The gang slept soundly in the hideout, trying to get as much rest as possible. The last thought to enter their minds before they succumbed to the effects of slumber was the anticipation of what kind of training they will have to endure from Ryder. From what they remember from his tale, they knew it was going to be intense. After all, this was training to take on the Darkmon. It was not going to be a walk in the park, that's for sure.

One thing they should have considered about Ryder's training was when and how he was going to wake them up. They wished they were prepared for that.

Something that sounded like a trumpet blasted through their, forcibly pulling them from their peaceful slumber. Pikachu and Buneary, who were cuddled up to each other, jumped a foot in the air and landed on their stomachs, rubbing their ears. Oshawott instinctively grabbed his scalchop and swiped at anything near him, accidentally nailing Piplup in the head when he sat up. Stars swirled around his head and he fell to his back.

The only one to somewhat react calmly to the noise was Snivy, who merely sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, it's too early to be dealing with this."

They heard a click and turned to Ryder. The trumpet sound came from his tablet, which he placed to the side. "Rise and shine, rookies."

Pikachu licked his paw and patted down some hairs sticking up on his head. "What time is it?"

"Roughly dawn. We need a head start on your training."

Piplup, having regained conscious again, sat up and yawned. "No offense, but we're not use to waking up as early as you."

"Look, you need to get use to waking up early. I was trained to sleep lightly so I can react to all possible dangers around me. I'll be training you to do the same, so you too can sense when danger is lurking."

Piplup deadpanned. I'm starting to regret this decision.

Despite the sudden awakening, Pikachu was up and stretching. "Well, the sooner we train, the sooner we can fight the Darkmon."

Ryder smiled. "Love the enthusiasm, Pik." He went over to his cabinets and pulled out some berries. He tossed them each five Oran berries. "Eat your breakfast. You'll need the energy."

They nodded and munched away at the berries given to them. Ryder walked over to his bottom cabinet and pulled out a strange device. A metal plate that was curved, allowing it to perfectly wrap around his hand. It was round around the top. At the top was a blue circle, which glowed brightly. Under it was three buttons. The entire design was made up of circuit, which ran under the plate. And finally, a black strap to fasten it onto his hand.

He stared at it carefully. "If this doesn't work, you'll be my plan B…" He turned it over, inspecting a few areas. "Still need to fix a few pieces, but it should be done soon."

"Done with what?" Ryder threw it into the air in surprise, but caught it immediately. He looked over his shoulder and saw Oshawott staring at him, or rather the item in his hands. He recognized the blue light from yesterday, which caught his attention. It also didn't help Ryder was muttering pretty loudly to himself. "What is that thing?"

"Uh…" He put it away and closed the door. "Nothing important." He looked at the others, who were almost done with their berries. "Meet me up top and we'll get started." He climbed up the ladder and exited the hideout.

Snivy looked at the others as she nibbled at her berry. "This guy is very odd…"

Buneary shrugged. "From our brief encounter with him, he's pretty secretive. Must have been really hard for him to talk about his past like that."

"Maybe, but there's still so much about him that's just…unusual."

"What do you mean?" Pikachu asked.

"Before you got here, Ryder was interrogating your counterpart. He asked very specific questions to him, ones only you would specifically know. Like your favorite food being ketchup."

The mention of the condiment made him lick his lips. "Mmm…ketchup…" He saw the weird stares he was getting and wiped his mouth with a blush forming across his face. "Yes, well…that is odd."

"Not to mention he knew some things about your gym battles. Like something called Thunder Armor."

"Thunder Armor…?" He scratched his chin, then snapped his finger in realization. "Oh yeah, I remember that." He then gave a curious look. "Huh…that is strange how he would know about that."

Piplup shrugged. "Well, we never heard about these Shadow Agents until just now. We're not sure what they're capable of. I'm not surprised he can track down info on people."

Snivy leaned against the wall. "I just don't know how I feel about him. I know he's a good guy, but his methods are…mysterious."

Oshawott finished the last of his berry. "I say we give him a chance. He may be a spy, but he saved our lives. Now it's our turn to help him."

They nodded and followed his example, finished off their berries and heading to the top. They looked around and spotted Ryder leaning against a tree. They climbed out, remembering to close the hatch, and walked over to him.

"Alright, you're rested and fully fed. Are you all ready?"

"Yes sir!"

He nodded. "Good." He placed his arms behind his back and paced back and forth. "We obviously don't have a whole lot of time to get you fully trained, so we'll have to focus heavily on improving your physique. Think you can handle that?"

"Yes sir!"

"Alright. We'll start with some basic exercises. Some push-ups, sit ups, some running…"

"This doesn't seem so bad," Piplup commented with a smile.

Ryder smirked. "Really now?" The look he was giving left them nervous. "Because I haven't even mentioned what's going to be happening after." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at them. "Since we want you trained as soon as possible, we need to practice your martial art skills. Meaning…you'll have to fight me."

"Say WHAT?!" Piplup shouted. "That's crazy!"

The Charmeleon shushed him. "Keep your voice down. Look, you all said you would put up with my training. If we want to get you ready to fight the Darkmon, you need martial art training as quickly as possible. So no complaining."

The penguin puffed his cheeks out in annoyance. "Fine…"

Pansage and his group were sleeping soundly in some trees. After losing their hideout, which they took so long to build, they had to sleep on some branches for the night. They tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible with the moss and plants laying around. It wasn't the best place to sleep, but it wasn't the worse.

Koda sat on the same branch as Pachirisu and Quilava. He didn't require much sleep like them, capable of staying up for a week before needing to rest. So, he took active duty of keeping watch for the night. Plus, he needed to get some thoughts across in his head.

The other day, he had a brief flashback of his counterpart's past. He wasn't sure what he saw, but it terrified his childlike mind. All Darkmon can remember their counterpart's memories, but, for some reason, Koda could never retain them. It was like he was born with amnesia. Lord Dark has tried countless times to make his memories surface, but they never seemed to come out. So they stopped trying and just let whatever happened…happen.

That wasn't the only thing on his mind though. It was his actions from yesterday that haunted him. He couldn't remember what he did, but his mind went blank when he fought Fang. Then when he regained consciousness, he sees he hit Pansage. It was strange.

This wasn't the first time he lost consciousness. Other times, he would get angry and everything would go blank. Then he sees that he attacked some of his allies. He never understood it. And, whenever it happened, there was always a tiny feeling in the back of his head that…filled him with joy for committing such horrible acts. It would fill the poor Dark Riolu with dread that he actually felt happiness from harming others. It made him fear he was slowly reverting back to his instincts. His Darkmon nature.

He couldn't control his actions when he got into that wild state. He didn't want to turn into the savage monsters that he is trying to reason with. He wants the Darkmon to coexist with Pokémon, not kill them. If he can't get along with them, how could they?

He refused to shed any tears. He needed to stay strong for his friends…and Dragonite. He needed to prove that he wasn't evil. And…he needed to convince Lord Dark to give up this plan for Pokémon extinction. He would be risking, considering he has tried to reason with him in the past.

It was a tough road for him to follow. Being alone and without friends has put a damper on his spirit. But upon meeting these group of Pokémon, he felt joy once more. The question is, how will this journey end with them?

He shook his head, feeling he shouldn't be thinking about it too deeply. He stood up and jumped down to get some breakfast for them. They were guests…more or less. He should do the honors of getting them food. Food that wasn't poisonous.

The moment he left, Pachirisu stirred awake. He yawned and sat up, scratching his side with a tired expression. He stretched a bit, then groaned, remembering how sore his body felt. The events they had to endure were less than pleasing. He has never been this sore before, even after doing contests. And those could leave someone physically and emotionally exhausted.

His movements seemed to have woken the others up. Quilava stretched his body out, briefly igniting his flames. "Man, I worn out…"

Pansage rubbed his eyes. "Get used to it. We're gonna be traveling to the ruins soon. We need as much of our energy as possible."

Dragonite sat up and scoffed. "Assuming our little guide doesn't try to kill us."

Pignite glared. "Dragonite, Koda is not going to kill us. He's too innocent to do something like that."

"He sure didn't have a problem hitting Pansage the other day."

Pansage crossed his arms. "Koda didn't know what he was doing. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

He rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that…"

Quilava looked around. "Hey…where is Koda anyway?" Their eyes wandered around as they tried to spot the Darkmon.

"Down here!" They looked down and saw Koda at the base of the tree, carrying an armful of berries. "I was getting all of us some breakfast. We want our energy up if we want to move ahead."

Dragonite glared. "I'm not eating that sour garbage again…"

"It's the only food we have," Pignite reminded. "You're gonna have to suck it up and eat them."

Koda scaled back up the tree, managing to support all the berries in one arm. Once he reached the top, he handed out the berries to all of them, giving them about five each. Once done, he sat down and nibbled happily on his own berries.

"I was lucky to find some of the fresh berries when I did. Don't want you guys choking on poison."

Dragonite glared suspiciously. "And how do we know they aren't poisoned?"

Pansage rolled his eyes. "I can tell when something's poisoned. They're fine."

"Maybe yours, but what about mine?"

Koda frowned. "Dragonite, I know we're not on the best of terms, but I'm not going to off you by giving you berries."

He glared angrily. "Oh, have something else planned to kill me?"

He flinched frightfully. "I-I-I mean, I'm not going to off you at all! We're friends! Allies! Buddies!" He was not helping to calm the situation. It only resulted in angering the dragon further. Feeling the need to shut up, Koda went back to nibbling at his berries.

Pachirisu looked at Pansage and whispered, "We're not going to get very far if those two are constantly at each other's throats."

The grass monkey sighed. "I know. But we're gonna have to deal with it until we get to the ruins. It shouldn't take too long, presuming we don't encounter anymore Darkmon."

Quilava cringed from his berry, but he was slowly get use to the taste. "If they're anything like that guy from yesterday, that doesn't make me feel any better."

"I'm sure we can handle them," Pignite reassured.

Pansage shook his head. "I wouldn't bet on it. Don't forget, our counterparts were far stronger than us. There's no telling who or what we'll have to deal with when we get farther through the forest."

"You worry too much. We can handle ourselves just fine. We've survived countless odds in the past. What's different about this one?"

The grass monkey looked up at the leaves that blocked precious sunlight. "…we still don't know what they're truly capable of."

Koda was carefully eavesdropping on their conversation and sighed sadly. He looked at the blue juicy inside of his berry. Even if they won't openly admit it, he knew a part of them couldn't fully trust him. He can't blame them after yesterday. He wished he could show them, especially Dragonite, that he had true good motives and not evil intentions. But…that was merely another obstruction he'll have to work around.

A spark of aura flashed through his senses, causing him to gasp. He turned around and looked into the darkness. It was a powerful Darkmon aura. But, it didn't feel like Fang's. But the only other Darkmon to have an aura that strong was Lord Dark and…

...oh no.

Pachirisu shrugged at Pansage, none of the group having noticed Koda's terrified expression yet. "Hey, they may be unknown to us, but we've dealt with some pretty nasty stuff in the past. This one time, we encountered a Darkrai and things got crazy."

"Really?" asked Pignite with an intrigued expression.

"Hang on guys," Pansage interrupted. He pointed at Koda who was shivering with terror. The last time he acted like this, they encountered Fang. Which means…there was a Darkmon nearby. "Koda…"

"We need to leave. Now." The Dark Riolu scrambled to his feet and prepared to jump down.

Dragonite grabbed him. "Hold it, runt! If it's that freak from yesterday, then I'm getting a rematch against him!"

Koda shook his head. "No, no, no! It's not Fang! It's worse! If this guy finds us, we're all dead!"

"Who are you talking about?" asked Quilava with a nervous tone.

"The leading hunter of the Darkmon, Savage. He's the one who tracks down wandering intruders and have them brought to Lord Dark to be drained dry of their energy!" He covered his head as his teeth chattered. "If he finds us, we will never be able to escape him. He'll track us until we're unconscious or dead!"

Pachirisu patted his shoulder. "Calm down. You overreact too much. What's the worst that could happen?"

Regretting his choice of words almost immediately, a sharp stone fired at them and tore through one of the thick branches. It fell off and crashed to the ground.

Koda stared with wide eyes before grabbing Pachirisu and shaking him. "Never! Ever! Say that again!" His eyes glowed purple as he foresaw more attacks flying at them. "Everyone, over here!" He jumped over to a tree adjacent to them. They followed suit.

More stones flew at where they originally were tore through the branches viciously. They gulped, imagining briefly what would have happened if they stayed there any longer than they should.

"Did we get them?" a snarling voice shouted.

"No. They avoided my attack," another voice said, which Koda recognized as Savage's. "Lord Dark said Darkmon 6-7-4-6 was with one of the groups. He must be assisting them with his future seeing abilities."

Koda gulped and looked at the others. "Stay absolutely still…and don't make any sudden movements…" Pros, their scent was covered, so they couldn't be tracked through smell. Savage couldn't sense aura. Cons, he was far stronger than the Dark Riolu. And he had one little advantage over them.

"They won't get far, though. My traps will get them before they know it."

"Traps?!" Dragonite whispered aggressively. Koda smiled nervously in response.

"Let's continue with our path. Hustle!" The sounds of feet running across the ground became quieter and quieter until they were out of earshot.

The group jumped down from the trees. Dragonite grabbed Koda and glared at him. "Is there any other Darkmon you would like to warn us about?!"

Koda gulped. "N-No one else, really. We shouldn't stay here for very long. They'll come back to check the traps hidden around us."

"What kind of traps?" Pansage asked.

Their eyes widened when they heard a click and snap behind them. "Probably something like this," said Pachirisu, who was hanging upside down. He was entangled in vines that had his arms, legs, and tail pinned to his sides tightly. "A little help?"

Pignite shot a Flamethrower at the top of the vine and brought Pachirisu down. Koda began untying him. "This is what I meant. Savage will have hundreds of traps littered across the forest. He will not stop until he finds us."

"All the more reason to get to those ruins!" said Pansage, clenching his fist. "We need to get moving now before he traps us." Once Pachirisu was untied, they started running, with Koda taking the lead.

"Ninety-eight…ninety-nine…one hundred!" Ryder finished counting. The gang collapsed in exhaustion. They finished doing a jog, sit-ups, now push-ups…twice! And every time they messed up, they had to restart. It wasn't fun. "Come on, get up."

"Too…tired…" Piplup panted out.

The Charmeleon sighed. He pulled out some Sitrus berries and handed them out. "Alright, eat these. They'll boost your energy up."

They ate the berries hungrily, feeling it take affect almost immediately. Pikachu sat up and chuckled. "Man, you sure know how to tire someone out."

Ryder smiled a bit. "Well, I need you guys trained as soon as possible." He narrowed his eyes. "Now then…" He stepped back a few paces. "…I believe it is time to get to the combat training."

Piplup jumped to his feet and held his flippers up, trying to copy Ryder's usual fighting stance. "Alright, bring it on!"

"Not yet." He pulled out some items from his cloak. The training weights. "You'll be wearing these."

The vivid memory of him destroying a boulder and tree with those very same weights flashed through their minds. They paled, imaging they would be crushed by the weight of those vicious weights.

"There is no way I'm putting that on…" Oshawott muttered.

Ryder sighed, figuring what was racing through their minds. "Relax, these are as bad as mine. They're lighter. But they'll still weigh you down drastically. My plan is to have you wear these until you get use to them. Then I'll changed the weights out for heavier ones. This will help build up your strength, speed, and endurance." They still looked unsure. "I promise, you'll be alright. I've used these plenty of times before."

Their expressions didn't change, but Pikachu willing stepped forward. "Alright, put them on."

Ryder smiled and walked up to him. He set the weights down, keeping on in hand, and grabbed Pikachu's left arm. He wrapped the weight around his wrist and locked it together. He tightened the locks while keeping a hold of the mouse's arm.

Pikachu was a bit surprised. The weight didn't feel like it was weighing him down that much. Even if Ryder was holding his arm, he didn't feel any pressure pushing down on his arm. "Huh…this isn't so bad."

"Don't get too comfortable."

Ryder kept a hold of his arm as he finished locking it up. Once he did, he gently let him go. Suddenly, Pikachu involuntarily face-planted against the ground, with his arm buried a bit into the ground. He tried to roll over onto his right side, but the weight kept him from going any farther. He rolled over onto his left side, which was significantly easier, and lay on his back.

"What the heck?!" he shouted.

Ryder crouched down and started attaching another weight to his other wrist. "I told you this was going to be difficult." Once done, he pulled him up into a sitting position and placed a weighted vest on him, since his ankles were too small to place weights on. "How do you think I felt when I wore these? Took me hours just to stand up properly."

"How am I supposed to train if I can't get up?"

"Once you get use to wearing these and, eventually, don't notice you're wearing them, we'll begin. While you all wear these, I'll be teaching you some basic techniques."

The other four gulped, not looking forward to wearing those weights. However, Oshawott stepped forward. "Alright, I'm next!"

Snivy blinked in shock. "You sure, Oshawott?"

He nodded. "Y-Yeah! If it'll help me get stronger, then I'll wear a hundred of them if I have to!"

The grass snake stared at him in surprise, then crossed her arms with a tiny smirk. "Well, you're certainly determined."

He laughed sheepishly as a blush crept up along his face. "R-Really? Thanks!"

Ryder leaned towards his ear and whispered, "I know you're trying to impress her, but I don't recommend wearing one hundred weights at once. If I did that, I'd break my back."

He flinched and whispered panicky, "You know?!"

"Kind of obvious you have a crush on her. Well, that and Buneary is giggling silently to herself." The sea otter looked at the bunny, who was trying her hardest not to giggle out loud.

He deadpanned. "Of course…" He suddenly yelped, feeling a great force pull him down by the arm. Ryder attached a weight to his wrist when he wasn't looking. "Warn me next time you do that!"

Meowth yawned and rose up from his makeshift bed. He had dark circles under his eyes. He may be back up to full strength, but he hasn't slept well for the past couple of nights. Tonight in particular wasn't pleasant. The Dark Mightyena that was assigned to watch over him did his job a little too well. He wouldn't stop staring at him with his piercing red eyes. Throughout the night, he knew he was staring him down, probably contemplating an effective method to kill him.

The only reason he got any sleep to begin with was because Dark Glameow forced him to quit his torturing. Didn't help with his sleep, but at least he got some.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He wasn't sure what time it was. Though, if he had to guess from the moss, it was somewhere in the morning. He's been here long enough to understand how they tell time.

He proceeded to get out of bed, nearly falling over. Once his motor skills adjusted, he made his way to the entrance.

Dark Glameow's ears perked up and she greeted him at the entrance, with the same serious expression. "Good morning, Meowth. Did you sleep sufficiently?"

He grunted and rubbed his neck. "To tell ya the truth, not that well. Your buddy made it hard to get some shut eye."

Dark Mightyena snarled. "Say that again, cat…"

He flinched and backed away. "W-W-What I meant was-!"

"Enough," Dark Glameow ordered sharply, silencing her partner. She turned back to their guest. "Do you request nourishment?"

He felt his grumbling stomach and nodded. "Please."

"Luckily for you, I acquired your breakfast while you slumbered." She presented the leaf full of cooked berries in front of him. "Please enjoy."

"Thanks…" He sat down and ate them quietly. He must have been really tired. He wasn't reacting to the taste as badly. Or maybe he's already adjusted to the sour taste. Who knows, who cares? Food was food at this point.

"Will there be anything else to satisfy your needs?"

"No, that's…" A thought crossed his mind. Yesterday was a bit of a blur, but he remembered what landed him in this cushy predicament to begin with. "Actually, one thing. I wish to see Laura."

"Lord Dark's future queen?" She bowed her head. "Very well. We will take you to her at once."

Dark Mightyena rolled his eyes. "Yippee…"

Once Meowth finished eating his breakfast, they trekked through the forest to visit Laura. The cat worried heavily about his friend. He knew she can take care of herself. Heck, she managed to hold her own against Dark for a short bit, so that was something. Still, as her surrogate brother, he felt the need to look out for her.

Then again, he may just want to be within her safety. Being around these two Darkmon made him feel small under their menacing gazes. Laura is the only reason he's still alive. He would like to be near her for that reason.

Meanwhile, farther down into the forest, Laura lay soundly in a soft bed of moss, piled together to form a nest. She slowly powered up and stretched, loosening her stiff joints and gears. She cringed at the grinding sound they made. Normally, she would polish and clean herself so they didn't lock up or to keep dirt out of her system. A few days won't hurt her, but she needed to get clean soon.

She sat up and pulled her fur sleeve back, checking her power supply. Since she had no means of recharging, she has been extremely cautious with how much energy she used. She either needed a recharging station or some batteries to snack on. Both of which she doubted they had.

She sighed at seeing she was at sixteen percent. Her life wasn't in danger or anything, but she needed something to keep herself powered. She put her sleeve back on and got up. Almost immediately, she was greeted by the two Dark Kirlia that were assigned to take care of her needs. "How may we help you, Lady Laura? Do you required nourishment?"

"Oh, uh…no thanks. I don't need food."

"Is there anything you require then?" they asked in unison.

She tapped her chin. She still needed a way to charge her power supply back up. "Well…do you happen to have any means of power I can use? I'm running a bit low on energy and I need a recharging station."

Her two servants bowed. "We will fulfill your demands. Please give us a moment." They prepared to walk off, but Laura stopped them.

"Oh, hang on! I also need some water and a spongy material of sorts to clean myself. Oh, and something to loosen my gears up!"

They bowed again. "As you wish." They walked off.

Laura sighed and leaned against the tree. It finally dawned on her that she was bored. On any other normal day, she would be helping Jessie, James, and Meowth capture Pikachu with some complicated trap. Or she was punching something just for the heck of it. And she wasn't in the mood to be toppling trees. Maybe she could see if Dark had anything for her to do so she didn't go crazy from boredom.

Eventually, her servants came back with the requested items. "Here you go, Lady Laura."

She grabbed them. "Thank you."

"Will there be anything else?"

"No, that's it for now." They bowed and stepped back.

Laura sat down and looked at her alternate power station. Oddly enough, what they gave her was bubbles with electricity surging inside. "Whoa…" She grabbed a thin wire they gave her. She stuck it in the port in the back of her neck and stuck the other end in the bubble. She looked at her arm and saw the charging symbol popped up. She smiled in satisfaction before looking at the other stuff. Water, a sponge, and some oily substance for her gears.

Reaching behind her neck again, she parted some of the fur and grabbed the tiny zipper buried underneath. She pulled it around her neck until it was loose. She pulled her fur mask off, revealing her metal face. It, along with the rest of her body, was dark gray. It was mostly made up of panels around her metal skeleton, the panels having small bolts running down the edges. Her mouth was made in a way to make lip movement, which effectively gave the illusion she was a real Pikachu. She took the sponge, soaked up some water, and carefully washed her face, as she didn't want to risk short-circuiting. Some of the water dripped down on her fur. Not that it mattered. She was gonna have to clean it later anyway.

She heard some footsteps nearby. She assumed it was the Dark Kirlia, but they were right in front of her. Plus, it sounded like more footsteps. Curious, she looked around the tree and saw three figures coming over. All three she recognized, especially the cat with the golden charm on his head. She smiled. "Meowth!"

The cat smiled back and ran over. "Laura!" He ran around the tree to greet her. He hugged her. "You're okay!" His eyes widened a bit and pulled back. His fur was wet.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

He shook it off, figuratively and literally. "Don't worry. How are you doing?" He turned around and saw the Dark Kirlia. "And…who are they?"

"Well, for starters, I'm getting myself cleaned up. Don't want dirt lodged into my circuits. Secondly, those are my servants."

He blinked in confusion. "You have servants?"

She shrugged. "Comes with the perks of being betrothed to Dark. Plus, they gave me something so I can charge myself, so no worries of me powering down."

He chuckled. "Well, that's good to know."

"More importantly…" She stood up. "How are you doing? I was worried about you ever since...they…took you," she said, giving a short glare at the Darkmon who accompanied him.

He laughed nervously. "W-Well, they aren't so bad…"

"Meowth, why do you have dark circles under your eyes?" she asked as she grabbed his face and pulled him close, looking closely at his eyes. It was barely noticeable, but they were bloodshot. "Did you get any sleep last night?!"

"W-W-Well, I…"

She turned around and glared at the two Darkmon. "What did you do?!"

Dark Glameow kept a straight, uninterested face. "My job is to watch over his health. I am not the one responsible for his lack of sleep."

She focused her eyes on Dark Mightyena, who shrugged. "Hey, I didn't lay a claw on him. Not my fault he's too scared to go to sleep. And trust me…" He flexed his claws. "He has a reason to be scared."

Laura clenched her fists and grinded her teeth. "You conniving, little…"

"What are you going to do about, washing machine?"

Her eyes glowed red. "WASHING MACHINE?!" She leaped into the air with her claws extended. Meowth grabbed her and pulled her back, as she viciously swiped the air, trying to claw Dark Mightyena. "Let me at him! Let me at him!"

"Laura, calm down!"

"I will once I take his face and grind it into the dirt!"

Dark Mightyena smirked. "Right, like I should be scared of you."

Dark Glameow glared. "That's enough, Dark Mightyena. If Lord Dark hears you-"

"Too late."

They looked up, even Laura who stopped her wild assault, and saw Dark sitting in the trees. Dark Glameow gulped and bowed. "My lord, please forgive me. I was just about to handle the altercation myself and…" He raised his hand to silence her.

He floated down and glared at Dark Mightyena. "Your job is to guard and protect the Meowth. Not to harass my future queen…" He then muttered under his breath, "And get yourself beaten to a pulp doing it…"

He rolled his eyes. "Hey, she started it-AGH!" He felt a force tighten around his neck, cutting off his air supply.

Dark placed his arms behind his back as his eyes glowed purple. "That sign of disrespect will not go unnoticed by me. Understand?" With great difficulty, he nodded. "Good." He released his psychic grip, allowing the mutt to breathe. He looked at Dark Glameow. "If he acts up again, do not hesitate to use force."

This made her smirk slightly, but it went away as she wanted to keep a professional expression. "As you wish, my lord."

Dark turned to Meowth, who flinched upon seeing his eyes. Surprisingly, he bowed to the cat. "My apologies for my servant's boorish and unjust behavior."

Meowth gulped a bit and stood up straight. "I-It's fine, really. Still alive, right?" He chuckled uneasily.

Dark smirked and straightened up. "Yes, of course. Actually, I'm glad you're here, Meowth."

"You…You are?"

"Yes. I was coming by to check on Laura, to make sure she is being cared for, before heading over to you next. You see, if you both are to join my legion of Darkmon, you will need to know more about our culture. To study it."

Laura groaned. "Great…learning…"

He chuckled. "I can assure you, my queen, it'll be very beneficial. Besides, once the new world is created, you must know of our various plants and lifestyles to ensure you are not harmed."

She sighed. "If you say so."

"I will be teaching you everything personally, my dear." He looked to Meowth. "As for you, Dark Glameow will be your teacher. That won't be too much trouble, right?"

She shook her head. "Not at all, my lord. I shall teach him our ways."

"Very good." He glared at Dark Mightyena. "And I expect you to behave. I won't be so merciful a second time."

He grunted softly, but bowed his head. "Yes, Lord Dark."

"Good." He looked to Laura and kissed her hand. "I will return later, my dear."

A wave of heat could be seen blazing off of her face. "S-Sure…" He nodded and shadow stepped away.

Meowth waved a hand in front of her face. "Laura?" He touched her cheek, then yelped in pain. "YOW!" He stuck his finger in the bowl of water Laura was provided with and sighed with relief.

She shook her head. "Oops! Sorry Meowth!"

"All good…" He pulled his hand out and rubbed it. "Are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that."

"I know, but…you blanked out for a second."

She scratched her head. "Oh, uh…nothing to worry about." He raised a brow in suspicion. "I'm fine, don't worry."

He wasn't totally convinced she was fine, but he didn't want to press on the matter any further. "If you say so…" He sighed. "Anyway, I just came by so we can hang out." He looked at Dark Glameow. "That's okay with you, right?"

She nodded. "We will begin your lessons once Lord Dark returns."

He smiled. "Thank you."

"Well, just let me finish cleaning and we can chat." He nodded and Laura returned to cleaning her face.

Ryder meditated in the trees, while listening to the sound of his trainees wheezing in pain. For the pass two hours, they've been trying to get up. Sounded simple, but not when you're wearing a ton of weight on your body.

Piplup wore weights around his ankles and a weighted vest. Snivy wore a weighted vest as well, along with a weight around her tail. Buneary had some on her ears, wrists, and ankles, and also wore a weighted vest. Oshawott wore a weighted vest and weights on his wrists and ankles.

Pikachu lay on the ground with his arms and legs spread out. The only thing he managed to accomplish today was scratching his ear. "Ryder, we need a break."

"I've had to endure wearing those things twenty-four seven. If you keep trying, you won't even notice."

"But we've been trying for hours!" Piplup whined.

Buneary sighed and lay down to take a rest. She could feel sweat dripping from her fur. Her body was sore and aching. A moment or two to rest won't hurt.

Snivy was pushing herself off the ground, but fell flat. She sighed, then looked to the side to see Oshawott was the only one not resting. He was trying to sit up, his face contorting comically from the struggling. She was surprised to see him so motivated and worried about how much strain he was putting on himself. "Oshawott, just take a rest. You're gonna hurt yourself."

"N…N…No…" He fell on his back and tried again. "I'm…n…not…giving…up…"

"Don't push yourself too hard. Just rest."

"Not…until…I…get…up!" He shouted angrily as he forced his body. Much to their surprise, he was sitting up, something they've all been trying to do. He blinked as he panted from exhaustion. He smiled and cheered. "Yes!" However, in his excitement, he felt back down. "Dang it!"

Ryder smiled and turned around. "Don't feel bad, Oshawott. You're coming along quicker than I expected. Keep up the good work."

He would have saluted, but he couldn't feel his arms. "Yes sir…"

Piplup puffed his cheeks and glared. I'm not letting him outshine me! He took a deep breath and tried to sit up, putting his all into it. "Come on, get up!" he shouted at himself, trying to become more motivated.

Pikachu sighed, then smiled. "Well, can't fall behind." He started pushing himself up too. Soon Snivy and Buneary followed in example and put more effort into it.

Ryder crossed his arms and leaned against the tree. This might go better than I anticipated.