Holly had no idea what was going on.

And she didn't like it.

All she did was open a book for pete's sake! No one told her reading could be so dangerous! She opens a book, some woman comes up to her and tells her she's basically screwed over all the world's Pokèmon, an explosion, and suddenly she's sucked into a blackhole with nothing but the strange machine like thing buzzing above her for company.

And thank the gods for it, or rather, for the bit of amaranth colored light that it emitted from its tip. She could forgive it for getting her sucked into oblivion just for that small bit of light it gave afterward.

Because without that light...to be alone in darkness....a darkness so complete, so...empty....Holly wasn't sure if she could survive that. Even just a moment of it.

But that little bit of light gave her a little bit of hope, restored a little bit of strength within Holly, enough to fight down the panic and try to figure out where she was.

WHAT this was.

Or at the very least, plot her revenge on whatever the heck had pushed her into this giant mess of nothingness. It had been cold, very cold, and obviously rude and malicious enough to push a eighteen-year-old girl into oblivion.

I'd forgive it though if whatever it was could come back and push me out. Holly thought, as she wrapped her arms around herself. A shiver went down her body that two parts fear, one part loneliness, and one part chill.

Glancing up at her Amaranth light emitting companion, of sorts, Holly said softly,

"I don't suppose you can shine that light onto a way out can-" Holly broke off as the area around her began to lighten, brighten, and she whirled around to find the sun, the blessed blessed sun, rising up to gently bath the area in auburn rays-

Wait, auburn? Since when was the sun auburn? And as Holly slowly turned, her gaze flickering across the slowly revealed landscape, the rocks with their large ominous shadows, seeming to be bathed in the sun's blood, Holly felt another rush of dread, of fear.

This wasn't the town her family had moved to. This wasn't where she lived.

And she was still alone.

And as her eyes took one last, desperate glance around, raking the lands for something, anything besides rocks and despair, they landed upon a shadow that was unlike the rest. Smaller, much smaller, and with a roundness that nothing made purely by nature could hope to achieve. And as the Amaranth light cut through the sun's bloody rays to shine upon it, Holly saw that it was a...

Pokeball. A pokeball sat in the midst of a wasteland. Holly's breath caught in her throat, and she reached out, carefully, slowly, to pick it up, as if she thought it would disappear before her fingers could touch it.

But no, the pokeball fit perfectly in her palm, and as she brought it up to her chest, she realized it was slightly warm to the touch.

Could there be...? Did she dare to believe...?

Holly was not one to just accept things on faith. She was the sort who had to see to believe. She hadn't believe, not truly, in the words of the book or the woman, until now, when she had arrived, had fallen really, into the unknown. But now...she was quite willing to believe that she had somehow become the main character in one of her brother's hard core science fiction novels or something.

Only this was real. And real meant deadly.

But...if there was a Pokèmon inside here. Someone else, anything else, to share this with, Holly felt that she would be able to, somehow, take on this new challenge with all of strength, in both her heart and body.

And so, taking a deep breath, she pressed the button, and released the Pokèmon from its confinement.

There was a beam of bright red light, the particles coming together as a small figure materialized. The Bagon shook his head as if to clear it, chomping his teeth together lightly, as he took stock of his surroundings. His eyes first went to the OZ Guide, overing above him, and then to Holly. Holly's eyes widened as her own met the little dragon's.

"Wow....I thought Bagons were all but dying out..." Holly whispered, to herself. The Bagon frowned at her, its eyes narrowing a little, and Holly quickly amended herself.

"I'm sorry little one, I mean no disrespect of course.' Carefully she knelt down in the rubble, to keep from towering over the baby dragon.

"My name is Holly. And it looks like you and I are stuck in this unknown place for awhile. I don't know how we got here, or how we can get back, but I"m going to try my hardest to get us back." She held out her hand to the Bagon, thinking with just a small bit of worry that if the Bagon was hostile, it could probably bite her hand off at the wrist.

"Will you help me?" Was all she asked. The Bagon cocked his head first one way, then the other, his nose twitching a little, as if considering Holly's scent as well as her words. And while to Holly it seemed like ages, it was only a few moments before the Bagon took a step forward, and lightly touched his snout to her hand, pushing at it until Holly's fingers were lightly rubbing at his scales.

"Thank you." Holly said, relief evident in her voice, in her eyes. "May I call you Rathan?" The Bagon made a rumbling reply, deep within his chest, that Holly took as assent. With that Holly felt new strength fill her, and she stood up, lightly rubbing her hand across the top of the Bagon's head, as she clipped the pokeball to her belt and briskly dusted off her knees.

"Alright! We'll get out of here and back home, Rathan. That's a promise." Or die trying. Holly vowed silently to herself. She looked around again, this time without the air of despair, taking stock of her surroundings.

Nothing but rocks. No signs of plant life. And worse, no signs of water. She glanced up at the OZ Guide, then back down at Bagon,

"Okay, first things first, we need to try and find water. Or food. Plant life would be great, because it might lead us to both, or be both, depending on the circumstances. Rathan, can you smell water? Or plant or other life around here?" She glanced around again, glaring a little at the boulders. "Anything but rocks?"

If Rathan could not, then Holly would try and see if she couldn't climb atop one of those boulders, and see if the new vantage point would let her see anything new.

((sorry if I god-modded anywhere! I tried to stick to just what I read in the first chapter, and it seems like others are controlling their Pokèmon so I took the liberty. If it needs to be fixed anywhere, I'll be happy to do so! Thanks))

[EDIT: Sorry, my mistake. This is what happens to tired people... Please carry on ^^;;]

Obliging to your requests, Rathan made its way up to one of the taller boulders and took a deep breath. Well, it wasn't the typical nature kind of Pokèmon, so you might be a little hard-pressed to expect Rathan to find something. The tiny dragon took a far view to the further depths of the area; no matter how bleak, there was always hope that the little dragon might actually spot something of interest. After a long gaze into the deeper aspects of this place, Rathan finally turned in your direction, ready to give a report-

Nothing. It wasn't too far away from what you expected, anyway. This place looked too remote to house many natural resources, and even if there was actually water around here, it would be hard to take it away from the guardians of this place; the other Pokèmon who also needed the same resources to survive. So... you'd either have to locate places where you can find water AND fight the Pokèmon around the area that would not easily give you a share of what they need for survival, or try to make your way into the next town, hoping that you might somehow make it alive. Wow, tough decision there; neither of them had an edge over the other, and both seemed to be worse-case scenarios. To be truthful, reality hurt bad. Really bad.

Either way, Rathan grew bored of standing high up on a boulder and look around for necessities. The little dragon jumped down with a casual leap (which was rather impressive; humans could risk breaking a leg from jumping or falling down from such a height) and stared at you with its seemingly trademark frown. Looks like the Bagon didn't really have a good impression of you... and it didn't seem to pleased to be informed of having a lack of natural resources, either. After throwing you a look of deepest contempt, the Bagon muttered some words from his own tongue, and began pacing itself into the looming darkness that enveloped the place. Oh great, now the Bagon is wandering around on its own.

Rathan seemed to be looking for natural resources, but... you couldn't help but worry for yourself: This IS a perfect opportunity for Rathan to run away. You can choose to place trust in Rathan and wait for him here, or follow the little dragon so as not to lose it. Well, it all depends on you.

[Sorry for the less-than desirable (in my opinion) post, but I'm feeling rather out-of-sync right now. Pardon me for the uninspiring reply.]

((No problem!! To be honest I wasn't expecting a reply at all so soon lol thanks ^_^)

Oh. Well Holly had meant that she'd climb a boulder and take a look around, not for the Bagon to do so, and it looks like that misunderstanding had cost her in their already very fragile and tentative relationship.

Well she wasn't one to give up, especially not when Rathan was the only other living thing about that she could see. Quickly, Holly moved to catch up with the little dragon, relieved to see that the little thing above followed her as well. It was the only source of light besides that odd sun, and she wasn't about to trust that to always be there.

When she drew alongside the Bagon, Holly glanced down at him, though didn't make another move to touch him, not just yet at least.

"Hey, I'm sorry about asking you to do that. But your nose is better than mine, and it's best to check around, just in case you know? I mean if there had been plant life or whatever around, and we missed it because we didn't check..." Holly trailed off with a sigh, glancing around at the wasteland again,

"And I'm also sorry that you have to be stuck here as well. I don't know how either of us got here, I certainly wasn't the one who brought you here, and if I could..." Holly trailed off, and looked down at the Bagon, hoping he'd glance up and meet her eyes, to see the truthfulness in them,

"If I could, I would send you back to whereveer your home is. Even if it meant I had to stay here." And she would have. The Bagon looked young, and nothing deserved to have to try and make a living out of this wasteland. Not to mention that Bagon specie in general was dieing out. They needed to be protected and saved, not left to die.

"But I can't, or at least I don't know how yet. And the only solution I have that might work is working together. I'll be pulling my weight too, as manual labor if nothing else. And if there is, by some stroke of luck, a town or a city somewhere around here, then I can keep you safe from poachers and the like." Holly drew silent, not really knowing what else to say. She wasn't even sure, exactly, why the Bagon was peeved at her, except that he was probably peeved at the situation, and taking it out on her. And if words weren't going to inspire him, then all that was left was actions.

Though since all that was yet to be seen in this wasteland was rocks and darkness, Holly wasn't sure what there was she could do. But she kept her eye out for anything out of the ordinary, just in case.

Swinging her backpack around to the front as they walked, she checked the contents. Unfortunately, as she hadn't been expecting to be tossed into oblivion, she hadn't much on her.

"Pokeballs, six hundred in cash, two potions, that book and...." Holly glanced up at the thingy,

"The little amaranth colored 'guardian angel'." She spoke allowed, both to hear the sound of her own voice, and for Rathan's benefit, if he cared to listen,

"The potions might come in handy later for you Rathan, though we should try to use them sparingly....And the money is only good if there's someplace to spend it." She zipped her backpack back up again and slung it back around her shoulders, absently lifting her long curtain of hair up and out from between it. Slowly, Holly scanned the area, looking for something, anything, that would give them just the tiniest hint of how to survive here, whether it be sign of life or water, a town off in the horizon, a foot print besides their own, a mud puddle, anything!

The Bagon watched Holly who had averted her gaze to the horizon he had scanned for her. Rathan knew nothing was there but he knew Holly was desperate too. He wouldn't have to guess a million of times why though. His Trainer was so frank and opened to him. Maybe it's because he's the only living creature around as far as he and anyone else can tell. The flying tyke was pretty useless and added more burden. Getting it destroyed might be better but it must have a purpose of course. Holly must have thought of that too.

Rathan sighed though it sounded more of a growled. There was nothing in this wasteland. He rocks and boulders that surrounded the place already reminded him of home. He would always step up on those boulders like a while ago and suddenly jump. The feeling of wind against his face was very refreshing, relieving a dream that was far from reality. But once his head crashed on the ground, the dream had ended. He would leave a mark on the ground, a spot where he has fallen. Rathan looked up, above the boulders and rocks. The sky was so open. Unlike the ground they stood, they were many obstacles. The wasteland was like the sky: empty but it was not cleaned. Both this wasteland and the sky are like life. Pathless and boundless but the life he had had been on the ground where there were many obstacles.

His home? Rathan didn't want to go back to his home. He wanted to go away from his "home" and find a new place where he belonged. Looking up at the sky so dreamily, he can feel where he belonged, even though he could never be. But if he can get stronger, more powerful then maybe...he would someday...someday.

He didn't want to go home. If life like this wasteland is filled with so many obstacles, then Rathan would hit all of these obstacles, all these rocks and boulders like a Cranidos until the wasteland can be made clean like the sky. It was impossible, but it was the closest thing to his dream. However, his Trainer had a different dream. She wanted things to be back to normal. She felt sorry for what she had done, but as there were no possibilities in turning the events around, all they can do is move on. Rathan didn't want to go back either way. He wanted to move on, whatever is the reason.

Rathan put a heavy step forward, crunching a pebble to very tiny pieces. Contrary to Holly's desperate, hopeless thoughts, the Bagon looked so strong and daring, ready for anything to come. Rathan looked at Holly straight in the eye. Those eyes looked so strong and firm. With that, the Bagon led the way, the aimless way wherever his feet would take him.

Holly let out a long drawn out sigh when her intensive scan of the area brought about nothing but dirt, rocks, and rocks. Absently she ran her hand through her hair, until a soft growl had her gaze jerking down to the Bagon. Had she made him angry again? Did he find something?

But no, his gaze was not even on her, his eyes unfocused, hardly even on the wasteland around her. She knew that look, even on a Pokèmon, knew that she had that look gracing her own eyes from time to time. The Bagon was deep in thought, and Holly was not inclined to interrupt them.

We were all entitled to our thoughts, after all.

Unconsciously mimicking the Bagon, Holly's eyes rose up to the sky, an emptiness colored only by the blood of the sun.

Her family must be worried sick about her by now. Who knows how long she had been standing in that nothingness before this world appeared around her. Hell, she wasn't even sure how long they'd been walking. She could walk like this for hours on end afterall, before her legs would start to complain of the exercise. Often had done just that, on long walks with her family...

Mom's probably called the police by now. Not that they can do anything unless I'm missing for twenty-four hours, being eighteen and all. Dad's either chewing someone out, or out searching for me right now. At the moment, Mom's probably trying to stay calm, be rational about it. She won't call Hugh until tomorrow, unless it is already tomorrow, in which case, Hugh's probably already trying to get leave to come home and help look for me as well. Hannah...

Poor Hannah. If a couple more days went by and Holly hadn't returned, her mother would have a complete breakdown, she knew. And that would leave Hannah trying to be the strong one for her mother. Her father and Hugh were the sort of people who had to be doing something at all time, trying to work to make the situation better. So they'd work themselves, trying to find her, until exhaustion. Her mother would be unable to function really, she'd worry so. Eventually they'd probably think that her disappearances had something to do with the Pokèmon dissapearence, which, in a way, it did. So they'd work on that line of inquiry, searching for the lost Pokèmon in hopes that they'd find her as well. And that would just leave Hannah, hurting as well but trying so hard not to show it, as she made sure their normal life continued on. Fixing meals, making sure people ate and slept, trying to keep their spirits up...

Holly blinked back the tears the moment she felt them begin to stir behind her eyes, standing up straighter, clenching her jaw and punching her fist into the palm of her other hand. Damn it, this was no time to start feeling weepy and sorry for herself! She was no damsel in distress, waiting for some prince to ride along and save her!

And hey with any luck, not that her luck was proving to be all that useful, maybe she was in some alternate dimension in which a year here was really only like, a day in the real world.

Not that she was planning on being here for a year or anything.

Holly was abruptly awakened from her thoughts when she realized with a start that Rathan was staring right into her eyes. There was something different in them now, something beyond the frustration and anger he had apparently been feeling before. The Bagon held Holly's eyes for just a moment, before turning and continuing across the wasteland. But there was a...a strength in his step, a glitter in his eyes, a set in his little shoulders, that came not from anger but from...

...excitement? Perhaps not quite, but...well he definitely no longer seemed quite so upset about the situation as he had just moments before. What had gone on in his mind, to bring about such a change in attitude? As Holly lengthen her steps to match the new quickness in the little dragon's clawed feet, her thoughts turned to her new and sudden companion.

What do I know about Bagons...? Not much really... The trainer books didn't focus on the rare and illusive Pokèmon, but rather on the more common types, the sort that beginner trainers are more likely to run into.

But the books did say trainers hardly see Bagons because they're so rare...on the verge of extinction... Holly's thoughtful eyes gazed down at the Bagon, walking just a little ahead of her,

Does he have a family, I wonder? Or have they been killed or captured, leaving him alone? But wait...

Her hand moved to lightly brush Rathan's pokeball with a finger. He already had a pokeball, which meant someone had already captured him. Did he have a trainer somewhere, who was worried sick over him? Who he was trying desperately to get home to? Or was he resentful of the person who had taken away his freedom?

Was he running toward something? Or away?

But there was no way for Holly to know that, at least not right now. Rathan could hardly tell her his life story, probably wouldn't even if he could. So it was no use worrying about that now. Instead she filed away that bit of speculation for a later period.

What else do I know about Bagons? They evolve into Shellgons, and then into....Flygons? That sounds right but...wait no. Flygons are those desert dragons. Shellgons become...Sal-somethings. Salamander? Salamence! That's the one.

Salamences were rare as well, though they weren't quite yet dieing out, not like Bagons were. Though if Bagons continued to die out...well it didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen to Salamences then. So many different Pokèmon were dieing out, or were already extinct...It made Holly angry, and also, so very sad.

But that was neither here nor there.

And for all I know, all the Pokèmon are extinct except for this Bagon, because of that stupid book.

Holly rubbed at the ache that was beginning to build in her forehead. She couldn't fix that either just yet, so back to considering the smaller enigma walking before her.

There's got to be something else about Bagons that I'm forgetting... Tipping her head back a little, Holly squinted at the sky as she tried to remember what those books she had read had said....or even perhaps something from random conversation...

Her eyes were idly drawn to the little amaranth machine thingy hovering above them as they walked, and trailed over the softly buzzing wings.

I wonder how it flies like that...It's to bad Rathan doesn't have his wings yet, otherwise we could fly out of here-wait flying! That's right! Bagons were known for how passionately they dreamed of flying! Infact there was some ancient folklore surrounding them, that Bagons eventually evolve into Salamences due to this longing of flight.

Was Rathan the same way? Holly's eyes once again went to the little dragon, but this time with a speculative gleam. Was Rathan's fondest wish one of flight?

Well, not that she could really do anything about that either. Bagons were to heavy for her to pick up, something close to 95 pounds or whatever, though she supposed she could carry him on her back or shoulders. But that wasn't the same as flying. The closest he could come would be to jump off the different boulders. But last time he had done that, he had become a little angry. Perhaps because it just reminded him of what he couldn't do?

Holly didn't know. But she wanted to find out. Wanted to learn more about the little enigma crunching pebbles beneath his feet as he walked along with her. But how?

Ironically, a song popped into Holly's head.

One day the whole world looks like an open page.
And you've been dancing as fast as you can,
With a smile on your face.

Then the Earth and the sky they open together,
And carry me away as light as a feather.
Chase the clouds from the ground in the big blue sky.
Don't wanna watch it all go by, so I'm gonna fly.
Higher than I ever could.

Perhaps a lighter spin on what had happened to both her and the Bagon, oddly fitting, in a twisted sort of way. Softly, Holly began to sing it. Her voice, wasn't the sort that would bring thousands of people flocking to a stage just to hear it, but it was pretty enough, and the tune was true.

Sometimes...some Pokèmon responded to song. Thought it soothing in a way normal talking wasn't. Perhaps the Bagon would feel the same?

[ The Oracle Guide doesn't have wings that "buzz" by the way. Just stiffly hanging there like an ornament ]

The song caught Rathan off-guard, pausing in his steps. Had he heard something like a horrible, screeching Skarmory singing or was it at least a Swablu singing sweetly for him? His face was rather unreadable from the surprised look on his face. He was blinking, wondering what Holly could possibly have in mind. He at least listened from the lyrics of the song she was singing though and he felt a bit warm in a strange way. Was it all a coincidence?

It certainly matched his mood right now. Songs from Pokèmon were so different from the songs of humans but it was one thing they have in common. In a way singing had enable them to express themselves. Rathan wondered what it could be Holly was thinking and feeling at the moment to express herself like this. The lyrics were more fitting for his feelings. Did Holly decide to just sing this song, perhaps her favorite, because she just felt so, or did she intentionally sing this for him? Rathan was one of the Pokèmon who could not really sing. Even if it was a form of expression, singing was usually entitled for Flying-type Pokèmon, some Grass-type like Bellosom and even Normal-type Pokèmon like the felines. He couldn't imagine his kind, Dragon-type even, to be singing. How hilarious!

Unsure of what Holly has in mind, Rathan smiled a bit at least even though it was not the sweet smile of sort type, it was still a smile, a good sort of response. Even so, it does not completely solve what it could be Rathan was thinking for Holly. He might just have found it amusing after all. There was no such direct answer like a "yes" or "no" but it's a step, right?

Rathan had once more climbed up a boulder which was twice his size, around four to five feet. He didn't go up all the way there though to scout the place again which is obviously just blank and dull as it used to. Instead it made forceful, hurried steps and jumped out of the boulder. If he had wings then maybe....

CRASH!

A hole has been left on the ground, pieces of rocks crumbling. The hard head Rathan had protected him and definitely did not even hurt him. Rathan turned and smirked at Holly. That was nothing and he wanted to say that he was completely strong and capable...with wings or not. Now, shall he proceed to show off his strength and let the training begin?

((Oh really? Ok! My bad haha, I thought the wings would move))

Holly watched Rathan carefully as she sang, trying to gauge his reaction to the song, or just the singing in general. If he looked like he didn’t like it, she would quit, straight up, and move on to other things, other thoughts. But…

There was a pause in his step, and a bit of bemused blinking to be sure. Looking thoughtful for a moment and then…

Was that a smile?

It was not a gleeful smile, or a sweet smile. Not the sort one would get from a dopey Growlithe perhaps, or from a baby Pokèmon like Igglybuff or Pichu or something. But it was a smile! And that was progress. Holly felt her own lips twitch upward into a smile as well, and her voice became a little lighter and a little bit louder, so that both Pokèmon and girl, and perhaps the amaranth machine thingy, could all hear a little better.

“Feel the wind blow through my hair,
Feel the sun dance with the moon.”

Holly continued to sing, pausing when the Bagon made a b-line for another boulder, and began to climb up it. Holly cocked her head to the side curiously, for she had not expected him to climb another boulder after his frustrating experience with the first one, but she didn’t stop him.

“And my feet can't stay on the ground any longer”

Instead she continued singing, as he jumped off the boulder…

“With every leap of faith I feel a little stronger.
Wanna swing from a star in the big blue sky.
Don't wanna watch it all go by,

So I'm gonna fly.”

Holly’s voice trailed off at the end as Bagon landed with a crash, his hard head protecting him from any painful aftershocks of the landing. As Rathan turned to smirk at Holly, Holly couldn’t help but grin at him in return.

“That.” Holly told him, looking up at the boulder he had just jumped off of, then back down at him,

“Was an amazing jump.” She propped her hands on her hips, “It’s obvious, you’ve been training haven’t you?” Holly glanced around again, eyes glazing over all the different boulders, some taller than others.

“Want to keep at it? No reason not to, and there are plenty of boulders to train with.” Holly bent down on one knee so that she was at eye level with the smallish Pokèmon.

“We could find taller boulders, work on your form, landing techniques, the whole deal. Even with flying, one has to land sooner or later, and we might be able to find a way to make your landings smoother. We could also work on making your leaps longer, try jumping from boulder to boulder, that sort of thing.” Holly grinned,

“And one never knows, with all this training and jumping about, we might catch a glimpse of something. What do you say?” Holly held out her hand for the dragon to shake or touch or something, for a sign of an agreement.

This would be the perfect chance to build a closer bond between them, if Holly could help the dragon work on something he loves, and she really did think she could help him work on his leapings and landings.

And hey, will all that leaping off tall rocks, if there was something out there, they were bound to see it…right?

And if that didn’t work, Holly supposed she’d turn her attention to the amaranth flying thing somehow hovering above her, rather than the tiny dragon. She hadn’t been giving it much attention yet, not because she was trying to ignore it, but because, honestly, she didn’t know what to do about it. All it did was somehow hover above them, and follow them. It wasn’t causing any harm, unless it had been the thing that pushed her into this wasteland anyway. But she couldn’t prove that, yet, and it did help her out with that bit of amaranth light from before.

And she figured building a relationship with the little dragon, and her possible partner for an indeterminate amount of time, was more important than fiddling with the random amaranth colored thingy. Especially if fiddling meant sending them into another black hole of doom.

The Bagon nodded. Of course, he wanted to train more. Getting stronger was what he wanted but he was caught off-guard when Holly mentioned something about flying. He was able to stow his surprised expression for a moment hastily though, returning to a confident smile and moving his head for a firm nod. Getting a yes, Holly decided to start the working then. While the two move, as expected, the Oracle Guide merely followed.

During the initial search for a good training spot though, there seemed to be lesser boulders appearing. How is it that just when Holly was looking for one, they start disappearing? The boulders were also becoming smaller, nothing compared to the boulder Rathan had just climbed and leaped off. After a while, the boulders Holly and Rathan found shrunk to big rocks and without noticing it, the sun signaled already that is was mid-morning.

Rathan looked around, still wanting to train even though they've been looking for quite a while just for the perfect place. It might as well be a warm-up, walking around like this. They haven't encountered anything supernatural (minus the very existence of this place) so far though. It surely was still the same wasteland everyone hated.

Eventually Rathan spotted a round, fat, boulder. It was fat, but not tall. Near it though was a large boulder and this time, it was tall, as tall as five and a half feet. It looked very rough from what it looked to be and it was barely rounded. Rathan wasn't asking for the smoothest or most spherical boulder anyway but it should be enough for him to practice leaps. It was only one though. The boulder was the only one suitable among the other giant rocks or small boulders. Should they already settle for this anyway? They can still keep on looking.

Of course, the moment we want boulders they start to disappear or get smaller. Why would my luck start changing now? Holly let out an exasperated sigh as she surveyed their surroundings. The area was just as desolate as ever, with no signs of life save for themselves.

It's so....dead here. Nary a bird nor bug. Though I guess I can't blame either for not sticking around. I certainly wouldn't.

The only bird Holly figured might find this place to be a good home would be Murkrows. They tended to like desolate places like this. One of her neighbors from another region had one, an elderly lady who often employed Holly to go to the store and buy her groceries. The lady's eyesight had eventually failed her, so she stopped using the lights. And as she was on a strict pension, she didn't buy much, and owned very little. Her little house had been something like this desolate area...light shining through closed curtains and giving off an eerie glow like the weird sun that shown here, empty rooms like the empty land around them. And yet both the old woman and her Murkrow had seemed happy, the Murkrow even pleased. At least, it was always as mischievous as ever, and the bird’s antics had brought Holly no end of annoyance and amusement. She had grown fond of the bird though, to be certain. And of Murkrows in general really.

But those idle speculations were neither here nor there. Especially when Rathan had just found what they were looking for.　

"These boulders should work." Holly said, eyed them critically. A smaller rounder boulder and a taller less rounded boulder. Perhaps not the best, but it would do.

"Why don't we first do some warm-ups, which would also raise the strength in your legs." Holly half asked, half stated as she walked up to the smaller boulder absently rubbing her hand over it as she looked down at the little dragon.

"I know you can leap off of things pretty well, but how well can you leap up onto things. And how fast? We'll start with leaping up on this shorter one here." Holly slapped the top of it,

"First I'd like you to try and jump up onto it. You can take a running leap if you think you need to, though eventually the goal will be to just be able to jump up onto things from a stand-still. That would help you in battle as well. Once you can jump up onto the top of this boulder reliably, we'll try jumping from this boulder" Holly slapped the top of the shorter boulder again, then moved over to the taller boulder that was nearby.

"To this one." She slapped its side, "And once you can do that reliably, then we'll see how fast you can jump from the floor, to the first boulder, to the second boulder, back to the ground." Holly went back over to Rathan, and lightly tapped the top of his head,

"Thanks to your helmet like head, you won't get hurt if you misjudge a jump. But if you start to get tired, or if your legs start to get sore, we can take a break, or work on something else."

Holly bent down , squatting so that she and Rathan were face to face, "Later, if you feel up to it, we can work on your landings too. But for now, lets work on strengthening your legs by jumping up onto the boulders. With stronger legs, you'll be able to make longer leaps, which will carry you that much farther." Holly winked at the little dragon as she stood up again,

"Good practice for flying someday." Taking a step back and out of the way, Holly gestured to the smaller boulder,

"Alrighty, let's begin! Remember, try jumping up onto the smaller boulder first, not climbing up. If you can do that, then I want you to try and jump from the smaller boulder, to the bigger boulder."

Rathan listened to Holly's explanation, eying at the boulders she was gesturing at. When she crouched down to watch, the Bagon had closed his eyes, making the thick air of cockiness denser. So this was it? He didn't even have to make an initial run for a good, high jump. The first boulder was smaller. It shouldn't be so hard at all. Although the next boulder was larger, there shouldn't be much difference. Rathan glanced at Holly before taking a good look at the boulder in front of him. It was no different from the boulders he came across although Holly had a very smart point about his skills at landing than jumping. Since he was occasionally falling down from boulders in an attempt to "fly", Rathan had started focusing on a better landing which was something he bragged about. He never thought of leaping in the air, but it shouldn't be too hard.

He lowered his knees, aiming with a pair of narrowed eyes at the boulder in front of him. Focusing, he gave his energy onto his limbs and sprung in the air. He was able to reach the top of the boulder in no time. Rathan glanced at Holly, waiting for a reaction. He impressed himself, and the other one shouldn't be a problem either.

Eyes diverted to the bigger boulder, two to three and a half feet apart from the boulder Rathan is standing. He didn't pause too long. He could easily jump from this height already. In this thought, he failed to recognize the factor of the distance between the two but it was too late. He leaped from where he was, slowly reaching for the landing on top of the boulder. He flailed his legs like wings, soaring in the air....

Thud!

Yes! His foot had reached the edge. His other foot followed and both foot were able to reach the other boulder. Rathan grinned but without notice, his foot slipped and then his body became unbalanced. He stumbled, falling down from the big boulder and landing on the solid ground on his head, which was good.

The impact has been strong as usual, causing dusts to spread in the air and the Bagon left a mark from where his head had been. Rathan barely felt the pain, except the pain in his dignity where he had pushed so far only to slip as if there was a banana peel. It was humiliating. The Bagon was grumbling, looking away.

((I've claimed the December 25 Promo for the Rainbow Oracle. Wasn't sure if I should make a note of that in the beginning of my post. ^_^ ))

The very fact that Bagon was doing as Holly asked him was cause for excitement, and relief. She had been afraid the dragon would get bored with it, or simply continue walking as if Holly hadn't spoken at all. When he jumped onto the first boulder with ease, Holly applauded a little, giving him the thumbs up to show her pride, but hopefully not be to over enthusiastic. As she wasn't sure how Rathan would take that either. She quieted when it was obvious he was about to jump to the next one. Holly held her breath, her eyes following the dragon as he leaped, caught her breath as he caught the edge of the rock, then winced in sympathy as he failed to get a good gripping and landed, thankfully, on his head.

Holly didn't laugh, nor did she rush over to ask him if he was okay. She knew that, physically, he was fine. His head was harder than the boulders he was trying to jump onto after all. But from the way he was acting now, not looking at her, muttering under his breath, it seemed like he might be a little hurt, emotionally.

"That was great Rathan, especially for your first try." Holly said, walking over and kneeling to try and catch the dragon's eyes.

"But you know what would be even better? Trying again. It doesn't matter if one accomplishes their task the very first time, or the 50th time. What matters is that they keep at it until they accomplish it. We're not quitters right Rathan?" Holly grinned, trying to show that she wasn't disappointed that Rathan didn't get it on his first try, reaching out to lightly rub the Bagon's head, The very fact that Rathan cared enough about Holly's opinion, even if it was very little, gave Holly a warm feeling in her chest.

"And you almost had it before! I bet you could get it soon if you keep trying. Next time, keep in mind the distance too. You had the height just right! But if you put a little more power in leaping forward as well as up, I think you’ll get it. Come on," Holly stood up and offered her hand,

"With every leap, you're one step closer to flying."

[ It's awesome you did x3 ]

Rathan seem to smile once more, brightening at the mention again of flying. He then returned to the starting spot, ready to take on the boulders again. He was able to jump onto the boulder without the need for an initial run so he's going to do it again.

Rathan looked at the boulder. In three counts, he jumped again. He once again succeeded but the next one was the obstacle. Rathan did not fear of failing because he is very confident it wasn't going to happen again and he will not let the failure make him hesitate. Lowering his knees with a one point five second pause, he leaped from the boulder to the bigger one. He had leaped for around two feet, enough to get him a good landing on the boulder. If only he can keep this up until the end ----

A gust of wind came from Holly's left and the wind somehow pushed Rathan flying east. When the dust from the wind died, something colorful and sparkling appeared in front of Holly. It had wonderful, fluttering wings and a horn with a cute light emitting from its tip. The Pokèmon had strange signs on its wings but staring at it was hypnotizing. It was like looking at a kaleidoscope with the Pokèmon's rich rainbow color. It was carrying a medium-sized basket.

"HI HI HI!" It said with a really cute, girlish voice. "You must be HOLLY WOLGON. I take it this is your Oracle Gude, yes yes yes?" It said, looking at its counterpart: a completely dull, monochrome version of itself. "Ah ah ah! I see! It looks like Amaranth admires you, yes yes yes? Well well well, I've got a letter from the Woman. And and and food and money from her and and and something else!"

The herald then handed Holly the basket which was quite heavy. It was covered with a cloth too and the said note was attached to the basket. "The money and food is in there but here here here!" It handed a small, gold pouch tied with a silver string. It was very light. "It has ash! Sacred Ash, hee hee hee! Well, see you you you!"

Rathan came up to Holly, wondering what hit him. He only caught the part when the rainbow colored Pokèmon swooped past him. He blinked, rubbing his eyes, wondering what in the name of Rayquaza that was.

Holly grinned back at Rathan, feeling a little lighter with the knowledge that her words had helped the dragon. She could almost feel the bond that was beginning to grow between them, like the first bud of a newly planted flower.

Stepping back a little to give the Bagon more room, Holly planted her hands on her hips and watched with an approving if critical eye as the dragon jumped onto the first rock. Like she did before, she watched Rathan closely, looking for little things or big things as the case may be, for them to try and improve on.

She held her breath as Rathan prepared to leap to the next rock, so focused on the dragon, that she didn't notice their "visitor" until the wind, strong enough to blow Rathan off course, suddenly blew in from her left, blowing her hair back.

Holly whirled around, raising one arm to shield her eyes from the dust, squinting at the area as she took a cautious step back, debating whether she should grab Rathan and make a run for it, dive behind a rock, or stay where she was. After all, the atmosphere of this place wasn't exactly friendly. Who knows what man/girl/bagon-eating beast could be lurking in this hellish place, waiting only for Holly to lower her guard to soar down and devour them.

But instinct told Holly to stay where she was, or perhaps it was just the thought that no matter where they ran, chances were that if this thing was some giant Holly-eating beast, there wasn't much she could do about it.

As the dust cleared, and Holly blinked the bits of particles from her eyes she was suddenly face to face with something she had never seen before.

Or face to horn. Or face to whatever-the-hell-this-thing-was.

Holly's first impression was colors. Loads of colors. A rainbow of colors. Colors that seemed to out shine everything else in this land, even the bloody sun.

Such colors, after seeing nothing but blood red and grey, with only a little Amaranth light and Rathan and her own self was almost blinding.

Was it a Pokèmon? It sort of seemed to be. But then again, it also looked like that Amaranthmachinethingy...

And then it talked, and Holly gave up on trying to figure this crap out.

It had the voice of a little girl-chibi strung out on cola and pixie stick-candy, and as if that wasn't troubling enough, it also knew her name.

But the most key point here was that it also knew of That. Damn. Woman.

"Wait a minute-" Holly started, but found herself completely talked over by the Child-Pokèmon-Machine-Thing, as it all but thrust a basket at her. Holly almost dropped the basket, surprised at its weight. Not that she couldn't carry it, she just hadn't been expecting it to be this heavy. That Pokèmon thing barely looked like it weighed a pound!

"Now just hold on-!" Holly tried again, but was once again cut off as a golden pouch was thrust into her other hand.

Hands now full, Holly could do nothing but fume helplessly as the "Pokèmon" took off, swooping over a seriously bemused Rathan's head as he come up behind her.

Perfect. They finally, if randomly, meet someone (or something) that could give them some information, but it was blessed with an energetic mouth and closed ears.

She blamed That. Damn. Woman. In fact, Holly was quite happy to place all blame on her, from the supposed Pokèmon disappearance to them being in this waste land, to the Pokèmon-Child-Machine-Thingy's leaving before it...she?...could answer Holly's questions.

Of course, the fact tha Holly had been the one to open up the book, thus triggering all of this, including "That. Damn. Woman.'s"' appearance was irrelevent in Holly's mind. At least for now. One couldn't blame the girl really, and, as Holly would be quick to point out should someone question it, That. Damn. Woman. obviously knew she and Rathan (and Amaranth apparently) were trapped in this hell hole, and she obviously wasn't doing much to get them out.

See? Blame. Right there.

Closing her eyes, Holly took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She was a bit angry, yes, and "bit" was probably an understatement. But there was nothing to be done about it now, and anger was a luxury she probably couldn't afford at the moment. So Holly forced herself to calm down. Instead she glanced up at her grey, dull, and not talkative machine thingy.

Oh what she wouldn't give right now for a flying Pokèmon. Preferably one she could send after That. Damn. Woman's messenger, so she could get the thing to tell her just what the hell was going on!

But as Holly had thought before, the only flying Pokèmon she could picture in this place were bug Pokèmon and Murkrows. She liked Murkrows, but alas and alack, the sky was clear of them. Just her luck.

"Amaranth huh?" Well she had already named it "Amaranthachinethingy" in her own head. So "Amaranth" would be a nice nickname.

"I'm glad someone appreciates me." Holly muttered. Admired huh? Did that mean that Amaranth wasn't as dull and lifeless that it appeared to be?

But then again, how much stock could she put in something a Child-Pokèmon-Machine-Thing said? Unless of course, Amaranth would someday become something like it...

But that was a whole different strain of thought which had nothing to do with what was happening now, and could thus be thought about later.

Bending down, Holly set the basket on the ground, so that Rathan could see too, squatted down on her knees. She then carefully lifted up the cloth. Holly's eyes widened a trifle. Food, blessed blessed food, was in that basket, along with a bit of money. Just as that thing had said. Holly made a point of taking note exactly how much money was in the basket, then taking it out and adding it to the 600 bucks she already had on her, and then making a note of exactly what sort of food she now had, and how much.

After all, this was all they had to survive on, for now.

Holly then took a peek inside the golden pouch.

Sacred Ash huh?

Sitting back on her heels, Holly rubbed a hand over her face. She had mixed feelings about this.

"On the one hand," Holly spoke aloud, for Rathan's, and possibly Amaranth's, benefit as well as her own,

"I am very happy that we now have food, hopefully enough to sustain us until we reach civilization. And the fact that That Damn Woman thought to even send us money, implies that there is someplace around here that takes money, which implies civilization of some sort. On the other hand..." Holly glared at the basket, one of her hands closing into a fist,

"It both worries me and pisses me off that she had the gall to send this stuff! Worries me, because by the sheer fact that she sent supplies to keep us from dying," Holly lifted the pouch with the Sacred Ash as proof, "means that dying is a very large possibility in this hell hole. And pisses me off because SHE'S the one who sent us here in the FIRST PLACE! If she really wanted to help, she'd get us the hell out of here!"

Holly took another deep breath, cleared her throat, and then smiled at Rathan, no anger shown at him of course.

"Though that won't stop us from using the supplies she sent of course." Standing back up again, Holly tucked the pouch carefully into her backpack. She then eyed the note that was atop the basket, presumably by That. Damn. Woman.

Resigning herself, Holly bent down a little and picked up the note, bracing herself from some condescending nonsense about the "gifts" That Damn Woman had been "kind" enough to send.

Breathing out again, Holly began to read the letter aloud, for Rathan and Amaranth's benefit as well.

((Does the food and money get added to my profile?))

Rathan was looking over at the basket. He can already smell the contents of it...why was Holly getting upset again?

Opening the letter, Rathan listened as Holly read it out loud:

[seal]

Hello again, Trainer. I would like you to accept these gifts to aid you in your journey.

May Arceus watch over you.

[/seal]

The short letter ended immediately. It was more of a quick note rather than a message, something even the previous herald she had sent could have said in less than three point five seconds. Rathan shrugged, wondering if he should get back to training. He didn't really know what had happened when that strong wind blew but was sure he was just an inch from reaching the objective in this training and Rathan was confident that he could do it with complete ease the moment he starts!

Holly heard Rathan barking at her, determined to resume the training already and show him her worth. He was already by the starting point and when she had looked, he turned his eyes to the boulder once more, and the last one.

The Bagon jumped, but when he did, something stirred beneath his foot before he could leave the ground. It stood up, causing him to fall unbalance and drop on the ground. The Pokèmon who didn't realize what he had done looked at the Bagon, blinking. The Pokèmon was carrying a bright orange shell, apparently dug a bit underground and was on Rathan's foot. "Shuckle?" The Pokèmon asked if the Pokèmon was fine.

Rathan, with the hard head, was of course fine but it glared at the Shuckle, not at all appreciating its sudden presence. The Shuckle felt intimidated, walking out of the scene.

Holly groaned, and almost chucked the stupid, condescending piece of crap note, but stopped herself. Instead she folded it once and stuck it in her pocket. She wasn't about to be the first to litter, even if it was just a piece of scrap in a giant wasteland of nothingness.

At Rathan's insistent growls and mutterings from behind, Holly turned around. She found that he was already back at the boulders, and from the look in his eyes, he was determined to continue their training.

Holly had to smile a bit at that. Seems that nothing was about to distract the dragon from his long held dreams of flight. It was refreshing, and a bit humbling, to see him work so hard for a dream that wouldn't come to be for a long time yet.

Holly nodded, cracking her fingers,

"You're right. Let's get back to it then." She watched as Rathan tensed, crouching down a little, to make the easy jump from the ground to the first boulder...

Only to blink as Rathan seemed to trip, falling back. Holly's eyes trailed downward, and widened as something moved up and about on the surface.

Shuckle? Holly repeated in her head, blinking again at the little blob inside a rocky shell.

"Seriously? A shuckle?" Walking over to the Pokèmon, Holly placed, what she hoped was a claming hand on the bagon's head, bending down on one knee.

The Shuckle was obviously a bit afraid of Rathan. Which was completely understandable, considering the dragon was glaring at him so hard, one would think he knew the attack move.

Well, this means two things. One: That. Damn. Woman. lied when she said all the Pokèmon were gone. Though Rathan's presence too supports that theory. Or this place is another dimension where all said Pokèmon were sent to and, That. Damn. Woman. sent me here to bring them back. Rathan's presence can also support that theory too.

While all this went through her mind, Holly smiled reassuringly at the Shuckle.

"Shhhh hey buddy. Sorry about disturbing your rest." Holly cooed, keeping her hand on Rathan's head.

"We didn't see you there, you blend in so well." Holly wasn't sure if the Shuckle really understood everything she said, but sometimes in these situations, a calming voice was more helpful than any words.

Well, it's good to know that there is life out here besides me, Rathan, and possibly Amaranth.

"Don't worry about us, you just go back to whatever you were doing, and we'll go back to whatever we were doing. No worries, alright?" Holly said as she stood back up, lightly nudged Rathan, back toward the boulders,

"Come'on Rathan, let's get back to training. Still got to make it to the second boulder right?" Holly said to the dragon, hoping to distract him from any lingering anger at the Shuckle.

Holly was slightly reassured by the Shuckle's presence, just by the very fact that it was a Pokèmon, alive, and probably not brought here by That. Damn. Woman. like the rest of them. But in the Shuckle, as an individual? Holly had no interest in it.

And apparently, it had no interest in them either, for the Shuckle began to move away. All for the better, as hopefully that meant that the Shuckle was fine too.

Though it did lead Holly to wonder what other sort of Pokèmon might be inhabiting this wasteland.

Breathing in, Rathan returned to his spot. How many times have he surely told himself he could do it only to fail because of distractions, he didn't know. Rathan didn't want to count either. He wasn't sure what comes next after two anyway.

Preparing to jump, he bended his knees again and sprung instantly like a Spoink. Jumping, he reached the boulder with ease again. Wasting no time, he raced to the other boulder and leaped. He was taking another high leap, reaching slowly the destination that was now five feet from him, four feet....not sure what's after that...

Rathan landed. Both feet flat on the boulder. His head was bowed and a satisfied smile was on his face. He straightened his back, showing the sun's light his face full of pride. Finally, he had jumped over that boulder and leaped toward this one. Rathan felt extremely happy with the results but now, he wanted to do more. He felt like he can leaped three boulders in a row. It should be wet or mossy too. Having a slippery surface would be useful against icy battlefields. Rathan believed he can do it, surely.

Then his stomach growled and Rathan blinked at the sound.

It was already past lunch definitely afternoon judging by the sun’s location in the sky and the Bagon was hungry already. He wouldn't ignore the roar of his stomach though. Rathan looked up to Holly expectantly, now wanting to sit down and feed the whining stomach. He then recalled the delicious scent the food had. He couldn’t wait to eat them, but was a bit disappointed there was a lack of meat. Even if they had supplies, Rathan felt like he’d still get hungry in the end.

Since it wasn’t particularly rocky in the area of training Holly chose and as they were a lot of smaller rocks around, taking a picnic would be all right, even if there were no lush green leaves to lie down or to fall asleep while listening to the teetering birds.

Holly smiled and backed up a bit as Rathan moved back to the boulders to continue his training. Placing her hands back on her hips, Holly watched as Rathan easily hopped onto the first boulder. Now all that was left was the second one...

Well, third or fourth time's the charm right?

Holly glanced around the area quickly, looking for something that might interrupt them again.

Nope nothing. As far as the eye could see at least. Which probably didn't mean much considering what just happened with Shuckle.

But it looked like, all that was needed was for Rathan to make it. Covertly, Holly crossed her fingers at her hip. He jumped....and...

He made it! Holly let out a whoop, pumping her fist as she grinned at Rathan, going over to the boulder. He was now a bit taller than her, standing on the boulder.

"You did it Rathan! That was great! Now next I think-" Holly broke off, blinking as a loud growling nose interrupted her. First, Holly thought Rathan was growling at her, and she was both startled and taken a back, and just a little hurt.

But then she realized that it was Rathan's stomach, and the hurt vanished, to be replaced by gentle amusement.

"Hungry huh?" She asked, taking a step back so Rathan could jump down. She went over to the basket, gesturing for him to follow. Squatting down, she opened up the basket, eyeing the contents inside.

"Okay, Rathan, so here's the thing. This is the only food we have for...I don't know how long. So we can't eat a lot of it, we have to make it last. And I know that, these fruits and deserts, probably are not your favorite foods but..." Holly shifted through the basket a bit, tipping it a little so that Rathan could see better,

"I'm going to let you choose one thing to eat alright? Point out which of these fruits and deserts you think you'll like the best, and you can have it. But only one for now, okay?" Holly looked at Rathan apologetically, biting her lip,

"I know it's not a lot, but hopefully it'll get you through for a little bit. Okay?"

Holly herself was not going to eat anything. Not right now. She was hungry too yes, and would need food soon. But she figured she could wait until the sun set, and they settled down, somewhere, for the night. Then she would eat something.

But she wouldn't make Rathan stick to the same unwilling diet plan.

A thought struck Holly, and she glanced up at the silently hovering contraption.

"um...Amaranth?" Holly spoke hesitantly up at it. She had no idea if it heard her, if it could respond, if it was alive or not. If "it" was even an it, of if "it" was a "she" or a "he". Though Holly had a sneaking suspicion that if "it" was around for very long, Holly would start thinking of "it" as a "she".

But either way...

Just in case, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"If you eat, and you are hungry..."

And if you understand me

"...You may choose one thing too. To eat I mean."

Holly might not have offered at all, if that thing that had brought the basket hadn't appeared. It had looked an awful lot like Amaranth, only brighter, livelier, and, obviously, much more talkative. But the similarities HAD been there. And that other thing had looked alive. So....

Rathan was already over the basket, pulling out the cloth covering its contents. There he was greeted by the sweet deserts. He had never eaten any of these. Fruits were rare than berries and not recommended since some Pokèmon swallow apple whole and end up...well, Rathan had never eaten it. They were all people food though. Maybe this was all meant to Holly.

Rathan started to sniff them, trying to pick one. The strange, not fruits food smelled almost the same. The fruits were fruits but he'd rather eat the people food. It looked really attractive and nice to the eyes, especially the one with white cream and cherries on top. It was whole though. Was he permitted to eat this? Well, Holly did say just one and technically, this is one.

The Bagon growled to get Holly's attention, pointing to the large cake. He didn't look particularly eager to eat any of the foods in front of him since it didn't appeal to him too greatly. He did sniff meat in there, but it can probably wait. He wanted to try the colorful people food.

Amaranth didn’t reply as usual. Holly had just spoken to the wall.

Holly looked back down at Rathan, sighing a bit on the inside when Amaranth showed no signs of awareness. Well, one less mouth to feed at least. She followed Rathan's pointing claw, and her eyebrows rose a bit as he pointed to the cake.

"You want to eat the cake?" She asked, a little doubtfully. She had no qualms about Rathan eating cake, but she wasn't sure if the dragon would want to eat the entire thing. But she reached into the basket anyway, and pulled it out.

"How about you try it first? Then we'll see how much of it you want to eat k?" Holly hesitated a moment, looking at the cake. Was there a non-messy way to cut the thing?

"Hold a moment." She told the dragon, digging into her pack. Did she have anything that could cut...

"Oh!" Reaching into one of the smaller pockets, Holly pulled out the Dragon Fang. For a moment, she just stared at it, her eyes both softening, and growing a trifle sad. Her brother had sent this to her for her last birthday. She didn't know how he had gotten one, but he remembered that Holly liked dragons and fantasy, and collected odd little bits like this. And as rare as it was, he had given it to her...

Gods she missed him. And her sister. Her parents. Even their dog and cat.

"I'll try to cut it with this." Holly finally said, realizing she had been silent for quite a while. Curling one of her fingers along the back of the fang, she used the sharp tip, along with her hands, to cut a generous slice of cake off for the Bagon. As she handed him the slice, licking frosting off of her own fingers, Holly's gaze once again went to the fang, then to Rathan.

"Here." She finally murmured, handing the fang to Rathan as well, "It's a gift. My brother gave it to me, and now I'm giving it to you. Use it well, alright? It'll help you be stronger." She pressed the fang into Rathan's claws, smiling down at him for a moment. Before adding,

"If you still want more of the cake, you can cut yourself another slice, and keep doing so until you're full."

As Rathan ate, Holly went back to her pack. There was something else in there that...ah!

Reaching into yet another pocket, Holly pulled out a shiny disc. TM 80. She had forgotten she had this too. This was actually supposed to be a gift for her father. For one of his Pokèmon.

Holly's gaze slid over to Rathan again, chowing down on cake.

She supposed her father would forgive her using his gift. It was for a good cause after all, and the stronger Rathan was, the stronger they both were.

But how was she supposed to use it...

Holly can perhaps insert the shiny disc secretly in the remaining cake and offer it to Rathan. Rathan seemed to enjoy, or at least, looking satisfied with the sweet taste of the cake, or she can buy a laptop in the nearest mall and download the file then somehow get a way for a Wi-Fi connection to plug the laptop to Rathan, but even in reality, it seemed like it was impossible, except for the first part. If there was a personal computer somewhere just like how Trainers teach their Pokèmon a TM or an HM in the original world, then maybe it would be possible, like in a Pokèmon Center, if they actually exist in this world unless they have a sort of counterpart.

The best solution was for anything near technology since that's where disks can only be but being lost in the wild with no sighs of civilization, it would take a while.

Rathan had then finished the piece of cake with cream around his mouth and face. He was licking his face, his tongue reaching for the cream that messily covered the Dragon's face. Although it was nice, Rathan didn't grab another piece of cake but he didn't look full but he did look satisfied already. His hunger was gone already and he felt a bit more energetic. Roaring, Rathan jumped up and gestured again to the boulders. He looked around, gazing at each boulder again. He felt like the training should continue now right after that delicious snack. It’s not like he would have want to stop training either, but he didn’t want to stay idle right now.