Almost another two weeks had passed since Wes had woken up from his coma and the road to recovery felt just as agonizingly slow as the days that had passed. Wes spent the first few days in bed being cared for by Rui, Eagun, and Beluh but it was mainly Rui. Since they were not worrying about Cipher for the moment and Wes was no longer unconscious the two have become much more close. However neither of them realized that they were seeing each other in a different way than before and neither of them knew that the other was questioning if their friendship was maybe something more.

Wes was eventually able to get out of bed by the end of the first week despite. Rui deeply concerned that Wes still not well enough to be moving around but Wes told her that he couldn't stay in bed forever. There were several times during the first day when Wes was actually allowed to leave his bed that he nearly fell over. Luckily Rui was able to catch him every time and she stayed by his side as his main form of support which he really didn't mind at all. As the second week went on Wes gained back his strength and was able to walk on his own. He was eventually well enough to around the village without the help of Rui or her grandparents. He wasn't a big fan constantly being fretted over by them all but he knew they were only doing it because they cared about and concerned about him.

However his health was not the only thing they were concerned about. When he woke up Wes was like he always strong willed and determined but as time went on that strong will and determination was starting to crumble. His personality was starting to drastically change. He started to act more angry and upset like something was eating away at him. However what changed most of all was his relationship with his Pokemon and how he trained them. Ever since he began training after waking up from his coma, he has been much more vigorous and unrelenting in his training sessions. He's made them all spar one on one until they could hardly stand. He also told his Pokemon what they needed to work on but the way he talked to them has become harsh.

One morning Rui walked outside to find Wes and see how he was doing the only problem was she couldn't find him anywhere and it wasn't just him his Pokemon were missing as well. If his Pokemon weren't here she had a hunch where they might be.

Rui walked through the small cave and into the Relic Forest there she could hear Wes' voice nearby. It sounded like he was giving order's to his Pokemon. She followed his voice and found him in front of the Relic Stone. He stood behind Entei who was in a circle with Espeon, Umbreon, Hariyama, and Quilava. Each of the Pokemon had a look of determination on their faces. Rui had a feeling she knew what was happening after she witnessed the way Wes trained Espeon and Umbreon.

This was the first she had ever seen him train all of his Pokemon at once. It was also the first time he was using Entei in battle even if it was just a training battle. She remembered aver hearing a conversation he had with Eagun a few days ago and him voicing his concerns about using a Shadow Pokemon with as much as power as Entei. Eagun told him to keep Entei near the Relic Stone. He found out while he was caring for Wes' Pokemon in his absence that even though Entei wouldn't be purified yet it kept him in control of his own actions so he wouldn't have to worry about being attacked so long as Entei was near the stone.

Rui looked up at and saw the look of fierce determination in his eyes as he went into a battle stance.

"Entei use Sacred Fire on Espeon!" Wes ordered.

The legendary took a deep breath before releasing a huge cloud of fire on Espeon's direction. The psychic Pokemon quickly jumped out the way before landing beside Umbreon.

"Typhlosion use flamethrower on Hariyama. Umbreon use return on Espeon."

Typhlosion shot a stream of fire from his mouth at Hariyama who dodged the attack quickly only to go into another attack aimed not at Typhlosion but at Entei. Entei saw Hariyama quickly coming at him and dodged out of the way. Umbreon charged at Espeon and tried to ram her with his shoulder but the psychic Pokemon moved to the side and blasted a wave of Psychic energy at Umbreon. The Dark Pokemon tried to dodge but was unsuccessful and was hit by the blast. However he got right back on his feet and shot a blast of Energy towards Typhlosion who shot a stream of fire at Umbreon. The two attacks collided in the air and exploded.

"Hariyama use Vital Throw on Entei! Entei use Shadow Rush on Hariyama!"

Hariyama charged towards Entei as the legendary did the same. The two collided and were now at an impasse of strength. Hariyama tried to lift Entei so he could get him into the air but Entei kept himself firmly planted where he was as he tried to shove Hariyama backwards. Eventually Entei was able to overpower Hariyama and pin him to the ground.

"Alright three on one attack now!" Wes shouted. "Typhlosion Fire Blast! Espeon Psychic! Umbreon Return!"

The three Pokemon charged towards Entei so they could could get in rang to attack but the legendary had other plans in mind. While keeping Hariyama firmly pinned to the ground Entei took deep and unleashed a huge cloud of fire towards the three attacking Pokemon. However the attack didn't hit them. Instead, Espeon, Umbreon, and Typhlosion found themselves trapped inside a giant ring of fire. The ring of fire quickly died down and the Pokemon tried to attack again.

"Enough!" Wes shouted making all of the Pokemon freeze in their tracks.

Entei got off of Hariyama and the two Pokemon went towards the other three and they all formed a line in front of Wes who looked at them with disappointment. Rui looked on worriedly, she knew what was coming next.

"Espeon when Entei attacked you with Sacred Fire you barely got out the way. You need to be faster than that what if Rui and I were being attacked and we couldn't protect ourselves. I know you would jump up in a heartbeat to save us but there was no way you would be able to do anything with the speed you were using. Umbreon your attack missed and you were hit by Espeon's Psychic attack. That's alright if your attack misses because you don't often miss like that but you've had enough battle experience to know when a Pokemon was going to counterattack especially when it's Espeon. You two grew up together and she's your mate. You should have seen that attack coming Why you didn't is beyond me. Hariyama you need to increase your strength immensely. There is no way in hell that you are weaker than Entei and yet he you couldn't make him budge an inch. You need to be able overpower any opponent in your path because I guarantee you that our future opponents are twice as heavy as Entei. If your going to use the strength you just showed me than you can consider yourself as good as beaten in battle. Typhlosion when Entei trapped you, Espeon, and Umbreon in that ring of fire why did you not attempt to escape? I understand Espeon and Umbreon being trapped but your a fire type and Entei's flames would not have had a strong effect on you. I know your smarter than that. To actually not realize that your almost invulnerable to fire was stupid on your part."

Each of Wes' Pokemon looked away from Wes with guilty and upset expressions. Wes never used to tear into them like this but since he woke from his coma it's almost like he's become different person. Seeing their faces, Wes closed his and sighed before speaking again in a much softer tone.

"Listen everyone after getting beaten like we did against Nascour and after what happened to me. I now realize how strong our enemies truly are. We need to become as strong as possible If we want to stop them. The fate of Orre and the fate of all Pokemon rests on our shoulders because we're the only one's who stand a chance against these psychos."

All of Wes' Pokemon looked at him and nodded but there was still sad expressions on their faces.

"Alright get some rest all of you we'll train again later on." Wes said to them making them all disperse to go rest.

Rui walked up to Wes and he turned to her when he heard her footsteps.

"Don't you think your being rough on them? They're giving it their all when they battle." Rui asked.

"Giving it their all isn't enough Rui." Wes said with some irritation in his voice. "This isn't a gym leader we're up against. We're facing a group of people who have no hearts or any mercy. Cipher doesn't care if my Pokemon give it their all if we're not stronger than them then we're all doomed."

Rui frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"Wes, I know you want to save everybody but your training is going too far. Not to mention everything you just said was just harsh. I don't know why you've suddenly become more strict and rough with your training but if you keep this up, your Pokemon will be to exhausted to even fight and not only that, they'll lose trust in you because your not treating them the way they wish to be treated. Do you want Espeon and Umbreon to hate you after everything you've been through together?"

"Rui I'm not trying to be a harsh trainer I just want them to be stronger!"

"Wes they're already strong enough!"

"No they're not!"

"Yes they are! What's gotten into you!? You've never been one to talk down on the strength of your Pokemon! How could you even say such things like tha-"

"BECAUSE I ALMOST DIED!"

Rui fell silent and was stunned at Wes' words as the boy closed his eyes and turned.

"Is that what this is all about?" Rui asked softly.

Wes said nothing as Rui put a hand on his shoulder. Eventually his voice rang through the air once more.

"Nascour beat me like I was nothing. My Pokemon fell one by one to that damn Nidoking. I had never felt so pathetic or so embarrassed. Then he tried to kill you, Rui."

When he said her name he turned around and looked into her beautiful concerned blue eyes.

"When I protected you from that Hyper Beam and I was laying there seeing you crying. I felt weak, I felt helpless, I felt like I was really gonna die. I hadn't felt that helpless since the day my Mom and Dad were killed right in front of me. That's why I'm trying to make my Pokemon as strong as possible because I don't ever want to feel that helpless again."

Rui's hand remained on his shoulder but he eventually moved away from it.

"Wes, how long have you been feeling like this?" Rui asked worriedly.

"Since I finally gave into Eagun and Beluh's worry about what happened and told them about the attack."

Rui remembered that night it was about a week ago. Eagun and Beluh considered him as part of the family and as his caretakers when he needed a place to stay. As such that constantly asked him what happened and told him how worried they are about him because he refused to say even a single word until that night.

"Since the day I woke up from that coma I swore to get stronger so I could not only beat Nascour but also protect the ones I care about." Wes said.

Rui looked at him with concern and walked up to him. She took his hands in hers before speaking to him.

"Wes please listen to me, you're doing your best to keep us all safe. That's all you can do, that's all anyone can do, but you have to realize how worried everyone is about you. Grandma and Grandpa have noticed your change in attitude as of late. I have as well and I know this isn't the Wes that I've come to care about. Training your Pokemon like you are and running away from whats really bothering you is only going to make us all worry about you even more. Please promise me you will train your Pokemon like you used to and try and talk to me when something is bothering you."

Wes closed his eyes again and sighed.

"I guess your right Rui but I don't think I'm doing the best I can I have to become stronger if we want to stop Cipher."

"And you will get stronger Wes I know you will." Rui replied with a sweet smile making Wes smile a little bit. "You have to give these things time. So do you promise to take go back to your original training and talk to me about what's bothering you?"

Wes eventually nodded his head.

"I promise"

With those he released himself from Rui's hands and returned his Pokemon to their respective Pokeballs. He would need to apologize to them later. However as he started to walk back to Rui he stopped and groaned in pain as he held his ribs. His recovery was coming along rather quickly. However there was one nasty injury around his ribs that was taking much longer to recover. Rui noticed the pain he was in and went over to him.

"Come on let's head home and we'll ask Grandma to give you some more of that medicinal herb cream." She said to him.

Wes nodded his and the two left the Relic forest with Espeon and Umbreon following behind them.

When the group made it back to Eagun and Beluh's house, they went inside and they saw Rui's grandparents as well as an unexpected familiar face.

"Mr. Leone what a surprise." Rui said to the elderly man sitting across from her grandparents.

"Ah hello Rui and hell to you as well Wes I trust your recovering well?"

"Yes sir," Wes began. "But if I may ask why are you here I've been here a while and I've never seen you come here."

Leone chuckled.

"I'm a close friend to the family. I've know Eagun and Beluh since we were all kids we practically grew up together. I could tell you so many stories about all the trouble Eagun and I caused and how we constantly competed for Beluh's attention."

Eagun laughed and Beluh blushed.

"You see Wes Leone is practically family to us so much we made him Lillia's godfather." Eagun explained.

Wes was about to respond say something but the door suddenly burst open and revealed one of the villages younger residents.

"Eagun we've got trouble! Outsiders at the village gates there trying to attack the village we can't stop them!"

"What!?" Eagun shouted.

Wes immediately became determined to stop the trouble and he grabbed a Pokeball in his pocket.

"Let's get out there!" he said to everyone.