.—.—.

Ash hadn't ever hated any particular weather but he decided he hated the rain.

He had good memories about rainy weather. He remembered when he was young that whenever it would rain, his mom would put a raincoat on him and let him splash out in the puddles that formed. There was always a large puddle that formed near the mailbox that he'd splash through like a tauros.

On some days his mother would fill up water balloons and squirt guns and Gary would join him in the rain for a classic water war. He remembered he'd be exhausted within half an hour and would go sit on the porch as his mom would hum a song and Professor Oak would dry them off with that huge golduck towel–the same one Gary always bragged about–before taking the younger Oak home. Most of the time Ash would fall asleep with his head resting in his mom's lap only to find himself in bed the next morning, tucked in tight.

He was hit with a strong wave of nostalgia and a stifling sensation in his throat.

Ash cleared his throat and quickly amended his decision; he didn't hate the rain. However, that didn't mean he liked having to sit under his tent for the second day in a row as the rain pounded down. Cove was enjoying himself, the corphish was the only one of Ash's pokemon that was suited to the weather.

The yearly wet season was upon them; It had officially started the day after he had left Fuchsia City. Ash was just thankful it was projected to be short this year. Two weeks of constant rain was unenjoyable but it beat the normal month-long downpours Kanto could get. The only joy he could find was in the occasional scene of Cove happily scuttling around their camp and snapping his claws at the falling raindrops. He was the only pokemon Ash had seen so happy in the downpour.

Nut had been fine enough in the weather until the rain clouds had blocked out the sun for multiple days on end. Regal found the rain unpleasant as it messed up her feathers and anything that had the audacity to soil her plumage threatened to whip her into a fury. Greed was soaked the first time he'd gone foraging and had been testy ever since. Graveler was grumpy but Ash didn't see much of a difference from the usual.

Ash was sitting in his tent as he waited for a lull in the rain. The rain was impeding his travel exponentially. He was constantly forced to sit in his tent and wait for the rain to let up before he could continue. That would at times mean he would pack up in the middle of the night and get a few hours of sleep deprived travel before he was forced to make camp again.

Regal chirped from her position on Ash's shoulder. He smiled fondly and fed her yet another piece of his ration bar. The rookidee gracefully took it in her beak before starting her feast. The teen was rather amused by her antics. She seemed to like the bland bars more than he did.

The Dex beeped as it gave him the information he was looking for. Ash tapped through a few screens as he searched for the video he was looking for. Finally, he tapped into a video of a nidorino in front of a training dummy. The trainer watched as the poison-type launched a Sludge Bomb, followed by a Thunderbolt and Ice Beam in quick succession. He continued to watch as the video displayed the pokemon running through its vast movepool.

Ash leaned back as he sighed. Greed gave him a questioning look from his spot reclining near the foot of the sleeping bag. "Sorry, bud, just thinking." He kept thinking back to his talk with Janine.

If he had messed up something as simple as giving commands during battle, what else had he overlooked? He knew that he was overthinking. Knowing it didn't make him stop doing it. After a bit too much reflection he was vindicated at last. He found another flaw he had fallen into as well.

His team's movepools weren't diverse. Greed had the most diversity out of his pokemon with a total of eight types. Meanwhile, Graveler only had access to three types and Nut had four. Regal and Cove, being the newbies of the team and as young as they were, only had access to a couple each. Cove had three if Ash included Mud Sport. However, the corphish was not proficient enough in his egg move for Ash to confidently count it.

It was important to introduce variety to a pokemon early on in their training. It expanded their horizons and gave them a solid base to work with before they matured and narrowed down their battling-style and staple attacks. Most trainers overlooked it in the beginning and Ash was no different. He took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

Regal chirped at the affront and began preening his hair for him immediately. Ash smiled fondly. The flying-type had been pretty attached to him. He chalked it up to her being so young, pretty much freshly hatched. He lightly smoothed down her yellow chest feathers with his index finger. Regal chirped happily.

Greed rumbled lightly to grab Ash's attention. The rookie watched as the pancham pointed to the fabric of the tent. Ash nodded in understanding. The rain had let up and he needed to get going. "Thanks, Greed. Let's get moving."

They were on the road quickly after that. Route 15 was mostly open plains with patches of trees scattered around. It made it easy to spot anyone or anything from a distance. Regal was flying above them and would tell them if any pokemon approached that he couldn't see. He didn't expect any pokemon to leave their holes and dens to harass them in the middle of the wet season, but he also didn't want to be blindsided. Besides, Regal enjoyed the brief moments of open skies that allowed her to stretch her wings.

Greed and Nut were both at his side and similarly enjoying the reprieve from the rain. Cove and Graveler were sitting in their pokeballs on his bandolier; neither of them were itching to travel at a fast pace along the route. Ash didn't mind traveling as much since it gave him more time to think.

He decided to switch gears in regard to the training of his team. Ash knew the training was going to be harsh. It was what was demanded of them now. Surge was a monster and wouldn't hesitate to fry them for any mistake.

Greed was the only of his pokemon that Ash thought was equipped with a diverse moveset. Mostly because the panda had received the most TMs out of the team. With his starter's learnset being more open than his teammates' Ash thought it would be a better avenue for his starter to build up his dark-typing. Greed had had a fire lit under him since Nut's evolution. Whether that was from the competition or from the effect of the nuzleaf's Distortion Ash didn't know, but he could appreciate it nonetheless.

Dark Pulse was a move he desperately wanted his team to learn, but that move required a TM since none of his pokemon could learn it naturally. It would be a worthy purchase. Ash had come to realize that TMs were expensive, no one disputed that, but they were also essential to the upper echelons of trainers.

Ash found himself lucky that so many of his pokemon could use many of the same moves. Dark Pulse could be learnt by Greed, Nut, and Cove. Purchasing the TM would pay off in dividends in the future. The same could be said for Night Slash. Dig was another that all of his pokemon, except for Regal, could learn.

A plan slowly came together. Greed would be focusing on Night Slash and Work Up. Night Slash was an obvious addition as the dark-type move would further along the pancham in harnessing his Distortion for his future evolution. He could also help teach the move to Ash's other pokemon when they were ready. Work Up was a move that worked similar to the move Bulk Up in that it would increase the attack potency of the user by surging them with adrenaline and hormones. The thought did make Ash wonder what would happen if both moves were used together. An idea for the future. He wanted to venture into new areas of training and self-improving moves were among them.

Nut had just about perfected Sucker Punch, the move wasn't that difficult to begin with. Extrasensory was tempting as the nuzleaf's next option. It gave him another type to work with while also giving him serious power. Ash decided the move would come in time. What Nut needed was something that would help his evasion. Janine's battle had shown him that readily. Double Team would be a great move in that regard, but he didn't have that TM on hand. He had purchased something else in Celadon. The Dig TM purchased in Celadon City was administered at last. It would give him a way to evade when needed and also introduced a new type that Ash felt he needed. Dig wouldn't take long–he hoped–so Nut would also begin working on Feint Attack and Sunny Day. The weather-altering move was going to take longer, but Ash wanted desperately to dive into that area of training and the potential it afforded.

Regal was also going to be working with Nut from time to time. The nuzleaf could help guide her with Defog and Air Cutter. Both flying-type moves should come naturally to her with a bit of help. The rookidee was young enough that Ash felt she could hold off on the influx of diverse moves for now. After she had grown a bit Ash thought Agility would be a great addition. Tailwind was a good base that he could work off of. Rookidee possessed decent speed that would compound as they evolved. However, Regal's evolution to corviknight would give her heavy steel plating that would hinder her speed quite a bit. If he focused on it now it wouldn't be as detrimental to her in the future.

Cove was going to have a tough time before they reached Vermilion City. Ash was going to work him hard. Mud Sport was a great move that the corphish could use to help negate his weakness to electric-types. The move was still iffy, Ash would put the crustacean on Mud-Slap in the meantime. It would help Cove get a better grasp on ground-type energy that should translate to Mud Sport as well as give him another weapon against electric-types. In addition, Ash wanted the lobster to add Crunch and Metal Claw to his arsenal. Crunch would be easy and Greed could assist if he needed it, but Metal Claw would likely take more effort. Cove would also be the first to learn both Dig and Night Slash once Nut and Greed perfected them.

Ash let a smile come to his lips when he thought of Graveler's regiment. The rock pokemon was going to be the most overworked of his team. Ash had an ambitious plan for his grumpiest pokemon. He was going to call it Indomitable; a technique that would effectively make Graveler able to shrug off anything short of a Hyper Beam. Harden, Iron Defense, Defense Curl, Endure, and Protect. It would be hard. It required Graveler to learn Iron Defense and Endure before they could even begin. Which meant finishing Rock Polish when the rock-type would stop whining over the speed bolstering move, a move which would have been a great asset against Janine. Despite that, Ash knew Graveler would be up for it. The rock pokemon would also learn Fire Punch and Thunder Punch from Greed. The moves would give his pokemon a response to his biggest weaknesses in water-types and grass-types.

Ash was also incredibly interested in the way Graveler had used Magnitude in the Fuchsia Gym. The point-blank attack had been incredibly effective against Muk and he wanted to explore it a little more. He'd thought of the application when he had first began working with Graveler and seeing it used practically had restoked that ember of interest within him. Greed had volunteered to be their test subject and Graveler had been uncharacteristically eager to try it out. Ash had readied a couple potions and a revive before they even squared off. He had purchased a couple Hyper Potions specifically for that demonstration.

Graveler had taken Greed in his hands and grinned. The rock-type had lifted the panda above his head before he lept upwards. Ash watched as his starter was plunged downwards and cratered into the earth. All the power that Graveler's Magnitude would have transferred into the ground was instead brought directly onto Greed. The pancham let out a yelping grunt that horrified Ash as it was cut short.

He had never heard his first pokemon in such pain before. Greed had been knocked out immediately. Even Graveler was shocked by the sheer power his attack had displayed. Ash used both Hyper Potions on the panda pokemon and a revive before he had regained consciousness. Greed had taken another day to recoup and return to his full strength.

Ash was both horrified and fascinated at the technique. It was disgustingly effective and Graveler hadn't even used his full power. The trainer couldn't stop thinking about what it would look like if Graveler truly put his everything into the attack using Earthquake as opposed to Magnitude. Ash shuddered as he subconsciously patted Greed's head. It could have bore permanent scars.

Ash tempered his ambitions with rationality. The technique–Epicenter, he dubbed it–was unusable in its current state. A Gym challenge was the only place Ash would allow its use for now. At least a Gym Leader's pokemon could survive the move without being permanently disabled. If he pulled that during an average trainer battle…Ash shuddered again as he remembered the caterpie on Route 1 so long ago.

They had two weeks before Vermilion at the very least. He added some days to account for the weather and decided the journey was probably closer to three weeks. He had three weeks to whip his team into shape. Janine had been a wake-up call. They'd won the battle fairly handily but it still served to Ash as the reminder of where he stood on the so-called societal ladder in the grand scheme of things.

Flat out under it.

As a rookie trainer going for his third badge, there were no more rest days. No one was going to baby him or hold his hand. So, Ash gave himself until Vermilion City. Then, not even Lieutenant Surge would be enough to stop his team.

.—.—.

Ash released Cove with a small hum. It would be the corphish's first proper trainer battle since he'd joined the team. Since they had left Fuchsia there had been a couple battles but most trainers weren't itching to use the small increments of clear weather to slow their travel by battling.

The opposing trainer gave the crustacean a measuring glance, unsure of what to use if the shifting fingers over his pokeball belt was any indication. The trainer–a tall boy about his age who had introduced himself as Harrison–tapped one ball after the next in clear indecision.

"He's one of my newer pokemon, if that helps." Ash supplied. Harrison blinked but smiled in appreciation. A pokeball was finally selected. A gray feline speckled with the occasional tuft of white appeared with a flash of light. Its tail was spring-like in its shape and longer than the rest of the cat's body twice over. Ash knew he recognized this cat from somewhere, but he couldn't put a name to its species.

"Glameow is pretty new as well, I got her in the Safari Zone." Harrison told Ash. The Pallet Town native appreciated the selection. More than a handful of trainers would have used a pokemon that could secure them easy cash. "You ready?"

"As ever." Ash confirmed. "You want the first move?"

"All yours."

"Thanks. Cove, Bubble Beam." Ash ordered. The corphish blasted the jet of water forward instantly. Glameow hissed as it sprang sideways to avoid it. This battle was refreshingly low stakes in Ash's mind. "Get close, Double Hit."

Glameow was lithe compared to purugly, their stocky evolutions. Harrison used that to his advantage as the battle raged on. "Avoid its claws with Quick Attack. Charm and then use Iron Tail."

The cat hissed in displeasure as Cove struck at it with his meaty claws. Glameow leapt diagonally as it gave a pink-red pulse. The ruffian pokemon gurgled in confusion as Charm worked its way into his mind. Ash rolled his eyes at the fairy-type move. It was essentially a lesser Attract, though it lacked the usual drawback of needing to be used on the opposite gender.

The momentary lapse gave their opponent enough time to coil its lengthy tail. The tail compressed before Glameow twirled and sent the appendage coated with a metallic silver shine at the crustacean. Ash smirked as Cove reacted with a watery grunt–or the corphish's equivalent of a grunt–and shot his pincers towards the so gratefully offered appendage.

"Vice Grip, Crunch." Harrison squirmed as Ash commanded the orders. Glameow hissed viciously as the Iron Tail struck Cove with a thwack but didn't throw the water-type away. Instead, the Vice Grip kept the two pokemon connected. The feline screeched as the pressure doubled as Distortion creeped its way up Cove's body to power the Crunch.

"Hone Claws then target its underbelly with Slash!" Harrison hastily yelled out.

"Bubble Beam." Glameow's hiss was drowned out as the point-blank water-type jerked its head sideways. Despite the cat's precarious position it still used its hindlegs to Slash downwards at Cove's softer underbelly. However, Ash was already anticipating it. "Intercept with Razor Shell."

Shells began to cover the area around the water-type's cream underbelly. Ash looked on as the Slash raked against the sharp shells instead of their intended target. Harrison recalled his pokemon before the sharp shells could shoot forward and gouge deep cuts into Glameow's paws. Ash saw the wisdom in the decision. Harrison had been in a bad position and there was no reason to risk unnecessary injury this far from a pokemon center.

Cove snapped his claws in victory as the glameow disappeared. Ash chuckled as the lobster-like pokemon approached him and awaited praise. "Great work, buddy. Your Razor Shell was perfectly timed." The happy gurgle in response made Ash smile.

Harrison returned his pokeball to his belt as he approached. Despite losing it seemed he was still in good spirits. "Good battle. If he's new then I would hate to battle your strongest. When did you capture him?"

Ash chuckled as Cove basked in the glory of his victory. "I caught him in Fuchsia about a week ago."

Harrison coughed. "That's impressive. Glameow has been with me for about the same time. Clearly, I have more work to do."

Ash returned Cove as he gave his attention to his former opponent. "Cove was already strong enough to claim an entire beach for himself when I captured him. He's new but he's tough, don't take it to heart. Glameow was good, is it young?"

The words seem to reassure Harrison. "Thanks. He's pretty young, a couple months I think." The trainer glanced at the darkening sky as a single raindrop struck the dirt. Harrison lost his good nature. "This damn rain…"

Ash nodded in agreement. "I better make camp."

"Me too." The taller boy paused before continuing, "Would you mind if I joined you?"

Ash considered it. He could probably use some human interaction outside of battling and Harrison seemed like a nice enough guy. "Not at all. Do you wanna camp over there?" He pointed to a raised section of plains to their north too small to call a hill. "The rain should run off better."

Harrison nodded as he adjusted his backpack. "Sounds like a plan."

.—.—.

Ash laughed. "You can't be serious."

Harrison grinned as he took a bite of his trainer ration. "As the grave. I told Ponyta that the rain was coming—Mew, I could see it coming at that point—but the brat decided she wanted to get her laps in."

Ash felt Greed rumble in amusement from his side as Harrison's ponyta whinied in protest. The fire-type didn't seem as amused with the story as her trainer. "So, did she come crawling back?"

Harrison rubbed the neck of the fire horse. "Oh, she came back alright! She was soaked to the bone and her mane was barely simmering. Nearly trampled my tent trying to get my attention." Ponyta's tail fire flashed a bright red that made Harrison laugh louder. The fire-type huffed smoke from her nose as she trotted ahead.

Ash was liking Harrison the more they talked. They had been cordial the night before as the rain hammered down and forced them into their tents, but they had been going the same way the next day and had continued forward together. Harrison was gunning toward Route 12 toward Lavender Town and had proposed they travel together until their paths departed. "So, besides Glameow and Ponyta, what's your team?"

"I have four." Harrison gestured to his belt which held the mentioned number of capture devices. "Glameow, ponyta, corsola, and my starter–a granbull. Yourself?"

"Rookidee, corphish, graveler, nuzleaf, and my starter–a pancham." Ash told him after a moment. Whenever he was asked that question Ash couldn't help but think back to Jay's advice in Viridian. He had mostly dismissed it as the advice of a man a little too paranoid from his time on the routes.

"That's an interesting combination. I've never heard of a pancham before." Harrison said. "Badges? I have two–Volcano and Soul."

"Rainbow and Soul. You fought Blaine?"

"Blaine was my first Gym battle." He confirmed. "I got passage on a ferry from Johto to Cinnabar Island to challenge him. My corsola and granbull beat his torkoal and growlithe."

Ash recalled that Harrison had said he was originally from Littleroot Town but had been in New Bark Town to receive his starter. It reminded him of Ethan, the only person he knew from New Bark Town. He wondered just where his friend was. He had no doubt that the Johtonian would have beat Blaine if he put his mind to it. "That's impressive. Blaine is pretty tough."

"It was a hard battle." Harrison admitted freely. "He's renowned for a good reason. Though, I think my battle with Janine was more formative for me. Blaine was tough but also impersonal and brisk. He didn't even seem to like having to battle me."

Ash could relate to that. The difference between fighting Erika and Janine was stark. The trainer from Pallet Town grimaced. The grass-type Gym Leader sounded similar to the Torch of Cinnabar in personality. It disappointed him to no end that his childhood idols were turning out to be so…unlike his ideal of them.

He knew it sounded ridiculous but it still disappointed him.

Route 15 was considerably less dreary when he had company. They were still bombarded with unfortunate weather most days but it gave them a chance to swap some training strategies. Harrison had proposed a few spars between their team and Ash had agreed. It gave both of their teams a chance to familiarize themselves with pokemon they'd yet to interact with.

He'd been surprised to learn that Locke, Harrison's granbull, was an absolute powerhouse. The fairy-type had a jaw that gave even a feraligatr's a run for its money. Fairy-types were not the most abundant pokemon in the world so the Pallet native was interested in the granbull. Fairy-types also held a serious type advantage over Ash's team at the moment. Locke had demolished Cove in a practice match that had made Harrison apologize for the brutality. Ash hadn't taken it personally but Greed had insisted on a spar.

The match between starters had been intense. Neither trainer intervened until it became impossible not to as the duo threatened to ruin the camp. It spawned a strange friendship between the two pokemon after the fact. Exchanging blows was a staple of friendship between plenty of fighting-types, so Ash wasn't too surprised with Greed.

Similarly, Cove and Corsola were getting along swimmingly. The water-types would stand opposite each other and throw water back and forth for hours until their reserves ran dry. Ash made a note to take the corphish to the various ponds and lakes around Vermilion. The crustacean would love it, he was sure.

By far the worst duo they had inadvertently created had been Glameow and Regal. One would think that the two wouldn't get along–cat and the canary rivalry and what not–yet the two proud pokemon reminded Ash of a headache he'd dealt with years prior.

A young and pompous Gary Oak.

Ash stumbled as a weight hit his shoulder with substantial speed. Regal chirped as she adjusted her position on his shoulder. She was only a few pounds but she could make an impact when she wanted to. He winced as her claws tightened their grip on his shoulder. He felt the white lines appear on his skin under his clothes. "Girl, you have got to make your landings lighter." She elected to ignore him as she lifted a wing and began cleaning her flight feathers. "Or ignore me, that works too. Great talk."

Regal had definitely spent far too much time with Glameow. Was she already in her rebellious phase? He would have to curb that soon enough.

"I feel like a parent." Ash only half-joked.

"They grow up so fast." Harrison said with amusement.

.—.—.

The one flaw Ash despised the Pokedex for having was the time delay for most anything. Professor Oak had a large relay at the lab in Pallet Town. It allowed for messages, news, reports, and most anything to be sent and received without much trouble. The downside was that the League rejected the former Champion's request to piggyback off their psychic-type network. Instead, any news or messages Ash wanted to send or receive had to be relayed from the Pallet relay itself.

It wasn't an issue when he was closer to Pallet Town. Route 1 and closer would be relayed without much of a delay. It was when he got farther when it showed its flaw. It could take up to three days for a message he sent to be read by its intended audience. Ash shook his head as he finished typing the note to Sparky. He thanked him for a few things. The insulating case, the clash with Janine, the advice, the great battle.

Ash hummed as typed on the day he expected to challenge the Vermilion Gym. He added a small blurb that suggested Surge could use someone to curb his ego. With that pleasant image in mind, Ash flipped his Dex closed and his eyes followed suit.

.—.—.

"I've been meaning to ask you about that radio." Harrison gestured to the mention device strapped to Ash's backpack.

"I bought it before getting to Fuchsia. I thought keeping up with the news would make the routes seem less disconnected from civilization." Ash shrugged to bite back his annoyance at the machine. "I haven't been able to get any signal with it. I think the lady that sold it to me lied."

Harrison examined the device closer. "You should be able to catch most frequencies around Indigo thanks to the Goldenrod and Lavender Radio Towers. You put batteries in it, right?"

Ash held back the 'duh' that threatened to tear itself from his lips. "Yeah," he said instead.

"Oh, here." Harrison spoke up with surprise. He pulled back with a small slip of a white papery substance in his fingers. A moment later the radio kicked to life with a series of mindless static before settling into a droning tone of classical music. Ash gaped. "A bunch of electronics have these stopgaps from the manufacturer put in to block the circuit until someone buys it and pulls it out."

The Pallet trainer ignored the way Regal chirped in amusement at his expense. He prayed to Mew that Gary would never hear of this. "Thanks."

.—.—.

"Graveler hates being wet. He's a defensive fortress but try and get him to train in the rain and he gets as prissy as a skitty. I can't imagine what he would be like if he had Sturdy instead of Rock Head. It would go to waste." Ash laughed as Graveler grumbled.

"Ponyta is like that but I think that's inherent in most fire-types." Harrison responded to the fire-type's chagrin. "The only training I never had to coax her into was speed drills. She loves doing laps and races."

"Oh, don't even mention speed drills around this lump." Ash knocked on Graveler's shell a couple times with a smirk. The rock-type pointedly ignored his trainer; any reaction would just encourage him. "He would rather take a Hydro Pump from a rampaging gyarados headfirst than just do a few laps. I had to practically twist his arm to learn Rock Polish, a move he should have learned naturally. He was so against it that it took until after we already earned the Soul Badge for him to learn it. Honestly, Graveler will break before he bends."

.—.—.

It struck Ash at how many people he'd met on his journey so far. In Pallet Town he interacted with the same people on a daily basis. Even when he had joined the Pallet Academy his circle only encompassed Gary, Leaf, and Ethan. Ash would be lying if he said he could recall more than a couple names of the other members of his class. Trainers met so many people on their journeys that it made the sleepy Pallet Town seem all the smaller.

Route 14 came and went as the two trainers ventured onto Route 13. After two weeks of traveling together, Ash had come to think of Harrison as a friend. They had exchanged contact information for the future, so they were sure to see each other again at some point. When the road split into two directions–north on Route 12 and west on Route 11–Ash shook Harrison's hand. "It was good traveling with you."

Harrison returned it. "You too, Ash. I hope we can battle each other again before the Indigo Conference."

Ash smirked. "Count on it."

Harrison returned the smirk with one of his own. The two trainers split as they went down different routes. Ash watched Greed rumble a farewell to Locke. The granbull barked out a goodbye of his own as he scurried after his trainer. The Pallet rookie shifted his backpack as a vigor was lit in him.

Vermilion City was at the end of Route 11. All things considered; it would be a shorter trek than his previous ones. The road to Vermilion was as open as Route 14 and 15 but with more tall grasses. The grasses, Ash knew, concealed colonies of aggressive rattata and raticate. Nests of ekans propagated the fields and unlucky trainers would barely hear their yellow rattles before they struck. The skies would be dotted with spearow flocks headed by the short-fused fearows that whipped them into a fury. The flocks were liable to harass them at the hint of any given slight. Said slight often only consisted of existing in their line of sight.

The rainy season had finally come to an end after so many endless days of dreary rain and flooded campsites. The wild pokemon would be prickly at best. The chill of autumn made Ash's bones freeze on some nights. The cold would only put the pokemon into a frenzy, stockpiling on food before the first real cold came in. If Ash had been on Route 11 his first day, he'd have been chewed up by grizzled pokemon–wild and trained both.

Now, he welcomed the obstacle.

"Five more days until we reach civilization." Ash told Greed. "Think we can make it in four?"

Greed's growl told him he welcomed the challenge.

.—.—.

Ash brushed some of the loose pebbles away with his foot before he sat down. Nut took a seat next to him and took a similar position. The trainer took a deep breath and crossed his legs. He silently walked himself through the steps he'd grown used to. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, closed his eyes and then focused on continuing the pattern of breathing.

Before Ash had left Fuchsia City, he'd searched up his Distortion issue with any database he could. There were more accounts on the phenomenon than he'd thought. He downloaded a few guides and articles he thought would help. Ash vowed to call Professor Oak when in Vermilion so that they could discuss the topic at length with the proper attention it deserved.

For now, though, he simply meditated in the evenings with Nut next to him. It was meant to give him a better grasp of the dark-type's influence on his mind, letting him sense the abyssal stain that his nuzleaf left on him. A wind made Ash shiver as it caught Nut's leaf in a slow, mournful whistle. The black spot at the edge of his mind bubbled with what Ash had come to know as Nut's excitement. He heard the grass-type rustling next to him but redoubled his focus on his breathing.

A deep breath in, a slow exhale out.

Over and over again.

The calm of the wilderness swallowed him until he felt his hat lift from his head. It was accompanied by an inhuman hum. A bright blue washed over him as Ash felt a smile come to his face. The tide shifted predominantly teal as it encroached on the void. Nut chittered a warning and the colors receded partially. They were followed with a light melodious tune that contrasted starkly to the dreary whistle of its sinister counterpart.

Ash exhaled one last time before he opened his eyes. His hat floated in front of him, seemingly held up by nothing. He took it gently by the brim and lifted, revealing under it a black shape with a shining white eye dotted by a black pupil. The eye flashed a vibrant purple.

"Hello, Unown. Been a while, hasn't it?" Ash greeted it. He'd been wondering where it had been recently.

The psychic sent its own greeting and agreement that flooded the trainer with a bright violet. A series of images, colors, and sensation bombarded the teen. Nut gave another warning as his stain grew larger, leaf flicking to show his irritation. Unown buzzed a cautious rhythm that the nuzleaf all but ignored.

Psychic-types, ghost-types, and dark-types. The Mystic Trio each had a natural opposition to the others. Whether it be weavile hunting jynx in the snowy peaks or haunter snatching young abra under the new moon, the trio tended to clash when in close proximity. Ash watched the two pokemon interact as he adjusted his hat. They wouldn't be breaking any ground on that feud any time soon if Nut's growing stain in the back of his mind was any indicator.

Most rookie trainers did not have the trio on their roster for a variety of reasons. Ghosts were rare and often malicious when found. Psychics were uncommon too–with a few exceptions such as slowpoke–and were difficult to bond with. Dark-types were the worst of both, commonly violent and hard to connect with. Still, it was not exceptionally rare to find rookies with a member of the trio on their team. However, having a combination of the three was a delicate balance that needed to be maintained.

Ash felt a headache coming on as he finally understood why. A magenta cascade recoiled at the Distortional void that snapped at its edges. "Nut, knock it off. Unown, please don't push him."

The two pokemon looked at him. Unown simply buzzed as it levitated over to Ash. Nut huffed before returning his attention to the creation in his hands. The elongated leaf with various holes and markings that the nuzleaf had been working on for a couple days now was yet to sound like the flute it was meant to be. It was frustrating the dark-type greatly. Ash left his buddy to it for the moment.

"It's good to see you, Unown." Ash said genuinely. A delicate periwinkle shrouded him. It seemed the feeling was mutual. "Have you been watching us this whole time?"

Unown bobbed. Harrison flashed into Ash's mind from an awkward, distant side angle with a yellow-green burst. Another image, this time of the labyrinth that was Celadon City followed by Fuchsia. The two cities were highlighted in one aspect.

"Not a fan of groups of people?" Ash asked. Unown confirmed the guess with a buzz. "An introvert, that's okay. A lot of psychics are like that. Do you want to go with us into the city? We plan on challenging the Gym and then seeing some of the attractions. The Vermilion Harbor is supposed to be the largest in Kanto. Vermilion City is pretty populated though."

The symbol pokemon gave a buzz of appreciation at the offer but a firm rejection.

"You're always welcome to join." Ash offered. "We still have a few days until Vermilion. Would you like to accompany us until then?"

Yes

.—.—.

The Vermilion Harbor was impossible to ignore unless one ignored the city itself. The ocean supplied Vermilion Bay from the Southern Kanto Sea and fed into the settlement like lifeblood. It was the fuel of what became the largest tourist city in Kanto.

Above Celadon, Cerulean, and Cinnabar Island. Vermilion City had historically held the longest unbroken chain of tourism in the region. It had lost that title decades ago–between the rising prominence of Celadon's consumer-oriented markets and Cerulean's vast entertainment district, it had inevitably slipped–but the city was still a tourist city at its core. But, before it was one of Kanto's premier cities and host to one of its pillars of power, Vermilion City was a simple port town. A humble port town in its origins and a flashy tourist city in its evolution.

The skyline was more reminiscent of Celadon than any other city he had experienced. Towering buildings constructed with thousands of tons of steel held hundreds, if not thousands, of windows that caught the sun. How flying-types avoided crashing into them was a mystery to Ash.

Vermilion Harbor was the real gem of the city. It reeked of salt and fish and the breeze tore harshly at his clothing. Ash mentally compared it to Fuchsia City's docks and found himself snickering. It was an unfair comparison, a weedle to a dragonite. Vermilion was not the first city in Indigo to brave the ocean–that honor was held by Olivine City in Johto–but it was the first to make headway in truly conquering it.

Olivine City was Johto's equivalent of Vermilion City, an ocean facing city that tempted the watery domain and was rewarded for it. Trade moved the world, even more so in the centuries before the formation of the Indigo League. However, not even Cerulean City with all its inlets or Olivine with its lighthouses had surpassed Vermilion in its prime.

Route 11 was full of trainers working their way up to challenge Surge. Ash accepted dozens of battles as he made his way into the city proper. He counted more ground-types than he cared to think about. Electric-types were just as common. He made plenty of cash at least–his savings had dipped significantly since he'd begun his journey–and it gave his team a chance to try the anti-electric strategies they'd been working on.

The strategy he'd come to was simple. He knew the team he wanted in the Vermilion Gym. Greed, Graveler, and Cove. Greed hadn't gotten to fight in Fuchsia so the panda was determined and Ash knew he was more than strong enough. He also wanted to give Cove a chance. A water-type against Surge sounded unusual but with Mud Sport it wasn't as one-sided. Besides, Graveler could pick up any slack the crustacean left. Nut was miffed at not getting picked, but Ash promised he'd be invaluable in their next Gym battle.

Ash gave Regal a warning look as she took to the sky above them. The rookidee wouldn't be fighting in the Vermilion Gym. She was still too young and would just serve to give Surge a flying-type for target practice. He agreed to allow the bird to explore the Vermilion skyline if she stayed out of trouble. Already he could see her shooting off after a wingull with a luvdisc in its beak.

His team was checked over when he stopped at the Pokemon Center. When they were given a clean bill of health from Nurse Joy, he jetted to the heart of the city. Only a block away from the Center sat a giant building dawned with a lighting bolt over its entrance. The thick concrete spoke to the level of attacks the building could weather. It reminded Ash of Giovanni's Gym in Viridian, though this building was far louder. It stood out and it knew it.

Ash breathed in a deep breath and resolved himself. He marched like a soldier to war. With a hard shove to the towering entrance door, he waltzed into the belly of the beast.

.—.—.

Aspirations has officially passed over 200 favorites and follows, thanks y'all. Chapter 8 done. I was able to write this chapter without much hassle. I actually had all this done by the middle of February but I was going to include the Surge battle and finish off Vermilion. But I was very uninspired for the Gym battle and finishing Vermilion would make the chapter too long. Part of me also wanted to just get something out. Let me know what you think. Anyway, Ash is still more reactive than proactive, something that I am looking to change soon.

Take that as you will.

Next Chapter: Thunderclap

As always, thanks for reading and reviews are much appreciated. I only got this chapter out because the reviews encouraged me to do so. Replies below:

BJJPanda: Thanks, Panda. Corviknight and Unown are both 'mons I wanted to use since the start, though I flipped between whether Ash would get Regal or another trainer would. Hope your flight went well haha.

HDK: Unown is something I wanted to introduce since the start. Glad you liked it!

Muk was my favorite part of the battle too, morbid but I enjoyed it haha.

Uvuvwevwevwe: Haha, not on hiatus, just been very busy with university. I don't plan on giving up Aspirations that easily. Thanks for the ideas, and I hope this chapter is to your liking!

Speed Reader: Glad you liked Janine, the battle, and the addition of Regal. A corviknight will be fun to write when she gets there.

Hobbes319: Thanks man, glad you liked chapter 1. I hope the rest was as good as the first. The bit about Ash's narration? Yeah, he absolutely does meander. That's mostly on me but it's a habit I'm trying to shape and fix, though I find the idea that Ash is just like that funny.

Gouravsilentreader: Thanks man, hope this one is as good.

Haziq Saffari: Glad you like Regal as an addition. And thanks!

Dman09: Thanks, man. Glad you caught that bit about the stalker being haha, wasn't sure anyone would.

Khangshadow: Thanks for the advice.