TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Age: 16
Badges: 2
Account: 19,004 credits

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

I hummed in thought as I stood outside of the Pokémart, thinking about what supplies we might need to buy as I waited for Samantha and Owen.

I'd already done my morning routine; training, meditation, feeding my team, giving Duran one final soak in the tub, and coffee with Samantha. Orion had been dropped off at the groomer and would be ready for pickup by the time we were ready to leave Mauville, and Samantha was currently packing up and checking out of her hotel room.

As I thought about what supplies I might need to buy, I quickly came to the realization that we had some group planning to do once everybody was here. We hadn't discussed the specifics of what we would be doing, so I had no idea where exactly we would be splitting off from Samantha and if Owen and I would be going through the desert on Route 111 or Fiery Path, both of which would require unique preparations.

"We should have planned this more yesterday," I muttered under my breath to Apollo as we watched seas of people passing by. Although Apollo and I garnered a few double-takes from those who either recognized us from the gym or were simply surprised to see a Ralts, I was grateful that we weren't attracting so much attention that I felt the need to recall him. I'd been worried that no matter how far we got from Petalburg, where the Ralts line was easily the species that attracted the most attention from residents, that the species would just be too uncommon to comfortably have out in any densely populated area. But I imagined that since Mauville was such a big city that acted as a hub for the region, that it likely wasn't uncommon for them to see species much more rare and exotic than a Ralts. In fact, as I stood there in my thoughts I saw a Vulpix and a Phanpy, both of which I was almost certain were more uncommon than Apollo.

It probably also helped that there seemed to be a sort of common etiquette that you shouldn't bother random strangers. People seemed to keep to themself for the most part, and unlike Rustboro I hadn't had a single person approach me randomly to talk or try selling me something. Apart from the guy who recognized Sammy from her performance and took a chance to flirt with her, as well as enthusiastic spectators to gym battles who wanted to meet the trainer they just watched put on a good show, I couldn't remember being bothered during my stay in Mauville.

The more I thought about it, I realized I hadn't even seen anybody trying to hand out flyers or brochures. It made some sense though; unlike Rustboro, Mauville's streets were filled to the brim with massive signs, billboards, and ads. Why hand out pieces of paper when you had a more permanent, eye-catching fixture to attract business?

"Danny, my man! You all ready to go?" Owen called out as he jogged up to me, his Slakoth Omar hanging lazily from the back of his backpack.

"Mostly ready," I answered with a nod, "Just need to do some shopping, then grab Orion from the groomer on the way out of town. Sammy should hopefully be here in a few minutes, we really need to figure out our plans."

"Yeah, I realized that too. If we're hitting the desert, then we need to make sure we're properly prepared," Owen remarked before turning his attention to Apollo. "Hey Apollo, nice to see you again."

I watched in amusement as Apollo raised an arm and waved, which Owen returned with a big grin.

"Say, while we wait for Sammy… I've been meaning to ask; would you mind using Telepathy on me? I've never experienced it firsthand, and I'd love to know what it's like. No pressure though, I know lots of Telepaths don't feel comfortable talking with talking to people they aren't close to."

"I don't have a problem with it, but it's up to Apollo," I shrugged.

I was sure that Apollo would agree and expected he would disconnect from my mind, but what he did surprised me. He held his connection with me and touched Owen's wide-open mind, not too dissimilar from when he'd done it while fighting the Aron at the Rustboro gym, but this time was different.

I could feel an additional, foreign presence that I was sure must be Owen's. It was faint and distant, but I was so familiar with Apollo's Telepathy that I could easily tell that he was doing something different this time.

Somehow, Apollo seemed to be patching me through to Owen, rather than before when he was the only one who could interact with those he connected with. My intuition told me that Apollo was in each of our minds and somehow using his own as a relay to allow us to interact through him.

Satisfaction. Curiosity. "What you think, new friend Owen?"

Surprise. Awe. Envy. "Arceus! I just heard him talk in my head! It feels so weird!" Owen said while rubbing the tingling sensation I knew he was feeling in the back of his head.

I quickly burst out laughing at the look of shock on Owen's face. I could remember how foreign it was the first time I experienced Telepathy so I sympathized, but it was still funny every time I got to witness somebody go through the same thing I had.

Although I was tempted to burst out laughing at the look on Owen's face, something more interesting caught my attention. The emotions I'd just felt weren't Apollo's, but Owens. I had half-expected Owen's inner voice to be passed through to me, but definitely not his emotions. Then again, he had responded verbally, so I decided to test my theory by seeing if Apollo could somehow pass my message along to Owen, and if I could get him to send one back.

"You can talk through Telepathy if you focus on sending specific words to the presence you feel, otherwise he'll have to rely on your surface thoughts and emotions," I sent, hoping it would get through to Owen.

Owen's eyes slightly widened in surprise, telling me he indeed did get my message, but he seemed to be over his initial state of utter shock because he quickly a message back.

Understanding. Determination. "Like this?"

I nodded, rubbing Apollo's helmet in pride at his accomplishment as I spotted Samantha making her way toward us while cradling her Oddish Joy in her arms.

"That's crazy, I could feel emotions like they were mine, but at the same time they weren't. Is that something unique to Ralts?" Owen asked in clear amazement as I felt Apollo drop his connection with Owen.

"Maybe? The Ralts line is all about empathy and emotions. I wouldn't be surprised if other Telepaths could learn to do it too, but it's second nature to a Ralts. Before Apollo could ever talk, he communicated using emotions. It's actually his preferred communication method, but we've been working on talking for a while now. Emotions are very useful in some situations, but for anything more complex words are way better."

"That's so amazing. I can't wait until I get a chance to partner with a Meditite. I don't think I have a problem understanding my team, but you're right that words are needed for anything more complex."

"What are you boys talking about? About ready to get going?" Samantha asked as she joined our group, clearly taking note that Owen was more excited than usual.

"Danny and Apollo were just showing me Telepathy. I knew it would be awesome, but I didn't expect to feel emotions or be able to talk to Danny through Apollo like that."

"Really? Apollo can already handle mind bridging? That's pretty advanced stuff, Stella can't even do that yet. You're growing up fast Apollo."

I couldn't help but smile as Samantha reached out to rub Apollo's helmet, something I wasn't sure I'd ever seen her do before. It was nice to see; I felt like I had a pretty good relationship with Stella, and although Samantha didn't interact with Duran at all she was no stranger to Orion and Apollo. I hoped that in the future I'd get the chance to get to know the rest of Samantha's team a bit better, but Chase was a loner and the rest of Samantha's team was so new that I hadn't really had the chance.

I also hoped that Duran would eventually warm up more toward Samantha. I didn't get the feeling he outright disliked her anymore like he seemed to in the beginning, but I knew there was still progress that could be made. But considering we were going to split up soon, it likely wouldn't be happening anytime soon and it wasn't something I would push on him.

"Now that everyone's here, we should discuss our plans more specifically," Owen chimed in, breaking me from my thoughts.

"My plans are set, but you two should figure out your exact path. There are a few options, and each requires different preparations."

"I'm a bit hazy on the specifics of what's north of Mauville," I admitted. "I did some research before my journey, but I focused more on everything up to this point, just to make sure I got a good start. I don't know much about Lavaridge specifically."

Samantha took the cue and dove into one of her famous half-lectures, "Lavaridge is a fairly popular tourism town nestled into the side of Mount Chimney, about two-thirds of the way up on the southern side. Apart from Teleporting and Flying there are two ways to get there, each with pros and cons. The first way is climbing the mountain, which is extremely difficult to do without the aid of a strong, rideable Pokémon. The second way is much more sensible and scenic, and that's riding the Cable Car at the base of the mountain up to the top, then taking the trail down to Lavaridge. It's less steep of an incline, has a fairly well-developed path, and an amazing view."

"Have you ridden it before?" I asked curiously.

Samantha shook her head, "No, but I've been to Lavaridge and the top of Mount Chimney. We Teleported in, so there wasn't a need to ride the Cable Car down. I've just heard great things about it. Trust me when I say you should take the Cable Car; it would probably take you days to climb, and there's no developed path. It would be dangerous and exhausting, and you'd be lucky if you could even find a place to set up camp for the night."

"I'm all for roughing it, but I vote for the Cable Car," I commented, which thankfully Owen nodded in agreement to.

"I've always wanted to try it, and it just makes more sense. I don't think it's very expensive, and I'd love to see the sights along the ride," he remarked.

"Then it's settled, we'll take the Cable Car. The bigger question is when we are splitting up, and if we want to go through Fiery Path."

"The Cable Car is only accessible from the southern side of Route 112," Samantha pointed out, "If you went in through the northern side, you'd not only have to deal with a long stretch of desert on Route 111, which you can avoid if you just take the southern entrance, but you'll have to loop back and go through Fiery Path. The desert is extremely unpleasant with the constant sandstorms, and Fiery Path isn't any better. You'd literally be taking a longer, more dangerous path for no reason."

"You have to go through the desert regardless, so we could at least make sure you make it through safely," Owen remarked. "I also wouldn't mind checking out Fiery Path. It's one of the most unique locations in all of Hoenn, it has Machop there, and it would be excellent training for the Lavaridge gym. I'd say there's plenty of reasons for us to do it."

I couldn't help but grin at the fact that Owen and I had the same way of thinking about things, and also at Samantha's sigh of disapproval.

"I won't turn down an escort through the desert, but I'm so glad I'm breaking off before you two go backtracking through Fiery Path for fun. I'm all for exploring the region while I journey, but trudging through a hot cave in a dormant volcano that's filled with fire-types is one thing I'll happily pass on."

"What's life without a little adventure?" Owen said with a devilish grin before having a realization. "Oh! We'll need goggles if we're going through the desert, I've heard it's nearly impossible to navigate without them. We also need to make sure we're wearing clothes that cover as much skin as possible."

"I think I'm good on that front," I chuckled as I looked down at my hoodie and cargo pants, which left no skin exposed other than my hands which I could easily tuck into my pocket if needed.

"No, you aren't. You'll overheat if you wear that, especially in Fiery Path. We're buying you new outfits," Samantha said firmly, leaving no room for arguing despite me being sorely tempted to.

"I could use some more suitable clothes too," Owen remarked. "I'm good for Fiery Path, but I don't have any lightweight long-sleeve shirts or pants, only a heavier pair."

With our plans set, we began making final preparations to buy the supplies and clothes we would need. I ended up getting a tank top and a loose-fitting shirt with long sleeves, which Samantha informed me had to be a light color so as to not soak up as much sun. She tried to talk me into getting new pants too, but I was confident that the swimming trunks I'd gotten would work well for Fiery Path, and that my cargo pants were well-suited for the desert. They were already fairly loose-fitting, not particularly thick, and were a lighter brown that shouldn't get too hot. She conceded that they would probably be fine without too much of a fuss, although I could tell she was slightly disappointed she couldn't do more clothes shopping for me.

I also got goggles, a bandana to protect my face from the sand, food, kibble, water bottles, a few Potions and two canisters of Burn Heal, which I was pleased to learn worked for humans as well. All together the essentials cost me over a thousand credits, which stung but couldn't be helped. I quickly realized that I still had nearly 18,000 credits left, most of which was thanks to the Telepathy jobs and gym winnings, and my mind began to think of what else I might want to buy now that I had some extra spending cash.

It didn't take long for me to come to a decision; Carbos for Orion. He was the only member of my team who didn't take vitamins during dinner, something that didn't go unnoticed, and considering he was not only the weakest member of my team but also underweight not long ago, it was a no-brainer. I chose Carbos for a few reasons; chief among them was that it helped improve energy levels and muscle performance. Considering Orion tended to take quite a few naps and relied heavily on his physical conditioning during battle, it was the obvious choice. My hope was that it would help him be faster and have more endurance while battling, and that it would pair well with the training I had planned for him.

The vitamins alone cost the entirety of what I'd earned from beating the gym. Although it wasn't on sale and put my account back below 10,000 credits, I considered it a worthwhile investment and only fair, considering I'd invested in both Duran and Apollo. It was hard to say how much the vitamins they'd been taking were helping since most of their progress could be attributed to training and battling, but I wanted to do everything I could to keep my team healthy and give them the best chance at success possible.

After we did one last double-check to make sure we were ready to leave, we stopped by the groomer to grab Orion and Stella before finally heading out of the northern gate and bidding Mauville farewell, at least for now. We'd have no choice but to be back at some point, but I couldn't say I was exactly looking forward to it. Apart from Crooner's Café, the variety of food, and access to a groomer for Orion, I wasn't particularly taken with Mauville. It was far too crowded and, as weird as it may seem, overdeveloped and more modern than I liked. I was beginning to realize that I was a fan of cities that tried to closely integrate with the natural landscape, and apart from a couple of trees and shrubs in planters Mauville was entirely man-made.

As we stepped through the gate and began to leave Mauville behind us, I couldn't help but be excited for what lay ahead despite the terrain being rugged. Up until that point I'd mostly been walking through endless forests, although there was Rusturf Tunnel as well as the occasional beach and open field. Soon I would get to experience a desert, a tunnel through the inside of a volcano, and traveling to the top of Mount Chimney. The landscape was going to be extremely different from anything I'd ever experienced before, and that meant new sights to see as well as new Pokémon.

Needless to say, I was looking forward to experiencing what this leg of my journey had in store. Although it was slightly bittersweet due to the fact that Samantha would be leaving soon, it wasn't as though she would be gone for good, and I was looking forward to getting to know Owen better and creating new memories with him.

As Owen and Samantha began to idly converse about contests and coordinators, I thought about what Samantha had said earlier. She was right that it was about time for me to find another team member, and I had no doubt that there would be plenty of interesting species to pick from between Mauville and Lavaridge.

Training a fire-type intrigued me, but it also struck me as a disaster waiting to happen. Although not quite on par with dragons in terms of aggression, fire-types were known to be quite aggressive and prone to accidents. I could already imagine my tent burning down in the middle of the night if I had a fire-type sleeping with the rest of my team, and having one out in a Pokécenter room would be a huge risk. All it took was a nightmare, a sneeze, or accidentally scaring a fire-type to quickly cause a catastrophe, and I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with that headache.

The prospect of training a fighting-type seemed more appealing, and I knew there were a few different species we were likely to encounter. Machop was off the table on principle since Owen had his heart set on one, and I would feel weird if I were to capture the same thing as my new friend. I filed it away as a possibility, and my mind turned to the desert we would be trekking through.

Off the top of my head, I knew that there were Sandile, Geodude, Dweeble, Cacnea, and Baltoy commonly seen there. Lots of ground types, which would come in exceedingly handy for the upcoming gym, but I couldn't see myself training most of them. Sandile and Cacnea were part dark-types, which Duran would already have covered for his upcoming evolution, and I simply had no interest in training a Geodude for multiple reasons. Dweeble was a bit too similar to Duran for my liking, being a fellow crustacean, and with Baltoy being a psychic I was beginning to doubt that I would find anything I'd want to catch in the desert.

These were just the commonly seen species, of course. I'd heard rumors that there were dragon-types occasionally found deep in the desert, but considering we were simply passing through on the short passage instead of venturing into the deep end, I didn't suspect we were likely to find any.

"Are your adoptive parents trainers, Sammy?" I heard Owen ask, which snapped me from my thoughts.

"You could say that. Not so much anymore though. Why do you ask?" Samantha replied, seemingly unphased.

"Just a hunch. I don't mean to point out the obvious, but you seem pretty well-off. You've been to Lavaridge before for what I assume was some sort of vacation, you seemed like you knew your way around Mauville and the restaurants, you've got a space-tech backpack that I can tell isn't just some standard model. Your parents also seem very supportive of you, and from what I can tell you're pretty knowledgeable for a new trainer. If I had to guess, your adoptive parents are pretty successful trainers. Anyone I would know?"

Samantha shrugged, "Nah, I guarantee you wouldn't know them. They weren't anything special in terms of being a trainer, they made their money investing. I won't deny that we are pretty well-off though; I did get to attend the Rustboro Trainer School, and I got Stella as an egg from a breeder, so I know I'm pretty fortunate compared to most."

"What's your last name?"

"Morgan," Samantha replied simply.

"Huh, neat name. My family isn't exactly rich or famous, but we've got a name for ourselves on Dewford. My mom is a nurse and my dad is second in command at the Dewford Ranger outpost. He taught me everything I know about Pokémon, since we don't exactly have a trainer school. Well, I guess I learned a lot from watching Brawly and attending his camps, but I'd have to give most of the credit to my dad."

"Your dad must be a pretty impressive trainer," I observed, my interest piqued.

"Not famous or anything, but he did participate in the Ever Grande Conference once. Placed top fifteen too!"

"What kind of Pokémon does your dad have on his team? He isn't a fighting type specialist I assume?" Samantha queried.

"Nope, he's a flying-type specialist. Let's see… he's got a Pelipper, Swellow, Crobat, and a Tropius."

"That's a strong team, and pretty diverse team for a specialist," Samantha complimented as Owen nodded with a proud grin.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't somebody need to have six Pokémon to compete in the Ever Grande Conference? Did he really compete with four?"

I regretted asking that almost instantly. Samantha nudged me hard and gave me a death stare, and I quickly realized what the answer to my question was. But Owen, ever the cheerful optimist, didn't seem offended.

"He had six at that time. I remember a Pidgeot from when I was younger, and I know the other one was a Noctowl, but I don't think I ever got to meet it. They passed away years ago. Hazards of the job, you could say. Being a Ranger is dangerous at times, and the Pokémon deep in Granite Cave are no joke. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes Onix get overly aggressive for one reason or another. Then you've got Gyarados in the sea, of course. My dad tends to focus more on coordination, recon, and rescue stuff, but sometimes he has to get involved in battles when things get overly dangerous."

I felt the hair on my arms stand at the thought of facing down an Onix or Gyarados. They were both massive creatures that could kill even highly-trained Pokémon with their size and power alone, and I dearly hoped I wouldn't ever find myself facing down one that was agitated.

"I'm sorry to hear that Owen," Samantha said sympathetically. "Forgive Danny, he's prone to being an idiot on occasion. But you're right, danger is part of a Ranger's job. That's why people have so much respect for Rangers; they put their lives on the line to keep the rest of us safe. Your dad is a hero, and by the sounds of it he's a damn fine trainer. You should be proud of him."

"I am," Owen said with a firm nod. "If somehow I can't be the Dewford gym leader, or if I need to wait for Brawly to retire, I'll be a Ranger too. I think it is the second best way I could help my community, and it would help my chances at being chosen."

"That's very noble." I praised before lowering my head in apology, "I'm sorry I said that, I wasn't thinking."

He brushed it off, "It's not a problem, it's a perfectly valid question. Say Danny, you don't have any specific plans after finishing the gym circuit, right? Would you ever consider being a Ranger?"

I pondered the question for a moment, having never really thought about it. To be a Ranger, one not only had to have a minimum number of badges, but also go through bootcamp and other specialized training in order to ensure safe and coordinated operation. I didn't know the specifics of it all, but I had no interest in being told when to eat and sleep ever again.

"I don't think it's for me," I admitted. "From what I know, the process to become one is too rigid and demanding for my tastes. After my time in the orphanage, I'm not too keen on being told what, when, and how to do things. But it hasn't even been a month since I left, so I'm still a little jaded. Maybe I'll see things differently in a year or two, who knows."

"Fair enough. I was just curious because those whistle commands you gave during your gym battle reminded me a lot of my dad, he does the same kind of thing. Speaking of, why did you teach your team that?"

"It's kind of a long story, but the short version is that I had a run-in with a wandering Rocket early in my journey," I explained as Owen's face grew somber. "Apollo's Telepathy wasn't nearly as developed, so I couldn't coordinate my team without talking, which would have made things more dangerous. We luckily made it out relatively unscathed, so the next chance I got I came up with some basic commands using whistles and hand signals. They aren't very specific, but communicating without the opponent knowing what you're doing is a big advantage. Apollo's Telepathy is even further proof of that."

"Wait, you ran into a Rocket? What happened? Did you battle? When was this? Where did it happen? Did they hurt you or your team?"

I raised my hands placatingly as Owen bombarded me with questions, "Relax, it's fine. It was just one, and he's locked up now so there's no need to worry."

Although I tried to move past the topic, Owen seemed hyper-fixated on it and wouldn't drop it. I eventually had to explain what happened from start to finish before he was finally willing to let up.

"You're lucky, you know that? Rocket encounters are more common in the region than the media would have us believe, and they usually travel in at pairs, if not groups. I'm surprised they would even allow one to roam solo like that, to be honest."

"The Rangers told me he was a known wanderer who used his Golbat's echolocation to find and rob traveling trainers. I guess he was successful enough they just let him do his own thing," I shrugged.

Owen clenched his fists and scowled, "Picking on the weak is the lowest a crook can get. From what you said, it sounds like he ambushes them and doesn't even give most of them a fair fight. If a Rocket had just tried to rob and shoot me, I don't think I'd have the restraint to only subdue him…"

I nodded silently, deciding not to clarify just how soon the Rangers had shown up after neutralizing the Rocket. I'd been so rattled and out of breath that the moment I had a chance to breathe, I couldn't help but take it. I could see where he was coming from though, and couldn't say I faulted him for his point of view.

Samantha, on the other hand, decided to make her disagreement known.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. Just because somebody wronged you, that doesn't mean it's okay to enact self-righteous retribution. If Danny or any of his team had seriously hurt or killed that Rocket, they might have been able to get away with it without being arrested or charged due to the nature of what happened, but that doesn't make it right. It wouldn't have been Danny's place to enact his own perceived justice on a man who can't even defend himself. Punishment is for a judge to decide, not him."

"Justice is for victims, vengeance is for survivors," Owen recited matter-of-factly, taking Samantha and I aback. "Danny was nearly killed, and that man clearly had no issue imposing his will on somebody who was defenseless, considering he was sneaking in while Danny slept. I'm not saying he should have taken things further, I'm just saying that if I was in his shoes, I don't think I would have been able to show the same restraint."

"It sounds like if you were in his shoes, you'd be a murderer," Samantha accused.

I bit my lip, trying to think of some way to diffuse the quickly escalating debate but unsure of what I could say. In truth, I found myself agreeing with both sides. I was almost positive that I wouldn't have hesitated to kill in order to protect myself or my family if I absolutely needed to, although I doubted that doing so wouldn't weigh heavily on my conscience.

On the other hand, Samantha was right that we had a justice system for a reason, and that if everybody who felt wronged went out seeking revenge the world would be a far uglier place.

"Not willingly, or technically. If we're talking in terms of what a judge would say or what the law is. A murder is unlawful and usually premeditated. In that situation, it would be neither of those things," Owen rebutted calmly. "I think if Danny had died, which he easily could have, you'd be praying to Arceus that he'd have killed the Rocket instead of the other way around. If that had happened, would you consider Danny a murderer just for defending himself?"

"But he didn't die. Nobody needed to die, so why would you even consider doing that if there was an alternative?" Samantha asked with a searching look and genuine curiosity, slightly calmer to my relief.

"I get what you're saying, and I agree with you Sammy. Look, I'm not advocating for vigilantism or anything like that. Even criminals have rights, and as a civilized society we have due process for a reason. All I'm saying is, I wouldn't have blamed Danny one bit if he had killed that Rocket, and I don't think any reasonable person would have either. He was forced to fight tooth and nail for his survival, through no fault of his own, and the fact that he was able to pull his punches or think relatively clearly with all that adrenaline that must have been coursing through his body is seriously impressive."

"Danny wasn't forced to fight for his life. The Rocket was only trying to rob him while he slept, Danny is the one who started the fight," Samantha countered.

"What was I supposed to do, pretend to play dead and let him rob me?" I asked incredulously. "He'd already rifled through my backpack that was outside my tent, and I didn't do anything. The moment he started opening up my tent and put me and my team at risk, I had no choice but to act defensively."

"Hadn't you already contacted the Rangers by that point? You could have just stalled for help to come. You're the one who made it violent."

I let loose a deep sigh and shook my head as an overwhelming feeling of disappointment washed over me. I'd truly hoped that this part of Samantha was a relic of the past, but it seemed that both the incident with the Geodude and my grilling of her hadn't gotten through like I'd hoped.

I realized at that moment that I hadn't been fully successful in my job to prepare her for traveling the region alone. If there was one thing that I thought she needed to change to keep her safe, it was this exact viewpoint. Of course, I still worried about her accidentally blowing her cover, and I dearly wished she'd spend more time training and battling so her team would be fully capable of defending her in case of an emergency.

But with her having that line of thinking, would that even matter? Would she even have the courage to fight back, or would she just surrender with the hope that somebody would save her, or that things would somehow work out?

Part of me wanted to snap at her; to give one last desperate attempt at finally drilling the point into her head before we parted ways. Another part of me wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her, pleading in desperation that she not allow herself to fall victim to the dangers of the world out of some misguided notion she had that things would always work out.

But I didn't have it in me to argue or try to convince her. If she hadn't learned by now, there was nothing I could say or do to change her mind. All I could do was get my point of view across and hope that when the day came that she had to be brave and take her stand, she had the courage to do so.

"I'm not like you, Sammy. I started with nothing; I had no family, friends, money, starter, or formal education to become a trainer. I had to claw my way to where I am now, against all odds. I can't just sit by when somebody threatens to take away everything I've worked for, especially if there's a chance they might want to take my new family away from me. I'll fight until my last breath to hold onto what I've earned, and to protect those I care about."

"But you didn't have to do it alone, Danny," Samantha urged. "The Rangers would have taken care of it. You put yourself and your team at risk by making it a fight."

"We're different, Sammy," I restated firmly. "I've never been able to count on somebody else to solve my problems. I need money, I earn it. I need a starter, I go out and find one. If I have to defend myself or my team, I'll do everything I can to do so. I'm not so stubborn that I won't ask for or accept help; I've learned that lesson, but I won't ever count on it. If you run into trouble after we split up, you might not have time to wait for Rangers to save you. I didn't, even if you refuse to believe that, I did wait as long as possible before acting. You're the trainer; you and your team's lives are in your hands. Just like with the Geodude, sometimes it's best to act first in a dangerous situation to get any advantage you can and live another day. The League does a decent job of making things safer, but at the end of the day being a journeying trainer is dangerous. Team Rocket, wild Pokémon, rough terrain, and countless other things can pose a threat when we least expect it, and sometimes decisive action is the only thing that can save you. You might poke fun at me for assuming the worst or acting rashly, but even if it's occasionally gotten me in trouble it's also saved me."

I turned and leveled her with a serious look, "You're right that it's good to get help when you need it, but you're looking to the wrong places for that. You're going off on your own soon, with nothing but your team. Rely on them, just like they'll rely on you, but don't fully depend on others to the point of being dead weight. If I hadn't tackled the Rocket or used my pepper spray, I doubt they would have been able to save me on their own, and I for sure wouldn't have lived without their help too. When push comes to shove, you need to be ready to lead and fight. I truly hope you don't encounter something like that when you're off on your own, but it's more likely than you might think. I won't be the only one heartbroken to find out you got yourself hurt traveling alone when you weren't ready to do whatever it takes to keep yourself safe, remember that. Your parents didn't think you were ready to travel alone, and I'm not sure I disagree. But you're set on doing this, so prove us wrong."

Owen nodded in approval, and Samantha fell into quiet contemplation, likely not wanting to discuss her parents in front of Owen. Our group fell into silence for the first time, each of us seemingly lost in our own various thoughts.

There was really nothing else to say. I knew deep down that it would be my last attempt to try to relay what she needed to hear to prepare her for traveling alone. Despite a few brief run-ins with the more unsavory aspects of the world, it was that particularly naive view that violence wasn't ever necessary and that problems could always be pawned off on other more qualified people to handle things that worried me.

I'd done everything I could to drive the point home, and I'd like to think it hadn't completely fallen on deaf ears. I just hoped that when the moment came for her to act, she didn't freeze up like she had back in Rusturf. With Team Rocket currently out of the picture, the odds of her staying safe had drastically increased, but there are things much more dangerous than an angry Geodude up north. Hopefully, Samantha and her team were ready to take on whatever they encountered and I'd get to see my best friend safe and sound. I had grown very fond of Samantha despite our differences and occasional squabbling and looked forward to our eventual reunion.

But for that to happen, she'd need to keep herself alive. I had no doubt Stella would do everything in her power to do so, but as for Samantha and the rest of her team… that remained to be seen.

A/N: Could this be the last argument between Samantha and Daniel ever? We'll see! I didn't actually plan for it to happen, but I wanted Owen's thoughts on evil and the Rockets to be laid out plainly, and it sort of became unavoidable. Overall though, I quite like how this chapter turned out.

I don't typically respond directly to comments, but jromero brought up something I wanted to touch on. I agree that Daniel needs to travel alone again to fully come into his own, and he will. Daniel is a loner at heart who strives for independence, he's just slowly been trying to open up to people. He'll make a couple of friends and occasionally travel with people for a short while, but at the end of the day it's him and his team against the world. Right now we're kind of in the peaceful, carefree time-period with Rockets temporarily quiet, making new friends, and no major conflicts; something he can look back fondly at. I won't spoil anything, but rest assured that Daniel won't always be leisurely traveling the region surrounded by friends. You've got to have some good to balance out the bad, so that's where we are now.

Shoutout to Trix for beta-reading this chapter.

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