//------------------------------// // The Everfree Forest // Story: Spike's Pokemon Journey // by The Soviet Turtle //------------------------------// The Everfree forest, a first step for many new trainers in Ponyville. Filled with many normal Pokémon, it’s considered a good spot for beginners of the region. Although you wouldn’t consider it due to the gloom effects on display. Mist and fog constantly floating around and the trees drooping as had been doing for some time. Tall high grass where a trainer might find himself attacked by a wild Pokémon. That was where Spike and his Charmander were. Standing on a pathway just outside of the forest. The two looked to each other, sharing a slightly worried glance before proceeding onwards. Spike had been here many times before, walking to Zecora’s and back he was pretty familiar with the forest. It didn’t mean he wasn’t ever surprised by the environment. He looked down at his Charmander, who looked right back up at him. Spike let out a deep breath, calming his nerves slightly before nodding to his Charmander; the two walking off into the Everfree. They soon found themselves near a patch of thick tall grass, trees all around surrounding them. Spike looked around to see for any wild Pokémon. “Charmander, look out for any wild Pokémon, we don’t want another run in with Mightyena's again.” Spike told his Pokémon, who nodded and also began to look around. Spike gazed through the trees and the grass, almost finding no life wherever he looked. The rustling of nearby grass however drew his attention. He and his Charmander turned to see wild grass moving, something coming right towards them. The two waited in anxiousness, not wanting another Mightyena to pop up again. The Pokémon got closer until it popped out of the grass, revealing itself to be an Ekans. “An Ekans!” Spike stated, he pulled out his pokedex and soon an image of the purple snake came up. “Ekans. Snake Pokémon. It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.” “It’s not very good at it then.” Spike said before putting the Pokedex away. “Okay Charmander, it’s our first battle. Let’s do this!” Spike said to his Charmander, who nodded and smiled at his trainer before jumping in front of the Ekans. “Use scratch!” Spike said. Charmander ran towards the Ekans, claws ready before he jumped in the air and slashed the Ekans. It let out a grunt in pain before it wrapped his whole body around the Charmander. “It used wrap! Quick Charmander! Scratch again!” Spike said. The Charmander struggled in the wrap, taking small damaged from the tight confines of the snake Pokémon. But was able to get his claw free and scratched the Ekans face. The Pokémon screeched in pain before Charmander jumped back to Spike. “Nice work there buddy.” Spike said. The Ekans slowly slithered up and stared at Charmander, using leer to lower his defence. “Quick Charmander! One more scratch should do the trick!” Spike said. The small dragon smiled and charged yet again, claw ready for the finishing blow; one scratch and the Ekans was knocked back and knocked out. The duo had won the battle. “We won!” Charmander and Spike celebrated their victory with a little dance of joy, Spike soon noticing something. “Wait, why am I tired?” Spike asked, confused. Spike’s adrenaline had climbed down a bit, and he noticed that he had a distinct lack of air in his lungs. His arms felt heavy and he felt slightly weak in the legs. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. “I guess that fight took some energy out of me to.” His Charmander nodded, also resting slightly from his fight with the snake Pokémon, the wrap attack really giving him some pain in his body. But soon his ears picked something up, the sound of little feet on a nearby branch alerted him that another Pokémon had showed up. Charmander quickly jumped away as something crashed directly into the ground where he was standing. Spike scrabbled for his Pokedex as the Pokémon pulled itself out of the hole in the ground, shaking the dirt off its beck, swirls on his eyes. He aimed the Pokedex to record the Pokémon properly. “Pidgey. Tiny Bird Pokémon. It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back.” Spike put the Pokedex away as he noticed the Pidgeys eyes, and how it was struggling to stand up straight. “Must’ve hit its head way to hard trying to use tackle, Charmander! Use scratch!” Charmander was quick to act and with one hit, knocked the confused Pidgey out. The bird Pokemon landing in a soft patch of tall grass. “Alright, good job Charmander, do you want to rest in your Pokeball?” Spike asked his Pokémon. Charmander nodded as Spike pulled out the red and white ball. He pressed the button and threw it up in the air. “Charmander return!” The Pokeball opened as Charmander was surrounded by red energy before shrinking and flying into the ball. A click was heard before the ball bounced off the ground and back to Spike, who caught it with one hand. He placed the Pokeball away in his bag and continued to walk on. Spike walked further into the Everfree, avoiding the tall grass for any further encounters with wild Pokémon. He followed a path and soon found himself in a clearing, a small stream of water glistening in the sunlight. “Finally, natural light!” Spike said outloud to himself, immediately regretting the decision and thankful no one was around. He turned his attention to the stream, watching where it leaves and enters the clearing, he looked left to see the stream head towards Ponyville, probably a part of the local river in town, and to the right it went deeper, towards the huge mountain behind the Everfree. Spike reached into his bag and pulled out Charmander’s Pokeball, pressing the button and releasing his Pokemon on the ground before putting the ball away. “Okay Charmander,” Spike announced to his Pokemon, “First I’ll give you something to eat, then for the next few hours were going to train you up so we can take on the next gym; sound good to you?” Charmander nodded and Spike smiled. “Okay then, let me just get some Poke-food.” After the small energy boost, the two went on to training in the clearing. Charmander and Spike explored the surrounding areas to see if any wild Pokemon would attack; they were lucky as it seemed many Pokémon didn’t like the two in the first place. Spike’s Pokedex had at least eleven Pokemon recorded by the time the two took another break, Charmander slowly being able to take out the Pokemon with one hit. The real surprise come however after their first battle training. A Bidoof found itself knocked back after being scratched by Charmander a second time. Spike did a fist bump before his Pokedex made a noise, alerting him of a notification. He pulled it out of his pocket and opened the device, clicking on where his Pokemon were listed and reading Charmander’s profile. “Charmander, you learned a new move?” Spike asked. The Pokemon nodded, quickly rushing around grabbing some nearby twigs and running back to the clearing. “Hey what are you doing?” Spike asked. Charmander placed the twigs down near the stream, and took a deep breath before opening his mouth, a small fireball popping out; the twigs catching on fire and burning. Spike watched in awe of his Pokémon before smiling and putting the pokedex away. “You learned ember, nice work Charmander!” Spike walked up and gave his Pokemon a hug, who returned the friendly hug before the two broke it off. Spike quickly pushed the twigs into the river with his foot before noticing a Sudowoodo standing in front of them, ready to fight. “Looks like a volunteer Charmander.” Spike said, his Pokemon grinning as he prepared the attack again. The second time came from after fighting a horde of Oddish’s, all of them easily beaten with Ember now available. Spike heard a familiar noise and pulled his Pokedex out again. “Smokescreen?” The Pokémon nodded and proceeded to take a deep breath and blow smoke out of its nose to create a screen around him. Spike waved a hand in front of his face and coughed before the smoke finally cleared. Charmander walked over to make sure his trainer was okay. “I’m fine Charmander, I’m fine.” Spike said, the two continuing their training. An hour had passed, Spike and Charmander finishing the training with Charmander being stronger and knowing two new moves; however, the two decided to go up the river, explore the forest for stronger Pokémon to fight. The sun leaning slightly westward as they left the clearing. Walking near the river, Spike noticed Charmander standing next to him away from the river, which made sense to him since Charmander was a fire-type Pokémon, and if the fire on his tail went out, he would die. The sun still shined through the trees; unlike the entrance, the middle of the forest was quite pleasant on a sunny day. Spike particularly enjoyed the weather for today, thankful his first day as a trainer wasn’t terrible, a smile on his face as his head leaned back into his arms, looking up above at the clear sky. Spike’s smile disappeared as he heard something loud in the distance, further up the river. He stopped looking at the sky and looked up a head, the sounds of battle being heard over the hill where the river lay and began; he turned to his Charmander, who looked up at him with a similar look before the two began a sprint up the hill, towards the commotion. Spike and Charmander ran and ran until they reached a lake, the source of the river, where the mountain base was blocked only by a few trees, bushes and patches of tall grass. Their attention was drawn to the three characters that stood by the lake. There was a trainer and two Pokémon, a Spearow, looking very angry, and a Dratini, which appeared to be bruised and was breathing heavily. The trainer stood behind the Spearow. He stood taller than Spike, by a foot at least, he wore a red leather jacket, simple jeans with cuts in them for design, black shoes and had a tall yellow spiky Mohawk. “Urgh, this is stupid, why don’t you just dodge the freaking thing?” The trainer said to the Dratini. The Pokémon winced in pain as it tried to stand on its tail, struggling to stand straight. The trainer just smacked his face and groaned. “C’mon, I went through the trouble of catching you, the least you could do is actually be strong.” The Dratini just began to shake more and more until it fell onto the ground, trying to curl up into a protective ball due to the pain. The trainer’s patience had run out and was now fuming. “That’s it! Spearow, just finish her off, we’re just going to have to find another.” The bird Pokémon jumped in the air, flapping its wings to keep it airborne as it got ready to finish the Dratini off. Its beck glowed energy as it dive bombed the Dratini, which could do nothing but close its eyes as it waited for the final hit. “Charmander! Ember!” A fireball hit the Spearow mid-attack, stopping the peck attack and sending it to the ground. The trainer looked in shock before angrily turning to the source of the attack, Spike and Charmander, ready for a fight if needed. “Hey, what’s the big idea!?” The trainer yelled, furious at the new arrivals. “What’s the big idea? Look at what you’re doing to your own Pokemon! Your Dratini’s clearly hurt and all you could do is tell your Spearow to ‘finish it’.” Spike said. “Look just buzz off kid, it’s none of your business and you don’t wanna fight me, I’d beat your butt in a minute or less.” Spike glared at the trainer, and the trainer glazed back, both furious with one another. Spike clenched his fists in anger, just who was this guy? He looked at the Dratini, who was looking at him and Charmander in awe, particularly Charmander. Spike eyes switched from Dratini to the trainer constantly, then an idea popped into his head. “Really? Well then let’s see. I challenge you to a battle!” Spike said, the trainer just looked at him with disbelief. “Fine, I’m going to enjoy this.” “But before we do, why don’t we place a little bet? If I win, you give me your Dratini.” Spike suggested. The trainer raised an eyebrow, questioning Spike; but he soon began to think on it before a grin grew on his face, staring Spike dead in the eyes. “Ok, but if I win, you give me all you money. All of it.” “Fine, deal. What’s your name anyway?” Spike asked. “The name’s Garble, now prepare to lose kid.” The two trainers took their positions, as did their Pokémon. Spearow and Charmander both looking at each other, each ready for their trainer's words. Spike and garble both eyeing each other from across the battlefield. “I’ll let you go first kid, don’t wanna be so harsh when I beat you.” “Okay, you sure?” Spike asked. “Yeah.” “Alright then, Charmander! Hit ‘em with and ember!” Charmander took a deep breath and unleashed a fireball, which moved so fast that the Spearow couldn’t dodge it in time. It fell over but quickly got up and ready to attack. “Spearow, knock him out with peck!” Spearow took flight once again and charged at fast speeds towards Charmander, who just stood there, ready to move out of the way at the right time. Spike smiled, looking at Garble, which confused the other trainer. Spearow was almost about to hit Charmander but he dodged just in time so Spearow just crashed into the ground; the Spearow flying out of the ground and back near Garble. “What? How’d you dodge it!?” “Sparrow's not the first bird Pokémon we’ve faced. A Pidgey tried the exact same thing earlier today and that didn’t work either,” Spike said, ”Charmander, quickly, Smokescreen!” Smoke flared out of the nostrils of the orange dragon Pokémon, concealing him and Spike behind a wall of smoke. A sweat drop rolled down Gable's forehead, not knowing where Charmander was would cause some problems. “Spearow! Seek ‘em out with a fury attack!” Spearow nodded and flew straight into the smokescreen, hoping to hit something he flew around aimlessly, trying to seek out the fire type Pokémon and his trainer. The efforts didn’t help as he couldn’t seem to hit anything in the screen, so the Spearow gave up looking and tried to leave before he was attack, but it was too late. “Use scratch!” Spearow found itself being thrown out of the smoke screen due to a scratch attack from behind, landing in front of Garble, who was shocked at the state of his Pokemon. The Dratini behind him also saw the sight of Spearow, and a small glimmer of hope grew in her eyes. The smokescreen soon disappeared revealing Spike and Charmander, their eyes focused on the Spearow, which looked like it was about to faint soon, Garble clenched his teeth and gave a death stare at Spike. “That’s it! Spearow, fury attack once more!” The bird Pokémon was happy to oblige and quickly rushed at Charmander, finally landing a hit, if only twice. His beck hit Charmander right in the stomach, the first time knocking him in the air and the second knocking him back down to the ground. Charmander landed with a thud on his back right in front of Spike. “Charmander! Are you okay?” Spike asked, clearly worried. Charmander stood back on his feet and nodded. “Alright then, use ember one more time!” Charmander took in a deep breath and with all his might, blew a final fiery fireball at the Spearow, hitting it on the side, knocking it to the ground in front of Garble. The Spearow cried in pain from the attack before it finally fainted, exhausted from the heat of battle. Spike had won the battle! Grable looked down at his Spearow, unimpressed and disappointed. He just grabbed his face in shame and pulled out a Pokeball. “Spearow, return.” The bird Pokémon was returned to his Pokeball, which Garble put away into his own bag, and then looked at Spike and Charmander. His gazed could be considered hate filled, but he changed his expression to a smile. “Not bad kid, not bad. Here’s your prize.” Spike caught the Pokeball thrown at him, having to jump so it would go over his head, and then looked at Garble. “What were you trying to do anyway Garble?” Spike asked, the teen just laughed and turned his back to Spike. “Well since you beat me, I’ll tell ya. You see, I want to become strong, the strongest in the region actually, so I need strong Pokémon, I need fearless Pokémon; If their weak, their useless to me. Just like that Dratini there.” Garble explained as he began to walk away, hoping to find a Pokemon Center or a Pokemart somewhere to revive his comrade. “But you can’t just treat Pokémon like that, you can’t just expect them to be strong, and you should take good care of your Pokémon.” Spike said to Garble, who just laughed out loud and looked over his shoulder. “Doesn’t matter, as long as I’m the strongest, I don’t care. See you later Kid.” Spike clenched his fist as he saw Garble walk off down a dirt path, laughing out loud as he left the lake. He couldn’t understand Garble’s logic, but then again there were a lot of things he couldn’t understand in the world like advanced physics or Pinkie Pie. He soon diverted his attention to his newest Pokémon, the Dratini staring at him and Charmander with awe and happiness. Spike released the Dratini was still hurt and put her Pokeball away, pulling out a potion. He kneeled down near the dragon, and sprayed the pink healing liquid, letting its effects settle in. The bruises and damage on the Dratini soon began to fade until a healthy Dratini stood on its tail again. “There we go, healthy and happy.” Spike said. He was about to pet Dratini but she had other plans, as she rushed past Spike and towards Charmander. Charmander tried to jump out of the way but Dratini got to him first and tackled him to the ground. He landed on his back, with Dratini’s body wrapped around his body, her head above his with a smile. She nuzzled his cheek, while Charmander just blushed furiously and tried to get loose. Spike looked at his Pokémon and couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, he laughed as Charmander tried to escape Dratini’s grasp before he eventually decided it was enough. “Okay Dratini, you can get off Charmander now.” The small dragon looked sad before she winked at Charmander and eventually slithered off his body. Charmander slowly climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. “Looks like you have an admirer Charmander.” Charmander simply stuck his tongue out at Spike, while Dratini just giggled. “Nice work there.” A booming voice entered the fray, to which Spike, Charmander and Dratini all turned around to see. Standing a few feet from him was the tallest man he had ever seen, and that’s saying a lot since he’s seen Big Mac. The man wore no shirt, just two strips that crossed over his chest and connected his pants, which exposed his muscled body to the world, dark grey shorts, and heavy, grey hiking boots. His hair was a small Mohawk of black hair and he had a small goatee on his chin. He stood arms cross, his shadow almost reaching Spike himself. A sweat drop rolled down Spike’s forehead, hoping the man wasn’t hostile. “I was going to take on the twerp myself, but you showed up before I could stop him. I saw you battle him, you’ve got guts, and you can battle, but you still need work.” The man told Spike. “Who are you?” Spike asked, the man chuckled before he began to pose. “My name is Iron Will,” The man said as he switched poses, “And I am a Pokémon Gym leader!” He soon started flexing, “The fighting-type gym leader!” Three massive sweat drops rolled down Spike’s, Charmander’s and Dratini’s head, the display they just witnessed was unlike anything they had seen before, and not in the good way. Iron Will began to do several more poses and flexed countless times to show off before Spike realised something. “A gym leader? What are you doing out in the Everfree?” he asked. Iron Will stopped his show and returned to the pose he entered with. “I too was training my Pokémon, they are young and need some good training if they’re to battle challengers. Similar to you and your Pokémon.” Iron will analysed Spike, staring at him and his two Pokémon before coming to a decision. “Then there is only one option. We must battle!” “B-battle?” Spike asked. “Yes, it will be the perfect exercise! I, Iron Will, shall teach you on how to win a battle, and we shall both see our Pokémon grow stronger! If you defeat me, I shall give you a badge, the courage badge!” Iron Will then twirled around before showing Spike the badge, which looked like a steel fist. Spike looked down at Dratini and Charmander, he kneeled down to the two to be eye-level. “What do you guys think? Wanna take him on?” “Char.” “Dra-Dratini.” Spike nodded before he stood up tall and looked at Iron Will. “Alright, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!” Spike yelled. “Good!” Iron Will said, laughing out loud, “Then let us begin!” The trainer and the gym leader both stared as they stood apart over a large field of grass near the lake. Iron Will made the first move and called out one of his Pokemon. “Timburr, go!” Out of the Pokeball jumped a Pokemon, it stood as tall as Charmander, it had grey skin, red veins on its body and was holding a large log. Spike pulled out his Pokedex and scanned the new Pokemon. “Timburr. Muscular Pokémon. It fights by swinging a piece of lumber around. It is close to evolving when it can handle the lumber without difficulty.” “Charmander! You’re first!” Spike said as he put the pokedex away, the orange Pokémon jumping onto the field. “Timburr, use low kick!” “Charmander, use Smokescreen!” The Timburr quickly rushed for Charmander, but Charmander was able to act first and created a smokescreen around him, hiding himself from view. Timburr sweeped low and tried to hit Charmander through the smoke but failed, and found himself surrounded by smoke. “Timburr! Use bide quickly!” Iron Will said. The Timburr nodded and got ready for any attacks. Just as the smoke was about to clear, Charmander jumped up from behind Timburr. “Ember!” Spike said. “Char!” Charmander let loose a fireball that hit Timburr right in the back, sending him flying onto his stomach, the Pokémon letting out a cry as it landed. But it got up off its feet and turned around, except it looked redder and was breathing more heavily. Spike looked in curiosity, wondering why Timburr wasn’t attacking, and Iron Will was just standing there saying nothing, arms crossed as usual. “Aren’t you going to attack?” Spike asked. “Ha, I am attacking. When a Pokémon uses bide, it takes whatever damaged the opposing Pokémon does, doubles it and then attacks said opposing Pokemon.” Iron Will said. Spike immediately started to sweat. He already did a lot of damage from the ember attack, if he couldn’t knock Timburr out, Charmander would be knocked out. He then remembered the Pokedex data and what moves Charmander could do, and he then released what move to use. “Charmander! Growl quick!” Charmander did so as the smoke finally cleared and let out a huge growl towards Timburr, who shivered slightly but remained still and continued to gather energy. Iron Will saw what Spike was doing and smiled. “Ah, very clever. I see what you are doing, clever but it won’t save you.” Iron Will stated. “He’s still charging, use growl again!” Spike said to Charmander. Charmander growled on more time, and prepared for the incoming attack. Timburr finally stopped charging and ran with lighting speed at Charmander, log in his hands ready. He ran up to Charmander before smashing him with his long, hitting him right in his side. Timburr ran back to Iron Will, panting from doing such an attack and already damaged as Charmander grabbed his stomach in pain. “Are you alright Charmander!?” Spike yelled to his comrade. Charmander grunted before standing back up, taking deep breathes from the hit he just endured. Spike rubbed some sweat off his brow before filling himself with determination. “Charmander, finish it with ember!” Charmander used what energy was left to summon up a fireball and launched it, it hit Timburr right in his chest, making the fighting Pokémon faint. Iron Will called Timburr back into his Pokeball and threw his next Pokémon onto the field. Spike also pulled out a Pokeball and called Charmander back. “You rest buddy, you deserve it.” He said before he pulled his pokedex out for the next Pokemon. “Mienfoo! Your turn!” Out of Iron Will’s Pokeball was a small Pokémon with yellow and red fur. Spike’s pokedex quickly scanned the Pokémon and beeped with the results. “Mienfoo. Martial Arts Pokémon. It takes pride in the speed at which it can use moves. What it loses in power, it makes up for in quantity.” “Well then, Dratini, I hope you’re ready for this.” Spike said as he sent Dratini out, the small dragon ready to battle. “Actually what moves do you know?” Spike asked to himself as he pulled out his pokedex one more time, he selected his Pokémon and pressed Dratini. A page full of details on Dratini showed up, like her health, gender and her known moves. He looked over the moves as a strategy formed in his mind. “Are you going to go!?” Iron Will asked, he and his Mienfoo getting impatient. Spike nodded and put the pokedex away. “Dratini use Wrap.” Dratini rushed forward across the grass, jumped in the air and then wrapped her tiny body around the Mienfoo. It’s arms being pressed to the sides of its body as Dratini squeezed the Pokémon, causing some pain. “Well, you’ve just made this battle a lot easier. Mienfoo, use meditate.” Iron Will said, a smug grin on his face as he his Pokémon meditated, its attack increasing with the move. “Really? Dratini, use Thunder Wave.” Iron Will’s smug grin disappeared as he released what Spike was attempting to do. Dratini Created an electric wave around her, causing the Pokémon that she wrapped to become paralysed; the Mienfoo frozen in place as Dratini slithered back to Spike. Iron Will began to sweat as he fear he was about to lose this battle. “Mienfoo, try to use detect!” He yelled. “Use Twister.” Spike said. Mienfoo struggled to move out, but the electric shock held him in place as Dratini summoned a twister out of thin air. The attack moved towards the paralysed Mienfoo and carried him up high above the twister, unable to move as he is thrown around in the sky. The twister soon faded and Mienfoo fell to the earth, crashing into the ground with lighting velocity. Mienfoo wasn’t paralysed anymore, but it failed to get up and fainted from the impact. Iron Will called back Mienfoo into its Pokeball, while Spike walked up to Dratini and rubbed its head, who began to nuzzle Spike’s hand. “Great work Dratini.” Spike said. “Dratini Dratini”. “Come on, you can rest in your pokeball if you like.” Spike said as he took out Dratini’s Pokeball. Dratini nodded and soon returned to her Pokeball which Spike put away in his bag. Iron Will looked at the sight, and a smile began to grow on his face. He started to laugh out loud, which caught Spikes attention. “Well done! You’ve trained your Pokemon well! As promised, here is your courage badge!” Iron Will did his poses once more, flexing and stretching, causing a sweat drop to grow on Spike’s head, before he produced the badge. Spike walked up to Iron Will and grabbed the badge from Iron Will’s open palm, feeling slightly awkward as Iron Will still stood in his pose. “Thanks for that…” Spike said, attaching the badge to the inside of his jacket. “So what are you trying to achieve on your journey young trainer?” Iron Will asked. “Achieve?” Spike asked back. “Yes, do you plan to take on the Elite four? Perhaps collect Pokémon? Or do you just wish to explore the world?” Iron Will explained. Spike released he actually didn't plan that far ahead for this journey. He wanted to take on the gyms, get a few badges, and settle a bet or two with Rainbow, which was the original goal. But now that he thought about it, what exactly did he want to do? Collect? Explore? Or train? He wasn’t really interested in collecting all the Pokémon, that was more Twilight’s thing, getting all the data on his Pokedex, although he already did have a good starting amount recorded. He began to think maybe he should take on the Elite Four, it couldn’t hurt to try, plus he could still explore the region while battling. He did appear to be naturally skilled in battling, beating both Garble and Iron Will. “Well, I was just planning on taking on the gyms, maybe explore the region a bit. But now that you mention it, I might take on the Elite Four.” Spike said to Iron Will. “Very good! I see bright things for you with your skills. I take it you are from Ponyville, so you will need to go around Mt. Green, then exit this forest and onto Route 5 to Appaloosa. There is a gym there that would best for you. Go back to Ponyville when you have three badges, then you will be ready to take on Rainbow Dash.” Iron Will told Spike. “You know Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked. “Yes, all the gym leaders meet together every two months to discuss rules and any issues in the region. Although I have had very little time to talk with her, always trying to talk to Spitfire; but she is strong, I will say that.” Iron Will said. “Okay, thanks for your help sir.” Spike said. “Your welcome! What is your name by the way? I forgot to ask.” “Spike, my name’s Spike.” Spike tipped his hat to Iron Will before leaving the lake, walking on a route that lead up the mountain, unaware that the craziness of his journey had just begun.