The match between Leaf and Oliver barely lasted 10 minutes. Her Magnezone made quick work out of his Sableye, but then his Gengar did make her work for her Mist Badge. In the end, Magnezone proved to be the more powerful of the two and won its Trainer her third Gym Badge.
The smile on her face did not cease even on the next day of her Gym Battle. Her friends were happy for her, and she was happy to have lived up to their expectations.
Over the time that they had spent travelling with Leaf, they learned that she had no qualms about right or wrong as long as it was not illegal. She was casual about exploiting Type Weaknesses, never considering it unfair, and she had no reservations about battling weak Pokemon with her Powerhouses. As long as it was an important battle, she would go all out and make sure that she wins it.
She has the killer instincts of serial winners.
The first four Gyms were supposed to be for the beginners to help them get better at battling with their Pokemon, and most of the Novices did not have the luxury of having a fully evolved Pokemon that was considered A-Class in threat-levels on their team so early in their journey.
Leaf too knew that she got lucky with everything that happened so far, and that was why she wanted to get better and better. She never grew complacent, and for that reason, Aizen never had to humble her down even when she wore a proud and smug smile on her face.
They had a change in plans before they left Lavender Town. The four of them decided to not head to Saffron City for now and went on to take Route 12 which led to Fennel Valley and then to Silver Town. The girls wanted to check out Fennel Valley Pokemon Center which was famous for being hailed as a Luxury Pokemon Center.
It was famous for having all sorts of facilities available such as a fitness studio, hot springs, battlefields, a Pokemon Trading Center, and also a Contest Hall that was recently established.
The Orayens and their companions were currently resting by the river-side after three days of journey. They were a few hours away from the Fennel Valley, and they had ample time to arrive at the Pokemon Center before nightfall.
After their Lunch, Aizen and Leaf started training their Pokemon, while Misty and Anira were happily fishing.
Flabebe, Pichu, Eevee, Duskull, and Misdrevus were happily playing away from everyone.
Golbat and Pidgeotto were engaged in mock duels against Mega Pidgeot using only Aerial Ace. They were on their speed Training for the day.
Wartortle was currently helping Elekid learn Brick-Break. And Aizen was intently looking at Gengar's moveset with the rest of his Pokémon surrounding him, waiting for instructions.
'Moves known: Hypnosis, Lick, Haze, Shadow Punch, Curse, Night Shade, Confusion Ray, Hex, Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Poison Jab, Dream Eater, Nightmare, Destiny Bond, Venoshock, and Psywave.'
For a Gengar, all these moves were more than enough, but Aizen wanted to teach the Ghost-Type Pokemon a few more moves that could prove useful in future.
"I will put you under the care of Dexter later, but for now, why don't you join Wartortle and Elekid to learn Brick Break." He smiled at Gengar after making a decision and storing away his PokeDex.
"Gengar..." The Ghost-Type Pokemon asked what the Mega Metagross would be teaching him later.
"You already know Haze, which means that you are acquainted with Ice Energy. I want you to learn Ice Punch from Dexter, okay?"
Gengar seemed to think over his words for a few seconds before it nodded in acknowledgement and left to join Elekid in training for Brick Break.
The willingness of Gengar to learn more eased a lot of his worries. Gengar were not known for their Physical Strength and usually relied on energy based attacks.
After Aizen learned that his Gengar was physically superior to other Gengar, he decided to teach him moves that could utilise its physical advantage to the best of its abilities.
"Eeeeuuu!"
Lapras eagerly swayed its head when Aizen looked at it. It was excited to learn a new move and had waited patiently all these days, training its known moves to perfection. It was now time to learn something new.
Aizen caressed its head and smiled.
"You will be under Golduck's care. He will teach you Hydro Pump."
"Eeeeeuuu!" It happily nodded its head and then followed Golduck into the river.
"And now I will be helping you train in Flare Blitz." He turned to the last Pokemon that he had planned on training today.
"Woof!" The orange puppy excitedly wagged its tail.
Aizen sat down on the ground and looked right in the eyes of Growlithe. He showed Growlithe segments of his memories where he had closely witnessed Pokemon using Flare Blitz. He had no one on his Team who could help Growlithe with the training, so he could only do this.
"The concept is similar to your Flame Wheel. You will coat yourself in your hottest flames, but instead of wheeling at your enemy to boost your speed, you will use Agility and rush at it. This would allow you to tap into more speed, and as you get used to it, your speed with the move would rise." He patiently explained to the orange puppy. "But know that the move harms the user as well. After you have perfected the move, the pain you feel would not lessen in the least. It will remain just as intense, but the power of your move will be far greater than before."
"Woof!"
Seeing that the puppy readily agreed to learn the move, Aizen's heart melted a little. He lovingly caressed the back of its ears before planting a kiss on its head.
"Let's get started." He smiled and took Growlithe away from the rest.
Bliss and Politoed followed after them. The healing Pokemon was with them to help heal Growlithe if it sustains some injuries, and Politoed was coming to cheer on her old friend as well as to make sure that it would not light a fire in the forest.
For the next two hours, Aizen watched Growlithe try its best to perform Flare Blitz, but it had little success.
The orange puppy spent most of the two hours getting the part down where the cloak of fire wore off as soon as it used Agility. Aizen suggested using Agility first, but the little puppy could only maintain the cloak of fire for a few seconds before it wore off. The cloak of fire lacked in intensity as well which was another issue.
"You are doing a good job." Aizen stopped its training session and crouched down near it.
"Ooww.." It sounded sorry for not being able to perform the move.
"It's okay. You will get it in time." Aizen smiled at it and gave it some caresses. "It is a powerful move, and it takes time to master. For now, take some rest and contemplate on this training session. See if you can find an answer to your problem."
"Woof!"
"Good boy." Aizen gave it one last pet before recalling it inside its Pokeball.
"Let's go, Bliss." Aizen smiled at the pink Pokemon that was chatting with Politoed.
Blissey and Politoed happily followed after him as they returned to their campsite.
Lapras was training hard under Golduck's instructions. It seemed to have already got the gist of Hydro Pump and only lacked in power behind the move.
Aizen saw Wartortle cheering on Elekid as the little one tried its hardest to break a rock with a chop. Gengar was a little away from them, and its progress seemed better than that of Elekid. It was expected since it was stronger and way older with a lot of experience.
"Kyaaaaa!!"
Everyone was startled by the scream and turned in its direction.
Misty was jumping around in fright as a small Krabby clenched on her shirt with its pincer. Anira was holding her stomach as she laughed at the suffering of her friend, not even thinking about helping her out.
"It's not a bug!" She called out before continuing to laugh.
"But it looks like one!!" Misty now had tears streaming down her eyes. Her fear only worsened when she heard her shirt tearing away. "Aizen!!!" She called out to him as soon as her eyes found him.
"Gengar." He sighed and called out to the Pokemon that was snickering mischievously.
"Gengar..." Acknowledging his command, the Ghost Pokemon disappeared from the place and then appeared right behind Misty, holding the crab Pokemon in its hands.
Under the glare of Gengar, Krabby scaredly let go of Misty's shirt.
Misty immediately rushed toward him and hugged him tightly before fearfully looking at the orange crab.
Azien so wanted to laugh at the way she was shivering but decided not to tease her about it.
"Calm down..." He caressed her back and happened to touch her skin that was exposed after Krabby tore that part of the shirt.
Whatever fear Misty had, disappeared as soon as she felt his warm hand over her exposed lower back. Her face turned bright red and she hid her face in his chest.
Now, he really wanted to tease her, but the glare of his little sister made him give up on the thought.
"Misty." Anira walked up to her and took Krabby from Gengar's hands.
"No!" Misty screamed as soon as she saw what Anira was holding. "Throw it in the river!"
"Are you sure?" The little princess frowned. "This one looks healthy and is bigger than an average Krabby. I really think you should catch it. Kingler is a decent Water-Type Pokemon."
The orange-haired girl looked at the crab Pokémon and felt shivers up her spine, but she was honestly considering Anira's words.
"Gooogiii..." The crab looked right into her eyes.
Misty could feel that Krabby liked her. She could sense that it was happy being around them. And she calmed down a lot after she felt a familiar connection that she felt with every Water-Type Pokemon.
"If you don't want it, you can always trade it at the Trading Center in Fennel Valley Pokemon Center." Aizen reminded her.
Misty immediately shook her head at his words, and then furrowed her brows.
"Googiii.."
And she finally gave in when Krabby expressed its desire to be with her.
"Alright." She sighed and took out an empty Pokeball before she approached Krabby and tapped it on its pincer.
The catching mechanism started and when she heard the ping after a couple of blinks, a smile appeared on her face.
"Not scared anymore?" Anira smirked at her.
"Hmph.." She pouted. "Only caught it because it is Water Type."
The siblings smiled at her words and then subconsciously turned to look in the same direction.
"What happened?" Misty asked.
"We are being watched," Aizen whispered to her and then turned to look around the campsite. He was relieved that all the Pokemon were safe, but then his eyes widened in realisation.
"Where's Leaf?" The orange-haired girl voiced the question that was on his mind.