"So tell me again why you don't want to catch a Makuhita?"

"It’s not for me. Trainers have certain styles. I personally like punching, so a wrestling Pokémon like Makuhita wouldn’t work on my team. It’s the same reason I’m not catching a Timburr. That line’s too focused on using construction materials like weapons. I’m basically stuck with two Pokémon as long as I stay on this island."

I hummed, thinking about her answer. Laura had a point, trainers had different styles, even Type specialists. Thinking about my team, I preferred Pokémon to fill certain roles, where Laura liked Pokémon that could punch. Even though Laura wouldn’t be catching anything, she was coming with me to Granite Cave to help me catch a Mawile, which would increase the number of physical attackers in my party.

Right now, out of the four Pokémon I had, Marill was the only Pokémon that was decent in melee. I wanted to catch a Mawile to have another Pokémon on my team that was good with physical attacks. If Marill fainted, the rest of my team would have trouble dealing with any Pokémon that had high special defense and decent recovery. It would be nice to have a backup, plus a Mawile would be more physically defensive than Marill, even after she evolves. While Mawile’s defensive capabilities weren’t actually that high, its typing meant that out of the eighteen possible Types, it would be immune to or take reduced damage from eleven of them. Sent out in the right conditions, Mawile would be able to hold her own against Pokémon the rest of my team would struggle against.

Additionally, because Mawile was part Steel Type, she had a Type that was super effective against almost my entire team. Catching a Mawile would help me learn how Steel Types fought and would assist me in creating countermeasures against that Type.

Laura continued to lead me forward along the coast towards Granite Cave’s main entrance. It was located around the back half of the island Dewford was settled on, and was situated at the base of a large mountain. Granite Cave wasn’t just one cave, but an entire system of caves that extended deep underground with multiple different entrances across the entire mountain.

Laura was familiar with this area, since she and other Gym Trainers frequented Granite Cave for training. The dark location combined with the loose boulders created by both the Geodude and Aron line meant that there was ample space and materials to improve a Pokémon’s senses and strength. The only worry was from the wild Lairon and Hariyama, which would attack trainers that lingered in their territory for too long. Since I just wanted to catch a Mawile, and didn’t plan on staying for too long, Laura offered to escort me through the cave system to lead me to where Mawile lived, and to help me avoid dangerous Pokémon territories.

Outside of Mawile, there was also another Fairy Type that lived in Granite Cave, called Carbink. Carbink was a Rock and Fairy Type with a body made of solid rock with loose gemstones growing out of it. They were exceptionally good at defending themselves from attacks, but their offensive power was limited. I was interested in catching one eventually, but since I would have no space to send extra team members until I received a sponsor that wasn’t Marty, I decided to forgo the Pokémon for now.

We quickly arrived at the entrance to Granite Cave, which was essentially just a large hole in a cliffside that lead into darkness. I stepped forward and released everyone but Florges, who wouldn’t enjoy being inside a dark area surrounded by stone. I took out my flashlight just in case, and looked to Ninetales.

“Alright, let’s start practicing. Dazzling Gleam, low power, try your best to keep it up.”

Ninetales nodded and furrowed her brow. In intense concentration, her body began to glow a soft iridescent pink and illuminated her surroundings, even through the sunlight. Dazzling Gleam was meant to explode out and damage her foes, but as long as she maintained it with only a small amount of energy, it would only be released as a weak pushing force. Using the move at such low power would let her safely get used to it so she could use it in future battles, and provided a light source that was stronger than just a flashlight.

Laura watched Ninetales maintain a weak Dazzling Gleam, impressed with the amount of control the fox was demonstrating.

“I hate to say this, but you were right. I don’t think Medicham would have won if Ninetales had better mastery over Dazzling Gleam,” Laura said.

Feeling smug, I started to walk towards the cave with my Pokémon at my side (and Swablu on my head).

“If you’re done realizing how amazing Ninetales is, we should get a move on now before it gets too late,” I said. “We won’t be able to go that deep before we have to return. I don’t want to risk camping in the cave overnight and being at the mercy of the Pokémon that live down there.”

Laura rolled her eyes at my comment about Ninetales and sent out Medicham, whose Mind Reader move would help us detect and navigate around hostile Pokémon. It looked at me nervously briefly after using the move, clearly detecting the Banette protecting my mind. It moved to the front of the group and took a leading role as we pushed into the cave, hopefully able to find a Mawile soon.

The upper levels of Granite Cave were easy enough to pass through. With such a large group, the only Pokémon that bothered us were weak Fighting Types that tried to prove themselves against our strength. My team was now evolved and more trained than the weak Pokémon in the upper floors, so everything was handled easily enough. Swarms of Zubat were still a threat, but if Ninetales stopped using Dazzling Gleam and we carefully snuck underneath them, they wouldn't wake up and attack. The only notable encounter was when Laura got frustrated and sent out Machoke to knock out a Machop that wouldn’t leave us alone.

Granite Cave didn’t have any ladders to move up and down levels. In fact, the whole concept of levels in a cave weren’t really the thing. There was only “deeper in” and “farther back” to describe the areas in Granite Cave. I would call it a natural cave system, and that was what it started as, but its interior was so frequently reshaped by Fighting and Rock Types that it was practically solely created by Pokémon. Any maps created for this place would be out of date within a week, so we had to rely solely on luck and guesswork to determine the best way down to the deeper levels where Mawile tended to reside.

I tried my best to remember the path we took, but it was hard going through so many twisting passages. I wasn’t too concerned about losing our way since Ninetales would be able to lead us out, but if push comes to shove, Laura said we could just keep following paths that led upwards, and eventually leave through one of the numerous exits along the surface.

Laura was invaluable for traveling through this place. She had been tutored by more experienced Gym Trainers so she knew what signs to look out for to avoid Lairon nests and Hariyama training grounds. We almost entered one such dangerous area at one point, but she quickly noticed bite marks on the rock and we retreated out of that open area before any Lairon, or worse, Aggron, came after us.

It took three hours to find a Mawile, which was relatively fast for an attempt to find a specific uncommon Pokémon. We found it sitting on a small boulder, playing with a rock in its hands. It was a small, yellow, bipedal Pokémon that went up to just above my knees. On the back of its head was a large, black, alligator-like mouth, which was actually a set of steel horns that it could use to eat just like the mouth on its face. The Mawile glanced our way when Ninetales’s Dazzling Gleam illuminated its surroundings, but didn’t act threateningly nor did it take up a defensive posture at our approach.

I took a few steps forward, motioning for Laura and all the Pokémon to stay back, and asked Mawile the same kind of question I had asked Swablu so many months in the past.

“Hello, would you be interested in joining my team? I’m looking for a Mawile to train up that’s interested in traveling with me on my journey.”

Mawile glanced up from its stone, looked at me and my team, then went back to playing with it, uninterested.

“I’m trying to train up my Pokémon to get stronger, so if you want that, I can help you out.”

Mawile didn’t bother looking at me that time. My words weren’t persuading Mawile at all. I wanted to see if anything else I could offer would be convincing, but Marill interrupted me with her classic sound.

“Tch.”

As to follow it up, Marill spoke rude words in that Pokémon language of hers, causing Ninetales to gasp dramatically. Marill took some steps forward and took up a fighting stance next to me. Mawile simply scoffed and jumped down from where it was sitting, placing its rock into its jaws for safe-keeping.

“Alex, I think your Marill wants to fight it,” Laura said.

“I can see that. Mawile, if we win would you be interested in joining our team?”

Mawile shot an annoyed glance at Marill before thinking for a moment. It opened its smaller mouth on its face then pointed to it and rubbed its stomach.

“So you’re interested in joining us if I feed you?”

Mawile nodded.

I didn’t have time to respond or give any commands before Marill suddenly acted. We had been training to develop our strategies in battle, and considering almost every strategy for Marill was “get in close and attack,” she didn’t really need my input. However, I still yelled out advice before she committed to the wrong move.

“Focus on your Water Type attacks, Mawile will resist everything else!”

Marill had already damaged Mawile by slamming into it with Aqua Jet, and had been moving to tear into Mawile with Play Rough, but stopped her attack when she heard my advice. Unfortunately, that pause caused her to stall just long enough for Mawile to react and its jaws snapped forward to grab Marill in a Vice Grip.

I winced at my mistake.

I’ll need to work on timing my commands better in the future.

Mawile squeezed Marill harder in its mouth, but only Marill’s body was locked within its jaws. The blue mouse's tail stuck out between its teeth. Marill raised up her tail as it started glowing a watery blue, then slammed it down, her position in Mawile’s jaws just letting her reach Mawile’s head with an Aqua Tail.

Not expecting to get smacked in the face, Mawile unconsciously let go of Marill from the critical damage, and fell back on its butt. Marill jumped out of Mawile’s mouth and landed on her feet to set up an Aqua Ring. Mawile, horribly injured, looked up at Marill from its seated position, and its eyes started to fill with tears.

In the middle of the battle, Mawile started to wail, throwing a tantrum like a kid that wasn’t allowed an extra piece of candy. Marill looked at me awkwardly, healing a bit from Aqua Ring, and frowned.

“Alex, are you sure you want to catch this Mawile? It’s a bit-”

“Marill, Aqua Tail right now!” I yelled, realizing what was going on.

Marill was caught off guard by my sudden orders, since even though she loved combat, she still had enough morals to not attack a crying Pokémon, and wasn’t able to react in time. Mawile, having tricked Marill with her Fake Tears, smashed her jaws down onto Marill with an Iron Head attack, dealing critical damage thanks to the surprise from Fake Tears.

Marill pushed herself up from the small crater the attack left her in, and spit some water out of her mouth from Aqua Ring. She was still up, and thanks to Aqua Ring and her training, was still full of energy and raring to go.

However, Mawile was looking much worse. The combined Aqua Jet and the damage from Marill’s own critical hit Aqua Tail had left it near fainting as well. Mawile was significantly worse off since she didn’t have any training like Marill had. If Marill landed a strong attack, Mawile would most likely faint.

The two Fairy Types stood facing each other, ready to attack at the slightest of movements.

Laura leaned in close to whisper to me.

“Actually Alex, you should catch this Mawile. I like it.”

With the sound of Laura’s whisper, the two Pokémon lunged at each other, Marill jumping in the air and spinning to add momentum to Aqua Tail, and Mawile simply just running in to get close.

The tail swung down toward Mawile, but the Steel Type leaned back and feinted, bringing its fist up to sneak in an attack before Marill could land her Aqua Tail. The Sucker Punch hit Marill right in her face, but Marill had far more battle experience than Mawile and was able to continue through and land her attack.

The Aqua Tail slammed into Mawile’s stomach and the air was knocked out of it, causing Mawile to fall onto the floor, fainted.

Marill landed but was breathing heavily. She resisted Sucker Punch but had still sustained a decent amount of damage from this fight. She held up her arms and let loose a mighty roar, or at least the best roar a tiny blue mouse could do.

With Mawile knocked unconscious, all that was left was to catch it.

“Huh. I have a dilemma now,” I said.

Laura looked at me and motioned to explain.

“Well, Marill clearly beat Mawile, and Mawile wasn’t against joining my team, but it’s currently too unconscious to choose what Pokéball it wants.”

Laura palmed her face.

I ended sending out Florges in the cave to heal Mawile with Wish. It didn’t immediately try to run away, which meant it really was interested in joining us after losing the battle. Marill offered a hand to help it up, which Mawile took. I was happy to see them start to get along, but then Marill smirked as if to brag she won, and I swear I actually saw physical sparks appear between their glares.

It took less time to return to the surface now that we didn’t have to search for a Pokémon. Mawile was surprisingly light for a Steel Type, and rode on Ninetales’s back since its walking speed was slower than everyone else’s. Ninetales spoke excitedly to Mawile along the way, but it didn’t really respond much outside of a few grunts and what sounded like one word answers, opting to take its stone out of its mouth and play with that instead.

Once we left the cave and emerged on the beach, I set out all of the Pokéball options for Mawile to choose. Laura whistled when she saw the array, and I realized I never actually showed her how many Pokéballs I had, just mentioning them casually to her at one point in the past. Mawile chose her Pokéball pretty quickly. It looked at its stone, looked over the Pokéballs, then selected the Heavy Ball. There was no resistance when it entered the ball, so the ball simply “dinged” without shaking. I sent out Mawile, gathered up the rest of the Pokéballs I had laid out, then returned to the Pokémon Center with Laura.

Mawile didn’t mind getting returned to its Heavy Ball, so after I made the call to Steven’s assistant for a new grooming kit and after I received her back from a checkup with Nurse Joy, I used the opportunity to look over its capabilities at the Pokémon Center PC.

Mawile was female and knew Iron Head, Vice Grip, Fake Tears, Feint Attack, and Sucker Punch. She also seemed to have her first ability, Hyper Cutter, developing. Seeing her moves and her developing ability, I realized she had probably been living in that cave for quite a while. Her summary implied that she had decent power for a freshly caught Pokémon, which made sense considering that she had performed decently against Marill.

Finding out Mawile’s eating habits was a whole event and a half. I sent everyone out in my room that night and set out bowls filled with Pokémon food and their preferred berries. For Mawile, I set out just a single bowl and arranged several different berries for her to try, since I wanted to figure out just how much she would eat and what her favorite flavor was. Mawile as a species were known to eat more for their size compared to other species, so I was worried how much that would actually be.

Mawile immediately dumped the Pokémon food into her massive jaws, then tried to eat the berries with the mouth that could actually taste flavors. She didn’t mind the taste of most of the berries I laid out for her, but she visibly gagged and chucked the Aspear berry into her larger mouth after taking a single bite. I think her dislike of sour flavors almost physically hurt Ninetales.

As for the spicy Cheri Berry, Mawile took one bite and proceeded to almost gobble it down. She ended up asking for more, which I provided alongside another bowl of Pokémon food. She repeated the process by dumping the bowl of food in her mouth that couldn’t taste and eating the Cheri Berry, then asked for thirds. The cycle repeated until Mawile ate five helpings, which meant she ate five full cans and nine berries in total. My Pokémon finished their meals long before Mawile did, and watched the entire process in awe.

To put it in perspective, the second largest eater on my team was Ninetales, who ate two and a half cans after her evolution. In total, Mawile practically doubled the amount of food I would need to carry for my team, but considering that I had been paid a significant amount from the expedition and had a small passive income from Marty’s sponsorship, I had more than enough to afford the increase in spending.

When I was washing the bowls, I considered how much sponsorship money I was getting and quietly thanked Marty for all the assistance he had given me, then briefly considered building a church in his name.

We went to bed soon after, and woke up early the next day. This was my last day in Dewford,

and I wanted to make the most of it by doing some last minute training before Petalburg Gym.

According to my research, Petalburg Gym would still only use four Pokémon in the fifth Gym Badge Battle, since Norman tended to stick to guidelines and didn’t treat individual trainers differently. It would be the last time a Gym Battle would only have four Pokémon, so I had caught Mawile at the perfect time to prepare her for the battle after Norman.

However, because I now had five Pokémon and Norman would use four, I had already decided that Mawile would not be fighting. She was too new of a capture, and even though she was decently strong on her own, she wouldn’t be able to hold up in battle against a Gym Leader. Honestly, Marill would have had an easier time beating Mawile if she hadn’t been in a narrow cave that prevented her from using Rain Dance, and if she had taken the battle more seriously.

I initially had Mawile focus on some basic physical conditioning and practicing her moves until I realized she was perfect for training with Ninetales. Steel Types were extra strong against an Ice and Fairy Type like Ninetales, and each of their skill sets would be great to develop the other’s. Ninetales worked on avoiding Mawile’s Iron Head in her hail to develop Snow Cloak, and Mawile worked to develop her own ability, Hyper Cutter, by trying to resist Ninetales’s Baby-Doll Eyes. Hyper Cutter would let Mawile prevent reductions in her physical power as long she used her sharp jaws to attack, which was her primary form of attack anyway.

For Ninetales, with all her previous practice and now her practice with Mawile, she would be able to master her ability in time for the Gym Leader Battle. It would be incredibly useful to avoid Norman’s Pokémon’s powerful melee attacks.

Swablu and Florges worked together to practice staying at range, as well as their attacks. Florges was completely immune to Swablu’s Dragon Breath as he worked on his aim, and Swablu could dodge Florges’s weak Moon Blasts as she practiced the basics of the move.

However, for Marill, I had no clue what she trained.

Hideki and Takao stopped by in the morning with their own Machoke to pick up Marill. I didn’t understand what was going on, so I had no choice but to ask.

“Why are you taking Marill? I had plans for what she needed to work on, and I didn’t know you needed her for something.”

The two brothers made eye contact with each other to decide who would speak, and Takao blinked first so he spoke up.

“We’re not entirely sure, but Machoke was insistent on doing it. They had been practicing something together before you left for Sea Mauville, so I guess they want to finish it before you leave for Petalburg.”

I glanced down at Marill, who looked away from me innocently. I didn’t fail to notice the evil smirk she tried to hide.

“As long as you bring her back before tonight when I leave, it should be fine. I don’t know what they’re planning together, but knowing Marill, it’s probably something incredibly violent in preparation for Petalburg Gym.”

Marill snorted, holding back a laugh.

Once we finished training for the day, I purchased tickets for an overnight ferry back to Petalburg and went out to have one last dinner with Laura and co. I was apparently leaving at the perfect time, since Dewford Gym had done something wrong again, and was once more assigned extra paperwork. Saying goodbye to a friend was a perfect reason to get out of it, and was why Hideki and Takao both came to pick up Marill, instead of just one of them, since doing an errand for their Pokémon let them escape that morning as well.

Marill was brought back to me at this time, and while she looked exhausted from training, she was clearly satisfied that she had completed whatever goal she had set.

I ate a pleasant meal with my friends, being sure to buy food for my Pokémon (as well as an extra container for Banette when no one was looking) and we all headed to the docks so they could say one last goodbye.

“You better call this time,” Laura said. “Everyone back in Mossdeep was so stuck up. I don’t have anyone else to talk to on the mainland either.”

“Aw, are you going to miss me?” I said in a joking tone.

She punched me in the arm and I knew I would have a bruise there tomorrow. Fighting Type specialists were no joke.

“I’m serious, Alex. I know I might be a bit abrasive sometimes, but before this season I didn’t have any friends. It hurt when you didn’t contact me, so please make sure to actually call me, alright? I want to keep in touch with people I know.”

I locked eyes with Laura and nodded once in response. She was being serious about this.

“I will. Don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson. Before I decided to become a Pokémon trainer, I didn’t have that many people I knew, either. But now I have you, Hideki, and Takao to add to my growing list of friends. I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Aw, are you going to miss me?” Hideki said, mimicking me from before and ruining the moment.

Laura punched him in the stomach.

We continued onwards to the docks, ignoring the bowled over Hideki and moved towards the small ship I had already secured passage on. I stopped at the short gangplank and turned around.

"But seriously, Laura, Hideki, Takao, thank you for everything. I’ll keep in contact, and hopefully be able to stop by before the end of the season. If I can’t, you’ll see me at the conference."

"Big words for a big dream,” Laura said. “Good luck, Alex. We'll be rooting for you."

Hideki had caught back up before we arrived at the boat and he and Takao nodded goodbye. With the farewell over, I boarded the ship leaving the island.

With Dewford soon to be behind me, it was time for my triumphant return to Petalburg Gym.