The 'R' Uniform

Another two days passed in a blink of an eye, Cinder was still doing his own things: Training Storm on Electro Ball, Thunderbolt, and Cotton Spore, the sheep pokemon was also trying his best to raise his mastery over his fighting-type move, Focus Punch, which was a lot useful than Cinder and the electric-type thought when in battle. Not only does it provide coverage over normal, rock, steel, ice and dark-type opponents, it was also one of the moves Storm fancy on using in battle.

Right now, Korrina and Cinder started their early morning with a short training before setting off the tunnels, once again for Cinder.

"Storm, Electro Ball!"

The sheep's tail crackled as lightning began to gather around the tip.

The battle with Paul just a few days prior had been yet another reminder that they needed to continue training, he was another rival that they would constantly battle against whenever they bump into each other, to test each other's skills and Storm's was easily burning the brightest. As the oldest team member of Cinder's pokemon, he felt he represented their group, so he naturally worked hard.

Letting out a determined cry, Storm hurled the now formed ball of electricity towards the nearest rock. Although not perfect, the orb was being held together a lot more notably than before, losing its shape as it sailed towards its target, but never breaking apart outright.

As the rock shattered from the impact, kicking up a cloud of dust, Korrina, standing behind Cinder, clapped her hands happily.

Korrina had gone off to the tunnels inside Mt. Moon for the seventh time now since they met in the Pokemon Center, to battle some trainers for the day (she returned early, going for a battle or two) so when Korrina just returned, she saw the almost usable Electro Ball that she knew Cinder and the sheep had been trying their best to get a hang of. Not long after, she also released her pokemon to start their own training themselves, her pokemon were - Alpha(Riolu), Hero(Hawlucha), Aiz(Meinfoo), and Talon(Spearow). Cinder was surprised that most of her pokemon were fighting-types, she explained to him that Hero(Hawlucha) and Aiz(Meinfoo) were the pokemon she had caught while she was in Kalos. On the other hand, Talon(Spearow) was a catch she found on her way to Pewter

Her team got along with his fairly well, too. Her Alpha(Riolu) being the standout example with how she was constantly challenging Storm to races. Her Hero(Hawlucha) was somewhat distant, but friendly, while her Talon(Spearow), as Cinder quickly realized, was a prankster who had made it her hobby to start messing with Hercule. Although the young Poliwag was initially annoyed by this, he eventually started having fun with it, and the two eventually became friends in an odd sort of way. At least the Spearow didn't try pranking Starly, Cinder doesn't want to see that lest the female avian would be pissed off. While her Mienfoo, Aiz, would always meditate on a spot below the shades of a tree, with Fafnir occasionally disturbing the fighting-type because of his curiousity.

"Whoa! He's really been making gains since he evolved." The girl's peaceful green eyes observed the sheep as Hercule along with Talon(Spearow) made their way over to him and delivered a complimentary gurgle/chirp that had him somewhat slightly blushing and rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

Cinder nodded happily, an excited look in his eyes. "Yeah, he should hopefully have the move completely down within the next couple of days. I doubt he's strong enough to manage a full power Thunderbolt yet, but the experience with controlling his electricity that he's been getting with Electro Ball will still be a really good start. We'll need that for the next Gym."

She blinked. "Oh yeah, we were going to Cerulean next..." Then she grinned. "I've also trained my pokemon for the Gym's water-types."

Cinder nodded affirmatively. They know that they specialize in water-type pokemon over there, which is why teaching Storm more powerful electric-type moves as soon as possible is so important, Korrina was also preparing her own pokemon for her challenge in the gym. They spent the whole two days preparing for their battle with the sensational sisters.

She frowned, rubbing her arm subconsciously while suddenly finding her feet on the ground to be quite fascinating. "This pokemon training stuff really is overwhelming, isn't it? So much multitasking… But." She grinned. "The results you get after that are very satisfying."

Cinder flinched. She most certainly was not wrong. There was so much to focus on at once while being a Trainer. Yet another reason why rookies were so easily overwhelmed. How do you determine what to prioritize while still making sure that you don't fall behind in any of the other areas? Especially since trainers and pokemon were still right in the middle of fully developing their own personal fighting styles in each of their respective beginner years.

"We are going to get used to it eventually." He assured her freely. "But I don't think it's ever going to be easy."

"Let's eat?"

"Yeah, lets."

...

Once the duo was done eating, they had quickly rounded up their respective teams, who had also finished their food.

Despite being surprised by the news, none of the pokemon reacted negatively to traveling together, which pleased both trainers.

In fact, Storm and Alpha seemed to be quite open to the idea, which seemed to help further encourage the rest of the pokemon along with them.

Korrina and her team spent a few hours on the battlefield training together, with Cinder and his team watching and occasionally doing some minor drills of their own.

It wasn't anything major, however.

They needed to conserve their energy for the trip, and Korrina and her team all seemed to have the same mindset as them.

After a quick snack break, everybody was ready to go, saying a quick goodbye to Nurse Joy as they made their way out of the Pokemon Center.

Said Pokemon Center was located right at the foot of Mt. Moon, so it wouldn't take long for them to get there, not like it was their first time going in and out of the tunnels anyways.

Cinder had Storm at his side and Starly was flying not too high up in the air. Starly wouldn't be able to fly around as freely in the caverns of Mt. Moon, and Hercule had preferred to not take the trip on foot, Fafnir also did, which was a surprise since he always liked being together with Cinder, but the trainer noticed that Fafnir was sleeping quite frequently over the past few days, he concluded that it was part of the development as a dragon-type. Storm, as Cinder had noticed, had never taken issue with traveling outside, usually choosing to stay out and about whenever Cinder had provided him with the option. The boy was surprised that Starly had chosen to come along with, however. Not that he was upset about it, of course.

Part of him wondered if it was a good thing that Fafnir wasn't out at the moment.

On Korrina's end, only Alpha had opted to stay out.

The canine-like pokemon was casually conversing with Storm (Starly curiously listening in), as Korrina approached Cinder.

"Alright, are you ready to get going?" Her backpack was strapped neatly over her shoulders as she eyed the boy, who slowly nodded in response.

He was suddenly feeling used to it now, having experienced the tunnels in Mt. Moon, he wasn't any longer a bit nervous like how he and his team had been when they first entered. Not just because of Korinna's presence, but because of the thought of traveling through the tunnels which they already had experienced.

"Yup, ready when you are." Cinder smiled as he responded. Looking over the high steep of Mt. Moon, with the decision to officially pass through it with the tunnels.

"Great." The brash orange haired girl had a much more genuine smile on her face as she casually nodded back at him.

"Alright, you three! Chitchats are over, save the rest of your talk for the trip." Cinder pointed his thumb backwards in the direction of the towering mountain ahead of them.

The three pokemon nodded and began moving. As they followed their trainers towards the mountain.

...

Mt. Moon's inside tunnels were outlined by dimly lit lanterns, mercifully installed by the League in order to ensure the safety of the many travelers that would pass through the tunnels year by year. Although it spared the equally grateful Cinder and Korrina of being left at the nonexistent mercy of the pitch black darkness that the tunnels would have contained otherwise for them to be left with no sense of direction or security to speak of, it didn't provide any, even a minor discomfort for the duo of trainers and their pokemon though, as they made their way through the still overall dark tunnels.

The lanterns each had a bit of a short range, the brightness not enough to light up the inside of the caverns entirely. The golden light that shined from them colored the walls of the tunnels, but only within a short range or so. The inside of the caverns was a mixture of shining, golden stone and pitch black rocks as Cinder and Korrina strut through.

Cinder was whistling as he calmly looked through the familiar surroundings, turning his head slowly as the group made their way through.

Korrina's face was lit up by the light of the lanterns as she suddenly broke the tense silence between the group of travelers.

"How long have we been walking, Cinder? Any rough estimates?"

Cinder responded with a simple deduction. He met her gaze. "Half an hour, I guess?"

The teenager couldn't tell if his friend was sighing or scoffing. "Would've expected you to be a bit more proactive about it." She looked on ahead. "Still, though, that was about my guess anyway. Maybe a bit longer…"

"Who cares anyway? It should only take us around six hours to get through these tunnels and end up at the exit."

The tunnel was gradually beginning to increase in width as they continued their way through, with larger lanterns to compensate. Eventually, they reached a point where the paths began to branch off into multiple tunnels. A sign was helpful enough to be there to signify that their current path was the one leading to Cerulean.

Korrina looked over to Cinder. "We're probably more likely to run into more pokemon if we take one of the other tunnels." she pointed out. "It's where a lot of them nest." She frowned towards one of the branching tunnels. "I'm not really looking to catch anything right now, though. I just want to be in and out of here."

Cinder nodded. "Yeah, same."

Although they were used to the darkness and eerie atmosphere of the tunnels, being cautious at places like this are also needed.

...

"Thunder Shock!"

Storm's bolt of lightning was narrowly avoided by the Zubat, which took aim at the young sheep to charge forward.

For the most part, the main path was lacking in wild Pokemon, but Cinder and Korrina had run into a few as they made their way through the mountain. Although they hadn't intended to capture any of the pokemon that came out and attacked them so far, the battles were at least good practice for their team. Oddly enough though, they haven't met trainers yet.

Zubat's bared fangs began to glow purple as the use of Poison Fang engulfed them in toxic substances. At Cinder's warning, Storm quickly leapt out of the way of the attack, tail now coated in metal as he ran forward for his counterattack.

Behind Cinder, Korrina, Starly, and Alpha all looked on as the battle unfolded. Since they were using these encounters with wild pokemon as additional training, the three friends had mutually agreed to take turns not to jump into battles unless it proved to be necessary. So far, the two rookie trainers had been faring quite well, all things considered.

Zubat flew upwards to avoid Storm's strike, and responded by flapping its wings, shooting slices of wind that Cinder recognized as Air Cutter in the sheep's direction.

The attack kicked up dust as it exploded against the rocky ground, Storm taking a leap backwards to dodge the attack as an Electro Ball formed at the tip of his tail.

The Zubat was sent catapulting through the air as the orb of lightning struck it, but as it righted itself, it let out a horrific screech that had everybody present reeling.

Cinder wailed in agony as he practically slammed his hands against his ears, desperately wishing to conceal the eardrums from the sound as the Supersonic mercilessly made itself known to his sense of hearing.

Behind him, Korrina was on her knees as she mimicked Cinder's own actions.

"GET THAT DAMN THING TO SHUT UP NOW!" She practically roared as Zubat continued to cry out.

Alpha and Starly were both reeling from the attack as well, as was Storm. As the sheep covered his ears in pain, the noise suddenly stopped as Zubat attempted to take advantage of Storm's recoil to charge forward with another Poison Fang. Scrambling in shock, Storm rolled out of the way just in time.

Gasping, Cinder felt a mix of relief for the sound being gone, yet was also being tortured by the lingering pain that it had left behind in his ears. As Korrina began to stand up, her face now... Scary, if Cinder has to say so himself, it was the first time he saw this appearing on Korrina's face, as she observed the Zubat circling around in another attempt to bite Storm, focus back on the battle Cinder gritted his teeth, but he remained calm, so he couldn't misguide Storm. He had to end this battle before Zubat used that move again.

As Zubat once again charged forward with poison Fang, Cinder gave the order. "Storm, Zap Tail!"

Cinder and Storm had officially dubbed their Iron Tail and Spark combination as 'Zap Tail', like 'Icy Terrain' it was easy to memorize and was practical for battle.

Both pained and angry, Storm smirked angrily as he responded to Cinder's command, holding out his metallic tail to intercept Zubat's Poison Fang.

As Zubat's teeth painfully chomped down onto the steel coating of Storm's tail, the young sheep immediately sent a surge of electricity through the tail, agonizingly zapping Zubat at point blank range, the bat like pokemon crying out in misery as Storm swung his tail backwards to fling the opposing pokemon away. As Zubat sailed through the air, Storm charged forward, lightly enhancing his speed with a brief Agility, and slammed his Iron Tail into the bat like pokemon's stomach with as much blunt force as possible.

Zubat, after bluntly colliding with the stone hard walls of the caverns, fell to the rocky ground in an unceremonious heap, and Korrina huffed uncaringly with her head high as she observed the poison/flying-type's limp body.

"Hmph. Good riddance." Cinder felt her shoulder roughly bump his own to get his attention. "Ugh, thanks for dealing with that one quickly. I'm pretty sure I would have had to glue my ears back on if it tried to pull that crap again. Those damned poison-types... I particularly hate any pokemon with flying/poison-types, my fighting-types aren't scared of them, but... Hmph!"

It seemed like someone was still salty about their loss against the dickhead of a veteran trainer back in Viridian. Cinder didn't voice this thoughs out though, lest he would earn her ire.

Cinder rubbed the back of his neck a bit as he tried to take in Storm's words, still reeling from the effects of the Supersonic just as much as she was. In an attempt to take his mind off of it, he looked over to Storm, who was being approached by Starly and Alpha. All of them were also trying to get over the attack.

They seemed to be doing a slightly better job at it, though, which Cinder thought was nice, even if it made him feel just a little bit envious of them at the same time.

It was only natural that pokemon could recover from the effects of a pokemon's moves quicker than humans could, but it didn't mean that Cinder wasn't frustrated by how much more difficult that humans had it.

Humans were so fragile compared to how pokemon were. But then again, pokemon were the ones who typically did the fighting anyway.

Which made him wonder if he even had a right to complain.

Korrina sure seemed to think so, so he dished that thought out as he focused on picking his ears.

Starly approached Storm a bit slowly, but there was clearly trust in her eyes for the moment. She had grown used to the sheep, thankfully.

After the avian pokemon sniffed at him for a bit, Storm rubbed the back of his head bashfully as Starly chirped out what seemed to be a compliment, and Cinder couldn't help but smile. Joining in, Alpha barked out what seemed to be praise as well.

Storm wasn't egotistical, but he certainly enjoyed positive attention nonetheless.

The sheep perked up as Cinder approached the trio of pokemon with Korrina in tow.

Patting his starter on the head, Cinder looked forward, suddenly perking up as he heard a noise in the background.

It sounded like a pair of voices, although he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Korrina, I think some people are up ahead." he commented.

Korrina shrugged. "Probably some other trainers. Maybe if we hurry and catch up with them they can tell us how much further we have to go."

Cinder nodded enthusiastically. "Good! Let's go!"

With their pokemon dashing alongside them, the duo of trainers made their way forward through the tunnels, reaching a large room with multiple branching paths.

Almost immediately, they spotted the sources of the two voices, a man and a woman standing a bit further into the room.

Cinder waved a bit as he began to approach the duo. "Hey, we were wondering if-"

He froze as the two turned around.

Cinder and Korrina's faces paled as they spotted the large R on their uniforms.

Team Rocket.

**Special thanks to these people for being such inspirations in this ff that I just started not too long ago - Qweku_v, Shenming, Tommy_Rangel, Gabriel_Menard(Especially this reader, his comments are helpful and motivational.), and lastly, but surely not the least, Zo0my.**