After that first hiccup, travelling with Wera was comfortable. Given that she was almost unable to battle, we didn’t bother with positions and simply moved side by side, more often than not in peaceful silence. My partners had to work a little harder, but I had made sure to pack enough Potion to treat them when necessary.

A nice perk of travelling with her was that she knew the path quite well, having travelled and even repaired it in the past, so instead of having to guess where a nice place to rest would be or to estimate how long we had to travel to find a good camping spot for the night, I simply had to look at her and she could tell me. By the end of the first day, I was almost convinced that she knew each and every rock above gravel-size on the road, let alone the shrubs.

In the evening, she prodded me a little, stretching the first leg of the journey a little further than I normally would have liked. Suddenly, when we moved across one of the many small rises, I froze, staring at the sight ahead. Next to me, Wera let out a happy giggle, as I blinked, spell-bound by the incredible sight of Mount Coronet ahead. The single, lone peak towered over the rest of the Coronal Mountains, a single giant in a group of children. On its other side, the sun was just setting, bathing the mountain in golden light, giving the impression that it was shrouded in clouds of burning fire.

“Wow,” I could only mutter, as my hand dropped to my belt, “Charm, Vio, Su, come out,” I called them out one by one, never taking my eyes off the sight, as if it would vanish the next second.

“Look,” I told my partners, prodding them to look at the sight, to take in the pure, breathtaking beauty.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it?” Wera asked, partially startling me out of my trance.

“It is,” I replied, though I didn’t take my eyes off the mountain.

“It’s one of the reasons I let my father push me, even if I don’t like the battles. I don’t think I’d enjoy sitting in Celestic Town for the rest of my life,” I glanced over and she was looking at the sight as well, a look of awe in her eyes.

“The world is vast and full of wonders,” I quietly said, the sentence flashing into my mind from somewhere. I might have heard it in the past, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, tell where I had heard it.

For a few minutes, we just stood there, taking in the sights, the light and clouds slowly changing and with them, the sight. For a moment, I was convinced I could see the Spear Pillar rising up on the mountain, an unnaturally straight monument to human achievement in a world where humans were so very small, but I couldn’t be sure.

Finally, we continued on our path for a short while before Wera gestured towards the side, into an opening between a dense shrubbery and a few large rocks.

“In there,” she told me and for once, I led the way after calling out Vio. After ducking under a few branches, I found myself flabbergasted once more, the space overlooking a long valley leading south-east, giving us another wonderful sight. While it paled in comparison to the backlit Mount Coronet, it was impressive in its own right, the terraces and rocks, framed with some of the least peaks of the Coronal Mountains and, in the distance, the foothills.

The valley was incredibly straight, the river that had dug it in the past not meandering around, allowing mountains to block the view.

“If we get up early tomorrow, we’ll be able to have lunch at one of the higher waterfalls,” Wera told me, a grin on her face.

“You know your sights, don’t you?” I asked, returning her grin.

“Of course I do, I grew up nearby,” she assured me, her eyes misting over a little. “My parents even took me camping once in a while, it was incredible. My classmates were so jealous.”

During the evening, I learned more about Wera, as she told me stories of her past and the areas near Celestic Town she had seen as a child. The images her voice painted of quiet valleys, bubbling creeks and steep cliffs were quite vivid and it made me want to explore more. Maybe I’d even stay near one of the towns for a while, not trying to move from location to location but simply to see the sights. What use was travelling to see the world if I didn’t have time to stop for a bit, linger and maybe smell the flowers? How many interesting things I had missed in my journey so far, simply because I didn’t have the leisure to explore, due to limited supplies?

The next morning, we set back out and, as promised, we got to a wide waterfall for lunch. On our way, I had to convince a few Pokémon to leave us alone. The pool below the waterfall itself was home to a few Basculin and Su had to hop around, pouncing on them to make sure they didn’t keep annoying us.

It was quite amazing to watch, his physical abilities were getting better slowly but surely. Now, he could easily jump onto their heads when they poked out of the water to shoot water at him, or simply leap back to avoid a bite before countering with his claws. As long as they had no way to force him into the water, he could patiently wait for them to show an opening before striking like lightning and retreating like thunder.

“I envy you,” Wera sighed as we sat near the pool, “You barely need to direct your Pokémon and yet, they manage to fight with ease.”

“Part of it is trust, I think,” I mused, looking at the water. The Basculin had drifted off, out of the pool. The water was wonderfully clear, inviting a bath and I considered jumping in, even if it was quite cold.

“I’m training them, not every day but as often as possible. They trust me that I make sure that they’ll have the tools to deal with a challenge and that I’ll treat their wounds if the challenge proves too much for them. I wish I could say that I’m able to only have them fight if they can win, but I’m not at that level just yet. Maybe in the future, I’ll be able to take on all comers, but I’m not sure that it’s even possible,” I shrugged, a wry grin on my face. My thoughts went back to the big three I had seen on a slope not terribly far from here, further down the hill and to the south, and of the Sky Serpent, Rayquaza, Cynthia had told me about. I wasn’t sure there was any human, or even any normal Pokémon, that could confidently challenge them. If the beliefs of some people were true, that they were the incarnation of Space, Time and the mysterious Distortion Realm, there most certainly was no way to beat them in truth.

“I’m training my partners, too,” she replied, her voice a little morose, “And Silvester, my Golem, is quite capable, he manages even if I freeze. It’s just that Donna isn’t doing too well, but she was the only one I was feeling comfortable with, I can’t just abandon her.”

Again, I was unable to think of a proper response. She wanted to train her partners but couldn’t. Instead of trying to give her some nonsense in order to make her feel better, I reach over, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“When we get back, I’ll try to get in contact with my friend, hopefully, she’s got an idea,” I promised, before deciding to change the mood.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her face blushing furiously when I took off my shirt.

“Taking a bath,” I replied, shucking off my shoes and pants before slipping into the water. For a moment, I froze, the cold water chasing away the heat of the day. Looking over to Wera, I was quite confident that my idea had worked, my sudden actions had most certainly taken her mind off her troubles, if the blush on her cheeks was any indication.

“You should try it,” I told her, before ducking my head underwater, “It feels wonderful.”

When I pulled my head from the water, my eyebrows shot up a little and I felt a blush of my own creeping onto my cheeks, a blush that had nothing to do with the cold water.

While I had noticed that Wera had muscular arms, her naked upper body was impressive. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I imitated a Doduo and put my head back into the water, unwilling to take a closer look.

After frolicking in the water a little longer, we continued on our path, relaxed and with much lighter hearts. Finally, as the sun was starting to vanish on the other side of the Coronal Mountains, we reached a good campsite close to the collapsed path. Tomorrow, early in the morning, we’d get started with our work. Or rather, Wera would get started and I’d get to watch.