Ken sat against a tree, taking a moment to rest after having come so far. He and Froakie had been training throughout the forest, slowly but steadily making their way toward Santalune. They'd had a good run so far: Froakie could now use Bubble and Quick Attack. Unfortunately, they'd also exhausted nearly all of the Potions and Antidotes that Mai had given them. Ken chuckled at the memory. He and Froakie had gone straight for the forest, excited to catch new Pokemon. It wasn't until they had arrived at the entrance that Ken realized that he actually had no [i]Pokeballs[/i]. He had raced back to the item shop, and Mai met him along the way. Sadly, according to her, there hadn't been any Pokeballs available for beginning Trainers. Mai had considered travelling together, but Ken had wanted to go at his own pace, so they agreed to split up and meet in the city. So, for the past hour, it had just been him and Froakie, who was currently squatting beside him peacefully.

"Hard to believe it's really happening, huh, Froakie?"

"Fro?" Froakie asked, his head cocked slightly.

"You and me," Ken explained. "It wasn't two hours ago that I was on my way to Aquecorde with Enyo and Mai. Now I'm here with my own Poké-Partner. And we're just sitting here in Santalune Forest, slowly making our way to becoming the very best out there."

"Fro..."

Ken smiled and closed his eyes. There was a nice breeze coming between the trees. He took a moment to appreciate the sheer natural beauty of the place he was in, then pushed himself up to his feet. "Well, nobody ever became the best by sitting against a tree all day. Let's go, Froakie! The others are probably already waiting for us."

"Fro!" Froakie answered. He hopped alongside Ken at a leisurely pace, keeping a sharp eye on the area around them. Ken kept his vigil as well. "Besides, we still have two of those Potions left," he told Froakie, "so I don't see anything wrong with getting a little extra training in along the way. Do you?"

"Fro!" Froakie said, clearly ready for training. He and Ken were a lot alike: both were young, but both were driven and determined. [i]We make a great team,[/i] Ken thought. Together, they made their way to the rear of the forest, taking on any wild Pokemon that came their way.

"But I really wish I had some Pokeballs..." he sighed defeatedly.

"Frooo..." came Froakie's reply.