The Legend of Leen

Chapter 4: Good Company

"You like that technique, Misty? We found the Technical Machine in Mt. Moon."
"Mega Punch is a good attack, but you won't win with a Fire type, Jason. It just won't work!"

"Char-Char can handle it! Hang in there, buddy!"

"Chaaaar!"

"Mega Punch!"

"Staryu! Hm. I'm impressed. But get ready for this! Starmie! Go!"

"Oh, wow. Its evolved form. This is gonna be tough! Get ready, Char-Char! Mega Punch! Then get ready to—"

"Bubblebeam!"

"—Dodge!"

"Chaaar! Man…der…."

"Uh oh. Char-Char, get up! Good! Just be quick! Dodge every attack! Mega Punch again!"

"Charmander!"

"It…it's barely scratching it…."

"Water Gun. Finish it off."

"Charman! Der…."

Char-Char fainted.

"Okay…go, Metapod! Use Tackle!" (Crossing my fingers, but it looks like we're not gonna win this one, either. Maybe next time we'll get lucky. We'll keep trying and trying until we do it, though. Maybe in the end it'll make Char-Char stronger. I'll capture more Pokémon and train Char-Char until he can handle anything! We're going to be the best! It's our destiny….)

"That look like a good spot?"

"Good as any."

It had been a week. Shelly had gone from taking every opportunity to shove it in Jason's face that she couldn't stand him . . . to merely being standoffish. It was definitely a drastic improvement.

At first, Jason had just tried to be polite, but she just wouldn't let up. It began to grate against his nerves. She nagged him for everything she could think of: He couldn't make a fire fast enough, what kind of explorer was he? If he didn't stop making so much noise when he ate, she was going to shove her fork down his throat. He should have used Castform to make it rain during the battle with Onix to give his team an advantage (which, admittedly, was a good idea that Jason had been too startled to think of at the time).

Things finally came to a head when Shelly overheard Jason talking to Silvia on the third night of their travels together.

"No sign of anything yet. But we're halfway to this new town, and I'm really hoping they'll be able to point me in the right direction."

"It would make things easier, that's for sure."

"No kidding. It was a long shot before, but now I'm getting hopeful about actually finding something."

While the two had been conversing via vid comm, Shelly had walked up with a bundle of kindling from the sparse shrubs that dotted the landscape.

"Who is that?" She demanded, chucking the sticks to the ground by the fire, their tips kicking up a cloud of angry sparks.

Jason hadn't heard her coming or expected her back so soon. He wasn't trying to be deceptive, but he knew Shelly probably wouldn't take it too well that he was communicating with someone from the outside. He didn't have any way to prove his motives for conducting research in Nyor were pure, so he had been planning on keeping his conversations with Sylvia private until he could figure out how to explain himself.

So much for that.

Shocked, Jason tried his best to answer smoothly, "Shelly, this is Sylvia. She's a friend from Kanto."

Unsure of how much of the conversation Shelly had heard, he knew he had to be open and honest to establish trust, so he added, "She's working with me to find energy sources that Leen might use to evolve."

There. That should be enough elaboration to placate her without making her worried about her home land coming under scientific and corporate scrutiny.

"And how is she doing that?" Shelly asked.

Again, so much for that.

Jason knew the only answer he could think to give was going to open up a can of worms, but hesitation would be worse, so he said, "I send her the data I pick up to analyze."

"Data? What data?" Shelly was in full-blown suspicion now.

"I have some devices that I . . . got . . . that let me detect elemental energy. It scans the area for, like, places underground that have a lot of it. Leen might use an area like that to evolve. Like, a giant evolution stone or something."

Jason knew it had come out filtered through his over-analysis and hadn't sounded as confident and articulate as he had wanted it to. This, of course, instead of making it clear that he had nothing sinister to hide made it appear exactly the opposite.

Jason was thankful Sylvia had the sense to not ask who Shelly was at this point, allowing them both time to think of how best to handle the situation.

He was even more thankful when she interjected tactfully, "Jason, let me see if I can help explain. Hi, my name is Sylvia. What's yours?"

"Who are you working for?" Shelly demanded.

But even at this, Sylvia was smooth. Jason knew she must have already been thinking of what she would say if she had to discuss things with native Nyorians at some point.

"We're independent researchers. We're interested in learning more about Nyor and the Pokémon there, as well as the possibilities for Pokémon evolution, including Leen's. We just think it could unlock a whole lot of new understanding of Pokémon and how we can help improve their lives and how they can help benefit humanity, too. We're not in it for profit or anything like that, so don't worry."

"I have special permission from the Ere government to be here," Jason added. "We had no idea there were people living here, so that makes me want to be even more careful about protecting this region than I already planned to be. It's not just an ecosystem to protect, it's a culture, too."

"If you're independent, then why does her shirt have a Silph Co. logo?"

Busted. Jason and Sylvia glanced at one another, surprised. Exposure during their video conferences was something they had never thought of as a concern since they had never planned for Jason to be travelling with any locals. Until a few days before, they hadn't known locals existed.

Sylvia blushed. Jason perceived that this was partially because she had been caught bending the truth and partially because she was embarrassed at not having thought ahead.

After a sheepish silence, Jason explained almost with a sigh, "Sylvia works for Silph, Shelly. But we're working together independently of them."

"Who do you people think you are?" Shelly exploded, "You think you can come in here and take over our resources and our land?"

"We're not, we're not," Jason tried to reassure her.

Sylvia just rolled her tongue in her mouth, frustrated, waiting for Jason to look her way so she could shoot him a you-should-have-known-better look. Jason saw this out of the corner of his eye and ignored it.

"You industrial people make me sick," Shelly said, storming off, murmuring about self-superior society, probably something she had picked up from city-shy relatives who had a fear of bureaucracy.

"Small town fever, much?" Sylvia quipped.

Now Jason turned to the screen. "She is from a never-before charted location. 'Boondocks' doesn't even come close."

"So who is she? Don't tell me it's that girl you mentioned."

"It is. She followed me."

"Jason! You've got to take her back!"

"Now? What if Ere visits her town?"

"Why would…oh, right."

Sylvia had just realized what Jason had already thought of. If these towns existed with modern technology, at least the larger one must have some kind of semi-regular contact with Ere.

Then Sylvia must have had a thought. "How long has she been with you?"

Jason grimaced. "Three days. She found me the day I left."

Before Sylvia could get on his case about letting her come with him in the first place, he quickly added, "She helped me in a Pokémon battle. A huge Onix with the same extra strength as the other Pokémon here. My whole team had trouble taking it down."

"Your Kanto team?" Sylvia asked.

"No. My entire team. All 30 of them. It was an insane fight."

"Geez, Jason. Be careful out there. Are you sure you don't want to pull back?"

He shrugged. "We're going to fly by Pokémon as much as possible once my team rests up. And they have some special Repels that keep most Pokémon away. Shelly said the Onix only live in that area. We might face other threats as we go further along, but we can run when we need to, and we're keeping watch."

"You still haven't told me the real reason you're letting her go with you."

Jason's eyes grew soft. "She lost her parents. In this town we're headed to. I want to help her. To get closure. To deal with things."

Sylvia sighed. "Not your job to play hero, you know. Be careful. With her, I mean. She could get..."

"Attached. I know. I'll be careful."

Sylvia paused, a concerned look on her face, and then for good measure, added, "You're an idiot."

Jason smirked. They had never been on such familiar terms before. Jason kind of liked it. It had been a while since he'd had a friend joke around with him like that.

Of course, she wasn't completely joking. He was absolutely being an idiot, and he knew that full well.

"So…" she continued, "Shall we call your endearing little sidekick back?"

"I'll talk to her," Jason said, "Let me call you back in a little bit."

They signed off.

Jason found Shelly fuming on the other side of a small hill.

"Shelly, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said, choosing not to chastise her about going a dangerous distance away.

She met him with an icy glare and an incredulous look.

"I was going to, but I didn't want to make you think we were doing anything bad or illegal, and I wasn't sure how to convince you," he continued trying, "I should have told you before I called her or as soon as I thought about it. That was my mistake, it was wrong to keep it from you, and I'm really, truly sorry."

He expected his heartfelt humility would help her relax.

Instead, she responded with, "You think that's gonna work? You think even if you're not trying to come in and take over yourself—which I still may not believe—that as soon as they hear about this place, they won't come crawling all over? Studying Pokémon and the people who live here like science experiments?"

The thought crossed Jason's mind to correct her with, Actually, cultural anthropologists . . . and provide an explanation of exactly how cultural anthropologists might study her society,but he decided against it.

"We're working hard to prevent that from happening. Obviously there are people already here—the hunters your granddad mentioned—, and we need to work to figure out what kinds of resources are here so we and the Ere government can help protect them."

"We don't need help from a bunch of outsiders. Especially ones that can't handle themselves without some . . . uncivilized native helping them around."

"Listen," Jason shifted his stance, irritated, "What is it with you? I mean, what is your problem, exactly?"

He regretted it as soon as he had said it. It had been half a natural releasing of frustration, but he was able to console himself that, on some level, allowing that release had been a deliberate tactic aimed at trying to get through to her. But even before she responded, he knew it would only make things worse. Even so bad that he might never earn her trust at this point.

"You are! I was doing fine before you got here and I found out my homeland is about to be invaded by corporate . . . money . . . jerks!"

"Corporate. Money. Jerks." Jason repeated slowly.

His mouth pulled apart in a helpless grin.

"Shutup," Shelly responded.

"Oh, will you calm down?"

Her eyes narrowed angrily, but she didn't say anything. Later, Jason would remember and think that there might have been water welling in her eyes.

"Listen, I really am sorry," he tried being gentle again, "But please trust me. I'm doing this to protect Nyor and the rest of the world. There are people out there who would totally scour this place for powerful Pokémon and energy sources, and we just want to find them first and make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands. Or it could be bad for everyone."

She didn't say anything. At first he thought she was just considering, but the pause was long, and he thought she might have been holding back tears. He admitted he probably didn't have enough experience with girls to figure that out.

"Would you like to listen in on our conversations so you know for sure you can trust us?" Jason asked.

In the back of his mind, he was hoping she would, at some point, agree that he should stay in Nyor. He wouldn't feel right staying against the wishes of someone representing the region itself. In his eyes, that trumped Ere's jurisdiction in the ethical realm, even though they technically had the authority to make decisions regarding the province.

And even though Shelly's grandpa hadn't had a problem with his traveling the region, Jason realized that one view might not represent all the others. He considered that he might have to leave if she were against his staying, and that either way, he might need to ask permission from the leaders of the town up ahead.

"Fine," Shelly said, putting Jason's moral concerns a little more at rest.

They returned to their camp, and Shelly listened as Jason resumed his conversation with Sylvia. She seemed pacified the whole time—a good sign, Jason thought—and eventually she began to appear bored as they talked about rock samples, topography, and other geography data. Jason hoped Shelly would like Sylvia's witty, occasionally smart-aleck personality, but he couldn't read the former well enough to know.

"Satisfied?" Jason asked sincerely once he and Sylvia had hung up.

Shelly ignored him and moved away to prepare for bed.

She didn't talk as much for the next few days. When he tried to initiate conversation, she would answer with a guarded tone, but at least she wasn't being downright obnoxious anymore.

Jason was encouraged that she had just responded almost cordially to his question about a landing spot.

They landed, and Jason began to set up his tent. Shelly hadn't brought much with her—just a bag with a change of clothes and some extra, easy-to-prepare cooking ingredients that didn't take up a lot of space. She went out to scavenge for wild berries to add to their meal tonight.

Jason sent a few of his Pokémon to escort her. Her Nidorino, whose name was Aggie, had wanted to come with her, but she made him stay back and rest.

Plants in the region were sparse, but they weren't too hard to find, and they were usually heavy laden. It rained in the region somewhat frequently because of the clouds locked in by the mountains. The moisture collected in little crevices that were easy enough to spot, and the bushes grew out of those.

Jason had more than enough food in his item balls—he had prepared for a journey of many months, knowing he was bringing a team of nearly 30 Pokémon—but Shelly liked to cook, and Jason figured it would help her feel useful. Meanwhile, Jason was trying to make a fire.

"Char-Char, let me do it. You need to rest, buddy."

Char-Char scoffed and spat a few embers onto the pile of wood. Immediately they caught flame.

Now I'll rest, he growled, lumbering off and curling up a short distance away.

Jason had to smile. Char-Char had flown for six hours straight with two humans on his back. That was much farther than they had ever flown back in Jason's days in the Pokémon League. He was exhausted and unafraid to admit it, but he still wouldn't let Jason baby him. That was Char-Char's nature: complete loyalty. If Char-Char could help his trainer, his friend—or anyone else, for that matter—in any way, he would sacrifice his own comfort to do so.

Jason thought they had made good progress today. Tropius had flown three hours, and Freezy had flown two. Char-Char, of course, had to push the limit.

It helped them pick up a lot of their lost time at the beginning. Jason had remarked from the first day he and Shelly began traveling together that flying would be safer and faster than walking.

But he had needed to give his Pokémon time to rest after their battle with the Onix. He had decided that if another Pokémon like that attacked, he and Shelly would have to jump on Tropius' back and run away, but unless that were to happen, he would let his team recover.

So they had walked. The trail hadn't been too bad; not your average interstate, by any means, but it made Jason feel like a kid again, exploring a new, uncharted land.

And the scenery was beautiful. The crests became gradually lower to the north and the east, so any time you walked over a high enough ridge, you could see for miles. Nothing but mountains and sky. The sky turned purple at sunset, an effect that Sylvia had tried to explain to him, but that he didn't really understand scientifically.

He and Shelly had walked for a whole week before Jason felt ready to let the fliers pick up some slack. Fortunately there were no more attacks during that time; the Nyor Repel did its job quite well, and no more giant Pokémon had appeared. The challenge for Jason had been the awkward silence that often persisted throughout the day.

In fact, save for Shelly's negativity, he had scarcely heard any conversation. Any time he talked to his Pokémon, he always got the impression that it was annoying her. And any time he tried to talk with her, she blew him off. Many times he had thought that he would have been better off without the company from this particular person.

I'm not doing this for me, he reminded himself, I'm doing it for her.

So he decided not to push the issue by striking up a conversation tonight. Just wait until she wore herself out. But she was much more stubborn than he had expected. He wondered when the ice would break.

"Got some Leppas and some Orans," Shelly announced, tossing two, small sacks down near Jason's side.

"Start peeling those," she pointed at the sack containing the Oran berries. "I'll make us a sauce."

"You wanna use the rest of those lentils we found the other day?"

"That's what the sauce is for," Shelly said disparagingly.

Yes. Of course it is. Jason thought.

He prayed, not for the first time on this trip, for patience.

The last meal she had made hadn't been very good. This one . . . wasn't very good.

Shelly must have noticed Jason's face, because she commented on it.

"I'm not working with the best ingredients, here. If we had some mushrooms or something, at least . . . ."

It would be fantastic, I'm sure.

Jason tried to suppress his annoyance by eavesdropping on the conversation some of the Pokémon were carrying on.

"So what's it like to breathe fire?" Shelly's Nidorino was asking Char-Char.

"It's kind of like shooting poison from your horn, I bet. Do you feel a well of the Poison element within you that you pull energy up from?"

"Yeah . . . yeah, I guess I do. I've never thought of it like that. We don't think about it much really, huh?"

"Yeah, that's a good question. I've thought of it as a pool of Fire-type energy inside me before, but I've never asked if anyone else thought of it the same way."

"Hmm . . . I guess before, I thought of it as stretching out. Like growing a new arm, almost."

Char-Char nodded, "That's what the move Fire-Spin and other shape-changing Fire attacks are like. You control the movement of the fire even after it leaves you because it's still a part of you."

"That's kind of like humans using swords," Jason joined in, "It's like an extension of your own body."

Char-Char nodded, "I think you've said that before."

"So . . ." came a voice from the other side of the fire, "How do you . . . understand them?"

Jason turned to look, surprised, at Shelly. Her question hadn't been in a defensive tone at all. Maybe he was gaining her trust after all.
"I just started spending more time with my Pokémon," Jason replied, trying to keep his tone easygoing, "And asking them how to say different things. Char-Char was the first one I could understand. Then the other five in my main Kanto team. After I got more Pokémon from other regions, it wasn't too hard to pick up on their languages. They all speak either their names or a growl, so it sounds different, but the patterns they use are similar, so it's more like each species has its own dialect than a whole different language."

Shelly sat quietly for a moment.

Then she said, "I never thought anyone could do that. At first I thought you were just acting like it."

Jason nodded, unsure of what to say for fear that he might say the wrong thing.

"I'd been wondering," she shrugged, looking down and then up at a cloud hovering over a particularly tall peak half a mile or so away.

"Have you ever tried with Aggie?" Jason asked.

She seemed to cringe a little. "Never really thought I could, I guess."

Later, Jason realized he should have noticed her expression and understood what it meant.

But he didn't, so he said, "Do you want me to try to teach you?"

That set Shelly off.

"What is it with you always thinking I need help? Do I just look weak to you or something? Is it because I'm a girl? Is it because my parents are dead and you think I'm emotionally damaged and fragile? What?"

Oops. Smooth move, Jason.

"Uh . . . ."

"You know what I think about you, Jason? I think you're self-righteous."

That stung. Maybe he was being presumptuous to think that it was his job to fix everyone's problems. But the way she said it . . . .

"I don't think you're weak at all. You can definitely handle yourself, I just—"

"Then what?" she interrupted, "What do you think? You just what? Just—"

"Shelly, I don't think you're weak," Jason interrupted back, hoping to cut off her tirade, "It was just an offer to . . ." he struggled to find words that wouldn't offend her.

"—Just see me as a messed up kid who needs to be—"

". . . to share something that I've learned so you can use it, too."

"—Taken care of and protected by you, because you think you're so strong and experienced. You think you can help me through all my supposed issues? And then get me on your side so you can clear your conscience about even being here?"

"Okay, Shelly," Jason tried to start.

"Wouldn't that be nice? All the little natives okay with having you here so you can sleep easy at night knowing you're not stepping on any toes."

"Shelly."

"You think you can act all nice and think I'm going to let my guard down so you can 'help' me? You're so full of yourself."

Jason's eyes widened in frustration. "You are such a punk."

He felt guilty the instant he let the insult slip.

"And you're an arrogant snob."

Jason struggled to regain his composure, calming his tone while letting his frustration show a little so it wouldn't look unnatural.

"Why do you insist on being obnoxious with everything that comes out of your mouth?"

"Maybe because I'm traveling with someone who thinks he's God."

Jason sighed. "I don't think I'm God. I'll admit I think of myself as a good trainer, but I'm not—"

"Sure you do. You probably think you're the best trainer in the world."

"I was about to say that I'm not the kind of person who doesn't understand his weaknesses. You really helped me with that Onix. You know a lot of things about this region that I don't."

Shelly had finally stopped exploding and was starting to listen, so he kept going.

"You just need to learn to understand your own weaknesses, too—and yes, you have them. You can't just go through life on your own."

"I have until now."

"Your granddad took care of you after your parents died," Jason replied, dropping the elephant right into the middle of the room.

Apparently caught off guard by the sudden addressing of the real issue, Shelly stammered.

"I live with him. I take care of myself," she insisted.

"Okay. Well, my point is that you—that no one is perfect, and we all have to have an honest assessment of our abilities and our needs. For me, I'm good at battling, but my Pokémon run into trouble when trainers rely on poison, sleep, and confusion-based strategies. My team compensates for that by their resiliency and high hit points, but I know if I'm going to fight a Ghost type, there are a limited number of strategies I can use. That's something I learned early on."

"I learned how to train my Pokémon on my own," she defended angrily, "I haven't had the luxury of getting advice from people in a League."

Jason suddenly realized that most of Shelly's insecurity had less to do with her parents than it did her perception of herself as a trainer. Now he knew what to say.

"Is that something you wanted to do?"

Shelly paused.

Then, a simple, "Yes."

"So . . . what made you want to do that?"

She hesitated again and then tried to sound nonchalant, "We used to watch League battles on TV. Kanto and Hoenn. When I got Aggie, I always thought he could be strong enough to win some competitions if I ever had the chance to train."

"He could be. Especially if he ever evolved into Nidoking. It's a hard road, though. Lots of setbacks, especially in the beginning."

"I could handle it."

"I think you could, too."

Jason paused just long enough that it wouldn't seem like he had planned it, and then he said, "If you want . . . we could see if someone would sponsor you. I have some connections in Kanto and Hoenn. Would you be interested?"

Shelly's face actually softened, just for a moment, and then the guard came back up.

"I couldn't leave my family."

Jason nodded. Then, he had another idea. "Well, you can always train against wild Pokémon here. This region is way tougher than anywhere I've ever been. And I can back you up if you ever need it."

"Why don't you stop being such a jerk and just teach me how to train."

Surprised again. Jason was not expecting that. And she had said it ironically, with a smirk.

"Okay," he said eagerly, "Definitely. When do you want to start?"

"Tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll come up with a program, and we can start getting Aggie some exercise. Then, if we encounter any wild Pokémon, you'll be the first to go into battle."

"Can we do it every day? Until we get to Galaia?"

"Done. I'm looking forward to it."

She didn't respond. There was a long break in the conversation. Jason was excited to finally have a breakthrough in—and he smiled in spite of himself—his little amateur counseling sessions.

"Well," he finally said, "I have to call Sylvia."

He glanced at Shelly cautiously.

"Do you want to listen in, so you can know we're not, like, calling in a fleet of bulldozers or something?"

Shelly nodded.

"Although I don't think bulldozers come in fleets," Jason mused, "But anyway. That sounds good. Tomorrow, then."

It was nice to Char-Char to see the different teams growing closer.

The quieter Pokémon like Tropius and Sky—who had traveled together in Hoenn—and Sugar had begun to bond more closely, while the more boisterous crowd like Elecuty, Blue, and Armos had been laughing up a storm at each other's stories and jokes.

Aggie had spent a lot of time this week with Cinder—the Ninetales's kind, cheerful personality had been welcoming to him. Tonight, though, Char-Char had reclined next to him, hoping to get to know his new traveling companion. It didn't take long for Aggie to strike up a conversation.

"So . . . Why are you so stubborn about wanting to help Jason?"

Leen, who was perched beside them, said, "Wouldn't you want to do anything to help your master?"

"Yeah, of course I would!" Aggie said, "I'd do anything for her!"

Char-Char hid a smile as he saw how the Nidorino reflected some of his trainer's defensiveness.

Okay. If Jason can handle the girl, I can handle this kid.

"It's the same with Jason's Pokémon," Char-Char explained.

"And we all know Jason would do the same for us," Leen added.

Aggie frowned. "But Jason is telling you to rest. Shouldn't Pokémon trust their masters to know what's best?"

"My master has a strong relationship with God," Char-Char said, "A Pokémon's relationship with its master should be a lot like a human's relationship with God."

"What is that like?" Aggie asked.

"God speaks, humans must listen. God commands, humans must obey. God loves, humans should respond in kind. And when people allow God to train them, He evolves them into better companions for one another, wiser caretakers of the life they've been given, and more powerful fighters against the evils in this world we must defend.

"The difference," Char-Char said, "Is that humans aren't all-knowing, and they aren't all-powerful. They're human."

"So we should question them sometimes." Aggie finished.

"Well, I may disagree with Jason when I speak with him as a friend. I believe we should even help guide our trainers with the knowledge we have. I believe that's why God placed many different people and Pokémon with different experiences and abilities in the world together—so we could learn from each other.

"But at the end of the day, they're still our trainers. And when our trainers give a command, we must be ready to submit and follow their lead. That's why it's important to battle against a human's Pokémon with all your might to determine if that human is worthy to command you."

"But," Leen said, "I was never captured in a battle. And neither were you, Char-Char."

"I was given to my master as a gift from her father, who captured me," added Aggie.

"And I was given to Jason, too." Char-Char replied, "When you love someone, you serve them no matter what. You lend all your strength to them. And if you love them, you should treat them with the utmost respect and love, and obey them without question in battle, just like a human should obey God that way."

"Then why did you argue with Jason?" Aggie asked, a little frustrated and only partially successful at hiding it.

"Because it is clearly evident that humans do not always obey God that way, and that shows that they don't always do what is best for themselves."

Leen and Aggie nodded.

"That's why God gave humans and Pokémon each other, so that through their friendships they could protect each other from costly mistakes. To protect your master is a more important duty than even obeying her," said Char-Char.

They turned and watched the fire together. It was a warming experience for all of them, seeing a human work to build a flame to keep them warm and give them rest, knowing that that flame had come from the mouth of a Pokémon who loved him.

"Well, I'm asking," Aggie said hesitantly, "Because sometimes Shelly tells me to go away when she's crying . . ." He paused.

"And you're not sure what to do?" Leen finished.

"I'm wondering . . . I'm wondering if I should stay and try to be there for her anyway."

"I think if you think she needs it," Leen said. "I don't know, but sometimes when my friends are sad, they've told me later that what they really want is for someone to love them enough to be nice even when they're not being friendly."

"And other times, they might need to face things on their own," said Crusher, the Golem, who had been reclining with a half-open eye nearby.

"So how do I know?" Aggie asked, mildly exasperated.

"Hmph. Girls." Crusher responded.

"People," the nearby Metatak the Metagross amended.

"Pray for wisdom," Char-Char answered, "Trust God to guide you. You won't always get it right, but just know that whatever happens, if you're trusting Him, He'll use it to give her the best."

"But what if she gets mad at me or stays sad because I did the wrong thing?"

"You're thinking too much," Crusher said, "Just do your best. You'll get better at it eventually. Just like battling. Just like anything."

Leen nodded, contemplating.

"I want to get better." He said after a pause, "At knowing how to help other people with their struggles."

"Me too," said Aggie, "I'll give it a shot."

The conversation came to a lull.

Visions danced through Char-Char's mind of his and Jason's very first adventure.

For some reason, his thoughts centered on the first time he had fought Misty. Then on the many disappointments as he and Jason stayed in Cerulean trying to win the Cascade Badge. The day he evolved into Charmeleon after weeks of hard training and returned to defeat her.

Char-Char thought of these things as he watched Jason hauling logs to pile atop the fire.

It was like this from the beginning. Helping each other. Teaching each other.

That thought gave Char-Char a deep warmth. Maybe more warmth than even his physical, inner flame could bring.

"What are they talking about?" Shelly asked.

Jason gave Char-Char a smile.

"What it means to be a master."