“Okay. I should head back now. I left the house in a rush—I don’t think I even locked the door before I left,” said Slate.

“Before you leave. Here,” the professor offered, loading a grocery bag with a selection of non-perishable food items from one of the more accessible kitchen cabinets. “I’m not much of a cook, but we can’t have you going hungry tonight.”

“Thank you. For everything,” Slate replied as they all shuffled out of the kitchen and towards the front door. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See ya,” April said.

“See you, Slate,” Professor Larch added and closed the door behind him surreptitiously.

Slate walked from the apartment and down the stairs. It was dark out now. The empty street was lit only by the surrounding streetlamps. He was suddenly hit by the reality of his situation. He was alone. Alone in a place he knew nothing about, possibly a dangerous place, and he had no idea of how long it would be for. Professor Larch seemed to believe that his mother would reappear in a day or two, but what if she didn’t? What if he never saw his mother again?

Slate shook his head vigorously, banishing the thought from his mind, and began the journey back to the new house. For all he knew, his mother had already been returned and was waiting there, worried about where he was. This thought comforted him, and he picked up his pace.

Slate made his way back to the high street via a different route, noting the hillside he had descended earlier in the distance and heading towards it. Soon, he emerged from the rows of houses, took the road out of town, and began the journey back up the hill. It was too steep to climb the way he had slid down it, so he resigned to taking the long, winding road, wishing he had a bike or car.

About halfway up, dripping with sweat, Slate noticed a dark shadow in his path and approached it cautiously. On closer inspection, he realized it was a Pokémon with matted, dark-gray fur on its body but white on its face, and it looked to have fainted. Slate hurried to its side, dropping his grocery bag of food, and rummaging his new, partially packed Trainer bag for something that could help. Upon finding a pocket full of Oran Berries, which he recalled had healing properties, Slate knelt and offered one to the unmoving creature.

He was relieved when it sniffed at the berry and opened its eye slightly. However, in a flash, the Pokémon kicked up a pile of dirt and sand into Slate’s face, leapt over the boy as he was momentarily blinded, and kicked him in the back of the head with its hind legs. Slate groaned as he attempted to get to his feet and clear the debris from his face.

Out of one eye, he watched incredulously as a second of the unknown Pokémon appeared and attempted to help its compatriot drag the grocery bag of food into a nearby bush. “Hey!” Slate yelled defiantly before rushing forwards to grab the bag back.

One of the creatures broke away, bared its fangs, and hissed menacingly. Slate stopped in his tracks and bit his lip in frustration, unsure of what to do next. Then, he remembered what else he had in his new bag—his Pokédex.

He retrieved the red Smart-Rotom Phone and pointed its camera at the unfamiliar beast. Details flashed up on its screen, it made a high-pitched *ping*, and a voice recited some of the information.

SPECIES

#012 Mardupe

DERIVATION

Marsupial + Dupe

CATEGORY

Sneaky

COLORING

Dark Gray

White

Black

TYPE

Dark

-

ABILITIES

Pickpocket

Insomnia

Defiant

DETAILS

This Pokémon is known for employing underhanded tactics to procure food from unwitting Trainers. Its most commonly employed ruse is to play dead, but few fall for this obvious ploy.

Slate frowned as he felt his cheeks redden. He may have fallen for the Pokémon’s ‘obvious ploy,’ but he was no ‘Unwitting Trainer.’ He knew plenty about Kanto’s Pokémon. It wasn’t his fault he hadn’t ever heard of a Mardupe.

His vision now clearer, Slate stowed his Pokédex and tried to creep around the hissing Mardupe to get closer to its partner, who had almost made it into the bushes. Unfortunately, the other moved to block his path. With the frustration of the day consuming him, Slate irrationally decided to make a grab for the bag. He had already lost his mother. He wasn’t going to let anything else be taken away from him.

He lunged for it and his fingers made contact with the plastic, but the hissing Mardupe attacked. It revealed a pair of glowing, sharp claws and slashed at Slate’s arm. Slate withdrew his arm instinctively and got off with a light scratch. However, the Mardupe then began to emit a dangerous looking black aura, and Slate feared he had underestimated the wild Pokémon’s strength. It pounced, covered in the cloak of black energy.

Slate shielded himself with his arms and braced for impact. Suddenly, a loud noise echoed through the scene and a visible distortion collided with the Mardupe in mid-air, knocking it off-course and causing it to land hard on the other side of the road. Slate looked to see where the wave of sound had originated and was astonished by what he saw.

Standing a short distance away, growling, was the white-furred Cryote he had rescued from its pack, the one that had followed him to Professor Larch’s apartment. Apparently, it was still following him. The Mardupe dragging the grocery bag dropped it, hissed, and charged at the newcomer. The Cryote took a deep breath and released another echoing bark that created a rippling sound wave and blasted its opponent.

“That’s Echoed Voice,” Slate muttered to himself, identifying what move the Cryote was using.

Before the Mardupe could get to its feet, the Cryote followed up with a hard Tackle and sent it flying into its partner. The Cryote barked threateningly and the Mardupe pair scurried away into the undergrowth.

Slate watched as the Cryote adopted a tall stance and began swishing its tail triumphantly. The little pup was clearly proud of its achievement. It then seemed to remember itself and stopped moving. Slate and the pup made eye contact.

“Thank you,” Slate said, wondering whether the Pokémon would comprehend his meaning. Evidently, it did, as the Cryote gave a soft bark in reply.

They continued to stare at each other, both wary of the other, until Slate walked over to the grocery bag abandoned by the Mardupes and collected up the few items that had fallen out of it. Among them was a pack of snack cakes. Slate opened them and offered one in an outstretched hand to the snow-white Cryote. It looked curious but didn’t move from its spot. Slate squatted, helped himself to one and laid the other on the floor in front of him, again signaling to the wild Pokémon that it was welcome to it.

The Cryote approached, sniffed the cake, took it in its teeth, and backed away again, though, not as far away as it had been. It tucked into the treat while scrutinizing Slate, however, it could not hide the look of satisfaction on its face. Slate then offered the Cryote another snack cake. This time it came close and ate the cake out his hand.

“You’ve been following me,” Slate stated as the two continued eating. “I guess you wanted to repay the favor, huh? A good thing, too, or I might have been in real trouble.”

The Cryote allowed Slate to stroke its silky fur and pat it on the head. It panted happily with its tongue out.

“Well, I’ve got to go. Thanks again, you were great,” said Slate as he got to his feet and waved the pup goodbye and resumed his walk up the hill.

The Cryote made a high-pitched whine and followed in Slate’s footsteps with a glum expression and literal puppy dog eyes. Slate was about to tell it to go home, but then he remembered how its pack had turned on it. Maybe the Cryote couldn’t go home anymore. “I’m on my own now too,” Slate sympathized, “unless you want to come with me?”

The Cryote’s happy face returned, and it gave two barks of agreement. Slate beamed in reply, and the two of them walked side-by-side all the way back to the island’s residential district and the Davy family’s new home.

Unfortunately, Slate’s mother was not waiting for him at the house as he had hoped. It felt strange to spend the first night in the brand-new house without her, but he was glad to have the Cryote for company. They shared some more of the food Professor Larch had given Slate before the tuckered-out Pokémon fell asleep on the sofa.

Slate went up to his new room and started opening his moving bags and boxes. He rummaged through them and fished out everything he would need for the morning—everything he would need to begin his journey as a Pokémon Trainer. He told himself that his mother would likely show up in the morning and he wouldn’t need to set out just yet, after all.

Still, Slate wanted to be prepared, so he laid out all his items carefully and triple checked them against a list in his head. Once he was satisfied, Slate collapsed on to his new bed and to his own surprise, he too fell asleep.

***

Slate was awoken by an odd sensation. After lurching up in bed and momentarily not recognizing his new surroundings, he realized it was the feeling of his new Cryote friend licking his face.

“Morning, buddy!” Slate said as he wiped his face with one arm and petted the pup with the other. “I thought you were just a dream for a moment.”

Remembering the rest of the previous day, Slate leapt out of bed and ran around the house calling out, “Mom?” The Cryote bounded after him gleefully, as if it was some kind of game. Slate’s spirit fell when it quickly became apparent that Mrs. Davy was not in the house. None of it had been a dream. His mother really had been taken, and the plan suggested by Professor Larch would need to be followed.

This stark reality fueled Slate’s determination. Today, he would become a Pokémon Trainer and he would get his mother back. After a quick shower, Slate threw on the as yet unworn red, gray and black Trainer gear he had laid out the night before, put on his Poké Glove, packed his capsule tent and other items into his new bag, clipped his Pokédex to the bag’s strap, and admired his reflection in his wardrobe mirror.

“What do you think?” Slate asked the Cryote by his side. It barked and wagged its tail in approval. “Alright! Let’s go!”