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I looked down at my watch and saw that it was already 7:00 am, "Crap," I said under my breath, proceeding to wolf down the remainder of my breakfast. When I had finished, I rinsed my plate and put it in the sink. I turned to Marge paying her slightly more than what I owed her for the night and the meal, despite her adamant protests, and rushed upstairs and threw open the door with my telekinesis, not wanting to waste any time; I packed my bag as fast as I could. I was almost finished going over my checklist when I remembered that it was mating season... I knew that Onyx was definitely in heat, which showed through her extreme increase in affection; so it was a reasonable guess that the others were experiencing more or less the same symptoms. I knew Onyx and Bluebell well enough to be sure that they wouldn't try anything without my consent; Houndoom on the other hand, I hadn't known for very long which made her possible behavior an anomaly. I decided to take a precautionary measure and slipped a pouch of paralysis powder into my back pocket, promptly returning to the rest of my packing. When satisfied, I strapped into my backpack and bounded down the stairs.

I gave Marge a hug goodbye and said that I would call her as soon as possible and turned to my girls, apologizing for having to put them back into their luxury balls (the only pokèballs I ever use). It pains me to have to keep them locked up, but I didn't want to attract any extra attention. I just wanted to get to my training grounds un-pestered by other trainers and Pokèmon, I didn't want to risk my girls being harmed in some meaningless battle just before their training begins, and it is a long-ass journey to the nearest Pokècenter. Although, that was one of the reasons that I loved the little cottage of Marge's, it was the perfect place to get away from it all--at least for a little while anyways--and its proximity to the training grounds I'd created was unparalleled. I took a breath of the crisp morning air and set off down the road to the west, towards Lake Verity, enjoying the sound of the crunching gravel beneath my boots; a sound I'd become all too familiar with over the years of growing up as a trainer... The solitude was both a curse and a blessing, especially for a half-breed like me. It wasn't all that bad though--at least I had my girls to keep me company... Especially Bluebell.

I shook my head, clearing away the past as I focused on the task at hand: getting to my training site without attracting any attention. I took a deep breath and honed my senses, kind of wishing my mind was as powerful as my mother's or sister's, then it would be a simple matter of merely sensing the consciousness of any nearby trainers and avoiding them... Regardless, after heightening my senses I managed to spot a trainer coming my way before he spotted me; a young kid, 'no way this kid will let me go without a battle...' I thought to myself as I climbed a tree by the side of the road, waiting for him to pass.

Unfortunately for me, he decided to stop for a picnic-under the very same tree that I was hiding in... I mumbled several curses at my bad luck and climbed higher into the tree as quietly as I could. Unfortunately, again, I'd managed to startle a couple of Starlys that had been resting and I lost my grip as one of them--male by his obvious disdain for me--pecked ruthlessly at my fingers. It felt like I'd hit nearly every branch of that damned tree as I fell, but I managed to cushion my fall with my telekinesis--barely--bringing on a rather large nosebleed from the effort.

"Ouch," I said unenthusiastically, my cover thoroughly blown.

"You okay mister?" the kid asked as I rubbed my head and stood up.

"Yeah... I've survived worse..."

"Well then, if you're fine... How bout you and I have a bit of a battle," he said, eyeing the pokèballs on my waist.

"Look kid, could we not, I'm on my way to train for an upcoming tournament and I'd rather my team be in pristine condition..."

"What's the matter mister, are you scared?" he said, vainly attempting to egg me on.

I knew this kid was going to press the issue, so I caved, "Alright fine, but I'll be the one fighting your Pokèmon." I said, flashing my battle certification card.

The kid obviously didn't know what the card implies, because any seasoned trainer would start sweating about now with the realization that I'm a powerful half-breed... Or disgust at my very existence, that happens pretty often as well. But this kid just smiled and threw out his Pokèmon without a care in the world.

A Turtwig... "Hey kid... Is this your first battle by any chance?"

"Yeah... how'd you know?"

"Just a guess... look... because It's your first battle you don't have to pay out to me when you loose okay?"

"Fine, but I'm playing to win..." he said, explaining things to his Pokèmon and getting into a battle stance, "Turtwig, use--" was all he managed to say before he realized his Pokèmon was already unconscious and I was standing right beside him.

"Look kid, no hard feelings, but I'm in a league of my own." I said, walking to pick up my backpack.

"That was... Extreme Speed... Wasn't it?" the kid said, picking up his Turtwig calmly.

"Yep..." I said, shouldering my backpack.

"You're a half-breed, aren't you..." he realized.

"MmHm..." I said as I passed him by. The look on his face told me that he was unsure about how he should feel about this. Part of him looked amazed: his mouth hanging open and his eyes distant. But he also looked angry: his brows furrowed and nostrils flared. And that's how I left him, without another word...

It was about another half-hour till I reached the spot on the fence where I had carved my initials. After making absolutely sure I wasn't being followed or watched--the 'battle' I'd just had still fresh on my mind--I hopped the fence and continued deep into the woods.

As I walked on my makeshift trail wondering where I should go first and who I should train first, I remembered that I had Houndoom with me and that I had worked with her so little. It had also been quite some time since I had trained with a fire type; the combination of these facts made me want to train her first so I resolved to find a spot somewhere where her flame attacks would not start a forest fire, and decided to head for the mountains first.

The walk there was long, but calming; I lingered on the sweet cooling feeling of the wind on my skin and the sound of its gentle caress ruffling the leaves in the trees, the serenity was interjected upon shortly here and there only by the mating songs of various bird Pokèmon. Feeling the immense calm of mind that I usually experience while traversing the untouched reaches of nature. Over the years I had grown quite fond of this kind of solitude and I closed my eyes in bliss... The smell of the leaves on the ground, the refreshing clean air, the sound of gently creaking branches in the wind. There was something ethereal about it, something I'm pretty sure I'd always love.

Opening my eyes, I spied a spot where a single ray of sunshine had broken through the barrier of branches and leaves and decided to pause an hour for a nap and some Sitrus berries to help revitalize me. Feeling the energy from the berries coursing through my veins and the rest from the nap clearing the last of the fog from my mind, I decided to continue my voyage with an increased pace. The forest was breathtakingly beautiful, a pristine wonderland yet untouched by the hands of man, all save a single, simple trail which served as the only sign that anyone had ever been there. I was in the middle of going over Houndoom's training exercises, finalizing the time-table, and working out how to avoid being roasted, when I reached the first major fork in the trail, right would have brought me to the lake and grasslands and left would take me to the deep forest and wetlands; I kept going straight, towards the mountains and caves, I checked one last time to be sure that I had brought enough burn cream and Rawst berries; and, finding everything to be satisfactory, continued along the path. I noted my surroundings as I walked, watching the foliage give way slowly to a short grassland and then a rocky crag.

It was around noon when I finally arrived at the flat sheet of rock that made up my mountain training grounds. I surveyed the scene, the landscape was mostly stone and dirt, a few shrubs and stunted trees here or there but nothing of concern, there were more than a few caves to be seen in the surrounding cliffs, but most of them were either dangerously unstable, or inhabited by Pokèmon that I wouldn't want to mess with. The terrain sloped at a gentle rate above and below the relatively flat section that makes up my actual training grounds. A simple stone sparring ring was set up in the center of it, and a broken down fridge someone had wedged into one of the larger crags served as a storage locker for some tools and gear for exploring the caves and climbing further up the mountain for high altitude training.

I unlocked the fridge and checked to make sure my gear was still there and intact and smiled when I found no problems. Eager to get started, I closed the fridge and set down my pack, walking over to the simple arena I'd created. I noticed that the chalk that I'd marked the ring with last time had all but faded away and I made a mental note to touch it up after this first round of sparring.

I released Houndoom and started stretching, instructing her to do the same. I then took off my shirt, and applied some sunscreen as I explained the routine to her. The first exercise was light sparing, no abilities, the first of us to have pinned the other to the ground would be victorious.