The image of Rockets flooding through the museum filled Ash's vision as he tried to run. Despite his desperation, he quickly found that his body refused to move, legs planted firmly in place no matter how much he screamed at himself to flee.

A spark appeared from the corner of his eye. As he turned his head, his eyes locked with the Mr. Mime's, as the lightning filled hand was brought in front of his face. The interior of the museum morphed into that of a rocky tunnel, as stones began to fall from the collapsing ceiling. Ash could see the silhouettes of the Iron-Masked Marauder and the silver-masked redhead in the distance as a thunderous roar filled the surrounding space.

"Ash, are you okay?"

Tyranitar materialized, a second monstrous roar escaping its throat as an orange beam erupted from its mouth and upwards, carving through the ceiling.

"Ash wake up!"

Ash felt his body being lightly shook by a pair of hands as his eyes opened. Immediately, he felt the fatigue in his eyes, a sense of heaviness not on the eyelids, but on the eyes themselves. Whether his vision was blurry or he was just having trouble processing it right away, he was too groggy to tell.

"Gh…" he grunted somewhat, the side of his hand moving up to his forehead as his eyes instinctively squeezed shut again. As he shifted in his sleeping bag, he opened his eyes again, this time with the vision growing more clear. A frowning pair of purple eyes stared down at him. "J-Janine…?"

His companion's face was apologetic. "Sorry…" she shook her head. "You were shaking in your sleep."

Rising into a sitting position, Ash allowed himself a breath as he scanned the nearby area. All twelve Pokemon present were still currently asleep. Closest to him were Pikachu and Nebula, who both seemed undisturbed by the exchange.

"Bad dream," he responded. "Sorry if I… worried you." his focus was beginning to return to him, although he still felt a bit groggy from waking up so suddenly. Finally, he noted how dark it was, the sky still not showing any signs of the familiar, sunlit blue. "Um… what time is it?"

"Almost five in the morning."

He took a moment to process that information, briefly considering trying to go back to sleep, before lightly flinching at the last image he had seen in his dreams. As if almost on instinct, he shuffled out of his sleeping bag, rising to his feet in a somewhat awkward, tired motion. As he left the warmth of the bag's confines, he felt a brief chill, as though he had taken off a coat on an autumn night, but the sensation began to balance out. It wasn't cold, he just needed time to readjust.

"So, you're up early too?" briefly, while looking around, Ash's gaze had passed over the girl's tent. She had offered Ash a spare before going to bed the previous night, but he had politely declined, despite preferring the idea, since the weather hadn't necessitated it, and he had felt somewhat guilty about taking advantage. He'd purchase his own in Saffron.

"I normally get up around six." she responded, hand beginning to rub the back of her neck. "I… didn't have the best dream either." With his vision a bit more focused, he realized her hair was down, falling beneath her shoulders and not tied into the usual ponytail. It was a random thought, but it made her look different from how he was used to.

He frowned at her sympathetically. "Team Rocket?"

The question came out too fast for him to stop it, but she showed no signs of offense, simply nodding with a similar expression. "Yeah."

Feeling the pre-dawn breeze lightly brushing against them, the two gravitated towards a nearby rock big enough for them both to sit on. As his bottom connected with the hard surface, he looked up at the sky for a moment. Had Janine not told him the time, he would have assumed it had been around midnight. He could see the blackened silhouettes of a few clouds above him, and the stars were still present for a moment.

"I'm always up early." turning his head to face Janine, he could see his friend was a lot more relaxed, accustomed, looking up at the sky with a fairly content smile. "Ever since I was a kid. Father would make sure I was up on time, no matter what. Too much to get done for me to lurk under my covers." As she turned to look at him, he could see a mild grogginess in her eyes, albeit it seemed as though she had already gotten rid of most of it. "My body's sort of become wired to that. I couldn't sleep in if I wanted to. It makes waking up at this hour a little less jarring for me."

Ash considered her words for a moment. He couldn't imagine waking up in the morning (early morning, at the very least) without lying awake for at least a little while. Savoring the comfort of the bedding had been a part of his routine prior to becoming a trainer, and he missed it. He wondered how different Janine's life at home must have been, but wasn't willing to indulge in that curiosity. No way she'd appreciate someone she only knew for a few days prying to that extent.

So instead, he elaborated on his earlier question. "So… that woke you up, too?"

She frowned. "Yeah, I… honestly didn't dream about it until now, even though it happened a few days ago." her hands found their way to her knees. "It just… snuck up on me, I guess." Looking away for a moment, she observed the still sleeping Pokemon across the campsite. "...Was it about the Mr. Mime?"

His eyes tightened at the question. "Y-Yeah…" It wasn't entirely true, as the Mr. Mime hadn't been the only thing that he had seen. Still though… he didn't want to tell her about the Marauder. It wouldn't be fair. "Sorry about that, again." The more time passed between the incident and the current moment, the more he really realized how badly he had screwed up back at the museum. "I just…" he paused himself. He knew he was about to go on a tangent about how scared he was when he found out that Tempest was missing. This wasn't the right person to talk to about that… so who was? He certainly couldn't tell Delia. Maybe Professor Oak-with some pain, he shut away the thought. There were still things he needed to figure out regarding him.

'Crap… who the hell can I tell?' he suddenly realized with some panic. The most appropriate person to turn to was the last person on the planet he ever wanted to know about it, and the reasonable second was someone who could tell her at any time.

"I know why you did it." Janine's voice mercifully pulled him away from his thoughts. "I admit, I was mad at the time, but I'm not sure what I would've done in your shoes, and Erika already scolded both of us."

That memory produced a flinch from him, and he could've sworn he might've seen one from her, too. "Y-Yeah…" he chuckled nervously. "That was certainly a different side of her." He had remembered how inviting the grass specialist had been when he had first come to her Gym. But he had never seen her truly on duty before.

"I've seen worse." Janine admitted freely. "But I guess the contrast is what did it for me. I was often told about how soft she was, but she is still a Gym Leader." face growing a bit more solemn, she added. "My dream… just had all the Rockets. They were coming from everywhere."

"Yeah, I saw that too."

Silence hung in the air between them for what was likely a couple of minutes. Neither seemed interested in touching upon the subject further, now that they'd already gotten the basics off of their chest. They were awake now, it was time to let it fade away.

"I like being out early in the morning." Janine broke the silence, and Ash saw her head angled up to the sky again as he turned back to her. "It's really quiet. Plus," she admitted without much sheepishness to show for it. "I like the way the sky looks before the sun rises. Not right now, but when you can still see the blue, and it's dark enough to not light everything up. It's all very relaxing, and gives me a chance to take everything in before the day starts."

Ash hadn't thought of it that way, maybe it was because he wasn't used to being up at these hours. Normally, whenever he woke up and got out of bed, that was that. Routine had started. It was rare for him to be up early enough to just have the morning to himself.

'But if she's so used to waking so early, then she has an entire window of time completely to herself now, since she's not doing whatever she was doing at home anymore.'

The thought made him curious. "Does your team wake up when you do?" he knew they wouldn't be awake now, if this was early even for her, but he wondered…

"A few of them have started." she replied. "Ivysaur and Beedrill, usually. The others are usually about half and half."

Scanning the campsite, Ash noted that there were no signs of restlessness from any of their sleeping teammates; or at least, from the ones close enough for him to immediately see.

Janine seemed to have the same thought, because she added. "You ever wonder if they ever had dreams like that? They were there, too."

He nodded almost immediately. He had wondered, for certain. "Yeah, it's definitely crossed my mind." Leaning in, as though it would allow him to observe a bit more closely, he tried to scan the campsite again, this time keeping his gaze on each teammate for longer, attempting to attempt any signs of restless movement. "None of them… seem like it for now." They'd tell him if it happened, right? He really hoped so. He'd have to bring it up if there ever seemed to be signs.

…It made him wonder what they do dream about.

"Clever idea, by the way." turning back to Janine, he saw that her eyes had landed on Tempest, off sleeping in his own corner of the campsite as per usual. "Giving Tempest a reason to work with some of the others for as long as possible." She turned to face him with an impressed smile. "You don't really care about Valiant learning Icy Wind, do you?"

Ash felt a tinge in his cheeks as he grinned back at her. They had shared a few of their training plans with one another over dinner the previous night. "If I was that concerned about it, I would've waited until we had a TM, or at least shown him footage and read some descriptions like I did when I first taught Tempest the move." his eyes turning to the sleeping Krabby in the distance, he continued. "I'm sure it'll obviously come in handy at some point down the road. There are other ice type moves that Valiant can potentially learn, and this is a great way to start. But right now, I just need Tempest to work with somebody, and forcing Valiant to do things the hard way will prolong how long he and Tempest will need to be paired with one another." He ran a hand across his head. "I need Tempest working with everybody sooner or later, but this was the best way to start. That I can personally think of, at any rate."

He wasn't looking at her to see it, but she nodded in approval. "I've… never had a problem like this before," she admitted. "But it sounds like a pretty good idea."

"I wasn't doing it at first," Ash confessed. He grimaced. "It's just that, Celadon taught me a lot. Things that I'm a bit embarrassed that I hadn't already realized in full. Back when Eevee first joined the team, there was some turbulence, but it all ran its course. But this has more to it than that, and the museum was a wake up call for me." he scratched the back of his neck for no particular reason. "I'm gonna see where this goes. This is the only way to see if things are ever going to work out."

"And if they don't?" Ash knew that Janine's question was rhetorical. She already knew the answer.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll… release him." Saying the words made his throat hurt as he talked. It would have been one thing if he had just sent Tempest on his way after that dreaded incident with Tyrunt, back when he had barely ever spent any time on the team at all, but now, Tempest was a Pokemon that he had traveled to three different cities with. Taken on two Gyms with. Taught moves to. Camped out with. Shared hotel rooms with. "It won't come to that, though. I'll be watching them carefully." he was mostly trying to convince himself of that. To remind himself to stay proactive, and not throw an assignment onto Tempest, Valiant, and Eevee and leave things to run its natural course. He had already tried that when recruiting Tempest earlier, and it was exactly what had caused everything to backfire up until this point.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Ash looked back to see Janine addressing him with a gentle smile. Now that their conversation had woken him up, his mind flashed back to the museum. To the cold, almost heartless tone and expression she had directed towards Damian. Now more than ever, it was increasingly surreal that such a moment had happened. He almost wondered if he had been hallucinating from the panic. Right now, just looking at her made it feel like every muscle in his body was beginning to relax.

"Would you like to have an early breakfast?"

Waking up in full had also brought some of his attention to that familiar feeling in his stomach. Now that he was already out of his sleeping bag, he saw little use in returning. Grinning back at her, he nodded.

"Sure."

/

Tempest concentrated on the water appearing beneath his feet as he observed Valiant and Eevee, a couple of meters in front of him.

Surf, as Ash had explained to him, would allow him to summon water underneath his body to carry him across the battlefield, a useful tool for an aquatic species with limited mobility. Krabby weren't like Lapras, they could maneuver on land just fine, but normally weren't particularly agile. The technique was more effective (and much less taxing), when used in an actual body of water, but was still used by a decent amount of trainers for certain Pokemon that otherwise couldn't battle on land to somewhat get around their disadvantage. Ash had shown the river crab footage of a famous example: Lorelei's Lapras, allegedly one of the greatest users of the move, utilizing the technique to flawlessly maneuver around the battlefield. Most Pokemon weren't Loereli's Lapras, and could never use the move to a nigh-unlimited degree that wouldn't eventually expend extra stamina from said user (which was why the technique wasn't universal), but Tempest thankfully didn't need to be such; he struck that happy medium for Pokemon that would explicitly benefit from the technique, but wouldn't need to fully rely on it in order to get around. If he could get a good grip on the move, and minimize the exhaustive aspects of its usage to whatever extent that he could, it would be beyond a boon for his fighting style.

But Ash had warned him of how long this would take: That Surf's progression wouldn't bear any notable fruit in the near future. Another long term project. With frustration, Tempest was already seeing that now.

It hadn't taken him too long to actually start producing the water beneath his feet the previous day, but for a while, that was all he had done. The water hadn't lifted him. Maybe there wasn't enough, or maybe it wasn't strong enough. The point of Surf was for the water to carry you as if you were levitating, and then ride the wave like you were piloting it. All Tempest had done was soak himself, particularly his bottom half. And today, he finally had the water lifting him up off of the ground, and yet it was just barely, with hardly any height. And his balance still felt shaky despite everything. Surf didn't need to carry him up too high (or even that high at all), but he couldn't even imagine how long it would take for him to produce a steady Surf that carried him to a decent height, with good balance, and after all of that, learn to maneuver the Surf around the battlefield to a capable degree, steering and all. And that was without even accounting for how exhausting it would be to do so consistently at first.

Just thinking about it was almost demoralizing. This wasn't like learning a move like Icy Wind or Scald, for pure offensive purposes. It didn't give him that rush, knowing that he would be blasting somebody in the face with it one of these days.

But it was going to help him in a fight, and he kept on reminding himself of that.

Body wobbling, Tempest struggled to balance himself on what little water had been produced beneath his feet as Eevee fired off another Shadow Ball to the side. Currently, Valiant was in the midst of forming a ball of his own, and as encouragement, the quadruped had given him a second demonstration mid-attempt.

Eevee's encouraging, instructive barks filled the Kirlia's ears as his hands mildly burned from the sensation of holding the ghostly energy in his hands. His grip on the ball was beginning to feel shaky, and it was only roughly about half-size when he released it. Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Valiant looked to Eevee, who's face wore a sympathetic grin as she offered him a nod.

Looking back out straight ahead, Valiant held his hands close to one another once more, as another collection of distortion appeared in between. The energy rippled and splash around with his grip, refusing to form any sense of stability as he squeezed his eyes shut to contain it.

Eventually, with great effort, it began to take shape into a proper sphere, expanding gradually. As it got bigger, the rippling would resume on occasion, the energy sporadically crackling within his palms. As the burning in his hands increased in intensity. In actuality, the burning sensation was only getting slightly worse, but it felt as though it were multiplying.

Eventually, the ball stopped expanding, now almost full size. Valiant stared at the ghostly orb with wide, shaking eyes, as though he were viewing a bullet aimed at his forehead. Slowly turning his head to Eevee, he saw her still smiling at him. All she offered was a nod.

Looking back out ahead, Valiant's eyes turned more focused, and he hurled the orb. It traveled a decent distance, almost as far as Eevee's own before falling apart, the remnants quickly fizzling out.

The emotion Pokemon let out an even bigger exhale than before, his nerves easing as Eevee brushed up against his side.

Tempest watched the two for a moment before releasing his Surf, choosing to take a break from the frustrating move. If he spent any more time wobbling on shaky waters he was going to snap. He wasn't sure if it was a mercy or a punishment when he found Eevee turning her gaze in his direction, a gesture of the head beckoning him over.

The river crab grumbled. Who was she to order him around? But it wasn't her giving him the orders, he quickly realized. Ash had given them directions, and she was ensuring they'd follow them. She wasn't a bootlick like Valiant, but she took following the routine seriously. He didn't miss the disdain in her eyes, however, as he begrudgingly made his way towards them.

The relaxation in Valiant's muscles was quick to disappear as the Krabby stopped in front of them, the Kirlia once more on full alert in the water type's presence. Tempest took just enough time to sneer at the psychic (what was Eevee going to do about it?) before turning off to the side and channeling a familiar sensation of frigidness in his pincers.

As the Icy Wind froze the grass over, Tempest turned back to Valiant and began speaking instructions. It felt as though he was just repeating himself from yesterday, and Valiant seemed to reciprocate after requesting elaboration. With a roll of the eyes, Tempest complied, attempting to repeat his previous directions in slightly greater detail. This Kirlia had pulled off more complex techniques on the battlefield than just this, what was the big deal!?

Turning away, Valiant cupped his hands together, closing his eyes. Tempest allowed himself to back away by just a few steps as he watched the Kirlia concentrate, his derisive stare boring into the back of his teammates head. Eevee paid the look no mind, however, simply sinking into a sitting position a few feet from her teammate's side, watching the young psychic carefully.

Nothing happened.

As Tempest's mouth curved upwards, and Valiant lowered his arms to his sides with a disappointed and apologetic sigh, Eevee casually closed distance between herself and the psychic fairy, patting her paw against his back. As she did so, the evolution Pokemon repeated Tempest's instructions, eliciting an ignored snort from the river crab. It was a waste of time. Valiant would be better off sticking to learning some ghost type move that he was afraid of while in the midst of using it than he would be trying to produce even a whiff of cool air from his hands. At this rate, Tempest half-expected hot air to come out of the emotion Pokemon's hands instead. At least that would match what the Kirlia was clearly full of.

As Eevee backed away, Valiant took another deep breath, exhaling carefully, and with focus, before straightening himself out. His gaze slowly turned steelish as he looked out to the expansive grass up in front of him. Holding his hands outward, he concentrated yet again with closed eyes. Breathing through his nose, the Kirlia continued to visualize, concentrating, zeroing in…

It was only a tiny stream, and it barely froze any grass, but after what felt like about fifteen seconds, the smallest stream of icy air made its way out of his hands. Immediately before, he felt the cold sensation in his hands that signaled the Icy Wind's imminent arrival.

Tempest's pincers collapsed onto the grass as the river crab stared at the pair with blank, widened eyes and an open mouth. Once again closing the distance between her and Valiant, Eevee took just a second or two to shoot the Krabby a vindictive smirk before affectionately rubbing her best friend's back in congratulations.

/

In another, fairly open part of the grassy field, a pink aura coated much of Pikachu's fur as he punched and kicked into the air, occasionally lashing out with his tail. A few feet beside him, Tyrunt mimicked the routine, albeit at a slower pace, and with a fainter glow in his own pink aura.

The TM for Play Rough had already allowed them to use the move to a basic extent; to produce the technique itself and skip the arduous step of building up a foundation (Pikachu didn't envy what Valiant was likely going through), but much like with all decently powerful moves, the TM in question was far from a freebie, and Pikachu was quickly reminded of all of the sweat he had poured down his body to hone Iron Tail to the near-perfection that would be needed against Brock. A distant memory that had returned to him with this routine, even if the circumstances and training environment were not nearly as intense.

Training by the rocks had been nostalgic, but for now, Pikachu was fixated on the new fairy type move, occasionally pausing to give Tyrunt a few quick tips based on how things had been going for the mouse. The young dinosaur was as excited and enthusiastic as they came, and the productivity of his youngest teammate encouraged Pikachu to continue pushing on ahead further. He had been outpacing the royal heir Pokemon whilst practicing the move, but that also gave him an opportunity to act as an example and guide for the rock/dragon type Pokemon to follow.

Still, they had at this for a decent few minutes now. When the glow around Pikachu's fur dissipated and the electric type ceased his sporadic movement, Tyrunt took that as a signal to stop, and followed suit as Pikachu turned to face him. The dinosaur gave his mouse teammate a happy smile as the rodent offered a thumbs up, before gesturing towards himself with some new instructions for the younger Pokemon.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Earth Power.

Right, this was the move that Ash said would help to improve his ranged arsenal. They had practiced it a little bit the previous day, so now it was time to resume.

Both Pokemon backed away to clear some distance, before Tyrunt closed his eyes with a deep breath. Eyes glowing a goldish color as he opened them back up, Tyrunt stamped against the grass with a howl. A glowing line of the same color traveled across the ground in between them, and when it reached Pikachu, energy erupted outward like a tiny geiser. The mouse was ready, and naturally leapt to the side to avoid all harm.

Earth Power worked by allowing its user to cause energy to flow through the ground directly beneath, and detonate against its target upon collision, or after reaching a certain distance. It only worked on grounded enemies, or those who weren't high enough in the air to fully avoid the ensuing explosion (at its current stage, Tyrunt's version of the technique was a fairly tiny explosion), but otherwise emulated that of what one would expect from just about any other ranged attack such as Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower. The notes that Ash had read to the duo replayed through their minds as Pikachu leapt away from the attack.

Suddenly, Pikachu was shouting a different signal in Tyrunt's direction, rushing at the dinosaur on all fours whilst one of his paws glowed orange. Although he wasn't going at full speed, the sudden movement elicited a startled yelp from the younger team member, who attempted to catch his training partner in his jaws.

Upon seeing Tyrunt's response, Pikachu leapt to the side once more, leaving his sparring partner to chomp on empty air, before raising his paws to signal a time out. Seeing his teammate ease up, the mouse walked over to him, and began explaining that he'd like for him to try and block the Brick Break with his own. An embarrassed Tyrunt quickly apologized, before backing away to give Pikachu more room to break into a run.

Once more, the yellow mouse rushed him, mercifully not striking at his full speed as Tyrunt quickly raised one of his claws to intercept him. Brick Break met Brick Break, and Tyrunt quickly felt a sharp pain in his fist as Pikachu's collided with it. The electric type's version of the move was very obviously superior, and the momentum carrying Pikachu into him quickly sent Tyrunt staggering backwards and collapsing onto his bottom, massaging his sore knuckles. Observing him with some guilt, Pikachu changed course, gesturing for the dinosaur to attack him instead. Nodding in acknowledgement, the rock/dragon type picked himself up and lunged for his teammate. Reacting quickly, Pikachu parried his strike with another Brick Break.

For the next few minutes, the two transitioned between exchanging Brick Breaks, and Pikachu dodging Earth Powers throughout their spar. Pikachu called the entire sequence, always being the one to instruct the next shift in pace. To the best of his ability, Tyrunt followed his teammate's orders whilst executing his moves.

Eventually, the sound of footsteps broke up their exchange, and Tyrunt's face lit up as Eevee came into view, mouth stuffed with something. As she spat out two objects, the dinosaur made his way to her side, chatting excitedly and eliciting an amused grin from the quadruped. As Pikachu quickly made his way to the duo, who looked down and saw that the objects in question that Eevee had been carrying around in her mouth were two oran berries. Apparently, Ash had trusted her to deliver them to the two in his stead.

Nudging her forepaws against the two blue fruits, Eevee looked up at Pikachu and nodded, telling him that Ash had asked her to spar with him, while their trainer oversaw Valiant and Tempest's practice. Now that Valiant had finally gotten to use Icy Wind to some sort of an extent, Ash had chosen then to take the time to observe more closely. Picking up the berry in his paws, Pikachu nodded the affirmative, quickly munching down on the fruit, not too bothered that it had been drenched in his teammate's saliva. Pokemon weren't nearly as fixated on germs as humans.

Tyrunt seemed even less bothered, to the point where Pikachu found himself genuinely wondering if the implications of Eevee carrying the fruit around inside of her mouth had even registered with the youngest member of the team. The dinosaur had simply plucked the berry off of the ground in his claws, and shoved the whole thing into his jaws with just as much glee as always. Although the mouse immediately felt a minor sense of relief as he consumed the berry, the rejuvenative properties of the decently tasting fruit quickly digesting into his body, he imagined that his training partner was feeling them to a greater extent. Tyrunt seemed to be a bit more tired than he was.

After finishing their quick snack, Pikachu and Tyrunt exchanged friendly smiles as the dinosaur walked off to the side, creating space between himself and his other two teammates as Eevee walked away for a moment to make some distance of her own.

Fior just a moment or two, as Pikachu sank onto all fours and erected his tail to match the normal type's stance, all the two of them did was stare. Gazing into each other's eyes, the electric type found himself trying to emulate her intensity. The drive in her pupils. He couldn't quite do it, but he wouldn't break away, either, lest he risk being intimidated by his sparring partner.

Eevee moved first, breaking into a sprint as her erected tail turned metal. :Pikachu immediately reacted by mirroring her actions, neither combatant holding back any speed. In the eyes of Tyrunt, the two teammates were like bullets as their bodies collided with one another, Iron Tail to Iron Tail.

Quickly pushing each other off one another, the duo exchanged a flurrying series of strikes and parries, each one taking turns to be the attacker, not letting either gain too much momentum, and thus immediately responding with offense after they were finished executing defense.

Abruptly, as their two tails collided from the upteenth time, a startled Pikachu found his attack met with far more force than usual. All he could do was yelp as Eevee's tail pushed back against his own, sending the mouse tumbling across the grass as his fur soaked up the wet dirt. Stopping on his bottom, he could see his normal type standing proudly, metallic tail glowing with the bright, white aura of Focus Energy.

Observing her downed opponent, Eevee allowed the pride in her heart to relish as she turned her chin upwards. She had only just gotten to use Focus Energy with a bit of consistency, and therefore could not amplify her Iron Tail to as great of an extent as she likely could with more practice, reflected in how the aura wrapped around the metallic tail still had room to glow more brightly, but the bolstered offense had been more than welcome.

Not wanting to give her opponent too much time to rest or gather himself, she quickly shot forward yet again, only to find herself side stepping away from a quick Thunderbolt.

Now back on all fours, Pikachu dashed in a separate direction, fur coated in Agility as he raced around the grass to line himself up with Eevee's side. Eevee tried to follow his movements whilst still avoiding the Thunderbolt that he had launched at her (which she would quickly find was both a defense and a distraction), but couldn't respond in time as his head collided with her side.

The two tumbled across the grass, with Pikachu in control, pinning her onto her stomach with his forepaws locking hers into the dirt. Eevee's stomach clenched as she saw the sparks beginning to fill his cheeks for a point-blank zap.

Thinking quickly, she brought her head upwards, closing the distance and licking her teammate in the face, tongue purposefully passing over one of Pikachu's eyes. The electric type staggered backwards on his hind legs, paw brought up to the eye as he forcibly blinked. Quickly springing herself up, Eevee desperately fought to gather as much concentration as she could, thanking the heavens as she felt Focus Energy successfully being channeled into her tail again.

The next moment, her Iron Tail collided with Pikachu's side, launching him away with a pained cry as Eevee chased after him at full speed. Even as he tumbled away, Eevee caught up to him, wrapping her legs around his body as she tackled him downward into the wet grass and dirt. He could feel said wetness as his face was involuntarily pressed into the ground, his teammate triumphantly atop his back as she pinned him on his stomach. He could feel the dreadful sensation of a Shadow Ball hovering just in front of the back of his head, a chill rushing down his spine as his body shivered down to the muscle.

After a moment or two, Pikachu raised a paw and began tapping it against the grass. As the Shadow Ball disappeared from view, Eevee's satisfied grin was revealed, making her way off of the electric type and allowing him to roll over on his back.

His side was aching from the tremendous blow, his face was filthy to near-beyond recognition, and Eevee was standing over him with her head tilted to the side and a coy smile. For a brief moment, Ash's starter stopped wincing from the pain and discomfort, and grinned back at her sheepishly.

/

Nebula reared back another wing as the blade of air formed in front of her. She had been practicing Air Slash almost non stop throughout the afternoon, the only breaks she took from honing the attack being the session she dedicated to Double Team, and the quick oran berry snack that Ash had stopped by to drop off for her before making his way to Valiant, Eevee and Tempest.

She knew she wasn't going to master the technique in just two days, but the repetition would certainly help the progress. Most attempts were fairly similar to how she had left off the previous day: Almost at full size, but without the stability to properly hold itself together for all that long. On occasion, the blade would either be at full size, or last for roughly the proper amount of time and distance. Throughout the entire afternoon, only two attempts had produced both.

With some sweat pouring down her clenched face, a grunt of frustration saw her hurling the blade forward. She inwardly (and nearly outwardly) groaned as the near-full sized blade fell apart and fizzled away just like most of the others. Quickly, she circled around her area one last time, prepping herself for the upteenth attempt.

She was running out of time. The sky was turning orange. Ash and Janine would want to get moving soon. But she had to put as much work in as possible.

She had once been the strongest member of this team, and had carried the group through the Cerulean Gym to make up for her failure back in Pewter. But against Erika, that same failure had repeated itself. And under typing circumstances where she should have had the upper hand, nonetheless. She knew Gym Leaders were all perfectly prepared to counter just about any kind of type matchup; her trainer was anvilicious about that. But it was unbearable knowing she was the only active member to not score a single knockout, in two out of three of her Gym battles. If Ash chose to use her against Sabrina, she couldn't let that happen anymore.

With a quick howl, she hurled another blade outward. This one was full size, but still fizzled out rather quickly, only lasting for slightly longer than the previous one had. It was an improvement, but not a consistent one.

"Hey, Nebula!" looking down, she saw her trainer gazing up at her with cupped hands. Inwardly, the Staravia sighed. That was her cue.

Quickly descending downward, she perched herself on the small rock beside her trainer, happily accepting the pat on the head that came with her arrival.

"We're going to be moving out soon. Get in another hour or so of walking before having dinner. I just wanted to run something by you real quick." blinking, the flier watched her trainer pull out his Pokedex as he sat down on the wet grass. He seemed to be scrolling through some sort of menu.

"You're doing a great job with Air Slash so far." relief settled within her chest. "Once we get to Saffron you can keep practicing it. It'll be a bit before we challenge Sabrina, so we might have time to add in one more move if you're interested." she nodded as he looked to her for confirmation. He grinned. "Good, your species can also learn Swift. I prioritized Air Slash for its strength and because you can get a better idea of it more easily thanks to your existing knowledge of Air Cutter, but once Valiant is able to start practicing Shadow Ball without coaching, I was thinking of having Eevee try and teach Swift to you. With any luck, we might be able to get it ready in time for the Gym, although I'd prefer if we made sure Air Slash was ready first."

Nebula considered her trainer's words for a moment or two. Had this been a little over a month prior, Eevee would have spat in their faces if asked to teach her just about anything, given the way she had felt about Nebula in the beginning. But thankfully, that tension had died down fairly naturally, albeit the two of them rarely interacted. Still, it seemed like a harmless idea, certainly compared to having Tempest try and teach a move to someone.

And since Swift was a move of her typing, she'd have some advantage going in to trying to learn the move, TM or not. From what Ash had often spoken of, acquiring some kind of competent, even if limited, variation of the technique in time for Sabrina could potentially be feasible, with the proper guidance. Likely not as natural as Eevee's more experienced usage, but still something nevertheless. It was worth a shot.

As she nodded back at him, Ash pocketed the Pokedex. "Okay, we'll see if we have the time, then. Valiant still needs help with Shadow Ball at the moment, so Eevee's paws are tied, and I know you're working on Air Slash, so priorities first. I already ran it by her and she was open to it." Nebula blinked in mild surprise, but felt somewhat relieved nonetheless. "Your species can also learn Ominous Wind, which would be the most useful move to learn, but without any prior knowledge of ghost type moves like Valiant has, I figured it'd take too long. I felt this would be more efficient for now." Taking a closer look at the bird, he patted her head. "You look pretty tired, ready to turn in?"

The question caught her off guard, and it was as though she had just now realized the fatigue in her wings. Ash frowned at her. "Apart from the snack, did you take any breaks?" After a brief pause, her gaze somewhat turned downward. "Hmmm… Your work ethic's great, but don't push yourself that much, okay? It's like I said, we're not fighting Sabrina right away. You'll have more time to get the move down. And tiring yourself out will make it more difficult to properly form the move anyway. That'll just hinder your mastery."

Blinking a bit, Nebula mentally kicked herself. How had she not picked up on that sooner. Shaking her head apologetically, she offered her trainer a quick chirp.

"You don't have to say sorry, pal." Ash seemed both sympathetic and amused. "I just wanted you to know. Anyway, the others are waiting, so let's get going." She followed her trainer back to the group.

/

The massive buildings of Saffron City could be spotted in the distance as the group settled down for dinner. Over on one part of the campsite, Tyrunt had joined Pikachu and Nebula, conversing with the mouse about some of the tips they'd gone over regarding Brick Break and Play Rough. Valiant would occasionally steal a glance in the dinosaur's direction, whilst inquiring his own fair share of tips from Eevee. Over in one of the far corners, Tempest, with nobody to talk to, had recently finished his food first, and Ash could see him summoning some water beneath his body whilst struggling to remain balanced. With Pikachu occupied with Tyrunt, Nebula had taken it upon herself to initiate a conversation with Ivysaur and Golbat, the latter expressing interest in her Air Slash progress.

Ash bit into his sandwich as Janine took a seat next to him. "You can see the city from here." he pointed out, admiring the distant sight of the skyscrapers lit up in the night.

Pulling out her own sandwich (those really were the most common food for the road, Ash figured), the poison specialist shuffled for a moment to get comfortable. "It's not too far, then."

As she ate, Ash took a moment to ponder. "We could probably get there by lunch tomorrow. Or we could delay breakfast and hightail on our bikes, but I know you get up early."

After swallowing her bite, she shrugged. "I wouldn't mind. The Center has better food than what we eat on the road. I know some outdoor cooking, but I need more ingredients than I have right now."

"It kind of feels weird being able to get to another city so soon," Ash pointed out. "But I'm honestly glad about that. I still haven't gotten fully comfortable with camping." he admitted. It was a bit frustrating, knowing he'd been a trainer for over two months and still somewhat dreaded having to sleep outside.

Janine was quiet for a few moments before responding. "With all due respect… you'll have to get more used to it soon." she looked at him. "Fuchsia territory is going to be a lot less comfortable to travel through. The terrain and wildlife are going to be far worse. And it will take a while to get to the city regardless of which route you take."

Ash scratched his hair (he still wasn't used to not having a cap on his head). "I know that. I'll make sure I'm prepared for when that comes. I never had to do anything like this until I actually became a trainer, so I guess two months wasn't enough to break the mindset."

"Hmm… I guess I was never in your shoes." she replied, somewhat entranced by the distant view of Saffron City. "Fuchsia City was always sort of… merged, with the outside world, you could say. It was the perfect place to prepare for stuff like this."

Ash swallowed another bite of his sandwich before turning to her. "So you've been doing this for years?" he asked.

As she chuckled back, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was… missing from her tone. "Almost anything you'd need to learn to be a trainer, I've had my share of hands-on exposure to. Since I was old enough to be physically able. It's done wonders to help me plan ahead. Father was adamant in making sure I knew everything, and he made use of our city's environment to do it."

"That makes sense." Ash responded. "I never really had any of that. I just went to school with a few hands-on projects here and there. Just for a taste." If her father was an official, and likely a high level trainer, Ash supposed it might make sense that he'd put so much effort into preparing his daughter. Compared to her, he was just an ordinary kid.

It made him curious to ask her how far up her dad was ranked, but he knew that question wouldn't be appropriate.

"Speaking of Fuchsia," Janine brought his attention back to her a few moments later. "Have you decided what direction you're going to go in after Saffron? Vermilion or Lavender Town, I mean?"

"Not yet." he shook his head. "I'll make sure I have that figured out before I battle Sabrina."

She was silent for a moment before nodding back. "I'm still thinking too. I have a feeling I'll take the longer route to Lavender Town, just to make sure I have enough time to train, but I haven't made up my mind yet."

That had certainly been an advantage on his mind. Choosing the Lavender route would bring what Janine had said earlier to the table: About how he needed to get more accustomed to camping sooner rather than later. But perhaps that would be a way to force himself to get used to it. Either way he'd still need to be prepared; he'll definitely be purchasing a tent before leaving Saffron City.

But whether camping was comfortable or not, it still stood that having as much time as possible to get training done was important. And for all the harshness that the road to Fuchsia City was known for, it also made it the perfect place to prepare. There was a reason it was a popular training ground amongst high-level competitors.

Vermilion would always be an option, however, and a rematch with Surge along with it. He would have to be careful not to rush into anything, though, lest he and his team find themselves with a second painful memory walking out of the electric specialist's Gym.

Of course, the Magnet Train was a third option, and would take them to Goldenrod City in the Johto Region. Ash had already decided to hold off on that. He wondered if Janine had considered it but, although he imagined she wanted to earn a badge from her hometown first.

A thought occurred to him… her hometown… It might be a longshot, but it could give him extra context for his decision.

"Do you know anything about Koga?" Nearly finished with her sandwich, the girl paused mid-bite, as if not expecting him to ask. "Sorry, I was just thinking that, since you're from Fuchsia and your father works for the League…" he had already battled Surge once, but he knew very little about Koga outside of word of mouth (or was that horror stories?). That limited form of knowledge hadn't paid off very well in Vermilion, but if Janine had any descript information…

Resuming her bite, his friend took a moment to chew before swallowing the remains of her food. She seemed to be in thought, but still kept her attention on him as she pondered his question. "Well… how much do you know right now?" she inquired.

Ash scratched the back of his neck, eyes quickly scanning the campsite to briefly check on their teams' activity. Nothing much seemed to have changed for the moment, although Skrelp looked like she was already trying to go to sleep.

"Basic stuff you'd hear about him, I guess. I've heard he's merciless to all of his opponents, and doesn't give them any leeway even when he's holding back. And that he's a brilliant tactician and works really well with ailments. I don't really know anything specific. I've just heard people say that his way of taking on challengers sometimes feels more like a torture session than a battle."

She kept her eyes on him while processing his words, facial expression still conveying that she was in "thinking mode". Finally, she turned away, looking out ahead towards the lit-up city in the distance. "Yes, those are the basic things. Nothing untrue." she brushed her hand against her ponytail. "I… Well, he's taken full advantage of everything you would expect a poison type to be capable of. They are lethal, often underhanded. When used right, they could cripple; find their way through any defense, around any offense, and bring an enemy to their knees. It doesn't matter if it's from the inside or the outside, he quickly calculates whatever the most effective approach would be, and takes it. And this has allowed him to apply that same mindset to other types of ailments as well. Poison has always been his go-to, obviously, but just about any type of hindrance you might think of, he has a team member for. He'll exploit holes in your style that you never considered even being a weakness. He might even find a way to turn something into a weakness. Any mistake you make in battle, or in training, he's going to see it. And he'll make sure you pay for it." he could see her face tighten for a moment, before easing somewhat, albeit not losing all of the tension. "He's the smartest Gym Leader in Kanto. Ask anybody who knows them, even the other Gym Leaders themselves; they'll all say it."

Ash bit his lip. So in short, everything was true. She was expanding the detail in a more eloquent manner, but the message remained the same, and she clearly wanted him to know that.

"By the way," she suddenly continued, looking back at him in full. Although he didn't flinch, the eye contact took him by surprise. There was an intensity in her gaze, and suddenly, as his heart seemingly skipped a beat, he was almost reminded of her behavior towards Damian at the museum. Had he not been seeing things after all? "That's just how he treats your Pokemon. You need to be careful too."

He blinked once. "Why's that?"

"Koga knows that an opposing trainer is just as much of an enemy as an opposing Pokemon, and how a trainer's decisions will impact a match, regardless of what each sides' respective Pokemon are capable of." Janine's voice had grown stern, and although the look in her eyes wasn't intimidating, it demanded his full acknowledgement. A demand that he listen to Every. Single. Word. She. Said. "He's an expert tactician, like you said. But he's also an expert at mind games. He is going to get inside of your head the moment the referee calls the match. He'll make decisions designed to confuse you, advantageous or not. He'll even try to disturb or even scare you, if that's what it takes. Anything that could throw you off of your game, and leave your team to fend for themselves, to get picked off." Finally breaking eye contact, she looked back out towards the city in the distance. "It's not just about beating your team. He's actually going to beat you, toy with your emotions, and make sure that you're not in the right mind to properly respond to anything that he does."

Ash released a breath that he had been holding. "He… breaks his opponents?"

"Physically for the Pokemon," she replied with an affirmative nod. "Mentally for the trainers. I think that's… the real reason he's so successful. He believes in the duality of two trainers and their teams battling each other, and he's made an art out of that. Anyway, that's what I know."

She said no more after that, and Ash turned away from her with an odd look on his face, the thoughts in his mind churning together, trying to soak everything up.

'The duality of two trainers and their teams battling each other.' in his mind, he repeated what Janine had told him. All this time, he had been concerned about what kind applications Koga specialized in with his poisonous team, and what ways he utilized their venomous abilities the best. How painful were his attacks to deal with, and just how smart of a strategist was he? But it went beyond that, according to her, and he'd trust a native of Fuchsia with familial ties to the League over a random person he ran into on the road.

1. Surge of Vermilion, and Koga of Fuchsia. Two Gym Leaders feared by the trainer populace for being some of the most relentless, brutal, and traumatizing obstacles a challenger could attempt to climb over. Between both of them, Ash wasn't sure who he was supposed to dread more.

But either way, the best thing to do would be to pocket this conversation into his memories. He had to beat Sabrina first.

"So…" hearing her voice, he quickly looked back in Janine's direction. "Did I tell you enough?"

All of a sudden, the look that she was giving him… almost felt jarring. Like whiplash. The intensity was gone, and replaced with her usual, gentle coolheadedness.

"Yeah," he replied, offering his friend a smile. "Thanks, I'll be sure to keep it all in mind."

Her smile matched his. "Alright, glad to hear it."

/

The campsite was silent. Everyone was asleep; Ash in his sleeping bag, Janine in her tent, all twelve Pokemon slumbering on the grass, or Tempest leaning his back against a rock. There was on exception, however.

Although she remained planted on the ground, Eevee raised her head to look around for a few moments. Valiant and Tyrunt were both fairly close to her on either side, the two both sleeping without a care in the world. Although she was drowsy, the evolution Pokemon was a bit slower falling asleep tonight, but was content to relax until she did.

The past two sessions had been a mixed bag for her. She was more than happy (and even eager) to teach Valiant Shadow Ball, especially with the contribution that it would provide against that Sabrina Gym Leader that Ash had been warning them and the others about, but being around Tempest and dealing with his derision was exhausting. At least she could use their occasional sparring sessions as a convenient excuse to whack him in the face, and the break she got while sparring with Pikachu had been more than welcome. Once Valiant had a handle on Shadow Ball, and Nebula with Air Slash, Ash had brought up pairing her together with the Staravia to hopefully teach her Swift.

It quickly occurred to Eevee that she would have outright hated such a choice if this had happened back when she was first captured, but she was over the Staravia. Not to mention, it'd be quite the upgrade from that despicable Krabby. She didn't want to leave Valiant alone to put up with the jerk, but she knew he could shut him up himself if needed.

Laying on her side, she suddenly felt something push against her front. Eyes widening for a moment, she looked to see the source of the contact, and almost grumbled. Apparently, Tyrunt had been lying down closer to her than she realized.

Casually, she tried to push the younger dinosaur off of her, only to be met with resistance. His sleeping body seemed to have gravitated to her.

Somewhat irritated, she looked to Valiant for help, but her best friend was out like a light. She sighed; Tyrunt was acting like a baby as usual; did he even still count as one? She wasn't sure what the age for that was.

Giving up on trying to pry the youngest member of the team away from her, Eevee instead shifted herself into a more comfortable position as the sleeping royal heir Pokemon sought out the warmth of her fur. Listening to the quiet sounds emitting from his throat, a light smile made its way across her face. For an instant, she leaned forward, opening her mouth, only to close it back up, suddenly looking around to make sure everyone was asleep. To her surprise, it seemed like Beedrill wasn't asleep after all, the bug/poison type's gaze meeting hers for a fleeting moment.

For a moment or two, the normal type hesitated. Suddenly, however, she found herself no longer caring, and began to lick away at Tyrunt's head.