Valor and her sons hadn't been home very long when there was a knock at the door. She got up to answer it and was very surprised to find Felicia there, a Rocket grunt behind her. Valor's eyes widened and she immediately reached into her apron, snatching up a pokeball. Felicia grabbed her hand. "No, no—it's okay, Auntie Valor," she said quickly. "He's a friend of Arden's."

Valor blinked and turned around. "Arden Delta Blake!" she said. "Have you been making friends with Team Rocket members?"

Arden rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Just the one," he mumbled.

"Arden," said Valor sternly, placing her hands on her hips. "Team Rocket is a criminal gang! How could you make friends with a gang member?"

"Hey, now—Gaius is part of a gang, too!" said Arden. "He heads it, even!"

"Hey, hey, hey," said Gaius, who had—until that point—been munching on a cookie and watching the proceedings with interest. "Don't drag me into this, baby brother."

"Gaius' gang don't steal pokemon," Valor said, turning to glare at Dixie. "Felicia, get in here. Get away from that criminal."

"Yes, Auntie Valor," said Felicia, edging past the woman, into the house. "Oooh, you made cookies?"

Dixie frowned as Valor slammed the door in his face. Dixie sighed and slumped his shoulders. "She's just as bad as the brother," he muttered, crossing his arms. He sighed again and moved around the side of the house, where there was a small alley, and leaned against the wall there. "Why did I even come here…? Ah, there's nothing for it, now." He kicked a small pebble across the ground. "I might as well stick around."

Within the house, Felicia sat down at the table with Arden and Gaius, while Valor fetched her a couple cookies and a glass of milk. "What's Dixie doing in Johto?" asked Arden.

Felicia shrugged, kicking her feet back and forth beneath the table. "Dunno. All he said was he was looking for you," she said. Valor set the cookies and milk in front of her. "Thank you, Auntie Valor."

"Oh, it's no problem," said Valor, sitting down next to Felicia. "We're always happy to have you around, Felicia. So, what brings you around?"

"I got a new pokemon," Felicia said brightly. "I wanted to show you and Gaius. …and Arden, I guess."

Gaius leaned across the table. "That so? Whatcha got?"

Felicia held up a pokeball. "Go, Ajax!" she said, prompting the totodile to appear.

Valor clapped her hands together gleefully and leaned toward the pokemon. "Oh—it's so adorable!" she said, rubbing the totodile's snout. "Where'd you get it?"

"That Rocket grunt, Dixie, gave him to me in exchange for guiding him to Goldenrod," said Felicia. "It was a nice gesture. He doesn't seem like such a bad guy."

Valor frowned. "Well, do you know where he got it?"

"I… I didn't ask," said Felicia. "Does it really matter so much?"

"Mom's right," said Gaius. "Team Rocket's bad news as a whole, and as individuals. That pokemon's probably stolen. You should go find that grunt and tell him to take it back to whoever he took it from."

"Dile!" interjected Ajax, wrapping his arms around Felicia's leg. Felicia lifted the little pokemon up onto her lap and hugged him tightly.

"But I love Ajax," she said. "We're friends! He wants to stay with me—right Ajax?"

"Toooootodile!" said Ajax, waving his arms around.

Gaius leaned back in his chair. "Well, he does look happy…"

"Of course he does," Arden said. "He can't do anything except smile."

"Oh, shush, Arden," said Felicia. "You're just jealous because I get along with my pokemon and they love me. I see your poor wartortle over there. He doesn't look like he likes you very much at all."

Arden crossed his arms. "Well, that's because he doesn't," said Arden. "But that's all his fault and not mine."

"War!" said Gimpy, scowling. Arden flicked the pokemon between the eyes. "Tort!"

"Oh, yeah," Felicia said flatly. "I completely see where it's not your fault." In her lap, Ajax snickered.

Scowling deeply, Arden said, "Oh, yeah, you think you're such a good trainer, huh? Well, you're not. I could beat you in a battle and I could do it easily."

"Is that what you think?" said Felicia, laughing. Ajax laughed right along with her. "That's just precious."

Arden stood up. "That's it!" he said. "I am tired of you belittling me all the time, you little brat! Outside, now! We're battling."

Felicia looked at him coldly. "You won't win," she said. "I've been training for years. You've been training for—what? A couple months?"

"We are battling," said Arden stubbornly.

Felicia sighed. "Does everything always have to be so dramatic with you?" she said. "Fine. We'll battle when I'm finished with these cookies. Why don't you go outside and wait for me, or something."

"Fine," said Arden, grabbing Gimpy by the arm and marching to the door. Gaius followed him out into the street.

"You sure you want to battle her, baby brother?" he asked, closing the door behind himself. "She's not just making empty bluffs. Her team does have an advantage over yours, level-wise. It'll be quite a kick to the pride."

"Nothing's worse than having her always put me down like that," spat Arden.

Gaius sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess I can understand that," he said. "Here, let me see your team. Maybe I can give you a few pointers that could help you."

Arden smiled. "Really?" he said. "Alright!"

He sent out all his pokemon at once. Immediately, Blazer and Gentry went at it and had to be pulled apart, as Cruelty sat hunched, a little ways from the others, watching them malevolently. Gaius looked the pokemon over. "I'd start with golbat," he said. "Your golbat's got decent moves and it pretty fast, so begin with him. And for that vulpix—well, it'll give you that much more a boost if you evolve it."

"Evolve him? I don't know how," said Arden, rubbing his arm.

Gaius slapped one hand over his eyes. "Baby brother, baby brother, baby brother—didn't you pay any attention in school?" he asked with an exasperated sigh. "Vulpix is one the pokemon that evolves when you touch it with a firestone."

"I don't have a firestone," said Arden.

"Ah, hold on," Gaius said, digging through the pockets of his long, leather coat. At length, he located the object of his search and held it up. "Here. Use this one."

Arden took it gingerly, examining it. "It's beautiful," he said, staring at the orange stone. "How does it work?"

"It lets of a sort of radiation—"

"Ah! Radiation?!" Arden thrust the stone out, away from himself.

"Calm down," said Gaius. "It only affects pokemon. It changes their genetic structure, allowing them to reach the next stage of their evolution."

"That doesn't sound too safe…"

"It's fine," said Gaius. "Just touch that stone to your vulpix, and it'll evolve."

Arden nodded, and knelt down next to Blazer, who was being held away from Gentry by Gaius. Blazer began to glow, changing into a ninetails with luxurious, lavender fur. "He looks so… fruity," said Arden.

"Normally, they're supposed to be yellow," said Gaius. "Anyway, you should probably put your pokemon back in their balls. You might not want Felicia to know I was coaching you on this. Even if you win, she'd just mock you for needing my help. She's a sweet girl… but she just hates you for some reason."

A/N: Whoo, fifty chapters! This is a huge accomplishment for me. To celebrate, I baked you a cake.

...but then I eated it.