"Well, what do you think, Marshtomp?"

The Water Type swished the soup around in his mouth before swallowing it and smacking his lips audibly in a way that made us all laugh. Mom was fawning over him like crazy. Even if he had evolved and she hadn't known him as a Mudkip, she'd taken to loving him all the same.

"I guess he likes it more than the pickled vegetables."

We'd tried giving him a few of the other takeout dishes, the first being pickled vegetables. That had been a terrible pick and he'd spat it right out onto the carpet. Tyrogue's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he watched that happen, and he glared at Marshtomp for a little while before returning to his own food. He seemed to like rice and soup though, so at least those were safe for him.

Once we'd had enough to eat I packed up the leftovers and Mom gave Marshtomp and Tyrogue a Poffin each. Tyrogue tore the pink treat into pieces and chewed it slowly to enjoy it. Marshtomp had been handed a green Poffin that I didn't recognize. I picked up the packaging but he began biting into it as I was reading the label for it: "Rawst - Bitter"

"Wait, Marshtomp-"

His eyes went wide and he shoved the rest of the treat into his gob, chewing it and smiling as he did so. Mom giggled and pinched his cheek.

"I think we just found his favorite flavor!"

"I'll have to keep that in mind, maybe we'll pick up another box once we get to Floaroma." I told her.

"You're going north? Why wouldn't you go to Oreburgh?" she asked, picking up the pile of takeout containers and walking into the kitchen. I followed Mom as we continued talking.

"There's a rookie tournament in Floaroma and I wanted to see how I'd do. I figured the tournament and the long walk would be good for us."

Mom put the food away and poured herself a glass of water.

"You're gonna do great. I watched that battle with Byron, you did so well beating him on your first try! Are you sticking around for a few days or…?" she asked.

"No, we have to head out in the morning, I want to get going as soon as possible. But I might come back around to visit after Oreburgh if there's time!"

"Just be sure to let me know when you get there, ok?"

"I will, Mom."

The next morning Tyrogue and I set out on Route 204. We'd woken up super early to get on the road before the heat of the day set in. There was a lot of ground to cover and I wanted to make as much headway as possible. I'd opted to leave Marshtomp in his ball, as much as he needed the exercise I knew he'd be dragging his feet all morning.

We took a break at around ten to rest a bit and have a snack. I gave Tyrogue a granola bar and we both sat down to rest our feet. We were too far away from Jubilife now to have cell reception, so I couldn't give him any videos or streams to watch, so we ate our food under the shade of a nearby tree while I flicked through some information on my Pokedex. If I was teaching Marshtomp new moves, then I needed to do the same with Tyrogue.

His major issue right now was bulk. He simply couldn't take as many hits as he gave out. Even against Pokemon he should've had a fair matchup or had an advantage against, like Pancham or Pawniard, it still ended in draws or near ties. Tyrogue becoming sturdier likely wouldn't happen until he evolved but there were other ways around this problem. Specifically, there were two moves that solved this issue: Protect and Detect

Both moves were exhausting to use and took a long time to learn. Protect created a solid barrier to stop attacks while Detect put the Pokemon out of harm's way entirely. Ideally, I'd end up teaching both to him for when a situation called for either one, but I didn't have the TM for either one. Detect was listed in Tyrogue's potential moves, so maybe it was possible for me to have him work on it? It seemed a better idea than any other move I could think of, but it also begged the question as to how I went about teaching it to him. I scratched my head and closed the Pokedex.

"C'mon Tyrogue, break's over."

The Fighting Type leapt to his feet and we set off down the road again.

It was getting into the afternoon by the time we'd reached the Ravaged Path. Along the way we'd met several Trainers, most of whom were very kind, although one Trainer's Mienfoo didn't take kindly to Tyrogue for some reason.

Ravaged Path was a cave leading up to the other half of Route 204. It would take around two hours to get through, but I still had some gear prepared for this sort of thing. I unclipped the safety helmet from my backpack and pulled out a flashlight. I released Marshtomp, who blinked at me with sleepy eyes as he realized that he was back out in the middle of the day.

"Take a minute to wake up, I'll need you both on high alert in here. It might get a little dangerous and I'd rather you both be ready for it."

Marshtomp yawned and his eyes focused on me while Tyrogue shadowboxed in place. Being close to Jubilife meant the Ravaged Path had the advantage of frequent Ranger activity. They usually made it a point to sweep through here and clear out any aggressive or dangerous Pokemon before the Circuit began each year. It didn't mean accidents couldn't happen though. I'd read the stories of Trainers getting attacked by Zubat and Golbat, or a random cave collapse from a wandering Graveler. Between Marshtomp and Tyrogue though, I was certain that anything we'd see wouldn't be too much of a problem.

I clicked the light on my safety helmet as we walked inside. There were a few lights strung up around the entrance, and a few more indicating the path ahead. Some species of Pokemon were scared away by the light and others actively avoided it in order to stay out of sight of predators.

"Tyrogue, I want you to stay behind me. Marshtomp, you're out front."

They both nodded as they fell in step with me. Tyrogue shifted uneasily from foot to foot as he rubbed his shoulder. He probably didn't like the cave and the idea of enemies hiding where he couldn't see them. Marshtomp looked around the cave in wonder, probably happy to just be seeing a new environment.

Around an hour into our jaunt through the cave, an earthen creature on two little feet ran onto the path in front of us from a darkened tunnel nearby. It was a deep blue color with a yellow convex on its face and it was shaking as it looked at Marshtomp and I. A Roggenrola.

Marshtomp looked ready to strike as I put a hand on his shoulder. "We should let him go, he's not doing anything to us." If anything, the Rock Type looked scared. But I wasn't sure what exactly preyed upon or hunted after Rock Types that would have it running away like this. A Fighting Type maybe? Roggenrola turned and scampered away, its little feet tapping against the rock floor of the cave as it fled away from us.

Tyrogue pulled on the leg of my pants as he pointed further down the lit cavern. He was getting more restless and something about that Roggenrola was making it worse. Marshtomp looked down the cavern too, cocking his head.

"Come on, we should go-"

Tyrogue cried out as something kicked him in the back and sent him sprawling to the ground. I backpedaled as I stepped away from the purple humanoid creature leering at his target. It was around a foot tall with large gemstones for eyes several more embedded in its body with a wide sinister grin of malicious looking sharp teeth that it turned to me.. A Sableye, here? How?

Sableye fell onto his behind and began cackling, covering his face with one hand as he laughed at Tyrogue, who was getting back onto his feet. Tyrogue turned and blurred towards his opponent, punching and sliding right through him as his fist connected with the wall of the cave, shaking the nearby cave. The Ghost Type found this hilarious, rolling around on the ground as he cackled.

"Marshtomp, Water Gun!"

Marshtomp unleashed a blast of water, smothering Sableye as he walked towards him to keep the attack going. Sableye put his hands out trying to block it to no avail before he sunk into the ground, becoming a puddle of darkness that slid along the ground. He popped out of the ground behind Marshtomp, who whipped around on the spot to meet his attacker. The Water Type sucked in a breath and screamed, a ghostly wail echoing from his mouth that caught me off guard.

What the hell, what kind of attack was that?

Sableye fell backwards to the ground as he looked stunned for a moment before Marshtomp assaulted him with another Water Gun. The Ghost Type rolled along the ground, propelled by the Water Gun as he began laughing again, cackling even as he was attacked. Why was he laughing? Was this fun for Sableye?

"Marshtomp, stop, let him get up." I told him. He ceased his attack, allowing Sableye to recover and get to his feet. The Ghost Type leered at us, cocking his head as he did so.

"Were you picking a fight? Was that all you wanted?" I called out to him.

Sableye warily approached us with tentative steps, walking up to Tyrogue first. The Fighting Type glared at his assailant before turning to look at me, clearly displeased. As he turned, Sableye pushed Tyrogue over and clutched his midsection as he laughed at him again. Tyrogue jumped to his feet and his fists shook with rage as his face turned red with anger.

"Oh, you're an asshole, Sableye! You didn't want to fight, you're just trying to fuck with us. Come on you two, leave him be, he's not trying to hurt us."

Tyrogue walked around him, still visibly enraged while Marshtomp shrugged his shoulders and did the same. I followed them and left Sableye standing there. I turned back and saw the Ghost Type plodding after us, his normally toothy grin now turned to a frown.

"What, are you following us? Just stay here, you'll find plenty of Trainers and Pokemon to play pranks on." I told him.

"Sable…eye?" The Ghost Type muttered. He kicked a nearby rock and continued walking towards us. Tyrogue continued glaring at Sableye and Marshtomp seemed as confused as I was.

"You want to tag along? We're going to be battling, getting stronger and taking on other Trainers and seeing the world. Not a lot of time for pranks and tricks with all of the training. It's gonna be tough."

Sableye looked down before touching the wall of the cave. He walked towards me and looked up and nodded. I pulled out a Pokeball and held it out to him.

"Here, touch the ball. As long as you don't resist, you'll be captured and we'll be partners." I told him.

Sableye grinned and slapped the Pokeball before he was consumed by the device's red light. The Pokeball shook in my hand once, twice, three times before ringing. I had captured Sableye, my third Pokemon.

I pulled my Pokedex out and looked at his information.

Sableye, the Darkness Pokemon

Type: Ghost / Dark

Evolutions: None

Sableye lead quiet lives deep within caves where they are feared. Supposedly, they are thought to steal the spirits of people. They are nocturnal and use their claws to fight back and dig for the gemstones they consume.

Ability: Prankster (click for more information)

Learned Moves: Scratch, Fury Swipes, Leer, Astonish, Fake Out, Disable, Confuse Ray, Night Shade, Mean Look, Flash, Zen Headbutt, Punishment

Potential Moves: Shadow Sneak, Knock Off, Shadow Claw, Will-o-Wisp, Power Gem, Shadow Ball,...(click for more information)

I had never planned on catching a Ghost Type, but I couldn't deny how useful he would be. While offensively he wasn't incredible, Sableye had an incredible amount of utility moves at his disposal. His role would be as a constant hindrance and a thorn in the side of every enemy that wasn't prepared to deal with his tricks. Still, he had a lot of good moves already and plenty more he was capable of learning. We'd have to see what he was capable of, but I'm sure he would be of great help in the Floaroma Tournament, especially if no one knew I had him yet.

I had to admit though, the thought of raising a Ghost Type had me a little worried. They were one of the rarest types, but also fraught with problems. Ghosts were known to be vengeful or even violent depending on the species, and that was on top of them being famously hard to control and train. The last thing I wanted was to raise a Pokemon that might kill a person or another Pokemon. Even the thought of it made me a little nauseous. But Sableye hadn't wanted to kill or even hurt us, even when he attacked Tyrogue he was doing it for fun so maybe it wouldn't be as bad.

I released Sableye in front of me, with Marshtomp and Tyrogue flanking him. I knelt down to the Ghost Type, who cocked his head at me.

"Welcome to the team, Sableye. My name is Titus, and you've already met Marshtomp and Tyrogue." I said as I pointed behind him.

Sableye turned around as Marshtomp smiled and waved, while Tyrogue glared at him and then at me. It seemed he wasn't happy about being toyed with, and now I'd made it worse by making Sableye a permanent addition to the team. I'd have to talk to him about it later.

"Think you can get us to the other side of the cave? I know it's lit up, but I'd rather have you out so we can talk and get familiar with you." I explained.

Sableye put a finger to his chin, then began walking back behind us and confidently pointed in the opposite direction.

"You never give up, do you? We're trying to go north, Sableye, not back the way we came from."

His toothy grin turned to a frown as he walked past us and began trudging north. It seemed I'd taken the wind out of his sails by ruining his joke. The three of us followed him and made sure to keep him within sight. Even if I'd caught him, it didn't mean he wouldn't turn and attack us. I jogged a few steps ahead and kept pace with Sableye as we progressed further into the cave.

"Sableye? Do you have a lot of experience with fighting?" I asked him.

He tapped his chin with a finger a few times before shaking his head.

"You prefer playing pranks, huh?"

Sableye nodded his head vigorously.

"Nothing wrong with that. Just don't go doing it to strangers, ok? I'd hate for someone to get the wrong idea or get hurt because of it."

The Ghost Type looked slightly deflated as I told him that.

"Hey, that doesn't mean you can't do it in battle though! If we're in a fight, it's probably where you shine anyway."

He seemed to perk up at that. Maybe working with Sableye wouldn't be as hard as I thought.

"Actually, why don't you show me a few of your moves? I want to see what you're capable of before you battle." I explained, pulling out my Pokedex and looking at his list.

"Sableye?"

"Go on, just show me any move you've got. Just don't point it at any of us, ok?" I encouraged him.

He pondered for a moment, before his form wavered and he collapsed into a murky black pool in the ground at his feet. The pool split, and two identical Sableye leapt from the ground. They both stood in front of me, crossing their arms with a shit-eating grin plastered to their faces. After a few seconds, the Ghost to my right's form began to waver and I noticed that the color of it wasn't quite as bold as Sableye's. Tyrogue wasn't as impressed, standing a few steps behind Marshtomp who was watching with awe.

"Oh, that's Night Shade, right? I bet that's fun for tricking people and Pokemon. What else have you got?"

The Night Shade sunk into the ground and joined with Sableye's shadow. He found a large rock along our path, and placed his head close to it, listening to it and knocking on it with one tiny fist like he was cracking a safe. His forehead began to glow with a bright blue light before smashing his head into the stone. It disintegrated and broke into pieces as small rocks flew in every direction. Sableye began digging through the rubble until he found his prize: a few rough gemstones that he gleefully bit into as he sat in the rubble pile.

That was also something I hadn't considered. Did Sableye eat gemstones exclusively, or could I substitute it with some sort of mineral-heavy kibble? There probably weren't a ton of people that raised them, so I'd need to do some research once I had cell reception again.

"Hey, do me a favor? Try to save some of those if you can, I don't know when we'll be able to find more for you to eat again."

The Ghost Type happily obliged. He smashed open a few more rocks and tore up the ground with his claws looking for stones. I pulled a drawstring bag from my backpack and began adding everything he found. Once we had a few handfuls, I put the bag away and let him eat another.

"Those are all yours so don't worry, only you get to eat them. I'm just going to keep them safe for you, alright?"

"Sableye!"

Another half hour of walking, and the light of the exit was in sight.