Be My Partner

Zeno got up early the next morning and hurried to the pond in the yard, only to find that Carvanha was no longer in the little wooden hut beside it.

It was slowly swimming in the water. After a night, its injuries had healed considerably, and it could already move around, though it was not as nimble as before.

"That's great, Carvanha."

"Riya~"

Carvanha poked its head above the water and greeted him.

"You haven't eaten all night. You must be hungry. I'll make you something to eat."

"Ya!"

Carvanha grew a little excited. It had not gone without food for merely one night.

Seeing the fierce-looking Carvanha act like this, Zeno could not help but laugh. He was quite confident in his cooking. After all, whether it was Mantine, Octillery, or Cloyster, they had all praised the Pokémon food he made.

Because it was near the sea, Big Shell Village produced plenty of ingredients for making food for Water-type Pokémon. This was also the village's main source of income.

Since he did not know Carvanha's preferences, Zeno tried to make something with a more balanced flavor. Even so, Carvanha ate with great delight. Having lived in the wild for so long, how could it ever have eaten food this delicious?

"Eat slowly. Don't choke."

Watching it wolf down the food, Zeno's tightly wound nerves slowly relaxed.

"Riya! Riya!"

"Are you saying it tastes good? Thank you."

Hearing its praise made Zeno very happy. He could not help reaching out to stroke its head. Carvanha was wholly focused on eating, behaving very obediently without resisting.

Zeno stayed home with Carvanha all day. Even when Xiao Hai came to ask him out to play, he did not go. When he changed Carvanha's medicine that afternoon, he found that its injuries had improved greatly. At this rate, it would probably make a full recovery in two or three days.

Thinking of that made Zeno happy for it, yet he could not stop a feeling of loss from rising in his heart.

Over the next three days, Zeno continued taking devoted care of Carvanha. Even when doing homework, he stayed by its side. Carvanha also enjoyed his company. Whenever Zeno grew tired from thinking, it would occasionally leap out of the water to cheer him up.

When Uncle Kam said that Carvanha had fully recovered, Zeno froze for a moment, his feelings a tangled mess. He had been happy during their time together. Although he selfishly wanted to keep it, he had to consider its own life as well.

Kam had noticed Zeno's unusual behavior too. If Carvanha was willing to stay, he had no objections. But Carvanha was, after all, a wild Pokémon. It had its own life and its own family. If it did not want to stay, they could not force it to remain.

That afternoon, after Uncle Kam left the house, Zeno put Carvanha into a water tank, pulled it along on a little cart, and headed for the river beside the village.

Zeno did not want Uncle Kam and Xiao Hai to see him sad, so he had not told either of them.

"Carvanha, if you leave like this, will you still remember me in the future?"

"Yaya?"

Zeno was too busy talking to himself to notice Carvanha's reaction.

"Even though I really want to keep you, I can't be so selfish and ignore how you feel."

"Riya?"

Carvanha understood what he meant too and began thrashing anxiously in the water.

Seeing how agitated it was, Zeno thought it was homesick, so he tipped it into the river.

"Carvanha, take good care of yourself from now on. I'll come visit you often." Zeno's voice had begun to tremble with tears. The thought of parting with it made his heart ache.

Upon hearing that, Carvanha grew furious. It lashed its tail hard, sending a huge spray of water at Zeno and soaking him from head to toe.

"Carvanha, what's wrong?"

"Yaya!! Yayaya!!!"

"You're saying I made the decision on my own without asking what you wanted?"

"Ya!!"

"Huh?" Zeno did not understand at first, but seeing Carvanha's angry expression, he immediately realized. "You don't want to leave. You want to stay with me, right?"

"Cici~" Carvanha ground its teeth.

"Really? Thank you, Carvanha."

Zeno excitedly jumped into the river and wrapped Carvanha in a hug.

"Yaya~"

Carvanha happily nudged against him as well.

"I'm sorry. I made the decision on my own without even asking you. Do you really want to be my partner?" Afraid it might regret its choice, Zeno asked again solemnly.

"Ya~"

Carvanha's answer was brief, but its tone was exceptionally firm.

Zeno looked at it, then took a Poké Ball from his waist and lightly pressed the button in the center. The Poké Ball began to grow larger.

Carvanha looked at Zeno, nodded, and touched the Poké Ball with its fin. It turned into a streak of red light and flew into the Poké Ball. The ball shook gently twice in Zeno's palm before slowly becoming still.

"That's awesome! I caught Carvanha!"

Zeno raised the Poké Ball and struck an overdramatic pose. Since Carvanha could not move around conveniently on land, he did not release it. Holding the Poké Ball, he ran excitedly back toward the village.

When Zeno found Xiao Hai, he was training his Tentacool and Magikarp in a small pond.

"Xiao Hai, look! I caught Carvanha." Zeno held up the Poké Ball, eager to share the good news with his best friend.

"That's awesome. Congratulations." Xiao Hai was happy for him too.

"Now that I have Carvanha, Uncle Kam can take me out to sea next time."

The thought made Zeno a little excited. Once the children in the village had their starter Pokémon, they could go out to sea with the adults. This time, Uncle Kam definitely would not refuse him again.

"Don't worry. Next time we go out to sea, I'll definitely protect you. But before that, let me see how strong your Carvanha is!"

Xiao Hai was brimming with enthusiasm. Battling the kids at school was too boring. Whenever they lost, they cried, and Xiao Hai looked down on that.

"Sure, sure!" Zeno was excited too. This was his first battle.

"Your opponent will be this Tentacool."

"Come out, Carvanha. Do your best in this battle!"

Hearing its trainer's words, Carvanha perked up and stared at the jellyfish before it, full of fighting spirit.

Zeno found it amazing. Just by looking at Carvanha, he knew what moves it could use, as though their hearts were connected.

"In that case, I'll make the first move. Tentacool, Bind."

At Xiao Hai's command, Tentacool swung its two tentacles toward Carvanha, trying to tie it up.

"Carvanha, don't be afraid. Use Aqua Jet head-on."

The moment Zeno finished speaking, Carvanha leaped up. A current of water wrapped around it as it slammed toward Tentacool. Before Tentacool could even attack, Carvanha sent it flying.

Xiao Hai did not understand why Tentacool had been knocked away despite attacking first. Fortunately, the move had not dealt it much damage.

"Tentacool, Supersonic."

"Carvanha, use the water to dodge it."

Supersonic missed. Carvanha used its own speed to evade Tentacool's attack.

"So fast."

Xiao Hai was a little stunned. He felt that this Carvanha had become even faster.

"Carvanha, Bite."

Carvanha opened its huge mouth and lunged at Tentacool. It was so fast that only an afterimage could be seen.

"Now, Tentacool! Catch it when it comes in to bite!"

Tentacool and Xiao Hai had great coordination. It did not question Xiao Hai's command and took Carvanha's attack head-on, while simultaneously seizing the chance to bind Carvanha's fin with its tentacles.

"Water Pulse."

Carvanha took the Water Pulse head-on. Although it did not suffer much damage, the hit left it dizzy and dazed.

"Carvanha, are you okay?"

"Let's stop here. It looks confused."

"Okay. Come back, Carvanha."

"You're pretty good, kid. If it hadn't gotten confused, I really might not have been able to beat you." Xiao Hai patted Zeno on the shoulder and praised him.

Zeno knew Xiao Hai was just being modest. Xiao Hai had not used any of Tentacool's prized Poison-type moves at all. Still, Zeno thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of battling.