Author's Note:Wow! I bet you didn't expect to see me so soon! Just goes to show that I've still got it-I was beginning to feel insecure!

Reviews! First off, Liz, I appreciate the comments. It's really cool how you've stuck with this story, even though it's most likely taken you a time or two to figure out what I'm talking about. Actually, I've put a website on my Bio, that should help you. just go there and use the pokédex to find what you're looking for. Lunar Sphinx, thank you for your continued endorsement. You just keep coming back! And I still don't understand why! But nevermind that. PichuStar, I appreciate the encouragement. Your stories are fun to read, and I'm glad you feel the same about mine. Dannichu... I still wake up every now and then with Kadabra and Geraldine laughing at me in my dreams. It's wierd. Your stories are too much fun for words, and they always make me laugh. They're like Pokémon meets the Three Stooges, but they make less sense. Oh well, they're cool!

Anyways, this is a short chapter, but it's got some important stuff in it. Things like tactics, relationships, battles, and a very important name. So let's get started! Lights! Camera! Action!

Oh yeah, this is a TJ chapter, but May has a part at the end. I believe you'll be able to tell the difference. And this is also the first chapter where the Pokémon will begin to narrate.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Houenn, May, or any derivitave thereof. I do own
my character TJ.

Note:
"Speaking"
Thinking
Pokéspeak
Psychic conversations
Flashbacks
SHOUTING!

Chapter Eight:
Getting Their Feet Wet

TJ was really fairly good about the whole matter. He waited until he was forty minutes away from town, then he shouted at the top of his lungs. Skipper jumped fifteen feet in the air, and fell flat on his face. Ranger shook his head, strode over and righted him, and continued to walk.

Torchic shivered in annoyance, then ruffled his feathers. He and TJ still didn't know where they fit into the scheme of things. Obviously they loved each other, liked each other, razzed each other. But they didn't know where they stood within the family and with each other. Relations between the two were strained. It made Torchic uncomfortable just thinking about it.

Discomfort, however, wasn't enough to make him pass up a free ride. So when TJ had offered him "shotgun", also known as his shoulder, Torchic had hopped up without a seconds' hesitation and had gently dug his claws into TJ's shirt. He was now perched, eyes wide, effectively functioning as a crow's nest. Skipper was far ahead, as usual, and Ranger was right behind him, also as usual. Off to the left, about ten o'clock, a small group of Taillow were scratching around for Wurmple and berries. Torchic dismissed them; they were far too fast, and would fly away long before any of the Kanes could reach them. Here and there Wurmple munched on leaves, but Torchic forcefully ignored them. He was no more interested in climbing trees to battle than anyone else was.

OOOOOOOO

Far ahead, Skipper was jogging along merrily. He didn't understand why Ranger was so fussy, he was fine! He was having the time of his life! Everything was new and wonderful-Skipper had a new lease on life and he intended to squeeze every last cent from it. He was so happy to be outside, free, LOVED, that he almost missed the berry. Fortunately, his acute sense of smell alerted him to its presence, an overly large Pecha berry sitting about twenty-five yards to the side of the road. He didn't think twice, he just headed straight for the berry.

Ranger groaned inwardly. His nose was far more sensitive than Skipper's. He had picked up the scent of the berry...and the scent of its owner. He dashed off to keep Skipper from eating it, but Skipper had just as much of a bottomless pit as Torchic did. Ranger was too late. He snarled aloud.

"What? What did I do wrong?"

"Shush!" Ranger hissed forcefully. "Cover my back, there's something coming."

"Huh?"

"Cover my back!"

Ranger should have seen it coming, but he was a little preoccupied. Skipper tackled him for all he was worth. Ranger grunted angrily. "What was that for!"

"You said to cover your back, so I did! I'm right on top of it!"

Ranger growled. "You idiot, I said cover my back! As in, watch in the opposite direction!" Skipper looked confused. Ranger sighed. "For other pokémon?"

"Oohhh, I get it. Okay!"

OOOOOOOO

It was subtle, and Torchic almost didn't see it. His mood somewhere between annoyed bird and pissed-off fighter, he was scowling at the relatively barren fields, mentally kicking himself for avoiding the Taillow. Anything was better than just sitting on TJ's shoulder, waiting for something to happen. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a patch of grass swaying without any wind to sway it, and focused on it. Just when he had decided it was a fluke, it swayed again. Then whatever it was started moving, and Torchic was positive that it was stalking something. "TJ."

TJ stopped walking and looked at Torchic. "What?"

Torchic gestured. "Over there. Grass moving. Battle."

TJ nodded. "Kay...SKIPPER! RANGER!"

"YO!" Skipper popped up from the grass, about thirty feet from the unknown creature. The creature started slinking towards Skipper, and Torchic's gut twisted as he realized what it was stalking. "TJ..."

"I see it." TJ started jogging towards the spot where Skipper had popped up. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE! IS RANGER WITH YOU?" Skipper shouted his assent. "GOOD! TELL HIM TO WATCH OUT!"

Torchic nodded and turned his gaze back towards the two patches of swaying...waitta minute, two? No, wait, three... four... five... six... seven... "Uh, TJ?"

"Yeah?"

"Get your bat out."

TJ looked at him, confusion and a hint of worry on his face. "Why?"

Torchic surveyed the growing number of mysterious creatures who were steadily slinking up on Skipper and Ranger. "Cause you're gonna need it," he said.

He looked at the grass again, and clacked his beak unhappily. I have a bad feeling about this...

OOOOOOOO

Ranger's heart was pounding away on overload. While Skipper innocently stared at his half of their defensive circle, Ranger strained his six senses to locate their opponents. His sense of smell couldn't quite place what they were, which meant that he'd never seen one before. His ears could hear them sneaking up, but couldn't discern how many of them there were, or how big they were. His geosense was silent, so they weren't plants. That was all Ranger could figure out, and it wasn't enough. It was driving him crazy.

The rustling was getting louder. For a fleeting moment Ranger wondered if they could be negotiated with, perhaps a deal could be made? But his logical mind quickly dismissed that. He didn't know exactly how many there were out there, but there were enough to require more than one oversized Pecha berry for dinner. The berry wasn't dinner, it was bait to catch dinner. And it had reeled them in.

Off to his left, the grass rustled. Ranger instantly focused all his senses on a ninety-degree section, and he scanned intently for signs of life. In retrospect, he should have expected a pack of hunters to have a pack mentality, and attack commando-style, but it didn't occur to him until there was a snarl and a black form exploded from the grass behind him. Ranger's quick reflexes served him well, he managed to dodge the charge. But another black blur was already bearing down on Skipper. Ranger watched in slow motion as it slowly arced towards Skipper's exposed neck, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he couldn't stop it in time. Skipper squeaked in terror...

KONG!

Out of nowhere, TJ brought his bat flush onto the head of the thing. The creature yelped and collapsed at Ranger's feet, revealing itself to be a Poochyena. It twitched once and lay still, its breathing shallow. Torchic hopped down and formed one side of a triangle, with Skipper and Ranger aiding him and TJ in the middle.

TJ swung his bat in a circle. "Who wants a piece of this! Bring it!"

The pack of Poochyena slowly came into view. They were all keening, working themselves into a rage. They'd be dangerous in a minute.

"Hey! Pencildicks!" shouted Torchic. "Whatsa matter, get gyped by the gene pool? Aww, don't worry about it! No one wants your reject genetics anyway! Your pack's just a buncha pathetic losers! You couldn't take out a Spinarak! You suck!" He continued to rant, hopping about in place and puffing up his neck feathers.

Ranger looked askance at Torchic, and Skipper said, "have you gone totally nuts?" Torchic, however, was focused on TJ. TJ nodded.

As Torchic continued to taunt the pack, a curious thing occurred. Their anger was growing, expanding beyond rational thought, but they were reticent. Every time one of them tried to come closer, Torchic would increase in volume and focus on the individual, hopping over and shoving his beak in its face. Within minutes they were all severely confused.

All at once, the pack sat down. The force of their bottoms flattened the grass, and the Kanes could see their numbers, somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five. In unison they raised their snouts and howled keenly. Then they scooted back, flattening even more grass in the process. They scooted back until a loose circle was formed.

"Hah!" shouted Skipper. "Had enough boys!"

Torchic shook his head. His bad feeling had just intensified a hundredfold. He stopped taunting the pack.

Ranger swiveled his head to six o'clock. His sensitive hearing could just make out something crashing through the grass, something large. He grunted, then pointed in the direction of the sound. "Something's coming. That way."

In unison the Kanes spun their heads in the direction Ranger was pointing. It was faint at first, but the sound of grass parting and paws hitting dirt grew louder much too quickly for comfort. After about three minutes' waiting, there was a loud howl, and a large Mightyena jumped into the makeshift circle, growling.

"Easy guys," cautioned TJ, "he looks a lot stronger than they are."

Skipper sniffed disdainfully. "He's running a local Poochyena pack... How strong can he be?" And with that he charged. "HIIIIIYAAAAAAAH!" Skipper's charge lasted right up until the Mightyena slapped him back with one paw. He rolled all the way to TJ's feet, stood up drunkenly, and mumbled, "okay, maybe he's stronger than we thought."

The Mightyena growled, and glared at them. He walked up to them menacingly, tail held high, teeth bared, back arched.

"Skipper! Mud Slap! Ranger! Pound!"

Skipper sprayed the dirt at his feet with water, then splashed the new-formed mud in Mightyena's direction. It hit him directly in the head, rocks and clumps of soil bouncing off and mud hitting his eyes. He howled and began vigorously rubbing his face against his leg to rid it of mud. Right on cue, Ranger came flying in and slammed him with his tail. Mightyena fell over, but rolled back up again. His eyes were still full of mud, but he was fighting mad. He growled and charged Skipper. Skipper braced himself for impact, but Mightyena veered at the last moment and rammed Ranger. Ranger went flying and landed on his head. He stood, unsteadily, and wobbled his way back to the party. Mightyena turned and opened wide, attempting to Bite Skipper...

"Torchic! Scratch!"

from behind, Torchic leapt up and swiped at Mightyena with his feet. Shallow cuts appeared on his back, and Mightyena snarled in frustration.

"Skipper! Tackle!"

Skipper put his tiny weight into a full-body tackle. Mightyena shifted his stance, and Skipper missed. Before he had time to get back up, Mightyena clamped his teeth on Skipper's neck and shook sharply. Skipper squeaked in pain. Then Mightyena snapped his head to the side and released Skipper into the air. Skipper flew ten feet up, then came down to TJ's left.

"SKIPPER!"

TJ dashed to where Skipper lay and checked his vitals. He was still breathing, but out cold. He might have something broken. "Wrap it up guys! Skipper's hurt!"

Ranger snarled. Damn it, Skipper was his little brother! HIS responsibility! He charged at Mightyena. Mightyena swiped at him, but at the last second Ranger leapt over the paw and rolled underneath him. Landing on his back, he shot both feet straight up into Mightyena's diaphragm, causing him to huff and kneel down, wheezing for breath.

"Torchic! Ember!"

Torchic spewed small flames from his mouth, setting Mightyena's fur to smouldering. Mightyena wheezed a snarl, caught his breath, and stomped down hard on Ranger. Stoic to the end, Ranger merely grunted and struggled for a moment, then passed out from exhaustion. Mightyena snorted, then sprang over to Torchic and clamped his jaws down on his neck.

Torchic struggled to escape from Mightyena's sharp teeth and iron jaws. Outside, TJ was shouting something, but he couldn't hear it. With Mightyena's jaws squeezing his neck, it was getting hard to breathe. He was beginning to black out. No! It couldn't end like this! he dug his feet into Mightyena's lips, clenched his toes, and kicked. Hard.

Mightyena yelped. Torchic took the opportunity to escape from his mouth, and landed on his feet, wheezing. Blood was running down his neck from several moderately serious wounds, and he was having a hard time standing.

"TORCHIC! RETREAT!" shouted TJ.

Torchic shook his head violently. He could finish this! He wasn't going to give up! This was HIS battle! "NO WAY! I CAN TAKE HIM!"

TJ was about to order him to forget it when he noticed the look in his eyes. Torchic may have been a low level fire type, able to spew out only embers and cinders, but the fire burning in his eyes was hot enough to incinerate the sun itself. He wasn't going to stop fighting until he won or he died. He was a fighter, just like TJ had become.

"Okay," TJ sighed. "Take him out."

Torchic nodded sharply. He could do this! ...now if only he knew how! Mightyena was starting to calm down about the deep gashes in his mouth, was starting to get angry and focus on Torchic. Torchic had no idea what to do. His flames were too small and ineffective to burn such a hairy creature. If he could burn some unprotected flesh it might be enough to scare him off, but he didn't have any unprotected flesh. Well, except for one spot, but that was impossible to reach unless...

Unfortunately, Mightyena didn't give Torchic time to plan with TJ. Snarling loudly, he leapt towards Torchic, jaws open wide. Torchic did the only thing he could think of: he inhaled deeply.

Mightyena's snout clamped down hard on Torchic's neck. TJ cried out; there was no way Torchic could survive another round of strangling. At first his fears seemed confirmed, as Torchic's struggles became weaker and weaker. But suddenly, about a minute after biting, Mightyena's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. His muzzle convulsed with pain, and a few wisps of smoke escaped. He tried to spit Torchic out, but discovered that the little fire type had clamped himself to his jaws. He howled in pain and misery, and began panting shallowly. With his mouth open wider, more smoke poured out, and the glimmering of dozens of little fiery embers could be seen as the danced in his mouth and poured down his throat. Finally, Mightyena shook his head from side to side, trying to rid himself of the fiery pest. It took a good two minutes, but he managed to dislodge Torchic. He clamped his jaws shut, but not before TJ saw the myriad burns that littered his tongue. Howling quickly, he dashed off into the grass. The pack of Poochyena rumbled nervously. Then TJ stood with his bat held high. "You wanna run that little fiasco through AGAIN!" he shouted. The Poochyena eyed his bat. One yelped and ran. Like a dam breaking, the rest of the pack scrambled to get away.

TJ's mind barely registered the retreating wolves. His attention was focused on Torchic, who lay five feet away. TJ dashed over and knelt on the ground, examining him. He had some serious wounds on his neck, and they would need to be cleaned and bandaged, but he was still breathing, and still conscious. TJ was amazed that he had survived. He sighed with relief, and pulled out the materials needed to heal him.

OOOOOOOO

Skipper and Ranger were bickering about being careful. Ranger had woken up five minutes after the pack left, and Skipper had come to shortly after TJ finished bandaging Torchic. Miraculously, he had gotten away with just a nasty bruise on his neck. No one said it, but they all knew he could have been savaged like Torchic had been.

Skipper suddenly darted off to the side of the road. In unison, TJ and Ranger shouted, "SKIPPER! GET BACK HERE!"

Skipper reappeared. "What?"

"Dang it! That's what I've been talking about!" cried Ranger. "You can't just wander off! You need to stick with us, and check with me and TJ before doing anything! Otherwise we'll just get into trouble again!"

"But-"

"No buts! This is not a discussion, it's a lecture! You need to listen to me! Or you'll end up getting yourself hurt! And maybe someone else too! Like Torchi-" Ranger cut himself off, and he and Skipper looked up at Torchic.

Torchic was sitting inside TJ's pack. He had bandages all over his neck, and his eyes were closed. It looked like it hurt him to breathe.

TJ shook his head. "Okay guys, enough. First off, Skipper, I understand that you want to explore and run and enjoy life. But your carefree attitude got us into serious trouble, and almost killed Torchic. You need to exercise a lot more caution when you're running around. I think you need to stick by me for a while." He sighed, and sat on a nearby rock. "Second off: Ranger, lay off him. You've made your point, and you've gotten his mistake across to him. I know that I told you that you need to point out mistakes to your brothers, but you make them too. Now is the time to exercise one of the most awe inspiring qualities of God: forgiveness. Let the past be in the past, and forgive Skipper for his foolishness. And third off," TJ reached around and pulled Torchic from his pack. He set him on the ground before his feet, and looked him directly in the eye. "Torchic, you and I have had our disagreements in the past. Food seems to come between our friendship a lot. We haven't been the closest of family. For a while that frustrated me. I felt that I was failing you as a friend, a brother, a leader. But now I understand that we were fighting because we're a lot alike. We both have fiery determination, we both refuse to back down from a fight, we both believe in love and justice and all that is good. Torchic, you are a warrior, just like me. By your actions today you have proven that beyond a doubt. You are a warrior at heart, you are a warrior in deed, and from this point forward, as Skipper and Ranger are my witnesses," he gestured tothe two, who nodded subtlely, "you are a Warrior in name."

A hushed silence descended. To the Kanes, it felt like destiny had been foretold. Skipper and Ranger felt the same awe and joyous disbelief as when their own names had been given. Warrior felt tears of joy prickling at his eyes from the praise that TJ had just given him. And TJ felt a sense of greatness. They were destined to do great things, and now that they were all one big family, nothing could stand in their way.

Finally, TJ picked up Warrior and slipped him back in the pack. Standing abruptly, he said, "C'mon guys, let's get going."

And with that the four set off towards the North, heading towards their future.

OOOOOOOO

"Ooooff!"

May pushed herself to her feet as Sunkis't fluttered over and chittered concernedly. Brushing her knees off, May looked down to see what had tripped her.

Lying out of sight in the grass, a Poochyena was sprawled, out cold. His leg stuck out into the road.

"Ohhhh, you poor thing!" gushed May. "Hmm, we'll have to get you to a Pokémon center!" May felt terrible for the poor little wolf with the large lump on his head. She thought and thought, but came back to the same conclusion every time. Finally she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, it was on my to-do list anyway..." and she threw a pokéball at the little ball of fur.

It was no contest. The ball didn't even shake, it just flashed the stable light. May picked it up. "C'mon buddy! Let's get you fixed up!" She started walking down the road. Sunkis't landed on her shoulder. "What do you think, Sunkis't? What should we name him?" Sunkis't thought for a moment, then nodded towards the sun. "Sunlight? You want me to name a Poochyena sunlight?" Sunkis't shook her head violently, then lay down on May's shoulder and pantomimed sleeping. "Hmm, good idea! Let's call him Midnight!"

Sunkis't chittered excitedly as they walked down the road.

A/N: Wow! That turned out a lot longer than I expected! Oh well, I'm happy with the result. The next update may be a while, as I'm moving to an apartment in Denver and I won't have frequent access to a computer. But don't worry, I'll try to update as soon as possible! Until next time, Ciao!

P.S: Contest! I named most of the attacks used in this chapter, but I left out two! So here's the deal: My author page now has my e-mail viewable. The first person to send me an e-mail with the correct name of the attack and the pokémon who used it get to have a cameo appearance in a later chapter! And the best part is, I'm doing it for both moves! So study the descriptions of the battle and get crackin' Sherlock!