"W-w-w-why!?" Bernice cried out as I followed after her.

"Hehehehe!" I cackled, Gible was totally not aware of what was going on, but I'd threatened Bernice with a bite from Gible if I happened to catch up!

"Aaaaa!" She cried and I just grinned.

"If you have the air to yell instead of run, then I'm not pushing you enough!" I roared out from behind her!

"Gib."

"Eeeeee!" She continued to shriek, rather missing the point, and unfortunately she was screaming with her head in the air instead of watching where she was going, so down she went. Her foot missed a step and down she tumbled.

I slowed down and kept my laughter in as she rose up and started spitting.

"Pfft! Pfft! Sand in ma mouf!"

"Yeah it sucks. C'mon." I reached down and grabbed her arm, and helped her up, mostly just hauling her to her feet. "Don't stop moving, or you'll cramp up, c'mon easy steps let's get to the water and clean off that sand."

"You so meeeean!" She cried out still spitting out sand from her mouth and I just rolled my eyes.

This girl had no athletic ability at all! What was she supposed to do when she was chased by an angry… What were some of the scary Sinnoh Pokemon again? Eh whatever.

Once we hit the ocean, she flopped onto her butt and just started scrubbing her face and using the water to spit out the sand.

"How is this training!?" She demanded at me, but I noticed she wasn't stuttering.

"How are you supposed to expect your pokemon to train hard all day, if you can't do it too? I train alongside my pokemon." I explained as I sat beside her and Gible instantly reacted.

"Gib!" She called out as the first wave rushed up to her. She was waving her little claws into the water.

"But…" She tried to argue but I shook it off.

"Listen. I'm pushing you a bit right now, because I'm not going to take up your entire pre-journey vacation right? But… These are the fundamental things. What makes a trainer different from a good trainer. Or a great trainer."

"But… Running?"

"You'll be walking for almost all of your journey. Didn't your teachers tell you to start exercising more?"

"Ah… Yes…" She mumbled looking away. I just smirked at that reaction.

"Well as someone who just had their journey, let me give you some advice." I started and then smirked, because well…

I'd cheated on the normal journey issues. Although It's not like Chansey had ever let me not get my daily exercise in.

"First? If you can't walk along a path all day? Then you aren't ready."

"Eh!?"

"Well okay you don't have to start that way right? Your first few days will be walking into whatever location is close to your home and probably catching pokemon, or battling and stuff, but you'll still be on your feet for a lot of the time. So get good shoes, and start jogging, a lot."

"Ugh…"

"Cynthia is an archeologist you know?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well do you think when she heads out into the wilds to explore ancient ruins, she doesn't make sure she's super in shape? I bet she could jog all day right alongside her pokemon if she wants too!"

I honestly had no idea, but I'd bet money on it, but more importantly, comparing Bernice to Cynthia was a great motivation factor.

"Yeah… Yeah." She agreed, her eyes radiating a bit more willpower than she had before.

"Good. Now! Second thing! Training. How much training have you done with Shellos?"

"I've given her some TM's! To give her stronger moves, and I participate in the battle club at school… Although it's not like I ever win." And there goes all of her motivation.

"Pfft. Who cares? Besides… That's not training."

"Eh?"

"TM's aren't training, and so you aren't going to get anything out of a battle club. No wonder you lose."

"B-But. That's what everyone does!"

"Do they?" I asked, looking at her with my most ludicrous look. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't know you were an expert on training pokemon." I gave her a flat look and she looked away at that.

"Sorry."

"Nah it's okay, but you have a lot of expectations on what to do, and how to do it… But you're wrong. And that's okay!" I yelled out startling her. "If you don't ever accept your preconceptions are wrong, you'll never improve! Now! Training. What makes up a Pokemon battle?"

"Eh?"

"Sorry that's a vague question. What does your pokemon do, in a pokemon battle?"

"Uh… Battle?"

"Right,. But break it down. You've seen battles. Tell me every part of the battle that you can think of, Here I'll give you an example. Moves!"

She looked a little confused at first, before finally giving a stuttered answer. "D-d-d-doge?"

"That's right! Dodging attacks! It doesn't matter how strong your opponent trained a move, if they can't hit you! Good answer!" I threw up a thumbs up. "Can you think of anything else?"

"Umm… Orders?"

"Teaching your pokemon to trust in your orders and respond immediately! Huge answer! You're on a roll! C'mon what else?"

"Uh…"

"Let me offer a few more. Combinations. Does your pokemon move combo into another. How about with an entirely different pokemon. Having a Pokemon with Rain Dance, can turn your electric type with Thunder, from an okay battler, into a monster!"

"Huh?"

"The Move Thunder is pretty inaccurate, it's hard to control, but, if it's raining that accuracy shoots up, and suddenly your pokemon is hitting right on target." I pointed at her with a finger like a gun and fired.

"Oh! I see… Move… Combinations."

"That's right! Like Sunny Day and Solar Beam! Nothing better than shooting a big strong move that normally takes time to charge over and over again."

"Heh." She laughed a bit at the idea, but then I held up a hand.

"But that's getting ahead of ourselves. So, see? There are tons of elements of a Pokemon battle. And many many more that I haven't even touched on! So! What does that mean for how you trained your team so far?"

"Ah… I only gave Shellos moves… That's it."

"Right! See? If you only focus on adding moves to a pokemon, and that's it? You're missing out on 99% of the job!" I looked out over the ocean. "Pokemon battles are like the ocean. You might spend all your life on this beach, learning about every inch of it, but just over that rise? That's another beach. And a whole new world to explore."

"Sounds… Complicated."

"Heh! That's where training comes in! If you fight someone with a move you don't know, or a pokemon you've never heard of, does that mean you instantly lose?"

"No."

"Right! You move onto other parts of your training to overcome! Dodging, following orders, you'll have trained to overcome adversity."

"That makes sense."

"Mhmm! Okay so, like I said I'm not going to take up all your vacation time, but let me fill your head with some knowledge okay? Go ahead and release Shellos."

"Shelly! Come out!" I grinned at the cutesy nickname. As the pink pokemon popped out into the ocean and instantly cooed happily at the water as it swiftly swam up with a wave and nestled itself in Bernice's legs.

"She likes you."

"I've had Shelly for a long time. We've been friends forever."

"That's sweet!" I cooed, but then shook myself. "Okay! So training. We just covered a bunch of different elements of a battle. So instead of me teaching you what to train, let me teach you how to train. That way anytime in the future you find yourself lacking, you can come up with your own way to improve!"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Oh… Okay?"

"So it's actually really easy. All you need to do is find out what you want to improve, and… Practice!"

"Practice?"

"Yep! Okay take Gible here for instance!" I called out and Gible sort of shifted upward at her name but she was still focused on the ocean. "She's very young. Totally not ready for a real battle, but I can still train her in the things she needs to know. I've been working with her on adding a new move. Dragon Breath."

"Okay?"

"So, let's say I'm finding myself against a gym leader, and they have a type I can't overcome! So I need to teach Gible a new move! First step! Find some way to teach them the basics. For me? I already had a pokemon that knew Dragon Breath, and we've done some of the initial practice, but… Do you think Gible can use the move with just that?"

"Umm.. Yes?"

"Hehe! Gible Use Dragon Breath!" I called out to her firmly, and I felt her shifting a bit…

"Gib." She chirped, and then went quiet, but I felt her shifting under her scales, as she gathered power.

"Ummm."

"Shh. Just watch." I whispered, and then Gible opened her mouth.

"Gah." She exhaled, and just the faintest whiff of purple flames escaped her, actually causing a nice little sizzle noise on the ocean wave that washed up to her just a moment after. I felt a bit of warmth but not much on my legs.

"Good job! Wooo! Giiiiible!" I cheered, lifting her up and swinging around, and then because I cared more about Gible than Bernice, I danced and laughed as I fell back into the ocean and Gible and I both went under and in the waves, which I could feel her little tail twitching as she found herself fully submerged.

Then with a bit of effort I stood up and laughed as the water streamed off both of us.

"But the move didn't work?" Bernice offered and I noticed Shellos looked confused at my actions too.

"Heh. You think that matters? You're thinking in terms of success being one or two tries. But success is a thousand, or a million!" I called out as I plopped back into the sand. "Watch. Gible! Let's do it again! Dragon Breath!" I called out, and this time it took a few moments as she was still distracted by the ocean, but eventually she adjusted herself a bit telling me she was gathering energy.

I felt her shaking a bit and then…

"Gah." She exhaled, and that same flickers of purple flame puffed out of her throat.

"Yeah! You're getting it!" I called out cheerfully, nuzzling her a bit and patting her on the felly. "Good girl! Can you try again? Let's keep practicing!" I called out and then as I said it I looked at Bernice. My face smug as I gave her all the hints she could need.

"Gah!" Almost instantly Gible responded, and… It was longer. The purple flame washed out, and actually crackled across the ocean waves.

"Hehehehe! You're getting it! Can you do it again? Dragon Breath!"

And there was no hesitation this time. Gible opened her mouth.

"Gah." And out came a flame about as strong as the one before.

"Look how much you've improved! That's so amazing!" I gushed over my little dragon and then looked at Bernice. "Teaching something isn't just a one minute example, and then being done. It takes work. Hours of practice, and careful watch, making sure your pokemon doesn't overdo it. And then, when they get it, when truly master it? That's what a trainer lives for."

"But… Shellos already knows all of her moves!"

"Does she? Or can she just use them? You saw it yourself just now. Gible hasn't gotten the move completely figured out, but just a little practice, and she improved that much… You think you can't improve Shellos's moves with more practice? How many times has your pokemon even used some of those TM moves you taught her?"

"Eh…"

I nodded at her. "It goes like that for everything. Moves, dodging, movement, even fighting! Look at fighting types. Just because they know Fire Punch, do you think that's all it takes? No way! Fighting types need to learn how to best use that move! It's all about practice."

Bernice looked at Shellos and then nodded. "I'll… Practice. You hear that Shelly!? You ready to practice your moves?"

"Shell!" It chirped and I smiled at the two.

"Great! I'm not done yet either, are we Gible? Let's see how much more we can improve your Dragon Breath!" I called out, and laughed as Gible instantly responded.

"Gib."

"That's right!"

I planted Gible in the sand, sitting behind her, and mostly ignored Bernice. The fact is, I couldn't tell her exactly what to do, she had to learn that on her own. Just like how I'd once given advice on training to Ivy. If I just told her exercises, that would give results, then all she'd ever do is copy them, but if you could get her to think, then maybe she could figure things out for herself!

But for now. Gible was my full attention.

"Gah!" She exhaled, once more that purple flames licked out, but… She had no endurance. Almost as soon as the flames exhaled, they ended and she was just standing there mouth open breathing…

Hmmm. Was she just weak when it came to Dragon Energy? No, I've seen her use Dragon Rage, and that was plenty powerful enough…

"Okay Gible, try it again for me." I asked, while pushing my hands against her sides.

I could feel her shifting. As she gathered energy, I could feel her little chest shifting as she breathed in, and then…

"Gah." She exhaled. And…

"Gible Gable… When you try to use Dragon Breath, close your mouth a bit more, don't let all of your air out at once, okay?" I told her, I think… She was exhaling all the oxygen she needed for the flames all at once…

Well she was like a little balloon.

She tried it again. And didn't seem to change much. So I reached out. "Like this." I told her, and slightly adjusted her mouth to be a bit more narrow. "Try it like this."

"Gah!" She exhaled a moment later, and the flames licked out much further!

"Hehe! You got it!"

Then she seemed to try it again, but…

"Gible, you need to-" I was cut off as her mouth had closed, with her cute little snaggle teeth, and… A moment later it felt like she was rumbling, before her mouth opened, and smoke came pouring out of her once more opened mouth. "Gible!" I gasped as she sort of slumped over. I picked her up and took off running to the pokemon center!

—---

"Okay that was a bit of a mistake, but we learned from that. Don't just keep the energy inside… Even if closing your mouth a bit lets you actually release the flames, try not to close your mouth all the way."

"Gib."

I nodded, not sure if she really got it, but that was okay. She was back to normal now. Thankfully Nurse Joy had assured me she hadn't really hurt herself, more shocked than anything.

But she'd also been giggling up a storm the whole time she talked to me.

Carrying her back to the beach instead of heading to rejoin Bernice, I gave the girl some space, and found Mama and Papa, and all the rest of my friends.

"Hey everyone!" I called out as I arrived. Thankfully Mama and Papa had kept an eye out. Everyone was still playing in the waves or the sand, and I got calls from my team as I arrived, most of them rushing up to see me.

Laughing as Jangmo-o ran in between my feet, nearly tripping me, while Dratini instantly wanted to climb up onto my shoulders despite being wet, and Mimikyu hopped all the way up and onto the top of my hat. I just laughed as everyone called out for my attention.

"Sorry, sorry. I was helping someone learn how to do some training, and then Gible and I worked on her Dragon Breath!"

"Gib."

I almost didn't catch it, but I managed to tilt back, as I felt Gible gather up her breath in my arms once again, and this time, when she exhaled, a real Dragon Breath came out.

The purple flames shot up a couple feet into the air and actually kept blowing for a moment or two before the energy ended.

"Gib."

"Yeah! Good job, but let's be careful about using that when I'm not expecting it." I laughed, as Dratini had been forced to jump off my shoulder where he'd been hanging down to avoid the flames.

"That was awesome!" A new voice called out, as I turned around and saw Lana with a fishing pole over her shoulder. "What a pretty flame!"

"Thanks! It's Dragon Breath! Gible is learning it!"

"Well I think it's awesome… I was uh, wondering if you wanted to join me?" She asked, and I noticed she had two fishing rods.

"I'd love to!" I called out, I'd been playing around most of the morning, but we had gotten some training in, but some fishing sounded awesome!

"Great! I know this place that's the best for fishing!" She called out, and was about ready to start running when I had to stop her.

"One sec! Let me get everything settled here." I laughed, as my pokemon were still circling around me.

"Alright! Let's go fishing! Let's return for now, okay?" My pokemon all chirped, as I started with Gible, before bringing everyone back, then I stopped and headed over to my parents. "I'm gonna go fishing with Lana, I can take the egg."

"Alright dear." Mama offered, as she pulled off the towel that covered the incubator, to keep the sun from getting too much on it, and I picked up my incubator and headed after Lana.

Fishing!

Only instead of heading up into the island, Lana released her Lapras.

"Oh it's not here on Melemele. It's on Akala! Come on!"

I blinked. I hadn't left Melemele yet… But I shrugged and jumped onto the Lapras, and soon as we were heading away Lana handed me a fishing pole and we both started laughing and swapping stories as we floated off.

—---

"So this is Akala Island?"

"Yep!" Lana called out as she returned Lapras and the two of us were on a different beach. Instantly I noticed the difference, while there were those on the beach, none of them were foreigners like me.

"I don't see any tourists here."

"Nah, that's only Melemele. The other islands don't let tourists come around." Lana offered with a shrug which I nodded along. I guess that made sense. Melemele didn't have that many rare Alolan only pokemon. Not the special ones anyways. You wouldn't find any Jangmo-o on Melemele.

"C'mon! We can get a ride pokemon to get up to the pond!" Lana called out and I laughed as I chased after her. I noticed I got quite a few looks, but Lana was at my side and so no one seemed to make any real fuss.

It felt nice, and honestly as we came up onto the road, and then into a Ride Pokemon barn where the two of us got on some Tauros and then raced out of the city on dirt roads, it felt awesome to look around and wonder what is out here.

Sure I didn't know Melemele well either, but… This was a whole new island to explore! We ended up ambling along a dirt trail for a long while before suddenly the trees seemed to split, and I could hear rumbling water.

Then there it was.

"Whoa."

"Welcome to Brooklet Hill!" Lana called out and I had to gasp as I looked around. The whole place was… Multiple ponds that all flowed down the side of the island, into more ponds, with waterfalls flowing down between them. It was…

Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.

"Like it do you?" Lana asked, the girl having come right up to my Tauros and practically invading my personal space with such a smug grin.

"I love it!"

"Well come on! I'll show you my favorite places!"

"Please do!"

Oh man, Gible would love this place! And so would Dratini! And… Well just about everyone!

"C'mon!" Lana called out, waving her fishing rod above her blue hair as she was already running up to the first pond.

I just had to shake my head and jump off the Tauros, giving his nose a quick pat in thanks for the ride, before chasing after her, the borrowed fishing rod held over my shoulder too.