A/N: Ah! I'd nearly forgotten. The promised extra chapter. Here you go!

Thank you to no one for reviewing! I didn't give anyone any time, it seems. Except for, you know, a day.

Title: Another Kind of Battle

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Friendship/Adventure

Warnings: AU

Summary: 'An Amestrian battle is different from a battle in any other region. For one thing, a human battles right alongside their pokemon.' 'There were three requirements to be a State Alchemist. First, you had to pass the State Alchemist exam. Second, you had to have at least three pokemon. And third, you had to get the first four gym badges.' (Follows Ed through his Pokemon journey and then skips ahead to a post-2003 anime AU. Post-Hoenn Ash in later chapters.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, would I really be here right now? Or Pokemon, for God's sake.

"I'm still not sure I've thanked you enough," Vivianne admitted, standing just outside her door while Annie hugged each of the boys tightly.

Ed smiled at her awkwardly and laughed. "Don't worry, ma'am, really. Anyone would have done it."

Vivianne smiled fondly. "Perhaps," she allowed. "But they didn't. You did." She brightened. "Oh, I know! I'll be right back."

She turned and ducked into the house. Riolu tilted his head curiously, and Ed and Al stared after her in puzzlement.

Annie's eyes, though, widened. "Ooh!" she breathed, bouncing excitedly. "Ooh, I know!" She turned and beamed up at Ed. "You're really gonna like this, Ed, promise!"

Ed tilted his head at her curiously. "Like what?" he frowned.

Annie, bursting with excitement though she was, didn't get a chance to answer – Vivianne returned, and in her arms, she cradled a large, brown pokemon egg.

Ed's eyes widened and Al gasped. Ed held his hands up defensively. "Uh, no, I really can't take that-" He'd feel unbearably guilty.

"Don't you like it?" Annie asked, eyes round and upset. Ed winced.

"Oh, please do," Vivianne pleaded. "You'd be doing me a favor, really. One of my Eevees had an egg with a wild pokemon, but clients are so particular about having pure Eevees, though I can't imagine why. Please?"

"Uh…" Ed stared at it uncertainly. Then he looked at her again, gold eyes wary. Finally, he smiled. "Alright. If you're sure."

"I'm certain," Vivianne assured him, holding it out with a grateful smile.

Ed took it in careful hands, praying that his automail wouldn't do any harm to it. He looked up at Al, who gave him a warm look, and then back down to the egg. Then he cradled it carefully in his arms and smiled at Vivianne. "Thanks."

"It was nothing," Vivianne claimed. She smiled at Annie. "Say goodbye, Annie."

Annie waved at them, smiling. "Goodbye, Ed! Goodbye, Al! Goodbye, Riolu!"

All three of them waved back, and then they turned and went on their way.

At some point during the walk, Al let all of his pokemon out, and Ed followed suit.

That left Eevee striding confidently practically under Al's feet, somehow managing not to get in the way. Plusle sat on Al's shoulder, and Togepi cuddling in the crook of his arm. Minun sat on one of Ed's shoulders, Riolu strode beside him, and the egg sat carefully cradled in his arms.

"We'll have to get a carrier for that," Al commented to Ed, looking at the egg. Eevee crooned in agreement, brown eyes intent on the Eevee egg. Ed had to chuckle. Soon she'd have a friend.

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "We can probably find one in East City." He frowned. "I don't know much about pokemon eggs."

"I do!" Al said eagerly. Ed smiled up at his little brother. Of course he did; he wanted to be a breeder. "The books say that you need to keep them warm, and they'll hatch when they're ready. And then you can't put them in a pokeball for six weeks, and can't start training them for eight."

Ed nodded thoughtfully. "Alright." He looked at the egg uncertainly. "You sure you don't want it, Al?"

Al laughed. "Don't be silly, brother. It's yours."

Ed chuckled ruefully. "Yeah…"

Riolu huffed up at Ed, smiling, and Ed shrugged.

"Minu," Minun said proudly.

"Plusle," Plusle agreed happily. "Plus plus lusle!"

"Miiii nun!" Minun chirped

"Togepi?" Togepi squirmed out of Al's grip and hopped fearlessly over to Ed, who freaked out as the little guy nearly fell off. "Toge togeprrri?" Togepi was gazing curiously at the egg.

"It's a pokemon egg, Togepi," Al explained gently. "Like yours, but it hasn't hatched yet. When it does, it'll be a little Eevee."

"Togeprrrri," cooed Togepi, awestruck eyes on the large egg. "Toge togeprrri!"

Al laughed. "You'll be great friends," he said with certainty.

Ed laughed, too, smiling up at his little brother. The smile faded as he watched Plusle snuggle up to cold metal, Al not even noticing until he looked.

Abruptly, Ed sped up. "C'mon, the faster we are, the sooner we can get to East City!" he said confidently, looking over his shoulder.

Al sighed. "I knew his patience couldn't last for long," he muttered, catching up.

"Alright, Riolu," Ed said confidently, striding forward. "You'll be working on Quick Attack some more. I want you to be able to attack a tree from the one next to it. Let me know when you can smash the bark in."

Riolu huffed and nodded, darting over to a tree and climbing up. As Ed watched, Riolu focused on the other tree and sprang at it, attempting to give it a strong enough Quick Attack to dent it.

Ed looked down at Minun and smiled. "I'll be working with you again, Minun. Your Tackle's a lot better now, so we'll be working on your electricity."

Minun's ears sparked and she gave him a worried look. He waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it, Minun. I'm used to it from Teacher's Luxray – he shocked me all the time. Alright, Spark."

Minun didn't hesitate, charging up a strong Spark and releasing it straight at him. He cringed – it hurt more than he'd expected, even accounting for his automail.

When it stopped, he paused for a moment, resisting the urge to rub his shoulder port. "Not bad," he told Minun with a grin. "Again, stronger."

Minun's eyes narrowed. "Min, min, min, min… Min!" She shocked him hard and he flinched, eyes closing for a short moment. When he opened them again, Minun looked worried.

"Again," he panted out. Ow. Metal and electricity really didn't mix.

Minun looked reluctant, but she obeyed. "Min min min… Min!"

For the briefest moment, Ed blacked out. When he came to, both his pokemon were leaning over him, worried, and Al was fretting just above them, soulfire eyes wide.

"I'm fine," Ed rasped, pushing himself up. "That… that was good, Minun."

"Minu," Minun said reluctantly.

"You are not fine!" Al said fiercely, Plusle peeking concernedly over his shoulder. "No more of that, brother! You're hurting yourself!"

Ed winced as he stood up, gingerly putting weight on his automail leg. "Maybe you have a point," he conceded reluctantly. Riolu huffed up at him, frowning. "Yeah, yeah," Ed sighed, smiling reluctantly. "Okay, so enough of that. Riolu, do you mind sparring with Minun a little? Let her use her electricity."

Riolu, still looking at him worriedly, nodded quickly. Then, deciding Ed was good enough, he backed up a little and looked at Minun.

Minun looked less convinced, but she, too, backed up, and growled a challenge at Riolu.

Riolu hissed and darted forward, moving fast – working on Quick Attack like Ed had asked him to before, Ed noted. Ed watched as Minun aimed shock after shock at him, undeterred by her misses, frowning all the while.

"It's not a weakness, brother," Al told him, knowing what he was thinking without even needing to ask. "It's like hitting a grass type with a fire type move. You can't help it."

Ed sighed. "Yeah, I guess," he said reluctantly. "But I'll have to work on that. Minun's not even battle-trained yet and she took me down in three shots."

"You're getting those boots, right?" Al asked encouragingly. "Those'll do fine, Ed."

"Yeah…" Ed still looked doubtful. Then he looked up at Al and smiled halfheartedly. "One more thing for the list, right, Al? What's it up to now?"

"Rubber-soled boots, an egg carrier, potions, and food for the next part of the journey," Al provided helpfully.

Ed nodded to himself. "Yeah, that sounds about right." He looked up at Plusle and smiled. "Sound right to you?"

Plusle chirped and nodded in agreement. Ed grinned.

"That's alright, then."

Their first night outside, the sky was clear and the stars were shining. Ed took the opportunity to skip the makeshift tent entirely and laid on his back, hands beneath his head, staring up at the stars.

"That's one of the things I'll have to buy," he said ruefully. "A sleeping bag and a tent. Guess I'll need a compression cube too, huh, Al?"

"Yeah," Al said softly, head tilted back to look at the night sky. "Go to sleep, brother. I'll make a list of what we'll need, okay?"

"Yeah," Ed echoed quietly, closing his eyes. Riolu, curled up against his side, crooned and closed his, too.

So there! Another chapter. Next'll be in a while. By the way, if anyone's interested, I've got a new pure Pokemon fanfic out now, been working on the idea for a while. It's a variation of Pokeraised!Ash, which is a personal favorite of mine. It's called Notes in a Melody and only the first chapter is out, but the next two (the rest of it, in other words) is finished, as is the first two chapters of the next part in the series and the plans for the last part. Thanks for reading and please review!