The next day, once the skies cleared, the two of them headed out again with their team for more training.

Morupeko, clutching the Soothe Bell tightly, nestled comfortably in Marie's arms. Though curious about the unfamiliar surroundings, he wasn't quite ready to leave her side.

Marie didn't mind. Morupeko was small and light, weighing no more than three kilograms according to the Pokédex. This newly hatched one was even smaller than average, so carrying him around was hardly a burden.

The air outside was thick with moisture. Mud clung to their shoes, and the ground squelched underfoot. Marie had put on a thick, soft jacket to avoid pressing anything uncomfortable against the little one she held.

A full day had passed since the egg hatched, yet Marie hadn't hurried to test out Morupeko's moves or observe his Hangry Mode. It wasn't something she needed to rush, even if she was curious.

Yesterday, after Morupeko hatched, she'd given her brother Nez a call and showed him the baby Pokémon. From what he said, this Morupeko came from a strong bloodline and was likely to have good potential.

But Marie didn't care all that much about that. What mattered to her was that this was a Pokémon personally chosen and gifted by her brother, one she'd watched over and welcomed into the world herself. Whether it was strong or not didn't change how she felt.

"Cha... (What's everyone doing?)"

Morupeko tilted his head, watching the other Pokémon begin their training. He didn't yet understand what battling or practicing meant.

"They're training, getting ready for future battles."

"Cha...? (Battles?)"

It was a word he'd never heard before, and without any context, he couldn't grasp its meaning. So the conversation stopped there.

Marie gently stroked his head and looked down at him.

"You'll understand when you see one someday. Of course, I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. Whether you choose to battle or not, it's entirely up to you, Momo."

There were plenty of Pokémon out there who didn't enjoy fighting. Marie had met a few herself, though none were currently on her team.

After all, battling wasn't an obligation. If she ever did have a Pokémon who disliked it, she wouldn't make them fight. Simple as that.

Eevee and Kirlia were pretty laid-back about it. They didn't particularly like or dislike battling. They just trained diligently, and whether they fought or not didn't really matter to them.

Baloo and Chuu, on the other hand, were the combative type. Baloo was calm and composed about it, while Chuu just couldn't stop running his mouth.

As for Momo, Marie couldn't quite tell yet how he felt about battling. If he hated it, that was fine. He could just be the team mascot.

"Cha... (Oh...)"

Out of nowhere, Momo pulled out a piece of his self-toasted Pokéblock from his little pouch and popped it into his mouth. Its sweet aroma and varying textures made it his new favorite treat. Marie's custom Pokéblocks had clearly won him over.

The only downside was probably that the energy density was a bit too high, which lowered his overall appetite.

Whatever he couldn't understand a moment ago was quickly forgotten. All that mattered was that he really liked this strange-looking Pokémon named Marie. From the very moment he hatched, she'd been there.

While Marie stood off to the side watching Chuu train, she suddenly heard a bit of commotion behind her.

"Chiru~ (Over there. Someone evolved~)"

Before Marie could even turn around, Sii-chan had floated to her side and tugged on her sleeve, saying something surprising.

"Evolved? Who?"

Marie let go of the now-content Momo, who promptly launched himself at Sii-chan's arms. For some reason, he really liked clinging to her, even though he didn't seem particularly wary of anyone else.

"Chiru! (Careful!)"

Sii-chan barely managed to catch the charging ball of fluff. The weak static shocks weren't painful, but they definitely weren't pleasant either.

"Cha~ (Hehehe~)"

Momo rubbed his cheeks against Sii-chan, thankfully without actually knowing the move Nuzzle. If he did, Sii-chan would probably have to develop a tolerance to paralysis.

"Chiru... (Don't wriggle around...)"

Sii-chan had mixed feelings about Momo. She acted annoyed, but clearly wasn't trying to push him away. Maybe it was because she saw a bit of her younger self in him relying on others to get by back in the Wild Area.

Leaving Momo in Sii-chan's care for the moment, Marie finally turned toward the noise. Yuri was hugging Toxel, surrounded by what looked like a commotion.

"I'll go check it out. Sii-chan, could you look after Momo for a bit?"

"Chiru... (Got it... I'll watch from here.)"

Sii-chan floated to a nearby rock and sat down with Momo in her lap, using one hand to stop him from tugging on her hair while watching Eevee train Chuu.

Marie looked at the oddly familiar scene but said nothing and turned toward Yuri.

Crouched down, Yuri seemed to be speaking to a Pokémon on the ground. As Marie approached, she finally saw the fluffy white figure more clearly.

So it was Eldegoss's evolution.

Marie blinked in understanding. With two days left before the next Gym Challenge, there was just enough time to adapt. Eldegoss's enhanced defenses and access to moves like Cotton Spore could make for a seriously annoying support role.

"Congratulations, Yuri. And you too, White Puff. Congrats on evolving."

"Nyaa~ (Thank you~)"

"Thanks, Marie. You came over quick. Where's Sii-chan?"

"She's babysitting for me."

As she spoke, Marie reached out to touch White Puff's cotton-like body. It felt soft and fluffy, but more substantial than regular cotton. Its size had increased a lot, but its weight was still about the same as Momo's.

"Hehe, feels great, right? I thought so too! This one's gonna make an amazing pillow!"

White Puff was the type to enjoy sleeping curled up beside Yuri, so Marie just shrugged and didn't comment further.

She did, however, wonder how water-resistant it was.

She'd never really looked into Eldegoss's data before, and this was the first time that particular question had crossed her mind.

With the upcoming Water-type Gym battle, the thought struck her if this Pokémon soaked up water like a sponge, wouldn't that be a problem?

So she tugged on the sleeve of a still-giddy Yuri and shared her thoughts about it with her.

"Then... let's test it out," Yuri said, calling over her Silicobra, who had been practicing her control techniques, to help with the experiment.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Share what drew you in your review helps power the next steps in this journey.

This is just the beginning. Keep the momentum going in OneJourney and stay ahead of the curve.

[email protected]/yanxx

Change @ to a.