I let out a tired sigh, as my Pokegear began ringing.

  "Yes, aunt?" I asked without even looking at who was calling me.

  Lorelei actually looked offended by my words... and my demeanor. "Don't you yes aunt me so casually! I heard of what happened at Fuchsia... You encountered another Executive?!"

  She took her glasses off and wiped them clean, before placing them on... and removing them to wipe again. She was very clearly distressed because no amount of wiping was satisfying her right now.

  "Yeah, I did," I muttered. "Green and I were exploring the Safari Zone when they suddenly attacked. Executive Petrel was there."

  Lorelei let out a rattled breath at that, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. "Are you fine? I've barely read through the reports before calling you..."

  "My ribs were fractured but they're fine now. Green has a broken arm but she's recovering," I explained, watching as my companion perked up at that.

  "Your ribs?! Should you truly be moving with fractured ribs? Are you really making Green move about with a broken arm?" she pressed immediately, nearly jumping out of her seat.

  At this rate, I'm pretty sure she was going to teleport over. Christ she was overprotective.

  "Aunt, relax," I said slowly, showing her my bandaged midsection. "We're fine."

  "Silvy's actually not letting me do anything!" Green exclaimed, a distraught expression on her face, as she showcased her wrapped up arm.

  "We got the clear from Nurse Joy. We just can't aggravate them and we're good to go," I assured, pushing Green's arm down and getting a protesting whine out of her.

  My aunt held her head, massaging her temple slightly.

  "My apologies... I'm just aware of how reckless you are and it makes me worry."

  I rolled my eyes. "You're way too much of a worrywart. How often do you message Green about me?"

  "3 times a day!" Green chimed helpfully.

  Lorelei had the decency to look only mildly embarrassed. "I haven't felt so distressed since I've learned about you, Silver. Fury and stress... I feel myself filled to the brim with these emotions almost constantly."

  "You and me both," I agreed easily. "But we're fine now. We're slowly headed to Saffron City and that'll take us a long time."

  Lorelei sighed softly. "Right. Train well for Sabrina... at six badges, she is quite the formidable opponent."

  "That's why we're battling her now instead of 5th or 4th," I replied easily, peering at my aunt.

  Her eyes, like usual, rarely left me and there was always a worried tint to them. She was overprotective and I'm sure she was the type to panic if I got a papercut.

  "You need to stop stressing yourself so much. I understand you're worried but you'll just slowly kill yourself with what ifs," I warned her.

  The ice specialist actually breathed a cold breath of air at that, visible even through the screen.

  "You give me good advice, while completely ignoring the fact that your character is the cause of my stress," Lorelei said flatly.

  I shrugged. "You get updates from Green everyday, you call me everyday... and you're still this stressed out? You should consider therapy."

  "...I'm going to hang up now. I can feel you attempting to raise my blood pressure and I believe that's counterproductive to what you just suggested."

  I snorted in amusement. "Alright Aunt, see ya."

  "Goodbye Silver."

  I pocketed my gear and let out a small chuckle, before it devolved into coughing as my ribs disagreed slightly with the action.

  "I'm gonna get breakfast started, Leaf," I informed my companion.

  "Oh! Lemme help!" she beamed.

  I glared at her. "No. I don't know if you remember, but you have a broken arm. You won't be helping with the cooking until we remove the sling."

  As expected, her expression immediately turned distressed.

  "But... but I wanna help!" she pleaded.

  I scratched my head in confusion. "You know, most people would take this as the chance to laze around."

  "I'd feel bad making you do all the work and you haven't let me do anything! C'mon let me do something!"

  I rolled my eyes at her big puppy dog gaze. "You'll hand me stuff with your good arm. That's all."

  I snorted as she actually began whooping in joy.

  I jolted awake at feeling a presence outside of my tent, eyes narrowed in aggravation.

  Was Janine finally trying to get rid of me? She sure did seem to be contemplating attacking me quite a lot so maybe she decided to pull the trigger.

  This wasn't the first time she stood outside my tent... It had left me rather restless and grumpy because I detested when someone who I didn't trust, was close to me.

  Luckily, I didn't have to have much sleep to operate well enough.

  To my surprise, Janine actually entered this time. She was alone, breath quiet and footsteps impossible to hear...

  But no amount of ninja skills could hide her presence from me.

  Without any hesitation, I lunged forward and tackled the girl to the ground, staring down at her with an emotionless gaze.

  Janine gasped at the unexpected action and I huffed quietly.

  "You finally grew the balls to enter huh?" I whispered, clasping her hands above her head and watching as she struggled. She sure was strong, a testament to her upbringing, but I wasn't a slouch either.

  "Don't get too loud. Wouldn't wanna wake Green now would we?" I muttered, inclining my head over to where my companion was happily sleeping. She was already rustling about due to losing my body but she was a deep sleeper so I was fine.

  Janine glared at me and said nothing.

  I stared back, unbothered by the anger.

  "What do you want?" I asked sternly. "I'm trying to sleep and you're getting in the way of that. Could you stop being a pussy and make your attempt on my life already? I'm getting sick of this."

  The girl stopped struggling at that and gazed at me with wide eyes.

  "Kill... kill you?" she murmured in shock.

  I raised a brow and leaned in, staring at her with cold eyes that were hard to miss, even in the dark of night.

  "You've been standing outside my tent almost every other night and hampering my ability to sleep... and you're telling me it's not with intention to kill me? What the fuck are you doing then?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

  How ridiculous.

  "I've had too many attempts on my life to be intimidated by your silly little games. Look at you. You're upset with me for not killing Petrel but you can't even will the courage to do it yourself. You sure are a fucking hypocrite," I hissed, watching as she shuddered underneath me.

  "Now either pull through with the attempt or let me go to sleep, ninja." I got off her and glared at the girl, daring her to make a move.

  Janine dusted herself off and glared right back at me, balling her fist tightly.

  "Well?" I pressed.

  She grit her teeth and turned on her heel, walking out of the tent without another word.

  I watched her go and scoffed.

  "Coward," I muttered, before letting out a strangled hiss as I was strong-armed back down to the bed.

  "..." As I opened my mouth to tear into Green for being a jackass, I heard the noise of snoring and stared dumbly at my unconscious companion, watching as a content and lazy smile made its way to her sleeping face.

  "She's a freak," I thought to myself, scratching my head slightly and just letting it be.

  With the presence of Janine gone now, I could actually sleep so I'd take that small victory.

  Hatcher Boy: Sup guys! Crys and I got our fifth badge from Celadon! You wouldn't believe how hard that fight was! I thought it would have been a breeze!

  Catcher Girl: It was so much more challenging than we were expecting! Erika found out that the two of you were our friends and prepared accordingly. You two must have traumatized her because she didn't show us any mercy at all!

  Leaf: Oops! Sorry about that haha! Me and Silvy really caught her off guard with our battles!

  Hatcher Boy: That's putting it lightly. That chick put Crys, Ash and I through the ringer!

  Leaf: You guys ran into Ash?! How is he?! I haven't seen him since the boat ride!

  Hatcher Boy: We battled and I won but his team is legit! He seems to really wanna get back at Silver too... and knowing how Silver is I can probably see why.

  Catcher Girl: He's pretty good! We exchanged numbers with him. Erika was his fifth badge too and the match was really close! He had the craziest Primeape I've ever seen and that's saying something... but just when he was about to win with his Charmeleon, he got interrupted by some Rocket Goons!

  Hatcher Boy: Seriously, those were the strangest rockets we ever met. They didn't seem all that malicious… just really damn stupid. We didn't even arrest em, they just… went blasting away.

  Catcher Girl: Language, Gold.

  Hatcher Boy: My bad.

  Leaf: Wow, at least you guys ran into the stupid rockets. Silvy and I weren't so lucky here in Fuchsia.

  Catcher Girl: ?! What happened in Fuchsia? Are you two okay?!

  Leaf: We're fine... but they attacked the Safari Zone and there was an Executive leading the charge. He was so strong… one of our friends lost a pokemon to him before we could help her…

  Hatcher Boy: Oh…

  Catcher Girl: Oh...

  Leaf: Yeah… it sucks b-but we got rid of his strongest pokemon at least! A Gengar of all things! It was captured by the league and it seemed a lot better than the rest of his team! Koga was so impressed that he gave us badges without having to battle him! Now, we're headed to Saffron to fight Sabrina for our sixth badge!

  Hatcher Boy: What?! We are too! Hell yeah, maybe we can meet up!

  You: You two are coming to Saffron?

  Catcher Girl: Silver! Have you been reading the chat the entire time?!

  Hatcher Boy: Dude what the hell?! At least say sup!

  Leaf: Yes he has… I'm sorry I tried to get him to say something but he refused.

  You: I didn't ask to be put in another goddamn group chat. Now answer the question. Are you guys headed to Saffron?

  Hatcher Boy: Say hi first.

  You have left the chat.

  Leaf has added you to the chat "Color Gang!"

  Leaf: Silvy says hi. Just trust me on this.

  Hatcher Boy: Drama queen.

  Catcher Girl: I can see Silver typing and I've seen his colorful language first hand... so to answer your question, yes we're headed to Saffron.

  You: Alright. You'll probably make it there first. I don't know when exactly, but Team Rocket might attack Saffron soon.

  Catcher Girl: WHAT?!

  Hatcher Boy: THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!

  Leaf: Silvy thinks Team Rocket is gonna attack Saffron. I had doubts too but he's also the one who found out the Game Corner was a Rocket Hideout...

  Catcher Girl: T-That was you? You're the anonymous person who exposed the Game Corner?

  You: Yeah.

  Hatcher Boy: Dude, what? Couldn't you have… idk, exposed them after I checked it out?

  Catcher Girl: Gold!

  Hatcher Boy: My bad. Good work guys...

  Catcher Girl: I'm sorry you two. Gold has a gambling problem.

  Hatcher Boy: How is winning a problem? If I win, I don't see the issue.

  You: I actually agree with that.

  Catcher Girl: Not you too, Silver... you're supposed to be the logical one.

  Hatcher Boy: He understands logic, Crys. That's all there is to it.

  Leaf: He's also extremely ignorant Goldy. You never know which side is agreeing with you.

  Hatcher Boy: You have a point...

  You: I'll explain everything once we meet up. Since we're going to Saffron… I guess I can include you guys. Watch what you say though, Green and I have company.

  Hatcher Boy: Don't just blue ball us like this man! Spill the deets!

  Leaf: He already put away his pokegear… I'm sorry.

  Hatcher Boy: What a dick.

  Catcher Girl: We'll wait at Saffron for you two. Four… or five heads are better than two as long as we coordinate properly. Thank you for trusting us Silver. Goodnight!

  You: Go fuck yourself.

  Hatcher Boy: YOU'RE STILL HERE?! HEY SHARE SOME INFO —

  I sighed, pocketing my pokegear as I chewed my late night snack (it was jerky).

  "You're so rude," Green sighed, taking one of the jerky I offered up and chewing it.

  I grunted, taking another bite out of my snack. "I didn't even wanna tell them everything. We don't know how much they've improved since last we saw those two… but once I confirm that they did get stronger, we can talk more."

  Green nodded, leaning over to take another jerky. "Just in case they aren't strong enough, you don't want to drag them too deep into it, huh?"

  "Mhm. It would be like sending lambs to the slaughter," I nodded.

  "That makes sense," she muttered quietly. "Okay, I agree with you. More help would be great but I don't wanna put them in danger."

  "Great. Now it's getting late, let's go to sleep," I grunted.

  "Kay!" she beamed, already giddily making her way to my tent.

  She was so ridiculous. I don't even remember what her tent looked like.

  I got up and stretched, glancing curiously at my final piece of jerky.

  "Hey Janine, do you want the last one? I know you didn't prepare any food," I mentioned randomly, watching as Lapee helpfully doused the fire.

  I rolled my eyes at not getting an answer and summarily ate the final jerky.

  No chance was I willing to offer twice. I never even offered once. I was just being a tad insufferable right now.

  "Silvyyy can I sleep in your tent?" Green asked, expression morphing into an expression I'm sure anyone else would find adorable.

  It was fairly adorable.

  "At this point, I don't even know why you own a tent," I sighed tiredly, beckoning her inside.

  "It's for when other people wanna travel with us! They are never prepared for some reason!" Green exclaimed, placing a finger on her chin as a confused expression made its way on her face.

  I snorted at that. "So I'm really not the only one who noticed that."

  "I notice a lot more things now," Green said glumly, sighing as she entered. "It's like your super serious nature latched onto me."

  "That's called common sense," I retorted, following after her.

  She giggled at that, jumping onto the comfy bed of my tent with a happy sigh. She even began rolling around in her giddiness.

  "Your audacity needs to be studied," I rolled my eyes, taking my side and shutting my eyes. "Try to stay on your side this time."

  "You and I both know that's not happening. Just accept it, Silvy," Green said, turning so serious that it completely threw me for a loop.

  I snorted abruptly, almost choking at how deadpan her voice was.

  So there really was a scary side to Green… the one who forced her affections onto you. She said it with so much conviction, I really didn't doubt it.

  What a monster.

  "You're a freak," I grunted in amusement, shutting my eyes and preparing for sleep.

  "Nuh uh," she mumbled, already half asleep.

  I envied how fast she could fall asleep. Unless I was exceptionally tired, it took me a bit.

  I'd also never admit it, but her body warmth helped me fall asleep faster as well.

  Typically, I just spent the time thinking of plans for the future. I never realized when I fell asleep until I was waking up with my companion's hair all over my body.

  This time though, my thoughts were focused on the ninja outside.

  I didn't know what Janine's deal was at all. After the other night where I told her to kill me if she wanted me dead, I didn't even see a glimpse of her anymore.

  She stopped showing up outside my tent too.

  I didn't particularly care about her revenge towards Team Rocket and surprisingly, I really didn't care that she was "blackmailing" me because at the end of the day, beneath all that ninja training, Janine didn't have the resolve to do what I did for a living.

  So I wasn't all that concerned about those former things.

  No, what I was concerned about was the fact that she just lost someone important to her… and she was here following us instead of being tended to by her father.

  That meant that she definitely had not properly grieved.

  That meant that Janine was a ticking time bomb.

  For me? No not at all. It was for Team Rocket and while directing a ticking time bomb in their direction was a good idea and all… normally when you planted a bomb, you didn't want to be in the vicinity for its explosion.

  And I'd be in the vicinity of that explosion.

  Janine had the potential to ruin a lot of things for me because she refused to think straight. All the planning in the world, didn't matter when emotions were at play and Janine was in the most disastrous form of emotional distress.

  Did Koga even know she was traveling with us? He had to, the man was a ninja after all... but why the hell would he let his barely grieving daughter travel with us?

  I sighed, feeling the familiar sensation of my clingy friend dragging me into a sleep induced hug.

  Jackass… but yeah she was right. I should get some sleep instead of overthinking like I tended to do.

  I'd figure the complicated stuff tomorrow during breakfast.

  I sighed and let the warmth of Green wash over me in the cold, not even realizing when I fell into a dreamless sleep.

  "You're getting pretty heavy," I mused, lifting Gaia up experimentally.

  My starter's skin was also deepening in color too. It was clear she was close to evolution so I'd save an offensive move for afterwards.

  She preened under my attention and rubber her cheek against my own, causing me to smile.

  "I know you've been agonizing over it and it's been long enough... your Body Slam and Razor Leaf are looking pretty damn dangerous, you've strengthened Reflect and Light Screen a lot too. I'd like you to work on making Synthesis more effective but that's not your main priority..."

  I hummed and stroked a hand against her as I fiddled with my Pokedex. "I want to get you started on Grass Whistle as your main priority and I'll give you the TM for Giga Drain too. Giga Drain will be easier to utilize when you evolve and you look pretty close to evolving," I noted.

  I don't know if my mind was playing tricks with me, but Gaia couldn't learn Toxic. In fact, a majority of pokemon couldn't learn Toxic and I could have sworn it used to be more universal.

  Only Loki could learn it. Hm...

  Was that a unique thing to this world? Well, it put a damper on my plans for sure but oh well. I'd probably catch a poison type eventually.

  Gaia puffed up at that, a gleam in her eyes as she immediately glared over at Loki.

  I rolled my eyes as the Zoroark looked over and flashed her an eye smile, waving with his dark encased claws.

  "Bay," Gaia mumbled under her breath.

  Ever since evolution, Gaia and Loki had been sparring quite a bit more and my Bayleef had won a grand total of zero times.

  It's not like she was the only one. No one could currently beat Loki because the style we had cultivated was finally bearing fruit.

  Loki was too fast, too tricky and countered Gaia's entire fighting style with a good Taunt. Even as a Zorua these things were present...

  But now he actually had more than enough power to put her down.

  Hm...

  I gained a pondering expression. My team members all had quite the rivalry with each other that I heavily encouraged. All of them wanted to be the reason I won a battle. All of them wanted to be the star of the show.

  Right now, Gaia's most troublesome opponents on my team were of course, Loki, Metang and Ares.

  Metang and Ares utilized brute force against her to an effective degree but Loki basically turned her tricks off completely, which was far more infuriating to deal with.

  Alright... based on what I was having Loki learn next, Gaia was going to need a bit more countermeasures for sure.

  "I'm only doing this because I trust you to balance them all properly," I muttered, scrolling through my Pokedex to find the move I was thinking of.

  Gaia peeked curiously over my shoulder, leaning her head onto it as I hummed a tune.

  "There we are. This isn't a move you'll get quickly at all but once you do get it down... Loki won't be able to Taunt and Torment you so freely," I informed her.

  "BAY?!" she shouted loudly.

  I watched in amusement as her face colored from the eyes on her person and laughed as she huffed and told them to carry on.

  "Bay?" she repeated, much quieter this time.

  "Yes, I'm serious. It's called Safeguard," I chuckled, keeping my voice low just to accommodate her secret streak.

  "Not only will it protect you from Taunt and Torment, you'll be safe from all other forms of annoying status moves too."

  Gaia looked like I had given her the world at that and I sighed fondly.

  "Alright, Grass Whistle can wait. You're already annoying enough. Make sure Giga Drain is usable and Safeguard will be your priority right now. Take your time, it's not easy to learn," I smirked, returning her to the ball and slotting the TM for Giga Drain for her.

  Thank you Erika. Of all the Gym Leaders I met so far, she was probably the one whose presence was most tolerable.

  Excluding Jasmine of course. Should I even need to mention that?

  Gaia nodded vigorously as I released her and licked my cheek, rubbing her own against it right after.

  "Gross," I rolled my eyes, accepting it easily.

  "Now go get practicing. I'll come guide you soon."

  Gaia cheered and bounded off to an isolated area.

  I watched her go with an amused expression, inclining my head slightly to regard the gray haired version of myself.

  "What's she so excited about?" Loki asked curiously, balancing a tiny Shadow Ball in his hand.

  "Secret. She'd probably kill me if I told you," I replied calmly, fishing out a TM from my bag. "Wanna learn Flamethrower?"

  Loki tilted his head and nodded. "I've got a decent grasp on Shadow Ball. Night Slash wasn't hard to learn at all either..."

  "Night Daze?" I asked.

  "Still taxing but much easier to use," he listed easily.

  Speaking to Loki's human form really showed me that we had similar upbringings. He embodied the soldier aspect the most of my members.

  I'm glad he was more at ease now. I was not glad I was subjected to more pranks as a result.

  "Alright then. Keep practicing with Night Daze... I've got some ideas for it," I mused, returning him to the ball and applying the TM to it.

  It glowed molten orange and I watched it curiously, releasing my first pokemon from his ball.

  Loki had a thoughtful expression on his face, smoke pouring out of his mouth.

  "Refine your moves. Perfect them and hone your craft," I instructed with a smirk. "You have a lead right now but the others are chomping at the bits to surpass you..."

  Loki nodded fiercely.

  "But don't overwork yourself. Slacking and relaxing are two different things. Don't slack and make sure you relax whenever you can," I encouraged, ruffling his long hair.

  "Zor!" he barked, nuzzling my cheek appreciatively.

  I watched him slink off to hone his moves with a small smile... that quickly turned to a sigh of exasperation at the argument taking place.

  "Why are you two even training together?" I asked tiredly, walking over to... you guessed it, Freyja and Ares.

  "The fish with growing confidence wished to train her draconic technique. The caged maniac agreed under the condition that she also be allowed to use hers at a moderate level... Naturally that broke down quickly," Metang explained.

  I pinched my nose as they both guiltily looked away from me, smoke steaming from the both of their bodies.

  "I imagine if Metang weren't here to regulate things, it would have gotten outta hand?" I questioned.

  "A wise observation."

  "And you say you don't care."

  "You are truly the most aggravating human I've ever met."

  "I'm the only one you've met that isn't Steven Stone and Green probably."

  "A testament to your skills."

  I shrugged, before focusing on my troublesome pokemon.

  "Ares, you've seen the effort Freyja is putting in and you still have problems with her?" I mused curiously.

  Ares grunted and I sighed at her tone.

  "Alright alright I get it. On that note, I'm gonna punish you two now. You're both getting ridiculous," I decided, pulling out my Pokedex.

  "Gon?!

  "F-Fee?"

  The two stared at me in horror at my decision. It was rare for me to punish them but it was about time for me to put a small hand into the situation.

  "There we go. Dragon Pulse," I smiled.

  Ares perked up at that.

  "You'll both be learning it. It's a strong dragon type move."

  Both Freyja and Ares nodded slowly, a look of confusion on their faces.

  "Oh right, I forgot to mention. You're learning it together as a duo," I said bluntly.

  There we go. There's the look of horror I was waiting for.

  "Ares, you're going to help Freyja learn Dragon Pulse. You two are going to learn the move, you're going to bounce ideas back and forth on how to properly utilize it and you're going to both know this technique. You won't be learning anything else until I decide you both have it learnt to a good degree," I smiled.

  "Shelgon!" Ares snarled incredulously, glaring at me.

  I rolled my eyes and pat her shell. "You're a prodigy, Ares. Daughter of a probably master leveled Salamence... but you can still learn from Freyja. Don't be so arrogant... that's how we met after all and you saved my life."

  Ares grumbled lowly.

  "Yeah I know, it was fate that caused us to meet. I am your one true trainer. You will not accept anyone else but me. Totally missing the point still," I sighed.

  "You two will learn from each other while getting Dragon Pulse down. Ares, help Freyja with power and Freyja, help Ares with control. Good luck!"

  They both recoiled at my cheerful look and I pat them both.

  "Oh and if you two get in another fight in the process of learning this move, there will be hell to pay. Gets in the way of learning you know? Keep your arguments to a minimum," I warned.

  "...Gon," Ares muttered in defeat, properly chastised.

  "Bas..." Freyja sighed.

  "Good. You two can do it," I encouraged, walking off as Metang followed me.

  "You are truly a monster. How you can so effortlessly cow the caged maniac? I will never understand."

  "Ares understands that I'm as much of a maniac as she is. We understand each other well. Perhaps I was destined to be her trainer like she's convinced I am," I replied easily, watching as they plucked the Pokedex out of my hand with their powers.

  "You've convinced me of the opposite. I refuse to believe I was meant to be captured by you. I find it difficult to believe any of my species could tolerate you," Metang droned.

  "You sound like a tsundere," I informed them, patting his metallic shell.

  "What on earth does that mean?" Metang asked, neutral voice tinted with confusion.

  "I'll tell you when you're older," I soothed.

  I grunted as my Pokedex was slapped against my face without any hesitation. I peeled it off and glared at him with a heinous glare, a red mark on me.

  "These are the next moves I wish to learn... along with Shadow Ball," Metang informed me, unable to hide the amusement in their voice.

  I sneered at them and glanced at my screen.

  "Miracle Eye and Magnet Rise?" I mused. "What a coincidence, those are the moves I wanted you to learn too."

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  "There are no coincidences. Our wills are aligned."

  That... was true.

  "Your species doesn't have a hard time learning Magnet Rise at all. I don't expect that to take very long... but I don't know the specifics behind Miracle Eye so that may take longer," I mused, gazing at the move curiously.

  "I am patient. A skill learned from having to deal with you."

  "No you're patient because you had a dull ass life before me. If anything, I made you impatient."

  "...I have no comment."

  I chuckled and made my way to the final member, watching as Oberon, Togee and Dree sparred with each other.

  The three were good friends with each other and I was thankful for that because outgoing Togee sure did force Oberon to get out of his shell.

  Oberon noticed me approaching and cheered happily, only to let out a squeal as Togee crashed directly into him.

  "Tog," Togee chastised, sitting his tiny body atop Oberon's much bigger, but still tiny, midsection.

  "He's right Oberon. Don't get distracted in the middle of battle," I smiled, putting out a fist for Togee to bump.

  "Is Togee getting bigger to you?" Green asked, watching as Dree flew behind her to avoid my gaze.

  "He is," I agreed, pursing my lips as I lifted Oberon up. "You looked pretty comfortable fighting Togee before I distracted you. We'll have to put you in more battles for sure."

  Oberon nodded happily.

  "You've got Slash down... now I want to teach you a fun move that'll circumvent your only weakness," I smirked, watching as Metang floated the Pokedex over to me... already on the move.

  "You're useful when you're not being annoying," I complimented.

  "You took the words out of my mouth."

  I showed Oberon the move. "Play Rough. It's a fairy type move and it's super effective against fighting types. You've got Baby-doll Eyes already so you should have a small grasp on how to utilize fairy energy... that still won't make this move very easy to learn but if you get it, you'll get to deal with pesky pokemon like that goddamn Machoke," I scowled.

  Oberon gazed at me with wide eyes and nodded eagerly, gluing his eyes onto the screen.

  "I'll have to train with you more on this one... Fairy energy is strange," I muttered, ruffling his fur and turning towards the Green instructing Dree.

  "Hey Leaf," I called out, ruffling through my bag.

  "Hm?" she turned towards me with curious eyes. "What's up?"

  She yelped and hastily caught the object thrown at her, gazing at it with wide eyes.

  "I-Is this a...?" Green muttered.

  "Shiny Stone. I got it at Slateport when I thought Togepi was going to be mine... but I don't need it anymore so you can have it," I grunted.

  "R-Really...?! These are so rare and a Shiny Stone isn't really easy to secure at all! Are you sure you want me to have it?" she asked.

  I blinked in confusion. "What the fuck am I gonna do with it anyways? No one on my team evolves with stones. Besides, you're gonna struggle a lot against Sabrina with your current members."

  Green's lips wobbled and she let out a cry of happiness, tackling me to the floor.

  "You seriously are a great friend!" she cheered, hugging me in content.

  "I know... but you should start hiding it. If Togee was a Togetic, you'd have a Togekiss on hand right now," I mused.

  Green's eyes widened in horror and she turned in time to see Togee biting the Shiny Stone.

  There was a greedy gleam in his eyes as he waved his prize and Green immediately snatched it out of his hand.

  The Togepi cried out in protest, squealing as Green gripped his tiny cheek with her fingers.

  "No Togee! You cannot touch this! You have to wait for me to give the go ahead!" she warned firmly.

  He nodded hastily, sighing in relief as Green released the fingers from his cheek.

  The Togepi pathetically crawled over to me and hid behind my back, peeking out to glare distrustfully at Green.

  I let out a loud chuckle at that.

  "You know how ruthless you gotta be, for someone to find protection in me?" I laughed, hoisting Togee up.

  Green had a distinctive look of horror at the realization and she let out a wail of distress, collapsing onto her knees and clutching her heart.

  "And you call me a drama queen."

  I rolled my eyes, glancing in a direction and watching as the figure vanished before I could call them out.

  "Alright drama queen, let's run some exercises. Your team really is going to get put through the ringer against Sabrina."

  I fished out my Pokegear, never taking my eyes off the battle.

  "Jasmine?" I asked. "Oberon, Payback."

  "S-Silver! Were you not planning on telling me that you were attacked in Fuchsia?!" Jasmine shouted, a frantic look in her eyes.

  I grunted. "Didn't wanna worry you. You overreact a lot and I'd hate to see you cry," I said honestly. "To the left, Oberon. Use Seismic Toss."

  "That doesn't matter. I want to know everything going on about you from now on!" she demanded.

  I rolled my eyes. "Yes maa—. Oberon, Baby-doll Eyes... great you got its guard down, now finish it off with Play Rough... okay that was too ambitious. Use Slash."

  Jasmine blinked owlishly. "Are you in the middle of a battle?" she asked.

  "Yeah. Oberon, the battle's over! You can stop," I barked.

  The hackles on Oberon vanished and he settled down, turning towards me with an expectant expression.

  I crouched and ran a hand against his fur. "Nice job Oberon. You're catching up quickly. Play Rough could use a bit... okay a lot, of work but you're making great progress."

  Oberon beamed up at me, nothing like the aggressive bear he had just been against that Raticate.

  I gazed at my opponent who, who was returning his Raticate and huffed.

  The battle wasn't terribly difficult. I used Freyja and Oberon for this battle, allowing my two weakest to continue building up their experience against the trainers of Route 15.

  As I opened my mouth, I paused and stared at the wide eyed Jasmine and shut it.

  "Not... bad. You should train more," I said slowly, accepting the money from the teen and walking off.

  "Uh... will do," the trainer stated, gazing at the Oberon hanging off my neck with a wary gaze.

  I couldn't blame him. Oberon was becoming quite ferocious in battle.

  "Silver, are you okay? You look ill," Jasmine pointed out, a concerned expression on her face.

  "I'm fine... mostly. Just feel like I swallowed throw up," I muttered, angling my phone so that Green could wave to Jasmine.

  "Hi Jasmine!" Green waved. "We really didn't want to worry you, honest!"

  Jasmine sighed. "I understand... but I'm not a little kid! You two can tell me these things... aren't we friends?"

  "The best of friends!" Green said urgently, watching Jasmine's crestfallen expression with horrified eyes.

  "Alright Jasmine, stop looking so sad," I sighed. "We're sorry for not telling you."

  Jasmine sniffed. "Oh darn... I told myself I wouldn't cry. I'm sorry too, I just get really worried for you guys and since I'm in Johto..."

  "Don't apologize," I interjected. "I get it. My aunt is a worrywart too and you're tame compared to her."

  Green nodded in agreement. "Yeah Jas, I get it! I worry too and I travel with Silvy!"

  Jasmine sniffed again and nodded shakily. "I really do need to visit you two again... you're both close to 8 badges so maybe that will be the best time."

  I nodded my head. "We're probably gonna relax a bit after 7 badges. Find a place to train for a while. Maybe you'll be able to visit in the meantime?"

  Jasmine had a contemplative expression on her face. "Okay... I think I can do that."

  "Good. We'll be sure to keep you updated on things... and I'll tell you more," I assured.

  Jasmine smiled brightly and nodded. "Okay! Thank you Silv... Wait, aunt?"

  I blinked, looking around to make sure no one was listening.

  "Wait... did I actually never tell you?" I mused, cupping my chin.

  No... I don't think I did.

  "I didn't know you had family," Jasmine admitted with a small frown.

  "No point," I said bluntly. "I'm surprised though... with how proud she is to parade it to the world, I would have expected Lorelei to have told every gym leader."

  "Lorelei respects your privacy a lot. She's really considerate towards you too," Green mused.

  "H-Hold on," Jasmine interrupted, face pale as she stared a hole into me. "Lorelei? As in... As in Elite 4 Lorelei?"

  I nodded. "She is... my mother's little sister," I said blandly.

  Green jolted at that, gazing at me with wide eyes. "She is?"

  "She is?!"

  "Yeah," I nodded truthfully. "I learned about her a bit after the S.S Anne. Never knew I had one," I admitted.

  "Wow! That's crazy!" Jasmine awed, a wondrous look in her eyes.

  "I never would have expected you and Ms. Lorelei to be related!"

  "That's what everyone says... even me," I sighed. "She's insanely overbearing and stalks me any chance she gets."

  "I think it's really cute! You should see how awkward those two always are, Jas!" Green gushed.

  I grunted. "Shut the hell up, Leaf."

  Jasmine giggled. "Ms. Lorelei is a little... cold so I can imagine that it must have been quite the interesting conversation! It was no wonder Lance was so interested in you! Maybe he had an inkling."

  My best friend sobered up immediately as my expression soured.

  "Silver, are you okay?" she asked in concern.

  I grunted. "I'm fine, Jas."

  She nodded, clearly not convinced. "Well alright then. I'll let you to continue traveling in the meantime... call you later?" she asked hopefully.

  "We'll call tonight. I'll tell you more stuff," I assured, watching her light up again.

  "See ya Jas!" Green waved happily.

  "Bye Silver, Bye Green!" Jasmine beamed.

  I watched her hang up with a fond smile.

  "I miss Jasmine," Green sighed wistfully.

  "You and me both. I don't know how much longer I can go not tasting my food," I sighed.

  "...You and me both," Green agreed sagely.

  "Wait… why does this smell so good?" Green asked with wide eyes, practically salivating as she stared at the assortment of food.

  "I'm surprised too. It turned out even better than I expected," I raised a brow.

  Experimentally, I snatched a sausage and bit into it, eyes widening.

  "We actually made something beyond edible?" I wondered, offering the other half of the sausage up for the Loki curled up against me.

  He popped open an eye and gulped it down in one bite, ridiculously sharp teeth making quick work of it.

  My first pokemon mulled over the taste, before nodding in approval.

  "It's good," an illusion of Jasmine said. "Best thing I've eaten from you two... not that I'm picky."

  Green beamed at that and I smirked, both of us pleased at hearing the praise.

  The two of us distributed a portion of the hefty breakfast after ensuring that our team was eating and the two of us sat down across from each other.

  Green let out a noise of delight, eating her plate of eggs, sausage and biscuit at a slow pace to savor it all. "Wow! I wonder why it's so good?!"

  "Spite," I replied calmly, forking a sausage and biting into it.

  She blinked in confusion. "...Huh?" my companion mumbled.

  Her confusion only lasted a split second, replaced by horrifying realization as Janine hesitantly walked into the clearing.

  I didn't even look up from my plate, eating with one hand as I alternated pats between Loki, Gaia and Oberon.

  At some point, it'd become all of my pokemon vying for my attention. It was nothing new. The only reason Freyja and Ares weren't here yet, was because they were begrudgingly discussing how they could learn Dragon Pulse.

  "Hungry?" I asked knowingly.

  "..." Janine said nothing. Then, her stomach rumbled loudly and a blush of mortification appeared on her face.

  I glanced up at her, watching her with a neutral expression. "Sit. It's about time we talk."

  I saw Green's disbelieving gaze and raised a brow.

  "You created your best meal yet, all due to your pettiness and spite?" Metang asked, echoing Green's thoughts.

  "Yeah."

  "Due to the human who has some justifications in blaming you?"

  "Sounds about right."

  "You don't see the issue in what you're doing?"

  "You make it sound like that's a problem. I'm trying to help her you know."

  "My trainer may be one of the most twisted individuals on the planet. I cannot believe it."

  I shrugged, watching with a cool gaze as Janine hesitantly took a seat.

  I could tell she was hungry because there was no way she prepared for this trip in an efficient manner. I don't know what she had been eating before but if she was hellbent on suicide rushing Team Rocket, she may as well do it on a full stomach so she could focus on them.

  "Could you fix her a plate Gaia? My hands are kinda full," I asked gently, running a hand against her head.

  Without even looking up, Gaia's vines snaked out and she began setting up breakfast for the future gym leader.

  "Eat," I demanded, making her jump in surprise. "I can't have you starving yourself before we get there. You need to be useful to us," I said bluntly.

  Janine flinched in surprise at my blunt tone and mechanically accepted the plate thrust onto her hands.

  Green gazed at me with wide eyes.

  "Be nice!" she mouthed.

  I sent her a nod of acknowledgment.

  "As you are right now, I can't say with confidence that you are a reliable ally," I grunted. "You get what I mean right? In your emotional state, I'm worried you're going to get Green and I killed."

  "B-Be nicer!" Green mouthed, unable to believe I was like this.

  "I am stronger than the two of you," Janine grit out, a flash of anger crossing her face as she almost ravenously ate her meal.

  "That's not really in doubt. But you're not in a state where you can be trusted to make sound decisions," I retorted calmly.

  She glared at me, placing her food to the side. "You of all people, don't get to judge anything about me," she sneered.

  I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Oh yeah? Why not tell me about it?" I asked boredly.

  "Gladly, you egotistical maniac!" she growled, standing up and walking towards me. "You're too full of yourself. You have so much unwarranted arrogance and I can't fathom how anyone could put up with you!"

  "You and me both," I agreed, waving my hand and having my team stand down.

  Janine shook harshly at that. "And then you act as if nothing bothers you! You just come off as insufferable."

  "Good. The more insufferable I am, the less people who'll talk to me," I shrugged, stabbing a sausage and biting into it.

  "...Do you think this is funny?" Janine whispered, quivering as she met me eye to eye.

  I stared at her boredly. "I'm just letting you get your temper tantrum out of the way. Once you're done, we can get back to discussing how I don't need you to be a detriment to Green and I."

  ...

  My eyes widened as a fist crashed against my face.

  "How about that for discussion?" Janine hissed, glancing at her fist and then me with raw satisfaction.

  I grunted, placing a hand against my nose and coming back with blood.

  Janine was barely able to react to my lunge, letting out a shout of pain as I tackled her to the floor and crashed a fist against her.

  "You wanna be childish huh? Fine. Let's play your game," I hissed right back.

  The purple haired girl recovered in record times, ignoring the bruise blooming. She bat one of my arms, causing me to lose my balance and flipped us over.

  Clearly she was putting her training to good use.

  "I hate you," she grit out, poised to punch me again.

  I was not letting that happen. Without any hesitation, I slammed my head against her own.

  As Janine recoiled from the headbutt, I used the slight freedom to kick her away.

  "Attacking someone who made food for you? What would your dear daddy think if he saw how unprofessional you were acting?" I sneered at the girl.

  "Don't you dare mention my father again! This all started because you can't keep quiet!" Janine snarled, poised to lunge at me again.

  "Nah, it all started when you decided to stalk me," I retorted with a dark glare. "Your problem is you don't know how to let things go. If you let the conversation end when I wanted it to end, we wouldn't be here. You're the one who followed me around. Don't get mad at your actions."

  "SHUT UP!" Janine shrieked.

  I rolled my eyes.

  "The sheltered little girl wants to throw down... sure whatever then," I sighed.

  "Are you okay?" Green asked, wiping my face with a wet rag.

  I grunted, feeling the stinging sensation as she wiped me down. "I'm fine."

  "You have a black eye and some bruises," she murmured, placing a bandage on my nose.

  She smiled and then turned towards to the Janine tending to herself.

  "Janine come here. I'll clean you up too," Green said gently.

  Janine glanced up, revealing a black eye that probably matched my own.

  "I'm okay," she said stiffly.

  Green's eyes narrowed. "Janine. Come here. I'll clean you up," she said firmly.

  Janine flinched at that, gazing at Green with wide eyes before she slowly moved over and reluctantly sat next to me.

  A plate floated onto her lap and she gazed at Vee, one eye shut as she was unable to keep it open.

  "Calmed down?" I asked calmly.

  Janine jolted at my words. "Did you... make me fight you on purpose?" she asked quietly.

  "Nothing feels better than punching someone in the face. You were clearly pent up anyways. Besides, I wanted to punch you too for all the nights you kept me up," I replied easily.

  "..." Janine said nothing at that, ignoring the pain she was in.

  We had quite the slugfest. While she was a ninja, I did have some prior training in Kickboxing. Not enough to be notable at all but everything came easy in this body so I was far better at it here.

  Besides, she stopped fighting like a ninja after I gave her that black eye.

  Releasing all your stress was a good way to start thinking rationally. Seeped in exhaustion like this, had drained Janine of most of her energy and anger at me. It was effective and all it cast was a little pain.

  This was probably the best time to speak reason into her.

  I sighed. "You were the Rocket's target," I informed her quietly.

  Janine froze completely at that. Her fork stopped moving, jammed into a sausage and she gazed at me in shock, her good eye wide.

  Best to just be honest about the whole thing now. Clearly she was committed to coming with us.

  "What… what?" she whispered in horror.

  "You were their hit. That's why you got separated from Green and I. They wanted to take you hostage to hold leverage over your dad," I said truthfully.

  Janine quivered. "B-But that's not... you can't be serious," she stammered.

  I sighed, deciding to not be an asshole for once.

  "Listen. I can't imagine how you must feel right now. You just lost your first pokemon so the way you're acting is fair. If I lost Loki... or anyone for that matter, I'd become a completely different person…"

  I placed a hand on her shoulder. "...But you gotta understand what you plan on doing, could end with you losing more than just Venomoth. Think about the rest of your team… if you want revenge, get it in a way that gives you the most amount of satisfaction. A suicide rush isn't satisfying... getting vengeance is," I finished.

  "I do believe that you are not meant to encourage revenge… but somehow, you chose the correct words."

  I ignored Metang for the time being and watched as Janine shuddered.

  "So they… truly were targeting me?" she asked softly. "I see. That's why I was attacked by the Executive alone…"

  The girl began shaking at that. "And you two saved my life. If you weren't there then, I'd be…"

  "Don't thank me for that. Thank Green. She's the real hero," I said firmly.

  "You're the reason it went so well!" Green denied ferociously.

  "You're the reason I went," I said bluntly.

  "Why?" Janine eventually asked.

  Green and I paused at that.

  "Why?" I repeated in some confusion. "Why did we help you?"

  "Why did you allow me to place the blame on you?!" Janine cracked, expression turning distraught. "You saved my life and you let me accuse you?!"

  I blinked at that, watching as her expression trembled. Her lips wobbled, her eyes narrowed and tears sprung to her eyes.

  "I was down to take the blame. It's not like I cared if you hated me… so I was gonna let it be and move on to the next city. Unfortunately you decided to follow after me and throw a wrench in my plans. Now I have to make sure you don't risk Green or I's life," I said bluntly.

  Janine flinched horribly, trembling harshly as she curled into herself.

  "I'm… sorry," she said, standing rigidly and bowing lowly. "I can't believe… I had no idea. I said such terrible things to you and you just weathered it all…"

  I rolled my eyes. "You're grieving. People rarely say what they want to actually say when their emotions are high. I know you think this is me playing it up... but I seriously don't care what you, or most people, think about me."

  Sometimes it was natural for your first response of something unexpected, to be completely irrational. You didn't give yourself time to think so you just responded impulsively.

  It was like when Green stole my egg. I was pissed as hell and I absolutely would have beat the hell outta her… but I was naked in the water. Because of that, I was forced to rationalize and come to terms with it and that made me realize that I truly didn't care about owning the Togepi because I caught the three members I did want.

  Due to that, my initial burst of anger quickly faded away and maybe that was for the best because if it hadn't, I doubted Green and I would be friends right now.

  Janine was in a bit more of an extreme situation. This wasn't something that a person could rationalize immediately.

  She lost someone very close to her and her initial reaction was to lash out on me because I was the second most antagonistic force involved in the situation. Without Petrel there, Janine found the next best thing and what was better than the boy who had been messing with you since arriving to the city, even if he couldn't have possibly expected things to turn out like this?

  It was completely illogical and irrational on her end and everyone knew that. But there was a reason for that so I just let it be.

  At the end of the day, she was the one that lost something. I was still the one who was going to leave her for dead if not for Green.

  But now it was necessary to plug it. Before, it was just a minor inconvenience in my life and I had plenty of those already.

  Now? If I let this go on, Janine would just antagonize me until her and Green were dead and I was back in Team Rocket's grasp.

  This was a serious mission we were going to and it would already be hard. I refused to let it be even further jeopardized. There was already a big chance it could go wrong, I needed everything to work in my favor.

  Janine was a stronger trainer than us and we'd be on the road for a long time. It'd be foolish for me to not utilize her so I'd use her capabilities for Green and I.

  By the time we made it to Saffron, we'd be a lot stronger.

  It was fairly scummy of me I guess, considering how I treated her before... but I couldn't expect to win by being the paragon of virtue here.

  Janine, unlike other forces I could potentially use, already knew things about me that was detrimental. She wasn't in the dark so I had no qualms against using her over someone like... Lorelei.

  "How can I make this up to you two? I'm so foolish," Janine frowned, clearly ashamed by her actions.

  "I'm not mad or anything. Just follow my lead," I said lowly. "We have a lot of time before me make it to Saffron. Join us for training and what not."

  Janine nodded hastily. "Very well. I will gladly join you two for training."

  Green beamed. "Yay! Happy to have you!" she beamed.

  I pursed my lips. "Actually. Teach us some of those ninja techniques of yours. They could come in handy."

  The ninja blinked, eyes widening in shock. "I-I can't just teach you such things! Those are the teachings of my clan! It would take years for me to be qualified to have my own student to pass the teachings onto!"

  I tilted my head. "...So? Just teach us," I said bluntly, bulldozing over her attempt to explain rationally to me why such a thing couldn't just be done.

  Janine faltered at my tone. "But…" she mumbled.

  I snorted. "I'm just kidding. I'm not that much of an asshole."

  "Oh," Janine sighed in relief. "Well, I wouldn't mind teaching you basic things. I noticed that you fought in a way that I've not seen much before. So long as I don't delve into the secrets of my clan, I believe it would be fine."

  I blinked. "I was just kidding you know," I said flatly.

  "But I'm not," she said seriously.

  "I still dislike you... I think you're insufferable but I've misjudged you. At the very least we can strategize together instead of getting in the others way... so please allow me to apologize properly."

  I stared at her. "Alright then. If that's what you want. We work together to accomplish our goal, then you can go back to hating me."

  She nodded in agreement.

  "I've never been a teacher… this is imperative for my future as Gym Leader as well. It is beneficial to us both," Janine said, determination written all over her face as she held out her hand for me.

  "Sure…" I said awkwardly, gazing at her hand like it were an anomaly before grasping it.

  I wasn't expecting this much but I guess there were good things that came from being a child soldier. Janine was open to reason and capable of seeing the bigger picture.

  "So we'll be ninjas?!" Green beamed excitedly. She jumped up and grabbed Janine's hand with both of hers, making the ninja squirm uncomfortably.

  "Well… that's not what I —"

  "I look forward to learning from you! I'll be a great student!" Green steamrolled whatever she was trying to say with a blinding grin and a proper bow.

  On anyone not named Silver, my companion was pretty good at using her adorable abilities.

  Janine was clearly no exception.

  "I… look forward to having students as well," she mumbled, ducking her head in defeat.

  I snorted in amusement and shrugged at the information that we'd probably be getting taught more than Janine intended.

  Green was a good little soldier.

  "So you're sure that they'll attack Silph Co?" Janine asked curiously, keeping pace with us.

  "Not 100%," I answered truthfully. "But they might attack it in the near future. I'm going to get as strong as possible in the meantime and thwart them from doing that."

  Janine nodded thoughtfully. "Does that mean it was you who sabotaged the Game Corner?" she asked.

  I tilted my head at that and shrugged. "Yeah. It was me. I'd prefer if you kept that a secret."

  "Why do you wish to remain in anonymity? You'd be regarded highly if anyone knew you exposed the Game Corner as a Team Rocket hideout. I'm sure you'd be greatly rewarded and recognized," Janine said, looking puzzled by my secrecy.

  "I don't need that right now or ever really," I said bluntly. "All that does is put a target on my back and I don't need that yet. I want to be able to properly defend myself before attracting unwanted eyes."

  Janine nodded once more, before a look of realization crossed her features. "Wait, does Team Rocket not know it was you who attacked them? How is that possible?"

  "Intense desire to stay hidden," I muttered. "Though, maybe that's out of the window now since that Petrel got away."

  "Why?" Janine asked curiously. "Why are you attacking Team Rocket so harshly? You stabbed that man without any hesitation in your bones despite the two of you recognizing each other."

  I snorted. "We're not close enough for me to tell you the reason for that. I know you're thinking of something but keep your theories to yourself."

  Janine frowned and nodded. "I understand. Regardless, you clearly have prior training. To be able to evade revealing your identity to an entire base is quite impressive. Training you will be enjoyable."

  "Yeah!" Green beamed, a challenging glint in her eyes. "We've got this you guys!"

  Janine looked at Green in wonder, properly taken aback by her charismatic cheer.

  It was rare to find someone so optimistic all the time. I could understand her surprise.

  "We've got another hour of walking to do. Once we do that, we can continue training," I said calmly.

  "It would be ideal if we take the woods to Lavender instead of the routes. It will take longer but we will be bothered less, always have ideal camping space and good room for training," Janine added.

  "You know the way there?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Traversal by trees is how I typically prefer to move so I've made myself familiar with the words around Fuchsia."

  "Alright," I nodded in agreement. "We won't encounter trainers but you should make up for that."

  "I will. You will get stronger fighting me over any trainer. I'm slated to become gym leader soon after all," Janine said confidently.

  "I like that confidence," I said truthfully.

  "It's awesome! Makes me really believe in you," Green giggled. "Now let's move! We've got distance to burn!"

  I idly stretched, groaning in satisfaction at the sound of cracking, and stood up straight. Then, I repeated the process with my legs, sighing as I downed a bottle of water.

  Freyja was happily blowing a weak gust of cool air over me that felt really nice and I pat her in return, leaning against the dozing Loki and sinking into his mane of hair.

  A vine brought a rag over and wiped me down, courtesy of Gaia who summarily plopped her head onto my lap.

  Ah, my team was too good to me sometimes.

  "Those cracking noises are so sick. They make me nauseous," Green muttered, doing her own stretches as Lapee and Larvee did a douse and dry combination for her.

  "Pussy. Grow a pair," I muttered under my breath, making sure she could still hear me.

  Judging by the way she twitched, she didn't appreciate that very much.

  I was proven correct, as my companion immediately lunged, poised to tackle me to the floor.

  I grunted, stepping back and grabbing her arm, before kicking the back of her feet and dropping her to the floor.

  Then I lunged myself and our brawl ensued in kind.

  "You know… While I'm quite glad that you two have proven to be fast learners, I didn't expect you two to take my training and use it on each other," Janine said tiredly.

  "He was asking for it! Teach me more so that I can put him in his place!" Green barked, attempting to place pressure on a part of my shoulder.

  "If you learned it, then I guarantee I already learned and figured out how to counter it!" I snarled.

  I dodged it, but before I could properly retaliate, Janine spoke up.

  "You two shouldn't fight so much. There's an egg about to hatch. If the first thing it sees is you two fighting, it may get overstimulated," Janine said, too used to us to be anything but tired and amused.

  We both paused at that, hands wrapped around each others necks as we gazed at our third companion.

  "The egg is hatching?" I asked in surprise.

  "Quick Janine, let's get outta here! I already messed up once, no way am I gonna do it again after I tried to make amends by giving him the egg!" Green jumped up, fully recovered.

  She rushed our temporary companion and pushed her out of the clearing.

  Their respective teams followed behind the both of them, all used to Green's antics. "We'll be back in 10 minutes, Silvy!"

  I scratched my head and nodded, removing the egg from the incubator as it began shaking harshly.

  My team watched from a healthy distance, interest blatantly clear on their face, as I placed the egg right in front of me… on the off chance that it hatched into a pokemon that I shouldn't be holding.

  As the black egg with red markings on it cracked through, I watched as a cylindrical hand popped out first, followed by another and a black head slowly appeared.

  I thought this was going to be the first egg I actually hatched… but that wasn't quite the case since I hatched Loki.

  Not to mention Togee was my egg… what was I? The egg whisperer? Gold was supposed to be the hatcher, not me.

  Well, as a set of red and yellow pupils stared at me, innocent and wide eyes drinking in all my features, I decided it wasn't a terrible title to have.

  The little fella inside, held out that cylindrical hand of it and I grasped the fiery red tipped appendage, pulling the pokemon out of the remains of the eggs.

  I grabbed a towel and wiped the fluids of the egg off of it, all while it cuddled against me, eyes still drinking in every ounce of my features.

  Almost as soon as I did that, the pokemon seemed to erupt in flames. Most notably, it's eyes gained wisps, its torso gained flames and the top of its head gained a plume of fire.

  I tilted my head at the sight of its body activating with flame, stumped at what I was looking at.

  "What the hell are you supposed to be?" I muttered to myself, peering at the pokemon curiously.

  I didn't know what the hell this pokemon was. It had to have been from a region I never witnessed before.

  Galar? Paldea? Those were the ones that I virtually knew nothing about so this was probably from that.

  The pokemon let out a cry of happiness and spread its arms, making me roll my eyes.

  I complied with its request and pulled it into a one armed hug, noting the much warmer than normal temperatures of its light body.

  Well if the literal plume of fire didn't confirm it, this certainly did.

  A fire type hm...

  As the fire type cuddled me happily, I fished out my Pokedex and scanned it.

  "Charcadet, the Fire Child Pokemon. Burnt charcoal came to life and became this pokemon. Possessing a fiery fighting spirit, Charcadet will battle even tough opponents."

  Charcadet: Male

  Ability: Flash Fire

  Moves: Astonish, Ember, Leer

  "A Charcadet? The fucks a Charcadet?" I mused in interest, watching as the flames licked at my resistant outfit.

  "Char!" the tiny fella exclaimed happily, prompting me to smile slightly.

  "Aren't you a friendly one?" I mused, looking at the evolution of Charcadet.

  Or well, evolutions.

  So this was why Lance greenlighted this pokemon to be given as a reward. Charcadet was a pokemon who predominantly resided in the Paldea region. It was a pure fire type and while not really notable, one thing stuck out.

  Its evolutions.

  Fascinating. Charcadet was a pokemon that had two different evolutions. It could either transform into something called an Armarogue, gaining the psychic type in the process or Ceruledge, gaining the ghost type in the process.

  Wow. This poor thing, got quite possibly the worst trainer it could have asked for. I couldn't even emphasize how unfortunate it was for me to be this guy's trainer.

  Psychics and Ghost types hated being in my presence and this Charcadet could only transform into one or the other?

  If I knew Charcadet was going to be in this egg, I would have seriously given it back to Green. Better for her to have it than me in the long run.

  Alas, it had fully imprinted onto me so I could do nothing about that.

  "Hey Charcadet. I'm Silver," I introduced gently, watching as those fiery eyes locked onto me. "I'm the one who hatched you so if you want, I can become your trainer."

  Charcadet nodded eagerly, looking adoringly up at me.

  "I'm a battler so if you join me, you'll be expected to battle," I explained. "That's my primary designation. If you have any problems with that, you can let me know in the future."

  "Charcadet!" the fire type beamed, accepting all I was saying. I wasn't even too sure it could fully understand what I was talking about but pokemon were quite intelligent creatures.

  I smiled at him, before beckoning my team over. "This is your team. You'll grow with them, train with them, laugh with them… probably argue with them too. It'll be a long journey together," I informed him.

  "Char…" Charcadet gazed at my little soldiers in awe. He stumbled about, not quite used to walking just yet and detached himself from my body, facing the entirety of my team.

  Then, he began waving happily, radiating with joy. "Char charcadet!" it cheered.

  "He's a big ball of energy already," I sighed fondly.

  Charcadet reminded me of Green and I suppose that made sense since Togee had my personality. Green had grown quite fond of taking care of the egg after doing so while I was hospitalized and I didn't mind her doing it.

  ...Having a little Green might not have been what I wanted. Just one human Leaf was enough and now you're adding a fire type to it?

  How tiring.

  "Charcadet, c'mere," I said, watching as the little baby curiously prodded the giant Ares. She merely glanced at him, expression not showing much, and let it be.

  Well look at that. Even Ares knew when to be nice.

  Charcadet hastily rushed over to me, stumbling on his feet and letting out a laughing noise, as he tripped and I caught him.

  "I'm gonna put you in a Pokeball now. Be careful, it's your first time so it might be a little jarring," I muttered to him, pulling out a Luxury Ball that I knew for sure I hadn't been using as a weapon.

  He nodded as expected and without further prompting, tapped onto the button himself.

  I watched the light engulf the newborn with an interested expression.

  It shook heavily at first, probably due to Charcadet not expecting the sensation but eventually it settled down.

  A wary expression made its way to my face, as the pokeball dinged a successful capture. I was waiting to see if it would get sent off to a place like Viridian… but it just remained there, stationary.

  Charcadet huh? Can't say I ever expected to get one of these… mostly because I never knew it existed until just now.

  His evolutions were pretty damn cool too and I guess judging on the one he wanted, I'd give him a different name.

  Since both options were equally terrible in the long run, due to being in close proximity to me, I'd let the little guy decide which one he wanted and not cause a fuss about it.

  Exposure therapy was definitely a thing so it'd suck at first, but I'm sure he'd eventually get used to me. Vee and Dree were doing much better around me now.

  Dree especially seemed to actually prefer training his moves near me in recent time. Maybe my presence was helping in a way that I wasn't aware of.

  I released Charcadet from his ball and rolled my eyes as he immediately latched onto me.

  "You're a happy little guy aren't you?" I asked curiously, watching him rush the amused Loki next.

  My Zoroark glanced down at the tiny Charcadet, lip curling in amusement as the fire type inspected him.

  "Silvyyyy!" a voice called, rushing into the clearing with a giddiness only matched by the pokemon that just hatched. "How'd it go?! What was it?!"

  Charcadet jumped at the voice and if possible, his good mood seemed to get better.

  "Cadet!" he cheered loudly, running to the excited Green with a happy beam.

  "Woah!" Green shouted in surprise, lifting up the Charcadet with obvious glee.

  "What's this?! It's so cute! Who's a cute little one?! You are!" she gushed, eagerly hugging the creature that let out a giddy shout.

  "Charcadet. He's a happy little guy," I explained easily. "Reminds me of you."

  She laughed. "He's so warm too! It's nice to meet you Charcadet, I'm Green!"

  "Char char!" Charcadet greeted her happily.

  Seems like he recognized both of the people who took care of his egg. Maybe Green talked to him while he was in there?

  It would make sense that he instinctively loved her then. I didn't really talk to Togee at all when he was just an egg.

  Huh… maybe I should treat any future eggs I get better... or maybe I should stop getting eggs.

  "A Charcadet…" Janine mused in clear interest. "Quite a rare find. Was this the egg that was given to the winner of the tournament aboard the S.S Anne?"

  I nodded, accepting Charcadet back as he held his hands out for me to grab.

  "Green won the tournament but she gave it to me," I informed her.

  "If we actually battled, I think you had a higher chance at winning than me! Besides it was payback after I hatched Togee! So?! Is it good payback?! Do you forgive me completely?!" Green beamed.

  I chuckled and pat her head. "Sure thing. I wasn't expecting this out of the egg at all but I'm damn impressed."

  Charcadet and Green beamed with equal energy. The sight made me let out an exasperated sigh.

  A rare egg to commemorate the grand sailing of the S.S Anne. A massive event deserved a good prize and this Charcadet was a damn good prize.

  I guess I did get something good out of that nightmare of a boat ride.

  "Hello!" Charcadet waved at his new team excitedly.

  "Hi Charcadet! I'm Gaia! I was Silver's second pokemon!" Gaia beamed happily, bounding up curiously to him.

  Charcadet looked up at Gaia in wonder. "Hi Gaia! You were second?" he asked curiously.

  "Yep!" Gaia nodded, tentatively tapping the little fire types body with a vine.

  "This is Loki, Freyja, Metang, Ares and Oberon in order of who joined!" she introduced.

  "Wow..." Charcadet whispered. He gazed at all of them with wide eyes.

  "So all of you battle right?!" he asked curiously, practically buzzing in place. "That's so cool! I wanna battle too! When can I battle?!"

  "He just hatched and he's already thinking about battles?" Loki asked in amusement.

  Ares huffed. "The hatchling already grasps the glory of battles. They showcase far more promise than others," she stated, nodding in approval.

  "And who exactly is others?" Freyja asked with a scowl on her face. "Is little miss Ares still upset that she needed me to figure out the first part of Dragon Pulse?"

  "Watch your tone. You have managed to accomplish such a little thing and you feel proud of yourself? Ridiculous," Ares rumbled lowly.

  Freyja scoffed. "Says the one who keeps using Dragon Breath instead! I could give you control tips on that move too!"

  The Shelgon's eye twitched and Ares turned towards her temporary partner with a heavy glare.

  "I hope you are fully aware of the consequences of daring to belittle my draconic heritage," Ares said lowly.

  "Don't make it so easy next time!"

  "Oh! Are they about to fight!?" Charcadet gasped in awe, jumping up and down as an unhinged gleam entered his eyes. "Yeah! Kick each other's asses! Lemme fight too! I wanna beat the hell outta something!"

  Gaia spluttered immediately at his words. "W-What?! Who taught you how to say such things already?!" she asked.

  "I dunno. I just said what would make me feel happiest," Charcadet shrugged happily, yawning tiredly.

  Metang suddenly let out an audible groan.

  "I would have preferred if the newborn had inherited everything from the female companion and not our trainer," was all they said.

  "Yeah that's definitely from Silver," Loki chuckled in amusement.

  Gaia sighed and hoisted the warm body up with her vines, watching as Charcadet let out another tired yawn. "I guess that makes sense."

  "He's got a lot of energy..." Oberon said quietly. "But I kinda get where he's coming from. Battles are really fun."

  "I'm surprised you like them so much, Oberon," Loki noted, gazing at the tiny bear.

  Oberon was the polar opposite of Charcadet already. He was a gentle little bear but lately, the Teddiursa had become more and more aggressive in battles. It was almost like a switch was flipped.

  "They're fun! I've never battled before Silver but it's been awesome!" Oberon explained with wide eyes.

  "You don't think anything is a bit weird?" Loki mused, watching Gaia place the dozing Charcadet in the confused Silver's hand.

  "Weird?" Oberon mused. He placed a paw to his mouth and pondered the question. "Now that you mention it... my head does get a little hazy. It makes it a little harder to hear Silver."

  Loki had a frown at that, muzzle curled into a small frown.

  From what Silver had told him, Nurse Joy had confirmed that Oberon here had been experimented on but the specifics weren't known. His trainer had nearly become violent when they recommended running further tests on the Teddiursa.

  "If you feel anything weird, let me know alright?" Loki asked.

  "Okay!" Oberon nodded eagerly.

  The Zoroark smiled at him.

  It was his job to make sure nothing amiss was going on with his team. He could understand them perfectly unlike Silver so he'd help their trainer out.

  "Ares and Freyja... you two should stop arguing soon," Loki suggested.

  The two glanced over at him, annoyance deep on their feature before they froze at the sight of two chilly orbs of silver glaring at them.

  "Y-You have a point," Freyja stammered nervously.

  "...I will listen this time," Ares muttered.

  Loki smiled. "Smart."

  You: "Why did you pick such a weird pokemon to give out? This seems too specific and odd."

  It took around 20 minutes for me to get a response but I didn't really care, just continuing north through the forest with my group.

  Charcadet eagerly drank in the world around him on my left shoulder... and Oberon sat happily on my right.

  It looked like he could choose when to ignite his body and after explaining to him, that I in fact did not like getting burned by him, he glumly apologized and remained mostly deactivated.

  I fished out my Pokegear and checked the message with a frown.

  I didn't wanna be messaging this guy but he was the only one with answers about Charcadet so I kinda had no choice.

  Flying Master: "Considering you're texting me of your own volition… I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're still upset but need answers on the egg?"

  You: "I didn't ask you to try and pry into how I'm feeling. You're the one who greenlighted the egg so I need info on why. I have no reason to message you otherwise."

  Flying Master: "Ouch."

  You: "Why did you select this pokemon? Not only is it from a far off region, it evolves with weird methods. How exactly am I ever supposed to evolve this thing into either of its forms?"

  Lance replied much faster this time. Seems whatever business he had been dealing with, was wrapped up for now.

  Flying Master: "The original prize for the lower level was an Eevee so that they could have multiple choices. Not every trainer will be happy with what hatches out of the egg so we wanted a choice that most people would be satisfied with."

  You: "So basically you wanted a popular and cool pokemon."

  Flying Master: "Yeah exactly. We do not condone treating pokemon poorly but at the same time, we aren't going to give a... less than popular pokemon and invite that misuse onto it. It would be incompetent of us to give out an unpopular pokemon. It's better for the trainers who truly want those pokemon, to go out and catch them."

  That made sense. It would be stupid to give a pokemon out like Trubbish. Not a large niche of people liked it and more power to the people who did, but it wouldn't be fair for the egg to hatch to a trainer that didn't really want it at all.

  Naturally, I'm not like most of the other scrubs who would do something like mistreat a hatched pokemon but it's not like I was destined to win this tournament. No one was like me so no one would act like I did.

  But I wouldn't deny that it was a surprisingly intelligent move to give out a popular pokemon. I guess in Paldea, Charcadet was quite popular.

  But for what reason did he pick Paldea? There were a lot of other regions too.

  As I was replying to Lance's message, I paused as he sent another one.

  Flying Master: "The S.S Anne was supposed to be a momentous event and I wanted the eggs to represent that. Giving out an Eevee seemed a little… expected but I just so happened to be speaking to a friend of mine from the Paldea region and she agreed with my sentiments. So, she gave me two eggs and I decided to throw in one of my own too."

  A girl from Paldea? I wouldn't even have thought Lance had communicated with anyone from that region. It was very far from Kanto.

  Flying Master: "Not many lower level trainers have a ghost or psychic so I figured a Charcadet would be great for filling in that slot. I gave the middle group a pokemon called Jangmo-o and finally the highest group got the other egg of a pokemon called Frigibax. The last two are formidable dragons and I didn't think any lower levelled trainer should be given a dragon to raise."

  I suppose that made sense.

  I knew what a Jangmo-o was vaguely. It was the pseudo legend of the Alola region. Considering it was only the middle group prize, Frigibax must have been quite the prize to get in comparison.

  As I searched up the final pokemon, Lance sent me a message... but I ignored it for the time being.

  Frigibax was a dragon and ice type pokemon that evolved twice. It's evolutions were called Arctibax and Baxcalibur respectively.

  Considering it's final evolution, Baxcalibur, looked like a beast of a pokemon, I'd go out on a limb and say this was a pseudo legendary. It would make sense if it were the 8 badge prize. Pseudo legendaries wasn't an official term coined in this world so I was really the only one to use it, but that didn't change the fact that they were spoken about more than other pokemon.

  They might not have had the title "Pseudo Legend" but they certainly still had the reputation of ones. Every pseudo was an apex predator of its region. Even the adorable and friendly Goodra, was viewed as an unstoppable threat.

  Done inspecting the pokemon, I went back to my messages and read what Lance sent.

  Flying Master: "Charcadet evolves with an item called the Auspicious Armor or the Malicious Armor. You were going to get it shipped but due to the sinking of the S.S Anne… things happened and it was lost in the wreckage. Don't worry though, I'll secure a new set soon… I know you hate my guts right now but I'll probably have to give them to you."

  You: "Nah no thanks. I don't wanna see you. Let Lorelei deal with it since she'll probably take any excuse to visit me anyways."

  I didn't care if I was being petty. He got me once, so I'd make sure he never got me again.

  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? Well then I'd have to turn homicidal.

  I'd cut Lorelei off too if she told him anything about me and she understood well.

  My aunt hadn't been at all confused when I told her that... almost like she expected it.

  Flying Master: "Alright. Whatever you say. I'm sure Lorelei would love that."

  I could practically feel Lance's sigh through the message but ignored it, pocketing my gear with a scowl.

  "You okay?" Green whispered, gazing at Janine's back. She was further ahead, guiding us through the forest as usual, while her Ariados skittered through the trees next to her.

  "I'm fine," I grunted. "Just figuring out more about Charcadet from the Champion."

  She looked surprised by that. "Lance? You're talking to him? I thought you were mad at him?"

  I frowned. She could tell?

  "Of course I could! You're my friend Silvy," Green said in hushed disbelief. "You get upset whenever he's mentioned."

  I twitched at that and glared at her.

  Green held her hand up in surrender. "I didn't mean anything by it. The sadness is hidden by all the anger but you're always angry so it was easier to spot."

  I scoffed. "Whatever. Let's keep going."

  Sadness? Me?

  Ridiculous… is what I'd say if I wanted to lie to myself, but Green's words bugged me something fierce.

  Sadness.

  "Why do you think I was sad?" I asked her with a frown.

  Green put a finger to her chin and contemplated the question.

  "Well… maybe sad isn't the right word to use here because I've never actually seen you sad. I think you're just disappointed that Lance had ulterior motives... which by the way I'm pissed about too! No one gets to mess with you like that," she explained.

  ...That sounded pretty accurate. Knowing that the reason he chose to travel with us, was to fulfill whatever agenda he had… it sucked.

  Ah I get it now.

  I sighed. "He disappointed me like every other adult in my life," I muttered bitterly.

  Everyone was interested in me for their own agenda. That's all there was to it. Finding out that someone I thought was cool, was the exact same, was shitty.

  How rotten. Just another reminder that I was so unnatural, even the champion of the region wanted something from me.

  …

  "Thanks for not using me for your own motives, Leaf," I said quietly.

  I should thank Jasmine as well. Those two were just my friends. There was nothing else behind it. Just two friends that wanted to help me out.

  Green frowned sadly and abruptly pulled me into a deep hug.

  "It's okay, Silvy. I won't ever use you like that," she said firmly. "To me, you're just my violent friend who needs a little help."

  What a bright personality my companion was. It was easy to see why most people we met were taken by Green's sunny personality.

  "Are you two okay? What's the matter?" Janine asked, turning towards us with a look of slight concern.

  "Nothing!" Green beamed, squeezing me tightly. "I just got hug happy again and Silvy is my favorite person to squeeze because he hates it!"

  I scoffed, shaking my head at how easily she came up with that response.

  "She is the bane of my existence," I said flatly, dragging her forward and snorting as Charcadet cheered and also hugged me. "She even haunts me in pokemon form."

  "Double the fun!" Green cheered.

  "Charcadet!" Charcadet cheered.

  I rolled my eyes.

  Ridiculous.

  Thank you all for the support shown! I really appreciate it. If you have any questions, I'll try and answer them to the best of my ability! If you want a higher chance of an answer (It's like 102%) just ask me on Discord :)!

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