A/N: I'm so sorry, everyone. I could have sworn I posted this chapter, but I see now that I did not. I hope no one was too confused!


Chapter 16: Trip

"Ok, guys, it's time to train." Dani smiled as she looked at the three Eevee in front of her, her sisters beside her. The Pokemon appeared attentive.

"I'll bet Umbreon can help," Gary said, standing off to the side. He grabbed a Pokeball and tossed it into the air. The dark Pokemon appeared in front of the Eevee. "We're going to help train these Eevee, ok?"

Umbreon nodded his head. He then turned to the Eevee. The brown fox Pokemon moved forward to stand close to him. They appeared fascinated to see one of their evolved forms.

"Hey, guys!" a female voice shouted.

The group turned around and saw May and Max jogging across the field towards them. "Hi," Gabri greeted them.

"Are those Eevee?" Max said with wide eyes. "Your eggs hatched?"

"Yep!" Shelly said with a grin. "Aren't they cute? Mine's name is Crystal, Gabri's is Lily, and Dani's is Midnight." She pointed to each Pokemon in turn.

"That's so cool," May said. Her eyes landed on the dark Pokemon. "Is Umbreon going to help train them?"

"That's right," Gary said proudly. "He's been with me a long time, and he has a lot of experience." He smiled fondly at the memories.

"Do you mind if I let my Glaceon help as well?"

"No, that would be great," Dani said.

"Hey," said Max, "I can get one of my Pokemon to help, and we can split up in groups of three to get some personal training done."

"We can switch it up later so the Eevee can learn from all three Pokemon," May added.

"Sounds good to me," Shelly said. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Dani, let's train together first." Gary grabbed hold of Dani's arm and pulled her away before anyone could protest. Shelly felt irritated as she watched them.

"Shelly, you can train with me," May said.

Shelly snapped back to reality. "Ok." She forced a smile.

"That leaves you with me!" Max said to Gabri.

The three groups spread out across the field. Mo and Dragon slept near their backpacks while their trainers worked with their Eevee. May's Glaceon helped out Crystal for awhile before their trainer's spoke to each other.

"Shelly, is something wrong?" May asked in concern as the Pokemon took a break.

"I'm fine," Shelly said, looking away. Her gaze fell on Dani and Gary, and she frowned.

"Did you have a fight with Dani?"

Shelly glanced at her and hesitated. "Not really. I just don't like how close she and Gary seem to be getting."

May smiled. "Oh, I get it. You're jealous."

Shelly flushed. "I am not!" At her friend's skeptical look, she sighed. "Ok, maybe I am. What do you think I should do? I don't know how to get Gary to notice me, and I don't know how to stop Dani from being around him. She says she doesn't like him that way, but I think she may be oblivious to her own feelings."

May appeared thoughtful. "That is possible." She frowned slightly. "I don't know what it's like to have a sister, but I don't think you should be fighting over a guy. If Dani does like Gary and he likes her, then you should let them be together."

"Maybe you're right," Shelly mumbled. "But if Gary ends up liking me more, Dani should do the same for me, right?"

"Yes. Gary is not committed to anyone right now, so I don't see anything wrong in showing him that you're the one he should be with. Just don't hurt your sister in the process."

Shelly nodded. "That sounds good. I just have trouble talking to Gary. It's awkward being around a guy I like."

"You can talk to him while you train together today! I'm sure it will get easier with time."

"I hope so."

"Let's switch now!" Gary called out.

May smiled at Shelly. "Go get him."

Shelly smiled back at her."I'll try my best." She picked up Crystal and walked over to Gary. She still felt nervous around her, and she willed herself to be calm. "Hello."

"Hi, Shelly," Gary said brightly. "Is your Eevee ready to train?"

"I think so." She set Crystal down in front of Umbreon. She hoped they would both do well today.

It turned out that training was a good way for Shelly to be comfortable around Gary. She talked to him a little bit and was pleased with the attention he gave her. She was disappointed when it was time to move on. She passed Dani as she made her way over to Max and his Sewadle.

Meanwhile, Dani approached May with Midnight. "Hi!" she greeted her friend.

"HI. How's it going?"

"Good." Dani set her Eevee on the ground. Midnight stepped up to Glaceon and sniffed her curiously. "We saw Drew in Castelia City the other day."

May's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? Did you talk to him?"

Dani nodded. "We hung out, actually. We had a battle, and he helped Luke evolve into a Charizard. Luke gave us both a ride in the sky, and later he helped me win my gym battle with Drew watching."

"You got him to watch your battle? How did you get him to stick around so long?"

She shrugged. "I know how to get to him."

"Oh. You two seem close." She seemed almost sad as she glanced at her Pokemon.

"I'm sure you could do the same," Dani said, giving her an encouraging smile. "I'm just good at intuitively understanding people. I'm sure he'll open up to you if you don't give up on him. I don't think he wants you to..."

May looked at her with shock. "Really?"

Dani smiled and nodded. "Sure. He cares about you more than you think."

May smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, Dani. I won't give up on him." She looked at the little Eevee. "Now let's train!"

Dani grinned. "Great idea."

The training sessions soon came to a close. Shelly and Gary volunteered to cook lunch while everyone else relaxed and played in the field. Later on, May and Max had to head their own way. Dani, Shelly, and Gabri continued to train their Eevee. They were excited about what the future might bring.


The group arrived in Eindoak City five days later. Everyone was in awe of the beauty of the former majestic kingdom. Unfortunately, they all had some training to do before they could explore. After resting up for a day, the girls split off to train separately while Gary headed out to stock up on supplies.

Gabri found a small park with few people around to practice. She would be having her second gym battle soon, and she wanted to make sure her Pokemon were prepared. She decided to start with Dragon. "Show me your Ember!" she said in a commanding voice.

Tepig took a deep breath and then shot out small bits of fire from his nose. When he was finished, he turned around and looked at his trainer proudly.

"Not bad... for a beginning," said a male voice.

Gabri turned in surprise to see a boy not much older than herself watching her. He had dirty blonde hair that fell along his face and grey eyes that seemed to pierce through her. He wore an orange jacket covering a dark sweatshirt, his arms crossed.

"We are beginners," she said with a small frown. Dragon watched him skeptically.

"I hope you're not planning on challenging gyms with that thing," the boy said as he let his arms fall to his side as he waltzed toward her. "I bet he couldn't even beat an ice type."

Gabri usually remained calm, but like her eldest sister, when her Pokemon were insulted, she had to defend them. "I bet he could! We've already won one gym battle, just so you know."

The boy raised his eyebrows. "And did you win on your first try?"

Gabri faltered. "No, it was my second, but that was my first gym battle!"

The boy shook his head and turned around. "Just as I thought. You won't last long here."

"Tepig Tepig!" Dragon said angrily. He took a battle stance against the boy.

"You only saw one attack," Gabri said hotly, "and we were just warming up. Wy don't you have a battle with me if you're so confident?"

"It would be a waste of my time."

"Or you're just scared."

The boy sighed and turned back around, a Pokeball in his hand. "Fine; I'll show you what a real battle looks like. Consider it my good deed for the day. Come on out, Vanillite!" He opened the Pokeball, and a white and blue ice type appeared.

Gabri's anger disappeared upon seeing the Pokemon, and her eyes grew wide. "An ice cream cone!" She grinned. She had to catch one of those!

The boy rolled his eyes. "You really are a kid. I'll let you go first."

Gabri pushed her admiration away. She had to show this guy how strong she had become! "Ok, Dragon, use Ember!"

"Dodge and use Icicle Spear!" the boy called.

Dragon stood his grand and shot out a series of small fire balls. The Vanillite moved out of the way while he was in the air. He then floated above the Tepig and caused shards of ice to rain down on him. Dragon cried out and ran around the field to escape from them, though a few of them managed to hit him.

Gabri could see that she was going to have problems since her opponent could float in the air. She wished she was better at coming up with strategies like her sisters. Her mind sifted through all the moves available to her. "Dragon, use Tail Whip and then Ember!"

"Blizzard!" said the boy.

Dragon moved his curly tail back and forth while Vanillite blew out a lot of snow. The snow covered the field, making the Pokemon invisible. Dragon aimed his attack, but he was the only one who ended up hurt.

"Fine. Try Flame Charge." This one had to work.

"Ice Shard."

Dragon could see the Vanillite through the snow, so he stomped in place until he became covered in flames. He then raced forward. At the same time, Vanillite shot out a sharp spear made of ice. Dragon was hit by the spear as he jumped in the air, but he was too late to stop his attack. Vanillite was unable to get out of the way, so he was finally struck.

"Good job," Gabri said happily. "Now Ember."

"Dodge and use Ice Beam," said her opponent.

Vanillite was able to dodge the Ember attack by flying out of the way. He then aimed an Ice Beam at the Tepig, freezing him in place.

Gabri's eyes widened in horror. "No! Use Ember to get free!"

The boy smirked. "Blizzard."

Dragon's eyes moved frantically, but there was nothing he could do. Vanillite set forth another Blizzard attack. The snowy winds knocked Dragon into the air and caused him to crash on the ground. The ice broke into pieces, but the Tepig had fainted.

"Dragon!" Gabri cried. She ran forward and scooped him up in her arms. She spun around when she saw something flash in her direction. The boy held a teal digit camera. "Did you take a picture of us?"

"Yes," he replied. "I like to document my battles." He turned towards his Pokemon. "Good work, Vanillite." He returned him to his Pokeball before glancing back at Gabri. "Like I expected. You need a lot of practice."

Gabri blushed and glanced at the ground. "Yeah, well, I'll work on it." She watched in surprise was the boy started to leave. "Hey, you're just leaving?"

"There is nothing more for me here. Battling was all I was interested in."

Gabri frowned. This guy seemed like someone in between the personality of Paul and Drew. He was not sure if she liked it. "Are you a new trainer? Are you battling gyms to enter the Unova league?"

He stopped in his tracks. "I have already entered the Unova League, and I did not accomplish my goal. I am training until I can enter again."

"Oh." She wondered why he didn't go onto another region like many other trainers, but he was already walking away. She then realized she forgot something important. "Hey! What's your name?"

"Trip."

"My name's Gabri."

He waved his hand in acknowledgement, and then he was out of sight.