June 2nd, 1978, 2100

The journey back to the camp proved to be uneventful, if slow. Larvitar, who had gorged himself on a menu of rocks, Rattata, and priceless stones, steadily moved along at a pace akin to glaciers gouging their way across the landscape.

"Can he move any faster?" Dani asked with an exasperated tone. "We're never going to make it back at this rate, and I'm pretty sure everyone is already going to be worried about us." She glanced around fearfully at the leaping shadows cast around us by Nana's torch.

"Most dangerous pokémon in this area only come out at night. I really don't want to run into an angry Poliwrath or worse."

"Look, I don't feel any better about this than you do," I said defensively. I glanced at the pokémon, who was focused on keeping his little feet on the slightly trampled foliage we used as a path. His face was screwed up in concentration, and he was clearly working hard to keep up with us. He might've been a newborn, but he was still picking up on the not-so-subtle energy from the rest of the group.

"Look, Larvitar had just hatched when you found me, and I didn't have an opportunity to even officially catch him in a pokéball, and I didn't think to bring any with me to the beach. My entire plan had been to simply acquire some rocks and return."

I gestured at Larvitar dismissively. "Have you tried picking him up? He's easily close to fifty kilograms. His size is deceptive. Plus, it's good training for pokémon to stay out of their pokéballs and exercise," I added as an afterthought.

I couldn't see it, but I felt Dani roll her eyes… "I can't believe you're seriously thinking about exercise right now. Let's get back safely before you lecture me about the benefits of night-time jaunts through the dangerous jungle."

"But-"

"No! Not right now!" Dani ordered with authority, turning around and giving me a sharp glare to let me know she was serious. Although I had seen a gentler side of her after our talk in the water, I was reminded that this was still the sharp-eyed trainer I had battled earlier in the day.

I held my hands up in deference, tacitly agreeing to save my helpful information for later. The rest of the trip passed in a tense silence. There were a few pokémon calls, and I could feel hungry eyes on me the entire way back. Fortunately, Nana's flame and Eon's threatening energy warded them off. It wasn't long before we made it back to the camp outskirts.

Right before we were about to walk into the camp, I heard some rustling in the forest, and a tiny Rattata darted out into the path in front of us. It briefly bared its teeth with a loud "Hiss" before thinking better of it and running away as it realized the depths of its mistake. Perhaps some can overcome their genetics, I thought to myself wryly.

As I finally stepped into the clearing, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could tell that I had been holding much more tension than I realized while we were in the darkness. I was so used to traveling with Sula that I hadn't noticed how much I relied on her stolid presence to ease my nerves.

The clearing was lit by a string of lights hanging in organized lines along the camp's perimeter. The tiny cabins had dim, yellowish lights above the doors, and each cabin possessed one naked hanging light in the center of the room. I could hear the hum of a generator somewhere near the center of camp, where the ranger made her home.

I could barely make out the sounds of the radio blaring, but what I could hear immediately caught my attention.

"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO THE MATCH I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. CHALLENGER SULA SEIICHI IS HERE FOR A LEAGUE-SANCTIONED SHOWDOWN AGAINST GYM LEADER BLAINE'S PERSONAL TEAM! YOU HEARD IT RIGHT, FOLKS, HIS PERSONAL TEAM! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS-"

Although I wanted nothing more than to sit down by the fire and listen to Sula's match, It was immediately apparent that our absence had been noted, as it appeared as though the current guests were all still awake, clustered around a firepit next to the arena where we had battled earlier that day.

"Mare! Mare! Are you okay?" Ellie cried out as she hurriedly ran over to greet us as we made our way to the fire to join the rest of the group. Her auburn hair was disheveled, and her face was taut with worry.

"Where were you? I woke up, and you were nowhere to be seen. You've been gone for hours now! What the hell were you thinking?"

Before I attempted to explain, I noticed with satisfaction that Dani was experiencing much the same treatment at her companions' hands on the other side of the fire. I caught her gaze, and she gave me a conspiratorial wink before turning to assuage her friends' concerns, who seemed equally worried and impressed.

I took a breath, bracing myself to explain my actions to Ellie. I was unused to someone worrying about my safety. It was a strange feeling, and I wondered if I may have turned out warmer if I had experienced it earlier in life.

Sula and Kiriel responded to any danger I might have been in with a vague sense of bemusement rather than genuine concern. Nearly all veteran Seiichi were riddled with scars, barring my dad. They viewed them as badges of honor or something equally archaic.

"I'm really sorry, Ellie," I began in an even voice. "I should've woken-"

"Lar? Larvitar, Tar," Larvitar mewled as he pulled at Ellie's pants with his tiny hands, trying to pull her down to his level. While I had been focused on my surroundings, he had apparently taken it upon himself to introduce himself to Ellie.

"Oh my god! What is this? Did your egg hatch? What's its name? It's SO cute," Ellie glommed as she immediately forgot what she was angry about when confronted with more critical issues. Namely, cute pokemon.

I internally pledged to treat Larvitar to something nice once this whole thing calmed down. Well, something less nice than a high-grade fucking Waterstone.

I decided to go with the flow and gloss past my infractions by focusing her attention on my new pokemon.

"Ellie, this is Larvitar. When you were napping, his egg hatched, and I had to find something for him to eat. His species eat rocks, and I couldn't find anything around camp for him to eat," I explained nonchalantly.

Ellie ignored me, having gone down to one knee to officially introduce herself to him.

"It's, like, such a pleasure to meet you! My name is Ellie Rayne, and I can't wait to introduce you to Petal and River! They're my babies, just like you're Mare's baby!" Ellie was grinning ear to ear and had taken it upon herself to pull him into a tight hug.

I held back laughter as I watched Larvitar try to process the rapid developments that had just occurred.

"Larvitar, lar-lar, vit," he intoned seriously in greeting, eliciting a squeal of joy from Ellie.

"Laaaaa, larrrr," Larvitar giggled back, encouraging yet another squeal of excitement from Ellie.

I was enjoying watching their interaction when Ellie suddenly became very serious. Her smile was gone, and she looked up at me in confusion. "Mare, why does he have gills?"

"He doesn't have gills, Ellie. He's dual ground-rock type," I shot back dismissively. "If anything, water is his worst nightmare, as it would be extra damaging to him with his typing."

"Then what are these?" Ellie inquired quizzically as she pointed out three horizontal red slashes running along the lateral edges of Larvitar's abdomen. They stuck out garishly just above his arms, contrasting starkly with the lighter blue of his skin.

Wait, blue? Rather than the sage green he had hatched as, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, Larvitar's scaly flesh had changed hues, and he was now something of a teal. The sage green was still in there somewhere, but his coloration had clearly shifted.

I leaned down in concern to examine the changes to my newly hatched pokemon. Larvitar cried out in protest and glared at me angrily as I poked and prodded the newfound organs.

I stepped back in confusion a moment later. I had no doubt that they were, in fact, gills, but it didn't make an iota of sense. Not only had he developed organs specialized for water types, but he also had some new markings glowing with a pale blue light. I realized that I had initially seen this after he consumed the Waterstone. I scratched my head in utter befuddlement. We were definitely going to need to see an expert.

There was clearly some explaining needed, but I decided to play it off a bit dismissively to not make a big deal out of it and draw attention our way.

"Oh, right! That was the other thing that just happened. While Dani and I were swimming, Larvitar found a waterstone on the beach! We were getting ready to head back when...when Larvitar ate it." I had difficulty getting the words out as I thought about the lost opportunity.

Ellie's eyes widened in surprise. "He ate it? Aren't they like… rocks? And also, who's Dani, and why were you swimming with her? Didn't you tell me it was perilous to wander off the trail? I recall specifically you ridiculing me when I suggested we do so," Ellie mimed, checking her watch. "Literally this morning! For Arceus' sake, you were almost attacked by a wild pokémon this morning, Mare."

I winced at her very reasonable verbal onslaught. I hated it when people used my own words against me.

Ellie had evidently moved past Larvitar's novelty and was starting to remember that she was, in fact, quite upset at me.

"That's correct! As I had just mentioned, Larvitar eats rocks, so I was going down to the beach in the first place. It caught me off guard, and I'm disappointed because I planned on using the Waterstone to evolve Eon into a Vaporeon. These changes are concerning, but there is naught to be done now," I said with a tired shrug.

"I'm certain I'll be able to find another Waterstone in Celadon, but the higher grades are quite expensive. Kiriel has graciously provided us with a substantial budget for the journey, but I will likely need to requisition more funds to purchase a Firestone for Nana as well…" I trailed off as I noticed that Ellie was looking at me skeptically.

"What? I was trying to answer your question," I offered.

"Mare, you seem to have a special ability to ignore the most important part of the questions people ask you," she said critically.

"I was arriving to the second part, I assure you. Dani was the woman that I had a match with earlier today."

"She had been," I stopped, looking around to make sure Dani wasn't within earshot before continuing, "She had been stalking me and was waiting outside the cabin to talk to me. I had been on my way out to the beach with Larvitar to find him some rocks when she asked if she could tag along. Long story short, she seems more than acceptable and is interested in traveling with us if you're okay with it."

"Why would we travel with her? She was, like, really rude when you battled with her earlier today, wasn't she?"

"Yes, that's true, but in all fairness, I was antagonistic towards her first. I took my sister's advice to adopt something of a persona for interactions with other trainers, and it backfired in this case. We had an insightful conversation this afternoon, and I feel we could benefit from having her around. Further, from what it sounds like, she has her hands full with the other first years who are relying on her. This is her second year, and I think it could be helpful to have someone more experienced to help out," I explained calmly, explaining my reasons for the suggestion.

"Okay. That's fine with me," Ellie responded simply. "Buttttttt, are you sure that's the only reason why?" she asked as she looked Dani appraisingly up and down. If the older girl noticed the gaze, she gave no indication. "Seems to me like there might be a few others," Ellie said with a mischievous giggle.

"I'm not certain what you're talking about? All of my reasons are quite legitimate, I assure you." I had been prepared to argue with her over this, and her response surprised me. I wasn't sure what she was getting at.

Ellie shrugged. "It's not like I really have any reason to say no, even if it's just because you have a crush on this girl. I don't have many friends in Kanto, and it would be nice to have another girl around. Besides, my dad told me to trust you since you were part of the Seiichi clan. If you think it's a good idea, I have nothing to say."

"I do NOT have a crush on her. That would be completely unprofessional," I said with as much dignity as I could muster. "This is a serious assignment; she will be a valuable asset."

"Uh-huh, I'm surrreeee Mare," she said with heavy sarcasm, drawing out her words for emphasis. "You don't have to explain yourself. It's totally not mysterious at all that after swimming with a beautiful older woman, you suddenly want her to join our group. Simply shocking."

I could feel myself growing annoyed at her teasing, and I took a breath to calm myself down.

"That is certainly not it. I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing! But I'm not going to waste my breath to convince you," I muttered defensively, recognizing a losing battle when I saw one.

Ellie looked over at Dani, who was still busy placating her concerned groupies. "I would like to meet her and get to know her a bit before just agreeing to let her travel with us just like that if that's okay?"

I nodded in agreement, thankful for the reprieve from the previous line of conversation. "Of course! Dani and I had settled on a trial run until we made it to Vermilion, and then, depending on how it went, we either continue traveling together or go our separate ways. Does that seem like it would be okay with you?"

"Sure! Should we, like, go rescue her from those boys?" Ellie whispered conspiratorially to me in a joking tone of voice. She smiled playfully at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. Ellie's bright energy was contagious. It was hard to stay upset when you were around her.

"Why not? We may officially introduce ourselves since we'll be traveling with them for the next few weeks anyway.

I made my way over to the other side of the fire, where Dani was busy answering rapid-fire questions from her audience.

"Hey! I see your companions are glad you're back," I grinned. It looked like there were four of them, all boys about my age from Fuchsia.

Dani shrugged with resignation. "They are. I was just attempting to explain that I have no responsibility to any of them to inform them where I am going or when I'll be back. The concept won't get through their thick skulls," she said in a scathing tone.

"Dani! We were just worried about it! You don't have to be so mean about it," one of the boys commented. He had been there watching the match earlier, but this was the first time I had heard him say anything.

He was incredibly tall, at least two meters, with wavy blonde hair. His brow was creased with indignation at Dani's dismissiveness. "I know it's only benna' few days, but that don't make it okay to just disappear for hours with no word, no nothin'," he said with an exasperated wave of his hands. "Lookie here, I'm not asking you to tell us every little thing; just throw us a bone here and there," he pleaded. The unknown boy spoke with a slow drawl that was difficult to understand. His voice was deep but surprisingly soothing.

Dani looked away, considering the logic of his words. "Okay, you might be right. I'm sorry for not leaving word. I didn't think we would be gone that long," she reluctantly admitted.

The tall boy grinned, encouraged by her acquiescence. "See?! That ain't so hard, was it? We accept your apology," he said, speaking for the other boys clustered around them, looking sheepish at being so worried. His brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Why were ya' gone for so long, anyhow? It's ain't like there's much to do in this fuckin' desolate jungle."

"None of your fucking busi-" Dani started before I cut her off with a curt gesture.

"She saw me wandering around the edge of the camp and offered to help." I gestured at Larvitar, tiredly sitting beside Ellie on a log by the fire. His head bobbed up and down, and he was barely staying awake. Ellie stroked his head absently as she listened attentively to our heated conversation.

"My Larvitar just hatched, and his species mostly eats rocks, so Dani offered to help guide me down to the beach to find some," I explained matter-of-factly. Larvitar perked up at the sound of his name but quickly lost focus at Ellie's gentle ministrations.

"Oh! Nice! Isn't Dani here great! The names Avery!" he said with a goofy smile, holding up his massive hand in greeting.

"Mare," I offered, raising my hand to shake, only to have it ruthlessly crushed in his grip. "It's a pleasure to meet you," I said through gritted teeth. This guy was strong. Avery finally relented after a few seconds of his vice grip.

"Thanks for letting me borrow Dani for the afternoon," I said politely as I kneaded some feeling back into my tingling hand.

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Dani interjected sharply. "Nobody borrowed me anywhere. I'm not an object to be lent out. I chose to spend my time with you because I wanted to, and there's no reason to be thanking Avery for my presence," she said frostily, her tone leaving no room for argument.

I blinked in surprise; I hadn't expected such a strong response. I had just been trying to smooth things out before it turned into something it wasn't. I suspected that Avery wouldn't be nearly as friendly towards me if he heard that we had gone swimming just hours after meeting. I bowed my head in deference to Dani.

"I apologize. That was not my intent. I was merely trying to be civil to your concerned friend," I explained honestly, hoping she would get the message to drop the issue. Turns out I didn't need to worry, as an ear-ringing voice echoed into the night, interrupting our heated conversation.

As Dani looked like she was really going to give me a piece of her mind, we were rudely interrupted by an outraged voice from a few meters away.

"CAN YOU GUYS SHUT THE FUCK UP! I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LISTEN TO THE GODAMNED RADIO. SULA SEIICHI IS CHALLENGING BLAINE, AND I CAN'T HEAR AN ARCEUS DAMNED THING! FUCKING DRAMATIC TEENAGERS!"

We all looked up in shock at the huge voice from the small, freckled boy who had refereed our match earlier. He was staring at us angrily while shaking his head. He was sitting near the head ranger's hut, and they were both listening intently to the radio I had heard earlier. It was quite a comical sight; both teenage boy and wizened ranger looked equally entranced by the simple entertainment.

I moved to respond, but he reacted quicker with a loud "SHHHHHHHHHHH," as he put his finger over his lips and flipped me off with his other hand. I could feel my anger flaring, but it was interrupted by a familiar voice; "AH S**T, F**K IT, LAPRAS, USE HYPER BEAM," I heard Sula's biting voice cry out. I felt my heartbeat quicken with excitement as I found myself unconsciously pulled towards the noise.