You will regret accepting this Coreopsis.

The thicket provided safe cover for me and my pokémon. This forest seemed to be a favorite place for insect pokémon because of their numbers. Wurmple could be seen on every tree, their red bodies contrasting sharply with the rest of the environment. I almost tripped over a quill-covered cocoon. It gave me an evil look, even if it couldn't move, it was better to be careful.

I found the man who had stopped in the middle of the path. Well hidden in the vegetation, I took my time to observe him. He was wearing a sailor's outfit with a headband around his head. His blue and white striped t-shirt and pantyhose with the same pattern were completed by shorts with torn edges. Eventually another man, slightly taller but dressed in the same way, arrived. My suspicions were soon confirmed when one of them pointed to a cage where Peeko was locked up.

"The old man will have to help us find the Seafloor Cavern!" the bandit shouted.

"Do you really think that senile man can help us?" his accomplice replied.

"I remind you that he's a great sailor who has traveled a lot, he must have information."

"I don't really feel your plan. You just heard that our chief was looking for this cave, and you jumped at the first trace you found without thinking, when we haven't been asked anything yet."

"No need to wait! I know how to take the initiative. You know what I mean? I-ni-tia-tive," he repeated, shaking the wingull's cage.

The biggest of the bandits just shrugged, not seeming to be convinced by his friend's arguments.

"Charmaaaaan!" I heard my pokemon say as he was about to attack.

I stopped him at the last moment and explained:

"It's useless to rush, it's better to remain discreet and wait for the right moment to intervene."

But the septic look on my pokémon's face told me he didn't want to wait any longer. How could I reason with him? Oddly enough, it was my adventure in the Ninja Village that came to mind at that moment.

"You know, you have to do what ninjas do!" I said, making a sign with my hands to illustrate my point.

I felt relieved when Charmander nodded, my example seemed to have worked.

"Now, Braixen, you will use Fire Blast to distract them while Sylveon and Pancham go and get Peeko back. As for you, Charmander, you..."

I couldn't finish my sentence because the salamander was already gone. And when I heard a scream, I immediately understood where the little monster had gone. I looked in the direction of the bandits and saw Charmander smashing one of them with his tail, paws together like ninjas.

"Oh no!" I groaned, clutching my head in my hands.

But I didn't have time to complain about my pokemon; I had to intervene immediately to prevent Charmander from getting hurt. I quickly ordered Braixen and Sylveon to attack. The distraction allowed Pancham to retrieve the cage, the wingull inside flapping its wings in panic.

"You're going to regret challenging Team Aqua, you little girl!" one of the men in the sailor suit said, sending two pokemons I didn't recognize.

I quickly grabbed my pokédex; it was a carvanha and a poochyena. The confrontation was inevitable, and I was not reassured by the thought of facing two pokémons whose abilities I did not know. Not to mention, Ash and Clemont were no longer there to help me. I huffed and puffed, trying to calm myself down. First, I needed to get some information about these pokémons. I tried to consult my pokédex again, but Carvanha lunged at me, and I had just enough time to dodge before its jaws closed on my arm.

"Pancham, use Arm Thrust!"

The panda's paw lit up, and he charged at Carvanha, only to be stopped at the last moment by Charmander. Why did he do that?

"Charmander!" he shouted at me, imitating a cross with his arms.

A bad idea to attack him directly? Was that what he wanted me to understand? My pokemons narrowly avoided a Bite attack, so I took advantage of his preoccupation to use my pokédex on Carvanha again. The Rough Skin ability... it allowed him to hurt the attacker in a direct attack! That's why Charmander stopped us!

"Very well, we will use ranged attacks! Sylveon, Fairy Wind, and you, Braixen, launch Fire Blast at Poochyena."

Both attacks hit their opponent, and fortunately, it was enough to incapacitate them. The two men called their pokemons back and quickly ran away. I hurried to free Peeko, reassured that she wasn't hurt. She squealed with contentment, happy to be able to spread her wings again, and then her look at me seemed a little less threatening. Pancham approached Charmander and thanked him for earlier. But something was strange:

"How did you know about that pokemon's ability?"

"Cha..." he said embarrassed, scratching his head.

There was something strange about him. Sometimes, he acted like a young pokemon, and other times, he seemed like he had a lot of battle experience. But he didn't seem to want to explain himself, and even if he did, I wouldn't be able to understand him. Finally, Peeko must have been anxious to get back to her master, no need to make her languish any longer because of a mystery I will probably never know the answer to.

Our return was greeted with cries of joy. The huge, hard-looking man I had met the first time was gone, and he wept with joy to see his dear friend again. I explained to Briney what had happened in the Petalburg Woods and asked him who these men were and this Team Aqua they boasted of being a part of. His eyes darkened at my words. He seemed lost in his memories, but eventually he explained:

"Yes, this is not the first time they have attacked me, back when I was rescued by a group of young instructors."

"Why did they attack you again? I heard them talking about the Seafloor Cavern..."

"As I recall, they wanted to use my boat to escape after one of their evil deeds. But now they want to reach that cave... it is true that I know a pokemon that could have helped them reach the depths of the ocean."

"But to take a hostage... who is there?"

"I don't know," he replied a little too quickly. "But if they're looking for this place, then... no, I can't figure it out... would they be willing to make the same mistake?"

"Do you have any idea what they're up to?" I guessed.

The sailor ran his fingers through his beard, the skin of his hand so thin that I could easily see all the veins running through it. Mr. Briney seemed strong, but now I realized that he was just an old man who liked to travel on the sea. A man who didn't want to get into any more trouble.

"I think neither you nor I should interfere in this matter," he said.

"But...

"You'd better get ready, we'll be boarding soon," he said, cutting the conversation short.

The sailor's "soon" was not the same as mine. If I had thought it was only a matter of minutes, Briney had quickly corrected me by telling me it would be several hours before I could get on his boat. At least I could use the time to solve a small problem.

I had finally found a corner of the beach far away from any wooden houses. The perfect place to train Charmander in the use of his flames. I noticed the happy look on my friend's face at the blue expanse, and to my surprise, he approached it, wading in until his knees were underwater. I wasn't too happy to see him wading in, but as long as he stayed close to the edge... waves!

I grabbed him under the armpits to lift him as high as I could. Without worrying about me, the foam barely reached my knees and continued on its way. I could feel Charmander struggling in my hands, it must not have been a very comfortable position for him. I pulled him back to my chest and positioned him so he wouldn't slip before I turned back to a drier spot. My pokemon groaned, he didn't seem to understand the problem.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to play in the water," I said, trying to keep calm as my heart was still racing.

The salamander blinked several times and opened its mouth wide as if he had just remembered a truth he knew. I set him down on the sand. How could he forget that water could be deadly to his species? Wasn't that in his genes?

But my friend continued to look enviously at the sea. After all, this mistrust of water was not as instinctive as I thought, or my sweet Charmander was unaware of the danger. I sighed, considering his background, it was obvious that...

"You should take better care of yourself."

At my remark, he just rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. I thought his expression was too much like Ash's. I took off my shoes and black stockings, soaked from the previous rescue, and placed them on a rock in the corner, its surface exposed to the heat of the sun. I noticed a nice big shell hanging on the rock. I wanted to grab it to get a better look, but the little reptile at my feet called out to me, signaling me not to go through with my idea.

"Pearl?"

I recoiled in surprise, I hadn't expected to find a little pink head inside that blue shell. Now I remembered that I had seen this kind of pokemon in the Ambrette Aquarium. I didn't think they could live outside the water.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," I quickly apologized.

The fake pearl didn't seem to mind and closed its shell. Once again, Charmander had demonstrated his knowledge of other pokemon species. It didn't really fit with the idea that he was a newborn just beginning to discover the world.

"Der?" my pokemon called.

True, I hadn't explained to him what I was doing by coming here.

"I know you'd rather be playing, but it would be nice if you learned to control your Ember attack better."

I thought he would be reluctant to practice, but he wasn't. The flame at the end of his tail waved vigorously, and his eyes grew more serious.

"That's the spirit," I encouraged him.

I called Braixen as a backup, with her he would be able to make progress. Charmander stared at her while crossing his arms, he didn't seem to understand how she could help him. It was true that her way of summoning flames was different, but I had no doubt that she would make a perfect teacher. Especially since...

"In her Fennekin form, she also spat flames out of her mouth, so she could advise you."

My young friend's face lit up at my comment. His tail was beating energetically on the sand, leaving its mark. Now he was eager to get started.

"So, Braixen, do you have any idea where he should start?"

My friend looked at him uncomfortably for a moment.

"You too had to learn how to use your flames when you were young."

The look the vixen gave me made it clear that I hadn't.

"You mean you learned instinctively?"

Braixen nodded. If it was that obvious, that meant Charmander was...

"Braix," the pokemon said.

I noticed that the orange reptile's face had suddenly turned pale. My first pokemon wasn't afraid to speak his mind, and her thoughts about Charmander were not complimentary.

"You know, everyone has their own pace. If you're a little behind the others, you just have to practice and get ahead of them."

No idea how convincing my speech was. But the fire lizard lifted his head and signaled that he was ready to try. He took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then opened his mouth to produce... a coughing fit. I crouched down and rubbed his back, hoping that this bad moment would pass quickly.

"Charman," the pokemon lamented, tears in his eyes.

"It's too soon to give up."

He wiped the outline of his mouth, where some viscous saliva had run. Braixen also approached, placing her hairy hand on the scaly belly as she said a few words. Charmander continued his efforts to spit out his flames. As time passed, I could feel their frustration growing.

"Braix, Braix, Braixen!" my friend declared again.

I wish I could have given him some advice, but spitting fire wasn't really my specialty. Charmander's flame crackled and he showed his teeth, he must have had enough. As I expected, he responded to Braixen with a loud yell to show his annoyance. However, I had not expected him to spit out a spray of fire at the same time, and even less that these flames would be directed at my clothes drying on the rock!

Fortunately, the clamperl I had disturbed earlier spat out a jet of water to counter the attack, saving my clothes in the process. But he didn't stop there, Charmander yelped in fear and jumped around to avoid being hit by the water cannon.

"Calm down, Clamperl! It was an accident!" I tried to reason with the water pokémon.

But Clamperl didn't even slow down. Eventually, Charmander ducked behind my legs, and of course, it was me who took the powerful water jet to the head. The false shell had finally calmed down, and as for me, my hair was soaked. Charmander watched me with fear, expecting me to get angry.

"Let's stop here," I said with a tight smile.

Briney had just finished preparing for our departure. The small motor yacht rocked gently to the rhythm of the waves, its white surface shimmering in the sun. The sailor started the boat and it took off, leaving a trail of foam behind it. Peeko flew alongside the ship, letting the wind carry her without the slightest effort. Soon, water pokemons joined us on our journey. Wailmers, giants wailords and other colorful pokemons I had never seen before were having fun in the azure water.

"Come see Charmander, it's beautiful!" I called to my friend, but there was no answer. "Charmander?" I was worried to see that his scales had taken on an unusual hue.

"So, sailor, are you seasick?" laughed Briney.

The only response came from the little pokémon, who gagged again and ran to the edge of the boat. I knelt down beside him, not really knowing how to help him. I stroked his back, and to my surprise, it seemed to bring him some relief. Suddenly a loud cry made me look up, it was Peeko running back to his master.

"There's going to be a storm soon," the sailor said.

"But the sky is blue..." I replied, not seeing a cloud in sight.

"That's why Peeko is here! She helps me predict storms, and she is never wrong."

That's how we ended up in Dewford, a small town in the middle of the ocean. Charmander was not unhappy about this unexpected stop. The weather was still clear, but as I turned my gaze to the blue immensity, I noticed in the distance that clouds had darkened the sky, torn by several bolts of lightning. I swallowed, if we had continued...

"See, she's never wrong!" smiled Briney as he patted the marine pokemon. "I will use this time to check the ship, you can visit the island while you wait."

I gladly accepted, especially since this village seemed charming. I began to stroll among the stalls of the street vendors. There were mostly fishing items, but also beautiful jewelry made of beads and shells.

"Don't you think it's cute?" I asked my pokemon, but he had disappeared again.

I quickly found him in front of a large building and looked around enviously. The sign at the entrance said it was a gym... On this isolated piece of land? The trainers who came there must have been really motivated. In fact, here was one of them coming out with a smile on his face. He must have won his fight and... I fell over, this trainer must have been so happy that he didn't notice me and bumped into me.

Ash rushed over to Serena after the boy had pushed her. The shapeshifter quickly reassured himself that it was nothing serious. However, the former human was surprised that he had panicked so much, and despite turning in all directions, he could not understand the reason for this disproportionate fear. Is it my transformation into a pokémon that makes me so nervous?

"Sorry, I didn't see you," the stranger apologized sheepishly.

Ash snapped out of his trance to get a better look at the boy, who was about his age. The orange bicycle shirt was enough to catch the eye, but it was another detail that caught the fake pokemon's attention. Ash squinted, not only did this boy have white hair, but his haircut was really strange. The former human realized his mistake when the new trainer bent down and held out his hand to the girl. It wasn't hair, but a cap he was wearing on his head. Isn't he hot in this sun? gasped Ash. Suddenly, just as Serena grabbed the outstretched hand, the boy's face turned red.

"You're beautiful!" he exclaimed.

Ash let out a grunt, his belly hot and his scales quivering. The shapeshifter blinked. How long had he been so upset over so little? He clenched his paws in front of his mouth to stifle the growl he was emitting, trying to convince himself that it was no big deal and that this wasn't the first time a boy had complimented Serena. Yes, it was as usual, and as usual, it would not arouse any particular emotion in him. But when he turned his attention back to the trainer and saw her blush, the flame at the end of his tail flared.

"My name is Brendan, and this is my partner, Treecko."

He pointed to a green lizard-like pokemon clinging to his shoulder with a twig in its jaw.

"Thanks to him, I just won my second badge!" he added proudly.

"I am Serena, and he is Charmander."

"Serena... what a beautiful name!" Brice said with closed eyes.

He put his fingers on her forehead in a theatrical gesture and then tried to grab her hand, but it was only an attempt as an Ember attack charred his face.

"Are you okay?" Serena said. "I'm sorry, my friend hasn't quite mastered his attacks yet and..."

She fell silent as she noticed her pokémon's satisfied smile and the flame of its tail waving peacefully.

"Don't tell me you did that on purpose," the distraught trainer realized.

The pokemon folded its arms and looked away. Ashamed of his reaction, yet happy to have burned the boy's ridiculous hat.

"Charmander, you can't attack people like that," she scolded him.

"It's nothing, maybe he's just jealous," Brendan joked as he stood up.

"Jealous? What could he be jealous of?"

The nurse's words suddenly came back to her. If Charmander really thought she was his mother, then, like a child, he must not like her paying attention to other people. But the girl could not let him behave like that. Her young friend had to learn to control himself.

"You must apologize, Charmander," she ordered.

"Der," the Pokemon protested.

"Brendan did nothing to you!"

"Maybe he just wants a fight?" the boy suggested with an amused smile on his lips.

Serena watched her little monster at this remark. Charmander liked to fight, so it was possible that his attack was a clumsy way of challenging his new opponent.

"Is that true, Charmander?" asked Serena.

Smoke rose from the monster's nostrils as he shouted "Of course".

"If you want to fight, ask nicely," the girl sighed.

Brendan gladly accepted the friendly match. He sent his Treecko, a young pokémon that was not lacking in confidence. Ash smiled, for once he was going to get a fair fight.

"Use Pound," the trainer ordered.

The green pokémon immediately leapt into the air, responding perfectly to its master's commands, but it wasted precious time attacking in this manner. And that was not lost on the former trainer.

"Charmander dodges!"

Treecko's tail only hit sand. The fire pokemon stood by, waiting for the next command.

"And now, Scratch," Serena continued.

Ash took advantage of Treecko's immobility to strike. The plant pokemon flinched without letting go of the twig in its mouth.

"Use Leer," Brendan asked.

The orange salamander didn't think the green one would recover from his attack so quickly. Creepy, Ash thought at the look Treecko gave him.

"And now, Bullet Seed!"

The shapeshifter stepped back a bit awkwardly to avoid them. The yellow bullets kicked up sand, making him cough. The seeds continued to chase him, and he ran across the sand, hoping they wouldn't catch up. Ash had no doubt that he was making a fool of himself.

"Counter with Ember!"

Ash opened his mouth wide, but nothing happened... The seeds fell on him in a torrent. Concentrate, Ash! he told himself. The sand projected around him finally reached his eyes. He tried to get rid of it quickly, but he could already hear the other trainer giving an order. In his condition, it was impossible to avoid the blow.

"Dodge to the left!" Serena said.

He followed her order. Ash heard Treecko complain about missing such an easy target when his trainer gave him a new order. To the former human's astonishment, he managed to dodge the following blows, thanks to Serena's instructions. It was even more amazing because it had taken him a long time to pull off such a trick with Pikachu. But with her, it seemed natural.

The last grains of sand were finally pushed out of his eyes, and his opponent launched another volley of seeds. The Salamander inhaled deeply. The air went not only into his lungs, but also into a spot near his stomach. Ash felt that spot heat up until he finally opened his mouth. Attracted by the sudden rush of air, the flames shot up his throat and out of his mouth, hitting his opponent's projectiles and creating a thick cloud of smoke.

"Charmander!" yelled Serena.

Ash didn't need any further instructions to understand what she wanted. Although he nearly slipped on the sand several times, the fake pokemon used the cover of the smoke to approach the plant pokemon.

"Scratch!"

The fire type hit him, but his hands were still shaking from the empty. He turned his head to his trainer and silently called out to her.

"Follow with Ember!" Serena ordered immediately, understanding his problem.

Ash smiled before launching his attack, which hit its target. When the smoke cleared, his opponent lay on the ground, out of the fight. Brendan called him back, thanking him for his efforts. The orange pokemon breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he hadn't done too badly. Too busy catching his breath, he didn't notice his friend approaching until she lifted him into the air to spin him around. Ash could feel his stomach not appreciating the little ride, but the trainer stopped just in time to hug him.

"You did it! This is your first victory!"

Ash had not expected her to be so happy for him. He had had many victories as a human, and they were much harder to achieve than this one. But when he saw the look on his trainer's face, he couldn't help but feel proud. He hid his head in his friend's clothes so that she would not see his satisfied face.

"You are both incredible! I can tell you've been traveling together for a long time," the trainer exclaimed.

"In fact, I only met Charmander a few days ago."

"What!?"

"Is there a problem?" asked Serena.

"No... it's just that you seem to have a lot of trust in each other already and know each other well," Brendan explained.

After that, she turned to the small orange pokemon.

"It's true that you remind me of someone, but..."

"Don't worry, it is undoubtedly me who gives me ideas!" Brendan hastened to intervene. Then he added to end the discussion once and for all: "I wanted to take advantage of being in this town to visit the Granite Cave, you just have to come with me. I'm sure we'll have fun."

Just beyond the village of Dewford Town was a thousand-year-old cave. The zubats once huddled around the rocky ceiling, ready to chase away noisy intruders.

"Why did you want to visit this place?" the girl asked as the group walked along a long path carved into the rock, probably by an ancient civilization.

Newly installed lanterns kept the young explorers from getting lost, projecting the huge shadows of any creature that crossed their beams. This little production had the merit of accentuating the uneasiness already caused by being in such a confined space.

"You can see for yourself," Brendan said with a wink.

At that moment, the passage opened up, giving way to an immense room. At the bottom, the entire wall was painted with gigantic and terrifying monsters. The small group could only marvel at this incredible testimony of an unknown time. One detail caught Serena's attention: a man with blue hair and an elegant suit was standing right in front of the paintings.

"Mr. Stone!" she exclaimed, happy to see the man who had helped her during the Team Flare attack.

At the mention of his name, the man turned and smiled.

"I didn't think I'd see you in Hoenn again. How have you been since the last time?"

Brendan's mouth fell open as he stared at the girl.

"You know the Champion!" he finally shouted.

It was Steven Stone who answered:

"We fought side by side during the Kalos Crisis, and I was impressed by this young girl's courage."

Serena couldn't help but blush at the compliment, while Ash smiled, proud of his friend.

"You really are an exceptional person... Accept to be my girlfriend!" said Brendan suddenly, but he was stopped again by a spray of flame.

This time, Serena didn't say anything, almost grateful to her pokemon for getting her out of this embarrassing situation.

"So, Mr. Stone, what are you doing here?" she asked.

The Champion loosened his red tie and pointed to the painting behind him.

"This is a remnant of the founding of Hoenn and a record of the history of Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza."

Serena looked up, feeling tiny in front of the giants depicted.

"Do these pokemons really exist?" asked Brendan.

"Having faced them recently, I can assure you that they are real."

The trainer also remembered seeing them in Dahara during the Hoopa incident. However, the legendaries pokemons had quickly collapsed into the sea, leaving her unable to gauge their power. The Champion continued to discuss with Brendan, not hesitating to share his valuable knowledge:

"In ancient times, they were called Behemoth, master of the continents; Leviathan, master of the oceans; and Ziz, king of the skies. This gives you an idea of how people viewed them at that time. They were a threat to humanity, just look at this painting to understand how terrifying their power was."

"I didn't know that pokemons could attack humans on their own," Serena said.

She remembered all the pokemons she'd met. If you didn't bother them, they were always willing to help humans.

"They don't have it in for humans, it's just that these pokemons are in a constant battle, and humanity suffers the collateral damage. And then, we must not forget that it was thanks to their confrontation that Hoenn was born."

"An entire region created by pokemons..." Serena was surprised.

The young girl felt a shiver run through her, she would rather not face this kind of monster. Steven suddenly showed a surprised look, he walked over to the girl and crouched down to the level of the pokemon that accompanied her. The fire creature did not understand what was happening to the Champion, who was watching him in a meditative pose, and neither did his trainer.

"Is there a problem?" she finally asked.

"No... sorry," he said and stood up quickly.

The truth was, he found Charmander different from usuals pokemons, and he was unable to understand why. He sighed, his research took a lot of time and he had not slept much the last days, he had to come up with ideas. In the end, he wished Serena good luck for her future competitions and that's how they left each other. Once outside, a wingull came towards them and landed on Serena's shoulder.

"Peeko! Did Mr. Briney send you?"

The pokemon nodded positively.

"Are you leaving already?" asked Brendan dejectedly.

"Yes, but thank you, I had an incredible day thanks to you," she said with a big smile that made the boy's heart capsize.

Before setting sail again, Briney suggested a meal at a restaurant he knew well. It was a wooden building in the colors of the sea, with a sign in the shape of a whiscash. The locals had already gathered on the terrace, mostly sailors whose noses had turned red. It was a strange atmosphere, where banal conversations could turn into loud shouts for no reason. The waiter did not care about the mocking sailors and brought back an assortment of seafood under the astonished eyes of the coordinator and Ash.

"No Charmander," Serena stopped him, having noticed his gaze immediately.

The shapeshifter lowered his eyes to his pokemon food. The food on his plate still didn't mean anything to him, especially with the feast sitting a few feet above him.

"I see Charmander knows what's good," Briney laughed.

"Don't encourage him."

But the old sea dog did not hesitate to share his meal with his pokemon friend. Ash watched them, stretching his arms to make sure that if Peeko had the right to do it, why not him. Especially since I am human! he complained.

"Your pokemon seems to be stubborn. You won't let him eat those industrial kibbles."

"But if I let him eat like me, he'll get sick," Serena reminded.

"Then you'll have no choice but to learn to cook for him," Briney smiled.

Serena hadn't thought about it, but that might be the solution. She would find some recipes on her navi-map, and if she could cook dishes similar to hers, but with ingredients good for pokemons, Charmander would have no reason to refuse to eat. Lost in her plans, she only noticed at the last moment that the pokemon had climbed onto her lap and was feasting on the seafood.

"You're worse than a munchlax," she lamented.

They reboarded the ship late that afternoon. The freshly ingested seafood and the rolling of the ship made for an uncomfortable combination for poor Ash. Serena was careful not to say "I told you so" to the pokemon's miserable face. The voyage was long, too long for the nauseous one who returned his hard-earned meal to the ocean several times.

The star of the Great Beartic had already taken its place in the sky for a while by the time they arrived in Slateport City. Serena greeted the old man before heading to the Pokémon Center. It was hard to find her way around, the streetlights had already gone out and the night was hard to see through. Luckily, Serena could count on her two felt pokémon to light her way to the cozy bed she deserved.

The humans had finally left the Granite Cave, and a small pink pokémon ventured into the frescoes. The other monsters watched, fascinated that such a creature was here. The monster hovered at the level of the giants' paintings, brushing the ancient image with its paw. These titans would never reach the end of their task, he vowed: this world would live on, forever.

Has the flaw that will complete AZOTH appeared?