One day I'll be better at updating.

Here's our first taste of Sinnoh. We'll be doing a different format again. And yet some of the same. Think of this chapter as the theme of this entire story, but nested. Where we've been bouncing around for each chapter, but still focused on the one idea/story for the most part. This is a chapter of drabble-like moments.

Very little context will be given. Only that these are ALL set in Sinnoh, but any pokémon introduced up to this point may appear.

"RUN!" Felix yelled, upon spotting the swarm of volbeat and illumise.

None of his pokémon had to be told twice.

Unfortunately, this specific group of pokémon were all different in body shapes, leading to chaos when they attempted to run.

On four legs, Shira sprinted into the growth and disappeared from sight.

On no legs, Andrew slithered the other way but didn't watch where he was going. He collided head-first with Felix and the two fell with a groan, the human clutching his bruised cranium.

On an amorphous, squishy, belly, Chelsea the shellos slithered with wave-fuelled contractions, propelling herself not very fast.

Emma wouldn't stand to see Chelsea hurt and the lapras paused in her floating to pull Chelsea onto her back with a pulse of Psychic. The two flew off away from the approaching swarm.

As a flaaffy, Phoebe's tail shone bright enough to try and confuse the swarm before she trotted away, arms flailing. "Wait for me!" she cried to Emma, the lapras was kind enough to levitate her onto her back as well.

Athreos was the only one not to run. The dusclops held firm as he stared down the buzzing horde of mildly threatening Bug-types. This was his moment, he would forever banish the shame that haunted him and shine brightly among the teams.

"You shall NOT pa-"

The horde flew over him and continued on without a care.

Athreos was crestfallen and slowly sat down to think about his decisions. Maybe he was in the wrong here. Maybe angering the swarm to attack and then repel them to prove himself was in error.

Or maybe he didn't anger them enough, seeing that they ignored Felix and Andrew too. Choosing to chase the lapras flying in the sky instead.

"Let me off this thing!" Came Phoebe's cry, muffled by the distance before she leaped off the floating lapras. "Catch me!"

"Do you have any three's?" Phoebe asked as she stared over her own hand of cards.

"Go fish," Joey said happily.

Phoebe stared at him for a moment. The flaaffy took a moment to compose herself. "See, here's the problem," she said, reaching over to poke his own cards. Unsecured because he didn't have hands. "You have several three's."

"Go fish!"

Phoebe stared before smiling. "You know we haven't played Catch the Thunderbolt in a while."

"Go fish."

Electricity crackled, burst of yellow light shone through the crack of the door to the professors game room. Phoebe quietly opened it and slipped out.

Joey twitched from where he was surrounded by smouldering cards.

"Grotle!" Sarah called brightly. "I can't believe it! I evolved. This is wonderful."

Felix smiled warmly, clapping energetically. "Well done! Incredible progress, Sarah."

"Thank you," the newly evolved grotle replied, smiling. "I'm so bulky, I have plants growing on me! This is so strange, but so exciting. Thank you so much, Felix."

Felix laughed pleasantly and gave her a solid pat on the head. "Don't thank me. You did all the hard work."

"I can't wait to show everyone."

Sometime later.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Phoebe squealed, dancing in place happily before hugging Sarah's side. "You've joined me in our quest to take over the world! This is so exciting! I'm going to plant Lansat Berries on you once I finally track one of those damn things down! First the money, then the world!"

Sarah just smiled and nodded, letting the excitable sheep prattle on. Chelsea moved up to her slowly, the shellos staring up in awe. "You're so much bigger now."

"I'm still me though."

Chelsea smiled, relieved. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Tap-tap-drop. Tap-tap-drop. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-drop.

Isolde looked up curiously. The computer the professor was allowing her to try out was fascinating, the internet was a crazy place even she could tell at this point. At one point she somehow put on music and was listening to the toe-tapping tunes.

Only, then someone actually began to tap.

He didn't quite have toes, however.

"Tyson?" Isolde asked curiously, pausing the music. The scizor stopped tapping to the music and cringed, he didn't realise she could hear him.

"My apologies," Tyson said and bowed briefly. "I hadn't heard a melody like that before, and I found my limbs acting against my wishes. I will leave you to your studies of the humans contraption."

"Hold on," Isolde said, pausing the scizor. "I don't mind." She restarted the music and went back to staring at the squiggles the humans claimed to be 'language'.

She really didn't get it. But she would try. Maybe ask that odd typhlosion Nathan for help, since he was always staring at books trying to work out how to read the humans writing.

Slowly, but surely, the tapping began again, and she smiled.

Nathan rubbed an arm self-consciously.

The typhlosion really didn't know how to feel about the current situation. Felix had decided it was time for him to join the team. That was fine. Time away from the others usually did him some good. Or, well, really time with others did him some good since no one spent time with him anyway.

This mareep, however.

He had heard a mention of a new recruit recently but thought little of it. Just another pokémon to create more noise and less space at the good professors laboratory.

So Felix introduced them.

"Nathan, this is Phoebe, our newest teammate. Phoebe, this is Nathan, he is the Team Leader for Johto."

Nathan had cringed at that. He hated being reminded of the lofty position he held that everyone, including himself, believed he didn't deserve.

Phoebe, the mareep, had given him one look. One moment where their eyes met before she grinned wide and loud, lighting up in glee.

"You are my new best friend!" she declared, stamping a hoof. Nathan blinked and Felix beamed. "Come, you must tell me everything."

"Everything?" Nathan gasped. "What do you mean?"

"Everything," Phoebe said firmly. And dragged him away.

Nathan wasn't sure how to feel about this. Phoebe was pleasant now, but only for now. He was sure once she met the others she'd move onto bigger and better friends.

It was nice for now at least.

"Lilith is best to stay away from," he advised. She asked for everything, but he figured it'd be best to educate her on her teammates first. "She probably won't do anything if there are enough others around, or Tristan, Keira, or Felix. But best not to risk her in general."

Phoebe nodded wisely and let him continue, asking questions. It was nice. For now.

Brian rolled the bone he held between his hands. The marowak was on the team and he was having a good time. Felix had used him in a one-on-one battle against a friendly lady and Brian was given the honour of battling a powerful, and beautiful, lopunny.

She had won, but he hadn't let her. He would not besmirch a lady like that.

The oddly coloured lopunny, Cotton apparently, danced around with a floatzel in joy. "Did you see that Dizzy Punch Napoleon?"

The floatzel chuckled. "Sure did. He felt it too."

Cotton giggled and they danced off, filled with smiles and satisfaction.

Brian finished rolling the bone and walked off to return to Felix and the current members of the team. Next time, he swore.

"What's with the door?" Tania demanded to Joey and Malissa. There wasn't always a door there, she was certain.

"I dunno," the castform sighed. "We've tried getting in, but there's just… nothin."

"It's frustrating is what it is!" Malissa snapped, the sableye dragged her claws down her face in annoyance. "What are they doing in there?"

"Who's they?" Tania asked, more intrigued now. She didn't wait for an answer, simply crept up and pressed an ear to the door. Despite her keen ears, her eyes were better anyway, she could hear nothing.

"Emma," Malissa answered, ticking off a claw each as she went. "Isolde. And the new gooey girl Chelsea."

"Those three?" Tania asked, frowning. "What connection do they have?"

"Water-types!" Joey declared happily. Malissa was always the first to pop his balloon of cheerfulness.

"Isolde's a gardevoir," she sighed being giving him a soft knock on the head. "Idiot."

"Oh." Joey thought hard. "…They're girls!"

"So are we," Tania said, gesturing to Malissa. Her face set and she marched to the door. "Hey open up! Open up!" she demanded, banging on the door.

She rattled the door for a moment before the sound of a lock turning caught her attention. "What?" Isolde snapped, pulling the door open.

Tania blinked and glanced to the two thieves behind her. "Did you not try knocking?"

"Well, you see," Malissa began, rubbing her hands together nervously. "When you reach a certain apex of intelligence, you-"

"No," Joey answered, nice and honest. He beamed. "You are so smart Tania."

"Hey." Malissa snapped her claws and he immediately turned to her.

"But not as smart, pretty, or devious as Mistress Malissa!"

The sableye smirked and Tania rolled her eyes, the weavile turning back to the impatient gardevoir. "What are you three doing?"

"None of your business," Isolde said before she glanced behind her. The small room was used for little more than just storing old pieces of machinery. The professor had little use for it and had given permission, once Felix could translate, for the three to use it as a meeting room. "But if you must know, this is the first official meeting of the NFL."

She began to close the door, but Tania stuck a claw through. "Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey!" She forced the door back open. "The who and the what now?"

"The NFL," Emma called, coming to Isolde's assistance and floating up with the shy shellos on her shell. "It's a group Isolde and I have formed to provide an alternative to the Titans."

Tania's eyes narrowed. She was one of the Titan's and a representative from Johto. "The what and the why now?"

"Look," Isolde said, grabbing the door again. "Obviously you aren't going to be interested in this. We are a peaceful group, in human language we mean for it to stand for Non-Fighters-League. The NFL. You are free to fight as you want, but not all of us want to do so, so we are here to provide that support for any future teammates. Now if you have no other business here, which you don't, please leave."

Tania began to back away, eyes still narrowed suspiciously. "Tristan will be hearing about this," she muttered, and Isolde rolled her eyes.

"He already knows."

"Adrien will be hearing about this."

"Go ahead, if you can even approach him."

Frustrated now, Tania snapped. "Malissa will be hearing about this!"

The pokémon in question raised her arm. "Uh…?"

"Oh shut up!" Tania yelled and ran away.

Isolde shook her head as Emma began floating back, speaking softly to Chelsea. Malissa looked up to her and then back to Joey.

"Well we'll be off," she said and skedaddled. Isolde rolled her eyes and shut the door, failing to notice that Malissa had snatched their charter and ran off with a giggling Joey.

"Now where were we?" she asked, looking down to where the charter was not. "I…" she sighed and clenched her fists. "I'll be back."

Professor Rowan braced against a desk as his lab was rocked for the sixth time in the last hour. The place was being torn apart in a violent civil war. He had his eye on the video phone. He needed to make it there before the power was cut, Felix was his only hope.

On the outside, the Titan's tore the landscape apart in a brawl like nothing they had ever faced before.

Each other.

"CHOCOLATE!" Roared the side led by Adrien. Tania, and Tristan repeated his cries.

"VANILLA!" Diego howled with unprecedented seriousness. The arcanine's eyes were narrowed but were lightened slightly by the cry of support from Tyson.

The two forces met in a devastating clash as fire, water, ice, rocks, and bizarre bug waves flew in all directions. The rest of Felix's pokémon had wisely taken shelter to wear out the storm, the NFL was securing pokémon in a bunker.

"STRAWBERRY!"

A new challenger arrived and all five pokémon paused. White fur, red eyes, slate coloured blades poking out from every direction, mixed with grace and fluff.

Lilith stepped forward, blades catching the light as she grinned horrifically at them. "Let the fun begin."

The forces of chocolate and vanilla were forced to stand together against a threat like none other.

And that threat laughed as she cut the power lines. "Strawberry for the strawberry god!"

"Your mother was a thief and stole you from a swamp!"

"This conversation is so worthless it makes you look valuable."

"The last time you won a contest was when everyone else dropped out you shuckle-lipped, mudbray's ass!"

"Every time you talk all I hear is your last ten meals asking you to shut up and kill them already!"

"You are so incompetent that when you fall you miss the ground."

"I feel sorry for you. Your face looks just like your face."

Hearing insults being flung, Andrew couldn't help but find himself interested. Slithering up, the arbok took stock of the situation.

Nathan was frantically trying to record what was being said. He still didn't have the humans language down yet, however, so every few words were wildly wrong.

Phoebe was watching with sheer delight; this was too good, and she had no idea what to do.

Sarah was simply concerned that feelings were being hurt.

The two speakers, Zephyr and Tyson, were finishing up. Zephyr wasn't looking so good.

"W-well, your claws are so fat they do all the eating!"

Tyson smirked. "Your feathers would make for particularly cheap quills that no one would buy."

"A knockout!" Phoebe cheered as Zephyr just rolled over and fainted. "Can anyone hope to face the champion?"

"Your champion iss about as deep as a bowl of ssoup," Andrew said, slithering into play. "And his tongue iss about as ssharp as a ssoup ssspoon."

Tyson twitched and bared his pincers. "Your resolve is so weak even Felix can get rid of you."

Andrew paused and the others did as well, even Zephyr cracked a worried eye open. Tyson seemed confident, however.

"Sso ssayss the drone sso fragile that he had to be ssaved by Felix."

Tyson smiled, a worthy challenge at last.

Elsewhere Felix sneezed and coughed at the same time. He had a feeling he was being insulted somewhere.

Athreos floated uncomfortably.

Baku didn't seem to notice.

The two Ghost-type's held the silence. It was not their first interaction with each other, if you could call this interacting. Felix had happily done a rapid revolving of the team to bring everyone on and introduce them to the new teammate.

So, Athreos had met him then.

Seeping and revolving, whispers of the damned that Athreos was sure that no one besides maybe Malissa and Keira could hear emanating from the spiritomb.

Felix had given him such bright, hopeful, looks. The two were Ghost-type's, perhaps some solidarity could be found there for Athreos.

He didn't exactly have many friends after all.

But no. Baku hadn't thought much of him to begin with and Felix had rotated out the current bunch to get the others once it was apparent everyone had gotten the chance to say hello and not much more was going to happen.

Athreos loved his trainer dearly, but he wished Felix was a little more restrained in his bright, hopeful, eyes. It just made him feel bad when he disappointed him over and over.

So here they were. The first time since Baku had been brought onto the team that Athreos was also transferred on. The dusclops was sure Felix hadn't intended on sticking the two together to interact, bond, and build everlasting friendships.

Pure coincidence that Felix had split them all up into pairs, completely randomly, and sent them all out to train together.

Absolutely. Fan-friggen-tastically. Coincidence.

So now they were just floating together, silent and awkward. Athreos could hear the sounds of combat a hill or three away and almost yearned to be over there. But then he's just be making everyone awkward rather than just himself and one other.

The dusclops sighed. He'd best get this over with.

"So Baku," he began friendlily. "How would you like to begin? Testing moves on each other? What do you know anyway? Any way you like to battle?"

The spiritomb didn't respond for an anxiety-building moment. But eventually he turned, one spiral eye focusing on him while the green slice of his face rolled into his vaporous body and disappeared.

The crooked smile turned to him. "So (so)?" Baku began and Athreos braced, the pressure emanating from Baku was really putting him on edge. "You aren't liked (aren't liked) are you (you)?"

Baku's odd repeating words whispered along with him as Athreos took in a breath. "I… that's a bit strong to start with. Don't you think?"

"Perhaps (haps-haps), but we are curious (I am curious about you). What is it that divides you from (divides you) the others?"

Athreos wanted to rattle his head, but it was hollow anyway. Baku was hard to follow at times. It made a rumbly sound he feared was anger at his hesitation, before speaking again.

"My apologies. The voices sometimes slip out." His voice was normal now, if still carrying an odd resonance.

"My, uh… issues with the others shouldn't be a concern for you," Athreos said. "It is simply a mistake I made that has left some bad tastes in some pokémon's mouths. If you are concerned with making friends, don't be. The pokémon here tend to look past issues in time."

"Would you not tell me? To prevent me from making such a mistake? Keira has a coloured view of me, which I fear may affect the others. There has been some difficulty in socialising. I had hoped the two of us, perhaps…?"

"You… don't want to be friends with me," the dusclops admitted. "That could get you seen as… well, with me."

Baku seemed to roil in place for a bit, colours melding and blending until he returned to normal. His other eye had reappeared.

"Let's just train," Athreos suggested, stepping back slightly and preparing his arms.

"Very well (very well)," Baku said, the whisper was back.

Athreos grimaced, but he would hold firm. This would blow over eventually.

Phoebe froze.

Tyson froze.

Tania froze something outside. She isn't in this part.

"So…" Phoebe began, not sure how to even react to what she was seeing. "It was you. This whole time."

Tyson cringed, the scizor hiding his face with his pincers. "Don't tell the professor," he begged. "Please."

The flaaffy took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I knew already you liked hats," she said, blinking. "But why are you stealing shoes? Musty old human shoes at that?"

"I don't know!"

"I'm going," Phoebe said, backing away.

"Wait!" Tyson pleaded. "Don't tell him! Don't tell Felix to tell him! Don't tell anyone! Please."

Phoebe paused, this was interesting. "What will you give me in return?" she asked, curiously. "This is pretty damning stuff."

"I… I…I… I know a secret!" Tyson proclaimed desperately. "If you don't tell anyone about this, I'll tell you the secret."

Phoebe hesitated, thinking it over. "Hmm. It'd have to be good. What if I already know it? Tell me it and I'll decide."

"That's not fair."

"That's your only choice."

Tyson pouted, odd on a scizor, before gesturing. Phoebe wasn't sure if she wanted to get in close with the shoe thief, but the tantalising secret drew her in.

Tyson leaned in close and whispered it into her ear, Phoebe's eyes going wide.

He drew back and waited, trying not to look too desperate. Phoebe licked her lips before smiling. "Your secret is safe with me," she said warmly, and Tyson sagged in relief.

"Th-thank you."

"You're welcome," Phoebe said and began drifting away. "I've got things to do," she murmured and disappeared.

This was Phoebe's first taste of power. Of the thrill of knowing things others didn't want her to know. It would not be her last.

"I think the berries are plumping up nicely," Sarah said pleasantly. The Sitrus Berry bush that had been planted in her shell months ago had evolved when she had. The former grotle, now a torterra, was a slow, lumbering creature.

She took her time, as she always had. No need to rush things. There was always time.

Felix paused in his tending to the plants on her back. Sarah was something else in terms of pokémon. He really wasn't sure about growing berries on one of his pokémon, seemed like he'd be using her for just that one thing. But Sarah seemed happy about them and often shared the grown berries with wild pokémon.

She was a gentle thing, motherly. He was a little surprised she had refused the offer to join that funny small group of pokémon Emma and Isolde had set up. The NFL.

"It isn't quite for me," Sarah had explained when he asked. "I do enjoy a good scrap and I'm not shy about knocking a foe out. The girls are lovely though, I hope I didn't hurt their feelings."

Isolde had been a bit standoffish for a few days but had shrugged it off and returned to being pleasant.

Felix snipped some overgrowth off the torterra tree and brushed the leaves off. Sarah continued slowly making her way forward, carrying him plus the trio of starly that had perched on her spikes.

It was a lovely day.

Shira landed harshly, bouncing once and then twice more. She caught herself with some claws and shook the impact off.

It was hard though. Since her face then received a follow-up strike.

"Grr, stop!" She lashed out with claws seeping with darkness and knocked her aggressive attacker back.

Keira did a cartwheel before stopping to raise her paws again. This time she did let Shira regain her bearings.

"Had enough?" Keira asked and Shira sneered at her. Somehow, the lucario managed to sound both genuinely earnest and brutally mocking at the same time.

"I'll show you enough," Shira growled before glinting pink and rushing forward in a tsunami of claws, paws, and tail, smacking Keira around like she was a ball of string.

Zephyr watched the two fight it out with something resembling awe on his beak. Although he'd claim to have fought a hundred lucario at once if anyone pointed it out.

He watched as Shira slashed out at Keira's feet, forcing the lucario to jump lest she have her balance knocked out. And then used Keira's airborne proneness to blast her with a Power Gem she had been charging up. Choosing the big bang mode.

Keira did a flip, flying out of the smoke and rocky debris, and landed little worse-for-wear.

Shira smirked and did a rapid dance in place, paws lighting up and leaving glowing pawmarks in the ground that began to float up. Keira formed a Dragon Pulse, forming it with her mouth and raising her paws as it grew bigger, before Shira found the move she was looking for.

Assist became Earthquake and Keira staggered, losing control of the Dragon Pulse and causing it to explode in her own face. The persian did not give the lucario any chance to recover, and Zephyr found that appropriate considering Keira's previous behaviour in this battle.

They fought until Felix called an end to any ongoing situations and brought everyone in for dinner.

"Good fight," Keira breathed, stretching out an arm. Shira smirked, but she was more battered than the lucario was.

"Made you sweat," she bragged before prancing off, demanding food.

Zephyr flew after her, hovering above the feline pokémon with a nervous energy.

"See something you like?" Shira asked, not looking up at him. Zephyr squawked in surprise and nearly fell out of the sky but caught himself in time.

"Just kinda impressed," he admitted, and Shira did look up at him this time. She didn't stop walking though. "Even though you're a Normal-type like me, you were fighting Keira on equal footing."

Shira smirked her sassy smile. "Oh? Is that an admittance of inferiority from you?"

"What?" Zephyr squawked, flapping in a panic as he rethought his words. "Never!"

Shira rolled her eyes, tail waving lazily. "I've had a few years to get to know how Keira fights," she said as they neared Felix and his pot of unmentionable foodstuffs. "So I can at least give her a challenge. Even though I'm a 'Normal-type'."

Zephyr shook his feathers as he landed, wanting to say something against that. Shira was already moving on, however, so he held his tongue and just waited in line.

It was funny, he thought, that the two of them were Normal-types and the two of them were also brought onto the team in some of the most 'normal' ways for human trainers. They were battled and overpowered, leading to capture.

Unlike the majority of the other pokémon.

Very 'normal'.

"Alright Adrien?" Felix begun, nervously standing atop of cliff with some stiff wind blowing. "You ready?"

The aerodactyl peered over the edge doubtfully. "Seems stupid," he said. "But yes, ready."

Felix nodded and took a breath. "Hoo…" and prepared to run and leap off the cliff.

Phoebe, Sahara, and Sarah were all watching fearfully, while Keira was bored.

Lilith was amused. "Do a flip."

It may seem odd for Felix to be jumping off cliffs. But he had a reason. Like many of Felix's more dubious choices, it was perhaps not a good reason. But a reason nonetheless.

He ran and leaped, the solidness of ground abandoning him to the whims of the wind immediately. Despite the fall, and the increasing speeds he was falling at, Felix didn't scream. He had fallen off cliffs before, he tended to scream then.

Falling off cliffs was a bad habit of his really, which was why he had finally bit the bullet and started training Adrien for this. Sahara was usually capable of catching him if he fell some great distance, but the older large Flying-type still was not so great at it.

Due to Felix's alarming tendency to fall off cliffs, it was agreed that he should probably learn.

So Felix fell and he waited, eyes squinted against the wind. He heard the swoop of a massive creature and was comforted. Felix was hit with a sense of calm that amused him. Not four years ago, when he first heard that sound, it brought the feeling of terror, loathing, and anger. Adrien had tried to kill him after all, multiple times, and here he was, trusting him to catch him.

The sound passed under him and Felix looked down, Adrien was matching his fall as planned and was growing closer to him. Felix reached out until his fingers scraped against the rocky skin of the aerodactyl and he groped at him until he got a handhold.

Adrien pressed up against him before adjusting his path, moving from a nose dive to a gradual glide. They both felt the pressure of gravity trying to pull them down, Felix's weight was noticeable to Adrien and he nearly panicked in trying to adjust for it.

The wind balanced out as Adrien's wings went taunt, an old scar shining white against the sun, and Felix felt the wind blowing his hair up turn to blowing his hair back. They were gliding now, and he cheered.

"Fantastic Adrien!" he cheered and the other four sensible pokémon did too. Lilith was only a little disappointed they didn't splat.

Adrien pointed them upwards and began the climb, Felix holding on firmly. Once they were at the top, Keira helped him off, so Felix didn't slip back and fall off the cliff… again.

"Great work Adrien," Keira said warmly and the aerodactyl snorted and turned away. Praise was still something he didn't know how to deal with, not from her at least.

Felix chuckled and patted him on the side before nodding out to the cliff. "Looks like we've got it down." He turned the grin to Sahara. "You don't have to worry so much now!"

The flygon scoffed. "I know you're tough boss." But she was blushing a little.

"Okay, since the fun stuff never happened," Lilith growled, "can we go?"

"Haha, sure."

Felix smiled at the whole of his pokémon, even as Phoebe gripped onto his arm and wouldn't let go. He loved these dysfunctional nutcases.

This was a lot of fun to write actually. I think I may continue using this kind of set-up for future chapters. Not all of them, but when I'm having trouble figuring out what to write. I think. Could even interject little moments within the chapters or write longer parts rather than just small snippets.

Yes… I like that.