The next morning wasn't much better. The party had rested without incident, and Yan seemed perfectly fine despite the lack of sleep, but the rest of them were still exhausted. Kanzo's eyes looked better, but still not well at all.

"We need food," said Kabu. "You all wait here, and I'll swim across and bring some back."

"We can't let you go alone," said Lea.

"You don't know Hoenn," said Kaname, "What if you get hurt or go too far?"

"You all need rest," said Kabu. "I had almost nothing to do for our entire trip through the caves, and I hardly took any hits during the fight down there. I'm going, you're staying here. Kaname, you need to watch Kanzo, and Lea, you can protect them."

"No," said Yan, "I protect. Everyone else is tired."

"I meant," said Kabu, "That she needs to stay close to him and protect him, but you can keep watch in the water and chase things away."

"What about me?" said Pear. "I could help."

She didn't look like she wanted to - in fact, she still looked half asleep.

"You… I'll leave it up to you," said Kabu. "I don't think any of you are in any shape to be swimming or helping gather food. You just leave it to me for now, and I'll be back."

Kabu swam out over the bay fearlessly. It was only after he was nearly to the opposite shore that he realized Gyarados was underneath him in the water, intimidating any Pokémon that would try to get close. Gyarados left it at that, though, and Kabu went ashore alone, then into the forest. He'd gone west, in the direction he knew they would need to head anyway, to kill two birds with one stone.

While he looked for food, he also scouted the forest ahead of the others. He found a rock to roll back to the beach and leave as a marker in the sand, then went back into the forest for berries. Again, he kept note of where certain berries were and looked for something to help him carry them.

He spotted a large plant that was split in half hanging from a tree, with reddened insides facing the ground. When he approached to try and get it down, since it looked sturdy enough to use for the berries, it snapped shut and pulled away from him.

"Agh!" it said, "You're too big to eat!"

"You're a Pokémon?!" said Kabu.

The plant turned and dropped smoothly from the tree to rest on many small tendrils.

"I am," it said, "A Carnivine."

"Oh," said Kabu, "I was going to use you to carry food."

"Well, get lost," said Carnivine, "You're ruining my trap and I'm hungry!"

Kabu looked Carnivine over, very obviously sizing up the Grass Pokémon, but he ended up walking away and leaving Carnivine to resume waiting for prey.

Kabu ended up stumbling upon an old campsite humans had left behind for some reason. Most of it had been broken down correctly, then just left behind. Kabu rummaged about and found a tough towel that he sat down and tied to his tail, then returned to where he'd seen berries before - pointedly avoiding where Carnivine had been.

It took him more than an hour, but he managed to gather up a good variety of berries. He made his way for the edge of the forest to find his marker and swim back, but he found, very abruptly, that the weight on his tail was gone. He spun and saw nothing - until he looked up and saw Carnivine with the towel in its mouth, swinging through the trees and trying to escape.

"Hey!" yelled Kabu. He gave chase. "You bring that back! I need that for my friends!"

"We', 'ur f'ends're suckers! Hehehehehe!"

Kabu chased after Carnivine, but he had no way to catch the Pokémon without stopping to climb a tree. He decided to get creative and used the crest on his head to scoop a pebble off the ground, toss it back, and smack it with his tail. The first several missed, by far, but a lucky shot it Carnivine in its small, yellow body.

Carnivine was surprised by the hit, and in between trees, so it fell and landed unceremoniously. It didn't lose the berries, however, and instead turned and Power Whipped Kabu. Kabu was slammed against a nearby tree, but he recovered in time to dash forward and Tackle Carnivine. Carnivine was bowled over by Kabu - half its size, but just as heavy.

Now Carnivine did lose the towel, and instead scooped dirt and grass up with Stockpile, then used Vine Whip to distance itself from Kabu. Kabu saw it coming and used Counter - a move he'd picked up watching Kanzo use Vital Throw so many times. Carnivine's Vine Whip instead gave Kabu the strength to Dragon Tail it into a nearby boulder.

Before it got up, Carnivine used Stockpile again and scooped up more dirt and grass. When Kabu tried to push the advantage, Carnivine used Spit Up, and practically fired all the debris in its mouth like a cannon. Kabu was covered in mud, grass, and sickly-sweet smelling spit.

While Kabu was confused, Carnivine wiggled past and grabbed the bundle again, then scrambled up the nearest tree. Carnivine looked back when there was a flash of light, but it didn't see Kabu anywhere - until something slammed into it and they both tumbled to the ground in a tangle.

Strong hands grabbed Carnivine and something much heavier and stronger than a Jangmo-o wrestled Carnivine away from the berry bundle. Kabu, a Hakamo-o, held Carnivine up and used Dragon Claw in place of a punch. Carnivine hit the ground and slid over the grass.

"H-H-How did you catch me?!" demanded Carnivine.

"Come over here," said Kabu, "And I'll show you. Or get lost and find your own food!"

Carnivine used Growth, then rushed forward, only to stop short and lash out with Feint Attack. A vine cracked across Kabu's jaw, so Kabu grabbed it, pulled Carnivine in closer, and used Sky Uppercut for the second time. The jumping punch threw Carnivine into the air where Kabu flipped over and used Dragon Tail to smash Carnivine back down to the ground.

Kabu barely landed on his feet, but he recovered long before Carnivine did. Kabu beat his scales together and used Work Up, then stood his ground and waited for Carnivine to get up.

"Run away, thief," said Kabu. "I've never seen a Pokémon of your kind before, but let me tell you what I am! I am from the smoking mountains of Alola, far, far from here, from a clan of proud Dragons! I'm not just some forest dweller who ran into you by mistake; I have a goal, and the strength to achieve it! To you, this is just food to steal, but to me-"

Carnivine shoved off the ground and used Crunch, but Kabu used Counter again and hammered a fist onto the top of its head. Kabu bent to be eye level with Carnivine and continued.

"To me," he said, "That's food for my friends, who won't appreciate me being late. So, are you going to fight any longer, or will you run away and leave me to my job?"

Carnivine looked furious, but it was clearly also in a lot of pain. It wobbled upright and reached a vine up for a tree branch and retreated, but not before spitting Acid Spray at Kabu. Kabu threw up an arm to intercept the attack, then swept his arm down to throw the goo off his arm, more annoyed than anything by it - even when the move also threw one of his scales off his arm.

He picked up the - admittedly slightly wet - towel and hoped the water in the bay would wash off Carnivine's spit before he returned. With his more dexterous hands, he re-tied the towel around his neck instead of his tail, then set off to find the shore.

It wasn't until midway through the afternoon that he returned, despite leaving fairly early. When he got close enough that the others recognized him - by his colors and the large yellow scale on his head, they gathered to meet him, all concerned.

When he stepped out of the surf and took the towel from around his neck, most of that turned into surprise.

"Kabu?!" said Lea. "You evolved! What happened?!"

Kabu approached and set out the towel so they could all get to the food.

"It wasn't much of a big deal," said Kabu. "I was just hard-headed about keeping what I'd found. Some Grass Pokémon tried to steal this from me, so I chased it down and took it back. No big deal."

Kanzo chuckled weakly from where he was leaning against a boulder.

"If you say so," he said, "We're just glad you're ok. You were gone a long time, so we thought something might have happened to you. We were right - just… Not like we thought."

"Well," said Kabu, "I didn't get too much, so take what you can. Where's Yan? Out in the water somewhere?"

Pear, just about to put a berry in her mouth, paused.

"He, uhh," she said, "He went to get us food from underwater 'cause you were taking so long. He'll be back soon with more of those kinda gross water plant-things."

"Hey," said Lea, "I like those!"

"Don't complain, guys," said Kaname, "It just means we can store food for later again. Thanks a ton, Kabu; you found Rawst berries! I love Rawst berries!"

Yan returned shortly after, carrying Kelpsy and Passho berries, but nothing else. The group rested for the day after that, and passed another night on the beach for good sleep.

The next day, the party crossed the bay and followed Kabu through the area he had scouted, then further than that. They came across little sign of humans, but there were Pokémon everywhere that everyone but Kaname was new to. As the day stretched on, and then darkened to night, a thunderstorm rolled in over their heads.

By the morning after, it was raining, but none of them bothered to worry much about it. Only Kaname was frail enough that she might get sick, so Yan walked directly behind her so he hunched over her like an umbrella. The forests gave way to swamp, and, at last, the water forced them to stop when they reached a river that was flooding with the rain and flowing too quickly to cross.

"I can cross," said Yan. "One at a time, I can take you. Why not?"

"It's probably best we don't, Yan," said Kanzo. "We can't even see if we're going the right way anymore. It might be a good idea for us to just stay put."

"No, no," said Yan. "We cross. Either by swim, or throw."

"Thro-ooooooohhh!" said Kaname, just before Yan hauled off and threw her clear across the river. She used her Psychic to level out and slow herself down, but it still wasn't a pretty landing.

"Ooooooooone," said Yan. He turned to the others, who all backed up a step.

"Uhh! That's ok!" said Lea.

"Yeah," said Pear, "We can go through the water! Like you said, one at a- Wait, wait! No, come on!"

Yan picked up Pear, who was closer and ignored her yelling.

"Ok! Kaname! Catch!"

"Wait, waaaaaaaaaaaaait!"

Yan threw Pear and she, too, cleared the river. Kaname used Psychic to catch Pear and set her down much more gently than Kaname herself had landed.

Yan reached for Lea, but she showed her blades and stepped back further, toward Kanzo.

"No," said Lea, with force. "If you touch me, I'll cut off your arm! I- Hey!"

Kanzo picked her up, but rather than throw her, he put her up on his shoulders.

"Calm down," said Kanzo. "Just stay with me. If he won't just swim across, we can."

Kabu jumped in the river and swam across, but ended up quite a bit downstream from the party. Kanzo did the same, but he was able to get across before he got so far away. Yan, on the other hand, practically went straight across the river with little effort.

The party regrouped… But Kaname and Pear wouldn't stand near Yan.

"Hey, hey," said Yan, "I didn't mean to hurt you. Just tried to cross quick. Cross with everyone, with no waiting."

"Do you know," said Kaname, "What it's like to be picked up and thrown like that?! How would you like it if-"

"Yes," said Yan. "I do. I was. As Wimpod. Many times."

"Then you know that it's-"

"Scary? Yes. But smaller Pokémon are safer when falling. And the river is dangerous! What if you lose grip? What if I lose grip? Washed away, down the river. Gone?"

Pear and Kaname looked at each other. They each looked at their respective hands - spiked but smooth for one, and nubs without fingers for the other.

"Well," said Pear, "We still could'a went with Kanzo or something. Ya didn't have to just chuck us through the air like that. Or we could've waited, like Kanzo said."

Yan fitted his large clawed hands together and dipped his head a few times.

"Yes, yes," he said, "Sorry to scare you. I won't do it again."

Kaname hung her head and stopped hiding behind Kanzo.

"Good," she said, "Now I'm freaked out and all wet. Can we go now? Just, away from the river, I think. We're in the swamps, and we'll be here a good while after this. We should just get moving."

"I wish we had somewhere to hide from the storm," said Kanzo.

"There might be some caves up ahead," said Kaname. "If we can make it to the big river next to the road, I know there's some places to hide. Come on…"

They all started off again.

The group never made it far enough to see the river Kaname was talking about. The rolling thunder and pouring rain refused to let up, but their luck wasn't completely awful; some Pokémon who were already hiding from the storm called out to them, and one of them even ran out of the shelter to fetch them.

A big, blue mudfish came running up to them.

"Hey! You all don't look like Water Pokémon! Come on, get out of the storm! What're you all thinking running around out here?!"

She beckoned to them and didn't wait, heading back for the shallow cave she and other Pokémon were hiding in. When Kaname turned to follow, the others did too, so she explained.

"She's a Swampert. They're pretty tough, but she seems nice enough. At least we won't be getting rained on anymore."

The group followed Swampert into a cave that looked less natural than they were expecting. It almost looked like a burrow with a wide opening, and most of it was packed with clay to keep the water out. A group of four Mudkip were in the burrow as well, along with another Swampert.

Yan had to hunch down much more than usual, but he managed to fit, so he kept himself off to one side by himself to avoid making anyone else uncomfortable.

"Whoa, hey!" said one of the Mudkip, "Look at 'em all! What kind of Pokémon are you?!"

"There's no reason to be rude," said the other Swampert, clearly their father. "Sorry, but they haven't met any Pokémon outside the community yet. Still too young to go further than the burrow and the lake."

"I don't mind," said Kanzo. "It wasn't too long ago that I was the same way."

"Really?!" said one of the Mudkip.

"Well," said Kanzo, "My dad… He was taken away, see, so I had to leave and try to help him. It was just me and him, back home."

"Oh," said their father. "I see. Are you from Mt. Chimney? Is your dad alright?"

"We, uhh," said Kaname, "They're not from Hoenn. I'm helping them get to Chimney, because we… We lost his father's trail, but we know where he's being taken. We all need to be stronger than we are now to help him-"

"So you're going to Mt. Chimney to train," finished the mother. "Well, well, small world. I used to live near the mountain so I could participate in tournaments with the Fighting types."

She patted her left arm with her right and flexed.

"I almost won a few, ya know. Even just one'll help you out a lot, especially if you can really hang in there and make it to the later rounds! Heck, once the storm calms down, I bet I could show you a thing or two!"

The father rubbed his chin.

"I didn't know that," he said. "How long ago was that?"

"Oh, please," said the mother, "And show my age? It wasn't too long before I met you. In fact, I was leaving the mountain to head for my old home near here when we met. I told you this is where I'm from."

The two started off on their own conversation, so the party huddled together to talk amongst themselves and warm up after drying off had cooled them down.

The Swampert parents noticed and stopped.

"Oh," said the father, "I'm sorry. I'm Lars, by the way. My wife's Tani."

The group introduced themselves, which prompted the Mudkip to ask after what they could do, or what other details they could add.

"Ahh," said Lea, "Well, obviously, I've got all these blades, and I'm a Steel type. I've gotta stay sharp, so Pokémon like me live near rivers to use the round stones from river beds to sharpen ourselves. When I evolve, I'll be a Bisharp, and a lot bigger and stronger."

Kabu smacked his arms together, using his scales to make a clattering noise.

"I evolved from a Jangmo-o not too long ago," he said. "My type of Pokémon are great Dragons from Alola, over the ocean and far away. When we're young, we train together, and our parents help us and keep us safe. When we evolve, like I have, we go on a master's journey, to discover our true strength. If we succeed, we evolve again, into Kommo-o - the fiercest fighters of any Dragon Pokémon in the world!"

Pear raised a brow, but she didn't shoot him down.

"I'm a Cacnea, like I said," she said, "And most of us are from Hoenn, but out west in the desert. I don't know a lot about my evolution. I've never met another Cacnea. I was with my trainer and his daughter ever since I hatched."

"Really?" asked Kanzo. "Then why come with us? Wouldn't you have liked to go find them?"

Pear fidgeted a bit, but she continued.

"I do want to see them again, someday," said Pear, "But I was curious, and they already have plenty of other, stronger Pokémon with them. They didn't need me. And I thought if I came with you, I might evolve too, so I could help protect my trainer's daughter - or be her first Pokémon someday."

It was surprisingly heartfelt, and no one immediately had something to say in response, so Pear patted Kaname on the back.

"Oh! Uhh! I… Guess I'm next!" said Kaname. "I'm a Kirlia, and I was born in Hoenn as a Ralts. My sister and I were going to travel to Sinnoh, far away to the north, to be with family after my mother died… But my sister disappeared during the trip, and Kanzo here picked me up when I was all alone.

I'm sure my sister is fine - I'd sense if she wasn't, I think - but I was always a burden to her anyway. I felt like Kanzo needed me, even if I wasn't very strong when we first met. So far, I think I made the right choice coming back to Hoenn with him. Someday, I'll find my sister, and I'll be a lot stronger when I do. If she's in trouble, I'll save her… But I think she's ok for now."

"I did need your help," said Kanzo, "And you've been a big help the entire time. I don't know where I'd be without you, but it definitely wouldn't be here! Anyway, we can talk about that later- I'm a Machoke. I'm a Fighting type who never gets tired of work or training! I can still wear out like any Pokémon in a fight, but aside from being able to tough it out, there's not much special about my type of Pokémon."

"I disagree," said Yan. "You have fingers."

He held up a clawed hand and waved it.

"I am a Golisopod," said Yan. "Used to be tiny Wimpod. Tiny like you all. Even smaller, I think. Everything was scary! If you're small, you're eaten! I was separated from other Wimpod. Other Pokémon helped me since, but they've helped me longest. They respected me - gave me jobs. I evolved to save them."

"And you did," said Kaname. "We were cooked until you evolved out of nowhere!"

"Well," said Tani, "It sounds like you all have had quite the journey already. And you still want to go all the way to Mt. Chimney?"

"We have to fight Team Rocket to save my dad," said Kanzo.

Tani and Lars looked at each other.

"Are they like Team Magma or Aqua?" asked Lars.

"There's two here?!" said Kanzo. He looked at Kaname. She nodded, her expression something like apologetic.

"Well," said Tani, "You shouldn't have to worry about them. Humans leave the colony alone - probably because it's one of the few places we Pokémon will still stand and fight to protect. Go figure, with all the headstrong Fighting types that live there."

"You all should try and get some rest," said Lars. "These storms can last a good while. At least dry off, warm up, and take break before you leave again."

No one objected to that, but they also didn't stay long. Before the storm was up, they collectively agreed to not overstay their welcome, and the party returned to traveling through the storm.

Later in the evening, just when they were preparing to stop for the night, they came to another flooded river. This time, when they crossed, it was by swimming. Kanzo took Kaname and Lea, so Yan took Pear while Kabu swam by himself.

Kanzo crossed without incident, made sure Kaname and Lea were on solid ground, then they turned to make sure the others were safe. They saw Kabu crossing in the dark, but not Yan and Pear. Kanzo used Foresight to look for them.

"Uhh," said Pear, "Y-Yan? Yan?! Yan, I'm slipping out! Yan?! Y-"

When Kanzo spotted Yan, Pear was no longer wedged near his chest. Without the ability to make expressions, it was hard to read Yan's reaction as he got out of the river. He paused a moment, while everyone was stunned, but then…

"You watch others. Meet at Chimney."

And with that, Yan whirled back and dove in the river, gone.