<The teenager smirked as the battle commenced, shouting “Pidgey, use Sand Attack!”>


    As before, the dust cloud formed and began to creep towards Chad, but not before he leapt forward into a quick scratch, knocking the bird back and onto the ground.


    <”Huh?!” The teenager shouted in alarm, caught off-guard by Stanley''s silence. “Pidgey, quick, hit it with a Tackle!”>


    Not wanting to waste the momentum, Chad continued forward, spinning for a low tail sweep of the bird''s legs as it attempted to stand up, once again knocking it off balance. He took advantage of the opportunity and repeatedly swiped at his opponent, the Pidgey proving to be less evasive than Fletchling had been, with a few even landing a hit.


    <The teenager grew worried, but held control over his panic and shouted: “Get out of there, blow it away with a Gust and then finish it with a Peck!” Stanley could only watch, worried for his best friend. It couldn''t end like this, they had to win their first battle.>


    The bird gave a shrill cry as it blasted Chad back with a flap of its wings, before righting itself and bolting forward for the attack. Chad regained his footing and prepared himself for the incoming charge by lowering his stance and putting his right claw all the way back behind him, waiting. “This… is how you win,” he started, “with the Power of Friendship!” As the battlecry reached a crescendo, Chad swept forward with the claw, diving down and to the left of the Pidgey. The movement was instant, with Pidgey landing behind Chad a few feet away, and Chad having taken a step forward with his right claw fully extended forward. There was a tense moment, before Chad fell to a knee gripping his right shoulder. Then another moment before Pidgey fell to the ground unconscious.


    <Stanley was in shock, Chad had won. They had won! Their first battle, against an older trainer, and they had won! It was unbelievable, how had his pokemon gotten so strong already?!>


    Chad took a look back at Stanley, and with his left hand made a thumbs up gesture with a wide smile. “Told ya I could do it,” he bragged.


    <Stanley, realizing Chad was too injured to finish the walk home, recalled his pokemon to its ball, silently thanking him for the hard effort. When he looked up, he saw the back of the fleeing teen, so he made haste for home. Mom won''t believe it when I tell her about our first battle, I hope she isn''t too mad at us, Stanley prayed. Luckily, Stanley was not accosted by any further trainers on the rest of the walk home.>


    <Upon entering the front door, he bid a quick greeting to Diane and went directly to the first aid kit. “Stanley, why are you looking in there?” She asked, noticing him pull out the potion. “What did you do?!” Stanley, in ripping off the proverbial band-aid, called out Chad, handing the potion to Diane. He didn''t know how to properly use the spray bottle, but he needed to learn somehow. Besides, he had won the battle, hadn''t he? She would certainly be proud of the two of them. “Oh Stanley, Chad, did you get into a fight on the way home? Here, let me help with that.” Diane gently sprayed on the biggest bruises first, starting with Chad''s shoulder, as the medicine kicked in quickly. “At least it isn''t terribly serious; these look like the injuries of a winner.” She remarked proudly, gently wrapping a bandage around Chad''s shoulder with a cold pad beneath.>


    “Yea, I''m certainly a winner alright,” Chad grumbled, wincing as the potion began to kick in. He was certainly in rougher shape than when he had trained with Lady Renard previously, but it was not enough. “I need to get better, I can''t risk getting hurt this badly every fight.”


    <Stanely paid apt attention, as Diane explained how to provide proper first aid to an injured pokemon. It turned out the potion bottle was insufficient, and she mentioned something about an-tee-bye-awe-ticks? Stanley sure had a lot to learn, as he practiced by wrapping a bandage around Chad''s left arm. The bandage was originally too loose and fell off instantly. The second attempt was too tight, as Chad''s fingers began to turn purple. The third try was just tight enough to stay put, but loose enough to not restrict blood flow.>


    “Stanley, why don''t you get started on your homework?” Chad suggested, pointing at Stanley''s backpack lying forgotten on the floor nearby.


    <Stanley was torn, he knew he had to start his homework. But he also wondered if Chad was simply putting on a brave face for him. After all, his pokemon had taken a harsh beating from that Pidgey. Putting faith in his partner, Stanley gently lifted the bag and ferried it to the living room table. Today''s homework was going to be languages, so he prepared the paper and his book, waiting for Chad to be able to join him. It may be tough, but with enough exposure maybe he can learn to read too, Stanley reasoned, looking at the battered pokemon expectantly.>


    With a slight smile, and the all clear signal from Diane packing up the first aid kit, Chad gently strode over to stand beside his trainer. “OK kid, what''s your task today?” The assignment for today seemed to be focused on spelling new words he had been learning in class, as well as using them in a sentence. Skeptical, Chad lifted the paper to check the reverse side, revealing a blank page facing the table top. “You''ve got to be kidding me, no way is this everything you need to do,” he expressed in disbelief.


    <Stanley felt a mild amusement that Chad had tried to look for the answers on the other side of the paper, reminding himself of the times he had tried that same trick. He stared down at the first problem, where he was required to write a sentence using the word “Duel”. Stanley thought it was odd timing, given he had just had a pokemon match earlier, wasn''t that a duel?>Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    “Yes, one on one, so it counts as a duel. Stanley, why are you learning homonyms? Shouldn''t you be doing more complicated words at your age?” Chad questioned, as he realized the paper did not include any ''new'' words longer than six letters. Dual, Duel, Do, Due, Those, Toes, and other similar words populated the word bank at the top of the page.


    <Stanley instantly had a great idea, and wrote down the sentence “My pokemon won the duel”, proud that he had properly spelled the word. Though he was unsure what to do for the next word, ''dual''. Maybe it was a different spelling of the word? “I challenge you to a dual” he wrote, confused why they would put the same word twice.>


    Chad, now even more aware how bleak his situation was, gently touched Stanley''s hand and moved it to the side, before grabbing the eraser, pointing the tip at the second written sentence, and offering it to the boy.


    <Stanley was confused, was his pokemon telling him something? He stood and walked to the kitchen holding his paper, careful not to interrupt his mother''s cooking flow. He tried to get her attention, then held up the paper pointing at the second sentence. Diane giggled, “No Stanley, that is not correct. Your first sentence is good, but in this case, ''dual'' means a pair, or two of something.” She explained, returning to the vegetable saute on the stove. Stanley returned to the living room, dejectedly accepting the still-offered eraser. If my pokemon can''t read, then he sure has a weird sense of when I did something wrong, Stanley thought, brushing away the rubbings and lifting his pencil again.>


    “Yea, it''s almost like I can read your thoughts or something, spooky…” Chad jested, waiting for the boy to make another attempt at the word ''dual''. Meanwhile, his errant eyes glanced at the open textbook, which was left open on what could be assumed as his current progress. The book went into detail about how some words could sound the same but be spelled differently, or how sometimes the same word could have different meanings depending on the sentence. “And I thought the math was a worry, can we even get you to an appropriate reading level in two years?”


    <Stanley went slowly, pausing and re-doing each sentence when Chad pointed to it, managing to finish the assignment just before dinner. While he had been distracted, Eric had arrived home and helped out in the kitchen. With impeccable timing, Stanley got a nod of approval from his partner just as Diane called him to the table. Stanley hopped into his seat with what gusto he had remaining, while Chad took his usual spot beside Sylveon, his eyes downcast on the floor. “How was work today honey?” Diane asked, as she began serving the aromatic veggie medley. “It went well, we''re making great progress on the project,” Eric replied with a smile. Stanley was happy, he knew how hard his dad had been working lately.>


    <Dinner went by in a flash, as Stanley was allowed to watch television again tonight having completed his homework earlier. The family chose to watch a sitcom about a girl who was struggling to confess her feelings to a boy her age, while he was completely oblivious to her existence. As it got late, Eric tucked Stanley into bed, for tomorrow was Friday. Stanley was both dismayed and excited; Friday was the last day before the weekend, but he also wouldn''t have his pokemon accompany him to school tomorrow. He wished Chad a good night before tucking in and dreaming of all the things they''d do this weekend.>


    Not worried about waking the boy, Chad stole across the carpeted floor and exited the bedroom. The computer was still on, so he withdrew his hidden notebook and resumed tonight''s studies. Notably, nobody disturbed him tonight, allowing him to focus on researching the requirements Stanley would need to meet to become a full trainer. To say there were a lot would be an understatement, and Chad''s face began to slip into a worried frown as he went through the list. “Forget about math, there''s no way I can get him up to speed on biology in time, he''s got zero chance of being an official trainer,” he whispered, slumping back in the chair.


    <Are you giving up already? After such a stellar first battle today?>


    Chad froze up, back straight as the questions caught him off-guard. “No, not giving up, just stating my opinion. Is there any way you can like, up his specs?” Chad asked nobody in particular, keeping his voice down so as to not wake anyone.


    <Up his specs? You speak like Stanley is some sort of machine. Oh, sure, let me just wave a magic wand and have him magically evolve to the perfect adult. With a great memory, unmatched level of comprehension, and even a six pack of abs to accentuate a chiseled jawline. The Perfect Trainer, just for you.>


    “No need to get snippy, but for us to have a chance, he needs to at least be reading at an age-appropriate level. As it stands, he''s equivalent to a seven year old in the body of a thirteen year old.” Chad explained, motioning to the long list on the computer monitor. “I can help him with learning, but unless you start making some noticeable changes which conflict with your established story so far, we''re not going to catch up in time. Hell, some of these requirements aren''t really learned until the age of twenty where I come from.” He paused, jotting some words down in the notebook.


    <You speak as if this challenge was impossible from the onset.>


    Forgetting his surroundings, Chad exploded, shouting back at the mysterious voice. “You gave me a mute, mentally-stunted child who thought that a number added to another number was equal to the first number! He can''t speak, which is going to be an issue when and if he recruits other pokemon. Pokemon which, unless you managed to bring along others like me, won''t be able to act on his thoughts coming from your speeches. And, to top it all off, the rotten cherry on this shit sundae, any attempts I make to compensate for these deficiencies have you reverting the story or completely ret-conning my efforts!”


    <Feel free to quit now, I can arrange for your soul''s oblivion if you would prefer that.>


    There was a brief silence, before Chad leaned back in the chair, eyes closed as if he were seriously considering the offer before him. The house was quiet enough for him to perk up as émeric emerged from his bedroom. “It sounds like you''re having a rough night. Anything I could do to help?” He asked, as Chad leaned forward with a drawn out groan, head held in his hands. Chad, turning to face émeric, nodded once, before opening a notes application on the computer and typing out a few words. émeric read them over, before asking “And why would you need something like that?” Chad continued to type, before a solid paragraph later émeric seemingly understood. “I mean I guess that could work, though my work may not be interested in funding it.”


    <No, they would not.>


    “I''ll bring up the idea when you come in with me tomorrow. I''m certain someone will be enamored with the concept.”


    <And I believe that you''ll find naught but disappointment. Really, why is it so difficult for you mortals to simply follow the script? Oh, look at me, I am a frail mortal and I have opinions! This custard is too cold, and as an important individual I simply must have one at room temperature! I had thought you would''ve learned from the previous incidents Eric, and yet here you are supporting the child’s demand of a rewrite of the entire story just to suit his ideas for how his character should be.>


    “Not a rewrite, a MacGuffin,” Chad explained, “something which serves as a crutch until that important point of the story where it fails and the hero has to adapt or fail.”


    <Don''t explain literary tropes to the ephemeral sentient embodiment of all fables, I am literally made of them!>


    “So you know it’s a good idea,” Chad insisted, pushing for his concept.


    <Yes, I do concede that this may work without altering the story terribly. That does not affirm my willingness to endorse as such.>


    Well I just finished updating the draft outline to include this change, so you might want to get comfortable with it, Narrator.