TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Badges: 2
Account: 9,537 credits
Location: Route 111

DANIEL'S TEAM
Ralts (Apollo) - Male
Corphish (Duran) - Male
Eevee (Orion) - Male

SAMANTHA'S TEAM
Espeon (Stella) - Female
Skitty (Chase) - Male
Masquerain (Buzz) - Male
Oddish (Joy) - Female

OWEN'S TEAM
Makuhita (Bronson) - Male
Geodude (Roxy) - Female
Shroomish (Misha) - Female
Slakoth (Omar) - Male

Upon meeting the Winstrate family in its entirety, minus the daughter who was off journeying, my immediate impression was that they were an extremely kind, tight-knit family who loved Pokémon.

Three entire generations, all living under one roof. The two men of the family both had sleek black hair tied into a ponytail and tastefully trimmed goatee beards, while the women had a darker shade of copper-red hair.

I only know that last part because of a family photo they had hanging above the fireplace. As things stood, the grandmother now had white hair, and with the granddaughter currently away from home the only redhead was the mother.

As interesting as I found myself in the hair color to gender correlation, there was something else that stood out even more that took every ounce of my self-restraint not to question or comment on.

Every single member of the Winstrate family had a name that started with a 'Vi'.

Vicky the grandmother, Victoria the mother, Victor the father, Vito the son, and Vivi the daughter. After they introduced themselves, I found myself deeply interested in what the story might be behind Victor and Victoria in particular, and what the name of their clearly deceased grandfather might have been.

Vick, if I had to guess. I'd have put every single credit to my name on that bet, given the chance.

But our group seemed to all share the same mind that it would be rude to ask that question, and even ruder to ask how that ended up happening, logistically speaking. Naming your kids similarly was easy enough, but to have two separate generations both fall in love with someone who had such a similar name was truly a statistical anomaly.

Or, was it that they fell in love because of their names? It was plausible but unlikely. Not quite as unlikely as the former, but still unlikely.

I also couldn't completely discount that it was a more… manufactured result, but I wouldn't allow myself to linger on the prospect that this could potentially be an incestuous family while sharing a room with them. While not completely unheard of, I much preferred to assume that it was my first theory; simply a funny happenstance. But with them not offering an explanation and none of my group having the courage to ask such potentially intrusive questions, I had to be at peace with the fact it would likely always remain somewhat of a mystery.

The mystery of their names and hair colors aside, I found myself equally distracted from the routine introductions and pleasantries by the Pokémon that were living with them in the house.

The Linoone and Manectric, while interesting enough, were not something I would consider uncommon to be found living at home with a family. The fact that both were evolved hinted to the fact that the family did indeed partake in battling and training at least on occasion, but it paled in comparison to the two species that were meditating in the far corner of the living room.

A Meditite, which Owen kept side-eyeing, and a fucking Alakazam that both Apollo and Stella couldn't quit staring at, despite it completely ignoring them.

The Winstrates offered to feed our group, people and Pokémon alike, which we happily accepted. They fawned over our team and asked innocently curious questions about them as they prepared for us to have lunch just behind their home, where they had two large wooden tables similar to what you might find at a park. Soon enough, they had laid out a selection of items for making sandwiches and salads, as well as a massive pitcher of homemade lemonade. For the Pokémon, they had a literal buffet of various berries and Pokéblocks as well as small wooden bowls that they filled with water for each.

As unusual as it was that they were so readily able to feed so many people and Pokémon, I got the distinct feeling that the WInstrate family prided themselves on their ability to provide hospitality at the drop of a hat. Scattered across the large two-story cabin were countless photos of them over the years, each with a different set of people, Pokémon, and what had to be extended family based on the shared features many sported. As I looked at more of the photos, I eventually concluded that many of them must have been with groups of traveling trainers similar to us, and I also got a sense of what Pokémon the family had that I hadn't yet seen in person, and it only made me even more nervous about a potential battle

It didn't take long for my speculation to be confirmed. As we settled down to eat, grandmother Vicky rang a bell that summoned even more Pokémon that had apparently been out and about in the woods. I found myself getting rather uncomfortable very quickly as they converged on our location, but Owen and Samantha had more experience with being around large, evolved Pokémon and seemed much more at ease.

I tried not to stare or display my discomfort as we ate in the presence of a Shiftry, Dodrio, Azumarill, Alakazam, Manectric, Linoone, Roselia, Spinda, Whismur, Sandshrew, and two Swellow. All were exceptionally friendly and seemed to take the role of hospitable host very seriously, so much so that they quickly managed to ease the tension most of our teams felt with relative ease.

Certainty. "Good intentions, no need worry," Apollo reassured me yet again as I tried not to hold the Shiftry's stone-cold expression against it, assuming it was just a feature of their species similar to Shroomish.

I nodded, taking another bite of my sandwich as I tried to ignore the nagging feeling I had that if this family wanted to hurt or steal from us, there would be little to nothing we could do to stop them. I had no reason to think they would do so; they'd been exceedingly friendly and kind to us from the moment we stepped foot into their house, and if Apollo couldn't sense a hint of maliciousness from any of them that was good enough for me.

Still, I couldn't ignore the fact that there were some very powerful Pokémon here, and it soon became apparent that the most notable of them were Vito's. It made me wonder just who this guy was, and why such an obviously talented trainer was living at home with his family in what was basically the middle of nowhere.

I didn't have to ask that question though, because Owen seemed to have the exact same thought and much less hesitancy in voicing it than I did.

"Who the heck are you, dude? You've got to have at least six badges judging by your team," he queried as he poured more lemonade into his glass.

Vito chuckled, "Just another trainer, like you. You're all quite young; when you hit my age, your teams won't look much different from mine, assuming you keep at it."

"You're not some average trainer. Most never make it past three or four badges, there's no way you don't have more than that," Owen pressed.

Vito pet the head of the Manectric that sat dutifully beside him, having already finished its meal. "Well, I did manage to compete in the Ever Grande Conference when I was younger, but I didn't do particularly well. So you're right that I'm not quite the average trainer, but I'm not anything too special either."

"That's really cool! I'm going to compete someday too! What place did you get? Did you only compete once? Why haven't I heard of you? When–"

Owen's eyes slightly widened and he glanced questioningly at Samantha, who pretended to be enthralled with her food. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she must have elbowed him under the table or something similar.

"You sure are a spirited one!" Vito's father Victor chuckled. "Vito here is being modest, he's quite the accomplished trainer. He and his team were firmly at the elite level in their heyday, and he did manage to complete the gym circuit. We're so very proud of him! Our dear daughter Vivi is hot on his trail though! She'll be invited to the Ever Grande Conference this year, there isn't a doubt in my mind. She's finally managed to get her seventh badge and is training hard for the Sootopolis gym."

"That's extremely impressive," Samantha commended before turning to Vito. "If this is too personal of a question just say so, but what are you doing out here? Surely you could have a cushy career doing almost whatever you wanted with your talents and accomplishments."

"I'm a Ranger on reserve," he shrugged. "I was full-time for a while, but now I've got a deal with the League that if one of the stations in Alakazam's Teleport range needs me, they send a summons to my Pokédex and I'm there. It's a pretty good deal, and it's basically passive income since I rarely get called. Other than that, I sometimes do some odd jobs and private lessons, but honestly I'm taking a prolonged, well-deserved break to enjoy the country life with my family after years of training and working hard."

"That's awesome! My dad is the second in command at the Ranger outpost in Dewford. Have you ever met a Jason Adler?" Owen asked hopefully.

Vito gave a regretful shake of the head, "Can't say I have, sorry. When I was full-time, I was stationed in Fortree. I've never been called to Dewford, but that just goes to show that your dad's station does good work. That, and I doubt the League would pick me to go to Dewford unless something seriously insane was going on. I'd imagine most of their problems arise from Granite Cave or the sea, and my team isn't particularly well-suited for operations in either."

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion, "You have a pretty well-rounded team, surely you could help in most situations, right?"

"There's a difference between being able to help and being right for the job," Samantha chimed in. "Even a Swellow as big as his can't carry him for flight, and the same goes for the Azumarill at sea. He'd be standing at shore, or he'd need to hitch a ride with someone else, which severely limits his usefulness. With his team he'd probably do alright in a cave, but he's undoubtedly most effective outdoors. The League usually only calls help from specialists best suited for a task unless they are seriously desperate, which doesn't happen often anymore."

Vito nodded, "Well said. My team and I can comb a forest with the best of them, in fact almost every time we've been summoned has been for a search and rescue operation where large areas of wilderness need to be covered. The League knows my team wouldn't be nearly as effective for a cave or ocean operation, so they choose others who are better suited for the task."

"I bet your team is amazing in a forest! Swellow are extremely quick and maneuverable, and their eyesight is incredible. They can get an aerial view while your Shifty, Manectric, and Dodrio make quick work of the forest floor. Then you've got Alakazam that can get info from wild Pokémon, search for mind signatures, and Teleport. And if I need to search a smaller body of water, Azumarill has it covered."

"That's the general idea. Swellow, Manectric, and Dodrio are among some of the fastest Pokémon you can find and all have incredible endurance for long operations. Shiftry is insanely fast too, but his speed shines in short bursts."

I glanced over at his team, and found myself somewhat unsettled by the Dodrio in particular as I gave it a closer look. It had three heads each with a unique personality of their own, with the main head looking constantly annoyed bordering on angry, the left one appearing deeply contemplative and slightly sad, and the right seemingly happy and carefree. I didn't know much about the Pokémon and found myself deeply curious about what the Pokédex had to say about the species but resisted the urge to scan it, thinking that it would be rude and not wanting to risk upsetting the main head.

I tried to check in with Apollo telepathically, but suddenly realized that he wasn't actually in my mind. It surprised me that I hadn't noticed him disconnect, but his presence had been slowly becoming much more subtle over time. He was currently sitting beside Stella, Meditite, Medicham, and Alakazam, and they all seemed to be doing a joint meditation of sorts if I had to guess, or perhaps some sort of group telepathy. Either way, everything seemed to be fine, so I decided to leave him be.

Orion was currently playing with Spinda, Whismur, and Joy, while Duran seemed to be scavenging the ground with Sandshrew doing the same very close nearby. Although they didn't seem to actually be talking, it made me happy that he had been able to find some common ground with another Pokémon and share an activity with them.

"So children, did Vito offer you our usual proposal?" Victoria asked, grabbing all of our attention.

"He said something about a battle, but didn't explain much," Owen replied. "You've really spoiled us with this meal and your hospitality, so I'd be happy to volunteer for one. Who wants to battle?"

"Truth be told, all three of us older folk would be interested in having one if it isn't too much of an imposition," Victoria said hopefully. "It's actually perfect; there's three of you, and three of us."

"You mean three different one-on-one battles? A three-on-three would be… hectic," Samantha said with hesitance.

"Three different battles," the eldest woman confirmed. "We'd like battles for my dear Whismur, Victor's Sandshrew, and Victoria's Spinda. Though none of us are career trainers, we do quite enjoy it as a hobby, both participating and spectating. We'd be overjoyed if you humored us, it is so refreshing to battle different trainers and Pokémon every once in a while."

"I already know these two will say yes," Samantha said with a grin as she jabbed her thumbs at Owen and me. "They're doing the gym circuit and take every battle they can get. I'm a coordinator, but obliging you in a battle is the least I can do after the kindness you've shown me and my team."

"Then it's settled," Victor announced with a huge smile and the clapping of his hands. "Oh, I'm so excited! We'll get cleaned up here; you kids figure out who's battling who, and we'll begin the battles after we give lunch a chance to settle in our stomachs."

Owen, Samantha, and I began discussing who we each wanted to battle, and although not at all how I had foreseen the day going, we soon enough we found ourselves holding a series of battles against the three eldest Winstrates.

Although homemade, the Winstrate's backyard arena was very impressive and obviously designed to conform to League specifications. It was even better than most of the battle courts I'd seen, complete with painted boundary lines and trainer boxes, two rows of small bleachers on each side, a few bright spotlights that I'm sure would have looked great if it were later in the day, and a covered plastic bin labeled 'medical' that I had no doubt was filled with almost anything you could have on hand that might save you a trip to Nurse Joy.

Not to mention, the presence of an Alakazam to erect a protective barrier, just like what you'd find in a gym.

After some discussion on which on our team we wanted to fight and what our preferred matchups were, our group settled on which battles would be taking place.

Samantha's Masquerain would battle the Whismur, Owen would have his Shroomish fight Sandshrew, and I would pit Orion against the Spinda.

Samantha claimed that her Oddish wasn't ready for a real battle yet and wanted to give the Winstrates a good battle, and Owen said something similar about his Slakoth. Samantha had come to the conclusion that her Oddish was still too young to be battling, and Owen was still struggling to get his Slakoth's reaction times to a point where it wasn't just a breathing punching bag.

Samantha went first, and it actually turned out to be a good matchup. One would think that any airborne opponent would have the automatic advantage, particularly when they were as agile as Buzz, but it turns out that one of the better strategies to deal with such an opponent is to use sound-based moves that couldn't be so easily avoided. Masquerain put up a good fight and landed some solid blows, but after getting confused by a Supersonic and being unable to maintain flight, it spelled the end of the battle. But Samantha and grandmother Vicky both seemed to have a great time, and the other Winstrates made their enjoyment of spectating the battle clear, so things ended on a good note all things considered.

Owen went next, and the battle between his Shroomish Misha and father's Sandshrew was what I could only describe as a washout. I would in no way blame the Sandshrew for its loss either; it was quick, scrappy, and downright terrifying when it was burrowed underground, always leaving me questioning where it might emerge and attack from. I was relieved that Orion hadn't been pitted against it since Owen and I had almost decided to swap opponents, because I was almost certain that Orion would have seriously struggled against the Sandshrew.

The first couple of exchanges, Sandshrew tried to use Rollout to trade glancing blows with Misha, however she was quick on her feet and soon took to counter-attacking with Tackle from the side as he rolled past. When that wasn't working, the Sandshrew then tried a few attempts at Dig, going underground only to emerge either directly underneath Misha or on a random side before trying to land a Slash or Fury Swipes. It managed to land a blow or two, but was seriously punished by Misha by taking a Leech Seed to the chest, spores to the face, and a point-blank Absorb the one time it tried latching onto Misha and clawing at it.

Needless to say, it didn't take too long for Owen to come out victorious. Full credit to the outcome would need to go to a strategy that Owen had seemingly taught Misha recently; to constantly be hopping, skipping, and dancing around, making itself a constantly moving target and increasing its mobility. It reminded me a lot of a boxer, and my guess was that Owen had been inspired by watching Misha dance the other day.

Despite it not being a particularly close battle, it was still interesting to watch and the Winstrates enjoyed it regardless. The family struck me as very sportsmanlike, not caring if they lost or were even pitted against an unfair matchup. So long as everyone was having fun and their Pokémon were given a chance to fight new opponents, they were happy. They weren't the only ones either; the crowd of Pokémon they had watching the battles were all very invested and supportive, even for our groups' Pokémon, which made the experience all the better.

Finally, it was Orion's turn to face off against the Spinda. Truthfully, I didn't know much about the Pokémon other than it appeared to be in a constant state of dizziness and confusion. While we were deciding which Pokémon we would fight, Samantha had informed me that it was a normal-type that it would likely be a tricker battle than expected due to the unique way it battled.

That last part was quickly proven true when the very first command given to the Spinda was to 'dance for our guest', which threw Orion and me for a loop. Although the battle had already officially begun, I didn't order any counter-attack as I thought that it was possibly a quick performance of sorts.

As I curiously watched the Spinda swaying, stumbling, and doing what I thought was its best attempt to work through its constant state of dizziness to put on a little show for us, I soon found myself feeling a little dizzy myself trying to track its wobbly and strangely mesmerizing movements. When I forced myself to look away, I noticed that Orion too had begun swaying uneasily on his feet, and realized that it wasn't some performative display but a calculated battle strategy.

Orion was confused, and we hadn't done anything to try to avoid it.

That made the battle much more difficult to navigate, but not impossible. Luckily for us, the Spinda's constant disorientation also served as a hindrance to its own attacks. I heard snickering from the spectators, and even I struggled not to laugh at the sight of both battlers having issues with keeping their balance and tracking their opponent.

My first thought was to use Swift, since it tended to track even moving opponents rather well. But when only one or two of the projectiles grazed the opponent while the majority of them scattered and missed spectacularly, I remembered that it seemed to rely on the user either setting a target or directing them, I still wasn't entirely sure which.

In any case, the move wasn't nearly effective enough given Orion's current state, so when the Spinda attempted to close this distance and use Body Slam, I had Orion retaliate with Quick Attack.

Thankfully, Orion managed to keep his footing long enough to launch himself at the incoming Spinda despite still being disorientated, taking only a couple of steps to gain speed before leaping head-first at the opponent.

Although the Spinda towered over Orion at roughly three times the height, it quickly became apparent that didn't translate to weight. Its body was covered in a lightweight fluffy fur that wasn't nearly as dense as Orion's, and I suspected that Orion might even weigh slightly more if the heavy blow that Orion dealt was any indicator. Historically, Orion had mostly fought opponents that were larger than him and struggled to knock them off their feet, even when throwing all of his weight into an attack. But this time a solid was enough to send the opponent tumbling, and even though I knew he had been getting better with fully committing to Quick Attack I knew that weight was also a major contributor.

From there, Orion's confusion rapidly cleared and things continued to swing in our favor, but not without some slight hitches. Orion's mobility made him a difficult opponent for an opponent like Spinda to fight, even with its constant and unpredictable movement. With the speed advantage we had, we were able to force it to play defensively and attempt to counter our incoming strikes. It had very limited success though, once landing a Tackle in Orion's ribs after performing a lucky sidestep stumble, and another time catching Orion by surprise with a sudden Sucker Punch to the chin. But those two blows paled in comparison to the multiple hits that Orion was able to land, and after having Orion finish things off with a hail of Swift from a distance, our opponent didn't last much longer before falling.

"What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon! We truly appreciate you indulging us, you lot are quite the group of talented trainers," Victor complimented with a beaming smile as we all tapped Pokédexs to log our battles. We had technically done legal battles between license-holding trainers, which made properly logging them required, and although we hadn't ever discussed any sort of wager I found myself more than satisfied to find that they had just paid three thousand credits for that victory. Judging by Samantha's reaction, my guess was that they logged her battle as a victory as well.

It made me wonder just how illegal doing so was, considering it hadn't been the first time I'd seen it happen. It seemed to be a fairly common theme among more casual trainers looking to recruit traveling trainers to provide them with some entertainment, but I could only imagine how bad it might look if someone were to pull up their battle record. Not that they would care about their win ratio, but I still suspected that it could be considered something along the lines of false reporting. I doubted anybody would care since you could simply give money tax-free as a gift unless the amount crept into six digits, but it did have me wondering what the League might care about more; not reporting an official battle, or falsely reporting the outcome. I knew the League took wager battles against non-licensed trainers rather seriously, and I'd heard stories of trainers who did large off-the-record wagers having their license suspended, but I had no idea if the League cared about misreporting results for lower-wager battles.

The more I thought about all of it, I realized that they likely just cared about having an accurate record of where money was moving, and how much. It was probably some sort of obligation they held to the government, since Pokémon battles were the only form of gambling that was granted an exemption from heavy taxes.

With the battles concluded, we went back to the tables and enjoyed another glass of lemonade, sharing praise and lighthearted conversation after all combatants were given potions and berries to heal any lingering damage. I couldn't help but notice that the Pokémon seemed to be more social than before the battles, and smiled happily as I noticed that even Duran seemed to have loosened up and was doing some socializing with the Sandshrew off to the side.

"Ah, what a treat today has been!" Victoria proclaimed happily, "It's been weeks since we've been blessed with visitors, we thank you so much for taking the time to indulge us."

"Oh please. We should be thanking you," Samantha said with a sweet smile, "You've been very welcoming, fed us, and gave us some great practice. Good battles can be hard to come by these days, and I know the boys in particular appreciate any chance they can get for some battle experience."

"Orion's battle was very unique," I nodded in agreement. "Speaking of, what was that move Spinda started out with?"

"Teeter Dance. I hope it didn't come across as a cheap trick, it's simply the way he battles," Victoria apologized.

"Nothing like that, I just never heard of anything like that. I was so taken aback I wasn't even sure we were battling yet. It was a valuable lesson," I chuckled, waving off her apology.

"Thanks for taking it easy on us. As much as I would have liked to try my hand against some of your other Pokémon like Linoone or Roselia, I have a feeling we wouldn't have had a chance," Owen commented as he cast their Pokémon an appraising glance.

"They are indeed rather seasoned, we've had many of our Pokémon for a decade or two. But some of them have gotten the battling itch out of their system years ago, and others are simply too experienced to be fair in a battle against young trainers still early in their journey."

"In that case, maybe we'll have to stop by again someday, if it wouldn't be an imposition. It's not too easy to find good battles these days, especially ones that come with great food and company," Owen grinned.

"Of course! Feel free to stop by anytime! We love visitors, particularly familiar faces," Grandmother Vicky said with a satisfied nod.

"Maybe I could even score a battle with Vito or Vivi, if she's back home by then," Owen said hopefully as he turned to face Vito. "I'd love the chance to battle even one of your Pokémon,"

Vito gave a hearty laugh, "You've got a ways to go before I'd feel comfortable agreeing to that, but if you've just beaten Mauville's gym that means you're on the right track. I still haven't even allowed my little sister to battle me, I told her to get her eighth badge then we'll talk. If you're serious about wanting a battle, I'll give you the same goal."

"You have all eight badges?" Owen asked with wide eyes and his mouth gaping in awe.

"Is that such a surprise? I did mention I was in the Ever Grande Conference, right?" Vito said with an amused expression.

"Well yeah, but that doesn't necessarily mean you finished the circuit. It's not too uncommon for trainers who are still in the circuit to get a special invitation if they catch the right eyes. You mentioned you didn't do too well, so I figured maybe you got six or seven badges and got invited."

Vito shrugged, "Nah, I qualified the normal way. I'd like to say my lackluster performance was a mixture of getting unlucky, both in the bracket and with the year having unusually strong competition, but the truth is that I'm simply not a natural like many of the top trainers. It took me years to get through the circuit and I had to work my ass off to earn my badges, yet I lost to a boy that was even younger than you all are now, since the age to be a trainer has risen since then. I'm sure you'll run into people like that along your journey, some of you might even end up being the kind of trainer I'm talking about, although it's too early to say."

"Is 'natural' a commonly used term, or just what you call it?" I asked curiously.

"Plenty of trainers will catch your meaning if you use the term, but I've heard lots of different variations. Gifted, natural, blessed, intuitive; they all allude to the same thing. Some trainers hate the term because it carries certain connotations, but if you ask me those people either haven't seen the difference with their own eyes, or they are in denial of the fact they don't fall into that category."

"Would gym leaders all count as naturals?" Owen asked with burning interest.

Vito hummed in thought, "A few gym leaders would for sure, but in general I'd say no. Many people have the misconception that gym leaders are among the strongest trainers in the region, but the simple truth is that they tend to be somewhere at the elite level, although where specifically can vary greatly. This might be improper for me to say, but I truly believe that anyone can reach the elite level if they have the right dedication and put in the work; I think I'm a testament to that, and I could name quite a few other examples. Plenty of trainers can become strong enough to be a gym leader, but to be a good one you need to be able to lead and inspire. All the long-standing gym leaders share that in common, and it's how they become so universally beloved and respected."

I glanced over to Owen and noticed that he had gone quiet and seemed lost in thought as he contemplated what Vito had just said. It seemed like a good stopping point in the conversation, so I decided to move things along and hopefully wrap up our visit, not wanting to impose or lose an entire day of travel.

"Well, we should get going," I spoke up, breaking the brief silence. "This was a nice respite, and I'm very grateful to have met you all and thank you for the battle, but we have a long journey ahead. Sammy has a contest coming up soon in Fallarbor, so we can't really afford to lose an entire day of traveling."

Truthfully, I wasn't sure exactly what day Samantha's contest was, and I didn't know how much risk she was at of missing it. But I did know that it had almost been a week since the last contest, and she had a much longer journey ahead than Owen and me. It was still relatively early in the day, and it didn't seem like a good idea for us to waste it away when we had just gotten back on the road.

I was eager to keep traveling, and I knew Samantha was looking forward to beginning the solo leg of her journey. I'd already kept her waiting long enough in Mauville, and I strongly suspected that she wasn't particularly interested in spending the entire afternoon surrounded by trainers obsessed with talking about gyms and battling.

"Awe, are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner? We have a pair of guest bedrooms that you're welcome to stay in, and if you're concerned about time I'm sure Vito wouldn't mind having his Alakazam Teleport you to Fallarbor," Victoria said while trying to convince us, looking to Vito hopefully who nodded in agreement.

"That's very gracious of you to offer, but Danny is right," Samantha replied with a remorseful look. "We're determined to make the journey ourselves, and I'm unfortunately on a bit of a time crunch. Maybe we'll swing by again on our way back to Mauville though, after we've finished our business up north."

"That would be lovely! We wish you all the best of luck and hope you get the chance to visit again. Mind if we take a quick group photo before you leave? We like having something to remember our visitors by, and it's always great when they visit again to see how much they've grown."

We obliged, crowding together to get one huge group photo of all people and Pokémon present. Alakazam took the photo by levitating a camera with telekinesis, and was gracious enough to take multiple photos so that we could each have one as well. I'd never been one to be sentimental about photos, but this one felt special. It was me, my first real friends, and the beginnings of the family I'd begun building before any had evolved. I wanted to keep it safe, and found that I was able to tuck it behind the styrofoam in my badge case, but only just barely.

As we gathered up our belongings and went to return most of our team, I noticed that Apollo and Stella were still conversing with the Alakazam and Meditite. Upon feeling Apollo reconnect to my mind as he Teleported to my shoulder, I quickly checked up on him.

"Have fun? Learn anything interesting?"

Satisfaction. Peace. "Elder Alakazam very wise. Kind soul, much insight."

I nodded happily, and suddenly realized that I had an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Vito was not only a highly accomplished and experienced trainer, but he happened to have a powerful telepath and likely had a good idea of what I was in for as Apollo's abilities continued to grow.

"Say Vito, have any tips for raising a telepath? We're doing quite well after a couple of small rough patches, but I'm curious if there's anything I should look out for or expect as his abilities continue to improve."

VIto hummed in thought, "Honestly, it's all about trust and communication. As long as you two are on the same page, chances are you will have very few issues. For the Ralts line in particular, I've heard it's very important that they not be put in positions where they feel they must break their strong morals, and you as the trainer need to live a happy and fulfilling life for them to stay healthy. I think you're probably doing just fine, your Ralts seems exceptionally healthy and social compared to most I've seen over the years."

"Thanks, but I meant more in terms of things I might need to look out for as our telepathic bond grows deeper. When we first started being constantly connected, I had some issues with feeling like I couldn't have any private thoughts without being judged. Now he gives me space when I need it, and I don't feel like I need to restrict what thoughts he's exposed to because he's very understanding most of the time, and vocal when I'm clearly in the wrong. Was just wondering if there was anything like that I might need to look out for in the future as his abilities grow."

"That's great, it sounds like you're over the biggest hurdle most trainers face," Vito complimented. "As far as the deepening bond you'll experience, everything should work out fine so long as you two fully trust eachother, and display patience and understanding at each other's faults. When Alakazam started rooting through my memories and understanding some of my deeper thoughts, we ran into some tension when he tried to bring up and correct some of the conclusions I'd come to or mistakes I'd made, and he had a habit of looking at things from a purely logical standpoint. Psychics tend to be very cold and blunt in their criticisms, and they struggle to understand the irrationality that can happen in the human mind."

He stared off into the distance and chuckled, seemingly reminiscing about something in particular before redirecting his attention back to the conversation. "But we worked through it, and he eventually understood the role emotions can play in someone's decision making. Considering that Ralts are highly empathetic and understanding of emotions, something not particularly common among advanced psychics, it wouldn't surprise me if whatever you two experience was to a much lesser extent than most. Still though, if you ever feel like your Ralts is being overly critical, just know that he only has good-intentions. Take their advice to heart, but don't dwell on your mistakes. You cannot expect to always make the optimal choices; you are no seer, and hindsight is 20/20."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said with an appreciative bow of the head, which Apollo mimicked.

"Alakazam just informed me that he discussed something similar with your Ralts and the Espeon, so I think you'll be fine. The only other tip I would say is not to underestimate the value of having a telepath on your team. Most Pokémon don't have the luxury of being able to fully communicate their thoughts, wants, and needs to their trainer, but you will never have that issue as long as you put in effort to listen and understand. If you haven't already, set aside time regularly to really hear them out and talk to them. As the trainer, your job is being knowledgeable about the strategies an opponent might employ, and providing them guidance to overcome challenges and grow. But never forget that Pokémon are the ones who do the actual legwork, and they know their bodies and abilities best. It's entirely likely they may have some observations or recommendations you would have never considered, so check in with them frequently."

"We actually just started to implement something like that, but it's still in the early stages. I'll prioritize it more, especially now that Apollo is becoming quite talented at holding multiple links."

"Very good! I'm sure you two will be wonderful partners. If you want, you can take down my number and text me if you ever have any questions. I'm no expert or anything, but I did catch Alakazam as a young Abra and raised him all on my own, so I'd like to think I know a thing or two about raising a telepath."

I considered his offer before nodding in acceptance, deciding it couldn't hurt. Although I knew both Steven and Roxanne would be more knowledgeable, I wouldn't feel comfortable contacting them with random questions about telepathy. Samantha herself was a wealth of knowledge, but she lacked the first-hand experience that Vito had, which made his offer too good to pass up.

"Any tips for the Lavaridge gym?" Owen asked hopefully as Vito punched his number into my phone.

"Nothing you can't find online... I guess one piece of advice is not to get on Flannery's bad side. If she's anything like she was when I battled her years ago, she's a bit of a hot-head. If you do something she considers cheap or dishonorable, she'll go extra hard on you. She's a great gal though; super down to earth and passionate about her craft. Easily one of my favorite gym leaders, but also one of the last people I'd ever want to cross. Wrath knows no fury like the scorn of a fire-type specialist."

"I've heard my dad say something similar, but it ended a bit differently." Owen chuckled as Samantha cast him a side-eye, much to my amusement. "I'll make sure to give her a good battle, thanks for the advice!"

After one final set of goodbyes and well-wishes, we finally made our way back on route and continued our journey north. As enjoyable as meeting the Winstrates was, it seemed like nothing more than an enjoyable random encounter, and it would be some time before I fully realized the lasting repercussions meeting them would have on my future.

With the Winstrate family home disappearing into the distance behind us, our focus returned to the journey that lay ahead. We had a lot of ground to cover, and I knew that the desert we would soon encounter was sure to be one of the most difficult terrains in the region. It wouldn't be easy, but if nothing else I was sure that it would be an experience with my friends and family that I'd never forget.

A/N: I've always really liked the Winstrate family, and fondly remember the moment I found Vito in victory road, instantly realizing who he was when he started talking about his family and I noticed the name. I wanted to expand on their story, and although I don't want to spoil anything I'll say this isn't the last time the Winstrate family comes up. We've got some really cool chapters coming up, at least in my opinion, so I'm excited for them to go out and hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I have writing them. Have a wonderful weekend!

Shoutout to Trix for beta-reading this chapter, and to each reader who comes back every week to continue following Daniel's journey. Appreciate you all!

Come chat about DotD or hang out on Discord. gg/ ge6a8XcNcB