Obviously, I don't own Pokemon.

[=-CHAPTER 10-=]

- (Izan) -

Izan blinked.

Joe blinked.

Robin blinked.

Without any rhyme or reason, Lora suddenly collapsed. Izan knew people could be unfit, and they were walking for eight hours already, but that was just… bizarre.

She dropped like a sack of potatoes out of nowhere. But before she could hit the ground, a tent just materialized around her, softening her fall.

He didn't even get a few seconds to process that before a green little ball of feathers hopped out. Natu stared at them like they were idiots before Izan suddenly heard a voice.

~What are you all looking at? My Lady is resting. Go find something to do in the meantime.~ He paused and then pointed one of his wings at Izan. ~Especially you, weird one. Shoo. Your presence is unnerving.~

Izan couldn't help it. He snorted.

And he thought today would be boring. Well, whatever.

Apparently, not everyone could walk for eight hours without breaking a sweat. Izan hadn't felt even a slight amount of pain in his legs, much less any exhaustion.

For a moment he thought he was just built different but Robin and Joe also seemed perplexed about Lora's condition.

So Lora, the emergency exit button, had less stamina than himself. The guy whose arms looked like string cheese.

'Greeeaat. That totally wasn't a red flag at all.'

He blinked, refocusing as the prickly little bird sent a wave of… something at him. It was a hard thing to describe, like someone knocking on the door to your mind.

Wait, did that mean the little shit could read his min-

~No, I can't read your mind. You think very loudly so I can pick up on your surface thoughts.~ Natu paused, eyes narrowing at him. ~If one were to try and pry their way in, they would fall victim to being… comatose. Now, please. Shoo.~

'Oh.' Well, that was good to know.

It seemed reincarnation came with the usual perks of being immune to mind manipulation. At least it was that way in most stories.

"Whatever. Let's go, Sandshrew," Izan waved them off, turning around and walking off into the forest. Someone called out to him from behind but he wasn't focusing on them anymore.

Flipping it open, he began surfing the internet on his Pokegear. Looking up some things was the first step.

The second step? Berry hunting.

He didn't buy the berry pouch just for curiosity's sake, after all.

Scanning each page about berries he could come across, he missed a step as he read something that was outright ridiculous.

"Shrew?" She tilted her head, clutching his shoulder tighter. He frowned but didn't respond, idly scratching under her chin.

That mollified her if her pleased hums were anything to go by.

In other news, what he just read was staggering for someone from the 21st century.

Pokemon were unbelievable, sure. The powers from the anime were pretty crazy all things considered. And the technology? Absolute bonkers.

This? This was… revolutionary.

The lack of information regarding berries was astounding, but what he could glean from the minimal amount of studies was monumental. Oran Berries alone could explain so many things.

Like, why were people so hot? Even the ugliest people still looked moderately good-looking while those considered beautiful were unreal. And why did every Pokemon of a certain species and typing look exactly the same?

Oran Berries.

In any other lifetime, he would've laughed at the person who told him that, but it seemed true. It probably wasn't just Oran Berries but they were subtly a considerable factor.

They were the ultimate miracle drug. On top of being a non-addictive painkiller, they were a naturally forming antibiotic, antiseptic, and antiviral. And on top of THAT, they promoted fucking bodily homeostasis.

Or in other words, they just made you a 'Human +1' if you ate enough of them. Only something like late-stage cancer or a tumor would be a problem if you had enough Oran Berries.

And there were even better berries than that. Like the Sitrus Berry! It actively promoted cellular regeneration as the primary function. Not just division, but complete regeneration.

Insane.

And it got even better since berries seemed to have grades attached to them. The higher the grade, the better the effect. Find a berry that can promote cold resistance? At a high enough grade, you'll be immune to the cold.

There were even rumors on the forums of a legendary Sitrus Berry that granted a healing factor. One that didn't just heal cuts, but entire limbs.

Of course, the higher the grade the less they were talked about. People were selfish and didn't like to share their secrets often. Something like this? Definitely being held by the government in some way.

If he was honest though, the higher-grade ones weren't that interesting.

They were so obscure you'd probably need a lifetime to find one that was useful. And if you ate the lower-grade ones every day, they'd eventually leave a lingering permanent effect.

Like a ground-type eating low-grade Passho Berries every day to eventually reduce their water weakness by 5-25%. It'd take forever, but it's been proven to work.

Legendary super berries just didn't seem like a good idea to obsess over.

Potions and Revives and stuff like that were better for emergencies and a Pokemon 'holding' a berry during battle just seemed ridiculous.

What would they do? Keep it in their mouth while battling? Get real.

Sadly, this did all come with a major side effect. That there were more berries than in the games. And some of them are a bit more… lethal than the common Leppa Berry.

Hence, poison. Or worse, elemental berries that cooked you alive from the inside. Because if there's a berry that helps you resist fire attacks, why wouldn't there be one that does the opposite?

"Figures." Izan sighed.

By now, he was already a ways away from the… he was gonna call it a campsite. Not much from what he could see but it couldn't be that hard to find since he found those Leppa Berries before.

"Hmm… Sandshrew." She perked up from her bored staring. "You mind looking around for some berries for me?"

Hopping off his shoulder, she gave him a quick salute before scampering off into the underbrush, wildly sniffing at the air.

Snorting in amusement he looked around, deciding to go in the opposite direction of her. She could find him at any point as long as he had the Pokeball, and he knew his way back to the others.

Pokemon in the area would be much of a threat if they ambushed him. If the enforcers of the route deemed them good enough to pass, they were either docile or weak.

"Oi."

Startled, Izan spun around at the feminine voice. If the person behind him had any other color of hair, he would've swung at them.

But with the red contrasting the surrounding green of the forest, it was pretty obvious who it was.

He lowered his fist with a disappointed look. "Oh, it's just you, Robin." Slightly rolling his eyes, he turned around to continue looking for berries.

"Yeah, just me. Listen, I've gotta ask you a… what are you even doing?"

"Looking for berries. I heard they could sell for quite a bit if you get enough of them." Not that much if he was being honest. Around 20$ per full bush harvested.

Considering that more than doubled in sell value the higher the grade? It sold for quite a bit if you had a good enough supply. But he wasn't a farmer. He didn't plan on selling them if they were even moderately useful.

She didn't need to know that, though.

"Berries, eh? Say… where's your Sandshrew at?" Something about her tone made him pause, but he shrugged it off.

Casually, he pointed in a vague direction. "Off foraging somewhere. I thought it'd be faster if we split up."

"Really? Well, that makes this easier." A flicker of movement. "Now, you're gonna answer some questions I've got. Capiche?"

He snorted. 'Capiche? Who does she think she is, a mob boss?'

Turning to actually look at her, he realized she was holding a… knife. And she was pointing it at him. He raised an eyebrow at her impassively.

"You're not the brightest crayon in the box, are you?

She gripped the knife harder, her knuckles going white. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ya know, not the brightest bulb in the pack?" At her uncomprehending stare, he continued. "Not the sharpest tool in the shed? The lights are on but nobody's home? The wheel's still running but the hamster died years ago?"

She scowled, still confused. "The fuck are you talking about?! What wheel?"

He facepalmed and then muttered. "About as blunt as a hammer and as smart as one too." He dragged his hand down his face. "You're stupid, aren't you?"

"I'm not stupid. You are!" She waved the knife at him frantically. "Look, you either shut up and answer my questions or I'm gonna stab you!"

"How could I answer anything if I have to shut up?"

She made an unholy scream in frustration. "This is why I don't fucking like you! You're just so… ugh!"

At this point, Izan was just lazily smiling at her as she riled herself up. For a moment, his face went blank in thought.

'For real, though, what's wrong with this girl? I haven't even done anything to her and she's threatening me with a knife.' He wondered. 'Not that it'll do anything.'

She took a breath, visibly calming down. "Why won't you listen? I've got, like, a knife and everything. This usually works."

'Why has she done this before?' But instead of actually asking her that, he just explained the simple facts.

"Stabbing me would be idiotic. There are like, at least ten reasons it wouldn't work. One is that I doubt you'd actually be able to stab me without getting injured yourself. But besides that, what would you do if I just ignored you? Or I could just answer incorrectly on purpose. What if you kill me? Anyone with a brain would find out it's you who did it. I'm pretty sure the police have psychic Pokemon that would just read your mind." He huffed, ending his rant.

'They should have psychics, at least. If they don't, they're really sandbagging.'

She blinked at his long explanation but then shook her head stubbornly. "I'll just say it was a wild Pokemon that did it. There, easy."

"Forensics these days are unfair. Especially with Pokemon helping out." He pointed out.

One of those words she clearly didn't understand, but she nodded anyway, putting the knife away. "Fine. Whatever that means. I still have questions."

"And I'd probably have answers, but I'm not really feeling up to it right now. Did you know I almost just got stabbed?" He replied teasingly.

Surprisingly, she ignored that comment. "Then… how about a trade? You answer my questions and I'll provide some useful information."

He crossed his arms and looked down at her unimpressed. "Yeah, like what?"

She smirked, suddenly confident. "Details about the black market."

"And why should I care about the Black Market? It's not like I wanna buy any illegal supplements or something equally stupid."

He was bluffing, of course. All his knowledge was in general terms, so information about specific cultural things was always welcome. Plus, they probably sold Pokemon there that he couldn't get anywhere else.

Or even items that people sold but didn't understand. Maybe he could do the cliche thing like buying a raggedy old stick that secretly was a legendary sword.

Something like that.

"Is that so? You sure you don't want something… like this?" She pulled out an egg-shaped pearl of some sort from her bag. It glowed with wispy glowing colors. The most prominent being a murky burgundy color.

"And that is…?"

For the first time, she seemed taken aback. And more than a little smug. "You don't even know what this is? It's an Emera. Whose stupid now, stupid?"

Izan scoffed, taking out his Pokegear to look it up. "Yeah, whatever. What's 13 times 13?"

Her silent scowl was a good enough response. He had a suspicion she'd never gone to school before. Like, at all.

The information on the forums about Emera was… concerning, to say the least. It certainly explained why she thought he'd want them.

For one, they were banned. Like, super taboo banned. It was to the point that people raved that usage of Emeras was a major reason the gods abandoned them.

Oh, yeah, legendaries were considered gods. He already considered them gods but it was nice to see everyone else agreed. Those things were terrifying forces of nature.

Anyway, Emeras seemed to be the core of a Pokemon. They held all of the energy within them and solidified the Pokemon's consciousness. It was similar to the type gem he used before, but with ALL of the Pokemon's energy stored before it died.

However, the core only formed when a Pokemon gained sapience. So a Pokemon had to either bond with a human to get one or be strong enough to form their own.

The reason they were banned? War.

People in the past saw having their Pokemon absorb the Emera of a stronger Pokemon to be efficient for energy mastery. So trainers would hunt other trainers, hoping to kill their Pokemon and steal the Emeras within.

Usage of Emera's still wasn't banned in other regions like Orre, but it was most definitely banned in Kanto. And any other region within the league alliance.

There were more ethical alternatives anyway if what he was reading was right. People found out they could have the Pokemon fill body parts with energy like a type gem.

For Pokemon like Pidgeot, it could fill a few feathers with its main energy type per day. All the trainer had to do was pluck the feathers out and voila, you had a bastardized Emera. There were so many avenues for making money as a high-level Pokemon trainer, it seemed.

In comparison, Emeras just seemed barbaric, even if they stimulated more than one type.

"Well, at least I learned something from this. I don't think I want any of… those things, but the black market seems like a good idea."

"Why does everyone always look so disgusted when I take one of these out? I know they're illegal and sorta painful for Pokemon but it's not like I force it down their throat." She grumbled.

"Probably because the Pokemon needs to be sapient to form one. It creates a bad picture."

She looked at him with genuine confusion. "They need to be… what? And what's the difference between this and eating the Pokemon? They hunt each other in the wild anyway."

"Sapient, as in… never mind. The point is, it feels gross. With the amount of pain it puts the receiver in, and the benefits seeming too good to be true, it makes people feel like they're feeding the souls of Pokemon to each other."

As he continued talking, Izan could've sworn there was steam coming out of her ears. She didn't even look confused, just that nothing he said even registered.

Man, she was dull.

"Look. It's just bad, okay?" He affirmed, exasperated.

She shook her head. "Sure, whatever. So you interested?"

"I'm interested in the black market. Not… that. What do you want to know in exchange?"

"Nothing too crazy. Just how to increase my Pokemon's level faster. I've had Tyrogue for years, battling tons of Pokemon on the routes around here. In a few weeks, he didn't get nearly as strong as you claim Sandshrew is."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you're doing? Battling, that is. Nothing else?"

"For gaining levels? It's all I know. I can't use this Emera safely until Tyrogue is level 15 apparently so it's been a long time coming." The enthusiasm with which she said that was... sad.

She knew the exact level needed to use the Emera, which is very illegal, yet she doesn't even know her Pokemon needs basic exercise to level up.

'What a backward set of knowledge to have.' Izan internally scoffed.

Though it would explain why Joe decided to just randomly attack a horde of Rattata. If they, as a group, thought leveling was only possible through battle they should be underdeveloped compared to the time they put in.

Either way, it was a win-win for him. It was like explaining how to breathe in exchange for nuclear launch codes.

"Is that so? Agreed, then. I'll teach you how to train your Pokemon like a normal person. But you have to give me your information first."

She suddenly scowled. "What, why? You gonna rip me off or something?"

He kept his face and voice impassive. "Of course not. If I wanted to 'rip you off', I'd just blackmail you. You do know you have contraband, right?"

From her wide-eyed look, it seemed she hadn't thought of that. She probably didn't even think further than her initial scare tactic with the knife. It would be a tried and true method among teenagers, after all.

She grimaced, sticking out her hand. "See this is why I don't like you. I could just tell you were gonna be all... weird. Fine, we have a deal."

He shook her hand with a smirk, exaggeratedly wiping it off his shirt just to annoy her.

From her scoff, it worked.

Just in time, the bushes rustled as the deal was completed. From the underbrush came Sandshrew, running out carrying a bundle of berries in her stubby arms.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to tell her to go get berries for him.

"Shrew, San san!" She exaggeratedly offered him the berries, giving him a deceptively innocent look. It was adorable of course, but he wouldn't be fooled.

There was berry juice all over her face. She probably ate a whole bush before coming back.

He let out a fond sigh.

Crouching down, he took the berries and carefully put them in his pouch. Mostly Razz Berries from what he could tell.

"Thanks, Sandshrew you helped a ton." She beamed at him in response. "Though, could you maybe not eat so many next time?" To that, she looked away shyly.

At least she had the decency to look embarrassed. Then again…

"It's getting late in the day, so it's probably around dinner time. How about we talk about this later Robin?"

There was a look on her face he couldn't describe. "Yeah, whatever." But, indeed, whatever.

That wasn't a huge haul of berries or anything, but maybe separating from the group gave more benefits than he thought they would.

- (Robin) -

Robin grumbled to herself as she pulled her pants back up. No matter how many times she did so, taking a piss outside always felt gross.

It was the middle of the night too, so the random sounds in the forest couldn't help but unnerve her.

Turning around, she was just about to make her way back to camp when she heard a much closer, clear sound coming from Izan's tent.

She froze, hiding behind a tree to spy on him from afar.

Although she had a deal with him, she still didn't trust him. Her instincts were telling her he was dangerous. And her instincts were never wrong.

Well, her instincts told her Joe was dangerous too, but he was like a dog. As long as they were friends he wouldn't do anything to her. Or anyone else for that matter.

Even Lora wasn't that bad. She puffed up when backed into a corner, trying to make herself seem big, but she'd run away at any sense of danger.

A typical coward.

Izan, though, was like a lion. Everyone knew cats understood people. The fuckers just didn't care what you had to say, doing whatever they wanted. A sort of selfishness she couldn't get behind.

And there was a certain level of unpredictability from him she didn't like.

He did seem to like his Pokemon, but that was a given. Anyone who mistreated their Pokemon was scum.

She didn't need her instincts to tell her that.

So he wasn't scum as far as she could tell, but he wasn't a team player either.

That's why she needed to know why he was up in the middle of the night. Maybe it was paranoia but it was better safe than sorry.

He stood up, looking around before squinting in a random direction. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders.

With a faint "I knew it" spewed out, he started walking.

That was it? What did he know? Did he notice that her tent was empty? And how long was he going to be up? Was she just being stupid and he just had to take a piss too?

And dammit, now she was at an impasse. She could either follow him or go back to sleep and act like this never happened.

Oh, who was she kidding? She was way too curious.

Careful to stay behind trees and under the shade of the forest, she rushed after him.

- (Izan) -

Eyes bloodshot, Izan stared at the top of his tent as sweat dripped down his back. He blinked and then groaned in annoyance.

It happened again.

Ever since the Nidorino incident that was foggy in his memory, he kept having the same dream. Usually, he would be content to ignore it, but it kept happening again and again.

At this point, if it weren't a sign or something like that, he'd be pissed.

The fact that the dream wasn't finished was a huge part of the reason it was annoying for him.

All he could remember was a silhouette of a Pokemon punching a tree to no avail. Following the dream, he walked up to the Pokemon and put his hand on its shoulder. With a shudder, the Pokemon reared back and punched one last time, punching the tree into oblivion.

Yet each part of the dream was split up. Just him walking up to the Pokemon took a whole eight hours' worth of sleep.

For a while, he felt like an unreliable clairvoyant. Like each dream was getting him a closer vision of the future. But by the time he got the full vision, it would've already happened.

Beyond annoying.

Now, there were only two options about what this dream meant, in his mind. Three, really, but he didn't want to encourage the thought that he was crazy.

No, there had to be something real there. Either he was being pranked by a ghost or something, or it was a message of some kind.

A message that said what? To go blow up a tree with a punch? It was possible with his weird power, but it was…

Izan sat up. 'Wait.'

What if it wasn't a message, but a tutorial? Could he extend his odd strengthening power to his Pokemon?

His excitement at the thought vanished the moment he looked down. Nothing was there with him.

'Where the hell is Sandshrew?' She usually would be balled up, sleeping on his chest to stop him from tossing and turning.

Her weight wasn't enough to physically stop him, but her being close to him was calming enough. It was why he decided to let her stay on his shoulder 90% of the time.

His patience was usually paper thin. But she sat there, reminding him that he wasn't ever alone. It was comforting to have someone, even a Pokemon, always on your side.

And even if he did have friends, like Aurora, Pokemon were more trustworthy than people.

Izan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, a deep sigh if you will. His lips thinned as he grumbled to himself and pulled himself out of the tent.

Even if he was slightly irritated that he had to get up in the middle of the night, he was quiet about it. Lora's snoring was barely audible. Joe's snoring was unsurprisingly loud. And Robin's snoring was… not present.

And her tent was open. Did she…?

A flickering of his eyes confirmed she did not steal his Pokeball. For a second he was about to go apeshit that she took Sandshrew from him.

She still could've tried it, but Sandshrew would've raised hell if she did. The only person who even could rob him was Lora. Countering psychic abilities never worked that well.

Plus her bag was still sitting there. Robin probably just went out to take a piss.

But, if none of them did anything, then that meant Sandshrew was sneaking away on her own. And the only way she could do that is…

"I knew it." He muttered, staring at the small tracks she left in the dirt. With an amused huff, he followed after her trail.

She'd been trying to use the Silent Step to creep away, but her body wasn't that of a human's. Unlike a human, she had claws. Claws that made the tiniest divots in the ground and gave her away.

Izan often played willfully ignorant, but he wasn't that oblivious. Since she pretty much never went in her Pokeball, her presence was a constant in his life now.

And having her suddenly disappear in the middle of the night? Of course, he would notice that, even in his sleep.

So he let it happen. If she didn't return within a certain time, he'd let himself panic a little. But she always seemed to come back. Happier, and a bit dirtier, but she came back nonetheless.

Maybe she was nocturnal? That would make a lot of sense, now that he thought about it.

The sudden wildly swishing air and the thunks of tree bark broke him out of his thoughts.

"Shrew." Sandshrew cursed under her breath. At least, it looked like a curse. She backed up a bit from a tree she was staring at, preparing to do something.

'So she's been training in secret? This should be interesting.' Izan crossed his arms, content to watch for a bit.

In a burst of movement, she dashed zigzag toward the tree, her claws lighting up with a bright white. Each step she took was perfectly silent, leaving behind small holes in the ground.

She wasn't particularly fast, but it was much faster than you'd think an animal her size could go.

Reaching three, she slashed downward. Then to left with her other claw. Up. Right. Diagonal.

Using the momentum from her attack, she spun in the air and landed on the tree. Kicking off of it, she pushed herself into the air. Flipping backward, she spat out globs of glowing blue mud one after another.

The [Mud Shot] attacks hit dead center of where she slashed, denting the tree. But she wasn't finished.

"Saaaaand-"

Aligning her tail down, she purposefully shifted her weight to make her hit the ground faster.

"-Shrew!"

With a loud crash, she slammed her tail down, kicking up dust from the ground and whipping up a [Sandstorm].

It barely had any energy, so the storm dissipated after a few seconds, but it was a good idea. Her panting made it clear she didn't have much energy to give after all that.

She must've been trying out different attack sequences for a while now.

'Damn. Pokemon are way scarier than I thought. And did she figure out [Fury Swipes] on her own or is that just many [Scratch] attacks?'

It wasn't that complex of a combo, but she came up with it without any of his input. A fact that he would take full advantage of to create his long-term goal.

A self-autonomous fighting style for each of his Pokemon.

Everyone knew Pokemon had much better battle instincts than people. With a singular movement technique and a few moves, she already came up with the bones of a fighting style.

If he could teach her more techniques on top of some tactics, she wouldn't even need his input during battle. Or at least, it would be akin to the relationship between a boxer and their coach.

The boxer wouldn't need specific directions anymore. General advice like 'keep your guard up' would be the only thing necessary.

And unless she was an outlier, a kinesthetic genius, all his Pokemon would learn in the same way. His only job would be to provide techniques, attacks, and training methods.

It only made sense to him. Trainers trained Pokemon. They shouldn't have to tell their Pokemon how to fight during battle.

He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of a team like that. With a smile, he started clapping at her display.

Startled, she jumped before settling down upon realizing it was him.

"That was amazing, Sandshrew! I'm impressed," He complimented, crouching and putting his hand on her head. She leaned into it before he even did anything.

For all her ferociousness and pride, her one weakness, head scritches, would never fade.

"But… you have to stop training in the middle of the night like this." He lightly admonished.

He didn't have to make it a big deal. It was pretty clear early on that she took every word of his as gospel. As long as it wasn't something ridiculous like being released into the wild, she'd listen.

She nodded instantly, and only tilted her head afterward. If she was planning on listening to him as always, she was likely just confused about the 'why'.

"Well, it's not healthy for one. When you train, your body sort of hurts afterward, right? Like a burn that somehow feels good." She nodded, following along. "Well, that burn is your body ripping apart, and then building back stronger. The building process happens during sleep well, so you need to sleep to get stronger."

Of course, that might not apply so strictly to her since she was a Pokemon, but he wasn't taking chances. If Pokemon were like Saiyans, then she'd be pulling a Vegeta, and look where that got him.

Always second best, trying his hardest to catch up to Goku.

No, a good diet and a long rest after intense training were the way to go. Not torturing herself out of some misplaced sense of urgency.

She mulled over his words for a minute before she slumped with a reluctant nod.

Izan frowned. "Don't like that, huh? What, is there not enough hours in the day for training?" To his and her surprise, she nodded with a shine in her eyes.

That must've been the exact thing she was thinking about.

He shrugged though, acting like it was on purpose. "It's easier to guess what you're thinking as we spend more time together. Anyway, don't worry about training."

She tilted her head again. "Shrew?"

"Why? Because when I finish my ultimate training method, you're gonna wish you could sleep all the time." He gave her a very charming smile.

He would gracefully ignore the fact that she shuddered at him. Was it something he said?

"Anyway, I came out here for a reason. Do you think you have enough energy left for a [Mud Shot]?"

Her eyes blazed with curiosity, but instead of asking she took a deep breath before nodding.

"Good. When I say 'now' I want you to let one out with everything you've got right there, alright?" He pointed at the tree next to the one she just finished attacking.

Unquestioning, she glared at the tree in preparation.

Izan himself closed his eyes, focusing on the energy within. It bubbled in his gut, a complete contrast from its otherwise still nature.

Like flicking on a light switch, he hooked onto that feeling, forcing it to listen. Filling his body with a surge of something that he couldn't quite describe. A pleasant, yet painful buzz of energy.

It dulled the senses, blocking them all out to selfishly refill their spots with itself. Sound, smell, taste, and touch, all disappear one by one.

For a single exhilarating instant, everything ceases to exist.

And from that abyss of boundless power, there is light.

Almost instinctively, he forced all that churning power into the only outlet he can. A link between him and the Pokemon in front of him that he wasn't even aware of was always there.

His eyes snapped open with a piercing gold.

"Now."

Without hesitation, Sandshrew took a deep breath, rearing her head back in preparation. The sheer amount of mud causes her gut to bulge outward.

And in one swift movement, she opened her mouth and let out not a glob or a shot of glowing blue mud.

But a stream.

Ripping through the air violently, the stream rammed the tree with a loud crunch. After a second, the mud stream churned through the tree like a drill, tearing out the other side.

Slamming into another tree in the distance, the stream finally petered off. As it did, it left behind not only a hole but a dent in the second tree.

Izan stared, stunned.

Taking a step, Sandshrew staggered. In one fluid motion, Izan broke out of his stupor and caught her before she slumped against him. That... attack took everything out of her.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Izan picked her up. Slowly, he stood up as a wave of fatigue hit him. It took everything out of him, as well.

Turning, he started his way back down to the camp.

"I… will think about that tomorrow."

Okay! As of this chapter, we've caught up to the people over on WebNovel.

Since I'm a pretty slow writer, I can really only do 4500-6000 words in a week. So I think the schedule for this story will be one chapter per week on Thursday. Sorry if you were getting used to the near-constant updates, it was just a reupload from WebNovel over to here.

I write faster when the MC has more freedom so once Izan hits D-Class I should be cranking out words much faster. Still, I'll probably just increase the word count for each chapter rather than post twice a week.

Hope you've enjoyed it so far! :)