Going forward and beyond {Path of the Aura Ranger: Book I}

II Dawn's P.O.V

We rapidly found a nice clearing and set camp. Ash took care of dinner, for both us and the pokemon, while I took care of Buneary's injuries. Ash's food was delicious! When he told me, it was his mom the one that taught him how to cook, it was not hard to believe that his mom has a restaurant. What did surprise me is the number of exotic pokemon he possessed. Not only did he have a dragon! But he also has a regional starter and a Ghost/Steel pokemon from Kalos. Not to mention that eeveelutions on their own are rare to find.

"Where's Honedge?" I asked him confused as we ate, only now noticing he was missing.

"She is a ghost Dawn," he told me, gently. I really liked how he was patient with me and never thought of my questions as stupid or irritating. "They feed off fear. So, she is going around looking for pokemon to prank. But don't worry he knows the difference between a good-mannered prank and when she has crossed the line. Also, to never go for humans or pokemon that belong to other trainers."

I nodded my head satisfied, before asking Ash the question which I've been waiting for the answer to: "So, what kind of advice can you give me?"

"Well, first of all, you'll need to train your pokemon in both endurance and speed. I would say resistance also, but if you are hit, you'll lose points. So, train them to be able to dodge. But don't try to put any kind of fancy dodging technique during training. First, they'll need to build a firm foundation from which you'll build up your various coordinator moves and strategies." He explained, calmly. I nodded my head, understanding. Though I was disappointed I heeded his advice and decided to control my excitement. "I know you might be excited."

I looked at him surprised, why does he always know what I am thinking?

"I was just like you. Excited and ready to take the world... I am still like that!" He laughed, making me laugh too. His laugh is simply too contagious. I looked at his pokemon laughing, looking at Ash with such a tender and caring expression. They truly love and care about Ash, I hope one day my own pokemon and I will share such a tight bond. "But... I was not prepared at all," his sudden energetic expression turned slightly gloomier. I did not like that and from the look of it neither his pokemon. "But I was lucky to find a good group of friends that helped me out. Things could have gone south many times and I could have screen... messed up my pokemon from training them the wrong way or being too excited."

"Hurting them during training? You would never hurt your pokemon!" I exclaimed, enraged- his pokemon giving some exclamations of their own.

I might have not known Ash for long, but he has saved my life and been so patient and kind with me. He is like the ideal big brother, even with all the teasing I've endured since meeting him. And I've seen how close his pokemon and him are, how deep their bond is. They love him and he loves them.

"I didn't mean it like that!" He exclaimed back. "I would never hurt my pokemon! I would rather die!" Pikachu moaned at that and jumped on Ash's lap, demanding pats. By now all of Ash's pokemon have left their food to surrounding their trainer. Seeing that Piplup and Buneary sat next to me. "What I meant is that many times I tried to reach for the stars before my pokemon were ready because I was too excited. Think about it, Dawn. You are having a dodging exercise between Buneary and Piplup, Buneary uses Ice Beam and you ask Piplup to dodge, but doing it in a flashy way... I don't know..."

"Spinning?" I offered.

"Good! You tell him to escape the attack by spinning, to make it look cool. But things go south because Piplup was not trained and it was too soon, he might not be good at dodging yet, and adding the spinning to that will leave him dizzy, he ends up hurt by the attack." I knew it was all hypothetical but just the thought... I held both of my pokemon close to me. "That might not be such a dire situation, but it will come one day that you might try something too much for you or your pokemon to handle and most of the time it is the pokemon that pays for it. Do you understand?"

"I do," I replied, seriously.

"Sorry for ruining the mood," he apologized, his expression softening and his smile returning. "I don't doubt how much you care about your pokemon and I know you will take good care of them. But I just want you to be careful when needed and be adventurous on everything else."

"I get it," I assured him. "Don't worry."

"Good! Then to my following advice!" He cheered, with his pokemon support. I chuckled at the comical scene they made. How can they be gloomy at one moment and excited on the other? "When it comes to pokemon moves I'll advise you the same as with the endurance, speed, and dodging training. Build a firm foundation and little by little grow the power and control the pokemon possesses over the move. I know that coordinators are not all about power, but at the end of the day you'll still battle on stage and that extra power might be what makes the difference." He explained.

I mulled over his words and decided he was right. I'll need to learn to control the moves and make them powerful before trying to make combinations that will surprise the judges

"Also, look up various types of specialist coordinators. When I say type specialist, I mean it, they are the ones that know their types the most and how to bring out their very best. I'll recommend Wallace at once; he is a Water Type Master and will give you various ideas on how to make Piplup shine." He continued.

"Pi-pi-up!" Piplup seems quite happy with this idea.

"I don't know many other coordinators, so I won't be able to help you out in finding someone to take inspiration for Buneary." He apologized. "But I do know Normal Types, they are all about the versatility. Teach her moves of various types, that will showcase how talented Normal Types can really be. You can also use your Pokedex to take notes about training plans and your pokemon developments. Also, to look out moves they can learn or how to teach them even."

"What about appeals?" I asked him.

"All I can tell you is that I know that coordinators love to be flashy but to never forget that the moves are used to showcase the pokemon, not the other way around. So, don't lose sight of who is supposed to be the star of the show." He told me shortly, I was a bit disappointed by the short advice, but I also understood that Ash is a trainer, not a coordinator. However, after a small silence, he spoke again. "Also, try not to be very repetitive. I've noticed during Hoenn and Kanto that various newie coordinators tend to use the same moves just in a different order or with a new thing to spice it up, but in the end, it only feels repetitive and boring to watch the same thing over and over again. As two judges will be in every contest you participate in, I'll recommend you try new things, new combos, teach new moves to your pokemon."

"Yeah, that seems smart," I commented.

Suddenly I heard a cry of a pokemon. We both rapidly stood up and were surrounded by our pokemon ready to protect us if necessary. Only for Honedge to appear through the trees. But my calm evaporated when I noticed a small blue ball with a green big leaf hanging from her cloth, when the blue ball cried, I knew it was a pokemon.

"What did you get yourself into Honedge?" Ash moaned, looking as if he was about to cry.

I honestly laughed out loud, when Honedge tried to shrug her shoulders. She does have any! I knew it was bad and this is supposed to be a serious situation, but it was so damn hilarious.