Floaroma's Champion

by LowePlays

While out on a walk a boy from Floaroma finds a menacing beast. Using modern technology, he captures the monster. After it comes to accept the boy, both travel to become the best. For fame and fortune! Both strive to become the best, the Champion. But the path is not as easy as they might think... This story was inspired after MetalDargon's work in Sacrifice and Subjugation.

5. Training the Team

Guys... I'm sorry. Really. I didn't post for two weeks, and I promised it would be out soon, too. I spent too much time playing games. Now! Writing! I gotta do it! Yeah!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter of my story. It's also nice that MetalDargon likes the idea of my story. Hope I don't steal his audience...

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In two bright flashes, one Pokemon materialized while the other disappeared. I looked to Sarah, realizing she simply threw an empty Pokeball without weakening it. It was suitable to what happened, because the ball burst apart before the ring was half complete.

"Okay, Akuma. This one isn't food. Just attack it, but don't eat it. I don't want you poisoned." Akuma, who was focused on the source of the explosion, simply attacked. A set of shadowed fangs chomped down into the Budew, drawing a green and purple fluid. I guessed it was blood.

The small plant made several attempts to escape the dark jaws that bit into it, but a dragon's maw was known for being inescapable. Alive, at least.

Seeing it so badly injured, I called out to my dragon to stop. Instead, she simply bit into a new part. I just hoped the Budew didn't inject enough poison to hurt her.

Though I didn't plan to yet, I withdrew one of the Pokeballs I bought back in Jubilife. Still, if I didn't do something, Akuma would probably kill the poor thing. Glancing at Sarah, I threw the ball.

In a third flash, the Budew disappeared for a second time. I ran forward and grabbed onto my Deino's fur. She'd already done enough damage to it.

The ring was slow, but it finally made it to a full green circle. With a click, it was done. I'd caught my second Pokemon. I ceremoniously picked up the Pokeball and check the stats.

"We need to go," I said, still looking at my Budew's info panel. My Akuma also vanished and I put both of them in my pocket.

"What's wrong? You didn't kill it, did you?" Sarah still had her Dedene calmly sleeping on her shoulder, but her Sneasel was nowhere to be seen. She'd returned Yami before entering the forest, but only because it was wandering too far.

"No, it's just that I think I might. The Budew is badly injured with internal bleeding and broken thorns. It needs immediate care." Most of what I said was directly off the screen. Pulling out Akuma's Pokeball, I checked how she was.

With the status of being poisoned, my fear was met. Along with a few scratches, she would need a Nurse. We had to get back to Jubilife.

"We need to go back ASAP!" I simply started running. Back the way we came, I undid the walk we covered.

"Wait," Sarah called before joining in. With her large backpack, I wasn't surprised as she began to fall behind. It didn't really matter, as it was my Pokemon that needed attention, not hers. In a medical situation, that is.

My shoes slapped against the concrete as I entered Jubilife for the second time. Though it was only at the borders of the city, I already felt the buildings were too tall. Still, I had business.

Pushing past business men and random civilians, I ran back through the city. Though I tried to say sorry to most, I bumped into some without a second glance. Still, all that really mattered was the Pokeball-themed sign in front of me.

Panting heavily, I held the stitches I fought in my side. Walking inside, I looked back to see if Sarah was still behind me. But, no one followed me.

"Hello, sir. How may we help you? What's the rush about?" The Nurse Joy behind the counter was a different one than I remembered, but I didn't care much.

"My Pokemon... They've been injured."

"That's what I'd assume you'd be here for. Could you show me a Trainer ID before you give me your Pokemon?" Pulling out the Pokeballs and Dex, I gave both to the Nurse. After checking it, she took both Akuma and the Budew into the back.

"Since they appear to be quite young Pokemon, the healing shouldn't take more than an hour or two, but you might have to wait three. We have a cafeteria to your left and a washing machine if you'd like to use it."

"I'll wait. I have a companion coming shortly." Walking to the chairs in the lobby, I picked up a remote on the table. Grabbing a comfy seat, I prepared to wait.

For the next hour, I generally just skimmed through the channels. I stopped at the League's channel as I saw a battle commencing.

"Now, the challenger has taken his position. The gym leader, Caroline, has also take her position." I looked at the two trainers and recognized the leader. This was the Eterna gym, near Floaroma.

As I watched, the leader released a small Lotad while the opponent sent out a Charmeleon. Probably assuming, since it was a grass gym, the gym leader would hold only that type. It was a cool strategy.

Off that bat, I wondered that, at it's level of power, the Lotad was still simply a Lotad. Still, as soon as it spat out a jet of water, I knew that didn't matter.

The Charmeleon wasn't bad either. It easily spun to avoid the shot, the water passing between it's tail and body. I was blown away by the sheer agility the Meleon had. And it displayed it's talent several times, only being grazed by the attacks. Still, those jets came dangerously close to the flame on it's tail. Though it was hotter and larger than a Charmander's, it still would weaken any of the line if it went out. Reignition would not be fun, either.

Being a water type, the Lotad made it's way to the small pond at the edge of the arena. It sank down and disappeared, only it's Pad visible from the surface. The Charmelon grew confident as the small and slow Lotad sat in the middle of the pond. I saw it was getting cocky.

When it came closer to the pond, it's advance in little more than a walk, it stopped. It opened it's mouth and began to spew out flames across the water. A famous move named Flamethrower. It touched the plant on the Lotad's head, but I knew this strategy. Being in the water, the flames couldn't hurt it. I could see steam rising, but the Lotad just sat in the water. And it was unharmed.

Once the fire stopped, the small plant rose from the water. From the cheeks, I could tell it had plenty of water at it's disposal. Opening it's bill, a powerful jet streamed forth. It smashed into the now exhausted fire lizard and sent it flying across the arena. It was so obvious it was over, because the Charmeleon just laid there. With it's flame still alight, it was easy to see it was still alive.

"Hey, there," a voice said, exhausted. A hand grabbed my shoulder. I looked up and saw Sarah, her face obviously sweaty.

"Hi. How's it going?"

"You're an ass, you know that? You could've waited for me." She dropped her bag to the floor and collapsed into the chair next to mine.

"How long has been? Maybe forty minutes since I got here? And don't worry. My Pokemon will be fine in... How long did she say? About an hour?" I had to use my fingers to count, but I turned back to the screen in time to see the small Lotad knock down another Pokemon. The challenger had sent out a Luxio, but the type advantage still didn't favor him as a Solar Beam knocked the large cat back. It collapsed and was called by the commentator.

"So, I'm hungry already. Can we go eat?" Sarah obviously didn't have much interest in watching others battle. Though I'd never seen it much myself, I felt battling myself would be better. Against Sarah, though, I was at a disadvantage still. My new Budew would absorb the Dedene's attacks, but would fall to her Sneasel along side Akuma. At least I was better off than before.

"Uh, sure." I took one last look at the fight and saw the challenger was not going to win, sending out a Noctowl. I stood up and followed Sarah, who was almost dragging her bag behind her.

Once inside the Cafeteria, we both dropped our things at a table. I kept my wallet with me, but I decided it was easiest to leave my bag.

At the counter was an old man, serving three things; Potatoes, Pidgey strips, and salad. Grabbing a tray, I took one of each, as well as a fork, before returning to my seat. With Sarah right across from me, it was easy to see we got the same thing.

"So? Gonna ceremoniously and graciously start us off? Tell me how it tastes?" Rolling my eyes, I did as she asked and stabbed a few potatoes with some leaves. I bit into them and, miraculously, survived. That didn't stop me from faking choking.

"Gotcha," I said, taking a bite of the Pidgey strip. For once, the cafeteria amazes me. They actually made one thing taste good. Not as great as a Miltank Burger, but still pretty good.

We didn't talk much while we ate. Nothing was serious, but nothing seemed right. Anything I said in my head sounded wrong, and she didn't talk either. It wasn't until the Nurse Joy who took my Pokemon waved me over that anything really happened.

"Um, yes?" I was nervous for anything that would or might have happened.

"Well, your Pokemon have been healed. You are free to take them at any time, though we'd prefer you take them now." I smiled and nodded. Reaching behind the counter, the Nurse withdrew a tray and set it down. I took my Pokeballs and put them into my pocket. I thanked the Nurse Joy for her care and returned to Sarah.

"So," she started." You got your Pokemon back? Becasue that means we can finally get out of here. I'm already sick of the crowds." I sat down and took one last bite of my potatoes. Though there was still some salad, I chose to not finish it.

"Yeah, me too," I said, swallowing my food. I'd never been to big on crowds, since I was from the small town of Floaroma. "So? It might be noon, but better late than never. Besides, I want to tame my new Budew tonight." Sarah stood and took her tray to the trash cans and dumped anything left into the bin. I did the same and put mine with the growing pile of trays.

Together, we walked out of the Pokemon Center, our bags on our back. This time, we'd stay gone. Yeah.

Since I'd already done it, it was easy to cross the boundary beside Sarah, who led the way. Her Dedene, Perry, was chittering around on her shoulder as it ate a berry Sarah picked. I thought about letting my Budew out of it's ball, but it was probably best to wait until we stopped for the night.

We passed a familiar scene of grass and trees, walking down the path a second time. We saw a herd of Deerling and Sawsbuck as they hopped away into the trees. They wouldn't mess with any trainers, being so close to the path.

It only took an hour or so until we reached the same forest I met the Budew in. There were the same bugs and plants around, but Sarah still got nervous of them. Still, we trekked through it.

"Is it just me or do these trees look like they're closing in on us?" I glanced around at them, before looking at Sarah.

"They just look like trees to me," I responded. "Not moving and staying still."

"Really? Because I think one of them moved." I looked around again.

"Will you stop that? You're making me nervous. There aren't any moving trees." In fact, the only thing I could see moving was the leaves in the wind. I think I even saw the end of the leafy tunnel, but it was still several and many meters away. "Let's just get out of here."

"My thoughts exactly." Together, we sped up as we moved towards the growing light. Finally, even though I felt as if something was going to happen, we'd gone unscathed.

"See? Nothing wrong, nothing going on." I released my held breathe as I enjoyed seeing the sun, even though the air was not as warm. With my Pokedex in hand, the map of Sinnoh appeared once I touched the app. We were barely outside of Jubilife.

"Are we really only this far from the city? I thought we were further." I showed Sarah so she could also see.

"What do you expect? To get to the Gate by dinner? It's probably going to be three or four days until we get there."

"It is? Wow, I didn't expect us to be that far. Sinnoh always looked smaller than this in school. A whole three days to travel a few centimeters?"

"Try getting to Snowpoint. I took the train because no one wants to teleport up there; the ruins up there interfere. There is only one way up and it takes a few hours. It's no wonder it takes so long to walk that far." Sighing, I began walking again. Sarah fell in step with me and took out a package of gummy Pokemon.

"Want one," she offer me the bag. With a firm grip, she ripped off the corner. Shaking my head, I denied her. Shrugging, she pour a few into her hand and stuffed them in her mouth.

Hours passed as we walked down the same paved path. It was the same as before the bug-filled forest, grasslands and trees. It was nice being around the nature rather than the city, with Pokemon around instead of people. Without hesitation, they ran, though.

The sun began to dip below the edge of the trees before we finally stopped. Sarah was the one who suggested it, to which I silently thanked her. My legs were beginning to hurt, too. Dropping to the grass, we were just inside the trees. We could still see the Route, but they most likely wouldn't see us.

"So, what should do for dinner? I'm starting to get hungry." Sarah dropped her bag to the ground and leaned up against a tree like me. I myself could agree I was beginning to feel hungry, but I wasn't exactly ready to eat. It was difficult to think about anyways.

"Well, I did hunt for Akuma back in Floaroma. I set traps and captured several Pokemon, most of which she ate. If we can hunt here, should give us some food. For us and our Pokemon." Smiling, Sarah pulled out her Dusk ball.

"Good thing I've got a perfect hunter." Lower level Pokemon would be easy for a Sneasel, especially a bird or psychic type. With Akuma and Perry, active hunting might go well. If Akuma doesn't eat it first.

"Well, we should probably start hunting immediately, but it would be easier to go without our bags." I pulled out my knife and strapped it to my leg. "Where should we put them?"

"How should I know? Maybe underground or in a tree?" Underground? Too dirty. In a tree? Too obvious. But, what if the two ideas met?

"We could camouflage them. Using a small hole and foliage, we can keep them hidden as a bush or something. Right?" As it was the best plan of action, Sarah nodded. I looked to a branch in the trees and jumped up the it. Pulling myself onto it, I began pressing my weight into it.

Hearing a sharp snapping noise, the branch was ripped from the tree and I fell to the ground. Brushing myself off, I held the branch at arms distance. It was a little taller than myself,but it would work.

"What was that for," Sarah asked.

"It's a makeshift shovel. See? I broke it to create this scoop-shaped shard." Shoving the end into the ground, I lifted out a small amount of dirt. "See?" Getting to work, I began a shallow hole while Sarah collected leafy branches on my orders.

Once I had a fairly acceptable dent in the ground, I dropped my bag inside. Sarah did the same and we began to lay branches over them. Perry tried to help by putting small leaves over the pile.

After it was deemed hidden, I sighed and sat down beside it. There was enough covering the bags that it could have been mistaken for raked leaves or a dense bush. The plan was for the latter.

"So... What do we hunt for?" Sarah released her Yami next to her, the snow hunter waiting to use it's claws. "You are the boss, Mr. Hunter." I thought about what was around.

"Smaller Pokemon would be the easiest, so avoid anything larger than, say, a meter?" Akuma was already standing at two feet or so, and anything smaller than her was easily eaten. Pidgey and Bidoof would be perfect for a meal. Pulling out a Pokeball, I pressed the button and released Akuma.

"Hey, there. Ready for some fun? We've got to go get food, and you're gonna help, okay?" At the sound of food, Akuma opened her mouth and began to jump around in excitement. She was obviously hungry and ready for a meal.

"'Some fun,' huh? I wonder what that really is for a Deino." With Sarah's voice, Akuma tensed up, but didn't move to attack. My hand rested on her back. With a familiar voice and my recognition of her, Akuma allowed her to stay. Not to say she was comfortable with Sarah, but that she allowed it.

"So, Sarah. Is Yami and Perry ready?" With a nod in response, I gave a thumbs up.

"Okay, Akuma. Follow me, but be careful. We aren't in Floaroma anymore." Starting off, we began walking further into the forest. Akuma did well to keep up and occasionally tried to catch up to the dancing Sneasel, but didn't get closer out of fear. I assumed she just sensed the weakness, as well as akin abilities Yami had.

I was afraid Yami might attack if Akuma got too close, but he seemed to have no intentions of harming my Pokemon. He obviously spent some time in training. Akuma was the one I needed to watch. Several times she'd almost run into trees and off hills she couldn't yet sense. I planned to use Sarah's idea to improve her abilities, but I decided it could wait.

We spent several minutes scouting around before I saw a Hoothoot still asleep in a tree. Looking to Sarah, I saw the small electric fuzzball sitting on her shoulder.

"Mind giving it a bit of zapping," I whispered, pointing towards the sleeping bird. Sarah whispered the order to Perry, who began rubbing it's cheeks. Then, a bolt of electricity issued from it's cheeks and hit the Hoothoot. It promptly fell to the ground, dead.

"That was a good attack, little Perry." I looked to Akuma, who I held by the fur. She struggled to approach the fallen Pokemon, but I decided not to feed her just yet. "Now calm down. I haven't given you permission yet." She still tried to get at the Hoothoot as I held her back, but I managed to pick up the fallen bird. It smoked slightly, but it was mostly unharmed. Cooking it would be simpler, I guess.

"That's quite an impatient Dragon. And Greedy, too."

"She's always hungry, I swear."

"If she needs to eat, give her the bird. She'll bite you to get to it, most likely." I looked at her. I planned to give it to Sarah, who had killed it. Still, it struck me at how easily she gave the command and followed through.

"Are you sure? It's small enough for us to share."

"It's fine. Just... You can give it to her." Shrugging, I whistled and stomped, giving the bird to Akuma. She instantly took the Hoothoot and began to dig into it. Sarah turned away from the sight and puked. So she wasn't so strong after all.

"It's just a little blood. Trainers are supposed to be strong, right?" I'd gotten used to the sight a while back, but I began to remember my first time. I'd done the same, so it was hard to blame her.

"Trainers are just normal people. Don't get the idealistic version confused with who you are. That's what my Dad always told me." What did that mean? Trainers are strong, right? What's wrong with that? Still, it must have been hard to give that command like I ordered her to. Why didn't she say so?

"I didn't mean to upset you, it's just that's what I was taught. Sorry." My hand trailed near Akuma's back and ruffled her fur. She still ripped apart the flesh and bit into bones. Sarah began to gag at the noise, but it struck me as weird that I wasn't affected anymore. Was I becoming a heartless killer?

"It's... It's fine." Sarah began to walk away, her Sneasel following disappointed. I guess it wanted a bit to eat as well. I shrugged and waited for my Deino to finish.

.

The entire trip wasn't as successful as I had planned it to be, but it still allowed us to eat. The plan was to give Akuma two bird Pokemon to eat, but the Hoothoot was all she got. Yami was able to catch a Rattata with his claws and quickly swallowed all of it before any of us could really see what he'd caught.

Luckily, Sarah and I were able to find a small Ducklett near a pond. After a quick survey, we couldn't find any Swanna. Using Perry's ranged electric attacks, we were able to eliminate it with ease. Though it did notice us, it was just in time to be struck with a quick and powerful bolt of electricity. It made me wonder how much training it received to one-shot these birds.

Granted, they were birds, but still...

Gathering up the corpse, I began to walk back to the camp. My stomach was a-rumbling and I wanted some food. The same couldn't be said for Sarah as she was more disgusted with the Ducklett than eager to eat. All that mattered was that I was having roasted Ducklett.

As we walked back into the small clearing with our bags, I saw no differences. No change in anything, but light as the sun dropped beneath the horizon. As such, it was almost completely dark.

"At least our bags are still here," Sarah said, pulling her backpack out of the leaves. She unzipped it and pulled out a few tools. With the cover of darkness, I could only make out the outlines. Stepping closer, I pulled my own bag out of the makeshift bush. Just in time to avoid a cascade of sparks over the greenery.

"Woah, my bag was in there a second ago! What if it burned?"

"But it wasn't. Now go find some dry branches. Or this fire won't last long." I began mocking her in the dark as I stomped away, the Ducklett still over my shoulder.

After finding some good size branches, I dragged them back to camp. Proceeding to stomp them into smaller lengths was the next orders I fulfilled. After the fuel was prepared, I began work on skinning the meal, keeping the food away from Akuma. My knife easily cut through the skin and muscle, grazing bones and poking organs.

With the growing light, it was easier to see my work. I felt a twist in my gut, but that was it. The feathers were easy to deal with and left a pile on the ground at my feet. The internal organs, however, were a different story. Shaking it didn't help and no acts of courage came over me to tear them out.

Still, my knife helped, even though it involved mutilating the muscles. The organs were thrown into the fire as quick as possible, but Akuma still managed to eat a lung and the heart. Finally, I skinned a stick and impaled the Ducklett. Sarah couldn't bare watching as I held it over the healthy fire she'd built.

The smell and sound of cooking meat began to fill the air as it was cooked. My skills as a survivalist chef were okay by my standards, but I still wasn't very good. Besides, without the proper equipment, it was difficult to hold it perfectly. It might have been burned a bit in some places, but it turned out fine underneath.

It took about twenty minutes for me to deem it edible. Pulling it away from the fire, my eyes adjusted and I saw two plastic plates, along with metal forks set on a log Sarah must've dragged over. Was that all from her bag?

I carried the skewered meat over to the 'Table' that had been set. Having no place to put it, I settled for sticking it into the ground near the sitting place. Looking for Sarah herself, she was adjusting some fabric on the ground. She had a tent?!

"Hey, uh, the Ducklett is ready. Whenever you want..." As I watched, Sarah bent a pole and stuck the end into a bit in the ground. The entire structure rose to form an igloo.

"Okay. Be there in a minute." I pulled out my knife and began to cut into the wood. Two marks were made before making a sort of hilt, keeping the cooked bird from falling to the ground. Then the pole was pushed into the dirt near the log, just in time for Sarah to leave her tent.

It made me wonder where I was going to sleep, but I shook my head and served myself a plate of meat. Sarah did the same, taking a small portion.

Not saying it was Pidgey Strips or anything, but I could say I did pretty well for my first time cooking. The only thing missing was salt. With the dry texture, it was hard to swallow. Besides, I always took salt with my meats. But the most difficult part was keeping my food from Akuma, who tried to steal my food if I wasn't paying attention.

Sarah had no problem giving her food to Akuma, throwing a bit to her. Using the sounds of it landing, the Deino found the food in the grass before eating it. I gave a glance to Sarah, but she just poked at her food. Her fork hit the plastic plate with a dull boink. When I was finished, I took my seconds of Ducklett.

"Are you going to eat more," I asked. "Because Akuma and Yami look like they would like some more to eat."

"No. I don't really feel hungry anymore." Says the one who was complaining about eating in the first place. Still, more for Akuma and Yami. Preforming the dinner call, I lifted up the pole from the ground. My arm acted as a pivot as I held it out for Akuma.

"Did you want some, Yami? Still some left if you act now." Understanding me, the lithe black hunter sliced off a small chunk before Akuma reached the Ducklett. She was still tentative about approaching Yami, but the Dragon got close enough so she could take a bit of the flesh.

Yami, on the other hand, didn't really care and wandered to lay near the tent Sarah had built. Once he left, Akuma hungrily stole the cooked corpse and devoured what was left of it. It was a bit sadistic, but I couldn't keep myself from smiling. Sarah was still busy "eating" to notice.

"Soo... Where do I wash these?" I held up my dirty plate and fork.

"I... didn't think about that. There is that pond back there, so I guess there?" Nodding, I began to walk into the trees. "Wait! Don't leave me here alone!"

"Are you scared of the dark," I teased. I turned around as Sarah jumped off the log to follow.

"N-no! Just... what there might be in the dark." I smiled and continued into the trees. Sarah followed me, along with Akuma, as she didn't know where to go.

It wasn't far to the pond where we killed the Ducklett, but it was far enough away that we could only barely see the glow of our fire. When we arrived, a few Surskit jumped out of the water and into the nearby bushes.

The cold water greeted my hands when I plunged the dishes into the pond. My hands almost dropped them as reflex kicked in. Fighting it, I kept a grip on the fork and plate and began to clean them off as I felt needles against my skin. Next to me, Sarah did the same, but jumped back with a squeal.

"It's so co~old!" I pulled the dishes out of the water and nodded while I shivered. My hands, I noticed, were paper white.

"J-just do i-it. That- That's all I t-told myself while I-I was c-cleaning them." The air didn't help it, being near forty or fifty degrees by my guess. And it felt like ten.

"O-okay. I guess I'll give it another go..." Slowly, she put the dishes in the water again, but kept her hands above the surface. I smirked as I thought about splashing her, but I also knew she'd probably kill me if I did.

Fortunately, something else wanted to do it, too. Approaching the water, Akuma jumped into the pond and splashed water over Sarah. Both of them struggled to retreat from the cold water now covering them. Laughing, I began stepping backwards and tried to hide it.

Turning on me, Sarah punched me in the shoulder. The fork in her hand barely missed me. I looked to Akuma, who began to shake off the water as she swam out of the water. Seems she likes baths now. Well, maybe not now, but enough to willingly jump into a pond.

"Did you t-tell her to do that," Sarah interrogated me. Shaking my head, I held up my fork and plate in innocence and surrender.

"She just wanted to take a bath, I guess. I didn't tell her to do it. Besides, she had blood on her face." It was all I could do to speak with a straight face. I struggled against the urge to laugh.

"It's not funny! It's r-really cold!" I nodded and motioned for her to follow.

"Let's go warm up then. How's that. Better?"

"No..." Still, she followed me through the trees. Running to catch up, Akuma's wet fur hung over her body. It slapped against her body as she ran, making her question what it was around her.

Making it back to camp, the light of the fire was getting low. Yami was now sleeping near the tent, curled up and snoring. After handing Sarah the dishes, I grabbed my bag and withdrew a towel. Half of the contents fell out with it, but I threw the towel over Akuma.

Sitting near the fire with Sarah and Perry, I dried off my Dragon. She was obviously cold and shook, but she quickly warmed up next to the pile of burning branches. It was nice, just sitting next to the fire. Though my back was cold, my face and hands were warm.

"Anyways... I'm getting tired. You going to get ready to sleep?" I looked over to Sarah, who was approaching her tent. Again, the thoughts of how I was going to sleep crossed my mind.

"I, uh... Don't have a place to sleep." A slight blush of embarrassment covered my cheeks. I was the guy who who knew what he was doing, and forgot something.

"Well, I do have an extra blanket for when it gets colder... If you want." A blanket? She was offering me a place to sleep.

"Sure. Better then leaves and the ground." Nodding, Sarah yawned and opened her bag. She pulled out a light blue blanket, meant for winter beds. She wasn't kidding.

It was an awkward situation, being both our first times sleeping outside. Still, being as tired as we were, it wasn't as hard. For me, at least. Laying down the thick blanket on the ground., I saw Sarah cringe. She probably didn't like the fact that she'd have to carry it dirty. Or the fact that it was dirty at all.

Sarah ducked inside her tent and took her bag with her. I knew we didn't know each other that well, but I wasn't going to steal anything. But after a minute of thinking, I began to realize our fire was quite obvious. What if some lowly thief came by? As I stood up, Akuma yawned and moved over to my spot on the blanket.

Grabbing my bag, I brought it back to the makeshift sleeping bag and took off my boots. It was difficult to move my dragon, but after I did, I wrapped the blanket around me and Akuma. With my bag safely with me, I felt it easier to sleep on the hard dirt ground.

"Good night," I heard Sarah call out.

"Yeah. See you in the morning." It was nice to hear it, even though it reminded me of home. I felt a twinge for my own bed in Floaroma or the Poke Center in Jubilife. Shaking my head, I rolled over and closed my eyes.

.

The night was restless. Though I was warm and had company too, it was hard to sleep. The hard dirt and, generally the entire excitement from actually coming out this far was enough to keep me awake.

Finally, I couldn't take it. Though it was dark, I could still see. Akuma was stirred when I pulled the blanket off of her. The fire was darker than before. After I set a branch on it, the flames began to lick the wood. When the flames grew brighter, I deemed it time.

Pulling out a Pokeball, I looked at it. The Budew I'd caught earlier was inside and, now it was time. Putting a hand on Akuma, I rubbed the metal button.

"Okay, girl. Time to meet our new partner. Not food, okay?" Akuma looked at me, confused. Nodding, I clicked the button. In a sudden flash, a brief and bright light, a small living plant plant appeared.

With a hand on a Akuma, it was the only thing to keep her from biting into the poisonous bulb. Not knowing what it really was made her suspicious and hostile. Still, she'd smelled a scent she recognized and fought. Of course, she didn't have to feel the effects of the venom for long. I'd taken her to the Center immediately after.

Looking at the Budew, I saw a set of light green scars, if they could be called scars. They matched the ones on my arm and shoulder. It brought a slight smirk to my face, knowing we matched.

"Hey, there. I'm your new leader. This is my partner Akuma." The Budew simply looked at me. It surprised me it made no actions to attack me. In fact, it scared me. Instead, I turned to Akuma. "Now, this is a friend. Not food. Calm down." Almost reluctant, the dragon began to back away and laid down on the blanket.

Looking back at the Budew, I found it still sitting there. It's small bud on it's head, it's namesake, was held closed. I knew that male Budew had red flowers instead of pink, but I would only see once spring came. It was difficult to just assume a plant's gender, anyways.

"How does the name 'Thorn' sound? Those thorns you have gave my Akuma some dangerous poison, so it seems fitting." The newly named Thorn just blinked at me, before shivering in the cold air. It made me realized just how cold it really was as I began to shiver.

Picking up the small Bud, I brought it closer to the fire. Not too close, as plants easily burned, but so did I. I was careful to avoid any of the sharp points, as well as it's flower and face. It also gave me a chance to see it had no mouth. Just how did it eat?

"So... How do I train you?" Looking up at me, I guessed it didn't see any point in running. If it attacked, I'd return it to the Pokeball. In all, it was smart. I think...

Opening my Pokedex' internet, I searched up the Budew species and how it was raised. After a bit of scrolling, I found a reliable wiki for plant Pokemon. Time to read...

.

At some point, I must have gotten tired and returned to my bedding. Apparently, I'd also recalled Thorn to... her Pokeball? The red ball was sitting next to Akuma, who was still asleep. I looked around in the shaded clearing, noticing the sun had already risen. Looking at the fire, I saw Sarah poking at the ashes. Perry was sitting on her head and gnawed on a Cheri Berry.

"Morning," I said, yawning and stretching. Sarah looked over to me.

"It's about time you got up! I've been waiting for you to help me clean up." She gestured to the campsite. Following her hand, I saw that it was messier than I remember it being in the dark. Did we really make this big of a mess?

"What time is it, anyways?" I rubbed my eyes and pulled my shoes on. While I was tying up the laces, Akuma began to stir.

"It's around ten in the morning. And I've been up for almost an hour, so you'd better get up. I've been dying to leave." I nodded and began to pull on the blanket. Akuma began growling at me and snapped at the moving fabric, but she eventually fell off. I began to shake it out dirt as Sarah began to deconstruct her tent.

It only took us ten minutes to deem the entire place cleaned, but most of it was just making sure anything left behind would look natural. Like a few broken branches and a pile of dirt.

Akuma also did not help. Though Yami and Thorn were in their respective pokeballs, they helped by not getting in the way like the excited Deino. On top of that, Sarah would not carry the blue blanket in her bag while I was using it. She decided that it was easier for each of us to carry our own. And, though I could agree with her, have you noticed I'm carrying a small satchel?

Still, the cushioning it created between me and the items I had in my bag was nice. It definitely helped, due to a large bruise I found on my hip. Once the blanket was ready, the pressure lessened and didn't hurt quite as much.

Once we deemed the campsite as clean and we weren't forgetting anything, we said good-bye to the clearing and stepped out of the treeline. I called to Akuma to follow us, as we stepped onto the familiar route's paved path. The blind Deino ran to catch up with us.

"It feels nice to be back on the road," I commented, filling the silence. Sarah nodded and began to stretch. It was exciting to be back on our way to Oreburgh. Pulling out my Pokedex, I began skimming through what I'd written last night.

"What is that," Sarah asked, looking over my shoulder. Looking at it myself, I could see several mistypes and some wrong words, but I still managed to read out the info on Budew.

"'The species of Rose Pokemon begins with Budew, evolving into a Roselia in the spring time to express it's fondness. It allows it's flowers to symbolize it's relationship with it's special individual, Pokemon or Human.' And stuff like that." I showed her what I'd taken note on and let her skim through a few of the lines before continuing to read.

"When did you have time to write all that? Seems pretty detailed, though you are terrible at spelling."

"I wrote it all last night. I spent some time after you went to sleep to meet my Budew and named it Thorn. After that, I figured I'd better do some research. That's basically all I did before I fell asleep myself." I pulled out the small orb and expanded it. The feeling of it expanding was beginning to feel quite comfortable. In fact, I almost enjoyed doing it.

"You're going to let it out here?" Sarah still had Perry in her hair, but I wondered if Thorn could it on my beanie? Would that be enough to negate the poison? Or would I have to eat a bucket of Pecha Berries to balance my blood? I didn't quite feel like testing it, but I did want to let Thorn out.

"Well, she might need some sunlight. It's best to let a plant see the sun during the day. Any farmer knows that." Clicking the button, I let the beam fall onto the nearby grass. Best to let her out off the pavement. I also let my hand fall on to Akuma's fur. The small plant Pokemon appeared and blinked up at me and Sarah.

"You know, I really wanted to catch it. Still, fair is fair." I nodded in agreement and understanding.

"It isn't that bad, because you can always catch other Pokemon. Besides, you already had two Pokemon, so it was fair to give me a chance." Sarah shrugged and turned back to the Budew.

"It- She doesn't really do much, does she?" Thorn looked at her and released a cloud of spores. Sarah jumped back and coughed. "So that's what she does."

"I think she understood you." I had to hold back my laughter. It was everything I had to keep it from manifesting as sound. That's a really complex word...

"Yeah, no dip, huh?" Sarah brushed off the yellow spores from her sweatshirt's sleeves. Akuma sniffed the powder and sneezed. At least it gave me a reason to laugh.

"Let's just keep going, then. C'mon, Akuma." Even though Thorn had already begun to walk along side us, she was no where near as fast as us. It went at more of a waddle than a walk. Still, I returned her to her Pokeball before storing her in my bag.

Now that I'd allowed Sarah to meet Thorn, and now being generally annoyed with her now, she had no interest in the Bud Pokemon. She might have been annoyed, but it allowed me to walk in silence. It was a lucky thing, her being a silent sulker. Still, it did make me wonder what she would do later.

.

We walked further than we did yesterday, by at least a few kilometers. My legs definitly felt it by the time the sun began to set. And it wasn't even dinner time. Still, Sarah decided it was far enough, due to her falling behind. Luckily, there happened to be a nice little clearing right there...

Like last night, we set up camp before heading out to hunt. Using the trick with the faux bush, even though there was no trouble before, I didn't want to take the chances. Sarah apparently felt the same as she followed my lead and helped. Once we had a general place to come back to, we set off into the trees.

"So, does it feel a bit colder to you?" Sarah had Perry in her sweatshirt, though her Sneasel seemed to enjoy the chill in the air. Akuma seemed to be fine with her fur, but my sweatshirt did little to help me. I shivered and yawned to adjust my internal body temperature.

"It feels like my balls are freezing off," I answered, trying to keep my teeth from chattering. I did have another sweatshirt in my bag, but it was back at camp.

"I don't feel too bad, but my Dedene is freezing. We should just get what we can and get back to camp." I nodded and turned to Akuma, who simply padded along side us.

"Akuma, today we're not going to get much. Just enough to eat before bed. Okay?" The Deino looked at me before opening her mouth. "No, not yet. Sorry."

Continuing on, I saw a Sentret stand up on it's tail to see us. Reacting quickly, Akuma launched a blast of blue energy directly into the Sentret. It was launched back several meters, motionless. Then, turning to me, the Deino began to excitedly do some sort of running in place. It made me laugh, despite the cold and nature of the situation.

"Good job, girl." I walked over to the corpse and found it to be slightly charred on the front, but it was mostly intact. The Sentret was a fair size, but I doubted it was good enough to satisfy Akuma and Yami both. Looking around, there wasn't much else. The other Sentret had already run.

"So, do you want to just head back or should we keep looking?" Yami was looking around for prey and leaping from bush to bush. Sarah looked uncertain about what she asked. I looked to Akuma, who looked eager to eat her meal.

"I think we should keep looking," I decided. "Just for a little bit. We need to feed Yami and Akuma." Nodding in agreement, Sarah allowed me to take the lead. Standing up, I swung the dead Sentret over my shoulder. Disappointed, Akuma followed me.

We tried being as sneaky as possible. The leaves that crunched under our feet didn't make it easy, but the same could be said about the Pokemon. Those that either tried to sneak up on us, or the one we were stalking would not be able to hide. And it helped us find a nest of Murkrow.

We kept to the shadows, just to be sure. If we spooked more than one or two, we'd be out of a meal. Leaning down, I whispered an order to Akuma. Giddy with excitement, she began to charge up the attack. It might have been harder for her to aim at one, but the collective noise was hard to miss.

Seeing the plan, Sarah followed up with Yami and Perry, telling them to attack. With an almost deafening boom, several Murkrow fell while the rest rose into the air. Shortly before a leaping dark hunter flew out and sliced many out of the air. The ones that were further away were quickly zapped with bolts of lightning.

Looking at the ground, blood splattered down around the base of the tree the Murkrow roosted and Sarah gagged at the sight. Yami and Akuma were almost gorged out of their guts with the amount of bird they ate. It was almost an easy sight to bare, though I realized we'd never be able to eat the dozens of birds laying on the ground.

"Did we go overboard with this?" The dark Krows that were left couldn't be eaten. Akuma was practically unmovable with the bird in her belly, though Yami was more mature and could hold back. And we still had to return to the campsite.

With the dead Sentret still over my shoulder, I considered returning my dragon so we could turn back. Sarah left Yami out so he could dance amongst the trees and clean his claws. I wish I could allow Akuma to clean herself, but she held no concern of how she looked. Still, walking after eating would probably help her feel better.

Almost stumbling, she walked beside me. She got faster as we walked, but she definitely didn't want to. The only reason she followed was because she was lost without a guide.

As we walked back to the campsite, the darkness grew darker with the sun dropping further below the horizon. It had to be getting close to seven or so. Akuma and Yami didn't interact much, but the blind Deino kept track of the Dancing Hunter's movements. I could tell by how she moved her head to the sound of crunching leaves.

Sarah and myself didn't talk much either. It was still something I had to deal with, being the one who was able to deal with the blood. The memories of myself puking over it had faded, being times I didn't enjoy. Now, I could easily kill a dozen Pokemon and only feel the slight impulse. It's not that it wasn't bad. It's just that I saw nothing wrong.

Because Sarah hadn't adjusted to it, she had to keep herself under control. She held her hand to her mouth and held Perry close. I looked to Akuma, but she was far too heavy to carry. Not to mention probably sick from the multiple Murkrow she ate. It brought a smirk to my face, but I kept silent as well. The mood just wasn't right.

With the sight of the camp approaching, Sarah and I began to speed up the pace. Though Akuma was faster than at the Tree, she still didn't like it. She was slower than us, so she began to fall behind. Whining, she tried to keep up and forced me to slow down. Just so she didn't get lost.

"Wait up, Sarah. Akuma still needs to keep up. Please?" Slowing down, both of us waited up for Akuma, but we didn't give her a bit of ease. Sarah didn't let her. "C'mon! Just slow down a bit more?"

"I'm hungry! And I want food!" I pulled back and fell behind on purpose. Somewhat out of fear, but also out of spite. I was the one with the food, after all. It gave me an evil feeling. And I liked it.

Looking back, Sarah slowed down as I did. Adverting her gaze, I held up the Sentret over my shoulder. A pause past before realization dawned over her face. Before an angry face replaced it.

Smirking, I let Akuma catch up and walked along side her. She was happy once she was sure where she was going. With my footsteps clearly being heard with the dry leaves underneath, Akuma had no problem following me. Keeping slow, it helped fulfill two things; Let Akuma keep up and to keep Sarah waiting.

Still, my own stomach was grumbling. It forced me to speed up as well, but slow enough that Akuma could stay with me.

Setting up the fire was easy. I decided to use my flashlight to help me at first, but once the fire was lit, the glow let me see exactly what I wanted. Once a roaring fire was going, Sarah approached me.

"You know, it's rude to trick people." I glanced up from the flames and saw her with crossed arms. Stepping closer, she sat next to me. Unfolding her arms, I was suddenly punched in the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" I nearly dropped the Sentret I was trying to prepare. I hadn't yet skinned it or anything, but I didn't want to drop it.

"It's because that was mean! I was- I am hungry." Pulling out my knife, I touched it to the fur of the Sentret before answering her.

"I'm hungry, too. And it's just because you tried to rush I felt like doing the opposite. I didn't mean to be rude." Moving carefully, the work wasn't quick, but it was only to preserve the skin and meat.

"Could you speed that up? There's more than enough for both of us, so there's no need to be slow." Looking over to her, I realized she was more impatient than I thought. Continuing my work, I made sure to keep an eye on my blade.

"It's not about that. As you remember, neither of us have much money. With this skin, we might have some money once we get there. Just... You know?" It was all I could do. The idea came to me over the thought of running out of Pokeballs. After a look in my wallet, it was pretty clear. I was almost broke, and Sarah was the same. Selling Pokemon parts was all I knew. Why wouldn't it work now?

"You mean, you're gonna carry around a bloody Sentret skin? Where do you plan to keep it, exactly? Because you are not keeping it in my blanket!"

"I'm sleeping on it, aren't I? Besides, I'm going to clean it up. As soon as I can. Once it is, it shouldn't make a mess. It'll be a clean skin by then, so I'll be able to keep it with everything else in my bag." I was making a few mistakes I could see, but it wasn't too bad. The muscles and fat was easily cut around the stomach area, but was hardest around the tail. Even if it was round and strong, it was what made it so difficult.

"So, you're more worried about money? You need to get your priorities straight."

"Or rather, you do. Long term. If we don't have money to buy food or supplies in Oreburgh or the resting stop near the Oreburgh Gate, we'll be in trouble."

"Alright? We have enough money to get through that. And we can hunt like this if we have to." Sarah was a bit disgusted at the bare muscles showing, but she knew she would eat it once it was cooked. What was the difference now?

"Says the one who couldn't handle the sight of blood half an hour ago. Just leave the strategy stuff to me."

"Yeah, right. You aren't the leader here. I can make any decisions I want!" What? I mean, she could make decisions, but was she being stupid? We needed money, and she thought it wasn't worth it? Jeez, what was she thinking?

"That's not what I'm saying. Fine, I need money, so I'm doing the one thing I know- The one way I know how to make money. Selling Pokemon is the one way I made money, and the reason I'm here now. Okay?" It was the easiest way to earn it, at least. Getting a job was too time-consuming and to steal... That was below me. A future Champion would never be seen behind a counter, or being some bandit.

"We can earn money other ways. You could easily enter small competitions and earn a few hundred Poke dollars. What's the big deal? All I'm saying is you can speed it up." As she spoke, my knife slipped under the last of the skin of the Sentret and it slipped off like a coat or clothing.

"Doesn't really matter now. I'm finished, anyways. Time to cook." It only took a little work before I was able to impale the Sentret on a spit I'd quickly made. With the fire hot and ready, I began to turn the body over the heat. The smell of cooking fat and meat filled the air. Sarah just looked into the fire as I tried to turn the meat.

Coming up to me, Akuma smelled at the flesh as it was fried. Looking away, I pat the Deino on the head.

"Watch the fire, Dimbo!" Pulling up the spit, Sarah saved the Sentret from falling into the coals. Looking away from my Pokemon, I pulled up on the stick as well. Luckily, the side was only slightly burnt.

"I got it. Just... got distracted?" Geez. A champion getting distracted? I guess not too unheard of. Right? With both hands back on the pole, my focus was pulled back to the fire. Sniffing by my feet, Akuma smelled the blood on the ground.

The consequence wasn't good, as well as she was already stuffed as it was. With no real self-control, she didn't care. She would eat if she could. What a glutton. So, I had to be her self-control. Using my boot, I pushed her away from the skin. Though she whined about it, I knew she accepted it. I was her guide, in her mind.

After several minutes over a blistering and blazing fire, the Sentret was finished. It was only barely burned, so it was all good. With a steaming spit of meat, Sarah looked up from the licking flames.

"Ooh, time to eat!" Digging out her dishes, Sarah laid out the area to eat. I stabbed the spit into the dirt and allowed it to cool. And the smell was delicious. Sitting down in the grass, I grabbed my knife and sliced off a bit on the Sentret. Just an arm, really. And it easily slid onto the plate.

"Your choice, Sarah. Arm or leg? Or do you want the tail?" I held the knife by the back and gave the handle to Sarah. Taking it, she began to cut off a small bit from the Sentret's back. With her plate underneath, it easily separated and fell onto the platter.

Using my fork, I stabbed a bit of the arm and tore a bit off. I bit into it and tasted it.

At first, I didn't understand what I was eating. Was it salty? Was it greasy? There was no taste at all, actually. Sentret, I realized, was one of the worst Pokemon we could have hunted.

"This sucks." Sarah followed my lead and ate her part of her meal. I nodded and agreed. Maybe if we had some salt or pepper? Or even some curry powder! It wouldn't taste as bland as this meat. Curse it's trickery and it's tasty smell!

Still, food was food. It was moister than I thought, but it had no taste anyways. Easy to swallow, but hard to chew.

Only after I was half through, the taste, or the lack of taste, was enough to make me lose my appetite. I had food in my gut, so it was enough for me. Tossing my remains into the flames. Akuma followed the scent, but I knew she had nothing to gain by eating more.

Though Sarah had a smaller portion than me, she did the same. The heat easily consumed the meat as I picked up the skin. With the blade of my knife, I began trying to clean the skin. Blood dripped from it, from the parts of muscle and skin I'd messed up with. Still, it was the best I could do with my limited knowledge and skills.

Sarah went off to clean up. I knew we didn't have much water, but I hoped for a small lake or a stream on the way. But if we didn't find a way to transport water on the road, I could see a problem. Of course, Sarah wouldn't be able to see that if she would only cross the bridge once she got there.

Satisfied with the skin, I rolled it up and stored it in my bag in time for Sarah to return. Her hair was wet, but she had an empty water bottle. It was obvious what kind of shower she had.

"Hey. Want to try a bit of training?" It was something that every Pokemon Trainer did. Why shouldn't we? Besides, I needed to tame and train Thorn more than I had.

"Why not? Yami might need some exercise. I think it'll be fun, anyways." Pulling out her Dusk ball, I realized she'd returned him. It would explain why I hadn't seen him dancing around the camp. He instantly materialized in flash of light.

Pulling out my own Pokeball, I let Thorn out into the grass. Though it was dark, the small Budew soaked in the light of the fire. It was good to know that the light source didn't matter to her.

"Ready, Akuma?" The Deino had crept up beside me and I laid a hand on her to stop her advance. "We're gonna train. Not eat a Budew, but train. Okay?" She looked at me, listening to my voice. I don't know how much she understood, but she didn't try to eat Thorn. Which was a good thing.

"So, what's the plan," Sarah asked. Plan?

"Well, just some basic training is fine. I should probably have my Akuma work on attacking and I can probably try to teach Thorn? I don't know." It wasn't my first time training, but it felt like it. No one ever watched me. But, why was I so nervous about it?

"Then, I guess I'll just work on whatever with Yami. C'mon, Yami." Walking away, Sarah lead Yami into the trees. Nodding, it made my job easier. Without the pressure to deal with, I could train in peace.

"Alright, Akuma. Let's work on your strength, alright?" Instructing her, I told her to use her bite on a log. She didn't understand it at all. Still, following the commands, she bit down into the wood. Going back to Thorn, I trusted Akuma to keep working.

"Thorn? You ready to train?" She was sitting there in the grass as I'd left her, near the flame. She didn't seem motivated to move, but I hoped she would soon. But she just looked at me.

"Now, listen to me. I need to you release your Stun Spore. Just, attack with your Stun Spore." Blinking, Thorn just looked at me. She obviously didn't understand. "Fine, what attacks do you know?" Like a sneeze, a cloud of yellow powder burst out of Thorn.

Coughing, I backed away as the small spores caused my muscles to tense up. No need to tell me I'd already gotten a taste. Soon enough, I couldn't move at all.

Luckily, it only hurt a little. The spores were only made to stop or slow an opponent. At least it wasn't a poisonous spore...

With a snap of wood breaking, Akuma looked towards me in success, before noticing I couldn't move. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and tried to move. The pain as I tried to resist wasn't bad, but the sheer difficulty it was to fight against my own muscles was hard.

Once I was able to get onto my hands and knees, my breathing forced. I was in Akuma's way, but she growled at Thorn.

Walking into the clearing, Sarah came back. It was obvious because I'd been coughing and stuff...

"What's wrong? You weren't attacked, were you? Because if you were, you need to get better at reading Pokemon." It was a smug piece of advice, but it was helpful. If I could move. The best I could do was keep my arms extended. They tried to bend towards my chest, but I stopped them as best I could.

Opening my mouth, both for Akuma and Sarah, I tried to talk. But even I didn't understand what I said.

Laughing aloud, Sarah couldn't help but make fun of me. She poked my face and tempted me to bite her, but I would react too slow. Like she knew I would.

"Do you want to know how to get rid of the spores? It's obvious it's Stun Spore." Struggling to nod, I threw myself onto my back. My muscles easily contracted to my chest without my resistance. I nodded for Sarah to continue.

"To get rid of Stun Spore, you have to either have a Spore Heal, Paralyz Heal, wait it out, or eat a Cheri Berry. Which one you want?" Spore Heal? Paralyz Heal? We didn't have one. Waiting? That would take too long. A Cheri Berry would be quickest. But... How do I tell her?

Holding up four shaking fingers, I chose the Cheri Berries. I just hoped she had some.

"Here you go, then." Tossing a red berry to me, I recognized it. It was a Cheri berry, but it was small and I knew how it would taste. Even with my tensed muscles, I managed to open my mouth and drop it in. It was hard to chew, but it was the juice of the small berry that relaxed the muscles.

It was sour and super spicy. It was like eating a bowl of spicy curry. Or Bouffalant Wings. All I knew is that it was hot. And it wasn't even the spiciest of berries. My father had already told me that.

Still, even though my throat and tongue were on fire, I felt the tension behind my muscles beginning to drop. I regretted the fact that we had little water left, but I was almost burning. I had to drink.

"Water," I asked. It was the only thing I'd been able to say since Thorn spored me.

Handing over her water bottle, Sarah watched as I drained what was left of it. The rest was in her hair, of course. Still, any sort of coolant was better than the air. Every breath felt like a fresh burn, so it was a relief to have water running over it.

My arms and legs were tired. Shaking, I struggled to stand. Having to fight yourself was an exercise in itself. Still, Akuma tried to help me. She growled in the general direction of Thorn, but since the small bud didn't make much noise, it was hard for her to pin point.

Taking out the Pokeball, I returned Thorn for good measure. I didn't want Akuma to tear her apart at first chance. Sarah followed along with Yami, Perry sitting on her hair, to the log I had Akuma bit in half.

"Is this the thing that made that loud crack noise? Because that's why I back in the first place. And that was pretty quick, for you to break a tree in half." Akuma sniffed at the fallen tree she'd broken. "Isn't this the log we used as a bench?"

"Um... Yes? Did- did you still want that?" It wasn't too important, other than we'd have to drag another log out of the trees to replace it.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just get back to training. It was your idea, remember?" I nodded and sat down on the ground. My hand brought Akuma closer as she rubbed against it. She'd taken a liking to me touching her. I guessed it helped her know where and who I was. Anyone else smelled, felt, and acted differently. Not to mention sounded different.

Picking up a few sticks, I watched Sarah make a small set of pylons. The second set was about fifty meters away. It was one side of the clearing to the other. Then, I saw Yami begin to dance forward. His lithe and hunter build was lose until he reached the first set of sticks.

What was he going to do?

In a quick burst of speed, the Sneasel ran to the other side, before spinning around to run down the other side. Following the icy assassin, Akuma "watched" as he ran back and forth.

"Want to join him? Yeah, I don't blame you. He's moving so fast. You think you could keep up?" Doing some sort of running before, I assumed it was a sign of excitement. Patting her faux horn, I smiled. "Go on then. Run with him." Understanding I'd given permission, she leaped up to the first set of pylons.

Yami slowed and watched the blind Deino running from one set to the next. I saw the Sneasel almost laughing as he sped up. He quickly passed Akuma as he was like a bullet compared to her. By the time she'd run to the second set of sticks, Yami had already completed a lap.

Trying to catch up, she ran faster. She wasn't so sure of her footing or exactly where anything was, but she knew where Yami was. His dark typing and movement was enough for her to automatically turn her head towards him. She was fast for me, yes, but she was slow once put beside another Pokemon.

Still, I admired that she tried. And she was going fairly fast and hard. She wanted to try, even if it's something genetically impossible. Even as a Hydreigon, she would probably never beat Yami in a flat out race. Of course, she'd be able to fly once she was a Hydreigon, but that would most likely be at least two- No, probably three years. At least.

Sarah watched the hopeless race with a smirk and looked at me as if to ask, 'Did you tell her to do this?' I shook my head, unable to keep from smiling. She was cute, even for the brutal species she belong to. I just hoped it lasted.

.

It was maybe half an hour later that I was able to move properly. The spores hadn't been removed, but only counteracted. The Cheri Berry had made it easier to move, but, truth be told, it wasn't like I really wanted to.

But once I was able to freely move again, and my throat wasn't on fire, I stood up and pulled out the large blanket I used for a sleeping bag. I looked to the small track Sarah built and saw Akuma trying to keep going, but I could see her breathing heavily. Her steps barely covered a few centimeter.

Calling her over, I spread out the blanket and let her lay down on it. I sat down next to her and yawned.

"Hey, girl. You feeling it, too?" She looked at me with sightless eyes before laying her head in my lap. I smiled and rubbed her head. Her horn was slightly bent and drooping, which made it funnier.

"Do you mind helping me," Sarah called to me. Looking up, she was trying to put up her tent again. This time, one of the pegs had fallen and she was barely holding it up. It was in plain light of the fire, so it had plenty of lighting. Why had it fallen if not secured properly?

Standing, I had to be careful with Akuma. She whined when I moved her, but she didn't feel like moving much. It made it a lot easier.

Checking out the support, nothing was wrong with it. I stabbed it back into the dirt, but it was quickly removed again by a... Diglett? The small brown head of it popped out of the dirt long enough to rip out the peg, dropping below as fast as possible.

Sighing, I stabbed the Peg back in to the dirt. When the Diglett resurface, most likely to take the wooden tip stuck in it's living room, I grab it. Forcfully ripping it from the dirt, it shrieked and struggled, but I was able to boot it into the trees. What was lucky is that it was about the size of a football. About the same shape, too.

I'd only kicked a football once or twice, but I felt this kick was pretty good.

"What was that?" Sarah asked, pulling the tent into a standing position. Looking to her, I shrugged.

"It was just a pest of a Pokemon. Nothing much. It was pulling up the stake, so I got rid of it." Slowly nodding, Sarah confirmed she understood. Opening the front flap on the tent, she tossed her large bag into the tent.

"Are you going to change into nightwear, or do you just wear whatever to bed?" I looked down at my clothes. "Because I can go into my tent to give you some privacy if you're gonna change."

"What makes you say that," I asked.

"You looked a bit nervous. I just assumed you were afraid to ask me to leave."

"Oh. Well, I do have a second set of clothes, yes." I was still wearing the Pokemon center's sweats and my sweatshirt. The sweats were getting dirty, but they were comfortable on the inside. Still, best to change now and clean them later. And if Sarah's predictions were true, we could be there by tomorrow night. To the Gate's outpost.

Nodding, Sarah zipped up her tent and I walked over to my bag. Akuma's snores could be hear as she laid on the ground. Grabbing the clothes out of my satchel, I began to change my clothes. Jeans weren't as comfortable as Sweats, but at least they were clean.

With a fresh set of clothes, I rolled myself up in the blanket next to Akuma. Pulling out my PokeDex, I began to look up several guides on getting through the Oreburgh Gate. Most of them pointed to several Pokemon Guide services, even a few personal guides. But there were a few that gave good information.

"Good night!" Sarah called out from her tent and I look up from the screen.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." Thinking over it, I tossed a log into flames. It crackled before licking the wood. It would last until morning. Right? Opening my PokeDex again, I began to type my thoughts and what I'd learned. Yawning, I scratched Akuma's black fur before laying back down.

.

The morning came quicker than I thought it would. Akuma nudged me. Rolling over was a good idea... Nudging me again, I groaned before complying. I yawned and stretched out my sore muscles. Looking around, I saw the light coming over the field to the right and through the trees to the left.

"Morning." I looked to see Sarah eating a Nanab Berry. Seeing me awake, she tossed me one of them. Being me, I missed the catch and let it hit my face. Laughing, Sarah watched me as I peeled the skin away from the Nanab and bit into the pink flesh. It was quite sweet, but also slightly bitter.

It wasn't much for breakfast, but it was better than nothing. I rubbed Akuma's head and smiled. She couldn't see my smile, but she felt my hand. Not all the feeling was lost.

After throwing away the empty peel, I began to clean up my bedding. Sarah had already begun taking down the tent and shrinking it down to a roll she carried in her pack. It made me wonder what exactly she had brought, considering it's size. Shaking my head, I shouldered my bag and put the blanket over the top.

With everything packed up, nothing really interesting happened. Once Sarah had her bag ready, we headed out to the route. Akuma followed me with a Nanab peel hanging out of her mouth.

For over 5 hours, we walked down the road. It was obvious that the road wasn't as maintained as the path near Jubilife, but it was still paved. Which was good.

It was around two or three in the afternoon when we stopped. It wasn't for the night, but it was for lunch. Sarah claimed she was hungry, and though I argued, I was too. So, in mutual agreement, we turned into the trees to hunt.

Being our scout, Perry ran over branches and threw some of the leaves down as he did, but he was still generally stealthy. His size helped.

"So, what are you in the mood for," I asked, breaking the ice.

"I'd prefer something not meat, like some berries or a salad. Some pasta sounds good, too." Moving slowly through the trees, we followed Perry as he scampered over the branches. I nodded and agreed. Some pasta might be nice, yes, but maybe a bit of Miltank in it?

Hearing a slight squeak, it was the signal that a Pokemon was ahead. I motioned for Sarah to hide behind the trees. In the clearing ahead, I saw four Bidoof. I groaned slightly, but I decided I could make do.

"What is it," Sarah whispered. We were only a meter apart, but the Bidoof were making some noise as they scavenged for food. No need to be too quite.

"Just... bad memories of Bidoof." The day two months ago, that day I saved that man from ravaging Bidoof. I still hated them, but now I had the chance to kill them. No time like the present.

I had kept Akuma in her Pokeball to prioritize speed and stealth over the company. It would be a surprise to both the Bidoof, as well as the Deino, but now is the reason I assumed it was important.

Clicking the button, I released Akuma in a flash of light. She appeared in full view of the four Bidoof and stood there. The stupid brown Pokemon just looked at the blue and black Deino, wondering what- or where she came from.

"Bite one of them!" It was the first thing that came to my mind. And the first thing that I shouted. Sarah backed away from me, since we were in close proximity, but she knew what was happening. Luckily, Akuma caught on quick too.

Sinking her teeth into the foremost Bidoof, she held it in place while the other three escaped into the woods. Akuma worried about them, but stuck to my orders. She could only bite one at a time, after all.

The captured Bidoof struggled to escape the clutches of Akuma's teeth, but the blood dripping into it's fur was enough to tell me that it would not be escaping easily. Still, it was stupid enough to probably kill itself before it succeeded. Which might help, actually.

"That went faster then expected," Sarah said. I agreed and stepped forward, into the clearing. As soon as it saw me, the Bidoof began to panic and struggled harder. The blood spread quicker and it's screeches began to chill me. Taking out my knife, Akuma began to adjust her hold.

I swiped my knife quickly across it's neck, and I saw Sarah turn away as blood coated my hand. The struggling intensified before it slumped over. Sighing, I wiped my knife against the grass and leaves to clean it.

By the time it was clean enough for me, the Bidoof stopped moving. Akuma released the Bidoof and poked at it with her nose.

"Don't eat it yet, Akuma. Sarah and I can't eat it once you tear in. 'Kay?" Backing off, Akuma licked the blood from her mouth instead. "Wait... Sarah, do you hear that? I think I hear a river." Listening, though still disgusted at the blood, Sarah focused to the forest noises.

"You're right! There is a river close by!" With most of the blood drained to the dirt, I felt safe enough to pick up the freshly dead corpse. It was gross, but I nothing twitched inside anymore. Maybe I really was wrong?

After a few dozen meters, the sight of running water made Sarah run forward. She held her nose to block out the smell of blood, but she didn't care as long as she got to the river.

Setting down the dead Bidoof on a rock, I tossed a few logs into a pile. With a few twigs and drier grasses, I lit up the fire.

"Aren't you going to wash off that blood? It's kinda gross, just having it all over your hands." I looked at them and saw it had dried and cracked off in some places.

Dipping my hands into the freezing water, the current pulled the crimson life away. With clean hands, I pulled out my knife again. While the flames grew, I began cutting up the parts of the Bidoof. I didn't think we'd need much, but I had to get the fur and innards outta the way.

The skin and fur wasn't valuable, so I didn't really try to save it. Nor were the innards, but I don't think any Pokemon Guild bought Pokemon innards. That would be... a bit creepy.

Once the Bidoof was prepped, I cooked it the usual way and wished for something that would make this easier. Still, better something than nothing. While Sarah allowed Yami to splash around, while he wasn't affected by the cold, I let Akuma and Thorn to walk around.

As I silently cooked the meat, I realized I was falling into my bad habit. My nature, I guess. I looked up at Sarah and saw her filling her bottle. Did I really know her? I only really knew she was from Snowpoint. That was about it.

Of course, the same could be said about me. She probably only knew I was from Floaroma Town. Of course, there wasn't much to me. The most exciting thing that really ever happened was catching Akuma. What else could compare?

At least there were no penalties for trying, right?

"Uh, Sarah? What's it's, erm, what's it like in Snowpoint? You never talked about home, so I'm, uh, curious." Smooth going there. Totally didn't look obvious.

"Okay, I guess I could tell you," Sarah said, laughing. "What's really to tell? It's cold? In the north? Well, we do have that temple for Regigigas, but it hasn't returned to it since Lucas freed it... How long ago was it? 200 or so? Like, 10 years after Red, right? I've been in there, but it's pretty cold in there. The floors are always frozen and slippery, so some people ice skate in there."

"What's ice skating like? I've never really had the opportunity." I carefully kept and eye as Sarah sat on the ground next to me. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye before she responded.

"It's like normal skating, I'd say, but I've never done that either. I'll have to show you when we challenge the gym up there."

"First we have to beat the Oreburgh Gym. But, sure. I think it'd be fun." With the meat turning a lighter, whiter color, I tried to turn it evenly to prevent burns.

"How difficult do you think it'll be? I mean, I have Yami, but Perry doesn't even affect Rock types. And you have Akuma and Thorn. Do you think it'll be hard?"

"Of course it'll be difficult. That's the purpose of a gym. It's suppose to challenge us, but also make sure we've been training our partners properly. But I think we'll pass the test."

"Really? Hmm... What about Floaroma. You haven't really told me much about it." Tensing up, I realized I didn't know what to say.

"Well, er, it's just like any other small town. Just a bunch of people. A few other things. I mean, the famous bits are really just the Flowers and the Forest. But the Forest is named after Eterna, so it really isn't ours."

"I've heard that the Eterna Forest used to be much smaller. You could walk 50 miles before a tree. Now, it stretches all the way to the borders of the town, right?" Quickly, looked into the Bidoof to check if it had cooked all the way through yet.

"You're right, but most people are too afraid to encroach on the Pokemon's Territory. So, they just let the trees grow as far as they like. As such, only a few of the fields are tree free. When we pass through, I'll show you."

Lifting the spit off the fire, I nodded to Sarah, who took out her plates and utensils. Supporting the weight with both hands was hard, but even harder when I pulled out my knife and held it in one hand. To help hold it, I held it under my shoulder. Cutting through the front leg of the cooked corpse. It fell onto Sarah's waiting plate.

"Man, it's heavy." Taking the plate from Sarah, I cut a large portion from the leg and slid it onto the second plate. "Thanks." Taking the fork she offered, Sarah and I began to eat.

.

After taking a break, we headed back to the route. The same paved road stretched out for the miles we walked and covered. It was turning to darkness when we stopped. It wasn't very wooded, but Mt. Coronet was barely visible over the trees. Though we didn't make it as far as I'd planned, Sarah said we'd get to the Gate by tomorrow afternoon. I just hoped nothing happened.

After a quick hunt for a Taillow or two. Akuma enjoyed eating her share of the bird, but we were only able to kill two. It was enough for the two of us and Akuma, but Yami felt left out. With the promise of some Taillow after we ate, he was able to keep calm.

I was more tired tonight than yesterday, yes, but I still wanted to train with my Pokemon. My Budew didn't follow my commands yet, so it would be better to try. Releasing Thorn and calling over Akuma, I started to plan the training session.

"What're you doing?" Sarah walked over with Perry on her head. "Are you going to try to tame Thorn? I think I could help."

"Thanks Sarah. To be honest, I have no clue about Grass types." Never have, and most likely won't for a while. I didn't know how much Sarah knew, but it had to be better if she offered.

"Try to figure out what kind of attacks Thorn can use. It's a good way to know your Pokemon, you know?" Nodding, I looked back to the small bud Pokemon. I pulled out my PokeDex and used it for it's primary function. The scanner built in recorded things like the weight and height, along with a few things I didn't care to read.

Then, without the scan being much use, I turned to the internet. What moves should a Budew know? Luckily, a few sites came up, including one I'd already been to. Clicking on it, I was brought to the familiar green-colored background. It was the plant-type wiki I'd found the first night.

"Okay. It says a Budew should learn Absorb, Water Spout, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, and Worry Seed. Is that it? Did they only add a few of Budews' moves?" Sarah looked over my shoulder before taking the Dex out of my hands.

"I didn't expect the list to be this short... Wait. There's more? It says, by selective breeding, Budew can learn moves from the parents. That's strange. Why haven't I heard that before?" I looked at the entry and confirmed the listings. I wondered if the same lists could be found for Akuma, but she was a Dragon. Not many secrets were revealed on how to train, or beat one.

"So... She could know more than that short list?"

"Possibly. You'd have to figure that out, I guess." Sarah handed back my Dex and walked over to Akuma. "I guess you could work on her accuracy or senses. Akuma does have a bit of a disadvantage, I guess." I realized Sarah didn't know much at all. She was being a support for me. I smiled.

"Thanks. But first I need to make sure I don't get spored again." Smirking, Sarah tossed me a small cluster of berries. I barely caught it, but still got it. I looked at the berries in the bunch and saw several ripe Cheri Berries. "T-thanks, Sarah."

"You know, you're kind of easy to read. I l knew you'd want some. Luckily, Perry brought me some." I looked at Perry as he rubbed his electric pouches on his cheeks.

"Well, thanks. Now, where do I begin... Alright, Thorn. Could you show me what you got? Can you attack this tree over here for me?" Blinking blankly up at me, Thorn just sat there. Like usual. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Calling over Akuma, who was accepting treats from Sarah, she bounded over.

"Akuma, if you understand, I need you to tell Thorn what I say. She doesn't understand me." Facing me, I guessed Akuma understood, but she didn't turn towards Thorn. Shrugging, I continued. "Tell Thorn to attack this tree. For practice." Turning around, following her nose, Akuma began making noises I didn't understand. All I knew is that it ended with a growl.

Standing up, Thorn didn't look much taller. Her thin legs stuck into the grass as two leaves grew out of her body. They looked as if she was growing arms. With the tree next to me, I backed away in time for the two leaves to be thrown across the field. They struck the wood with an audible thunk.

Looking back at the tree, two solid leaves were sticking into the trunk, with a few dry leaves floating down. Was that dangerous or what?

"Was that Razor Leaf? This is one of those moves she can learn through breeding, I think. Interesting..." So it was true. Pokemon could learn moves not native to their line. This made things interesting. "Of course, Pokemon can be taught TMs, so it could have been taught to the Parent by a trainer and it carried over." Well... That's just an idea shot down.

"You don't have to say that. I thought my Thorn was special..." Akuma came over to me and allowed me to pet her. I smiled down at her, all while she knew she'd done her job correctly.

"Don't worry," Sarah said, drawing my attention back. "She is, just by knowing Razor Leaf. Many probably don't. So, don't doubt her yet." So she was special. "You're lucky, you know. If it was just me, I'd have caught her. Then you'd have to battle me with three Pokemon."

"Who said we were battling?"

"Just saying. If we'd met, I'd challenge you to a battle. And I'd have a Budew, along with Yami and Perry." Interesting. Still, it made me question again why we hadn't met any challengers on their ways back from the Oreburgh Gym. Were we too late to face them?

"Yeah... I'd probably have caught something like a Venipede if I was by myself. Just being honest." Laughing, we both enjoyed a moment of carelessness. "I should probably get back to training," I said, now that the moment had passed. Nodding, we both went back to our Pokemon.

I spent the next hour by the fire trying to teach Thorn to use Razor Leaf on my command, but every time I tried, she'd just stare at me. I tried doing verbal explanations and physical demonstrations, but Akuma was the only way we got anywhere. I assumed she threatened Thorn into using Razor Leaf, because every time she ended the command with a growl. Or it could just be her Pokemon Deino Dialect.

The progress was slow, but it was something. Thorn actually followed my commands, though with a little help. I'd have to practice more on it later, but I was getting tired. It had been a long day for me, struggling to get as far as possible in the daylight had left me drained.

Returning Thorn and Akuma to their Pokeballs, I sat down on my blanket and yawned. Sarah returning her own Pokemon and opened her PokeDex. After a minute or two of looking at her, I noticed I was staring. Sarah realized it too, and looked at me. I looked away and yawned again.

"Are you going to bed already? Kinda early. Like, half past seven early." She didn't notice, did she?

"Yeah. I'm kinda tired after today. What about you?"

"I'm kinda... Awake? Is that the right word? You know what I mean. But I wanted to research some stuff. Like what kind of Pokemon are on this Route."

"Trying to catch your third Pokemon, huh? Could you share your findings with me in the morning? I'd help to know what kind of Pokemon we can hunt, as well as catch."

"Alright. I guess. But you've got to research something for me by the morning too. That's your homework." I burst out laughing when she said Homework.

"I- I'm sorry! It's just that it's been a year since I had homework. And I thought I was done with that stuff."

"Oh... I thought you were laughing because we don't really have a home right now."

"Well, yeah. That's true," I said once my laughter died down. I agreed to her deal of research for research. It was a reasonable trade to me, so why not?"

"Anyways, I'll see you in the morning. And hopefully we can both get a warm shower tomorrow night." I nodded. With the mountain in sight, I assumed we'd get there by tomorrow, but it all depended on the road. Of course, I could just be wrong. Still, I had hopes.

Sarah zipped up her tent and I glanced over. The light of her PokeDex glowed, but it didn't show through well enough to see anything. Shaking my head, I laid back on the blanket. The fire was warm and gave me something to take my mind off my thoughts.

It would be the first night since we set out on this route I'd be without Akuma sleeping near me. Still, she'd be cold if she stayed out. Not that she'd show it. Rather, she'd probably just crawl under the blanket. To save both of us a bit of discomfort, I stored her in her Pokeball.

Opening my PokeDex, I started on my "Homework". I began to research some moves other Pokemon could learn, including Dedene and Sneasel. Like I assumed earlier, not much I didn't already know about Deino was displayed. They were Dangerous. They were strong. Blind. Gluttonous. Moody. Dangerous. Nothing went into details past general appearance. As expected.

It was around half past eight before I saw the PokeDex in the tent fade out. I had a small list of interesting notes myself, and was feeling really tired. And all I really did was walk. Right? Hunting wasn't very hard...

Yawning, I made sure I was bundled up before the night grew colder. My bag was near me, in case a thief were to approach. Closing my Dex, and my eyes, I fell asleep. My last remembered thoughts was that I missed my pillow.

.

The morning came fast. It also came with a chill in the air. I noted it was much earlier, and colder, than when I woke up yesterday. Sarah hadn't come out of her tent yet. And the clearing was misty and grey. It had to be before eight. Still, with the fire nonexistant and the pit we'd dug cold and dark, it was hard to fall back to sleep. Besides, I wasn't that tired. Sore, but not tired.

I'd slept in my hoodie again, leaving several wrinkles and creases in it. It also didn't do much to ward off the cold, having worn it for three days straight. I pulled on my beanie and breathed into my hands to heat them up. Was it really this cold already?

Pulling logs into the pit didn't help if they were frozen. Frost coated everything, and the flint and steel Sarah and I used was... not present. It was inside a tent I wasn't allowed to open. Well, didn't want to. She never said it, but I think it'd be rude awakening, as well as... yeah. Inappropriate? Disrespectful? All of the Above?

I settled for waiting with the blanket wrapped around me. The fog was thick enough that it was hard to see the Route thirty meters away. It also meant we were pretty hidden from anyone passing this early in the morning. It might have been paranoia that lead me to believe someone might steal our stuff, but it was something that was reported often. I didn't want to already have to call the Rangers on the fourth day of my journey.

At least the blanket did it's job. I was warm as long as no air entered. As soon as I peeked out, I was bathed into freezing cold air. Thus, I retreated into my cloth shell. My PokeDex kept getting a layer of condensation from my breath, but it was warm. Why go out? With a messenger function, I PM'd Sarah.

'You up yet?' It was stupid, me being less than three meters from her tent, but I didn't want to call through the blanket. And I didn't feel like opening it to the air. Too cold.

About a minute later, I received a response. 'Yeah. Barely.' Hearing movement from beside me, I opened my shell and immediately regretted it. Sarah unzipped her tent and stepped out. Before going back in for her own blanket.

"So, you're up early," Sarah said, an obviously tired tone present. "Wha's with all this fog? Looks like we're in a cloud."

"It might be the mountain. Wind blows the clouds over Mt. Coronet and the Gate before dropping them down the slope. Just my guess, though." Sarah sat down beside me and looked into the dark fire pit. It really was kinda depressing.

"Seems more educated than a standard guess."

"It's just from school. Some science stuff I thought was important, I guess. It's just a guess, though. Might just be cold today." Nodding, Sarah stood up and began to take down her tent. "What're you doing?"

"We're both up. It'll be better if we get moving as soon as possible. Help clean up. It'll keep you warm. Promise." Though I was reluctant to do it, I adjusted my hat before dropping my shell. Shivering, I stood up and did as I was told.

A couple minutes later, we were ready. Using the trees as guides, we walked towards the paved road. Once I was moving, the chill was replaced by heat. It wasn't really warm, but at least it wasn't very cold. I could manage.

Sarah released Yami, who loved the cold, and he began to skip forward. His claws waved back and forth as he moved. They were sharp enough for me not to want to mess with them. Akuma stayed in her ball for now, as she didn't handle the cold very well. Thorn... Well, she was slow. We'd lose more time than necessary.

The road stretched on for a long while. The fog hid the trees, grass, Pokemon, and road outside of a ten meter radius, but it began to clear as the sun rose over the horizon behind us. By the time Sarah's Poketch read 10.00, the mist faded to reveal everything but the mountain. The fog was based around the peaks, hiding them.

"That's better," I commented. It also warmed up a bit, but it was still cold. Stopping for a moment, I held out the Pokeball with Akuma inside. A button click later, and the four of us were walking down the road.

I noted that Akuma held a curiosity for Yami, being of the same typing. It was obvious enough why she'd take an interest in an ice type. Still, that same type was what held her away. She feared him, and most likely for a good reason. I would keep an eye on her, but I just hoped she didn't provoke Yami into hurting her.

"Hey!" I heard a voice calling out. Turning, I saw two guys running over to us. Two... Trainers?

"Uh, hello," I said, trying to be nice.

"I can tell you two are good Pokemon trainers. Wanna have a quick battle? Because you obviously have the Pokemon to battle." I looked at Sarah, who called over to Yami. She dropped her bag in the grass and walked away, the black-haired kid following. Probably to do the same.

"Well, I guess we can. We haven't battled yet, so it'll be a good experience, I guess."

"If you win, that is," the kid replied. He was obviously cocky.

"Try not to lose then." Just like me. I laid my hand on Akuma's neck. She hadn't fought for real. Every time she did, it was to kill and eat. Thorn, she'd tried to eat. I'd caught the Budew before that could happen, though.

"You've got something to be wary of. Check this out!" Throwing out the Pokeball, the first kid released his Pokemon. A Staravia burst out of the ball and flew a quick lap around us. It reminded me of the time I caught Akuma. It obviously reminded her, as well. She growled at the bird as it called out to us.

Looking over at the first kid, I noted he seemed younger than me. Smirking, he held the Pokeball he'd just thrown in his hand. I wondered how he did that as I saw Sarah meeting her partner. She'd agreed to battle as well.

"Link PokeDex with me! I wanna see what your stats are." My... Stats? What was he talking about? Holding out my Dex, I touched it to his. The screen turned on and displayed a trainer card. But not mine, but the kid's. His name was... Andre Gillart? With only one Pokemon, huh?

"You've only got one Pokemon? Seems pretty weak." One? No, I had Thorn, so that made two Pokemon.

"What're you talking about? I have two Pokemon."

"You mean you're really that newbish? You're supposed to register each Pokemon you catch. You moron."

"Moron, huh? Let's just see who's the real newbie here. After I wipe the floor with your Staravia. Akuma? Let's go!" Smirking, Andre whistled. Akuma began growling at him as the Staravia swooped down. It smacked Akuma on the head with it's wing, drawing her attention.

"Akuma, use your power. Shoot the bird down. Forget about the kid." Beginning to charge a ball of blue Draconic energy, she was interrupted with a wing to her side, knocking her to the dirt. I gritted my teeth. The bird was clearly faster than Akuma.

"It's no use. Dragon Rage won't even hit Evan. Even if we let you use it!" Looking over to Sarah, who was battling the shorter boy and his Poochyena with Yami. It was mostly just a blur, so I turned back to Akuma.

"Just keep trying! Try until you hit it. One shot should work." Gathering the blue ball in her mouth, she prepared to fire. With the Staravia's flapping wings keeping it aloft, it wasn't hard to aim. But the Staravia wouldn't allow a hit. Splitting into seven different mirages, I gasped.

Seven Staravia? Was this some sort of magic trick?

All of the images flew in a circle around us. With the attack charged up, Akuma released it into the circle. Hitting one of the images, it faded. Not the real bird.

"Focus, Akuma. Find the correct one. It has to be the loudest."

"What can you do now? Seems your Deino is at a disadvantage, being without eyes! Evan, Aerial Ace!" All six of the remaining Staravia began to display an amazing show of acrobatics before diving into Akuma from all sides.

As they struck, all of the copies vanished. The one remaining knocked Akuma from the right side. As it pulled up, it made two more copies. Still, I didn't let my eyes leave the center one.

"Akuma, use your... What'd he call it? Use Dragon Rage on the middle Staravia!" With the energy gathering, the black bird did not give up. In a formation, the three dived head on towards her.

The ball didn't gather fast enough. It dissipated when she was practically headbutted. She'd lowered her head at just the right time. Luckily, it also dazed the Staravia and knocked it to the ground. Akuma, on the other hand, still stood.

"Once more! The Staravia is wide open!" Shouting out commands, Andre tried to get his Staravia to get up as Akuma aimed a ball of draconic Rage at the bird. As it began to get up, the attack collided and knocked the Staravia away. It also knocked my Deino into sitting position quite quickly, the force of the explosion being point blank.

"Evan!" Andre ran to his bird. "Return!" In a burst of light, the Staravia was recalled to it's Pokeball, knocked unconscious. Going to my own Pokemon, I found Akuma to be alright. Her horn was comically bent and fraying. Rubbing her head, I helped smooth it out. She opened her mouth and looked towards me.

"I don't have any rewards for you yet. But I'll get you one, okay? And, thanks for not trying to kill the Staravia." Tilting her head to the side, she clearly didn't understand. Still, she looked alright. Maybe a little tired and might have a bruise tomorrow, but she seemed proud of herself.

"I guess you aren't so newbie after all. Here." Tossing a few Poke Dollar bills towards me. Picking them up, I put them in my pocket.

"Okay? Why are you giving me money? I mean, thanks, but why? This wasn't a tournament, was it?"

"No, stupid," Sarah said, walking up to me. I looked at the other kid, but he was kicking the grass. It was obvious he lost. "That's your prize money. Didn't you read the exam?"

"Yeah, you moron. I might just take it back if you're so stupid."

"Just shut up. You obviously lost, so maybe you're the stupid one?" I backed away as Sarah got in Andre's face. I didn't want to get in their way. Nope.

"Yeah? Well, I don't see you being any smarter than that dumbass. So, where's your defense, huh?" Andre tried to make gang signs without touching Sarah's chest, which was getting in his way.

"Like I said. You and that other kid, Toby. You both suck. Now, c'mon." She turned to me, picking up her backpack on her way. Following, I called to Akuma to follow. She tried to follow, but she stumbled and fell twice. Pulling out her ball, I pointed it at her to recall her. I stored it in my pocket for speed's sake.

"So... How'd your match go? Yami didn't get too hurt, did he?" The dancing Sneasel wasn't near Sarah anymore, like I expected him to be. Like usual.

"It's like how Akuma isn't beside you. He took a bite or two, but he'll be fine once we get to the Pokemon center. It's at the mouth of the Gate. So, let's hurry, okay?" Setting a faster pace, I followed behind. I kept some distance, but still close enough.

After an hour, Sarah calmed down a bit. Her scowl melted into a passive mood. Which was safe. It also gave me time to think that there was another way to earn money, other than hunting. Beating trainers earned you money. Not saying that I would, but should I lose, I owed someone some cash. No Risk, No Dinner?

But that also meant I would have some chance to lose everything, if I'm defeated several times. Not that I'd ever let that happen, but it was a possibility.

"So, how far is the Gate from here," I asked, once Sarah was calm. I didn't know if it was the best plan of action, but I was impatient.

"We should be there by dinner. So, seven hours?" Seven hours? That was a while... Still. better than sleeping out in the sticks again. Opening my PokeDex, I looked at something that I'd thought about since my battle. My first battle, mind you.

Andre had said I only had one Pokemon registered. Akuma had been registered for me, Perry and Yami for Sarah. They were preregistered when we displayed them during the exam. So, how would I do it? Was this something I missed?

Poking around was a good way to pass time, along with playing a coin flip game I found. After some searching, I found what it was. On the trainer card, my ID, was a row of twelve spheres. One was taken, filled with a single Pokeball. When I tapped it, the icon of a Deino was displayed. Cartoonish, but a Deino.

An empty sphere, when tapped, ejected a Pokeball sized ring. Placing a Pokeball in it was my first guess, so I put Thorns Pokeball in it. Turns out, that's all I needed to do to register it as mine. Then two buttons appeared.

"For Active Use" or

"For Storage"

Both made little sense, but I guessed Thorn was for Active Use. Which probably meant for battling. So, once I pressed that button, a new Pokeball appeared next to my Deino one. Tapping on it revealed a Cartoon Budew blooming and back to a bud. Then a note appeared on my screen, a message from the Pokemon League.

Trainer SI863FL239A,

Thank you for registering your first Pokemon. Please remember that carrying an unregistered Pokemon is against League Rules and can be punished with fines or even expulsion from the League. Any Pokemon not under your ownership will be released and your pokeball will not be refunded.

Please do not respond to this message, as it is an automated response.

~ The Sinnoh Pokemon League and Government

"Hey, Sarah? I just got a message from the Pokemon League."

"What? What for? What's it say?" Taking the Dex from me, she read through the message. It was short, but I bet she was trying to read in between the lines. "Oh, I see. I guess you're lucky we weren't caught by Rangers yet. And don't scare me like that. You never know when we could be called."

"For what? Why would the League bother messaging us when they simply have automated responses?"

"Just how much of the Trainers did you research and how much did you hear from stories? Pokemon Trainers of the League can be called to do anything they want. You could be drafted into a Militia from the moment you receive a PokeDex."

"The Military? I thought trainers were simply supposed to beat the gyms."

"If that was true, the League would have been overrun with problems. We become trainers at that expense. Of course, it's highly unlikely, since we don't have any badges, but once we're strong enough, they won't hesitate."

"I just want to beat the gyms and be the best. I'm not going to join the Military, even if they tell me to."

"... You do know that paper that you signed back at the exam center? Back in Jubilife? That was basically a signature of consent. Did you not even read it?"

"Nope. Wait, so you mean, if I don't follow their orders, I can be held accountable or something?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Oh. Well, that sucks." Shrugging, we both set off. Sarah handed me my Dex and I pocketed it. We walked in silence for several more miles.

We didn't really say much at all after that, really. We just walked. Noon passed and I felt a bit of hunger. Still, I didn't say anything. If we did get food, we'd be out another hour. And with the impatience to arrive, I held down the urge. And by the time the sun set, we could see the lights of the... Town?

"Wait, what town is that? You never said anything about a town being here." The glow of lights could be seen, even if we were still a ways out.

"It isn't a town. Just a place with a Pokemon Center and a bunch of businesses having to do with the Gate. Guides, supplies, and other necessities. People moved here once the businesses began. I don't know much about it either, but I know it's really just an outpost, of sorts."

"An outpost? If that's an outpost, Floaroma is a city."

"Let's just get to the Pokemon Center." Speeding the pace up, Sarah bee lined for the Center. Her bag made a constant clinking noise, but it was rhythmic, making it the beat I walked to. Impatient and hungry, it was no lesser reason not to go fast. I think I'll have a Miltank Burger for dinner. Maybe some soda, too?

---

I almost feel like Akuma is like a protective dog than a Dragon. Also, it was kinda hard to write the part about camping and hunting because I've never done either of them. All I know is put down a tent and sleep. Of course, now that Lorano has, makes him better than me, right?

I'm really sorry about not writing sooner. I didn't write for 1 week, played games and wrote a few paragraphs the next. And now I'm trying to catch up. Yeah... Like that'll happen...

Anyways, if you guys enjoyed, be sure to leave a review and tell me stuff! Always is nice to see some feedback.

Current Pokemon

Trainer: Lorano; SI863FL239A

Pokemon in Possession:

Akuma - Deino

Thorn - Budew

Trainer: Sarah O'Perr; SI772SP8HN

Pokemon in Possession:

Perry - Dedene

Yami - Sneasel