TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Age: 16
Badges: 1
Account: 3,644 credits

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

After quickly making my way to the Pokécenter, I was met with both good and bad news.

The good news was that the center's lounge had a television with the contest playing.

That also ended up being bad news. Nurse Joy was waiting for me with her arms crossed and a look teetering between disappointment and anger. She turned off the television so I would pay full attention to her as she began to tear into me, which confused me until she revealed that the camera had panned and zoomed in on my excited cheering for Sammy's performance.

I'd been broadcasted with an Eevee head poking out of my pocket and a Ralts on my shoulder. The commentary and camera angles broadcasted weren't the same as what I had been witnessing in person, which would explain why I never heard anything or saw them zoom in on me on the big screens in the Contest Hall.

Apparently, the broadcast commentators had even made a joke about it on air, trying to make light of it. My guess was that the event staff and security team didn't find it quite so funny, and clearly neither did Nurse Joy.

Needless to say, I was kicked out of the Pokécenter and given a month-long ban from using that particular center since I had already been on thin ice after the stunt with Marelle. She reassured me that it didn't extend to all centers since it was my first offense, but warned me the details leading up to my ban would be noted on my profile for other Pokécenters to see so they could keep a closer eye on me.

She told me that she didn't want to kick me out, but that the rules were very clear and that I had already been given my one and only warning, giving her no choice in the matter. She informed me that although medical care for injured and sickly Pokémon was considered a right for all trainers, the use of facilities such as housing, the recreation room, and the computers were a privilege. If I made a habit of causing trouble, apparently I could receive a region-wide ban, so I needed to take the rules seriously if I planned on continuing to utilize them, which of course I did.

I'd like to think that Nurse Joy felt a bit of sympathy for me, at least after she got done scolding me. I begged her to turn the television back on so I could see my best friend finish the contest, and she obliged on the condition that as soon as it was over I would clear out my room and check out.

Unfortunately, it was too late; I'd missed Samantha's performance. I only caught the tail end of the awards ceremony, where she gracefully accepted her first ribbon with a rather content-looking Stella standing beside her.

I wasn't too surprised she had won, given what I'd seen of her competition. What was surprising was just how ecstatic the crowd got after a simple smile and wave; her performance really must have made an impression to get that kind of response.

Even more surprising was a hug she shared with Marelle, who the commentators mentioned was the runner-up as they complimented their display of sportsmanship. I couldn't help but notice the length of their hug, and that they chatted like old friends afterward. I was positive that they hadn't met before our incident at the Pokécenter, so I could only assume they'd become friends today.

That worried me, but not nearly as much as her foolish decision to do away with her plan of using a disguise. I still couldn't understand why she'd done that, but I supposed the only way to find out was to ask her directly.

"She actually did it," I muttered under my breath as I turned away and began heading to my room to grab my belongings, my interest lost as the commentators began thanking the event's various sponsors.

Sadness. Longing.

I sighed as I entered my room and began packing up. I was sure we'd be able to see a video of her performance online soon enough, but it just wouldn't be the same as having been there.

After returning my keycard to Nurse Joy and leaving the center, I stood in Verdanturf's town square and watched as a sea of people funneled out of the Contest Hall, buzzing with excited chatter.

I'd be waiting a while for Samantha to show up since she'd likely be networking and changing outfits, but I had nothing but time. I spent most of that wait lost in thought, the day's troubles swirling in my mind. I was worried and a bit stressed, but most of all I was disappointed in myself. I kept making decisions that had negative consequences thinking it would benefit me in some way, and not realizing or caring about the possible repercussions of them.

Although I wasn't the biggest fan of Samantha not using a disguise, or of the rule against having multiple Pokémon out to accompany you, I knew there was likely good reasons for both and that I shouldn't focus on my personal self-interest as much. I might have spent too much time alone in my own head these past couple years and developed a bit of a 'me vs the world' mentality that I needed to curb. I would have preferred that Samantha had used a disguise to minimize our risk while traveling together, but there was surely a good reason for what she had done. I also would have preferred that both Eevee and Apollo had been able to watch the contest with me, but I couldn't think of that as some dumb rule that I could simply choose to ignore. If every trainer there had multiple Pokémon out, I had no doubt that things could quickly get out of hand.

My eyes scanned the sea of people as I pondered the day, and Apollo must have been lost in his own thoughts as he chose not to chime in. That was fine with me though, I had plenty to think about and consider.

Least of all, how I was going to approach my upcoming conversation with Samantha.

After about thirty minutes, once the crowds had largely dispersed and the lights began going out from inside the Contest Hall, Samantha finally stepped out with Marelle by her side as they animatedly talked about the day's events. As expected, both now wore normal clothing although Samantha's hair was still white, and I was a little surprised to find that neither had their partner out.

As I began to make my way towards them, they were rushed by about fifteen spectators who had waited around patiently, and my eyes bulged as they began signing autographs, taking photos, and generally basking in the attention that was on them.

Was that really all it took to get famous was one good contest showing? Perhaps these people just wanted to have the autographs in case one of them someday got famous, so they could sell for a high price. I was stricken by just how big the contest scene had gotten. There used to be a time when trainers were treated like that; gyms were filled to the brim with spectators, and those who did particularly well were treated like up-and-coming celebrities.

I'd be perfectly content to go through my gym circuit without receiving that kind of attention, but I did feel like it emphasized the fact that battling was falling out of favor with the general public.

"Hey Apollo, emotion check the strangers?" I muttered to my shoulder.

Excitement. Delight. Envy. Thankful. Elation. Inferiority. Infatuation. Hop–

"I get it, enough," I pleaded, rubbing my temples to soothe the headache Apollo was on the verge of giving me. I appreciated his thoroughness, but he had a bad habit of flooding me with emotions all at once, which not only made them harder to identify but actually started causing me headaches when he did too many.

Remorse. "Sorry, next time will try consec… back to back."

"I think you were trying to say consecutively," I supplied, "but that's a great idea. You might also try saying them to me; could help with your English."

"Consecutively. Yes, will try."

I nodded, watching the small gathering of people slowly begin to disperse as they got what they wanted from the two up-and-coming coordinators.

"People are complicated," I muttered, idly trying to figure out who among them might feel infatuation of all things, but not having any hints to work off of.

Agreement. "Humans mostly."

I snorted in amusement, "Maybe a bit, but Pokémon aren't so different. That's also speciesism, you should be careful generalizing like that buddy. There are always exceptions, and that's a slippery slope to go down. If you ever tell Sammy or Stella that girls are more complicated than boys, even Arceus couldn't save you."

Curiosity. "Keep say Arceus. What that?"

I hummed, interested that he wouldn't know that. He always seemed to naturally pick up on the general meaning of many words and terms, but perhaps this was different because it was referring to an individual. It was still sort of a concept though, so surely he understood it at some level.

"What do you think it is?" I couldn't help but ask.

Hesitancy. "Creation. Omnipotence."

"Close enough," I nodded, "It's supposedly a Legendary Pokémon that many believe created everything. 'The Original One', people call it. I think some people in Sinnoh found some ancient texts referring to it or something, I'm not too well-read on it truthfully. All I know is some people think that Arceus was the first Pokémon to exist, and after came more Pokémon and humans. It's just folklore, I mostly say it out of habit and convenience. But some people take it really seriously, there's whole religions based on it."

Interest. Confusion. "Why humans rule if Pokémon create all?"

"Who knows," I shrugged, "If Arceus really exists, maybe it designed it that way for some reason. It could also just be because humans are weaker but more inventive. I think if the Pokéball never existed, we'd be living in a very different world. But we'll never know the answer for certain, and even if we did it wouldn't magically change anything, so it's not really worth thinking about. The only way that would ever change is if a Legendary Pokémon decided humans were bad, but none have after all this time so my guess is there's some sort of reason."

"What is Legendary?"

I sighed, wishing that Samantha would hurry up so I would be saved from this interrogation.

"You're killing me, buddy. You know I'm not good with this sort of theoretical stuff. I don't know if I can give you a clear definition. I think there's only one of each, and they might be immortal, but all are unbelievably powerful in their own right. A few are confirmed to exist, but many are just myths. That, or the League just keeps encounters with them a secret from the citizens. I'm really not the right person to ask about this sort of stuff, Sammy probably knows a lot more."

The last batch of people had finally left the girls, so I took a deep breath and approached. I had no idea how this conversation was going to go; I wasn't sure if I would tell her I missed her final performance, but I was leaning toward telling her tomorrow as to not ruin her big day. I obviously planning on congratulating her for winning, but there was also a lingering urge to throttle her for not using a disguise and putting us in unnecessary danger.

"Stay nice. Don't ruin happy."

I silently nodded, taking Apollo's advice to heart. He was right; now wasn't the time to drill into her, even if I was desperate for answers.

One answer I would be getting is the story of how Sammy and Marelle became so chummy, something evidenced by the fact they were now swapping phone numbers.

"You did great. I'm proud of you Sammy," I spoke up as I approached, giving a heartfelt smile.

"Danny! It was soooo much fun! I was really nervous, but Stella helped keep me grounded, and Marelle gave me some really good advice," she said excitedly after noticing me and pocketed her phone.

"Speaking of, I think this is my cue to leave…" Marelle said flatly, casting me a glare.

"Wait! Marelle, I wanted to apologize…" I started, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. "I shouldn't have tried to crack jokes at your name, it wasn't funny. I'm a bit of an idiot sometimes, as Sammy likes to say. I actually think it's really cool, it matches your partner and aspirations perfectly. I'm sorry."

Samantha snorted, "Sometimes, he says."

She turned to Marelle, who was looking me up and down, seemingly considering my words and trying to detect if I was being deceitful.

"Danny doesn't have a great track record of making first impressions, but he's a pretty good guy. He may not be the best with people, but he's a pretty good trainer for having been a trainer less than a month," Samantha chimed in, which I was thankful for.

"I've seen him training his team, so I can believe that," Marelle answered, slightly relaxing her posture and casting Apollo a quick glance. "Thanks for apologizing, I know you meant it so I won't hold it against you too much."

I wasn't the biggest fan of that wording; she didn't really accept my apology and was somewhat implying that she didn't fully forgive me, but I decided that was as good as things would get. After all, if I were in her shoes I would almost surely do the same.

"So, Samantha mentioned you giving her some advice?" I pivoted, curious to figure out how they'd seemingly become friends.

"Just a little something I learned in the drama club," Marelle answered with a nonchalant shrug. "Instead of trying to push the nerves away and worrying about messing up in front of a bunch of people, you focus on how exhilarating it is to be able to feel that nervous, and how much better that feeling will get when you nail your performance. I also saved her from making the mistake of downing a bunch of coffee beforehand; caffeine only makes the nerves worse, and the last thing you want to be worrying about is having to go to the bathroom. She was eyeing the coffee maker with a dangerous look during orientation, so I saved her from herself."

Samantha flushed in embarrassment, something I wasn't sure I'd ever seen her do before. I suddenly had a major spike in anxiety as I came to a couple of realizations.

The first was that Samantha might have been the one that Apollo had picked up 'infatuation' from, which I really hoped wasn't the case.

The second was that it seemed like the more I got to know Marelle, the more I really didn't like the idea of her hanging around. Not only was she freakishly good at sensing deception, but apparently she had training and experience with acting?

Maybe I was being overly paranoid; surely lots of coordinators had a background in theater. But I couldn't shake the lingering thought that she could be playing an angle, or possibly even a member of Team Rocket, and that we shouldn't trust her.

"You have that dumb look on your face again," Samantha remarked, bringing my attention back to the present.

"Sorry, what Marelle said just got me wondering how many coordinators might have a background in performing arts," I answered as truthfully as I could, not wanting to trigger Marelle's weird sixth sense.

"A lot, there's a ton of overlap," Samantha replied, "I always had an interest in joining the drama club, but my parents wanted me to focus on piano and my friends at the time weren't exactly friendly with the drama kids,"

I gave Samantha a strained look, wondering if she had forgotten the warning I'd given her about Marelle. She really shouldn't be talking about her parents in front of her, even if what she said was vague enough it could fall into her cover story.

Assuming she was even still going with that… It was hard to say just how much of her plans to stay low-key Samantha had chosen to throw out of the window.

"Your 'brother' sure doesn't seem to know a lot about you," Marelle remarked, even going so far as to do air quotes with her fingers as she said it with a grin.

That. That right here was exactly why I didn't want her hanging around, and I had no idea how Samantha didn't grasp that. All it would take is some light prying and the right questions, and she could quickly become suspicious.

I cast Samantha a glare, "I assume you told her I'm not actually your brother?"

She crossed her arms and glared back, "She knows my past is a touchy subject I don't really want to revisit, but I did tell her that we were only siblings in spirit and that we'd only recently been able to get close."

I nodded, actually impressed with how Samantha had managed to dance around that particular topic. None of it was actually a lie, and it was a pretty good reason to keep her from prying. Not flawless, but good.

It made her past sound much more sinister or depressing than the reality of things, but I had to admit it was a solid cover.

"Sorry, bad joke. Guess we're even on that front. More importantly, what did you think of the show?" Marelle asked, causing Samantha to excitedly nod in support of the question.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I could swear she was intentionally stirring the pot. It was a normal enough question, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was approaching this conversation with bad intentions.

"You two were the clear standouts. Honestly, seeing it in person gave me a newfound respect for the kind of training and coordination that goes into a performance," I answered truthfully, avoiding the fact that I'd completely missed the final performance. I really didn't want to sour Samantha's win with news that I'd not only missed her big finale but also been kicked out of the Pokécenter. Hopefully, we could leave town tonight and I could either find a way to break the news to her another day or watch her performance online and take it to my grave.

"If you don't tell her I will, Danny," Marelle stated as she crossed her arms, an accusatory look in her eyes.

"You don't get to call me that; my name is Daniel," I snapped, perhaps a bit too forcefully. Marelle stood her ground and looked unphased, but Samantha was clearly taken aback by my rebuke before her eyes narrowed and she gave me a warning look.

"Don't be such a jerk, Daniel! And what exactly are you not telling me?"

"Sammy, how do you not see what she's doing? She's been antagonizing this entire time!" I half-shouted, losing my patience rapidly.

"She has her quirks, but so do you and I. She's my friend, we have a lot in common and we like hanging out, so quit being such an ass! Now what aren't you telling me?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down while deciding between being honest and just walking away. Somehow I already looked like the bad guy; there was no way things would improve if I admitted to breaking the rules and being kicked out just before her final performance. Maybe if I simply walked away, I could cool off and have this conversation without Marelle present.

Reassurance. "Honesty."

I sighed, taking a deep breath to calm myself. Apollo was right; at this point there was no reason to dance around the truth. Marelle obviously knew, and clearly had no intention of letting me omit it from the conversation.

"I fucked up," I admitted as I looked down at my feet, "I wanted both Apollo and Eevee to see you perform, so I snuck Eevee in my hoodie pouch. It worked for a while, but I got a bit too excited cheering after your first act and caught the camera's eye, with both Apollo and Eevee out. Someone sent security after me and I got kicked out. Nurse Joy also happened to be watching, so I got booted from the Pokécenter too since… well, it wasn't my first fuck-up. I didn't get to see your final performance, but I did get to see you receive your ribbon... I'm sorry."

I kept my eyes downcast, not daring to look at either Samantha or Marelle. I was half-expecting Samantha to slap me, or at least punch my arm and call me an idiot.

Instead, she stood there for a few seconds, then without a word she began walking toward the treeline south of town. Although she had her backpack on her for her contest outfit, I knew she wasn't actually leaving the town for good. She would need to check out of her Pokécenter room and return her keycard, and I was sure she had things like her coffee maker set up in her room she'd need to retrieve.

She just wanted some time alone. Or away from me, at least.

I glanced up to see Marelle spare me a look I couldn't quite place before jogging after her to catch up, leaving Apollo and me alone.

"Emotion check, please," I asked Apollo pleadingly, hoping for at least some sort of hint of what they were feeling. If Samantha was mad enough to not want anything to do with me, or if Marelle had some sort of sinister ulterior motives for how she'd been acting, I wanted to know.

Apollo gave me a look, and for a moment I thought he might tell me off or refuse, but after a moment he fed me the answers I was looking for.

"Sammy disappointed, mad, anxious. Other girl worry, regretful."

I nodded, deciding there was still hope that Samantha might come around after some time to think. I also took Marelle's emotions as a good sign that she wasn't purposely being too malicious, although I still felt like she had been unnecessarily hostile during that exchange.

"Well, I've only got one idea, and it's not ideal…"

"Please Nurse Joy, it's important. I'm begging you…" I pleaded with a rather displeased-looking Nurse Joy, who clearly didn't appreciate that I was already back so soon.

"You're really pushing it, Mr. Ingram."

"Five minutes and I'm gone, trainer's honor. I just need to send two quick emails. I assume my ban was just for the housing wing, right? No way that includes things like having my Pokémon tended to or using the terminal."

"It does, in fact. I've given the same temporary ban to many trainers who abused our facilities. The only exception to a ban is medical care and emergency situations."

"This is an emergency. One of my emails is to warn Sammy's parents of potential danger. I trust you understand why her safety might be a bit of a high priority?"

Nurse Joy's eyes widened in realization after being reminded that I was friends with the Stone girl whose profile she had helped make, and her expression softened as she nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"Five minutes, Mr. Ingram. I'm going to go tend to one of my inpatients, you better be gone by the time I'm back. Chansey, keep an eye on him for me will you?"

Chansey nodded, casting me a glare as I slightly bowed in thanks and rushed over to the terminal.

The first email I sent was to Samantha. It was by far going to be the hardest one to write, so I wanted to make sure I had ample time. I apologized, congratulated her on her accomplishment, and said that I'd be camping along the northern treeline just outside Verdanturf for the night before continuing on at noon. I said I'd understand if she chose otherwise, but that I was hopeful we could continue to be friends and travel together.

I thought about mentioning other things, such as reiterating that she needed to be careful around Marelle or that we needed to talk about her not using a stage identity, but I decided against it. There was no way she didn't already know both of those things, and I didn't want to add fuel to the fire unnecessarily.

By far the hardest part was writing the ending. I redid it at least five times, unsure of exactly how I would want to finish what could possibly be my last message to Samantha ever. I was still hopeful she'd cool off and we could talk through things, but there was a very real chance of that not happening. I could see a reality where she chose to hang around Verdanturf for a week for Marelle to get her ribbon, then travel with her to the next contest hall.

In the end, with a little feedback from Apollo, I decided to end by saying that I was proud to be her brother and was sorry she got stuck with a sibling so prone to being an idiot, but that I only meant well and hoped we'd be able to continue to grow close.

There was a lot that I wanted to say, and I wasn't particularly happy with the way the email turned out, but I was on a time limit that was quickly approaching its deadline, and I still had one more order of business.

The hard email sent, I quickly copied a certain ex-Champion's email from my inbox and sent him a quick email.

'Sir, this is probably inappropriate to ask and I might be overly paranoid, but if possible please have someone look into Mary Louis Summers (nickname Marelle) of Petalburg. Detects deceit, trained actress, getting close to our mutual friend, is digging and stirring. I might be going to Mauville alone unfortunately, want to ensure our friend is in good hands if so. Any help is appreciated.'

Much more concerned with getting out of the Pokécenter quickly to avoid Nurse Joy's wrath than I was with my grammar in that email, I quickly logged off and left the center as Chansey gave a half-hearted wave goodbye.

It was now entering early afternoon, and I didn't have much else I could do around town. I headed east until I found the sign welcoming me to Route 117, then went north until I hit the treeline not long after. Normally I didn't like setting up camp in plain sight, but considering I was so close to town and didn't want Samantha to have any trouble finding me I decided to make an exception tonight.

I released my team and quickly set up camp, my mind filled with lingering uncertainty about what the future might hold. But I reminded myself that I'd done everything I could do and that it was out of my hands, so I turned my attention to something I knew would help me take my mind off of things.

Training.

After a group effort to practice Protect, I'd had Eevee work on Swift, Duran Razor Shell, and Apollo Psybeam. By the end, none of them were what I would consider battle-ready, but there was noticeable improvement being made. Eevee managed to shoot Swift further and even managed to create two at once, Apollo's Psybeam was becoming more consistent, and Duran was clearly getting used to slashing with his claw as the gouges in the trees were deeper, and his claw was beginning to leak water as he performed the move. I still wasn't convinced it was a true Razor Shell, but I felt like it was getting close.

Even though we trained for about an hour and a half, longer than we normally went, there was still daylight to burn even after an impromptu meditation session with Apollo, who was being unusually quiet. I wasn't sure if he was mad at me, but something was clearly on his mind. I decided to not bring it up and simply ask him about it later if I noticed he was still a bit distant.

He wasn't ignoring me, and the fact that he hadn't disconnected from my mind was a good sign. It also meant he was well aware of my concern for him, and I took him not responding as appreciation for giving him some space. At least, that's how I chose to interpret it for now. My best guess is he didn't approve of me breaking the rules, and he didn't like how it had inadvertently soured Samantha's accomplishment.

After all, he had specifically asked me not to ruin her good mood, and I'd definitely done that even if by accident.

I was tempted to blame Marelle for everything, but the meditation helped me put into perspective that she hadn't exactly done anything terribly wrong, and I regretted my wording in the email to Steven. Sure, she'd been a bit pushy and made a tasteless joke, but realistically she just wasn't going to let me lie about seeing her performance. In a weird way, I could respect that she stuck up for her friend.

At least, that's the best interpretation of events I could give her, and I chose to stick with it for the time being. I still had some doubt about her intentions and hesitations about her hanging around Samantha, but again, there was nothing I could do about it now.

After a bit of light reading I was about to make an early dinner, but that gave me an idea. Considering I was feeling a bit restless, I decided to do something a bit bold. It was also something that I'd been wanting to try but hadn't been able to considering Samantha's presence and clear objections. If she continued traveling with us, I might not get the chance again for a while, so I wanted to do it while I had a clear window of opportunity.

I was going to try to teach Eevee to hunt.

I hadn't planned for this, so I wasn't sure exactly which species were fair game, but I knew that Taillow, Zigzagoon, Rattata, and Pidove were safe bets. They were common in this area and so overpopulated throughout the region they were considered pests. As long as we stuck to those species, I was extremely confident we were in the clear.

Zigzagoon were typically about three times the size of Eevee, so I discarded that species from consideration. Taillow, Rattata, and Pidove should all be perfectly do-able for Eevee, however there was one slight problem…

Eevee didn't have any 'killing' moves.

If we were going to take a life, it would be quickly and responsibly. Eevee didn't even know how to Bite, and I wasn't about to have him practice on our first hunt. He also wouldn't be able to kill with Quick Attack or Swift, at least not in any way I'd feel comfortable with.

No, what I needed was for Eevee to track and defeat the Pokémon, and find another way to finish the hunt until Eevee was capable of doing it. I had a pocket knife that could work, but I could also bring along Duran and have him–

"NO!"

I flinched, drawing confused looks from both Duran and Eevee at my reaction to the sudden yell Apollo had just done in my skull.

"What's wrong?" I sent worriedly.

"Duran struggle with past. Do not ask kill."

I briefly considered arguing before nodding silently and accepting Apollo's rebuke. I hadn't even thought about the possibility that Duran was still troubled by the Taillow incident, and perhaps others that happened before we met.

Although part of me believed that we all needed to be prepared to take a life in order to survive and defend ourselves, I didn't need to unnecessarily open up relatively fresh wounds. Someday, Apollo and Duran might have to kill, but today wasn't that day.

In fact, I realized it was shameful for me to ask my Pokémon to kill for me, at least if I wasn't willing to do it myself. I had the means to do it, and I needed to be a role model for my team if I wanted to teach them that hunting was a natural part of life. What kind of example would I be setting if I had Eevee hunt and incapacitate our prey, then had Duran finish the job while I just barked orders and watched?

No, Apollo was right. This was my responsibility, and it would be unfair to push that onto others.

"You're right, thanks for putting me in my place partner," I muttered as I rubbed his helmet. He didn't back away or anything, but I got the sense he still wasn't very pleased with me.

I'd need to have a heart-to-heart with Apollo soon, to let him air out his grievances. He had all the right in the world to be a bit peeved at me today.

"In fact… Want to come with us? I won't ask you to do anything, I just want to talk."

Annoyance. Anxiousness. "No want feel death again. Horrible."

I sighed, nodding in acceptance. At least he didn't seem overly opposed to the idea of hunting in general, and I could respect how he wouldn't want to willingly subject himself to the emotions or thoughts of a Pokémon about to die.

Although if things went according to plan, that wouldn't be the case. But with the day Apollo's had, I wasn't going to try talking him into it.

"Apollo and Duran, you're in charge of protecting the camp. If Sammy shows up, just tell her I'll be back shortly and let her stay. If anyone else shows up, don't let them steal anything but try not to hurt them. Scare them away, fight if you have to, just don't go overboard. If you feel like your life is in danger, just run. You should be fine since we're so close to town, but keep it in mind."

They nodded in understanding as I turned to a confused-looking Eevee.

"Eevee, we're going to do some bonding, as well as something a bit special. Sound good?"

Eevee jumped into my chest, and I caught him before giving him a quick pet and promptly setting him back down.

"I can't carry you this time little guy, not with what we're going to do. Let's step off to the side and talk before we set off, we've got some things to discuss."

It was true; I needed to make sure that Eevee was on board with the idea of hunting, and we needed to make sure we were both on the same page about how things would go.

I had a few reasons for wanting to learn to hunt, but needed to ensure I wasn't pushing those onto Eevee prematurely. The first was that I saw it as a way of ensuring survival if we ever found ourselves in an emergency or financial situation where we had no food. The second was that I'd grown up with few opportunities to eat meat, but knew that it was not only delicious when prepared right, but also packed with important nutrients. I'd never cared too much about what I ate before, but now that I was traveling the region I wanted to ensure my body was equipped to handle whatever might be thrown at us. That started with a proper diet, and living off of ramen wasn't going to cut it.

The last reason was that I thought it might give Eevee a boost in confidence and help cement our new partnership. We were both completely inexperienced at this, but I was sure we could figure it out by working together. Even if we failed, I was certain that it would be a great bonding experience.

Eevee was definitely hesitant, but thankfully he wasn't downright appalled once I explained what we were doing. I was relieved that he seemed to understand the concept of hunting and that it was a natural thing he would benefit from learning, but I could clearly see that he doubted his ability to track and defeat a wild Pokémon.

In my mind, that was the easy part. Eevee's hearing and sense of smell were bound to make ambushing potential prey a cakewalk, and I had no doubt that Eevee would be faster than whatever we encountered. So long as it wasn't a bird immediately taking flight, I had little doubt of our chances at success.

No, the real problem was simply Eevee's mindset; he had shocking low self-confidence when it came to pitting himself against an opponent. His attitude when it came to training was top-notch, but for some reason he seemed unusually anxious at the prospect of a real battle.

I explained that if things went well, it wouldn't be a true battle. I wanted Eevee to come out of nowhere and knock the opponent out as quickly as possible before they even had a chance to react. That helped calm his nerves a bit and he seemed to have no issues with what might be considered a 'dishonorable' fight by someone like Apollo.

In fact, Apollo was still in my mind since we were just outside camp, so I had half expected to hear him object telepathically. But he was quiet, seemingly content to let me and Eevee do our thing.

After a quick pep-talk and agreeing on a plan, I quickly returned to camp to grab everything we might possibly need. I took the nylon rope, a water bottle, the canister of mace, my small waterproof bag, Survive & Thrive, and ensured I had my utility knife on me.

After setting a GPS marker on my Pokédex to ensure we would be able to find our way back to camp, we were ready to begin the hunt. I bid Apollo and Duran one last farewell, ensuring them we'd be back before sunset and tasking them with protecting the camp.

If this venture was successful, there was going to be a bit of unpleasantness added to the day. Taking a life and doing the work needed to acquire the meat was bound to be tough to stomach, but I needed a distraction to keep my mind from worrying about things that were completely out of my hands. Hopefully, Samantha would show up and decide to resume traveling with me before I continued onward for Mauville tomorrow, but only time would tell.

A/N: I swore to myself when I started this fic that I wouldn't do content warnings because they spoil what is coming, but what comes next is obvious and I respect that many might not want to read it. The next chapter follows Samantha for her side of things (which I hope you'll enjoy), but the chapter after the next titled 'Hunt for Harmony' is fairly graphic and has been written specifically so it can be skipped without missing anything vital to the plot, just some character development. It's not excruciatingly detailed in my personal opinion as I gloss over the more unpleasant parts, however I refuse to write a story that skips to Daniel happily eating meat without any of the weight that comes with taking his first life. From the beginning I marked this story as M; it will probably be the first chapter to truly merit that rating. I've been dropping hints on hunting and fishing since before Daniel even began his journey so you've had plenty of warning it was coming. I'll be able to gloss over any future hunting that might happen, but I simply can't for his first time.

Shoutout to GoMagikarp for beta-reading this chapter.

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