Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

Chapter 15: Progress

The inventiveness! Oh, that had been an inspired tactic, using the snorunt to ice the arena over to deny manectric most of his agility, and then using the slippery floor to allow a gulpin to slide around far faster than it had any right to. Wattson let out a laugh. Oh, this was why he loved being a Gym Leader. Seeing trainers work with their Pokémon was a true joy.

Danny had a marshtomp; he'd seen it be a terrific help in New Mauville. That meant he couldn't really use one of his magneton: none that he had on hand were both a good challenge and capable of doing something to the marshtomp. As much as he'd like to short-circuit the gulpin's poison, it'd short-circuit him more. He ran through some of his other options. Heliolisk's greatest advantage was his longevity, but that was negated against a marshtomp, and he was saving rotom for Max.

Ah, that Pokémon could work. "Now galvantula, show them what you can do!"

He waited for the boy – boys - to check their Pokédexes, but as soon as Watt gave the signal, he went on the offensive. "Electroweb, shut it down!"

He saw the gulpin roll left, but galvantula jerked his head left as well, and the string of web lashed like a whip, snapping against the poison-type's side.

Poisonous sludge splattered against the shields near Wattson's feet as a retaliation. That was closer than he would've liked, too: galvantula had barely got out of the way. A pink bubble followed it up, but galvantula didn't need any orders to pop that from a distance, sending a short burst of Signal Beam. Behind the Yawn, Wattson saw the gulpin roll back to the other side of the arena.

Danny was using the distance to his advantage. Galvantula was unerringly accurate, but most electric attacks lost power over longer distances. The Electroweb would just fall apart, and he couldn't slug it out from this distance. It'd take far too long, and gulpin would make full use of the defender's advantage at range. Clever. "Close in, then Thunderbolt!"

Protect. Wattson should've seen it coming. The snorunt and marshtomp both had it, and why wouldn't the gulpin. Not something you saw on most younger trainers, but the Protect had results. Hard to argue with them. "Try to get an Electroweb in!"

Electroweb met Sludge, and what remained of the attacks was easily dodged by both Pokémon. Wattson shook his head. Range really wasn't going to work. "Agility and Slash!" he shouted across the field. "Get in close!"

He was hoping to draw out another Protect, but the gulpin let galvantula move in close, its forelegs glowing and striking hard and fast. Wattson heard his opponent order something, but it was hard to hear what exactly. Then, the gas emerging from gulpin's mouth told him enough. "Finish it now!"

The shields thrummed with energy to contain the toxic gas, but galvantula was enveloped by the cloud now. Before long, he leapt back, landing on the halfway line before coughing.

Watt raised a flag towards Wattson, and fans immediately cleared out what was left of the gas from the arena, allowing Wattson to see his opponent again, who had one hand on his belt. "Come on, choose that marshtomp," Wattson muttered. He needed something galvantula could finish off fast, because that toxic gas was only going to cause more and more problems.

Then, Danny switched hands, taking a ball into his left hand before throwing it out, showing a pink Pokémon, a bit shorter than the Bug-type. Wattson didn't understand that. Why send out the whismur when there was a marshtomp available? It didn't make any sense! Unless Danny – or Max, but he looked surprised as well – had seen through the ruse. "This battle between galvantula and whismur decides the winner. Begin!"

At Watt's signal, both trainers ordered their Pokémon into action.

Wattson soon understood why Danny picked the whismur. He was keeping the long-ranged advantage, and he let the poisonous fumes that galvantula had breathed in do the work. Passive, but Wattson couldn't blame the lad at all. It reminded him of Cory and Roxanne: gain the advantage and just run with it. The whismur knew Protect, and waves of sound helped keep galvantula at bay. One of the Electrowebs hit, but that wasn't anywhere near enough; not when galvantula had to skitter away from the Supersonic that whismur sent his way.

He wouldn't be a Gym Leader without one last trick up his sleeve, though. "Give it your all, galvantula! Thunder!"

The Thunder met an Echoed Voice, but overpowered it after a short struggle. Unfortunately for Wattson, even that short struggle created a lot of leakage, as bolts of lightning sought the way of least resistance, into the arena floor. A sizeable shock ran through whismur, but it got up without too much of an issue, though Wattson wagered a second attack of that power would probably knock it out.

Too bad galvantula was spent, and Wattson returned him. Perhaps he had a bit more fight in him, but Danny wasn't going to lose now. Not after that great show. "Well done! The Dynamo Badge is yours!" They met in the middle of the field, and Wattson shook Danny's hand before crouching and giving the whismur a scratch. There was one question he did want answered. "Why the whismur? You have a marshtomp."

The boy opposite him smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "He's not good with speedy Bug-types."

"He loses nine in ten spars with ninjask," Max supplied, walking up from the side of the field. "Galvantula are a lot slower than ninjask, though."

"Everything is slower than ninjask." Out came the eye-roll that Wattson saw so often in his grandchildren. "Anyway, figured whismur was good enough, and she was." A flash of light heralded Danny returning whismur. "So, Max. Ya going to beat this one first try?"

Wattson knew he should've stuck around after the last Gym Leader meeting. Roxanne had managed to beat Max? Not the best run for the Gym Leader's son, then. Wattson'd heard Terry drew him, though the Ground-type Leader had freely admitted it had been a desperation move. "Definitely!"

"Well, I see you're all charged up! Let's have an electrifying battle!"

The battle started with the boys looking up a Pokémon. Wattson couldn't fault them: heliolisk only lived in Kalos, and were rare to boot. He'd exchanged the Egg for this one for one of his spare Electirizers, and the female heliolisk was now a good low-to-mid-tier Pokémon to use in battles, with some tricky moves up her sleeve. Max's grovyle would not find her easy prey.

"Begin!"

~~§~~§~~

A cyclone of purple energy lashed out at Max's baltoy as Wattson's rotom spun, releasing a powerful Hex, forcing the Clay Doll Pokémon to cease its levitation for an instant. Gravity did its work, and baltoy caught itself three feet lower, the Hex comfortably sailing over its head. "Great! Shadow Ball!"

Rotom barely managed to weave around baltoy's attack, and returned fire with the same attack, which prompted baltoy to call up a rock from underground to block it. The rock cracked audibly, but it didn't explode into debris. "Break the rock!"

A psychic spike shattered the rock, sending large parts onto the arena floor, but smaller parts shot up at the rotom in a scattershot formation. Most of them missed, hitting the floor or even the shields near Wattson, but Max saw a few impact before rotom turned incorporeal. It was getting slower.

He heard Wattson shout for another attack, another Hex, and quickly countered with his own order. The Hex flew at baltoy, but it ignored the attack, letting it splash upon itself, in order to grab the rotom psychically. Early on in the battle, the rotom had Uproared its way out, but this time, it couldn't do that before it met the ground. "Ancientpower!"

The rotom, woozy from being slammed into the ground, didn't have the time to exert the energy needed to turn incorporeal. Two rocks slammed into the rare Ghost-Electric hybrid, one after the other, and Max saw the rotom struggle to return to its levitation. "Come on..."

The rotom fell, and Watt ruled that baltoy had won, prompting a wide grin on Max's face. His seventh badge, and the first badge he won with more than one Pokémon left. Turned out that their work with Cosmic Power had been worth it. Magneton barely scratched baltoy despite knowing Tri Attack and Lock-On, and rotom did do more, but it wasn't enough. Max quietly thanked baltoy for an amazing battle and returned it.

"Well, you beat me first try," Wattson said as he held out his hand, having walked up to where Max was. The field hadn't taken too much damage this time, except for a couple of rocks and impacts. "I should have brought a Dark-type. Or Psych Up."

"Is there even a Dark and Electric Pokémon?" Danny asked.

"Haha!" Wattson boomed. "Not as far as I know, but we discover more Pokémon every day. There could be one! Anyway, Max, well done. You, too, get a Dynamo Badge, and it was well-earned indeed!"

They shook hands, and Danny delivered a congratulatory slap on Max's back. "Thanks. That heliolisk was tricky. Sand Veil? On an Electric-type?"

"Surprised you, didn't it?" Wattson's eyes were twinkling with mirth. "Not all Electric Pokémon are about shocking others. Just most of them." The trio shared a laugh. "What was your third Pokémon?"

Max shrugged. He hadn't made up his mind, even at the end. "Bagon or manectric."

"Manectric knows Odor Sleuth," Danny supplied, and his helpless grin caused Max to chuckle. Trust Danny to remember that intimately. "Bagon makes sense too. Rotom was getting kinda slow."

"You have a manectric?" Wattson seemed a bit surprised. "Can you send… him? Her? Out?"

"Sure." Out came manectric, who looked all ready to battle before noticing that she didn't need to do that. She sat down as Max gave her a few scratches, and Wattson started to walk around her. "She evolved against Roxanne a couple weeks ago."

"Good, strong legs, and the fur looks great," Wattson commented as he ran his hand through the fur. "Feels like static, but you probably haven't used her in a few days." He fiddled with his belt, and sent out a jolteon. "C'mon lass, just send some electricity to old jolteon here."

Max frowned in confusion as the canine Pokémon walked away a few steps before launching a low-powered, but continuous, wave of electricity at jolteon. "What's that for?"

"It's better for most Electric-type Pokémon to unload every so often. When current stays cooped up in a Pokémon for too long, it goes stale. Makes it less effective," Wattson explained. "It's not the most well-known fact, but you travelled with Ash for two years. How do you not know this?"

"Never came up," Max muttered. "Pikachu always had a target in…" Max trailed off, remembering Ash telling them about his first day in Hoenn, and the Team Rocket pl… "No, wait, that didn't count."

"Team Rocket?" Max nodded in response, and Wattson sighed. "They were way too persistent." Max couldn't agree more with that sentiment. "Anyway, just do it every three or four nights, and use that baltoy or marshtomp for safety. You'll get a healthier and stronger manectric out of it." The light of the attack faded, and the manectric walked back over to the three humans. "Same goes for magnemite, naturally."

"Right."

"So, boys, seven badges," Wattson said. "Where are you going for your last one? Anywhere but Petalburg?"

Max laughed heartily, and Danny grinned. "Yeah. Sounds right."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Max nodded, and he saw Danny do the same. "Go to Mead Town near Mt. Pyre, or to Kingship Island south of Slateport. Fight one of those Gyms."

"Grass and… Dragon, I think?" Danny ventured.

Wattson gave Danny an approving grin. "Correct. I think both of those Gyms will challenge you the most, and if you want to be the best..."

"Challenging tough trainers is good practice," Max finished. He'd heard that one before, from his Dad. "We'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask, boys. Now, is there anything you need help with?"

Danny shook his head, and Max made to shake it before remembering something that had bugged him. "How did you know about us in the mountains?"

The jovial Gym Leader's face turned serious. "Officially, I don't. Whoever wrecked that facility is unknown, and the police would like a word with any witnesses. Unofficially..." Wattson let a silence fall, and Max waited patiently. "Unofficially I know you and Ash were in that area, and I know Ash was inducted in the G-men. One and one is two."

"How do you know that?"

Wattson's smile reappeared. "Flannery told a few of us about her battle with you – very complimentary for both of you, by the way – and Ash stayed the night with some friends of mine." The Gym Leader then sighed, uncharacteristically. "Look, Max, Danny. It doesn't matter what you did there. If the G-men want something destroyed, there's usually a shockingly good reason for it. I trust them, more than most, but I don't need to know the details. A secret is weaker the more people know about it. I haven't told anyone about this."

"Thanks," Max said softly,. He wasn't sure what exactly he was thanking; either Wattson's discretion or his explanation. Or both. "I think we'll leave now."

Wattson forced a smile on his face. "Then goodbye, and I'll see you in Ever Grande. I'd be positively shocked if you didn't make it, ohohoh!"

Max grimaced, even if he had to admit the pun was so bad it was actually kind of good, forced or not. He said his goodbyes, as did Danny, and they took the lift to the entrance. Max studied his badge all the way up. Having seven badges felt good, and he really didn't want to think much about what they'd just heard.

It was only when he tried to get out of the lift – bumping into something in the process – that he realised he hadn't returned manectric. Oh well, it was a beautiful day, and manectric liked walking with them.

They walked out into the late afternoon sunshine, and Max turned to Danny. "Where to?"

"Ice cream to celebrate?" Danny offered, pointing at an ice cream parlour down the street. "I remember that place from last year's holiday. It's got some amazing stuff." He paused, stopping Max for a second. "Also want to talk about other stuff."

Ice cream was always good, and Max had a decent idea what Danny wanted to talk about. They walked over to the parlour, Max returning manectric at the threshold. Pokémon weren't allowed in, which was probably why he hadn't been here before, if it had even been here when they came through Mauville.

Surprisingly, it was pretty quiet, and they only had to wait for a boy a few years younger than they were. "The two of you look like you just beat Wattson," said a red-haired man behind the counter, grinning as they walked up. "Am I right or am I right?"

"Yep." Max took his Dynamo Badge from his pocket. His badge case was in the Pokémon Center, so his pocket would have to do.

"Let me guess…" The man looked them over, humming exaggeratedly. "Sixth badge."

"Seventh," Max, straight-forward, and Danny, sing-song, chorused.

The man's face fell, and Max was reminded of Danny's Dad in the over the top expressions. "And I thought I was already estimating highly. Oh well, I'll just have to give you a discount. What can I get you? Don't hold back, my ice cream is the best in Mauville!"

Both of them ordered a sundae – classic for Max, and one with chocolate sauce for Danny – and sat down at one of the tables in the parlour. Danny dove into his sundae immediately, while Max tried a small bite at first – and found that it was good. He ate, until he felt the first signs of brain freeze, about a quarter into the sundae, and saw Danny still eating. "Good ice cream."

"Told ya." Danny stuck his spoon into the half-eaten sundae. "So… Yesterday… Why do you want me to take your Dawn Stone?"

"I told you. It's useless for me."

"But you could still catch a ralts," Danny said. "It's not like they're only on Izabe. Maybe we'll find a ralts Egg, like bagon's."

Max shifted uncomfortably on the bench. "About that…" Danny looked at him weirdly. "I was offered a ralts Egg yesterday."

That seemed to freeze Danny's brain, and it took his friend four tries to say something. "Wha… Why didn't you take it?" He pushed his sundae aside. "Did ralts's mother just take that Egg with her from Izabe? I thought Pokémon were protective of their Eggs. Uncle complains about that a ton."

"She didn't. I went to Izabe." Hadn't he told Danny that? He thought back to lunch, the day before. He'd told Danny he'd gone out, but not the location. He lowered his voice. "Talked about Ash's theory that there's another machine, played with a couple of ralts, then got offered an Egg."

"Which. You. Turned. Down." Danny punctuated each word with the tap of a finger, looking like he still couldn't believe it. "Why did you do that?"

"It would be a ralts, but not my ralts," Max echoed his words of the day before. "Yes, I'm an idiot," he added quickly.

Danny rolled his eyes when Max pre-empted him. "Yes you are." He shook his head from side to side, as if to clear his thoughts. "Not sure I understand you, but your journey, your Pokémon."

Max smiled, and went back to his sundae, but when he didn't hear a second spoon clinking against the glass, he looked back up. Danny was staring at Max, the look on his face suggesting he was trying to figure something out. "What is it?"

"Was that why you were so… happy? The playing with ralts?"

"Kind of?" He ate a spoonful of sundae as he thought about his next words. "It was a big part, but the entire clearing was just… Indescribable, and ralts's mother also helped me with a few things." He shook his head fondly. "It was amazing."

"I'll say. I was all prepared for mopey Max, and I got my best friend," Danny said, grabbing his spoon again. "I know, I know, you had reason to be mopey."

"Doesn't mean you like it," Max finished.

"Exactly!" They shared a quick laugh at knowing each other so well, before both returned to their sundaes.

For the next few minutes, the table was silent except for the sounds of two pre-teens eating ice cream. When Danny finished – with Max still scooping out the bottom of his glass – he took his Pokénav. "So… Mead Town is… there, and Kingship is… there." He slid the Pokénav across the table. "Go check."

Max did so as he finished his own sundae. "Wow, Kingship's in the middle of nowhere. No wonder we skipped that." It was a ways off from the regular route 109, located in the ocean about seventy or eighty miles south-east of Slateport, and at least forty miles off the Abandoned Ship Max had vague memories of visiting. "And Mead Town is… Ah, off route 123."

"I kinda want to go to Mead Town, just to see Mt. Pyre."

"We already did that in April," Max retorted.

"From miles and miles away, through binoculars!" Danny countered, and Max had to agree with that. "Not the same." He sighed. "I suppose you don't want to go to Mt. Pyre. Because ralts and bad memories and stuff."

"You already lost a Pokémon?" the man who'd served them interjected as he scooped in, lifting the glasses from the table. "How?"

"Poachers," was Max's one word answer. Not completely true, but explaining all of it wasn't the best idea.

"Ah." The man cast a look around, and when he didn't see anyone waiting, he placed the glasses on the table and pulled up a chair. "You should go there. Just for closure, if nothing else. It'll help you get over it."

"But you don't—"

"I do," said the man, gently but firmly interrupting Max. "When I was fourteen, I was caught in an avalanche in Kanto's Rock Tunnel. I got out, but my butterfree..." He moved a finger across his throat, not that it was really needed. "Bugs and rocks don't mix, let's just say that. Anyway, I go there every other year, just to remember her, and my family's old houndoom." A smile came over the owner's face. "Great old lump of Pokémon. Canine Pokémon are great like that, always playful and loyal. Like that manectric."

"Yeah, they are," Danny said, and Max nodded in agreement. He hadn't ever met a canine Pokémon who wasn't like that. "It's a mountain, right? Can you even climb Mt. Pyre?"

"There's tons of Ghosts on there, people say." The proprietor shrugged. "Probably a 'do it at your own risk' thing." A jingle announced people entering, and he rose to his feet, taking both empty glasses in hand in one fluid motion. "Think about it, okay?" he said, before walking off and serving the group of four that had just entered.

For their part, Max and Danny left, both of them giving the owner a friendly wave when he was looking, and out they went, onto the paved Mauville streets, towards the Center. Manectric bounded around them, still energetic as anything, and Max couldn't help but grin at her antics. "Silly girl."

"Almost feels like she heard what we were talking about."

"Yeah."

"So. Mead or Kingship?"

Max shrugged. "Don't care. Let's go to Mead. See something of Hoenn."

"And Mt. Pyre?"

Max grimaced. "Ask me when we get there."

~~§~~§~~

Drake watched dispassionately as his altaria rolled over Ash's speedy swellow. A close miss, but still a miss. "Cotton Guard."

The altaria let out a shrill cry, fluffing up and manipulating the cotton around his lower body and wings so that it protected the entirety of his body now, with only the head unprotected. Defences now taken care of, Drake glanced overhead – the swellow was still far off – and whistled through his teeth, telling his altaria to move in closer. At this range, nothing would hit.

Then, he saw his human opponent put his hands over his ears, and Drake hastily followed suit. He'd learnt to track those gestures – a necessity when there were no shielding Pokémon available – early on during Ash's training. Ash's Pokémon frequently got loud and flashy, and Drake also had a good idea of what was coming in the first place. "Light Screen!"

The Boomburst tore through the sky, distorting a cone of air, centred on the swellow's beak. It wasn't a new attack; one of Drake's noiverns had helped swellow to learn it, but the swellow moving while using it was new. As was the blue glow surrounding the swellow. Drake nodded. A combination attack with two powerful moves. Excellent.

The powerful attack cut right through the Light Screen without being hindered a lot, but the cotton, though a good amount of it was blown away or out of position, stayed intact enough to muffle the impact of swellow's Brave Bird. Altaria, and swellow too, dropped several dozen feet as they tried to regain control over their flight, but when they did, swellow had bits and pieces of cotton stuck to his feathers and beak.

Drake signalled for a time-out, and both he and Ash called for their Pokémon to come down. Up close, the Dragon Master saw that his altaria was beat up, probably barely able to fight after the extended aerial dogfight with a faster opponent and the last move. He looked over at Ash, who was removing all the cotton from his flyer. "An impressive showing, Ash. Against any other Pokémon, this would have been a knock-out."

Ash finished his job, and swellow gave a tired, but grateful, chirp. "Why didn't the Boomburst remove Cotton Guard fully? I thought moving while using Boomburst would do that."

"Physics, Ash. Again." Indeed, it was the second time Ash had tried to use Boomburst to disrupt Cotton Guard. The first had been ineffective, but this had been close to full success. "The waves of sound are closer together due to the Doppler effect, but they are still harmonious, and thus predictable. That is why the Cotton Guard held." Barely.

"So close," Ash lamented. "Your altaria is tough."

Drake let out a booming laugh. "My boy, the only reason Cotton Guard held is because the Boomburst started just far enough away that altaria could throw up a Light Screen. Even so, it disrupted it to the point of your swellow nearly taking altaria out." The Elite Four trainer saw the swellow sit up a little straighter at that. "Not two months ago, altaria trounced swellow. Handily. You've come a long way with him."

"So that means..."

Drake smiled, revelling in the hopeful look on his protégé's face. "It's time to start the full battle training." A pause fell as Ash whooped in joy. "I have full faith that you'll be able to give me a good run for my money. After all, your strength lies in the heat of battle, and not the training."

Swellow and altaria returned to their Pokéballs, and Ash made to step on the plank to Drake's boat when the older man whistled once, catching the teen's attention. "Yeah?"

"Try incorporating more movement than just a straight line into that Boomburst trick. It adds unpredictability for your opponent."

~~§~~§~~

There was a knock on the door, and Professor Birch looked up to see his assistant standing in the doorway. "Professor? Call for you."

"Just a moment." Birch cast a sceptical eye over the initial sketch of the linoone burrow, and found it good enough for now. "Can you put it through?"

One affirmative answer and a minute later, Birch found himself facing the elder of the Maple siblings. They shared some small talk – most of it about May's Pokémon currently in residence: her skitty and her vaporeon – before May broached a new subject. "Professor? I saw the interview with Roxanne today. Is it true?"

"Is what true?" the Professor replied. "She made a few claims; you'll have to be more specific."

"That Ghosts, Psychics, and Dark-types cause all those injuries?"May clarified.

"That's undeniably true. The exact number fluctuates, but it's been between 35 % and 40 % of the total for the last five years." Birch grinned guilelessly. "I asked for the data Roxanne had used. Her facts are accurate."

The girl sitting in front of the videophone in a Pokémon Center somewhere looked uncertain. "Are they… dangerous?"

"Nearly all Pokémon are dangerous, May. You know that." When he saw May about to protest, Birch spoke up again, even as his right hand opened a drawer near his knee. "Wild or caught, blaziken can still burn you to a crisp, or vaporeon can freeze you solid."

"They'd never do that!"

Birch nodded in agreement. "They wouldn't. But they can." He pulled out a thin binder from the drawer. "But deliberate injuries are very, very, rare. Most injuries inflicted by Pokémon are reported as accidents." He opened the binder, quickly finding the right column. "One in four hundred and seventy injuries are reported as deliberate, and a good number of those are justifiable by trainers mistreating their Pokémon."

"Even for..."

"Even for them," Birch confirmed as he put the binder away again. Outside, he heard the patter of some four-legged Pokémon. Probably mightyena. "Why the questions? It's not like you."

May smiled. "It's more something Max'd want to know, right?" she said, and the senior Hoenn Professor couldn't find it in him to disagree. "I was offered a trade today. Munchlax for a Unovan Pokémon. Gotharita?"

"Gothorita," Birch corrected instantly. He'd had to spell that one too many times. "Psychic type, mostly nocturnal, lives primarily in forested areas. Rare, but most Psychic-types are rare. Good with illusions. It'd be a great Contest Pokémon."

"But what if I get injured while training it?"

"That's the risk you run as a trainer." Then, realising his words were harsh, Birch added, "But if you're not sure, then you shouldn't do it."

"That's what Drew said."

It took Birch a moment to realise who she was referring to. "Well, he seems to have a good head on his shoulders." He paused for a bit, trying to put what he wanted to say into words. "Not every trainer likes every kind of Pokémon equally, May. Sometimes, they like certain types of Pokémon."

"Like Dad?"

"Your father is a Normal-type Gym Leader. It'd be strange if he didn't like them." Not to mention practically impossible, considering Gym Leaders were selected in part due to how well they worked with their respective type. "But it can also be the opposite. You can just not like some types, and that's perfectly fine."

"Really?"

"Really. I know for a fact that at least one Kanto Gym Leader does not like Bug Pokémon, and you know her too."

May's eyes widened, not really in surprise. Realisation, Birch decided. "Of course. Misty!"

The Professor nodded. "Exactly." They shared a smile, before Birch noticed the time in the corner of the screen. Thirty minutes until someone was coming over. "Look, May. Training Psychic-types, and Dark, and Ghost-types to a lesser extent, isn't for everyone. There are hordes of trainers who don't have any of them. They are – and Roxanne is definitely right about this – among the harder Pokémon to train. Like Dragons." Hm, perhaps the number of injuries and the general difficulty of training an average Pokémon of a certain type were correlated. Something to check. "And if you're even a tiny bit unsure, don't do the trade. I know you joke about munchlax eating you dry, but I also know you care deeply for him."

That caused May to smile wistfully. "Yeah… Thanks Professor. You helped me a lot!"

"That's what I'm for. Now, do you want some other Pokémon?"

"Sure. Can you go get my vaporeon?"

"Give me five minutes."

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

"Why the Dark-type? I thought they were wicked cool when I was thirteen. That hasn't changed. Yeah, yeah, bad reputation because evil teams like to use them. Do I really need to point at Team Magma and Aqua? It's not the Pokémon's type that's important, it's how they're used. The Dark is good at sneaky offensives, quick knockouts, hiding, disrupting the opponent. Every battle is a dance, and your goal is to make the opponent stumble over their own feet. Then, you pounce."

– Sidney of the Hoenn Elite Four

Author's Note: And that is seven, and apparently, my bunch of Gym Leaders are incorrigible gossips. Then again, it's the son of one of their colleagues, and Gym Leader kids are probably quite rare as well, given that there's only 18 (or 19 because Tate & Liza) Leaders at a time.