Thursday, June 1st, 1978, 1930

The clearing Eon found for our camp was large, stretching roughly fifty feet in each direction like a ragged square. It looked like a giant had angrily ripped out a patch of trees while searching for a comfortable resting spot.

I walked around the clearing, seeking a suitable spot to begin training. It was the first session of the circuit, and I was excited to train without the critical eyes that followed my every move back home.

Plus, I had wondered all day how strong Ellie's pokémon were. I suspected the answer was 'not very,' but I would be happy to be disappointed in this instance.

I rolled my shoulders to determine if I personally was capable of training. My shoulder and back ached, but it wasn't so bad as to prevent me from moving fluidly. The wound that had broken open earlier had crusted over and had partially fused to my shirt in a gross mess of blood and discharge. I noted with small satisfaction that my decision to pack universally dark clothes was already paying dividends.

I turned to observe Ellie as she nervously followed me. Her face and shoulders were taut with anxiety, and she looked nothing like the bright-eyed young woman who could hardly contain her excitement this morning.

For a second, I almost considered taking things slow and catering to her apparent fear of training, but that simply wasn't the Seiichi way, and I knew I needed to bring her up to speed. Quickly, considering I didn't want to babysit a helpless trainer for the next nine months. I already got the feeling that my progress was going to be far slower than if I simply traveled alone.

I took a deep breath as I mentally planned out how to best introduce Ellie to the world of pokémon matches that I mainly had only learned about second-hand. I had plenty of time battling, but we did things at home very differently from official matches. I certainly wasn't about to prep her on avoiding giant aggressive snakes that had a penchant for wanton violence.

Turning to Ellie, I plastered what I thought was a warm smile on my face and began explaining the basics of battling.

"Ellie, we'll start small and work up from there. There are a few common types of battles you'll experience in the circuit. The most common is between trainers. From what I've seen from Sula, you usually pick a big enough space and go for it, especially when you're out on the road. Medium-sized towns and most cities will have special practice areas with an arena, but you can't rely on it. Ideally, you'd want at least fifteen meters in each direction so your pokémon can maneuver—but that's not always realistic. Sometimes you'll have much larger spaces, and sometimes you won't have much space and need to alter your strategy accordingly."

Ellie nodded the entire way through, so I continued, "For example, I've trained Eon to be a much more aggressive and physical attacker than is usual for her species, and I've worked with Nana to find more of a balance between physical and elemental attacks, with a slight focus on the latter," I explained methodically. "Does that all make sense? Which pokémon would be more suited to a close-quarters battle?"

Ellie's nodding stopped abruptly at the question, and she hit me with a few of her own. "How often do trainer battles happen? You said it's the most common? Do you mean like once a week, or like once a day?" She fidgeted, wringing her hands together. "And.. in that case, would you go with Eon? Like, since it's so close, they can't dodge, so you would want a more resilient pokémon?"

I was surprised to hear the complete lack of self-confidence in Ellie's voice. Her questions were good ones, too. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all?

"Correct on all counts, nice work," I congratulated. "I would pick Eon if I wanted a pokémon to get into the thick of things, and I would use more guerilla tactics with Nana, using his speed to keep him safe. And, as to your other question, it depends on how hard you're trying, to be honest. Considering my assignment, I'll try to get Larvitar into battle as much as possible without it getting seriously injured."

I paused, slowing my words down for emphasis, "Fighting is exhausting. If you push your pokémon too hard, their performance will suffer, and their risk of injury increases. If you don't push them enough, they'll grow very slowly or not at all."

"When we're out on the road like this, we must be more cautious than we otherwise would. At the Seichi compound, we have a small medical bay that lets us train essentially to the limit without any real fear of permanent injury. Although we collectively have a substantial stash of medical supplies in our packs, it's nothing compared to what a professional medical center has available. Best practice is to make sure you always have at least one pokémon in good fighting condition to help ward off anything that might come looking," I added helpfully.

"Centers? Do you mean like the Pokémon centers we saw in Fuchsia? "she queried after listening attentively to my explanation.

I nodded, happy with her comprehension. "That's correct. Pokémon medical technology is significantly more advanced than what we can do for humans. I'm not educated on precisely how it all works, but even if a pokémon is injured badly, the centers can get them back in fighting condition within just a few hours. It's quite impressive to see it in action. It means we can really push ourselves when we're in areas with centers."

Ellie grimaced. It was more than likely she couldn't stomach the thought of abusing medical technology in such a seemingly inhumane way.

I could understand her trepidation, honestly. Training could be brutal. Blood and broken bones weren't an uncommon experience back at the compound. Still, I had never seen an injury that couldn't be healed after twenty-four hours of advanced cellular reconstruction.

"I guess it makes sense that the technology is more advanced; it seems like we basically rely on pokémon for everything," she mused. "It does seem kind of unfair to make them battle, then heal them, only to force them to fight again."

I shrugged. "We really do, but it's not like there is much alternative, especially if you're serious about competitive pokemon training. It might seem unjust, but most pokémon are driven to improve, whether it be instinctive or learned. It's not like they run around in perfect harmony in the wild, either. You can react accordingly if your pokémon isn't suited for it and shies away from matches. We're fortunate that such magnificent creatures are willing to work closely with us. I can't imagine a life without my pokémon," I said, admiring Eon.

The fox-like pokemon was licking her paws calmly on the edge of our makeshift arena while absent-mindedly listening to the basics, something she was already well acquainted with from our training at the compound. I whistled sharply to grab her attention. Immediately, she settled into a ready position, her weight balanced and ready to release muscles taut with potential energy at the slightest provocation.

Although her prompt response was nothing new, I always felt inordinately pleased when I saw her in action. She had come so far from the bumbling yet proud kit she had been not but a few years ago.

"Eon, you will serve as a target to gauge River and Petals' baseline power for now. I want you to practice bracing specific regions of your body to weather attacks better," I ordered calmly.

Eon gave a curt nod before settling calmly on her haunches at the far edge of the clearing, the threatening stance melting away instantly with the new directions.

"Ellie, do you know what moves your pokémon even know? Or how strong they are?" I inquired gently.

"Umm, well, I know Petal knows Vine Whip," she offered with a chagrined smile. "And I know that River can use Water Gun! And I think he might know Scratch?"

I hummed in muted frustration. "Right.. what do you normally even do with your pokémon? I know you're new, but if I had known how unprepared you were, I might have had more reservations about this. I can't believe you're getting my Dratini," I complained petulantly.

I couldn't believe Kiriel had seriously given away a pokemon as powerful as a Dratini to some girl who didn't know the barest fucking basics of pokemon training.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice soft. "I hadn't ever even planned on doing the gym challenge, I had just planned on finishing school without any more incidents. And then I was going to save money to move back to Johto as soon as possible."

Ellie was looking down forlornly, and a somber mood settled onto the clearing at her admission.

"Oh," I breathed, suddenly feeling bad for taking my misplaced ire out on her. "That explains a lot, actually. My family is so into battling that I forget that other people even have the option to do something else. Did you just get roped into this by your dad?" I questioned suspiciously when a new idea hit me.

"Wait, did Kiriel rope your dad into roping you into this?!"

The awkward silence ensuing was more telling than any excuse Ellie might have offered.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, doing my best to let the mounting anger I felt in my chest. After I calmed down, I said in what I hoped was a soothing tone, "I suppose there's not much we can do about it now, anyway. I'm sorry you got dragged into this, but we can at least make the most out of it! I can get you up to speed by the time we reach Vermillion. My clan focuses heavily on pokémon education, and the best way to cement skills is by teaching others!"

I paced back and forth as I continued rambling. "We can hopefully buy some guides for your pokémon when we get to Vermilion City in a few weeks. They will definitely have something on Bulbasaur since it's native to Kanto. I'm unfamiliar with the Totodile line, so I can't help you too much there. Considering my starters, I really only know how to take care of mammalian pokémon," I said with a slight grimace at my inadequacy.

"It might be a bit hard, but if I contact Kiriel, I'm sure she can make something happen," I consoled.

I nervously talked more and more as she maintained her silence, but I couldn't stop! This was new for me, and I wasn't enjoying it.

"Well, at least if I can convince her that it's necessary for the plan's success," I added, already running potential scenarios. I could tell I was reaching here, but I felt like the bad guy now and wanted to do as much damage control as possible. I hated when people were upset with me.

Kiriel would only spare money for Ellie if I painted it as necessary for her plan to succeed. I would have to tell her that Ellie would make me look bad, or her poor performance with River would make Johto look even worse, which would be magnified if I could generate any attention on my own circuit challenge. My thoughts trailed off as she finally spoke up after letting my strung-out consolation speech sink in.

Ellie smiled bitterly. "Thanks, Mare; I was already worried you would be really upset when I told you. You have the right idea, but it's a bit more complicated than that. I'd rather not talk about it right now if I'm being honest. It's kind of sensitive for me," she admitted.

"I will say this, though. Your mom—Kiriel, as you insist on calling her—did not rope me into this. It was actually my idea, in a sense, but once my dad talked to Jamie, it all seemed to get away from us so quickly," Ellie said with a guilty look. "Now that I'm here, I promise I'll work hard. I don't want to be weak anymore. I'm sick of being pushed around by the whims of people with more power or influence than me," she said in a determined tone. Her hands were clenched so hard at her sides that I could see her shaking slightly.

River and Petal looked up at their trainer in concern; it was evident at that moment that Ellie likely didn't show many overt displays of emotion. Her pokémon didn't know what to do with their normally light-hearted trainer.

Or, I corrected myself, their normally light-hearted appearing trainer. I was beginning to suspect that she was much more sullen than she let on with her easy-breezy façade.

I stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about what to say. My anger—if that's indeed what it was—had all but evaporated in the face of the guilty but resolved young woman standing before me. I was left with a pit of simmering frustration in my core, with nowhere to go. It was hard to stay angry at someone who was clearly also unhappy about the situation, even if my circumstances were partially a result of her actions.

Gathering my thoughts, I responded in a conciliatory tone, "Thanks for letting me know all of that. I can't say that I'm not hurt about what happened, but I'm not upset with you. I've felt like a backup for Sula my entire life, and I had been desperately hoping that working with a Dratini would be enough to catch up and prove myself. But life isn't fair, so I'll do what I can with this Larvitar," I said with a gesture to the incubator sitting next to the fire.

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"It seems like you're as much a victim of the situation here, anyway. I'll be here if you want to talk. We have at least another ten days of traveling together without any service," I joked in a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood, which had become far too dim for the first evening on the road as a team. "Let's move on and return to the issue at hand: assessing your pokémon. Ellie, can you have Petal and River attack Eon? It doesn't matter which attacks you use; I just want to observe for now," I clarified.

Ellie looked up at me in surprise. "Won't that hurt her? She's so little and soft-looking," she said skeptically as she seemed to immediately move on from the somber mood that had stealthily crept up on us. I didn't think I would ever stop being surprised at how capricious her moods seemed.

I could feel a smug smile creeping up on my face. "I would be exceedingly surprised if anything those two can do could hurt Eon. She's huge for her species and much more resilient than you might think based on her diet and training. Just give it a shot and run through their moves; we're losing daylight!" I said jokingly in my attempt at a commanding voice. It didn't come out great, but it earned me a relieved smile from my traveling companion. One point for stupid jokes, I thought as I shook my head.

"Fine, if you insist. River! Use Water Gun! Petal, hit her with a Vine Whip!" Ellie commanded shakily.

The pokémon looked up at her questioningly, hesitation clear in their body language. I couldn't help myself and burst out laughing- earning me a sharp glare from Ellie.

"You need to be a bit more decisive. They are picking up on your reluctance. As I said earlier, pokémon are very sensitive to emotional states. If you want them to do something, you need to actually want them to do that thing," I clarified. Ellie nodded at my advice, taking a breath before again shouting firmly, "River, Water Gun! Petal, use Vine Whip!"

This time, her pokémon shot into action. River took a deep breath before releasing a weak stream of arcing water at Eon, which splashed ineffectually on her pristine fur. It wasn't even worth a side-step.

Petal dashed forward a few meters before lashing out with two vines that appeared to originate bilaterally below the dark green bulb on her back. A sharp snapping sound echoed into the forest as both vines swished harmlessly above Eon. I struggled to hold in my laughter at the display; it was what I had expected for two pokémon new to battle.

"What the hell was that? How come those moves are so weak? I thought pokémon were supposed to be strong! You made them sound like monsters earlier!" she shouted in disbelief.

"They are monsters! But even monsters have to practice! Just because a pokémon knows a move doesn't mean they're automatically good at it or even very proficient. Petal's Vine Whip didn't look bad at all, but her aim could use some work since she managed to miss a stationary target," I pointed out, which caused Petal to look away in embarrassment.

"Hey, don't be ashamed of yourself, Petal! You had outstanding power," I complimented. Petal puffed up her chest in pride, causing Ellie to erupt in a fit of giggles. She had a radiant smile and was already moving past our too-serious evening conversation.

"River, your aim was good, but it looks like you need to work on your power. I think Nana can probably help you with that," I suggested. I felt, rather than saw, Nana's eyes focus on the battle as he heard his name. He was lying beside the egg incubators protectively next to the fire. He liked to act like he wasn't paying attention to lull any observers into a false sense of security. I knew he was extending his senses into the surroundings to monitor for any threats.

"What should I do? How do you guys train in your clan? What's the hidden secret of the Seiichi," Ellie asked as she contorted her body into a stereotypical ninja position; her arms were held above her head, and her knee came up to her chest like she was preparing to kick something. She looked ridiculous, in short.

I ignored her antics, prompting a crestfallen look from Ellie as she failed to get a laugh out of me. "There's no secret; we train every day, with intention and with lots and lots of repetition. Our pokémon are generally given the best diets and are fed a tailored compound of vitamins to either enhance their strengths or compensate for their weaknesses."

Ellie nodded, taking in the information as she let her body fall back into a relaxed position. "I guess that makes sense. I was hoping it was something more interesting than that, though," she muttered. "In movies and books, there's always some kind of hidden training method that lets you circumvent all the hard work stuff," she said with a frown.

"Eon, I want you to work with Petal on her accuracy. Nana, you're to show River the fundamentals of strengthening his attacks," I ordered, causing my pokémon to immediately snap to attention and set themselves to task. Eon trotted over to Petal and hit her with a gentle shoulder check before ambling off together to the corner of the clearing.

Nana lazily passed River to the opposing corner and stared at him expectantly until the little croc got the memo and hurried over with his waddling gait. He almost tripped several times in the dying evening light.

"Ellie, I'm going to start preparing some dinner for tonight. Why don't you hang over here with the pokémon and see if you can pick up on the training techniques they'll be working on. Your pokémon need more practice before they can seriously spar with either of mine without risk of injury."

"Yessir!" she joked, giving me a mock salute. "What's for dinner tonight?" she asked excitedly.

"Don't worry about it; I'll let you know when it's ready," I called over my shoulder as I walked back towards the main camp, leaving them to their own devices. As I arrived at the fire, I started rummaging around the brand new Silph Co. backpack for dinner, admiring the sleek product; the technology allowed nearly ten times the perceived external volume to be stored, with pockets that even provided a moderate amount of refrigeration.

Without these packs, there was no way that we could've traveled confidently for two weeks into a relatively untamed region of Kanto.

I didn't want to tell Ellie what I would make for dinner because she would be inevitably disappointed; most of our meals would be freeze-dried. Tonight was a basic vegetable stew enriched with protein distilled from Miltank milk. It was healthy, but if I was honest with myself, it was mediocre compared to freshly prepared food.

Most of Kanto's limited meat production was sourced from large farms populated by pokémon deemed too unintelligent to be used for other purposes, such as Magikarp. It was an ongoing ethical issue that had left stark divides for years but hadn't been resolved for the simple fact that there wasn't another viable food source at this point. The few remaining 'animal' species had all but gone extinct as they couldn't hope to compete with most pokémon species in the wild. A few ranches existed throughout the region, but there was no easy way to maintain them with constant incursions by hungry pokemon.

Hence, the overpowered farmers that I had mentioned earlier. Both farmers and ranchers were heavily subsidized by local governments to keep up agrarian production.

This particular meal was one of my favorites, which put a grin on my face. It was evident that Sula had a hand in preparing the pack; it was filled with a variety of my favorite meals that only she would know about, and I was once again filled with complex feelings of gratitude and something else. Something darker that I consistently chose to neatly package away somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain.

I continued my search through the bag, trying to get a proper accounting of all that was included within. There was an ample supply of blocks of compressed kibble for Eon and Nana, although the latter primarily fed on wild pokémon. If there was any Seiichi Clan secret, it was that we had realized that many pokémon, especially carnivores, grew far more potent if they consumed other pokémon as they would have if they were still in the wild.

Considering the previously mentioned ethical implications of harvesting sentient pokémon, this was a fairly well-kept secret. It wasn't like we just killed pokémon for the fun of it; we had an entire team devoted to capturing viable pokémon that were released into large swathes of verdant land within Clan property known commonly as 'The Hunting Grounds,' where they were tracked and harvested by clan pokémon being trained at the time.

The populations were carefully maintained, and it almost functioned like some kind of miniature safari zone, as it supported several habitats of common prey pokémon, like Rattata, Caterpie, and Magikarp. Only a few of our pokemon were meat eaters, though. Omnivorous species like Eon primarily subsisted off PokeBloks and various vegetation, only occasionally eating pokémon meat.

I mechanically prepared the stew while relying on muscle memory to walk me through the rudimentary steps needed for such a meal. My gaze drifted toward the pokémon egg I was expected to raise into a beast that could somehow change Johto's poor reputation. One that I knew nearly nothing about. It weighed about five kilograms, and the egg was a pale gray flecked with dark green, black, and brown spots.

I sifted through my pack with my hand free of stirring duty and found the guide Kiriel had provided with the egg. I set the guide down next to me and started flipping through some of the pages until I found what I was looking for: the final evolutionary stage of the pokémon.

According to the document, it would end up as a Tyranitar. The description read, "The armored pokémon. Its armor is so impenetrable that it often seeks out challenges in acute displays of violence. Fortunately for Johtans, it is naturally reclusive and rarely wanders out of the Silver Mountains. Few trainers have ever managed to bond with a Tyranitar, and they are so rare as to be believed nearly extinct."

Glancing at the egg, I mentally compared the tiny thing to the drawing in the guidebook, raising my eyebrows at the sheer number of dangerous-looking spikes jutting from its back. I was once again impressed with the mythical nature of pokémon and their seemingly limitless ability to adapt and change as they grew.

I stirred the freeze-dried concoction, absently wondering how difficult it would be to find guides for Ellie's pokémon. Although I had heard that some scientist was working on a 'Pokedex,' most trainers had to rely on guidebooks, which were expensive printed packets with a list of known moves, evolutionary stages, strengths and weaknesses, and recommended diets.

Finding guides for common pokémon like Pidgey, Eevee, and even some rarer pokémon native to Kanto like Bulbasaur was simple and cheap. Totodile though? Dratini? Little information was available on any Johtan species, at least in Kanto. I scoffed at the astronomical amount I knew Larvitar's guidebook must have taken to purchase.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Kiriel commissioned the research project herself. As much as I sometimes hated the pressure I felt, I also knew I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunities I was afforded. After perusing the guidebook briefly, I could tell the stew had developed the right consistency and was now somewhat fit for human consumption.

"The food is done; come over whenever you're ready!" I shouted out towards the edge of the clearing where the others were training.

"Okay, just a few more minutes! I feel like River is just a little bit away from having some kind of epiphany and actually getting some force behind his attacks," Ellie called back excitedly.

Taking up a spot on the edge of the clearing, I observed their training and was pleasantly surprised. Ellie was right, and River had improved substantially even in this short period. On his last few tries, it looked like his attacks were starting to at least leave a dent in the rugged bark of the tree they were aiming for, a far cry from his first attack that could have aptly earned him the name "Trickle," rather than River.

On the other side of the clearing, it looked like Petal was trying to repeatedly hit Eon as she hopped around, playing the part of moving target.

"CRACK!"

Everyone looked up in surprise as the last Vine Whip slammed into the small, foxlike pokémon.

Eon briskly recovered, coating herself in pale white energy as she neatly disappeared, phasing back into view as she pinned Petal onto the ground with her forepaw, grinning viciously as she pushed the floral pokémon into the soil. Petal quickly capitulated, turning onto her back and exposing her belly in a display of deference while Eon looked towards me expectantly as she awaited an order.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay! What happened?? Is she hurt?" Ellie fussed frantically as she ran up to the two pokémon.

"They're completely fine, I promise. Eon, let her up. She's not used to how we train yet," I ordered.

She immediately let Petal up before moving back to my side, licking what appeared to be a rapidly rising welt, causing my eyebrows to raise in surprise.

"That was pretty good power for just starting! Nice job hitting a moving target," I congratulated Petal, who nodded timidly at the praise.

"Eon here is tougher than nails. I'm leaning towards evolving her into a Vaporeon, so the training focus has been on durability—she has a diet tailored to help her develop her resistance to physical and special attacks. I'm hoping she'll be able to handle a real beating. It will take a lot more than a flimsy vine to do anything other than superficial damage to her. At this point, you would need a fighting type to do her real harm unless you were working with a substantially stronger elemental type," I elaborated proudly.

"She'll be perfect training for your pokémon. They can work on their power, and she can work on her ability to take damage. I have her working on perfecting the move Wish, which can help her stay in a fight for longer. In Gym Battles, if you run out the time clock, it's considered a win to the trainer, so stalling out a fight is a viable, if not slightly cowardly, strategy. Not that I plan on relying on that or anything," I explained hastily as we walked back towards the fire.

"Ugh. This is a lot to process, Mare. I think I just need to slow down on this whole thing. You say so much of this very matter-of-factly, and it's really driving home the point I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm gonna go feed these two and eat. I need some rest. Ten kilometers or whatever today plus training on top of this has been a lot for me," Ellie wearily declared as she sat heavily in front of her tent.

"Okay," I deferred. "It has been a long day, honestly. Tomorrow will be easier for both of us, but you'll have to get used to training—and quickly. Hopefully, we run into some other trainers tomorrow to get more practice with actual battles. I've only ever battled with my sister, Kiriel, and other Seiichi compound trainers in controlled settings for educational purposes. I'm still new at this thing, too," I admitted.

Ellie smiled, catching my eyes, "That makes me feel a lot better hearing that. I was feeling a bit alone training over there. The whole journey still feels daunting as hell," she responded as she leaned down to get a bowl of stew, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "This shi…stew- smells disgusting. I don't suppose it tastes better than I think it does?" she asked as her eyes glimmered with hope.

"No luck there! I'm afraid the next two weeks will be spent on much of the same. Sorry to disappoint," I answered without remorse as I spooned myself a bowl. We ate in silence for the next few moments. After we were done, she procured two PokeBloks out of the bag for her pokémon, who ravenously tore into them before looking with hungry eyes for more.

Raising her eyebrows in surprise, she acquiesced, supplying more food for the pair.

"Wow, I've barely been able to get them to even eat a single full PokeBlok before now. I guess that's what happens when they train seriously," she pondered with a thoughtful expression.

After they were done eating, as she began climbing into her sleeping bag across the fire from me, she gently called out, "Thanks, Mare. I'm sorry you got stuck with someone like me, but really, thank you. I hope you get some good rest; I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Sweet dreams, Ellie, you're welcome. I'm glad you're here. Maybe I'll finally learn how to stop talking like an old man," I joked.

Shadows danced across her face in the firelight as I barely caught her rolling her eyes at me before settling down to sleep. Using some dirt from around the fire, I extinguished it thoroughly to avoid the risk of a forest fire. Giving a whistle, I watched with satisfaction as Eon and Nana made their way into my tiny tent, curling up beside me to sleep, Eon giving a soft purr as she nestled into my side.

I soon drifted off to sleep as I recounted the exhausting trials of the day, relentlessly picking apart my actions one by one.