FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I slept for a time after that. When I finally woke the sun had risen well into the sky, which meant it was maybe four or five in the morning, unless I really misunderstood the human clock. Sara was nowhere to be found. Her backpack was gone from her room and the bed was neatly made around me. I thought she might just be downstairs and hopped from the bed to go check, but Clara stopped me before I had left the room. "Good morning Opal!" I turned from the door and back to the window to find Clara perched on the windowsill. The Espeon seemed to glow in the morning sunlight that filtered past her.

"Clara!" I ran to her and jumped onto the windowsill. I meant to land next to her, but I misjudged the size of the windowsill and slipped, bouncing into the window and then back into Clara. She grinned but kept her balance, and I felt a tug steady me onto the narrow ledge. I looked down and saw a purple glow fade from around me as Clara's psychic powers steadied me. I sat down next to her on the windowsill and felt suddenly much smaller next to her- though she took up almost half the window there was still plenty of room left for me. "Why are you here today? Do Flen and Sara know you're here?"

Clara nodded and the bell on her necklace chimed with the motion. "Sara let me in. Flen heard about what happened at school yesterday- Mrs. Jackson was really upset with Sara and John- so he decided to get involved. He's actually been trying to offer classes for young trainers for a while now, and your school 'fight' just convinced the school to let him give it a try."

I wasn't sure what Clara meant. "I don't understand... Flen is going to be teaching at the school?"

Clara laughed, her melody making me happier just for hearing it. "Not quite. Sara and John will be spending some time at Flen's gym instead of a full day at school, along with a few other children who already have Pokemon or have shown an interest in becoming trainers. They'll learn more about Pokemon in general- a bunch of history and some other boring stuff- and about battling and the gyms specifically. Flen visited John's parents this morning and I told Sara's parents earlier today, and they've all agreed to let them try it out. We'll have more kids join later, but Sara and John are going to be Flen's first students at the gym, starting later today. It's going to be fun!"

I still had the feeling I was missing something, so I looked down into the yard and I waited for Clara to say more. She seemed to be expecting me to say something, and she watched me silently, her tail waving back and forth under the windowsill. "So... Sara will be going to the gym after school, instead of coming home?" If Sara had already gone to school, then it meant I would be left here even longer without her, and my ears drooped at the thought. I didn't even get to say goodbye this morning.

"Uh-huh! Flen will be teaching her how to really battle, so you'll get to fight again with a real trainer there!" Clara's tail froze mid wag. "Um... not that Sara isn't a real trainer, I mean; just that... well...she's still new at it, and there's still a lot she doesn't know yet, you know?"

I nodded, remembering back to when Sara asking me to do the Quick Attack move yesterday. I still hadn't figured out what that meant. "So... she'll come get me before she goes to the gym? We'll be taking the class together?"

Clara looked at me and blinked. "What? No, silly, you'll be there already! Didn't I tell you? Sara didn't want you to be stuck here alone while she was at school, and she can't take you with her anymore, so you'll come with me first! You won't be stuck here or in your Pokeball all alone all day; you'll get to spend the day with the other Pokemon at the gym instead! You're not going to be stuck here all alone if I have anything to say about it." Clara smiled, but she seemed a little sadder for some reason.

My ears rose at her explanation, and I wagged my tail a little. I hadn't been looking forward to staying here all by myself while she was at school; the thought of being with other Pokemon and trainers was an exciting one. "Oh! That'll be fun, then; there are a lot of other Pokemon there?"

Clara nodded and hopped off the windowsill. "Lots! Come on, let's go eat, then we can go there and meet everybody. If you're lucky a challenger might come by. Then you could get to watch me fight!" I hopped to the ground and headed to the kitchen, running a little ways ahead of Clara. This was my trainer's home, so it felt right that I lead the way... even if I did stumble down the last few of the stairs. There was already food set out for me and I offered Clara some, but she turned it down, saying she had already eaten. I ate quickly and we left, Clara opening the door to the yard and closing it behind us. I heard a soft 'click' after the door closed and noticed a purple glow fading around the doorknob.

Clara saw me looking at the door and answered my unspoken question. "Sara's mother made me promise to lock the door when we left- humans lock it so nobody else can get in. Sometimes nasty pokemon or other people will try and get inside to take stuff, or do other mean things. With the door locked it's harder or even impossible to get in without the key."

I nodded, understanding the sense of it. "That makes sense... I wouldn't want just anybody being able to walk in and take my food or any of the other stuff in the house."

"Uh-huh! That's one of the reasons why people first started training Pokemon. They wanted us to help protect themselves and their things. Sometimes wild Pokemon will attack people or houses to try and take things, or even for no reason but to smash stuff. When that happens trainers come together to fight them off. It hasn't happened here in a long, long time, though- since there's a gym here there are always a lot of strong trainers who can fight off anything that might attack us."

I nodded, listening as we walked together towards the gate in the fence, but Clara stopped as we came out from under the shade of the tree. She looked up at the sun for a moment, then back at me. "What is it?" I looked behind me, wondering if something was wrong with my fur or my tail.

Clara shook her head before walking again. "Oh... it's nothing; I'm just being silly. Don't worry about it. Come on Opal, let's go!" Clara laughed and broke into a slow run. I ran after her and soon forgot her odd behavior, instead focusing on following her to Flen's gym. It was fun to just run for a while, reminding me of some of the games I had played with Sara. We reached the gym after about twenty minutes of running, and we stopped in front of it to rest for a minute. I was a little tired from the run, though I could tell Clara had been holding back so I could keep up.

The gym was a large structure maybe twice the size of Clara's house. It had a large double-door in the front that lead to a small room set before the rest of the building. A big sign over the door with large letters read "Jyrrian City Official Pokemon League Gym." Otherwise it looked about the same as any of the other buildings we had passed on our way here- windows, brick walls, a roof, and all the other stuff that people put into their buildings. I finally caught my breath and we headed into the gym.

The doors parted on their own as we neared them- there was no purple glow that seemed to give away Clara's power; the doors just opened. I stopped and looked at them closer to try and figure out what had opened them. Clara answered my question before I could ask. "Yeah, they do that... it's creepy until you get used to it, but the doors will open whenever something comes near them. It's some sort of machine, but it works pretty well. Come on!"

We kept going through another set of doors and into what Clara called a lobby. There was a hard black carpet at the entrance that made my paws itch a little as I walked over it. The rest of the room was tiled like in Sara's kitchen, and I slowed down, knowing from experience that running over the tiles was a bad idea. Stopping wasn't nearly as easy as starting. A couch and a television were in the room, along with a few chairs scattered around. There was also a desk near the left wall, and though the rest of the room was empty of people, a lady was waving at us from the desk. Clara walked up to the desk and hopped up onto it. "Hi Tammy!"

"Welcome back, Clara! So, is this the famous Opal we keep hearing about?" Tammy smiled at me as Clara nodded.

"Yep! Sara's going to be part of Flen's class, so he's going to spend the day here until she gets out of school. I think he'll like it better here than being alone all day, and I thought I could teach him a few tricks to help him out."

Tammy looked back at Clara, still smiling. "You'd better talk to Flen about that! You know he doesn't like you giving away all his secrets, especially without even asking him first. He likes feeling important, and if you teach Opal everything then he won't have anything left to teach!"

Clara laughed and looked back to me. I was still standing on the black mat near the entrance, just listening to the conversation. "Come on, Opal, she won't bite you!" I felt a gentle tug- not forcing me anywhere, but just enough to let me know Clara wanted me to come closer.

"Hi Tammy..." I know she just heard a string of "Vee" and "Eevee", but I felt I had to say something. I walked up to the desk but stayed on the ground instead of jumping up next to Clara. Tammy seemed to be just fine with that, smiling down at me again before turning back to Clara.

"Flen's in his office... though I guess you know that already. You should probably go check in on him- you know how he gets whenever he gets excited about something. Do you want me to show Opal around?"

Clara nodded. "Yeah, I should let him know I'm back..." Clara's voice changed, slightly, becoming lighter. "Will you be okay without me for a little, Opal? I'll have Tammy take you to somebody who'll work with you for a while, until I'm free again?"

I nodded- I didn't really want Clara to leave me with a stranger, but I didn't want to keep her away from Flen. "That's fine."

Clara nodded and spoke to Tammy again. "That would be great if you could. Do you think you could bring him to Seth for a while? He's used to training with younger Pokemon; it should be okay for him to take care of Opal for a little bit?"

Tammy shook her head. "Seth isn't here today, he was covering the night shift last night. What about Todd?"

Clara grimaced at the name and shook her head. Her eyes kind of lost focus for a second, and her whiskers twitched a little, before she answered. "No, no... um... is Perry here today?" Tammy nodded, stepping out from behind the desk. "That'll work, then! Just tell him to take good care of Opal, and I'll be back later to take over. You'll have lots of fun, Opal. Oh, and don't run down the bleacher stairs; they'll get you if you aren't careful. Bye for now!"

Clara started walking towards a door to the side of the room, but Tammy headed to another set of double doors opposite the one I came in at and beckoned me towards it. "Come on, Opal, let's go find Perry for you." Clara paused and nodded at me, so I made a mental note about her warning and followed Tammy through the next set of the double doors.

The next room was simply huge- it was nearly the size of the entire gym. A flat field dominated the center of the room, marked out with white lines and raised stones, and surrounded by stands of benches. There were five trainers in the field, a group of Pokemon around each one. Two of the trainers were having a fight at the time, but Tammy led me to a trainer who was kneeling on the ground and talking to a Wartortle. Tammy called out as we came near, interrupting the conversation. The Wartortle looked at me with a startled expression, but it hardened almost instantly, and I got the impression I had annoyed him somehow. The trainer- who must have been Perry- stood up and waved to Tammy. They started talking to each other, but the Wartortle approached me, distracting me from Tammy's conversation.

"Who are you?" The turtle Pokemon had a gruff voice, and his tone was clearly annoyed. His expression had hardened from annoyance to anger, and it shocked me.

"I'm Opal; who are you?" I kept my tone light and gave a quick wag of my tail, then sat down and looked around. Perry had two other Pokemon by him- a Meowth, who seemed completely uninterested in... well, everything beyond his paw, which he was licking intently- and a shy Oddish, who I could just barely see peeking out from behind Perry's leg. I waved at it- a quick wag of my tail in its direction- and it shrunk farther behind Perry's leg. After a few seconds it peeked out again, then waved back by folding one of its head leaves down and back up again.

The Wartortle shot a quick glance back at the Oddish and scowled at it before looking back at me. "Perry calls me Shells. I'm his strongest Pokemon, and the three of us were practicing. You're interrupting us."

I shrunk a little, confused, and leaned away from the Wartortle. "Sorry... I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just... I'm just here to... I'm not really sure, I'm just here until my trainer gets here from school..."

The Meowth gave a choked laugh and looked at me for the first time. The Wartortle glared harder at me and launched into a tirade. "This isn't a daycare, Oval! If you're going to hang around with us, you're going to train with us!"

I slinked down further and tried to disappear into the floor. "My name's Opal..."

"I don't care what your name is! If I want to call you 'Mud' then I'll hit you with Water Gun and call you Mud! Now get up and run!"

"Wha..."

"RUN!" Shells shouted and took a step towards me, seeming suddenly much larger. I squeaked an "Eve!" and scrambled away from the Wartortle, breaking into a run. The Wartortle followed and shouted after me. "We're going to run around this field until we find the end of it. So let's get moving!"

I spared a quick glance behind me at the Wartortle. He was a ways behind- he was a lot slower than me, probably because he was heavier- but I didn't want to find out what would happen if he caught up with me. "But this is a circle. It doesn't have an end..."

"DID I SAY YOU COULD SPEAK? RUN!!" The Wartortle put on some speed and began catching up so I looked back ahead and focused on running faster. As we ran past I could see the Meowth laughing, rolled over on its back and shaking. Tammy was also laughing as she watched us while Perry just shook his head. Some of the other Pokemon and trainers were watching us (and a Nidorina even started to run along with us until its trainer called her back), but I was focusing on running too much to pay much attention them. Though I was still scared of the fearsome Wartortle chasing me, after about the second or third lap around I realized I was enjoying the run- other than a few nights playing outside with Sara I hadn't had much of an opportunity to just run.

Eventually- I had long since lost track of the number of laps- Perry interrupted us. "Shells, Opal, that's enough; come on back." I checked behind me to make sure Shells was going to stop first, and found the Wartortle already on his way back to the center. When I got back to the group Tammy was gone and Perry was sitting down on the ground scratching the Meowth's ear. Shells walked right up to Perry and started stretching. I wasn't sure how to duplicate that stretch, and I didn't know Perry or any of his Pokemon that well (Shells had just chased me all over the gym, after all!), so I stopped a few steps away and stretched out on the ground. The run had pumped me up and I wagged my tail back and forth happily. Perry smiled at me and waved. "Tule, Felix, this is Sara's Eevee. Shells has already met him, obviously, but his name is Opal. Sara and Opal are going to be learning from Flen, and he'll be learning from us while she's at school. There's no hope for Shells anymore, but you two be nice to him- he's Clara's friend, and she'll be keeping an eye on him when she isn't busy." When Perry mentioned Clara the three Pokemon each had a different reaction. Shells grinned, while the Meowth looked surprised and examined me closer, and the Oddish's eyes just went wide in an awed expression as she backed up a step. Perry ignored their reactions and kept talking. "Opal, it's nice to meet you, and I hope you're not too upset about Shells' behavior; he can be a little high strung sometimes. This is Felix"- here Perry pointed to the Meowth- "and this is Tule"- Perry pointed to the Oddish. "They're my Pokemon, and are all very strong ones in their own ways. They should be able to teach you a lot if you pay attention. From what I understand you've already been in a short battle... but I think you still might like to see an official trainer battle. That sound like a good idea to you?"

I hopped back to my feet with a quick "Vee!" and nodded, remembering the television show Sara and I had watched last night. I thought for half a second about taking a part of the fight, but it seemed wrong to fight without Sara there. Perry probably wouldn't understand me anyways so I decided to just watch for now.

Perry stood up and waved to another trainer. "Hey, Todd! Are you up for a battle? I want to show Opal how it's done."

The other trainer stood up and drew a Pokeball from his pocket. "Sure." His voice was barely a whisper, and I wasn't certain if I had just imagined him talking. He pointed the Pokeball at the ground and a Nidorino emerged from the resulting beam. It stretched and gave a quick bark, a sharp "Nid", then turned to face Perry. The other trainers and Pokemon backed away from us until there was plenty of room for the battle. Felix sat down in front of and to the left of Perry, and Tule stopped behind one of Perry's legs. Before then I hadn't imagined that a plant could look nervous, but Tule pulled it off, bouncing from one leg to another with her leaves drooped. Shells just looked ready. He was leaning forward and swiping the air in preparation, watching the Nidorino. Todd's Pokemon was unmoving but returned the stare, and sparks seemed to fly between the two Pokemon.

"Ready Shells?" Perry glanced down at the Wartortle, who gave a quick nod without looking away from the Nidorino. "Okay then- rapid spin!"

Shells took a step forward with his right foot, his arms and body facing left. Before he could move any farther Todd whispered to his Pokemon "Horn attack."

The Nidorino lowered his head and started to charge, the spines on his back glittering in the gym's light. Shells twirled forward- standing on his right foot for a moment, he spun his hands and body to the right, lifting himself off the ground and into a spin. He tucked his head and limbs into his shell and spun even faster until he was just a blur. The flying shell hit the ground at an angle, and the spin caused it to shoot forward towards the charging Nidorino. The two met in the middle with a loud bang, and they both went flying back the way they came. The Nidorino twisted from the force of Shell's spin, and the Wartortle was launched into the air from the force behind the horn. The Nidorino slid a few feet before coming to a stop, shaking its head in annoyance; Shells popped out of his shell and landed in a crouch.

Felix started giving an explanation of the fight as I watched. "That's a standard opening from both trainers in this type of match. Shells and Feren don't have a clear advantage, so they're warming up and testing each other. Rapid Spin and Horn Attack are both mid-level attacks- they can pack a decent enough punch, but they aren't too spectacular as far as moves go; they just hurt to get hit by. A bit like your Tackle move, for instance."

The trainers called out new commands- Todd whispered something I missed, but Perry yelled out "Protect!" to the Wartortle. The Nidorino- Feren- started to rush forwards again, but Shells stood in place and braced himself. The Wartortle raised an arm and exhaled, and suddenly everything beyond the Wartortle shimmered and took on a bluish tint. The Wartortle shifted, and everything slanted towards the left suddenly- the Nidorino, Todd, the bleachers all wavered a foot or two to the left. Feren turned a little in his charge and continued onwards, then impacted- or at least he seemed to think he did. The Nidorino lowered his head and jabbed his horn through a complex maneuver, five rapid fire strikes- straight into the empty air right of the Wartortle. It was a clean miss, and his momentum carried him past the Wartortle.

"That's Shells' Protect move. It's mostly used by Psychic pokemon, but he manages to pull it off using a fine veil of water. It's really good at keeping him from getting hit- some trick of light or something makes the other Pokemon think he's somewhere else. The strongest Psychic Pokemon can just make you think they're somewhere else. It doesn't always work- larger attacks hit enough of an area that the accuracy isn't as important, and the angles don't work quite the same way for Pokemon that are smaller than Shells, but it's usually a good save against a stronger attack. It gets less reliable the more often it's used, too. Opponents will start to figure out the trick to the distortion and aim to make up for it. Feren used Fury Attack, which is basically a more advanced version of Horn Attack- it's a series of five short attacks that don't do much damage on their own, but add up real quick if you get hit by enough of them. It's the strongest move Feren happens to know, which is why Perry had Shells avoid it."

The Nidorino looked frustrated, and I got the feeling he had been the victim of that particular trick before. The trainers were quick to respond- Perry called for an "Aqua tail" while Felix was still talking, and Todd whispered something unintelligible in response. Shells' tail seemed to droop and took on a damp look as he spun in place, flinging his tail at the Nidorino. It impacted with a sharp "thwap" on the Nidorino's side, but it was the Wartortle that flinched away, cringing in pain. The Nidorino hopped away from the Wartortle, back towards Todd, and I saw some of its spines glistening. Shells dropped to a crouch, one hand on the ground, and I saw a series of red marks along his tail.

I blinked, not sure what had happened, but Felix was already explaining. "Those are some of the more complex moves a Pokemon can learn- Shells is a water Pokemon, and he just used a water attack; the Nidorino is a poison Pokemon, and used a Poison attack- Poison sting. When a Pokemon uses a move that matches his type, it gets some more punch behind it, and a lot of times the move will do something more than just hurt. Feren's attack just poisoned Shells, which is bad. He's going to gradually get weaker as this fight goes on."

I looked at the Wartortle, worried. "Shouldn't we stop the fight? We need to get Shells some help if he's been poisoned!"

Felix shook his head. "No, it's not quite like that- there's not nearly enough poison to kill him or even make him sick. It's not like eating bad food; it's just something that gradually makes you sleepy. The same thing happens with burns and freezes, which are other things that can happen in a fight- something in the Pokeball protects us so that it's never serious enough to kill or even scar you; it just hurts. More for some Pokemon than others." With that Felix glanced back at Tule, who covered her face with a leaf. There was obviously some story behind that but neither of them said any more. I didn't feel right prying into the shy plant's history so I looked back at the fight, where the two combatants were watching each other.

Perry called out to Shells. "We're almost done, Shells, hang in there! Skull Bash him!"

Todd smiled, and whispered another order to Feren. "Fury Attack."

Shells crouched down on all fours and focused, tensing up, and I felt a trembling in the air- I could tell that what he was about to do was going to be strong. He didn't move from there, and the Nidorino rushed at him again. This time the horn flurries landed dead on, slamming into the Wartortle's shell, knocking him back a few feet. Shells stayed on his feet, still focusing, but I could tell he was having trouble staying up- another attack like that would probably end the fight. Feren didn't seem much better off, walking in a limp that favored his left side. Despite the limp he still looked as if he could take another hit or two from the Wartortle.

Felix didn't say anything, so I kept watching. Todd gave the command for another Fury Attack- but before the Nidorino could move, Shells shouted, a drawn out "WAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!" The Wartortle charged forward, galloping on all fours, claws digging into the ground. He hit the Nidorino, hard, and the spiny Pokemon went flying into one of the low walls before the bleachers. It hit with a crash, bouncing off and landing onto the ground. For a moment, it looked like the Nidorino was going to attack again- it crawled to its feet and shook its head, looking at the Wartortle... but then it slumped back down to the ground with a soft "Iiin". There was a flash of pink and Feren vanished, called back to Todd's Pokeball.

For a moment I wondered what the inside of the Nidorino's Pokeball would look like. Felix interrupted my thoughts and brought them back to the battle. "And skull bash is the strongest move that Shells knows. It takes some time to prepare the charge, but it hurts a lot. It ends most of the fights Shells uses it in."

Todd walked over to Perry and handed him some paper he pulled from a pocket. "That was a good match. Shells is still just as strong as I expected he'd be. I'm not happy we lost... but I'm glad to still have challenges." Todd looked down at me. "You never know when the next one will come along. Maybe we'll have another strong Espeon on our hands soon, if Sara's worth all the time Flen's putting into her." With that Todd turned and walked away, juggling the Nidorino's pokeball in one hand.

Shells had stood in the middle of the field doing a slow stretch. When Todd walked off the Wartortle walked back to our group, looking at me with an air of pride about him. "That's a real battle for you, pup. What'd you think?"

I could tell he wanted to brag so I indulged him. "It looked hard... you're very strong; that skull bash was amazing. How'd you know how to do that, though? I've only been in one fight, so I'm not really sure what all I can and can't do- Sara asked me to do a Quick Attack, but I didn't know how to."

The Wartortle stretched again, leaning from side to side. "Some things you'll figure out how to do just by practicing and being in enough fights. Some you're just born with. Still others you can learn just by watching other Pokemon, or by seeing it demonstrated on a machine the humans have. This gym is known for one such machine; trainers who can beat Flen, or demonstrate a certain level of skill are given a machine that teaches the 'Return' move, which can be pretty nasty in the right hands. The best way to learn them is by practice and exercising- and don't worry, I'll make sure you get plenty of that while you're here."

Before I could respond, Clara's voice interrupted. "And how do you plan on doing that, Shells? Or did you forget that Opal is Sara's pokemon, and that they're both guests of Flen? That Sara asked Flen and myself to teach them, not you?" I looked behind me and saw Clara sitting on one of the seats in the bleachers. She hopped down and headed towards us.

Shells turned to face her with a grin on his face. "Hi, Clara... no, of course I didn't forget, I was just... you know, helping out. Explaining everything to him."

"I'm sure you were; thank you so much." Clara's voice was heavy with sarcasm, but it lightened. "Thanks Felix, Tule. I hope it wasn't a problem for you."

Tule's leaves drooped a little as the plant seemed to actually become terrified, but Felix didn't seem to mind Clara at all. "It was no trouble; we were happy to have Opal with us. He's welcome back anytime."

"Sorry about taking so long Opal. Flen and I were just... um... discussing a new battle strategy. Let me show you around the gym!" Clara started heading back towards the double doors we had come in through.

I followed after Clara for a few steps but stopped when I heard Felix mumbling. "Strategy my foot. She was probably playing fetch or some other game with him and Obsidian; it's impossible to keep her serious for long."

I looked back over my shoulder, still mid-stride. "Who's Obsidian?"

Felix blinked at me, and Shells stopped in the middle of another stretch. "Wow, he's got pretty good hearing. Can Clara hear that well too?"

"Yes, I can, but don't tell them that." I heard Clara's voice, but the Espeon kept walking away from us, and none of the other Pokemon made any indication that they heard her- she had just said that to me.

"Obsidian is Flen's Steelix... he's a real giant, but he's a lot of fun to play with." Tule blinked nervously, then drooped all of her leaves over her eyes and sat down on the ground. I wasn't sure what to say- I wanted to ask what a Steelix was, but Clara was still walking away from us. So instead I just smiled at the Oddish. "Thanks, Tule! I'll see you all again- it was fun." I gave a flick of my tail in thanks and ran off after Clara. "Hey, wait up!"

I caught up with Clara and she led me through the rest of the gym. The arena was the main part of the gym, but there were a lot of other parts to it. The reception area where Tammy worked was at the front end of the building, but the back and side had their own rooms. Clara led me briefly by each of the side rooms and explained they were offices for different people, before taking me to a large room in the back. This room was mostly a lounge area- there were benches and televisions for trainers to relax with, and lockers and cabinets where they could put valuables that might be damaged in battles. There were a few other odd machines I didn't recognize or understand, but what really interested me was when the room split into what Clara said was the Pokemon section. For most of the room the floor was a type of tile, but towards the left side the benches ended and a carpet began. It reminded me of the play room at the pet store, but with more care put into it- there were benches and pillows laid out randomly, and even a small pool of water with a fountain set against the wall. A Clamperl was at the bottom of the fountain, and she lazily opened her shell and blew bubbles at us when we walked by the fountain. Taken altogether it seemed a calm and peaceful place to rest and recover in.

After showing me the rest of the gym Clara led the way back to the arena area. Perry and Flen were talking together on one of the bleachers about four up from the bottom, and Flen waved to us as we walked through the doors. Clara bounded across the field to him, hopping up the stands with her split tail swishing through the air behind her. Flen knelt down and gave her a pat on the head. I walked across the field after Clara and took a second look around the arena as I walked. Other than myself and Clara there weren't any other Pokemon, and Perry and Flen were the only trainers- the rest of the large arena was empty. I jumped up onto the bottom bleacher but paused and looked up at Clara, waiting until she looked back at me.

"Where'd everybody go? Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine. The gym is just closing down early today since it's the first day of training for John and Sara. If a challenger shows up they'll just have to wait until tomorrow, and the other trainers are all off doing other things around town. It doesn't happen too often but it's not unheard of for the gym to close down for certain things. After today the gym will stay open; Flen just doesn't want any distractions for himself or for Sara or John on the first day. And, speaking of Sara and John..." Clara looked up past me and I turned around to see Sara walking through the gym's double doors.

Sara looked nervous at being in the gym, but she smiled and waved when she saw me. I hopped off the bench and ran to her, happy to see her again. "Hi Sara! How was school? I missed you, but I met some nice- and strong!- Pokemon here; there was a Meowth, and an Oddish, and a Clamperl, and a Nidorino, and of course Clara, and Flen has something called a Steelix, but I didn't get to see it, and there was a Wartortle, and he totally clobbered the Nidorino in a battle, and I got to watch, and... and..." I stopped talking, realizing that Sara was smiling at me. "You don't understand a word I said, do you?"

I heard Clara laugh, and looked behind me to the bleachers. "She's starting to understand some of what you mean, but I'll keep telling her what you say when I can. Come back over; Flen's ready to start now that Sara and John are here."

"It's okay Opal. And hi to you too! School was bbbbbooooorrrrrriiiinnnggg, but I'm glad to see you again! Are you ready to finally start these lessons?"

"Uh-huh! Come on, let's go!" Sara gave me a pat on the head and we walked back towards the bleachers. John was a few steps behind, looking down at the ground. He was obviously upset, but... there probably wasn't anything I could do. He looked up a little and glared at me, so I looked away and followed after Sara.

Flen and Perry met us in the center of the field. Flen started talking to Sara and John, but I quickly zoned out. It was a pretty boring talk- about what it meant to be a trainer, and the responsibility that went with it, and some of the challenges a trainer would face. It's not that I didn't like Flen, but what he was talking about just didn't seem interesting to me- it was more things that Sara would want to know, like different categories of battles and different types of PokeBalls, and to me it was just boring. After a while I stretched out on the ground and just let my mind wander.

I didn't even realize I was asleep until Clara's voice woke me. "Wake up, Opal! You'll like this... and... you're kind of in the way."

I jerked to my feet and looked around. I saw Perry and Flen standing on opposite sides of the circle in the center of the field- and that I was in the middle of them. Sara was standing a few steps away from me, looking back and blushing. "Um... Opal?"

Everybody was looking at me, and I was pretty sure Flen and Perry were laughing a little, so I scampered over to Sara. "Sorry, I... I kind of got bored." I drooped my ears and stayed close to Sara as we walked over and up to the fourth row of bleachers, where John was already sitting. He watched me with a smirk on his face as we sat down.

"Sleeping on the job? Guess your Eevee doesn't take this very seriously, does he, Sara?"

Sara glared at John. "At least my Pokemon's here. Where's yours at, anyways? Stuck at home in his Pokeball?"

John's smirk vanished into a frown. "That's none of your business. Let's just watch the fight."

John and Sara turned back towards the field and I sat up on the bench and followed their gazes. Flen and Perry each had a Pokeball in their hands and a pink glow was fading from between the two of them. Shells appeared before Perry, and he waved at me before turning towards Flen and stretching. Flen's Pokemon finished appearing, materializing into a large bird, its skin gleaming with a metallic shine. The Pokemon spread its wings with a clanging "Shing!" noise as its feathers rubbed against its side, and screeched a harsh "Sssssssskkkkkkaaaaa!" It shook and turned to Perry and Shells, its beak spread in a vicious grin.

Shells gulped and backed up a step and I could tell he was scared- I was scared too, looking at the creature Flen had summoned, and I knew it wasn't going to come after me. Next to me Sara gasped. "A Skarmory! I didn't know Flen had one of those; that's incredible!"

I looked up at Sara the same time John did. "What's a Skarmory?" Our question was in unison and John glared back at me. Sara didn't seem to notice, not looking away from the Skarmory. "I've only read about them in books. Skarmory are both Steel and Flying Pokemon. They're notoriously bad tempered and most trainers can't begin to control one. They love picking fights, be it with another Pokemon or even their own trainer. If a trainer isn't careful they'll deliberately ignore commands, even if they would have otherwise done it. Bringing a Skarmory into a fight is considered a desperate move- a trainer is effectively fighting two Pokemon instead of just one."

Flen made a clicking noise and the Skarmory settled back to the ground, a soft clinking noise coming from it as it moved. "This isn't going to be an official battle- this is just a demonstration- so we're going to bend the rules a little. Clara?"

Clara hopped down from her place on the bleachers and took a place on the edge of the field. She sat down and started glowing, the ground around her turning to a soft shade of purple. Shells glowed along with her, his blue skin taking on a purple hue. The Wartortle gasped and stretched his arms for a moment, before turning back to the Skarmory and settling back into a fighting position. His expression was focused now and much more confident.

"This would normally be a very uneven battle and it wouldn't be fair to ask Shells to fight Skary normally, so Clara's going to help even the playing field. What she's doing now is what's known as the 'Helping Hand' move. Instead of doing anything herself, with this move she's channeling her power through Shells so that his moves are closer to her level. In a real one versus one fight this would be illegal, so it's important you recognize this move- it means your opponent is using two Pokemon instead of just one. A lot of Pokemon can learn this move- Eevees learn this naturally, so Opal should already know it, and Growlithe learn it after a bit of training. It's pretty easy to spot when it happens, and it's perfectly legal to use in a two on two battle... but if you see a Pokemon doing it in a one on one battle, call off the match- your opponent is cheating."

Sara and John both nodded, looking back and forth between Clara and Shells. I looked at Clara and tried to figure out how she was doing the move. Flen had said this was something I could do... and after a few seconds something clicked. I saw an image in my head of myself concentrating on another Pokemon, with a stream of energy flowing from me to the other Pokemon. I looked up at Sara, certain I could do the same move. "Um... since this isn't a real fight, can I help too? I can do what Clara's doing; I can help Shells out too?"

Sara looked down at me with a confused expression on her face. Clara must have been too busy to translate for me, so I tried again. "Can I help too?"

Sara looked back to Flen. "I think Opal wants to help, too?"

Flen looked at me for a moment in thought before nodding. "That's fine with me if you don't mind, Sara. The practice would be good for him, and it's just a friendly match anyways. Come down here and help Clara."

Before I could move the Skarmory twisted its neck around and glared at Flen. "You want me to fight all three of them at once? What kind of a fool do you think I am?"

Flen returned the Skarmory's glare without flinching. "Well, I was under the impression you could handle Clara, a 'weak little Wartortle', and a baby Eevee. But, if it's too much for you, we can have Opal help you out instead, if you need it that badly."

The Skarmory hissed, and I realized it was laughing. After a moment it stopped and began talking again. "It's not good to have two Pokemon doing that particular move at the same time to the same Pokemon, and especially not when one of them is as much of a novice as Opal. Clara is smart enough that she could probably pull it off with somebody else who knows what they're doing, but Opal could easily make a mistake that would end up hurting Shells or Clara. It might be better for Shells if Opal helped me instead- if Opal messes something up I can overcome a bit of a handicap."

Flen's expression softened and I could tell he was thinking. "Hrm... I didn't realize that would be a problem. Well, if you're okay with Opal helping you, I don't see why we can't make this an official trainer match, with Clara and Opal as supporters instead of full combatants?" Flen looked to Perry.

"That's fine with me. No title, just a trainer match?"

"Of course- it wouldn't be fair for you to challenge a gym leader with my own Pokemon, after all." Flen and Perry both laughed at that.

I started running down the stairs, and about halfway down remembered Clara's warning from earlier that day. I tried to slow down, but before I could I ended up tripping, loosing my footing and falling down the last few steps. I thought I was going to hit the floor of the gym, and tried to get my feet down in front of me... but I stopped just short, floating just below the first step, a purple glow surrounding me. Clara looked at me with a grin. "I warned you about the stairs, Opal."

"Sorry..." I thought back to my earlier falls down stairs and drooped my ears. "That keeps happening..." Clara giggled and lowered me gently the rest of the way, but I just grimaced, imagining how John would probably make fun of Sara for that. Clara interrupted me before I could think too much about it. "Come on Opal; sit over here and think about using 'Helping Hand'." I nodded and moved to sit next to Clara. I thought of 'Helping Hand' again and, just like the image of 'Tackle', I saw an image in my mind of my energy flowing through to an ally. I imagined the Skarmory as the other Pokemon... and I immediately felt a lot weaker and light headed. Clara blinked and shook her head, and I noticed a light glow around Shells flicker and vanish. "Not so much, Opal; you'll hurt yourself! Imagine this move like when you're eating- you don't want to just shovel food in, you slow down and take little bites. Think of it that way and then try it again."

I shook my head and felt my strength return as the move's effects faded. I took a breath and concentrated again, thinking about taking little bites like Clara suggested. It felt weird at first, like I was being jerked back and forth, but after a few moments the move seemed to smooth out and the Skarmory took on a faint brownish glow. I could feel the Skarmory, could feel him drawing on the energy I was giving him, could feel him using it to augment his own strength. I was so engrossed in the move that I didn't even realize the battle had started- and finished. I felt a nudge and my concentration broke, and I looked up to see Clara standing next to me. The brownish glow faded from the Skarmory and I looked back up into the bleachers. Sara and John were clapping and Flen and Perry were shaking hands. Shells and the Skarmory both looked beat up and tired, so much so that it was hard to tell who had won.

I turned back to ask Clara who had won, but the room spun and I stopped in place. I suddenly felt very disoriented and drained, so I sunk down to the ground and shut my eyes. "That... that felt weird. Is it always like that?"

"No it isn't; you should hold still for a bit. It's not really a hard move to pull off, but... Skarmory is a lot more powerful than you are, and he's used to putting a lot of raw force into his attacks. Neither one of you knew your limits, so it ended up being a little too taxing on you. You just need more practice, preferably with a Pokemon that isn't so much stronger than you, or one who knows more about what you're capable of. But it does get easier. Here's Sara; just take it easy."

I felt myself being lifted into Sara's arms and I opened my eyes to look up at her. "Good job, Opal; you won! Well, I mean, you helped Skarmory win, but it was ssssoooo close, so you definitely made a difference!" Sara rubbed my ear and I instantly felt better. I was still light headed and tired so I didn't know what to say. Sara looked away from me to Clara, and after a moment I realized Clara was talking just to her. Sara looked back at me, looking a little worried but still obviously proud of me. "Go rest for a while, Opal; you deserve it." I heard a click and the world faded, replaced by the moonlit glade of the Pokeball. I stretched out on the grass and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up I was back in Sara's room, and I could tell it was late at night. Sara was fast asleep but had left the television set on a music channel again. I stretched and yawned quietly before hopping off the bed. The door had been left slightly open and I realized I was starving, so I slipped out and headed downstairs for food. Sara's dad was awake and in the kitchen, and after a little whining and tail wagging he filled a dish up with food for me. I ate slowly and thought back over everything that had gone by in the day. Flen's gym was amazing, and I couldn't wait to go back again, or to battle with Sara. I felt stronger already just from having watched and helped, though I felt a little disappointed that I had had so much trouble with the Helping Hand move.

After finishing dinner I followed Sara's dad into the living room. He was sitting on the couch watching television, so I hopped up on the couch and watched it with him. I didn't really understand what was on the television- I think it was a news cast, like the kind Sara watched sometimes, but it wasn't about a Pokemon match; it was about some far away place I had never heard of and research for something I couldn't even pronounce. I zoned out and thought more about the Helping Hand move instead. After a while I started feeling drained again, and I realized I was doing the move again- energy was leaving me and going to someone else. I shook my head and looked at Sara's dad, but he had fallen asleep and looked normal- no glow about him at all.

I got up and sniffed but there was nothing- no other Pokemon's smell, no hint of anything else. Clara's scent was recognizable but faded, and I couldn't imagine why she would be here now- it was probably just left over from her visit this morning. Thinking about it I started to feel a little scared, so I went back upstairs and slipped back into Sara's room. I nudged the door shut behind me with a soft click. Sara was still asleep, and the room was mostly dark- the television seemed to be on and was playing a flute melody, but there was just a black screen instead of a picture- so I hopped up on the windowsill and ducked under the blinds, looking out into the yard. For the briefest second I swore I saw a flash of silver in the yard and I squinted, searching for anything that might be out there. The moon brought a soft light to the yard, even though I couldn't see it directly. It seemed calm and peaceful outside, almost friendly, and try as I might I couldn't see anything. I felt the strangest urge to jump through the window and go outside... but before I could act on it something moved- a quick flurry of the shadows, a gentle rustling of bushes. I squinted, trying to figure out what was outside, but I just couldn't make anything out. I slunk inwards and hopped back to Sara's bed to hide under her covers. Eventually my fear was replaced with exhaustion, and the sound of the flute coming from Sara's television was very soothing, and I soon fell asleep for the rest of the night.

---

Sara's yard was still and empty... and then in an instant a silver Ninetales was simply there. She was leaning against the tree as a soft brown glow faded from around her, and she looked up at the sky with a wistful sigh, simply staring up at the stars.

She watched the sky for a while... then she slowly rose to her feet, turned with a swish of her tails, and vanished. The yard was quite and empty again, with no sign the Ninetales had ever been there.

With her disappearance the flute melody in Sara's room faded, reverting back to the silence of an off tv.