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Put one girl from a small island, two pokemon she loves more than anything else in the whole world, two grunts, one protective father, one overgrown forest and one tiny island together, and you have a recipe for adventure.

And a recipe for disaster.

Okay, if you really, really want to, you can comment here about the story. Spam comments or anything that breaks the rules can and will be reported. Have fun!

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Just for future reference, if you want a map of Three Island.


...And a map of Berry Forest (though I don't follow this one exactly).

Title: Chapter One

"Okay, so you have to make sure that you don't fling the rod back too far, or it'll bump your head when you cast it..."

Mira fumbled with the red and green fishing rod in her hands. She looked up at her father, who was smiling at her confidently. He repeated the motion once more with his hands and Mira mimicked it, flinging the rod into the water.

They both laughed and her father reached into the bay to grab it. "Heh. You might need some more practice, huh Meer?" He ruffled her short hair with a wet hand, making Mira flinch and shove him away playfully.

"Can we gets Ambipom to help?" She squeaked, eyes bright with hope. Her father did an exaggerated thinking face.

"Hmm. I forget which one that is. I have so many, you know. Can you describe it?"

Mira jumped up and down. "Yeah yeah yeah! Um... He's puwple, and he's gots those hands on his tail... A-And he's gots those two hairs on his head that go waaaay up like dis!" She lifted her hair on her head.

"Oooh, Ambipom! Of course. But do you know where he comes from?"

"S- ...Ssssssss-" Mira struggled with the 's' sound at first, but finally managed to say "Sinnoh."

"Wow, really?! Man, you're too smart for me," Her father ruffled her hair once more, and she giggled. "Come on, let's go get him."

The two turned around and walked hand-in-hand off of the bridge leading into the berry forest. The air was crisp and cool here, and a gentle breeze was all Mira needed to make her shiver. The small trail loomed in front of them, encased in tall grass where, if you listened closely, you could hear the chirps of Pidgeottos and the squeaks of Rattatas.

Her father was incredibly careful around the grass and, where it was unavoidable, hoisted Mira onto his shoulders and carried onto the path. Every now and then, he would pick up the pace as something nicked his legs, trying to attack.

When they arrived back in town, her father put her back onto the ground and they continued on, hand in hand once more as they walked through the sleepy town of Three Island.

Houses lined the trail, red and white and blue. Dense woodland covered the area behind these houses. Every now and then, an excited squeal could be heard in or in front of the house of someone--a child, most definitely older than Mira--was at play. Adults were more plentiful, and surveyed the children with caution.

By the time they reached the pokemon center, the streets had gone silent; it was getting late as the sun sank behind the horizon over the ocean. Three figures stood in front of the center, making Mira's father stop in surprise. He let out a small groan and kneeled down to Mira. "We can't get Ambipom right now. Tomorrow morning, I promise."

"But-"

"Mira, please."

She looked at her father, confused, and just nodded. "Good. Go back home for me; I'll be there in a second. You know the way by now."

He ushered the child away and she ran back to her house, not too far at all from the center. In fact, it was in perfect eyesight. So, from the window, she watched, as her father approached the figures which seemed to be guarding the door. They all had motorcycles parked not far from their legs.

Mira couldn't hear what was happening, of course, but she watched intently as her father very calmly tried to talk to the men. They mumbled amongst each other and laughed, one standing up. He pushed his face only inches from her father's and said something, this amused look on his face. He shook his head and stomped away, back towards the house.

As he entered, he said nothing to Mira. He only smiled and pulled out a small plush of a Ditto, handing it to her and sitting next to the now elated child. Mira forgot any conflict that she might have seen and hugged it tightly to her chest. Her father's face seemed to show a different story; shadowed in fear and stress, but still managed to hold a smile for his daughter.

Title: Chapter Two

The next morning, they woke up to find the silhouettes guarding the Pokemon Center gone. "Ambipom?" Mira squeaked hopefully. Her father smiled and nodded, leading the way into the building.

The thing about Pokemon Centers on the Sevii Islands is that they were big. Sometimes, much bigger than ones on the mainland. So, when Mira went into one for the first time, she was wide-eyed as her father went into the PC. She didn't see it, but there were pages upon pages of pokemon from all kinds of different regions. He found Ambipom easily and led the way back to the bridge. "Okay--"

Mira cut her father off and swung the rod again, this time managing to keep it in her hands. The ball on the end of the line bumped her head and flew into the water, bobbing slightly. She rubbed her head. "Nicely done!"

Mira beamed and jumped when the rod tugged back on her. "Uh, I dunno if I can do dis part."

Her father nodded and took the rod from her, pulling back and reeling in the line. When it came up, though, nothing was on the ball. "Aw."

"Hey, it's alright. We would've probably gotten a Magikarp anyway," Her father assured her. "Let's head back."

Mira nodded and ran ahead slightly only to stop at the border of the tall grass. She squinted her eyes at a pokemon in the grass, seemingly waiting. Her father came up behind her and saw the pokemon as well. "Hmph."

"Ooh! Can we catch it?"

Her father didn't reply right away. "I think it's someone else's, Meer."

"Den why is it in da grass?"

He looked at the pokemon more carefully. Eventually, he turned back to Mira. "Hey, why don't you and I go through the Berry Forest this time?"

"But I can't go in dere! You said!" Mira retorted, confused by the clashing information.

"You can when I'm with you. Besides, I think you could learn more about berries now that you're a little older."

His voice was shadowed in stress once more, but Mira scarcely noticed. She just nodded excitedly, and held out her arms to be picked up. Her father obliged and they crossed the bridge going the other way, into the forest.

The inside was shady and cool. Sunlight streamed through the very few gaps in the canopy of the leaves, casting golden rays onto the brown and green of the forest. Bushes everywhere were lined with berries of all different colors, shapes, and sizes. "Now, you have to be very quiet while we're in here, okay?" Mira's father whispered to her, holding one finger to his lips. "There are wild pokemon all over."

Mira mimicked the motion and nodded, looking around in awe. Her eyes locked on a light pink berry on a bush, which she tried to reach from atop her father's shoulders. He leaned down and gave it to her. "That's a pecha berry. They're sweet. Try it."

Mira did so and held back a groan of delight; it was the most wonderful, tasty thing she could imagine. Her father chuckled slightly and continued on.

He slowed down as they passed a pokemon at one of the bushes. Mira gaped; she had never been so close to a wild pokemon before. She couldn't even recognize it. "That's a Zigzagoon. They're native to Hoenn."

"Then why iz it here?"

"It probably was released here by a trainer."

"Why?"

"Because."

They continued on until something moved in the bushes ahead of them. Mira tapped her father's head and pointed to the ground, asking to be put down. He did so and the two advanced cautiously. Through the bushes, a small bit of orange could be seen. Mira parted them to reveal a tiny Growlithe. Its leg was stained in red, and was whining quietly. It raised its head as the two approached, and whined louder, as if frightened.

"What happened?" Mira asked, getting a little closer. Her father held her back slightly and approached it.

He stayed silent, reaching into his bag. Pulling out a pokeball, he raised his hand to throw it but was stopped by Mira. "Can I do it?"

Her father chuckled and handed the pokeball to her. "Okay, Mira, just remember you don't have to throw it too hard. You don't want to hurt it any more."

Mira nodded and threw the pokeball clumsily. It just barely hit the pokemon; any lighter and it would have missed. The Growlithe entered the pokeball, which rocked once before clicking. "...How did it get here, Daddy?" She asked, waddling forward and picking up the pokeball (which was bigger than her hand, so she had to use two). "We don't have those on Three Island, right?"

"...No, we don't," Her father answered honestly, hoisting Mira back onto his shoulders. A smile breached his face. "Articuno must have brought it here just for us."

Mira giggled excitedly as they went through Berry Forest, taking the long way back home.

it's pretty good so far. Though something bothered me, not trying to be rude...sorry if you took it that way. Zigzagoon is native to Hoenn, not Johto.

Oh, thanks! Oversight on my part, I can't tell you the last time I looked at the Hoenn pokedex xD

No problem, and it's all cool. For the longest time I thought Misdreavous was a gen three pokemon...so I understand that feeling lol.

Title: Chapter Three

"...Tira."

"Tira?"

"Tira! That's what I wanna name her!"

Mira's father snickered and looked over. "Why Tira?"

"I dunno, she just looks like a Tira!" Mira shrugged, looking at the tiny Growlithe on the table. "Aren't we going to take 'er to a Center?"

He shook his head. "It'll be too difficult to check in ourselves."

She nodded and reached her hand out to pet the pokemon, but it flinched away. Mira brought her hand away, sighing. "It's not because of you," Her father assured her, but that only sparked another sigh from Mira. "She'll warm up to you."

She shrugged and turned away, looking to the night sky out of the window. "Hey! Noctowl!" She squeaked, pointing to a shadow flying over the moon.

"We don't get those here, either," Mira's father tapped his foot, looking at the shadow with interest. "Those are from Johto."

Mira didn't really hear. She saw the pokemon land on a branch, looking around with caution. "...Come on, time for bed."

Mira groaned and went upstairs into her room. She slipped her pajamas on and leapt into bed, cuddling the Ditto plushie close to her chest. Her father entered the room. "Do you think we could get a Noctowl?!"

He laughed. "Why do you want one?"

"They're big birdies!"

He shook his head and sat on the side of her bed. "I'll think about it."

She smiled and cuddled into the covers. "Goodnight daddy!"

"Night Mira," He kissed her on the forehead and exited her room, turning off the light on the way. As soon as he left, Mira scrambled out of bed to the window on the other side of the room. She kept watching the Noctowl, staring, until it seemed to stare back. It flapped its wings and took off, into the night sky once more.

Mira yawned and went to go back to bed, but was halted by the bird landing on her windowsill. She stared in awe and waved. The Noctowl lifted a wing, as if returning the gesture.

"Hoo-hoo!" It chirped, quietly. Mira tilted her head, not understanding. It looked around the room from the windowsill and lightly tapped the glass. Mira blinked and got a chair, standing on it to reach the window. She opened it and now looked at the pokemon eye-to-eye.

The Noctowl cooed, content, and reached its wing down to pat Mira's head. She giggled and stuck her hand out to pet the pokemon. It let her, still surveying the room.

Then, after a few minutes, without any warning, it took off into the night once more. Confused, Mira strained her neck to see where it could have flown to, but didn't see anything. Shrugging it off, she closed the window with a bit of effort and curled back into bed, falling asleep.

Title: Chapter Four

[2 Months Later]

Mira and her father took care of Tira as best they could, and today was the fateful day she could go back into the wild. The two stood outside, with her father holding the pokeball next to the entrance of Berry Forest. He let the Growlithe out, who sat down, barking in front of them. Her leg was completely healed and her tail wagged fondly.

"Say goodbye, Mira," Her father said gently.

"Bye-bye, Tira! I hope you have fun in Berry Forest!" Mira squeaked, opening and closing her fingers in a wave. Tira seemed to realize what was happening and whined, trotting up to Mira and lightly pawing her leg. Her father, not noticing, opened the pokeball and began to break it, only to feel Tira tackling his leg.

"...Hm?" Her father looked down and stopped momentarily. Tira whined and pawed his leg. "Uh. Mira," He chuckled. "I think she wants to stay."

"YAY!" Mira squeaked, diving forward and hugging the pokemon.

"She'll be your responsibility, okay? She's yours."

"Uh-huh!"

It's very well possible Mira didn't hear a word her father said after the word 'stay'. She was just too happy, hugging her pokemon.

*~*~*~*

[Four Years Later]

An ember to the arm kept Mira from nodding off yet again. "Thanks Tira," She yawned, rubbing her eye once more and looking back down at the water. The bobber of her fishing rod didn't move. "We woulda caught a Magikarp by now, right? Why is it taking so looong."

Tira shrugged and gazed down into the water as well, making faces in her reflection. Mira giggled at her and kept watching the bobber. "Wait. Did you eat the bait off of it?" She asked, seeing a piece of food caught in between her fangs. Tira closed her mouth instantly and shook her head, prompting another laugh from Mira.

"Ugh, I should hit you," She rolled her eyes, bringing the bobber up and reaching behind her for another berry to put on the bobber. She stopped, seeing they were all gone. She instantly looked over to Tira, who smiled guiltily.

"COME ON," She groaned, flopping backwards onto the bridge.

Mira's birthday had been the week prior; she had turned eight. With that, her father gave her her own fishing rod and access to the Berry Forest without him (since she knew enough about battling by that point). Tira got up and poked Mira's cheek with one paw.

"Okayyyy. You're coming with me to Berry Forest," She pointed out. Tira slowly nodded as Mira got up. The two walked into the forest, taking their time as to not distract any wild pokemon, and went to the bush. It was berry-less; picked clean. The two continued, going from bush to bush, until they finally found one with plenty of berries on it. They were all Oran berries, but she knew the Magikarp didn't mind. She turned around, arms full of berries.

"Uh. Tira," She looked down at her pokemon. "Where's the path?"

Title: Chapter Five

"How hard could it be to find the path again?" Mira pointed out, laughing nervously. "The forest doesn't go on forever. Or... Does it?"

Tira shook her head, looking up at her trainer. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, why don't you use your sniffer to find the path again?" Mira suggested, stooping down to pet her pokemon. Tira nodded and raised her nose into the air before pointing it back down to the ground. She turned back the way they came and led the way into the forest.

"So far so good, but... I don't see the trail yet," Mira pointed out nervously. Tira turned around momentarily and gave Mira a look, one eyebrow raised. "Okay, okay! You know what you're doing, I get it," She shrugged, continuing to follow.

She kept a lookout for any landmarks or even some tall grass. None were in sight, and nothing but trees surrounded them. Mira tapped her fingers on her leg, weary. "Tira-"

The pokemon jumped suddenly with a startled yipe and ran backwards, crashing into Mira and sending them both sprawling to the ground. "Hey! What-" She gaped. In front of them was a giant Raticate, taller and bigger than any she had seen prior. It was pitch black, with two bulging cheeks, gleaming red eyes, and a fat, brown belly.

Even Tira (who normally fiercely battled wild pokemon no matter the type or level) was whining at the sight of it. Mira said nothing and scrambled to her feet, lifting Tira by the scruff from her chest and almost tossing her onto her shoulder. She sprinted as fast as she could, not even bothering to glance behind her to see if the pokemon was following. She could hear its heavy footsteps thumping the ground as it gave chase, coming closer, and closer...

Mira could bear it no longer and leapt into a tree just as the Raticate tried to use tackle. Tira dug her claws into Mira's hood, trying to stay on, and just managed as she pulled herself up onto a thick and heavy tree branch at least eight feet above the ground. Panting, scared out of her mind, and dizzy, Mira clutched Tira close to her chest and looked downwards at the pokemon who was trying desperately to get up the tree. "Wh-What is that thing?!" She gasped, looking at the pokemon. "It looks like a Raticate! But-"

She squeaked and almost dropped Tira as it tried to ram the trunk of the tree. She put Tira on her shoulder and climbed higher, higher, just wanting the constant shaking of the tree to stop. Eventually, she broke out into the canopy. Squinting her eyes against the sudden bright sunlight, she looked out into the forest beyond.

It was almost pointless to look for the town. Miles upon miles of woodland stretched in front of her (at least, that's what it seemed like). She opened her mouth to say something to Tira, but was cut off by another shake of the tree. She stumbled slightly but caught herself and glanced downwards at the pokemon.

She very carefully made her way back down. She decided on a branch to lie on to watch the wild pokemon carefully without constant risk of falling. It had curled up and fallen asleep right under the tree. Mira sniffed and wiped her eye of a tear, still scared. "Um. I guess we're staying here tonight," She finally sighed, leaning back on the trunk. Tira growled at the Raticate. "Too late, guard dog."

*~*~*~*

With some effort, she that night fell asleep with Tira on her lap. It wasn't comfortable, and it wasn't easy knowing her father must have been worried sick by this point, but she did it. The Raticate slept under them, waiting. Mira hadn't even thought for a second about why the pokemon was so intent on attacking them. She just knew that it wasn't good.

But, now they were asleep, Mira breathing gently and Tira snoring quietly. The Raticate woke up, being nocturnal, and looked up at them. It rubbed its still aching head from earlier and walked away from the tree before getting down on all fours and charging, tackling the tree one more time. It shook, sending leaves fluttering down. Tira and Mira both woke up, startled, Tira sliding off of Mira's lap. She reached her hand down to catch the Growlithe, but to no avail; she landed on a tree branch one layer down and hung there before falling yet again and plopping down on the ground.

"TIRA!" Mira shouted, preparing herself to jump down, but was met face-to-face with a Pidgeotto. It squawked and flapped its wings angrily, sending Mira falling down, startled. She landed on her back, inches away from the Raticate (who had ran up to Tira as soon as she fell). It turned around, interested, but howled as Tira bit it. It growled and swiped its claw across Tira's face, leaving a gash on her cheek. The Growlithe yiped, prompting Mira to scramble to her feet once more, but before she could run forward and grab the pokemon, the Pidgeotto flew down in front of Mira once more. She stumbled backwards, dodging a slap of its wing, and landed in some bushes. She got to her feet one more time and ran the other direction, away from the Raticate and Pidgeotto, noticing Tira was now nowhere to be seen.

She ran, and ran, and ran until the ground disappeared in front of her, replaced by sand tumbling down into the ocean surrounding Three Island. Mira tumbled down into the water and clawed her way to the surface, vision spinning. The current dragged her along, pulling constantly, until her muscles couldn't take the abuse and she fell under the waves.

All was silent for awhile, without any light or movement under water. Mira looked up, still trying to move her limbs and fight, but they would not obey. She closed her eyes, the salt water stinging, and was shocked to find that as she did so, a green light illuminated the sky above. She opened her eyes, lungs screaming for air, and tried to swim again towards the light. Something seemed to simply lift her out of the water with ease, leaving her gasping for breath. Her vision, blurred from the water, squinted, straining to see anything. She could make out something small, green, hovering above the water. Before she could see it clearly, however, it vanished and she plunged into darkness once more.

*~*~*~*

"Is that Mira?"

"It can't be."

"Mr. Tonak said he couldn't find her last night."

"Is she breathing?"

"What's that on her hood?"

Mira awoke to the sounds of people murmuring around her. She felt sand in her fingers and tasted it on her tongue. She opened her eyes against harsh sunlight and rolled over onto her back, looking up at the dark silhouettes above her, still chattering. "Mira?" Someone leaned down and swept a wet lock of hair out of her face. She spat out a mouthful of salty sand before replying:

"I had a rough night."

The people around her chuckled slightly, and they helped her to her feet. "Where's dad? I have to-" She squeaked as someone rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"Oh thank Arceus you're alright," Her father muttered, squeezing her tight. Mira returned the embrace, sniffling. "Don't you ever do that again!" He scolded her after a long while in the hug. Mira was about to nod in guilty agreement when a realization slammed into her.

"Tira! Where's Tira?! She ran-"

"She's alright. Back at the house. Where you are going to be staying for a week."

Mira nodded quickly, expecting something like that, and began to follow her father when someone stopped them both. "Uh, Brian?" A fisherman smiled. "This was biting onto her sweatshirt when she washed up."

He handed a tiny pokemon to Mira's father. "...A Dratini?" He gaped, looking at it. The pokemon didn't attack, but instead jumped from his hand onto Mira once more. She flinched, but no injury came. The pokemon simply curled up inside Mira's hood and fell asleep.

Title: Chapter Six

The walk back home was somewhat awkward. The silence was almost nauseatingly uncomfortable--the only thing to really make a noise was the Dratini snoring in Mira's hood that had absolutely refused to get out.

"What happened?" Mira's father finally asked, looking at his daughter tensely. Mira looked up at him sheepishly.

"I-I was fishing..." She started. "But Tira ate the bait. So we went into Berry Forest to get some more, but we lost the trail and got lost."

Her father frowned and sighed. "Anything else?"

Mira thought for a moment. She could go on and on, really, about what exactly happened, but she had to narrow it down. "This wild pokemon went after us and we hid in a tree 'cause it was huge. We stayed up there until it knocked us down. We ran different directions, and I fell in the ocean."

"Then-"

"I dunno how I got out," She cut off her father, who would normally scold her for that. But the reason was good enough.

The silence returned without welcome. They walked for awhile, until Mira finally broke it. "...I think I fell asleep in the ocean or something. There was this green light above the water... And..." She trailed off, looking up at her father. He returned the glance, intrigued. "...And I floated up. Out of the water. And there was this green thingy... Like, a fairy or something-"

Mira paused, genuinely not knowing how to continue. "Probably just a dream."

But her father was clearly thinking over this carefully. "If you fell asleep in the water," He started. "Then you wouldn't have drifted to shore so easily."

Mira shrugged. "I didn't think about it too much."

"Mira, this-" Her father sighed. "I think a pokemon helped you to shore."

"Whaaaat? How?"

They both thought this notion over until Mira felt something shake in her bag. Surprised, she glanced down. They were at the house now.

"...What is it?" Her father asked, noticing her sudden movement.

"Something moved in my bag."

He opened the door and they both sat down at the aqua-blue couch in the living room, gathering around the brown messenger bag. Her father very carefully opened it and a pokeball rolled out, gold and white. "A pokeball?"

"You never gave me any pokeballs," Mira looked at him, surprised. He shook his head and let her pick up the pokeball.

"G...S. GS. That's what it says above the button," Mira read aloud, giving it to her father. He looked at it, a smile protruding his face.

"Mira! YOU SAW CELEBI!"

"Uh. Who?"

Her father got up and grabbed a book from the nearby bookshelf. He flipped through and showed a page to Mira. "Very few people have ever seen it. It travels through time, protecting forests and leaving eggs from the future wherever it appears."

Mira looked at the page, showing a picture of the tiny legendary. She tilted her head. "But... Why?"

"That's not the point. You have Celebi's summon item now!" Mira's father hugged her. "And... He saved you!"

Mira returned the hug, still wildly confused. "You're still in trouble."

"I figured."

*~*~*~*

That night, Mira went to bed with her father's voice echoing in her head to never tell anyone else about the GS Ball. She decided that she was excited, for the most part, but Tira (who had ended up being alright) was less than elated.

She closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep and stay asleep the entire night in a bed, when something tapped on her window. She got out of her covers with a groan and put her glasses on to see Noctowl in the window. "Ughhh. Noctowl, is now the best time?"

The bird pokemon nodded and Mira groaned once more, opening the window. "You're lucky I like you," She grumbled, reaching out and petting his feathers.

Tira jumped up onto the windowsill and nudged Noctowl playfully. He slapped her with his wing in return, sending her flying away across the room, laughing. "So. What's up?"

"Hooo."

The Noctowl pointed to the ocean. "You heard?" He nodded. "Well. I'm fine. I was expecting to see you in the forest, actually," Mira grumbled. Noctowl shrugged. "We could have used some help."

"Hooooooo. Hoo hoo."

Char barked in return. The Noctowl rolled his eyes. "It's fine. I don't blame you. Any new trainers?"

He shook his head, causing Mira to sigh. "Fine. Hey, can you do us a favor actually?" He tilted his head. "There's this... Really weird pokemon in the Berry Forest. It's like a really dark Raticate. Could you figure out where it came from?"

Noctowl nodded and raised his wings once more. "Thanks, Noctowl. Good luck. And be careful! He's super fat!" She managed to hug the pokemon just before it took off into the night.

Title: Chapter Seven

[One Week Later]

Mira's father handed her the pokeball, shaking furiously. "Let it out. It won't hurt you."

She looked skeptical enough, but obeyed; the Dratini stood in front of her, hissing angrily. "Sorry, Dratini, but we needed to catch you," Her father said with a smile. The pokemon huffed and looked at Mira, sniffing curiously.

"...Isn't this the pokemon that was biting me last week?" Mira said, raising one eyebrow. Her and Tira shared a worried glance. "We're keeping it?"

"Yes! You were lucky to find a Dratini; especially such a one like this. She's very... Aggresive. No doubt about it, she'll be a great fighter one day," Mira's dad explained, elated. She could tell he was about to go off on a tangent about nature and movesets and IVs and EVs and anything else you could think of, so she cut him off:

"Great!" Mira held her hand out to the Dratini, wanting to pet it, but received an angry nip in return. "Ow! She bit me!"

"Well, Meer, you have to befriend pokemon first. They don't always want to be nice as soon as you catch them," Her father said gently, giving Mira a berry. She carefully offered it to the Dratini, who took it very reluctantly. "There you go."

"I'm not going to raise it myself, am I?"

"You did fine with Tira; I want you to learn to take care of more than one, especially now that you're older."

At that, Mira groaned. "But a Growlithe is completely different than a Dratini! Different height, weight, typing, nature..." She rattled off a few more things, making her father laugh.

"I've taught you well. You can do it, Mira; it's just a different species. Smaller, too; you just need to learn what she likes," He pointed out, ruffling Mira's hair. She smiled and nodded.

"...Okay. I'll try."

*~*~*~*

A few hours later, Mira found herself in the berry forest. She ran her hand over her mop of brown hair, doodling in her sketchbook. Dratini and Char were play-fighting. At least... That's what it looked like. They might have actually been fighting, but Mira couldn't tell.

At last, she finished the sketch. "What do you think?" She asked her pokemon, looking around. They had managed to make their way over to a bush. "Tira! Dratini! Come here!" She called. The two pokemon stopped and obeyed. "How do you like it?"

It was a rather simple doodle, but probably the best one she'd ever done up to that point. It was a tree, uncolored, unshaded, but detailed to say the least; you could see every individual leaf and strip of bark. "Sure did take me awhile."

Tira barked encouragingly, tail wagging, while Dratini flicked her tail dismissively. "Thanks. ...I think," Mira hesitated. "Didn't Noctowl say there was a Zigzagoon around here that we should look out for?" She asked. Tira nodded. "Hm. I suppose we should head back, then."

They got up. Mira picked up Tira and let her hold onto her shoulder. She offered a hand to Dratini, but she denied it, nose upturned. "Come on, Dratini! I won't drop you," Mira insisted, keeping her hand extended. Dratini stuck out her tongue. Mira sighed and retracted her hand, straightening up. "Fine. Just keep up, okay?"

Somewhat annoyed, Mira walked off, rolling her eyes. Dratini followed after a few steps. She trailed behind slightly, but said nothing, and acted like she was right beside Mira.

They were almost out of the forest when something caught Tira's eye; a coin, under a thin layer of dirt and dust in the trail, glimmered ever so slightly in the sunlight. She jumped off of Mira's shoulder and sniffed it curiously.

Mira stopped and watched her pokemon while Dratini panted, a few feet behind her. She stopped and stood, gasping for air. Mira flinched slightly and rummaged around in her bag for water. "Here," She finally said, opening the bottle. Dratini looked hesitant, but opened her mouth to drink. "There. Now will you let me carry you?"

She slowly nodded. "Good," Mira sighed, picking Dratini up and letting her onto her shoulder. She looked back to Tira to find her gone. "Dangit! TIRA!" She called. The pokemon barked and poked her head up, out of a bush. "What did I tell you about wandering off?" She sighed. The Growlithe smiled cheekily and started back, the coin in her mouth.

I can barely handle one of you. How in Articuno's name am I going to handle TWO?!

Title: Chapter Eight

The next day, the coin was back.

Mira looked at it skeptically, and blew some of the dust off of it. "Tira, don't pick it up. Not this time," She advised her pokemon. "It's in the same spot as yesterday, too."

Dratini picked it up in her jaws; it was only a little smaller than her, but she was determined to haul it off the ground. "Dratini, can I just-" She hissed as Mira tried to pick it up for her. "Jeez. Fine," Mira rolled her eyes and glanced at Tira. The Growlithe was sniffing the coin still.

Dratini finally hauled it up, off the ground, and into Mira's hand. "Thanks," She sighed, observing it. "...A game center chip? What is this doing here?"

Tira barked and held up another one from further down. Mira raised her eyebrow. "...Another one?" She mumbled, looking at it. She looked down the small trail where the chips were, sheltered by trees and bushes.

Mira straightened up and picked up her pokemon, putting them on her shoulders. Against most of her instincts, she let her curiosity take hold and followed the trail of chips.

Down into the forest, past the thick wall of bushes and trees, she followed the chips for a long while, making sure not to pick any up so she could find her way back. She was about to give up the trail when suddenly something grabbed her arms from behind, dragging her back. She squeaked in surprise a moment after her pokemon did, who both fell off of her shoulders.

She was dropped shortly and looked behind her to see Noctowl. "You scared me!" Mira hissed, turning around and sitting. Tira and Dratini both ran to sit beside her. "What was that for?!"

Noctowl held up a game chip and shook his head. "Hoooooooo."

"What? You don't think we should follow them? Why not?" Mira groaned. "It was leading up to an adventure, I know it!" At that, Noctowl lightly slapped her. "OWW. What?! It's not like we were gonna-"

Mira stopped, hearing something rustling behind her. Noctowl grabbed her arms again and lifted her into the air, dropping her in a branch. Mira fumbled with her pokeballs and returned Tira. As for Dratini, the pokemon absolutely refused to even come near the return beam. "DRATINI. GET. UP. HERE," Mira whisper-yelled down, but fell silent as the footsteps came closer.

A man emerged. He looked strange--at least, to Mira. A gray hat and gray uniform. Everything about him was grey--except, of course, for the red and white pokeballs on his grey belt and the bright red "R" on the chest of his shirt. "Where did she go?! We just heard her!" He growled.

"Are the chips still there?" Another called from behind him.

The man belt down and examined the ground. "Yeah, every single one of them."

Mira held her breath. Dratini had hidden in a bush. Please don't see her please don't see her please don't see-

"A DRATINI!"

She mumbled the curse word she knew.

Next thing she knew, the man was holding up Dratini almost triumphantly, ignoring the constant bites to his hand. He walked off, through the bushes again. Mira followed through the trees, jumping from branch to branch where necessary, until she came across a large opening. A few tents were set up, as well as a few tables with pokeballs and papers scattered all over them.

"Young, too! Look at 'er! Let's take it back to the Game Center in Celadon; that one is good enough," The man said, holding Dratini more carefully now.

"Noctowl, can't you do something?!" Mira asked, horrified. She looked beside her to see that her friend wasn't there; he had moved to the sky, watching. She gnawed on her fingernail nervously and let Tira out. "Okay, whatever you do, do not go down there," She hissed to her pokemon. Tira nodded nervously and looked down at Dratini.

"It's too far. Just send it to the one on Two Island!" Another person--a woman this time--emerged from the tent wearing the same outfit.

"No one ever goes to that one," The man pointed out.

"Okay, fine. Just catch it before you start thinking about this stuff," The woman pointed out snarkily.

The man rolled his eyes and grabbed a pokeball, pressing it to Dratini. "...It's caught. Won't go in."

"Grab a Rocketball then."

The man nodded and went to the other table under Mira. He looked up at her branch suddenly. "...Is someone-"

"TIRA TACKLE," Mira howled. Tira leapt off of the branch, crashing into the man. He screamed in surprise, quite literally throwing Dratini. Mira jumped off of the branch, sprinting over to her pokemon; Tira followed, scrambling off of the man's face.

"What's going on?!" The woman screeched. "Raticate! Go!"

The black Raticate appeared beside her. Mira gasped at the sight of it. "Tira, that's-"

Tira growled, fur bristling. Dratini leapt into Mira's hood and she sprinted away. "After them!" The woman called. Heavy footsteps followed us.

"DEJAVU," Mira panted, sprinting faster than ever before. Tira kept up easily, but the Raticate did too. She turned sharply, still following the trail of game chips, until she broke out of the forest. Still, she ran and ran, over the bridge and right through the tall grass. Even as the footsteps stopped, she ran.

Finally, at her house, she slowed down, panting. Tira practically collapsed. "Mira? What happened?" Her father called, running outside.

Mira gasped for air. "Two... Uniforms... Grey..." She managed to say, still struggling for breath. But even that was all her father needed to figured out what was happening.

Title: Chapter Nine

Mira didn't go back to the forest for awhile. Her father left the house every day now, refusing to tell Mira exactly what was happening. She didn't even know where he was going. Something was wrong, that much was clear.

But, when her father left, Mira did too. She went down to the docks and talked to the fishermen that were there--Mr. Sato, Mr. Tanaka, and Mr. Ito. Mira had known them her entire life, but now she really grew close to them.

Tira wasn't particularly fond of the water-types the fishermen had, but they never attacked. If anything, they just wanted to play. And that's why she knew something was wrong when one day, the fishermen almost attacked her on sight.

"You scared us, Mira!" Mr. Ito sighed, calling off his Mudkip.

"I scared you?! You almost just soaked Tira!" Mira snapped, hugging her Growlithe to her chest. "I come here every day at the same time, how could I have scared you?"

The three men looked at each other. "...Did you bring your rod today?" Mr. Sato asked.

"Of course. I always bring it."

"Good. I want you to catch a Horsea today," Mr. Sato went on, making some room on the docks.

"Why that specifically?" Mira asked, sitting down. Her feet hung off of the docks.

Mr. Tanaka mumbled something in Japanese. "Mr. Tanaka, you know I don't speak all that much Japanese," Mira sighed, looking at him.

"I know," Mr. Tanaka nodded solemnly. "I just don't think you should know yet."

Mira blinked, surprised and put down the rod. "Tell me. Now."

The three looked at each other. "...Has your father told you about Team Rocket yet?" Mr. Ito asked.

Mira shook her head.

"Well, they are these people that steal pokemon from their trainers and use them for their own purposes or sell them. Those bikers that you see every now and then are a part of Team Rocket."

"Do they wear grey hats?"

Mr. Tanaka nodded. "Have you seen them before, Mira?"

She nodded. "...Keep going, please."

"Three of them approached us last night," Mr. Sato explained. "They want us to catch some pokemon for them. They want a Horsea, but we haven't had any luck with it."

Mira considered this. "Does my dad know?"

The three of them nodded. "Brian is never around anymore," Mr. Tanaka pointed out.

"I know. He leaves the same time I do every day..." She mumbled in reply. Tira whined slightly, causing Mira to look over. "I know you're bored. Dratini wants to stay home now-" Tira whined again, louder, to cut her off. Mira frowned at her.

"Your father is a very brave man," Mr. Ito pointed out. "I believe he will succeed in his fight against Rocket."

Mira didn't reply at first. She just hoisted Tira onto her lap and looked at the three men sitting on the dock beside her. "It's not that," She mumbled, petting her pokemon. "There are many rare pokemon here. I've got Tira and Dratini, you guys have Mudkip, Buizel, and Ducklett. I'm just worried-"

"Our pokemon are safe, Mira," Mr. Sato assured her. "Just have faith."

They were quiet for the rest of the time on the dock, fishing without any words.

*~*~*~*

"I'm home!" Mira called, stepping into her house. Tira sprinted in front of her, barking a greeting to Dratini who slithered up to the two. "Daddy?"

There was no reply. Mira grunted, throwing her bag off of her shoulder and onto the couch. "Dratini, is Dad home?"

Dratini shook her head, slithering up to Mira. "That's weird. Normally he gets home before I do."

Tira shrugged and curled up on the couch. "I'll give him an hour, I guess. He's probably just late."

*~*~*~*

"Okay, where is he?"

Mira paced up and down the living room. "He should definitely be back by now. Where is he?!"

Tira shrugged. Dratini was on Mira's shoulder, shaking her head. "I'd go look for him, but it's dark and I still have absolutely no clue where he goes every day!"

She kept pacing up and down the living room until she found herself grabbing her bag. "Dratini, grab the flashlight. We're going out."

Title: Chapter Ten

The night was dark and cold, and loomed over Three Island like a cloak. The full moon was rising over the Kantonian Sea, casting moonlight onto the rippling waves and creating silhouettes along the dock where the boats resided. No people were in sight and the only noises that were made were bird pokemon chirping in the night and the waves washing along the beach.

With Tira on one shoulder and Dratini on another, Mira put her black hood up on her head and clicked on her flashlight. She stepped off of the porch and crept down the neighborhood towards the Berry Forest. Dad would be mad if he found out I went out at night on my own... She couldn't help but think as she sprinted past the tall grass, dropping berries for the wild pokemon as she went so they wouldn't attack. But Dad isn't here. He's the reason I left. This is justified.

She entered the Berry Forest and was immediately enclosed in darkness. The leaves of the trees blocked the moonlight from streaming in, making the forest almost completely shadowed. Mira shivered and kept her eyes on the light of the flashlight as she stepped in. "Tira, could you provide some extra light?" She whispered to her pokemon. The Growlithe nodded and leapt off of her shoulder, stepping in front of Mira slightly. She lightly shook her fur, creating sparking flames that clung to her fur. The forest was illuminated further. "Thank you."

Tira nodded and kept going forward, growling every now and then to show Mira that she saw a wild pokemon. Dratini shivered on her other shoulder. "...Are you cold?" Mira whispered to her. Dratini nodded slowly. "And you don't want to return. Uh... Here," She picked Dratini up and moved her into the pocket of her hoodie, where the shivering lessened. "That won't work forever, but for now..."

She stopped when Tira stopped. She was growling, stepping backwards to come closer to Mira. "Is it a pokemon? Or-" She stopped as something landed behind her quietly. Tira spun around, snarling, and was about to use a move when the pokemon slapped a wing over Mira's mouth.

Noctowl stood proud and tall--like usual--and looked at Tira. "Hoo."

Tira barked a response and sat down, now knowing there was no danger. Mira shoved the wing away from her mouth. "Noctowl, we need your help."

"Hoo hoot."

Mira didn't like his tone--cautious and wise, as though it were a warning. "I know I'm not supposed to be out here at night, but my Dad didn't come home. Have you seen him?" She whispered. Noctowl hesitated, visibly considering this. He sighed and nodded. "Could you take us to him before Dratini freezes?" Noctowl nodded again and took off into the air.

Suddenly, there were talons gripping her arms (but not cutting into them) and she was lifted up, into the sky. "WAAAH! NOCTOWL! PUT ME-" She screeched, holding on tightly. Tira yiped in surprise and extinguished herself, leaping to grab Mira's foot just before she became out of reach.

She was soon high above Berry Forest, where Mira saw for the first time just how truly massive it was. It easily took up half of the island (which was a lot for her to take in, but was still tiny in comparison to some place like Viridian Forest). "Noctowl-" She started, but fell silent as the pokemon dove down, back into the forest. Mira bit back a scream at the sudden drop.

Mira was suddenly thrown out of Noctowl's grasp and into the trees, stunning both her and her pokemon. Tira flew off of her leg and landed in a tangle of branches, mostly getting stuck, while Dratini fell out of Mira's pocket and onto another branch. Mira herself crashed through some branches and onto the ground mostly unhurt due to the branches breaking her fall.

She sat up and looked around frantically, brushing some leaves off. A little bark came from the tree and Mira glanced up to see Tira with Dratini on her back. "Uh. Hold on, I'll get-" She stopped upon hearing voices from the left of her. Ducking further into the bushes, Mira watched with interest as two figures stalked through the wood, whispering something about the little town not too far from the edge of the forest. As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, Mira turned around and climbed up the tree to get her pokemon.

Dratini jumped onto Mira's shoulder and looked down to the forest floor not nervously, but more curiously. She squeaked quietly. "...What?" Mira whispered as Tira climbed onto her other shoulder.

Dratini glanced at Mira and jumped forward suddenly, onto the ground with a small 'huff'. Mira gasped and looked down only to find Dratini slithering away. "Dratini!"

Without much else to do to fix that situation, Mira followed along in the trees, jumping from branch to branch until Dratini stopped in front of another figure, who gasped upon seeing Dratini. "Where's--"

Mira jumped to the ground and looked at her father, who was petting Dratini soothingly. "Mira!"

"Dad!" Mira rushed forward and eveloped him in a hug.

"What are you doing out here?! It's dangerous! You're not allowed outside after dark," He scolded, pushing her away after a second or two. Mira thought about her answer for maybe a split second.

"I'm sorry that you weren't home--you still aren't home--and that I was worried that you wouldn't come home!" She hissed, fists clenched. "You always go off to Berry Forest without telling me what you're doing or why. Well? I still can't tell honestly!"

"We'll have this discussion later, young lady. You have to go home," Her father retorted sternly, hints of anger creeping into his tone as well.

"And how exactly would I do that?!" Mira growled. "I don't know where we are!"

"Then how did you get here?"

"That doesn't matter! The point is, I came looking for you only to find that you didn't want me here! But oh, sure, let me just risk my life again and walk home."

Her father opened her mouth to reply, but found he had no response ready. He sighed. "I'm sorry I made you worry, but you do need to go home. I'll have Sals--"

A twig snapped in front of them, and both Mira and her father shut up almost instantly.

It was a pokemon; a rather large one at that. Hearing it stomp through the forest sent a chill down her spine and she ducked down further into the leaves. Her father put one hand on a pokeball that Mira recognized as Auddie's. "Rrra..." The pokemon growled, stopping in front of their bushes. Tira dug her claws into the ground.

"What'cha got, Remi?" A gruff voice called, approaching his pokemon. "Ah, let's see."

A hand reached through the leaves to claw at the two. Both Mira and her father shifted backwards, making noise in the process. "A pokemon, maybe--" The grunt stuck his hand in further. Mira's father put an arm over Mira's chest to try and shove her back even more. There was now little to no room to call out an Audino.

Mira whistled suddenly, much to her father's and the grunt's surprise. Tira jumped forward and bit viciously onto the arm. "WHAT THE-" The grunt screeched, dragging Tira out of the foliage to try and shake her off. The humans leapt to their feet. Dratini looked frightened, staring at the 'fight' between the grunt and Tira.

Mira's father called out Sals--his Salamence--and leapt on. "Mira!" He called, ready to take off.

She didn't get on--not yet, anyway. She jumped over the huge pokemon known as Remi as he lunged and tore Tira off of the grunt's arm. "You good?" She muttered to the Growlithe, who nodded and growled at the Alolan Raticate who prepared to charge once more. It was swiped aside by a lash of Sals' tail and gave Mira just enough time to leap onto the pokemon's back.

It was late now, around midnight, and the stars illuminated the night sky. The ride home was silent for maybe a minute before her father started to laugh. "...Wh-What?" Mira stammered, still intimidated by the thought of staying at home for weeks on end once more.

"You thought very quickly back there," Her father explained, glancing back. His expression was calm and happy. "Like a trainer."

Mira smiled at the praise and stroked Tira, who was asleep by now. Dratini slithered back onto her shoulder and curled up in her hood. "So I'm not in trouble?"

"Oh, of course you are. Big time. But I've got something else in mind than a simple grounding."

Title: Chapter Eleven

The next day, pale moonlight masked by morning clouds shone into Mira's room and Tira slept under her arm. Mira herself was snoring softly, almost unnoticeably. Dratini slept under her covers, beside Tira, for it was winter and the tiny pokemon couldn't handle much cold.

"Mira. Mira, wake up."

Her father's voice made Mira open one eye slowly. "Dad--" She turned over in bed. "What time is it?"

"Five in the morning," Her father answered, now trying to wake Tira up by petting her. The Growlithe yawned and lifted her head, confused. Dratini hissed and burrowed further into the blankets of the bed. "Get up."

"For whaaat."

"You'll see. C'mon, get up. Tira?"

Tira shook her head and flopped back down. "It's too early," Mira groaned again.

"I'll make waffles," Her father offered with a small grin. Mira, Tira, and Dratini all raised their heads in interest. "Only if you get up."

"Alright, alright. We're up," Mira finally sat up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Her father ruffled her hair before going out of the room. "Come on, guys."

Tira whined slightly, but jumped out of bed with a limp and sleepy Dratini on her back. Mira quickly slipped on a red hoodie over her nightshirt and changed into her jeans before stumbling downstairs to the kitchen, where the smells of fresh waffles filled the room. She sighed in relief and glanced down at her pokemon, who seemed equally relieved to smell food. "Why did we wake up at 5 AM?" Mira asked.

"I think it's time that you learn proper battle strategies," Her father explained, glancing back at Mira as she sat down. "You know the basics; type-advantages, moves, and even bits about natures. But not how to actually fight and fight well for that matter."

"What do you mean by that? Just last night we fought those guys and won. Seems like I know how to battle just fine," Mira raised her eyebrows quizically, stuffing a bite of waffle into her mouth. Her father laughed heartily.

"Not even close! You know how to bark out moves and at least one of your pokemon are obediant enough to listen and perform them."

"Hey, Dratini is getting there!"

"But you don't know when to use moves. They can do more than inflict damage. A move as simple as tackle could completely incapacitate your enemy."

Mira thought about that for a moment. "...What does 'incapacitate' mean again?"

"Thank you for showing me that I have to keep teaching you regular English and Math lessons. We'll wake up every day at this time to do battle training, then regular lessons. If something comes up, we'll cut the lessons off short so that I--and I alone--can deal with it since you're grounded. The last few hours of the day will be yours. What do you say?"

She and her father exchanged an expectant glance. Mira quickly looked back at Dratini and Tira, who had both paused their munching of the delectable waffles in order to listen. Tira's tail wagged excitedly and she barked in approval, while Dratini blinked and nodded (much to Mira's surprise).

"We'll do it."

*~*~*~*

It was cold outside, making Mira put up the hood of her sweatshirt. It was just a reminder of how winter was coming up fast, looming over the tiny island with the threat of frigid winds and snowy weather. Tira's warm fur was fluffed up and Dratini (who had been showing her intelligence more and more over the past few weeks) burrowed in her fur. Her father seemed fine in his warm, tan parka. He rolled a pokeball in his hands and tossed it to the ground.

"Meet Aite," He said, motioning to the Zorua in front of him. The pokemon was about the same size as Tira, if a little lighter.

"Zor!" Aite barked. Tira waved one paw.

"...We're going to fight him?" Mira blinked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yes. Yes you are. Aite here might be small, but he's one of the strongest pokemon I've ever raised." Her father leaned down and rubbed Aite's ear, prompting a content yip from the tiny fox pokemon.

"Uh-huh. Okay, Tira. You're up." Mira seemed unconvinced still as her Growlithe marched in front of her, some ways away from Aite.

"Grow-row."

"Zor-zorua."

The two glared at each other in playful hatred. "You start." Her father motioned to Mira before folding his hands behind his back.

Mira nodded and smirked at Tira. "Ember."

Tira barked and fired off the move. "Fury swipes!" Her father replied instantly. Aite darted forward and purposely crashed into the ember, lighting himself on fire as he swiped at Tira. The growlithe yiped in surprise and flew backwards, the move doing a little bit of extra damage. "Wait, what just happened."

"You need to learn which moves to use at the right times. Doing so will increase the damage you inflict, if even slightly." Her father replied simply. Mira blinked and looked at Aite in slight surprise.

"Alright."

"Now, you try that same tactic with one of Aite's moves. Ready?"

"...Yeah."

Her father nodded. "Foul play."

Aite shook his tail before a wave of purple rose about him. He leapt forward. "Bite!" Mira called out on a whim. Tira, not expecting this, sloppily opened her jaws and almost caught Aite. She got a weird grip on his paw and bit down before throwing the Zorua aside. The foul play still hit and Tira skid backwards on the ground for a moment.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. Your timing could use work, and Tira's accuracy was off somewhat. But otherwise, not bad," Her father nodded, eyebrows raised in satisfaction. Mira beamed slightly. "Now, Dratini."

"Are you sure? She's kind of--"

Dratini crawled out from her hood and nodded eagerly, giving Mira a pleading stare. "...Yeah. If you're sure."

She raised her chin proudly and jumped down from her shoulder, landing evenly with a slight 'oof'. Aite blinked, confused for a moment. "Zoru?"

"Draa!"

"Zor zor."

The two nodded at each other in mutual respect (causing Tira to growl something under her breath). "If there was ever a time I wish I could understand pokemon." Her father chuckled quietly. Mira snickered in agreement.

"Let's do this."

"Right. Aite, let's start this with a feint attack," Her father commanded, choosing a slightly stronger move. Mira noticed this and was confused at first. Why would he choose a stronger attack against a weaker pokemon? She thought, confused.

Aite strolled up to Dratini and raised a paw as though to strike her with a ton of force. Dratini didn't wince and shot off a Dragon Pulse (much to everyone's surprise). Without taking a lick of damage, Dratini had completely stunned the higher-leveled Zorua and sent him flying backwards.

"Zor!"

Dratini smiled and looked back to an absolutely astounded Mira. "I-I... Dratini!" She blinked and scooped up the tiny pokemon, wrapping her in a gentle hug. Dratini was too proud of herself to object.

"That was an egg move. Dratinis don't learn that move any other way. And for such a small pokemon to know such a powerful move..." Her father's eyes were wide and he didn't finish.

Dratini looked at Mira. The girl smiled faintly. And, for the first time, Dratini smiled back.

Title: Chapter Twelve

Years passed.

Tira and Dratini had both grown considerably. Both were still rather tiny, yes, but they both had more defined muscles and moved faster than they had prior to the training. They both needed to be at least level ten before Mira went on her journey, as she very well knew, and they had easily surpassed expectations. Without a dex, there was no surefire way of knowing the levels of the pokemon, but anyone with any knowledge of pokemon could tell they were ready to fight a gym.

Mira herself was, as well. Though she very rarely slept for more than five hours (though she did "go to bed" at nine, she stayed up well after then and the regular time she fell asleep was around midnight), she was admittedly much more intelligent battle-wise than she ever had been before. Her knowledge was set about strategies for the most part and she had gotten to know both her pokemon particularly well, both on and off of the battlefield. Tira was, as she now knew, a hasty nature. Dratini was a calm nature (which came as quite a shock to Mira, but she soon found that her pokemon usually was extremely calm now that she didn't loathe Mira).

But that hardly mattered at this one moment. Mira's birthday was coming up fast. Becoming ten was nothing short of a milestone, really, to the people of the tiny town. The first decade you're alive decided your decades to come, according to the philosophy of the elder fishermen. To Mira, it simply meant one year until she could leave for the mainland.

Also, it meant a boat.

It was nothing short of a tradition for the town. It was a port and sea town, which naturally meant that a knowledge of fishing was key to making a living there. And that entailed learning to sail, as any seasoned fishermen could tell you that the biggest fish resided deep in the ocean, far from the island and the mainland itself.

But then, there was a second tradition. Mira wasn't supposed to find out.

And she didn't. The girl was used to receiving smaller gifts for her birthday; a ditto plush, a pack of pencils, a sketchbook. The most expensive present she had ever received was a small charm necklace fit with an anchor charm made of silver for her ninth birthday, and that gave Mira the impression that this year she would receive nothing at all.

But the fishermen had been preparing nonstop for weeks now for her birthday, hoping and praying to Arceus that it would be finished on time. Keeping Mira away was easy enough. She'd been spending a large amount of time in Berry Forest on her off hours, giving them plenty of time to prepare.

Mira, however, was also keeping a secret. She had found a small camp with the strange people who had attacked and had been spying almost nonstop for the past month. These people seemed to keep quiet, she noticed, and if they ever went out into town it was in the hours of night when Mira (and the rest of the town for that matter) was unable to see.

The two people, she soon found, called themselves Fen and Pine. The woman, Pine, was short and muscular. Her white hair hung down in two ponytails protruding from either side of her head and were so long that they touched the middle of her back. Mira was pretty sure that her orange eyes were color contacts to make her look cool.

Fen (who seemed to be leader of the two) was much taller. His muscles weren't as defined as Pine's, but he made up for it with complicated-sounding jargon that had to do with their "mission" and a knowledge of strategy. He had pitch black hair and a pale complextion that made Mira think he was a vampire for a solid two weeks. His blue eyes never showed much emotion.

But that's all that Mira could figure out during her time spying. Who they were and what they looked like.

They were smart enough to be careful about what they said and when they said it. They never let their pokemon out (except for that black Raticate, Remi, that the two seemed to share) and they certainly never talked about what "the mission" was about (unless they were in their tent they had set up, when Mira couldn't hear). She had learned from the fishermen that they were a part of Team Rocket, sure, but that information was useless without knowledge of why they were here.

The only information she learned of value was a name: Gio. And even then, that wasn't much. It wasn't even a full name. All Mira could get out of that was that they usually referred to Gio as "the boss". She would have asked her father who Gio was, but she'd get in big trouble for the spying. So she stayed there, watching and waiting for something to happen.

And something finally did happen on her tenth birthday.

Title: Chapter Thirteen [Part One]

Mira awoke to a sound she thought she'd never hear at five in the morning; a cheerful, happy bark from Tira.

This was especially strange to her since it was Saturday. Her father almost took her out to train on Saturdays, and certainly never before nine o'clock. Tira had woken up on her own.

"Why are you up," Mira yawned groggily, rubbing one eye. She turned over in bed to look at Tira. The Growlithe looked like she had been up for hours. "It's too early, Tir."

Tira barked again, tail wagging excitedly. She bit Mira's nose playfully before jumping backwards onto the ground. Dratini appeared from under the covers. "Dra!"

"Gr-ruff ruff."

At that, Dratini's gaze brightened considerably and she leapt off of the bed to stand beside Tira. Mira, confused and still half-asleep, stared dumbfounded at her pokemon. "What is up with you guys?" She groaned, tearing the covers off of herself and sitting up. Tira ran to the window and scrambled up a small ottoman that Mira had placed under it so that her pokemon could look out. She stood on her hind legs and looked out the window excitedly.

Curious, Mira got out of bed completely and helped Dratini onto the ottoman. She looked out the window herself.

The sun was rising steadily on the horizon, draping the water in pink and orange. The town looked no different. The only glaring exception was a Noctowl sitting above the trees in Berry Forest, a silhouette against the light. Upon seeing movement in the window of the house, he took off into the sky and landed not a second later on Mira's windowsill. "You're back!"

Noctowl seemed to smile. He raised a wing and pat Mira's head. "Where'd you go? You've been gone for months now." Mira asked happily. He thought for a moment before turning to Tira and Dratini.

"Hoo, hoo hoo, hoot ho-hoot."

The two looked surprised. Tira nodded at Mira before jumping off of the ottoman. She darted back onto Mira's bed and pointed at the map she kept above it with one sweeping motion of her paw.

"The entire world?! You've gotta be joking! You saw it all?" Mira gasped, understanding. Noctowl nodded. "What was it like?" He shrugged his wings. "Come on, you must have enjoyed it."

Noctowl chuckled quietly and nodded. He turned and flew away, reappearing a second later with a cloth bag. He practically threw it at Mira, who unzipped it curiously. Inside was a chocolate brown ukulele with patterns carved into the wood around the hole. A sticker inside of the hole, visible underneath the nylon strings, read "Made in Alola".

"Noctowl..." Mira gasped, looking at it in complete fascination. "This is gorgeous. But how'd you get it? You didn't steal it, did you?"

Noctowl laughed and shook his head. He hooted cheerfully before flapping off of the windowsill and hovering next to the window. Mira smiled and climbed onto the windowsill, sitting down. Noctowl turned around and allowed Mira to climb onto his back.

Tira and Dratini looked at each other, disappointed they couldn't get a ride either, but waved at Mira as her and Noctowl flew off to Berry Forest.

The sunrise somehow looked even prettier from the sky. Mira kept her gaze fixed on it for most of the time, hugging Noctowl as he flew off to the depths of Berry Forest. The landing sequence jolted her out of her daydream.

Mira had been to Noctowl's nest before. He was definitely a smart bird; he had chosen a tall tree with a large, wide space atop the trunk sheltered by leaves and sticks. It was very well hidden. In the middle was the nest itself, softened with fur (from other pokemon in the forest) and leaves.

Noctowl let Mira off. She sat on a heavy branch while Noctowl made his way over to a pile of leaves. He pulled out a note and handed it to Mira:

"To whomever finds this instrument:
My true love has left me on this day. He bought me this instrument so that we may play and sing and be happy together. It now only brings me sorrow. Please take it and let it play beautiful music once more from a happier spirit."

"No signature, huh?" Mira blinked, turning the note over. "Wow. I can't believe she just left it. Nice find. You found it in Alola?"

Noctowl nodded and went back over to the girl. "Thank you, Noctowl. I'm glad you had fun on your trip. But why'd you go?"

"Hoo."

"Great explanation, thank you."

Noctowl seemed to chuckle. He dipped his head at Mira and flew out of the nest, trusting her to find her way back home.

*~*~*~*

Mira didn't go back to sleep. She was too awake. She had stolen her father's laptop to rewatch Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the umpteenth time and look up some chords for her ukulele. Her pokemon had stayed up as well, giggling when she did at the movie and giving her honest critism of her ukulele playing abilities. (They both hated the instrument; Tira's ears were sensitive and Dratini wanted to go back to sleep after the movie.)

It was around nine o' clock when her father lightly knocked on her door and opened it. "Oh, so one of the fishermen gave you a ukulele, huh? Are you any good?"

"Meh," Mira shrugged. Both of her pokemon shook their heads. "...But why did they leave it to me?"

"Never in my days have I seen someone forget their own birthday." Her father laughed.

Mira had forgotten. The morning's events had been so exciting that it completely slipped her mind. Her gaze brightened. "Oh yeah!"

"C'mon, I already made breakfast. We've got a lot to do today, Mira, and not a lot of time."

With that, he closed the door gently. Mira smiled at her two pokemon. Tira's tail was wagging excitedly and Dratini just seemed to be disappointed that Mira had somehow forgotten her own birthday. "Don't look at me like that. We both know it's no big deal." She told Dratini with a sly grin. The little pokemon snickered and slithered up onto her shoulder with Tira on the opposite side.

They sprinted down the stairs and ended up in the kitchen, where Mira was tackled down by a little Oshawott. "Otto! What was that?!" She gasped, stunned. The Oshawott giggled and pat her cheek.

"Gruff!" Tira scrambled to her feet, having been knocked off of Mira, and immediately started to chase Otto. The little starter ran for dear life while Mira and Dratini got up.

The owner of the Oshawott chuckled. "Very sorry, Mira," He smiled gently, ruffling her hair.

"Mr. Dubal!" Mira's eyes widened and she smiled up at the young fisherman. He was easily the most fluent of the fishermen in English, having been raised in the heart of Kalos, and he had only lived on the island since around the time Mira was born. He was younger than the other fishermen as well, in his mid-thirties, and didn't even have silver hairs on his head yet.

The other fishermen sat around the small table--Mr. Ito, Mr. Sato, Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Rino...

"What's going on?" Mira asked cautiously, standing upright once more.

"Did I forget to mention? The fishermen are in the kitchen," Mira's father chuckled, dishing out some omelettes to the seamen. "To celebrate."

"I'm only ten," Mira glanced from face to face, observing the men. She knew them all well, of course, but it was surreal to see them all together like this. "This has never happened before."

"Nor will it happen again, Mira," Mr. Shima looked up from feeding his Wingull a piece of fish. He spoke in Japanese with a thick accent, but Mira had learned to get used to it. She could speak Japanese well enough. "You are a decade old."

"...Yeah?"

"The first decade of life is the most important. It decides who you are to be in future days," Mr. Ito went on.

Tira had given up the chase on Otto in favor of listening. She and Mira exchanged a confused glance. "Alright," Mira said slowly, scooping up her pokemon. "But what does that mean."

The fishermen all chuckled. "Mira," Her father explained gently. "You're going to learn to sail."

Mira's eyes widened and she looked from person to person again. "I-I am?"

"You're old enough," Mr. Tanaka smiled.

"And... Mature enough," Mr. Rino added hesitantly. Mira shot him a playful glare.

"And you can only catch the biggest fish on the ocean. It's tradition. ...Even if you don't want to be a fisherman. Woman. Fisherperson," Mr. Sato chuckled. "It is tradition for the island to come together in order to teach the child of ten to sail and--well, you'll see the second part of the tradition soon enough."

Tira barked excitedly and sprinted out of the kitchen. Mira looked at her father, who nodded. "Go ahead."

She nodded her thanks and followed Tira swiftly. Once outside, she located the Growlithe standing on a small sailboat. Its boards were painted blue and white and Laplace was painted on its side. Mira stumbled slightly and sprinted to it, heart pounding. For the very first time, Dratini was faster than her and slithered ahead, diving into the ocean as she dove onto the boat.

"This was never here before!" She cried out excitedly, looking at the vessel from every angle. "It's-- I can't--"

"Breathe!" Mira's father chuckled, standing with the amused fishermen on the shore. "And don't untie it!"

"Tanjoubi omedetou!" A few of the fishermen called.

"Happy birthday!" The rest translated. Mira grinned widely and waved from the boat, Tira resting on her head and Dratini floating in the water next to her.

This is the start of something great. She thought happily, climbing out to receive one more present from them. A brand new rod, shipped in from the mainland. It must be.