There was little more talk with Cliff, either during the night or in the morning. He seemed to glare at me from time to time, but frankly, the moment Prince Charming recovered enough to leave his Pokéball, my partner took priority. For a good while during my night-watch, I had been cuddling with him, after making sure that the bruised area left by the water gun was nicely massaged with Potion. The affection he showed made it quite obvious that he didn’t hold a grudge, which only increased my resolve to do better in the future. He would become a Charizard one day, and I would help him get there.

Once Claire and I were back on the path, Cliff followed behind and there was relatively little we could do about it. Not unless we were willing to leave the recommended Route, which neither of us were and if he wanted to wander after us, content not to battle any Pokémon coming his way, that didn’t really matter to me. If he wanted to permanently stick to the official Routes, he would only get left behind by us in the future, as we became able to venture out and forge our own way. Even the Routes designated as higher difficulty would remain inaccessible to him, but I wasn’t about to tell him how to live his life. I was occupied enough with my own path.

As I had planned, we got back to the fields around Sandgem-Town in the mid-afternoon, with only a few battles against feisty Starly during the day. Prince Charming had valiantly demonstrated that he was back in form, while Vio had shown off her new move, managing to Confuse a Starly to the point that it had quick-attacked a tree. Vio seemed to enjoy messing with her opponents mind, turning them into their own, greatest foe. It was, honestly, a little scary, until the battle was over and she hid behind my legs again. That turned her back into the adorable, little fairy that she was and earned her head-pats.

There was a different guard at the low fence that separated the fields from the city-proper, giving us a nod as we approached.

“Welcome to Sandgem Town. Please remember that Pokémon are to be kept within their Pokéballs outside of designated facilities or in emergencies.” he told us, barely doing more than glance at us. It seemed that the route to and from Twinleaf was hardly a stress-post that required the guards full attention. But then, there had been a couple of people working in the fields, so any attacking Pokémon would have long since been discovered and a commotion raised. A cushy post, if one could stand the boredom.

“Thank you, officer.” I replied, simply walking past.

“Quick check at the Centre, before heading to the Gym and turn our task in?” I asked Claire, getting a nod in response. So far, she hadn’t said twenty words during the day, which she had done before leaving the bedroll during the previous days.

Having our Pokémon checked at the Centre took mere minutes and it was there that we luckily lost Cliff. While we hadn’t travelled a full Route, merely gone out to complete a task, we didn’t need to fill out a status-report. Instead, we could leave while he was filling in the paperwork. I almost shed a tear, realising that at times paperwork was actually a good thing.

Our Pokémon fully rested and restored, we went to the Gym, moving to the counter. As coincidence had it, the person manning it was the same one who had explained the task to me, while Claire had been sleeping off the drink of the night before.

“Dani, right?” she asked, after we had waited for another, slightly older, Trainer to finish their business and stepped up.

Slightly amused at the recognition, and not certain it was a good thing, I nodded.

“Indeed. This is Claire, my companion. We completed the task regarding the Bidoof Dam, locating it roughly here,” I tried pointing out the position on the map, to the best of my ability, “and we are reasonably certain that the dam is destroyed. It was hit by a Wing- and a Quick-Attack by a Starly, but we had to retreat before verifying its destruction.” I replied, noticing a thoughtful frown on the attendant's face.

“Details, please? How many Bidoof were there?” she asked.

“In the direct vicinity, within roughly two-hundred metres of the dam, we encountered seven Bidoof. Those were not the problem. The problem was that a Bibarel was lurking in the lake the dam created. As we were attempting to destroy it, the Bibarel appeared and attacked, knocking my partner out with a single attack, likely a Water Gun.” I explained, and there was a short, pained expression on the attendant’s face, before it was replaced by a slightly strained,neutral expression.

“I hope your partner didn’t suffer lasting damage.” she told me, the professional mask fading for a moment.

“Anything else to report?” she looked at Claire, seeking her approval of my report. Both of our names were attached to the task, and the notes she jotted down, so input was needed from both of us.

“No, nothing worth mentioning. Maybe that there seemed to be less Bidoof around, once the dam was destroyed. I don’t think we encountered any the whole day, after we retreated from the destroyed dam.” she added, and now it was my turn to nod in agreement, as she was right. There had only been Starly that had attacked us, possibly for a reason.

“Thank you for your effort. I will relay this report to Sebastian. Are you staying at the Centre again?”

When both of us exchanged a short glance and nodded, she wished us a nice day, promising that the test-battle would be held on the next day.

After leaving the Gym, we simply wandered the streets a little, until we stumbled upon a small cafe, right next to a park.

“Want to tell me what is going on with Cliff?” I asked, once we had a hot beverage, Claire opting for a hot chocolate, while I hoped to get the weird, pungent tea Lucas had given me before. There was something about it that made it taste better each time I tried it. Professor Rowan had called it Dragon’s Blend, looking at me slightly perturbed when I opted for it.

Sadly, it was not an option, so I had to make due with the ordinary, mixed-berry tea Joyce had introduced to me. It was tasty, but the Dragon’s Blend was something special.

“Is saying No an option?” Claire asked, an unhappy look on her face. For a moment, I considered, taking a sip of tea to buy myself time. I didn’t really need to know, though I was a little curious.

“It is. Unless you expect him to act in a manner that would pose danger to my partners or me.” I replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “However, despite only knowing you for a few days, it is obvious that you are bothered. I don’t need to know as a travelling companion, but I would like to offer an open ear as a friend.”

For a moment, she was silent, drinking her hot chocolate and looking into the distance.

“Most people don’t immediately start their journey after getting out of school. If they have any interest in becoming a Trainer in the first place, they first get a local job, getting more familiar with their partner and earning some money. Only those who really want to go into the League-certified professions immediately go on their Journey.” she explained, not really speaking to me, but speaking, with me as a silent listener. Confession, some might call it.

“There were only fifteen people in our class, and of those fifteen, Cliff and I were the only ones who wanted to set out immediately. Somehow, Cliff got it into his head that we’d journey together and,” she paused for a moment, “you know, be together.”

I managed to keep myself from letting out a soft sigh, instead I simply made an affirmative hum, to make sure she knew I was listening.

“He’s not a bad guy, I mean, he can be a bit of a pain but it wasn’t as if I had a lot of options. Not unless I wanted to travel alone.” There was another pause, as she took a sip of hot chocolate, “So, when Aunt Joyce sent a message about you, I suddenly had an option, one that I embraced with open arms.” she blushed a little, as I chuckled, remembering her initial greeting.

“Did you tell him you wouldn’t journey with him?” I asked, an eyebrow raised. There was no answer, but that might have been all the answer I needed.

“Maybe you should talk to him.” I suggested, realising that getting him another travelling companion would solve a lot of problems. Travelling in pairs was the norm, so two pairs travelling apart was perfectly reasonable.

“I even have an acquaintance who is looking for a travelling companion, the two of them might work together well.” I added., noticing a look of amusement on Claire’s face.

“When did you meet that acquaintance?” she asked, far too amused for my taste. “We both got here at the same time, right? You’ve never been here before?”

“No, I’ve never been here before. As you know, I delivered a letter to Professor Rowan, I met Lucas there.” I told her, the smile on her face only widening.

“Lucas, hm? Yeah, I’ll suggest that he might travel with your friend.” her smile had morphed into a full-fledged grin, with added sparkle in her eyes. The palpable enthusiasm in her voice made me let out a soft sigh, one that I didn’t even try to suppress this time.

Sometimes, people could be a real pain in the neck.