"Mr. Ingram. I hope you're putting your newfound freedom to good use?"

I nearly choked on my breakfast, which I was currently shoveling into my mouth as quickly as possible.

"I'm making some progress," I shrugged.

"I see… Well you've made it back unharmed and on time every evening, and I must say it's been nice seeing you in such high spirits. Please continue to prove my trust in you wasn't misplaced."

She walked away, and I was left in a state of shock. I'd been living here for about two years and had never heard her say anything so… nice.

After finishing breakfast I quickly hopped on the computer, which was miraculously unoccupied. I wanted to do some research into Confusion and how I could train it.

A quick search informed me that Confusion only worked on living beings with the capacity to think and feel, and that using it otherwise wouldn't provide any meaningful practice. That slightly confused me, as I'd seen Ralts' horn glow when we attempted to use it on the tree. Perhaps it was able to initiate the move, but since there was no mind to target it wasn't meaningful practice.

The obvious choice was to use it in battle, but I didn't feel comfortable with that. I had no potions, and since I hadn't caught Ralts I couldn't recall them if they started to lose, which I thought was likely. I also wouldn't be able to get Ralts healed at the Pokécenter because I wasn't a licensed trainer. I'd have to pay, and I didn't have any money to my name. The only solution I could come up with was to have Ralts practice on me, but I knew it would be risky and stupid.

I sighed, closing the browser and putting my shoes on before taking off for the day. As I jogged my mind began filling with doubts. Was I wasting valuable time training a Pokémon who might not want to come with me when I could be out looking for an actual starter? Would I regret it if I had Ralts practice Confusion on me? I could be subjecting myself to potential brain damage or serious debilitation, but I wasn't willing to search for that on the communal computer.

Making sure to get all my negative thoughts out of the way before meeting up with Ralts, I soon came upon my new favorite place. To my surprise Ralts was already waiting for me, sitting up on the same branch of the tree I had first spotted them. I smiled and waved in greeting, and my smile only grew wider as Ralts actually waved an arm back.

"Excited for another day of training?" I asked with a grin before Ralts nodded eagerly and Teleported in front of me.

"Let's warm up with some Teleport drills, then we'll work on your Confusion. Depending on how the day goes we'll try to squeeze in some practice for Double Team, but I want to focus on getting you some solid attacks. You did a lot of Disarming Voice practice yesterday and I want to give your voice some rest, so that leaves Confusion and Teleport as our main focus."

After Ralts gave me a nod of understanding, I continued. "Alright then, as fast as you can between these two trees. Make sure you're facing the tree you Teleport to; we want to work on making orientation something that comes naturally to you." I instructed while pointing to the two trees in question.

As Ralts began practicing its Teleport, I took out the Pokéball and rolled it around in my hand. I realized that I hadn't actually given it a close look, feeling the need to always keep it hidden when at the orphanage and being too focused Ralts when out for the day. Now that I really looked at it, I couldn't help but appreciate what a technological marvel it was.

It was small; the size of a golf ball when minimized, and it felt incredibly sturdy. It was designed with an extremely sturdy metal, and although it wasn't unheard of for them to break it took incredible force that no human could provide. I could throw it as hard as possible against a boulder, and it would simply pop open, with only an extremely minor scuff mark to show for it. To truly break a Pokéball, you would need something like a Machoke to apply incredible force to it while open, and you would maybe be able to snap the hinge, which was easily its weakest point yet still incredibly durable. To completely break a closed Pokéball was nearly impossible except under the most extreme circumstances, and that was if it was empty. If there was a Pokémon inside of it, it would apply force outwards and further reinforce itself, and I hadn't been able to find any cases of the current model of Pokéball ever breaking with a Pokémon inside. The main way that Pokéballs broke was during capture, where they actually designed the seal and hinge to be weaker to give the Pokémon a chance at freedom if it had the strength and willpower to refuse capture.

They also had the ability to expand to the size of a baseball without any change in weight using patented technology that the League only shared with a select few companies such as Devon and Silph. They also were able to take a Pokémon of any size or weight and condense it into the ball with absolutely no change in the ball's weight by temporarily storing them as data in light photons.

I rolled it around in my fingers, thumbing its grooves and getting used to its weight and edges. I pushed the button a few times to expand and minimize it, and was amazed that it didn't somehow pinch my skin or change weight. Supposedly, the button was programmed with an advanced sensor that was able to understand context; it knew if it was touching a human, Pokémon or inanimate object, and it knew if it was being used to capture a new Pokémon, and release or return a previously caught Pokémon. It would only fully function if it was maximized, but even then it knew the difference between a quick tap to change its size and a more complete push to fully release a Pokémon. As far as I knew, these newer models had some of these sensors all around the ball, so that it didn't matter if the button actually hit the ground or a Pokémon, it would act accordingly. The button was largely an aesthetic element leftover from previous generations of Pokéballs, and mostly served as a dedicated point for humans to interface with. As far as throwing it at a Pokémon or the ground, it didn't really matter where it landed.

It was an incredibly over-engineered piece of technology that far exceeded my understanding, and now that I got a closer look at it I couldn't help but find it endlessly fascinating.

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I glanced up to find that Ralts was Teleporting a bit further than yesterday and seemed to use less stamina doing so. There was still a way to go until it was anywhere near where I wanted it to be, but the improvements couldn't be mistaken. I could tell that Ralts was pushing themself; they were panting and slowly growing sluggish, however if they were determined to keep going I wasn't going to stop them unless it seemed like they were bordering on total exhaustion.

Soon enough, I noticed that Ralts was taking almost three whole seconds between Teleports and breathing heavily, so I decided to finally step in. I didn't want them fainting or pushing too hard, even if I envied their work ethic.

"You're making great improvements Ralts, but rest is important too. Come take a break then we can change things up; I think you've done enough Teleport practice for today."

I suppressed a laugh when Ralts chose to walk over slowly instead of Teleport.

I gave Ralts some water and continued rolling the Pokéball in my hand as I decided to strike up conversation.

"Say Ralts, do you know what gender I am?" I asked, wanting to segway into figuring out if this Ralts was male or female. Truthfully I didn't particularly care one way or another; Gallade and Gardevoir were both powerhouses who I would be more than happy to have as a partner, but it seemed like good information to know. I was also a bit curious if Ralts could tell which I was.

Ralts tilted its head, seemingly studying me. After a long moment, they hesitantly nodded yes, and I couldn't help but think they were guessing.

"Alright, which do you think I am? Raise one hand if you think I'm male, and two if you think I'm female," I said with a sly grin.

Ralts hesitated for a moment before raising a hand.

"Yup, you got it! I wouldn't have blamed you if you got it wrong honestly. What about you? Boy or girl?" I asked, trying to remain casual.

Ralts shook its head and crossed its arms, staring at me with what I took as a glare.

"You don't want to tell me?" I asked with genuine confusion.

Ralts pointed at me, then at themself before crossing their arms again.

Ah, Ralts was turning the game around on me and putting me in the hot seat. I could respect that, but I truly had no idea how to tell.

I suddenly realized that I was in a bad spot, and was greatly regretting how I had approached this topic. I was pleased to find that Ralts seemed to have a sense of humor, although they may just see it as fair rather than fun, but I really didn't want to get this wrong. There was a chance that if I guessed wrong Ralts could get upset or offended and it could offset a lot of the progress we'd made.

I was in too deep and didn't have a choice at this point, so I figured it was better to confidently guess and pray to Arceus that I was right.

"You're a boy," I said matter-of-factly, trying to remain nonchalant as I prayed that my newfound streak of luck held up.

To my utter relief, Ralts nodded happily before bringing his hands up to his mouth and bobbing slightly in what must have been a giggle at my expense. Being a walking emotion detector, they surely picked up on the nervousness and relief I had just felt.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. Out of relief and enjoyment at Ralts turning my own twisted game back on me. I laughed hard, until it hurt and I had tears in my eyes.

I'd always remember this moment as my first taste of Ralts' sense of humor, as well as confirmation that my historically bad luck was on the upswing.

When I finally recovered, Ralts had his arms crossed and a decidedly smug expression.

"Fair enough, I deserved that. Glad to see you have a good sense of humor," I complimented as I suddenly had a thought.

"Say Ralts, do you want a name?" I asked curiously. Ralts' response was another tilt of the head, indicating to me he didn't understand.

I hummed as I pondered how best to explain the concept of a name before I suddenly felt incredibly stupid. I was almost certain that I'd never even introduced myself to Ralts, yet here I was talking about the concept of names.

I groaned in annoyance at my blunder and palmed my face in embarrassment. It was no wonder Ralts wasn't sure if he wanted to travel with me; although we were on friendly terms I was still a complete stranger, at least by human standards. Pokémon may not care as much, but it bothered me immensely that I'd forgotten something as basic as introducing myself.

"Alright, so you know that I'm human, right? There are lots of humans in the world, so we each have unique names. My name is Daniel Ingram, Daniel is my personal name, and Ingram is my surname. My mom was Patricia Ingram, and if I had any other family they'd also be an Ingram. When I'm around other humans, they can say Daniel and I know they're talking to me. Make sense?"

Ralts hesitated before nodding slowly, not filling me with confidence that I'd explained it adequately.

"Let's say there was another Ralts here with us. If I just said Ralts, it could mean either of you. Ralts is your species but it isn't you," I said while pointing a finger at his chest.

That seemed to help him understand, because he nodded much more confidently this time.

"I'd like to give you a name if that's alright. Something unique to you, to distinguish you from other Ralts. Is that alright?"

After a brief moment of consideration where Ralts held a hand to his chin, it nodded slowly. I didn't think he saw the need and was just going along with it for my sake. I wasn't going to complain though, it felt important to me and I hoped they'd someday appreciate having one.

"Alright then, let's see…" I hummed to myself, thinking of what I could name him. I wanted to try to stay away from human names if possible, at least common ones. As much time as we'd spent together I didn't actually know much about Ralts. Perhaps this was too soon and I wasn't yet qualified to name him. I decided to see if he had any ideas.

"Say Ralts, is there anything you want your name based on?" Although our communication was basically limited to binary questions, wanted to give him the chance to set the tone for his name. I'd take any guidance he could give, so long as I could somehow figure out what he was trying to relay.

To my surprise, Ralts nodded and pointed up. I followed their hand and began rattling off guesses of what he could mean.

"Sky?"

A shake of the head.

"Clouds?"

Another shake, pointing up again.

"Sun?"

At that, Ralts rocked his head back and forth before shaking his head no.

"Space?"

Ralts began to draw a circle in the air, and the hints finally clicked into place in my head.

"Ahhh. The Moon, right?"

Ralts nodded rapidly, and I sighed in relief from having finally figured out what he was trying to relay through his little game of charades.

"You like the moon, huh? I guess I couldn't have known that, since I'm never here at night. Alright, I can work with that…" I pondered names that I could give related to the moon, and almost instantly one sprung to mind. Ralts likely wouldn't understand the significance of it, so I'd have to try explaining it and hope they liked it.

"Did you know that people and Pokémon from our planet have been to the moon before?" I started, which seemed to greatly interest Ralts. "Clefairy are said to come from the moon, and almost a decade ago humans actually walked on the moon for the first time. Remember how I mentioned that there were gyms with strong trainers? Well one of those gyms is in Mossdeep City, which is on an island on the eastern side of the region. In that same city is the Mossdeep Space Center," I explained as I looked down at the Pokéball in my hand.

"At this building, some very smart people worked together for years to design and build spaceships capable of bringing people to space and back safely. They started by sending people into orbit around Earth, but eventually they took a gamble and tried going to the moon. By some miracle, these humans made it safely and were actually able to not only walk on the moon, but come home safely. For us humans, this was a huge achievement; the culmination of our knowledge and scientific advancement put to use for a single goal. Humans have this inner drive to explore the unknown and push beyond our perceived limits, not too different from many Pokémon. I remember watching it live on the tiny television of our apartment with my mom when I was young, and it was really inspiring to me… To everyone in the world, I think."

I gripped the Pokéball tightly, trying to keep a handle on my rising emotions as I relived the memory, reminded of my mother. I could clearly remember how amazed I was, and the thought of becoming an astronaut had gripped me for a little while after that, but it had been outweighed by my desire to become Champion. Although I've since abandoned both of those ambitions for something simpler and more achievable, the memories of those dreams and what they meant to me brought up strong emotions.

Ralts began patting me on the leg in as a show of support, clearly having picked up on my rising emotions and feeling the need to comfort me. I smiled fondly, taking a deep breath and loosening my grip on the Pokéball before I continued. "For you… I'd recommend the name Apollo. It was the name of the lunar program and spacecraft that took humans to the moon, inspiring me and so many others, and I think it would suit you well. Apollo would be a name that relays your intention to push the limits of your species. I…I know you haven't decided if you want to travel with me when I leave soon, but even if you choose to stay you're welcome to use my last name too, if you want. You're the closest thing to family I have, and I've really enjoyed our time together."

My voice was raspy and tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled with all the emotions I was feeling. Memories of my mother and my childhood ambitions, being reminded how much I craved a family, and the realization that I had not only grown very attached to Ralts in our short time together, but also might never see him again if he chose to stay.

Ralts teleported onto my right shoulder and hugged my neck tightly.

I tilted my head to the side, rubbing my cheek against Ralts' helmet as I used my left hand to wipe my eyes. I took a moment to calm myself and bask in the feeling of having somebody who cared about and supported me, something I hadn't had in years. Once my emotions were in check I turned to look at Ralts, smiling softly.

"So… what do you say? Wanna be Apollo Ingram? Even if you decide you want to stay here… The name is yours if you want it," I muttered, my voice a bit shaky.

Ralts nodded seriously, staring at me intensely just inches from my face.

Approval. Solidarity.

My eyes widened and I blinked, momentarily stunned. These feelings… Although I felt them, I could tell they weren't truly mine. They felt foreign; like an imitation of the real thing, yet at the same time they were much less ambiguous. I was able to pinpoint exactly what emotion it was, only adding to the strangeness of the sensation. A part of me already knew the answer; this had to be some form of telepathy, likely relating to empathy.

My emotions were suddenly soothed by an overwhelming sense of contentment and happiness, this time originating from myself. I felt Apollo's emotions synchronize with mine, and the combination of our matching feelings only made them feel that much stronger.

Gratitude.

I hummed in agreement and we sat in silence for a while, basking in the moment I knew I would treasure until the day I died.

"Let's try it again Apollo. Hit me with your best Confusion!"

Another wave of disorientation hit me, causing my vision to become a bit blurred and shaky. My equilibrium wavered, and I nearly lost balance as my knees began to buckle. I was able to hold on though, and the sensation was gone a moment later.

"Wow, that was great! You almost made me lose my balance, you're really getting the hang of it!" I beamed proudly as I regained my footing and stood up straight. We'd been practicing Confusion for a couple of hours, and Apollo was making significant improvements. Truthfully, I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to be the target of it. I hadn't yet noticed any lasting side-effects and had been able to stay standing through every attempt, but it was getting to the point where I might not be able to stay on my feet.

Concern.

"It's fine buddy, I can take it. As soon as I can't keep my footing, we'll consider it battle ready and I'll stop being the test dummy. Deal?" I reassured him with a confident smile, which elicited a reluctant nod of agreement.

Relief.

I wasn't sure why I was suddenly able to feel Apollo's emotions, but I wasn't going to complain or question it. It was a major improvement to our communications, although I had noticed a few noteworthy things the more I got familiar with it.

The first thing I realized was that I wasn't getting all of Apollo's emotions, only some. It seemed like he was purposely choosing what to send me, rather than me passively picking up on it like I knew he did for me. It could also be that he was just better at controlling what was passed, although I think that I probably had some ability to do the same. I had definitely pushed down some emotions in the past and hadn't gotten the impression that Apollo picked up on them, but I could be wrong. In the end, I was almost completely clueless on how this worked, and desperately needed to educate myself more on the topic of telepathy at some point.

Another thing that I noticed was that distance wasn't as much of a factor as I had initially thought. When Apollo had sent me that first message he was on my shoulder right next to my face, and I wrongly assumed that to be the reason he had been able to send his emotions. This wasn't the case though; when we went to training Confusion like I had promised he was still able to send me his emotions even from the other side of the clearing. I did notice that they were a bit more faint, but it was still plenty noticeable. We'd have to do some testing and training to figure out the specifics, but my initial thought that he'd have to be right next to me until he got better at it was quickly dispelled.

The final thing that I'd noticed was that I only got emotions. This wasn't too surprising to me since Ralts were known as 'the feeling Pokémon', but I was pretty sure that telepaths were also able to send concepts and ideas, even speak full sentences when they were skilled enough. Not that I expected Apollo to do anything like that now, but it sure would be nice once we were able to pass more than just emotions between each other. My guess was that this was a form of selective empathy, another thing that the Ralts line was famous for. I could only assume that it was somehow tied to telepathy, perhaps a rudimentary version of it, but this was pure speculation on my part.

Still, it was a huge step forward in our communication, at least from my side.

"I think that's enough Confusion practice for the day, it's pretty close to being battle ready. Let's take a bit of a break, alright? I don't think we'll have time to practice Double Team today, so let's just chat for a bit before the sun starts to set." I said as I walked back under our favorite tree and leaned against it, pulling out the bottle of water and pouring some into the cap.

Apollo teleported over, and I handed him the cap. He never drank much; I didn't get the feeling that he particularly needed much water, but I made sure to always offer it after an intensive session.

Thankfulness.

We both took a drink of water and sat together in the shade resting. I decided to strike up conversation on a topic I knew interested Apollo, just to test how much he knew about his own evolution.

"So hey, I was curious how much you knew about your species. You seemed to know you could evolve, but do you know what you evolve into?" I asked curiously as I took the Pokéball out of my pocket and began running my thumb along its edges mindlessly.

Uncertainty. Embarrassment.

"It's fine partner, no need to beat yourself up. That's why we'll make a great team; we both have things we're good at, and we work together to combine our skills. Want me to tell you about it?" I asked with a sly smirk, to which Apollo nodded enthusiastically.

Interest. Excitement.

"Alright then…" I spun to the side to face him before beginning my explanation, tossing the Pokéball back and forth between my hands lightly as I got used to its weight. "As you know, you are a male Ralts. Ralts' evolution is fairly unique, it's one of only a small handful that evolve based on their gender. Regardless of if you were male or female, your first evolution is into a Kirlia. You'll be about twice as tall, and your arms and legs will grow significantly, which should help you with your mobility. It might not end up mattering too much considering you can Teleport, but it's still likely to be useful for lots of reasons. As a Kirlia, you'll still be a psychic and fairy type, which is what you are now if you didn't know." I paused, curious if this was something that Apollo already knew.

Confusion. Curiosity.

"Yup, you're both psychic and fairy. It's almost surely why you like the moon so much; it's kind of a common theme among fairy types to have a strong affinity towards the moon. Anyways, all Ralts evolve into Kirlia regardless of gender. Then after that, it changes pretty dramatically based on if you are male or female. For females, they evolve into a Gardevoir and will more than double in height, coming up to about my shoulders if I had to guess. They also keep the psychic and fairy typing. But for you and all other male Kirlia, the next evolution is a Gallade. They're basically the same height as a Gardevoir as far as I know, and they keep their psychic type, but instead of fairy they become fighting as their secondary typing. Do you know what a fighting type is?"

A shake of the head. Inquisitive.

"Remind me to teach you about Pokémon typings someday, but let's not get too off-track for now. It means you'll be just as good at close-range combat as you are at fighting at a distance. You've probably already realized this, but you aren't really cut out for physical brawls. Psychic types generally do best by keeping their enemies at a distance, but fighting types thrive up close and personal. When you become a Gallade, your arms and legs will get even longer, and you'll have a sharp edge along your arm that you can use to slice at your opponents. You'll be cutting, punching, and kicking your foes just as much as you will be teleporting and blasting them from a distance, so you'll get the best of both worlds and should be highly versatile."

Apollo just stared at me, seemingly lost in thought. Awe. Amazement.

"Only tricky thing is that to evolve into a Gallade, you'll need a Dawn Stone. They aren't exactly common or cheap, but hopefully we can afford one by the time you're ready. It just means we'll have to be sure to work hard and succeed." I supplied, adopting a feral grin.

A serious and firm nod was the response. Determination.

"Anyways, that's a ways off, so we don't have to worry about it for a while. It's not healthy to evolve you again right after you've become a Kirlia; you need time to hone your new abilities and get used to your body before you go through another transformation, or it can stunt your growth. We'll take it slow and make sure you're ready, but I promise you we'll get it done." I informed him with a sagely nod.

Apollo seemed lost in thought, so we relaxed under the tree for a bit as the sun slowly descended. After a few minutes of quiet, I noticed that I was still playing with the Pokéball in my hand, and decided to broach the topic.

"Hey Apollo, just to make sure… You've decided you want to come with me when I leave on my journey?" I asked, feeling a bit more anxious than I should have. I was pretty sure that the message earlier was clear, but for some reason it still felt too good to be true, and it wasn't a sealed deal until I had captured him.

Apollo broke away from his thoughts, looking up at me for a moment before giving a slow nod.

Unity. Commitment.

I gave a fond smile, reaching down to gently rub the side of his helmet.

"Thank you… That means a lot. We still have some time here before we need to go, and I promise we'll come back someday."

As I thought about how to bring up the topic of capturing Apollo, I suddenly realized something. If I caught him now he'd need to stay in the ball overnight when I went back to the orphanage; every night for the rest of the week. I really didn't feel good about that considering he had made it very clear that he enjoyed watching the moon at night, and I didn't want to force him to miss out on that just to be stuck in a Pokéball. But if I left him uncaught until I began my journey, there was a chance he could be captured by someone else, or even worse he might become the victim of some sort of predator.

I sighed; both options honestly sucked. I supposed that I could capture him and just let him stay out of the ball until we left, but that still wasn't ideal and left him vulnerable. What I wouldn't give to have some food and a tent… I'd gladly camp out here for the rest of the week if I had the option.

In the end, I decided it wasn't quite the right time. It was nearly time for me to go, and I didn't want to ruin such an important moment by rushing it out of fear. We'd made it this far, surely one more day couldn't hurt. I vowed to myself that no matter what, tomorrow would be the day Apollo became my official partner and starter.

"Hey Apollo, I won't be able to show up quite as early tomorrow. I have some very important things I need to sort out in preparation for my journey, but I promise I'll be here by the time the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Stay hidden and safe; don't let any people or Pokémon see you."

We enjoyed each other's company for a few more minutes before I bid him farewell, promising to be back as soon as I could before running back to Petalburg, ensuring I made it back before the sun completely set.

I didn't fully know what tomorrow would hold, but I did know it was going to be an extremely busy and important day.

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