Obviously, I don't own Pokemon.

[=-CHAPTER 6-=]

Sandshrew blurred forward, kicking up a huge dust cloud in her wake.

The sudden increase in speed surprised everyone but Izan, who had the biggest smile on his face.

He'd finally found one: An exploit.

Something that always bothered him about this world was its information. It was weird, in his opinion, that the people were informed about pretty much everything.

Mega Evolution was seen often. Fairy types were already an accepted typing. Certain obscure evolutions like Feebas' prism scale were common knowledge.

It slightly agitated him that his insider information was something you could pick up in a book or online.

But this was something no one really studied. Maybe Professor Kukui is secretly a slacker? The secondary effects of moves were a study barely looked into.

Sure they knew [Ice Beam] could freeze an opponent. That much was obvious. But did they know [Defense Curl] not only boosted [Rollout]'s damage but also increased its speed as well?

Not a chance in hell.

Vulpix whimpered in pain, flailing in confusion as she was hit with the force of a boulder, sending her flying through the air. There was a distinct look of confusion on her face, most likely from being unable to react to the attack.

Before she could hit the ground, Izan called out again. "Now let's finish her off, Sandshrew. Kick it into second gear!"

Sandshrew turned in her roll, another flash of brown emanating from her. And then she took off again like a jet, using a chink in the ground to angle herself upwards, straight to the falling Vulpix.

In hindsight, it wasn't terribly fast. But for trainers who were at this level? It was akin to being supersonic.

Izan's call snapped Aurora out of her stunned state. "Focus, Vulpix! Use [Tail Slap] on your way down!"

Vulpix, who was still flailing, heard Aurora's voice and steadied herself in the air. Flipping forward, her tails radiating white light, she slammed downward with her whole body.

Izan winced as the crowd leaned forward in interest. That was a bad move.

They clashed. A brief pause in the air as both sides opposed and pushed each other back. But the moment was just that, a moment.

*CRACK*

A loud snapping sound echoed through the battlefield as Sandshrew went through Vulpix's attack virtually unscathed. Her natural armor combined with Defense Curl just made it an unfair collision.

Landing on Aurora's side, she came out of her roll and slid on her feet smoothly.

Vulpix was sent flying even further, instantly fainting from the pain alone.

A collection of gasps and winces came from the crowd.

Izan blinked as she landed in front of him, her tail bent at an end. The damage was probably even worse considering Sandshrew steamrolled through her, but he didn't brood on it for too long.

'She'll be fine. Nurse Joy is here, and I've seen what Chansey can do.'

"Vulpix is unable to battle. For the sake of your Pokemon, please refrain from pushing them too hard, Ms. Stone." Joy's voice broke the silence.

Taking out the Heal Ball, Aurora returned Vulpix without fuss. She stared at the ball for a second as a glint formed in her eyes.

"I'll show you pushing too hard…" Izan barely heard her mutter.

He cringed. 'I'd know that tone anywhere. Saying she's pissed right now is an understatement.'

"Sandshrew get over here before she sends out her next Pokemon." Sandshrew obliged sluggishly. She wasn't used to fighting for this long, and all those moves were racking up on her energy reserves.

Taking out a Luxury Ball, Aurora wasted no movements sending out her final Pokemon, opting not to through the ball this time.

And with a flash, the temperature dropped a few degrees. The ground below its paws began to freeze. Its natural grace was matched by Aurora's cold fury.

Glaceon appeared.

Izan finally took initiative, wary of the canine. The power it had was enough to bridge whatever level gap was between it and Sandshrew.

"[Dig], Sandshrew. And stay under there until I say so."

Out of all the moves Izan wanted her to learn, that one was surprisingly easy for her to learn. Even easier than [Rollout], for some reason.

He figured it had something to do with her species.

Sandshrew was gaining confidence after defeating opponent after opponent. She made a throat-slitting gesture and pointed at Glaceon, quickly going underground right after.

"Freeze the ground, Glaceon. And follow it up with [Hail]." Aurora intoned.

A blast of freezing cold exploded from Glaceon, almost instantly freezing making a floor of ice where there was once dirt. Instead of hail, however, it began to lightly snow.

Either way, it was much colder than before. The warm air was nowhere to be found.

'I've seen [Hail] before in a league battle. This is nothing in comparison.' He shivered. 'I doubt Vulpix could've done this though. Glaceon's gonna be a problem, huh?'

The ice floor was actually a huge problem. Sandshrew's balance when using any move would be stunted, including the only supereffective move she knew.

She only had one other rock move but…

'Would that even help…? Worth a shot, I guess.'

"Now! And use [Poison Sting] on your way up!" Izan barked suddenly, breaking the lull in the fight.

From below Glaceon, a bulge instantly formed with a bang. Jumping back, she growled at it. Another bang later and Sandshrew flew out of the ground, her claw pointed upward.

'Gah dammit, the fucking ice blocked it!' Izan lamented internally.

Sandshrew landed on her feet but fell onto her rear, unused to standing on ice. Now that he could see her cold breath, he noticed she was panting pretty hard.

"Defensive mode, Glaceon. And then use [Tackle]. She's almost at her limits."

Glaceon let off a breeze of cold air, each strand of hair on its body becoming frozen. After a second, its fur stood up on end like needles, making it resemble an icy porcupine.

Getting low to the ground, it pounced toward Sandshrew, gracefully using the ice below to make it faster.

"Try and dodge it, Sandshrew!" Izan called out helplessly.

Glaceon slammed into Sandshrew as it tried to move away but failed and fell back down. A few scratches and holes in its body made themselves known as she was flung away.

Landing in front of Izan, she pitifully pushed on the ice below, standing up and pushing herself despite the clear exhaustion.

"Finish it off, Glaceon. [Freeze Dry]." Aurora commanded coldly.

For everyone else, it became a little warmer. But for Izan, who was right in front of the canine with a glowing blue orb of energy, it was downright frigid.

"Oi."

The cold from the area clumped up together, building up and concentrating into a single point of the Pokemon's maw. Frost began to spread on Sandshrew's body.

"OI."

Glaceon took the energy in its muzzle, holding it there with cheeks full as it built up the energy even further until it-

"Stop!" Izan barked at it, glowering with bright orange eyes.

The weight of the world resounded in his voice.

It yelped reflexively and drew back, stopping the attack completely. It positioned itself closer to the ground and put its tail between its legs submissively.

Sighing, he let out his brief anger and the feeling subsided. "Joy?" He questioned, looking over to the nurse.

"Huh? Oh." She looked confused until she looked closer at Sandshrew. Just like Snorunt, she'd passed out while standing up. Nurse Joy was beyond exasperated at this point.

"Sandshrew is unable to battle. Glaceon is the winner. The victory goes to F-Class trainer Aurora Stone."

The crowd didn't seem to notice Izan's brief outburst, clapping and cheering for the battle. Some were surprised he only had one Pokemon, expecting a longer battle.

Those few reevaluated their thoughts about Izan and Sandshrew, as they'd thought he was being foolish for not switching out.

Izan ignored them, returning Sandshrew to her Pokeball.

"Good girl," Glaceon growled. "Oh sorry, boy."

Crouching, he put a hand on Glaceon's head and rubbed its head as it sat on its haunches. Leaning into his touch, it sat on its haunches.

The Glaceon's fur was back to being normal, though a bit matted. It was calming nonetheless.

'Well, I guess two out of three isn't bad. Sandshrew isn't that injured, either.' He looked up to Aurora, who had a look of embarrassment mixed with confusion.

As the crowd slowly dispersed, a stern voice shattered his momentary peace.

"May I have a word with you two?"

His light smile froze as Nurse Joy called out to the both of them, the Glaceon becoming even stiffer than when he'd yelled at him.

Glaceon flashed red as she was returned to her Pokeball, Aurora walking next to him with a similarly blank look on her face. He'd had enough lectures in his life to know where this was going.

"What exactly was that?!" She began, enunciating more on the 'that'. He almost started talking, but she kept going. "This was supposed to be a casual battle, not a…"

Izan began to tune her out. Aurora did too, from the look of it. And when he glanced over, any sign of previous anger was long gone. She gave a slight smile that disappeared as soon as Joy turned her attention to her.

'Yeah, I'd say this was well worth it.' He figured, returning the smile. It was just a battle, after all.


"Aurora, I'm telling you, it's okay. Nobody got hurt." He told her for what felt like the tenth time. "Well, besides Vulpix, but she'll be fine soon enough."

It was funny watching her personality drastically change while she felt apologetic, but hearing someone whine was always annoying. Apologizing or not.

Izan and Aurora were lounging about in the Pokemon Center, waiting for Nurse Joy to finish working on their Pokemon. The injuries sustained apparently weren't that bad on both sides.

Luckily, Vulpix's tail was a clean break. Something that wouldn't take any time at all when you had magical healing energy.

"I know, I know. I just…" She trailed off, her tapping on the table stopping. "It's a part of me that I find very ugly." She muttered, a look of revulsion on her face.

He frowned. 'Anger issues, perhaps? Still, it's not that serious.'

Seriously, he didn't get it. With Serebyi, he was only angry at her because she did absolutely nothing. She just watched him as he struggled and got his Pokemon almost killed.

Especially since she said she'd be there to help if things got out of hand. And they did, quickly at that.

And then she had the gall to apologize after that. Like, what did she expect?

But with Aurora, it was just a battle. Injuries were to be expected. Sure, Glaceon could've hurt Sandshrew badly with that last attack, but it wasn't like it was unwarranted.

The only real damage Sandshrew had taken beforehand was minimal. If Sandshrew had more stamina, then that attack would've been necessary for her to win.

Plus, being angry after your Pokemon was injured was better than nothing, in his opinion. It could be excessive sometimes, but it showed you care.

"Well, if you really wanna make it up to me, you still haven't paid me for the battle…" He suggested, trying to push the conversation forward.

She looked surprised, and then her cheeks began reddening. "Ah, right. Yeah, I'll do that. Give me a second." Reaching into her pocket, she took out what looked like an upgraded version of the Pokenav.

"What's with that reaction? You alright?" He bluntly asked. That was a weird thing to blush at.

Biting her lip, she looked uncomfortable before letting out a sigh. "Admittedly, I was planning on scamming you. You should really be careful with what contracts you sign."

"Eh?"

"The contract only stated that I was obligated to pay an additional amount for each Pokemon you defeat. Technically speaking, that means I could've paid you a single cent each for defeating Snorunt and Vulpix." She explained hurriedly, trying to bulldoze past it.

'Oh.'

He snorted and then chuckled. "Yeah, I probably should've read it better. I was only really making sure I wouldn't become your henchman or something."

She looked at him like he had three heads, but shook her head. "Anyway, is there really nothing else? I'm gonna pay you the normal amount now either way."

He looked up in thought. 'Anything else? I could ask for more money but considering she thought to scam me, she probably isn't using money from her family. What would a shonen protagonist ask for…?'

He scratched his cheek, averting his eyes. "Well, how about your number, then?"

Aurora's voice became monotone and her lips thinned. "You remember how I called you unsightly? That wasn't a joke, I don't date-"

He lightly flicked her on the forehead. "Oi, shuddup. I just don't have any friends."

"Oh." The blank face melted away. "Really? You don't seem that antisocial."

Izan offered no explanation, and she shrugged her curiosity off, rattling her number for him. He just sent her a text in return.

Then, inexplicably, her personality went back to what he would now dub 'business mode'. "Now that we're officially friends, I have a favor to ask."

Imitating her, Izan leaned back in his seat and touched his fingertips together, as if he was about to offer her a deal she couldn't refuse. "I'm listening."

She expertly ignored his teasing. "I would like to watch one of your training sessions, if possible."

He blinked. "Why?"

"Although I have theoretical knowledge on Pokemon, I've never been taught how to actually train them. Also, I'm a visual learner."

'It's not like I'm doing any secret training method or something. At most I've been doing simple bodyweight workouts.'

"That's fine, I don't mind. Though only once." He wanted to do a bit of experimenting with moves. He realized Pokemon moves were an untapped well of potential.

Some of them had recorded the battle and uploaded it with his permission and a blurred face. When he asked why they said they'd never seen a [Rollout] that explosive from an F-Class trainer before.

So he didn't want her butting into his move experiments and learning all his secrets. She could watch him work out though.

"We can go right after Sandshrew is done being healed. She should be good to go in a little bit."

As if on time, a ding echoed from his Pokegear informing him that she was ready to be picked up already.

"Ah, speak of the Devil."

"Who are you calling a devil?" She leaned over, looking at his Pokegear. "Nurse Joy? She's a lovely woman."

"No, like, Speak of the… Giratina?" He tried.

"Gira- what?"

He dragged his hand down his face, standing up. "Nevermind, let's… let's just go."

- (Green) -

Being book smart was very different from being street smart.

Green didn't understand what that meant before. She felt like she was getting it now, though.

Because for the first time in a long time, she felt stupid.

Why did she think it was a good idea to try and walk through Diglett's Cave with just a Squirtle, a Bellsprout, and traveling gear?

She had outdoor experience, but she was completely out of her element walking in the cave that seemed to span for days.

It probably did span for days. And that was considering she'd gone the wrong way a ton of times.

Contrary to popular belief, Diglett's Cave was in fact not just a glorified long tunnel.

It had twists and turns, random dead ends, and impossibly deep holes that seemed to be there for no reason other than a Diglett getting curious about how far it could go.

She was pretty sure she was on the right path, but that was only a small comfort. What would be a better comfort was a shower. Now that would be heavenly.

…Maybe there was a reason people didn't venture through the cave often.

A sound behind made her jerk the flashlight she was holding in that direction, and pointed wildly, including up.

Digletts liked to get the jump on her by attacking from the ceiling sometimes. There was still mud in her hair from the first time they did it.

What she didn't expect was to see two people and a yellow Pokemon she couldn't bother identifying in between them. One had green hair and the other was blonde. The moment the spotlight was on them, they started… singing? Rehearsing?

"Prepare for trouble…" The blonde woman started.

"…And make it double!" The green-haired guy finished.

"Here's our mission, so you better listen!" They said together. She stared blankly at them, wondering if they were an illusion or if she was dreaming.

There was no way these people could be real. They even had matching uniforms.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

She pinched herself. The fact that it hurt caused her faith in humanity to drop.

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassi-"

Green clapped twice, interrupting them. "Shut. The fuck. Up. I do not care. Good day." She turned, about to walk away.

But the blonde one scowled at the interruption, barking an order to her Pokemon. "[Hypnosis], Drowzee."

Her eyes rolled back into her head, and like a puppet without strings, she collapsed onto the cold hard ground.

Green fell fast asleep.

- (Izan) -

"Are you sure you don't wanna be a Warrior? You sure were fighting like one earlier." Izan asked. "Honestly, you were amazing out there."

The trip to the clearing they trained in was quiet, if not for the talk between Pokemon and trainer.

Sandshrew tilted her head at the question, taking the compliment in stride, and then firmly shook her head in denial. He didn't know what to make of that, so he just shrugged and scratched under her chin in response.

"Shreeewww…" Clearly, she appreciated it.

Aurora spoke up now that Sandshrew wasn't glaring at her anymore. "So where exactly are we headed to?"

"Oh, it's just a quiet place by the outskirts of town."

Concern made itself known in her voice. "Outskirts of town? Like, near the forest? Wouldn't there be wild Pokemon around?"

"I mean… yeah. But they're pretty harmless all things considered. It's not like we're going deep into the forests." He clarified.

And he wasn't exaggerating. While training they did see the odd Pidgey or Psyduck waddle by, but that's all they did. Pass by.

Most of them didn't even glance at them.

"Plus, don't you still have Glaceon on you? It's not like anything bad happened to him."

Collectively, they decided to leave Snorunt behind while Vulpix was being taken care of. It was gutsy, but it's newborn body didn't listen to it.

It was too exhausted to move much.

She nodded. "That's true, but I still-"

*Niiiiiii~!*

They both stopped as they heard the sound of Pokemon cries and fighting ahead, something neither was expecting.

Looking at each other, they had a silent conversation with their eyes.

Aurora, by the look on her face, clearly wanted nothing to do with whatever was going on.

On the contrary, Izan was curious. It could be anything from a battle to someone stealing his training spot. Either way, it's not like they'd stop whatever they were doing and attack them.

They could just run if need be.

Running forward, they arrived only to witness a scene neither of them anticipated.

Multiple cracks in the ground and various holes and fallen trees made for the after-effects of what looked like a fierce battle. Rubble was strewn about and if Izan looked closer, he'd notice that half of the bushes were empty of berries.

What took most of his attention, however, was the battle that was still going on as he stared.

At least fifteen Diglett were surrounding two Pokemon. A Nidorino and a female Nidoran. The Nidoran was passed out behind the Nidorino, clearly much injured than its stronger counterpart.

The barb on Nidoran's forehead was cut clean off, and a huge gash that went down its entire face showed why. There were a ton of other bigger scratches all over its body, but that one was bleeding heavily.

Nidorino, on the other hand, didn't look much better. Although it was standing and fighting, it too had a huge amount of bruises and scratches.

'Aren't Diglett herbivores? And how the hell does Diglett even scratch things?!' Izan thought, stunned by the sight.

His question was answered as one of the Diglett suddenly rushed past Nidorino with incredible speed, nicking him with one of the rocks surrounding its body.

In response, the barbs on Nidorino's body all flared up, shooting in all directions as multiple [Poison Sting]s went flying. Being so close, none of them even came close to Nidoran's body.

Sadly, the group of Diglett all easily dodged the barbs by going underground and popping back up in different spots, resuming their attack.

Izan snapped out of his stupor. "Sandshrew, [Rollout] those little brown shits! Make sure to avoid the two in the middle at all costs."

With a quick "Shrew!", Sandshrew hopped off his shoulder, immediately going into a roll and taking off like a rocket.

Not expecting the sudden attack, a few of the Digletts were hit and sent spiraling through the ground as easily as walking through the air.

A thought struck him. 'Why are there any Diglett here? Nidoran, I could see, but those guys are usually in Diglett's Cave, not roaming in groups.'

A ball flew into the air, and familiar sparkles represented the Pokemon's arrival. "Glaceon, use [Ice Shard] to help get rid of those Diglett." Aurora, too, snapped out of her daze.

The canine appeared on the field and followed orders immediately, opening its maw and shooting out several fragments of ice, all honing on a different Diglett.

"Izan, what the hell are we doing?!" Aurora whisper yelled.

He looked at her like she was stupid. "What do you mean 'what are we doing'? We're helping, duh."

Looking back to the fight, he immediately bent down and picked up a rock, throwing it with all his force at a Diglett that tried to sneak attack the already downed Nidoran.

"Bullseye, bitch!" He barked.

The rock wouldn't have done much if he aimed for the skin, but luckily his aim was good enough to hit it right in the eye.

Sandshrew, at that point, had already gone through four or five Diglett, and the backup was enough to make them reconsider continuing the fight.

The nail in the coffin happened when Glaceon's frostbite-inducing hit most of them and took them out easily.

There was a bit of a chitter as the Diglett briefly conversed, before one by one they all went underground.

Sandshrew slid, stopping her roll. Both she and Glaceon vigilantly searched the area and found no enemies.

The Diglett fled the scene.

Aurora let out a breath now that they were gone, returning Glaceon and thanking it for its help. "Now what do we do?"

Izan, on the other hand, was focused entirely on the Nidorino and the female Nidoran with it. He grimaced as he eyeballed the damage they took.

'Nidorino will probably be fine if we just leave, but that Nidoran is for sure gonna die without medical attention.'

Almost like he was in a trance, his feet started walking straight to the Nidoran in question. Something was urging him to help it, ignoring all of the consequences that came with it.

It was a promise. An oath he didn't recall taking implored him to keep moving forward. To not allow needless death when he had the power to prevent it.

"Izan, back up, that thing is dangerous! Hello? Izan!" Her voice became fainter with each step.

He shrugged off her hand on his shoulder.

The Nidorino growled and hissed at him, but he could see it for what it was. It sought to protect the Pokemon behind it, and it was resolved to apart to do so.

Yet, he could tell it was scared. It was in pain, and couldn't put up much of a fight, but it fought on anyway.

A brave protector.

His eyes flared up with orange light.

The Nidorino took a step back, surprised, but took another step forward in anger. Desperate, its eyes radiated pink as psychic energy took hold of Izan, stopping him in his tracks.

The orange blazed into shining gold.

"Admirable." Izan's lips moved on their own as he took another step forward, breaking the attack instantly.

Crouching down, he was face to face with the sweating Nidorino, as he reached back into his back pocket.

The Nidorino's eyes were focused completely on his left hand, waiting to see what he'd pull out. If it sensed even a slight bit of danger, it would use everything it had.

*Snap*

In one swift movement, Izan snapped with his other hand, catching the Nidorino's attention. And with his left hand that grabbed an item out of his backpack, he touched it to Nidorino's head.

The Pokeball opened up, absorbing the behemoth with a red laser, and with two quick shakes and a-

*Click*

Nidorino was caught.

"Gotcha bitch." Izan grinned. He then took out another Pokeball and caught the Nidoran on the ground. It didn't even shake, putting up zero resistance.

He stood up, taking the first Pokeball and making a pose. "I caught a Nidorino!"

Turning around with a smile, his eyes were dark brown again. "Alright, let's go before-" He noticed Aurora looking at him like he was a Doduo. "What?"

"What'd I do?"