them out and all that, as much as you want, but you can only use two. Understood?"

Ivonar nodded sharply. "Understood."

"Geodude, go!"

"Tagalong, go!"

Remmy chuckled. "Tagalong?" he murmured to himself. "Wonder where that came from."

Ivonar gasped. "What the-" The Poliwag came into being, but it wasn't a Poliwag at all. A Poliwhirl stood on the rocks, and looked around a little, a bit confused. "What happened?" Ivonar demanded. "I don't have a Poliwhirl!"

"Geodude, tackle attack!"

Ivonar snapped back to what was important. It didn't matter right now that the Pokémon was wrong - she had to use the Pokémon that was out. "Tag, Water Gun!" she shouted.

The Geodude rushed the Poliwhirl, fists clenched tight. It dodged as the Poliwhirl tried blasting it, but twisted in midair, avoiding the attack while still being able to deliver its own. The Poliwhirl squealed as it was tackled. It rolled backwards a few times, landing on its hands and knees. It lifted its face, eyes blazing, and blasted away at the Geodude.

The Geodude dodged and dipped, but the Poliwhirl was angry. Instead of keeping its attack focused and strong, it widened the stream of water, spraying more water less forcefully. When it finally hit the Geodude, it focused its attack again, blasting it until it flew backwards, into the ground.

"Tag, tackle attack!" Ivonar yelled.

"Geodude, harden!" Brock snapped.

The Poliwhirl leaped at the Geodude, but with a dull flash of white light, the Geodude grew denser, and the Poliwhirl's attack did little besides bring it close enough to be attacked.

"Tag, Water Gun!"

"Geodude, Tackle Attack!"

"Tag, return!" Ivonar held out the pokéball. A beam of red light streamed out, but the Poliwhirl avoided it, slamming the Geodude point-blank with a Water Gun in its side. The Geodude cartwheeled through the air, surprised by the attack, having expected its enemy to retreat. The angered Poliwhirl kept drowning it in a steady blast of water with three times the power of a fire hose, steadily weakening the Geodude until finally it cowered on the ground, its arms thrown protectively over its face.

"Geodude, return!" The Geodude disappeared in a flash of red light. "Your Pokémon proved itself, but you haven't!" Brock shouted across the gym. "Your Pokémon have to listen to you!"

"I should have a Poliwag, not a Poliwhirl!" Ivonar shouted back. "I don't know whose that is!" She pointed at the Poliwhirl.

Brock's eyes narrowed, but he didn't pursue the subject. "Go Onix!" he shouted, throwing out his second pokéball. The huge rock snake reappeared, over one of the holes still left from its battle the day before. It roared in challenge at the Poliwhirl. "Onix, tackle!"

"Tag, Bubble!"

The Poliwhirl opened its mouth to attack, but the Onix had regained its speed, fully recovered from its fight with Drake. It crashed into the ground, nearly flattening the Poliwhirl. There was no way the water Pokémon was getting up after a move like that.

"Tag, return!" This time, the Poliwhirl had no choice in obeying.

Brock and the Onix waited patiently for her to choose her next Pokémon.

Ivonar frowned, putting the pokéball back into the fourth pouch in her belt. She stuck her finger in the first pouch, considering. Char? Her frown deepened: fire Pokémon had no advantage over rock Pokémon, and she wasn't really certain how well Char would listen to her yet. Her finger slid to the fifth pouch. Ro? She decided against it. Ro was even less likely to listen to her, and flying Pokémon had a disadvantage against rock Pokémon. She considered Rahta for a moment, but he was still off-balance, and normal Pokémon had a disadvantage, too. That left only one Pokémon…

She shoved her fingers into the second pouch, pulling out the pokéball. "Nuisance, go!" she ordered.

The Psyduck came out, rubbing his eyes. He looked around, confused, then noticed a bunch of boulders stacked on each other. He followed them up with his eyes, up, up, up… his beak fell open as his long eyes met the huge eyes of the Onix. "Psy?" he squeaked weakly.

Brock barked out a laugh. "Onix! Bind!"

The huge Pokémon roared, crashing down around the Psyduck, wrapping it tight in its coils. The Psyduck disappeared among its huge segments.

"Nuisance!" Ivonar screamed. How stupid could she be! She should have used Char or Ro, not Nuisance! How could she send out a Pokémon whose only attack was Tail Whip against such a monster?

The Onix shifted its coils, and the Psyduck's head appeared, high up. His face was a mask of pain, his eyes squeezed shut. He wiggled helplessly. He managed to get his forelegs free, but there wasn't much he could do with them against the gigantic Onix. It was simply a matter of time before he passed out from the pressure the Onix was squeezing him with.

The Psyduck squealed in pain, then started hitting himself in the head.

"What is he doing?" Remmy whispered to Chia, watching worriedly.

"Chee," Chia replied, hugging Cole. She didn't know, either. What good did the poor Psyduck think he was doing attacking himself?

"He… must be confused, or something," Remmy suggested.

Nuisance continued hitting himself.

"I forfeit!" Ivonar screamed. "Nuisance, stop that!"

"Onix, enough!" Brock barked. The Onix looked at him. Then its eyes went wide, and its coils started to loosen. It roared in surprise.

Nuisance stopped hitting himself, and opened his eyes. They glowed a brilliant, eerie blue. He slipped out of sight, disappearing into the Onix's loosening coils.

The Onix started to slowly float into the air.

"What-!" Brock exclaimed as he watched, amazed, as his Onix continued to float, higher and higher. Nuisance soon appeared below the floating Onix, staring at it with intent, blue-lit eyes.

When the Onix was floating almost to the ceiling, Nuisance swung his head sharply right.

The Onix flew through the air, slamming into the right wall. Remmy, Chia, and the Eevees ran for cover as huge pieces of stone fell around them, some from the wall, some from the Onix.

Nuisance, his unfeeling eyes still unblinking, swung his head left.

The Onix flew across the gym, slamming into the left wall even harder. More stone fell.

"Stop it!" Brock yelled. "He's going to bring the whole gym down!"

"Nuisance!" Ivonar screamed at the same time. "Stop it! Now!"

The Psyduck paused, still staring at the Onix, lodged in the wall. Slowly, he turned his face forward, looking up. The Onix pulled out of the wall, floating up until the horn on its head brushed the very peak of the ceiling.

Nuisance blinked.

The roar of displaced air was louder than the roar of pain the Onix uttered as it crashed five feet straight into the ground at the Psyduck's feet, connecting the two holes that already existed in the gym floor.

There was a long moment of silence, broken only by the sound of crumbling stone, and the clack of several stones breaking loose from the ceiling and edge of the gigantic, Onix-shaped hole to fall to the floor or on the Onix.

Nuisance swayed, blinking away the blue light in his eyes. He swayed even harder, then fell backwards, out cold.

Both Brock and Ivonar ran forward. Brock peered in shock down the huge hole his Onix was buried in. Ivonar brushed some of the dirt off Nuisance's forehead. He was bruised all over, but otherwise didn't look at all hurt. "What was that?" she asked no one.

"You don't know?" Brock demanded. He returned his Onix to its pokéball, and stared, dumbfounded, at the giant hole in his gym. "How can that thing be so powerful?"

"I- I don't know," Ivonar replied, holding Nuisance close. "The only move I ever taught him was Tail Whip! The moment I sent him out I realized how stupid I'd been. I-"

Brock scowled. "I suggest you don't use that Pokémon in battle again until you know what he's capable of," he told her sternly. "I suggest you don't battle at all until you learn to control your Pokémon. You can't just pick fights and wing it." He glanced at Remmy. "Some people are lucky enough to be born with a natural talent. But those people are rare. Us normal people have to work to get the needed experience to win battles." He reached into his pocket, and tossed a little gray piece of metal over the hole. "You win the Boulder Badge, but totally on luck. This wasn't your victory. I wouldn't battle for another badge if I were you, until I figured out what I was doing." The badge let off a soft jingle as it bounced off a rock, rolled a little, then stopped against Nuisance's foot. With shaking, ashamed fingers, Ivonar picked it up. She looked at it, tears stinging her eyes.

"I promise," she whispered shakily.

*

Ivonar was silent, her head hanging in shame, as she wheeled her bike toward the Pokécenter. Remmy looked at her worriedly. "What do you think that attack was-"

"I don't know," Ivonar snapped icily.

"Let me finish," Remmy told her calmly. "What do you think that attack was, when Nuisance started hitting himself?"

Ivonar shook her head. "He must have been confused or something," she muttered.

"That's what I thought, but now I'm not sure," Remmy disagreed. "He brought on his own psychic powers. I listened to all the info in my Pokédex about Psyducks, after you told me about the first time Nuisance used that other attack, on the Beedrill. It says that they can only use their psychic attacks if their natural headaches get powerful enough. He was hitting himself in the head, Ivonar. He brought on his own headache, his own powers. With any other Pokémon I'd say that it might have been luck if they started attacking themself and ended up winning, but with Nuisance I'm not so sure."

"A Pokémon winning by attacking themself, eh?" a scratchy voice echoed. Both trainers jumped, then looked in surprise at the cloaked figure sitting on a doorstep. "Not a Psyduck, then, no?"

"Yeah, Nuisance is a Psyduck," Ivonar told them. It was impossible to tell if the cloaked figure was a man or a woman.

The figure cackled. "Eh! Haven't heard of that attack in a long time, no…"

"Attack?" Ivonar echoed. "What attack?"

"Why, Self Inflict, of course." The figure cackled again. "'Twas an attack my great-grandfather taught his Psyduck, long ago. It is a very obscure attack that isn't used anymore. Who taught your Psyduck this attack?"

Ivonar frowned. "Nobody. My brother found him, and gave him to me. He didn't teach Nuisance anything, and all I've taught him is Tail Whip."

"Oh, really?" the figure leered. "And how old was this Psyduck when your brother 'found' him?"

"When I brought him for his first checkup, the nurse at the Pokécenter said he was about eight months old."

"Psyducks can begin to train when they are three months old. Somebody could have taught him Self Inflict before your brother 'found' him." Ivonar didn't like how the figure kept sneering when they said "found". "Yet I get the feeling that is not the only problem."

Ivonar scowled. "It's not," she admitted curtly. "Nuisance also has this attack, where his eyes glow bright blue-"

"All Psyducks eyes glow bright blue when they use psychic powers," the figure informed her rudely.

Ivonar's scowl deepened. "He stares at his opponent, then turns his head. Where he turns his head, the other Pokémon floats - it just floats! If he looks up, it floats up, if he jerks his head right, it zips right. He lifted a Beedrill like that a few days ago, and today he sent an entire Onix crashing it into walls, nearly knocking down the Pokémon gym! When he's finished, he blinks, and the Pokémon he's fighting slams into the ground."

"Do the Pokémon seem paralyzed when he does this?" the figure demanded. Ivonar considered: both times, a look of terror crossed the Pokémon's faces, but they hadn't moved. She nodded. So did the figure. "Another move I have not heard of, in a great long time…."

"What move is that?" Remmy asked.

"The funny thing about fighting Pokémon and psychic Pokémon," the figure said, ignoring him, "is that, though they fight completely differently, they each have comparable moves. A fighting Pokémon can immobilize an opponent with various forms of holds, while psychic Pokémon can use Paralysis. Fighting Pokémon can use fast attacks to confuse opponents: psychic Pokémon can use Confusion." The figure paused for effect. "Strong fighting Pokémon have a powerful attack called Seismic Toss. They literally throw their opponent as hard as they can into the ground. Now, with most psychic Pokémon, their physical strength isn't enough to throw much of anything, much less an enemy."

"But you said that they have comparable moves," Remmy insisted. "Is there a psychic move like Seismic Toss?"

The figure nodded. "Psychic Pokémon have to use their minds to toss their opponents around, instead of their arms or paws. Extremely powerful fighting Pokémon have Seismic Toss: extremely powerful psychic Pokémon have Psychic Toss. Instead of actually grabbing their opponent, they use telekinesis to pick them up and throw them around. But it takes a great deal of energy to do it."

"Nuisance tossed the Onix into two walls, then the ground," Ivonar told the figure, "then he fainted out cold." She patted her belt. The Boulder Badge was pinned outside Nuisance's pouch. "I'm taking him to the Pokécenter to get him healed."

The figure nodded. "Good, good." Then, their shadowed mouth scowled. "You'd best be careful with that Psyduck, kid. You're brand new at this. Your Pokémon knows more about battle than you do. It takes a strong trainer to train strong Pokémon."

Ivonar nodded. "I know," she whispered, the pain of Brock's harsh warning renewing itself.

"Granny, are you scaring little kids again?" The kind-voiced, green-haired girl smiled at them. "Don't mind her. Come on, Granny. I have our supplies. We can go home now."

"Oh, buzz off, Cassandra," the figure muttered. They - she - glared at Ivonar again. "Remember! Take care with that Psyduck!"

"I will!" Ivonar called after the retreating figure. She bit her lip a little. "Come on, Remmy," she murmured.

They were quiet as they settled what they wanted with the Nurse Joy of Pewter City. Then Ivonar went to one of the public phones. For a moment, she considered calling home, but decided she had a more urgent call to make. She picked up the phone and dialed. She set a scowl on her face when the call went through. "Professor, what happened to my Poliwag?" she demanded.

Professor looked at her in surprise. "Ivy? Ah! Good to hear from you!"

Ivonar winced a little at the hated nickname, then demanded again, "What happened to my Poliwag?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I tried to switch my Pidgey for it yesterday, and it wouldn't work!"

"Oh, well, that's understandable. I had it out at the time. Sorry about that. I was curious about what you'd caught."

"Then, today, I went to use it in battle, but it wasn't there!"

"It wasn't? But you did switch your Pidgey for it… I have it here." He held up a pokéball where she could see it on the screen.

"It wasn't my Poliwag!" she snapped. "It was a Poliwhirl!"

"Of course it was!" Professor Oak replied cheerfully.

"What?"

"While your Poliwag was out yesterday, it had an unfortunate run-in with a Butterfree Gary sent me a little before I received your Poliwag. It evolved into Poliwhirl. Taught that Butterfree a lesson, too. It'll be drying its wings out for a week!"

"But now it won't listen to me!" Ivonar cried. "I tried to call it back, but it wouldn't until it got knocked out!"

"Well, that's unfortunate." Professor Oak cringed at the unspoken anger in Ivonar's scowl. "I'm sure if you work with it, it'll learn to listen."

"This is getting redundant, Professor," Ivonar whined. "I catch a Pokémon, it evolves, and I don't know if it'll listen to me! My Spearow evolved into Fearow, and now a Poliwag I didn't even want evolved into a Poliwhirl! Next thing I know, that Magikarp Remmy gave me will evolve into Gyrados and eat me!"

"Actually, of the three Magikarp the two of you sent me, one of Remmy's is much closer to evolving than yours," Professor Oak assured her. "That Pikachu you sent me, though… what a grouch! However did you catch such a mean creature?"

"The Pokécenter in Viridian gave it to me," Ivonar replied. "Since I didn't think I was going to use it in battle, I told the Pikachus that they probably wouldn't see battle, and that one was the only one that agreed to be taken if it didn't see battle."

"I've never known a crueler-tempered Pikachu," Professor Oak muttered, frowning. Then he smiled. "I'm sure you can handle it, Ivy."

"There's another thing," Ivonar continued. "It's Nuisance, my pet Psyduck. The only attack I've taught him is Tail Whip, but according to this old woman I met, he has two other attacks."

"Oh?"

Ivonar nodded. "One she called Self Inflict."

Professor Oak frowned. "That isn't a very good attack," he told her. "It's one that used to be taught to Psyducks often, but most were unable to withstand being attacked and attacking themselves, and fainted before it worked. It is an extremely dangerous attack. How does Nuisance know it?"

"I don't know. But that's not the worst of it. Twice, he's used this really strange psychic attack. The old woman said it was called Psychic Toss."

"Psychic Toss?!" Professor Oak gasped. He dropped the receiver. Ivonar yelped at the painfully loud thunk that rang through her own receiver. Professor Oak disappeared from view for a moment, retrieving the receiver from the floor. "D-did you say Psychic Toss?"

"That's what the old lady said," Ivonar replied.

Professor Oak reappeared, looking shocked. "Psychic Toss," he muttered. "Psychic Toss! And it hasn't evolved into Golduck yet?"

"What?" Ivonar asked, surprised.

"How old is that Psyduck?"

"About two years."

"Two years!" The hand not holding the receiver to his ear pressed against Professor Oak's forehead. "Two years! And the only attack you ever taught him was Tail Whip?"

"I just taught him that recently!" Ivonar cried. "Nuisance was just a pet!"

"Psychic Toss… two years!" Professor Oak looked around him, as if trying to find an answer somewhere around him. "Not evolved…?" Ivonar waited, worried, while he muttered to himself for awhile longer. Then he finally looked at the screen again. "You have no idea how he could be so powerful?" Biting her lip, Ivonar shook her head. "Two years… this is unheard of!"

"How could he be so powerful, Professor?" Ivonar asked.

"I have no idea," the man admitted solemnly. "I have absolutely no idea, Ivonar." He frowned. "Is there anything special that you've done, at all, to Nuisance?"

Ivonar grimaced. "He… he sleeps on my feet every night. He breaks out of his pokéball to do it."

Professor Oak shook his head. "No, no… that wouldn't explain it. Hardly."

Ivonar frowned. "I don't know, Professor. That's the only way I treat him differently than any of the other Pokémon."

The professor frowned as well. "Nuisance hasn't shown any… rebellion? Any unwillingness to obey? Stubbornness?"

Ivonar considered it. "When… when he used Psychic Toss on the Onix, I told him to stop. He paused for a moment, then dropped the Onix. Hard. He completed the attack, then stopped…" She bit her lip for a moment. "Does that count?"

"I don't know." The professor's frown deepened. "That is the only instance where he seemed even slightly rebellious?"

Ivonar nodded. "Nuisance has always been a good Pokémon. Sometimes he's a little out of it, a little dopey, but isn't that normal for Psyducks?"

Professor Oak nodded. "I don't understand," he murmured, a distracted look on his face. "Normally, when Pokémon are stronger in energy than their trainers are in experience, they rebel, refuse to listen. Why doesn't this Psyduck rebel?"

Ivonar frowned a little, hurt. "Maybe he likes me too much," she suggested, then felt stupid.

Professor Oak frowned even more. "Maybe," he muttered under his breath, not really paying attention. He hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Ivonar, more upset than ever, hung up the phone. She didn't want her mother to see her upset: that would be the fastest way to end her training. She wandered over to the counter. She crossed her arms, resting them on the counter, then rested her chin on her arms.

Manx looked up from where he lay at Remmy's feet. Remmy had dozed off on one of the Pokécenter's couches. Manx got up, stretched, then plucked Sweetie off the couch and walked with her to the counter. He reared up on his hind legs, put the Eevee on the counter, dropped back to all fours, then bumped his head into Ivonar's leg. She looked down at him as Sweetie climbed onto her shoulders. "Thanks, Manx." She gave his head a rub. Nurse Joy appeared with her two pokéballs. "I don't get it. Remmy has a natural talent for training, and I have a Fearow I don't think will listen to me, a Poliwhirl that won't listen to me, and a Psyduck that shouldn't listen to me." Manx looked at her pointedly. She smiled wryly, tickling one of his ears. "And you, who never listened to me in the first place."

"Maybe you should take your Pokémon to Old Farley," Nurse Joy suggested, placing the two pokéballs on the counter in front of Ivonar.

"Who?"

"An old man who lives on Route Three. He's a Pokémon expert. He used to work here, but he retired soon after I began to work here. He likes to help new trainers who aren't having much luck."

"I don't need luck," Ivonar informed her ruefully. "I just need my friend to share some of his." She chucked her thumb over her shoulder at Remmy, still dozing on the couch.

Nurse Joy smiled. "Go talk to Old Farley. Tell him Joyful sent you."

"Joyful?"

She laughed. "He has a nickname for all of us Joys. He calls my sisters Joyless and OverJoyed." Ivonar smiled a little. "Go see him," the nurse urged her. "I'm sure he'll help you. He understands what Pokémon say, as if he was one of them. If all else fails, I'm sure he'll talk to them and see what they say."

"Okay," Ivonar agreed. She took back her pokéballs. Then she pulled her Pokédex out of her back pocket, where she'd decided it was better to keep it, rather than in her backpack. She frowned a little. "Hmm… well, I haven't any trouble with Rahta," she murmured to herself. She tapped the transfer key, then scrolled through the list of Pokémon she'd sent to Professor Oak. Choosing the Kakuna, she hit the transfer key again. A dull glow emerged from the sixth pouch in her belt, at the same time as a pokéball appeared at her feet with a dull flash of white light. She picked it up, tucking it in the sixth pouch, then put Nuisance's ball back in its pouch, and Tagalong's into the fourth pouch. "Okay. I'll go see 'Old Farley'."

"Good luck." With a smile, Nurse Joy disappeared into the back of the Pokécenter.

Ivonar wandered over to Remmy. She shook his shoulder. With a disoriented-sounding groan, he opened his eyes, looking at her blearily. "Come on, lucky," Ivonar told him. "I've got to go see Old Farley."

"Old who?" Remmy stood up and stretched, yawning.

Ivonar rubbed Sweetie's head with one hand, Manx's with the other. "Somebody to help me with Pokémon that won't listen to me," Ivonar replied.

Remmy bent down to pick up Fluffball and Static as they raced passed. Chia loped over, Cole riding her piggyback. "So what am I supposed to do?"

Ivonar shrugged. "I don't think you need help," she grumbled.

Remmy glanced at her, but decided not to say anything. He let Chia climb to his shoulder, then handed Static to Ivonar. They left the Pokécenter, going to their bikes.

"Next stop," Ivonar announced, "Route Three."