Author's Note: This is a chapter to make up for all the time I lost on my stories. And to let the fans who follow them know that I do fully intend to finish all of these lovely tails. I've finally gotten over my writers block, and will be continuing to write these stories. Unfortunately, for my own sanity, I have to focus on one or two at a time, finish those, then move on to the next. Otherwise, I will sink again. So for now, know that this story is currently on hold, but will be finished someday soon. Currently, I am writing for my Fallout 3 fic, and if you've seen how quickly I pumped out 20 or so chapters on that, then you'll be pleasantly surprised how soon I will be returning to this. For now, enjoy.

OoO( 10 )OoO

"So, where are we going?" asked Joey curiously as he followed Felix, his Pidgeotto sitting comfortably on his shoulder. Before leaving, the young trainer had signed up for another battle with Faulkner, with a promise from his friend that he would be ready.

Felix looked back and smiled. "When I first came into town, I noticed the tower down this path. When I asked the nurse about it, she said that it was a place where monks go to become stronger, both as people and as trainers." he said.

Joey looked up at the large tower, awed at the majesty of the large pagoda-like building. He suddenly stopped walking however and grabbed Felix by the shoulder. The boy turned to look at him questioningly. "Does it look like it's...moving?" he asked.

Felix looked up at the tower with the bright sun behind it, making it look even more imposing than before. He eyed the structure, then finally saw what his friend saw. The tower itself seemed to move back and forth, very slowly, but very surely. "How...?" was all he could get out.

"I don't know..." said Joey. The two finally snapped out of their stupor and continued, walking into the building. When they were finally free of the sunlight, they were again awed by the inside of the building. The floors were all wooden and perfectly symetrical, and each of the walls had scrolls from nearly top to bottom, all with languages that neither of them could comprehend. But the most significant structure inside was the massive pillar that jutted up from the center of the room. It was enormous, bigger around than most trees in the forest.

But the most unusual thing about it was that, like the building, it seemed to very slowly sway back and forth. As the two boys got closer, they noticed that the floor around where the pillar was grounded was clear of the wooden slats, allowing the construct to continue its rhythmic dance.

"How does it do that?" asked Joey wonderously.

"I don't know, but we won't find out by standing here staring at it." he said. Joey looked up at him, seeing the confident smile on his friends face.

Nodding, they proceeded around the pillar to where the stairs were located. But before they could begin their ascent up the tower, they were stopped by a man in robes. His robes were long and flowing, green in color except for the scarf-like neck piece, which was a bright yellow. His head was shaved so that only a thin layer of hair covered it, and his eyes were sharp.

Both boys gulped as the man locked eyes with them. "More visitors to the tower? We sure are popular today." he said as he took a step towards them. "So, why have you come to Sprout Tower?" he asked curiously.

Both of them were stunned momentarily, but recovered quickly. Joey stepped forward with an answer. "We've come to receive training in order to beat the gym leader." he said.

The man sighed and looked at the boy. "Is that the only reason?" he asked.

Joey took a step back, confused by the question. "Uhhhh..." he said.

"We came to become stronger. Not just us, but our pokemon as well." said Felix. The monk looked at him. "Not just for the gym leader. But for us as well. We want to be stronger with them." said the teenager as he looked up at the monk defiantly.

For a full minute, the man stared at Felix with a curious look in his eye. Finally, he smiled. "A much better reason." he said, making the boys relax. "But, to make it to the top of this tower and receive your training, you must first defeat us guardians in battle.

Felix smiled, pulling his pokeball from the belt around his waist. "I was hoping you would say that." he said, his voice dripping with excitement.

The monk just chuckled as he too tossed a pokeball to the ground. "A level head, tempered by eagerness to succeed. These are quality traits in a trainer." he said as a Bellsprout shot from the ball and danced in front of them.

OoOoO

It had taken hours, but finally the two boys stumbled up the stairs. This far they had encountered five more monks, just like the first, and fought through them vigilantly. Joey and Felix had both had to switch out between the battles to keep their pokemon rested enough to make it to the top.

Now they were finally here, with Felix's growlithe, Shepard, following them and panting heavily at the exertion from the many battles. Nephthys, or Nephy, as Joey called her, sat on the young boys shoulder, also worn out from the many encounters. Together, tired, but still confident, the pair made their way to the end of the long room at the top of the tower.

As they finally came upon the only two in the room, Felix froze in place as a piercing voice hit his ears. "What is this!? There's no way that stupid thing could have beaten me!" shouted another trainer in front of them. He wore all black, and at the moment, had a hood pulled up over his head. In front of the trainer was another monk, but this one was far older than the others they had encountered so far. His face, though noticeably older, was without lines or blemishes at all. He merely had a serene look on his face as his eyes stayed closed. "Would you open your eyes old man! That's disrespectful!" shouted the trainer some more.

"Why should I be respectful to someone who is clearly so disrespectful of their pokemon?" asked the older man, his voice a deep baritone that immediately silenced the boy. "Do you know why you lost here? Why I was able to beat you?" he asked sharply. "Or do you intend to do as so many others have, and blame your partners for the loss, not accepting responsibility as your own?"

The young man snorted. "Whatever. I don't need your damn moves anyway." said the hot-headed youth. Turning away from the old man, he just noticed the others staring at him. "What are you looking at?" he asked, not recognizing Felix right off the bat.

But Felix immediately recognized him. "A coward." said the boy. The fiery haired youth immediately froze in place, a look of shock masking his face now.

"You..." was all he said as he reached back for his pokeball. Felix also reached to grab his own, when both of them were startled by the old mans snap.

"Neither of you will battle in this sacred tower!" he shouted, his eyes now open and staring at them harshly. "This is a place of peace and meditation. It is not a battleground for the tempers of the youth." he said.

Zack growled and released the pokeball on his belt. Likely, the battle wouldn't favor him anyway after the encounter with the old man. He merely turned and smiled at the younger trainers. "So, last I saw you, you were face down in the mud. I'm impressed you survived that last attack." he said with a smirk that caused Felix to clench his fist.

But the young trainer continued with his forced smile. "Yeah, funny thing, I can't actually remember much about that night, so you must not have hit me very hard." he said, getting a twitch from the nemisis. "Now, I'd say you have bigger things to worry about than snarking off to me." he said, holding up his pokegear for the boy to see. On the screen there was the face of a glaring police officer. "They should be here soon, so if I were you, I'd start doing what you do best, and run." he said.

The boy growled visciously and dashed past Felix and Joey both, practically leaping the entire staircase. They both watched him go, before turning back to the elder before them. "That was very well handled young man." said the older fellow. Felix just shrugged. "I had a feeling from the way he battled that his pokemon were stolen. Now I have confirmation. Unfortunately, even if the police catch him, they won't be able to take the pokemon away." he said with sad sigh.

"Wha...Why not!?" asked Joey, who sounded completely outraged at the situation.

"His pokemon are loyal to him, despite his neglectful attitude towards them. Somehow, they see something in him that even he can't, and they appear to cling to the hope that he will one day be a decent trainer." he finished. Felix just shook his head and sat down in front of the older man, shortly followed by Joey. "So, onto brighter topics, why have you come to visit our tower?" he asked serenely.

Felix looked over at Joey, who nodded, then spoke up. "We've come because we want to learn."

The old man nodded. "And what is it you wish to learn?"

"We wish to learn how to becom stronger, and better trainers." he said again.

"And what do you intend to do with your strength?" asked the man as he ran a hand over his thin snowy beard.

"We want to be better trainers. Because being a good partner makes us stronger overall." he said, looking at the ground nervously as he clenched his hands. But, when he looked up again, he was surprised to see a bright smile covering the mans face.

"It does my heart good to hear young ones say such words." he said as he pulled out a pokeball and let loose another Bellsprout. "You will be training now, no more battling."

The two young trainers could only smile confidently as the old man began to teach.

OoOoO

A day later, Felix got a call on his Pokegear, saying that the gym leader would soon be ready for his battle. So the pair entered the gym early, both with confident smiles on their faces. At the moment, Faulkner was still on the platform above, handily wiping the floor with another new trainer. So the pair just walked over to one of the screens and watched with interest.

Currently, the trainer had a Pikachu out and was attempting to zap the leaders bird out of the air with its thundershock attack. But, not everything was going according to plan.

"Pikachu! Behind you!" shouted the trainer as he saw the fast moving pidgeotto appear behind his mouse pokemon. The pikachu turned around and sent another lightning bolt at the bird, but it quickly vanished again, moving far too fast for the young mouse to react.

"Well, this has been fun..." said the arrogant gym leader, emphasizing his statement with a yawn. "But I'm afraid I have more important things to attend to." he said. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the bird pokemon slammed into the pikachu with a blinding attack that sent it soaring over his trainers head. Once again, Felix was ready when the electric pokemon fell, and caught it at the last second, without having to dive for it this time.

The trainer took the lift down and ran to him, taking his pokemon with a quick thanks, and rushing out the door once more. Faulkner returned to the floor as well, shrugging with the same smirk from before on his face. Joey growled next to Felix. "I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face..." he said.

Felix nodded, then patted him on the shoulder. "Just remember what the elder said." he reiterated. Joey sighed, then nodded.

The gym leader looked down at his datapad once more. "Felix!" he shouted, looking around the room. The young trainer moved forward, and the gym leader met him with a smile. "Ah, you again. So then, are you ready?" he asked.

Felix just nodded, his face expressionless. "Ready as I'll ever be." he said.

Faulkner then looked over at Joey again. "You again? Didn't you learn the first time?" he asked incredulously. Joey stiffened immediately. "Well, alright. If you wanna lose again, that's your choice." he said.

But the sound of Felix's voice stopped the gym leader from turning. "He's not going to lose. And neither am I." said the young man, wanting to explode in anger at the arrogance of the trainer before him, but refusing to allow himself to do so.

Faulkner looked like he was about to start laughing, but instead, began scratching his chin. "Both of you are going to win, huh?" he asked. Both of them nodded. He smirked once more, his dark hair fluttering as he lifted his hand up. "Then I propose a match change up! Both of you against me at the same time!" he exclaimed. The trainers around the gym all gasped at the event and gathered around, whispering excitedly. "You two put your best pokemon against one of mine. The winner takes all. If you two win, you get my badge." he said.

Felix looked at him, shocked. "And what do you get if you win?" he asked.

"When I win, then it'll show the others here how strong I truly am. Heck, who knows, maybe they'll leave me alone for a while." he said as he began walking away. "Oh, and of course, it'll show everyone that I'm not the weakest link just because I'm the leader of a small town." he said as he boarded the platform. "So if you wanna accept my challenge, then both of you meet me up there." he said as the lift climbed into the air.

Joey and Felix looked at each other questioningly, then just smiled and nodded. They both stepped onto the platform and were lifted up to the battle arena as the remaining trainers below began gathering around the screens excitedly. Shepard, who had stepped onto the platform with them, hopped forward, raring for a battle, while Joey released his own pidgeotto.

Faulkner tossed his own pokeball coolly, the same smirk on his face that he'd had a few days ago. But his smiled waned slightly when he saw the fiery look in the trainer's eye. Suddenly, the countdown lit the screens as a full grown pidgeot emerged from the ball. Joey took a step back at the sight, but Felix grabbed his shoulder and held him firmly. "You think we can actually take a fully evolved pokemon?" asked the schoolboy as he looked at the trainer.

Felix smiled widely. "I think we can, and know we will. Just remember what we've learned." he said, his thoughts moving back to the day before and the old man's words.

OoOoO

They sat on the floor, watching, mesmerized as the bellsprout danced smoothly, its body whipping like a cord as it spun. While they enjoyed the display, Joey was a bit impatient with it. "I don't mean to be rude, but what are we watching exactly?" he asked.

The old man sighed. "So eager you were, but so impatient." he said as he held up a hand to display the bellsprout. "This bellsprout is about as old as I am. And as such, it has grown as frail as I am in regards to physical force. Do you know how it continues to win battles to this day?" he asked. They just shook their heads dumbly. "It wins because it never takes an attack full force. Watch." he said as another of the monks approached with a stave. Thrusting forward, the man attempted to hit the plant pokemon with the wooden weapon, but failed miserably.

To the boy's surprise, the old plant creature swivelled, spun, rolled, and cartwheeled out of the way of every single swing that the man threw its way. "Woah…" said Felix, dumbfounded at the agility of the simple bellsprout.

"Woah indeed. Take a look at this tower my boys. It has stood for hundreds of years against everything that Mother Nature has thrown against it. Typhoon like winds and earthquakes, bested by a wooden tower. All because the Guardian Bellsprout knew that to beat nature, you had to dance with it." said the older man as he pointed at the large wooden pillar in the center of the room. They looked and saw as it rocked gently back and forth.

OoOoO

"Well, are you ready? Or are you having second thoughts about facing my Pidgeot?" asked the gym leader smugly. The two trainers just nodded to each other.

"We're ready when you are." said Joey with determination. Faulkner, with his same cocky grin, snapped his fingers. The countdown started.

3…

2…

1…

BEGIN!

"Pidgeot...no mercy." said the gym leader as he crossed his arms. The bird immediately dove and slammed into growlithe with blinding speed. The puppy flew over the edge and began to descend to the arena floor below, yiping as it did.

"Nephy! Catch him!" shouted Joey. The faithful pidgeotto soared out and caught the fiery dog by its scruff just before it descended below the platform again. As it was flying back over the edge, the larger bird slammed into it as well, sending it crashing to the battleground platform. "No!"

But the bird rose again and was flying in no time. Joey breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that she was unharmed. "Shepard, give our friend here a roar!" said Felix as he ran forward, ready to block another attempt by the large bird. The puppy, despite its size, let out a roar that shook the airwaves. Pidgeot was started for a moment as it took another dive at the schoolboys bird pokemon. The momentary lapse was all that was needed for the pidgeotto to buffet aside the larger creature with a wing attack, sending it soaring off again.

Faulkner looked at the pair curiously. "Hmmm...not bad." he said, then looked at his bird again as it gave the two pokemon a predatory gaze. "Pidgeot, give them a gust, see how they like that." he said. The larger bird began to flap its wings wildly, creating a kind of cyclone around the edges of the ring and making Joey's Nephy struggle for flight control.

"Nephy! Relax!" said Joey over the cacophony of the wind. The growlithe, being on the ground, was less affected by the wind, but still digging his claws into the platform. The puppy inched forward, shooting a gout of flame towards the pidgeot.

"Pidgeot! Go higher!" yelled Faulkner, whose smirk was not gone. His bird flapped higher up into the air to get away from the jet of flame.

Joey watched as his pidgeotto began to loosen up a bit, and instead of struggling to control itself in the gale, began to soar along the cyclone, using it to speed itself up. The schoolboy smiled brightly as his bird not only gained control, but also speed using the enemies hurricane winds. "That'a girl!" he shouted, the old man's words echoing in his head. "All because the Guardian Bellsprout knew that to beat nature, you had to dance with it."

The gym leader, who had been occupied with the growlithe, heard Joey and looked up to see his opponents bird now soaring circles around the arena at breakneck speeds. "What is he…?" he asked himself, then his eyes widened. "Pidgeot! Dodge it!" he shouted.

But the bird only barely heard him as it flew higher, the wind still circling around the arena. "Yeah! Divide and conquer!" shouted the schoolboy. When his pidgeotto passed again, he shouted, "Hit it with a quick attack!" The bird spun through the air like a spiralling bullet and slammed into the unexpecting gym bird. The pidgeot, stunned by the attack, fell quickly but tried to right itself.

"Shepard! Take down!" shouted Felix, his puppy no longer held down by the wind. The orange canine flew forward and slammed into the feathery breast of the bird, sending it crashing to the ground in a heap.

"What is this!?" shouted Faulkner. "Pidgeot, get up and finish them quickly!" he shouted. The large avian got back to its feet and shook the stars from its head quickly before rising into the air again.

"Nephy! Don't give it a chance! Twister!" shouted the schoolboy. The smaller bird began to spiral in a smooth circle around its opponent, causing the wind to pick up directly in the center of the platform where the bird had fallen.

The gym leader balked at the attempt. "You really think your tiny bird can move mine? It's barely half the size!" he shouted with his cocky smirk back. His pidgeot, despite the twister, was still steadily rising from the ground.

"Maybe, but our pokemon have more fire in their spirit than you have in your entire body! And, speaking of fire…" he said, looking at his growlithe who was growling at the large bird. "Shepard! Help out Nephy with a fire spin!" he shouted. The growlithe dashed forward into the center of the twister and unleashed a torrent of fire that shot out in a vortex, mixing with the winds from the twister and quickly enveloped the large bird.

Rarely having to deal with fire up close and personal, the bird began to panic and flap its wings rapidly as the twister of fire swirled around it. But the close quarters only made things worse. With each flap, it singed its wings more and more, causing it to descend back towards the origin of the vortex, and the glaring canine.

"W-What do I do? He can't move!" said the gym leader. Stepping forward, he shouted, "Pidgeot! Get out of there!" But his cries came too late. The tornado relinquished and the bird dropped from the air straight to the ground. Faulkner ran up to his bird to find it unconscious from the impact to the ground. "I….I lost…" he said dumbly as he sat on his hind end.

Felix growled and walked up to the gym leader, then lifted his hand and backhanded the older trainer. Faulkner looked at him stunned. "You lost!? That should be the last thing on your mind right now!" he shouted, pointing to the bird on the ground. "You just watched your pokemon drop from the sky covered in flames, and you're worried that you lost!?" he asked, ready to take a swing on the gym leader.

Joey stepped up and grabbed him by the arms however, preventing him from moving any further. "Get your pokeball out and take him to the center!" shouted the schoolboy. The gym leader nodded dumbly, then recalled pidgeot and left the gym. Felix pulled away from Joey, grumbling to himself as the pair descended the lift again. But his anger subsided immediately when a group of cheering trainers all greeted them at the bottom.

"That was awesome!" shouted one youngster.

"Please! You must show me how you did that!" cried another schoolboy, who was shaking Joey by the shoulders.

The two just looked at each other, then began laughing as even their pokemon received loving attention.