Chapter 4

Lavaridge Town lay in the valley below the campsite of the four travelers. Wisps of steam rose from the famed hot springs. The trees on the rough terrain tilted and groaned in the mountain wind. Walking through the trees, Ash rolled his neck.

The young teen had his shirt off, using it to rub the sweat off of his face. Walking next to him, slightly less angry than usual, Primeape strode confidently gesturing with his powerful hands. "Prime, prime ape ape."

"Yeah, thanks for the workout Primeape. I definitely needed a push to work out and you know how to train the body." Ash said. "We should probably hurry up and get back to the camp. I am late for May's lesson." Ash responded.

"Primmeee." The Pokémon growled.

"I know Contest battles are too pretty for you. That is why I have been working on gym battles with you." Ash replied, chuckling. It had been a few weeks since leaving Dewford Town. The group had passed through a number of cities and had a few adventures. A couple of the adventures could have been called interesting, but to Ash were just another day on the road. Ash had picked up the Dynamo Badge from Wattson in Mauville City and the Heat Badge in Lavaridge Town from Flannery. In between, May had won her first contest in Fallarbor Town. Ash enjoyed watching the Contest and was proud of May's start as a Coordinator.

It turned out working on developing his battle style while teaching May the different parts of being a trainer was good for the young teen. It was difficult of course. Ash was a rather instinctive battler and enjoyed the rush of a fight. May struggled to enjoy the confrontation part of contests, instead enjoying designing and performing appeals.

This made teaching battle skills a challenge.

Some times Ash struggled to figure out how to say things. For example, he was able to quickly analyze the flow of battle, but not able to explain how he did so. It was frustrating for him, as he wanted to pass the information on, but couldn't really explain it so May could understand.

In the evenings, Ash continued to spend time reading the book Max had given him, the one written by Professor Oak. Ash admittedly was a slow reader and the book was packed with information. The reading, taking his time and all, had created the seed of an interesting idea. He had yet to discuss it with anyone else, instead he was waiting for the right moment to reveal it fully.

Ash shook his head, clearing his thoughts, as he and Primeape stepped into the campsite. "Sorry about being late, May. Give me a moment and I will be ready."

The younger girl blinked at him, before nodding slowly. Ash moved confidently through the campsite, heading for his pack. Brock noticed the Ash had surprised May somehow, but was not sure the extent.

Primeape was returned to his Pokéball without any fuss and Ash ducked into his tent and rummaged around for a moment. He stepped out of his tent, a new shirt and his customary hat on.

He smiled. "Alright, May, are you ready to work?"

She nodded hesitantly, still blushing slightly.

"You have done great improving Beautifly's move set and helping Skitty with her appeals. I think you should work with Torchic today."

May frowned, her blush vanishing. "Why? I mean, I also need to work with Skitty some more as she doesn't really have any combat skills. Beautifly is still struggling with Solar Beam."

"You are right." Ash admitted. "Tell me what does Torchic need to work on?"

It took May a moment before she responded. "I think he needs to work on controlling his fire."

"When was the last time you helped Torchic with controlling his fire attacks?" Ash asked, sitting down on a nearby rock.

Still frowning, May started to count days. As she seemed to reach day six, Ash interrupted. "You have three Pokémon. You shouldn't need to count how long it has been since you last worked with one of them."

"Yeah, well, you haven't worked with all of your Pokémon either." May shot back, instantly irritated with his comments.

Ash shrugged and pulled a small notebook out. He had bought the notebook in Pallet Town and Ash was using it while in Hoenn. He started flipping through it. "Right, I haven't worked with Charizard, because he is still in the Charific Valley. There hasn't really been a reason to have him come for a visit. Of course, I have only worked with one or two of my Tauros."

He paused and handed the book to her. "Since coming to Hoenn, I have worked with almost every one of my Pokémon. Having my carry limit increased has helped, but I still made sure to work with as many of my Pokémon as I could."

May started flipping through the notes. Each Pokémon was listed with information related to training, goals, likes, dislikes, and much more. She looked up at the slightly older teen. He was not smiling. She was a bit of a surprised to see his serious look directed at her, instead of his happy go lucky expression.

"I think you should work with Torchic." He repeated.

May blinked, handing his notebook back. "I guess I still don't understand why. I have worked with Torchic before and I have other Pokémon to work with as well."

Sighing, Ash shook his head. "You can do anything you want, May. I am not going to force you to do anything."

She nodded, thinking he was going to let her work with the Pokémon she wanted to work with. Instead, he continued to talk. "I have found that spending time with my Pokémon, all of them, has been a good idea."

May sighed and released the little orange and yellow fire type. She could work with Beautifly tomorrow.

"Tor?"

"We are going to train, Torchic." May said.

"CHIC!" Torchic cheered.

May looked around and then to Ash. "I am not sure it is a good idea to work on fire control where it is so dry and flammable." She said referring to the mountain woodlands around them.

Ash smiled softly, releasing Noctowl, who called out a greeting. "Speed creates good appeals right? Why not work on Double Team?"

May nodded and knelt down next to her starter. "Alright Torchic, we should do some work on speed."

As she did so, Ash watched, Noctowl on his shoulder. He listened as she explained the idea to her starter Pokémon and his thoughts started drifting towards his Tauros.

Later that night, as the fire crackled in the center of the camp, Brock looked over to his long time friend. Ash was reading, using the firelight. In front of Ash was another of Ash's notebooks, where he was scribbling notes as he read. Ash was finishing Professor Oak's book. The other books Max loaned him remained in his backpack for the time being.

To those that knew him, it was clear he was struggling with the material. While difficult, Ash was deeply engaged with the concepts and the ideas in front of him.

Brock glanced around and looked to the sky to check the approximate time. Noticing the half moon was high in the sky, he looked over to the far side of the fire where both May and Max were asleep.

"Ash, you should probably stop for the night." Brock said quietly, not to wake up the siblings.

Ash looked up at him with bleary eyes, instinctively responding at the same volume. "What time is it?"

"Around midnight I think."

Nodding, Ash checked the number of pages left before closing the book and his notes. Leaning over, he pulled his backpack to him and started to tuck the materials away.

Brock watched on, knowing his young friend had something of a routine. When Ash was done, Brock spoke up. "You have been doing a lot of reading."

"I know." Ash agreed with a sigh. "It has been worth it though."

Brock waited, seeing Ash working on how to say something. "You know how most people call out their Pokémon's attack in battle?"

"Yeah, it is how I fight." Brock said.

"Professor Oak's book is on how to communicate fully, including battle. One of the footnotes said calling out attacks and dodges was institutionalized laziness." Ash quoted the phrase with a smile. "The Professor suggests working with your Pokémon to create words describing something more."

Brock nodded slowly, thinking about the concept. "I think I understand. Do you have an example?"

"Well, for Taillow, I think it would be something like using the word Dogfight to plan attacks such as using dives out of the sun." Ash immediately replied.

"What an interesting idea." Brock murmured. He looked at the younger teen. "Do you think your studies are helping?"

Ash nodded hesitantly. "I think so. There are so many ideas in the book and I am worried I missed something. I hope the other books have as much information."

The two sat in silence together, enjoying the sounds of the forest around them and the twinkling starlight about. Pikachu had already found a place to sleep and was settled in for the night. Ash had let the Pokémon he had with him out for a while in the early evening, but had recalled them as they began to fall asleep. Or in the case of Primeape, when the Pokémon started to get wild.

Finally, Brock spoke again. "You took a different tactic with May today."

"I made the same mistake as her. Not exactly the same, but a similar one." Ash admitted sadly. "I wanted her to avoid the mistake."

The teen paused before continuing. "Remember when I caught Krabby? I never had him in my rotation."

"It is a little different with May." Brock said. "Torchic is still with her."

"Does that make it better or worse?" Ash asked. "With Krabby, I basically abandoned him. Torchic, though, is here."

"I get your point. What is worse, being ignored at a distance or when together." Brock sighed. "Neither is good, but at least you tried to make your point."

"It did get me thinking through." Ash said.

"About what?"

"Tauros." Was the simple answer.

It took Brock a moment. "You are worried you have abandoned most of the herd."

Ash nodded. "I don't know if I have fought with very many of them. They deserve better."

Brock rubbed his chin, taking his time to think about the situation. "I guess the question is if they are happy or not."

Ash looked at his friend in confusion. Brock explained. "If they are happy, why worry about it? Otherwise, I think there are two options."

"Give them to the Laramie Ranch or Professor Oak. Or trade them away. Or a combination of both." Ash said, staring at the ground.

Brock nodded a tad surprised at the quick answer. "Right."

"Do you know how far away the next Pokémon Center is?" Ash asked, somewhat shifting the conversation.

"A couple of days away, I think." Brock replied.

Ash sighed. "I will think about it for a couple of days then. I think I need to talk to the Professor about it as well."

Standing up, Ash stretched. "I should head to bed."

Brock nodded. "Me too."

"Before that, I did some looking into the Aron line. They get big when they evolve." Ash said.

"And with only Snorelax and Lapras as big Pokémon, you are concerned about training." Brock finished the thought.

Ash nodded. "Heavier Pokémon fight differently. Most of mine are agile and fast. I don't know how to train him."

"I can understand that." Brock said. "Don't worry about it right now. When Aron evolves, I can give you some pointers."

"Thanks Brock." Ash said.

"Any time Ash."

The next morning the group continued their journey, heading around the region back towards Mauville City. They travelled carefully through the mountains, making good time on their relatively slow and wandering path.

By the time lunch arrived, the group had made it a decent distance and were now almost out of the mountains. Ash had let out one of his Pokémon, Heracross, to walk with the group. The large blue bug and fighting type had walked happily next to his trainer, occasionally flitting off for a drink of sap from a nearby plant.

The place the group chose to settle in for the day was a clearing next to a mountain lake. Around them the snowcapped peaks scratched the sky, with clouds turning into whips around the rock.

Ash toyed with another Pokéball on his belt as he turned to May. "Right, I was thinking we would work on appeals tomorrow. So, today, I suggest we each spend the time training individually. I am going around the lake a bit, but feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions."

"Um, but why?" May asked shortly. "I just was working by myself a couple of days ago and you are supposed to be teaching me."

Ash nodded, smiling at the younger girl. "I know." He said. "I am teaching you how to be a gym trainer because that is who I am."

He paused. "I give you this time so you can learn how to be a coordinator. This is time to learn how to create appeals and other Contest skills."

"I am not sure I understand." May admitted quietly.

"How much of this training has directly helped you in winning your Ribbon?" Ash asked, sitting on the ground.

"A little. Mostly with the knockout rounds." May said.

Ash sighed. "Yet it doesn't quite fit for you does it?"

She shook her head.

"Gym Battles and Contest Battles have some overlap, but there are differences. You know Contests better than anyone in this group." Ash said. "I can teach you the basics of training. You have to do the rest."

"It took you two years to get to the point you are at now. It seems too quick for you to stop teaching me." May objected.

Ash blinked, unsure how to respond. He wasn't even sure where she had gotten the idea. Luckily, Brock was working on setting up the camp only a few feet from the two. "Ash is not stopping working with you." Brock said. "He wants you to take some time to take what he has taught you and practice it."

Ash nodded. "Exactly, practice teaching a Pokémon a new move. Practice creating an appeal."

"I can still ask you questions?" May asked.

"Of course." Ash said simply.

May smiled softly. "Alright, I guess I will see what I can get done this afternoon."

As soon as she finished speaking, Max asked a question. "What are you going to work on this afternoon, Ash?"

Standing up, Pikachu leaping onto his shoulder, Ash let his hand rest on the Pokéballs attached to his belt. "Well, I plan on working with all of my Pokémon. A couple are improving their speed, the others are learning moves."

Max blinked. "That seems like a lot for you to watch over."

"It is." Ash admitted. "I enjoy it though, so it works out."

"Have you been able to implement anything from the reading you have been doing?" Max asked.

Ash nodded. "Some. I have just started teaching my Pokémon. It took a while to get my idea fleshed out enough."

"Really?" Max asked.

"Yeah." Ash said. "I mean my idea is based on a couple of things from the book. So putting it together and getting the last parts has been a challenge."

Brock rubbed his chin. "Interesting. I can't wait to see you use the technique."

"How many places did you cobble the idea from?" Max demanded.

Ash smiled excitedly as he answered Max's question. "Well, there was a footnote from chapter five on communication in battle. In chapter seven there is a sidebar on efficiency. Then in chapter eleven there is a section on shorthand." He paused. "I think that is everything."

The siblings looked at him in surprise, Brock just smiled. "What exactly is your idea?" May asked.

Ash was about to respond but instead shook his head. "It is hard to explain, to be honest." He admitted.

Taking a deep breath, He plucked a Pokéball from his belt and released Cyndaquil. "We need an opponent to show you."

May shook her head when Brock glanced at her. The older teen sighed. "I'll do it."

He stepped to the side, to help create a battlefield, and released Mudkip.

Kneeling down, the hat wearing trainer rubbed Cyndaquil's head. "Are you ready?"

"Quill!" The small fire type responded.

Max moved next to Brock. The younger boy quietly asked a question. "You have the type advantage, do you think you will win?"

"Not at all." Brock said with a smile.

The boy looked shocked. "What?" Max demanded.

Brock sighed. "Ash is good. I may have been a gym leader, but Ash currently is working towards being a better trainer. His training will pay off."

Mudkip, hearing this prediction, huffed and sprayed a jet of water at Brock who smiled. "It will be my fault, Mudkip. I haven't done the right kind of training to keep up with him."

"Kipp." Mudkip shook his head in denial.

Ash stood up. "May, Max, would one of you referee?"

Max nodded before his sister could respond. "Sure thing." He jogged to a central location and glanced at both trainers. "Begin."

Brock shook his head. "Alright, Mudkip, lets start off with a water gun."

"Fireball." Ash said.

Cyndaquil jumped into the air and started to rotate. The fire type turned into a ball of fire and started rolling around the field. Speeding up steadily, Cyndaquil headed towards its opponent.

The stream of water shot by Mudkip was behind the target. While the attack was putting out any fire left behind, Cyndaquil was not really taking damage.

Suddenly, Cyndaquil hit a rock and bounced up into the air. The small fire type uncurled and directly on target let out a Flamethrower.

Mudkip, surprised by the jump was slow to respond and took the fire head on. At the top of the leap, Cyndaquil let the Flamethrower drop and curled back into a ball with a quick weight shift.

Spinning towards Mudkip, Brock recognized Cyndaquil had shifted into a Rollout attack. "Dodge Mudkip!"

The small water type leapt forward, getting under the attack to avoid taking additional damage. Cyndaquil continued to roll though, this time taking a large loop away from Mudkip.

Ash stood and watched as Cyndaquil continued to circle Mudkip, taking shots as they became available. Finally, Ash called out again. "Smoke."

Cyndaquil came to an abrupt stop and let loose a Smokescreen attack. The dark smoke cloud was big enough to cover both Pokémon. Brock stared hard into the cloud. "Use Mud Slap if you think you have a shot."

"Mud Mud Kip." Was Mudkip's response.

Suddenly, the Hoenn water type starter threw itself to the side as a Flamethrower roared through where he had just been standing. As the fire died down, Mudkip attempted to attack back in the same direction with a Mudslap.

At the exact same time the stars of a successful Swift attack slammed into Mudkip from a different direction. The water type fought to his feet, but it was clear Mudkip was tiring. Then, Cyndaquil was ramming into Mudkip from a third direction.

As the smoke cleared, Cyndaquil stood over a defeated Mudkip.

Brock quietly returned his fallen Pokémon. At the same time, Max asked for clarification. "Codewords?"

"Sort of." Ash replied. "They are not attacks, but attack plans and tactics."

Max nodded slowly. "Right, so a word or phrase would describe how to conduct a battle. It allows you to communicate faster and change a number of things at once."

Ash knelt down and gave his fire type a hug before replying. "Exactly. I am working on developing a handful of tactics for each of my Pokémon."

"That was gorgeous battling." May said. "The way the smoke lit up with the different lights of fire and energy."

Brock chuckled. "Yes, but you may lose points for not being seen with the smoke."

"I guess it was rather pretty." Ash said slowly. He looked at May. "This is a simple combination, like what we talked about a couple of days ago."

"We have." May agreed.

"Then, you can come up with something similar during one of the days where you train alone." Ash said confidently.

May shook her head. "I don't know about that."

"May, are you a trainer or not?" Ash demanded.

"What?" The younger girl responded.

"You asked me to help you get better as a trainer." Ash said. "Part of being a trainer is deciding to be more than you currently are."

Max shifted over to stand next to his sister. "Brock doesn't train like you do." Max objected.

Ash shrugged. "Brock wants to be a breeder, not a trainer."

"That is right, I am improving my skills in other areas. Like nutritional cooking for different species of Pokémon." Brock said quietly.

"But you, May, you said you wanted to be a better Coordinator." Ash said. "If you want to be better, how do you reach that goal?"

"By working with you?" May asked.

Ash shook his head. "You work with your Pokémon. I can give you tips and suggestions. You are the one who has to take my ideas and make them into something for yourself."

"Aren't you being a bit rough on her?" Max said. "She has just started working towards this."

Ash shrugged. "Perhaps I am." He returned Cyndaquil. "Do you know why I started working like I am?"

May shook her head. "No."

"I lost." Ash said. "My opponent came to me and asked how I trained such a powerful team. I couldn't answer because I hadn't done anything. I decided that the next time someone asked, I would have an answer."

Brock looked between May and Ash. Before Ash could continued, Brock interrupted. "I think that is enough for this afternoon."

Ash nodded and started to move towards the forest. "I will grab some firewood."

As he neared the closest tree, Max called out. "What else have you learned from the books I lent you?"

The older boy looked over his shoulder. "I just finished Professor Oak's book." Ash said. "Most of it, I still don't understand."

Finished answering, Ash disappeared into the woods. As he left, Brock and Max moved to start setting up camp. In the middle of the clearing, May sat down, deep in thought.