"Huh...Nice, ain't it?"

I took in a big breath of the fresh farmland air; it smelled of sweet hay and dry grass.

"Change of scenery from the big cities, eh? I'm gonna go look for some Trainers to fight. You game?"

{I think I'll do some exploring first; maybe see what kinds of Pokémon are around here.}

Rotom did his job, as usual.

"Fine with me. Good luck finding stuff!"

Hau immediately went up to challenge an older Trainer tossing a Poké Ball in hand and pitched a battle. I passed them by down the path as I watched his Brionne deal a good portion of damage to his opponent's odd-looking Rock-Type Pokémon.

{Rotom, what kind of Pokémon is that?}

"Allow me!"

He did a quick scan from the distance we were at, and the image of the Pokémon appeared on his screen.

"Carbink: the Jewel Pokémon! They use their soft manes to polish the gems of their own kind. Sometimezzz, they're dug up from Underground during cave excavations!"

{Interesting...How strong are they?}

"Zzrt! According to the statzzz, they have extremely high defense, but their attacking abilities are, uh...lacking."

{Hmm...I'm looking for something that can dish out damage as well as it can take it. We'll just have to keep-}

"Now, what in the name of Tapu Lele is that?"

I looked up, and there was someone standing just outside of a fenced-in area, looking at me as though I had three heads.

Frankly, though, I didn't blame him. Nor did I blame him for approaching to see whether his eyes were deceiving him.

"...What are you? A Sceptile?...Sceptile...Wait, hold on...Yeah, yeah...Kahuna Olivia came on down this way and was sayin' somethin' 'bout a new Pokémon Trainer comin' 'round that she said looked somethin' like a Sceptile, or an Archeops, or somethin' or other...Imma be honest, I didn't take the news that seriously when I heard it, my apologies. Guess, uh...Guess she wasn't pullin' any legs after all, looks like."

I chittered a pardon to the human and met him halfway with an open hand.

"So, you are indeed a trial-goer?"

"Yep! She sure izzz! Pokémon, PokéDex and all!"

"I'm guessin' you're one o' those fancy new Rotom Dexes? Man...Professor Kukui sure knows how to pick 'em, don't he?"

"Well, i-it's kind of a long story, but I guess he doezzz!"

"Well, anyways, I'd say your timing was just about spot on," he continued. "One of the trial captains is in here right now!"

{Mallow?}

"Mallow?"

"That's right. She might be willin' to offer you fellas up a bit of advice for her trial or team-buildn'. Who knows?"

{Well, come on, Rotom, let's go check this place out!}

"I'm right behind ya! Bzzt!"

I dashed into through the open gateway and looked about. There she was on the other side, accompanied by two pink and black Pokémon. I approached her in a trot.

"Hey, it's you again! Finally made it to Moomoo Paddock, huh? What do you guys think?"

{Moomoo...What?}

This was a Paddock? This was a far different-looking setup from what I was used to; it was closed in a wooden fence instead of a metal one, and looked a lot easier to jump over, not even being a quarter of the height of the Paddock I grew up in. And everything was so open; no trees or bushes, just grass and dirt...and a few waterflows towards the back of the area. If my sisters and I had been enclosed in something like this, we'd have escaped far sooner than we had.

"Something the matter, bucko?"

{What? No, nothing's wrong. Just...remember to translate for me, okay?}

He tilted forward; the closest he could manage to a nod.

{So, uh...What brings you here, Captain Mallow?}

"Just gathering up some more cooking supplies. The Moomoo Milk produced here is top-notch quality, you know? It's really rich and creamy, especially when you use it in white sauce and things like that...Mmm, the taste can't even be described!"

"Moo!" one of the pink and black Pokémon at her side bellowed lightly.

{What are these?} I inquired about the two Pokémon. {Forgive me; I'm still a bit new to everything here.}

"These are Miltank. And they're what you get Moomoo Milk from...uh, in case you didn't know that, either."

"Mil, moo..." the other one complained as it ducked behind the trial captain some, apparently more disturbed by me than the first.

"Oh, hush now. She won't hurt you," she assured it before turning back to me again. "Echo, right?"

I nodded.

"Since you're here, I just want to give you a heads up. If you head north on Route 5, you'll probably find my friend Lana up there in Brooklet Hill. She's a fellow trial captain, so when you decide to take her trial for a spin, you know where to go!"

{Noted. So, what other kinds of Pokémon might I find here in Paniola Ranch?}

"Oh, there are PLENTY. Mostly Normal and Ground-Types. They can be pretty darn strong, so make sure you're ready for a fight if you decide to catch any! Especially Tauros!"

{Tauros?}

"Miltank's male counterpart. You see how laid back these Miltank are? Tauros are just the opposite; you just get on one of their nerves and they go crazy with rage! Takes a lot of patience to raise on of them, they're that aggressive...See, there are two over there fighting each other right now!"

I turned my head, and sure enough, there were two beefy-looking Pokémon with curved horns and rock-hard hooves slamming their heads into each other, their tails waving and swatting and their gazes both glowing with pure, raw anger as each pair stared right into the other.

"Moooar!" one of them hollered, throwing the other off and ramming into its unguarded side with its sharp horns, knocking the Pokémon clean off its feet. The human that'd greeted us at the gate went over to try to break up the squabble.

"Alright, alright, you two, back it up. Hey. You. Easy with the horns."

The victor snorted at him.

"Don't you back sass me, mister! You put those things back where they came from! You're gonna poke an eye out one of these days and get me sued or somethin' like that!"

"Moar..." the creature grumbled before turning away from him and walking away from the other.

And that was when he eyed me.

"Uh-oh," the human exclaimed. "Oh, no, no, NO! WATCH OUT!"

Before anyone else knew it, the Tauros was running at me at full force, its horns pointed right at me. I was about to turn tail and try to make my way out of the paddock, but right before I could get a running start, something told me to do otherwise; that same little voice that told me to attack the skull grunts back on Melemele Island.

Fight back, it said to me. Put it in its place.

I stood my ground against the Wild Bull Pokémon and bore my own sharp teeth to combat its horns, then began running at it myself.

"What's she doin'?! She's gonna get herself impaled!"

Before the Tauros could ram me with its horns, I whizzed off to its side, then made a sharp turn around and pounced into its side. The darting impact was enough to send the already confused Pokémon off its hooves and onto the ground, and I pinned its head down with my foot, my big claw just inches away from its throat. I snarled at the creature.

{This wouldn't have happened if you'd listened to him,} I growled.

"Mo...Moar..."

The raging light in its eyes seemed to fade some as it finally calmed down. The voice in my head spoke to me again.

Now...Kill it and claim your prize.

Wait...What?

No. No, I couldn't do that! This wasn't my Pokémon; it belonged to the ranch! And that would be terrible! What put that idea into my head?

I shook it, as though to expel the thought, before speaking to the Tauros again.

{If I take my foot of your head, will you leave us alone? AND the Tauros you beat down?}

"Moar..."

There was a glimmer of understanding in the Pokémon's eyes in place of the unbridled fury it'd possessed earlier. Cautiously, I took the pressure of my foot off its head, then moved around it to the other side to try and help push it back onto its feet. Tauros complied, and then once it was on all four of its hooves again, it turned and walked away, looking too shaken to run straight.

I was badly shaken by the whole ordeal myself; not just by the Tauros trying to attack me, but also by the strange voice I heard telling me to kill the creature in cold blood.

"...Holy Miltank," the Tauros wrangler marveled. "...You just..."

{I'm sorry! It was an accident! I didn't mean to hurt it! Something just-}

"You done just subdued one of the most rowdy Tauros on the entire ranch! That was amazin'!"

{'Amazing!?'}

"Nice work! Hey, if we employ trainin' tactics like that, we'll have him ready to ride in no time!"

Amazing? I'd almost killed the Pokémon and he said it was amazing!? At first, the idea was beyond me, but then I realized...It did work, didn't it? The Tauros was now minding its own business and everyone was safe, including me. I'd scared it into submission...Maybe I had done a good job, despite that evil little voice in my head.

"Kzzrt! Echo! A-are you okay!?"

Rotom zipped back over to me, accompanied by Mallow and her two Miltank.

{I...I think I'm okay, Rotom. I just need a breather.}

My legs caved in, and I sat down in the grass, noticing that my tail was involuntarily curling around me as I tried to ease my heavy breathing.

"Are you sure she's okay?" Mallow questioned my PokéDex.

"That'zzz what she says. She might just need a moment to collect her thoughtzz."

It did take a few moments, but I did find the strength returning to my legs, and managed to push myself back up.

"Make sure to be careful out there, Echo," the wrangler warned me. "There ain't many, but some wild Tauros roam the ranch. And they can be just as mean and nasty as the one you just tussled with. I don't wanna see somethin' like that happen to you again; you've done more than good here."

I nodded, just barely.

"Now you go on along; maybe train up your Pokémon. This is a fine place to do it, and it'll getcha ready for the next trial. Eh...Come to think of it, what kinds of Pokémon you got with ya? I'm curious to see what kind o' team somethin' like you might muster up."

Now this question perked me up; to answer it, I dug out my Poké Balls and released my two Flying-Types.

"Krrroo!"

"Ru-Cha!"

"Hoo-ey! Not a bad couple o' Flyin-Types. That Dartrix looks mighty well-trained, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah; Lana better watch out! And your Hawlucha's pretty tough-looking, too!"

{I'm looking for a strong, non-Flying-Type Pokémon around here. Wish me luck.}

"Oh, yeah; don't wanna hold you're Island Challenge up too long, now, do we? Happy huntin'!"

"And keep training your Pokémon up to be big and strong! Oh! And make sure to feed them plenty of Berries and Pokébeans! They love those!"

{Got it! See you around!}

Saying this, I turned and headed back out of Moomoo Paddock.

{Uh...Rotom?}

"What'zz up?"

{Where do I find Berries and Pokébeans?}

"Oh, Berries are everywhere! Zzzt! And there are all different sorts! And you can get Pokébeanzzz at Pokémon Center cafés every so often!"

{Well, I guess I've got some foraging to do later, don't I?}

"Soundzz like fun! Can I help?"

{I'll probably need it. Heh heh...}

...

"There'zzz another one!"

{Just how many Mubrays ARE there here?}

The first one had been cause for excitement, seeing that it was not only a new Pokémon, but a fairly sturdy-looking one, as well, and my first thought was to capture one and add it to the team. However, I was quick to realize that they weren't quite as strong as I first thought, as every Razor Leaf was enough to knock one out in a single hit, and whenever I tried to whittle them down, the Ground-Types took a LOT more damage than I thought they would, and with every defeat, they snorted at me, kicked up dust upon regaining consciousness and trotted back into the grass. Lillipups turned out to be even more frail, and the one Miltank we encountered went down with just a couple of Red's Karate Chops. I wasn't that impressed by the strength of these new wild Pokémon, but the good news was that they served an interesting challenge.

All Dartrix had to do was fire up his Razor Leaf and the Mudbray whinnied and ran off; maybe it'd heard what had become of most of its six brethren that we beat.

Finally, I stepped out of the grass and came towards a rustic building.

{The next time we pass through here, I'm using that Repel Hau gave me,} I remarked to my PokéDex. {Now...Since that's done, do you know what this place is?}

"This building right here? Well, according to my map, this izzz the Pokémon Nursery! They take care of Pokémon for you! And sometimes, if they have any extra from Trainers who didn't want them, they'll give you an egg!"

{An Egg? Like, one that hatches a Pokémon?}

"That'zzz right! Hey, let's ask 'em! Maybe they'll give you one with a stronger Pokémon inside!"

{I'm not sure how strong a newly hatched Pokémon would be.}

"Well, as long as you take baby steps with their training-no pun intended-they get strong pretty quick! Just start off slowly, with weaker enemies! And then it might evolve into something stronger, depending on what hatched! Bzzrt!"

{Well...It's worth a shot. I'll ask the human right there.}

There was someone standing just to the right of the building. I approached slowly, Rotom still at my side, to make sure I made myself out as a friend.

"Oh...My goodness. Are you that Trainer everyone's been spreadin' word about? The one Kahuna Olivia said was on her way?" she asked, to which I nodded.

"Never did see anything like you in my life...You got your own Pokémon and everything?"

I let out Red and Dartrix again to answer in the positive.

"Ya sure do...Sturdy-lookin' lil' fellers, that's for sure. But the team itself is pretty small, with only the two o' them...How 'bout I get you somethin' to fix that with?"

I nodded again, already fairly sure of what she meant as she invited me into the Nursery building.

When we were both inside, the human approached another one at the front desk.

"Howdy, sis. Oh, wow...This that new trial-goer that word's been spreadin' 'bout?"

"Sure is. She's only got a couple teammates, so I was wonderin' if we still had any of those...you know...special eggs."

"Ohh, I get it. As a matter of fact, there's just one left. She's lucky."

{One egg left? I guess it's a good thing you gave me the idea, Rotom.}

"No need to thank me! Just doin' my job! Zzzt!"

"Alright, here it is. Can I trust you to take good care of it?"

The second human handed me something over the front desk; it was hard, ovular, and dotted with tan spots.

{...The egg,} I murmured, staring down at it and running a hand over its smooth surface. I pressed my head against it, seeing if I could detect any shifts or chirps inside, but there was nothing of the sort. What would come out of it when the time came? Only time would tell, it seemed.

{Humans,} I announced. {I will guard this egg with my life if I have to. As I will the hatchling.}

"Wow...You're takin' this pretty seriously, huh? I like that; shows your dedication. Good luck with it, and I wish you and the future Pokémon happy days."

I nodded again, then headed out of the Pokémon Nursery, the egg clutched tightly in my arms. I looked up at the sky; the top of the sky had turned a softer, deeper blue, and the horizon was streaked with pink and gold with violet highlights. The clouds were the color of my stripes; dark indigo grey, and they gave the vivid colors of the sunset magnificent contrast. Nighttime was fast approaching.

{...Let's head up Route 5. Mallow said something about another captain having a trial up that way, right?}

"Uh, isn't it getting a little late to be doing a trial? It'zzz..." He yawned mid-sentence. "It's almost 9:00, according to my internal clock."

{I know. It is getting late. I mean for tomorrow. We'll be there bright and early, you know what I'm saying?}

"Oh. Well, there's a Pokémon Center up that way we could hunker down at! Here, take a peek at the map!"

Sure enough, there was a Pokémon Center just in front of the entrance to Brooklet Hill.

{Perfect. Hold on to your circuits, Rotom.}

"Will do!" he obeyed, zipping back into my bag before I started my trot up Route 5.

I didn't want to run, fearing I might risk dropping the egg and breaking it. And I'd made a promise to not let anything happen to it; to guard it with my life. But I didn't move too slowly; the night air was comfortable for me, but the egg could only go without a warm nest for so long. All of my thoughts were focused on the egg as I made my way to the Pokemon Center; I needed to treat it as though I was the one who laid it.

This wasn't just a future team asset I was carrying. It was a forever companion-to-be.

It wasn't long until we made it there, and I bedded down right beside the building, right beside a functioning heat vent. It was the perfect spot to stay and keep the egg safe and warm, as no wild Pokémon with half a brain would think to come this close to a Pokémon Center.

"Zrrt? Uh, can't we just go inside the Pokémon Center to sleep for the night?"

{I'm...not sure they'd appreciate a big, scaly Pokémon Trainer just lying down on the floor somewhere snoozing. It might drive people away. It's better just to stay outside. Besides, we're close enough that nothing will bother us. Plus...It's a nice evening, isn't it? Look up, Rotom.}

Both of us tilted our gaze up towards the heavens; the first stars were beginning to appear in the night sky, sparkling white against the soft blue background.

{...I don't know why I never realized just how beautiful everything is out here. The plants, the wildlife, the sky...It all just feels so weird, knowing that before I came here, I didn't even acknowledge any of it. They were all just different, everyday things to me.}

"And now?"

{...Now I don't know why I didn't notice any of it sooner.}

I say down, wrapping my tail securely around the egg as I bedded down beside it, Rotom descending down to the ground beside my head.

{You know something, Rotom?}

"What?"

{I'm really glad I ended up here with all of you. I don't know exactly how, but I'm glad that was what came to be.}

"Well, I'm glad of that, too, bucko!"

There was a brief silence between us, and it looked like Rotom was just about to shut his eyes when I remembered something.

Something important.

{...Uh...Rotom?}

"Hm?"

{I know we're about to go to sleep, but...Do you remember me telling you about that...voice I heard that told me what to do against Team Skull?}

"And how it told you to 'go for the head'? Yeesh...Soundzzz grizzly. Yes, I remember. Why do you ask?"

{...Because I heard it again. When I was fighting the Tauros.}

"...What?"

He suddenly looked a bit nervous.

"Ah...W-what'd it say this time?"

{It was a lot more direct...And that made it a lot worse. It told me to kill it, Rotom. To 'claim my prize.' I didn't like that. It was one thing helping me subdue the Pokémon, but telling me that I should kill it. That's...not right. Where do you think that's coming from?}

Rotom took a few moments to answer, his large eyes wider than usual, and filled with concern, along with a heavy dose of fear.

"I...I-I just had a thought," he answered. "...I have a strange question, but just trust me."

{Of course.}

"Um...When you were living back at your old home with your sisters, how exactly did you guyzzz feed yourselves? Or get fed?"

{Well, normally we were given prey to go after. It was let loose in the Paddock, and me and my sisters would band up and chase it to catch it. Blue lead the hunting division, and it was my job to help corner our food so that could bring it down quickly. And then...}

"And then?"

{...And then...Well...We would eat it. Sometimes...it was even still alive while we were...I...You remember how I was saying that I only just realized how nice my life is now?}

"Yeah?"

{Now, I also realize just how messed up my life was before I came here. I'm not like all the other Trainers and humans here. I was raised in a pen. I hunted my food, I didn't make or buy it. And I tore my prey apart without a second thought like some savage beast. I...I...}

"Pal...? You okay, there?"

{Rotom...I'm dangerous. I-I love everyone and everything here, but I-I don't know how much longer I can go on without hurting someone.}

"Come on, that's not true. You've just got a few more things to learn, izz all. And that-"

{I even do it when I don't mean it, Rotom, you don't realize how bad it is. You saw what happened to Hau on Mahalo Trail; I might have saved him, but I put holes in his arm! What if something worse ends up happening? What if I don't care!? What if I stop feeling bad for things again!?}

My breathing got funny again, and I could feel tears running down the sides of my face.

"O-oh, no. Echo, please don't cry. I-it's gonna be okay. It'll turn out for the best, you'll see! Just...hear me out, okay?"

He had reached his blocky arms up to caress the length of my snout, and I let go of my hat that I'd shamefully pulled over my eyes to face my PokéDex again.

"That voice you heard earlier? It sounds a lot like...an instinctive thing, to put it eazzzy. You only just came here a few days ago, right? That little voice; it's probably your survival instincts trying to guide you. You're a predatory creature; it'zz in your nature to hunt prey. But just because you're a hunter doesn't mean you're a savage beast. You're just doing what you've been doing your whole life. And...Hey. You know what else?"

{What...?} I croaked.

"The voice told you to kill it, but you didn't. You rezzzisted that command, since you knew it. And you know what made you resist? Critical thinking. Morale. Empathy. You've got all of those, too, Echo. You're not dangerous, it's just...a shift of tone for you. You'll get more used to it. You'll fit in just fine."

{I...I don't want to lose those things, Rotom. I just got them, but whenever something happens, I-I fell like they begin to slip away, just a bit. I want to be able to think straight like everyone else. I want to make good decisions. To care. To love. I don't want to go back to the way it was before. I don't want to forget them. I'm scared I will. Rotom, I'm scared...}

"C-come on, buddy. No more of the water works, okay? B-besidezz, it's..."

He sniffed mid-sentence, threatening to spill tears of his own.

"I-if I had a heart, it'd be breaking right now, seein' ya like this. It's m-makin' me sad, too..."

A whimper escaped from him, and he hid his eyes behind his blocky appendages.

{Oh, no...I got you upset now, too, didn't I?}

"It'zz okay, boss," he sniffled. I saw one of the tears run down the side of his screen, and I carefully reached out a bent finger to wipe it away, pointing the sharp, curved claw at the tip of it away from the Pokémon. He did the same himself, then sat down back at the base of my head and tried to wrap his arms around its comparatively large size. I responded by putting my own arms around him again and squeezing him close.

"I-it's okay, really it is. That stuff doesn't just disappear overnight, you know?"

{But then how long WILL it stay?}

"Once you have those things, I-I don't think-" he sniffled again. "-don't think you can lose them. You're gonna be alright. All of us are. And you're gonna complete this Island Challenge and fight in the Pokémon Leagues across the sea and all over the world. You're gonna make everybody proud. Professor Kukui, Lillie, Hau...A-and me, too. And Dartrix and Red. And..."

Both of us eyed the brown-spotted egg positioned snugly at my side.

"...And that one, too. Try to stay focused of that egg for the time being; don't get all caught up in past stuff and existential junk; it'll take a toll on you. Let's just keep our mindzzz on taking care of junior here, huh?"

{I...}

I tightened my grasp around him a bit more tightly, emitting a purr as I nuzzled the spot above his eyes with the tip of my nose. His screen went somewhat pink.

{How is it that you always know exactly what to say in any situation, Rotom?} I asked him, blinking away the last of my tears.

"I-I dunno, bucko," he replied sheepishly. "Words just come to me is all, and thingzzz work out...Ah...W-was that your version of a-a peck on the forehead, o-or something?"

{I guess you could consider it that.}

"Oh, ghee whizzz...S-see? Goes to show you you're not a savage beast."

{...You're right. I might just need a little more adjusting time and it'll all blow over like a bad storm.}

"Thingzz will fall into place soon enough! I promise! Just keep looking up and it'll all turn out.""

I knew he didn't mean it in a literal sense, but I tilted my head up, anyway. The clear, nighttime sky above had turned from soft blue to almost black, and the stars shone even brighter than before against it.

{Beautiful, isn't it?}

"Sure is, Echo...Well, I'm turnin' in," he announced, snuggling into the crook of my arm a bit more. "G'night, bud. G'night, future teammate."

{Sleep tight, Beta.}

A smile formed on his face before his screen dimmed down his eyes shut. I wrapped him and the egg closer to my side; No matter what happened, no matter when it did, I would protect every last one of my Pokémon with everything I had.

The Pokémon in the egg, who I loved with all my being already, despite not even knowing what it was yet.

Red, the Gamma-to-be whose fiery passion for the battlefield could barely be rivaled.

Dartrix, who had been with me from Day 1 and had helped me find a new meaning to the life I lead.

And Rotom, who was so many things to me; PokéDex, map, teacher, translator, and constant companion.

They were the offspring I never had. And I would give my all for them.

And may anyone who tried to take them away from me pay with their blood.