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

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

The next morning was a bit… tense. At least, it became that way as it progressed.

Things started fairly normally, with me and my team getting up before Samantha for some training. I'd quarantined my conversation with Samantha using the same technique I had initially used when hiding my deal for the Dawn Stone from Apollo, more for practice than anything, and had requested he give me space to think for the morning. Although he was a good sport about it and respected my desire for privacy, I could tell that he was still picking up on my conflicting emotions and that it was a bit troubling for him.

I assured him that I'd talk to him about it soon, and thankfully it didn't impede our morning training. We started with some Protect drills as a team, and I was pleased to find that all of my team seemed to have a good handle on the move. Duran's was still clearly the sturdiest, but Apollo's was nothing to sneeze at either and I could tell that even Orion's looked to be quite respectable.

After that, the team split up and worked individually on what each was currently focusing on. Duran seemed to be much more comfortable using Razor Shell, and I was pretty convinced he had it down. He was cutting huge gouges into trees, and I could tell that his slashes were heavily infused with water. Although his claws had been leaking water before, now his claws had a faint glow when he slashed, and the lacerations he made seeped with water as though it had permeated within the wood. He was also no longer swinging his claws and simply cutting, but performing a swift slash now that he had the movement down. It was a truly startling sight to witness, and I couldn't imagine being on the receiving end of that.

Apollo's Psybeam was also progressing very nicely. He was getting better at holding it, and it had much more volume to it than before. We even found that he was able to do a sweeping motion while holding it, making readjustments possible in case the enemy moved. It still took a lot out of him to perform, but it felt like it was nearly ready for battle, if not already there.

I had Orion work on Quick Attack, even though his Swift still needed some work. His speed was one of his biggest strengths, and I decided that I wanted him to have a similar mastery over the move as Apollo did with Teleport. I outlined a sort of obstacle course for him to run, challenging him to do it faster every time. I had him weave through trees, leap over logs, perform quick turnarounds, zigzag around shrubs, and a variety of other movements trying to increase his dexterity and stamina. He was getting much better at sustaining his Quick Attack, and was becoming quite light on his feet.

By the time our morning training ended, Samantha had woken up and made progress in her coffee routine, as she was already finishing up breakfast. We didn't talk much except for exchanging pleasantries, likely because her coffee hadn't fully kicked in but also because we had ended last night slightly awkwardly. I could tell she didn't understand why what she had revealed to me was bothering me so much, but there wasn't much I could do to fix that other than resolve things with Apollo and move on.

As we all had breakfast and I sipped on the coffee Samantha graciously made for me, I couldn't help but notice there was a bit of a cascading effect among the group. There was very little chatter, both between me and Samantha but also amongst our teams. It was like everybody could tell that something was a bit off, which only served to increase my sense of urgency for figuring out how I wanted to handle the situation and moving past it.

As breakfast came to a close and Apollo and I stepped aside for our morning meditation, I took the time to think on the problem, and how I wanted to approach it.

The rational part of my brain told me that I was making it into a bigger deal than it was, but it really felt like a lose-lose situation. I had a Dawn Stone lined up that there was no sense in canceling, and if Apollo chose to use it he would easily have the potential to become one of the strongest Gallade in the region due to its potency.

On the other hand, Apollo loved the moon and might want to become a Gardevoir to keep his fairy typing. Just last night he had spent time admiring it and was even joined by Stella, Orion, and Oddish. There was also the fact that becoming a Gallade would completely change his battling style to be much more physical. He currently fought at a distance, and although it was due to his current body and moveset, I had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't be overly excited at the prospect of fighting up close and personal, though I might be assuming too much with that line of thinking.

I was perfectly content with the prospect of Apollo becoming a Gardevoir, but the issue was that simply possessing a Dawn Stone would inadvertently make him feel a bit of pressure to choose to be a Gallade, particularly considering it was such a high quality. In fact, Pokémon were known to be instinctively drawn to their respective evolutionary stones when in their presence, with some describing their behavior as a mixture of yearning and worship. There was a very real chance that if Apollo ever even laid eyes on a Dawn Stone, his mind might be instantly made up.

I could always email Steven and tell him that I no longer wanted it, but it wouldn't be pragmatic. The deal was already struck and underway, and there was a good chance that Steven had already sealed the deal considering he seemed to be talking about a specific stone during his last mention of it. I hated to admit it, but I'd be extremely embarrassed to send an email saying I no longer wanted the stone after what was surely the busiest man in the region had spent time working on it for me. One option I had was to ask him to hold onto it for a while, which would give Apollo time to decide without its influence and allow me to figure out how to offload it if I didn't end up needing it.

Not that I'd have any clue how to properly sell something of that value, anyway. Dawn Stones were among the rarest evolutionary stones, only known to work for Gallade and Froslass. On top of that, it was supposed to be a high-grade one; something you wouldn't even be able to find on the open market. If I ever tried to sell it, it was almost a certainty that I wouldn't be able to get its true value.

I had one particularly dumb idea that I wished I could have blamed on the coffee Samantha had given me, making my mind hyperactive. But the truth was that it simply reflected how desperate I was to find any way possible to ease the pressure I knew Apollo would feel at the revelation he could evolve into something other than the Gallade I got a Dawn Stone for.

That idea was somehow capturing a female Snorunt. I still wanted a ghost and a Froslass would fulfill that desire, however knowing my luck it was bound to be another situation where they could become either Glalie or Froslass, and I'd end up in the exact same situation as I was with Apollo. But even if that was the case, surely between the two of them one would want the Dawn Stone, right? Perhaps even both, but then that would present a whole new problem.

It was a stupid idea, and I didn't believe for a second that it would actually solve anything. But I was trying to consider all options, and that was definitely one of them.

By the end of our meditation, I decided that I'd done plenty of dwelling and simply needed to act. I knew that Apollo would be understanding of what was an honest mistake, it just bothered me that he would feel pressured no matter what I did. But thinking about it wasn't helping, and it would all be a moot point if he truly wanted to become a Gallade over a Gardevoir anyway.

We packed up camp and continued onward toward Mauville, and when I soon felt Apollo's presence brush against my mind asking for permission to enter, I welcomed him in. Samantha was doing an impressive job of carrying Oddish on one arm while fiddling with her phone using the other hand, so it was as good a time as any to tackle the issue at hand.

Concern. "Doing okay?"

I nodded silently, "Yeah, thanks for giving me time to think. I've made an embarrassing mistake, and unfortunately it affects you."

Reassurance. "Mistakes natural. Fix together."

"This is one of my dumbest ones. Remember when I told you that you would evolve into a Gallade? I was wrong, sort of. You have another option, not only one."

Curiosity. Confusion. "Simple mistake, why such worry?"

"Because I already made plans to get you a Dawn Stone, remember? I don't want you to feel pressured into a decision. You are free to make your own choice."

Understanding. "My destiny is mine. I choose."

"Just promise me you won't take the fact I got you a Dawn Stone into consideration. I won't be bothered if you choose not to use it, I can always sell it."

Eagerness. "I promise. Tell me of choices, please."

I smiled and nodded, happy at how he'd taken the news and hopeful that would be the end of the matter. I suspected that was likely to change if he ever saw the Dawn Stone, or if he truly understood just how potent it was, but that could be a problem for another day. I was perfectly content to leave things as they currently stood.

After telling Apollo everything I knew about Gardevoir and Gallade, I realized that my own knowledge was limited. I knew that Gallade lost the fairy typing in favor of fighting, and I was able to explain roughly what each looked like, but that was about it. The only other thing I could really say on the topic was that Gallade was much more of a close-combat brawler, while Gardevoir would fight very similarly to how Apollo currently did.

Although our conversation was entirely telepathic, Samantha noticed when I took out my Pokédex and searched up the two species with Apollo looking over my shoulder. When we were both a bit disappointed by the lack of information given, I decided to ask Samantha what she knew about the two species, which she was more than happy to do. She seemed exceptionally cheerful to be included in the conversation, or perhaps she was just glad that I had taken steps to fix my wrongdoings, but either way she ended up being far more informational than the Pokédex.

"Both are known for being fiercely protective of those they care about, and both are powerful psychics," Samantha explained. "Gardevoir tend to lean into their supernatural abilities more since they retain the fairy typing; they can predict the future and manipulate the world around them using psychokinesis. Some say that powerful Gardevoir can even create temporary pocket dimensions to hide and protect their trainer in dire circumstances, but I don't think that's ever been documented. Gallade on the other hand are much more physically capable, and their psychic abilities focus on bolstering their fighting prowess. They are masters of combat and are often compared to knights, known for being loyal, courteous, and protective."

"What is psychokinesis, is that just another word for telekinesis?" I asked curiously.

She shook her head, "It's a step above. Telekinesis is the ability to move or manipulate an object. Psychokinesis encompasses that, but can also change something's very state of being, and it's not restricted to physical things. A Gardevoir can do things like heal injuries, change terrain and weather, manipulate a mind, that sort of stuff. They are such powerful psychics they levitate themselves without breaking a sweat, for Arceus' sake."

"A Gallade can't do any of that? I thought they were powerful psychics too, aren't they still primarily psychics?" I asked confusedly.

Samantha wagged her finger, "They are, but in a different way. A Gallade can see into the future, but it's more like intuition with psychic backing. We're talking seconds, maybe minutes, but it's focused on themselves and their immediate surroundings. They are famously difficult to battle against because they can sense what's about to happen even without using telepathy. A Gardevoir is more like a seer that opens its mind and lets things come. They can see more and further, but it's not always as applicable."

"So basically, it comes down to physical or mental specialization," I summarized.

Samantha hummed before shrugging, "You could say that, I guess. In a battle of raw psychic ability or mental warfare, Gardevoir is likely to come out on top. But in an actual battle, I'd put my money on a Gallade."

"Why do you say that? Gallade has a type disadvantage and fights physically, couldn't a Gardevoir just keep their distance and blast super-effective fairy moves from afar?"

Samantha scoffed in amusement, "It could try, but Gallade are very quick on their feet and extremely capable with Teleport. I've seen a few fight before, and it looks like an absolute nightmare to go up against. It's an endless barrage of attacks from all sides with no room to breathe, and no matter how evasive, unpredictable, or defensive their opponent is, they seem to always find a way through. Their movements are lightning-fast and their blades are unbelievably sharp, so battles are usually over very quickly. I'd rather battle a Gardevoir any day of the week, although I definitely wouldn't want to be on one's bad side in any other context. They'll give you nightmares and fuck with your mind in ways you didn't know possible."

That was a scary thought and exactly the kind of thing I wanted to build up my mental defenses to protect against, although I suspected a psychic as powerful as a Gardevoir could likely have its way with any human mind no matter what kind of resistance they tried to give.

Feeling satisfied with all the information Samantha had given, I glanced at my shoulder to Apollo, wondering what his thoughts were and if he had any questions. To my surprise he seemed lost in thought, staring off into nothingness with a distant look and completely oblivious to my thoughts. I could still sense his presence in my mind, but he must have been too preoccupied with his own thoughts to be skimming mine.

I gave him a little nudge, bringing him back to reality as he looked at me, and once again wondered if he had any questions or thoughts about what Samantha had just shared.

Hesitancy. Unsurety. "Will consider, but not think fit for close combat."

I briefly considered informing him that it would be natural to him with the body of a Gallade, but decided against it. He probably understood that and was referring to his preferred fighting style, and surely he'd picked it up from my mind just having the thought. He didn't sound fully convinced of a decision anyway, simply indicated he was leaning toward Gardevoir. We still had plenty of time until he even needed to make the decision anyway, so he would have plenty of time to consider it further.

"No questions for Sammy? She seems to know a lot," I decided to send directly, wanting to make sure he had the chance to get answers while the topic was still fresh.

"No. Stella already answer most questions for evolution."

I nodded in acceptance and turned to Samantha, who had been patiently waiting for us to get done. It still surprised me that she was somehow able to tell when we were having a telepathic conversation since Apollo's horn didn't glow like Stella's gem, but I wouldn't be surprised if I appeared to be spacing out or something when we were.

"I don't think we have any more questions. Apparently Stella has already been answering a lot of his, and you've answered most of mine. You really know a lot, were you at the top of your class or something?"

She shrugged, "Not really. I wasn't a bad student or anything, but I definitely wasn't acing all my classes either. The only reason I know that stuff is because of my parents, it's not like they teach that in school. When I was growing up I watched a lot of daddy's battles, sat in on some of mom's gym challenges, got subjected to academic-level dinnertime discussions between them, stuff like that. You pick up a lot of things passively just being around other trainers, especially good ones."

"Guess that helps explain it. I didn't know a single trainer growing up. Really wish I did, then I wouldn't feel so far behind," I admitted.

"Don't sell yourself short. You seem to know everything important; types, common species and moves, strategies, how to train… Arceus, you beat a Gym Leader in your first week of catching your team. That's seriously impressive, and if you keep up the pace you're going now, you'll be swimming in sponsorship offers in no time."

I considered asking Samantha to elaborate on what exactly a sponsorship entailed but decided against it since I'd already been asking so many questions. The general idea was obvious, but I was deeply curious about the details of how it worked. Despite my severely lacking funds, I wasn't exactly eager to feel beholden to anybody. Any potential sponsorship contract would likely stipulate that I needed to earn badges in a certain timeframe, participate in tournaments, borrow my likeness, wear their merchandise, whatever it may be.

Not that I wouldn't consider any offers I happened to get, but I'd cross that bridge if it ever came. I still only had one badge, and I highly doubted that any sponsor would even consider anybody who didn't have at least three or more badges. I was still a new trainer, and I wouldn't be surprised if my Pokénet profile made me somewhat unmarketable. One video was the battle I'd had with Preston, and the other was my battle against Leader Georgia. Although I won both, it was entirely likely that most people who saw those would walk away with a negative opinion of me due to how they went. Both battles had me using techniques many wouldn't find particularly honorable, and they likely contained the taunting I had done to the two opponents that had rubbed me the wrong way.

Suddenly I felt Stella's presence intrude into my mind, and I silently cursed at having forgotten to keep my defenses up. She'd caught Apollo and me completely off guard, as I'd totally forgotten we were training my mental defenses.

"You must remain vigilant. Your mind is still wide open for influence, we have much training to do."

I sighed, accepting my fate as I preemptively asked Samantha for another painkiller, which she found extremely amusing. Apollo sent me feelings of embarrassment and remorse at having not been ready, and we prepared ourselves for what was surely to be a long day of traveling and mental harassment.

After hours of walking and impromptu 'visits' from Stella, I started to notice that we were beginning to encounter not only more houses and small farms, but people as well. They were still relatively few and far between, but the gradual increase told me that we were starting to get close to Mauville.

Though we were beginning to see more people, very few of them appeared to be trainers. Nearly all of them seemed to be preoccupied with tending to flowers and crops, although a few seemed to just be enjoying the day. We even spotted a couple of tents, but I wasn't really seeing any training or battling so I suspected they were just camping for the fun of it rather than out of necessity. There were some Pokémon to be seen, yet many were grass tending to the lands or bug-types that seemed to be pollinating, and the ones with the campers appeared to be more for companionship than anything.

I was once again reminded just how peaceful this area was, and of the fact that there were reasons other than protection and battling for people to live alongside Pokémon. While I was glad that the native Pokémon had their own secluded area further into the route where humans had much less influence, I couldn't help but smile at the fact that peace could be maintained with the presence of humans as well.

One thing that made me slightly uncomfortable was that we were drawing a fair bit of attention. I wouldn't say it was necessarily of the bad sort, but florists and farmers were giving us a look that lingered longer than I would have liked and seemed to be eyeing us with something bordering on mild surprise and curiosity. I soon realized it was likely due to just how many Pokémon we had accompanying us, and the variety of them. We were a bit of a motley crew and were clearly not from around here, despite Samantha carrying an Oddish and our accompanying Masquerain. Samantha seemed completely unbothered, but I was beginning to wonder if we should recall some of our team if we were getting closer to Mauville.

I couldn't imagine that travelers were anything unique, but perhaps seeing them have such a wide array of Pokémon wasn't as common as I would have thought. It got me wondering if we were breaking some sort of social taboo by having so many Pokémon out, or if trainers didn't commonly travel with their team out. I couldn't imagine keeping Pokémon cooped up in their Pokéballs all day, but I could see how some might prefer that over walking all day. I wouldn't be able to carry Duran once he evolved, and I doubted that with his physiology he would want to walk long distances for hours. But as long as it was an option, I wanted to let my team experience the world with me.

After some time idly chatting with Samantha about everything and nothing, I began to take notice of the fact that the open fields were becoming rolling hills and that trees were no longer as scarce. As the landscape slowly changed, so too did the human presence on them. Buildings were beginning to become more common and modernized, farms were slowly getting replaced by what I would best describe as hillside manors, and most of the flora and shrubbery seemed to be the result of human intervention rather than naturally occurring. As we continued on, the dirt road we had been on eventually began to fade into cobblestone, and as we rounded a hill I was finally able to see the top of tall buildings over the treeline ahead, which I knew must be Mauville.

"Wow, I didn't think we'd make it before nightfall," I commented just before feeling yet another pressure in my head as Stella tested our defenses. Apollo and I were getting good about keeping it up, and I'm not sure if it's the painkillers I had preemptively taken or the fact that Apollo was able to bear more of the brunt, but it was more like a mild discomfort and annoyance than anything lately. I suspected that we had decent defense at this point, and that it was just a matter of making it second nature to keep them up consistently.

"Well, we did make good time. It helps that we weren't battling random trainers or searching for Pokémon that might want to join our teams," Samantha replied with a shrug.

"You say that like there were trainers to battle. Is it just me, or are there hardly any trainers this year?"

"Depends on what you define as a 'trainer'. Lots of people have a Pokémon and would battle if you just asked, which I don't think I've ever seen you do. Even those farmers and campers back there probably would have accepted a challenge for the fun of it. But if you mean serious, traveling trainers like you, that's pretty easy to explain. Most follow the traditional route, and you started the season a little later than most. I'm sure you'll find some in Mauville; they've got a pretty big battle court, and most trainers stall at getting their third and fourth badges. There's probably quite a few hanging around trying to get better so they can finally beat the gym."

"I just feel like we hardly ever run into any traveling trainers. I want to do more battling, but it seems nearly impossible," I sighed.

"Trainers don't usually go to Verdanturf, since there's really no reason. But you aren't wrong, there are less trainers in general, and even fewer choose to journey or challenge the circuit. It's been in slow decline for years, and a report came out recently saying this year was a historic low."

"Meanwhile, contests are getting all-time high viewership I imagine," I commented.

"It's what people are interested in," she shrugged. "Not many see the need to raise multiple Pokémon or hone their battling skills, the world isn't as riddled with war and danger. Times are changing. There is still a huge number of people who follow the battle scene. Just not as many are participating."

As we approached Mauville and the sun began to set, I thought about that. Most people were content to live their lives in the peaceful confines of whatever settlement they'd been born in, and if somebody really wanted to travel they could just book a Teleport. They weren't exactly cheap, but then again I probably had a bit of a skewed perspective on what constituted expensive.

We closed in on Mauville and eventually saw the huge arching gate that marked the city's entrance, as well as a rather unique-looking building just a short distance from the gate. It was much larger than many of the ones we had recently passed, wasn't nearly as modern, and was connected to a huge field surrounded by a massive chainlink fence with barbwire. It took me a while to realize what it was, but as we approached it soon clicked.

I remembered coming across the Mauville Daycare, one of Hoenn's most famous family-run businesses, multiple times during my time browsing online in preparation for my journey. Run by an elderly couple who were commonly known as the Daycare Man and Lady, they were known for the unique manner in which they cared for the Pokémon who were left in their care. Their prices were steep, charging by the day and going by a waitlist that was typically booked for months in advance.

There were plenty of daycares to be found across Hoenn, but this one was different in not only the amount of land and facilities at their disposal but also the methods they employed. You had to sign a waiver that they weren't responsible for anything that might happen to your Pokémon under their care, and when I had first read about it it didn't make much sense to me. But after digging into it further I realized that it was actually what set them apart from the others, and that the supposed 'risk' was more like a huge potential benefit, at least compared to other daycares.

Pokémon in their care were given all-natural food and encouraged to participate in daily exercises put on by the caretakers. Over the years they had amassed quite the collection of equipment, facilities, and habitats that catered to Pokémon of all types, all in one common area where the residents were allowed to intermingle and socialize, something not many daycares allowed due to liability reasons. This meant that trainers often got Pokémon back who not only had learned moves they otherwise wouldn't have from the other residents, but breeding was also rather common as there were plenty of places where privacy was possible. It wasn't uncommon for trainers to get their Pokémon back with an egg it had laid during its stay, or for it to have one soon after.

Typically, a trainer wouldn't want to risk their Pokémon potentially breeding with some random daycare resident, since most people wouldn't want their precious partners mating with something common like a Zigzagoon. That's why most daycares tended to limit socialization with other patrons and keep a close eye on things when it was allowed. But if you considered the kind of high-end clientele the daycare catered to, it essentially opened the door to endless possibilities and extremely rare outcomes. Although the prices of the daycare were nothing to sneeze at, it was far cheaper than paying a trainer off to stud their likely highly-accomplished Pokémon that had the genes you desired, and then paying a breeder to facilitate it safely and legally.

In short, this daycare was known for returning Pokémon who were in better shape than they had arrived, had picked up exotic moves, and might have even fallen in love. There were even stories of trainers who had kept in touch and eventually fallen in love themselves after their Pokémon had taken a liking to each other at the daycare. Quite a few of the region's top Pokémon, both in the contest and battling scene, could be traced back to having been conceived on the grounds of this particular daycare.

Many saw the place as a wonderful vacation resort where love and self-improvement was highly encouraged. Others saw it as an overpriced hotel that lacked morals and any sense of obligation to its residents or their trainers, claiming that they essentially encouraged orgies and mix-breeding, and possibly even had them battle each other for their own amusement. There was evidence to suggest that battles did occur on their grounds, as Pokémon would occasionally come back with an injury they didn't have previously. But they were good about tending to any injuries and preventing things from getting out of hand, and claimed that scuffles were inevitable and not something they could be held liable for.

The daycare operated in a sort of legal limbo, at least originally. They didn't technically offer breeding or training services, only temporary Pokémon care, and the waivers they had you sign absolved them of all responsibilities for any outcomes a trainer might not have desired. Supposedly there was a time when they were the subject of complaints and attempted lawsuits, but after settling out of court and introducing their famous ironclad waiver, they've since become somewhat of a staple of the Hoenn region for their unusual yet largely beneficial methods.

Although there had been many attempts over the years to get them shut down and their license revoked, they had many influential trainers as happy customers, not to mention one of the region's top lawyers on retainer. It was undoubtedly one of Hoenn's most controversial attractions, but few could argue that the premise was intriguing.

"Don't get any funny ideas. You couldn't afford it, even if you booked now you'll be long gone by the time they get an opening," Samantha said, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Just thinking back to what I read online about that place. What's your opinion on it?" I asked curiously.

"Overhyped, although there's no denying many Pokémon come out healthier and happier. But unless you're someone with serious clout, you'll be waiting a long time for your slot. There's no telling when you'll get in either, since many trainers keep their Pokémon there for a long time once they finally get in. You just sit on a long waitlist and hope you're still interested when they finally call, and that the prices haven't skyrocketed."

"Any idea what they charge a day?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't want to hear the answer.

"It changes depending on how long the waitlist is. Once your Pokémon is in their care, the rate is locked until you pick it up. But they charge daily, and last I heard it was over two thousand credits. That was a couple years ago, so who knows what it's at nowadays."

"Two thousand credits a day?" I said in disbelief, thinking Samantha might be messing with me.

"Yeah, pretty wild. But lots of people go there to use it as a sort of breeding service, and if you look at it like that it's much cheaper than getting it professionally done."

"I don't understand that," I admitted. "What's so expensive about finding another trainer with the same species and setting up a playdate? Buy them lunch, let the two Pokémon mingle to see if they hit it off, and if they do you give them some privacy for a while then keep in touch after."

"That could work for the average person who just wants to give their relative a companion, but if you want to give them an advantage in things like battling or contests, then you want to be a little more focused than that. People breed for specific genes and traits, and rare egg moves are highly sought after. There's a whole science behind it that's pretty complex, part of which is the fact that you can get unique results by breeding two different species. That's why you'll usually want to employ a breeder, it's their job to know what species are compatible and what the results are likely to be. But some people are content to just roll the dice and take anything unique they can get."

"I didn't know different species could breed. That's… interesting," I said as my mind instantly began to think of some combinations that I found rather disturbing before quickly stopping myself, remembering that Apollo was still quietly lingering in my mind. Although he'd been rather quiet lately, presumably talking to Stella between her surprise mental assaults, I didn't want to risk him lifting those particular thoughts from me.

"Love works in mysterious ways, Daniel. I need a minute with my team to fill them in on the rules of human settlements, and we should return most of our team."

I nodded in agreement, and we stepped aside just outside the gate where people who had been out enjoying Route 117 were slowly funneling in for the night, casting us curious looks but not quite gawking. I decided to have Orion accompany me since he hadn't ever seen a city before and was the least likely to attract attention with only his head peeking out of my pocket. Apollo and Duran were thankfully understanding, and soon Samantha and I stepped into Mauville with her holding an extremely excited Oddish.

The city was quite different from both Rustboro and Petalburg. Both of those had made clear efforts to blend as seamlessly with the surrounding landscape as possible to preserve a more natural feel, but Mauville had clearly abandoned that aspiration long ago. There wasn't a wooden structure in sight, with the preferred construction materials being brick, metal, and lots of glass. The streets were neatly paved with concrete and were brightly lit by a mixture of streetlamps, neon shop signs, and glowing markers in the ground to help direct the flow of foot traffic in some semblance of an orderly fashion, of which there was a lot. I had thought that Rustboro was a big city, but Mauville surely earned its place as the hub of Hoenn, and despite it getting late in the afternoon the streets were still filled.

Although there were plenty of Pokémon to be found, I found the ratio to be much lower than that of Petalburg and Rustboro. As a rough estimate, I'd say there was only about one Pokémon for every ten people I saw, which told me that most people who lived here likely didn't have one of their own, or if they did they stayed at home.

Speaking of Pokémon, something that surprised me was that Mauville seemed to have no rules against large Pokémon being on the street, likely due to the road being built to handle it. In fact, most of the Pokémon I saw were some sort of worker. I saw multiple Machop and Machoke, a couple of Mudsdale and what I guessed must be their pre-evolutionary form pulling carts, multiple species of birds flying overhead with what looked to be packages and letters, and even a Nuzleaf handing out fliers.

I could tell that Orion was a little overwhelmed, as he was hiding much deeper in my pocket than normal. But he wasn't shaking or whining, and I noticed him occasionally poke his head out for a quick peek, so I assumed he just needed a bit of time to adjust to how different this place was from what he was used to. Oddish had more childlike glee than anything, and I suspected that if Samantha didn't have a good hold on her she would have fallen to the ground with her happy wiggling.

"Hey you two, you look like a couple of savvy trainers. I have just the thing for you, it's–"

"We're kind of in a rush, sorry" Samantha quickly cut off the man who had appeared out of nowhere and began rummaging through a satchel, now looking crestfallen as Samantha grabbed my arm and pulled me away quickly.

"That was rude," I remarked once we were out of sight and Samantha had released me.

"Mauville isn't like Rustboro or Petalburg, Daniel. People here will take advantage of anyone they think looks like a big enough sap to take whatever crap they're peddling. Trust me, it's better not to give people like that the time of day."

"Fair enough, but couldn't you have done that a bit… nicer?"

"That was nice, I even said sorry. Now come on, I want a shower before we go somewhere for dinner."

Samantha obviously had a good grasp of Mauville's layout, as she expertly navigated us to the Pokécenter in no time at all. Although this wasn't a surprise to me since I knew she'd visited the major cities of Hoenn multiple times, what did come as a surprise was when she revealed that she wouldn't be staying at the Pokécenter, but at 'one of her favorite hotels', in her words. She offered to get me a room of my own but I declined, which she had clearly expected and didn't try to push me on, which I was thankful for.

We both gave our teams over to Nurse Joy for a checkup, and Samantha left to go get a room with the promise she'd be back after a 'quick shower' so we could go somewhere for dinner. She was eager to take me to a sushi place she claimed was cheap and all-you-can-eat, which I was more than willing to try as I'd never had sushi before.

While checking out a room, Nurse Joy warned me not to cause any trouble during my stay, which I supposed was likely due to a note the Verdanturf Nurse Joy had put on my record. Although it was a bit embarrassing having to promise a Nurse Joy that I'd be on my best behavior, she didn't press the issue, and soon I was enjoying a hot shower. I took my sweet time and even tossed my clothes into the washing machine beforehand, knowing there was no way Samantha would beat me back to the lobby.

As I found myself relaxing on the bed waiting for my clothes to finish drying, I realized how strange it felt to be alone. Although it was my natural state of being up until recently, I'd become accustomed to always having members of my team by my side, and even Samantha to a lesser extent. It hadn't even been a month since I met Apollo and embarked on my journey, yet so much had already changed for me.

Sure, I was still relatively poor and my luck was spotty at best, but I'd made great strides in that short period of time. I had three teammates who felt like family, a gym badge, someone I could consider a close friend, all the essential supplies, and enough money to do pretty much everything I wanted to within reason.

I was self-sufficient and able to earn my own money outside of battling with my new commercial license, and could even feed myself after learning to hunt.

There was still a long way to go; I had seven badges left to get, half of my team slots left to fill, and most of the region still ripe for exploration. I also wanted to beat Norman's true team and do well in the Ever Grande Conference, but other than that I felt like I was already living my dreams, it was just a matter of how far I could push them.

There was still a lot that I wanted to do, and being stuck at the Petalburg orphanage left me with a yearning to live life and explore the world that was nowhere near quenched. But there was a saying that went something along the lines that it wasn't about the destination but the journey, and I felt like in moments like this where there was a little bit of downtime, I needed to remember to appreciate how far I'd come and where I was currently at, not necessarily where I was headed.

Life was going great, and if sushi was as good as Samantha's gushing made it seem, it was only going to keep getting better.

A/N: Apollo's evolution drama has eased for now, and the crew finally makes it to Mauville. I know I promised a Christmas special, but it hasn't been going too well so it may or may not happen, don't want to publish it unless I get it to a place I'm happy with. Still a toss-up though, so we'll see. Hope you all have a good Christmas, even those who have felt the need to share their distaste for the story or attack me personally. If blasting me helps your holidays be a little better, I'm happy to help.

Shoutout to Divine Cenobite and harshgargckt for the kind words, and to Trix for beta-reading this chapter.

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