Holy shit. A Mudkip, here? How?

My brain scrambled to remember everything I could about the Water Type. Native to Hoenn and incredibly rare, but eventually evolve into one of the most powerful Water-Ground Type Pokemon: Swampert. A force of nature with its stamina, bulk, speed in water and versatility of moves at its disposal. Any team would be lucky to have one, and some Trainers built their entire teams and strategies with Swampert in mind.

The small blue Pokemon cocked its head the other way as it stared at me. Every part of me was screaming to catch it, but my backpack was up on the shoreline. Even if I could get up there and back, it would likely flee. And if I lunged, there was no way I'd be able to grab it.

Before Mudkip could sink back into the water I stepped back away and splashed some water towards him. He giggled, diving into the water and reappearing a few feet away to spit water at me again. I noticed Tyrogue looking at myself and Mudkip, a concerned expression on his face. I realized he might think that I was in danger, but I waved him towards me.

"Come on Tyrogue, Mudkip just wants to play. If it wanted to hurt me, it would've done it already, right?"

He looked down to his feet before charging back into the water and splashing me, a grin plastered on his face.

"Oh come on, not fair! Two on one, really?!" I yelled, laughing as I was splashed and pelted with water.

I dove at Tyrogue, grabbing him around the middle and tossing him. He tried to break free but he was really having a lot of fun with it, sinking into the water and splashing as he came to the surface, giggling like crazy.

I turned and was immediately met with a stream of water in the face. Rounding on my aquatic attacker, I dove at him, but he was just too quick. Mudkip saw what I'd done to Tyrogue and wasn't having any of it. As I flailed around in the lake water and stood back up, I felt something stick to my head and immediately shot back up.

"Mud-Kip!"

Mudkip was clinging to the top of my head, looking down and around at everything. As Tyrogue approached and tried to splash me, Mudkip spat water in his face and while he was reeling, leapt from my head and tackled him into the water.


Hours later, the three of us were lying under the broad branches of a large tree. The setting sun had bathed the lake in orange light, the sky itself a fantastic smear of pinks and red, peppered with the thinnest wisps of barely existent clouds. If my entire journey were filled with days like this, then being a Trainer would be well worth it.

I'd changed clothes in the safety of the woodline, wrung the wet clothes out and set them on a branch to dry a bit better. I pulled my phone out of my backpack, checked the time of 6:52, and flicked through a few notifications. Tyrogue was taking a nap under a nearby tree, and Mudkip was rolling in the sand, throwing it around and diving into it.

I was so curious about Mudkip. To my knowledge, they weren't native to the cold climate of the Sinnoh region, so what was one doing here? Has someone lost it? Had it escaped from someone?

I heard voices and steps nearby, and spotted two boys and a girl roughly my age walking along the beach from the pier. One of them shouted something, and ran towards Mudkip while the other two tried to keep up. Mudkip spotted them and he began to panic and back away from them.

Shit. Shitshitshitshit-

"Mudkip, come here!" I called out.

The Water Type turned from the approaching kids to me, and ran towards me. Tyrogue opened his eyes, noticed the kids and calmly stood up from his nap. The kid who left his friends behind, a boy with greasy looking blonde hair, groaned as he watched Mudkip retreat next to me.

"Aww come on! Are you serious? You got our hopes up and everything, I was ready to catch that Mudkip!" the greasy kid complained.

His two companions, a girl with long black hair in an elaborate braid and thick glasses and a stocky boy with broad shoulders and a shaved head were panting as they caught up with us.

The girl was first to speak up, scolding her friend. "Seriously Damien, what the hell?"

The larger kid caught his breath and piled on, "Not like he could've done anything to it with just a Fire-Type anyway."

Damien, or Grease-ball as I referred to him in my head, finally snapped back. "Look, I saw an opportunity and went for it, sue me!"

"You've got a Fire Type?" I asked him. I noticed that each of them had at least two Pokeballs on their belts. All I had was Tyrogue's, though his was with my backpack and if I didn't have to pull it out and reveal that Mudkip wasn't mine, I wasn't going to.

Damien grinned, pulled the ball off of his belt and released the creature inside. What popped out was the laziest looking Houndour I'd ever seen, curled up on his side with his legs tucked in. It opened a single eye at me, deemed that I probably wasn't a threat, and went back to his nap. His Trainer groaned, pulled the hair from his eyes and slicked it back.

"Well, if we can't catch your Mudkip, you could at least battle with me, right? I'm trying to get ready to take on Byron." he claimed proudly.

I didn't want to tell him that both Tyrogue and Mudkip would have an easy time fighting his lazy Houndour. I looked at Tyrogue, who shrugged and leapt to a nearby tree branch, hanging from it and doing pull-ups.

"I'm gonna have to pass this time, sorry."

"Damn it!" He kicked some sand nearby and turned to his Pokemon, recalling it. "Back in the ball with you." Damien groaned.

The girl with the glasses stepped forward, looking a little nervous. "I'm Helen, and this," she gestured to the stocky boy who was checking his phone. "Is Karl. It's nice to meet you!" Karl looked up from his phone, waved at me then went back to it.

"I'm Titus. It's nice to meet all of you." I replied.

"And I apologize for Damien, who you've already met. It looks like he scared your Mudkip half to death."

My Mudkip. Right.

"It's fine, no harm done."

"See Helen, it's fine! Come on, we're wasting time here." Damien shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking back to the pier. Karl approached me with a bit more tact than Damien. "Are you taking the ferry to Canalave as well?"

"Yeah, we actually got here really early and decided to hang out for a while."

Helen stood under the tree where Tyrogue was doing pull-ups. Nimbly, he flipped backwards and landed on his feet, puffing out his chest as she clapped and praised him.

"You're such a cutie, Tyrogue! I bet you get compliments all the time though, huh?"

Tyrogue and I shared a look for just a second before we both began to laugh.

"Hey, w-what did I say?!" Helen protested, going red in the face.

"It's nothing." I reassured her. "The last person that had anything to say about Tyrogue's appearance called him ugly and weak right before we beat her in a battle."

"What a horrible thing to say! Serves her right." She turned to Karl. "We should probably catch up with Damien before he attacks someone else's Pokemon. It was nice meeting you, maybe we'll see you in Canalave!"

"See you later!" I shouted after them as they turned and left, waving back at me overhead as they ran to catch up with Damien.

Somewhere in the distance, the horn of the ferry sounded, bellowing across the lake. In the distance, I could see the ferry approaching. There was a flock of Wingull hovering around it. I gathered my backpack and clothes and made sure I wasn't missing anything.

I turned to Mudkip, who'd now begun walking back down to the shoreline.

"Mudkip?"

The small blue Pokemon turned and looked up at me.

"We have to get going now, but thank you for sharing your little beach here with us. We're going to the other side of the lake, but we should be back again soon."

"Mud?"

His expression grew defeated as he turned to look at the ground. He was…sad? I was surprised, I thought Mudkip would think this a happy occurrence and just move on. I hadn't been able to capture him before but now I felt a kind of tug in my heart. I wanted to bring him with me.

"It doesn't have to be goodbye though." I pulled a Pokeball from my belt clip and knelt down to him. I set the ball in the sand in front of him and smiled. "If you hit that button, you become a part of our team. Tyrogue and I are traveling the whole region, battling and growing stronger. You can come with us, Mudkip."

Mudkip looked back at the treeline and began walking towards it. I thought he was about to leave but he stopped and looked at the trees, and a gentle breeze shook them. He turned, and with his eyes closed, ran towards the Pokeball, bumping it with his head and letting the light overtake him. It shook once. Twice. Three Times.

And it was done. Mudkip was mine. I released him immediately, and scanned him with my Pokedex.


Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon

Type: Water

Evolution: Marshtomp (no further information)

In spite of its small size, Mudkip are incredibly powerful Pokemon capable of moving boulders. They sleep buried in mud and their fins allow them to detect changes in the air and water around them.

Ability: Torrent (click for more information)

Learned Moves: Tackle, Growl, Water Gun, Mud Slap, Mud Bomb, Dig, Rock Throw, Bite, Supersonic

Potential Moves: Aqua Tail, Water Pulse, Icy Wind, Low Kick, Earth Power, Iron Tail, Rock Smash…(click for more information)


I knelt down to Mudkip, and Tyrogue walked up to him with me. "My name is Titus. And you've already met Tyrogue." I gestured to my starter, who nodded at his mention. "We have to catch the ferry to the other end of the lake, that's where our first Gym Battle is. Think you're up for that?" I asked him.

Mudkip looked down and away from me, then back to me with a fierce look of determination. "Mud-kip!"

I smiled, happy he was into the idea. Beyond that, I was overjoyed to have caught my second team member already. The moves Mudkip had were incredible and would give us a huge advantage in the fight against Byron.

"I have to recall you now, but I'll bring you back out in a while, ok?"

"Mud…", he replied, looking slightly deflated.

"It'll be alright, I promise you won't be in there too long."

I recalled Mudkip while Tyrogue and I jogged to catch the ferry. The ticket man noticed me and raised his eyebrows before giving me a wry smile.

"That's a surprise, thought for sure you'd be at the bottom of the lake by now," he teased.

"Nah, I'm not that brave," I replied.

I pulled up the ticket on my phone, which he scanned before reading off a few conditions.

"Only companion sized Pokemon are to be released on the ferry, and only one at a time. And don't get in the way of the crew or cause any trouble, that includes battling. Other than that, you're good to go. Have a good trip!"

I thanked him before ascending the steps to the ferry. It wasn't huge but it was enough to house the crew and it had rooms for people to stay in as well. The trip only took a few hours, but a nap did sound pretty good right about now. I checked my ticket again and found our room, C18. It took a little while longer than I wanted, and I had to refuse one of the crew member's invitation for a battle with his Poliwhirl. Tyrogue wasn't happy about it, but I didn't want us kicked off or barred from the ferry.

Our room was small, only a few feet wide but at least the bed was long enough to stretch my legs out. I released Mudkip, who looked around in awe at the tiny metal room we were in. He jumped up onto the bed to prop himself up on the windowsill and stare out into the lake in awe. Tyrogue was unimpressed with the cabin but found enough room on the floor to do some pushups.

I set my bag down and sprawled out on the bed. Compared to the couch at home or my bed, this was practically luxury. My phone buzzed, and I checked it while my Pokemon got comfortable.

It was a text from Glen. Odd. He didn't send text messages, he actually hated it and preferred to call someone if talking face-to-face wasn't an option. I was glad I'd gotten it now while there was signal. Out on the lake, just like most routes in Sinnoh, there was little if any reception.

Glen: Hey Titus

Glen: Hello

Glen: Are you there

Me: Yeah, I'm here. What's up?

It took a few minutes for him to respond again. I was hoping this wasn't an emergency or something.

Glen: Just wanted to say sorry for last time we talked your a good kid you got to do this your way I'm routing for you let me know when your gym battle is everyone at lucky andy's will be cheering

It was incredibly kind that he'd taken the time to message me, especially when we hadn't been on the best terms last time I'd seen him.

Me: The ferry's about to leave for Canalave now. I'll let you know when my Gym Battle is, and thank you for everything with Tyrogue. I wouldn't have left Jubilife if it hadn't been for you and Nathan.

I'd have to call Mom to tell her I'd made it to Canalave safe and sound. She'd be worried sick if I didn't keep her updated. I pulled a paper map from my backpack and spread it out in front of me. I'd actually snagged this one from the Pokemon Center while waiting for Tyrogue but they gave them out to everyone. Hearing the rustling of the paper, Mudkip began walking towards me and placed a tentative foot on the paper, which crinkled under his weight.

"Hey now, if you come over here I can show you where we're at." I told him, patting the spot next to me. He leapt over the map and turned himself around to look at the unfurled paper.

"We're right here," I pointed to the lake shore of Jubilife, then to Canalave. "And the place we're headed is west, it's called Canalave. Our first Gym Battle is against Byron, who uses Steel Type Pokemon. Think I can count on you in a battle, Mudkip?"

"Kip!" he replied, nodding his head.

"After that, we have to either head to Oreburgh in the east, or to Floaroma and Eterna which are to the north. After that, I guess we go through Mt. Coronet to Hearthome and head south-"

"Kip Kip, Mud-kip!"

Emphatically, he began to yell and stomp as I mentioned going south. He wasn't angry, just…excited?

"You…want to head south?"

"Mud!" Another nod of the head.

To the south of Hearthome was Pastoria City. It was large, home to the Pastoria Gym and the Great Marsh which housed a great number of Pokemon both common and rare. There were even exotic Pokemon from distant regions like Paldea and Galar.

"Well, we'll have to go that way no matter what, so I guess that's good news for you." I told him.

I folded up the map and slid it back into my backpack. I clicked off the lights and settled under the covers. I set an alarm on my phone for midnight, roughly when I thought we'd be arriving. Mudkip settled between my legs and Tyrogue sat propped up against the side of the bed.


Hours later, I was woken to a fist banging against my cabin door.

"-en up, come on, we've just arrived and you'll need to vacate in twenty minutes."

Right. Napping. Ferry ride. Canalave.

I put my boots back on and slung my backpack over my shoulders, yawning as I checked the time: 11:26 PM. I canceled the alarm and looked down at Mudkip who had rolled over and was just nodding off, and Tyrogue who was bleary-eyed and had begun his morning stretches. I recalled Mudkip, as I didn't think he would mind sleeping in his ball for the time being.

I opened the cabin door, shielding my eyes from the bright lights as I made my way up to the top deck. I followed a few other passengers and soon exited the ferry. As Tyrogue and I made the short walk from the pier, I noticed a small park nearby with street lamps lit up. There were pavilions and a water fountain, and a dock for fishing and boats. We'd have to come back here at some point.

As we entered Canalave, I pulled out my phone and got directions to the Pokemon Center. I'd never left Jubilife before, so this and every other city besides it across Sinnoh was going to be new to me.

The large red-roofed building was soon in sight. A Nurse Joy at the desk looking way too chipper for someone working the night shift greeted us.

"Hello there, you're out late. Can we help you with something?" she asked with a pleasant tone.

I rubbed my eye and responded. "Yeah, we just need a room for the night. I've got my Trainer ID." The nurse scanned it and handed it back along with a room key. "You're on the second floor. It's just the start of the Circuit so there are plenty of rooms. Enjoy your evening!"

The cabin on the ferry had been made with space in mind, but I actually felt like I had room to breathe in the Pokemon Center room. There was a desk and television, along with a bathroom. I released Mudkip, who was now snoring, while Tyrogue inspected various parts of the room like the curtains and pillows. I changed into more comfortable clothes and crawled into bed as Tyrogue was looking at the TV.

"We should follow Mudkip's lead. Big day tomorrow, we have to sign up at the Gym. It'll be a lot of serious training, are you up for it, Tyrogue?"

"Ty!"