Chapter 12:

Far-from-home Stretch

Luckily, it took a while for the others to wake. All they will see is that a Dottler came along, and is joining the trauma train. They will not know that I spewed up a piece of Nothingness, they will not know that for a moment I had died in all manners but physically, and they will not know that a Vikavolt had been threatening me with the same method of killing one kills french royalty with. Or would that be Kalosian here in Pokearth?... Wait. I retract my statement, please, God, Big 'Nort in the sky, Kingdom Hearts, Hashimoto and Sakaguchi, Satoshi, Ash, I don't give a fuck who, just please don't let Marie have trauma.

"Hey. Found a new friend over the night. I hope."

Ria looks at the beetle with apprehension. Marie looks confused. Her Eevee has simply decided to say "Fuck this" and go back to sleep.

Marie has proven... Reasonably curious regarding the little bugger, asking about how I found it- "Waddled up in the middle of the night, was curious I think, and it stayed."- how I planned on taking care of them- "Getting them logged in as a therapy pokemon, and looking up a guide on their diet to make sure to feed them properly"- and what I was going to call it- "Dottler?". Ria has been nervously glancing between them and me, sometimes speaking to them in small amounts. I, personally, have been giving them little thought, aside from estimating diet & necessitated environment.

Seeing as it is part psychic, and grows up to be a closet-telepath, chances are it at the very least needs an engaging environment, and probably an intellectually challenging one too. I have no clue on environmental factors, but those should mostly be a non-problem. Probably won't need too much meat, but-

...This is a terrible thing to say, but I haven't been in a single fight yet. It makes sense, because I inherently don't wanna have to fight anything, but eventually, I will have to find a way to train my team if I want to match the level curve. So, dilemma; do I coach them by having them attack me & defend, then instruct on how to improve? Or do I go the relatively more laissez-faire path most trainers do, curating battles and giving them criticisms through that?

Yeah, something just feels wrong with tossing them to the wind and telling them why they couldn't fly. So, let's get to thinking... Riolu starts off as a mixed sweeper, leaning towards physical stats, which then flips when they evolve into Lucario. Aura Sphere is guaranteed, flash cannon is in too, and since I don't think I need to worry about teams running sweeper-stoppers, I can go full on the special moves. So... Dark, Steel, Fighting, and Psychic would be the best combination of types for coverage. Obviously, Dark Pulse and, well, Psychic. Going to need to outsource tms for all of them BUT Aura Sphere, sadly. It'll all be worth it once I can usurp that child's throne.

Dottler, on the other hand, evolves into Orbeetle. Which I can easily turn into an Orbeetle bombardment cannon. Leftovers, Calm Mind, and Iron Defense ensure nothing will be able to break through it, and Stored Power along with Body Press means it can shred through absolutely anything. This, however, is all running with the assumption I SOMEHOW would be unable to find a 6th member, and would have to use them.

In the meantime, I'll have to suffer through hiking some more, with the duo hitch-hiking in my backpack once more. According to Marie, or rather her map, this "Zephlin Town" is rather close by now. The fact that there have been less and less pokemon rustling about in the wilds is some good evidence. Odd that we've only encountered a single mon. Maybe one's gonna ambush us at the very end?... Nah, that feels TOO cliche. "The party, at the very last yard, lets their guard down, but is ambushed by a monster"? It's almost like a story.

"So, Marie... we are almost there, right?"

"We should be! Only a minute or so left!"

Good. Because while I may be immune to a number of things... Aging, disease, heartbreak, emotional bias... Death, for all intents and purposes... I am not immune to pain, it seems. I cannot wait to put my feet up. The trees are beginning to thin, and I can already feel the relief a chair is going to bring me...

"Oh, hey! Looks like this little guy decided to follow us!"

what.

"...Just send it off. We're already this close."

"What? Scared that you won't be the special one between us, with more than just a starter?"

"No. My legs feel like they are about to go on strike."

"Then sit down. If the little guy wants to join us, he can join us."

"Eh, you got a point. Just a simple yes or no, after all. Guess I am just being whiny."

"Actually, I'm gonna need a bit more than just that, but we can walk and talk. You go on ahead."

Hmph. I must admit, seeing her cup her hands together for an Oddish to jump into is... Actually, it's rather adorable. Well, I've had my sweetness for the day, time to... Hm. Odd. My leg has fallen asleep. Unfortunate. Guess I will have to sit through her questions, and all that...

Maybe I can clock out mentally for a moment...