It was early in the morning when I returned to the sturdy tree, where Morgan and I met. We had agreed to meet early in order to plan out our journey to Sandgem Town. She was already there, sitting calmly in the shade. As soon as Pan spotted me, she ran over, yelling out ‘Pan! Pan!’ excitedly.

  ‘Swing.’ Art greeted, waving with its sash, it still clutched its sheath. Pan leapt up excitedly, eager to play with the sword, I let them run off to do what they wanted. I made my way over to Morgan to share what had happened with my parents the night before. It took some time to relay everything.

  “Art, huh?” Morgan softly chuckles, she seemed to like the nickname my mom had come up with. “I think it fits him.” Him? Right. He shared a name with a king now. It would be disrespectful to refer to him as it.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Morgan asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling with that familiar shine. It was comforting to see that she hadn’t been too affected of the events the night before. Or maybe she was just good at hiding it.

  I’d taken my time, using our family’s only computer, on researching the way to Sandgem. “It should be easy enough.” I replied. “Sandgem’s a week’s walk from Twinleaf, we just need to stick to Route 201.” I also mentioned the wild Pokémon we’d likely encounter, but with Pan and Art to protect us, we’d be just fine.

  Speaking of Art, I realized that I needed to find out what moves he knew. Without a Pokédex, I couldn’t be completely sure without asking him.

  “Art! Come here, buddy!” I shouted out, hoping to catch his attention. Maybe I could teach him a hidden signal, something only the two of us would understand. It would definitely be handy in the battles to come. I shook my head, I was already theory crafting.

  Art floated back, with Pan trailing closely behind. He looked at me, curiosity shining in his gem, waiting for what I had to say.

  “Hey buddy.” I greeted sheepishly. “I kind of put this off, but I need to learn what you can do.” He stared at me, a flicker of confusion shines his eye. “We’d be battling wild Pokémon and possibly trainers, and without a Pokédex, I won’t know what moves you know.” I explained.

  Art tilts himself, as if he was nodding and hovered a safe distance away, stopping at a nearby tree.

  ‘Swing.’ He swung himself at the bark, creating quite an impressive indent, I egged him to continue. ‘Swing. Swing. Swing.’ He swung continuously, His attacks were getting stronger and more precise. I stopped him just in time. Anymore and he would have split the tree in half.

  “Good Job, Art!” Morgan yelled out from the shade, she and Pan were clapping, seemingly impressed with Art’s display. Said sword was huffing in pride.

  With my stock knowledge of Pokémon moves from Trainer School, I figured that had to be ‘Fury Cutter’. A move that grows stronger with each consecutive hit, but loses all momentum when you miss.

  “Alright, that was good.” I praised art a little. “What more can you do?” Art brings his sash close to his gem, it mirrored the way I rested my chin on my hand when I was deep in thought. He then drifted to Morgan under the shade and slowly descended, disappearing into the shadows. Art reemerged from the shade of the tree he’d nearly cut down. I encouraged him to keep going, eager to see what other moves he had up his sleeve.

  ‘Shwing.’ In a burst of speed, Art zipped from one tree to the next, slicing cleanly at the bark. The first was most likely Shadow Sneak, the move would be used to travel through shadows. And next was Aerial Ace, perhaps, a quick, decisive strike, a move that was unable to miss.

  ‘Swing!.’ Out of nowhere, Art began drawing in darkness from around him, coating his blade from tip to hilt in a shadowy aura, before slicing at the wind, sending out a crescent of darkness, cleanly slicing through the tree he had hit with Aerial Ace in half. ‘Night Slash.’ Art’s arsenal was beyond what I had expected.

  “Impressive partner ya got there.” Morgan said, stepping up next to me. Pan dashed to Art, showering him with praise every step of the way.

  “I need to moderate his attacks.” Art is undeniably powerful, but I didn’t want to accidentally kill another trainer’s Pokémon. Morgan nodded, likely thinking the same thing. “Nothing a little training can’t fix.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Wanna battle?” She asked, I look at her incredulously. “Oh, come on. Don’t give me that look, Pan’s a tough girl, she can take it.” I hesitantly nod. This could be a good learning experience for the both of us.

  We called our partners back to us and explained that we were going to have a mock battle. I asked Art to listen to my commands, and to hold back his attacks, just enough to avoid seriously hurting Pan, instructing him to use his blunt side. He seemed to understand.

  We walked a few feet away from Morgan and Pan, giving them space. The water monkey crouched low, slipping into a ready battle stance. “On the count of three.” Morgan shouted. “One-Two- Pan! Water Gun.” She yells out. Pan sprang into action, firing a straight, focused beam of water from her mouth.

  I should have expected that. “Dodge.” I call out, Art narrowly dodges. “To the shadows.” I added quickly, Art descends into the shadows swiftly. I needed time to figure out a strategy with the limited knowledge I had.

  “That’s cheating!” Morgan yells out. “Stay vigilant, darling.” She warns.

  “Strike now.” I yell out, Art sprang up from Pan’s shadow, striking her with the blunt side of his blade. The simian flipped through the air from the impact. ‘Swing.’

  “Cushion your fall with water.” Morgan commands. Pan flips and uses a burst of water to stop her fall. “Finger guns!” Morgan happily yells.

  ‘Pour.’ Pan darted around Art, nimble and quick, paws up like mock finger guns, a mischievous grin on her face. Two beams of water were released from her hands. I had to suppress a grin, She looked like she was in an action movie.

  “Shadows again.” I hastily commanded. A jet of water grazes him mid-move, pushing him back slightly, slipping into the shadows before Pan could follow up. “Come here, buddy” Art reemerges from my shadow.

  Morgan laughs in excitement. “This is just too much fun.” I agreed in my head. “Quick Attack!” Pan’s form gets enveloped in a white light, She runs up to Art, her stride was clearly faster. ‘Pan!’

  “Let her come.” I instructed calmly. “Furry Cutter if she makes contact.” Art nods, readying for impact. Then, they collided, sparks erupted from the clash of their forces. ‘Swing.’ Art lashes out a flurry of strikes at Pan.

  “Furry Swipes to counter.” Morgan yells. ‘Pour!’ Pan swiftly summoned white energy, using it to form claws. She meets Art’s flurry head on, attempting to parry each attack, while simultaneously dishing out her own.

  ‘Swing!’ Art pressed on the offensive. Fury Cutter’s momentum was kicking in. With every successful hit fueling the next, until a decisive blow launches Pan back to their side of the field.

  “We give.” Morgan announces, raising her arm up in surrender. Pan tried to protest, but her trainer just smiles and calms her partner down. “Good battle.” She says as she happily skips to my side.

  “Yeah, it was.” I raise my hand up, offering a handshake, one she swiftly accepts.

  “Guess we still have a lot to learn.” Morgan sighs. She might have been frustrated by the loss, but she continued to smile.

  “I have a lot to learn, too.” I quipped. She just laughs and sits down, Pan leaping to her trainer’s lap. Art hovered closer to me, clearly pleased with the win and eager for praise. “Good job, buddy.” He gave a little hop midair, and for a moment, his gem almost looked like it was smiling.

  I sat down next to Morgan. Even though we hadn’t been the ones battling, the tension and excitement had left us drained all the same. We talked about mundane things as we gaze at the view of early morning Twinleaf before us. The Miltank, Wooloo, and Lechonk were going about their days, with their Herdier protectors close. It was coming up to noon when-

  “When are we leavin’?” Morgan asks out of nowhere. But I couldn’t fault her, I was skirting away from the journey talk whenever it would come up.

  I had to give her an answer. “Two days from now.”

  “We need to prepare the necessary equipment.” I explained, Morgan nodded, but didn’t say anything, she was just waiting. “And… uh,” I continued, hesitating, “I want to stay with my family a little longer. You know… before we head out for who knows how long.”

  “Of course, Tristan,” she said, smiling that warm, familiar smile. “I’d never take that time away from you.”

  I couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Thank you, Morgan.”

  I felt a warmth spread through me, it was comforting to have someone like her accompanying me on our journey. There was something about knowing we’d be in this together that made everything feel a little more manageable. The uncertainty of what lay ahead, the challenges we’d face… things I would have originally feared, it didn’t seem daunting now. We needed to be brave. I reminded myself that Cyrus and his men were out there doing Arceus knows what. But deep down, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace, knowing that Morgan would be right beside me, and to thank her I would be there for her, just as she would be there for me.

  The first battle of this story! And also a brief disclaimer: I will be giving Pokémon moves that normally they wouldn’t be able to learn in base game, but just makes sense for them. Case in point, Quick Attack for Pan, why wouldn’t Panpour know Quick Attack? Frankly, It would just give me more avenues for creativity and would help tremendously with the limited move pool of certain Pokémon. I hope this isn’t that big of an issue to any of you. Leave a comment, suggestions or review, all of it is much greatly appreciated.