Thursday, June 8th, 1978, 2015

Dani gently massaged her aching feet, doing her best to squeeze the soreness out of them. Although she didn't want to admit it, the frigid march through the forest had taken it out of her. She hadn't fallen, per se, but constantly catching herself hurt her wrists. Not to mention, she still needed to completely adjust to walking fifteen kilometers or more each day.

I need to toughen up fast, or I'm going to fall behind. Dani grimaced; Mare already went out of his way to check in with her and help her out. He clearly thinks I can't handle it.

Dani's bare feet were rough to the touch, with callouses on top of callouses that had gradually slaked off during their trek through the storm. The constant friction of soaking socks against the stiff leather of her boots had swiftly developed a mess of blisters. The continued abuse had just as swiftly debrided the many newly formed blisters from the afternoon, leaving her with a bloody mess of skin hanging off of each heel.

Her ravaged heels burned constantly, and bright blood stained the gray socks lying rigidly beside her in a sodden mess.

Dani methodically sorted through her pack to find several appropriately sized bandages, deftly applying a dab of antiseptic cream before using her cold hands to smooth them securely against the inflamed flaps of flesh.

I hate the cold. Stupid rain. Stupid mud, she thought, imagining the warmth from her mom's fireplace back home in Fuchsia. I still don't understand how Ellie can always be so sunshine and flowers. She practically came out of that storm happier than when she went in!

Dani glanced at the girl in question, who was sorting through various clothes to find a replacement "dress" for Anabelle. The pokemon watched Ellie with adoring eyes as she patty-caked with her hands in anticipation.

Cute. Just cute, she thought enviously. I wish any of my pokémon were cute like that. Bugs are helpful but decidedly not cute.

Even after just a few hours, the boisterous healing pokémon was all but smitten with Ellie. Somehow, falling repeatedly together into the mud had bound them tighter than Dani felt with any of her own pokémon, even after an entire circuit together with most of them.

She frowned, thinking of the gaggle of bug pokémon that were fated to fade away in just a few years, not to mention her inherited aging Rapidash.

I definitely need to catch a mammalian type to get attached to, she decided at that moment. Bugs are not the answer. I want to snuggle up with a cute and fluffy pokémon like Eon. Mare has it so good and he doesn't even know it.

Dani had never intended to become a bug-type specialist. She had simply been wandering the Safari zone with her dad, Alain, when a Weedle ambled up to her and wouldn't leave her alone! She eventually grew fond of the pokémon, but it wasn't like bug types called to her in any way, shape, or form.

Instead, it seemed like they were drawn to her.

Venonat and Scyther had approached her of their own volition in much the same way. She had to turn down many other pokémon that sought her out over the last few years in various locations.

A Caterpie curiously investigating while she cried outside on the porch. A small Paras eager to try her lunch in the courtyard of Fuchsia High while excited students babbled around her. The incidents went on and on.

Dani sighed, growing melancholy at the thought of catching and raising an entirely new team every few years.

Maybe I'm not cut out for this, after all, she mused while quietly observing her recently acquired traveling companion.

Petal and River were on their way to sleepy town, curled up comfortably against Ellie's thighs as she seemingly ransacked her entire wardrobe in search of a perfect garment. She would grab a shirt, hold it up to Anabelle thoughtfully, and then inevitably decide it wasn't the right choice. A growing pile of clothing was on the floor next to Ellie, and Anabelle was still dress-less.

Ellie hummed a vaguely familiar tune, but Dani couldn't tell what it was from. It was bright and upbeat, and the chipper girl did an excellent job hitting the high notes, even if a few were the tiniest bit flat in the upper register.

Probably from a popular TV show, Dani decided as she scoured her memory for the few shows she had absently watched over the years. She had never been big on watching a lot of TV, preferring to enjoy the outdoors most of the time.

Tentatively, Dani decided to go ahead and ask Ellie where the song was from before she went crazy trying to figure it out.

"What's that from? It sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it," she commented, adopting a casual smile.

Things were awkward between the two of them when Mare wasn't there. Although he was far too serious and even sullen at times, his presence allowed the group to function quite well.

Dani had never felt at ease with other girls, either. That was part of the reason she had even agreed to travel with the Fuchsia boys in the first place. She never seemed to say the right things or laugh at the right time, and other girls just gave her odd looks and the cold shoulder.

She had initially planned to take the ferry to Pallet town like most of the younger Fuchsia trainers, but Avery and his group of followers had recognized her from a video online of one of her gym matches and asked if she would guide them through the wilds so they could "prove their bravery."

They thought it would make them better trainers, not realizing that the journey through the peninsula was sparsely traveled and would only help them become better hikers and campers!

Or dead, she thought, imagining them running into any of the apex predators in the forest they had just passed through. The boys wouldn't stand a chance. I hope they're doing okay.

Ellie looked over curiously. "I'm surprised you recognize this one! It's the opening song for my favorite contest show in Johto, Ageless Elegance! There are, like, a ton of different contests, but this one focuses on traditional outfits that they used to wear back in the olden days! I didn't take you for a contest fan; I'm so glad we have something in common!" Ellie added with a vibrant smile before returning to perusing her wardrobe. "What's your favorite contestant? I totally love Miko's Sneasel! You wouldn't think such a scary pokémon would look so good in a kimono, but the contrast, like, totally makes it, ya know?"

Dani felt conflicted; she didn't like contests, but this was an excellent opportunity to get to know Ellie better, something she was determined to work on during their time at the inn. It was too bad she had no idea what show Ellie was referring to.

Gathering herself for the necessary lie, she responded vaguely, "Yeah! I think my siblings were watching when I came home from school a few weeks ago. Or something. It's really catchy, but I don't know any of the contestants off the top of my head, though. Sorry."

That was pretty good, right? Dani thought while anxiously awaiting a response.

"That's weird.. it doesn't usually play on mainstream TV in Kanto. I have to search it up online if I want to watch it.." Ellie trailed off awkwardly. Apparently, she was too sharp to not notice such a blatant lie about something she loved.

As if sent by Arceus itself, there was a quiet knock at the door, interrupting the increasingly uncomfortable conversation.

Thank goodness.

Dani sagged with relief as Ellie immediately lost interest from the new stimulus.

"Coming!" Ellie called out as she hurried towards the door, unceremoniously dumping her sleeping pokemon aside. Her soggy socks slapped wetly against the wooden planks.

Dani shook her head in disgust at the sloshing noises. Why didn't she take off her socks first thing? Such an odd girl.

"Bulba!" Petal protested groggily as she glared at her trainer indignantly.

River didn't stir, instead preferring to monopolize the warm spot on the mattress in Ellie's absence. The little guy was curled up tightly, trying to squeeze as much warmth as he could. Water types didn't handle the cold well, she had realized more and more after observing Larvitar.

Must be 8:30, then? She concluded while waiting for Ellie to get the door. Didn't Ona say to wait thirty seconds to answer the door? Oh, shoot!

Before Dani could utter a word to stop her, the hungry girl had already slid the intricately decorated door open.

Instantly, the room temperature dropped to the point that she could see breath steaming from her open mouth, and rime quickly accumulated on the edges of the windowpane overlooking the garden.

She immediately felt sick to her stomach, as if something was clawing its way out of her abdomen. It was all she could do to avoid retching. Her breaths came in shallow gulps, and her instincts cried shrilly for her to flee from the unknown, but undoubtedly deadly danger.

Something is here!

"W-what t-the hell is t-this," Ellie's teeth chattered as she stooped down to examine the ample tray in front of their room. It was made of some type of lightweight wood and was covered with a variety of lidded pottery.

"W-we were supposed to wait t-thirty seconds after the knock, something about the staff not wanting to be s-seen? H-ow are you even moving?!" Dani managed to gasp out.

"Oh. I t-totally forgot," Ellie sheepishly replied with an awkward half-smile. "S-sorry people averse-staff!"

She looked at Dani curiously. "Are y-you okay? It's just a little c-cold?"

"S-shut the door! Please," Dani begged as she struggled to grab a pokéball from her belt.

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Ellie gave her an odd look but managed to shakily pick up the dinner tray and shut the sliding door.

As soon as the door shut, the change was immediate. The temperature quickly returned to the previously balmy level, and the rime receded just as abruptly as it had appeared.

"What the fuck was that?" Dani shouted with wide eyes as she fiddled with Geralt's ball. "Did you not feel something here with us?"

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about, but could you please lower your voice? I really hate shouting. It reminds me of my parents," Ellie said somberly as she began investigating their meal.

Dani took a breath to calm down.

Okay, you can do this. Just ignore the fact that Ellie is seemingly untouched by fear, and low-key guilt tripped you with her parent's divorce. Mare was right. She's built different.

Slightly calmer now, Dani continued more softly, "I'm sorry for yelling. Did you really-really not feel that? I almost puked, and I could hardly move."

Ellie had uncovered most of the dishes, revealing a diverse spread of rice porridge, several varieties of sushi, a seaweed salad, and two bowls of miso soup.

"Yummy! This looks so good, even if the staff were a bit chilly in their delivery," Ellie giggled, all too happy with the pun.

"Can you take this seriously for a second? Please? I know we're both hungry and tired, but I need to know if I'm going mad or if that was real," Dani pleaded. "Did you sense anything, Anabelle?"

"Chans," Anabelle shook her head decisively, but she at least had the good grace to look like she felt bad for what Dani had experienced.

Unlike Ellie, who was nonchalantly continuing her exploration of the food tray.

"I didn't feel anything. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Dani. Why don't you just sit down and enjoy the meal?" Ellie had already dished herself out several portions. "It's delicious! Here, try the soup."

Ellie attempted to hand her a bowl of the steaming liquid, but she held up a hand to politely decline the offering.

"Sorry. I lost my appetite. Why don't you share the rest with your team? I'm going to go check out the garden and hop in the springs," Dani said as she readied herself to leave.

With a shrug, Ellie returned to the meal. "Suit yourself. I'll probably come and join you in the water in a bit if that's okay with you?" She looked up at Dani questioningly. "If you want some time to yourself, I definitely get that, too. But I feel like you're mad at me, and I really don't like it when I feel like I've done something wrong."

Dani sighed, feeling bad for yelling at the other trainer when she, herself, was simply afraid. "Yeah, that's fine. Can you give me, like, thirty minutes alone?"

Ellie flashed her usual winning smile and gave a thumbs-up. "It's a deal! It's like a girls' spa day! Or night, rather. Either way! See you soon!"

Anabelle tried to duplicate the thumbs up but instead aimlessly held out her mud-stained poke-hand.

Dani grabbed her pack and headed out of the room. As the door slid closed, she couldn't help but shiver.

She felt even colder now than before

Retracing the same path from the way to the room, she managed to tip-toe her way back out to the lobby. Ona was nowhere to be seen, and all that could be heard was the faint burble of rushing water from behind the inn.

Oddly, the temperature was completely average. Even when she had left the room, the sense of dread and freezing cold was nowhere to be seen.

This place is fucking weird, Dani thought as she headed out towards the garden itself. The exit was a delicate sliding glass door, which glided effortlessly open with the gentlest of touches.

Dani still didn't like the inn, but the craftsmanship was undeniably high quality, better than anything she had seen before.

Now that the storm had passed, the temperature outside had stabilized to what they had been getting used to over the last few days. Dani breathed in, enjoying the earthy smell of the vibrant green landscape.

The garden was organized around several well-maintained plots of sand and rocks that were set up in decorative formations. The sand had been raked into elaborate swirling patterns that closely resembled the carvings from the entrance. It was lit by a series of orange hanging lights strung around the perimeter, which gave the area a warm and welcoming feeling. The lighting did wonders for the unease clinging to her.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything is fine, she told herself. Stop freaking out over nothing.

Fortunately, between her general wariness and her recent run-in with the hypnotizing front door, she made sure not to stare at the sinuous loops traced through the sand for longer than an instant.

Go me, she cheered internally with more than a trace of sarcasm.

It was nearly completely dark out, but between the lights and the natural ambiance from the moon, she could easily make out her surroundings. Several small wooden tables were set up around the space, and Dani released her entire team to feed them. The pokemon appeared no worse for wear, even after this afternoon's harrowing events.

Geralt whinnied, gently butting her shoulder as he picked up on her anxiety.

She smiled, grateful for the comforting presence the old steed offered. "Thanks, Geralt. Did you feel that a few minutes ago?"

"Dash," he confirmed with a curt nod and looked at her with concern practically dripping from his drooping eyes.

Warm relief coursed through her at the admission. Ellie's non-reaction to the terrifying run-in had really been bothering her.

Thank Arceus, I'm not losing it.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Geralt, leaning into his steadying presence. Behind her, the bug pokemon had already begun searching the foliage for any tasty, totally-not cannibalistic snacks.

One of the many perks that bug species offered was that they could largely subsist off small insects and natural foliage, making it easy to travel with a large team. An entire team of six bug types was easily only a tenth of the upkeep of an equivalently sized team of mammalian pokémon.

Unfortunately for her pokémon, the garden itself was so well maintained that hardly any food was available for harvest without damaging the garden itself. Dani reluctantly withdrew from the warm embrace and pulled out a few bags of compressed pokeblocks and began distributing them to the trio of hungry bug types.

Dani didn't have the same luxury as Mare and Ellie, so there were no fancy catered vitamins. No highly compressed backpack to carry a million things that completely ignored the laws of physics she had so painstakingly learned about at Fuchsia High. Just a few plain plastic bowls and some kibble.

I'm just so mundane, Dani thought, envisioning the elaborate feeding routine Mare went through every time he fed his team. Thousands of credits down the drain just for the slightest of competitive edges.

She watched as her team ravenously tore into their meal for the night. Of the three, Scyther was the only one who displayed much in the way of personality.

The other two had much more primitive brains than humans and even most pokémon besides possibly Magikarp. The droll fish pokemon were widely thought to be nearly utterly brain-dead until they evolved, and even as Gyarados, they were driven almost entirely by instinct.

That's why everyone is okay with eating them, thought Dani darkly.

Beedrill was aggressive and protective of her but wasn't capable of very advanced tactics and was quite fragile in a fight, as Dani had become painfully aware of in his match against Eon. She had never imagined her starter would lose to a pokemon considered exceedingly weak prior to evolving.

Venonat was timid, preferring to fight with sneaky tactics, such as Hypnosis or the spore attacks she was developing. It worked well, save for the fact that faster or stronger pokemon could easily overwhelm her weak form. Dani had high hopes that Venonat would evolve within the next month or so, but for now, the pokemon didn't offer much.

Scyther, her most recent capture, was a proud creature. Although he had approached her of his own volition, Dani suspected the aggressive pokemon would just as soon abandon her if the chips were down or if he found a trainer he thought would serve him better. His personality was naturally aggressive, but he had difficulty listening to instructions, which was why she hadn't used him in the first match against Mare.

Although she was fond of them, they couldn't offer the closeness she desperately wanted from a team.

I need to be better. I can't fail my dad, Dani berated herself internally. But what to do? What can I do to keep up with Mare or Ellie?

In the single short week she had traveled with the duo, she had become all too aware of how inadequate a trainer she was. Mare always had something to say about everything, and the worst part about it was how calm and gentle he was, as if he were teaching a child to walk. He bent over backward to see how she was doing and make conversation with her.

How pitiful I must seem to him. No wonder I got stuck against Blaire for months in Saffron. I'm just average. A stupid fucking unintentional bug type-specialist that doesn't even like her bugs. What could I offer a Seiichi, of all people, and his perfect, pretty little sidekick?

Dani began to wander around the garden, unaware or unable to break the negative thought spiral eating away at her.

Ellie seamlessly integrated with pokemon in mere hours, as she had proven with Anabelle and Willow. She was likable and bubbly and seemed to instantly grasp new concepts that took her months to figure out.

Life isn't fair, She reminded herself as she continued her loop around the garden.

And Mare.

Dani didn't quite get Mare, but he worked harder than anyone she had ever met.

Starting with their first battle, where his pokemon handily disassembled her team, Mare had only improved. Eon and Nana were working Larvitar to the bone, and he was there to push and polish his skills the entire way. She was certain Larvitar would be a force to be reckoned with by the time the conference rolled around, if not sooner.

It wasn't just his pokemon training, either. He trained daily and seemed to throw himself into everything with maximum effort without fear of failure.

No, not without fear, she corrected herself. He already believes he's failed, so there's nothing to fear. Can I do—

Dani's thoughts were interrupted by a rustling behind her, and she sprang to action, drawing out a knife from her belt and holding it out ahead of her, ready to stab if necessary.

"Vee?" Eon chuffed, appearing visibly amused at her defensive posture. The fox pokemon gestured with her head as if to say, "Follow me."

Follow she did, not wanting to challenge the subtly threatening pokemon.

She's friendly and fluffy, but I would not want to fuck with her.

Eon trotted back toward where Dani had left her pokemon, and she arrived to the sight of Mare setting an excited Larvitar atop Geralt's back. The fire-horse whinnied in amusement from his kneeling position. There was no way Mare could reach his full height, so Geralt had graciously knelt in deference to the new "rider."

"Larrrrvi," the saurian squealed joyfully as Mare stepped back to observe the interaction.

Although Rapidash were common, many people didn't know that the horse species could selectively control the heat emanating from its flames down to the location and precise temperature.

While Geralt had competed in the circuit, he was more a family man than a fighter, and he rarely expressed any heat from his flames unless he was in active combat.

A smile crept onto her face as she watched Geralt turn up the flames without actively increasing the heat; the resulting image was a tiny water dinosaur wreathed by dancing flames flickering in the evening light.

"Woah, I didn't know they could do that without burning everything," observed Mare with a grin. "That's pretty cool. Geralt seems like a really nice pokemon. He's got a good energy about him."

Mare had changed clothes since she had seen him last and now wore simple dark shorts that looked to be made from lightweight linen. He carried a fluffy white towel slung over his shoulder. His dark, silky hair was usually bound up tight, but tonight, it cascaded loosely down his shoulders. Dani saw a myriad of thin scars over his shoulders and chest, as well as the recently healed sinuous scar running down most of his back. There were some gross-looking puncture wounds on his shoulder, too.

How did he get those? He's more fit than I thought, Dani noticed, having not spent much time around him shirtless after the first day. He's wiry but has a lot of muscle. They must work him hard at the Seiichi compound. But I can hardly ask him where he got all his scars without seeming like a nosy brat.

Honestly, she was impressed. There was something eminently reliable about Mare that made her feel like she could trust him no matter how awful things might get.

He wore a content smile and looked as relaxed as she had ever seen him, which was a pleasant surprise. The Seiichi took everything too seriously, constantly patrolling the area around them for threats or working with Larvitar on type-energy control. Or any number of other busy-body things, really. He hadn't stopped moving until the very end of the day over the last week but had yet to show any signs of exhaustion or even slowing down.

It was odd to see him just hanging out enjoying the sight of his toddler-mon fooling around with a much older, and much larger, Geralt.

Realizing she was just staring, she coughed awkwardly and nodded at the praise. "Geralt really is a nice pokemon. He was my dad's starter, and I more or less grew up with him as a third parent. He looks like he's really enjoying playing with Larvitar. I haven't seen him do that in a long time. It's nice."

She moved forward to tickle Larvitar's feet, and the pokemon giggled and squirmed atop the horse in glee. "You going for a swim?"

"What gave it away?" joked Mare with an amused expression.

"Okay, I knew you were swimming; I was just being polite," she defended, frowning. "Ellie is going to be here soon, too."

"Oh," Mare said, and she thought he sounded disappointed for some reason. He turned to look at her. "Do you want some more time alone, or would you mind if I joined you until Ellie arrives?"

"That sounds great," she answered, joining him with a newfound spring in her step.

Behind her, Geralt smiled in silent amusement as he watched the two. Just tonight, and only tonight, he decided he would distract the rest of the team.