After Nemona taught me to catch a Pokémon, and use my boxes, she and I planned to meet ahead at the lighthouse in the distance. I lingered behind, catching Pokémon that I hadn't seen before, and some that I knew all too well for a perfect party mix, and my first step was simple enough: accquire myself a Fire and Grass type at least! A Bug Pokémon crawled it's way to me, and I watched as it chomped away at some grass as I sighed the cool, salty air. A Bug Type wouldn't be MY first choice of strong Pokémon if I wanted to exell, but it was very unconventional nonetheless and added variety, though it was unfavorable to many. "Alright River, you know what to do! Get it off gaurd, and I'll throw a Pokéball at her, okay?" I sent River out of his ball, and he carefully snuck up on the dainty creature before tackling it, and making it cry out, "Scat! Scatter!" The battle had begun, but I didn't intend to inflict harm as there was no real need to; Bug Pokémon don't start off as aces from the egg after all! Once the Pokéball I threw clicked shut, I read my new Pokémon's dex entry, figuring out that the Pokémon in question was called a Scatterbug! "Aww, how cute! I'll call you..... Buttercup! Buttercup the Scatterbug." I heard a rustling in the grass, and I turned my head to find, to my luck, a flock of flechling just hopping about, and looking for seed. "Perfect! A common one, but reliable for the first time trainer hoping to tame a Fire type. Let's see which lucky one shall be mine." I said, sending River to do his thing. He ended up catching the smallest of the flock, and I quickly threw the ball before it could land a hit on my precious River. Once caught, I took a look at it's Pokédex and found that it was a girl like Buttercup, so I thought of the perfect name that would befit the grandure of such a wonderful Fire type. "A beautiful, elegant, brilliant Ruby." I told myself, caressing the ball lightly, as I said, "My lovely Firestone, Ruby. Ruby Rue the Fletchling." I crossed finding the perfect Fire type off my list as I continued searching, catching, and carefully contemplating the candidates for my signature team as I continued down the dirt road to the lighthouse and finding Nemona halfway as she called, "Hey Spirit!" "Nemona? I thought you were at the lighthouse already?" I asked, only for her to shrug as she said, "Decided I'd wait here to check up on you're progress. Catching lots of Pokémon?" "You bet! Wanna see?" I offered, pulling up my Pokédex to show her. "Sure! Let's see here.... So far, you've caught-" "MIRAIIIIIII!" A loud, mechanical, semi deep voice cried out, startling the two of us as we looked around for whatever made the cry. "Wh-What do you think THAT was?!" Nemona asked, eyes wide as her gaze darted about. "I-I'm not sure! I never heard a thing like it in all my life!" I exclaimed, turning every which way as I carefully surveyed the area. "MI-MIRAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" the cry sounded again, making us jump out of our skin as Nemona cried, "See?! There it is again!" I scoped out the surroundings to find a line of fence blocking the cliff had been tampered with by something big, and my instincts told me to go look there as Nemona tried to call me back. Leaning over the cliff, and taking good care not to fall, I continued to look around when on the beach below laid a Pokémon like I've never witnessed; a horde of Houndour circling the poor dear ready to finish it off. Summoning some strength, the creature lifted it's mighty head, and cried in a deep, mechanical voice, "MIRAIDOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNN!" scaring the bullying Houndour away with a series of yelps and whimpers as I breathed "Whoa..." Whoa was right in that circumstance, for the next thing I knew, the Cliffside started to shake, and before I could call my new friend for help, the Cliffside broke off, and I was sent plummeting to the earth with great velocity as I screamed! "Bzzt! Grab hold, trainer!" My phone buzzed, and I cried, "WHAAAAT?!" "Juzzzzzzt truzzzt me trainer!" It beckoned, and taking my own Rotom phone's orders, I grabbed onto the jagged ends. Mere seconds from hitting the earth, I felt a harsh jolt, and my phone was now suspending my weight in the air before gently setting my quivering body back onto my feet as I contemplated what exactly was going on. "There you go. Bzzt, stay safe!" It said, returning to my pocket. "Y-Yeah.... Th-Thanks Rotom..." I replied simply, dusting myself off as I heard a soft sobbing noise. "Mir.... Mirai...." the weird Pokémon cried, laying it's head wearily onto the ground as I looked up at it. Seeing it clearly, I observed the sheen of it's deep, purple and silver, metallic looking "skin", and the sparkle of it's lavender and black back! It's legs looks like little rocket boosts, and it's metallic claws looked sharp enough to do some real damage when threatened but what caught my attention the most were it's eyes.... Those pixelated, beautiful, sea green and yellow eyes that glimmered on a black background..... I approached the creature cautiously, making sure not to disturb the poor dear as it continued to lay about weakly, and cry. I felt bad for the creature as it cried in pain, and I thought of a way that I could somehow help it as I asked softly, "Are you hurt?" "Don... Don-Mirai...." it whimpered in pain, and I continued, "You poor thing... Here, I may have a potion in here left that might-" but my words stopped when my hand touched the sandwich I had placed into my bookbag. Taking the sandwich out slowly, the creature seemed to take interest in the food as it slowly lifted it's head, and I exchanged glances between the sandwich in my hand and the Pokémon as I unwrapped the plastic. I felt bad, giving away my mom's hard work and symbol of love, but this Pokémon was fading, and I couldn't let it suffer so. I held the sandwich to the Pokémon as I asked nervously, "Do you... Do you w-want-" but I couldn't finish my sentence as the thing sniffed the sandwich, and snatched it up quickly with a sound of noisy chews as I yelped. Laughing slightly, the Pokémon lifted itself from the sandy beach beneath it before giving itself a good shake to get the sand out of its crevices, and as if I were invisible, the strange thing waltzed it's way on by me before beginning to glow! Right then, the odd Pokémon began to change, and it wasn't long before I beheld a completely different form, it's brilliant purples cascading with yellow touches, and the same cascading colors shining from the metallic protrusions on its head as the rockets began to blast a smokey purple and turquoise color! I gasped in fascination as it swished it's long, vibrant tail, and once it reached the entrance to a cave, it looked over it's shoulder to me as if beckoning me to follow it inside. Not having much of a choice, I let it take the lead, and I found myself at the mercy of this Pokémon as we made our way through a darkened cave. Once inside, I heard Nemona's frantic voice call, "Spirit! Spirit?!" "R-Right here!" I called, waving her down as she stood at another entrance higher up. "Spirit! Oh, thank goodness. Are you okay?!" She asked, relieved to see that I was still intact. "Y-Yeah! I'm fine!" I replied, continuing to walk alongside the massive Pokémon. "Oh, good! If something happened to you because I said we should go looking for whatever made that cry.... NO! Nevermind that, try to follow the path up to me, and I'll get one of my Pokémon to pull you up." She said, and I gave her an assuring thumbs up. Taking notice of the creature beside me, Nemona asked, "Hey, Spirit? What's that Pokémon beside you? It looks really strong." "I-I'm not quite sure, Nemona. I've never seen anything like it before!" I replied, and as the words left my mouth, a loud crash began to sound as I shielded myself from flying rock fragments. It looked back over it's shoulder at me with it's expectant gaze, and I breathed in awe as I continued to follow it deeper into the cave. Along the walls were glowing moss patches to light the way; a grand sight indeed as the Pokémon illuminated by the glow played, and I thought to myself what the harm would be in catching only a couple. I readied River, and I sent him out to suprise a Pokémon called Yangoos before capturing it successfully. "Hmmmm.... Maybe I should invest in a heavy hitter? Normal Types seem almost impervious to anything; as long as it doesn't go against a Fighting Type, of course. I'll send this cutie to my boxes for now, though." I told myself, as River trodded up to me. I giggled before kneeling, and patting him on the head before saying, "Good boy!", and walking further behind the unknown Pokémon as it patiently waited for us. About halfway in, we were greeted by a pack of Houndour, and I quickly brought River to me as the Pokémon before me roared to scare them off. The three of us trekked the moss ridden cavern until I stumbled upon a moving, brown lump on the cave floor, and I sent River after it to catch it. Once it was caught, and I figured it's typing, I said to River, "Look! It's called a "Diglett"! I adore Ground types, not because they play in the mud, but because you'll never find another trainer have one willingly added to their party; mainly because of how they look." River seemed disheartened by my statement, and I quickly added nervously, "A-Ah! But Water Types are something truly special! And I know you're just full of secrets and surprises waiting to come out into it's finest cut, River." River perked up at that, taking it's sentiment to heart as I smiled down at him. "So, Diglett, you happen to be a boy! You creatures were always so silly, so it's only fair I give a fitting name that describes your whimsical personality. Hmmmm." I thought long, and hard about a whacky name to give it while retaining it's cuteness, and the light bulb in my head pinged as I cried, "Diglett-Yahhh!" Startled, River looked up at me before scrunching it's face in confusion by my sudden outburst. "What about you, River? Do you think Diglett-Yahh suits him perfectly?" I asked. River simply stared at me for a moment before giving me a sassy, charismatic shake of it's head, and I replied, "Well, some of the best names are the names that others don't agree with. Why don't you take a break, and I'll call you back out when the time arrives, hm?" I suggested, calling River back to his ball as the giant creature pummeled a huge Boulder in front of us. "Whoa! It just straight up pulverized that rock! It must be strong; makes me wanna battle it." Nemona said, almost bouncing in excitement as I continued to follow the creature. Up, up, up we went when the feeling of being watched by something welled inside me, and the giant Pokémon stopped as it surveyed the area. All was still at first.... Then the ghoulish growls and howls and cries began to ring off the cave walls as a tsunami of wild Houndour quickly, and completely, swarmed myself and the creature, separating us. "Spirit!" Nemona called, panicking, but it was too late... I was surrounded! The beast in front put up its dukes, and roared in the air making the Houndour deterred from making an attack as my heart began to race. "Out of the frying pan..." I sighed in relief as the Houndour ran off, only for me to eat my words seconds later as a Houndoom emerged from the darkness. "And into the fire!" I squeaked, grabbing River's ball, and without thinking, called him into battle! Once River was out of his ball, and face to face with the vicious, wicked thing, he froze to the spot before giving me a confused, frightened look. "R-River, HELP ME!" I begged, but it was no use.... Even IF River was a Water Type, it was no match against Houndoom as he was now, and so I didn't blame him when he tucked tail back to his ball as I cried, "At least YOU can hide! HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!" The Houndoom crept closer, lunging as it gnashed it's violent jaws at me, and backing me into an abyss of black when I felt something make harsh contact to my stomach. "OWW! HEY, WHAT'RE YOU- EEEEPPP!" I cried, now being carried out of the cave like a drapped rag as Nemona's called, "UP HERE! QUICK!" Following her instruction, the Pokémon leapt, or more like flew, up to the exit where Nemona stood, and I once again felt the warm sun and cool breeze against my skin. The creature set me down on the grass, leaving me out of breath as Nemona said, "Thank goodness. That was WAY too close! Say, you and this fella here seemed in perfect sync." "Sync? What do you mean?" I asked, catching my breath. "Well the way you sent it into battle says enough!" Nemona explained, helping me up. "I-I didn't tell it to do anything. It just.... Did?" "What?! You didn't say a command?!" Nemona asked, shocked when the creature glowed again, and once again went back to the way I found it the first time: weak and weary. "Oh no, what happened? Is it hurt? What even IS it?" Nemona asked, observing the odd Pokémon as it rested itself on the ground. "I-I don't know.... But I'm happy it saved me..." I replied, feeling indebted to the creature for saving me as I ran my hand carefully down it's head. "Well.... You head on to the lighthouse, and I'll see what I can't do for this fella, okay?" "A-Are you certain?" "Positive! Don't you worry, he'll be up in no time for certain. Off you go!" Nemona said, giving me a gentle tap to send me on my way. Reluctantly, I left the two alone as I continued to slide down a small ledge, and I took River from his ball to see how he was. "River.... I'm SO sorry for doing what I did! I wasn't thinking clearly, and it wasn't fair to you." I said as he took a disgruntled seat on the grass. He narrowed his eyes, and I feared that he'd hold a grudge against me as I continued, "I don't blame you for running... And I understand if you don't like me anymore... Please, know that I didn't mean to hurt you!" After a few minutes of sitting there upset, River's pretty blue eyes began to soften as he sighed. He rose from the grass, did a tiny shimmy, and came up to me before rubbing his tiny head against my leg lovingly. I smiled, accepting the loving gesture to be a sign of forgiveness, and I kneeled down to take him into my arms as I pecked his soft cheek warmly. "Thank you, for trusting me." I said, continuing to caress my beloved Pokémon as I walked in the direction of the lighthouse. It was only a few short hours that I had him, and yet I loved River as if I've had him forever! What was happening to me?! We continued on towards the Lighthouse, the sound of murmuring and disgruntled muttering becoming louder the closer we got until we came upon a boy around Nemona's age, with light colored hair streaked with a grayish brown hue, and a MASSIVE yellow backpack with all sorts of camping tools on the side. "Where could it have gone?!" I heard him say under his breath, and I was about to say something when I heard the Mysterious beast, and Nemona making their way up to me, triggering a response out of the boy as he looked our way. His eyes seemingly got wide at first, but then, fury flashed in his face as he bolted our way, and I closed my eyes to embrace what was to come when I felt the wind brush past me, and him yell, "What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be in the lab!" Confused, I opened my eyes just a smidge, only to find Nemona's face contorted in the same confusion as she watched the boy scold the Pokémon. The boy stayed quiet for a few, then looked over his shoulder at us before rudely saying, "I'm not talking to you, so you two can shove off." "Wait, you know what this Pokémon is? And aren't you the son of that Professor Turo?" At the sound of the unfamiliar name, the boy quickly spun around, and yelled, "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO MY FATHER IS! The point is, Miraidon should be in the lab, and it's not!" ""Miraidon"? Is THAT what it's called?" Nemona asked, a slight grin on her face. "Well, to be honest, Miraidon helped me when I was in a bind..." I admitted, fiddling with my shirt timidly. "Yeah! See, Spirit here fell off this cliff, and was attacked by a wild Houndoom in this cave. It was so big, and looked really strong, but after we left the cave it became all..... Slumpy...." Nemona explained in summary. "Well of COURSE it is! The form that Miraidon takes in battle; THAT'S it's true form at it's best. Something I wouldn't expect the student council girl to understand." The boy replied venomously. "Well what else do you know about Miraidon?" She asked, only to recieve no reply as the boy turned his gaze onto me. "In any case, Miraidon isn't an average Pokémon that any old trainer can just hope to tame. If you really think you can take better care of Miraidon, then how about I test your abilities with a Pokémon battle!" "Wh-Wha?!" I asked, off gaurd at the sudden offer. "Unless you're too weak.." the boy mused, and that seemed to set off River as he growled at the boy. "R-River! Calm down! Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked, only for him to give a confident nod as he replied sternly, "Quax!" "Alright.... I sure hope you know what you're getting yourself into...." I replied, setting River on the ground where he go into a battle ready stance. Arven took his position as he announced, "Taking care of that thing is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, and I want it GONE! I'm gonna battle these doldrums away with my trusty Skwovet!" "A Skwovet?" I asked, raising my brow to him. Don't get me wrong, Skwovet being in the Normal Type category makes it take hits like a pro against non Fighting Type individuals, but to me it's one of the most pathetic ones there are! "HYAAAAA!" the boy cried, and sent out the bushy tailed, bubble cheeked, bucktoothed creature, and I thought it almost funny that he thought he could win with that little Berry hog. "Alright River, let's put their cash where their mouth is! Use Bubble Beam!" And as I commanded, River summoned a large, powerful blast of bubbles, and landed a direct hit on the Skwovet before it could dodge. "Good boy, River!" I praised, pumping my fist in the air for him as he did a happy bounce. "Hmph! Lucky hit. Let's see you recover from THIS one! Skwovet, use Tackle!" The boy cried, and I quickly countered, "Watch out River!" As soon as I shouted, River dodged the oncoming attack, leaving Skwovet open for attack as I yelled, "Return to sender; use Tackle!" And River threw his body at the dopy Pokémon with all his might, knocking Skwovet out completely. "Gah! Aww man." The boy groaned, and he recalled his Skwovet back to him with a sullen look. He came up to me, and as custom, placed a bit of cash into my hand as he said, "I should've expected that outcome, using a Pokémon I only JUST caught.... Still, I am a man of my word, and that brute is now YOU'RE problem. Here's the Pokéball it came in!" He shoved Miraidon's Pokéball into my hands, and Miraidon nudged me a little before going back into it's ball. "Aren't you going to answer me?" Nemona asked, only to be ignored by the boy again as he simply looked at her. "Anyways, you're quite a strong battle. I respect that! See you around, little buddy." He said, messing up my hair like I was five before running away, and leaving me dumbfounded. "Huh.... Paldeans are strange..." I said to myself as Nemona tried to call him back. "Guh, what's WITH him!" She sighed frustratedly. "A friend of yours, I presume?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "Him? No way! That's Arven, the son of the famous paldean professor. He's an oddball to say the least; never shows up for class either! Next time I see him, I'm gonna battle some answers outta him." She declared before remembering why it was we came to the lighthouse to begin with; quickly ushering me up the ladder before following close behind. Once I reached the top, I waited patiently for Nemona, and helped her the rest of the way before walking out onto the platform with her. What I saw stole the breath from me as I beheld the sight of the region from so high up, and in my trance I made my way to the railing, and leaned over. "This... This is incredible!" I laughed, eyes wide as I looked across vast fields, tall mountains, every scenic thing that looked straight out of the paintings at my house! "Trees, vast mountains and canyons, nature stuff as far as the eye can see!" Nemona said, leaning on the railing as she pointed to something in the distance. "Look! You can even see our school, and Mesagoza from here! See the building with the Pokéball on top?" "Yes... It looks something straight out of a fairy tale.... O-Or even a dream!" I sighed, my heart yearning to get on the road again so I could have a closer look. "Yeah, kinda a trek from here, though, but it makes the experience all worth while when we get there. This year's going to be great!" "I agree! I can't wait to see what's in store!" I found myself saying. Why did I say that?! A few short moments ago I was dreading going there, and now it's like I've changed. What trickery is this?! "I knew you'd get it! And the best part is, you and I can battle as much as we want, WHENEVER we want." Nemona replied as she straightened her back once again, finishing, "It's not much, but consider this me officially saying welcome to Paldea, Spirit." I never felt more happy, or welcomed anywhere in all my life, and I got a little choked up as I threw my arms around my new, unexpected best friend. Little did I know that it was only going to get better from there.