Buizel was convinced that Oak's place wasn't a Pokemon lab.

It was an insane asylum.

Buizel closed his eyes, trying to drown out the sounds of Kingler's and Corphish's Crabhammer contest. But that was hard when they were constantly slamming their huge glowing pincers into the water, rocks, and trees. With Kingler's pincer being much bigger, he was winning the power contest, sending much larger waves than Corphish's, but both were making a racket.

Buizel opened his eyes again, looking around. Professor Oak had a variety of environments across his ranch, mimicking different habitats and regions, making it so each Pokemon could live comfortably in the small Kanto farm town. While not forced to stay in one area, most Pokemon found themselves staying where the Professor originally assigned them. And since Pokemon were fed in groups according to their trainers, most found themselves grouping with their trainer's other Pokemon of the same type.

Buizel had tried to get along with Ash's other water types, he really had. He had actually been excited to meet the rest of Ash's water Pokemon, hoping to meet water types like him, but... Let's just say that Ash's other water types wasn't what he was expecting.

"W-well..." Oshawott muttered, huffing, "Well, I know Hydro Pump! Beat that!"

Totodile grinned, "I know Bite," He said, as if the move could rival Draco Meteor.

"Hydro Pump is stronger!" Oshawott cried, stamping his small feet in frustration, but it was hard to win an argument when the other side wasn't even contending back. Totodile's grin simply widened, firing a Water Gun into the water, showing that he didn't care.

Buizel did have to admit that the water habitat on the ranch was impressive- several acres of land filled with lakes, ponds and a small river, with plenty of trees between the vasts amount of water sources. More swamp-like lands were to the east and a specially monitored lake that the Professor had designed to mimic an oceanic environment. There was even a large pond with temperatures appropriate for ice types.

Buizel was currently at an off flow the river, part of it that forked off and formed a good sized pond-like place. Ash's water Pokemon had claimed this part as their own, with Ash's powerful Kingler chasing off anyone else that wasn't invited. All of Ash's water types hung out here, except for the Squirtle he had heard about, who lived outside of the lab's ranch, and the proud Palpitoad of Ash's that lived in the more marshy areas of the lab. Now that he thought about it, Buizel had never seen much of the Palpitoad, even at meal times. Of course not all meals were served at the main laborties, and many Pokemon had found stable food sources out in the ranch, but still...

"EAT MY RAZOR SHELL YOU LITTLE SANDILE!" Oshawott screamed at Totodile, raising his scalchop over his head, and it quickly formed into a glowing blue blade, as he slashed it down towards the grinning Totodile. Totodile jumped back, smiling and dancing as he avoided Oshawott's fierce attacks with no effort. This only seemed to make Oshawott more enraged, and he pursued Totodile with more vigor. Buizel rubbed his temples while Corphish and Kingler paused their contest, watching the chase with interest.

It looked like Oshawott had gotten Totodile cornered. The frustrated Oshawott smirked in his victory. Totodile had his head bowed, as if shamed, his small hands covering his eyes. Oshawott puffed out his chest prideful, and suddenly Totodile sprang forward, using his Scary Face attack.

"Dide!" He snarled at Oshawott, eyes going narrow as he got right up in Oshawott's face, baring his fangs. Spit flew from his mouth as he towered over the Oshawott, whose pridefully demour was gone in seconds. The small otter was trembling, dropped his scalchop, then ran and dove into the pond with a startled cry. The fierce look vanished from Totodile's face, his grin returning. He immediately started dancing around, picking up Oshawott's scalchop with his jaws as the otter resurfaced the pond, fuming in embarrassment, "I can use Bite at anytime!" Totodile said, voice muffled with the scalchop in his mouth, "But to use Razor Shell you need this little thing!"

"Give it back!" Oshawott screamed, jumping out of the water, charging up to Totodile, who swung his jaws up and out of Oshawott's reach, "Give it back!" Oshawott cried again, even louder, small arms waving about in vain to reach his scalchop. Kingler and Corphish watched the small charade, clearly entertained.

Buizel on the other hand, had enough of his fellow water type's shenanigans. He dove off of the rock he had been resting on, and into the pond, swimming upstream and into the main part of the river. Buizel surfaced, huffing in his frustration. He couldn't stand those Pokemon! They were hyper, out of control, and were never quiet! Not even at night- Totodile snored and Corphish liked to sneak up on them and wake them up in the middle of the night by pinching their tails and legs. Even though Buizel had already made it quite clear to Corphish to stay away, the cries of the others always awoke him.

He rolled his eyes as he heard Oshawott still yelling for his scalchop back, and Buizel dove back under the water, letting the current lead him down stream. He didn't know where it went, but he was sick of Ash's other water types. Ash was on his second journey since he had left Buizel at the lab, and Buizel still wasn't use to his new life here on the ranch.

No, he didn't regret being Ash's Pokemon and staying here, but... but he missed traveling with Ash.

Buizel had always enjoyed a good battle, and going on a gym journey with Ash had been the best time of his life. Yeah, he had a nice little waterfall to train at back when he was a wild Pokemon, and a nice collection of fishing rods that he had... borrowed from the trainers he had defeated. He had always wanted a powerful trainer ever since he had seen his little brother get caught by a trainer. But Buizel didn't want any trainer that could just throw a Pokeball- he had wanted one that earned the right to train him. That's why he had spent every moment in the wild training, preparing himself to outmatch the average and weak trainers.

He had to admit that when Dawn caught him he wasn't the happiest. A cheery, young, rising contest star wasn't what he had in mind when he pictured a trainer worthy of having him. He knew he could have beaten Piplup in a fight, but after all the battles he had that day, plus being nearly captured by Team Rocket had weakened him enough for him to be captured. Eventually he had found his way being traded to Ash's battling-focused team, and him warming to the rest of the crew, including Piplup.

But Ash wasn't the type of trainer to focus on training one team, but caught many Pokemon with each new journey. This wasn't necessarily a bad training style, but now Ash was out on another journey and Buizel was stuck here with the rest of his crazy water types.

Buizel's muscles twitched, and he rose to the surface, floating on his back. He closed his eyes, letting the current take him downstream. He trained everyday, like he had as a wild Pokemon, but there was no one here strong enough to provide a good battle. Besides, Buizel didn't just want a battle, he wanted a challenge.

Buizel didn't know how long he was floating down stream, but it wasn't long until the current wasn't quite so fierce. Buizel didn't open his eyes though, just drifted as he tried to pass the time, savoring the quiet moment now that he was away from the crazy water types.

"Not to interrupt," A female voice said high above him, "But a bunch of territorial Lotad live down this river, so I wouldn't go much farther, at least by water."

Buizel paused, opening one eye. He looked up, discovering that he was in a thick forest, trees blocking out much of the direct sunlight. He sat up, treading the water as he looked about for the speaker. The small river he was in seemed to be the only major source of water around, and judging by the amount of plant life, he was no longer in the water type habitat.

"Not to be rude, but a few Lotad won't be a problem for me," Buizel replied, still trying to locate the source of the voice.

One of the branches overhead rustled, and a slim green creature scurried across it, "Fine, take your chances then. But there's not a "few", but nearly two dozen, and they attack all together. Let me know how you handle it, sorry for wasting my time on giving you a warning," With that the green creature sped down the trunk of the tree, and rushed off into the forest as a speedy green blur.

"Wait!" Buizel cried, jumping out of the water, "Who are you?" He called after her, wanting to know what Pokemon had such speed. That easily rivaled his speed while he was swimming! He took off after the slim darting creature, who paused as she realized she was being followed. She quickly scaled another tree, getting the high ground as she glared down at him with cold brown eyes. Her serpentine body went still as she studied him, arms crossed.

"I'm Snivy," She said.

Buizel frowned, "You look familiar... Oh! You're that grass type Ash got in Unova!"

She nodded, "Yeah, and the only reason I bothered warning you was because we have the same trainer. Anyone else I would have let discover the Lotad on their own, let them teach any water type whose reckless enough to come charging into the grass type's turf."

Buizel frowned, "I just wanted some peace and quiet, I'm not trying to cause trouble."

She paused, "Peace and quiet, eh? I can respect that. Still think it's stupid for a water type to just come running in here though. While most of the trainer's Pokemon won't cause much trouble, the wild ones get pretty defensive and territorial."

"I was a wild Pokemon once, I can perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Buizel said stiffly.

Snivy smirked, "I was lab raised to be a starter, but I've had my time in the wild."

Buizel frowned, "Did a trainer release you?"

The smirk quickly faded, and a stormy look passed over the Snivy's cold eyes. Buizel knew he had hit a sensitive topic by the way she turned away, shaking, "None of your business," She said stiffly, then she darted down the tree, ready to race off into the forest again.

"Wait," Buizel said, taking a step forward, and she glared coldly at him, "You're right, none of my business, sorry. I've had multiple trainers as well, so it's no big deal. But I have a question."

Her glare made it clear that it shouldn't be about trainers, "What?"

"I've been itching for a good battle, and I think a grass type could provide a challenge for me. Do you know of anyone that would be willingly to have a match with me? A fair one- I'm not in the mood to be attacked by a group of angry Lotad."

Her stance relaxed slightly, and she swung her leafy tail back and forth in thought. Her smirk quickly returned, "You want a challenge? Well, I think I know just the Pokemon. I'll take you to him, if you can keep up."

"If it were raining I'd out speed you with ease," Buizel said, referring to his ability, but the sky was cloudless, "But yeah, I can keep up."

Snivy's smirk pulled up to the smallest hint of a smile, "Good," And with that she took off, darting into the bushes without another word. Buizel quickly went to follow her, but soon he realized speed wouldn't matter here. The forest provide a variety of obstacles for him, all of which Snivy sped through with no problem, leaving Buizel to try to slip through the thick bushes and make his way over fallen logs, rocks, and ditches.

"Who are you taking me to?" Buizel asked as he wove his way through several closely placed trees. Snivy was up ahead, waiting for him despite her saying she wouldn't.

"You said you wanted a challenge, so who better than to give you a challenge than Sceptile?" She asked.

Buizel paused as he jumped over a log, "Wait- Ash's Sceptile? The Sceptile?!"

"Yep!' Snivy chirped, 'The strongest grass type in these woods!"

Buizel didn't move, standing there for a moment, '...'

Snivy looked back at him, "What? Don't tell me you're back down!"

Defiance flashed across Buizel's face, "I never back down from a challenge," He growled, "I was just surprised," He turned his nose up, "Now show me where he is."

"Pushy, are we? Don't bother, we're already here," She jerked her head towards a small clearing, then went ahead, entering it, stretching as the warm sun hit her tail leaves. Buizel followed her, cautiously stepping in after her. There were several trees despite it being a clearing, providing both sunny and shady spots. There were several large boulders as well, looking like the perfect spot for sunbathing.

Buizel spotted Ash's Bayleef relaxing on a mossy rock on the other side of the clearing, fast asleep. There was also his Leavanny, who was weaving leaves together with his own string shot attack. Buizel didn't see Torterra, but in the middle of the clearing was the tall, thick tree. Vines grew up its truck, and resting on a large branch was Sceptile.

A mixture of awe and respect rushed through Buizel as he looked up at the creature that all of Ash's Pokemon had heard about. Ash had a few Pokemon like that, the ones that were practically legends among them. Sceptile, the powerful and speedy Hoenn Pokemon that won even at type disadvantages, and of course, the victory that every Pokemon knew him for:

His battle against Darkrai.

Buizel let a smile tug on his lips, now that's a Pokemon he'd like to be around. Not all of Ash's crazy and hyper water types, but someone that knew how to battle.

Sceptile opened one eye, looking down at Buizel, and then his gaze shifted to Snivy, who was now standing next to Buizel. The lizard stretched, sitting up, "Hey Snivy," He muttered, his mouth clamping down on a twig, "Is there a problem?"

"Nope," Snivy replied, "Sorry for waking you up," Buizel noticed that she was much nicer to Sceptile than she had been to him, but he figured she probably saw him a lot more, "You said you wanted to battle someone, right?" She asked.

Sceptile sprang down from tree, landing in front of them. he reared up to full height, and only then did he realize how large Sceptile was compared to them, "Sure did, I've been wanting a good fight lately."

Snivy opened her mouth to talk, but Buizel stepped in, he was perfectly capable of challenging someone himself, "So have I," Buizel said, speaking up, and Sceptile looked at him, "I've been wanting a challenge, and Snivy said you could provide it."

Sceptile nodded, "She wasn't wrong, though I don't want to be rude, but... I have a type advantage, along with the fact that I'm fully evolved. Now I know we're both trained by Ash, but I don't know if it would be fair if we had a battle."

Buizel bit down on his lip to keep himself from blurting out in the pulse of anger that rushed through him. Buizel took in a deep breath, trying to keep his pride under control, "I'm not fully evolved, but neither is Pikachu, who has defeated two legendaries- one more than you have."

Snivy took in a sharp breath, but Sceptile only seemed humored by this comment, "That's true," Sceptile admitted, "But you're not Pikachu."

"Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that you can't judge me by the fact that I haven't evolved," Buizel said, standing up a bit straighter, "I don't know if I can defeat you or not, but I do know that I won't be a pushover. I take battling very seriously, and I train every day. We both want a good battle, so I'm challenging you to one!"

Sceptile nodded, "Once again, you're right, I don't have the right to assume your strength. Very well, I accept your challenge."

Chills rushed through Buizel, and excitement pounded through him. He was finally getting the battle he had been craving ever since Ash had left him here! Against Sceptile no less! He looked over Sceptile's slender form, he expected a lot of speed from Sceptile, and obviously he could deliver powerful blows. As long as he stayed out of reach and used ranged attacks...

But what about Ice Punch? That was his only super effective attack, but he'd have to get in close to use it...

"Why don't you guys battle over there?" Snivy said, pointing with her vine over by Bayleef, "There aren't too many trees, so it will be more fair in terms of terrain."

Buizel agreed, but he noticed a dark look cross Sceptile's gaze, and he shook his head, "No," He said coldly, "I'm not going to battle there."

Snivy looked at him coolly, "... Well, there is by Leavanny, but the ground is a bit more uneven and-"

We can handle it," Sceptile cut in quickly. Buizel frowned, he had said that just a bit too quickly, "Right Buizel?

"Of course!" Buizel said, his pride overtaking him.

Sceptile nodded, "Good. Snivy, will you serve as a ref?" Sceptile asked, darting over towards the space by Leavanny. The bug type looked up, smiled and waved, and continued with his sewing. Buizel went and stood not far apart from Sceptile, feeling the rocky soil under him. Snivy was right- this wasn't the best battling ground, but it was the only place clear enough for a battle in sight, besides by Bayleef.

Why hadn't Sceptile wanted to battle there?

Snivy hopped onto a rock, "Let's not go to the knock out, because I'm not going to drag Buizel all the way to Oak's to be healed up."

Buizel growled a bit, annoyed how she just assumed that he'd be the one to lose. Buizel looked up at Sceptile, Snivy was probably right though. Sceptile was easily one of Ash's strongest Pokemon, and there was a good chance that Buizel wouldn't win. He lowered himself into a charging position, he wasn't just about to hand victory over without a fight though!

"You can have the first move," Sceptile offered, flexing his claws.

Buizel nodded, waiting for Snivy to signal for the battle to begin. While it was tempting to go straight into Ice Punch, he knew better. He couldn't give away his strongest move so early in a battle, that would just give the opponent a chance figure out how to counter it. Snivy cracked her Vine Whip against the ground, and Buizel began to form a strong, but expectable, Water Pulse.

Buizel launched the sphere of water at Sceptile, who simply formed a Leaf Blade, slicing the attack in half. Buizel launched himself forward with an Aqua Jet, slamming right into Sceptile's stomach. The lizard grunted as he was hit, stumbling back. He prepared another Leaf Blade, slashing Buizel before he could retreat, then swung his body around, knocking Buizel away with his prickly tail.

Buizel groaned as he tumbled through the rocky dirt, "Bui..." He muttered, pushing himself back to his feet, huffing.

Sceptile nodded in approval, eyes gleaming with a battle spirit. Buizel smiled, it seemed that Sceptile now saw him as a decent opponent. A flurry of leaves began to form around Sceptile, whipping around him faster and faster as the Leaf Storm gathered power. Buizel threw himself into the air with Aqua Jet, trying to gain some high ground as Sceptile released the Leaf Storm at him. Buizel swung his body around, tails glowing as he fired his Sonic Boom at the incoming Leaf Storm. The pressured sound waves sliced through the Leaf Storm, parting it enough so the leaves blasted around him instead of hitting him.

Buizel formed another Aqua Jet, diving down, letting gravity increase his speed and power as he came rushing at Sceptile. The grass type became outlined in a silvery light, and darted away with a Quick Attack, rushing away, forcing Buizel to pull out of the dive. He landed on all fours, wincing as rocks dug into his paws, but he kept the Aqua Jet at full power, and rushed after Sceptile.

"Fast," Sceptile muttered, leaping up so Buizel zoomed past him. He pulled out of the Aqua Jet, turning so he was still facing Sceptile as he landed. Buizel launched another Water Pulse, as Sceptile began forming another attack. The mass of purple and blue energy gathered in front of Sceptile's mouth, and he released the energy. The blast destroyed the incoming Water Pulse, rushing at full power and hitting Buizel in his chest. Buizel hissed, clamping one arm over where the Dragon Pulse had hit him, "But I'm faster!" Sceptile said.

Suddenly Sceptile was right in front of him, a mere blur with his Quick Attack. Sceptile raised his arm over his head, forming a Leaf Blade as a final blow. Seeing that it was now or never, Buizel's hand became surrounded in a harsh light, and he slammed the freezing fist up into Sceptile's stomach before he could finish the match with Leaf Blade.

Sceptile grunted as the Ice Punch hit him, knocking the air out of him. He clearly hadn't expected an attack that quickly, or an ice type one. He stumbled back, Leaf Blade faded as he coughed to get the air flowing again. Buizel, not wanting to lose the advantage, launched himself straight into Aqua Jet, fist gleaming with another Ice Punch. This one hit Sceptile in the side of the head, and Buizel failed to notice that some of his Aqua Jet had frozen as well as he came out of it. The ice particles fell to the ground, shattering and melting as Buizel jumped back, releasing his Sonic Boom at the stunned Sceptile.

Unfortunately Sceptile recovered much quicker than Buizel had hoped for, and a double Leaf Blade destroyed the Sonic Boom. Sceptile huffed, ice melting as he charged up another Dragon Pulse.

"Come on..." Buizel muttered, preparing his Water Pulse, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the Dragon Pulse. He launched it anyways, ducking as the Dragon Pulse destroyed the Water Pulse and come at him. The purple energy blasted past his head, and Buizel wished that Sceptile knew an ice type move. An Ice-Aqua Jet would be the perfect trump card, but unfortunately he couldn't use it unless the opponent used an ice move...

Sceptile was grinning, "You were right, you are providing a good battle. This has been the most fun I've had in weeks!" He prepared one more Dragon Pulse.

Buizel flexed his wrists, drawing the water he needed from the air to form his Water Pulse. He felt the familiar frozen energy crackling around his paws. He could either use a useless Water Pulse, or get in close with an Ice Punch. But what if...

Buizel formed a Water Pulse, but also formed an Ice Punch. He slammed his fist into the Water Pulse, freezing it on contact as he launched it. The icy sphere was sent flying right below the incoming Dragon Pulse, striking Sceptile right in the leg as the Dragon Pulse hit Buizel. He saw Sceptile stumbling from the attack as the Dragon Pulse sent him flying back. Buizel grunted as the powerful dragon type move knocked him to the ground. He tried to stand back up, but Sceptile had released his Leaf Storm. Buizel let out a loud cry as the grass type move hit him, and he was sucked up into the whirling mass of leaves.

The attack died down, and Buizel was left lying on the ground, and he knew that he couldn't continue. His body ached as he slowly tried to sit up, but the Leaf Storm had seemed to take it out of him.

"Hey," Sceptile was next to him, holding out a clawed hand, 'Good match,' He said with a smile. Buizel held out his paw, and Sceptile pulled him to a sitting position. While Sceptile looked a bit worn, he clearly could have battled for much longer. The grass type was in the league of his own.

Buizel drew in several breaths of air, "Thank you for the battle," He managed to gasp out, but the multiple Dragon Pulses had taken their toll on his chest, and every breath hurt. Despite his pain, a smile flickered onto Buizel's face, "That was the kind of battle I've been looking for, a real challenge. I don't doubt for a second that you were able to defeat Darkrai, you have a lot of power."

Sceptile smiled, "And you're very powerful for an unevolved water type. I'm sorry for doubting your strength, you put up a very good fight. The Water Pulse at the end caught me off guard though...' He gave Buizel a strange look, 'I wasn't expecting a combination move from a battler. Not that it wasn't effective... but usually combinations are used in contests..."

Buizel shifted as Snivy came over to join them, "Um, well... You see, Ash got me in a trade. My original trainer did contests, and that's what she trained me for, but that really wasn't my thing... So Dawn traded me to Ash for his Aipom, who wanted to do contests. I also did the Wallace Cup with Ash, so I have been in a contest."

Sceptile nodded slowly, "Ah, that's where Aipom went then... Ash never really said what happened to her after he dropped off you Sinnoh Pokemon..." He shook his head, "Ash has entered a contest with me as well, so I know a few things about them," He looked at Buizel, "Aipom was happy with Dawn, right? I know Ash would never trade us to someone he didn't trust, but I traveled Aipom for a bit and would like to know if she's happy."

Buizel closed his eyes, exhausted from the battle, but he felt great, "Yeah, she loved contests! Currently she's training to do pingpong though... She also evolved into an Ambipom..." He opened one eye, "Sorry, but are there Oran berries around here or something? That battle took it out of me..."

Sceptile's eyes widened, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I should have thought of that! Here I just defeated you and I'm just asking questions while you're hurt!"

Snivy rolled her eyes, "He's fine Sceptile, if he was hurt that badly I'm sure he wouldn't just be chatting. I'll get some Oran berries you think you need them that badly though," She turned on her heel, darting into the woods without another word. Buizel raised an eye ridge.

"Quite a little viper, isn't she?" Buizel commented, Sceptile shrugged.

"Among Ash's grass types, I find her to be the most tolerable personality wise. I get along with her just fine. The others..." He glanced at Leavanny, who wasn't listening, just weaving, "I don't mean offence, but he's just weird... And I never see Torterra, he can't really navigate the forest with his size, and Bulbasaur is always with the professor... So yeah, I spend most of my time with Snivy."

"Really?" Buizel said with a taunting smirk, and Sceptile flushed to a darker green.

"Not like that!" He cried, "She's just a friend!" He looked away, "I think she'd slice up anyone that tried to court her with Leaf Blade. Besides, I'm not interested in finding a mate. I'm happy with Snivy has a friend."

Buizel thought for a minute, "What about Bayleef?" He asked suddenly, looking across the clearing at the sleeping grass type, "You went through all of Ash's grass types except her. Is there a reason why you aren't friends with her?"

Sceptile stiffened, eyes flashing with anger, glaring down at Buizel. The water type flinched, for a second expecting Sceptile to gut him with a Leaf Blade, but after a moment he took a deep breath, and the anger was gone, "We don't get along," He said quietly, not making eye contact.

An awkward silence hung through the air, but luckily Snivy returned just then, vines carrying a bunch of Oran berries. She tossed a few towards Buizel with a snort, "There you go."

"Thank you," Buizel said, picking up the blue fruit. Snivy offered a few of the Oran berries to Sceptile, then turned towards Leavanny.

"Do you want any?" She asked the bug type politely, and his face lit up.

"Why, thank you friend! What a delightful treat!" He accepted the berry with a deep bow, "Why, I don't know what to do to repay you! Wait- I know! I shall weave you the loveliest outfit from the finest leaves!"

Snivy paled to a mint green, "I'm good..." She muttered, "It was a gift, you don't need to repay me..."

"See what I mean?" Sceptile asked Buizel as he bite into an Oran berry, "He's nice enough... but just weird."

Buizel stiffened a laugh by quickly finishing his Oran berry. Snivy returned, sitting next to Sceptile with a sigh, "That was close..." She muttered, and she picked up an Oran berry of her own.

"So that icy Water Pulse," Sceptile said, turning towards Buizel, "Did you come up with that on your own?"

Buizel shrugged, "Sort of... But I got the idea from my Ice-Aqua Jet attack combo... But in order to use it some one has to use Ice Beam on me. Basically my Aqua Jet gets frozen, and then I slam right into them. It's probably my strongest attack, but a lot has to factor in to use it."

Snivy frowned, "Why don't you just freeze it yourself with Ice Punch?"

Buizel looked up, "Huh?"

"Back when you were battling Sceptile, you used Ice Punch while using Aqua Jet, and part of the Aqua Jet got frozen. I'm sure you could pull off this "Ice-Aqua Jet" on your own by using your own Ice Punch. It could take some practice, but then you wouldn't have to depend on an opponent to use it," She said, munching on her Oran berry.

Buizel thought on the idea, "Why haven't I thought of that before..." He muttered, "It's so simple..." He looked up at Snivy, eyes gleaming, "Thank you, I think I just might do that..." He smirked, "I may have lost the battle, but today is the best day I have had in a long time. I just can't stand Ash's other water types... I swear, they're all crazy..."

"Tell me about it," Snivy said, rolling her eyes, "Let me guess, Oshawott is as proud as ever, but can't back it up? Flirts with every girl that comes near him and acts like he's dying if something goes wrong?"

"Yep,' Buizel said with a nod, looking at Snivy, 'That's right... you traveled with him..."

Sceptile smiled, "Yeah, and I traveled with Corphish. Jolly little fellow, but can be a bit... overwhelming."

Buizel sighed, "Exactly."

"Seems they're not your type," Snivy said with a smirk.

Buizel frowned, "But we're all water types... so they are my type..."

Sceptile held up a claw, "I think she's referring to the human saying. When someone isn't your "type" it means you don't really get along. "You aren't necessarily enemies or anything, but your personalities just seem to clash. You have nothing in common with them in terms of interest or character."

Buizel gave a small laugh, "Then I guess you're right... The other water types... aren't my type," He laughed harder, "That sounds so weird!" Buizel relaxed a bit, the Oran berry was doing it's job and the pain had died down.

"Well, if you don't get along with them why don't you hang out here with us?" Sceptile offered.

Buizel stared at him.

"There's a small empty pond not far from here that you could claim," Snivy suggested, and both Sceptile and Buizel stared at her, "What?" She asked defensively, "Just because I'm not a social Butterfree doesn't mean I can't make friends! Buizel seems respectful enough, and he enjoys a good battle like all of us!"

Sceptile smiled, looking back at Buizel, "And it'd be nice to have another guy around. What do you say? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Buizel grinned, "Are you kidding me?! Of course I want to stay! You're the most sane Pokemon I've been around since I was traveling with Ash! When can I move in?"

Sceptile grinned as well, "Whenever you want! Welcome to the gang, Buizel!"

"A pure water type hanging out in the grass type part of the ranch..." Snivy said, giving one of her rare smiles, "Daring, and I like it."

Buizel found himself relaxing, who'd know a simple trip down stream would actually help him find the peace he had been seeking? Finally have the chance for him to interact with Pokemon that weren't crazy? He hadn't had that in so long. Buizel thought back on his little brother, who had been captured so long ago. Perhaps one day he'd be able to find him, but he could only hope that the trainer was good to his brother. Buizel looked across at Snivy and then up at Sceptile, Pokemon he got along with, Pokemon that were now his friends.

Buizel smiled, he could finally call the Oak's ranch home.