[attr="class","smdbody"] there was a strange and noticeably bitter odor which now hung in the air. the moment she got a whiff of it, she would quickly close the liquid of her water bottle and pull her attention away from her phone. at first, the sight of surrounding air that seemed to sparkle a disgusting shade of yellow caused her to take pause. she fixed her gaze upon it as it drifted closer before she gasped sharply, slapped a hand over her mouth, and moved to distance herself. the woman had gotten a filtered mouthful of the stuff despite her best efforts, which caused her breathing to grow uneven for a short period of time. her eyes watered, and she would glare at the pokemon whom had produced the airborne toxin. 

it was yet another shroomish, this one far larger than the last she had encountered. 

"you made - " 

she gagged - coughed - and dribbled lightly. she spat after a moment before continuing to glare at the grass-type. 

"you made a mistake," she hissed. 

ash reached toward her belt, tugging her mawile's capsule free from its six notches.

"queen! come out and deal with this." 

  the steel-type appeared in a shimmer of light, her thin nostrils flaring slightly as she detected the faint residue of the fading stun spore. 

"take it - cough - down," ash ordered. "iron head." 

the mawile lunged forward with a sharp cry, moving to ram her jaw like appendage against the shroomish. the stout pokemon reeled, a noise of outrage slipping out of its mouth in reaction to the strike. 

"shroo!" 

"maw-ile!" 

her fairy was on the receiving end of a leech seed moments later, plant-like growths wrapping securely around her waist. it allowed the shroomish to steal her energy in bits and pieces and make it it's very own. mawile attempted to tear it off with a grunt, but it proved far too durable. 

"forget that. just keep using iron head. you're stronger than it is." 

the mawile obeyed her mistress, continuing to mercilessly batter the foe with her jaw-like horns. once it had fallen, ash would kneel for a moment and wipe at her watery eyes. 

"i need my eye drops," she murmured. "it friggin stings." 

[attr="class","smdbody"] she retrieved her first-aid kit from her pack, fumbling with the opening mechanism for a frustratingly lengthy period of time before she managed to make it pop open. the white box was filled to the brim with the necessities - such as bandages, ointments, medication, and a single reusable splint. but there were also several bottles of eye drops among these supplies. she immediately plucked up one and applied them to her visibly irritated orbs, the young woman blinking rapidly at the moment of contact. 

"better." 

they soothed the terrible burn that had caused her to rub them in the first place, and ash would release a relieved sigh as she returned her items to her travel pack's interior. 

"much better." 

her mawile observed her as she did this, having taken off the vines that had belonged to the shroomish. the moment the wild pokemon had been dispatched, the tendrils had grown limp at her waist. the fairy had examined it closely, and would watch in awe as it withered within her grasp. 

"you can go ahead and return, queen," ash said. "if i need you again, you'll know." 

the pokemon dipped her head in understanding before the moment of recall. once the capsule was secured to her waist, ash shrugged on her pack and returned to traveling down the route. it wouldn't be terribly long before she would call upon another companion, though.

"a magnemite, huh?" 

ash eyed the curious creature as it hovered about, genuinely intrigued by its appearance. she had seen such a specimen beforehand, and was curious to see how it would fair in battle. 

"let's give it a good fight, rook!" 

the little fighter appeared in a flash, managing to capture the attention of the electric-type as she appeared before it. it whirred in response, generating electricity as it moved to initiate the battle to come. ash was aware that steel-types were relatively weak against fighting-type movesets, so she made the decision to rely upon rook's sole physical attacking move. 

"force palm!" 

magnetite struggled to endure such a powerful action, reeling from the strike before attempting to retaliate with a tackle. 

"again!" 

to ash's disappointment, the wild creature would fall quickly. it collapsed, a dazed look present within its single eye as it whirred quietly. 

"good job, rook," she praised. "let's get a move on, yeah?" 

[attr="class","smdbody"]she felt as though she was beginning to improve in a physical sense, her frequent exercises resulting in such positive changes. ash had  gained a bit more muscle, and she was even beginning to lose portions of her extra fat. her belly no longer looked as pudgy as it had, and she was certain that it wouldn't be much longer until she bolstered a flat stomach. her weight training was also coming along swimmingly, and that - mixed with a healthy dosage of cardio - allowed for her to grow stronger in body. 

'walking for longer periods of time is kinda easier now that i think about it.' 

"hey. do i look... fit, rook?" 

her pokemon blinked owlishly, bewilderment pinching at her simple features before she simply shrugged. ash released a mournful little sigh in response to such a lackluster reply before shaking her head as she returned to focusing on the lengthy stretch of route. 

"never mind," she said. 

a comfortable silence befell the pair as they walked, their pace a moderate one as they pressed onward. the young woman was half-tempted to fill the silence with light conversation, but it would make for a mostly one-sided affair. the language barrier made it nearly impossible to properly exchange information with one another, after all. 

'maybe i can call someone? i've still got a signal out here.' 

she pulled out her phone and quickly discovered that the two filled bars were now disappointingly empty. 

'well - ' 

ash mumbled to herself, her expression growing increasingly flat. 

' - that sucks.' 

her meditite suddenly grew tense and halted, those dark eyes of hers shifting constantly. 

"what's wrong, rook?" 

moments later, a notably pudgy figure would emerge from a clump of brush. it rumbled in reaction to the sight of the human and her companion, threateningly raising its gloved hands as it stepped closer. it oozed with a hostile aura, causing the pair to immediately grow wary. 

"i'll have bishop handle this," ash said, directing the message to meditite. 

the pokemon simply nodded, and would remain stationary as her ground-type counterpart would be introduced to the forefront to deal with the fighting-type. 

"it's a fighting-type, bishop. i think - er - i think it's strong and it can take a lotta hits. so you gotta outplay it, boy." 

bishop stepped forward, his eyes bright and his features growing serious. 

"use slam!" 

the pokemon wielded the entirety of his body to preform the violent action, initiating the skirmish with a harsh battle cry. the makuhita made for a formidable opponent, consistently delivering hits that rocked the ground-type. had it not been for its relatively high defense, ash doubted that bishop would have been able to endure as long as it did. additionally, the fighting-type proved intelligent, managing to avoid and occasionally minimize the damage it received from the phanpy. 

"p-phanpy." 

bishop stood as the victor, but he wavered unsteadily upon his own feet. he greedily sucked in the air, injured and littered with fresh bruises that were unevenly distributed across his form. 

"let's get outta here," ash said, aware that her pokemon was teetering on the edge of fainting. "bishop'll need the pokecenter." 

she hastily returned the little blue pokemon before quickening her pace, her meditite at her heels.