After a round through the city, everything went smoothly. And judging by the time, it was still quite a while before lunch.
Yuri hadn't replied to her messages yet. She was probably still recovering from the exhaustion of the past few days of camping. Now that she was officially a Trainer, she'd have to get used to life in the wild pretty often. Marie hoped she would adjust soon.
Putting away her phone, Marie packed the newly bought batch of berries into her backpack and headed toward the Motostoke city gate that led out toward the Wild Area.
A river separated the city from the gate that opened toward the Wild Area. Marie guessed it probably used to serve as a moat of sorts. The river started near Turffield, ran through Motostoke, and flowed eastward into the sea.
This side of the city wasn't very busy most people preferred to travel by train rather than heading directly into the Wild Area on foot.
Marie crossed the bridge, registered at the gate, then descended the long staircase leading back into the vast, familiar open fields.
She didn't go too far today, since they would be heading back to Motostoke in the afternoon. She stopped by the lake near where Milotic were known to live.
"Eichan, Baru, you two keep working on syncing up your moves. Watch each other and don't stray too far."
Marie only gave instructions to Eichan and Baru. As for Zuo and Yuu, those two little ones were better off under Baru's watch anyway he was more experienced than she was. And as for Silky…
"You're not going with them?" she asked, glancing down at the Ralts perched on her arm.
"Ral! (No need! I need to focus on my own training!)"
"Okay then. Focus on syncing Hypnosis and Teleport. Your goal for now is battlefield mobility. You're already decent with Confusion, so keep that in your basic drills. Don't worry about Fairy-type moves for now we'll get there step by step."
"Ral~ (Got it~)"
Silky was still young. Training hadn't become a dull routine yet, so she still needed Marie nearby to supervise, just in case anything went wrong.
"Careful when teleporting. Don't end up in the lake."
"Ral! (I won't!)"
This Ralts was a little girl, which meant she wouldn't evolve into Gallade. She was destined for the special attack path. If she could master the combination of Teleport and Hypnosis, it would be a great combo in early battles.
After all, Ralts wasn't exactly a powerhouse. Even if she had learned some decent moves, she wouldn't be able to use them well for a while. It was better to master what she already knew before jumping into anything new.
Marie had already asked Silky what moves she currently had. Aside from Confusion, her offensive options included only Fairy-type moves Draining Kiss and Disarming Voice.
All three were same-type moves, and generally, that was more than enough for her pre-evolution stage. Honestly, just getting a solid grip on them before evolving would already be a challenge, especially with Teleport added to the mix.
Marie watched as Silky blinked in and out of view beside her, occasionally ambushing passing Grass-type Pokémon with a Hypnosis sneak attack.
It was clear there was still a big delay between her moves. Her Teleport wasn't fast enough, and the flow into Hypnosis lacked fluidity. Still, she seemed pretty practiced with Hypnosis on its own Marie guessed she'd relied on it a lot while surviving in the wild.
They had discussed Marie's strategies before, and Silky had taken them to heart, training with serious determination.
She practiced within an area about the size of a small battlefield. After around half an hour, though, she was too tired to continue.
"Raluu…"
When Marie scooped her up, Silky looked dissatisfied with herself. She had just said she wanted to work hard, and yet she couldn't even last a full hour.
Marie set her gently on her lap, handed her two energy cubes, and began massaging her tiny body while soothing her with soft words.
"Don't be discouraged. Everyone starts here. Eat these and meditate a bit to recover your stamina."
"Ralu? (Really? Even Eichan?)"
Silky nibbled on the cube, curious.
"Of course. Back when Eichan was your age, she could barely manage Quick Attack without tumbling all over the place. She fell so many times, honestly, I think she might've been even worse off than you."
"Ralu? (Really?)"
"Totally. I've still got the old videos stored on my phone if you want to see them."
Marie had recorded those old training sessions at first for data analysis. She never deleted them, and they'd become a kind of archive.
She quickly found the earliest ones and pulled one up for Silky to see, pressing play.
Lying across Marie's lap, Silky quietly watched the recording. After she finished her tasteless energy cubes, she suddenly asked:
"Ralu? (Marie, why haven't you put me into a Poké Ball yet?)"
The question caught Marie off guard. She paused a moment to think before replying.
"Well... you're here because you like Eichan, right? I just happen to have time right now, so I'm looking after you a bit. No need to overthink it."
"Ralu! (Next time, I want to battle!)"
"Huh?"
"Ralu! (I want to show you that I can be your Pokémon too!)"
Marie found herself chuckling at the serious expression on Silky's face. She gently poked the little raised hand in front of her.
"You don't need to prove anything. If you want to join my team, I can put you in a Poké Ball right now. Even if you do become my Pokémon, I won't force you to do anything."
"Ralu! (No! I want to be just as strong as Eichan!)"
Silky had her own convictions. Eichan was amazing, and trying to catch up to her would be tough enough. And Marie was so kind and responsible, Silky didn't want to slack off, not even for a moment.
She'd already heard from Eichan that if she asked, Marie would never say no. Even if she didn't like battling, Marie wouldn't force her into it.
But Silky didn't want that. She didn't want to be some kind of team mascot just because she was cute.
That day, when she witnessed the Dynamax battle with her own eyes, something was planted deep inside her something fierce and uncertain. Could someone like her really stand beside them? Could she really become that strong?
She didn't have an answer. She couldn't even Teleport properly yet. And she didn't dare say out loud that she wanted to become Marie's Pokémon, Eichan's partner.
But when she heard Marie's gentle reassurance, that faint spark of doubt felt like it had grasped onto a lifeline. She wanted to give herself a chance.
The desire to battle wasn't just to prove herself to Marie it was a way to prove it to herself.
To prove that she was worthy of Marie's guidance.
To prove that maybe, just maybe, she could one day catch up to her beloved big sister, Eichan.