Not paying attention to the voice chattering away in my ear, I turn the corner, walking down the street towards the battlefields. They're usually full this late in the morning, but I may as well at least check to see if there is a space. She stops, and I take it as my cue to respond. "Yeah, ma - everything's fine. Don't worry - I'm in Castelia City ri-"

My mother cuts me off, her voice coming through my cross-transceiver earphone painfully loud. I scramble to thumb the volume wheel down to a more comfortable level with a wince.

"Castelia? The news says Team Rocket has been spotted there - are you staying safe? Getting inside at a reasonable hour? Staying out of shady alleys?"

I suppress a sigh. Ma's always been a bit of a worry-wart. I'd hoped that she'd get the message once I left on my journey, but apparently not.

"Of course, Ma. Now -" She starts to speak up, but I cut her off. "- I gotta get going. Thanks for the call."

I tap the button to cut the connection before she can protest. There's no way that she isn't mad at me for that. A pang of guilt hits me before I shove it down. I need to do this by myself. There's no point in going on a journey if you've got someone looking over your shoulder all the time.

I unplug the earphone, shoving it into my pocket. I'm coming up to the entrance to the battlefields now. Walking inside, there's another trainer going down the path ahead of me. She's older - tall, long black hair, rugged clothes. As I move down the path, I see that each battlefield is already occupied. The other trainer reaches the end of the path and turns onto one of the fields.

Damn - all of the others are probably full, then.

...Maybe I should ask if she's willing to share? She's probably pretty experienced, considering her age. Would she even be willing to give a newbie like me the time of day?

I reach the end, confirming that all of the other fields are full. There's no harm in at least asking - I step into the doorway, and she turns her head to look at me from the other side of the field, one of her eyebrows cocked in an unspoken question.

"Uh... " I swallow. She's a lot scarier when she's looking at me like that. Her gaze is piercing, and I can't help but notice that one of her hands is grasping something hidden by her coat. A Pokeball, maybe? "Do you mind if we share a field?"

She considers my request, letting go of whatever's inside her coat as she turns to face me properly. I can see now that there's only two balls clipped to her belt. A thin smile crosses her face as she looks me up and down.

"Sure thing." She pauses a beat. "If you'll battle me first. One-on-one. Five-hundred-p cash wager." Her voice is humourless.

Figures - she'll want some compensation for the trouble. No doubt her Pokemon will be able to destroy mine no matter what sort of strategies I try to use. I tap my pocket, confirming that the change I got from buying breakfast is still there. In any case, it's not too bad a deal.

"...Alright." I palm a ball. I can't count on whoever I use to battle still being able to train until I get them to a centre, so I'll want to use someone who needs training the least… Buck, then. I'd hoped to have him training by himself while I helped the others, but I guess that'll have to wait.

She steps to the trainer's square on her end of the field, grabbing a Pokeball from her belt. Her eyes are locked on me, watching my every move.

...It's uncomfortable.

I want to get this over quickly. I toss my ball, catching it on the rebound as it pops open. The other trainer simply points hers at the field and releases her Pokemon with a squeeze. Buck materializes, assuming a ready stance in an instant.

The other trainer's Pokemon materializes. It's a humanoid bug, floating off the ground with a pair of stubby wings. I don't recognise it, but it's very obviously a Bug-Flying type - a very bad matchup for a Fighting type like Sawk. I let out a sigh - I didn't have much hope for Buck winning in the first place, but this is just plain unlucky.

Buck just doesn't have anything to deal with this - the type advantage is just too much.

Still, I inject determination into my voice. We might not have much of a chance, but we damn well will fight our hardest! "Alright Buck, Focus Energy into Double Kicks! Don't give them room to breathe!"

The other trainer nods. "Keep your distance, Gwen. Defend Order."

The Bug flies backwards, a stream of bees coming from her lower-body covering her before melting into an aura. Buck stiffens, channeling his energy into his muscles. In an instant, he bursts forward, foot slamming into the Bug with a fury.

The other trainer's eyebrow quirks up, her mouth pressing into a thin line. "Slash."

Unfazed by the assault, Gwen darts under one of Buck's high kicks, claw glowing white with Normal energy. The attack rips into Buck's chest, throwing him away.

"Get back in close!"

"Keep back! Power Gems!"

Power Gem? That's a Rock type move - it's not very effective against Fighting types like Buck. Why is she using that? Maybe Gwen doesn't have any other ranged options?

Buck runs forward, long strides eating up the distance. Gwen lifts off into the air, sending glowing energy crystals at her opponent. The crystals splash into shimmering motes of light against Buck, doing little more than scratching him.

He jumps into the air, leg reared backwards for another kick. He twists mid-air, sending his foot spinning into Gwen. The attack throws her off balance, and she spirals to the ground, unable to stay afloat.

Despite the solid connection, she doesn't seem to be so much as sore. Buck, on the other hand, is looking rough - Gwen's Slash must have been a serious hit.

If we're going to win this, we'll need luck on our side. The kicks don't seem to be doing much. Maybe a chop will work better? I doubt it, but we don't have any other options. "Karate Chop!"

The other trainer speaks up once more, her face a perfect mask of self-assurance. "Slash."

Buck runs in, his hand powering up with Fighting energy. Gwen merely floats in place, her beady eyes locked on to him with an intent focus. He raises his hand, bringing it down with a single-minded confidence. Gwen darts to the side, but Buck's attack unerringly tracks her.

The chop connects, sending Gwen once more to the ground with a hollow thud. This time, Gwen looks like she was hurt by that. Good: we've got a chance!

Her response isn't far behind, however. She snaps her claw forward, sheathed in energy. The attack rakes across Buck's chest and he's sent spinning.

Buck stumbles, tumbling onto the ground of the battlefield bonelessly.

"No!" Despite myself, a cry escapes my lips.

We were so close…

I tip my head. I should have just forfeited the fight... Raising Buck's Pokeball, I return him.

Walking to meet the trainer in the middle of the field, I rally myself. I hadn't expected to win anyway, and hopefully Buck will have at least learnt a bit about how to deal with opponents like Gwen from that.

It's a bit disappointing, but I need to look on the bright side here.

She extends a hand to me. "Good match. Buck's form on that Karate Chop was great."

I take the compliment for what it is, a smile touching my face. "Thanks" I take her hand, shaking it. "Gwen seems like an almost perfect counter to Fighting type Pokemon to me. Did you train her that way?"

She shakes her head, a look of confusion briefly flickering across her face. "Not really. I guess it just sort of turned out like that."

Nodding, I grab my change from my pocket, handing over the wager. "The name's Kenneth. Good to meet you."

"Taylor. Now, my team and I are going to be running drills. We'll probably only need half of the field - that work for you?"

"Sure thing." I pause for a moment. I'd been worried that Buck wouldn't be fit for training after the battle, but a trip to the centre should fix that up. "If you don't mind, I might quickly run to the centre to get Buck healed. You'll still be here when I get back?"

She nods, turning to walk back to the other side of the field. "Go for it."

I take that as my cue to leave. The centre is only a few minutes away, so I make it there and back in a short amount of time.

Walking back into the fields, I see Taylor quietly explaining something to her Pokemon. She turns to acknowledge me, and quickly turns back.

What catches my attention is her other Pokemon.

A Zoroark! How did she find one? I've heard that they are practically non-existent in the wild. Did she get it from a breeder, maybe?

In any case, I need to rethink my evaluation of her. If she only has two Pokemon, perhaps she isn't as experienced as I thought?

I'd had her pegged as a six-badge trainer, but I think that might be a bit generous if she's only got two Pokemon. Even more so considering that Buck managed to hold his own against Gwen for at least a little while.

Or maybe she isn't taking the gym challenge? If she's a security guard or something, it would make sense that she'd have only two Pokemon that she works closely with. She's certainly built for it - I didn't notice until we shook hands, but that coat of hers hides some pretty serious muscles.

I shake my head, dispelling the thoughts. It doesn't really matter, in the end. I need to prepare for my battle with Burgh. None of my team is really a direct counter to Bug Pokemon - I'll need to prepare well.

I set about releasing my team, running them through the training for today. Buck will be working by himself, and I'll be leading Chisel and Pluff through some more direct instruction. I doubt Pluff will be much help against Burgh - Cottonee just don't learn the right moves to deal with Bugs; and that's even discounting the type disadvantage. It looks like Chisel will be the keystone of my strategy, in that case.

My starter… He's a surly prick, if I'm honest. I think he resents me - not that he'd ever let me know it. My guess is that it's because my father didn't give him a choice in the matter. He's the son of my father's Bisharp, and I suspect that he would have been perfectly content to stay behind and be trained by his own father, rather than me.

Buck has been crucial in keeping him reigned in - the two train together frequently. I dread to think how Chisel would be acting if he didn't have someone to work through his anger with.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I begin instructing my team. Pluff needs to work on being slippery enough to let Leech Seed drain her opponents dry, and Chisel needs to work on ending fights decisively. They'll be battling against each other, and I'll chime in with advice when I spot something.

Stepping back, I watch the two of them go at it. They're good - we've been doing this routine for a while now, so Chisel and Pluff know how to fight each other fairly well. Curious, I flick my eyes over to see what Taylor and her team are doing. Despite myself, my eyes widen - she's got a knife!

What the heck is she doing!?

The Zoroark darts in, taking a swipe at her. She steps backward, fist rocketing downward into its elbow in retaliation.

...She's fighting her own Pokemon?

Crap - she's one of those psychos, then. I've heard of them before, of course - heck, even Marshal has been known to throw down with his Pokemon. But that's with punches and kicks! Isn't a knife a bit much!?

I firmly turn back to my own Pokemon. Whatever she's doing isn't my business. Besides, if she fights Pokemon as a way to train them, there's no way in heck that I want to get in her way.

That security guard theory seems a lot more plausible to me now - they need to be able to fight too, don't they? What about something else? She doesn't look like a Police officer. But maybe she could be a freelance detective or something?

...Actually, I don't want to know. I'm curious, but not nearly enough to risk asking her about it.