Preparing

The somewhat late night hadn't stopped Cinder and Korrina from rising early the next morning.

True to his word, Cinder led the team to an area outside of the city, featuring a small pond with shallow water and multiple rocks spread throughout the water.

The water of Cerulean City's Gym would be much deeper than this, and Cinder imagined that the pool itself would be at least as big, but this would still be the perfect place to practice at, without too much of a risk.

Storm would need to learn how to navigate around the water by jumping in between the rocks, as he would have to do the same for the platforms in the Cerulean Gym's pool. The pink sheep had his Agility and Double Team for ways of mobility, although Cinder wasn't sure how taxing it would be for him to use it constantly to navigate around the battlefield.

In any case, it would be preferable for him to have some sort of basic swimming ability, which thankfully wasn't too much of an issue, as many pokemon had at least some level of swimming capabilities due to natural survival instincts. Nevertheless, Cinder was hoping to improve upon those at least a little bit, but he wouldn't be putting too much focus on it, knowing that it would take ages for them to even potentially match the swimming capabilities of a water-type pokemon.

Really, the pond would be the perfect place for them to train for the battle. Starly wouldn't have to worry about it, as she could fly, but Cinder did have something else in mind for her to help out with training the others.

Cinder had a feeling the avian wasn't quite ready to start fighting with him yet, the incident that happened in Mt. Moon worked wonders for their compassion, which is a good thing. She was warming up to them more and more as time passes hanging out. The fact that she was willing to took part in this training for the Cerulean Gym was now evidence of that, not to mention she got closer to the team. Cinder was glad she was happy now.

Korrina's Hero(Hawlucha), Talon(Spearow) and Aiz(Mienfoo) would be participating as well, needing the same kind of training that his own team did.

Conveniently, there was a much deeper pond of water nearby for Cinder's Hercule to hone his own swimming capabilities. He was planning to multitask between the two of them, but was willing to give Korrina the first turn with the pond.

He inclined his head towards Korrina, who had hee team lined up by her side as they observed the pond.

"What do you think? Will it work for you?"

Korrina turned her head towards him and nodded with a smile.

"Yes, thank you."

As Cinder prepared Hercule at the other pond nearby, he had his Storm and Starly stick around to observe Korrina's team so that they could get ready for their own turn. The two Pokemon kept their distance, however, allowing Korrina and her team to do their thing.

Fafnir looked on innocently as Cinder observed the rest of the team. Cinder knelt down and patted the baby's head, prompting the baby dragon to close his eyes happily.

"Fafnir, I'd like you to watch with me, okay?" Fafnir still wasn't ready for battle, and Cinder wasn't too sure when he'd start training him, he guessed after their gym challenge this time, but for now, getting him to learn from example was probably a pretty good first step. The more Fafnir could soak up, the better prepared he'd be. Cinder certainly wasn't going to rush into things with the infant, as raising him properly during his newborn phase exceeded everything else in terms of importance, but allowing the dragon to simply observe the rest of the team was harmless.

At Fafnir's nod, Cinder returned the response with a nod of his own before standing upright and addressing the rest of the team, also taking the time to observe their expressions.

Apart from Talon, Hercule and Starly, all of them seemed to be rather apprehensive about the upcoming battle, which Cinder couldn't blame them for. None of them had fought in an aquatic arena before, Talon and Starly wer the only two with the flight to compensate for such a disadvantage. In comparison, their opponents would inevitably be perfectly suited for water-based combat. Water-types could breathe underwater, and were expert swimmers by nature, after all.

Even Starly wasn't at her most confident, but her facial expression acknowledged that the rest of her teammates were in a much more difficult position than herself.

"Okay." Cinder began, looking between his teammates evenly as Fafnir stood by his side. Korrina's Hero(Hawlucha) and Aiz(Mienfoo) looked on from a few feet back. "As you all know, we are planning on challenging this city's Gym soon. This will be our team's second Gym battle, and Starly's first." He gave a quick glance to the avian pokemon, who stiffened up at the declaration, before returning his gaze evenly to the entire team as a whole. "For obvious reasons, we are gonna fair much better than others. Against Brock, the terrain was rough, and we needed to get used to it, but in our next battle, we will be in an arena filled with water, with only platforms to provide us with very limited ground. It would be feasible for Hercule to try and get him to be able to swim at the level of the Gym's water-type pokemon, but that doesn't apply to Storm and Starly, which is why both of you need to focus on maneuvering around the limited ground that you have." He gestured over to the pond. "Storm will practice jumping between the rocks. He will work on keeping his Agility between them, in order to build up his endurance. Storm, you've practiced something similar to this before, when we were preparing for Brock, but this will be more difficult. It's not just about uneven terrain anymore, it's about limited terrain." The young sheep frowned at the comment, but nodded in understanding. Cinder smiled at him. "Of course, your dexterity and efficiency in traversing terrain have excelled ever since those training sessions. I'd like you to support Hercule too as best as you can, understood?"

Storm nodded at that, flashing a look towards Hercule, who nodded back at him.

"Hercule didn't have such disadvantage. To say he have the same advantage as the gym leaders would be the exact way to describe it." Cinder paused as he eyed his water-type pokemon. "Hercule would need to get used to swimming, this spot would be perfect for you. Hercule has learned a couple of moves from his evolution, I would come back at that after you got used to the terrain and got to your own element Hercule."

Hercule grunted jovially as he raised his gloved hands in the air.

"At some point, however," Cinder continued. "I will need to pull Storm aside. Since this is a water-type Gym, we'll need to make sure Storm has improved how efficiently he can use Thunderbolt, Electro Ball and Cotton Spore, as well. Storm can hopefully master these three moves in time, or at least usable enough to be used in the battle against the sensational sisters." He flashed his starter an apologetic look. "I know it's a lot to do Storm, but you really need to adapt and have a good amount of punch in your moves against the Gym's water-types. I'm counting on you."

It definitely made the young boy feel worried. Despite his typing, Storm was in just as much of a disadvantageous position as everyone else in Korrina's team besides Starly, Talon, Poliwhirl and maybe Hawlucha too. He didn't like putting this much pressure onto just one Pokemon.

But thankfully, despite the obvious nervousness in the sheep's eyes, Storm nodded, although his teammates offered him sympathetic looks, and Starly in particular looked concerned.

Cinder wanted to speak with her real quick, but first he needed to inform everybody of her role in this exercise.

"Starly…" He carefully regained everybody's attention. "You can fly. That means you don't need to worry about the water nearly as much. That's why… I think there might be a way for you to help everybody else in their training." At her curious look, the bird tilting her head to the side for a moment, Cinder fully elaborated on it. "Back when we were training for our battle with Brock, I botched a certain part of the regiment." Cinder paused at that. If he hadn't been thoughtful enough on their gym challenge against Becom, the battle with Brock probably would have ended very differently, and not in their favor. "I told Storm to run laps around the training grounds, getting used to the uneven terrain and climbing rocks. It benefitted him greatly, increasing his speed as well as his maneuverability. However…" His frown deepened. "I wasn't teaching him to multitask. He needed to learn to maneuver around the uneven, disadvantageous battlefield, while simultaneously being forced to deal with attacks from the opposing side. After I realized this, I added that into his exercise, but I should have done it sooner." Hercule seemed to be catching on. Cinder nodded to Starly. "That's why, I need you flying overhead and attacking Storm, with Whirlwind while he's traversing the rocks. Try to knock him into the pond. This will also get him used to trying to get out of the water as soon as possible, as it would be suicide to try to engage the Gym's Pokemon while in the water. That would be when their already huge advantage will be at its height. Obviously, if he can't make it back, I'd like you to rescue him. The water is shallow, but better safe than sorry." He looked between the pokemon to gauge their reactions.

None of the two seemed to like the idea, but mostly they had accepting expressions on their faces nonetheless, acknowledging that this was essential to prepare for the battle.

And Cinder wouldn't make a mistake in his training. A true trainer learned from their mistakes, as they continued to hone themselves, but for now, he wanted to avoid having mistakes by analyzing and coming up with a plan from the problem they had at hand.

And that's what he would do.

"Alright Storm…" He began softly. "I want you to stay here with me for a moment. The rest of you…" he pointed off towards the pond. "Go get started right away. I'll send Starly lol over once you've gotten the hang of things. Try to avoid her attacks as much as you can."

As the team complied and headed off to the pond, Cinder knelt down beside the Starly. He did not miss the nervous look that she was sending Storm's way.

"You're worried about Storm, aren't you?" The avian turned towards him as he patted her on the head. He was sure to make eye contact. "I know…" said Cinder. "I'm putting a lot of pressure on the poor guy's plate. I don't like it myself." The look in his eyes turned a bit more confident, although remained sympathetic. "But I want you to know that I wouldn't put him through anything that I thought was too much for him, and that goes for the rest of you. If I find he's overwhelmed, I won't hesitate to give him a break. He deserves it."

Starly seemed to ease up a bit at that. Her trust in Cinder had definitely strengthened since their first encounter in Pewter City, and although Cinder credited Storm for a great majority of that (the time that she had started to open up more was synonymous with when she and Storm had first started to become chummy) the avian had become very friendly towards him and both Fafnir and Hercule as well.

Cinder didn't want to abuse or take advantage of that, and there was no denying the kind of camaraderie that Storm and Starly shared with one another, Storm came up to her rescue after all when she was in a tight situation in the caverns, against their fight with the Gabite. It was a relationship that he hoped his entire team would share with each other one of these days, but for now, the first two members of his team had a kind of friendship that nobody else on the team had. Being reminded of that always moved him, if he was being honest with himself. The two were inseparable as he watched their interactions.

"You're a good friend, Starly." Cinder patted her head affectionately, and the avian crooned softly at the touch. "I'm sure Storm would be happy to know how concerned you are for him." Blinking in sudden realization, he gave her a look. "Do you remember back in Pewter City? When you and Hercule were up against the enemy team rocket's numerous pokemon? I know you don't want to talk to it, it is so as much to me and anyone else does..." She frowned but nevertheless, Starly nodded at that. Cinder's smile widened. "Despite the circumstances, you reigned in your indifference against us and worked with us as a team, you gave us more than the trust we were asking for at the very beginning. We were struggling, but you helped us through it, like a team. Do you remember that." It took a moment, but the avian got what he was saying as Starly's eyes suddenly formed, prompting the young trainer to grin even further. "Moments like that are important for all of you. As long as you all support each other, I'm sure you'll be able to tackle anything."

That seemed to bolster her spirit. Moving back a bit to give his friend some space, Cinder, still kneeling down, turned back towards Fafnir, who was watching the interaction with some curiosity.

Starly understood the importance of her concern for Storm, and Cinder's reassurance to her. He hoped that Fafnir understood it too.

After all, he'd be a part of this team one day, if he wanted to be.

It was yet another thing for the infant to take in.

The first day of training wasn't the smoothest, but Cinder hadn't expected it to be.

Storm led the way, hopping across the pond from rock to rock. Hercule would occasionally make attempts at jumps, but prioritized his swimming capabilities and speed. All the while, Storm would repeatedly fire Whirlwind down towards her teammates, yes, including Hercule too sometimes, in an attempt to knock them into the pond.

Although Storm fared better than what his trainer had expected, he was still being blasted into the water, or even just losing his footing, relatively often. Hercule didn't struggled as much often as he would come back from it with stride, and although they got better over time, it was still an uphill battle for both of them. Thankfully, Storm were usually able to get back onto the rocks on his own, and whenever unable too, he would be quickly rescued by Starly or Hercule.

Storm's training with Thunderbolt was coming along a lot better, however. The young sheep worked to perfect the powerful Move over the next few days.

After a few days, Storm was firing Thunderbolt almost perfectly. Hercule and Starly too had been making much progress.

Thankfully, the next few days saw positive boons for the maneuverability training as well. Not only did the training provide good target practice for Starly, but it wasn't long before Storm, would be able to perform more consistently while traversing the rocks in the water and avoiding her attacks. Hercule's stamina had also greatly increased, his usage of his moves becoming far more frequent without him needing to worry about tiring himself out as quickly. No doubt his recent evolution had also played a key factor in all of this.

And on Korrina's side of things, her Lucario and Mienfoo were making similar progress, and the blond-haired girl boastingly claimed that Hawlucha and Talon were both already gliding/flying far faster than normal. And during Korrina's own training sessions, Cinder would offer some advices, like have her Talon play the same role in as his Starly, in their training as she did for the rest of Cinder's team. It was a good, mutual benefit for both of them, as this was still training for Talon too, and Korrina accepted it.

During breaks between training, Cinder and Korrina both noticed that Hercule and Talon would occasionally hang out with one another. The two of them had assisted each other during the battle against Team Rocket, and it seemed like that experience had stuck with them a bit.

*Just dropped a chapter of the Naruto Fanfic.*