Deep in the forest at the base of Mt. Eria, the clashing of steel could be heard. Even though night had since fallen, Robin and his Pokemon were sparring in the moonlight.
"There we go! Keep it up!" Robin yelled, spinning away from Q's slashing attacks. Although the backpack he was wearing was heavy, and his winter coat large and bulky, Robin managed to make up for the weight and loss of dexterity by utilizing the snow to slide a bit. Robin blocked Q's next slash, a Psycho Cut, and tried to hold his ground. In the background, Cherry was cheering hard with her electric pom-poms waving. Through gritted teeth, Q managed a cocky smile at his trainer. The Ballads himself was weight training as well, wearing a Macho Brace to weight him down.
Robin managed to unlock their blades, causing Q to slide past him. The trainer aimed a few slashes at Q with his own sword, but the Ballads recovered quickly and parried them easily. Trying to go for the unexpected Robin aimed a kick at Q, only for the Gallade to dodge and flip up their foot. Robin lost his balance, and fell with a yelp onto his back. Q looked down at his trainer with a confident smile while Cherry applauded. Extending a hand, the Gallade helped his trainer up.
"Not bad, man. Not bad. What does that make us, 24-23 my favor?" Robin asked. Q shook his head and spun his finger in a circle.
"Whaddya mean the other way around? I'm pretty sure I'm right." Robin said, shearing his sword. He brushed the snow off his jacket and looked around. The sounds of fighting were still going on, and it was starting to get dark. Cherry ran over to her trainer and climbed onto his shoulder, and Robin gave her a quick scratch behind the ears.
"Alright. Let's go find the others." Robin said.
Robin found his Absol and Farfetch'd sparring not to far away. They both seemed equally matched, but as Robin, Q, and Cherry got closer, Rena the Absol managed to score a lucky hit on Sam, knocking him into a tree. The Farfetch'd slumped to the base of the trunk, stunned from the impact. Robin applauded, and Rena quickly bounded over to her trainer.
"Good job today, both of you!" Robin said to Rena and Sam. The Farfetch'd shook off the blow and stood, looking at his trainer and a little embarrassed for losing in front of him. "Good job, everyone! Hey, where's Big Turk?"
As soon as he asked the question, the battle-scarred Blastoise appeared. It grumbled quietly and in a low tone, and Robin couldn't help but to smile at his old friend.
"Good work today, everyone." Robin said. "We've made some progress today, I can feel it. Tomorrow, we'll see how strong the Pokemon on Mt. Eria really are."
Robin's Pokemon looked at each other eagerly, as they couldn't wait to battle against new opponents. Returning each,of his Pokemon back to their Pokeballs, Robin began the walk back to apartment he rented. The unusual glow from the top of the mountain cast long shadows in the snow, and Robin watched them as he walked. This really was an unusual place.