Night had fallen, and Marie and Yuri sat together by the fire. Nearby, Umbreon and Dragapult were sprawled out, resting. The two Dreepy that had spent the entire day playing were now fast asleep, nestled on top of Dragapult's head.
As usual, Ralts lay curled up on Umbreon's back, holding Marie's Rotom Phone and poring over psychic-type knowledge.
"We'll head for Motostoke in the morning. Should take us about three days on foot," Marie said calmly.
"Oh... okay..." Yuri nodded vaguely, clearly having no real concept of distance or time.
"By the way, Marie-chan, is Umbreon your only Pokémon?"
"Mm... for now, yeah," Marie nodded. "But I've been thinking lately that it might be time to add another partner."
It made sense. Umbreon had reached a respectable level of strength, and Marie herself had gotten much more comfortable with caring for Pokémon.
"Oooh! Who are you thinking of? Ralts? Or Dragapult?" Yuri asked, eyes lighting up.
It wasn't a strange assumption. Ralts had been clinging to Umbreon the entire time and had followed them for nearly two days now. And Dragapult clearly shared a deep bond with Marie, not to mention being incredibly powerful.
"I don't really decide those things ahead of time," Marie replied as she fed the fire a few more sticks. She didn't bother to lower her voice around the Pokémon.
"Ralts likes Umbreon, that's all. If she wants to keep traveling with us, I don't mind. But whether or not she wants to be my Pokémon... that's her choice. As for Dragapult, he's the type who loves looking after younger ones. I doubt he has time to follow me around the region."
"Huh? But you two were battling like crazy earlier!"
Yuri glanced at the large dragon resting nearby. Its lightning-fast attacks and ghostly movements from earlier still left a vivid impression in her mind.
"Those are two separate things," Marie said. "He didn't even use Dragon Darts. That should tell you how protective he is of the little ones."
"Dragon... Darts?" Yuri tilted her head in confusion. She couldn't recall that move off the top of her head.
Marie motioned to Rotom to pull up the Pokédex entry. She handed the phone to Yuri, who finally understood after reading it.
"Oh! That's the one from earlier, right? When the little guys got launched like, biu biu! Then flew back again?" Yuri mimed the movement.
She remembered now. During the afternoon, she'd seen the Dreepy being launched and returning over and over. She'd thought it was just playtime. Who knew it was such a powerful move?
"Yeah, he's a gentle big brother type. Took care of me once when I was little, too."
"You knew him when you were a kid?" Yuri perked up, instantly curious.
Marie nodded and took a sip of water before speaking again.
"A few years back, I pestered my brother to take me out to the Wild Area. But I got too caught up playing with some wild Pokémon and ended up getting separated from him."
Marie spoke with a calm, reflective tone. She couldn't remember whether it was her child-sized body or simply immaturity that got her lost, but either way, the memory had stayed with her.
"I was mostly scared my brother would scold me, so I wandered around the woods feeling miserable. No Rotom Phone back then, and I had no idea where I was. It got dark, I was exhausted, and that's when a Pokémon found me."
"Pfft... found you?" Yuri giggled. "You make it sound like you were picked up off the street."
"It was Dragapult. Well, he hadn't fully evolved back then he was a Drakloak," Marie explained. "That's actually the stage where they get the strongest 'nanny instincts.'"
"For real?" Yuri raised an eyebrow and checked her own Pokédex for confirmation.
"Yeah. Total coincidence, really. He'd just evolved and hadn't found a Dreepy to care for yet, and there I was, wandering around looking lost. So he just assumed I was a baby Pokémon and stuck me on his head."
"No way! That actually happened?"
Marie chuckled. It was a weird experience for sure one moment she was moping under a tree, the next she was plucked off the ground and perched on a dragon's head. It had scared her half to death.
"He kept me safe all night. The next day, he found a couple of Dreepy, then helped me find my brother. You should've seen my brother's face when he saw me sitting on a Drakloak's head. I'll never forget it."
"Wow... I never had anything like that. My family never let me come out here. I just played with our Wooloo back home."
"You have Wooloo?"
"Yeah, my family runs a ranch. We shear wool and sell it."
"Oh! Then you're from Turffield? Do you know Glimwood Tangle?"
Marie's question made Yuri tense up slightly.
"You're interested in Glimwood Tangle? That place is supposed to be haunted. Super scary Pokémon live there, you know."
She leaned in, grabbing Marie's sleeve and lowering her voice, as if telling a ghost story.
"Before I started my journey, Hop and I went exploring... The fog kept getting thicker and thicker, until we could barely see each other. And then... out of nowhere, this terrifying Pokémon appeared! No warning at all! It just showed up!"
"Oh? What did it look like?" Marie asked, gently patting the hand now gripping her arm a little too tightly.
"I couldn't really see it... but it looked like a giant wolf. Nothing we did worked on it. It was like it didn't even have a body."
"So... no effect at all? Did the Champion come save you?"
"No... After we tried attacking it a few times, it let out this massive roar, and then everything went white. I passed out. When I woke up, the fog had cleared. The Champion had found us and our Wooloo, but the Pokémon was gone."
"So you never found out what it was?"
"No... The Champion didn't know either. Sonia couldn't figure it out, either."
"Hm... Well, maybe when the time comes, everything will make sense."
Marie rested her chin in her hand and looked at Yuri with a small smile. Something in her tone, so calm and confident, made Yuri's heart skip a beat.
Even without any solid evidence, Marie's quiet certainty made her words feel oddly believable.
Yuri stared at her, thinking that to herself.
____________________
NEXT CHAPTER : New Partners
(Marie's morning starts with a surprise Dragapult has decided to leave his nest and asks to become her Pokémon, impressed by her potential as a Trainer. With his two Dreepy in tow, Marie officially welcomes him onto her team. Meanwhile, she gifts Yuri a handful of rare TMs from Dragapult's treasure hoard, calling it "payment" for her Glimwood Tangle tip. A new journey begins with stronger allies, deeper bonds, and the road ahead full of promise.)
Want to see what happens next? Drop a comment or review to unlock the next chapter!