Friday was when Teo finally managed to get some sleep. Joe and Ace woke him up on accident before they left. Not that he could hear what the two were talking about, being still half asleep, Ace scoffed and whisper-yelled, and Joe was saying something about Billy Joel, in his usual flat tone. Strange, but nothing would surprise him from those two. He managed to end up knocked out as soon as they left, and only woke up at 10 AM. They were still not back, and Sam dissapeared as well.

  Groggily, he managed to pull himself out of the bed. Ves was still snoring in the bunk bellow him, he noted, making sure he hits the bed frame hard enough to jolt the other boy awake.

  As soon as his feet found the ground, he realised how sore his whole body was. After Joe stormed off yesterday, if Joe's exits could ever be described as storming off, the three of them went on with the training. Ace even suggested another round of running to get back to the dorms. Teo had agreed to that, for whatever reason, and he was paying the price now.

  "Do you have to be an ass?", Ves weakly complains from the bed.

  "Yes, we've already missed breakfast", Teo says cockily.

  "Oh, fuck", Ves says, sitting up in the bed, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

  "Exactly", Teo says, picking up Totodile's pokeball from the table and releasing the small water type into the room. The croc strecthes his body out with a yawn, and immediately starts looking around the room. Teo quickly locates his hand ball, rolling it over to the pokemon, who merrily kicks it up into the air and start playing around.

  Ves watches the whole scene, almost intrigued. "you training him for the battles or the Sunday league?".

  "Depends on how this whole school thing goes", Teo shrugs.

  "Pretty sure if we fail, we lose our provisional licenses, so you'll have to release Tots", Ves reminds him.

  Teo stands back for a second. He didn't really think about it up until now. Looking over at Totodile, he can't imagine losing his partner. Hell, even Absol, he didn't want to lose, even though the dog was adamant about killing the boy.

  Ves flinches at his own words, giving the nearby wall a contemplating look, as if he himself had only just now realised this truth.

  "Whatever, do you mind Tots playing around?", Teo clears his throat, not wanting to think about this.

  "No", Ves says slowly, "I was just thinking".

  "What were you thinking?", Teo wonders.

  "Tots is a Scorbunny trapped inside a body of a Totodile", Ves admits.

  "What is that even supposed to mean", Teo scratches his head. Ves apparently delivers spiritualy enlightened messages when he's half asleep, but some of them make 0 sense.

  "I mean, he's playing football", Ves yawns, "I remember, back when I was a kid, there was this trainer with a Cinderace whose matches I liked watching, and he used Pyro Ball, that rabbit would kick that ball around, making it stronger, until finally hitting a volley, it was cool as heck".

  "So, you think Tots would do better as a Scorbunny, huh", Teo says, "too bad he can't learn Pyro Ball".

  Ves seems to think about it. "What if he can though?".

  "I don't think he's that much of a pridogy, mate", Teo laughs, "fire energy's pretty tough for a water type to summon and control, you know".

  "No, no", Ves straightens up, "not fire, water".

  "Water?", Teo says, now completely confused.

  "Yes, attacks are basically just the expression of type energy, if Cinderace can make a ball out of water, why couldn't Tots do it with water", Ves says, his voice suddenly becoming firm.

  "It's not a bad idea, but a move like that doesn't exist", Teo says flatly.

  "Well, make it up, new moves constantly get discovered, why not make one of your own", Ves shrugs, "Tots would probably end up liking it anyways, and you get to name it".

  A prospect of naming a move gets Teo's attention, still, he's a bit uncertain. "I don't know, fire and water are pretty damn different, don't you think?".

  "Greeninja can shape water into shurikens", Ves says, "don't see why Tots couldn't shape it into a ball".

  "You are right about that", it dawns on Teo that this might actually be possible. "I'm not naming it Water Ball though".

  "Aqua Ball?", Ves offers, jumping up from the bed.

  "No, no, I like Aqua Volley", Teo says, looking at Totodile, who has no idea what kind of bullshit the two boys were about to ask from him.

  "How about Aqua Shot", Ves proposes, "I think it sounds better".

  "Fine, you might have a point", Teo nods, "and it is easier to call out in a battle".

  "Right, I know", Ves says excitedly. "Right, we can try it, and Doom already knows Energy Ball, so he can help Tots with getting the shape right".

  "Sounds great", Teo finds himself excited about this whole thing.

  "Oh, and let's not tell about this to those two", Ves says, "they'll just think we're stupid".

  "I don't think they'll think that", Teo admits, "but let's not tell them, so they shit themselves when I actually manage to pull it off".

  "That also a good reason not to tell them", Ves nods.

  "Good let's go grab something to eat, then we can go straight to training", Teo decides, "oh, I have to take Absol to the pokemon center so he can eat as well".

  "Eh, I don't know", Ves says, looking over at their study tables. Joe and Ace's tables were covered in books and plagued with papers. The two have ended up doing research on nutrition and grooming last evening. "Maybe we should help out with that?", Ves concludes.

  "I don't know, are we still doing that with them?", Teo asks.

  "Well, we never said we're not", Ves sighs, "I have no idea, but maybe we should put in some work as well".

  "Leave them nites, at least on our pokemon, huh?", Teo scratches his head. The split between them started becoming obvious. It didn't surprise Teo too much, bit it was kind of uncomfortable sometimes. If Joe and Ace decided to the work for their pokemon as well, they weren't going to hear the end of it. On the other hand, if they didn't do it, then Ves and Teo would have to do everything on their own, which consumed more time.

  Approaching Ace's table, Teo checked out the titles. "Basic Pokemon Nutriton", "Food and Pokemon Development", "Recipies for Fire Types", "Dark Type Meal Prep". That last one looked as if it hadn't been looked through, but the fact Ace had it meant he was planning to do research for Absol and Houndour as well.

  "Looks like we'll have to do it", Teo rasies up the book as proof.

  "Right", Ves nods, holding up a book titled "Caregiving for Dark Types".

  "You know, the two of them know how to be overbearing, but they end up doing what's best for everyone, don't they", Teo sits down silently, playing with the book.

  "Yeah", Ves says slowly, "meanwhile, you and I don't contribute much".

  "Well, we will change that right now", Teo says, sitting down at his table and picking up a blank paper from Ace's. The other boy had been taking notes, so that's what Teo will do. He skims over them quickly, list off possible ingrediants, and some scribbles he found hard to dechiper.

  Few lines stood out, mostly because they were actually neatly written. 'Balancing meals - take care, each ingredient helps a pokemon with something different'. Then there are short notes on each of their pokemon.

  'Rockruff - needs foods that will help physical development, meat substituents, high in protein (protein pellets), berries that help with energy gathering, rock type (Charti berry), dark type (Colbur berry)'.

  Right bellow that, under the asterix, Ace had scribbled: 'Houndour and Absol both need Colbur berry integrated in their meals'. He was definitely planning to do this together.

  Looking over at the ingrediant list, he finds the boy had put the said berry. It was a shoping list, Teo decides.

  Searching through Ace's notes, he looks for Absol. There is a very short section, saying simply: 'proteins pellets, Colbur berry, Soothing berries'. Underneath is a question: 'ask Teo about Absol' s non-dark type moves'.

  The boy quickly writes down the answer: 'Swords Dance, Quick Attack, Double Team'. He quickly adds: 'all normal type'.

  Ace has done a good work for just one evening, Teo concludes. The fact that each meal has to consist of ingredients target different things in pokemon development seems obvious, but it turns out, it is something you need to think about.

  Teo scans the notes furtger. There's a section for each of their pokemon, even Sam's Yamper. One of the papers, the one only half filled, has a reminder, circled multiple times. 'Check out feeding times on pokedex'.

  Teo finds it confusing. He takes the book that Ace had left open, and starts skimming through. The last passage the boy had highlighted talked about how every pokemon had their own biorhythm in nature, therefore, each pokemon's metabolism reached its highest point during a different time of day. Another thing that seems rather obvious, but you really need to sit and think about it.

  So, that would be his little assignent here, find the right feeding times, or at least try.

  "How are you doing over there?", He asks Ves, who had also sat down, and was looking through Joe's notes.

  "Looks like I'm about to do a lot of googling", Ves sighs.

  "Really?", Teo chuckles.

  "Yeah, this grooming thing is complicated", Ves says, "Joe's over here writing about who knows what, there are so many herbs here, I think he plans to make them into pomades for muscle sorness".

  "Really?", Teo says, "he knows way too much about plants".

  "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's trying to make some ancient islander potions here", Ves admits, "but he did write he needs to find good shampoos for pokemon that have fur, which is almost all of our pokemon, save for Tots and Private".

  "Sounds like easy work, honestly", Teo shrugs it off.

  "Oh, yeah, what do you know about shampoos?", Ves scoffs, "name 3 shampoos".

  "Head and Shoulders, Old Spice, Dove", Teo shoots off.

  "Pokemon shampoos, you moron", Ves hisses.

  "Well, I can't help you with that", Teo laughs. Good thing he ended up with food.

  "We also need some brushes, Joe didn't really get all the way through on those either, the only thing he put down is that Rocky needs a firmer brush than the rest of our pokemon", Ves shuffles through the paper, "and he has no idea what Tots and Private need, apparently, so we'll need to research into that".

  "Tots prpbably needs something for hydration that goes on his skin", Teo offers.

  "Oh, yeah, that's smart, he is a water type, I'll write it down", Ves quickly scribbles it onto the paper.

  "There, we're already helping", Teo says.

  "You know, you seem to be good at this", Ves admits.

  "Yeah, I might be", Teo says.

  "How come, you think about these kind of things a lot?", Ves inquiers.

  "Not really, I just, guess it makes sense", Teo shrugs.

  "Well, come on, I mean, I get Joe, he's an island nerd, and Ace is a nerd as well, but you knowing about this kind of thing is kind of unexpected", Ves persists.

  "I used to get injured a lot when I was a kid", Teo admits, his stomach tightening, "kind of learned a lot about pomades and stuff".

  "Oh, that's why you're good at treting wounds as well, huh?", Ves thinks about it.

  "Yeah, Spikemuth's pretty good at leaving wounds", Teo turns around, facing the papers.

  Ves, thankfully takes the cue. "Right, let's just get to it", he coughes up.

  Teo hates mentioning his hometown. How do you explain to people that it's not you, it's just your childhood, it's just that goddamn excuse for a city?

  Everything he ever did, everything he ever was, there were people who found something wrong with it. Back in middle school, the good kids thought he was a punk, and the bad kids could never quite let go of the fact he was poor. And, in Spikemuth, you can't exactly get away from the bad kids when you go outside. They were always on the streets.

  Moreover, he wasn't a golden child, that much was sure, he'd get into fights on ocassion, sometimes out of defense, sometimes he'd be the one to start it. All of the teachers took note, of course. But even the smaller things, genuiene mistakes, everyone just held against him. He liked sneaking around the alleways, exploring them, climbing up on the roofs, it was just fun to do, especially since he didn't really have too many friends. But of course, all of that just got turned into him being a lowlife.

  Over time, he simply stopped trying to explain to people that he's anything else but a bad excuse for a thug. Not that anyone would ever see him for anything else.

  Explaining all of that to Ves was not only impossible, but the only thing it would lead to was Ves thinking he's just what people deem him to be.

  He couldn't explain it, that it wasn't his fault, it was life, it was a fact his father died, and his mother struggled to make ends meet, and more than anything, it was Spikemuth, the city he hated from the bottom of his heart.

  The fact that Logan named Absol spiked after their hometown made Teo's stomach turn around.

  He decided to focus on the task before him, instead of thinking about his misfortune.

  With a sigh he scanned Absol's pokeball, and the pokedex opened the page. He looked through the tab, quickly learning there was no 'feeding schedule' tab. That would be convinent. Instead, he'll have to resort to looking for the clues through biology and ecology tabs. Those were pretty lenghty, Teo concluded with a sigh.

  Nevertheless, he started reading up. It was tough, since nothing outright stated that when exactly Absol usually eats. However, the ecology section did have Absol listed as a nocturnal pokemon. Teo quickly scribbles it down on the paper, adding that Absol should be fed at night. That seemed logical, if Absol was active in nighttime, then his metabolism would be at the highest point that time of the day. However, that fact didn't land well with the pace of their lives. What was he supposed to do, wake up at 2 AM each night just to feed Absol? He doubted that pokemon center even worked at that time, and he still had to rely on them for feeding Absol.

  He thought about asking Ves for help for a second, but the other boy was too busy googling for shampoos.

  With a sigh, Teo concluded there was no way they are going out of their way to give each of their pokemon a specific eating time. Between the 5 of them, they had 8 pokemon right now, which was already too many. It would only get worse as they cauggt more. He imagines having to make a new dish every hour, shuddering.

  He quickly jots down a message to Ace: 'even though each pokemon has their own prefered feeding time, we should stick to normal breakfast-lunch-dinner regimen".

  He thinks about how that would work. Metabolism is still active, right, it's just more active at certain times of day, depending on pokemon's biology. 'Absol is nocturnal, so he should have lighter breakfast, and bigger dinner' Teo writes down. That was the only thing that might work, without turning their lives into a cooking show.

  Thinking about it some more, he writes down: 'if possible, we should come up with a meal that serves all of our pokemon equally, or at least meals that can be shared between a few pokemon'. While cooking a specific meal for each pokemon would be for the best, it would eat away at their time. Especially when they had classes. Add to that training, studying, battling, and grooming that they'll have to do, there was no way in hell they'll have the time to prep 8 meals, 3 times a day. This was a better solution. Teo's pretty content with his own train of thought.

  Quickly scanning Totodile's pokeball, he concludes the croc would be considered a normal eater. There isn't anything specific on Totodile's daily cycle. 'Tots, normal breakfast, big lunch, light dinner'. He's not sure how Ace will understand all of this, so he decides to write down a few more explanations.

  Looking at the time, he sees that just two pokemon have wasted him more than an hour. Those biology and ecology tabs were really lenghty.

  He'll finish up with Houndour, he decides. He would need scan the other 3 boy's pokemon to get the information anyways. He asks Ves for Houndour's pokeball, doing a scan. A read through the info tells him black dog's a nocturnal creature as well, which Teo quickly jots down.

  Finishing up, he decides to leave a message: 'Did what I could, I'll finish this part up, but I'll need to scan your partners - Teo'.

  Good, he thinks, hopefully, Ace won't bitch about Teo doing things his way. Considering how by the book the blondie was, Teo fully expected a fight about all of this, where Ace would insist on them waking up at 2 AM to feed nocturnal pokemon. Especially since both Rockruff and Charcadet could both turn to be nocturnal, since each of them had evolutions that seemed like they would be active at night. Plus, Ace was aimimg at those evolutions in case of both of his pokemon, so for him it might be necessary to feed them late at night.

  "I'm done here", Teo says, letting his hands fly up.

  "Good, I have no idea what I did", Ves admits, "I mean, I made a comprehensive list of shampoos, but that would be all".

  "That's better than nothing", Teo notes.

  "Yeah, unless the two of them decide we need to have special homemade shampoos that make your pokemon become super Sayan or something", Ves rumbles.

  "That would not surprise me", Teo chuckles.

  "Let's just hope for the best", Ves sighs, "and let's go get something to eat, I'm starving over here".

  "Same", Teo stands up from his chair, "then it's training time".

  *****

  The training center is much more crowded than Teo had expected. Surprising aboslutely no one, this was his first time visiting the place. First thing he noticed were the ceilimg high windows, looking out at the island and giving the whole place a somewhat modern look. The spatial organisation of the giant room was a hot mess. Teo's not sure what he had expected, but the place was bustling with people and pokemon. Most of them visibly older than him, with fully evolved partbers that looked like they could one shot him out of existance. Suddenly, he realised that they are the youngest at the school. Everyone else here already managed to pass the first year, a thought that made Teo shudder.

  He followed Ves around, through a maze of students, doing his best not to stand in anyone's way. Getting hit with a stray Flamethrower was not on his to-do list for today.

  His teammate led them to the far end of the room, where in one of the corners he had spotted two vacant training bags. Even though they ended up being pushed into a corner, just a thought of developing a comoletely new move, one that no one came up with before, made him excited. It would give Totodile more options in battle, importatnly, an ability to attack from mid-range. Also, it will look cool. With how proficent Totodile was, learning Agility on the spot, this new move would be a piece of cake.

  "Alright, Doom and I will practice Energy Ball for a bit, then we'll go on to practice Bite", Ves informs him as he takes his position, letting his partner out on the floor. The black dog looks about ready to tear the training bag to shreds. Teo wonders if Houndour is always that ready to get into a fight.

  "Okay, I'll try to explain everything to Tots", Teo nods, releasing his partner as well. The small croc immediately starts soaking up the room, visibly excited by the crowd. "Hey, Tots, there's no one here to play with you", Teo reminds him, "we're training".

  Totodile serves him a dissapointed look. If Totodiles could groan, Tots would absolutely do it right now.

  "Hey, you're going to like this, I promise, it will be fun", Teo crouches down beside his partner, "the move's called Aqua Shot, or we will call it Aqua Shot".

  Totodile tilts his head, giving his trainer a confused stare.

  "Basically, I need you to create a ball of water with your legs, then shoot it at the training bag", Teo sighs. Totodile still doesn't unerstand what Teo's on about, so he sits himself down on the floor and gazes off at the ceiling.

  "A ball of water, you create a ball of water, then you kick it, just like the toy you have, but instead of using it to play, we use it to win in battles, capish?", Teo tries. Totodile yawns, still definitely confused.

  "Just find a video of Cinderace using Pyro Ball and show it to him", Ves suggests, "that ought to get him interested".

  "Right", Teo slides his phone out quickly entering Youtube. Unsurprisingly, he manages to find a compilation of top 15 times Pyro Ball was used. There's a compilation for literally anything on Youtube, Teo thinks. "Here, watch this", the boy sits down next to his partner, showing him the video. It's not too long, 4 minutes altogether, but it catches Totodile's attention. The small crock points excitedly at the screen when some Cinderace creates a flaming orb, shooting a volley at the opposing Dragonite.

  "Yes, Tots, that's what I want you to do, but with water", Teo says slowly. Totodile nods in understanding, jumping to his feet and staring the training bag down. After bouncing his leg on the floor three times, he turns to teo, giving the boy an apologetic look. He has no idea how to do it.

  Now comes the hard part, Teo thinks, since he doesn't really know how to explain this move either.

  "How about you just watch Doom for a second", Ves suggest. "Let's go, hit the bag with Energy Ball, make it as powerful as you can", Ves instructs, and Houndour immediately lowers his body. The pokemon's jaw unclenches, as the gras type energy start gathering up, shaping into a ball. Few moments later, Houndour shoots it into the training bag that absorbs the attack without an issue.

  "See", Teo explains, "you gatger the energy, shape it into a ball, then you shoot it".

  "Mate, it's easy for you to say", Ves reminds him, "you try gathering energy, making it into a ball, then shooting it".

  "If I could do that, I wouldn't need a pokemon", Teo protests.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Just let Doom explain it to Tots, okay", Ves ignores him.

  Houndour struts over to Totodile and starts barking instructions immediately. Totodile screeches in response a few times, which only makes Houndour bark on. The way pokemon talk between each other is really strange, and Teo wishes he could understand what they were speaking. Maybe his teammate's pokemon could talk some sense into Absol as well? More likely, they'd just end up trash talking them.

  After what looks like a heated exchange, Totodile faces tge training bag, looking ready to go.

  "Alright, I think that's it", Ves concludes.

  "Okay, then, let's go Tots, Aqua Shot", Teo says excitedly. Totodile bounces his leg on the floor again, but nothing happens. He looks at Teo, visibly dissapointed.

  "It's alright, this move doesn't even exist yet, I don't expect you to get it right the first time", Teo lies. He did kind of expect Tots would pick this up right away, after all, his Totodile was the genius, the brightest of all Totodiles, the pinnacle of the entire civilisation of small blue water crocodiles.

  Beside them, Ves and Houndour get into their training, and Totodile stares at the black dog, trying to figure out how to do this. Another round of bouncing his leg later, nothing happens. Okay, Teo thinks, not going to get it down on his second attempt either. That's alright.

  Third time's a charm.

  Yet again, nothing happens.

  Time after time, nothing keeps happening when Totodile tries going for the new attack. After 10 minutes, Teo had lost all the hope, and is on verge of falling down on his knees.

  Ves and Houndour had already switched up to practicing Bite.

  All Teo had done was deduce that he absutely despises training. It was bland, repetitive, and aboslutely no fun if you don't get things down immediately. He had no idea how or why Joe and Ace did this to themseleves on regular basis.

  "This is not working out", Teo places a hand on Ves's shoulder, "let's go get a smoothie or something".

  "We literally just came in", Ves brushes him off, continuing to focus on Houndour. What the boy was so focused on, Teo had no clue. It was not as if he was doing anything other than standing there and watching.

  "Look, Tots can't do this, so no use for me to waste my time here", Teo sighs, "besides, now that he has the idea in his head, he will just do it in battle anyways".

  "You can't rely on that", Ves says flatly, not taking his eyes off of Houndour. "Hey, Doom, that's good, but try making your attack more sudden", the boy says firmly.

  "Why not?", Teo persists, "Tots learned Agility just like that, did it on his first time, he's clearly a natural".

  "And that's great, but it's super rare for a pokemon to learn a move mid battle, let alone perform it perfectly", Ves says absentmindedly, "with Tots, he probably had capacity to learn Agility anyways, but he couldn't since his movepool was already full".

  "You think he only learned it because I made space for it?", Teo questions.

  "Probably", Ves admits, "you can't really expect Tots to go on pulling moves out of his ass like that all the time, you will need to train him".

  "But training sucks", Teo groans, "I don't even do anything, I just stand there and tell Tots what to do".

  "Well, then do something", Ves offers.

  "What? What can I do?", Teo sighs.

  "Watch and guide, come up with a ways to help Tots figure it out", Ves says simply. "Hey, Doom, that's great, but can you try attacking from above?", Ves says, suddenly making a step forward. He takes the training bag and latches the other end onto a hanger as well, making the bag parallel to the floor. "Here, try now, Bite down", Ves says.

  "And what exactly have you accomplished there?", Teo questions.

  "Doom's pretty physical, movement comes naturally to him, so if I put a bag like this it's easier for him to attack, it helps draw out his potential", Ves shrugs, "besides, in a real battle, most of our opponents are easier to bite because they are not shaped like a bag".

  "What does that have to do with anything?", Teo rolls his eyes.

  "Because it's a bag, Doom has to tilt his head to land an attack, this is much more natural", Ves offers, "plus, this is a training center, he doesn't have too much space to get going or jump up, so positioning is easier for him with the bag like this".

  "That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard", Teo admits.

  "Hey, instead of questioning my methods, maybe go and work with your partner", Ves offers, taking a quick glance at Totodile, who had started loafing around.

  "Fine, whatever", Teo scoffs, "so, Tots, imagine the ball, be the ball, then kick it into the bag".

  "That's bullshit", Ves protests.

  "Well, what else am I supposed to do?", Teo wails.

  "Explain the move to him?", Ves offers.

  "Oh, yeah, let me explain a move that doesn't exist yet", Teo raises his hands up.

  "Well, try it at least", Ves sighs.

  "Fine", Teo turns to Totodile again, "so, uh, I guess the first thing you have to do is create water, you know how to do that, right?". Totodile nods attentively. "Of course you do", Teo says, "fine, then create water and shape it into a sphere, then you just shoot it towards the bag".

  Totodile jumps up and starts stomping his leg on the floor agaij, still failimg to produce even a drop of water. Instead, he leaps up, launching an Aqua Jet into the bag. When he's on the ground again, he turns around, giving his trainer a jolly wave.

  "That was not what I had in mind", Teo tries not to laugh. Totodile runs towards him, latching onto his leg, as if to show that he's bored with the training already. "Alright, we can take a little break, I guess", Teo says, crouching down to pet his partner. Apparently, creating a brand new move wouldn't be that easy. At least he can have Totodile hit the bag with Aqua Jet, make the move stronger.

  "Oh, isn't this a funny sight", a voice behind him jerks him out of the planning stage.

  Turning around he sees two people, one of which he recognises to be Mikey. The girl, he instantly assumes to be Vinnie, by the way Ves sighs as soon as he lays his eyes on her.

  "What do you want, Vinnie", Ves says flatly.

  "Nothing, just wanted to say I'm glad you're not hanging out with that Joe guy", Vinnie shrugs.

  "Trust me, sis, this one's much worse", Mikey adds with a chuckle.

  "This one didn't chase us down, or come knocking at our doors on Sunday morning", Vinnie points out.

  "Will you two just stop this", Ves rolls his eyes.

  "Oh my God, I'm not here because I want to start a fight", Vinnie raises her arms into the air defensively, "well, actually, a fight is exactly what I want to start, I want payback for Canalave". Giving both Ves and Mikey a sharp look, she adds: "from both of you".

  "I tried to convince her to let go of the idea", Mikey shrugs, "but she really can't wait to see me trash both of you again".

  "Chill out Mikey, you didn't trash anyone at Canalave", Ves states, "you were barely hanging on by the end of the fight".

  "The important thing is, I won", Mikey crosses his arms.

  "Come on Ves, just a little battle", Vinnie says pleadingly. Ves seems to think about it.

  "I could use some more training", he says, looking over the two.

  "Uh, can I take part as well", Teo says, hating the fact they were outright ignoring him.

  "No", Mikey says simply.

  "Too bad, it wasn't a question", Teo smiles, "Ves is only doing this if I can take part as well".

  "Is that right?", Mikey raises his eyebrow.

  "I doubt we'll find a professor willing to officiate a battle between any of us", Ves ignores them both.

  "Don't worry about that", Vinnie waves him off, "we can convince a few professors for sure".

  Right, the power of a trust fund, Teo remembers.

  "Come on, let's do it", Teo nudges his teammate, "this is our chance to knock them down".

  "We just lost to Ace two days ago", Ves whispers over to him, "we're not beating them".

  "That was a fluke, if we team up, we can get them", Teo reassures him.

  "Whatever, it's fine with me", Mikey says, clearly having heard everything they just said. "If you want to try teamming up with this lowlife, be my guest, I'll beat all of you anyways".

  "I'll crush you, blondie", Teo smirks at him.

  "I'm literally ranked fisrt in our year", Mikey reminds him.

  "I literally do not care", Teo retorts. Rankings weren't everything.

  "I'll crush all 3 of you", Vinnie chimmes in.

  "Yeah, dream on, sis", Mikey rolls his eyes, earning himself a nudge from the girl.

  "What, not like Ves and his little punk friend can do anything to me", the blond boy shrugs, "this one couldn't even control his pokemon the first time I saw him".

  Unfortunately, nothing has changed about that, Teo thinks.

  "God Mikey, will you be nice for once", Vinnie latches onto his arm.

  "Eh, you only want me to be nice to him because he's your type", Mikey sighs.

  "Let's not get into that conversation", Ves says pleadingly.

  "Wait, let's hear him out", Teo says, taking a better look at Vinnie. Green streaks in her hair might've been a red flag, but she was curvy, had a cute smile and was the perfect height for Teo, meaning she was two heads shorter than him.

  "Okay, okay, let's just go and battle", Ves says hurriedly.

  "For once I agree with Ves", Mikey nods, "I don't want my sister dating a lowlife".

  "I don't want my teammate dating a... well, Vinnie", Ves tries countering.

  "The two of you don't decide who I date, you assholes", Vinnie scoffs, turning red, "besides, I don't even like... this guy".

  "Teo", Teo offers.

  "Whatever", Vinnie's eyes wonder off to the ceiling.

  "The rematch, let's just keep our focus on the rematch", Ves sighs.

  "Agreed", Mikey let's out a somewhat defeated growl. Teo's really not sure what the matter was with the fucked up sibling trio. He thiugh Ves hated them, and that they hated Ves. This conversation, though, sounded rather normal. At least, this is what Teo imagined having sibling would be like.

  "Let's just go", Mikey turns around leading the way, gesturing for the rest of them to follow along.

  Recalling Totodile, Teo follows the little group. Mikey quickly navigates them out of the training center, and takes a sharp turn to the right to get them to battle centers.

  He opens a few doors, peeking inside, until he decides to walk through one of them. Entering the battle room, Teo sees a battle is in progress. Two girls are battling it out, one using a Gillmora the other one using a Wartortle. The turtle had the celar upper hand.

  The group stood on the side, waiting for the battle to end. Teo noted a woman dressed in a track suit, with her red hair tied in a ponytail. Definitely a professor, he thought.

  Tankfully, the battle didn't last to long, Wartortle ended things rather quickly. The two girls recalled their pokemon and thanked the woman who oversaw their match. As soon as they parted, Mikey gave a small wave, heading for the woman.

  "Miss. Young", Vinnie leans over to whisper to Teo, "she teaches second and third years, a family friend". So, Mikey was looking into different rooms to find a professor he had a connection with, Teo figures out.

  "Thanks for informing me", Teo says with a wink, which Vinnie simply ignores.

  It takes Mikey a whole of 3 minutes to set up a match, and he waves them over.

  "So, you kids want to try a free-for-all battle", Miss. Young nods, her voice sharp and steady, "commendable".

  "We already had a few of those", Ves notes quietly, nudging Teo. This was definitley not a free-for-all, Teo knows, this was a team up against Mikey, first and foremost. Not that it mattered, the other two would probably team up as well.

  "Alright, take your positions on the field", the woman says, "simple rules, the last one standing wins".

  Teo walks over to the far end of the battlefield, following Ves. He wants him close around. Mikey and Vinnie stand opposite from them.

  "Release your pokemon", Miss. Young directs them, and the four kids send out their partners.

  Teo had already seen Mikey's Axew, and he knew well enough that its size was just a distraction. That thing could pack a punch. Mimikyu, he saw for the first time, and he found the doll-like pokemon quite disturbing. Totodile looked around the field, trying to asses what's going on, while Houndour took a battle stance immediately.

  "Alright, if all of you are ready", Miss. Young raises her voice, "battle, begin!".

  "Aqua Jet, now", Teo says immediately, wanting to get the first hit in. "Get Axew".

  "Move to the side, fire of a Dragon Rage", Mikey says simply.

  Totodile jolts forward, swiftly creating a water current around himself and shooting off in Axew's direction. The small dragon type starts gathering power in his jaw, taking only a few steps to the side, before shooting it into Totodile, knocking the water type from the mid-air.

  Two seconds later, Teo realises his partner's lying knocked out on the floor.

  There's no time for him to think about it.

  "Ember", Ves yells out instantly, "move in".

  "Protect", Vinnie responds quickly.

  The cinders spread across the field, only slightly damaging Axew, while Mimikyu block out the attack completely.

  The only thing Teo can do is recall Totodile. Bloodrush echoes through his ears. One move. Mikey got him with one move, immediately.

  Ves was screwed.

  "Now, Night Slash", Mikey orders, "get Mimikyu".

  It surprises Teo, that Mikey decided to attack Vinnie. Did he really come into this thinking it's a free-for-all".

  "Shadow Sneak, get Axew", Vinnie responds.

  "Ember, get them both", Ves orders up.

  Mimikyu is the first one to land an attack, slamming into Axew who, in turn, slashes at it with a Night Slash, making the ghost type's head hang to the side. Ultimately, both end up being showered with a wave of cinders.

  "Axew, go, move towards Houndour", Mikey orders up quickly.

  "Doom, keep your distance", Ves quickly decides.

  Teo has no idea what's going on, what the three of them are planning, or who's attacking who.

  Vinnie solves that mistery for him.

  "Dazzling Gleam, hit them both, Mimikyu", the girl yells out.

  That's when Teo figures out exactly what Mikey's doing.

  "Shit, Ember Doom", Ves yells out, "stop her attack".

  As Houndour sends his third wall of flames, they clash with the spreading fairy tyoe energy, canceling it out. Axew takes the heat on, but whitstands it.

  "Now, Night Slash again", Mikey orders readily, and his partner quickly slashes into Houndour. That prick wanted Ves to be forced into cancelling Dazzling Gleam, that would've most likely just knock out both Axew and Houndour. He created opening for Axew to attack Houndour. No, Teo thinks. Just by having his dragon type run towards Houndour, he created a situation for Vinnie to use that attack. He baited both of them.

  Houndour flies towards the ground in one fell swoop. Somehow, he manages to get back up to his feet, but Teo can see he's barely standing.

  Vinnie's the first one to react. "Now, Shadow Sneak, get Axew", she orders up.

  "Take it, retaliate with another Night Slash", the blond boy says with a smirk.

  In a flash, Mimiky appears beside the dragon type, landing an attack, only to get blown back in a matter of seconds.

  "Now, Bite", Ves says immediately. Houndour manages to run forward, aiming for Axew. It all happens so fast. Mimikyu's knocked out, Teo realises. It was one on one. Houndour was heavily damaged, but Axew wasn't lagging behind. Ves could win this.

  "Take the attack, hold him, hit with Dragon Rage", Mikey orders, as Houndour runs in for an attack.

  The black dog sinks his teeth into the dragon type, who starts gathering energy into his mouth yet again. A dark type move definitely did some damage, but it wasn't enough, Teo thinks, as Axew slides Houndour to the side, sending the black dog flying back with a Dragon Rage.

  It doesn't take them too long to realise, Houndour's been knocked out as well.

  Fine. Teo can deal with a fact that Axew is a dragon type, Ember won't hurt him much. Taking both Shadow Sneak and Bite, however, seems absolutely broken. Until Teo remembers Shadow Sneak is a priority move that lacks in power, and Ves had basically developed Bite yesterday. Still, Mikey was insane, as insane as Joe and Henry, and that said much.

  "Okay, went as well as I expected", Ves says as he recalls his partner, but Teo can clearly see the dissapointment on his face.

  "Went exactly as I expected", Mikey laughs, "the two of you really need to train more".

  "Whatever", Vinnie crosses her arm as she rolls her eyes, "I'll get both of you one of these days, just you wait".

  "Sure, go ahead sis", Mikey pokes at her.

  Teo doesn't want to say anything. Unlike the three of them, he couldn't even land a single attack. He knew Mikey and Vinnie were highly ranked, but hell, weren't those rankings based on written exams? Was he really that far behind the top ranked students. Hell, even Ves managed to get a few hits in. A feeling of unease sinks into his stomach.

  "Please, refrain from challenging me again", Ves sighs, "or from being in my general proximity".

  "Now, come on, don't be bitter about this", Mikey rolls his eyes, "we did invite you to be on our team, but you said no, obviously your training is not going well when you're surrounded with people like that".

  "What is that supposed to mean", Teo hisses lowly, taking a step forward.

  "Calm down", Mikey simply waves him off, "I'm not insulting you, I'm just stating facts, everyone on our team has trainers for parents, it's only natural that we know how to train more efficently".

  "Okay, Mikey, stop", Ves sighs.

  "No, no, let him go on, I want to hear it", Teo says, "so you think just cause you have money, you're better than everyone else".

  "I did not say that", Mikey says, "but yes, finances do tend to help with training and pokemon development".

  "So, you're a trust fund prick who thinks he's better than everyone else, huh", Teo says firmly.

  "No", Mikey's voice turns harsher, "I was not the one who mentiojed money, you were, so obviously you have an issue with it".

  "Yeah, cause you obviously think you're better than me because you're rich", Teo retorts heatedly.

  "I think I'm better than you because I know what I'm doing", Miekey hisses back at him, "money has nothing to do with it, I'd be better than you even if I was dirt poor".

  "Would you?", Teo hisses, "if you were dirt poor would you be so much better than everyone else? Would you even have that Axew of yours?".

  Mikey steps back, and Teo knows he had struck the chord. "Who cares, even if I had a different pokemon I'd beat you for sure, did you even learn to control your Absol?".

  "I did not, but that's none of your bussines", Teo rolls his eyes, "if I bought myslef a perfect partner, I'd be kicking ass as well".

  "That's a bold assumption", Mimey rolls his eyes.

  "Well, I would", Teo crosses his arms.

  "Listen up, dude, money's just money", Mikey leans in closer to him, and Teo really wants to punch him, "but money doesn't win you battles or make you the best, and be sure, I am the best".

  "Just cause you ranked 1st on some stupid written exam", Teo laughs.

  "Even if I ranked 300th, I'd claw my way to the first place", Mikey says lowly.

  "That's what", Teo starts.

  "Alright, that would be enough", Miss. Young decides to cut their little argument short. "I'm a firm believer in letting students settle their own differences, but I can't exactly let the two of you throw hands", she smiles mischeviously, "it would be bad for school's reputation, and worse, I'd have to give a police report". Teo can't help but wonder if all the professors in this school are slightly insanse.

  "Whatever", Mikey is the forst one to step back, regaining his demeanor almost immediately, "I won, that's the bottom line".

  "I'll beat you next time", Teo scoffs, "that's a promise".

  "Don't make promises you can't hold", Mikey winks at him, and Teo can feel his blood boil. This guy really has a gift of getting on Teo's nerves. The way he carries himself, the way he says whatever he wants, it's as if he was specifically crafted to get under his skin. Mikey's basically what would happened if Joe and Ace had a very annoying love child, and the said child had a trust fund.

  "Let's just go", Ves whispers over to him, "please, before Vinnie gets to say anything".

  One look at Vinnie tells Teo, she wasn't about to say anything. Instead, she's silently standing, gripping Mimikyu's pokeball, staring at it as if she's willing her partner to get stronger. He's not sure what Ves had against her. She seemed perfectly nice to him, albeit a bit frantic.

  "Fine, not that I want to be here anyways", Teo says, turning around to leave.

  Ves breathes out a sigh of relief as soon as they walk out of the that room, and all but darts down the hallway towards the healing area. In there, they quickly start up one of the machines, placing both Houndour and Totodile's pokeball. Ves figures out how the thing operates pretty quickly, and Teo is surprised to find how good with technology he actually is.

  As soon as their pokemon are healed up, Teo suggests going back to their dorm room. Aqua Shot is not working out, and after losing to Mikey, training is the last thing the boy wants to do. Ves protests, but Teo quickly argues that they should continue working on diet and grooming research. The faster they finish that up, the sooner they can start taking care of their pokemon. In the end, Ves gives up, and the two of them gead for the dorms.

  *****

  Inside their room, they find Ace, who has his nose burried in research, and Joe, who's in cleaning mode. At least the place smells nice, Teo thinks.

  Reluctantly, he slides his cahir, sitting down next to Ace. "Did you see my notes?", he asks carefully.

  "Yes, I saw them", Ace says immediately, "they were good, but you could've done the same thing for our pokemon as well, you know".

  "I couldn't scan them since you weren't there", Teo reminds him.

  "Dude", Ace sighs, "you could've just search for them in the pokedex, you don't have to scan them".

  "Wait, you can do that?", Teo asks in surprise.

  "Of course you can", Ace says as he rubs his temple, "you can look up general information for any pokemon, scanning really only gives you specific information on the pokemon you have, like movepool and all that".

  "Oh, I had no idea", Teo scratches his head, "sorry, I'll do it right now, I need to get my mind off of things anyways".

  "No need, I already did it", Ace sighs, "what do you have to get your mind off of anyways".

  "A lots of things, really", Teo sighs, "we tried teaching Totodile Aqua Shot, which didn't work".

  "What the fuck is an Aqua Shot?", Ace gives him a look of utter confusion.

  "It's a new move we made up, well, Ves made it up", Teo explains, "it's like Cinderace's Pyro Ball, but it uses water energy instead of fire".

  "Uh, Ves came up with a move that doesn't exist?", Ace furrows his brow, "is that even possible".

  "I don't see why it wouldn't be possible?", Teo shrugs.

  "Well, for once, Cinderace has fire producing organs in his legs, that's why he can pull of that move", Ace points out, "I don't think Totodile can do that, just from the biological perspective".

  "I think that it's possible", Joe says calmly.

  "I don't see how", Ace challenges, "all of the organs Totodile uses to produce water energy go through his mouth, I don't think there are any in his legs".

  "He uses Aqua Jet, though", Joe scrstches his chin, "for that one, he releases water energy through the pores in his body, creates water and controls it to make a water veil".

  "Right, right", Ace nods, "but doing that with just his legs, I don't think he could gather enough energy to create a ball".

  "Yeah, that is a tough part", Joe thinks about it, "but it is at least theoretically possible to pull of a move like that".

  "Theoretically", Ace agrees.

  "Right, it's my fault", Ves sighs, "I didn't really think about all of that, I just thought it might work, and that it would work with Tots's fighting style".

  "It's not a bad idea", Joe says, surprising Teo. He still refuses to look at Ves. "It's just not really easy to pull it off in Tots's case".

  "Yeah, biology aside", Ace adds, "creating a whole new move is like super hard to do, and Totodile is still super young".

  "Fine, I get it", Teo sighs, "I gave up on it anyways".

  "No need to give up on it", Joe says, "it is a good idea, just don't expect to have it down immediately".

  "Right, giving up is not an option", Ves nods.

  "We'll see", Teo says, "did the two of you have any more luck?".

  "Not really", Ace admits, "Rocky's doing well, but Private still won't train".

  "Well, that means you're doing better than I am", Teo shrugs.

  "Yeah, well, we discovered that Kafka only wants to use Dissarming Voice when Billy Joel is playing, so that's something", Ace sighs.

  "What?", Ves raises his eyebrow.

  "He doesn't want to use it, he just likes Billy Joel, he tries singing along, and accidentally uses the attack", Joe sighs.

  "Billy Joel?", Teo wonders.

  "Yes, Billy Joel, he doesn't want to sing along to anyone else", Joe finally stops the cleaning, "I've tried every artist I know, but no, only Billy Joel, I am already getting sick of his entire discography". He stares at Espurr, who's sat on the edge of the bed, twisting some box around. "You know, if you had to pick a balladier, I would've appreciated it if you chose Adele". Espurr gives him a blank stare as an answer.

  "Well, that is... fun", Teo concludes.

  "Yeah, it was definitely...fun", Ace says, "you two had anything else happen?".

  "We did run into Ves's siblings", Teo shrugs.

  "They approached us", Ves clarifies.

  "Yeah, apparently, Vinnie wanted revenge for Canalave", Teo says, looking at Ves, "what's up with that".

  "Nothing special, we had a free-for-all back during the trip, and Vinnie was a colateral damage", Ves shrugs.

  "And?", Joe questions, "did you battle?".

  "Yeah", Teo says.

  "So, how did it go?", Ace inquiers.

  "Well, apparently, it was a famy matter, so Mikey one shot me immediately", Teo sighs, "then he proceeded to outplay Ves and Vinnie".

  "He knocked out all three of you?", Ace raises his eyebrow.

  "Yeah", Teo nods.

  "So, he's strong as well", Joe says absentmindedly.

  "Yeah, he clutched out a win back in Canalave as well", Ves attempts, but Joe ignores him.

  "He is pretty good, and pretty annoying", Teo confirms, "I really don't know what the deal is with your family, Ves".

  "Nothing", Ves shrugs.

  "You hate them?", Teo guesses.

  "I... I don't know, no, I just... they are just like that, I don't really like them", Ves stumbles around.

  "I mean, I get Mikey, but Vinnie seems okay", Teo raises his eyebrow.

  "She has her issues, so don't get any ideas", Ves almost hisses.

  "Oh come on dude", Teo hangs back in his chair, "she is like, the second hottest chick I've seen in this school, you should set me up".

  "I am absolutely not doing that", Ves says firmly.

  "Wait, who's the hottest girl you've seen?", Ace wonders.

  "That Masha chick", Teo says immediately, "she's definitely a number one on my list".

  "Eh, she's not really my type", Ace shrugs.

  "Well, then, which girl is the hottest in your opinion?", Teo questions.

  "I mean, I never saw Vinnie, but like Maria and Mai are pretty hot if you ask me", Ace admits.

  "The two of them?", Teo raises his eyebrow, "your taste is weird".

  "Fuck off", Ace rolls his eyes.

  "If I show you Vinnie, you'll change your mind", Teo states.

  "Hey, you two, no one's dating Vinnie", Ves hisses at them.

  "It's not like you can stop us", Teo smiles.

  "Dating Vinnie is a bad idea", Ves crosses his arms.

  "Oh, you're protecting your sister?", Teo pokes at him.

  "Half-sister", Teo notes, "and I am protecting you, not her, believe me".

  "We'll see about that", Teo laughs, "which girl is tge hottest in your opinion?".

  "Masha", Ves deadpans, "and Leah's pretty hot as well, too bad she's a lesbian".

  "Leah's like a 6 out of 10", Teo argues.

  "Alright, stop it", Joe says, "this is really uncomfortable, stop talking about girls like that".

  "My God, you're one of those", Teo rolls his eyes.

  "I just think objectifying anyone's not really nice", Joe retorts calmly.

  "Well, then, who's the hottest dude?", Teo gives him a wry smile.

  "I just said I don't want to objectify", Joe protests.

  "Come on, you had to have thought about it", Teo rolls his eyes, "well, we already know it's either Henry or Marc in your case".

  "They are just friends", Joe crosses his arms.

  "Well, who's the hottest guy then", Teo persists, "and yes, you can say it's me".

  "It's definitely not you", Joe sighs.

  "Now, no need to lie", Teo rolls his eyes playfully, "we all know that there's no one hotter than me in this school".

  "Dominic's better looking", Joe says uncertainly, after what seems like a careful consideration.

  "Alright, new rule", Ves yells out, "do not look at anyone on Mikey's team ever again, they are all out of commission for you".

  "Oh, right, Dominic's that guy", Teo remembers their little run-in. "Eh, come on, that's clearly a lie, he's not hotter than me".

  "Teo, most of the guys are hotter than you", Joe sighs, "Marc and Henry, Lesley, Dean, even Sam and Ace are hotter than you".

  "You think Sam and Ace are hot?", Teo questions. Looking over at Ace, he notes the boy's small frame and almost translucent skin. "Ace is definitely not hotter than me", Teo concludes, his arms crossed. Even just the thought of it makes his stomach feel uneasy.

  "Just objectively speaking", Joe shrugs.

  "If you're going to lie just to make me feel bad, we're not doing this", Teo sighs.

  "I didn't want to do this in the first place", Joe states, "and is this really making you feel that bad?".

  "It's a joke", Teo rolls his eyes, suddenly remember that Joe did see him naked. Instinctively, he shrugs, covering his shoulders.

  "Look, I don't care about that", Ves says, "all I know, you stay away from anyone on Mikey's team, that's a recepie for disaster".

  "I'm not focused on romance anyways", Joe coughes up.

  "Oh, you're not?", Ace raises his eyebrow, "didn't you go on a date with Marc yesterday?".

  "It was a hang out", Joe protests.

  "Yeah, a two-person karaoke?", Ace persists.

  "It was not a very well thought out hang out", Joe says, "beside, Marc is straight, we are just friends".

  "Yeah, keep lying to yourself buddy", Ace says.

  "Quit it", Joe rolls his eyes.

  "Well, looks like Sam is the only one who can get a relationship", Ves concludes.

  "Oh, yeah, that chick is hot", Teo remembers Vanessa, "kinda sick that she's so much older, though".

  "Where is Sam anyways?", Joe queations.

  "Probably out, doing kissing practice", Ace states.

  "Yeah, not gonna lie, he has better luck than us", Ves sighs.

  "Why?", Joe says.

  "I mean, he's with a girl", Ves says simply.

  "That doesn't make him lucky", Joe offers, "she's so much older, and they barely know each other, it's not like they have much of a relationship, it's just making out".

  "Yes, but he is out there, kissing a girl, and we are here, studying diet and grooming".

  "To be fair, he is experiancing grooming first hand", Joe rolls his eyes.

  "Well, you know what I'm trying to say", Ves sighs.

  "Whatever, we will pass the year", Ace notes.

  "If all four of us pass the year, I'm pretty sure he passes as well", Teo reminds him.

  "If he stays dead last, I doubt it", Ace retorts, "there will be at least one person who passes on their own".

  "Right, so we will have a new teammate come next year", Ves concludes.

  "God, no", Joe says, "I don't really want a new person joining us".

  "Why not", Ace shrugs, "Sam's obviously avoiding us, not that it matters much".

  "What if someone worse comes along?", Joe points out.

  "Well, whoever it is, they will be someone who landed in top 50, so at least they won't drag us down", Ace says.

  "That's true", Joe seems to think about it.

  "I don't know, it feels kind of wrong talking about this, he didn't fail yet", Ves says.

  "But he probably will", Teo shrugs, thinking about how he was the one most likely to fail right after Sam.

  "Anyways, we should focus on studying and training", Joe says, "the plan is still that we're all trying to pass on our own, don't forget".

  "Right, that's still the plan", Ace nods.

  Teo knows, if three of them pass on their own, that would mean him and Sam have a chance of passing as well. Not that he likes the idea of being dragged along. But that was his unfortunate reality, Absol simply refused to obey him, and Totodile was basically a one trick pony, and everyone was starting to see through it.

  Absentmindedly, he picks up one of the empty papers Ace had laid out, making a paper plane out of it. As the other three boys keep talking about passing the year, he lets the plane fly into the air. It reaches the middle of the room, turning sideways into the air and starts spiraling towards the ground. Teo reaches for it, and tries again. The same thing happens again, the plane turns around, and starts circling towards the ground.

  A single thought makes Teo jolt out of his chair. "I'm going outside", he says.

  "What the fuck happened", Ace says in surprise.

  "I want to try something out", Teo says excitedly, already one foot out of the doors.

  He doesn't get to hear what his teammates have to say, as he had already made it out into the hallways. A series of staircases later, he finds himself on the platform in front of the dormutory. No need to go any further, he thinks immediately releasing Totodile. The small croc yawns as he appears, and starts staring at Teo immediately.

  "Hey, Tots I have an idea", the boy says excitedly, "I need you to use Aqua Jet".

  Totodile is more than happy to oblige, as he swiftly summons the water vail and hurls through the air.

  "Alright, but hear me out first", Teo laughs as soon as Totodile comes back to earth, "when you're in the air, try turning sideways, then make a circle with your Aqua Jet alright".

  Totodile gives a quick salute before jumping up again. The water type has no issue turning his body sideways, and starts creating the water circle in the air. Gravity does its job, and the pokemon starts spiraling towards the ground.

  Cyclon-like Aqua Jet, Teo thinks in satisfaction. Much harder to predict and counter. Next time, Mikey isn't going to counter him that easily.