- Ilex Forest -

Alexa glanced at puddles of water and damp plants from a rainstorm a few days ago. The dense forest had a strange feeling to it. "Does this forest feel different than Viridian Forest?" she carefully asked William as the other trainer frowned at the somewhat muddy path.

"No, it seems about the same," William said and stopped walking. "Does it feel different to you?"

"Owned," Alexa said after a moment to consider the sensation. "Like a Tumblestone attuned to someone else." There was only one option for who in this case, but Alexa wasn't sure if this was a new sense her current Lobasalt form gave her, part of the whole Legendary thing, or just her natural senses.

"So, it feels like a pokeball?" the illusioned Zoroark asked in a clear attempt to understand.

"No, pokeballs feel like you, this is just like something owned," Alexa corrected him, and then paused to consider how she knew that. "I probably should have mentioned that to Maizie. It might be a difference between the new ones and that old version she showed us."

"Alexa, I can't tell if this is a Legendary thing or just one of your typical pokemon things I haven't tried yet," William complained and started walking again. "And at this point that second list worries me more than the first when they come up."

"I'm fairly sure the Gym was both," Alexa complained with a stomp into one of the puddles. The water hardened that foot, which was honestly kind of nice, and other spots on her body with the splash. Between that and the occasional scattered fall of water off leaves overhead she was actually fairly solid and slow going.

"I hope the next one is better. Fairy type Gyms are always rough for me," William said, and Alexa had to turn to look at him for a moment to see if he was joking. He was not.

"William, the next Gym is Normal typed," Alexa slowly said. "Whitney is one of the Gym Leaders that give Normal Gyms their reputation." That reputation being that they were the hardest Gyms to face. Normal type pokemon were 'nothing special' much of the time, with the exceptions being very special indeed. Someone who could pull off typical Gym duties with Normal typed pokemon was a powerful trainer by any standard. "I'm planning on training more than ever while we're in the forest."

"But, she uses Clefairy," William said a bit faintly. "I had planned for Fairy type because of that."

"Kanto and Johto Clefairy are Normal typed," Alexa reminded the other trainer, or possibly informed him. "Honestly, a Fairy typed one would trip me up."

Chesnaught was suddenly released from her pokeball, followed quickly by the rest of William's team. "Alright, turns out Whitney is a Normal type Gym. Training time is doubled," William called out in a bit of a panic.

"Whitney is what!" Chesnaught demanded. "Team, moving training now!"

"What is 'moving training'?" Mareep asked a bit uneasily, and Alexa felt bad about setting this off for the team. Wooper was the only one of William's pokemon that didn't look uneasy, and that was because the little salamander had immediately been distracted by the puddles.

"When you work on attacks and battles while you travel," Alexa answered for the Electric/Fire type's trainer. "William, Chesnaught, we have more time than that. I was planning on spending a while in the forest. I have enough supplies to last a month here."

"Your team can turn your opponents into anything they want!" Chesnaught fired back with worry. "I got myself wrecked by Cheren's Lickilicky back in Unova!"

"We had to re-challenge that Gym four times," William said with concern. "It was our eighth Badge instead of fourth that time, but I'm not going to underestimate another Normal type Leader ever again."

"Well I- Gah! Cold! How is it so cold? That was just normal water, not some attack!" Mareep questioned as Wooper splashed a bit too close to the altered pokemon, small bits of hardened rock flaking off his fleece.

"You guys haven't done water training with Mareep yet?" Alexa asked darkly at that display. "Charizard barely let me walk down the road without that."

"Alexa, Mareep is my first Fire type since Unova," William said. "I don't even know what that is, and if it is a thing normal Fire types just learn then I don't know if they would even have brought it up."

Alexa let out her own Starter. "Charizard, Mareep needs Fire type education," she informed her pokemon tiredly. "I'm a bit waterproof right now, so I don't think I'll be the best help."

"I thought you said you could handle everything?" Charizard questioned William, and then looked around with a few confused blinks. "Huh, does this place feel owned to anyone else?"

Alexa watched the rain fall, still a Lobasalt as it wasn't polite to be toxic in a rainstorm inside someone's forest and she didn't feel like being Human. "First it rained all morning yesterday, then it starts up again this morning," she heard William complain. "I was sure that it wasn't supposed to rain for weeks after that storm before we left."

"Well it gives us more time to practice," Alexa pointed out as they made their way fairly slowly around their campsite to see how the rain was affecting travel. She was still using Lobasalt, although now it was mostly to keep from getting soaked, and that meant she was very stiff and slow. "I don't think we will make it far today."

"Alright, that should work," he replied and paused at the sight of one of the trees. "Didn't that one have only three low branches when we got here yesterday?" William questioned.

Alexa looked at the tree, and quietly wondered if they needed to make sure it still had only three branches by the end of the day. "Well, it is a Legendary pokemon's forest," she suggested, and hoped that her traveling companion did not need to have the possible reason spelled out. "What can your team work on in the rain?" Alexa's pokemon were all able to be waterproof now, which was a nice change in some ways from needing to limit travel and training for Charizard and Rhydon.

"Wooper needs some actual work, and a wet day might be best for that anyway," William thoughtfully answered. "Goodra likes the rain, and Shanker still needs to get back up to speed."

"Heracross definitely likes wet days more now that he isn't a Bug type," Alexa pointed out in agreement and started to prepare for a day at one place by letting out her pokemon who didn't need a change to enjoy the rain properly.

"I like it better as a lizard too," Bellossom immediately said in agreement as she shook her many flowers and lowered herself down on all fours. "I don't need to worry anywhere near as much about too much water."

"We've been listening," Kingler pointed out with a harsh glare towards the previously mentioned extra tree branch. "I'm in the mood for some work on my Dragon type instead of going over other types if that is possible."

"I wanted to keep going with the Flying type since Charizard isn't using his," Heracross grumbled, currently Fighting/Steel typed. "But not in this much rain."

"Alexa, didn't we train with the fallen branch 'yesterday'?" Rhydon quietly rustled as William moved away to work with Goodra and Wooper.

"Make sure we break that off and put it where we found it," Alexa mumbled to her Grass/Steel type. "We need to be out of here tomorrow."

"We are going to get to Goldenrod before we left, aren't we?" Charizard suddenly asked, and Alexa turned to see that her Starter had let himself out and already gotten a drink of transformative water.

"With any luck," Alexa admitted, because while going through the days of the week backwards might lead to that outcome, it was still possible that they might end up going back through them again forward. "We lost sight of the main path somehow yesterday."

"So we are getting extra time and don't know the way to go," Charizard rumbled dangerously. "Someone wants to speak to us then."

"Probably," Alexa agreed. "I'm not sure William has worked out what is happening yet."

"I'm not going to tell him. If he can't work it out when the ground's dry 'tomorrow' then maybe we should just let him be surprised," Charizard suggested tiredly. "Do you want me against Kingler, or to work with the others?"

"With the others. I'm going to see if Goodra might be convinced to help us out today. I want someone effective as an opponent for Kingler," Alexa informed him. "Which means I might need to point it out to William just to keep the peace."

William the Zoroark very badly hoped that Alexa let him continue pretending they were not in the recent past. He in fact would love it for the tree to have re-grown the branch that Alexa definitely used for training.

"You are definitely a Chosen One, William," Dedenne hissed at him. "How did you get us into this mess!"

"Big mess," Wooper agreed. "Momma said messing with forest fairy gives you headaches."

"Celebi is not a Fairy," Dedenne grumbled. "But your momma was still right. We do not want to anger someone who can move us all through time."

"I'm not sure we even want the interest of someone like that, but it is a bit late for it," William had to grumble himself. "Shanker, how's the rain?" he asked to distract everyone from that topic for a bit longer.

"I wish I'd convinced you to get a Dark Stone last year," the former Bug type replied as she opened her mouth to catch some drops. "I can actually breath deeply like my parents now." The new reptile then glanced over at Bellossom. "Although I suppose we are traveling with the right people to see what other types of animal are like to see which ones you like."

"And plants," Chesnaught noted a bit bluntly. "Some of us are just as much plant as animal, and Alexa is currently geology of all things."

"Are you a plant?" Wooper asked William's Starter with a critical look. It made William chuckle a bit, as it was the typical 'I knew you were effective against me, but didn't realize it before now' he had seen on many young pokemon. He had in fact seen it on Mareep not long ago directed at Wooper.

Chesnaught started to say something, and then visibly paused to consider that question. "William, help. I have a question Alexa might be able to answer but I have no idea if I even want the answer," his Starter said with worry. "Because I know I photosynthesize, but I do not know if that is enough to really make me a 'plant' pokemon." That was accompanied by a glance over at Rhydon, then Bellossom. "It isn't like I grow leaves as part of my body."

"Thorns," Wooper pointed out. "Plants have thorns." William sighed as they somehow ended up back on the topic he had wanted to avoid.

"I thought those were spikes, and I'm definitely not a plant and I have spikes," Shanker suggested to the young pokemon. "They are spikes right?"

"I have never considered that question before either," Chesnaught sighed with a hand in front of her face. "Can we hold off giving ourselves terrible questions too? This League is already confusing enough."

"Do you really think these questions aren't going to end up practical?" Dedenne questioned, and William flinched as his most upset pokemon returned to the topic. "Because the Legendary we're with seems to be able to put stuff like that in practice. Just look at Mareep."

"But he's in his pokeball," Goodra pointed out, but then caught on to the point. "Oh right, Mareep aren't usually uncomfortable in the rain."

"Electric types usually like a good rainstorm!" Dedenne complained. "It gives us plenty of soaked targets to zap." William started to ask a question. "Not their kind of Soak, the normal one where you just get wet!"

"I was going to ask about that weird Golem with a mustache," William clarified with a glare. "You know, the Rock/Electric type that messed our plan for that fight up entirely?"

"Kind of like how we are just barely avoiding being wrecked by a Normal type Gym now," Chesnaught agreed. "Which should be the focus of those of us who actually are willing to keep doing Gym matches," she added directly to Dedenne. "So maybe instead of complaining about how you should have ditched us before we left town you should work out what you will be doing until we can send you home."

Dedenne huffed at that and simply skittered down to his ball. "Chesnaught," William warned his pokemon.

"He was only out to complain anyway," his Starter replied, and even though that was true it still had been a confrontation William had hoped to avoid. "I've got enough things to think about, William. You know I'm going to go against some Normal type that can counter Fighting type moves somehow. Worst case we end up against another Zoroark like your aunt, you know the Ghost that is also Normal?"

William froze, in true horror, for a long moment. "Alexa! Is Whitney famous enough to get pokemon that were extinct?" he shouted.

"Maybe?" Alexa replied back and walked over. "I know she has strong and tough pokemon that can only be beaten if you're quick, but I don't know how rare any of them are." The Lobasalt was uncomfortably slower in the wet weather, but at least it wasn't a day where the other trainer William was with decided to just stay in a tent until the storm passed. "Also, can I borrow Goodra to go up against Kingler? I want someone with strong Dragon typed attacks."

"I'm up for showing off what a Dragon can do to another. That's always a good lesson, and you are helping us with that for Mareep," Goodra agreed with a look at William to confirm.

"I'm fine with it, but I want Charizard's help with Mareep when the rain dies down. Maybe yours too if you're up for it," William requested.

"I'll have to use Vespikiln. A lot of the typical Fire type stuff isn't a concern for Lobasalt," Alexa replied. "But that sounds alright." William blinked at how easily the other trainer agreed to be that particular form again. "Also I can check to see if it really is as easy as just sleeping in the pokeball to solve the cleaning issue."

The crash as the branch finally ended up hit by a stray slice from Shanker distracted Kingler enough that she finally took a full hit of Dragon fire from Goodra. Kingler had been hit by Dragon typed fire before. It was an expected thing for a trainer's pokemon, even if a wild one would only experiance it in the worst case. However, that was before she shared that type, and Dragon's fire wasn't particularly effective against anything except other Dragons.

Which meant she now got to feel the burn char her armor in a way that she had only approached when she was Steel typed and weakened to Fire type moves. It Hurt in a way she had not felt before, and it being an energy that she shared somehow hurt worse than others that weren't like her own.

"This is why Dragons don't really like other Dragons, isn't it?" Kingler had to ask Goodra. "We all can hurt each other more than other pokemon can hurt us."

"It is why fights between Dragons are more serious," Goodra admitted, but it did not sound like agreement. "But different Dragon typed species don't really like each other because it is rare for two Dragon typed species to live in the same place. Pokemon from different places always have reasons to not like each other all that much."

They were taking things slowly to start. Alexa had restocked on healing supplies with some of the money from the fiasco of the last Gym, but they didn't want to use them too quickly. Right now it was mostly just some test attacks while the rest of the team worked with Charizard and Alexa oversaw the mock fights. So far it was mostly just to get a handle on the back and forth between two Dragon types, trades of purple fire that charred instead of burned and hit both of them harder than other options they had available.

"So, the big thing about fighting other Dragon types is that you usually are either the best counter on your team, or the worst, with few cases in between," Goodra continued with a glance towards Alexa. "Because they are either going to be good at taking down Dragons like you, or bad at handling someone that can hurt them, but typically not somewhere between. Most trainers have Dragons to either crush opponents or defeat other Dragons."

"Dragon types aren't as hard for us to take down," Alexa noted. "We have options to add to those weaknesses, or at least weaken their resistances. Not to mention I've been looking into the types we don't have good options for yet. I might have found an Ice type one."

Kingler watched as Goodra shuddered at that suggestion. "Okay, if you find one of those I might ask for a Steel type for my own comfort with this kind of training," the slug Dragon lamented.

"We have one, a match to mine actually, but we forgot to test it," Kingler pointed out. "Didn't you say you brought it with us?" she then asked her trainer.

"I also said I was worried it would work on me," Alexa pointed out. "You know how much Frozen Flames hurt to take out, so you have a better idea than I do about how good an idea it is to try with that one."

It was horrible, and Kingler really did want another option if it was for her trainer to use. However, "If it is going against that Dragon Gym I'd like you to have Ice as an option," Kingler admitted. "I know you aren't going to be in the fight, but that doesn't mean the Gyms aren't going to ask you to change, or to do something that needs a pokemon outside of the fight." Their eighth Badge back in Kanto had been a nightmare due to the requirements that had been added to make up for their undersized team.

"Well, it would make me an Ice/Dragon if it works on me," Alexa allowed which made Goodra shudder again. "I don't have any other good Dragon type options yet for the team yet."

Kingler glanced at Goodra to see the other pokemon's reaction, but the reaction to a search for Dragon typed changes was only slightly less uneasy than for the Ice type. That mostly made sense given it was still a weakness, but it reminded Kingler that despite all of Alexa's team feeling that the forest was owned, as if it was clearly marked as belonging to someone else, none of William's team had really seemed to feel it.