Kanto region, sometime after Fuchsia Tag Tournament…

Shadows drifted upon the outskirts of Route 15, just outside Fuchsia City. Night has already descended upon the grass plains as Hoothoot and Noctowl took the place of their diurnal cousins. A few Rattata scurried around as they searched for their next meal, either berries that had fallen or from idiot travelers.

Little did they realize something else was waiting for them.

A whisper spread across the fields as clouds blotted out the moon. Bushes rustled gently as if the wind had blown them as something passed by. One of the Rat Pokémon drew closer as they caught the scent of fresh food.

Sitting on its lonesome was a large Sitrus berry, completely unblemished by a large dead tree. The trunk had been ripped open over time by nature as it looked almost natural. Eyes narrowing, the Rattata moved towards the berry, ready to scamper away at the first sign of danger.

Drawing ever nearer, the rodent reached out for the berry with a paw. After touching it, it quickly withdrew the limb expecting something to emerge from the shadows.

Nothing.

Getting slightly closer, the Rattata sniffed the air, drawing in the complex scent of the fruit once known as a Gold Berry. The sourness came first followed by the bittersweet dryness along with a hint of flowers from the nearby plants.

No problems to be found.

Adjusting its ears to twitch if something sounded off, the rat-like Pokémon grabbed the berry with its front paws.

The fruit was heavier than expected as the Rattata struggled to lift it. Little by little, it seemed to move and yet it wasn't enough. With a growl, the creature called to its fellows who all but rushed over to join the feast.

They trampled over one another to reach their next meal, uncaring as one tripped over itself. All they wanted was to sink their teeth into the succulent skin of their target.

As one they grabbed the back of the lead Rattata and pulled, the fruit being lifted into the air with their combined power.

With them along with it.

The Rattata found themselves dangling in the air as the berry drew closer to the tree, a dark tendril sticking out as dirt fell from it. One end of it was dragging them to the hollow as the other was lodged within their meal. The rodents found themselves almost fully paralyzed as crimson eyes looked upon them in glee and hunger.

What felt like hours was mere seconds as they entered the wide entrance beckoning them inside as well as the hollow of the tree.

A sickening crunch was the last thing to enter their ears as they vanished into the darkness, leaving nothing but a horrified Rattata and a well fed monster.

Elsewhere…

A loud roar echoed around the moonlit clearing as a bruised Nidoking charged towards his target. The large, purple behemoth's horn flowed with an ethereal, purple light that extended beyond his face. This time. This time he would win.

"Pathetic," his opponent murmured as stone shards emerged with a light glow. Moving his right foot forward, the Continent Pokémon sent the Stone Edge towards the stampeding fiend who barreled right through the offence.

The stones seemed to bounce off Nidoking at first, but slowly his assault began to slow as fresh bruises began to form upon his purple skin. His horn lost its luster as the Poison Jab faded out of existence. As one of the rocks slammed into his knee, Nidoking tumbled forward, his balance lost completely.

"No!" he roared. "Not yet!" With one final push, the behemoth pushed off his left leg and prepared to slam his shoulder into Torterra's face. With nary a smile nor a smirk, Torterra formed a Seed Bomb within his mouth and let it loose.

The projectile smashed into Nidoking's nose as the tyrant was sent flying backwards before slamming into the ground with such force, several blades of grass were uprooted and sent soaring into the air.

"Damn... Damn it!" Nidoking roared out as he flipped himself onto his stomach and then lifted himself onto one knee. His opponent had yet to move as he gazed at him in indifference. The blank stare infuriated the would be king as he struggled to get back onto his feet.

"Enough," Torterra spoke. "Training's over for now. Head back to master and eat some berries or something."

"You dare order me around?" the Poison Type growled out, annoyed by the Continent Pokémon's order.

"I do. You lost, plain and simple. At the risk of sounding redundant, your whole performance was pathetic. You don't think, you just charge in head first while Master has to cover your weakness. True, you are strong and that's more than enough for most opponents but I'm not most opponents."

The blunt words slammed into Nidoking's ego as he growled once again, ready to go another round to prove his foe wrong.

"Hah! That was amusing. Who knew Torterra could cause just as much damage with words as he does with everything else?" The crackle of laughter caused the pair to look up as a Murkrow flew into view, mirth reflected in its eyes as it regarded the pair warmly.

"What was that!?" Another growl rolled out of Nidoking's mouth as he changed targets. "Want to say that again?"

"Ooh, scary scary. How horrifying. Your brain damage I mean. Can you really not understand the words out of my beak? Want me to slow down for you?"

"You..."

"Murkrow." Torterra's voice interrupted the argument as he looked upon the newest member of the group. "I thought I told you to scout out the area and then return to Master?"

"Yeah, yeah I did that," the Darkness Pokémon admitted, waving off the concerns of the larger creature. "I got bored after finding nothing and decided to see what you two were doing. And 'gasp', to my eternal surprise, it's more training. I mean, what an unexpected turn of events. To think you do nothing but train and battle. What a joy you are."

"So you left Master in a forest by himself?" Torterra scowled, his leaves rustled in agitation as a light glow enveloped his mouth.

"Relax big guy, Hypno's with him. Sure at first it was to make sure the kid slept while you two were crashing into each other but he seemed happy to watch the place. Still can't believe there is someone even more boring than you though."

"If you have time to blabber than you can take Nidoking back to master and get him healed up," Torterra said as he turned his back to the pair, no longer interested in the words out of the Flying Type's beak. "I'm going for a walk."

"Oh yeah, forgot you did those. How grand your life must be," Murkrow called out to the retreating Pokémon. "Remind me to find you something shiny to make your life have some meaning."

"Did you want to go a round?" Torterra asked, not even looking at the bird as he continued on his way. Said bird looked in horror as his face contorted itself in shock.

"A-and have you miss your fascinating walk? I can't do that, that would be rude of me! Now come on you big lummox, we're leaving."

"Not yet! I am a king!" Nidoking roared as he charged towards Torterra. "And my reign is absolute!"

As he neared his foe, his foot connected with something hard and sharp as he tripped over once again. Looking over his shoulder, the purple beast looked in shock at the hidden array of Stealth Rocks that silently levitated in place.

"What is a king to an unconquerable mountain?" Torterra questioned as he left the clearing, unconcerned in the slightest of his raging training partner.

Later…

If there was one thing Torterra enjoyed outside of battle, it was the walks he took at night. The simple calmness of the night sky, the cold breeze, the chance to not be annoyed by his partners. It was the small things in life that made it enjoyable.

However, large trees seemed to block the moon's gaze as the Grass type trudged through the forest, his eyes peeled for anything of interest for either him or the kid.

'If he knew I called him that, he would get annoyed so easily. Then again, he might find Master more annoying,' Torterra mentally snorted.

He knew his Paul better than anyone on the team and perhaps better than the kid's own brother. He knew exactly what made the kid tick, what made him annoyed, his desires and his strengths. He knew the kid would probably get annoyed being called master all the time but best to have some sort of hierarchy so the unrulier ones wouldn't do something stupid.

Besides only he was allowed to call his Paul 'the kid' and only privately at that.

The kid's idea of training was also interesting if not unconventional, and more than likely looked down upon. Unlike some of the others Torterra had met, he enjoyed and relished the idea of going all out on a sparring partner. It was tough love as far as he was concerned. You either kept up or you left, simple as that.

'Still a shame about Raichu though, she had a small spark to her even if she wasn't a fighter. Hope the kid healed her before releasing her though.'

It had only been a few days since the tournament at Fuchsia City and the last he had seen of Raichu before she was released and already it seemed far quieter than usual. Well, except for Murkrow and Nidoking of course. The latter would not stop complaining about not getting chosen for a match.

Apparently his pride as king demanded he be used for all matches. Nothing but nonsense really.

Sure, he had pride at being the strongest in the group but he knew when to tone it down so as to prevent it from becoming arrogance, like that brat's Charmeleon.

'I'm starting to get sick of that species. One is nothing but arrogant hot air and the other got lucky with an evolution. If it wasn't for that, the real fight would be between me and that Servine.'

It wasn't quite hatred, but rather dislike he felt towards the Fire-type species. His two biggest defeats were at their claws after all. It was normal to feel a dislike towards them for that reason but next time...

Next time would be completely different. Now that he understood the way they fought, he would be the victorious one.

As for the Servine, now she was interesting. Between that Charmeleon and her, she was the true threat. Leading the assault, defeating his useless partner, blocking his attacks in clever ways... If she wasn't with the brat, he would have liked her as a partner.

Maybe more if she was ever interested.

Letting out a snort at the dumb thought, Torterra shook his head before stopping as a swift noise entered his ears. His head shifted to the left as a bush rustled. Narrowing his eyes, Torterra stood on guard. Something was close.

Keeping his mouth shut, he slowly charged a Seed Bomb, ready to launch it as he slowly approached. He wasn't fast enough to escape if something jumped him, so a better plan would be to defeat the threat then return to his Paul.

'I hate cutting my walks early, but I have no idea what lives in these parts. Better to be cautious this time.'

Moving as softly as he could, Torterra crept forward, his eyes keen even in the darkness. As the bush shifted again, he reacted launching the projectile forward. The seed flew through the air towards the target before being sliced in half by a foul, purple glow.

Emerging from the bush was a long, dark tail that was shaped like a blade which briefly glowed before fading to a crimson hue. Torterra stared in confusion before following where the tail came from. His eyes widened as the tail's length went into the tree's above where crimson eyes peeled out from above.

"What?" Torterra questioned before the creature burst from the overgrowth. Leaves fell around the Grass-type as he found the creature wrapping itself around his midsection, a sinister hiss whispering from its mouth. Acting quickly, Torterra slammed himself against a tree, crushing the foe between the wood and himself as it let out a scream of pain.

Quickly unwrapping itself, the Pokémon hissed in frustration as its true form was revealed. An enormous and rather plump black serpent gazed at Torterra, eyeing him carefully. Across its face and body, gold markings and purple scars lined its scaly body. Twin fangs of the same crimson as its eyes and tail seemed to shine with drool as the liquid dripped onto the ground.

"Well, well, looks like I actually have to fight for my next meal," a dark female voice whispered from the creature as she stretched herself out. Her voice was supremely deep and spoke of unknown torment and pain. "And what a scrumptious meal at that. I've never seen something like you before."

"I can say the same for you," Torterra said, backing up slightly to keep some distance between him and his new enemy. "What exactly are you?"

"Me? You can call me Seviper. You handsome?"

"Torterra."

"Torterra..." The fanged snake hissed, testing the name on her lips. "Sounds rather strong. I'd much rather not fight for my next meal so what do you say? Willing to let me go?"

Torterra narrowed his eyes slightly. Some nerve she had, asking to be let go after she attacked him first. Normally, realizing that she wasn't a real threat to him would be enough to let bygones be bygones.

Problem was, he wasn't the only one in the area, and even if she wasn't a threat to him, no one could guarantee she couldn't go after his teammates, or worse, the kid himself when he wasn't looking. So he had to make sure that didn't happen.

He was the group's leader as well as Paul's strongest Pokémon, which meant he'd also step up to protect them from any danger, should it come to that. Thus, he stepped forward, making his intent clear.

"Is that your answer, big boy? Well, I guess I should enjoy a little fun."

Her tail took on the same purple poisonous glow from before, and she lunged at him. His immediate response was to raise a Stone Edge wall to act as a shield. He could hear her hiss in pain after her failed attempt, as she slithered around the rocky wall to try and find another angle to attack him.

If she was a Poison-type (and she most likely was), then an Earthquake would probably be enough to finish her off. Problem was, he didn't want to disturb Paul's sleep or alert the others, and the earth's rumble would definitely do that. So he continued to raise sharp rock pillars in Seviper's way.

Much to his surprise, she was quite nimble in her movements, dodging the sharp stones with speed and elegance, and getting into striking range soon enough. Knowing that he couldn't dodge her incoming attack, he preemptively triggered Curse for a defense boost, and once Seviper got in range, she raised her tail and prepared to strike him in the head.

He shifted his weight just a little, so that the Poison Tail would hit him on the side instead. Though he wasn't afflicted by poison status, he still felt the sting of the attack, and immediately fired a point-blank Seed Bomb at her face to drive her away, following with another round of Stone Edge that she was unable to dodge this time around.

Seviper rose back up and he could see what seemed to be a smirk in her face.

"Impressive. I'm not used to my prey putting up a fight against me."

"You chose the wrong prey today," Torterra replied. "And I'm afraid I can't let you slip away."

"Oh, I don't plan to. This is too exciting to leave it halfway."

She lunged at him once more raising her tail, though this time the glow shifted to a more black-purplish shade. Again, she dodged his Stone Edge pillars by slithering around them, and he triggered a second Curse to endure the hammer-like strike she delivered on him.

For some reason, however, it felt stronger than the previous one. It wasn't loaded with poison, yet it struck him harder and actually made him flinch a bit. Nevertheless, he glared back at her and countered with another Seed Bomb salvo, which she dodged by swinging around her serpentine body, all the while keeping her smirk of enjoyment.

And with that smirk, suddenly came a glow in her eyes.

He felt some sort of electric current coursing through his body, making his limbs tremble and go numb shortly after. He tried to move forward, but his legs didn't respond to his commands.

"What the…"

"Surprise, big boy. No one can beat me in a glaring contest. Though I commend you for trying."

Glaring… of course. She had used the move Glare to paralyze him. She proceeded to coil herself around his body once more, trying to squeeze him. He would have gotten rid of her the same way as before, but with his limbs paralyzed he found himself unable to.

That didn't mean he was helpless, though.

Once his body responded to him again, his eyes zeroed onto her tail's tip, the only part of her body he could see as she continued to squeeze. She'd be hard-pressed to choke him out that way, but he didn't want to wait until she got tired, so he opened his mouth and bit her as hard as he could.

Not quite the move Crunch, but this would do. Perhaps he could try and re-learn it later, now he'd finally broken his limit thanks to the kid.

The snake hissed in pain once more, uncoiling herself from his body as she tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. He couldn't move his body around, but he could shake his head sideways enough to give her some punishment.

And he did, until the paralysis struck him again, forcing to let her go.

The two glared at one another once more. She had taken a beating, but was far from defeated. If she weren't trying to snack on him, she'd probably be a good sparring partner.

Though this fight was getting too long for comfort. If it wasn't because he was trying to avoid waking Paul up, it'd probably be over now, and he had to end it fast before any of the others came over and mocked his little predicament.

To compensate for the lack of moves before breaking his limit, Paul had taught him how to use his attacks in different ways. Aside from Stealth Rock (which unfortunately was kind of useless right now), he'd taught him how to use Stone Edge in two different ways. One was the usual summoning of rocky pillars from the ground. This version was much stronger and could double as defense by using the pillars as a makeshift shield from physical attacks.

The other was to summon the stones in midair as floating shards, and fire them in a quick barrage. Not quite as damaging as the other, but it gave the attack a wider range, and was useful against airborne opponents (as Murkrow could attest to). This time, he chose the second.

No matter how nimbly Seviper could slither around; the sharp stone barrage ensured that he'd get a few cuts in. She was forced to pull back and use her Poison Tail to swat away the shrapnel and shield her face. She didn't seem to have any ranged attacks, so as long as he kept her away, she couldn't do anything.

Unfortunately, the paralysis struck him again, stopping his assault and giving her another opening to counter. Still with the Poison Tail active, she began slashing him repeatedly, leaving a purple trail behind every time. He was able to tank the hits just fine, but it was getting too annoying for his comfort.

'Sorry about this, kid,' he thought, raising his forelegs for a powerful stomp.

As expected, his Earthquake was powerful enough to affect everything in his vicinity: some stones cracked, the trees shook and woke up the Pokémon sleeping in them, making them flee for their lives.

"Like, oh my gosh! Earth's totally trembling! Wake up and get under a table or whatever!"

And if the Earthquake itself hadn't woken Paul up, the device's voice definitely had. He wondered why it started talking that way.

But surely enough, once the tremor stopped about a minute later, the purple haired boy had come running to check what was happening. Some of the others came too: Nidoking, Murkrow and Hypno, each had surprise in his face.

"Torterra, what's going on?" the human asked, before looking at Seviper.

A few seconds later, he pointed his device to her:

"Oh, that's, like, a Seviper! I mean, a fanged snake Pokémon from, like, Hoenn! It loves to squeeze victims or poison them with its tail and fangs, which is, like, so grosssss!"

"A Hoenn Pokémon, here in Kanto?" Paul asked, before turning towards her, and smirk in a way Torterra knew all too well. "Wait, did you happen to escape from the Safari Zone?"

Torterra turned at Seviper, who seemed puzzled, like Paul had hit the bullseye. It made sense; after all, the reason they entered that tournament in the first place was to access that Safari Zone, so the boy could catch Pokémon usually not found around the region.

Of course, they lost the chance, but this didn't seem like a bad consolation prize.

"And from what I see, it was giving you trouble, wasn't it?"

Torterra only let out a small groan, but evidently the marks from the fight were still there, so he couldn't deny it even if he wanted to. Meanwhile, the seductive and amused smirk of Seviper seemed to have all but vanished, especially when Paul brought out one of those red and white spheres, and enlarged it.

She seemed to know what was coming and tried to slip away, but he stomped his foot on her tail preventing her from fleeing. This time, he was the one to smirk at her when she turned around.

"Don't even try it. But be happy; if my master judges you good enough, maybe you won't have to fight for your meals again."

And a second later, Paul threw the ball, sucking the snake into it. A few seconds of struggle later, it finally turned off and the capture was complete. Since Paul currently had an empty slot in the team, the sphere didn't transport to the place where he kept the rest, and immediately held the device on it.

"Oh, what do you want? Ah, right, you wanna know what this long snake can do. Well, like, I already told you she can use Poison Tail; and also has Glare to paralyze you, ugh; Wrap, to squeeze you; and Punishment, which hurts you the more you buff yourself. Oh, and, like, her ability is Shed Skin to get off effects like paralysis and burns and whatever."

"Hmph, that doesn't sound too bad. With some training and perhaps some new moves it could be useful." Paul tucked away the sphere in his pocket before approaching him. "I don't know how you ended up fighting that Seviper, but you made it easier for me to catch. Good job."

Next, he pulled one of those containers he used to heal their wounds, spraying them all over as the rest just looked on. They probably wanted to know what had happened with Seviper. He'd have plenty of time to tell them later.

However, now he had the chance to enjoy the moment. Especially since he didn't seem to be mad at being waken up.

…

Humans who knew Paul probably would find it hard to believe that he enjoyed something like stargazing, as many considered that pointless or boring.

He disagreed on that. Rather, it gave him the chance to sort out his thoughts, something relaxing after having to fight a Pokémon looking for a night snack.

"So a Seviper… I guess one is better than none," Paul commented. "Guess we were lucky to stay a bit more in the area."

He for his part nodded at that. He knew his trainer didn't understand Pokémon speech, but the two had been together long enough to communicate on a certain level. Even if generally the boy was the one who did the talking, while he just listened, but that wasn't bad in the least. He usually enjoyed whatever he had to say.

"Even so, I don't want to stay here longer than needed," he continued. "He then pulled out his device and began pressing the buttons. "Hey, open the GPS map app."

"Like, hello? Can't you ask a little bit nice?"

"Just do it," the boy insisted. "And see if you can pinpoint the closest Gyms to this area."

"Sheesh, how delicate," the device replied. "Ah let's see, there's the Matcha City Gym, specialized in Fighting-types. That one, like, would be among the Kanto top eight if it weren't for those sooooooo creepy rumors about Saffron. But the Maiden's Peak is a bit closer, though that one, like, has a rep for being way too spooky, I say."

Spooky? Torterra wondered what that could mean. The boy seemed to weigh his options, remaining silent as he glanced at the device's screen. He finally flipped it close.

"Maybe we can take both. We'll go to Maiden's Peak first thing tomorrow." Next, Paul leaned next to Torterra's side. "You don't mind watching things around while I'm asleep, do you?"

"Of course not, master," he replied; even knowing Paul wouldn't understand the exact words, he could get the message across.

"Good, I'm counting on you to keep any intruder at bay," he said before shutting his eyes.

Not much time passed before his trainer fell back asleep. This was a side of him very few, humans or Pokémon, got to see. He'd generally present himself as cold, tough and completely devoid of 'touchy' feelings, and when it came to train them or giving orders in battle, he'd prove himself relentless.

That was why seeing him this way, peaceful and quiet, and to an extent even vulnerable, was a rare sight. That was a side he didn't want to show anyone, unless they had a degree of his trust.

In that same line, Torterra knew that request of keeping an eye out for any intruders was a subtle way to say he fully trusted him. And he had no intention of betraying that trust.

His trainer could be far from the friendliest or cheeriest person in the world, but that didn't mean he didn't have feelings or emotions. There was a reason why he prioritized strength above anything else, and when they fulfilled his expectations, he would reward them. Of course that would take time, and required a lot of hard work and sweat; he himself went through it firsthand. But he never faltered, and even the few times he was defeated, he ensured that his opponents never came out unscathed.

The kid had taken notice of this, and would acknowledge his efforts. He could be tough, sometimes even bordering on being ruthless, but he'd always be fair as long as you could keep up the pace with his training. Not everyone could, obviously; only the strongest like him could made it, and those who couldn't would just be left behind in the trail.

But once trust was solidified, it stayed on both sides. Paul would trust their power and abilities, and he and the others would trust his judgement to make the calls.

Thus, he repaid his trainer with loyalty and bringing him results. He had to keep strengthening himself, and winning more battles for him. That was what he tried to get the others to see, it was his responsibility as the group's leader.

He hadn't told Nidoking during the sparring, but he was on the right path to getting into Paul's good graces, since he defeated the brat's Pikachu, and later after their match in the last gym they challenged. After Raichu's blunder, he was able to turn the match's tide in their favor, almost winning before falling at that Venomoth's hands, and clearing the way clear for Hypno to seal the match. Maybe, if he had the chance to show his worth the next day, he could solidify the kid's trust.

Time would only tell if the same applied to Seviper. He for his part hoped it did; even when she tried to snack on him, she was a formidable opponent, and he could respect that. Fighting side by side with a former foe was always an interesting experience.

Those thoughts would keep him up, enough to avoid falling asleep. After all, he had to watch for his trainer. Tonight had been quite interesting, and maybe tomorrow would dawn for a day just as or even more interesting.

FIN.

EXTRA (canon): Seviper's new role.

This had been quite an ironic twist of events.

She was a predator, used to hunt her own food, stalking from the shadows to attack when they least expected. Sometimes, even if she wasn't hungry, she'd do it just out of the thrill of the hunt, the feeling of enjoyment when she struck fear in her prey.

In fact, the reason why she'd escaped her little confinement, in that small space humans called "Safari Zone", was because she couldn't hunt at pleasure as much as she would like to. That elderly human would keep an eye so she wouldn't get out of her turf to find new prey, and she had to make do with whatever she was given to feed herself.

So she seized her chance as soon as she could sneak out of the limits and go out to the world. For all the good it did, as a few days later she made the mistake of trying to eat a prey too strong for her.

"Are you going to eat it or what?"

Looking around, she saw her new teammates surrounding her. All of them eating from plates the purple-haired human male had left for them. The one who spoke to her was Torterra.

Seviper hissed slightly before answering, as she glanced at her own ration.

"Do you always eat so… meagerly?"

"It's always enough for us," Torterra replied. "Unless you have problems with the taste."

The taste itself wasn't a problem. Looking on the bright side, not having to fight for her meals meant she wouldn't starve. On the other hand, the boy decided when and how much he gave them to eat, which usually meant he'd give them only what they needed, nothing more, nothing less.

And not catching it herself definitely wasn't as fun. Not to mention how annoying it could be not being able to eat when she wanted or what she wanted.

"You better eat your part. If you don't, you won't be able to fight, and Master won't be pleased," the turtle insisted.

"And that would be a bad thing?" she asked mockingly. "What's the worse he could do, release me?"

If he released her, she could go off on her own and hunt like she always did. Then again, there was a possibility that another human could capture her.

"Trust me, you'll be better off if you embrace your new role. You perform well, Master will reward you. So long as you keep up with the rest of us, you'll fit in just fine."

Seviper looked around. Once upon a time, being surrounded by too many big, strong Pokémon would have been a bad sign, meaning she'd be competing for territory or food. She could do fine on her own.

But admittedly, her little fight with Torterra was entertaining, and the thought of being able to spar with the others wasn't a bad substitute. Maybe she'd found herself a new kind of thrill.

'Maybe I can get used to this new role.'

With that in mind, she decided to eat her meal as it was. Even if she wasn't too keen on obeying a human yet, she could at least stay around for a bit and see how things turned out. And there was something in the boy that inspired respect on her, for reasons she couldn't explain.

In time, she could probably adapt to her new situation, and even grow to like it.