They had no potions at home. Not the ones trainers used anyway. Nana instead made some aloe and yarrow poultice which Luvia used to cover every scratch on Mida’s body. The words “fool” and “reckless” had flown around generously when Luvia told them what had happened.

  In effect, yes, totally reckless – but not in principle.

  It’s not her fault she didn’t know there was a second lombre so close by. They usually claimed their own little spots and defended against other lombre who might be looking to snatch something from their hidden hoards. Emphasis on usually.

  “Luvia, aren’t you taking things a bit too fast?” asked her mother with a worried little frown.

  “Too fast and brash!” huffed Nana.

  Luvia’s own right leg was up on another chair with aloe paste of its own running along the thin scratch lombre’s claw had left behind. It had torn through her jogger pants, but she had hardly felt it at the time. Now it had a tiny, sweet sting to it.

  Worth it, considering Mida had come out of the encounter with a new move.

  “I told you. They ambushed us,” Luvia said after a sigh. “If the other one hadn’t been there, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  Nana pounced at those words. “A-ha! And how d’you suppose the critters’ll be in the mainland, girlie? D’you think they’ll make a neat file before they approach? Or tap your shoulder and say, ‘scuse me, girlie, would ye like to battle?’”

  Naturally, her mother hummed in agreement immediately, bringing the cup of tea she was drinking to her lips.

  Luvia groaned. “No.”

  “Luvy… why this urge all of a sudden?”

  As if they hadn’t already asked the same question three times in the past week.

  “Oh my god!” The girl shook her head. “Nope. I already told you guys.”

  “But why the mainland? Why not have a journey here?”

  “…”

  The silence that filled the kitchen was smothering. Luvia let her head loll back over the chair’s backrest.

  “She’s right, Luv, have a journey here. The island is big, and they have those funny job boards for trainers, don’t they?”

  Family was sweet until it wasn’t. Luvia knew they were just worried about her, but to suggest she have her journey on Clearcloud Island? After seeing the mainland?

  After having a real battle and earning money from a trainer job? After meeting and promising Andrea?

  No.

  She lifted her head back up. “No.”

  She was taking the exam. No one was going to convince her otherwise.

  “I already borrowed the notes and told her I’d return them… And I want to do it, Nana. I want to do it, Mom…”

  “Meehd…” Mida purred, half-looking like a real swamp creature with all the poultice paste streaking her skin.

  “We both want to do it,” Luvia added. “She picks half the fights herself!”

  Mida gave a tiny shake of her fin tail.

  Her mother quietly sipped her tea as Nana pulled back in her chair with a shallow sigh. “Stay on the island, dear. You’ll have no one out there. You’ve no idea what it’s like out there on your own, sweet girl.”

  Luvia wanted to go to her room and rest. She was annoyed. She didn’t need this talk.

  She looked away gloomily.

  Her mother cleared her throat and set her cup down on the table with a clack. “Luvia, if you’re so sure you want to go, we need to know you can take care of yourself, that’s all.”

  Luvia turned to her expressionlessly. “I’m almost fifteen. I’m not a baby.”

  “No, we know that, but the mainland wilds are dangerous. Little Mida here might be strong, but she’s not going to be able to protect you from everything.”

  “She’s a pup, girlie, a pup!”

  Luvia smiled with a dash of scorn. “And she’s already bringing down lombre!”

  Nana huffed and chuckled softly at that. “Look at her, Luv, look at the pup…”

  Heat rose to Luvia’s face. “She’s not really hurt, they’re only scratches.”

  “Mh-mh,” her mother disagreed, shaking her head. “That tells me that you’re not ready for the wild, Luvia. If your pokémon is covered in medicine and you say, ‘she’s not really hurt,’ it only makes me worry more. What if it wasn’t a lombre? What if it had been a viper, or one of those horrid zangoose?”

  Wild vipers like ekans or arbok, or worse, seviper, were very dangerous. The poison of the latter two was too strong for a person to recover from without a prompt visit to a hospital.

  They kept fiercely away from people, in rocky crags and dense woods in the uninhabited and more secluded corners of the island. Along with a vicious pokémon called Zangoose, they were the rarest species found on the island, and not a single household kept one.

  Truly wild and best left to the wild.

  If the pair of lombre had been zangoose… It was better not to think about it.

  “…”

  The women liked the look of uncertainty on Luvia’s face. She pulled her scratched leg down from the chair and shifted Mida on her lap.

  “I’m going to bed,” she said tiredly.

  Nana brought down her hands, slapping them lightly on her own lap with a victorious little smirk on her lips. “We know you don’t like hearing this, but it’s our job to talk sense into you.”

  Luvia began to stand, holding Mida carefully so as to not rub off the poultice paste covering the little one’s skin.

  …

  “If you really want to go, Luvia… We’ll let you.”

  …

  Luvia’s eyes lit up and she shot her mother a look. Nana was looking at her too, but with a furrowed brow.

  Her mother nodded. “We’ll let you go, but on one condition…”

  Anything.

  Luvia was barely able to keep the feeling of excitement down. “What is it?”

  …

  “No more pocket money, Luvy. You’re going to earn the money you’ll need to take this exam.”

  The next day was swimming day. Luvia had a quick shower in the morning and dressed in the wetsuit her sister had bought her. It looked and felt so good now. So comfortable. Though it hugged her body firmly, it didn’t feel as tight as it had the first couple of days. She put on her long rain jacket over it and slid into her pair of beach crocs.

  I need to see if Mida can do that move again. Maybe I should pass by Carol’s and see if she’s free…

  Carol, one of the two good friends she had left on the island, was a darkhaired, freckled business savvy sort of girl.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Her parents owned a small dairy farm and kept a few miltank that supplied the local shops with delicious milk. Carol had a favorite miltank called Lassie and her parents occasionally let her put her in a pokéball and take her around (though that didn’t happen as much nowadays.)

  Luvia had introduced Mida to both Carol, and her other friend, Nelly, a few days after returning from Slateport. As expected, they’d fallen in love with the little one right away.

  Luvia still hadn’t told them she intended to take the trainer exam, but she was certain they’d take it with way more excitement than Nana and her mother had. For now though, she felt better if as little people knew as possible. She had a feeling too many people knowing might end up throwing her off.

  After school had broken up for the mid-summer break, both her friends had kept busy with their families. Carol, being an only child, was poised to take over the family business so she spent a lot of time helping her parents at the farm.

  Nelly was sure she wanted to study berry horticulture and get work in the mainland in the years to come, so she had signed up for volunteer work under some of the island’s most established berry growers in hopes that she would land an internship.

  Luvia… was dead set on the trainer exam. She almost felt like an outsider. Like she had caught some mainland bug or earworm that kept urging her to leave the island.

  Funny how quick life could change.

  They’ll probably be busy, she decided as she tied her hair into a half-bun ponytail. She plucked Mida’s ball from her nightstand and headed downstairs.

  Nana was at the porch, rocking gently in her chair, eyes closed as she enjoyed the morning breeze with Ziggy resting quietly beside her.

  “Where’re you off to?” she mumbled without opening her eyes. Luvia pecked her cheek.

  “I’m close by, Nana, I’ll be back soon.”

  Ziggy was wagging his bushy tail and let out low whine.

  “You’re growing up so quickly, girlie.”

  Luvia reached down and patted Ziggy on the head. “No I’m not. I’ve been alive ages.”

  Her grandmother let out a bemused huff but said nothing.

  “Tell Mom that I’ll be at the beach, will you, Nana?”

  “I will, dear, but please no repeat of yesterday, hm?”

  “Don’t worry!” Luvia stepped down the wooden steps of the porch and stepped out into the grassy compound.

  “And take Ziggy with you!” her voice strained after Luvia.

  “Come on, Ziggy!” Luvia called. “Let’s go!”

  Ziggy whined and shot up, darting down the stairs of the porch, but stopped a few yards into the compound. For a second there, Luvia thought things had gone back to how they were between them – but no.

  “Come, Ziggy!” Luvia stepped further away, calling the zigzagoon over with repeated snapping of fingers. Ziggy watched her, mildly shaking his tail.

  Bah! Whatever. Luvia turned and left. “He won’t come, Nana! See you!”

  The girl walked for twenty minutes to a sandy corner of the beach with bulging rocks and boulders some small distance off the shoreline. She picked the spot because of the cavernous freshwater lagoon that was nestled there.

  It was neck-deep and clear, and wide enough for three wailmer to fit, with a steep rock ceiling that bounced back any noises made within.

  Besides very small goldeen and a pair of harmless wooper that sat along the rocky bench encircling the lagoon, the place was empty, but Luvia kept her eyes peeled for any zubat. Their screeching was so annoying.

  When she was sure the area was clear, she brought out Mida’s ball and let the mudkip out.

  “Meed-meed,” Luvia said, smiling.

  “Maahd!” Mida shook herself and her beady eyes darted around the area curiously. Nana’s poultice had done some major work. The scratches that had been a bright red the previous day were now a pale pink and fading. They’d be completely gone within a few days.

  “Mida, we have work to do,” said Luvia, taking her rain jacket off. “I want you to show me that move you used yesterday. The one you used against those nasty lombre.”

  Mida had taken an interest in the pair of wooper. Her fin tail shook. Luvia leaned down and grabbed her, turning her the other way.

  “Leave them, Mida.”

  “Meehd… Meehd!” Mida’s squeaks rang hollowly through the cavernous lagoon.

  The wooper let out a pair of squeaky grunts and hobbled closer on their stumpy feet. After a studying look, Luvia decided to let go of Mida and watch.

  Wooper were dual type pokémon. Water and ground. And now that she thought about it, not much different from Mida. Both were amphibians.

  For two minutes, she watched her mudkip interact with them. There was a whole lot of tail quivering, plenty of grunts and squeaks, and finally, playful pawing exchanges. Wooper, being armless, had to nudge with their heads.

  It was nice and all, but they had promises to keep and work to do.

  “Midaaa…” she said impatiently. When Mida didn’t heed her, Luvia kicked off her crocs and jumped in the lagoon. The wetsuit had been worth every last cent. The elastic material seemed to shrink in the water and the coldness gripped around her slowly, not immediately. She let her knees fold as she dropped below the surface and let out a bubbling laugh when Mida jumped in after her. It was dark and blurry down there, but just about bright enough to make out the orange of Mida’s jutty gills.

  She stayed down there, feet digging into sandy sludge and Mida swimming around her like a completely different pokémon. In the water, the little one was more fish than pup.

  She rose back to height and let out a satisfied sigh as her body adjusted to the cold. Being in the water was so soothing. She didn’t remember it ever feeling quite this good. Was it really the wetsuit making that much of a difference?

  The wooper were peering from the edge of the rock bench at them.

  “You can come in too if you want,” she said, but they stayed where they were.

  Mida then came shooting out of the water and landed back on the rock bench.

  “Wow!” Luvia smiled. She really does have freakish strength.

  The wooper were happy to have her, waddling over quickly making noises that Luvia would never understand.

  I’ll let her play a little, then it’s training.

  She had to keep in mind that Mida was toddler aged as far as mudkip went. That other boy’s – Ruby’s – mudkip was four, but in human terms, it had an almost teenage-ish vibe to it. Pokémon aging was hard to grasp. Size was usually the biggest visual hint as to a pokémon’s age. In nature, the rule of thumb was: the bigger it was, the older it was.

  Some time later, finally succumbing to her impatience, Luvia stood up and clapped her hands.

  “Mida, alright, get over here!”

  “Maahd!”

  The little one had been swimming up and down the entire lagoon with those wooper, playing tag with the small goldeen or something. Their inability to feel bored boggled.

  Now in a more listening mood, Mida shot out of the water and landed a yard away. To be sure Luvia had her full attention, she gave the little one a command.

  “Mida, use Water Gun against the wall.” She pointed to the side closest to them where the cavernous wall wasn’t as slanted.

  Mida cocked her head. “Meehd.”

  “Water Gun, Mida,” Luvia repeated and pointed again.

  Mida cocked her head the other way, but shook her tail, took a few steps to angle herself, and spat a small blob of water at the wall. It splashed with an echoey smack.

  “Good!” Luvia nodded. “Now…”

  She knelt by mudkip’s side and tried her very best to explain.

  “Do the soil throw thing… Uhm…” She scratched whatever loose soil she could from shallow crevices on the rock floor.

  “Remember yesterday?” She showed Mida the dirt. “Like so?”

  She flung said dirt. “Do it, Mida.”

  It had occurred to her last night whilst in bed that maybe she had something to do with Mida spontaneously learning the move.

  Pokémon weren’t human, but they sure as heck were intelligent. Maybe the little one had seen her chucking dirt at the lombre and gotten a similar idea?

  It was a good guess.

  The wooper had left the water and were hobbling over to them. Luvia had half a mind to shoo them away – time for games was over. The only reason she didn’t was because she had Mida’s undivided attention.

  “Come on, I know you can do it.” She scratched up some more dirt, this time with a few small pebbles in the mix.

  “Dirt Spray!” she called out, flinging the dirt at the wall.

  The wooper gave squeaky grunts, and Mida looked at them briefly before turning back to the wall.

  *Ghh!* She spat another blob of water at the wall.

  The wooper made a couple of strange noises, rubbed their heads against the ground, and their cheeks ballooned.

  “What the hell…” Luvia stared, slightly concerned.

  They each hurled a mouthful of dark, gooey liquid that crashed against the wall with the sound of gravelly soil.

  “Yes!” It dawned on Luvia instantly. These two were part ground-type – of course they’d know a few ground-type moves!

  “Can you do it like that, Mida?” It wasn’t quite the move from yesterday, but a new move was always welcome.

  ***

  Mida looked at the pair of waterfellows as their faces swelled and they spat out mud instead of water. How odd.

  Luviya seemed to like it though. Liked it a little bit too much for her own liking.

  “How do you do that?” she asked them.

  They wagged their heads in a tease. “Earth in,” one replied.

  “Earth out,” the other added.

  Mida looked back at the wall. Looked at it some more, then turned her eyes up to Luviya and whined. “I can’t spit out earth.”

  Luviya was smiling, speaking encouragingly and watching expectantly. Mida understood the assignment now, but that didn’t mean she could just up and do it.

  The waterfellows giggled. “Tall Twoleg wants you to throw earth at that wall,” one said.

  “There is nothing there – why are they so funny?” mused the other.

  Mida whined again. “It is not for funny. It is for learning. She wants me to know how it is done.”

  ~ “DirtsSprey!” Luviya called out again, throwing more pebbles at the wall.

  “Hihihi,” giggled one waterfellow, rolling its head on the ground briefly, filling its cheeks with nothing Mida could see, then spitting out another earth-filled blob of mud that crashed against the wall.

  “Yesss!” Luviya said again. She was loving it!

  Mida’s heart began beating faster. The waterfellows were older than her, but she was already stronger, that she knew from the first moment. So why couldn’t she do it? It was unfair.

  “Does Tall Twoleg have nice food?” asked a waterfellow. “Next time you come here, you tell her to bring those tins with worms.”

  “Yes,” agreed the other. “And then we teach you earth spitting.”

  ~ “Mida! Don’tyourememberthoselombre?” said Luviya, spreading her hands flatly above her head. “K-k-k-k?”

  At that sound, Mida’s head flared with recognition. Luviya was talking about those big, crazy scumfellows. She remembered how they got away. Earth power.

  “Oh!” It finally made sense!

  She smiled at the waterfellows, shook her tail rapidly, and stomped both front paws on the rocky floor and called on the same feeling she felt the previous day.

  It felt like she connected with the ground. Like for a moment, the earth was as fluid and melded together as the water.

  The little pebbles and little grains of dirt came alive around her paws, and she pulled on this feeling like she was uprooting a strong reed from the ground.

  Luviya was cheering joyfully. Mida was not about to be upstaged.

  She sent all the dirt she could gather at the wall, and it battered against it with resounding, grainy echo through the cave.

  ~ “That’sthething!” Luviya cried out, laughing and lifting her into a hug.

  The pair of waterfellows looked at Mida, back at the wall, then back at Mida again.

  “You will still tell her to bring some tins with worms.”

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