Chapter 11: Morning Routine

Several hours later, Xander and Cynthia woke up around the same time. They each only slept for a few hours since they usually got up early to train with their Pokemon. 

"Morning, Cynthia," Xander greeted her while yawning and stretching his arms

"Morning. Feels even earlier than usual," Cynthia complained while looking at her Poketech. But when she saw it was actually 5 in the morning, she started climbing out of the sleeping bag and no longer voicing her complaints. 

Once they were done packing up their supplies, everyone except for Fenris and Feebas began to run around the oasis while Feebas swam in the lake following them. Fenris rested near the supplies since he couldn't keep up with them nor would it benefit his evolution. 

As the group ran around the lake, Lucario was leading the pack with Gabby behind him. Cynthia and Xander were next in line while Larvesta and Vulpix were at the end of the pack. Although both Pokemon had decent speed, their small bodies had them move slower than the rest. 

After 10 laps around the lake, the group stopped at camp where Vulpix and Larvesta collapsed on the ground in exhaustion while the two children were leaning over and breathing heavily. Only Gabby and Lucario were able to stand proud with a little bit of sweat dripping from their bodies. 

Once they were done with the basic workout, the pair went separate ways to start training their Pokemon. 

Since Fenris was in his shell and saving up energy to evolve, Xander decided to focus on Vulpix and Larvesta. He pulled out a collapsable staff from his backpack and tied a small board that he carried with him. Once he got it ready, he planted it in the ground about 20 meters away from where he and his Pokemon were standing. 

"Alright. Larvesta, use [Ember]. Vulpix, use [Icicle Spear]. Focus on hitting the target using the least amount of power," Xander instructed them. Both Pokemon let out sounds of acknowledgment before firing at the target with bullets of flames and spears of ice. 

At first, all of their attacks fell far short of the target due to holding back the power that they released, though Vulpix got much closer thanks to her previous training. The little princess showed Larvesta an arrogant look, noting the difference between them.

This seemed to enrage Larvesta as Xander felt the heat increase when flames sprouted off its horns. Vulpix responded in kind by releasing an icy mist around her body, instantly cooling the surroundings. 

Xander looked at the small rivalry that had formed between the pair and nodded. 

'This is good too. Cynthia makes me work even harder so having their own little rivalry will get these two to improve even faster,' Xander sat down and leaned against Fenris' shell as he watched the duo compete on who would strike the target first. 

'Taking a break, Boss?' Fenris asked in a way that Xander had no hope of understanding

"Those two are kinda cute when they shoot projectiles like that, right?"

'They make my shell hot and cold. Hopefully, with both of them, there will be a balance,' Fenris replied, glad that there was a Fire Pokemon to balance out the coolness that Vulpix gave him. He was a Dragon Pokemon so Vulpix's cool body laying on him constantly made him feel uncomfortable. Luckily, it was also decent training for increasing his resistance to the cold. 

It took Vulpix 10 minutes to start striking around the target while Larvesta took about 30. Once they got the power right, the duo began to work on the accuracy. 

The training lasted about an hour before Xander called them to eat breakfast. Exhausted from constantly firing their moves, even their weakest ones, the duo went ahead and ate their food without complaint or fighting one another. 

As soon as they were done, Larvesta climbed onto the side of Fenris while Vulpix jumped on top of him. Once they got in position, both Pokemon dozed off. 

Xander walked over and grabbed the board and pole before storing both in his bag and returning to the side of Fenris while leaning against the tree and watching Cynthia train. 

Cynthia's training was mainly for Feebas while Lucario and Gabby had a practice match against one another. Lucario was much faster and stronger thanks to the strength he gained from his evolution so it was more about Gabby trying to actually strike Lucario while the latter was trying to get more in tune with his aura abilities. 

Cynthia's group trained for even longer than Xander's but there was little he could do. Two of Cynthia's Pokemon had evolved so they naturally had more endurance than Larvesta and Vulpix while Feebas was literally a fish in water.

When Cynthia's team was done training, it was almost 8 in the morning. Her entire team spent about 3 hours training in total compared to Xander's 2 hours. 

When she returned to the shore, Xander held out a towel for her which she gladly took. While she was getting ready, Xander gave her three Pokemon their breakfast. 

When everyone was done eating and Cynthia was done getting dressed, Cynthia called Feebas back to its Pokeball while Lucario, Gabby, and Fenris began walking in the direction of Veilstone City with the two small ones riding on Fenris' shell. 

The group walked for a few hours, coming across a few wild Pokemon. Most of the Pokemon left them be since they were such a large group but a few of the more aggressive ones attacked them on sight. These were easily beaten back by the combined efforts of the group. 

After walking for 4 hours, the group finally saw people around them. There were trainers, breeders, and various other people who had their partners around them as they all walked in the same direction. A large town that was underground. 

The Sinnoh Pokemon League created each town to regulate travel and protect the various towns and cities on the surface. Their purpose was to ensure no evil trainers or wild Pokemon wreaked havoc underground where there was little protection.