Even though I was trying to cheer them up, everyone was still upset about our loss. It was only a few hours ago, so I couldn’t really blame them. Since I normally bought treats in celebration of our wins, I didn’t want to deny them that just because we lost and make it feel like a punishment. I had gone out while they were being healed to buy everyone a Poké Puff of their favorite flavor.

Vulpix ate a sour flavored Poké Puff while both Floette and Swablu ate sweet flavored ones. I bought a chocolate one just for Marill, but she wasn’t eating it.

Marill seemed to be taking the loss personally. Just watching her made me sad. She flinched at sudden movements and kept staring off into the distance, and now wouldn’t even touch her food. Her eyes were as angry as usual, but they no longer had that classic derision behind them. I didn’t know what to do to make her feel better.

I sighed and rubbed my head. I had already given a speech about how we shouldn’t be down from just a single loss, but it was hard not to feel down myself after losing the Gym battle due to some rash decisions on my part. It wasn’t too big of a deal to lose to Norman, since he was well known to be tough, but it was our first loss to a Gym so everyone was taking it harder than they should.

I looked over to Marill, who still hadn’t eaten, and spoke up to try to encourage her.

“Marill, please eat your Poké Puff. It’s not yours or anyone else's fault we lost. We can always try again in the future.”

While she didn’t look to be enjoying it, she did tear off a few chunks to put in her mouth. She chewed more to get it over with than anything else, but at least she was eating.

After the battle and upon reflection, I realized I was focusing too much on Marill and had been putting far too much weight on her shoulders. Honestly, I spent the whole battle neglecting my team in favor of using Marill to carry me to victory. I didn’t feel great about how quickly I threw out Vulpix and Swablu just to make it easier for Marill.

I should have switched out Vulpix at the beginning, instead of letting her faint just make room for Marill to set up. If Vulpix was still around, Loudred wouldn’t have been anywhere near as damaging. Even more, I had reserved a switch just to use Floette to heal Marill. If I had used Floette to heal another team member, things could have been different.

Also, Swablu had fallen behind the rest of the team. I thought that just knowing the moves would be enough, but he wasn’t as specialized as anyone else. Honestly, my idea of being a “generalist” in battle was as hard as being a generalist in real life, and I wasn’t putting in enough effort with him to let him succeed. I needed to choose whether to have him focus on ranged or physical attacks. He would be more effective in battle if we focused on one strength instead of all of them.

I loved my Pokémon and wanted to see them happy, but I didn’t feel like I'd been treating them properly, especially after realizing how I had used them in that battle.

“Is everyone else enjoying their food?” I asked my Pokémon, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that permeated the room.

I got a chorus of positive responses, though Vulpix’s and Floette’s were a bit muted, and Marill didn’t even speak. I started to just speak about random things, mostly random posts I saw on the generalist forums, to add some sound and levity to the room. My Pokémon started to look a bit more animated, so it seemed to be working. Marill didn’t seem much different, however.

I glanced out the window in my room. The sun was setting and the street lamps outside began to turn on. The streets were filled with people returning home. Marty would probably get off work soon.

My Pokémon finished eating and I collected the trash to throw out. Marill didn’t finish her Poké Puff but did at least eat about a third of it, so I stored it to save for later. I didn’t leave it out since I knew Swablu would try to eat it himself.

Once everything was cleaned up, I returned everyone to their respective Pokéball. I had promised to call Marty after the Gym Battle, and while I wasn’t looking forward to breaking the bad news, it would be nice to talk to a friend.

“So you lost the Gym Battle? Man, that sucks. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

I smiled to show I was okay but I still felt a bit down regardless. I was talking to Marty over the Pokémon Center’s video phones. We both held the receivers up to our ears while we appeared on the screen attached to the wall.

“It’s not great, but it did help me realize where I’ve been failing. Marill’s been outperforming my other Pokémon with her Huge Power ability, which led me to unconsciously focus on her rather than my other team members. I haven’t been treating everyone equally, and that’s not what they deserve. I need to go back and actually spend time dedicated to making sure everyone is on the same level. Even more, I willingly ‘sacrificed’ my other team members just for Marill to do a bit better. That’s not a great strategy to use, and honestly wouldn’t feel great if I was them.

“I’ve also noticed that I’ve been so focused on getting a sponsor that it’s been affecting my decision making. I went into that battle without putting in enough time to train my team beforehand. It’s been, what, two out of the nine months of the season and I already have three badges? I know I can slow down, but I keep unconsciously pushing ahead anyway.”

“Surely it’s not that bad?” Marty asked.

I rolled my eyes, in frustration with myself rather than at Marty’s question.

“I spent a month preparing for Roxanne, a notoriously easy Gym Leader, but only spent five days training for Norman, a notoriously difficult Gym Leader.”

Marty didn’t respond for a moment after I said that, looking conflicted and like he was deep in thought before he actually spoke.

“So you still don’t have a sponsor, huh?” Marty finally asked.

“Yeah, I don’t. Is that an issue?”

Marty frowned for a few moments, before I noticed a twitch in the corner of his mouth and realized he was hiding a smirk.

“What? What are you hiding?” I asked accusingly.

Marty let the smirk show, forcing me to repeat the question without him even responding. After I was starting to have enough, he finally answered.

“Well, Alex, since you’re feeling so down, how about some good news?”

Marty paused dramatically.

“How would you like to be sponsored by Olivine’s 7th Pokémart?”

“What-”

“I asked around some of our regulars, and most of them said it would only get harder to obtain a sponsor as time went on. While I was saving this for if you still didn’t have one within another month, if you’re rushing to the detriment of your team I might as well drop it on you now.”

I blinked a few times and was unable to respond. My mind was still catching up to what he was saying.

“I looked around the Pokémart rules, and while I can’t sponsor you on behalf of a League-funded Pokémart, I can set aside some of our budget to sponsor you on behalf of an individual store. It’s a weird loophole that has to combine several different obscure exceptions together, and is probably going to get fixed at the end of the season. Essentially, I can provide you some extra cash to help you out in exchange for using your image in promotional material to advertise our store. It’s not actually that much, and I won’t be able to give you a space to send extra Pokémon, but it’ll still mean you won’t need to worry about doing so many jobs. You might get a bit of notoriety as ‘The Trainer Sponsored by a Pokémart,’ but then, as you do better and better in the season, a real sponsor can step in to fund you themselves!”

I closed my jaw as it was hanging open from his plan.

“You would really do that for me? Won’t you get in trouble?”

He shrugged.

“Ehh, maybe a little. They won’t fire me, though. Maybe dock my pay a bit. But that’s fine, I’ve been receiving more than enough for Trubbish and me, thanks to you.”

Once again, Marty’s actions made me genuinely touched. Even just a small amount of weekly cash would let me focus more on training my Pokémon and less on jobs. I could have more time to teach Swablu new moves and help him specialize in a role, and I could even battle trainers and not have to worry about losing money from bets. It would open up a lot more options for me to do.

Honestly, Marty’s done so much for me when all I did was work with him for a few months. I really needed to do something nice for him in the future.

“I accept. How do we do this?”

Marty pursed his lips in thought.

“Well, I would have to submit the forms, make some calls to explain why this is technically allowed, deal with whatever backlash it causes, and then set up the payments to your account. So, um, about two weeks?”

That’s actually amazingly fast. Honestly, I expected it to take months due to bureaucracy.

“Thanks Marty, this really helps me out.”

It was nice he was doing this for me, and with how well he’d been treating me, I started to think about how I can treat my Pokémon even better. I ended up losing that good mood when I remembered how Marill had been feeling.

“I think I’ve been putting too much pressure on Marill,” I said, looking for advice. “She hasn’t been acting her usual aggressive self since the battle, and has been reacting negatively to almost any time I interact with her. I don’t know what to do.”

“Have you considered seeing a Pokémon Psychologist?” He said immediately.

What?

“A what?” I asked, bewildered.

“Well,” he responded, “A Pokémon Psychologist is a person who specializes in working with Pokémon to make sure they’re feeling okay. They aren’t commonly used but they’re important for Pokémon who had been abused or underwent traumatic events.

“And before you ask, it doesn’t cost anything. The League values mental health as much as physical health, so it’s covered by the fact you’re a trainer. They don’t have a specific building like a Pokémon Center, but look around, there’s probably a few in a big city like Petalburg.”

I rubbed my chin to think.

“That makes a lot of sense. I’ll make sure to check one out before we leave. Thanks again Marty, you always have some kind of weird plan to help me out. I'll find a way to pay you back."

He chuckled to himself. “Well, once again, this will also help me. You know how many customers I’ll draw once I start putting up posters everywhere? Anyway, I figured I should return the favor to the ‘stranger with memory loss’ that I took advantage of. Good luck with your training, Alex. I hope Marill starts to feel better soon.”

I stood outside of the apartment door and prepared to knock. It was the afternoon after I talked to Marty and lost the Gym Battle, and I took his advice to check out a Pokémon Psychologist to help Marill. I asked Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center for recommendations and she directed me to the address of one Dr. Ava Legere, a foreigner from Kalos who had been living in Petalburg for the past 17 years. She was highly recommended and worked out of her own home.

I knocked on the door and almost immediately got a response. A woman’s voice called out and I could clearly hear it in the hall.

“It’s unlocked, come in!”

I opened the door and walked into some kind of modified living room. Unlike the hallway, the walls were paneled and it had a wooden floor. There were quite a number of chairs and couches within the room, taking up enough space that there was barely room to walk. It was like someone heard of the phrase “seating area” and filled up the space with as many seats as possible.

The same voice called out from an open door to another room. “Just take a seat, I’ll be out in a moment!”

I found a large armchair and sat on it. It was far cozier than it looked and I sank into its cushions.

I only needed to wait two minutes before the doctor and her Pokémon entered the room.

Dr. Ava Legere was an older woman with graying hair and a face that was just starting to wrinkle. She wore casual clothes - jeans and a sweater - but also had hastily thrown on a white doctor’s coat. Behind her, a large white and purple orangutan-like Pokémon holding a green fan followed. Dr. Legere walked into the room and sat down on a couch facing me while her Oranguru sat down next to the door she just exited.

“So,” She said, interlacing her fingers, “What can I do for you?”

I fiddled with the jacket at my waist before responding.

“I think I’ve been pushing one of my Pokémon, Marill, too hard and recently lost a Gym Battle. Since then, she’s been actively fearful and depressed. She isn’t eating unless pressed and flinches at the slightest movement. I’m worried about her.”

The Doctor closed her eyes and nodded. “I can think of a few reasons why she might be like that. Can you send her out so I can talk to her?”

I sent Marill out of her Dive Ball and she appeared on top of a nearby couch. She looked around frantically for a moment but slightly calmed down when she saw me. She kept eyeing Dr. Legere, but tried to maintain her composure.

Marill suddenly flinched and looked at Dr. Legere with wide eyes. She and the doctor made eye contact with each other for a few moments before Dr. Legere spoke up.

“For reference, Oranguru is my assistant. She creates a mental link and helps me by translating between the Human and Pokémon languages to allow for an easier line of communication. I just had a little chat with Marill to make sure nothing too wrong was going on.”

I sat there, mildly shocked, when she mentioned a mental link. I knew some Psychics could talk with their minds, but that was a specialized ability that took a long time dedicated solely to training that skill. Oranguru must have had years of practice to have full on language translation.

She looked like she was about to stand, but stopped herself and continued to speak before doing so.

“I’m going to take her aside to the other room to continue our discussion. Before I head in, do you have any questions for me?”

I nodded to say I did.

“If you don’t mind me asking, do Pokémon have their own language like us?”

She pursed her lips and wobbled her head back and forth, as if trying to find the right words to say.

“Well, yes and no. Pokémon do have a shared method of communication, but it’s more of communicating feelings and emotions through both verbalization and body language. Where you might call me ‘Doctor,’ one of your Pokémon might refer to me as ‘Woman,’ ‘teacher,’ ‘speaker,’ and ‘stranger’ all at the same time. Their method of speaking stacks simple concepts and feelings in a way that our human language lacks.”

“So then if Pokémon have a more advanced way of communicating, are they smarter than humans? Why do they willingly get captured then?”

I asked that question since Dr. Legere seemed to be an expert on it, and it was something that always bothered me. Pokémon had shown themselves to be especially smart, far past animal intelligence, and perhaps even surpassing human intelligence. Why would they be so willing to join with humans when they have their own societies and families?

She hummed while thinking of a response before answering my question.

“You’re asking me to simplify some very complicated areas of research for you. Essentially we have to understand that there’s three factors: instincts, language, and pack mentality. I’ll give you an extremely brief summary for each. Remember, you’re missing out on a lot of supporting details for what I’m about to explain.

“First off, instincts. Pokémon innately want to get stronger, and humans provide them a safe and fast way to do so. In the wild, the rate of evolution and the rate at which Pokémon master their abilities are measured in years, but for caught Pokémon they’re measured in months. Humans let them fulfill that drive at a pretty high success rate in short periods of time.

“Secondly, language. Pokémon in the wild find it hard to explain advanced concepts due to the way their language works, so even if one of them figures out a high level move, others won't. Humans can bridge that gap and teach them more difficult moves in a significantly shorter period of time. Some argue this is the same point as the first factor, but my experience with Oranguru tells me otherwise.

“And finally, pack mentality. Pokémon prefer to be in groups and tend to be able to easily make deep bonds with other living beings. If they properly accept their trainer, they end up seeing their team as akin to a family.

"All of that combined means that Pokémon tend to be better off with trainers they choose, rather than if they were to stay in the wild."

Wait, what?

“What do you mean ‘choose their trainer’?” I asked, interrupting her. “I thought Pokémon were caught?”

“Generally speaking, yes. But if a Pokémon is unhappy with their trainer, do you really think that a human is enough to stop them from leaving? Outside of the forceful treatment of Pokémon by poachers, if a Pokémon seems to be abused or being forced to stay on a team against their will, we have experts employed by the League to deal with those situations appropriately. Most often we can convince trainers to release or trade away the unhappy Pokémon, but in extreme circumstances the League does step in.”

My eyes were wide as I took in all of that information before responding.

“Thank you, that explains a lot about how Pokémon act. It also explains why the Ninetales in Shoal Cave was so willing to let my Vulpix come with me. She wanted her family to get stronger in a safe environment.”

Dr. Legere smiled and stood up to take Marill to the other room. “There’s no problem. Part of my job entails me to educate trainers to better understand their Pokémon. If you didn’t ask, I would have likely told you this information at the end of our session.

“Now then, I do need to speak with my patient. Simply wait out here, and I’ll call you in shortly depending on what she tells me.”

Dr. Legere walked to the same room she exited while Marill followed. Oranguru stayed in the room with me.

The door closed and we were left in silence.

“Well aren’t you an interesting one.”

I jumped when an unfamiliar voice echoed in my head. It sounded like an old woman’s voice layered over itself. I looked over to Oranguru.

“Yes, I have created a secondary Psychic link to talk with you. I do not want Ava to overhear our discussion.”

My heart started to beat faster when she mentioned a secondary Psychic link.

Can Oranguru hear what I’m thinking?

“Yes and no. True mind reading is only possible for the most powerful of Psychics. Telepathy does not penetrate deep into the mind of its target, but rather skims the surface thoughts of those I communicate with to receive a response. The most I can tell about you is that you are deeply paranoid about something you hold secret. My decades of experience of working with Ava have granted me this skill. You are unlikely to meet another telepath as adept at the human language as I. ”

Wait, did you try to read my memories?

I tried to “think” as hard as I could with the intent of communication. I wasn’t sure if it was necessary but Oranguru was able to respond anyway.

“No. I did not attempt to push deeper and do not know your secrets. I simply detected something unusual that I wished to tell you about.

“There’s a protection placed on your mind that makes it more muffled than others. Your surface thoughts and feelings are read easily enough at close range, but I doubt I’d be able to even detect you if I was any farther away. Anything past the very surface of your mind is completely blocked to me, so much so that I would claim you were a Dark Type Pokémon if the muffling wasn’t so obviously placed there by a stronger Psychic.”

That explains why the League’s Psychics didn’t detect me to escort me away from Meteor Falls. Should I be worried?

“No, there is no reason to be. Whoever placed this on you far surpasses my own ability, but it was not done with malicious intentions. It was clearly made to protect, rather than seal. I cannot even comprehend the amount of control it would take to create a defense like the one placed upon you.”

Mind muffling... Powerful Psychic Type... Could it have been a Legendary Pokémon?

When I mentioned the possibility of Legendaries, Oranguru paused and I saw her fan pulse in blue Psychic Type energy for a moment. It seemed like it was an unconscious response, looking more like surprise than anything else.

“Hm, intriguing. You do not seem as fearful of the world’s guardians as others of your kind.”

There was a brief moment of silence over our mental link before Oranguru sent the next message.

“Ah, it seems that Ava has finished. She will be out in a moment.”

Right on cue, the door next to Oranguru opened and Dr. Legere stepped out into the room. She looked at me before waving me forwards and walking back into the side room. “Come on, join me in the next room. I was about to call you in, anyway.”

As I walked into the room, I received a quick message from Oranguru.

“I shall ponder your circumstances while you have your discussion. You may trust me. I shall not reveal anything to Ava nor anyone who seeks to learn more about you.”

I glanced back at Oranguru only to see she wasn’t even facing me. She was simply leaning against the wall, holding her fan, while she blankly stared into the room. I received an impulse that felt like something was cut and I knew the mental link had been severed.

I wonder if it actually was a Legendary that put whatever it is on me. At least I can be less stressed about Psychics reading my mind. If Oranguru, who has had years of experience, can’t penetrate deeper, I doubt other Psychics would be able to.

The door behind me closed, leaving Oranguru alone in the previous room and leaving me to focus on making sure Marill would feel better.

The room I walked into was, honest-to-Arceus, a stereotypical therapist room straight out of television. It had a large armchair in front of a cushioned bench perfect for laying down on. The back wall was completely covered by a bookcase filled with books and there was a stone fireplace next to the seats.

Marill was seated on the bench, so I sat down next to her. Dr. Legere sat down on the armchair across with us before she spoke.

“We’re done with the mental link portion of the discussion. It was helpful for me to talk to Marill to get her background, but it could cause communication issues down the line if she grew used to talking to humans so easily. We’d only continue the use of Telepathy if you had a Pokémon with the same ability on your team.”

She paused for a moment.

“You don’t, do you?”

I shook my head no.

“Alright, good. For now, I just need to ask you one question: What moves and abilities did Marill know when you caught her?”

I blinked in surprise at that unusual question. I supposed that it would be relevant to determine how Marill was when she first joined me but I couldn’t tell for sure.

“I caught Marill a few months ago and she was pretty strong when I did. She knew Defense Curl, Water Gun, Bubble Beam, Slam, and Aqua Jet. She had already mastered her Thick Fat ability, but Huge Power was a work in progress.”

The doctor nodded. “That lines up with what she told me. Are you aware that Aqua Jet requires either specific parentage or specialized training for a Marill to learn?”

My eyes went wide. I remembered that Aqua Jet was one of the best moves for Marill to know, but didn’t remember it was an Egg Move of all things.

She continued. “Are you also aware that most wild Pokémon don’t tend to fully master their abilities until they’ve reached their maximum evolution stage? And it would have taken at least years of training for Marill to perfect Thick Fat and to start on Huge Power if she was in the wild?”

I shook my head no again. I was shocked. If this was what she was implying then...

“Marill used to be another Trainer’s Pokémon. From what she told me, she was recently caught by him and he trained with her for a long time to develop her abilities and Aqua Jet. The trainer attempted to battle Mossdeep Gym and ended up losing. He treated her much more harshly after that and ended up releasing her for being too weak soon after. She had only been in the wild for just over a month before you caught her.

“It’s an unfortunately common story. Some trainers don’t properly release or give up their Pokémon, which can cause significant emotional damage to them. Pokémon form bonds with their trainers and suffer greatly when those bonds aren’t properly returned.”

I looked over to Marill. Her head was down and was looking at the floor. Every so often she would nervously glance my way before looking back. It looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“So Marill...”

“The battle you lost was lost in a similar manner to how her previous trainer lost his Mossdeep challenge. She was afraid that you would release her soon after since she wasn’t strong enough.”

I slumped back, processing this information.

So all this time when she was trying to get stronger... it was so she wouldn’t be left alone again?

I immediately turned to Marill. My heart felt like it was breaking. I never knew she had been feeling that way.

Marill turned away when I looked at her. She was holding back tears.

“Marill,” I said softly, “I didn’t know how you were feeling. I’m so sorry. I would never release you if you thought you were weak, you’re a valuable member of our team. Even if you said you never wanted to battle again I would never release you. The only reason I would let you go is if you wanted to be let go-”

Marill looked at me, tears sliding down her face as she emphatically shook her head no.

I smiled and wiped my eyes. “Then there’s no need to worry. You’ll stay for us no matter how many times we lose, okay?”

Marill smiled and nodded. Her angry face had softened slightly, but it remained in her classic look. She walked to me on the bench and put one of her paws on my side.

Of course, I immediately bent down to hug her.

After taking a minute to let us calm down, Dr. Legere spoke up once more.

“I’m glad you were able to work out your feelings. When it comes to Pokémon problems, most issues can be solved with proper communication. If you ever have another issue, I will be here.”

I nodded and stood up. Marill hopped down to walk with me, this time not asking to return to her Pokéball.

“Thank you for your help. Do I need to pay you or give you my trainer ID or...?”

She held out her hand to stop me. “There’s no need for either. Oranguru already identified you for our records, and I have a salary so my pay is already covered.”

She paused and almost seemed to listen to something before continuing.

“Before you go, Oranguru has advice for you before you continue your journey. It seems important.”

I thanked her again and entered the waiting room. Once more, I felt Oranguru touch my mind.

“Hello again.”

Hello. Have you finished pondering?

“Partially. I have no doubts your protection will be in my thoughts for months to come. I can tell you are not used to interacting with Psychic Types. Your surface thoughts and emotions are poorly guarded outside of the protection you were granted. I was able to read your feelings in our discussion - I can tell that makes you worried. It was not intentional. They bleed through in every thought you think. - and wish to assist you in what they had revealed during our discussion.

“You can trust the Pokémon League. They work to maintain peace within our world. Where Pokémon might have Legendaries, you humans have your Champions. There is no need to fear hypotheticals, they are here to help. I am aware of multiple trainers that know dangerous secrets and go undisturbed due to the League’s protection. I believe that from them, you can receive the safety and assistance that you so deeply desire.”

I stumbled in my steps and looked at her in shock. When Oranguru sent her message to me, due to the nature of the Psychic communication, I knew she was being genuine. I wanted to immediately respond, but Oranguru closed off the connection as soon as she finished stating what she needed to state.

Poorly guarded? Trust the Pokémon League? I thought I would be taking a risk even with Norman, the father of one of the anime protagonists, but it seems that I’ve been far too paranoid. Maybe my decision to share what I know actually is a decent idea.

Marill walked beside me holding her paw on my boot. She looked up at me and smiled when I looked down at her. It was a little scary on her angry face but I was happy to see her natural look of annoyance return.

I pushed down my thoughts about my knowledge.

I can worry about this tonight. I should buy some more treats. Everyone is still a bit down, maybe a surprise round will cheer them back up.