Pokemon then, Pokemon now, Pokemon forever

One would expect the two to hit a wall as soon as they said "Hi". She was a ninja, he was a birdkeeper and as far as conversations were concerned they were always arguing; sports, Pokemon tactics, ideals and how to effectively run a Gym, and in particular, their fathers and a comparison of superiority. Their conversation had even escalated to a point where the manager of the Celadon Department Store told them to get out and come back when they acted like their ages and assigned ranks as Gym Leaders. This led to their thorough embarrassment and a mutual truce between their bickering, for the most part. A casual bystander would assume that their bickering was the only reason why they interacted in the first place and after that died they would go their separate ways and never see each other, save for the Gym Leader conventions and region conferences held every year. However, that bystander would soon learn they had a lot more in common then he or she would come to think.

As a ninja she had experience with types other than Poison types. She also raised Pokemon that were adaptable, fast, and practical as well as for Pokeathlon competitions and Contests and for show. She had dealt with every type under the sun from Normal to Dragon and also had experience with the Pokemon from the Safari Zone, a childhood favorite that she always visited. Even to this day she drops by Cianwood every now and again just to enjoy the park. He had learned from his father that while Bird Pokemon were the epitome of beauty and grace and power they were also susceptible to many of the other types. As a Gym Leader he felt it his duty to study and learn and be prepared for anything that would dare harm his precious Pokemon. He also learned that the majority of dual-typed Pokemon were Flying-types and the only one undiscovered was a Flying and Fighting type. He began raising different types from Skarmory to Pelliper, Braviary to Honchkrow and even ones that didn't look like birds; Tropius, Gyarados, Crobat, Charizard, even a Dragonite.

On those rare occasions where they did stop and chat it would usually turn to Pokemon, types inside and outside of their specialty as well as Trainer gossip. How awesome a Gyarados was (battling or otherwise), how a Dunsparce looked so quirky, how cool Jasmine's Steelix was and how they wished to one day battle the Kanto-Johto Champion, Red. They even agreed when they conversed about their main types. She agreed that the adrenaline you experience while on the back of a Pidgeot was indescribable, Skarmorys were not only vicious but also practical especially when you had a weapon shortage, and that flappers far outsped gliders despite what Professors said. He agreed that the toxin found in Crobats was adept for quick matches, Arboks were the bane of Bird Pokemon and also a threat towards people as well, and the potency of a Muk varied depending on how filthy the water and its surroundings.

These conversations triggered a spark of friendship between the two and the meetings that were originally so sporadic transformed into almost weekly get togethers that lasted throughout the day. She would take off Monday afternoon and he would take off Saturday morning and they would spend the day chatting about Pokemon, recent challengers, Gym Leader and Trainer gossip and even their Gyms and one day by some unspoken, mutual agreement they had a friendly match. A one-on-one which resulted in half of the Saffron Fighting Dojo being blown to bits and both of them charged with destruction of public property and a hefty fine.