Obstruct

4.

Forgiveness

"Will they be okay?"

Nurse Joy offered the best smile she could given the circumstances. "They'll be just fine by morning. Chansey is already healing Zigzagoon, and Clefable is tending to Bellsprout. I must ask, though, are you aware your Bellsprout has unnaturally narrow veins?" When Ash's expression twisted into one of puzzlement, Joy continued: "This phenomenon is mostly found in wild bellsprout, but yours is even thinner than the average wild bellsprout. I noticed when I found they were full substance. Are you teaching it ingrain?"

"Giga drain," Ash corrected. His mind was buzzing with his recent loss, Izzy's refusal to listen to him, and this new information. He couldn't find it in himself to focus.

Nurse Joy winced. "That explains it. Bellsprout aren't made to absorb the energy of other pokémon, but rather take the complete nutrition of others or consume the sun rays. Ingrain is a manageable move sense they're taking water from the ground, but giga drain in unnatural. With how thin Bellsprout's veins are, it could be detrimental."

As if slapped, Ash stumbled back a step. He was hurting Bellsprout by teaching him a move. It was his fault Bellsprout went through those spasms. He hurt his pokémon. When he considered it, it did make sense that bellsprout and weepinbell weren't built to take energy from others. They learned no absorption moves through natural progression. Victreebel were different since they could learn the likes of leech life and stockpile. They could sap away the lives of others without killing them. "I had no idea," Ash said lowly.

"Is there a way to make them larger?" he asked. "Without hurting him anymore?"

"It hurts him?" She frowned.

Ash nodded, ashamed. "When I first started teaching him, he had a few spasms and screamed. I didn't know it was as bad as it is, so I just limited his training."

"Limiting it was a good call, but I suggest stopping it altogether. It takes a skilled individual to teach a bellsprout giga drain effectively."

Ash held his tongue. He wanted to call her bluff and say he was a skilled enough trainer; that he'd already gotten far enough that Bellsprout used it in his battle. The thought that almost a week's worth of effort would be fruitless left a foul taste in his mouth. If that's what had to happen, though, he had little choice. He couldn't keep hurting Bellsprout for the sake of having a powerful move to use against Brock.

"Where's Zigzagoon?"

Ash's expression soured. "Her name is Izzy."

Sonia rolled her eyes, set a bowl of curry in front of Ash, and then sat down with her own. "Okay, where is Izzy? You two seemed inseparable."

Ash liked to believe he and Izzy were inseparable, but him leaving the pokémon center proved that wasn't the case. A hand gripped around his heart as another wave of dread overcame him. He'd never been alone. He always had his mom, or Damian and Gary, or Izzy; someone was always with him even if he wanted isolation. Even with Sonia sitting across from him, he felt empty without someone meaningful near him. Even Gary offered another part of Ash that normally wasn't there; one ready to battle at a moment's notice, a competitive side that wouldn't be half as prominent without him there to fuel it.

"Ash?"

He looked up. "She's at the pokémon center. Lost her first battle."

"That bad?"

"Brick break and then a thunder."

"That's tough, kid," Sonia said. "You wouldn't make it one day in Galar, though. The only place I've been that's tamer than Kanto is Alola. Cozy place. Everyone in sync with nature and their pokémon. Their Z-moves are nothing on what Galar has, though." She laughed to herself.

Ash listened, taking a bite, finding it not up to his tastes. It wasn't awful. It was great in fact, but there was something off about it, almost like he was incapable of enjoying it. He choked it down.

"You look like someone close died. Lighten up."

Ash dropped his spoon into the bowl of rice and curry. "You don't know what I'm going through right now!" he snapped, wincing instantly.

Sonia took a bite of her food and waited until Ash sat and calmed himself. "Try having a pokémon lose its ultimate battle." Her words were as dull as the expression on her face and made Ash's eyes widen. "Like I said: you wouldn't make it in Galar. Death is as natural as birth, as natural as us breathing in and out, just easier."

Death being easier? That hardly made sense. Nothing was harder than accepting the death of someone you cared for. Ash couldn't imagine; he didn't want to. The mere consideration of his mom or one of his friends leaving the world made him sick to the stomach.

"You're wrong," he said. "It's not easier."

Sonia shrugged. "Think what you will. You'll see one day that mercy is easier done than said."

Ash assumed Sonia had no clue what she was talking about. Changing the subject he said: "Can you tell me more about the zigzagoon in Galar?"

Sonia smirked. "Curious, huh? Well, I'm sure you've already figured out most of what's to know. Aggressive, likes to hunt, a slobber-making machine. It's probably worse here since it's not as cold and dry here as it is in Galar. They can learn any moves a 'normal', as you people would say, zigzagoon can. Not usually loving as Izzy is, but it's not unheard of. Mostly popular with troubled trainers rebelling against the region, so don't be surprised if you eventually see other trainers from Galar here with their zigzagoon; they want out as soon as possible.

"We even have a research facility in Vermilion City working on mending us together," she continued. "It's run by Professor Sakuragi. That old man honestly thinks Galar and Kanto can work out their differences with time. I suggest staying away from Vermilion City at all costs. He is not sane."

The corners of Ash's mouth twitched up for a moment. "Vermilion City has a gym in it. I'll go there eventually." In fact, it would be in the near future since Lt. Surge was considered one of the easier opponents due to his tendency to use only one or two pokémon against challengers. That didn't automatically mean victory, though, as the success rate was still only at thirty percent, a major step up from the less than one percent Viridian City had, though.

"You're taking the gym challenge?" Sonia perked up, interested. "Have you defeated the gym here?"

Ash shook his head. "No. I don't even think he's here right now. Besides, he only accepts challengers from people with at least six badges."

"Gym leaders can say no to challengers? Ten years ago, that would be like begging for a lawsuit in Galar."

"Killing someone's pokémon would insinuate the same result, I'd think."

"Dynamaxed pokémon can't die, so the likelihood of that happening is non-existent." Sonia shrugged. "Besides, Galar is more technically advanced than Kanto. We have our ways of keeping pokémon alive."

"You're telling me a lot about Galar," Ash commented. "What's next? You're gonna give the PokéDex entry of every pokémon there?"

"What's a PokéDex?"

Her neutral expression grew confused, and Ash couldn't tell if she was pulling his leg or not. She claimed Galar was more technically advanced than Kanto, yet she didn't know about the single best device for recording pokémon data? Were Galar and Kanto on such bad grounds that they didn't even share the same technology? Did that mean he shouldn't share it with her? If Professor Oak hadn't told them yet, then it wasn't up to him to do so.

"Professor Oak's invention," he said simply. "You should ask him about it when you get the chance."

Sonia frowned and gave him a harsh stare. "I'll be sure to... Tell me: do you know the history between Galar and Kanto?"

"No..?"

"Don't look so hopeful," Sonia said with an eye roll. "I'm not a history teacher. I'm not reliving it just so you know a little more about the world."

"Then why ask?"

"Because I wanted to know the answer. You're thirteen, right?"

"Ten," he corrected.

"Praise, Zacian, you're young." She grimaced. Why Kanto would allow ten-year-olds out on the field after such a recent war surpassed comprehension. A year ago, and kids were allowed to train creatures capable of supernatural powers that could bring any human to their knees. "Then you don't need to get caught up in the conflict. I suggest waiting a few months before letting any gym leaders see Izzy, so the announcements will have reached them by then. Otherwise, you'll be mistaken for someone of Galar."

A few months?! Ash was, at most, two weeks away from Pewter City, and no way was he going to wait any longer than that for his first gym battle. He might lose as badly as he did earlier, but that was a risk he'd take.

Inwardly, he shook the thought from his mind. No, he couldn't lose anymore. It wasn't an option. Izzy was so angry with him before, and he simply couldn't risk that again. He hoped she forgave him for his incompetents. She may not have listened to him when he told her to dodge, but that didn't make his lack of understanding before any better.

They'd both been at fault.

"I can't promise anything," Ash said, knowing well he'd be going against her suggestion completely.

Sonia laughed. "Figured. At least my people and yours have one thing in common: a refusal to follow common sense."

Ash woke with a start. Snapping his eyes open, the first thing he noticed was how dark it was. The lights of outside buildings didn't spill in through the window, and the annoying light from the hall no longer refused him sleep from underneath the door. The dark was nothing to fear, but the things the darkness concealed were.

Pushing himself out of bed, he rubbed his neck, used to the feeling of Izzy's fur and the smell of Bellsprout's toxins. Sighing, Ash tried flipping on the bedside lamp. Twisting the knob a few times, he realized it wasn't coming on. A power outage. That explained the lack of light from outside. Outages weren't uncommon, though Ash hadn't experienced one for a little over a year. Zapdos and Raikou were often at odds with each other so if they decided to clash again. The entirety of Kanto, and even Johto if that was their battlefield, would be out for several hours at least. That's why electrode and ampharos were highly valued between the lands. They may not be strong in battle, but they generated enough electricity to power several cities at a time until all things went back to normal.

He grabbed his flashlight and left his room. Judging from the lack of concerned chattering, he assumed no one else noticed the outage. When he made it to the waiting room, he saw Nurse Joy and Chansey, an oil lamp to guide them.

"Nurse Joy," he acknowledged.

"The generators went out," she explained without prompting. "Even the backup."

"Was it the legends?"

Her face turned grim. "I don't think so. We would've heard it if their fight got bad enough to knock out the backup generator."

They likely would've heard it either way. Many said Zapdos's wings created terrible thunderstorms capable of swallowing hundreds of miles worth of sky, and Raikou's roared literal thunderclaps. If they collided, there'd be a crazy storm, at the very least.

Legendaries' existence were more often than not speculated, but with the likes of Kanto and Johto's shared trios, no one denied their existence. They were a part of the world. What people speculated was their origin, why they were as powerful as they were, and what they added to the world with their strength.

"Why not power-up the backup generator then?" Ash asked.

"The pikachu we have here had no effect on it."

Ash gulped. "Meaning..."

"Someone must have turned it off." Nurse Joy nodded. "That's why I haven't let my post." Doing so would make it easy for whoever caused the outage to get into the back room with all the pokémon.

"How are—?"

The sound of glass shattering cut him off, and the room lit with the blinding beams of pokémon leaving their balls. Ash twisted around, surprised with the appearance of two pokémon. One was an ekans, purple in color and a flattening neck showing it was close to evolving. The other one floated in the air, matching ekan's color, and spouting nasty greenish-purple fumes from its wide pores. Ash pulled out his PokéDex to confirm it was a koffing. Ekans and koffing. Two of the most deadly poison-types native to Kanto. Only muk could compare and even surpass them.

Not good.

Ash jumped when the front door crashed open. He shone his flashlight that direction to see a man, a woman, and a meowth standing on its hind legs with its arms crossed. The two humans wore a white uniform with a red 'R' printed over the front of it. A sense of dread he'd felt earlier that day overcame him as he recognized the iconic uniform.

"Team Rocket," he said aloud, mouth going dry.

"So the word's gone around," the woman said. "We're back, and kicking off our duties by stealing every pokémon in this place!"

Those words snapped Ash out of his fearful state. "I won't let you!"

"How cute," the man mocked. "A brat thinking he can stop us. Koffing, do show him how wrong he is. Smog!"

Ash instinctively reached for his belt, only to find no pokéball. At that moment he wanted to smack himself. He picked a fight with two Team Rocket members with some of the most powerful poison-types, all while having no pokémon of his own ready to battle.

"Chansey, use protect!" Nurse Joy called.

Chansey jumped in front of Ash at a speed such a plump pokémon had no right to reach. Lifting her arms, a transparent shield of many glossy colors materialized over her, easily tanking Koffing's blast of black toxins.

The lady smirked. "If all you can do is protect, this will be easy. Ekans, use iron tail to break it!"

Ekans hissed and charged through Koffing's smog. It came out with no harm, whipping its glowing metallic-colored tail into the air before crashing it against the shield. Chansey squeaked as the force made her stumble. Ekans threw its tail around before smashing into the protect, shattering it and slamming into Chansey, who cried out.

"Acid!" the woman called out.

Ekans hacked up a stream of foul-smelling liquids. Chansey shut her eyes immediately, and her nurse hat began to steam and corrode as the acid hit its mark. Using what little muscle mass she had, Chansey grabbed Ekans and threw it at the criminal duo. Normal chansey didn't fight. They had neither the body or mind to do so. To force them into battle was torture as they wanted nothing more than to heal others, yet this Chansey appeared well trained. Perhaps not to fight, but to defend.

Nurse Joy pulled Ash away from the fight. She shouted at Team Rocket: "Stop this, right now! Have you not learned your lesson?!"

The two smirked. "But of course," the man said. "Though you mustn't understand what the lesson was."

"Pewter City always has their gym leader. Viridian, at this moment, doesn't," the woman further explained. "But enough casual conversation. Finish the job, Ekans!"

"You too, Koffing! Sludge!"

Hacking once more, Ekans spat another stream of acid while Koffing launched globs of toxins already corroding each other by merely existing. Chansey reached to cover her face, but her arms proved uselessly short. A fiery stream of orange flames shot out, catching the attacks and baking them instantly. Chansey dared a look to see Clefable standing there.

Nurse Joy smiled. "So everyone is stable?"

Clefable didn't offer so much as a glance, simply giving a thumbs up.

"A fairy is helpless to poison! Poison fang, now!"

Ekans launched forward and opened its mouth wide to display growing fangs. Clefable's hands went from thumbs up to flipping up what appeared to be its pointer finger. She waggled them and opened her mouth to release a steaming torrent of water. Out Clefable's mouth, and into Ekans's it went, stopping the snake in its stance. Gurgling down the boiling water, it screamed out as its insides burned with the unwelcome drink. Falling to the ground, it began convulsing.

Clefable waggled a finger once more, wincing as electricity encircled it in a painful cloak. Even not used to it, Clefable knew how to use it effectively, launching into a full-blown tackle, knocking both Ekans and Koffing into their trainers.

"Are you kidding me?" Meowth shouted, surprising all but those he was with. "What kind of dumb luck does that thing have?!"

Clefable grunted.

"It doesn't matter!" the woman shouted, recalling her fallen pokémon as her partner did the same. "We have to get out of here."

Clefable's narrowed her eyes, wagging another finger. Something clicked within her as more static filled the room, this time around her hand. Glowing orange in the center and sparking aggressively thick volts. It grew fast, half the size of her, before she threw it at the criminals. Shooting forward faster than they ever could've hoped to run.

The fight was incredible, and Ash was nothing but a burden in it all. A prop. No way could he get back to sleep now, even after Officer Jenny took the crooks away. It was all too fresh. He was glad no one was hurt, and he never expected to be much help against a group of criminals, but to be a burden was something that didn't sit well with him.

With a sigh, Ash sat up. The lights were back on with the back-up generator now activated. There were several trainers also awake now, waiting for their pokémon so they could leave. Damian or Leaf were nowhere in sight.

He stood and went over to the front desk. "How are my pokémon?" he asked. It wasn't that he was wanting to snatch them up and leave town immediately like all the others, but he still wanted to know.

"Zigzagoon's electrical burns have been almost completely healed, and Bellsprout is perfectly fine," Nurse Joy explained, her usual cheerful voice drained from the entire ordeal.

"Can I have Bellsprout back then?" he asked. He didn't want to be a bother, but he needed someone close by him. If that someone was Bellsprout, so be it. Nurse Joy nodded and motioned for Chansey to retrieve the pokéball, which it came back with in ample time. Ash took it with thanks and went back to his spot. Letting his friend out, he smiled.

Bellsprout looked around and then up to see Ash. He waved his leaf and burbled happily.

"Good to see you, too," Ash said, petting the round of Bellsprout's head, making it bob back and forth. Even when Ash took his hand away, Bellsprout continued to sway. Ash couldn't deny how adorable Bellsprout was. Well, as adorable as a pest-eating pest could be.

"So, we're gonna have to stop learning giga drain, okay?"

Bellsprout stilled. He looked up with a head tilt. Didn't he already know the basics of that move? He used it in battle so didn't that make it official?

"I don't want you using it since it hurts you." At least it hurts him when used too much. How much was too much, Ash wasn't sure, so he decided to cease the technique altogether. "We can start working on other moves, like stun spore and razor leaf." He couldn't believe the words leaving his mouth. They weren't like him at all. "You understand?"

Bellsprout shook his head.

"Me neither."

The pokémon center cleared out slowly through the morning, and it was still relatively early when Ash decided it was time to head out for some fresh air as well. The door was still damaged from the electric attack Clefable sent at it. The smell of burning acid was a welcomed leave as he exited the building with a sigh. Bellsprout took long, clumsy steps beside him.

They made it to the show Ash found the ice beam TM for Izzy and walked in. It was dusty and dark compared to outside. Bellsprout looked around, not liking the looks of the place one bit. Burbling distastefully, he tugged at Ash's pant leg.

"Hang on, I'm looking for a move for you to learn," Ash said as he flipped through the TMs. Though he saw them all yesterday, he hadn't paid much attention to the ones he figured Izzy couldn't learn. He sought something that would help Bellsprout be a better battler. Swords dance and double team were always good moves to add to an arsenal, but the store didn't carry them. They had solar beam, but that costed four times as much money Ash had at the moment. It'd be a great move, and a surprising one, too. No one would suspect a little bellsprout would pack such a powerful move, but that would come later. Energy ball was another great option, but they only had the permanent version of the TM that costed way too much. Besides, Ash wanted something that would make Bellsprout a better battler overall, not just another powerful move to boot. About to give up, he checked the final tiny box of TMs and grinned.

Sunny day.

The perfect move. Bellsprout, though still faster than Paul's Grotle, was way too slow for Ash's liking. He knew how fast his buddy could be, and so see Bellsprout not at that level was saddening. Sunny day would fix that issue.

The move was a complex one. The user creates a dome over the battlefield that draws in light and intensifies it like a magnifying glass. The light within the dome was as bright as the sun and had the same warming properties as the sun, which allowed chlorophyll to activate. It also made growth grow the pokémon twice as large as they would otherwise, and solar beam would launch two times faster than usual.

The only issue would be fire-types, as sunny day powers up their fire moves, but it wasn't like Ash would pin Bellsprout against a fire-type. They'd be silly.

"Bellsprout what do you think—? Bellsprout?" Ash looked down to where Bellsprout was to find he wasn't there. Looking around, he found the grass-type trying on a silky white scarf he found on the shelf. "Bellsprout, what are you doing with that?"

Bellsprout twisted around surprised before tapping the scarf and tied it with his vines to look like a bow tie. He smiled, content.

"You can't have that."

Eyes growing wide, Bellsprout recoiled and covered the scarf with his arms so Ash couldn't possibly take it away.

"I have this for you," Ash said, holding up the TM. "It'll help you learn sunny day."

Bellsprout shook his head. He was already learning and grasping the concept of giga drain. No way was he going to start on another move. Well, at least not a battling move. He did need to learn a few moves to get Izzy's attention, and a scarf seemed like the best possible thing to do that. It'd make him look different so Izzy would see him more than a mere bellsprout. He'd be a classy bellsprout that was well-dressed and worked on mastering one move at a time. Just because Ash was flip-flopping didn't mean Bellsprout had to be that way.

Ash frowned. "Are you going to start disobeying me?"

He recoiled again at the thought. Shaking his head, Bellsprout couldn't believe Ash would come to such a conclusion. He may not have been an all-loyal pet, but he was still Ash's pokémon, thus listening was a given. In battle, at least. Outside of battle, disagreements could be had, like this one.

The scarf was his. He was wearing it, so that made it official. He couldn't wait to see Izzy's reaction to his new attire. He gurgled happily, shaping the scarf around his twig-like neck. Perfect.

Ash knew better than to let Bellsprout get his way. It was never a good idea to let a pokémon take what they want, but it didn't look like he'd be getting the scarf off him anytime soon, if ever. Sighing, Ash shook his head and said: "I'll see how much it costs."

Bellsprout started dancing. He'd won this battle.

Ash walked up to the front desk, the same man from yesterday there. "Excuse me, sir. How much is that scarf?" He pointed at Bellsprout.

The man glanced over and said: "Fifty."

Outrageously cheap.

"Okay, I'll take that, and then this." Ash handed over the TM. After paying for it, he dragged Bellsprout out. "Why did you want that thing anyway?"

Bellsprout held his leaves out to point to himself as if it were obvious.

"You think it looks good on you?"

Nod.

"Can't argue with that logic," Ash said with a laugh. He lifted Bellsprout's ball. "You need to return so I can teach you sunny day."

Before getting his approval, Ash pulled Bellsprout back into the pokéball and went back to the pokémon center. They had a machine that would allow Ash to transfer over the TM to Bellsprout. It was free to use and sat on the front desk next to Nurse Joy to ensure it was never tampered with. Ash nodded acknowledging that Nurse Joy was watching and placed Bellsprout's ball in the case and slid the TM disk in as well. When he pressed the button, the ball began to spin with the disk, Ash couldn't help but worry that Bellsprout was feeling the motions. Izzy hadn't, but knowing how crazy Bellsprout was, Ash had a sneaking suspicion that he could feel it.

The rim around the pokéball glowed a fiery red, a stark contrast to the icy blue Izzy's had given off but no less intense.

Through the device, Ash could see the disk getting scratched and ruined as Bellsprout absorbed the knowledge of sunny day. The permanent style of TMs had an extra layer of protection on the disk that was as unbreakable as a pokéball. Temporary ones weren't terrible, though. The scratches could be buffed out and the knowledge of the move could also be added again. That's why it was advised trainers keep used TMs.

The rim lit up once more before the light died down. The spinning slowed to a stop. Ash took the ball and the disk when it popped out. Though he couldn't see himself using sunny day for any other pokémon, he put it back in the case it came in and pocketed it.

Before he left the center again, he asked Nurse Joy: "When can I take Izzy back?"

Nurse Joy hummed in consideration as she clicked a few buttons on her computer. "Oh, dear... It would seem she's causing some issues for Clefable."

Wincing, Ash said: "Sorry. She's not the most well-behaved."

"That's fine. You can take her back now, though I wouldn't recommend battling too much."

"I'll take her then."

Nurse Joy nodded and sent Chansey to get Izzy. When the adorable pokémon came back with the pokéball on a tray, Ash took it. "Thanks for healing her."

"Just doing what's right," Nurse Joy said smiling, appearing to be back to her usual self.

Out the door and out the most populated part of the city, Ash let his two pokémon out of their pokéballs. Bellsprout popped out stumbling with his bow tie undone, as Ash expected. Izzy didn't wear her usual smile to greet Ash. Instead, she kept her eyes diverted toward the treeline. Her fur was a mess, looking like she'd only just been electrocuted.

"Izzy, come here," Ash said, kneeling to her level. "I can brush back your hair."

Pink eyes met Ash's, and she huffed, laying herself down where she stood.

"...Or I guess I could come over there and do it." Ash did as he said and started running his fingers through her fur, glad to know there wasn't an electric current going through her. As he dug his fingers through her fur, he felt her skin lacked scabs and bumps.

Izzy sighed deeply, content despite the bitterness simmering within her. She tensed with Ash's next words:

"I'll do my best to not disappoint you anymore. I'll help you reach an unbeatable level."

She dug her head lower to the ground. Unbeatable... Such a nice-sounding label. Izzy once thought she was unbeatable; way back when she lacked such a nickname. Then that man came with his blasted duck of a pokémon, blitzing her down with a single attack before capturing her and shipping her off to this unknown land.

A treaty.

A peace treaty.

An offering.

That's what she was until Professor Oak gave her to Ash.

Ash... He didn't understand her style of battling. Not from the moment they had their first battle together. The way he called out for her to dodge was not something she could easily follow. Not with her morals. She needed a sneaky approach, one that allowed her dark-typing to stand out. It was how she was born and raised.

Moving her head up, she licked Ash's hand once and stood, ready for a hunt. Rumbling, she charged into the forest. Ash didn't stop her.

Bellsprout had fixed his bow tie and looked crushed that Izzy hadn't noticed him at all. He made a move to follow after, but Ash stopped him with: "Not so fast! We need to practice sunny day."

Bellsprout shook his head and grew a handful of green tendrils to simulate he was still working on giga drain.

When Ash's face paled, Bellsprout wondered if the sunny day was made for Ash to get a bit more sun when such a moment arose. Sighing, the flower pokémon got rid of the tendrils and placed his leaf arms together. Then, a glowing orb expanded over Bellsprout from between his arms until it covered him in a thin, transparent film.

Blinking in confusion, Bellsprout burbled an apology for not being able to bring some color to his trainer, but instead of looking disapproving, Ash smiled.

"That was great, buddy!" he praised.

Still bewildered, Bellsprout danced and smiled as a drop of acid seeped from his mouth.

Even if the sunny day didn't expand fully over a wide space, Bellsprout's display was still admirable in Ash's eyes. Besides, Ash figured a smaller sunny day would be beneficial. It would stick to Bellsprout and not offer others the ability to use it. Other chlorophyll users would receive none of the added effects of sunny day, while Bellsprout would be able to keep up to speed.

Ash only knew the basics of sunny day, but judging from the way Bellsprout formed it from an orb, Ash assumed it could be focused quite well with the right control. Right now, though, Ash needed to teach Bellsprout to better use sunny day overall. "As great as it was, I think it can get better."

Bellsprout nodded.

"Try throwing the orb of light up in the air."

Another nod. Bellsprout formed a ball of light between his leaves, focusing much of his energy into it. He lifted it into the air, but it lost its glow instantly and fazed out of existence. Bellsprout couldn't help but feel this was going to be worse than learning giga drain. Why his trainer would ever choose this move over an offensive technique failed him.

"Try again."

The smell of ozone distorted Izzy's sense of smell, leaving her stomach churning. No matter how much she pawed at her muzzle, it wouldn't go away, making hunting impossible. When she attempted to use odor sleuth, the burning smell of electricity frying her came back full-force, making her wince. The elekid was more aggressive than any morpeko she'd ever met. At least when morpeko were angry, their wheel attack was made of dark energy, which Izzy could use to fuel her dastardly intent. That thunder was an absolute nightmare.

Izzy gritted her fangs, her hatred boiling like her blood had when struck with electricity. Scrapping her claws along the ground, she whipped up a quick dust bath, imagining the bits of dirt inflicting pain when getting in the electric-type's eyes.

Her anger slowly ebbed into a grin. That was it. Sand attack was a basic technique but also considered a dirty tactic. If Bellsprout could jab that grotle in the eyes with his vine, then sand attack, something learned by pidgey of all things, should be legal.

Izzy had many moves to master, but that didn't mean she couldn't start learning another. Sand attack would be her personal project while she would keep learning odor sleuth and improving her ice beam. Her quick attack was more than usable. It was nearing a mastery. The streak that trailed behind her when using the move was long and stayed as long as she held up the move. Her reflexes when using it were even getting better every time she used it.

Overall, Izzy saw no reason she couldn't start working on a new tactic, especially when it fit her too well.

Scanning her surroundings, she wondered if she could still catch some lunch even with one of her senses taken away. She stuck low to the ground and crept soundlessly. Every time she instinctively went to sniff a bit deeper, she halted her movements. She perked up when she heard a human voice. Lifting herself onto her hind legs to look over a bush, her ears retracted flat against her skull.

A girl dressed in electabuzz-inspired clothing sent out a tiny, yellow wooloo-looking pokémon. Izzy remembered seeing them, but never got their name.

"Alright, Mareep, you're pitching today! Give it your all with a fast-electro ball!" the girl cheered on as if an audience were watching.

The mareep held its knob of a tail up, the light bulb glowed and sparked shamefully little compared to Paul's Elekid. Izzy snickered. The tiny thing was outdone by the baby form of electabuzz.

Mareep narrowed its eyes and spun around to launch a tiny ball of electricity at the bush Izzy was behind, but it exploded before it could land.

"Mareep, what were you thinking?!" the girl called. "We aim for the trees when we train." Mareep put up its best aggressive stance, but the poor thing was too cute and fluffy to possibly find intimidating. "Mareep?" she questioned as said pokémon stepped over to the bush with a static pulse.

Izzy flashed her fangs with a grin before jumping from her spot. Mareep fell over, clearly not expecting someone to come out after such a warning.

The girl raised a brow. "What is that?" She tried scanning it with her PokéDex, but nothing came up. A smirk appeared on her face. "That must mean it's rare! Let's catch it, Mareep! Thunder wave!"

Izzy scoffed. Yeah, cause that was possible. But now was a good a time as ever to test the move she planned to blind every electric-type with. She steadied herself on all fours, digging one hand of claws into the dusty earth. Mareep was a lot more direct, rubbing its wool together to gather electricity before sending it at Izzy in waves. Whereas elekid's electricity was so fast that a blink would make you miss it, mareep's was the complete opposite. Izzy charged, digging up a cloud of dust, killing the weak electric current before bursting into mareep with a quick attack.

Mareep tumbled onto its back, legs struggling to stand itself up. Izzy's eye twitched. The strange trainer seemed annoyed. Whether it was at her pokémon or Izzy, it was hard to say.

After helping Mareep back up, the girl demanded: "Tackle it! Then use thunder wave."

Tackle? Izzy had ungraded from that basic move. Quick attack was the far superior move. More than eager to prove just that, Izzy charged forward, kicking dust behind her stream of white blur. She slammed into the mareep again and again from all angles as the little electric-type failed to keep up.

The girl didn't appear to know what to do.

Until Izzy's assault came to a screeching halt. With one particular blow, the friction of all her previous attacks built up enough electric current to stimulate the thing into paralyzing her. Growling, she shakily turned around to face the injured but still standing mareep. It had durability, she'd give it that.

"Static," the girl realized. "Perfect timing! Now, to catch it." She pulled out a pokéball.

Izzy's eyes burned at the sight. She tolerated her assigned ball and begin sucked into it, but the imagery of the blasted thing coming at her, her having no way to escape it — she wasn't about to experience that again. The moment the girl hurled it, Izzy sent a jagged beam of ice energy to freeze the ball, stopping it from coming any closer. It landed on the ground and instantly started thawing.

Realization shown in the girl's eyes. "You're already caught!"

Was it not obvious? Before another thought could be spared, Izzy shot another ice beam at mareep, sending the fluff ball into a tree with the sheer force of it, knocking it out instantly, like all those quick attacks should've done.

A great feeling came out of defeating it. Izzy looked to the branches overhead and began howling.

Bellsprout turned to see Izzy approaching the treeline, dropping the orb of light instantly and walking over to meet her halfway. He burbled and pointed at his scarf bow tie. She blinked and walked right past him.

Ash frowned when Bellsprout dropped the sunny day, but perked up seeing the little interaction. Izzy was either clueless or uninterested. "You get a good catch?" he asked. She'd been gone for a while and looked a bit scuffed up, but she shook her head. Not even a growl for added emphasis. "That's okay. We can head to eat with Sonia."

Izzy smiled, letting her tongue fall out the side of her mouth. She barked and took off running. "Hey! Izzy, slow down..." Ash sighed and held his arm out. "C'mon, buddy. I'm sure you'll like the food too."

Bellsprout stared at Ash's arm for a moment. He tilted his head.

"You can climb on me. Just don't let out any acid or poison powder," Ash offered.

Hesitantly, Bellsprout reached out his leaf arms and wrapped his vines around Ash's arm for better grip. He clung tighter when Ash lifted him off the ground as though he weighed nothing. "It's okay. I gotcha." He nodded and climbed onto his trainer's shoulder, vines still secure to Ash's arm. He faced upward to keep his acids from seeping out his mouth as Ash followed after Izzy in a light jog. It didn't churn his acids nearly as much as the TM machine did.

Izzy made it to Sonia's booth in record time, while Ash and Bellsprout dragged along at a magcargo's pace.

Sonia smiled down at Izzy. "I'm glad to see you made a full recovery."

Izzy barked, confused. How did Sonia know about that?

"Ash was so worried about you last night. He couldn't even finish his food."

Her eyes grew wide. Ash couldn't even finish his curry? How? It was amazing. Was it her injuries worrying him? Did he think she wouldn't survive or something? Izzy asked, but of course Sonia didn't understand.

"I'm surprised you're out so soon after taking a brick break and a thunder," Sonia commented.

Izzy scoffed. As if that would hold her back for long. Sure, it hurt. It actually hurt a lot, but she'd had worse when being captured. She doubted any fighting-type could compare to that strike. If she hadn't moved just so, the weapon would've skewered her. Of course, this lady didn't need to know that. No one did.

When Ash showed up with a disgruntled Bellsprout atop his head, Izzy didn't bother questioning. Just looked like Bellsprout was melting Ash's brain at this point.

"Since when did you have that thing?" Sonia asked.

Izzy hissed, not liking her teammate being called a mere thing. Even if that was what she called him at first.

Ash placed Bellsprout on the ground, where he drunkenly stumbled as per usual. "I've had Bellsprout from pretty much the start of my journey," he explained. "Izzy caught him the day after we started traveling."

Sonia blinked. "Izzy caught it. Not you."

"Exactly," Ash said sheepishly. "That's how I suspect everyone will react when I tell them." Thankfully a very small demographic sought such information. At least until he becomes a pokémon master. Then he'd have to explain it wasn't him that caught Bellsprout, but rather his ace, his partner, his zigzagoon, Izzy.

Not as humiliating as it first was anymore.

Sonia shook her head in disbelief but smiled nonetheless. "I'll whip up a quick batch of curry and then we can talk."

Izzy hopped up onto the counter, while Ash kept an eye on Bellsprout in case he ran off and tried stealing something. The grass-type stumbled back and forth. It could not have been that bumpy of a ride, but Ash wasn't going to comment on it, though his expression shifted into one of disgust when he saw several drops of acid leak from Bellsprout's mouth.

Sonia set down two bowls for Ash and Izzy. "Why not let Bellsprout try some?" she asked, offering a third one.

"Uh, well..." Ash considered. He saw no reason why Bellsprout couldn't have it. Though he also didn't see a point in it either. He'd been eating the light from sunny day for quite some time now. Shrugging, Ash took the bowl and set it next to Bellsprout, who looked at it, then at Ash as though he were crazy. "It's food. Go one, try it."

Bellsprout blinked.

"Izzy likes it."

Bellsprout used his vines to lift the bowl to his mouth. The moment it dripped into him, he recoiled, dropping the bowl instantly. He shook his head.

Ash sighed. "I guess he's not a fan." When he picked the bowl back up, he realized there was a notch taken out of it. "He kinda burned a hole in it. Sorry about that."

Sonia shrugged as she sat down to eat as well. "Doesn't matter. I'm guessing it's a poison-type."

"Yeah, though he can only use poison powder. I won't be teaching him acid until he's mastered sunny day," Ash explained between bites. Izzy had already licked her bowl clean. "He seems more than capable of producing plenty of acid, but it's the spitting it. It's also not corrosive enough. Maybe I'll get him the TM for sludge bomb and that will help..."

"Yeah, that won't work, kid," Sonia said.

"Huh?"

"You've got it all wrong. I've trained a weezing — a normal one from Galar — and I can tell you that sludge bomb is one of the 'ultimate' techniques." She used air quotes. "Meaning: they are what you strive his other moves to be."

"I'm not following..."

She frowned. "Come on. You're a smart kid. Keep up. Take poison gas, that move can easily develop into a highly offensive technique like smog when applied in such a way. The next natural extension would be making that smog attack more of a physical form, so sludge would be a good stepping stone. It's basic but has more punch than smog. And finally would be sludge bomb, the shaping of toxins. Able to hurl them at the opponent with more precision, and thus, more likely to poison and induce more pain. The works."

Ash let that sink in. It made sense when she explained it like that. "So acid can become sludge bomb. Does that mean I don't have to but the TM for it?"

"'Course not, kid. I will say, though, it's wisest to have toxic down-pat before working on sludge bomb, as it will make those poisons all the more toxic when combined. Toxic and venoshock will also come naturally with acid, even more so than sludge bomb, as those techniques have much of the same fluid motion."

Ash sighed, thankful Bellsprout's poison-type moves would come free of charge. "Are you a poison-type trainer?"

Sonia shook her head, expression falling. "Nah. Just someone who—Nevermind!" She forced a smile. "That doesn't matter anymore."

"Okay." Ash wanted nothing more than to pry but knew that wasn't wise. He was now on the edge of the treaty that'd yet to be announced. That was not a spot he ever thought he'd find himself; a spot he never considered, and one he didn't like. Being a new trainer was tough enough, getting used to it all, but with the added politics, he couldn't think of a worse spot to be in within the first couple of weeks into his journey.

The moment the thought ran through his mind, he regretted it. There were a lot worse situations to be in. He could be dead. Those Team Rocket members were more than eager to kill him. It was sheer luck that Viridian had an oddly fast Chansey and a clefable that had all the luck a gambler could hope for.

Sonia lifted a brow. "Really? You were so eager to learn yesterday, and now you're not going to take the chance to ask?"

"I can't force you to talk." Just like he couldn't force Izzy to listen.

"Wow. Kanto may be dull as white bread, but at least you guys don't invade others' personal life. My grandma could learn a little something from here." She saw Ash's confused expression. "She's the professor of Galar. She studies dynomaxing."

"Oh... As much as I want to learn more, being in the middle of this, I don't want to overstep my boundaries." He thought for a moment and concluded he may very well be the nosiest person in Pallet Town. Professor Oak was simply eager to learn more about the relationship between humans and pokémon. Ash's mom could be a bit pushy at times, but only to Ash, so he supposed that didn't count. Gary didn't care to know much about others to begin with. Damian minded his own business and set opinions quick. Leaf wasn't even from Pallet Town from what Ash gathered. Though there were a lot more folks in Pallet Town, they were even less intrusive that Ash hardly recognized their faces when he passed them by. Ash wanted to know as much as he could about most anything, but he knew to hold his tongue most of the time.

"I knew I didn't mistake your intelligence."

Ash's face grew warm at the compliment.

"It's probably not as bad as I made it out to be. It's just, uh... I lost my weezing to a Kantonian one," she said, trying to sound nonchalant about the matter, but the way her eyes glanced away told Ash all he needed to know.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Ash explained. "I couldn't imagine losing either of my pokémon."

"Best you don't try imagining it," Sonia said. "It'll drive you mad."

There was some hidden meaning in her words, but Ash couldn't quite figure them out.

"Are you done? I would like to close up right now," Sonia said.

He pushed too far. Ash nodded, standing up and recalling Bellsprout. "I'll be heading out of Viridian City soon, so I won't be able to visit anymore. Hope we meet again someday."

"Mutual hopes always come true."

"The battle lodge again? Are you sure, Iz?" Ash asked with a yawn. He'd gone to sleep late last night, and Izzy woke him at the break of dawn to drag him back to the spot of their first loss. Izzy still seemed rather bitter about said loss, as she stayed at the foot of the bed rather than in her usual spot by Ash's head. He supposed it was fair enough, though he couldn't find any reasonable way to get her to forgive him. Treating her to her favorite cooked meals hadn't worked, and neither had attempted affection. If anything, the affection wasn't appreciated in the least. Anger must have been more prominent for a dark-type given their nature to hold grudges and strike back until that grudge was consumed by the sheer hatred only a dark-type could manage.

At least she hadn't tried that.

Izzy nodded, again refusing to vocalize her body language.

"I don't know how many people will be here, but we can try finding someone at our level to battle," Ash said. Although he'd gotten up at daybreak, he took his time getting ready so it was possible someone was there to battle. He learned his lesson from last time. He wasn't battling anyone with the D-rank until he grew to that rank himself. There was too much risk in it. Paul may not have had any badges, but that didn't make him any less of a threat. Izzy and Bellsprout were great and could hold their own, but there was no use in pointlessly hurting them to fuel his pride.

They walked in and went through much of the same process as last time. The man at the desk laughed. "You're here to put your pokémon back in the hospital?"

Izzy growled.

"We're here to win something."

"Redeeming that thing's pride, I see." The man shook his head. "Paul isn't here. Left right after he buried your team, but there's an E-rank kid at the top floor waiting to battle. Don't know his name, but he has a sandshrew."

Ash nodded and started up the stairs with Izzy rushing past him. Sandshrew weren't known for much of anything. They were only fast when curled into a ball, weren't highly defensive, and never packed much of a punch when compared to other ground-types. Even as a sandslash, they were unimpressive since their natural control over the ground was meager. For a ground-type, that was considered unsightly. Few trainers seriously considered adding sandslash to their team for that reason, though their relatively vast movepool intrigued some. However, with their mediocre ground affinity, it wasn't expected that they'd be capable of using moves of other types effectively as say, a nidoking or rhydon.

Once at the top, Ash saw only one battle going on, between a drowzee and a furret. Ash watched for only a moment but looked away when furret buried itself underground. They were easily D-rank with a psychic-type and an evolved pokémon; few rookie trainers could hope to have either.

He walked over to the field the sandshrew boy was standing at, looking bored. He perked up instantly.

"So you're my next opponent." He laughed. "The name's A.J.. I hope you're ready for defeat because you're about to be mine and Sandshrew's one-hundredth defeated opponent!"

Ash lifted a brow. One-hundred opponents defeated? "If that's the case, why hasn't your sandshrew evolved?"

A.J. scoffed. "Evolution means nothing to us! He has an everstone implanted in his body so he can't evolve. He doesn't want to."

That was odd. Few pokémon refused evolution. Evolution meant they'd grown beyond a point where they could contain the power within them. It meant they could grow even stronger. Ash failed to understand what pokémon wouldn't want to evolve.

Izzy rumbled at Sandshrew, who shrugged.

"So a one-vee-one?" A.J. offered.

Ash nodded. "But since this is a special occasion for you, let's have a little bet."

A.J. smirked. "I like the way you think. Since your, uh, I'mma guess zigzagoon, hasn't evolved, I'll assume it hasn't won a hundred battles, so your money doesn't interest me. So, when I win, you give me your hat."

Ash's eyes grew wide as his hands instinctively went to his hat. It was the one his father won a few months before Ash was born as a sort of birthday gift. He won it after countless calls to the league. It was priceless in Ash's eyes, and perhaps in the masses' as well considering it was the last thing the league gave away before they shut down for much of Ash's childhood. The thought of handing it over tempted Ash to back out.

"And when I win?" he tested, still unsure.

"You get half of all my money," A.J. said.

"Three-quarters," Ash countered. He had no idea how much money this A.J. guy had, and he wasn't about to be handed a few hundred bucks because the guy beat up a bunch of bug catchers who had no money to begin with.

"Fine. I'll still be loaded either way. Not like you'll win."

"We'll see..." Ash mumbled. He knelt down to talk to Izzy. "I know we aren't on the best terms right now, but I need you to put your all into this. This hat, here, means a lot to me, so please listen to me."

Izzy narrowed her eyes and growled. If his demands didn't match her style of combat, how was she supposed to listen? She wasn't about to alter her way of surviving. She stepped over to the battlefield, where Sandshrew and A.J. were already standing. She snarled at the ground-type. The thing was foolish for not wanting to evolve. Knocking it down several notches would surely show that evolution was the only possible way of defeating her.

Ash initiated the battle: "Charge at it and use bite!"

Izzy smirked, her teeth flashing with dark energy before she launched herself forward. Sandshrew didn't await command, tucking itself into a ball before shooting into a rollout, kicking up sand in the process.

"Dodge it," Ash ordered.

Rather than follow through with Ash's command, Izzy opened her mouth as wide as possible, capturing the rolling sandshrew in its jaw. She winced as it kept spinning against her fangs. It tucked tightly into itself so it was only a little bigger than her head. It squeaked when she chomped her teeth into it, stopping its rolling instantly.

"Scratch," A.J. said calmly.

Sandshrew unraveled from its ball, making Izzy drop it instantly before swinging his rather stubby claws. Izzy went flush to the ground, ducking below the attack. She then shot forward with an improving white pocket against her skull, slamming into Sandshrew and tossing it across the battlefield.

"Izzy, you need to listen to me!" Ash called. His starter glanced back at him and nodded. Grinning, he ordered: "Good. Now use ice beam!"

Izzy was immediate, firing the ice beam at the far slower pokémon. Her aim was off by about a foot, touching the ground in front of the sandshrew before she directed it directly at sandshrew, leaving something more than frost but not quite the jagged pieces of ice rock ice beam usually formed. Before A.J.'s demand for: "Defense curl!" could reach Sandshrew's ears, the edge of ice beam trailed up to the ground-type's sensitive stomach, making it hunch over with a squeal.

Ash called out: "End it with a headbutt now!"

The moment the ice beam left, A.J. pumped a fist into the air. "Dig to get away from it!"

Already hunched close to the ground, Sandshrew needed no further incentive to burrow himself into the makeshift earth below. Although he didn't have the unlimited space the actual ground had, the building was kind enough to offer a good six feet worth of dirt to dig through. Sandshrew's sudden disappearance didn't deter Izzy, who followed it into the hole.

"Izzy, no!" Ash snapped. "Get back up here!"

"It's pointless! She can't hear you," A.J. said, stomping his foot. It took less than a second for Ash to realize A.J. was using the vibrations of his stomps to command Sandshrew. It must not have been at a level where it's ears could hear voices through the ground.

Ash expected the battle to remain underground from that point forth, which he admitted would've been a clever turnaround for A.J., but instead of sticking with the smarter alternative, Izzy came shooting out of the hole with Sandshrew curled against her gut, rolling impressively fast. She had once eye closed as she endured the strike. She could admit it wasn't her smartest move.

"Use your claws!"

Izzy tried digging her claws into Sandshrew's earthy-feeling skin and then decided to simply swipe her claws along it, stopping its assault instantly. The two landed several feet from each other, Sandshrew stumbling to catch his footing while Izzy caught herself.

"You have to listen to me, Izzy," Ash said. "If you don't, there's no way we can win."

Just as Izzy was about to turn to Ash, A.J. shouted: "You can't win anyway! Use dig again!"

Sandshrew launched into making another hole, something he seemed rather good at doing. That was one thing sandshrew were naturally skilled at, as they preferred escaping foe more so than confronting them. Izzy tensed, eyes scanning the field.

"Try to find it with odor sleuth."

Izzy sniffed, a slight glow forming around the bud of her nose. Dirt. Blood. It was hers. There wasn't even the faintest scent of the ground-type. As a rumbled gathered in her throat, the ground cracked and then erupted with Sandshrew, swiping at Izzy's face. She took half a step, the thing's claws tiny but sharp, slicing from the top of her throat up to the edge of her chin. She yelped.

"Finish with a rock smash, like we practiced!" A.J. ordered.

Ash cursed under his breath. Despite the move's name alluding to the rock-type, rock smash was indeed a fighting-type move. A weak one, but still one to fear considering Izzy's typing. Ash had no doubt Izzy could tank it considering she took a brick break to the gut days earlier, but he wasn't about to take such a risk of damaging her to such a degree again. Seeing as Izzy wasn't about to dodge even when Ash commanded, he instead ordered: "Growl to keep it from reaching you!"

Izzy snapped her eyes open and sent strong, white sound waves through the air, easily interrupting Sandshrew's incoming attack. Everything seemed to have a fighting-type move that she had to be extra cautious of now.

Once Sandshrew steadied himself, A.J. said: "Dig and then come up with a rock smash."

Not good.

Sandshrew dug itself into another hole. Izzy looked around, taking steps backward, unsure of where it would burst through. Her nose glowed slightly, but it was almost as if she didn't have the thing's scent registered in her dictionary of smells.

"Run around so it can't track you!"

Izzy bolted from one side of the field to the other. Although Sandshrew could sense the vibrations, it couldn't possibly keep up to speed. A.J. realized that and stomped his foot in demand. The field shattered at the exact spot Izzy had last stepped, missing her by only a hair. Launched in the air, Sandshrew used the momentum of propelling itself up that high to start rolling out again. Izzy turned around to face the spinning pokémon. It shot forward, coming straight at her.

"Dod—" Ash stopped himself instantly. Telling Izzy to dodge was pointless. "Jump into the air with it!"

A.J.'s expression melted into one of confusion.

Izzy bound high into the air, sailing over the rolling Sandshrew. "Kick it!" Ash called. In one swift movement, Izzy shot her legs out behind her, smashing her feet into Sandshrew with all her force. In that instant, Sandshrew tore through the air and plowed into the ground, whipping a billow of dust into the air.

Landing with a stumble, Izzy glanced over, awaiting the dust to clear. When it did, she smirked.

"Sandshrew!" A.J. cried out, running to aid his defeated partner. Picking it up, he wept: "How could we lose? I've defeated ninety-nine people up until now, and a rookie defeats me?!"

Izzy charged Ash, who caught her in his arms, smiling as she offered him a wet, slobbery kiss across the face. He'd normally find it gross, but in such a moment, where he knew Izzy had forgiven him, he couldn't find it in himself to be disgusted. "You were great, Izzy! I think I have you figured out now."

Izzy growled playfully, nuzzling into his neck. That was the entire purpose of the battle. Well, that and fixing her broken pride.

"Now I have to start over..." A.J. sighed, recalling his friend. Standing, he stepped over to Ash and held out his hand. "That was a good battle despite the undesirable outcome."

Ash took it with a shake. "It was good, but why do you have to start over?"

"I need to get one-hundred wins straight before I can start taking on gym battles," A.J. explained.

"That makes no sense but okay."

A.J. sighed once more, pulling out his wallet thick with money. He pawed through it before pulling out a massive wad of bills. "Three-quarters, as we agreed upon."

Ash took it, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. It wasn't one-dollar bills. No, they were hundreds. He counted them right then and there and almost choked on air. Twenty-five thousand. A.J. defeated ninety-nine trainers, but not just rookies. No way could rookies hand out that much money. A.J. defeated folks comparable to Paul's level, easily, to have this kind of money.

A.J. smirked. "Impressive, eh? That's what happens when you kick the asses of everyone in Pokémon Tech."

Ash facepalmed, no longer impressed.

A/N: Hope I'm not giving them too many moves too soon. It'll slow down once they've developed a battling style alongside Ash. It's all one big learning experience right now.

On a similar note, Obstagoon has a pretty interesting movepool, but I'll be keeping bite/crunch because it a basic enough technique. I won't be adding any other moves that can't normally be learned unless Hoenn Linoone can learn it. The concept of TRs is terrible, though, so they won't enter the lore of this story; at least not until we reach the Galar arc. Until then, TRs will be something a Pokémon can learn progressively unless it's already a TM.

I wish Bellsprout had been in Sword/Shield; solar blade would've been an awesome move for this story!