The next two days after our encounter with the Zubat, I continued to stumble after Claire, my body sore and my throat incredibly painful whenever I got even slightly out of breath. Luckily, we didn’t encounter any serious trouble, merely more Geodudes most of which were quickly dispatched by Twiggy, while Claire even had Nuts take care of the weakest of them. The little Seedot was still incredibly wary of me, but maybe my weakened state allowed it to calm to the point that it even took a bit of food from my hand once.

Around us, spring was going strong, maybe due to the heavy rain a few days prior. The trees were blossoming and there was a sweet smell in the air, strong enough to make me sneeze from time to time. As we continued on, the terrain changed, too, especially as we made our way out of the mountains.

The trees got taller again, and stood further apart until we reached the edge of the forest. Before us, stretching ahead for miles and miles, was an ocean of grass and shrubs,

“We should try to find the Route again.” Claire suggested, looking ahead. When I shook my head, she raised an eyebrow in question.

“No.” I rejected her idea, before elaborating, “It’s easier to look for Floaroma City. At night, the light should guide us.” It was a pleasant feeling, to be able to speak without being in serious pain. My voice was still somewhat rough and I didn’t speak more than necessary, but compared to the painful croaking of the past few days, it was bliss.

“And it seems we already have our first surprise customer.” I grinned, noticing that one of the shrubs in the meadow wasn’t a shrub. It was the same type of twisted bud Cliff’s Budew had, allowing me to identify it easily. After a quick scan with my Pokédex, I was certain that it wouldn’t become my next partner.

“Charm, your turn.” I called out my partner, who finally had enemies he was effective against. The nearby Budew must have noticed that something was amiss, dragging itself out of the ground and turning to face us, as Charm materialised in a flash of red light.

“Go for it, set that thing alight.” I ordered him, a grin spreading on my face. As some nasty spores started to spread from the Budew’s bud, the Embers Prince Charming spat out landed on it, scorching its body. The effect was swift and rather impressive, especially when Prince Charming didn’t just spit one load of them, but repeated the action quickly, as the spores started to drift towards us. The two attacks were more than enough to knock the Budew for a loop, and without its guiding intent, the spores started to fade, some of the power imbued into them absorbed by Prince Charming.

“Well done.” I quietly praised him, before calling him back.

“I’ll take the lead for now, okay?” I asked Claire, still somewhat eager to find another suitable partner. It didn’t have to be a grass-type, though if the Budew would have had better innate values, I might have tried to catch it. With a lot of care, a Budew might evolve into a Roserade one day, just as Ivie’s partner, Dawn had. It would take months, maybe even years, of constant training, but it was possible.

“If we come across some weaker ‘mons, Nuts still needs the training. He got a bit with the Geodudes and I’ve been trying to help him to learn how to absorb power from the ground and sun, but so far, it hasn’t worked just yet.” Claire suggested, getting a nod in return.

According to my memories, the grassland was mostly filled with Grass- and Bug-Types, all of which were excellent foes for Prince Charming. In addition, there should be a couple of Poochyenas, Starly and Bidoof around. While I wouldn’t mind letting Claire deal with the Starly and Bidoof, I wanted to let Vio take care of any Poochyenas we might come across, simply to try showing her how much she had grown. I couldn’t really tell if there was lingering trauma from the battle after which I had caught her, but even after evolving into Kirlia, she remained a bit shy, hiding behind my legs whenever she didn’t have to step up and fight. While I didn’t mind her attachment to me, I wasn’t certain it was really a healthy thing for her to do. Having her gain confidence, while being affectionate with her might be the way to help her grow as an individual and as a Pokémon.

“You know, just for this going on the Journey was worth it.” Claire softly mused, as we were walking across the slope of a low hill. The wind was softly blowing around us, carrying an incredible array of scents and there were even some small birds flying through the air nearby. It was a beautiful, peaceful scenery, one that made you want to sit, let the rays of the sun warm you and simply be.

“Want to take a break?” I suggested, when I noticed a small brook flowing down on the other side of the hill, before vanishing between some taller grass.

“Mhm, why not.” she agreed, after a brief look to the sky. It was already late afternoon, so while we could have continued on for another hour or two, there was no great harm in making camp early.

After checking the place a little, we decided to camp near the water, something we normally avoided so we didn’t disturb the wild animals. There was a nice carpet of low grass and a tough, ground-covering shrub growing from the sandy soil, making for an adequate mattress.

“Do you mind if I take a nap?” Claire asked, letting out a yawn. We had managed to finish setting up our camp, so I simply gave her a nod, watching as she stretched out in the sun, looking very comfortable as she drifted off, a smile on her face.

Walking up the slope, I sat down myself and, after a moment of consideration, I called out both of my partners, something I rarely did.

“No battle, just relaxing.” I quietly told them, as they manifested and only noticed the other nearby. For a moment, they stared at each other, before each of them moved to one side of me. Vio was acting a lot more spoiled, hopping onto my lap, taking advantage of her smaller statue. Even after her evolution, she was only about a metre tall and slender, giving her a physique similar to a tiny teenager, as opposed to a child. Regardless, she was adorable and I accommodated her happily, playing with her smooth hair.

Prince Charming, on the other hand, simply leaned against my side, his tail curling halfway around me and the heat of his body enveloped me. It was almost hot enough to be uncomfortable, but the way it was, I could just relax.

“Prince Charming, why don’t you try to push your Embers to become real fire?” I quietly suggested and after a moment, he stood, walking a step away from me.

As Vio and I watched, he repeatedly spat out Embers, launching them harmlessly into the sky, but never managed to spit fire. There were traces of fire around his mouth, but he didn’t manage to project them.

“Why don’t you try focusing on the fire you can make, first?” I prodded, trying to give his approach a different direction.

For a moment, he stared at me, before giving it a try. The flame on his tail flared and fire ignited in his mouth, as if he was spitting embers. Only instead of spitting anything, it just remained there, burning until he let out something between a cough and a chuff, the flames billowing forth in an awkward sneeze, disappearing before they got more than half a metre away from him.

“See, progress.” I cheered, keeping the laughter tightly bound within my chest. He had looked just too adorable at that moment but I didn’t want him to feel discouraged.

“You could try igniting the fire and biting someone. Give me a moment.” I told him, looking around for some sticks. It took me a few minutes to find something that was somewhat worthy of the name, barely the thickness of my smallest finger, but they’d have to do.

“I’ll throw them, you try to ignite the flames in your mouth and bite the stick, trying to set it on fire.” I told him. I wasn’t sure if the look he gave me was one of admiration or of wonder, wondering if I had lost my sanity, but regardless, when I gently lobbed a stick into his direction, he ignited the fire again, leaping forward and biting the stick. The flame briefly flared, but too late, his teeth having already snapped the twig.

“We’ll have to work on that timing.” I grinned, tossing the next stick.

For the next thirty minutes, I continued to look for sticks and toss them to him. His attempts to combine fire with bite were somewhat successful, getting to the point that he managed to land three in a row, before he showed visible signs of fatigue.

He got a hug and some kibble for his trouble, before he was sent to rest in his Pokéball.

“And what shall we do with you, sweetie?” I asked Vio, wondering how to best help her. Maybe helping her focus her psychic abilities would be best, in an attempt to bring more of her power to bear. But how to best do that, without having something to fight against? Because I certainly didn’t want to get mind-whammied by her, nor did I want any of my companions to get hit. Looking for foes and training her that way would likely be our best bet.

But before that, the sweet, little Vio needed some cuddles and I was happy to provide.