Here's the next chapter. If you like to recommend any Pokemon (Kanto region for now) to join Charles' team, please leave a review. All of Charles' Pokemon and their names can be found on my profile.

I'm also pleased to announce that this story has reached 60 followers. Thank you so much.

BookWorm1540 – Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad you are liking the story so far. It has come to my attention about pacing when I read over them and I am trying to get better. About the use of capital letters, the first review I received on this story was about the proper use of capitals in Pokemon names. The reviewer said that since Pokemon are animals, they shouldn't be written with capitals letters (i.e lion, bear, etc), but if their name is also their Pokemon name, it should be capitalised (i.e Ash's Pikachu). And that's how I've written it since.

Using capital letters for move names were just something I did to separate it from the text. I hope that explains it. Thank you for reviewing.

Lonetigar20 -Thank you so much. Enjoy the next chapter :)

("Pokespeech")

Chapter 11: Taming Of The Sandshrew

"Ok Sneak, let's go over it one more time," Charles said as he picked up a miniature figurine of a pidgey for the sandshrew to see.

"This pidgey is very small," he explained pointing to the figurine, "however that pidgey in the tree is actually normal sized, but it's just far away" he said pointing to a pidgey roosting on a branch from afar.

Sneak looked at the figurine in Charles' hand and then at the pidgey in the tree. Charles could see the sheer amount of concentration on the ground Pokemon's face as he tried to figure it out. Sneak kept switching between the small and normal sized pidgey comparing the two.

From the side, sat on patch of grass, was Flo and rest of the team. They stared intently at Sneak, hoping that he'll understand it this time. Charles waited patiently for him as he knelt in front of the sandshrew.

Suddenly, Sneak stopped and looked up at Charles.

The team held their breath, preparing for he was going to say.

("But they're both small,") Sneak said confusion.

Every Pokemon, including the pidgey in the tree, fell over is despair. Flo sweat dropped as she can only assume that Sneak still doesn't get it, judging by the team's reactions.

It has been a while since they met the Fleur de Lis twins, who have been staying safe in Oak's lab back in Pallet Town. Since then, Charles has been trying to train Sneak in battling. However, it soon became clear that the sandshrew not only didn't know anything about battling, but also… well, not a lot else. Charles has been trying to teach him basic stuff, but it would seem that perspective is too hard for Sneak to understand.

("I'm sorry Chuck, but I just don't understand,") Sneak sadly said, lowering his head.

Charles smiled wearily, not minding he got his name wrong again, and petted his scaley head, "It's fine. We all learn at different speeds. Do you want me to explain it again?"

Sneak shook his head, ("I'm bored,") he moaned tiredly, slumping a little, ("Can I have a break?").

Charles sighed lightly, "Ok, but make sure you stay where I can see you."

At that, Sneak walked away, and Charles got back onto his feet.

Flo approached Charles while the other Pokemon relaxed or ate their snacks. She saw how concerned he was for Sneak as he watched the sandshrew attempt to sneak up on Boa.

She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure he will be all right. He just needs a bit more practise that's all," Flo reassured.

"I know," Charles replied as he turned to his friend, "but he already thinks he is stupid, and I don't think repeating stuff is helping solve that. He gets distracted and bored too easily. If only I can find a way to prove to him that he has more potential."

Flo hummed, "But Charles, it's not like we can force him. Sneak needs to find it himself," she countered as Pyro walked up to them.

Charles smiled warmly and picked the Charmander up, "I just don't know what to do," Charles muttered sadly as he cradled the fire type in his arms.

Flo frowned at Charles' worried face. It was unusual to see him like this.

She turned the frown into a confident smile, "You know Charles," she said catching his attention, "any trainer who isn't worried about the well-being of their Pokemon doesn't deserve Pokemon. You're an amazing trainer. You'll figure something out."

Charles gave a small smile at her words, "Thanks Flo. I needed that," he said making Flo smile as well, "but for now I think we need to keep an eye on Sneak."

("Speaking of keeping an eye on Sneak,") Pyro piped up from Charles arms, ("Where is he?")

Charles looked straight at where he last saw Sneak, right next to Boa, but he had vanished. He looked around the forest clearing but saw no sign of the sandshrew.

"Not again!" Charles cried out.

He turned to Boa, who sat up at his outburst.

"Boa, where did Sneak go?" he asked her in slight panic.

Boa smiled coyly, ("Why should royalty like I, would know something like…")

Charles gave her a stern look.

("H…h…he went that way,") she gulped nervously as she pointed towards the forest.

Meanwhile, Sneak was attempting to creep up on a couple of humans. They wore blue uniforms with red ties and seemed to be talking about a Pokemon battle of some sort.

Sneak couldn't remember how he got there.

He just knew that he was near some sort of building where there were other humans about. Unknown to Sneak, this building was a large school made out of white stone and the humans he was sneaking up on were students at this school.

("They haven't spotted me yet,") Sneak chuckled as he laid on the grassy field behind the school, (I am so good at sneaking.")

"What is that sandshrew doing?" one of the boys asked the other as he glanced at said Pokemon clearly. It wasn't difficult to spot it considering it was in an open field.

"I don't know, but I'm going to catch it," the second boy said taking out a pokeball.

"Come on out, pidgeotto!" he cried as he released his Pokemon.

Pointing at Sneak, who still thought he was hidden, the boy ordered his Pokemon to use Gust.

The pidgeotto nodded and flew up to sandshrew. Once it was close enough, it began to flap its wings rapidly making the wind attack the mouse Pokemon. Sneak, who was giggling to himself, noticed the wind picking up. It was so fast that he had grab hold onto the grass to keep anchored, however, it was too strong, and Sneak was sent hurtling back, slamming painfully into a tree.

Sneak grunted as he slid down to the ground while the pidgeotto flew towards him.

("Where did that come from?") Sneak asked in a daze.

("Sorry dude,") the pidgeotto apologised, ("are you alright?").

Sneak looked up at the pidgeotto with a confused look.

("Are you small or are you just far away?") Sneak asked, causing the pidgeotto to sweat drop.

("...what?") the pidgeotto asked.

"Alright, time to capture you," the boy said throwing a pokeball at Sneak.

However, before it could hit the sandshrew, a hand reached out and caught the pokeball in midair. Charles looked at the pokeball in his hand before giving Sneak a disapproving look.

"What did I say about staying in my sight," Charles scolded the sandshrew as Flo and Benny approached.

("Hi Charlie. Err...was it...not to do it?") Sneak guessed causing Charles to sigh.

"Hey! That was my Pokemon!" the boy shouted as he ran over to Charles.

Charles rolled his eyes, "First of all, he's his own Pokemon. Second of all, he is part of my team," he explained throwing the pokeball back to angry boy.

The boy just growled as if Charles had insulted him. Charles looked around to see people wearing the same uniform as the boy start to crowd around them. They were possibly checking out what's going on.

However, a fight was the last thing they needed.

"Now if you excuse us," Charles said picking up sandshrew and turning away from the crowd.

"Where do you think you're going!?" one of other students shouted, causing the others to cheer in agreement.

"Why don't we teach this guy a lesson in respect!" another student shouted as he took a pokeball out of his pocket.

Charles hummed in annoyance as he turned around to explain to the crowd that he didn't want to cause any trouble. However, before he could speak a voice called out from behind the crowd.

"Now, what is going on here?"

Almost immediately, the crowd parted to reveal a girl who wore the female version of the school's uniform consisting of a blue skirt and vest over a white shirt. She had long dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was very pretty and she seemed to have a confident aura as she walked up to Charles and Sneak. The boys around her looked at the girl in awe as if witnessing a goddess.

"Giselle!" the boy, no longer angry, cried out in excitement before pointing at Charles, "this…cretin stole my catch. I was going to punish him…"

Giselle raised an elegant hand telling him to stop.

She turned to Charles with a pleasant smile.

"Is this true?" she asked simply.

Charles internally sighed, 'Finally somebody who is normal.'

"As I explained before, Sneak actually belongs to my team. He wondered off when I wasn't looking. See," he took out Sneak's pokeball and returned the sandshrew to prove his point.

Giselle watched as Sneak went back into his pokeball and smiled gently.

"I see," she turned to the boy, "it was all a misunderstanding. Please don't challenge everybody over a simple mistake again. You'll tarnish Poke Tech reputation," she lightly scolded him.

The boy nodded his head furiously, "Of course, I'm sorry. I would never do anything to ruin the school, miss Giselle," he apologised in a love-sick manner.

The rest of the boys in the crowd also agreed and apologised as well, much to Giselle's pleasure.

'They're so whipped,' Charles, Benny and Flo deadpanned.

However, something caught Charles' attention.

"I'm sorry, did you say Poke Tech?" he asked in curiosity.

Giselle twirled graciously to face him, "Yes. Welcome to the Pokemon Technical Institute We teach students how to become Pokemon trainers. Our graduates are automatically entered into the Pokemon League, so they do not have collect badges," Giselle explained, "I'm the top student of the beginner's class of the most prestigious prep school in the world. It's sad that others are not blessed by my beauty, my talent, my humble attitude. People call me a star, but I'm just Giselle," posing as she introduced herself, making all the boys sigh in admiration.

Charles and Flo looked on with awkward looks, not expecting such an introduction.

("Staying in a school to learn about battling,") Benny said, ("kind of sounds boring,") he muttered.

Charles, however, smiled broadly, 'A school. That's perfect,' he thought.

"My name is Charles and I was wondering if you can help me?" Charles asked catching her attention.

"Help?" Flo asked out loud.

"Of course," Giselle smiled graciously.

"I was wondering if you have any teaching tips for me. You see Sneak, the sandshrew, is not the best at…learning new moves and he has little battle experience. So, I was wondering if you have any advice. Like memory techniques or…"

Charles cut off his explanation as Giselle started to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Flo asked raising an eyebrow in annoyance.

Giselle stopped her giggling, but still looked amused.

"I'm terribly sorry, but we don't do that type of thing here," she waved her hand dismissively, "we teach humans not Pokemon. Besides, even if we did, I'm sure your sandshrew would struggle at our school," she said making the crowd laugh as if it was an inside joke.

"Meaning?" Charles inquired, starting to get annoyed.

Giselle gave a graceful, but mocking smile, "Your Pokemon is, shall I say, unteachable."

At that everybody but Charles, Flo and Benny laughed. Flo frowned in irritation while Benny growled as his cheeks sparked.

Charles, however, remained calm on the outside, but on the inside a storm of anger was raging.

Charles gave a strained smile, "And why should I take what a self-proclaimed Pokemon tutor seriously?" his questioned silencing the entire crowd.

Giselle glared at him, "What did you say?"

"Self-proclaimed," Charles answered, "as in all bark and no bite or passing judgement on Pokemon without any significant experience," he said, causing Flo and Benny to giggle.

Giselle's frown deepened in anger and the crowd of students began to grow irritated again.

"Oh really. And how many badges have you got?" Giselle sneered.

"Well, not like proves anything, but I earned two badges," Charles answered, holding up his badge case and showing her the badges he had.

"HAH! You're just a beginner. No wonder you couldn't train a sandshrew," she noticed Benny standing next to him, "You haven't even tamed your pikachu it would seem," she mocked with a wicked smile, "everybody knows that their only good for battling when they evolve into raichu. They only make good pets as a pikachu."

This is not the first time Benny has been mocked and he likes to think he is resistant to insults. However, when she mentioned his next evolutionary stage, it bothered him for some reason. It felt like a weight has been put in his stomach and it was weighing it down. Benny brushed it off, going back to the situation.

Charles was angry.

Not at what Giselle said about him, but what she said about his family.

'You've made a mistake, Giselle. A really big mistake,' he thought.

"Interesting," Charles deadly said after a while, "well why don't we see who's the better trainer, then. If I can teach Sneak everything about battling in twenty- four hours and defeat your best Pokemon than you have to apologise- in front of everyone – to me and my Pokemon and say that you know nothing about training. How does that sound?"

Giselle grinned as the students laughed at his challenge.

"Fine and if I win," Giselle thought for a moment before she grinned, "you have to give up on being a Pokemon trainer."

Flo and Benny gasped, "You can't do that you little-!"

"Fine," Charles said cutting of Flo's rant.

"WHAT!?" Flo shouted in shock. Being a Pokemon trainer has been Charles' dream since they were young. He can't just give up on it now.

Charles ignored Flo's shout, "We'll meet here at the same time tomorrow," he said holding his hand out for Giselle to shake.

Giselle shook his hand elegantly, "I wish you good luck. You'll need it," she said before turning back to the school, followed by the whole crowd.

Benny leaped onto Charles shoulder and gave him a small electric shock.

("What was that for? You're seriously betting away your chance on becoming a trainer. We worked so hard,") Benny scolded his brother.

"Why would you do that?" Flo questioned angrily.

Charles shook off the electric shock and turned to Benny and Flo.

"It isn't importa- let me finish," Charles said, seeing that they were both going to complain, "What is important is my family. Nobody insults my family. And if that means putting my chance of becoming a trainer and a Pokemon master on the line, then so be it," Charles confidently said, making the two back down.

"Besides," Charles continued, "I trust Sneak and I know he will win this for us. We just need to believe in him," he said as he took Sneak out of his pokeball.

As Sneak exited the pokeball, however, he had managed to fall on his head clumsily.

("Ow ow ow!") Sneak whimpered as he rubbed his head.

Charles, Benny, and Flo watched the scene in despair.

("Twenty-three hours and fifty-eight minutes to go, Charles,") Benny dully reminded.

"Thank you, Benny. Very helpful," Charles muttered sarcastically.

The Forest

Later, the whole team were sat in semi-circle around Charles and Sneak, ready to help Sneak.

"Right do you understand what the situation is, Sneak?" Charles asked as he sat in front of the sandshrew.

("I think so,") Sneak replied, looking up at him.

"Good and what do you think?" Charles asked with a kind smile.

("I think you've bitten more than you can chew,") Sneak answered matter-of-factly, making Charles fall over in despair. Which is hard when you are sitting down.

Picking himself up, Charles smiled at the sandshrew, "Sneak, I know you can do this. You just need to believe in yourself that's all."

("But Carlos, I'm stupid. I don't know anything about battling,") Sneak counted.

'Carlos? It's not even close to my name,' Charles thought in misery.

"Sneak, that's not true. I believe that you are actually very smart, and I guarantee you're going to win this battle. I just need you to trust me as much as I trust you," Charles said, rubbing his head comfortingly.

Sneak sighed as he looked down at the ground, "Alright, fine," he grumbled.

"Excellent!" Charles shouted, surprising everybody around, "first things first, I will teach you my battling method. Benny if you please," he called out.

The team's attention was drawn to Benny who was wearing a professor's mortarboard and a small pair of glasses. He stood next to a whiteboard which had letters 'P', 'O', 'K', and 'E' written down the left side of the board.

Charles came up to the whiteboard, also wearing a mortarboard and glasses.

("A few years ago, Charles and I had come up with a battling strategy that forms the basis of all our battles,") Benny explained in lecturing manner, ("Over to you, Charles.")

"Thank you, Benny," Charles said as he nodded at his brother, "We call this strategy the POKE method," he continued.

"The 'P'," Charles said writing 'oint' next to the letter 'P', "stands for 'Point' as in point out what Pokemon you are battling against, what type, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. Benny."

("Thank you, Charles. The 'O' stands for 'Observe' as in observe any particular traits of your opponent that may be either weak or strong points, like any scarring. Charles")

"Thank you, Benny. The 'K' stands for 'Calculate'-"

"Calculate begins with a 'C' not a 'K'," Flo said raising her hand.

"Mnemonics are hard," Charles complained, "and besides POKE was such a good word to use."

(A.N: I would love to say that this was an actual joke, but I generally couldn't come up with a better solution. -sigh-)

"Anyway," Charles continued, "you must calculate the best moves depending on your opponent. Whether you need to go on the offensive or the defensive."

("Finally, the 'E' stands for 'Execute'. Carry out your attacks or defences with precision. Make sure your moves are necessary. We don't want any energy wasted on moves that will not hit your opponent.")

"These are the basic components of our battle strategies and it is with the POKE method that we will win the battle against Giselle," Charles finished, "Any questions?"

Cleo raised a paw lazily, ("Was finding props for this entire stunt the reason why we had to wait half an hour for you two to come back?") Cleo asked cynically.

"Yep," Charles and Benny answered cheerily at the same time, making Cleo sigh.

Sneak hummed in worry as he looked down at the ground. Charles came over an rubbed his head.

"Don't worry. I won't be your only teacher," Charles reassured, "the whole team has volunteered to help you," he said as the Pokemon cheered encouragingly.

Sneak looked at his fellow Pokemon and then looked up at Charles.

("Ok, let's do this,") Sneak stated with determination in his eyes.

"Excellent!" Charles cheered.

He turned to the others with a broad smile, "Everybody ready?"

The team cheered in response and ran off to prepare.

Charles turned to Flo, "I feel like we should be playing some inspirational music right now. You know to pick up the mood," he mused.

"Like what?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Charles thought for a moment before he came up with an idea.

"What was that one song from that film where the woman dresses up as man and joins the army. It goes like- Let's get down to business to defeat the-"

However, before the author could write anymore, his lawyers had just advised him that a certain international media company (let's call them…Fisney) will happily sue him if he writes anymore lyrics to a certain song. They did, however, say that the author can heavily imply the song so the readers can get a sense of the tone.

Thanking his imaginary lawyers, and pouring himself another cup of tea, the author goes into the montage sequence.

(Montage)

Benny was teaching Sneak how to evade attacks from opponents. He taught him the proper way to move and keep on his toes. Sneak tried his best, but he ended up ramming into a tree and temporarily knocking himself out.

Benny facepalmed in irritation.

It was Boa turn now and she was teaching Sneak how to move stealthily in an area. Sneak seemed to be upset since he knew everything about sneaking up on people, but a cold glare from Boa encouraged him to be more open to suggestions.

Since she was a poison type herself, she also was teaching him how to use Poison Sting. Sneak, again, tried his best. However, a stray purple sting bounced of the target they were using and it, somehow, hit Boa in the face.

Charles had to quickly move Sneak along so he can calm down an enraged Boa.

Next was Hurricane and he was trying to boost Sneak's endurance and stamina (which are pretty much the same thing, but Hurricane insisted on using those two words). He made Sneak run a lap around the forest as he flew alongside him.

However, Hurricane, getting too into the training, outflew Sneak and left him behind. It wasn't until he got back to the training spot and Charles asked where Sneak was that he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

They eventually found an exhausted Sneak lying on the ground an hour later.

Cleo was going over the moves he could use for the battle. They were mainly ground, normal and rock types moves that Sneak can easily use. However, Sneak couldn't wrap his head around the names and was making him confused.

Charles sighed, thanked Cleo for her help and moved him onto the next Pokemon.

Pyro was seeing how he could improve his attacks.

However, after several attempts at Scratch and Fury Swipes, it looked like Sneak was doing more damage to everything but the target he was aiming for. Flo and Alette had used most of their First Aid kit by the time they were done healing the whole team.

Finally, it was Echo's turn. He was acting as Sneak's psychiatrist, trying to get to the bottom of why he thought he was stupid. However, Echo tended to go off topic with his (long) allegories.

He only stopped when he noticed Sneak, who was lying on a small chaise lounge, was snoring loudly, fast asleep.

(Montage End)

It had been several hours since the start of Sneak's training and everybody was watching Charles test Sneak on his moves. Charles was marking his progress on a piece of paper

Despite some setbacks, Charles could actually see Sneak improving. He was much faster and agile, and his stamina seemed to have improved. Things seemed to be looking up.

After Sneak had demonstrated the last move Charles ordered him to do, the test was finished. Charles marked the last thing of the list and turned to the sandshrew.

"Well done, Sneak. That was ver-"

(That was a waste of time,") Sneak muttered cutting Charles off.

"I'm sorry?" Charles asked in confusion.

("That was a waste of time,") Sneak repeated, ("I ruined everything for everybody.")

Charles frowned in concerned, "I don't think it's as bad as you think," he tried to tell the sandshrew.

("Yeah, it was worse. I didn't get a single move right. It might as well have been in a foreign language,") Sneak growled angrily.

"Let me just tell you the score and-"

("Yeah, I'll tell you how the damn score comes out ABSOLUTE ZERO! THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SLASH AND FURY CUTTER! DODGING! WHAT PERSPECTIVE IS! IT'S WORTHLESS TEACHING ME ANYTHING! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT! I HATE THIS! I HATE THIS!") Sneak shouted with angry tears in his eyes.

Before Charles could say anything, Sneak ran off into the forest leaving a stunned team behind.

"What was that all about?" Flo asked looking in the direction Sneak took off in.

Charles hummed sadly, "You know what I was saying about confidence. Sneak doesn't believe in himself which is why he liked doing things that didn't demand too much responsibility. So, when you pull him out of his comfort zone, he gets scared that he's not good enough to meet expectations," he explained.

Charles sat on the ground and placed his head in his hands.

"This was my fault I shouldn't have pushed him," Charles mumbled.

Flo kneeled down beside him.

"This is not your fault, Charles. You were doing what was best for Sneak. Just give him some time. I'm sure he'll come around," she reassured her best friend.

The Pokemon watched the conversation from afar.

("Damn, I thought we were making progress,") Benny sighed.

("I guess he just wasn't ready,") Cleo sadly shrugged.

Echo scathed his chin with one of wings, ("But what are we going to do with the battle.)

("Oh! Oh! I know! I know!,") Hurricane shouted, ("what we need is a sandshrew costume-")

("Hurricane I'm going to stop you right there,") Cleo cut him off with a glare.

Pyro, meanwhile, noticed the piece of paper that Charles was using to mark Sneak's progress was now lying on the ground. With a determined nod he picked it up and headed towards where Sneak had headed.

("Pyro your queen demands to know what you are doing?") Boa asked in her own special way.

The Charmander turned to the other's direction, ("I'm going to talk to Sneak. Tell Charles not to worry about me,") he said before walking into the forest after Sneak.

The other Pokemon watched him walk away into the forest. Alette, however, noticed that Benny was smiling lightly.

("Why are you smiling?") she asked the pikachu.

Benny turned to her, ("Would you believe me if I said that when we met Pyro he was nervous wreck,") he turned back to where Pyro left, ("It's nice to see that he has grown more confident since we left Pallet Town,") he added.

Pyro, eventually, found Sneak sitting away from him on a log. Walking closer, he could hear soft sobs coming from the sandshrew.

("Err…hi, Sneak,") Pyro greeted awkwardly.

Sneak sniffed in surprise and turned around to face the Charmander.

("Oh…hi. I'm sorry for shouting at everybody. I'll come back in a moment,") Sneak apologised softly turning away from Pyro.

Pyro frowned in sadness. He walked up to the sandshrew and sat next to him on the log. Sneak didn't object to him sitting down nor did he do anything to acknowledge his presence.

("So…do you want to talk about what happened?") Pyro asked.

Sneak whimpered sadly, ("Ever since I hatched, I've been different from the other Pokemon on Mt Moon. I just couldn't understand things properly or I'll get distracted easily and cause problems. The other sandshrew treated me differently because of it. They never insulted me or anything- well not to my face anyway -but I could see it in their eyes. 'Why can't he understand this simple thing' they seem to say or 'Why does he have to be so weird?'. After a while, I…just gave up trying to please them and started doing my own things. Alone. Sneaking up on people was the only thing I could do that didn't demand too much responsibility from me. I guess I just thought if I never do anything to make the other sandshrew proud of me; I'll never disappoint them,") Sneak explained as tears streaked down his face.

("So why did you want to join Charles' team?") Pyro asked curiously.

Sneak shrugged, ("I don't know. I saw how Charles talked to the Pokemon and I just thought…")

("Wait Charles?") Pyro cut him off, ("You finally got his name right,") he proclaimed in glee.

("…You mean I haven't been getting it right this whole time?") Sneak questioned with a frown, causing Pyro to freeze up at his mistake.

("Umm well…") Pyro stuttered nervously at the intense glare given by Sneak.

("Never mind,") Sneak muttered in irritation, before he continued, ("I just if I joined then I'll get away from Mt Moon and away from the disappointment. But I just ended up disappointing Charles and the rest of the team. I'm…just useless.")

("But you're not Sneak. Look,") Pyro said, handling the paper that marked his score.

Sneak inspected the paper and looked at what Charles wrote. Pyro watched intensely, waiting for the sandshrew to realise what score he received.

Sneak looked up from the paper and turned to Pyro.

The Charmander held his breath waiting for his reaction.

("You know I can't read, right?") Sneak deadpanned.

("Oh,") Pyro said, realising his mistake.

"It says you've got all of them right," a new voice stated making both Pokemon jump.

They turned around to Charles walking towards them with a small smile. He lifted Sneak off the log and sat in his place, putting the sandshrew in his lap.

("W…W…What really?") Sneak stuttered looking up at Charles in disbelief.

Charles nodded his head, "Yep. I was about to tell you, but then you ran off," he said, causing Sneak to look down in regret.

"Sneak, I'm sorry for putting too much pressure on you. I knew you had trouble believing in yourself and I just wanted you to realise that you have potential. However, I was too forceful, and I pushed you too far," Charles apologised, petting the sandshrew's head lightly.

Sneak looked up at Charles and gave him a small smile.

("It's fine. You didn't do anything wrong. I also shouldn't have shouted at you. You were trying what was right for me. Sorry,") Sneak said leaning into his hand.

Charles chuckled lightly, before picking both Pyro and Sneak up.

"Alright, it's getting late, and we should head to bed. We have to get up early to take this Giselle down a peg," Charles said carrying the two Pokemon back to camp.

Sneak nodded with determination.

He was ready.

Poke Tech's Battlefield

It was time for the Pokemon battle between Charles and Giselle. Both trainers stood across from each other on opposite sides of the field. Meanwhile Flo, with Benny on her shoulder and Pyro resting in her arms, were watching from the sidelines, waiting patiently for the match to begin.

Giselle was her usual confident self, smiling and waving to her fans who have gathered to watch the battle.

Charles, on the other hand, was being heckled by the crowd. While he took no notice of them, he saw that they were getting to Sneak, who stood shakily by Charles' feet.

Charles kneeled down next to Sneak, "Hey, don't worry we got this," he comforted the sandshrew.

Sneak released a shaky breath, ("I…I…I feel sick. I don't think I can do this,") Sneak said nervously.

"Yes, you can. As long as you listen to me and focus on the battle; you will do great. I trust you," Charles reassured, "Do you remember that thing we practised this morning?" he asked.

Sneak frowned in concentration, ("Maybe,") he answered unsurely.

"That's good enough," Charles said, just a little bit worried.

"Are the challengers ready?" the referee, one of the students, asked the two trainers.

Charles and Giselle nodded as they both faced each other. Charles placed his goggles over his eyes and went into battle mode.

"Can miss Giselle bring out her Pokemon?" the referee asked, blushing lightly as he got to talk to Giselle.

Giselle smiled and posed daintily as she released her Pokemon.

"Let us battle, Hitmonlee," she declared with a flourish as her Pokemon appeared.

It had a brown shell-like body with eyeholes cared out. Its arms were sturdy and strong, but its legs looked even stronger. Charles recognised it as a hitmonlee; a fighting type. Hitmonlee did a series of kicks to show off its battle skills, much to the joy of the crowd.

Charles took the opportunity to check his pokedex:

Hitmonlee: When in a hurry, its legs lengthen progressively. It runs smoothly with extra-long, loping strides.

("I am ready to defeat my opponent,") Hitmonlee declared as he looked towards Sneak with a determined glare.

"The wonderful, radiant Giselle has released her magnificent Hitmonlee," the referee declared in excitement and awe, before turning to Charles' side of the field, "and the other side is him and his sandshrew," he announced dully.

'Gee thanks,' Charles thought miserably as he glared at the referee.

"Ready to give up," Giselle shouted at Charles with snobbish smirk, "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to."

"No way," Charles shouted back, "You made a mistake insulting my family and now you're going to pay."

Giselle snorted, "What a pity. It would be a shame to defeat someone as cute as you," she replied with a wink..

Flo, who heard what she said, turned red in anger.

"CHARLES, YOU BETTER BEAT HER OR I'LL DO IT MYSELF! YOU HEAR ME!" she bellowed angrily, scaring Benny, Pyro and Charles. The people around her edged away from her nervously.

"Err…" Charles gulped, "ok. I will."

"Let the battle begin!" the referee shouted, starting the match.

(Battle Start)

"Hitmonlee, use Brick Break," Giselle ordered confidently.

The hitmonlee's feet light up as it aims a strong kick at Sneak.

"Sneak, Defence Curl," Charles calmly instructed.

('Defence Curl. I know that one') Sneak said to himself. He wrapped himself in a tight ball and braced for the impact.

It was a direct hit and Sneak was sent back a couple of meters. However, the Defence Curl was strong enough to resist the Brick Break and Sneak wasn't harmed too much.

"I see you did manage to teach him some things," Giselle observed, "too bad it was all for nothing."

Charles raised an eyebrow, "We'll see," he calmly said.

"Use Mega Kick," Giselle commanded the Hitmonlee.

The fighting Pokemon's long leg prepared a hard kick at Sneak.

"Use Dig," Charles directed.

Almost instantly, Sneak buried himself into the ground, causing Hitmonlee's Mega Kick to just miss the sandshrew's tail.

"Now use Rollout," Charles ordered, as soon as Hitmonlee missed.

"Rollout?" Giselle asked in confusion.

From the hole Sneak just made, the sandshrew shot out of it in a tight ball and hit Hitmonlee in the back. The hitmonlee grunted slightly but was otherwise unharmed by the attack.

"You do realise that Rollout is a rock type attack," Giselle informed, "It won't work on a fighting type like Hitmonlee."

"Why don't you worry about your own Pokemon," Charles monotonously shot back.

Giselle hummed in annoyance before she turned back to Hitmonlee.

"Use Close Combat," she instructed.

Hitmonlee aimed another attack on the sandshrew, however Charles was ready.

"Use Rockslide, Sneak," he ordered.

Sneak punched the ground and tore up a few boulders. He then threw the boulders at Hitmonlee which stopped its attack.

"Hitmonlee, use Brick Break to destroy the boulders," Giselle shouted at the Pokemon.

Hitmonlee began to kick away the boulders easily, however it was so distracted by the boulders that it didn't see Sneak running up to him.

"Sneak, use Rollout," Charles directed.

The sandshrew rolled up into a ball again and hit Hitmonlee's front. The attack made it stumble back a couple of meters. Hitmonlee rubbed his front, wondering why it was much more powerful than last time.

Giselle growled lightly, "Hitmonlee, use Mega Kick again," she ordered.

Hitmonlee aimed another powerful kick at sandshrew.

"Use Sand Attack," Charles instructed Sneak.

Sneak started to kick up sand into the face of Himonlee, temporarily blinding him and stopping the attack.

"And use Rollout again," Charles continued.

Once again, Sneak rolled up into a ball and hit the Hitmonlee. The attack was effective as the fighting Pokemon staggered a couple steps back.

('They are definitely getting more powerful,') Himonlee thought as he rubbed his front.

"Stop doing that attack!" Giselle shouted at Charles in anger.

("Typical Charles,") Benny sighed good naturally.

Pyro turned to him in confusion, ("What do you mean?")

("Charles likes his opponent to throw the first punch in battles,") Benny explained, ("That way he can set up a defensive manoeuvre which throws the opponent off their rhythm. Once they are distracted, Charles orders an attack. It's his favourite strategy and he's been using it for years now.")

Pyro nodded in understanding and turned back to the battle.

'Alright Sneak, keep this up. I need you to do one more Rollout and we'll go for the final move,' Charles thought, smiling internally.

"Sneak, use Dig," he instructed and the sandshrew buried himself in the ground.

"Hah! I've got you now," Giselle proclaimed, "Hitmonlee use Earthquake."

Charles didn't have time to call Sneak back up before Hitmonlee used Earthquake. The fighting Pokemon performed a front flip and smashed his foot on the ground so hard that it began to break and splinter. Sneak was thrown out of the ground and into the air.

Seeing that he was vulnerable, Giselle acted.

"Finish him off with Double Kick," she ordered.

Hitmonlee jumped into the air and got very close to Sneak. He attacked the sandhshrew with two sharp kicks and sent Sneak flying back towards Charles.

"Sneak no!" Charles shouted in shock as he landed hard on the ground.

"Oh no!" Flo cried out as Benny and Pyro looked on with shocked look.

Sneak slowly sat up and looked towards Charles. He saw his worried face and the small frown.

The sandshrew looked down on the hard ground. He could hear no noise, but this own heartbeat and his laboured breathing. Nor could he see the battlefield or the crowds as they were replaced by darkness, an empty void. What pained him the most, however, was not the attacks or him impacting the ground. It was that he failed Charles. He failed his team. He failed everybody.

('I disappointed them.')

('I am useless.')

"Sneak! Sneak!"

A voice broke the silence.

The sandshrew looked up to hear Charles calling out to him.

"Please don't give up," he pleaded, "I know you can do this, but you need to believe in yourself. You have come so far, but you can't stop now."

Sneak could feel his eyes start to water as he said those words.

"You can never disappoint me," Charles continued.

"No matter what, Sneak. I will always be proud of you."

Nobody has ever said they were proud of him.

Nobody has ever believed in him.

The feelings swelled up in him. It made his heart feel with joy and hope for the first time in his life.

('I can't just give up,') he thought.

('I will make everybody proud.')

Sneak started to glow.

Everybody stared in shock as Sneak started to emit a bright light. The sandshrew started to grow bigger. Spines grew on his back and his claws started to get longer. His face became more narrowed, and his eyes widened.

The glowing stopped to reveal that Sneak had evolved into a sandslash.

Flo, Benny, and Pyro cheered as Sneak inspected his new form. Charles looked at him with a proud smile.

"I knew you could do it," Charles softly said.

He took out his pokedex and scanned Sneak:

Sandslash: Curls up into a spiny ball when threatened. It can roll while curled up to attack or escape.

"Are you ready to fight, Sneak?" Charles asked the sandslash.

Sneak looked up at him and smiled, ("More then ready,") he declared as he turned back to his opponent.

Giselle shook of her shock, "This means nothing. I'm still going to defeat you," she proclaimed.

"Hitmonlee use-"

"Rollout, now!" Charles called out before Giselle did.

Sneak performed another Rollout on Hitmonlee. It was more effective now that he was larger and had spines that could do more damage. The attack knocked the Hitmonlee on to the ground with a loud thud. However, it still wasn't enough as the fighting Pokemon got back on his feet.

"Why do you keep doing Rollout is still a rock type move?" Giselle asked in slight irritation.

Charles allowed himself to smile, "It's because Rollout doubles in power every time Sneak uses it. Add the fact that he used Defence Curl which also doubles Rollout's power and the fact that Sneak now has spikes on his back; I can't image the damage it will cause," Charles explained, making Giselle growl in annoyance.

"That will only work if the attack makes contact," Giselle countered, "all we need to do is dodge the Rollout and it will lose its power."

"I suppose," Charles mused, "then I guess we have to use Dig," Charles ordered.

Again, Sneak buried himself under the ground.

"Really, again," Giselle sighed mockingly, "use Earthquake, Hitmonlee," she instructed.

Hirmonlee performed another forward flip and slammed his foot down on the ground. But instead of splitting the ground open again, Hitmonlee's foot sunk into the ground. Confused, it tried to frantically pull its foot out, but it was stuck.

"Wait what!?" Giselle shouted in surprise as she saw Hitmonlee struggle to pull his trapped foot out.

"You didn't think we were hiding under the ground, did you?" Charles asked with a smirk, causing Giselle to gasp.

"It looked like Charles' idea worked," Flo commented happily, seeing the battle turning in Charles' favour.

"Sneak, now use Poison Sting," Charles instructed firmly.

Sneak burst out of the ground behind the Hitmonlee and shot out purple stings out of his mouth. It was a direct hit and the Hitmonlee cried out in pain.

"And finish Hitmonlee off with Rollout," Charles ordered.

For the last time, Sneak curled himself into a spiny ball and shot himself at Hitmonlee. The attack was powerful enough to release the fighting Pokemon from his trap and send it flying back towards Giselle's feet. Giselle looked down in horror as she saw that Hitmonlee had been knocked out.

"Hitmonlee has been defeated," the referee announced loudly, "sandshrew- I mean -sandslash is the winner."

(Battle End)

The students of Poke Tech gave polite cheers and claps at Charles and Sneak's victory. Giselle sadly returned Hitmonlee to its pokeball.

"Well done, Hitmonlee," she said softly to the pokeball, "you fought very well."

Sneak jumped into Charles' arms in happiness.

("We did it! We did it!") Sneak shouted in triumph as he hugged his trainer.

Charles lightly chuckled as he tried to ignore Sneak's spikes digging into his body.

"Yes, we did," Charles said softly, "You fought amazingly. I'm proud of you Sneak."

Sneak squeaked in happiness.

"But just remember, Sneak," Charles continued, "your limitations or incapabilities are not there to weigh you down; they are there so you can overcome them and to prove to everybody that you are strong enough to surpass them. It might be difficult or seemingly impossible at first, but the more confidence you have in yourself, the easier it will be."

Sneak smiled at Charles and nodded his head in understanding.

Charles saw Giselle approach him from her side of the field. Flo, Benny, and Pyro walked up as well; expecting her to do something to Charles in anger.

However, Giselle graciously smiled at Charles, "Congratulations. I wasn't expecting such a great battle," she said.

"Thank you, Giselle. You were excellent as well," Charles complimented as the two shook hands.

"I guess I must keep up my end of the bargain," she muttered sadly before speaking loudly for the crowd to hear, "Everyone. I would like to apologise to Charles and his…and Sneak for my rude words."

However, she struggled to say the part where she had to announce that she knew nothing about training.

"And I…I…I know no-"

"Giselle is an excellent trainer," Charles interrupted her, surprising Giselle, "I didn't see that Earthquake before it was too late. It is clear that she is very skilled, and it's been an honour battling with her," he finished giving her smile.

Giselle looked shocked for a moment before she smiled gratefully back. Flo, however, couldn't help but give them a sour face and an annoyed hum.

"We should probably be heading off now," Flo informed Charles though strained teeth.

"Oh right," Charles realised, before looking down at Sneak in his arms "ready to go, Sneak?" he asked.

Sneak nodded his head happily, ("Yep. On the way there can you explain what perspective is again?")

Charles, Benny, and Pyro laughed at Sneak's joke.

("…I'm not joking,") Sneak followed up with a small frown.

They stopped laughing instantly.

"Oh, sorry," Charles uttered.

Wow! That was a long one. I thought about cutting it into two parts, but then I decided otherwise.

Anyway Sneak, evolved in a sandslash. I thought the best way to show his development was by meeting Giselle at Poke Tech. I didn't know what other Pokemon she had so I decided to give her Hitmonlee.

It took me a while to come up with Sneak's character, because its so complex. But I decided to base it of Tommy from the film 'The Shanshank Redemption' as he also had learning difficulties. In fact, the bit where Sneak was shouting at Charles was based on a scene from the film. It's a great film by the way.

Furthermore, I hope people got my two references: one subtle and one really not subtle. I thought it would be funny to mock Disne- I mean Fisney. The other reference is at the beginning and I would be very impressed if anybody got it.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time.

Thanks :)

Potential Pokemon list:

· Eevee

· Abra

· Vulpix

· Nidoran

· Gastley

· Bellesprout

· Ponyta

Next Time: Charles and Benny are… arrested!?