“...I think you’re right.” Amelia mutters, continuing as Tanya looks up from her last bowl of pokechow for the night. “I think they were working on some kind of… amplifier.”

  Tanya hums, looking down at her own packet of research papers, the last that she’d printed for the trip.

  There were clues, one author in particular seemed to like adding dry academic in-jokes into his writeups which referred to the future project, the smoking gun in particular mentioning offhandedly the scanning potential of ‘localized magnitude adjustments of type energy’ but then immediately claiming that the topic does not pertain to the paper and will be elaborated in a later publication.

  That, among a few other pieces of evidence, point to one of the biggest projects that the lab was working on was this hypothetical machine.

  There were others, but it appears as if this was the thing that the entire lab had bent itself around.

  Which makes sense, type energy seems to be historically quite difficult to study, even her limited knowledge of the field tells her that a device that functions as a sonar instead of just a microphone would unlock entire fields of possibilities.

  But…

  “I don't see why a piece of experimental scanning equipment would be important enough to steal.” Tanya sighs, flipping back through the pages. “A potential hotspot to make firestones, sure, this might be able to find something like that, but that’s an extreme gamble.”

  “Yea, and let's not forget that they stole, at best, blueprints for the scanner. Why would a gang have the technical skills to build something like that?” Amelia agrees as she pulls the band of a headlamp over her forehead and clicks it on to keep reading. “How would that even work? First law of TE induction says that the distribution of magnitude over a gradient is uniform. There’s a reason we can only heal a ‘mon inside its pokeball with pokecare machines, emitters can't just do that.”

  “Well it seems like they thought Dacite managed it somehow.” Tanya counters, flipping a page. “And it’s not instantaneous, the first law just says that the distribution will always become uniform.”

  “So what, you’re saying they figured out how to put an auragraph on a volcano? Because that makes more sense.” She scoffs. “Even if they somehow solved the literal mountain of problems of building an emitter that big, unless they figured out how to turn electricity into type energy directly you’d need a catalyst as big as the volcano to cause fluctuations even remotely measurable above background."

  Tanya hums in acknowledgement, squinting at a page, but before she can continue their discussion Taillow chimes in with an incredulous chirping laugh.

  “What. In the heck. Are you two chattering about?” He asks, feet already tucked up against his body as he’s settled comfortably onto his perch. “What does any of that mean?”

  Both nurses in training look up from their research, glance at each other, then to Taillow.

  Amelia breaks first.

  “Well… It’s.. complicated.” She hedges. “But to start from the basics–”

  —--

  –_–

  —--

  They’ve been in the lava plain so long that the sight of trees in the distance look strange as they appear, sitting around the base of Mt. Chimney as it increasingly hogs the horizon on their approach.

  They don't look the healthiest, sun-bleached looking, scraggly things with bare branches and surrounded by equally sparse bushes. But the sight of them as they crest the latest hill has the two who can't fly giving the sight a minor double take.

  Amelia glances at her partner with a shrug.

  “I guess we’re getting close? I thought we were supposed to be leaving the lava plain tomorrow afternoon?”

  “We are…” Tanya confirms, eyes flaring purple before their map and compass floats out of Amelia’s back and unfolds in front of them. “Let’s see if I can't get a bearing.”

  Squinting at the compass and waiting for the needle to settle, the ‘mon checks their position with the map as written and confirms that they’re making astonishingly good time right now.

  Amelia presses her face into her partner’s side slightly to get a look at the map.

  “Well?”

  Tanya hums and floats the items over.

  “Can you confirm my reading? I’d just assumed the magnetic interference was causing the compass to drift. But after the magnemite delay we’re supposed to be two days behind schedule…”

  “But now we’re making up ground.” Amelia finishes, twisting her head like a bird over the compass while waving the object about. “Huh. Pretty quickly actually. Guess we’ve gotten faster.” She concludes with a shrug.

  Tanya has no choice other than to nod in agreement, returning their cartography tools to Amelia’s bag and continue on as they pass by the sickly looking greenery at the treeline which quickly return to full vibrancy as they continue further in.

  It’s shortly after they enter the treeline that Tanya can hear faint snatches of human voices coming from further ahead on the trail, followed shortly by the sound of combat. It takes another half minute for Amelia to recognize the same, but it’s clear when she does, as the sound makes her pause before reaching into her bag for her hat with a grumble.

  Seeing this, Tanya likewise starts getting her bag ready so she can head into her pokeball before Amelia places a hand over the ball.

  “Ah no, thank you Chansey, you don't need to do that.”

  The ‘mon pauses, looking at the hat in her partner’s hand.

  “You think the hat will be sufficient this time?”

  Amelia hums a negative as she stuffs her hair into her hat and shoves it over her head.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Nah, I just– With Taillow out flying you’re the– I mean…” The trainer stammers, adjusting her bag. “It just doesn't seem fair.”

  Tanya pauses for a moment, then mentally shrugs and puts her bag back to its most comfortable configuration.

  “Alright.”

  Continuing on as the voices draw closer, the ‘mon sees her partner fidget with her hat and avoid looking at Tanya with conspicuous intensity. Watching on Tanya has no idea what’s going on in her partner’s head to cause this display, but it doesn't seem hazardous so she decides not to think on it further as the voices and sounds of battle reach a peak just before the duo round a bend to see a group of three trainers in a large clearing, two male one female.

  The two boys are engaged in a pokemon battle, an abnormally fast paced match where a mudkip is pitted against her evolved… counterpart…

  Tanya blinks slowly, looking from one ‘mon to the other.

  “...Marshtomp?” She asks, tongue catching slightly on the name of the ‘mon who had evolved since she’d last seen him.

  At her voice Marshtomp staggers as his large head swings wildly to look at her.

  “Chansey!?” He yelps, interrupted with a stagger as a high pressure blast of water hits him in the side of the head, but once attack abates he’s still staring at her as if the attack didn't occur.

  “Hey!” Shouts his opponent, dropping out of her combat stance and marching across the wet dirt. “Arent you the one who’s always saying to ‘not take your eye off the enemy!?’”

  Marshtomp suddenly looks contrite, looking back and forth between his former opponent and Tanya and stammering intelligible half sentences as one of the humans looks over and waves.

  “Oh! Hello! Where you coming from?” She asks, rising from a collapsible chair next to a steaming pot of something cooking on the fire pit.

  Amelia waves back, face breaking out into a cautious smile.

  “Mauville! Heading up to Gym Leader Flannery. What about you all?” She answers, stepping closer and continuing to perk up as one of the boys looks at her and begins to speak while Tanya continues toward her batchmate.

  “Good afternoon Marshtomp.” The ‘mon says neutrally as she comes to a stop in front of the ‘mon. “Congradulations on your evolution, are you doing well?”

  The ‘mon blinks a few times before his wide maw breaks into a smile.

  “Thanks! I’m great! How’s your journey going?”

  “We’re making good time.” Tanya nods. “Yourself?”

  Marshtomp opens his mouth, but before he can say anything Mudkip steps in front of him and glares up at her.

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” She asks, unable to see Marshtomp wince from behind.

  Tanya blinks, looking down to lock eyes with the even smaller ‘mon.

  “Ah. My apologies, allow me to introduce myself.” She says with a shallow dip of her body. “My name is Tanya, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  The introduction does not seem to improve Mudkip’s mood, instead she narrows her eyes further.

  “Why are you talking like tha–”

  “Mudkip, this is Chansey.” Marshtomp interrupts, sounding as if he’s desperately trying to redirect the conversation. “We’re batchmates. I’ve told you about her.”

  At Marshtomp’s interjection Mudkip glances back at him then squints more closely at Tanya.

  “...She’s Chansey?” The ‘mon asks incredulously. “You’re telling me you couldn't beat up this oversized marshmel–”

  “Shush!” Marshtomp hisses, clapping a fin over her mouth and looking deeply embarrassed as he meets Tanya’s eyes. “I– er– She doesn't mean… I’m sorry Chansey. She doesn't know you.”

  Tanya tilts her head, confused, then nods regardless.

  “It’s quite alright, I wouldn't have expected that I was notable enough to be mentioned in the first place, the fact your friend knows me at all is a surprise.” She remarks, trying to puzzle out the subtleties of what’s going on here, but resolving to think about it later as Marshtomp appears to relax.

  “I didn't talk about you too much,” He demures. “But I’ve been trying to teach some of the stuff you taught me in the playground and your name… came up.”

  …What?

  “Ah.” Tanya exhales, buying time as she tries to figure out what on earth she would have ‘taught’ Marshtomp. The most she’d ever spoken to him was to…

  Oh. Right. He did have a habit of asking her to elaborate whenever she made an offhand remark about a match, which could constitute as instruction she supposes.

  It’s at this point that Mudkip finally yanks the fin from her mouth with a growl before trudging off.

  “Well I’m leaving. Tell me whenever you’re done being weird at this giant weirdo pink pillow.”

  “Hey! I’m not being–” Marshtomp attempts to counter, but trails off when it’s clear that Mudkip isn't listening, turning back to Tanya. “I’m not being weird right?”

  The pink ‘mon tilts her head, playing the interaction over in her mind from the beginning, then shakes her head in a denial.

  No. If anything it was Mudkip who behaved out of turn.

  “You’re behaving normally Marshtomp.” Tanya assures, glancing around the camp clearing. “I assume you had minimal trouble with fire type opponents, heading south to Mauville?”

  Marshtomp tilts his head in a way reminiscent of how Tanya performs the action, then wavers a fin.

  “Well… yes the fire challenge wasn't all that hard, but I’m not the only one from team B here, Treecko evolved into Grovyle and he’s been training and banging his head against that wall for ages. We’re waiting for him and his partner to win or give up before we head down together.”

  Oh. Treecko. Of course he’d do something like this.

  Or Grovyle now, apparently.

  Tanya exhales harshly enough that she can feel her nose slits dilate, an action that has Marshtomp straightening to a sloppy attention.

  She just knows Grovyle somehow managed to lose sight that the main objective is to win, so now he’s just trying to break through some arbitrary self imposed goal. Just like in the nursery, when he spent a solid three weeks obsessed with the idea that the key to victory was to disrupt her balance. Leading to increasingly outlandish and impractical plans to achieve that goal.

  “I’ll be working at the Lavaridge pokecenter for the next week. If I see Grovyle I might try and talk to him about it.” Tanya sighs before seeing Amelia wave her over from where she’d been talking to the other humans, so she looks bat at Marshtomp and gives a shallow nod. “Excuse me.”

  Walking over to her partner, Tanya can almost feel her brain switching from pokespeach to Japanese as she comes to a stop next to Amelia, who gestures at her.

  “And this is my partner Chansey!”

  “Oh that’s so cool– Woah she’s big!” One boy shouts, leaning a little into Tanya’s personal space. “Chansey are super rare and they never want to join up. Where’d you find her?”

  At the question Amelia coughs looking anywhere but at her conversation partner.

  “Oh uhh… she’s actually my first partner, Chansey grew up near the Jubili town compound.” She says slightly evasively.

  “Ooh! A Joy chansey!” The boy shouts, the answer only appearing to excite him more. “I didn't know they had starters!”

  “Oh hey!” The girl tending the pot on the fire calls with a wave. “You wanna eat lunch with us? I made some fortified soup. If you want, we could have a battle after.”

  The offer of food seems to give Amelia pause, and –after glancing down at Tanya– looks back up with a nod.

  “Sure! I’d love some soup.”