Note to writer: DON'T LEAVE A STORY IN DEVELOPMENT FOR OVER A YEAR! NOT COOL!

Sorry about that guys. This next chapter took way longer than I anticipated. Biggest reason being that it was so hard to actually write it out at times. The chapter idea was given to me by a friend from DA: tati611. His idea I felt had a lot of merit for this, and could be a good bit of character development to press on from the doom and gloom of the last couple of chapters.

So this one, rather than focus on Sora or the mermaids, will actually be about his apprentice. Yep, it's Tidus' turn in the spotlight! Hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (for however long I need to say that, I think it's pretty obvious at this point in time). All rights to Game Freak and Nintendo. And Satoshi, the man behind the concept for Pokemon [little trivia: he came up with the idea to share his joy of bug-catching with other people. Crazy, right?]

Guardian and Maiden of the Sea

Chapter 19:

A Guardian's Best Friend

Cruising on a tropical afternoon with the sun at its peak, Sora stared down at his apprentice as Tidus lifted his wooden practice sword. Sora held his staff at the ready, and his pupil charged with a mighty roar. In a flash, Tidus found himself on the ground and his practice weapon pressed lightly against his chest. It was then he realized that Sora had disarmed him in the instant, and knocked him down without even a flap from his cape. Kari and Sarah, who were in observance on the side along with Sparky, Rina, Cancer, and Yolanda were laughing their heads off, making Tidus's defeat even more humiliating.

"Cut it out you two!" Rina reprimanded to her sisters.

"Sorry. But that was just too funny." Kari sighed as she started to calm down.

"Yeah." Sarah joked, "Almost as much as Psyduck." Suddenly, the two of them were lightly whacked on the head, interrupting their inappropriate humor.

"That wasn't very nice, you know." Sora muttered to them.

"Well you didn't have to be so harsh about it." Sarah grumbled, soothing her head.

"With how Sora trains Tidus, he kinda has the right to be harsh." Kenneth pointed out while working on one of the sails, tying it down to catch the incoming wind. "After all, he is his apprentice."

"Whatever." They both huffed in annoyance.

Despite it passing, Tidus still felt ashamed at how easily beaten he was. No doubt due to Sora learning to master aura, but he still felt like he wasn't making any progress in his training. His knowledge about Pokémon and Pokémon care had improved substantially since becoming Sora's apprentice, yet every other aspect about becoming a guardian was still difficult to attain. And he had been training for over a year now. It made him wonder if he would ever become a guardian like Sora.

Seeing the dejected look on his face, Yolanda went over to Tidus while the mermaids argued with Sora about earlier. "What's the matter Tidus?" She inquired.

"Nothing." Tidus fibbed.

"It's okay Tidus. You don't need to feel ashamed."

"I'm not ashamed. Just disappointed."

"Well, you don't have to feel like that either." The princess assured, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not doing anything wrong."

"But Princess Yolanda, I've been training under Master Sora for more than a year!" Tidus began to whine. "And in all that time, he floors me before I can even make a move. How am I still so weak?"

Massaging his shoulder, Yolanda explained, "I don't believe you're weak. And neither does Sora. We all believe you have much strength, and so much potential."

"In what? Being a court jester?"

"Don't even jest about that! Maybe you aren't as good at combat as Sora is, but I do know you are brilliant when it comes to tactics in battle."

When Yolanda mentioned how good he was at strategy, Tidus perked back up and wondered, "Really?"

"Really. You'll become a great guardian because of how careful and wise you are. Knowledge is power, after all."

With that inspiration, Tidus looked back up to see Sparky and Dedenne talking with Rina. His master was engaged with them in some conversation, and Tidus saw his chance. Keeping well out of eyesight from the three, as well as signaling everyone to not give him away, Tidus silently snuck up to Sora from behind. When he was close enough, he swiped his practice sword from Sora, then pointed it behind his head.

"Gotcha!" he cheered.

However, Sora said with a chuckle, "You forgot one little thing Tidus." Then Tidus felt something tickling him in the stomach. As he held back his laughter, Tidus looked down to see Pikachu using his tail to tickle him. Pretty soon, he couldn't hold it in any longer and was on the ground laughing hysterically.

Feeling like she was missing out, Sparky moaned, "Aw! I want to be tickled too!"

"Maybe another time Sparky." Cancer tittered in response.

When Sora and Tidus got back into training, Kari went inside the ship through the mermaids' room to see Drake. When she found him, he was thoroughly investigating a couple planks that appeared wet and moldy.

"Well that's not good," he muttered.

"What is it Drake?" she asked him.

A little startled, Drake replied, "Oh Kari, perfect timing. We seem to be having a little water problem down here."

"What's wrong with that?"

"The wood on the hull is conditioned for being in the ocean, but here inside the brig it's beginning to rot. We need to treat it soon, but we don't have any more spare lumber."

"Well we are quite fortunate then. Sarah's Buizel had come across a nearby inlet due northwest of where we are currently heading, and it is covered in a dense forest."

"Let's see if that works. We'll set a course for this new island at once." And he headed on deck to make the changes for this island.

About an hour past noon, the ship came ashore upon the island Kari described. Luckily, the only inhabitants made known were some local Pokémon such as Mightyena, Aipom, Ariados, Yanma, Victreebel, Teddiursa, and Taillow. Drake made it known why they were coming ashore, and allowed them to do as they will until repairs were finished. So most of the group decided to be productive in their dealings today. Sarah managed to pull Kenneth aside to help him learn to swim; Prince Pewter, Teller, and Sketch went over charts to plan their route as well as get a lay of what the maps lacked, like the temple from the other day; Sora continued to train Tidus on the shore, though did try to lighten it up so he could have a higher moral of himself; Cancer accompanied Drake and Sarah as they went to retrieve lumber with a new invention of his to help cut down wood; And Yolanda, despite holding some misgivings about the idea, pulled Rina aside and tried to learn more about her and her sisters from before the voyage began.

While that was all going on, Opal brought Sparky along with him to find fresh ingredients for future meals. However, he and Pansage often had to restrain her whenever she got distracted by all the Pokémon around them. She certainly was an eager one, and he made a mental note of that for the future. As they were strolling along another part of the woods, Sparky noticed some strange plants nearby while Opal was gathering Cheri Berries.

"Hey Opal, what are these blue, squiggly things?" she brought to his attention.

When he came over to see what it was she was referring to, he marveled, "Well well, what a treat! Kelpsy Berries."

"Kelpsy Berries?"

"Yes. Although quite bitter, these berries can do wonders with even the sweetest of delectable dishes. And, it is said they help Pokémon in looking more beautiful."

"Wow cool! Is it a rare berry?" Sparky asked, eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Quite rare. We'd best take whatever we find back to the ship." Excited by the prospect, Sparky began hastily collecting Kelpsy Berries. Her Dedenne pitched in too, collecting ones closer to the roots.

She was on the last couple of berries when she tried one, only to find it pulling back and being reluctant to come with her. So she tried harder with her Pokémon pitching in, and, with assistance from Opal and Pansage, one mighty tug finally dislodged the berry. However, this revealed a Beedrill snacking on the other end of the berry.

"BEEDRILL!" they both cried out in terror. Before a swarm could emerge, the two of them plus their Pokémon raced off to another part of the forest. Not long after that, they came across a group of Ariados, and fled in another direction to avoid angering them. Pretty soon after, they ran into a pair of Ursaring that gave chase as they darted away. They ran for their lives, and hoped to escape this nightmare.

Retreating into a small cavern that was just big enough for her, Sparky stopped to catch her breath. Right now, she was really wanting to find her way back to the ship and play with everyone there, especially everyone's Pokémon. That became a bit complicated to consider when she and Dedenne realized their current situation: separated from Opal with no idea about where they were on the island. She had been so busy running for her life that she had gotten them good and lost in a strange cave. Sparky didn't like that the two of them were so far away from everyone and that they didn't know where to go. It was then that Dedene's ears perked up, and it took off further into the cave with Sparky quickly following behind.

The tunnel was like a maze, with forks along their path further in. Even if Dedenne led them down one path, there would be another with more path options to choose from. Despite this, the little mouse Pokémon continued on some sort of route through the caves, leading Sparky further in with the hope they were reaching a path outside and a chance at reuniting with the rest of their company. After all the twists and turns in the cavern, the two of them finally made it somewhere outside. The only hitch was that they had ended up on a small bluff dominated by a single tree hanging precariously on the edge, its trunk leaning out towards the sea with leaves hiding its branches inside.

"We must be on the other side of the island," Sparky figured.

"Denne." Dedenne squeaked in agreement.

"Maybe we should go back." But before they could, some sticky webbing shot past them and blocked the entrance behind them. Sparky went to try and remove it, but found it too sticky that she was having trouble yanking her hands away. Turning to look behind her, she spotted a pair of menacing eyes glow red from within the tree hedge. Whatever was inside the tree, Sparky grew scared about meeting whatever this new face was going to be.

Back at the Aura, Tidus decided to take a little break from training. He sat under the eaves of one of the trees as he watched his master train with Pikachu, Larvitar, and some of his other Pokémon. He was using the Aura sword to practice defense with his team, taking pointers from Lucario and Prince Pewter when required. His master was so cool, Tidus felt lucky to have a great mentor like him. Princess Yolanda was right; Sora still helped him come a long ways from where he initially was, and grow in knowledge and compassion like his master. He would become a guardian someday, and he knew his master could help him to be the best.

Then Tidus looked over to the princess and Rina, and Rina was brushing Yolanda's hair to his surprise. Knowing how protective Yolanda was with her relationship to Sora, he figured the princess would take forever to be this friendly with the mermaid. Yet the two seemed to have gotten to be on good terms and he was made to wonder when and how this had occurred. As he continued to gaze at Rina though, he couldn't help but remember the whole Mermaid Pendant incident a while back, particularly when Sparky was changed into a mermaid. After hearing how his master was saved by Rina and meeting her in-person, Tidus sometimes fantasized a similar occurrence happening to him: he would be doing some great feat in something like a storm, and be thrusted into the sea. And before he would pass out, he would be rescued by a shadow of a mermaid. And somehow, the shadow looked a bit like Sparky.

Just as he was about to go into his daydream, Opal rushed by and startled him back into reality.

"Hey Opal!" he griped, "What's the big idea?!" He found his answer when several Beedrill and a pair of Ursaring came charging after the esteemed chef, forcing Tidus to retreat to the company. Alerted to their arrival, Sora, Prince Pewter, and Sketch began to retaliate.

"Hawlucha, help us out!"

"Forretress, go!"

"Push them back, Scyther!"

With that, the three engaged the attacking Pokémon. Scyther took charge of dealing with the Beedrill, using its sword-like hands to deflect their needed and stingers while slashing back at them. Due to the fact that it was an elderly Scyther though, it got winded rather quickly. After using a Sword Dance/Slash combo, Scyther hunched over and panted from the exertion. Luckily, Forretress protected it with Rapid Spin and held off the Beedrill until Scyther recovered. Hawlucha took on the two Ursaring, not even backing down from such intense foes. Since these bear Pokémon were so enraged, Hawlucha easily dodged their efforts and countered with its High Jump Kick and Karate Chop. Once they saw how tough their opponents were, the attacking Pokémon retreated back to the woods.

As the three Trainers returned their comrades, Tidus went up to Opal and shouted, "What was all that about?!"

"I am terribly sorry." Opal said with a low bow, "Sparky and I were foraging for new ingredients when we ran into trouble. Pansage and I were too lax in being aware for trouble."

"Don't overthink it Opal." Prince Pewter assured, "You had no way of knowing. You and Sparky should be happy to still be in one piece."

Taking notice, Tidus inquired, "Where is Sparky? Did you guys get separated?"

"I could have sworn she was right behind me in the chase." Opal told them.

"What?! You don't know where she is?!"

"Take it easy Tidus." Sora said to calm his apprentice, "I'll go look for her. Everyone else, stay here." And so he went into the woods, followed by Pikachu and Larvitar.

As he left, Tidus couldn't help the sudden urge growing inside of him. Even though Sora knew her the longest, he felt that he was the closest to Sparky. He wanted to be the one to find and rescue her, he wanted to be the hero. So he raced after his master, not even heeding the others as they called out to him.

Sora moved swiftly and with caution, making sure not to disturb any wild Pokémon that just wanted to mind their own business. He knew Sparky had Dedenne, and that they could protect themselves if needed. The thing was that not only was Dedenne not a very strong Pokémon, but sparky did not have very much battle experience. If they ended up facing something beyond their abilities or one that used slippery tactics, they could wind up in immense danger. So haste was necessary.

After looking around, Sora spotted footprints some ways into the woods. Tiny footprints that could only belong to someone Sparky's size. Pikachu gave them a quick sniff, and confirmed they were Sparky's. He followed his Pokémon's lead as Pikachu proceeded to sniffing out the trail. Before too long, they ran into a rock wall that loomed high over them, cutting the sky in half. Pikachu then pointed to a small hole in the wall where the footprints entered. Sora looked inside to find it was composed of a myriad of passageways, with very little light going inside.

"It's too small for me." Sora evaluated, "I won't be able to go through."

"Pika, Pi Pika?"

"Even though you and Larvitar can fit, what if Sparky is hurt? She'll need someone who can help heal her if needed."

"Pika." Pikachu muttered, his ears drooping. Just then, Larvitar gestured to Sora to tell him that there was something in the brush behind them. Sora stood up, using his aura to ascertain the presence.

When he did, he told it, "I know you're there. Come on out." And stumbling out of the woods came Tidus. Sora sighed when he discovered it was his apprentice hiding there, but he had an idea as to why he would appear like this. Even so, he was still disappointed at this act of disobedience, still he knew better than to judge. So he returned to the dilemma he was trying to solve before him.

Tidus, being aware of how much trouble he was in, immediately pleaded, "I'm so sorry master, I really am. Please forgive me."

"Not right now Tidus." His master responded, "We have to figure out how to follow Sparky's trail. The footprints lead into this tunnel, but it's too small for me. I could send a Pokémon in, but they won't know how to help Sparky if she's hurt. They don't know first aid like Lucario or Chansey do." Tidus pondered all Sora told him, contemplating how to best this conundrum.

When he hit upon an idea, he announced, "I can go! I'm small enough to fit, and I can provide some first aid like you taught me."

"That's too risky. What if you run into a hostile Pokémon in there? You still don't have your own."

"Well then, let me go with Pikachu. It can lead the way as well as battle Pokémon we run into." That argument effectively put Sora in checkmate.

With reluctance, he agreed to the apprentice's plan and instructed, "Find Sparky and bring her right back. However, if something should go wrong, withdraw back here. We'll figure something else out if we need to."

"Yes master."

"Pikachu, keep an eye on him." Pikachu grumbled his acknowledgement before leading Tidus down the tunnel. When they disappeared, Sora prayed, "Be careful Tidus."

"Lar." Larvitar said in comfort.

"Hey Pikachu, are you sure you know where we're going?" Tidus questioned the yellow rodent. Glaring back, Pikachu scolded him for doubting its abilities. "Sorry sorry! It's just… we're taking an awful long time trying to find Sparky, and I'm getting worried." Pikachu puffed out its chest proudly to assure Tidus that he knew what he was doing. "You're right. We'll find them. So let's go!" And they resumed their trek.

While Pikachu was able to pick up Sparky's trail to a degree, the natural shape and size of the tunnel allowed slight breezes to pass by, throwing the scent elsewhere. When that happened, Pikachu had to find it again to resume their search. However one time this happened at a fork, and all the paths gave off Sparky's scent, so the lightning mouse could not pick a direction. Tidus picked up on this and began thinking back on his vast knowledge of Pokémon abilities and traits for a solution.

"Let's see…" he muttered in thought, "If we can't pick up her scent in these tunnels, we'll need to use another means of finding where Sparky went." He began recalling all he knew about every Pokémon known to exist so far in order to find a solution. Pikachu had good hearing, so that might be something they could use. Although, the caves would echo too much for them to accurately pinpoint their friends. The tracks were mainly Sparky's, and these were muddled a bit. Then, he recalled one time when Pikachu and Dedenne used their electricity to find each other because of Dedenne's whiskers.

"That's it!" Tidus exclaimed, then instructed, "Pikachu, send out some electricity to find Dedenne. We'll use that to find them." Pikachu nodded, recalling a time before when it communicated with Dedenne this way. So it sent out an electric signal in the hopes Dedenne would receive it. A little bit of time passed, and the two began to think the tunnel was blocking their signal. Until finally, Pikachu's ears shot up as if it received something. And with it, the electric mouse raced off into the path on the right.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Tidus called, crawling as fast as he could after his master's partner. But in his rush, Tidus bonked his head on a lower part of the ceiling, and stopped to soothe the sore he just received. When he felt ready to press on, he continued and ran straight into another fork. Only this time, he had no way of figuring out which path Pikachu or Sparky took.

"Hey! Pikachu!" he shouted, the tunnels echoing for a good while with his voice. The echoes got were so loud they hurt Tidus's ears. "Scratch yelling in these caverns." He mumbled, massaging his ears, "Now what?" He looked down at the ground, hoping Pikachu's tracks could be followed. But it was all rock now, so there was nothing to leave an imprint on. However, he did spot dark splotches on the ground going off to his left. "Could this be..?" With growing concern for his friend, Tidus decided to hedge a bet and follow the newfound trail in hopes that it might lead him to Sparky.

The apprentice crawled through the enclosed space for some time before he began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Believing it was the way out to Sparky, he picked up the pace. But what he found instead was a small cavern full of vegetation: vines, flowers, grass, and moss covered the space, brightening from the patches of sunlight sifting through the leaves above. Tidus pulled himself to his feet once he got inside, marveling at such a beautiful find.

As he did, a grey blur suddenly tackled him and knocked him down. Tidus looked up to identify his attacker as a Poochyena, hunched down with fangs bared. He was a little startled by its attack, but was curious as to the Pokémon's aggressive behavior. The cave they were in couldn't be its den, as these Pokémon were more often found in open areas. He looked behind the pooch to see if there was something else behind it, and spotted a white Pokémon with a green head and a pair of pinkish-red discs on its cranium. The apprentice immediately identified it as a Ralts.

"What's a Ralts doing here?" Tidus pondered aloud, "Is Poochyena protecting it?" Poochyena gave a couple yips to try and scare off the human, keeping its intimidating gaze set on him. "Hey, take it easy." Tidus tried to assure, "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just looking for a friend of mine." Poochyena continued to growl at him, unconvinced by his words. Tidus guessed he wasn't going to get anywhere with his current approach, yet he wouldn't leave that Ralts in the condition it was in. He knew his master would never leave an injured Pokémon in such a state, so he wouldn't either. Getting down on his knees, Tidus tried again at calming and befriending Poochyena. When he did, the Pokémon would yip more viciously than before to deter him. Despite that, Tidus kept making an effort at showing it he wasn't a threat. He remembered what Sora taught him about keeping calm when engaging wild Pokémon, and to avoid any sudden movements so as to not startle them.

Seeing that he wouldn't be scared off, Poochyena finally bit his hand out of agitation. Tidus cried out in pain, but grit his teeth and did his best to look Poochyena straight in the eye, another lesson of his master's. He did what he could to convey his thoughts and feelings about helping the two Pokémon, trying to convey his thoughts as best as he could. As they continued gazing at each other, a strange glow washed over the pair, confusing them both. Suddenly, Tidus felt like some part of Poochyena flooded into him, filling him with thoughts and emotions that weren't his own. When it stopped, the Poochyena released its hold on Tidus, and proceeded to licking the wound it made.

"What was that?" Tidus said in wonder, "Could Poochyena and I… have bonded?" After it had tended to Tidus's injury, Poochyena rushed over to Ralts and let out small whines. The apprentice got to his feet and hurried over to see how he could help the wounded Psychic-type. As he approached, Ralts let out a screech, and the apprentice gripped his head as he felt something like a spike press on his mind. "Aaahh!" he cried out, "Ralts! Stop! I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to help!" Poochyena seemed unaffected by Ralts' mind-blasting defense mechanism, and yipped and whined for it to stop hurting Tidus. But Ralts kept going, and even increased the intensity of the blast. Tidus fell to his knees, wailing in pain as the attack persisted. In a desperate attempt, Tidus reached out to Ralts with his hand, and the same glow that occurred before happened with this Pokémon too. When the glow faded, the air finally settled as Tidus recovered from the experience as the little psychic simmered down to soft whimpers.

His head clear, Tidus pulled up his satchel with the first-aid materials he carried with him. He looked over the small cut on its arm, and pulled out a vial filled with a green paste made from Lum berries. He tapped out a small amount on his fingertip and applied it on the cut before wrapping a bandage on the wound.

"There. How does that feel Ralts?" He asked it when he was done. Ralts moved its arm to test how it felt, and gave a happy squeak in reply. "Great! Now to find Pikachu and rescue Sparky."

That's when he heard a shrill, "PIIIIIIIII!"

"Pikachu!" Tidus gasped, realizing his master's partner was in trouble. Poochyena gave a couple curious yips at his outburst, to which he explained, "That cry was my master's Pikachu. I need to find it." Tidus turned to leave the cavern when Poochyena darted in front of him to block his way. "Wha-? Poochyena!" The little pooch gave several quick barks while keeping a firm gaze locked on the human. In that moment, Tidus seemed to understand what it was trying to say.

"You want to come help me?" he inquired. Poochyena made a quick nod, followed by Tidus feeling Ralts' tugging his pants and chirping at him. "You too Ralts?" To this, Ralts also nodded. "Okay then. Can you use your psychic antenna to find Sparky and Pikachu?" The tiny psychic hummed in concentration, attempting to ascertain the minds of those the apprentice desired to find. It soon located them, and took off with Poochyena and Tidus following through the maze.

Thanks to his new ally, Tidus made it through the tunnels to where Sparky was supposed to be. When they got there, they found the exit barred by a mess of sticky webbing that blocked the view outside.

"Ariados silk." Tidus noted, "We'll need to find some way around this. Any ideas Ralts?" Instead of Ralts answering, Poochyena went in front of them and readied itself to bite into the webbing. When it did, tongues of fire flickered around its mouth and caused the web to incinerate upon contact. "You know Fire Fang?" Tidus gasped in awe, "That's amazing!" With the way cleared, they exited onto a ledge on the other side of the island. There was a tree that stood on the tip of the ledge, clinging with large, powerful roots to avoid falling into the ocean. Up in its branches, the three noticed a large spider web that was holding three figures; two small and one larger. When Tidus got a better look at them, he saw that they were Sparky, Dedenne, and Pikachu.

"Sparky!" Tidus called out as he raced over.

"Tidus, stay back!" Sparky shouted back, becoming aware of the apprentice coming for her, "It's a trap." Fortunately for him, Poochyena tackled him down to avoid a String Shot that was fired from the shadows of the tree. Tidus thanked the Pokémon for saving him, and looked back up to find Ariados slowly descending on a single line.

Knowing he had to battle, Tidus stood and requested, "Poochyena, Ralts, will you two help me save Sparky?" Both Pokémon nodded in reply, standing ready to confront the spider Pokémon.

Poochyena's Fire Fang and Ralt's psychic attacks will be strong against Ariados, who's a Poison and Bug type. He thought, strategizing his approach. But I'll need to watch out for its poison attacks. I don't have enough Antidote from Cancer to treat Sparky and my Pokémon. Still, Poochyena might have a hard time hitting Ariados if it begins to move on that web.

With the battle underway, Ariados struck first by shooting a Poison Sting at Ralts. In response, Tidus called out, "Ralts, use Confusion!" A faint blue outline surrounded each stinger as the small psychic redirected the attack away. "Now Poochyena, Fire Fang!" Poochyena leaped high into the air, and bit down on Ariados. When it was done, the opponent shot another String Shot that Poochyena promptly dodged. "Tackle attack!" But while Poochyena charged up, Ariados surprised it with a point-blank String Shot, stopping it cold. As Poochyena struggled to break free, Ariados fired a Dark Pulse attack at the pooch Pokémon. "Redirect that with Confusion!" Channeling its psychic power, Ralts forced the Dark Pulse to go over it and Tidus, and into the cliff wall behind them rather than Poochyena. Said pooch used Fire Fang to free itself, then it jumped above Ariados. Having missed the spider on purpose, Poochyena then bit down with fangs coated in ice. "That's Ice Fang!" Tidus marveled at the unique move. Thanks to it, Ariados' line was severed, causing it to plummet to the ground with a thud.

"Alright!" Tidus cheered. But the victory was short-lived, as the spider Pokémon righted itself and rushed towards Ralts, shooting Poison Sting at it. In defense, Ralts erected a Light Screen to block the attack. Despite the extra barricade, Ariados kept up its attack to strain its prey. Enraged, Poochyena rushed into the fray once more, fangs crackling with electricity. It chomped down on Ariados with its Thunder Fang to do massive damage, as well as further impress Tidus with another unique move. Once it finished and retreated back to him, Tidus knew this battle was not going to end in their favor anytime soon. Ariados was too powerful, and both Pokémon were giving it their all to combat this foe and not even fazing it. So he commanded, "Ralts, use Confusion one more time to send Ariados flying!" Using as much of its remaining energy as it could, Ralts enveloped the spider in a blue outline and began lifting it off the ground. Before the opposing Pokémon knew what to do, it was catapulted to another part of the island, thus ending the battle.

Poochyena's Fire Fang made quick work of the webbing holding Sparky and the two electric mice Pokémon, and Ralts used its Confusion one last time to levitate them safely down. Once it finished, Tidus used a Sitrus Berry and paste from a Lum Berry to help it recover its strength and fight off any poison it might have gotten from the battle. Sparky then rushed over to the apprentice and knocked him down with a hug.

"Thank you so much Tidus!" she cried in jubilee, "You saved me!"

"Well—uh… i-it was nothing." Tidus returned, flustered by her admiration, "But Poochyena and Ralts were the real heroes."

"And they were just so cute! How'd you find them?"

"Well, I was following Pikachu trying to find you, and then—"

"Pika!" Pikachu grumbled loudly, giving an angry look with its arms crossed and tapping its foot. Getting the message, Tidus apologized to Pikachu and tried to explain how they were separated. During that, Tidus noticed Poochyena licking at a wound on Sparky's leg.

"Sparky, let me see your leg." Tidus instructed. Pulling out some medicine from his pouch on his belt, the apprentice began to assess and treat the wound. He cleaned off whatever remained of Ariados' webbing, then applied a powder from Paras mushrooms to prep the wound and cure any poison in Sparky's body, and finally wrapped a bandage around the area to ensure it would heal. Sparky tested her leg out to make sure she could still walk with it, and found she could.

"Thank you again Tidus." Sparky said with a bow.

"Denne." Denne added.

"You're welcome. You should be alright now. Looks like you got scraped when Ariados was snagging you and Dedenne."

"Yeah. Pikachu got here a little before you did, but Ariados caught him before he could do anything."

"Well, let's get back to Master Sora. He's probably worried about us." But looking back at where they came from, the two found the cave entrance had collapsed, most likely from Ariados' redirected Dark Pulse. And Ralts was too exhausted to move them now, even with the pick-me-up. "Um… now what?" Tidus wondered.

"Need some help?" came a voice from the sea. The humans and Pokémon turned to see Rina approach atop her Gyarados. Poochyena and Ralts hid behind Tidus in fright, but Pikachu assured them that this Gyarados was friendly.

"Sora was getting worried about you taking too long Tidus." Rina explained, "So he sent Swellow and Fletchinder to look for where Sparky was. Then he told me they spotted you in the middle of a battle with a powerful Ariados, and he asked me to come help."

"Well he doesn't have to worry anymore." Sparky told the mermaid maiden, "Tidus saved us from that Ariados, and he has two new Pokémon that he bonded with too."

"He did?"

Coming up next to Sparky, the apprentice suggested, "How about I tell everyone everything once we get back to the ship." To that, Rina agreed, raising an eyebrow at how close the two kids stood by each other.

"WHAT?!" an outraged Tidus screamed while the Aura sailed on, "But Master!"

"You know the ancient laws as well as I do Tidus." Sora reminded, his face and tone stoic on his position, "You aren't allowed to have any Pokémon until you become a full-fledged guardian."

"But Master, I can't send Poochyena and Ralts away. I've already bonded with them."

"I'm well aware of that. We don't need to send them away. But until you complete your training, they must remain with me."

"That's not fair!" Sparky shouted angrily.

"Denne denne!"

"Sparky, this has to be done." Cancer tried to reason, "Disobeying the ancient laws can lead to great disasters."

But just as Sora began to approach the two Pokémon his apprentice had, Poochyena used Tackle to knock him back before returning to Tidus and standing hunched to strike again. Sora tried again, only to be met by the same result. This time, Pikachu and Larvitar stood before Poochyena and Ralts, ready to battle.

Before the situation could escalate, Lucario dropped down between them wih his paws out and glowing with aura.

I believe a compromise must be made. He spoke, Rather than take your apprentice's Pokémon, let him care for them as part of his training.

"Care for them?" Sora asked as he recovered, "Lucario, are you sure?"

He may not use them for battle himself. But should he be required to defend himself, he may command them as their Trainer. Such compromise does not violate the rites of old. Sora thought on it, and had to agree that Lucario had a point. So he nodded, much to Tidus' relief and delight. With it settled, everyone resumed their normal routines as they sailed on to the Isolated Kingdom.

Drake: So, all your Pokémon are Water-types?

Rina: That's right.

Drake: Well, I thought I saw Kari with another Pokémon that wasn't.

Rina: Strange. Where was this?

Drake: Whatever it is, we'd better help her out.

Next time,

Passion Call