Meowth stood in front of a tree with his claws extended. He breathed lightly as he focused on the base. He narrowed his eyes and got into a striking position, waiting for the right time to strike. Wind light blew pass him as he stared at the tree intently. He was going to slice right through it, he knew.

With one final breath, he slashed through the tree with one mighty swing. In his head, he sliced perfectly through the tree, with such a clean, smooth cut passing through like butter. He stood proudly as the tree toppled, earning an impressed response from Dark Glameow for such a well-executed strike.

…in what actually happened, he only made a cut in the tree…and broke a claw. "OW! THAT SMARTS!" He waved his claw furiously and blew on it, hoping it would dull the pain. He should have expected that to happen. He was cutting a tree that, apparently, was harder than concrete.

Dark Glameow stared at his flailing with a sweatdrop forming. Perhaps having him slash this tree was a mistake.

Considering Meowth has been learning so much about the Darkmon, a thought occurred to Dark Glameow this morning. In the event he needed to, you know, defend himself and she wasn't there, she had to train him in self-defense. It was a simple gesture, wanting him to feel comfortable with his environment. Although, one thing was troubling her.

Why was she teaching him this?

No, seriously, why was she teaching him this? She was helping him defend himself against her, basically. If Lord Dark did some order to kill him, she would have to follow without resistance. It was her job to watch over him, but it was also her job to prepare for the worse. If she needed to, she would slash Meowth down in an instant, to prove her loyalty to her lord and master.

And yet, she felt she needed to help Meowth as well. She felt she had to give him some advice on surviving out here. Teaching him the basics of their culture, biology, and plant life didn't seem like enough.

The idea originally formed a few days ago. Dark Mightyena, as usual, was trying to intimidate Meowth. Almost instinctively, his claws slowly unsheathed themselves. She could tell he was getting increasingly annoyed with the mutt's hostility. She can't blame him. She would LOVE to slash his face off as well. Though, they both knew Meowth couldn't beat Dark Mightyena in a fight, at least with his lackluster fighting experience.

It gave her the idea that, maybe, Meowth should learn to take care of himself. Today was the breaking point for her decision. Considering she would have to take her weekly sleep soon, she won't be able to properly perform her duty as a caretaker. Meowth might not be able to defeat a Darkmon, but, this way, she could at least be able to help him before any lethal damage happened.

The thought of him getting hurt…twisted her heart. It was a strange, unusual feeling. It was painful. She couldn't explain why she felt this pain. Was it perhaps she was sick? No, doubtful. Her healing factor would have countered any airborne sickness. Poison? Nope, never got infected with Darkmon poison.

Oddly enough, this pain usually occurred when she was performing her duties around Meowth. Seeing Dark Mightyena threatening him irritated her. Nothing unusual, considering she hated him to begin with. Though, over the past week, she seemed to have been enjoying her time with the Pokémon.

They've only known each other for a week and things started off pretty rocky. As the lessons took off, they slowly developed a mutual respect for one another. Or, in his own words, a friendship…

Her heart clenched up again, making her grunt. There was that pain again. She may have to see someone about that. Maybe it's because she needed sleep. Yeah, that's probably the reason. She never felt aches from drowsiness before, but she figured it was a one-time thing.

She shook her head and focused her attention back on the wailing cat. "So…how do you feel?"

"HOW DO I FEEL?!" he shouted in anger. "YOU MADE ME SLASH A TREE THAT BROKE MY CLAW!"

She shrugged. "Hey, you're the one wanted to 'learn to kick butt' as soon as possible," she reminded him.

"Yeah well, you could have had me start off on a softer tree!"

"You wanted training. You'll get training, no matter how much pain you have to endure."

He gulped. This cat was surprisingly sadistic, even though her expression remained deadpanned half the time. If his life wasn't in danger from the dark beasts that surrounded him, it was the training that was going to end him.

He retracted his claws and sighed. "Can we please take a break?"

"We just started."

"Yeah, well now I'm ending it." He tried to walk away, but Dark Glameow slapped him across the face with her tail and tripped him onto his back. "Ow! What the heck?!"

She glared. "I don't train quitters. And you're not a quitter." She helped him up. "You act scared, yet I see bravery in your eyes. Foolish, misguided bravery, but still bravery."

"Gee, thanks…" he sarcastically replied.

"I'm serious. You have potential, but you obviously don't have a knack for battle. What you need is guidance to help you learn. And I'm just the Dark Glameow that can get that done."

He blinked, surprised by her determination to help him. Guess under all of that deadpanned, sarcastic, cynical attitude, she had a caring heart. He kind of wished he could see that side of her. It…might be a nice change for things.

"Well…thanks. That means a lot."

She smiled back. "You're welcome." She raised her paw and yawned again. Her eyes were drooping. She was reaching her exhaustion point. "I need rest."

"My home's closer. Maybe you should sleep there in case you fall asleep in the middle of the forest."

She had to admit, he has a point. Her tree is quite a long ways from where they were. Sleeping in his would have to suffice for now. "Very well. Let us return." With a wave of her paw, she gestured him to follow, which he did.

Dark Mightyena waited for them with a grumpy expression. Once they passed him, he smirked and followed closely behind Meowth, breathing hot air down his neck. "Hello, cat…"

A pair of claws slashed across his face. He held his face, hollering in pain. He peeked out enough from his paws to glare at the dark cat that scratched him. "Enough," she ordered with an exhausted, but sharp tone.

"Testy, aren't you?" he commented with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. "I will be sleeping in Meowth's tree for the next eight hours or so. You are to not harm, harass, or threaten him in any way during that period of time. Is that clear?"

He chuckled and leaned close, snarling. "And what…are you going to do about it?"

One flick of her claws and he fell to his left side with a grunt. His left foreleg, which she severed from his body, disintegrated into shadow wisps. He glared up at her as his leg regenerated. She wore a smug grin, flexing her claws with pride.

"That…That's what I'm going to do. Only ten times worse if you don't shut your yap." She retracted her claws and kept walking. "Come along, Meowth."

The cat looked down at the fallen Darkmon and shrugged with a smirk before following behind. Dark Mightyena rose to his feet and spat on the ground in disgust. "Rotten Darkmon…" With a grumpy expression, he followed them from a distance.

They reached Meowth's home. Dark Glameow pointed at Dark Mightyena. "You are to stay out here, understand?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am." He circled around the tree and sat down, guarding halfheartedly.

She sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, it's as if he wants to get himself killed."

"You do aggravate him quite a bit," Meowth reminded.

She rolled her eyes and sat against the wall. "Yeah, well, I'm older and wiser than him. If he wants to complain about it, that's his problem. He'll just have to deal with me about it…or Lord Dark if he takes it too far."

Meowth sat beside her. "You really don't like being here, do you?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Dark Glameow…"

She sighed and looked up at the wooden ceiling. "We may be artificial beings…but we can still feel. And, sometimes, I feel like…I'm trapped." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lightly exhaling soon after. "Any Darkmon wishes to exit this forest, to escape the wrath of the sunlight. Some wish because they want to bring harm on those above. Others…simply want to live."

Meowth narrowed his eyes as she continued. "I'll admit, I wish to follow my lord's orders and take over this pitiful planet, to bring a new species that can flourish. But, sometimes, I've actually wanted to see the world with my own eyes."

"You don't know what up there is like?"

She shook her head. "Only bits and pieces from nightly raids. I've never seen anything else with my own eyes." She yawned and rubbed her eye. "However…I do have the memories of the Glameow I was created from. She…has been on quite the journey.

"Through her memories, her eyes, I was able to see many different places and scenes. A great deal of Sinnoh, parts of other regions…all in the light. Then there's your food. I can…remember the taste from her memories. It's…amazing. Different types of pastries, the Poke food that she was given, the berries of your world…" She looked down. "It's…something I've wanted to see for myself." She shook her head. "Still…dreams are dreams."

Meowth frowned. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Dark Glameow, you can't actually believe that's it, can you? You can go topside and see it all for yourself."

She shrugged him off. "I appreciate the optimism…but nothing happens just because you wish for it. The planet will continuously spin…the sun will always shine." She rubbed her eyes again, trying to stay awake. "It's why I want to help Lord Dark conquer the world. Once the sun is blocked out, I can see all the wondrous places of the world before we reshape everything into our image."

He looked away, not particularly fond of that idea. The only way he can survive their tyranny is if he joined them. Yet, despite his need to survive, he can help but feel this is wrong. He may steal Pokémon, but he doesn't want them all to…die. He never wished for someone to…

…a brief memory of Sinnoh flashed through his mind. Back when Laura joined their team. He remembers Laura battling fiercely with Ryder. In what they assumed was the end, they thought Ryder had been defeated. Perished. Died. And, in their triumph…they celebrated. Without remorse.

He placed a hand to his mouth as it slowly opened it surprise. What was wrong with him that day? He actually HOPED Ryder would die. He never had those kind of thoughts before. He may hate the twerps, but he never considered doing actual harm to them. That's why they would stick to trapping them, not doing physical harm.

Then again, there were times they have done harm, like that time Pikachu got amnesia and they had him fire Thunderbolts at Ash…because they thought they finally won.

He narrowed his eyes in concern. He never realized how sadistic they could be. All those years of failure had turned them savage. They get a moment of glory and they botch it up because of their arrogance and confidence. Years of failure…

When they entered Unova, they were much more competent agents, handling missions with efficiency. They learned to keep a level head on missions, not to overanalyze on a situation or act out of arrogance. Without dealing with the twerps constantly, it may have actually helped them. Or, at least, helped him reflect on his past actions.

He remembered something Ryder said last time he saw him. That Team Rocket is keeping secrets they couldn't begin to comprehend. What secrets did he mean? More importantly…who was he working for? What was Giovanni's game?

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Was joining Team Rocket…a mistake?

"Dark Glameow…" She glanced at him. Her fatigue became more noticeable. She could pass out any minute. Yet she kept herself awake to listen. "Why are you evil?"

It was an odd question, but she answered anyway. "That's how we were born, simple as that."

"So you don't have a choice?"

"No, we do have a choice."

He glared. "It's one or the other. Which is it?" he asked sternly.

She sighed. "Meowth…the Darkmon are creatures of darkness. We were made to be evil. Even if there were good ones lurking around, they'd still have evil in their veins. We can choose to embrace it or not, but, in the end, it really doesn't matter because that's who we are."

"So taking over the planet is the best course of action? Blocking out the sun is going to solve everything?" He rubbed his face irritably. "You may be stronger than your counterparts, but…it's a lost cause. If you were to raise war against Darkmon and Pokémon, all of you are going to have a bunch of Legendary Pokémon on your tails. Two can manipulate time and space, two control land and sea, and one of them created the universe! What chance do any of you have against firepower like that?!"

"We'll think of something."

"No, you can't, because you would lose!" he shouted, making her back away a bit. "Dark may be powerful, but do you honestly think he can take on ALL Legendary Pokémon on his own? LAURA was able to land some decent hits on him. Compared to a Legendary, she's child's play!"

Dark Glameow felt an odd sensation of anger and…worry coming from his tone. She blinked in confusion.

He sighed and pinched between his eyes. "I…have felt like I can do anything simply because I've built a big, bad machine with countermeasures against my opponents. And yet, every single time, someone finds a way to destroy it. Every. Single. Time.

"You guys are strong, but there's no way Dark can take on beings like that. And, if and when he loses, you all are next. You all will be destroyed without remorse, because you tried to destroy our existence. They wouldn't care because they would see you as artificial beings of destruction. Single-minded monsters who only wish to destroy. They would destroy all of you. And…that would hurt me because…I'd lose you."

Her mouth gaped a bit in awe. He'd lose her? What did he mean by that? Would he…actually feel sad if something happened to her?

"We may be from opposite sides, but I feel we've gotten to know each other well. I consider you my friend. It would hurt me to see something bad happen to you. If you truly want to see the world for what is it, don't destroy it. Try and…embrace it."

She looked down, genuinely surprised by his words. Not just because he spoke so sternly to her without realizing he could get himself killed for speaking out of term.

She always followed the orders of Lord Dark, out of his own vision. But that was before she heard it from the enemy's perspective. Every time she asked about Pokémon, she got similar answers each time. 'They're the enemy' or 'They're weaklings that need to be exterminated'. She never got a Pokémon's opinion on the matter.

Was she actually…doing the wrong thing?

Then she looked back at him. He honestly looked really worried about her. Did he value their friendship, despite that she could kill him if given the order to? He was like Dark Riolu, that little runt who wanted to meet Pokémon and live alongside them. His behavior was a nuisance to the Darkmon. Her opinion? He acted like her old friend.

He made friends with a Pokémon and even started a star-crossed relationship with her. He saw something she couldn't. He saw something in her that no other Darkmon could. Darkmon suppressed their emotions to retain their power. He…suppressed his evil to give in to those feelings.

She stared at Meowth as her hearted clenched tightly. She grunted internally. That pain again…

Her eyes drooped dangerously. She was going to fall asleep any minute. "I need rest…"

Meowth smiled a bit. "Okay." He started to get up. "Want me to get you some-"

"Actually…can you stay next to me?" she muttered as she got into a comfortable position. "As much as I want to sleep, I can't have you out of my sight. I don't trust that mutt for a second…"

He blinked, then nodded with a smile. "Sure." He sat back down, close to her. "You sleep well, Dark Glameow."

There was a brief period of silence. He assumed she went to sleep. He looked off to the side, looking at the dark forest outside of the tree. It was morning. He wasn't sure how long she would be asleep, but he had to agree with her about staying close by. He felt safer near her.

"Meowth…?" He looked down at her. She was still awake. "Remember…when you asked me if I had…a name?"

"Uh…yeah?"

"Can you…give me one?"

His eyes widened a bit. "R-Really?" The slight movements of her head indicated she nodded. "How come?"

"Dark Glameow…is kind of a mouthful…don't you think?" Her lips twitched a bit, forming a small smirk. Then she gave a more sincere one. "Besides…it might be nice…having my own identity…"

He blinked in surprise. "Uh…s-sure."

He racked his brain for ideas. If he knew this ahead of time, he would have had more time to think of a name. What could her name be? There were so many that it was hard to pick. He could easily call her 'Jill' and she wouldn't mind. He didn't want to give her some random name that he didn't put any thought into.

As he thought, one name did stick out to him. He wasn't sure why it stuck out so much to him. To him, it's one of those names that you liked the sound of. It just appealed to him more. Who knows? But…he felt it might suit the dark cat.

"How about…Chloe?"

"Chloe, huh?" She repeated the name a couple of times. It sounded like a nice name, she admitted to herself. It seemed to fit her well. She smiled. "Chloe, it is." Her eyelids drooped and her head leaned against Meowth's side. She uttered one last word before she went fully asleep. "Thanks…"

He was blushing bright red. He never realized how soft her fur was as it brushed up against his side. It was…comforting. He looked around, like he was keeping an eye out for anyone spying on them. He rested his arm on her and rubbed her back. A small smile formed on his face. "Sleep tight, Chloe…"

Laura sat with her arms crossed as her servants were presenting handmade dresses in front of her, made from the leaves and other plant life in the forest. Apparently they wanted her to look nice for when she becomes queen this week. She'll admit, they looked nice. However, they were testing her patience as they kept trying to outdo each other about which one was better.

"This dress will make you look like you're part of a fancy ball, dancing elegantly with Lord Dark as you watch the world become consume in darkness!" she exclaimed, trying to make it sound romantic when, in fact, it sounded…disturbing.

The other Dark Kirlia pushed her away. "Forget that. This one has a theme of gracefulness to it. You want to look like a beautiful flower laced with poison, don't you?"

"Is…that a trick question?" Laura asked with a raised brow.

The first Dark Kirlia pushed her aside. "She wants to look like she's part of the ball!"

"No, a graceful flower!"

"Elegant ball!"

"Graceful flower!"

Laura growled and shouted, "Will you both SHUT UP?!" They inched away in fear. They knew not to underestimate the destructive robot…and to not call her a robot, because she blasted one of them at blank point for saying it. "I don't even wear clothes! Why would I even need a dress?!"

They blinked, then started arguing with each other again. She groaned in annoyance. She stood up and left while they were distracted. Maybe she can find Dark and have him break it up. Then again, he was usually busy with something. Breaking up a trivial fight was probably not in his agenda. Still, she at least needed someone to talk to.

She could visit Meowth, but he has been busy as well. She visited him a couple of times and was relieved to see he was doing better. He and that Dark Glameow were getting along nicely. At least she knew he was in good paws.

She made her way through the trees and came across the throne area. He wasn't in his throne, though. He was probably napping or something. She looked around and smirked a bit. Well…no one else is here.

She was actually hoping to do this for a while. She ran up the steps of the throne and gently sat down on it, shifting around to get comfortable. Once she was, she rested her arms on the throne arms. She raised her hand up, balled up into a fist, and spoke with a stern, commanding voice, "My legion of minions! Pray to your new ruler, Queen Laura! As queen of this land, I order you to bow down to me! Praise me and my awesomeness! My beauty! My power!" She let out a loud, sinister cackle towards the sky, basking in the praise of her imaginary audience.

"Can't wait to have your own throne, my dear?" She shrieked and jumped out of the seat, nearly toppling down the stairs have it not been for Dark stepping in and catching her, holding her in a dip similar to one in a two person dance. He looked down at her with a smirk. "Was I interrupting?"

Her face was heating up dramatically. "I-I-I-I was just…doing nothing!"

"Suuure, and I'm a saint," he sarcastically said, with his smirk stretching. "I must say, you definitely have a knack for being a queen, sweetcheeks."

She glanced away. "I was just messing around…"

"So you don't want anyone praising your power or awesomeness?" he jokingly asked. "Or…your beauty?"

She smiled a bit. "Heh…you're quite the charmer."

"I try my best."

There was a short pause of silence. "Sssooo…you gonna let me go?"

He chuckled with a shake of the head. "Do you want me to?"

"Well…n-no," she admitted.

He leaned close to her face, making her face heat up even more. A red glow emitted from under her fur. Despite that, she found herself smiling and even leaning forward a bit too, with her eyes slowly closing.

"Excuse me?" Their heads shot up and turned to see Fang holding a Dark Noctowl in his pincers. He was glaring at them, mostly at Dark. "I have some news about the intruders."

Dark glared back at him. If he had just come in ten seconds later. He propped Laura back up and held her hands in his. "Sorry, sweetcheeks. This will only take a minute."

"Oh…okay. No problem," she assured with weak smile. She didn't admit it, but she felt disappointed their moment was interrupted. Her eyes shifted towards Fang, forming into a glare.

Dark floated down and landed in front of the two Darkmon. "What is so important that you had to interrupt me?"

He scoffed. "My apologies if seducing that rustbucket is FAR more important than your people's safety."

Dark's eyes glowed faintly, his eye lids narrowing to form a sharp glare. He crossed his arms. "Call her a rustbucket again and I'll be spending the next five hours ripping your arms off."

"Getting defensive, aren't we?" He didn't press on the matter further as he threw Dark Noctowl in front of his lord's feet. "Anyway, one of the scouts found this one unconscious. And he has something to say to you."

He looked up at his lord, with his glare burning a hole into his soul. "M-M-My lord…please forgive me. I gave away…gave away the location to the antidote…for that Axew's ailment."

He raised a brow. "Is that so?" He nodded. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then smirked. "Well…I'm feeling extra cocky today. Perhaps I should tip Savage off and-"

"Are you serious?!" Fang shouted. "He gave away vital information and this is how you handle it? More of this silly game of yours?"

He snickered. "Yeah, simple as that. Besides, they forced him with that little Attract move."

Fang blinked. How could he have known it was an Attract that caused him to talk? Unless… "You've known about their locations this whole time?!" the Dark Gliscor angrily yelled.

"Of course I have. My Sight Orbs have eyes all around this forest. There's only so many places to hide from me." He looked down at the quivering dark owl. "You're dismissed."

"THANK YOU, LORD DARK!" He flew away as fast as his wings could carry him.

Fang glared as the owl fluttered off before turning his anger to Dark, who gave a large grin and raised his hands up in defense. "Chill, Fang. I'll have Savage know about their location and he can handle them."

He huffed an angry sigh. Well, at least he was SOMEWHAT doing his job. "Very well…" He grabbed Dark's shoulder, clamping down tightly with a glare. "But don't expect me to let you off the hook."

He swatted the pincer off with a grin. "You do that." The Dark Gliscor, scoffing at his arrogance, flew off. The Darkmon lord shook his head. "He needs to lighten up badly." He looked at his shoulder and narrowed an eye.

It was bleeding. He barely felt the pincer when it was holding him. How hard did Fang clamp down on him? He wiped the blood and flicked it away. The wound, as usual, regenerated.

"Weird," he muttered to himself. He smiled at Laura and floated over to her. "Now…where were we?"

She blushed again and rubbed the back of her head. "Uh…you know what, maybe I should go check on my servants before they start killing each other…"

He frowned. "I see…" He smiled again, putting his hand under her chin. "But at least offer me this request, my dear."

"W-What?"

He chuckled and leaned close. "Join me tonight for a…private evening, just the two of us."

Her eyes widened and her power core fluxed erratically. Oh sweet Mew, he's asking me on a date! She was nervous, definitely, but she actually felt a little…excited by the idea.

"Well?"

"Yes!" she said almost immediately. She covered her mouth as her face went bright red. She calmed herself and smiled sheepishly, dropping her hands. "I mean…" She gave a curtsey, trying to play it off formally. "I accept your gracious invitation, Lord Dark."

He found himself laughing at the display. "Splendid!" He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tonight," he whispered lightly into her ear, leaving her dazed as he vanished in a wisp of shadows.

"I'm…going on…a date…" she slowly explained to herself, as if she needed to be reminded. "…with…Dark…" A smile slowly stretched across her face. "W-Wow! I can't believe it!" She felt herself jump in the air in excitement. "This is amazing! This is exciting! This is-" She gasped and landed on her feet.

A sudden wave of realization washed over her. To think she can read emotions and even manipulate them, when she just now realized what that weird feeling she was having really was. She buzzed a bit from her glitch, sparking as her hard drive tried processing these newfound feelings beginning to surface. And, as she raised a hand to the side of her head, she mumbled the conclusion to her unusual behavior.

"Oh Arceus…I'm in love with Dark…"

Ryder was passing out lunch to Buneary, Snivy, and Piplup, to which they thanked him for. Buneary had her egg in her lap as she munched on her berry, talking with the grass snake and penguin about their training. They've improved well, as far as they're concerned.

"Just a little more training and I can punch trees down!" Piplup exclaimed, throwing punches and kicks at the air.

Snivy rolled her eyes. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Pip. You still struggle with push-ups every so often. Toppling a tree is pretty farfetched, if you ask me."

He stuck his tongue out. "Shows what you know!"

Buneary giggled before looking upward. "Hey Ryder, how are Pikachu and Oshawott doing? They've been up there all morning."

Ryder bit down on an Oran berry. "I'm having them start their aura training by teaching themselves to control their aura flow. I'd help them, but…" He held his head with a grunt. "…got a headache from when I unlocked their auras…"

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern present in her tone.

He smiled reassuringly. "Don't fret, I'll be fine." He finished off his breakfast and dusted his hands off. "Though, I should check on them. You three hang tight." He climbed up the ladder and pushed the hatch open.

Upon getting up, his eyes widened as he saw the two Pokémon sitting in meditative positions, silently breathing with their eyes closed. Their aura flows have gotten under control fairly well. They've managed to rein it in under a few hours. He almost envied their progress.

He closed the hatch and walked over to them. They opened their eyes, sensing the aura nearby, a feeling they weren't use to as of yet, making them jump from the presence. "Oh, hey Ryder," Pikachu greeted with a wry smile.

The cloaked Charmeleon crossed his arms and smirked. "Well, you two seemed to be doing well."

Oshawott uncrossed his legs with a painful grunt. "Speak for yourself! My legs are killing me! I wasn't sure how long I can sit like that!"

Pikachu chuckled. "We were trying to mimic your meditation position, seeing as how we have little to no experience meditating."

Ryder smiled and sat down, cross legged. "Well, you're on the right track, that's for sure. Being able to rein in your raw aura can be tricky if you don't know how to relax the flow." He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Meditation allows a steady flow…" He exhaled lightly. "…to circulate the body."

"You sure know your stuff," Oshawott commented.

"Well, I've had many years to learn it." He sighed. "Sadly, with my potential sealed off, it might be difficult showing you both some of the techniques."

"I'm sure we can manage," the otter assured.

He smiled a bit. "Well…there are a few ways aura can be used without being an aura master." He chuckled. "Actually…Pikachu may have seen it firsthand, himself."

"Huh?" the mouse sounded in confusion.

"Pikachu, do you want to know how I've been keeping track of you for all these years?" He nodded, generally interested. "The thing is, the Shadow Agency has connections around the world. The police force, organizations…Gym Leaders…"

His eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Not to mention I've met a majority of those Gym Leaders in my travels, even the Battle Frontier at one point."

"So…how did you find me?"

"Well…remember when you fought Tucker? It was being televised at the time and Hank wanted me to watch it. I wasn't in the mood, but he insisted. So, I gave in and checked it out. It amazed me how Ash was able to take on and even beat Tucker's Arcanine and Swampert. That combination tripped me and Jade up when we first fought him. I was impressed.

"However, when the camera panned over to Ash, I saw you with him. Pikachu may look the same to some people, but I have a pretty good eye for detail. You reminded me so much of that Pikachu I knew that I had to be sure. So, when I looked up Ash's information…you were his Kanto starter." He smiled. "It amazed me how far you've come. Even shocked me that you got over your distrust of humans."

He smiled sheepishly. "Heh, yeah." He gave a curious expression. "So, you've been keeping track of my movements?"

"I wouldn't put it like that, it makes me sound like a stalker. No, I just wanted to see how you're doing. And to see how strong you've gotten. Beating Brandon's Regice, tying with a Latios in the Sinnoh League…and even Ash impresses me. He trained great Pokémon, especially that Sceptile of his that beat Tobias' Darkrai."

Pikachu smiled brightly. "Yeah! Sceptile has always been a great teammate and friend." He raised a brow. "But what does this have to do with aura?"

"Pik, I've obviously kept track of only your gym battles, League participations, and the Battle Frontier. But I've heard some interesting stuff, particularly your battle with Tate and Liza."

"Oh, yeah…that battle." He rubbed his head. "Crazy day, that was."

Oshawott narrowed his eyes. "Wait, what happened?"

"Well, Swellow and I were battling a Lunatone and Solrock...in quite the interesting battle. Honestly, I'm surprised Ash didn't use Grovyle and Corphish for the battle at the time. It may have went better for us.

"Anyway, we were running low on options, so Ash had me fire a Thunder in the sky and let it hit us. We absorbed the attack, somehow, and we were engulfed in this golden like armor of electricity. I was surprised Swellow survived it. We ended up gaining a large boost of power and beat them. It was…strange, to say the least.

"Is that what you meant, Ryde?" Pikachu asked his friend/teacher.

He nodded. "The Thunder Armor…would you believe me if I told you that was your aura taking affect?"

"Huh?" both Pikachu and Oshawott expressed in confusion.

"If that kind of attack were to hit Swellow in a single battle, he would have most certainly been knocked out. But you two actually were resonating your auras with each other." They still looked confused. "Alright, let me explain this in another way.

"When Pokemon work together, in tag battles, they reach a strong trust and bond with each other, resonating their auras off each other. The best example I can think of is a contest battle. Dawn's combinations, for instance. They resonate off each other, allowing attacks to fuse, either for power or, in Dawn's case, style.

"When that Thunder hit you and Swellow, your auras were working with each other during the hit. You absorbed a good chunk of the hit and spread the energy safely out around Swellow. Your auras then took the shape of makeshift armor in the process."

"Seriously?!" Pikachu shouted, jumping back. That's what happened during that battle? Well, better than no explanation.

"This doesn't only happen in tag battles. Have you ever seen any other times a Pokémon absorbed an attack of the same type?"

The electric mouse rubbed his chin and snapped his fingers with a gasp. "Grotle!" He recalled Grotle accidentally eating his own Energy Ball and gaining that strange power boost.

Oshawott looked up in thought. "Didn't Mamoswine do something like that in a practice battle once?"

"Pokémon that absorb attacks of the same type, if trained properly, can gain a boost of power with that type. That's your auras reacting with your type. It's actually the reason why Darkmon have such a high mastery with their types. That's the traits they get from the Pokémon."

"So any Pokémon can use aura?"

"Yes. Of course, a Riolu and Lucario are the main users of aura. They're born adept with the knowledge. They have an easier time learning to use it. They're the ones we've learned from for years. I even had training with Hank's Lucario when I became a Shadow Agent. He's an excellent teacher."

"Wow…" Oshawott awed. "Now I definitely want to become an aura master!"

"And you will. But remember, this will be difficult. Once we start, I'm not gonna go easy on you two. Got it?"

They saluted. "Yes sir!"

He smiled. "I like your attitudes." He stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Get ready. First lesson: Augmentation."