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Route 1 was one of the shortest, and easiest, routes in the Kanto Region for trainers to traverse. The League regularly sent experienced trainers to check the area for any Pokémon that were too powerful like a fearsome Fearow that had made it's home here years ago, or any trainers that were taking advantage of the inexperienced trainers passing through the route at the beginning of their adventure.
It was for this reason that Ash realised it was a perfect opportunity for him to train with Sunkern in relative safety, there were few Pokémon around that would truly be a threat to them, and any damage done could easily be repaired by a quick trip back to Pallet Town for some rest. It took only 20 minutes for him to find a suitable clearing just off the main track, but close enough for any passers by to hear him if there was an emergency.
"Sunkern, prepare yourself. It's time to show me what you can really do" Ash's voice was quiet but authoritative, letting Sunkern know that their formal training had begun. With barely a sound she leaped from his head and settled herself directly ahead of him ready for his orders. "We have seen most of your attacks in action already thanks to Leaf, and I can't see the capability of absorb without a battle. For now, let's see just how agile you are. Ready yourself at the edge of the clearing and dodge any and all stones thrown at you." With a cry of "sun!" Sunkern bounced to the other end of the clearing as quickly as she could, and turned to face Ash with determination in her eyes.
Glancing quickly around the clearing Ash collected 10 small stones he could use to test the agility of his new partner. Without warning he launched one directly at Sunkern, taking her by surprise and making the stone glance against her side as she hastily rolled out of the way. By the time she adjusted to her position he had launched 2 more, watching as one headed straight towards her, and one veered slightly to the side to minimise her escape route. Although a fiercely determined Pokémon, Sunkern revealed her lack of experience when, in a panic, she chose the wrong direction and was struck directly in her face causing her to cry out in shock. "Be careful Sunkern, watch my body when I throw the stone to guess where the attack will be aimed. Watch." As he said this, he launched another stone, he could see her eyes carefully assess the movement, and saw the exact moment she recognised the slight twist of his body as he flicked the stone so it would slightly angle itself to the left of her body. With a confident smile Sunkern dodged to the right, turning to face him again when she had a suitable distance between herself and the projectile. "Good. Again. Try to roll or bounce whilst maintaining eye contact, that way you can see if I am preparing any new attacks".
The game of "Dodge" continued for 30 minutes longer, with Ash throwing his projectiles in progressively harder to dodge patterns, sometimes he threw a small handful at the same time making Sunkern test her new agility skills to launch herself high above the stones, or roll her small seed-like body in different directions at high speeds to dodge the assault. Although she had developed greatly, there was still a vast amount of work to do as a few small bruises confirmed he had scored a few hits.
"Good Sunkern, now we need to work on the speed and accuracy of your Leech Seed. Our battle against Bulbasaur would have ended very differently if one of our seeds hadn't been lucky and tripped him. Use ingrain now to root yourself and start healing. Whilst you're ingrained I'm going to throw the stones again and you must hit them with leech seed before they reach you. You ready?"
"Sun! Sunkern!" she cried, clearly excited at the thought of a new training game and a small chance to regain some of her energy. He had thought this game through carefully, the ingrain would mean that Sunkern would be unable to move with any speed, having to cancel the move in order to regain mobility. This would force her to rely on her leech seed to defend against his projectiles. "Go!" he cried, launching his first attack intentionally a little too high to giver her time to react. Sunkern took a few seconds to focus herself before launching a seed in an attempt to counter his attack, unfortunately for Sunkern the seed was off by at least a foot and the stone managed to strike her head on. "Sun!?" her despondent cry was enough to make Ash pause before throwing his next stone, "it's ok Sunkern, this is our first time playing this game and you've only ever used the attack once before. No one is perfect first time, right? The first time I tried to throw a Pokéball I was so nervous I managed to hit Professor Oak in the face! And he was stood at least 5 feet away from the target!" Sunkern seemed to perk up at this news, and even took a minute to laugh at her trainer, "yeah yeah, laugh it up. We will see who is laughing at the end of this round!".
It turns out, Ash was laughing at the end of that round. The look of pure surprise Sunkern would show every time her Leech Seed missed the target would bring a smile to his face for years to come. Although they had only been playing for a short time, she had improved dramatically. Managing to hit 3 of the stones he threw, and those that she missed were by fractions of an inch rather than the foot she had missed by at the start. "That's enough for now sweet, come over here so I can check any bruises." With a happy cry Sunkern bounced over to her trainer and turned her body around slowly so he could inspect any injuries, "nothing too serious, a few minor bruises but they will be fixed by tonight. Let's carry on our journey before it get's too late."
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Travelling with Sunkern was proving to be therapeutic for Ash, he had talked about his life so far and watched with a barely concealed smile as she grew tall with righteous fury when he mentioned how Gary had treated him growing up. He chatted for what seemed like hours about his hopes and dreams, laughing when a loud "Sunkern!" has interrupted him talking about becoming the strongest trainer in the world, her determination to see him through to that goal filled him with a joy he had never felt before.
The few trainers they encountered had mostly proven to be easy for the duo, Sunkerns new confidence in dodging attacks was shown when she had confidently assessed her targets actions and moved out of the way long before the attack had reached her. Her absorb attack was clearly the one she favoured in her life before Ash as its potency was enough to take down most Pokémon with one use. The only trouble they faced was a trainer using a Pidgey. It's natural advantage against her grass typing, and manoeuvrability in the air had made the majority of her attacks useless in the battle. However, with some quick thinking Sunkern had ingrained herself to act as tempting bait for attack and had launched her most spectacular Leech Seed to date as it swooped in a direct line towards her – wrapping it's vines around Pidgey's wings to bring it crashing down and using Grass Whistle to take it out of the battle. However, it was the battle they were currently trapped in that was causing Ash most joy, it had been their longest battle so far and both Pokémon were growing tired:
"Sunkern, use growth again to build up some energy and then use grass whistle, we need to finish this!"
"Oh no you don't, rattata use quick attack before it can put you to sleep" with a cry of affirmation, both Pokémon immediately moved to follow their trainers orders, Sunkern had just managed to finish strengthening her body when a purple streak slammed into her and sent her flying back a few feet. "Sunkern! Are you ok?" seeing her nod, he called out the next command "great, it's too fast right now, use the ingrain seed combo again!"
"I don't know what that is rattata, but it doesn't sound good. Use quick attack again head on and finish this!"
Sunkern had just finished ingraining and beginning the healing process when rattata naively made it's move, running in a straight line towards Sunkern it made the perfect target for her leech seed to strike, wrapping him up in tight vines it sapped the energy from its body leaving it struggling to move. "Finish this Sunkern, grass whistle" a sweet melody drifted through the air lulling rattata into an induced sleep that ended its chances of battle. A flash of bright red indicated the opponent trainer had recalled the rattata "what an amazing battle!, thank you!"
"Same to you!" Ash replied before feeling the comforting weight of Sunkern land on his head. Turning his attention towards her he reached up and gently stroked the sprouting leaves "you did amazingly, I am so proud of you". A happy chirp was all he got in return before she turned to the setting sun and started soaking in the last of the rays. "It's time we set up camp for the night, let's go".
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Within 30 minutes of his declaration, Ash had managed to find the perfect clearing for rest and recuperation. Half shaded by trees the clearing would ensure no rain fell on any belongings he brought with him as he slept, but the clear sky on the other half would wake him early when the sun's rays pierced his tent. A warm fire crackled in front of him as he started making a meal for himself, Sunkern already feeling nourished from the water he had provided earlier, and the nutrients she had absorbed throughout the day. "you know something Sunkern? I can't remember a day where I have ever felt so calm. In Pallet Town you are constantly being watched: Teachers, Mom, Professor Oak, Gary, they all had eyes on me waiting to see what I would do right or wrong. Waiting for something to criticise or praise. When it's just you and me I feel truly relaxed, I know I can be completely myself with you and you would never leave, never judge or make me feel uncomfortable." Sunkern looked at him with her large eyes, something swimming in their depths let him know that she completely understood what he had said.
"Most people used to laugh at me for wanting to be a Pokémon Master, they said it was an impossible dream for idiot children. Then one day my dream changed, I wanted to prove to the whole world that all Pokémon were strong. Each and every one of them has strength hidden inside and it is the weakness of the trainer that means they cannot show their power. That just made them laugh harder, they thought that they knew better than me and only my Mom and Professor Oak believed in me. Now that you are beside me I know we can prove them all wrong, you have already you are stronger than a conventional starter and beaten Pokémon with a type advantage. I know we can do it!". He hadn't realised the fierce passion he had spoken with, he hadn't notice how loud he had gotten until he looked around himself and saw the eyes of wild Pokémon watching him with intrigue, watching who had interrupted their quiet corner of wilderness.
A slight tap on his belt and the loud ding of a successful Pokémon capture suddenly rang through the quiet clearing. With shock on his face, he looked down to see one of his previously empty Pokéballs flashing and indicating that a Pokémon now occupied it. Shock rapidly made way for excitement as he snatched the ball and launched it through the air, a blinding flash of white light subsided to reveal his new partner as…