Pokémon Metal Platinum

Chapter 18: The fallacy of sunk costs

Not very much time had gone by since Dawn's... less than elegant loss to Gardenia, a Gym Leader who was absolutely nothing like she could've anticipated. Across her entire journey up until this point, Dawn had become pretty accustomed to losing, many, many times; more times than she'd like to admit, but with every defeat, it stung.

The first thing the blossoming Trainer had done after healing up her Pokémon was going off to challenge the gym. She hadn't even taken a moment to take in the sights of Eterna. Now that her Pokémon, all three of them were once again taking turns getting nurtured back to health at the local Pokémon Center, Dawn finally had some time to check out the place.

Eterna was a pretty town, sure it was nowhere near the same size as Jubilife, but that was a plus for the girl. It was about the same size as Oreburgh, maybe just a tiny bit bigger. Dawn wasn't quite sure nor did she care much for that matter. The city had an exquisite feel, almost like it wasn't from Sinnoh. It was the kind of place she expected to see out of a photobook from Unova.

As fun as exploring was, Dawn wasn't in the best mood for it. She was never in the best mood after losing a big battle. So instead, she seeked the nearest ice cream shop in town, since ice cream was the number one thing that cheered her up whenever she was bummed out.

Only she couldn't quite find an ice cream shop. The closest thing to it she could find was a little popsicle shack, where she was able to nab a Turtwig popsicle. She asked for a Chimchar one instead, but someone had already taken the last one.

Dawn simply sat by herself in some chairs seated outside a small café with the popsicle in her hand. There was a ton of people walking in and out of the place, but she tuned them all out. Hell, she wasn't even eating the Turtwig popsicle. She just merely stared at it and talked aloud quietly.

"...Zucchini. Zucchini and, um. Squash, yeah, that works. Zucchini and squash, or maybeeee, ooh, zucchini and cucumber!" Dawn said yelling the last part happily. Still holding the dripping Turtwig on a stick popsicle in her hand, she still hadn't taken even a single bite of it. Some of it was leaking on her hand.

"No... cucumbers aren't like zucchini, they're— pickles, they're definitely more like pickles." Dawn said second guessing her earlier statement. "Hmm... what even our pickles? They're just like, like... a dude's willy but like, green, and slightly less gross-looking." The more she spoke, the louder she became. Some folk sitting in nearby seats and tables began to take notice, and suddenly everyone else stopped speaking besides her.

"Whatever, forget about pickles... how about um, pears, yeah pears. Pears and..." Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly felt a lot more popsicle dripping on her hand. She looked over to the Turtwig on a stick in her grips. Half of the face was melting, the right side of the face, only one eye was even still visible.

Dawn suddenly stopped talking. Her head completely disjointed from her mindless ramble. All she could focus on was the Turtwig in her hand. A reminder of her earlier loss. The girl dropped the ice lolly upon the table. All that was left was the bottom half of the Pokémon's face and his left eye which was already quickly melting.

She raised two fingers; two thumbs. Plunging it into the popsicle, aiming one for the eye and another for the mouth. Moving her fingers around until all that was left was a disfigured image of the Pokémon she had previously lost to despite a major type advantage.

A faint smile grew upon her face, at least until she heard what sounded to be a call of her name. She took her eyes off the mutilated popsicle looking in front of her, seeing the last person she expected to see there.

It was Lucas. Standing in front of her with clear concern on his face. "Hey, Dawn." He muttered. How much of her earlier long-winded monologue did he hear she wondered.

She took her eyes off Lucas staring back at the borderline green puddle upon her table that was once a Turtwig. "Hey yourself..." She mumbled.

"Hmm, where's Chimchar?" Lucas couldn't help but ask. "He's usually with you outside his Pokéball, isn't he?"

"Where's Professor Rowan? You're usually with him with your head up his butt!" Dawn raised her voice looking straight at him as she insulted him. Lucas didn't respond much. She instead dropped her head once more and apologized. "I'm sorry, that was mean of me."

"Yeah, well, heads up asses aside, I'm going to make a guess and say that your day isn't going as planned." Lucas said pulling aside the chair in front of Dawn on the other side of the table taking a seat.

"...Yes." Dawn answered. "Also watch your language please."

"Hah, sure, I'll do that." Lucas said placing both his arms on the table only to feel both his sleeves drenched in the sticky melted popsicle water. He raised both his arms seeing both sleeves with melted popsicle all over them.

"Oops, here take this." Dawn said passing him a white handkerchief from her bag which he immediately accepted wiping his sleeves off. Once he finished he set it aside in the pool of green and even lighter green. "Let me guess, was this a Bulbasaur?"

"Nope, a little closer to home." Dawn replied.

Lucas gave it some more thought. "Oh, a Turtwig?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Dawn replied with a sarcastic clap of her hands. "That's correct, gold star for you."

"Alright, alright..." Lucas said looking around for a brief moment before placing his eyes back on Dawn. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be going to Eterna, I can't let Barry beat me all the way to the Sinnoh League." Dawn stated.

"So, that's it then right. You took on Gardenia, and judging by your uhh, youthful vigor and peachy attitude, I'm gonna guess you didn't quite win."

Dawn didn't respond. But the look on her face gave it away to Lucas. The look in her eyes told him everything.

"I know you didn't ask, but me and the professor didn't have so much luck in tracking down that proclaimed alternate-colored Starly I think the woman called it. We're splitting up, for now. I'm looking for some samples of Pokémon here in Eterna, he's back in Sandgem." Lucas mentioned. "It's a shame though, about the Starly, cause think of all the good we could do researching a Pokémon like that. And before you say a Pokémon like that can't exist, you know someone who did have an alternate Pokémon like that?"

Dawn perked her face up giving it some thought before speaking. "Ethan of New Bark Town?" She answered.

"Well, yes, I mean, I was going for Steven Stone, but Ethan of New Bark Town definitely works too." Lucas continued. "It was a Red Gyarados I think it was? Man, it's a shame only Pokémon Trainers get their hands on these things. So much more good could be done with them under the magnifying glass of a scientist-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Dawn asked cutting Lucas off who quickly began to think of an answer.

"Look, the point is..." Lucas said searching for an answer until he realized there was none. "Okay, I don't have a point. I'm just trying to make conversation. You and I are both protégés of Professor Rowan, I think we should be able to get along."

"You try and get along with Barry too?" Dawn asked with a half-smile.

"No, I would, but whenever I run into him he's always going off about beating the eight gyms or fining someone, you know, before he runs forth towards the next gym at the speed of sound." Lucas joked.

Dawn gave it some thought. "Speed of sound? Nah, insult Barry like that again and I'll be fining you. He could give light a run for its money."

"Ha, be that as it may, as much as I'd love to rap a bit with Barry, you're much more approachable." Lucas told her. "So, seriously, what's got you in such a bad mood. Who cares if you lost some battle, you can always challenge gyms again."

"I-it's not just this one battle, I already forgot about that. It's just, my entire journey up until this point, it's not shaping up to what I thought it'd be." Dawn clarified again not looking Lucas into the eye. The girl sighed and almost placed her head into the table, stopping when she remembered it was wet with popsicle guts.

"Oh not this song and dance; you have any idea how many times I've heard new Trainers spout this nonsense. You always talk about how you can't let Barry beat you, but do you really think he's sitting out there right now complaining about how many battles he's lost?"

"Well unlike me, Barry doesn't lose battles." Dawn complained even more.

"I'm not so sure about that, but one thing I am sure about is that he doesn't give up... you know, like you're doing right now." Lucas said purposely sounding upsetting.

"Who said anything about giving up. I'm not doing that I'm just... I don't know, I was just thinking, but then you came here and to be honest you're really not helping, so if you don't mind." Dawn said standing up from her chair pushing it into the table. "I'm gonna get out of here, and once my Pokémon are finished healing up I'll think more about what I'm going to do."

Dawn turned her back on Lucas taking steps away from him, only stopping when he continued.

"Think more about what you're going to do, like pack your bags and head on back home?" Lucas questioned which was more than enough to stop Dawn in her tracks.

"I am not quitting, Lucas." Dawn told him crossing her arms. "Look, I'm a Pokémon Trainer, and you're the Pokémon Researcher, so how about I stick to battling, and you stick to finding different-colored Pokémon, okay?" The black hair girl told him about to turn her back on him once more before she stopped at his voice.

"Maybe I know more about being a Trainer thank you think." Lucas said confusing Dawn as he slowly stood up from his chair.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked not at all sure what he was getting at.

Lucas put on a sly smile and laid his arms on the top back rail of the chair leaning on it. "Alright, but it's a bit of a long story, I promise it shouldn't take more than five minutes, tops..."

….

Seeing as in Lucas' eyes, a small-time café didn't fit the so-called "dramatic importance" of whatever he wanted to tell Dawn, they moved to the rolling hills right outside of the city, not quite a part of the forest, but also a minute or so past the entrance sign to the place.

Just a plain field of grass right in front of the city and outside of the long endless forest, the perfect place for a picnic, or even a kid's birthday party as long as there was a bouncy house or an inflatable pool. Other than the two of them, there wasn't many other people or Pokémon aside from one little boy with a kite soaring in the sky, and a few Bidoofs in the far away bushes.

Lucas sat crouched down atop a small hill with Dawn below him sitting with her legs kneeling on the grass, just waiting for Lucas to get whatever it was off his chest. Behind the two of them was Eterna City, not all of it was in sight of course, but at least a decent amount could be seen.

"So, now do you think you can tell me?" Dawn asked genuinely curious for whatever Lucas had to say.

Lucas responded with a bright smile and a nod of his head before he began to speak. "I'm going to tell you a story, about a guy. A guy, a lot like you. In fact, he was about your age. Maybe a bit older, maybe a bit younger. He lived a long way from here, in a city called Veilstone. And in Veilstone, he was the man. He attended Trainer School, where he was a legend amongst his peers. I mean when he strolled down those hallways, all the guys would give him a high-five, and all the finest babes would wink at him hoping—no, pleading he would look in their direction. His name you ask? It was Duke Luke. And everyone, wanted to be his pal."

"Duke Luke... that was really his name?" Dawn cluelessly asked making Lucas drop his cool exterior.

"Uh no, well, I mean, like, it wasn't his legal name or anything, but that was what the folks at school called him." He clarified bringing back his bright smile. "And you wanna know why they called him the duke? Because he was maybe one in three-dozen. A true genius, everything came naturally to him. And I'm not just talking about the weekly pop quiz or anything, I'm talking about mock-battles, academics, item prep, heck even when it came to general Pokémon trivia—and he wasn't overly-nerdy or anything, he was cool, humble, and just being friends with him, it was like a bully-immunity shield."

"Sounds like he was good at everything, so did he pass Trainer School?" Dawn asked getting a scoff out of Lucas.

"Pfft, 'did he pass Trainer School.' Are you kidding me? More like did Trainer School pass him. He passed with flying colors, top of his class— to the surprise of absolutely no one mind you. And he was finally going to do it. Set out, storm the gates, take on every Gym Leader within the land and eventually beat the champion so hard she'd beg to be made even just a member of the Elite Four..." He said with the same enthusiasm and passion in his voice before he suddenly grew more somber. "His journey, it was supposed to be smooth sailing, anything other than that would be a complete upset... but sometimes life has a different plan for you, and while all his classmate and peers went on to take the entire region by their hands, you know, making a name for themselves, Duke Luke was still stuck in Veilstone trying to defeat the first Gym Leader for the umpteenth time, and eventually his friends and peers gave him a new name... Doofus Lucas."

Dawn couldn't help but feel her story mirrored the guys.

She never went to Trainer School, nor did she ever compare herself to someone other than Barry, but she definitely thought that she would already be a Pokémon Master by the time she began her quest. She thought she had it in the bag. Only to be proven wrong time and time again.

After a brief while of both them not thinking, Dawn finally raised the question. "...So, where is this Duke Luke now?"

Lucas looked up at Dawn with confusion across his eyes before it hit him what she had just asked. "Oh for the love of—I'm Duke Luke. This story's about me." He answered which immediately made Dawn start to crackle up.

"Oh my gosh, hahaha!" She giggled getting up from her kneel sitting criss-cross applesauce. "You mean to tell me you seriously called yourself Duke Luke?" She said continuing her teetering which only annoyed Lucas further.

"Hey, didn't you hear what I said? His friends came up with the name, i-it, it was endearing!" He told her still as she collected herself.

"Sorry, I'm sorry." Dawn apologized as she wiped a tear from her eye. She looked up once again towards Lucas before continuing. "I remember you saying something about having no interest in collecting badges, and now you're trying to say you were a Trainer?"

"Wow, I'm impressed, so that attention span of yours can retain information, huh." Lucas joked. "I just said that to you because sometimes I try and forget it myself, it brings back a lot of painful memories as I'm sure you can imagine."

"So, what was it that made you want to become a researcher instead?" Dawn raised the question.

"Honestly, it wasn't just meeting Professor Rowan. I realized the way my life was heading I'd probably end up just another guy with a mortgage, a nine-to-five job, three kids to feed in a marriage with a wife who didn't love me. I knew I had no future with being a Pokémon Trainer, so why not switch it up and go into research? I mean, I was passionate about battling, but I was also passionate about the science behind it all." Lucas explained. "I'm still not sure if any of it would've been possible without the professor, I mean, after I switched sides he was nice enough to take me under his wing, give me a Pokédex, and even give me his prized Turtwig. So, I guess things did work out in the end."

"You know, I thought you were trying to stop me from packing my bags and going home, but now it looks like you're trying to tell me to become a researcher," Dawn told him much to his surprise.

"Wha— God no! Look, I'm happy as is as a Pokémon Researcher, but as much as I try and repress it, sometimes I can't help but think what if I had stuck to being a Trainer? What if I didn't give up? I had the same doubts you're having right now, expect they got gradually worse, and then I just up and quit. And I know your life isn't mine, but I don't want that for you. You deserve better."

Hearing his hopes for her future, it was probably more hopes than anyone had ever placed in her. Definitely more than her mom who always tried to put the thought of being a Coordinator in her head. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but even if I wanted to quit, which I don't by the way but whatever... I already put so much time into being a Trainer, you know, why give up now when I may be on the verge of hitting it big!?"

"That my friend, is what we call a sunk cost." Lucas said with Dawn not understanding at all what he meant.

"A sunk what?" She asked with Lucas clarifying.

"I'm talking the fallacy of sunk costs. It's basic economics; just sticking with a losing venture because of how much time you invested into it. Maybe if you go all in, you know, squeeze in a little more elbow grease, you might finally hit it big."

"Well, maybe I guess; I don't know much about fallacies Lucas." Dawn admitted. Taking a glance past Lucas and into the sky, she noticed the clouds were beginning to darken. It was almost night time. Her Pokémon must've been all fixed up now. The girl got up from her knees beginning to march up the small hill.

Lucas glanced over to her as she walked right past him towards the city entrance. "Where you going?" He couldn't help but ask despite knowing what she would say.

Dawn stopped looking back at him. "Where do you think? To go collect my Pokémon. I was gonna train, but considering we just had that battle, I think it wouldn't hurt to just wait until tomorrow."

"Alright then, Dawn." Lucas replied with as Dawn continued walking. "Maybe if I'm lucky I'll catch you later!"

The girl didn't respond with words, she simply turned her head as she continued walking towards the city giving him a single finger gun.

Lucas continued seated on the top of the hill. Not moving or saying a word. At least until he got an idea. The boy immediately got up rushing towards the young Trainer behind him who stopped as he ran in front of her right before she passed the city entrance sign.

"Dawn, actually, on second thought." Lucas told her clasping his hands together. "Tomorrow, crack of dawn, meet me right into the trees, just north of where we were sitting."

"I'm not in the mood for a picnic, Lucas." Dawn told him. "Well, at least not that early in the morning."

"No! It's not a picnic!" Lucas clarified. "It's a—well, you'll see. I got something in mind that may really help you out. Just come on down whenever you wake up tomorrow, alright? What harm can I do?"

Without much discourse, Dawn agreed. "Okay fine, I'll be there, I guess... so, see you then."

"Trust me, you won't regret it!" Lucas yawped excitedly turning around running back down the hill in the direction of where he said they'd meet: into the forest. Before he made it out of her sight completely he turned around giving a wave and a shout. "Oh yeah, and make sure to bring all of your Pokémon!"

"Yeah, I'll do that!" Dawn said waving back as Lucas made his way out of sight. As she turned around once again facing Eterna City, she couldn't help but wonder what he had in mind...

….

Crack of dawn. That was the time Lucas asked the Trainer to meet him, right into the magnificent Eterna Forest. Only apparently that was too much for Dawn, because she ended up arriving at around ten in the morning, much to the boy's dismay.

The previous day when she recovered her Pokémon from the center, she backtracked on her promise to give her Pokémon the rest of the day off. They trained for about two hours before they called it a night. She wasn't able to find any place to rest for an additional hour and a half at that.

Lucas was sitting on a short wooden stool right beside a small tent all by himself when Dawn found him; they were in the middle of a forest clearing by a nice stream of water. He looked bored out of his mind until he heard the sound of Dawn's boot crunching against the grass.

The boy perked his head up, being met with Dawn who this time had Chimchar on her shoulder. Upon his eyes meeting with the fire type's, Chimchar gave him a nice little wave which he didn't return.

"What part of 'crack of dawn' did you not understand?" Lucas asked sarcastically as Dawn walked in front of him.

"Hey, a girl needs her beauty sleep." Dawn replied before gazing around them. She wasn't much of a fan of Eterna Forest after being lost in it for a lot longer than she would've liked. She did like the view of the nice little river beside her though. "Anyways, you going to tell me what we're doing here?"

Lucas stood up standing right in front of her. "What, you don't like the place? Cause we're going to be here for a while?"

"And why's that?" Dawn asked.

"Because you and me are going to train. Train harder than you have in your entire journey until now." Lucas answered, which Dawn didn't expect to hear.

"You wanna train—with me?" Dawn uttered motioning with her finger as she pointed at Lucas to herself. "Why? You wanna take a chance with being a Pokémon Trainer again?"

"No. This isn't for me; this is for you." Lucas told her. "You don't want to lose when you challenge Gardenia again, don't you?"

Dawn smiled holding back some laughter. "Wow, a chance to train with the legendary Duke Luke. I'm flattered."

"Look, I'm being serious okay. I know what I told you about me having a lot of problems back when I was on my journey, but things are different now." Lucas said taking out a Pokéball from his bookbag. "If it wasn't, then Turtwig wouldn't never became a Grotle, now would he? I'm not Duke Luke anymore, nor am I Doofus Lucas. I'm the guy who's gonna get you your second gym badge—if you'll let me."

Dawn gave it some quick thought before looking over to Chimchar on her shoulder. "I think we should do it! You, Chimchar?"

"Char, Char!" Chimchar said with a smile from cheek to cheek.

"Alright then, so, how're you gonna get me my second gym badge then?" Dawn asked giving a tilt of her head.

"That's easy. Well, it'd be more honest to say it won't be easy, like I said, we're going to have to train harder than you ever have before. But the way I see it, you have a decent shot. Gardenia's a grass type Trainer, right? With your Chimchar, a fire type. And Staravia, a flying type, type advantage is on your side." Lucas told her. "All we have to do is get your Pokémon to the point where they're strong enough that the type advantage is what all they need to win."

"Wow, that's one long way of saying we have to level up. Thing is Staravia can't fly, remember? He can't move any of his wings. That means flying type moves are off the table." Dawn mentioned which Lucas recalled. There was a brief silence between them before he continued.

"Well, we should start now shouldn't we." He said as he once again raised the Pokéball in his hand tossing it into the air. Dawn had a pretty good idea of who it was, and she was proven right as the mid-staged grass starter was released onto the scene.

"Grotle, Grot!" The Grove Pokémon said with a stern shout, first meeting eyes with his Trainer, and then to Dawn and then Chimchar.

"If any Pokémon should do the trick for our training, it's Grotle; and I've got a few other grass types back with Rowan should we need them!" Lucas told her. "Alright, let's get to it!"

"Okay, okay! Dawn yelled running a few meters apart from Lucas and his Pokémon. Once she faced them on the opposite side, Chimchar leaped down from her shoulder forming his best battle stance. "We're ready!"

"Good, we'll start with a Razor Leaf!" Lucas, announcing his first move. Following his order, Grotle gave a shout of its name shooting out multiple spiked-leaves from the bushes upon its shell.

"That's nothing, Chimchar, dodge it!" Dawn yelled just in time. Chimchar did so, jumping to the side avoiding about five or so leaves which moved their trajectory to the side along with him. He was able to dodge the final one with a front flip with the last Razor Leaf passing under his head.

"Now, Rock Smash!" Dawn yelled. Chimchar landed one arm towards the ground in a one-handed handstand before flipping once more landing on his feet. He extended one arm behind him which began to glow with an orange radiance at the fist.

Chimchar jumped off the ground into the air aiming straight for Grotle, who perked its head up watching intently before being cracked over the head by its opponent with enough power it shook even the blades of grass.

"Yes!" Dawn screamed in excitement before realizing Grotle didn't even seem that affected by the attack. He remained still not even groaning in pain. Awaiting his Trainer's command.

"Bullet Seed. Go!" Lucas yelled raising his arm forth. Grotle obliged, opening its mouth firing multiple thunder-quick seeds which hit Chimchar head on who was still midair leaping back.

"C-Char!" Chimchar groaned out in pain despite the attack not being very effective, type advantage wise. Still, he was ready to continue, so there was that at least.

"So, how do I compare to Gardenia so far?" Lucas couldn't help but ask.

"Compared to her, you're a small fry!" Dawn told him with a grin.

"We'll see about that! Grotle, continue with Sand Tomb!" He yelled which alerted Dawn.

Sand Tomb, what does everyone have that move now!? Gardenia, Lucas, I think Roark might've done it too! Dawn thought in fear watching as sand brew around Grotle forcing her to cover her eyes.

"Augh, overpower it, Ember!" Dawn yelled.

Chimchar puffed up his chest right as the sand kicked up a tornado upon the battlefield. The Chimp Pokémon feeling steam radiate from within himself followed by puffs of fire which released from his mouth as he spitball them in the same direction as the Sand Tomb.

Upon the two attacks coming in contact with each other however, it was of no surprise that the twister of sand would overpower the attack. It was bound to happen when the two attacks came in contact. Not only was ground strong to fire, but the attack was simply more powerful in every way.

But what caught Dawn's eye, that within the twister she could see sparks of flames, the last remnants of the Ember attack.

Before she could even shout for Chimchar to dodge, it was too late. The fire type being hit head on with the move being completely enveloped in the sand causing Dawn to once again cover her eyes.

And when she looked back, Chimchar, laid out on the ground covered by sand and scratches, seething in pain from the move barely able to move, Dawn dropped to her knees helping her Pokémon sit up.

But she wasn't sad. This was training. And this was just the beginning.

She reached into her satchel pulling out Shinx's Pokéball this time. She threw her arms into the air tossing it. "Shinx, let's do this!"

"Staravia, let's do this!"

"Chimchar, you're feeling better already!? Alright then, let's continue where we left off!"

"We'll beat it this time, Shinx! Go on and use Thunder-"

Battle after battle with Grotle, they of course took some breaks in between. Sometimes with Lucas switching up with other Pokémon when Grotle needed some rests. But it was clear Grotle was the main attraction for the training session, after all, he was the closest to an actual Pokémon Gardenia would use.

Sooner than they knew it, hours had passed by. With it already being night by the time Staravia had been KO'd for the fifth time that day. Still at the same spot, still with the same rotation of Pokémon from Dawn being used again, and again. When one Pokémon was knocked out, they would receive rest for about an hour, replenishing themselves with nearby berries.

"Staravia!" Dawn said with concern as she kneeled beside her fallen Pokémon. She grasped him in her arms with the Pokémon opening his eyes and giving a smile.

"Star..." He moaned still feeling some pain from their battle.

Lucas was standing in front of them with his Grotle being once again victorious. He'd seen Dawn's Pokémon lose against him probably fifteen times the very same day, but he was stunned with Dawn showing genuine concern, each and every time.

He smiled as he pulled out Grotle's Pokéball recalling him back. Dawn perked her head back up towards Lucas after feeding Staravia a bite of a half-eaten Oran Berry Lucas happened to have. "Okay, who's next? Wormadam? Buneary, or what about your Bibarel?"

"How about none of them." Lucas said confusing Dawn.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked as Lucas began to walk towards the stool in front of his tent taking a seat.

"You see what time it is? It's getting late, we should call it a day." He told her.

Dawn checked her Pokétch. It was eight thirty-five. "Huh, I guess I started to lose track of time." She looked over behind her, where Shinx and Chimchar were, snacking on some fruits Lucas had found earlier.

"Go with them, Staravia." Dawn said right as Staravia had gotten up to his feet, waddling back towards Chimchar and Shinx.

Dawn looked back over to Lucas who was staring at the river silently. Not muttering a word. She however had her eye on him, trying to search for words to say. But then she stopped thinking and let her mouth do the work. "Thank you for this, Lucas. This was surprisingly effective, and we're gonna continue this tomorrow, right?"

"Sure, until you can defeat me, or until you feel you can take on Gardenia." Lucas told her taking his eyes off the stream to her.

The Twinleaf Trainer smiled fondly. "I'm sorry for being so stuck-up today, you know. I mean, I was just stressed and all. But to be honest, I think I'm kind of happy you were so concerned with me. I mean, at first I was kind of annoyed, especially since I thought you were looking down on me. But now I see you were just looking out for me. You're a really good friend."

Lucas looked at her with a smile, and then a head nod. "I'm glad to hear it, Dawn. I'll see you tomorrow."

Dawn returned his smile, turning around with her Pokémon getting the idea it was time for them to leave. She walked just barely past a meter or two before she turned back with a stern expression on her face. "Lucas." She said making him look up towards her.

"Yeah?" He asked showing some concern on his face.

"You don't have to concern yourself with the thought of me giving up on being a Trainer. To me, being a Pokémon Trainer; being with my Pokémon, it's pretty much the only thing in life that matters. So, I promise you, there's no need to worry." Dawn stated with seriousness in her voice.

Lucas didn't say anything for a moment. He then gave a softer smile than earlier and again gave a head nod. "I know." He simply said.

"Good, I'll see you at the crack of dawn, and this time I mean it." Dawn told him before turning back around and walking off. She meant it. She truly did.

And luckily for the both of them, she kept to her word. Arriving at about seven-thirty in the morning, just as promised. They made hay while the sun was shining. It was clear to Lucas, that Dawn and her Pokémon were already much better battlers than they had been just a day before, he was having much more trouble taking them on.

"Grotle, Razor Leaf!" Lucas yelled. Right in the heat of battle. It had been so long since he had so many battles in a row. For a moment he had forgotten he was a Pokémon Researcher. He was a Trainer.

"Dodge it Chimchar, quick!" Dawn yelled thinking quick. Probably the tenth time in the past two days she uttered those exact words.

Chimchar did just that, there were ten Razor Leaves coming for him at quicker speeds than they had been before. Not intending to take any hits, he sidestepped between them almost as if he was playing hopscotch.

"Char!" Chimchar yelled upon dodging the very least leaf which struck at the ground leaving a dent in it.

"Flame Wheel!" Dawn yelled continuing on. Chimchar did just that jumping into the air being covered with a coat of flames as he sped forth towards Grotle in a ball.

"Grotle, Double-Edge!" Lucas yelled scaring Dawn as she had seen firsthand just how powerful the attack could be the other day. Grotle tucked in its head as power built up from within himself before it acted on it, leaping forward right when Chimchar was too close to move out of the way.

Despite Chimchar having the advantage, Double-Edge was much more powerful than Flame Wheel, easily overpowering Chimchar and sending him flying into the air with a loud scream of pain.

"Augh, Chimchar no!" Dawn couldn't help but shout until she heard a grunt from Grotle, she looked over, seeing that the mid-stage starter was seething in pain, which Lucas had explained to her was what amounted to recoil damage.

That's it, can't afford to not act on it...! Dawn realized.

"Ember, Chimchar now!" She yelled right as her fire type had landed upon the ground. He was clearly shaken from the attack, but not willing to give Grotle a chance to recover. The Pokémon opened its mouth, with steam emitting, but it wasn't just any steam. It was actual smoke, something Dawn hadn't seen before with an Ember.

"What's that!?" Dawn muttered in shock.

Lucas watched Chimchar attentively, seeing the Pokémon's eyes red with determination. Determination that even shook him for a moment. Before he knew it, Chimchar pulled his head back, firing not little puffs of flames, but an advanced stream of fire which he knew quite well.

"That's-" He yelled in shock. Even just the heat of the attack, it was easily ten times hotter than that of Ember. Thinking fast, he called out a move. "Light Screen, now!"

"Grotle!" Grotle yelled out with some sweat dropping from the top of his face. A yellow barrier briefly shining in front of him right as the stream of flames hit him head on causing an explosion upon the battlefield which forced both Dawn and Lucas to jump back taking cover at the ground.

"T-that just now, that was... Flamethrower? Chimchar, learned Flamethrower!" Dawn said with nor excitement or happiness to her voice. All there was in it was awe. "And... that move Grotle used, it was the one you said that cuts special attack's damage." She reasoned out loud as she got up from the grass.

Lucas stood up as well. "There's no doubt that was Flamethrower... but, could Grotle be?" He asked in anticipation as the smoke finally cleared. His answer lying before him, with his grass type laying at the grass with burns and scratches on nearly every corner of his skin. And Chimchar, standing proudly atop his shell.

"Chim... CHAR!" Chimchar yelled out giving a victorious cry with the flame on his tail blazing twice as bright. He then looked over to his Trainer, giving her a thumbs-up and a smirk.

"Chimchar... you did it Chimchar!" Dawn screamed out with excitement welling up inside of her. She ran up towards her Pokémon with open arms, Chimchar doing the same until they both embraced with a hug.

"We did it! We did it! We're ready to take on Gardenia, we're ready to take on Gardenia!" Dawn shouted ecstatically with a tear of joy in her eye. As the two hugged, Lucas looked on with an approving smile. He raised Grotle's Pokéball recalling it back.

"Good work, boy." He said before tossing it back in his bag. As he watched Dawn and her starter celebrate, he knew... truly knew, that Professor Rowan didn't make a mistake in giving Dawn a Pokémon.

Hey guys. Wow, that uhh, I feel like I finished that in faster than any of us expected. But yeah, that's this chapter. I sort of wanted to do a little training chapter in between Dawn's loss to Gardenia and her rematch. And who better than Lucas to help her with that, I think you all can expect another chapter in due time, anyways, I'm gone, bye guys.