Quinn stretched and felt something silky hit her hand. She yawned as she felt around trying to figure out what it was. She blinked open her eyes to find her face buried in Rachel's neck and her hand running through the brunette's hair.

"Ack!"

Rachel's eyes fluttered open at the commotion. She sat up to stretch and unknowingly exposed part of her stomach as she lifted her arms. She heard a squeak and tilted her head to the side at her friend's red face. "Quinn?"

Quinn flushed deeper at the husky quality Rachel's voice had from sleep. "Y-yes?"

"Why are—"

An obnoxiously loud snore interrupted her. Both girls turned to see Puck curled up with his thumb in his mouth.

Rachel smirked while Quinn used this opportunity to distract herself. She crawled over to the sleeping boy and roughly shook his shoulders.

"…nyaah… leggo my eggo…" He muttered and waved his arm in the air.

Quinn grabbed his hand and squeezed. Hard. "Wake up!"

Puck's eyes snapped open. "I'm up! I'm up!" He cradled his hand and glared at her before noticing his surroundings. "What the hell happened?"

"Yes, I would also like to inquire as to why we were asleep outside in the middle of the day."

Quinn gathered her belongings that fell before she conked out earlier. "Jigglypuff." She swung her backpack over her shoulders and stood up.

Puck's eyes widened. "Oh yeah!" He got to his feet and pointed a finger at Rachel. "If you didn't try to catch that Jigglypuff, she wouldn't have used Sing and made us fall asleep!"

"So this is my fault?" Rachel belted and stood up on her tiptoes to try to reach his eyelevel.

Puck shrugged. "You said it; not me."

Rachel stomped her foot in frustration.

"Hey!" Quinn walked between the two and separated them. "It's no one's fault." Puck went to protest, but Quinn cut him off. "A Jigglypuff loves an audience. She still would've seen us even if Rachel didn't approach her and she still would've sung and we still would've fallen asleep and lost valuable travel time."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at Puck.

He sheepishly rubbed his mohawk and mumbled out an apology to Rachel. Her eyes softened and she murmured her forgiveness.

Quinn smiled. "Good. Now that that's out of the way… Does anyone know what time it is?"

Puck looked at his watch. "It's a little after six."

Rachel nodded as she took out her map. "If we continue down this path on foot, we won't make it to the next town until morning." The two friends groaned. "Oh, but look!" She excitedly pointed to the map. "If we veer off the path in this direction, we can go up Cycling Road and make it before nightfall!"

Quinn's eyes widened.

"What the hell is Cycling Road?" Puck asked.

"It's a shortcut designed for trainers! However, one is only allowed access to it if they have a bicycle."

"Oh, that's too bad!" Quinn waved her off. "None of us have bikes so it looks like we're taking the long way! Okay, let's go—"

"Don't worry, Quinn! There's a place that lets you rent bikes just as long as you return it to the building located at the end of Cycling Road."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Puck threw a fist in the air.

Rachel giggled and followed after him.

Quinn sighed.

"Oh, look at this one!" Rachel gushed as she strapped on a bike helmet that was red with a giant gold star in the middle.

"Hey, check me out!" Puck laughed. He had on a helmet that was shaped like the skull Cubones wear over their heads.

"Unless you're going to buy or rent that, I suggest you take it off!" A worker scowled as she grabbed the item off the boy.

"Okay, okay. I'm renting it. Sheesh." Puck grumbled.

The woman rolled her eyes and handed it back to him. She glared at him one last time before going back to the counter.

Rachel walked up to Quinn with a helmet similar to hers; this one was blue with a silver star. "I think you should rent this one! We can match!"

Quinn tried to give a small smile as she shakily took the helmet.

Rachel furrowed her brows. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Quinn replied as she put it on.

"Now that we all have headgear, let's go see the bikes!" Puck grabbed the two by their arms and dragged them to the bike racks.

Quinn grimaced.

Rachel quirked her head to the side before her eyes widened. "Quinn, do you…do you perhaps not know how to ride a bicycle?" Quinn blushed and looked down as Puck snorted. Rachel bopped him on the shoulder—he had his Cubone helmet back on—before turning back to Quinn. "Well, it's no big deal—"

"No big deal? Rachel, it's embarrassing!" Quinn cried out.

"Quiet!" The worker sneered.

"Damn, lady. It's not like this is a library," Puck muttered.

"I'm sixteen years old and I've never learned how to ride a bike." Quinn continued in a lower voice.

"Never?" He repeated.

"No. Frannie told me she would teach me but then she…"

"Hey. It's okay." Rachel drew the blonde into a hug when her hazel eyes got watery. She pulled back from the embrace but kept her hands on Quinn's shoulders. "We'll just see if there are any bikes with foot pegs."

"Yeah, Q! All ya gotta do is hold on tight while Rachel rides." Puck smirked.

Rachel's eyebrows shot up to her forehead and her face turned red.

Quinn nodded, oblivious to the innuendo. "Yeah. I think that could work! Let me go ask that worker…" She turned and walked up to the counter.

Rachel hit Puck in the shoulder again while he just chortled.

Quinn returned with the annoyed worker. The woman walked over to a certain area of bikes and unchained one, "Here, this one has foot pegs."

Rachel grimaced. "Um, excuse me," she read her nametag and her eyes widened. "Terri Schuester?"

Puck laughed in disbelief. "Schuester? Like, Professor Schuester? Dude! Are you related to him or something?" He lifted a hand for a high-five.

The woman scowled and crossed her arms. "Ex-wife."

He awkwardly retracted his hand.

Rachel coughed. "Well… Terri, I see that red and blue bike over there has foot pegs. May I rent that one?" She turned to Quinn with a smile. "It matches our helmets!"

Terri huffed and put the first bike back. She trudged to the one Rachel wanted and brought it out.

Rachel clapped excitedly. "Okay, Q, you go find us protective knee and elbow padding and I'll roll this up to the counter."

"Rach, I really don't think we need—"

"Quinn! While I am confident in my biking abilities, one can never be too safe on Cycling Road!"

Quin shook her head and smiled. "Okay. I'll see you at the counter."

"Holy shit! I want this bike!" Puck exclaimed as he ran over to a bike that had handles shaped like a Machoke's arms.

Terri sighed. Four hours, three days a week was too much work for her.

"Okay, Quinn, just hold on tight." Rachel instructed with a blush as they got ready to travel on Cycling Road.

Quinn's face mirrored hers as she nodded. She stepped onto the foot pegs and hesitantly put her hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"Come on!" Puck hollered. He was popping wheelies on his bike while he waited for them to get situated. "We'll never make it before dark if you two don't hurry!"

"Are you ready?" Rachel asked her. Quinn murmured in affirmative and Rachel put her foot on the pedal and pushed.

Quinn gasped and shut her eyes at the movement. She slid her hands from Rachel's shoulders to her torso and held on tight. Rachel instantly hit the brakes when she felt the other girl pressed up against her. Quinn tentatively opened her eyes. "Why'd you stop?"

Rachel shivered at the hot breath ghosting across her neck. "Y-you just startled me. I-I didn't expect you to hold on like that."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can…I can put my hands back on your shoulders—"

"No! Erm, I mean," Rachel cleared her throat in embarrassment, "you're fine the way you are. You can get a better grip by holding onto my sides. Yes, that's exactly why you should stay where you are. Yep. Definitely." Rachel nodded.

"Sometime before my mohawk gets long and starts looking like I got a Rattata on my head!"

Rachel huffed and glared at Puck as she once more pushed down on the pedal. She then smiled at the feel of Quinn's arms around her.

The farther they traveled on Cycling Road, the more bird type Pokémon they saw. Quinn looked up at the darkening sky and gazed at a flock of Pidgey and their evolved forms spreading their wings and flying towards the approaching town.

They eventually made it to the end of Cycling Road and pedaled into an archway that led into a building. They hit the brakes and stopped their bikes at a desk. Quinn hopped off the foot pegs and removed her helmet.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it—" Rachel snapped her mouth shut and stared at Quinn as she shook out her long blonde locks from the helmet.

"Hmmm?" Quinn turned around towards Rachel. She quirked an eyebrow up at her friend's flushed face.

"Man," Puck panted as he slowly rode in, "I can't... believe... most of that… was uphill…" He shakily stood up from the bike and promptly fell to the ground.

Quinn smirked. "It wasn't that bad."

He gasped in a breath and glared at her. "Whatever, Q. You didn't even have to do anything so I don't wanna hear shit from you right now."

"True, but Rachel's not out of breath and she had to pedal with my extra weight…" Quinn trailed off and quickly turned to Rachel. "I-I wasn't… I wasn't too heavy, was I?" She may have lost her baby fat and gotten contacts and dyed her hair, but Quinn could still be insecure little Lucy on the inside.

"Not at all," Rachel reassured her.

Puck groaned and pulled his helmet off. "Oh, okay. Whatever. Not all of us have freakishly strong, long legs like you, Berry." He tilted his head to the side and traveled his eyes up her legs. "Which I don't get considering how short you are."

Rachel let out a scandalized gasp and went to bop him when Quinn beat him to it.

"Don't leer at her!"

"Ouch! Hey! I wasn't!" Puck rubbed his mohawk and pouted.

Quinn huffed and turned towards the desk. She harshly hit the bell on the counter to get a worker's attention.

Puck pulled himself up from the ground and smirked at Quinn who had her arms crossed and her foot tapping in irritation.

"Welcome! My name is Trent! I hope you enjoyed your ride on Cycling Road," a boy around their age called out as he appeared at the desk. Quinn glared at him. He gulped and addressed them. "I-if you've rented your equipment, pl-please leave your helmets and padding on the desk a-and roll your bikes over there." He shakily pointed to the bike rack by the wall.

Quinn removed her elbow and knee pads before slamming them on the counter. Trent flinched. Rachel and Puck returned from setting the bikes up and then removed the rest of their gear as well.

"Man," Puck drawled, "I'm gonna miss this helmet." He caressed it and Rachel giggled at his dramatics. Quinn scoffed and trudged out of the building.

"What's up with her?" Rachel asked in concern.

Puck rolled his eyes and went to say something, but she was already out the door. He turned to Trent. "Chicks, huh?"

"W-well—"

"Yeah, I don't care. Later!" Puck threw his hand up in goodbye and walked out the door.

Trent sighed. He really hated the nightshift.

"Quinn! Hey, wait up!" Rachel called as she grabbed onto the blonde's shoulder. "What was that about? Are you okay? Did the bike ride make you nauseous? Do you need—"

Quinn sighed. "It was nothing. I'm fine."

Rachel furrowed her brows. "Are you sure?" She grabbed Quinn's hand.

Quinn stared at their hands for a moment before she slowly traveled her gaze up to meet Rachel's. "Yeah," she breathed out and shyly smiled. "I'm fine. I swear."

Rachel gave a tentative smile. "If you're sure…"

"Holy crap, look at this place!" Puck yelled as he made his way towards the two. He spun around and took in his surroundings.

Quinn let go of Rachel's grasp and looked around with a gasp. "Oh, wow. It's beautiful."

Rachel sighed at the loss of contact and looked Quinn. "Yeah, so beautiful." She murmured. She then followed her friends' gazes upwards.

The town in front of them was constructed into various trees and connected by rope bridges. All throughout the branches of the trees and flying around town were flocks of bird type Pokémon.

"So this is where they were headed," Rachel affirmed.

"Talk about the ultimate tree house!" Puck quipped. He ran to climb a rope ladder to officially get into the town when…

"Hoot!"

"Gah!" Puck lost his hold on the ladder and landed on his ass.

Quinn wrapped her arms around her stomach as she laughed at the boy.

"Hoot! Hoothoot!" The Pokémon that startled him flew down and landed in front of them.

Rachel took out her pokédex and pointed at the bird.

"Hoothoot: The Owl Pokémon. Hoothoot always stands on one foot. It changes feet so fast, the movement can rarely be seen. It can sense and track the earth's rotation. Because of these senses, it hoots at precisely the same time every day. Some trainers use them in place of clocks."

Rachel grinned and reached for a pokéball.

"Awe hell no, Rach. Don't even think about it. I don't want that thing waking me up at the crack of dawn!" Puck whined as he picked himself up.

She ignored him and threw the ball. A bright red light shot out and Chikorita emerged. "Mr. Arnstein, use tackle!"

"Chicka!" The leaf Pokémon ran at full force. Hoothoot flapped her wings and dodged the attack, thus making Chikorita run into a tree trunk.

"Oh, no! It's okay, Nicky. Use Razor Leaf!"

The green Pokémon shook his head to regain focus before shooting out multiple leaves at the owl Pokémon.

Hoothoot waved her little wings and blew the leaves away. She flew down to Chikorita and landed one foot on his back. She then proceeded to peck at his head.

"Hey! Get off of him! That's cheating," Rachel cried out.

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Chicka! Chikarita!" The leaf Pokémon seemed to scowl in irritation as the pecking continued. He then started to glow and change form.

"Hoot!" The tiny brown owl flew off of the evolving Pokémon and stood in front of him on one foot.

"Awesome! Nicky Arnstein's evolving," Puck whooped.

"Bayleef!"

Rachel bit her lip and pointed her pokédex to her newly evolved Pokémon.

"Bayleef: The Leaf Pokémon. The scent that wafts from the leaves on its neck causes anyone who smells it to become energetic. The aroma also acts as a stimulant to restore health. Its grass type moves, such as Razor Leaf or SolarBeam, are extremely powerful."

Rachel's eyes lit up. "Okay, Mr. Arnstein, use SolarBeam!"

"Leef!" The leaf on Bayleef's head and the ones on his neck started to glow white. He gathered energy and opened his mouth in Hoothoot's direction and fired out a white beam.

"Hoothoot!" Hoothoot's already big eyes became even bigger as she attempted to flap her small wings. The beam hit her before she could fly out of the way.

Rachel quickly threw a pokéball and waited with bated breath as it rolled from side to side. It finally stopped moving and she jumped in the air. "I caught a Hoothoot!" She returned Bayleef back to his ball before running over to Hoothoot's. She picked it up and excitedly showed her friends.

Quinn watched the scene with a small smile.

"Awesome! What are you gonna name her?" Puck asked before his eyes lit up. "No, wait! Let me name her!"

"She's my Pokémon—"

"Awe, come on!"

"Oh, okay. Fine." Rachel sighed. She released the newly captured Hoothoot and watched as the owl Pokémon gazed around in confusion before landing her eyes on her new trainer.

"Hoot!" Hoothoot jumped up on one foot excitedly and flapped her tiny wings to fly her way onto Rachel's shoulder.

"How about Jack Daniels?"

Quinn slapped her forehead in exasperation. "This Hoothoot is a girl."

"Fine. Jackie Daniels."

Rachel glared at him. "I am not naming my Pokémon after an alcoholic beverage!"

"What about Hennessy?"

The brunette's left eye twitched. "What did I just say about not naming her after an alcoholic bev—"

"But you said I could name her!" Puck whined.

"Yes, but not after—"

"You can call her Nessy for short!" He offered.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him as he attempted to pout at her in hopes it would sway her decision. She looked to Quinn who just shrugged in return. She sighed. "Only if it's spelled with an IE at the end instead of a Y."

Puck smirked. "Deal."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him but smiled when she felt Hoothoot nuzzle her cheek. She picked up the owl Pokémon from off her shoulder and held her in front of her. "Hi, Nessie."

"Hoothoot!" The little owl Pokémon hooted excitedly in response before wincing slightly.

"Awe, you must still be sore from the battle. I'm sorry."

"Let's try and find the PokéCenter," Quinn offered and turned to climb up the rope ladder.

Rachel put Hoothoot back in her ball and followed Quinn. She blushed at the sight above her and quickly averted her gaze as she climbed. She could hear Puck snickering below her.

Once up the ladder, the gang gazed at all the buildings situated in the treetops with awe. They spotted the Pokémon Center in another tree and steadily crossed the rope bridge to it.

"Hello! I'm Nurse Pillsbury! Welcome to the Pokémon Center. We restore your tired Pokémon to full health! Would you like to rest your Pokémon?"

Puck scratched his head as his friends walked up the counter to heal their Pokémon; he never understood why it seemed all the women in the Pillsbury family were nurses.

Just like how all the men in the Howell family were police officers.

Weird.

He shook his head and walked up to the girls just as they were asking about staying for the night.

"The only rooms currently available are singles or doubles."

"We'll take a double, please," said Rachel.

Nurse Pillsbury gave Rachel the form. Her eyebrows shot to her forehead as a boy with a mohawk walked up to the duo.

"Thank you!" Rachel beamed when Chansey gave her the room key.

Puck threw his arms around the girls' shoulders and led them to their room.

Nurse Pillsbury eyed the door warily before quickly getting out a pen to mark down the room number and to write "throw out bed sheets!" underneath it.

She shook her head. Teens these days and their wild copulating.

Quinn glanced around the room. "So, who gets the couch?"

"No one, Quinn! Puck will get that bed, and you and I can share this one!" Rachel attempted to state nonchalantly.

Puck smirked.

"O-okay." Quinn replied hesitantly before going to the bathroom to wash up.

The boy turned to Rachel. "You're sneaky."

Rachel blushed. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Noah."

"Really? Because there's a perfectly good recliner that I wouldn't mind sleeping on for the night so you two wouldn't be stuck sharing."

Rachel's eyes widened. "N-nonsense! We don't want you to…to… to have a stiff back! Studies show that sleeping in chairs can cause back problems, a-and—"

A knock at the door interrupted her.

Puck laughed and opened the door; Chansey was standing outside with a cart of food. "Oh, awesome! Thanks, Chansey," he told her before wheeling the cart in the room and shutting the door.

Rachel's eyes brightened at the distraction—and the assortment of vegan friendly food. She beamed at the fact Pokémon Centers took the time to read the forms trainers fill out when they stay the night. She got herself a plate and sat on one of the beds.

Puck picked out some food and sat on the one opposite of her. They ate in silence for quite some time before Puck spoke up again. "So…" he drawled with his mouth full, "you're worried about my back, huh?"

Rachel grimaced at both his lack of manners and the fact he brought the conversation back up.

He swallowed his food and grinned at her. "Awe, I'm just teasing! I know you want to get your cuddle on with Q."

Rachel choked on her salad. She quickly took a drink of water and glared at the boy. "Are you suggesting I had ulterior motives in regards to the sleeping arrangements?"

"No." Puck smirked when she sighed in relief. "I'm not suggesting it; I'm inferring it."

"Infer doesn't mean…" She started to correct him before she trailed off in disbelief. "Y-you actually used one of the words I taught you correctly. Why now of all times?" Rachel set her plate on the nightstand and flopped onto her back with her forearm over her eyes.

"You love it."

"You're insufferable." Rachel groaned.

"Who's insufferable?" Quinn walked out of the bathroom in her sleep clothes as she toweled at her wet hair.

Rachel quickly sat up and gulped at the sight.

"You." Puck rolled his eyes. "I mean, damn, Q. You were in there forever!"

Quinn blushed and narrowed her eyes. "I only took, like, a twenty minute shower! Not even!"

"I can take, like, a five minute one." He mocked.

The blonde chucked her wet towel at his head as she walked over to the cart. "That explains so much." She picked some food onto a plate before joining Rachel on the bed.

Puck pulled the towel off his head and threw it in the hamper in the corner of the room. "Wait, what do you mean it explains so much? Are you saying I stink?"

Quinn plucked a strawberry into her mouth and smirked at the boy. "I said no such thing." She turned to the girl next to her and held up her plate in a silent offering. Rachel smiled and shook her head no.

"I don't stink!"

Quinn turned back to the boy with a quirked eyebrow. "Of course you don't."

"I don't!"

"Sure."

Puck growled and sat back on his bed with his arms crossed.

Less than thirty seconds went by before he shot off the bed and grabbed his backpack. He huffed and stomped into the bathroom.

Quinn took her and Rachel's empty plates and set them on the cart before she heard the sound of running water. She belted out a laugh and jumped onto the bed.

Rachel giggled but abruptly stopped when she noticed Quinn patting the spot next to her. She nervously swallowed and crawled up to the blonde's side.

"Hi."

"H-hi."

"I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

"We talk every—"

Quinn frowned. "No, I mean…" She glanced at the bathroom door. "Just the two of us."

"Oh."

"I figured the whole 'you stink' thing could get us at least ten minutes of Rachel and Quinn time." The blonde smiled.

Rachel grinned back. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Hm, I don't know." She leaned back against the headboard. "How are Papa Berrys? Have you talked to them lately?"

"I last spoke to Daddy after you won the StepBadge. He said he's immensely proud of you, by the way." Quinn shyly ducked her head as Rachel continued, "Oh, and Dad texted me before the whole Jigglypuff thing happened! He said Artie told him that Professor Schuester still hasn't realized he's missing some Pokémon." Quinn brought a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Rachel gave a soft smile before turning serious. "What… what about you? Have you talked to your parents…" she trailed off when she felt the girl next to her tense up.

"No."

"No? But it's been a week! Maybe they—"

"They haven't called or texted. Honestly? I expected this from da—I mean, from Russell, but I at least hoped Mom would contact me somehow." Quinn crossed her arms over her knees and rested her head on them. "But no. Nothing. But you know what? I don't care. I'm glad to be away from people that obviously don't care that their own daughter ran away."

Rachel sighed. "Quinn…"

"Can we talk about something else?"

It was silent for a while before Rachel spoke up. "It doesn't feel like we've been traveling for only a week." Quinn nodded. "I mean, it takes some trainers months to even get a few badges, but here you are; not even a fortnight into your journey and almost at three badges!" She nudged Quinn's shoulder. "You'll be at the Elite Four's stadium in no time!"

Quinn finally cracked a smile. "We will be at the Elite Four stadium in no time." She uncrossed her arms and turned to Rachel. "What do you think the champion is like?"

"The champion? Oh, um, well, I… I don't know much about them." Rachel quickly looked off to the side. "But I hear they're strong."

"Yeah, they probably wouldn't be champion if they were weak, huh?" Quinn teased and poked Rachel's nose. The brunette puffed out her cheeks in a pout. Quinn laughed loudly. "Come here, you." She wrapped her arms around Rachel and pulled her into a lying position. Rachel blushed and rested her head on the crook of Quinn's neck.

"Who stinks now?" Puck yelled as he threw open the bathroom door. "Not this guy! I smell like a fucking flower! You might as well call me Bellossom!" He stomped his way over to his bed and flopped down onto the covers. Rachel internally panicked as she felt Quinn remove her arms. "Bathroom's all yours, Rach," he obliviously said as he got out his phone.

Rachel slowly sat up and scowled at the boy. She picked her backpack up from the floor next to the bed and stormed into the bathroom.

The door slammed shut.

Puck quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What's her deal?" Quinn glared at him before rolling over to face the wall. "Now what's your deal?"

"Shut the lights off; I'm going to bed."

"Sheesh. Okay, HBIC," Puck grumbled and did as he was told. He got back into bed and picked his phone back up to text his mom.

"Turn a lamp on so Rachel will have some light to see once she's done with her shower and bedtime ritual."

"Damn, woman." Puck rolled his eyes and turned a lamp on. "Anything else, princess?"

"Yes. Shut up and goodnight."

"Of fucking course the gym would be located in the tallest tree in town," Puck deadpanned as the gang stared up at the long rope ladder that would lead them to the next badge.

Rachel fidgeted on her feet. She was feeling energized! Even though she had no idea if it was the four cups of coffee she inhaled or if it was the aroma Bayleef let off earlier that morning when the Pokémon were eating.

Probably both.

She looked at Quinn and beamed. Her bright mood may also have something to do with waking up snuggled into Quinn's side. She bolted up the ladder. "Let's go kick some ass!"

"Be careful!" Quinn called after her with a chuckle. She followed her up the rope ladder and looked down. "Hurry up, Puckerman!"

Puck sighed in exasperation. "I'm on the damn football team," he mumbled to himself as he climbed, "I tackle guys twice my size." He groaned when he looked up and saw the girls already half way towards the top. "I should not be having difficulty with this!"

He eventually made it to the top and collapsed on his knees with a deep breath.

Rachel skipped over to the tired boy and poked him in the ribs. "Slowpoke."

"Knock it off."

"Slowpoke."

"Knock it off."

"Slowpoke."

"Knock it off."

"Slowpoke."

"Knock it off!" He grabbed her finger and twisted it.

Rachel shrieked and flailed her arm in an attempt to free her finger. "Release me this once! This is unlawful physical contact!" He tightened his grip. "Help! Quinn! Assault! Assault!"

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose as Rachel freed her hand and jumped on Puck's back. She ignored the boy's cries of pain and walked to the entrance of the gym. She paused in her footsteps and looked over her shoulder. "Just remember that it's a long way down." She then promptly entered through the doors of the building.

Rachel and Puck immediately stopped to peek over the ledge and down the rope ladder.

It was a long way down.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

"Quinn! Wait for us!" They bounced to their feet and ran after Quinn through the doors.

"Welcome to my gym—"

"Oh, no! Don't strain yourself. Let me do it. I got this!" A familiar looking boy interrupted and turned towards the newcomers. "Welcome to the gym of Blaine Anderson!" He beamed but quickly gasped when he saw who the group consisted of. "Y-y-you!"

Quinn smirked. "Tim."

"It's Trent…"

The gym leader sighed and walked in front of the boy. "Hiya! As you heard, my name's Blaine Anderson. I see you had the courage to climb the rope ladder. Now let's see if you have the courage to face me and my bird Pokémon!"

Quinn quirked an eyebrow up. "Okay…" She took a step and shook the gym leader's hand. "I'm your challenger, Quinn."

"And I'm Rachel," the girl exclaimed as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Puck." He crossed his arms and leveled a look at the room full of guys in matching blazers.

Quinn held onto his hand and stared at him. "Have we met before?"

Blaine tilted his head to the side. "I don't think so." He let go of her grip and grinned. "Are you ready to battle?" He led the blonde to the battlefield as Rachel and Puck stood off to the sidelines.

"Come on, Blaine. Forget this girl! She's not worth the time! Let me battle her for you so you don't have to!"

Quinn whipped her head around to glare at the group and opened her mouth to retort.

"The doctors are going to say your face isn't worth the time after my fist gets done with it!" Rachel belted as Puck grabbed onto her and held her back.

The boy in the blazer's eyes widened in fear and confusion.

"That won't be necessary, Wes. I'm the gym leader so I'm going to battle her." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Yeah! That's why it's called a gym badge! Because he's the gym leader! If you were to battle her, then they'd call it the rude and unstylish boy in blazer badge!" Rachel yelled as she struggled against Puck.

Quinn blushed and sheepishly rubbed her neck as Blaine watched the two girls with interest.

"Damn, Jewbabe! There are two things we need to work on." Puck tightened his hold on the kicking girl, "First, your insults. Second…" He lifted her up and walked back to the sidelines before setting her down. "No more coffee!"

Rachel gasped.

Blaine shook his head in amusement before reaching for a pokéball. "Are you ready?"

Quinn nodded. "Let's do this!"

"Wait!" Trent ran to the edge of the field with a flag. "Okay, the victor is decided when—"

"She already has two badges; I think she knows the rules by now!"

"Be quiet, Berry—Ouch! Damn it; stop bopping me on the head!"

Trent faltered. "Oh, um ." He looked back to the group of boys before hesitantly waving the flag. "Begin!"

Blaine rolled his eyes again; he wished they would stop coddling him. "Let's try this again. Go, Gligar!"

"Gligar!"

"Gligar: The FlyScorpion Pokémon. Gligar glides through the air without a sound as if it were sliding. This Pokémon hangs on to the face of its foe using its clawed hind legs and the large pincers on its forelegs, then injects the prey with its poison barb."

Quinn grimaced at the bat-like Pokémon as she put away her pokédex. She weighed her options as she looked at him. Her gaze landed on his wings and she smirked. "I choose you!"

"Flaaffy!"

Blaine merely smiled while the boys around the room chuckled and pointed.

"What's so funny?" Rachel demanded with a stomp of her foot.

Puck's eyes widened in realization. "Quinn! Gligar is part—"

"Flaaffy, use Thunder!"

"—ground." He finished with a wince as Flaaffy's electrical blast had absolutely no effect on Gligar.

"Shit," the blonde mumbled.

"See, this is why Blaine shouldn't even waste his time with you! Did you really think a leader of a gym would leave himself open to extreme type disadvantages? That's why his first Pokémon is not only a flying type, but part ground; electric moves do nothing to ground types!"

"Wes!" Blaine reprimanded before turning back to the battle. "Gligar, use Quick Attack!"

"Gligar!" The purple Pokémon flew at full speed and tackled Flaaffy.

"You're okay, Flaaffy! Use SignalBeam!"

"Gligar, use Sky Uppercut!"

Gligar's claw-like fists began to glow a light blue as he dodged Flaaffy's SignalBeam and punched.

The wool Pokémon skidded backwards from the impact before trying to steady her feet. "Flaaffy, use… um. Shit." Quinn tried to think of a move that would be effective against the ground part of Gligar.

"Use X-Scissor, Gligar!" His fists once again glowed a light blue as he slashed at the opponent in an X shape.

The blonde cried out as Flaaffy was knocked to the ground.

Wes laughed along with the rest of the boys while Trent spoke up, "Flaaffy is unable to battle!

Rachel narrowed her eyes at them. "If you want to laugh at something so badly, just come over here and I'll make your face even funnier than it is!" she yelled as she cracked her knuckles.

"Um, Rach." Puck nodded to Quinn who had her head down as she called back Flaaffy.

Rachel gasped. "It's okay, Quinn! You're doing great!"

Wes scoffed. "Oh, please—"

"Boy, I am not playing with you!" Rachel warned. "Open your mouth one more time! See what happens!" She shook a fist in the air.

Puck gawked at her while the guys stared in fear.

Quinn continued to hang her head low as she mauled over her options.

"If challenger Quinn does not release a Pokémon, she will be forced to forfeit—" Trent winced at Rachel's glare. "It-it's the rules," he stuttered out and retreated back to the sidelines.

"Come on, Quinn! Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter! Don't let them bring around a cloud to rain on your parade!"

Quinn's eyes widened. She hesitantly reached for a pokéball before whipping around to face the brunette. Rachel nodded emphatically. Quinn smirked and turned back to the battle.

Blaine smiled. This Rachel girl had a lovely voice and a wonderful taste in musicals.

"Go, Dratini!"

"Tini!"

"Gligar, use Fury Cutter!"

"Use Rain Dance, Dratini!"

Storm clouds started to form over the battlefield as the orb in the middle of Dratini's head shined brightly. Rain poured from the clouds and onto Gligar before he could attack. His wings became waterlogged while the ground part of him was effected by the downpour.

"Now use Dragon Tail, Dratini!"

The blue Pokémon's tail started to glow as he swung it back and impaled Gligar with it. Blaine's Pokémon fell over from the attack and collapsed.

A collective gasp was heard throughout the gym as the storm clouds dissipated and the rain cleared up. Blaine took out Gligar's pokéball and called him back. "You were so courageous out there, Gligar."

"Yay Quinn!" Rachel bounced up and down in excitement.

"Impossible!" One of the young men yelled.

"No way!" Wes called out. "I can't believe it!"

Rachel stopped her movements and put her hands on her hips. "Yes way! And now that she already beat one, you can bet your blazer wearing ass she's going to take down the rest!"

"Calm down." Puck snorted and put a hand on Rachel's shoulder. He called out to Quinn, "You're doing great, Q!"

Quinn had a goofy grin on her face at her friends' words.

Blaine chuckled. "Nice job, Quinn. Now let's see if what your friend said was true about taking down the rest. Go, Doduo!"

"Doduo!"

Puck took out his pokédex and pointed it at the brown bird Pokémon with two heads.

"Doduo: The Two Bird Pokémon. By alternately raising and lowering its two heads, it balances itself to be more stable while running. It can run at a pace of over 60 miles per hour. It makes up in running what it can't do in flight."

"Return, Dratini!" Quinn held out the pokéball and retrieved the dragon Pokémon.

"Ha! Giving up already, hmm?" Wes mocked.

Quinn narrowed her eyes. "Go, Umbreon!"

The moonlight Pokémon howled as she was released from her ball.

A red light shot out of a pokéball attached to Rachel's belt loop.

"Espeon!"

"Elphaba? What are you doing out?" Rachel inquired.

Espeon sat on her hind legs and swayed her tail as she watched the battlefield.

"Oh, I bet you wanna see Umbreon kick some ass!"

Umbreon straightened her stance and gazed determinedly at Doduo when she heard Espeon.

"Use Peck, Doduo!"

"Dodge it, Umbreon!" The dark type Pokémon jumped over one of Doduo's heads as they attempted to peck at her. "Use Pursuit!"

"Bre!" Umbreon launched herself at Doduo and slammed into their body. The bird Pokémon cried out as they accidentally knocked their heads together from the impact.

"Come on, Doduo! Use Double Hit!"

"Use Taunt, Umbreon!" The dark type Pokémon wagged her tail tauntingly at the bird Pokémon.

Doduo squawked in anger before they both moved to attack and once again bumped heads.

"No, Doduo! Don't attack each other!" Blaine shouted helplessly as both heads started to peck at each other.

"Finish with Shadow Ball!"

A black and purple sphere started to form in front of Umbreon. She shot it out towards the fighting duo and they collapsed from the hit.

There was silence as Blaine called back Doduo before Wes threw his hands up in rage. "No! It can't be!"

Trent awkwardly raised a flag. "Doduo is unable to battle."

Rachel put her hand on her forehead in the shape of an L and mocked the group of boys while Espeon swayed her tail excitedly.

"Great job, Umbreon!" Quinn cheered.

"Yes, great job!" Blaine said. "I've never had a battle quite like this before!"

The blonde raised an eyebrow at the jolly gym leader.

"I saved my strongest for last. Are you ready for this, Quinn? Go, Pavarotti!"

"Xatu!"

Quinn's eyes widened at the green bird Pokémon.

"You look surprised." Blaine noted and crossed his arms. "My older brother gave me this Pokémon when I was just a little kid and Pavarotti was just a little Natu." He smiled and got a faraway look in his eyes. "He also has a Xatu."

"I swear, this seems so familiar," Quinn murmured to herself. Her eyes widened as she was hit with a random memory.

"Oh, no! Here come the Decepticons!"

"It's Megatron!"

"We're going to have to call in for aerial backup! Go, Xatu!"

She shook herself out of her reverie and stared at the boy in front of her. "Why do you look so familiar," she muttered.

Blaine refocused on the battle at hand. "Did you say something, Quinn?"

"What? Oh, no." She flushed as some of the boys gave her pompous looks. "Let's get the show on the road!"

"Use Wing Attack, Pavarotti!"

"Not taking any punches, are ya, Blaine? Use Faint Attack, Umbreon!"

The moonlight Pokémon ran at full force as the bird's wings glowed white and attempted to strike her. Umbreon faked a left and dodged Wing Attack before she ran to the right and tackled Xatu.

"Tu!" Xatu crowed out as he was hit.

"Use Aeriel Ace, Pavarotti!"

The green bird flew at Umbreon in a streak of white and tackled her back.

"Try to shake it off, Umbreon!"

"Bre!" She whimpered as Xatu continued his onslaught.

"Now use Fly, Pavarotti!"

Xatu picked up Umbreon and flew into the air. He slowly circled around the room until he picked up speed. Once he was going fast enough, he threw her and she went tumbling to the ground.

Quinn gasped as her Pokémon hit the floor.

Espeon tried to run into the field but Rachel held her back.

"Umbreon is unable to ba—"

"Wait!" The gym leader called out.

Everyone watched with bated breath as Umbreon shakily stood back up.

Blaine raised an impressed eyebrow. "The battle continues!"

Quinn stared in disbelief before cheering her Pokémon on. "You can do this, Umbreon! I believe in you!"

"Espeon!"

Umbreon glanced off to the side to see the purple psychic Pokémon staring at her with a supportive gaze. She glanced back at her opponent and nodded to herself.

Quinn formed a small smile as she watched the exchange. "All right! Let's do this!"

"Pavarotti, use Night Shade!"

"Use Double Team, Umbreon!"

Xatu stared in confusion as the moonlight Pokémon created multiple decoys of herself.

"Try to hit them all, Pavarotti!"

"Xatu!" Xatu's eyes glowed and he attacked each illusionary copy.

Quinn held her breath as the green psychic Pokémon slashed through the images. Right as he was about to attack the real Umbreon, she called it, "Shadow Ball!"

Umbreon shot out the purple and black sphere right onto Xatu.

Blaine's eyes widened as he watched the Pokémon his brother gave him before going away finally be defeated.

The room was in an uproar when the gym leader called back Xatu into his pokéball.

"This is an outrage!"

"There's no way blondie could—"

"Yay! You did it Quinn," Rachel yelled excitedly.

Blaine held up a hand to silence everyone as he walked towards the blonde. "In honor of your courageous Pokémon battling, I give you the CourageBadge!" Quinn grabbed the badge and grinned at it. She looked up to thank Blaine when her smile faltered at the intense look he was giving her. He glanced at the sidelines and she followed his gaze to a beaming Rachel. "Courage." Quinn raised an eyebrow in confusion. He gave another unsubtle glance towards the brunette and stated again, "Courage."

"Um, yeah. Okay. Thanks…" She trailed off and walked briskly to the sidelines.

Can't she battle a normal gym leader for once?

She was cut off from her thoughts by her friends.

"You did it!" Rachel exclaimed as she latched onto the blonde.

"Hell yeah, Q! Ya kicked pyramid-brows' ass!" Puck yelled while squeezing himself into the hug.

"Are you okay, Blaine?"

"Do you want us all to battle her?"

"Yeah! That'll teach her a lesson!"

"No, no! You guys. She beat me fair and square!"

"But—"

"No. Besides, that was the most fun gym battle I've had in a while!"

"You can't be serious…" Wes trailed off in disbelief.

Rachel extracted herself from the hug and stuck her tongue out at the boys.

Blaine chuckled at her antics before addressing Quinn. "Thank you for the battle, Quinn! I hope we cross paths again!"

"Same here!"

"Oh, and remember," he called out as they were walking towards the exit, "courage!"

Quinn sighed before giving a tight smile. "Yeah, sure!"

"Come on, Elphaba! Umbreon!" Rachel beckoned from the door.

Espeon had just finished using her psychic abilities to heal most of Umbreon's injuries before she nodded to their humans. The moonlight Pokémon quirked her head to the side but walked up to Quinn regardless.

"Elphaba!" Rachel called again.

The psychic type Pokémon trotted up to the group of boys.

"Huh?" Wes looked down. "What do you want—Ouch! Holy shit! It bit me!"

Quinn's mouth dropped open in shock while Puck couldn't contain his laughter.

Rachel had a hand covering her mouth in disbelief and went to reprimand her Pokémon before Wes' words caught up to her. "Wait, it? Excuse you, but Elphaba is a girl! That does it, bite him again!"

"Elphaba, return!" Quinn called out after she grabbed the pokéball from Rachel's belt loop.

Rachel gasped. "Quinn, that was uncalled for!"

Quinn ignored her and called back her Umbreon as well. "Let's get out of here."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh, he'll be fine—"

"I think I'm bleeding!"

She narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Oh, don't be such a cry baby! You want blood? I'll give you blood!"

Puck and Quinn grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out the doors.

"Hey, Q." The boy called over Rachel's struggling form.

"Yeah?"

"Is it just me, or does it seem like we're always having to run outta these places?"

Rachel freed herself from their grasp and climbed down the rope ladder with a huff.

"It's not just you, Puck. It's not just you."

A/N: While I'm only using Pokémon from the first two generations, I totally modeled this town after Fortree City from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. :p

Oh, and thank you Kitaoji Sora for suggesting a Hoothoot for Rachel!

Please leave your thoughts in a review or tell me on chelsko. tumblr. com (without the spaces)! :)