Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Also, do we really need disclaimers at the beginning of every chapter?

(ROUTE 32)

Nick watched, already bored as the two Trainers began arguing again. Honestly, "arguing" was too light a term to describe what they'd been doing.

They'd been travelling for a few days now, and in those few days they'd learned something very interesting about their new teammate: he really liked to battle.

They'd only begun to suspect it when they'd started down Route 32. They'd run into a Trainer who'd challenged them to a two-on-two battle, but instead of Amy the first one in front of Nick had been Andy. He'd called him back, of course, but the other Trainer took it as a yes and Amy had been eager for a match anyway, so it worked out. While they had won ("Why is it always Zubats?" he'd grumbled) the very fact that Andy had rushed to battle like that made him wary.

As they'd gone down the route this process had repeated itself, Andy rushing in to battle wild Pokémon only for Nick and the others to help him, and each time he rushed forward their idea that he liked battles seemed more likely. He doubted Andy liked to hurt others (he was very nice otherwise), but he seemed genuinely happy to be in a fight. Nick didn't know how to handle it, but for now there weren't any problems.

At least he's getting along with everybody, Nick had thought.

Recently they'd run into two Campers (though why they used that term he had no idea) who'd started arguing which of their Nidoran was better. Nick had only gotten involved because Andy wanted to battle them and now he was watching as they argued who "deserved" to go first. And that's where they'd been for the past twenty minutes.

"Maybe you should go first," Roland, the male camper, said, "I wouldn't want his Pokémon to be tired when they face us."

"Are you implying that we're weaker than you?" Liz, the female, said dangerously.

"There's no need for me to say it. Anyone could see it just fine."

Their arguing starting anew Nick sighed and walked past them, Roland shifting to let him pass before rounding on Liz again. Just before he was out of earshot he heard her say, "That's it! Nidoran, let's take this guy down!"

"Nidoran go!"

"And now they battle each other," Nick muttered. He began sprinting. "Let's leave before they finish!"

They travelled like that for most of the day, chatting about this or that as they went. Nick was happy to spend time with them, little shivers going down his spine as every time he thought of where he was.

I'm travelling with my Pokémon, he thought, and we are on our way to beating the strongest Trainer. He frowned. But first…

"Andy, are you feeling alright?"

The little Normal-type nodded, a bright and sunny smile on his face.

"It's just that I don't want you getting discouraged is all. We'll work on some more strategies when we break for lunch." He checked his PokéGear and blinked. "Which just so happens to be in twenty minutes. Race you!"

With that he took off running, surprising everybody. He turned back to see if they were following and saw Andy riding Amy and giving what sounded like a war cry. He laughed at the sight and ran fast, the fresh air filling his lungs.

I've really got to figure out how this "bond" thing works.

(*)

"So, how are do you feel about the time you've spent with us?" Jerry asked.

Andy smiled back at him. "It's super fun. You're all so nice."

Jerry nodded and asked the question. "So, you really like battling?"

"Uh-huh." Andy nodded. "I have to be really strong, cause then I can beat the other boys."

Jerry nodded, but didn't question it. Beating other Pokémon and proving your strength was important, so he couldn't hold it against him. "So, is that the only reason? You don't want anything else?"

"No." Andy looked at him strangely. "Do you want something else?"

Jerry blinked at him. "I guess not." He chuckled. "Should be fun to see where we go from here."

(*)

"I like the new guy," Ellie said confidently.

"Are you sure, though? We still don't know much about him, and he was given to us. Who gives a Pokémon they have to specially breed?" Amy knew she sounded paranoid, but she couldn't relax about it.

"Maybe he just thought Nick would be a good Trainer," Ellie suggested helpfully. "We did earn a Gym Badge."

"It's still suspicious," she grunted.

"Amy," Ellie asked, concerned, "are you worried about your spot on the team?"

She looked down at her feet. "Neither I nor Jerry could beat Falkner," she ground out finally.

"So what?" Ellie shrugged. "I couldn't beat him either. I would have lost without my ability working when it did."

"So you're saying it was luck?" she asked hopefully, glancing at her teammate.

"Definitely," Ellie answered.

She thought about that for a minute. "Then we should get to training, and harder now than ever. We can't always rely on luck"

"Yep, what you're saying makes sense."

"So," she asked slyly, "who's practicing with Andy?"

They both looked back at their Trainer, then at Jerry and the pink puff walking beside him. They looked at each other in mutual understanding.

"Jerry," they said together and giggled.

"Soups on," Nick called and they all rushed to their bowls.

(AFTER LUNCH)

Andy huffed and stood straighter, his gaze focused on his opponent. "You lose!" He rushed forward arms swinging as he beat his enemy into the floor. Stepping back with a satisfied smile, he watched as his enemy lay there, too weak to stand up.

"Andy, stop attacking the rocks! We need to get back to training."

He turned to see his Trainer watching him, Ellie dozing while Amy and Jerry stood beside their Trainer. Excited, he dashed towards them and waited in front of Jerry.

"Now Andy, Jerry here is going to be your sparring partner again and I'll be over here watching. I'd like to get a little for info on how you fight before I try this new thing."

Andy looked at his sparring partner and tilted his head. "So all I have to do is win a fight?"

"Not exactly, but yeah," Jerry answered.

Nick cleared his throat and they focused on him again. "Before you two start I'm going to try something new. You can back out if you want, so Amy?"

Amy walked over and before Andy could ask she'd swung her leaf forward and covered them in purple powder.

Jerry squawked and jumped back, but he'd already been covered. "WHY?"

Nick raised his hand. "My fault, I'm testing something." He gestured to two bottles at his side. "These are Antidotes for if the Poison gets too much to handle. Not for you, Andy, it's for Jerry." Andy stared at him, confused, and he sighed. "I'm checking a theory, so just- just keep battling."

Jerry huffed and flew forward, firing a Hypnosis as he did. Andy yelped and dodged, quickly balancing and jumping forward.

"Pound!" he cried, swinging his arms forward to hit his teammate.

Jerry took the hits before flying upward, shaking his head at Andy. "Maybe we should start with standard strength trai-" Jerry winced and dropped, quickly flapping his wings to stay in the air.

Andy was confused, but he quickly shouted "Charm!" and looked at Jerry with a cuter look on his face. Jerry frowned and fired another Hypnosis, which Andy ran from.

I can't reach him from here, Andy thought, staring up at Jerry. And I can't make him come down. I'll keep using Charm then.

He gave Jerry another cue look and the Flying-type quickly swooped down and tried to hit him with Peck. Andy grunted as he was hit and sent flying, but quickly stood up and rubbed his belly, surprised. He looked at Jerry, who'd landed in a tree, and smiled.

"You're attack wasn't very strong," he taunted, remembering what Amy tried to tell him. "Am I just too Charming?"

"How long have you been waiting for a chance to say that?" Jerry asked.

"All day," Andy said. Before Jerry could respond he hit him with another Charm attack.

"That's it!" Jerry shouted and flew down to hit him with a Peck. Andy waited until he was too close to turn away before he shouted "Pound!" and began hitting him again. Jerry tried to fly away, but suddenly seized up and fell to the floor.

As soon as he saw this Nick ran over and used the Antidotes, spraying Jerry with something else too. Andy watched in surprise as Jerry stood up as if he hadn't been Poisoned or constantly hit and Nick turned to him.

"Do you need a Potion?" he asked, holding up a bottle of the stuff he'd given Jerry. When Andy shook his head Nick nodded and sat back. "Well, this explains something anyway."

Amy, having walked over from where she'd been watching, looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked their Trainer. Andy nodded, he also wanted to know what Nick was saying.

"In our battle with Falkner his Pidgeotto froze as if it was Paralyzed," he said, looking closely at them. "At first I thought it was Ellie's Static, but most status ailments don't allow for more than one at a time. So if the Poison hadn't affected Pidgeotto in that way when it did we would have lost."

Andy raised his hand and Nick focused on him. "How does the Poison do that?"

Nick shrugged and said, "If you're curious, Pidgeotto was tired and was being hurt faster than anyone expected thanks to Amy's Poison. But, and this is a big but, we still would have lost if he knocked Ellie out first, so his Pidgeotto slowing down because it got tired was very lucky."

Andy raised his hand again. "What?"

Jerry sighed and Andy focused on him. "Certain statuses can go together, but Poison and Paralysis aren't able to go together. Pidgeotto being just a little more worn out, along with Poison, are probably the only reason we won the first time around," the Hoothoot explained. "Get it now?"

Before Andy could ask for a better answer Amy started shoving him away. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"We won because we got lucky, and no matter how they explain it I'll still hate it." She moved to stand across from him and growled. "Now, I'm taking over as your sparring partner because we are winning our next battle with skill and not luck."

Andy felt something in his chest flutter and sent a smirk at Amy, bending his legs slightly. "That sounds brilliant."

She smirked back and he charged her.

(VIOLET CITY)

Alex smiled at his newest Pokémon. "You, who now stand before me, have been chosen to become my latest partner. But not only have I chosen you, you have chosen to accept me, and for that I am grateful. But really all I wanted to say was just, really, just thank you so much for helping me. I mean that." He felt his face flush slightly.

Hoppip nodded, letting out a little cry of happiness.

"Alright, now," he said, turning on his heel, "we begin our training." He looked at his team and frowned. One, two, three… He sighed. "Hoppip I need you in front of me."

The bouncing Grass-type quickly took his place alongside his teammates and waited for what came next. Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully, trying to decide who would match up where.

"Okay, so it's Hoppip with Jerry and Growlithe with Spinarak," he decided.

Hoothoot glanced at Hoppip before looking at Alex doubtfully as Spinarak glanced at Growlithe and skittered nervously.

"Don't worry, everything should work out alright," Alex assured them. Shaking their heads they moved off in their pairs and began training.

Alex watched as Hoothoot and Hoppip fought, Hoothoot throwing itself into every Tackle. Even as he watched Hoppip did nothing but bounce around avoiding attacks and occasionally bounce of the ground as if trying to get it to do something.

Looking towards Spinarak he watched as Growlithe dodged the tiny Bug-types attacks with surprising ease. No matter what Spinarak did, whether it was a String Shot or Poison Sting, Growlithe was able to avoid our counter every move. Alex meanwhile was waiting to see if these were all the moves the newest team members knew.

Glancing at Hoppip again he blinked as the Grass-type glowed green and began bouncing with way more energy than he should have had. Did he just heal himself? Alex wondered. Just then he saw someone in some sort of gi coming towards them. He stared when he realized who it was. FALKNER?! What? Why?

"Hello, young man," Falkner called. Alex stared and looked behind him, but there wasn't anyone there. "Yes, I was calling you. Are these your Pokémon?"

He shut his mouth and nodded when he realized that yes, Falkner was talking to him.

"You know you can't just train them out in the middle of the street like this, right?" Falkner continued.

Alex just nodded again, still trying to wrap his head around Falkner speaking to him. The Gym Leader sighed and kept talking.

"Well, are you going to move? There's a training ground at the Pokémon Center you can use, if you don't want to head out of town to train."

Finally Alex realized that his Pokémon had stopped battling and were watching him. "Yes, of course." He struggled for something else to say. "Thank you, Falkner sir."

Falkner stopped and Alex tensed, trying to figure out what he'd said. "Thank you," he said finally,heading for his Gym. Suddenly he froze and turned to look back at Alex, staring at him thoughtfully. Making up his mind about something he walked back to the surprised Trainer. "Actually there is something I could use your help with."

Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Yes, absolutely, anything!" he rushed out, excited. Something nudged his leg and he looked down to see Growlithe staring up at him with confusion in his eyes. "It'll be fine Growlithe." He looked back at Falkner. "It will be fine, right?"

"Should be," Falkner said. "Recently an unknown Pokémon has been causing trouble near the Sprout Tower. The monks have tried to handle it, but whatever it is keeps giving them trouble. Think you're up for it?"

Alex nodded, a wide grin spreading across his face. "No problem, I can at least be your backup."

Falkner smiled and nodded. "Great. Meet me at the tower in 10 minutes."

With that Falkner left and Alex let out a relieved sigh. Turning to his team he grinned and said, "Well, we can still train afterwards, right?"

Spinarak looked relieved.

(*)

Alex took another calming breath before strutting over the bridge. "Hey."

Falkner looked up and waved, causing Alex to smile nervously.

Keep it together man. You've got to be calm about this. Standing next to Falkner he turned to him and asked, "So, what do, uh, we know about this Pokémon?"

Falkner shook his head and grinned apologetically. "It's fairly tough, but considering who it's fighting even that's debatable. If you have any ideas feel free to share them."

Alex nodded, an idea already beginning to form. When they got to the yard Falkner removed six Pokéballs from his belt and began organizing them, checking each one as if deciding which would be best. Alex nervously began rocking on his heels, trying to work up the nerve to say what he was thinking.

Should I tell him, he thought, glancing at Falkner. Maybe he already knows. I don't want to sound rude, but what if he doesn't know? Maybe it'll help him.

"So, um, I had a, uh, idea, if you want to hear it," he croaked out.

Falkner looked up at him. "Sure, go ahead," he said, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Well, since this mystery Pokémon is fighting Bellsprout I thought it could be a Fire-type or a Psychic-type?" he rushed out. "I mean, unless you think it's something else, I can-"

"No, it's a good theory," Falkner noted, finally deciding on one of his Pokéballs.

HE ACKNOWLEDGED IT! Alex thought excitedly. Out loud he asked, "So, what's the plan?"

"Your Spinarak can act as support, slowing down whatever it is with its String Shot, while my Pokémon fight it directly. If my Pokémon get knocked out it should be weakened enough for your team to handle. For now though we should wait for it to show up." With that Falkner sat down crossed his legs and closed his eyes, the Pokéball he'd chosen resting in front of him.

Alex blinked and shifted, unsure of what to do. "Should- should I go and ask the Elder for snacks or something?"

Falkner shrugged, "If you want."

"Cool," he said, hurrying back into the building. Noticing a monk nearby he rushed over to him. "Excuse me sir, but were any snacks prepared for Falkner?"

The monk nodded and began walking away. Confused, Alex followed after him, noting the cracks in the walls and the way the monk kept shifting one of his hands to the inside of his robes.

"Nervous?" he asked, startling his guide.

"This Pokémon has attacked us when we've least expected, but so far it has taken little," the monk answered. "We hope that Falkner can help us with this problem."

Reaching the kitchen the monk took a tray off a table and handed it to Alex. "That should do for now. Please, feel free to come back if it isn't enough."

Alex nodded, his mind focused on something else. Looking up he noticed the monk staring at him.

"Is something wrong with it?" the monk asked, sounding confused.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just, well, why not contact someone else, or gang up on it when it shows up?" Alex asked. He felt bad about casting doubt on Falkner, but he was genuinely curious.

"Ganging up on it might not do much at all. We do train often, but it defeats our Bellsprout too quickly for us to do much against it," he explained. "And besides, Falkner may be the strongest Trainer in town, but the Elder thinks this will be a good character building moment for him."

Alex nodded, thanking the monk before turning and heading back to the yard. As he walked he considered what the monk had told him, trying and failing to figure out why the Elder thought Falkner needed character growth. Wasn't he grown enough to be a Gym Leader?

Shaking his head he stepped through the door and focused on Violet City's Gym Leader, who'd released a large black Flying-type. "I got the snacks."

Falkner and his Pokémon turned to look at him, the Pokémon focusing more on the snacks than the person holding them.

"Great, I've been getting peckish," Falkner said.

Walking over, Alex stared back at the mysterious Pokémon and tried to figure out what it was. So, I know it's a Flying-type. It does look sort of like a Murkrow, but it's too fat to be a Murkrow. Isn't it?

"So, that's a Murkrow?" he asked, offering Falkner the tray.

"Close," Falkner answered. "It's Murkrow's evolution, Honchkrow."

Alex nodded, watching closely as Falkner gave Honchkrow some of the snacks. Getting an idea, he placed the tray on the floor and released his Growlithe. The orange Fire-type tilted its head at him and he smiled, snatching some snacks off the tray.

"Care for a bite?" he asked, offering the snacks.

Growlithe smiled and moved closer, but just before he took the snacks his ears perked up and he turned to face some bushes. Sniffing the air he began growling, gaze now focused on the bushes. Alex heard a twig snap and jumped to his feet, staring nervously at the bush, which now appeared to be rustling.

"Honchkrow," he heard Falkner say. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Honchkrow stand in front of his Trainer, its chest puffing up in an attempt to look bigger.

"What do we do?" Alex asked nervously.

Rather than answer him directly Falkner commanded, "Thunder Wave."

Thin strings of electricity burst from Honchkrow and hit the bush, a screech rising from behind it. Alex jumped at the sudden attack, but quickly released his Spinarak.

"Spinarak, use String Shot on that bush!"

Spinarak hesitated briefly before firing his String Shot towards the bush. Before the attack landed a Pokémon leapt from the bush and fell over, static dancing across its brown fur. Alex stared as the Teddiursa struggled to get up, but it soon fell over again. Thin and scraggly, it was covered in scratches and glared fearfully at them from its position on the ground. When Honchkrow moved its eyes shot to the Flying-type and stayed there, its body frozen.

Alex struggled for something to say. "It looks like it needs a Pokémon Center," he stated lamely.

To his surprise the Teddiursa's eyes widened and it jumped to its feet, dashing towards them. Before it got too close Honchkrow was on it, almost casually batting the smaller Pokémon into the ground and holding it there.

"Probably, but we can't just take it there," Falkner noted. "Want to catch it?"

Alex shook his head, looking warily at the Normal-type. "I want to, but I can't be sure it's alright. Not until we at least feed it something."

"A…sensible decision," Falkner reluctantly agreed.

Honchkrow let Teddiursa up and Falkner offered it one of their rice cakes, which the hungry Pokémon quickly stuffed into its mouth, plopping onto the floor as it did. They did that for a few more minutes, every snack they offered almost immediately consumed by the hungry Teddiursa, who was beginning to look a little less tense, though that may have been the berry Falkner gave it.

"Do you feel kind of bad for planning to attack it?" Falkner asked suddenly.

"Yes," Alex answered, rubbing the back of his head.

Falkner nodded. "Good, at least it's not just me." He handed Teddiursa an apple, watching as it finished half the apple in one bite. "Listen Alex, I need to tell the Elder about this. I trust you and your Pokémon can take Teddiursa to the Pokémon Center?"

Alex nodded, an excited grin spreading across his face. He quickly released his remaining Pokémon and told explained what they were doing before facing Falkner and saying, "No problem. I promise I won't let you down."

Teddiursa got to its feet and walked through the door, quickly running back out when one of the monks glanced at it. Alex chuckled and looked at his team.

"You guys help Teddiursa and I'll explain the situation to any Trainers we meet," he suggested.

They let out cries of agreement and Alex smiled. Walking slowly for Teddiursa's sake they made their way to the Pokémon Center. They were lucky in that nobody asked them any questions, though they got a few odd looks, but it was only once they'd entered the Center that Alex recognized a problem. Teddiursa froze as everyone in the Center turned to look at them and would have run had Growlithe not stopped it.

Clearing his throat Alex walked forward, trying to project some confidence through his movements. Their walk through the lobby felt like it took forever, but everybody seemed to be continuing their conversations or just ignoring him and his Pokémon. When he reached the front desk he turned to Teddiursa and bent to lift it.

"Don't worry no-one here will do anything but help you," he whispered, hoping to keep it calm. Turning to the Nurse he placed Teddiursa on the table and smiled. "Hello, could you please help us? I found this, um, wandering around, and I uh, thought this would be the best place for it."

"Of course," the Nurse replied, typing something into her computer. "So, were you wandering or the Pokémon?"

Alex thought about that. "Yes."

The Nurse blinked at him but nodded, picking Teddiursa up and holding it close. "We can do a standard check-up for now, but it doesn't look like there'll be any problems. I can tell you more afterwards."

Alex blinked, nodding slowly. "Sounds like a plan. I'll just wait over there."

He walked quickly, heading for the seats, and plopped into the one farthest from everyone else. His Pokémon followed close by and he recalled them almost absentmindedly, leaving only Growlithe. The Fire -type quickly settled at Alex's feet and rested as his Trainer sighed, considering the day's events.

Today was AWESOME! he decided. Sure, there was the whole thing with the Teddiursa, but I got to meet and spend time with Falkner! He heard someone clear their throat next to him and looked up to see a boy with a backpack and a Zubat on his head watching them. On the other hand…

"Hey, was that Pokémon yours?" the boy asked.

Remembering how weak Teddiursa looked Alex answered, "Yes it was actually. Why do you ask?"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Growlithe tense at his feet, looking relaxed to anyone who wouldn't know better.

"Because I've never heard of a Teddiursa wandering around Violet City," the boy stated. "So, how'd you get it?"

Why does he look familiar? Alex thought. Finally it clicked and his eyes widened. "I met you a few days ago!"

Growlithe barked at that, finally looking up and noticing who the boy was.

"Oh, you mean when I caught Zubat?" the boy asked, reaching up to scratch the Pokémon in question.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I remember because I caught Hoothoot around the same time. Um, Simon, right?"

"Stanley," he corrected, sighing.

"Right, sorry."

"No problem. So, what about that Teddiursa?"

Alex shrugged. "There isn't much to tell. I found a Teddiursa and it was hurt, so I brought it here."

"Really?" Stanley asked, sounding surprised. "You just randomly decided to bring an injured Pokémon here?"

Alex grinned, the urge to tell somebody what had happened getting to him. "Not really. See, I was training my Pokémon when Falkner comes by and goes 'You can't do that here' and I'm go 'Yeah, I get it' and then I-"

Someone cleared their throat in front of him and Alex looked away from Stanley to see Falkner standing in front of them.

"So," the Flying-type Gym Leader started, "I've spoken with the Elder and they've got no interest in keeping Teddiursa around. The Nurse tells me that there shouldn't be any problems, but Teddiursa will need to be careful how much it eats for now. Something about too much rich food making it sick right now. Also it's been throwing up, just in case you were wondering." He quirked an eyebrow at Alex. "If this is a bad time I can…?"

"Um, no sir," Stanley said shakily. "I was just asking Alex how he got his Teddiursa."

"Um, Stanley, it was never my Pokémon," Alex admitted. "I just said that in case you wanted to catch it."

Stanley nodded dumbly, his focus on Falkner.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? Falkner, Violet City Gym Leader," Falkner said, holding his hand out to the schoolboy.

Stanley looked between Falkner and the hand he'd offered, looking both confused and awed. Finally he shook the Gym Leader's hand and croaked out what sounded like 'Hello'.

"Are you a Trainer too?" Falkner asked.

"Ye-yes sir. I'm, uh, studying, so I can, uh–" Stanley's eyes widened. "Oh no, I forgot I've got a class project." He bowed to Falkner before taking off, turning back at the door to call, "Bye Alex!"

"Bye," Alex said lamely. When Stanley was gone he turned to Falkner and asked, "So, what do we do from here?"

Falkner shrugged. "Not sure. Truth to tell I think you should catch it, and if that doesn't work we take it somewhere else."

"Why wouldn't it just stay here?" Alex suggested. "The Center has everything."

"It could, but considering the Center needs to take care of multiple injured Pokémon, which often change from day to day, any permanent residents would act as more of a hindrance."

"Shouldn't you be telling Teddiursa all this?" Alex asked.

"I did, but it was… occupied," Falkner said, turning his head away. "I'm sure it heard me though. Anyway, I've got to head back to the Gym. See you around."

He turned and left, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts. After a few minutes though Alex realized something very important.

"Did he just dump whatever happens to Teddiursa on me?" he asked.

Growlithe nodded sagely.

"Of course," Alex muttered

(END CHAPTER 09)

Greetings readers! I went a little off topic with this chapter, but I'm probably going to do something similar with Stanley and/or Maya next. It has recently been suggested to me that I ask you, the readers, for criticism for my story, so if you have anything you'd like to point out I'd like to hear it.