Excalibur – Charcadett (f)
Cú – Hisuian Growlithe (m)
Fatalis – Charmander (m)
Cookie – Metapod (f)

Chapter 12:

Arthur had laughed long and hard at his friends' reactions when he'd told him they were ranked equally high, even more so when the message he'd sent to Admin Archer about taking the trio with him had been approved. They'd been dumbfounded, but when they'd caught themselves, they'd called for a celebration. So, after a day of shopping for what they needed for the journey, and stopping Jessie to blow all the trio's money, they went out to eat once more before they left Viridian City the morning after.

"Are you sure you want to take the short route through the forest, Art?" James asked as he studied the map of Viridian Forest that was put up at its entrance.

"Yep, I don't see any reason to explore it right now. I've got Cookie and I doubt I'll find anything special without wasting a lot of time in there. I do have a tight schedule after all." Arthur responded and held up his Metapod in his arms in demonstration. "Metapod" she hummed grouchily. Poor Cookie was still annoyed by her lack of movement, but Arthur had no doubt that she wouldn't stay like that for long. Collecting all eight badges in ones first year was considered as out of the norm, bordering on a prodigious level depending on how far one could make it at the end of the year league tournament.

That's what the Nurse Joy in Viridian had told him when he'd asked how far fresh trainers make it in their first year. Whether that meant that Ash and Gary would be, things would be easier in the future, or something else entirely remained to be seen. This piece of information had given him some pause. While he'd have loved to see more of the region and world, he'd have to put training up his team as his number one priority. His goal of becoming Champion hadn't changed, but before he could even try challenging Lance, he'd have to make it through the tournament first. And with the preliminary rounds and possible downtimes for pokemon after taxing battles, he'd need more than just a team of six …

"The earlier we get back to civilization the better." Jessie added with Meowth nodding along beside her, pulling Arthur out of his thoughts. After those two had spend two hours to get ready for the day, Arthur knew the reasoning for that well enough. Getting her hair the way she wore it now must take Jessie quite some time every day. And while he knew that this particular hairstyle was so she and James could form an 'R' when they posed, he liked her previous style more. "We could try and catch some pokemon for the boss though." Meowth added.

"As long as you don't get lost in the forest." Arthur chuckled and walked over to the shortest path through the forest. "But I can't really train my Fire types in here with a good conscience." While he had faith in his pokemon, there was no need to tempt fate. Especially without a Water type nearby. During the next two to three days, it'd take to get through the forest on this route, he'd planned to fully evolve his sweets-loving bug and teach Fatalis a move that would help in the first gym. Depending on how long that'd take, they could squeeze in some more Fire type related training once they reached Pewter City.

To be able to move quickly and hopefully uninterrupted through the forest, he released his trusty puppy out of his ball. "Cú you're up!" The Growlithe shook briefly before he bumped everyone in a greeting, much to Meowth's dismay. They'd introduced their pokemon to one another at dinner the day before, and Meowth seemed to have some trouble with both the puppy and Arthur's ace. When asked, he said that Cú was too cuddly and Excalibur simply ignored him. The indifferent disposition of his starter was nothing new to Arthur, but he knew he didn't have to worry.

After he's done greeting everybody, Cú waddled back to his trainer with grin on his face and tongue flapping out before he led the way. "Hey Cookie, I got an idea for your training while you're like this." Arthur said and smiled when he saw her eyes focus on him. "I'd like you to train your awareness, since you'll gain some psychic powers once you evolve. So, I want you to try and find out when other pokemon are nearby and let me know. And in case you notice berries or fruits nearby, try and get them with your String Shot; you're proficient with it after all." She looked at him for a few moments and hummed in what sounded like acceptance, then her eyes wandered over their surroundings.

"Are Metapod and Kakuna completely incapable of moving until they evolve?" Jessie asked from the side, causing Arthur to jump in surprise.

"No, but it takes a lot of effort." He replied. "While Kakuna don't need to move to defend themselves since they know Poison Sting, both they and Metapod are capable of either using Tackle or move around via the strings they can shoot. Though I have never seen the later, I believe a pokemon like Cookie could manage."

"But since they usually are part of a swarm, they don't need to." James added from the other side, but his eyes were more focused on the Growlithe trotting in front of them.

"Speaking about swarms; how about we don't trigger a nest of Beedrill this time around?" Meowth chuckled.

Their first day through the forest was uneventful, save for a curious Weedle that had gotten scared off by an overeager Cú, as well as a hungry Pidgey that tried to swoop in on the motionless Cookie. She'd clipped its wings with a spot-on String Shot and that was that. With the sun slowly setting, they'd decided to set up camp.

Arthur took out his cooking supplies and handed Jessie a pot to fill with water, while James unpacked their tents. Jessie and James had declined when Arthur had asked them if they needed help with their luggage, since his back was outfitted with the same technology as pokeballs and had enough room left. They'd told him that as his seniors, a word Jessie was not happy about using, it should be the other way around and it was more than enough that he'd taken it upon himself to take care of their food. He was about to ask James if he needed any help with the tents, but when he turned around, they were already set up.

"H-how?" he asked. He'd only just laid out everything he needed, and James had put up two tents by himself in the meantime.

"Hm? Oh, putting a tent together doesn't take long." James replied simply, then he added "If you're the only one doing it for years, that is …"

Arthur laughed awkwardly at that. James had always been the more reserved of them, which quickly resulted in him getting pushed around by Jessie. It seemed like that hadn't changed over the past few years. "Well, thanks for doing so. It'd have probably taken me forever."

"Don't worry about it." James waved him off with a smile. "Need any help?"

"Prepping the food won't be an issue, but we still need some firewood. If you want, you can gather some, but take Cú with you if you do. He needs some let-out for all that energy of his." Arthur replied and whistled. His trusty puppy came to his side immediately.

"Leave it to me!" James announced proudly and left with Cú in tow.

Arthur turned back to the food and began peeling the veggies. What was the best way to teach his Charmander Metal Claw? While he could just wait until he learned it by experience, the faster he learned the better. None of his pokemon knew any Steel type moves, however. When he caught Meowth taking and dicing up one of the berries Cookie had gotten them earlier in a flash, an idea came to his mind.

"Hey, Meowth. You're pretty good with your claws, right?"

"Hm?" Meowth responded with a mouthful of berry. "Of course, they don't call me the 'Master of Claws' for nothing! Why?"

Arthur chuckled at Meowth boisterous antics. "Do you think it would be a good exercise for Fatalis to try and dice up the food like you just did?" While not really a hard thing to do, Arthur thought it could help his pokemon with controlling how much power he'd put into his strikes. Maybe that control would help in achieving the new form of claw-attack, which is what he explained to Meowth.

The pokemon finished up his berry and held his chin. "I guess it could, I don't really know how moves of other types work or how to learn one. But the control and experience from using one's claws can only be beneficial if you ask me."

"Well, if the master says it, it has to be true." Arthur released Fatalis and pointed at the peeled veggie he was holding. "Hey buddy! Since we're in the forest and can't work on your Fire moves, I thought we should work on your claws some more. It'll not only come in handy for our first Gym Battle, but also in the future."

His Charmander looked at him and then down at his own claws, flexing them a bit. "Char?"

Arthur placed a large plate on the ground. "I know you want your fire to be as powerful as the others, and I promise we'll get back to it once we're out of the forest." He reassured. "But as I said, this is a good way of training for now and will allow you to do something neither of your seniors can do." That got Fatalis attention, so much so that he pumped his little arms in motivation.

"Char, Charmander Char!" he said, and it sounded vaguely like 'I'll show them what I can do!' to Arthur.

"Glad to see you approve, Fatalis." Arthur said and rubbed his pokemons head. "Now, I'll throw the peeled veggies in your direction and you'll try to dice them up with your Scratch, alright?"

Fatalis nodded and readied himself, so Arthur threw the first potato and … it exploded on impact against the Scratch attack, splattering on the floor.

"Char?!"

"Don't worry, buddy, we got some more." Arthur withheld a chuckle and threw another one. This time it didn't explode, but instead it stuck to Fatalis's claws with them only being halfway through. "Good thinking with adjusting your power. Now it's just a matter of finding the right amount of it."

"Your posture's wrong too." Meowth added and stood beside Fatalis. "Here let me show you." He waved Arthur to throw another one, and he did. With one swift swing of his claws, a handful of potato-cubes fell onto the plate.

"Char … Char!"

"Exactly, you'll have it easier swinging like that."

Arthur watched the two's exchange some more, before he asked Meowth if he could help train his pokemon. He had to finish up the rest before Jessie returned with the water, and there was still a bit of work to do.

"Depends, what do I get in return?" Meowth asked with a smirk. "If you want the master to train a new student, it won't come cheap."

"Hmm …" Arthur hummed in thought. "How about I set aside a fresh pokeblock and berry dessert for you?"

"Deal!"

Jessie returned with Ekans in tow, who was helping her carry back the pot full of water. What she saw made her laugh out loudly enough to grab the attention of everyone else. Meowth was busy throwing vegetables at Arty's Charmander Fa … whatever he named it, while James played fetch with the Growlithe. Arty merely looked over everything he had set up on a foldable table, from the ingredients to the cutlery for later.

"I'm gone for what, fifteen minutes and Arty already has you wrapped around his finger?" She barked and put the pot over the fire they'd made while she had been gone.

"We have to do something while waiting for your lazy bum to get back." James teased with a sly smile.

"What was that?!" Jessie got right up in his face, much to Meowths amusement.

"Come on James, you know she's just mad that she's not the one pushing us around as always." He added, earning himself a noogie in return.

"Oh, come here you little-" Jessie continued but was interrupted by the loud banging of cutlery.

"Alright, that's enough you three." Arty intervened with a tone that sounded way more authoritative than back in the academy. Was it because his voice had gotten deeper? "Thanks for getting the water, Jessie. But since we'll have to wait until its boiling and everything's finished, I think this is a good time to some training in for you two."

She grimaced. Hadn't she just brought over that heavy pot? Sure, she had help from Ekans, but apparently so did Arty with dicing up the food. "Really? Can't we just relax and do it after dinner?"

"After dinner you'll be too full and want to train even less." Arty stated flatly. He was right about that, but that didn't mean she'd accept it. "No training, no desserts." He added with finality.

She didn't know he had bought any desserts, or could make some himself for that matter. And while it sounded more appealing like that, she still didn't want to do anything. They'd walked all day, had to camp on the hard ground – yeah, they had tents but they weren't comfy at all – and she had to carry that stupid pot for forever! No, she wouldn't take this lying down.

"But Arty~" she purred as she flung herself around his neck from behind, her head resting on his shoulder. "We've been travelling all day! Surely, we can still do that tomorrow." After how he'd reacted back in the restaurant, she knew that she could get her way like this. Despite what he'd told them about his friends back on Cinnabar and the girls that had been around him – just as she'd expected –, he was delightfully flustered when she got close to him. Of course, she'd use that to her own advantage, but it was for his best too. After all, she wouldn't want him to be pushed around by other women. He had such high aspirations; he couldn't afford that. The only one allowed to do that was herself.

Which was why she was surprised when he held his ground. "No. After your showing in Viridian, both of you are in dire need of training. You can take a break and join later, but you and your pokemon will train." He all but ordered as he looked in her eyes.

She held his stare before she pushed herself off him with a loud sigh. "Alright, but that dessert better be something." When she walked past him, she could hear him let out a sigh of relief, and a look over her shoulder let her see a faint blush on his face. 'So, he just managed to push through this time, interesting.' Jessie thought, wondering if their performance had annoyed Arty that much. Maybe she'd just have to go harder next time, but just because she'd agreed to train didn't mean she'd have to give it her all. She was tired after all.

After he'd waved over his Growlithe with the funny name, he ordered James to release his Koffing as well. "We'll start with something simple since we don't have that much time. I want you to try and have your pokemon catch Cú while he runs away from them. You're allowed to use moves and teamwork, but I encourage trying to do it by yourselves. While the actual catching is done by your partners, try to come up with ideas and help them out with your commands and ideas as much as possible."

Oh, so she could actually get away with doing next to nothing? Well, that made things a lot easier. "Alright, Ekans. You heard him; lets catch that puppy!" Her partner hissed approvingly in response, just like how James' Koffing coughed before it engaged. Meowth was noticeably absent from the chase, however. "Hey Meowth, shouldn't you join in too? It's not like you're any better than us in a battle!" She shouted and sat down on a nearby tree stump.

"Me? No, you guys are the ones who need training. I'm the brains of this team, remember?" he responded with a smirk that made her want to throw something at him.

'The brains my ass. You just don't want to get your hands dirty like always.' She thought and pushed her hair over her shoulder. It had already gotten dirty and a bit loose. How she'd get through the rest of the forest without a shower, she had no idea. She watched their pokemon chase around for a bit, with James being all-in on the training, unlike her, before she looked over to Arty and Meowth as she relaxed. The later was busy talking to Arty's Charmander about something involving their claws, which she found funny because he only ever used them to eat or to scratch her and James.

Arty on the other hand sat near the pot and scribbled into his notebook while checking in on their meal every once in a while. On their way through the forest, he'd been doing something all the time. If he wasn't talking with them, he was either talking to his pokemon or making notes. She wasn't a normal trainer like him by any means, so she had no idea if all that was normal or just how he did his thing. But what she did know was that there was a lot of pressure put on him, both by the boss and by himself, which came with his unique position in Team Rocket. It was probably because he'd just started on his journey and would calm down in the future. With how he'd need to travel the whole region, fight, train, and catch new pokemon, he surely had a lot of plans to make, just like how he'd planned their lessons. She just hoped that he wouldn't overdo it.

After training and dinner was done, the group relaxed together. Neither Ekans nor Koffing were able to catch Cú, and it became apparent that they were lacking in the stamina department. Arthur had told the others that they'd work on that first, so they had a basis for everything after that. With his not-so-little puppy now finally exhausted, Arthur took it upon himself to brush his fur. It had gotten dirty after walking and running through the forest all day.

"Your fur is so heavy, but somehow there still gets so much dirt stuck in it …" he murmured as he got to his pokemons underbelly. Cú promptly got on his back, luckily staying on the blanket he'd laid down earlier, and barked happily.

To their side, Arthurs other pokemon sat on the same blanket, where Fatalis animatedly talked about something, most likely his training. Excalibur, being the stoic pokemon she was, simply listened and nodded, and only gave short answers when asked a question by the eager lizard. Cookie was already dozing off after she'd been on guard the whole day. Feeding her had been … interesting. Since she obviously couldn't eat normally, and didn't need much according to the pokedex, Arthur had opted to squeeze some berry juice which she could actually drink through thin slits in her cocoon. Like with the sweet she's named after, she'd been happy about its taste, which prompted him to write down that clear preference for the food he'd get her in Pewter. His other pokemon preferred hot food, so he'd have to get some variety.

Jessie, James, and Meowth had been more than satisfied with their meal and their desserts. While he hadn't planned on making desserts, perhaps it would be a good motivator for training going forward. He'd gotten lucky that Cookie grabbed him some berries on their travel, but those were all used up now. Cú yapped and rolled out of his lap when the brushing stopped, before he joined his fellow Fire types, so Arthur cleaned up the brush. He noticed Meowth looking over at him, or more precisely the brush. It surprised him, but Meowth was a cat after all, and seeing another pokemon getting brushed might've prompted the desire to be brushed as well.

So, he waved Meowth over and clapped his leg. "Hey, Meowth, if you want some brushing come on over!"

When he came over, he crossed his arms. "I can do it myself; you know. It's enough if you lend me the brush."

"Oh, right …" Arthur admitted and looked down. Had he done something wrong by offering that? Meowth was more adept at tacking care of himself, after all. "I just thought you might enjoy not having to do it yourself. You know, as a 'thank you' for helping Fatalis train." He really wanted to, since Meowth's fur looked so soft and silky, completely different from his own pokemon.

"You got a point there. It has been a while since someone else has done it for me …" Meowth admitted thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. He looked at Arthur before he relented. "I guess it won't hurt to get someone else to do it occasionally. But if you want to do that again in the future, I want my own brush!" He added the later part with more energy, which made Arthur chuckle at the pokemons energy.

"Then make yourself comfortable."

Meowth got on all fours, the first time he'd seen this since they met, and pawed around on his legs until he found a position he was comfortable laying down in. From there one, Arthur brushed him head to toe and back, delighted with the purring he got in response. A few minutes into it, Jessie and James came over, looking in awe at how Meowth behaved so atypically.

Jessie broke the delightful silence with a question. "So, how are we going to split the tents?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked in response, looking up but not stopping brushing Meowth.

"Well, usually we all bundle up in the same tent, which can get a bit … cramped. But now we could split up, if you're willing to share." Meowth answered from below.

"Yeah, maybe then Jessie's snoring won't be that loud-" James added only to get hit for it.

"I don't snore!"

Arthur shrugged. "I don't mind, but if you'd told me beforehand, I would've gotten a bigger tent. I'm used to cuddling with Cú, other than that I'm open for anything." Who needed a heater if one had a warm puppy after all.

"I'm out then." Meowth called.

"How about cuddling with me instead?" Jessie teased.

"Never mind, James, we'll share!" Arthur exclaimed, much to the amusement of Meowth and Jessie.

James took the opportunity presented to him eagerly. "Sure, better than snoring or getting clawed at in the middle of the night."

""Hey!""

After packing up everything else, the two groups withdrew into their respective tents. James and Art laid down, separated by a sleepy Growlithe, and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"It's good to have you back around, Art. Arceus knows those two would drive me crazy if it weren't for you." James began, his arms crossed under his head. "Maybe this journey will even help me find something I really want to do."

Art turned towards and put an arm around his pokemon. "I thought you were happy working for Team Rocket?"

"I am, but … I don't know." He replied.

"Not feeling all that fulfilled?"

"No … but its what keeps me afloat. It's an escape for me, you know."

"From what, being a rich kid?" Arthur joked.

He was surprised, he didn't remember telling him about his past. It was probably just a lucky guess; Art had a habit of doing that and he didn't think Jessie nor Meowth would've told on him like that. Even if the way Art said it sounded like he knew …

"Yes, actually. Having your life planned from start to finish isn't great, even if it comes with a lot of comfort." James laughed in response. "Maybe that's why I don't know what to do with myself."

"Sounds rough buddy. I have no idea how things must've been for you before you joined Team Rocket, but a 'planned out future' is what would've awaited me as well." Art responded.

That sounded new, so he asked. "What do you mean?"

"I come from Orre. And that region is anything but nice; a big desert, next to no pokemon, and crime running rampant. Not much of a future, if you ask me." Art explained, though seemingly uncomfortable talking about it. "But back to you; you're good with your hands and stuff. Is there anything you're especially interested in?"

"You mean other than my bottle cap collection? Not really." James couldn't help but laugh again. "I could try out some stuff, but with our measly budget …"

"You know what gives you a lot of money?"

"What?"

"Pokemon battles."

James groaned, withholding a laugh. He knew where this was going. "I'm not a great battler, Art."

"Then why not try change that? Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. In any case, it's a chance to experience more, even if you just use the money you won to try something else."

"Can't argue with that now, can I?" He couldn't refute that. "Would you be willing to coach me a little?"

"Of course, that's what friends are there for."

Back again with a new chapter! This time; more different POVs, hoped you enjoyed it! I've got some things planned for the TR trio in the future, so I'm laying down some groundwork for that now. What it'll be, we'll have to see.

As always, thank you for reading and reviewing and I hope to see you next time ~