"Derek, I don't want to be mean, but you look like shit."

"Hmm?" I pulled my eyes away from my PokeNav+ and slowly looked over at Amy, bringing a spoonful of scrambled eggs to my mouth in the process. "Oh, thanks."

"Seriously," Amy frowned as they puzzled over me. "Even your Presence doesn't look good. What happened? Did you even sleep?"

I slowly chewed my eggs, appreciating my first home-cooked meal in days. I didn't immediately answer them, but a word they used caught my attention. "Presence?" I mumbled with a full mouth.

"It's just what I call how I see people's emotions," Amy waved me off. "It's not that deep. Really though, what's wrong?"

I shrugged, not bothering to glance at Hana. She was sitting next to me now. Our talk yesterday had mended some fences, even if I still needed to earn back her trust. Instead, I glanced back at the Nav. On it was the list that I'd obsessed over making last night.

"Nothing," I lied, knowing that they would know. "I'm just tired. And I did sleep, just not the best."

Amy furrowed their eyebrows in frustration but didn't keep asking. They didn't take their eyes off me, but they respected my right to lie. Amy was good like that.

I wanted to apologize to both Amy and Yuji, and to Hana again, eventually, but right now I was focused on my list. I wanted to actually improve before I started making grand gestures and potentially empty promises. I'd been serious when I spoke to Hana yesterday. I needed help. I needed to retrain how I thought about risk, and how I evaluated my own problems. I couldn't throw myself on the grenade for somebody else, not anymore. Not when it would hurt them so much more if I actually got killed, or worse.

Yesterday, Hana had done something that no one else had. She'd scared me. She'd broken down every single thing I'd done wrong, and she'd made it clear through her words and emotions just how much I'd hurt her. That had cut deeper than any other failure I'd had to this point. I'd felt small and powerless and guilty, and I never wanted to feel that way again. So, instead of going to sleep, I'd stayed up for hours to come up with a list of rules to make better decisions. They weren't perfect, and I was sure that I would struggle against them at some point, but that was kind of the goal. They were a new code that I was going to stick to.

I looked back at the Nav, where I had the rules open on my notes app. The entire document was only a few hundred words long, but it had taken me almost eight hours to write seven rules. I had written and deleted almost twenty iterations of it, always feeling like I was missing something, or wording something wrong. Even now, it didn't feel refined or complete, but I was satisfied with where I'd left it.

"All right, kids," Ranger Tarina said from the end of the table. "Which of you are we dropping off on Route Three?"

The Rangers had let us join them in their small cafeteria for the morning before we headed out. Technically, we could have waited another day or two, but a quick group text had confirmed that we all felt a sense of urgency to get to our destinations. Our separate destinations. There was a pang in my chest as Lester and Ambrose raised their hands. They'd traveled with us into Mt. Moon to check out Floor Five, but their goal had apparently always been to go to Pewter. They'd only ended up on Route Four because of the cavern collapse, and the Rangers had offered to fly them to the Route Three Pokemon Center in light of everything we'd been through.

"Yeah, that's us," Ambrose said. His normally upbeat voice was a little down, and he tossed the rest of us a regretful look. It didn't look like they wanted to leave any more than we wanted them to.

Ranger Tarina nodded. "Okay, we'll head out in thirty. Make sure to be in the courtyard with your bags." She turned to the rest of us. "And you're leaving for Cerulean?"

Yuji spoke up. "Yes, and we plan to depart when Ambrose and Lester do." Yuji shot me a look, and I nodded back to him. Outside of mine and Hana's drama, our group chat had been active last night. The four of us had decided on something once we'd found out that Lester and Ambrose weren't coming with us.

Tarina stood, gesturing to a regional map of Kanto on the wall. "It should be a straight shot down through the hills. If you walk at a decent pace, it shouldn't take you longer than a couple of hours to get there."

We gave her some nods of acknowledgment and finished our breakfast. Before they left for their rooms, I helped Yuji corner Lester and Ambrose. Hana and Amy walked up behind us, just as involved as we were.

"Hmm?" Lester grunted. "What's up?"

"Well, friends," Yuji started. He glanced to me, obviously unsure how to start a conversation.

Never change, Yuji, I cracked a tired smile. The man regularly stared down the baddest threats around, but he still had a hard time starting a conversation.

"So, we've been texting," I picked up for him, and I gestured to my core group. "And basically, we all agree that we wouldn't have gotten out of Mt. Moon alive if you hadn't come with us."

It was true. Lester and Ambrose had been indispensable in the tunnels. Our encounter with both the Parasect and Rhydon would've gone very differently if they hadn't been there. Yuji wouldn't have been able to haul us out of the tunnel on his own. Even though I now had mixed feelings about it, I wouldn't have been able to help Minior or my egg without Lester.

"And," I gestured to Yuji. It was his turn now.

Yuji pulled three Pokeballs from under his jacket, the metal spheres clinking against his pin collection, and presented them to our new friends. Both of their faces went slack, though Ambrose was more pleasantly surprised while Lester gave Yuji a long look.

"We wanted you to have these," Yuji said. "Half of the Pokemon we caught to sell. A Bronzor and two Parasect. We know you both wished to catch Pokemon in Mt. Moon, so we hope that these can get you closer to your goals."

Amy piped up, squeezing their head under my arm and into the conversation. "Plus, you did so much work anyway! Like, honestly, we wouldn't have got them without you."

Hana nodded. "It's only right."

Ambrose smiled brightly, but before he spoke Lester frowned. "Half? That's not even close to an even split. You guys are giving us too much."

"If you were trying to split it six ways, yeah, but that's not the point," I added. "You guys did the Pyroar's share of the work, and we're grateful. It just makes sense."

Ambrose intertwined his fingers into his boyfriend's and gave us a nod. "Sounds good to me," he said. Ambrose leaned his head against Lester's. "Right, bubba? You're not gonna turn them down after all that?"

Lester debated it for a moment and was all waited with bated breath. Eventually, he sighed and took all three Pokeballs. "Thanks," he said.

"No," Yuji shook his head. "Thank you."

Yuji extended his hand forward, and Ambrose and Lester both took turns giving him a manly handshake. I knew how important this was to Yuji. Even though I'd gone on my own little adventure with Lester, Yuji had done bonding with these two that I just hadn't been present for. From spending hours at the campfire on our first night, to Yuji and Ambrose getting lumped in to do all the physical work, to the three of them having each other's backs in the rear guard, a strong bond had formed between the three of them.

It wasn't long after that before we all found ourselves in the outpost's courtyard. Ranger Tarina whistled, and her Noctowl and two Pidgeot descended from the cliffs above. She gestured to us, and it was time to say goodbye. Yuji went first, obviously, but I soon found myself in front of two companions who were going to be gone in minutes.

"So, Pewter?" I asked lamely. I didn't know what else to say.

Ambrose grinned. "Yup! Kicking Brock's ass, then down to Viridian."

I nodded, Ambrose's infectious energy bringing a smile to my face. "Hell yeah, I'm sure you guys'll crush it over there. You and me'll have to battle when I see you again."

"You're on!" Ambrose thrust his arm out for a forearm clasp and I didn't let him down. He pulled me into a half hug before letting go.

Lester stepped forward, a small grin on his face. "Actually," the goth said. "I'll be taking that first battle. I feel like I've earned it."

"Deal." Against my better wisdom, I pulled Lester into a full hug. The goth barely protested. "I'll be keeping my eyes on you guys, and I'll be seeing you in the Indigo Conference."

Lester and Ambrose got the same kind of fire in their eyes. They both nodded to me, a new pact forming then and there. My group had just acquired two new rivals.

Hana and Amy said goodbye to our friends, and then it was time for them to leave. Ambrose helped Lester up onto his Pidgeot, and then hopped onto his own. Ranger Tarina waved at us, though she shot me a look. It was soft and comforting, like she was reinforcing what she'd said yesterday. I nodded back, and she understood that she'd been heard. The Senior Ranger took off into the air, her Noctowl silent as a gust of wind, and the other two followed. Ambrose let out a whoop as he took off and Lester hunkered down into the Pokemon's feathers. Within seconds, they were gone.

We watched into the sky for a few seconds after they disappeared, but it was surprisingly Amy who got us on track.

"Alright, guys!" They barked at us. "Time to go! I want to nap today, and I'm not doing it on the routes. Let's get going!"

We all chuckled. Shouldering our bags, we turned and walked down the trail to Route Four. This route, now that I had the time to really inspect it, was so much more beautiful than Route Three had been. The eastern side of the mountain was less constricted by sharp canyons, though there were still distant rocky faces surrounding us, and instead opened up into a lush temperate forest. Massive trees flanked the sides of the trail. They were naturally spaced to allow small rocky crags and wirey mountain brush to interweave between them, which meant that I never felt confined like I had in the Viridian Forest.

The sheer incline of the hills meant we lost sight of the Ranger Outpost pretty quickly. The trail was well-maintained, probably a duty of one of the Rangers, and allowed for quick travel. It took everything we had not to stop and enjoy the scenery, though I did catch more than one of us tilting our heads up to feel the sun on our faces. After four days underground and way too many close calls, it felt too good to not enjoy the warmth.

One holdover from our time in the tunnels was our need for security. No one mentioned it, but each of us had at least one Pokemon out as we traveled. It only marginally slowed us down, but I could feel all of us, people and Pokemon alike, relax in each other's company. Wisp stayed in my shadow, but I actually let Artis join me out of his Pokeball for once. He hadn't traveled on any of the routes since Route One, and it was for good reason. His tiny spherical body hadn't been built for moving long distances over land. His new Sealeo body still wasn't, but his bulk and added muscle mass more than made up for it. Now he was able to shuffle down the road at roughly the pace of the average walk, which was a huge improvement for him. Artis happily barked at little bugs and stopped to sniff the wildflowers as we passed by. He was really enjoying himself, which made my heart hurt to think that he'd been missing out on all of this the entire time.

He wasn't the only new addition to the traveling party. Amy had spoken to their Bronzor last night after they'd gotten it back from Nurse Joy, and the steel type was now floating above Amy's head as we traveled. Every once in a while, the little metal disk would vibrate at different frequencies, its tones obviously showing different emotions, though I couldn't understand them yet. Amy was over the moon with them, though, and would audibly speak to it whenever it voiced its opinions. Apparently, it was pretty talkative.

As for the other two, they carried the usual suspects. Paige had intertwined her vines around Hana's backpack straps, positioning herself like a little shoulder-mounted spore cannon. The grass type had been fully healed from her dangerous encounter with Rhydon, though I could still see patches of bright green and yellow where her plant body had been hastily regrown. Yuji and Despereaux, like always, were an inseparable pair. There was something different about their dynamic, though. Normally, Despereaux would act like a scout for us, running ahead on the trail and warning us of upcoming danger and Pokemon. He wasn't doing that anymore. Instead, the purple-furred mouse was anchored firmly to his trainer's side and pushed against Yuji's ankle with his shoulder every few steps.

I didn't miss the way Yuji's hand would hover over Achilles' ball, only for a shadow to fall over his features and for him to drop his hand. I felt really bad for the guy. His relationship with his own skill level hadn't been great before Mt. Moon, but he'd seen his ace get demolished in just a few moves. It was going to be a while before his confidence recovered, and even then, he needed to find ways to cover the gaps in his training style. I was already working on changing mine, but he'd need to find his own solutions.

"Rule number seven," I found myself muttering under my breath. 'Let problems be problems' was one of my new mantras. Even if I wanted to help Yuji, I needed to let him try and solve things on his own first.

Pokemon were abundant on the route, and, unlike inside Mt. Moon, they didn't seem to wish us any ill will. Flocks of Spearow and Pidgey flapped through the air and took to resting in the tall trees, and we passed dozens of Rattata skittering between the rocks and trees. Hana took the time to point out the harder-to-spot Pokemon to me, and I was able to scan Pineco and Hoothoot with my Pokedex. Much to my chagrin, we even spotted an Ekans warming itself in the sun. I'd had two too many bad experiences with its evolution to be comfortable.

The winding trail joined the main row after about an hour of downhill walking. It wasn't long before we were joined on the road by dozens of trainers headed both to and from Cerulean City. It was actually a pretty wild experience, all things considered. None of the routes that I'd traveled so far had really been all that populated. I'd run into exactly one trainer between Pallet and Pewter, and the few groups we'd run into on Route Three had been scatted along a winding canyon road. Since this area was way flatter, we were constantly within the eye line of a dozen other travelers at any given time. We didn't stop to battle them, and, for the most part, none of them seemed particularly interested. I noticed a lot of strained and rushed expressions among the trainers we passed, and I quickly realized the situation that they were facing. Brock had mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but a statistic that I'd 'known' for a while was coming to mind: half of all trainers dropped out of the League without receiving their first badge. We were a month and a half into a nine-month season. Anyone who didn't have a badge yet was not on track to complete eight gym challenges before Indigo, and I was seeing the stress of that on a lot of the trainers we were passing.

It gave me perspective on my group. Even though we'd lost to Giovanni, it was pretty clear that we would've won at any other Gym for our first badge. Strength-wise, we were at least competent enough to have gotten two badges, even though we still only had one. If somebody had been trying and failing in that time to earn a single badge, it put us head and shoulders above the majority of trainers. Hopefully, that trend would continue. According to most studies, only about fifty rookie trainers actually completed eight gyms in their first year, leaving most of the spots in their regional conference for returning and veteran challengers.

"Actually," I thought aloud as we passed another group of trainers our age. "I haven't seen almost anybody older than us yet. What's up with that? Where are all the non-rookies?"

It really hadn't been something I'd noticed until just now. I went through the mental checklist of every place we'd been to. The only people I'd run into in Viridian had been my group, who were, of course, rookies. In Pewter, Terry and Mick's groups had both been rookie-only, as had everybody except Darien on Route Three. And even then, Darien hadn't actually battled, he'd really just been more of a babysitter.

"Hmm?" Hana pulled out a headphone, and I could vaguely hear the podcast she was listening to. It was something news-based. "Oh, I think we still have about a month till Triumph Day, so I wouldn't expect to see any veterans yet."

I frowned at her. "What?"

Hana gave me a concerned look and pulled out her other earbud. "Triumph Day?"

"Nope," I shook my head. "No idea what that is."

Yuji fell back a few steps to walk next to me. He looked puzzled. "That's so strange," he said. "You don't have a Triumph Day in Hoenn? How is that fair?"

"It isn't," Hana said with a frown. "The skill gap would make the beginning of the season far too competitive."

"Okay," I furrowed my eyebrows, feeling a little frustration seep in. "Can someone please, for one moment, assume that I don't know what this is? Please explain: what is a 'Triumph Day'?"

"It's the day that veterans are allowed to join the season," Yuji said. "Since the first three months are reserved for rookies only."

Hana nodded. "It gives the rookies time to travel and train, gathering new Pokemon and experiencing gyms among their peers. It sets the baseline for Pokemon training and is one of the oldest traditions here in Kanto. Do you guys really not have that in Hoenn?"

I shook my head, satiated at the answer, though a little pit formed in my stomach. "No, we don't. Everybody starts at the same time."

"That doesn't make any sense," Amy piped up. "How the heck are you supposed to compete with veteran trainers on your first day?"

"I don't think that's... ...yeah, no, I don't think I've ever heard of that being a problem." I thought about it for a moment. "I mean, only a dickhead would battle a newbie, right? So, like, veteran trainers tend to battle among themselves, and rookies stick with rookies. They don't really compete with each other until later in the season, so everybody can coexist."

Hana snapped her fingers, reaching some invisible epiphany. She almost immediately looked annoyed. "I get it," she said. "It's a Kanto thing because of how they value strength. The League probably realized that you can't trust the strong not to pick on the weak here."

There was a round of downcast looks as we realized she was right. Yuji and Amy both looked particularly crestfallen, as they were our two Kanto natives. I felt kind of bad, exposing something that was obviously an exciting event for their League as being probably rooted in a need to curb bullying. It did make me feel a little better about my home region, though, so that was a plus. I asked a few more questions about 'Triumph Day', and the answers left me pondering.

Finding out about Triumph Day made me realize that, while it didn't directly affect me, there was sort of a time limit on the learning curve of being a rookie here. In a month and a half, Kanto's experienced trainers would be allowed to train on the routes and apply for Gym Challenges. That had all sorts of immediate implications, as well as ones that I probably would never realize. These experienced trainers would not only have their own powerfully trained Pokemon, but would be able to catch, trade, and sell more powerful and rarer Pokemon than we would. Their stronger teams would also let them clear the eight gyms sooner, so they'd be able to apply to travel through the Victory Road sooner, further widening the gap between them and any new rookies.

"Ya know," I muttered. "Triumph Day is sounding like a better and better idea."

The breakdown of the future of the season made the time pass quickly. The long road evened out, cresting one final low hill before flattening. It gave us a view of the city to the east, and it was breathtaking. Cerulean City was one of the coastal cities here in Kanto, and seeing an expanse of blue ocean in the distance made my heart hurt. I hadn't seen the sea since I'd left home.

Cerulean was a little bigger than Pewter City, though that was probably because it wasn't boxed in by cliff walls. Instead, a single river wrapped around the city, headed north before it finally found an outlet in the sea. The buildings were low and beautiful, and they glimmered with white and blue tiled patterns. The greenery was abundant and lush around the city; trees and bushes crowded major pathways and the spaces between homes. In the center of the city, I could see the Cerulean Gym. It was a massive half-domed building with a red and yellow spiraled roof. Even at this distance, I could see the crowd of people gathered at its front entrance. It looked like Cerulean was going to be just as crowded as Pewter.

Unlike in Pewter, we didn't have to rely on the Nav to get us from place to place. As soon as we entered town, Amy took the lead.

"Come on guys!" Amy was a bit impatient with us. "There's a better Pokemon Center this way!"

The tiny psychic looked absolutely ecstatic to be somewhere familiar. I hadn't forgotten one of the first real conversations we'd had where Amy had mentioned that they'd grown up in Cerulean, even if they'd moved around a lot as a kid. Instead of following the foot traffic toward the center of town, where I'm sure there was a Pokemon Center placed strategically near the gym, Amy led us to the north side of town.

The footpaths of northern Cerulean were like walking through the world's biggest garden. The river came right up to the edge of the city where the bank met a smooth waist-high wall that kept people from falling in. Up against the river were patches of open parks and dozens of planters that were full of flowers. I would have been surprised that anything had bloomed this early in the summer, but I was dumbfounded that the planters were full. A heavy breeze came off the water and I was immediately hit with the floral scent of the park that ever so slightly carried a tinge of the sea.

"Alright, Amy," I said with a smile as we walked. "This place is pretty awesome."

They rolled their eyes, a grin on their face. "I told you guys! Cerulean is the best! Plus, even though it's a little farther away from anything, I know that the Pokemon Center up here almost never fills up with people! We might actually get our own rooms!"

Yuji and Hana both shot them a look before picking up the pace. "You should have led with that," Yuji muttered.

"Seriously," Hana agreed. "Barring last night, I haven't had my own room since Viridian City."

"Why do you think I made us walk so far?" Amy almost looked like they were offended. "I don't like walking, guys, but this little bean is ready for some alone time. And just imagine it, getting to sleep without hearing Derek snore!"

I whipped my head around, "What?"

Amy stopped like a Stantler in headlights. "Uh, never mind."

"No, wait, guys," I turned to the other two, who both averted their eyes. "I don't- I don't snore. Do I?"

I was met with a deafening silence.

"Really?" I whined, feeling more than a little betrayed. "Nobody thought to mention this to me?"

Yuji put his hand on my shoulder. "You are a good roommate in other ways, my friend. Don't let it eat at you."

Hana mirrored him, resting her hand on the opposite shoulder. "And it's barely noticeable when we're in an actual room. It's just... ...we were in a cave."

"It echoes," Amy added helpfully. "Like, a lot."

I sulked the rest of the way to the Pokemon Center.

----------------------------------------

Since we had gotten to Cerulean so quickly, we unanimously decided to spend the rest of today as our rest day. It wasn't even noon yet, so was had almost an entire day to kill. Instead of heading to train with Yuji, going to the shops with Hana, or taking a nap like Amy, I decided to spend my day upkeeping all of my responsibilities. At least, the things that I held myself responsible for.

Just like Amy had thought, we'd managed to all get private rooms. After we checked in, I left my Pokemon and the egg with Nurse Joy before unloading my stuff into my room. While the Joy at the outpost had given Arits and Wisp an all-clear on any obvious injuries, I wanted to make sure they got an in-depth check-up, since Artis had just evolved and Wisp had been put through the wringer. The egg, for even more obvious reasons, also needed a full medical scan.

After I'd unloaded my stuff, I washed the route off of me and headed up to the computer lab. Unlike the ones in Viridian and PEwter, this one was on the top floor of the Center. The room was set up like a little cafe, complete with a snack and coffee bar, and all of the windows extended from floor to ceiling. Since this Center was set up on the banks of the river, people using the computer room could watch as it glimmered under the sunlight.

I plopped into a little cubicle and got to work. I had a lot of catching up to do. There was contacting my parents, sending my footage to the museum, messaging Professor Oak, sending Daisy an update, editing and uploading my RoTube and Pokegram posts, and starting to research Cerulean's gym leader. And all of that came after the most important thing, which I'd promised Hana and myself that I'd do as soon as possible.

Dear Dr. Delkins, I started my email, taking the time to format it professionally. I was emailing to let you know that I'd made it to Cerulean City. Given what we talked about in my assessment, and some other things that have come up, I wanted to see about reaching out to a therapist here in Cerulean as quickly as possible...

My email went on for another few lines, but that was the bulk of it. 'Derek 2.0' was going to take a while to figure out, but I needed to make this first step while I had the motivation. If I just let myself move on, I wasn't going to try again until something else bad happened. I gave a quick proofread to the email before I hit 'send'.

I felt a physical burden lift from my shoulders as I sent the message on its way. I hadn't realized how badly I'd tensed up while typing it out, but the release of that stress left me feeling exhausted and strangely giddy.

Now that I'd done the most stressful thing, I glanced over my list. Not the list, the one of all my new resolutions, but the list of crap I had to get done today. My email to the museum would have to wait until I'd pulled the footage off of my camera with everything I was going to use for my Mt. Moon video.

Legends, I mentally sighed. I didn't even think about that. There's no way in hell I'm putting what happened on the internet.

Rhydon and the cavern collapse were too personal, and I wasn't going to put out the footage of Clefairy's cavern without explicit permission from the League. I knew that it was probably a good idea to try and cut something together out of the footage, but I honestly couldn't think of anything that I wanted to relive from Mt. Moon. Walking in with my friends had been cool, but that didn't really create a good video narrative.

I shrugged. The influencer thing had mostly been to counteract the bad press I had been getting from Mick's interview. I wasn't opposed to doing more things with it in the future, but I wasn't bothered about just not putting out a video. On that thought, I clicked over to my Pokegram webpage, which I hadn't really checked since Pewter. Sure, I'd uploaded a video on Route Three, but I hadn't really had time to look through my notifications.

Luckily, I'd only been tagged in a few dozen posts over the last week. More than half were just reuploads of either the museum or my Pewter challenge, but I did see some stuff regarding a radio show? I clicked around and it was just a couple of guys talking about the challenge elevations, so I didn't sit through the whole thing. From the comments that people had tagged me with, it didn't seem like their reviews were going to be overly friendly, anyway. There was a single mention of me on one of Mick's recent videos, but it didn't have any likes or replies. I grinned as I realized that the 'drama' between us was dying down.

I spent the next hour going through my list. I sent Daisy and my parents texts instead of videos, or even calling them in the case of Mom and Dad. I didn't really want to talk to them until I heard back from Dr. Delkins and managed to get through a therapy session or two. After my messages were sent, I finally took the time to pull my footage of Mt. Moon off my camcorder. Since I'd already gone through it all with the Rangers, I had a pretty good idea of where all my timestamps were.

I split the footage into three main categories: what I needed to analyze for battle, what I needed to send to the museum, and what I needed to send Professor Oak. Watching the Rhydon footage in the caves had been a big eye-opener for me, and I was sure that I could learn even more by studying it as much as possible, so that was necessary.

Once I had my footage separated, I made the first of my two calls that I'd be making today. I assumed it would be the longer and more intense one, so I wanted to get it out of the way. It went into the territory of rules number four and five, so I was sure that I was going to be exhausted by the end of it.

The phone only rang for a few seconds before the Professor picked up.

"Mr. Tracy?" Professor Oak asked with a surprised smile on his face. He was standing in the workroom in his laboratory. "It's pleasant to hear from you, young man! I must say, I wasn't expecting for you to have reached Cerulean so soon."

"It's good to see you too, Professor. And, uh, ha, yeah," I mumbled, scratching my neck. "That's actually a really long story."

The professor nodded, taking my words with their intended meaning. "I see," he said. He reached to the side of the camera for something that I couldn't see before pulling back with a desk chair in hand. Professor Oak plopped himself down. "Then I suppose I should get comfortable! Please, tell me about your experiences. I'm quite intrigued by your tone."

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I still found it genuinely touching that this titan of the scientific community would take the time out of his day to sit and talk with me. Doubt that my story was important enough to warrant taking up the Professor's time started to close in, but I pushed back on it.

Believe in the people who believe in me, I reminded myself. I'd written rule number five last night, so it wouldn't do for me to immediately ignore it.

"Well, Professor," I started. "Me and my friends ran into some trouble when a cave collapsed..."

I spent the next fifteen minutes giving Professor Oak an extremely truncated version of what had happened in Mt. Moon. While I held back on some of the more dangerous details, mostly because I didn't want to relive them, I was pretty forthcoming with everything else that had happened. He perked up when I mentioned Minior, and I chose that time to hit 'send' on the footage that I'd prepared.

"This is what I was able to record with my camcorder," I said as he opened it. "It's a little dark, but I tried to boost the exposure in post. You should be able to see it pretty okay. I don't know, it's not something from around here, right?"

Though his brow had been furrowed through most of my story, Professor Oak's face split into a smile of curiosity as he watched Minior float around the screen. The old man's scientist side was on full display, and he immediately started to jot down notes as he studied the footage.

"You're correct," Professor Oak said. "I haven't seen any Pokemon like this before, and it is marvelous!"

"Sweet," I breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad something good came of all of that."

Professor Oak vigorously nodded, his eyes finally flicking back to me. "My boy, you've done a very good job, especially given the circumstances that you faced. Did you take undue risks? Yes. Would I have advised against them? Absolutely. But in the retelling of this story, I can already tell that you will not be repeating this pattern of behavior again."

"I won't be," I promised. "I'm working on me."

Oak smiled warmly. "Good. Then, overall, I must say that this discovery is quite extraordinary. Honestly, this is exactly the sort of task that my aides and sponsored trainers carry out. I assume that your feelings toward that path have not changed?" The professor raised a teasing eyebrow at me, but his expression turned contemplative when I didn't immediately respond.

"Uh, actually," I dropped my gaze from the call. Having Professor Oak's full attention was a lot. "Professor, I was actually hoping- maybe- if it was still available-"

I took a breath and steeled myself. Seek out advice. Believe in the people who believe in me.

"Professor, I know that I turned you down before," I said, meeting his eyes. "But I was hoping that you would consider sponsoring me this season?"

This had been a long time coming. When I had first come to this region, I'd assumed that Professor Oak had only offered me a sponsorship because of who my dad was, and I'd made up some bull about not wanting to catch a bunch of Pokemon for his lab. In reality, that had been my first self-sabotage in Kanto. Professor Oak had made it clear, multiple times, that he was interested in sponsoring me for reasons that were entirely because of who I was, not my dad. Daisy spent weeks trying to get me to ask her grandfather for help. Hana had convinced me that I needed to grasp every opportunity that was offered to me.

And while I was doing it for all of them, more importantly, I was doing this for myself. This was the ultimate and immediate test of the moral code that I'd spent the night designing. If I accepted the support of the Oak Lab, I would be giving myself access to resources that would keep me safe, would help me learn better and faster, and would make me a part of something that would build me up. I had a lot of soul-searching to do and this kind of pushed on my sixth rule, but I knew that this was the right choice. The ball had started rolling a while ago and I felt secure in this decision.

Professor Oak's contemplative look didn't let up. "If you are serious about this, you need to know that this will not be easy" he warned. "You would be signing on to complete tasks given to you by both myself and my research aides, and you would be representing the Oak Research Laboratory in all professional and personal settings. While you will have access to many privileges, you will also have many responsibilities, Mr. Tracy."

"I know, sir," I answered immediately. "And I think I can do it- No, I know I can. Also, I mean, I'm already getting a lot of the benefits you give your sponsees, right? I might as well take on the responsibilities too."

It was true. Professor Oak had let me keep the Pokedex on day one, even though I'd turned him down, and was both giving me a new Pokemon and letting me store my Pokemon at his ranch. I'd accepted them under momentary duress before, but this meant that I could both feel comfortable receiving those benefits and grasp new opportunities.

Professor Oak's manic side slipped from under his professional mask and he smiled wide. "That was a good answer, Mr. Tracy. I'll send over the paperwork in a few minutes. I've had it drawn up for quite a while, after all."

I let out a sound that was somewhere between a nervous chuckle and a sigh of relief. Of course he had. From his perspective, this had probably always been a foregone conclusion.

"On that note," Professor Oak continued. "Have you decided on what Pokemon you would like to receive? I know that you had asked for time to think, but three weeks is quite a large time for contemplation."

Professor Oak didn't say it with any sense of urgency or impatience, nor did it feel like he was trying to push me to actually make up my mind, but his words did make me feel embarrassed.

"Uh, actually, that was another reason I wanted to call you," I admitted. "I've been having some choice paralysis, and I realized that, well, I should probably ask your opinion."

Professor Oak looked genuinely touched and surprised. I didn't know how he was surprised, considering his past. The man was a current super-professor and former champion of Kanto, of course he would have some good ideas for what Pokemon I should pick. Since I had already narrowed it down, I let Professor Oak know everything that I had already considered.

"So, you are making the correct decision to choose a rare Pokemon," he mused. "I was fearful that your humility would have you ask for a partner that was easily attainable, so it is heartening to hear that you taking full advantage of my offer."

"Thanks, I guess?" I didn't want to agree with him, but I could totally see the Derek of three weeks ago going for a cop-out with a Pokemon that I'd already planned on catching.

"And you've narrowed the choices to a fossil Pokemon or a pseudo-legendary..." Professor Oak pulled a battered Pokedex from his pocket. He absentmindedly began to scroll through them. "Your current team is comprised of a Sealeo and a Misdreavus. You also have a Cleffa egg which will hatch sometime in the future. You already plan to receive or import a dragon type in the future, which would eliminate most pseudo-legendaries and several fossil Pokemon."

I nodded. "I did some research on Route Three around foreign Pokemon, but I couldn't find a lot on Pokemon from Galar or Paldea. Kalos and Unova had some interesting options, plus my home region has some really good ones."

The professor inclined his head. "Hoenn, in fact, has one of two non-dragon pseudo-legendaries that I'm aware of. And, since you already are taking a generalist approach to your team, we can also eliminate several well-known fossils from their typing alone. That would leave you with," the professor debated his answer in his head for a moment. "Eight options."

My eyes bulged a little. Professor Oak had narrowed the list of Pokemon to a number that was both way higher and way lower than what I'd been expecting. I still hadn't narrowed my own list to lower than fifteen Pokemon, but the way he'd broken it down made it clear to me that he was also pulling from a larger pool of Pokemon than I was aware of.

"If it helps," I said. "I was hoping to raise a Pokemon that wasn't from here. Kanto-Johto, I mean. There was a Pokemon- I mean, I saw a Pokemon from a region that I didn't recognize, and it left an impression."

I hadn't forgotten about Toxtricity. The sheer power that Proton's exotic Pokemon had put off was reason enough to want something on that level, but the fact that I'd had no idea what it was made it so much scarier. I was going to tone down the behavior I'd displayed with my flag after the Pewter Gym, but the idea of having a Pokemon foreign to Kanto was one that stuck in my head.

He nodded, taking my statement in stride. "And do you have an idea of what role this Pokemon is going to play? From what you'd said, you're planning on changing how you train your Pokemon for battle, is that correct?"

After the conversation we'd been having and the myriad of emotions that Professor Oak had displayed over it, it was finally my turn to let out a manic smile. "Oh, yeah," I said with a smirk. "Let me tell you all about that, actually..."

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My conversation with Professor Oak ended after almost an hour of debating the build of my team and what Pokemon would work with some of the strategies I was working on. I left the call feeling like I'd made real progress on a lot of different fronts. We hadn't made a decision yet, but I now had narrowed it down to three options. In no particular order, they were:

Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokemon. I'd grown up in the shadow of Metagross my entire life, as it was the ace of Steven Stone, the champion of the Hoenn region. There wasn't a single trainer in Hoenn who wasn't intimately familiar with the sheer power and efficiency that the steel type could deliver to a battle. While it wasn't quite undefeated, Champion Stone's Metagross had been considered one of the strongest Pokemon in my home region for almost as long as I'd been alive. Outside of its reputation, it would also be an absolute beast of a physical hitter, something that my team was currently lacking.

Cradily, the Barnacle Pokemon. This one was the two fossil Pokemon on the list, and was also native to my home region, just like Metagross. This ancient grass type was ridiculously hard to deal with since it had a ton of natural regeneration moves that would let it regrow itself from pretty bad conditions. One of its abilities, Storm Drain, would also work insanely well with Artis' water type moves in the case of double battles or encounters like the one we'd had with Rhydon. Professor Oak had also pointed out that it had access to a ton of passive damage moves, like Toxic and Stealth Rock, which would let us outlast a lot of teams if I could get set up.

Rampardos, the Head Butt Pokemon. This guy was the only one who didn't come from Hoenn, and I didn't know if that made me more or less likely to pick it. In a similar role to Metagross, Rampardos would be the spear to Artis' shield. It was made for one thing: attacking. Even though it wasn't the fastest or the bulkiest, Rampardos was a weapon of indiscriminate destruction due to his natural aggression and ability to break down stone walls with just its head. Having such a heavy hitter would give me a pretty good edge in any battle. It was also the only Pokemon that I didn't have a ton of ways to pair with Artis, Wisp, or the Cleffa egg, but I knew that synergy would come with time and practice.

I spent the rest of the afternoon filling out Professor Oak's paperwork for my sponsorship, though I did take a break to call the Pewter Museum. They were ecstatic to receive the footage, though the Rangers had already contacted them regarding the illegal mining. Dr. Spinel had thanked me multiple times, and I couldn't help but feel like the paleontology department was slowly starting to become my biggest fan club.

I also heard back from Dr. Delkins. He hadn't sent a long email, just an address with a time and date for two days from now. At the bottom he'd only written: You're making the right choice. Good luck.

After a few hours of sitting, Nurse Joy's voice came over the intercom. "Will Derek Tracy please make their way to the front desk? Your Pokemon are ready for pick up."

I stretched, feeling my spine crackle and pop, and let out a yawn. A big grin found its way onto my face. It had been a long day, so I was ready to curl up with my Pokemon and knock out. Scratch that, it had been a long month. Hell, in the last thirty days, I'd: gotten a girlfriend, survived a terrorist attack, had a challenge elevated gym battle, made half a dozen new rivals, started a short-lived influencer career, suffered a cavern collapse, barely defeated a too-powerful enemy, strengthened and weakened my relationships, discovered an unseen Pokemon, rescued an abandoned egg, and had accepted a sponsorship from a world-renowned lab. Oh, and I'd been diagnosed as mentally ill, obviously.

Despite all that, I felt good. I had a plan. I had a structure for good decision-making. I was working on my flaws. My Pokemon were healthy. I had two new team members lined up in Oak's Pokemon and the Egg. I had a date scheduled for therapy.

Things were looking up. It was the beginning of a new chapter for me.