{Approx. 8 years ago}

The next one I communicated with was Squirtle. He was a gentle soul, who got along with anyone he was around. However, he was the most averse to battle training. He grew timid around the stronger Pokémon like Sensei or Blindswipe. Sensei and I did help Squirtle settle into the island by giving him non-violent tasks, like washing berries or keeping us cool on particularly hot days. Those kinds of chores he seemed to enjoy the most.

Although he disliked battling, that did not translate to his battle skills. He was actually quite strong, with a moveset of Bubble, Brine, Withdraw, and Rapid Spin. Sensei sent Zemblance to sneak attack him as a test. The Tiny Turtle Pokemon panicked, as predicted. But he could take quite a lot of hits, thanks to his high defenses. Sensei thought something was off about his power, but didn't elaborate with me.

His defensive abilities especially rang true when we were attacked again by the flying Pokémon. I was patrolling the border of the rocky area. Nightraider, Crest, Primrose, and Squirtle were with me. I was expecting a Geodude to deliver a message from that Rhydon, Behemoth. But a group of Skiploom, Tailow, and Fletchinder got to us first when Nightraider went out for a peek.

"We still need to wait for that Geodude. Sensei said this was important. Quick, form up!" I said to the others. [Nightraider, use the tree branches for cover. Crest, toe the line of the forest border, but not too far out.]

[Okay,] said Nightraider.

[Will do!] said Crest as he eagerly charged ahead.

"Primrose, Squirtle, stick by me. We'll stay behind Crest as support. And watch the sides; who knows how desperate for an attack they'll be."

Squirtle nodded uneasily. Primrose gave me a wink and replied, [Gotcha covered!]

As the enemy Pokémon came down toward us, I called for Crest to use his Protect. The enemies divided between breaking his barrier, and coming straight for me.

"Squirtle, use Bubble!" I shouted.

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon sprayed a spread of bubbles at them.

[Primrose, Ember!]

She shot small fireballs from her mouth. The water and fire attacks halted the flying Pokemon in their tracks. Some even made direct hits. But this was only a temporary solution. That's when Nightraider snuck in above from the canopy. He used Astonish to further flinch them, and then peppered Peck attacks.

Meanwhile, some persistent Tailow broke through the Protect and attacked with Wing Attack and Peck. In response, Crest used Bide. [This all you got? I heard you Tailow were gutsy and defiant. *Ngh!* Let me show you what that really means!] He unleashed the damage he was dealt back at the Tailow in one blast. Standing as the victor, he gave out a triumphant cry. [Yeah, that's what I thought!]

Nightraider, Primrose, and Squirtle were almost finished with our opponents, too. Though a stray Fletchinder was about to strike Primrose from the side, Squirtle caught him coming first. He slid on his spinning shell, came between Fletchinder and Primrose, and stood with his outstretched limbs to block it. It helped he used Withdraw as he moved, but he effectively took the damage, and let Primrose scratch Fletchinder until he fled with the others.

"Nice save," I gave Squirtle a thumbs up. Then I heard commotion out on the rocky terrain. At last, the Geodude had come, but a trio of Ducklett were pestering him. "I think I see our messenger. Come on, let's give that Geodude a path to safety."

I ran with Primrose, Squirtle, and Nightraider at my side. But Crest ran ahead of us. He clanged his clubbed tail against his scaly back, alerting the Ducklett. [Come at me!] he shouted.

One Ducklett oblidged, diving at him with Wing Attack. Crest blocked it with Protect, then countered with Dragon Tail, sending that Ducklett flying away. The other two Ducklett stopped attacking the Geodude with their water attacks, changing their target to Crest. The Scaly Pokémon used Protect once again. Then he dropped the barrier to use Bide. One of the two Ducklett hit him with a pulse of water. [Ha! You dumb ducks learn nothing!] The other Ducklett hit Crest with the same water attack. This time, he seemed to be struggling to maintain his balance after that attack. [Woooo boy…ten of you now! I can still…take you all…] His eyes were spiraling. The two Ducklett switched to attacking with Wing Attack.

[Crest, what's wrong with you?] I called out to him. I was still too far away from the scuffle. [Snap out of it!]

But the Wing Attacks hit their mark. Crest was now lying on his side, while the two Ducklett turned around for another attack.

I grit my teeth. "Dang it, the others are too slow. They can't make it in time to…]

Suddenly, Squirtle sprang into action. He withdrew into his shell, then span across the rocky terrain. As oppose to stepping along the uneven ground, his spinning shell ricocheted in the general direction he was aiming at a much faster speed than I could sprint. This allowed him to hit one of the Ducklett before he could hit Crest. Then he popped out of his shell and stepped before the last Ducklett in a defensive stance. He stood unwavering when the attack landed on him, then used his Bubble attack to create a makeshift wall. The Ducklett seemed confused at first, then proceeded to blow away the bubbles with his wings. But that stalling allowed the Geodude to come from behind with a Rock Throw. With that, the battle was over.

I motioned to everyone present. "Come on! Back to the forest." I carried Crest and led the others to the borderline in a couple of minutes. While we caught our breath, Nightraider stepped aside to relay the message from the Geodude. I walked up to Squirtle, who sat against a tree trunk. I smiled, "Nice job, back there! You're a lifesaver, in many ways than one."

Squirtle put up his own, lethargic thumbs up. [Thanks.]

I beamed, [Hey, we can communicate telepathically now!]

He retreated into his shell as I spoke that way. [Oh my Arceus! How are you in my head? Is that what Fennekin was describing?]

[Yep! Welcome to the club,] she said as she jumped onto my shoulder.

I reached a hand out to Squirtle. [It's alright. I don't know how it exactly works, but I can teach you how you can turn it 'on and off' from your end.]

No response for a moment, and he still kept his head in his shell.

[Hm, you know, my telepathy is sort of an indicator of a bond we share. And like with Primrose here, I'd like to give you a nickname in that honor. Does that sound okay?]

Still no response, but his head peeked out a little.

[Let's see. You're quite a defender among us. I can call you…Gardna. That name alright?]

Squirtle poked his head out fully. He thought it over for a second. [It's a nice name. Sure.]

I showed my hand. [Then welcome to the team, Gardna. And…thanks for saving my life back when we first met.]

Gardna took my hand with his own and shook it. [Your welcome. No big deal, really.]

[No big deal?] Primrose interjected. [You offered to take the brunt of abuses from our poacher! And battled off hostile Pokémon when we escaped. All even though you didn't want to!]

He put a hand behind his head and shrugged sheepishly. [Well, I had to. You guys needed help. So I helped protect your back like I had from you guys.]

[Were you kidnapped from Kalos, too?] I asked.

[No, I was from Kanto,] he frowned. [Just relaxing by Cerulean Cape. He nabbed me while I was asleep.]

[Huh. So you all came from different regions? Darn poacher got around.]

[Unfortunately, yeah. I was the first of us five.]

Nightraider flew up to me. [I memorized the message.] He sighed, [Sensei will love to hear this one.]

I shrugged. [Well, let's head back. Crest is gonna need some food right away.]