I think the best days of my life so far were being trained for an entire weekend under Blue at his gym in Viridian City.

I was actually enjoying the training I got for Vigoroth.

He sparred well with Pikachu, Crocnaw, Wartortle, and Quilava.

However, I was able to observe and test Vigoroth's skills well enough to the point where it was clear he had an edge over all of them.

Pikachu's main advantage was a tremendous amount of overwhelming speed and energy. He didn't hit particularly hard unless he managed to time a blow well enough.

His bread and butter was Iron Tail, Quick Attack, and above all Thundershock.

Pikachu's Thundershock could be a counter, a first strike, anything. It was versatile enough to stop Vigoroth dead in his tracks sometimes and reposition, when very few attacks he blocked or just attacked through didn't matter to him typically.

The more I spoke to Ash and trained with him I realized just how similar he was to his counterpart in the anime and anime movies canon.

He was hopeful, kind, and vigilant to become a Pokémon master. But the biggest difference I saw between him and his canon counterpart was that he was actually competent at battling.

Ash wasn't unbeatable or anything, but he certainly was a great deal calmer and far more skilled with Pokémon then I expected him to be. I only really remember him losing championships in the anime, and only earning his Gym badges through coincidence, pity, or comedy. Sometimes a combination of all three.

This Ash appeared to have the same hope and bravery the original Ash had, but with a far greater degree of strategy and cunning for battles refined through Blue's training.

Opposing that, Gary was a great deal more pathetic than I remember him being.

Maybe it was because he was trying so hard to impress his brother. Which, was never going to happen since he was almost on even ground with Red, the greatest Pokémon trainer who ever lived.

Gold however wasn't a disappointment.

Blue continued to pressure Gold to make his Quilava fight harder, when I didn't blame Gold for holding back so much.

Quilava was in my opinion the second best starter during training besides Vigoroth.

Wartortle had almost the same degree of training, experience, and natural ability as Quilava, and Quilava ran circles around it. Even with a blatant type disadvantage.

It was just because Gold was so much more relaxed during battles.

Gary always had something to prove, he always tried too hard, even with his talent. And Gold read him perfectly.

The only Pokémon Trainer I felt was very clearly a step behind the rest of us was Crystal. Despite the fact that she already had a couple badges, I'd yet to see Crocnaw land a single solid hit on Vigoroth, not even a glancing blow.

I surmised that she only made it this far because of how strong Crocnaw's Ice Fang would've been against both Bugsy and Falkner.

However, all of our Pokémon and ourselves learned a great deal from Blue.

He had the skill and experience of a multi-time world champion, but the patience and intelligence of the best battling instructors I'd ever met. I would never forget, for the rest of my life, how hard it was for five different Pokémon attacking at the same time, to land a single hit on his Blastoise when all it was doing was using Rapid Spin with its shell, and Withdraw.

I don't think there were very many Pokémon who could genuinely hurt Vigoroth, but if there were, it would probably be that Blastoise. I still felt relief when Blue ended the challenge there when it seemed Blastoise was actually a bit angry.

Asking enough people for advice on which Growlithe to pick, Inoru, Violet, and even Ash, I went with the one that I felt suited me best.

The first born, who'd be the opposite of the runt of the litter.

I didn't like how sheltered he looked around his mother, but just by looking into its eyes and seeing it play with his siblings once. I could tell the degree of untapped potential this Pokémon had was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

As great as Vigoroth was, our first impression wasn't like this. Teddiursa likewise, didn't come close.

…

Blue sent us all of with barely a speech, just a quick goodbye. "Thanks for coming this weekend guys, I'll see you when I see you."

We all bowed to him, and then that was it.

After three days training with one of the best trainers who ever competed, I only learned that I couldn't learn nearly as much as him in a year. Not even three. Maybe within a decade, I could have the degree of planning, tactics, knowledge, adaptability, and sheer skill in battling that Blue had. Maybe.

…

Gold quickly waved to us and walked towards the train station.

I shook hands with Ash. "It was great to meet you."

"You too. Hopefully we can get a great match in during a tournament or somethin'." Ash shook my hand.

I turned kindly to Gary Oak.

Gary shrugged, ignoring how I just wanted to say goodbye to him, rubbing his nose. "I gotta get back to Pallet, my family needs me for help on a research project Gramps is doing."

Crystal had no such qualms about saying goodbye to me. "I think you'll do great on the road ahead to the Pokémon League."

"Well the Conference isn't for another year so, plus I'll totally beat you there." Gary stuck his hands in his pockets, chest puffed out.

Ash said nothing, glancing back at me from his teammate. "I'll see you around Nico. Take care."

"Likewise."

The two boys walked towards the direction of one of the exits of Viridian City, which I imagined let them go straight back home. I could only guess at how many times both of them had ever walked through it.

Crystal sighed. "I should probably start going home too."

I could see Violet on the other end of the street from outside Blue's gym.

"Looks like I gotta go too."

Crystal and I awkwardly nodded to each other before I waved and left, leaving using the crosswalk.

Violet smirked when I walked up next to her. "She's cute."

I ignored this. "I thought Inoru was taking me back to Johto."

"We needed to talk, I'll explain better on the train."

"About, what?" I didn't like her tone.

"Just be a bit patient Nico."

…

"You have to go back to your uncle's ranch?"

Violet leaned back in her chair in the bullet train compartment we were taking back home. "Look." she began. "Half of his employees had to quit after most of the valley's farms got flooded."

"There was a flood?"

Kama Valley wasn't really known for floods from what I knew.

She explained. "The levees everyone built to hold back the main river coming out of the mountains were ancient. No one had the money to rebuild them so." Violet shrugged sadly as Inoru nodded in agreement.

I looked at Inoru. "You're in agreement, you're letting her leave?"

"It's not up to you." Violet interrupted before Ino could open his mouth. "To be honest Nico, you're learning too fast for me to give any sort of advice anymore. I think in your past four competitions, I gave a grand total of two sentences worth of advice."

"So?"

"It wouldn't be an issue if I didn't feel I had more work and things left for me to do in Kama Valley. After adding your new Growlithe, you have a full team to work with for the foreseeable future. Not to mention, you have more than enough money now by battling to take care of yourself."

I shook my head. "That doesn't matter. Violet, I thought you were gonna be my coach for like. Ever."

"Judging by how easily you were keeping up with kids this weekend who actually had badges and some sort of strategy. I'd say there isn't much left for me to coach you on."

I bit my lip, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry," Violet said.

She was supposed to be my mentor. Like Ino right?

"Let me guess, you want to stay at Sprout Tower now to study better?"

Inoru chuckled, I could tell he was a bit insulted. "Unlike Violet, I took a vow to keep you up to date on all your studies as a monk. My place is with you, making sure you can eventually become an Initiate."

I looked back over at Violet. "How come this is the first I'm hearing about this?"

"The day you won in Blackthorn City I could tell you were going to outpace myself and any advice I could really give you. Then you beat Gold twice, and then you beat Falkner without even taking a single hit."

I understood.

Violet seemed to stare off blankly in thought and speak. "And then, a world champion gave you a Growlithe from Oak's lineage of Arcanine based solely on the trust and performance you showed in his gym and in competition. Genetically speaking, there are no better Fire types to start from scratch with, except for maybe those other world champions raised. Tell me Nico, be perfectly honest. What can I teach you at this point?"

It was a prospect I'd ignored for a while until now because I actually enjoyed having Violet around.

She wasn't particularly quirky, funny, or interesting, but she really seemed to deeply care about how I progressed as a trainer. She seemed to know exactly what the rules were like for battling and traveling, and where to go and what to do. But now that I'd figured out all of that out, even battles, I knew how much better my Pokémon were at fighting than Violet's. It was something I didn't want to admit, largely because letting Violet go would partially prove Clair and Bill right about her.

But they were wrong, I didn't need them. I think I needed Violet as a mentor and a coach though.

I frowned. "But I'd miss you." I admitted.

Violet looked at me up and down a bit. "I know, I'd miss you."

"I'd miss you too." Inoru seemed to admit with a strong degree of humility.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

This, I noticed right away. The only home Inoru ever knew besides the Shrine he came from before, was Takujimi. And I'd yet to see Inoru ever remotely mention our home temple.

"I'd miss both of you as well. But no one can help my uncle now but myself."

"Didn't you say you wanted to become a Pokémon league judge?" I remembered.

Violet sighed sadly. "Yeah, I, I really did. But between running my uncle's ranch someday and maybe earning enough as a judge, who, tend to volunteer for the most part. I have an easy choice to make."

I couldn't say anything for the rest of the twenty minutes until we reached Cherrygrove City where we'd have to take different trains.

…

"Do you really have to go?" I asked.

We stopped hugging.

Violet inhaled quickly. "Yeah," she muttered.

"I'll be fine if you go but, I feel like you really could've enjoyed a lot watching me earn more badges and then eventually competed at the Conference for the first time."

"It is a little under a year away and I'll certainly be there. But, I agree, I'd miss a lot between now and then."

"So, I have your Nav ID?"

Violet smiled. "You do. Don't beat yourself over what happened, we technically only know each other out of circumstance."

"What do you mean?"

"If my cousin hadn't driven you to between your mountain and Kamarino. We never would've met."

"Violet please um, if you get the chance. Let me know how Mikey Richardson's family is doing when you get back to the valley. I don't think they have any form of communication with the outside world in that town at all."

"Just let me know who to look for and where." Violet smiled. "And, I'll let you know as soon as I go."

"Okay." I said.

We waved to each other, and she soon boarded the monorail headed back to Kamarino. Inoru and I got on the platform across from hers, and then left towards Violet City, where we'd have to hike to Azalea Town.

…

Inoru must've noticed how much time I was spending staring at the Pokéball where my new Growlithe resided.

"Thinking about your training with Blue?"

I shook my head quietly.

"Nico." I looked at Inoru, he wasn't particularly affectionate, but I appreciated the hand he placed on my shoulder. "You're missing an important part of why Violet left."

"Which was?"

"The whole point of her coaching you until now was so that you could become a Trainer without coaches. Or at least, a Trainer able to grow our home's name further than she ever could. She never would've left unless she was sure her place was elsewhere. Unless you really didn't need her anymore."

But between racing and raising Rapidash for a living, I would've picked helping me compete. It was just that much more interesting, but I did understand how much her uncle's ranch meant to her.

Inoru seemed to smile, crossing his arms in the chair next to me. "She was important in helping you get this far sure but. You never would've been this good if you didn't have what it takes."

"Thanks Ino."

"Remember that when people notice or mention that Violet left your side in the upcoming gym challenges."

It wasn't as big of an undertaking as I had considered.

If Crystal could beat Bugsy, then I most certainly could, no offense to her, she just wasn't nearly as skilled as everyone else I practiced with at Blue's training this past weekend.

…

Azalea Town had a very similar layout and simple beauty to Cherrygrove City, although it was far larger.

Inoru and I checked into the Pokémon Center to get a room, and then I was able to train in a safe clearing in the woods near the town.

I was a little upset over Violet leaving so quickly when I had only just gotten my first Gym badge, but I remembered she wasn't the only companion I had on this journey. I had ones that would be there from the very beginning all the way to wherever this ended.

My Pokémon.

First I released Vigoroth and Teddiursa from their balls.

They both looked fine after lots of training and spoke to them.

"You guys did great recently, but I want to start working with a new member of our team okay?"

Teddiursa lightly scratched the back of his own paw while Vigoroth gave a deep nod in acknowledgment.

"He's a Growlithe, and he'll be the one I'll be picking to challenge the Gym leader in Azalea Town."

Not being picked for something he could tell was so important seemed to slightly irk Vigoroth, but he merely nodded back. Teddiursa seemed to be wondering what the purpose of the team meeting was if we weren't training or eating.

I took a deep breath and released one of my favorite Pokémon I knew from anywhere.

A Growlithe pup, the grandchild of Professor Oak's own Arcanine, and Blue Oak's Arcanine's direct offspring.

This Growlithe was a bit larger than average according to my Pokédex, male, and appeared to have a very sheltered, calm, but attentive demeanor.

"I'd like you to meet my team," I said to the pup. "This is Vigoroth, my starter, my main partner for battles." I introduced kindly.

"Oro." the ape Pokémon growled.

"Arf!" the Growlithe barked back sharply, his tail wagging as he sat on his rear, tail down, eyes up at me.

"And this is Teddiursa."

Growlithe leaned forward, too shy to lick Teddiursa's face or paws, instead just giving him a good sniff with its adorable black snout and then looking back at me.

"I'm gonna do my best to train you to become even more skilled and famous than any of the Growlithe in your family. But you gotta give me your best, can you do that for me?"

"Arf!" the pup barked, nodding and panting. His tail was wagging so much that I wondered if he understood we'd be training, not exactly just playing nursery games like he did at Blue's gym for weeks.

Growlithe didn't so much as blink when I recalled Teddiursa and Vigoroth, and then got to work with training him for battles.

So far, Growlithe only knew how to use Bite and Roar, both of which were extremely underdeveloped. Not that I blamed him, he was nearly eight weeks old and this was the first instance he was ever separated from his mother.

While Growlithe seemed to possess a degree of speed, endurance, and agility Vigoroth and Teddiursa didn't nearly seem to have when I began their training. He had a noticeable issue, his demeanor. This was very clearly a baby Pokémon. He'd chase wild Sentret much in the same way dogs in my old world chased squirrels when I was trying to condition Growlithe's Ember or fire abilities. Growlithe also was under the impression we were still just playing a game, not training for anything serious.

Growlithe was very well trained from the bit Blue explained, he'd respond instantly to any of my orders, and would stop goofing off the split second I asked. However, he was so young that despite his potential, he didn't grasp at all the importance of what I taught him.

"When you bite." I explained. "Don't stay latched on for more than a few seconds to your opponent. Unless you're planning to throw them around or pin them to the ground, you're just asking to get countered. Okay?"

Growlithe had his head tilted at me cutely, then smiling and panting with an affirmative barking. "Arf arf!"

I used the basic drills I'd read about for Growlithes to determine where they excelled or how to draw out the most from them in combat. I used a stopwatch on my PokéNav to time sprint laps, making Growlithe run at top speed from one end of the forest clearing to the other.

It appeared Growlithe had well above average speed for sprints, telling me Flame Charge would be an excellent move for Growlithe to learn.

While I knew that teaching Growlithe things like Bite, Crunch, and other Dark and Normal physical attacks would be easier for me after the work I'd gone through with Teddiursa and Growlithe. The main barrier I found I'd have was with maximizing the effectiveness of Special attacks.

Growlithe's best Fire type move this early on was most certainly Ember, I'd seen it used a few times so far in competition, so I told Growlithe exactly how I wanted it to look.

"Draw up as much energy as you can in your mouth, starting in your stomach. And then spit out a big fireball, okay Growlithe?"

The pup's tail wagged for a moment, he lowered his head, and readied himself like he was going to release a great big bark. And then, a tiny and pitiful bundle of weak flames flew out from his jaws, lightly scorching the nearby grass black.

It was so small that the flames stopped there, they didn't spread out anywhere else or seemed to even burn the grass that badly.

Growlithe looked back at me, panting and smiling again, either waiting for my next order or wondering if it did well, I couldn't tell which.

"Um, try to focus on creating a Flame Charge. Just try to coat yourself in fire, and then run at that tree head on."

Confused, but then obliging, Growlithe seemed to will himself ablaze. It took about over a minute for him to realize he lacked the incendiary capabilities yet to remotely use moves slightly advanced in any fashion, before my new Growlithe seemed to have an idea.

His eyes and ears perked up, and he started to chase his tail.

Growlithe spat out the same cute Embers in a circle all around it, this time being strong enough to catch the grass on fire a bit. Then Growlithe flopped backwards, trying to bathe itself in fire…

Or scratch his back, I couldn't tell.

Growlithe proceeded to set his paws on fire too, and then he stood up back on all fours, slightly on fire enough to resemble some form of Flame Charge.

It was actually a bit cute to see how hard my Growlithe was trying to impress me when I knew the move had taken so long it would be incredibly useless in a real match. However, Growlithe's fur managed to stay on fire, and its flames even grew a bit stronger as Growlithe ran forward at full speed at the tree and smacked against it.

I was worried Growlithe might've hurt his head, but he was fine, in fact the only result from headbutting the tree was that a Hoothoot fell out from the branches above, likely waking it up.

It irately squawked and then realized Growlithe probably wasn't worth the trouble when it was still completely ablaze while panting at it calmly.

The wild Hoothoot seemed to possibly consider an attack when it began to flap up into the air, and on a dime, Growlithe's entire composed, cheery, cutesy, and calm demeanor changed.

He bared his fangs, growling and scrunching up his face threateningly, as if Hoothoot was a real danger to me, when it technically never was.

I considered sending out Teddiursa to let him send this Hoothoot off packing but I stopped myself, wanting to see how this would play out.

Growlithe Roared, unsuccessfully scaring the Hoothoot off.

Instead, Hoothoot dove forward with a spinning Peck, and Growlithe instantly pounced forward explosively with his jaws, catching Hoothoot flush by the face with a Bite mid air. He listened to my earlier advice well, smacking Hoothoot against the ground once, hard, and properly, and watching as the Hoothoot struggled to get back on its claws, it then fluttered off into the forest.

All the hair on Growlithe's neck were still on end, the pup still growling, before in an instant after the Hoothoot was well out of sight he calmed down. He immediately took to my side, panting and smiling sitting on his rear, eyes up, ready for more orders.

The speed at which Growlithe was able to transition smoothly from drills, to fighting off a wild Pokémon, a very weak one but still, to going right back to practice was truly impressive. I didn't even have to say a word and he already knew exactly what to do and how to do it.

I looked off in the direction of the wild Hoothoot.

Without the need for orders or Special moves, Growlithe fought off a wild Pokémon in his first day of training and I barely had to give an order or switch him out with another member of my team. I could only imagine the degree of sheer ferocity, speed, and power this Pokémon could bring to the ring if I could figure out his Special moves like Flamethrower someday.

I wanted to see what else he could do.

"Growlithe, try Ember again."

After another hour of practice, I managed to get Growlithe's Ember to be somewhat effective. The grass nearby was able to stay on fire for just a couple seconds before the flames dissipated, but his Bite still remained his best move so far.

Growlithe's Roar wasn't too bad either, but above all, his Flame Charge showed the most potential. It would be several weeks before Growlithe would be remotely good with it during actual matches, but it was still a great tool to have.

He didn't appear tired at all after over an hour and a half of training, but I still decided to end training there.

"You did great today Growlithe, we'll work on all this and more tomorrow."

I recalled Growlithe to his Pokéball, and then returned to Azalea Town's Pokémon Center to eat dinner and rest up for tomorrow.

…

Inoru and I decided to cook our dinners inside our room in the Pokémon Center and then eat. It wasn't that complicated, we just boiled a bunch of rice and vegetables together.

"So you miss Violet?" asked Ino.

The obvious answer was yes, but it was tough to explain exactly how much I missed her or why.

Inoru smiled. "You know her being gone should remind you of a very important part of your journey."

"Don't you mean, our journey?"

Inoru shook his head slightly. "I'm to teach you the ways of the Sprout Order. Not much else outside of the wisdom the sages can offer."

"Mm." I put my water bottle away in my backpack after I sipped from it. "What should Violet being gone remind me of?"

"Family." said Ino simply before he blinked.

I listened to him calmly with a nod.

"You see, Violet's uncle is the only family she has left. The sages taught me that the only family the monastery can have is their devotion to truth, peace, and the fulfilment of our salvation by Mew."

"Is that why the monks never leave the shrines?"

Inoru nodded. "It's part of it, yes. Your family is different than mine in that sense, your obligation is to do more than seek spirituality. Your family, are your Pokémon. Every victory you have, every time you and your team grows. You build this family, and never forget that I'm your family too."

"Thanks Ino."

"I'm gonna go rest, I'll see you in the morning."

I nodded back to him before I sighed, checking the time.

Inoru went into one of the two beds our room had, before I considered checking out one of Azalea Town's few locations worth visiting.

Its Charcoal Kiln wasn't really interesting to me, I was sure Growlithe holding Charcoal could have better Fire Type attacks. I wasn't sure how it worked, nor did I feel like researching it, but all I knew was that WCPL rules were very clear on how battling worked.

No items at all, either used on Pokémon or them holding an item, and switching out a Pokémon instantly resulted in its forfeit.

I actually liked both rules, more so the latter, because if trainers could switch out Pokémon at will, in theory. They'd switch constantly until they had a type advantage or a neutral type match up.

It was only eight forty PM, sundown was barely an hour or two ago.

I planned on only visiting this place once anyway, so I decided the sooner the better.

…

Azalea Town was prettier at night actually. There wasn't a whole lot to see or do, but the lights were decently colorful, and there was even a fountain near Bugsy's Gym.

As I approached the Slowpoke Well, I noticed something strange.

There were two young men in their early to mid twenties speaking outside of it. One wore a long trench coat and a cap, the other a light brown rain jacket and jeans.

I began to walk up to them when one turned, barely paying attention to me.

"Well's closed kid," he said. "Go home."

"I thought the Well closed at nine."

That's what it said on my PokéNav, although it wasn't completely out of the ordinary at all for places to close early in any city I've been to.

"Didn't you hear him?" His buddy said gruffly. "Beat it."

Despite his rudeness, I didn't really feel like visiting a dark well filled with nothing but Slowpoke was worth fighting over…until.

I was walking away and sighed, realizing just who I had been talking to.

Team Rocket.

Or at least, two very shady individuals who had no reason to be in charge of a Well that was typically closed with a locked metal grille.

I always wondered about this. If their objective was to make the stealing of Slowpoke tails less conspicuous, why not wait until after everyone was asleep, the Well was closed anyway, break in, steal the tails, and then leave.

However, I could tell whoever was in charge of this operation hadn't done crime in a long time, was a bit incompetent, or both. It was also possible these Rockets were confident there was likely no one with the bravery and or skill possible to stand up to them or figure out what they were doing.

I had played the games after all.

The smart thing to do would be to report this to Professor Oak or possibly an Officer Jenny. But I wasn't sure if she or her twin sisters existed or not, not to mention if they could get here in time before the Rockets all left with the Slowpoke tails.

On the other hand, Team Rocket and groups like them felt a bit different in this universe than what I understood from canon. They felt more like a mafia or organized crime group more from my world, only using force when necessary, and so well that it could look like an accident in many cases.

Did I do something? Did I tell someone?