"Nebula, Quick Attack!"
Soaring higher above the grassy field that served as their arena, Nebula shot straight upwards, ramming herself beak-first into the Pidgeotto's chest. The other bird Pokemon gasped for air before being propelled further up, catching itself just in time to heed its trainer's order.
Another boy Ash's age stood across from him several meters away. "Pidgeotto, Aerial Ace!"
As Pidgeotto cloaked itself in a white aura, Nebula darted to the side to avoid her opponent's incoming charge. Pidgeotto looped around to give pursuit as the two birds danced through the air, but Nebula was faster, and remained ahead of her aggressor.
The group had taken their leave of Vermilion three days after their loss to Surge. Most members of the team had been expectedly disheartened by the outcome of the match (although Tempest's reaction was a mix between that and being fired up to make a comeback). Ash had given them the time they needed to both get their morale back up and move on from the brutal match, while casually training with those who were in the mood.
When taking the time to ensure that the team was stocked up on supplies, Ash had chosen not to purchase any new TMs in an effort to save money (and from what he knew, Celadon's shopping district was top of the line, so it may benefit them for that reason as well), but before leaving Vermilion, he had gotten Pikachu started on Electroweb, and Valiant on Psychic. As expected, Pikachu was quick to learn his move with at least some efficiency, although even now, there was still an obvious need for polish. Valiant was currently unable to use his new move without a good deal of concentration, which left the technique in a state that was somewhat impractical for battle for the time being, but to the surprise of nobody on the team, the Kirlia was putting all the effort he could into developing it further. Given that the move was advanced, however, Ash didn't want Valiant to push himself too much with it, and encouraged him to take time for the moves he was already practicing.
Tempest had been training the most out of everybody on the team after the battle with Surge, his motivation having recovered the quickest. Since the Krabby was getting better with Scald, Ash had decided to start teaching him the move Icy Wind, in hopes of preparing for their upcoming match at the Celadon Gym, which specialized in grass types. Without a TM to speed up the process, Ash knew it would be more difficult to get the hang of, which had almost tempted him into buying one, but he was confident in the River Crab's work ethic. After being read a detailed description of the move's properties in the Pokedex, and seeing some footage of the technique being put to use, Tempest had gotten to work trying to learn the move. At the moment, he was only capable of producing a fairly weak stream of it, but they had time to at least develop a decent variation of the technique by the time they reached Celadon.
Plans had not changed for anybody else on the team. Tyrunt was still working on Fire Fang, another move Ash hoped to be able to use against Erika at her Gym, with plans to perfect Brick Break at a later date, while Eevee continued to work on Hyper Voice and her speed while helping Valiant to improve his own mobility.
Since they were planning to go straight to Celadon from Vermilion, rather than taking the usual path to Saffron instead (which was theoretically ideal, but also longer), the group had been off road since leaving the city, although such a thing was not too uncommon for trainers, especially those who preferred the wilderness over civilization (even if Ash himself was not one of those people). Thankfully, the terrain they found themselves taking mostly consisted of grassy fields and hills, along with a nearby forest that they had been able to avoid (although it was fairly average, and wouldn't have been nearly as big as Viridian Forest anyway). Traveling was still just as simple as it typically was on the road, and they were lucky enough to run into a surprisingly decent amount of trainers, most of whom seemed to come from either Celadon or Saffron and had also chosen to stray from the usual path. It had given them a valuable chance to acquire more prize money and help put their new moves into practice during battle, and both had proven successful thus far.
"U-Turn, and Wing Attack!" Hearing Ash's call, Nebula closed her eyes just long enough for her body to become faintly cloaked in a greenish-yellow light, concentrating for a moment before performing an abruptly sharp turn, now on a collision course with the startled Pidgeotto.
The Staravia was good at maneuvering in the air, but with U-Turn, even the most sudden and jarring swerve in the opposite direction could be performed without any loss of momentum. Since she had only learned the move recently, she couldn't utilize it without effort, and they still needed to test how often she could the move in a single battle (as simple as the concept was, Ash imagined the execution of the move required a good deal of focus, especially on repeat), but for occasional uses, the move was proving quite beneficial.
As Nebula bolted for her opponent, Ash's feathered partner raised a glowing wing that smacked into Pidgeotto's face, sending the opposing bird tumbling through the air before regaining its balance and producing a mighty gust of wind with its wings.
As Nebula flew under the incoming Gust attack, Ash grinned as he saw an opening.
"Air Cutter!"
Facing her body diagonally upwards to line up with her target, Nebula's wings glowed yet again as she produced what looked to be sharp projectiles with her flaps. Her frequent use of Wind Blast had given her a decent amount of experience with manipulating air-based attacks, and although converting wind into what was essentially a barrage of blades was a far more advanced concept, she had gotten a fairly adequate hold of the move at the current moment.
Pidgeotto's trainer gasped as his partner was assaulted by the bladed wind, the sharp properties of the technique easily piercing through the opposing bird's durability. As Nebula's opponent lost its balance in mid-air, she rushed forward and met Pidgeotto with a Steel Wing, which smacked the flier into the ground, unconscious.
The opposing trainer was somewhat disgruntled as he recalled his friend, but took the loss in stride as Ash congratulated his teammate.
/
The sky was a bright orange as Ash neared the Pokemon Center ahead, the sunset lighting up the clouds above.
Their previous opponent had generously informed him that there was a Center a few hours away, marking the halfway point between Vermilion and Celadon, which had prompted Ash to quicken his pace to ensure that they could spend the night in a comfortable room rather than a campsite. He would have liked to get a couple more battles in, but the team had already seen a decent amount of action today, so they weren't in desperate need. It would have been nice to earn a little more winnings, but they would have plenty of chances later, and since they had kept a winning streak since their fight with Surge, they'd thankfully earned a good amount of money already.
Most importantly, the team were all on the same page as him, with the majority viewing a refreshing night in a hotel room as a higher priority than training time that they could just make up later on. Even Tempest was at least open to the idea, having already gotten two clean wins from today alone.
Like most Centers on the road (or in this case, off the beaten path), this one was of a decent size on its own, but paled in comparison to those found in cities, which naturally needed to be much bigger. Not as grandiose to look at, but Ash doubted many trainers were overly concerned with such a thing, as it didn't change the building's purpose. Apart from being located in what felt like the middle of nowhere, it seemed no different from any other Center a trainer would find outside of the cities.
The boy was mostly grateful that there even was a Center to stay at. Given they were away from the traditional routes connecting Kanto's many cities, he and his teammates had expected to be camping out the whole way to Celadon, but they were thankfully being given a break from that now. No doubt the League had acknowledged this area as a popular off-road path for trainers, although he supposed that the Center could have been intended to assist travelers who had lost their way.
Perched on Ash's shoulder, Pikachu squealed in delight at the welcome sight of the boy grinned in amusement as he tickled his starter's chin.
"If we're halfway to Celadon, then we should be able to get there in two days if we leave tomorrow morning. But right now, let's refresh ourselves for the night."
The automatic doors opened in front of them to reveal the lobby, where a man was sitting on a nearby, cushioned chair with a tablet in hand and a mug of hot coffee on the small table in front of him. Judging by his uniform, Ash assumed that he was some sort of business worker, who was staying up to do some work online. Off to the side, a boy and a girl who both seemed to be Ash's age were chatting near the windows, as a Growlithe playfully chased a Marill around close by.
All sets of eyes briefly turned to Ash and Pikachu as the rookie stepped inside, albeit only just long enough to take in the duo's arrival, immediately going back to their respective activities as Ash made his way to the front counter.
Nurse Joy perked up upon seeing him and Pikachu (the mouse waving at her from Ash;s shoulder as the boy approached. Her behavior seemed to suggest that the day had been slow, or at least the last few hours.
Putting her phone away, the nurse flashed the duo a quick smile before turning her attention to the keyboard, her fingers already moving at what felt like lightning speed (no doubt it did wonders to work at the desk so often). "Checking in for the night?"
The boy nodded, already having his Pokedex ready to hand to her. She was quick to go through his information before giving him a room on the second floor, and taking in his team for a quick refresher.
/
After dinner, the group was quick to make their way up to their room. Outside of the stretch of grassy fields that made up the surrounding area, the view from the window didn't offer much, but the majority of the group didn't pay too much attention to it (although Nebula seemed to be somewhat disappointed by the lack of sights to take in). Ash had the flatscreen on for those who were interested in watching, although he had to flip through the channels a few times to find something that interested them (the television was initially on Celadon's news station, covering a book-signing event taking place at the city's public library, but as expected, none of his Pokemon had ever heard of it before). He eventually found coverage of the P1 Grand Prix, a special tournament that Silph Co. held for fighting type Pokemon based in Celadon, which Tempest immediately became drawn into. Pikachu and Nebula sat beside each other to watch the show as well, although Nebula was mostly doing it due to having nothing else to occupy herself with.
Ash sat at the head of his bed, and spared occasional glances at the television while listening in to what the announcers were saying, but his attention was focused on a pamphlet that he had picked out from the lobby.
"What are you reading?"
Ash looked over to Valiant, who had positioned himself next to him without the trainer realizing. Smiling, Ash held the booklet out for the Kirlia to see better.
"I got this from the lobby." he explained to his psychic friend. "It's sort of an advertisement for Celadon. Provides details for travellers and such." He turned his attention back to the pamphlet as he flipped through it. "It's been the most high-class area in Kanto for ages. Apparently it's status started because of its advanced agriculture. Richest soil in the region. Nowadays, it's become the fanciest city here. Not everything is upper-class, especially since it's the region's most populated city, but the richer districts make themselves stand out as much as possible. Best housing, hotels, shopping, restaurants, education…" he pressed his fist against his cheek for a moment. "It feels like all the expensive luxuries just landed in the city's lap."
Valiant eyed the pamphlet for a few moments, the conflicted look in his eyes masked by the surge of curiosity growing in his chest. After prodding Ash for a moment, the trainer caught on and handed the pamphlet to the Emotion Pokemon, who carefully took it in his hands (he was a lot smaller than Ash was) to flip through it. The young psychic skimmed through the text on each page, while also paying close attention to the pictures, many of which were made to be as visibly appealing as possible. The shot of the city's skyline at night was mesmerizing.
The young Kirlia frowned as he reached another page, however. Seeing his friend linger on the portion of the booklet, Ash leaned in to see what had caught Valiant's eye.
It was a section dedicated to Pokemon Breeding.
"A lot of top-notch breeders base themselves in that city." the boy commented, although Valiant kept his eyes on the booklet. It's basically Indigo's breeding capital." the trainer thought back to the business cards Elacia had given him. It was still hard to believe that they had run into Indigo's second highest ranked breeder purely by chance. And she was one of the breeders that gave Celadon its reputation. Not to mention she was friends with Suzie, the highest ranked breeder, who also resided in the city. "Apparently there's a whole section of the city called Breeder's Lane. We'll have to go there to pay Elacia a visit once we get to Celadon. She said to visit Suzie if she isn't there at the time."
Valiant nodded slowly. "Will we need to do it right away?" he asked, turning his head to his trainer.
Ash gave him a curious look. "You don't want to?" they would have a Gym battle to prepare for once they got there, but he also didn't want to wait too long to pay his friend a visit. Granted, it's not like she was rushing him to do it, but Valiant's words were a bit confusing. Did it really matter to him?
Shifting his view back to the booklet in his hands, Valiant tried to keep his expression neutral. "Not what I mean, it's just… there's no rush, right?"
He was right about that, but Ash frowned for a different reason. "Remember not to use your telepathic speech too often. You don't want to exhaust yourself too much." it wasn't something that would just get better with practice, sadly.
Nodding, Valiant kept silent as he flipped to another page. This one detailed the shopping district. Ash leaned in to get a look for himself.
"The Celadon Department Store is supposed to be the largest store in the city. It's famous for being the best store in the region for trainers. They sell some of the best equipment we'd be able to find." he was planning to go there at some point for sure.
As Ash and Valiant looked through the booklet, Eevee rested herself on a pillow not too far from the bed. She wasn't ready to sleep yet, but she wasn't overly interested in the tournament on TV, so she chose to take some time to herself while everybody else was occupied.
Almost everybody, at least.
She felt a rough snout lightly prodding at her side, turning her head with mild irritation to see Tyrunt standing next to her, the dinosaur offering the normal type a friendly growl.
A small part of Eevee inwardly groaned at the sight of him. She didn't have any dislike for the hatchling (was he still considered a baby?), but his antics were more than what she was willing to keep up with. It was to be expected, for a baby to be so energetic, but it was like Tyrunt wasn't capable of turning himself off, always training or playing until he practically dropped to the floor and fell asleep.
And since they both spent so much time with Valiant, she was often right in his vicinity whenever the dinosaur was looking for a playmate. Whether she was in the mood to goof off or not. The lack of boundaries constantly tested her patience.
It wasn't all bad, though. Ever since he had started training, Tyrunt had been dividing his focus between working on his moves and being a playful nuisance. Eevee initially wasn't so sure when Ash had instructed them to begin practicing Hyper Voice and Roar together, but she had to admit she found the work ethic encouraging.
Ever since Nebula had fought her back at Mt. Moon's foot and secured her capture, Eevee had been behind all of her teammates from the start. They had all been decently trained by the time they had met her, Valiant recounting their time in Pewter City and the rigorous work that they had put in to take on the Gym Leader there. Coupled with Nebula's evolution giving her such a massive spike in prowess, it was, retroactively, no surprise to Eevee that her encounter with the bird had been so humiliating. But that didn't stop her from feeling jealous. The loss of freedom was something she could mostly get over relatively quickly. Ash was far from disrespectful or inconsiderate, and her new companions had been welcoming.
But that Staravia's presence had just been a reminder of how outclassed she was by her new family. Nebula, who had fought against that Gary kid's Wartortle and nearly won, while Eevee went down in record time against that Weepinbell. Who had soloed the second half of Daisy's team after Valiant had been swiftly finished off, while she was stuck losing the first round against Seaking… and then losing in their very next battle against Misty's own Eevee. All in addition to how easily Nebula had beaten her in their first encounter.
The Evolution Pokemon hadn't cared much about getting stronger, until she was abruptly shown how weak she was. Her own fragility had made itself even more clear at Mt. Moon, where that damn Gabite would have murdered her if Valiant hadn't been there to take the hit. She was more than grateful for that, but the situation frustrated her immensely. And when the time finally came for her to start training, even as she improved with each session, Pikachu had essentially been the better copy of her. Valiant had informed her of how much dedication that the mouse had shown when preparing for Brock, and how his mobility had been honed to absurd levels from all the practice runs that he had done on the hazardous terrain of Pewter's training grounds, so Eevee wasn't about to accuse the electric type's capabilities of being unearned, but… How could she take pride in her increasing speed when he was so much faster? How could she get joy out of learning Iron Tail, a move that he was already so perfect with? He was the best sparring partner… only because he was an example of what she could be.
And she had nearly jeopardized her relationship with the electric mouse because of that. It was bad enough that she blamed everything on Nebula when first joining the team, but the moment she had started to get over that, she had lashed out at someone that Ash had told to help her improve. It hadn't mattered to her that Pikachu had been doing this for longer. That he had a head start. All she had cared about was the present day.
It didn't help that she had yet to truly prove herself. She was much stronger than she was at Mt. Moon now. She could feel the gap between her and the others closing. But even then, what had she accomplished to show off the fruits of her labor? Who had she beaten? Sure, she'd fought a decent amount of trainers on the road, but it didn't seem like any of them were on their team's level. Ash had improved at what some had claimed to be a fairly high rate for a first-timer. If somebody on the road asked him how many badges he had, they were floored to find out that he already had two, despite Ash trying to be as casual about it as possible, and not show off. A decent number of the trainers they fought were easy victories at worst, and at best, challenging, but not to the point of encouraging them to push beyond their limits.
Ever since leaving Cerulean, the only big obstacle she had faced was that blasted Surge. It was her chance to truly showcase how much she had developed her abilities since her capture, only for the brutal Gym Leader to be even more merciless than they thought. She wasn't upset about the loss itself: Everyone had gone down in that battle, but apart from Tyrunt, the youngest of the group, they had all proven their worth. They could afford a crushing loss here or there. She couldn't.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
She was tired of only getting to show the world her newly gained strides against opponents that she already knew that she could beat. She wanted to test herself… and actually pass this time. And this leaked into her training. She hated messing up. Any mistake she made in practice was another step that she could have taken to improving herself on the battlefield. Ash told her that no training session would be perfect. That a few blunders wouldn't hinder her progress. Valiant told her the same. But it was getting harder and harder to focus on that the longer it took for her to actually see her progress in action.
Tyrunt's enthusiasm was a lot less annoying when it was dedicated to improving himself instead of playing around. As a baby, he was behind everybody from the start. Even if that gap was compromised by the niche advantages that were provided for him by his species and jaw, he practically needed to build himself from the ground up to truly catch up to everybody else. It almost made her feel ashamed of all the complaining that she had been doing earlier on. Tyrunt sparred with Valiant all the time, Eevee often being there to watch the hatchling practice with her best friend. He certainly hadn't measured up to him, but that happy enthusiasm hadn't wavered. Even when outclassed, he treated it as pure, satisfying fun, and although he had lashed out on occasion, it was always a product of instincts that he didn't yet have clear control over, not out of jealousy. Tyrunt's species had a much more violent temper than her own did, and yet she had been the envious one. Perhaps it was too harsh to judge herself like that, Tyrunt's infancy made him and his cheerful attitude perfectly normal, but once again, she found herself comparing, the same way she had with Pikachu and Nebula.
She didn't view battling as a fun game like Tyrunt did… but something about his excitement had left her feeling appreciative. Always excited to try again whenever he messed up a move, always cheering as though he had been victorious in a battle royale when he performed beyond his usual standards. He wasn't the only member of the team who was so optimistic about training, but in a way, that infantile behavior felt like it was slowly encouraging the stress to go away. Like a heavy brick being lifted off of her back. Whenever she and Tyrunt practiced their moves together, she found herself less afraid of failure. Like she shouldn't be so scared of the idea of making a mistake. After all, he wasn't. Maybe that's why he found it so fun.
As Tyrunt flashed her a grin, she tried to put on a friendly smile, politely shaking her head. She didn't want to play right now. Maybe later, like after breakfast tomorrow before they hit the road.
Halfway through her response, however, she noticed the look in his eyes. They were… drooping?
Tyrunt leaned against the pillow she was perched on, nudging at the spot beside her.
Her eyes widened in realization for a brief second, suddenly realizing what he was asking for. He wasn't trying to play, he wanted to rest.
Tyrunt grinned gratefully as Eevee scooted over to the side, allowing him to climb onto the pillow. His head pressed against the comfortable, soft surface as he closed his eyes, seemingly already asleep.
A mild sensation of uneasiness made itself known to Eevee as the younger Pokemon's body brushed up against her fur, but she shook it off pretty quickly. A few moments later, she found herself looking around the room. Ash and Valiant were reading in the bed, prompting her to grin at the sight. No doubt they were already planning their time in Celadon. Valiant always seemed determined to contribute whatever he could to their travels and training. It almost felt like an obsession, although her psychic friend would probably prefer a more appealing word, like "conviction".
Next her eyes lingered on Pikachu and Nebula, sitting side by side on a table facing the TV, lightly conversing amongst one another while watching the show, which was currently displaying a fight between a Poliwrath and a Machoke. It occurred to her that she had never really apologized to either of them for her previous behavior, not that either of them seemed to hold a grudge. She wasn't sure how to approach that, however…
The last one her eyes reached was Tempest, positioned not too far from the TV and chuckling in approval as Machoke landed a particularly brutal blow on Poliwrath. His back was to her, so he didn't notice the dirty look she was shooting him. As far as she was concerned, he was more trouble than he was worth. But there thankfully hadn't been any chaotic incidents since Ash had laid down the law following his fight with Tyrunt. An unpleasant memory for the entire team.
After scanning the room, as if to make sure nobody was looking at her, Eevee turned to Tyrunt and lightly licked his head.
/
Breakfast passed by in what felt like a few minutes. Although Ash was looking forward to being on the road again, he was, contradictorily, not looking forward to leaving the comfort of the Center, especially since they had just gotten there. The break from traveling had gone by all too quickly, although he reminded himself that Celadon was just a couple of days away. It wasn't like he and the others had chosen to go in this direction expecting there to be a Center to stay at. It had been a pleasant surprise, and nothing more.
Ash returned his team after they had finished eating, although Valiant chose to remain out. To his surprise, however, Tempest wished to remain outside of his ball as well.
Ash took note of the untrusting look Valiant was fixing the River Crab with as the water type clicked his pincers, an attempt at gesturing to communicate his wants with his new trainer.
"You sure you want to stay out?" Ash locked eyes with Tempest as the Krabby nodded, happy to see the trainer had gotten his message. Uneasily, the boy looked between Valiant and the water type, the latter unfazed by the psychic's suspicious glare, simply responding with a sneer.
He didn't like the idea of these two being out together, but he couldn't just force one of them to stay in their ball just because the other wanted some fresh air.
"Just remember to behave yourself, okay?" he did his best to sound as stern as possible while Tempest nodded back at him. As Tempest began to wander away from the table, albeit not straying too far, Ash looked down at Valiant, seeing the clear disappointment in the Kirlia's expression, which the young Emotion Pokemon was trying to hide. "You still want to stay out?" he questioned his friend. Valiant hadn't chosen to remain outside knowing that Tempest had been planning to do the same.
The young psychic shook his head. "I have to stay out now."
Ash almost frowned at that. Ever since the incident with Tyrunt, Valiant had been locked onto Tempest like a camera. No doubt the Kirlia was paranoid that the water type would find somebody to pick on, or some other form of mischief, even with the remainder of the team resting in their balls. Tempest's own attitude didn't help. He was clearly well aware of Valiant's disdain for him, which the psychic had done nothing to hide, and had deliberately responded to such contempt mannerisms that did little more than vindicate the Emotion Pokemon's opinion of him. It would have been one thing if Tempest was trying to improve his behavior, but he was merely restraining himself, limiting his behavior to whatever he could get away with. As a result, Ash couldn't fault Valiant, but having these two alone together was certain to produce an uncomfortable atmosphere.
Part of him wanted to think that it would be a good thing, that they might sort out their differences if together long enough, but he knew that forcing an interaction wouldn't be of much help. He'd just have to keep a closer eye on them for now.
Tempest made his way back to the duo as Ash got their attention. "I'm gonna call home before we leave, just while I have the opportunity."
Neither Pokemon objected to it as the two followed Ash out of the cafeteria, and to the waiting room where the video phones were. Valiant followed closely behind Ash, occasionally shooting a sideways glance to Tempest, who was pretending not to notice. Ash would occasionally glance back to his teammates, eventually sighing to himself as he reached the phone.
This wasn't going to work. He'd have to at least try to talk to them.
He almost reached for the phone first, but pulled his hand away. He wanted to speak to Delia, but this was more important. Turning from the booth, he looked down to his two teammates, hands falling to his sides.
"Look, you two… I can't let you guys be out together if it's gonna be like this." he frowned. "I know you two don't like each other, but…" what was he supposed to even say after that? Hadn't he just summed the whole issue up? There wasn't really anything left to add. He couldn't just magically make them get along…
The selfish part of him regretted recruiting Tempest in the first place. That was how all of this started. The group dynamic wasn't perfect, but it was a lot more stable prior to the Krabby's capture.
Or was recruiting Tempest the real selfish choice on his part? What reason did he have for wanting the River Crab on his team? To have a strong Pokemon. One who had displayed a great deal of strength and tenacity and boasted an ability that granted him durability on par with what one would expect from the typical steel type. A motive like that meant he was being selfish from the start, so did that mean he was in the wrong for both reasons?
He had to shake those thoughts away for now. The point was, Tempest was on the team, and he had to deal with that. He wasn't going to take the easy way out by just releasing the Krabby, especially since the incident with Tyrunt had yet to be repeated. It wasn't necessary yet, so he wouldn't do it. Things may have become more difficult to manage since the Krabby's recruitment, but he was the trainer. It was his job to get over those issues.
The question was… how? Where did he even start with that?
As Valiant and Tempest kept their focus on him (albeit glancing at one another on occasion) Ash crouched down to get a better look at them.
"Look Tempest… I'm sure you know why everybody's suspicious of you. Everyone got off on the wrong foot with you, but you haven't done anything to change their minds, either."
It was probably the root of the issue. Tempest didn't see anybody else in the group as a friend, not even Ash himself. He was in this for the fights, and nothing else. His lack of desire to change that meant improving anything would be an uphill battle.
Tempest snorted a bit at that, but didn't offer a rebuttal. The Krabby certainly didn't seem like he was going to change his stance anytime soon, but at least he didn't seem to be denying his problematic behavior.
Ash's brow furrowed. "I'm not going to force you to change yourself. The deal was that you could stay on the team as long as you don't do… that ever again. But if you just put in a bit more effort, you'll probably find that being on friendly terms with the others will benefit you a lot more than being a loner that none of them want anything to do with." he nodded towards Valiant. "You've seen that Valiant's become a lot faster lately, right? That's because of Eevee. As his friend, she was more than happy to spend some of her training time helping him improve in an area where he was lacking." Ash didn't understand the gurgle that Tempest had offered him in response, and he'd rather not have Valiant constantly translate for him (that would tire the Kirlia out very quickly), but based on the water type's behavior, he had a decent idea of what the river crab was trying to say. "Are you planning on just getting by on your own for this whole journey? Just because that's how you were able to manage back in Cerulean?" at the Krabby's nonchalant, the boy held back a sigh. "Look… I know where you're coming from, I guess. Nobody on this team could take you easily. Even Pikachu only beat you because we exploited a… situational tactic."
The boy recalled the ending of Pikachu's fight with Tempest. His starter had only won by paralyzing the Krabby's pincer… which was only possible by aiming a Thunder Wave inside of the pincer while it was open, as the Shell Armor ability proved too capable for the move to be very effective otherwise. Without the paralysis, the fight probably would have ended differently.
"But that doesn't mean that's never going to change, Tempest." Ash was torn on whether to sound strn or matter-of-fact. "Everyone here is improving. And they're doing it together. If you spend this whole Season trying to better yourself without any of the others backing you up, you're going to fall behind. That's not what you want, is it?"
Tempest's eyes widened a bit at that, but it was only momentary, the Krabby quickly shaking his head in denial. He wouldn't fall behind the others that easily. He'd just work twice as hard. Ash imagined that's what he was thinking.
"You may not believe me now, but I'm sure you'll start noticing it at some point. I'd keep it in mind, if I were you." As Tempest contemplated his words, Ash turned to Valiant, who had been watching the exchange silently. The rookie's gaze turned a bit softer as his focus shifted. He knew the young psychic would be easier to reason with.
Ash knew that the Kirlia hadn't actually done anything wrong. In a way, the thought of chastising him made the boy feel uncomfortable. It didn't seem fair. But he knew he had to say something. "Valiant, I understand why you're bothered by Tempest being here, and I appreciate your concern. You're just looking out for everybody. Especially Tyrunt." Ash wondered if the young dinosaur held a grudge for that one night. He wouldn't blame Tyrunt if that was the case. Thankfully, Valiant was very careful about keeping the two of them apart. "But… Tempest hasn't done anything else yet. We won't get anywhere if we scrutinize his every move. I know you don't trust him, but this won't improve anything. You'll just be putting yourself on edge, with no results.
"But he could try something at any moment." Valiant's voice wasn't overly defiant, but held a clear protest.
Ash nodded. "I know. And I know you want to be prepared. But there are other ways to do that. Being on guard doesn't mean giving someone the stink eye every time they're in your sight. If he tries something else, that's when we act. But he hasn't, and that should be acknowledged." he looked between the two. "As teammates, both of you at least need to coexist." it may not be the best case scenario, but it was good enough. If the tension died down to an extent, he would probably feel a bit more comfortable trying to bring Tempest and the others together, which would hopefully not only address the Krabby's behavior, but make things better for everybody by extension.
But in order for that to happen, the tense atmosphere at least needed a chance to start dying down. They'd never be able to work on clearing the air between them if they kept going on like this.
Standing up, Ash straightened himself before fixing his teammates with a stern look (he really hoped he was getting better at that). "For now, I just want you two to be in each other's vicinity without anything starting. And that includes nonverbal exchanges. Just don't encourage anything, and keep your thoughts focused on other things. Understand?"
He hadn't been expecting an enthusiastic reaction, and unsurprisingly, he didn't get one. But despite the uneasiness in Valiant's eyes and the mild displeasure in Tempest's expression, both offered a confirming nod to their trainer after a few seconds.
Ash grinned. It would do for now. "Good. Once I call mom, we can get moving while it's still-"
"Take that back, you jerk!"
The trio's attention shifted to the door a few meters away, where two figures stepped out of the hall. One of them was a girl with pink hair tied into a ponytail. She was somewhat shorter than the figure she was following, and her facial expression was a childish pout. Although, the look in her eyes was significantly more aggressive, which Ash didn't notice from here.
Ash's attention shifted to the boy the girl was following. He had purple hair and a stern expression, which was starting to seem familiar-
Ash's eyes lit up in recognition and to his side, Valiant's seemed to do the same. A somewhat confused Tempest took note of their reactions.
"What was his name… Paul?" Ash recalled his encounter with the boy during the group's stay in Pewter. It had been so long ago, but it was hard to forget the loss that they had suffered, coming off the heels of their monumental victory against Brock.
"I was just being honest. You're lucky I was even in the mood to give you pointers. Normally I just take my money and go." Paul's tone of voice was laced with dismissiveness, almost like he was trying to sidetrack himself from the fact that she existed.
The girl's turned red as her temper flared up. Her tone of voice wasn't nearly as scary as what Misty sounded like when she got worked up, however. "OOOOOH, so you just think you're bigger than the world you live in?!"
"Ironic coming from someone as entitled as you."
"If you don't watch your tongue, I'm gonna-"
Ash's instincts told him to leave the room and let these two settle things themselves, but a different set of instincts got to him first. As though his body had moved on its own, he was suddenly in front of the two, arms raised as Valiant followed him. Tempest lingered behind, watching the exchange in silence.
"Hold up, you two! What's going on?" he felt weird for butting in. He had no context for their argument and frankly it wasn't his place. But he doubted he'd be doing the right thing if he just let them go at it... Was there no correct answer to this situation?
Paul didn't seem to take any offense to the intrusion, however, quickly recovering from the surprise of Ash's appearance and addressing the boy neutrally. "Nothing to be concerned about. I beat this girl in a battle a few moments ago, and she took offense to my tips."
"Tips?! Is that what they call it on your home planet?" with a disgusted expression, the girl turned away from the purple-haired boy to point a finger at Ash. "He said my battle style was cowardly and unfocused! Does that sound like advice to you?!"
Blinking, Ash attempted to think of a response, but Paul cut in before he could. "It's called constructive criticism, something you've apparently never had before."
"Don't assume anything!"
"I don't need to. You don't exactly leave much to the imagination."
"You wanna settle this in a way that doesn't involve Pokemon?!" As she raised her fists, Ash's eyes widened as he and Valiant got between them. "What do you want?!"
"That's enough!" Ash pleaded to her. "A loss is a loss. Getting angry and dwelling on it isn't going to do anything. If you're upset then just focus on tending to your teammates. They're injured, right?"
The girl's arms began to lower, her face lighting up in surprise, as though she hadn't considered that. "Oh… yeah, I'll do that." She began walking off, but not before giving Paul a frustrated "Hmph." as she passed by him.
After the girl went through the door that would take her to Nurse Joy's lobby, Paul put a hand to his face, an exasperated sigh escaping his throat as Ash suddenly noticed the trainer's Elekid following behind him, the electric type's arms folded around his head. Ash remembered the Elekid all too well: He had given Pikachu a difficult battle and won.
"She didn't have the backbone to commit to any of her strategies." Paul turned to Ash. "She'd constantly change her game plan over the most minor setback, or even just things that she considered as such." With a scoff, he crossed his arms. "She wasn't adapting, there was no rhyme or reason to anything she did. Even her own Pokemon seemed to start feeling confused by her orders. Doesn't "Cowardly and unfocused" sound appropriate?"
Ash took in his words. Hearing it from Paul's perspective, the summation didn't sound inaccurate, even if he probably would've worded it a bit differently.
"That makes sense…" he trailed off for a second. "Maybe she just took offense to how you said it." being completely out of sync with your team was about as big a flaw as any trainer could have (Ash couldn't help but remember his first battle against Gary). But there were other ways to point such an issue out, right?
Paul shrugged his arms, his expression dismissive. It seemed like he just wanted to forget his exchange with the girl had ever happened. "If you're going to sugarcoat a flaw, there's no use pointing it out in the first place. That girl took simple criticism as an aggressive insult. Was probably spoiled rotten back at home."
Ash frowned. He didn't have a rebuttal to that, which frustrated him. He didn't like the idea of being harsh unless it was necessary, and yet… Paul's point made too much sense for him to come up with a convincing counterargument.
As Paul's arms fell to his side, Ash noticed that the other boy was looking at him a bit more closely now, while Tempest began approaching the group from behind, eying Elekid. "You look a bit familiar. Have we ever met?"
"I think so." Ash nodded back. "I'm Ash. Your name's Paul, right? We battled back in Pewter. It was roughly a month ago."
It took a second or two, but recognition passed over the other boy's features as he nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I think I remember you now."
Ash imagined that the battle had been less memorable for Paul than it had been for him. He couldn't help but wonder if the other boy had had similar victories throughout his journey, and being on the receiving end of an overall one-sided battle was probably more difficult to forget than dishing one out. Although they had a long way to go, he and his team still didn't lose very often.
The air seemed to turn awkward as the two trainers stood in the room. Paul wasn't leaving, but it didn't seem like he could think of anything else to say.
Ash felt the same. Paul didn't seem… unpleasant to be around, but he gave off an aura that the boy just wasn't very used to. Something about him just promoted unease, for whatever reason.
"So… where are you coming from?" Even as he spoke the words, Ash inwardly flinched. That sentence sounded like "trainer small talk 101".
"Celadon." the other boy replied. "I got the badge there. Right now I'm using this Center as a hub to train around the area. I'm heading to Vermilion, but I'm just going to be training there, rather than going for another badge."
Ash almost winced. It… was definitely a good idea to wait on attempting Vermilion's Gym, as he had learned the hard way a few days ago. He decided against voicing it, however, hoping to keep the match out of his mind for now. If Paul wasn't going there for a badge, then he likely didn't need to be warned about Surge.
"We're on our way to Celadon now. Working on our third badge."
Unsure of what else to say, Paul simply nodded, before offering a light wave. "Sounds good. Best of luck with that, then. Come on, Elekid."
Ash watched as the electric type followed his trainer, an odd temptation suddenly making itself known.
He had been planning on leaving as early as possible, but…
"Hey, Paul!" Ash's expression fixed into an even state as the other boy turned around. "Are you up for another battle?" Tempest's eyes lit up at his trainer's request, his pincers clicking rapidly as his expression turned hungry. "Our battle back in Pewter didn't go very well for the most part, but we're all much stronger now." He hadn't been expecting it, but he realized this was as good an opportunity as any for a rematch.
A light grin appeared on Paul's features. "I should hope so. You've had plenty of time."
"Is that a yes?" Ash grinned as he felt a flame inside. This wouldn't be like last time.
Paul nodded. "It's not like I have anything to lose. I win, I'll get more money. If I lose, it'll mean you were a more worthwhile opponent than she was." he turned to the door. "Just give me a moment to get my team treated. I only needed to use two of them, and neither are that injured, so they probably just need some time in the machines."
Nodding in understanding, Ash turned to the video phone. He could use that time to talk to his mother.