The problem, as Zorua understood it, was simple.
Naoki had to work during the day, which meant he could not spend that time training her.
Less training time meant falling further behind the other Trainers.
That was what was bothering him.
If that was the problem, then she would just have to work harder on her end.
During the day, Naoki was at the League.
As his Pokémon, she could not help him with his work.
All she could do was sit inside her Poké Ball with nothing to occupy her.
So why not use that time to train instead?
Naoki had already explained everything to her.
What to focus on, how to go about it, what the goals were.
She had listened to every word with complete attention.
She was a clever Pokémon, and she had not forgotten a single thing he said.
If he did not have time to train her himself, she would come and train on her own.
That was the solution she had arrived at.
She wanted to see the look on his face when he realized she had grown stronger.
The thought made something in her chest feel certain and warm.
She was too restless to sleep anyway.
She might as well go now and put in some quiet work before morning.
He would be happy when he saw the difference.
And when Naoki was happy, so was she.
Her mind made up, she jumped lightly off the bed and crept to the dormitory door.
Then she stopped.
The training rooms cost money.
She turned back, fished some of Naoki’s coins out of his bag with her mouth, and immediately found that carrying them that way was completely impractical.
She thought for a moment, then shifted into the form of the little girl as she usually did.
But after a brief hesitation, her appearance shifted again.
The little girl dissolved, and in her place stood a young man of about twenty, eyes heavy with exhaustion.
Naoki’s face, down to the last detail.
Zorua, wearing Naoki’s form, opened the door, stepped out into the corridor, and followed the route she had memorized to the training wing.
The training rooms were empty at that hour.
She walked into the gravity chamber, placed the coins in the slot the way she had watched Naoki do it, and tapped at the control screen without any real sense of what she was pressing.
The gravity in the room surged instantly.
The force yanked at her body and broke her concentration.
The illusion collapsed.
She was herself again, small and low to the ground, pressed flat against the screen by the weight of it.
“Wuu…”
She gritted her teeth and tried to push herself upright.
She dragged a paw across the screen in front of her, hitting something by accident.
The crushing weight eased considerably.
“Wuu…”
But her eyes were steady.
She was doing this for Naoki.
Time to get stronger.
The following morning Naoki woke at his usual hour and found Zorua still sound asleep beside him.
He was mildly surprised.
The one hour of training yesterday must have worn her out more than he had realized.
He climbed carefully out of bed without disturbing her, recalled her into her Poké Ball to rest, then headed to the Academy cafeteria for breakfast.
On the way back he picked up a portion of food formulated for Dark-type Pokémon to set aside for when she woke up.
With that done he made his way to the Paldea League for work as usual.
Most of the HR department was out again, still combing the streets and Academy grounds for Trainer prospects.
Naoki was in no hurry to join them.
He stayed at his desk, worked through a handful of documents at a measured pace, and checked in with Moon.
Larry: Are you in Mesagoza yet?
The reply came back quickly.
Moon: The old man says about thirty more minutes!
Larry: Old man?
Moon: The driver with the flying Pokémon taxi!
That made sense.
Paldea did have that kind of transport service.
Thirty minutes.
Naoki did a quick mental calculation, then typed back.
Larry: When you arrive, go to the eastern district and find a café called the Pokémon Café.
Sit at the second table from the entrance.
The NPC called Naoki will be there having coffee.
Go up to him and tell him you want to join the Paldea League.
Moon: Okay, Larry!
Larry: He may ask you to demonstrate your strength.
Don’t worry about it.
Just send out all your Pokémon and let them show what they can do.
After that he’ll guide you to the Paldea League for a more detailed assessment.
Moon: Got it!
When will I actually get to meet you, Larry?
Naoki stared at that for a moment.
He could hardly tell her he was a Trainer who would lose to a fourteen-year-old middle school student in a battle.
That was too embarrassing to put into words.
Larry: There’ll be an opportunity eventually.
Moon: Okay.
Naoki left it there.
Moon went quiet for a while.
Then, after a long pause, one more message came through.
Moon: Larry, is there anywhere in this game where you can bring back a Pokémon that has died?
Larry clearly knew this world better than anyone.
If anyone had an answer, it was him.
She thought back to that day.
Ariana had come for her.
In the middle of it all, Pidgey had evolved into Pidgeotto in a last desperate surge of will, and still it had not been enough.
Gastly had stepped forward on its own, unleashed everything it had in one final Toxic, and bought them the seconds they needed to escape.
Not long after, the notification had come through.
Gastly had permanently left the party.
The message had not used the word died.
But Moon could not think of any other explanation.
Ariana would not have let Gastly go.
And from what she had read on the forum, a permanent departure notification only ever meant one thing.
Back in Mesagoza, Naoki read her message and felt a quiet stillness settle over him.
He thought about Gastly stepping forward to shield her from Ariana, one of Team Rocket’s most powerful executives, and not coming back.
She was probably tearing herself apart over it.
For someone her age, that was a brutal thing to carry.
He could imagine exactly what was running through her head.
If she had not defected.
If she had not handed that intelligence to the Kanto League.
Maybe Gastly would still be alive.
He sat with it for a moment, then decided to give her something to hold onto.
Larry: From what I know, certain Legendary Pokémon have the power to restore life.
Others can move through time itself.
It may be possible to go back to that moment and save Gastly.
Moon: Really?!
Larry: But the power those Legendary Pokémon wield is extraordinary.
You would need to become a truly strong Trainer before you could even stand in their presence.
Moon: Thank you, Larry.
I’ll work hard, I promise.
Moon: You’ve helped me so much and I don’t even know how to thank you.
You didn’t want the Kingdra egg either.
I don’t really have anything good to give…
A moment later she sent an item through the trading function.
Moon: Larry, this is something I traded for using things Meowth picked up for me.
Please don’t think it’s too small a gift.
Naoki blinked.
A line of text appeared on his screen.
Your friend “Moon” has sent you an item.
Exp.
Share: The Pokémon equipped with this item gains additional experience during training and battles.