I'll escape I'll survive I'll thrive

by EclipsedCat

Team Rocket a vile group known for their thievery of pokemon. Sadly the true depth of their deceit is unknown at all. One born among their ranks knows it well. After escaping she must learn to survive, laws keep her from turning to the league for help, if caught she'll lose her family, spending her life in a cell and if the Rockets catch onto her ruse she'll be dead within the day.

4. Stuck in Celadon

Her hair blew in the wind. It had gotten far longer since the first day she saw the sky. The boat rocked under her feet but she had long gotten used to the feeling. The ocean spray brushed her hands and face from the bouncing and lurching of the vessel.

A certain yellow ball of fuzz sat on her shoulder and since everyone was currently either in the belly of the boat or upfront a ghostly candle sat on her backpack. She carefully brushed the top of the only pokeball on her belt and said, "Soon," as the land grew ever more prominent.

Noise came from one of the boat belly entrances and with nearly two months of practice out at sea her ever hotter flame flicked out and her body disappeared into the bag below. A group of younger males with backpacks and numerous pokeballs on their belt chatting away. A boat runner person followed them up.

"Hello," they stopped and crouched in front of her, "We're going to be docking in 30 minutes so why don't you go find your mom okay sweetie?"

Aella felt herself internally sigh as she agreed keeping her face natural. She walked up to the front of the boat and migrated towards a few female adults with children. Using her small size to move between the railing.

She didn't think she'd ever understand the human way of telling time, 'Months, weeks And multiple days are one thing but why not just use the sun for just a day?' she sighed. 'Even after people watching most of the Cycling Path there are still things that I don't get…maybe someday then.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked ahead. She had to tilt her head back to see the tops of the skyscrapers. They were massive. Absolutely ginormous. She saw a few of Matcha's skyscrapers but most of the really tall ones she never got close to. Apparently the two areas that she visited were known as the suburbs and industrial areas.

But here Celadon's skyscrapers came up close to the shoreline. They simmered in the light and reflected the blue of the sky. Some had a unique shape to them while others were short or very pointy.

The slam of boots hitting planks was heard as the boat people with their matching shirts jumped onto the dock, 'l should really look into what those people are called.'

She could feel the presence of people moving very close behind her. It often bothered her but this had become somewhat normal whenever a boat was close to docking.

What was different this time was the slight jostle of her bag and sound of a zipper behind her. Flare's aghast note laced with intrusion reached them and caused the faint weight of Joltik to disappear.

A yelp with a swear rang out behind her. Aella turned to find a young man, probably in what they called one in their teen years, shake and grab his wrist. She could see red dribbling down between his digits.

Joltik clicked and tapped her glowing green front legs on Aella's backpack. The noise, action and unusual pokemon drew far more attention than she would have liked. Some matching shirt boat people arrived to see what had happened.

The childish young man complained that her pokemon attacked him. Aella rebutted, "You messed with my zipper and put your hand in my bag" –she said, reaching back to rezip her bag– "she got mad because you did something you shouldn't have done."

"Well it shouldn't be hurting people!"

"She was defending me and my stuff. How is that a crime?"

"You little–"

"Alright that's enough!" one of the boat people hollered. "Go back to your group. Will be lowering the gangplank in a few minutes."

The male grumbled and shuffled off but Aella couldn't help but get one more quip in. "I'm younger than you, I know less than you and even I know not to reach in someone else's bag."

She could see the boy's ears turn red. He turned and was about to say something back but one of the boat people told him to keep walking. The gangplank was lowered a minute later and Aella looked up to see a sign 'Welcome to Celadon The City of Rainbow Dreams' she was unsure of what they meant but okay. She departed with the rest of the group and decided to trail a large family with many kids of many ages.

Twirling around to take in her surroundings, the young man that caused her problems on the boat was gone. She was far away from the boat's docking spot so…now was a good time to get lost in the edge of the city.

Heading down the docks she found herself slipping around more boat people and those that refer to themselves as fishermen. After a dozen or so odd looks Aella decided it would be best to go inward and onto the streets. The planked floor turned to flat stone and she ended up in the throngs of people's legs. She decided to stick to what she was doing two months ago and go west. The city has to end somewhere.

Over time the crowds of people lessened but the mass of vehicles didn't instead they seemed to increase. She walked along what was called a sidewalk, 'The name makes sense,' she believed was one of the outer roads although it was a massive road.

Between the buildings to her south she caught glimpses of the Gulf of Kanto. She saw things called adverts saying stuff about apartments and nice views. 'I feel like apartments have something to do with houses but at least I know what nice views are,' she glanced at the sea, 'Yea it's a nice view if you like looking at loads of water.'

The main road curved north and a smaller side road kept going west. Sticking to her plan they traveled through an area with buildings only a few stories tall, not like the dozens before.

Cars were still present but people had all but disappeared. Joltik took the chance to talk. Aella couldn't help but agree, "Well Celadon is the biggest city in Kanto so it's kind of expected."

The only thing that stood out is a three-story red domed building on the opposite side of the street. The big P on the front matched the ones she saw on the Cycling Path. It was a pokemon center.

Aella kept side eyeing it as she passed as if she expected people to run out and make a grab for her. She sighed when they were well past it and nearly missed the arch she was about to walk under.

'Thank You for visiting the City of Rainbow Dreams' it said. It was a brick and metal archway and protected the fairly large area of path from rain. A giant map was on the wall and something about the city's history on the other.

Aella stood in front of it, "I really wish I had a paper copy of this" –she mumbled as she gazed it over– "will have to stop at a library some time in the future.

"Well there's the Moon Range and Mt. Moon…but first will want to restock," she pondered. "Right, let's get out of the city."

Joltik clicked in agreement. The spider was tired of all the time they spent at sea and missed the green of the forest and the sweet berries it provided.

Aella took off towards the trees, her body shivered from the chilly sea wind behind her. The spray of sea was fun at first but she had grown to miss the temperate weather of the forest.

There were more leaves on the ground compared to Fuchsia's forest and the leaves in the trees looked less vibrant. The air felt colder, "Maybe it's because we're more north…"

Joltik asked what was on my mind and Aella responded with, "The temperature. It's colder." She felt Flare agree with her statement.

Her jog slowed when they reached a large clearing. Her bag landed in the grass with a quiet thump, the backpack unzipped itself and a candle slid out. Flare's flame snapped on bright as ever.

Shay joined them a second later and preened under the sunlight. She let out a heavy breath and sparks of flame exited her maw. As much as her kind was partial to water the dragon was glad to back out in the forest.

Aella felt pride looking over her family, "Alright let's have a training session. We haven't had a good opportunity to see just how far you've grown since Fuchsia."

She didn't even have to hear their responses. She could tell just by the look in their eyes that they were excited to test their power. "Joltik east side, Shay west, Flare right here, remember fire goes to the middle of the clearing, okay go!"

Aella grabbed her bag and moved to the far northern tree line to watch. Flare started off with releasing four Will-O-Wisps at once; their ghostly cores shone an eerie indigo showing their improved state when mastered they would take on an even deeper shade.

The candle then started pulling shadows out from the trees and swirling them around. Hex was a unique ghost move that required one's ghostly energy to mix with the enemy's shadow and use that to attack with.

Usually this was practiced with their own shadow but since Flare was a Litwick and had her own light source she didn't really have a shadow. Flare did not Minimize her flame unless it was completely necessary so she resorted to plant shadows.

The shadow wisps wobbled and disappeared after a moment. Aella could feel her irritation at its fall, "It's not an easy move to learn Flare but it's improved greatly since Fuchsia."

Flare's mood lightened and glanced over at Shay and Joltiks Agility work out. She was still determined to learn Imprison and had been talking and working with Joltik and Shay for learning Psychic energy but showed no progress as of yet.

"Try Smog again," she called. The candle had gotten poisoned twice while in Fuchsia. Until evolution she would be an easy target for her more stationary status. Thanks to the scare the ghost now had a feel for Poison type energy and over the last two months had worked on building upon it. As of right now she could only produce a few wisps of toxic Smog

While Flare focused on Poison, Aella glanced over at the still two speeding blurs. Joltiks was faster thanks to it being an improved version but Shay was close behind, 'Shay will have it just as good as Joltiks in a week, no likely days.'

When the speeding competition ended it turned into a Thunder Wave one. Both had months of practice with the move and Joltik even got to use it in a few fights on 'The Floats' as they were apparently called by those living on the floating towns making up the Cycling Path. Though Aella wasn't 100% sure she thought they both looked near mastery level. She'd have to check out a nearby library.

When they ended their bout she kept a close eye on Joltiks Fury Cutter. It had turned a deep emerald green, a truly vicious gleam. "That might be mastered as well," Aella muttered under her breath.

'We really need to visit a Library…' she was broken out of thought as a flawless Electroweb slammed through a Will-O-Wisp. Flare had gotten bored of just Smog and decided to up the ante by mixing in Will-O-Wisps and Embers. Joltik had determined they would be great targets.

This game went on with Shay joining in with fist sized bursts of flame. The Cycling Path had a lot of people so Shay couldn't stay out as much. She ended up having long conversations with Flare which in turn led to her current state of Fire energy control.

Apparently based on her Dratini training sheets they don't usually have a lot of Fire type control until they evolve. It was nearly as impressive as her size growth; she went from two and a half feet to three. Neither Joltik or Flare hadn't really grown at all, she really wasn't paying attention though.

Dratinis were often mentioned to be around 10 to 15 feet during the grueling lectures. Her size likely had to do with her age. Aella wasn't fully sure of Shay's age but she guessed it was under a year or even half a year. As for Joltik and Flare both were likely older and if she were to guess Flare was likely the oldest.

Aella called for them to pause the game and finish practicing all of their moves and that they could continue it after. Joltik changed to Bug Bite and Shay worked on her Dragon type moves.

'I'd say Bug Bite is there and we should change our attention to figuring out Slash or start on Electro Ball or Leech Life… oh! There's the egg move too,' she sighed, "So many options..."

A shiver went down her spine at Flare's Astonish but she had turned to watch Shay's Dragon Tail. It never wavered, swirled or wicked out during any of her cuts at the local foliage.

"That's one Dragon type move down now how about the other," Shay gave a cry and summoned a draconic wind to whip around her. The wind howled as it extended upwards, stopping just below the canopy.

"I'd say it's halfway there, give it another few months and you'll either have it or an improved version of it," Aella called and the dragon responded with a joyful melody.

Her lithe body was still visible but the size and power of the Twister she had under her complete control was impressive. Aella stood up and stretched after everyone had finished and rested, "Okay let's collect some berries, make some potions and check the maps," her call prompted everyone to get moving.

—

Their first day back on dry land passed by quickly. Berries were surprisingly easy to come by. The trees were bountiful with fruit. Usually they needed to stop at two or sometimes five trees for fruit because they were picked clean.

Shay was surprisingly a little unnerved by it and Aella was unsure why. She offered the suggestion that maybe the trees were different here but the dragon was still suspicious.

"I just don't like it…"

"Why?" the lead spider asked.

"Because I was taught by my kin that trees change four times. There's light berry, heavy berry, no berry, flower berry."

"…?" the serpent received a mass amount of confusion from the candle.

"Ahh? Try that again but with explanations to each," the spider wandered down the tree.

"I was told how the trees work over the course of a year. They make a small amount of berries then a lot of berries then no berries then flowers. So if they're producing a lot of berries does that mean they're going to produce no berries in a few months?"

The notes for river, water and fish flowed through.

"We didn't find a river every day in Fuchsia. We're not on the ocean. We don't know the area, there could be fewer rivers. We don't know."

"Okay okay if it's knowing the land will need new maps then and that means liberty. Are you fine with that?" one of her fuzzy legs scratched her head.

"…fine tell her," she flicked her tail, not happy with the likelihood of her being returned to her ball.

"Tik Joltik."

"Something up?" Aella asked from the branch she sat on. She swallowed the oran berry she was eating as Joltik and Flare did their best to explain Shay's fears.

"Yea you're right. As much as I would like to get going north right now we need new maps of the area and both mountain ranges," she reasoned. "Although I don't get what you're saying about berries, I can do some research on them as well while we're there. Will that work for you all?"

They all agreed which was a surprise considering it ment Shay would have to go back into her ball. Aella got a hunch that whatever she was talking about with berries was pretty damn important if she would be agreeing to go to a library.

"Since the sun will be setting soon, will sleep first then go tomorrow morning," she said and Joltik took that as her que to make a bed.

Aella watched Joltiks work. She was incredibly fast with String Shot and Aella was honestly unsure if it was mastered or not, 'It said moves become mastered after months or years of use in battles but she rarely uses String Shot in a battle but she does use it every day…'

She sighed, "Right I'll add it to the list…"

"?" came through her mind.

"More stuff to look up," she mumbled in response.

A few branches creaked under her weight which was a surprise, 'Well looks like I'm out of practice as well.'

"Looks like I need training as well," Aella told her family. She flopped into the hammock and rolled onto her back.

A yawn broke her lips, "Alright library tomorrow. Plan after that. Goodnight."

It didn't take long for all but one to succumb to sleep having no idea how much her plans will change because of that very search.

X

Aella was really starting to appreciate Fuchsia's small size and Matcha friendliness. That and add onto the fact it smelled better and had so much less people along with being amicable. She had asked about 30 different people where the library is. Half of them ignored her and the other half didn't know. She was getting very tired of this.

It took till half way to midday sun to get the information and find the library. 'Commerce Zone Library' the sign said. The building itself was taller and covered in sky stained glass. She walking to the marginally warmer building

It was very open, airy so to speak with the sunlight pouring into the glass. Two sets of balconies of white and silver ahead with huge crystals hanging above. Rainbows splashed the walls and the area was dotted with plush seating of pale and deep blue.

Walking through, they were surprised to find so few people enjoying a book in such a lavish library. The ones that did were of older age, there were only two non adults in the room. One on a portable computer and the other, herself.

The light dimmed as she passed under the balconies. Fancy signs with backgrounds to match their words hung by the grand steps carved into the far wall. Though she originally came here for just the online information, they did have a section completely dedicated to pokemon.

The Celadon International Airport and the Indigo Plateau Airstrip were where a large majority of foreigners entered Kanto from. Of course there was still The Johto Border but Johto and Kanto were almost considered one region since they had the same governing body, one Champion and the same Elite Four.

The current Elite Four were abysmal to deal with and she couldn't see how they could get any stronger. With Champion Redmond leading the regions it took a lotta secrecy, chicanery and years for Team Rocket to have gotten as big as it did.

Their first and weakest, if she could even be considered that, was Ayumi, a Steel juggernaut with her Steelix. On her own she could practically steam roll a Team Rocket unit. Standing second was Blaine, a fiery power house with a Magmar that could tussle with a Gyarados no problem.

Agatha sat in third and gave their fourth a tough run for his place. Her ghosts often put Team Rocket in a bad spot. She was never seen without a warping shadow as her ghosts sent shivers down anyone's spine.

And finally their strongest and oldest by a fair margin was Jalaneel, a water master titan. The clink of his cane could send the Elite Officers teleporting out. Apparently his Blastoise was as old as him and the thing still had the strength to decimate opponents. It was a wonder how Red managed to defeat Jalaneel, who often went by Blue, with an obvious type disadvantage.

'Actually now that I think about it, isn't Blue planning on retiring soon. That thing of a failed mother mentioned something about him…' Aella shook her head free of her current thoughts she was getting off topic. Hurrying up the stairs to the pokemon section, the quiet taps of her feet were loud in her ears.

She wandered among the shelves and her eyes flicked from sign to sign. From typing to training to evolution there was far more than she expected. 'Egg Care, Raising young, Technical Machines and Records…'

'Raising young? Shay is very young so… that might be good to look into. That and a book on Dratini's. Books can't be tracked can they,' she reasoned.

Her head tipped sideways as Aella's eyes ran down the titles placed on the spines. Joltik tapped her shoulder pointing to another sign above 'Egg Cases and other Tools' "Oh right thanks."

"Tik tik."

Now searching by sign they found a section labeled 'Pokemon under a year old', "Ok dragons dragons dra–

"Dragons!" she lunged for the book just out of reach, and missed. A clunk reverberated through the shelves and a few precariously placed books farther down fell. She winced at the action and could feel Joltiks' aggravated taps.

"Yeah let's not talk about it," she sheepishly said before mumbling a please to the spider. Joltik I simply rolled her eyes as best as a spider could and skittered up the books.

Snapping the book out of the air, it fell open to a random section. Her grip was readjusted to avoid tearing the pages and she found herself sinking down to the floor. The ripple of paper was heard as she moved to the beginning of the book we're contents list greeted her. The sun creeped across the tile as her eyes skins and mind fed upon the words presented.

Dragons are known to be the slowest typing for growth and evolution. Young dragon scales are soft and malleable and harden over the course of their first year. During their first year their power is weak and grows slowly over time.

It's thought that if a dragon grows strong in their first year they will have the strength to become a champion's pokemon. Unfortunately it is unknown whether this information is true or not since evidence backing this claim is lacking.

On the front of evolution most young dragons take at minimum a year and a half to evolve, others can take up to 10 years. Gible are known to evolve in the shortest of time while Skrelp and Deino are known for taking the longest to evolve. Bagon, Dratini and many of the other dragons are known for taking about four to six years.

"Well that's interesting, I guess will have to test that theory of strength with Shay," Aella stretched, allowing the book to fall between her legs and close.

Joltik used a bit of String Shot to bring the book back up to its slot and reminded Aella to pick up the fallen books, "Yes yes yes," she sighed, stretching. Tapping over to the dislodged books and haphazardly sliding them into open slots.

Her eyes paused on one its title catching her attention, 'Technical Machines and Records upsides and forgotten downsides.'

"Forgotten downsides?" Joltik glanced over, "Since when do TMs and TRs have downsides?" she snorted.

Everything she had been taught about TMs in TRs whether underground or from the unknown had been positive. Curiosity took control and she flipped to the contents table. 'The hidden downsides…47' she locked her eyes to the corner as pages ruffled by.

Though they speed up the learning of a move from a matter of months to a matter of minutes. Unfortunately the information they receive is highly condensed and as a result they miss out on some small but powerful key pieces.

It is thought that a pokemon that learns a move naturally will often have a higher level of control and power over the move along with being able to master much faster. A move that would usually take years to master could only take a year if not months.

Many trainers use TMs and TRs simply because they lack the time or patience to properly teach a move. Since most rookie trainers only have 9 months to train a minimum of eight pokemon to complete in the conference, many forgo the natural learning process of a move.

Even so sadly most trainers do not make it past the top 32 qualification though many…

Aella sighed and glanced up at Joltik, "It's an interesting bit of information… although I'm really not sure if it's a hundred percent true…"

"Tik?"

"It conflicts with some things I've learned in the past." She shook her head. "Will have to look on the internet." The book was placed back on the shelf, seamlessly fitting in with all the others.

They walked towards the computer room, Aella had turned her focus toward her feet in learning how to walk quietly on tile. On dirt and grass her steps were naturally dampened but on stone, concrete and tile it reverberated and pierced her ears. She didn't notice when out in the city because of the cacophony of noise made up of people, pokemon, machines and everything else in between.

She found herself shifting her gait as they passed under the doorway, a touch perturbed at their ending of learning silent tile steps, 'There'll be other opportunities, this is more important anyway,' she reasoned, hefting herself into a wheeled spinning chair.

Joltik encouraged her to start with what they talked about last night, berries, "Right will start with oran berries," she said, pacifying the spider.

Their eyes roved down the page and she found that most of it was already known. Shay had been quite adamant in something about the berries to the point she was willing to stay unconscious in her pokeball. She just wasn't finding what the dragon was seeing.

Joltik was the one to spot whatever it was first, "Jo tik tik joltik joltik!"

"There?" Aella glanced at the section, her spider pointed to. It was a part not on the berries but on the berry trees.

Oran berry trees like almost all fruiting trees in Kanto produce varying amounts of berries depending on the season. All their berries are produced between the months of early April and late September. During August and September they produce large final batches of the year and during early spring bud into many vibrant flowers during March. They usually produce very little in the start of April and will level out to an average batch size by the end of the month.

She could feel her mind freeze up trying to process what she was reading. Her eyes fluttered and air was rapidly pulled into her lungs, "Okay um…let's look at the other things now," her mind felt jarred and shaken and needed a distraction.

Deciding to start with the question that floated through her mind at the bottom of the stairs, she pulled up the official league page. The name Jalaneel was typed into the search bar. Links to his page along with the most recent news articles popped up and one of them immediately caught her attention.

Jalaneel has announced retirement during this end of the month… The click of the mouse rang loud in the vacant room of screens. The article was dated to just under a week ago.

The fourth and strongest Elite Four, Jalaneel, master of the waves, has publicly announced his retirement at the end of this year. The remaining three Elite Four will battle for number placements and when the dust settles Indigo League Competitors and seasoned trainers will be battling it out for the coveted rank in next year's competition. Those that placed first, second or third in next year's competition will be given the opportunity to battle the Elite Four in hopes of defeating at least two to earn a place among their ranks.

Aella felt the chair roll as she leaned back, "Well that's something," her voice dropped to a whisper, "Team Rocket is probably going to take advantage of that which brings up the question, is it better or worse for me.

"They'd be focused on the event and would probably overlook me but if records and cameras were checked…" she groaned.

"Tik? Joltik? Jo jo," Joltik was confused about her worries or why she even had them.

"Ahh I don't know I feel like I'm, what they call it in The Floats, walking on eggshells. I don't know how flawless or horrible my escape was. Or how many ah, holes were put in it.

"Yes I know there was an invasion happening but there's a reason Team Rocket does not have any League moles in it."

Joltik clicked away, asking why, "The brand marks us as a legit member and the collar acts like an identification card. Impossible to replicate, that's why I wanted to get out before I got Id'd."

Aella twitched and glanced around, regretting her decision to not talk about this later under the cover of leaves and twigs. She took a moment to just breathe.

The clack of the keyboard was deafening in the quiet library, she jumped from page to page asking the same question: how long does it take to master a move. She checked Thunder Wave first then Furry Cutter, Flare's Minimize didn't have much difference between improved and mastered and it was the same for Shay's Leer.

Coming to the same conclusion over and over again; it varied. The comment section was full of people arguing between if it was months or years to master a move. There were vague mentions of TMs and TRs. Deciding to change search topics, she switched to the theory that brought her here in the first place.

Does using TMs and TRs make mastering moves take longer? The page flickered when the enter key was pressed down and Aella's eyes skimmed the link listings.

None of the links had .league or .gov marking it as official and thus credible but there were a few from what looked like some high end institutes and scientific thesis.

She rubbed her eyelids, tired from all the reading and her mind pulsed with pain from shock and an overload of information. Though she couldn't trust everything that was read, many of the documents pushed the theory that TMs and TRs affect a pokemon's mastery of a move. She called it quits after an hour.

The soothing taps of Joltik ran across her shoulder when she leaned back and closed her eyes, "We're not quite done, we still need to look back into the berry thing and the thing on seasons," Aella mumbled.

She cracked and shook her hands just as the fisherman did before starting again. She paused remembering a note she made earlier. What are people who work on boats called?

A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.

'Ahh yea seamen makes sense,' Aella thought, filing away the information for later use.

Reading and retaining as much information as her wary mind could, forced to blink has her eyes glazed from time to time. Kanto had four seasons, berries grew in all but winter, there were light flurries of snow that didn't stick around for more than a week. But I didn't mean it wasn't apparently bitter cold.

They needed to go trash hunting again if she wished to stay warm or find some sort of shelter. Celadon was large; there had to be some abandoned buildings. Food was going to be difficult, streams were not prominent in Celadon. They learned on The Floats fishing from the ocean was not as easy as fishing from a stream. There were quite a few times where thievery became necessary. She was not proud of those moments.

A defeated sigh left her body, "Okay let's get out of here," Joltiks worried clicks rang out over the room. "We need to tell the others that we're changing plans. We're staying in Celadon till spring."

Joltik clicked a few times before disappearing underneath Aella's hair as they passed a group of men on the stairs. She walked out of the tempted building and into the bristled wind.

—

An hours walk later and an edgy pass of that same Pokemon Center they ended up in a new clearing closer to the perimeter arch of Celadon. The bright flash of double releases painted the leaves red. Shay's melody filled the clearing and the bond with Flare strengthened. A quarter of her mind, now connected with the candle.

A heavy alright got there attention, "Shay was onto something so thank you for saving me from doing something very stupid," Shay gave a call as her pride was quenched.

A sigh escaped before she shook her head and slapped her hands together, "l've got some rudimentary ideas of what we're going to be doing this month instead. Since the berry trees are gonna be around for a little bit longer will start with alleyway trash digging."

Shay was less pleased at the idea of spending more time in her pokeball but knew that this was important, "With it getting colder we need clothes and things to keep us warm and I want to scout out Celadon, see if we can find an unwanted building to use against snow and cold snaps.

"If we can't find a building we can scrounge up scraps of plank and sheeting and build our own. Will also see if we can find a source of food and put more effort into it at the end of the month. We will start tomorrow at dawn."

A collective nod and calls of agreement echoed around the clearing as the day came to an end.

XXX

September blew through like the cold wind that accompanied it. The days became shorter and nights colder. Much of the time that was usually spent traveling and training was turned into scrounging and scouting. Their adaptability and survivability was challenged again.

A yawn broke through as an eight year old walked the path she has long since memorized from the library to the forest tree she has been sleeping in. "It's kind of bothersome how far apart they are. Shame we can't move any closer without the danger of being spotted."

The familiar chatter of Joltik joined her on the sparsely populated street. Her mind drifted to her latest read on Dratini. She was no dragon expert but Aella was confident Shay's growth was fine based on the books.

Aella rubbed her loose gloves together for warmth, "I think we should check out the poke-generator. I saw one on the map north east of here," Joltik was displeased with the repeated suggestion. A poke-generator what's essentially a decoy generator for wild Electric pokemon, who are naturally drawn to the generators used in cities. While all Electric pokemon and even some without an Electric typing can absorb electricity for sustenance, some pokemon exclusively feed off electricity.

Although dangerous there's a chance they can find an offshoot building or outcove that can be used as cover for the impending winter. Shelter was the one thing upon the list they've been unsuccessful in obtaining.

Turns out humans were surprisingly wasteful. They're willing to toss out perfectly good clothes like a sweater that just had a few small holes and gloves that were just a bit on the rough side. Finding another set of bottles, four in total, gave them enough to have spares.

Food was a surprise as well, certain bins around certain buildings, she believed were called restaurants, were often full of fresh, clean, untouched food. Honestly it was kind of mind-boggling.

But it wasn't to say they didn't have their fair share of battles, especially with winter on its way. Wild pokemon were fattening and stocking up for the cold and berry trees with bounties still on them becoming more scarce. They found themselves having to guard and sleep within the crooks of the fruiting trees. Joltik and Shay fighting during the day and Flare, having to scare off would be thieves at night.

The result was a chance to test what they learned during their time on The Floats and gave Aella a perfect opportunity to observe. The Floats were man made and thus had almost no wildlife to battle. Surprisingly they got away with sparring with a few locals with Joltik. Unfortunately having more than one or a ghost or a dragon will draw too much attention so the others were forced to sit out.

The time not spent on prepping for winter was spent among the stacks of books. She poured over the knowledge, bound in leather of her family, into her mind, reading and rereading sections and chapters leaving her mind strained from overuse. Though most of her reading was for her family and survival she found herself taking brakes –if you could call it that– reading about trees as her curiosity of them back in Mossgreen had grown. Sadly with the change of seasons it was becoming harder to tell tree types apart.

It has been a good while since she last had to push her mental capacity, not since before she had seen the sky. As of two day ago she was marking both Furry Cutter and Thunder Wave as mastered. Joltik had perfect precise control over cuts. Able to control just how much of her claw was enveloped in the emerald green energy. Both her and the draconic's Thunder Wave flowed like water, rolling around them in a wave of energy they could snap out, any second that they wished.

Her ever warm candle, Flare didn't fall behind. Able to create and send unnervingly large Embers at foes with just enough control to not start a forest fire. Its brilliant glow of golden surrounded by hues of orange and red is a far cry from its beginning of Flexin deep orange and ruddy red. Aella was sure it was close to mastery and she wanted her candle to focus on the dangerous combination of Will-O-Wisp and Hex afterwards.

Sidewalk turned to dirt as the hustle and bustle of the city was left behind. She crouched under low hanging branches and could feel her hair catch as they brushed the top of her head. Dipping her head did nothing but cause the tips to catch on the leafless bushes below. It tugged at her scalp sometimes sharply but she felt far worse pain so she didn't mind.

'It is annoying, maybe it's best to be cut back some,' her mind wandered as Aella re-arrived back in the clearing called base, with the local trees having run out of berries it was no longer necessary to move from place to place protecting what precious resources were left. A grand oak tree has been made into their bed over the past weeks.

Shay and Flare reappear in scarlet red shaking the unconscious fog away. Greetings are made and muscles are stretched as food is brought out. The spider and dragon munched on berries from their stock before they went bad. The candle swayed to a unheard beat having consumed many souls over the past few weeks of battles. Aella cracked open a second water proof container they had found and were using as intended; for leftover food.

When bellies were filled, conversation started up again, "So I did some research into teaching Ghost pokemon Psychic moves and without TMs or TRs or a Psychic pokemon it's going to be near impossible," Flare verbalized her anger something she only did when her emotions ran strong or mental communication was not an option.

"We can see if we can find a Psychic willing to give you lessons but that would be better to do in Saffron. Celadon isn't known for its Psychic and neither those from the Exeggcute and Slowbro line are all that smart.

"Starmie don't really show up with the shore pollution problem and most of the other Psychics prefer other environments," she heaved a sigh. "I'll let you keep working with Joltik and Shay on it but don't expect much improvement over the next few months, I need you to really work on Will-O-Wisp and Hex, clear?"

Aella could feel the ghosts brooding over her words and her flame flickered,"Hey Saffron is Kanto's capital of Psychics, Sinnoh has its own capital of Psychics as well. I'll do some research and see where it is and that'll be one of the first stops we will go to. How does that sound?"

The flame on Litwick's head stilled, "Lit," her emotions cooled becoming tepid.

Aella sighed as the air that was saturated in ghostly energy dissipated. Clicks of Joltik came just above her right ear as her mandibles detangled and preened her long hair. "Hey I was thinking of maybe cutting my hair. It keeps catching on brush and getting knots in it."

Unsure clicks came from Joltik, she personally liked preening Aella's hair but on the other claw she wasn't wrong. It was over halfway down her back after all.

"Leaving it long it will catch and if it snags and stops her the miss will be hurt," the candle spoke.

"Flare is right, as pretty as it is long the danger of her hair being grabbed in a chase is something we can't overlook," Shay said, her sweet voice ringing clear. "We don't need to cut it all off course, that would look weird but just enough to keep the danger in check."

"Yes yes fine" –Joltik mumbled sadly her mandibles ran through the locks– "I'll trim some off."

"If you can, try to make it neat and pretty. One of the caretakers at the sanctuary would talk about the importance of neatness when it comes to one's body, be it scales, skin, fur or hair," the dragon droned on but Joltik had lost interest already fully aware.

Aella sat straight as she once did when saluting to higher members when Joltik clipped away using a bit of Fury Cutter, Flare having already informed her of their decision. That she could not move without damaging Joltiks work, her mind ran over past and present information along with future plans. Wandering back to a previous point of conversation she brought up a topic that was sure to tick off Joltik a little bit.

"So," she started as Joltik finished, "What do you say, tomorrow morning, we go check out the poke-generator and see if we can use it as a shelter for the winter."

"Tik."

"We need shelter and soon you know."

"TIK."

"It'll give you a chance to feed off electricity, something you almost never get to do."

"TIK!"

A melody flowed through the air with notes and emotions in synchrony in mind. Aella understood but couldn't understand with Flare solely focused on the intense conversation. Glares and heated staredowns made for a rough epilogue of the talk.

"I know you don't like it but any building we've come across abandoned has some pokemon living in it. We're gonna have to fight for a spot whether we want to or not and we've gotten stronger."

"Stronger than we were in Fuchsia and way stronger than what you were against that Cubone" –Joltik jolted at the bringing up of the past– "and we're just going to keep getting stronger. We're survivors, we're not done until we decide we're done."

Shay gave a beautiful cry in agreement, fully aware of how strong she's gotten since her time in the sack or even at the sanctuary she was taken from. Flare's flame bobbed, nodding along the fire having grown ever more brilliant and shadows ever more dangerous.

"Alright we're going to the generator tomorrow," the firm statement left her mouth as to finalize the decision. Tapping was heard as her spider took to the tree up to their bed. A little translation from Flare of Joltiks mind, she was not happy with the decision but would follow. A sigh slipped out tomorrow was going to be less fun.

—

As expected the walk was made up of only Shay's and Aella's voices with the ghost asleep and Joltik refusing to join the conversation out of disagreement with their destination. A faint scent that she had begun to associate with Joltik after her electrical spars with Shay had started to creep up.

The tree line broke revealing a massive clearing surrounded by trees of a variety of types all with their own hues of leaves that mimicked fire. Sitting dead center was an equally massive building. Solid dark gray and white walls of concrete were only broken up by holes seemingly gouged into the walls big enough for an electivire to walk through without resistance.

"Wow, okay it should be easy to find again," she said before stepping into the grass broken by pokemon paths. Stepping up to an unnaturally clean cut arch, the buzz of Electric types reminded her that this building was specifically designed for pokemon thus the holes may have been incorporated in the build. She leaned forward to take in more of the interior. A vast area completely open save for the Snorlax size pillars made of thick stone and metal holding a ceiling that had sparsely dotted holes were sunbeams shown through.

What she thought was a multi story building was actually just a tall ceiling though there were in a sense multiple levels. A huge walkway extended around the perimeter with stairways and ramps leading down to a large concrete pit with stationary and mobile machinery. To her right was a raised section with more generators. The metal frame of the building was clearly visible though she kept feeling like something was off when staring at the ceiling. It took her a fair bit for it to click.

'There's no lights, just sunbeams for illumination… I guess it makes sense it is a building for Electric types,' she twitched when she felt a small pale blue snake attempt to wind itself up her leg. Picking up Shay the young dragon scanned over the large space, her head pausing from time to time to stare at certain individuals within the room.

There were a few big ones that stood out well size wise was the set of Electabuzz with two wait no three Elekid running around and between their legs. The amount of Voltorb and Electrode was a bit staggering; the buzz came from three to her left.

"Torb torb voltorb," they seemed to be a touch offended by her intrusion but made no move.

Plusle and Minun played and preened under one of the pillars just beyond. A mischief of Electric mice was running on the leftern walkway. She blinked at the orange fur of a Raichu among the mischief. Letting out a small 'huh' before turning to the right.

She spotted blue and green for up on the raised platform, 'Electrike and Manectric they mentioned the recent surge of Hoenn in pokemon appearing in Kanto and Johto,' she shivered at the memory of some of the horrid things the teachers back then did to teach them.

She glanced at Joltik, 'On the other hand pokemon from Unova and Kalos I've barely seen any and of the five I have spotted, four of those were in Team Rocket's base, two of them are now mine and the other was Basculin hauled in to become lunch.'

Walking over the railing she thought better than to touch the bare metal when she heard the voice of Magnemite floating below.

"Electrode," her head snapped back to the left as a less friendly and much more dangerous pokemon rolled their way, "Okay we're going right then."

Shay leaned up and looked over her shoulder and the feeling of Joltik turning around on was felt. She could hear Joltik click something at the ball and her response was an even more annoyed 'trode'.

'I really hope it isn't bored, they're known for releasing deadly blasts of energy when they're bored,' her mind is shot back to tour of the generator room. The grunt had mentioned the only reason they didn't use Electrode was because they didn't have a psychic system to keep them under to prevent boredom explosions.

At the third, "Electrode," call she took off down the mostly empty walkway, startling a few Minun and up the stairs to the raised platform. Her eyes dotted back to the Electrode who didn't like it's fun running away. Though they could apparently jump they didn't really like to and preferred to just roll.

It stared back, then rolled sideways and passed through an opening in the railing. A loud klank reverberated as it slammed into the concrete. She let out a breath before a buzz sounded to her right. Five Electrike and one Manectric had ceased play and stared at the odd group in front of them.

"Ahh they didn't seem that friendly so I figured I'd go somewhere they have to jump to," the Manectric looked nonplussed at her decision to run away from one danger into six. The Electrike yeped, bolts of electricity zipped off their fur. Two scampered behind the Manectric and the other three moved into battle positions.

She glanced down at her Dratini and raised an eyebrow, only receiving a flicked tail. She was fine with a battle.

"All right we originally came to just look around but if you wanna spare one on one that's fine. I'm not catching anyone though, I've got enough on my hands with winter approaching."

Shay's signature sweet cry seemingly repeated Aella's statement. The Manectric barked and the three challengers' ears flicked and they yeped amongst themselves before two backed off leaving the far left one to step forward.

"Alright Shay one of the two common abilities of Electrike is Lightning Rod so electrical moves are out," a hard humm came from the dragon.

Electrike suddenly raised its head letting out a Howl before lowering its front paws. Lines of shock fled from its jaws. Its eyes flashed a Leer and dove into a Quick Attack.

"Return the favor and move," a shiver went down the dragon spine, untrained in looking away from such an attack. She hissed and Leered back and psychic energy ran down her. Electrike nearly grazed her as Agility gave her the speed to dodge.

"Tail!" Aella yelled and Shay coated her tail in draconic energy. Moments later she felt the Bite of foreign energy and fangs dig in but failed to penetrate her improvised shield.

Letting her tail snap up a yelp was heard as the Electrike was thrown off and landed on its side. Yeps and barks were heard as its pack encouraged them to stand.

The Lightning pokemon stood although not steadily and went for a ranged strike with Thunder Wave.

"Use your own in defense," Shay let out that hauntingly beautiful call as twin bolts slammed into each other.

They held even for a moment before the Electrike ran out and her dragon's bolt surged through striking the Electrike dead on, "No cut it off, ability!"

Ceasing immediately the Electrike looked no worse for wear. In fact it looked stronger based on the amount of charge coming off of it.

They charged and lunged with a Bite.

"Fire Shay!"

A burst of red flame left the dragon's gullet and slammed into the face of the Electrike just a Joltik of space away.

They let out a second loud yep sliding along the floor on their side towards their pack. Aella could hear its pants and exhaustion kept it from getting up. Shay slithered close to finish it but she was quickly called off.

"Enough there tired and down. Good work!" the dragon let its prideful side show and preened under the complement.

Aella glanced up at the other barking two, "We're up for another spar if you are," she called out.

One leaped over they're panting pack mate who had moved from their side to their belly. It Howled its strength doubling and Aella called for Shay to avert her gaze. She tipped her head down staring at their paws, feeling an unnerving energy pass by before snapping her head back up and Leering back.

They shivered at the weakening glare before entering a Quick Attack just as the first. Shay needed no instruction to activate Agility and sweep out of the way or try.

With fancy footwork the Electrike slammed headlong into the dragon and sent her back. Her scales protected her skin; soft from age. It didn't mean it still didn't hurt though.

Aella called for her to get up as a ghostly presence awakened in her mind, Flare was awake. Leaving Joltik to fill the Ghost in mentally as she watched the canine leap and scurry around the bursts of hot flame Shay flung over and over again.

It wasn't quite a Flamethrower yet the young dragon didn't have the ability to hold it for long periods of time.

Smoke billowed from the young dragon's throat. Not having the energy to continue using a Fire type attack at this early stage. A yep sounded when it turned and charged back in and the Electrike's tail enlarging and gaining a metallic sheen.

"Meet it with your own!" She heeded her savior's call forceed any pain down and swung her tail out fused with power. Silver met green both pushing for dominance.

Shay became thrown off guard at the style of move and energy radiating from their tail. It should be foreign but it was familiar. That slight distraction turned the clash's favor to the Electric.

With a howl the Electrike broke through and the Dragon was thrown back to her family. Shay lay on the concrete blinking away sleep when she felt hands pick her up.

"That was a good fight. You did well and spat way more fire than at the start of this month," she stroked the dragon's head and neck lovingly before placing her around her neck.

Feeling a certain ghost prodding at the back of her mind for a battle. Aella's mouth twitched at her eagerness, "Okay then Flare your up."

An eerie wail sounded throughout the platform before the candle even fully materialized. Her flame burned bright and there was a rise in temperature. The Electrike barked and panted at the heat. Their fur was designed to hold electricity but could stifle them.

"No feeding, it's a spar!" Electrike yep and turned to Leer. Aella opened her mouth to tell Flare to look away but the candle already covered their eyes. She could feel the mental bond with the Ghost increase. After spending nearly half a year in the ghost presence the connection has grown to encompass a fifth of her mind.

The Electrike was wary of the unusual ghost unwilling to grow close. Though Flare's Flash Fire ability won't burn it but Will-O-Wisp would. Aella was glad they discovered Flare's ability back on The Flotes.

The Lighting pokemon released a paralyzing Thunder Wave and Aella instinctively called for an Ember. Flare was one step ahead with the bond. An Ember the same size of her body was placed in front tanking the blow.

The fire remained, half its original size, when the Electrike cut off their try. Flare didn't hold back and sent the ball smashing into the Electric.

Landing on their feet letting out a vicious Snarl fueled by its anger. The Ghostly candles flame was flickering under the intensity, timing a Minimize that did negate a small amount of damage before retaliating with the wailing Astonish.

It struggled to their feet and stood tall before moments later its legs gave out and the Electrike left the waking world behind. Manectric plotted over picking it up by the scruff and the third and final contestant entered the fray.

Litwick watched the dog for a moment then turned and her power flared. Joltik chattered in kind and launched off of Aella's shoulder. The candle methodically slid back, her flame far smaller than it was at the start. Dark type attacks do a lot to a pokemon of the mind treo.

Aella picked up the very faint taps of Joltik's recognizable gait, as her first made her way to front and center. She didn't pick up her second member for she'd mentally asked to stay at her feet.

Electrike attempted a Leer but Joltik had learned well from both watching and sparring with Shay on avoidance of the simple trick. A Howl in frustration changed to cry in pain as a sharp strike ran up their side.

Joltik Agility to grow close and switched to Fury Cutter to hit fast, gaining momentum with each time her leg cleaved through the Electrike's skin. Joltiks Compound Eyes making misses out of the question as even blocking with electricity did little in slowing her down.

Aella was assured of Joltik's win. Manectric barked over the battlefield, Aella had no time to question its call when Electrike released a far more potent and accurate shock tinted blue.

Years of brutal learning and research done in library's she recognizes the move as Shock Wave. A move that's guaranteed a hit since it traces one's electrical current that runs through every living creature's body.

Joltik was only stopped for a few moments but it was enough for Electrike to give another Snarl. The wave of dark energy knocked her unsteady, her concentration broken. A horrible shriek was released from the small spider's body as Electrike used Bite, finishing the fight.

Aella spared no time in recalling her unsure whether she was awake or out. Flare informed her that she was out. A sigh of relief knowing her family was not in unnecessary pain escaped.

"Yea thats all we got. Your win," she watched the pride arrive on the face of the Electrike they barked and wooed with joy all the way over to their pack mates, tongue lolling.

She couldn't help but giggle at its attitude, Shay with some strength returned slithered onto her shoulders so Flare could be held. Pacing back to the stairs she stopped when she spotted a large group of Electrode hanging out near the bottom.

"It would be better to wait till they move on… or black out from blowing up," with her mind made up she sat down turning so both ball and lightning pokemon were in view.

Minutes went by before Aella's keen hearing picked up paw steps moving closer. Her eyes flicked up to the blue and yellow fur of Manectric, "Will leave when the Electrodes decide they're bored, I don't have the medical supplies for patching up explosions."

They huffed yeped and barked and Flare did her absolute best to translate. 'Here, looking, no, catching, winter, here,' It finally clicked after a little bit, the Manectric was talking about what she said earlier.

"Why are we here?" she received a huffing nod. "Winter is coming. It'll get cold. We can stay in public buildings like libraries, their buildings where lots of people congregate, but that's only during the day. At night it'll get colder. We can't sleep outside then.

"We're here to see if this building is safe enough and allow us some insulation from the cold nights." the Manectric shook its head to that grumbling something.

'No warmer in here than it is outside,' or at least that's what she was able to translate from emotional notes.

They spoke more yips and grumbles and Flare called back with mental notes following along. The candle was retelling their past.

Its facial expressions were an ever-changing kaleidoscope along with the sounds it periodically voiced. They stood without speaking long after Flare had finished. After an inordinate amount of time they sat and grumbled, pawing at the ground.

As Flare translated Aella's eyes widened, it told of some warehouses not within the hustle and bustle of the city, that were known for staying warm even in the bitter cold. Flare was given clues on how to find them.

Aella thanked them but they halted her with warnings. Pokemon of the steel type tended to inhabit them, some were territorial. Humans visited some of the decrepit buildings, not all were friendly.

Aella bristled when Flare noted they were like Team Rocket though did not carry their insignia. She suggested they may be trainers catching teammates but the Manectric repudiated that, they could recognize trainers and these people were not that.

There was the buzz of the generators and yeps of Electrike playing and the distant sound of squeaks and grunts from other pokemon in the grand room but Aella's voice was not one of them. She only breathed as her mind ran.

"Thank you again for the information. I'll talk with my family and will decide where to go from there," her voice was slightly monotone over news that felt more bad than good.

She stood up and without thinking walked in her old march pattern. Her feet felt loud on the steps. The circle of Electrode having moved on to who knows where. The Manectric howled behind them and Shay returned her own call.

Migrating past a mound of cheering pokemon though some growled from the disturbance. Concrete turned to dirt and trampled grass as a breeze blew her shoulder length hair.

She could feel the eyes of the wild on her as she passed through the seemingly empty field. The forest coated her in as much shadow as it could the wind, having taken many of their leaves.

No one had much to say with much to ponder. The russell of leaves filled the silence with the additional crunch of leaves and twigs under her boots that she no longer attempted to daffy avoid.

Her mind became grounded when her feet were forced to stop as a tree blocked her path. She glanced up, 'Oh this is our sleeping tree,' her fingers grazed Joltik's pokeball.

Her candle responded to her mental call, "Is Joltik still out?" she asked. Her hand reached up, grasping the lowest branch and hauling herself up. Aella had gotten used to climbing with one hand holding Flare.

The Ghost confirmed her statement, "Right let me know when she's conscious then," her call received a mental okay. Her feet and hands moved a pattern she had learned over the weeks and the feeling of spider silken web crossed fingers a quarter of the way up the massive oak.

Shay slid off onto the finely woven net and Flare was placed on her personal shelf clear of leaves and twigs for visibility and burn safety. Aella yawned even though it was only high sun, and she still had plenty of things to do. Thankfully most could be done later in the afternoon.

Food was easier to scrounge up when restaurants closed. Plus she wanted to wait till Joltik was awake so they could go over recent information as a group. So a nap didn't sound too bad, especially after all the adrenaline rushing through her veins during the spar.

—

Her body jerked as she was mentally shook awake, and turned her head away from the sunlight. She blinked back sleep, as Flare alerted her of Joltik's awakened state, "All right all right I'm up I'm up," she mumbled, "Okay let me get a potion."

The puff and fizzle of a pokemon being released was wrong in Aella's ears and she twisted the button back to silent and conscious. Joltik lay languid, without the help of modern medicines and machines, blackouts were exhausting. The spider was hesitant to take one of their limited potions, but Aella assured her it wouldn't last much longer anyway.

Joltik was upset at the pointlessness of the trip; her clicks were irate and somber. "It wasn't pointless, we got a lot of information from Manectric." Flare agreed, reiterating everything they've learned from them.

"We'll likely have to fight for a spot but we'll be warm at least," Shay hummed a tune that Flare translated with notes for bad and people.

"Yeah poachers and thieves are gonna be a problem." Flare brought up her ability to feel her surroundings while Aella rummaged through her bag, "Scaring them off would work although doesn't that require a sort of ghost zone aura?" The candle confirmed her thoughts as she pulled the berry bag from her pack.

"So the question is, how much would that annoy the neighbors?" None of them had an answer to that. Ideas rolled in her mind, "We could try to make friends with the more friendly locals," Joltik and Shay we're more in agreement of that plan.

They took the time to enjoy the last of the berries. Aella glanced up at the sky to determine that she had slept till late sun.

"Let's head into town; few of the restaurants will be dumping leftovers around now," their descent was smooth from months of practice, her feet landing with an unnatural silence. The pot and some spare clothes were left behind creating room for oddities.

Joltik became the first in conversation and brought up training plans, "Nothing today, maybe something light tomorrow afternoon. You all need time to heal."

Her tiny sister was not happy with such plans and voiced her desire to be stronger. Aella correctly guessed it was from the lost fight. She couldn't blame her though she herself had gotten arrogant and thought Joltik would win. They just have to learn and prepare better for the unusual.

"I know I didn't expect Manectric to suddenly give them commands like that," she pondered, "Honestly it makes me wonder if they used to be a trainers pokemon."

Talk drifted to the potentials for tonight's menu as stomachs were barely filled. Shaking leaves and playful wind that nipped at her face was warmed by the constant heat radiating off of the candle. As the days have gotten colder, Flare has been practicing and tampering with her temperature control. Aella was grateful for her diligence in starving away the cold.

It was almost too soon when she was forced to recall the ghost. Her dragon quieted her calls and dipped into hiding. Joltik shimmied closer, slipping partially under the collar of her shirt.

They walked down the sidewalk earning a passing glance at the oddity of such a young child out alone. Having gotten good at ignoring them or staring them down till the tug of looking away forced their eyes to flee.

They had gotten used to walking in the city, well somewhat. Though she found the faces of humans often blur together with nothing significant or special making them stand out. Whether she'd seen them before or not she would never be able to tell. Even their use of dying hair and marking skin didn't do much. All so bland compared to the pokemon.

A Meowth bathed itself in the alley even though it looked no different than any other Meowth she knew this one was one she'd seen in HopHopHop Town north of the Commerce Zone. A bunch of Sunflora gathered in the window of one of the many small shops that was a small piece in the grand structure known as a mall.

A red dome bloomed out from the blue and gray as she grit her teeth. Even after a month of walking by pokemon centers with nothing happening her fear was too deeply ingrained to be forgotten easily.

Forcing her focus away from the bloody roof to the pokemon below gives her some semblance of control. A Whismur and Shroomish were wrapped tight in the arms of their young trainers. Both of the males – or at least she assumed they were males based on their hair – seemed deep in an argument, others having no choice but to navigate around them.

The throngs of people melted away and shade clung to her when she left the street behind. A Zangoose leaned against the alleyway wall. Its eyes turned to her and opened its jaws as if to say 'get out,' but thought better when it recognized her. She had debated catching them the first time they fought because of its abandoned status in a foreign country but they had made friends here. No point in taking them away.

"Have they tossed yet?" She received a scowling nod. She felt the Zangoose eyes move back to the street as they had taken up the duty of a Sentret. The local police didn't appreciate pokemon digging through their trash bins.

Rattata and Pidgey were already gorging themselves and a Zubat clung to the underside of the buildings outside stairs. Joltik made fast work of peeking in bins, not without a swipe from a Pidgey but a spasmed shock was all it took before the avian thought better.

A click and wave of an unoccupied bin drew the human and dragon over. Clear plastic bags torn open held dry bread, potato sticks everyone calls fries. Others carry the scent of fish and herbs and another some form of sweet.

Food was inspected by an attentive dragon then scarfed down or tossed. It was when they were nearly full she realized she had again forgotten to tell them the full scope of plans. When she voiced this she received a second round of exasperated irritation. Joltik made a motion towards Flare's ball.

"Right so I may have forgotten to mention the full plans for the warehouse" –she said moments after the candle materialized– "since there is a chance for bad people we're going to poke around the warehouses before entering and see if there's any recent signs of humans in the area.

"Also what pokemon live around there, how territorial, and how powerful they are" –her voice rose when conversation took a sudden turn– "but first rest and a library visit, moves will take months and some years to learn so to compromise for our slow progression will be learning techniques and finesse okay?"

Agreement was easy since none of her requests were outrageous like say walking straight into a building full of very powerful electric pokemon.

—

Aella rubbed her temples. She has been doing way too much research into the physics and biology of electricity in pokemon. That along with scouring one of the newest and brutal gym leaders to run the electrical gym in Vermilion Surge. Brontan, the old gym leader, turned it over to him this month stating he wanted time to enjoy retirement and it was time for the next generation to step up.

Actually now that she thought about it a lot of current team leaders were getting up there in age. It would make sense for a lot of the other gym leaders to be replaced by new young power houses.

The videos at the turnover battle gave Aella and Joltik a deep insight into what a prime property trained electric could do. Though Surge wasn't considered a master yet he was well on his way. His cornerstone Raichu and Electivire did most of the work and Magnezone could never be touched with anything ground with its incredible use of an on off Magnet Rise. She made a note to eventually teach Joltik that move. The rest of his team was just as impressive and his use of electricity to seemingly destabilize oncoming elemental attacks lessening the blow was ingenious.

X

Her past days of enjoyable rest and headaches turned to days of shadow and stealth. Her boots tapped the land in whispers as they stayed in the bushes. Their focus may have been to their surroundings but their main point of interest was the looming steel fortress in front of them. It was one of the warehouses Manectric had described to Flare.

It was decades old. The smell of rust and mineral clung to the air, a silent building, 'Ok maybe not,' she thought when a piercing screech of metal on metal caused her to flinch.

Shiny tin cans with no signs of rust were her only indicators of human activity, although based on the mold they've been there for a good while. The faint buzz of Electrics brought her eyes back to the decrepit building.

'Would make sense with the decoy generator not half a days walk from here…they did mention steel– Buzz crackle CRASH – why is that unnecessary and ironic!'

They squished themselves lower and glanced out into the house turned junkyard that separated the warehouse from the path to the city. Two points of different colors separated by only a few fingers bobbed in unison. They spun staying ever the same distance from each other.

With what's left of the once wooden wall they couldn't see the rest of it but even with only that much it was obviously a Magnemite's magnets.

"Mag Mag Magnemite."

'Oh there's more than one… there's quite a few more than one,' she debated whether it would be better to leave or stay. Steel pokemon could take a lot of punishment and the only thing they could really ding them up was Ground, Fighting and she glanced down and Flare, Fire.

Letting air in through her nose till her lungs were full and letting it out in the long stream she calmed herself down and took the time to properly think about they're typing match up.

'Magnemites do not have much variety outside of Electric Steel and Normal moves. None of my sisters are weak to any of those and most are resistant or immune, Flare is the only one who is truly effective against them, Shay's a Dragon and Joltik could just be a distraction.'

"Okay let's keep looking around," Aella murmured.

"Tik tik Joltik," Joltik whispered in a raised voice pointing towards the Magnemite so Aella voiced her earlier conclusion leaving Joltik with no reply. Shay hummed something to the overly cautious spider before slithering ahead.

The Dragon led her kin for the first few minutes but was forced to turn over leading to Joltik when Aella could no longer follow because of loss of foliage large enough to hide behind.

The group had a small run-in with two Magnemite. Their near expressionless faces made it hard to tell whether they were contemplating a fight or just passive. Whatever way their mind swayed they quickly moved on when Flare raised the temperature.

It was surprisingly quiet around the outskirts of the building with only Magnemite and a stray Rattata scampering across the forest floor. Both Pidgey and Spearow could be heard singing their battle cries. She had learned that the two species fought a lot in the fall. They were going to check out the fallen house but five Magneton felt like too much to deal with.

The building itself with it being so rusted was surprisingly very intact. Holes in broken windows were filled with sticks and scraps and there were plenty of small signs of repairs but none of them felt human done. She even convinced Joltik to take a look at the roof and again no holes and signs of repair.

Sitting down in front of a sycamore, Aella had contemplated the simple structure, still standing tall, "If pokemon are fixing the building, plugging holes and adding support to beams it's gotta be for the winter use."

Clicks of uncertainty came crisp from the spider, the need for stealth unnecessary anymore. The young draconic sided with Aella her teachings had warned her of the danger of cold.

"Then why are there so few pokemon around if it was important enough to fix. Flare has sensed so few souls in it as well,"she added. Shay nodded along making her own suggestions afterward and pointed towards a small opening cut into the side.

"That's right we should probably look around inside," Joltik was about to argue again but Aella continued. "The outside is safe, Magnemite are easy enough to scare off, and the Magneton have stayed in the wrecked house; will be fine."

They leisurely trotted towards the opening. Her feet stopped before the ground sunk down having been dug out. A gaping maw with teeth of yellow it imitated with her only able to make out smooth metal plates and dried grass. Letting her body weight drop into a crouch, her head tilted at an angle to stare into not fully darkness.

The floor was a mixture of dirt and hay, the only patches of metal looked burnt and bubbled, ladders led to another level deeper within. Her fingers scraped dirt as she moved from feet to knees and her head passed the threshold and peered up at the ceiling. The rafters were jenkee with parts missing, chains of iron with hooks swinging free and surprisingly most windows were undamaged coated in layers of dirt and grime.

The sounds of the outside world seemed to fall away when they entered. Their steps thumped deep yet quite on the padded ground and the high pitched sissh of the serpent scales. It was impossible to hear Joltik's steps without stone underneath. Flare let her flame glow bright and made any shadows ebb and flow while the heat from her base seeped into Aella's hands. She found herself focusing on the sound of her breath, even a gulp and sound of her saliva racing down her throat felt loud.

Round domes of clay with piles of black stone, her mind supplying the name coal. Buckets of broken glass and dust sat below metal rods with tunnels running right down their core leaned against tables of tools. A book, torn and dusty, lay on the floor upside down and open. She brushed the cover with her boot revealing the words 'glassblowing'.

The feeling of silence was broken by a high feminine call. A jolt shook her body as she looked up towards one of the higher floors. Four blobs of pink three ovals in a triangle hung from the ceiling on vines of gray. It took her a moment to place the unusual Sinnoh pokemon. Three Burmy and a Wormadam stared down with the Wormadam looking less than pleased.

"Uh hi?" Aella said, "Does this place stay warm in the winter?"

She wasn't quite sure but she might have just made her mader. The Wormadam releases a high cry sounding like metal slamming and scraping not at all that different from the vehicle crash she witnessed in Celadon. Light behind her eyelids forced them open to find a pink multicolor orb being built in front of it.

"Psybeam electric interception!" double cries came from her feet and bright streaking arks of paralyzing power shot out one mer-moments from grazing the skin on her arms.

Three attacks met in blinding light and Aella took the chance to step left and bound back. The faint scent of a past storm felt wrong when not under the sky.

Wormadam no longer hung from the rafters but waited by a railing-less edge. A String Shot even more fluid than Joltik' put her on the ground level with them. The Burmy stayed stuck to the ceiling.

A wail and wall of warping ghosts Astonish flowed over her with little effect, the air around Aella became hot in an attempt to ward off the danger. She could feel the forgotten familiarity of dampness from sweat their family had last felt on The Flotes.

Joltik had enough of this and threw an Electroweb at the sturdy steel type to trap it to give them a chance to run. The web of electricity struck but was yanked away just as fast by an orb of shining white. Its sudden release and speed gave Joltik no time to move.

Winds forced the shining ball up and the spider became flush with the ground. Hay, dust and dirt swirled around Shay before Aella called for its end; limited sight would be a major hindrance with it knowing Psybeam.

Clicks and scratches of ire came from the tiny arachnid and the pulse of Agility appeared moments before she blurred yellow. Aella could just pick out the green of Fury Cutter under the floor's padding.

"Wormadam!" she called and her tendrils moved outward with twin orbs the size of Aella's palm glowed white appeared before she spun tight and bounced towards Joltik.

Aella paled "Gyro Ball! Joltik move! Shay Tail!" Joltik made an imitation of a U-turn and Shay's short tail slammed into Wormadam. Dragon and Steel energys confronted each other for only a moment before Steel one out.

Shy slammed hard into the ground not out but definitely not in good shape. She warily raised her head a touch off the ground and stared at her assailant. Strangely some part of her was fascinated at the energy of the attack. It was a strange sense of familiarity– actually it was like the fight with the Electrike but only the energy drew her this time. A poke from the Ghost refocused her attention.

"Joltik Thunder Wave String Shot stall it, Shay are you alright?" The dragon hummed a yes as Joltik threw Thunder Wave after Thunder Wave with spittle's of String Shot mixed in.

In turn Wormadam used Safeguard along with Confusion to reroute the majority of the electricity. Flare had enough, letting out a dreading wail, creating a tight Ember and sent it blitzing through the air with a Ghost energys propelling it.

Wormadam screamed in pain, immediately bounding backwards with Safeguard snuffing out any burns or flame. Aella blinked bewildered at the site. They went from getting owned to owning the match.

"…Oh Duah it's a Trash Cloak, it's part Steel and not just Bug, Fire is extremely effective. Flare Ember! Shay Fire if it gets close! Joltik distraction, keep moving don't let it touch you."

Wormadam shivered, its Anticipation ability giving it a forewarning of what was about to happen. Attempts at using Metal Burst to defend were too slow and she had to turn to Protect and Quiver Dance. Joltik countered her dance with String Shot and Protect couldn't stop attacks coming from different angles but Confusion leveled the playing field. Although to be honest it wasn't leveled at all.

Wormadam was vastly superior in strength to them even with fire in their arsenal. She had versatility, experience and bounds of stamina compared to their fledgling group.

'We're not taking it down, we can only bide time and push her back,' cries from above halted her thoughts. The Burmy above gave calls of sadness and despair. Aella felt slapped in the face. It was a mother protecting her young. They need to leave.

"Give Joltik a heads up, I'm recalling her," Flare became shocked at her words. "It's a mother who is temporarily using this place to raise young. We need to leave."

Notes of understanding run through and a moments later she saw Joltik twitch in receiving orders. After her spider's recall Shay jerked in receiving a similar mental message.

"Shay!" Aella called, stepping backwards, tamping her boots loud on the padded floor. The dragon picked up on her receding feet, slithering back.

She yelled! "Go!" and with a burst of Agility now coated her scales in a faint blue, raced after Aella's heels. They could hear Wormadam's angered wails and Flare was held against her side to fire back, dissuading the Bagworm from pursuing.

Forced to recall Flare with a quick mental apology before diving through the poke-made hole her head scraped against the sharp sheeting but only some strands were lost. The dirt ground under her feet as she put her back to the forest, staring at the hole with fingers tracing her pokeballs.

A small body moved upon her foot wrapping its tail around her leg, its breath a signal towards its tiredness and exhaustion. Aella's fingers encompassed their thin frame before taking steps away from the hole, from the Magnemite and Magneton.

When the warehouse became obscured by the twiggy trees and brush she allowed her body to drop sliding down the frame of a tree where its roots dug into her tailbone. Flashes of red lit the area for only a moment as a Ghost and Bug joined them.

"I'm sorry that was stupid of me. I made some poor decisions," Flare was both confused and miffed, pointing to her flame and letting it flash, "I completely forgot about Wormadam' unique biology."

Shay encouraged her to continue her explanation, "Wormadam have three cloaks and their secondary typing changes depending on them, the common two are the plant and sand one. The trash one is apparently more common among trainers, not the wild.

"So ones Grass, ones Ground and ones Steel and I completely forgot they gained a secondary typing after evolution. It's like learning Eevee' all over again." Aella bemoaned recalling her underground learning, "So annoying to keep track of…"

Aella took a moment to center herself as her sisters rested. Joltik had some of her back fur stripped off from the Metal Burst. Flare's flame had been depleted from using Ember so many times over and Shay keeped her head in Aella's lap. Her scales may have protected her from the worst but the pain from the hit and slam was still there.

As they went back to the city to eat she took the chance to review the battle, mentally wincing over many of the things she could've done to improve. Most of them revolved around remembering the dang things typing but others were better orders she could have had made.

She should have called Joltik to her senses and had her lay a String Shot trap zone to limit Wormadam' moment and speed. Have Flare set a Will-O-Wisp trap when too distracted to Safeguard. Have Shay use Twister to knock Gyro Ball off course instead of going head to head with Dragon Tail.

Speaking of the Dragon, Shay's Agility had the improved Psychic glow. They would have to look into that in a few days after resting. For now though her and her sisters will eat and heal, improvement will come with time.

X

It had been about a week since the Wormadam event and Celadon seemed to be in a buzz as of late. She should probably look into that but something Shay brought up thanks to Flare's connection interested her more.

It was her connection with Steel energy to be exact and as soon as the discovery was made they were off to the library. It was busier than she would've liked so Shay had to stay tucked away in Aella's pack. Additionally she was uneasy looking up such information with eyes around so they spent the time waiting looking through books on Pokemon Fire Physics and its Interactions with the Environment. She got a few odd and bemused looks, as a child in their eyes was reading such a difficult book.

All and all it was a good read, although a hard one, Blaine quotes were scattered throughout the book and sadly she only understood a handful of them, 'I feel like I need to find more books on pokemon Fire physics to properly understand.'

'That or an Internet search and likely some videos of Blaine's battles…' there always seemed to be a lot to do and a lot to learn since she had yet to find an end.

—

"That took way longer than expected," she muttered under her breath, having decided to do the Fire physics and Blaine videos another time.

It had taken nearly two full sun movements or apparently five hours in human terms for the computer room to empty. 'Since the start of fall it's been like this…I'm going to be looking into this aren't I.'

During the time she had, she ended up occupying a vacant corner as far from others as possible, releasing Flare to join the board Dragon, turning her bag to face the wall so they could see without being seen and read out loud so everyone could follow along, "Okay let's look into your egg moves."

"Ice, Psychic, Normal, Dragon, Water and Steel are the only known types Dratini have in egg moves." She murmured, "If it's Steel that it has to be Iron Tail…you said the other is of a different type right?"

Flare gave Shay's confirmation, "Then the last one could be Aqua Jet, Water Pulse, Haze or Mist."

A quiet doubtful humm was heard and a negative note for water floated through, "Not water?" Another humm, "Alright Ice is gonna be a hard one for energy exposure well it doesn't have to be an Ice type pokemon they can just know when Ice type move."

Aella hummed and leaned back, her eyes darted out the window. A few trees almost bare with leaves swayed in the breeze. "Is it possible to learn through cold exposure…

"I think we're gonna wait till next year to try that," the Dragon keed displeased with the idea. "You'll be older and stronger plus you won't get anywhere learning 10 things at once."

Aella pulled up a video on Iron Tail for the sighing dragon to watch as she skimmed the how to teach section, "Iron Tail shouldn't be too hard to learn it's very similar to Dragon Tail you just need to learn how to build Steel energy. So just focus on trying to recreate the energy you felt."

Aella nodded and was about to close out tabs to look into fall events when Shay asked –through the use of Flare's connection– about the learning of the other egg move.

"Haze or Mist? Well apparently they're similar in learning but like I said, I wanna wait till next year on cold exposure training. Besides, there's always a chance we can run to a pokemon that has an Ice type move."

They took a short pause and Aella ran her fingers over her sister's smooth scales. She could hear Joltik's jaws snapping a Bug Bite in practice to gain superior control to what she has in Fury Cutter.

Both candle and dragon were recalled and their pokeballs shrunk into deep sleep. Boredom was a problem for them less so for Shay, "Alright next on the list is fall events and why the heck the library is suddenly busy."

—

Her stomach grumbles for the fifth time of late sun as she bustled down to Zangoose's ally for food. She had spent far too long reading up on the yearly holiday called Halloween and face palming over previously known information called school. She had already read up on this in 'East Matcha Library' –of course she would remember the name of the place where she got her name– that's a place where children went to learn and it started up in the fall. Thinking about it now, she might've overlooked that one piece of information.

Halloween on the other hand was straightforward yet confusing. To put plainly it was an event that pivoted around the enthrallment of fear. Why!? Was something she asked herself over and over again. Fear was not fun. She knew deeply how not fun fear was. Who in their right mind would center an entire day around fear.

Apparently a lot of people, she thought, glancing at all the signs and decorations around the Commerce Zone. A sigh escaped as she dipped around the humans dressed in a wardrobe that drew eyes. The crowds were thick for being so late in the eve.

She couldn't help the flicker of a smile gracing her face when she saw a white feline head of Zangoose peeking out of the shadows, "Sorry we're late, had some things that need to be looked into. What's to eat?"

A nonsensical grunt and a tipped head were they're only response. She quieted her steps as she passed sleeping bodies with bellies full. Joltik wasted no time in repeating the ritual of claiming food of their own.

The fiss of Aella expanding her sister's pokeballs caused a Zangoose ear to twitch as they silently joined, doubling the groups numbers and blinking away the drowsiness. They're were clicks and winding calls of greetings and a noiseless prodding of hellos from a quiet Ghost.

Food was unsurprisingly cold but they were used to that and Flare did make it more bearable. Her heat having come far in the past month, just how far it had come would be tested soon. She unconsciously shivered at the icy wind that passed down the alleyway and over their cove between bins.

"So I know I say this too much but plans," Aella started pulling part of her sister's attention off the food. "Since shelter is kind of secured and we're all rested up… we're going to focus on training."

Joltik's clicks and Flare's notes floated through, "Yes, improving your skill over your current moves is expected. Mastered moves can become even grander by combining moves, using new intricate skills and techniques and just generally becoming stronger you'll hit harder. But I also want to try to have all three of you learn one new move. Shay, you'll technically be learning two with Iron Tail."

That moved everyone's attention mostly off of food, long periods of hunger taught them to take what they can get when they can, which was more than what Aella wanted so she encouraged them to keep eating by taking a bite of her own food. Jigs and dances of joy made her giggle and cough, maybe these two things shouldn't go so hand-in-hand.

"Joltik your gunna start with Slash, get it to the point you can successfully create the attack every time, then will add it to your regular regimen. Then we're going to start on Thunderbolt. It's pretty basic, not a very flashy move, well in a sense of intricacy but it's a good move to build off of for other electrical type attacks. I've got some notes made that can help us get us started.

"Ahh, same with the rest!" Aella hurried when she noticed looks from the dragon and candle, "Flare, Shay you'll be starting with Hex and Smog, and Twister and Dragon Tail respectively. Just as Joltik you'll get them up to par, after that you'll be co-working on Flamethrower."

She turned to the dragon, "Shay, Iron Tail will be worked alongside Dragon Tail once you've built up Steel energy and I will likely have you alternating between those two and Twister.

"It will be hard but we're stuck here till April and will make the most of our time. Wild pokemon are stronger the farther away from cities they are and I'd rather have hiding and sneaking instead of too many Bellsprout and Weepinbell runs."

She got a hardey agreement on that front, none of them wanted to experience another incident like that. They were young, yes but they had big dreams. With a rough past and a rough path it was going to take alot, but they were alive and that's all that matters to them.

XXX

The winter was ruthless with its cold biting hard on her fingers, ears, nose and toes. Dreadful times where she could scarcely feel them for days. The restaurant still provided food but the freezing temp made it difficult to chew. Her teeth spiked with pain that throbbed for hours after eating something with the toughness of a rock.

December and January were the hardest months and yet somehow people found the need to celebrate. Greenery hung in windows and trees that were not pine trees –based on their needles and cones– were covered in lights and string hung balls.

"I officially do not understand humans, why would you want to celebrate in a horrible cold season WHY!" Aella yelled into the empty forest. It was early December and abysmally cold. "First Halloween now Christmas and something else called New Year's….Why?! Why do all the crazy events exist when it's freaking freezing!?"

Aella walked through barren trees and a light dusting of powder snow that was still trickling down around her and Flare. The heat she dispelled was tightly wound around them keeping her body warm and the frozen liquid at bay, the extra shirt and extra socks were an additional help.

Joltik was resting from a recent battle and Shay wasn't handling the cold too well, at least Flare got a hardy meal out of the fatty Pidgeotto. The three of them polished off the bird and Aella would get her fill in Zangoose's Aelly.

"Good evening Zang," she said, having started to call Zangoose Zang on a whim back in November. He never stopped her and in fact seemed a bit pleased by the name and she did debate if she should reconsider not catching him. Unfortunately Aella found out when she tried to have a simi understood conversation with him, he became nasty when Shay snaked over.

Aella didn't fully hold it against him, though Shay did. Zangoose were known to have a brutal rivalry with Seviper and Shay did have snake-like qualities. He normally kept his distance because of this but today as they were finishing up, he came over. He slinked over looking uneasy and keeped glancing up and back nose flaring.

That was odd it couldn't have been intruders or police he would raise the alarm and send a Flamethrower, Thunderbolt or Blizzard out, biding time while everyone took off down branching alleyways. His rough voice and words slowly unnerved her sisters and Flare hastily translated. Symbolized notes and emotions ran high through her mind, 'cold, snow, much, much, bad, cold, hide, bad, snow…'

"Okay, bad weather is coming, alright let's get to that warehouse then," Aella hollered mentally asking Flare to stop. She glanced up and realized more snow had been falling compared to earlier. Her feet thumped to the ground and mushy snow squelched under her boots. Apologizing to Joltik and Shay for the suddenness as red beams enveloped their bodies.

"Zangoose?" Zang spoke in confusion of her answer.

"There's a warehouse on the edge of Celadon that local pokemon have taken care of and holes have been mended and plugged. I think they use it in the winter for warmth."

Zangoose was surprised by this, "You coming or do you have somewhere else to stay?"

"Zang Zang," he made a wave with his claws to say go, lead the way. With Flare in hand they raced down the alleyway where slick ice brought their pace to a speedy walk. The ever rare person seemed to stare at the odd pair of a child carrying an old fashioned candle with a similarly tall Zangoose scurrying down the street at dusk.

The cold wind bit at her ears, nose and caused her to blink as the liquid around her eyes became frozen. The back roads no longer cleared of snow by machine gave loose traction under foot as HopHopHop Town disappeared behind white curtains.

Flare with her ability to feel her surroundings and sense souls guided them to the Magneton broken house, "Behind here," Aella said, taking a left and attempting to see through the ever thicker cloak of snow coming down.

They walked along the leftern front of the building. Aella kept her head down looking for that metal maw, "Here through here," she crouched down, shifting her candle to one hand and crawled through. Snow was scraped off her head from the serrated lip and she moved to the side as Zangoose came through, fluid as any cat would be.

The popping crack of burning wood pulled her head up. What was once a vacant and empty warehouse was absolutely full of pokemon. A pair of Persian's with a litter of Meowth leaping at Magnemite were directly in front of them. She spotted Zigzagoon and Linoone and heard the warning calls of Sentret. The rafters were covered in brown and tan feathers of Pidgey with splotches of red tails of Pidgeotto. They had left a baren section of no bird land to separate themselves from the temperamental Spearow.

Rattata and Radiate stayed in a tight mass to ward off cold and cats. Furret hung near the clay dome and flung split logs into the kiln. She blinked when she saw the family of Electabuzz that she last saw at the pokemon decoy generator back in October. She was slightly surprised that the heavily rusted door still worked. The last time she was here she was unable to test them due to the Magneton so close.

Aella trailed Zangoose deeper into the building passing sleeping bundles of Paras, Tangela and Venonat. The clicks of Zubat rang from the darkest corners.

Flare gave a mental nudge to where they last saw and battled Wormadam and she was still there but was now accompanied by a slightly smaller Wormadam with the other two Burmy missing. 'Must've evolved as well and were male,'

A bark made her jump and Zangoose hissed as a Manectric plodded over, "Hey Manectric nice to see you again," Aella greeted the discharge pokemon, "There a friend Zangoose. They were the one that informed me about this place."

Zangoose stopped hissing though was still wary, grumbling something before moving on to take a vacant spot. Aella turned back to Manectric who now had their Electrike pack underfoot. Her eyes didn't miss that there were now only four.

"One of yours decided to venture out?" She asked, sitting down on the padded ground and leaned back against her pack. They gave a huffing yep and nodded to Aella's belt.

"Ahh they'll become strong and make friends and family then." Aella sighed, "have a home…"

Manectric made a gravelly humm and layed down on their belly nearby the energetic Electrike's bounded around them. She took the opportunity to release the rest of her family where conversation soon started, giving them the feeling of added warmth from the cold.

Taking a moment to dig through her pack for her bottle while Flare keeped her mentally updated of the pace and topic as they conversed. She'd decided that putting on those stretchy pants under her current pair was a good idea. The pants were found but she felt a rectangle drop into her hand. Curiosity overcame the cold and she pulled the oddity from the bag.

It was an odd little thing with a circle ring of four buttons surrounding another circle button, her vague memory recalled it was a pale pink. Examining closer there was a clear rubbery cover over all but three groves into the back and two holes, one round and the other was a weird rectangle. The rounded hole was filled with some wire that split into double bulbs.

Aella was sure it was some technological piece but nothing from her past or gained memories told her what it was. Pressing buttons did nothing; she almost chalked it up to being broken but decided to have Joltik take a look at it.

Joltik had no clue but found that the weird rectangular hole accepted electricity, "Ohh keep the level low it's smaller than you," Joltik complied and kept feeding it as the air was filled with laughter and talk.

—

Conversion eventually dwindled and the Electrike' dozed as night settled and only light that breached the darkness was from the clay dome, Flare kept her light a dim hot blue. Joltik became tired of energizing the unusual piece and passed it back to Aella, "Thanks," she mumbled to the spider's silhouette.

She fiddled with the object and its wire before a long press of the central button brought a green light on the edge of its face to life, "Hey I think it turned on," Aella exclaimed and earned a few grunts from the sleeping neighbors.

The light blinked every few seconds but it didn't do anything else, she felt herself deflate and sigh in frustration. She pressed the four outer ring buttons in hopes it would do something. Manectric's ears flicked and Shay turned and tapped the buds, "What is there something?"

She reinspected the buds and heard the faintest noise coming from them. Bringing one up to her ear her mind came to a halt as she realized it was another one of those sounds that she would hear around the city. Music. It was a freaking mobile music device.

She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out. She closed her mouth after receiving locks and bit her tongue to hold back any more laughs but couldn't keep the grin off her face. Her giddiness bled through when she explained to her very confused family, who were a bit concerned at her sudden crazy laugh.

Placing both in her ears she realized the second one was particularly badly damaged. The music cracked and whined far quieter than the first and she made a quick assessment that the wire and buds would need to be replaced. But for the first time in a long time she was awake long into the night with a smile never leaving her face.

X

The weeks went by with Christmas and a new pair of things called earbuds that she almost always has looped around her ears. She found herself listening to certain songs over and over again marking them as her favorites. Though she didn't understand all the lyrics to all the songs, some of them practically screamed to her the very scenario she was in, to her face.

She did dig her way out and there was blood and fire, and she never forgot just how mistreated she was but did it slow her down… No! Never! They were underestimated and they're still around.

A/N: Perfect by P!nk (clean version) if your curious

She couldn't help but sing along, walking through the snow covered trees with Flare in her arms and Joltik under the collar of her shirt. They walked to the library and she was saddened by the thought that she'd have to stop singing or else get stared at when she entered the city.

She sighed when the tree line thinned and she gave up the phantom warmth of the song.

—

The library was quiet with most humans out celebrating the end of the year as they called it, it made some sense with the cold making it feel like it was the end of everything. She sighed and kicked her legs after spending quite a few hours –as most humans call short passing's of time– learning of the many bizarre quantities of ghosts and making note to visit a cemetery. It was apparently a great place for young ghosts to hone their ghostly energies and it may work out some sort of feeding opportunity for Flare.

Aella took a bit of leisure time to do some looking into trees, besides it'll be useful to have more knowledge on the local fana, "Okay that's all for today what do you say we all go get something to eat?"

Joltik chattered away, pointing to the music player –as they found out it was called– at Aella and the tree information.

"Training on how to sing?" Joltik nodded, "Yea if there's information on trees that's got to be informational on other stuff too, like singing," she found herself grinning again.

There was an unexpectedly heavy amount of information on singing and vocal improvement she found she had to step back and stop herself from going too in deep many times over. She couldn't help but write down a few vocal exercises and tips to improve one's range and clarity. She almost wanted to continue but a growl from her stomach put an end to that.

Aella nearly skipped down the street, excited to try those new practices tonight and she nearly missed the alleyway, "Wow without Zangoose standing at the entrance it's so much harder to spot."

"Where is Zangoose anyway we can't be that early," glancing down the alleyway she saw the bins were already filled and most of the regulars already have shown up.

"Huh that's unusual, is he sick?" her mumbles reached her released dragon and candle, earning question marks running through her mind and Joltik answered.

A Rattata gave clarity to their question, Zangoose had been caught by a trainer that came through this morning they had gone to the Pokemon Center, the police station and then was seen leaving town by others of their colony. Zangoose was gone.

Shay did not care considering the way Zang treated her, Flare both cared and didn't. Zangoose had saved them from unruly locals and police a few times and Joltik was a bit bummed with the disappearance of a local ally. Aella could feel her joy from earlier slipping away. Zang had been a good friend and the first living thing other than her family that had been nice to her.

She took a breath and tried her best to look on the positive side, "Well at least he won't have to worry about the cold so much or food, maybe he'll make friends and family," Joltik patted her shoulder in condolence. It was saddening at the leaving of a friend they may never see again, yet they would continue on. The rest of their city trip went by in silence.

X

Shiny shoulder length black hair and yellow piercing eyes passed under new leaves of the sycamore trees covered in morning dew. With March coming to a close and April and fruiting trees just around the corner, the near nine-year-old's time in Celadon would come to an end very soon.

A four foot serpent, a candle that covered two fifths of her mind and a spider still the same size as ever but with an aura of power that made brazen bug eaters hesitate. Of course that wasn't all that changed about them.

"Joltik let's start with your slicing and biting moves then your Electric moves and after break speed moves with Shay. Flare you and Shay are starting with fire moves till the sun is midway up. After break Astonish, see if you can increase that Ghost power, Will-O-Wisp field then show me how far your Hex has come. Work on Smog last and you can do some meditation after all that's done. Shay, you're starting with Flare then working with Joltik and after that, Dragon moves. Okay let's go!"

Aella finished her breath hungry orders with a sharp intake of air.

Joltik started with her honed Fury Cutter with a glow of power easily surpassing the emerald of their arrival at celadon. Her movements stayed fluid and controlled as the light evolved into a sharp white of Slash, its brilliance showed its improved state. The snap of Bug Bite put gouges in the tree, splintered wood landed in the soft dirt and newborn grass.

With the rain of yesterday neither Flare or Shay had any reason to hold back sending duel Flamethrowers into a rock half Aella's size. Its moss shriveled turning to ash and the rough outer layer shined bright red with bits of lava drooped and slid down before breaking off becoming pebbles of obsidian. Flare wailed and a blue core Ember was flung into the bubbling mess sending drops of molten rock flying.

Aella couldn't help but grin at the sight and with the music playing loud round the clearing, she could tune out the pain of her muscles as she lifted rocks and performed squats. She sang along to the beautiful song as the sounds of her family's destructive power grew and rotated between moves.

An Electroweb slammed into a bush trapping it below in the far distance, Compound Eyes making the task easy. Thunder Waves danced around and the young dragon couldn't help but move over and join.

Aella laughed, "Just make sure you go back to Flamethrower when Joltik is done," Shay's okay came through loud and clear. Flare in the meantime decided to shade some sections off the poor rock with blades of shadow. The candle's control over shadow and ghost skyrocketed during and after the visits to the cemetery.

Time traveled on and when Joltik changed to the next stage in her electrical training Shay headed back to burn more of the rock, she was not quite ready for what the spider was about to accomplish.

Nothing much happened at first before heavy charges of electricity zipped through the spider's fur. Her call broke through the now musicless clearing, for Aella had wisely put away the music player. A massive bolt of electricity jagged and sharp took to the sky streaking above the treeline.

She let the grin that has been arriving onto her face more and more return, "You're really making progress with Thunderbolt. I wouldn't be surprised if you're able to produce two a day in a month."

Joltik's enthusiastic clicks brought that smile black as she glanced up, "Alright it's The sun is midway up, rest eat and will continue again at high sun," Shay sagged before straightening as her draconic pride wouldn't let her show weakness for more than a moment.

Flare went right into a meditative state, she had begged Aella to find another way after learning it was near impossible without a Psychic's help. They had learned online that Psychic's advance their ability mainly through meditation, so now the ghost meditates whenever she has the chance.

—

Aella found herself running in the thicket round the clearing lagging behind Shay and Joltik as Flare attempted to catch them with her ghostly shadows. It was good training for endurance, speed and reflexes, Flare had multiple targets she needed to hit and the runners needed to adapt to the sudden and tricky strikes.

Raps of Psychic coated both spider and dragon with Joltik having learned how to activate and deactivate her Agility cloak instantaneously. It rationed her energy and varied her speed to what exactly she needed at that moment in time. Necessary to avoid the Will-O-Wisps that raced around like spirits with their indigo cores. Five of them tailed the Agility duo in hopes of brushing close or forcing them through ghostly tendrils to cut their Psychic concentration. Both were wary since they knew the candle could make and control up to seven at once.

Aella called for an end at the late midway down sun mark, "Flare, continue with fire moves and add Will-O-Wisps into the mix, will do Smog last. Joltik electrical control and Slash, Shay dragon and tail moves."

Both candle and spider went back to honing earlier moves as Aella watched her dragon closely as pride in her progress shone through. A Twister making the young dragon near invisible went about 30 feet up. Not as tall as when they originally arrived in Celadon but its control was held strong by the tiny Dratini. She wouldn't call it improved, it still had a long way to go, but Shay had the move down.

Shay wailed as a Rock the size of Aella's head split straight in two from a tail covered in iron, "Okay we're counting Iron Tail as down," Aella called laughing. "How's your Dragon Tail?"

Said Dragon responded by pulverizing the rest of the stone fragments with a beating deep teal tail, "Yea thats good, eventually I want to see if it's possible for you to combine the moves."

She gave a melody and smiled maliciously as she could over that idea, "Do some practice with Wrap I'm going to take Flare for Smog practice." Both her dragon and spider gave be safe calls as Aella departed to a farther area in the woods for Flares final training.

Soft grass flattened under foot, "Alright you've gotten good at producing a decent amount of Smog," she told Flare, "So now I really want to start pushing on control. It'll be dangerous if it gets out-of-control plus it would be really useful if I can stand in that cloud without getting poisoned." The candle easily agreed not wanting to injure her miss.

—

"That was good! Sunset's coming so we'll call it here!" she hollered down at the candle from her tree, "It'll take another few months before it'll be a viable hiding cloud but with this you should be able to use it in a one on one fight as long as they can't use fire or electricity to blow it up."

The branches creaked under her feet, "Although if there a steel type it's not gonna work and flying type moves can blow it away…or towards us, huh will have to find a workarou" –the branch she had just trusted with most of her weight snapped. Her knuckles turned white as she dangled, swayed by her own weight. She wrapped her legs around a sturdy main branch feeling the thinner one in her hands bend from the sudden burden.

Aella's breaths were hard as her heart thudded, "Okay, lesson learned, I need more practice with trees," she nearly flinched at the presence of whites thread looping around her midsection, "Hi Joltik, thanks,"

Her spider's clicks soothed her nerves allowing her to rench her fingers from the branch with bits of bark stuck with sweat. Grasping the rough bark and uncaring at the tearing of her skin, she straddled the main branch. She didn't move, simply waited for the thunderous hooves in her heart to slow, ending in one great sigh.

No one made a sound when her feet touched ground, there was just silent relief. The smell of toxins were perceptible in the air but too slim to poison, "I think that's enough training for today…and with berries reappearing I think our time in Celadon has come to an end."

Realizations crossed everyone's mind of the goal they set so long ago. Traveling northwards shouldering the Moon Range to the Hisui Mountain range. How they were going to cross it was beyond them but the first step was just getting there.

"That said before we head out we're gonna need some stuff, new clothes preferably pants," she glanced down at her current pair that weren't doing that well along with a few other sets of clothing. "Soap we ran out over the fall, maps and…well will see what we can find in the mall bins."

X

A backpack weighed heavy on a small girl's back with all newish clothes except for her Team Rocket uniform, two full sets, with an extra stretchy shirt and pants and an unused bar of soap thanks to the mall bins. Her sweater hung over the back of her backpack, with a pot, spoon, water bottle and filled berry sack in one pocket and notes, maps and writing pencils stored in a waterproof container with food in the other. Nine filled potions in her backpack side pockets, her blade at her hip and a Music player with headphones looped around her ears.

Aella's fingers flexed in her now fitting gloves and she couldn't help but make a comment when she got dressed this morning that would haunt her looking back on it, "Huh that's interesting, my ribs aren't showing as much."

Shay gave a melody and Joltik returned her calls with clicks from the trees. Her ever quiet candle Flare sent a ready note down the flow.

A giggle broke fourth, "Alright! Next stop, The Moon Range!"

Thank you for reading the next chapter will be released November 1 2022

One more thing to make note of is I changed the kid ages in catching and holding pokemon in chapter 2 (The world is big, really big) because CRAP! I did not look at my age timeline sheet. It's not a big change just 13 years of age instead of 14 but humans have a habit of remembering the smallest things.

End of Chapter 4