A new day had come as the sun rose up over the forest and shined through to the town.

The
morning sunlight had stirred Ivan up from his sleep. He lifted the covers slightly to see his
Shroomish snoozing still, giving the spongy-top pokemon a gentle pat.

Knock-Knock-Knock

"Miiish!" Shroomish jumped in surprise as they heard the loud knocks on the window. The two
groggy boys looked over to see an eager Liana waiting for them. She waves while signing to
Ivan to open the window. The grumpy Shroomish bounced over to the drawer table close to the
window to yell "Shroomish Shroom!"

Ivan rolled out of bed and walked over to open the window. Liana stuck her head through the
gap with a wide grin. "Good morning you two. Sorry Shroomish, I'm an early Pidgey, so they
say. Anyway, I got to make my way to the rocky caverns just west of here and I thought you'd
like to come along Ivan. You might learn something" Liana said as she rested her arms along
the bottom of the window frame. The tired Ivan signed to her, wanting to know exactly what she
had in mind.

"Well, yesterday I was itching to catch an Aggron but I was a little distracted when I found
Shroomish. Turns out the little guy there was tough to catch" Liana winked over to the
disgruntled Shroomish as she explained what her plans were.

Ivan looked over to Shroomish with a smile and signed to him, to which Liana happily translated
"Do you want to go on our first adventure?" However, Ivan's stomach grumbled, making the boy
blush in embarrassment. He shyly signed as the chuckling Liana translated "-right after
breakfast?" Shroomish wasn't as excited about the sudden big plan of the day, but it was hard
for him to turn down his new friend. The hesitant Shroomish nods and has his eyes shut
"Shroom."

They settled down after having a peaceful morning breakfast as they happily talked. Ivan
needed some time to explain to his parents where he'd be going, promising that he'd be careful
and will have his friends protect him from anything the pokemon forest has to throw at them.
The parents double-checked and examined Ivan's gear, all the while still questioning if he really
wanted to go. The now mildly annoyed Ivan had constantly answered his parents as he was just
eager to get out of the house with his backpack, filled with supplies in case anything happened.

Liana did her best to show that Ivan's parents have nothing to fear. Eventually, the two set off
on their long walk in the lively forest, filled with lots of wild pokemon. Shroomish was already
getting tired due to his short legs trying to keep up with the trainers. Ivan turned and stopped to
allow Shroomish to catch up.

"Hey Ivan, why don't you put him back in his pokeball? That'll allow your pokemon to be in top
shape when you need them" Liana advised with a friendly smile. Ivan kneeled down to
Shroomish to pat him before bringing out his pokeball, and aiming it at Shroomish. The red
beam had absorbed Shroomish back into the ball, keeping him safe and secure while being
easy to carry for the new trainer.

"There you go. That's why I keep Granbull in my pokeball whenever I have to travel or search
for rare pokemon" Liana reassured Ivan as the two continued to walk onwards to the forest.

It had been a few hours of walking and hiking up small hills, giving Ivan a taste of what
seasoned pokemon trainers have to go through on a daily basis. Avoiding to not overly strain
himself, he places his hand on Liana's shoulder. Liana turns to see Ivan, wishing to stop for a
moment as he signs for a break. "Hey, no problem. We can stop for a while" Liana said, giving
relief to Ivan's feet as he sat against a tree.

The two rested, hydrating themselves in the shade of the tree. They both enjoyed their break as
they spotted wild pokemon going by. Ivan signed what he remembered to ask his friend how
she was going to catch the Aggron.

"Hmm? Oh yea, you remembered that fairy type pokemon are weak against steel types. Well, I
plan to counter that with a new move I taught Granbull. I can show ya" Liana happily explained,
digging into her pocket to pull out her pokeball. With a simple throw, her pokeball opens in a
snap and lets out Granbull in a brief flash.

"Gra!" Granbull barked as she looked ready for action. Granbull eagerly waited for her trainer to
issue a command.

"Alright, Granbull, use Brick break on that boulder over there."

"Grrrrrraa- bull!" Granbull obeys Liana and charges the boulder, equal in size to herself.
Granbull's paws light up as she punches straight into the rock, shattering it like it was made of
grass. Ivan left his jaw hanging to see first-hand what power pokemon can wield. He claps and
weakly giggles to Granbull who gives a comical bow to the boy in return.

"Cool huh? A fighting move will give me the edge against the Aggron. It may be tough but you
can't be a good trainer unless you tackle challenges head-on" Liana clenches her fist, speaking
in confidence as she praises her Granbull with scratches behind her ear. Ivan smiled to see
Liana bond so well with her pokemon while on her journey. Ivan felt inspired as he dug into his
pocket to pull out his pokeball, wondering if he'll have a strong connection with his pokemon too.

Feeling the adrenaline coursing through her, Liana stood up and collected her bag. "Alright, time
to get moving. Can't stay too long on your butt, Lazy-bones" Liana playfully teases as she offers
her hand to Ivan, pulling him up onto his feet as they continue their long walk.

The sores and aches in his muscles were still there but it felt like each long trek makes it easier
by the day. Ivan had no trouble this time keeping up with Liana who was taking bigger, more
eager steps forward into the forest. The trees became fewer as they reached a more rocky
environment as they came up to a big wall with a cave.

Footprints of a large pokemon were all over the dirt floor, leading in and out of the cave. Liana
signed to Ivan to stay quiet, winking to him as she crept ahead. The worried Ivan was hesitant to
go with her until a sound spooked the two of them. They heard a voice coming from their left
instead of the cave.

"So much for the 'early Pidgey' getting here first" the smug Sean remarked, carelessly being
loud while being close by to the cave entrance. "Sean? What are-" Liana was halted as Sean
pointed to the cave entrance, taking note of the loud rumbling sound coming from within. Liana
stepped back as the huge Aggron stepped out, easily towering over the young trainers. It roared
as it emerged from the dark cave but the trainers stood close together, standing their ground.

"I figured it'd be more interesting to see who is more deserving of the capture. Whoever
captures Aggron first gets to keep it, got it?" Sean hastily explains as he throws out his pokeball,
bringing out his Hitmonchan.

"How did you even know we were going to be here?"

"Well it's not like you were quiet about it, and you aren't the first trainers to try and capture it."

"You got some nerve. You wait your turn then. If you wanted the Aggron then you should have
fought it by now-" Liana argued with Sean but suddenly Ivan grabbed her arm and pulled her
away as Aggron was about to attack.

"Grrrrrron!" Aggron roars as it slammed the ground, making several rock pillars erect from the
ground furiously. The trainers dived away in time before they were hit. Liana got back up on her
feet and hastily pulled out her pokeball, bringing Granbull into the fight. "Granbull! Brick break!"
Liana orders as Granbull charged forward. Aggron countered as it stomped to the ground,
raising a rock pillar from the ground to block the Granbull.

Granbull broke through the pillar with such force only to see Aggron about to swing its glowing
tail towards her. The impact was fierce as Granbull flew back towards Liana and Ivan. Liana
gasped as she yelled in shock "Granbull!" She hurried over to her downed pokemon to see it
was already injured. "Now's the time Hitmonchan" Sean said as his Hitmonchan's punching
glove glowed and shined "Focus punch!"

"Chaaan!" Hitmonchan lunged forward with a mighty punch, making a direct hit on Aggron to
cause a huge amount of damage. "Now I figured out how you've beaten all the other trainers,
using stone edge to mold the battlefield to your advantage. Smart" Sean remarked to Aggron
who was still standing and ready to fight.
Granbull struggled to get up, seeing Sean and Hitmonchan take the lead and may catch Aggron
before Liana could. She tried to get up but was too hurt to do so. "No, Granbull, you just took an
iron tail. It was my fault for not thinking this through" Liana smiled with pleading eyes to
Granbull, letting her know it's okay to stay put. "Bullll…" Granbull nods as she remained down
for the fight. They could only watch now as Sean battles the Aggron.

However, the battle quickly took a turn as Aggron furiously swung its tail to the rocky pillars,
hurling multiple shrapnels of rock all around the battlefield. The rampaging Aggron and the hail
of rocks forced the trainers and their pokemon to take cover from danger.

"Gk! Hitmonchan, get back in there!"

"Chan!" Hitmonchan obeyed Sean as it ran back to Aggron. Aggron lifted his sturdy, metallic
foot and stomped the ground towards Hitmonchan.

"Gah! Earthquake!" Liana yelled in warning as the ground began to shake violently. Everyone
close by could only hold on and endure the shaking. Hitmonchan was stunned in place as it took
the brunt of the hit, not prepared to see Aggron charging with a hard and furious tackle.

The weight and force of the huge Aggron was more than enough to send Hitmonchan down to
the ground. The impact left Hitmonchan dazed and motionless while Sean was still getting up
from the quake. "W-Wha… Hitmonchan!?" Sean yelled in confusion while the enraged Aggron
still posed a threat to the trainers themselves. Granbull looked up to see Aggron make his way
to Liana and Ivan. Knowing that she'll be needed to defend them, Granbull gets back up as the
trainers try to back away from the approaching beast.

Weakly, Granbull stood her ground while Liana tried pulling Granbull away. Aggron stomped the
ground again and the ground shook, making them fall to the ground. Ivan fell and his pokeball
fell out of his pocket, releasing Shroomish onto the rocky ground.

"Shroo?" Shroomish called, confused on what was happening until it looked up to see an
enraged Aggron stomping his way. "Shrooooo!" Shroomish bounced away in panic, letting out a
spray of dust up to the Aggron as it was still giving chase. The Aggron stopped as it inhaled the
dust cloud.

Shroomish jumped to Ivan as he caught him, looking up to the Aggron who was now struggling
to move. "Shroomish used Stun spore, it must have paralyzed it. Ivan get over here, you're still
in danger!" Liana explained with urgency and worry in her voice, getting Ivan to force himself on
his feet to run. Granbull took the advantage to attack Aggron, believing it to be vulnerable
enough for a direct attack. As Granbull made contact with her attack, Aggron grabbed Granbull
and overpowered her.
Fearing the worst for her pokemon, Liana pulled out her pokeball to call back Granbull. Before
Aggron's very eyes her opponent turned into a red light and was absorbed back into the
pokeball of the trainers that invaded its territory.

Liana grabbed Ivan by the shoulders and they both made a desperate run. The trainers couldn't
get far as the ground shook from another stomp from the rocky beast. The Aggron was not done
yet as it charged its way to Ivan and Liana. Shroomish bounced forward to stand between Ivan
and the oncoming Aggron.

"Shrrrrroooo!" Shroomish bounced forward for a tackle but it barely gave pause to the
monstrous Aggron. Aggron simply smacked away Shroomish to the side. The determined
Shroomish bounced back to tackle again, annoying the windered and slowed Aggron.

"Aaaaaarrrr-gron!" Aggron roars as it unleashes another stone edge, forcing rock pillars to spike
upwards from the earth and knocking Shroomish away. Liana and Ivan have split apart from
each other as pillars pushed them away. Ivan had landed hard on the rocky ground. The young
boy tried to move but his foot was stuck in the rock pile below. He attempts to pull free but was
frozen in fear as the Aggron made his way to him.

Aggron slowly made his way to Ivan, still adhered by the paralyse effect. The beast growled as it
crushed any debris of rock in its path to the boy.

"Shroooom!" Shroomish bounced from behind and bit onto the side of Aggron's head, hanging
on as it did its best to stop Aggron's advance. Ivan was overwhelmed with fear, feeling frail and
helpless as he was stuck, and saw how unstoppable the enraged beast was that was towering
over him. Shroomish saw his owner was fearing for his life, making the determined pokemon try
harder.

The energy building up in Shroomish surged through his body and began to make him glow.
The little Shroomish was now in light form, slowly morphing as Ivan was now in awe to see his
pokemon change. It was evolving.

The figure of light grew arms that were wrapping around Aggron's neck, and the mushroom
head on Shroomish grew larger and more round. The light faded to reveal Shroomish has now
evolved into a Breloom, gripping onto Aggron with all its newfound might. Sean and Liana
watched with amazement that the small Shroomish had evolved and was hindering the mighty
Aggron to a halt.

"Loo- ooooom" Breloom looked behind him briefly to spot a nearby stone pillar. Breloom
extended one of his arms to reach far and wrap around the rock for leverage. Breloom pulled
with all his might towards the rock while the Aggron tried to resist.
"Breeeeehh!" Breloom yells as he manages to pull Aggron all the way down, making the heavy
and sturdy pokemon topple over to its back with a big slam. Dust from the crushed rocks filled
the air as Aggron was finally brought down.

Breloom wasted little time in making his way to Ivan, lifting and tossing aside the rocks pinning
the boy's foot. Ivan grunts as he tried to stand with what little energy he had left. Breloom
helped Ivan stand as he offered his hand and lifted the boy to his feet.

"Breloom?" Breloom softly questioned if Ivan was ok which the boy happily nodded and smiled.
Their moment back together had to wait as they both heard rumbles from graveled rock. The
Aggron stood back up, exhausted from his battle but still willing to fight.

"Breloom!" Breloom, still ready to fight, stepped forth to make sure Aggron went nowhere near
Ivan. Breloom was soon accompanied by Hitmonchan who stood next to him. The two glanced
a look of respect as they both turned to Aggron. Granbull was eager to join the pokemon, ready
to finish their battle for their trainers.

Liana had made it to Ivan, checking on him briefly while Sean climbed on top of one of the stone
pillars with a vengeful look. Ivan clapped to get Breloom's attention. As Breloom turned to see
Ivan, he saw him making a punching gesture. "That's right, Breloom, you're a fighting type.
You'll be able to use that to your advantage" Liana informed Breloom on Ivan's behalf. Breloom
gave a confident nod and smiled "Breh!"

"Now, Granbull, use Brick break!"

"Hitmonchan, use Sky uppercut!"

The pokemon readied their attacks but Breloom lunged in with speed, delivering a quick and
effective punch. "What? Mach punch already?" Sean questioned to himself while being
astonished by how strong Ivan's pokemon has become. Granbull and Hitmonchan followed up
with their super effective blows to bring Aggron down, fainting near the cave entrance it came
out of.

"Go! Pokeball!" Sean yells as he throws his ball first before Liana could. To Ivan's and Liana's
shock, they could only watch as the ball pelted Aggron. The pokeball absorbed Aggron into the
ball, tilting slightly before giving the familiar ding of secure capture.

Sean sauntered over to pick up the ball, looking smug as Ivan and Liana ran up to him. "Hey!
You didn't even give a chance for all of us to catch it" Liana angrily stated as she felt it was
unfair to go all this way for nothing.

"You had plenty of chances. I just so happened to be perfectly positioned to get it myself"
chuckling to himself, Sean rubbed his victory in the jealous Liana's face. The two weren't paying
attention to Ivan until he pointed to something inside the cave. Inside were three Arons, small
and young, huddled together. The baby pokemon shivered as they stared up at the trainers
standing at the foot of the cave. "The Aggron was a mother. So that's why it was so territorial"
Liana remarked while Sean too realized this and looked at his pokeball. He felt bad but he hid
his sympathy as he held his pokeball away from Ivan and Liana.

"At least you guys get some Arons as a second and third rate prize," Sean says in a cold tone
as he looks away from the two.

Liana's jaw dropped as she stepped closer to Sean's side to tell him off "Sean, that's low, even
for you. Look at them, they still need their mother."

"Oh please, you're just angry because I got the Aggron before you. I'm not just gonna let a
powerful pokemon go especially when I worked hard for it" still trying to keep a cold persona,
Sean shrugs as he still kept the pokeball away from the others. Liana was close to lunging
towards Sean before Ivan grabbed her by the arm. He signed to her what he wants to say to
Sean which she translated as "Sean, you can't just break apart a family. How would you feel if
your brother and parents were taken away? If you don't release the Aggron then I'm willing to
fight for her."

Sean raised an eyebrow and contemplated for a while. His stance starts to soften as he felt
tempted to just run with his prize. With a deep sigh, he concedes and throws the pokeball,
releasing the Aggron back to the babies. Ivan smiled, proud of Sean for showing compassion
before he turned to look at Ivan with a confrontational stare. "You and I are going to have a
battle, and I'll show you you can't just be a trainer just because you have strong pokemon" Sean
spoke in a harsh tone before stomping off back into the woods.

Hitmonchan looked to Breloom with a scoff, waving his fist back and forth before following after
Sean. "Loom?" Breloom tilted his head as he watched Hitmonchan walk away.

The Aggron meanwhile huddled close over to her babies, acting somewhat passive as she
stared intensely at the remaining trainers. "We're… Sorry. I hope your children grow big and
strong, like us" Liana laughs as she placed her arm around Ivan, both giving a friendly smile as
they too turned away to start walking away from the cave.

Ivan looked to his strong and happy Breloom standing by him. Breloom signed the same
gesture Ivan made when they met. With his arms, as best he could with his new arms he signs
'partner'. Ivan was overwhelmed with joy; he tears up and gives the same sign back. Both Ivan
and Breloom grew a powerful bond and became the closest of friends without saying much of a
word about it.