Kanto region…

Many years had passed since the day he first left Pewter City, promising to become a great trainer. Very few knew his name, but that didn't matter, plus most people who had known him in his years of traveling simply had nicknamed him 'the Hiker'.

At first, he actually thought himself a great trainer: unlike many of those fifteen-year-old brats, he was smarter. After getting his starter Pokémon, he exiled himself to the mountains and spent years training hard. It was foolish to think he'd get the championship by simply being a teenager with experience, so he decided to grow strong first. His stay in the mountains bore fruit, as he caught a good team with different Pokémon, plus he strengthened himself physically, and he was always ready to challenge any trainer passing through the mountains.

He was finally ready to leave the mountain range; with the experience he earned, he would have no rival in the Pokémon League. Maybe people would take notice of his skills and recruit him as a Gym Leader or Elite Four member. He decided the best way to show himself to the world as a great trainer was to win some tournament, and conveniently, the Battle Dome in Lavender was hosting one. It was the perfect challenge, nothing could go wrong.

But everything went downhill, and he was defeated with terrific ease. His opponent was a girl no older than fifteen. Maybe he could excuse himself on the fact that her Pokémon was a Poliwrath, one of the strongest Water-types in Kanto, but the Hiker still thought that, even with a type advantage, a girl like her would have it hard against a trainer with so many years under his belt.

The Battle Dome was just the start of a long streak of losses. First, he fought a strange guy with a Marowak, losing badly. He also fought a red-haired youth with a bad attitude who completely trashed his team using some kind of giant fire-breathing cat. There was also that silent boy who defeated him with a Pikachu of all things. No matter what he tried, he was defeated over and over again. Maybe the worst loss had been that time a girl made him eat the dust using only a Bellsprout… a tiny Bellsprout of all things had been enough to crush him!

What frustrated him the most were not only those defeats in themselves; it was the fact that those who had beaten him were all teenagers. He was sure most of them wouldn't have more than one year training Pokémon, maybe two at most. How could they be so strong at that age? That made no sense: it was impossible for a kid starting their journey to be able to defeat experienced trainers and take the championship, it defied all logic. Bruno hadn't made it to the Elite Four in his first year, Lance didn't raise a super powerful Dragonite on his first try, and Lorelei didn't grow strong overnight. They all had spent years training hard to come as far as they had, and that was what the Hiker intended to do.

He wouldn't let another inexperienced kid trash him. He would recover and show them the difference between a lucky beginner and someone with years of training and experience.

He had heard of another tournament hosted in Fuchsia City, maybe destiny was giving him a new chance. He arrived to the city, determined not to lose… and then he saw him: a young purple-haired trainer with a perpetual scowl, who had just released two Pokémon: an Onix and a Mr. Mime. They didn't look good, they were extremely bruised, as if they had just come out of a rather tough fight. He couldn't release them into the wild in such condition. The Hiker couldn't stand that scene, so he went to call the kid out on what he was doing, but the boy just ignored him and showed no respect, and fed up with his insistence, the trainer had no choice but to challenge the Hiker to a battle.

Seeing his chance to show the kid a thing or two, he gladly accepted. The fight started rather well: the boy began with a Raichu, so the Hiker countered with his own Onix, defeating the Electric-type after a long fight. He had to admit the kid was skilled, but there was no way he could be beaten after all that training in the mountains.

Or so he thought, before seeing his opponent's second Pokémon: a large, intimidating turtle with trees growing on its back. Then everything turned into an uphill battle: that turtle was so strong it managed to defeat half his team on its own. The only way out the Hiker could think of was sending his Golem and sacrifice him with Explosion. It did get rid of the turtle, but now he was at a major disadvantage, having only two Pokémon left to fight his opponent's four.

Despite being a recent capture, he decided to send his loyal Machop against that kid, hoping that he could turn things around. His opponent, however, sent in a giant Nidoking, and despite going full out with his strongest moves, the Hiker was in real trouble.

"Nidoking, Bulldoze!"

"No! Machop!" The Hiker could only watch helplessly how his Pokémon was sent flying by a shockwave, before returning him to his Pokéball.

"This is a waste of time, just give up." That boy glanced at him with no respect at all.

"This fight isn't over yet! I'll show you the fruit of years in the mountains!" He had only one chance, but it was all he needed. It was time to use one of his most trusted Pokémon. Maybe it wasn't his starter, but it was his first catch. They couldn't lose. "Rhydon, I choose you!"

"Rhy!" His Pokémon stared down at the opposing trainer with determination, knowing exactly what he had to do. On the other hand, the opponent didn't seem worried in the least.

"Let's end this quickly, I've got better things to do."

"Rhydon and I will finish it for you! Use Take Down!"

Like a living tank, the bipedal rhino Pokémon charged, shaking the ground with each step. Shockingly, the Nidoking stopped him dead in his tracks using only his arms, and then a purple energy began surrounding Rhydon.

"No way! That's Poison Point!" The Hiker had just been caught by a rather annoying ability. With his Pokémon poisoned, things didn't look good.

"Throw it away, Nidoking! Get rid of it!"

With impressive strength, the Poison-type lifted Rhydon up in the air and brutally slammed him into the ground. Even so, Rhydon still managed to get back on his feet.

"We can't give up now, Rhydon! Let's show them the new move we've been perfecting! Use Earthquake!"

The Rhydon gave a furious stomp, making the ground rumble loudly and sending huge cracks against Nidoking, though his trainer didn't seem fazed by that.

"Counter with Bulldoze."

Nidoking sent out a rather powerful shockwave, which met Rhydon's move head on, completely swallowing it and hitting the opponent to top it off.

"Finish it! Double Kick!"

Before he could recover, Nidoking jumped over Rhydon, hitting him on the chest with his heavy legs. The Hiker could only watch in shock how his Pokémon was sent flying at the same time he was afflicted by the poison. He had lost… again.

"Not bad, Nidoking." The boy returned him to his Pokéball. "I guess you'll replace Onix in tomorrow's rematch."

The Hiker couldn't believe what just happened. Not only he had been defeated, he had gotten his ass handed to him completely. And by a fifteen-year-old boy with a major attitude problem, no less. It was frustrating, but he wasn't a sore loser, no matter what his opponent had done. The least he could do was acknowledge his skills and congratulate him on his victory.

"You've beaten me, kid, your Nidoking's incredible." He tried to shake hands, but the boy rudely refused.

"Pathetic, you're one of the weakest opponents I've ever fought. This victory means nothing."

Hearing these words, the Hiker glanced at the ground in rage, not towards the boy, but rather himself. Maybe that jerkass kid was right after all, maybe he was pathetic. Even after all his training he couldn't even muster a single victory. He was always beaten by rookie trainers, and the worst part, he didn't even know why. Was he lacking in skill? He had failed his Pokémon; they deserved a good trainer, not a pathetic one like him.

"I'm leaving, I can't waste any more time." And with that parting shot, the kid turned around and left, giving him one last arrogant glance.

That time he didn't sign up for the Fuchsia Tournament. He just took the released Onix and Mr. Mime to the Pokémon Center so they could be healed, and, with some luck, taken to one of the city's natural reserves. That same day, the Hiker left the city. He had to find himself, to become a good trainer, so nobody could call him 'pathetic' ever again.

A few days later, at the Rock Tunnel…

There he was again. He only knew one way to grow stronger: to go training in caves and mountain ranges. He had decided; he'd spent the next months training harder than ever before. What would happen with the Pokémon League? No problem, once he had finished his training, he'd challenge a Gym to a Non-Traveling battle. After all, with everything he learned in the mountains, he surely would reach the level of an eight-badge trainer. His first stop had been decided: the Rock Tunnel. He had heard many rumors about this maze of a cave, so it was the perfect challenge.

It took him a few days to arrive, but he was finally at the entrance. The place was dark, but that was no issue; he had the perfect Pokémon for the tough and dark road ahead.

"Come out now, Vulpix."

The small fox Pokémon gazed at his trainer, and then turned around to see the cave's entrance.

"Get ready, buddy. We'll spend the next months training nonstop in this place."

His Pokémon partner didn't seem as thrilled with this. He then pointed at the backpack with his paws.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of food inside, we'll make it."

"Vul, vul." The Fire-type glanced at his trainer with a serious expression, and he quickly caught the message.

"I know you hate canned food, but you'll have to put up with it. Training in the mountains will toughen you up. Surely you don't want to be crushed by another overgrown plant-turtle, do you?"

The Vulpix tilted his head and let out a growl. It wasn't like he had been beaten by a Grass-type starter in its first stage; that thing had been a real monstrosity. He wasn't sure training in the mountains could be enough to ask for a rematch one day.

"Come on, buddy, don't be like that. You know I love eating grilled steaks as much as the next guy, but if we want to become stronger, we'll have to do some sacrifices."

The Pokémon decided not to think about what kind of creature grilled steaks came from and let out a sigh. He walked into the cave along with his trainer, and though it was too dark at first, after a few minutes his eyes got used to it and they could walk without much trouble.

They walked around for quite a few hours. The Hiker would always find it thrilling to explore new caves or mountains, since one never knew what you could find in them. For a while, the only Pokémon they encountered were some Zubat or Geodude, which Vulpix quickly made short work of, even if he had some troubles with the Rock-types.

And then it happened: he found himself before a curious Pokémon, a small red-orange crab. A Krabby, but this one looked rather on the small side compared to others he had seen in his travels. The Hiker and his Vulpix were puzzled; Krabby were Water Pokémon, common for the Kanto region, but they were normally seen at beach shores or lakes, not inside caves. Was there some kind of underground river inside the Rock Tunnel?

"Hey, little buddy. Where did you come from, did you get lost?" As a response, the crab began gurgling foam from its mouth.

The Hiker stared at it for a while. It didn't seem strong, but it apparently had some attitude. Maybe it was what he needed for his team, a Water-type to cover his weaknesses. He could imagine having his own mountain Krabby. A unique Pokémon, which could be turned into a Kingler with some training. He was about to pull out a Pokéball to catch it, when…

"Mister, I'd appreciate you don't try to catch Kooky." The Hiker stopped dead in his tracks. Who had said that? The strangest thing was that Vulpix didn't react.

"Hey, Vulpix, didn't you hear that?" The Fire-type just glanced at him, not understanding what his trainer meant. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

No response. The man began to get nervous. He looked around in the middle of the darkness, and then he saw it: a hidden figure, an unknown silhouette whose only distinguishable feature was a pair of red eyes staring at him intently.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!" The Hiker and his Vulpix tried to guard themselves. What was that? Some demon of the mines? An offspring of Giratina? The product of some kind of experiment gone rogue and lurking in this cave, biding its time to destroy the planet?

The figure walked closer, and then he saw it better. It was no monster, just a little girl who looked no older than nine years old, with brown hair and strange marks on her cheeks. The Hiker was shocked to see this girl in the middle of such a dangerous cave, all alone and only dressed in what seemed like some old rags. As he thought about it, the girl approached him.

"Mister, I'm thirsty. Do you have some water?" The Hiker became even more shocked. The girl didn't even move her mouth, but he could hear her clearly. Was he imagining things? "I asked if you have some water."

"Oh! Yeah!" The Hiker always carried extra bottles and canteens full of fresh water, he quickly pulled one and handed it to the girl. "Here you go."

The girl quickly opened the bottle and drank it swiftly and desperately. Halfway through she gave it to the Krabby to hydrate as well. The Hiker and Vulpix were quite surprised, the girl really was thirsty.

"Can you give me some more?"

A few minutes more passed, and the Hiker sat next to this girl and her Krabby. She was quite strange, and not just because she had downed three entire water bottles by herself, nor the fact she was dressed in those rags like a beggar. No, the strangest thing was how silent she had been, never opening her mouth except to drink the water. He was certain she hadn't opened it to talk to him even once. How was that possible? After she finally downed another canteen, she glanced around and then stared him in the eyes.

"Excuse me, mister…" He confirmed it, she didn't move her mouth to talk. It was like he could hear her inside his head. "Who are you exactly?"

"Me?" The Hiker scratched his head. She took long enough to ask for his identity. "I'm just a Hiker who loves to explore mountains and caves. Who are you?"

"I'm just Mizu."

"You seem too young, but you have a Krabby. Are you a trainer?"

"No, I'm just Mizu and he is Kooky." The girl lifted the small crab, who just clicked his pincers. What a weird child.

"Hey kid…"

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu."

"Yeah, sorry, I just meant to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"How are you talking to me right now? Your mouth's shut and yet I can still hear your voice clearly." Upon asking this question, the girl tilted her head in confusion.

"You're wrong, I'm not talking."

"You aren't? But you just did…"

"No, I'm just projecting my thoughts inside your head," she replied. What was this girl talking about? Was it possible to get thoughts into someone's head? The Hiker quickly glanced at his Vulpix, and he still didn't seem to have heard anything the girl had said. Apparently only he could hear her. "I can do it because I'm part Psychic-type."

"Psychic-type? You mean you're a psychic?" The Hiker had heard rumors about trainers capable of projecting their commands straight into their Pokémon's minds, without the need to speak them out loud. But he had heard they were mostly grown adults, after years of training, and this girl was no older than nine.

"Well, I'm half Psychic and half Water-type," she said. One thing was for sure, this girl had a lively imagination.

"Hey kid…" He was about to speak again, but the girl interrupted him.

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu."

"Sorry. I just want to know, why do you use those psychic tricks to talk to me? Are you mute or something?"

"Of course I'm not, it's just that…" The Hiker noticed some sadness in the girl's face. "I don't know the humans' language. It's easier for me to project my thoughts into your mind."

"I don't get it. Are you a foreigner or something?"

"I don't know what that is, but according to my family I'm a Starmie."

The Hiker burst into laughter at this revelation. "You've got some imagination, kid."

The girl glared at him. "I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu!"

"Yeah, as you say." The man made a note not to forget the girl's name before getting used to call her 'kid'.

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked. Of course he didn't; she was just a little girl playing Pokémon.

"Listen, it's OK to play, but you shouldn't let yourself be carried away by your imagination."

"I'm not lying!" The Hiker watched as Mizu thought hard before her expression changed. It looked like she had an idea. "Look at this!"

Without warning, the little girl extended her arms forward and sent out a barrage of stars, which flew across the place until they hit a wall. The Hiker's jaw dropped: that had been a Swift attack! The girl smiled upon seeing the priceless expressions in the faces of both the Hiker and his Vulpix.

"I can't believe this! Kid, you're…"

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu."

"How the hell did you do that?!"

"I told you, I'm a Starmie."

"How can you be a Starmie?" The Hiker then recalled some rumors he had heard during his journey. Just rumors, they couldn't be true, and yet… there was no other explanation. "You… you're a Bloodliner, aren't you?"

"Is that what humans call us? I recall every creature calls us in different ways. I once met a Dratini that thought I was like an 'Arceus Priest', and I've heard of Lucario comparing us to 'Aura Guardians'. Some Ice-type Pokémon call us 'cruel beings of infernal heat', but my family says I'm like some 'Sea Hero' of old."

"That doesn't matter, you're a Bloodliner!" The Hiker recalled everything he had heard about them. "This is great! I never thought I would meet one in my lifetime! That means you have powers no normal human could even dream of!"

"It's no big deal, even Kooky has better attacks than me," The crab began foaming again upon noticing he was being stared at. "I do have another ability. If I look at people into the eye, I can make them do what I want for a while. My parents say that it only works on the weak-minded, though, and I can only use it once a day."

"Like the Jedi Mind Trick?" the Hiker asked.

"What's that?"

"Oh, that's right, sorry, pay no mind to me." The Hiker remained silent for a while before continuing. "But there's something I don't get. Where are your parents? And what are you doing in this cave? I mean, you're too young to travel on your own."

"I… I got separated from my parents. Some evil humans took them away."

"They took your parents away?! How did that happen?!"

"I can show you."

Before the Hiker could even respond, his mind was bombarded by several flashes and images. He could see Mizu underwater, accompanied by her Krabby and several different Water-type Pokémon; Goldeen, Horsea and Poliwag among others. There was a pair of particularly huge Seaking, bigger than any the Hiker had ever seen in his life.

"Are you trying to tell me your parents are Seaking?! How's that possible?"

"Well, obviously they're not my real parents, but they've raised me since they found me as a baby."

"But they live underwater! How can you live with them?!"

"I'm a Starmie, so I can breathe underwater."

"Does that mean you can understand Pokémon speech?"

"No, I can't do that. They tried to teach me, but it's too hard. So I had to learn to project my thoughts into my friends' minds to communicate with them."

"You're a strange kid."

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu!"

"Though that explains why you're wearing those rags."

"This? It's too cold out of the water, so I have to wear this when I'm out."

"And how did you end up here?"

Instead of answering, the girl continued her mental image bombardment. The Hiker watched how the Water Pokémon were attacked by a group of Tentacruel, forcing them to come out to the surface, where they were caught by fishing nets.

"Only Kooky and I could escape."

"I see. Those were probably poachers."

"It was horrible. We tried to go to a human settlement to ask for help, but…"

The girl showed him an image of a huge factory, and how they were chased out by a large group of angry Magnemite.

"Hey, I know that place. That's the abandoned Power Plant, and it's filled with Electric-types." The Hiker noticed the girl had begun shaking in fear. "Something wrong?"

"I don't like Electric-type Pokémon. They're horrible and scary!"

"I think I get it now. You got into this cave to escape those Electric-types, didn't you?" The girl just nodded. "Don't worry, I'll help you."

"Really? You will help me?" The Krabby began foaming again. "Kooky doesn't believe you can help us."

"Don't worry." This was the big chance for the Hiker to prove what he was made of. He was an experienced adult, not a teenager in his first year of training. "You're seeing one of the most experienced trainers ever."

"What does that mean?"

"My Pokémon are at a high level. Their skills were honed in the sharpest mountain ranges in Kanto!"

"Does that mean you're strong?"

"Of course I am! I have three Gym Badges to prove it!" The man pulled out his badge case and showed it to the girl. "I had great victories at the Gyms of Pewter, Porta Vista and Maiden's Peak!"

"Those things are some proof of strength?"

"You bet! I'm the strongest Hiker ever, and with me there's nothing to worry about! Any questions?"

"Just one. Can you give me some more water? I'm getting thirsty again."

A few hours later…

And thus, the Hiker began walking the paths across the Rock Tunnel. The little girl walked beside him, drinking from his canteen as she carried a flashlight with the other hand. He never imagined his training journey would lead him to meet a Bloodliner. He had heard some stuff about them, but he never thought they actually existed.

Even though most people nowadays took the existence of Bloodliners for granted, the Hiker was more the skeptic type. He was the "seeing-is-believing" type, especially about people with special powers, but his encounter with this girl erased any doubts he had about their existence.

In a way, he was lucky to have found her. Maybe she was an odd girl, but he had taken a liking to her. Not to mention that, being an adult, he was compelled to help any young person in need, even if he could get into trouble for it.

"Hey kid…"

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu."

"Whatever, I just noticed you seem unusually happy." Indeed, Mizu was smiling and deep in thought as she drank her water.

"I will be. Once you rescue my family, I'll return home to the sea, and I'll leave this creepy world on the surface."

"Aw, come on. Mountains aren't that bad." Having travelled through the mountains for so long, he had grown fond of them.

"It's not just the mountains. I'm scared of the outside world as a whole; everything is too strange here. I just want to go back home with Kooky." When the girl said this, the Hiker just burst into laughter, causing Mizu to stare at him in confusion.

"You know, when I was your age, I used to think the same."

"Really?"

"Yeah, though those were different times. People didn't know as much about Pokémon as they do today, and many were scared because they were aggressive. They were afraid of leaving their hometowns."

"Pokémon were aggressive? Not counting those creepy Electric-types, they've always been nice to me."

"I think the problem was just that we didn't know them well. But then, they appeared: the first generation of Legendary Trainers."

"Who are they?"

"The best of the best, the great elite. I was around seven or eight years old when I first heard stories about them, and they were truly inspiring. They seemed invincible, freely traveling across the land with nobody to stop them. They didn't fear any Pokémon, no matter how dangerous they were. That was when I knew what I wanted to do in my life."

"You wanted to be like them?"

"Everyone wanted to be like them. To be free to travel around this great world in an era when people was afraid of Pokémon, that was quite the dream. I might have taken long to get my starter Pokémon, but I finally became a trainer."

"So you have traveled across the world?"

Upon hearing the girl's question, the Hiker remained still. Truth to be told, he hadn't actually traveled that much, neither had he gone to many places. Since that day his father gave him his Onix, as per Pewter's tradition, he spent most of his time training in the mountains to become stronger. Hell, he didn't even know the full Kanto region; he figured that a rookie wouldn't stand a chance in this world, so he tried to grow strong enough before going to face it but…

Many years had passed, and he could have spent them traveling around many regions. Was he wasting his time? Maybe the reason those rookie trainers were so strong was because they used their time to go to many places, instead of staying somewhere for years. The man sighed, recalling his past training years, as well as the day he began his journey with the intention of seeing as many places as possible.

When exactly did he lose sight of his initial goal? He mentally scolded himself; the lost time was something you could never get back. As a matter of fact, right when he met Mizu he was ready for yet another exile in the mountains.

"Hey, Mister Hiker, I'm out of water." The girl handed him the empty canteen. "Could I have some more?"

"You're like a bottomless barrel, aren't you?" No doubt, he had run into the oddest girl ever. "Don't worry, I still have two spare bottles. Get them out of my backpack."

As they walked, the girl began checking inside the backpack for the water, but she found a strange bracelet and picked it up with curiosity.

"What's this? It looks weird."

"Whoa kid, be careful with that!"

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu!"

"Whatever, just be careful with that ring. See the stone embedded in it? I won it in a battle tournament. If I can evolve my Onix, I can use that stone to make him even stronger. It'll be my secret weapon."

Even though the girl didn't understand, the Hiker was fully confident on said stone. Onix was his strongest Pokémon, and once he had evolved, he could use his prize from the Battle Dome tournament to make him invincible. Of course, he had to get some Metal Coat first, and then find a Mega Stone compatible with him.

Meanwhile, somewhere else…

A huge ship was approaching the shore. The vessel really stood out from others, especially due to the skull and crossbones painted on the main sail. It was run by a group of pirates whose leader was a fat man with a moustache and wearing a blue headkerchief. Those who heard his name would never forget it, and those who didn't know of him would wish they never met. He was Captain Crook, one of the most fearsome pirates in the seven seas, and there was a juicy reward put out for his capture, dead or alive (preferably the former).

At the time, his crew has throwing a party, celebrating a successful and fruitful hunt. Their tank was full of aquatic Pokémon of all kinds; however, the captain wasn't satisfied.

"Scuz! I want a full report of our last catch!" he called out for his first mate. The pirate watched how his bumbling lackey walked upstairs to the deck in such a hurry that he tripped over the wooden floor. Maybe the guy had gotten drunk again; if Scuz wasn't so useful, he would have made him walk the plank years ago.

"Aye sir! The report's right here!" Scuz pulled a paper out of his pocket and began reading it with some difficulty. "We had a good catch, we've got enough Pokémon to cover our monthly fee with the Phantom and still have plenty to spare."

"Alright, we might make some bucks selling them in the black market." Crook couldn't wait to count the money he'd score for this job.

"I dunno, sir. These aquatic species are common in Kanto, and barring those two Seaking, none seem of a high level."

The captain groaned at his subordinate's stupid remarks. "Haven't you learned a thing? You blithering idiot, these Pokémon might be common here in Kanto, but in other regions they're extremely rare! We could easily go to Orre to sell or trade them for some goods. In a deserted region they could be impressed with some aquatic Pokémon. Maybe even one of the Seven Brothers would give us something good for them!"

"Wow sir, you're a genius!"

"Which is why I'm this ship's captain. Listen Scuz, the Seaking stay with us, we could use them for our team. Split half of our catches to give them to the Phantom, the deadline for our fee is near and it's unwise not to pay your dues with him. The remaining Pokémon will be taken to Orre." The pirate had to be very specific with orders, so even an idiot like his subordinate could fulfill them.

"Aye sir!" Scuz made his trademark pose, but before retiring, he asked something else. "When I'm done, shall I tell the boys to weigh anchors?"

"No! We ain't moving from this place!" the captain shouted, confusing Scuz.

"Why? There's not much to do here on Route 10."

"Don't question me, you idiot. We still have to catch the biggest prize this place can offer us: the Bloodliner girl."

"You mean that kid who got away while we were attacking? What are we gonna do with her?"

"She's a Bloodliner. Do you know how much people would pay for one of those freaks? We could make some big money if we sell her for experimentation." The pirate was still recalling the surprise he got upon seeing that little girl come out of the sea, along with the Pokémon he was trying to capture.

"But Captain, she's just a little kid, wouldn't that be a little cruel?"

"A little kid?! She's not just a little kid! SHE'S A BLOODLINER, A MONSTER OF NATURE!"

The pirate captain could barely hold his anger at his lackey's stupidity. Sometimes he felt sorely tempted to stuff Scuz face first into one of his cannons and fire him off out to the sea.

"Aye sir!" The first mate was quite intimidated by his captain, though he still let slip one last remark. "Though I don't know what's so bad about bloodliners…"

"Scuz! I should throw you overboard for daring to say that stupidity!" The captain's anger made Scuz flinch. "Bloodliners are horrible and dangerous creatures! My honorable father fell in open sea fighting against one of those freaks!"

"Aye sir! Sorry for contradicting you!" Scuz decided it would be best not to question his captain anymore. Making him angry could easily sign him a death sentence.

"You better be. As soon as the girl comes back here, we'll be moving out all of our forces against her."

"How are you so sure she'll be back? She might have gotten away to never return."

"Oh no, she will come back. As long as we have her friends, she'll have to come looking for them. Hehehehehe, BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Scuz glanced in fear at his captain laughing mad, and then he suddenly stopped. "You're still here, Scuz? Go and get done what I've told you to do, pronto!"

"Aye sir!" The first mate hurriedly went to fulfill his captain's orders. "Does he really expect the girl to play hero and come looking for her family, after he had just said how horrible Bloodliners were?" Scuz muttered under his breath.

Route 10…

The Hiker came to realize there were many things he didn't know about the caves in Kanto. Many of them had hidden tunnels leading to the most unexpected places. After following Mizu through the Rock Tunnel, the two came out right south of Route 10, by the outskirts of the old abandoned Kanto Electric Plant. The man was quite surprised at this, since he had no idea this path existed, and most trainers had to surf across the water to get to this place. What a discovery.

Of course, he didn't have much time to appreciate the hidden passage, since the Electric-types residing in the plant quickly went to attack them and defend their turf. Mizu and her Krabby were quite scared at the sight of those Magnemite and Voltorb, though the Hiker remained calm. After all, he had nothing to fear against Electric-types with an Onix and a Rhydon in his arsenal.

After getting away from the Power Plant as fast as they could at Mizu's insistence, they walked across the shore where the little girl said she lived. To avoid being spotted, they hid behind a rock formation.

"There they are. Those people took my family away." The girl pointed at a large ship anchored near the shore.

The Hiker watched the vessel closely. It was a large wooden ship with… a skull and crossbones sail, as well as a flag? Were those really pirates, in this era? He was expecting poachers, thieves, or even some Team Rocket member. Then again, some were still popular in cartoons, and there was that comic about a pirate Aipom with a straw hat, but other than that, the Hiker never expected this. At any rate, pirates or not, they'd be no match for him, all he had to do was…

And then the Hiker realized there was a snag in his plan. For starters, he was a trainer specialized in Rock and Ground-types, meaning that he wasn't exactly fit to fight on water. As a matter of fact, only his Rhydon was able to cross water, and he learned out of necessity since he didn't like it very much. The only Pokémon capable of fighting in this kind of field was his Golbat, though he had heard of Fighting-type trainers who taught their Pokémon how to surf. Maybe his Machop could make it through this.

"What do we do now, mister?"

"Well…" Truth to be told, the Hiker had no idea, but he couldn't let the girl notice that. "I think we first need to find a way to get close to that ship without being spotted."

"Kooky and I can go underwater." The girl glanced at her Krabby, who clinched his pincers.

The Hiker gave the girl a thoughtful glance. Could she really do that? He actually didn't know much about Bloodliners, so he thought he should investigate more once he was through with this issue. He heard once of a scientist named Suresh who wrote a book about genetics and Bloodlines. He'd have to add it to his to-read list once he was done with the Alphanegan Chronicles.

"I'll go swimming under the ship and then…"

"I don't think that's a good idea," said the Hiker. "They might attack you if they spot you. Listen, kid…"

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu."

"Yeah, just listen to me, we just need a distraction. This is what we'll do. My Golbat's got some tricks that can come in handy. If he keeps them busy, Rhydon and I can sneak up and break through the hull."

After listening to the Hiker's plan, the crab gurgled some bubbles from his mouth. The girl listened at the sounds he made for a while, and then nodded. "Kooky says he wants to help, and so do I."

"No way. You stay here, those guys could be dangerous."

The Hiker was no fool: he knew perfectly he couldn't send a little girl against some dangerous criminals. No matter if she had powers, she was still a child and he had to look out for her. Children couldn't dismantle criminal organizations on their own; that was a job for the adults like him. He was still unsure how dangerous those pirates could be, but he knew he was fighting on a disadvantageous terrain and he had no real plan in mind. He at least had to make sure Mizu was safe.

"But I want to help, my family is trapped in there." She wasn't happy with his plan, at all.

"Listen, kid…"

"I'm not 'kid', I'm Mizu. And I'm not going anywhere without my family."

The Hiker tried to protest, but Mizu's glare and the Krabby clicking his pincers (how could such a small Pokémon look so intimidating?) ultimately silenced him. Sighing, he weighed his options. If he told her to stay there, she was probably going to sneak in anyway and put herself in danger. If he brought her along, she's still be in danger, but at least he could keep an eye on her.

"Alright, you can come along. Just promise me something." The Hiker kneeled to look into her eyes. "Try to stay out of sight. If something goes wrong, get away as fast as you can and don't worry about me."

"But…"

"Promise me that," the Hiker interrupted her.

Mizu didn't like the plan, but if there was no other way he'd bring her along, she'd have to comply. Reluctantly, she nodded.

"OK, I promise."

The Hiker braced himself. He knew he was at a major disadvantage, but he couldn't fail this girl. That was his test, his last chance to prove he was strong. Still a little at unease, he took Rhydon's Pokéball and opened it.

"Okay, buddy… think you could give me a ride to cross the waters?" In response, the rhino Pokémon groaned in irritation. "Yeah, I thought so. Look, I know you hate water, but we have to do this. This girl needs our help, and only you can do this."

Rhydon wasn't enthusiastic about this, but his sense of loyalty wouldn't allow him to disobey. The Hiker braced himself, and let his Golbat out. He still had his doubts about his plan, but he didn't have time to think of something better. Hopefully, crazy as it was, it would all work.

Meanwhile, at the pirate ship…

One of Scuz's favorite duties was being the lookout. All he had to do was stand on the Murkrow's Nest, grab the telescope and watch the horizon, and he could even sneak in a bottle of liquor when nobody was watching. A relaxing job, since he just had to call out to his captain if he spotted some rare Pokémon, land, a coast guard ship with an Officer Jenny on board, or anything out of the norm. And that thing rolling in definitely counted as out of the norm.

"Sir, some kind of… cloud is coming in."

"What nonsense are you saying?" Captain Crook replied. Scuz climbed down from his post and handed him the telescope. The day was clear, but he saw a strange dark cloud approaching his ship. Was this a work of the Bloodliner child? Some rare Pokémon? Or something else entirely?

…

Inside the cloud, the Hiker's Golbat was flapping his wings. He was using a Haze attack as a cover, and his radar sense to guide himself. The plan was getting as close as he could to the ship and wreaking as much havoc as possible to draw the pirates' attention. Meanwhile, his master would use the distraction to have Rhydon pierce the hull and rescue the girl's family. Simple enough, nothing could go wrong…

"Open fire!"

"Aye sir!"

In matter of seconds, the pirates began loading their cannons and firing at him. While the Haze prevented them from aiming clearly, he had to maneuver to dodge some cannonballs. It wasn't a hard task, given that he trained by flying while he carried heavy rocks in the mountains, to the point he could easily carry his master a short distance if needed be, and he had sharp reflexes.

Ultimately, however, the cannonballs got too close for his comfort and he had to get out of the Haze, finally revealing himself.

"It's just a Golbat, sir!" said one of the guys next to a cannon.

"Just a Golbat? What's it doing here?"

Taking advantage of the momentary ceasefire, Golbat quickly flew towards the ship. Since they had already seen him, he might as well start wreaking havoc as he was told. First, he sent out a Screech attack as loud as he could, causing everyone to cover their ears.

"What the hell?!" the captain yelled. "Scuz, do something!"

"What?!"

"I said do something, you Magikarp brain!"

"Sorry, Captain, I can't hear you!"

Well, that worked nicely. Next step, to cause more havoc. Once he ceased the Screech, the pirates quickly focused their attention on him, which was exactly what he wanted. Focusing on the closest pirate's eyes, he sent out a red wave at him. The pirate began tumbling around holding his head and looking at one of his crewmates, raised a fist.

"What the-umph!"

As one pirate punched the other, Golbat quickly moved on to the next one, repeating the process. In a matter of seconds, the entire pirate crew, bar Scuz and Captain Crook, had begun getting into fights with each other, half of them unable to tell friend from foe and too dazed to use their Pokémon for it.

"Snap out of it, you Binacle heads! Argh, I'll just blast that goddamned bat out of the sky myself!" Crook yelled as he grabbed a cutlass and a flintlock gun.

However, his attempt was cut off when the ship shook violently.

"What the-?! Was that a torpedo or what!?"

"Must have been a huge one!" said Scuz.

Of course, Golbat knew what it was, and that exactly was why he couldn't let the Captain check it out and proceeded to raise more havoc.

"Gah! I'll just deal with it later, first, the Golbat!"

Mission accomplished. All he had to do was keep up and stay out of range.

…

Below the deck, the Hiker's plan had succeeded. While Golbat was keeping the pirates busy, Rhydon used his Horn Drill to pierce through the ship's hull. It being a wooden vessel definitely helped, since they were able to get through it with a single strike, and now they were in. Luck was on their side, as they found a room full of water tanks filled with Water-types all over, as well as racks full of Pokéballs.

"Alright kid, we don't have much time!" the Hiker said as he pulled out his other Pokéballs, bringing out all of his remaining Pokémon bar his Onix and Vulpix. "Break all those tanks and free them all!"

"My family isn't here!" said Mizu, looking all over.

The Hiker glanced at her. The room was full with tanks all over the place, and if they weren't visible, they probably were inside the Pokéballs. While Rhydon, Machop and Golem punched through every glass in sight to free the captive Pokémon and throw them out the hole they made, Mizu and her Krabby looked all over for her parents. The Hiker, in the meantime, decided to release the Pokémon inside the balls, while Mizu stayed in hiding, wishing she could help him, but remembering her promise of staying out of sight, she decided against it.

At first they had been throwing the Pokémon that couldn't move on land through the hole, but as water slowly came in, it would be just a matter of time before that ceased to be a problem. The ship would probably be tipping over in just a few minutes.

"What the hell's going… by the Phantom's beard!" The Hiker turned around and saw one of the pirates coming downstairs. "Captain, we've got a water breach, and a stowaway aboard!"

The guy ran back upstairs before the Hiker was able to chase or stop him. They were busted, they had to hurry.

…

Back above, the chaos continued, with Crook firing round after round from his flintlock, trying to shoot Golbat down. Half his crew was lying unconscious on the deck, and the other half was too dazed to do something. He wasn't sure why, but he had the strange feeling that the goddamned bat was actively mocking him every time he missed.

"Captain, we've got a water breach, and a stowaway aboard!" Scuz's voice yelled as he ran upstairs.

"What?!" Crook yelled as he ceased his fire for a few seconds to take cover from a Supersonic attack.

"The guy's freeing our Pokémon! If we don't hurry we're gonna lose our booty!"

"How the hell did…?" And then it hit him: they probably had snuck in when the ship shook. The Golbat was nothing but a distraction. "I'll deal with you later!"

Without wasting a second, he ran below the deck to the storage room, and his jaw almost dropped upon seeing what was going on: the water tanks had all been shattered to pieces, and several of the Pokéball racks had also been emptied. However, the shock was quickly overridden when he saw the ones responsible: several Pokémon and their trainer.

Having ran out of ammo for his flintlock, he simply raised his cutlass to slash him from behind. But the Machop breaking another of the tanks yelled out at his master. The guy dodged and the blade got lodged in the rack. Rather than pulling it off, however, Crook simply turned to the guy and quickly delivered a right hook at his jaw, knocking him to the still flooding floor.

"Alright, landlubber. You better tell me who you are right now, or things are going to get very rough for you."

To Crook's surprise, the man wasn't cowed. He just rubbed his jaw and got back up to face him.

"I'm the strongest Hiker in the Kanto region! And you're not taking these Water Pokémon anywhere!"

"A Hiker?" Crook arched an eyebrow. "Well, aren't you a little out of your turf here by the sea? Then again, you look smarter than that dumbass trio of Hiker brothers I had the misfortune of meeting in Alola, so if you know what's good for you, you'll get lost right now."

The Captain felt generous that day, since he didn't want to deal with anyone else but the bloodliner kid. Unfortunately, the Hiker wasn't willing to leave quietly, and quickly made it clear by glaring at him.

…

He wasn't going to back off. If he did, he'd fail Mizu. To hell with his defeats; he wasn't a pathetic trainer and he was going to show it. Failure wasn't an option. Thus, he went and rammed the pirate with his full body, knocking him back into another rack.

"You want these Pokémon? You'll have to go through me first!"

"Have at you, landlubber!"

Both men quickly engaged in a fistfight. The Hiker was surprised to learn his foe, for his apparent chubbiness, was actually pretty strong, almost as him if not more so. In a matter of minutes, both of them had black eyes and a few lumps in their faces, but neither was giving any signs of backing down.

…

As the fistfight continued, Mizu could only stare from her hiding place. She wanted to help, she really wanted to help the Hiker, but she had promised him to stay out of sight. Unsure as to what else to do, she looked at her Krabby intently.

"Please go and help Mister Hiker, I'm begging you!"

The small crab nodded, and using the water to hide himself, quickly swam around the room out of sight while the rampage continued, unnoticed by everyone. As soon as he got close enough, right when the pirate had pinned the Hiker against a wall and held each other by the wrist, Kooky clinched his pincers and jumped.

…

The brawl was getting increasingly violent. The Hiker was tough, no doubt, but Crook had managed to gain the upper hand with a punch to the stomach that knocked the air out of him, followed by a left hook that made him stumble against the wall. The pirate threw another punch, but the Hiker caught it and grabbed his wrist, using his free hand to deliver one of his own, but Crook caught it as well. The two were at a stalemate as they glared at each other, until…

"EEEEAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGHHHH!"

The Hiker was startled by the scream, but after his foe let go of his hand, he quickly gave him a haymaker. Crook began jumping and screaming around, and the Hiker saw what had happened: Mizu's Krabby had gotten hold of his rear, and now the pirate was trying to get the crustacean off of it, but the more he tried to pull, the tighter his grip became. After a while, he finally pulled him off and threw him at the wall, forcing the Hiker to pick him up.

"You stupid crab, I'm going to make you into my lunch tomorrow when… wait a minute." Crook stared at the Krabby glaring at him. He smiled as if he had realized something. "Yeah. YEAH! It's the same that Bloodliner freak took with her when she got away! It's the same size and has the same angry eyes!"

The Hiker stared in confusion, watching the Captain as he suddenly burst into mad into mad laughter. "I should have guessed you didn't come here alone, landlubber. Makes sense; the brat most likely went to get help and you were all she found. Where is she? Where's the Bloodliner?!"

The Hiker, for his part, clenched his teeth and resisted the urge to look in the direction Mizu was hiding. Hopefully she wouldn't try to do anything crazy.

"I'll ask you again, where's that accursed freak of nature? She must have come along with you."

The Krabby got angry and began foaming. And he wasn't the only one: the Hiker had taken an angry glare himself. Maybe he had known her for just a few hours, but she was no freak of nature. Just an innocent and overall nice girl. And not just that; she had made him react and question his training methods even without trying. He had to return the favor; he'd protect her from this guy and rescue her family at any cost.

"Listen, you pirate scum! That girl's no freak of nature, and I won't let a fat bastard like you insult her!"

"She's a Bloodliner! She's a freaking monster!"

"Say that again and I'll rip off that ugly moustache off your mug! She's an innocent child with a kind heart! If she was a monster she wouldn't have come here to save her family!"

Crook clenched his teeth as he turned red in pure anger. "Innocent?! You know nothing, landlubber! When I was a kid, I saw it with my own eyes! My father, my hero, he died at sea because of an accursed Flying-type Bloodliner! How could someone stand one of those freaks?!"

"But I won't make the same mistake as my father. I won't underestimate them. If I see a threat, I'll just nip it right in the bud and if possible, I'll get a profit from it."

"Profit?" the Hiker asked. "How can you be thinking something like that?!"

"Better sell that Bloodliner now that she's a little child, instead of letting her grow into a revenge-thirsty adult. Surely many mad scientist would pay nicely for the chance to her up, wouldn't they?"

"I won't let that happen! She's no freak, and she's not evil at all!"

"Who cares?! Maybe she's not, but I am, and I will prove it!"

The pirate had decided to forgo the fistfights and send out his Pokémon instead. Grabbing all six of his Pokéballs, several blue, jellyfish-like Pokémon with ruby-colored gems on top of their heads materialized.

"Tentacruel? What, are you planning to become the next 20 Tentacruel Bill or what?" the Hiker deadpanned.

"You've ruined my hunt today, and you'll pay for it! EVERYONE, ATTACK!"

The Tentacruel readied their attacks, but the Hiker's Pokémon, having released the last of the Pokémon in the tanks, quickly stood between their trainer and the jellyfish, forming a wall to protect him. The Tentacruel fired off globs of poison, but Rhydon and Golem stood managed to take them without much trouble. Even worse, when one of them managed to poison Machop using Toxic, the Pokémon's eyes flared up red, and with a furious cry he grabbed one by the tentacles, mashing it around like a living mace.

With his Pokémon dealing with the Tentacruel, the Hiker once again focused his attention on the pirate. Cracking his knuckles, it was time to settle this, once and for all.

…

While the Hiker continued to fight against Crook; Mizu had slipped away, making sure to stay out of sight as promised. The girl was scared out of her wits, but she knew she couldn't give up. Her new friend the Hiker was risking his own life to help her, so she had to do something as well.

All of the Pokémon in the tanks had been freed, but there was still one Pokéball rack that had been left untouched during the fight, so her family was bound to be in there. She had to find them and free them, fast.

Opening Pokéball after Pokéball, she found herself surrounded by some of the Water-types she considered her foster family, some Horsea, Poliwag and Slowpoke, who of course were elated to see her, but she quickly told them to escape through the hole without wasting a second. At long last, there were only two Pokéballs left. She could feel it, her parents were in there…

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here."

But just before she could release them, a large, fat and rough hand grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground.

"So here you are, you little squirt! You and your friend here have given me no small amount of trouble."

He had her turn around so they could see each other face to face. The pirate had his face full of lumps, a black eye, a bleeding nose and at least a couple of his teeth seemed to have been broken in the struggle. From afar, the Hiker was grabbing one of the racks, trying to get back up, and didn't seem to be much better. The girl began flailing around her arms and feet trying to break free, but she couldn't, the guy was too strong for her. Bloodliner or not, she was still a little girl, and she faced a fully-grown adult.

"So then… do you have any words to say to me?" The pirate grinned wickedly. "What's the matter, Meowth ate your tongue?"

She had been caught. She messed it up. The Hiker had gone out of his way to help her, and she had to let herself get caught. How could she? No, she couldn't. It couldn't end like that. It wouldn't end like that.

Something clicked inside her. Her other power, unrelated to her being a Starmie. One she didn't like to use, but given what the pirate had done to her, she had no choice. A battle of wills, one she had to win. Her eyes began to glow brown-orange.

"You will free my family, and leave me alone."

"What the heck was that?" Crook asked. "Did you say something about freeing your family?"

"You will free my family, and leave me alone," she pressed, this time louder, and the glow in her eyes intensified.

"Hah! Are you trying to pull some kind of mind trick on me? I'm not a weak-mi…"

Crook suddenly stopped. The glow in Mizu's eyes was quickly reflected on his, and after it died down, his irises turned dull and empty, like he was half-asleep. Softly, he put Mizu down.

The Hiker, finally recovering from that blow, was about to rush to her aid, but seeing her staring down at the pirate like that made him stop. Somehow, he knew she had everything under control. Especially after seeing the glow in her eyes. After a few seconds, Mizu rushed to his side.

"What did you just do?"

"It's my other power. It was all I could think about."

"Well, good thing it worked," said the Hiker. "Is he gonna stay like that for a while."

"Yes." She touched her forehead. "Ow, my head hurts…"

"Rest easy, kid. Let's get your parents and get the hell out of here."

The Hiker grabbed his last Pokéball, releasing his Onix. The rock snake quickly broke through the deck as it materialized, and its weight began tipping over the ship, making it take in water even faster than before. Recalling the rest of his Pokémon, bar his Rhydon, the Hiker placed all of the remaining Pokéballs inside his backpack. They would release them manually once they were away.

"Rhydon! Get us outta here!" the Hiker commanded while he and Mizu hopped on his back, the former recalling Onix once he felt he had done enough damage to sink the ship.

Rhydon quickly drilled another hole through the ship's hull, and they got out, surfing as fast as they could to get away from them. Golbat saw them and as soon as he heard his trainer calling out to him, he flew alongside them as they fled. When they reached a settlement, they would call the police to come and get those criminals.

How long had he been standing there? The last thing he remembered was having the Bloodliner brat face to face, and then a brown-orange glow in her eyes, and after that…

"By the Phantom's beard, what the hell's going on here?! And where are the brat and that stupid Hiker?!"

No trace of them whatsoever. His six Tentacruel were all floating unconscious on the water flooding the room, and he quickly walked back up to the deck, seeing his crew running and screaming around in panic, as well as several holes on the deck's floor, probably made by a very large Pokémon.

"Captain, what do we do?!" Scuz cried out.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His ship, his beloved vessel, the last reminder of his late father, had been completely trashed, and now it was about to go down. An old saying went that the captain had to go down with his ship, but he couldn't do that. How could he honor his father's memory if he went down in such a humiliating manner?

"We have no choice." He took a deep breath, about to say the two most dreaded words by any pirate captain worth his salt. "ABANDON SHIP!"

And with those words, the pirates quickly began jumping overboard. Fortunately they were all good swimmers, and the beach shore wasn't that far away. As much as it hurt them to leave their vessel to die, they had to live to fight another day.

Later that day…

The Hiker was quite satisfied with his victory. True, he didn't want to go through something like that ever again, but after what he got out of it, he felt it was worth it.

Once the danger was over, he triggered the Pokéballs' release system to free Mizu's 'parents'. Though just in case, the girl asked him to destroy them, so he called his Rhydon to stomp on them.

Once they had squashed them to pieces, Mizu and Kooky could reunite with her family. The Hiker didn't understand Pokémon speech, but he didn't need to; it was a rather emotional reunion and probably the Seaking were giving him their thanks. The Hiker decided to call for a little celebration and pulled out of his backpack all the canned food he had to share with them. Although he offered Mizu a bit as well, the girl preferred to chug on the last water bottle he had. He felt happy upon seeing them eating, after all, he wouldn't need it anymore. His mountain training had been permanently cancelled.

He also rewarded his Pokémon with some snacks. Onix, Golbat and Golem needed to replenish their energy, while Machop and Rhydon were starving too. The only one who didn't bother to taste the food was his prideful Vulpix, who just limited himself to help dry his clothes.

All things considered, it had been fun, but the Hiker knew it was time to leave. Turning to see Mizu talking to Kooky and her parents, he wished he could understand what they said, but they seemed happy, even laughing at times.

"Hey… I'd like to say… thank you."

"You're thanking me? I should thank you, Mister Hiker. After all you rescued my family and gave me water."

"Yeah, but you helped me discover the path I should follow." The Hiker glanced at the sky with determination. "I will fulfill my dreams, I'll travel across the world and won't lock myself up in the mountains anymore. The world is a wonderful place, full of different people and interesting places to know. So… thanks Mizu."

Upon hearing him, the girl stared at him in silence, and then giggled.

"Mister Hiker, it's the first time you called me by my name."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Both the girl and the Hiker laughed heartily.

"Hey, the truth is, with what you just said I'm curious to know the world, but… I'm still a little scared."

The Hiker couldn't help but smile. He knew what she was getting at.

"I've talked to my parents about this. And I think…" The girl got a little nervous, but she continued. "I think I should travel in company, if you don't mind."

The Hiker watched in amusement how the girl had turned nervous, just like her Krabby. Of course, he didn't have to think his answer.

"Of course you can come along. You always learn more when you travel with friends, and your little crab friend can come with us too."

"Really? That's amazing!" The girl smiled in joy, while the Krabby clinched his pincers. Meanwhile, the Seaking said something, and while the Hiker didn't understand, he had a pretty good guess.

"Don't worry, I'm the strongest Hiker ever, and I promise to protect your daughter. You can trust me on it."

The Seaking seemed to approve of the journey. They knew sooner or later Mizu would have to go back to the surface, and it would be better if she could be with someone they could trust, like the man who helped her rescue them. On the other hand, Kooky began making some sounds with his pincers, which made Mizu laugh.

"Kooky says that I will be the one protecting you."

After laughing some more, both the Hiker and Mizu readied their things to take their leave. As the Hiker returned his Pokémon and set his backpack, the Bloodliner said goodbye to her parents, who wished her good luck and gave her a rather emotional farewell with the rest of the Water-types all over the place. Once they were all set, the girl grabbed the little Krabby between her arms and began walking alongside the Hiker.

"Hey Mister Hiker, if we're going to travel together, what is your real name?" the little girl asked curiously.

"That's right, I never told you my name, did I?" The Hiker was sometimes a bit clueless with some stuff. Namely, he often forgot to introduce himself by name to people. "Well Mizu, my name is Monty Near Hawkings."

The girl glanced at him for a few seconds, and then let out a small giggle. "I think I'll just call you Mister Hiker."

And thus, both of them began a new journey. The Hiker knew it wouldn't be easy, but he had made up his mind. He wouldn't grow stronger training in a single place. If he really wanted to toughen himself up, he'd have to travel through many places of the world to learn. He still had a long way to go, he still had five badges to go to the Kanto League. Although for traveling with Mizu… the first thing to do was to stock up on water, a lot of water.

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

"I hate Bloodliners..."

Captain Crook was boiling with rage. Anybody brave or foolish enough to try and talk to him would face his wrath.

The brat turned out to be more dangerous than he thought. She screwed with his mind, he was sure of it. That was another of the reasons he hated Bloodliners: they were given powers in a platter. While men like him had to work hard to become strong, those freaks were born with great power, one that normal, decent and hard-working people like him could never match, no matter how hard they tried. It was so unfair.

As they were stranded on land (by that point, the police was probably on site, scavenging his wrecked ship), the captain didn't want to know a thing about Bloodliners for a while. Besides, he had other worries: having lost his hunt and his ship they had no choice but to wait for the coast to get clear and travel to a port city to steal another vessel. Could things get any worse?

"Er, sir…" Only Scuz was dumb enough to try and talk to him when he was so angry. "Should we tell the Phantom what happened to our ship?"

Crook didn't even bother to reply. They were in serious trouble. Working for the Phantom had its perks, but that situation wasn't one. Reaching the deadline without their fee was worse than suicide, and unless he got an ample compensation for him, he'd beg for death just to escape punishment.

"Alright you idiots. We're all in trouble. Big trouble." The crew watched in expectation. "So, unless you want me to turn you all over to the Phantom, I want to hear ideas to get out of this mess, pronto."

Everyone in the crew began to discuss different ideas each even more stupid than the previous one.

Even Scuz had the sheer stupidity to suggest they went to Hoenn, for the amount of water the region had. The idea was quickly shot down because Crook wasn't foolish enough to get into Team Aqua's turf.

However, when the pirate captain was on the verge of losing his last bit of patience, one of his men suggested, "We could go to the Orange Archipelago. I've heard many Johtoan Pokémon migrate to the islands during this season."

Captain Crook pondered on it. Truth to be told, it didn't sound like a bad idea. After all, they had nothing else to lose: if they promised the Phantom a good load of rare Johtoan Pokémon, maybe he would even reward them with a brand new ship.

"Alright you Barbaracle brains, you better get ready. Next stop, the Orange Archipelago!"

"AYE AYE SIR!"

It was a risk, but he had no options. As long as he had a good vessel, he could catch any school of Pokémon he encountered. And he'd never, ever let any bloodliner to make fun of him, let alone get in his way, ever again.

Much later…

Several days had passed since the Hiker had begun traveling with the little girl, and he had grown quite fond of her. He also had bought her some new clothes so she would look more normal, though it took him a while to convince her that they were better than those old rags. He also bought her a canteen of her own, since she would spend the entire day feeling the need to drink water. The one thing he didn't convince her of was getting Kooky inside a Pokéball, so she would carry him around all the way.

They had their fair share of adventures, and Mizu seemed rather happy during the entire travel. Sure, they had some mishaps, like when they passed through Neon Town and half the locals tried to pick a fight with the Hiker just for bumping into them. Mizu didn't like that noisy city very much. They also met a small Jigglypuff along the way, and though the girl became enamored with it and tried to convince the Hiker to catch it, it began to sing and they fell asleep. Not everything was trouble, though; they also passed through Mossgreen Village, which Mizu seemed to like, being so peaceful and quiet.

Now they were back on the road, and the Hiker was planning to hit the Fuchsia Gym for another Pokémon League badge. He then saw a familiar figure: that young female trainer with orange hair who had beaten him in the Battle Dome. She wasn't alone, though; she was walking alongside two other girls around her same age, the first with a rather long wild mane of dark purple hair, and the other with short, light purple hair who had a more reserved demeanor. There was also a young male trainer around fifteen or sixteen, wearing an official Pokémon League cap and with strange cheek marks. The Hiker recognized him from the news: he was one of the winners of the Fuchsia Tag Tournament.

At first, he thought about challenging the orange-haired girl to a rematch, but since that boy had won the tournament, he figured he'd be a better opponent. Beating her boyfriend would probably be just as satisfying, maybe just what he needed to put his new training to the test. Plus, his Rhydon could use some exercise.

The Hiker walked towards the group with confidence, although Mizu took some time to react, as she was glancing at that trainer with some confusion, having noticed he had a Pikachu on his shoulder. She quickly hid behind the Hiker scared.

"Hey kid, you up for a Pokémon battle, one on one? You know what they say, trainers must battle the moment their eyes meet."

The boy glanced at him strangely, as if he knew him from somewhere, and also looked at Mizu with a confused expression. Nevertheless, once one of his female companions prompted him to react, he gladly took the challenge. Now this was the Hiker's chance. He'd prove an adult with training could beat a rookie youth...

Though by that point he didn't particularly care if he lost. After all, he could always grow stronger with the journey.

FIN.