TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Badges: 2
Account: 12,637 credits
Location: Mt. Chimney (Jagged Pass)

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

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

I deeply regretted not heeding Apollo's strong recommendation to run away while we still had the chance.

Truthfully, it probably wouldn't have mattered too much. It turned out that Preston was currently staying in Lavaridge for what he called 'leisure with a side of business', and with how small the town was said to be I likely would have run into him at some point regardless of our unfortunate run-in on Jagged Pass. Still, I would have done nearly anything if it meant spending even one less minute in his presence.

That wasn't an exaggeration either. I seriously considered refusing to go along with Preston's subtle strong-arming, and as much as I dreaded the prospect of going against that monstrous Arcanine, there were a couple of times where I thought it might be preferable to acting like I found Preston anything but completely insufferable. Though I was fairly certain that Owen recognized the name and pieced together who Preston was from my earlier retelling of my experiences with him, he didn't show it at all.

Why Preston was pretending to be friendly, I couldn't be certain. My guess was that he saw an opportunity to get under my skin and took it, and the only information that Apollo could give me was that he felt great amusement at whatever game he was playing. But considering his Growlithe was now an imposing Arcanine that I'd rather not face if I could help it, coupled with the fact that he likely had other Pokémon I wasn't aware of, I wasn't about to provoke him into dropping his charade. I couldn't be certain, but I suspected that Owen shared the sentiment.

Oh, and that massive psychic wave that had washed over us just before his Arcanine tracked us down? Preston wasted no time in bragging that he had just captured a Grumpig; the pack leader of that group of Spoink that we saw running past us. It had apparently let loose a distressed wave of psychic energy as a last-ditch effort to try to drive Preston and his Arcanine away just before its capture, which explained why the mental assault had ceased so suddenly.

I doubted that a freshly-captured Grumpig would obey Preston if it came down to a fight, especially considering the manner in which it seemed to have been 'recruited' to his team. But between the Grumpig, the Arcanine, and anything else Preston might have, I wasn't about to provoke a needless fight if I could simply go along with whatever Preston was playing at to avoid an altercation.

I was convinced that there was some element of subtle underlying hostility, yet he did a good enough job of hiding it. He didn't call me 'trash', 'worthless', 'scum', or any of the usual insults I would have expected him to rattle off upon seeing me. In fact, someone who didn't know any better might think that he was a decent, charismatic guy who just wanted to have a friendly chat and some company while returning back to Lavaridge.

Someone like Owen, who I would have thought would have very little tolerance for Preston after what I'd told him, assuming he'd actually made the connection of who it was. I truly didn't know if Owen was too naive to pick up on the subtle hints that I really wasn't keen on Preston accompanying us, or if he did understand the situation and just wanted to keep things copacetic. But whatever the case, Owen was his usual chatty self and was more than happy to engage Preston in his attempts at conversation, and much to my dismay before I knew it all three of us were traveling as one group to Lavaridge, though I felt like I had little choice but to go along with it.

Owen did little to hide his curiosity about our guest, since it was easy to tell that Preston was extremely well-off and completely out of his element. He sported designer sunglasses, a cashmere sweater, fitted pants and hiking boots that all betrayed not only his wealth but the fact that none of those clothes had ever been worn in the wilderness before. To Owen's credit though, he did seem to be leading the conversation so that I wouldn't have to participate, and I got the sense that he was subtly prying Preston for more information, which Preston also did with him. It was like they were subtly feeling each other out and being overly friendly, and it only made things even more awkward from my perspective.

Preston revealed that he'd only ventured outside Lavaridge to chase rumors of a powerful Grumpig occasionally sighted along Jagged Pass. But that wasn't what had brought him to Lavaridge in the first place; in his words the Grumpig and our subsequent chance encounter was 'simply a matter of the stars aligning'. He alluded to there being some sort of business-related reason for coming to Lavaridge, but focused much more on relaying just how much his fiance loved the hot springs and that they were using the trip as an unceremonious celebration of their recent engagement.

Yeah, fiance. He kept putting emphasis on that word as if I was supposed to be jealous, or perhaps he was trying to coax my congratulations in the name of whatever game of pleasantries he was playing.

I didn't, obviously. I just kept quiet and let Owen keep the conversation going.

Call me paranoid, but I couldn't help but wonder if he had planned his trip to Lavaridge around my estimated arrival. I wouldn't have put it past him to keep tabs on my trainer profile and to try to manufacture a rendezvous now that he'd evolved his Growlith, likely with an extremely high-grade Fire Stone. But he didn't seem immediately interested in challenging me to a battle, even if he almost certainly would have mopped the floor with me.

With the size and power of his Arcanine, if we were to battle he could probably kill one of my Pokémon and reasonably claim it was an accident made in the heat of battle, and that wasn't even taking into consideration his status as a Livingston. There was zero chance that I would ever agree to battle him again, and he likely knew that. That made me worry that he might be subtly plotting to get his revenge in a more sinister and underhanded way, like suddenly attacking us while our guard was down. Although I could feel Preston's Arcanine kept giving me dirty, challenging looks on our walk to Lavaridge despite me avoiding eye contact, we had Apollo and Roxy so I felt reasonably reassured that things were unlikely to take a turn for the worst.

Still, I found the whole thing incredibly unnerving. It was as though Preston knew I had no choice but to go along with his charade and was just toying with me, cozying up with Owen and acting as though there was no bad blood between us. But the first handful of minutes traveling together mostly consisted of Owen and Preston talking with one another, feeling each other out and fulfilling their curiosities.

Naturally, Owen was interested in learning about the Livingston family and was deeply envious to learn that he also attended the Rustboro Trainer's School, considering it was the best academy our region had to offer. Preston also feigned interest in Dewford and Owen's ambitions to become the gym leader, however I was quite certain that he didn't actually care whatsoever and just got a kick out of slowly winning over my traveling companion.

I was just thankful that their lively conversations meant that I didn't have to participate much at all. For the most part, I got to be a silent observer while I racked my brain on what Preston's angle might be while frequently checking in with Apollo that Preston wasn't harboring any ill intentions. I convinced him to try to get into Preston's mind for some deeper insights, but was unsurprised to learn that the Livingston had undergone some sort of training and had it closed off.

The most unsettling thing was that when Apollo informed me of that, I noticed a slight yet unmistakable smirk on Preston's face that informed me he definitely knew Apollo had tried to get in, yet he declined to say anything about it as he continued his conversation with Owen like nothing had happened.

As much as I was sure he was hiding his true intentions, he was also shockingly honest at times. He was fully transparent with Owen that he was a trainer only as a hobby, and saw having a trained team as both a symbol of status and power, complimentary of what came with being a Livingston. He also admitted that Grumpig was the first Pokémon that he had ever captured himself, and claimed to have done it not only for the experience but also to prove to his fiance that he was capable enough to handle it.

It took everything in me to resist pointing out that he only succeeded because he bought a Growlithe that had been bred to be genetically superior, and had shelled out a fortune for a fire-stone to make it even stronger. I strongly suspected that Owen wasn't the biggest fan of some of Preston's views and approaches, but he was far too friendly to voice any objections.

Another thing he was blunt about was his complete lack of interest in challenging any gyms. He claimed that he simply didn't feel any need to do so, but noted that he might someday when he had more free time. As things stood, his focus was on learning the family business, finishing up school, and preparing for his eventual marriage to his fiance.

Speaking of his fiance, he loved to talk about her. He also slid in the fact that although she was still in school, she was indeed sixteen and a certified trainer, likely in a delayed response to my previous jab about him being a pedophile participating in an arranged marriage.

Anastasia Stern, a family name that even I recognized, although Owen ended up being much more in the know to Preston's delight. He reveled in Owen excitedly explaining how the Stern family was almost single-handedly responsible for Slateport City becoming one of the primary commercial hubs in the region, and how they owned both the shipyard and the Oceanic Museum in the city. Not only were they major players in shipping and marine tourism, but they also spearheaded deep underwater expeditions and did a lot for the conservation of aquatic habitats.

Incidentally, they were also one of the most powerful and influential families in the region, and although not explicitly stated my impression was that they were just a step below Devon and the Stone family, which would explain why Preston was so keen on joining families. My understanding was that there were only a small handful of family names that rose above the name Livingston in Hoenn, but I didn't doubt that the Stern family was among the select few that did.

The way Preston and Owen described things, she sounded particularly passionate about the research and conservation side of her family's affairs, and put a lot more emphasis on the role Pokémon would play in her life than Preston. She held a deep love for the ocean and fancied herself a water-type specialist, and although Preston stated that she took her family's business seriously and fully intended on helping to run the Stern empire, my impression was that she might not be quite as much of an insufferable snob as Preston was.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it to Lavaridge before Preston managed to steer the conversation to me, much to my chagrin.

"So Danny, how have things been with you, buddy? You're challenging the Lavaridge gym, I take it?"

I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to tell him not to call me Danny. I'd grown so accustomed to it that I didn't mind when Samantha or Owen did it, but hearing Preston say it really rubbed me the wrong way.

"That's the plan," I managed to answer simply.

"It'll be your third gym, right? Has your Eevee or Corphish evolved yet? I see your Ralts hasn't, but I have a feeling he'll do just fine regardless."

"We'll be fine, evolution isn't everything. I'm flattered you've been keeping tabs on me," I couldn't resist pointing out.

"I may not participate in the circuit, but that doesn't mean I don't find myself interested in some of its participants. You did make quite the impression on me when we met in Rustboro after all," he said with a dismissive shrug.

I quietly rolled my eyes, refraining from pointing out that my profile also held a video and some comments that weren't very favorable to him. It had been a while since I'd checked my profile, and I wasn't even sure if they were still there. It wouldn't have surprised me if he somehow managed to get them removed, and mentioning that would just make things even more awkward than they already were.

Surprisingly though, it was Preston who decided to linger on the topic of my profile, but not in the way that I had expected.

"You know, someone noted on your profile that you were traveling with your sister. I found that interesting, since I can't say I remember seeing her when we met in Rustboro. So where is she, did you split up or something?"

I did my best to act casual as my heart began to pound and I cast a side glance at Preston, noticing the faintest hint of a smirk playing on his lips. A sinking feeling began to form in the pit of my stomach that he knew exactly what he was doing, and might have somehow pieced together that I had been traveling with Samantha Stone. But I clung to the chance that I might just be paranoid, and I took a moment to organize my thoughts of how I could gracefully move the topic of conversation along.

Unfortunately, my pause must have been a little too long, and Owen decided to answer for me.

"Sammy wanted to go off on her own for a bit, and since her next contest is in Fallarbor she split off for now," Owen stated matter-of-factly.

My heart pounded and I felt the color from my face drain as the horror of the situation set in, and my worst fears were confirmed almost immediately.

"Ah, Sammy. Now that you mention it, I do indeed remember a Sammy, I just hadn't realized she was your sister, my mistake. Well, I wish her the best of luck in her contest," Preston said simply, though I swear I detected a slight hint of smugness.

Amusement. Interest. Curiosity.

I stared ahead in a daze, feeling completely helpless and defeated. As worried as I had been that Samantha would be careless and blow her cover prematurely, it had ended up being completely my fault.

I'd been the one to suggest she not pick a completely different first name, suggesting that it would be more difficult for her to adjust to and thinking it would be a good idea to reclaim the nickname that Preston had made her come to dislike. They had apparently been reasonably close at some point when they were younger, but she had grown to dislike it as Preston grew to be insufferable. I didn't doubt that if he had his way, he'd have been engaged to Samantha right now as the Stones were undoubtedly the most powerful family in the region. Thankfully she saw him for what he was and had grown to dislike him, but it was still a startling thought.

I hadn't expected to ever run into Preston again, and didn't seriously consider that using the name Sammy might result in the situation that I currently faced. Realistically, Preston was the only person in the region who could have conceivably connected the dots that my sister 'Sammy' was Samantha Stone under cover, apart from a few family friends like Wattson who had mostly identified her thanks to seeing her face and recognizing Stella.

I was granted some small sense of relief that Preston seemed content enough with the discomfort I couldn't fully hide, and the fact that he now held information so valuable that no amount of money could ever buy it. He didn't choose to say anything further on the matter, and my mind raced while Owen pivoted the clearly dead topic to begin asking Preston about Lavaridge, completely unaware of the gravity of what had just occurred.

Though unlikely that Preston would risk doing anything that could draw the ire of the Stone family, I couldn't keep what had just happened to myself. Preston had already proven himself to be a meddler who wasn't afraid to alter a fair playing field to suit his interests, and it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that he might pay some unsavory characters to kidnap Samantha.

I was fully aware that I was assuming the worst and being paranoid, but it felt justified in this instance. Preston was acting far too weird for comfort, and I didn't believe for a second that our encounter would end with us making amends and happily going about our lives after parting ways.

That wasn't just the logical conclusion either; I had an extremely uneasy feeling and a knot in my stomach that something bad was going to come of this, although I dearly hoped that I was wrong.

Lavaridge was a cozy, quaint town tucked neatly into the side of Mount Chimney, and I couldn't remember ever feeling any greater sense of relief than when I finally laid eyes on the familiar sight of its Pokécenter. Well, aside from when Preston finally returned his Arcanine, likely not wanting to cause a stir.

Sure, there was the fact that a warm shower and comfortable bed awaited me, but more importantly it was a safe-haven from Preston. Since we were now in town there was no way things would get too bad, and it gave me the perfect reason to politely excuse myself from his presence and hopefully never see him again.

And that's exactly what I did, although I highly doubted that would be the last I'd be seeing of him. Preston thankfully made it easy enough for us to part ways, claiming that he needed to meet up with his fiance and show her that he'd been successful in capturing the rumored Grumpig.

I'd half been expecting him to invite us to dinner or some other nonsense that would give him an opportunity to keep messing with me, but thankfully that didn't come to pass. He did however drop a line that I really hadn't been wanting to hear as Owen and I made our way toward the entrance of the Pokécenter.

"I'm glad we got to catch up, and it was great meeting you, Owen. Best of luck in your gym challenges, I'll keep an eye on the schedule and if I can make it I'll be rooting for you two."

I didn't even dignify that with a response as I lazily waved a hand behind me and slipped into the Pokécenter, breathing a sigh of relief to finally rid myself of his presence.

"Dude, that's the guy you were telling me about, right?" Owen immediately asked after returning Roxy outside before quickly catching up with me as I walked up to the front desk.

"Yup, the same. I was beginning to wonder if you picked up on that. I hope you know just how much it pained me to share the same space as him and pretend I don't hate the guy," I said bluntly, glad I could finally speak freely.

"Beats the alternative. I wasn't about to provoke a guy who thinks he's above the law and has probably the largest Arcanine in the entire region, at least not outside of town. Did you see the size of that thing?"

"That's the main reason I bit my tongue. That likely would have gone very differently if he still had a Growlithe, or if you weren't with me."

We checked in with Nurse Joy at the front desk, which I had assumed would be a trivial affair compared to the day I'd had so far, but two things happened that served to cement the day as one of the worst I'd ever experienced.

The first, and much less problematic but still nonetheless annoying, was that Nurse Joy not-so-subtly mentioned that I needed to be mindful of the rules during my stay after seeing my profile. Owen cast me a look of confusion but declined to comment, and I simply nodded in acceptance and promised I wasn't going to cause any trouble.

I hated having a note on my profile that I'd been kicked out of the Verdanturf Pokécenter, and wondered how long I was going to have that held over my head. But that was just a minor annoyance compared to the complete and utter bullshit that was soon to follow.

"Mr. Adler, our records show four Pokémon registered to you. Might I ask what the fifth Pokéball contains?" she asked curiously as she took the tray containing his recalled team.

"It's a Machop, we partnered on Jagged Pass. His name is Bruno. I don't think he'll cause you any trouble, but I didn't exactly explain to him what a Pokécenter was or anything. Just have my Makuhita assist if he gives you any trouble, they trust each other," he explained.

She gave a polite smile, "I'm sure we can manage, but I'll keep that in mind. I just like knowing what species to expect so I'm not ill-prepared or caught by surprise, you understand."

I found the exchange a bit unusual, but looking back I had always preemptively told every Nurse Joy what I'd captured before handing it over. It made sense that as the process got more familiar, less fanfare would be put into a Pokémon's first visit to the Pokécenter, since it was almost always a very routine ordeal.

She handed the tray containing Owen's team to Chansey, who scurried off to the back while Nurse Joy turned to take mine.

"Mr. Ingram, I see you also have an additional Pokémon from what I have on record. Would you also kindly inform me of the species you've caught?"

"Yeah, it's a Trapinch. She really doesn't like to be touched, so please be careful. She'll try to take a Bite out of you if you aren't careful," I warned.

I'd been fully expecting her to wave off the warning like Nurse Joy so often did, always managing to do an exemplary job no matter how nasty and antisocial of a species she came across. To an extent she did, but not without giving me a warning of her own.

"I see. I appreciate the heads up, we'll take good care of your Trapinch. Incidentally, are you aware of what it evolves into, and the responsibilities that training such a species comes with?"

I gave Nurse Joy a blank stare, trying to figure out what 'responsibilities' she might be referencing but drawing a blank.

"Uh, she'll evolve into a Flygon someday, assuming things go well. I'm not sure I catch your meaning though, outside of the general responsibilities all trainers have to Pokémon in their care."

"As I'm sure you're aware, your Trapinch will evolve into a dragon if you do an adequate job training it. As such, there are two things I must bring to your attention. The first is that your Trapinch's draconic manifestation will occur not when it eventually becomes a Flygon, but when it next evolves into a Vibrava."

"Right, I knew that," I nodded.

"Excellent. That leads me to my main and final point; both Vibrava and Flygon are classified as a restricted species. I assume you are familiar with what that entails?"

"They aren't allowed to accompany me in cities," I ventured, remembering that being noted when I'd checked on the rules trainers needed to abide by when I first visited Rustboro. Truthfully, I should have been checking my Pokédex for that information whenever I arrived at a new town or city, but since I knew the general rules and had the wealth of knowledge that was Samantha with me, it had slipped my mind.

"That's true for most cities, and even some towns, but there are exceptions. Your Pokédex is a good resource for checking each settlement's particular rules, you'll want to utilize it. But there are other guidelines any trainer of a restricted species must abide by. Since you've only just captured Trapinch, you should have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the finer details. Yet I must inform you of your obligation to report to the nearest Pokécenter as soon as reasonably possible after coming into possession of a restricted species, both for documentation and certification."

I stared at Nurse Joy for a few moments, my mind processing what I'd just heard. I had a lot of questions, but knew that many of them were probably well above Nurse Joy's pay grade and would only make things awkward.

So, deciding that I could do my own research later to try to get more clarity on the subject, I instead asked the burning question that couldn't wait.

"Is this only because we're talking about a dragon? I never got this warning for any of my other Pokémon. I'll someday have a Gardevoir or Gallade. Surely they are more dangerous than a Vibrava. What about a Crawdaunt?" I asked challengingly.

"If you'd like to see a list of restricted species, you can do so by checking the league website," she stated with a measured, detached response. The way she said it made me feel like I was talking to a legal representative of the League and not the normally friendly and helpful Nurse Joy I was accustomed to.

She must have seen how annoyed I was getting, because she sighed and decided to give a more casual, relaxed answer to my specific question. "Crawdaunt are only particularly aggressive in the wild, when they are territorial over their home. It's much less of an issue for traveling trainers, especially since you've been training them as a Corphish, and neither a Gallade or Gardevoir is particularly prone to random bouts of violence. That's not to say that no Crawdaunt or Gallade has ever lost its temper, but the Pokémon listed as a restricted species have much higher rates of it, statistically."

I turned and pointed to Owen, who was still standing beside me watching the scene unfold. "Owen just reported that he'd someday have a Machamp, one of if not the strongest fighting-type. He'll also have a Slaking. Have you ever been told about this, Owen?"

He hesitated. "Actually, I did get a similar heads-up when I caught Omar, but apparently only Vigoroth is restricted, not Slaking. I'm vaguely familiar with the restricted species list; it's not so much a matter of how powerful a Pokémon is, but more about the risk of a species behaving erratically and uncontrollably, and making sure they aren't likely to lash out or harm others."

"Well said," Nurse Joy said with a nod, "Strength has little to do with it, it's much more about a species' natural temperament. As a trainer, you have a responsibility to demonstrate adequate control over any species of Pokémon that presents an abnormally high risk to public safety. The list of restricted species contains far more than only dragons, although most draconic species are indeed included due to their temperament."

"What if someone were to fail the certification, their Pokémon gets taken away from them?" I asked, barely able to conceal the bitterness I felt at the idea.

"There is a grace period if the initial certification is unsuccessful that gives the trainer time to work with their partner before trying again, but during that time the Pokémon cannot participate in battles or be out even where restricted species are permitted. If no progress is being made however, then the Pokémon may need to be taken into League custody for rehabilitation."

"That sounds ridiculous," I said bluntly. "What if I had a working relationship with a dragon that I never used in trainer or gym battles, and never intended on bringing it around any settlements? If nobody is being put in danger, why should a trainer have to prove that it is adequately domesticated?"

"I'm not sure what to tell you, Mr. Ingram. These guidelines have done wonders to keep trainers and society safe; there was a time when Pokémon causing damage, disfigurement, and death was a frequent occurrence, but now it's rather rare. Records show you only have two badges and no evolved Pokémon; if Trapinch were to evolve first, there's likely little you could do to stop it if it were to turn on you, or others for that matter. If you aren't confident in your ability to control your Trapinch when it evolves, I'd strongly advise you to release it where you caught it. If that is the case, I would also suggest you put more thought and caution into the Pokémon you choose to capture in the future. It's one thing to have the desire to train a particular species, but another entirely to determine that you have the capability to do so."

Though Nurse Joy wasn't exactly wrong in what she was saying, it still got under my skin and I felt my temper flaring. In fact, the whole conversation and the implications it carried really rubbed me the wrong way, particularly since I was fresh off of dealing with Preston and still incredibly sore from my first morning workout.

I found myself having to literally bite my tongue, as I was sorely tempted to retort with something along the lines of 'maybe next time I just won't visit the Pokécenter at all'. But even without Apollo or Samantha to pull me back, I knew enough about myself to know when I was about to cross a line needlessly. I had no doubt that if I said something like that, or started ranting about what bullshit it was that the League had apparently appointed themselves arbiters of whether a trainer was worthy of training a particular species of Pokémon, that I would likely risk getting into serious trouble. I could see my license getting suspended if I threatened to skirt the rules, and I didn't doubt that this was covered in the paperwork that I'd signed when registering to be a trainer.

And, if that were true, it meant that somebody who wasn't a registered trainer who suddenly found their household companion evolving into a restricted species would almost surely get it taken away.

I forced a strained smile, using every ounce of willpower I had left in me to just let it go. This wasn't an immediate problem, and it wasn't something that arguing with Nurse Joy had any chance of resolving. The only thing I could do was accept the reality of the situation and do my best to prove that I was indeed capable of being Trapinch's trainer.

"Thanks for the information, Nurse Joy. I'll be back for my team a little later so no rush, I have a few things to do," I said with a slight bow as I grabbed my room keycard and made my way to the housing wing.

A moment later, Owen rushed to catch up, joining me as we made our way to our respective rooms, which were unsurprisingly next to one-another.

"So, what's the plan?" Owen asked after a moment, likely deciding it best not to linger on the topic of Trapinch or Preston since I was obviously not in the best mood. "We still have a couple hours of daylight left, so I think we should grab a bite to eat before our teams are ready to be retrieved. I owe you dinner, and I want to start training Bruno as soon as possible."

"Works for me, but I need a shower first. I'll take you up on getting dinner, but not at a restaurant. I don't want to risk running into Preston if I can help it, so maybe we can find a hole in the wall or a deli," I suggested.

"That's kind of a waste of your free meal, but if you're sure. You don't plan on hiding from that guy during your entire stay, do you?"

"Not hide, but I'll avoid him wherever possible. I'm not sure I'll be able to play nice if I run into him again, since it's not like he'd do anything too dangerous now that we are in town where there are witnesses."

"You really think he'd do something like that? I was following your lead before since you know him better, but I can't imagine he'd go that far, right?"

"He threw a punch at me in Rustboro, tried to rig a gym match, and the last time I spoke to him he left me with ominous threats. He sees himself as being above people like you or me, and the law. I wouldn't put it past him, I'm honestly still stunned that he didn't try anything in Jagged Pass."

"Well if he was going to try something, he probably would have done it then," Owen remarked.

I shrugged, finally finding my room and unlocking the door.

"Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath. Just do me a favor and stay alert. See you in the lobby in like fifteen?"

"Sure, although I'm not sure why you're showering without washing your clothes. Aren't you going to do some training tonight? You'll just get dirty again."

"That's the plan. We probably smell like shit, I think a quick shower and tossing our clothes in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet might spare the delicate sensibilities of others."

"Good point, I'll do that. See you soon."

Honestly, I couldn't care less how bad we smelled, and Owen was right that showering later would be a necessity. Really, I just needed some time to give a warning that Preston was aware of Samantha's secret, as well as where she was going to be.

As I took off my backpack and glanced longingly at the bed, I wanted nothing more than to lay down and call it an early day. But I still had things I needed to do, chief among them being how I was going to break the news to Samantha and if I should inform her parents.

But what better way to contemplate such a topic than while blissfully enjoying a hot shower.

"So, I have some bad news," I said slowly into the phone, having decided that the topic was too sensitive to text Samantha about.

"What did you fuck up this time?" I heard her respond with a sigh.

"I can only take partial blame for this one."

"I'd say that's classic you, but usually you start off justifying your mistakes. So at least you're showing progress."

"This isn't a joke," I hissed into the phone in a hushed voice. "We ran into Preston. He knows who and where you are."

"…How?"

"A lot of little things," I sighed. "We met on Jagged Pass, he evolved his Growlithe into a huge Arcanine and I didn't want a fight so I played nice. He did too weirdly, maybe because of Owen? We travel to Lavaridge and chat a bit, he mentions a note on my profile that I was traveling with my sister and asked where she was, and since Owen didn't know any better he said 'Sammy' split to go to Fallarbor for a contest."

"Strange, never knew Preston as the outdoorsy type. Sure it was a coincidence you met up?"

"Don't feed my paranoia please," I pleaded. "It's not impossible that he hoped to run into me, especially if he's keeping tabs on my profile, but I'd say it's unlikely since he didn't pick a fight. He's here with his fiance and was catching a Grumpig to impress her. It's a whole thing."

"Sounds like it. I heard he got engaged to Ana, the Stern heiress. Feel bad for her, she's one of the good ones."

"I somehow doubt that, considering she's marrying Preston. Who cares though, what about this problem?"

"I mean yeah, it's kind of fucked up. He's the only one who could possibly make that connection, but I don't think it's a huge deal. So Owen knows who I am too?"

"Nope. Preston surprisingly didn't press the issue, but I know he figured it out. You should warn your parents and be extra careful, just in case."

"Fuck that! Preston won't do anything, trust me. He only punches down, not up. No way he does anything that could piss off daddy, he cares too much about his family business to risk it. He'll probably just fuck with you. Just play dumb, or better yet don't talk to him at all."

"Believe me, I would love nothing more than to never talk to him again," I said honestly.

"Then do that, just give him the cold shoulder and keep your eyes open, although I really doubt he'll keep messing with you since it sounds like he's got other things to occupy his time. Hate to break it to you Danny, but he probably just messed with you in Rustboro because he was bored and you were mouthy. Play nice and I'm sure it'll be fine. Look, I need to focus on making it to Fallarbor in time to get some decent sleep. My Contest is tomorrow, and I've still got quite a bit of ground to cover so I'm going to let you go. We won't get there until after nightfall at this rate. Thanks for the heads-up, but you should be more worried about yourself than me."

I bit my lip, "You're sure we shouldn't tell–"

"No! I'm not giving my parents a single reason to whisk me back to Rustboro. It's fine, trust me."

I sighed, feeling resigned. "Alright, just be careful. With traveling, Marelle, Preston, all of it. Good luck in your contest, you've got this."

"Will do! Enjoy Lavaridge, make sure you check out the hot springs. Good luck in your gym battle, buh-bye!"

I shook my head as I shut my phone. I didn't like the fact that Preston knew who Sammy was, but she knew Preston far better than I did, and I suspected she was right. Preston didn't strike me as the type to go stirring the Beedrill nest that was Devon and the Stone family. Although he saw himself as being above most people, he clearly knew his family sat below the Stones in the proverbial pecking order. As successful as his family's investment company might be, making an enemy out of Devon and Steven was probably the last thing he'd ever want to risk.

Not to mention, I felt like I'd already been in this same situation once before and overstepped, and I felt some guilt about that. Even if I found Marelle to be suspicious, something that the information Steven had sent me only further confirmed, the reality was that I'd still gone behind Samantha's back acting as an informant on her parents' behalf. That as well as the deal made for the Dawn Stone were two things Samantha might never forgive me for if she learned the truth.

Though it had taken me some time to fully realize, I truly thought of Samantha as a close friend. She was my best friend, and in a weird way our charade of pretending to be siblings had started to feel like the real thing. Though I'd never actually know what it was like to have real siblings, I imagined it wouldn't be terribly different from how things were between us.

We occasionally bickered, fought, and clashed, but the good far outweighed the bad. We both wanted the best for the other, got along, and were able to be ourselves around each other. It was the first authentic friendship I'd ever had, and although things with Owen were going exceedingly well so far I felt like I was only beginning to scratch the surface with him.

With how close I'd gotten to Samantha, I had no intention of driving any more potential wedges between us if it could be avoided. She was confident that Preston wasn't going to do anything malicious towards her, and I was inclined to believe it. He had no reason to go after her; they were at least loosely childhood friends, and Preston's family business would almost surely suffer heavily if Steven got a whiff that Preston was doing anything to threaten his daughter. If anything happened to her I'd tell Steven in a heartbeat, but the chances of Samantha, myself, and Owen all disappearing simultaneously seemed extremely unlikely, especially considering we were separated and in populated towns.

If Samantha wanted me to keep a seemingly inconsequential secret that would ensure she could continue to pursue her dreams, I wasn't about to let the illogical yet lingering paranoia I felt around the topic ruin her journey. As much as I disliked Preston, I was honestly more worried about Marelle than anything. But as things stood, the multiple warnings I'd given her to remain vigilant were all I could do. Until we were able to meet up again, I just had to trust that she would stay safe long enough for us to reunite in Mauville.

That would never end up happening, not that I had any way of knowing that. But what was soon to sweep the region in ways no living person had ever lived to see had long been set in motion, completely independent of anything related to Marelle or Preston, and something that nobody could have done anything to prevent.

Nobody except, perhaps, Steven Stone himself – although it was too late for him to stop it.

A/N: No more foreshadowing for this upcoming climax, promise. Just wanted to make it abundantly clear that Preston's return wasn't the story-changing event I've been hinting at. Got some really cool chapters incoming, so buckle up.

Shoutout to Trix and Feanix for beta-reading this chapter, and to Greysh and KyoyaSion for the kind words!

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