Chapter 22

As they walked toward Olivine City, Matt found his mind wandering to the battle he was going to have at the gym. He looked around at the wide open spaces on either side of the road and fingered his pokeballs. Then he looked down at Eevee walking besides him. Eevee looked up and cocked his head and twitched his ears as Matt made a small gesture toward the grassland on either side of them. Eevee wagged his tail.  Rubbing his chin, he started to consider the possibility of stopping when Michele let out an exasperated sigh and threw up her hands.

"If you want to stop Matt, just say so!" she told him stomping her foot.

"What?" Matt asked taken a back. She stopped and poked a finger at his chest.

"Both you AND Eevee got that same look on your face. You obviously want to stop, so why not just say so instead of thinking about it so much?"

"tar" Pupitar agreed from her shoulder.

"ahh…" Matt stuttered taken aback, "I was just thinking of all the possibilities of what could happen of we did stop. See, if we did, I could get some training in., but then that would set us back a day at least, and if you need to get to Olivine City soon, then-"

"Stop!" Michelle cried, raising her hand, then she giggled.

"You're cute when your explaining things, but if I let you, then you'll go on and on. I'm not in any hurry, so let's just stop here and you can train okay?" and with that she turned around and went off the road, heading toward a tree she could sit under that was also near a lake, leaving Matt with his mouth open. She thinks I'm cute? He thought in confusion. Eevee cleared his throat.

"Ve" the little pokemon said tugging on Matt's pant leg.

"Oh, right" Matt said, shaking his head, then followed Michelle.

"Come on out everybody!" Matt called, throwing out his pokeballs.

"Geo!" 

"Gaaastly"

"Rrrrooooww!"

"Dito!"

"It's time to get some exercise!" Michelle called out, releasing her pokemon as well. Lapras pushed herself into the lake, Natu flew up into the tree and started to preen,  Dotrio started to graze. Charmeleon, Chansey, and Pupitar pulled a laughing Michelle into a game of hide and seek. Matt smiled as he watched them, then turned to look at his pokemon.

"Okay team time to do some exercises" he said rubbing his hands together.

"Gyarados, fifty laps around the lake. Gastly, I want you to phase from the tree to the lake twenty times as fast as you can. Ditto, study the other pokemon, and see how many forms you can change into, and how fast. Geodude, give me fifty push ups. Eevee, you and I will run laps around the field." Matt looked at all of his pokemon.

"Got that?" they all nodded.

"I can't hear you!" Matt cried with a grin. The pokemon all roared. Matt cracked his knuckles.

"Alright then team, let's get to it!"

Michelle was playing with her pokemon underneath the tree when Gastly suddenly appeared in front of her.

"AA!" she gasped, falling back.

"Gast!" Gastly said apologetically before he disappeared again, reappearing at the lake in almost no time at all. The blonde girl pushed herself back up and looked around to see what the hell Matt and his pokemon were doing. She was amazed at what she saw. Geodude was doing push-ups, grunting, "dude" after everyone. Gyarados was almost flying around the lake, while her Lapras watched from the middle of the water with wide eyes. Ditto went from Gastly to Eevee, to Gyarados, back to Eevee and so on. Going faster and faster as time passed. But where were Eevee and Matt?

"Chansey!" Chansey said pointing over to the left. Michelle followed Chansey's gaze and gave a little gasp. Matt and Eevee were jogging, well it was more like running, around the field. Matt had his head tilted down to grin at Eevee, who was smiling happily up at his trainer. Michelle was suddenly struck with a very fierce longing, almost an ache in her heart as she watched Matt run with his pokemon. She was so preoccupied, that she didn't notice Charmeleon poking her until Pupitar crawled up her shoulder and cried out in her ear. She jerked and looked at her pokemon.

"what?" she asked, then noticed that all of her pokemon, with the exception of Lapras who was still in the lake, were giving her sly knowing looks.

"Oh shut up. I know what you all are thinking, and I do not!" she hissed, glaring at them and tossing her head, her arm's folded across her chest. Her pokemon, used to her temper, only nodded knowingly.

"Puuuupitar" Pupitar murmured.

"What do you "suuuuuure I don't!?" Michelle exclaimed, turning her head to glance suspiciously at the pokemon on her shoulder.

"Don't what?" a voice panted behind her. Michelle whirled around with a small shriek to find Matt and Eevee, panting after their run, standing right behind her.

"Don't you make ANY noise!?" Michelle exclaimed waving her arms at him. She was astonished to find her face was heating up. Chansey giggled, and Michelle sent her a "quite!" look. Matt chuckled, he was also used to her temper by now.

"Don't you chuckle at me" she grumbled.

"What where you and your pokemon talking about? It looked like an interesting conversation." Matt said as he took off his shirt to and wiped his face with it. Michelle stared at his bare chest.

"Uhh…." She stuttered, "What?"

Chansey, Charmeleon, Natu and Dotrio (who had all three heads up and watching with interest) broke down into laughter, and Pupitar chuckled in her ear. Michelle's face got even hotter. Eevee looked from Michelle to Matt to Michelle again, then a slow grin formed on the little pokemon's face. Matt however was oblivious to the exchange. He finished wiping his face then tossed his shirt to the side.

"Tell me later okay? I think the rest of my pokemon are finished with their exercises. Come on Eevee" Matt said then jogged over to the lake. Charmeleon, and Chansey howled with laughter, while Natu flapped around excitedly. Michelle, her face flaming, whirled and tackled her pokemon.

Matt turned around when he thought he heard something. He blinked when he saw Michelle wrestling with her pokemon.

"Must be training" he said to Eevee, who only chuckled.

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