In terms of auras, everyone had one, regardless of the individual, and even most pokemon possessed some sort of field around them. However, only those with a substantial amount of psychic ability or semblance thereof could see the aura field that surrounded the common masses. The color of the aura represented moods/emotions while the size of it indicated the person's latent ability to tap into their psychic powers.

For the most part, everyone Caitlin had come into contact with had had small to medium sized auras with a few exceptions scattered around. Those with larger than normal auras were almost always either top class trainers with connections to pokemon and able to utilize something akin to psychic ability such as connecting with others on an emotional level or they were psychic users with varying degrees of power and had access to the "mind realm", the place where other psychic users would meet up and chat in their dreams.

In all of her travels, the young 18 year old had never met someone with an aura as large as herself. She was already an anomaly, someone with abundant access to powers people could only dream of having, and she could connect with her own pokemon on a level that others couldn't even fathom.

At the mere age of 5 years old, she had already unlocked her psychic abilities such as telekinesis and gazing at the auras of others, something only most adult psychics could do. Her powers were so extreme that whenever she felt angry and threw a tantrum, most inanimate objects would get blasted, shattered, or destroyed. She could hurt people without difficulty either intentionally or unintentionally, having little to no control over her abilities.

Aside from the obvious downsides of such a strong psychic resonance, Caitlin excelled in forming connections with psychic type pokemon and could form strong bonds with them at the drop of a hat. With this, Caitlin became a trainer at the mere age of 7, to the point where she became an unrivalled force and took over the Unova regions Battle Castle, becoming its rightful owner.

As a kid and owner of the castle, Caitlin was treated as a princess, served hand and foot by her butler and valet Darach. She was a spoiled, entitled brat who was easily angered when she didn't get her way, similar to an actual domineering princess. It was only after she hurt someone dear to her that she sought to change her ways and finally set out on a journey herself.

Travelling around the world for the next four years definitely helped her personality as she got control over her anger and learned to treat others with respect, albeit differing from person to person. Along the way she met so many friends and had her own adventures before finally returning home at the age of 15, much wiser and far more emotionally stable then when she had departed.

During her travels, when she had come into contact with group after group of people, she had taken notice of something. No one had the same overwhelming aura that she possessed, not a single one having the same degree of powers she had. From other viewpoints, she was already a freak, an oddity that stood out even by psychic standards. This was why she had not only felt both amazed and confused when she met Koda, but also why she had nearly crushed him when she first met the young man.

After talking with Arceus, something she could naturally do thanks to her overwhelmingly strong psychic powers, she had been on edge and a bit suspicious of everyone around her. One of the many reasons that she didn't take her newly gained knowledge to her fellow Elite Four members was because she wasn't sure who to trust. The god of pokemon had made it abundantly clear that the spies of Team Rocket had already seeped their way into the government, which included the Elite Four, a solid line of defense for any criminal organization. People she could've sworn she once knew now seemed like complete strangers as she followed Arceus's orders and flew down to the Kanto region to wait for the one who would supposedly change the destiny of everyone.

(("To think I almost killed the one guy who is meant to alter fate,")) Caitlin slowly opened her light blue eyes, the sunlight pouring from the treetops momentarily blinding her. (("I guess even after all this time I still don't have proper control over my emotions, do I Darach?"))

Before she had gone to sleep last night, she had vowed to do her best in making the white haired youth into the best trainer he could be. If it was true that only he could change the horrific future that she had been shown then she would put as much effort as she could in making sure that the kid grew as fast as possible. A full scale war between Team Rocket and the rest of the world was arguably the worst fate that could ever happen.

As Caitlin lay there, her brilliant hues focused on the scenery above her, a faint yet sharp crackling sound filled the air. If it hadn't been as quiet as it was, there would've been almost no chance of her hearing it. At first she just passed it off as a passing pokemon and just went back to her own thoughts. At least until the buzzing sound filled her ears a dozen more times in the next few seconds, leading her to feel immensely irritated.

Unzipping her sleeping bag, Caitlin rose to her feet and took a quick look around. Koda's large bag was sitting near the center of camp, situated near the dead fire and positioned a few feet away from Brocks blanket with the owner nowhere in sight. Serena was the only one present, still asleep without a care in the world, unaffected by the noise or absence of the boys.

"Well great. I guess that means that noise is coming from them." Caitlin attempted to smooth out her fluffy blonde hair which was now all tangled up. Normally she would either bathe the moment she woke up or brush it, but with the disappearance of her soon to be student and Brock, she didn't have the time. "How irritating. They could've at least informed me that they were going somewhere."

Reaching into her sleeping bag, Caitlin pulled out a small belt with six small pokeballs attached to them, each one reflecting sunlight at various angles. Taking off the second to last one, Caitlin pressed the button once, enlarging the ball to original size before pressing the button once more, summoning the pokemon from inside. A Gothitelle, a humanoid psychic type pokemon, appeared before her, ready and waiting for orders with an expression of determination.

"I'd like you to walk with me for bit Gothitelle," Caitlin said as she let out a yawn, briefly stretching her arms over her head. "I'm not sure if I'll need you just yet though."

Gothitelle nodded her head, her determined look still in place as she followed after Caitlin. The two of them left the clearing and began making their way towards the buzzing noise which, after walking a distance, was closely followed by splashing of water. This in tandem with the buzzing sound that could only be described as something akin to electricity led Caitlin to connect the dots.

(("The pokemon Koda threw out last night. Squirtle and Pikachu.")) Caitlin increased her pace, pushing branches and logs out of her way with her psychic powers. Her curiosity had reached its peak as she eventually pushed her way into another clearing that was smaller than the one she and the others had set up camp in.

It took her a few seconds but after glancing around, she still had absolutely no clue as to what was happening.

"Oh, so you finally woke up then Caitlin?" Brock asked as he stood off to the side wearing an overly large backpack. "How was your sleep?"

Caitlin glanced at the spiky haired young man before shifting her gaze back onto Koda. "Just fine. Now...can you please explain to me what the hell he's doing?"

"He's training. Although it may look odd, the theory he proposed was actually quite smart."

Caitlin merely shook her head as she watched Squirtle and Pikachu fire continuous shots at a tree while Koda stood off to the side, practically almost next to the tree itself. If even one of the shots were to miss even a little, he would be hit dead in the chest. However, even despite this risk, Koda looked as calm as ever as he observed each shot carefully, a yellow pencil in one hand and a small pocket notebook in the other. This went beyond odd and into the realm of insanity as even she herself wouldn't stand that close unless it was an actual pokemon battle.

"He's gonna get himself killed." Cailin muttered as she walked forward with Gothitelle. "What the hell is he thinking?!"

"He wanted to test out a theory of his as well as gather information," Brock responded, his tone dead serious. "He wanted to know the limits of each move that Pikachu and Squirtle currently know. He also wanted to know the average timespan each attack could last."

"Okay, that's pretty smart but what about standing near the attacks?!!"

"He wanted them to focus their aim and figured the best way to do that was to force them to focus by raising the stakes. He's been hit by the water gun only once so it seems to be working. Though I don't agree with the method."

Caitlin didn't agree with it either, not even a little. The only reason Koda wasn't as injured as he should be was the fact that his pokemon were still rather weak, not having any taste for battle or any experience to speak of. They couldn't do much damage at such a low level so the risk of permanent damage was greatly reduced. However the risk of breaking bones and severe injuries still remained leaving Caitlin to question the youths sanity. It was one thing to do what he was doing and it was another to do it so calmly.

"How long has he been standing out here?" Caitlin asked as she slowly got over her initial shock. "Has he been training for a long time?"

"Well, I got here around four hours ago and we all fell asleep around eight hours ago according to my pocket watch. I'd say he's been out here for about six hours or so." Brock smiled a little as he watched Pikachu and Squirtle stop firing their attacks. "He has them take a break every thirty minutes and then works himself out while conversing with me about battle tactics and ways to improve as a trainer. He's quick to pick up on things and has great theories on how to get better despite never being taught anything. You sure he's a beginner?"

I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Caitlin muttered as Koda knelt down to converse with Pikachu and Squirtle. He seemed so happy during his talk that she almost didn't want to interrupt him, but she had some burning questions she wanted to ask.

As Caitlin walked forward, she noticed more details that she had missed previously. The dirt and bruises covering his naked upper torso, no doubt from the insane way he had trained, the dripping water and sweat dripping from his shaggy white hair, and the hidden muscles that only appeared whenever he made a pronounced movement. She took in everything as she stopped in front of him, eventually garnering his attention.

"Oh, you're finally awake Miss Sleepyhead." Koda gave her a small smile which looked goofy yet charming. He was definitely cute, but she wasn't into young.men who couldn't even put up a decent challenge in a pokemon battle. Perhaps if he had been older and more experienced-

(("The hell am I even thinking?")) Caitlin forced herself back onto the topic at hand. "I slept just fine. More importantly, how did YOU sleep?"

Koda looked away, clearly thinking about her question. "Maybe an hour or two? I'm not really sure as I couldn't sleep very well so I came out here to get started on some training. One thing led to another and I ended up testing some theories I had."

"And what theories would those be?" Caitlin asked, her curiosity taking over.

"Knowing the limits and timespan of each moveset could increase the chances of victory in battle was my first one. Of course calling it a theory isn't really accurate." Koda laughed as he sat down on the grass, crossing his legs. "If I'm gonna change the future then I gotta be as ready as possible."

Caitlin tilted her head, her blue eyes gazing carefully at Koda's nearly overwhelming aura which was now showing a mixture of amber and blue, colors which were usually attributed to exhaustion and content. She still couldn't figure out this youth as she turned around and walked away.

"For now, follow me. I want to lay out the future plans to all of you." Caitlin reached out and tapped the pokeball against Gothitelle, summoning her back. "Thanks friend but I don't need you just yet."

She didn't bother to look behind her to see if Koda would follow because she knew he would come back to camp eventually.

-------------------

Koda hadn't slept more than a half hour despite telling Caitlin that he had been sleeping for a whole hour or two. It wasn't that he tried to stay awake on purpose but rather he just couldn't seem to get some shuteye, tossing and turning on the ground for what felt like hours before finally deciding to just call it quits on sleep and try doing something else.

Possibly the main reason he couldn't sleep was due to the rather brutal day he had already had and the immense amount of information he received against his consent, leading him to be too mentally unstable to sleep. Another possible reason was that he had spent so much of the previous day unconscious that his body didn't really require much sleep at the moment.

Koda trained with his pokemon until the sun came up, setting up a sort of training regime for both himself and his new pokemon partners after finding a rather sizable clearing a good distance away from camp. He had them shoot at a tree while he wrote down the results in a hand held notebook he had borrowed from Brock. He would calculate the average attacks they could do in one go while also writing down the average timespan per attack. He figured getting a detailed analysis of the pokemon moveset would help him immensely going forward. After getting a good run down of their moves, he figured he would switch to strengthening the moves as well as doing a trial run in battle.

While he was still unsure how battles actually worked, he had been given more than enough information from Arceus while in the mindscape to form a general idea. It was just putting it into practice that would be rather difficult.

In the midst of the self made training, Brock ended up joining him and helping him out by offering advice during and in between workouts. It wasn't until Caitlin joined them for a brief moment before leaving, talking about how she wanted him and Brock to head back to camp, that he eventually stopped training altogether, slumping down on the grass in an exhausted heap. He had been almost out of stamina anyways and the spot where he had been hit by Squirtle's [Water Gun] actually really hurt.

"So I guess you're done for the time being?" Brock asked, making his way forward, his squinted brown eyes focused on Koda. "You've been working pretty hard."

Koda smiled as he reached over and gave both Pikachu and Squirtle a pat on the head. The two pokemon smiled back at him despite clearly being just as exhausted as he was. "For now, I just wanna go over my list and crunch some numbers. With this, I know the duration and current restraints on the current moves so I can use this to vastly improve my training capabilities. For the next test, I want to check the exact power of each attack. I'll save it for later though."

Brock nodded as he shouldered his overly large backpack. "I'll meet you back at the camp. I'll make us some breakfast."

"You can cook?"

"Ha. Who do you think did the cooking back home?" Brock waved as he walked off, his bag making clinking noises from everything he was carrying inside. "Trust me. You wont be disappointed."

Koda smiled as Brock disappeared into the forest, his mix match hues remaining on him until he was no longer visible. "Hope you finish fast dude. I'm freaking starving."

Lifting up the notebook, Koda turned his attention to the numbers he had collected during the extensive training session. Every piece of learned information about both pokemon was written down neatly and organized in terms of importance.

For Pikachu, his known moves were [Iron Tail], [Thundershock], and [Quick Attack]. The amount of time he could use each move per every half hour was 28 for [Iron Tail], 34 for [Thundershock], and 45 for [Quick Attack].

-----------------------------------------------

Pikachu--

Known Movesets --

Iron Tail- 28 attacks per half hour

Thundershock- 34 per half hour

Quick Attack- 45 per half hour

Time Duration per attack-

Iron Tail- 12 Seconds per activation

Thundershock- 3 seconds per activation

Quick Attack- 5 seconds per activation

-----------------------------------------------

Squirtle's moves were a lot easier to write down as he only had two known moves. Studying his stats took a lot less work and effort which just went to show just how much work needed to be done.

-----------------------------------

Squirtle--

Known Movesets--

Tackle (per successful hit)- 45 attacks per half hour

Water Gun- 83 per half hour

Time Duration per attack-

Tackle- No set requirement (literally just slamming into opponent)

Water Gun- 23 seconds per activation

---------------------------

"Pikachu is clearly much stronger than Squirtle is but if one can utilize this basic information, it could lead to actually dealing some significant damage." Koda flipped the book close as he pushed himself off the floor. "Of course that's if Squirtle wasn't already at a type disadvantage."

He had learned a lot of the basics in addition to advice and hints from Arceus when he had spent roughly ten hours in the mindscape. Though getting the basics had his own idea, it had derived from some choice words the pokemon god has spoken to him like "basic training" and "strengthening the basics".

"There are so many different ways to improve in this world. I'll need to do it all if I wanna make an impact." Koda glanced over at Pikachu and Squirtle with a smile. "Come on, Pikachu, Squirtle. Let's go back."

Pikachu scampered up and onto Koda's shoulder while Squirtle ran to catch up to them, keeping pace surprisingly easily. Koda wondered if it was possible to increase a pokemon's speed stat, assuming everything was like a game and could be referred to as a "stat". If he could increase two main stats, a good thing for him would be strength and speed as it would allow his pokemon to dodge quicker and attack faster then the opponent while also dealing out loads of damage.

Of course, he would worry about it all later when the real training began. As of this moment he only needed to worry about what Caitlin had planned because no doubt whatever training she came up with would be far better in helping him grow then him doing things on his own. He was almost certain that her regime would be much tougher and more complicated than his own, actually exciting him to no end.

It took Koda a solid five minutes to reach the camp, having stopped occasionally to stretch his sore muscles and let Squirtle rest a bit. Not only was the young man and his partners extremely hungry, but they were also fatigued to the point of collapse, needing a long nap in order to recharge.

When the white haired youth entered the campsite, it had gotten a lot more lively then when he had left it.

Serena, who had initially been asleep, was now wide awake, her pokemon, a fox-like creature with yellow, orange, and white fur, wandering around the area with its nose buried into the grass as it picked up and snacked on random twigs and sticks. The young lady was sitting on top of her sleeping bag, brush in hand as she carefully combed out every piece of grass that had gotten tangled in her hair while she slept. It was probably Koda's imagination, but she looked much better today than she had yesterday, much more calm and relaxed than before. He couldn't put a finger on it since her looks hadn't changed, it was more like he 'felt' a difference. Ever so briefly, like a flash of lightning, colors surrounded Serena tightly like a thin sheet before disappearing.

Rubbing his eyes, Koda stared at Serena intensely for a few seconds longer than necessary as he waited for the color to return, and feeling disappointed when it didn't. He had no idea what the color had been but he knew he had seen it before, around when he first met Pikachu and heard the pokemon talk in his head. It also appeared when he first met Miss Crop Top, or Misty as she called herself. It was starting to worry him about what the color was and if it meant he was close to some sort of epileptic seizure of sorts.

"Hey Koda, morning," Serena said kindly, snapping the young man back to reality. Her dark grey eyes focusing on him, ignoring the fact that up until that point, he had been staring at her like an idiot. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine," Koda said as he recovered his composure. He no doubt looked like a mess, shirtless and covered in dirt with scratched lining his body. Even with that though and his weird gaze, she had looked at him with kindness and sincerity. She was amazingly kind and it kinda freaked Koda out a little. "Just got back from some light training. It was fun."

"Well, if that training was fun then let's get started discussing what we're gonna do to get you into fighting shape." Caitlin interjected, causing both Serena and Koda to look over at her.

The young blonde was sitting beside Brock, of whom was busy cooking up some fish, though where he even got the fish Koda didn't know. The smell wafting from the cooking meat made its way up Koda's nose, causing him to drool and his stomach to rebel against him, emitting a deep rumble. He had already been hungry before, but now he felt as if he hadn't eaten in weeks as he made his way over to the fire.

"As Team Rocket likes to move undercover and can be hiding amongst anyone, we'll be staying here in this clearing for the next three weeks." Caitlin glanced at Brock, Serena, and Koda in turn, her eyes lingering over Koda longer than the others. "In that time, we need you to get a handle on the basics of both fighting and the laws and geography of this world. This includes customs and anything you'll need to know in order to make a living."

"Why three weeks?" Koda asked curiously. "Why not a month? It's only a week apart."

"It's because of the Bayrock Festival right?" Serena asked, petting Fennekin as she walked up to Serena. "You want him to participate in the Bayrock tournament?"

"The Bayrock festival might actually be the perfect place for him to get a general feel for battle," Brock chimed in as he handed one of fish-on-sticks to Caitlin. "Since only newbie trainers of age 14 to 15 can enter, it'll be a great learning environment."

Koda watched as everyone nodded their heads, coming to a general agreement without even asking what he himself thought. Granted, they knew much more than he did, but he still wanted to be included in the conversation. It also ticked him off that no one was bothering to explain what the Bayrock festival was even though he now knew that they knew he wasn't from this world.

"Ummm, is anyone gonna explain to me what the hell is the Bayrock Festival?" Koda asked, his tone filled with irritation. "Whats a Bayrock Tournament? Hell, what's even a Bayrock??"

Caitlin smiled as she took a small bite of her fish, completely ignoring the fact that it was still fresh off the fire. "Long ago, pokemon trainers ran rampant without any organization or leadership, any true goal or motives. They battled anywhere and everywhere to see who was better. This was before the Gym and Gym Leader systems were put into place."

"Seeking the need for stability, various government leaders met up together and began thinking of ways to not only utilize trainers for selfish purposes but also keep them pitted against one another. Thus, the concept of Gym Leaders, badges, and the Elite Four was born, a system that worked almost too perfectly. Aspiring trainers wanted to be strong and would seek out strength through merit in battle to try and work their way to the top, beating gym leaders and gathering badges to ultimately defeat the Elite Four and become champion. Companies that manufactured Pokeballs, potions, and everything battle related made a killing while those on top maintained their wealth and status with little to no hiccups."

Caitlin shrugged as she passed a fish over to Serena who had moved over to join them. "The place that the system was established was right here in Kanto, in this very city, Viridian City. Every year, to celebrate the very construct of and semblance of the Elite Four system, the Bayrock Festival is held here. It serves as a reminder as a turning point in history. This Festival marks the 124th year since the Elite Four founding."

"So the Bayrock Festival is a big deal then?" Koda asked, beginning to understand most of what was being said. It was basically a government sponsored event to showcase what was probably their greatest success. "Okay. So what's a Bayrock then?"

"A Bayrock is a type of stone that is said to never break, a gemstone harder than even diamond. The festival was named after it in hopes that the prosperity of the elite would live on forever." This time it was Brock who answered as he handed Koda a fish. The white haired youth accepted it gratefully, biting into it without a moment of hesitation. "Many things are held during the festival such as rides, games, food stalls, and many other attractions. All around Viridian City in roughly three weeks for now and for a week after will be nothing but partying."

"Of course, there'll also be a chance that key members of Team Rocket will try something from the shadows." Caitlin said, causing Koda to spit out a piece of fish.

"Team Rocket will be there?" Koda asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder. "What gives you that assumption?"

Caitlin didn't answer right away as she nibbled at her fish, leaving everyone in complete silence for a full minute before finally speaking up. "The Bayrock festival is by far the most world renowned event and one of the most popular. Every year, strong trainers, both young and old, gather here to take part in the various games and rides as well as to scope out the younger generation. Hell, even Elite Four members from other regions and Gym Leaders come here, sometimes even champions join the mix. With a smorgasbord of trainers from around the world cropped together in one place, how could an organization as hardcore as Team Rocket miss this opportunity to either cause trouble or gather intel."

With Caitlin putting it like that, Koda was now just as certain that they would reveal themselves one way or another. If it was true that many elite trainers would show up, there wasn't any doubt spies working for the secret criminal group would seize the opportunity to slip in and gather data on everyone present. As his initial goal was to demolish Team Rocket, he was all for this Bayrock festival and whatever it entailed.

"Okay then, let's get started on training." Koda said, taking a huge bite of fish. He spit out a few bones and swallowed the rest. "We got no time to waste."

"Wait a minute Koda," Serena interrupted. "You should rest a bit. You just finished training a while ago. You shouldn't strain yourself."

Koda opened his mouth to disagree but he was cut off by Brock, who stood up from his seat, backpack at the ready. "Serena is right Koda. You should rest up for now. I'll go and get the materials you'll need to study from so just sit tight. What do we need Caitlin?"

The long haired woman said an abundance of words belonging to various books, maps, and other such things. What was perhaps the most amazing to Koda was that Brock merely nodded instead of writing any of it down, eventually disappearing into the forest without once asking Caitlin to repeat herself. Brock truly was reliable and mature, albeit a tad strange to Koda.

"Okay, now that that's taken care of, there's one other thing we need to go over before we move on any further." Caitlin reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a circular disk about the size of Koda's palm. The surface shifted and changed, a brilliant blue color that reminded the young man of clear blue lake. "You should know what this is right?"

Koda was momentarily stunned into silence. He hadn't expected to run into another Plate so soon, especially after just having gotten his hands on the Fighting Plate. There was no mistaking the feeling of power emanating off the disk as well as the ever shifting colors. This was the real deal.

Reaching into his pocket, Koda pulled out the Fighting Plate and held it up next to Caitlin's blue circular plate. "It's the disks that Team Rocket are after, the Plates Of Arceus, right?"

Caitlin nodded as she took hers back and slid it back into her pocket, allowing Koda to do the same. "For now, I'll hang onto mine. Once you're strong enough, I'll give it to you to hold for me. That aside, I think it's time for you to learn how to use your psychic powers. It'll help you tremendously along the road."

Koda's mind blanked for a second as it registered what Caitlin was saying. Eventually the words finally clicked, causing him to laugh a little. She had just said something he found totally ridiculous and totally unrealistic which he almost wanted to roll his eyes at.

"I'm sorry, I think you're talking to someone else. I don't have psychic abilities. I can use the force to move objects."

"Use the what?" Caitlin was now equally confused before opting to ignore what Koda had said. "Never mind. You DO have psychic abilities. Maybe not specifically telekinesis like mine but some other form of power. I'll guide you and teach you how to utilize it to become an even better trainer. With my help, I can make you into a trainer worthy of helping Arceus."

Thinking back, there had been a number of cases where Koda felt was weird that he hadn't been able to explain. When he heard Pikachu talk in his head back when he had thought everything was a dream and when he had "felt" that Serena was doing much better today than before. Perhaps the most unexplainable thing was the periodic thin flash of color around people whenever he was around others. Up until this point he had just ignored it, but now he began to question if this was what Caitlin meant by psychic abilities.

(("Psychic powers? Me? That's still really hard to believe. Then again, I've had weirder stuff happen to me so simply trying would be fine.")) As Koda came to a conclusion in his head, a determined expression spread across his face as he nodded. "Okay, fine. I'll play along for now. What do I need to do?"

"Well first things first." Caitlin smiled as she double tapped one of her pokeballs, enlarging it. "You're gonna have to battle me. Then we can truly get started. Time IS ticking after all!!"

He hesitated for a second. He had just gotten done with his self training and his pokemon and now he was about to send them into battle. As someone who genuinely cared about the wellbeing of animals as well as people close to him, he wasn't too keen on the idea of battling just yet. He was fine with more training as he could always let Pikachu and Squirtle rest if the need arose, but battling right now seemed like it would actually hurt his new pokemon friends rather than actually help.

(("It doesn't matter. Let's do it!!"))

Looking up, Koda glanced around before his gaze landed on Pikachu, who was staring at him intensely, electricity sparking from his bright red cheeks.

(("Let's push forward together. Count on me and I'll have your back, just like I know you'll have mine."))

Koda was speechless for a second before smiling. Kneeling down, he held out his fist towards Pikachu, flashing his pearly whites. "Let's get stronger man. I trust you."

Pikachu nodded, reaching up to bump his tiny hand against Koda's, his eyes full of determination.

"Alright, we're ready. Serena, toss me my beanie." Koda rose to his feet, his knees cracking slightly. He knew that both he, Pikachu and Squirtle weren't in the best condition, but Pikachu was all for a battle so he was he to refuse. "I agree with your challenge. What are the rules?"

Caitlin pushed the button on the pokeball in her hand, opening it up and summoning out Gothitelle. It wasn't his first time seeing this pokemon as he had seen her earlier when Caitlin had come to get him, but it still looked rather intimidating and made him question whether or not he could actually defeat something like this.

"The rules are simple. All you have to do is land one hit on Gothitelle and you win." Caitlin smiled as she held up one finger. "Of course, I'm not just gonna let you get the hit. Gothitelle will be dodging and occasionally attacking to keep things interesting. Normally there would be a battle area to show where to keep your pokemon so it doesn't go out of bounds but for now, consider this whole clearing your battleground. You may start whenever you like."

And just like that, Koda's intense training began.