"Where to begin," she looked greedily at the colorful packages. There were four in all, and Mari scanned them. She pulled a small red cubical gift closer to her, a small "From Dad" tag on it. She quickly started to tear away some of the paper and saw the words 'CEIS Bin'. Squealing in delight she ripped apart the remaining paper. "Yes! Thank you Daddy!" she almost screamed.
Her father laughed with delight. "Glad you like it, sweetie."
"What did he get you, anyway," Spencer asked with some surprise at her reaction. "He wouldn't tell me."
"It's a CEIS Bin, it uses Compressed Electronic Item Stream technology to make a bin and all items in it into a compressed electronic stream and go into an item ball. A CIES Bin is like a Pokeball that holds a bin instead of a Pokemon! Now I can carry everything I need without breaking my back."
Mari next picked a glittering, flower-print box that could only be from Mom. Once she finally got the paper off the gift and opened the box inside, she gave a small gasp as she saw the content.
Gently she lifted up a golden-brown leather backpack. Mari smiled at the object. "It's so pretty!" she said.
Her Mom smiled.
Mari then noticed an envelope in the bottom of the box. Laying the pack down she picked up the envelope and took a plastic card out of it. Her eyes widened. "Woah…"
"What?" Wattson inquired.
"It's a gift card for the Slateport mall. It's for 15,000 pokedollars! Wow, Mom, this will go a long way for supplies!"
"Don't forget to buy yourself some new clothes, too, okay?" he mother said.
She put her mother's gifts to the side and pulled over her Grandpa Wattie's gift. It was a little yellow bag she with a note attached that was short and sweet, just like her grandpa.
'Hiya squirt! Must admit I had a hard time choosing a gift for ya, but I think it ended up good. Oh, and take the Mauville City Gym Leader's advice, get a ground Pokemon. You're gonna need it. MWAHAHAHA!'
Mari laughed at the last comment. "Very funny, Grandpa." Her grandfather's electric Pokemon would be tough to beat, but she'd seen him battle enough times that she had an advantage. With an evil grin on her face, she pulled the stuffed paper out of the yellow bag and retrieved two items, a case and another envelope. Examining the case first, she recognized it as a creamy pale-pink Miltank leather badge case. On it was embossed in feminine gold letters, 'Mari K. Donovan.' "Oh, how pretty," she cooed as she opened it and found it to be lined with burgundy velvet.
Wattson laughed. "We better be careful or we're going to spoil you!"
"And that's a problem… why?" she jested. Then picking up the envelope she picked out another plastic card. "Oh, cool! It's a Hoenn Boat Pass. I can go to anywhere in Hoenn from anywhere in Hoenn by ship on this card. I don't have to buy tickets or anything."
"Now that is cool," Spencer said. "I had something like it for Johto's Whirl Islands."
Placing the pass on top of her gift card, Mari closed in on the last remaining gift. "From you?" she raised an eyebrow at Spencer as she pulled it towards her. He nodded. The package was sky blue with a cloud white ribbon on it. No card was attached. Quickly removing the paper, she opened the cardboard box. Peering inside, she saw a small rectangular leathery case inside, and Mari took it out. 'A jewelry case' she thought, glancing up at Spencer's anticipating smile. She pulled up the top of the case, which cracked at opening. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the necklace inside. "Oh, Spencer," she awed. It was a silver medallion on a thin black leather strap. The medallion was about the size of two bottle caps and on it was depicted the three legendary birds of Kanto, each in a different colored metal. In the center bottom was Articuno in black gold, on the upper right was a copper Moltres, and on the upper left, a Zapdos made of yellow gold.
"Like it?" Spencer was grinning for ear to ear.
"Like it!" she exclaimed jumping out of her chair and running over to give her brother a hug. "I love it!"
Over the next few minutes, they talked as they cleaned up the room, removing all evidence of wrapping paper. A few laughs later, it was after nine at night and her family still had a two and a half hour drive back to Mauville. With hugs, kisses, last words of advice, and suppressed tears, Mari parted with the rest of her family.
Mari was in her room, alone. The place seemed so empty now. But soon her eye caught the neat stack of supplies and gifts she received, and butterflies began to dance in her stomach. 'Tomorrow,' she thought. 'Here I come.' She went to bed with a smile on her face.
A little after nine the next morning, Mari was running for the Academy's front lawn, cheese Danish in hand. She stuck it in her mouth as she slung her new backpack over her shoulders. Feeling the little bags under her eyes she ruefully recalled not being able to go to sleep until after three because she was going through her new Pokedex and the information Ghilbee gave her about Castform. She shook her head free from sleepiness for the tenth time that morning. Late as usual, Mari didn't want to miss saying goodbye to Electra. Her jeans and dark red shirt with a black sketchy floral print on it had been quickly put on along with her newly broken in sneakers. The medallion from her brother proudly donned its place around her neck, and her hair was back in a comfortable ponytail.
In a few moments she arrived breathless at the front lawn, a small patch of grass between the reception building and the main road which led either to Slateport or Oldale, depending on if you went east or west. The few remaining graduates that hadn't left yet were there, paying respects to Electra. There was a considerable crowd around her, and Mari hurried forward to get in line. She stopped, however, when she heard a man call her from behind.
Turning to face the person, Mari smiled. "Dr. Ghilbee! I didn't know you'd be here this morning!"
He raised an eyebrow. "It's still morning?"
Mari blushed. "Yeah, I know it's kinda late, but I was so excited last night I couldn't get to sleep until after three!"
"Well, in that case, you are forgiven," he laughed. "Where do you plan on going from here? Littleroot, perhaps?"
Shaking her head she explained, "I know almost all the other grads are going there, and I just don't want to be packed in with them all the way. I'm going to Slateport, and from there maybe Dewford for my first badge."
Ghilbee nodded in approval and glanced to the side thoughtfully. "I was hoping to see Castform again before you leave…"
"Oh, of course!" Mari exclaimed. After checking to ensure that there weren't many people around, she opened the blue and silver Pokeball and Castform appeared. She chirped happily at seeing Mari and Dr. Ghilbee. The doctor opened his arms to Castform who snuggled against him in a hug.
"Now Castform," Ghilbee tenderly addressed her, "You know you're leaving with Mari soon, and you will not see me again for quite awhile."
Castform looked up at his face from the safety of his arms. She smiled and nodded with a reassuring "cass-form" inserted.
He smiled back. "I know this is what you want and I'm so proud of you! But, I'm still going to miss you a whole lot."
Castform smiled in the same sad, reassuring way Mari's family had smiled at her only the night before. Then Mari realized something. Ghilbee was Castform's dad, and he was letting her go out on her own for the first time. A warm feeling crept over her, reminding her of the people back at Mauville who were letting her go, and were proud to do it.
"You come and visit me now, you hear?" Ghilbee said to Castform. Mari smiled and nodded when he looked up to her as well.
"Yes, we will!" Castform said.
"I promise," Mari agreed, just as she had promised her parents she would come and visit.
"Oh, yes," Ghilbee remembered something and released Castform. Out of his jacket pocket he took a small, relatively thin rectangular device. Showing it to Mari, there was a screen on its front, which took about two thirds of the top. The bottom third was a miniature built-in keyboard, and along the right side was a stylus. It was metallic dark silver in color, and the screen appeared to be turned off. Still facing the screen towards Mari, he pushed a button on the keyboard. "It's a Portable Pokemon Database," he said as the screen flickered to full-color life. "Or PPD for short. It's the absolute latest in technology. One day, Pokedexes will be replaced with these. Not only does it contain a remarkably in-depth Pokedex, but also maps of all the regions with a Global Positioning System, a word processor, a wild vegetation guide, basic strategies, league, gym, breeding, and coordinating information and rules, and a Pokemon nutrition guide. Barrone Corp., the company that invented it, gave me a few to test and aid me in my research. It probably will not be released for several more years to the general public. I would like you to have it, Mari. I have even programmed it with the latest information on Castform."
"Oh, cool!" Mari snatched it from his hands and began to poke around its functions with the stylus. Castform drifted around her to peek over her shoulder at the PPD's screen.
"You can see on the main menu there is a 'help' option," Ghilbee said. 'It will teach you everything you need to know to use it."
"Thank you!" she said.
"If you don't mind, I would like to take the Academy Pokedex you got from Electra and give it back to her. You have a Pokedex in the PPD anyway and it doesn't make sense to waste a good Pokedex."
"Oh, yeah," Mari took the blue Pokedex out of a side pocket of her backpack and handed it to Ghilbee. As she turned off the PPD's screen, Castform said "cas!" and Mari could have sworn it sounded just like a human's disappointed 'aaaw.' She smiled at the Castform behind her shoulder and reached around to pet her.
Ghilbee glanced at his watch and said, "Well, I really have to get going. I have a long trip ahead of me back to the lab."
"Oh, yes," Mari concurred. "I should get going too. Say, where exactly is your lab? If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"It's on Route 119, just southwest of Fortree across the bridge. We're on top of a hill with nothing else around. You can't miss us!"
"OK," Mari said. "I'm sure you and Castform'll miss each other so I'll be sure to stop by and say hi when we're over there."
"Yes, I'm sure you will get over there," Ghilbee said matter-of-factly. "There is a Gym in Fortree, after all."
"Well, there ya go!"
Ghilbee gave a last pat on the head to Castform was now hovering in front of Mari. Then, he left. Castform looked after him for a moment and then turned to Mari with confidence.
Mari looked over at Electra. There were less people than before, but still enough to be a possible problem to Castform's apparent shyness. "Why don't you go back into your Pokeball for just a little while longer until we get away from the Academy?" she suggested, holding out Castform's silver and blue Pokeball. The Pokemon nodded and her Pokeball claimed her back with its red glow.
Mari walked over to Electra. The woman was busy wishing her students good luck, and generally encouraging them to do their best. In a few moments two of the students said their final goodbyes and left. Quickly, Mari took their place.
"Miss Donovan," Electra greeted in her ever formal and diplomatic tone. "I was hoping to say goodbye to you before you left."
"Yeah, I got kind of a late start this morning."
"Well, then, Miss Donovan, I want you to have fun with that Pokemon of yours. It will be quite a challenge to train her, but in the end I guarantee it will be well worth it." Electra was careful not to mention Castform's name so as not to spark jealousy in any of the other students.
"It's been great, Electra," Mari said. "Thanks for everything."
With a final handshake, Mari left. She walked across the lawn and onto the dirt road leading to Slateport. Turning around to face the Academy, a nostalgic sadness washed over her. So many good times here, with her friends. She'd had her first Pokemon battle here, with a Whismur almost a year ago. Cramming for countless tests, absorbing endless information, stealing food from the cafeteria for the fridge in her room. It was all behind her now. The Great Test had begun. She turned and walked east, towards the sea.
The sun was shining and a delightfully cool sea breeze blew through the grass. Many Pokemon were doubtlessly concealed in the grassland on either side of the road, but they would stay hidden as long as possible from any human presence.
Once well out of sight of the Academy's grey buildings, Mari took the Pokeball off her pocket and squeezed its sides. It opened, releasing Castform. She blinked at first in the sunlight, taking in her new surroundings and once re-oriented she floated just next to Mari's left shoulder. Mari patted her head. "Well, Castform, we're headed for Slateport."
"Neat," Castform said.
"I should probably tell you what we're going to be doing," Mari said thoughtfully. Castform gave her new trainer her full attention. She proceeded to tell Castform all about the Gyms, the Hoenn League Championship, and all their rules and challenges. After a good deal of walking and explaining Mari took a breath. "You know," she said after a moment, "I really don't know a whole lot about you. Did Dr. Ghilbee ever call you anything other than 'Castform'? You know, to tell you apart from the others?"
Thinking for a minute, Castform concluding by shaking her head.
"Well, I think I'd like to give you a nickname. Would that be OK with you?"
Castform thought for a moment. "Yeah! That would be really neat."
"Cool! Well, I'd better wait until I know more about you to give you a nickname."
Castform gave Mari an indulgent smile.
Mari blushed slightly and looked ahead at the road as they walked. That was the exact same smile her Dad gave her when she was getting weird or long-winded. She imagined that was what Castform was trying to tell her too.
They continued to walk along the dirt path, brownish green grass up to Mari's hips on either side. The grassland was dotted with a few shriveled trees here and there, as well as the occasional shady rock.
"Hey Castform," Mari broke the silence. "I was thinking. Once we get to Slateport, we'll probably start battling other trainers. Before then, we ought to do some training."
"Okay," was her reply.
"I don't suppose you've ever battled before, have you?"
"No," Castform said slowly. "But Doc told me how and what the names of my attacks are."
Mari assumed that 'Doc' meant Dr. Ghilbee, and replied. "Well that's good! I was reading about your attacks last night, Tackle, Ember, and Water Gun. It's a good variety, but once we get to Slateport I'm going to get you a status-changing TM."
"What's a TM?" she asked.
"It's a machine that teaches you a new move almost instantly."
"Wow!"
"Yeah, but for now why don't we just practice what you have?" Mari said. Looking down, she identified a few tennis ball-sized stones along the side of the road. Picking them up, she explained. "Before you go battle another Pokemon, you need to have at least basic control over your attacks. Tackle is the most basic of all physical attacks, and seeing as you can go down this road in a straight line, you shouldn't have a problem with your aim. We'll work on power later. Your Special Attacks Ember and Water Gun, on the other hand, will be a bit harder to aim. So, I'm going to throw these stones in the air one at a time, and you're going to use your Water Gun and try to hit them, okay?"
"Okay," Castform agreed and waited for Mari to begin.
"Alright, here we go!" Mari flung one into the air, spinning it so it would hover for a slight moment before dropping back to the ground, giving Castform a better opportunity to hit her target.
Castform shot out a stream of water. It made contact with the rock, but it was near the edge of the Water Gun's range, which was roughly a bit less than a foot in diameter.
"Good, Castform. Now try to aim for the center of your attack." She threw another into the air and again Castform shot at it, this time the stone made contact closer to the center of her attack.
"Wow, you're really good at this!" Mari commented.
"Thanks," Castform replied, but did not divert her attention from the stones.
"Now do it with Ember."
Castform paused a moment, switching gears as it were, and then shot a soft ball-sized fireball at the next stone. They continued with the exercise for a few more minutes, and Mari decided to challenge Castform further. "Castform, you up for trying to hit a moving target?"