The next day, we stopped for lunch at a larger clearing. We decided to convert afternoon trainings to battles and/or battle trainings. I told Lexy and Estelle about the battle in the morning and they were equally excited.

'Yay! I can bite stupid sheep!' Lexy had a glint in his eyes.

'Actually, you are battling Lotad.' I told him, who looked confused.

'It is a sound plan, Master.' To my astonishment, Estelle agreed. 'The lizard needs to train his control on his attacks, and the plant is less likely to hurt him than the sheep. And I get the more experienced battler as my first battle.'

'That's exactly – How did you kn – did you read my mind?' I was caught completely off guard.

'No, Master. That is the worst of all violations.' Estelle look extremely disgusted. 'Only revolting scums will invade anyone's mind. It was an educated guess. So what are we to do this morning?'

And I sent them off on their training.

In front of me, Lexy hopped from foot to foot, causing Estelle to sigh and glided away. I imagine if we could see her eyes, it would have been rolling constantly.

'Cara! I'm going to use Eddie first! Are you using Lexy?' Mari called out from the other side of the clearing.

'Did you just name your Lotad after that Friday Eagles guy?' I should have known. Mari was obsessed with some no name band called The Friday Eagles from some secluded place. At Mari's sheepish shrug, I replied. 'Yeah I'm using Lexy, you can go first!'

Lexy jumped and shot so far out he was almost at the center of the battlefield. Eddie the Lotad waddled out onto the field and immediately shot out a stream of water at Lexy.

'Lexy, use Twister!' I ordered.

Unfortunately, Lexy could not form a Twister in time and Water Gun landed directly on Lexy. It was just as I hope. The Water Gun didn't seem to do much damage to Lexy, who only looked annoyed as he shook off the water; so Leyx could concentrate on trying to form a Twister on command. I ordered Lexy to try another Twister. Eddie open his mouth, no doubt to fire off another water gun. At this moment, a streak of white fur shot out from the nearby trees and ran straight into Eddie, knocking the Water Gun off target.

'Tad?' Lotad laid on his side, confused.

'Mirabell! Get back here!' A frustrated voice shouted out from the trees. A few seconds and some rustling later, a trainer burst out from the tress. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, which was messy and tangled from her trip through the trees. She looked at me and froze for a second, so fast I thought I imagined it. Her face cleared, and her bright green eyes flash as one side of her mouth curved up in an apologetic smile, her cheek dimpling. 'Sorry, Mirabell just wants to play.' True to her words, the white foxy creature was now prancing around our battlefield.

'Vul! Vul!' Mirabell said in her high pitched voice. Lexy looked at her curiously.

Lotad rolled over and replied 'Tad…?'

'Vul!' Mirabell cried, nosing poor Eddie, who protested with a 'Tad! Lotad!'

The trainer strode over to Mirabell and picked her up. The white Pokemon protested with a yowl, struggling to get out of her trainer's grasp. Though the trainer looked super-model skinny, she carried Mirabell, who was about as tall as the trainer's thighs, pretty easily.

'You don't mind if we watch, do you?' The trainer said, settling herself and Mirabell on a tree stump. 'Maybe that will calm Mirabell down. And I need a break!'

I shrugged; it wasn't like we could say no. Mari on the other hand, was more welcoming. 'Sure! Join us for lunch after?' Oh no, I know that calculating look she has. I don't like where this is going.

'That'll be nice,' The girl grinned.

'Come on, Mari,' I called out, impatient. I blame it on being hangry. I don't think I was rude, no matter what Mari said. 'Let's finish the battle. Then we can eat.'

'Ok!' Mari shouted over.

'Lexy, Twister!' I commanded.

This time Lexy managed to whip up a whirlwind of stones, branches and leaves. He directed the attack at Eddie, who hasn't gotten up from the floor. It seemed like he liked rolling around on patch of grass. He used it to his advantage though, dodging the attack that had gone wide with a roll. I grinded my teeth. Lexy may have improved in summoning Twister on command, but his control still needs a lot of work. Eddie came out of his roll standing and shot a jet of water. Lexy jumped and ran towards Eddie, who stopped the water gun attack and shouted 'LOTAD!'. Lexy stumbled. That must have been Astonish. But it wasn't enough, as Lexy was already near Eddie.

'Bite,' I told Lexy.

Lex opened his gargantuan mouth and bit down. Eddie tried to dodge, but Lexy's teeth caught the edge of his lilypad. Eddie gave a squeal.

'Ok stop!' Mari shouted, but Lexy didn't seemed inclined to let go of this new food.

'Come ON, Lexy!' Lexy glanced at me and dropped Eddie.

Eddie waddled back to Mari's side. I heaved a sigh of relief when I noticed that Eddie's leaf didn't look too damaged, at least not more than when Jupiter chewed on him. We were not supposed to do any lasting damage in training and practice battles, especially not when we were out in the woods. We have potions and small healing items of course, but we are far from any healing facility. If we accidentally caused any serious injury, we will be in trouble. The more brutal battles that occur in gyms were only carried out and are sanctioned by Pokemon League because the gyms are usually situated close to a Pokemon Center. Of course, there are still rules that were put in place. However, accident happens, even under the expertise of Gym Leaders and Nurse Joy. Not all Pokemons who enter Gym Battles come out alive. That's why trainers usually put in hours and hours of training before even attempting to challenge a gym. To rush the Gym circuit is to dive into a shark tank while you are bleeding.

'Estelle, while you're battling Jupiter, watch how he used Thunderbolt. I want to see if you can learn that move. Preferably before the first gym.' Estelle nodded.

Of course, there are Technical Machines, called TM, that can let your Pokemon learn moves instantly. But those are pricy, and usually, if the trainers have the patience, the moves can be taught, like how Ben had taught Lexy how to use Bite. And how Sandstorm tried to teach Bagon Twister. Ben told me that it would help if the Pokemon had a visual, and when I heard Jupiter had learn Thunderbolt, I wanted to see if Estelle could learn it. It wouldn't be as easy though, because Jupiter was an electric Pokemon, hence it was easier for Mari to teach him Thunderbolt. Estelle might not pick up that move so easily.

'Estelle, double team!' I ordered.

This move gives Estelle time to observe Jupiter as he put down the faux images one by one. Alas, he seemed to be using Thundershock instead. No matter, the attack might be weaker, but the principles are still the same. He seemed to be using static electricity from his wool though, which is going to be a problem for Estelle, who has no wool.

'Estelle, Teleport then Confusion!' I shouted.

Estelle manage to pull it off with an air of elegance. Jupiter shook off the attack and let out a blast of electricity, a much stronger one. Estelle Teleported again, but the field was still crackling with electricity and I could tell Estelle was affected, perhaps by a stray bolt, an offshoot from the original attack.

'Estelle?' I inquired. Estelle sat in a daze and I decided to end the battle there.

'Wow cool! You guys are novice?' The brown-haired trainer asked with a hint of disbelief, staring at Jupiter, than Lexy. Of course, Lexy noticed immediately and seemed pleased.

'Pretty trainer has pretty Pokemon' Lexy grinned, showing off his impressive set of teeth to the beautiful Alolan Vulpix.

I groaned. 'Come on Lexy. Go hunt for food.' Estelle who seemed amused by the exchange dragged Lexy and Jupiter off.

One side of the trainer's mouth quirked up in a smile. She slid a glance at me, before saying 'I'm Ronnie. You met Mirabell. And that–' Whatever she was about to say was cut off when overhead, a colossal shape appeared, blocking off the sunlight and casting a shadow over us. I sorely wished I hadn't sent Lexy and Estelle away. It dove straight for us, at an alarming speed, and Mari let out a squeak. Luckily, his claws were already full and he landed beside Ronnie, folding his gigantic wing neatly. He easily towered over all of us and I estimated his wingspan to be well over 4 metres.

'–is Rogue.' Finished Ronnie, patting the gigantic Pokemon on his thigh. I had a sense that both Ronnie and Rogue took delight in seeing Mari and my shocked faces.

We introduced ourselves and our Pokemons. The moment Lexy met Rogue was so much like the moment he met Sandstorm that I had a déjà vu. Only, Rogue wasn't as patient as Sandstorm was. He snorted, smacked Lexy away with a flick of his wings (which again, Lexy tried to touch) and tossed a Swellow into his mouth, crunching it feather and all. I only wished he was as nonchalant as he looked, and not plotting some sort of revenge against Lexy.

'Oh my god you guys have potatoes!' Ronnie exclaimed as we heated up our mess tins. 'I'm afraid my contribution is only going to be Zigzagoons and Poochyena. Rogue likes Taillows.'

'Have you been on the road for long?' Mari asked conversationally.

'Poochyena?' I asked at the same time, eyeing Rogue, who was indeed consuming an unusually large amount of Taillows. I wondered if there was going to be a top down population cascade with the giant bat dragon around.

'Nope, I left Petalburg yesterday. I would Fly but I thought I would enjoy a trip down the forest with my Pokemons, for old time's sake. Have you had Poochyena meat yet? It's good.' Ronnie informed us.

I thought Ronnie could afford to hunt Poochyena, with a Pokemon that gigantic, she probably doesn't need to worry about Mightyenas chasing her down. 'Old time's sake huh?' I asked.

She gave me another one of her half smile. 'Yeah, feels like forever ago when I stepped out from Littleroot. Did you guys think I was a novice?'

She probably did not mean to come off as arrogant, but her comment rubbed me the wrong way. And apparently, so did Mari. 'Yeah, real novice. With your gigantic Pokemon.' Mari commented.

'Aw that's just Rogue. He's a Noivern, from Kalos. Don't mind him; he's a big showoff. And he's always playing pranks, even as a Noibat. That's why I name him Rogue. But he's a big softie inside,' Ronnie scooped the now done potatoes onto her plate.

'You're from Kalos?' Mari also scooped some potatoes.

'Nope, my parents are. I challenged the Hoenn circuit, then went to explore Kalos. Now I'm back!' Ronnie announced, spearing a potato.

'Wait you finished two regions worth of gym?' I asked, incredulous. At her nod, I asked. 'How old are you?' Because she looked barely out of school.

'Do I look old? I'm 20.' She speared another piece of potato. 'Man I love potatoes.'

I was stunned. Completing a gym circuit in 1 year was not unheard of, rare, but it's possible. But she completed 2 in 2 years. Of course, maybe she was one of the lucky ones, getting a license almost straight out of high school, so she had more time. Mari and I had to wait almost 3 months for our evaluation and license appointment.

'I wouldn't recommend it.' She added, seeing the look in my face. 'Anyway, you must be newbies right, Petalburg's your first gym? Y'know because it's going to be everyone's first gym, its probably going to be real crowded. The wait could be months long. Better book an appointment soon, then come back out to train.'

Mari and I nodded, stunned that we were sharing a meal with such an elite trainer. She must be something of a prodigy, though she seemed a bit arrogant.

'Mirabell!' Ronnie shouted, her attention turned to her energetic companion

Mari and I watched as she wrestled with a squirming fox, who had gotten her pristine white fur around her mouth stained with berry juices. Mirabell dodged the small towel and sped off towards Eddie.

'Vul!' She whined, pawing at Eddie to play with her.

'Hey I know, how about we have a battle?' Ronnie suggested. 'It'll be perfect for Mirabell; she hasn't had a battle yet. A friendly battle, so no money involved.'

Mari and I agreed, seeing that extra practice wouldn't hurt. I was a bit miffed at her remark though, as if she was using us novice to train her Mirabell. I resisted the urge to point out there were twigs in her hair. As if she had read my mind, she absentmindedly reached up and pluck a few stray leaves and branches out of her hair.

'So, who wants dessert?' Ronnie pulled a few chocolate bars out of her bag. I could tell that she was immediately Lexy's favourite person.

That evening, Lexy and Mirabell had an underwhelming battle. Despite the fact that Mirabelle hasn't battle before, she was powerful. And she actually listened to Ronnie, who, turns out, was very experienced in battle. She gracefully dodged Lexy's clumsy Twisters. A couple of well thrown sharp Ice Shards later, Lexy was out. I forgot that being a dragon, Lexy doesn't like Ice. But he wasn't able to land a blow on the beautiful white fox and was pretty demoralized.

'Hey little guy,' Ronnie came over. 'Don't be too upset. Mira's a princess. She wouldn't even let me touch her fur.' As if on cue, Mirabell turned her nose up at them, pointedly turn away from Ronnie and started cleaning her fur. Against my protests (and Estelle's – lizard is eating too much chocolate), Ronnie slid Lexy half a bar of chocolate with a wink. I wouldn't say it's the right move but Lexy cheered up considerably.

It was the battle between Jupiter and Mirabell that was exciting. Or rather, what happened after. The Mareep, who was defeated, started to glow, a bright, flash of light that seem to blind us. After thousands of years of studying Pokemon, scientist still could not figure out evolution, how they metamorphosized so fast. And it did happened very fast, Jupiter grew before our very eyes and when the light faded, a large pink sheep sat in place of a blue one. Within a few seconds, Jupiter has lost most of his fluff, which I am sure he is very happy about.

'Congratulations, Marina, Jupiter,' Ronnie congratulated.

I added my congratulations to Mari, who hugged Jupiter tightly with a proud smile on her face. 'Fla!' Jupiter smile, then stuck out his tongue at Lexy.

Lexy looked miffed, but Ronnie chuckled and patted Lexy's shoulder. 'Don't worry, you'll be there one day.'

Lexy looked at me and I nodded in affirmation. Lexy then padded towards me and sat beside me, watching Mirabell sniff Jupiter curiously (She likes pink, Ronnie told me). The rest of the night passed in a blink of an eye. Of course, the mood was high and time flies, when we were having fun. Oh how time flies, when we were young and just started out on our journey.

TREBOR.E: Hey, I'm sorry, but I do have a name for Eddie the Lotad already!