After Katarina abruptly brought me to the center, we prepared for the upcoming day to move out. I had no reason to stay in Nacrene City anyway besides giving Lenora her book back.

To my surprise however, she allowed me to take it with me whenever I had time to myself. I didn't know what she was thinking to let me keep the small relic, but questioning it at this point was too late because we were already inside Pinwheel Forest.

As for Finder, whenever I thought about him, I just couldn't help but click my tongue. I didn't hate him, but to say he was on my good side wouldn't be correct either. Not to mention the weird way he found out I was a Branded.

"Achoo!"

Oh god, this cold was going to kill me.

"Scolipede," Katarina chided, and I gave her a flat stare.

"Sure, like I was supposed to know Finder was going to drench me," I said, taking out a napkin before blowing my nose. After getting rid of any excess snout that was going to come back with a vengeance anyway, I stood up on Katarina's back, leaning my hand on her neck.

"How are you holding up?" I asked her.

"Pede," she answered firmly, but I narrowed my gaze.

"You've been at it for more than two hours. I don't doubt your stamina, but overexerting yourself isn't healthy." I took a quick glance around the forest and found a decent spot for camping. "Let's rest over there. It's getting late anyway."

Katarina let out a small disappointed sigh. She tilted her body to the left, slowing her jog down to a trot before stopping, allowing me to safely dismount her. It certainly was a new experience to ride Katarina, not to mention how it sped things up tremendously. I would be lying if I said I didn't like it either.

I called Diana out of her pokéball. She appeared with a small bark while I knelt down to her and patted her head.

"Help me find some kindling," I told her. She gave a nod and started hopping around the forest until she smelled Katarina next to her. She narrowed her gaze— or at least the fur that hid her eyes seemed to shift— before jerking her head away, her lips pressed into a fine line.

Katarina only gave Diana a questioning eyebrow before shaking her head and walking to me.

"Scolipede?" she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts before I put a hand to my chin. I looked around the forest but there were no logs that would be big enough to keep a steady flame. It was getting colder, and the last thing I needed was for my cold to worsen.

"How sharp are those horns of yours?" I asked her.

"Scol?" she said before looking up at her two antlers with narrowed eyes filled with curiosity. Instead of asking what I wanted her to do, she came close to a tree that was barely bigger than her before her horns began glowing in a pale green light.

"Scolipede!" She shouted while swinging her head in a wide arc before her horns dug deep into the wood with a loud thwack. The antlers were halfway through, and with one big push, the tree collapsed under Katarina's weight while I gazed at the display with awe.

Well, at least we didn't need to worry about the fuel for the fire.

Katarina huffed triumphantly, proud of her newfound strength before I heard a growl behind me. I turned around and spotted Diana with her mouth full of small twigs, glaring at Katarina intensely. Once she realized I was looking at her, she immediately dropped the kindling and rushed off to find more.

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes. "Looks like we have more than me to talk about."

I shook my head before looking up at Katarina, her head still held high over the fallen tree. "Chop them up into smaller pieces. I'll get a camp ready."

Luckily, it didn't take long to find some large rocks to create a makeshift campfire. I used the kindling Diana brought over and set it up nicely, ready to be lit once Katarina was done chopping down the tree.

Soon enough, we had a fire with a pot filled with the usual ingredients to make a simple stew, as I was not really keen on making anything special. The topic— well, topics now because Diana seemed bothered by something as well— were crucial to discuss. I didn't need our team to shatter just because somebody wasn't willing to spill the beans.

Yet the silence we ate in was honestly suffocating, and I wouldn't be surprised if none of us enjoyed our meals because of it. Every time we were in Pinwheel Forest, something was just either nagging us, or we were bringing down Team Plasma, or—

Wait.

Team Plasma was trying to steal both wild and trainer's Pokémon, and their overall message was to bring the world into a new era of Pokémon free from trainers...

"Oh for fuck's sake," I said out loud, facepalming in the process. "I had to realize that now, didn't I?"

I wasn't completely sure, but if N's words about Team Plasma were true and he was one of them, it made me wonder what he got himself into.

To say I was worried would be an understatement.

"Dei?" Diana asked, lifting her head from her bowl.

"It's… way too complicated for a single talk. We'll discuss it later." I knew the irony of my words, but we had a more pressing topic, one that had me turn to Diana. "So, what's wrong?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Deino?"

"I saw you growling earlier. You're not one to do that for no reason," I said. "I just want to know what's bothering you before it boils over. It's never good to hold on to what you feel."

She didn't answer at first, only staring at her bowl contemptibly before looking away. "Deino."

A sigh escaped my lips. "Look, I don't want any infighting between us, Diana. If there is something on your mind that bothers you about anybody here, let's hear it."

I then forced a smile. "Besides, I think we're in for a long journey ahead of us, and we need to tolerate each other."

Diana's head slumped at my words, her unease evident with how she shifted her feet around before snapping her head towards Katarina, a snarl plastered on her features.

"Deino, dei!" she shouted, taking Katarina aback. She started barking all kinds of words, getting more hurtful with each cry while stomping her feet around to emphasize her point. It made Katarina more and more uncomfortable before her posture slacked.

"Scol—"

"Deino!" She interrupted her before continuing her rant, unrelenting and loud, until she began to slow down. Her cries became quieter while she grit her teeth, until they came to an abrupt halt. Heavy growls eventually became small whimpers, and she began sniffing uncontrollably while I could only stare at her.

My shoulders sagged before I stood up and walked towards Diana with an expression I myself couldn't describe. It was a mixture of sadness, relief, and disappointment at the same time.

Diana lifted her head to look up at me and started to back off while letting out a few desperate growls to keep me at bay, as if she was ready for any punishment I would dish out.

All I could do, however, was to quickly embrace her, making her let out a small yelp.

"You idiot," I said, clutching her as tightly as I could. "Do you truly think that?"

Her mouth hung open for only a moment before she leaned her head on my shoulder, letting out a sniff. "Deino…"

"Then let all those worries go, Diana," I soothed, patting her head in the process. "You aren't dead weight, nor inferior in any way. Anything that would tell you otherwise is wrong."

Diana shook her head before burying it deep into my coat. "Deino, dei."

"So what if Katarina is fully evolved? It doesn't make any difference to me," I countered. "Don't rush things, okay? You can take as long as you need to if evolving is your wish, both me and Katarina will be here for you."

I then looked up to see the aforementioned Scolipede looming over us, her half-lidded eyes emitting worry before I looked back down at Diana. "I'm sure Katarina only thinks the same."

Diana finally lifted her head to meet Katarina eye to eye, let out a reassuring, "Scolipede."

"Deino?" Diana asked, and Katarina gave her a firm nod, making her break our hug. She was still sniffing, but that didn't stop her from weakly biting into my coat, slowly but surely nibbling on it.

I could only chuckle at her antics. "That's the Diana I know. And look, it only took so little to say what you needed to out loud."

She stopped before hanging her head low. "Deino."

"Don't feel bad about it. I told you to let it all out," I said, putting up a smile. "Even if the beginning was a little harsh."

Diana turned her head away while tucking her lips. "Dei."

Katarina shook her head in understanding while letting out a "Scol", before turning to me with a pointed look.

"Scol, scolipede," she said, making me grow stiff.

"You… want to say something to me?" I asked, earning me a nod from her before she let out her own set of words that made my eyes widen. They varied from thankful whines to demanding growls, all of which boiled down to how she saw me as her trainer.

"—pede, scol," she finished, making me click my tongue.

"Is it really wrong for me to worry about you whenever you fight? I think I already went too far in that gym," I said but that only made Katarina loudly stomp her hoof.

"Scolipede!" she said, narrowing her eyes in the process.

"I don't want to push you too hard!" I said while defiantly getting up from the ground against the giant centipede. Suddenly, Diana walked next to Katarina, and the two gave each other a nod before she stomped with her own foot.

"Deino," she agreed, as if the talk we had seconds ago reinvigorated her will to fight as well.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips before I looked at the two dead in the eyes. "Fine, if harsh training is what you want then I'll give you just that."

I then plopped on my rear with a dull thud before crossing my arms. "But not today."

"Deino/Scolipede!?" They both shouted before I shushed them with another pointed look.

"Because there is one thing we need to talk about," I said before I lowered my head. "And I think you two deserve to know."

They calmed down, but they weren't patient if their leaning heads were anything to go by.

"Do you know what a Branded is?" I was met with two incredulous looks, making me facepalm. "How was I not expecting that?"

I leaned my head against my hands, thinking on how to explain what my situation was to them, only for me to groan. "I guess the best way would be to show it."

I focused down at my two Pokémon as much as I possibly could, never letting my eyes off of them while they only waited dumbfoundedly for what I was trying to pull off. I was honestly asking the same question as well, but eventually, I saw the familiar fireflies appear. They flew about with no rhyme or reason, but it seemed Katarina and Diana still hadn't reacted at all, making me focus even more tightly.

The back of my head suddenly began to throb, but I ignored it while the fireflies began surrounding my partners until their outlines were fully covered by them, but they still didn't react.

Blinking once, the edges of my vision were tinted with light gold and it was then that Katarina's own eyes widened.

"Scolipede!?" she let out, jumping slightly away from me while Diana only stood there with no idea why Katarina reacted like that.

"Deino?" she asked, calming Katarina down before she leaned in and whispered a few words. Diana only tilted her head to the side, confused, making Katarina lightly groan before explaining thoroughly what was happening.

In the meantime, I picked up a phone and turned on a face camera, allowing me to see my golden irises. I couldn't help but flinch at the sight. It looked like I was wearing a pair of colored contact lenses, but I knew that wasn't the case.

I put my cellphone away before switching my attention back at the two and heard a loud "Deino!?" from Diana. She snapped her head towards Katarina, asking her one more question to which she curtly nodded. Diana inched closer to me, choosing her steps carefully.

"Dei deino?" she asked, to which I nodded.

"I'm fine, it's just…" I trailed off before looking away. The fireflies that kept swirling around the two made my eyes hurt. "I just didn't know I was capable of doing something like this. It's kind of annoying actually."

I turned back at the two and saw Katarina visibly flinch a little under my sight while Diana was still passive, but as I gazed at the two more closely, the fireflies were… different.

Not visually, but the way they moved around wasn't quite the same. Diana's fireflies were darting around from place to place, creating small sparks whenever they turned. Katarina's were calm, moving slowly around her in a rhythmic and unrelenting fashion, like a tidal wave that could easily swallow you whole if you weren't careful.

I was honestly having a hard time decoding what those fireflies were doing. So much so that I completely forgot I was staring at my Pokémon with a somewhat-creepy gaze. Katarina's protest was the thing that snapped me out of my trance, but the fireflies didn't go away, making the back of my head hurt even more.

The little bigs began to flicker in and out. Keeping my eyes open was getting harder with each passing second before they instinctively closed. I brought a hand on my head to ease the pain but that did little to help.

I heard a set of steps coming closer with an accompanied whine from Diana, hoping that I was alright. Once the throbbing headache was gone, I was able to open my eyes again, but not only were the fireflies gone, the edges of my vision weren't gold anymore.

What was happening to me?

"Dei!" I heard Diana shout, mouth full with a plastic water bottle that she then forced into my hands. She gave me a curt nod, encouraging me to drink up, and I only complied. Once I drained the bottle of all the water it had, I let out a content sigh while the headache slowly but surely faded away.

"Scolipede?" Katarina asked, to which I bobbed my head.

"Yeah, better. I didn't know it would make my head hurt," I said, looking down at the plastic bottle before crushing it and stuffing it back into my bag. "I can only hope this fact won't ruin our friendship."

Both of them shook their heads, each with a form of a smile on their features before Diana asked, "Dei dei dei?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. I knew for my entire life I didn't have the ability to turn my eyes gold on will, but now? I'm not sure what I am capable of anymore. On top of that, I can't help but feel… a little different since I got here, like something I had was replaced."

They both tilted their heads, having no idea what I was talking about, which made me sigh since I had no idea either. "It's a nagging feeling more than anything."

"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you knew this because if I am going to become your trainer, I think I should be a little more transparent about my problems"— a scowl formed on my features—"I don't need a repeat."

The two looked at each other before sitting down next to me, Katarina enveloping herself around me while Diana came to my lap. That took me aback, but I couldn't help but smile at them,

"Thank you."

"Deeeei."

"Scolipede."

I honestly wouldn't mind if we stayed like this forever. I was blessed with two caring, if a little needy, companions that I wouldn't give up on any time soon, which made an idea light up in my head.

"Hey, how would you two feel about a new partner?"

They lifted their heads, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"Deino?" Diana asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know who yet, but I'm sure an opportunity will present itself in time. We need to be a party of three to take on the rest of the gym badges after all"—a chuckle escaped my lips—"and to balance out our team filled with strong women."

Well, two small bruises were the last thing on my mind on that night anyway.

{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}

The rest of the trek through Pinwheel Forest was surprisingly uneventful, if I discount the fact that the place crawled with trainers and their Pokémon. I didn't know how I missed them on my way to Nuvema Town, but since I was riding Katarina, it discouraged any of them from challenging me.

Part of me felt a little disappointed, but at least it didn't slow our march to Castelia City, and the giant city was as big as I remembered. Even though I lived in a capital myself, each had a different structure that always made it unique, and Castelia was no exception.

Since nothing was stopping me from admiring the place, I took my time and explored the city a little. Stalls with endless lines of people waiting for them to open, buildings that could pierce the skies if they wanted to, and, to top it all off, several out-of-place Pokémon centers that looked radically different than anything else around them.

Seriously, these people were dedicated when they wanted to be.

Eventually, I was able to find the vaping shop Finder pointed out and headed inside to get myself a stress-reliever for whenever I needed it. Judge me, but when I took a swing, my lungs accepted the nicotine with vigor, allowing me to calm my senses.

Sadly, that didn't last long.

I saw a bird Pokémon with a very bushy mane flying at high speed right toward me before it rammed right into my gut, knocking the wind out of my lungs and causing me to let go of my cigarette. The bird caught it with its beak before flying off into the distance, but not far enough for me to not see it.

"You little," I said, staring daggers at the bird.

"Ruffles! Come back!" I heard a small boy spriting his way through the crowd, looking up at the bird with desperation in his eyes before he bumped into me. He let out a yelp and then quickly apologized before he went back to chasing the bird.

Now, I could just simply ignore the bird and get myself a new cigarette because the shop was quite literally behind me, but I was too much of a cheapskate to let that bird have its way.

I followed the kid down the street while still keeping an eye on that bird, but it never flew off far, only out of hand's reach, like it was taunting the little boy. I could understand if a trainer didn't behave well to their Pokémon, but this was the first time seeing one disobeying their trainer willingly.

It was a new sight, seeing a Pokémon not behaving properly.

"Come on, Ruffles! Mom is going to be mad if I don't come back soon!" the boy said, but Ruffles only gave him a small glance as it kept flying far off out of the street, and eventually to the harbor.

Ruffles found a sail of a boat to sit on before putting my cigarette down and started poking it with its beak, making me cringe slightly at the thought of what that device would look like if I would get it back.

"Come down, Ruffles!" the boy shouted, but to no avail.

"Hey," I said, making the boy yelp again, jerking his entire body to face me. Now that I saw him better, calling him a boy would be a bit insulting, even if he barely reached my chest. He looked to be an early teenager with a messy long brown mop and brown eyes, wearing a blue shirt and white shorts.

I was honestly surprised the boy wasn't cold.

Once the boy recognized me, he immediately bowed down. "I'm so sorry that I bumped into you, sir! I didn't mean it!"

Being called 'sir' certainly didn't feel great, but I let it slide.

"You don't have to call me sir, Radko will do just fine," I said, forcing a smile before looking up at the bird. "You certainly have your hands full with your Ruffles."

The boy took the invitation, ignoring the awkward start we had. "Yeah, Ruffles was antsy since I let him out of his pokéball and didn't let me call him back."

He then began to fiddle around with his fingers. "But sir,"—I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little—"why are you here?"

"Your little rascal took something from me and I would be glad if he gave it back."

"Oh! I'm so sorry for the trouble! I—"

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault, at least not entirely," I said with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure there has to be a way to make him come down."

The fact was that I didn't know how, not yet at least.

I put a hand on my chin while staring up at Ruffles before a set of fireflies involuntarily surrounded him, making me stiff. I tried to make sure the boy didn't see me, but thankfully, his eyes were now glued at the bird, trying to find an answer, just like myself.

A silent sigh escaped my lips before I focused more on the fireflies, seeing how they darted around similarly like Diana's, but then something struck me as odd. They were clumping around Ruffle's stomach for some reason, as if the little bugs were trying to tell me something.

They did give me an idea though, and it was at least worth a try.

I didn't know how to make the fireflies disappear, but once I switched my gaze at my bag and then back at Ruffles, they were gone, like they never were there in the first place. I shook my head before digging out an Oran Berry from my bag.

The boy saw what I was doing but couldn't help but raise both of his brows while I took a step closer to the boat.

"Hey, Ruffles!" I shouted, earning the bird's attention. "How about we make a small trade? I'll give this berry and you'll give me my thing back."

The bird narrowed its gaze at me before spotting the berry in my hand, instantly perking up. He picked up the cigarette and took off from the sail, eagerly landing right in front of me. He stared at my berry and jumped up, but I backed off.

"No, first my thing, and then you get the berry," I said, making Ruffles pout before it let go of the narrow black cylinder and pushed it my way. I picked it up, silently thankful there weren't any big scratch marks, and stuffed it inside one of my coat pockets.

"Good boy. Now, come get your treat," I said, prompting the bird to fly up and perch itself on my shoulder before I offered him the berry. He began pegging it just like my cigarette, leaving behind bite-small holes in the blue fruit.

The boy could only stare with his jaw slightly hanging open while giving Ruffles enough time to eat the entire berry almost immediately before Ruffles let out a content, "Ruuuuf."

"I guess not everyone is themselves when they are hungry," I said, scratching Rufflet's mane, earning a happy purr.

"How… how did you do that?" the boy asked.

"You saw for yourself, your little bird was just a little desperate for a snack."

"Well yeah, but how did you figure that out?"

"Sometimes, you have to cast the right bait to get your catch." Of course I couldn't tell him the truth, but half-truths were similarly effective.

"Now," I picked up Ruffles and perched it on top of the boy's own shoulder, the bird only complying. "Be sure to feed the guy often, he shouldn't be a handful if you do."

The boy couldn't help but radiate admiration on top of having a determinant smile. "Of course! Thank you so much, sir!"

I, on the other hand, sighed. "Look, if somebody asks you to call them by their name, try to comply, alright?"

I was sure my words probably flew right over the boy's head, but all I could hope for was that he would take my word for it.

"Right, thank you again," he said with several nods before letting out a gasp.

"Oh no," He shook his head and recalled Ruffles into his pokéball. "I have to go back to my mom! Thanks, mister Radko!"

…he could have at least left out the 'mister' part.

AN: Well, sorry for the long wait. I know I've been a little silent for a while, because real life is not kind to me. Also, I was working on a project for another fandom that ate some of my time, but since it's the anniversary of my first fic today, I thought of treating every ongoing fic I have right now with an update.

Well, except for two because I'm not a writing machine.

With that said, a giant thanks to the Fanfiction Treehouse for the support, and Cavik for beta reading today's chapter. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing without them.

If you want to join our discord server, here is the link: gg/9XG3U7a

God's speed.