Tanya had already been planning to move camps, staying in a single place was practically begging your enemies to plan a raid on you.

Her timetable for this move was going to be accelerated based on the rapid deforestation the area was currently experiencing.

Far from being against it, she recognized the monetary value that could be extracted from properly managing timberlands.

Money did indeed grow on trees.

But that wasn't the reason the surrounding forest sported new gaps.

"This is not what I meant," She barked from her seated position on a newly fallen log. "When I said to use the terrain!"

It felt like she was talking to the wind as Mawile uprooted a trunk and chucked it toward Mimikyu who faded on contact.

"Ma!"

Tanya was pretty sure that was an expletive. For the life of her, she could not understand what had set the Pokemon off. Yes, Mawile had a violent streak but she had been downright cordial with Mimikyu until now.

Fortunately for her and Mimikyu, Mawile was having trouble tagging the target of her ire. Between his speed and afterimages, there didn't seem to be any present danger to him.

Which was a good thing considering she hadn't finished repairing his costume.

Frankly, she wanted to toss the old rag out. It was dirty, had a faint smell of mold, and was tearing at the seams. Evidently, it held sentimental value and he protested any attempts to toss the thing. They settled on a compromise of sorts, she'd repair his current covering and in return, he'd be open to occasionally changing dolls. She was hoping repeated swaps would wean him off that attachment.

Mawile, thankfully, chose to reuse her projectile and her tiny hands hugged the bark. With startling ease, she lifted the pine and brought it back down again with a massive thud.

Tanya watched as a mockery of the game whack a mole played out, with images of Mimikyu constantly being pummeled out of existence.

She briefly wondered if the badlands in the south had once been filled with lush greenery, only to run afoul of one too many Mawiles.

A sufficiently powerful grass type should be able to restore a tree or two. It might be a good investment with all the time she was going to be spending outdoors. Some of those breeds were also low-maintenance, being able to sustain themselves much like actual plants with photosynthesis.

Wait. What was she even thinking?

She was already at four and even that was pushing it. At least her latest addition fell somewhat into the low-maintenance spectrum. Mimikyu was able to, partially, subsist off of fear.

It sounded ridiculous and her gut reaction was the Pokemon was pulling her leg. However, it was a Ghost-type and she read others in that category had…similar dietary quirks. She speculated it was truly feeding off of something else, perhaps the Pokemon's aura.

For a split second, there was a flash of white, and then a weight settled on her lap. Unbidden to her, she leaned back and placed a hand on Ralts' knee, making sure the Pokemon was secure. This situation had become alarmingly regular, making her form an instinctual reaction.

"Better but you're still off the mark." Tanya pointed to a stump a meter away. "You were supposed to land there."

The sense of smugness that was returned confirmed to her the diminutive Pokemon had redefined the target.

Her free hand pinched the bridge of her nose and she stared up at the rolling clouds, dealing with soldiers had been so much easier. There were regulations, standard expectations, and general structure to dictate the relationship between subordinate and superior. Things with these Pokemon were far messier.

Fed up with thinking about it, she brought her line of sight back down and sought out a distraction.

"I'm surprised you're not getting involved." She directed towards the floating rock who had been watching the spectacle with some concern. "To be clear, that is not me telling you to intervene."

Carbink was hardy but the more thrown into the mix the worse the forest would be for it.

"Bin…" Carbink trailed off, his ears sagging. He shook himself and turned to face her fully, his form bobbed up and down erratically. "Car. Bink. Bin. Bin."

Was..was she being reprimanded? By Carbink no less? The Pokemon who one would be forgiven for thinking the term 'dumb as a rock' originated from.

Momentarily, it put her at a loss of words and she struggled to reconcile her image of the Pokemon with this new development.

Heedless of her internal struggle, Carbink's eyes scanned the clearing. He honed in on something and with speed dipped down, snatching the object in his mouth and carrying it over to her.

"What about it?" She questioned, eyeing the article of clothing skeptically.

"Ink, Ca." The words came out muffled on account of the red trench coat held in his mouth. "Bin."

Against her wishes, Mawile had taken a souvenir from the warehouse. Tanya knew it not to be the norm but she had no problem with her Pokemon wearing clothing. She did take umbrage with that particular piece. Not only was it far too large for Mawile, but its distinctive coloring would be a beacon to anyone familiar with Team Flare's style.

Carbink gently laid it on the side of the log she was on and stared at her intently.

Was that what this was all about?

"This is different. Sunlight weakens Mimikyu, he needs adequate protection from it." She eyed the coat, the edges were already beginning to be frayed, a consequence of being dragged. "I'm not going to spend time hemming something I plan to get rid of, if she wants a coat we can pick one up the next time we go into the city."

'Mama' The Pokemon in Tanya's lap stirred and swung her head back, trying to poke Tanya's chin with her horn. Tanya placed a hand on the green head and stopped the attempt. 'Fix?'

And now she was being ganged up on.

She'd stayed up late at night typing up a standard employment contract using the tiny keyboard on her phone. There were some variations per Pokemon but they were all meant to accomplish the same thing, to put some professional distance between them by formalizing their arrangement. She could already see that the cramps her hand suffered were in vain.

"Fine." She lifted the Pokemon off her lap and settled her to the side. "I'll fix the damn coat."

She grabbed the tacky thing and reached into her pocket to retrieve her sewing kit. It was on hand as she'd been mending Mimikyu's doll when Mawile had demanded a spar.

Tanya wrung it out, getting rid of some of the debris that had caught on its ends. It wasn't enough and she had to pick out a plethora of spiky seeds that had gotten stuck on it. They were the kind of things that someone would find on the floor while traveling through the woods.

Now moderately clean, she inspected the task ahead of her.

There were many ways someone could differentiate between a good and bad soldier. Some were more obvious than others, like being able to nail a moving target at 100 meters. Then there were obscure things, like sewing.

Any soldier who was lucky enough to survive on the front picked up some skill with a needle, whether it was to add the stripes of a field promotion or have usable socks. Clothing, rather foolishly, just wasn't high enough on the brass' list of supply demands to be available in ample quantities.

Tanya, while not at the level of a professional tailor, was a cut above your average soldier. Contrary to the reductive beliefs of some, it wasn't due to her gender. That notion was particularly humorous because she could recall how many times Visha had injured herself practicing.

The ghost of a smile broke out on her face from the memory.

Holding the coat up at arm's length, she mentally marked where the fabric would need to be cut and where it could be safely tucked away.

She'd had to resize a uniform a number of times, her frame not being what one would consider commonplace in the military. To their credit, they did specifically make pieces for her use but she tended to churn through them.

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Taking her needle, she was about to begin work on the easiest part when another floated out of the container.

'Help?'

Ralts questioned while manipulating the needle.

Hmm, she had been meaning to train precision as well. Without firearms available, knife-throwing was the next best thing. Sewing was also a useful skill and there was plenty of extra fabric to account for mistakes

"Okay, but do as I say and watch closely."

—

A rock brushed past her neck, embedding itself into the tree behind her. Carbink's aim was acceptable, the power behind it less so. She lost track of how many she'd avoided today and expected that trend to continue as she ran their group through training sessions this week.

Tanya spotted the shadow snaking her way, it hadn't gone for a direct route and instead looped around bushes and other foliage to catch her off guard. She appreciated the attempt, even if she was about to render it moot.

Tanya leaped back before Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak could attempt to ensnare her.

"Wile~"

The cocky Pokemon's voice sang from behind her back. Tanya was surprised it still held such confidence after being led around the nose for so long during this 'fight'.

Still in the air, she called upon Protect and the translucent barrier sprung up between them. Mawile, in her impatience, had sprung forward with an Iron Head that was sure to blow through the erected barrier. It was fortunate then, that stopping the attack was not its purpose.

Her foot found purchase on the shield and she kicked off, performing a backflip. At her apex, she looked down and could see Mawile's startled expression underneath her. Not one to pass up an opening, she called another Protect and launched herself off it. Tanya reorientated herself before contact and her foot plowed into Mawile's back, ramming the Pokemon into the earth.

Another rock, this one faster and larger than the last shot forward. It impacted the visage of her face and the illusion faded.

Safely landing on the ground, Tanya took a moment to revel in her latest achievement. With Mimikyu's repeated demonstrations, her experience with normal-type aura, and a modified illusion formula, it hadn't been too difficult to learn Double Team.

Compared to her old illusions, Double Team was wanting in several aspects. The projections were limited to being herself, blurry on the outlines, and only able to copy what she had been doing when the move was used. If she was standing still then so would the copies. If she were to run so would they, but only in the direction she had been going.

Not exactly the tool she had before but it was more than usable.

Mawile pushed herself up and spat out dirt, turning to eye her with disturbing glee. Carbink floated up behind the Pokemon with a matching smile. She couldn't understand why they were in such a good mood. They weren't exactly winning.

"What's wrong?" Tanya taunted, trying to get a rise out of them while scanning the area for where Ralts and Mimikyu were hiding. "I thought you said this would be easy?"

All they had to do was manage a hit. She'd restricted it to one because that may very well be her limit, Iron Head could have broken her spine just now.

Mawile made a retching sound and spat at the floor.

That little shit. She needed to teach her mann-

Tanya hit the floor, two distinct beams of pink musical notes and hearts flying overhead.

For a moment, she was about to praise the coordination. Using Taunt to distract her while Mimikyu and Ralts attacked from the rear was a good move. Then she saw the twin Disarming Voices hit the duo to her front. They were both robust in the special defense department but the side effect soon made itself known when the Pokemon started a head-bashing competition. At least she hoped they were under the status effect of confusion, some days she wondered.

"Good use of Mimic but mind your companions," she chastised Ralts and Mimikyu who sat in a tree. Blue-on-blue incidents were expected but that attack was especially careless. "Remember to always watch out for who or what is in your line of fire."

Banning Mystical Fire had been a prudent move, she didn't want to have to deal with a forest fire.

Looking at the two who had been the victims of friendly fire, there was little she could do to capitalize on their momentary incapacitation. Their defenses were simply too tough for her to crack. The culprits on the other hand…

Her legs bent and then she exploded towards the tree.

Mimikyu, in a reverse of their usual arrangement, wrapped a tendril of shadow around Ralts and carried them out of her path. Tanya reached the branch and pushed off in pursuit.

She chased them through the tree tops and Mimikyu continued to stay one step ahead of her, using a claw to consistently swing away.

A trio of purple balls were fired her way and she deftly avoided them by dropping down from her current branch and hanging by her fingers.

Mimikyu was annoyingly good at this game of keep-away.

"Ma!"

She let go and fell to the ground as she watched part of the tree she had been on being obliterated by Mawile's Spit Up.

"Stop announcing your attacks!"

This wasn't the first time today she had to say that and Tanya beginning to believe Pokemon was doing it on purpose.

Mawile shrugged, seemingly not bothered by her rebuke and fueling further suspicion.

Tanya bit back a curse, having lost track of Mimikyu and Ralts again. Not one to stay still, she bounded towards Mawile who grinned before matching her charge. They met and Mawile's black jaw snapped at her with gleaming teeth. In her opinion, using Crunch was overkill. It didn't matter either way as the teeth clamped around nothing but air, Tanya having ducked to the side at the last second.

Her knife, empowered with Cut, lashed at Mawile's right flank. It skidded on a barrier and she redirected her focus to the source, Carbink. Running towards him, she was aware Mawile had begun to give chase. Tanya dove, rolling under Carbink and using two feet to kick him into Mawile.

She found throwing them into each other the best way to buy time. It was frustrating, not having a reliable way to go on the offensive.

"Ra, Ra."

Ralts voice echoed above and she spotted the pair seated near the peak of a tree. She frowned at the sense of guilt sent over.

Her knife screeched against a claw composed of shadow, Mimikyu having gotten behind her.

Which meant…

Tanya lifted both legs, allowing the Shadow Claw to fling her away. Her feet touched bark and she rocketed towards another tree, splinters flying behind her.

A rock plowed through a decoy she had sent and Tanya landed next to Ralts, reaching out to bop her head and declare her 'out'.

Ralts disappeared in a flash.

Her balance shifted as the pine she was on began to topple, she rode it part of the way down before leaping to another. Any more abuse towards the local foliage and they'd have to move for the second time today.

"That's enough," she announced while descending. "We're calling it for now, let's break for lunch."

They'd been at it for a while and her back was slick with sweat, muscles strained.

Ralts came into existence a little away from her, leaning slightly on a tree and controlling her breath. It was nice to know she was not the only one of them winded.

A small weight dropped onto her shoulder and she let out a sigh of exasperation before grabbing Mimikyu. The fact that he weighed at most a couple of pounds highlighted once again how dangerous Pokemon could be despite their appearances.

Mawile remained her strongest asset but Mimikyu had a mix of speed and cunning that resulted in a non-negligible amount of lethality.

She recovered Ralts and walked back to their new campsite. Her modest tent had been raised and a fire pit dug. A camp chair sat near the unlit fire and she deposited her two burdens there before moving for her pack.

"Don't forget to-" She was rummaging through her pack when she looked back to see Mawile passing out canteens. "Never mind."

She pulled out a package made of shiny aluminum and then a pot. Gathering wood wasn't needed as they'd brought some over from the last camp. She threw some pieces into the pit and was going to find her lighter when Ralts stood.

'Light?'

"If it's not too much." She didn't want Ralts to overwork herself.

Ralts clambered down the chair, kneeling next to the pit. She placed two hands on the ledge and leaned over before doing what looked like a burp. A fire leaped into being and Tanya nearly tripped yanking Ralts out of range.

"Be careful." She placed the Pokemon back with Mimikyu. "You're lucky your hair didn't ignite."

It would be more than a little ironic if she got the Furfou treatment.

"Wi?"

Mawile pointed at the package Tanya had dropped with a little drool dripping.

"Yes," The Pokemon did a fist pump in response to her confirmation. "The session went well I figured you all deserved a reward."

She'd picked up a few Pokemon-friendly freeze-dried meals, it was something to break the monotony associated with their usual food.

It was a bit early to break it out but overall the session went well and she wanted to encourage that behavior.

Placing the pot over the fire, she filled it with water and lamented at having to soon make another trip to the nearby stream. The filtration device she had meant that it was safe, but the constant trips were inconvenient.

Carbink looked on curiously while Mawile, now wearing her coat, dragged a stone over and plopped down on it. Tanya took a seat on the ground itself.

"I hope that demonstration highlighted how much room for improvement there is," She addressed the longer-tenured members while waiting for the water to come to a boil. "Both of you worked fine together but rather than seeking to create opportunities, you merely stumbled on them." She couldn't rightly complain about seizing the initiative when it was presented but some proactive measures should have been taken to increase such occurrences. "Carbink, don't just use your ranged abilities to try and hit me. Use them to block off avenues for my retreat. Mawile, you need to be more liberal in your Taunt." She realized what she was saying and rushed to clarify. "The move, not the action."

Mawile fought like a raging bull most of the time, it was the reason she was confident in coming out of the encounter unscathed.

"It's not enough to know what you are doing, you need to be aware of what everyone else is doing." If they had done that she wouldn't have stood a chance. They were stronger, faster, and had a larger repertoire of moves at their disposal. "Furthermore, like Mimikyu and Ralts, you two forgot to include the other pairing in your plan of attack." Tanya looked to the two newer members to make sure this was conveyed to the group. "Never forget you are part of a unit and a victory for one is a victory for all."

She used one of the many patriotic slogans that had been crammed into her head during her stint serving the Empire.

They fell into silence, only broken when the water began to bubble. She dropped the package in the pot as the instructions directed and counted down the seconds until she was meant to remove it.

"Ral!" A feeling of pure determination slammed into her psyche.

Ralts had stood, clutching Mimikyu. She looked larger than she should. The sight mesmerized Tanya for a moment before the spell was broken by Mawile wrapping an arm around the tiny Pokemon and giving her a playful noogie.

Panicked squeaks and requests for aid were soon transmitted. Tanya elected to ignore Ralts' plight, some amusement taking hold in her.

"Bink!"

Carbink nuzzled her chest and in her tired state, her attempts to fend him off failed. She collapsed back and hit the dirt.

She felt a mass drop on her leg before hugging it, Ralts must have used the last of her energy to teleport away from her torturer. Based on the wind being knocked out of her in the next instant, said torturer had decided to cannonball onto her stomach. If that wasn't enough, Mimikyu draped himself over her face and obscured her line of sight.

"This is assault on an officer," She grumbled from her pinned position. "Get off or I'm doubling our next session."

Perhaps they knew that it would be harder on her than them as a round of laughter sprung up.

Hadn't she resolved the issue causing them to gang up on her? More importantly, why did it not feel too bad?