Morning dawned, warm and sunny, and Mary-Sue was forced to emerge from her tent before it turned into an oven. She was even hungrier than she had been the previous morning - hungrier than she'd ever been in her life - but pride stopped her from going to Pewter City to refresh at the Pokémon Center. I said I wouldn't go to Pewter City before I explored Viridian Forest, and I'm sticking with that, she told herself.

As much of a shame as it was to spend a canteen of drinking water on cooking, though, she couldn't go on without food. The heat, at least, made it easier to spark a fire, and the ground wasn't lacking in branches to burn; before too long, she was able to boil a packet of noodles and dried vegetables for breakfast. While that was cooking, she opened one of each of the two kinds of cans of Pokémon food she'd bought and dumped them out on the ground, having not thought to get bowls to go with them.

"Come on out, Budew!"

"Dewew?" squeaked her partner as it emerged.

"Good morning," Mary-Sue told it with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Dew," it answered, sounding tired and wary.

"I thought you might want some breakfast," Mary-Sue explained as she took her own meal off the pot. "I left it over there."

"Budewew?" The little bud trotted over to the two piles of food in the grass.

"Oh, not that one," Mary-Sue said quickly. "The other one's the sweet food. I…" She frowned. "I need to think about how Magikarp's going to eat…"

Budew trotted over to the pile of sweet food and started eating. It hesitated at first, but after chewing one bite, it proclaimed its name and leapt onto the pile, face-planting in it and munching with enthusiasm as its stubby legs flailed in the air. Mary-Sue couldn't help smiling at the adorable baby, and remembered again how fast it had been able to run through Diglett Cave. If it could just be convinced to use that speed for battling instead of fleeing…

Before the noodles were even cool, Mary-Sue slurped them down, not caring about mildly burning her tongue when she was so starving. Once she'd eaten, she brought Magikarp out and held it awkwardly over its pile of food, helping scoop the pellets into its mouth with her hand; it didn't thrash too much, so Mary-Sue hoped they were working together well.

"Alright, listen up," Mary-Sue said once breakfast was done, and she pointed to the nearby treeline. "Today, we start exploring Viridian Forest," she told her Pokémon. "We're going to be in there for a while, and we're going to fight any Pokémon we see. Our goal is to find a Pikachu, or at least a Pichu; the only way we're gonna leave before that happens is if we completely run out of supplies. Are you ready?!"

"Karp karp!" Magikarp declared, flopping enthusiastically.

"Dew," Budew whimpered.

Mary-Sue frowned at Budew. "You'll just watch the battles until you can figure out how to fight yourself," she told it. "You need to learn to fight, Budew, you're a Pokémon and I'm your trainer."

"Dew dew!" it protested.

With another sigh, Mary-Sue held up her partners' capsules. "Return," she told them both, and they dissolved into clouds of red light. Clipping their homes to her backpack strap, the young trainer turned her attention to the thick trees before her. Viridian Forest, she reflected, walking into the woods with something almost like reverence. I've dreamed about this so many times…I wonder how long it will take to find a Pikachu?

As it turned out, a number of dirt paths snaked beneath the trees, so people could more easily explore the vast swath of forest, but Mary-Sue tried to stay as far away from roads as possible, wanting to be in the wilds where the Pokémon were. Surprisingly, though, she wasn't exactly swarmed - flocks of Pidgey and Spearow flew by overhead occasionally, and there were plenty of rustles and grunts in the foliage, but not many Pokémon directly approached the red-haired girl.

The first of her challengers was a Weedle. Magikarp took it down handily while she forced Budew to spectate, but when she tried to catch it, it broke free of the Pokéball and wriggled away into the undergrowth. Wary of running out of Pokéballs before she found the Pokémon she was after, Mary-Sue decided not to make any more catch attempts on anything other than a Pikachu after that, even though she knew winning a victory over a Pikachu using a Magikarp was going to be tricky. There was no sign of a Pikachu the first day, but Mary-Sue didn't let that get her down - she knew they were rare, even here, and hadn't really expected to find one so quickly.

Plenty of bug-types crossed her path as the days went on - Weedle, Caterpie, Metapod, Kakuna - but Magikarp was able to handle them; it hurt Mary-Sue to let any Caterpie go, since that was the first Pokémon the Champion had ever caught, but with only three Pokéballs left, she didn't want to waste her chances on the Pokémon she wanted. Pidgey and Spearow sometimes tried to defend their territory, but Mary-Sue did her best to evade them.

A week into the excursion, there was still no sign of a Pikachu; the young trainer was running out of food, and Magikarp was running out of strength to battle. Things weren't dire yet, though, and she pressed on, keeping as far away from paths as possible, forcing her way through the thickest undergrowth she could find.

Suddenly, something yellow and fast flashed between the trees. Getting a bit desperate, Mary-Sue shouted after it.

"Hey!" she yelled, crashing through bushes in pursuit of the thing. "Hey, you, yellow thing! Get back here!" A small branch broke off on her shirt, and she reflexively threw it at her quarry, not realizing until after she'd let fly that what she was chasing was a Beedrill.

"Drill?" buzzed the gigantic insect as the branch tapped its head, and it stopped and turned around to fix its huge red eyes on Mary-Sue. "Bee-drill!" it exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!" Mary-Sue yelped, running back a few steps as it dove at her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I thought you might be a Pikachu!"

The creature either didn't hear her or didn't care; now it was the one chasing her, brandishing its massive stingers and droning angrily. Most bird Pokémon were content to leave her be after she'd run a fair distance, but it quickly became clear that that wasn't going to happen here.

Biting her lip, Mary-Sue took out Magikarp's Pokéball. Magikarp was fairly injured from the week's training, but she didn't seem to have any options. "Go, Magikarp, I choose you!" she shouted, flinging the capsule behind her in the direction of the angry Pokémon.

"Karp karp!" trumpeted the fish as it appeared.

"Tackle that Beedrill!" Mary-Sue ordered.

"Kaaarp!"

"And be careful!" Mary-Sue added as Magikarp began flopping its way up to speed. "Beedrill are dangerous!"

Her ally didn't seem to care, any more than her enemy had cared about her apologies; the water-type creature flung itself at the giant insect with all its strength, scaly body landing a blow with a solid thunk. Beedrill hissed in pain, but reacted too quickly for Magikarp to dodge, one big stinger striking Magikarp with enough force to fling it against a tree.

"Hold on!" Mary-Sue yelped, running forward as she fumbled for her last potion, which she'd been saving for an emergency like this.

"Karp…" the orange fish mumbled, but it wasn't completely downed yet.

Mary-Sue barely had time to spray the potion on Magikarp's wound as Beedrill buzzed its name furiously, flitting between the trees almost too fast to see before it closed in. She dove out of the way just in time, and one huge stinger slammed into the tree Magikarp was recovering under, sticking fast in the wood.

"Drill!" it snarled, struggling to free itself.

"Magikarp, Tackle it now, while you can!" Mary-Sue cried.

"Karp karp!" proclaimed the fish, and it flopped, hopped, and smacked into the gigantic bug again. Unfortunately, the force of the blow knocked the angry insect free, putting them back on even ground.

"Dodge it!" Mary-Sue called. "I know it's fast, but you have to be careful! If you can catch it when it misses you, you should be safe!"

"Magikarp, karp karp!" One bulbous eye turned on Mary-Sue for a minute, and her breath caught at the understanding she saw there, as though her partner had nodded at her. Then it continued flopping, bouncing off of trees as it tried to almost dance around the darting Beedrill.

Every time Mary-Sue thought there was an opening, she called for Magikarp to attack, but she almost didn't need to, it seemed to see the same opportunities she did. Beedrill still managed to jab it a few times, though, and Mary-Sue started getting worried that her only battling Pokémon would be knocked out and there would be nothing she could do.

Then, with one final shout, Magikarp whacked itself bodily into Beedrill's back, and the enormous bug collapsed into the brush, defeated.

"Magikarp, are you okay?!" Mary-Sue exclaimed, running to her gasping partner's side.

"Karp," it told her, though it sounded tired.

"Okay," she murmured, gently patting its scaly side, "we're out of supplies, it's time to go to Pewter City and stock up. No more battling until we get there, if we can help it…I'll try not to get in trouble on the way, alright? Return."

Magikarp disappeared into its Pokéball in a cloud of red light, and Mary-Sue stood up. For a moment, she glanced back at the shrub Beedrill had fallen into, but she still didn't want to risk wasting a Pokéball. She turned around…and stopped.

Which way is Pewter City?

The young trainer had been so focused on searching the obscure corners of the wild for a Pikachu that she hadn't even thought about what direction the nearest city was in for days. Looking around now, all she saw in every direction was trees, with no distinguishing signs as to which way led to civilization.

Panic rose in her chest, constricting her lungs, and she started gasping for breath. It's not so bad, she tried to tell herself, even as the trees seemed to grow and tower over her ominously. Pewter City is…north of Viridian Forest, so if I can just figure out which way north is, I'll…I'll be fine. Right? She closed her eyes, struggling to picture the map, no longer sure of herself. Eventually, she had to pull out the vast sheet of paper, unfolding it and focusing on the lines and icons. Yes, Pewter City was directly north of Viridian Forest. So which way is north?

Heart pounding, she looked up, peering through the leafy canopy at the slashes of sky poking through. There was something about the sun, wasn't there? It…always moved in the same direction. But was it always moving east, or west? Or was it north or south?

Mary-Sue's fists clenched, her face scrunching up reflexively. Maybe if I just find a path, there will be a sign. Trainers do this all the time, it's not that bad. It's not that bad. I'll be fine.

I will not cry.

Forcing herself to move, the young girl started pushing through the undergrowth. She remembered what the official lady at school had said about Pokédexes with navigation guides, and how she'd insisted she wouldn't need the help. Somehow, she'd never thought about the idea of getting lost, even though she knew forests were different from organized cities, but now she kind of regretted being so sure of herself. Mrs. Tania had mentioned that even her low-spec Pokédex had a distress call option, but somehow, that felt like giving up, and Mary-Sue forged on, praying for a sign.

When she thought she saw a clearing, she aimed for it, and found a small dirt path running through the woods. There were no signs indicating which way was towards Pewter City, but she looked up at the sky again, with a clearer view, finally able to see the sun. But…she couldn't remember how to orient herself - she couldn't even tell which way it was moving, even if she remembered which direction the sun traveled it wouldn't help her.

A small whimper escaped her throat, but she turned to her right and started running down the path, hoping against hope that there would be a sign or something. It quickly narrowed and grew over as she went, though, until suddenly there was no path anymore.

Just as she was about to scream, a sound reached her ears through the trees.

It was very faint, but it didn't sound like a Pokémon. Melodic, not a voice…some sort of musical instrument?

Carefully, Mary-Sue followed the noise, listening hard to find its source. Yes, it was music, and definitely not being made by a Pokémon. It sounded…peaceful, in a way, if also kind of lonely, notes she couldn't begin to imagine what they came from warbling around her. Curious and hopeful, she pushed through the undergrowth as the music got louder, until eventually, she found a small hill with a single tree growing on top of it…and sitting beneath that tree was a boy.

He had short maroon hair, and was wearing a black t-shirt with some sort of pattern on it, beige jean shorts, and sneakers with black socks. His hands, partially sheathed in dark-blue fingerless gloves, cupped a harmonica in front of his face, into which he was gently blowing, eyes closed, seemingly lost in his own tune as he swayed in time with the music ever-so-slightly.

"Hey!" Mary-Sue shouted, dashing up the hill. "Hey you!"

The melody was cut short as the boy blinked open his light blue eyes and lowered his instrument. "Hello," he said cautiously. There was an odd lilt to his voice that Mary-Sue couldn't place, but she didn't worry about that.

"You're a trainer, right?!" she demanded, and she pointed at him emphatically. "Then I challenge you to a battle, and if I win, you have to let me use your Pokédex to find my way out of here!" She knew her odds weren't good, but it was standard to battle a trainer first, then ask something from them only upon winning.

For a moment, the boy just blinked at her. "…No thanks," he said at last, and he started playing his harmonica again, picking up where he'd left off.

"What?!" Mary-Sue yelped. "Hey, you can't just refuse my challenge! We're both trainers, and I challenge you to a battle!"

"I'm really not in the mood for a battle right now," he said, stopping his music again. "Besides, one of my partners is off wandering somewhere, I'm waiting for it to come back. That's why I need to keep playing, so it can find me."

"But…" Mary-Sue swallowed hard as the boy continued blowing into his instrument. "But I…I…I'm trying to get to Pewter City," she managed, hating the crack she heard in her own voice.

He looked up at her again, then pointed to his left. "Pewter City's about two days that way," he told her.

"Huh?" She blinked. "How do you know?"

"I just do," the boy shrugged. "How do you not?"

"Because I'm lost!" Mary-Sue shouted, unable to contain herself anymore. "This forest is big and everything looks the same and I don't know where I am and I'm out of supplies and I just want to find the way out!"

The boy's lips twisted strangely, and he turned his head and pressed one hand to his mouth, but he couldn't quite hide the fact that he was struggling to withhold a laugh.

"It's not funny!" Mary-Sue shouted.

"I know, I know," he said quickly, "I'm sorry. I guess this forest would seem pretty big to someone who'd never seen a forest before. It's just…where I grew up, the woods were way harder to navigate."

"Where you grew up?" Mary-Sue blinked. "But…Viridian Forest is the biggest forest in Kanto…"

"I'm from Galar," the boy explained. "Ballonlea, to be precise. That's a forest - the trees are bigger than houses, and between the leaves and the fog, it's always dark, day or night; the only light comes from glowing mushrooms. Plus, fairy-type Pokémon love playing tricks on travelers, you've gotta keep your wits about you if you don't want to turn into a Phantump. This…" He gestured at the sunny woods they were in. "This is nothing. I couldn't get lost in a dinky little forest like this if I tried."

"Well…" Mary-Sue frowned. "Well, I'm from Celadon City, and yeah, I've never seen a forest before," she admitted. "It all looks the same to me, I don't know which way anything is."

"Huh." The boy appraised her for a minute. "I guess that's fair, if you're a city girl," he said. "Tell you what; I'm going to keep waiting here for my partner to come back, but when it does, I'll walk you to town."

"Really?!" Mary-Sue gasped.

"Sure," the boy shrugged. "I'm getting kinda low on supplies too…and I'm a bit tired of these little trees. I thought I'd spend time here because I was a bit homesick, but this forest isn't doing it for me, so I might as well continue on my journey."

"Th-Thank you!" Mary-Sue cried. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, just let me keep playing so my partner can find me," the boy said, and without waiting for a response, he resumed blowing into his harmonica.

Mary-Sue dropped to her knees, relieved that she would have a guide. The boy's music was pleasant; it was the same tune as before, but it somehow sounded a little different, a bit harsher, though she couldn't place why. Even so, she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the tune, almost dozing a bit, before a rustling in the bushes caught the player's attention.

Startled by the sudden quiet, Mary-Sue blinked her eyes open just in time to see a black-and-white creature come darting through the undergrowth, moving in a zig-zag pattern.

"Zig-zagoon!" it barked, running back and forth and up to the boy on the hill.

"Hey there," the boy smiled at the odd creature.

"Zig!" it said happily as its trainer stroked its head, its pink tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

"What is that?" Mary-Sue asked, taking out her Pokédex. "A…Zigzagoon? But…it looks so different." The image on her digital encyclopedia was of a creature with brown and tan stripes, and a big black smudge over its eyes; this thing had black and white stripes, and its eyes were each separately surrounded by black star shapes.

"This is a Galarian Zigzagoon," the boy explained, still smiling. "We've been best friends since I was little. Did you find anything, buddy?" he asked it.

"Zig zig!" it proclaimed, and it held out one thickly-clawed paw to reveal something blue.

"A Chesto Berry, huh?" the boy asked, taking the object and pocketing it. "Perfect. Do you want to keep running around, or do you want to go back in your Pokéball?"

"Zig zigza!"

"Alright then." The boy took out a red and white capsule, then hesitated, as though only just remembering his promise to Mary-Sue. "By the way, Zigzagoon, this is…uh…" Blinking, the boy turned to the girl. "Say, what's your name, anyhow?"

"Oh! My name's Mary-Sue," Mary-Sue answered. "How about you?"

"I'm Aaron," he replied. "Mary-Sue, huh? That's an odd name. Why not just 'Mary'?"

"Because my parents named me Mary-Sue," Mary-Sue stated.

"Yeah, but that's two names," Aaron remarked. "Bit of a mouthful…Ah well." He turned back to his Pokémon. "Seems Mary-Sue here needs some help getting out of the forest, so we're going to travel with her for a bit," he told it. "After that, I think it's about time we head for Cerulean City, don't you?"

"Goon," the creature panted, and without warning, it got up on its hind legs and licked Aaron's face.

"Alright, sounds good!" Aaron laughed. "Return for now." And the creature dissolved in a cloud of red light.

"Cerulean City?" Mary-Sue questioned as the boy stood up, hefting his noticeably larger backpack onto his shoulders.

"I already got the badges from Viridian and Pewter," he explained, even as he turned and started walking, and Mary-Sue jogged to keep up. "Like I said, I was just spending time here because I thought I might feel a little more at home. But it's not that great of a forest."

"So you're taking the gym challenge?" Mary-Sue asked.

"Yeah, I'm here on a foreign exchange program," he told her. "I wasn't sure whether I wanted to pursue music or Pokémon as a career, but when I made up my mind to be a trainer…well, I'm not fond of how it goes in my home region. Do you know about the gyms there?"

"Not really," Mary-Sue answered. "I know my parents have been to Galar - my mom has a Corviknight, and my dad gave her an Applin when he decided he wanted to be more than friends. But I've never asked them much about what it's like."

"Well, gym battles are a big spectacle in Galar," Aaron said. "Every challenge is this big event in a stadium full of people shouting and chanting and cheering…" He shook his head. "It really doesn't suit me. I heard things are quieter here in Kanto, so when I had a chance to be part of an exchange program, I took it."

"Oh." Mary-Sue frowned. "Well, um…I just started my journey a couple of weeks ago," she offered. "I haven't gotten any badges yet…in fact, I haven't even won against a trainer yet." She hesitated, then added, "Honestly, I don't think I could have won against you - my partner's pretty worn out, and I'm out of medicine."

"Then why'd you challenge me?"

"Because that's how things are supposed to go," Mary-Sue said. "I'm not supposed to be able to ask anything from a trainer unless I've beaten them in a battle."

"Well that's ruddy silly," Aaron commented. "If you need help, there's no shame in just asking. Really, it's no trouble."

"…Thanks," Mary-Sue mumbled.

Aaron grunted, then took out his harmonica again and started playing as they walked, this time a jauntier tune that Mary-Sue found herself half-dancing to as they went, hopping with the beat with each step. She couldn't help it; the energy was infectious.

They carried on like that until sunset, at which point Aaron took a sharp turn and quickly came to small stream. "We'll camp here," he told Mary-Sue. "That okay?"

"Sounds good!" Mary-Sue smiled. "Anything I can help with?"

"I'd ask you to get firewood, but you might get lost," he said, a half-smile suggesting he was teasing.

"I'll stay close," Mary-Sue promised, and she jogged under the treeline, scooping up sticks everywhere she saw them.

By the time she couldn't carry any more branches in her arms, it was getting dark, and she followed the sound of the stream back to where Aaron had set up a fire pit and his own tent. Zigzagoon was out and about, as well as two other strange Pokémon Mary-Sue didn't recognize.

"Firewood," she called as she entered the campsite.

"Just in time," Aaron said. "Set it up right there."

Mary-Sue heaved her load into the designated spot, and Aaron came over with a tiny purple Pokémon that crawled on the ground. "Can you give us a light, Toxel?" he asked the creature.

"Tox," it squeaked, and it rubbed its face in the wood. Sparks flew, and suddenly, the pit was ablaze.

"What is that Pokémon?" Mary-Sue asked.

"This is Toxel," Aaron introduced, his other two Pokémon trotting over. "And this here is Grookey, my official starter." He gestured to a small green monkey-looking Pokémon with a stick stuck through two tufts of green hair on top of its had, then gave her a sheepish smile. "Like I said, Zigzagoon and I have been friends since I was little, and I always knew I was going to travel with it, but I didn't turn down an official starter when I entered the trainer program…and then, my gran had to gift me a Pokémon for the trip, too." He patted Toxel, which lifted its head to meet his hand.

"How did you meet Zigzagoon?" Mary-Sue inquired, eyeing the black-and-white figure.

"I met it while I was exploring Ballonlea Forest," Aaron answered as he dug around in his backpack. "Zigzagoon don't appear there very often, so I think it was lost; it was being harassed by some Impidimp, and I shooed them away and brought it home to recover. We've been inseparable ever since."

"Zig zig!" Zigzagoon concurred, sticking its tongue out.

"Well, um…" Mary-Sue fiddled with the Pokéballs on her backpack strap for a minute, then unclipped and opened them. "These are my Pokémon, Budew and Magikarp."

"Budew!" squeaked the tiny plant as it appeared.

"Kaaarp…" mumbled the fish, materializing in the stream.

"Magikarp's really tired," Mary-Sue explained. "It's been battling for a week, and we ran into a Beedrill this morning, and I'm out of potions."

"Why not fight with your Budew, then?" Aaron asked.

"Because it won't fight," Mary-Sue sighed. "I've tried to direct in it battle, but it just runs away. My mom got it for me while she was in Sinnoh for a contest, see, so I wouldn't have to pick a starter from the lab, but…it turned out to really hate fighting."

"Why wouldn't you get a starter?" Aaron turned to fill a metal dish with water in the stream before propping it up over the flames on a simple contraption he'd arranged, a few berries laid out on a cutting board beside him.

"The Champion didn't take a starter from the lab," Mary-Sue said, folding her arms. "He didn't need one, and neither do I!"

"The Champion?"

"Ash Ketchum!" Mary-Sue declared. "He's the greatest Pokémon master the world's ever seen! I wanna be just like him!"

"Oh yeah, I've heard of him," Aaron remarked absently. "Hey, what kinds of food do your Pokémon like?"

"Huh? Oh, um…Budew likes sweet food, and Magikarp likes spicy food," Mary-Sue answered.

"Hmm," Aaron muttered, more to himself than to her. "Maybe a savory curry, then…"

"Wait, are you cooking for yourself or your Pokémon?" Mary-Sue inquired.

"Both," he replied with a smile. "In Galar, we make curry that people and Pokémon can share."

"Oh…" Mary-Sue blinked. "That's neat."

"Grook?" asked Grookey of Budew, who squeaked and flinched away. Grookey pursued Budew, and the little bud ended up getting chased around a tree, even though Grookey clearly meant no harm.

"Hey Aaron, have you ever had a Pokémon refuse to fight?" Mary-Sue asked as the creatures ran back and forth; in the background, Zigzagoon had started up a conversation with Magikarp, while Toxel seemed to prefer huddling by Aaron's side, bumping its head against his hand insistently.

"No," Aaron answered, swiftly chopping berries with a worn-looking knife. "Stop it, Toxel," he added, as the little purple creature kept reaching out to sneak pieces into its mouth. "Come on, now, it won't take long before the curry's ready, don't ruin your appetite."

Mary-Sue groaned, sitting down heavily on a log Aaron had apparently dragged over by the fire as a makeshift bench. "I don't know what's wrong with Budew," she grumbled. "Even Meowth couldn't figure it out."

"Meowth?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, yeah, my parents have a Meowth that can speak human language," Mary-Sue said. "He can translate for any other Pokémon, too. But Budew wouldn't tell him what was wrong, it just said it didn't want to be a bully, and…Meowth said it seemed like it was afraid of something."

"Huh," was Aaron's only response.

Budew came over to Mary-Sue and huddled against her leg, its little bud reaching for its Pokéball, as Grookey finally seemed to give up on trying to make friends with it. "Dew," it begged. "Dew, dew, dew!"

"No, Budew, we're going to eat now," Mary-Sue told it. "You can't eat while you're in your Pokéball."

"Dinner will be ready in a minute," Aaron said, dumping the chopped berries into the metal dish, along with what looked like a piece of bread.

"You're really going to share with us?" Mary-Sue asked.

"Sure," Aaron shrugged. "You said you were running out of supplies, and I have enough to spare."

"Thank you," Mary-Sue told him, bowing her head. "Really, I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't found you."

"Dew, dew!" her partner chirped, and it sounded like it was agreeing.

"You're welcome," he smiled at her.

"I'll, uh, just set up my tent while it's cooking, then," Mary-Sue said.

"Sounds good."

By the time Mary-Sue's tent was ready, the curry was too, and Aaron dished out bowls for everyone, evidently having far more of them than he needed. "For when I get more partners," he explained when Mary-Sue asked. The food was delicious, savory with a hint of sweet and spicy, and Magikarp especially seemed to enjoy it, seeming to get some energy from the meal. Aaron didn't offer much more in way of conversation, but as Mary-Sue crawled into her tent, he pulled something out of his backpack and started playing a different kind of music.

She stopped and looked back, and saw he was strumming what appeared to be a small guitar. His Pokémon gathered around him; Grookey pulled its stick out of its hair and started tapping it on a nearby rock in time with the melody, while Zigzagoon and Toxel briefly fought for the right to curl up on Aaron's lap. Zigzagoon quickly gave up and rolled over on its back beside the boy, paws in the air, tongue lolling out, while Toxel smugly nuzzled its trainer's stomach. Seemingly unconcerned with any of this, Aaron leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. The tune was homey, in a way, and he looked so peaceful as he strummed that Mary-Sue couldn't do anything but smile.

Even though she was lost in the woods, somehow, in this moment, she felt at home.