The morning sun crept into the sky without a cloud in sight, painting the world in shades of gold and amber. The forest around the camp stirred slowly to life, dew glistening on leaves as birds began their first tentative songs. Many Pokémon that had been sleeping in the trees and fields woke to the warmth of the sun's glow.
Kai, on the other hand, was still snoring away, half sticking out of his tent, one arm draped over the grass. Sandshrew slowly unrolled from its tight ball shape, blinking against the light with sleepy eyes. Seeing that the sun was already rising, it let out a wide yawn — then turned to look at Kai. Who hadn't moved an inch.
Sandshrew padded over and poked him in the face a few times, head tilted with a questioning look.
"In a minute," Kai mumbled, still half asleep, before he rolled over.
Sandshrew watched him for a moment, then the corner of its mouth curled upward, a mischievous look forming about it.
Turning around, it walked to Kai's bag and nudged open the zip with its snout, revealing the neat row of Poké Balls inside. One by one, Sandshrew pressed each button, releasing Totodile, Rattata, Snubbull, and Zubat into the cool morning air.
They each glanced at Sandshrew with a questioning look, then down at Kai still sprawled in his sleeping bag. The penny dropped quickly, and Totodile's mouth split into a wide, toothy grin.
"Dile..." it said, voice barely above a whisper, dripping with mischief as the small blue Pokémon understood what Sandshrew was up to.
Totodile crept toward Kai, flanked by Sandshrew and Rattata. Zubat, not quite following, fluttered up to hang upside down from a branch out of the sunlight and watch from a safe distance. Snubbull, on the other hand, stood with arms crossed, repeating its name again and again like a disapproving parent — but none of the others paid it any attention, making it turn its head to the side.
Then they pounced.
Kai went from dead asleep to shrieking in about half a second, flailing as three Pokémon piled onto him with tickles and playful nudges. The shrieks turned to laughter, the laughter turned to helpless crying, and through it all, his Pokémon were absolutely delighted with themselves.
"Why you lot—!" Kai managed to grab Totodile first, its eyes opening wide in shock as he wrestled the small crocodile into a headlock and rubbed his knuckles firmly against its head. Sandshrew and Rattata seized the opportunity and bolted, abandoning their partner to its fate while Totodile squirmed and laughed but couldn't break free.
"Alright, I get it — I'm up," Kai said, releasing Totodile from his grip and getting to his feet with a grin. He stretched his arms wide, joints popping, and took a proper look at the world around him. The campfire had burned down to a few warm embers that glowed faintly in the morning light, and the forest was alive with colour and movement. Not a bad way to start the day, all things considered.
"Let's get some breakfast," he said, turning to all of his Pokémon. An excited cheer went up from Sandshrew and the others.
Kai laid out the food for each of his Pokémon, following the portions the Pokédex recommended, the smell of the feed mixing pleasantly with the cool morning air. While they ate, he broke down camp — rolling up his sleeping bag and collapsing the tent in smooth succession, having gotten much better at it over time.
Once everything was packed and the last crumbs of breakfast had been hoovered up, Kai nodded to Totodile. The small Pokémon aimed a careful stream of water at the embers, extinguishing them with a soft hiss of steam. Then it was back into its Poké Ball, along with the others — all except Sandshrew, who fell into step beside him as they set off down the path.
Kai checked the map on his Pokégear. "If we keep up this pace, we could arrive by noon," he said.
Sandshrew rolled along contentedly at his side. Kai looked ahead down the trail — the snowy mountains rising to his right, distant and cold, the open valley stretching ahead where the morning light pooled in soft golden patches. He wondered what Pokémon lived in those mountains. What challenges might be waiting?
A rustle in the trees broke his train of thought.
He stopped. There — a Mankey, swinging lazily between branches just off the path, its pig-like snout twitching as it caught his scent. It hadn't attacked yet, but it had noticed him. Its small dark eyes fixed on Kai with a look that sat somewhere between curiosity and warning.
Kai raised his Pokédex slowly.
[Mankey. The Fighting-type Pig Monkey Pokémon is known for its extreme rage and tendency to live in treetop colonies. It is quick to anger, sometimes attacking without reason, and its rage can render it unable to calm down.]
Kai kept his eyes on the Mankey as he pocketed the Pokédex. Something felt off — Mankeys usually moved in groups, and this one was alone. That meant either it had been driven out or it had wandered too far. Either way, a lone Mankey was an unpredictable one. Its gaze hadn't shifted from him. The muscles along its arms were tense, coiled and ready for action.
It was deciding whether to fight.
Kai had always liked Mankey — in his playthroughs, Primeape had been a brutal early-game powerhouse. But knowing a Pokémon from a game and reading one in the wild were different things. He had to be careful.
"Sandshrew," he said quietly, not breaking eye contact with the Mankey. "Rapid Spin — get its attention."
Sandshrew darted forward with a burst of speed, spinning into the Mankey's space — and the Mankey reacted instantly, dropping from its branch and catching the attack dead with both arms, stopping Sandshrew in its tracks with brute strength alone.
"No way," Kai breathed.
The Mankey reared back for a Karate Chop, arm raised. "Defence Curl — now!"
Sandshrew curled tight, its shell hardening just in time to absorb the blow. The crack of impact echoed through the trees, but Sandshrew held firm, tanking the attack with its hard shell.
"Rapid Spin again!"
Sandshrew exploded out of the curl in a violent spin, catching the Mankey square in the chest with its tail and sending it tumbling out of the tree. Before it could recover, Kai was already moving.
"Now use Rollout!"
Sandshrew launched itself into the air, a spinning ball of force that slammed into the Mankey the moment it hit the ground. The impact sent up a small cloud of dirt and leaves.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
The ball struck true, bounced once, and popped open — red light pulling the Mankey inside in an instant. Then silence. The ball rocked side to side on the ground before.
Click.
"Yes!" Kai punched the air, and Sandshrew bounded over, the two of them celebrating in the middle of the empty path.
His Pokédex pinged. Kai opened it and scrolled through Mankey's stats and abilities — and noticed, again, the absence he'd been thinking about since his first day. No level. No number to tell him how strong it was relative to anything else.
In the games, levels were everything — a simple shorthand for power. But out here, maybe that wasn't how it worked. Pokémon seemed to grow stronger through real effort, real experience. Like people did. And if that was true, then the way he trained them mattered — not just battles, but how he pushed them.
Kai knew that he could help teach Pokémon new moves with the use of a TM, just as Ethan had shown him, but what if he could help them learn new moves through training and hard work, perhaps even observing them? This opened up a whole world of possibilities that Kai would have to explore, especially the training part, knowing he wanted to help his Pokémon become as strong as possible.
Then he looked at Sandshrew, who was already rolling ahead down the path, eager to keep moving.
There was still so much to figure out, but that was part of the excitement. The challenge made it all the more worthwhile, and he knew his adventure was only just beginning.