"I'll admit, this is much more pleasant than being stuck on a boat with Teo", Joe says in his usual flat tone.

  Ace can't really bring himself to focus on his teammate. He's surrounded by water, and he hates it. The only thing he can think about is how many ways the ocean would kill him.

  "Right, I'm glad to know I'm a better company than Teo", the boy states carelessly.

  Last night, when Teo came in, he suggested they grow Mental Herb in their room. That did not surprise Ace at all. What did surprise him was that Joe had said no. Even though Teo spouted some bullshit about needing it to get through to Absol. Looks like Joe had some red lines after all.

  The other boy doesn't respond at all. Not that Ace is much for talking, after all it was 6 AM, and Joe had woken him up at 5, hauling him into tjshis small boat. Unfortunately, he couldn't complain, since it was his idea. Just sitting there quietly didn't really help him feel more comfortable. But he didn't exactly know how to talk to Joe.

  "So, what's with a sudden chamge of heart", Ace says carefully, "I mean, you didn't care to go to Lilicove at first".

  "I need to see a move tutor as well", Joe informs him shortly.

  "What for?", Ace reminds himself him and Joe are allies now, and he can't hiss at him for being conversationaly inept.

  "Kafka", Joe says simply, "I need to see what's going on".

  "Well, what's going on?", Ace raises his eyebrow questioningly.

  "He's not using his moves", Joe says simply, "pokedex says he knows Confusion and Dissarming Voice, but he is mever using them?".

  "Huh, so we have another Totodile case on our hands, huh?", Ace wonders.

  "Don't know", Joe resposnds flatly, "Kafka uses his other moves, and it doesn't disobey me, so I think his pathways might be blocked out or something?".

  "So you think a move tutor can help with that", Ace nods.

  "Move tutoring does work by opening up energetic pathways that pokemon have but don't naturally develop", Joe shrugs, "if it's a blockage, then move tutor should be able to help".

  "And if it's not that?", Ace wonders.

  "Then it's probably that Kafka onl learned those moves without ever developing them", Joe says hesitantly.

  Ace figures it out quickly. That's definitely not it. That explanation works for moves learned by TM. If a wild pokemon had learned a kove naturaly, that would mean it would be able to use it, to some extent at least.

  "Well, at least you're better off than Teo", Ace admits, "you still have Rio".

  "Yeah, I do", Joe says distantly.

  "Oh my God", Ace sighs, "what's going on now?".

  "Nothing's going on", Joe says simply.

  "Don't fuck with me", Ace scoffs, "you just looked away as soon as I meantioned Rio, what's going on, don't tell me there's something with that as well".

  "It's nothing", Joe says firmly, "there's nothing wrong with Rio".

  "Great", Ace feels the sense of relief. The tournament is nearing, and he can't have Joe out of commsion for that. "As long as you can use Rio in battles, it's good, Kafka can work on his blocked chakras or whatever".

  "I can't use Rio in battles", Joe looks away.

  "Don't screw around", Ace sighs, "you just said Rio's fine".

  "Correction", Joe says, "I won't use Rio in battles".

  "Joe", Ace looks at him with a burning fury of thousand dovorcees, "I'll repeat it, don't fuck with me".

  "It's none of your business, Ace", Joe says flatly, "I'm not using Rio in battles, that my decision".

  "Dude, the tournament is like a month away, you can't do this to me", Ace dies his best to keep his voice from cracking, "why the fuck are you not using Rio, you said there's nothing wrong with him".

  "There's something wrong with me", Joe says quietly.

  "My God, no, no, stop this, stop acting like an overdramatic character from Vampire Diaries", Ace yells out.

  "I'm not", Joe says flatly.

  "There's something wrong with me", Ace repeats his words mockingly, "we're not some CW teen drama, you know?".

  "Technically, this is a teen drama", Joe reminds him.

  "Oh, no, no, do not break the 4th wall on me", Ace scoffs, "just spit it out, why the hell would you not use Rio?".

  "Back in Canalave he attacked Henry", Joe says simply, "and when I was back home at Mali, he attacked my friend as well".

  "So, what, just because Rio misbihaved a few times you won't use him?", Ace's voice cracks, "we'll fail the year like that, we're already failing".

  "Ace", Joe's voice turns firm, "Rio didn't misbehave".

  Ace stops in his tracks. Right. Riolu picks up on his trainer's emotions.

  "You lost to Henry in Canalave, right?", the boy questions.

  "I did", Joe notes.

  "And that friend of yours, did you battle him as well?", Ace continues.

  "I did", Joe confirms.

  "And I take it you lost to him as well", Ace raises his eyebrow.

  "I did", Joe repeats.

  "So, let me get this straight", Ace claps his hands, keeping his voice calm, "the two times you lost, Rio attacked your opponents?".

  "Right", Joe says flatly.

  "So, if Rio can pick up on your emotions, and went crazy, than that means that losing battles pushes you into feeling negative enough for Rio to go and attack your opponent", Ace is doimg his utmost best to keep himself from yelling at Joe to get over himself. "Basically, you hate losing so much that it makes you want to harm your opponent if they manage to beat you".

  "I don't want to harm anyone", Joe responds firmly, "that's precisely why I won't be using Rio in battles from now on".

  "Great, just great", Ace hangs back, in an attmept to stop himself from screaming. They already had Sam who was completely incompetent, and Teo who couldn't control either of his pokemon. Now Joe was refusing to use Riolu in battles, and had a second pokemon with blocked chakras. Unbelievably, Ves was his most reliable teammate at the moment, and that din't exactly make Ace feel hopeful.

  "Enough about this", Joe says, "I'll sort out my own problems".

  "Well, what you gonna do?", Ace says, "get over whatever the fuck is going on in that head of yours in a month?".

  "I'll train Kafka", Joe says simply, "and I'll see what I'll do about Rio".

  "Train Kafka?", Ace scoffs, "no offense, but even if you manage to do that, Espurr is not the strongest pokemon ever, and we have a tournament coming up in a month, you do realise we need to at least make up points we lost beacuse of Sam, otherwise, we're screwed".

  "Mind your business, Ace, I said I'll deal with it", Joe says firmly, "besides, what's up with you and this whole thing?".

  "Nothing's up with me", Ace rolls his eyes, "I'm doing perfectly fine".

  "Right, so you just randomly decided to go breaking the rules and making alliences", Joe looks straight at him, "it's not exactly you".

  "What do you know about me", Ace crosses his arms.

  "I know you've been pesky about rule breaking ever since I've meet you", Joe states.

  "Well, that's because it was an unnecessary risk at the moment", Ace scoffs, "unfortunately, now it's necessary".

  "Well, that explains it all", Joe rolls his eyes.

  "Well, let me see", Ace says mockingly, "on our team, we have Sam and Teo who are basically useless in battles, we have Ves who is mid, and now we have you with your whole 'emotionally unstable so I can't use my pokemon' thing, so where does that leave us".

  Joe doesn't respond.

  "So let me get something straight, I will pass this year, and I will become whatever I need to become in order to do it, get it?", Ace gets carried away, "I'm didn't want to be reckless when we first came here, but if that's what gets me where I want to be, than I'll do it".

  "What's gotten into you", Joe says diatantly.

  "Nothing's gotten into me, you just don't know me", Ace scoffs.

  "Who's a CW teen drama now", Joe remarks, but Ace ignores him.

  "Look here, mister overachiever, my whole life no one's expected me to accomplish anything", Ace goes on, "but I did, I worked my ass off, and I got myself here, no matter how much anyone denies it, I know I can make it through, because I already did that countless times".

  "No one's denying you anything", Joe says faltly, making Ace stop for a second.

  "Whatever", the boy scoffs, "my point is, I'll find a way to get through this, and if that entails breaking rules and battling like a maniac, then that's what I'll do".

  "Huh", Joe says faltly, "looks like I'm not the only one with emotional problems".

  "Listen up here, I am not taking any shit from you", Ace scoffs, "what's the deal with you and the emotions thing, huh, I thought you were the ever-so collected one of this group".

  "Lave it, Ace", Joe says, looking away.

  "Well, why, huh, you act all cool, like you have everything under control all the time, but here we are, finding out you're just hiding whatever fucked up emotions you have", Ace laughs, "maybe stop acting all high and mighty".

  "Did you really have me bring you out to the open sea just so you could get on my nerves and try to drop your tragic backstory?", Joe says, still looking out at the horizon, "you know, Teo was more pleasant after all, at least he had the decency to try and fistfight me".

  "Right, well, I'm just saying, you can't do this", Ace crosses his hands, "we are a team, and I need you to win your matches in the team tournament so that I can rack up points".

  "We're not much of a team really", Joe says, "besides, we're in the same boat, as far as I remember, your battle record isn't exactly spotless".

  It stings, but Ace knows it's the truth. Be as it may, he did want to strike up an alliance with Joe. He needed all the help he could get, someone to push him forward, so he can be battle ready for the tournament.

  "Alright", Ace decides to hang back. Fighting about this now was useless. Joe didn't want to use Riolu, and that was it. "I'm sorry", Ace says with a heavy heart, "I'm just stressed about it all, and finiding out you don't want to use Rio in battles doesn't exactly help me feel better". Joe doesn't respond, so Ace adds: "you know, I hate to admit it, but I was counting on you and Rio getting us sure wins".

  "Yeah, I figured that much", Joe says flatly.

  "Yeah, you see the deal is", Ace lets out a deep breath, "I know my battle record is not the brightest, and sure, you were right, I approached my battles with too much reserve". He really hates admiting it, but if it helps get Joe on his side, it's a good thing in the long run. "But I can change that, I can get stronger", Ace says with determination, "I already beat a gym leader while I was baack in Vermillion, so I know how it is, to battle like that, recklessly, I know I can do it".

  "Glad you figured that out", Joe's response is simple.

  "Alright", Ace's not sure what else to say. "So, if I help you out with Kafka and Rio, then you'll help me train Rocky and Private, right, that's good for both of us?".

  "We can train together", Joe confirms, "I don't see how you'd be able to help me though, but sure, if you get stronger and actually start winning, that's good for me as well, more opportunities to win".

  It strucks Ace that this guy is still planning to win. He's not sure how Joe plans on accomplishing that now, but he leaves it be.

  "What are you even looking at?", Ace says, noting that Joe's still looking over his shoulder.

  The other boy simply points towards something. Ace turns around, seeing an island growing closer to them.

  "A cathedral? On an island like that?", Ace notes, "I mean, it's a bit strange but you've been staring at that this whole time?".

  "Yeah, Teo and I saw it last time, so I was looking for it this time around", Joe says simply.

  "Why though?", Ace questions, "I mean, it's not that interesting, you really ignored me because of a bunch of floating ruins?".

  "Look at that", Joe points his finger again, "look at that crest".

  The golden crescent moon bearing spikes catches the early sunshine, glowing through the gray. "It does seem familiar", Ace nods, but he can't quite put his finger on it.

  "It's on that book I brought from Lilicove last time", Joe lets him know, "at least I'm pretty sure that's the same thing".

  "Right", it strikes Ace in the moment, "that figure in Nolan's office has the same thing on its head, I'm pretty sure".

  "A figure in Nolan's office?", Joe raises his eyebrow.

  "One of the figurines he keeps at his table, it looks like a giant worm with wings and legs", Ace explains.

  "Huh", Joe seems surprised, "I think that's Giratina".

  "Giratina?", Ace squints his eyes at him.

  "It has a wings like smoke, right?", Joe looks at him.

  "More like a torn-up curtain", Ace nods.

  "Right, well, that's Giratina", Joe notes simply, "I only got to flip through that book, so I don't know too much about it".

  "Joe", Ace sighs, "you know as well as I do that that book is pseudo-history, you know how many books like that exist? Books that talk about pokemon no one's ever seen, pokemon that do not exist".

  "Yeah, I mean, you're probably right, it's just strange", Joe admits.

  "What's strane?", Ace sighs.

  "The fact that this island's here", Joe says simply.

  "Well", Ace thinks about it, "when you put it like that, it is strange, that the islands here, and that Nolan has a book with the same symbol...".

  "Giratina's crest", Joe corrects him.

  "Right, it's strange, but it's just a coincidence", Ace leans back, "I wouldn't give it much thought".

  "Nolan did get it in some alleway bookstore", Joe notes, "that's strange".

  "Yeah, probably not a popular book", Ace shrugs, "besides, he kept it in the open when we came along to have our points reducted, so I don't think it's something he's trying to be sneaky about".

  "I don't know, but I do think it's strange", Joe admits, "maybe I just don't really like Nolan".

  "Yeah, I dislike him too, and he's definiely a type to be into stupid bullshit like Giratina, but who cares about it", Ace shrugs, "I mean, if it makes you feel any better, we can flip through that book, I just have no idea what you except to find".

  "I don't know", Joe says, still looking at the island. "Wish I had a flying type on me, so we could go to that island".

  "Drop it, we're not doing any sidequests today", Ace retorts.

  "Right", Joe nods, "but having a flying type would be handy, you have to admit that".

  "Why, so you can go around exploring ruins and escape from the island on the regular basis?", Ace sighs.

  "Well, that, and they are pretty nasty in battles", Joe admits.

  "Yeah, no, I definitely don't want you to have a flying type", Ace laughs, "you're problematic enough with earth bound pokemon, can't have you going airborne".

  "But it would be fun", Joe says, "just to fly around, right?".

  "Well, yeah", Ace thinks about it, "it would be fun".

  He's not sure where all of this is coming from, but Joe looks at him, with hazy eyes.

  "Right, flying would be nice", Ace repeats.

  *****

  Apparently, Joe's an expert shopper, and it isn't something Ace would complain on. They end up finding a TM for Taunt in an instant, and they even manage to strike down the price to 2000pd.

  Finding other things they need proves to be much more difficult. For once, Ace is not even sure what move he wants for Charcadet. He only knows he wants an attacking move to fill up the empty spot. Astonish and Ember aren't that powerful, and are not his style. A physical fire move would fit best, since he does plan on making Charcadet into a physical attcker. But there are not too many moves that are suitable for Charcadet's current abilities. Sure, he could get a TM or Flare Blitz, but Charcadet isn't even close to being able to gather enough energy to use that move. Actually, scratch that, Ace couldn't even get that move, since the price was 16000pd.

  Joe reccomends they look for Flame Charge, a move that would raise Charcadet's speed as a side effect. Ace really likes the idea, since Charcadet's already pretty agile, gaining even more speed would help out a lot.

  On the other hand, his teammate's trying to find Teleport and Shadow Ball for Espurr. Shadow Ball doesn't surprise Ace, Joe was always on and on about finding a way to deal with ghost types. Teleport, however, is a strange idea. No one ever uses it, not in the league battles anyways. When Joe relies to him that he plans on having Espurr move acorss the field by using that move, Ace can only start praying his teammate never finds it.

  Teleport drains a lots of energy when moving a pokemon on the long distance, however, at shorter distances it could practically be used consecutively, especially by a pokemon that has as much psychic power as Espurr. Joe was already problematic with just Riolu. If he had a psychic type that could dissappear at his own will, he would be a truly terrifying opponent. Luckily, Ace would never have to face him for points. Well, unless they end up facing each other in a singles tournament.

  Nevertheless, all three of the TMs tgey are looking for prove to be super hard to find. Ace keeps looking at his phone, wondering when they will get to go and look for a move tutor. Joe keeps texting Marc and Henry. Ace doesn't particularly like the fact he's letting them know where they are. Even though they are friends, they were still on opposing team. They could easily rat them off and get them expelled.

  They manage to find Shadow Ball, but it costs 13000pd, a money neither of them have, and Joe is quick to give up on that. About 2 hours into their shopping trip, Joe manages to find a TM for Teleport, and buy it for only 1500pd.

  "Now all that's left is to find the Flame Charge for you", Joe says, rubbing his hands i satisfaction. Apparetly, price-lowering is a turn on for him. Ace can already imagine him watchimg those pawn shop shows.

  "Maybe we should just go", Ace says, already tired of walking around and shopping.

  "Nonsense, Flame Charge might be a bit harder to find, but it's not like it's super rare", Joe states confidently, "plus, the price should be fine".

  "Doesn't really matter", Ace sighs, "not right now".

  "Come one, we already managed to find everything else, why give up now", Joe says.

  "Doesn't matter, I mean, I can ask the move tutor to teach Private a new move as well", Ace shrugs, "honestly no use wasting time on this now".

  "First off, Private probably wouldn't be able to master a move tutor move right now, so that would be a waste of a move slot", Joe points out, "second, the TMs better since you get to keep it, so we can eventually use it on other pokemon as well".

  "Right, communism", Ace rolls his eyes, "but it's not worth wasting time on that right now".

  "What do you mean, it's not a waste of time?", Joe latches onto his arm and starts leading him through the stands, "Private needs his 4th move, why keep the slot empty".

  "Calm down, dude", Ace is quick to set himself free, "Private doesn't really need a new move, I just wanted him to have it for the future, but it's not something I need to do right now".

  "Why not?", Joe questions, "the sooner Private learns it, the sooner he can start training, get it battle ready".

  "But I'm not even using Private in battles", Ace protests.

  "What? Why not?", Joe asks flatly.

  "Well, for one, he's too young", Ace crosses his arms.

  "That doesn't really matter", Joe shrugs it off, "I mean, Teo's Totodile is pretty young as well, but Teo uses him in battles".

  "Right, but Charcadet doesn't really care about battles, or training", Ace sighs.

  "Why?", Joe raises his eyebrow in confusion.

  "To hell if I know", Ace's voice cracks, "he just doesn't care, all he wants to do is run around and play".

  "So, he's not obeying?", Joe asks.

  "I don't know, yes and no", Ace admits, "he does listen to me for the most part, and I managed to trick him into practicing Ember, but I don't think he wants to do the training, or try battling".

  "Well, that's tough", Joe scratches his head.

  "Don't you pity me", Ace rolls his eyes, "I have Rocky, that's enough for me right now, Provate will come around, I hope".

  "Right", Joe's voice turns a note more distant.

  "So, let's give up on looking for this TM and go see the move tutor", Ace decides.

  "Right, maybe a move tutor will be able to help with Private as well", Joe says.

  "You're right, maybe he can help out with activating Private's motivation", Ace rolls his eyes.

  "Hey, I mean, he might be able to help, it's worth a try", Joe says calmly.

  "Maybe", Ace says, "let's go and find out".

  "No", Joe says adamantly, "let's look for Flame Charge just a bit longer, it's still good to have it ready, we can't just blast off to Lilicove every day, you know".

  "Oh, we can't", Ace pokes at him, "I thought you liked these little escapades".

  "I do", Joe admits, "but I only take beneficial risks, one TMs not worth making a trip for, so let's look for it while we're still here".

  "Oh, come on", Ace draws out.

  "Just half and hour more", Joe decides, "we do have to stay in Lilicove until nightfall anyways".

  "Alright, but just half an hour", Ace says adamantly.

  They end up spedning the next hour looking through the stands, with Ace despising every second of it. Just when he's about to lose it, Joe grabs his arm, dragging him towards one of the stands. The tabletop is filled to the brims with all kind of things, and Ace immediately notes the TM cases, that are brimming with red. Joe starts yapping lies in an instant, telling the salesman that they need a fire type move for his brother's birthday.

  The salesman's apparently new to the business, they find out. He had noticed not too many stands hold fire type TMs, and decided that would be a good market to take on. Turns out, Lilicove, that is surrounded by water, isn't really a suitable place for seeling fire moves. Trainers there didn't really have many fire types, since they didn't really live in the surroundings in large numbers. It was a bad business strategy, but it turned out to be great for Ace, since they managed to knock down the price for Flame Charge to 2500pd, which was extremely low for that move.

  "Great", Ace says, holding up the bright red disc, "now that we have this, we can go forward".

  Unfortunately for him, Joe is still knee deep in conversation with the salesman, twisting a small box in his hand like a very curious crow.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Hey, let's go", Ace nudges him.

  "How much for this?", Joe ignires him fully.

  "I can give it up for 1500pd", the salesman sounds overwhelmed by Joe's persistance.

  "Amazing, I'll take it", Joe nods, quickly taking out the money and basically throwing it at the salesman. "Thank you", the boy says as he merrily scoots away from the stand. Ace has never seen him that happy, and he finds it slightly disturbing.

  "What even is that", the blond boy basically has to run after him, "some kind of strange training equipment?".

  "Better, a portable phone screen projector", Joe says excitedly.

  "What", Ace finds himself surprised, "why would you even waste your money on something like that?".

  "Because we can watch matches in our room with it?", Joe notes, "we have a white curtain now, so we can play projections".

  "Huh", Ace sees the appeal of it, "we could watch movies".

  "We'll see about that", Joe says cautiously, "mostly I want this for league battles, but we could also record our own battles and watch them later on".

  "Huh, right, that could be helpful", Ace nods, "but cmon, movies, think about it, we could get those three to stop causing mayhem all the time with this".

  "You really want to use TV as a means to behavioural correction?", Joe sighs, "that's bad parenting".

  "I ain't their mother, I don't care", Ace rolls his eyes.

  "Well, we'll see, not sure we'll have too much time for movies", Joe admits, "we both have to train, and I plan on shiting into the high gear from now on".

  "You've been waking up at 5 AM ever since the year started, was that not the high gear?", Ace says carefully.

  "That's called a morning routine", Joe says simply, "I'll do much more starting tomorrow".

  "Right", Ace says, "and I'll follow along, just so you know".

  "Good", Joe confirms. "By the way, speaking of training", Joe says, "I know you're in a hurry to go to the move tutor, but could we have a quick battle?".

  "A battle? Now? Why?", Ace raises his eyebrow. Not that he didn't think about it, but knowing Joe didn't want to use Riolu in battles meant the other boy would probably hold back. That's not how Ace wanted to beat him.

  "I was thinking", Joe says, twisting the projector in his hands, "maybe Kafka and Private just need some motivation, you know".

  "Motivation?", Ace wonders.

  "Right, well, actually, I wanted us to watch matches because of that", Joe admits, "I thought if they saw actual battles they'll want to start training themselves, and you know, using stronger moves and stuff".

  "Huh, that actually sounds like a solid idea", Ace scratches his head, "but why would you want those two to battle now?".

  "Just thought we should give it a try", Joe shrugs, "since both of them are not the best battlers, it's not the worst if we try giving them a little push".

  "Well, it might be useful to at least give it a try before we go to move tutor", Ace thinks about it, "I mean, I never really tried having Private battle, he just doesn't want to train or spar with Rocky, so I thought he doesn't care about battling".

  "Right, so maybe the problem solves itself like that", Joe offers, "just one thing, we're not going to push through to the end, just let them have a go at it, end it before anyone takes too much damage".

  "Right, we do have to see the move tutor later, and we can't go to the pokemon center here, since they'd probably call the school", Ace says, "sounds good, you got yourself a deal".

  "Great", Joe says, leading the way.

  "Where are you even going?", Ace follows after him.

  "Not sure, gonna find somewhere where there are no people so we can battle", Joe says flatly.

  "God, you're horryfying", Ace sighs, "would you let me make a suggestion".

  "Sure", Joe stops suddenly.

  "Right, how about we go further into the city", Ace is a bit surprised it was this easy stopping the other boy, "the move tutor lives in the northern suburbs, we should try in that neigbourhood, so we don't have to walk through the whole city later".

  "Sure, as long as you can find a place for a battle", Joe shrugs.

  "It can't be that hard", Ace says.

  "Then lead the way", Joe says, as Ace steps forward, surprised that Joe had let anyone else take control and happy that he finally gets to leave the green market.

  As it turns out, finding a good spot for them to battle is not easy. The city is bustling with people, so finding a spot where they wouldn't be seen is nearly impossible. They quickly make their way through the city square, and Ace does his utmost best not to window shop. He's already spent most of his savings on these TMs, so looking at shiny new things only makes him feel worse. He barely manages to stop Joe from walking into some botique. His teammate saw a cardigan he really wanted. Ace is not sure why the other boy loves those so much. Joe informs him he simply thinks they looked cool, and he always wanted to wear them, but he couldn't fulfil that dream of his back in Alola, because it was always too warm. The boy then went on rambling about how much he loves autumn, even though the cold is pretty damn new to him. Ace found it all too strange, that someone was stuck on seasons. Back in Vermillion, he thought, they had all 4 season. He couldn't help but ask Joe if he had ever seen snow. Apparently not.

  As they strayed away from the city center, there were no shops Joe could look at, so he opted for bugging Ace instead. At first, he was persistant that Ace has fucked up by leading them into the city, saying that there was no way they'd find a good place to battle. Ace shoot him down quickly on that one. Right after that, Joe started thinking out loud, it took him 30 minutes to conclude that he shouldn't teach Espurr Teleport right now. If his energy paths were really blocked, and the move tutor wasn't able to fix that, then it would be useless anyways. A least it reminded Ace that he could as well use the TMs he had gotten right now. He quickly scanned Charcadet's pokeball, inserting Flame Charge TM. Few buttons later, his new partner knew a new move. Great, now all that was left was to get him to actually train.

  He scanned Rockruff's pokeball, but quickly decided not to teach him Taunt right now. He would already have to remove one move the rock type knows in order for the mkve tutor to do their work. And tutor moves were much harder to master. If he deleted yet another move right now, that would leave Rockruff with only 2 usable moves. That was a no go. Taunt can wait anyways. With heavy heart, he made Rockruff forget Sand Attack, in preparation for their visit to the move tutor. Quick Attack could still be useful to him.

  "Alright, how about that", Ace points to the nearly empty park they find themselves walking up to. The move tutors house is supposed to be only a few streets away. The park itself looks empty enough for the two of them to have a quick battle.

  "There are people here Ace", Joe informs him shortly, nodding towards a few senior citizens sat at the benches.

  "Yeah, but they are all old", Ace points out, "we can literally just tell them we're 18, not like they'll know".

  "I don't think we look 18", Joe says thoughtfully.

  "Dude, they are all like 70, they've lost the difference between 14 and 18 a long time ago, trust me", Ace rolls his eyes.

  "I don't knowzit feels like a dumb way to go", Joe admits.

  "Alright, I mean we don't have to battle", Ace sighs.

  Joe takes another cautious look at the elders before noting: "alright, but we'll make it quick, just a few moves so we see how out pokemon do".

  "You're actually really easy to convince", Ace says proudly.

  "Let's just go", Joe says flatly, walking over to the empty spot in the park. At this distance, these fossils probably can't even tell the difference between people and pokemon. Ace shudders a bit. Since they are battling with Charcadet and Espurr, the septagenerians might think they are forcing toddlers to fight and call child protective services on them.

  "Okay, I hope you' re ready for this", Ace says, quickly getting his pokeball out and releasing Charcadet.

  "Ready", Joe says, doing the same and letting Espurr touch the grass. The psychic type has a disturbingly neutral look in his eyes. Ace doesn't particularly likely. He's much different than his own Charcadet, who's looking around at the trees.

  "Hey, Private", Ace kneels down to him, "focus please, we're going to have a quick battle here, alright, I need you to do your best". Charcadet tilts his head sideways, giving Ace a disinterested look for a second, before proceeding to stare at another tree. The leaves are covering the ground, Ace thiks, hitting them with Ember was a fire hazard waiting to happen. He quickly gets it out of his head. Getting held back by things like that was not something he could afford if he wanted to pass the year.

  "Can we start?", Joe yells over at him.

  "Wait just a second, Private is still unfocused", Ace sighs.

  The two of them watch patiently, as Charcadet playfully stumbles acoross the grass. He spots a pile of dried off leaves, and in an instant, Ace sees his chest spread.

  "Fake Out, Kafka", Joe says in an instant, realising what the fire type was about to do. Espurr rushes in, slammimg at the small fire solider from the side and making him flinch.

  "Private, stop that, no setting things on fire", Ace hisses, thinking that he might have a little arsonist on his hands.

  "Can we go on?", Joe says patiently, staring at Charcadet strangely.

  As Private sits up on the grass, he looks over at Espurr with the eyes of a betrayed man. Espurr proceeds to stare at him blankly.

  "Hey, Private please, get up and attack", Ace sighs. Still sitting on the ground, Private charges up another Ember, aiming it at Espurr.

  "Dodge it", Joe reacts instantly, but Espurr stays glued to the spot, allowing himslef to be hit by the Ember head on.

  This is the worst battle ever, Ace thinks.

  "Go, Kafka, Scratch", Joe attempts, and his pokemon starts stumbling forward.

  "Private", Ace starts, but before he can give a command, his partner jumps up and shoots another Ember at the Espurr.

  The psychic types runs through the cinders, landing his own attack. Charcadet rolls over on the ground and starts throwing a temper tantrum, waving his hands wildly at Espurr. The psychic type seems distressed as it tries to dust off the ashes left from the Ember from his fur.

  "I... I don't think this is going where we want it to", Ace says patiently.

  "Yeah, no, I agree", Joe watches the show with an unreadable look.

  "We should just... stop", Ace offers.

  "I kind of want to see what happens next", Joe scratches his head in utter confusion.

  Charcadet jumps up again, and starts yelling at Espurr, who ignores him, still cleaning his fur.

  "I just don't think these two are battlers, dude", Ace admits.

  "Yeah, no, not battlers", Joe concludes, "but they are definitely something".

  "Well... I'll just", Ace says uncomfortably as he recalls Charcadet back to his pokeball.

  "Right, yeah, probably a good idea", Joe says, doing the same thing.

  "So, um... basically, with these two, I'd say we're a little bir screwed", Ace says walking up to Joe.

  "Pretty much", Joe confirms, "Private tried burning the whole park down".

  "He was just playing", Ace says defensively, "and that's not what I meant".

  "Yeah, I get it", Joe nods, "these two do not know how to battle".

  "Right, Private basically attacked only becuse he was mad at Kafka", Ace says, "and I have no idea what's going on with that pokemon of yours".

  "Me neither", Joe admits.

  "Well, this was a waste", Ace points out, "we learned nothing".

  "Well, we did learn a few things", Joe points out.

  "Yeah, that we're screwed", Ace nods.

  "That, but also, Espurr does listen to my commands, mostly", Joe notes.

  "Well, good for you", Ace says, "the only thing I learned is that Private's still too young, which I knew already".

  "Well, we did learn another thing about him", Joe points out, "though I'm really not sure why he uses Ember with his mouth".

  "It just uses it like that", Ace shrugs, "I knew that already, it's normal".

  "It is possible, but it's not normal", Joe says simply.

  "What do you mean?", Ace questions.

  "Charcadet line uses fire attacks mostly from their hands", Joe points out.

  "I know that", Ace shrugs, "but they can also use them from their mouth, it's not unnatural, the do have flame organs in those places, you know".

  "I do, but they are not as developed as the ones in their hands", Joe points out, "that's why they usually use their hands for attacks, they are stronger".

  "Right", Ace thinks about it, "I knew that, I just figured Private's still young, and that's how he's used to doing things".

  "Right, well, you do plan on making him a physical attacker, so he'll have to switch to using his hands, you know", Joe notes.

  "Right", Ace nods, "I'll start working on that, as soon as I get him to do some actual training".

  "You probably should", Joe says bluntly, "now let's get going, where does that move tutor live?".

  "He should be nearby", Ace explains as they start to leave the park. The retirment watch didn't bother them, but Ace dislikes how this whole ordeal went. Charcadet not using his hands for attack aside, it showed just how unprepared both pokemon were for battled. Taking into account the whole Riolu thing, it didn't give Ace much hope. At least he could count on Rockruff, but even his reliable dog couldn't take them that far. Some match-up were simply too unfavorable.

  They made it into some white picket-fence neigbourhood, which reminded Ace of his own home. The short white houses with front porches filled with yellowing grass. Ace counted the number on the houses, and turned t the pathway of the house number 9. That was the adress he found on the internet. Unfortubately for him he couldn't find an e-mail or a phone number, so setting up an appointment was a no-go. He handily avoided telling Joe about that part.

  Through a small row of ever-green bushes, the made it to the front doors. Joe's hand flew for the doorbell immediately, but Ace stopped him in time.

  "Let me", he says, not wanting Joe to be the first one to talk to the move tutor. They didn't have an appointment, and Joe was an unforseen circumstance when it came to interactions. Sure, Ace saw him swindle the salesmen today, but he could easily imagine the other boy coming on too strong.

  Ringing the doorbell as softly as he can, Ace stands back and wait. He's not sure for how long they just stand there, but at the certain point, he thinks the house might be empty. Joe gives him an expectant look, and Ace thinks about ringing the doorbell again.

  Just then, the doors open up slightly, with a bald head peeking out. "Hello, what is this about?", the man's voice sounds raspy but pleasant.

  "We came to see the move tutor", Joe immediately shoots for it.

  The man looks at them strangely, but opens up the door. Ace can see he's leisurely dressed in track suit and loafers, as if it wasn't Monday for him. "And what would the kids like you need a move tutor for?", he asks curiously.

  "Well, move tutoring", Joe says flatly. "Did you not announce us?", the boy looks over at Ace.

  "I couldn't find the contact number on the internet", Ace says apologetically. Turning towards the man, he tries to make his voice as polite as possiblee: "we are sorry for interrupting you, but we do require your help".

  "You require a help of a move tutor?", the man chuckles slightly, making Ace feel uncomfortable. "It's alright, kid, no need to be that formal", the man waves it off, "I have no idea how to put up the contact information on that website, this is not the first time this has happened".

  "Then I guess we're good", Joe looks over at Ace again.

  "It's all good", the man nods, "though, I would like to here why would two kids like you need a move tutor?".

  "For a few things actually", Ace starts.

  "We are student's at Old King's", Joe says immediately, making both the man and Ace look at him in slight shock.

  "What", Joe shrugs at Ace, "we need a move tutor for our pokemon, there is no way around it, better come out with it immediately".

  "I guess you're right", Ace sighs, "but you didn't have to put it like that".

  "So, you're from Old King's, huh?", the man eyes them carefully. "And you came here all on your own", he says, looking behind them, fully aware that there was no one but the two of them there.

  "Yes, we did, we had to", Ace tries explaining, "we are not happy about it".

  "I am perfectly happy about it", Joe states, causing Ace to attempt a murder with his glare.

  "We know it's not really a good thing", Ace continues, turning towards the man, "but we really need help, and I would assume that you are the move tutor, so please, just see us about this".

  "And preferably don't call the school", Joe points out.

  The man starts laughing immediately. "Alright, alright, you won me over", he waves for them to come in, "let's see what I can do for you, and no worries I won't call the school".

  Joe enters immediately, while Ace follows behind him reluctantly. The house is simple, with beige walls hallway lined with vases that leads into a large living room.

  "I suppose neither of you boys have a Wailord I need to see", the man says, as he gestures for them to take a seat on the couch.

  "We do not", Joe confirms.

  "Good, so we can do this inside", the man nods.

  "Alright, Sir", Ace sas ys politely.

  "You can just call me Robert", the man says, "anyways, I suppose your pokemo need to learn a move, huh?".

  "Well, yeah, I guess that's not that hard to figure out", Ace scratches his head.

  "It's not, though I find it strange that kids as young as you came looking for a move tutor of all things", the man takes a seat on a sofa opposite from them. "Anyways", he rubs his hands together, "let me see thr first patient".

  "Um, actually", Ace stops him, "can I ask what you charge for your services?". Truthfully, after the TM shopping, Ace wasn't sure if he'd have enough money to pay for this.

  "I'd hate to charge younglings like you, so how about the deal", the man waves of his question, "you help me set up the contact info on the website, and I do this for you in exchange?".

  "Sure, we could also add your business to google maps", Joe offers.

  "I have no idea what that is, but if it's helpful, great", the man sounds satisfied with this kind of deal.

  "Great, then", Ace brings out Rockruff's pokeball and Robert gives him a sign to release his partner.

  Rockruff starts absorbing the room as soon as his feet find the carpet. Seeing Robert, the small dog scurries over to nudge Ace's leg.

  "Can you just let him stand on the table", Robert says, standing up.

  Ace carefully picks his partner up and places him on the table, as the small dog proceeds to eye Robert curiosly. The move tutor brings his hand forward gently pressing on the pokemon's neck, and Rockruff immeduately relaxes. The man cautiously runs over the pokemon's skin. "Huh, how long did you have this one?", he asks.

  "Just little over 2 weeks", Ace admits, "why?".

  "His skin's already this rough", the man curiously, "not bad, you must have a hell of a grooming ritual for him, huh, boy?".

  "Not really?", Ace admits, looking over at Joe.

  "Don't look at me", Joe raises his hands in the air, "I'm not a caretaker, I'm a trainer, I don't exactly give my pokemon a spa treatmant".

  "Can I see the rest of your pokemon?", the man looks at them, "if you have any more.

  "Sure", Ace says, quickly releasing Charcadet. Joe follows suit, letting Riolu and Espurr out.

  "Huh, you've both been trainers for 2 weeks, and you have 2 pokemon each already", the man says eying their partners with critical eyes. "Well, this one's clearly young", he notes as soon as he sees Charcadet.

  "These two, you don't take care of them?", the man looks at Joe, softly brushing his hand against Riolu's fur.

  "Not really", Joe admits, "as I said, I'm not really a caretaker".

  "No worries, you're both young", the man says, "it's just strange, since your pokemon look pretty well developed, for their stage, of course".

  "Thanks, Rio and I are both on strict training regimen", Joe asserts.

  "That's good", the man says, "but you should really start looking for a good grooming methods and diet for your partners as well, it might seem stupid to you, but it goes a long way".

  "Noted", Joe nods, "we will research that as soon as we can". Ace is not sure where they would find time for that.

  "Well, regardless, let's focus on this good boy", rober says, proceeding to pet Rockruff, "what move do you want him to learn?".

  "Sucker Pucnh", Ace says, "and I already emptied the move slot for it".

  "That's good, you came prepared", the man nods, "you Old King's kids are pretty sharp, I usually get the government licemsed trainers coming around, most of them don't know what move they want, they come and I have to list moves for them, then they spend half an hour figuring out which one they want, so this is a nice change of pace".

  "Well, I thiught about it already, much longer than half an hour, and Sucker Punch is the move I need", Ace says proudly, "can you do that".

  "Of course I can", the man chuckles. "This might tickle a bit, buddy", he says to Rockruff.

  Robert's eyes turned determined, as he starts pressing at Rockruffs side. The pokemon doesn't seem to mind, but his fur does stand up straight at the certain point. The move tutor keeps applying pressure on Rockruff for the next five minutes, before stepping back and simply stating: "done".

  "Wait, that's it?", Ace says in disbelief and slight dissapointment. He expected something more.

  "Yes, I unblocked the energetic pathways, your Rockruff will now be able to start learning Sucker Punch", the man says simply.

  "Don't mind if I ask, but how does this whole thing work exactly?", Ace scratches his head.

  "Pretty simple, pokemon have organs that allow the energy to flow throughout their whole body, and they let them use that energy to form moves", the man shrugs, "some of those pathways do not develop naturally, instead they are blocked, I simply find the blockages and remove them by applying pressure".

  "And you know where these energetic pathways are for every pokemon?", Joe asks in disbelief.

  "Of course not", the man laughs, "I can see the energy flowing through the pokemon".

  "Huh", Joe says thoughtfully, "so, for instance, if I were to apply pressure to Rio like that randomly, could I accidentaly activate energetic paths and have him learn a move".

  "You could", the man says, "but it's much more likely you'd accidentaly block already active energetic paths instead, so I don't recomend doing it unless you can see them".

  "Unfortunate", Joe notes.

  "How can you learn to see the energy?", Ace wonders.

  "You can't learn it, as far as I know", the man, "it's a gift you are born with".

  "That's not cool at all", Ace protests.

  "Yeah, the only gift Ace was born with is making terrible movie references", Joe states.

  "Shut up", Ace scofds at him.

  The man laughs at their bickering. "The two of you are a funny pairing, you must be good friends already".

  The two boys look at each other uncomfortably. "We're teammates", Joe states.

  "Right", the man nods, "well, the truth is we all have our own way of interacting with pokemon, some people get gifts like mine, some like caretaking, some like battling".

  "Right", Ace nods, not liking where this conversation is going. For all he knew, he was born without any meaningful gifts.

  "Anyways, let's get back on track", Robert clears his throat, "what pokemon needs to learn what move next".

  "Actually, we don't need any more move tutoring, but we need help", Joe admits, "since you can see the energy, could you please tell me if Kafka has any of his pathways blocked out?".

  "Kafka?", the man raises his eyebrow.

  "Espurr", Joe corrects.

  "Alright", the man says, taking a careful look at the grey furball. After only a few seconds he says: "no, he's all good, all of his regular pathways are not only open, but pretty well developed".

  "They are, huh", Joe sighs heavily.

  "Is there a problem here?", Robert questions.

  "Kafka can't use any of his special moves", Joe explains, "I thought it might be an energetic blockage, though you could maybe help with that".

  "What moves are we talking about?", the man looks at Joe.

  "Confusion and Dissarming Voice", the boy says. "He probably just never perfected them", he adds quickly.

  "I don't think that's the case", the man says simply. "Considering that his energetic pathways are pretty well developed, he shold be able to use those two moves without many issues, it's not like they require too much energy", the man says, "I'd say this is a mental or emotional blockage".

  "Alright, so... can you press some pressure points and get rid of those?", Joe follows up quickly.

  "No, I can't do anything about it", Robert laughs, "but I know someone who might be able to help".

  "Really?", Joe says hopefully.

  "Ywah, really, and the good news is, you won't even have to make a trip", the man says standing up. Making his way towards the living room doors, the move tutor peeks out his hand, and yells: "Nora, darling, come downstairs".

  Ace picks up on some rumbling coming from upstairs, and the move tutor adds: "It's alright, just come down".

  Slamming sounds preceed the bat of small footsteps against the set of stairs. Few moments later a small head full of curly hair carefully spies at them from the door frame.

  "This is my daughter, Nora, she's 8 and she's an empath", the man says proudly, encouragingly gesturing for the girl to come at meet their guests.

  "Right, an empath, just like any woman out there", Ace rolls his eyes.

  "What's that?", Robert looks at him strangely.

  "Nothing", Ace waves it off, "but everyone is an empath these days, curse the therapy talk".

  "Well, Nora is an empath, she can feel the emotions of pokemon", Robert states.

  The girl looks at Ace giving him a puffed up glance. Joe immediately walks over to her, crouching down to meet her.

  "Hey, I'm Joe, nice to meet you", he says in a sweet voice. This would be the first time ever Ace has heard him like that.

  "I'm Nora", the girl says shyly.

  "That's a really cool shirt", Joe continues acting all sweet, pointing out the child's pink shirt with a Roselia on it, "is that your favourite pokemon?".

  "Uh-huh", the girl nods slowly, but a smile spreads across her face, "Roselia is beautiful and I like it".

  "It is", Joe smiles at her, sitting down on the floor, "you know, there's a girl with a Budew in our school, you know, Budew evolves into Roselia".

  "Of course I knew that", the little girl tries scoffing.

  "Oh, yeah, of course you knew that", Joe laughs.

  "But... I've never actually seen a Roselia, or a Budew", the girl says carefully, "could you bring that girl here someday, I really want to see a real life Budew".

  "Sure", Joe says with a smile, raising his hand up, "we have a deal, high five me on it".

  "Cool", the girl laughs as she high fives Joe.

  "What the hell was that", Ace laughs looking at his teammate.

  "What?", Joe says flatly.

  "Since when exactly are you all friendly and cool dude?", Ace says.

  "I have like 10 younger cousins at my place at all times", Joe retorts, "I'm good with kids".

  "Wow", Ace says, "you're just full of surprises, you terrify me, you know".

  "I could say the same about you", Joe responds.

  "Why me?", Ace questions.

  "The whole 'I'll become whatever I need to be' thing slightly terrifies me", Joe says blankly, making Ace shift uncomfortably. Maybe, sometimes, he gets carried away and starts monologuing like a movie character. "I like it though", Joe adds quickly.

  "Right", Ace clears his throat. He did not come here to share coming of age moments with Joe. "So, she can feel emotions of pokemon?", the boy diverts the conversation back to where it's supposed to be.

  "Yeah", Robert confirms yet again, "Nora, sweetie, can you check Espurr's emotions please".

  "Is Espurr yours?", the girl looks at Joe expectantly.

  "Yes, I call him Kafka", Joe nods.

  "That's a funny name", the girl laughs, but she quickly skips over to the pokemon.

  She stares at Espurr with look of determination in her eyes, while Espurr retorts with his usual stare devoid of any thought. Ace wants to laugh at this, but he stops himself.

  "This Espurr doesn't feel anything", the girl decides, "I don't think he likes that there are so many of us here, but that's it, pretty much no emotions".

  "How come?", Joe asks.

  "Um, just to point out", Robert chimmes in, "Nora can feel the emotions of a pokemon, explaining them, however, is a different story".

  "Yes, but this Espurr isn't feeling anything right now", the girl stays adamant, "I know how to explain that, dad".

  "Right sweetie, sorry", Robert smiles apologetically.

  "Kafka isn't feelimg anything right now, huh?", Joe seems to think about it. "Nora, could you please step back?".

  "Ookie-dookie", the girl moves back cheerfully.

  "Can you stay tuned into Kafka's emotions?", Joe inquiers.

  "Yes", Nora nods.

  "Good, then", Joe nods, "Kafka, use Confusion on Rio". Espurr proceeds to stare blankly at him, before turning to Riolu, and staring blankly at him as well. The attavk never happens. "So, what did Kafka feel when I gave him the instructions?", Joe turns to Nora.

  "Um, scared, Kafka was scared", Nora brings her finger to her lips, "I think that was it".

  "Scared, huh?", Joe thinks about it.

  "Maybe Kafka just doesn't want to harm Rio?", Ace proposes.

  "Kafka, hit Charcadet with Confuison", Joe says immediately.

  "Hey", Ace yells, but the attack doesn't happen.

  "See, it's not that", Joe says simply, "we know for a fact Kafka doesn't mind attacking Private".

  "Guess you're right", Ace sighs. Charcadet looks kind of betrayed at all of this.

  "So, how did Kafka feel now?", Joe turns to Nora again.

  "Still scared", Nora notes.

  "Right, scared", Joe sighs, "okay, Kafka, use Dissarming Voice at the wall".

  "Dude", Ace yells, but nothing ever happens again.

  "Dude", Joe echoes at him, "I told you Kafka can't use those moves, calm down". He turns to Nora: "so, what was it this time?".

  "Still scared", the girl sighs heavily, as if this was her personal misfortune.

  "Robert", Joe turns to the move tutor, "what do you think about this?".

  "Well, I suspected it as soon as I saw Kafka, but I couldn't be an sure, since it's an Espurr and it could just be a species thing", Robert admits.

  "What?", Ace says curiosly.

  "Well, you see, I didn't really think about this at first, but as soon as Nora said Kafka was scared I figured it out", Joe looks over at Ace, "it's the accumulation organs".

  "Oh", Ace figures it out instantly. Espurr generally has trouble controling the power it stores in its accumulation organs, they use their ears to supress that power. And it is a huge amount of power.

  "It's the only explanation", Joe states, "since Espurr should be able to use those moves, and it obeys me, I mean he uses both Fake Out and Scratch".

  "Right, normal type moves don't tap into the energy", Ace confirms, "so Espurr is scared of using the stored power on accident and causing a problem".

  "That's what I think", Joe nods.

  "I did notice his ears are very stiff", Robert notes, "thiugh I haven't really seen too many Epsurr, so I don't know what's normal and what's not".

  "But why would Kafka be scared of that?", Ace wonders, "I mean, Espurr usually don't tap into the power stored in their accumulation organs, they use the one generated in normal energetic pathways, I don't think it's normal for him to be that scared".

  "Kafka was poached", Joe reminds him, "so it's quite possible that the poachers got him scared into not using those attacks in order to make him a suitable pet".

  "Oh", Ace says, "yeah, that makes sense".

  "That sounds terrible", Nora protests.

  "It is", Joe confirms. "But, could I ask for a bit more of your help?".

  "Yeah", Nora says readily.

  "Alright, then, Kafka", Joe turns yo his pokemon. "Say something", the boy says decisevly, making Ace wonder what's going on. The pokemon doesn't make a sound and Joe turns to Nora again.

  "Scared again", the girl shoots.

  "Again?", Joe wonders.

  "Yes, but it's a different kind of scared", the girl elaborates.

  "How different?", Joe says.

  "The first ones were like when I'm scared I'll get in trouble", Nora explains, "this one is like when I'm scared someone will laugh at me".

  "That's called shame", Joe says to her.

  "Well, why the hell would Kafka be ashamed of saying something?", Ace wonders.

  "I have no idea", Joe admits, "I just know I had Kafka for 4 days, and I never heard him make a sound".

  "Well, this is a lesson to us all", Ace nods, "never take a pokemon that Teo catches, apparently, all of them come with problems".

  "Noted", Joe nods.

  "So, what you gonna do now that you know?", Ace wonders.

  "I'll sit and think about it", Joe says simply, "not much that I can do right now".

  "Undersandable", Ace nods.

  "Anyways, Nora, could you please check Rio's emotions just for a bit?", Joe asks in a sweet voice.

  "Sure", the girl perks up.

  Ace is not sure how that would go. Since Riolu picks up on its trianers emotions, Rio would basically feel whatever Joe is feeling. To some extent, at least.

  "Alright, Rio, get ready", Joe says calmly, "like we're going to battle someone". Ace can only hope Joe wouldn't try using any moves inside the house.

  Riolu takes a battle stance, aiming hid eyes at Rockruff, making the small rock type flinch a bit, but the blue dog never attacks.

  "Uh, this is hard to explain", Nora says, scratching her chin, "it's a very big emotion".

  "Big emotion?", Joe wonders out loud.

  "Yeah, like when I'm playing pokemon cards against my dad and I really want to beat him, this is how it feel", the girl explains.

  "That's called determination", Joe says.

  Ace wants to inform them that the emotion is actually called 'being an overtly competitive motherfucker'. He's not sure what he expected Joe's emotions would be like, but this was on point. The guy was a certified overachiever. Though Ace is not sure how this info helps his teammate at all. Joe himself doesn't seem too satisfied with the answer.

  "Alright, that's all", Joe says softly, "thanks's a lot Nora, high five".

  "Ahem", Ace clears his throat, "could you perhaps chekc on Rockruff's and Charcadet's emotions as well".

  "I don't know, can I?", the girl brings her hands to her hips staring Ace off.

  "Pretty please", the boy sighs. Sassy 8 year olds are not his target audince.

  "Fine", Nora says dryly, "but only because I think your pokemon are cute".

  "Their names are Rocky and Private", Ace offers. Talking to kids is really not his specialty, Valerie's basically the only little girl he knows how to talk to.

  "Rocky is a cool name", the girl decides, "Private is kind of stupid, you should name him Princess or Fireboy or something".

  "Right, I'll think about it", Ace says in order to get on the kid's good side. Charcadet gives him a look of dissapointment.

  "Okay, Rocky first", Nora decides, taking a step forward and focusing on Rockruff.

  Ace sees Joe appriaching Robert, and the two of them talk a bit before Robert hands him of his phone. At least Joe would deal with the whole website thing.

  "Alright", Ace brings his attention back to his pokemon, "Rocky, take a battle stance, get ready to go". Rockruff lowers his body, readily looking forward.

  "Rocky feels good", Nora decides quickly.

  "That means?", Ace asks expectantly.

  "He feels like I do when I really want to do something", Nora offers.

  "That's called being excited", Ace informs her.

  "Right, excitment", Nora says. "I think Rocky really likes you as well", Nora gives him a wide grin. Maybe sassy 8 year olds aren't the worst thing, Ace thinks.

  Knowing Rockruff is excited when he gets into a battle is good. Not that Ace had expected Rockruff would have any issues, but excitment was definitely a good emotion.

  "Great, thanks", Ace nods along, "now can you do the same thing with Private please?".

  "Sure", Nora perks up, shifting her focus to the fire type.

  "Alright, Private, take a battle stance", Ace says, not expecting much. Charcadet priceeds to stand in his place and loaf around.

  "Um, he feels okay, good, a little bit bored", Nora says, "I can't really explain".

  "Private, let's do some training", Ace summons his determination.

  "Still good and bored", Nora offers.

  "Charcadet, food", Ace sighs, gaining the fire type's immediate attention.

  "Good, and he's not bored anymore", Nora informs him.

  "Great", Ace think out loud, "just like I thought, Private doesn't care about battles or training".

  "He cares about food", Nora confirms his other suspicion.

  "Does he like me at least?", Ace sighs.

  "He definitely liked it when you mentioned food", the girl shrugs.

  "Great, so he sees me as a food provider and not a trainer", Ace says desparately. At the very least, food is something he can use.

  "Great, thank you Nora", Ace says, "high five". The girl high fives him reluctantly, but Ace decides to take it as a win.

  All things considered, this visit turned out to be pretty good. Rockruff got a new move, and they found out both him and Riolu enjoyed battles in their own way. Not that those were knews, but getting a confirmation was definitely encouraging. Meanwhile, Charcadet and Espurr had their own problems, which they also knew already, but at least now they had better insight into what those problems were.

  The two of them left the move tutor's house shortly afterwards. Ace quickly informed Joe he'd take time to come up with food regime for Charcadet, since food seemed to be his primary motivator. Joe retorted with saying he'd find grooming methods, since he noticed Espurr liked to keep his fur clean, and some care-taking might help with overcoming fears. They quickly came to the conclusion that the best way of action for them was to have Ace find good diets for all of their pokemon, while Joe would take care of grooming. It was surprisingly easy to come to terms with it. Maybe they had differing physolophies sometimes, but when it came to tackling these kind of issues, the two of them worked well together. Ace hated to admit it, but it felt good having someone to co-operate with.

  They had to waste a few more hours in Lilicove until the sun finally started to go down and they could start their trip back to the island.

  The trip was uneventful, with the two mostly bringing out their theories on pokemon food and caretaking, in other words, talking bullshit with no reference. As it turns out, neither of them had much knowledge on the topic. Still, it felt good, to talk like normal people. By the time they reached the shores and hid the boat into one of the caves, Ace had realised he felt good about hkow his days had passed.

  He was blissfully unprepared to run into Sam, who was making out with a girl clearly older than him, just a few seconds later.