30-32

Chapter 30 – Captain's Challenge

We reached route 109, or what we people in Hoenn like to call it, the number one tourist hotspot in the entire region. At any point in time, you could find ongoing beach parties and family barbecues littering the vast stretches of beach inside the route. From our vantage point in the sky, I could also pinpoint the famed Seashore House where small daily tournaments were held for passing trainers. The rewards were not all that impressive; the winner got to pick out six soda cans of their preferred flavoring. It was all in good fun though trainers entered more for bragging rights than anything else. 'It would be a nice way for my team to gain some extra experience. Since there aren't any stakes, we could just focus on having a good time and experimenting with new moves.' "We should totally enter!" Victini was giddy by all the new sights as she could glimpse the world through my eyes with our shared mental link. Naturally as a fire type she also preferred the warmer climate. Going from Unova during winter times to the tropical paradise that is Hoenn was a big upgrade. As we were psychically conversing, I noticed she was mentally salivating at the ice cream stand next to the Seashore House. 'Maybe if we have enough time. We still need to stock up on supplies and register for the Ever Grande conference.' "Mmmm!" Captain Drake's sailing yacht eventually came into view; it was a massive ship completely capable of housing all his Pokémon manned by a small crew. We landed on deck without any issues, his crewmembers making space available for us to do so. I hopped off Flygon giving the good-natured dragon a quick hug as thanks for carrying me all the way over without complaint. "You are the coolest dragon type I've ever met. Keep staying awesome, okay?" "Goooooon!" "You have a keen eye, being able to notice how special my Flygon is. This bodes well for your prospects as a trainer. Come follow me, we will talk further inside the ship's stateroom." With that Drake recalled his two Pokémon and motioned me to follow him below deck. The crew didn't question the reason why he invited a tween to come on board. Showing the trust that has been cultivated among his subordinates. Because I needed both hands to hold on while being carried by Flygon I squeezed my incubator inside my backpack. My trusty old backpack looked to be bursting from the seams with the egg inside it so I pulled the incubator out and started carrying the egg in my arms again. I gingerly followed Captain Drake below deck. It was not everyday that I received praise from a Champion level trainer. We entered his office room in short order after which he closed the door behind us. I took a seat at his desk and observed the room. The walls were decorated with trophies and plaques showing off his successes as a trainer, but there were also some wall decorations that had little to do with Pokémon battling. Most notably one given to him by the Oceanic Museum for uncovering a sunken vessel filled with historically significant artifacts. Captain Drake took a seat opposite to mine ready to start our conversation. "Alright then, start from the beginning." "Well uhmm Captain Drake sir. It all started when I came across a seemingly abandoned lighthouse during my stay in the Unova region." Couple of minutes later* "So eventually Victini decided to stick with me. We really hit it off and eventually she decided to be part of my team. The region's professor advised us to only reveal her existence to people we absolutely trust. We've had some fun times together journeying through that region, even though she had to hide herself whenever we were in a public setting." "Hmmm… I understand your situation now. There aren't many trainers walking around with a Pokémon of legendary status. A rookie like yourself would be an easy target for the more nefarious members of our society. Still… I want to meet this Pokémon! Call her out and let me test the bond you two share." 'I figured as much… Are you ready to face his Salamence Tini?' "Nooo! Please don't send me out, I don't want to get eaten!" "That is what I would like to say, but such a battle would most definitely attract attention. So, for now a meet and greet as you youngsters say will suffice." 'That seems reasonable enough right Tini?' "…Okay" I unclasped her poké ball and activated the release mechanism. The little rabbit Pokémon materializing on my lap right in front of Captain Drake. "Hmm a bit small for a legendary Pokémon. I believe this one would do better in contests as opposed to heated battle. At least the little girls who watch those shows would get an adequate amount of entertainment out of her." "Vi Vi!" "I am not small! Everyone else is just big!" "And capable of telepathic communication. Victini is of the psychic type, correct?" "And fire." "Indeed, she does exhibit the typical outwards display of passion, archetypal of a fire type. Well then, my curiosity has been satisfied. I am expecting you to offer me a worthy challenge this year." "Wait?! You expect me to win in the upcoming Ever Grande conference with only six months to spare and subsequently beat your elite four? I don't even have a full team yet." "That kind of talk is for quitters! When I was your age that would be the minimum one would expect of a prospective champion! Ah, forget it! I'll have better luck relying on Joseph's son or perhaps that effeminate youngster from Sootopolis." "Don't compare me to a billionaire's heir like Steven Stone or that part time lackadaisical battler Wallace! I am serious about battling and we'll make it to the top even if it takes a while longer!" "Ho Ho! Now you are showing me the fiery spirit I was hoping to see! Just keep your ambitions burning like that and you'll reach the same stage as me!" 'Wait a minute… Did that old man just trick me into taking over for him? I don't want to be a Champion, that's too much pressure!' "Well, that'll be all. Make sure to become strong enough so you can openly display the bond you two share and be sure to offer a proper challenge to this old man so he can retire." That was it I could stand up now and just walk out onto the pier and enjoy the rest of my day, but something drove me to remain seated though. This was the champion and a dragon type specialist to boot. If anyone could help me out with Zinnia, it was this person. "Captain Drake sir? Can I get some advice concerning wild dragon types?" "Ask away, when it comes to dragon types there are only a few people in this world who know more than me." "Say for example if one were to enter Meteor Falls but wants to avoid confrontation with the dragon types living on the mountain. Is there some kind of method that would allow for safe passage?" Drake's expression turned serious for a moment. "The first question that I'd want to ask that person before giving out such information is what business would necessitate venturing out to such a remote and dangerous place. The salamence living on that mountain show little mercy to trespassers." "My little sister, she was living with me and our grandparents when I set out on my journey. I couldn't take her with me since she was still too young. Her father came back while I was gone and took her with him to the Draconid village. I want to bring her back home!" Drake let out a long-exasperated sigh. Suddenly seeming like he aged decades. "Kid, I won't tell you to stop trying to get your sister back. Arceus knows I have pulled off some foolhardy stunts of my own, when I was a young whippersnapper like yourself. I am guessing you are not a part of the tribe? And your sister told you of the hidden village's location?" "Yes, we have different fathers and no I figured that out by myself." "If you were a member of that tribe then this would have been much easier for you. The Draconid tribe doesn't tolerate outsiders. Even I can only visit that village on appointment and never for longer than an hour at most." "But you are the champion surely…!" Drake cut me off with a single hand gesture. "Even though I am not part of the tribe they hold a certain amount of respect for me, which gives me some leeway. Initially I became champion just to stop the rampant poaching of eggs and hatchlings. Dragon types are powerful, especially those of the salamence line. Making them a worthy prize in the eyes of numerous no-good scums. Many a poacher still try their luck from time to time and get killed for their troubles. Heed my words, nothing in the Hoenn region is more dangerous than a nesting dragon type Pokémon. Those of the Draconid tribe get special privileges, their ancestors made a pact long ago that is still upheld. Dragon types live for a long time and their memories go deep." "So, I can't?" "Hmmm this is a conundrum. There's only one solution to your problem." "What?" "Become strong! Strengthen the bonds between you and your Pokémon. Dragons respect strength as does the Draconid tribe." Those words managed to trigger something primal within me. The same part of the brain that urges you to try stupidly dangerous stunts like running with a herd of tauros or deep diving into a school sharpedo, just to see if you could. Victini experienced something similar, tiny sparks blasted out of her ears she could barely contain her excitement and she was not the only one affected. The poké balls on my belt started wiggling my partners obviously listening in on our conversation also wanting to prove their strength. With my team as excited as this naturally there was only a singular response, I could give to our current reigning Champion. "I'll do it! Keep that throne over at Ever Grande city nice and warm for me, because soon I'll be sitting on it!" My counter reaction caused the poké balls on my belt to spin out of control; they all opened up my team materializing inside the room. Naturally this had consequences. "What are you gu… Oof!" "Num!""Pix Pix Pix!""Nitan!""Lit Lit!" "This is a sight that truly warms an old man's heart." There I was still sitting on that same chair but now crowded by my overeager Pokémon. I could handle most of them just fine when they get excited like this. However, Glove, the big monster that he is, was in the process of crushing my spine with a powerful gorilla sized hug. I would've probably broken a few ribs if the hug continued. Luckily that's when it happened, while the group feelings were running high. The egg which I laid down on the table showed its first signs of life. A single twitch but that was all it took to get the team off of me and now surrounding the egg. "Vi Vi!" "The egg! It moved! That means it'll hatch soon!" Each member of my team aside from Orion had babysat the egg at some point. The egg showing activity now meant we'd soon have a little one to look after. Glove was the most excited of us all. The Blaze Pokémon's temperature ran so high that I thought he was going to start a fire right here in captain Drake's fancy office. "Calm down Glove! We are all happy, no need to burn Captain Drake's nice wooden flooring. The same goes for you Numsy!" Normally I wouldn't care to limit such showings of deep emotion, but I was pretty sure everything in this room was irreplaceable and I wasn't looking forward to a life of indentured servitude to pay everything off. Fortunately, the man seemed to take their near burning of his belongings in good stride, not even taking the effort to give us a warning. My reprimanding words did little to stifle the cheery atmosphere in the room. Although Glove was disciplined enough to ease up on his flames a little. With that I had one final request for Captain Drake. "Sir, if it isn't too much trouble the next time you visit that village could you pass along a message to my little sister or mother if you see them? I know now that going to the village like this will change nothing even if I did make it to the village safely, they'd just as likely turn me away." "Sure, kiddo but better to write it down. I am terrible at remembering minute details. Here let me get you some paper and a quill." 'A Quill? How old is this geezer?' After mucking about in his drawers, the captain handed me some worn looking parchment and a quill pen adorned with a single silvery feather that seemed to sparkle even within this dim lighted room. I recognized the feather's extraordinary origin but didn't wish to make a big deal out of it. "I got this beauty on Silver Rock Isle during my stint working as a swabby on a merchant ship. It took an entire month's wages to buy but it's still one of my best investments to this day. My old captain even pitched in a little extra since profits were high that season. Those were the days… We sold grapefruit in ports all over Hoenn for a decent markup. Do be careful with it, it's one of a kind." I accepted the quill and parchment and started writing down my personal message for Zinnia. Knowing that there was a good chance this letter would be read by non-affiliated parties I didn't include everything that I wanted to say to her but in the end, I was reasonably satisfied with what I did manage to write up for her. "So, my sister's name is Zinnia. She is two years younger than me with black hair. If you can't find her, the next best person to look for would be Willow, my mother. She is a bit ditzy at times, but she'll make sure Zinnia receives my message." With that I left Drake's office returning to the top deck to take in the beach front sight with my whole team behind me. Victini managed to get the message out about the Seashore House and now they all wanted to compete. Since the place was so close we declined the offer for a ride back to the city and opted to walk instead. "You feel that guys? That's the heat of the Hoenn sun, nice and toasty. Way better than Unova right?" The senior members of my team who were already used to the tropical climate didn't respond but Glove, Orin and Victini who started enjoying the warmth gave positive responses. Victini hovered around us, invisibly enjoying the beach with us. People from all over the world came to this spot so it wasn't strange to see foreign Pokémon. My team hardly got any attention from other beachgoers. Still all pumped from earlier we resolved to get to the seashore house and see if we could still get a spot competing in their daily tournament. 20 minutes later* Seashore HouseMay hot battles rage on hot sands! The place for hot Trainers! The house's sign was oddly fitting for me and my team. This place also doubled as a seaside restaurant. A place where people could cool off from the hot sun and watch trainers duke it out with each other. A brilliant market strategy with the trainers entering the tournament providing free entertainment for paying customers. I tried talking to the first waitress who entered my field of view. "Excuse me miss, is there still a spot open for today's tournament? Oh, and could we get some menu cards? My team is starving." "For sure, and of course we still have spots left for today's tournament. The tournament listings are only finalized in the last few minutes, so everyone gets to enjoy hot battles. We'll bring you your write in ticket, just fill it in and post it on our wall. Your name will be called when it" I went through their specials with glove, I still hadn't rewarded him for learning confusion, so he got to pick what type of food we'd be enjoying at the restaurant. Eventually he decided to order us five bowls of congee with seaweed toppings. He couldn't read the menu card himself, so it took some coordinating together with Victini to get him through all the dining options. We skipped ordering something to drink since fire types rarely needed to hydrate themselves preferring to instead acquire what little moisture they did need from their food. As a human I still needed to hydrate myself regularly, but I was counting on winning the tournament and getting myself that six-pack of soda cans. Just as we finished eating our meals the tournament began. Most of the trainers who participated in this tournament are amateurs. Youngsters eager to prove their wingull was a top percentage wingull. The seagull Pokémon being the most popular family pet in Slateport City. Naturally you could find them all over this beach along with krabby and the odd wailmer who sometimes strand themselves on these shores. Most of the Pokémon being entered in this tournament weren't even caught Pokémon. The children not being old enough to get a trainer's license, but still managing to form bonds of friendship with the wild Pokémon in the area. Since the beach was so close to their homes, they could come out to play with them every day. "This reminds me of how you and I first met Numsy. Just goofing around until we set out on our own journey. Let's give these kids a good show." "Num num!" Normally these battles would not be all that interesting except for the fact that most of these beach goers brought water types with them. These matches would be a perfect introduction to the world of Pokémon battling for Orin. I planned on having him battle the first few rounds. That meant I needed to go through all our possible battle strategies with him. Surprisingly the little Litwick knew a good amount of useful battling moves. His most powerful one being hex. "Orin, you see that girl with the shellder?" "Lit lit!" "She is a ringer, which means we'll most likely be facing her in the later stages of the tournament." "Lit?" "Her Shellder is obviously well trained. It used rock blast to defeat its first opponent. Shellder don't normally learn rock type moves until after they evolve which means the girl must have trained very hard with her Pokémon to win this tournament. She'll be our real competition." My name was called, and I made my way to the battlefield. Sand arenas were easy and cheap to maintain, especially so on a beach like this. The restaurant staff only had to paint the outline of the battlefield each day with dye that dissolved in water and the tide would handle the rest of the cleanup. "Tommy versus Egon, Trainers please call out your Pokémon." "Let's go Orin!" "Go Krabby!" Our competitor put down the krabby he was holding in his hands. Probably a stray he picked up on the beach. The crustacean was menacingly pinching its claws at the sight of my little candle Pokémon. "Let the match begin!" "Smog!" "Bubble!" Orin started dispersing exhaust gasses spreading them over the battlefield. The gas was heavy enough that it didn't immediately dissipate in the wind. Meanwhile at the same time the boy's krabby harmlessly produced a stream of bubbles, clearly the attack wasn't even powerful enough to hit the other end of the battlefield where my Litwick was standing. Smog was an interesting attack; the discharge was weak and often not powerful enough to poison targets who knew not to inhale the gas. Clearly this krabby was not such an opponent. The crab pokemon was already being weakened by the gas' poisonous nature. "Krabby go vicegrip!" "Orin, wait until after Krabby closes in and go for a hex!" Krabby charged at us sideways rearing its right claw to get a hold of Orin and just like instructed my candle Pokémon held still until after Krabby got a hold of him. Krabby clamped down but noticed my ghost type phasing through its claws like nothing even happened. Both the trainer and his Pokémon looked stumped, obviously not knowing what was going on. Orin took advantage of this opportunity to punish their mistake. Dark flames surrounded Krabby targeting the toxins inside his body to deal exponentially more damage. The little crab Pokémon not being able to tough out the blow fainted directly afterwards. "And the winners are Egon and his Litwick!" "Krabby! Are you alright?" The boy raced towards his downed Krabby, obviously distraught by the outcome of their battle together. "Hold on. Use these." I held out an antidote and potion spray for the boy to use. "Your Krabby has been poisoned by my Pokémon's smog attack. This antidote will dissipate the poison running through his body. When that's done you help him recover his stamina with this potion. Do you know how to use these?" "Of course! Just pull off the cap, right?" The boy went to work trying to screw open the antidote bottle. Not knowing how to work around the child safety lock. He looked so lame that I decided to impart some of my wisdom to him. "No, like this." I held onto his hands and showed him the proper way to disengage the safety lock. "Now what you want to do is see to it that Krabby here imbibes the contents of this bottle. For some Pokémon that becomes impossible, once they've fainted, so in case you need it the pokémart also sells a topical antidote." The boy swiftly brought the antidote bottle to Krabby's mouth, pouring the contents inside. Krabby's slight discolored exoskeleton quickly regained its original color. Anticipating the boy's inability to use the potion spray I also advised him how to properly use the medicinal spray. "For the potion you need to twist the nozzle." "I knew that!" After Tommy applied the potion Krabby woke up his claws scissoring in frustration of the loss. The kid was also disappointed that they got knocked out in the first round like that. "You want me to share some trainer's secrets? I have been in your position once too, you know. Having to hide my starter Pokémon from my grandparents because they wouldn't allow me to keep him." "Really?!" "Yep, we got it sorted out eventually though. The local gym was kind enough to take him in until I earned my trainer's license. Since Slateport doesn't have a gym, I'd recommend looking around for an aquarium to take care of him until you two can start your own journey. Now do you still have time? We can talk about how to improve your battle strategy." Tommy was a decent kid, a bit naïve though. I had to explain to him why normal type moves like vicegrip don't work on ghost type Pokémon. He didn't even know what Orin's typing was. He just assumed only a singular fire typing; the kid never having seen Pokémon from Unova compete in the tournament. The tournament continued in a similar way Orin beat three more trainers after that with similar issues. Our second opponent was a kid with a wingull convinced that his Pokémon was the strongest one living on the beach and our third opponent was a girl with a skitty. The kitten Pokémon made decent use of attract and sing but hadn't learned any moves yet to deal with ghost type Pokémon, making the battle completely one-sided. As I predicted, the ones entering the finals were me and the shellder girl. She was a tad older than most trainers entering the tournament so it was possible that she was on her journey like me. We were both called up to enter the battlefield at the same time. Passing her I decided to give her my well wishes. "Good luck and may the best competitor win." "Like totes you too." 'A valley girl accent?' "In the right corner we have Egon from Lavaridge town and on the left coming all the way from the Kanto region we have his opponent Violet from Cerulean City." "Let the match begin!" "Go Shelly!" "Let's wow 'em Numsy!" Both of us released our Pokémon at the same time. As this was the last round the referee started acting a bit more formal. Probably seeing us as two serious trainers. Her mollusk Pokémon up against my little camel. Numsy was all fired up, emitting a plume of smoke out of his hump. "Lava Plume!" "Protect!" Numsy doused the area where Shellder was standing in hot scarlet flames. The shell Pokémon, being the pre-evolved form of a part ice type, wouldn't withstand fire type attacks as well as some of the other water types more commonly found on this beach, but it didn't matter. Before we could get our hit in, the bivalve Pokémon clamped up and surrounded itself with a crystalline green energy and was completely protected from Numsy's move. 'Shellder are not known for their ability to dodge it will stay put and keep going on the defensive if we let it.' Now the normal thing to do here would be to let Numsy release a yawn attack, but I didn't want to win that way and Numsy wouldn't either. We needed to overcome challenges in order to grow and this would be our first one after coming back to Hoenn. "Num num!" "Really you mastered it?" "Num!" "Tini showed you huh? Fine, let's do it! Use flame charge!" "Let's like totally douse those flames, use water gun!" Numsy not being able to stop mid charge weathered the cold-water jet stream coming his way. Whether it was because it was sunny out or because Numsy was already coated in flames, but he didn't falter this time. His fire burned hot enough to properly execute the move. With considerable force Numsy bashed heads with Shellder flinging the little mollusk Pokémon to the edge of the battlefield. Shellder was resilient though, what the shelled Pokémon didn't have in weight it more than made up for with its defense. Numsy wasn't looking too fine either, the water type attack scoring a direct hit taking a toll on him. "Whirlpool!" "Firespin!" Both of our Pokémon sent whirling cones of their respective elements racing towards the other. The moves clashed against each other, Shellder's whirlpool winning out against our fire spin. What was left of the whirlpool crashed into Numsy, further lowering his core temperature. "Num…" "It's okay Numsy, let's go in for one final blow!" "Nuuuum!!" Suddenly Numsy started glowing brightly, the light overwhelming the crowd of spectators. His form changed drastically from that of a barely over two feet tall little camel to one that dwarfed me in size. Another hump formed on his back, his back growing two rocky volcanoes. The amount of heat Numsy started putting out left the sand he was standing on completely glassed. "Numsy…?" "Cameeeruupt!"

Chapter 31 – Size isn't Everything."Numsy you're giant!" "Ruupt" The crowd was suitably awed, it's not everyday that you get to witness a Pokémon's evolution live and in person. Shellder, who was already diminutive in size compared to my previously unevolved Numel, was now completely dwarfed. The battle was put to a halt, a common courtesy during evolutions that happened mid battle. "Where am I going to put you? You can't jump on my lap anymore, that's for sure. You'll have to be the one giving the rides from now on." My newly evolved Camerupt was about six feet tall in height and that wasn't even mentioning the rocky volcanoes on his back. "Hey, did you get a feel for it?" "Cam!" One of the gym's staff workers, knowing I'd be starting out on my journey with Numsy, gave me a crash course on proper husbandry if my Numel ever evolved as well as a few other things regarding camerupt physiology. That included the information that at the moment of evolution their species gained an instinctive knowledge of rock type TE and more specifically the move rockslide. After Numsy was done testing out his new body I addressed our competition. "Thanks for waiting. Are you ready to finish this battle?" "Like totally. We still won't lose, right Shelly?" "Sheeell!" Her Shellder bravely stood against Numsy pushing through any pressure it must feel facing a Pokémon so much larger than it. "Rock Slide!" "Water Pulse!" Our Pokémon clashed again but this time Numsy was faster. White rings of energy surrounded Numsy and he launched a barrage of large stones and boulders. Shellder was still in the middle of charging up its water pulse when the mollusk Pokémon was hit by the falling debris. Shellder's clam-like shell closed up for a few seconds and reopened revealing its fainted occupant. "Shellderrrr…" "Shellder is unable to battle, Egon and Camerupt are the victors! The winner of this competition is Egon from Lavaridge town!" I rushed up to Numsy for our customary victory rub down and to inspect for any issues that may have risen from having ballooned up to his massive size in the span of a single minute. "Great job Numsy! Now, let me have a look at you. "Hmm looking good, no obvious issues… Open your mouth and say aaaaah." His fur was all red and matted now much more difficult to maintain than his former short curly hairs. Not even mentioning the extra surface area. 'I can't even reach his back properly, how am I going to straighten out all that unruly fur. That means extra groomer expenses.' Numsy gave me this mildly amused look. As if the fact that I was now smaller than him made him somehow more mature than me. No words needed to be said on his part. I lived with him for long enough to know what's going on in that mind. "Don't think just because you are bigger than me now things are going to change! I am still the big brother of this relationship. Age is what matters not size!" "Ruupt." "Like you would know how! Who is the one that has to feed and clean you? Not to mention wake you up when you are having nightmares. If you can do all that by yourself maybe, I'll think about it." 'Seriously! Five minutes after evolving and he is already getting uppity.' Despite how this might seem to onlookers. This was a common occurrence in newly evolved Pokémon. They didn't just rapidly develop physically but also spiritually. Acting like rebellious teenagers was kind of the norm after evolving. In more extreme cases they might not even acknowledge their trainer's authority anymore. However, deep down I knew that Numsy was just playing at being rebellious. Just to see if I would still treat him the same way and to gauge my reaction. So, I did something I used to do to him whenever he made a mess of my bedroom floor. "Pffffffffff!" "Came!?" "That's right! I'll blow in your nose again if you don't show some manners!" That seemed to do the trick. The look in his eyes quickly returned to its normal state."Come on, I need to go shake hands with our opponent, you say something nice to Shellder as well." It was customary for finalists to shake hands in Hoenn even at low brow little tournaments like this. Violet seemed patient enough to wait for me, probably understanding my need to settle things with Numsy. I approached her and offered my hand which she shook. "Hey, your shellder almost got us with that whirlpool. It's really well trained." "Like totally, your Pokémon is bitchin' as well." "Rupt." "Sheeell." I couldn't help but notice you are from Cerulean City, and you have a water type Pokémon with you. Might you perhaps be a trainer affiliated with their local gym? "Bingo! My family runs the gym, like it's totally rad but I felt like all cramped up over there so me and Shelly are on vacation with some of my girlfriends." "Well route 109 is a great choice. Though I do recommend checking out Sootopolis as well. It's the place to be for water type trainers. They have this scuba dive tour over there where they let visiting trainers encounter all sorts of water type Pokémon."  We left the Seashore House but not before cashing in our winnings; a six pack of any flavoring of soda cans that I wanted. I picked the obvious choice: sitrus berry with ginger extract. The soda cans in this world are more than just carbonated drinks, they actually had the ability to revitalize a Pokémon after it's been fainted. so having these on me was a blessing in emergency situations. Not that I wasn't planning on sneaking at least one out for a sip, sitrus berries are my favorite. Numsy was back in his ball, cooling off from all the excitement, while I went to the Slateport Market, the best place to buy and sell goods in all of Hoenn. Slateport City was the place in Hoenn where all the interregional freight barges harbor first. Which makes the Slateport market the best place to find exotic goods on the cheap. Naturally I was here to stock up on supplies. I was fresh out and Numsy now being a camerupt would now require an even higher caloric intake. Camerupt weren't all that hard to feed under normal circumstances being a species that could survive subsisting off of grains for the most part, but since mine was a battler, I had to feed him the good stuff. Rena was out of her ball surveying the various stalls for bargain prices. She was quite shrewd with money and since this market was always crowded it was good to have an extra pair of eyes looking for good deals. Even if that pair of eyes had a tendency to get distracted by the flash of jewelry. "Pix Pix!" "That's too expensive Rena, we're here for food.""Vuuuul!" "We are a tad low on funds... How about after a gym battle or two I'll let you pick something out again?" My offer of compromise seemed to do the trick, the little fox Pokémon huffing turning around and leading the way towards the nearest berry dealer. I couldn't entirely fault Rena for liking shiny rocks. My eyes were also drawn to the dusk stone laying inside the glass casing on a velvet cushion. The price tag reads 12.000 pokédollars. Completely out of our budget of course and I'd seen cheaper in Unova. 'Now if only I could convince Rena that darkish purple is her color.' I wasn't in that much of a rush to get a dusk stone for Orin. Firstly, he had to evolve into a lampent which wouldn't take as long as my more living Pokémon, seeing as his growth is not constrained by biology. Secondly and the more important reason I felt it was essential to take evolution more gradually. Letting Orin experience the full breadth of what it felt like to be a litwick and a lampent before he assumed his final form would get him used to fighting with the tools he had on and keep him creative. We skipped the gem salesman and went straight for the berry vendor. I was planning on buying a good amount of low to mid end priced berries and throwing in a handful of high end ones if the price was reasonable. Which in fact it was, the final price tag probably eased up since we were only two routes removed from the berry master's farms. "Hello little customer, what can I get you for today? The pecha berries are nice and ripe this season and our persim berries are freshest on the market." "What do you think Rena?" I picked up my Vulpix and let her sniff the man's produce. The ability to pick out berries was a skill she and Numsy managed to develop over the course of our journey. We wanted to avoid berries on the verge of spoiling and the ones who hadn't ripened yet. There was a sort of middle ground where the berries were just ripe enough to make a good meal but not too ripened where they had to be consumed right away for fear of spoilage. I couldn't trust Numsy to do this reliably without him failing to resist the urge to eat what was in front of his nose, especially since he just evolved. Rena wasn't as food driven as my other Pokémon, so she made for a perfect partner in this venture. "Pix Pix." "Too ripe… but the Orans are good?" "Vuuuuul!" "Okay, Give me forty orans. Twenty of each aspear and Rawst. Ten lum, bluk and wiki. Also add in five of those pinap, tamato and custap berries each." 'Thank you, Mr. Moore, for paying for all of this.'Mr. Moore giving me carte blanche to use the gym's card for food has really been a blessing so far. Making me able to afford major expenditures like my Xtransceiver and the flight ticket back home. I kind of felt bad taking advantage of his generosity, so I committed myself to paying him back at some point in the future. "Here you go young man, is that all?" "Do you also have some of the dry stuff? Grains, vitamin supplements and the like?" After a bit of haggling, which was the norm for open markets like this one. Me and the salesman agreed upon a price we could both live with. I wasn't the most adept at negotiating but at least I got the total price down somewhat. 'Hmm next up is registering for the Pokémon league, and after that...' As I was contemplating my next course of action my Xtransceiver went off. I looked at the screen and it was revealed to be an unknown number.'Strange, only a handful of people know my number. All of them are already registered in my contact list…' Eventually deciding to accept the call I tapped the green button flashing on my screen. The face that appeared on screen was a scruffy looking one. The man clearly didn't bother trying to look presentable, sharing features with those who have been stuck off route for long periods of time. What I did notice though were the similarities shared between the both of us. The same shade of hair and the thick eyebrows although his were even larger than mine due to the age difference. I recognized him from the posters and league advertisements spread all across Unovan cities. This person was Alder, the current reigning Champion of Unova. 'Darn Shauntal! At least wait a while before deciding to give your boss my number! No… Calm down Egon, maybe he just wants to say hello.'"Uhm… Hello there… What's up?" "Are you happy?" 'Straight into the difficult part of the conversation…' "Well… I am currently on a journey with my Pokémon team trying to qualify for the Ever Grande conference. We train, compete and sometimes goof off. What I am trying to say is… Yes, I am." "That's good, When I was your age I only endlessly pursued strength, as does my son still. That our flawed mindset has not been passed on to you is a blessing. Shauntal told me you grew up in Lavaridge Town tell what was life like, growing up over there?" "My mother dropped me off at my grandparents' house shortly after I was born. Lavaridge is… a quiet town full of experienced people. There is lots of volcanic activity going on in the surrounding area, so fire types love it there. As do the tourists who come visit our local hot springs." "Any friends or hobbies?" "I work at the local gym; I am pretty good friends with the gym leader's daughter. That's how I got started training fire types." "Fire types, my first partner was also a fire type…" For a second the old man was trapped in his nostalgia before snapping out of it and readdressing me. In a more resolute tone. "I want you to know that you'll always be welcome here back in Unova. You have a little brother who would enjoy getting to know his new older sibling. Beyond that I want to make clear that I keep my private and professional life private. Not many people in Unova even know that I have a family, so you won't have to worry about suddenly being subjected to the spotlight. I'll be cheering you on of course and am buying all your gym match footage to show to little Benga. More than anything I want you to enjoy your first journey together with your Pokémon friends. Strength doesn't last forever but those feelings will." "Sure, I'll also be cheering you on too, gramps.." "That makes me happy… Now, I won't be wasting any more of your time. Having to listen to this old man ramble about the good old days. Go make a splash! And enjoy every second of making new memories with your partners." With that the geezer hung up on me. 'This was emotionally exhausting, that's why I prefer Pokémon over most people I guess…' "You don't like your new grandpa?" "It's not that… I am sure he'd make for a great grandfather figure. Just that I am already done with developing as a person… spiritually at least. I don't really need any sort of parental figure. If he wanted to just be friends and hang out from time-to-time things would be so much simpler. For now, I just want to focus on what is directly ahead of us." I still needed a sixth member for my team since it was a no go to reveal Victini to the public. The earlier I caught another fire type the better. Lavaridge had plenty of slugma crawling around, but even if I had gotten over my innate fear of snail and slug Pokémon it just didn't feel right with me to have one on my team. This being Hoenn my other options would be to ask for one of the gym's Pokémon or chance the safari zone. The first option wounded my pride as a trainer, not only relying on gym funds but also to plead for an extra Pokémon went a step too far for me. As for the second option… Hoenn's safari zone was basically a revolving door for foreign Pokémon. If rangers came across nonnative Pokémon they would be caught and swiftly relocated, eventually ending up inside that place. I had little to no knowledge of what kind of Pokémon were currently in there. The safari keepers didn't keep a log for others to peruse. Seemingly convinced that a sense of wonder was important for the visiting experience. 'Whatever, let's just register first.'  Over at the Pokémon center*"Welcome to the Pokémon center. How may I help you?" "Yes, I'd like to register for the Evergrande conference." "Registering this late in the season... Are you sure you're up for the challenge, young man?" Just the travel times alone will make this extra challenging." "That's okay I am sure that if I work fast enough, I'll have enough time to qualify for the Hoenn league championship. I've already caught most of my team." "In that case, may I have your trainer's license please? Also there are some forms you will have to fill out."I handed over my license and nurse Joy in return gave me a set of registration forums. It was mostly standard stuff like; emergency contact details, sponsorship details, a waiver of liability form and morbidly enough who gets responsibility for my Pokémon in the case of my death. 'Arceus! Does that last one really need to be put in there? I'll be perfectly safe as long as I have my team with me. I wasn't planning to go off route in any case.' After I was done filling in all those documents I handed them back over to nurse Joy, who after checking the legitimacy of my trainer's license handed my ID back to me. "All finished, I hope to see you competing in the Ever Grande Conference this year." "Nurse Joy, could I also book a room for tonight? Also, my Numel just evolved today, could you give him a once over and look to see if there were any complications?" I left Numsy with nurse Joy and went to use the computers in the media room. I still had to fulfill a promise I made to someone important. After sitting down I logged on the official league website and looked up the contact details for the Fortree City gym. Apparently, they didn't accept calls; the only thing listed was an email account.Dear Gym staffer who reads this, Recently I journeyed through Unova and while there I picked up competitively minded Tranquill on one of the routes. She challenged any passing trainer she could spot in the hopes of finding a partner, but sadly none were interested because her species is so common there. After being convinced by one of my own partners, I brought her along with me back to Hoenn. She is still looking for a trainer. Would anyone working at the Foretree gym be interested? Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,Egon from Lavaridge Town P.s. I specialize in fire types otherwise I'd have caught her for myself in a heartbeat. 'It'll have to do. I hope this works.' "Of course, it will! Tranquill is the best!" After shutting down the computer I planned on doing something else that I have been staving off since the landing back in Hoenn. "Let's practice teleportation Tini!" Moments later inside a center dorm room* After using the technical machine on Victini I threw it away. These older models from Silph Co are one time use only. Not like my Sunny Day TM which I still had stuffed in one of my backpack's hidden compartments. Victini was doing some mental gymnastics to process the sudden influx of information while me and the rest of the team minus Numsy watched on with mild bemusement. "Okay, according to this pamphlet short range teleportation is easier so let's start with that. You need to strongly visualize the place where you want to teleport to. Hmmm… Try going from here to the adjoining bathroom." "Vi!" "Easy!" Victini completely disappeared in an instant leaving only sparkles behind. To check to see if it worked, I opened the bathroom door to look for Victini. At quick glance was all it took to confirm she didn't manage to get herself inside the bathroom. "You guys, come help me look for Tini, she shouldn't have gotten far." Just like that we got to work looking for our errant rabbit. Pokémon had much keener senses than humans and since my team was intimately familiar with this specific scent, I was hoping that Glove and Rena could find her before she got into any trouble. I was completely forgetting one fact before committing to this line of action. Teleportation didn't leave any scent trails behind to follow. After twenty minutes of not finding her, I started freaking out. 'What if she accidentally teleported herself inside someone's home? Her cover will be blown, she'll be captured, kidnapped and experimented upon! Her genetic material will be used to manufacture some kind of battle clone, which will eventually shake off the leash of its enslavers and try to take over the world!' "Dar!" "What is it, Glove?" My Darmanitan was pointing its finger towards the backpack sitting at the other end of the room.Somehow, every few seconds or so it wobbled a bit. Already growing suspicious I made my way over quietly moving on so as to not produce any sounds. Slowly I pulled down the zipper and my eyes leveled at large blue ones looking up at me playfully. Through some weird psychic type shenanigans instead of teleporting to the bathroom Victini managed to cram herself into the cooler box where I kept my freshly bought custap berries. "…" "…Woops😉" "Tini..." "Sorry! I was hungry. I was planning on going to the bathroom…" "What am I going to do with you?" I picked her up and placed her on my lap. Absentmindedly stroking her fluffy ears. "You know I bought those custap berries for you right? Eventually you would have gotten to eat them. If you do it early you won't have any to eat later, I am not going to buy any extra just for you. That'd be unfair for the rest of the team." "I only ate two." "Then you'll have to be frugal with the remaining three. Until we get back to Lavaridge. Aside from that… congratulations with your first ever use of teleportation. I knew you could do it. "I am amazing right?" "Yep, I am especially proud of you for teaching flame charge to Numsy on your own initiative. That's what great team members do." It was getting dark outside. Today has been an eventful first day back in my home region. I was still suffering from jetlag. So, it'd be best to fix my sleeping schedule keeping a sharp mind for tomorrow's trek through route 110. Since I couldn't afford to rent a bike, we would have to go through the tall grass to reach our destination. Entering the seaside cycling road without a bike is prohibited. Wild Pokémon tended to avoid the cycling road, and because of the relative safety it was the hang out spot for biker gangs. The gangs challenged passing trainers to Pokémon battles and if you didn't accept, they'd block you from advancing. By the time authorities got word of these forced challenges it had become a permanent fixture of the cycling road. Biker battles being the main reason trainers visited the bridge. Also, the biker gangs did avoid pressing their luck, only targeting young trainers leaving children and the elderly in peace. I wasn't as interested in battling those hooligans since I was once again on a tight schedule. After practicing teleport some more with Victini I was reasonably sure she mastered short distance teleportation. I went back downstairs to the reception desk to retrieve Numsy from nurse Joy's care. She informed that he was perfectly healthy and in great condition. She did caution me to not let him walk around the city unsupervised. Camerupt were slow to anger but if it did happen while I wasn't there to return him to his ball the city council would hold me personally liable for any injuries and property damage caused by the species signature move eruption. Technically speaking Numsy should be capable of performing that move with only little training, but I wasn't stupid enough to let him do so while inside the confines of a city. Even on the routes you still had the danger of unintentionally hitting wild Pokémon or passing strangers. The magma shooting out of a camerupt could travel as far two miles out. The only actual safe place to practice would be at the Lavaridge gym. Mr. Moore had a special area solely for that purpose. "Tomorrow, we set out for Mauville city through route 110 and after winning a dynamo badge, we'll head back to Lavaridge. For now, let's go to bed early. There is a 12-hour time zone difference between Hoenn and Unova so we need to go to sleep even if we don't feel like it. Our bodies need time to adjust to a different time zone."After a quick shower I crept inside one of the bunk beds provided by the Pokémon center. All my other Pokémon either chose to rest inside their poké balls or sleep on top of the bed with me. 'Normally Numsy would be laying on top of my feet. It's weird that he's now too big to sleep outside of his ball. Eh, hopefully he won't get too lonely stuck inside of his ball all by himself…'Chapter 32 – Trick or TreatThe next day we finally made it to route 110. The route was right next to one of the very few freshwater rivers in Hoenn. Naturally it made for a great view only blemished by the large seaside cycling road built on top of the river. The river's meandering ended up creating a landpassage straight to Mauville city. Of course, during the rainy season this passage was too dangerous to travel over therefore necessitating building the cycling road in the first place. I had Numsy and Tranquill out with me. Tranquill was eager to stretch out her wings and Numsy was much the same since he didn't get to sleep outside his ball last night. "Okay you guys, this route is known for the many electric types living here. The plusle, minun, electrike and magnemite are harmless, but we have to watch out for any voltorbs. If we accidentally step on one, we could be in for a nasty surprise.""Rupt?" "Quill?" "That's right they are like living grenades extremely prone to self-destruct at the slightest stimulation. Numsy you'd probably be fine, but I am squishy. Experiencing a self-destruct up close would probably send me to the hospital for at least a few weeks. That's why if at some point we need to traverse tall grass we'll be relying on you Tranquill to keep us appraised of what type of Pokémon are nearby. Just give me a squawk and we will stop moving forward. For now though the route is just open road so go ahead and enjoy yourself." With that our bird friend took off. Probably to pick a fight with one of the local Pokémon. She didn't get nearly enough time battling with us. Being a battle maniac, it was completely understandable that she left to pursue her interests once in a while. "I guess it's just us Numsy? Traveling from this route to Mauville shouldn't take long, five to six hours tops. This is the shortest route in all of Hoenn after all." "Rupt!" Just like that we walked for around an hour until we got to see an especially interesting sight. An active construction site, right between the river and a closed off forest. Groups of machop and machoke running around with construction materials and safety helmets. My curiosity peaked, I ruffled Numsy's head to signal for him to take a break while I checked out what was going on. Luckily there was a sign imbedded into the ground which did just that. Welcome trainers! To the marvelous and enchanting Trick House! Currently the trick house is under reconstruction for our next showing, to amaze and dazzle the viewers back home is our mission. To that end we kindly ask you passerby to not disturb our hard-working construction crew and to refrain from entering the premises without permission. If the need to enter the trick house contest overwhelms you then that's too bad! We don't take admissions and to preserve the integrity of the show all our participants are random passerby. The trick house show is hosted at undisclosed dates and intervals. Yours truly, The Trick Master "NUMSY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS! We missed it! Our second lifelong dream of winning a trick house contest and we didn't get to participate ARGHH!" At the mention of the word trick house Rena popped out of her poké ball. Every single person and Pokémon living in our family home are avid fans of the show. My grandfather had taped every single episode ever aired since its inception. At the start of a new season, you could find our little family gathering together to watch the show. "RUUUPT!""Pix Pix Pix!"My old-time partners were similarly disappointed. With our experience watching the shows, we would become an unstoppable force leaving all the other participants in the dust. "I won't let it end like this! Rena, go ask one of those machop how many days it will take to finish the new obstacle courses. We'll come back to this route after they finish." "Now hold on just one second, aspiring challenger!" I turned around in the direction where that mysterious voice was coming from, but I couldn't see anything. Aside from the break area where the worker pokemon had access to some snacks and an office water cooler. Suddenly one of the couches sprouted arms and legs but not much more than that. The person masquerading as furniture had difficulty shedding his disguise. 'No wait could that person be…!' "Yes, it is I! Behold! For I am the greatest living mystery of a man in all of Hoenn! They call me… The Trick Master! Wahahaha! Glad to meet you!" "Arceus it's really you! The famed Trick Master! Rena Numsy it's really him! It's an honor to meet you sir!" "Vuuuul!" "Came!" "The pleasure is all mine boyo. It is always a joy to encounter true fans of the show! Now would you do me a kindness and pull down the zipper of this, my newest prototype designer chair disguise? To keep my workers on their toes I'd figure a good scare ought to rouse their spirits, but they just left me to languish as a chair. Ah! The perils of show business, I have been stuck like this the entire morning." Quickly assenting to his request, I walked around this famed figure to reach the zipper on his back. A quick pull down did the trick as the costume came down and The Trick Master's flamboyant figure was revealed. That's better, now then what did my ears hear just now? You want to be on the show? "Yes! My entire family are big fans of yours Trick Master! It would be such a pleasant surprise to them if I suddenly showed up on T.V. while they are watching the newest episode of your show." "Challenge accepted! Or I would say that, but we are still in the middle of constructing all the décor, traps, and obstacle courses. We won't be done until the end of this year's Ever Grande Conference. If only you would've been here a month earlier, but fret not! To recompense you for your total disappointment I the Trick Master will give you a personal tour on what we are cooking up for next season's Slam dunk of a show! Come to my office, we'll sign the non-disclosure agreement and you can bask in my genius stage designs!" 'Getting to go backstage on the set of one of my all-time favorite shows is certainly a great opportunity, but on the other hand…' I looked towards my Pokémon's facial expressions trying to read their current state of mind. While they did the same. If one of them really wanted to go, I'd give up my chance to be selected for this year's trick house competition. Words were unnecessary and after some silent communication with my long-time friends. The three of us made up our minds simultaneously. "I am sorry Trick Master, but we can't. We would really enjoy getting an early sneak peek at the show's production, but then we'd be giving up the chance to be selected for the show's next season. As true trick house fans, we can't give up that 1% chance of making it on the stage of Hoenn's greatest show ever!" The man crumpled a bit as if struck by lightning. But then inflated back up even bigger in size then before. "THIS is why I do it! For fans like you! Young trainer, you have given me enough motivation to produce at least another eight seasons. We will never go off the air with fans like you still supporting us! Excuse me! I feel so energized I have to get back to work. Please come around after the conference finishes and maybe you'll be one of the lucky stars of my show. Ciao Ciao!" Just like that one of the most dazzling celebrities in Hoenn left to rejoin his personnel behind the yellow tape. I wasn't too disappointed though except for the fact that he stormed off before I could ask him for an autograph. I couldn't help but admire someone like that who had it all figured out. "Hmmm that sure was something. At least we know roughly when they will be scouring the route for new contestants. If I have anything to say about it, we'll be there. Now let's head out hopefully Tranquill hasn't forgotten about us." We trekked on until finally we started only seeing tall grass and hearing the sound of the river meandering through. It was around midday so I pulled out a blanket so we could all have something to eat while waiting for Tranquill to show up again. The rest of my team appeared out of their balls to eat my premade meals together. "Calm down Numsy, the food's not running away." "Pix Pix!?" "Rupt!" "His portions are bigger now because he's larger. The more body mass the more energy you need for upkeep. Don't worry, when you evolve, I'll let you have bigger bowls as well." The only one on my team who remained stoic despite us having a picnic in an unfamiliar location was Glove. He kept eating while keeping close to the egg, occasionally letting out a sound of joy each time the egg moved. Give or take twelve days and we'd be having a new partner on the team even Numsy and Rena put a halt to their food disagreement each time the egg moved. We spent time like that until I heard the sound of wings flapping and a familiar squawk. The bird Pokémon returned with company, a flock of wingulls flying behind her. "Tranquill you are back, and it seems you made some new friends." "Wing gull!" "Quill!" "She beat their leader in a match and now he wants to become adult friends with her." "No! …Sorry I meant to say we don't really have the time for that. There are lots of responsibilities that come with raising chicks. I've already sent out feelers for getting you a good trainer." "Quill?" "Gull Gull!" "He is now offering her to come to their super-secret spot to eat delicious berries together!?" After hearing Wingull make the proposition, Victini popped out of her ball. Already eager to take up the Pokémon's offer instead of Tranquill who had shown little interest up until now. "Vi Vi!" "Gull?" "Vi VI?!" "Egon, they have apple and pink colored banana berries! I haven't tried those before!" 'Those should be Leppa and Nanab berries, it's rare to find them in the wild. Ask if we could have a few of those for dinner.' "Vi Vi?" "Gull Gull!" "He says that I may come with but only if Tranquill comes along." "Hmmm this is a dilemma. Obviously, we are not going to force Tranquill on a date if she doesn't like this Wingull. Besides, if both of you leave, who is going to lead us through the tall grass?" My inference caused the little wingull to droop down on the ground in sadness. Obviously, this seabird was completely smitten with Tranquill. Feeling sorry for the little bird I walk up and started petting his head. "Gull…?" "There There… That is life Wingull. Romantic interests come and go but friendship is forever. You still have your loyal subordinates with you. They wouldn't want to see their leader mope all day. How about we as men go out, talk smack about the girls who rejected us and eat some fresh delicious berries while we're at it." "Gull!" "No, I am not just saying that to make you feel better, I too had my heart broken once…" "Liar!" 'Shhh! Do you want to eat those berries or not?' The threat of not getting to taste new varieties of berries quieted down her mental protest. Of course, I could just buy those berries from a vendor but nothing beats berries picked straight from the tree. Wingull dusted himself off and hopped onto my outstretched arm. Squawking sadly while he did so. Now being so close to this cute seagull I felt my heart pang with compassion for his predicament. Resolving myself to truly give him some heartfelt advice. "Wingull… Pokémon like Tranquill love battling so the first thing you need to do is become strong enough to give her a decent fight. Love is a battlefield and in this situation that is literally the case. How often do you have sparring matches with the other Pokémon living on this route?" "Gull…" "Not at all huh? It's understandable really. Electric types are the most common type on this route. A water and flying type like yourself is going to have a bad time picking fights with the likes of them. There should still be some battle opportunities though. Gulpin are also known to live here as do the occasional stray zigzagoon or poochyena. Make sure to get some battling sessions in with them." While I was giving the little Wingull some more advice I signaled Victini to let Tranquill know we are ready to move on. She did and with her help we slowly moved further along the route. A couple of hours later* "And that's about it, make sure to change it up from time to time. If you are nesting together, it's important to keep a lady on her toes. If she can predict your every move and reaction, the relationship grows boring and stale." "Gull?" "Like say for example, You like Oran berries, right?" "Gull!" "Well, the next time she brings some along, having come back from an afternoon of foraging. Do a complete one eighty. Instead of praising her for bringing you your favorites, put one in your mouth, spit it out and demand Pecha." "Gull!?" "Yes, she will knock you over the head but that's all part of the game. Keep doing the unexpected. When a woman has you all figured out, making the choice to leave you is far easier. There is nothing wrong with keeping a bit of intrigue in the relationship." "This is terrible." Victini wasn't exactly wrong, this type of approach to relationships worked for me since I hadn't truly fallen in love with anyone in my previous life as an adult. For short-term coupling likely until the children are out of the nest which was typical for Pokémon this could work out just fine. My techniques would start failing a year and a few months into the relationship. Victini's reminder did prompt me to add a little caveat to my advice. "Wingull if you truly love your next partner with all your heart. Throw everything I have been saying to you this past hour into the garbage bin." "Gull!?" "True love is mutual if you find the right Pokémon all these extra techniques are not necessary. Just keep showing your affection and give her plenty of kisses that'll do just fine." "Gull!" We were walking along the raised land mass stretching out all the way to the outskirts of Mauville City. Wingull let us know that the berry trees were just on the other side so we were going in the right general direction. We made it across and as we did so Wingull flew off my arm and emoted me and the rest of our group to follow him and his buddies into a thicket of bushes. Completely trusting the veracity of Wingull's claim about the rare berry trees I covered my face while following him and his crew into the tangle of thick flora. "I can't see much from my position! Wingull, could you make some noise so I know where to go?" "Gull! Gull!" "Thanks!" Like that we navigated the thick brush. I recalled Numsy inside his ball, he was much bigger and only one of us had to endure the thick spines, nettle, poison ivy and all the other rage inducing foliage I would encounter inside. Victini was in the air following around the group of wingull. I had Tranquill retire to her ball after promising her some of the leftover berries. She didn't care much for Wingull but no Pokémon would refuse to partake in some interesting new berries. The egg was still in my arms protected from the spiny environment by the thick polycarbonate glass. Things continued on like that for a while, me being stung by the occasional plant I brushed past while trying to follow wingull's voice until we entered a clearing. There they stood four nanab berry trees and two Leppa berry trees standing in a closed circle formation. My group and the wingulls weren't the only ones present in the clearing. A pack of six electrike seemed to be enjoying themselves munching on some fallen berries, that is until we came into the picture. "Grrr…." "Easy there, we just came to visit, no need for things to get violent... Wingull, you know these Pokémon?" It seems that he did, Wingull flew up close to the biggest one, probably the leader of this pack and they exchanged a few barks and squawks together. "Electrike is upset because Wingull brought in newcomers to their secret berry spot." 'How come these electrike are willing to share this spot with a bunch of wingull? They could easily scare them off with a few sparks of lightning.' "Hold on… It seems that these electrike are poor climbers and using shocks to shoot down the berries ruins the taste. So, they made a deal with the wingull. An even split if their group agrees to bring down berries that have finished growing." "Fascinating, normally Pokémon of diametrically opposing types don't associate with one another but in this case, they have decided to form a mutually beneficial relationship. Wingull!" "Gull?" "Let me try something." I pulled out the cooler box from inside my backpack, opened it and pulled out some of my more low-end berries. "Electrike?" "Ruff?" "Me and my team would really like to taste some of these berries. Nanab berries are hard to find in human markets; even leppa that hasn't been sealed in a wax layer to preserve them should taste totally different. How about we trade you some of our own berries in exchange? We have oran, persim, chesto and cheri berries." I showed Electrike some of the goods hoping he'd go for it. Electrike in turn seeing as I wasn't just going to mooch off of them for free calmed down somewhat. A quick bark and I was surrounded by his pack they sniffed some of my wares to check the quality. Seemingly satisfied with my peace offering they each took a single berry out of the container. "Hey!" "Sharing is caring Tini. At least this way we get to taste test those Nanab berries." The pack leader gave us his tacit assent to go berry picking from their trees. Emboldened Victini floated off into the canopy to go help wingull and his crew pick ripened berries. "Remember! Nanab berries need to be pink and soft on the inside. If they're still green don't pick them!" "Got it!" 'I wonder how Zinnia is doing?' POV Change - Zinnia Being all alone in the house was boring! The only time mommy has time for me is when I have to read boring school books. After that she leaves me alone to go gossip with the other mommies. Dad says that everyone in the village is family, so he doesn't have much time to spend with me.Horsea sticks with me at all times. We have a blast playing at the local river together. I don't have many other friends here since I am still considered an outsider, but that's going to change real soon. Mommy says the villagers just have to get to know me.At home we only had a single fishbowl for Horsea. The bowl gets really uncomfortable and he prefers his poké ball, but he puts up with it just to stay close with me. Brother really got me the best Pokémon ever! Whenever I mention digging out a pond so horsea would be more comfortable, daddy says he'll think about it. I am sure one of these days when I get home there will be a pond there waiting for us. "Sea Sea!" We were playing at the river like usual Horsea painting images on the water with his ink, while I tried to guess their meaning. Horsea lived in the ocean all his life so that's what most of his paintings are about. "Uhmm Coral?" "Sea…" "No uhmm… Corsola?" "Sea Sea!" "Yay! I got it. Brother taught me all about Pokémon!" "That looks fun, can I play too?"A gentle looking big sister is standing next to us near the river's shore. I think I have seen her before joining a meeting with all those grumpy old people my daddy calls elders. She was wearing a big cloak with cool looking ornamental shoulder pads. "It's okay, pretty lady, me and Horsea are outsiders. I don't want you to get bullied too." Suddenly I felt really comfortable and before I noticed what was happening, I found myself being hugged by the mysterious lady. "There there, you've been feeling very lonely, haven't you? From now on you'll be my little sister and it's a big sister's responsibility to look after the little one. The name's Aster but you aren't allowed to call me that." "Big sister Aster… My name is Zinnia!" "Wrong! Say it better." "Big sister." "That's good, now let's start playing. What do you call this game of yours?" "My big brother calls it Pictionary. We take turns drawing and the other player has to guess what it is. Usually, it's just Horsea using his ink on the water's surface to draw the pictures, I don't have any crayons to make drawings so I use this stick that I found to make an image in the sand." "It's your turn now, right? Give it a go." "Hmm Okay!" 'I'll draw a Pokémon! One she won't know anything about.' I started drawing the round shape of an apple in the sand with two eyes popping out of the stem and a small lizard-like tail. When I was done, I turned around to let big sister appreciate my work of art. "Wooow what an amazing drawing! This is an Applin right? To think you've seen one before. They aren't really that well known outside of the Galar and Paldea regions." "No way! Big brother taught me all about different dragon types. Do you know big brother?" "The clan keeps records that go back as far as 2000 years ago. Naturally we keep track of all the different dragon types you can find across the globe. We even keep a few of these exotic types ourselves. Your brother must be very well traveled to have seen this species of Pokémon." "Brother says he read it in a book somewhere listing numerous foreign species. He told me Applin hides itself from bird Pokémon who want to eat it by burrowing inside an apple. Then it evolves based on what type of apple it picked. Up to three different branching evolutions! My brother is really smart right?" "Yes, but you must be just as smart being able to remember all of that. I am pretty sure I haven't heard mention of your family having another member. Is your brother not part of the tribe?" "No… daddy and mommy came back while my brother was out on his journey and now, I live with them here in the village. Brother caught Horsea for me and send him back to Hoenn so I wouldn't be lonely." "Sea!" "Well then that means your big brother must be pretty cool thinking ahead for his little sister like that. Do you want to be a Pokémon trainer when you grow up?" "Yes! I want to be the best dragon type specialist around. I'll go catch lots of friends and become Champion. Big brother is too lazy to become one, so I'll just do it for him. For now, it's just me and Horsea but we've been training really hard!" "Really? What moves does Horsea know?" "Uhm… water gun, leer, and smokescreen. We are super close to him learning twister! Horsea just doesn't really understand dragon type energy yet." "Sea…" "How about I help you two out then? Big sis knows all about dragon type energy. My Dragonair can show your young Horsea here how to expertly perform twister." "Really?! You'll help us?" "Fufufu. Of course, everything for my cute little sister. Just hand over Horsea I'll teach him how it feels to channel dragon energy." With that big sister stood up and stretched out her open palms in the direction of Horsea. Hesitantly I handed over my Pokémon to her hoping this wasn't all just some prank. While big sister held Horsea in her hands her hands and arms started glowing turquoise startling Horsea. "Calm down little one. Can you feel it? This is what a dragon's energy feels like." "Sea…!? Sea!" "Wow, cool! Can you teach me how to do that too? The glowy thing?" "It is a gift. I was born with the ability to do so." "Ow okay then! I guess it's like being extra smart or really tall. We all have advantages or disadvantages compared to others." Big sis released Horsea back into the river before turning to face me again. Meanwhile my Pokémon, delighted to be back in the water, sprayed some celebratory bubbles in our direction. "That is a very mature way of thinking about it. I am proud of you little sister. Now then, Horsea should be acclimatized to dragon energy. Have him attempt to perform twister once more." "Okay Horsea like we practiced. Flap your dorsal fin really hard using dragon energy!" "Sea!" Horsea tried really hard but all he managed to do was create a pleasant breeze. Disappointed, he stuck his head underwater to embarrassed to face us. This was when big sister came up with the solution to our problems. "He was using dragon energy during this latest attempt. Now he just needs instruction on how to form a tornado and I have the perfect partner for that. Go! Dragonair." "Wooow pretty! Can I touch her scales?" "You may, just don't touch under her chin she dislikes that." I moved my hand up and slowly rubbed one of dragonair's belly scales. 'Soft? But though as well. What if I do it like this?' "Preeee!" "Dragonair for sure likes you! Not even fellow clan members get her approval. You surely are my little sister Zinnia!" "Aste…. Uhmm Big sister, My brother says you can't find Dratini in Hoenn." "Indeed, these are some of the exotic dragons I talked about. One of our tribe members visited Johto once years ago to exchange pleasantries with the blackthorn clan, our many times removed sister clan. Once he decided to come back, he brought along with him a female dratini. Who after maturing eventually decided to grace one of our more unruly Salamence with her attention. Once a dragon type chooses a mate they bond for life and they reproduce very slowly. This one came out of one of the few eggs that happy couple produced. As an aquatic dragon type this one will be able to help your Horsea with mastering twister." "Thanks a lot, big sis!" "Let's give them a demonstration Dragonair!"