That evening the three of them made camp in the grass beside the road. Akuma made some simple foods for them while Kurishimi took care of feeding the Pokémon. While the older two were in charge of food prep, Chad set up tents and sleeping bags for all three. There were no clouds in the sky so extra shelter wasn't necessary. Even as he was busy with the food, Akuma had his Infernape training with Houndoom. Kurishimi had been initially frightened at the sight of the dark Pokémon and didn't try to hide it. Even now she kept directing nervous glances at it while they trained. Kurishimi fed all her Pokémon except Magnemite. Chad knew she had captured one while they were separated and he assumed Akuma suspected it too, but she didn't reveal it for reasons unknown. Chad also knew it hadn't been transferred to storage either because she kept newer Pokémon with her to be deposited at her leisure. Likewise, Chad also kept the majority of his Pokémon inside their pokéballs as well. Nidorino and Cubone would not make an appearance due to Akuma being unaware of them. Chad had plans to feed them at a later time when Akuma wasn't watching.
That night they sat around a fire, provided by Infernape, talking about their destination: Vermillion City. Akuma said that it was a port town with ship access to many different regions as well as the Orange and Sevii Islands. He intended to only stay long enough for Kurishimi to win her badge and leave immediately after, but the other two wanted to go down and see the ocean. After a brief argument he allowed them a trip, but he wouldn't be joining them when they went. When Kurishimi pressed him on what he would be doing in the meantime he said nothing and changed the topic.
Shortly thereafter, Chad left the group to go feed the two absent from dinner. The farther he got from the campfire, the darker it became. He usually spent his nights in a city so the darkness of the outside was somewhat frightening to him. He released Ponyta from its pokéball to provide light while he traveled. After walking a sufficient distance from the campsite Chad released his Pokémon and began feeding them.
"Sorry guys, but I can't let Akuma know about you right now. I'll have to hide you from him for as long as possible." Nidorino was somewhat disappointed by the news as it had become friendly with many of Kurishimi's Pokémon recently. Cubone didn't seem to care as it ate the food with enthusiasm.
After a moment of thought Chad said, "Hey you guys, there's a Pokémon gym in Vermillion City that Kurishimi will be battling in. After she gets her badge do you want to try getting one as well?"
Nidorino looked both excited and nervous at the same time. It had been with Chad in the Cerulean gym enough to know that the trainers in there, not to mention the gym leader, were tough fighters.
"Hey come on everyone, we're a lot better than we were before we left Cerulean. I think we've got a good chance this time."
Nidorino looked at the ground while Cubone's eyes glittered. All the while Ponyta stood by quietly with the crackle of its flames a constant sound in the darkness.
"We'd have to spread out our training for everyone to practice, but I think we can do it now. I've got a lot of confidence in every one of you."
Cubone flailed its bone around in excitement and accidentally whacked Nidorino in the head. Nidorino growled at Cubone who just yelled back and whacked it again; this time on purpose. Nidorino tackled Cubone down and began biting and clawing at it. In response Cubone began beating Nidorino back until Chad and Ponyta stepped in. Both of them got hit by the attacks too until the four of them were flailing away at each other.
Kurishimi watched Akuma speak to the Totodile about battling. He was going over the basics of Pokémon battling and how he trained his Pokémon to better themselves in battles through a special form of self training. Kurishimi had heard it all before. She was given the same instructions with Vaporeon shortly after Akuma had begun to train her too. What she was most interested in however, was how Akuma interacted with Totodile. He was displaying what seemed to be a gentle and caring side toward the young Pokémon. Maybe she was exaggerating to herself since she wasn't used to it, but it was still rare enough to even make her a little uncomfortable.
As Akuma began to finish his lesson for the Totodile, Kurishimi heard approaching footsteps behind her. She turned her head and reached for a pokéball, but Akuma stopped her.
"It's the kid again," he said without turning his head to look away from Totodile.
As he'd said, Chad came out of the dark illuminated by the glow from Ponyta's flames. Kurishimi started to look back toward Totodile, but looked again when she saw Chad looking as beat up as he had been when he'd captured the mystery Pokémon from earlier.
"What happened to you out there?" she asked with concern.
"Uh, Pokémon feeding frenzy I guess?" he told her with a tone that suggested otherwise. "Maybe they were just anxious to eat after so long. Everyone else certainly was at least."
"Yeah, maybe." Kurishimi wasn't buying it, but let it slide.
Chad sat down near Kurishimi and watched the fire flames dance in the pit. He listened to Akuma's final words of instruction to Totodile before it went into the tent to sleep. Akuma tossed another piece of wood on the fire and lay back to look up at the stars. There was a long period of comfortable silence before Akuma broke it.
"Akashi, tell me about gym badges."
"Huh? What's this about?"
"I'm in need of information and I'm asking you to get an answer. What do you know about gym badges and their properties?"
"Well in basic terms, a gym badge is a symbol that a trainer has defeated a gym leader. Typically the more skilled a trainer is the more badges they have. This isn't always the case of course, but it's one thing to say you're strong and another to have physical proof of it. The Pokémon League uses gym badges to determine which trainers are allowed to compete in the League and challenge the Elite Four. There are variations on this, but that's another story."
"What about the properties of gym badges?"
"No one but the gym leader knows how their badges are created or what metals are used, but they are unique and have an effect on all Pokémon under a trainer's care. Some badges have an effect on things such as a Pokémon's attack power or speed in battles which is another incentive to collect them. Some trainers have reported that badges help their Pokémon perform certain moves, but there is some argument about that and researchers still can't confirm those rumors. What they have agreed on however, is that badges help a trainer to control their Pokémon as well. Pokémon that have been traded to others are known to sometimes disobey. If a trainer has earned certain badges then they are able to control these Pokémon. However there are instances where a Pokémon is naturally unruly and would disobey on its own until properly trained or trust is earned. As to whether a badge helps with this, I can't say for sure. I wouldn't dismiss the idea of course."
"You had a badge before you acquired Onix, correct?"
"That's right. I had the Rainbow badge."
"And you've been able to control your Pokémon well enough without any problems, correct?"
"Correct again. You have something in mind?"
"It's nothing. Forget it."
"I doubt it's nothing. Come on, tell me."
Akuma was silent for a while until Chad tossed another log on the fire. Kurishimi was beginning to think he'd fallen asleep on her.
"I've been thinking about the last battle I had with Big Red," Akuma finally said.
"Against the Aipom, right?"
"That's the one. I also lost control of Metagross yesterday while I was fighting the boy, and at this rate I think Charizard might be next. I've been thinking about collecting gym badges to help me keep control of my Pokémon if it's possible."
Kurishimi exchanged a surprised look with Chad. "What gave you the idea to try that?"
"Something someone had told me once that I had forgotten about. It's not important anyway, just something I've been wondering." Akuma sat up and released Cleffa beside him. Chad stared wide eyed at the unusual Pokémon Akuma had. It was a major difference from the violent and brutal Pokémon he seemed to favor. "Its name is Cleffa," Akuma told him when he caught Chad staring. "Cleffa is still a baby, so don't even think about seeing me battle with it."
"Why do you carry it with you then?" the boy asked.
"I'm taking care of it."
"Why?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well no, I guess not."
"Then don't ask."
Kurishimi smiled to herself. Akuma was becoming more like himself as the day went on. He didn't seem as disturbed over the battle with Raikou as he had been while in the hospital. She was happy that he was able to move on from such a horrible defeat so quickly as well as becoming stronger from a loss instead of a win. It was something she especially admired about him.
Chad came over to the Cleffa and petted the tuft of fur on top of its head. "How long have you had it?"
"Cleffa is female. I've had her for a few months."
"It looks a lot like a chibi Clefairy to me."
"That's probably because Cleffa will evolve into Clefairy in time."
"Wow. A baby Clefairy must be pretty rare. Does it evolve like normal Pokémon?"
"No, it doesn't. I don't want to know how it evolves either. I expect to figure it out in time. It doesn't really matter to me whether Cleffa evolves or not anyway, though I hope it happens some day."
Kurishimi was just thinking about going to bed when Akuma said, "Akashi, get up. We're training your Ekans."
"What, now?"
"No, I was thinking we could go back to Saffron and get some milk tea first."
"But isn't it too dark for training?"
"No, now is the perfect time. Ekans hasn't battled under your instruction during the night has it?"
"True, but since when do we battle in the dark?"
"It's better to be ready for something that won't happen than to have it happen and not be ready for it." Akuma walked out of the firelight into the dark. Kurishimi followed after a brief hesitation while Chad stayed by the fire not knowing what to do.