As her partner talks to the deeply unprofessional ranger, explaining everything that’s happened over the past few days over the barren rock, Tanya finds herself relaxing into her more relaxed beanbag shape and watching through half lidded eyes.

  The training regimen for everyone, herself included, has put an increased load on her mental, physical, and aural reserves. Not an unmanageable strain, but finding ways to limit test herself while simultaneously working as a training aid, picking apart the scraps of Professor Dacite’s underlings, and studying nursing is finally putting Tanya to the point where she’s struggling to find the time and energy to do everything.

  Fortunately…

  The ‘mon’s eyes lazily drift from the two humans to where Taillow is nibbling on some pokechow right in the center of a crowd of magnemite, only appearing uncomfortable in small flashes when his feathers pop with the latent static electricity in the air.

  …all this effort seems to be working.

  “Alright. Thank you for the report Nu–er. I mean… Trainer Joy.” He says awkwardly, looking small despite being taller than the soot stained Joy. “It’s not your job or anything, but in the future, if you see large movements of wild ‘mon and no rangers nearby, regardless of reason, try to alert a ranger”

  Amelia nods, still presenting her ‘Joy face’ in full force as she so puts it, with a placid and understanding smile.

  “I understand, thank you. Is there some way I can get in contact with the forestry service? I’m not aware of any method other than to signal an emergency.” She says, gesturing to the distress beacon that’s clipped to her waist.

  “Oh. Right.” The ranger blinks, then grabs an identical copy from his own belt and holds it up. “Just twist the arming lock to ‘alert’ instead of ‘distress’ and send the call out normally. Big pokemon migrations fall under ‘disruptive route activity.’”

  “Sure is.” Amelia sighs, her mask cracking with emotion. “I’ve had to sleep on top of my last few lantern batteries to keep some of them from nibbling, and I know they’re scaring the other wild ‘mon away.”

  The ranger looks somewhat surprised by the broken facade, as if the minor emotional outburst broke some kind of spell. But that sense quickly disappears as he nods sharply at Amelia before turning on the spot, twirling his stylus around his finger, and waves at the flock of magnemite as they pretend to not notice him.

  “You heard the lady! Fun’s over!” He shouts, waving his stylus through the air in a wave of iridescent sparkles. “The ferrite pole at your old nesting spot is fixed, and because you’re all the way over here it’s just sitting there!”

  Immediately the entire mass of electric ‘mon lock their eyes onto the human, then glance at each other, a competitive fire burning in each

  “A new buzzy pole?”

  “My pole is back!”

  “Your pole?”

  “It was in my territory last time I checked you buzzer.”

  “Wait, no one stayed behind? Does that mean…”

  “Buzzer!?”

  “Yea! You wanna fight about it!?”

  “Lets go then– Wait where are you going!?” One magnemite shouts as it notices another speeding back the way they came.

  “Mine!”

  “Wh–”

  “Not a chance, it’s in my territory!"

  “Not if I get there first!”

  At the sight of a single ‘mon rushing ahead, everyone appears to realize at once that fighting here doesn't actually determine who controls the pole, triggering a flood of ‘mon flying back the way they came.

  Seeing the ‘mon speed off into the distance, the ranger jolts in alarm and sprints toward his own partner.

  “Oh ssshoot, how are they so fast!?” He yelps, struggling to buckle his helmet and climb onto skarmory’s back. “HaveANiceDayNurseJoyI’veGottaGoManageThisNotAStampedeRightNowBYE!”

  His last shouted syllable is obscured by a gust of wind, followed by the voice trailing off into the distance as the ranger chases after the flock.

  Tanya blinks rapidly as her mind catches up to the rapid shift in events, trading her expression with an equally surprised one from Taillow.

  Well, she’s not tired anymore.

  But as the ‘mon looks back to Amelia, she sees that not all the magnemite left, a lone ‘mon hovering indecisively between the trainer and the direction where the rest of its flock went, back toward home.

  Amelia approaches, reaching into her pocket and half pulling out a pokeball, but stops as she sees the ‘mon quickly retreat.

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  She remains still as the ‘mon studies her for a few long seconds, eye flicking between her face, the ball barely peaking out of her pocket, then back toward the disappearing sight of its flock.

  Until finally the ‘mon gives a thankful trill, spinning rapidly on all three axes of rotation, then shoots off to catch up with everyone else in the race to the ferrite pole.

  Amelia holds still for a few seconds longer, then exhales with a small sag before removing her hand from her pocket and looking back at her partners.

  “Well… exercise on the go? We need to keep moving.”

  —--

  Continuing down the trail, as the hour rolls into two, Tanya had no idea exactly how used to the constant buzzing of the magnemite she’d gotten until it was removed, leaving them to walk in relative silence.

  But as Amelia’s daily training goals are met and even that quiet noise falls into the newly strange silence, it’s only half an hour longer before the trainer breaks it.

  “Do you think I should have pushed harder for one of the magnemite to join up?”

  Tanya glances down at her partner, loosening the straps of her pack while slowly considering the question.

  “It’s clear at least one was considering it. But to more aggressively pitch the position…” She muses, considering the problem from all angles. “...Logistically, it would require some more due diligence for licensing than the average acquisition, but it’s negligible compared to our current workload. I’d be more concerned about morale than anything else.”

  Amelia hums, tilting her head.

  “How do you mean?”

  Tanya squints slightly, trying to remember how it was explained when she first learned the principles of effective management.

  “...Well to ‘sell’ the idea of joining the team might work in convincing it to join, but that doesn't make the reasons for the hesitation go away. That lack of conviction could easily be expressed as regret, the conflicting emotions would damage work ethic and sabotage development.” Tayna elaborates, satisfied to see Amelia’s eyes widen in realization before narrowing in thought.

  “Huh. I’m not sure why I never thought about it like that…” She mutters. “But you’re right. We’ll get the best results from teammates who really want to join.”

  It’s at this moment that Taillow finishes his slow spiraling descent from the sky and flares his wings before landing gently on Amelia’s shoulder.

  “It’s really quiet down here all of a sudden.” He chirps, ruffling his feathers. “So, what are we talking about?”

  —--

  As the days go by, winding though and over the hills of the lava bed, the hills only seem to get more steep and valleys narrow. Always uphill, every day that passes the walk grows more tiring and the treetopped craggy cliffs at the base of Mt. chimney grow larger.

  But as Tanya charges up a normal strength egg bomb while Amelia sets up her tent for the first time since they entered this place, the ‘mon can feel how close her success is, stronger than the pressure front of the oncoming rain playing across her whiskers.

  At the thought, her lowermost right whisker twitches before Tanya clamps down on her focus and restrains her entire world to be just herself and the egg in her grip.

  Soon enough, the egg bomb is given a charge fit for combat, so the projectile is slowly removed from her pouch and placed on the rock.

  From there, the ‘mon squints her eyes till she can barely see and pinches her lips into a thin line, carefully remembering one of the descriptions she’d studied in the training manual to teach Taillow the move double team, to focus on the paradoxical objective of –not split– but to simultaneously be in two places at once. For both configurations of reality to be equally true so completely that it becomes fact until challenged and the paradox collapses in on itself.

  An egg appears in her pouch, and Tanya cannot think about how that egg exists relative to the already primed egg bomb as she begins shoving yet more energy into the object.

  Several times she almost slips in her concentration, but after several long tortuous minutes of mental effort, she removes the egg from her pouch.

  Then both flare purple and rise into the air as Tanya instinctively releases a quietly satisfied warble.

  That sound, barely louder than the wind, has Amelia immediately stop setting up her tent and twist her entire body around to be looking at her partner as fast as possible. Locking eyes with Tanya, the trainer’s attention seems incapable of settling on any one element that she’s seeing until finally she drops the canvas and turns around.

  “Did… Did you…?”

  Tanya grins in lieu of a response and both eggs shoot up into the sky in different directions, each gaining a vibrant pink glow though the telekinetic purple as the shell starts to cr–

  Twin flashes of light illuminate the rocky ground like fireworks, followed by the distinctive crack of two attacks being successfully fired at once.

  “Yes.” Tanya answers, unable to keep vindictive satisfaction from her voice as another egg appears in her pouch, ready to be primed. “I figured it out.”

  It’s still nowhere close to being ready, but she’s though the all, and now that the most difficult part is out of the way she has to assume turning this breakthrough into something viable is only a matter of effor–

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Amelia shouts, jumping up and down on the spot before dashing across the space between them and swapping as much of her partner as possible in a hug. “Chansey you did it!”

  It takes a second to realize that she’d reflexively returned the hug, before the ‘mon huffs in amusement at her partner’s enthusiasm.

  “So I did. It took me long eno–”

  “I can't believe it!” Amelia shouts, voice muffled by Tanya’s bulk. “I was starting to think it wasn't possible! I was this close to bringing it up with you!” She laughs, pulling out of the hug, to look into the ‘mon’s eyes with a smile. “Well thank goodness I didn't! I’d look ridiculous!”

  Disengaging from the hug, the trainer grabs Tanya by the arm and pulls her over to the fire, continuing to chatter as she goes.

  But as Amelia urges her partner to sit down next to the fire before running off back to her backpack, giving a constant steam of dialogue as she goes, Tanya finds her attention expanding from just her partner to the scene that surrounds her.

  Contrasting the desolate and lifeless seeming rock all around, the sound of life and energy from her partner seems like a bubble into another world, energy that has her teammate looking up from his bowl of avian pokechow where it sits clipped to his perch, completely unphased by the explosions but the sounds of joy rousing his curiosity.

  The cheerily burning fire as the dark is accelerated by dark clouds on the horizon, that blaze blunting the chill of the wind.

  Tanya takes it all in, carefully committing every aspect of this moment to her long memory. From the note the whistling wind sings on the rocks to the afterimages of popping embers that trace across her eyes as they twirl with the smoke into the sunset orange and steel grey sky.

  She breathes in.

  Then out.

  And closes her eyes.