The next chapter! The two split up now, but they will kep in touch by calling each other often. Remember that my pal, Flint-Flareon has the other side.

Chapter 3, Reignta Jet Side

Riku kept silent on his walk to the next town. He felt a little sad since he would definitely miss his hometown and all he left there. Riku was glad to escape Jasmine, but as much as he hated to admit it, he would eventually begin to miss her as well. One thing he knew was that he wouldn't be coming back for long time.

The path Riku, Dash, and Slasher walked was filled with lush, tall grass, plenty of trees, and among other things found in grassy areas such as this one. Dash and Slasher were talking but Riku was to distracted by thoughts of the next town to notice.

"Okay, so rule number one..." Dash said to the orange salamander pokemon beside him. "I'm top dog - er, pokemon around here." The young Eevee said in a bossy tone.

Slasher decided to protest against this, since he thought of it as unfair. "Hey, I'm just as you -"

Dash cut him off abruptly since he wasn't paying attention to Slasher in the least. "Rule number two: If Riku catches anymore Pokemon," which Dash hoped he wouldn't. "I'm the leader of us all." Dash said while trying to maintain a firm tone.

"What!" Slasher cried out in anger. "There is no leader! Riku's the trainer and that's it!" he snapped.

"Says you!" Dash snapped back and started growling, while showing fangs.

After seeing how much Dash bites Riku, this started to scare Slasher a little. "Your too vicious for an Eevee! I though Eevee's were supposed to be gentle..." Slasher said and tried to ignore Dash's teeth as the small fox pokemon growled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dash said angrily and took a threatening step forward.

Realizing that had just made him angrier, Slasher backed up and gulped.

"Alright guys, chow time!" Riku said happily as he found a good spot for a break. He sat down and reached into his backpack for something to eat. His faced turned from happy to fearful as he couldn't anything in the backpack besides fruits and vegetables that his mom had packed for him.

"Where's all the food? These are just plants!" Riku shouted and dumped enough carrots, apples, bananas, oranges and other fruits and vegetables out of the bag to keep any Snorlax satisfied. Since he disliked fruits are vegetables, he had stopped at eating them, along with forgetting they're edible. "I'm going to starve!...No nachos, pie...not even a bit of candy..."

Dash and Slasher stared wide-eyed at the hoard of food that lay on the ground before them.

"Slasher...tonight, we feast!" Dash said happily.

"Tonight? How bout right now!" He said and just as they were about to dive into the food, then, Riku remembered.

"Oh yeah! I forgot... this crud is eatable!" Riku shouted suddenly.

Dash, who was now used to his trainer's lack of common sense decided to let this one pass and enjoy the meal. As they ate, Riku would've eaten an apple since they're one of the very few fruit he actually enjoys. But every time his hand went anywhere near one, Dash let him know to leave them be with a growl. After they finished, Riku decided to pack up what was left so they could get going. He froze after hearing the sound of footsteps running. He spun around quickly to see a young boy standing in front of him. He wore a dark blue hat covering wild brown hair, a light blue shirt, with dark blue jeans and sneakers.

"Hey you! You're a Pokemon Trainer right?" The kid shouted and pointed at Riku, even though they were about two feet apart.

Riku shot the loudmouthed kid a glare. "What's your problem? Your shouting like a complete idiot!" Riku said, unaware he was shouting now as well.

The kid payed no attention to him whatsoever. "You have cool looking pokemon, I want to battle you!" The kid declared and started pointing again.

Riku's expression lit up. "Yeah! Now I remember! When I kick your butt, you have to fork over your cash!" Riku said after remembering how trainers earn their money.

The kid sweat dropped. "You'll never defeat me!" the kid declared again in a annoying pitch.

"Yeah, yeah..." He said and ignored the kid to talk to Dash and Slasher. "Okay, you two win this, and I promise you both the biggest apples I can find!" He said and hoped it would motivate them. It worked as both Dash and Slasher agreed and then got themselves ready to battle.

"Perfect timing, I've been itching for a fight!" Dash said and growled while leaning down a little. As if he was a loin about to pounce.

"Why does that not surprise me...?" Slasher said and shook his head. "Well at least you can put your viciousness to good use now!" Slasher smiled, trying to get on Dash's good side, for safety reasons.

"...I'll swear I'll get you if you call me vicious again." Dash threatened.

"Okay, sure...whatever you say.." Slasher said through a grin.

"Okay let's get started!" The kid said again as both trainers took places a good distance away from each other and prepared for a fight.

"Slasher, let's get going!" He said and Slasher took his spot on the battlefield, tail blazing wildly from excitement.

"A Charmander...okay, I choose, Taillow!" The kid said and threw a PokeBall into the field. After the red flash faded, a small blue bird pokemon, with red face feathers, and white feathers on it's belly.

Riku glared. "One of those things stole my sandwich I had for lunch before..." He said and pulled out his PokeDex, he hadn't the slightest clue how to use it, so he was glad all he had to do was turn it on and point it at the bird.

"Taillow: The tiny Swallow Pokemon. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokemon will defiant even after a loss. On the other hand, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry." It explained.

"Yeah, whatever." He said and put his PokeDex away. "Let's go! Slasher, use Scratch!" Riku ordered.

Slasher ran up to Taillow and swung his claws at the tiny bird. Due to it's size and speed, it was able to avoid the attack without taking on any damage at all.

"Nice job Taillow! Now use Peck!" The kid shouted with grin.

Taillow flew behind Slasher and started to bring it's beck down at the back of Slasher's head repeatedly. Slasher tried to swat it away but true to it's rep, it stood it's ground and attacked without fear.

"Too fast...It'll avoid scratch...we need a distraction..." He thought before he got an idea after seeing how close Taillow was to Slasher's tail flame. "Slasher, heat things up a little with your tail flame!"

Slasher got the idea and decided to use anger to flare up the flame. He used the thought of the Taillow pecking at his head for fuel. His tail flame burned brighter as Slasher got angrier and singed some of Taillow's feathers as it backed away with a yelp.

"Now Slasher, Scratch!" Riku shouted as soon as he saw the chance.

Slasher quickly swung a claw at the bird pokemon as his nails scratched it's side and it fell to the ground unconscious.

"Awww...Taillow lost..." The kid said in a disappointed tone then returned his Taillow to it's ball in a red flash.

"One down! We can keep this up all day!" Riku said with a smirk.

"You won't need to, I'm finishing it!" The kid shouted out of anger and drew another PokeBall. "Get 'em, Zig! He called and released a small raccoon like Pokemon with brown and cream colored fur in a zigzag pattern, the same pattern was on it's tail as well. One of it's most notable features was that around it's eyes was covered with black fur, making it look as if it were wearing a mask.

"And Dex say's..." Riku said and pulled out the PokeDex once more.

"Zigzagoon: The Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. Zigzagoon restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This Pokemon does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anyting it happens to see." Said the Dex.

"Right then. Slasher, that's enough for today." He said to the lizard pokemon that was rubbing his head where it had been pecked at countless times. Slasher nodded and headed back towards Riku. "Dash, let's go!"

"Yes! I was waiting for this..." Dash said as he ran to his position on the battlefield and prepared to fight.

"Okay! Zig, use Growl!" The kid shouted.

Zigzagoon immediately started to growl viciously and showed some teeth. Instead of getting scared or backing down, Dash returned the Growl with one of his own.

"Sorry kid, Dash doesn't scare that easily." Riku said, proud of Dash for his fearlessness. "Dash, Tackle!"

Dash bolted forward and sets his sights on the Raccoon in front of him.

"You use Tackle too, Zig!" The kid countered as Zigzagoon dashed forward as well. Both Pokemon hit head on, Dash, being the smaller pokemon, was pushed back though he skidded along the grass with his paws to maintain balance.

"Good Zig! Now tackle again!" The kid ordered once more.

Zigzagoon charged straight for Dash in a zigzagging pattern, making it very hard to track it's movements.

"Watch it carefully Dash!" Riku shouted quickly to his Eevee. Dash nodded and payed close attention to which way Zigzagoon was charging, it served from left to right during the charge before approaching Dash from the right. Dash's tracking payed off as he rolled left just barely avoid the attack. "Awesome! Now use counter with Tackle!"

Dash quickly charged for Zigzagoon while kicking up some dirt behind it. He slammed as hard as he could into Zigzagoon from behind as it sent the raccoon pokemon rolling a good distance away.

"Zig! Are you okay?" The kid cried out to his Pokemon.

While Zigzagoon was down, Riku decided to take advantage of that since the trainer was distracted as well. Riku made a gesture with his hand to Dash to sneak behind their furry opponent. Dash understood and nodded with a devious grin as he snuck behind the unsuspecting raccoon who was still on the ground. Zigzagoon finally stood up a little tired and shaken from the attack. It looked straight ahead and expected to see Dash up ahead, so of course it got confused to where he was. Before anyone could say or do anything, Dash threw himself into Zigzagoon again from behind. Zigzagoon was knocked to the ground again but this time decided to stay down.

"Yes!" Riku shouted while putting a fist into the air and bringing it down in a victory pose. "Way to go Dash!" He congratulated. The small fox expressed it's joy by leaping up and down. Slasher let out a few happy cries as he joined in on the celebration.

The kid stared at the ground in disappointment. He wiped at his face before returning his Zigzagoon to it's ball in a red flash. "Here! Take your dirty money!" The kid shouted and threw cash on the ground and ran off.

Riku would've felt sorry for him, but there was no room for that with how happy he was. "Cool! I'm rich!" He shouted and literally dived for the money. He counted it before his happiness turned to anger. "Four bucks? All he left was four bucks!" He shouted out of rage.

Dash and Slasher stared in confusion. "What's four bucks?" Dash finally asked.

Slasher just shrugged, showing he didn't have the slightest clue.

Afterwards, they all decided to take another break since it was starting to get late as the sun started to go down. They decided to set up camp in a clearing with just a few rocks that were to big to move though they didn't mind.

"Great job out there you two." Riku congratulated once more. Dash and Slasher just smiled proudly. "As promised you two get - what?" Riku shouted as he turned to get his backpack for the apples, only to find that a small grey dog had it clenched in it's teeth. "Drop it mutt!" Riku shouted to the small dog pokemon that was attempting to steal his Bag. Dash and Slasher jumped in front of Riku and prepared for another fight.

"You might want to drop that if you know what's good for you..." Dash threatened and began to Growl and show teeth.

"I'm hungry, and there's food in this bag. I can smell it." The Poochyena said through the bags strap. "Besides, it's not like a furball like you can stop me." It said, unaware how much Dash hated being called that. Dash was about to go wild and start a vicious assault on the dog before Slasher cut in.

"I can take him." He said with a look of determination in his eyes.

"No way!" Dash protested. "I'm taking him down! This losers mine!"

Riku saw them arguing and was pretty sure he knew what it was about. "Dash, you got to take on the Zigzagoon. Let Slasher have a turn." He said.

"What?" Dash shouted, even though Riku couldn't understand Pokemon language, he was pretty sure what he said.

"Don't worry buddy, you can get the next one." He said and while petting Dash on the head, putting on a cheerful smile.

Dash grumbled something as Slasher charged for the Poochyena and took a swing with his Scratch attack. Thrown off by the sudden attack, the Poochyena had no other choice but to drop the bag as it dodged just in time to avoid a hit. It followed up it's dodge with a tackle attack and knocked Slasher off his feet and onto the ground. Dash saw that Poochyena left the bag unguarded and bolted over to retrieve it. Poochyena noticed what Dash was doing and tried to stop him, but Slasher cut him off with a Scratch attack to the face as it fell to the ground.

"All clear Dash!" Slasher called, grinning from a victory he was certain they had.

"Yeah, yeah..." Dash replied and grabbed the bag. He was still upset about Riku choosing him for the fight. The Poochyena realized he was outnumbered and what he wanted was out of his reach now. He decided to follow his instincts and ran away while he still had the chance.

"The little thief..." Riku said out of anger before bending down to claim his bag from Dash.

"Thanks guys. Good work." He said to them both and checked the bag for anything missing. "Okay...everything's here. Let's set up camp and then eat some dinner." Riku said. Dash and Slasher agreed happily since neither of them had eaten since before the battle.

After a minute or two, things were set up for the night. The sleeping bag was set and since they had nothing to cook really, Riku had Slasher use his claws to make two different salads: one vegetable, one fruit. Riku decided to let his pokemon eat the fruit salad while he ate the vegetable one, regardless how much he hated it.

"This stuffs disgusting...I don't get why Jasmin and Mom eat it...he said and took another bite. While they were eating, he heard a ringing noise which startled him. "What the? Oh yeah, that PokeNav thing.." He said and pulled it out. Too bad he had no clue how to use it.

He pressed a few buttons before becoming frustrated. There was a clicking noise, but Riku didn't hear it. "Come on, work ya stupid thing!" He shouted while trying to use his PokeNav.

"What? Riku, It's me Chase." He heard Chase's voice come from the PokeNav.

"Huh? Oh, hey Chase! What's up?" He greeted after he realized the PokeNav was on somehow.

"Not much, just thought I'd call see how your first day on your own went." Chase said.

"Nothing really. We had to beat this trainer, then a crazed Poochyena attacked us," Riku explained, remembering the kid, and the thief of a Poochyena they had faced today.

"I faced a trainer too, not only that, but a third member joined my party!" Chase said.

"What? Who?" Riku asked out of surprise.

"I got a Houndour!" He heard Chase say happily.

Riku was stunned, his best friend caught a Houndour and he didn't have anything new at all. He didn't want to sound pathetic, so he used the first thing he could think up. "Well...I um..." He stammered still thinking. " I found a...a Snorlax!" He said from panic. "Yeah, a Snorlax that's it..."

"You always use the Snorlax when your bluffing, I figured that out years ago, Riku." Chase said, he called out Riku's bluff easily.

"...Uh, I'm not bluffing! He was in...a shoe store!" Riku continued, beginning to get a little desperate.

"...Give it up Riku, I know you too well." Chase said.

"Look I'll...let him talk to you!" Riku said, he went over to Dash who was enjoying the last bit of the fruit salad there was left. "Dash, I need you to act like a Snorlax. Act sleepy!" He said and put the PokeNav near Dash. Dash threw him a funny look then heard Chase's voice through the PokeNav.

"Yes, Hello Dash." Chase greeted. Ignoring Riku's request for a Snorlax act, Dash greeted Chase in his regular Eevee voice.

Riku saw this a mutiny. "Why you little..." he started then remembered Chase was still on the PokeNav. "Umm...Snorlax is sleep right now." Riku said, refusing to give up.

"Yeah right, if you had a Snorlax right now, I would be able to hear it snoring." Riku could tell by his tone he was starting to get annoyed.

Riku decided it was bout time to give up. "...Well ya blew it Dash." Riku accused Dash, Dash glared at Riku and started growling. Riku backed up, but Dash jumped on his shoulder and bit his ear. Riku started screaming in pain. He then heard laughter coming from the PokeNav. "Quite you!" He shouted with Dash still bitting him. "Dash, get off my ear! That hurts!" He shouted angrily as Dash finally decided to let go.

"Get a free piercing there Riku? Courtesy of Dash!" Chase said, Riku figured he must have found out where he bit him. "How many rings can you fit in your ear now?"

"Oh, I'll get you for this..." Riku said with a threatening tone in his voice. "Dash, bad boy! Down!" He said and Dash finally let go and dropped to the ground in front of him, a innocent smile on his face. Riku glared.

"Heh heh...nothing like some quality time with your pokemon right?" Chase said.

"Shut it..." Riku growled. "..Anyway, congrat's on the Houndour and all. Whatcha ya name it?" Riku asked before he heard a loud howl come from somewhere. He wasn't sure what it was, so he took a guess. "What the? Chase, run! Mightyenas!

"That was my Houndour, she seems to be happy about her new freedom." Riku heard Chase say. "Her name is Star."

"Oh...could've sworn that was a Mightyena...anyway, tell Star I said hello." Riku said but then Dash and Slasher added in with a few shouts. Riku figured out what they meant. "Slasher and the traitor here says hi too. And about Star, how did you get a Houndour? Where are you anyway!" He asked in confusion.

Dash was listening to the conversation, but got bored and decided to talk with Slasher. He walked over and saw that the Lizard Pokemon went back to eating. "Why are you still eating?" Dash asked.

"Easy, I'm still hungry." Slasher answered and went onto eating the next thing in sight. He picked up an Orange and peeled it in no time with his claws.

Dash looked around to see where the Apples were, but didn't see any. "Where's my apple Slasher? You know the one's Riku was rewarding us with!" He asked in a very threatening tone.

Slasher gulped. "I uh...don't know what your talking about...what apple?" Slasher said nervously.

Dash snapped. "You ate it didn't you?"

"N-No! I didn't!" Slasher said in defense and started to panic, he had just happened to see what happened to Riku and didn't want to get on Dash's bad side.

Dash growled viciously. "Liar!" He shouted and began to chase Slasher around.

"Well, it getting late, I'm gonna get off to bed now, Talk to ya later Riku." Chase said and Riku heard him yawn.

"Okay, see ya later Cha - no, Dash! No biting your teammates!" Riku shouted and hung up after seeing Dash bitting Slasher tail, avoiding the flame. Slasher was shouting in pain before Riku separated the two. "Dash, quit bitting everyone!" Riku told Dash.

"Yeah! That hurt!" Slasher added in.

"Quiet! This doesn't concern you, apple thief!" Dash shouted at Slasher angrily.

Riku decided to break it up before they could try to throttle each other. "That's it you two, bedtime!" Riku shouted and pointed to a spot near the sleeping bag.

Dash growled again. "This is all your fault!" He accused Slasher.

"You started it! You have anger issues!" Slasher snapped back.

"No I don't! You idiot!"

"Hothead!"

"Idiot!"

"HOTHEAD!"

"IDIOT!"

Riku had given up by now. He knew they weren't going to stop so he went over and got ready for bed.

After thing's finally calmed down, Riku was in his sleeping bag with Dash and Slasher right beside him. "You two are supposed to be a team. So that means you're both going to learn how to get along with each other.

Slasher nodded understandingly.

Dash didn't like the idea, but knew he didn't have much of a choice but agreed as well with a nod.

"Good. Anyway, you two did great today. Let's do just as good tomorrow!" Riku said in an encouraging tone.

Dash and Slasher agreed by crying out happily.

"Some did better than others..." Dash suggested with grin, purposely getting Slasher mad.

Slasher wanted to protest, but was to tired to do much of anything.

"Okay, well try to get some sleep guys. Good night you two." Riku said and started into the starry, night sky before finally falling asleep.