“So, the first thing you should keep in mind is the type of Pokémon you’re fighting,” Volo explained. “And I don’t just mean their typing – I also mean their species. Most Pokémon will lean towards a certain style of combat due to the moves that naturally come to them. Take Roserade, for example,” he pointed to the dwarf-sized plant standing next to him, the plant staring up at Kora with an aloof expression. “She has no desire to fight in close quarters, most of her ‘natural’ moves focusing on control and maintaining a distance. Not that her species can’t, of course, but it would be a handicap if she did. A person will naturally seek all advantages they can get, so you should expect them to try and work with what comes naturally to their Pokémon. Similarly, you should expect a Pokémon to prefer using attacks of its typing. A competent trainer will cover these faults, of course, but I highly doubt we’ll see many of them.”

“You’re failing to account for something,” Kora brought up, earning a raised brow from the blond man. “I don’t know most species of Pokémon. Neither do you, I imagine. You didn’t recognize any of Klara’s team.”

“You’re correct. And it’s likely going to stay that way for a long time,” Volo admitted, a slight grin forming on his face. Ugh, it looked like he was looking forward to the challenge that posed. “But we do know she’s going to use a poison-type, given her whole ‘poison’ theme. It’s likely her strategy will involve poisoning your Pokémon early on then maintaining momentum from there. I’d be surprised if she does anything else, quite frankly.”

Kora sighed and looked around the deserted field behind the Pokémon Center. The morning sun was just coming up and she couldn’t help but think it was too early for this. She noticed a flock of Starly in the trees nearby staring down at the ranting man curiously, the birds opting to listen in.

“Now, look at Roserade. Where do you think her poison comes from?” Volo annoyingly asked and she couldn’t help but notice the smug look Roserade was giving her. She frowned, finding the answer rather obvious.

“Probably the flowers on her hands,” Kora replied, earning Roserade’s disappointment. That likely meant she got it right.

“You’re mostly correct,” Volo cheerfully said. “Each hand can produce spores with various effects. Additionally, she can use poisonous and hidden whips to deliver her poison or just use the bouquets themselves. Notice anything odd about how she poisons her foes?”

Kora thought on it for a moment. It did seem odd, once she thought about it. Spores could spread but they tended to be most concentrated right by where the thing you probably shouldn’t have poked expelled them. A whip is probably some sort of vine, guessing from the plant-like appearance. It could go a certain range, but…

“It’s more effective when her opponent is nearby?” she guessed, failing to understand his point. It seemed to contradict what he just said before about Roserade’s combat style.

“And why is that?” Volo simply asked, causing Zoroark to frown. She didn’t understand why he couldn’t just tell her. But from what he told her so far, she knew Roserade wanted to keep a distance from its foes. Yet its poison was much shorter range than it should be. It was a plant, so if she compared it to one…

“To stop her from being eaten!” Kora excitedly concluded, earning mixed reactions. Roserade took a step back and had a dubious expression on its face, clearly thinking she wanted to eat it. Ha. As if she would eat a plant of all things.

“Well… The idea is correct,” Volo admitted with pursed lips. He rubbed at his temple and sighed. “The poison is there to dissuade others from getting close to her. Many Pokémon have traits that may seem counter intuitive at first but ultimately compliment their main style.”

Ah. That made some sense. Yet for everything he was saying... “I don’t understand why we’re doing this right now,” she spoke up before Volo could delve into another subject. She saw the usefulness in what he was sharing, yet it wasn’t exactly her battle. “I don’t even have Cyndaquil with me yet. Isn’t he the one that we should be training?”

“Kora,” Volo spoke slowly and sternly. She looked up, not having expected that tone. “You know next to nothing about Pokémon training. Do you even have any idea what moves a Cyndaquil should have? What about the moves his species can eventually learn?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “It can’t be that hard…” She recalled most of what she knew, having trained on her own. She did have some difficulties with certain moves and… She furrowed her brows. Oh, the Alpha helped her through most of the difficult ones. Hm… Would helping Cyndaquil make her more like the Alpha?

Yes, it would, she concluded. She could picture the Alpha helping certain Pokémon if it deemed them worthy enough. She had little doubt that Cyndaquil had some potential, though she recognized her standards were likely much lower than the Alpha’s.

She wouldn’t make Cyndaquil fight a Glalie on its own to prove itself, for example. Although… It did have a type advantage, didn’t it? Ah, but there were no Glalies nearby. That was unfortunate. She could try something similar later, however.

“…I believe I may need to learn more, actually,” she admitted after some thought. She was not on the level of the Alpha, but perhaps one day she could be as splendid of a teacher as he was. “I don’t know any fire-type moves,” she added with a sigh as she crossed her arms.

“Ah? I’m surprised you’re admitting it,” Volo commented, earning a glare from Kora. “Fortunately for you, I have a resource that’ll help you learn everything you need to know about Cyndaquil.” As he spoke, he removed the backpack he had been carrying around nearly everywhere with him and began rummaging around in it. She would have thought more people found the large bag noticeable, but it seemed like his resemblance to Cynthia was the main thing people focused on. Even then, fewer and fewer people have been approaching him, as though the novelty of that wore off. She was rather happy she had avoided most of the attention due to him taking the brunt of it, however.

“Found it.” Volo pulled out a bundle of paper held together by a few leather straps. He opened the first few pages and, seeming to find what he was searching for, turned it so she could see. She couldn’t read what was on the page, yet she did recognize a drawing that loosely resembled a Cyndaquil. “This is a copy of the mostly completed Pokedex from Hisui. A rather difficult thing for me to get my hands on but it should prove useful. Through it, we should be able to learn most of what your Pokémon can learn.”

Kora frowned. “I’ll need to learn to read to use it,” she remarked, finding the skill increasingly necessary. She was frustrated with the situation so far. She still needed to confront Volo about everything so far, yet… Now wasn’t the time. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be honest if there was even the slightest risk of someone eaves dropping. What she could do was try and learn to read so she understood things. Even if she had to do that by using children’s books.

Volo spoke up as he put the ‘Pokedex’ back into his backpack. “Listen… I was planning to leave tomorrow, now that I have a rough idea of the region,” he said as he closed the flap of his sack closed and then tightened the straps. “Jubilife City is to the north, and I would like to see how the place evolved. I’m familiar with Jubilife Village, though I highly doubt it’ll be similar. If you intend to come though… We need to talk about Klara.”

She looked at Volo questionably. If she intended to come? “I have a choice in the matter?” Kora hesitantly asked with evident doubt. Technically he did say she did when they first met, but… It seemed like an unnecessary risk on the man’s part.

The man frowned and scratched by his temple. “Did you think I was going to forcefully drag you around with me everywhere?” he asked with disbelief. “I have no intention of making you follow me against your will. Whatever you do is your own choice.”

She frowned and thought. Technically, leaving him alone with knowledge of her presence was a risk, but that went both ways. He also didn’t sound dishonest and, given the circumstances, her options were currently very limited. She could go out into the woods and try her luck there but that could go very wrong very easily.

“I see. I suppose I’ll follow you for now,” she decided, having no intent on searching blindly for the descendants of her pack, or whatever else remains of them. Going off on her own would mean risking a lot to chance. “But I want you to tell me everything. And you need to be honest about it.”

Volo took a deep breath and, after a moment, agreed. “I can do that. But not here. It’ll have to be tomorrow when we’re gone,” he said as he gave a pointed glance at the Pokémon Center behind them. Neither of them seemed to want to have other people overhear them, it seemed.

Kora considered that. She nodded. Another day was nothing, in the grand scheme of things. “Very well. I can accept that.”

“Now, about Klara?” Volo brought back up, earning a confused look from the spiteful fox before realization struck her. Right, Klara.

“What about her?” Kora asked. Had she done something else without her noticing? The girl was troublesome, though she was useful and entertaining.

“Did you want to bring her along? I realize she’s your first human friend, but…” Volo trailed off and Kora narrowed her eyes. What was he talking about? She wasn’t friends with Klara. The girl often laughed at her and followed her around.

…Huh, now that she thought about it, that wasn’t too far off from how she was with others in the pack.

Wait.

Oh.

Oh no.

She was friendly with Klara. A human. But she didn’t feel like they were that close! A part of her wanted to criticize how the woman acted around them, but… Wouldn’t she be criticizing herself too then? It was different because it was the pack for her, but… Oh no.

She needed to think about this.

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After a brief discussion followed by more ‘training’ that lasted until mid morning, she still couldn’t come to a proper conclusion about what to do about Klara. She needed time to figure how she felt about having a human friend and all that entailed. She was rather surprised Volo was even entertaining the idea of letting the girl come with them, in all honesty. Then again, a lot about the man made no sense to her.

She had to place those thoughts at the back of her mind however as she had other things to focus on. She was currently in the lobby of the professor’s lab with Yuzo, coming here immediately after she got her bag and tying it around her waist. The man was walking her through a very long ‘contract’ and was explaining the details of what it entailed. She would have to ‘sign’ where he mentioned to state that she agreed to their terms and conditions for taking care of Cyndaquil, which mostly involved her ‘checking in’ every so often. She failed to see how a stack of papers would hold her accountable, but she still paid attention to what was said. Mostly, anyways. She knew it was important when the man repeated himself and asked if she understood.

Eventually, her signature was required. This was difficult, as she didn’t know how to write her own name and she couldn’t comfortably hold the pen he offered her. Yuzo had proposed a thumb print, which she promptly denied and refused to explain her reasons as to why. Fortunately, he brushed it off as another ‘eccentric tribe thing,’ so she likely didn’t seem too suspicious. She did notice the man write something down in his journal afterwards, but she doubted it would matter on the long term.

In the end, Yuzo taught her how to sign her own name. It wasn’t pretty, but it was functional.

“So, why’d you come here so early? I know a lot of people are excited to get their first Pokémon but…” Yuzo asked and trailed off as he considered his words carefully, clearly not wanting to offend her. “Well, you didn’t seem as into it as the sort of trainers we’re used to dealing with. Not that I mind, in fact I prefer- “

“I’m here early so I have time to prepare for a battle,” Kora interrupted, earning a confused look from Yuzo.

“A battle?” the dark-haired lab assistant questioned with furrowed brows. “I’m sort of having mixed feelings on this. Cyndaquil should be able to fight, but… Well, it just seems odd that you of all people would get into a fight on their first day as a trainer. You didn’t strike me as the type.” Yuzo scratched at his forehead and sighed. “Who are you fighting, anyways? I want to make sure it’s not one of the trainers known for picking on newbies, just in case.”

“Klara,” she replied and Yuzo’s eyes shone for a moment. He tapped his pen against his desk a few times as he thought.

“Klara, huh? Give me a moment,” he cheerily said as he got up and went to the back of the laboratory, leaving her alone in the lobby. She began to grow uncomfortable as she waited a worrisome amount of time. Yuzo did eventually return, only he appeared with what she recognized was a ‘phone,’ a Poke ball, a few booklets, and a small notepad. He was currently writing in it, carrying all the other objects beneath the pad as his eyes juggled between his writing and making sure he wasn’t walking into something.

“So, as a Pokémon researcher, I would like to inform you that generally I try and let trainers figure things out on their own,” Yuzo began as he ripped off one of the pages and proceeded to write on another, earning a confused and worried look from Kora. “It’d be very unprofessional of me to tell you what moves a Pokémon knows, for example. Not that it’d be wrong, but part of being a trainer is figuring these things out.”

“On the note of unprofessional things, I consider it very unprofessional when a new minor league Gym Leader from another region barges into my lab every day to get their Pokedex app updated, despite being informed that we’re very busy and that we only update it when the season starts,” Yuzo complained. He stepped forward and handed the two pages he ripped from his notepad to her, Kora beginning to grasp what’s going on. Klara really got on this man’s nerves, it seemed. “I know you can’t read, but these will let you know how to contact the lab if it’s ever necessary. I also wrote down some of the moves Cyndaquil knows and recognizes, just for the fun of it. But since you can’t read… Those moves are Quick Attack, Tackle, Leer and Smokescreen. He should be able to do Ember too, but the flames he shoots are a little too weak to do much.”

“Thank you.,” Kora found herself genuinely saying to the man as she moved a hand to the fanny pack that was by her hip. She had opted to wear it at an angle, as Klara’s comments about ‘style’ had made her more self-aware. This seemed like a good way to compromise. “I understand the help with Cyndaquil, but why everything else?” Kora asked, surprised the man was giving her seemingly everything now.

“Well, me and the professor are pretty sure you’re going to be leaving soon,” Yuzo said as deposited the notepad as Kora opened the bag to place the papers in it. She used a claw to drag the ‘zipper’, which was tedious but doable without seeming suspicious. “So I’m just making sure you’re well equipped in before then.”

With the papers now tucked away, Yuzo opened the phone and turned it so she could see. “I know you’re technologically illiterate, but this should help you after you get a bit of the basics. I managed to find a language learning app that uses sound to help. It’s this app right here.” He pointed to one of the many small boxes, though Kora couldn’t help but frown at the confusing item. “Phones are built to be intuitive, so you should be able to figure most of how it works after a bit of effort. I’ll take you through the steps and show you some of it before you head out just in case but try not to worry about it.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Obviously there’s the books I mentioned.” He pointed to the books and handed them over. Unfortunately, they would not fit in her bag given their size, so she was forced to carry them in her illusion-clad hands. There were 3 small booklets that had imagery of Pokémon on them, which was unsurprising. She only recognized the Snorunt on the front of one of the covers, the other Pokémon present mostly unrecognizable.

“Last but certainly not least…” he brought the Poke ball to her attention. “Cyndaquil. Normally, the professor would be the one to hand him off, but… Well, let’s just say I’m taking a few liberties here since he’s busy and never lets me do this.” Yuzo’s hand reached forward towards, Poke ball in hand. With a smile, he offered the ball to her. “Promise me you’ll take care of him. I know it’s cheesy, but I really just want him to be happy.”

Zoroark gulped beneath her illusion. So, this was it.

She couldn’t help but feel nervous, for some reason. A large part of her still had doubts. She didn’t feel properly connected to Cyndaquil, in all honesty. There was a barrier there that likely only existed due to her nature. Neither was she being exactly fair if she was being honest. Cyndaquil just happened to remind her of home at times with its behavior. Yet did that really matter?

She didn’t intend to mistreat the Pokémon and it would become a part of her pack, regardless of how she thought of it. Being a part of the pack guaranteed he would be protected by all other members of the pack, even if that pack was currently just her, though that would hopefully change one day soon. Still, she trusted herself more than leaving Cyndaquil’s faith up to chance.

She reached a hand forward and grabbed the Poke ball out of Yuzo’s hand. “I promise,” she answered and found herself honestly meaning it.

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After being shown how to use the phone and informing Yuzo she intended to leave the next day, Kora immediately released Cyndaquil from its Poke ball once she was outside. It was quite easy once you understood how a Poke ball works, necessitating only the press of a button to let the Pokémon out. The same couldn’t be said about the phone, but she had no doubt she’d have time to figure it out.

Cyndaquil materialized and seemed confused about the environment he was in, though he did quickly focus his eyes on her. She had allowed the Pokémon to gain its bearing before asking if he was okay with fighting. He hesitated before reluctantly agreeing to the idea. Kora, already having doubts about the entire thing, suddenly gained more than she was expecting.

She allowed ‘her Pokémon’ - the idea of owning a Pokémon still sounding absurd to her – to explore the nearby area. Cyndaquil sniffed the small flowers lining the path that led to the Professor’s Lab, the fire-type seeming curious about everything. That curiosity eventually led him to her, and he began smelling around her. Certain comments from Volo came to her mind, yet Cyndaquil didn’t react negatively.

“Quil?” he asked with a head tilt and Kora had to swallow a grimace.

“No, I am not your ‘mom’,” she firmly stated with pursed lips. Cyndaquil seemed disappointed and she hesitated, feeling guilty. “…I’m more of an elder sister,” she corrected, trying to meet it halfway. She couldn’t fault the relatively young Pokémon for trying to fill a void in its life. How that void came to be raised questions, but… She’d ask later.

Cyndaquil visibly brightened up as he looked up at her. He then showed visible shock, as though realizing struck him. “Quil?!”

“Yes, I can understand you,” she responded. She supposed he hadn’t caught on from the few hints she tried giving him.

The fire-type seemed thoughtful for a moment as he stared at the ground. “Cyndaquil,” the Pokémon eventually pleaded. “Quil?”

Kora sighed and reached down. She picked up Cyndaquil and held him in her arms, giving in to his simple request. He was clingy and likely starved for attention, which lined up with his timid nature.

She then began explaining some of whom and what she was to the excited fire mouse as she carried him back to the Pokémon Center. Despite him almost burning her with the flames that grew out of his back, she still unexpectedly enjoyed her time with Cyndaquil.

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Before Kora could join back up with Volo for proper training, she was surprised to see Klara was already waiting at the field behind the Pokémon Center. The woman was currently talking to Volo and, given the way he was forcing a smile, clearly irritating him. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was willing to tolerate Klara for her sake, yet she would admit it did mean something to her. She was also wondering why she was willing to tolerate the woman herself, given a lot of her behavior was questionable.

As she arrived, Volo pointed in her direction and spoke a few words to the most likely rambling woman, getting her to turn in Kora’s direction. This gave Volo the chance to scowl and back away as Klara made her way across the dirt field.

“Didn’t think I was going to give you time to train, did ya? As if I’d give you that sort of advantage!” she smugly said, earning a frown from Kora as the pink-haired woman approached. “Get your Cyndaquil ready! We’re doing this right here and now!”

Kora looked over to Volo, who merely shrugged, then down at Cyndaquil, who looked up at her in worry from within her arms. She sighed. “I don’t think Cyndaquil is ready for a ba- “

“You’re backing out?!” Klara interrupted incredulously before she could finish speaking. “C’mon, you gotta fight! Look, I’ll even show you what Pokémon I’m using!”

“It’s not about you,” Kora protested to deaf ears. Klara pulled out her Poke ball and tossed it towards the center of the field, releasing her Pokémon. Or, well, it might be her Pokémon, as she wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at.

A green bag with multiple holes in it appeared in the center of the field. Out of the holes, a slime-like substance poured out with the occasional cafeteria item. “Is that… garbage?” Volo asked with undisguised disgust as he made his way next to Kora.

The ‘garbage’ then stirred and turned to look at Volo, a set of white eyes with tiny pupils opening at the front of it. It slowly stood up on two stubby legs and the knot at the top of its head twitched. The leaking mix of garbage and slime were its arms apparently, given they were began moving around.

The bag’s gaze moved away from Volo as it searched the area until its eyes locked onto Klara. It brightened up almost immediately, a toothy and carefree smile forming on its odd face. It ran towards her excitedly. “Trub!”

“That’s right! Who’s my little cutie? You are!” Klara bent slightly forward and stared down at the excited garbage bag, showering it in praise in an oddly irritating tone. “Yes you- Please don’t lick my shoes, they’re expensive.”

The Pokémon looked up at her sheepishly before hopping backwards. “Trubbish,” it apologized with downcast eyes.

Kora found herself rubbing the upper half of her face in disbelief as Cyndaquil watched. Volo slowly approached her as he kept his eyes on Klara and the ‘Trubbish’. “I’m fairly certain Cyndaquil is guaranteed to win here,” he whispered reassuringly. “That thing looks highly flammable.”

“I am less worried about Cyndaquil as I am for the woman’s sanity,” Kora replied in a deadpan tone. Cyndaquil nodded at her words, earning a pat from the fox carrying him. “I’ve come to realize she’s not a friend. She’s a… What do you call someone you help out of pity?”

“A charity case,” Volo replied with amusement. “I take it you’ve had time to think about what you want to do, then?” he asked, receiving a nod from Kora.

Much like an abandoned baby Pokémon, Klara would be hopeless without her charity. Kora was therefore merely taking pity on her.

“I see. Do you plan to fight her? I’m aware you think Cyndaquil isn’t ready.” She looked down to Cyndaquil and was surprised to see he was far less hesitant after whatever it was Klara was doing.

“Quil,” Cyndaquil firmly replied with a nod for her from the nook of her arm. Kora sighed. She lowered Cyndaquil to the ground, acknowledging the Pokémon’s desire to fight. “It would appear so,” she reluctantly said. Even if she didn’t agree with the fight entirely, she would allow Cyndaquil to be the one to decide what it did and didn’t do.

“Getting ready to fight, are we? Man, I was worried you’d chicken out on me!” Klara spoke up as she stopped pampering her Trubbish. It was difficult to ignore the light layer of gunk that had built up on her palm, even though it was being wiped off with a piece of tissue. Kora sighed, finding the rather messy trash bag to be grotesque, though she couldn’t say it wasn’t in line with Klara’s tastes. What struck her as odd was the lack of smell, however. You’d expect a Pokémon like that to smell downright awful, yet she couldn’t pick up a bad scent from it.

After a bit of banter from Klara that was promptly ignored by Kora yet got a response out of Cyndaquil, both trainer and Pokémon-disguised-as-trainer positioned themselves at each side of the field. Zoroark felt like she was at a distinctive disadvantage given Klara’s experience, yet she didn’t speak up on the matter. She would do what she could.

“Get ready!” Klara yelled from across the field as Trubbish positioned itself in front of her, as though it knew where it belonged. Likewise, Cyndaquil followed the other’s cue, placing itself in front of Kora. She couldn’t help but question how they seemed to fall into place so naturally. It likely had to do with both having seen battles before.

She could think about that later. Right now, she had to… Err… What does a trainer do again?

“Get set!” Klara yelled out as Kora furrowed her brows, trying to figure out what a trainer contributed to a fight.

They yelled orders or something. So, all she needed to do is ‘guide’ Cyndaquil through the battle. That shouldn’t be difficult.

“Fight!” Klara finally yelled and immediately followed it up. “Get close, Trubbish!” she ordered. Kora couldn’t help but think Klara had gained an unfair advantage by being the one to announce when the fight started the fight.

Trubbish’s stubby feet carried it forward, the tiny green bag essentially hopping in Cyndaquil’s direction. Cyndaquil merely stayed put staring at it and, after not receiving any orders, looked back to Kora in confusion.

She heard Volo sigh and shake his head. Clearly, she was supposed to be more proactive. Hesitantly and after recalling the information Yuzo told her, she spoke up. “Smokescreen?” she tried, recalling one of the moves that was mentioned.

As though having been waiting for the order, Cyndaquil’s mouth opened wide, and he inhaled a deep breath. A moment after he exhaled, smoke was pushed out with his breath, creating a small smokescreen right in front of him that obscured him from view. It didn’t dissuade Trubbish, unfortunately, the poison-type choosing to run through the smoke and slam its body into Cyndaquil’s.

“Poison Gas when you’re near it!” Klara ordered as soon as Trubbish disappeared through the smoke, causing Kora to frown. So Volo was most likely right on her planned strategy. And the counter they discussed was to create distance, or something along those lines.

“…Quick Attack away?” Kora tried, loosely recognizing the move as one that enhanced speed. It seemed to function, as Cyndaquil moved away almost immediately by throwing itself with surprising agility as a gas poured out of Trubbish’s mouth. They were once more on opposites sides of the field, though the distance was mostly negligible given neither of them could make large strides.

“Damn, didn’t think you’d be so defensive!” Klara pointed her finger forward. “Run through the smoke and use Acid Spray!’ she ordered and Trubbish followed without question. It hopped through the smoke and, upon catching sight of Cyndaquil, spat out a purple glob towards him. From the way it was moving, it looked like it would hit dead on.

“Dodge it,” Kora tried to no avail, Cyndaquil being far too slow to react and receiving the attack right to his forehead. He squealed and began rubbing at the wound, clearly not having expected the pain.

Kora took a deep breath, finding the situation odd. Why were both Pokémon just waiting for orders? They should be in constant motion, but they were paying too much attention on whatever their trainers said. They were young, she supposed, yet even a young Zorua knew you didn’t stay put.

“Cyndaquil,” she spoke up, earning his attention. “Stay on the move. Run circles around Trubbish.”

“Didn’t like them sitting around? Two can play at- “

“Quick Attack to hit it, then continue running,” Kora interrupted Klara’s ‘banter,’ taking advantage of it to give another order. Despite the pink-haired woman’s clear displeasure, Cyndaquil did as she told it to without interruption. It turned to Trubbish and launched itself at it, hitting it with its back before safely running away.

Kora frowned despite the tactic working. She noticed Cyndaquil was already panting. Did… Did he have a pathetically low amount of endurance? That might explain why he didn’t move much earlier on. The same could be said about Trubbish, given it didn’t seem motivated to move too much.

Likewise, Volo seemed to notice there was an issue too. “I don’t think either of these Pokémon are fit to fight,” he commented, Kora agreeing with the statement but not showing it.

“Of course they aren’t!” Klara cheerfully replied. “That’s like the whole point. You gotta give them a taste to motivate them to bulk up! Cheap shot, by the way. Trubbish, Acid Spray!”

Once more, the poison-type spat out a its attack towards Cyndaquil, who easily avoided the attack since he was currently running. Like before, Kora ordered Cyndaquil to close the gap with Quick Attack and escape.

The moment he began his approach, however, Klara spoke up. “Try to grab it!” she ordered. As Cyndaquil slammed itself against Trubbish, the Pokémon managed to wrap the leaking garbage that was its arms around him. Despite how flimsy its arms seemed, they managed to stop Cyndaquil from escaping.

This apparently scared Cyndaquil, as the red spot on his back suddenly burst into flame while it struggled. Trubbish, now currently holding onto fire, immediately pulled its arms back in pain as it yelped. Inadvertently, it spat out Poison Gas directly into Cyndaquil’s face, as though that was its natural reaction to being attacked. Cyndaquil inhaled the noxious fumes.

Well, that put them on a timer. Cyndaquil began coughing from the gas surrounding it. “Cyndaquil, try Ember as you back away,” Kora ordered, figuring that Klara’s Pokémon didn’t seem to like fire.

The exhausted Cyndaquil coughed some more as it forced itself to take a deep breath. After a moment, he managed to spit out a tiny pocket-sized fire directly against Trubbish’s face as rolled himself backwards, creating a small amount of distance. The damage was negligible, unfortunately, but the garbage bag did have a burn mark on its face.

“Pound, Trubbish!” Klara ordered, the poison-type following her order despite looking as exhausted as Cyndaquil. It bounced forward and used one of its arms to punch at Cyndaquil’s snout. Fortunately, Cyndaquil did not seem to want to be hit in its face and turned of his own accord, exposing Trubbish’s hand to the flames growing out of his back.

It seemed those flames were much more effective than the flames he could spit out, so Kora would run with it. “Tackle with your backside,” she ordered. Cyndaquil looked to her with confusion, yet he did follow through on the order. His movements were clumsy, likely a side effect of the poison, yet he did manage to shove his back into Trubbish, who received a face full of fire. The flames were visibly weakening, but it should still be effective.

“Acid Spray it back! It’s poisoned, so all you gotta do now is keep your distance.” Trubbish nodded at Klara’s words and spat out yet another glob of acid, this time aiming for Cyndaquil’s back, earning a yelp from the fire-type.

Kora turned to look at Volo, who was watching with an unimpressed frown. The fight did feel underwhelming compared to what she’s used to seeing, but she couldn’t say she wasn’t invested in it. “Cyndaquil, stick close to it. Tackle and Quick Attack only,” she tried. Cyndaquil nodded and tackled Trubbish as it tried to retreat, slamming it into the ground.

From there, an awkward wrestle occurred. It looked like both Pokémon were just hitting each other with every part of their body. Kora was about to speak up to forfeit, finding the battle far too pathetic to watch, only to stop herself when Trubbish suddenly ceased its struggle. Cyndaquil was panting heavily and moved away from Trubbish. He let out a triumphant roar and looked to Kora, giving her a single nod with a forced smile. He then fell face first against the ground next to Trubbish.

Huh. Well, that was… Something. Looks like he was a little fighter. Klara let out a long sigh and Kora blinked. Wait. Did Cyndaquil win? That… Made sense, she supposed. Yet it also made none. The match looked like it would end in Trubbish’s favor.

“How’d I win?” Kora asked Volo, the man rubbing both eyes slowly as he swallowed his utter disappointment at the match.

“I’m fairly certain she might’ve lost on purpose,” Volo replied quietly. At Kora’s confused look, he sighed and began to explain. “By losing the match, Trubbish feels bad and strives to improve without her having to be mean to it.”

Kora frowned, having mixed feelings on that thought. On the one hand, it sounded manipulative. On the other… For some reason, she was fairly certain the Alpha had done the same thing to her.

Well, in the end, all that mattered was if Cyndaquil was happy with the outcome.

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

After the fight, both trainers immediately went into the Pokémon Center. Ideally, Kora would have kept Cyndaquil around to recover on his own, but the poison had made her hesitate on that idea. Fortunately, the wait for healing both Pokémon was short given their wounds were ‘extremely negligible compared to what we’re used to,’ according to Nurse Joy.

She had been informed by Klara that most first-time battles follow a similar pattern and were, in her words, ‘a lot less skillful than the real thing.’ Kora somewhat doubted the statement, having won and therefore being superior, but she did find there was frustratingly little to work with in that fight. Neither Pokémon appeared capable of doing much beyond the bare minimum, which was to be expected now that she thought about it. Their battle senses clearly weren’t developed, which made sense when she considered that both were likely raised in a human heavy environment where they weren’t forced to hone themselves to survive. She was also informed that it was, in fact, Trubbish’s first battle as well, and Klara agreed to the theory that she lost on purpose. For some reason, the way she was acting made her doubt it was the case.

Either way, Kora somehow found herself enjoying having won and was already trying to form strategies for next time Cyndaquil fights – if he chooses to, anyways. She didn’t gloat about winning, knowing Klara had a team that could easily trump her sole Pokémon, but she did maintain a certain smugness. She also knew she could likely personally beat all of Klara’s team if she tried to.

Volo was upset despite the favorable outcome for them, given that Klara had opted to pay them back in something other than money after proposing the idea to Kora. Naturally, she had accepted, as she didn’t see how money would aid them once they were outside of the town.

They were currently in the Pokémon Center’s mostly empty cafeteria, the group opting to claim a table in the corner of the room. Most humans ate based on the time of day from what she gathered, and mid-afternoon did not appear to be a popular time for most of them, granting them a certain amount of privacy. There were exceptions of course, but it appeared most people followed their simple habits without questioning them.

Laid out in front of Kora and Cyndaquil, who was currently seated in her lap, were five different bundles of ‘poffins,’ each one representing a different flavor and smelling significantly different. They were, apparently, roughly the equivalent value to how much she had ‘won,’ each small sack of poffins having a cost of 150P and holding five each. The poffins had a round appearance that wasn’t far off from the ‘cookies’ she had seen yet, upon poking one, they appeared to be soft and smooth rather than hard and crumbly. She also couldn’t help but think they were each a little small, given even Cyndaquil could swallow one whole.

She couldn’t deny they smelled delicious despite that, save for the ones that had a green tint and bitter aroma to them. Especially the orange ones, the odd smell somehow mesmerizing her. Cyndaquil’s own gaze was pointed towards the pink colored ones, and he seemed very eager to try one. It was fortunate he hadn’t shown interest in the ones she wanted to try. She was hoping to be able to bring them with her later.

“Looks like he has a preference,” Klara remarked, the woman seated across from her. Kora reached forward and pulled the ones Cyndaquil wanted towards his snout. She picked one of them up and brought it to the recently healed fire-type’s mouth. He gripped it between his two stubby paws and began eating it eagerly.

“So, anyways, what’s your plan now? You mentioned leaving but like absolutely nothing else,” Klara brought up, looking between her and Volo. Volo, who had been sitting next to her to be away from Klara, looked towards her as he spoke.

“I believe we were going to go north to Jubilife City,” he stated, earning a nod of agreement from Kora after a moment. “Though there’s still a lot in the air.”

“Ah, yeah, I get that. I wasn’t sure if you guys were here for like the gym challenge or something,” Klara replied, earning confused looks from both Volo and Kora. She began tapping her palms against the table. “Man, you guys don’t even know what that is? Oof.”

She briefly explained the general idea of gyms, though Kora didn’t quite understand the purpose. She knew Klara was supposed to be a minor league gym leader in another region, but it wasn’t exactly a top concern for her. She would have to ask Volo for an explanation on what Klara shared later.

After the explanation, Volo pointedly gestured to Kora, causing Klara to look at her with a raised brow. “We… were considering inviting you to leave with us tomorrow,” she slowly said, finding herself still uncertain about the entire idea. She couldn’t help but think it might be better to have a familiar human to guide them instead of relying on random strangers.

“Oh. Wow.” Klara blinked a few times. “I, uh, wow. Never been invited to like join a Journey or whatever it is you guys are doing,” she awkwardly spoke as she fidgeted nervously. “But uh… I can’t leave tomorrow? I’m waiting on a delivery from Hoenn.”

Kora froze. Were they… being rejected? Oh, this was beyond outrageous. She would-

“But I could probably meet up with you in Jubilife! I can ride Scolipede up there,” Klara quickly added after a moment, Kora calming down and finding herself surprised at the anger she had felt. “This guy from Hoenn is supposed to bring me a wild Gulpin. Suuuper cute and I’ve been waiting for over a week now! I swear, some people just don’t like get that you shouldn’t keep people waiting,” Klara complained.

Oh. Well, that worked as well. In fact, it might be preferable for now. Still, was she about to have a fit over a human? That seemed out of character for her.

“What route were you guys planning to take to get there anyways?” Klara asked, earning a confused look from Volo.

“202 is the only route that leads there,” Volo slowly replied, though his voice was laced with some amount of uncertainty. “I’ve checked the maps the Pokémon Center provided.”

“The maps…? Oh!” Klara exclaimed and slammed a hand down on the table. “Ha! You fell for like the oldest trick in the League book! You’re checking the trainer maps. What you want is the real map. That’s the one with all the good stuff on it.”

After a confusing explanation, it appeared there were two official maps of Sinnoh and many other regions in circulations. From what she gathered, it was an attempt by the League to keep trainers in areas that were ‘League related.’ This was to prevent most trainers from disrupting the lives of the average citizens in the smaller places that couldn’t support a large influx of people. Or so the logic went, but with the ‘age of the PokeNet,’ it quickly became a mostly useless map that mainly allowed people to spot unexperienced trainers. When asked what the small towns are doing to deal with the uptake in traffic, Klara informed them that they’re “dealing with it” and that it’s “not her problem.”

Zoroark recognized the wisdom in those words. Upon quickly glancing at the full Sinnoh map on Klara’s phone, it appeared there were many more settlements than just 14. Furthermore, Sinnoh appeared to be more interconnected than she expected.

The world just kept looking larger and larger, somehow. At least Kora would be back in nature soon. She also couldn’t help but notice that the north of the region had far fewer towns. Something told her that was where she was most likely to find traces of her kind.