//------------------------------//
// Move Maker 
// Story: Pokémon: Equestrian Adventures 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Having left Luna and the little town, our heroes continue their journey to Cloudsdale City and Flash's sixth Equestria Gym Challenge. They were now trekking through some woods, now walking up to a large clearing where they saw a ten meter cliff-face with a waterfall flowing out of it half-way up. Unable to tell where the water from the falls went, they now saw a large building stood in front of it.

"Finally!" Twilight sighed as she gave her journal one last glance. "We found the forest Pokémon Center."

"Yeah..." Spike added, "Good thing we got here before it got dark."

The others nodding in agreement, the group going inside to see they were the only ones there. Seeing this, they called for Nurse Redheart as Twilight started to show them the next part of the journey plan. "Okay, this is where we are now." she said as she pointed at the forest on the map, "However, once we get out of this place, we'll have another mountain range between us and Foal Mountain."

"Seriously? No grasslands or beaches?" Flash moaned, Springer and Spike adding their own agreements. "Twilight, I don't wanna climb another mountain. We already gotta climb Foal Mountain."

"I know." she replied as she zoomed out the map. "I'm the same way. I've been looking over it since we started our forest trek...and I think this might work." The teen drew a red line to the side of the mountain range, "We can go down the side of the range and hug the coastline. We'll lose a day or two though."

"I can live with that," Flash instantly responded.

"Same!" Spike added, Peewee and Springer nodding rapidly.

Chuckling at their reactions, Doc chimed in, "I agree as well. In fact, we'll probably end up gaining more time than we lose this way. With our luck, we'd likely get lost, trapped or separated by something in the mountains that would eat up our time while we try to fix it."

"That's probably true." Twilight said with a long sigh, "Why does that sound so sad?"

And as they agreed with that as well, Nurse Redheart walked up to the desk, "Welcome to the Pokémon Center." she spoke up before her gaze fell on Flash. "Oh! Are you Flash Sentry?"

This made the teen raise an eyebrow, "Uh...yeah. How'd you know that?"

Redheart held up a finger before she headed into the back room, everyone exchanging glances before she came back with a small parcel. "This was sent here with an image of you connected to the card." She showed him the card, which had a younger image of him. "It asked me to hand this over to you if you showed up here."

"Huh," Flash took the parcel and glanced at the card. "Wait...the return address is from my house."

"Does that mean its from your grandmother?" Flash nodded back at Twilight's question. Ever since the Air Battle Tournament, Flash had made sure to keep regular contact with his grandmother, the last time being after his last gym badge.

"Wonder what she sent you?" Spike asked as Flash began to tear at the wrapping paper, revealing a plastic box. "What's that?"

"It's a water proof container," Doc replied, "Useful for carrying something that could be damaged by water. Whatever's inside must be something she considered valuable."

Flash then tapped a button on the side, a quick hiss escaping the container as the lid popped open. The teen pushed the top off, now seeing...a book. "Huh?" He took it out, reading the words 'Technical Manual' on the cover. "Technical...manual? What's that?"

"Oh my! She's wiser than I gave her credit for," Twilight gasped, Flash and Spike rolling their eyes at her reaction.

And as Nurse Redheart took their Pokémon to be examined, Flash went over to the phone and called up his house. "Hello?" The image of Cloud Clipper appeared on screen, the women smiling at the sight of her grandson. "Oh, Flash. I'm guessing this means you got my parcel."

"Yeah," Flash held the journal up, "I got it. Just not sure what it is."

Cloud sighed and shook her head, "Of course you called me before actually looking inside." Flash decided to finally open the book, seeing the first page on it had a title.




Evolving Water Gun into Ice Beam


There are three steps you need to master in order to transform Water Gun into this move. The first-



Flash's eyes came to a stop as he looked back up at her, "What is this?!"

"It's your grandfather's move journal." Flash went wide-eyed at this. He had heard a lot about his grandfather, though he had never actually met him. When he first arrived in Equestria from the Kanto Region on a journey, he met Cloud and fell in love. However, he died from health complications a few years before Flash was born. "Your gramps was a smart little egghead. He documented almost everything from his travels, including what he had learned about how to teach his Pokémon new moves."

"Wow..." Flash replied as he started to flip through the book, seeing tons of notes over moves, some evolving from earlier moves while others explained how to learn them from scratch.

"This is incredible," Twilight added as she studied the book over Flash's shoulder. "And these really work?"

Cloud nodded back, "The first one is proof. His Squirtle learned Ice Beam by chance, so he documented it and later used it to teach all his water Pokémon Ice Beam. I found it while cleaning out the attic and thought you might like it. I'm sure you'll be able to teach some of your Pokémon some new moves."

"Thanks gran," Flash replied, "I promise I'll put it to good use."

"I know you will sweetheart. I'll let you get started." She gave them all a wave goodbye before cutting the call, Flash turning his focus to the book before they all started taking turns.

"Amazing...its very detailed." Twilight commented first, "Your grandfather was an incredible documenter."

"Yeah. Gran always said she thought he would be a better researcher than a trainer." He looked down at the TM, "I just wonder what moves I should teach my team."

"You should consult your Pokedex," Twilight chimed in, "Get a list of what moves your Pokémon can learn, and then see if any of them are in the book." Flash nodded before typing Riolu into the device, getting a list of moves. But as he went down the list, he found nothing worth getting, but Twilight told him to not be discouraged. Twilight pulling out a separate notebook, the group looked over the journal and the Pokedex, comparing and compiling moves for all their Pokémon.

And as time passed by, Flash spoke up, "Alright, I say we try and teach each of our Pokémon at least one of these moves."

"Agreed. I think I already know what I'm teaching Shine, and I've got an idea what Owlicious should learn."

Doc nodded in return, "Higear didn't have a lot of options in the book, but I found something Tockwork could learn."

"What about you Flash?" Spike asked next, "What are you gonna teach yours?"

"Well...." Flash stared down at the list, "I'm not sure Springer, Skyler and Prongs will want to learn any of these moves, but I might have ones Viper and Hopper could learn."

"What about Riptide?" Twilight added, only for a dinging sound to catch their ears.

They turned to see Redheart walking over with a cart of Pokeballs along with Springer and Peewee. "Thanks for waiting. I'm happy to report that your Pokémon are all completely fighting fit."

"Thanks," Flash replied as Springer and Peewee ran over to them. Once they had their Pokeballs, they went to the center's back yard, seeing the waterfall feeding into a small river that ran down the side of the hill they were on. They then let out their Pokémon, Skyler, Riptide, Prongs, Viper, Hopper, Owlicious, Shine, Higear, Tockwork and Flitanium letting out a cry as they were released. "Alright guys, it's time for some special training." Flash announced next, the Pokémon turning to him as he pointed at the book, "This little thing is filled with pages of cool tricks for a lot of you, and we want to see what you all would like to learn."

They all let out a cheer as they ran over to their trainers. Doc was the first to go into detail as he talked to his Pokémon, "Sorry Flitanium, I couldn't find a move you could learn. However, you just learned Iron Head, so you should be okay." Flitanium let out a glum caw, only for Doc to pat his shoulder, "Now now, don't be depressed. It shows you're already ahead of the game if you don't have much to learn." He turned to his other Pokémon as he then asked, "As for you two, I have some options. Higear, wanna turn your Tackle into Slam?" Higear nodded. "Great. What about you Tockwork?" The Clockwork Pokémon looked over the list before pointing at one move, "Really, you want that one?"

"Tock."

"Alright then, let's try it."

Doc began to walk away as Twilight then showed her Pokémon the list, "Alright you three, see anything you like? There wasn't a lot of choices for us."

"Sorry there wasn't a move in there for you bud," Spike told Peewee.

"Wagon..." Peewee shrugged as the others starting picking from the list.

"Nee," Shine added while wagging her tail, Twilight raising an eyebrow at her choice.

"Interesting. Well, that could come in handy...especially against Dragon-types. What about you Owlicious?" The Scholar Pokémon looked over the list, pointing to two of the moves. However, he couldn't pick just one, Twilight commenting, "Yeah, I understand your dilemma. Though there's nothing to say we can't teach you both. We'll just work on them one at a time." Owlicious nodded in agreement, Twilight turning to Flash next. "Wonder how his Pokémon are doing?"

"So what do you guys think?" Flash asked as the six looked over the options, Springer, Skyler and Prongs all looking up before shaking their heads. "Yeah, I figured none of these would interest you three." He turned to Hopper and pointed to a move. "What about this one? I like the idea of upgrading your Bite to a full-on Crunch attack."

"Rush!" Hopper cheered, Flash chuckling at his response before turning to Viper.

"You can try and learn Crunch too if you want." He then pointed to another move, "Or we could teach you this."

Viper stared at the list, only to look back up and nod, "Car!"

"Nice." He turned to Riptide next, only to see a glum frown on the lizard's face, "What's up buddy? Anything on there catch your eye?" Riptide looked back up at him, only to glance down at the list again. Seeing the frown, he patted the lizard's side, "Hey, don't sweat it. If there's nothing you wanna learn, that's fine. You're already awesome the way you are." Flash then turned to Viper and Hopper, "Now, let's get to work."

They nodded and moved over to a part of the field, Flash now reading the journal again. Twilight and Doc had memorized what they needed to do, knowing that Flash would need the journal the full time. And as they began their training, the Pokémon split into groups. Springer was helping Hopper while Flitanium began to work with Viper. Skyler was also helping Owlicious as Prongs was with Shine. As for Peewee, he and Spike decided to simply watch Higear and Tockwork practice.

"That's it Shine. Keep it up." Twilight added as she watched Shine begin to slam her tail into a tree. "Remember, for this to work, you're gonna need a lot of strength in your tail."

"Nee!" Shine cried as she kept hitting the tree, Prong pushing on the other side.

Seeing Prongs now telling her to try harder, Twilight looked away and saw Riptide still staring at the list. She could see the frustration on his face, making her walk up to him, "Find anything?" Riptide jolted before spinning around, now seeing a smiling Twilight, "You know, you should try learning something to help cover your weaknesses."

"Tore?!" Riptide blurted out, the frown on his face about to grow from the comment.

"Now hang on Riptide, I'm not saying you're weak. I'm just saying there are certain types you don't do well against. Water always has problems with Grass and Electric. Most of the time, you'd just want to stay clear of them, but there may come a time you're forced to face off against them. You should try and learn a move that'll help you in that kind of fight." She pointed to a certain deer next, "Look at Prongs. He's weak to Bug-types, but his Bounce attack makes up for it while giving him a bonus in having something to use against Fighting and other Grass-types. See what I mean?"

Riptide nodded, "Spran."

"Great. Just think about that and choose."

"Tore." he replied as he stared back at the list, thinking about what she said. He mentally went over his own moves, only to then see a certain move. "Spranitor!" he cheered, getting Flash's attention as he turned to see his Pokémon running over to him with the list.

"Hey buddy, find something you wanna learn?" Riptide nodded and pointed to it, Flash raising an eyebrow at the request, "Huh. That's what you wanna learn?" Riptide nodded again, Flash smirking at his enthusiasm. "Alright then! Time to teach you Ice Punch!"

"TORE!"

Flash went to the Ice Punch section of the TM, which luckily wasn't a move that you learned through evolving another move. "Alright...it says here that the way to learn Ice Punch is to combine speed and concentration. By hitting a single focused point at high speed, you'll be able to freeze the air around your fist as you make contact...which sounds really complicated. Does it want you to freeze something?"

"It means you need water." Twilight chimed in.

"Huh?"

"If he needs to freeze something, which is a great choice of move by the way Riptide," The lizard let out a happy cheer at this while Twilight pointed at the waterfall, "Use that."

"Oh..." Flash glanced back down at the journal, his brain started to move as he read the move over again, "Uh...okay. I think I got it."

"Spran?" Riptide asked as they walked over to the falls.

"Okay bud, it's really simple. If you can freeze this waterfall, even just a bit, it'll show you're on your way to learning the move." Riptide nodded back, turning to the flowing water. "I'll do it with you. Ready?"

"Tore." With that, the two began punching the water as fast as they could, the liquid splashing everywhere.

"Well, that's not quite it....but its one way to train." Twilight giggled before looking back at Owlicious, the owl now hovering over her. "That's the way Owlicious. Now focus on building energy. The book said you have to feel like you're one with the wind. Feel the wind flowing through your wings. You can do it."

"Lore..." he hooted back while doing slow light flaps, feeling the air flow through him as he did this.

At the same time, Hopper and Viper were doing mouth exercises while Springer and Flitanium helped. They both shut their mouths before pushing their lower jaws outward and raised their lips. As they did this, Springer began to count. "Ri. oh. loo. Ri, oh, loo. Ri, oh, loo." This kept up until he reached fifteen, the two stopping and taking a break for another fifteen seconds.

On the other side of the garden, Doc was going over his tools as he said, "The book said you need to grab your opponent and slam them down with as much force as possible. That means we need to increase how much power you can output."

"Gear..." Higear nodded before Doc opened the Pokémon's back, revealing many different spinning gears. "Let's see if we can't find a way to tune you up so your can generate more power." Higear closed his eyes, not moving as Doc started tinkering away, all the while Tockwork stood there with its eyes closed as well. "That's it Tockwork. Just focus on gathering the energy you need for your attack. You'll get it."

And with that, the hours began to pass by with ease. It wasn't long till night came, the group deciding to call it a day before going to bed with several training aches and pains.





The next morning...

As soon as the sun was up, Flash and his Pokémon were awake as he stared at his team, "You guys sure you're up for this?" He asked, now seeing Riptide rubbing his fists while Viper and Hopper rubbed their mouths. The three nodded back, making him smile all pull out the journal. "Okay. First, Hopper just needs to keep focusing on building up your jaw muscles. Viper, you should do the same while directing your venom into your fangs. And Riptide, you keep working on what we did yesterday."

The three all nodded in agreement before splitting up, Springer, Skyler and Prongs all watching as Flash helped. Hopper was now using a bucket of water that he carried in his mouth, increasing the amount of liquid over time. Viper moved to the middle of the garden, closing his eyes as he focused on the venom circling through his body while Riptide continued to punch the waterfall.

"That's the way guys. Keep this up and you'll have your new moves down before you know it."

As this happened, the rest of their friends entered the area. "Early bird Pokémon catches the Wurmple," Doc laughed as Higear and Tockwork started to prepare for their training. "Alright Higear, this should help you." he handed the Pokémon a large sack full of rocks. "They're pretty strong, so they won't break easily. If you can break them with your Slam, that'll show you've got it down."

"High!" Higear yelled as it began to float upward before spinning. It then thrust its body down, the ground almost shaking from the blow....only to see the rocks were in one piece. "Gear."

At the same time, Tockwork did what it did the previous day and closed its eyes. "That's it Tockwork. Now try gathering that energy into a single spot."

"Tock..." it grunted as a tiny orb of yellow, green and red energy began to form between its hands and gun. But as it tried to increase the size of the sphere, the ball popped with the energy within breaking free, discharging harmlessly into the air.

"Don't sweat it. You'll get it with more practice."

Tockwork nodded back, closing his eyes again.

"Okay Shine, give it a try." Twilight added as she leaned down to her Ponyta's side. "Remember, swing your tail as hard as you can."

"Nee," she neighed before raising her tail. The Pokémon started spinning it around propeller style before spinning on her hooves and whipping it around, "TAA!" Doing so caused a gentle breeze to kick up in Twilight and Spike's faces, the pair smiling.

"That was pretty good. Just a little more strength and you'll have it." Shine nodded as she began to try again.

And as the day went on, everyone kept getting closer to mastering their new moves. "Owl!" Owlicious yelled as he spread his wings, his body slowly beginning to glow. "LORE!" He then shot down and slammed into one of the trees, making it shake as he bounced off.

"Great work," Twilight clapped. "You're getting better. Just a little more and you'll have it."

As she said this, Tockwork formed another orb in its hands, this one the same size of an Aura Sphere. "WORK!" He roared as he fired the orb, the ball exploding and zapping a nearby tree.

"Wow!" Spike cheered, "That was awesome!"

"Sure was," Doc added, "Great work Tockwork."

"Hack," they turned to Viper, his mouth fully open with glowing purple fangs. Flitanium then raised a wing and nodded, Viper hissing out, "HACKER!" He sank his fangs into the wing, the poison spreading, but also getting neutralized by Flitanium's typing. He pulled back and saw the armored bird nod. "Car!"

"Nice!" Flash said as he patted his Pokémon's head, "Good work."

"Hack!"

Flash then turned to Hopper as Springer threw a thick branch at him. "RUSH!" He roared as his mouth glowed, biting down on the branch before shattering it to splinters.

As he did this, Shine spun around and flicked her tail. Doing so caused a much stronger gust of wind to be blown from it, this wind actually pink in color with some glitter inside. The wind struck the splinters, causing them to be blown up until they were halfway up the cliff.

"YES!" Twilight cheered as she pulled Shine into a hug while Flash knelt down and patted Hopper's head. "You were amazing!"

"Yeah bud," Flash added, "You did great."

Twilight turned to Flash with a huge smile, "That notebook is amazing! Most Pokémon take days to learn these moves, but with that, they managed to do it in only two days."

"Not all of us," Flash replied before turning to Riptide. The Spranitor was still punching the waterfall, but it still wasn't freezing.

"I'm amazed he hasn't given up," Twilight commented.

"That's not Riptide's way. But I'm sure he's feeling frustrated."

As Riptide punched the water again, he glanced over and saw that the others had almost entirely mastered their new moves. They weren't perfect, but much farther than he was. Sighing at the sight, he went back to the waterfall as a single question kept going through his head. 'What am I doing wrong?'

Flash sighed as well, quickly consulting the book as he mumbled, "I don't get it. What are we doing wrong?"

Twilight took the book and read the passage, the gears in her brain turning as she responded, "Hmm...maybe you need to break it down." Flash turned to her while tilting his head, "It needs both speed and concentration, right?" He nodded. "Then instead of working on both, do one and then the other."

"Oh...yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does. I told you to do it after all." she deadpanned before pointing at Riptide, "Try increasing his speed, then work on his focus."

"Got it!" Flash replied as he looked back at his Spranitor, "Riptide!" He turned to his trainer, "Come over here!" He waved him over as Flash ran over to the garden, Riptide following until they headed into the forest. "Alright, new plan. Let's start by getting your speed up as high as it can go."

"Tore?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds weird. For now, just punch as hard and as fast as you can. Doesn't matter where it lands." Riptide nodded and started punching the air rapidly, getting as much speed and power as he could behind it. "That's the way. Keep that up until it's as natural as breathing. Then we'll work on controlling that speed and power."

But as he watched him, Flash noticed Riptide's fists scraping the bush beside him, causing some leaves to come off and get caught in the wind. "Huh?"





Several more hours passed for the group after that. Each Pokémon had gotten their new moves down, and now needed to practice getting them to the power level they would need for battle.

"Sky Attack!" Twilight ordered Owlicious, the owl soaring up high before spreading his wings as he began to glow.

"LORE!" he roared, tackling a tree before smashing right through it, causing it to fall.

"Crunch!" Spike told Hopper next.

"RUSH!" he yelled as he bit down on the trunk, shattering it to pieces.

"Slam!" Doc commanded as Higear grabbed another branch.

"High!" it cried as it slammed down on the tree, smashing it to bits.

"Poison Fang!" Viper's fangs glowed as he bit into another large piece of tree.

"Car!" he hissed, the branches now decaying from the venom.

"Now, Fairy Wind!" Shine flicked her tail before swinging it around.

"NEE!" She unleashed the pink glittery wind that pushed the tree pieces into the air right as Tockwork prepared his new attack.

"Zap Cannon!" The orb of energy appeared as Tockwork pointed its gun barrel at the tree pieces.

"TOCK!" The Zap Cannon struck the pieces, an explosion destroying the last bit of timber.

"Amazing everyone!" Twilight cheered, "I think you've got your new attacks down."

"You're so awesome!" Spike added.

"Now hold on," Doc chimed in. "Let's not pat ourselves on the back yet. It's easy to do something when you're relaxed and calm. It's another thing to do it when you're being attacked."

Twilight nodded in agreement, "That is true. We need to test how well they can use these attacks in battle."

"Exactly...though I think we should leave that until tomorrow." They glanced back at the Pokémon, exhaustion on their faces. Twilight and Spike nodded in agreement before looking out into the forest.

"You think they'll be back soon?"

"They should be. It's gonna be dark soon." Then, as if on cue, Flash and Riptide appeared out of the treeline, running over as Twilight asked, "So, how did it go?"

"Pretty good," Flash replied before turning to Riptide. "Time to see if it all payed off." Riptide nodded and moved over to the waterfall, everyone watching as he prepared himself. "Do it bud!" Riptide clenched his fist before thrusting it. The fist entered the water and was quickly pulled out, the flow of the water not at all stopping. "Oh."

"Nee..." Riptide sighed, looking down at his fist...only to go wide-eyed, "Tore!" He turned to Flash and held out his hand, everyone looking down and seeing a small piece of ice stuck to it.

"Hey, it froze!" Flash peeled the ice off, "You did it bud. You're starting to get it."

Riptide nodded back as Twilight spoke up. "It's clear he's got the speed he needs down. Now he just needs to build his concentration."

"Great...but how are we supposed to do that?" Flash asked as he looked at his friends...only to see no answers on their faces. "Great."

"You'll figure it out," Doc replied, "But maybe you should wait until tomorrow. You don't wanna overdo it." Flash nodded before the group went back into the Center.





That night...

As everyone snoozed away in bed, the only one awake was Flash. He couldn't seem to fall asleep, his mind scattered as he tried to focus on how to help build Riptide's concentration. His brain kept hitting him as he did this, soon sighing as he got up and left the room.

And as he headed back outside, he walked into the garden and stared at the moon as it shined in the sky. 'There has to be a way. But what?' He sighed while sitting down on a bench, taking out Riptide's Pokeball. "I'm your trainer, so I need to do whatever I can to help you grow stronger...but what do I do?"

But as he stared at the ball, the gentle night air managed to pluck the leaf off a nearby potted plant and blow it into the air past Flash. The teen saw this, remembering back to when he and Riptide had been running. "Wait...could that work?" he whispered to himself and stood up. He opened the ball, letting Riptide out. The Spranitor looked up at him, blinking at him, "Riptide, I've got an idea."

"Tore?"

A few minutes later, Flash and Riptide stood several feet apart with Flash's back to the wind and Riptide facing in it. Flash had a bunch of leaves in his hand, taking one and letting it be picked up by the wind. And as it flew over to Riptide, he focused on it as he clenched his fist. "Ready Riptide?" He asked as the leaf got closer, "Do it!"

"TORE!" Riptide threw his punch, missing the leaf by several inches.

"Just letting loose with a punch won't do anything. You gotta pinpoint your punch and hit the moving leaf. Got it?" Riptide nodded, "Then let's try again." He took another leaf and let it loose, the green solar panel fluttering in the breeze toward Riptide.

"Spran," he replied as he clenched his fist, "Tore!" He threw another punch, but missed again.

"Again!" Flash told him, "And focus everything you have on the leaf." Flash let out another, Riptide's focus suddenly becoming laser like. His eyes continued to follow the leaf's movements as he clenched his fist. As he did this, he didn't notice his fist begin to glow whitish blue. "That's it! Do it!"

"TORE!" Riptide threw his glowing fist, missing the leaf...only to see a bit of frost covering the leaf as it fell to the ground. "Spran?!"

"That's the way buddy!" Flash cheered as he picked up another leaf, "Let's do it one more time! We can do this bud!" Riptide nodded and got into position again. "Here we go!"





The next morning...

When the rest of the group awakened, they saw that Flash was gone. "Early bird again."

"He really needs to relax," Spike sighed as they got out of bed.

"it's called commitment," Twilight corrected them as they got ready, "It's something every dedicated trainer will need if they wanna get anywhere in the sport."

Spike was about to counter, only for a loud shattering sound to enter the group's ears. Catching their attention, they ran over to the window, gasping as they saw a new sight. Right in front of their eyes, the waterfall completely froze. It started from the bottom and worked its way upward until the whole thing was encased. The three could only gasp at the sight before looking down at the source, seeing Riptide with a fist in the frozen water.

Flash stood besides him with a smile on his lips, the teen turning to see them looking through the window, "Oh, morning guys!" He pointed to the frozen waterfall, "Pretty cool, huh?"

Riptide pulled his fist out of the ice before spinning around and using Rock Smash to shatter it. The ice fell to the ground before it was washed away by the returning waterfall. Everyone continued to stare in shock before leaving the center, all soon outside with their Pokémon. "How did you do that?"

Flash chuckled back at their reactions, "What do you think? We trained our butts off and finally figured out the trick."

"So Riptide can use Ice Punch now?" Flash nodded, "That's awesome!"

"It is..." Doc added, "But just because he knows Ice Punch doesn't mean he's ready to use it in battle. You'll need to test that out."

"You're right," Flash replied, "So, up for a match Doc?"

"Always." Doc nodded before turning to Tockwork, "You ready?"

"Tock," Tockwork responded before walking over to a small arena the center had. While he did this, Flash let all his Pokémon out, the two pairs soon standing opposite as Twilight stood between them.

"Okay, I'll act as ref." she announced, "This'll be a one on one battle with no time limit, and will only end when one of your Pokémon is unable to battle."

Flash looked down at Riptide. "I know you're probably tired from a hard night's training, but let's show them just how awesome your new move really is."

"Tore!" Riptide cheered as he stood in front of him.

Doc turned to Tockwork. "Zap Cannon is a good move to use against Riptide, but it's not without its issues. Remember that." Tockwork nodded back. "We have to wait for just the right moment to strike with it. One hit's probably all we'll need."

"Tock..." it nodded again before walking out onto the field.

"Alright, are both trainers ready?" Twilight asked, getting two nods back. "Then battle...BEGIN!"

"Water Gun!" Flash instantly ordered, Riptide taking a big breath before shooting out a burst of water.

"Block it with Bullet Punch!"

"Tock!" Tockwork quickly threw its fist, disbursing the water before the mechanical Pokémon charged at the lizard.

"Overclock!" The gears on its side began to spin before Tockwork's speed increased, quickly reaching Riptide and karate chopping him.

"Nee!" He flinched as he staggered back, trying to regain his footing.

"Rock Smash!" Riptide swung his glowing legs around, trying to hit Tockwork back. The first two attacks were avoided, but the third hit its mark when Riptide thrust his foot into the center of Tockwork's clock face.

"Psywave!" Tockwork pointed its gun at Riptide and fired the psychic bullet, hitting Spranitor in the chest. "Now's our chance! Zap Cannon!" Tockwork began to focus, drawing in its electrical energy as it began to form the sphere.

"Tock!" Once big enough, it aimed and fired his gun.

And as Riptide had just recovered, he opened his eyes to see the Electric attack. But before it could make contact, it flew off course, whizzing past Riptide's shoulder before exploding.

"What just happened?" Spike asked.

"Zap Cannon is a very powerful move, but very unsteady. It's chances of hitting are always fifty-fifty."

"Now's our chance!" Flash told Riptide. "Get in close and use Ice Punch!" Riptide nodded and charged, focusing while his fist began to glow blue.

"Dodge with Overclock!"

"Tock," it nodded as its gears began to spin. And as Riptide got closer, he threw his fist at the Pokémon, only for Tockwork to spin around the lizard, dodging the punch. But as it did this, the attack hit the air, causing parts of the Pokémon to get a frosted coating.

"Nee?" Riptide yelped as he saw Tockwork avoid him, only to get hit by its metal fist. "Tore!" He was thrown back, rolling on the ground with a gasp of pain.

"Let's try it again! Zap Cannon!" Tockwork raised its arms as the orb began to form.

"Riptide!" Flash cried out, "You gotta get up."

"Tore..." Riptide slowly spun and pushed himself back to his feet. He let out a gasp, the night's exhausting training hitting him.

"Come on! Get up!" Flash yelled.

"Now, FIRE!" Tockwork shot the orb at Riptide, the Spranitor looking up to see the orb coming for him. His eyes shook at the sight, watching the Zap Cannon get closer.

But as this happened, the sphere seemed to slow down for him. His eyes blinked once, now seeing the orb being replaced by the image of a leaf in the wind. He could see if quickly shifting from left to right, side to side. And as he did this, his brain was able to pinpoint which part of him was gonna get hit. "Nee..." Riptide whispered as he suddenly shifted his body position before raising his right arm just enough so the Zap Cannon flew under it.

He flinched as a small amount of electricity escaped the orb and flew into him, barely enough to not call it major damage. Instead, the Zap Cannon exploded behind him, sending a shockwave that knocked him forward. But as this happened, the blast pushed him up to his feet, giving him a burst of speed as he got into a sprint.

"Alright!" Flash cheered while the others' jaws dropped. "Use Rock Smash and aim for the legs!"

"Spran!" Riptide quickly closed the distance between him and Tockwork, sliding next as his legs began to glow, "NITOR!" He roared as his legs slammed into Tockwork's, knocking the machine off balance.

"Now, Ice Punch!" Riptide slid to a stop before pulling his fist back.

Tockwork let out a moan, trying to punch Riptide away as the Spranitor got close. The lizard hopped back before readjusting his fist, now seeing Riptide's hand now glowing blue. "TORE!" Riptide roared as he threw his fist forward, a trail of light blue energy now slamming into the clock face.

"TOCKWORK!" It cried as it staggered back, parts of its face freezing up.

"ALRIGHT!" Flash cheered before pointing at Tockwork. "But we're not done yet! Use Aqua Tail!" Riptide leapt up as his tail began to encase itself in spiraling water, the Spranitor flipping around to slam the attack into Tockwork.

"Oh, no you don't! Overclock!" Tockwork's gears span again, dodging Aqua Tail with a sudden backpedal. "Now, Psywave!" Tockwork pointed its gun at Riptide as a larger than before bullet was shot out the barrel, the attack hitting Riptide right in the face.

"TORE!" He yelped as he was thrown backward.

"We have to do this now before it's too late. Zap Cannon!" Doc ordered, Tockwork forming the orb as Riptide rolled on the ground. Flash's face showed pure panic as he saw Riptide lay there, exhaustion on the lizard's face. The trainer's brain was just as fired, barely any energy in him as he glanced back at Tockwork and saw the orb close to completion.

"WORK!" Tockwork fired the orb at Riptide, Flash gasping.

"Dodge it!" he yelled as Riptide let out a moan of pain. He then turned to the orb coming for him, his vision doubling the sphere due to the Psywave. And as it got closer, the sphere started to come into focus...only to slam and explode into the lizard.

"SPRANITOR!" He cried as his entire body was electrified.

"RIPTIDE!" Flash screamed as the attack came to an end, revealing a smoking Riptide as spirals appeared in his eyes.

"Riptide is unable to battle. Tockwork wins."

Flash sighed before moving over to Riptide, helping him sit up, "You were great bud. Don't feel down about losing. That Zap Cannon would be a lot for anyone to handle."

"Tore..." Riptide moaned out.

"You really were great," Twilight added as she walked over to him, "And that Ice Punch...it's amazing you were able to go from no improvement to having the move almost completely mastered in a single night. What's your secret?"

"Oh, something only I would think of." Flash replied, chuckling.

One explanation later...

"A leaf?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup." Flash replied while nodding. "I thought of it while we were training."

Twilight clapped her hands, "That's brilliant! By focusing Riptide's energy on a single point that constantly moved around, Riptide's concentration got sharper."

Doc nodded in agreement, "When moving at high speeds, reaction time is one of the most important things. Being able to shift your prospective and follow something, no matter how fast or unfocused it's moving, is great not just for the move, but for battling in general. You should be proud you came up with something like that."

Flash blushed at the praise before staring at where his grandfather's book lay. He picked it up and opened it, "Got a pen?" Twilight handed him one and he started writing. At the bottom of the Ice Punch page, he wrote a directory to another page's number before flipping to it. That page was empty, where he then wrote down the leaf trick.

"Your grandfather would be proud," Twilight added.

"I hope so." Flash replied before putting the journal away and turned to his Pokémon. "Alright guys, we've still got a lot of work to do before we're ready to say we've mastered these moves. Let's get to work!"

They all cheered as they began their training again...only for Flash to fall over for a quick nap. Laughing at this, they agreed to get some breakfast first while letting Flash get some rest. What started as a quick stop to a Pokémon Center had evolved into a special training camp, with everyone growing in one way or another. Now with Flash's battle against the Cloudsdale Gym Leader getting closer by the day, one can only wonder how this training will pay off.

As the journey continues.