A Viper in the Hole (Pokémon)

[The Dave]

The next day, the very first thing Ran does is look up boat tickets to Cianwood City. There's far more regular passenger ships between Cianwood and Olivine, but there's still a regular weekly ship from Goldenrod to Cianwood as well. With it specifically geared towards trainers and tourists, tickets aren't particularly cheap, but do offer the benefits of a proper pokécenter on board, as well as rooms capable of hosting a diverse array of pokémon. There's a small list of pokémon that are banned from being out of their balls except for a few areas, but none of Ran's team members are on that list, leaving him quite enthusiastic about the trip.

Of course he doesn't book just yet, as Josie has remained worryingly mute, so he's got no clue as to just when he'll be leaving Goldenrod. Instead, after a quick breakfast, he gathers his stuff and sets out for Route 35, to the north of Goldenrod. A quick message to Josie, informing her of where he's going for the day, isn't immediately answered.

For a moment he also considers texting Grady, but then thinks better of it. Actually spending the time with just his team sounds quite appealing, after all. It's nice to have a traveling companion in Josie, but his brief trek across Route 34, with just his own team for company after Josie raced off after departing Ilex Forest, was enjoyable and kind of left him wanting more.

Now, with no destination to reach and only a limited amount of traveling to be done, he's got the perfect opportunity to train with his team, spend a few hours just lounging with them and letting them enjoy themselves, and then having another training session. Just thinking of his plans for the day is enough to put some additional pep in his step, as he speeds up slightly in anticipation.

With Goldenrod City's size taken into account, it takes well over an hour for him to make it out of the city. Then, he still needs another fifteen minutes to wander down Route 35's main path a bit, before turning off to the west. From there, he starts seeking out a nice tranquil spot next to the large lake that runs along part of the patrolled Route. There's some other trainers around, but it's still pretty early in the day, which leaves him able to pick out a spot relatively soon.

Quickly tapping each of the four used pokéballs on his belt, Ran smiles eagerly as his team materializes around him.

Looking from Caesar the Arbok, to Aria the Ariados, to Golbat and finally to Skorupi, he feels his chest swell up with pride, at the sight of his significantly stronger team, compared to when he started his journey just a few months ago. With one new team member and three evolutions, he can only look at them fondly as they all take in their surroundings.

Overhead, the bright morning sun shines down warmly, reflecting off the lake's water to add further to the lovely scenery of the grassy plains, broken up by the occasional tree or shrub, that border Route 35. In the distance, the properly 'wild' areas begin, where the League and the Rangers leave the wild pokémon population in peace as much as possible. In short, standing under the shadow of one of those large, lonely trees, it's the perfect location for a spot of training followed by a couple of hours of relaxation.

"Skorupi, Toxic Spikes did wonders for us against Whitney," Ran finally breaks the silence, turning to the youngest of his team members first, "Without you teaching Caesar how to use them, I don't know if we could have beaten her. So, while you and I will work on some other stuff later, for now, I'd like you to teach Aria the move as well. Aria, I don't know enough about Skorupi's natural abilities to be sure of what he can learn just yet, but I bet the two of you can figure something out, right? If not, both Shadow Sneak and Swords Dance would be super useful, so try and see if he can make any progress with either or both of those if the two of you don't have any better ideas, alright?"

Aria chitters happily in agreement, though Skorupi is a bit sulkier in his response, clearly a bit unhappy to be spending yet more training on teaching a team member Toxic Spikes, rather than getting to focus completely on improving himself. It's something Ran takes a mental note of, as he continues to build his mental profile of Skorupi, but for now, he's got two more team members to get started on their training.

Ran turns his attention to Golbat, whose expression makes it quite clear that he knows what's coming. Just to be sure, Ran still tells him anyways, "You'll be on your own, Golbat. Keep working on Haze and Venoshock. I'll try and keep an eye out and we'll see where you're at when we take our break later, alright?"

Golbat merely cries out confidently, before taking flight. With only a few strong wingbeats, he circles around the tree, before audibly settling on its other side, claiming some relative privacy as he gets to work. Taking that as their signal, Aria and Skorupi also move away a small distance, getting closer to the water and leaving Ran to face Caesar, whose attention is firmly on the lake's reflective surface.

"You want to go and take a good look at yourself first, don't you?" Ran huffs with unconcealed amusement, which is enough to draw a playful swat from the tip of Caesar's tail. The newly-evolved Arbok clearly doesn't quite know his strength yet, as the 'playful' swat is enough to knock Ran over flat on his ass.

His starter's expression is sheepish, hood 'hunching' slightly as he pulls his head back slightly in apology. Ran merely waves him off, before gesturing invitingly towards the lake. It's all the invitation Caesar needs, as he swiftly slides over in that direction. Gathering himself and dusting off his bum before joining his starter, Ran reaches out a hand to rest on the back of Caesar's magnificent hood as he looks at the pair of them in the natural mirror that is lake's water.

It's an impressive sight, Ran's own features slightly sharper even from just the short time he's been journeying, though that change of course pales in comparison to Caesar's. He's beautiful, his purple color truly giving him a regal aura, whilst the pattern on the inside of his hood almost seems alive with vibrant, vivid colors. Yet, though his entire body's changed, there's still something in his mannerisms that is undeniably Ekans, leaving Ran confident that he could still pick his partner out of a crowd of a thousand Arbok without needing so much as a second glance.

"So, before we continue working on Acid Spray and Sludge Bomb," Ran says finally, after merely standing in silence with his starter for the better part of a minute, "According to my notes, you've probably learned Fire, Ice and Thunder Fang. Do you think you can use those?"

Caesar doesn't hesitate to respond, immediately hissing confidently before opening his maw demonstratively, flashing the massive fangs that have grown as impressively as the rest of him. They don't spark with any particular energy however, nor do they drip with poison, as his starter clearly waits for a proper command.

"Alright, alright, Caesar, use Thunder Fang!" Ran orders, only to watch in delight as his Arbok's fangs immediately start to glow with yellow electricity before, after half a second, visibly sparking with the stuff.

"Awesome." He breathes out in awe, hands rubbing together enthusiastically even as Caesar, clearly smug about his new prowess, lets the attack's energy fade away.

What follows is a swift display of Ice Fang, which seems at first unimpressive, with Caesar's fangs merely glowing light blue. When Ran expresses as much, however, his starter swiftly slithers towards a large fallen branch from the tree they'd been standing under just a few minutes before. When he bites down, a massive patch of ice radiates out from his bite, with Caesar not relenting until the whole dead branch has become trapped in a large block of ice. Only for him to then unleash a Fire Fang upon the same target, which in short order punches through the ice, melting that to water whilst burning the branch itself to ash.

"Alright," Ran admits easily, doing his best to undersell Caesar's performance, "You can pull all of them off well enough, I guess. I'm sure you'll improve with further practice. Now let's get-"

He doesn't get any further, as his starter shows that he's rapidly getting more accustomed to his newfound physical might, tail swinging out to catch Ran in the gut and absolutely launch him into the lake. Caesar clearly pulls his blow, only speeding up the swing of his tail after impact, to ensure that Ran's got enough momentum to actually land in the water, without risking breaking any part of his delicate trainer.

The end result is the same however, as Ran lands with a massive splash, immediately soaking him to the bone. He surfaces immediately, spluttering wildly as he hurriedly finds his feet before wading to the shore, hurling threats at his starter, who is clearly hissing with delight at the sight of his drenched trainer.

"I'll get you for that one!" Ran complains loudly, before putting words into action, as he recalls Caesar before his starter's eyes can even fully finish widening. Then, within seconds, he releases the massive poison-type once more, this time some five feet behind him.

Caesar's large serpentine body materializes a few feet above the water, giving him just enough time to understand what's about to happen, before he plummets into the lake.

This time, Ran is the one to laugh cheerfully. When Caesar's head resurfaces however, his starter's glare has that laugh die away within seconds.

"Now, Caesar," Ran starts, raising his hands in front of him to ward off his starter's irritation even as he starts to backpedal with an increasing franticness, "Turnabout is fair play, you really shouldn't have tossed me into the lake if you weren't ready to- No Caesar wait!"

His pleas fall on deaf ears however, as his starter rushes forwards, using his large hood to keep his head afloat whilst using the rest of his massive body to powerfully propel himself along the water's surface and rapidly close the distance between them.

By the time Ran finally gets to exit the water fifteen minutes later, an achievement he only manages because Caesar started to get too cold to continue, he's spent more of that time with his head underwater than above it. The odds of ending up with a cold are significantly greater than zero, but, ultimately, he finds himself not minding one bit.

Eventually, they do get started on training properly, with Caesar soon mastering both Acid Spray and Sludge Bomb. It likely helps that both moves rest on the same basic principles, but the ease with which he suddenly picks both of them up, compared to the difficulty he had when first starting out, can only be the result of his evolution. Which Ran is sure to inform Caesar of, to the Arbok's obvious delight.

Nobody else progresses quite as explosively as Caesar by the time he calls the morning's training session quits, but there's still marked signs of improvement from all of them. Golbat's increasing success at executing Venoshock is such that Ran ends up regretting not having a single water-type move available, as a thick spill of the poisonous liquid lies at the foot of the tree, right under where Golbat practiced. It's unfortunate, but nature is well-adapted to pokémon's natural byproducts, so as long as Golbat doesn't do the day's second training session in the exact same spot, they should probably be fine.

Gathering his team of four back together, Ran takes them all in for a moment, before announcing it's time for a break.

"If any of you want to go back to your ball, let me know. Otherwise, you're free to go and do whatever you like, just don't wander off too far, alright?" He informs the poison-types, receiving two nods, a hiss and a chirp in response.

Immediately, Aria takes off for the tree, rapidly scuttling up the trunk before disappearing amongst the foliage. Golbat is slower to leave, but sooner to arrive, as by the time Aria is halfway up the trunk, he's already settled on a new branch, wings closing around him as he settles in to nap. Caesar, clearly still just a bit chilly from their earlier foray into the water, curls up in the sun in a U-shape, in a clear invitation for Ran to come and have a nap as well. It's a tempting prospect, but not one Ran immediately follows up on, as he instead looks towards Skorupi, who is vibrating with anticipation but also clearly frozen in indecision, as his eyes shift rapidly from the tree, to the plains, to the lake and back again.

"Skorupi, there's no need to rush, alright? Unless something unexpected happens, we'll be here for most of the day. So just choose something to go and do and then when you don't want to anymore, you can always change your mind, alright? Just don't wander off too far." Ran encourages his young poison-bug-type, who eagerly darts forwards to wrap his tail around his trainer's leg in clear affection for a moment.

His words seem enough to finally have Skorupi's mind made up, as the most recent of his team members darts towards the lake, where he starts to mess about with the lake's small muddy shore. Ran watches him for a moment, looking fondly at the team member he'd never planned for, before deciding that, though Caesar offers a comfortable backrest to lounge against, perhaps it's a bit too early for a nap.

So, though he does settle in against Caesar's warm body, to the evident delight of his chilly starter, who is as always enthusiastic about leeching warmth off of his trainer, he doesn't do so with the intent of falling asleep. Unlike Caesar and Golbat, who very clearly have their minds set on exactly that. Instead, he fishes out Introduction to the Geography of the Sinnoh region, one of the books he's recently acquired, and attempts to dive into the mysteries of the distant and mysterious Sinnoh.

Supposedly, there was greater contact between Indigo and both Sinnoh and Hoenn once upon a time, only for rough seas and more aggressive wild pokémon to hamper contact until it faded to near-nothing. In recent years, following the unification of Kanto and Johto into their current state, contact's been properly re-established, with the League's leading figures exchanging pokémon and a few strong trainers of good standing per year gaining permission to take part in the other region's Conferences.

Because of these relatively recent events, Sinnoh is an intriguing subject, as amongst the common people, little is known about just what their native pokémon are capable of. So, reading about the foreign land and its different geography, and what effect that has on its pokémon population, sounds like a day well spent. Unfortunately, as Ran actually gets into the book properly, he realizes swiftly that there will be no vivid imagery or fluent narrative to sweep him off his feet and take him on a literary journey along Sinnoh's most beautiful and unique vistas.

Instead, Introduction to the Geography of the Sinnoh region reads almost like a school textbook, the material offered in a concise and extremely dry manner. Full sections are actually just bullet pointed lists rather than even attempting to form a smooth narrative. It makes for less than entertaining reading, though at least he progresses swiftly, as the book doesn't waste any time or effort on 'chaff'.

Thanks to the book's approach to its topic, though much of what he reads is swiftly forgotten as it doesn't aid him in his search and its presentation leaves him rushing through it, Ran does soon stumble upon just what he's looking for. Because as he's reading about the unique Great Marsh, which one of his other books focuses on exclusively, he stumbles upon a mention of Skorupi.

Though the book doesn't go into any great depth on Skorupi's species, it does mention the poison-bug's tendency of hiding in mud to hunt, its ability to survive for very long spans of time without eating and its seeming inability to tolerate colder temperatures. All of which is valuable information, but it all pales compared to the brief mention of Skorupi's single evolution: Drapion, a poison-dark-type.

Discovering Skorupi's future typing is enough of a surprise for Ran to lower the book for a moment, as he tries to parse through just what he's just learned. If Skorupi eventually evolves into a poison-dark-type… He'll be the perfect answer to poison's deeply troubling weakness to psychic-types.

Did Bugsy know? Surely, he can't have. A poison-dark-type perfectly counters one of, if not the single most, glaring one of his chosen specialty's weaknesses. There's no way Bugsy would've gifted him such a pokémon. Yet, Ran has found out this much with just a visit to Goldenrod's extremely well-known Trainer Department Store. Surely, whoever Bugsy bought or traded Skorupi from must've been able to give him the same information?

But then that'd mean that Bugsy deliberately gave him a strong pokémon that perfectly accounts for one of his team's main weaknesses…

Is Drapion known for being weak? Or for being difficult to work with? What's the catch? What if-

Caesar hisses warily, as he swings his large head, clearly no longer napping, around to look Ran in the eye. It's enough to startle him out of his own thoughts, the derail caused by thoughts of Bugsy's ulterior motives corrected by his starter's insistent gaze.

"Thanks Caesar, I think I got a bit too deep into my own head," Ran acknowledges, forcing himself to breathe out deeply and only then realizing just how much of his body has tensed up over the past few minutes.

His starter merely offers a comforting hiss, moving up slightly to rest his head in Ran's lap, looking at him demandingly until he gets the head pats he clearly wants. Ran obliges for a few minutes, feeling himself relax further as he glances around for the rest of his team.

Golbat and Aria are both still in their tree, with both clearly still napping. Golbat hangs from a large branch, body hidden by his own wings. As for Aria, she's harder to spot, but she's made herself a large web between some of the branches, at the center of which she rests easily. Ran can't see much of her, but with the sun still bright in the sky, her red coloring does her no favors, as glimpses of her form can clearly be caught through the tree's obscuring foliage.

Skorupi however… Skorupi, he doesn't immediately spot.

A faint worry starts to rise in his gut, even as he nudges Caesar's head off of his lap gently. Rising easily, not yet agitated but gradually growing more anxious as he fails to locate his team's junior member, Ran is just about to raise his voice, when he spots an at first sight innocent heap of mud, near the lake's edge.

"Skorupi!" He calls out, eyes fixated on the mud pile, "Come on out, it's time for your one-on-one training!"

Immediately, the pile rips open, as Skorupi comes darting out enthusiastically, racing towards his trainer cheerfully. Ran's heart beat lowers significantly, even as he makes a mental note to keep an eye on a second of his team members who likes to burrow. At least Skorupi hasn't shown the instinct before, so perhaps he'll only feel the need around wet or sufficiently loose ground, unlike Aria, who always looks for some form of tight hidey-hole when she wants to rest.

"Alright guys, that's enough of a break for now!" Ran calls out loudly, rousing his pokémon from their rests, as in short order both Golbat and Aria leave their previous spots to join the impromptu circle, "Caesar, you're with Aria. I want the two of you to play tag, all non-damaging-moves are allowed. Caesar will start as the chaser. On a tag, take a minute long break, give the runner some time to get set up and get away a bit. Caesar, you can't use Glare. Paralysis counts as damaging for this exercise. Aria, I want you working on Agility whilst you're playing, alright?"

He gets an affirming hiss and chitter respectively, after which the newly-formed pair depart to ensure they'll have enough room to work with. Ran glances to Golbat, only for his only flying-type to offer an accepting bow and take flight. With neither Haze nor Venoshock mastered quite yet, he doesn't need any actual verbal instruction to know what Ran expects of him.

Finally, that leaves Skorupi, as Ran examines the eager, though absolutely filthy, poison-bug-type. Without hesitation, he points towards the lake, "Okay, first of all, get in the lake, I'm not letting you sit in my lap when you're this dirty."

Skorupi stares at his trainer in displeasure, tail pincers clacking together in clear agitation both at the mention of the lake and probably the idea of sitting in Ran's lap - though the usually cuddly Skorupi tends to quite enjoy that at any other time - rather than getting the 'proper' training he'd been promised.

"We'll be looking at some videos of moves you don't know yet, to see if there's anything in there you think you might be able to pull off, alright?" Ran clarifies, which immediately gets Skorupi to quiet down.

Enthusiastically, he turns towards the lake, only to pause in hesitation once more. For a moment, Ran considers whether his fourth team member is just being childish, before he recalls the recent part about Skorupi's species' general aversion to cold temperatures.

"I'll have a towel ready to dry you off the second you get out, alright? And I'm plenty warm so you'll be warmed up in no time. Plus, look at that sun, I bet by this point the water's even warmer than when Caesar and I went in." Ran cajoles the smallest of his team members. Successfully so, as Skorupi, after another moment's hesitation, darts towards the lake.

Ran hurriedly digs around in his backpack for a towel, only barely managing to get his hand on one when Skorupi comes racing out of the water once more, making a beeline directly towards his trainer. In the nick of time, Ran manages to settle on his haunches, holding the towel out in front of him as a braking system, as the completely wet Skorupi outright launches himself upwards at his trainer, only to be caught in the big fluffy towel instead.

A few minutes later, sitting on the grass with the sun's heat warming them both, Ran lines up the first video, of a Gligar using Poison Tail. In his lap, Skorupi waves his tail around enthusiastically, until Ran almost has his eye poked out, at which point he volunteers an arm for Skorupi to wind his tail around, ensuring that he'll make it through their study session unmolested.

In the distance, he can hear the discomforting noise of Golbat unleashing yet another burst of venomous liquid and the sounds of what appears to be a truly feisty game of tag between Caesar and Aria. As he replays the video of Gligar's Poison Tail once more, at Skorupi's clear insistence, Ran smiles in satisfaction.

He could get used to having more days like this one.

---

Author's Note: It was about time for a mostly comfortable team bonding chapter, wasn't it?

If you want to read ahead or feel like supporting my writing, please go and have a look at my Patreon or Ko-fi . Patreon for member benefits like 2 weeks of Early Access whereas Ko-fi is for one-off donations that go towards artwork.

 

[The Dave]

When evening eventually starts to set in, Ran gathers his team and starts heading back to Goldenrod City. Caesar, he keeps out of his ball for company and as a mild deterrent for any trainers that may want to challenge him on the road back to the city. The others are recalled easily, none of them seeming to mind after getting to spend nearly the entire day out of their balls.

It's something he'll need to make more time for in the future, as his pokémon have been spending a lot more time in their balls ever since he set out on his journey. Though none of them have really seemed upset about this change to their lives, the way they all openly enjoyed themselves today still makes for a stark contrast with the long stretches he's spent on the road over the past weeks. Of course traveling is a reality of life as a trainer, but there's a lot of time left until the Conference and he's already got three of the eight badges he needs. Taking a slightly more easy-going approach should definitely be possible and there's little doubt that it'll benefit his team.

Because the day's two training sessions were without a doubt the most productive training sessions they've had in a long while. Between Caesar finally mastering both Acid Spray and Sludge Bomb, Golbat doing the same for Haze and Venoshock, Aria swiftly learning Toxic Spikes before starting to make some progress on Sucker Punch towards the end of the day's training and Skorupi proudly showing off Bug Bite as the result of his work with Aria, his team has measurably and markedly improved compared to when they set out in the morning. Said improvement far exceeds the wildest hopes he'd held for the day when initially setting out.

That, then, likely explains why he's in a spectacularly pleasant mood right now. The evening air is pleasant, not too cloyingly warm but not chilly either. There's a light ache in his muscles from the day's exertions, but nothing bad enough to be bothersome or truly painful. Slithering along by his side, Caesar is still visibly basking in the novelty of his evolution, a single imperious look from him enough to scare off an overly curious Drowzee despite his inherent type-disadvantage.

In short, though there are countless hurdles yet to clear, he feels on top of the world at this moment. The prospect of a good dinner, a hot shower and a comfortable bed only further reinforce his good mood, to the point where he's just about ready to start skipping back towards the city. Some faint remnant of self-restraint keeps him from going quite that far though.

It's just after entering Goldenrod City, with Caesar freshly recalled and just as he's accepting the convenient cup of pasta he's picked up from a food stall to eat on the go, that his pokégear buzzes with an incoming message. It takes a bit of finagling, considering the cup of pasta and the fork he's holding, but he manages to check the message without spilling anything.

She asks where he's at, a second message clarifying that she's currently at the pokécenter looking for him. Ran responds with a quick explanation, promising that he's on his way there now, which Josie apparently considers a good response, as she responds with a simple thumbs up.

The promise of finally getting some further clarification as to just where Josie's head ended up is enough incentive for him to swiftly scarf down the rest of his pasta, even as he picks up the pace towards the pokécenter slightly. Just a handful minutes later, still wiping around the corners of his mouth to make sure there's no pasta sauce lingering on his face, Ran enters the main lobby, before easily bypassing the nurse's desk and instead turning directly towards the hallway that holds his room.

There, Josie stands leaning against the wall next to his door, arms crossed under her chest as she idly taps away at her pokégear.

"Josie," Ran greets her, continuing to approach until he's standing next to her, so he can unlock his room's door, "Come on in."

"Thanks." She acknowledges, following him inside before coming to a sudden stop.

Ran for his part is faintly aware of the sounds of Josie's footsteps coming to an abrupt halt, but he doesn't pay them much mind, instead focused on finally taking off his backpack and taking off his shoes. Only when that's done and when he's moving to sit on his own bed, does he look towards Josie, before realizing why she's stopped in place, as she looks at the pokémon bed that takes up the other half of the room with an inscrutable expression.

"I guess they don't have those in whatever hotels you're staying in?" Ran asks, sliding over towards the head of his bed before gesturing towards the foot invitingly as he draws his own legs up to sit comfortably against the headboard.

"No, they do." Josie denies, looking around the room once more, before finally seeming to accept that her options for seating are limited to an uncomfortable desk chair, a pokémon bed and Ran's bed. Thankfully for Ran's self-esteem, at least his bed wins out in that particular race, as Josie finally steps further into the room before sitting down on the other side of the bed.

As she settles down, legs still off the bed as she sits sideways, only looking at Ran from the corner of her eye, she expands upon her answer easily, "The places I'm staying at just don't make you choose between bedspace and room for your pokémon. I didn't really think about the lack of space for your team when I saw the room you were staying in back in Violet. Is this standard for a pokécenter room? Because my room in the pokécenter back in Azalea was definitely bigger than this one."

"I haven't been to enough different centers to really know if it's 'standard'," Ran clarifies, fingers rising to form the appropriate air quotes even as he realizes that Josie probably didn't book a 'standard' room at all, back in Azalea, "But as far as I've seen, this is what a normal one-person room looks like, yeah. There's usually also a large communal dormitory, but honestly this isn't that much more expensive and at least this way my team can spend the night outside of their balls."

"No, I get that." Josie accepts, waving off his explanation as she looks about the room, before finally her eyes land upon him properly, her upper body turning slightly to face him more directly, at which point she draws in a deep breath.

"Honestly, it's whatever, I'm just beating around the bush. Let's just do this." She declares assertively, before falling silent once more.

"Well, it'd help if I knew just what we're doing…" Ran replies drolly, trailing off as he waits somewhat impatiently for Josie to actually get to whatever point she wants to raise.

She lets out a heavy sigh, shoulders drooping for a moment, before she visibly psyches herself up once more.

Finally, she speaks, the words coming out in a swift rush as she clearly forces them out before she can second guess herself, "I want to start riding to Ecruteak City tomorrow."

Ran has to blink a few times, somewhat taken aback by the unexpected announcement. Josie merely sits quietly, staring at him intently, clearly waiting for him to speak. He takes a moment to process her words and just what they mean, before finally doing just that.

"Okay so you don't want to stick around Goldenrod to re-challenge Whitney in the short term, that's fair," He accepts easily, before frowning slightly, "I'm not completely opposed to Ecruteak next, but personally I was hoping to go to Cianwood next, so if you've got any-"

He's cut off by Josie, who interrupts his attempt at convincing her with another rush of words, "I want to start riding to Ecruteak City tomorrow, alone."

"Oh," Ran lets out in surprise, before, as Josie's words really sink in, repeating the same word more slowly, "Oooooooohh."

"Yeah, oh." Josie huffs in dismay, finally looking away from him as she instead develops a sudden interest in the texture of the pokécenter's standard bed sheets.

She remains quiet after that, giving Ran enough time to parse through Josie's words and process just how he feels about them. His first true reaction, the emotion that soon pushes away his initial confusion, is resentful. Just because he won the badge and she didn't, she's dumping him as a companion? How dare she!

An angry outburst is on the tip of his tongue, but, perhaps thanks to some lingering sense of fulfillment from the day's successes, he holds off on actually unleashing his verbal vitriol. Josie's expression, tentative, unwilling to meet his eyes, doesn't suit that of someone out to hurt him. As open a book as she is, he's confident that she's not acting, at which point frustrated resentment makes way for dismay. That's the emotion he ends up verbalizing.

"Why?" He ends up asking after a long minute has passed, "I thought we were both enjoying traveling together?"

"I was!" Josie immediately clarifies, finally meeting his eyes once more, her sincerity clearly visible there as whatever dam has been holding back her words finally bursts, "This isn't because I don't like traveling with you or because you've done anything wrong or whatever. But I'm not making progress as a trainer right now and you definitely are so, until I've figured some stuff out, I can't be around you when you keep making these huge leaps forward whilst I'm stuck in place!"

Josie's eyes widen in fear as she ends up shouting at him, only to frantically continue before Ran can get a word in edgewise, "If we do keep traveling together, I'm just going to become jealous of you! But I know that I shouldn't be because it's not your fault that I'm not making progress so then I'll end up loathing my own behavior and I don't want that. Not to mention the part where you don't deserve me bitching at you, just because you're doing well as a trainer!"

Josie draws in a few heaving breaths once she finishes speaking, clearly having pushed her lungs to the limit by rushing out so many words without taking in any proper breaths. It left Ran unable to get a word in, but now the tables are turned as she has to recover her breath, finally giving him an opportunity to reply.

But he doesn't. Not immediately, at least. Instead, he considers Josie's words carefully.

She feels that she's not progressing as fast as him and that's going to lead to a spiral of blame, jealousy and self-loathing… Is that a reasonable explanation? What if their positions were reversed? If he'd lost their first battle, lost against Grady and now lost against Whitney, whilst watching Josie win instead and evolve her starter?

That's something he has to think about for a few long seconds, before coming to a conclusion about himself that admittedly isn't all that flattering. At least it makes understanding Josie a lot easier, which is what drives his next words.

"Alright," He replies succinctly, offering a nod to go along with his words, "If that's what you feel like you need to do, then that's how it is."

His reply is measured and calm, which is why Josie doing a visible double-take feels pretty unfair.

"It's alright? Really?" She repeats uncertainly, staring at him as if he's grown a second head, "I've been beating myself up over this for hours and all you've got to say is that it's alright?"

Ran shrugs, unsure just what kind of reaction she was expecting then, "I enjoy traveling with you, but we never made any hard deals or promises to each other and I don't want either of us to end up resenting the other. So yeah, it's alright. If you feel like you need to ride to Ecruteak, then you should ride to Ecruteak. It's your journey."

Josie merely gapes at him like a fish in response, drawing a sigh from Ran, before he explains his own thoughts further, "Look, I wasn't expecting that you wouldn't want to travel together anymore, but I did expect you to want to go to Ecruteak. Vulpix makes sense for your team and just sticking around Goldenrod for a few weeks doesn't seem like your style, so it's not that big of a surprise. If you really had your mind set on it, I was willing to come along. Of course I was hoping to convince you to go to Cianwood first, because I like that route better and it suits my own long-term plans better, but this way, we both get to travel the route we prefer without any hard feelings either way."

"And you're not upset that I'm dumping you?" She asks, her typically straightforward choice of words finally drawing a slight wince from Ran.

"Well I'm not particularly enthusiastic about the word 'dumping'," He admits, finally drawing a guilty grin from Josie, "But no, I can understand it. Even when we were traveling here, you were already missing the opportunity to ride Ginger as much as you wanted. And if you know that traveling together is just going to lead to us fighting, then it's better to call it quits here. Besides, I honestly think I'll enjoy traveling with just my team for company. We've gotten a lot stronger compared to when we just started out, it's not as if either of us should really need a companion for safety purposes, at this point."

Earlier, he got a guilty grin, this time, he actually manages to draw an audible laugh from Josie, as she finally seems to ease up once more. At first, she still seems a bit tentative, but when Ran remains placid, she finally openly grins, falling over on her back and letting her upper body lay across the bed lazily, rather than holding her awkward sidewards sitting position any longer.

"Safety purposes, please. I've got a team of living fire hazards, ain't nobody laying a finger on me." She declares, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, before rolling over onto her side to meet his gaze once more. For his own part, he's not nearly as restless as Josie, continuing to rest comfortably against his pillow which in turn rests against the headboard.

"There's always a bigger Gyarados out there," Ran warns seriously, before easing up once more, "But yeah, with my team where it's at now compared to when we first went through Union Cave, it's not as if traveling on my own will actually be dangerous either. Maybe it'll do us both good to spend some time with just our own teams for company."

"That's what I was thinking!" Josie confirms enthusiastically, bouncing upright with renewed energy before suddenly pointing a threatening finger in his direction, "Man, this is going a lot better than I thought it would."

Ran offers a teasing grin, confident enough that Josie's back to being herself to launch a small verbal jab, "Well alright, thanks for thinking the worst of me, friend."

"Oh I didn't mean it like that," Josie waves him off once more, as if swatting away a particularly persistent fly, "You know I didn't mean it like that. You're a good dude, Ran."

He's about to smugly accept the compliment, but before he can, Ran is cut off, as Josie raises a finger threateningly even as she bounces off of the mattress, "Though don't think for a moment that this means I'll go easy on you when we run into each other later, you hear? I'll be kicking your ass at the Conference, no matter what!"

"Sure you will," He scoffs tauntingly, "In your dreams!"

"Ha!" Josie barks out a laugh, before returning fire with a taunt of her own, "You, feature in my dreams? Wishful thinking, buddy boy!"

What follows is ten minutes of increasingly childish mutual taunting, before they eventually run out of gas. The silence that settles over them both is a companionable one, though there's also a sense of finality to it.

When Josie opens her mouth once more, Ran isn't surprised by the words that come out.

"I'm going to head out. I'd say 'keep in touch', but that kind of goes against the whole resentment thing, so I'll just text you once I'm feeling better about my own performances, alright?" She offers, rising from the bed, which she'd fallen back onto somewhere in the middle of their verbal joust, as she does so.

The thought of not keeping in touch at all in the short term isn't a pleasant one, but it's one he somewhat begrudgingly accepts nevertheless.

"Sure thing," Ran accepts, rising from the bed himself, to leave them both standing only a few feet from each other, as he wavers between offering a hand for Josie to shake and simply waiting for her to leave, "Kick ass out there."

Josie meets his gaze once more, before finally, with a sort of muted huff, stepping closer, grabbing his coat by the collar and planting him with a kiss.

Ran can only stand there awkwardly, completely frozen in place as he is suddenly acutely reminded of the minor detail that Josie is in fact a very pretty girl. Before he can even properly start to process that fact or even what's happening to him in the first place, the kiss is already over. Josie meets his eyes once more before, with an infuriatingly smug smile, turning on her heel and leaving his room, the door falling shut behind her.

It leaves him standing around uselessly for a few seconds, before his hand tentatively comes up to touch his lips in disbelief. What just happened?

He wants to go out and chase after Josie, to demand some kind of explanation, but not only would that go directly against her wishes, he also really doesn't want her to end up regretting what she just did. Because that was really quite enjoyable. So he just stands there for a few more seconds, before finally plonking back down on his bed.

Eventually, still trying to fully work through what just happened and what his feelings about it mean, he starts to release his team. They materialize easily and, upon realizing they're back in the same room as the previous night, return to their previous sleeping locations. By the time they're done, Ran has settled more comfortably on his own bed once more, glancing around for a moment, before starting to catch his team up on his conversation with Josie, though he does omit her chosen means of saying goodbye.

They take the news well, none of them having gotten especially close with any of Josie's own team members, though Skorupi at least expresses some disappointment at the idea of losing his playmates in Chief the Growlithe and Soot the Houndour. Still, it's only the work of a few minutes to catch his team up on the evening's events, at which point they all settle in for the night.

As for Ran, he takes that long-awaited shower, changes into his sleeping wear and brushes his teeth. By the time he heads to bed, it's with thoughts of wandering the roads alone, with only his team to keep him company. They're happy thoughts, rather than scary ones, easily carrying him off to sleep. Though when he dreams, it isn't just of the journey ahead, but also of a pair of warm, slightly chapped lips.

The next morning, one of the first things he does is book a ticket on the next ship to Cianwood City.

---

Author's Note: Well, this won't be contentious at all...

I do welcome all input on this one, the decision to split Josie off is set in stone and makes perfect sense within the listed motivations, as far as I'm concerned, but of course the exact manner of their goodbye is something I went back and forth on for a bit. Ultimately, my beta swayed me towards the current path, but I don't expect a consensus agreement on it being the right call. I am open to debate and discussion, but please keep it mellow.

If you want to read ahead or feel like supporting my writing, please go and have a look at my Patreon or Ko-fi . Patreon for member benefits like 2 weeks of Early Access whereas Ko-fi is for one-off donations that go towards artwork.

 

[The Dave]

With a few days to kill before his freshly-booked ship to Cianwood City departs, Ran spends his remaining time in Goldenrod City productively.

To start, he gets in touch with Grady and spends another day with the younger trainer in the Goldenrod City Tunnel. They both get in a few more battles, with Ran garnering two wins and a single loss. The wins are earned by Caesar the Arbok in a singles effort and by the pair of Aria the Ariados and Golbat in an impressive doubles battle. The loss is Skorupi's, as the surprise factor his rarity offers him doesn't end up fully compensating for his lack of experience and raw power against another three-badge-trainer's Raichu.

The next day, he takes his team towards the Goldenrod City Gym once more. Though the Plain Badge sits snugly in place next to his Zephyr and Hive Badges, the Gym does have more to offer than just its Gym Leader after all. Splurging on a pass to use the Gym's training facilities for a few days isn't exactly fun, but with his team's movesets in a very solid place for now, Ran is eager to have them focus on their raw physical abilities once more. Especially with the comforting thought that his finances are in a comfortable enough place to bear the expense. He'll make the money back over his next few matches anyways, so it's about time he actually used a Gym for training, rather than just to challenge the local Leader.

Buying training equipment with his money is also possible of course, but for a journeying trainer like himself, it's hardly ideal. Plus, with the expenses involved and the expected growth his pokémon should still experience in the weeks, months and years to come… It's just the same reasoning that led to him capturing Spinarak and Zubat all those years ago, rather than investing in training equipment for Ekans. So he invests in a training pass for Whitney's Gym.

The facility is probably the finest one in all of Johto, owing to Goldenrod City's prominence and size. Its reputation and size translate into painfully high prices, but just a brief glimpse at the sheer array of machines and training aids that are available has Ran more than happy to make the investment. From that point on, it's just about getting as much value for his money as possible.

Which is why, for the remaining three days before they're due to board for Cianwood CIty, they're in the Gym's training hall at eight in the morning every day for a morning workout. Ran joins his team for their warm-ups every morning as he works out alongside them, before becoming their trainer once more as he sets each of them up with individualized programs.

Though he's always had a fair few ideas of his own, it's still nice to discover that Goldenrod City's Gym's training facilities offer a wide selection of suggested training schedules and approaches for all kinds of pokémon. For example, he's been having Golbat working on obstacle courses whilst having to dodge attacks for ages, something the available training schedules also mention. But the facility adds onto that basis by offering multiple weighted and resizable 'vests', as well as ball machines that take over the dodging portion of the workout.

The workout Golbat gets put through is significantly more intense as a consequence, but the results speak for themselves as even over the span of the few days of training, he improves noticeably. He isn't the only one either, as Caesar finally gets an opportunity to get some properly reliable indications of his grip strength, thanks to the facility offering multiple machines for exactly that purpose. After three days, his final maximum effort show a three percent increase over his 'starting' value, which to Ran is all the justification he needs to confirm that working out in the facility rather than out in the wild was worth it.

Grip strength isn't the only thing Caesar works on either, as both he and Skorupi continue to lack badly in mobility. Which is why they get to do a lot of laps and sprints over their three day training stint. It's hard to argue with results of course, but that doesn't do anything to improve the mood of either of his most physically affectionate pokémon.

Aria also lacks mobility to a degree, but between Agility, Shadow Sneak and her growing familiarity with Sucker Punch, closing speed and endurance aren't the major concerns for her that they are for the others. Instead, Ran has her working on her nimbleness and ability to dodge, as rather than sprints or laps, she too gets to contend with obstacle courses and dodging the salvos of ball machines. Unlike the pair of Caesar and Skorupi however, Aria is ecstatic to be working on training that's entirely geared towards letting her avoid pain in the future. Especially as the ball machines, though absolutely efficient, are also even less painful than the already muted Poison Stings she'd ordinarily be dealing with if Ran had to put her through the same training regimen out on the road.

Finally, the one exercise all four of his pokémon get put through equally, is the one they all seem to enjoy the most. Because all of them get to go ham on an array of chew toys specifically engineered to withstand and improve the bite force of every possible pokémon. It rapidly becomes a game between the four of them to see if any of them can actually damage their assigned toys, only for all of them to ultimately fail as, whenever any one chew toy starts letting out particularly distressed sounds, Ran happily switches it out for the next, even tougher, model of the same line.

All in all, with a few brief breaks to drink and rest, their daily morning workout lasts about three hours. At that point, Ran recalls his team, leaves the training facility, shops for lunch, prepares his lunch, eats it and does some light reading. By two in the afternoon, he's back in the facility, for another two hour training session, to his team's daily horror.

Every day, by four in the afternoon, they're all well and truly exhausted, at which point they get to the most popular part of the day by far. Because after working out, Ran is more than happy to let his team relax and recover in the large spa-area of the training facility. There, a wide range of surfaces, temperatures and light sources are on offer, letting each pokémon rest up in ideal conditions.

Caesar finds a daily home on the large heated rocks, letting him bask in the indirect light of the large sunlamp that beams down on the adjacent pool and sandy coast. Said sand always draws Skorupi, as he burrows into the sand as far away from the water as he can get, before happily letting the sun beat down on his sheltered form for as long as Ran will leave him there.

Whilst those two seek out sunlight and heat, Golbat and Aria are the opposite, as they retreat into the shade. For Aria, that amounts to seeking out a comfortable perch amongst the small wooded area of the large room, whilst Golbat retreats into the dark, humid 'cave' structure all the way at the back of the room.

Of course they're never the only pokémon in either the training facility or the spa-area, as Ran is by no means the only trainer in Goldenrod City who wants the best for his pokémon. But the training facility's rules on battling are very clear. As in, there is none allowed.

Which is for the best, as 'just' battling whilst in possession of an access pass would be a complete waste of the money he's invested to gain the access pass in the first place. Fortunately, none of the other trainers seem to be of a different mindset, as everyone just minds their own business and works out privately, with the occasional exception of a pair or threesome of trainers grouping up to chat as their pokémon work out or relax in different places.

On their final day in the training facility, the brief routine Ran established for his team and himself briefly gets thrown off-kilter, as a familiar figure catches his attention.

It's only a few minutes before four, just as his team is winding down and mere minutes after Caesar sets his new, final (for now) record on the grip strength tester, that Ran catches a glimpse of a familiar dark pink. Looking properly in that direction, he's unpleasantly surprised to see the trainer of the Politoed and Ampharos that pushed Golbat and him around back on Route 34.

The other trainer is just entering the facility, not noticing Ran and his own team as he moves over to a large weightlifting station. It seems somewhat ill-suited to both Politoed and Ampharos, but that mystery is easily answered when he ends up releasing a Sudowoodo. There's some anxiousness to Ran's movements as he actually decides to recall Golbat for a moment, calling his other pokémon to him as he cuts their training short by a few minutes.

None of them mind, of course, though Caesar seems to catch on to his unease at least, as he looks around the large hall before rapidly focusing in on the older thug.

"Leave off, Caesar, we're going to the spa." Ran insists, leading the way there swiftly.

Skorupi and Aria follow along enthusiastically, leaving Caesar to glare menacingly at the unaware bully in the distance, but as Ran continues to lead the way, his starter eventually yields, following after his trainer reluctantly. Ran's shoulders sag in relief as he hears the distinct sound of Caesar's scales slithering after him.

Then, as he leads his team to the spa, his attention is caught by a sliver of conversation between two local female trainers, who are clearly watching the newly-arrived trainer as well.

"-back to the Conference." The first girl, who looks to be around eighteen, finishes saying. Her words are already enough to draw Ran's interest, but nowhere near as much as the reply of the second trainer.

"He's strong, but he does kind of pale in comparison to Whitney, doesn't he?" The second girl, who looks closer to Ran's age, seems to admit, before posing a question heavy with implications.

"It's not Morton's fault that his sister's a freak of nature!" The first girl snaps back, clearly flustered by the apparent critique of the now-named Morton. Then, without paying her junior companion any further mind, she boldly strides towards Morton, clearly intent on making conversation.

Ran doesn't pay that any mind however, as he instead makes sure to be out of the training hall and into the spa, to make sure that 'Morton' can't spot him once he gets pulled out of his focus by the chatty girl. Only then, once he's sure that there's no risk of an altercation occurring, does he let his pokémon set out towards their preferred resting spots - with Golbat getting released with only an apologetic smile for an explanation - and turn his own attention fully to what he just heard.

So he's Whitney's older brother. That would explain him hanging around Goldenrod City and having such a strong team. But why can't Ran remember him from any Conference matches then? Did that team of his, with that terrifyingly strong Ampharos, never make it into the later stages of the tournament?

The thought seems insane. Yet… What other explanation is there?

It's deeply worrying to consider that a team consisting of pokémon that can oneshot Ran's own team isn't even strong enough to go on a run at the Conference-level. Because, although his own team's made remarkable progress even in the brief span of time since his 'match' against Morton, the idea that Morton himself isn't even the bar he has to clear completely undermines the value he'd mentally ascribed to their progress over the past few days.

Progress is still good of course, but it's like running a mile only to then discover that you're not supposed to run ten, but twenty miles. Then again, maybe Ampharos is actually Morton's strongest pokémon by a comfortable margin?

If that's the case… payback becomes a lot more achievable, a lot sooner than he was expecting. Which is a deeply intriguing thought. Ran makes a mental note to look up Morton's known team on the pokécenter's computers that evening. Though the Conference is still a long way off, it'd be especially delicious to humble the 'man' that hurt Golbat on the biggest stage of them all, at the end of the season.

He puts the idea out of mind for the moment, instead wandering over towards Caesar, to offer his starter some insight into just who Morton is. It's a brief explanation, at the end of which Caesar sulkily knocks Ran's legs out from under him, making sure that his trainer lands right in the middle of his coils, forcing him to snuggle.

Lying on top of Caesar is a bit warm for Ran's tastes, but it isn't the most uncomfortable perch in the world either. Or so he feels initially, at least.

When Caesar wakes him up with some insistent hisses almost two hours later, he's forced to admit to himself that perhaps the temperature was just right after all. The long, late nap throws his evening routine slightly out of whack, but Ran still finds the time to look into Morton's trainer profile briefly at least, his unusual first name proving enough to find just the guy he's looking for.

Morton Hancock is twenty-five and went to two Conferences in back-to-back seasons, the most recent of those being a decade ago. That comfortably explains why Ran didn't recognize him or ever hear of him, as Morton's trainer profile makes it very clear that he hasn't done a proper circuit ever since. Instead, there's a few mentions on his profile of accredited work as a freelancer with organizations like the Rangers and the police.

As for his known team, Ran can only conclude that Ampharos might very well be the ace indeed, as his other known pokémon are Bellossom, Sudowoodo, Politoed, Xatu and Umbreon. There's potential there of course, with Umbreon in particular having the potential to be a real menace, but Bellossom and Xatu are hardly particularly awe inspiring threats.

There's still no doubt that Morton is a professional trainer, but making it to only two Conferences, only to flame out in the early rounds before settling for freelancing and, probably, mooching off of his more successful sister? No wonder the guy is a thug who pushes around less experienced trainers.

Silently vowing to himself not to end up like Morton Hancock, Ran mentally adds the other trainer to his mental checklist of trainers to overcome. There'd been a gaping chasm between Spencer and Bugsy. Morton slots in there perfectly.

The gap between Golbat and Ampharos was far too big when they first battled to easily catch up in just a few weeks, but in the many months they've got left before the Conference? That sounds a lot more achievable. It's a motivating thought that inspires him to keep giving his best for the rest of the day.

The next morning, Ran heads to Goldenrod's port bright and early, eager to take ship to Cianwood City and start on the path to achieving the next milestone on his path. The dock he needs is easily found, at which point he happily settles on a free bench with one of his books, looking to spend the time until he can board in a productive way. Which means he finally gets to delve into Sinnoh Safari, the Great Marsh.

It's been at the top of his reading list from the moment his study of Sinnoh's geography taught him that it serves as the Skorupi-line's natural habitat, but with his days productively filled in other ways, he hasn't gotten around to it just yet. Now, however, with over half an hour to wait before he's even supposed to be able to get on board of his chosen transport, is the perfect moment to start changing that.

He easily delves into the book, this one written far more interestingly than the earlier fare, as it is written as if the reader is being taken along on an actual safari trip. This translates in the book actually starting with an immediate tangent about appropriate clothing, but that only makes the tale more immersive, as only after ensuring that ample warning about proper shoes and sufficiently long sleeves and pant legs have been given, does the narrator enter the Marsh itself.

Once inside, after an overall description of the general wetness of the area and the smooth intermingling of wilderness and human ingenuity, the book finally turns to the pokémon that can be found in the Great Marsh. Some of them Ran is surprised to find he knows very well, as pokémon commonly found in Johto, like Wooper, Hoothoot and Paras, are mentioned as native to the region.

There's also a moment of genuine excitement when the book mentions the presence of a few Ekans and Arbok. Ran's hand instinctively dips to Caesar's pokéball in order to bring out his starter and share the discovery with him, only to think better of it as he notices the dock has already filled up significantly with other trainers. As they are also largely keeping their pokémon in their balls, barring a few smaller pokémon like a Starmie and a Tyrogue, it'd probably be a bit awkward to unleash a massive Arbok all of a sudden.

Especially as it's pretty clear that not everybody on the dock is a professional trainer, with some clear tourists of varying ages mixed throughout the slowly growing crowd as well. Realizing that there's a fair few older people milling about, Ran looks around for a moment that he isn't keeping any of them from a seat, only to find that there's still more than a few empty benches left. With that worry dismissed for the moment, he returns to his book.

There's an interesting mention of the Arbok in the Great Swamp natively tending to pick up on the basics of Dig, which is a fascinating finding, as all of Ran's previous research indicated the need for a TM if he wanted Caesar to learn the move. It's a neat tidbit he files away for later consideration, but not one he lets himself get distracted with for too long, as he returns his attention to the remainder of the book.

Before he can make any real further progress however, the ship's horn is sounded, as a large gangplank is lowered from the ship onto the dock, two employees swiftly moving to stand at the ready to receive passengers and check everyone's tickets. Glancing at his pokégear, Ran is somewhat surprised to find that the ship should be departing in just ten minutes, time apparently having passed swiftly while he was reading.

He hurriedly stows away his book, before joining the milling crowd around the gangplank, as he waits patiently for his turn to board.

A few minutes later, ticket in hand and directions given to him by the younger of the two employees responsible for checking the tickets, he walks up the gangplank and onto the ship.

The ship he's booked transport on is no grand luxurious cruise ship, but rather a simple ferry. There were cabins available for reservation of course, but as the trip is only supposed to take about four hours, Ran hasn't booked one of those. Instead, he traipses about the deck for a while as everyone finishes boarding, before descending into the boat's innards to have a proper look at his chosen means of transport.

The ship isn't particularly impressive despite its significant size, but it's comfortable enough, with a nice restaurant, a reading lounge and a large number of deck chairs out in the open to while away the hours in. There is very clear signage posted in every area to demonstrate what is and isn't allowed, with most things, like smoking, being highly expected.

The severe restrictions on pokémon are a major disappointment though, as Caesar, Aria and Golbat are all too large to be let out of their balls anywhere except for the absolute belly of the ship, where a specific deck has been prepared for 'larger' pokémon. Though the idea is nice and he does go and have a look there, there is no natural light whatsoever and simply looks like a large hangar, with no real effort having been put in to make it seem more appealing.

Even then, the promise of an available referee could still have convinced him to lurk around on the pokémon-deck in hopes of having a fun match, but the other trainers on board have also clearly opted to spend their time elsewhere, rather than under the sterile artificial lighting of the pokémon-deck. So, mind made up, he heads to the ferry's restaurant, where he has to wrestle down the instinctive urge to leave upon spotting the outrageous prices, to have a proper breakfast.

With that sorted, it's just a matter of seeking out one of the few still unoccupied seats on the busy sun deck, flagging down a waiter to order a drink, and cracking open his book.

It's not a particularly warm morning, with plenty of wispy gray clouds and the cold air stopping the sun's full effects from being felt. Still, with his thick purple jacket on, it's comfortable enough, as Ran is happy to at least let Skorupi out of his ball, for some company.

The excitable poison-bug-type energetically skitters over to the deck's railing, peeking down to see the ship cleaving through the water, before swiftly rushing back to Ran's chair, where he anxiously tries to crawl under his trainer's chair. In a deck chair, that has the unpleasant effect of Skorupi's many hard and sharp parts digging uncomfortably into his seat, at which point Ran spends at least two minutes struggling with his fourth team member, as he tries his best to extricate Skorupi from underneath the chair.

An endeavor that is made significantly more challenging by Skorupi's insistence on not being pulled out into the open, as he wraps his tail through the chair's legs before tightly clamping on to them with his tail claws. What follows is clearly of great entertainment to the rest of the sun deck's occupants, as Ran can hear more than one snicker and muted laugh, all while he does his best to liberate Skorupi from the bottom of his seat.

He's completely unsuccessful of course, as Skorupi's general clinginess clearly translates into an excellent ability to resist attempts at removal from whatever he's clinging to. Ordinarily, Ran himself is the 'thing' Skorupi is clinging to, which means actually needing or wanting to remove the blue-purple menace is an issue he hasn't really encountered before. However, Skorupi's choice to attach to a light deck chair of all things, ultimately proves to be his undoing.

Because after a few minutes of pulling and cajoling and shaking his pokémon, Ran doesn't even try to get Skorupi out from under the seat any more. Instead, he simply lifts up the deck chair as a whole and starts shaking it. After just a few seconds, with a plaintive yowl, Skorupi lets go and drops onto the deck.

Triumphant, Ran puts down his chair, ready to get back to his book, only to have to deal with Skorupi immediately crawling up his back and attempting to cling onto his back. Which, again, ordinarily he's fine with. In a deck chair however, it really does not work.

So he has to spend another five minutes bargaining, threatening and cajoling Skorupi, until eventually his pokémon consents to clinging onto the back of the chair, rather than onto Ran's own back. Finally, he gets around to opening his book once more, enthusiastically delving back into the tale of the Great Marsh.

Picking up where he left off, which was the part that mentioned Arbok being native to the region, he swiftly moves through the next few sections on a number of pokémon both exotic and common. In this way, the next hour passess swiftly, including an interesting section on the Croagunk-line, which is apparently a poison-fighting type. The implications for his team's potential match-ups against the generally immune steel-types are immense, but he forces himself to carry on, focusing on the pokémon that's actually on his team rather than a foreign one he'll likely never get his hands on.

Thus, he carries on reading, until, finally, he reaches the section he was looking for. Because, with a clear picture of both Skorupi and his evolved form, Drapion, taking up the entirety of the right page, he finally gets to what he was looking for, as the narrator turns to the description of the next two pokémon he 'encountered' on the book's imaginary safari.

Skorupi, the Scorpion Pokémon, and Drapion, the Ogre Scorpion Pokémon.

Found lurking just under the surface, the highly dangerous Skorupi lies in wait of prey. Capable of surviving without food for incredible amounts of time, this venomous predator sinks into the Great Marsh's swampy soil, only to snap forwards with devastating speed when an unaware victim stumbles into its killing range.

Skorupi combines sharp and strong claws with lethal poison into a compact and distressingly durable package. As a poison-bug-type, it deviates significantly from more common base stage pokémon of the bug-typing, like Kricketot and Wurmple. Unlike those more 'typical' bug-types, Skorupi is generally slow to evolve, though it does compensate for this to a degree in its greater battle prowess.

Its naturally strong armor and well-honed instincts for ambush predation make it an incredible battler on the professional circuits. Because of this, the Skorupi-line is one that's well-sought after by Sinnoh's many talented trainers, with many considering the effort one needs to invest to truly get the most out of Skorupi well worth it.

For those trainers that persist and show the willingness and ability to give Skorupi all the time, attention and experience it requires, the reward is significant. Because upon evolution, Skorupi becomes the feared Drapion.

Unlike its earlier form, Drapion is no patient ambush predator. Instead, it is a highly territorial roving beast that will attack any pokémon that dares enter its claimed territory. Unlike Skorupi, Drapion tends to be highly active when awake, constantly patrolling its territory and hunting for prey. Drapion also loses Skorupi's vulnerability to cold weather, though it maintains a preference for warm temperatures.

The largest shift upon evolution is in its typing, for it loses the bug-typing and gains a secondary dark-typing instead. This makes Drapion extremely sought-after by many, as it only has a single true type weakness, whilst being very strong and versatile at the same time. Successfully defeating and capturing a wild Drapion isn't for the faint of heart however, so trainers with such ambitions should make sure that they don't bite off more than they can chew!

In the Great Marsh, only a few Drapion are present at any given time, to ensure that the remaining wild pokémon population isn't damaged uncontrollably. Though it is technically allowed to attempt to capture a Drapion during a Safari-outing, many ultimately opt to go for a Skorupi instead, due to Drapion's rarity, aggression and renowned resistance to capture.

We will ignore the clear signs of a lurking Skorupi for now, allowing it to remain lying in wait for its eventual next meal, and instead carry on to-

Ran closes the book with a decisive snap, looking out over the waters which the ship is still cutting through, as the sheer impact of what he's just read finally fully sinks in.

Bugsy really did give him a pokémon with a ton of potential. One desired by hordes of trainers. A pokémon with enough raw potential to be 'extremely sought-after'. Not only for its poison-dark-typing, which itself remains an enormous coup, but for its overall power and ability as well! So Bugsy didn't just give him a complete and total answer to his team's current main defensive weakness to the psychic-typing, but one of considerable might in his own regard at that. A pokémon renowned for its battle prowess and strength…

Worst of all… Bugsy must know. Because he gifted it to Ran partially because Drapion doesn't retain the bug-typing. So either Bugsy thinks Ran can't get Skorupi to evolve, that he won't be able to handle Drapion's temper post-evolution, or… Bugsy genuinely gave him an astonishing reward that forces Ran to completely re-evaluate everything he's ever thought of Azalea Town's Gym Leader.

Which is just not an option.

In what has to be a moment of the universe actively working against him, his pokégear chooses that exact moment to vibrate with an incoming message. Somehow, it isn't even that surprising to see Bugsy's name glaring up at him from the small screen.

Opening the message reluctantly, Ran's conflicted feelings only worsen further, as reads what Bugsy sent him.

Bugsy: Hi Ran!

Bugsy: I had some business with Whitney and she mentioned that you put on an impressive performance against her! Congratulations on winning your third badge!

Bugsy: From what she told me, it must have been quite the sight to see. I look forward to watching some of your matches later in the season, when you reach the higher badge tiers and your performances start to get recorded.

Bugsy: Feel free not to tell me, but I admit to some curiosity on your plans for the immediate future. Are you planning to challenge Chuck or Morty next? Alternatively, if you're still in the area, I'm also happy to hear that your Spinarak evolved. If you're interested, I'd be more than happy for you to swing by Azalea Town again to see if I can't offer you a few pointers on really getting the most out of her, now that she's an Ariados!

Bugsy: If that's something you're interested in, please do get in touch and I'll make sure to try and clear some room in my schedule. Good luck with your journey!

Now even more conflicted than before, Ran closes his pokégear in frustration, the brusqueness of his motions startling Skorupi for a moment, as the deck chair shakes in place.

Why would Whitney and Bugsy discuss him? What else did they talk about? What's with the interest in his next challenge? Is Bugsy keeping an eye on him? Is he going to reach out to Chuck and/or Morty in advance of Ran's arrival? To what end?

Ran was never particularly close to the old Gym Leader, but surely Walter never kept such close track of the unsponsored trainers hailing from Azalea Town? For that matter, he'd be surprised if Walter even used to keep close track of his actually sponsored trainers. Well, with the exception of Clarence, of course. The other water-specialist was always Walter's favorite.

But is this going to be the norm for Bugsy's tenure? Is he contacting Spencer in the same way? Is he tracking his progress as well? What about whoever Bugsy's sponsored trainer is? Is Bugsy keeping in touch with them as well? Maybe he's trying to figure out Ran's route so that he can send his sponsored trainer after him, to try and humiliate Ran by letting him get beaten by another Azalea Town native, in the same way as Bugsy himself once did?

That has to be it.

He's trying to lure him into a false sense of comfort and security, by awarding him a pokémon with exceptional potential, but which Bugsy wrongly assumes Ran to be incapable of fostering. How dare he!

This won't stand. He's not going to fall for such tricks. He'll just ignore Bugsy's messages and prove just how good of a trainer he is by not only evolving Skorupi, but by using Drapion to defeat Bugsy, when Ran eventually returns in triumph, to challenge the Gym Leader's Elite team. Yes, that sounds perfect.

His jaw, which he hadn't noticed the tensing of as he tried to puzzle through Bugsy's intentions, slowly unclenches. He gets up out of his seat and, after hurriedly putting his book, previously still lying in his lap, in his backpack, wanders over to the railing. Behind him, Skorupi tentatively follows, clearly less than enthusiastic about approaching the edge but also wanting to stay close to his trainer.

With an explosive sigh, Ran leans on the railing, looking out over the water as, in the distance, Cianwood City gradually becomes visible on the horizon. He can feel a pulling on his pant leg, as Skorupi tentatively crawls his way upwards, letting out a pleased chitter when he manages to properly settle on Ran's back again. Clearly, from his usual perch, Skorupi's earlier aversion to the proximity of the water below is forgotten.

It's that comforting presence on his back, along with the familiar weight of the rest of his team's pokéballs on his belt, which slowly eases his mood, his raised temper falling once more. The sun shines overhead, the smell of salt in the air is still novel and he's traveling by boat for the first time in his life. No matter what Bugsy is plotting or planning, he'll find a way to overcome those challenges in time. For now, he's happy to enjoy the journey.

---

Author's Note: Just when he was improving, Ran hits a bad backslide. Typical and, perhaps, discouraging to read. But personal and mental growth is rarely purely a climb, it often has pitfalls and setbacks, which this fits into neatly. I welcome feedback, but do want to emphasize that Ran is going to keep improving, please don't take this backslide as a sign that all progress in improving his mindset has been erased. Also, encouraging to see that the presence of his team helps in drawing him out of those headspaces, right?

As for the rest of the chapter, you haven't seen the last of Grady, please don't feel too sorry for him getting 'left behind'. He's quite happy in Goldenrod for now.

If you want to read ahead or feel like supporting my writing, please go and have a look at my Patreon or Ko-fi . Patreon for member benefits like 2 weeks of Early Access whereas Ko-fi is for one-off donations that go towards artwork.

 

[The Dave]

With Skorupi recalled, Ran disembarks and steps out onto the pier the ferry has berthed alongside. From the ship's rear, a ramp has been lowered onto the berth, a proper hardened area leading to a road that leads away from the city center. There, tourists are driving their cars out of the hold before setting off for wherever it is they're going.

The vast majority of the ferry occupants however, like Ran himself, disembark from the side, simply walking down the long gangplank onto Cianwood City's sole large tourism-oriented pier. In the distance, the city's actual cargo port can be spotted, where even now a large freighter is being unloaded. But clearly a decision was made at some point to keep the less-attractive, yet utterly practical, port away from the city's touristic heart.

Because as Ran turns from the pier towards the mainland, the sight before him is admittedly an attractive one.

The first thing to draw his attention is the massive beach, spanning for miles to both the left and the right before eventually getting stopped by the cliffs that ring almost the entirety of Cianwood City, as they come forwards once more and push directly into the ocean. The beach is deep as well, with hundreds upon hundreds of feet of sand only gradually giving way to concrete and asphalt.

That isn't to say that the beach is entirely bare however, as, only a short way from what appears to be the waterline at high tide, the first restaurants, lifeguard towers, beach houses, changing areas and public restrooms start to pop up like mushrooms. It's quite the sprawl, at first appearing utterly random, however upon closer examination a somewhat deliberate spread of the commercial offerings on display, as well as a respectable clustering of residential areas, starts to present itself.

Ran walks down the pier, which itself has only one side actually dedicated to being able to berth a ship, the other side entirely taken up by food stalls and carnival games. It's the middle of the day, which means the carnival games are already open, but the food stalls that are hawking their wares are clearly having more success at the moment. There's more than a few people enjoying an unhealthy carnival snack already and even as Ran watches, a fair few of his former fellow passengers divert towards the promise of warm, greasy food as well. He can understand the impulse, as the stalls' only slightly raised prices are a lot more palatable than the robbery the passengers got subjected to on the ferry itself.

He doesn't join the growing crowd however, instead continuing to walk down the pier as he seeks out the distinct red roof of the pokécenter in the distance. He isn't the only one either, as both ahead of him and behind him he can see more than a few other trainers, fresh off the boat, also marching towards the city proper with clear purpose.

The thought of breaking into a run, to ensure that he'll have a decent room at the center and that he won't have to content himself with a bed in the general dormitory, pops into his head briefly. However, after a quick headcount that worry is dismissed, as though there are at least a dozen trainers headed into the city like himself, none of them appear to be nervous or speeding up just yet. Of course that might mean that he's just the only one that's properly thinking ahead, but some of those surrounding him are a fair few years older, which implies a lot more experience with travel than he himself has.

Instead of worrying over his sleeping arrangements, he looks out towards the city once more. In the distance, the more relaxed and 'wealthy' feel of the beach houses gives way to clear apartment blocks, trading luxury and space for affordability and convenience. Beyond those, the inlet within which Cianwood City's been built rather abruptly gives way to hard rock, as the cliffs impose a harsh border to the city's natural limits. It is without a doubt the most unique city he's ever seen, an impression that's further strengthened by the perfect view he gets of two trainers having a battle in the shallows, as an Umbreon and a Tentacruel face off.

There's a solid chance of Ran getting distracted enough to wander over to the pier's railing and just watch the ongoing battle, but before he can, a distinct glimpse of red in the corner of his eye recaptures his attention. The pokécenter's distinct red color stands out like a beacon, but it's the rest of its design that truly draws Ran's attention.

Because the pokécenter hasn't been built further into the city, where sand gives way to concrete. No, it sits on the beach itself, almost worryingly close to the waterline. It seems weirdly out of place with its 'straightforward' construction contrasting sharply with the large white-and-glass beach houses that claim large parts of the surrounding waterfront. Yet where it stands, the pokécenter is comfortably the biggest building around, somehow fitting in perfectly.

It likely helps that, compared to a 'normal' pokécenter, part of the center's side that's facing the sea is built out into a large glass area that pushes out all the way onto the water, only for the walls and floor to fall away, giving an opportunity for trainers and their swimming pokémon to swim directly into the pokécenter from the sea. With the addition of a large amount of tropical greenery, which Ran can make out even from this distance, there's an almost subtropical feel to that part of the pokécenter.

Still, impressive and inviting as that sight is, the one annoyance he does realize he'll be stuck dealing with for the foreseeable future, is sand. Because though the pier does connect to a path that leads towards the city's hardened interior, the pokécenter can't be reached without crossing a significant amount of beach no matter what. Which is a bother, because he didn't pack any footwear appropriate for the beach.

Something which is further reinforced when one of the trainers who was walking ahead of him pulls over to one of the pier's benches, before lazily starting to swap his walking shoes for flip flops of all things. It's apparently an inspiring example, as two other trainers start to do the same, only for a fourth to just kick off her shoes entirely and wander out onto the beach barefoot.

Ran isn't that desperate however. After all, not that he's ever really been to a beach before, but how bad could it really be?

As he has well and truly found out by the time he enters the pokécenter, it can be very bad indeed, leaving his earlier pleasant mood quite soured. At least the nurse is polite and helpful as she happily books him a one-person room with similar accommodations to what he had in Goldenrod City.

Then, after a brief but badly necessary visit to a store that sells beachwear for some sandals at least, he sets off for the Cianwood City Gym.

The Gym's positioned a bit further from the water, at the very least not having a direct connection to the sea like the pokécenter, but it still sits on the beach rather than further into the city. It's a remarkably straightforward construction, with the building a clear mixture between modern sensibilities and a classical martial arts dojo. Or, that's how it appears from the outside, at least.

Because upon entering the main lobby, the distant sound of massive quantities of crashing water hint at some very major interior features that don't belong in a dojo at all. Still, for the moment Ran doesn't concern himself with any of that, as he isn't interested in the Gym's training facilities just yet. After all, he's only just made it to Cianwood City and there are plenty of other things to go discover first.

So he simply joins the small queue in front of the receptionist's desk and patiently waits as the trainers in front of him book their challenges.

It all proceeds smoothly enough, each trainer needing only a minute or two to hand over their license, confirm that they're looking to challenge Chuck, whether or not they also want to take on the Gym Trainer challenge, with only one of the trainers in front of Ran choosing to, and settling on a time and date. When it's his own turn, Ran expects the same pattern to repeat, which is why he takes a moment to examine the signs behind the receptionist to see if he's interested in the Gym Trainer challenge.

He almost immediately decides that he isn't, upon spotting the rather worrying disclaimer that for the Gym Trainer challenge, the challenging trainer will also be expected to show their own physical prowess. Which, though he wouldn't call himself weak, still doesn't even remotely sound like it's well-suited to him at all. Not to mention the promised cash reward being nice, but by no means all that impressive. A fighting-type boosting Black Belt is a nice additional prize, but not one Ran's team can make any particularly great use of, further solidifying his decision.

With that already decided, all he's got left is to settle on an appropriate time to challenge the Gym. Considering his excellent speed so far and the temptation Cianwood's beach presents, plus the need to train up a bit further between Gyms, he's thinking an appointment roughly two weeks from today sounds about right. When he hands his license over to the receptionist however, the conversation doesn't proceed according to the pattern he was expecting.

It all starts normally enough, the bored receptionist clearly going by rote as she scans his license.

"Ran Carr?" She asks dryly.

"Yes, ma'am." He confirms just as easily, smiling politely as he does so.

"Fourth badge challenge?" She continues.

"Yes, ma'am." He confirms once more.

"Very well, let's see here…" She accepts, before typing on her keyboard in a few quick bursts of motion.

Where she'd moved on to asking for any preferences as to day and hour with the previous trainers however, with Ran, she doesn't do anything like that.

Instead, her expression sharpens as she sits forward in her seat, something on her screen clearly having drawn her interest. Ran can only wait patiently as her suddenly far more alert face turns to him once more.

"Unsponsored rookie trainer, four registered pokémon, all possessing the poison-typing?" She asks with some eagerness, leaving Ran to nod in polite though hesitant agreement.

"That's right." He confirms, unsure as to why she feels the need to ask. It's all on his profile after all. The previous questions were formalities, just to ensure no mistakes were made, but this feels very different, considering her change in attitude.

The receptionist nods enthusiastically as she turns her attention back to her screen, clicking and typing away as she leaves Ran waiting in silence for a long minute. Behind him, the two trainers currently waiting in the queue behind him remain silent, though Ran can tell that they're getting somewhat annoyed by the unexpectedly longer wait. There's nothing for it however, as he hardly knows what's going on himself.

"Mister Carr," The receptionist suddenly snaps, her attention once more shifting rapidly from her screen to him, almost startling him with her speed, "Your fourth pokémon, Skorupi. Its previous trainer was Gym Leader Bugsy, yet you are flagged as an unsponsored trainer. How did you acquire this pokemon?"

"It was an additional reward for my performance during my Gym battle. It retains its poison-, but not its bug-typing upon evolution. Bugsy figured I could do it more justice than he himself could. Or so he said, at least." Ran explains politely, before hurriedly interjecting a question of his own before the receptionist can get distracted again, "I'm sorry, what's all this about? I just wanted to book my challenge."

"Hmm?" The woman asks distractedly, gaze already having wandered back towards her computer screen before she finally seems to realize that there's still a waiting queue of trainers. In fact, Ran mentally notes that the queue has grown further, as there's now three trainers waiting behind him.

"Ah yes, of course," The receptionist finally accepts, at last directing her full attention to him, "When would you like to challenge? Please keep in mind, with the start-of-season rush dying down, starting next week Gym Leader Chuck only accepts challenges on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays."

"Do you have anything open around ten in the morning, two weeks from today?" Ran asks, which leads the receptionist to look at her screen once more. After a few moments of searching, she slowly starts to shake her head no.

"That week, not until Saturday, when there'd be an opening at a quarter to ten. Alternatively, that same week we still have an opening at nine in the morning on Wednesday, which'd be the Gym Leader's opening match for the day." The receptionist offers apologetically, drawing a shrug from Ran.

"Wednesday at nine is fine, thank you." He accepts, after which he watches the receptionist enter his match into the schedule before she finally hands him his license back.

"Please keep an eye on your incoming messages today, mister Carr," She tells him even as she waves him off to the side and gestures for the next, by now properly irked, trainer to step to the front of the line, "Our Gym has been looking for someone with your profile for a potentially interesting opportunity. We'll be in touch with further details later today."

"Uh, alright, sure," Ran curiously accepts, wanting to press for further clarification but understanding very clearly from the expressions of the other trainers in the line that that'd be a bad idea, "I'll do that. Thank you."

The receptionist offers him a quick final nod, before turning her attention to the next waiting trainer, leaving Ran to wander out of the Gym in a mild daze.

'A potentially interesting opportunity for someone with his profile'. There's no way it's related to his badge count. Cianwood must get countless mid-tier challengers throughout the Conference after all, plus it wouldn't explain just how in-depth her investigation of his team was. So… Is it related to his roster of poison-types?

Maybe Chuck wants to let his sponsored or Gym trainers work out against poison-types? Considering the way his team resists fighting-type energy, that might make some sense? If that is what the message he'll be receiving is about… he might be able to bargain for free use of Cianwood's training facilities in turn.

They probably won't be quite as diverse and extensive as Goldenrod's, but there's no debating the progress his team made over just a few days. So if free access to similar facilities is an option, that's something he's definitely extremely interested in. Though there's no point in speculating too much, especially when he'll receive more information to work with before the end of the day.

So, Ran deliberately wanders out into Cianwood City once more, deciding to just look around for a while in search of a diversion.

His first stop is for lunch, finally giving in to the complaints of his empty stomach as he picks up a meatball sandwich to devour. With that handled, he wanders through Cianwood City's beach 'district', the crashing of the waves always audible in the distance as he explores without a doubt the most unique city he's visited thus far.

Of the many shops and stores he passes, it's the diverse souvenir shops which prove most tempting, offering all sorts of fun, beautiful and intriguing knickknacks he delights in examining. However, the sheer practical matters of storage and transport, as well as his rather thrifty nature, ultimately see him steer clear from actually purchasing anything. Even if a little statuette of a Ponyta, blown out of colored glass, which he spends at least five minutes admiring, would make for a spectacular gift for Josie.

Ultimately he moves on however, the disappointed gaze of the shopkeeper not quite burning holes into the back of his head. Not that he lets her attempt at non-verbally guilting him into changing his mind. She can try that particular trick on another sucker.

Apart from souvenir shops and establishments offering either food, drinks or a mixture of both, Cianwood's beach actually ends up offering a disappointingly limited array of shops. Apart from one, which noticeably stands out and has Ran enter with interest.

The Cianwood City Pharmacy is a small building, weathered with age. Those features alone are enough to make it stand out in a major way from the far fresher and overall newer buildings that surround it on all sides. They aren't the only ones however, as compared to just how many windows and glass doors all the other buildings in Cianwood appear to have, clearly with the intent of letting in as much sun as possible, the Pharmacy only has two tiny windows, as far as Ran can tell.

It's enough to draw the interest of any unwitting passerby, at which point the large sign promising a staggering five hundred years of expertise does the rest.

Ran enters the small building with a mild sense of trepidation, an old-fashioned bell chiming as he opens the door and steps into the dark and cool Pharmacy. From one moment to the next, he's left the bright beach behind and entered a space that, if anything, is almost reminiscent of Ilex Forest. The walls are ringed with bottles and tubes that likely contain all kinds of pills, potions and salves, though their dark colors and unfamiliar labels leave Ran incapable of deciphering what any of them are meant to treat or aid.

To the left of the door through which he entered, a low counter runs along most of the wall, keeping customers away from the dark curtain that hangs in front of a small opening that leads to the back of the store. As Ran watches, the curtain is disturbed for a moment as a short old lady, whose chin is almost at a level with the counter, comes shuffling out from the back.

"Welcome to Cianwood City Pharmacy," She greets him cheerily, "You're not one of our regulars! Are you here to pick up a subscription for someone else or are you a new customer?"

"I'm new," Ran admits, before hurrying to clarify that he isn't actually looking to buy anything in particular, "To Cianwood in general, that is. I stepped off the boat just a few hours ago, I was just touring the city and your shop looked interesting, so I wanted to come and take a closer look."

The old lady nods easily, shuffling over to a small stool he hadn't noticed yet and plopping herself down on it as she gestures invitingly towards the rest of the store, "Well, have a look if you like, though if you don't mind, why don't you tell me a little about yourself? I assume you're a trainer?"

"I am, yes," Ran admits easily, wandering over towards a rack of small bottles with, from what he can tell through the dark brown glass, different kinds of brightly colored powders, "What are these for?"

"Hmm? Oh those are all different kinds of pokéchow supplements, mix in just a light sprinkling into their meal, about a gram's worth, once a day and within a matter of weeks, be astounded by the results." The old lady explains, before firing off another question of her own, "If you haven't been to Cianwood before, is this your first circuit, or are you taking your time with it? You don't seem like you'd be from Kanto, if you don't mind me saying so."

Ran easily waves her worries away, answering absentmindedly as he looks closer at the labels of the food supplements, "It's my first circuit, yes. I'm here for my fourth badge. What kind of astounding results?"

"Well that depends on the supplement and the pokémon of course!" The old lady replies loudly, cackling merrily as Ran shoots her an annoyed look.

"How about this, you tell me what your team looks like and I'll tell you if I have anything that might be well-suited to them?" She offers eventually, once she's calmed down a bit and her laughter has subsided.

Figuring that at least that's a far more sensible option than continuing the mutual quizzing, Ran consents easily, "I have an Arbok, an Ariados, a Golbat and a Skorupi."

"You have a Skorupi?" The old lady perks up excitedly, clearly intrigued as she perks up in her seat, "That's some rare poison, with some rather potent medicinal properties, if used correctly. We don't have much demand for it, but I'd be quite interested in purchasing a small dose, if you're willing to let me drain that Skorupi of yours for the day."

Ran turns to face the counter fully, curious bottles with food supplements forgotten for the moment. Intrigued, he speaks.

"I'm listening."

---

Author's Note: Arrived in Cianwood City, challenge booked and Pharmacy located! A productive half day for Ran, I'd say. There's a flag in here that'll likely get spotted and speculated on and which may not be warmly received by everyone. As always, all I ask is that people understand that there's always more going on in the background than Ran himself is privy to. As for the Pharmacy visit, don't expect him going too in-depth on the uses of poison in medicine just yet, for now, Ran's focus is fully on making a quick buck. But if this interaction goes well, then of course he might well end up interested in a more in-depth look at this angle at a future date.

If you want to read ahead or feel like supporting my writing, please go and have a look at my Patreon or Ko-fi . Patreon for member benefits like 2 weeks of Early Access whereas Ko-fi is for one-off donations that go towards artwork. It's no exaggeration to say that this story and it's current upload schedule are only possible thanks to Patreon, so if you have anything to spare and want this story to continue, please go and have a look, every little bit helps.

 

[The Dave]

Ran wanders out of the Pharmacy with an exhausted Skorupi resting in his ball, a backpack that's significantly heavier than when he entered the store and a whistle on his lips. Though the Pharmacy's need for Skorupi-venom has been filled completely, ensuring he won't be making any equally profitable return visits in the near future, he's still left feeling as if he made out like a bandit.

Not quite in hard cash sadly, but the various medicines and supplements now sitting in his backpack would've been ruinous to purchase normally. In that light, enough supplements to enrich his complete current team's food for the next three months, plus a doubling of his normal healing items like Potions and Paralyze Heals, makes for an extremely productive afternoon. Additionally, Edith, which he'd learned was the old lady's name, had mentioned an interest in cutting a similar deal further in the future, if he ever felt like swinging by Cianwood City again.

He didn't really have any hard plans to that end, but if his team showed a clear preference or growth from the Pharmacy's products, then he'd have to consider that carefully. If the Pharmacy's wares proved largely useless, then all he'd have lost was a few hours of training for Skorupi, at most. However, the benefits of stuff like X Attack and Calcium had been researched and proven, so he was quite hopeful that the Pharmacy's wares might also prove worthwhile.

For now, he wanted to get started on the day's training, but before he could, his pokégear finally buzzed with an incoming message. Immediately, the good mood he'd left the Pharmacy with evaporates, as anxiety rears its head once more.

Not wasting any more time, he looks to see just what Cianwood City's Gym is contacting him for.

Cianwood City Gym: Cianwood City Gym is looking for suitable profiles for a comparative pokémon development study. Applicants will have to prove their ability as trainers. Payment to be discussed. Please let us know if you are interested in applying.

A pokémon development study?

That doesn't sound like it has anything to do with letting the local fighting-types practice against his own poison-types. In fact, it sounds vague enough for him to have no clue whatsoever as to just what it's going to be about. However, considering he's going to be spending the next two weeks in Cianwood City anyways, he can't deny that his interest's been piqued.

Ran: I'm interested in applying.

Message sent, Ran moves to close the messaging window and carry on with his day, however, before he can, a notification shows up indicating that a reply is already being written. Surprised by the speed of the Gym's reaction, he waits patiently for the next message to come in.

Cianwood City Gym: Excellent! Are you available for a briefing in thirty minutes?

Ran: I am. I'll be there.

Cianwood City Gym: Splendid! Please present yourself at the reception desk, we'll be expecting you.

He closes the message with a sigh, a glance at the hour showing that it's five in the evening already. Any plans of training before dinner will have to be shelved for now, but at least he'll get to find out what Cianwood's Gym wants from him. Perhaps he'll even get some insight into whether Bugsy is pulling any of the strings behind the scenes, though that might be presuming a bit too much.

Opting not to waste any time, he turns to head directly to the Gym, arriving there after about twenty minutes. The receptionist, her workday clearly coming to an end from the three glances she shoots at the clock over the two minutes Ran spends around her, swiftly directs him up the nearest stairs and to the second door on the left.

Politely following her instructions, Ran slides open the wood-and-paper door to walk into a small meeting room, a large oval table taking up most of the room's floor space. That isn't what draws his attention however, as rather than any of the room's interior features, like the apparently constant use of wood lattices and paper sliding walls, he focuses his attention on the room's lone other occupant.

A dark-skinned young woman meets his curious gaze with one of her own. Neither of them immediately speak, as Ran focuses first and foremost on the three pokéballs on her belt, before properly taking in the rest of her. She's got black hair falling to the back of her neck, whilst in the front her bangs fall to just between her eyes. She wears a gold-and-pink training jacket - the colors a dead giveaway for something that hails from Goldenrod City - over a black tank top. For the lower part of her body, the ensemble is completed by black sport leggings and gold-and-pink sneakers.

She's about his own age, potentially even an unsponsored rookie like himself. Notably, however, her hands are taped and there's a taut muscularity to her frame that hints at a physical strength cultivated over time. As for the eyes that meet his own, stony and hard-to-read as they are at first glance, are an odd brownish gray that, through the soft light that penetrates the room's paper walls, seems almost a mixture of silver and bronze.

Their mutual staring match comes to an end when the girl blinks, rising from her seat and approaching with an outstretched hand. Ran has to suppress his instinctive desire to reject the approach, before he manages to meet her hand with his own, as they shake hands whilst she introduces herself.

"I'm Doro." She greets him, her handshake firm almost to the point of being painful.

"Ran," He replies in turn, as they release each other and he takes a few steps to the other side of the table, eyeing a chair of his own, "I guess you're also here to apply for the study?"

"I do not know yet," She answers calmly, her surprisingly deep voice carrying an odd accent he doesn't manage to place, "It will depend on what exactly they want, and what they are willing to offer in return."

Ran nods along agreeably whilst Doro also returns to her previous seat, the two of them facing each other from across the table when he agrees with her, "Same here. It sounds interesting enough and there's definitely more than a few ways for the Gym to make anything worth my while, but they've been frustratingly vague so far."

"Agreed." Doro accepts severely, before falling silent.

Ran is content to leave it at that and wait quietly for whoever else might be joining them, or for one of the Gym's employees to come and explain just what their offer is, but Doro appears to feel differently, as she speaks up once more.

"I am unsponsored and I am on my first circuit. I have won the Plain Badge from Goldenrod City, the Fog Badge from Ecruteak City and the Mineral Badge from Olivine City." She announces proudly, not asking anything of Ran in turn, though the look in her eyes makes it clear that she does so out of politeness, rather than a lack of interest.

Figuring that fair is fair, he replies in kind, "I'm an unsponsored rookie too. I've won the Zephyr Badge from Violet, the Hive Badge from Azalea and the Plain Badge from Goldenrod."

"Hive Badge?" Doro asks, her head tilting slightly to the side in evident confusion, "What has happened to the Whirlpool Badge?"

"Walter retired. Azalea Town's new Gym Leader, Bugsy, is a bug-type specialist." Ran clarifies easily, though he is careful to say no more than he has to, not particularly wanting to get into his own history with Bugsy.

"I see." Doro accepts, pausing yet again. Though she seems inclined to continue the conversation once more after a moment's thought, she is prevented from doing so, as the door to the meeting room, previously having been closed by Ran when he himself entered the room, opens once more.

The man that enters is barefoot, has a belly that obscures muscle rather than fat and is the owner of the most peculiar facial hair - with a bare chin sitting under a massive mustache that connects directly to his mutton chops - that Ran has ever seen. Crucially, he is also extremely recognizable, as both Doro and Ran jolt in their seats as they are surprised by the presence of Gym Leader Chuck, rather than a member of his staff.

"Don't get up, don't get up." Chuck offers good-naturedly as he turns for a moment to close the door once more.

Ran obliges, sagging back into his seat, but Doro is clearly of a different mind, as she stands up fully and waits in place as Chuck turns to face them once more. The Gym Leader clearly notices her changed positioning, but doesn't speak on it, instead moving to sit at the head of the table. Only once he's done so, does Doro also sit down again.

"Alright, let me get right to it," Chuck starts immediately, seemingly intending to get right to the crux of the matter, "You've both been asked here because your profiles are well-suited to answer a curiosity of mine."

Chuck pulls out a small remote from underneath the table before pointing it at the distant wall, where a white screen swiftly rolls down from the ceiling before an image appears upon it. It takes a moment for the picture to become sharp enough to see properly, at which point they're all left looking at what is clearly a pokémon, and one Ran rather recently saw his first picture of.

"That's a Croagunk," Chuck offers dryly, as he gestures at the dark blue bipedal pokémon on the screen, "A poison-fighting-type from Sinnoh."

Attention now fully captured, Ran can only listen quietly, oblivious to whatever reaction Doro is having, as he can only gape disbelievingly at the odds of what he believes is about to happen, happening to him again.

"I recently came into possession of a pair of them. It'll be my first time working with the species, but I'm not inclined to train up two at the same time. I want a single one to focus on fully, to really examine just what it's potential is. So that leaves me with one to spare. At which point I figured it might make a fine prize to support one of Johto's many fine young up-and-comers." Chuck explains, Ran hanging on his every word as the conversation continues to go down a path that feels like it can only have one conclusion.

"However, none of my sponsored trainers are in the area at the moment and I don't want to favor one of them over the others anyways. So, I told my receptionist to be on the lookout for a potential fighting- or poison-type specialist. I figured, either we could learn something interesting about the impact of different fighting-type specialists' training methods on the same species, or we could learn something interesting about the impact of a species with a dual-typing being trained by two different mono-type specialists." Chuck continues, his tale so far seemingly more intended as an explanation of his thought process, than an actual clarification on what he wants from Ran and Doro.

That changes when his gaze sharpens as he turns from looking at the screen, to examining each of them in turn as he questions them, "The two of you happened to show up on the same day, with one of you seemingly specializing in poison-types and the other apparently doing the same with fighting-types. So, first things first, are you both planning to fully specialize in those typings?"

"I am." Ran acknowledges confidently, not shying away from the Gym Leader's demanding stare.

"Yes." Doro replies mono-syllabically, attention still fixated on the image of the projected Croagunk.

"Alright. In that case, I have an exotic pokémon available that'd make a fine addition to either of your teams. I'd expect a short, weekly report on its progress, half an hour's work worth at most, as well as a battle between the Croagunk that leaves with you and the one that stays with me after this year's Silver Conference Finals. Other than that, the Croagunk is free of charge and will be considered yours in its entirety. So, are either of you interested?" Chuck finally offers, gaze panning from Ran to Doro and back.

It's a tough question, as on the one hand a poison-fighting-type would be a great addition to his team, serving as a great counter to the troublesome steel-typing. On the other hand, he's only got two slots remaining and those are earmarked for a member of the Nidoran-line and a member of the Bulbasaur-line respectively. Adding an unexpected additional steel-type counter throws the careful balance he'd planned out completely out of whack. Of course Skorupi eventually gaining the dark-typing has done a lot to resolve his team's crippling weakness to psychic-types already, rendering the acquisition of a Gengar unnecessary, but adding a poison-fighting-type?

The intended Nidoking he'd planned on eventually adding to his team, an addition initially postponed by the thought of Skorupi potentially gaining the ground-typing upon evolution and then by a desire to move on from Goldenrod in favor of Cianwood, was supposed to be his steel-type counter. If he instead adds a Croagunk, does that make Nidoking surplus to requirements? Its great bulk and immense movepool would both be sorely missed only to be replaced by, ultimately, a pokémon he knew very little about.

He could also forget about the Venusaur he was still dreaming of for his sixth team slot, trusting in Aria and Golbat to do the heavy lifting as far as countering ground-types goes… Neither of them actually has much in the way of super-effective attacks for those match-ups though.

The desire to properly analyze the situation keeps him mute and oblivious to his surroundings for long seconds, which is why he doesn't know how Doro initially responded to Chuck's offer. When she stands once more and speaks up clearly, however, Ran is drawn out of his thoughts rather harshly.

"I am interested." She declares confidently, arms crossing in front of her chest as she looks not at Chuck, but instead opts to stare Ran down.

He can feel his metaphorical hackles rise at the evident challenge, but he just barely manages to restrain his instinctive need to match her. Instead, he hurriedly tries to reduce the question to its absolute essence.

Is he interested in adding an exotic poison-fighting-type to his team? And, if he isn't, can he really accept backing down now that Doro's thrown down the gauntlet?

His chair scrapes audibly across the floor as he stands up and meets Doro's flinty stare with a venomous one of his own, "So am I."

---

Author's Note: One thing to clarify here, for those shuddering at the 'bitter' stuff from the Pharmacy, no worries on that front, I've changed that to the Pharmacy not being too well-known / busy for other reasons. As for the rest of the chapter, as called by some, there's a Croagunk to potentially be won and Ran, whether out of actual enthusiasm or an unwillingness to be 'bested', is going to compete for it. I'm curious to read what you're all expecting to happen and what you expect the outcome to be. Any guesses as to Chuck's precise motivations would also be fun to read about. I hope you enjoyed the update!

If you want to read ahead or feel like supporting my writing, please go and have a look at my Patreon or Ko-fi . Patreon for member benefits like 2 weeks of Early Access whereas Ko-fi is for one-off donations that go towards artwork. It's no exaggeration to say that this story and it's current upload schedule are only possible thanks to Patreon, so if you have anything to spare and want this story to continue, please go and have a look, every little bit helps.

 

[The Dave]

The next day, ridiculously early in the morning, hours before the Gym even opens, Ran looks down from the tall steep cliff Chuck has taken them to with a faint sense of unease. Cianwood City is by no means a small town, yet from the height they're at, it suddenly seems quite insignificant, only further increasing Ran's awareness that they're very, very high up. Not that he's discovering a fear of heights he wasn't previously aware of, there's just something… humbling about being so high up. It makes everything seem so much smaller.

With the sun little more than a suggestion at this hour, artificial lighting and moonlight are the means by which the city is visible down below, whilst their own path up the cliffs was lit by flashlights. As he fully realizes just how high up they are, Ran can only warily wonder just what challenge Chuck has in mind for them.

Because when neither Doro nor Ran himself had backed down, Chuck had declared that he'd test them, to see which one of them was worthier of training a Croagunk. Something Ran had initially been more than happy to hear, as he figured any battle between Doro and himself would favor him in a big way, considering their relative type-specialties. But then Chuck had rather summarily dashed those hopes by declaring that he wasn't interested in watching them battle.

Instead, he sent them away for the day, with instructions to report back at the Gym at an absolutely unreasonable hour. Ran had balked slightly at that, but when Doro hadn't even blinked, he'd been left with no option but to accept as well.

Upon reporting to the Gym, Chuck had taken them on a demanding hike up the cliff sides, until eventually, after almost two hours of walking, pausing on the crest they were currently standing on. It leaves them standing on one of the highest ridges of the first of a series of mountainous spines that ring Cianwood City. There's a great variety between the different spines as well, as even at a glance deeper into the mountainous landscape, Ran spots signs of different plateaus, peaks and valleys.

He hadn't explained what exactly the challenge would be yet, but considering the long hike and the rather demanding pace Chuck set during it, Ran was growing increasingly worried that the advantage might not rest with him after all.

A slight distance behind him, Doro is stretching enthusiastically, her training jacket already tied around her hips. Compared to himself, his thick purple jacket still snug on his shoulders and his breath only just now leveling out after a few minutes' rest, it's a rather intimidating sight.

Chuck takes things to another level entirely of course, the man apparently not just going shirtless in his Gym, but constantly. It's as Ran looks in the Gym leader's direction, that the man responsible for the safety of Cianwood City and its surroundings finally breaks the silence that has been hanging over their group for the past two hours.

"Alright! That'll do for a warmup, time to give you the challenge!" He proclaims enthusiastically.

"Any second now, you'll be getting three locations close to the main hiking path sent to you through your pokégear. At each of these locations, there's a pair of flags present. Whichever one of you first gets me a flag from each of the three locations, wins the right to choose one of my Croagunk!" Chuck declares boldly, Ran's pokégear vibrating accordingly as he receives the locations.

"A few rules before you both get started and set out," Chuck continues, one finger raising in warning just as Doro tries to burst into motion and Ran starts to raise his pokégear, leaving both trainers to falter as they focus back on the Gym leader, "You can't do anything to the flags your opponent is supposed to be gathering, you can't mess with the main hiking path the flags are placed along and you can't directly attack each other. Otherwise, I'd have just let you two battle it out from the start, but that's not what I'm looking for here."

Ran and Doro both nod in agreement, though Ran can't help but wonder if those are really the only restrictions Chuck will be imposing. Because although the racing aspect of things will at the least ensure that there is a challenge, it feels somewhat underwhelming thus far, not to mention that as long as they stick to the hiking path, all that will be tested is their speed and endurance.

"Finally, there is no set order in which you need to gather the flags, nor do you have to stick to the main path, as far as I'm concerned. You're young and healthy and you've got pokémon besides, so use 'em! I'll be waiting for you both in my Gym. Oh, one final thing, I have a few Gym trainers out here on training sessions of their own, they're under orders to make things difficult for you. Good luck!" Chuck declares, before jogging towards the cliff's edge Ran is standing near and casually starting to scale down it.

Both Doro and Ran watch in disbelief as the man casually risks his life without a harness of any kind and whilst descending along a worryingly smooth surface. Chuck doesn't pay either of them any mind whatsoever however, merely whistling merrily as he descends at an impressive speed.

Ran glances towards Doro, the two of them both clearly caught equally off guard by Chuck's sudden departure. Then his expression hardens, as he hurriedly breaks eye contact and looks at his pokégear to determine where he needs to go to find the flags. In front of him, he hears the pounding of feet as Doro breaks into a run down the path immediately.

Which he can only assume means that she's just going to race along the main hiking path as fast as she can and assume that the flags are positioned visibly enough to be easily noticed. It's a valid plan and one she undoubtedly has the advantage in, as there's no doubt in his mind that she's got him beat in both stamina and speed. Still, it seems highly doubtful that just following the main hiking path, which by virtue of needing to be walkable is likely needlessly circuitous, is the only way to go about this particular flag hunt.

Even a quick glance at the map feature on his pokégear is enough to confirm as much, as the main hiking path winds back and forth amongst the cliffs as it descends to the valley separating the spine they're currently on, before ascending up the next one, only for the path to end up easily four times as long as the remarkably straight line that forms when he simply connects the three dots on the map as the bird flies.

As Ran examines things in more detail however, it also becomes apparent just why that's how the path runs. It's the only point where the slope isn't too steep to be feasible as a walking path. If someone wanted to make the straightest path possible through the mountain from the first flag to the second to the third, that would involve either extreme amounts of climbing and descending, or the use of explosives or drills to burrow through the rockface where it ascends far too steeply to be traversable.

Still, Ran at least wants to have a look at the shortest possible path, only for even a cursory glance in that direction to leave him looking directly at the steep ravine that runs between the mountainous spine he's on and the next one. Even worse, on the other side of the ravine there's only a slim ledge before the rock wall rises up at least another twenty feet. So simply traveling in the straightest imaginable line isn't humanly possible.

But that's the point. He isn't forced to rely only on what's humanly possible.

A single tap to the center of the Level Ball on his belt is enough for Aria to gain her freedom, as she materializes next to him. In the distance, Doro has long since turned the first corner, ensuring she doesn't see just what Ran has planned, rather than trying to race along the main path like his opponent.

"Aria," He asks, gesturing towards the chasm and the rockface rising behind it, "Can you make a rope across the gap?"

She chitters enthusiastically in response, mandibles moving apart slightly in clear preparation. Before she can act however, Ran hurriedly asks another question.

"Can you crawl up that cliff wall once you're on the other side?" He asks next, earning a moment's pause from his bug-poison-type, before she chitters in agreement once more. This time however, she doesn't move to act, instead turning those large purple eyes of hers towards him as she clearly waits to see if he's about to ask any other questions.

"Can you do so with me on your back?" He asks next, watching with mild amusement as Aria's pupils widen in surprise as she processes the question.

This time, she doesn't offer an immediate response, instead skittering over towards the edge and examining just how much of a distance there is to cover. Rather than pay her trainer any mind, Aria spits out a first massive strand of concentrated webbing, which plasters itself against the rock face on the other side of the chasm, a few feet above the ledge they're aiming for.

Ran watches quietly and whilst doing his best to seem patient, even as he warily tries to figure out just how much distance Doro is covering whilst he's still at the starting point. He's still got other options, ranging from Aria simply providing him with ropes he can use to scale down ledges, to grabbing on to Golbat's feet and finding out just how long the massive Bat Pokémon can carry so much dead weight. Not to mention the option of having Aria stick him to Caesar's back and letting his massive serpentine body go to work.

But the day promises to be a tiring one, so the more options he has and the better he can divide the load, the better. Which is why it's a good thing that Aria chooses that moment to fire off a second strand of webbing, parallel to her first one. She tests both strands for tension for a moment, hopping on to her makeshift bridge, before turning her head in his direction inquiringly.

He doesn't need any further prodding, as Ran hurriedly jogs over and delicately looks for a position on Aria's back. The position he settles on is uncomfortable and cramped, as he hooks his arms under the foremost of her limbs whilst forcing his legs to fold around the front of the vestigial limbs on her back. Considering the size disparity between them, it leaves him folded up uncomfortably, his knees and elbows only slightly over a foot apart.

Still, he sits securely, only momentarily feeling an immense urge to call the whole thing off when Aria first bursts into motion.

Her moves aren't tentative or hesitant in the least, as she opts for speed over caution, racing across the large chasm in mere seconds. Ran for his part instinctively squeezes down tightly on the joints he's wrapped himself around, only for a chiding hiss from Aria to have him ease up apologetically.

She pays him no further mind however, as even as Ran is still processing just how far there is to fall if things go wrong on their makeshift bridge, Aria's attention is already firmly on the second part of their challenge. Without hesitation, she moves directly from their makeshift bridge to the stone cliff, confidently starting to climb in spite of the dead weight hanging off of her back.

Ran does his best to make things easier for her, trying to keep his own center of mass as low and as close to the middle of Aria's body as he can. There's still a few moments where, due to the cliff bulging or receding oddly, it feels like they're unbalanced and there's a risk of them plummeting backwards, but Aria's attached tightly to the stone and Ran in turn clings closely to her. In the end, from the moment he took his seat to the moment Aria crests the top, only about thirty seconds pass.

Going by the racing of his heart, it might as well have been five minutes.

Still, he releases Aria hurriedly and stands up to take in the sight in front of them. A long plateau, before the ground drops away once more, the rest of the cliffs hidden out of sight below. Grinning confidently, Ran jogs forwards, Aria keeping pace by his side as he catches her up on just what they're doing. As he does so, he isn't blind to the clear signs of exertion his companion shows, making it clear that though she can serve as a temporary mount, it asks a lot of her.

When they reach the other side of the plateau, Ran looks down to take in their surroundings, the cliffside they've ascended up proving to conveniently be one of the tallest in the entire range.

There's more of what they've already faced, with deep valleys and steep walls alternating for at least a mile as the mountainous spines continue to run nearly parallel to each other, only to intersect randomly in places. Then, however, there's an entrance into the mountainside, as the path turns into a tunnel. A quick glance at his map shows that he can't circumvent entering the tunnel either, as one of the flags appears to be somewhere in there.

Which is unfortunate, but there's still a lot of distance to cover before reaching that point. A distance that includes the first pair of flags, which he spots hanging off the side of the valley that separates the third and fourth 'spine', counted from where he's standing. There, the flags hang easily ten feet beneath the ledge along which the hiking path runs. The path winds upwards towards that point however, with a series of large bends ensuring that anybody running along the path will easily spot the flags long before reaching them.

As for Doro, she's not rounded the massive cliff which Ran scaled yet, confirming that he's got a nice lead for now. That's no reason to rest on his laurels however, as he does still have a lot of distance to cover and there's little doubt in his mind that Doro will win an endurance race against him, if he doesn't keep looking for shortcuts.

Which is why, as he looks out over the path ahead, he can't help but get stuck on the simple fact that the flags he needs to reach are at a lower elevation than his current position. So to his mind, there's an obvious opportunity that at the very least has to be tried out right now.

"I'm going to try something, Aria. Thanks for the help, but you can take a break, alright?" He tells the Long Leg Pokémon by his side, waiting for her assenting chirp before he taps both the Level Ball and Friend Ball at his belt.

Aria dissolves in red energy even as Golbat appears on his other side. Rather than spend time on explaining what they're doing, which he knows Aria likely appreciated, with Golbat, Ran just gets straight to the point.

"Do you think you can carry me to that ledge above those flags over there?" He asks immediately, gesturing towards the point he's aiming for. Assuming Golbat gets him that far, he'll skip five 'loops' of the path, putting him an enormous distance ahead of the still unseen Doro. Though that part of the path is only some twenty feet below his own current position, so it will only work if Golbat manages to slow their descent significantly.

Golbat's gaze sharpens for a moment, before he spreads his wings and takes off, flying up to hang just above Ran's head, offering his feet in a clear unspoken signal. Considering the even more daunting fall involved should this not work out, Ran is somewhat hesitant to grab on. When he does so, he doesn't do so without giving out a warning.

"Just try and lift me up first for a few seconds, alright? Just to make sure you can-"

And then Golbat has lifted him up and is flying forwards doggedly. Which goes smoothly for about five seconds, at which point the weight clearly starts to become a major issue, as they rapidly start losing height.

"Aim for the nearest ledge!" Ran cries out frantically even as they descend at a worrying speed, but Golbat ignores him, merely redoubling his efforts as his wings beat frantically whilst they cross over the first two chasms.

Distantly, he's aware of an awed shout, but Ran can pay no mind to who exactly is shouting, his attention fully on the distant goal Golbat's clearly aiming for. At first, they seem doomed, descending far faster than they're advancing even as the path itself rises up to meet them with each consecutive loop.

Then, however, their descent slows down, Golbat no longer laboring silently but letting out frustrated shrieks as he puts his all into a heroic effort to keep them airborne. Incredibly enough, he's successful too, as when they still have some thirty feet to cover before reaching the ledge with the flags, Ran's feet dip below the ledge's level for just a moment. It's as if Golbat has a third person view of things, as from that moment on, they don't drop another inch, the Bat Pokémon simply refusing to give in to the laws of gravity.

As they reach the ledge, Ran has to lift his feet just slightly to make sure he doesn't clip the hard stone edge, before he's landing on solid ground. Immediately, he lets go of Golbat, who almost shoots directly upwards as he continues to put the same amount of force into his wingbeats for a few more seconds. He reigns himself in easily enough however, at which point Ran doesn't even need to give a command for Golbat to fly down over the path's edge, flying back up a few seconds later with a flag in his large mouth.

"Perfect!" Ran cheers happily, accepting his prize from Golbat, before recalling him with a quick thank you.

A hurried look back at the large part of the path they just skipped over shows Doro's jogging form only just having become visible. She's all the way back at the foot of the cliff Aria had carried him up, as she's only just finished rounding it. She was likely responsible for the awed shout, then. Even as she seems to meet his gaze across the significant distance between them, Doro keeps up a jog that is significantly faster than any pace Ran can keep up for more than a few minutes.

And that's without mentioning the figure that's loping along easily by her side. He can't tell whether she used the Hitmonlee that's jogging alongside her against Chuck's Gym trainers, whether she encountered some obstacle or another or whether she just felt like giving the fighting-type a work-out. Her reasoning doesn't really matter, in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that she has a Hitmonlee, which is useful information he duly files away.

Even as Ran watches, Doro clearly picks up her pace further from what appears to have been a, for her, comfortable jog, now loping up the path at a speed only just shy of a full sprint. The way her eyes are locked on him leaves zero doubt about the fact that she's dead set on catching back up to him.

Ran suppresses the worried gulp he wants to let out at the sight of an angry fighting-type specialist chasing after him, instead turning around and looking towards the remaining path. There's no chasm in front of him, the ledge simply running up to the next cliffside, at which point it raises up perhaps some twenty feet. If there were enough handholds, he'd feel comfortable about trying to climb it himself rather than taking the long way around by running along the slowly ascending path.

Fortunately, when encountering a lack of handholds, he has a convenient solution available. Soon enough, he's once more on Aria's back, as she lifts him up another cliffside. He badly wants to look back to see Doro's reaction to his particular method for climbing the steep cliffs, but even if he's willing to rely on Aria as they ascend, he still isn't comfortable enough to do anything but cling tightly against her and tuck his head in as he focuses on not panicking before they've crested yet another climb.

Aria meets the challenge wonderfully however, gratefully accepting his choice to recall her yet again as he finally breaks into his own first proper run of the challenge, as he heads into the tunnel. With the first flag rolled up in his backpack and a multiple minute lead over Doro, he's feeling great about his chances of winning the day.

---

Author's Note: It's a race! Though clearly not one Ran intends to run 'normally'. Doro and he take very different approaches, though let's emphasize that both are equally 'legal' within the constraints of the challenge. Describing the geography I had in mind in an adequate way proved a real challenge, but I think the way I pictured it ultimately comes across well enough. Of course, to the valid question of: How did the landscape even come to look like that, I simply say: Ancient pokémon battle.

If you want to read ahead or feel like supporting my writing, please go and have a look at my Patreon or Ko-fi . Patreon for member benefits like 2 weeks of Early Access whereas Ko-fi is for one-off donations that go towards artwork. It's no exaggeration to say that this story and it's current upload schedule are only possible thanks to Patreon, so if you have anything to spare and want this story to continue, please go and have a look, every little bit helps.

 

[The Dave]

Rushing into the tunnel, Ran is caught off guard by just how dark it is on the inside for a moment. Hurriedly, he fishes out his flashlight to illuminate the way.

The passage is wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but no wider. The floor is decently level from left to right, though it noticeably slopes downwards, which is a frustrating thing to realize after the effort he had to put into getting this high up in the mountains in the first place. The path itself is straight as an arrow, leaving Ran confident that it's manmade. Which isn't particularly important, if it weren't for the logical consequence that comes with the tunnel not having any bends.

That being his clear view of the tunnel's exit and the backlit shape of a distinctly human form standing in it.

As he continues to jog onwards, his flashlight's beam gradually creeps closer to the waiting figure, until details start to become apparent.

It's very clearly one of Chuck's Gym trainers, the gi the other guy is wearing making that readily apparent. He looks to be a few years older than Ran and, upon closer inspection, clearly has three pokéballs hanging off of his belt. As Ran gets closer, the trainer speaks up when he's still a comfortable distance away, his words reason enough for Ran to draw to a temporary halt.

"That's far enough!" The Gym trainer calls out as one of his hands drifts to his belt, "The Tunnel exit's closed to you lot!"

"What lot?" Ran asks in feigned surprise, even as he slowly continues to walk forwards, his hands raised apologetically as he does so, as if genuinely unsure of what he's wandered into.

He doesn't consider himself the most gifted actor by any means, but he appears to have more of a gift for it than he thought, as the Gym trainer seems genuinely puzzled by Ran's response.

"Are you not one of the trainers that's doing Gym leader Chuck's challenge?" He asks in evident surprise, hand moving off of his pokéball as his stance relaxes.

"What challenge?" Ran wonders curiously, moving into a light jog once more as he closes the final distance between them, "My boat only came in yesterday and I'm just exploring the area!"

"Oh alright, my bad," The Gym trainer replies apologetically as he steps to the side, leaving enough room for Ran to jog right on by him, "There's supposed to be two trainers racing through here for a Gym challenge. You might want to look out for that, as there's a few of us around and I don't know if the others will ask questions first, like I did!"

The final part of the Gym trainer's message is shouted, as Ran by that point is already past him and running down the path once more.

"Thanks for the warning!" He yells back innocently, hardly daring to believe his own luck, as he pours on the speed for a moment, to make sure that he's definitely long gone by the time Doro arrives. She didn't seem the type to ask questions, so with some luck she'll just get into a battle with the guy immediately, winning Ran an even bigger lead.

He hurries on for a few minutes more, before his chest starts to ache from the exertion, at which point he slows down to a walk once more. Continuing along the slowly descending, meandering main path slowly, even as he brings up his pokégear for another look.

He immediately pauses in surprise, because according to his map, he's supposed to be very close to the second flag indeed. Hurriedly looking around to see if he's overlooked anything obvious, Ran winces in displeasure when he finds the next pair of flags.

They're almost directly upwards of his current position, hanging from the same mountainside which the path he's following runs alongside. The rock surface isn't completely sheer at least, with ridges and protrusions offering handholds aplenty.

Still, it's an imposing climb to say the least, one he genuinely doesn't want to undertake. Fortunately, he doesn't have to. With just a quick tap of Aria's ball, she's back by his side once more.

"Hey girl, can you get me one of those flags?" He asks, to Aria's evident delight. Which, given that he isn't asking to ride along with her, he can understand.

However, just as Aria starts her climb, the sudden appearance of another Gym Trainer throws a wrench in his plans. Because he's on top of the rock face Aria is ascending and unlike the one that preceded him, this one catches Ran in the act, voiding any chances of avoiding a confrontation.

"Not so fast, kid!" The Gym Trainer shouts in what has to be his best movie villain voice, rather than his actual normal one, "You may want to get out of the way of this one! Machoke, use Rock Slide!"

Ran's eyes widen in sudden fear, realization setting in as an imposing Machoke leans over the edge for a moment, clearly getting a look at its targets.

Hurriedly, Ran rushes back down the path a way, even as he taps Aria's ball to recall her in the nick of time, as a series of large boulders come crashing down the vertical rock wall. She disappears only moments before the first boulder goes slamming right through the space she was occupying moments before, leaving Ran to breathe out a relieved sigh even as he takes in the situation.

The flags are roughly sixty feet up the rock wall, with a Machoke standing a few feet above them with the clear goal of protecting the flags. Any attempt to head directly for the flag is going to run into the major issue that is a Machoke with plenty of ammunition.

So either he needs to take care of the Machoke entirely, at which point Doro might have an easier time catching up, or he needs to distract it for long enough to enable a capture of the flag. If the flag weren't so high up, he could just have Aria snag it down with a strand of webbing, but considering the directly vertical trajectory of her shot and the winds at those heights, she'd need to make it at least halfway up there before standing any chance at success.

A distraction, then.

For the first time that day, he actually takes a pokéball off of his belt, throwing it upwards and outwards with a shout, "Get up there and knock that Machoke out, Golbat!"

His only team member capable of contesting Machoke on equal footing, given the advantage its position gives it, materializes with a powerful screech. He can easily see both the Gym Trainer and his Machoke immediately locking their attention on Golbat, Ran himself temporarily forgotten as they focus on the rapidly ascending threat.

"Get up there and use Air Cutter! Knock them back!" He shouts at Golbat, before his own attention shifts temporarily to the fallout of the Rock Slide the Gym trainer so callously sent screaming down the cliff.

The main hiking path, which neither he nor Doro were allowed to mess with, has been damaged, its width reduced by a few feet where the Rock Slide impacted and dragged part of the path along with it. What remains is covered in rubble both large and small, effectively forcing anyone who wants to pass into a risky climb.

Above him, the sound of battle breaks out as Golbat engages Machoke in a fight Ran is fully confident can only end one way. Any other rock-type attacks from Machoke might cause some trouble, but Air Cutter is faster and more accurate besides, not to mention Golbat's own innate agility. Instead, his own attention remains on the problem facing him.

Aria, only so briefly recalled into her ball, gets sent out yet again, appearing directly in front of him on the path. When she spots the landslide they only barely escaped, her agitation is obvious, her attention immediately shifting to the top of the cliff with narrowed pupils that promise vengeance. There's nobody for her to see there, however, as Golbat has decisively pushed both Machoke and its trainer back out of view.

Not wanting to waste any time or risk the Gym trainer sending out another pokémon, Ran's instructions are swift.

"Aria, get up there and get the flag. While you're up there, attach a strand of webbing and drop it to me so I've got something to help me climb across this rubble, alright?" He orders swiftly, waiting only for her assenting chirp before he turns his attention back the way he came when the distant sounds of Golbat battling Machoke are joined by the unmistakable sounds of another pokémon battle.

There's an instinctive worry that Golbat has stumbled into a two-on-one, but then he realizes that the second fight isn't above, but behind him. Worried, Ran glances back, just barely able to see the mouth of the tunnel he exited some minutes ago, only to see two battling pairs of figures exiting it in quick succession.

First to come out of the tunnel are two Hitmonchan in what can only be described as a pure boxing match, with neither using any named moves or receiving instruction from their trainers. The one retreating out of the tunnel is clearly on the losing end, taking far more hits than the aggressor who continues to push him back. Yet, as they exit the relatively narrow tunnel and gain a bit more room to maneuver, the fight seems to equalize to a degree.

Second to come out, only a few seconds behind the first pair, are the Gym trainer Ran had tricked and Doro, engaged in a spar of their own in what seems to be an odd meeting of styles, as Chuck's employee seems to rely on karate only to get forced back by Doro. She's using some odd style he doesn't know the name of, involving a lot of short open palm thrusts and forearm blocks, but he can at least speak to its apparent effectiveness.

Both Doro and what he assumes to be her Hitmonchan are winning their fights and somehow they've closed the gap to be only a few minutes behind. Considering how much faster Doro was running before than Ran himself, she might be able to close the gap even faster than that.

Worried, he looks up, only for his worries to be assuaged to a degree, as Aria reaches the flags, shooting him a line of webbing which she attaches against the rock wall before snagging a flag between her mandibles and moving to skitter down the rock wall on the other side of the large obstruction caused by Machoke's earlier actions.

Ran grabs hold of the webbing, hands sticking to it unpleasantly, before starting to lever himself up against the side of the canyon directly. Rather than risk the unstable rubble, he uses the rope to lever himself upwards until he's at a height with the top of the obstruction. Then, he simply shuffles horizontally along the wall until he's past the rubble, before hurriedly descending once more. Overhead, he hears a cry of triumph, as Golbat uses that moment to return to his view, clearly having beaten Machoke.

The Machoke's trainer's head reappears over the ledge overhead, only for him to swear when he realizes that Ran has made it past him.

"Cheat!" He cries out angrily, glaring at Ran in evident frustration.

"What? You lost fair and square!" Ran calls back in disbelief, even as he recalls both of his partners once more and starts to rush back down the path once more.

"You used two pokémon at once!" The trainer shouts in outrage, clearly forgetting that they weren't in an official battle, something Ran is more than happy to remind him of.

"And you threw a Rock Slide at us without any warning! That wasn't an official match, so everything went!" He yells back, having to raise his voice as much as possible as he rushes out of the other trainer's hearing range.

Now he just has to hope that the guy isn't a sore loser, because if he decides not to put up as much of a delay against Doro, he might be in some real danger of getting caught from behind. At that moment, however, his prayers are answered, as he turns the next corner in the path only to find a slow, looping descent in front of him. The path winds left for a few hundred feet on a slow incline, then makes a sharp hairpin turn to the right and goes the other way for the same distance, the loop repeating at least four times, as far as he can see.

He feels genuinely apologetic when he has to send out Aria once more.

Something only reinforced when she turns to face him in evident disbelief at being brought out of her ball yet again, and so shortly after the last time at that. He can only shrug apologetically, before gesturing towards the challenge in front of him.

"Sorry Aria. Can you carry me down a ledge, or would you rather give me a climbing line?" He asks apologetically, drawing an affronted hiss from his companion.

When she turns and waggles her abdomen in clear invitation, he realizes that the affront is over him doubting her ability to carry him, so he hurriedly gets on once more. The position is no more comfortable now than on the previous rides, but Aria at least has clearly become more confident in her ability to handle the extra weight, as she races towards the ledge before sharply tilting down, as they start their descent down the first cliff wall.

It is an extremely disconcerting experience, as Ran can feel gravity's call far more strongly than he did when they were climbing. The way he clings on to Aria's back could almost be called scared, if there were anyone present to watch them in action.

Upon reaching the next part of the path, Aria doesn't even hesitate to race directly across it, almost attacking the second ledge in her eagerness to descend. The third ledge is attacked just as enthusiastically, though part way down that climb, she noticeably starts to lose control, speed picking up dangerously as she skids downwards part of the way, a sign that the exertion is clearly starting to get to her.

"Let's stop on the next ledge, Aria," Ran tells her with some faint worry, as his ride starts to tremble from exhaustion even as she descends the final few feet down the third ledge, "You've earned a proper break."

She doesn't even fight him on it, merely getting them onto the next part of the path, before sagging in place, her long legs falling out from under her as she lays down to catch her breath. Hurriedly, Ran gets off of her, taking just a moment to offer some words of comfort and gratitude before recalling Aria.

Looking down, there's two more ledges to beat. Looking down at the corner he himself crossed only a minute ago, there's no Doro in sight just yet and the distance he's efficiently crossed is significant. Suddenly, his odds of winning look great once more.

Not wanting to burn out Golbat like he's done to Aria, he breaks into a jog once more, his own stamina sufficiently recovered to keep him going for a while. As he runs, he thinks ahead. Because there's not just a third flag to retrieve, there's also a return journey to Chuck's Gym to make. Which might well be the hardest part of all, as all the tricks he's used to cut off sections and to gain distance on Doro won't work once they're out of the mountainous terrain surrounding Cianwood City.

Maybe he could wrap his arms around Caesar's thick neck, just under his hood, and try and let the large Cobra Pokémon serve as a mount for a while? There's no doubt that between the two of them, Caesar is comfortably faster, not to mention his greater endurance. But it'll be an uncomfortable and uncertain ride he might not be able to hold on to for all that long. The reactions when he comes riding into town on the back of an Arbok would be a sight to see though…

It's an option, but not one he wants to rely on for the entire ride, because he doubts whether he'll be able to maintain his seat for that long. Hopefully he won't need to either, as surely Doro must be flagging after the sheer exertion she's put herself through thus far, considering how much distance she managed to make up before, not to mention her energetic spar against the Gym trainer. Still, he does his best to keep up his own pace as he's not inclined to risk his chances by betting on her being unable to keep up the level of effort she's been putting in.

Really, considering how much she managed to catch up on the parts where he wasn't using his team to take shortcuts, he has to wonder just how much of a lead he's really got…

So is there anything else he can do to pull ahead?

Yes there is. Golbat's already proven that he can carry Ran's weight for a distance at least. So what if, rather than taking the actual path down to the city, he just cuts the straightest line possible from the third flag to Cianwood, until the point where the mountain range ends? Golbat can parachute him down and, with the sheer amount of distance they'll cut off compared to the normal route any sane - looking at you, Chuck - human has to take without assistance, surely there's no way Doro can catch up to him at that point.

As he rounds the final bend of his current descent, from the corner of his eye, up above, he watches as Doro appears at the bottom of the climb already, Hitmonlee once more having taken Hitmonchan's place and loping alongside her. She really is a lot faster than him.

Then, in an extremely worrying development, he watches as she jumps onto Hitmonlee's back, only for the fighting-type with the terrifyingly powerful legs to leap down the first ledge in a single bound, landing heavily on both feet. Hitmonlee's legs bend majorly upon landing, but after just a moment's hesitance, it easily straightens and advances towards the next ledge down.

Ran can only do his best to ignore the spectacle and focus on his own race. Whether Doro has only been relying on her pokémon after watching his example, or whether she's been pulling stuff like this all along, he doesn't know, but with the sheer speed with which she cuts off the same parts of the track that Ran himself did, he can almost feel his lead evaporating.

Hurriedly, he rushes onwards and properly around the foot of the cliff he's been working himself down towards for the past ten minutes, causing Doro to disappear from his view once more.

He easily forgets about Doro's looming threat the next second, when he ends up on a small plateau halfway between the top of the nearby mountains and the valleys that run between them. There, smack dab in the middle of it, sit two flags. Unfortunately, actively training right in front of those flags, are an old Gym trainer, who is sitting with his legs crossed, and his Heracross and Poliwrath who are sparring in front of him.

Instinctively, Ran glances around for anything that might hide him before he's spotted, but they're standing on top of a rocky plateau, guaranteeing that no such recourse might be found. Thus, before he can figure out some way to stealthily acquire the flag, with the first plan that comes to mind being Golbat circling way around and snagging a flag on the way back, the Gym trainer catches sight of him.

Ran suppresses a curse when the man immediately raises his hand, his two sparring fighting-types immediately pausing their spar and padding over to stand on either side of their trainer, where they assume resting stances. As for the Gym trainer, a guy that looks to be older than Chuck himself thanks to his long silvery-gray hair which is kept in a topknot, his long Fu Manchu mustache and the equally long goatee that originates from his chin, he looks at Ran in a clear assessment for a moment, before speaking.

"You are the poison-type specialist." He declares with a confident, yet reedy voice.

"I am," Ran accepts, even as he starts to approach once more, the elder trainer not appearing to object to his choice to do so, "I've collected the two other flags, so I just need one of the pair behind you and then I'll get out of your way, so you can go back to your training."

"Oh?" The trainer asks, one hand combing through his long goatee as he seems to consider Ran's words, "That's mighty generous of you."

Ran doesn't immediately respond, merely continuing to walk closer, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which it of course does after a few more steps.

"Unfortunately, I cannot accept your kindness. My son was very clear. I am supposed to make things difficult for you." The man speaks up, both of his pokémon taking an ominously synchronized step forward as he does so.

It's enough for Ran to draw to a halt once more, as he considers the situation in front of him. Just sending out his full team and attempting to rush the man and his pokémon is a tempting proposition, but something tells him that the man has more than just the pair of pokémon in front of him. So he hesitates.

There's the option of challenging the man to a battle, but that'll take precious time no matter the outcome. Plus, both of his strong fighting-types seem just a bit too eager for Ran to be entirely comfortable about the idea. If the man really is Chuck's father, then the odds of him being an easy opponent to defeat feel slim at best.

Yet the longer he hesitates, the more time Doro will be able to make up on him. So how to approach this? The man hasn't immediately attacked, so maybe there's a way here to avoid a confrontation? In fact, if it's just about making things difficult for him, he has an idea or two the old man might just be willing to go for.

"Alright," Ran starts slowly, opting to test the waters and the man's patience, "Did he also mention how you're supposed to do that? Because I'm not great at talking to strangers, so this is already plenty difficult for me."

"I don't believe he'd consider that sufficient," The man responds with a chuckle, clearly amused by his attempt, "That hardly impacts your ability to race, after all."

"Yeah, but so does forcing me to battle. That'll just delay me, rather than actually make the race itself difficult." Ran points out, receiving a thoughtful hum in turn.

"That is a good point." Chuck's father nods in agreement, head cocking slightly to the side as he ponders things.

Ran doesn't have the time to waste however, which is why he makes the first offer that comes to mind, "Take my shoes!"

"What?" The old man responds in surprise, clearly doubting whether he's heard him correctly.

"Take my shoes," Ran offers again, "I'll carry on barefoot. That'll make things a lot more difficult for me, won't it?"

The man grasps for the ends of his mustache and goatee, gathering them all in one fist as he pulls on them pensively for a few seconds, before his expression clears up.

"That is acceptable. You may even learn something. After all, those that study at the Cianwood City Gym never wear shoes. Take off both your shoes and your socks, hand them to Gloves, my Poliwrath, and you may retrieve a flag and carry on with your race." The old man informs him, formally extending the deal.

Ran swiftly accepts, only throwing a single dubious glance at the rocky ground beneath him. As long as he watches his step and doesn't accidentally plant himself on one of the few sharp edges remaining on the weathered stone, he should be fine. The Gym itself is on the beach, that too, he should be able to withstand.

He scampers over, hurriedly pushing his footwear into the waiting Poliwrath's hands, before turning his attention to the flags. He grabs one and hurriedly stuffs it away inside his backpack, before turning his attention to his pokégear to figure out just how he's going to get back to Chuck's Gym.

---

Author's Note: The race continues, with Ran and Doro showing completely different approaches and Ran clinging on to his early lead. He's rapidly exhausting his options however and a perilous return to the Gym still awaits!

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