Twenty metres, straight down. Luckily, my Rotom Phone flies from my pocket and I catch onto it, slowing my fall and nding safely, brushing my skirt down as I watch the two doglike Pokémon flee, yiping and yelping the whole way as they leg it into a cave.

  Slowly, I approach the big, mysterious Pokémon, cautiously making sure it can see me. It lets out a feeble “Gurrr…” as I draw near, its yellow eyes half-closed. It looks quadrupedal, but I get the feeling it more prefers to be that way than bipedal. I kneel before it, rummaging in my bag, pulling out the sandwich my mom gave me. Maybe it’s hungry?

  Holding out the food, I hold my breath, as the creature slowly lifts its head. It lets out an almost pintive “Gia?”

  I smile and proffer the sandwich. It sniffs at it, before taking the whole thing in a single bite. “Gomp! Nom! Gom! Nom!”

  A few moments ter, the creature rises onto all fours, shaking itself. “Agias!”

  I smile, and the creature’s gaze slides from me to the cave behind me. It begins to lope forwards, tail flicking. At the entrance to the cave, it pauses, before crying out. “Ah-GIIIAAAS!” a brilliant amber light bursts from the being, as it rears, standing tall on two legs, the plumage on its head and the base of its tail, letting out another cry. I can swear it even clenches a fist.

  It looks back at me over its shoulder, and seems to indicate I should follow. Without much choice, I let out the breath I’d been holding, and start following it as it heads into the cave. It’s dark, and I’m gd for this big scaly friend.

  Glowing patches of moss coat the walls, and, as I look about, still following the unidentified Pokémon, I hear a voice, echoing from above. “Oyeee! Carmina!”

  I look up, and, far above, I see a tiny figure. Nemona! Oh thank Arceus!

  She calls down to me. “There you are, Carmina! You OK?! You’re not hurt, right?”

  I wave back, calling, “I’m fine! My Rotom Phone saved me from a nasty fall, and I think I can get to you if I go through here!”

  I can almost hear Nemona’s sigh echoing. “Thank goodness. I was really worried! If you’d gotten hurt because I said we should go looking for whatever made that cry… No! Never mind that! Right now, we’ve gotta focus on getting you back up here! If you can get close enough, I’ll try pulling you up with one of my Pokémon’s moves!”

  As I start following the strange creature, I hear Nemona call, “hey, what’s that Pokémon in front of you?! It looks SUPER strong! It seems like you’re following it, is it friendly?”

  As I hike through the cave, the way is blocked by a boulder, wedged firmly into the passage. With a single blow, the Pokémon shatters it to gravel, sweeping the rubble aside with its tail. I gulp, then keep following. Friendly? After that dispy, I bloody well hope so, or I’m in trouble…

  Behind the boulder, a group of the small doglike Pokémon from earlier flee deeper, apparently having been lying in wait for us. Nemona cries out, “Whoa! That was amazing! That Pokémon might be as strong as mine! Maybe stronger!”

  There are a few different species of wild Pokémon living in this cave, but the presence of my guardian is enough to deter them. As we proceed, a pack of maybe a dozen or more of the little dogs barrel towards us, barking and yapping. My protector doesn’t seem impressed, however, and sends them packing with a roar.

  Nemona calls, “Heads-up, by the way! Some pretty aggressive Houndour live in this cave! I’m gd you’ve got your bodyguard, but watch your back just in case! They’re strong!”

  I gulp, feeling gd that I’m not alone here. Another boulder blocks the path, and again, it doesn’t survive a blow from my new, sandwich-eating friend. Nemona’s voice holds a hint of awe as she shouts, “oh my gosh, it straight-up pulverized that rock! How powerful even IS it?! I wonder what that move was. Man, I wanna see it up close!”

  As the pair of us proceed towards an upper area of the cave, Nemona’s voice comes again, thick with panic. “Carmina, look out! Something’s coming!”

  I turn as Nemona shrieks, “Behind you! It’s behind you!”

  A massive canine beast, with huge horns, a sort of bony armour, and an arrowheaded tail approaches. My Pokédex bels it as a Houndoom, and I wince. It’s so strong! There’s no WAY I can beat it! Even my Pokémon are clearly unwilling to tangle with it! As it roars, my Fuecoco falls over, and somehow returns to its Pokéball without my help.

  Ah, crap! Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! What do I do, what do I do?!”

  As I back up, I hear yipping and barking from behind. I guess my friend is busy with its own problems…

  Suddenly, the mystery Pokémon leaps between me and the Houndoom, spinning and shing out with its tail, knocking the Houndoom back. The two bellow at each other, and more baby Houndoom swarm in. so many! I’m screwed! Three of them surround me, nipping and snapping at me, and I can’t send out Fuecoco! The next thing I know, I’m draped over a scaly red arm, and flying through the air. Above us, Nemona calls, waving and jumping. “Heeeeeey! Up here! Quick!”

  The Pokémon carrying me bounds up, and I feel Nemona’s hands on my shoulders as she helps me down from my defender’s arm. As soon as I’m firmly on the ground again, I find myself in Nemona’s arms as she hugs me without thinking. “Way to go! For a second, I thought you were both goners!”

  The mysterious Pokémon starts moving out into the sunlight, heading for… the lighthouse? Of course, we must have been underneath it! All at once, the energy of its powered-up form seems to leave it, and it colpses on the grass.

  Nemona releases me, as if realising that she’s hugging me close to her. With a faint flush of pink on her dusky cheeks, she rushes towards the fallen Pokémon. “Whoa! What’s wrong?! Maybe it used up all its power? What IS this Pokémon, anyway? It kinda looks like a Cyclizar, but I’ve never seen one quite like this before… and now it looks so different from a minute ago. You think it’s OK?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know… I really hope so.”

  Nemona shrugs. “Well, all that aside, I’m seriously gd to have you back up here in one piece! You know… that battle down there was really something. You and this fel looked perfectly in sync facing down that Houndoom!”

  I shake my head. “That wasn’t me. It… did that on its own.”

  Nemona’s eyes widen and she raises a hand to her mouth. “What?! You didn’t even tell it what to do?”

  I nod. “It’s not like I’m this Pokémon’s Trainer or anything, after all…”

  The mysterious Pokémon rises onto all fours, chirruping. I smile and let out a sigh of relief.

  Nemona whoops, “Oh good! Looks like it perked up a little! Do you think this fel was the one making the mysterious cry we heard before?”

  The Pokémon shakes its head, crooning, “Giaos…”

  Nemona grins, and I can sense energy fizzing off of her. “Oh man, oh man, oh man! The more I look at this Pokémon, the more mysterious it seems! If you DO become its Trainer, you gotta let me battle against it! Let’s exchange numbers so we can get in touch if we somehow get separated again!”

  Her Rotom Phone flies out of her bag, and mine mimics the action. Her Phone chimes, and mine lights up, a number fshing onto the screen. Then, both fly back to their positions in my pocket and Nemona’s bag.

  “For now, you’ve both been through enough, let’s just get to the lighthouse- that’ll be a good spot to rex for a minute.”

  I nod, reaching out and pcing a hand on the creature’s back. “Thank you for protecting me!”

  “Giaos!”

  Hopping down, I start heading towards the lighthouse, letting the tension roll out of me. I’d been way more scared than I’d let on even to myself.

  Upon reaching the base of the lighthouse, someone is standing there, scowling at the three of us. “Why, that little…”

  He sprints over and starts yelling at the strange Pokémon. “What do you think you’re doing out here?!”

  As Nemona and I blink, he turns his head slightly. “I’m not talking to you two. You can shove off.”

  Nemona’s face gets a little more serious. “Wait, I know you… Aren’t you Arven? You’re enrolled in the Humanities track, right? And aren’t you the son of that Pokémon researcher- Professor Sada?”

  Scowling, the young man turns to her. “It doesn’t matter who my mom is! The real issue is what in the world this Pokémon is doing out here! And what is with this form it’s in?!”

  I expin. “I met it at the bottom of this cliff…” I point down towards where’d I’d fallen in. Nemona adds, “See, we heard this strange cry, and we tried to investigate, but Carmina here fell off a cliff… that Pokémon saved her, but it seems like it wore itself out in the process. It got kinda…slumpy afterward. But you shoulda seen it before! It looked totally different-it was unbelievably strong!”

  Arven turns back to the Pokémon. “Well, yeah. As it should be. But it can’t fight while it’s like this. The form Koraidon takes in battle… That’s its true form.”

  Nemona perks up. “Koraidon? Is that this Pokémon’s name? How’d you know it?”

  Koraidon looks towards a door in the lighthouse’s base. “Agiagias!”

  Arven shakes his head. “You can’t go in the b. It’s locked. And as for you!”

  He rounds on me. “I don’t remember ever seeing you around. But given the uniform… you go to the academy too, do you?”

  I nod. “It’s my first day today.”

  Arven crosses his arms. “Koraidon isn’t the sort of Pokémon that any old Trainer can hope to command. It’s special.”

  Nemona’s eyes sparkle. “Special how? What sort of Pokémon is it?”

  Arven ignores her, focussed on me. “…. You think you’re up to ordering Koraidon around? Then how ‘bout I test your worthiness?”

  I swallow, looking at him. He could be a tough Trainer, but… I’ve been through some difficult events in my life. I can do this!

  “Ok! I’ll take your test!”

  Arven cracks a smile. “Heh! Well, look at you! Quite the little go-getter! I’ve been feeling all out of sorts, so I’m gonna use this battle to bst these doldrums away!”

  Arven produces a Pokéball, and I draw out my own. “Go, Fuecoco!”

  “Get ’em, Skwovet!”

  I prepare, unleashing an Ember, taking advantage of Fuecoco’s natural Fire typing. It manages to knock Skwovet out with a single bst, and I cheer. “Whoo! Go, Fuecoco! You’re the best!”

  Arven recalls his Skwovet, and I feel a little bad for winning. He doesn’t seem so miffed, though. “Seems you know a thing or two about battling.”

  Nemona csps her hands over her chest, grinning from ear to ear. “Wow, Carmina! That was awesome!”

  Arven shrugs, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I guess I wasn’t ever going to stand a chance using some Pokémon I’d only just caught… But if you really think you can take Koraidon off my hands for me… you’ll need this. It’s the Pokéball that brute’s been kept in.”

  He hands me Koraidon’s ball, and I make sure to keep it separate from Fuecoco’s. I don’t wanna get them mixed up. Nemona questions, “So why’d YOU have it?”

  Arven ignores her again. “Anyway, that thing’s your problem now, not mine. Good luck.” He sprints off. Nemona shrugs. “What a weirdo…”

  Koraidon scampers over, and I use its ball to catch it. “Get some rest, Koraidon, you’ve earned it. Thank you again!”

  Nemona crosses her arms. “That Arven guy definitely knows more than he’s letting on. Next time, he and I are battling! I’m gonna wring some answers outta him! But, oh, right- we gotta climb the lighthouse! Can’t wait to show you the view of our school!”

  As she sprints away, I follow her up the dder to the lighthouse’s top. Joining Nemona at the railing, I look out. She points. “Look, Carmina! That town there is Mesagoza! And that huge building with the Pokéball on it is our school! It’s gonna be so great having you in the same css, Carmina!”

  I smile at her. “I’m looking forward to it!”

  “Right? I can’t wait to get back! We’re gonna get to learn so much… And battle so, so, SO much! Isn’t it awesome what you can see from up here?”

  Nemona gestures at the expanse of grassnds and rolling mountain foothills sprawling out below us.

  “Mountains! Forests! Grassnds! Beautiful nature stuff, as far as the eye can see! And you know what’s waiting for you all over these natural spaces? Tons of Pokémon!”

  Nemona turns, and gives me another hug. “Consider this me officially telling you: welcome to Paldea!”

  She releases me. “But anyway, like you can see, it’s kind of a hike to get to school from here. Let’s make it to Los Ptos for starters.”

  She points at a small vilge not too far away.

  “That’s right on the way! Vamos! C’mon!”

  I smile, taking another lingering look out over the region I now call my home, before following Nemona as she sprints off.

  On my way towards Los Ptos, I decide to find the next member of my team. With a little poking around and battling some Psyducks, a lot of Fletchlings, and a couple of Hoppip, I settle on a Ralts, a cute little gnome-looking Pokémon!

  The next hour or so is filled with training, as I alternate between strengthening my bond with Fuecoco, and making friends with my new Ralts. A couple of kids in Naranja Academy uniforms challenge me, and I stomp them, thanks to my dear Pokémon and their growing power.

  A quick stop at Los Ptos’ Pokémon Centre to heal up the beginnings of my team, and I make my way up through the hills, battling another three Trainers in order to crest the top of the rise. There’s another Pokémon Centre, and I make use of the free services, before turning to the massive gates that lead into the city of Mesagoza. The moment I step towards it, I hear a familiar voice.

  “Oyeee, Carmina!”

  I turn, smiling, to see my uppercssman. “Hello, Nemona.”

  “Didja battle some Trainers on the hill? Bet your Pokémon are getting stronger! How about you show me how much you’ve learned… in a battle?”

  I can already tell this is going to be a regur thing. “Sure thing!”

  “Alright! Nothing like having a friend around! Come on, Carmina! Let’s have us a fruitful battle!”

  Nemona and I take up positions, and send out our first Pokémon. She sends out Sprigatito, and I let Ralts out to py. The first move goes to Sprigatito, with a Tail Whip, and I counter with Psybeam, Ralts firing a bst of rainbow-coloured energy that confuses and sends Sprigatito back a few paces. A Scratch deals nasty damage to my poor Ralts, but her Disarming Voice attack causes just as much in retaliation. With another Disarming Voice, Sprigatito goes down, and I switch out Ralts for Fuecoco. My little Raltsy can’t withstand another hit!

  My derpy little croc goes in as Nemona sends out a Pawmi, a small rodent with fluffy orange fur. Nemona sighs blissfully.

  “Wow, doing even better than I expected! You’re legit, Carmina!”

  I take a moment to prepare myself, before giving a command. “Fuecoco, use Incinerate!”

  However, Nemona grins. “Battling you is a real bst! I think I better pull out my ace in the hole!”

  She pulls out something that looks like a Pokéball, made of a dark, smoky gss, filled with swirling light. It starts shaking in her grip and she steadies her right arm with her left, before throwing it at her Pawmi. Light greyish crystals sprout instantly from the ground before shattering into motes of light, revealing that Nemona’s Pawmi is now… made of crystal, like those ornaments that old people seem to love collecting, with a crystalline lightbulb on its head. A lightning bolt is floating inside the bulb.

  I blink. “What... the… flip?”

  Nemona nods. “Terastallizing is always a solid strategy! It gives moves of the Pokémon’s Tera type more power!”

  The newly powered-up Pawmi fires off a boosted Thunder Shock, but Fuecoco struggles through it, Incinerate doing enough damage to one-hit knock-out Nemona’s second and final Pokémon. With a blissed-out expression on her face, she dreamily says, “Man, I can’t believe how fast you’re improving!”

  After healing up our teams at the nearby Pokémon Centre, Nemona smiles. “Amazing! Look at you, taking on a Terastallized opponent and winning, no problem! Come to think of it… You can’t Terastallize your Pokémon yet, huh? Don’t worry- I’ll get you taken care of! You’re so good with Pokémon battles, I forget how new you are to this stuff sometimes! Anyway, it was fun to battle you! Here, have some Revives as thanks!”

  Nemona hands over three Revives, medicines that can restore a fainted Pokémon to battling condition, and I slip them into my bag. “Thanks, Nemona.”

  “You’re welcome! Now, Mesagoza’s waiting just past this gate! At st, the city where our school is! There’s a ton of hills and stairs and stuff in the city, so I’m gonna take a quick breather and then catch up with you soon!”

  Nemona and I step into the city, and I sigh. It’s beautiful! Parks and shops, pzas and fountains… I think I’m going to like it here!

  “Alright, here we are! We finally made it, huh?” Nemona ughs. “This is Mesagoza! The biggest city in Paldea! It’s been a big trade hub since a long time ago. Lots of folks come here to learn about advances in technology and all kinds of other stuff. There’s a hair salon where you can change your look, plus pces with tasty food and fixings… what do you want to see first, Carmina?”

  I bite my lip. I’d missed breakfast, and my lunch ended up inside Koraidon’s tummy, so I’m kinda famished. “I think food would be a good start…”

  Nemona giggles. “Hah! I didn’t have you pegged for a big eater!”

  I blush a little and look away. “Hey, I haven’t eaten today, give me a break!”

  The older girl pauses. “Ah. Well, eating’s a smart idea. You can’t battle well on a growling tummy, right?”

  I swear, this girl’s got a one-track mind!

  “Oh, and speaking of battling…”

  I knew it!

  “I wanna be sure you’ll be able to Terastallize your Pokémon too, Carmina! There’s a few things that gotta get done for that to happen, but I’ll take care of ‘em! Meanwhile, you just have fun looking around the city for a bit! There’s so much to do- grab a bite, buy some accessories to spice up your uniform… If you want my personal recommendation, you’ve gotta see Delibird Presents! They sell handy items for Pokémon to hold. Once you’ve seen your fill, we can meet up in front of the school! Just… be ready. The stairs up to school are no joke.”

  Nemona starts jogging backwards, waving to me. “Later, then! Get pumped for some Terastallizing!"

  She spins and begins running off towards the school. I look around, debating on where I should get lunch. After a few minutes, I set my sights on the Go-For-Broke Grill. Everything on the menu looks sooooo good! Pael de Paldea, Potato Tortil, Kwf al Ajillo… I make my choice and order the Escalivada, a set of roasted vegetables drizzled in a sweet and tangy sauce.

  After a good meal, I make sure my Pokémon are fed, too. It’s not fair that they have to be stuck in their Pokéballs all day! Then, I spend a little time exploring the shops, before heading towards the stairs up to the school.

  On the first nding, I run into something happening. A cute, bespectacled young woman, around my age if I had to guess, with two-tone hair, a mix of dark red and powder blue, wearing a baggy grey sweater, a filmy skirt over tights, big stompy boots, and with a Gigantamax Eeevee backpack, is being accosted by two people, one girl and one boy, in… well… REALLY stupid outfits.

  They’re both wearing scooter helmets decorated with stars, incorrectly-fixed uniform shirts, ties that look like they were done up by an enraged Mankey, and the girl is wearing shorts that are waaay too short for the dress code.

  The girl is demanding something of the first one, the Eeevee-backpack girl.

  “Don’t you get it?! If you join Team Star, you can shine as bright as anybody!”

  The gsses girl looks utterly paralytic. “… … …”

  The guy adds, “Seriously, what’s with you? Don’t you wanna burn bright with awesome friends like us?”

  The gsses-girl looks away. “… not really.”

  The short-shorts Team Star girl huffs. “Look- we’ve got a quota we’re supposed to fill for new members, so just sign up already!”

  The first girl lifts her head. “Um… I’d rather not…”

  This is painful to watch. I run forwards, standing next to the girl with the Eevee bag. The Team Star guy perks up. “Huh? You want in on this, too? If you’re here to sign up, we’ll get to you next! We’ve nearly got this one in the bag!”

  The girl next to him smirks. “We’re Team Star, kid. We burn so bright, it hurts to look at us! But you knew that, right?”

  I shake my head. “Never heard of it.”

  The girl begins filing around in frustration.

  “Ugh, another ignorant little nobody…Here I’m finally part of Team Star, and I still get no respect? I gotta work my way up the ranks…”

  Her compadre adds, “We can’t just let something like this slide! The honour of our team’s on the line, so we’ve got no real choice but to battle, yeah?”

  Now this is where I can show off a little.

  The Team Star girl nods. “That’s true! You keep watch on that little four-eyes over there! I’LL make sure this fresh-faced nobody ends up seeing stars!”

  I roll my eyes. “Wow, and I thought the Gar region had me school bullies. I’ll put you ft on your ass, Queenie McHelmet! Then I’ll ftten your boyfriend!”

  “He’s NOT my boyfriend!” she snaps, before making a star-shape with her hands and sending out a Pokémon that looks like a half-melted vacuum-cleaner. I send my Ralts out.

  “Psybeam!”

  The Star girl’s Pokémon keels over, instantly knocked out.

  The Team Star girl grabs her helmeted head in frustration. “How come I’M the one seeing stars?!”

  Straightening up, she gres at me. “Urk, why’s a nobody like YOU so good at battling, anyway? That’s just not right…”

  Her not-boyfriend flinches. “No way, she beat you?! Does that mean I gotta battle this kid now since I’m higher up Team Star’s ranks?!”

  The sound of footsteps comes from up the stairs, and a very familiar voice rings out. “Pero bueno! What do you think you’re doing?!”

  The Star girl groans. “Ugh! It’s that student council dweeb!”

  Her partner-in-crime adds, “She’s gonna report us if we don’t book it…”

  Saved! Nemona’s here! I turn to her, ready to expin-

  “I can’t believe you, Carmina!”

  Wait. What?

  Nemona frowns. “You don’t have to go find randos to battle! You’ll have all the battles you’ll ever need… with me!”

  What- I-how-I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS WOMAN!

  I point. “It was those ‘Team Star’ punks. They were picking on this girl so I stepped in. they were trying to strong-arm her into joining their dumb club!”

  Nemona gasps. “Wait- THEY picked a fight with YOU? Wow, I read that way wrong! Sorry!”

  She turns to gre at the pair of miscreants. “I get it now. You two have got Team Star written all over you for sure! I bet you really WERE trying to pressure people into signing up again, weren’t you?”

  The guy coughs. “Ah, hi. We weren’t… NOT doing that.”

  Student-Council-President Mode Nemona turns back to me. “Well, you were right. As head of the student council, stopping this type of nonsense would normally be MY job… But this is also the perfect chance for you to try my amazing and ultra-rare gift to you!”

  She hands me one of those weird gssy, sparkle-filled Pokéballs she used in our st fight. Mine has blue sparkles in it instead of purple. Why couldn’t they be PINK sparkles…?

  Nemona continues, “With this Tera Orb, you can Terastallize your Pokémon during battle! Let’s see… After it Terastallizes, I’m pretty sure your Ralts will beee… a Psychic Type! Normally you’ve gotta take special csses to be able to get one of these Tera Orbs, but I put in a good word for you! Now! Time to give it a whirl! You’ll learn to use it faster in battle than if I just expin it to you!”

  The Team Star guy looks petrified. “Wait, what? You want this kid to practice whaling on us with her Tera Pokémon?!”

  Nemona gets a scary look on her face. “Got a problem with that? You wanna battle ME instead?”

  The Star guy recoils. “Hnnng… Never mind! I’ll take my chances with the new kid!”

  Nemona raises a hand. “Then take your pces, and… battle!”

  The Team Star guy makes the same gesture of a star as his female counterpart, and sets his Yungoos on me, the angry weasel snarling and gnashing its sharp teeth. My Ralts takes her position.

  I smirk at my opponent-no, victim seems more appropriate- and raise the Tera Orb I’d been given. “Ralts! Terastallize, and use Psybeam!”

  I hurl the Tera Orb forth, and radiant energy cascades from the globe, shrouding my Ralts. When the lightshow fades, she looks like she’s made of crystal, with a huge third-eye ornament on her head. Her Psybeam seems way more powerful, and the Yungoos crumples without even a chance to move.

  “And you’re down and out!” I decre, hands on my hips.