Surmount

by HDK315

Although they travel down a long, merciless road that has overwhelmed all but the very strongest to eventually throw in the towel, they do so with unrivaled resolve and convictions. This is the story of Ash Ketchum and his beloved family of Pokemon, and how they became the greatest of all time. Cover by Atenburgh.

26. Family

Ash wasn't a stranger to the road anymore, having come and gone from several cities over the past two months, but something about leaving Celadon felt different. He had spent more time in Pewter and Cerulean, and Saffron was of a similar scope to the rainbow city, so had a happy medium been met? As the distance between them and the metropolis grew, the sounds of the urban city had been replaced with the calm tranquility of the outside road ahead; the skyscraper-filled surroundings replaced with the simplicity of the path ahead, with little more than grass and some trees and bushes to show for it. Though the transition was a peaceful one, he had felt the effects a good deal more than expected. On his shoulder, Eevee had settled into a relaxed state, gaze casually observing the surrounding atmosphere as she clung to her trainer. Walking beside their respective trainers, Valiant and Ivysaur reflected a similar mood.

The group had enjoyed a comfortable silence for a decent while upon exiting the metropolis, but Janine eventually felt the need to break it to address a topic on both trainers' minds:

"Depending on our pace, Saffron is only one or two days away from us." she turned her head in Ash's direction. "Probably only two days if we walk, but we might get there in less than a day if we use our bikes and only focus on traveling. What were you planning?"

He nodded at her assessment. The distance between Kanto's two biggest cities was miniscule at best. The prospect of being able to go from one city to another without a single night of not being able to sleep in a bed was desirable, but…

"If it's alright with you, I was planning to take it a bit more slowly." he started. "My team and I aren't ready for Sabrina yet anyway, so we're gonna have to continue training even once we get there regardless. At the very least, I was hoping to get the routines started on the road."

She nodded in acceptance. "I had a similar opinion. We won't have nearly as much time to train between cities as we normally do, but there's no use rushing." Raising her wrist, her eyes found themselves on her watch as she continued. Do you want to keep this up for a few more hours before setting up? I was thinking we could introduce our teams to one another over lunch, do our training for the day after the food settles, and hopefully get another hour or two of walking in before setting up camp for the night."

Ash grinned at her. "That sounds good."

It was finally starting to sink in that he was traveling with another human again. He had obviously known it, but the overall feeling of sharing the road ahead with another person was beginning to come back. He had missed it since he and Misty split up.

With the silence broken, he oddly felt himself craving conversation. When Janine didn't say anything else for the next few moments, he added, "Is your team getting started on anything new? For training, I mean."

Jaine's lips curved up a bit. "Now that Suzie's given me help with Toxtricity, I'm going to get him going in full. We've tested a few moves out while in the city, so a full commitment is the next step. He… he's strong, but he hasn't really been able to develop his style properly yet." she bit her lip. "Because I didn't know what direction to take him in."

Noting the guilt in her voice, Ash looked at her sympathetically. "It wasn't your fault. You said Indigo's database barely had anything on his species, right? There was nothing you could do about that."

A light chuckle. "Don't worry, I know. I just wish we hadn't needed to get over that hurdle. I'm still the trainer, no matter the excuse." The mild solemness subsided. "I need to give Skrelp additional attention, too. She's the newest member of my group and needs the most work. She doesn't have as much in her arsenal yet. For the rest, they're just working on their movesets in general."

"Tyrunt needs that too." Ash replied. "He's come a long way, but he isn't very versatile yet. I want to teach him more biting moves to take advantage of his best strength, but he'll become too one-note if I don't focus on other things soon. I want to make sure he's on pace to start catching up to the others by the time we leave Saffron." instinctively, his hand gripped the dinosaur's ball on his belt. "He's been practicing with his teammates, but I'm gonna have to double down on that."

"Same here," she related. "I'm planning to pair Skrelp with Tentacruel for the time being."

With casual ease, the conversation continued as the two comfortably continued their walk. No ice needed to be broken for the moment, and Ash found himself further reminded at how different it was to be on the road with another person besides himself. He'd never get sick of his team, but this type of interaction was completely fresh in comparison, and fully welcome.

The two rookies had briefly forgotten they were even on the road at all, acting as though they were just two children taking a walk. They were quickly reminded of their circumstances, however, when running into another trainer, although both had politely turned down a battle. With such a short length of travel connecting the two cities, they had mutually planned to simply put their focus on traveling, and save whatever action their respective Pokemon saw for training sessions. Ash knew he needed the money, and wouldn't have been surprised if Janine did too, but Saffron was likely to see plenty of activity with how packed the city's Pokemon Center was probably going to be. Since he wasn't going to be battling Sabrina right away anyway, he could easily have battles with the various trainers at the Center, both to refill his wallet and to help prepare for the upcoming Gym. There'd be no shortage of opponents once they got there.

Once their stomachs began to rumble, the group came to a stop, finding a decent spot to set up and eat. Nodding to one another, they began releasing their teams.

Ivysaur was joined by Golbat, Beedrill, Tentacruel, Toxtricity, and Skrelp. On Ash's end, Pikachu, Nebula, and Tyrunt appeared out of their balls, the latter quickly joining Valiant and Eevee. Ash's hand lingered on Tempest's ball for a moment, and the boy noted the apprehensive expressions on his teammates' faces as the Krabby emerged last.

'I hope this doesn't backfire.' For a moment, the rookie contemplated changing everything he had planned at the last second, only to shake his head to himself. If it didn't work, he'd deal with the consequences like a responsible trainer, but backing out wouldn't be responsible either.

Pushing it away from his mind for now (they still had until after lunch was over), the boy watched his team line up together, Tempest keeping a bit more distance as usual. Once everybody was situated, he smiled at them and spoke. "I said this before, but we're traveling with Janine and her team for the time being. I expect you guys to treat them the same as any other teammate, understood?" Although Tempest was absent minded, the rest of the team nodded in understanding. There were no objections. Nodding, he gestured in the direction of their new companions, whom Janine had finished addressing herself. "Good. Now go introduce yourselves, be polite about it. We'll all be having lunch together."

Backing off, he joined Janine by the side as the two groups of Pokemon turned to face one another. Although neither side moved for the first moment or two, Pikachu, Valiant, and Ivysaur took the initiative, stepping forward to greet one another. The seed Pokemon's vines sprouted out of his bud as they approached one another, reaching out to Pikachu and Valiant as though to shake hands. As both accepted the gesture, Nebula and Eevee began to move forward, as if following by example, prompting a nervous looking Tyrunt to follow them, the young dinosaur strictly remaining behind Eevee.

On Janine's side, the rest of her Pokemon had begun a similar routine. As Nebula stopped beside Pikachu and Valiant, she and Golbat touched wings with one another before the Staravia exchanged some brief words with Skrelp. On the other side, Eevee stopped in front of Toxtricity, her paw and his hand mutually reaching out to one another after a moment of hesitance. Toxtricity moved aside to make room for Tentacruel, who stood behind him, and a similar exchange was made between paw and tentacle.

Lowering her paw, Eevee turned her head to look behind her, seeing Tyrunt's face adorned by an uncertain frown towards the two newcomers. Turning to face him in full, the normal type tried to put on an encouraging expression whilst gesturing her head forward, a somewhat awkward sensation passing over her as she did so. His foot began to raise, only to fall back down shortly after. Frowning for the briefest moment, Eevee took a brief step toward her dinosaur companion, pushing the minor sense of frustration down as her lips curved into a light smile. He didn't resist her attempt to make eye contact as a quiet, reassuring bark escaped her mouth. A moment later, she moved behind him, and he suppressed a startled yelp as her forehead began pushing into his back, nudging him forward.

Stopping just in front of the two poison types, Tyrunt found himself angling his gaze upwards to lock eyes with Tentacruel. For a moment, he flinched, looking back at the evolution Pokemon just behind him. This time he almost resisted the eye contact, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to. At her nod, and a reassuring chirp for good measure, he turned back to Tentacruel, who accepted his claw in her tentacle. Once the jellyfish pulled back, she made room for Toxtricity, who offered his own hand. This time, Tyrunt was able to shake more easily. As their grips separated, and Janine's two Pokemon moved onto the rest of the group, the dinosaur felt Eevee's fluff rubbing against his side, a more genuine expression on her face as she offered a friendly chirp. Blushing, Tyrunt smiled back.

The greetings continued as each member of both teams switched between one another. Ash smiled with relief just before turning to Janine as her voice caught his attention.

"Seems pretty smooth so far." she remarked, a mild note of relief on her own face as well. "Let's get the food ready, let them do their thing."

He nodded in agreement for a moment, before his gaze turned to the one member of the group not participating. Tempest hadn't remained still the entire time, but hadn't made as much effort to close the distance between himself and the rest. The krabby simply observed what was going on in front of him, although Ash couldn't read his expression.

Janine seemed to follow his gaze. "The usual, I'm assuming?" there was no judgment in her voice.

He nodded. "Yeah… I'll take care of that." as he turned back to her, he wasn't sure if the reassuring smile on his face was for her or himself. "You don't have to worry."

She nodded back, and Ash noted that she was better at "reassurance" than he was. "Good luck."

/

Lunch painted the relations between the two groups in a promising light, with both teams showing few barriers with one another. Pikachu and Nebula found themselves eating next to Ivysaur, Golbat, and Skrelp, Valiant, Eevee and Tyrunt sat near Beedrill, Tentacruel, and Toxtricity. The ice between them didn't take too long to break, with casual conversation occurring between each Pokemon during the meal. Tempest remained in his own space as per usual, but thankfully hadn't shown any signs of aggression towards Janine's teammates. Ash and Janine themselves found a pair of sizable rocks to sit on while eating, observing the rest of the group's behavior.

Upon the meal's end, the two trainers took their respective teams to separate parts of the nearby area to begin training. Before leaving, Ash quickly checked his TM case and skimmed through his notes of what he had planned. He still remembered it all pretty clearly, but wanted to ensure that he got it right. Now, he stood in the fairly open, grassy area with all six members of his team lined up, looking up at him expectantly. By now, everybody in the group had grown accustomed to listening to their trainer address them prior to kicking off the next stage of training.

"We'll be in Saffron City in a couple of days." Ash began as he looked between his six partners. "I've already warned all of you about this before, but our challenges are going to be different from here on out. Every Gym we go to was always going to push us to our limit, as you've all seen first hand, but the Gym's we've gone to-The Gyms we've won at," he quickly corrected himself with a minor wince before continuing. "Were the easy ones."

Although no member of the team made a sound, the reminder quickly elicited mixed reactions among the six: Pikachu and Valiant grew stiff, a quiet fire in their posture. Nebula and Tyrunt, albeit not fearful, seemed notably shaken by the statement, while Eevee appeared a mixture of both. Tempest's mood improved upon the declaration, eyes lighting up with a grin.

Ash continued. "From now on, the extent that the Gym Leaders go easy on us is going to begin waning. Between us having already tackled the three Gyms often dubbed "beginner friendly" by Kanto's training community, and the fact that we've already proven ourselves with three badges, the Gym Leaders aren't going to be as willing to show leniency towards us. Sabrina, I'm at least expecting, will be a bit of a transitioning phase for all of us. She'll be a bit more willing to pull punches than the others, but we won't be wearing training wheels once we challenge her. What's more, she's a psychic specialist, so we'll be up against one of the more infamous typings." he placed a hand on his TM case, which he had set down on the rock beside him. "We'll spend these couple of days training on the way to Saffron. Once we get there, we'll spend more time working on what we're about to get started today. We'll also be looking for a fair amount of battlings amongst the other trainers at the city's Pokemon Center. We'll need to get a winning streak going for financial purposes, but we'll also have to put everything we're working on into practice. Before challenging Sabrina. Back when we were preparing for Brock, as Pikachu, Nebula, and Valiant all likely remember, we needed to put a lot of work into being ready for our first ever Gym battle." briefly, the other three stole quick glances at the first three members of his team, familiarity on the trio's faces as they recalled the first milestone of their adventure, a moment that had long since felt like ages ago. "We are all going to have to treat this exactly like that. This isn't our next hurdle, it's the first obstacle of our remaining journey. A new phase. You understand?" satisfied with the collective nods, he tapped the TM case with his index finger. "We've purchased a few TMs at the Celadon Department Store, back before we challenged Erika, so those are all going to be administered now. We'll be working on multiple things at once, although some will be prioritized more than others as usual. Right now, the main goal is just to fall into our new routine for training in Saffron." more collective nods. He smiled a bit. "Good. Listen carefully, because there's a lot to go over."

He took a moment to pause before starting again, readying himself for the plans that he was about to go over… and the news that he was about to drop. His breath nearly caught in his throat as that came to mind, but he quickly pushed it away.

'Be a leader. That's a trainer's job.'

With that thought pushing him forward, he began. "Pikachu and Tyrunt." upon being named, both parties perked up in earnest. "For the time being, I'm pairing the two of you together. I have a few TMs that I want to give you, Tyrunt. You've come along really well, and I'm proud of you for that, especially for our battle with Erika," pausing, he nodded in approval as the dinosaur's grin formed, a mild tinge in the royal heir Pokemon's cheeks as the team (Tempest aside) turned to him with acknowledging smiles of their own. "But your moveset still needs a lot of additions. More ranged options other than Rock Blast and Roar, and more close-quarters offense that doesn't rely fully on your jaw. To be ready for what's ahead, you'll need to have a whole pool to pull from, not just a narrow fighting style that can easily be exploited. That's why, I'll be giving you the TMs for Brick Break, Earth Power, and Play Rough. Obviously, you won't be able to master all three of them at once, but those three foundations will all be laid out for the time being." he turned to his starter. "Pikachu, you'll be key to this. I'll also be giving you the Play Rough TM so that the both of you can practice together, and I'm counting on you to ensure that the Brick Break training goes smoothly. You know the move well." as expected, the mouse smiled while pressing a fist to his chest.

Satisfied, Ash moved onto the next subject. "As for you, Tempest," now the water type perked up, as the rest of the team grew somewhat uneasy. "There's something especially important I'll have to do with you. Your Night Slash will obviously be useful once we get to Saffron, but you're already pretty good at using it, so there's something else we'll need you to get started on. It's a lot more long term." the Krabby was listening intently as Ash removed a disc from the case, holding it out to show him. "This is Surf. It's a move that, even with the usage of a TM, you won't be using very effectively for a while now, but that's why we're starting now. Your species isn't known for being very agile, and while I'll freely admit that you seem to be better than average in that regard, it can only get you so far. When used correctly, this move has had a decent history of improving the mobility of certain water types that are normally lacking in it. Even once you get the hang of it, it'll be taxing to use consistently for quite a long time, so it'll likely be a "when it's necessary" situation, but I have a feeling that's going to be a lot more important than it sounds." taking out the Poke Ball, Ash held out the orb. "I'll distribute it to you now."

At the river crab's attentive nod, Ash returned Tempest for a moment, placing the Poke Ball into one of the TM cases slots. After swiping the Surf TM, he released the Krabby once more. The enthusiasm in Tempest's eyes caught his view as the water type returned to the line. "I'll be getting back to you in a bit, so hang tight for now." mild curiosity (or was that confusion?) adorned the Krabby's features as Ash redirected his attention towards the next party. "Nebula," immediately, the Staravia focused on him. "For now, you're the only one that I don't either have any new TMs for, or pairing with another teammate, but," he quickly added to curb the dedicated flier's disappointment. "Don't worry, I'm not excluding you. Since you already know Air Cutter now, I'd like you to make Air Slash your next goal. It'll add another ranged attack to your arsenal. Apart from that, keep on working on Double Team and your aerial mobility as always. I'll be checking in on everybody, but since you have nobody else to work with right now, I'm planning to spend the most time with you. We'll get started once everybody else is situated." as she raised an affirmative wing with a quick nod, he turned his attention to the last two members of the team that he had yet to address. "Valiant, Eevee, you're up."

As the duo became wholly focused on him, Ash nearly bit his tongue. It wasn't too late to back out of this, after all. Was he taking things too far? Maybe he could forget this portion of the routine and come with a different plan-

He had to resist physically shaking his head to avoid concerned reactions from the team. No, he couldn't second guess himself right now. He was done doing that. This wasn't going to be easy, but it was necessary. Real trainers focused on what needed to be done, and what had to be addressed. This would be the first step for all of them.

"A few things," he regained his composure, which the rest of the team hopefully didn't realize that he had briefly lost. "To start things off, Valiant, you'll still be working on learning how to use Moon Blast as we've planned. And of course, fine tuning your close quarters move and getting better at Psychic will be important too. None of that has changed yet." He smiled as Valiant nodded back professionally. It was reassuring to see him as cooperative as usual, but how long would that last once they got to the complicated part? "Good, that brings us to the next part. Eevee, you'll be working on Focus Energy. We don't have a TM, but I'm sure you're ready for it. You'll also be teaching Valiant how to use Shadow Ball. That's going to be the number one priority for both of you; it'll be very crucial for Sabrina, and you're great at using it yourself." as she pridefully puffed her chest out, he continued. "Valiant won't have a TM for Shadow Ball either, which is normally a problem for a psychic type trying to learn ghost type moves, but he's known Shadow Sneak since birth, and he'll be having you help him out. Work together and get him ready." The two friends exchanged glances, eager grins forming on their faces. Ash was tempted to leave it at that, but his mouth moved faster than his brain. "But before we get started, there is one more thing." That got the rest of the team's attention, and Ash suddenly felt small.

'This is it.' he thought grimly. The only way this would work was if he was as firm about it as possible. Hoping to channel his mother, he moved on to the final point to cover.

"I have one more move for you to learn, Valiant, and although it's not as immediately important, we're going to get started on it right away." he wasn't surprised at the confusion exhibited by the young Kirlia. After all, Pikachu and Valiant had both been present when he purchased the TMs at the Celadon Department Store. "Icy Wind." The psychic blinked in surprise, and everybody else on the team seemed fairly caught off guard as well. "I figured that could be a stepping stone for you to learn Ice Beam and Ice Punch in the future. It's another long term thing." That seemed to ease the surprise just a little bit, but Ash already knew that would be short-lived. Unable to help the deep breath that he took (which his teammates thankfully didn't seem to be too concerned by, but still took relative note of), the boy straightened his posture. "Right, so… right now, we can't use a TM, because we don't have one for Icy Wind. Naturally, we could always postpone this until we have the money for one, especially since getting the move completely down is not an immediate priority just yet." he focused himself. This was it. "But… I'm not going to be doing that. You'll be learning it from the ground up." The mutual surprise from everybody on the team did not deter him, he was already expecting it. "I'm also not going to be showing you any footage of the move being used. Basically nothing that will give you a cushion, or help you along."

The incredulous expressions on the six Pokemon bore into him. Everyone was looking at him as though he had grown an extra set of arms like a Machamp. Just as it looked like Valiant was about to ask something, Ash quickly raised a hand to silence him. "Don't worry, buddy." he tried to reassure him, not that it would really matter after this next part. "There will be something for you to go off of." his voice stopped for a moment, as the rest of the team continued looking at him, waiting for the detail that would make all of this make sense. For a moment, he almost didn't talk, but quickly steeled his mind, and turned to the team member on the far end of the group.

"Tempest, you're teaching him."

The river crab's eyes bulged as the rest of the team started. Immediately, Ash heard Valiant's mental voice.

"Ash, what are you-!"

"ENOUGH." Whatever pandemonium Ash was dreading ended before it could properly begin as the rookie's now raised voice stretched over all of them. "Everything is as I just said: The only assistance you will get in learning this move is from Tempest, Valiant. And Tempest," he quickly turned to the river crab. "You will help him. You are expected to demonstrate the move to him however many times he needs, in whatever way he might ask. He has no prior knowledge of ice types, no TMs to guide him or give him a basis, and no footage for context. Everything will be on you to get him off the ground, and continue to help him even after he does." Ash's face had formed into a stern glare as he addressed the team. Hearing his starter beginning to talk, he quickly resumed. "Quiet, Pikachu." His heart sank as the mouse's ears folded, but he kept going nonetheless, looking between the Kirlia and the Krabby as the rest of the team either awkwardly looked elsewhere, or stared at him in bewildered shock. He wasn't sure which one demoralized him more, but was determined to focus on neither. "And as I said before, this is a long term project. The both of you will set aside the time to decently do this, with every training session, until Valiant's Icy Wind has been mastered to a degree that I and I alone am satisfied with. That's the plan until further notice, and nobody has any say in it except for me."

As the six Pokemon struggled to process this information, Ash turned to Tempest. He could see the frustrated confusion on the water type's face. "I warned you before, Tempest." The Krabby's gaze slowly descended to the grass as a low grumble escaped the water type's throat. "If you want to keep traveling, you're going to be contributing more to this team than just battles. You're going to be a member, a real member, from here on out. There are six of you, not five and one, and you will not be coasting along on your own anymore. For your own good." at that last sentence, the boy couldn't help but flinch as the image of a Mr. Mime and Tempest's charred body filled his vision. As Tempest's eyes lifted up to meet his gaze, Ash almost faltered, struggling to double down. "You hear me, don't you? This is how things are going to be with you here, and I expect you to fall in line."

The Krabby's pincers clenched like fist as another growl escaped Tempest's throat. After a few moments, however, he receded, pincers opening back up, and posture sagging in resignation. Without addressing him further, Ash turned to everybody else. "That goes for the rest of you too. As your trainer, this is how I'm going to be doing things. We are all a unit, and if we're going to make it through this like we promised, some things cannot be compromised. Am I clear?"

All five stared at him for a moment, before beginning to exchange looks with one another. For a moment or two, Ash was about to demand that they keep their eyes on him, but decided against it. This communication was important too.

After a few moments, Pikachu was the first to turn back to him. With a sigh, Ash's starter looked back up at him, quickly locking eyes with his trainer. Although the frown on the mouse's face showed no signs of the electric type attempting to hide it, Pikachu nodded nonetheless. As Ash nodded back in acknowledgement, Nebula and Eevee lookeded between the two, before following suit a few moments later. Neither of them had expressions overly different from Pikachu's own.

A few more moments passed before Ash spoke again. "Valiant, Tyrunt, we're still waiting for an answer." The other three Pokemon set their eyes on the Kirlia and the dinosaur. Valiant's eyes were downcast as his feet lightly kicked at the grass, and Tyrunt had brought himself down to a seated position, staring downwards as well. Eventually, both Pokemon raised their gazes to look back at the rest of the team's conflicted gazes, before looking up at Ash. Tyrunt nodded. Valiant hesitated for a moment or too, let out a sigh, before doing so as well.

Ash nodded back at both of them. "Alright, we're all on the same page then." he turned to Eevee, who quickly perked back up at the attention. "Eevee, since you'll be working with Valiant, and Valiant will be working with Tempest, the three of you will all be training together. When Valiant isn't being taught Shadow Ball or Icy Wind, Tempest and yourself will both be sparring partners. It'll help work on your usage of Focus Energy, and, with any luck, Tempest learning how to use Surf." The evolution Pokemon's ears drooped in hesitance as her frowning face looked back at Valiant and Tempest, but Ash allowed her a moment or two to process it. Finally, she looked back at him and nodded in the affirmative. "Alright, then…" he pointed out diagonally, to a further away section of the open area. "Then that's all for today. The three of you will get started right now. And I better not see either of you trying to split off, unless I specifically order it. Go now."

Nobody moved for a moment. Ash's attempt at authoritative posture threatened to wane as the pit in his stomach grew, the boy quickly crossing his arms in an effort to keep himself going. After a few seconds, Tempest, without a word, began walking in the direction that Ash pointed in, not looking back to check and see if his two would be training partners were following him. With a minor sigh, even began gradually tailing him, only to look back and see that Valiant was still in the same place. Trying not to pay too much attention to the concerned expressions from Pikachu, Nebula, and Tyrunt, the normal type walked over to the psychic, positioning herself behind him as she began nudging him forward. At first, the Kirlia's feet merely slid across the grass as his best friend pushed him along, but with reluctance, he began to walk after they cleared a few feet.

After they created a considerable distance between themselves and the rest of the group, Ash failed to further contain the exhale that he had been holding in, finally allowing his arms to fall back down to his side as he looked between his remaining three teammates with a notable fatigue.

"Alright, I'll be administering Pikachu and Tyrunt's TMs now. Nebula, go on and find a space to yourself to warm up for now. I'll be there with you in a bit."

/

Nebula peered at the Pokedex screen as Ash pulled up footage of a large Pidgeot rising into the air of a stadium, wing glowing a blinding white. A giant blade of air erupted from the wing as the large bird lashed out, carving through the blast of fire launched at the opposing Charizard and scoring a direct hit on the Flame Pokemon.

"You've already fought multiple Pokemon who know this move." Ash turned to look at the Staravia next to him. "Your Air Cutter should give an idea of how to get started, right?" she nodded confidently, smiling at her trainer as he placed a hand on her head. "I thought so. Let's get started, then."

Pressing a wing against her chest as if to salute, Nebula chirped confidently just before kicking off into the air as Ash rose from his sitting position.

After gaining a decent altitude, the flier circled around the area where her trainer was standing, gliding through the air with a clean, smooth movement. Ash took a few moments to admire the fluidity of his trusted partner's mobility, before suddenly blinking, realizing he was getting lost in the moment.

Cheeks slightly tinged, he cupped his hands to call out to her. "Okay, so to get a basic idea, try to use Air Cutter with just one, bigger blade!" Above him, Nebula nodded to herself as her face grew somewhat more steel. Keeping up the same pattern of movement, the Staravia gently closed her eyes in an effort to concentrate her thoughts.

After circling around for a few more seconds, the bird opened her eyes, pulling herself upward as both of her wings began to glow. She would only need one wing for this move, but was used to using both.

Rearing back one of her wings, she clenched her beak, attempting to gather her efforts as a blade of air began to take form. It was so hard holding back and not launching a barrage like usual, but she did her best to concentrate everything into that one blade. Sweat began to form beneath her feathers as the blade expanded in size, but the projectile was quickly launched after only doubling in height. The blades of an Air Cutter were normally fairly small compared to an Air Slash, so this attempt was significantly smaller than the move that they were trying to produce.

Ash watched the lone blade of air fizzle out mid-flight before recouping his hands and calling back out to his friend. "That's okay, Nebula!" the young rookie encouraged. "It was only your first attempt! Just keep trying for now!"

A bit reassured, Nebula's frustrated frown gave way to a small smile as she circled around the area once more. After completing one lap, she repeated the process, this time struggling to keep the energy in only one wing instead of two. Her other wing that she wasn't planning on using still glowed somewhat faintly, but the majority of the Staravia's efforts were successfully concentrated into her wing of choice.

A second blade of air began to form, this time with just a little bit less sweat. The blade began to expand itself, this time going just over triple its normal size before finally letting loose. It lasted a little bit longer before fizzling out.

Ash nodded in approval. "Again!"

With progressing confidence, Nebula sped up her flight just enough for her trainer to take notice. After completing another lap, her wings glowed once more. A few seconds later, the right wing began to flicker, the light shining off of it eventually fizzling out entirely as the glow in the left wing intensified.

A third blade of air formed at the tip of the wing. As Nebula's beak began to grind, the blade began to grow, a little bit more slowly this time. It must have been roughly four and a half times the usual size of an individual Air Cutter blade from the Staravia, before it was finally launched.

Ash's face split into a smile as he watched his friend hurl the blade of air. This one closely resembled that of an Air Slash, and seemed to be nearly the proper size. The blade was unstable, breaking up and fizzling out a lot more quickly than the previous two had. Nonetheless, she had all but figured out how to properly form the attack.

"Alright, come on down!" At his call, the Staravia descended from the air. Upon landing in the grass next to her trainer, she took a moment to catch her breath as Ash knelt down beside her. The duo exchanged smiles as he patted her head.

"That last one was pretty close, Nebula. Good job." the happy chirp the Staravia responded with fluttered his heart. "It looks like you've almost figured out how to form the move itself, knowing Air Cutter beforehand probably helps like I figured. I guess now the main thing to do is work on concentration; so creating it doesn't take as much effort, and the blade can hold itself together." At her nod, Ash sank into a sitting position, and she looked at him curiously before he held out an oran berry, and her eyes briefly lit up. "Here, for you." As his bottom sank into the grass, Ash noted that the ground felt somewhat moist. He hadn't noticed it while standing.

Quickly accepting the blue fruit in her beak, Nebula sat down beside her trainer while slowly beginning to munch on the quick snack. The healing properties of an oran berry weren't as potent as a sitrus berry, but they were at just the right level to assist with mild rejuvenation. Unlike typical healing moves, which focused on mending damage to the body rather than replenishing energy (in fact, these healing moves could actually be quite taxing when mishandled, due to them requiring the user to expend their energy in the first place), oran berries, like sitrus berries, were capable of doing both, and although Nebula's current condition certainly didn't warrant the usage of a sitrus berry, Ash found that a quick oran berry snack in the middle of training was perfect for keeping a Pokemon's energy up and prolong fatigue, maximizing the benefits of each training session. He'd be giving the others their own once he checked on them.

As Nebula, currently in good spirits, munched on the replenishing fruit, Ash found his eyes making their way towards his friend, admiring the complexion and clean, healthy state of her feathers. He had been training her for two months by now, yet it wasn't everyday that he observed her up close, one-on-one during downtime.

"You know," he said, lightly patting her back as she finished her berry. "You're really beautiful, you know that?" a good-natured hum escaped her throat as the smiling Staravia rubbed her head against his arm. Suddenly, he started giggling, attempting to gently push her back as her beak mildly nipped a thim. "H-Hey, that tickles a bit!" As the two settled down, he rubbed her head, the two exchanging smiles as she leaned into his touch. "Alright… you wanna make a few more attempts?" the bird pulled away, once again pressing her wing against her chest. "Great, just keep doing what you did before. You're on the right track."

She took off into the air as he rose to his feet, smiling at her retreating form as her wings carried her higher and higher above the grass.

He had the prettiest, most dedicated bird Pokemon in the world. That he was certain. And one day, he knew that she would be the strongest.

/

Tyrunt watched Pikachu pat his paws against a sizable rock that the two had stopped in front of. Ash had requested that the two use an area with as many rocks as possible, albeit noting that they wouldn't necessarily be plentiful regardless, so Pikachu had led the dinosaur through the area for a few moments before finding a place with at least a somewhat decent amount.

As the mouse removed his paws from the stone, he remained still. For a moment, Tyrunt blinked in confusion at the inactivity. After a moment or two, the royal heir Pokemon followed the electric rodent's gaze and saw Nebula circling the air above a section of the area ahead. A growing smile adorned the electric type's lips as a sizable projectile escaped the flier's wing.

As Tyrunt stopped next to him, however, also watching the sight, Pikachu blinked in realization before turning to his younger teammate. Quickly getting the dinosaur's attention with a light pat on the shoulder, the mouse began talking, whilst pointing towards one of the rocks. Turning in full to face his training partner, the rock/dragon type Pokemon nodded along with what his slightly older teammate was saying. As Pikachu asked if he understood, Tyrunt took a moment to process the information, before nodding with a carefree smile. Satisfied, Pikachu turned his back to his friend as his eyes zeroed in on one of the nearby rocks. Tyrunt observed eagerly as the electric type advanced towards the stone target, curled up paw glowing a bright orange as Pikachu drove it into the rock. A clean hole was punched through, eliciting a quick cheer and claps from the observing dinosaur as Pikachu turned back around to face him, rubbing the back of his head bashfully as his face began to tinge red. Readjusting himself, Pikachu gave his friend an affirming nod while pointing out to another rock close to him. Returning the gesture in kind, Tyrunt lined himself up to face the appointed target, head somewhat lowered as his feet scraped away at the grass. After closing his eyes for a moment or two, ceasing all motion, Tyrunt's attention zeroed in on the rock ahead as he broke into a run. Raising a claw, he struggled to concentrate, and as it curled into a fist, a faint orange glow began to take form.

As the dinosaur swung forward a the rock, the Brick Break punctured the immediate exterior, but the impact did not go much further. Tyrunt winced as a mild sting made itself known where he had struck the rock, but it didn't hurt too badly. Pikachu quickly made his way over, patting a paw against the somewhat dejected dinosaur's back while speaking with a reaffirming tone of voice. That had only been the first time Tyrunt had ever used that particular move before, and he had executed it fairly well. Now, they just needed to keep on repeating to work on the move's power.

Clearing some distance, Pikachu turned back to Tyrunt and spread his arms out wide, waving while calling out for the royal heir Pokemon to target him next. After blinking for a moment or two to process this information Tyrunt smiled back at his electric type friend and nodded in the affirmative. After taking another few seconds to regather his focus, the dinosaur took off running for the young mouse, who remained still whilst standing upright.

As Tyrunt swung forward a second time, his glowing fist was slightly more bright than before. Immediately, Pikachu reacted by raising his own fist, which glowed much more definitively, intercepting Tyrunt's Brick Break with a parrying motion. The electric mouse was careful not to swing too hard, instead just motioning to block the attack, rather than go on the offensive himself.

Tyrunt's Brick Break bounced off of Pikachu's own without effort or struggle. As the dinosaur bounced back, his face was a mixture of a mildly pained expression and a smile. Finding the positive side of the look contagious, Pikachu grinned back at him before gesturing at him to try again.

A second blow was parried away with similar results. Same with the third. Upon the fourth exchange, Pikachu found his body abruptly tilting backwards, although Tyrunt still reacted to the impact more than he did. Signaling for them to stop, Pikachu took note of the dinosaur trying to massage his aching claws. Reassuringly, he made his way to the younger Pokemon's side and wrapped an arm around his teammate. Mood restored a bit, Tyrunt leaned into the contact.

Ash would be here soon with the oran berries, Pikachu said. They could move onto something else then.

/

Body tense, Valiant tried to focus all of his attention on Eevee as his friend locked eyes with Tempest from a few feet across. Not deterred by the presence of the water type himself, he evolution Pokemon concentrated her efforts into the ball of blackish-purple distortion forming in between her jaws. Once the Shadow Ball had expanded to its proper size, Eevee held it in place, giving Valiant a chance to look a bit more closely before launching it in the Krabby's direction.

On cue, Tempest crossed his pincers, now coated with metal, and absorbed the blow. As the ghost type move exploded against his outward defenses, he felt his feet sliding backwards a couple of inches from the impact, but remained fully upright nonetheless. Lowering his pincers, he returned his attention to the normal type, who ignored him as she turned to address the observing Kirlia.

With crossed arms, Valiant tried to pay no mind to the water type's gaze as he nodded along to Eevee's instructions. After a quick pat on the back from the quadruped, the young psychic positioned himself in front of her, a small bead of sweat forming on his cheek as his gaze finally turned to the water type in question.

Tempest observed him stoically as Valiant squirmed in place for a moment, struggling to lock eyes with the Krabby without scrunching up his face. He heard Eevee's voice from behind him as her paw patted away at his back for a second time. Although he didn't look back at her, he nodded for a moment, taking a deep breath with closed eyes before refocusing all of his attention on the Krabby. Behind him, Eevee took the brief moment to send a dirty look Tempest's way, before turning back to Valiant and reciting the tail end of her instructions.

After taking another deep breath, the young Kirlia assumed a stance, holding both hands outward and against each other as his face began to scrunch, and his body began to strain.

He was more than familiar with calling on ghost type energy, having done so a myriad number of times whenever making use of Shadow Sneak. This time, however, he had to channel it into his hands. Form it into a condensed, potent orb of energy that could be launched forward and used as an attack. It was an entirely unfamiliar manner of manifesting the typing, and the emotion Pokemon bit his lip as an encouraging bark from Eevee could be heard from his side.

After a few moments, just when he was almost prepared to give up, the slightest hint of ghostly energy appeared between his palms. Eyes widening, he attempted to redouble his focus, trying to force the aura into taking shape and forming a sphere. The energy was sporadic, moving around in his hands with a mind of its own, not responding to his commands. With a mild wince, he bit down on his lip as a burning sensation began to make itself known in both of his hands. Tempest said and did nothing as Eevee barked once more.

Ever so slightly, the energy began to grow, but showed no signs of becoming any more stable before the growth stopped just as abruptly as it had begun. Squeezing his eyes shut, Valiant struggled to visualize the Shadow Ball, trying his best to focus on nothing but what was currently in his hands. Slowly but surely, the tiny bit of ghostly energy that he had managed to form began to mingle together, a bite-sized ball of ghostly aura taking shape. The undersized Shadow Ball did not stop rippling, however, and showed none of the stability of Eevee's in spite of being far smaller. The sporadic crackling and rippling of the orb did not cease as Valiant finally hurled towards Tempest, who did not even need to coat his pincers in metal to properly intercept the tiny, unstable ball of dark aura. With a simple raise of a pincer in front of his face, the river crab showed no signs of reaction as the Shadow Ball collided against him and fizzled out, the pincer shielding him from the impact entirely unscathed.

Exhaling, Valiant rubbed his stinging hands together, as though trying to scratch a painful itch. A brush against his side redirected his attention to Eevee, who shot him a reassuring grin before turning back to Tempest with a more serious expression. Though uncomfortable, the Krabby didn't seem fazed under her gaze. With some doubt, the evolution Pokemon hesitated for a moment before barking assertively at the river crab. The water type snorted at the demand, but nonetheless positioned himself, motioning for Valiant to pay attention.

The Kirlia attempted to collect his thoughts as Tempest raised both pincers. Taking his time, Tempest opened them up, a chill emitting from the inside. A few moments later, the familiar blast of air erupted out of both of them. As the Icy Wind passed over the grass, the greenery became covered in a layer of frozen blue.

The blast had been of a fairly decent size, the frosty aftermath spreading out across a decent chunk of the grass immediately in front of the water type. Tempest turned back in Valiant and Eevee's direction, holding one pincer out towards the icy grass in a gesture of example as he began speaking instructions.

When the river crab finished speaking, Valiant's gaze lingered on him for just a moment, before sighing and turning away, facing a fresh patch of grass. As Eevee backed away to line herself up behind her friend, Valiant stared at his hands for a moment. They were still somewhat stinging from the Shadow Ball attempt, albeit the sensation was thankfully going away quite quickly. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, the young psychic reaffirmed his focus, extending his arms and holding both hands outward. Staring out ahead, he began visualizing the attack. The snowy air that was to leave his hands. The grass that was to freeze over. Face tightening, eyes turning steel, he continued to focus, keeping his hands extended out and straight, directing all of his concentration into producing the move.

Nothing came out.

Beyond that, he didn't even feel it coming. There was no cold sensation in his hands. No indication that anything had changed. Nothing at all of note.

Valiant didn't stop, however. His arms remained in their position, his eyes maintaining their expression. His body grew tense as he gazed outward to the grass, and continued to visualize. He waited for the cold air to come out.

It never did.

As the emotion Pokemon finally lowered his hands in defeat, a gurgling noise caught his attention. Realizing it was coming from Tempest's direction, Valiant''s eyes widened to see the Krabby's mouth lined up with soap-like bubbles, as the water type's body shook a bit.

The Kirlia's eyes flared. Was he… laughing at him?!

The river crab's behavior ceased as a small flash appeared from the corner of his eye, seeing Valiant's hands spark with lightning. Tempest's attention turned to the young psychic in full as Valiant, with livid contemplation, held his sparking hands outward in the Krabby's direction. A knowing smile creeped its way across Tempest's face as his eyes took on a gaze of preparation, and he crossed his pincers.

As Valiant glowered at the young crab, the gears turned in his mind, but just as he began to debate whether or not he should fire, Eevee appeared directly in front of him. Her bark brought him back to Earth as his friend, with an understanding yet assertive glare, shook her head.

Though his eyes remained frustrated, Valiant lowered his arms, allowing the electricity sparking across his hands to dissipate as he looked away in grief. After patting her paw against his back, Eevee turned her attention to Tempest, who almost flinched from the nuclear glare sent his way. Huffing a bit, the quadruped rotated her body to face him in full, closing a little bit of the distance between them with a few steps as her body sank into a stance and her tail erected upwards. Quickly understanding, Tempest maintained his satisfied grin as he assumed a stance of his own.

Eevee took a brief moment to look back at Valiant, who had his eyes on her with crossed arms. The anger in his expression had left him and been replaced with uncertainty. The two friends exchanged nods before she returned her focus back to Tempest.

Focus Energy was a move that allowed the user to concentrate their power into different parts of the body for amplification purposes. The strength enhancer had many applications, and the move in question wasn't too difficult to learn. Ash wanted her to focus on trying to use it while sparring with Tempest…

Their eyes locked as their stances became solidified, and both Pokemon held their position for the next few moments. Finally, Eevee's legs bent before shooting her forward.

Tempest's left pincer turned metallic as it raised in front of his face to intercept the quadruped's Iron Tail. A loud clang sounded through the air as Eevee's tail struck, her momentum struggling to push back her target's defenses. Although Tempest's Metal Claw shook in place from the effort, it remained in position, and his feet only slid back by a foot or two before his opponent's momentum ceased carrying her, allowing him to shove her off.

As his own push flung her away, Tempest pointed his other pincer at Eevee, aiming a Bubble Beam at the young evolution pokemon's retreating form. An onslaught of golden stars erupted from her mouth, intercepting the aquatic projectiles just before she landed.

The moment her paws touched the grass, Eevee rushed forward once more. Just as Tempest assumed a battle stance to intercept her, however, she swerved away without warning. Blinking, Tempest turned in an effort to follow her movements as the quadruped sped around him in circles, sporadically moving in and out.

Eevee kept her eyes fixated on her aquatic opponent as her paws carried her around him and across the grass. Even now, she could feel her own momentum; the satisfying sensation of speed that brought the breeze against the face and her fur. Tempest was struggling to track her when she applied her agility to circular movements. He had to keep readjusting his gaze as she appeared in and out of view, and his vision couldn't keep up. With some frustration, two Scalds fired out of both of his raised pincers, one of the boiling streams of water nearly hitting Eevee, only for her to leap over it. As she made another lap around the young Krabby, she could feel the soaked, hot grass on her paws as she passed over the patches that had been drenched by the two Scalds.

Finally, her body curved, taking Tempest by surprise as she aimed a Shadow Ball at his side. The ghost type move was far from full power; probably only about half the size, designed explicitly to be fired as fast as possible. It did its job, sending Tempest staggering back a few steps just before she rushed for him.

As Eevee's tail turned to metal once more, the evolution Pokemon closed her eyes in an effort to concentrate everything into the tail. As she drove her Iron Tail into Tempest's face, the normal type wasn't sure if she had pulled it off-the blow had felt about the same strength as it always did-but it sent him sliding back several feet nonetheless. She knew the strike was unlikely to do him much harm on its own; Tempest's Shell Armor ability had reinforced his outer shell to a great degree, providing him with the type of durability stereotypically expected from that of a Steel Type Pokemon. It was a big part of why Ash had wanted him on the team to begin with. Stopping in place, she re-angled her body to face him once more, before sprinting forward again, Iron Tail maintained.

Tempest recovered, however, and Eevee's eyes widened to double the size as a blade of water entered her view. Reacting fast, she jumped, somersaulting head-over-heels as she passed above the Krabby's head, the Razor Shell not even grazing her fur. The moment she landed, she turned around, attempting to drive her still-metallic tail into her opponent's back. Ready, Tempest whirled around and lashed out at her with a metal pincer. Iron Tail and Metal Claw collided with another loud clang, and a pained growl emitted from Eevee's throat, teeth grinding painfully as she strained herself to power through Tempest's push.

She could feel the force behind his attack, the momentum behind his strength carrying his pincer forward. No matter how hard she pushed back, she felt no progress on her own end, and her feet began sliding back. Closing her eyes, she tried to channel extra energy into her tail. Concentrate all of your power into a certain body part to amplify its muscle. That was how Focus Energy worked…

She produced no results, and soon found herself rolling across the grass as Tempest pushed her away. Feeling the dirt collecting on her fur, she lifted her head in time to see the water type repositioning himself to aim both pincers at her. Just as she was rising back to all fours, the icy Wind rushed out of them.

For the briefest of moments, she felt as though she had no time to dodge, and contemplated using Hyper Voice instead. Deciding against it, however, she quickly leapt to the side, just barely avoiding any real harm, but still feeling a cold sensation on her fur as the snowy air passed over the grass, leaving the once-green blades coated in a beautiful, icy blue.

Valiant continued to observe the session, Eevee maneuvering about the grass around Tempest; leaping over him, striking at him from the back or side, and firing off the occasional ranged attack in hopes of knocking him off balance. Tempest deftly defended, parrying her Iron Tails, firing his own projectiles, and swiping at her with his pincers as she avoided his blows to the best of her ability.

The sound of footsteps alerted the Kirlia to Ash's presence behind him. The trainer in question took a few moments to watch the display between the two teammates, before directing his attention down to the psychic. "How long have they been going?"

"A few minutes." Although Valiant looked up at Ash with some uncertainty, he did his best not to display it through his mental voice.

His trainer nodded in acknowledgement. "They can keep going for a few more then. Any luck on your end?"

He was talking about Icy Wind. Although he knew Ash didn't intend it, the question immediately brought Tempest's laughing image to the forefront of Valiant's mind. Shoulders sagging, the psychic's eyes trailed downwards as he shook his head.

A sensation of comfort passed over him as Ash knelt down beside him and placed a hand on top of his head. The gesture prompted Valiant to angle his head up to meet his trainer's eyes.

"I know it's going to be hard." Ash put on a smile for his partner. "But I think you already know why I'm trying to make you learn the move the difficult way."

Valiant bit his lip. He did know. No doubt Ash was counting on that, too. His trainer had always offered praise for his intellect, and although said compliments were usually flattering, the bitter side of the Kirlia couldn't help but feel that was being used against him here. That Ash knew with little doubt that he'd pick up on the trainer's intentions, because Ash saw him as smart.

But his species was capable of reading emotions, and if there was one person whose emotions he could easily feel, it was the trainer consoling him right now. One of two essential humans in his life. There was nothing but love in Ash right now, and that was the most reassuring part of this exchange, well beyond whatever words the trainer was willing to say.

"You haven't used an ice type move before. It's not going to come immediately. Your genes helped you out with laying the foundation for ghost type moves, but this is different. You're building something from the ground up, and I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't believe you could. It's just not going to happen overnight."

Valiant's frown lessened as he nodded back at his trainer, some understanding replacing a portion of the expression.

"Tempest doesn't think I can do it."

"Prove him wrong." Ash's mind briefly flashed back to his epiphany after battling Gary in Celadon. "You know I speak from experience. Don't fixate on proving him wrong, I made that mistake for a while. Just remind yourself that he is wrong, forget about it, and focus on the task at hand. It'll all run its course if you give it the chance. Once you pull it off, nothing he says is going to matter, so it shouldn't matter now."

Valiant stared up at the subject of his loyalty as the doubtful frown on his face slowly gave way to an even, comfortable stare. The innocence in the Kirlia's eyes became impossible to miss with the new expression.

Turning his head back to where his best friend and Tempest were sparring, he watched Eevee send the water type sliding backwards across the grass by two or three feet. The normal type took a few extra moments to catch her breath, inhaling deeply before satisfyingly letting all out, and resuming the action. He held his gaze for a few moments before looking back at Ash with a nod. As he did, his face, mostly the look in his eyes, was more steeled and sturdy.

Ash's grin curved up a bit more as he patted the psychic's head again. "Thanks, buddy. Now let's call them over real quick."

/

Ash and Janine's teams had regrouped once the two trainers had noticed a hint of orange appearing in the sky. Ending training for the day, the duo walked for a little over an hour before setting up camp and dinner. As they prepared, Tyrunt was eager to show off his progress to Valiant, demonstrating the new moves he was working on, while the rest of both teams (bar Tempest, who lightly trained on the side) mingled with one another.

/

The image of Rockets flooding through the museum filled Ash's vision as he tried to run. Despite his desperation, he quickly found that his body refused to move, legs planted firmly in place no matter how much he screamed at himself to flee.

A spark appeared from the corner of his eye. As he turned his head, his eyes locked with the Mr. Mime's, as the lightning filled hand was brought in front of his face. The interior of the museum morphed into that of a rocky tunnel, as stones began to fall from the collapsing ceiling. Ash could see the silhouettes of the Iron-Masked Marauder and the silver-masked redhead in the distance as a thunderous roar filled the surrounding space.

"Ash, are you okay?"

Tyranitar materialized, a second monstrous roar escaping its throat as an orange beam erupted from its mouth and upwards, carving through the ceiling.

"Ash wake up!"

Ash felt his body being lightly shook by a pair of hands as his eyes opened. Immediately, he felt the fatigue in his eyes, a sense of heaviness not on the eyelids, but on the eyes themselves. Whether his vision was blurry or he was just having trouble processing it right away, he was too groggy to tell.

"Gh…" he grunted somewhat, the side of his hand moving up to his forehead as his eyes instinctively squeezed shut again. As he shifted in his sleeping bag, he opened his eyes again, this time with the vision growing more clear. A frowning pair of purple eyes stared down at him. "J-Janine…?"

His companion's face was apologetic. "Sorry…" she shook her head. "You were shaking in your sleep."

Rising into a sitting position, Ash allowed himself a breath as he scanned the nearby area. All twelve Pokemon present were still currently asleep. Closest to him were Pikachu and Nebula, who both seemed undisturbed by the exchange.

"Bad dream," he responded. "Sorry if I… worried you." his focus was beginning to return to him, although he still felt a bit groggy from waking up so suddenly. Finally, he noted how dark it was, the sky still not showing any signs of the familiar, sunlit blue. "Um… what time is it?"

"Almost five in the morning."

He took a moment to process that information, briefly considering trying to go back to sleep, before lightly flinching at the last image he had seen in his dreams. As if almost on instinct, he shuffled out of his sleeping bag, rising to his feet in a somewhat awkward, tired motion. As he left the warmth of the bag's confines, he felt a brief chill, as though he had taken off a coat on an autumn night, but the sensation began to balance out. It wasn't cold, he just needed time to readjust.

"So, you're up early too?" briefly, while looking around, Ash's gaze had passed over the girl's tent. She had offered Ash a spare before going to bed the previous night, but he had politely declined, despite preferring the idea, since the weather hadn't necessitated it, and he had felt somewhat guilty about taking advantage. He'd purchase his own in Saffron.

"I normally get up around six." she responded, hand beginning to rub the back of her neck. "I… didn't have the best dream either." With his vision a bit more focused, he realized her hair was down, falling beneath her shoulders and not tied into the usual ponytail. It was a random thought, but it made her look different from how he was used to.

He frowned at her sympathetically. "Team Rocket?"

The question came out too fast for him to stop it, but she showed no signs of offense, simply nodding with a similar expression. "Yeah."

Feeling the pre-dawn breeze lightly brushing against them, the two gravitated towards a nearby rock big enough for them both to sit on. As his bottom connected with the hard surface, he looked up at the sky for a moment. Had Janine not told him the time, he would have assumed it had been around midnight. He could see the blackened silhouettes of a few clouds above him, and the stars were still present for a moment.

"I'm always up early." turning his head to face Janine, he could see his friend was a lot more relaxed, accustomed, looking up at the sky with a fairly content smile. "Ever since I was a kid. Father would make sure I was up on time, no matter what. Too much to get done for me to lurk under my covers." As she turned to look at him, he could see a mild grogginess in her eyes, albeit it seemed as though she had already gotten rid of most of it. "My body's sort of become wired to that. I couldn't sleep in if I wanted to. It makes waking up at this hour a little less jarring for me."

Ash considered her words for a moment. He couldn't imagine waking up in the morning (early morning, at the very least) without lying awake for at least a little while. Savoring the comfort of the bedding had been a part of his routine prior to becoming a trainer, and he missed it. He wondered how different Janine's life at home must have been, but wasn't willing to indulge in that curiosity. No way she'd appreciate someone she only knew for a few days prying to that extent.

So instead, he elaborated on his earlier question. "So… that woke you up, too?"

She frowned. "Yeah, I… honestly didn't dream about it until now, even though it happened a few days ago." her hands found their way to her knees. "It just… snuck up on me, I guess." Looking away for a moment, she observed the still sleeping Pokemon across the campsite. "...Was it about the Mr. Mime?"

His eyes tightened at the question. "Y-Yeah…" It wasn't entirely true, as the Mr. Mime hadn't been the only thing that he had seen. Still though… he didn't want to tell her about the Marauder. It wouldn't be fair. "Sorry about that, again." The more time passed between the incident and the current moment, the more he really realized how badly he had screwed up back at the museum. "I just…" he paused himself. He knew he was about to go on a tangent about how scared he was when he found out that Tempest was missing. This wasn't the right person to talk to about that… so who was? He certainly couldn't tell Delia. Maybe Professor Oak-with some pain, he shut away the thought. There were still things he needed to figure out regarding him.

'Crap… who the hell can I tell?' he suddenly realized with some panic. The most appropriate person to turn to was the last person on the planet he ever wanted to know about it, and the reasonable second was someone who could tell her at any time.

"I know why you did it." Janine's voice mercifully pulled him away from his thoughts. "I admit, I was mad at the time, but I'm not sure what I would've done in your shoes, and Erika already scolded both of us."

That memory produced a flinch from him, and he could've sworn he might've seen one from her, too. "Y-Yeah…" he chuckled nervously. "That was certainly a different side of her." He had remembered how inviting the grass specialist had been when he had first come to her Gym. But he had never seen her truly on duty before.

"I've seen worse." Janine admitted freely. "But I guess the contrast is what did it for me. I was often told about how soft she was, but she is still a Gym Leader." face growing a bit more solemn, she added. "My dream… just had all the Rockets. They were coming from everywhere."

"Yeah, I saw that too."

Silence hung in the air between them for what was likely a couple of minutes. Neither seemed interested in touching upon the subject further, now that they'd already gotten the basics off of their chest. They were awake now, it was time to let it fade away.

"I like being out early in the morning." Janine broke the silence, and Ash saw her head angled up to the sky again as he turned back to her. "It's really quiet. Plus," she admitted without much sheepishness to show for it. "I like the way the sky looks before the sun rises. Not right now, but when you can still see the blue, and it's dark enough to not light everything up. It's all very relaxing, and gives me a chance to take everything in before the day starts."

Ash hadn't thought of it that way, maybe it was because he wasn't used to being up at these hours. Normally, whenever he woke up and got out of bed, that was that. Routine had started. It was rare for him to be up early enough to just have the morning to himself.

'But if she's so used to waking so early, then she has an entire window of time completely to herself now, since she's not doing whatever she was doing at home anymore.'

The thought made him curious. "Does your team wake up when you do?" he knew they wouldn't be awake now, if this was early even for her, but he wondered…

"A few of them have started." she replied. "Ivysaur and Beedrill, usually. The others are usually about half and half."

Scanning the campsite, Ash noted that there were no signs of restlessness from any of their sleeping teammates; or at least, from the ones close enough for him to immediately see.

Janine seemed to have the same thought, because she added. "You ever wonder if they ever had dreams like that? They were there, too."

He nodded almost immediately. He had wondered, for certain. "Yeah, it's definitely crossed my mind." Leaning in, as though it would allow him to observe a bit more closely, he tried to scan the campsite again, this time keeping his gaze on each teammate for longer, attempting to attempt any signs of restless movement. "None of them… seem like it for now." They'd tell him if it happened, right? He really hoped so. He'd have to bring it up if there ever seemed to be signs.

…It made him wonder what they do dream about.

"Clever idea, by the way." turning back to Janine, he saw that her eyes had landed on Tempest, off sleeping in his own corner of the campsite as per usual. "Giving Tempest a reason to work with some of the others for as long as possible." She turned to face him with an impressed smile. "You don't really care about Valiant learning Icy Wind, do you?"

Ash felt a tinge in his cheeks as he grinned back at her. They had shared a few of their training plans with one another over dinner the previous night. "If I was that concerned about it, I would've waited until we had a TM, or at least shown him footage and read some descriptions like I did when I first taught Tempest the move." his eyes turning to the sleeping Krabby in the distance, he continued. "I'm sure it'll obviously come in handy at some point down the road. There are other ice type moves that Valiant can potentially learn, and this is a great way to start. But right now, I just need Tempest to work with somebody, and forcing Valiant to do things the hard way will prolong how long he and Tempest will need to be paired with one another." He ran a hand across his head. "I need Tempest working with everybody sooner or later, but this was the best way to start. That I can personally think of, at any rate."

He wasn't looking at her to see it, but she nodded in approval. "I've… never had a problem like this before," she admitted. "But it sounds like a pretty good idea."

"I wasn't doing it at first," Ash confessed. He grimaced. "It's just that, Celadon taught me a lot. Things that I'm a bit embarrassed that I hadn't already realized in full. Back when Eevee first joined the team, there was some turbulence, but it all ran its course. But this has more to it than that, and the museum was a wake up call for me." he scratched the back of his neck for no particular reason. "I'm gonna see where this goes. This is the only way to see if things are ever going to work out."

"And if they don't?" Ash knew that Janine's question was rhetorical. She already knew the answer.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll… release him." Saying the words made his throat hurt as he talked. It would have been one thing if he had just sent Tempest on his way after that dreaded incident with Tyrunt, back when he had barely ever spent any time on the team at all, but now, Tempest was a Pokemon that he had traveled to three different cities with. Taken on two Gyms with. Taught moves to. Camped out with. Shared hotel rooms with. "It won't come to that, though. I'll be watching them carefully." he was mostly trying to convince himself of that. To remind himself to stay proactive, and not throw an assignment onto Tempest, Valiant, and Eevee and leave things to run its natural course. He had already tried that when recruiting Tempest earlier, and it was exactly what had caused everything to backfire up until this point.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Ash looked back to see Janine addressing him with a gentle smile. Now that their conversation had woken him up, his mind flashed back to the museum. To the cold, almost heartless tone and expression she had directed towards Damian. Now more than ever, it was increasingly surreal that such a moment had happened. He almost wondered if he had been hallucinating from the panic. Right now, just looking at her made it feel like every muscle in his body was beginning to relax.

"Would you like to have an early breakfast?"

Waking up in full had also brought some of his attention to that familiar feeling in his stomach. Now that he was already out of his sleeping bag, he saw little use in returning. Grinning back at her, he nodded.

"Sure."

/

Tempest concentrated on the water appearing beneath his feet as he observed Valiant and Eevee, a couple of meters in front of him.

Surf, as Ash had explained to him, would allow him to summon water underneath his body to carry him across the battlefield, a useful tool for an aquatic species with limited mobility. Krabby weren't like Lapras, they could maneuver on land just fine, but normally weren't particularly agile. The technique was more effective (and much less taxing), when used in an actual body of water, but was still used by a decent amount of trainers for certain Pokemon that otherwise couldn't battle on land to somewhat get around their disadvantage. Ash had shown the river crab footage of a famous example: Lorelei's Lapras, allegedly one of the greatest users of the move, utilizing the technique to flawlessly maneuver around the battlefield. Most Pokemon weren't Loereli's Lapras, and could never use the move to a nigh-unlimited degree that wouldn't eventually expend extra stamina from said user (which was why the technique wasn't universal), but Tempest thankfully didn't need to be such; he struck that happy medium for Pokemon that would explicitly benefit from the technique, but wouldn't need to fully rely on it in order to get around. If he could get a good grip on the move, and minimize the exhaustive aspects of its usage to whatever extent that he could, it would be beyond a boon for his fighting style.

But Ash had warned him of how long this would take: That Surf's progression wouldn't bear any notable fruit in the near future. Another long term project. With frustration, Tempest was already seeing that now.

It hadn't taken him too long to actually start producing the water beneath his feet the previous day, but for a while, that was all he had done. The water hadn't lifted him. Maybe there wasn't enough, or maybe it wasn't strong enough. The point of Surf was for the water to carry you as if you were levitating, and then ride the wave like you were piloting it. All Tempest had done was soak himself, particularly his bottom half. And today, he finally had the water lifting him up off of the ground, and yet it was just barely, with hardly any height. And his balance still felt shaky despite everything. Surf didn't need to carry him up too high (or even that high at all), but he couldn't even imagine how long it would take for him to produce a steady Surf that carried him to a decent height, with good balance, and after all of that, learn to maneuver the Surf around the battlefield to a capable degree, steering and all. And that was without even accounting for how exhausting it would be to do so consistently at first.

Just thinking about it was almost demoralizing. This wasn't like learning a move like Icy Wind or Scald, for pure offensive purposes. It didn't give him that rush, knowing that he would be blasting somebody in the face with it one of these days.

But it was going to help him in a fight, and he kept on reminding himself of that.

Body wobbling, Tempest struggled to balance himself on what little water had been produced beneath his feet as Eevee fired off another Shadow Ball to the side. Currently, Valiant was in the midst of forming a ball of his own, and as encouragement, the quadruped had given him a second demonstration mid-attempt.

Eevee's encouraging, instructive barks filled the Kirlia's ears as his hands mildly burned from the sensation of holding the ghostly energy in his hands. His grip on the ball was beginning to feel shaky, and it was only roughly about half-size when he released it. Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Valiant looked to Eevee, who's face wore a sympathetic grin as she offered him a nod.

Looking back out straight ahead, Valiant held his hands close to one another once more, as another collection of distortion appeared in between. The energy rippled and splash around with his grip, refusing to form any sense of stability as he squeezed his eyes shut to contain it.

Eventually, with great effort, it began to take shape into a proper sphere, expanding gradually. As it got bigger, the rippling would resume on occasion, the energy sporadically crackling within his palms. As the burning in his hands increased in intensity. In actuality, the burning sensation was only getting slightly worse, but it felt as though it were multiplying.

Eventually, the ball stopped expanding, now almost full size. Valiant stared at the ghostly orb with wide, shaking eyes, as though he were viewing a bullet aimed at his forehead. Slowly turning his head to Eevee, he saw her still smiling at him. All she offered was a nod.

Looking back out ahead, Valiant's eyes turned more focused, and he hurled the orb. It traveled a decent distance, almost as far as Eevee's own before falling apart, the remnants quickly fizzling out.

The emotion Pokemon let out an even bigger exhale than before, his nerves easing as Eevee brushed up against his side.

Tempest watched the two for a moment before releasing his Surf, choosing to take a break from the frustrating move. If he spent any more time wobbling on shaky waters he was going to snap. He wasn't sure if it was a mercy or a punishment when he found Eevee turning her gaze in his direction, a gesture of the head beckoning him over.

The river crab grumbled. Who was she to order him around? But it wasn't her giving him the orders, he quickly realized. Ash had given them directions, and she was ensuring they'd follow them. She wasn't a bootlick like Valiant, but she took following the routine seriously. He didn't miss the disdain in her eyes, however, as he begrudgingly made his way towards them.

The relaxation in Valiant's muscles was quick to disappear as the Krabby stopped in front of them, the Kirlia once more on full alert in the water type's presence. Tempest took just enough time to sneer at the psychic (what was Eevee going to do about it?) before turning off to the side and channeling a familiar sensation of frigidness in his pincers.

As the Icy Wind froze the grass over, Tempest turned back to Valiant and began speaking instructions. It felt as though he was just repeating himself from yesterday, and Valiant seemed to reciprocate after requesting elaboration. With a roll of the eyes, Tempest complied, attempting to repeat his previous directions in slightly greater detail. This Kirlia had pulled off more complex techniques on the battlefield than just this, what was the big deal!?

Turning away, Valiant cupped his hands together, closing his eyes. Tempest allowed himself to back away by just a few steps as he watched the Kirlia concentrate, his derisive stare boring into the back of his teammates head. Eevee paid the look no mind, however, simply sinking into a sitting position a few feet from her teammate's side, watching the young psychic carefully.

Nothing happened.

As Tempest's mouth curved upwards, and Valiant lowered his arms to his sides with a disappointed and apologetic sigh, Eevee casually closed distance between herself and the psychic fairy, patting her paw against his back. As she did so, the evolution Pokemon repeated Tempest's instructions, eliciting an ignored snort from the river crab. It was a waste of time. Valiant would be better off sticking to learning some ghost type move that he was afraid of while in the midst of using it than he would be trying to produce even a whiff of cool air from his hands. At this rate, Tempest half-expected hot air to come out of the emotion Pokemon's hands instead. At least that would match what the Kirlia was clearly full of.

As Eevee backed away, Valiant took another deep breath, exhaling carefully, and with focus, before straightening himself out. His gaze slowly turned steelish as he looked out to the expansive grass up in front of him. Holding his hands outward, he concentrated yet again with closed eyes. Breathing through his nose, the Kirlia continued to visualize, concentrating, zeroing in…

It was only a tiny stream, and it barely froze any grass, but after what felt like about fifteen seconds, the smallest stream of icy air made its way out of his hands. Immediately before, he felt the cold sensation in his hands that signaled the Icy Wind's imminent arrival.

Tempest's pincers collapsed onto the grass as the river crab stared at the pair with blank, widened eyes and an open mouth. Once again closing the distance between her and Valiant, Eevee took just a second or two to shoot the Krabby a vindictive smirk before affectionately rubbing her best friend's back in congratulations.

/

In another, fairly open part of the grassy field, a pink aura coated much of Pikachu's fur as he punched and kicked into the air, occasionally lashing out with his tail. A few feet beside him, Tyrunt mimicked the routine, albeit at a slower pace, and with a fainter glow in his own pink aura.

The TM for Play Rough had already allowed them to use the move to a basic extent; to produce the technique itself and skip the arduous step of building up a foundation (Pikachu didn't envy what Valiant was likely going through), but much like with all decently powerful moves, the TM in question was far from a freebie, and Pikachu was quickly reminded of all of the sweat he had poured down his body to hone Iron Tail to the near-perfection that would be needed against Brock. A distant memory that had returned to him with this routine, even if the circumstances and training environment were not nearly as intense.

Training by the rocks had been nostalgic, but for now, Pikachu was fixated on the new fairy type move, occasionally pausing to give Tyrunt a few quick tips based on how things had been going for the mouse. The young dinosaur was as excited and enthusiastic as they came, and the productivity of his youngest teammate encouraged Pikachu to continue pushing on ahead further. He had been outpacing the royal heir Pokemon whilst practicing the move, but that also gave him an opportunity to act as an example and guide for the rock/dragon type Pokemon to follow.

Still, they had at this for a decent few minutes now. When the glow around Pikachu's fur dissipated and the electric type ceased his sporadic movement, Tyrunt took that as a signal to stop, and followed suit as Pikachu turned to face him. The dinosaur gave his mouse teammate a happy smile as the rodent offered a thumbs up, before gesturing towards himself with some new instructions for the younger Pokemon.

Earth Power.

Right, this was the move that Ash said would help to improve his ranged arsenal. They had practiced it a little bit the previous day, so now it was time to resume.

Both Pokemon backed away to clear some distance, before Tyrunt closed his eyes with a deep breath. Eyes glowing a goldish color as he opened them back up, Tyrunt stamped against the grass with a howl. A glowing line of the same color traveled across the ground in between them, and when it reached Pikachu, energy erupted outward like a tiny geiser. The mouse was ready, and naturally leapt to the side to avoid all harm.

Earth Power worked by allowing its user to cause energy to flow through the ground directly beneath, and detonate against its target upon collision, or after reaching a certain distance. It only worked on grounded enemies, or those who weren't high enough in the air to fully avoid the ensuing explosion (at its current stage, Tyrunt's version of the technique was a fairly tiny explosion), but otherwise emulated that of what one would expect from just about any other ranged attack such as Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower. The notes that Ash had read to the duo replayed through their minds as Pikachu leapt away from the attack.

Suddenly, Pikachu was shouting a different signal in Tyrunt's direction, rushing at the dinosaur on all fours whilst one of his paws glowed orange. Although he wasn't going at full speed, the sudden movement elicited a startled yelp from the younger team member, who attempted to catch his training partner in his jaws.

Upon seeing Tyrunt's response, Pikachu leapt to the side once more, leaving his sparring partner to chomp on empty air, before raising his paws to signal a time out. Seeing his teammate ease up, the mouse walked over to him, and began explaining that he'd like for him to try and block the Brick Break with his own. An embarrassed Tyrunt quickly apologized, before backing away to give Pikachu more room to break into a run.

Once more, the yellow mouse rushed him, mercifully not striking at his full speed as Tyrunt quickly raised one of his claws to intercept him. Brick Break met Brick Break, and Tyrunt quickly felt a sharp pain in his fist as Pikachu's collided with it. The electric type's version of the move was very obviously superior, and the momentum carrying Pikachu into him quickly sent Tyrunt staggering backwards and collapsing onto his bottom, massaging his sore knuckles. Observing him with some guilt, Pikachu changed course, gesturing for the dinosaur to attack him instead. Nodding in acknowledgement, the rock/dragon type picked himself up and lunged for his teammate. Reacting quickly, Pikachu parried his strike with another Brick Break.

For the next few minutes, the two transitioned between exchanging Brick Breaks, and Pikachu dodging Earth Powers throughout their spar. Pikachu called the entire sequence, always being the one to instruct the next shift in pace. To the best of his ability, Tyrunt followed his teammate's orders whilst executing his moves.

Eventually, the sound of footsteps broke up their exchange, and Tyrunt's face lit up as Eevee came into view, mouth stuffed with something. As she spat out two objects, the dinosaur made his way to her side, chatting excitedly and eliciting an amused grin from the quadruped. As Pikachu quickly made his way to the duo, who looked down and saw that the objects in question that Eevee had been carrying around in her mouth were two oran berries. Apparently, Ash had trusted her to deliver them to the two in his stead.

Nudging her forepaws against the two blue fruits, Eevee looked up at Pikachu and nodded, telling him that Ash had asked her to spar with him, while their trainer oversaw Valiant and Tempest's practice. Now that Valiant had finally gotten to use Icy Wind to some sort of an extent, Ash had chosen then to take the time to observe more closely. Picking up the berry in his paws, Pikachu nodded the affirmative, quickly munching down on the fruit, not too bothered that it had been drenched in his teammate's saliva. Pokemon weren't nearly as fixated on germs as humans.

Tyrunt seemed even less bothered, to the point where Pikachu found himself genuinely wondering if the implications of Eevee carrying the fruit around inside of her mouth had even registered with the youngest member of the team. The dinosaur had simply plucked the berry off of the ground in his claws, and shoved the whole thing into his jaws with just as much glee as always. Although the mouse immediately felt a minor sense of relief as he consumed the berry, the rejuvenative properties of the decently tasting fruit quickly digesting into his body, he imagined that his training partner was feeling them to a greater extent. Tyrunt seemed to be a bit more tired than he was.

After finishing their quick snack, Pikachu and Tyrunt exchanged friendly smiles as the dinosaur walked off to the side, creating space between himself and his other two teammates as Eevee walked away for a moment to make some distance of her own.

Fior just a moment or two, as Pikachu sank onto all fours and erected his tail to match the normal type's stance, all the two of them did was stare. Gazing into each other's eyes, the electric type found himself trying to emulate her intensity. The drive in her pupils. He couldn't quite do it, but he wouldn't break away, either, lest he risk being intimidated by his sparring partner.

Eevee moved first, breaking into a sprint as her erected tail turned metal. :Pikachu immediately reacted by mirroring her actions, neither combatant holding back any speed. In the eyes of Tyrunt, the two teammates were like bullets as their bodies collided with one another, Iron Tail to Iron Tail.

Quickly pushing each other off one another, the duo exchanged a flurrying series of strikes and parries, each one taking turns to be the attacker, not letting either gain too much momentum, and thus immediately responding with offense after they were finished executing defense.

Abruptly, as their two tails collided from the upteenth time, a startled Pikachu found his attack met with far more force than usual. All he could do was yelp as Eevee's tail pushed back against his own, sending the mouse tumbling across the grass as his fur soaked up the wet dirt. Stopping on his bottom, he could see his normal type standing proudly, metallic tail glowing with the bright, white aura of Focus Energy.

Observing her downed opponent, Eevee allowed the pride in her heart to relish as she turned her chin upwards. She had only just gotten to use Focus Energy with a bit of consistency, and therefore could not amplify her Iron Tail to as great of an extent as she likely could with more practice, reflected in how the aura wrapped around the metallic tail still had room to glow more brightly, but the bolstered offense had been more than welcome.

Not wanting to give her opponent too much time to rest or gather himself, she quickly shot forward yet again, only to find herself side stepping away from a quick Thunderbolt.

Now back on all fours, Pikachu dashed in a separate direction, fur coated in Agility as he raced around the grass to line himself up with Eevee's side. Eevee tried to follow his movements whilst still avoiding the Thunderbolt that he had launched at her (which she would quickly find was both a defense and a distraction), but couldn't respond in time as his head collided with her side.

The two tumbled across the grass, with Pikachu in control, pinning her onto her stomach with his forepaws locking hers into the dirt. Eevee's stomach clenched as she saw the sparks beginning to fill his cheeks for a point-blank zap.

Thinking quickly, she brought her head upwards, closing the distance and licking her teammate in the face, tongue purposefully passing over one of Pikachu's eyes. The electric type staggered backwards on his hind legs, paw brought up to the eye as he forcibly blinked. Quickly springing herself up, Eevee desperately fought to gather as much concentration as she could, thanking the heavens as she felt Focus Energy successfully being channeled into her tail again.

The next moment, her Iron Tail collided with Pikachu's side, launching him away with a pained cry as Eevee chased after him at full speed. Even as he tumbled away, Eevee caught up to him, wrapping her legs around his body as she tackled him downward into the wet grass and dirt. He could feel said wetness as his face was involuntarily pressed into the ground, his teammate triumphantly atop his back as she pinned him on his stomach. He could feel the dreadful sensation of a Shadow Ball hovering just in front of the back of his head, a chill rushing down his spine as his body shivered down to the muscle.

After a moment or two, Pikachu raised a paw and began tapping it against the grass. As the Shadow Ball disappeared from view, Eevee's satisfied grin was revealed, making her way off of the electric type and allowing him to roll over on his back.

His side was aching from the tremendous blow, his face was filthy to near-beyond recognition, and Eevee was standing over him with her head tilted to the side and a coy smile. For a brief moment, Ash's starter stopped wincing from the pain and discomfort, and grinned back at her sheepishly.

/

Nebula reared back another wing as the blade of air formed in front of her. She had been practicing Air Slash almost non stop throughout the afternoon, the only breaks she took from honing the attack being the session she dedicated to Double Team, and the quick oran berry snack that Ash had stopped by to drop off for her before making his way to Valiant, Eevee and Tempest.

She knew she wasn't going to master the technique in just two days, but the repetition would certainly help the progress. Most attempts were fairly similar to how she had left off the previous day: Almost at full size, but without the stability to properly hold itself together for all that long. On occasion, the blade would either be at full size, or last for roughly the proper amount of time and distance. Throughout the entire afternoon, only two attempts had produced both.

With some sweat pouring down her clenched face, a grunt of frustration saw her hurling the blade forward. She inwardly (and nearly outwardly) groaned as the near-full sized blade fell apart and fizzled away just like most of the others. Quickly, she circled around her area one last time, prepping herself for the upteenth attempt.

She was running out of time. The sky was turning orange. Ash and Janine would want to get moving soon. But she had to put as much work in as possible.

She had once been the strongest member of this team, and had carried the group through the Cerulean Gym to make up for her failure back in Pewter. But against Erika, that same failure had repeated itself. And under typing circumstances where she should have had the upper hand, nonetheless. She knew Gym Leaders were all perfectly prepared to counter just about any kind of type matchup; her trainer was anvilicious about that. But it was unbearable knowing she was the only active member to not score a single knockout, in two out of three of her Gym battles. If Ash chose to use her against Sabrina, she couldn't let that happen anymore.

With a quick howl, she hurled another blade outward. This one was full size, but still fizzled out rather quickly, only lasting for slightly longer than the previous one had. It was an improvement, but not a consistent one.

"Hey, Nebula!" looking down, she saw her trainer gazing up at her with cupped hands. Inwardly, the Staravia sighed. That was her cue.

Quickly descending downward, she perched herself on the small rock beside her trainer, happily accepting the pat on the head that came with her arrival.

"We're going to be moving out soon. Get in another hour or so of walking before having dinner. I just wanted to run something by you real quick." blinking, the flier watched her trainer pull out his Pokedex as he sat down on the wet grass. He seemed to be scrolling through some sort of menu.

"You're doing a great job with Air Slash so far." relief settled within her chest. "Once we get to Saffron you can keep practicing it. It'll be a bit before we challenge Sabrina, so we might have time to add in one more move if you're interested." she nodded as he looked to her for confirmation. He grinned. "Good, your species can also learn Swift. I prioritized Air Slash for its strength and because you can get a better idea of it more easily thanks to your existing knowledge of Air Cutter, but once Valiant is able to start practicing Shadow Ball without coaching, I was thinking of having Eevee try and teach Swift to you. With any luck, we might be able to get it ready in time for the Gym, although I'd prefer if we made sure Air Slash was ready first."

Nebula considered her trainer's words for a moment or two. Had this been a little over a month prior, Eevee would have spat in their faces if asked to teach her just about anything, given the way she had felt about Nebula in the beginning. But thankfully, that tension had died down fairly naturally, albeit the two of them rarely interacted. Still, it seemed like a harmless idea, certainly compared to having Tempest try and teach a move to someone.

And since Swift was a move of her typing, she'd have some advantage going in to trying to learn the move, TM or not. From what Ash had often spoken of, acquiring some kind of competent, even if limited, variation of the technique in time for Sabrina could potentially be feasible, with the proper guidance. Likely not as natural as Eevee's more experienced usage, but still something nevertheless. It was worth a shot.

As she nodded back at him, Ash pocketed the Pokedex. "Okay, we'll see if we have the time, then. Valiant still needs help with Shadow Ball at the moment, so Eevee's paws are tied, and I know you're working on Air Slash, so priorities first. I already ran it by her and she was open to it." Nebula blinked in mild surprise, but felt somewhat relieved nonetheless. "Your species can also learn Ominous Wind, which would be the most useful move to learn, but without any prior knowledge of ghost type moves like Valiant has, I figured it'd take too long. I felt this would be more efficient for now." Taking a closer look at the bird, he patted her head. "You look pretty tired, ready to turn in?"

The question caught her off guard, and it was as though she had just now realized the fatigue in her wings. Ash frowned at her. "Apart from the snack, did you take any breaks?" After a brief pause, her gaze somewhat turned downward. "Hmmm… Your work ethic's great, but don't push yourself that much, okay? It's like I said, we're not fighting Sabrina right away. You'll have more time to get the move down. And tiring yourself out will make it more difficult to properly form the move anyway. That'll just hinder your mastery."

Blinking a bit, Nebula mentally kicked herself. How had she not picked up on that sooner. Shaking her head apologetically, she offered her trainer a quick chirp.

"You don't have to say sorry, pal." Ash seemed both sympathetic and amused. "I just wanted you to know. Anyway, the others are waiting, so let's get going." She followed her trainer back to the group.

/

The massive buildings of Saffron City could be spotted in the distance as the group settled down for dinner. Over on one part of the campsite, Tyrunt had joined Pikachu and Nebula, conversing with the mouse about some of the tips they'd gone over regarding Brick Break and Play Rough. Valiant would occasionally steal a glance in the dinosaur's direction, whilst inquiring his own fair share of tips from Eevee. Over in one of the far corners, Tempest, with nobody to talk to, had recently finished his food first, and Ash could see him summoning some water beneath his body whilst struggling to remain balanced. With Pikachu occupied with Tyrunt, Nebula had taken it upon herself to initiate a conversation with Ivysaur and Golbat, the latter expressing interest in her Air Slash progress.

Ash bit into his sandwich as Janine took a seat next to him. "You can see the city from here." he pointed out, admiring the distant sight of the skyscrapers lit up in the night.

Pulling out her own sandwich (those really were the most common food for the road, Ash figured), the poison specialist shuffled for a moment to get comfortable. "It's not too far, then."

As she ate, Ash took a moment to ponder. "We could probably get there by lunch tomorrow. Or we could delay breakfast and hightail on our bikes, but I know you get up early."

After swallowing her bite, she shrugged. "I wouldn't mind. The Center has better food than what we eat on the road. I know some outdoor cooking, but I need more ingredients than I have right now."

"It kind of feels weird being able to get to another city so soon," Ash pointed out. "But I'm honestly glad about that. I still haven't gotten fully comfortable with camping." he admitted. It was a bit frustrating, knowing he'd been a trainer for over two months and still somewhat dreaded having to sleep outside.

Janine was quiet for a few moments before responding. "With all due respect… you'll have to get more used to it soon." she looked at him. "Fuchsia territory is going to be a lot less comfortable to travel through. The terrain and wildlife are going to be far worse. And it will take a while to get to the city regardless of which route you take."

Ash scratched his hair (he still wasn't used to not having a cap on his head). "I know that. I'll make sure I'm prepared for when that comes. I never had to do anything like this until I actually became a trainer, so I guess two months wasn't enough to break the mindset."

"Hmm… I guess I was never in your shoes." she replied, somewhat entranced by the distant view of Saffron City. "Fuchsia City was always sort of… merged, with the outside world, you could say. It was the perfect place to prepare for stuff like this."

Ash swallowed another bite of his sandwich before turning to her. "So you've been doing this for years?" he asked.

As she chuckled back, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was… missing from her tone. "Almost anything you'd need to learn to be a trainer, I've had my share of hands-on exposure to. Since I was old enough to be physically able. It's done wonders to help me plan ahead. Father was adamant in making sure I knew everything, and he made use of our city's environment to do it."

"That makes sense." Ash responded. "I never really had any of that. I just went to school with a few hands-on projects here and there. Just for a taste." If her father was an official, and likely a high level trainer, Ash supposed it might make sense that he'd put so much effort into preparing his daughter. Compared to her, he was just an ordinary kid.

It made him curious to ask her how far up her dad was ranked, but he knew that question wouldn't be appropriate.

"Speaking of Fuchsia," Janine brought his attention back to her a few moments later. "Have you decided what direction you're going to go in after Saffron? Vermilion or Lavender Town, I mean?"

"Not yet." he shook his head. "I'll make sure I have that figured out before I battle Sabrina."

She was silent for a moment before nodding back. "I'm still thinking too. I have a feeling I'll take the longer route to Lavender Town, just to make sure I have enough time to train, but I haven't made up my mind yet."

That had certainly been an advantage on his mind. Choosing the Lavender route would bring what Janine had said earlier to the table: About how he needed to get more accustomed to camping sooner rather than later. But perhaps that would be a way to force himself to get used to it. Either way he'd still need to be prepared; he'll definitely be purchasing a tent before leaving Saffron City.

But whether camping was comfortable or not, it still stood that having as much time as possible to get training done was important. And for all the harshness that the road to Fuchsia City was known for, it also made it the perfect place to prepare. There was a reason it was a popular training ground amongst high-level competitors.

Vermilion would always be an option, however, and a rematch with Surge along with it. He would have to be careful not to rush into anything, though, lest he and his team find themselves with a second painful memory walking out of the electric specialist's Gym.

Of course, the Magnet Train was a third option, and would take them to Goldenrod City in the Johto Region. Ash had already decided to hold off on that. He wondered if Janine had considered it but, although he imagined she wanted to earn a badge from her hometown first.

A thought occurred to him… her hometown… It might be a longshot, but it could give him extra context for his decision.

"Do you know anything about Koga?" Nearly finished with her sandwich, the girl paused mid-bite, as if not expecting him to ask. "Sorry, I was just thinking that, since you're from Fuchsia and your father works for the League…" he had already battled Surge once, but he knew very little about Koga outside of word of mouth (or was that horror stories?). That limited form of knowledge hadn't paid off very well in Vermilion, but if Janine had any descript information…

Resuming her bite, his friend took a moment to chew before swallowing the remains of her food. She seemed to be in thought, but still kept her attention on him as she pondered his question. "Well… how much do you know right now?" she inquired.

Ash scratched the back of his neck, eyes quickly scanning the campsite to briefly check on their teams' activity. Nothing much seemed to have changed for the moment, although Skrelp looked like she was already trying to go to sleep.

"Basic stuff you'd hear about him, I guess. I've heard he's merciless to all of his opponents, and doesn't give them any leeway even when he's holding back. And that he's a brilliant tactician and works really well with ailments. I don't really know anything specific. I've just heard people say that his way of taking on challengers sometimes feels more like a torture session than a battle."

She kept her eyes on him while processing his words, facial expression still conveying that she was in "thinking mode". Finally, she turned away, looking out ahead towards the lit-up city in the distance. "Yes, those are the basic things. Nothing untrue." she brushed her hand against her ponytail. "I… Well, he's taken full advantage of everything you would expect a poison type to be capable of. They are lethal, often underhanded. When used right, they could cripple; find their way through any defense, around any offense, and bring an enemy to their knees. It doesn't matter if it's from the inside or the outside, he quickly calculates whatever the most effective approach would be, and takes it. And this has allowed him to apply that same mindset to other types of ailments as well. Poison has always been his go-to, obviously, but just about any type of hindrance you might think of, he has a team member for. He'll exploit holes in your style that you never considered even being a weakness. He might even find a way to turn something into a weakness. Any mistake you make in battle, or in training, he's going to see it. And he'll make sure you pay for it." he could see her face tighten for a moment, before easing somewhat, albeit not losing all of the tension. "He's the smartest Gym Leader in Kanto. Ask anybody who knows them, even the other Gym Leaders themselves; they'll all say it."

Ash bit his lip. So in short, everything was true. She was expanding the detail in a more eloquent manner, but the message remained the same, and she clearly wanted him to know that.

"By the way," she suddenly continued, looking back at him in full. Although he didn't flinch, the eye contact took him by surprise. There was an intensity in her gaze, and suddenly, as his heart seemingly skipped a beat, he was almost reminded of her behavior towards Damian at the museum. Had he not been seeing things after all? "That's just how he treats your Pokemon. You need to be careful too."

He blinked once. "Why's that?"

"Koga knows that an opposing trainer is just as much of an enemy as an opposing Pokemon, and how a trainer's decisions will impact a match, regardless of what each sides' respective Pokemon are capable of." Janine's voice had grown stern, and although the look in her eyes wasn't intimidating, it demanded his full acknowledgement. A demand that he listen to Every. Single. Word. She. Said. "He's an expert tactician, like you said. But he's also an expert at mind games. He is going to get inside of your head the moment the referee calls the match. He'll make decisions designed to confuse you, advantageous or not. He'll even try to disturb or even scare you, if that's what it takes. Anything that could throw you off of your game, and leave your team to fend for themselves, to get picked off." Finally breaking eye contact, she looked back out towards the city in the distance. "It's not just about beating your team. He's actually going to beat you, toy with your emotions, and make sure that you're not in the right mind to properly respond to anything that he does."

Ash released a breath that he had been holding. "He… breaks his opponents?"

"Physically for the Pokemon," she replied with an affirmative nod. "Mentally for the trainers. I think that's… the real reason he's so successful. He believes in the duality of two trainers and their teams battling each other, and he's made an art out of that. Anyway, that's what I know."

She said no more after that, and Ash turned away from her with an odd look on his face, the thoughts in his mind churning together, trying to soak everything up.

'The duality of two trainers and their teams battling each other.' in his mind, he repeated what Janine had told him. All this time, he had been concerned about what kind applications Koga specialized in with his poisonous team, and what ways he utilized their venomous abilities the best. How painful were his attacks to deal with, and just how smart of a strategist was he? But it went beyond that, according to her, and he'd trust a native of Fuchsia with familial ties to the League over a random person he ran into on the road.

LT. Surge of Vermilion, and Koga of Fuchsia. Two Gym Leaders feared by the trainer populace for being some of the most relentless, brutal, and traumatizing obstacles a challenger could attempt to climb over. Between both of them, Ash wasn't sure who he was supposed to dread more.

But either way, the best thing to do would be to pocket this conversation into his memories. He had to beat Sabrina first.

"So…" hearing her voice, he quickly looked back in Janine's direction. "Did I tell you enough?"

All of a sudden, the look that she was giving him… almost felt jarring. Like whiplash. The intensity was gone, and replaced with her usual, gentle coolheadedness.

"Yeah," he replied, offering his friend a smile. "Thanks, I'll be sure to keep it all in mind."

Her smile matched his. "Alright, glad to hear it."

/

The campsite was silent. Everyone was asleep; Ash in his sleeping bag, Janine in her tent, all twelve Pokemon slumbering on the grass, or Tempest leaning his back against a rock. There was on exception, however.

Although she remained planted on the ground, Eevee raised her head to look around for a few moments. Valiant and Tyrunt were both fairly close to her on either side, the two both sleeping without a care in the world. Although she was drowsy, the evolution Pokemon was a bit slower falling asleep tonight, but was content to relax until she did.

The past two sessions had been a mixed bag for her. She was more than happy (and even eager) to teach Valiant Shadow Ball, especially with the contribution that it would provide against that Sabrina Gym Leader that Ash had been warning them and the others about, but being around Tempest and dealing with his derision was exhausting. At least she could use their occasional sparring sessions as a convenient excuse to whack him in the face, and the break she got while sparring with Pikachu had been more than welcome. Once Valiant had a handle on Shadow Ball, and Nebula with Air Slash, Ash had brought up pairing her together with the Staravia to hopefully teach her Swift.

It quickly occurred to Eevee that she would have outright hated such a choice if this had happened back when she was first captured, but she was over the Staravia. Not to mention, it'd be quite the upgrade from that despicable Krabby. She didn't want to leave Valiant alone to put up with the jerk, but she knew he could shut him up himself if needed.

Laying on her side, she suddenly felt something push against her front. Eyes widening for a moment, she looked to see the source of the contact, and almost grumbled. Apparently, Tyrunt had been lying down closer to her than she realized.

Casually, she tried to push the younger dinosaur off of her, only to be met with resistance. His sleeping body seemed to have gravitated to her.

Somewhat irritated, she looked to Valiant for help, but her best friend was out like a light. She sighed; Tyrunt was acting like a baby as usual; did he even still count as one? She wasn't sure what the age for that was.

Giving up on trying to pry the youngest member of the team away from her, Eevee instead shifted herself into a more comfortable position as the sleeping royal heir Pokemon sought out the warmth of her fur. Listening to the quiet sounds emitting from his throat, a light smile made its way across her face. For an instant, she leaned forward, opening her mouth, only to close it back up, suddenly looking around to make sure everyone was asleep. To her surprise, it seemed like Beedrill wasn't asleep after all, the bug/poison type's gaze meeting hers for a fleeting moment.

For a moment or two, the normal type hesitated. Suddenly, however, she found herself no longer caring, and began to lick away at Tyrunt's head.