A shaft of sunlight made its way through the flap in the tent and as the morning waned the thin line traveled across the pillow and right into the eyes of the trainer whose head was resting there.

       "Nooo…" She groaned, rolling onto her stomach and pulling the pillow over her head.

       "Gaach!" Gaiihl choked, finding that the shoulder he'd been sleeping on was now on top of him. "Crushing, crushing! You're crushing me!"

       Kenzie gave a grumble in reply and lifted her shoulder just enough for him to claw his way out and collapse on the sleeping bag before having to reach back under to pry his mask out.

       "Warn a man next time you do that." He huffed, polishing the mask with an elbow.

       "Soorrryy…" She yawned, face still under the pillow, "The sun… it's evil."

       "Huh?" He turned his gaze to the front of the tent and lifted the flap more to look out into the clearing.

       Wisps of smoke slowly rose from the ashes of the fire that had warmed them the last night and a small breeze crawled along the forest floor, flipping over a few crunchy leaves and sending others tumbling head over heels into the unknown as they wove through the large wooden trunks. He floated out of the tent and pressed his hand against the cool grass, drawing it back when he felt the cold wet dew against his palm. The trailing fabric of his scarf whipped up around him as he turned his gaze to the sky, such a wonderful day to be alive.

       "Come on." He said, making his way back into the tent and shoving the girl. "It's nearly eight, we need to move."

       "Fine." She grumbled, sitting up and letting the pillow flop to the side.

       Gaiihl's hands shot to his mouth as he tried to hold in his laughter. "Y-you look like…pffft, you look like a Sandslash."

       "Wha-?" She reached up and felt her hair, only to find it pointing out at every angle possibly known to man or Pokemon.

       She pulled her bag over to her and sorted through the supply balls, looking for her mirror. Once she found it and looked inside though, she couldn't help but to laugh as well. Her golden and blue locks made it look as if she were hugging a Static Mareep all night.

       "Okay, okay…" She said, brushing it out and putting it in a short ponytail. "You've had your fun now get out so I can change."

       "Yeah, no one wants to see that."

       "Hey!"

       Kenzie threw a pillow at him as he dodged and flew from the tent, looking back into through the entrance and grinning right before being crushed by the bag that went flying his way.

       "Pervert." She laughed, zipping up the front of the tent.

       "I was joking." He smirked, trying to pull himself out from under the backpack. For something made lighter by so many Supply Balls, it was still pretty heavy.

       Soon Kenzie emerged from the tent in a new brownish sweater and a peacoat of nearly the same shade. She had her own black scarf around her neck tucked into the coat and her dull green hat seated on her head. She grinned and picked the bag off of the Yamask who had decided to just wait for help to arrive, and slung it over her back before pointing the Supply Ball at the tent. A light blue beam of energy shot out and enveloped the object before drawing the energy back inside.

       "Can you put this in the bag for me?" She asked, tossing him the ball. "So, last night you said you went on your Pokemon journey, right? Did you ever get one?"

       "Of course I did. That's why it took me two years." He said, unzipping the bag and dropping the ball inside. "I traveled all across Unova looking for my partner and I found him after those years of searching."




       "Arceus! Oh please, someone help meee!" He shouted, feet pounding against the desert sand  and arms windmilling right before he was Headbutted over a sand dune and sent rolling down the hill and into a grassy oasis.

       "Darmaaaani!" The Darmanitan screeched, two others following as they approached the young man with his back flat on the ground.

       "Rapidash!" He shouted, "Rapidash, help!"

       He gulped, feeling fear rise in his throat as the brutish group of Pokemon gnashed their teeth as they approached. He'd been ambushed and knocked from the Rapidash  who had galloped off across the desert without him when these strange monsters suddenly attacked. He swore that they were stone statues a moment before, but those angry eyes boring into him definitely weren't stone.

       "My, my." Came a sing song voice from somewhere in the trees that made all of them look up. "You've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble, haven't you human?"

       "Who said that?!" He asked, back against the tree as he scrambled to his feet.

       "Wandering into Darmanitan territory? That's almost as stupid as wrestling a Krookodile!"

       "Okaaay, I get it." He said, putting on a desperate smile and talking through his teeth, "I'm an idiot, okay? Help? Please?"

       He tried to get a grip on the tree behind him and suddenly scrambled up the trunk as far as he could go, which was barely out of the reach of those red fiery monsters. He looked up, shaking his shaggy black hair from his eyes, attempting to climb further only to find his nose pressed against that of a dark purple-gray fox.

       "Hi!" It said, poofy tail wagging slightly.

       "Gaah!" He screamed, nearly losing his grip on the tree. "You talk! Y-you're a monster and you talk!"

       "Well duh." It said, giving a mischievous giggle. "I'm a Zorua."

       "A-a what? Are y-aaah!" He jerked his leg up, feeling one of the raging Darmanitan beneath brush up against him.

       "Hold on a second." Zorua said, "I'll take care of this."

       The stealthy little fox jumped down a little ways away from the three Darmanitan. They turned their gaze to it, deadly quiet as they decided it would be easier to attack than the human they had treed. Suddenly they all let out a cry and converged on the Zorua who, wearing a smirk, jumped into the air and flipped as a purple light surrounded it. The Darmanitan's snarling cries suddenly turned to whimpers as a large shadow loomed over them, one let out a yip and turned tail, scrambling back into the desert.

       "Your friend is smart." The Zorua, now Hydreigon growled, snorting in the lead Darmanitan's face.

       The two Darmanitan looked to each other, as if trying to decide whether they could take down the massive Pokemon or not before they nearly fell on their faces as the dragon's roar made them jump out of their fur. The Zorua giggled as it transformed back to normal, watching the retreating Pokemon kicking up dust as they ran back to the desert. The Zorua looked up into the tree as Gaiihl clung to the trunk, eyes wide as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

       "Well?" It asked, wagging its tail. "Are you coming?"

       "Of course not!" He shouted back, "Don't act like I didn't see that! You're just luring me in to eat me or something!"

       "Or something is right." It smirked, "You're looking for a monster, right? I've met a lot of humans that look like you. I know where you can find one."

       He squinted at the Zorua, having no brow to furrow as his people ritually shaved them.

       "I'm not looking for just any monster." He sniffed, sliding back to the ground and giving the fox a wary look.

       "I know that." It yawned, climbing onto his shoulder. "You humans are very picky about who you choose as your partner."

       "Of course, we're stuck with them for life." He said, crossing his arms disapprovingly.

       "I'm surprised you haven't tried to get that harness on me yet." Zorua said, poking his nose with a paw.

       He waved the fox's paw from his face, "Honestly, I'm not sure if I want to."

       "You know, I think I like you." The Zorua said, "Trust me, I know exactly what kind of monster you need."




       "…You didn't…" Kenzie said, giving the Yamask a look as if he were crazy.

       "I did." He winced inwardly just remembering it.

       "You stole an egg from a Haxorus?! That's like asking for a death wish!" She said, shoes padding along the dirt path that was slowly turning to gravel the closer they got to Accumula.

       "It all worked out in the end." He said dismissively, waving his hand as he perched on her shoulder. "True, my feet weren't quite the same after so much running but I made it out. And that darn Zorua kept hounding me no matter where I went. Though I have to say… it wasn't so bad. It got me into trouble nearly every day, but it helped me out just as much, like it was making up for it." He shook his head. "Anyway, the egg hatched and I used the chain to bond myself to the Axew inside and by the time our journey back to my village was finished, Khepesh was a fully grown Haxorus."

       "Hey, maybe you can help me train one then." She said, grinning. "We can add one to our team when we get the chance."

       He scowled. "I am not replacing Khepesh!"

       "I didn't say that we were replacing him…" She said softly, "Haxorus usually make powerful team members, I've kind of always wanted one… and they're easier to train than Hydreigon…"

       They walked in silence for a while, the forest clearing out wider and soon the town was visible in the distance, a city of stone and staircases.

       "I'm sorry I snapped." Gaiihl apologized, "I just… miss him is all. He wasn't sealed in with me, I had him escape before they dragged me in or they would have taken him too."

       "I understand." Kenzie said, looking over to the ghost.

       Gaiihl turned his eyes to the ground for a moment before looking back up at her and smacking the bill of her hat playfully. "Come on. Let's get to that town."