FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon or anything related to it, although it was pretty awesome if I did. However, characters and plot are mine. You can use them but let me know first and credit me for them ok?

Leon and Kairi entered Route 1, looking back at the houses of Pallet. Leon looked up at Kairi and smiled.

'You ready?' He asked. She shrugged.

'As ready as I'll ever be.' She replied.

'Good point.' Leon said as he took his Pokédex out and examined the Kanto region map. 'If we just head north from here, we'll find ourselves in Viridian City by nightfall today.' He turned off the Pokédex and put it in his pocket. 'Might as well get started.'

And so they did. But after half an hour in silence Leon yelled towards the sky, effectively waking Kairi up, who had fallen asleep on his shoulders.

'THIS IS SUCH A DRAG!'

'Keep it down will ya? There are Pokémon trying to sleep here!' Kairi protested.

'Sorry, but this is so boring! I wonder if the other Trainers die from boredom when they travel.'

'How about we play a game?' She suggested.

'Sure.' He shrugged.

'Okay... I spy... something... green.' Kairi slowly said.

'A tree?'

'Okay that was too easy... I spy something... gray.'

'A rock?'

'Dammit...' More silence for a while.

'So, you out of ideas?' Leon asked.

'I spy something big, brown and red.' She said a bit too quickly.

'Wow that's hard... What is it?' Leon asked after a second of thought.

'A WHOLE BUNCH OF SPEAROW! RUN!' She yelled.

'WHAT!?' He looked around. Effectively, a whole flock of them were approaching quickly, a murderous look in their eyes (when isn't there one anyway?). Leon sprinted as fast as he could towards the trees, trying to get cover from the flock. He zigzagged through them, tripping on a root but managing to regain his balance quickly. He looked back again and he saw that the Spearow were gaining terrain with every step.

'You don't happen to know any Electric-type moves do you?' He asked Kairi.

'Sorry Leon.'

'Dammit...' He looked back again and saw, astonished, that a Fearow had also joined the chase. 'CAN THIS GET ANY WORSE?' He asked to no one in particular. As if in response, something grabbed him by his rucksack and threw him into a hole in-between the roots of gigantic Sitrus tree. It was dark inside and he tried to leave but a male voice was heard.

'Do you rather stay here or be chased by the Spearow?' It asked.

'Uh... I think I'm ok here.' He replied, not seeing his savior due to the darkness. As his eyes got used to it, he could see the outline of a Pidgeot, who was taking a peek outside. He turned around to look at Leon.

'So, you can understand us.' It wasn't a question.

'How do you...'

'You answered my question while a normal human wouldn't.' He said. A whole minute of silence. Then...

'Thank you very much sir.'

'Please, call me Paul.'

'Thank you very much Paul. You saved our lives.'

'My pleasure, although I would recommend you only left this part of the forest tomorrow. The Spearow will be looking for you and that Fearow isn't the kind of bird that lets his prey escape. Don't worry; you can stay here with us.' He added, seeing Leon's worried face.

'Thank you again Paul. What do you say Kairi?'

'It's our best hope right? I say let's stay.' Paul nodded. Then, he took another peek outside.

'The Spearow are gone. Let's hurry up before they come back.'

'Right.'

Paul took off and Leon and Kairi followed him by foot. They walked for a while in silence.

'Do you think we can trust him?' Leon suddenly asked Kairi.

'I think we can. I examined his aura waves and they say he's ok.'

'Wait, what? What is that about aura waves?' Leon asked. Kairi facepawed.

'We Riolu, and Lucario even better, are able to detect someone's intentions by examining their aura. The aura is like your life energy that is emitted by yourself. We can detect it and even ''see'' it. Every aura has its color by the way.'

'So, what is my color?' He asked.

'Yours is a shade of green. It's actually very beautiful.' She replied, blushing a bit.

'Thanks!' He replied, smiling. They fell silent again. After walking or about twenty minutes, Paul stopped in mid-air and cried loudly. Suddenly, a whole flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto appeared from the tree tops, looking at them curiously.

'This human and this Pokémon were attacked by the Fearow Gang. I offered them our hospitality to spend the night here. Do you agree with this?' He asked them. A whole lot of 'yes' and nodding answered him. Leon sighed relieved. He turned to Kairi.

'Looks like we're good.' He turned to Paul. 'Where may I mount the tent?'

'Follow me.' He answered.

So they followed him with some of the Pidgey and Pidgeotto behind, curious about them. Paul led them into a clearing. Leon could see nests in almost every tree surrounding the clearing. There were little Pidgey playing in the skies, chasing each other. Suddenly, one of them made a sharp dive towards them, trying to get away from the other Pidgey, but failed to see Leon on his way. When he looked ahead again, he saw Leon approaching fast.

'Uh-oh...' Leon said, covering his face with his hands. The Pidgey tried to bang upwards but wasn't able to. Finally, almost an inch from Leon's face, he managed to pull to the side. Paul shook his head, sighing and approached him. The little Pidgey looked very nervous.

'I'm terribly sorry... I really am...' He stuttered.

'It's not me you should apologize Miles, but Leon.' Paul interrupted him.

'Hehe... right...' Miles flew until he was hovering right in front of Leon's face. 'As if he could even understand me.'

'You should be more polite y'know? There may people who can understand you when you're not aware.' Leon told him, scowling. The Pidgey looked at him, astonished. 'Yeah you brainless bird I can understand you loud and clear.'

'Oh my Arceus, you understand Pokéspeech!' Miles yelled, not sure whether he should be excited or just afraid of him. 'Wait until I tell the rest of the crew!' And he flew off to meet the other Pidgey who were looking in their direction worriedly. Paul sighed again.

'I'm sorry he has caused you trouble. Miles is known here for being carefree and always getting into trouble every day.'

'Nah. Don't worry. We're fine.' Leon said. 'Now, about that tent site you were going to show me?'

'Right. Follow me.'

Paul led them into the woods on the other side of the clearing and they walked again for a while. Suddenly, the woods ended and the riverbed started. A shallow river was peacefully snaking under the sunlight. Leon saw a Magikarp jumping out of the water a few meters down river.

'Will you be ok here?' Paul asked.

'Sure! Thank you for everything.' Paul was about to take off when Leon stopped him. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Sure.' He replied.

'Why did you help us? You could just leave us to fend off those Spearow by ourselves.'

Paul chuckled. 'Well, let's just say that I owe humans for my life. A few years ago, when I was a Pidgeotto, I was proud and arrogant. So I decided that I could take that Fearow, who was a Spearow back then but a very vicious one, by myself. In the struggle between us, I was about to faint when a huge flash of thunder interrupted us. Being the Flying-type he is, that Spearow, whose name fortunately I don't know, fled, leaving me there were I lay. I was too weak to even try to run so it didn't matter. When I regained my strength, I went down to the site of the thunderbolt and I saw a young boy and a Pikachu unconscious on the ground, surrounded by the rest of the Spearow flock. They must've come from your town because they were headed in the direction you were headed. I then realized that, if that human hadn't been there when he was, I would probably be dead. So, from that day on I always tried to protect humans from the Spearow, well, now Fearow Gang.'

_'That Trainer with the Pikachu, coming from Pallet... Is he?' _He asked, his eyes widening. 'Wow... what a story! Thanks for telling us that.'

'You're welcome. If you need me, I'll be in the clearing. If I'm not there, ask a Pidgey or a Pidgeotto to call me ok?' Leon nodded. 'See you then.' And he took off. Leon looked around the riverbank, trying to find a dry spot to mount the tent, as Kairi got off of his rucksack and ran to the river. She poked the water with her foot, discovering that the temperature was great. She hummed contentedly at the feeling as she soaked both her feet.

'This is great! Oh right,' She turned around. 'do you need help with the tent?' She asked Leon. He shook his head.

'Nah. Look.' He took the tent, which looked more like a disk of canvas than a tent, from the rucksack, unzipped a, well, a zipper and threw the disk up. The disk unfolded in mid-air, shape shifting into a spacious, six-person tent that looked more like a canvas igloo than a normal tent. Kairi looked in disbelief at the huge tent that appeared like nothing in front of her. Leon chuckled at her face. 'Pretty cool eh?' He asked. Kairi could only nod, still in shock that such a small disk could carry such a big tent. Leon got inside, taking the sleeping bag and unrolling it on the floor. Fortunately, the tent floor was a double layered one, making it as soft as a mattress. He quickly changed into his swimming shorts and ran outside, jumping into the river and splashing Kairi who, to his amusement, was still looking awestruck at the tent. Kairi shook herself and lunged at him, landing on his head.

'You shouldn't wet a lady you know?' She told him, looking down at him.

'Why?' He asked defiantly.

'Because she might do this!' She answered as she dove underwater and kicked the backside of his knee, causing him to yelp as he fell. Kairi threw herself at his head, keeping it underwater for about two seconds before letting Leon breathe.

'OK OK! Uncle! I give up!' He pleaded. Kairi thought for a bit, an evil smile forming on her face.

'Hummm... No!' And she threw his head down again. Leon squirmed and freed himself from her grasp, grabbing her foot.

'Gotcha!' He said triumphantly, holding her as she tried to free herself.

'Aww! No fair! You're bigger!' She protested, her upside-down frown only making Leon laugh.

'We even?' He asked her. She gave an upside-down nod and Leon threw her up. Kairi yelled as gravity took its toll on her and pulled her down but Leon caught her, still laughing.

'You should see your face!'

'Haha.' She said ironically.

He gave her a piggyback ride to the tent, grabbing the microfiber towel from the rucksack. She jumped from his back to the floor and he dried her first, making her look like she was a crazy fur ball as her fur stood on its hand. Leon busted out laughing again as Kairi frantically tried to make her fur look normal again. After he dried off, he put on his shirt again and got outside. He sat against a tree, looking around at everything. Kairi silently joined him, leaning her head against him. They sat there for some time, Leon scratching Kairi behind her ears.

_'Finally starting my Journey.'_He grimaced. _'Although I could do without the Spearow.' _ Leon smiled as Kairi hummed with pleasure from the scratching.

'You know, we should start training.' He told her. She nodded.

'I was wondering when we would.' She said, getting up. Leon got up too.

'Now all we need to do is find a clearing. I don't want a stray attack to damage the tent.' So they went back into the woods, searching for the said clearing. They found one not too far from the river bank. It was quiet and far enough from the Pidgey Clearing so that they wouldn't bother them with their training. Leon went to the middle of the clearing and turned around to look at Kairi.

'Okay! Now that we're all set, I would like you to show me what you know.' He asked her. Kairi nodded. 'Try hitting...' He grabbed a log and set it against a tree trunk. '...this log with each of your attacks, one at a time. Got it?'

'Yep!' She nodded, getting into a battle stance.

'Then go!'

Kairi focused, locking on the log. Suddenly, she approached and kicked the log, her leg bursting into flames. The log also burst into flames. Leon's mouth just fell open at that. She then back-flipped, landing nimbly on her feet, and dashed with an amazing speed, striking the log, making it shatter into tiny pieces. Leon clapped as she got out of her battle stance. She rubbed the back of her head, smiling.

_'Wow...Blaze Kick... She must have a Fire-type for a dad. Besides it, Foresight, and Quick Attack. Hum...'_Leon thought. 'Do you know any more moves?'

'Only Endure but I didn't know how to show it to you.' Leon nodded, searching for the Riolu entry on the Pokédex.

'Ok then. So, for this training session I want to try and teach you Counter. This is useful when the opponent attacks you and does some damage.' She nodded. 'So, I would like to try something: spar with me.' He said, taking his t-shirt off so that it wouldn't get soiled or ripped from the training.

'Wait what!? Spar with you? Really?' She asked, a surprised look on her face.

'Why not? It will do me good too. I have to make some exercise else I'll look like a Snorlax really quick.' Kairi shrugged.

'Suit yourself.' She said, regaining her battle stance. Leon imitated her.

'So, when I manage to hit you...'

'IF you manage.' Kairi interrupted, smiling broadly.

'...I want you to try and counter-attack with an aura barrier.' He continued, ignoring her but smiling also. 'I think that will do the trick.'

'Fine. Let's go!' She dashed to the farthest side of the clearing and used Foresight to take aim at Leon.

'What!? That already? I'm going to be in so much trouble.' He thought, holding his ground. Kairi suddenly used Quick Attack and dashed even faster, lunging at him, effectively kicking his shins and dashing away.

'Ow! That hurt y'know!'

'Serves you right for trying to spar with me!' She said, sticking her tongue out at him. Leon sighed and ran, trying to aim a punch at her. She simply used a series of Quick Attacks, surrounding him and hitting him when she could and dashed away again.

_'Okay... Bad strategy... I need to pull her in close.'_He thought, his legs with small bruises on them. Then it came. The ideal strategy to make her use Counter. 'What you tired already? That was nothing!' He taunted her. She fell for it and came dashing again. Leon simply sidestepped when she came and quickly tripped her, throwing her off balance. She brought a paw to the ground and turned, using it as an anchor point. Her glowing foot came and connected with Leon's chest as she used the momentum to jump at him, propelling him to the floor, grunting. She brought her paws to her mouth, and ran at him.

'I'm so sorry Leon! Are you OK?' She asked worriedly. He got up, groaning a bit, and picked her up, sitting her in her usual spot at his shoulders.

'I'm fine.' She sighed, relieved. 'I must say, you really are a fast learner.'

'That was Counter? I thought it would be more powerful than that.' She said a bit disappointed. Leon chuckled.

'Thankfully it wasn't but it gets more powerful the more powerful the attack you're trying to Counter is. See, I just made you trip so it only doubled the power of my leg sweep, which wasn't that strong.' He explained. Kairi brightened up. 'Well then, shall we go back?' He asked her, grabbing his t-shirt.

'Yep. I need another bath after this.' She said.

'Me too.' He laughed. What they didn't see was a pair of eyes watching them.

* * *

When they arrived back at the campsite, Leon unceremoniously threw Kairi into the river, making her sputter when she came back at the surface.

'Hey! I told you to let me enter at my own...' She was interrupted when Leon, again unceremoniously, made a dive bomb right next to her.

'You were saying?' He asked her, smiling innocently.

'I hate you...' She said, crossing her arms and sulking. Leon chuckled, scratching her head and fetching the glycerin soap he had taken out of his rucksack from the riverbank. After the bath, he gave the soap to Kairi and got out, drying himself.

'Now to prepare some lunch.' He thought out loud. 'When you get out could you please grab a dozen or two of rocks for the camp fire please?' She waved. Figuring it meant yes, he went to get some firewood and came back five minutes later with a small log under his arm and a few dry branches under the other. Kairi, who meanwhile had came out from the water and was sunbathing, came over and helped him prepare the fire by laying the rocks she got into a neat circle. He put the bigger log in the middle and the others making a pyramid with them. He put some dry grass beneath them and set it on fire. After that, he improvised a spit, set it above the fire and hung a hook in it. He then went to his food supplies and got a few Cheri berries, some meat and spices. After chopping the meat and the Cheris and mixing in some of the spices and sauces in a bowl, he hung the bowl on the spit and sat near the fire. Kairi watched the whole process curiously.

'Now we wait.' He told Kairi.

'How did you learn to cook?' She asked him.

'My mom's a chef in a restaurant so she sometimes teaches me something or other. What I just did was my mom's famous Spicy Berry Meat Stew.' He answered. Kairi sat, leaning against him again. He scratched her again on her head. Suddenly, a loud rumble was heard. Kairi covered her belly, reddening with embarrassment while Leon roared with laughter.

'Sorry...' She said in a thread of voice.

'What I really want to know...' He said still laughing. '...is how someone so small can do so much noise!'

They sat there for a while more, waiting for the stew to cook. Suddenly, something rustled on the woods. Leon looked back at the trees but saw nothing.

'Hey, Kairi?' He called her nervously.

'Hmm? What is it?' She asked.

'Don't you have the feeling there's someone watching us?'

'Now that you mention it... Yeah I do.' She said looking also at the trees behind them. Leon got up and started walking to the edge of the forest. Kairi pulled his leg.

'No! What if that thing's dangerous? What if it's that Fearow!?'

'Then send my bloody pieces to my mom will ya?' He replied, a wicked smile on his face. Kairi shook her head at his carefree nature, even in a situation like that. Leon gave a few more steps and stopped a few feet from the tree where he was sure the thing was and opened his arms.

'We won't hurt you! You can show yourself!' He shouted at the tree. The tree rustled a bit then a Pidgey flew out and perched in a branch in front of Leon. 'Hey...' Leon slowly said. '...aren't you that Pidgey who nearly ruined my face?' He finished with a smile, Kairi giggling behind him.

'Yep that's me mate. Sorry about that.' He said, also smiling. 'I'm Miles. And sorry if I scared ya. I just wanted to know what was that I smell I felt near our clearing.' He explained. 'Guess that was your lunch.' He pointed at the bubbling stew.

'Want to join us?' Leon offered.

'Are you serious!?' He asked, amazed at the offer. It wasn't very often a wild Pokémon got to eat a meal with a Trainer without being caught first.

'Sure. Why not? Come on.' Leon gestured the bonfire. Miles nodded and took flight, landing near Kairi. 'By the way, I'm Leon and this is my partner Kairi.'

'Nice to meet you!' Kairi said, offering her paw. Miles offered his wing and they shook... Well, not hands, more like wing and paw... Leon crouched near the fire and removed the stew bowl from the hook in the spit.

'Oof! HOT! HOT! HOT!' He yelled, trying not to let the stew fall. Miles shot upwards, scared and Kairi just facepawed.

'You forgot the wooden handle Leon!' She muttered looking at the said handle that was resting just beside the fire. Meanwhile, Leon had managed to set the stew down on the floor and was cooling his burning hands on the river and Miles landed next to Kairi again, a worried look on his face.

'Is he always like this?' He asked. Kairi laughed.

'I just met him this morning but I think so.' She looked at Leon's relieved face and laughed again. 'But it's one of his qualities I think. He's always carefree and happy.' She thought for a while. 'And it's good that he is because I'd hate if I had a Trainer that was always serious and never laughed, I'd run away on the first occasion.' She finished. Miles looked at her then at Leon.

'Yeah... That's what I need.'

* * *

When Leon had recovered from the burns with a Burn Heal (although it was designed for Pokémon, Leon found out that it also worked wonderfully in people), they finally had their plates full of steaming stew and started their lunch. Both Kairi and Miles were amazed at Leon's ability to cook and helped themselves to seconds and Kairi even braved for a third dish, along with Leon. After they had their share, Leon saved the rest for later and they all sat there, not knowing what to do.

'Can I ask you something?' Miles suddenly asked Leon.

'You just did but shoot.' Leon replied.

'How can you understand us?'

'Us?'

'You know, Pokémon.'

'Oh! Right.' He shrugged. 'I don't have the faintest of ideas.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. Since I can remember, I can understand Pokémon. I used to have long chats with travelling wild Pokémon that happened to pass by our back garden when I was a kid. Since my house is the nearest to Route 1, it happened more times than it didn't.' They spent a few more minutes in silence.

'Can I join you?' Miles silently asked. Both Leon and Kairi looked at him, dumbfounded at a question that was rarely, if never, asked by a wild Pokémon.

'Sure but why?' Leon asked, still a bit stupefied by the question.

'I don't really fit in here y'know? I'm always causing trouble and pulling pranks on everyone I can get to. And that gets to my dad's nerves...'

'Your dad?'

'Paul's my dad.' He answered. 'So I'm always getting scolded and, basically, this place is no fun to live. Apart from the occasional expeditions in the Fearow territory, nothing really goes on around here.' He shrugged. 'I considered before letting myself to be caught but the Trainers that come through here are more focused in themselves and training than taking care of their Pokémon right.'

'So, what do I have than the others don't?' Leon asked, confused.

'You yourself trained with Kairi and even applauded when she managed to learn Counter.' They both raised their eyebrows. 'Yeah I was there. Anyways, it's a lot more than other Trainers I have seen do.' He shuddered. 'I even saw one Trainer hitting his Pokémon because he didn´t manage to break a rock in training.' Leon scowled. Then he looked at Kairi, who nodded.

'Ok, good points, you're in.' Leon said, taking an empty Pokéball from the rucksack.

'Wait, that's it? You're just going to let me in like that? Isn't there supposed to be a battle before a Trainer captures a Pokémon?' Miles asked, a confused look on his face. Leon shrugged.

'If you wanna go through the pain of fighting Kairi fine by me.' Kairi shot an evil smile at Miles who shuddered again.

'Nevermind that. What do I have to do?'

'Just stay still and don't fight the Pokéball. Don't worry, I'll let you out right away, it's just so you're officially registered as my Pokémon but I'd rather let my Pokémon outside of their balls unless they want to or it's too dangerous.' He added. Miles nodded and Leon pressed the front of the ball to Miles' head. Miles dematerialized into the Pokéball and the Pokéball stood still, the ping sound ringing almost immediately. Leon then caught the Pokéball, pressed the button and let Miles out, beaming at him. 'Well then, let me formally welcome you to the team, I'm Leon Jefferson, this is Kairi and we'll be, respectively, your Trainer and friend and battle partner and... well, also your friend.'

'Thanks! I'll do my best!' Miles answered, trying his best to do thumbs up with his wing.

'Damn right you will else you're kicked out!' Said Leon with a frightening look. Both Kairi and Miles looked at him, scared with his sudden mood change. But Leon suddenly bursted out laughing soon after and Kairi and Miles joined him soon after and, after they began, it was hard to stop soon. When they finally stopped, Leon got up.

'Well, I know this is sudden but would you like to have a round at training again? I'd like to see what you are capable of, Miles.' He turned to Kairi. 'And, I want to practice your Counter again.'

'Of course!' Miles and Kairi chorused. They headed out for the clearing were they trained that morning, Kairi on her usual perch at Leon's shoulders and Miles flying above them a little ahead.

'Do you think I did well?' Leon suddenly asked. Kairi thought for a bit.

'I think so. His aura's good, his reasons are enough and we need more team mates if we want to go far in the League Challenge. I don't think just you and me are what it takes to beat the Champion.'

'Speaking of which, I heard a rumor in Pallet that Lance got beaten in the Kanto League and now is just Champion of Johto. And I also heard that the guy that replaced him is a real badass because Lance took a real beating.' Leon said, worried. 'I wonder who that was. Also, there were Elite Four changes since last year: Bruno and Karen, both from the Kanto and the Johto League, were moved since they had a bit of a trouble with challengers from both Leagues popping in and out all the time. So there are two new guys replacing them. I don't know if they're any good but they must be as tough as Bruno and Karen if they took their places.' Leon sighed. 'This Journey's gonna be rough.' Kairi patted Leon's head.

'Don't worry, we'll handle them!' She said cheerfully.

'Hope you're right.' They had finally reached the clearing. Miles landed on a tree stump, waiting expectantly.

'So, like I did with Kairi, first I would like you to show me what you've got.' Leon told him. Miles nodded and took flight again. Then he swooped low flapping his wings as fast as he could, kicking up a lot of sand and creating an opaque cloud of dust that shielded him from view. Suddenly he shot from the middle of the dust and flew like a bullet against a branch, effectively snapping it in half.

'Okay... So, Tackle and Sand-Attack. I think he will be able to learn Gust soon.' Leon thought at himself again. 'Okay, what I would like you to try is Gust. This is like a mini-hurricane that you will create by forming currents of wind with your wings. It doesn't need to be very stable, just stable enough to reach its target and deliver a good blow at it. Got it?'

Miles nodded. 'Yeppers. I'll do my best!' He said, making (or at least trying to) a thumbs up with his wing. He took off and hovered in mid-air, trying to focus. He started to beat his wings faster and faster until leaves and twigs in the clearing started to be blown away. Leon took Kairi from his shoulders and hugged her, protecting her from the incoming debris. A small twister was starting to form in front of Miles. 'Yes! I did it!' He shouted. He tried to launch it at a tree but halfway through the twister started to dissipate. The leaves and twigs that had become airborne returned to their rightful places. 'No, no, no, no!' Miles yelled at the twister. It continued to dissipate until it was nothing but a summer breeze when it hit the tree Miles was aiming for. Miles returned, disappointed.

'Oh c'mon Miles! Cheer up it was great for your first try!' Kairi encouraged him.

'She's right y'know; you almost got it on your first try. I'm proud of you.' Leon said, holding out his arm so that Miles could roost on it. Miles cheered up a bit, nodding.

'Thanks guys.' Leon turned to Kairi, who had stood up on his other arm.

'Care to try Counter now?' She nodded and Leon sighed. 'Here I go again.' He said, putting both of them on the ground, taking his t-shirt off and throwing it at the tree stump were Miles had first landed when they arrived. 'Take care of that will ya? Oh and you can keep on practicing Gust ok?' He asked Miles, who nodded and took off to land on the said stump. Kairi took her stance several feet away from him. Leon cracked his knuckles. 'Let's do this!' He yelled in challenge at her which she responded with a loud howl. They ran at each other and Leon tried for a quick punch that Kairi jumped over, ran up his arm and landed a Quick Attack on his back, sending him headfirst into the ground. He slowly got up, sweeping off the dust from his face. He turned to her.

'That was a very nice hit but I'm trying for you to use Counter y'know? Meaning you have to let me hit you sometime.' He said, spitting some dirt.

'Aw, you're no fun! You're just disappointed because you can't get a good hit at me.' She replied.

'True... Somewhat.' He thought, grimacing. Kairi suddenly ran at him again. Leon entered a defensive stance. When Kairi was almost on top of him, he sidestepped and lunged at her. Kairi didn't manage to stop in time and fell for the punch Leon had prepared, falling a bit hard on her back. Kairi rolled backwards, landed on her feet and kicked the ground away to jump high. Leon tried to follow her moves but she jumped in front of the sun, blinding him. Leon had to make a choice between whether to run away from an attack that he couldn't see or to try and block it. He went for the first and rolled sideways. And it was just in time because a second later Kairi came down with a glowing orange paw and a resounding crash, causing a small crater to appear where she had struck the ground with it.

'Time out, I need a break!' Leon said, his breath coming in short bursts. That crater had almost been opened on him and that took the breath of anyone on his place.

'Sorry Leon...' Kairi said, her head hung low. Leon gave her a tired smile and patted her head.

'Don't worry. It just proves that you're a good fighter. Phew.' He sat there for a while, regaining his breath. Miles joined them. 'So how did your training go?' Leon asked him.

'I'm still a bit far from keeping Gust stable enough but I'll get it eventually.' Leon nodded.

'Ok guys. I think we can go for another round or two of training and then we'll call it a day. Is that ok?' He asked them.

'Sure!' Kairi replied eagerly.

'What about you Miles?'

'I'll do my best!' He said doing his signature winged thumbs up.

'Ok then! Let's restart our training!'

20 minutes later...

'Ok guys, for a first day of training you did well, I'm proud of you! So, as a reward, you can choose whatever you want to do for the rest of the day!' Leon said a bit tiredly to the both of them after training. He had done not one but three more rounds with Kairi while Miles tried his best to master Gust. By the end of training, Kairi had completely nailed Counter whereas Miles could maintain Gust for at least six seconds.

'I want to go back to the river and just relax 'till tomorrow.' Said Kairi, completely spent from the training.

'My thoughts exactly. What about you Miles?' Leon asked.

'With your permission, I'd like to be excused for some time.' He replied. Both Leon and Kairi looked at him confused.

'Uh... Ok, but why?'

'I haven't told my family yet that I'm going with you.'

'Oh... Sure! Take all the time you need!' Leon got up, giving Kairi a lift to her usual perch on his shoulders. 'So, when you're done, meet us at camp ok?' Miles nodded, making his thumbs up.

'See ya in a bit!' He said before taking off. Leon and Kairi started to head towards the camp site. When they arrived, Leon laid down against a tree while Kairi crawled up to his chest for a nap. They both fell asleep, Leon absent-mindedly scratching her ears.