The lakeside breeze tickled my nose as we stood by the docks. The boats bobbed with the waves, softer here than in Sonata Bay, where they would crash into cliffs and the spray could reach the bold child watching from the edge. No, here the water was still, and the ships relaxed in the water’s caress.

  Our farewell was an awkward one, not least because it was hard to feel positively towards the trio. Clair, Sarah, and Rebecca were ending their journey here. They were getting a boat back to Nocturne and moving on with their lives, wherever it would take them. As I said, it was hard to feel positive towards them, but it would be dishonest to say there were many hard feelings left either. We had been through the Greenforest together. There was a kind of kinship in survival that was new and strange to me. They weren’t as brash as they had been the first time I met them; that too counted for something. Possibly, though it didn’t click at the time, I’d cooled a little too, and some of the more trivial words or mannerisms they were prone to using didn’t upset me as much. Whatever the case, they were going home, and we were heading to Silverwind Village, and only Luca was upset at their parting. She hugged each in turn, the tensions I’d previously observed between them meaningless.

  Their waterbus arrived first. A catamaran, white, with a horizontal blue stripe traversing the twin hulls, docked on the pier. They showed their tickets to the ticket officer and they were gone.

  We didn’t have to wait long for our waterbus to arrive. If there was one thing in Silín that was on schedule, it was the waterbuses. TransAqua was one of the most recognisable brands for a reason. Or three: Punctuality, Reliability, and Comfort, as their slogan said. They held a monopoly on public transport, and, if what Jade was saying was true, they were a significant reason why land routes were as undeveloped as they were. I was getting tired of so many things going on where I couldn’t see them, and the boats were comfortable, and more importantly, convenient. Dodging reporters in Wavecrest – who had somehow, already gotten wind of the whole Greenforest debacle before any official announcement by whoever did those things had been put out – was already tiring enough; I didn’t need more ethical or political dilemmas to frustrate me. So I pushed the whole thing out of mind and went with Darren and Luca to the battleground on the platform between the hulls. TransAqua catered to trainers, and provided battles didn’t get out of hand, they were allowed to have matches during the trip. It doubled as entertainment for other passengers too.

  A sound like thunder burst as we approached the arena, followed by a cheer that rose above the growl of the boat's engines. I pushed through the crowd to see a Buizel standing triumphant, and a Staryu knocked out. Judging by the sounds, it must have been hit by Sonic Boom, a move commonly used by Buizels. The trainers shook hands, and the one with Staryu took it for healing.

  “Alright, who’s next?” cried out the victor.

  “How about a double battle?” I answered, moving opposite to him. He was a young, though likely a few years older than me, but if I was getting any good at judging people, I believed him to be new to training. Something about the way he carried himself felt lacking in comparison to people like Ducky or Baltazar. Or maybe it was the reputation of waterbus battles being things for newbies and weak trainers to participate that assured me he was not likely to be too much above my level.

  “I’m up for that, Buizel, return. I’m Tony, good luck.”

  “Same to you. I’m Calla,” I said.

  “Comfey, you’re up,” I whispered to my necklace. The more I understood Comfey, the more finicky she seemed. I had the insight to discover that it wasn’t that she didn’t like battling, it was that she didn’t enjoy personally hurting others. The distinction gave me some ideas for how she could participate in battles, even if it was always going to be a challenge, I didn’t think it would be impossible. As a trial, I wanted to use her in double battles.

  She wasn’t the only one being tested either. Palming Junior’s pokeball, I sent her out onto the pitch. Comfey settled like a crown on top of her. Junior had recognised me as being her trainer. I was still unsure why, precisely, but she had, and I had learned to accept that in the Greenforest. It didn’t mean she was any easier to control, and if we barely managed when we were on our own training, battling in front of an audience was a different story. I knew her well enough to know she would go on a rampage, forgetting any thoughts of strategy in the heat of the battle. Comfey would help with that.

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

  A collective gasp was let out by the spectators when Junior landed on the pitch. Her species had a reputation. Our opponent sent out a Croagunk and a Skorupi. The corner of my lips tugged upwards into a smile. It was a fun matchup. Based purely on estimated strength, we had the overwhelming advantage, one that dwindled very quickly once types were taken into account.

  The eyes of the onlookers weren’t as heavy as I remembered. As the arbiter, a TransAqua employee, blew the whistle, I remembered what Ducky had once said about battles being a show, and I decided to give them one.

  “Junior, Focus Energy,” I said. She readied her stance as Croagunk came with a Poison Jab.

  “Protect,” I said, a moment after Comfey had already put up her shield. I had to work on my timing. Protect also fended off a purple liquid sprayed by Skorupi. I had trouble distinguishing between some poison-type moves, they looked awfully similar, and Tony hadn’t called the move out, but I suspected it was Toxic.

  “Bulk up,” I said. Junior continued setting up. It could be my imagination, but she seemed to be getting deadlier by the second. Croagunk broke through Protect with Brick Break, the move hitting both of my Pokémon. Neither were significantly hurt, most of the power of the move having gone into breaking through the barrier, but Comfey squealed indignantly and used Floral Healing on herself. Skorupi took the opportunity to spray Toxic again, and this time, it drenched both my Pokémon.

  “Venoshock!” yelled Tony. Both of his Pokémon shot more purple liquid towards us.

  “Fire Punch,” I said, not worried about the oncoming wave. Aromatherapy had dealt with the poison as soon as it was inflicted. Junior burst through the double venoshock, from her grunt, taking more damage than I would have liked, but still moving forwards. She dodged Croagunk, who was taken off guard by her advance, and landed a flaming fist on the Skorupi behind him. Boosted by Comfey’s Helping Hand, it was more than enough to one-shot the poison-type. Primeape spun on her heels to face Croagunk. She was panting heavily, and Comfey didn’t look too much better. The two Venoshocks were still damaging even without their power doubled. That was okay.

  “Floral Healing and Double Team,” I said. I was proud of Junior. She followed my instruction without hesitation or struggle against her inner rage. Comfey’s soothing scent lending her clarity even at this point in the battle.

  Tony hesitated, his attention split between returning Skorupi and thinking of a way to deal with Junior. By the time he called out for Croagunk to use Taunt, it was too late. Both of my Pokémon were plenty reenergised, close to peak condition. As I suspected, he was a new trainer after all.

  “Junior, let loose,” I said. Junior roared and laid into Croagunk with Fire Punch after Fire Punch. Croagunk fought back, Poison Jabs finding their target in the brawl, and for a few moments, the battle seemed even, and a seed of worry twitched in my stomach. Then Taunt wore off, and I knew we’d won. Comfey blocked Croagunk's attacks with Protect, and Junior was left raining down unopposed Fire Punches on him. Soon enough, Tony withdrew Croagunk, and Junior was left standing. She roared, raising her fists in the air. A final Floral Healing from Comfey washed away the injuries on my combatants. The arbiter called an end to the match. We’d won.

  “Good work, Comfey, Junior,” I said. I lay a hand on Junior’s head, and in a surprising act of affection, she wrapped her arms around my waist. I cuddled her some more before facing Tony.

  “Good battle,” I said, and held out a hand. He shook it with a defeated smile.

  “Thank you, I just started in September, so I’m new at this, but it was fun,” he said. I nodded and wondered if I should say I’d only started then too. I think he was mistaking me for someone with more experience. Before I could make my mind up, he left to get his Pokémon checked by the onboard doctor, and I also lost my chance to ask if he wanted Comfey to provide some healing. Maybe for the best, I wasn’t sure about the etiquette around such things, but offering healing to an opponent I’d just defeated struck me as rather rude except in exceptional circumstances. Whatever the case, I returned to the edge of the arena and, copying Tony’s tone from earlier, yelled:

  “Alright, who’s next?”

  A ripple of laughter spread through the still cheering crowd, and I didn’t have to wait long before a girl with a yellow sun hat stood opposite me.

  A couple of hours later, I was unboarding at Silverwind, immensely satisfied with my string of victories and my two beautiful Pokémon.

  My first impression of the village was that it was, indeed, a village. It was the smallest urban settlement I’d been to so far, and, even more so than Crescent Town when we were there, the ratio of developed land to people was direly skewed towards the latter. Unlike Crescent, the mood was festive, and even if pushing through the crowds was looking to be an ordeal, it did little to dampen my spirits.

  Jade breathed in deeply as she stepped onto the platform.

  “Home, sweet home,” she said. “You can smell the pollen from the Hoppip river valley to the west mingling with the freshwater scents of Lake Rin. The smell of home and comfort.”

  “Leave it to you to be poetic,” said Sunny. “But it is as good a place as any.”

  Sunny’s eyes darted across the docks, digging into the crowds as they landed and diffused into Silverwind. They settled on a scruffy man in a scruffy suit standing awkwardly to the side. She walked up to him.

  “Hello, father,” she said.

  “Hi, Sweetie. Welcome home.”

  “Thanks, it’s good to be back.”

  Edit Note: removed a few lines containing a very minor inconsistency with a previous chapter.