"I just don't understand," Ash murmured as he sat with Clay and Cyrus in the Pokemon Center. "What did I do wrong? Even with unevolved Pokemon, I've been doing fine up until now…how could I have lost so badly all of a sudden?"

"Ash," said Cyrus, "do you remember your battle with Lucian?"

"Of course," Ash replied. "It was only a couple days ago. Though it did kinda get eclipsed by the whole giant robot thing."

"I see," said Cyrus. "Do you remember that, even with all of your Pokemon having some sort of type advantage, you still ended up getting down to your last Pokemon?"

Ash frowned. "I guess?"

"You've been rushing the Gym Challenge, Ash," Cyrus told him. "Ever since you came into my Gym, you've simply run headlong into every Gym you've come across."

"I didn't do that with Cerulean," Ash protested.

"Only because Clay practically dragged you into a training day," Cyrus pointed out. Clay nodded in agreement. Cyrus continued, "Ever since you caught all your new, powerful Pokemon, you haven't felt the need to do extra training. And I understand that you have plenty of natural skill to draw on. But the Gyms have been catching up in terms of power. Sooner or later, your natural talent and your Pokemon's natural strength was not going to be enough to progress any further. And you have just hit that point."

"Not to mention," Clay muttered, "all your strongest Pokemon are weak to Fire."

"Yes, that is another contributing factor," Cyrus admitted. "If this were, say, a Grass-type Gym, you would likely be on your way to Fuschia right now. But the fact remains that your team, as it stands, simply needs more training. And you need to start thinking about evolutions."

"Right," said Ash. "Starting with Hisuian Growlithe, of course. I need to evolve him, and I need to get him a Rock-type move of some sort. Do either of you know anywhere I can get TMs?"

"The Celadon Department Store," Clay promptly replied. "It's full of stuff for aspiring Trainers - I'm sure you'll be able to find a TM in there."

"Awesome!" said Ash. "I'm headed there!"

"Not on your own, you're not." Clay stood. "That place is good, no doubt, but it's also a trap - before you know it you'll be spending more money than you've got. Cyrus, you hold down the fort until we get back, okay?"

"It seems I have no choice," Cyrus murmured.

Clay smiled. "That's the spirit!"


On Professor Archie's Ranch, life was almost always free of danger. This did not mean, however, that it was always peaceful.

"Welcome," said Scizor, "to Negotiation Practice with Scizor. In this lesson, I will be teaching the two of you how to properly perform a negotiation. Yes, Kricketune?"

Kricketune lowered his hand. "I know how to perform a negotiation. The Kricketune Squad did negotiations all the time. Granted, most of the time we just took stuff, but still…"

"All right," said Scizor. "In that case, you try first! Negotiate this sleeping spot from our willing test subject!"

Archie's Sharpedo opened one eye. "Do you three mind? I'm trying to sleep in this sleeping spot."

"Semi-willing test subject," Scizor amended. "Well, go on - you're not getting the spot by just standing around."

Kricketune stepped forward. "Excuse me, Mr. Sharpedo. I believe we may be able to make an arrangement-"

"All right, that's enough!" Scizor stepped in between them. "You're a Kricketune, not a businessman. You approach someone like that, with all sorts of unnecessary words and soft language, and you give them all the time in the world to form a counter-offer, or make up their mind on something. You have to be fast, forceful, and direct."

"UN-DER-STOOD." Genesect stepped forwards. "I - WILL - GO - NEXT." Without waiting for a response from either Scizor or Kricketune, he leaned towards Sharpedo and began powering up his cannon. "SUR-REN-DER - YOUR - PO-SI-TION - OR - YOU - WILL - BE - EX-TER-MIN-A-TED!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Scizor forced his way between Genesect and the now more-awake-looking Sharpedo. "That's too forceful. You're trying to negotiate, not challenge them to a fight!"

"You ended up fighting Primeape," Kricketune pointed out.

"After," said Scizor, "I negotiated Ash's hat back from him. And you remember how I did that, right?"

"THERE - WAS - A - SIG-NI-FI-CANT - A-MOUNT - OF - YEL-LING," Genesect recalled.

"Can I go somewhere else now?" Sharpedo asked.

"No!" said Scizor. "We have to negotiate this spot away from you."

"Well, consider it negotiated," Sharpedo growled. "I'm heading to the lake." Rising, he began to swim through the earth towards the nearby small body of water.

Scizor sighed. "Well, there goes our semi-willing test subject. Now we need a new test subject. Where are we going to find that?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, hey, Silvally!" Scizor grinned. "Want to be our new willing test subject?"

"Actually," said Silvally, "I was hoping to join in on your negotiating practice. You seem to have performed some rather interesting feats of negotiation, have you not?"

"Well," said Scizor, "I'd love to invite you, but see, we…really need a willing test subject."

Silvally frowned. "Is there any particular reason why I can not join?"

"We…" Scizor glanced around. "…only allow Bug-types. It's a Bug-type thing. Of course, willing test subjects don't have to be Bug-type!"

"Ah, I see." Silvally turned and stepped away. "I hope you find your willing test subject soon."

Scizor watched forlornly as Silvally disappeared over a nearby rise. Kricketune smirked. "Nice negotiation there, Scizor."

"Shut up," Scizor growled. "Let's just go find a tree to practice on or something."


Hisuian Growlithe shifted on his bed in the Pokemon Center as Nurse Tabitha bent over him, inspecting his body. "Well," said the nurse, "good news, those cuts are all healed and you don't seem to be in pain. Bad news, I don't get to use these." He gestured very pointedly to a large rack of very pointy needles and grinned. "Maybe next time…"

"Huh," said a nearby Ratatta. "That guy's surprisingly intimidating for a nurse."

Chuckling to himself, Nurse Tabitha exited the room. Hisuian Growlithe slumped, letting out a tired sigh. Ash would likely be arriving soon, and HIsuian Growlithe would have to face his failure.

The loss had been unexpected, to say the least. Part of him wanted to complain that Malva's team was ridiculously strong. A Pyroar strong enough to beat Kubfu, a Lampent with Energy Ball, and that horrifyingly fast Fletchinder…those were the caliber of Pokemon Hisuian Growlithe had come to expect from the likes of Team Rocket (well, Drake and Liza at least), not Gym Leaders.

But all the same, the other part of him - the rational part - told him that it wasn't that Malva's team had been too strong for this point in the Gym Challenge. It was that Ash's team was too weak for this point in the Gym Challenge.

That Hisuian Growlithe was too weak for this point in the Gym Challenge.

A loud hiss sounded as the door to the Pokemon Center resting area swung open, revealing Ash. The boy swiftly stepped to Hisuian Growlithe's side. "Hey, Hisuian Growlithe. You doing all right?"

Hisuian Growlithe nodded slightly.

"That's good," said Ash. "I got you something." He pulled out a tan-colored disc from his pocket. "This'll teach you Rock Tomb - I got it at the department store. I think it'll help a lot."

Hisuian Growlithe leaned forwards, accepting the touch of the TM. As Ash tapped his head with it, the knowledge of how to use Rock Tomb flowed into Hisuian Growlithe's head. He smirked. Oh, I can definitely make use of this. Next time that Fletchinder comes at me, I'll show him…

"All right," said Ash. "Next step is evolution! Malva gave me a Fire Stone, so you'll be an Arcanine in no time at all."

Hisuian Growlithe's eyes widened as Ash withdrew the Fire Stone in question. "Wait!" he cried. "Ash, stop!"

Though he couldn't understand Hisuian Growlithe, the urgency in the Fire/Rock-type's voice stayed Ash's hand. "What's wrong?" Ash asked.

Hisuian Growlithe continued to speak, even though he knew Ash couldn't understand him. "I don't want to evolve because Malva took pity on me," he said. "When we fight Malva again, I want to beat that Fletchinder without having to conform to Malva's idea about what makes me strong. So I don't want that Fire Stone. Save it for someone who actually wants it."

"You don't want to evolve?" Ash asked - clearly he'd at least gotten the general gist of Hisuian Growlithe's speech.

Hisuian Growlithe shook his head.

Ash frowned; his silence stretched for a good few moments before he spoke again. "All right." He stowed the Fire Stone back in his pocket. "But Malva was right. And so were Clay and Cyrus. We need to take some time to train and get stronger before we challenge that Gym again. And if you're not going to evolve, then I expect you to train twice as hard to make sure you don't fall behind."

Hisuian Growlithe nodded. "Right."

Ash picked Hisuian Growlithe up. "So. Let's get started, huh?"


"No, Genesect," said Scizor exhaustedly. "We do not need to exterminate the tree."

"THE - TREE - WILL - NOT - MOVE," Genesect protested. "IT - WILL - NOT - FOL-LOW OR-DERS. THERE-FORE - IT - MUST - BE - EX-TER-MIN-A-TED!"

"Of course it won't move!" Scizor cried. "It's a tree! Come on, Genesect, you just need to learn that not all your problems can be solved with Techno Blast!"

"OF - COURSE," said Genesect. "THAT - IS - WHY - I - HAVE - QUICK - AT-TACK."

Scizor put a hand to his face. "But that's not negotiation! That's fighting! I'm trying to teach you to solve problems without fighting! Like how I handled Primeape!"

"You fought Primeape," Kricketune pointed out.

"After I negotiated with him!" Scizor cried. "WHICH I ALREADY MENTIONED! Ugh, this is getting ridiculous! I should've known using trees wouldn't work…"

"Excuse me?"

The three Bug-types turned to see Silvally stepping into view once again. "Ah, Silvally!" Scizor raised a hand in welcome. "Have you reconsidered your decision to not be our willing test subject?"

"Actually," said Silvally, "I came to ask again if I could join in on your negotiation practice."

Scizor looked at Silvally. "Only Bug-types, remember?"

Silvally looked back at Scizor; a sickly green glow flowed across his body. "I am now a Bug-type."

Scizor blinked. "What?"

"I have an Ability that allows me to use Memories of various types in order to transform myself into any type I desire." Silvally shifted slightly. "So, I ask again. May I join in on your negotiation practice?"

Scizor blinked. "…you know what? I'm not going to bother questioning it. Fine, whatever, you can join. I'll give you a demonstration, okay?"

"All right." Silvally stepped in between Kricketune and Genesect, settling down to watch as Scizor strode over to a nearby tree stump.


"Hey." Primeape's voice sounded in Kubfu's ears. "So how'd it feel, getting wrecked by that Pyroar?"

Kubfu heaved a sigh. "How did it feel having to run away from that Lampent?"

"At least I beat one," Primeape retorted. "One more than you did."

Kubfu turned towards Primeape. "I get you're embarrassed," he said, "but that's no excuse to try and take your frustrations out on me."

Primeape made a sound akin to a cross between a snarl and a sputtering Ratatta. "I wasn't-"

"Admit it," said Kubfu. "You just want to get one over on me after I beat you at tree-punching."

Primeape looked as if he was about to argue, then clearly thought better of it. "And someday I will."

"Ash, check this out," said Clay, who was sitting on a nearby bench and pointing to his Pokedex's screen. "There's a Fighting tournament starting in a couple days - signups are still open. You've got two Fighting-types; I think entering one of those would give them some valuable experience."

Ash's eyes glittered. "You're right! That sounds really fun."

Primeape grinned. "A Fighting tournament? Now we're talking."

"Kubfu," Ash called, "I'm entering you, if that's all right!"

Kubfu couldn't quite resist a smug smirk towards Primeape as he replied, "That sounds great!"

Primeape, for his part, was doing a surprisingly good imitation of a Golbat. "WHAT?" He stomped his foot. "I'm the stronger of the two of us!"

"Sorry, Primeape," said Ash, "but Kubfu's been with me for longer. Don't worry - next time we get into a Fighting tournament, I'll be sure to call on you!"

As Kubfu stepped away from Primeape, he heard the larger Fighting-type grumbling, "Maybe not today, but someday…"

Kubfu walked towards Scizor, Kricketune, and Genesect, who Ash had recently returned from Professor Archie's ranch. "So, what did you all get up to?"

"Eh, not much," said Kricketune.

"WE - PRAC-TICED-" Genesect was abruptly cut off by Scizor stepping in front of him. "I taught them some negotiation tactics."

"Ah." Kubfu smirked. "Any particular reason why you don't want Ash knowing?"

"Well," said Scizor, "firstly, it's funny. And secondly-"

Ash's Pokedex rang. Ash quickly picked it up. "Oh, hi, Gladion! What's going on?"

"Ash," said Gladion. "Would you mind explaining why my Silvally just called my Umbreon a 'big fat moon-gazing sack of Ratatta dung'?"

Kubfu glanced back at Scizor, who grinned sheepishly. "Secondly, that."


"Ooh, are they going to call their boss now?" Haunter hovered up and down excitedly. "This is gonna be so cool! I wonder how their boss feels about pranks?"

"Do not prank the boss." Dragonite's low rumble brought Haunter's attention.

"Awww…" The Ghost-type slumped. "Just one little prank?"

"No."

"Ditto!" Ditto cried.

"Thank you, Ditto," Dragonite rumbled. "Honestly, Haunter, why can't you be more like Ditto?"

Haunter frowned. "You just say that because he agrees with everything you say."

"Ditto!" Ditto cried.

Dragonite huffed. "Just because Ditto can only say one word…and that word happens to generally mean agreement…does not mean he agrees with everything I say."

"Ditto!"

"Shh." Lunatone's gentle voice washed over the three arguing members of Drake's team. "The call's starting."

Dragonite, Ditto, and Haunter all fell silent as the modulated voice of Team Rocket's boss came through the device Drake and Liza were watching. "Have you located the boy yet?"

"Not yet," Liza reported, "but since we're reasonably confident he's taking the Gym Challenge, we know generally what route he's taking through the region. We estimate he's either in Saffron or Celadon."

"That would be correct," said the boss of Team Rocket. "He is, in fact, in Celadon. In fact, he is currently shopping at the Celadon Department Store."

"…beggin' your pardon, but how do ya know dat?" Aron asked from where he was standing between Drake and Liza.

"You do realize," said the boss of Team Rocket, "that we have a major hideout in Celadon? I've got agents all over the city."

"Oh." Aron blinked. "Right."

"However," the boss of Team Rocket continued, "a complication has arisen. Falkner and Korrina have not reported in for redeployment. I believe that they are disobeying orders and continuing their own attempts to defeat the boy. So, in addition to your continued mission, I request that you intercept Falkner and Korrina on the occasion of their next scheme and…ah…remind them of what they're supposed to be doing."

Drake grinned. "You got it, boss."

A loud bark came through the speaker. "Ah, Houndoom is reminding me that it's feeding time," said the boss of Team Rocket. "Head to Celadon with all possible haste, and get on the boy's trail. Contact me when you have done so." The device crackled with static as the call was ended.

Almost immediately, Drake turned towards Liza and Aron. "So we get to order around Falkner and Korrina on top of tracking down the kid? Awesome!"

Liza was also clearly rather excited. "First things first, let's get to Celadon."

"Right!" Drake turned to his Pokemon. "Ditto, transform into Dragonite, and you carry Liza and Aron!"

"Ditto!" said Ditto, doing so.

Haunter chuckled at the sight of the lilac-colored Dragonite stooping to allow Liza and Aron to clamber on. "Man, this is never going to get old."

Shorter chapter this time around. Wasn't originally in my plans, but I realized that an 'unwinding' chapter would be necessary before the next Big Thing. And Hisuian Growlithe finally gets a Rock-type move!