Teams:

Pierce Lawson:

- Narcissa, Beedrill

- Orion, Onix

- Cygnus, Abra

Lillian Dale:

- Root, Bulbasaur

- Talon, Spearow

- Gem, Geodude

- Star, Cleffa

Cerulean City XXI

Pierce whistled calmly, sitting at the edge of the pool like usual with his back resting on Gyarados' red scales. Some distance behind, he could hear the other sea serpents doing their thing, swimming around or even sleeping. Not like they had much else to do, really, and they could only play games so much.

He was actually debating if it was worth it and if it was even possible to pull off asking the Sisters for a field trip to some beach nearby without people or something like that. It was a risk, he supposed, but he thought allowing the pokemon some more freedom would help them relax and recover more than just being isolated in that pool.

It wasn't a small pool, but it certainly fell a little short considering the size and number of the sea serpents.

Another option he had in mind was battling, but that sounded even less likely. Sure, they wouldn't need as much space, but there was a hell of a lot more risk of some gyarados going berserk, which was a no-no. Still though, if they could pull it off, it'd be a huge help in keeping the gyarados population happy and calm. Nothing was better for a pokemon than letting loose in a battle, or even just light sparring. They were all just that obsessed with beating each other, even the calm ones.

Alas, he'd have to think of something else to come up with, he supposed.

For the moment, he continued looking away from the pool. Someone could call for his attention at any point if anything happened. He had eyes on things other than his own, after all. It was a great boon that he could have the very pokemon he had to watch over keep doing just that for each other. The power of bribes and general boredom, he supposed. On top of that, his own pokemon were keeping an eye on them too.

In the meantime, Pierce kept his eyes on his team.

They had decided that they were going to be using their abundant spare time to train, as it turned out. While they did that, they were also watching over the gyarados on the pool, which was a great way of killing two birds with one stone, really. They trained moves at the same time as they did their situational awareness. Truly, Pierce was a genius.

"And humble," Cygnus commented in his mind, and he could almost hear the weary huff coming from the psychic type. He was training on two fronts, move-wise. For one, he was still going strong with his Teleport training. Who knew? Maybe one day Pierce wouldn't need to even consider having to buy Teleport tickets unless it was from one region to another.

'How's that going, buddy?' Pierce asked and he got a frustrated feeling from his pokemon. 'Everything ok?' he added, frowning.

"This isn't working…" his pokemon told him, and his frown became more pronounced. "I get better… but distance remains… the same…"

'So, you have to push the limits of distance to start being able to teleport further. That makes sense, I guess,' he mused "out loud" as it were, with his psychic listening to him. He did wonder if other psychics could eavesdrop if they peeked in on his mind when he did that. Regardless, not the time for that. 'Hm, well, getting better with regular Teleport isn't a bad thing. We can train distance whenever we start traveling again,' he told Cygnus, who gave him a mental nod. 'How's the new punch going?'

"Difficult… as expected," the abra told him, making him smile. Despite his words, his pokemon was feeling a fair bit of frustration. Maybe he would have to get him some consolation poffins to help with that. "Wouldn't say no, Helper-Voice."

'I'm sure you wouldn't,' he thought, amused. Shaking his head, he sent his pokemon back to work. He did turn slightly to look to the side. Some distance away, he saw a gyarados following his abra's teleports, occasionally frowning or nodding. Sometimes he'd even growl or grunt something.

"Thanks for the help!" he said, not for the first time, getting a grumble in response.

As it turned out, one of the gyarados he had to look after knew Ice Fang and was cooperative enough to help Cygnus with Ice Punch. It wasn't the same, of course, but it was better than some other Ice type move and it was definitely better than no help at all. Besides, it helped keep a gyarados occupied and one of his pokemon getting stronger.

'I do love when everything comes together for maximum efficiency,' Pierce thought, amused. Not that he was a crazy min-maxing guy, but it was nice when he could pull off some of it. Cygnus wasn't the only one that was getting help from the sea serpents though.

Off to another side, Orion was trying to learn Twister from a pair of bickering gyarados. Dragon Breath would have been easier, but none of the sea serpents knew that move. They couldn't even learn it, really. So, Pierce made a call and had Orion start with Twister instead. They'd move to Dragon Breath in their own time and if he did manage to learn Twister or at least get it started properly, then it'd be even easier to pick up the other.

That wasn't the most efficient use of their time, but it was the best way to have his pokemon learn something useful and also help keep gyarados under control. Sometimes there wasn't a perfect balance to things, sadly, but Pierce was happy with how that side of things was going. Besides, interestingly enough, Orion didn't seem to mind all that much. He'd even say that his onix liked the sea serpents.

'Who'd have thought?'

Last but certainly not least, there was Narcissa, who was flying all around the room, taking advice from every gyarados that would put up with her. It was a bit of a risk, but she seemed to be careful not to bother the ones that made it clear they couldn't be bothered to help. She was a smart cookie like that. Pierce was very proud.

It was a good thing that every gyarados around could help her with what she was tackling at the moment, and that was Dark energy. Bite was more or less the rookie move for all gyarados. If there was one in the entire pool that didn't know the move, then Pierce would have worried as to why that was, because something would definitely need to be wrong for that to happen.

Thus, the cooperative ones were helping his beedrill learn how to use Dark type energy for the sake of learning Pursuit. It wasn't a great move, but it'd come in handy against Psychic types. Pierce still wasn't sure if he'd tackle Sabrina for his second badge, but it was a likely thing. Sure, she had a terrible reputation of annihilating challengers, but how bad could a second badge battle be?

'Maybe I'm tempting Murphy there,' he mused idly, humming to himself as he watched his pokemon train.

Still, considering how his first challenge had gone, surely it wouldn't be that much of a jump in difficulty. He was confident that he could manage a win in Saffron. Maybe Sabrina would make him work for it, maybe it'd even be difficult, but he couldn't imagine a scenario where he lost. That'd be bullshit.

Lily, for her part, had more to worry about, but that was her problem.

"You'll worry anyway," Cygnus accused and he grimaced. His pokemon wasn't wrong, but at least he'd worry right before the challenge. Otherwise, he'd do what he could and then have a borderline panic attack the day of the battle. Was it a good approach? Probably not, but it was how he seemed to be doing things by the looks of it. "Idiot," his psychic told him, and he acknowledged the accuracy of the descriptor.

"Just take a breath~" he sang to himself with a smile. "Relax~" he continued, swaying from side to side a little. Behind him, he felt Gyarados shift a little. "And tell me why? Please tell me why do we worry?~"

The red sea serpent behind him grumbled a whisper that got him to stop.

"What's up, girl?" he asked, before being splashed with water. "Well, that's rude," he mumbled, rubbing the pool water off of his face. "Just for that, we are not swimming for another half an hour," he told her, giving her his best unimpressed expression.

What followed was a very solid piece of evidence in favor of the effectiveness of a gyarados' puppy dog eyes.

'What'd that be called? Fry fish eyes? Why are baby fish called fry anyway?' he wondered to himself.

[}-o-{]

[Orion]

He wasn't bitter because he didn't get to participate in the Gym challenge.

No, he wasn't.

Honest!

Ok, so he might be a lil' bit annoyed that he hadn't even been able to fight there. Sure, Pierce had explained and he understood, but that didn't mean that Orion didn't feel a little left out. Which was silly, since Pierce always spent the same amount of time with all of them, training them and helping them improve. Orion knew he was being stupid, childish and a number of other things that his mother would have called him.

He still couldn't stop feeling that.

Cygnus had fought.

Narcissa had fought.

Orion had simply… not. He knew the why and he understood, but it made him feel like he wasn't strong enough. It made him feel helpless and weak, like he'd been back at home, back in that cave, feeling the poison and the wounds- He took a deep breath in, letting his anger flow through him. Because he was angry. At his own weakness, at his own stupidity, at his own mind.

Why was he being such a child?

So, he let the anger at the world flow in him and to his energy like the gyarados said. He let the pride that pushed him forward course through him. He let the power that he wanted to prove he had join those two. He felt it all and he guided it, swirled it and…

And it was a mess.

Orion let out a huff that might as well have been a roar, from how angry and frustrated he was. He heard the two gyarados that were helping him comment on the attempt. They weren't kind, nor were they patient or particularly helpful. They reminded Orion of Narcissa, but worse, much, much worse.

And yet, he was grateful for them, because he didn't have to hold back when he was trying to use the Dragon type energy. He could just let it flow, let it rage. Orion liked that, helped him feel better, less angry, less frustrated, less stupid.

It helped that the gyarados were praising him now. They didn't strike Orion as pokemon that gave a lot of compliments, so he guessed they weren't lying when they said there was a shine of energy at some point. So, he took their words and felt proud, as well he should, according to the gyarados. Hm, maybe they were more like Narcissa than he thought. All tough and mean on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.

Yeah, that sounded about right.

"That looked great, buddy," Pierce said, approaching them from the side, the red gyarados swimming by him in the pool and the vaporeon walking on his other side. He had a wide smile on his face, one that Orion replied to with a cheer. To the side, the gyarados grumbled and growled about him being a child. For once, he didn't care about that. "You two must be great teachers!" his trainer added towards the gyarados.

Orion gave them a look when both preened proudly.

Hypocrites.

"Keep it up, yeah?" Pierce continued, reaching Orion's side and patting his rock-like skin. It wasn't nearly strong enough for him to feel much, but he felt it all the same and that was all that mattered. "I know you are still angry about the Gym challenge," his trainer said and Orion tried to deny that, but he only got a laugh for his troubles. "After that showing just there? I'd be an idiot if I didn't pick up on that, but you've done a good job to keep that hidden so far, huh? You shouldn't have."

Orion grumbled. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. He was being stupid. They'd done a good job without him and he didn't even like fighting with water around, let alone in the pool that they'd all told him about. And yet he still felt bad for not being there anyway, because he was stupid.

"Hey, it's fine," Pierce told him. "I feel like that sometimes, you know? Like I could be doing more. After all, you are the ones fighting and I'm just there, giving advice and that's it. It's frustrating, when you get hit and when our strategies aren't enough," his trainer admitted and Orion leaned forward a little bit, listening more intently. "It's just… so frustrating," Pierce said softly, a sad smile on his face as he patted the side of Orion's head.

He mumbled something in response, unsure of how to feel. Was he stupid? Was Pierce stupid? Were both of them stupid? What was his trainer trying to tell him?

"Do you think I'm stupid for feeling like that?" Pierce asked and Orion shook his head, because Pierce was smart. He knew everything and if he didn't, then he'd surely figure it out soon. Orion was stupid, because how could he think that Pierce could be- "You aren't stupid either, Orion," his trainer reassured, making him freeze. "You want to prove yourself and that's good. Use that, buddy. Use that drive that I know you have, and you'll be strong. I can promise you that," Pierce told him.

Orion made a questioning sound, unsure.

"Maybe it wasn't here, and maybe it won't be the next. But you'll have your time to shine, Orion, because you are part of my team. One day, Narcissa and Cygnus won't be enough, maybe neither will be other teammates we might find along the way. But you will be enough, because they have strengths you don't and you have strengths they don't," Pierce explained to him, patiently and clearly, like he always did. That's why he was the one that made decisions. "So, can you do that, be there when the rest of us won't be enough?"

Orion remained silent then, but his mind worked. Because he might not be as smart as Narcissa or Cygnus, certainly not like Pierce, but he was figuring this out. Pierce guided them in battles because he could think of things they couldn't, but he didn't fight because they were much better at it. Narcissa was faster, Cygnus could teleport, but Orion had things they didn't. He could get hit for one, even if he hated that. He could get hit and keep going much better than they could. He had completely different types as theirs, so they'd be better than him and he'd be better than them. That was just how it was.

With a deep breath in, Orion decided that yes, he was stupid.

He grunted, nodding.

"That's the spirit, Orion," Pierce told him, smile in place, but this one was different from his kind one. This was the smile he had when they were in a battle, when he finally let go of his relaxed and soft self and became one of them, a Fighter. "We all have your back," his trainer said. "And you'll have ours. I know you will."

And what kind of pokemon would he be, if he didn't do as his trainer commanded?

He grunted again, returning the fierce expression on Pierce with one of his own.

Then he turned towards the two gyarados, his teachers, who had been looking from the side. He stared at them, daring them to comment on that talk. Orion knew that he had looked weak, maybe even weaker than he'd been back home when he was dying. He didn't care for that though. Maybe he'd been weak back then and even then and there, but Orion wasn't weak. He couldn't be weak.

He had to have his team's back, after all.

[}-o-{]

[Pierce Lawson]

"He's a silly one," he commented, getting agreeing clicking of Narcissa's jaws.

"He's young," Cygnus replied, not necessarily disagreeing. "He wants to… prove himself."

"Don't we all?" Pierce shot back at that, making both of his pokemon look away. To that, he smiled, sharing a look with Gyarados and Vaporeon. Or, at least, he tried, because the two seemed to be talking about something between themselves. "That's what I thought," he said anyway, turning his attention back to his pokemon. "So, back to training with you two, or are you taking a break?" he asked.

As if that were a threat of some kind, Narcissa flew away like her life depended on it.

Cygnus, for his part, seemed to consider that for a moment before shaking his head.

"I'll stop Teleporting and Ice Punch," the abra told him and he was a little impressed that he managed all that without pause. The psychic sent him a happy-proud feeling at the thought. "Physical training and Focus Punch now."

"Sounds good, buddy," Pierce replied, patting Cygnus' head. "Don't overwork yourself, yeah? You're supposed to be the smart one of the three."

"I am the smart one," the abra shot back, making him chuckle. "Don't let them eat you, Helper-Voice."

"I'll try," he said with a smile. Then, when his pokemon teleported away, he turned towards Gyarados and Vaporeon, who seemed to have finished their conversation. "Hey, girls. How about we go swimming now?" he asked, making Gyarados perk up. Vaporeon was much more discreet, trying to act like she was annoyed. He saw right through her, mostly on the way she pulled herself to a standing position and glanced towards the pool before collecting herself, but he didn't point that out. "So-"

"Hm" a shy voice called, making him turn back in the opposite direction of the pool. There stood a very clearly nervous redhead. She seemed to struggle to say something for a moment before Pierce decided to help her out.

"Did you need anything?" he asked as kindly as he could. Misty seemed very unsure about something, so he didn't want to spook her or something. It seemed that she still was scared regardless of his intentions. If the way she flinched when she looked over his shoulder was any indication, he had an idea he knew why that was.

"Girl," he scolded when he turned around again to check and found Gyarados glaring at the poor girl. Instantly, the water type flinched, much like she had made Misty do so a moment before. "Apologize," he told her, getting barely a mumble in response. Vaporeon joined his efforts with a yip then. Gyarados gave a little more believable an attempt after that.

"Do-Don't worry about it," the girl waved off, trying and failing to appear unaffected. "Maybe I should have waited. I didn't want to interrupt before with…" she trailed off then, waving towards where Orion was back to giving it his all in his training. "But I should have known better. Sorry, I'll just-"

"Did you need anything?" Pierce interrupted, repeating his question from before. He raised an eyebrow at Misty when she looked like she'd go back to making up excuses. "We can do it later if you want, but I'd like to know now. I'm curious," he added and the girl deflated where she stood.

"I just… I told you that I'm… You know? Scared of… gyarados," she mumbled, her voice lowering into a whisper when she finally got to the last word.

'I do remember something like that,' Pierce mused, taking a moment to recall that moment. That had been all the way back when they'd asked him to help with an annoyed gyarados. That one was somewhere behind him, probably taking a nap, not a worry in the world. 'Feels like a lifetime ago,' he thought, somewhat amused.

"Right, and?" He tried to make that sound… inviting instead of forceful. He had an idea of what she wanted, but they kind of needed her to try. Otherwise they'd get nowhere.

"And I wanted to know if you could… help me, with that," she bit out in the end, going from drawing into herself to a mockery of standing straight. She was stiff, her shoulders drawn in and she couldn't quite control the way her expression twisted into a fearful one. She tried though, which was the important part.

Pierce could only imagine how she felt, a person with fear of gyarados standing right there, facing a pool full of them. There was a good chance that the shiny one right behind him was glaring at her again too, which probably didn't help. Even if his adorable red friend wasn't doing that, she probably was making things worse just by being there, even if that wasn't fair to her either.

"Hm, I can do that," he agreed easily, and he smiled as he saw Misty relax a little. "Do you want to start now or later?"

"I… I can decide?"

"This is a fear of yours, of course you can decide," he reassured easily, walking closer and placing his hand on her shoulder. At a look, Pierce would guess that she was probably around Lily's age. 'Wasn't she a year older than Ash in the anime? Would that make her… What, twenty, maybe nineteen like Lily?' he mused to himself, but that wasn't too important, he supposed. "Take your time. If you are too scared to do what I ask of you, then we aren't going to get anywhere fast."

"I… What would you have me do?" Misty asked, visibly torn between taking the out and doing what she wanted to do.

"Gyarados here," he said, moving back a little and placing a hand on his red friend's side. "Is a sweetheart. Aren't you?" he asked the shiny pokemon, who visibly melted under the attention she was now getting. "She's gotten a lot better and she's probably the calmest of them all as long as I'm around. Aren't you, girl?"

Gyarados nodded firmly.

"She's adorable like that," he said, stepping from the pool and moving back to where Misty was. As he did, he looked to the side where Daisy stood, watching like a hawk. 'No pressure,' Pierce thought to himself, somewhat amused.

For a moment, Pierce wondered why the girl had come to him for help with this instead of his sisters. Did she think he was better than them? Because that was probably wrong, but it was flattering all the same. It also occurred to him that maybe she was more comfortable not being under the tutelage of her older, more skilled sisters. It couldn't be easy to be in her situation at all, let alone needing special help.

Ultimately, her reasons didn't matter.

"I think a good first step would be to interact with her a little. You can just talk with her, maybe pet her, if you feel up to it," he explained, keeping his voice low and soft, calming. It was the kind of voice he'd use with a spooked pokemon, but she didn't need to know that.

"I… I can talk, yeah," Misty mumbled in a way that had Pierce thinking she was talking to herself more than him. "Yes, I can do that."

"Great," he replied with a wide smile. "A piece of advice?" he offered, getting an instantaneous nod. "Call her adorable. She loves that," he told Misty, giving her a pat on the back. "You'll be fine though. I'm here and your sister is over there. It'll be fine."

"Right…" she mumbled, visibly trying to gather her courage, especially when faced with Gyarados' curious gaze. "I can do this."

"You sure can," he reassured her.

Well, he had something to pass his time with, at least.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

Well, that Orion's PoV sure took its sweet time to make an appearance. I wanted to do one much sooner, but there was never a good moment, it seemed. Now, it's finally here and I hope the wait was worth it, at least a little.

It's also been a while since we've had some training written in the story. Which isn't to say that there hasn't been training or anything, but I think last of it was general training that I didn't go too deep into and tutor move training that Pierce wasn't really there for. It's kind of nice to finally go back to it.

This is certainly turning out to be a special kind of Pokemon Journey fic, it seems.

Hopefully a good kind though.

Just like hopefully you enjoyed the chapter, guys.

As always, if you can't wait until next week for next chapter, or if you just feel like supporting my writing, there's up to three new chapters in my Pa tre on:

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Onix, Steelix or Gyarados? From the three, I'd say my top is Steelix, Gyarados and then Onix. Which isn't to say Onix is not cool, but I do prefer the other two to it.

See you.