June 8th, 1978, 0600
I breathed in deeply, enjoying the cool air as I worked through the first of many exercises my morning routine comprised. It smelled of crisp morning dew, paired with the faintly lingering scent of our fire from the previous evening.
My feet squelched on the loamy ground as I cycled methodically through the exercises. The forest floor was saturated with remnants of last night's heavy rainstorm, which had filled the ordinarily quiet night with a rhythmic pitter-patter.
Sleep is just better when it rains, I decided.
As I flowed seamlessly through the various movements, I took advantage of the tranquil solitude to sort through how my mission was proceeding thus far.
Nothing had fundamentally changed in the few days since Larvitar had hatched, but I could tell something was different.
I felt good. Lighter, even.
The heaviness I had assumed that life was supposed to feel like had lifted somewhat. I felt like I could genuinely just breathe and enjoy my life for the first time in what felt like years.
The transformation within me could've been caused by many things, and it was to some extent.
Leaving on my journey, striking out alone.
Escaping the suffocating presence of my family that stifled me at every turn.
Those things were all important, and I was grateful for them, to be certain.
Arceus, was I grateful.
Meeting Larvitar, my newfound partner. The very thought of my determined charge, and the relentless intensity he brought to training brought a smile to my face even as I dripped with sweat from the strenuous exercise.
However, I struggled with putting my finger on what precisely had instilled the fundamental shift in my feelings. It seemed obvious that it had to have been any of those pivotal changes, but that wasn't entirely correct. It was something more subtle.
I continued in silence for another few moments of self-reflection.
Ah, I thought in satisfaction as I finally realized the true source of the peace I was now feeling.
I told someone I wanted Sula to fail. I told someone that I couldn't stand my fucking family. I finally told someone that I, too, wanted to be seen.
Frankly, it was terrifying. I could still feel the sharp claws of shame ripping and tearing their way through my insides. But, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a growing excitement for the possibilities that now seemed to blossom before me.
There is no gain without loss, no joy without sadness.
I wrapped up my routine shortly after the epiphany. It might not be much in the grand scheme of things, but I had been suppressing so many feelings that I couldn't help but be proud of myself for the burgeoning self-awareness.
Making my way back to my tent, I noticed with happiness that Nana and Eon were wrapped comfortingly around a still-sleeping Larvitar.
The adorable sight tugged at my heartstrings.
They've really taken to him better than I anticipated. I knew they would do their duty, but I expected more difficulties integrating a new member.
"Lithe," Nana grunted in acknowledgment as I tip-toed into my tent to find a fresh set of clothes. Eon was adorably snoring with a soft whistling noise at every exhale.
She must be working hard; Eon only snored if utterly exhausted. The foxlike pokemon was otherwise far too proud to be seen in such a light.
The last few days had been stormy and overcast, resulting in a noticeable drop in temperature as we made our way closer to the southeastern tip of the continent.
Ellie, Dani, and I had been ecstatic at the pleasant reprieve from the scorching heat, but Larvitar hadn't managed so well. As a non-mammalian species, he unfortunately couldn't regulate his temperature well, mainly relying on the sun for warmth. If he wasn't moving or bundled up, he quickly shivered.
The guidebook detailed that his line would eventually be able to channel fire moves, so I ardently hoped this would only be a temporary issue. For the time being, Eon and Nana had begun wrapping him up between them at nighttime when the temperature dropped to its lowest point.
True to the guidebook's word, Larvitar had not disappointed in any regard; he was as naturally aggressive as any pokemon I had ever seen. He threw himself into the training program I had set up for him with seemingly no regard for personal safety, exhaustion, or limits.
In fact, I had to be quite strict in monitoring his energy output; otherwise, he had proven prone to working himself to outright exhaustion. As admirable as that might be, it wasn't conducive to efficient training, as he would then need more time to restore his type-energy stores before he could resume working on whatever I had assigned him for the day.
I silently made my way outside the ring of tents we had set up around a small fire pit, heading south towards the ocean, less than a kilometer away.
On the way there, I discovered a few species watching me warily.
There were a few Pidgeys, a Spearow, and even a Weepinbell with a small clutch of Bellsprouts that scattered as I passed. Even without my pokemon, I felt safe walking through the jungle alone; the most naturally aggressive pokemon only came out at night.
In the worst-case scenario, I knew that Nana could come to my aid in seconds if I screamed loud enough. It wouldn't be the first time. I was fortunate his keen ears could pick up sound from great distances.
The first part of Route 15 was further inland, but as we moved steadily closer to Kanto's eastern edge, the trail ran nearly directly adjacent to the water. We could now travel with the comforting roar of the ocean in the background.
As I arrived at the beach, I sighed in contentment; the water was a glassy blue, and there wasn't a wave to be seen. Knowing the others would be up soon, I quickly stripped and waded out until the water was nearly up to my chest.
With the decreased temperature, the water nearly felt warmer than the air outside, making the early morning bathing a much more pleasant experience than I had expected.
I chuckled to myself as I fondly recalled when Sula had pushed me into a pool of freezing water in northern Johto. She had laughed at me before jumping in after me in a show of camaraderie.
Misery loves company, after all. I had been irate then but now looked fondly back at the experience.
Thinking of Sula brought up pangs of guilt, so I shoved the memory away and focused on what I was doing.
Get it together, Mare. Don't think about her right now. She's not your problem.
After carefully rinsing out and styling my hair, I dressed in my standard outfit of leather boots, canvas pants, and a dark tunic. The trip back to camp was uneventful, and I managed to make it back to camp before Dani or Ellie had stirred.
"Nana, would you please start a fire for us," I requested quietly to the lethargic fire dog, who was still enmeshed in a pile of fur and scales with the other two pokemon.
"Grow, grow-lithe," Nana grumbled as he cautiously disentangled himself from Eon and Larvitar before padding towards the fire pit. Nana took a deep breath and delicately emitted a narrow line of white flame on the small bundle of sticks we had gathered the previous evening.
They were predominantly green, and acrid smoke wafted upwards under his efforts as the fire struggled to catch. Fortunately, the line of fire was dense enough to push through the resistant wood, and we soon had a small but potent fire on our hands.
"Your control has improved dramatically, even in the last few days. Seems like teaching the young ones is suiting you well, eh?" I asked curiously as I stroked his mane in gratitude.
Nana's shoulders rippled in what could only be the Growlithe equivalent of a shrug, as if he was saying, "Who knows?"
Having known the serious pokemon for a few years, I could tell he was bashful about how much he had taken to the younger pokemon he was now leading.
I sat down next to him, enjoying the warmth and company.
"You know," I started hesitantly, "There's no shame in being a good teacher. Sula always tells me that teaching is the best way to learn. Maybe this will be the jumpstart you need to catch up to Kuro? Either way, the little ones are lucky to have you. Thank you for your hard work, Nana," I said in earnest gratitude. Kuro was Nana's father. I hoped he could catch up someday, but it was a big ask.
Rather than saying anything, Nana simply lumbered over and started licking my hand before plopping beside me and laying his head on my lap. I lovingly stroked his fur as we enjoyed one of our few moments alone, devoid of the many distractions intrinsic to traveling with a troupe of rambunctious young pokemon.
What a great day, I thought in contentment. We sat like that for a long while until I finally heard an all too familiar groan, one that immediately brought a smile to my face.
"Ughh, it's so cold out here, Mare! Did you make tea yet?" said a groggy Ellie as she ambled her way over to warm her hands over the fire.
"Ha! I knew you'd see reason," I said smugly, all too happy about her interest in the delicious green tea treat.
Ellie rolled her eyes, "Look, I told you I'm adaptable. Green Tea will totally never top coffee, but I can still feel the buzz, at least a little bit. It's better than nothing!"
"Tini, dratini-tin," said Willow as she nodded her tiny head in steadfast agreement.
Ellie nodded sagely, as if the snake-like pokemon had just dropped some piece of wisdom. "See, Mare! Even Willow agrees coffee is better than tea; you just don't get it!"
"Yeah, yeah, I don't speak dragon," I said dismissively at the assertive serpent as I filled a kettle to prepare the beverage.
Ellie's egg had hatched two days ago while we were at the second camp checkpoint, and the two had since become nigh on inseparable. Willow's size and shape made her a perfect scarf, and she rarely left her post around Ellie's shoulders.
The little dragon was far more confident than her capabilities warranted. I could already tell she would get Ellie into trouble soon enough.
"What are you two arguing about now?" asked Dani with a yawn. She stretched her shoulders overhead, and the resulting popping noises could be heard from across the fire.
"Oh, nothing serious, just the age-old battle between tea and coffee," I joked with a grin.
Dani returned the smile, gracefully settling down on a rock next to me. Her dark blue hair had yet to be braided and hung in lustrous waves down her back.
Arceus, she's so damn pretty, I thought sadly, recalling the dreaded "bud" that plagued my dreams. I can still recover, I consoled.
Geralt, her father's aging Rapidash, trailed elegantly behind her. The fire-horse settled down next to the fire with as much poise as could possibly be expected from such a large pokémon. He nodded in appreciation at Nana's work.
The relationships between fire-type pokemon were interesting; they either were viciously at each other's throats or somehow formed an immediate bond.
Fortunately for us, Nana and Geralt were the latter, and the two pokemon had become the group's cornerstone since we began traveling together. Most of the younger pokemon glommed onto them, like Pidgey to Caterpie.
"Which camp do you find yourself in, Dani?" I asked in genuine curiosity.
"Definitely team tea. I love a good black tea in the morning," Dani replied decisively.
"Black tea!?" I shouted in mock horror, "That's hardly better than coffee!"
My theatrics were apparently too loud, and Eon sprang to her feet in alarm, casting Larvitar unceremoniously to the ground with a dull thump.
"Vee? Eevee-vee?" Eon said in confusion before quickly realizing she was overreacting and there was no threat.
Trotting over to me, Eon gave me a verbal tongue lashing, "Vee, ve-ve, Eevveeeeee," she said as if to say, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you wake me up like that!? Stupid."
Or at least that's how I interpreted it. It helped to give human words to my pokemon's outbursts.
"Sorry, Eon," I apologized sheepishly. "I was just having some fun; I didn't mean to disrupt your beauty sleep. Although…"
I paused for a moment before deciding to poke a bit of fun at her. "It's a relief that you finally woke up so that we don't have to be subjected to your loud and disruptive SNORING."
"EEE. VEE," Eon pouted in outrage, appalled at the severe accusation.
"Mare, don't tease her like that," admonished Ellie, but it was clear that she was struggling to hold back laughter, too.
"Lithe," Nana chuffed in amusement.
Dani's chiming laughter sounded from next to me, and I internally pumped a fist in victory.
Yes! I made her laugh, I thought with satisfaction. Eon's pride is a small price to pay. She's a big girl, after all. Arceus, she's practically a mother now, I considered as I watched her pamper Larvitar, who was upset at the rude awakening.
What a lovely day.
After breakfast, it was time for training. We had settled into a routine in the few days since we had split off from Dani's previous companions.
We tried traveling as a large group for two days, but it was all too apparent why Dani had wanted out in the first place.
The boys were rude, cocky, and unwilling to take constructive feedback. It had only taken a few matches before the boys wanted nothing to do with me. I didn't understand their rationale. But, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of adding more inexperienced trainers to my load in the first place, so we split, with the boys leaving ahead of us.
I was enjoying myself, and our simple schedule was working well.
First, we ate. Second, we trained. Third, we traveled. And finally, we battled before preparing for bed.
Considering the different training needs of our troupe, we had broken it down by their primary aims. Nana and Geralt were responsible for the elemental attack group, which consisted of Venonat, Petal, Willow, and Larvitar, although Willow alternated between both groups.
I had put a lot of thought into where I wanted Larvitar to focus his efforts. After watching how damn slow he was, I decided that it would be best to focus on developing his type-energy control, considering that his final evolutionary stage could learn to harness nearly every energy type.
No use having the biggest muscles if you can't even make it to the fight, I thought wisely.
In contrast, Eon managed the more physical attackers: Scyther, River, and Beedrill.
I had recently learned that Dani refused to name her bug pokemon due to their notoriously short lifespans. Most pokemon species could live nearly as long as their human counterparts, but bug pokemon were different.
In exchange for a significantly faster growth rate, few bug species lived longer than just a handful of years. Names inherently bonded trainer to pokemon uniquely, making it much more challenging to cope with their pokémon's not-so-eventual deaths.
I observed Eon bossing around the juvenile pokemon, feeling grateful that I could expect our partnership to continue for decades.
Eon was currently walking the pokemon through a series of drills designed to help strengthen their physical power; they were simply carrying progressively heavier rocks up and down a nearby hill.
Not all training had to be complicated!
My trainers at the compound had taught me that to strengthen physically inclined pokemon, the most important thing was to establish a strong foundation of strength and stamina. Pokemon were naturally resilient, much tougher than they looked on the outside. Attacks that could easily kill a human only left scratches on them that could heal within a day with the simple application of a potion or a trip to a pokemon center.
Larvitar, even at only a few days old, already outweighed me. The little saurian could handily beat me in a tug-of-war match, although I could still easily outrun him. Pokemon were, quite literally, built different.
There were, of course, more advanced techniques and tactics needed to support the most powerful pokemon moves, but they relied solidly on mastery over the basics.
"Vee, Eevee-vee," Eon encouraged Scyther, who struggled to hoist his chosen rock up the hill. Although Scythers were widely known as vicious and lethal pokemon, they were less physically strong, instead relying on speed and their sharp blades for damage.
"Scyther, scythe," he said with newfound determination. Whatever Eon had said, it worked. Scyther groaned with effort and managed to sprint up the remainder of the hill, chitinous chest heaving all the while.
River and Beedrill looked green with envy; Beedrill, in particular, seemed especially pathetic. He was fast but needed more strength. He carried a rock that couldn't weigh more than a few kilograms tucked precariously between his lances. Seeing the huge murder hornet with such a tiny rock was inexplicably humorous, and I couldn't entirely suppress a few chuckles at the sight.
As I observed Eon's leadership, I felt an intense sense of accomplishment at her growth.
As a young Eevee, she had been quite sullen and isolative, having grown up in the shadow of Sula's Flareon. She was prickly, arrogant, and didn't take well to teaching.
When I was assigned to Nana, she really started to improve. There was something about Nana's stoic dedication that balanced out Eon's eccentricities perfectly.
After observing the physical group's training for a few moments, I deemed it satisfactory and walked to the jungle's edge, where the special attack group had made camp. I moved stealthily since Larvitar tended to show off and burn himself out if he knew I was watching. It was an ongoing issue, and I was uncertain how to curb the behavior.
The reason they were set up near the forest was so that they could work on improving their aim. As Ellie had realized on the first night of the journey, simply being an elemental type didn't guarantee that they could hit a damn thing without training.
Dani had used a knife to mark several trees with deep slashes in the shape of a target. The circles ranged from small to large, and the pokemon had a wide array of difficulties to practice with. The smallest targets were no larger than my fist.
"Larv," Larvitar exclaimed with effort as he sent a boulder nearly his size into a tree twenty meters away. It exploded into a cloud of shrapnel that bored through the first few layers of the tree's tough bark. The target was nowhere to be seen, and the raw flesh of the tree was laid bare to the cool morning air.
Without pause, Larvitar sucked in a deep breath of air and launched a globe of turbulent water toward a closer tree. The water splashed harmlessly across it without doing any significant damage. He had channeled an impressive volume of water, but it lacked the force I wanted. I suspected he would figure it out in the heat of battle.
For many pokemon, it was difficult to progress without the threat of violence hanging over them.
"Tar," he groaned in disappointment.
"You'll get the hang out of it soon, buddy," said Dani optimistically.
Dani scratched her head thoughtfully, adding, "I don't think you're even supposed to be able to do that. Quit your sulking. It doesn't suit you. Remember when Nana dunked you in the water a few days ago? You nearly drowned before you realized you could breathe underwater, and now you can summon a globe of water out of nowhere. You're doing great!"
"Bulba, bulb-bulb," pointed out Petal, as if to say, "she's right, you know."
"Lithe, grow-ow-lithe," Nana grunted thoughtfully, quickly silencing the peanut gallery with whatever he said.
I wish I could understand him, I thought wistfully, as I did most days. Things would be much simpler if I could talk to them openly.
"DRA! TINI!" roared Willow cutely as she fired a spiraling burst of draconic energy into the tree adjacent to the one Larvitar had damaged.
The Twister rapidly dissolved as it came into contact with the tree, but not before it peeled off the outer layer of the tree's bark.
"Dra-tini-tini," she chittered excitedly at the damage before Geralt bonked her lightly on the top of her head with one of his heavy hooves.
"Rapidash," he admonished with a gesture towards the tree, at which point Willow realized she had completely missed the target on the tree by a good three meters.
"Tini," she apologized bashfully.
"Dash, rapi-di-dash," Geralt lectured helpfully. Willow listened attentively, nodding occasionally at what I assumed must be helpful advice.
I jumped in surprise when Dani placed her hand on my shoulder; I had been so focused on the training that I hadn't even noticed Dani sneak up on me. I thought my location twenty meters behind them had been inconspicuous enough to avoid notice.
"Sorry!" she apologized when she saw my reaction.
"Ha," I laughed nervously, as I always did around Dani. "You're good. I must have been easier to spot than I thought," I explained.
"You were plenty stealthy; I just have a good eye. Besides, you were watching the little ones intently. There's nothing wrong with being caught off guard by a friend, Mare," she chided gently.
"You're right, habits die hard. How is the training going?" I inquired awkwardly. Even after nearly a week of traveling with Dani, I felt distinctly uneasy, knowing she had watched my breakdown with Ellie.
"It's good, I think? This training style is different than what I'm used to," she admitted. "Last year, I had focused mostly on battling other trainers and didn't spend much time doing simpler stuff like this. I can't help but think I might've done better if I had focused more on the foundations."
I nodded in understanding. "That's a completely viable tactic, honestly. Once Larvitar has mastered the basics, that's probably what I'll spend most of my time focusing on anyway. It's not like there's any one correct strategy; this is just the approach recommended by the Seiichi. I'm sure you did the best you could," I explained with a shrug.
"As it stands, Larvitar would still handily lose to any of the other pokemon besides Willow, and that's just because she's even younger than him," I pointed out.
"He's just a baby, Mare. You need to have more realistic expectations," critiqued Dani with a raise of her eyebrows.
I shook my head with frustration, "I still don't know what to do with the fact that he is giving every indication of having adopted a water typing. It completely ruins my plans to use him for Kuon," I complained bitterly.
Dani rolled her eyes, "I still think you're overreacting. You don't know that he will be vulnerable to electric moves; we have no way to test it with any of our pokemon."
"Oh yeah? If he gets nicked with the tiniest filament of grass type-energy, he'll most likely faint right on the spot!" I shot back incredulously.
To my great surprise, I had realized that Larvitar could channel water type-energy a few days ago when he had blown a stream of hardened bubbles at Nana in anger. Nana had then logically thrown him into a nearby stream to punish him and determine if his gills worked.
They did.
We had since run him through a series of tests to determine the extent of it. The results were startling, to say the least. Larvitar could breathe underwater and swim far better than his species had any right to, and his paddle-like hands were widening and developing a thin layer of webbing.
These findings had prompted an ongoing debate between the three of us that had yet to be resolved.
Dani believed the additional versatility would be advantageous since water-type moves were notoriously adaptable.
Ellie thought that it was great no matter what happened and that I was being an idiot for overthinking it.
My thoughts were some hybrid of the two; there was no doubt that Larvitar had gained versatility, but it came at the cost of significant weaknesses to the Vermillion and Celadon gyms.
I concluded resignedly that he would get beat up a lot more than I anticipated. It wasn't all bad; resistance training was a time-honored tradition in my clan.
"Hmm…" Dani said thoughtfully. "We can probably get him checked out at the Eevee Lab in Vermilion. Have you heard of the facility, Mare?"
"I think my dad mentioned it once before, but I don't know much about it. Don't they just study Eevee?"
Dani snorted, "You say that like it's a simple thing. They're one of the only known pokemon that have multiple evolutionary paths. The researchers there focus on the effects of elemental energy on pokemon. They offer free tours. It was really cool! They have an entire collection of elemental stones, too. I bet they could tell you more about what Larvitar is going through," she suggested.
"That's an excellent idea!" I said, latching onto her suggestion immediately. I felt incredibly anxious at the unforeseen alterations in Larvitar's biology; I didn't like not knowing what was happening. The guidebook Kiriel had provided was practically useless now.
Dani smiled, pleased at my acceptance of the idea. "We still have quite a bit of traveling to do before we get there, though. Think we should get going? It's already almost noon anyway."
"Probably a good call. It looks like it's going to storm anyway," I said with disgust as I looked up at the steadily darkening sky. "Let's go grab Ellie and get on the road."
Dani's nose crinkled in distaste; I knew she was sick of the constant rain barrages. The roads were muddy, and the moisture gave us nasty blisters.
"What do you mean, go grab Ellie? I thought she was supposed to be with you?" asked Dani in bewilderment.
Right as I began to explain that Ellie was washing her laundry, a blood-curdling scream rang out from the direction of the ocean.