Days later, when the canopy above their heads finally starts to thin out properly and the ambient temperature starts to rise a few degrees, Ran notes Josie's relieved sigh with some amusement. Though the parts of Ilex Forest they've traveled through are hardly the most testing, he can understand that to a girl who's never really roughed it before, that may not have mattered. Even with his significantly greater experience in the forest, there's still something tangibly comforting about the sight of a bright open sky overhead. The distant sounds of other trainers engaged in a battle help as well, after the relative isolation they'd eventually stumbled into in Ilex Forest.

From somewhere up ahead, Aria comes hustling back towards Ran, clearly intent on being recalled once they depart the forest properly. He accedes to her desire to rest easily, having had her out more for her own benefit than in any truly formal capacity anyways. That duty falls to the pair of Chief the Growlithe and Skorupi today, the eager fire-type leading their small party with his nose close to the ground whilst Ran's most recent addition is right by his side, natural inquisitiveness curtailed by a certain degree of caution.

It's something Ran has noticed repeatedly over the past few days, ultimately coming to the conclusion that, whatever exact natural habitat Skorupi inhabitates, it likely isn't a forest. He's somewhat disappointed that it's really the only bit of new information he's managed to glean from his exotic pokémon over the past few days, but it's better than nothing. Any doubts about his ability to successfully integrate Skorupi into the team that might have arisen from his lack of tangible information are squashed thoroughly after having seen him in action a few times.

Of course beating the low-level bug-types they've largely encountered throughout their trek through Ilex Forest isn't all that impressive, but he's also fended off Hoothoot, Beedrill and even a surprising Gloom. That last one had even seen Ran's hand drop to an empty pokéball for a moment, before thinking better of it. Though a grass-poison type makes a lot of sense as an addition to his team, his already relatively large team, compared to his number of badges, had seen him think better of it for now.

Well, that and the relative weakness of the particular Gloom they'd encountered, as Skorupi had beaten it just a bit too easily, all things considered. Not that the poison-bug was weak by any means, but considering the numbers Ran had available to him as far as Skorupi's abilities went, he'd been a bit unimpressed that the evolved pokémon didn't manage to put up any more of a fight. Still, it spoke well of Skorupi that he'd only had to back down in favor of Aria, Golbat or Ekans a handful of times over their days-long journey through Ilex Forest.

Ran still considers Skorupi his weakest team member for the moment, by some margin, but his early growth and promising moveset have fully convinced him that Bugsy's gift was a genuine one. A realization that doesn't sit particularly well with him, as it forces him to re-evaluate the entirety of their interactions in a new light, something he's less than eager to do. The appearance of sunlight overhead and the horizon opening up as they exit the periphery of Ilex Forest and enter Route 34 is the perfect distraction from such heavy thoughts however, as the sight of two younger trainers battling just a few hundred feet away draws his attention.

The battle between a Psyduck and a Mankey isn't particularly impressive, not managing to keep either Ran or Josie's attention for more than a minute, but it's enough to lift their spirits decisively. As they look out over the large dirt path winding through a winding grassland, with the ocean to the west, the promise of the lights of Goldenrod City as a distant gleaming beacon to the north and Ilex Forest to both the south and the east, more and more the presence of other trainers becomes obvious.

Some are walking the same path Ran and Josie have just started down, others have wandered off the beaten path, training their teams or battling wild pokémon or other trainers in the wide-open landscape around them. They exchange looks, Josie's hand slowly drifting towards Ginger's pokéball as they do so. Considering how pent-up the Ponyta has started to behave over the past few days, Ran isn't surprised by Josie's next words.

"You cool with meeting up again in Goldenrod?" She asks, fingertips already on the pokéball by her side but not yet gripping it.

"Yeah," Ran agrees easily enough, "Go have fun, we'll catch up later tonight, or tomorrow, if I don't make it to the city before dark."

Josie immediately brings out Ginger and is already mounting the filly as she answers, "Awesome! We'll text! Later!"

Ran offers an amused wave, watching silently as Ginger eagerly breaks into a gallop, the pair of trainer and starter rapidly racing ahead and off towards Goldenrod City. Looking at the path ahead, for a moment, he considers keeping Skorupi out of his ball for company, before ultimately deciding against it. Between the wide open and flat road, the bright sun overhead and the many other trainers in the area, his still somewhat skittish new team member is unlikely to enjoy the walk at the moment, so Ran recalls him before setting off on his own.

As he slowly walks along the dirt path, he considers Route 34. There's supposed to be a significant population of Drowzee, the psychic-types attracted by the large population of Goldenrod City and the promise of many dreams to feed from that comes with that. It's not a pokémon he has any interest in capturing, but Drowzee do make for a good training opportunity for his team. As a budding poison-type specialist, the risk psychic-types pose to his team is one he's well aware of, after all.

It makes sense to take his time here, now that Goldenrod City's not too far away and his team is still in solid shape. Assuming of course that he encounters any of these wild Drowzee, because after an hour of walking, Ran hasn't spotted any wild pokémon yet, other than a lone Rattata which popped up out of the long grass, threw a single look at the four pokéballs at Ran's side before immediately tucking tail and fleeing.

He also crosses paths with a few trainers and two more trainer battles, though it soon becomes very clear to Ran that the circuit has firmly left the 'start of season'-atmosphere behind and is now properly underway. Because whilst there are still plenty of low-level trainers like himself around, he doesn't spot a single so-called 'Tackle battle'.

A staple of battles between aspiring unsponsored trainers, 'Tackle battles' are the derisive term for any low-level pokémon battle where the battlers only know one or two offensive moves. They're often boring to watch as a consequence, as there's only so much one can do with a move like, for example, Poison Sting. Ran can easily admit that his own battles could be considered Tackle battles until quite recently, but as he stops to watch a fight between two trainers, one with four pokéballs and the other with a full six, he confidently concludes that he's left that stage behind.

Though as he watches the battle, a one-on-one between an Ursaring and a Miltank, he can also admit that he still has a way to go. Then again, as he watches the fight progress, Ursaring gradually taking control and building towards a win, he proudly realizes that Aria and Golbat can at the very least give the large normal-types a very good fight, if not straight up try for the win.

The battle over, winner and loser exchange handshakes and an agreed upon wager, before the winner looks at Ran curiously, hand already drifting to another of the five remaining pokéballs at his side. Curious, Ran pulls his jacket to the side, showing off the two badges pinned to the inside of his left breast pocket. It's an efficient non-verbal communication, as the other, older trainer offers an amused grunt, hand drifting away from his pokéballs and instead turning his attention to his Ursaring, Ran clearly dismissed from his mind.

The loser pays neither of them any mind, attention occupied by his beaten Miltank, which he's patching up with a bottle of Moomoo Milk and a spray bottle of Super Potion. Ran merely offers the now dismissive winner a final respectful nod, before wandering on, continuing his trek towards Goldenrod City. The desire to get into some battles of his own itches under his skin, but it won't be against these particular trainers.

Ultimately, it takes another half an hour before he finds a reason to bring out a pokémon of his own. It isn't another trainer, but instead a distracted Drowzee wandering through the tall grass a short distance away that draws his attention. The psychic-type isn't even aware of Ran's presence at first, but that changes once he strides into the grass and directly towards his intended opponent.

As Drowzee turns to face him, Ran eagerly sends out Ekans, trusting in his own familiarity with his starter's exact abilities to get the most accurate gauge of the local Drowzee population's general strength.

"Glare, Wrap, Bite!" Ran orders in quick succession, trusting in Ekans' extensive training to enable the execution of the three orders in quick succession. As pokémon mature, evolve and gain experience, their ability to process commands tends to improve as well and Ran has been training his pokémon from the start to be capable of executing a chained command, but three moves in under two seconds is still pushing it even with that knowledge.

Fortunately, Ekans doesn't disappoint, rearing up and staring directly at Drowzee, who stares back. Before Ekans' Glare can affect his opponent however, Drowzee snaps its glowing fingers together, which leaves Ekans shaking his head uncomfortably as Disable locks away his ability to use Glare effectively for now. Fortunately, whilst Drowzee wastes time smugly staring at Ekans, Ran's pokémon shows just how well-trained he is by immediately bursting forwards to continue his attacking pattern.

Drowzee is caught off-guard, its last-ditch attempt to fire off a Confusion coming too late, as Ekans closes the distance, wraps around his opponent and, just as Drowzee's body gains an ominous pink glow, Bites down with dark-type energy coursing through his fangs and into the immobilized Drowzee. To its credit, it doesn't faint on the spot, instead wailing in pain and struggling futilely in Ekans' grip.

Less to its credit, its inexperience shows, as Drowzee doesn't manage to purge the invading energy from its body in time to muster up another psychic attack. It gets part way there, a small burst of dark energy visibly expelled from its head, but that's all it manages before Ekans Bites down once more, not needing a new order from Ran to stick to what's clearly working.

This time, it's enough to decide the battle, as Drowzee slumps in Ekans' grip, only kept upright by the tight bind Ekans is keeping it in. Years ago, Ekans' instincts might have presented some difficulty at this point, as letting go of a defeated opponent goes directly against the purple carnivore's nature, but a regular diet of specialized pokéchow and intensive training prove their worth today. Ran doesn't even need to order Ekans to release Drowzee, his starter doing so of his own volition the second he's confident that Drowzee isn't simply playing dead.

"Good job buddy!" Ran praises his starter proudly, "You alright to stay out for a while and take a few more? I'm sure we'll run into some more opponents if we stick to the grass rather than going back out onto the road."

Ekans offers an affirming hiss, moving to glide along at Ran's side, as Ran for his part fishes out his compass and turns to face north-northwest, ensuring that they'll keep moving towards Goldenrod City whilst also wandering a bit further from the main road. Further out in the wilds, he might not risk wandering off from the patrolled parts of the Route so far, but with the ocean as a nearby natural boundary to the west, there's practically no risk of any dangerous wild pokémon choosing to live between the coast and the main road of Route 34.

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They wander easily into the wilds, grasses and shrubs dominating the area, only rarely making place for large puddles or even minor lakes, small depressions in the ground drawing the local rain water towards them whilst a slight rise in the landscape towards the ocean and a lack of heavy rains combine to prevent the formation of any proper streams. There's still enough water to have drawn some water-types out from the ocean and inland however, as aside from a steady stream of Rattata and Drowzee, they also encounter a fair few Krabby and even a handful of Staryu.

Ran doesn't make Ekans battle all of the wild pokémon they run into over the next few hours, instead switching Ekans for Skorupi after an hour. Then once Skorupi's had a few battles, after another hour, it's Aria's turn. By late afternoon he decides to take a break, a convenient rock serving as a natural resting spot.

Aria is happy for the break as well, as Ran withdraws her for Golbat. Before he can properly settle down however, an unfamiliar voice cuts through the quiet.

"You can't sit on that rock. It's Arthur's."

Surprised, Ran looks in the direction of the voice, even as a deep croak calls out, as if to confirm the statement. The speaker is a trainer in his mid-twenties, with a remarkable dark pink pompadour. By his side, a glaring Politoed stands with its arms crossed.

"Who's Arthur?" Ran asks slowly, looking around for anyone who might take offense at his choice of seat. With his feet sore from walking and loudly announcing their need for the respite by throbbing insistently at the mere thought of getting up, he's hesitant to simply listen to the other trainer's words.

"Arthur is my Politoed," The other trainer answers easily enough, even as the pokémon in question offers a low, elongated croak, "He's very fond of that spot and I'm not inclined to upset him. So go on, shoo."

Before Ran can answer, Golbat flares his wings threateningly, stepping out partially in front of Ran, body tense as he postures aggressively in a clear threat display. If he was hoping to make the other trainer back off however, he can only be disappointed.

"I'm not impressed and frankly I'm in no mood. Move, or be moved kid." The trainer demands, one hand falling to one of the six pokéballs at his side whilst the other reaches out slightly towards Arthur the Politoed, whose glare only intensifies further.

At the sight of a full belt and the other trainer's confidence, Ran is inclined to accept, but Golbat clearly isn't. He screeches angrily, taking a few more threatening steps forward as he does so.

"Alright, I don't feel like wasting any time on this. One-on-one. Loser, which will be you, pisses off. No wager, just leaving." The other trainer complains, pacing away even as his fingers glide over the balls at his belt. Mulishly, Arthur the Politoed hops after him, unleashing a waterfall of croaks towards his trainer in a clear diatribe of some kind.

"Are you sure about this, Golbat? He's probably been training a lot longer than us." Ran asks his pokémon cautiously. All he gets for a response is a challenging shriek, as Golbat hops forwards to enter the 'arena', which is more than enough for Ran to get fully on board.

"Alright, get ready to get in the air." He instructs his pokémon, receiving an approving screech in return, as both trainer and pokémon turn their attention towards their opponent.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." The other trainer lazily announces, hand wandering between the three pokéballs on his right, before finally settling on one of them. Arthur the Politoed finally falling silent in the background, though he's clearly unhappy to be doing so.

"Come on out, Flashlight." He announces, as an Ampharos appears on the field. Ran can't stop an involuntary intimidated gulp, as the strong electric-type appears and immediately focuses its attention on Golbat, who for his part doesn't seem intimidated just yet.

"Charge up and pick your moment." The other trainer instructs lazily, signaling the start of the fight with a brisk wave.

"Screech!" Ran counters, hoping to not only weaken the opposing Ampharos, but maybe also surprise it into failing its own move.

His hopes are in vain, as all Golbat achieves with his Screech, aside from its normal effect, is to further annoy the opposing trainer.

"Okay no if you're going to use annoying shit like that, we're ending this quickly." He complains, even as Ran orders Golbat to use Astonish before closing in for a Poison Fang.

"Zap- Thundershock." The other trainer commands, seemingly aborting whatever he was about to say first as Golbat suddenly bursts forwards, a ghostly apparition covering his form and drawing Ampharos' attention towards its impossibly dark, gaping maw. Golbat's fangs are already glowing with purple poison-energy, whilst Ran leans forwards in anticipation, hoping that Astonish might make Ampharos flinch for the crucial second it will take Golbat to close in and land his own attack.

But although the ghost-type energy connects with Ampharos and thus must logically inflict at least some amount of damage, the electric-type doesn't acknowledge the attack. Instead, it remains laser focused on Golbat as the red orb on its forehead crackles with electric sparks for a moment, before a large burst of yellow electricity bursts outwards directly towards Golbat.

The poison-flying-type doesn't even have enough time to realize what's happening, his poisonous maw about to crunch down on his target one moment and terrible debilitating pain running through every inch of his body the next. Golbat doesn't even manage to cry out in pain, his whole body locking up as the electric attack wreaks havoc on his system. Ran lets out a horrified shout of his own, crying for Golbat to get out of there, but the attack's power is too great, as Golbat's diving attack turns into an uncontrolled nosedive, crashing into the ground a few feet in front of Ampharos.

Golbat's shivering pain-wracked body slides on for a few feet, with Ampharos confidently taking just a single step back to prevent its opponent from so much as getting any dirt on its feet. Any hope Ran might have that Golbat is still able to fight is destroyed the next moment, when the electric-type nudges the now fully stationary poison-type from his belly onto his back.

Golbat's large eyes are both closed, his tongue lolling out whilst a dark purple pattern is visible on his dark blue lower body. The branching pattern of scarred tissue forms a branching mess on Golbat's body that might almost be considered beautiful, if Golbat hadn't received it in such a painful way. Ran hurriedly recalls his pokémon for now, even as he frantically runs through the small inventory of medical supplies he's got on him at the moment.

"Right, I say again, buzz off." The other trainer speaks curtly, already striding past Ran and towards the rock that's the cause of their battle in the first place. Behind him, Arthur the Politoed comes dancing after him merrily, whilst the Ampharos, which hasn't been recalled yet, looks at Golbat's unconscious form with at least a modicum of hesitance.

Ran doesn't pay either of the other two pokémon any mind however. He's too focused on shooting a venomous glare at the older guy's back. Unfortunately, with Golbat utterly incapacitated from a single attack, he knows full well that anything other than obediently marching off will just end with him nursing more defeated pokémon back to health. Burning the other trainer's appearance into his mind, he finally turns before marching off, earlier pained feet forgotten in favor of the anger eating away at him from the inside.

It's not the loss itself that drives his ferocious steps as he stomps off briskly, but rather the other trainer's behavior and his needlessly violent attack. Ignoring his general jerkiness for the moment, the skill gap between them was apparent enough from the start. To not have the common decency to at least choose a pokémon without a type advantage, is enough for Ran to vow silent retribution.

Retribution he'll come for some day in the future, at least, when his team actually stands a shot against what might well be an eight badge trainer with a fully evolved team. For now, the thought of the other trainer's eventual comeuppance is all the fuel Ran needs to eat up a few more miles in short order, before his feet finally won't be ignored any longer. There's no convenient rock or log to be found this time, but Ekans is happy enough to flatten out a respectable area of grass so Ran can at least sit down without running the risk of having a wild pokémon literally crawl on top of him before he notices it.

Just as he plonks his butt down on the grass, with Ekans immediately coiling protectively around his trainer, his pokégear vibrates with an incoming message. Glancing down, he isn't particularly surprised to see Josie's name staring back up at him. Opening their conversation, which has been dormant for the duration of their Ilex Forest trek, he catches up on what his friend's been up to.

Josie: You don't know what you're missing by going poison-types. Riding's a good time.

Ran: I'm fine with my feet on the ground.

Josie: Lame

Josie: Almost made it to the city

Josie: Found something cool

Josie: Day Care / Eevee breeder

Josie: Got a pup with some real fire to her

Ran: I thought you weren't interested in a Flareon?

Josie: Yeah but now that you've got four

Josie: Don't wanna lag behind you know

Ran: Do whatever you like, but that seems like a bad reason to change your plans?

Josie: Right

Josie: Because Skorupi was in your plans right?

Ran: I didn't even know Skorupi existed. It's hardly the same thing. You already had the choice to add a Flareon and deliberately chose not to.

Josie: …

Ran knows that Josie wants him to react to the ellipses she sends him, but he doesn't bother. Instead, he takes the time to dig around in his backpack for a light snack for both himself and for Ekans, who gladly accepts his treat. By the time Ran bothers to look at his pokégear again, it's vibrated more than once with more incoming messages.

Josie: …

Josie: …

Josie: Don't ignore me

Josie: You suck

Josie: Guess you have a point though

Josie: Fine, won't buy the fuzzball

Josie: She's cute though

Attached is a picture of the Eevee in question. Exceptionally fluffy and with a slight reddish tint to her brown eyes, Ran can easily admit that it is indeed a remarkably cute example of its kind. Not to mention that there's something about those eyes that just seems to suit a future evolution into a Flareon.

Ran: I was getting a snack, actually.

Ran: That's probably the right decision, though, yes. Congratulations.

Josie: Whatever

Josie: You making it to GC by night?

Ran: No, I'll camp out one more night. Golbat got hurt pretty bad in a battle against an arrogant toerag, but I've got the supplies to take care of him. We've wandered off the path and into the wilds a bit, I don't feel like rushing in the dark and risking an injury or something.

Josie: Wuss

Josie: See you tomorrow then

Ran: See you tomorrow.

By the time Ran closes his conversation with Josie, early evening is already setting in. Looking from Ekans to the surrounding landscape, he hums in thought, before getting up once more.

"Come on buddy, just another hour or so, just to see if we can't at least find a spot with some fresh water. Maybe some better visibility too, while we're at it." He encourages his starter, the purple Snake Pokémon hissing obligingly before following at his trainer's side once more.

With Golbat out of action, they'll have to be a bit more careful until they make it to Goldenrod City, but he's confident enough in his team's ability to navigate whatever they might encounter. Even with Golbat temporarily out of commission, they can still get some good training in for the evening. Because if the encounter with Arthur's trainer has made one thing perfectly clear, it's that they've still got a very long way to go before the Conference at the end of the season.

So, even if one of his four pokémon is in no shape to train for the day, that's still no reason for the others to get a night off. If anything, this only further reinforces the need for him and his team to outwork and outperform everyone who has a head start on them.

Teeth gritted as his mind immediately wanders to Bugsy and his three-year head start, Ran speeds up further, power walking ahead in search of a good spot to make camp. Ekans lets out a plaintive hiss as he struggles to keep up for a moment before adjusting, but Ran is undeterred. It'll be a good warm-up for them both.