“So, what can you tell me about this job we are supposed to do?” I asked, after following Wera out of the meeting room, not even acknowledging the external circumstances. If she wanted to tell me about her relationship with Kodra, she would. From the awkward expression on her face, she wasn’t too happy with the situation either, so she’d likely tell me at some point.

“The job itself shouldn’t be too difficult, it’s one of the easier paths up to Mount Coronet and the ancient Spear Pillar up there. A travelling group has reported that one of the narrow valleys the path leads up has been blocked by a rockslide, likely caused by a Pokémon. They were just passing by and didn’t have the supplies to investigate further. So someone,” she empathised the word, throwing a glare over her shoulder towards the door we had just walked out, “decided that it would be a great idea to send me there, so I get out of town on occasion.”

“And my task is to escort you?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Ayup,” she nodded, before letting out a sigh, “I’m sorry,” she apologised, making me raise an eyebrow in question. For a moment, she simply kept walking, before taking a deep breath and letting out another sigh.

“I’m not good when it comes to battling but my father feels that I only need to get pushed a little,” she paused, a resigned expression on her face, “I’ve been working with my Pokémon for three years by now. The first year, I travelled a short circuit here in the east, earning four of the six eastern badges. Battling is just not for me, so I decided to specialise in maintenance and construction. Normally, I’m working with small groups, to keep Routes maintained, clear up trouble and all that stuff, but occasionally, things like this happen.”

“Kodra is your father?” I asked, for clarification, continuing when she nodded, “Why do you think he tries to push you? And what would he have done if I had asked the group I normally travel with to accompany us?”

“Nothing,” she shrugged, “It’s not that he tries to force other people, he just likes to nudge things, to see if he can get me to battle more, to be a well-rounded trainer, as he puts it. Just taking care and working with Pokémon isn’t enough, he wants me to send them into battle, so they can grow that way as well.”

For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say. On one hand, Kodra was basically using his position to push his daughter, on the other hand, growth through battle was an essential part of training Pokémon in my eyes, so pushing her was… a necessary evil?

“I see,” I prevaricated, trying to gather my thoughts. For a moment, a memory of Joyce and her Blissey, Lady Bee came to my mind and the memory that she didn’t like battling, either, but had managed to gather enough badges to apprentice as a Healer.

“Well, I can only promise you to do my best when it comes to protecting you,” I told her, already considering if there was a way to ask Joyce for advice. Given that she should have been in a similar situation, she might know something I didn’t.

“I have a friend who, by her own admission, isn’t terribly fond of battling either, yet, she travelled extensively. If you like, I can try getting into contact with her and ask for advice,” I offered, aware that there was little I personally could do to help.

Wera offered a somewhat wan smile, “Sure, I’ll talk to them. Maybe it’ll help,” she sighed, sounding quite resigned.

“Be that as it may,” I shook my head, trying to get back to the original task, “Why don’t I introduce myself? As you have heard, I’m called Dani. I’ve started my journey in Twinleaf this spring and have earned four badges so far,” I gave her a grin, quite aware that, purely going by experience, she was superior to me and yet, I was tasked to protect her.

For a moment, she just stared at me before a grin spread across her face, the earlier gloom somewhat banished.

“You can call me Wera, of Celestic Town,” she returned the greeting, “For the last two years, I’ve been mostly working construction, my partners helping me. Originally, I’ve been travelling with a pair of friends but this year, fate decided that they wanted to welcome a new member into their partnership and didn’t travel.” Strangely, her grin turned even wider when she said the last part, making me raise an eyebrow in confusion. Why was she happy to get kicked out of her group for a newcomer?

“If all things go well, Halli will give birth in about two months, which is why she grounded Merrik,” she added, the explanation clearing up all confusion.

“Oh,” I nodded, my thinking realigning a little. “In regards to my group, I already cleared things up with them and we can head out at any time,” I continued and as we walked out of the Gym, we kept talking, discussing the mission, the terrain, distribution of load and all those small, pesky details.

Given the distances involved, we decided not to wait until the next day to head out but to have an early lunch in town and head out afterwards. That way, we’d reach the area late the next day and Wera could start her work the day after.

It was just after noon when we set out, the guard giving us the usual salute as we left. Curiously, I felt a little odd when moving with Wera, maybe it was due to an awareness that I was tasked with keeping her safe, maybe it was due to the trust I had in Claire, but with Wera, I felt myself a whole lot more vigilant, to the point that I was almost paranoid. Even before we left the fields around town, I had one of my hands on Vio’s Pokéball, ready to call her out at a moment's notice.

We needed a bit of time to find a pace that was comfortable for both of us and I realised I had to push myself to keep up with her. Not to a pace that would exhaust me, but one that definitely was quicker than the one I had been accustomed to with Claire, Lucas and Cliff.

That was one thing I quickly noticed, and soon admired, Wera’s pure, physical abilities. Not only was her comfortable walking speed quite a bit faster than mine, but the backpack she was toting around was also almost twice the size of mine. Most of the supplies we didn’t need individually, things like the tent had been put onto her back, leaving me with a remarkably light pack, even though the incubator and its precious cargo were on me.

As we walked, Wera and I started to get to know each other better and, the more we talked, the more impressed I became. Wera had an almost encyclopedic knowledge about Pokémon, especially when it came to the two she trained, Donna, a Shieldon and her original partner, and Silvester, a Golem she had caught during her travels. Just the fact that she had managed to train a Geodude up to the point that it evolved into Golem was quite impressive and I began to wonder if she really needed my protection.

“How did you get the Shieldon?” I couldn’t help but ask, remembering something about it being incredibly rare.

“Family connections, what else?” she replied, a wry grin on her face, “I wasn’t too keen on the usual Pokémon bred to become a first partner, none of them sat right with me but I wanted to work with Pokémon. My dad’s Pokémon have been incredibly close to me growing up and I wanted to have those same connections, just with my own partners.”

“My parents spent quite a bit of time and effort to find Donna, she’s been artificially revived from a fossil Dad dug out in the Underground,” she proudly explained, calling out the small reptilian Pokémon.

“I’ve heard of those efforts,” I nodded, studying the sturdy form. It wasn’t large or intimidating, not even as tall as Vio, despite the height given to it by its facial shield. Its back wouldn’t even reach her chest and yet, despite that lack of size and physical strength, I wasn’t about to underestimate it.

As if summoned by the presence of a Pokémon, a Starly decided that it was the right moment to turn up, the sound of its wings quite distinctive. For a moment, I instinctively hesitated, not about to get between a fellow trainer and their foe before remembering that I was an escort, not a fellow trainer.

In that small moment, I realised just how much Wera disliked battling, an attitude shared by Donna. Instead of calling her partner back or giving it some encouragement, she had turned a little pale around the nose. In addition, I could see sweat beading up on her face and it sounded as if her breathing was getting faster, to the point that she was almost panting. And yet, other than taking a few steps back, she wasn’t doing anything but stare at Donna, who, in turn, had just braced herself, turning her facial shield towards the approaching Starly and was waiting.

Not about to let my charge fight for me, especially given the way she was panicking, I called out Su, ignoring the usual rules between trainers. With Su’s sudden presence, the Starly immediately turned around, quickly darting into the distance without even trying to fight.

“The fight’s over,” I quietly assured Wera, after calling Su back. She didn’t react to me, still staring at Donna and I noticed her hands were clenching into fists and releasing. Trying to help, I reached out, taking her hand and wincing when she clenched her fist, almost crushing my hand.

Trying to get her to calm down, I started to talk softly, trying to get her to focus on my voice and finally, after almost a minute, she started to blink, her eyes focusing on me and a sudden blush spread across her face.

“Why don’t you call Donna back and we keep walking?” I quietly asked, completely out of my depth on how to help her.