I stood in front of the Route 5 gate, still thinking about yesterday’s lecture. My body was absorbing the Infinity Energy and using that to bolster my response to it. When I asked Professor Sycamore about it after the lecture, he told me it was similar to a human’s natural immune response, except it wasn’t natural and impacted more than just my allergies.

  He told me that with enough time my body could store enough energy to allow my punches and kicks to deal damage to just about anything, as well as shrugging off Pokémon attacks. He cautioned against testing that, which I had no interest in doing. Yet.

  The researcher Sycamore wanted me to escort stomped his way up, a scowl on his face. When he got within earshot, he glared at me and snarled. “Hurry up! We need to get to the Fossil Lab as soon as possible!”

  He stormed past me, not bothering to say anything else. “I’ve been ready to leave for an hour. Let’s go.”

  His attention snapped to me. “All I asked for was a competent Trainer. And they gave me you instead! Don’t talk back to me.”

  “Careful now,” I said, striding just ahead of him. “I might just be too slow and incompetent to stop a Pokémon attack.”

  I watched from the corner of my eye as he froze for a second. He mumbled something to himself but didn’t respond. We walked in silence. I wasn’t going to let him get hurt, but I wasn’t going to let myself be berated by some asshole either. Nautilus sat on my head, passively meditating as he tried to keep a continuous connection with my mind. Last night, as I was meal prepping for the road, I asked the team how they wanted to travel. Nautilus responded immediately, preferring my head as his yoga mat. Tetsu wanted to roll with us, but we decided that would be better when we traveled solo. Nova huffed and pointed at her PokéBall. Sometimes I wondered how comfortable the PokéBall environment was, or if they were even conscious while in there. I’d have to ask Nautilus once he unlocked his mind-reading abilities.

  Route 5 was a popular route for skaters. There was a famous rink somewhere along the route, but I doubted the researcher, Alex was the name I found on his profile, would want to stop. Luckily, my team and I were better prepared for traveling. A few changes of clothing, all of my adventuring gear, food, water, medical kit, and a storage backpack Sycamore gave me. He said every employee was given a backpack to store all lab equipment and resources they needed out in the field.

  It was extremely handy, and I kept my previous bag, which was more of a knapsack, in it. I still wore the fanny pack across my chest since I kept Berries, water, some first-aid supplies, rope, my phone, and a few handy items in there for easy access. The PokéBalls were clipped to a belt, which made them a lot easier to access. I felt like a true Trainer with all the gear.

  “I bet you feel like a real Trainer with your gear and two Badges, don’t you,” Alex snarked.

  “About as much as you feel as a real researcher with only one publication under your name,” I snapped back. “If all you’re going to do is talk shit, I’d rather we just stay quiet. You obviously don’t like me, for whatever bullshit reason. But my Pokémon are stronger than yours, by a large margin, so you really have no grounds to look down on me.”

  “Sure, your Pokémon are stronger. But how is that supposed to help us when a rampaging Ursaring claws through them like paper?”

  “From what I know, you’d have to be pretty far off the route to encounter dangerous Pokémon like Ursaring. If you want to do that and risk your life, go ahead,” I said, my eyebrow twitching. “My job is to protect you along the routes until we get to your lab. Nowhere does it say I have to save you from being stupid.”

  “This is why I asked for a Trainer with six Badges. You don’t understand how dangerous the wilds are!”

  “And you don’t seem to understand how any of this works! I traveled off-route on my way to Lumiose. I know how strong wild Pokémon get. But you only encounter them when you stray off the path. Stronger Pokémon avoid the routes because Trainers battle them and Rangers negotiate with tribes. The fact that you are a Pokémon researcher and DON’T know this tells me you’ve never actually traveled by yourself. So, once again, if all you are going to do is talk shit, shut the fuck up!”

  “Ink!”

  Alex paled when Nautilus shouted, the little menace gathering some energy for an extra menacing effect. I slapped his head, earning me a nip and indignant shriek. “Look, I will protect you with all of my abilities as a Trainer. If that’s not good enough, you can walk yourself back to Lumiose. We’re only two hours away.”

  “Two hours away? Are you crazy? I’m not walking back by myself!”

  “Then you’re stuck with me. Come on, Camphrier Town is two and a half days away. I want to get a decent distance in before we stop for the night.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  We walked in silence, again, but I didn’t miss the glares he sent my way or the way he practically jumped with each rustle of a bush. He was so scared of going through the route that my status as a Two-Badge Trainer meant nothing despite the fact that most of the Trainers walking this Route had one or two badges. The only reported cases of a Trainer being in danger on Route 5 occurred after they went deeper into the forest.

  ‘Knowing my luck, something is probably going to happen to us…’

  Alex froze. “I felt something weird just now.”

  “Oh, look, you can sense yourself,” I drawled, though I stopped too. Nautilus stopped meditating and perked up, telling me something was close. I grabbed Nova’s ball as Nautilus prepared Hypnosis. The sound of footsteps and branches snapping grew louder and more frequent with each second.

  “Get behind me!” I shouted as I released Nova. “Protect!”

  As Nova gathered the energy for the move, a child rushed past us. Her shield solidified just as Dodrio Body Slammed into, breaking it instantly. Nautilus released his Hypnosis, making it drop like a sack of potatoes. I turned around to see Alex running, already quite a distance away. The kid, no more than eight years old, clutched an egg, and the gears in my head went into overdrive. I snatched the egg, picking her up when she tried to take it back. I left the egg in front of Dodrio, who was already stirring.

  ‘Fuck Early Bird.’

  “Hypnosis and let’s get out of here,” I instructed Nautilus over the kid’s protests. I recalled Nova and booked it, Nautilus quickly joining my head to preserve stamina.

  “My egg!” the kid screamed.

  “Not yours! Now shut up, so it doesn’t go after us when it wakes up.”

  It didn’t take me long to catch up to Alex, so I grabbed him as well and ran with both slung over my shoulders. I ran without bothering to look back, not stopping until my left knee almost buckled. Dusk was settling in already, which meant we’d need to stop and rest anyway. I slowed down and put both on the ground, panting as I tried to control my breathing.

  “You see! You couldn’t even beat a Dodrio! How are you supposed to keep me safe?” Alex shouted, getting in my face.

  I pushed him back. “Don’t… Don’t get in my face, man.” I stood up fully, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly to reset myself.

  “You’re not strong enough to keep me safe. I’m going to submit a complaint to Professor Sycamore!”

  “First, Professor Sycamore asked me to take this job,” I said, shutting him up. “Second, you’re right. I’m not strong enough to beat the Dodrio, or another Pokémon that is strong like that. But I kept you safe. You aren’t injured, and the Dodrio didn’t come close to hurting you. So I’m doing my job perfectly well. You’re just being a bitch because you’re scared of being out here without a ‘strong Trainer.’”

  “You told me nothing would come after us. How do you explain the Dodrio?” he questioned as if he had a ‘gotcha’ moment.

  I turned to the kid. She was trying to sneak away. “That Dodrio wasn’t attacking us. It was going after her.”

  She froze and then made a run for it. Nautilus dashed in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, and herded her back.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The kid had an egg, which I’m guessing came from Dodrio’s nest,” I said, staring at her. She wore tattered and dirtied jeans, a dingy Tauros t-shirt, and her brown hair was muddy and matted down. I also noticed her skin was dirty and covered in minor scabs and scratches.

  “Like I said earlier, the only time things like this happen is when someone goes off-route and fucks up. So, I’d like to know why you were off the main path of Route 5 and stole an egg from a Dodrio.”

  “I don’t have to tell you anything!” she pouted.

  “Actually, as a Pokémon League Trainer and a Sycamore Labs Assistant on an active mission, you do,” I stated plainly. I looked at her tattered clothes again and sighed. “Look, I understand if you don’t trust me or Alex. Especially Alex-“

  “Hey!”

  “But I don’t want to throw you in jail or anything. I’m just upset we got attacked by the Dodrio. Besides, you’re at most, what? Nine years old? Why were you trying to steal a Pokémon egg alone?”

  The girl stared at her feet. “I’m eight,” she forced out. Her fists were curled so tightly that they were turning white. I took a deep breath and kneeled, unclipping Tetsu’s ball.

  “I think I was being too harsh. Let’s start over, okay?” I asked gently. I kept my voice calm and positive, smiling softly when she looked up at me. “My name is Marco, and I’m a Pokémon Trainer. Nautilus, the Inkay on my head, is my starter. We met after he saved me from a Woobat’s attack. Do you want to know why he saved me?”

  “Why?” she responded, her brows furrowed in suspicion.

  “Because he wanted to eat me. He didn’t want Woobat to steal his dinner.” I chuckled thinking back on that day. Nautilus squawked indignantly. “Oh, shut up. You know that’s the truth. In fact, I still think there are some days you want take a little nibble.”

  The girl laughed, her wary attitude easing. “What’s your name?” I repeated.

  “My name is… Lyla,” she said, her body tensing up again.

  “Thank you for sharing your name. Why did you come out to Route 5?”

  She looked down again, tears forming. “My… My mommy took me here yesterday. She said her boyfriend was going to have a really big picnic for us. He kept walking deeper into the forest, and when Mommy asked him why, he hit her. He took us to where a lot of people were waiting for us. Mommy told me to run, and so I did. I heard her scream, and then… And then…”

  She burst into tears, sobbing as she hugged me tightly. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay to cry and feel scared and sad. Just breathe. Just like this.”

  I took deep, slow breaths, exhaling just as slowly. I didn’t say anything else, just breathed in as a guide for her. It took several minutes, but she eventually stopped crying. “She stopped screaming, but only the people came to look for me. I didn’t know what to do, so I kept running and hiding. They kept finding me and said I was too weak to get away. That’s when I remembered Mommy always talking about how Daddy was such a strong Trainer before he died. I didn’t want to be weak anymore, so I took the egg when I saw it. I’m sorry. I just want Mommy back.”

  “It’s not your fault, Lyla,” I reassured her, pulling her back into a hug. “Those people did something bad, so we’re going to make sure they never do it again.

  “Oh yeah? Who’s going to stop us?”