[IC] Dreamers in Kalos 1x1x1

[Shadowcatcher]

Mai woke up earlier than usual on this day. Not because she slept early last night, or because she couldn't sleep for whatever reason. On this day, she woke early because it was the day she was going to get her very first pokemon! After waiting years and years, she would finally get the chance. Earlier that week she got a letter from Professor Sycamore that her and her two best friends Ken and Enyo were going to get a chance to go in their very own pokemon journey.

The catch was, they had to do a favor for the professor. They just didn't know what it was yet.

Mai got up out of bed faster than she ever had. She dressed up, ate, and flew out of her house towards the entrance to Vaniville Town. It was here that she would wait for her two friends who were likely sleeping in on this important day. Mai decided she would scold them if she didn't see them coming soon.

[Stranger]

Ken sighed contentedly, still sound asleep in his bed. In his mind, he was dreaming eagerly of his coming adventures. He and a team of incredible Pokemon were battling their way through the Pokemon League, Enyo and Mai cheering for him from the background. He turned to give them a thumbs up, when suddenly the entire floor turned upside down, sending Ken hurtling through darkness.

"Dah!" Ken exclaimed as his head hit the hardwood floor of his bedroom. Apparently, he had turned around so hard he had actually fallen out of bed. He lay there for a moment, most of his body hidden under the sheets around him, as he tried to remember where he was. This was his room. The time was... yes, it was about 7:30. But there was something else, something important that he needed to remember about today...

"My Pokemon!" he exclaimed again as he scrambled out of the bedsheets. Today was the day he and his friends were getting their first Pokemon, and if he didn't hurry, he'd be running late!

"Ken Nakame, you quit that yelling right now!" came a voice from downstairs.

"Sorry, Mom..." Ken replied. Shaking the sleep out of his eyes, Ken grabbed his shirt and jacket, jumped into his shoes, and raced out the door, slamming it behind him in his hurry. About five seconds later, he threw it back open and dove towards his bed again. He landed just short of the edge and slid his hand underneath, reaching for the old katana he kept underneath it. It was a family heirloom, though he was the only one in the family who actually used it. Sliding it onto his back, he again dashed out his bedroom door, grabbed the breakfast his mother had made for him, and after a quick farewell, he was on his way to Vaniville Town, images of his future Pokemon still dancing through his head.

[Something123]

Enyo was not sleeping in. In fact, he had woken up early, and began to cook breakfast. As he finished the meal he had cooked himself, he realized that he was late for a rather important date: he was meant to obtain his first Pokémon today, so he could begin his quest with his best friends. Sighing, he noticed that he’d be late… That meant he’d probably get an earful from Mai. He stood up and grabbed his backpack, leaving the small house he lived in alone. He took a deep breath of the clean air and started the slow jog toward Vaniville town.

Curiously, he wondered what the task the Professor would have for them would be. Whatever it was, he knew they would complete it in order to get the Pokémon offered to them. Enyo already had it in mind which one he wanted, and he hoped that Professor Sycamore would have one. He simply wanted a Chespin.

Peering down the path to Vaniville town, Enyo groaned as he realized that he was, in fact, behind his friends. That meant for sure that he would hear it when he arrived late. And, from what he could see, both of his friends were running! Or, at the very least, they were moving faster than he was. Sighing, he sped his pace up to a slow job. He would still likely be the last one there, but at least this way he wouldn’t make them wait too long.

[Shadowcatcher]

Mai heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Ken and Enyo coming her way. Raising her arm to wave at them, she said "Hey guys! You're right on time! We need to meet the Professor in Aquacorde town. Its just a quick walk from here." She waited until they reached her before she turned and pushed the large door open to leave Vaniville. She stepped through and started walking leisurely, hands raised behind her head. "Can you guys believe it! Really? We're gonna be trainers in a matter of minutes!" She squealed while doing a little spin.

When they entered Aquacorde, she looked around for sight of the Professor and she saw him sitting at a table to the left of town. Leading the way, Mai ran over and said hello.

"Hey there! Are you the Professor?"

"I certainly am! And you three must be the kids I sent those letters to." He said waving to them.

"Thats right. I'm Mai. This is Enyo, and this is Ken." She said pointing to them.

"Wonderful, why dont you three have a seat?" He said, gesturing to the open chairs. He waited until they were all seated before he pulled out a container from his bag. "Lets get right to it then. I sent you three letters because I need some new trainers to help me out with something. The Pokedex." Reaching into his bag again, he took out three of the litte devices and hand them each one. "That records information on pokemon. I need you three to help me record all the pokemon in this region, and to do that, you need your own pokemon to help you on your way." He pushed the bittkn on the container and it opened up, revealing three pokeballs. "There are three pokemon in here. Chespin on the left, Froakie on the right, and in the middle would have been a Fenniken but one of my scientists needed a fire type to study. Instead there is a Chimchar. That is a fire type pokemon as well. So, you guys get to take your pick. Ladies first as usual." He said with a smile.

Mai pondered which one to pick for a moment before reaching out and taking the one in the middle. "I'll go with Chimchar. Sounds really cute." She said, holding the ball in her hands and looking at it with awe.

"Wonderful choice! I advise you to nickname your pokemon as well to make it more unique. Well, whos next?" He asked, looking at the two boys.

[Stranger]

Ken walked a few paces behind Mai, arms folded but a smile on his face. "Can you guys believe it! Really? We're gonna be trainers in a matter of minutes!" Mai squealed and did a little spin. Clearly, she was very excited. Though Ken didn't say anything, the glimmer in his eyes readily displayed his eagerness. My own Pokemon... Ken thought to himself. His grin grew ever wider as he envisioned his ultimate team. But what is my ultimate team? Well, obviously I need a Fighting type somewhere along the way. Ooh, maybe when it grew strong enough, we could spar with each other! A Ghost or Dark type would also be interesting. I know I've never seen one before, but I also know Pokemon like that are capable of some really cool-looking attacks. Hmm, but I'll also need something for defense. Maybe a Ground type. Or a Steel type! Oh, also, a Flying type would-

Ken was thinking so hard about his ultimate team that he didn't notice the lamppost in front of him. WHAM! He walked face-first into it and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Mai seemed too excited to notice; he knew she'd probably have laughed about it all the way to Aquecorde. Ken looked up at Enyo and grinned an embarrassed grin. He'd have to be a lot more careful than that once he got his Pokemon.

As the group finally arrived at Aquecorde, Mai suddenly raced toward a man sitting at a table. "Guess that's him," Ken said, and jogged up behind her. He'd never actually seen the Professor before, so he hoped Mai had the right guy.

"Hey there! Are you the Professor?" Mai asked him.

"I certainly am! And you three must be the kids I sent those letters to." He smiled and waved at them in a friendly manner.

"That's right. I'm Mai. This is Enyo, and this is Ken." Mai pointed to each of them in turn. Ken nodded and said "Hello."

"Wonderful, why don't you three have a seat?" The Professor motioned to the other chairs at the table. As the three of them sat down, he continued. "Lets get right to it then. I sent you three letters because I need some new trainers to help me out with something. The Pokedex." He reached into his bag and pulled out three small devices, handing one to each of the kids. "That records information on Pokemon. I need you three to help me record all the Pokemon in this region, and to do that, you need your own Pokemon to help you on your way." He pushed the button on the container he had on the table. It opened with a "click", revealing three Pokeballs. "There are three Pokemon in here. Chespin on the left, Froakie on the right, and in the middle would have been a Fennekin but one of my scientists needed a Fire type to study. Instead there is a Chimchar. That is a Fire type Pokemon as well. So, you guys get to take your pick. Ladies first as usual."

Mai, after some deliberation, decided to go with Chimchar. "Wonderful choice!" said the Professor. "I advise you to nickname your Pokemon as well to make it more unique. Well, who's next?"

Ken stared at the two Pokeballs in front of him. Out of nowhere, it had dawned on him: this was it. This was the first moment of his journey. From here on out, Ken was going to be a real Pokemon Trainer. With a gulp, he reached out his hand to grasp his Pokeball. His hand gravitated to the right, towards Froakie. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt right, like Froakie was calling to him. He grabbed the Pokeball, and without even waiting for a response from the Professor, he pressed the button and opened it. Sure enough, a bright white light came shining out of the Pokeball and onto the table. After a moment, a Froakie stood where the light had been, staring curiously at its surroundings.

"Ah, excellent choice!" the Professor said. "I think the two of you will be a really great team."

Froakie turned to look at its new trainer, its eyes studying Ken's face curiously. "Froakie," Ken said, his voice suddenly sounding very serious. "I know we've just met, and I know this may sound strange, but here and now, I swear to you..." Ken raised his fist toward his new Pokemon. "I swear, that no matter what the odds against us, you and I will one day become the greatest Pokemon and Trainer around. We'll form an invincible team, challenging anyone to test our strength. We'll survive, no matter how hard things attack us. We'll stand together, and together, we'll become the strongest that anyone has ever seen." Froakie stared for only a moment, then smiled and met Ken's fist with its own. The two of them made a promise, right then and there, to become the ultimate Champions.

"Hmm, how moving," the Professor said, smiling and nodding. Ken jumped, suddenly realizing that the other three were staring at him. He grinned, once again embarrassed by his loss of focus. Froakie even chuckled at him a bit. "Now then! I believe we still have one more Pokemon to be chosen. Enyo, was it?" The Professor motioned to the Pokeball that was still inside the case. "I believe it's your turn." Ken turned to watch as Enyo received his own Pokemon.

[Something123]

Enyo just shook his head when Ken ran into the pole and helped his friend back to his feet. “Easy buddy, we’re not in that big of a rush.[/i]”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Enyo said in greeting to the professor before sat down at the table, as requested, before he watched as his friends got their Pokémon, happy that they were finally about to start their journey. It had seemed a long time; especially for him, but he hadn’t wanted to go without his friends. ANd now they were all leaving, as one group. He was excited!

A simple choice, really. Enyo didn’t quite understand why he had to go last, but it was okay. Neither of his friends had selected the Pokémon that he wanted, so he grabbed its Pokéball from the container and smiled at the Professor. “Thank you.” He said politely. He rolled the ball around in his hands and smiled. Finally, he had the Pokémon he wanted! He watched as Ken and his Froakie talked, then briefly considered doing something similar, but shook his head. He had no time for spiels! At least, not yet.

Enyo hooked the Pokéball onto his belt and then looked over at the Professor, giving him a smile and a nod. “So, Professor! The Pokedex, right? That’s what you want us to do. Well, how do we do that, exactly? I’m sure, that whatever it takes, we can probably handle it.” He looked over at his friends, wanting them to back him up while he played up their competence to the Pokémon Professor. He then looked down at the device in his hands, flipping it over, getting a feel for it. “We just go around, and capture everything we see, right? That’s it.” A nod from the Professor.

“Oh, that’s easy. We’ll be done with that by the end of the month. Thought you might have a challenge for us…” He shook his head, then looked over at his friends. He was ready to get going, now that he had played them up, it suddenly became that much more important to him that he work through the Pokedex as fast as possible. “Lets get going, guys. Got plenty of things to do and see now! Unless you have anything else you need to talk to us about?” He asked, glancing over at the Professor again.

[Shadowcatcher]

Mai looked at the litte Froakie and smiled. "Ohhh hey there Froakie. Your so cute." she said, clutching her own pokeball. She wondered what her pokemon would look like, and though she was eager to see, she wanted to wait until the perfect moment. Laughing when the professor raised his brow at Enyos words, she looked at him and waited for him to say anything else he needed to.

"I do have a few more things to say. First, here is a map. You guys will need one. Unfortunately I only have one, so you three might need to stick together." he said, handing it to Mai.

"Oh, im not too good with maps." she said before handing it to Ken. "Its better off with one of them."

"Alrighty then, one more thing to say." he paused dramaticly. "Have FUN! Go out there and be the best trainers you can be. Dont let anyone get in the way of your dreams, got it."

Mai nodded excitedly as he said it and she suddenly felt so pumped and ready to go. Jumping up, Mai threw her hands in the air and said "Well, if thats all then lets go!" The professor laughed and nodded. "Good luck to all of you. Visit my lab in Lumoise city when you have time. I'll take a look at your pokedex." he said, standing as well. "Bye now." he said, turning and walking towards Vaniville. She wondered for a moment what he would be doing, but soon her thoughts were redirected to Ken and Enyo.

"Guys, lets all look at our pokemon now and let them meet eachother." she said excitedly. She was eager to see what a Chimchar looked like. Taking out her pokedex, Mai added, "And we can get our first pokedex entries, see how it works." Taking the pokeball and pushing the button, Mai waited and jumped in surprise when a bright light came out of it. On the table next to Ken's Froakie sat a reddish brown monkey looking pokemon. It had a cute little flame tail.

"Chimchar?" it said, looking around. Its eyes landed on Mai and she waved.

"Hey there Chimchar, nice to meet you. Im your new trainer, Mai." she said, picking him up. He gladly wiggled free of her grasp and hung onto her outstretched arm.

[Stranger]

Ken smiled as Mai and Chimchar met. He wondered what Enyo's Chespin might have looked like, but right now, he wasn't too concerned. Another thought had begun forming in his mind. He had promised Froakie that they would be the greatest trainers in history, and every great trainer had to start from somewhere. And when he really paused to think about it, was there really any better place than here?

"Mai." A quick glance at Froakie told him they were both thinking the exact same thing. Ken smiled, then turned and looked at Mai again. "You know what we have to do now, yes?" Froakie hopped down off the table to stand in front of Ken. Ken, meanwhile, raised his hand and pointed straight at Mai.

"Mai, I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

[Shadowcatcher]

Mai looked a little surprised at first, but then she nodded. "Alright, i accept your challenge." she said as Chimchar hopped off her arm and stood between her and Kan's Froakie. Pulling out her pokedex, she registered Froakie first. Her eyes lit up with wonder as it spoke in a robotic voice.

"Froakie. The bubble frog pokemon. It secretes flexible bubbles from its chest and back. The bubbles reduce the damage it would otherwise take when attacked. Beneath its happy-go-lucky air, it keeps a watchful eye on its surroundings." well, that was cool. It showed that it was a water type pokemon too. That would be hard against Chimchar who was fire type. Mai moved the device to Chimchar to register him next.

"Chimchar. The fire chimp pokemon. Its fiery rear end is fueled by gas made in its belly. Even rain can’t extinguish the fire.It is very agile. Before going to sleep, it extinguishes the flame on its tail to prevent fires.The fire burns weakly when it feels sick." Since Chimchar was Mai's pokemon, the pokedex registered him with his moves too. Scratch and Leer.

"Okay, im ready for battle." she said to Ken with a big smile.

[Stranger]

Taking the hint from Mai, Ken whipped out his own Pokedex and added Chimchar and Froakie. He then took a moment to review Froakie's moveset. "Hmm... Pound and Growl, huh? It's not much, but we'll make it work." With that, he snapped his Pokedex shut. "Alright, here we go!" With that, Froakie and Chimchar leapt into battle!

[Shadowcatcher]

POKEMON BATTLE COLLABS

1. Ken vs Mai

Mai clenched her fists and looked at Chimchar. "Okay buddy. This is our first battle, but lets make it a win for us. Use scratch now!" she said.

"Chimchar!" he squealed happily before running towards Ken's Froakie, his hand raised and ready to strike.

Of what admittedly little studying Ken had done, he knew Froakie was speedy and agile. He decided to go with that as his strategy. "Froakie, dodge and use Growl!" Froakie was just able to evade Chimchar's claws with a quick hop back. He then let out a vicious croaking sound, hoping to unnerve his opponent.

Chimchar's attack missed, and he stopped to look around.

"Behind you Chimchar!" Mai managed to say before Froakie let out an odd noise. Mai didn't know that it was going to reduce the damage of Chimchar's attack, and when her pokemon looked a little shaken, she called to him again.

"C'mon Chimchar, focus. Use leer and then scratch again." she said.

"Char!" he said before locking eyes with Froakie and sending a death glare its way.

"Don't think we'll let you get away with that so easily! Froakie, use Pound, quick!" Froakie leapt at Chimchar, and though the Leer seemed to pierce right through him (and leave him a bit unnerved himself), it could not stop Froakie's Pound, which was headed right for Chimchar's head.

Mai saw the move coming and she wanted to yell for him to move, but he was already preparing to use his scratch. Chimchar ran towards Froakie, swinging his hand just as the two ran into eachother painfully. Mai cringed as both of them looked hurt. "You two can do it!" she said cheering for both of them. It was obvious they were trying their best. "Get up Chimchar and get some distance between you two." With a nod, her pokemon slowly got up and took a few wobbly steps away.

"Come on, Froakie, shake it off!" Ken yelled. Froakie seemed a bit wobbly from the attack, but he managed to snap out of it. "Alright!" Chimchar slowly started backing away, but Ken figured the trick was to keep on top of your opponent. "Froakie, don't let Chimchar get away! Give chase and use Pound again!"

"Fro!" came the reply as Froakie once again leapt after Chimchar. This would be a gamble; if Froakie was indeed faster than Chimchar, he might get first attack. If he wasn't, however, this would leave him wide open to Chimchar's possible counter-attack.

Mai watched with a worried look as Froakie ran at Chimchar fast. By the way he was limping slightly, she knew there was no chance he would avoid it. Froakie's pound hit Chimchar square in the face, and he flew back a few feet. Before she knew she was running, Mai was already over there, making sure Chimchar was okay. Kneeling down next to him, she saw his red face and the dizzy look in his eyes. He was out cold. Sighing softly, releaved he wasent dead at least, she took her pokemon into her arms and looked at Ken.

"You won this time." she smiled and patted Froakies head.

Ken jumped in place and let out a cheer. "Woo hoo! We did it, Froakie! Victory number one!" he shouted. Froakie happily accepted Mai's pat on the head, then raced over to his trainer. With a leap in the air, the two met with a victorious high-five. "Hey, you were great, Mai. Thanks for indulging me in a battle."

"No problem. ...Should we go to the pokemon center?" she asked, looking at her Chimchar. She was sad she lost but she knew her and Chimchar would eventually learn to fight better. "I think im gonna be cliche and name him Blaze." she said suddenly.

Ken grinned. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a good cliche. And it's a good name for a Pokemon like Chimchar. C'mon, Froakie could use a little R&R himself. You coming too, Enyo?" he asked, glancing over at their friend.

Mai looked at Enyo too who nodded. He looked excited about the match and said. "That was so great you two." he stepped over to them. "I'm really excited to catch some new pokemon. Why dont we meet in Santalune, because i cant wait anymore!"

Mai laughed softly and nodded. Classic Enyo. He was more into being a friend to pokemon than he was battling, but there was nothing wrong with that. "Okay, we'll meet up in a bit. Be careful, ok?" she said before turning and walking towards the center of Aquacord Town.

"Don't get lost on the way," Ken said as Enyo turned to leave. "And save some Pokemon for us to catch, too." He grinned as he headed after Mai into the Pokemon Center.

Mai looked around the pokemon center when they went inside and marched right up to the nurse. "Help meeeeeee." she whined, handing her the limp Chimchar.

Ken grinned and placed his Froakie on the counter as well.

Nurse Joy looked a little surprised before smiling. "Welcome. I'll heal your pokemon right away. May i see your pokeballs please?" Mai nodded, handing it to her and the nurse returned Chimchar to his ball before placing it on a weird looking machine. Then her hand was held out towards Ken for his ball.

Ken quickly pulled out his Pokeball and returned Froakie to it. "Sorry, buddy. It's only for a bit, though." He kind of liked having Froakie out and around with him instead of in a ball all the time, but he graciously handed it over to the nurse.

"Thank you." she said before returning Froakie to his ball and placing it on the machine too. With a push of a button it turned on and made a soft sound for a few moments before becoming silent again. Mai blinked.

It was that fast?" she thought as her ball was handed back to her.

"Thank you for visiting." the nurse bowed. "We hope to see you again."

"Thank you ma'am. Bye bye." Mai said happily. That was way cool.

Ken took his Pokeball back from the nurse and opened it back up. In a moment, there was Froakie, looking as happy and healthy as ever. "C'mon, buddy," Ken said, scooping Froakie up in his arms and sticking him on his shoulder. "We've got a long road ahead of us."

"Froakie!" came the reply, as his new partner instead hopped up on his head. Ken smiled, and the two of them headed off.

---

Mai watched Ken leave and she too let Chimchar out of his ball. He looked nice and healthy.

"Hey buddy. Nice work you did in battle." she said smiling and reaching out her arm. He jumped up and perched on her head to which she laughed. "Dont fry my hair please." she said walking to the exit. "Oh, and I decided to name you Blaze. Is that okay?"

"Char!" he said happily, bouncing slightly. When they passed a sign for the item shop, Mai paused and went inside.

"Welcome. What can i get for you today?"

"Um...what do you have?"

"You have any gym badges."

Mai shakes her head. "None yet."

"Well then, you can buy potions and antidotes to help you through Santalune Forest. After you beat the gym there you can buy more stuff."

Potions? That was probably important to have. "Okay, i'll take 15 of each please." she said. After paying and getting the items, she left and headed off to the forest. When she met up with Enyo and Ken, she would give them five potions and antidotes each.

[Something123]

Santalune forest. A nice place, filled with Pokémon that he could battle and capture… Unfortunately, Enyo was struggling to find anything worth capturing; he’d fought off a few Scatterbugs and Caterpies with the help of his Chespin: Lancelot. The battles had been fun, and he felt like they were getting it down, but still… He wanted to capture something else before the gym in Santalune city.

In particular, he wanted a Fletchling, but he was finding that the things were incredibly rare… He looked down at Lancelot and patted the Grass Pokémon on the head. He knew that they’d find one eventually, but it was taking soooo long. It’d been at least an hour, hour and a half since he’d left his friends behind. “Well, buddy.” He said, smiling down at the Grass Type Pokémon by his side. “This almost feels like it’s for nothin’ but lets keep at it.”

Almost as if on cue, a Fletchling tore onto the scene and he grinned. “Alright, sweet. Finally… Well, don't just stand there, Lancelot! Lets catch the guy!" He pointed at the Fletchling that was on the floor in front of them and his Chespin charged with a might Tackle attack.

He met the unsuspecting bird headon, tackling it to the ground, and the fight was on. The bird Pokémon quickly dashed away from the Grass Type and then whooshed at it, trying to peck at it with its beak. “Dodge it!” Enyo encouraged his Chespin, who narrowly--but effectively, dove out of the way of the now angry Fletchling. “Alright, Lancelot! One more Tackle attack, then that bird is mine.”

Lancelot nodded his agreement and lowered his head. He charged mightily and leaped into the air, slamming into the side of the fiery bird in the air. They both came crashing down to the ground, the bird weakened. Lancelot, too, was injured; but not as badly. Enyo reache dinto his pocket and withdrew one of his spare Pokéballs and clicked it to enlarge it.

“Here we go,” he muttered, then tossed the ball at the bird.

It soared through the air and with a flash of redlight it absorbed the Fletchling into its potential new home.

The ball wiggled once, twice. Enyo bit his lip, hoping that he’d capture the Pokémon so he could begin to train it as well.

Another wiggle.

And finally…

Click!

“Awesome! Got it.” He grinned at his Chespin and ran over to the Pokéball on the ground, picking it up and hooking it on his belt. “Sweet, man! Got another one!” He kneeled down beside his Pokémon companion and held out his hand for a high five.

The Chespin grinned widely as it slapped its human Trainer’s hand, overjoyed at how successful the battle had been.

[Stranger]

Ken sat against a tree, taking a moment to rest after having come so far. He and Froakie had been training throughout the forest, slowly but steadily making their way toward Santalune. They'd had a good run so far: Froakie could now use Bubble and Quick Attack. Unfortunately, they'd also exhausted nearly all of the Potions and Antidotes that Mai had given them. Ken chuckled at the memory. He and Froakie had gone straight for the forest, excited to catch new Pokemon. It wasn't until they had arrived at the entrance that Ken realized that he actually had no Pokeballs. He had raced back to the item shop, and Mai met him along the way. Sadly, according to her, there hadn't been any Pokeballs available for beginning Trainers. Mai had considered travelling together, but Ken had wanted to go at his own pace, so they agreed to split up and meet in the city. So, for the past hour, it had just been him and Froakie, who was currently squatting beside him peacefully.

"Hard to believe it's really happening, huh, Froakie?"

"Fro?" Froakie asked, his head cocked slightly.

"You and me," Ken explained. "It wasn't two hours ago that I was on my way to Aquecorde with Enyo and Mai. Now I'm here with my own Poké-Partner. And we're just sitting here in Santalune Forest, slowly making our way to becoming the very best out there."

"Fro..."

Ken smiled and closed his eyes. There was a nice breeze coming between the trees. He took a moment to appreciate the sheer natural beauty of the place he was in, then pushed himself up to his feet. "Well, nobody ever became the best by sitting against a tree all day. Let's go, Froakie! The others are probably already waiting for us."

"Fro!" Froakie answered. He hopped alongside Ken at a leisurely pace, keeping a sharp eye on the area around them. Ken kept his vigil as well. "Besides, we still have two of those Potions left," he told Froakie, "so I don't see anything wrong with getting a little extra training in along the way. Do you?"

"Fro!" Froakie said, clearly ready for training. He and Ken were a lot alike: both were young, but both were driven and determined. We make a great team, Ken thought. Together, they made their way to the rear of the forest, taking on any wild Pokemon that came their way.

"But I really wish I had some Pokeballs..." he sighed defeatedly.

"Frooo..." came Froakie's reply.

[Shadowcatcher]

Mai and Chimchar had torn through Santalune like nobody's buisness. After learning Ember, Blaze had taken the advantage in every fight after that, and after an hour of non stop battling, Mai decided it was okay to cool off and just explore the forest. Occasionally she'd get a glimpse of Enyo or Ken's hair and tried calling out, inly for a wild pokemon to jump out at them.

"We make a good team Blaze."

"'CHAR!" he yelled excitedly to which Mai laughed. Her foot tapped something as she walked and looked downto see it was a pokeball and a potion someone had dropped. "Aw sweet!" She said, picking them up and continuing her way through the forest. "Ooh I see the exit over there!" She pointed to light coming from a few yards away. As she made her way towards it, Blaze perched on her shoulder, she spotted Ken.

"Yo! Ken! Catch!" She tossed the empty pokeball at him, figuring she didnt need it anyway. "Im gonna go ahead to the city!" She yelled, considerig there were a few bushes between them. Turning and dashing off, she finally reached the next route.

"Hey you! Battle me!" A little boy said, and wih that she was launched into her second ever trainer battle.

[Stranger]

"Yo! Ken! Catch!"

"Huh?" Ken turned just in time to see Mai toss a Pokeball to him. He managed to catch it. "I'm gonna go ahead to the city!" Mai hollered. Ken waved back to show that he had heard her, then turned to look down at Froakie.

"Guess we'd better head that way too, buddy," he said.

"Fro."

"After all, the Pokemon around here aren't much of a challenge anymore. We're probably not gonna get any decent training even if we stay here."

"Fro."

"...You don't talk much, do you?"

"Fro." Froakie looked at Ken, then smiled. Ken smiled back. "You mischievous little..." They both laughed and made their way out of the forest. Despite now having a Pokeball, Ken elected not to catch any Pokemon just yet. He wanted his team to be special; a team of Pokemon that really stood out from others. After a brief bit of walking (and a few quick battles with wild Pokemon which, as Ken predicted, had very little impact anymore), the two of them arrived in Santalune. Up ahead, they could see Mai and Enyo already waiting for them, so Ken trotted over.

"Hey, we're here. How'd it go for you two?"