"Keep quiet, Mareep." Alex said in a hushed voice. She and Mareep were crouched in a bush, at the edge of a large clearing. On the other side of the clearing, a small stream swept through the forest. Alex peered out of the bush. A small, blue Pokémon was wandering around the edge. "You ready for this?" she asked quietly. Mareep nodded in response. "Right then." Alex gripped an empty Poké Ball tightly. "Let's go." The pair emerged slowly, The Pokémon noticed them instantly, and began to stare at them. Alex hesitated. "Umm… Hey?" she said to the creature. "I really didn't think this through…" She muttered to herself. The creature took a few steps towards them, a sudden grin filled its face.
"Rill!" the Pokémon cried out. Mareep jumped in front of Alex.
"I guess that means you want to fight?" Alex asked.
"Marill-rill." The Pokémon replied.
"Mareep, is that a yes?" Mareep turned and nodded at her. "Okay then Mareep, use Thund-" she was interrupted as the opponent suddenly shot out a beam of water from its mouth. "Mareep, look out." Her partner didn't have time to react before being drenched. It stumbled backwards slightly. Its opponent wasted no time before curling up into a ball and rolling full speed towards Mareep. "Mareep, dodge!" Alex called. Mareep quickly rolled to the side, just as the blue blur sped past. "Thunder Shock!" Mareep shot a bolt of lighting at its opponent as it screeched to a halt. The small blue creature jumped to the side to avoid being shocked. It quickly turned a shot out more water. Alex suddenly had an idea. "Mareep, stay where you are and use Thunder Shock again!" Mareep looked at her hesitantly for a moment, but stood its ground. It shot another bolt directly into the oncoming torrent. Sparks began to spread through the water, quickly closing in on the wild Pokémon. The sparks eventually reached the Pokémon. The water stopped instantly, and the creature was shocked. It stumbled for a moment before shaking off the attack.
"Rill-rill!" It cried out confidently, before one again rolling quickly towards Mareep.
"Mareep!" Thunder Wave!" Alex cried. Mareep shot a wave of electric energy towards its foe. The Pokémon hit the wave, and stopped instantly. It struggled to its feet slowly, but sparks that appeared across its body seemed to be hindering it. Alex seized the opportunity and threw the ball she was holding towards it. It bounced lightly off of the creature's head. It was surrounded by a red aura, before vanishing into the ball. "Come on…" Alex said quietly. The ball shook on the floor several times, before it settled with a loud click. "Yes!" Alex called out as she ran towards the ball excitedly. "Well done!" She petted Mareep briefly as she ran past. She picked up the Poké Ball and held it up proudly. "I've always wanted a Marill!" she said. Mareep replied with a cheerful cry. Their celebration was cut short by a shrieking cry from some nearby trees.
"Scole!" an unseen Pokémon called out in a harsh tone. Alex shrieked and began scanning the treeline. Mareep scurried to her side. A pair of yellow eyes appeared in the darkness near Alex. She noticed and took a few steps backwards. The eyes began to approach, accompanied by large thumping footsteps that seemed to shake the ground.
"Stay behind me." Alex said to her partner. Mareep obliged and hid behind her legs. The creature in the darkness began to enter the clearing. It was a very large creature, much taller than Alex, with a serpent-like body.
"Scole!" It cried again as it approached. Alex continued pacing backwards nervously. Suddenly, the ball in her hand burst open. Marill appeared in front of her in a flash of light. It took a few courageous steps towards the attacking Pokémon.
"Marill, no!" Alex said. "Come back, you'll get hurt. You don't have to protect me." Marill ignored her and continued marching forward. The larger creature stopped and stared at it for a few seconds. It suddenly let out an ear piercing screech. Marill shuddered before turning and running towards Alex, jumping into her arms. "Thanks for trying." Alex said with an awkward smile. "We're gonna be fine." she said, looking around for a way to escape. "Okay, I'll ditch the bag, then we all jump the stream and run, okay?" she said to her Pokémon. She quickly glanced at the stream behind her. "Scratch that, I can't jump that." she said. Mareep began to shudder. "It's fine, we're all gonna be fine." A voice suddenly called from the trees next to them.
"Bibarel, Rollout!" A brown blur suddenly came flying out of the treeline, hitting the large
Pokémon in the side, causing it to stagger. Alex looked over at where the blur had emerged. A tall man with tan skin came running out from behind a tree.
"This way!" he called, pointing back in the direction he had emerged from. Alex began to run towards him, but hesitated after a few seconds. The man sighed. "Look, I know I'm a strange man in a forest, but right now it's me or the Scolipede." he said, nodding towards the large Pokémon that was now back onto its feet. His Pokémon rammed into it again, sending it down again. Alex nodded at him and resumed running, dashing past the man into the trees. The man soon followed, his partner close behind him. Alex was still weighed down by her backpack, and the man was soon running beside her. "You okay?" he asked breathlessly.
"Yeah. Thanks for that."
"We're not out of the woods yet. Quite literally." he smiled to himself. "There's a clearing up ahead, we should be safe there." The pair continued to run in silence, occasionally staggering on the large roots that littered the floor.
"We're here." the man said as they broke into a large clearing. Both he and Alex leaned against trees, gasping for breath. She could get a good look at him now. He was a few years older than her, and quite a bit taller. His hair was nothing more than a brown mess, his fringe hanging over his emerald green eyes. He reminded her of Burgh, except with darker skin, and much less fashionable clothes. The man eventually spoke. "Did it get you at all? That Scolipede, I mean." he spoke with an unusual accent, one Alex hadn't heard very much before.
"I'm fine." she said as she bent and put Marill down. "Thanks." she said.
"No problem. I could hardly leave you out there to deal with that thing all on your own." he glanced down. "Are your Pokémon okay?"
"I think so." Alex replied. "What about yours?" she said, nodding at Bibarel, who had just caught up with them.
"He's fine. He's a tough cookie." the man said as he bent down and stoked Bibarel's fur. Alex took a moment to look around the clearing. A small cabin sat opposite them, surrounded by a large number of berry bushes. A small bird Pokémon was perched on the roof of the cabin, still oblivious of their arrival. "I'm Daniel, by the way." the man said, extending his hand.
"Alex." she replied, shaking his hand. The bird Pokémon suddenly noticed them, and began flying towards them.
"Dane-gerr! Dane-gerr!" it screeched as it approached. Daniel ran towards it, waving his arms.
"It's okay, Chatot! She's a friend!" he held his arm up, letting Chatot land on his forearm
"Dane-gerr?" it asked with a tilt of its head.
"No danger. Friend." Daniel replied slowly. "Sorry about that." He said to Alex. "She gets a bit jumpy sometimes." He turned back to Chatot. "Now, be nice."
"Hell-low. Hell-low." Chatot squawked at Alex.
"Good girl." Daniel said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a seed. He gave it to Chatot. "Very good girl."
"She's yours I'm guessing?" Alex asked.
"An excellent guess." Daniel replied. "Well now that you've experienced the welcome wagon, would you like to sit down for a bit?" He nodded towards a group of small rocks that were sitting around a small fire pit. "It's on a rock on the ground I'm afraid."
"That's fine." She said as she wandered over and sat on one. Daniel sat on a rock opposite her. He turned to Alex's partners, who were standing beside her.
"If you two are hungry, feel free to help yourself to some berries." The pair wasted no time before rushing over to a nearby bush and beginning to chow down some small blue berries that were growing there. Chatot soon joined them. Bibarel ignored the bushes, and wandered to its trainer's side. It laid down and closed its eyes.
"Someone's tired." Alex said.
"He gets tired out very easily. Saving you is the most exercise he's done in weeks." He laughed.
"So you live out here?" Alex asked, looking at the cabin.
"Indeed."
"Did you build that yourself?"
"No, no. I had some help with that. But when it comes to the actual living in it, it's just us four."
"Four?" Alex said, confused.
"Oh, of course. He's just hiding, is all." he whistled a small tune. As he finished, a nearby bush began to shake slightly. A few seconds later, a small Pokémon emerged. It was shaped like a mushroom, with two tiny legs. It was covered in small brown dots. It looked at Daniel nervously. "It's okay, Shroomish. She's a friend. It's safe." Daniel said warmly. Shroomish took a few tentative steps forwards.
"Hey there." Alex said gently. "Wait!" she said louder. "Is that a shiny?!" Shroomish jumped and hurried back into the bush. Daniel ran after it and knelt by the bush. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry." Alex said.
"It's fine, everybody reacts like that. Which is probably why the poor guy is so skittish."
"How did you ever manage to catch it if it's so scared of everything?"
"I didn't." he replied. "I don't catch any Pokémon, I just help them." he whistled again, trying to get Shroomish back out from the bush.
"Is there any way I could help?" Alex asked.
"No. He'll come out in his own time. There's no point in forcing it." he got back to his feet. "He's comfortable there." he sat back on his rock.
"So you help them then?" Alex asked inquisitively.
"I do my best, yes. Most of them just leave when I'm done, but some stick around. Like Shroomish in there." he sighed. "Found the poor guy in a market up in Driftveil. Locked in a cage behind some shady stall. I knew I had to get him out of there."
"So you stole him?"
"Technically, yes. But if you saw the state he was left in, I guarantee you would have done the same."
"What was gonna happen to him?"
"My guess? Sold off to the highest bidder. Pokémon like him fetch a pretty hefty price from collectors."
"That's terrible."
"I know. That's why I do my best to help out Pokémon like him." he paused. "But that's enough about me. So tell me, what is a young lady like yourself doing in this part of the woods all on your own?"
"Me? Well for starters, I wasn't out here alone. I came with a friend, but he insisted on splitting up for a while. For the adventure, as he put it. You can see how well that turned out." she said with a sigh.
"Wait, is your friend still out there?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
"Oh dear." Daniel said with concern. "It's getting a bit late, he really shouldn't be out there. Can you call him or something?"
"I can try." She pulled out her phone and dialled his number. She held it to her ear for a few seconds. "...Nothing. No reception." She said, now worried. She stood up. "Should we go and find him?"
"Calm down, it's fine. Chatot!" He called to his Pokémon. "What does he look like?"
"Well, he's about my age, a bit shorter than me…"
"Anything a bit more distinctive?"
"Flaming red hair."
"That's better. Okay Chatot, go and look for a boy with red hair okay." he plucked a bright red berry from a nearby bush. "Red, like this, okay? Get him to foll-ow." He said slowly and deliberately. Chatot squawked with a nod, before eating the berry and flying off into the trees. "If he's out there, Chatot'll find him."
"You're sure?" Alex said, concerned.
"Of course. She's never let me down yet. Now then." He said as he got to his feet. "You must be hungry after that whole escapade. I hope you like soup, because that's all I can cook."
"No, no, it's okay, I brought my own food…" She said, reaching into her backpack.
"Nonsense. It's really no trouble. I'll even make enough for your friend as well." Alex tried again to protest but he ignored her and vanished into his cabin.
A large pot had now been hung over the fire, and a soup was boiling in it. Daniel sat over it, stirring it occasionally with a large ladle. "Gym challenge, huh?" he said to Alex as he stirred. "Sounds like a pretty big task. How many have you beaten so far?"
"So far? None." Daniel laughed.
"So you and I are on equal footing then? Let me guess... Burgh first?"
"Good guess. Everyone from Castelia challenges him first."
"I know, I go over to watch his battles from time to time."
"You a big fan of battles?"
"I'm more of a fan of Burgh." he said, beginning to blush.
"Of Burgh?" Alex asked. Daniel hesitated before answering.
"I just like the way he battles. That's all. I'm just a big fan of bug types." he stopped talking and stared silently at the boiling soup for a few moments. "So, why did you choose to take on the gym challenge?"
"Why? Never really thought about it. It's just something a lot of kids my age do."
"Is that the only reason? Hiking across an entire region seems a bit extreme of a thing to do just because everyone else is doing it."
"Did you never do the challenge then?"
"Nope. Never felt the need to."
"Why not?"
"I was perfectly content just spending my days in the small town I grew up in. Just wasting away the days staring at the Wooloo as they rolled across the fields. Never having to rush, never having to worry about anything…"
"That sounds wonderful." Alex said. "Why did you ever leave?"
"I met someone. Long story short, I fell in love. Next thing I know I'm being whisked around the world in a grand adventure."
"What happened between you two?"
"Okay. Storytime's over." Daniel said, standing up. He looked up at the amber sky above him. It's getting late, Chatot should be back with your friend soon. As he spoke, a yell echoed from somewhere else in the forest. "That'll be them now." Dylan suddenly burst into the clearing, his partners running close behind him. They were soon followed by Chatot.
"Foll-ow! Foll-ow!" It squarked.
"Please. Just leave us alone!" Dylan called desperately. He hadn't noticed Alex or Daniel yet. "Stop following us!" He begged.
"Dylan!" Alex called.
"Huh?!" he responded. "Alex? You're here?" Chatot stopped shouting and perched on a nearby branch. "What? Why are you stopping now?" he asked. "Did you have something to do with this?" he asked Alex breathlessly.
"Technically, yes." Alex said. Dylan bent over and put his hands on his knees.
"That thing's been chasing us for half an hour."
"Why didn't you just follow her?"
"Why didn't I follow the weird squarking thing that was screeching at me in the middle of a dark forest? Are you hearing yourself?" He suddenly noticed the setup surrounding Alex. "You didn't have all this in the bag did you?"
"Don't be stupid. This guy saved me and brought me here." she said, pointing at Daniel, who waved at Dyland awkwardly.
"Saved you from what?"
"Only a vicious Scolipede in the supposedly safe part of the forest you sent me to."
"Did you catch it?" Dylan said excitedly. Alex glared at him. "I'll take that as a no."
"If I may interrupt…" Daniel said nervously. "The soup's ready if either of you are hungry."
"Soup?" Dylan said. He turned to look up at Chatot. "If you'd have told me about the soup, I would've followed you."
"Doesn't take much to sway you, does it?" Alex said with a chuckle. She turned to Daniel. "But I agree, I could really go for some soup right now. Oh! This is Daniel by the way." she said to Dylan. "And this is Dylan." she said to Daniel.
"A pleasure." Dylan said with a dramatic bow.
"Likewise." Daniel replied. "Also, your Pokémon are welcome to help themselves to whatever berries they can find." Buneary and Blitzle both cried out in joy and ran to the bushes nearest to them. "Hungry little fellows, aren't they?"
"They've been on the run for half an hour, can you blame them?" the trio shared a laugh. They continued to talk as Daniel handed out bowls of steaming soup. Dylan soon took a seat next to the fire. The three talked for a while, gradually working their way through the large pot. By the time they had finished, the sun had almost set, and the sky was beginning to get dark..
"It's getting pretty late." Daniel said as they finished eating. "Have the two of you got something to sleep in? I assume you don't want to sleep in a stranger's house."
"Of course we have." Alex replied. She rummaged in her backpack and pulled out a rolled up sleeping bag. "Is the ground here comfortable?" She asked, stomping briefly.
"It's the ground, Alex. It's not meant to be comfortable." Dylan said as he pulled his own bag out from Blitzle's pouch. "But we didn't come here for comfort, did we?" He and Alex soon found a spot where the grass was particularly long, and rolled out their bags.
"I hope you two don't mind, but I kind of need to get to bed." Daniel said awkwardly.
"That's okay." Alex said. "We'll be fine out here."
"Thanks for understanding." He swung the door of his cabin open, calling his Pokémon to come inside. Chatot and Bibarel rushed in, but Daniel stood by the open door for a moment. "You too, Shroomish. " He said. Shroomish peeked out nervously from its hiding place. After a moment's hesitation, it ran swiftly into the cabin. "Goodnight, you two." Daniel said with a wave as he entered the cabin, closing the door behind him. Alex and Dylan stood in silence for a moment.
"Y'know. For a strange man we met in the forest, he was surprisingly nice." Dylan said.
"Don't tell my mom I followed a stranger, please." Alex replied. "She'll go crazy."
"Your secret's safe with me." Dylan said with a grin. The pair soon settled into the sleeping bags. They both stared up at the star filled sky above them for a while, only speaking briefly every few minutes. Their Pokémon had all fallen asleep surrounding them. Only the occasional rustling in the bushes broke the silence. "Alex…" Dylan said in a hushed voice after a while. "You still awake?"
"No." Alex said with a yawn.
"Oh. Okay." Dylan replied. The pair sat in silence for a few more moments.
"Of course I'm awake, dumbass." Alex said suddenly.
"Oh. Good." He paused for a moment. "So how did you enjoy your first day out in the wild?"
"Apart from the part where I nearly died, it was pretty cool. Managed to catch a Marill and everything. Thanks for coaching me on the throwing, by the way."
"It's all in the shoulders." Dylan replied with a chuckle.
"I didn't even miss!" Alex said proudly. "It was all going so well until I got attacked. Y'know, in the area you swore was safe."
"I said I was sorry." Dylan said defensively. "Splitting up was probably a bad idea in hindsight."
"Ya think?!" Alex replied. The pair laughed. The pair were again silent for a few moments.
"So are you gonna challenge Burgh tomorrow?" Dylan asked.
"Tomorrow? Are you crazy?"
"What? I thought you wouldn't want to waste any time."
"Why would I do it right away? I think I'm gonna need a few days at least to recover from this whole forest thing."
"Why not go right away? You have enough Pokémon for it. Burgh always uses two if it's your first badge."
"Numbers aren't anything, Dylan. I'll need to do a bit of training first at least."
"I think you guys can handle it. I mean, you beat me first time. You'd barely even trained at that point."
"That was a fluke. No offense, but Burgh is a lot stronger than you."
"I beat him, he can't be that much stronger. Besides, the league's are only a few months away. We really need to get moving Alex sighed.
"Fine, if you're gonna be pushy about it. I'll do it the day after tomorrow. Is that soon enough?"
"There we go! Don't worry, I'll be there to cheer you on!"
"Even if I lose?"
"Especially if you lose. Wait. That came out wrong. I meant that I'll be there to cheer you up if you don't win." Alex laughed loudly.
"Good to know. Look, I hate to cut this short but I'm kinda exhausted."
"You gonna try and get some shut-eye?"
"Bingo." Alex replied. "Goodnight." she said.
"Goodnight." The pair went silent. Dylan stared up at the stars for a few more minutes, before his eyelids became too heavy to hold open, and he soon drifted into a deep sleep.
"And here we are!" Daniel announced as he burst out of the forest. Alex and Dylan soon joined him. They had emerged close to where the pair had entered the day before, very close to the large bridge that connected them to the city across the river from them. "No matter how many times I see this, it never gets old." he said as he stared in wonder at the bridge.
"It is a really nice view." Alex added.
"So you're fighting Burgh tomorrow right?" Daniel asked Alex.
"I should be, yes. Are you going to come and watch?"
"Sure. I'm always up for a good Burgh battle." Daniel said, clapping his hands together. "Before you cross, are you sure you've got everything?"
"I'm pretty sure I've got everything." Alex said, patting herself down. She reached the pair of Poké Balls attached to her belt. "Mareep and Marill, both here. You got yours?" she asked Dylan.
"I think so." He checked his own belt, where a lone Poké Ball sat. "Oh no." he said, suddenly panicked. "Where's Blitzle?" he asked. He looked around frantically for a few seconds. Blitlzle emerged slowly from the treeline. Dylan looked relieved. "Oh right, he walked."
"No offence, but how did you manage to survive in their if you can't keep track of a Blitzle?" Daniel asked.
"Being honest? It was more that my Pokémon looked after me than the other way around." Alex laughed.
"You're gonna die out there, you really are." she said.
"Quite possibly, yes. Remember me fondly, won't you?" he said in mock sadness.
"You two are awfully morbid sometimes, you know that?" Daniel asked.
"We know." the pair replied in unison. The conversation was interrupted by a small buzzing noise, coming from seemingly nowhere.
"Someone's phone?" Daniel asked.
"Not mine." Dylan said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Alex pulled her phone out of her backpack.
"It's mine." she glanced down at the screen. "Crap." she said as she answered it. "Hi, mom." she tore the phone away from her ear as a response was yelled loudly at the other end. "Mom, I am so sorry, I completely forgot. Yes, I'm fine. Yes, I promise. Okay, I'll come straight to you. Bye." She ended the call and put her phone away. "That was my mom, I forgot to phone her last night."
"Is she upset?" Dylan asked. Alex nodded.
"She sounded like she just had a breakdown. I really need to get home and see her before she gets any worse." She turned to Daniel. "I'm sorry about this, but we really need to go."
"It's fine, I understand." Alex and Dylan began to walk towards the bridge. "I'll see you tomorrow! And good luck with your mum!" He called as the pair began to ascend the stairs onto the bridge.
"Thanks!" Alex called back with a wave. "I'm gonna need it." she muttered to herself. The pair walked on in silence, their footsteps accompanied by the clicking of Blitzle's hooves as it trotted along happily behind them.
"So why was your mom so worked up on the phone? I could hear her from where I was standing." Alex and Dylan were now almost back into the city.
"I dunno." Alex replied. "She gets worried about me, I suppose. After what happened with Damien, I'm not surprised that she doesn't want me wandering off on my own without keeping in touch with her."
"She does know that most kids our age do this kind of thing, right?"
"I understand her, kind of. Imagine if the only one of your children you were still on good terms with one day up and decided to go roaming. I only decided to go like a week ago, was it?"
"About, yes."
"I feel kinda bad for just leaving her like that."
"Why? She's an adult, she can look after herself."
"That's not what I mean. I'm all she really has left."
"She has your Gran."
"She's her mother-in-law who lives half a region away. They're not exactly close."
"It's cruel, I know. But everyone has to leave home someday. You can't stay with her forever."
"I know, I know." Alex said. The pair were now descending a large staircase back into the city.
"Alright." Dylan said as they reached the bottom. "I'm going straight to the Sanctuary. I'm guessing you're going home?"
"An excellent guess." Alex replied. "I should hurry. We'll talk later and arrange a time to meet. Sound good?"
"Sounds great." Dylan replied. "I'll see you later then."
"See ya." Alex said as she began hurrying away into the crowd, heading vaguely towards the large apartment building she called home.
"Mom?" Alex said as she cautiously opened the door. "You in here?" She stepped into the apartment. Her mother stood staring out of the window opposite her, seemingly oblivious to Alex's entrance. "Mom?" she said again. Her mother turned around quickly.
"Alex.." she began to hurry over to her daughter. "Alex, I am so sorry." She hurried over to her daughter. "I am so, so sorry for shouting at you."
"Mom, you look tense. What happened?"
"Your brother happened. He showed up earlier."
"Oh dear. Did you two have an argument?"
"It was more him shouting at me. He got all heated again, took Spoink and Hariyama and left."
Alex sighed. "Of course he did. Which Pokémon did he leave this time?"
"He didn't have time before he stormed out. So I don't have anything to worry about for a while, which is kind of nice."
"At least he didn't break anything this time!" Alex said jokingly. She hesitated for a moment. "He didn't break anything, did he?"
"He came pretty close to breaking the door, but everything made it out alive this time. But that's enough about me." She began to walk towards the sofa. "Tell me all about your travels!"
"Mom, are you sure you don't want to talk about Damien?"
"We've talked enough about him before. I told you, dear, you shouldn't bother yourself with worrying about him. He's a lost cause." She sat down. "Now let's talk about you for a change." She patted the seat next to her. Alex reluctantly joined her. "Go on then, run me through what happened."
"Well for starters, I have something to show you." She pulled Marills Poké Ball from her bag. It opened, and Marill soon appeared on the table in front of them. Alex's mother squealed with delight.
"Look at him!" She yelled. She reached out and patted Marill gently on the head. "Hello, little guy." Marill purred happily.
"Glad to see he likes you."
"I like him too. You know, your grandmother had an Azumarill when she was younger."
"I think I remember it. Didn't granny call it something like…"
"Bluebell. She named her Bluebell."
"That's the one." Alex replied.
"She is just going to melt when she sees you." Alex's mother said as she pinched one of Marill's cheeks. Marill replied with an indignant cry, before shooting a small jet of water back into her face. Alex's mother wiped her eyes. "He's a feisty one, isn't he?"
"You have no idea. This guy threw himself in front of a Scolipede to protect me about five seconds after I caught him." The color suddenly drained from her mother's face.
"Scolipede? Aren't they those big, dangerous ones? The ones that attack people?" Alex didn't respond. "In the part of the forest you swore to me was safe?"
"I said Dylan swore it was safe." Her mother began to scowl. "Look, I know I said this wasn't going to be dangerous, but you honestly can't expect me to travel anywhere without being ambushed now and again." Her mother held her scowl. Alex sighed. "I'm sorry. I know that you're going to say that I'm horribly irresponsible and that travelling the region is too much for me. But if I can survive a Scolipede with only a Mareep and a Marillm I'm pretty sure I can handle anything." Her mother stayed silent for a few moments, before suddenly bursting into laughter.
"Your father would be so proud of you right now." Alex sighed with relief.
"You're not upset?"
"How could I be? This sort of thing is exactly what I expected to happen to you."
"You expected me to possibly get hurt?" Alex asked.
"Not hurt, no. You're your father's daughter after all. He always told me stories about the ridiculous situations he got into when he was travelling. But he always managed to get out alright. How did you manage your great escape?"
"Oh, that." Alex replied hesitantly. "Some guy showed up and saved me. He took me back to his house and me and Dylan spent the night sleeping outside." Her mother looked at her skeptically.
"You followed a strange man into the forest."
"He wasn't strange. He was pretty nice. He's coming to watch me fight Burgh tomorrow." Her mother laughed.
"Only you could go into a dark forest and come out with new friends." She paused. "Hang on, tomorrow?"
"Do you think I'm rushing in too quickly?"
"Not at all, no. Your father only waited about three days since he started before he took on his first gym."
"He beat a gym after three days?!" Alex said, amazed.
"Well, no, he lost horribly. But you'll do fine, I'm sure."
"That really doesn't make me feel better."
"You said it yourself, if you can survive a Scolipede, you can do anything." She smiled suddenly. "Now that I think about it, Burgh must have one of them, right? Why don't you ask him to use it?"
"Let me guess, dad also asked a gym leader to send out their strongest for his first battle?"
"Bingo." she replied. "I don't know if you've ever seen a Totodile up against a Mamoswine, but I can tell you it doesn't end well."
"Whatever happened to his Pokémon after… y'know."
"They all live up with your grandmother? Remember that Gengar that kept scaring you?"
"I could never forget it."
"That was his. That one was always a prankster." The pair were silent for a moment.
"I really should stop by and see her." Alex said. "How long has it been since we visited her?"
"Let's see, you must have been about thirteen. Or was it fourteen? It's been years either way, so I'm sure she'd be happy to see you." she smiled at Marill. "Especially you." She reached to pinch Marill's cheek again. Marill growled and jumped into Alex's lap. "Okay, okay, I get the message." Alex chuckled. Her mother got to her feet. "Right then, I'm guessing you'll want some dinner?"
"I'm starving." Alex replied.
"How does a nice curry tonight, followed by leftover birthday cake?"
"Since when do you know how to make curry?"
"Jen taught me a recipe a few weeks ago. And I promise that I won't let it catch fire." Alex held up Marill.
"I think with Marill here we should be alright if you almost burn the apartment down again."
"Rill-rill." Marill cried proudly. Alex smiled.
"You're just looking for something to fight, aren't you?" She said to Marill.
"Okay, I know my cooking isn't the best, but it's not a threat to your safety."
"That remains to be seen." The pair laughed again.
"Are your Pokémon going to be having some as well?" As her mother spoke, the remaining Poké Ball in Alex bag burst open, and Mareep appeared on the sofa next to her. It jumped down and scurried over the kitchen area, where Alex's mother had begun to rummage through the cupboards for ingredients. Mareep sat and looked up at her expectantly. "Well." she said. "That answers that."
Alex laid in her bed, her room lit only by the dim moonlight streaming in through the window. Marill had fallen asleep next to her leg, and was snoring gently. Mareep was curled up next to Alex's head, and the pair were staring at each other. "You can't sleep either, can you?" Alex said.
"Reep." Her partner replied in a quiet cry.
"Yeah, I'm nervous as well. But you did well enough against Buneary, didn't you?" Mareep stared back silently. "You understand a lot more than you let on, don't you?" Mareep stayed silent. Alex chuckled. "I hope you're ready for tomorrow. It's a big first step for us." Mareep closed its eyes. Alex sighed. "You just want to sleep, don't you?"
"Reep." Her partner sighed in return.
"In that case, sweet dreams." She turned away from Mareep and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, you two."