Margaret's Pokémon Diamond Nuzlocke

Chapter 37: It's About Time

"Genevieve will be holding WHAT?!" Her shrieks echoed off of the cave walls, attracting the attention of the very few trainers up at six in the morning.

"Jeez, quiet down!" I hushed, throwing my hands in front of me. "Relax, it's just an Experience Share, it's not that big of a deal..."

"Genevieve begs to differ!" She huffed, stomping her foot. "If Genevieve remembers correctly, you chose her to fight on this team, not to sit back and do nothing! Genevieve refuses to have her talents and potential squandered like this!"

"You do realize that the entire team is, what, twenty levels above you? And that the wild pokemon have at least a fifteen level gain on you? Pardon me if I don't think you're quite ready yet. Whether you like it or not, you're staying on the Exp. Share until you evolve, and that's final."

"Until Genevieve evolves? But that's such a long time for Genevieve to wait!"

"Oh quit whining... besides, you'll have Evan, Jamie, Riley and I to keep you company."

Genevieve squinted, "Wait, why is Jamie staying out and... who's Riley?"

"Oh. Right. Well, the other day, Jamie kind of nearly died from an explosion,"

"What?!"

"-and Riley saved her from that explosion. So he's helping us train through the cave."

"Wait. Back up. Explosion?!"

"Yeah... the Graveler here are a bit... feisty. They kind of self-destruct without warning."

"And you expect Genevieve to fight them?!"

"For the last time, you're not fighting today! And I'm not stupid enough to let anyone battle a Graveler. They nearly killed our tank!" I shouted, waving an open palm to Jamie.

"Fine, fine... So is there any chance Genevieve will evolve today?"

"Considering that aforementioned level gap, I'd say your odds are slim to none."

"Great."

"Trust me Gen, I'm just as thrilled as you are that we're not allowed to fight..." Jamie said, still half asleep and slouching against the nearest wall. "Why'd you even want to catch a Graveler anyway, Marcus? Did you really want to keep a below-average 'mon with a major weakness to the most common type of Pokemon on reserves for the team? Or do you know just how useless they are, but wanted to trap one in the PC, 'just in case'?"

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "I dunno... I wanted to catch something from here."

"Hmph... Shoulda Surfed it when I had the chance..." She grumbled with her arms crossed. Although I really hated to admit it, she was right.

Riley found us just about an hour later, surprised to see me at the island before him. He seemed a bit bugged by it too, but more in a concerned way than an annoyed one.

"A Medetite, huh?" Riley asked after I'd caught him up with the events of last night. He turned and peered over at the new member, who was already making her way over to him.

"Genevieve," she introduced herself graciously. "Riley, right? Pleasure to meet you!"

He knelt down to greet her, seeming almost flattered by her gesture. "Well, nice to meet you too, Genevieve!" Riley paused for a second, first peering at Genevive, then the team, then back at Genevive. "...Huh." He stood back up, "Interesting choice. But then... how is Evan still...?" he trailed off, raising a pointed finger to the Dustox resting on my shoulder.