"Hmmm. Trevenant, Decidueye, Gliscor, Gengar. You will be training on how to move as stealthily as possible. I will oversee this training personally. Greninja, Infernape, Sceptile, Lucario, Floatzel, you will train with Scizor in agility and teamwork. Saizo will assist." Kagetomo began, walking down the line of pokemon. "Hold on, Kagetomo. There's another of my pokemon that needs training in that department." Ash said. "She's probably sleeping nearby." he grumbled. Saizo, Brock, and Kagetomo made questioning faces, but Ash merely waved them off. "You'll see in a minute. I'll go find her." Ash trudged off, heading towards a small patch of brush they had passed a quarter mile closer to Pewter City. It was well hidden among the foliage, and he thought he had seen Zoe head straight toward it when he had brought out his pokemon the night before when they made camp. It was a ten minute walk at most, and he soon found himself under a dense canopy of what had to be apple trees mixed in with a variety of deciduous trees. Ah, no wonder. She could never resist sweets. There were berry bushes spread about beneath the canopy, and an area of dense brush was nestled between a gently sloping hill and a stream gurgling nearby. It would have been a beautiful view if it wasn't for the snoring. For a pokemon with an ability like illusion you would think she'd be more stealthy. Ash thought, sighing in exasperation. He was about to move into the brush in order to find her when he noticed the yellow mouse pokemon scampering up to him. "Hey buddy. Sorry for leaving you back there." Pikachu appeared to shrug, replying with a "Chu. Pikapikachu?"
"I'm looking for Zoey." he replied. Pikachu scrambled up his back, perching on his right shoulder. "Pikapi" he replied. Ash was confident that he knew what Pikachu was implying, something along the lines of 'Then lets get to it'. "I think she's sleeping in the bushes right over there." Ash replied, gesturing at the underbrush before them. "Pikachu" the yellow pokemon replied. Ash grinned, instantly understanding what his trusted partner meant, no translation needed. "Yeah, let's do it." Immediately, Pikachu's cheeks sparked, and electricity flowed from it into the bushes.
Zoey was not a happy camper. She had been sleeping off the night before when she was jolted awake by being zapped by Pikachu's thunderbolt, something she wouldn't soon forget nor forgive. She, Pikachu, and Ash were walking back to camp, or in Zoey's case, trudging back. She was in human form, and the expression on her face was a sour one. She would have been grumpy just being woken up in a normal fashion, but nooooo, they went and electrified her. And honestly, for what? So they could get on the road? Ash could have just returned her to the pokeball for Arceus sake! "Why exactly did you have to wake me up, Ash?"
"Because we have very important guests up ahead, and they want to do some special training with us." Zoey perked up at that. Special training? But we just won a badge. "Why should we train now? And why with these 'special guests'?" She inquired. Ash grinned. "You'll see."
Brock wasn't expecting Ash to return with a girl. Didn't he say he was going to get one of his pokemon? Maybe he returned it to the ball? But then who is the girl? "Sorry about that. Everyone, this is Zoey." Brock and the ninja looked confused. "Weren't you going to find another of your pokemon, Ash?" he asked. Ash turned to the girl, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Show them." he said. Zoey rolled her eyes, smiling fondly. Then she leaped clear over Brock and the ninja's heads. They turned, trying to keep up with her, and found a zoroark standing where she should have landed. "Hehehehe!" echoed in their heads. Saizo nodded and Kagetomo raised an eyebrow, but Brock was dumbstruck. "A zoroark? When did you catch a Zoroark, Ash?" he asked. "You've already met her, Brock. Zoey is the zorua we encountered just outside of Crown City." Ash replied. "I ran into her again in Unova after…" Ash paused, a strained look on his face. "She decided to come with us in order to grow stronger."
"I see what you referred to, Ash. A zoroark with the ability illusion could make great use of ninja training indeed. " Kagetomo said, turning to Zoey. "And I see that you have mastered the human form as well. Would you like to learn how to improve further?" he asked the black pokemon. "Why not?" she responded, grinning from ear to ear. "It sounds fun"
Less than an hour later, everyone except Brock and his pokemon (aside from Toxicroak) were training hard. Saizo had taken Ash, Greninja, Sceptile, Infernape, Floatzel, and Lucario within the confines of the woods for training on teamwork with Scizor and Saizo's Barbaracle. Meanwhile, Kagetomo was instructing the rest of Ash's pokemon chosen for training in the art of stealth. He was sitting cross legged in the middle of the clearing that he and Ash had battled in, meditating. Suddenly, the ground to his right erupted, and a purple colored pokemon shot out of the ground. It grinned, swinging one of it's pinsirs at it's 'instructor', thinking to score a hit in one strike. And subsequently missed. Kagetomo's form blurred, before reappearing behind Gliscor. "Using dig to sneak up on your enemy is a good strategy. Your strike was far too slow, however. Try using a move such as acrobatics when you emerge from the ground next. For now, you are disqualified." Kagetomo said calmly, striking out at the back of the pokemon's head. Gliscor slumped forward, knocked out.
The ninja turned, sensing an incoming attack, to find a barrage of spectral arrows bearing down on him. He leaped to the side, the arrows missing him by mere inches. He looked around the clearing, hoping to find some trace of his attacker, but found nothing. "Good, good. Very good. You are quiet, Decidueye. Use that trait to move stealthily into position and strike from a distance. This is an excellent strategy. However" he said, turning and rushing into the overgrown brush. "You are not the only one who will employ such tactics. How will you counter them?" Kagetomo's voice echoed. Decidueye had been confident that his first barrage would at least pin the ninja down, but his instructor had skillfully dodged at the last second. Now he had no idea where he was. He certainly needed to move. There was every chance that Kagetomo would find him before Decidueye found the ninja. And Decidueye knew that would mean game over. He had watched Greninja's battle with the ninja's pokemon. They hit fast and hard, employing any and all necessary tactics to defeat their enemy. Decidueye was confident that Kagetomo was the same. He concentrated, and the shadows wrapped around his form before he vanished altogether, before appearing beneath a tree on the edge of the clearing below. He would need to find some kind of clue to lead him in the direction the ninja had gone. The pokemon silently surveyed the area, before noticing that some of the branches on a nearby tree were bent, and the nearby grass was trampled. It grinned. Perfect.