Jun stirred from slumber, the crisp morning air filling his lungs as he blinked away the remnants of sleep. A soft breeze caressed his face, and he felt his light weight blanket fluttering against his chest. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying outside the Galar Mine, a familiar yet rugged landscape surrounding him. The mine’s rocky terrain loomed just a few yards away, a stark reminder of the training session he'd undergone over the last two days. Echo had come far, practicing his Reflect and learning to deflect incoming attacks with his shell, his confidence blossoming each time he successfully countered a wild Pokémon's strike.
“Is it morning already?” he murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. At his side, Echo, his Dottler, was perched precariously on his backpack, his eyes shimmering with curiosity.
Taking a moment to check up on Echo's status,
Pokemon: Dottler
Name: Echo
Ability: Telepathy (+)
Gender: Male
Nature: Bold (+Defense/-Attack)
Level: 15 (+)
Moves: Struggle Bug, Sticky Web, Light Screen, Reflect, Confusion, Recover (+)
Stats: [expand]
Items: N/A
Status: Awake
“What do you think, Echo? Ready for a new adventure?” Jun asked, shifting in preparation of getting up.
With a serious chirp, Echo responded telepathically, ‘Always! But can we rest a little longer?’
Jun chuckled, relaxing his muscles, knowing that despite Echo’s brave facade, he was still young, just ten days old. “I get it. Let’s enjoy the calm for a bit longer.”
Next to him, Toxel let out a lazy yawn from where she lay nestled in Gardevoir's arms. The graceful Pokémon smiled gently, her emerald gaze profound yet reassuring. Jun felt a sense of warmth wash over him, overpowering the coolness of the morning air.
“Seems like Toxel is still snoozing, huh?” Jun teased, glancing at Gardevoir, who shrugged lightly, as if to say that some Pokémon just had their own rhythms.
Taking out his trusty map, he traced a finger along their intended route. “We’ll head to North Lake Miloch today. The pokemon there will be slightly stronger, but the challenge will help you grow.”
Turning to Gardevoir, Jun tries to articulate his goals, since Gardevoir technically was entrusted to him by the lab. “I realize that my main task is supposed to be to look for Toxel and tag them, but I truly believe that allowing Echo to reach his final evolution would be a massive help in regards to that task. Moreover, once Echo becomes an Orbeetle, I'm hoping that I could send you back to the Professor, along with Toxel. She seems to be quite attached to you and I was hoping the lab could take her in. I had been thinking about this for a few days now, and I was planning on bringing this up in tomorrow's call with the Professor.”
Gardevoir gently drifted over, placed her hand on Jun’s head and ruffled his messy hair with a gentle smile. ‘While I would be glad to return to Aria’s side, you don't have to feel guilty, Jun. I quite enjoy watching your and Echo’s growing bond. Teaching Echo how to best utilize his psychic skills has also been quite fulfilling. You don't have to rush for my sake.’
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Jun blushed a little, shaking off his embarrassment, he would still try his best, both for Echo's sake and Gardevoir's.
The party set off towards Motostoke, with Jun playfully guiding Echo back towards the familiar winding path of Route 3, content to avoid fights this time around, Gardevoir liberated her tight grasp on her aura, sending pokemon scurrying into the undergrowth.
Reaching the industrial city with a heavy steampunk aesthetic, ‘The air here smells of metal and burning.’ Remarked Echo, who had never been in such a modernized area like this before.
“I agree, let's get outta here.” Jun scrunched his nose in distaste and they quickly followed the signs towards the exit to the wild area
Crossing the threshold felt like stepping through a portal. The vast expanse of the Wild Area sprawled out before them, rolling hills, thick forests, and glistening lakes, juxtaposed with the clanging and grinding of the industrial city behind them.
Once they left the gate, the fresh air of East Lake Axewell quickly washed away the industrial fumes from their nostrils. Making their way eastward, they met little opposition, only the occasional Oddish or Bunnelby, which Echo dispatched with ease.
Reaching the shores of a massive lake, Lake Miloch, according to his trusty map, they only had to follow the shoreline of the lake and they would reach the sub area known as North Lake Miloch.
Pausing for a break around noon, they had a quick lunch before continuing their trek, reaching the target area sometime around 3 in the afternoon. After quickly scouting out an area to camp at night, Jun quickly brought out his binoculars to look for good training targets.
The area was filled with pokemon, but the most common were Stunky and Stufful. Unwilling to risk being sprayed by the skunk pokemon, Jun set Stufful as the target for Echo.
By sundown, the number of Stufful within 1 km around the campsite had dwindled and within 500m, there was not a single Stufful in sight. Jun has taken the opportunity to ask Gardevoir to teach Echo the best way of unleashing Confusion, and Echo had performed exceedingly well, using the blasts of psychic energy to fling the Normal/Fighting types away.
Tired from their long journey during the day, the quartet quickly set up camp, ate then went to rest.
Jun stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as sunlight filtered through the trees. Today was the day he would speak to his mentor, Professor Aria again. With a mix of excitement and anxiety, he quickly got dressed, fixing his appearance to the best of his abilities before settling in front of his laptop, adjusting the camera before clicking the call button.
“Good morning, Jun!” Professor Aria’s warm smile appeared on the screen, instantly brightening Jun's spirits.
“Morning, Professor. Sorry, I haven't really… Well, I was planning on first training Echo and so… ” Jun’s words faded into a mumble as he felt his cheeks warm. He didn't want to bring up the number of Toxel he had tagged this week, which incidentally was zero.
“Don’t worry about it,” Aria reassured him, his eyes twinkling with understanding. “Pokémon research takes time, and so does bonding with your starter. I was the one who advised you to focus on Echo's training after all. Echo's early days are an especially efficient time to learn good battling habits.”
Jun nodded earnestly, glancing at the yellow carapace of the Dottler dozing on his bedroll. “Plus,” Aria added, “I hear that Orbeetles are great at scanning the surroundings with their psychic prowess, Echo’s eventual evolution will only improve your chances of finding rare pokemon in the wild.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Jun acknowledged, a hint of determination creeping into his voice. Hearing Gardevoir’s soft psychic energy hum nearby, Jun shared his thoughts. “I actually planned on evolving Echo as soon as possible, in order to allow Gardevoir to return to you sooner.”
Laughter filled the virtual space as Professor Aria replied, “There's no need to rush, in fact I'd much rather you take your time. Gardevoir seems quite fond of you.”
Gardevoir floated to Jun’s shoulder and gave him a quick pat on the head, but not in a overly condescending manner.
“Actually,” Professor Aria continued, “after I wrap up my tasks here at the Lab, I plan on coming to Galar myself in two weeks.”
Jun’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? What brings you here?”
“Well, there are two major reasons for my visit.” Aria began, “First, I’d like to personally teach you how to write a research report and publish your findings, I am your mentor after all. It’s an essential skill for a researcher and teaching through video calls seem may too inconvenient.”
“That sounds great!” Jun eagerly replied.
“And second,” Aria continued, a spark of enthusiasm in his eyes, “I also want to study the branching evolutions of certain Pokémon in their natural habitats. After requesting some information from Professor Magnolia, I've also found documents that mention the existence of a branching evolution of a legendary Pokemon on an Island called the Isle of Armor. That seems super fascinating, regardless of whether it's truth or fiction, I would like to look into that. Finally, it's been quite a long time since I've gotten the chance to go exploring, my pokemon have been clamoring to go on a real journey for months now, haha.”
“Well Professor, I'll be ready to welcome you here in Galar. I'll ask Marco to pull together all the files on the Isle of Armor at the Pokemon Research Lab. Oh, I haven't told you about Marco, he's a lab researcher at the Pokemon Research Lab, and he's been an amazing help. His main job at the lab is to compile information into packets for different researchers whenever they need it, and he's got almost all the documents memorized. Come to think of it, I haven't actually seen Professor Magnolia much, I heard from Marco that she seems to be exploring some kind of den in the wilderness, maybe she's looking for some baby pokemon or something.”
Professor Aria patiently waited for Jun to recount his adventures and the people he had met. As the conversation drew to a close, he reminded Jun. “Remember, there is no need to rush through your training. Just be diligent, and remember, evolution is not just about strength; it's also about skill and understanding each other.”
“I’ll make you proud, Professor,” Jun declared, a spark of inspiration lighting in his heart.
“I know you will, Jun. I’ll see you soon!”