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"So Aaron, any plans for while you're with us?" Brock asked.

"No, I'm just coming along for the ride." Aaron responded.

"Well, we're glad that you are." Ash said smiling. "Maybe we can train together."

"Or you can help me with my contests." May chimed in.

"Maybe." Aaron said.

"The ferry to Dewford Town is a little while away. Why don't we break for lunch soon? There's a clearing just up ahead." Brock said changing the subject. The others all agreed as they continued walking until they made it to the clearing that Brock had mentioned. Brock started cooking while the others set up the table; Aaron sat on top of a large boulder reading from his spell book until he heard Brock call out that lunch was ready. He jumped down from the boulder and grabbed his plate before returning to the boulder to eat. Aaron shared most of the food with his Pokémon before recalling them and then eating his portion of the food.

"He's not very social." Ash said looking at the boulder.

"Just give him some time. He'll come around eventually." Brock told him.

"I'm going to go check on him." May said standing up and climbing up the boulder. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Are we ready to get moving?" Aaron asked looking up from his book.

"No, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk." May said smiling.

"Not really." Aaron said jumping from the boulder and climbing up a tree to get some privacy. May sighed as she made her way back to the table.

"Anything?" Brock asked. May shook her head glimpsing at the tree where Aaron continued to read his spell book. After lunch, the group made their way to the ferry to Dewford Town. Ash was excited to go challenge Brawley and earn his second gym badge.

"Are you going to come with us Aaron?" May asked.

"I'll catch up with you guys. I'm going to check out the dojo." Aaron said walking away. May sighed and ran off to go catch up with Ash and the others.

Aaron walked to the dojo where two boys wearing black gis with yellow outlines stopped him. "Only members are allowed." One of them said as they both readied their fists.

"I'm not in the mood for a fight, but if you want to then I will." Aaron said pulling out his staff and twirling it. The two boys quickly picked up their own staffs and ran at Aaron who blocked their attacks.

They continued fighting with Aaron clearly winning until a girl wearing a similar gi yelled at them to stop. "Go inside you two, now." She said sternly. The two boys quickly ran off as she walked over to Aaron. The girl had blonde hair that was in a pony tail and blue eyes. "I haven't seen you around here before. Where'd you do your training?" She asked examining the boy holding an unusual staff.

"I trained myself." He said putting the staff away.

"Well you're pretty good. Maybe you should compete in the tournament we're having tomorrow. I bet you'll do great." She said flirting with Aaron.

"I'll be there and I'll win." He told her.

"Don't count on it. We have some pretty strong competitors lined up." She told him. "If you want I could train you a little bit." She said smiling.

"No thanks. I train alone." Aaron said walking away to go find Ash and the others. Aaron walked to the gym to see Ash battling Brawley Ash's Pokémon defeating the Machop in front of it and winning. Brawley handed Ash his badge as Aaron walked over to the group. "Ash won, surprising since he has no sense of strategy." Aaron said looking at him.

Brock started explaining to him. "That is his strategy. He thinks on his feet and comes up with a plan on the spot."

"Sounds like he just got lucky." Aaron muttered under his breath.

"At times, yes." Brock said. "So what'd you do while you were gone?"

"I signed up for a martial arts tournament." Aaron told him.

"That sounds fun. We'll be sure to watch." Ash said running over.

"And we'll cheer you on." May said smiling at him. "Good job on your battle Ash. What do you want to do now?"

"Let's go look around town for a little bit before tomorrow." Ash said as they all left the gym to go look around the town. In the center of town they could see several of the students from the dojo setting up for tournament. "I guess this tournament's kind of a big deal." Ash said looking around where several bleachers were being set up.

"I need to go train a little bit." Aaron said walking away. Aaron walked to the coast of the island and pulled out his staff. He practiced several maneuvers as he jumped from rock to rock and swung his staff; he had taken off his shoes to simulate what the tournament would be like as they did not permit shoes. Aaron trained for hours practicing with his staff; his feet had cuts and he was covered in sweat.

May saw Aaron still training when the sun went down. She walked over to him and handed him a bottle of water. "Here, you should stay hydrated."

"Thanks." Aaron said drinking the whole bottle quickly.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" May asked.

"Yeah." Aaron said taking a deep breath and wiping some of the sweat from his forehead. "Let's go back to the Pokémon center. We'll both need our rest for tomorrow."

May nodded her head as she walked with Aaron to the Pokémon center. Aaron took a shower before going to bed for the night. He fell asleep quickly from all of the training that he went through which exhausted him greatly.