I woke up with a smile on my face as I saw Apollo clutching my ankle and Eevee curled up cuddling next to him, seemingly keeping Apollo warm.

Samantha and Stella had retired to her tent shortly after Eevee joined the team, but Apollo and I had stayed up another hour or so to spend some time bonding with our new team member. Although it wasn't a lot of time together, I still learned a few things.

The first was that Eevee was extremely affectionate; not just with me but Apollo as well. I wasn't sure if all Eevee were this way, but when I mentally asked Apollo about it he informed me that Eevee had exuded loneliness and inferiority when it initially approached him and Stella.

I assumed the inferiority was due to Stella's presence, so I took loneliness as an explanation for the affection. When I requested another vibe check from Apollo just before bed, he sent me feelings of gratitude and hope.

Another thing that I learned during our time together was that Eevee had many severe phobias we'd need to work through. There was the campfire obviously, but that wasn't terribly uncommon among wild Pokémon from what I could tell. There was also the incident of being afraid of Pokéballs, but that struck me as pretty normal too.

Things got a bit stranger when I was casually discussing our immediate plans for the morning; how we would do some morning training and I would give Eevee a bath before we resumed our travels, our goal being to travel through Rusturf cave. Eevee shivered as I explained this, and Apollo informed me that Eevee was scared of both water and the cave.

I'd assumed it was the idea of an enclosed space that scared Eevee, but as I'd later find out when we retired to bed it was darkness as well. It took a bit of encouragement to get Eevee to sleep in the tent, and it only seemed comfortable with the idea once I set the lantern to low. I left it on all night; something I really hoped I wouldn't have to do for long since it drew attention and made us a bit of a target while we were most vulnerable.

I had no idea how a wild Pokémon could be afraid of so many seemingly benign things, but it was something I was determined to help him work through.

I gently nudged the two slumbering Pokémon with my foot, "Rise and shine, it's time to start the day."

Apollo woke up easily enough, but I quickly learned that Eevee was a heavy sleeper. He suddenly jolted awake when Apollo started to shake him with a fair amount of vigor, and after a moment for apologies and to let him get his bearings we were soon ready to tackle the day's challenges.

We started with training. Samantha was still in her tent presumably asleep, so we ventured a ways away in order to not disturb her.

First up was to introduce our new member to Duran, and I was honestly nervous. This Eevee was clearly skittish, and Duran was twice his size and a fair bit more intimidating than the other Pokémon that Eevee had met last night.

Not to mention the fact that Duran was likely to be completely indifferent to meeting the Eevee, and that if Eevee annoyed him by trying to cuddle up with him he was likely to get blasted with water, something Eevee would really dislike.

"There's another team member you haven't met yet, Eevee. Please don't be scared, he won't hurt you. He's not as affectionate as Apollo and I though, so don't touch him or get too close if he doesn't want you to."

Eevee nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. I released Duran and after a quick stretch his eyes locked on Eevee, and he took a fighting stance. Apollo Teleported in front of him and held his hands out as I crouched down to address them.

"Calm down Duran, this is a new friend. Eevee, this is Duran. Duran, this Eevee has the same dream as you; he wants to evolve and get stronger. He's going to be traveling with us, so make sure you treat him just like you would me or Apollo."

Eevee sniffed in his direction as Duran took in the new team member and seemingly sized him up. He quickly relaxed his posture and Eevee cautiously approached, and I couldn't help but smile when Duran let Eevee get within a few steps for a better smell. I'd never considered or particularly noticed what Duran smelled like, but I could see how it would be interesting to a Pokémon who surely had a good nose and likely didn't see many water-types like him.

"Alright then, it's training time. I need to spend some time learning what Eevee can do. Apollo, you start with Calm Mind practice then work on your Double Team. This time though stay close to the rest of us; I want you to practice your Calm Mind with distractions around. Duran, your Water Gun is getting good but you need to work on the control of your spray. Try narrowing the stream and shooting it as far as you can. I also want you to try shooting it in bursts rather than a stream."

I poured some water on Duran for hydration and both took to their training with enthusiasm. I looked down to see a mixture of awe and nervousness as Eevee watched Duran blasting water, but petting him seemed to provide him with some comfort.

"Would you mind showing me what you can do? I assume you know some moves, I'd love to see them."

Eevee snapped his attention to me and nodded hesitantly, but his wagging tail informed me he was eager to show off. I cracked open the notebook I'd had the foresight to bring, stepped a few paces back, and then told Eevee to show me everything he knew no matter how useless he thought they were, one by one.

I was able to make out Growl, Tail Whip, Tackle, and Sand Attack, but by far the most impressive was Quick Attack. It wasn't quite a blur like some of the other Pokémon I'd seen use the move, but it was still rather fast. Despite being the smallest member of the team Eevee was by far the quickest, something I knew we were sorely lacking with the exception of Apollo's Teleport. There was one move that seemed to just be Eevee giving an exceptionally sad and vulnerable look that made my heart drop, but I had no idea what it might be.

Something that I found interesting was that Eevee hadn't shown me anything resembling a Bite, and when I asked him if he could Bite others with his teeth he gave me a confused look like it was something he'd never even considered before, which I found extremely strange.

I couldn't help but note the absence of a range move. Although not the most familiar with the species, I knew that one of their signature moves was Swift. I wasn't sure if there were any others that it could learn, but I wanted to get that figured out sooner rather than later. Eevee was exceptionally small; roughly the same size as Apollo. But whereas Apollo was a ranged fighter who could Teleport to safety, Eevee was going to need to rely on its speed to quickly attack and distance itself.

"You've got some great moves Eevee, your Quick Attack is really something. You're hands down the fastest member of the team, so we'll focus on ways we can take advantage of that," I praised while crouching down and rubbing his head, eliciting a cheerful trill.

I led Eevee to the tree line and had him practice his Quick Attack, instructing him to zig-zag the trees. I requested that he focus on making sharp turns rather than curving arcs, and asked him to go as fast as he could during each straight.

It turned out to be rather hard and unnatural for Eevee. As I suspected he had trouble carrying momentum when making sharp turns, and he quickly tired as he hadn't built up the same stamina the rest of my team had.

After a couple of attempts with breaks in between, I was seeing noticeable improvements and felt pleased with our progress, so I decided to call it and return back to camp. I didn't want to push Eevee too hard, and the training session had gone on for about an hour at this point since it took some time to document Eevee's current moveset.

Apollo and Duran were both exhausted, so I praised them for their efforts despite not seeing the results of their practice. As our team grew my Pokémon would need to learn to be a bit more self-sufficient in policing their training. So long as they listened to my guidance and worked hard, I wasn't terribly concerned about micromanaging them.

I fed Duran some kibble and poured water on him to rehydrate him before returning him, noting that his shell was looking a lot firmer and a bit darker than yesterday. I then laid out a bit of each type of kibble for Eevee, but to my utter dismay he folded his ears back and seemed uninterested in both types after giving each a sniff.

I sighed, looking over at Samantha's tent before checking the time on my Pokédex. It was 10 am and she still wasn't awake; or if she was she hadn't come out of her tent. I wanted to get going soon, and Eevee needed her food as well as some shampoo for his bath, which I had no doubt she had.

I really didn't want to barge into her tent or yell at her to wake up, but I didn't just want to wait around either.

"Is awake. Come soon."

I blinked in surprise, looking at Apollo as I wondered how he would know that.

"Stella. We talk."

"You two sure seem to be getting along well; you talk a lot," I grinned, giving him a critical eye as I pet Eevee.

Fondness. "Friend. Teacher. Analogous."

I raised a brow, "Analogous? I know I didn't teach you that word. Seems she's helping you improve your vocabulary, but you should really work on full sentences buddy. You know plenty of words, you just need to string them together properly and figure out how to use tense."

"I have practice."

"You have practice-d. It's past tense. The best way to say that is 'I've had practice'. But that's good, keep it up. I'm glad you two get along, have you tried talking to Skitty?"

Reluctance. "Try. Is… difficult. Distant."

I hummed, wondering what that might mean as Samantha finally stepped out of her tent. I immediately noticed that she was wearing a slightly different undershirt and pair of jeans than yesterday, although it was basically the same outfit. Her hair was also in slight disarray, but she had clearly at least run a brush through it to get it mostly tamed. There was also a distinct look of tiredness in her eyes; she had gone to bed an hour before me and woken up an hour after, yet she still looked like she'd gotten less sleep. Most surprising though was the steaming cup of coffee she cradled in her hands, and I couldn't help but wonder if she'd brought an entire coffee pot with her.

I thought of poking fun at her for one of these many observations but ultimately decided against it. I needed her to do me a favor and didn't want to risk her saying no out of spite.

"Morning. Hey, do you have any shampoo I can use to wash Eevee? No big deal if not. I was also hoping you could show me what kind of food you fed him last night and lend me some, he refuses to eat the stuff I have."

She grumbled, turning back to drag her backpack out of the tent as Stella stepped out and stretched. Samantha first tossed a can of food my way, which I fumbled and barely caught.

"I'll help with the bath after my coffee. You'll fuck it up."

I blinked, a bit taken aback by the bluntness of her statement and her swearing so casually. I didn't really see how I could possibly mess up something as simple as a bath, but I wasn't about to argue with her in this state.

Eevee happily ate the food, and I noted down the brand in my notebook as Samantha sat in her chair and sipped on her coffee, slowly looking more alert and alive while Stella laid in her lap. I couldn't help but notice the absence of Skitty, so I assumed it was in its Pokéball but didn't feel like risking Samantha's ire to ask.

"Did you really need to train so early in the morning?"

"You realize it's after ten, right? Not exactly early. Sorry if we woke you though, we tried to get far enough away we wouldn't bother you."

She muttered something under her breath before taking another sip of coffee, and I decided to start packing up my tent. By the time I was done, Eevee had finished eating and Samantha had finished her cup of coffee, now looking much more lively as she was attempting but failing to start a fire.

"You need to stand the sticks up in a cone for proper airflow, and you need some kindling in the bottom," I supplied, bending down to take over and arrange things in a manner that wouldn't immediately go out like her previous attempts clearly had.

"I never thought something as simple as starting a fire could be so difficult. I always assumed fires started easily. Thing catches on fire, fire spreads, done."

"Once it's taken hold sure, but starting a lasting fire isn't as easy as lighting a stick on fire and having other sticks nearby."

"Sorry if this is a bit personal, but who taught you that? Was it…" she trailed off.

I snorted in amusement as I reached into my backpack, "I taught myself. You can borrow this but I want it back, I'm not done reading it."

I tossed her Survive & Thrive, and I couldn't help but notice that she looked at it as though I had just tossed a pair of dirty underwear on her lap.

"You don't even have a space-tech backpack, just how many books are you lugging around? I saw you with a different one last night too."

"Only two. What's wrong with books?"

"Nothing. It's just that people our age typically use the internet, Daniel."

"I use the internet plenty, learned almost everything I know on it. We can't all have private tutors and cell phones. Speaking of, would you mind pulling up Eevee's known moves so I can note them down? There was one I couldn't place, and I'm pretty sure Eevee should know Bite but this little guy doesn't."

Eevee huffed, looking a bit offended at my statement. I wasn't sure if it was me calling him little or saying he should know something he doesn't, but I cast him an apologetic look and pet his head soothingly, which seemed to mollify him.

After updating my notebook with the list of moves Eevee was known to naturally learn, and after describing the unknown move she informed me it was Baby-Doll Eyes, a more cute and flexible version of Growl, in her words.

"Alright, breakfast first then we'll give Eevee a bath," Samantha declared as she rifled through her bag. "Stella, would you mind getting me another cup of coffee? Do you want one Danny?"

"Nah, I'm good…" I muttered, ignoring her not-so-subtle use of her new nickname for me while watching with piqued curiosity as the Espeon grabbed the empty mug by the handle and disappeared back into the tent.

"So uh… Did you bring an entire coffee pot?" I couldn't help but ask as Samantha started making what looked to be oatmeal.

"It's single serving. Pour in a bit of water, a spoonful of coffee grounds, give it a minute to brew and you've got yourself a perfect cup of coffee."

"I've got to ask, why not just make your coffee at the campfire? Also how exactly is Stella supposed to do all of that?"

She scoffed, "Stella isn't a child Daniel. It's the same one I've had in my room for months now, she knows what she's doing. And I'm not trying to mess around making crappy campfire coffee when I can just push a button."

"Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. You'll have to figure out how to do the 'crappy campfire coffee' if you ever travel with anyone else, that's mad suspicious. People don't travel around with tents that have generators and coffee makers."

"I can make it with a campfire, I just choose not to. Obviously I wouldn't do that if I'm around others. You worry too much."

"I think you don't worry enough, actually."

She rolled her eyes but decided against answering, leaning against my backpack as I gave both Eevee and Apollo some affection. As Samantha was working on making breakfast Stella stepped out of the tent, and I gaped at the sight of the Espeon levitating a steaming cup of coffee just inches in front of her.

She slowly walked over to Samantha, who graciously accepted the coffee like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Eevee, Apollo and I all had a look of awe and were in complete shock, but I finally found the words to speak up.

"Erm… Was that telekinesis?"

"Yeah, Stella's been practicing every morning. Takes a lot out of her, but making coffee is the perfect practice for her. Helps her work on her precision and slowly builds her endurance."

"Is this your version of training? I can't help but notice you haven't done any since we left…"

"Stella and I already have a few routines worked out, and Skitty is still getting familiar with us. We aren't battlers Daniel, we're performers. Not everybody feels the need to work their Pokémon to the bone like you do. We're perfectly happy with where we are at."

I blinked, desperately fighting the urge to pick apart everything she'd just said. That kind of complacency and mindset was completely foreign to me, how could you expect to improve if you didn't dedicate time and effort to it? But Samantha was handing me a bowl of oatmeal and was about to help give Eevee a bath, so I didn't feel too inclined to start an argument.

Once breakfast was concluded and Samantha finished her coffee, she released Skitty and fed her team. Now that I was paying closer attention, I noticed that Skitty was definitely not fully integrated into their group. It tended to be alone when it wasn't feeling playful, which to be fair was quite often. It clearly got along with Samantha although I could tell they weren't particularly close, but I couldn't help but notice it sort of ignored Stella.

"So, about that bath…" I awkwardly as Samantha's team ate, getting a bit anxious that we'd be here all day at this rate.

Eevee shivered and hid behind me, and I couldn't help but sigh.

"Eevee, I promise you'll be ok. I don't know why you're scared of water, but I'm not going to submerge you. I'll just have Duran lightly douse you in water, I'll gently scrub your fur clean, then one last rinse and it's over. We'll even avoid your head."

"That is not how this is going to happen, Daniel Ingram."

Samantha dug through her backpack and pulled out multiple items; two different bottles, her brush, some cotton balls and swabs, a collapsible waterproof box, an extremely fluffy-looking towel, and a pot. To me it was extremely excessive and I didn't know what she planned on doing with quite a few of the items, but I wasn't about to question her clear expertise considering she'd raised an Eevee herself.

"We will need Duran though, could you release him?" she requested as she stoked the fire.

I obliged, releasing Duran as Samantha came over with the pot.

"Mind filling this up with your Water Gun, Duran?" she asked in the sweetest voice I'd ever heard from her.

Duran crossed his claws and huffed, looking away and decidedly annoyed.

"Cor Corphish!"

I raised a brow and glanced at Apollo as I noticed Stella begin giving a low growl of warning and a sudden tension in the air.

Unease. "Not listen stranger."

I sighed, kneeling down next to Duran and rubbing his shell as Samantha crossed her arms and looked annoyed.

"Please? It's for Eevee, he needs a bath. Family helps each other, remember?"

He relaxed his posture, and although he still looked annoyed he nodded. I reached out for the pot, and Samantha begrudgingly handed it over. I decided to give Duran one of my crappy Pokéblocks as a thank you, since he didn't seem to particularly mind my incompetence.

Samantha began heating the water over the campfire, and as I began thinking of pouring some water on Duran and recalling him I had a sudden thought, inspired by Samantha's request.

"I'm such an idiot sometimes," I muttered to myself as I grabbed my spade and began digging a hole.

Nobody in the world could claim to understand how Pokémon got their powers; I'd tried looking into it a few times and nearly everything I had found was speculative, with the general consensus being that the answers probably transcend science. There were things that science could partially explain, such as fire and water-types having special glands and certain portions of the brain activating, but the underlying source of what allowed that to work could only be vaguely narrowed down to vitality and stamina.

All I knew was that Duran was pumping out far more water in his training sessions than I was pouring on him. Why was I wasting water and keeping him in his ball when he could just hydrate himself?

"Here Duran, fill this hole with water and you can relax until we start traveling here soon."

That idea seemed to excite him, which didn't surprise me considering I knew he had no issues with muddy water. He filled the hole and scuttled in, looking extremely pleased with himself as he soaked.

I really needed to keep Duran's ability to create water from almost nothing in mind. I doubted it was something you'd want to drink directly, but I had a small water filter I hadn't even used yet. I'd just been filling up water bottles when I got to cities, but I didn't even need to do that anymore.

"You just now thought of that? And here I thought you were clever," Samantha remarked as she poured the warm water into her flimsy waterproof hamper, which I now realized would serve as a standing bath for Eevee.

I picked up Eevee and soothingly pet him, deciding against responding. I could feel him shaking a bit and knew he was nervous.

"We're just going to clean you up, you'll feel better than ever after. See how shallow the water is; your head won't ever go underwater. You'll be fine, I promise. Just do your best to relax and stand still, and let her do whatever she needs to alright?"

That seemed to help a little, but he was clearly still nervous. I noticed Stella's gem glowing, and after a moment Eevee settled down much more and seemed to have a newfound determination.

I didn't know what Stella said, but I didn't feel the need to question it. I gave her an appreciative nod and slowly lowered Eevee into the water, noticing that it was just hot enough to lightly steam and only came up just past his knees as he stood.

Not wanting to crowd Eevee and make him nervous, I stepped back to observe as Samantha began working her magic. I'd expected to just give Eevee a quick and simple bath, but Samantha clearly had other plans. She was so thorough that I actually felt compelled to write some notes halfway through.

She started by cleaning the inside of his ears, first by rubbing the inside with her dampened thumb, following it up by running cotton swabs along the contours of his inner ear. They hadn't looked dirty to me, but the amount of grime she got off quickly proved me wrong.

"Easy, Eevee. This will be a little uncomfortable, but it'll keep the water out of your ears which is important. Once the actual bath starts you'll love it," Samantha whispered softly as she started blocking off the inside of his ears with the cotton balls, causing Eevee to squirm a bit.

"Great job," she praised with a pet of his head. "Now for the part you'll really enjoy."

She then cupped water in her hands and carefully wet Eevee's fur. Eevee's eyes were wide and apprehensive, but he bravely stood still as his eyes followed her every move.

Samantha grabbed the first bottle and worked it into a lather in her hands, gently massaging it into Eevee's fur using circular, rhythmic motions. Eevee seemed to really enjoy that, and I could see his anxiety get replaced by contentment as Samantha slowly worked it all through his coat.

To my surprise she even managed to get his head, asking that he keep his eyes closed until she told him to open them. She seemed to have earned enough goodwill that Eevee obliged, and after his entire body was coated in suds she gently rinsed him off and gave his fur a quick once-through with the brush.

"We're almost done, you're doing great Eevee," Samantha commended as she began another pass, this time with conditioner. I wasn't sure if Eevee had gotten over their fear of water, but he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the bath and was giving a low pur, which I found incredibly cute. I half wished that Samantha had let me do it; it seemed like a great bonding opportunity, but she was doing an excellent job and I would have future opportunities.

Reassurance. "In time."

Mentally praising Apollo for what just might be his first proper sentence, and was even further impressed when I saw him sitting next to Stella and seemingly having a telepathic conversation with her at the same time. He really was developing quite fast, and I was exceedingly proud.

Graciousness.

Knowing how the rest of the bath would go, I stowed my notebook and sat next to Duran's hole, attempting to pet Skitty while he crept around mischievously and tried to provoke a reaction from Duran. It kept just out of arm's reach and wouldn't let me pet him, and soon he got bored and wandered off when he realized Duran wasn't paying him any mind.

"There, all done! All that's left is to dry you off; please don't shake until I'm done with the towel. That wasn't so bad was it?" Samantha said happily as she lifted Eevee out of the makeshift bath and began drying him off with the towel.

I checked my Pokédex to find that it was nearly noon, and although we weren't in any particular rush I couldn't help but feel we were going extremely slowly. Samantha was a huge help this morning so I didn't want to push her to hurry up, but I still didn't like feeling as though we were starting the day so late.

Eevee bolted over to me, and after I scooped him up in my arms and began to pet him I realized just how soft and fluffy he was. There wasn't a single mat in his fur, and his coat had a sheen that hadn't been there before.

"You were very brave, Eevee. Look how clean you are, it was worth it right?"

He purred happily, nuzzling his head against my chest in a display of affection as I scratched behind his ear, and I couldn't help but notice the slightly fruity scent he now had.

I felt immense relief when I saw Samantha stowing her supplies, grateful she wasn't planning on bathing all of her team.

"Anything else you need to do, or can we get going?" I asked carefully, trying to get things moving without being too forceful.

"My team needs to be brushed, then I think I'll be ready. Why, in a rush to get rid of me?" she asked as she pointed her brush at me challengingly.

"Not at all, but when's the next contest? I assume they aren't every day, right?"

She shook her head, "Once a week. I checked before we left; the next one in Verdanturf is in three days. Assuming we make it through the end of Verdanturf Tunnel by the end of tomorrow, we'll have a day to relax before I compete."

I nodded; While I didn't have a problem waiting a day or two for her, I really hoped she won her contest. I didn't think I'd be content with hanging around a small mountain town like Verdanturf for an entire week.

I set Eevee down as Apollo and Stella both approached. Stella had a pleased look while Apollo seemed to be more in awe. He held out a hand, seemingly asking for permission to feel Eevee as he nodded happily and sat beside him. I couldn't help but smile at the sight as Apollo ran his hand through the tuft on Eevee's chest while he sat proudly with his chest puffed up and his head held high.

Samantha beckoned Skitty over, who had been lying on the other side of the camp watching the proceedings. He bounded over and sat in front of Samantha, who began to brush his fur.

"So, have any tips on raising an Eevee?" I asked as I sat back down next to Duran's hole. He always seemed perfectly content to be alone, a personality trait that I shared, but I didn't want him to feel too left out.

She hummed in thought, not breaking her focus from grooming her rather pleased-looking Skitty.

"Eevee are naturally a bit vain, at least when happy and healthy. Half of caring for them is keeping them groomed and fed properly, so once you've got that down it's pretty much smooth sailing. They also need daily exercise to burn off some steam, but considering your training routine you should be fine there. Just focus on getting into a rhythm of keeping Eevee groomed and find some food he likes."

"Can't I just get the same brand you got?"

She snorted in amusement, and I was surprised when even Skitty shot me a look that seemed to question if I was sane.

"No offense, but you would go broke pretty quickly. I noticed you had vitamins you gave your team; that's great and all, but imagine if every meal had multiple vitamins packed in and used the best quality ingredients you could only get from overseas. You'll need to figure out something else Eevee likes, and that might be harder than you think. Eevee are known to be pretty picky because they have very heightened senses. They smell, taste, and hear things on a level humans can't even fathom."

"That doesn't make any sense; Eevee has been living in the wild just fine. What did he eat out here?"

She shrugged, "Berries mostly. Maybe the occasional Pidove or Taillow. But eating to survive and having a balanced, nutritious meal isn't exactly the same thing."

I dropped the conversation and let her focus on what she was doing, getting antsy to get going and not wanting to distract her from what she was doing. It took a bit of time for her to finish grooming Stella and to pack up her things, but it was helped by the fact that her tent basically packed herself and she didn't have to carefully arrange things to fit in her backpack. After putting out the fire and ensuring everything was ready to go, I considered what to do with both Duran and Eevee.

I decided against recalling Duran, seeing no reason why I couldn't just occasionally take him off my backpack so he could douse himself with a Water Gun. I didn't want Eevee getting too dirty considering how clean he was, so after a bit of experimentation I found the best place for him was in the front pouch of my hoodie, where he fit snugly and could poke his head out. He was initially resistant to try, presumably due to his fear of enclosed spaces, but once he saw how comfortable it was and that he had a great view he seemed perfectly happy with the arrangement.

Samantha also decided against recalling her team, so with Stella walking beside her and Skitty energetically running about to play and inspect random things we passed by, our rather large group continued traveling east in search of the entrance to Rusturf Tunnel.

"This was a bit of a unique morning considering Eevee's bath, but if we travel together past Verdanturf you'll really need to learn to be more of a morning person," I remarked.

She groaned, "Mornings suuuuck. Isn't part of the beauty of journeying that you don't have to wake up to an alarm clock every morning? We set our own pace and live by our own rules."

"There's a difference between setting an alarm clock and sleeping the morning away. How is it possible that you went to bed before me yet still slept in longer?"

"I need my beauty sleep, something you wouldn't know anything about," she quipped.

I held my hand over my heart exaggeratedly, "Sammy, that hurts. How could you call your own brother ugly like that?"

She grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly, "That's perfect! We bicker just like real siblings, we're going to trick so many people! This is going to be so much fun!"

"Obviously we stick to the story we chose if anyone presses the issue, but we do have good enough banter I doubt most would question it."

Amusement.

I couldn't help but be a bit surprised that Apollo was alright with our plan to essentially lie to people. He'd grown up a lot in the short time I'd known him, it wasn't long ago that he would have taken issue with even telling white lies like this.

I heard Duran grumble something from behind me and glanced at Apollo, hoping for a translation.

Annoyance. "Not family."

I silently nodded in acceptance, understanding his point of view. I'd been worried that our groups would clash terribly, but Samantha and I were largely getting along and the only tension among our Pokémon I could really see was minimal. Skitty and Duran had their own personality quirks that kept them from being as close as Apollo and Stella, but it was nothing worth complaining about I was sure given enough time they would resolve themselves.

Despite some slight differences, I couldn't have asked for our first 24 hours together to have gone better. Although our time together was limited and Samantha was almost the exact opposite kind of person I would have thought I'd get close to, I couldn't shake the thought that I might have actually managed to make my first true friend.

TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Age: 16
Badges: 1
Account: 5,342 credits

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

AN: Looks like Daniel has his hands full with his new Eevee, finding out what to feed it and how to get it to stop being afraid of its own shadow. This was a bit of a slower chapter, but an important one as he gets familiar with his new teammate and traveling companion. I want to note that I write at least 5 chapters ahead of what's published for some padding and time for my beta reader, and many plot points have long been decided. What comes next chapter was written over a week ago, so don't come accusing me of catering to comments. Sometimes, people just get lucky. =]

Shoutout to TysonG for beta-reading this chapter.

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