"Good morning~" Sera chimed as she entered the Petalburg Gym.

Norman looked over his shoulder at the sound. "Ah, Sera. I was wondering when you'd be by. It's a little late for morning, isn't it?"

"It's still before noon," she defended. She had also overslept a bit, so it felt more like proper morning to her, but she didn't mention as much to Norman.

The Gym Leader simply shrugged. "I take it you're here for you Nav upgrade?"

"Yes sir."

As Norman retrieved the necessary disk, he mentioned, "You know you just missed Morgan. She's doing a quick favor for me at the moment if you want to wait for her to get back."

"Hm?" Sera pondered this a moment, but finally gave an unenthusiastic half-shrug. "No, I guess not. We just had a battle, and it'll be more fun if we expand our teams a bit more before we meet again." Also, she had begun to get the feeling that Morgan didn't like her very much. Ah well, she supposed they were supposed to be rivals. Maybe Morgan was just competitive like that. Sera chose to believe that theory.

"Fair enough. And you know how to use all the features I've unlocked, correct?"

"Yes sir." She nodded. "Limited Wonder Trades, and direct Trades restricted to Morgan for now, right? I'll also be able to use the feature to send daddy any Research Pokemon I catch, correct?"

Norman's mouth twitched into a momentary frown, but he affirmed, "Yes, I believe so. Just to be clear, you won't be using any of those extra Pokemon, right?"

"Oh, no sir! Just taking advantage of my traveling to help daddy with field research. He's really interested in all the Pokemon with rare moves cropping up lately, and wants to test whether they're the result of wild interspecies breeding or if something else is affecting the way they develop. It's really interesting either way, don't you think?"

"Hmmm. I suppose. Just make sure your 'daddy' knows the League is not going to be happy if your capture exceptions start affecting The Game."

Sera shook her head adamantly. "Of course not! As long as I've been dying to compete, it would be no fun if I cheated like that. ..In fact!" She brought out a PokeBall, inspected it to ensure it was the correct one, then loaded it into the Nav to transport. "I caught a Seedot for myself, but the Surskit I'm sending knows Fell Stinger. Weird, right? Most of the Pokemon capable of passing on such a move aren't native to Hoenn. Do you think some Masquerain that knew it flew in from far away? Or are purebreds starting to develop new abilities?"

Norman shrugged, but admittedly found himself a little intrigued. "Well, I'm sure the professor will do his best to figure it out."

Sera nodded happily. "I'd better get going, but thanks again, sir!"

"Good luck~" Norman said facetiously, but Sera just grinned. He was right to worry, after all. She was going to do awesome~


Once Sera made it out of the city, she released all five of her current Pokemon and gave them a minute to stretch. Spitfire, the Fire Fang Poochyena she'd caught before, was especially glad to be out, as was Flash. They proceeded to start an accidental game of tag to burn off energy. Of course, the longer Flash ran, the faster he got, leading to a losing battle for Spitfire, as well as much amusement for Sera.

Her Mudkip, still unnamed, was fine either way, but did enjoy being around everyone. Wander, the Zigzagoon she'd caught on 103, was true to his name and began exploring their nearby surroundings; while Pelt, her Seedot, remained as difficult to read as ever.

Once everyone seemed good and ready to move on, Sera asked, "So who wants to walk with me today?"

I'm good, Mudkip yawned. Though the air does seem wet and salty here. I wouldn't mind enjoying that…

Ugh, good point, scoffed Flash. My feathers feel sticky already. I think I'll pass for now. He moved to Sera's bag and found his own Pokeball, then retreated inside. Spitfire, panting profusely, decided to interpret this as her 'winning' their game. Definitely! Ahaha, victory! ...pant… pant…

Pelt looked up at Sera briefly, quietly, then followed Flash's example.

"Guess that's a no from you, too," Sera mumbled. "Spitfire, you okay?"

I will be, she insisted. As soon as I catch my breath.

Sera nodded. "So Wander?" … "Wander." … The Zigzagoon was far too busy inspecting a log to hear her. "Wander!"

Huh! Wha? Oh. He looked between her and some nearby mushrooms that looked super interesting. Wh..what's up? he asked, even as he drifted farther from Sera to inspect them.

"Hm…" Sera thought a moment, then looked down at her Nav. "You really love exploring, don't you?"

Yeah… he answered, focus still split. I've never been this far from home before.

"Hoooow would you like… to try world travel?" This did catch his attention. "If I were to Wonder Trade you, it would mean leaving us-" not that she had any delusion he'd formed a strong bond in their whole day together- "but you could go somewhere totally random in the world. Whoever gets you might keep and train you like I would, but probably somewhere much farther from here. Or they might release you so you could explore the new wilds on your own, or they might Wonder Trade you again if they're not restricted, so you could see even more-"

She hadn't seen Wander move, but his paws were now on her knees and his face begging. Dooooo iiiiiiiit.

Sera laughed, then reached down to scratch his ears one last time. "All right, all right. It was nice getting to know you, and best of luck wherever you end up!"

Wander leaned into the pets and gave her a thrilled smile, then went into his ball. Sera loaded it up and hit the Wonder Trade option.

A few moments later, she was matched up, and Wander was traded- ahh, to another region! He'd be so happy- forrrr… a Zigzagoon from there. Sera could only laugh. Zigzaguma, was it? … Sera would call her Zuma.

Well, Zuma, she already had two travel companions for this route, so she'd just have to get to know her in the next rest stop.

"All right, you two. Let's see what surprises Route 104 has in store!"


As it turned out, not many. The first Pokemon she encountered was a Wurmple who did not seem particularly eager to battle, so he was Wonder Traded for… yet another Zigzagoon, this one a male named Ziggy. Sera was aware she probably should have felt worse about being disappointed, but this was still a competition after all. She just wouldn't tell Ziggy that to his face.

She found two more Pokemon to capture for research purposes, and was sure her fans watching enjoyed watching the precision required for capture battles. And she fought quite a few trainers along the way. But it felt pretty uneventful to her.

In Petalburg Woods, she captured a Slakoth who put up very little fight and suggested Sera call her Koaf. Sera chose to keep Koaf in her party rather than Ziggy. Sorry Ziggy.

By the time it got dark, Sera was almost positive she was nearing the edge of the woods, but stumbling around in a dark forest for the last stretch only to still have another route between her and proper civilization was not an appealing prospect, so she decided to set up camp. Her full party joined her.

You were really cool against all those Shroomish today, Mudkip was telling Flash.

The Torchic puffed out his chest. Yes. Yes I was. I tell you, it wasn't easy, but I'm just that great.

How was it not easy? snorted Spitfire. You didn't even have to touch them.

Flash's eyes widened as he deflated, then bristled instead. H-hey! Just because I'm good enough to avoid the spores-

"Settle down, everyone," Sera sighed with a smirk. "Someone help me set up for dinner." To her surprise, Pelt was the one to step up. Not that he was especially helpful without arms, but he managed to carry things on his head surprisingly well, and he was very dedicated, so Sera couldn't bear to turn him down.

Well… I think you were amazing, Flash-senpai~ chimed Zuma, eyes sparkling nearly as bright as Flash's feathers.

Kiss-ass, Spitfire mumbled, taking her leave and seeming to sulk a little. Sera resisted making a teasing comment, but only barely.

Gee, what a novel concept, Koaf commented, smile gentle and tone sugar sweet. Different Pokemon are good for different battles. Amazing. Clearly we need to make a fuss over this. Sera seemed to find this more amusing than anyone else on the team. Although Pelt did seem to shake a little for a moment. Was he angry or laughing, she wondered?

When they all finally got some food in front of them, though, things became rather more peaceful. A pleasant end to a pleasant day, as it was certainly too late for any-what was that noise?

Several of the Pokemon heard it as well, and all listened intently as they looked around. When there was another definitive rustling, Sera called, "Is someone there?"

Show yourself! Flash called. Though of course if their visitor was human, they'd be more likely to hear, "Tor-chichic!" Sera's PokeNav let out a few beeps.

To their surprise, a voice answered, Okay~ and a Whismur trotted out into the open area illuminated by their campfire.

"Hey, get back-!" a human voice called after her, before its owner sighed. "Well, I guess the jig is up, isn't it?" A woman looking a good bit older than Sera stood from the nearby brush and followed the Whismur toward camp. "Sorry, this little one smelled food, and, well, you know how kids are." She shrugged and laughed.

Sera smiled at the newcomers. "Ahh. Well, don't be shy~" She looked down at her Nav to see a screen asking if it should resume broadcasting, with a small countdown before it did so automatically. Given their guests did not look hostile, Sera hit the option for no. She could always turn it on later if need be. "We could probably spare two more meals. Sorry the human food isn't that great, though."

The woman waved a hand dismissively. "I'm sure it's fine. We definitely won't turn down a free meal."

As the woman and her Whismur settled in, Sera found it embarrassingly hard to take her eyes off her. Her dark features and deep red eyes were striking on their own, but there was something else Sera couldn't quite place. And, well, "That's quite the outfit you've got." To be honest that was a pretty big part of it.

The woman bristled. "Wwwhat about it?"

"Oh, uh.. It's just interesting. I really love anything red, if you couldn't tell," she said sheepishly, twirling a lock of her hair as she glanced down at her own red shirt, red cloak, over at her red tent, around at all the red bowls the Pokemon were eating from. "But the design is pretty unique, too. Are those horns on the hood?"

The woman chuckled. "Unique, huh?"

"...Yyyeah? Or, well, I haven't seen anything like it, but I guess I am sort of from Littleroot. Is it like a fashion trend somewhere?"

"You could say that."

Or you could say it's a Team Magma uniform, teased the Whismur.

Sera blinked. "What's Team Magma?" Both the woman and the Whismur froze, and a moment later, Sera followed suit with a muttered, "Shit."

But a smile slowly spread across the woman's face. "So… I take it you can hear them too?"

Sera cringed. "Mmmay- wait, you too?" She brightened immensely then, and the woman nodded. "Dad never believed me. Mom said she's heard of people like me but said I probably shouldn't talk about it. But you're the first I've actually met."

Wait, you're just gonna believe her? asked Spitfire. She could be making that up.

Wouldn't it be easy to disprove, though? Mudkip noted. I think she's probably telling the truth.

The woman smiled. "Your Mudkip is quite the clever little fellow."

Mudkip gave a huge smile and hid his face. Shucks! I was just uh… He laughed nervously.

Zuma covered her mouth to suppress a squee. Senpai is so cuuuute.

Koaf sniffed a laugh. And here I thought Flash was your 'senpai'. Zuma was too busy fangirling to hear.

The humans both laughed at the exchange, then returned their attention to each other as the Pokemon antics continued in the background. "It's uh… It's really good to meet you. I have to admit, sometimes I've wondered if I was just crazy and imagining the whole thing… you know? It's nice to get… validation?" She smiled weakly but sincerely. "I'm uh… Sera, by the way."

"Oh, right. I think I caught a bit of your Kickoff the other day. I don't keep up with The Games much, but Aster likes them sometimes." She nodded to indicate the Whismur. "And you can call me Zinnia."

Sera smiled a little brighter. "That's a really pretty name…" Wow that wasn't obvious at all. Good job Sera. She should probably stick to the topic at hand. "Uh… Do… do you know any others?" she asked.

Zinnia thought for a moment before admitting. "I… A few relatives. But it's… probably a little different than your case."

Sera blinked and tilted her head. "Hm?" Well… "Ah, I guess if it's genetic for you…?" That was probably what she meant, right? Unless Professor Birch wasn't Sera's real father? Ahaha. No, that was a joke. She was pretty damn certain he was.

"I've heard rumors there are a few League higher-ups who might be more like you, though I couldn't tell you off the top of my head which ones or how accurate those might be."

"I see…" Sera bit her lip and pulled at her hair. "Would uh… Would you consider keeping an ear out and calling me if you hear anything? We could exchange numbers, if…"

"Ah… I don't think that's a good idea, actually."

Sera deflated. "Oh… Uh, no it's fine. I just-..."

"It's nothing personal. Reasons, and all."

Sera put up her hands and forced a laugh. "No, no, you don't need to explain. It's fine."

An awkward silence fell for almost a minute, but then Zinnia smiled brightly. "So hey, kid. You've only been a traveling trainer for a few days, right? How do you like it so far?"

Sera's spirit lifted again, and the girls and their Pokemon talked for a good two hours more before finally exhaustion threatened to claim Sera and she had to excuse herself to her tent. She wasn't sure how to offer to allow Zinnia to join her without it sounding like a rather different sort of offer, but fortunately the woman seemed actively excited to sleep under the stars, so Sera left her to it.

When she awoke the next morning, Zinnia was already gone- as was about half Sera's remaining food supply. For a moment, Sera found herself devastated, but upon a little further thought, she decided she was still happy to have met the woman, and that Zinnia probably needed the supplies more than she did. She'd probably have given her whatever she needed if she'd asked. And while it still sucked that she didn't- Sera double-checked to be sure, and found she was correct- at least Zinnia didn't steal something like her Nav or her Pokemon. Yeah… She wasn't so bad.


This same morning, Morgan woke closer to the middle of the woods, Cerberus flopping across her face at nearly the crack of dawn.

After leaving Petalburg the previous day, she'd caught a Wingull, which she was very tempted to keep to give her an edge against Sera's Torchic. But… Croagunk. With her being a beginner, it only made sense that most Pokemon people would put up would come from trainers more experienced than her, right? And the thrill of so many possibilities was too tempting to resist, so she traded it… for a Dunsparce, which was unfortunately much closer to her current team's level, and as such probably a downgrade from Wingull. Ah well. Her Dex informed her it wasn't native to Hoenn, so maybe the element of surprise would count for something.

Upon entering the woods, she'd captured a Wurmple, and traded it for… a Zigzagoon. This was frustrating even without her knowing Sera had made exactly the same trade on 104 earlier that day. She dearly hoped these lower level trades were a stroke of bad luck rather than indicative of what she should expect from Wonder Trade in general.

The morning was mostly spent fending off bugs and a few trainers of bugs, and lamenting she hadn't caught one of those cute little mushrooms she occasionally saw wandering around rather than a Wurmple.

Some time around noon, she checked her map to confirm she was nearing the end of the woods, only to notice a man in a labcoat ahead. As she approached, she could hear him mumbling something about not finding one yet. When he noticed her, he turned. "Oh? Hello there! Have you seen a Shroomish around here by any chance? I was hoping to find one…"

"Ha. You and me both," Morgan commented. "I've seen a few, but not for a while."

"Oh dear… What a terrible-"

A loud groan some ways ahead interrupted him, and a younger man dressed vaguely like a pirate? came forward. "Oh my gods, how long can you take?"

"Wh-who are you?!" the possibly-scientist exclaimed, taking cover behind Morgan.

"Dude. What makes you think I'm qualified to protect you, here?"

"I'm with Team Aqua, pal! I was supposed to ambush you when you left the woods, but you can't even make that easy, can you? Now, hand over your research or cower before my awesome Poochyena!"

As he unleashed the Pokemon in question, Morgan deadpanned. "Nevermind, I'm pretty sure I'm qualified." Sighing, she lazily pointed at the hyena-mutt. "Cerberus?"

The Treecko made quick work of it and came out in better shape himself to boot, placing his hands on his hips proudly.

"Anything else?"

The Aqua grunt stared bewildered for a moment, then quickly recalled his Poochyena, in critical condition but clinging to life. "We'll remember this," he threatened.

"K." As he turned tail and ran, the scientist began thanking Morgan profusely. "It… wasn't that big a deal, but you're welcome."

"You don't understand! Why, why my research is invaluable! If you'll escort me back to Rustboro City, I simply must give you something as thanks!"

Morgan blinked. "Uh.. Sure. I guess I'm headed there anyway." She wasn't sure why he'd come out this far if he couldn't handle such weak opponents on his own, but hopefully this would at least teach him his lesson. "Consider me your personal bodyguard for the day," she half-joked with a wry smile.

"Oh thank you, thank you." And together, they headed to the forest exit.

.

Meanwhile, near the site of their encounter, a red-eyed Magma grunt watched from the bushes. Pursing her lips, she pulled out a highly modified version of a PokeNav and connected to her superior. "This is Petalburg Reconnaissance Team reporting," she said. "Tell Courtney we have a problem."