TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Age: 16
Badges: 1
Account: 6,644 credits

POKÉMON
Ralts (Apollo) - Male
Corphish (Duran) - Male
Eevee (Orion) - Male

As we continued our journey toward Mauville, I was stricken by just how peaceful things seemed after the rounds of battling this morning.

Chase was walking calmly beside Stella as opposed to running about and exploring like usual, which I supposed was a sign of both his newfound respect for Stella as well as just generally lacking his usual boundless energy. Masquerain was seemingly emulating Duran by perching on Samantha's backpack, Orion was sound asleep in my pocket, and Duran wasn't shooting off attacks from behind me like usual.

Samantha and I exchanged a few words every so often, but largely we traveled in silence as we were lost in thought and mulled over the morning's battles. Rather than talking about whatever came to her mind or flipping through her phone, she seemed perfectly content to take in the beautiful landscape of Route 117 while idly playing with Oddish's leaves, which she seemed to absolutely love.

The only two I would consider as behaving normally in our group would be Apollo and Stella, who seemed once again lost in deep conversation. Although I was extremely happy that he had somebody he got along with so well and who could better relate to him as a fellow psychic and telepath, I couldn't help but miss him a bit. For a period of time it had just been us two, and he was always there to keep me company. I had no doubt that Stella was teaching Apollo a lot since he himself called her a mentor, and the fact that I was no longer answering endless questions and explaining things to him. In fact, he really hadn't been chiming in on my thoughts or sharing his feelings that much recently, although I could still feel his presence lingering in my mind when I focused.

Perhaps he was simply too occupied having conversations with Stella to skim my thoughts, or perhaps he had decided to give me a bit of space to think without fear of constant judgment, I couldn't be sure. Even as I thought about it, he felt no need to chime in. I had mixed feelings about this; part of me thought it was for the best, but another missed the constant feedback I used to get. But I wasn't about to start getting jealous or sad; I knew it was healthy for him to have Stella as a friend, and I also knew she wasn't going to be around forever. Our groups were likely to part ways in a matter of days, depending on how things went.

Disappointment. Sadness. "Must leave? Why?"

I snorted in amusement at Apollo suddenly deciding to speak up. Of all the thoughts I'd been having that I would have expected him to speak up on, I found it telling that the thought of Stella leaving was what provoked a response.

"Different paths, different dreams," I sent back simply, knowing he already knew the answer to his question.

"Dream of family. Sammy and Stella are, no?"

I hummed, wondering if I wanted to try to argue with that point. To an extent I agreed, however it wasn't quite that simple.

"Not just that. We also seek independence, strength, and to complete the gym circuit. Norman is the reason you and I even met, we owe it to him to prove his efforts in helping me were worthwhile," I pointed out.

"No need to hurry. Can do with Sammy and Stella. We all journey and grow, better together."

I sighed, really not wanting to argue with Apollo. He wasn't exactly wrong, there were only two things that gave me any reason to feel even remotely rushed. One was having all eight badges in time to participate in the Ever Grande Conference, but we were still in spring and it wasn't until late fall so we weren't exactly pressed on time for that. The other one was Norman potentially retiring, but that had been a rumor going around Petalburg for years and not something he himself had ever confirmed or hinted at.

"Maybe. I'll talk to Sammy about it when the opportunity arises, just don't get your heart set on it," I finally sent back to Apollo, which seemed to appease him as he sent back feelings of satisfaction and appreciation.

In truth, I could see it working as long as we both managed to keep winning. Things could get awkward quickly if I lost a gym battle or Samantha didn't win a contest, as that would mean we'd have to hang around for a week at another attempt. One week in a single place might not be the end of the world, but if either of us got stuck and struggled to continue… I didn't know how we'd handle that. Enjoying each other's company was one thing, but I really didn't like the idea of either of us feeling like the other was somehow holding the back or a burden.

There was also the little fact that I was beginning to find myself missing alone time with my team, and that having Samantha around slightly went against my desire to live free and independent. It wasn't much of a conflict though; despite some light protests and verbal jabs, she had never really stopped me from doing anything I felt like I wanted or needed to do.

In fact… as I was reminded of the Geodude incident, I wasn't sure if I even felt comfortable with Samantha journeying alone. I knew that Stella was at least capable of handling herself and keeping Samantha safe, but it wouldn't do much good if Samantha froze up or lost her head when danger presented itself.

I wasn't sure what I could possibly do to fix that other than help her realize that she was capable of handling herself. My thoughts went to Orion; he was similar in that his default response was to freeze or run when confronted with possible danger, but with guidance and a bit of confidence in his abilities, he was quickly overcoming it. As the trainer Samantha would need to be the one providing guidance, so giving her confidence that she could handle situations with a level head was the only thing I could think of.

"What's on your mind, Danny? You've got that dumb look on your face again."

I glanced over to see Samantha giving me a curious look and shrugged.

"Just thinking, that's all."

"About what, the Mauville gym? You're probably going to have a tough time with that one. It's usually a three versus three, but that assumes trainers took the traditional route which you completely disregarded. Considering it's your second, I'd expect a two versus two. I hate to say it but Duran and Orion will probably struggle to take down their opponent, especially considering Leader Wattson is known for using Magnemite which is part steel-type."

"Not what I was thinking about, but that's good information. You said Wattson is the gym leader's name? What can you tell me about him and the gym?" I asked curiously.

She hummed in thought, "Well Leader Wattson is a jolly old man. He's been the Mauville gym leader for ages, since before we were born. He's a total sweetheart, if you can get past his corny electric puns. I've met him a few times actually, when I'd visit Mauville with my parents. His wife passed away years ago, but he never let that get him down. He really enjoys helping the newer generation of trainers, lots of top trainers say he helped them over a slump in their earlier days. I'm sure you know this, but Mauville has a massive power plant on its outskirts that powers half the region. Mauville prides itself as the electric capital of Hoenn, so naturally its gym reflects that. You can expect Voltorb, Magnemite, and Electrike as the likely species you battle against; I doubt he'll use any evolved Pokémon against you but it is possible."

I nodded, committing her words to memory. I already knew about the power plant, and the fact that Mauville was a hub of sorts for the region. It was basically located right in the middle of Hoenn, and served as a major tourist destination with major roads traveling in each cardinal direction. It also hosted famous locations such as the Mauville Game Corner, the region's best family-run Pokémon Daycare, the original location of Rydel's Cycles, the region's TV station, a famous Pokémon groomer and a massive food court, among other attractions.

It was one of the few cities in Hoenn that I was truly excited to explore. Typically I was more interested in seeing the natural landscapes of the region, such as this beautiful route we were currently on. But Mauville was one of the cities that I intended on spending some time in and truly exploring, same with Slateport and Lilycove.

Speaking of Slateport… I wondered how I would fit that into my travel plans. I'd have to go back to Mauville after I beat the Lavaridge gym in order to continue east, so perhaps that would be the ideal time to check it out. I had been surprised to learn that neither Slateport or Lilycove had a gym, but the explanation I'd found for that was that they were already valuable destinations and Hoenn's branch of the Pokémon League had wanted to attract tourism to lesser-known destinations such as Lavaridge and Dewford.

"You've been to Mauville before, right? Think you can give me a tour and take me to all the must-see attractions?" I asked Samantha, tearing myself from my thoughts.

"Sure, I've been plenty of times. There's lots to do and see, but I strictly forbid you from going to the game corner, Daniel Ingram."

I raised a brow, "No offense, but you can't forbid me. I want to at least check it out. I'll set a hard limit, don't worry."

She sighed, "And here I thought you were smart. Of course there will be prizes that catch your interest, that's how they lure suckers like you in. You don't exactly have the funds to go donating it to the Game Corner. You know the odds are stacked against you, right? The games are designed to make them money, the odds of you winning are insanely low and they overvalue their prizes, even if they are rare."

"I'm not dumb, I know I'm unlikely to win. But I don't see the harm of spending a thousand credits for the experience and to try my luck. I feel like it has been on the upswing lately, I just might hit it big."

She rolled her eyes, "You're on your own for that one, I refuse to step foot in that place again. But we're definitely hitting the food court and groomers. As an Eevee, Orion deserves to be truly pampered once in a while, and there's no place better in the region."

I shrugged, deciding I didn't have a problem with that. She was the resident expert on Eevee, and if she thought he needed to experience it then who was I to pass up her offer?

As we continued traveling east, I realized that we hadn't seen another trainer all day. On the Verdanturf side of the route we'd seen some trainers scattered about, but now that we were roughly halfway through the route things were surprisingly quiet. We did pass a couple of people hauling various cargo, and there were still plenty of Pokémon to be found that were enjoying another beautiful and sunny day among the fields of flowers, but there wasn't a trainer in sight that I could potentially challenge to a battle.

Truthfully, the satisfaction of this morning's battle was wearing off and I was left feeling a bit restless, no doubt thanks in part to the coffee I'd woken up with. I could see why Samantha tended to be so talkative on our travels now, even our brisk pace of walking wasn't enough stimulation. I thought of what I could do to help pass the time and give my hyperactive mind to focus on, and immediately a thought came to mind.

"Sammy, let's practice our mental defenses," I suggested suddenly, causing her to give me a skeptical look.

"Mine are about as good as they can get, Danny. My parents made sure of that. I even have Stella helping to provide protection, so the only way I can improve them is by strengthening her abilities. That mostly comes with time and experience, though."

"Alright, well teach us then. I only have theoretical knowledge, and I'm not sure Apollo would have any idea how to help protect me. Maybe Stella can try breaking in?" I suggested hopefully.

She snorted, "You're an idiot, Daniel Ingram. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Stella is not qualified to break into your mind without risk of harming you. She's still in the early stages of reading thoughts, and human minds are much trickier. She's not a natural telepath like Apollo is, so progress is slow."

That made me curious, so I mentally asked Apollo if Stella had been practicing reading his mind.

"Yes. More efficient, help her get better." Apollo responded through our link.

I hummed, slightly surprised. For some reason I'd assumed that they exclusively communicated through talking, considering Apollo's vocabulary had been getting much better and he was getting close to formulating grammatically correct sentences. Apollo referred to Stella as a mentor even though he himself had better telepathic abilities, but she had clearly been helping him in other ways.

"Help with English, teach about humans and world. Wise, experienced."

I nodded in approval, happy that they were both seemingly helping each other in their own ways. Turning my attention back to Samantha, I decided to press the issue.

"Let's try it. We'll take turns; Apollo can try breaking into your mind, and Stella can try breaking into mine. It'll be great practice, and I'd prefer if the first person to break into my mind was somebody I could trust."

"Do you just not listen? It is dangerous. I got to practice with mom's Lunatone, but it knows how to intrude on a mind without causing serious damage. No offense, but I don't think Apollo is qualified to do that, and I know for a fact he isn't as strong as Lunatone."

"You say that like you can stop Lunatone if it really tried to get in. You're going to tell me with a straight face you can fully block a psychic that strong from getting in if it actually tried? I guarantee it used kiddie gloves on you."

"Yeah, it did. I don't think you understand, Daniel. Stella is decently strong for her age and experience, but Lunatone is easily older than my parents and firmly at the elite level. If a Pokémon like mom's Lunatone or daddy's Metagross wants in your mind, there's no stopping it without a Pokémon of equal power protecting you. The only real factor in that situation is how willing it is to damage your mind. The stronger your willpower and defenses, the higher the risk there is of serious damage when it gets in. That's why it's common knowledge that when you feel your defenses getting overwhelmed, you should just surrender and let them in. Some people end up comatose when they end up in league custody and try to resist their elite-level psychics. They will get the information they want, it's up to you how easy you make it for them."

That caused me to shiver, but only made me more determined that I needed practical practice and experience.

"Ok, let them in if it's a lost cause. Noted. But our telepaths aren't anywhere near elite level, so what's the harm of a little practice?"

Samantha glared at me, clearly annoyed. "Why do you even care? I guarantee Apollo doesn't even want to practice breaking into minds. Remember when he tried to read my mind without my permission when I had you guess my team? I have no idea how you managed to convince a Ralts to even do that, but the moment he felt that my mind wasn't accepting visitors he instantly backed off and looked incredibly guilty. You'll likely never run into a situation where he will be willing to break into a mind, and it's not something you should be teaching"

"I'd rather be prepared and experienced in dealing with mental warfare than be caught with my pants down. I don't think he'll ever need to intrude on a mind, but I want to build up our defenses. I've been reading a lot and think I have a grasp on the basics, but I want to put it to the test."

"Then have Apollo break into your mind. He's more qualified than Stella anyway, and I'm sure you can convince him since you're giving him permission."

"But he needs to practice protecting minds too. If anybody ever tries breaking in, he'll be there protecting me. I don't see why this is such a big deal, it's great practice and will help keep us safe."

"You're impossible," she sighed, but I could tell she was at least partially convinced. After a moment of silence where she seemingly had a quick talk with Stella, she continued.

"Stella will teach Apollo how to help reinforce your defenses, and she'll gently probe your defenses on occasion to train you to keep it closed, but she's unwilling to actually try breaking in, and it's a waste of time for you to try doing it to us. Lunatone rated us as being able to withstand at least a five-badge natural telepath, so you wouldn't stand a chance and it's not something you should practice anyway."

I nodded in acceptance and appreciation, glad to get any help we could before a question came to mind.

"How can you and Stella withstand a telepath that strong? Stella is strong, don't get me wrong, but I doubt she's five badge level and she isn't a natural telepath," I pointed out.

"Defense is far easier than offense. The biggest part of defense comes down to willpower and mindfulness, as I'm sure you've read, but that only goes so far. If I had to guess, I'd say that even with your current knowledge and complete lack of experience you could probably block out Stella, maybe even Apollo. But if Apollo was evolved and attacked your mind with no holds barred, you'd have to have some seriously good defenses to have a chance at keeping him out. If he was fully evolved, you'd be completely helpless without a solid psychic to help reinforce your mind."

"Is the difference between a natural and a learned telepath that much? Stella is fully evolved and a powerful psychic capable of telekinesis and telepathy, surely she could fuck with my mind at her leisure if she really tried?"

"Given time, sure. But she isn't that old and it's not like she practices breaking mental defenses. Don't underestimate the advantages being born in tune with something gives you over others. Take Pokémon moves for example; I taught Stella Shadow Ball, and although she's practiced a lot, she'll never be able to match a ghost-type using the move. An unevolved ghost could probably match her strength despite her being evolved, but she can't match an evolved ghost's potential with the move. The same applies to telepathy; although Stella is naturally gifted with telekinesis, her telepathy is learned. She can learn it, but it's an uphill battle."

"Do you plan on teaching Stella how to teleport? I wouldn't mind Apollo learning telekinesis," I suggested.

Samantha hummed in thought for a moment, seemingly contemplating the offer, but eventually shook her head.

"I don't think it's worth it, for either of us. Stella would never be able to teleport me to another town. It might be somewhat useful during contests or for a quick reposition during battle, but it would take a lot out of her and she'll never come close to doing anything like what Apollo can do. Same story for Apollo when it comes to telekinesis; it would take an insane amount of practice for him to be able to get anywhere near what Stella can do. There are countless other, more productive things we can focus on. Ask me again in a year or two, then maybe I'll take you up on that."

"Then why did you spend the time teaching Stella telepathy?" I asked curiously.

"That's a dumb question, Daniel. Being able to communicate with your team is invaluable. You're probably a bit spoiled by Apollo and don't even realize it. Do you know how many times I wish I could understand Stella when she was still an Eevee? I had to rely on Lunatone and Metagross more often than I'd like to admit, and eventually I decided I would have a telepath one way or another. I didn't expect it to be Stella, but when she became an Espeon I knew it was worth spending the time to learn it."

I hummed in thought, realizing that perhaps Samantha was right about me being spoiled by Apollo. Even though I felt like I didn't need his telepathy very often to communicate with the rest of my team, there were plenty of details I would never have gotten without it. Orion was a good example; I'd have never known he had a brother he hoped to someday find without playing an extremely long guessing game.

As the conversation died down and we continued down the path, I could feel Apollo's presence in my mind doing… something. It was difficult to explain, but it almost felt like I could feel him moving around and touching my mind in places I hadn't felt him before. I assumed he was simply learning how to protect my mind and didn't give it much thought, until soon I felt Stella enter my mind.

"Greetings Daniel. I see your mind is still wide open; I am teaching young Apollo what I know of mental fortification, but you must do your part as well. A defenseless mind cannot be fortified, and young Apollo cannot be expected to protect you himself currently."

I nodded silently, realizing she was correct. I hadn't been attempting to close my mind off at all, and wondered if Samantha really managed to keep her defenses up constantly. It seemed like something that would be nearly impossible to always do, unless you could somehow manage to train yourself to do it subconsciously.

"With practice, it will be your default state of mind. It took Mistress many moons to accomplish, but it is within your reach with enough dedication."

I blinked, realizing that Stella had just read my mind. Clearly she had been practicing and was making great progress, and I was sure Apollo played a large part in that.

"I am unable to understand the specifics of your praise, but your general sentiments are appreciated. Much of what I understand is general and abstract, but young Apollo is a patient and excellent teacher, and Mistress has been very supportive of allowing me to practice understanding the human mind. Now focus Daniel; attempt to close your mind off to me, but not young Apollo. Don't fret if you accidentally block him off too, it is a sign of progress and a common mistake beginners make."

I nodded, closing my eyes and doing my best to momentarily focus as I continued walking. I thought about my mind as a huge room filled with a library of books that contained my thoughts and memories, something that I had learned was a good visualization technique from Telepathic Tendencies, and imagined myself closing and locking the door.

I felt Stella and Apollo both leave my mind the moment I imagined the door shutting, and a moment later I felt two presences brush against my mind. I could instantly tell which was Apollo's; it had a strange sense of familiarity and comfort compared to the other, and I tried my best to believe with all my being that he had the key to the door and was welcome in.

To my surprise, it worked on the first try. I felt his presence become much more full and near, accompanied by the feeling of pride he shared with me.

Stella's presence vanished, and I opened my eyes again to glance down at her. Although her gem continued to shine, she gave me a nod of approval that told me I'd done admirably.

I felt Apollo shifting around in my mind again and focused on keeping my defenses up. I imagined the room's walls being made of thick steel, and the door being more akin to that of a vault. Although I hadn't imagined it myself, I suddenly got the sense that my room was protected by a forcefield of sorts, which I attributed as Apollo's doing.

Suddenly, I felt Stella's presence return, but it felt much different. If they'd been knocking at the door for permission to enter, now she was completely ignoring the existence of the door and testing the structural integrity of the room. It was extremely uncomfortable, like the room of my mind was sinking deeper under water and the depths were applying more and more pressure from all sides as it sunk deeper, attempting to collapse the walls. I tried my best to focus, believing that the walls of steel were sound and would hold up no matter how much pressure was applied, especially with Apollo helping me reinforce them.

After what I knew was only a few seconds but felt like minutes, it stopped. Stella's presence disappeared.

Pride. "Did good. Hope helped," Apollo sent as I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Stella testing your defenses, huh? Not very fun, is it?"

I looked up to see Samantha giving me a smirk and realized that I was standing a few paces behind her. I had obviously stopped walking without even realizing it, and realized I probably had a strained look on my face.

"I thought she wasn't going to try breaking in?" I asked confusedly.

Samantha snorted in amusement, "She didn't, that was simply a probe of your defenses. She applied light pressure to make sure you and Apollo grasped the basics, but she refuses to try in earnest and would have stopped if she sensed she was about to succeed."

"That was light pressure? It was almost enough to give me a headache," I replied in disbelief.

She shrugged, "That's part of the process. Do you have any idea how many migraines I had to suffer through for my training? I even got a few nosebleeds, but Stella won't be going that hard. Mostly, she's letting you get used to the feeling and training you to have your defenses up without even thinking about it. It'll be happening randomly and periodically for at least a few days, so better get used to it because this is what you signed up for. Come on, let's go."

I sighed, catching up to her as we resumed walking. She pulled her phone out and began flipping through it, and just as I considered speaking up and asking her more questions I felt Stella's presence return. I stiffened in worry as I realized she had just waltzed into my mind without any resistance, but thankfully she came in peace this time.

"You both did quite well for your first time. I apologize for the discomfort."

"Couldn't have given me a warning?"

"Would anybody with malicious intent warn you? This is the best way to test, and to train you to keep your guard up."

"Fair enough. Should I get some painkillers in Mauville, if I'm only going to get worse headaches as you apply more pressure?"

"I suspect you won't suffer them for long. Headaches are inevitable until young Apollo is more skilled, however he will learn much quicker than I. Even with my practice, I am unable to assist enough to completely prevent Mistress from feeling discomfort from any decent psychic attempting to intrude. To do so requires the skill to shield an unprotected mind, which is much more difficult than reinforcing existing defenses. Young Apollo and I are mere hatchlings among psychics, so the majority of the burden must be placed on your own minds."

"What if I am unconscious or asleep? Is my mind completely vulnerable, since there's no defense to bolster?"

"Until you train your mind to always be closed, yes. For somebody as practiced as Mistress, her mind is trained to always remain closed unless she consciously lets another in, even in sleep or unconsciousness. You would be completely helpless to intrusion unless young Apollo could manage to defend you on his own, which is unlikely. He would have a better chance of attacking the offender than defending you as things currently stand. Defending your own mind is much easier than defending another, and erecting defenses where there are none is a very difficult task."

"Counter-offenses sound important, so why can't we practice them with you?"

"The mind is a sacred place, and intruding is not something to be taken lightly. Psychics are also prideful, and if Apollo and I were to engage in mental warfare I have no doubt we would eventually take things too far and cause irreparable damage to our friendship. Blocking telepathy as you two did in our battle is one thing, but intruding against one's will is quite another. I also think you misunderstand; breaking into a mind is not something you should hope to ever experience. During all of Mistress' training, not once were her defenses ever broken; only prodded and pressured. If a psychic ever truly breaks your defenses, your future is completely left to the mercy and skill of the intruder. You may come out unharmed, or you may never be the same. I'm nearly certain young Apollo and I lack the finesse to not do irreversible damage; even Lunatone refused to break our defenses, and they are extremely powerful and practiced."

"Alright, understood. No breaking defenses. But you'll randomly prod our defenses to help me train myself to keep my guard up?"

"That is the plan, yes."

"Will you also do it with Apollo?" I sent curiously, wondering if he needed to build a similar habit.

"Young Apollo is a natural telepath and empath; he can easily expel any presence the moment ill-intent is detected. Remember, defending one's own mind is multitudes easier than attacking or defending another, and his natural abilities only amplify that. If I may be blunt, it would be an insult and a waste of time for me to attempt to teach him anything about defending his own mind. He knows instinctually what to do if it ever happens, and his control over his own mind will only grow as he becomes more powerful and eventually evolves."

I nodded in understanding, "Got it. Thanks for all your help, I look forward to your next visit."

"Happy to help, Daniel Ingram. You and young Apollo have been a welcome presence, so it's the least I can do. Remember to stay alert, I'll be testing you again soon enough. Goodbye, for now."

With that, Stella's presence vanished and I was left to my thoughts. I ran through everything Samantha and Stella had recently told me as I felt Apollo's familiar presence watching over my racing mind as a silent observer, clearly preoccupied with thoughts of his own as we continued our journey in a brief moment of contemplative reflection.

The rest of the day went surprisingly smoothly. We were making great progress toward Mauville, took in the beautiful scenery, observed the route's native Pokémon enjoying the sun without a care in the world, and even found a few berry trees that we sparingly picked from. As much as I wanted to fill my berry pouch up, there was something about this route that made picking even the few we did feel somewhat taboo, but a friendly wild Illumise ensured us that it was alright to take some after seeing our hesitance.

Part of me wondered if this was some sort of nature reserve, but we did spot a couple of small, humble farmhouses nestled into the treeline off in the distance. I had mixed feelings about that; part of me felt like humans shouldn't soil such a peaceful and beautiful place, but I knew that if I ever had the money to build a house, this route would be right at the top of the list. I was willing to be proven wrong since there was still plenty of the region left to explore, but I dearly hoped that the sanctity of this place would last for a very long time.

Stella was taking her role as my new mental defense teacher quite seriously. She wouldn't let me go more than thirty minutes without prodding my defenses, and she caught me off guard more than a couple of times. But by the time the sun began to sink lower into the sky and we found a place along the treeline to set up camp, I was getting much more comfortable with keeping my mind closed off without that being the sole thing I focused on. Apollo proved to be quite helpful as well, occasionally reminding me when he would remember. However he too was undergoing his own training, trying to constantly keep my defenses fortified without thinking about it. It was a learning process for both of us, I could feel us making great progress as we started passing Stella's impromptu tests more often than not.

Our success had come at a bit of a cost. Whenever Stella encountered our defenses, she would gradually apply more pressure than last time. Some were rougher than others; I could feel Apollo doing a better job of bearing the brunt of the force, but on the occasions he forgot to reinforce it, it was truly migraine-inducing. Being as well prepared and over-equipped as she was thanks to her seemingly endless backpack space, Samantha offered me some painkillers much to my relief. Stella decided to be merciful and stopped doing her random tests once camp was set up, and after the painkillers had kicked in I decided to flip through Telepathic Tendencies while Samantha made some sort of stew for dinner.

"Telepathic Tendencies again, huh? Don't you ever get tired of reading through the same two books over and over?" Samantha asked as she tended to the pot of stew and stirred it.

I looked up and raised a brow in interest, "You know it?"

She shot me a look that I took to mean 'obviously', but chose not to answer. That led me to believe that perhaps the book was more of an essential read for anybody wanting to learn about telepathy than I had assumed. I could definitely see that being the case; it seemed to cover pretty much every topic I could think of and was a wealth of information.

"I've read through quite a bit of it, but a lot went over my head since I'm not the best at theoretical and abstract topics. Now that I'm getting to experience some of this stuff firsthand, it's making more sense to me," I explained.

"Didn't you graduate school early? How did you manage that if you can't wrap your head around things you can't experience first-hand? That's most of school."

I shrugged, "School isn't that hard; it's mostly just memorization, and if you don't know the answer on a test there are ways to narrow it down, they are surprisingly easy to game. But I had lots of spare time being stuck at the orphanage, and I really didn't want to spend any more time learning about things I didn't plan on using. I'll never understand how memorizing historical dates, math equations, and the names of people who died long ago is supposed to prepare people for the world. I already feel like I've forgotten most of them anyway."

"Arceus Daniel, that might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," Samantha sighed with an eye-roll.

"You disagree? When was the last time you used the quadratic formula?" I asked with a raised brow.

"It's useful for lots of things, like finance and calculating trajectory. The point of school is to prepare you for things you might need in life, and someday you could be glad you learned it."

"Then I'll just search up the formula for whatever I'm trying to do, and a computer or calculator can do all the hard work. That's what I don't get; why should I memorize all these formulas and be expected to work them out by hand when technology has advanced far past that?"

"Funny, coming from somebody who doesn't have a computer or a phone. I'd wager you aren't carrying a calculator around with you, either."

"Haven't needed one, and I doubt I will," I shrugged.

"You should at least get a phone, Danny. Do you have any idea how annoying it is only being able to contact you by email? You're the only person our age I've ever met that doesn't have one."

"I wonder why that is," I replied sarcastically, turning my attention back to Telepathic Tendencies.

"They aren't that expensive. You could surely afford a cheaper model, they'll usually do a huge discount on the phone if you're a new customer and sign up for a year of service."

"You sound like an ad right now. Which company are you shilling, Devon?" I asked teasingly, glancing up to see Samantha's face warp into one of clear annoyance.

"If you must know, Devon's network is the only sensible choice for a traveling trainer," she huffed. "Other companies just cover major cities, but Devon covers most of the region. If you're trying to use it out on routes, it's a no-brainer."

"That doesn't sound like a monopoly at all," I said with a roll of the eyes.

She shrugged, deciding against commenting on that and instead announcing that dinner was ready. We both laid out food for our teams and I gave Apollo and Duran their vitamins before digging in, my mind still lingering on the topic of Devon.

I knew it wasn't her fault, but it still never ceased to amaze me just how Devon had a stranglehold on nearly every major market in the region. What had started as a company focused on providing Pokémon-related products to the region had expanded into more verticals than I could ever hope to name. They were even responsible for the state-of-the-art generators currently being used in Mauville.

Not that I truly believed it would ever happen, but I couldn't help but wonder just how much Steven Stone could cripple the region if he wanted. His champion-level team was one thing, but his control over so many industries and infrastructures was startling. I had no idea how it was even allowed, but it was also hard to deny that the region had benefitted and prospered by allowing Devon to operate untethered.

Once we were all done eating dinner, Samantha and I split up to work with our teams. Although the morning had started wonderfully, a day of traveling and mental bombardment had left me feeling rather exhausted, so I didn't do anything particularly creative or unique. I had Orion practice his Quick Attack and Swift, Duran worked on Razor Shell, and Apollo practiced his Psybeam.

After getting my team going on their drills, I decided to kick back and comb through Telepathic Tendencies some more while overseeing their progress. I paid particularly close attention to the hand-written notes on the side of the pages, something I'd been largely neglecting up until now. It was difficult to read, being written in a very quick cursive that I assume was Roxanne's handwriting.

Maybe I was just tired and easily distracted, but one that held my attention was 'MY MIND IS MINE' scrawled on the side of the page, the pen lines deep in the page due to it having been repeatedly written over and over in the same spot. I'd already known that general concept, but something about seeing how it had been written with such conviction struck a chord with me, as though it were a mantra being repeated.

"Hey, can we talk?"

I looked up to see Samantha standing over me, an unusual expression on her face I couldn't quite place. Glancing over at her team, I saw that Oddish was swaying back and forth while producing some sort of spores, while the rest of her team did various Swift drills. Masquerain reminded me of Orion's first session learning the move, so I assumed that Samantha had used a TM and that he was just now getting familiar with it. I was tempted to comment on it being a bit soon to start using TMs on her new team, but realized I had done nearly the same thing with Orion in my desperation to give him some range, so decided against saying anything.

I nodded, setting aside Telepathic Tendencies as I realized that I wasn't going to be making any meaningful progress with it tonight. The long day was making it difficult to focus and I kept getting distracted, so I was just going to count my losses and try again another day.

"What's up? If this is about the whole Devon thing, it was just a joke, I know–" I started, but was cut off as she held up a hand to stop me.

"Nah, nothing like that. Mind cutting your link with Apollo and stepping aside for a minute? I want to ask you a question in private."

I gave Samantha a considering look as I felt Apollo's curiosity through our link, but assured him it was fine. She didn't seem to be angry, if I had to put a word to her expression it would be mild concern. Apollo excused himself from my mind, and I followed Samantha back to camp where none of our team currently was.

"Stella told me something rather interesting, and I wanted to check with you to make sure it was an honest mistake instead of you being a selfish idiot," she explained as she put her hands on her hips and gave me a critical look.

"Okay… and what might that be?" I asked cautiously, my brain working overtime trying to think of what Stella might have said but drawing a blank.

"You know what Apollo can evolve into, right?" she asked with a hint of skepticism.

I gave her a confused look, not understanding why she was asking me about this, but humored her.

"Of course. He's probably getting fairly close to evolving into a Kirlia, then after he gets some time to adjust to his new body and powers, I just need a Dawn Stone and–"

"Daniel… Does Apollo even want to become a Gallade, or do you want him to be a Gallade?"

I tilted my head in confusion, "Of course he does, he told me he wants to evolve."

"Into a Gallade?"

"Eventually, sure. I've heard of Pokémon who don't want to evolve, but he's not one of those. Are you trying to say he might only want to evolve once? Because I've never heard of–"

"What I'm saying is that maybe he doesn't want to be a Gallade. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

My brain was hard at work trying to understand the point of this conversation, but I just couldn't see it. Had Apollo told Stella he was nervous about evolving, or had he changed his mind? He certainly hadn't indicated anything like that to me, and I was sure he'd have spoken up if he felt that way.

"I really don't get what you're saying. Can you just quit playing 20 questions and tell me what you want to say?"

"Daniel, you do realize that Apollo could become a Gardevoir, right? Why does he seem to think he can only be a Gallade?"

I sat there dumbfounded for a moment, trying to process what she was telling me.

"But he's a male. Males–"

"Can become a Gallade or a Gardevoir. Females can only be a Gardevoir, but males can be either."

I was frozen for a moment as I let that sink in. I thought about if there was any way she could be wrong, but she seemed to be saying it like it was a certainty, and she had gone to trainers school. Thinking back, I hadn't really done much research on the evolutions of a Ralts, only on the behavior and habitat of the species itself, hoping I might be able to get one but not wanting to get too invested in something that I might not pull off. The more I thought about it, I wasn't actually sure where I'd gotten the idea Apollo only had one evolutionary route. Perhaps it had been an assumption; I did know for a fact that female Ralts could only become Gardevoir, so perhaps I just assumed the inverse was true for Gallade.

"You're sure about that?" I asked shakily as the implications began setting in. It wouldn't have been a big deal if I'd simply misinformed Apollo, but I already had a Dawn Stone lined up from my deal with Roxanne and Steven. Not just any Dawn Stone either, it was supposedly an extremely potent one, one that I would have never had access to without that special favor, and one I would be extremely unqualified to try reselling.

"I'm sure, Daniel. Judging by the look on your face, I'm guessing it was an honest mistake," Samantha said sympathetically, relaxing her posture. "I could see how you might make it, although I'd have thought you would have spent more time researching your starter."

I groaned out loud and felt physical pain as the reality of my situation fully settled in. What had started out as a great day was now anything but as I was presented with a new set of problems.

I'd need to have a very uncomfortable talk with Apollo, and he would undoubtedly feel pressured to become a Gallade considering the plans he knew I'd made to get a Dawn Stone. I had a feeling Steven was too far along with acquiring the stone for me to do anything about it, and I was so poor I wouldn't pass up a free high-quality stone anyway.

I had to dance around the topic with Samantha as well, considering Roxanne had borderline threatened me to never tell her that I'd been essentially paid off to accompany her; a deal I did not like being reminded of and still felt pretty scummy about striking.

"What's the big deal? It was an innocent mistake, just tell Apollo he has another option you didn't know about and let him decide. If anything you should be happy; if he chooses Gardevoir you'll save a small fortune not having to buy the stone."

I groaned even louder, desperately wishing I could talk to Samantha about this but feeling completely unable to. I couldn't confide in her; she'd probably never forgive me if she found out our journey together started out on false pretenses, and I couldn't risk telling her like I had Apollo due to the very real possibility it got back to Roxanne or Steven.

"Tell me I'm an idiot Sammy," I muttered in defeat, feeling like if I ever deserved to be called that, it was in this moment.

"It's an honest mistake. It's not a big deal, just–"

"Please. I deserve to hear it, now more than ever," I all but pleaded.

With a look of confusion and disapproval, Samantha put her hand on my shoulder, patting me gently. Although she didn't understand the depths of the problems this caused me, I could still tell she felt some sympathy for me, which gave me some small comfort.

"You're an idiot, Daniel Ingram."

A/N: Just when Daniel thought he was done having headaches for the day, Samantha finally drops that particular bomb. Surely Daniel won't blow things out of proportion.

Shoutout to Trix for beta-reading this chapter.

Come discuss DotD or just hang out and chat on Discord. gg/ ge6a8XcNcB