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Chapter 8: Fishing Ties

When we last left our Heroes, John Russi, the Ace Trainer, and Aya Williams, the Hobbyist Trainer, the pair encountered two teenage Trainers who challenged them to a Pokémon battle, using dirty tactics to win by directly attacking our Heroes' Pokémon or John and Aya themselves.

The pair, however, received some help in the form of the male Pichu that John had saved from Dizzy's old hive. After beating the bullies in their own game and earning a few Poke, Aye caught the Pichu, now named Jason, and Monarch evolved into his final evolutionary stage.

After spending a night at the Pokémon Center at the base of the mountain, recovering and filling up their bellies, John and Aya begin to hike up Mount Moon to locate and stop the seemingly unstoppable Machoke. While following some clues, the pair finds a cave hidden behind some foliage to discover not the Machoke they were looking for, but a group of criminals known only as Team Rocket.

Upon discovering their illegal fossil mining site to pouch Pokémon fossils, John and Aya had no choice but to battle the Grunts to defend themselves and their Pokémon.

Soon joining the battle is the Lucario Ace, who is a part of a nearby TPRG raid.

While John and Aya fought hard to defeat the grunts, Ace easily dispatched a couple of grunts and their Pokémon. With the villains defeated, Dizzy, Sparks, and Jason evolving, John and Aya encounter Ace's Trainer, a young woman named Ashley Russi, who somehow knows John.

What does this mean to the Ace Trainer? How are the two of them connected? That is what John and Aya are about to learn.

John is now outside of the cave, watching as officers of TPRG and Interpol carry out the grunts in handcuffs while their commander is hauled away in a black body bag. He never got to see the end result of Ashley shooting the man before the commander got a chance to shoot his gun. However, it still gives John a cold shiver thinking about it that a man died by the end of the battle. His Pokémon, along with Aya's, have already been treated by a Plusle and Minon pair. Blaze, Dizzy, and Sparks got the worst of it and had to be bandaged up. John, as well as the Minon, known only as Julie, balances a cold pack on John's head while the Plusle known as Jamie treats John, covering the scrapes on his face with bandages and using ointment on John's split lip and covering it with liquid bandage.

The TPRG has set up a sort of camp base outside of the cave, as Ashley has Aya and Leo in a large tent, questioning her. While John could never leave his new best friend behind to handle TPRG on her own, Ashley still gave him a lawful order not to leave and stay where he is, for he is next to be interviewed by the young woman. John didn't have to wait long until Aya and Leo exited the tent.

“Are you okay?” John asked with worry as he stands up, with Jamie finishing up his first aid treatment while Julie reminds on John's shoulder. Keeping the cold back against the bump on John's head.

“Yeah, I'm okay, now. It was scary at first. Hearing that gunshot, and her and those men screaming at us back in the cave. But that Ashley person is a really nice lady. She asked me a few questions and gave me a nice drink and a snack,” said Aya. In her free hand is a bottle of red punch Ferali-aid. Before John could say anything else, Ashley calls out to him. “Alright, Hero, your turn. Get over here.”

“Whelp,... here I go,” John says as he walks over towards the interrogation tent, as John is now calling it in his mind.

“How is he looking, Julie?” Ashley asks the Minon. Julie, in return, gave out a few squeaks before lifting the cold pack off John's head as Ashley leans forward to look.

“That's a pretty good bump there, kid, but it should go down overnight. Come on in, we've got one of those foldable chairs in here. So you don't have to sit on a rock or a itchy log,” Ashley says while gently ushering John into the tent. Julie, agreeing with Ashley's assessment of John's condition, jumps off the boy's shoulder and rejoins her medical team mate.

Inside, John sees a folding table and two camping chairs set up, along with a cooler in the corner. Ace, the Lucario that John met at the end of the battle, is standing to one side of the tent, standing at attention.

“Do you want a cold drink, John? We got fruit punch, green apple, orange, white cherry, lemon lime, arctic blue?” Ashley says while walking over to the cooler.

“Um, I'll take an arctic blue,” John says. He is confuse though. How does she know his name? He didn't show her his Pokedex yet, which has his Trainer ID. Maybe Aya told her his name? Ashley proceeds to take out a bottle of the requested Ferali-aid and an energy bar, handing both to John before taking a seat on one side of the table.

“I bet you need these, after what happened in that cave. You can sit down if you like. I do have a few questions for you,” says Ashley as she takes out a notebook. “First off, what were you and your friend doing in that cave?”

“Well,... We were looking for a rumored rogue Pokémon that me and Aya met briefly before,” says John as he rips open the wrapper of the energy bar and takes a bite out of it once he sees that it is chocolate flavored.

“Why do you think that Pokémon was in that cave?” asked Ashley as she began to take down notes in the notebook.

“Because we found a trail leading up to that cave. We thought the Pokemon we were looking for made the trail,” John says before he eagerly scuffs down the snack.

“What made you believe that it was this rogue Pokémon that made this trail and not any other Pokémon or those Team Rocket Grunts?” asked Ashley. John took a second to answer as he cracked open his drink and took three gulps of the chilled, tangy sports drink.

“Because the Pokémon is not native to Mount Moon and we didn't know about these Rocket guys,” said John.

“What is this rogue Pokémon?” asked Ashley.

“It is an unstoppable Machoke,” John says.

“Hmm, I see. Well, nothing is unstoppable. If anything, this could be a high-level Machoke that a trainer released out here,” said Ashley as she seemed to flip over to a different page in her notebook before flipping back to where she was writing down her notes.

“Well, I never heard of Machoke, that is both fighting and ghost type,” says John as he takes another drink of Ferali-aid. Ashley stops and looks up at John. Ashley studies John's facial expression and even his aura. Not finding anything, Ashley turns to look at Ace, who simply nods at her, finding that John fully believes in what he says and that the young Trainer was not letting his imagination get to him.

“Are you sure?” Ashley asks, sounding more serious.

“I'm positive, I'm a bit of a PokeManiac, and I love Pokemon and read up a few things about Pokemon. A lot of things about that Machoke screamed Ghost-type, including Fighting-Type attacks not working on it, and it literally looks like a Frankenstein monster,” says John with confidence.

“Now hold up, what do you mean that this Machoke looked like a Frankenstein monster?” asked Ashley.

“Parts of its hide look off, like the skin was a different color. Plus, the stitches all over its body made it look like it was put together. It also didn't seem like it was all there in the first place,” said John. Ashley's brow wrinkles as she thinks over the information that John has told her.

“Before we continue on this Machoke, have you or your friend ever met any of those men in that cave?”

“No ma'am,” John answers.

“John, you don't have to call me Ma'am, Officer, or anything like that. You can call me, Ashley,” said Ashley. “Now, you swear you have no idea what is going on here on Mount Moon?”

“I swear, just the whole Machoke thing,” said John as he finished off his energy bar.

“I see,” Ashley says as she finishes writing in her notebook. Before she closes it and puts it away. “So, I know you have questions for me. I can see it in your eyes,”

“Yeah, do... Do I know you? I never met you, but you seem to act like we know each other and... you kinda seem familiar to me somehow,” said John.

At this moment, Ashley stares deep into John's green eyes with her own, one blue, one green, and smiles.

“What can you tell me about your family?” Ashley asks.

“My family?” John asks, feeling confuse on the whole thing. “Well, me and my mom are currently living in Pallet Town, but we moved here a few years ago from Unova.”

“And what about your Dad?” Ashley asked.

“He still lives in Unova as a Police officer. Him and my Mom are divorced,” answered John.

“Do you have any siblings, and why did your folks split up?” asked Ashley.

“As far as I can remember, . . . They just drifted apart, but they are still are on good terms. As for siblings, I don't have any.” John answers, still feeling confused.

“Figures...” Ashley says under her breath.

“Is something wrong?” asked John. With that, Ashley raises a hand to her head and gently rubs her brow briefly.

“No, but that is not the full story from what I can tell,” Ashley says as she sighs.

“What do you mean?” asked John.

“John, Mom may not have told you this, but you do have an older sister, me,” said Ashley.

“Wait, what?!” John says out loud, shocked, nearly yelling.

“Calm down, I know this is shocking to you, but it's the truth. Yeah, Mom and Dad may have drifted apart. I've seen it myself during the times I was home from my own Pokémon adventures. However, things came to a head back when I decided I wanted to join the Navy. Mom was completely against my choice, but Dad was in full support. It was the biggest argument I ever heard them had and they rarely fought like that, even small arguments over petty little things were far and few, I still feel like my wanting to join the Navy was the nail to agree to the divorce.”said Ashley.

“How come I don't remember any of that?!” asked John as he is still reeling in shock.

“That's because you were still a baby back then, you weren't even 2 years old yet when they filed the papers,” said Ashley.

“How did you recognize me as your brother?” John asked.

“Holiday photos. Mom still sends pictures of you growing up to Dad, and Dad sends them to me,” answered Ashley.

“Wait, if you join the Navy, then does that mean the Navy is here too?” John asked.

“No, I'm not in the Navy anymore. I served my tours and gained some skills during my time with them. Once I left the Navy, I still felt like I was needed to help protect the world. So with my skill set, I joined up with the TPRG,” said Ashley

“Why is the TPRG here?” asked John.

“Sorry, I can't tell you,” said Ashley.

“I can't believe I had a sister this whole time. Why didn't Mom tell me?” asked John.

“I can't be sure myself, John. We barely talked after I joined the Navy. The times when we did had any communication was to make sure I was safe, nothing more than that,” said Ashley.

“So. . .Where do we go from here?” John asked

“That's a good question. Take what we said however you want. Where we go from here is up to you, but know this. You're still my brother, and I will always be here for you. If you want nothing to do with me, then that's... That's fine, but I'll be more than happy if you decide you want to reconnect with me.” Ashley says as she gets up from her folded chair, walks around the table, and places a hand on John's shoulder.

John thought long and hard as his emotions start to catch up to him. It's still a shock to hear that he had a long-lost sister, one that his mother kept from him for his whole young life, and now here she is. John sets his drink and an empty wrapper on the table before he gets up and hugs Ashley. Surprising her with his tight embrace as a tear rolls down his face.

“I... I want to. I want to get to know my sister,” said John. Ashley just smiles and gives John a light hug and pats him on the back.

“I know you're feeling a little emotional right now, John, but I still have a few questions for you about what's going on here,” said Ashley as she gently removes herself from John's hug and pulls out her notepad again. “Did you see any camp sites on the way to this cave that might look like Team Rocket camps?”

“No, I didn't,” said John as he moves back to sit down on the chair.

“Are you sure? Like any number of camps?” asked Ashley.

“I'm sure,”said John.

“What were each Rocket grunt doing when you entered the cave?” asked Ashley.

“I don't know. Most of them were too far deep in the cave. Two of them just seem to be guards for the cave,” said John before he took another gulp of his drink.

“Do you know Doctor Fuji?” asked Ashley

“No, never heard of him,” John answered with all honesty.

“Have you heard any scientists, pokebiologists, engineers with the names Beau, Connor, Ed, Gideon, Jerry, Jose, Joshua, Parker, Rodney, Taylor, or Travis?” asked Ashley.

“Nope, never heard of any of them,” said John as Ashley flips to a different page on her notepod.

“How about Professor Sebastian, Doctor Namba, or even Doctor Zager?” asked Ashley

“No, I don't know them,” said John.

“Do the names Iron-Masked Marauder, Archer, Ariana, Petrel, Proton, Miyamoto, Attila, Butch, Carl, Black Tulip, Matori, Wendy, Cassidy, Jessie, Annie, Hun, Gozu, James, Oakley, or Tyson sound familiar to you?” asked Ashley.

“Not that I can recall,” said John.

“Do you believe that this Machoke you and your friend are looking for could be related to anything involved with Team Rocket?” asked Ashley.

“No, I don't think so. I thought Team Rocket just steal other people's Pokémon and are poachers?” asked John.

“That's what it seems at first, but we believe they are up to something much worse,” said Ashley. “I have no further questions, but I need you and Aya to stay here just a little longer until we figure out what to do. We can't have you freely roaming around by yourselves with who knows how many Rocket Grunts and Commanders are out there.”

“Okay, um. . . What do I do with these?” John asks as he holds up the wrapper and the now-empty sports drink bottle.

“I'll take care of those. Don't worry about it,” said Ashley as she takes John's trash and stuffs them away to be disposed of later. With nothing else to say, John heads out of the tent and meets up with Aya and Leo.

“What happened in there?” asked Aya once the Lucario alerted her to John's presence.

“She asked me some questions about Team Rocket, but get this, she's my long lost older sister,” said John, the shock of learning that Ashley is his sister is still lingering in his head.

“She's your sister?!” Aya gasps.

“Yeah, that blew me away, too. I still can't believe it. . . . When we get to the next town, I got some questions for my Mom,” said John as his eyes trail off, looking out into the forest as a million thoughts and emotions went through his head. His eyes remaining unfocus.

“So what are we going to do now?” asked Aya.

“We are going to wait. Ashley says she needs to figure something out before we go. There could be more Team Rocket guys on Mount Moon,” said John.

“Oh... that doesn't sound good,” said Aya while Leo moved closer to her so she can pet him as he can pick up her panic in her aura once John mentioned about more Rocket Grunts in the area. A few minutes pass as John and Aya wait discusing how they go about to find the Machoke, that is if they are allowed to stay on the mountain, what to do when they find the Pokemon, what it could be weak to and what they should do once they get to Cerulean City when Leo let's out a alerted bark once he sense Ashley approaching them. John and /Aya both look up to see her walking towards them with her own gear, and Ace walking next to Ashley.

“Okay, you two, I got the word from the top. You two are free to continue to look for your “Machoke, ' but I'm going with you just in case you run into any more Rocket trouble,” said Ashley.

“You're going to help us find the Unstoppable Machoke?” asked John.

“If it means getting your two away from any more Team Rocket activity on the Mountain faster, then yes, but you must do as I say. If we do run into more Team Rocket members and a battle with them is unavoidable, then you must listen to every order I give you. Don't go charging in without my say so, for your own safety. Do I make myself clear?” said Ashley, her voice calm but firm

“Do we really have to fight them?” asked Aya as she held tight to Leo's arm.

“More than likely, we might. They will not let you go easily. If anything, me and my Pokemon will do most of the fighting, but we'll need you and your Pokemon's help if I can keep you kids safe,” said Ashley.

“Understood,” John said with a nod.

“Good, now let's get going,” said Ashley. With that, the three leave the temporary base camp of the TPRG. As they step away from the camp and head into the forest. They walk a few feet away before Ashley raises her hand to signal the group to stop briefly.

“Okay, if this Machoke you two said is as dangerous as you two reported. We need to find it before it finds us. Everyone, check for any sign of this Pokémon. Footprints, broken tree branches, anything,” said Ashley while she kneels down, brushing her hand against the forest floor. John tightens his grip on his backpack straps as his eyes scan the area around them. Aya, while holding onto Leo's harnes leans down and places her palm flat against the ground.

Ashley stands up as her eyes catch something, and she walks ahead of the group. She eyes a pine tree with its base splintered about a little less than 4 feet up the trunk. She then makes a fist as she gently rests it against the splintered indent of the tree.

“Deep impact. . . deliberate. This is differentlt cause by a Machoke,” said Ashley while she studies the tree. Ace moves up to her side as he croches down and closes his eyes. His aura dreadlocks raise slightly as he scans the area.

“I can sense a Machoke has been in this area. I'm picking up faint traces of Fighting and Ghost-type Auras. He must have traveled through here often. The trail leads further up the mountain,” said Ace as he stands back up.

“Good boy, Ace,” Ashley says as she pets her Pokémon.

“I'm not sensing anything, but this dirt is cold and has a bunch of pebbles,” said Aya before Leo helps her back up. Her own Lucario sniffs the air and barks in the same direction that Ace is facing. John does his best to scan the area, but his skills are not as good as Ashley but he does notice a few broken branches as well. Frost races back to the tree again and sniffs at it again before racing back to the end of the trail.

“We'd better get moving while we've got a trail. Come on out, Frost!” Ashley calls out as she throws out a Poké Ball. Materializing out of the ball appears a male Glaceon. “Frost, we need you to track the Machoke that made these punch marks in this tree. It should have a hint of Ghost-type scent to it.”

Frost the Glaceon yips in acknowledgment. He steps up to the tree and sniffs at its trunk. He then turns around and follows the trail of broken tree branches before he starts sniffing at the ground when the trail stops. His ears fold back as he catches a trace of something unnatural. A sharp, earthy musk laced with a chill that doesn't belong in the forest air. His body stiffens and lets out a high-pitched yip before he pivots and begins to weave through the forest. Paws pressing lightly against the ground as he follows the faint trail.

“He got it! Let's move!” Ashley exclaims as she begins to follow with Ace. John follows close behind with Leo guiding Aya behind them.

“Hey, Ashley, why are we following your Glaceon?” asked John.

“This is Frost. He's one of my best trackers. While Ace can find targets hidden around corners. Frost can be able to pick up scents in the most barren places, such as the coldest polar regions, and track them for days as long as the scent is still there,” answered Ashley.

“What do you normally have him tracked?” Asked Aya.

“That's classified,” said Ashley.

For the first hour as they travel up Mount Moon, the scent Frost is following is faint, but he holds on to the trail as he leads the group through the trees and brushes. The scent of other local Pokémon seems stronger, but Frost ignores them and closely follows the Machoke's scent. By the second hour, Frost yips ecstatically as he finds a stronger trail of the scent, eagler leading the group onward. By the third hour, the trail seems to smell older to the Glaceon, but he presses on and holds tight to the trail.

By mid-afternoon, as the branches snap underfoot, the forest just seems endless, and the trail leads them deeper and deeper into the forest. John's legs throb with every step, but he forces himself to keep moving. Aya lets out a quiet moan as she holds onto Leo's harness tightly to give her a steadier footing as her cane keeps her from tripping on any obstacles.

“My feet... are killing me.” She admits, trying not to slow the group down. Frost glances back, ears twitching, sensing her fatigue. Ashley glanced back at the two younger trainers over her shoulder.

“Take your time, don't push yourselves too hard. We've got the trail. Frost won't let it go. Just remember, safety first.” Ashley calls out.

The forest air grows warmer as the sun climbs higher in the sky. The pounding in their feet serves as a consent reminder that this hike is no walk in the park, and the Machoke they are chasing isn't going to wait for them to recover. Another hour past and Frost got excited as he found a machoke foot print in some soft soil along the trail of the scent. An hour into finding said footprint, the trail leads to a flowing stream where the scent becomes weaker, but the Glaceon still manages to follow the trail as it goes upstream. Following the flowing water for an hour, the group comes across a slow-flowing river.

John and Aya have managed to keep up with Ashley and her Pokemon dispite how sore they feel. It's about early evening when they come across the river, and Ashley whistles towards Frost. He stops and looks back at Ashley.

“That's good enough for now, Frost. We'll pick up the trail again tomorrow. Return” Ashley holds out Frost's Pokeball, and he disappears into it by a red beam. “We'll make camp here. You two are tired, and it's gonna get dark in an hour or so.”

“We can keep going,” John says, but not without sitting down on a fallen log and massaging his calf.

“Yeah, but fatigue and low energy is the enemy of the mission. If you or your Pokémon are tired or starving, then you won't have the energy to battle your foes. It's time to take a break.” Ashley points out.

“I agree with her.” Aya pants. “Leo, can you help me with my tent?” The Lucario nods as he gives out a bark.

“Ace, can I count on you to gather firewood?” Ashley asks while turning to her own Lucario.

“Consider it done,” said Ace before running off into the forest on his own. After a few minutes, John and Aya have their tents set up while Ashley builds a shelter with materials gathered around their makeshift campsite.

Ashley sets down her backpack and withdraws a machete from a sheath on the bag, as well as a hatchet, and she has a large knife on her belt. She looks around and then releases her Charizard. The two of them break down small trees about 6 to 8 ft tall and about as thick as a person's wrist in diameter. Ashley then begins using smaller branches and paracord that she keeps in her bag, and begins lashing together branches, forming a skeletal structure of a basic shelter. Three walls and a ceiling. After a couple of hours, it's done. The structure is about 9 ft long and 3 ft wide. The branches are interlocked with even smaller branches and even smaller ones, so there are no gaps. John couldn't even put his fist through it if he wanted to. Ashley then goes to a pine tree, and with the help of her Lucario, they cut down some branches, and she works together to make a kind of makeshift mattress.

John watches in awe after he finishes setting up his tent. By the time Ashley is finished, Ace has not only return with a large quantity of firewood, but he has also started a campfire. Ashley steps back, her hands covered in dirt and sap, as she sheaths a large Bowie knife on her belt and looks at her handiwork.

"Home away from home, all we need now is a flat screen and streaming channels."

“How did you learn to do that?” John asked in awe.

“You get to learn a lot of handy skills when you are in the Navy,” exclaimed Ashley.

“That is so cool, and you even have a Charizard!” John nearly shouts out loud in excitement.

“Oh, Backdraft? He's been with me forever. He was my starter before I got my partner Ace,” said Ashley.

“Really? Your starter is a Char, too?” said John as his eyes lit up.

“What do you mean?” asked Ashley.

“I picked Charmander as my starter too,” exclaimed John while he pulls out Blaze's Poké Ball and calls him out. Blaze materializes right in front of Backdraft. The Charmander slowly looks up at the older Fire-type in awe as he nearly falls over backwards. Blaze let's out a “char” in amazement as his eyes gets starly while admiring the stronger Pokémon, seeing what he himself would become. Backdraft looks down at the smaller Charmander before flexing his wings and tilting his head up towards the evening sky with a proud growl that says, “Yeah, I know I'm awesome.”

“Nice pick. Seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Cute little guy. I can see him becoming very strong if trained right, but still be a gentle dragon who won't hurt even a fly.” Ashley says as she studies Blaze.”

“Yeah, we are aiming to be the very best. Right Blaze?” John says while scooping up the Charmander into his arms. Blaze pumps a tiny fist into the air as he lets a joyous “Mander”.

"Now we just need to focus on getting some food. We're near the river, I could go for some fish." Ashley lets out her Latios and looks at John, "You know how to hunt with your Pokémon? "

“Is. . . . Is th-that?! . . . No way. I can't believe it!” John exclaims while pulling out his Pokedex at the Rash natured Latios. John can tell that he has not only Levitate but also Rocket and Speed Boost abilities as well.

Latios: The Eon Pokémon. Latios has the ability to make others see an image of what it has seen or imagines in its head. This Pokémon is intelligent and understands human speech. This Pokémon can fly faster than a jet plane by folding its forelegs to minimize air resistance.

“Wait, John, did your Pokedex just say Latios?!” asked Aya as her milky white eyes nearly popped out of her head in shock.

“Yeah! Ashley just called out a Latios!” exclaimed John.

“B-but that's a Legendary Pokemon!” Aya says in shock before turning toward Ashley’s general direction. “How did you manage to catch a Latios?”

“That's a story in itself, but that can wait until later. John, you still didn't answer my question. You know how to hunt with your Pokémon?” asked Ashley.

“Oh, um. . . Normally, when I send them out, they go and gather berries to eat,” said John.

“Well, I think it's time for you to learn how to find more food than just gathering berries. Call out as many Pokémon as you can command. You too, Aya. You're Pokemon are going to help as well,” ordered Ashley.

As Aya calls out Rascal and Jason, John thinks over his choices for foraging on hand. Blaze in the past seems to be good at gathering berries, so was Brisby. With his choices made, he calls out both the Rattata and Dizzy. As the shiny Beedrill materialize in the middle of the camp. The light of her release makes her sparkle and shine, which causes Ashley to turn and look towards the green Poison Bee Pokémon.

“Damn kid, you found yourself a Shiny Pokémon? That's a lucky find.” Ashley comments.

“I know, right?! I didn't expect to find one within the first couple of weeks of my journey, let alone the first year,” said John with glee. Ashley studies the Pokémon John and Aya called with deep thought.

“Alright, all of your Pokémon are going with my Lucario to learn how to better forage for edible food. Not just for themselves but for us as well to go with our fish,” exclaimed Ashley.

“Right, Blaze, Brisby, Dizzy. Go with the Lucario and find us some food. Follow his example to listen to him.” John orders out to his Pokémon.

“You too, Rascal and Jason. Be nice and Rascal, you wait to eat until dinner is ready. Don't eat what you find.” Aya calls out. The Munchlax sighs in defeat while the rest of the Pokémon cry out in acknowledgment.

“Ace show these rookies how it's done. Teach them as best as you can. Typhoon, you're staying here and help us with the fish.” Ashley orders out.

“Rodger that. Alright, you, Pokemon, this way,” said Ace as he led the troop of Pokemon into the forest.

“Say, John, do you have a fishing rod?” asked Ashley.

“No, I don't,” answered John.

“I see. . . Well, that's an easy fix,” says Ashley as she walks over to another pine. She looks for the longest and most sturdy branch she can find, testing how strong it is. Finding one she is satisfied with, she takes out an Entrenching Tool from her kit. To John, it looks like a small single-hand handle shovel with a black metal spade head. To John's surprise, Ashley begins hacking at the branch with the shovel as if it's an axe, effectively cutting the branch free. Ashley then stores away the E-Tool and pulls out her Bowie knife once again, cleaning the thick branch of any smaller branches and its bark, making sure to keep the stronger part of the long branch intact. Once cleaned of any bark, Ashley digs into her kit and pulls out a spool of fishing line and a case of fishing hooks. She unravels a decent amount of fishing line and cuts it. She then proceeds to teach John how to securely tie the line onto the freshly carved stick, along with securing a fishing hook on the other end of the line.

“There you go, kid. Now you've got yourself a fishing rod. It's not the best, but it will do. People in the fishing commentary call these Old Rods. Normally, you'll need bait or a fishing lure, but Typhoon is going to herd the fish straight towards us,” said Ashley as she took out some bait from her kit and placed it on John's hook.

As John walks up to the riverbank, he takes hold of his Old Rod in his hand just as he is about to flick his line into the water. Ashley steps up next to him.

“Has Mom ever taken you fishing before?” asked Ashley.

“No, she hasn't,” replied John.

“Here, let me show you,” Ashley said while she places her hand on John's fishing rod, 9 inches away from the end. “Now pretend this is where you reel seat is, right where my hand is. You'll want your dominant hand right here.”

“My dominant hand?” asked John.

“The hand you use the most. Such as throwing your Poké Balls,” explained Ashley.

“Oh, so my right hand,” exclaimed John.

“Yes, now once you get a better fishing rod, you're going to want to place either your middle and ring finger around the arm of your reel or your ring and pinkie finger. Whichever works for you. That way, you can use your index to control your line so you don't have your entire line fly out of your reel. You also want to have your reel pointing towards the ground,” explained Ashley.

“Okay, like this?” John asks as he moves his hand to where Ashley's hand is before she lets go of the rod.

“Like that, and you'll want your other hand down lower near the butt of your rod,” instructed Ashley. As she teaches John how to cast his line into the river, Typhoon tucks his arms into his body and dives into the water. After a few practice casts with Ashley's instructions, John makes his first cast into the river.

“The key here now is to be patient. You're not going to catch a fish right away. Even with your Pokémon's help. You'll be lucky to catch a fish in 5 minutes. It's the same if you are fishing for Pokémon in any body of water. Let the time between each cast bring you peace, but stay focused on the task at hand. This is your zen time. Just you and the fish,” explains Ashley as she watches the line with John. Quietly, she explains to John how to watch for movement below the water while her Latios finds their first fish and herds it towards their riverbank.

“Don't yank your line out too fast, or you'll scare them off. Let them take it, then reel them in steady,” whispered Ashley. After five minutes since John cast his line, the line goes taught, and his Old Rod begins to bend as he feels a strong tug.

“I think I got a bite!” John says excitedly.

“Good, now reel that little sucker in. Give it all your might,” exclaimed Ashley. John yanks hard on his rod and was able to pull up a single Sweetfish.

“Good job, John,” Ashley says as she helps John unhook his catch. “Now, how about another one before I let you watch your line on your own?” says Ashley. In another five minutes with Ashley's instructions, John manages to reel in another Sweetfish.

“Not ba,d John. You're starting to catch on.” Says Ashley while she helps John unhook his second catch . John thanks her. As he places his second catch with his first, he notices two more fish have been added to the catch pile. A fat Sweetfish and a small Char. “Where did these fish come from?”

“Did you think Typhoon was just going to herd a few fish towards us without catching any himself? Latios and Latias are natural fishers. It's one of their favorite foods from what I have learned since I caught him,” exclaimed Ashley as she rolled up her sleeves and headed a few feet upstream from John. She takes off her boots and her socks and rolls up her pant legs before gently stepping into the water herself.

“What are you doing?” asked John.

“There's more than one way to fish. Maybe when you get better with a rod, I can teach you this way to fish,” says Ashley.

Another five minutes pass by, and John feels a small tug on his line and manages to reel in another Sweetfish. Ashley's eyes, however, are sharp as she peers into the water. In a blur of motion She snatches up a fat Iwana. John's jaw drops as Ashley tosses it to the pile on the bank, almost missing the two Cherry Salmon that Typhoon flicks out of the water and onto the shore. Twenty minutes into their fishing, John feels a stronger pull than his last three catches, and he manages to land a decent size 10 inch Cherry Salmon himself. Ashley is like a rock as her experienced eyes gleam in the low light of dusk. Than like two snakes striking their prey, her hands plunge into the water, pulling out two wiggling Cherry Salmon at once, adding them to the growing pile with another Sweetfish from the Latios, nearly as big as his first catch.

As another few minutes go by, John is starting to get into a rhythm as he watches his makeshift line, not noticing that his older sister has waded further out into the river. While John manages to land a fat and healthy Char, Ashley scoops up a Golden Sweetfish, larger than John's earlier catches.

“These are going to taste so good once we clean and roast them over the fire pit,” Ashley says with a proud smile.

In the deeper parts of the river. Typhoon locks onto a deeper swimmer. Like a torpedo, he rushes forward and snatches a hefty Cherry Salmon, almost as identical to a Rainbow Trout. As he surfaces with the fish in his maw, he has a proud look on his face before tossing his catch a little way from the main pile, before diving back into the river.

“Looks like Typhoon has chosen his share,” Ashley exclaimed.

“How can you tell?” asked John.

“If your Pokémon are helping you with gathering food or hunting along with you, they always place their share away from the rest of the gathered food. Plus, it's only fair when it comes to hunting, like fishing, that the Pokémon helping you out gets the biggest piece of what they hunted,” says Ashley.

As the fish start to thin out, John manages to reel in one more sweetfish. It's smaller than his first 2 catches, but that doesn't matter now as John has a big smile. By now, his confidence is showing. He clearly enjoys fishing, all the while Ashley snatches up a hefty Char. One that is nearly as long as her own arm, as to as Typhoon as he comes to the surface.

“Nice hail, not bad, John, you learn pretty quick,” Says Ashley as she pats his shoulder.

“Th-thank you,” John says with a blush on his face while he rubs the back of his head.

“You know how to clean fish, right?” Ashley asks

“No, I don't,” answers John.

“Here, I'll show you,” Ashley says as they carry their catch closer to camp. While Ashley shows both John and Aya how to descale and gut the fish, Typhoon is eating his largest catch happily.

“We may smell like fish before bed, but once we skew these bad boys onto some sticks, they'll be prime for campfire roasting,” says Ashley as she carves her knife through the belly of one of the fish she caught.

“Can I do something with them? I do have a cooking kit with a campfire grill and pots and pans,” says Aya.

“Sure, cooking while camping is always better when you have a cook,” Ashley says, while at the same time, the Pokémon comes back with quite a haul thanks to Ace's guidance.

“The Pikachu had a hard time figuring out what was edible or not, but the Rattata was able to find some tubers,” says Ace as he walks into the camp proper.

He spreads out their find for Ashley to see. Along with some Oran berries, the group of Pokemon have brought back some Bitter Juniper berries which Rascal discovered it's best to eat cooked first. Trying a few raw, he discovered that the cluster of dark purple berries are extremely bitter. A few small, pale, almost translucent berries that seem to glimmer faintly in the moonlight. Round, soft-capped mushrooms, pale beige mushrooms with a speck of faint bioluminescence.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, ain't wild mushroom poisoness?” asked John

“Not all of them,” Ashley says while she explains to look out for which ones are edible and which ones are poisonous. “And you really wanna stay away from Death caps, Kaentakes, and Skullshrooms. But these are Glowcap Mushrooms and Moondrop Fungus. The Moondrops are sometimes used as mild healing salves if you're a herbalist. The Glowcaps, though, they need to be cooked first if you don't want to feel dizzy.”

Looking over the rest, they see some leafy plants the Pokémon have picked. Some look like mint leaves with silvery veins. Some of the smaller leaves are a blue-green color, while the bigger, round leaves are thicker. The Pokemon also brought back large orange and brown roots through the skinnier oranges, one look like parsnips and seem to glimmer in the campfire light.

“Looks like we got our sides. These thick leaves are ironleaves; they might have a metallic taste to them, but they are a good source of iron and can be cooked like spinach. These babies are only grown in mineral-rich slops. Might have been close to these RockCarrots,” exclaimed Ashley

“Rockcarrots?” asked John.

“These glittery carrot-looking roots. This is what happens when you have wild root vegetables grow in mineral-heavy soil. They grow to have these little spackles that make it look like they have rocks embedded into the root. A lot of Pokémon like Rattata and Sandshrews eat these things often. And these other roots are Mountain Yams. I guess your Munchlax must have found them. Paras and Munchlax do love to dig these things up, but they are a pain to get. Which might explain why, when a Munchlax evolves into Snorlax, they prefer easy-to-collect fruits and Ironthrone Vines as their favorite foods,” said Ashley

“What about the other plants?” Asked John.

“Oh, those are herbs, Lunar Mint and Moonroot Sage,” answered Ashley

“That's what Moonroot Sage looks like? I only heard that it helps keep insects away,” exclaimed John.

“That's right, and some wild Pokémon use its scent to mark their territory. Now I myself prefer coffee over tea, but Lunar Mint is good to help with stomach ache, and they have this cool effect under starlight,” says Ashley

“I might use the Moonroot sage for the fish, but I would like to try this mint for teasometime,” said Aya as she started picking through the herb.s.

“Go ahead. It looks like you have enough to make two cups, though,” pointed out Ashley.

With that, Aya sets out her cooking kit. Ashley helps with the food prep as she explains to Aya the best way to prep and cook the Ironleaves, Rockcarrots, and Mountain Yams as they peel the said wild carrots, slicing them up, and dicing up the yams, before bringing all three veggies to a boil in the large cooking pot. Aya also has metal grilling skewers in her cooking kit to skew the mushrooms after washing them. Seasoning them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italica seasonings before leaving them over the grill to roast.

Aya would take the Mountain Sage and mince them up with her chef's knife before using the knife to crush the juniper berries. She would rub the berries onto the fish before adding the mountain sage to the fish along with some salt and pepper, and roast each of the fish as well. As the fish cooks, the smell of sage and juniper berries wafts through the air surrounding the campsite.

Ashley watches with a smile at how well Aya is managing the cooking while John's stomach rumbles from the rich and savory smell of the roasting fish. Soon, dinner is ready, John calls out his remaining Pokémon to eat their share as well while Ashley not only calls out her medical duo of Jamie and Julie, along with Frost, but a Conkeldur and a Lapras as well to join Ace, Backdraft, and Typhoon as well.

Aya serves the Pokémon first,t with the exception of Typhoo,n as he already ate his large Cherry Salmon raw. Serving Brisby, Monarch, Airazor, Dizzy, Jami,e and Julie the mixed green veggies while serving Blaze, Sparks, Jason, Leo, and Ashley's remaining Poéemon a proper portion of fish to each of them. Rasca, however,r got a mixed serving of Fish, veggies, and mushrooms.s.

Aya and John both pick for themselves a roasted Sweetfish while Ashley herself chooses Cherry Salmon, letting Backdraft have large Char that she caught.

As they ate, the Mushrooms have a smoky, yet nutty and earthy taste to them, balanced out with the zesty seasonings and hint of a garlicly pepper taste, the Moondrops made both John and Rascal's mouths water as their cooked spongey flesh had a faint smell of honey.

The sweetfish skin crunches with a firm and tender meat. True to its name, it has a bit of a sweet but fishy taste, but it is well balanced out with the savory zest of the sage, with undertone notes of smoky and earthy flavors that blends well together. John and other Pokémon who received sweetfish nearly swallow the bones as they eat it like it was about to run out of style.

The Cherry Salmon that Ashley has nearly melts in her mouth. It's flesh Tender and slightly oily. The oily juices as they run down her chin have a rich, buttery taste with a faint floral sweetness. With only salt and pepper seasoned for these fish, the roasted Cherry Salmon flavor stands out as Aya cooked the fish to perfection.

The Pokemon who have the chance to try the Char Aya cooked less oily than the Salmon, but the meat is soft, flacky and moist. The meat has that mountain fresh taste to it with its mild, delicate, and subtle sweetness enhanced with the smokiness of the meat kissed by the flavor, the earthy notes from the berries, and the savory Moonroot Sage brought out with the salt and pepper, almost made Backdraft, Blaze, and even Ashley's Lapras beg for seconds.

John tries a sample of the mixed veggies himself and finds himself surprised. The Ironleafs, while most of the metallic taste has been boiled away, do have a tang to them similar to that of spinach, added with the sweetness of the sliced Rock Carrots and chunks of Mountain Yams, combined with the salt and pepper, made him want to go back for more.

“Wow, you're a pretty good cook, kid,” Ashley says, praising Aya for her skills.

“Th-thank you,” said Aya as she blushes.

“Your cooking is always great!” said John, being a little messier eater as he is really digging into his food. Even Blaze is showing the same amount of enjoyment over the tasty meal. John pauses as he takes a drink of water, his eyes drift back to Typhoon. “So how did you end up getting a Latios? You don't see many People with a Pokémon like that.”

“Do you really want to know? Our encounter is not a happy one,” Ashley says as she gives John a serious look.

“Of course I wanna know! It's not every day you get to meet a Legendary Pokémon!” John says in excitement, ignoring the look in Ashley's eyes.

“Alright... I was on a mission in another region, which I won't name or say what that mission is about, that's classified, my team came across a group of Pokemon Poachers. They had cages of illegally caught Pokémon and even had some Pokémon pelts and parts. We must have found their camp just as they brought in two newly caught Pokémon. A Latios and Latias pair. I later learn that they were siblings. They both still had some fight in them as they were struggling against the nets they were in,” said Ashley.

“The Latios is Typhoon, right?” John asked.

“Yeah, anyway, the Poachers must not have expected there would be Lati's in the area they were hunting, as they were in typical Pokémon nets. Typhoon was able to swipe his claws at his sister's net and cut her free, but instead of fleeing, she chose to fight the poachers. The thing is, those poachers use more than just nets and cages. My team and I decided to step in and try to prevent harm to the Lati siblings and the other Pokémon in the cages. I freed Typhoon from his net but... During the firefight, his sister was killed by one of the Poachers. He was trying to shoot me to prevent me from freeing the other Lati. She thought he was going to shoot Typhoon, and she got in between us and tried attacking him. Next thing we know, almost as soon as she hit the ground,we were all blinded by a pillar of blue light. When it faded, her body was gone, and a jewel was in her place,” Ashley said as she looks over at Typhoon, who has a somber face. She nods at him, and the Latios nods back. Carefuly he opens one of his chest harness's pouches and pulls out an orb-like Jewel.

It's a deep blue that seems to glow from its core with light blue light. The light inside seems not to escape from the gem like a lightbulb but seems to slowly swirl in an almost hypnotic but spiritual-like pattern.

“Is that the jewel?” asked John.

“It is,” Ashley nods. John does his best to describe the Jewel to Aya once he notices her looking confused.

“That kinda sounds like a little crystal ball,” said Aya.

“Yeah, but... This is what happens when a Latios or Latias dies, right? I remember reading about it in a book called “The Pokémon Myths of Hoenn”. It says these jewels contain their soul, and if another of their kind holds on to it, it gives their psychic and dragon-type attacks a boost in power.” John says as he sadly looks at the Jewel before Typhoon puts it away.

“You're right, John. That is what remains of Typhoon's sister,” said Ashley.

“But what is it?” asked Aya

“It's called a Soul Dew,” Typhoon says, making both John and Aya jump. The two were not expecting another one of Ashley's Pokémon to talk.

“Typhoon likes to keep her close to him since that day. We like to think she is watching over him in a spiritual way to explain why his moves become more powerful while he has her. Anyway, after we set all the caught Pokémon free and arrested the surviving Poachers, Typhoon wanted to come with me. So he can protect others who can't defend themselves, like what I do, so no other Pokémon would go through the pain that he had to witness,” explained Ashley.

“Th-that's so sad, why would anyone want to do that to a Pokémon, or willingly kill them?” said Aya while Leo nuzzles her arm. The Lucario, picking up on his trainer's sadness, wanting her to pet him to make the girl feel better.

“Because evil exists in all forms out in this great big world,” Ashley says as her eyes grow darker. There is a moment of silence as Ashley has a hundred-yard stare, not even touching her food during that moment. Whatever was on her mind seems to fade as she snaps back to it and stares at both John and Aya with a serious look. “Look, it's a tough lesson that you two will learn sooner or later if you two are planning to be traveling, adventuring Trainers, so you might as well learn it now. While you are on your Pokémon journey, you are going to see a lot of things in this great big wild world of ours. You are going to see some beautiful things, you are going to see some amazing things, you are going to see some sad, depressing things, and some really horrible things.”

John watches on at his older sister as Aya listens in as well, taking everything that Ashley is saying. Ashley continues speaking, her voice steady but low, like someone who has seen too much.

“Some of those horrible things… You won't be ready for. No one ever is.” Ashley pokes at her food with the end of her fork, not eating, just thinking. “But the important part is how you respond. You can look away, pretend the world is perfect… or you can decide you're going to help make it better. Even if it’s one Pokémon at a time.”

Typhoon lowers his head, humming a soft, almost mournful note. Ashley reaches over and gently rests her fingers against his side.

“That day wasn’t the first time I saw something brutal… but it was one of those times something beautiful came out of it. Typhoon could have run away. He could have blamed humans forever. But he chose to fight beside me. To save others. To protect.”

John watches quietly, the last of his fish forgotten. Aya rubs between Leo’s ears, needing the comfort.

Ashley finally takes a small bite of her food, her shoulders relaxing just a little.

“Just remember this,” she says after swallowing. “The world’s got darkness in it… But you don’t have to let it in you. You two? You’re starting out right. You care about your Pokémon. You care about others. That already makes you better than most people out there.”

She looks between them, softer now.

“And I can help teach you the rest. The good parts… and the hard parts.”

“What do you mean, teach us the hard parts?” asked John.

“First of all, training your Pokémon should not be a walk in the park. It takes a lot of hard work to get them ready for anything, let alone competition. Not only that, but a good Trainer trains alongside with their Pokémon. It shows their Pokémon that they can trust in you, rely on you when shit hits the fan. To work together in the hard times, to come out on top. If you can't grow with your Pokemon then how do you expect them to be with you at your worst?” Ashley leans in towards John, so her words can sink in.

“That I understand. I want to treat my Pokémon as equals. They are more like family to me than just allies,” said John.

“Good, at least you understand hard work, but you also have to expect loss, and I don't just mean losing a Pokemon Battle, I mean losing someone close to you. Be that either a human or a Pokémon. If you are not careful, people and Pokémon will die. Sometimes it's unavoidable; it could happen at any time. But it will be something that the two of you will have to deal with at some point in your lives. It won't be easy but... You can't just let their deaths drag you down into a pit of despair... I know of some People who had their partners... their friends... even their own Pokémon... die right in front of them. A few took it hard... very hard. Worst case scenario... the grief and despair was too much for them to bare that they ended their own lives. That's something I don't wish for you to experience.” Ashley says as she stares out into the night sky.

“How d-do we prepare for that?” asked Aya.

“That's the thing. Everyone has their own way; there's no one-size-fits-all situation. Hell, even if you end up killing a bad guy, it will still be heavy on your soul. Sure, the books and movies may make it sound simple and easy, but it is not. It will lie heavy on your conscience, on your guilt, and you try to rationalize why you have to do it,” answered Ashley.

“Why would we need to kill a bad guy? Why can't we just knock 'em out and hand them over to the police?” asked John.

“John, there will be times when you will find yourself in a life-or-death situation. Your and your friends' lives or theirs. Sometimes there is no time to think.” Ashley answers with all honesty. “And that will be one of the hard parts, I'll teach you.”

By this point, the campfire is starting to die down and their diner just about finished. Ashley looks up to the night sky.

“We'd better hit the hay now. Gotta get up bright and early. We've got a long day ahead of us. So which one of the Pokémon is taking watch?” asked Ashley.

“Taking watch?” asked Aya as both she and John looked at her, confused.

“You know, fire watch? When you and your Pokémon take shifts to guard your camp at night?” Ashley asked.

“Normally, Brisby just finds a spot in the middle of camp to keep her ears and whiskers open while she sleeps at night,” John answered.

“... It's a miracle that you two are unharmed and haven't been mugged yet. Well, starting tonight, you two gotta have your Pokémon take shifts to help guard your camp and wake you if something tries to attack you. I got a job, I gotta do so, I'm not going to be around twenty-four-seven to keep an eye on you. After all, after today, you two will have different enemies that might try to do something in the middle of the night.” Ashley says as she sweatdrops.

“Well, which Pokémon should we assign shifts?” asked John.

“Have your Pokémon rotate around so they can still get a full night's rest, and in general, you want to pick Pokemon on how good their eyesight and senses are at night. Such as the Pokemon with the best night vision take the shift of the darkest part of the night, and the Pokémon that's good at seeing in the night take the shift that ends at dawn. Don't worry about picking which Pokémon takes which shift tonight. I'll have my Pokémon do that,” said Ashley.

With the last bit of light from the dying campfire. John and Aya had off into their respective tents. Changing for the night in private before slipping into their sleeping bags with John cuddling Sparks. Ashley selects four Pokémon to take shifts for the fire watch before recalling all of her Pokémon but Ace as she slips onto her makeshift mattress in her shelter. The Lucario takes his place. To begin his watch.

Ace's senses remain sharp throughout the night. His ears flick as a Hoothoot calls out in the distance, but his shift remains uneventful. As midnight approaches, he walks back over to Ashley's shelter, tapping on Typhoon's ball, calling out the Latios. With nothing to report, Ace returns to his own ball as Typhoon takes his shift.

Typhoon yawns as he does his best to keep his eyes open, but he still feels his catch of the day disgusting, however, he makes it through his entire shift with nothing of interest to report to the next Pokemon. Before returning to his ball, the Latios taps on the ball of the Conkeldur, named Recker, to wake up the Fighting-type to start his shift.

Oddly enough, Recker was more focused on the job at hand than the Latios. Managing to slap his face with both hands, waking up fully if not briefly. He saw a Hoothoot fly overhead above the camp and a Clefairy skipping by, but nothing that would seem like a threat. As his shift ends, he taps the Poké Ball that contains Frost to wake him up for his shift before returning back into his ball.

Despite being up so early in the morning, Frost was able to get a full night's rest, he yawn and stretched as he prepared for his shift. He keeps a watchful eye out, as the hoots and shrieks of the local Hoothoots and Zubats begin to fade away, and the morning cries of Pidgeys and Spearows begin. Soon, the sky on the horizon begins to change into slivers of oranges and reds as the sun begins to rise. Frost walks over to Ashley, rubing his head against her hand. The cold feeling of his chilled fur wakes Ashley up right away. She looks around before she looks down at the Eeveeultion.

“Anything to report?” Ashley asks. The Glaceon shakes his head. “Good, let's wake up the rookies so we can get back on the trail.”

Ashley then gets an evil smirk after she steps out of her shelter. She quietly sneaks up on John's tent and slowly unzips the opening of his tent just enough so her voice can carry into it. She takes a deep breath before loudly mimicking the sounds of a bugle as she sings Reveille. Startled by the loud sound, John wakes up and trips on his own sleeping bag, startling the sleeping Sparks while John knocks over one of his tent poles.

Ashley steps back as John's entire tent collapses on top of him before a cry of an upset Pikachu rings out, and John screams as the tent glows with the light of a Thundershock. All the loud noise also wakes up Aya and Leo from their own tent.

John struggles under the tent fabric before his head pops out of the entrance as he see's ashley standing there with a smirk on her face.

“Raise and shine, boot! Get dressed and pack your gear, you and your friend have a Machoke to find!” Ashley says while trying to suppress a chuckle. John groans as he hangs his head just as Sparks sticks her own head out, with one ear drooped and her head tilted to one side as she lets out a confused “Chu?”.

John quickly takes cover behind some brush to quickly change out of his sleep attire while Aya changes in the comfort and security of her still intact tent with Leo keeping guard outside. Once dressed for the day and the tents broken down and packed away, the group is now ready to get back on the trail.

It's another clear day, but the morning spring breeze has shifted. As Frost begins to sniff around it, it's taking a while longer than it is to track the scent.

“Maybe we should help?” suggested John

“Good idea, Leo, help us look for some clues,” ordered Aya to her Lucario. Leo closes his eyes as he searches out their surrounding area. Ashley even kneels down, checking the underbush for any imprints. Sure enough, she sees a heavy footprint of a Machoke in the dirt where mud has hardened. While John and Aya were checking nearby trees, Leo let out an alert bark to his trainer. Aya quickly grabs onto Leo's vest, and he gently leads her a few feet away and growls at a tree. Aya feels the trunk of the tree and finds a broken, thick branch.

“I think he went this way,” Aya calls out. Ashley looks up and sees the footprint is heading towards Aya's direction.

“Good job. If we are lucky, he would have kept going back to his den with a path of least resistance. Frost, keep trying to pick up the scent as we go,” ordered Ashley.

After an hour of hiking, Frost shows no sign of picking up the scent. Ashley deduces that either the scent has faded or too many local Pokémon have covered the scent up with their own. Leo lets out another bark and guides Aya to the group's right.

“What is it, Leo?” Aya asked. As she swipes her cane as they move, Leo stops as Aya's cane smacks a broken sabling, hidden in the bush. “I think Leo found something?”

Ashley walks over and pulls the bush's leaves back and sees the broken sabling. She kneels down and finds a footprint near the broken plant in soft soil.

“Good find. It looks like our large friend went this way. North from here, higher up the mountain.” Ashley said as she led the way. After a half-mile hike, Frost suddenly stops. His tail stiffens as he raises his head, sniffing the air. His little cold nose is going forty miles per second. He then lets out a bark and starts running ahead of the group.

“Looks like Frost got it back. Let's go!” Ashley says out as they begin to run off after the Glaceon. Frost would stop once in a while to sniff at a tree or a brush before darting off where the scent leads. John would notice footprints and broken branches at the Machop's shoulder height. As they go up an incline of the mountain, the terrain begins to become more of a mix of forest and rocky terrain.

Ashley's eyes widen, and she makes a noise to Frost. Forst skids to a stop as both him and Ashley take cover against a tree with John, Aya, and Leo following up.

“What's up?” John whispers as he ducks down with Ashley. Leo's dreadlocks rise up as his paws clince, and he gives a quiet growl. Aya raises her head as she sniffs the air.

“Do I smell..... a hint of campfire smoke in the air?” asked Aya.

“Yeah... it appears your Machoke has walked right through a Team Rocket camp. This is not good,” says Ashley as she nears her eyes. John tries to look around the tree without being spotted, but he fails to see the tents of said camp, he does notice something above the tree line.

“Is that a... tower made of rocks up ahead?” asked John.

“It appears so. Just right on the other side of their camp.” Ashley says as she nods.

“Wait, you don't think these guys are the reason why the undead Machoke is causing all of this trouble?” asked John.

“I think you are right, John. If that thing has a Ghost-Typing, then that could be the cause. We've got intel that Team Rocket has been hiring scientists to perform... experiments on Pokémon,” said Ashley.

“If that's true, then this Machoke is most likely one of their awful science projects,” cried Aya.

“If we can find this guy's weakness, then we have no choice but to put down this Machoke to put an end to their Frankenstein project,” Ashley growls as she digs into her gear and pulls out a pair of binoculars. She looks around the tree that they are taking cover in as she tries to scan the slightly inclined campsite.

“I see five Grunts on patrol in the camp and....” Ashley pauses as her sights settle on one of the northern tents and spies three figures. “The 3 people I've been looking for. Two known admins and one of their major scientists, Doctor Namba.”

“Wait, that’s one of the names you mentioned yesterday morning,” whispered John.

“Yeah, that’s because he’s on our wanted list,” said Ashley.

“So we march right into camp, beat up these rocket guys, and get our Machoke,” John says as he rubs his hands together.

“No,” Ashley grunted.

“No? But we gotta stop that Machoke before he causes more damage or worse, actually kills someone.” John argues.

“Charging headfirst like that is foolish. You can get yourself killed that way.” Ashley says as John gulps and turns pale. “Besides, it's about noon at this point. We've been hiking for 6 hours. We should use this time to plan and come up with a strategy and get some rest.”

“How long should we wait then?” asked Aya.

“Until nightfall. We can hide more easily and use the dark to our advantage. Plus, it doesn't look like the Grunts are taking shifts to watch the camp. So while we are fresh and well rested, those goons will be tired and stumbling around in the dark,” said Ashley.

“Good idea, that way when we do strike, we can sneak around them and come at them from their sides,” suggested John.

“A pincer maneuver. Good idea, kid, but you and Aya will have to perform that by yourself. I need to take down those three in the back and take them in alive. Besides, their Pokémon will most likely be stronger than the Pokémon the Grunts will be using,” said Ashley.

As our heroes and their newfound mentor rest for the rest of the day, they rehydrate, eat their rations, and rest. They make their plan of attack to deal with the camp of Team Rocket agents just as they are within reach of their goal. Are Grunts responsible for the Unstoppable Machoke? Prehabs, the answers can be found in this dangerous campsite as the journey continues.

---

Notes:

Sorry that this has taken some time to get out. work schedule has been very sucky alone with other projects I have for myself. I'm also trying to attend to Dragoncon whenever I can, it's probably the only thing I'll ever travel out of my home State for.

With this chapter i did had trouble in a couple of spots of how to write the scenes. there's been at lease 3 or 4 times i ended up getting stuck but managed to power through after taking a step back for a few days. I hope this won't be a problem for the next chapter as i waited for a long time for the main heroes to face their first threatening boss that is not a Gym leader.

As for the art i mention in the beginning notes, after I uploaded the last chapter i had PMs from random people from ONE website asking to collaborate with them with art. Seeing how it was one web site then these people are most likelt scam art bots. However, here is my stance on art forcus on my series. I don't mind fan art of the characters, scenes or anything like that. You don't need to ask me to make art fan at of my series just as long as you credit me with my user name on the site that I have a account with and you send me a PM as said art. If it comes to commissions however, do not ask me for commsissions. If i can afford it I have a couple of artists in mind already that i would like to draw art of my characters if I don't draw it myself, but me asking for commishions for art of my series is a big IF since I am a broke mofo. So in any case what I am trying to say is, DON'T ASK ME TO PAY YOU COMMISSIONS FOR ART BASE ON MY SERIES!!!

On top of that I liked to thank my friend Blindwolf for alot of character reference aid and for letting me use two of his characters in this series. Aya and Ashley.