| " | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe group had returned to the ship. The group and their pokemon re-boarded and set sail back to Canalave City. Crystal: Shinxy! That was really cool what you did back there, to protect your pokemon! Altan: For real. I don't think many trainers would've stood up like that. Shinxy: Heheh, come on. I care a lot about my pokemon, of course I'd stand up for them. Mewtwo: I'm very glad you feel that way. It re-enforces my decision to trust you and travel by your side. Altan: Say, Mewtwo, why didn't you step in and stop that Toxicroak? That poison could've really hurt Shinxy. Mewtwo: Your aura acts as a shield to protect from the effects of pokemon attacks. With Shinxy's aura flared up, he was in no danger of being poisoned. Shinxy: I'm kinda glad you didn't step in as well. I had a chance to really put my power to the test and I'm glad I did. I just hope I don't have to hurt another pokemon with it again. The gang had little to talk about on the way back, their pokemon were tired and they were planning to stop at the pokemon center as soon as they made it to land. Crystal: It'll be a little while before we get back to shore. Hmmmm... Hey, Altan, think you'd like to tell us your story about being home schooled in Hoenn? Altan: There's not really much to say. My dad was an action TV star and the other kids kept bugging me for his autograph, so my mom took me out of school so I could focus. Shinxy: That's pretty cool! You think your mom made the right choice doing that? Altan: Of course. I wouldn't have been able to learn so much about pokemon if she didn't. Crystal: Wanna tell us more about your dad? Altan: Not really. I left Hoenn and all that behind. But fans of the show might look at me and see the similarities. Shinxy: What was the show called? Altan: "The Adventures of Jet Nitro". My dad was Jet Nitro in the show, the main superhero who could fly and shoot beams from his eyes. The other kids went nuts over it. Crystal: I've heard about it! But I've never watched it. I was more into the nature shows, because it was fun to see wild pokemon on TV. Shinxy: Wha- You're Jet Nitro's son?! Altan: Oh jeez, here we go... Shinxy: Aheh, sorry... I'm a fan too. Now that you mention it, you do look kinda like him. Altan: I'm surprised you hadn't noticed sooner. Anyways, what about you, Shinxy? You got any special stories to pass the time? Shinxy: Not really... You already know my mom left home a long time ago to work at the battle frontier. You two met Joey the other day, he's been my best friend since trainer school. We bonded over how we both have mask fur patterns on our face, and we'd hang out and play pokemon cards a lot. But other than that nothing too exciting. Crystal: I guess you could say that starting your journey as a trainer with a mystical pokemon and meeting friends like us is your special story~ Shinxy: Haha, you're absolutely right! You three make this journey all the more fun. I'm super glad to have met you all. Mewtwo: You are including me as your friend? Shinxy: Of course! Just like all of my pokemon are my friends, you are no exception, Mewtwo! Mewtwo: Hmmm... Thank you. Altan: I feel the same. I wasn't really doing anything fun before meeting you. Crystal: I was just exploring the region a bit. It's much more fun with friends! They continued to chat, until the ship had finally arrived at Canalave City and docked at the port. Shinxy and his friends set foot back on land and headed to the pokemon center to give their companions a quick healing. Once that was done, they stepped outside to plan their next activity. Crystal: So Shinxy, I take it you're wanting to head to the Canalave Gym now? Shinxy: I don't know. My battle with Maylene wasn't very close, but after losing so badly to Saturn, I'm not sure if my pokemon are ready for another gym battle yet. It hurts to watch them get taken down like that. Altan: Then we'll spend the rest of the day training. Mewtwo: That sounds like a good idea. Your aura control can use some improvements as well. Shinxy: Iron Island looked like the perfect place to train, but I don't wanna make another round trip. Crystal: Then let's cut through the woods and train on the shoreline! Shinxy: Great idea! We'll train today, and face the Canalave gym tomorrow! With their plan of action decided, Shinxy and the group spent the rest of the day training their pokemon. Their pokemon would battle and spar with one another, Shinxy's, Altan's and Crystal's pokemon each getting stronger. Shinxy's Servine evolved into Serperior as a result of the training. Mewtwo had even helped Shinxy to better master his aura powers, but he still had a ways to go in truly perfecting it. The sun had started to set, and despite long day of training, Shinxy's Noibat was still in it's small unevolved form, despite receiving a good amount of training as well. Shinxy: It's starting to get dark... I thought Noibat would evolve by now, surely. Noibat crossed it's wings and made stubborn bat noises. Mewtwo: Noibat says it prefers to keep it's small, cute form. Altan: That's just great. It won't be that helpful in gym battles if it doesn't get stronger through evolution. Shinxy: Noibat will evolve when she's ready to! I don't mind waiting. But we're all tired and ready to hit the sack, so return to your pokeball for now. Shinxy returned Noibat to it's pokeball. Altan and Crystal called back their pokemon as well, and the group returned to Canalave City to rent a hotel room. They washed up and got dressed for bed, then got to sleep in their own bunks, except for Shinxy, who slept on the floor with his newly evolved Arcanine. Shinxy: Hahah! Such a big and fluffy pokemon makes a perfect pillow. Crystal: Too bad he's too big to fit on the bed. Shinxy: Oh, I have an idea! He reached into his bag and got a pokeball out, then released his Noibat onto the bed next to his Mew, who was already out and sitting on it. Shinxy: There! Can't let all that empty space on the bed go to waste. And my other pokemon are too big for it. Mewtwo: You're only encouraging Noibat to not evolve. Shinxy: That's alright with me. My pokemon's happiness is more important to me, I won't force them to battle or evolve if they don't want to. Noibat didn't respond with noise, only softly smiled for a moment before looking away, perhaps in guilt. Despite being defiant, it's trainer still cared so much about how it felt. Mewtwo: Hmhmhm, that's just the kind of response I've come to expect from you. Well, goodnight, my trainer and his friends. Mewtwo hovered up to the top bunk above Noibat and Mew. The others said their goodnights and slowly drifted off to sleep.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t