=Chapter 18, Understanding New Generation Protections!=

*Jacob to Arky*

*It has been a very long time since last I wrote to you Arky, sorry for not writing to you about what's been happening, but it's been very hectic these last few weeks.*

*First of all, I now understand why Segan keeps going on about the inner beauty of a Pokemon. Feebas evolving into Milotic, who would have ever imagined that kind of evolution occurring? One minute everyone's making fun of Coral because she's weak and feeble, the next minute she's being looked upon as if she's a star! Well I sure didn't, and neither did she it seems. I still can't believe that the little fish I picked up outside of Rustboro evolved when I most needed her help.*

*Speaking of Coral, Segan said she had a 'Modest' nature, and while she is indeed very modest as a Milotic, she is very hostile toward other trainers. Apparently her evolution not only gave her a great outward appearance, it also gave her a very smart mind. She has a very good memory, she remembers every single person that ever made fun of her. We met this one trainer when we were shopping at the Marketplace in Slateport, and upon saying hello and complimenting me for having a beautiful Pokemon like Coral, she instantly blasted him with water.*

*When I asked why she did that, she said he made fun of her back in Dewford. Only then did I realize that this was true, he did indeed make fun of me for training a Feebas. From then on she treated every trainer we meet either one of two ways, respectfully as she does with Karen, or with hostility. With me however, she treated me with the utmost respect, always asking if I needed help with anything and waiting for my decisions or input on anything.*

*I know now why you said to treat every Pokemon with the same love and care I would my favorite. I would not want to be on Coral's bad side.*

*Right now we're on our way to Mauville City, having finally finished purchasing our supplies for the trip. Without bikes we can't use the Seaside Cycling Road that travels through Route 110, and acts as a shortcut between Mauville and Slateport. If we did, we could be there in as little as two days. Without a bike, we have to take the long way and hike there.*

(Jacob's PoV)

"How do people find running around a maze like THAT, fun?" Karen complained as they left the Trick House after a grueling seven hours, trying to find their way through an underground maze.

Jacob was in agreement, why they stopped at the famous Trick House of Route 110 for some 'Fun Maze Solving' was beyond him. He should have figured something was up when they found a lady who lived at the house, hiding inside of her potted plant. When they found her she said that they both had sharp eyes, and then dared them to take the Trick House Challenge.

How she fit inside that pot was beyond him, as was her secret to concealing herself with said pant. Jacob asked why she did that, and said that it was a tradition she was continuing after her father. They accepted the challenge, believing it to be just a simple tourist attraction for people to enjoy. Oh no it was more than that; the maze had been designed to look like it was shifting around constantly. It took them two hours to figure out that the maze was not indeed shifting around and instead was just an optical illusion. Then they had to use their combined teams to find a way out of the maze.

They were in the maze for so long that they had spent their entire morning and midday trying to get out. There was a prize for beating the maze however, and because they won their reward was a gold nugget apiece. Personally Jacob couldn't wait to sell the thing at Mauville, he hated the maze and the prize wasn't worth it in his opinion. As they walked along the seaside path with the shadow of the Seaside Cycling Road hanging high above them, Karen raised the big question that always plagues travelers.

"So how much travel time do we have now after that 'short' tourist attraction." Karen asked.

"It's way past lunchtime." Jacob said as his and Sara's stomachs growled in unison. "If we start making lunch now, I'd say we have about four to five hours of walking time before we need to stop to make camp."

"Well let's start now because I am not interested in walking for four hours on an empty stomach!" Karen said, instantly dropping her backpack and sitting right down on the grass.

Jacob nodded in agreement as he too put his backpack down, opening it to dig out his cooking tools. While he prepared the ingredients for lunch Karen prepared the small fire for them before she started releasing her Pokemon so they could eat. After a while Jacob released his team as well and told them all it was time for lunch as well as see what they wanted to eat.

"Alright you guys, it's going to be a short while before the food is ready!" Jacob told his team.

"Swellow!" Roran chirped, preening his wings to straighten them out.

"Rawr!" Ivan barked, looking very intimidating as always as a Mightyena.

After seeing Coral's evolved form, Ivan and Roran doubled their efforts to evolve as well. Wanting to help them become stronger in their quest to evolve, Jacob spent a lot of time helping them battle stronger and stronger opponents. Ivan was the first to evolve, after a fierce battle with one trainer's Makuhita which he almost lost the battle to, he went through his evolution process and emerged as a proud and intimidating three foot tall Mightyena. Roran was the next to evolve; his evolution emerged thanks to many long hours of practice battling between him and Kora. After Roran knocked Kora down with a swift Wing Attack, he too went through his evolution phase and became a two foot tall Swellow. They were both immensely proud of themselves, and that only made Jacob even more proud that they called him their trainer.

After both teams gathered the firewood and set up their temporary camp to eat their food, having positioned themselves close to the shore, they all waited patiently for Jacob to cook their food. Karen was grooming Laura and Nora to pass the time, while Shrew and Ziggles faced off in a sumo match, trying to shove each other back.

Jacob's team was a bit more interested in relaxing and waiting after their many days of battling. Ivan was sunbathing next to the water while Roran was continuing to preen his feathers, Sara was with Jacob as he cooked because she was fascinated by how it was done, and Harold had decided to doze off in a patch of wild grass.

As for Coral, she had asked Jacob for permission to swim around in the vast lake that separated Mauville and Slateport before exiting out into the ocean, wanting to spend as much time in the water as she could. "You don't need my permission Coral, if you want to go for a swim by all means." Jacob said with a short chuckle. "Just be careful out there, a trainer might see you and decide to try and capture you!"

"Milotic…" Coral said with an understanding nod, before gracefully jumping into the water and diving beneath the surface.

(Jacob, why aren't you as concerned about Coral being captured as you are about me being captured?) Sara asked as she watched the Milotic vanish in large splash.

"Well Sara, that's because Coral has already been captured." Jacob said, taking a second while he added some more kindling to the fire to pull out Coral's Luxury Ball. "She has a special barrier around that keeps any other trainer's Pokeballs from attempting to capture her."

(Really, how does it work?) Sara asked him in amazement.

"It's hard to explain, but I think a demonstration will work better." Jacob said, looking over to Karen. "Hey Karen, can you let me borrow Laura for a second? I just want to show Sara how she and the others are protected against being recaptured by other trainer's Pokeball."

"Sure thing!" Karen said, and nodded to Laura to go over to him.

"Okay, let's pretend I see Laura and want to capture her, while Karen is busy taking a nap and being irresponsible!" Jacob said with a smile, to which Karen stuck her tongue out at him. "If I see Laura and toss a Pokeball at her, thinking she might be wild…"

Jacob took one of his spare Pokeballs and tossed it gently at Laura. Instantly the Pokeball seemed to smack into a barrier of light that repelled the ball, sending it back to Jacob. "She will be protected by a small barrier that prevents the ball from approaching her; it also alerts the trainer nearby with a loud noise that only a Snorlax could sleep through. It uses energy from the Pokemon to create it, and as long as her Pokeball and trainer are nearby, the barrier will be active as long as she's out of it."

"I just hate how it forces our Pokemon to ask permission to leave our sights for any moment of time!" Karen shouted out, causing Laura to return to her.

"What do you mean Karen?" Jacob asked.

"The Pokeballs cause our Pokemon to become tied to us, it's a sort of instinct forced upon them to prevent them from running away or wandering off too far away from us. Sure it keeps them safe but it makes me think we're treating our Pokemon as slaves!" Karen said with a slightly angry expression. "It's also why Pokemon can't travel far away without their trainer's consent, it's a failsafe all captured Pokemon have to keep them close to their trainer. Unless the trainer gives his or her consent, the Pokemon is forced to remain within a certain distance with their trainer or within eyesight."

"I never knew about that." Jacob said, never once giving any thought to the Pokeball's protective barrier for the Pokemon. "I just always thought our Pokemon just wanted to stay close to us."

"Try walking away without letting Harold know, you'll see what I mean." Karen said, standing up and walking over to watch the fire for him.

Jacob, not wanting to abuse Harold, but wanting to see if she was telling the truth, silently stood up and started walking away. After he had got a bit of distance, he turned to see Harold slowly waking up and, seeing Jacob wandering off, followed after him with a curious expression. After a brief explanation, one that surprised both Harold and the rest of his team, because they honestly had no idea that what Karen had said was true. This made Jacob a little angry at the creators of all Pokeballs.

"Well don't be too angry at them, it's an unfortunate side effect that the people at Devon are trying their best to get rid of." Karen said. "For now, they keep that little secret as secret as they can, so that the trust between Pokemon and Trainer isn't turned into that of a Master and Slave. I only knew after learning about it with Ziggles. Devon has been trying to improve the barrier protection for captured Pokemon, while trying to get rid of that unconscious instinct that the Pokeballs force upon Pokemon. Hopefully they get it done soon, but for now, we just have to ignore the bad things about our Pokeballs."

Jacob nodded and returned his attention to the fire. Minutes later, wanting to change the subject, Karen raised another question concerning Jacob's team.

"You sure Kora will be fine with that Professor Jacob, I mean she seemed pretty attached to you?"

"I know she'll be fine, Professor Nomel said he'd take good care of her while she stayed with him." Jacob replied. "Besides, once she learns of how good a cook the Professor is, she'll be right at home with him."

During their short stay in Slateport, Jacob had called up Professor Nomel and told him how far he had gone. The Professor congratulated him on making it to Slateport, as well as getting two badges. After a bit of chatting, he asked Jacob if he would be willing to send him Kora, his Beautifly so he could study her Stun Spores and Sleep Powder for medical uses. After asking Kora if she was willing to spend time with the Professor, Kora agreed, only if he promised to feed her.

Even when saying goodbye to Jacob for a period of time, Kora was still a one track minded Beautifly, just like she was as a Wurmple.

=Littleroot's Pyromaniac and Nature Boy's Reunion!=

Half an hour later, lunch was served and distributed to everyone. Coral was the last one to eat, having to be told via Sara's psychic message to her, but she thanked Jacob for the meal they all shared. After they all ate, everyone returned to their Pokeballs so that Jacob and Karen could continue walking toward their destination. Coral however, requested she remain out of her ball for a little while longer, saying that the water felt really nice to her and didn't want to leave it just yet.

While they walked, Sara looked up and stared at the Cycling Road high above them, amazed at how high and how wide it was. She thought it was a creation only the greatest Pokemon could ever achieve, and was very impressed that humans had built it just so that bicycle enthusiasts had a place where they could cycle as fast as they wanted. While he didn't know exactly how the road was built, he explained that humans were capable of building such things, though not without the help of contraptions and sometimes even Pokemon.

(Can we go up there and cycle some day?) She asked him after an hour of walking.

"If we can get a bicycle we could probably spend a while on Cycling Road." He said with a smile as she sat on his shoulder again.

(I can't wait!) She said happily.

They continued to walk for a while as the ground path continued onward toward Mauville, but it was clear that they only had another two hours or so of walking time before they would have to stop to make camp. While they walked, Jacob would hear a splash of water every time Coral decided to splash back to the surface before diving again for his amusement.

Sara watched Coral most since she didn't have to focus on walking, seeing as she was riding on his shoulder and giggled as she watched the Milotic show off in front of him. It was true that he did think of Coral being very beautiful, she may have looked differently before but he wouldn't have minded if she had remained as a Feebas for the rest of her life.

Not that he was complaining about her evolving for him.

She however was reveling in showing off to him just how she looked now, despite being 'modest', she couldn't help show off to him just what she had become after being labeled as 'ugly' and 'useless' for so many weeks. She was more than happy to show off to him that his patience with her and determination to help her prove everyone wrong had paid off and was well worth the effort.

As Coral dived under the water again, Jacob returned his attention to the path, noticing that the sun was rapidly beginning to set. He also noticed that ahead of them was another trainer who had set up camp for the night. There was a fire pit that was currently warming up a pot for cooking while the trainer was busy with setting up a tent. Jacob only had to see that scarlet red bandana on the trainer's head, as well as light red jacket and dark red pants, to recognize who it was.

"No way, is that you Jessy?" Jacob shouted, getting Jessy's attention and causing her to look at who had called her.

"Jacob, no way is that you?" Jessy said in amazement, not waving high to him because of the tent she was putting up. "You sure know how to catch up to me!"

"Jessy?" Karen asked. "So this is the Jessy Garnet you told me about during our campfire storytelling sessions, the one who beat you in your first Pokemon Battle as an official trainer?"

Jacob blushed as he pretended to find the approaching sunset reflected in the water to be very interesting at that moment. Sara looked at him and through their psychic connection he knew she could feel his embarrassment at being beaten. *We were beginners, it was my first battle, she had a type advantage over me and more experience!* He thought to himself as he tried to avoid eye contact with Jessy.

"Yep that sounds preeeeeetty accurate!" Jessy said with a laugh. "So who is this Jacob, a fan girl of yours?"

"As if, I'm Karen and I'm taking the Pokemon Challenge like him and you!" Karen said with a big grin. "I'm tagging along with him because not only is he a strong opponent, he's also a mean cook and I can't cook to save my life!"

"Oh you learned to cook, never knew that!" Jessy said with a grin as she continued to put her tent up. "Guess you had to after…"

She paused in her speech, but the pause was just long enough for Karen to realize that it was a touchy subject because Jacob knew what she was going to say. "Yea, after that happened." He said, letting her know to continue.

"Yea… after that happened I guess you did have to learn to do a lot of things." She said with an awkward nod in understanding. "So how many badges have you gotten?"

"I earned my second a while back; we're on our way to Mauville so we can win our next badge." Jacob said, pulling his hat off and showing her the badges he had earned while Karen had pinned hers to the inside of her vest.

"Not bad for over three months away from home Jacob!" Jessy said as she finished setting up her tent. "However, once again you are just a little bit slower than me!"

Jessy unfurled her bandana and showed her three badges that she had pinned to it, he hadn't noticed them because they were hidden by folds created by her hair. "You already earned your third, why are you heading back to Slateport then?" Jacob asked, knowing that the fourth badge was found somewhere in a place called Lavaridge town, far to the north near Mt. Chimney.

"Well yes, but I'm heading back to Slateport to purchase a few things as well as take on the Trick House challenge." Jessy said, going to her pot to check the cooking water. "I couldn't beat it the first time, so I quit and said I'd come back after I won my next badge because I wanted to win it first."

"You actually want to challenge that nightmare?" Jacob asked.

"Yea, it's fun." She said with a laugh. "So Jacob, besides the Kirlia sitting on your shoulder and Harold your starter, what Pokemon have you gotten over the last few months?"

Just as Jacob was about to respond, Coral chose that exact moment to splash out of the water right next to the shore. The tender Pokemon looked over at Jessy for a moment, curious as to whom she was. "Milo?" She said.

"Whoa, a wild Milotic?" Jessy shouted, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a mostly blue Pokeball with yellow lines on them and tapping its button. "No way am I missing this chance, QUICK BALL GO!"

"Wait!" Jacob shouted, but it was too late, Jessy had already thrown the ball to try and capture the apparently 'wild' Milotic that had just appeared before her.

Unfortunately the ball was blocked just short of connecting to her, preventing from carrying out its purpose by a small barrier of light that briefly appeared for a split second to protect Coral. Its momentum stopped, the Quick Ball fell to the ground. Coral instantly went defensive and snaked toward Jacob and Sara, coiling around them with her long body so that she could protect him if she had to.

"Wait… it's already…" Jessy said as comprehension dawned on her that the Milotic wasn't wild, and was in fact already caught.

"Yea, this is Coral my Milotic." Jacob said, rubbing Coral's side to calm her down but she was still being hyper defensive. "She was just swimming around in the lake because she finds the water comfortable."

"Wow, you beat me to finding Milotic, and here I was thinking I was way ahead of you!" Jessy said, retrieving her Quick Ball and shutting it off before putting it away. "Where did you find her?"

"She evolved from a Feebas!" Karen explained. "It caught everyone on the ferry to Slateport by surprise when she did, almost everyone couldn't believe that she was once a Feebas!"

"Wait, you had a Feebas?" Jessy said. "I thought Feebas were only found in Route 119 here in Hoenn, where did you find a Feebas that early in your journey?"

Deciding that the story would be too long to describe, Jacob and Karen decided to camp with Jessy so he could tell it. He explained while their teams ate how he first found Coral as a Feebas being sold by a smelly salesman, who later turned out to be a Beauty Salon owner. He explained how he got her for free, and after that he kept her to try and figure out how to raise and take care of her. During their travels he tried everything to try and train her to be stronger, but because she was so weak and pathetic as a Feebas he had little success, though he didn't blame her one bit. He told her then how she evolved aboard the ferry from Dewford to Slateport, saving his life from a Tentacruel that had almost drowned him.

"The only real problem I had was everyone making fun of Coral for being ugly and weak." Jacob said as they ate their meal. "I can take a lot of things but constantly telling people to leave Coral alone was getting really annoying over anything else. Every time she was out of her ball it was, she's ugly and weak and blah blah blah!"

They were eating for a while and Jacob only noticed that she had made two servings of their meal, with a lot of Remoraid meat in the second serving of dinner. In fact dinner was still there even though everyone was quite full, having a mixture of dinners from Jacob and Jessy, Jacob making the vegetarian diets for those who preferred it, and Jessy making hers for those who wanted meat which consisted of mostly her team.

Jessy's team was mostly carnivores, including an Electrike named Bracken, a Mightyena named Quaren, Combusken her starter named Flare, and a Fearow named Julia. The reunion of the two Littleroot trainers and their starters wasn't as friendly as their trainer's had been. Both Flare and Harold treated each other as if they were mortal enemies. Only Coral's ability to somehow sooth and calm their emotions allowed the two teams to eat without sending daggers at each other or starting a fight.

"Ugh I know the feeling!" Jessy said with a groan. "I got the same treatment for months with my own fish, Feral! Speaking of whom, excuse me for a second I need to feed him."

"Who's Feral?" Karen asked as Jessy got up and took the pot of Remoraid meat with gloved hands and walked to the water, taking out a Luxury Ball of her pocket.

"OKAY FERAL, SOUPS ON!" Jessy shouted as she fumbled with the Luxury Ball's release mechanism.

In a flash of light a towering Pokemon materialized in the water, and Jacob only had to see the shape and color to realize who 'Feral' was. Jessy's own 'weak' and 'useless' fish that she had talked about moments ago was actually a Gyarados!

"A Gyarados?" Jacob and Karen said together, standing up in unison in amazement as both of their teams stepped away from the giant Water Pokemon.

"Hey Feral, dinner time so open wide!" Jessy said as her Gyarados looked down at her.

"Grawr!" Feral said, lowering his head and opening his mouth so that Jessy could pour the pot's contents into his mouth.

"There ya go big guy, a nice warm pot of Remoraid soup just for you!" Jessy said, scratching the side of her Gyarados' enormous head as he chewed and swallowed his food with a look of utter content on his face. "Now who makes a mean Remoraid meal? Come on say it, tell me who makes the best Remoraid soup on this side of Hoenn!"

"Groar…" Feral said as his tail splashed the water around behind him, causing large drops to hit Jacob, Karen, and their Pokemon.

"Sara, what did Feral say?" Jacob asked, wondering what a Gyarados, supposedly the most ferocious Pokemon of the seas could possibly say when it was so happy.

(He said, you do Jessy!) Sara said, although she could tell that she was in shock as to why a Gyarados was acting so carefree and jolly.

"That's my big Gyarados, eating up all my savings just to feed that big belly of yours once a day!" Jessy said as she patted Feral's crown with a smile. "Oh, this is Jacob by the way Feral, you remember the guy I told you about who's from Littleroot just like me?"

Feral glanced over at Jacob and nodded before returning his affection to Jessy. "Uh, Jessy… just out of curiosity what Pokemon did you say Feral evolve from?"

"I didn't, but just so you know Feral evolved from a Magikarp!" She said, still scratching her Gyarados' crown and making his eyes close with a content look.

Jacob, not knowing what a Magikarp was, pulled out his Pokedex and looked up the Pokemon's entry in it with Sara looking at it with him.

[Magikarp, the Fish Pokemon. Magikarp is virtually useless in battle as it can only splash around. As a result, it is considered to be weak. However, it is actually a very hardy Pokémon that can survive in any body of water no matter how polluted it is.]

"That's what Gyarados evolved from?" Jacob said as he checked the Pokedex for any more information on it, just like he did with Coral when she was still a Feebas.

This turned out to be the biggest mistake he could have ever made, as the Pokedex's entry was rather blunt and very audible.

[Magikap is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world.]

"Graaaaaaaawr!" Feral roared at that exact moment, going from being a gentle and happy Gyarados into the fearsome beast that Arky had always told Jacob was. Its face changed from being content and relaxed to one of pure rage as it swung the upper half of its body to where Jacob and Sara were standing reading his Pokedex. Feral was just seconds away from devouring Jacob, and would have if one single Pokemon was not in his way.

The instant Feral had moved to attack Jacob with fangs bared, Coral had moved with a speed that was a surprise for her to achieve on land to once again coil and protect her trainer.

"Miloooooooootiiic!" She yelled at the Atrocious Pokemon, not flinching in the slightest at being face to face with Feral's mouth which was twice the size of her head!

"Graaaawr!" Feral yelled back, fangs bared at the Tender Pokemon and giving her as intimidating a glare as Jacob could see.

The stare off continued between the two twenty foot long Pokemon as Feral seemed ready to tear Coral apart just to get at Jacob, while Coral was just as determined to protect Jacob and act as his living shield. Neither of them looked willing to back down, and behind Coral Jacob's team was getting ready to charge in if it became clear a fight would break out. However, despite the odds against Feral, who Jacob knew from experience could easily take on his entire team and win in his enraged state, there was one opponent not even the mighty Gyarados would dare challenge.

An angry Jessy Garnet.

"Feral calm down big guy, calm down!" Jessy shouted in a clear and dominant voice. "He didn't say you were weak and pathetic, it's just the Pokedex! I told you, it's only stating the facts, we've been through this before, and it was talking about Magikarp as a whole, not you as an individual. Now cool yourself down and leave my friend and his team alone before I put you back in your ball for the rest of the week!"

Feral looked between Jacob, Coral, and Jessy before giving the two of them one final growl and a last glare, before finally pulling away back into the water. It looked at Jessy with an 'I'm sorry, please forgive me' look on his face. Jacob would have laughed; it was hilarious seeing a ferociously violent Pokemon like Gyarados asking a human for forgiveness, and going so far as to give said human 'puppy eyes'.

However his and Sara's rapidly beating hearts were still going at ludicrous speed to allow precious oxygen to be used for laughing.

"Oh how can I stay mad at you big guy…" Jessy said, caving into her Gyarados' sorry expression and scratching him behind his crown again. "You are just so cool and awesome, how can I possibly stay mad at you! Now be a nice Gyarados and go swim for a bit before we go to bed okay?"

"Groawr!" Feral said with a nod before diving into the water with a large splash.

After Feral went for his swim, Coral uncoiled herself and gave him a gentle smile before going over to the rest of his team, who by the looks of it seemed to be catching their breath. "Are you both okay?" Karen asked in shock.

"I will be after my heart starts to slow down." Jacob replied. "What about you Sara?"

(I'll let you know in the morning when I'm not still terrified.) She said nervously.

"Jessy… you had to raise a Gyarados didn't you?" Jacob said to his rival.

"Yep, isn't he the sweetest thing!" Jessy said. "Sure he has a temper whenever he hears someone making fun of his previous form, or when someone makes fun of me, but what boy is perfect?"

They sat back down and started talking again to pass the time, and then Karen decided to bring up the subject of Feral again. "So how did you get Feral?" She asked.

"Well, when I first got him as a Magikarp it was from a bald salesman shortly after I left Oldale Town and made my way to Petalburg." Jessy said, adding more firewood to the pit. "I should have known something was up with what he said about Magikarp being a gold mine. I had to fall for his scam and bought Feral for five hundred Pokedollars. When I realized he scammed me, I tried finding him to get my money back, but he had already scrammed. So I had no choice but to keep Feral because I just couldn't be mean to the little guy, it wasn't his fault that he was the object of a scam."

"After that I tried everything I could to help Feral become stronger as a Pokemon, I figured if I had to keep a Magikarp I should at least raise it well. I tried swimming lessons, move tutors, battles, heck I even tried vitamins, and while he did get somewhat stronger he was just pathetic when it came to a battle."

Jacob nodded, having a similar experience with Coral as a Feebas. "After a good three months with little success, I was about ready to throw in the towel, and at the time Feral was of a similar opinion. He didn't want me to waste my time with him if all he was doing was holding me back. Still I was one track minded, and so I kept at him, working whenever I had a free moment to train Feral. Then we finally found ourselves the key to his evolution!"

"What was that?" Karen asked, but Jacob already knew what it was.

"Well it happened one night while we were on the beach near Slateport; I was helping Feral build his swimming muscles by having him swim against the waves a few weeks back. Then just as he was swimming against this one small wave, a couple of local bullies decided at that time to make fun of me for training Feral. At the time I didn't have my team because they were all resting at the Pokemon Center, I would have kicked their butts, but they got the drop on me. One of them had me and was forcing me to watch as the other bullied Feral, trying to kick him in the waves."

"I don't like where this is going…" Karen said with a quick sip of soda.

"Yep, I yelled at them to just leave Feral alone, but the one guy holding me to get a little rough with me and elbowed my stomach to shut me off. That was the last straw for Feral, just after he saw me get elbowed, he started glowing and growing. Seconds later, Feral the Magikarp became Feral the Gyarados! You should have seen the look on all of our faces. He chased off those bullies and half the beach with just one roar! When he turned to look at me I figured he was going to make mints meat out of me, but no he was so sweet towards me. That's when an old sailor who knew about Gyarados explained why that was."

"Turns out Gyarados is fierce, but only when angered by something. He said that while there are many wild Gyarados that are capable of destroying anything who don't care about anyone else, the ones that are trained seem to possess a very soft side in their personality that they only share with their trainer. Feral may act ferocious to anyone else around me, but if he ever addresses me or is addressed by me, he'll be as sweet as the sweetest Pokemon in existence!"

"Sort of like Coral is with me, but not as threatening as Feral…" Jacob said.

=A Team's Opinion=

(Sara's PoV, Two hours later)

Sara watched as the three trainers went to sleep after talking for so long, Jacob and Karen sleeping in their respective bags while Jessy went to sleep in her tent. Jessy and Karen had recalled their teams back into their balls for bed, while Jacob's had requested to remain out for just a little while longer. When the trainers were well off in their respective dreams, Sara went to the small circle of Pokemon that was the rest of Jacob's team.

Coral being the largest took up the most space in the circle, while Harold and Ivan were the next largest. Roran wasn't as large but he was still quite intimidating. Coral decided to start up the conversation for the night with a complaint.

"I could have taken that jerk if his trainer hadn't intervened!" She growled to the rest of them.

"You would have only gotten our Alpha injured if you did, you won't ever do that again from here on out!" Ivan barked while Harold and Roran nodded their heads in agreement. "If his pack leader hadn't called him off, he might have injured our Alpha!"

"Oh yea, like Jacob would have been injured with me coiled around him, I am just as strong as that blue snake!" Coral snapped back, glaring at the Mightyena. "I would have taken any injury to keep him safe, that overgrown anger problem wouldn't have stood a chance against me if he so much as laid a scale on our trainer!"

Sara shook her head in disapproval. "No you wouldn't have, you weren't out of your ball the last time we saw a Gyarados enraged." She said. "It was so dangerous, without hearing its trainer being called names it tore an entire underground cavern down around us, after thrashing thirty really tough Pokemon before that. Jacob told me that its trainer said she had trained it very well, and boasted that it was the most disciplined in all of Hoenn. If it's trainer didn't hold it back, it would have done even more damage before we could escape."

"That's right, so listen when we say don't provoke a Gyarados!" Harold said.

Coral looked around before she sighed and swallowed her pride and shut down her ego. "Alright, if it protects Jacob and is what he wants I'll listen to what you say." She said with a determined look. "But if that giant sea snake threatens Jacob again!"

"We'll be right there behind you to beat him up!" Roran chirped proudly.

They all nodded in agreement, all except Sara who had a lot on her mind still. "Listen guys, can I ask you all your opinions about our trainer?" She asked, knowing she was entering dangerous territory.

They all looked at her with suspicious looks. "What kind of opinions?" Harold said with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean… I'm the only one still wild!" She said. "You are all captured, and with what Harold, Jacob and I learned about the Pokeballs side effects, what do you all think about it and our trainer? I mean, aren't you guys just a little upset that you are forced to be near him because of a stupid side effect from being captured?"

"With all due respect, I'll keep my opinion for last, for it means a great deal to me and I want you all to hear it last because of how important it is." Coral said respectfully.

They were all silent for a while before Ivan became the first to give his opinion. "He's my Alpha, he is strong, and he leads us well!" He growled. "I do not care for these 'side effects' that our Pokeballs put on us, if that is the price for being in his pack, then so be it! I would follow him even if the side effects weren't there!"

Roran was next to talk. "I trust Jacob, he's nice to me and I love challenging opponents with him. I have nothing against these side effects."

Everyone looked at Harold next, knowing that Coral wanted to be last. "I guess since I felt the side effects first, I should speak of them." He said. "It felt like an itch, an itch that I had to obey or it wouldn't go away and only got worse. The only way to obey it was to stay within eyesight of Jacob, or at least be close to him, I didn't notice it at first because all that I could think about was staying close to Jacob. I couldn't even understand how I knew Jacob was walking away, all I could tell was that he wasn't close by, and I had to stay close to him!"

Harold sighed as he looked at Jacob's sleeping form, but despite what he was saying he was not unhappy. "Still I trust Jacob, he didn't know about the side effects either, so I can't blame him for that strange itching feeling." He said. "Sure it's annoying that if Jacob decides to go for a short walk, I need to get up and follow him unless I ask for permission. But I don't care, I trust Jacob, he's a good human and trainer. He's taken good care of us so far and he's never once acted like we are anything but his equals. I'll follow him for as long as he wants me to and help him however I can!"

Sara was the only one who had yet to give her opinion, and since Coral wasn't going to share before her, all eyes turned to the Kirlia now. "I'm wild by technicality, but I feel as if I'm tied to him now!" Sara said nervously. "I don't mind being with him, he's the best thing to happen to me since I was a Ralts! Harold, you know what I mean. When Jacob first found me I was alone, starving, and desperate for any help. He fed me, took care of me, gave me a name and even let me stay wild. I just feel as if I owe him a great debt…"

"You are not the only one little Kirlia." Coral said at last, drawing everyone's attention. "I too feel as if I owe Jacob a great debt, in fact I feel as if I owe him my very life."

"Why would you feel that, you saved our Alpha's life didn't you?" Ivan barked. "That was what helped you evolve you said!"

Coral nodded as she took her tailfin and moved it in front of her face like a fan. "Yes I did save Jacob's life, and it was his life being threatened that gave me the push I needed to evolve. Yet I still owe him a debt I feel that only my life could repay. You four have no idea how many days I spent in that tank, day in and day out, watching as Segan tried selling me to passing by trainers. If I were as smart as a Feebas as I am now, I would have considered being called ugly and useless twenty times at least a 'good' day! Before Jacob appeared, I figured that would be my life, just sit in a tank and be called names."

"Then Jacob adopted me, and said the kindest words that I will never forget no matter how old I grow. He said that I was a really special Pokemon, a valued member of his team, and that I should never think of myself as ugly! I don't care about the Pokeball's side effects, to me that isn't even considered a price I have to pay to be with him. I would never abandon him or leave him willingly, he would have to force me to leave him or leave me in my ball for the rest of my life because I will follow him to whatever end!"

"What about having to ask permission to just swim like you did earlier?" Ivan asked.

"I would have asked permission even if the ball didn't force the impulse on me." Coral said with a smile. "After all he has done for me, I would do anything to help him, and though I really despise that Feral for daring to threaten Jacob. I feel as though we are kindred spirits towards our trainers, we both were once considered pathetic and useless, but our trainers showed us our potential and believed in us! Feral evolved when angered at his trainer's abuse because she trained him, and I evolved because Jacob nearly drowned believing in my usefulness. We may have different reasons for being different toward other trainers, but we are of equal minds when we treat ours with great respect. He is a good trainer, and he deserves our respect and trust just as much as we deserve his. He trusted me enough as a Feebas to keep me with him when others said not to, and for that he has my eternal loyalty."

"Yea, he is a good trainer, I think we're all in agreement about that!" Harold said as he looked at them all one at a time.

Everyone nodded at this, including Sara who also agreed that Jacob was a good trainer. Kora wasn't there to give her opinion on Jacob, but they all doubted that she would say anything bad against him. The only reason Kora could possibly say something bad about Jacob was if he forgot to feed her for one meal.

After a while Harold got up and stretched. "Well it's time for bed everyone, we have a long walk ahead of us and I doubt it will be peaceful!" The Grovyle said with a smile. "We need to get to sleep so we're all ready."

Everyone nodded as they stretched and yawned, before going to their individual balls and recalling themselves into them. Sara took them and clipped them to Jacob's belt, before she snuck into his sleeping bag, curled up in his arms and went to sleep, smiling as she felt Jacob's dreams before she too fell asleep.

=Meanwhile in Mauville City=

(A Snagem Member's PoV)

*Yawn*

"Boy night watch is boring." She said as she scratched her cheek before looking at the camera feed of their newest hideout, the newly opened Game Corner basement. "Of all the Pokemon that get the cops on us, it had to be a flipping Zigzagoon. Why do the guys who pay us for these Pokemon want such common Pokemon?"

*Riiiiiiiiing*

*Riiiiiiing*

*Riiiiii…*

"Yea what is it?" She said with an annoyed grunt as she answered her Pokenav.

"Good to see one of you is still up, it's me Masquerade." The voice said on the other side. "I have your new instructions that the higher-ups want done!"

"What is it this time, some kid's Vulpix or are we finally going after the famed Zubat?"She said in annoyance, getting really tired of stealing specific Pokemon that this guy tells them to take that weren't even worth the price this guy paid them. "Well just so you know we're out of Snag Balls, we need a new supply before we can go after another Pokemon! Not to mention the last one we snagged and sent to ya attracted too much attention, we're all laying low for now while our friend smooth's everything out."

"Your target isn't some kid's pet Poochyena this time, but something of far more value." The voice said. "You don't even have to snag any Pokemon for it either, I'm sending the image to your now Pokenav now so take a look at it!"

She really hated the guy they communicated with for whoever paid them for these Pokemon, but she did as she was told and looked at her Pokenav to see a new message for her. She opened the image and marveled at what she was seeing. "No way, is that what I think it is?" She asked.

"I see at least some of you had an education before becoming Snagem members!" He said with a chuckle. "That's right, the image you are looking at happens to be a very close up picture of one of the famed Key Stone's, currently inserted into a bracelet. This particular picture was taken by a 'tourist' associate of mine who is highly interested in this piece, and is willing to pay quite a considerable fee if you manage to steal it for us successfully."

The girl paused at the word 'considerable' next to the word 'fee', before she asked the big question that would determine if she and the rest of Snagem took the job. "How much of a fee are we talking?"

"How does five hundred thousand Pokebollars for simply having it sound, plus a very substantial bonus if you get it before next week?"

"We'll take the job!" She said instantly.

"Excellent, now before you go rushing off to steal it make sure you do a little searching!" He said coolly. "That picture was taken today in Mauville Square in a temp shop for tourists. You're going to have to find whoever was selling this item, and find out where they are keeping it at night for safety before you even think of stealing it. Have whoever hasn't been spotted by security cameras go searching in pedestrian clothes, with no Pokemon on them. Once you have it contact me and I'll send a vehicle to Mauville's north entrance to pick you up within half an hour! You'll be well paid after that."

"Got it." She said, and moved to turn off the Pokenav.

"One more thing!" He said instantly.

"Yea?"

"Don't get any funny ideas; the Key Stone in this was already used by a previous trainer, one from fifty years ago! I know for a fact that this Key Stone won't work for any of you Snagem Members, so don't even think of trying to keep it for yourselves."

After that declaration, he closed the channel and her Pokenav turned off.