DPA: Rivals

Chapter 25: A Breath Of Fresh Ero

A tired, dirt-covered Daryon and his crew took three steps out of Mt. Moon tunnel exit before collapsing to the ground, completely exhausted.

"So...many...Zubat!" Skye moaned, using her hands to cover her eyes from the brightness of a sun she hadn't seen in days. "I swear, if I never see another Zubat ever again, it will be way too soon."

"Speak for yourself," Daryon chuckled, turning his head towards Pikachu. "You got fit, didn't you, bud?" Pikachu indeed showed signs of increased muscle mass, trading its pudgy cheeks for a slimmer, more athletic figure.

"Speak for yourself," Cameron said, opening his overturned backpack. Mudkip tiptoed out, stretching for a moment, letting out a yawn, and then staring at the worn out trainers lying on their backs. Having napped throughout most of the trek, Mudkip felt rested and ready to walk.

Daryon could feel the sun through his closed eyelids, as he took in a deep lungful of fresh air. This lungful was let out in a gasp of surprise as a tickling sensation touched his forehead, the light of the sun dimming. Pikachu lay near his feet, and all of his other Pokémon were in their Pokéballs. Daryon opened his eyes, staring right up into the wide, curious eyes of a Meowth.

He quickly jolted into an upright sitting position, engaged in a staring match with the Scratch Cat Pokémon. While his eyes focused on Meowth, his hand slowly reached for a Pokéball from his belt. After a few seconds of back and forth staring, his arm lunged forward, throwing a Pokéball at the Normal type's head.

The Pokéball bounced off, opening, but, unlike any other attempted capture, didn't proceed to expel light. Instead, it dropped to the ground, still open. The Pokéball simply didn't attempt to capture Meowth. This Meowth already had an owner.

"Klaw?" a voice said from behind. Everyone turned to see a young adult man, about nineteen years old, approaching, dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans, and, most notably, a lab coat. Riding on his left shoulder was a Pokémon Daryon had never seen before, and hopping alongside of him was another Pokémon, also new. The Meowth, who Daryon assumed was named Klaw, scampered over to the man, gently scratching at his legs.

"I was wondering where you were!" said the man in the lab coat, returning the Meowth to its Pokéball. Dropping the Pokéball in a satchel on his free shoulder, he only then noticed Daryon, Cameron, Skye, Max, and Vince.

"Ah, hello there!" said the man.

"Aaarp!" barked the Pokémon on his shoulder cheerfully before sticking its tongue out.

"Uh, hi," Daryon said, wiping the dirt off his knees as he stood up to shake the man's hand. "My name is Daryon. I'm sorry for trying to catch your...Klaw?"

"Oh, worry not. Had Klaw not run off, this wouldn't have been an issue." The two shook hands. "My name is Ero, pleasure to meet you-"

"I'm Skye!" Skye interrupted, pushing Daryon out of the way to shake hands with Ero. "It's a pleasure to meet you too!"

"Um, of course," Ero replied, slightly taken aback. He turned to the others. "And you are?"

"I'm Max," Max introduced himself. "This is Cam-" points to Cameron, "and this is Vince."

"Actually, it's Cameron," Cameron spoke up after a long silence, his attention still focused on the two mysterious new Pokémon that accompanied Ero. "I've never seen Pokémon of these species' before. What are they?"

Ero smiled, kneeling down to pat the one on the ground on the head. "This one," Ero said, referring to the one on the ground, "is a Flapple, although I refer to him as Tarts. As for this beautiful specimen on my shoulder, this is my Appletun, Sweetheart." Sweetheart licked his cheek like an excited Growlithe pup. "They are both from my native region of Galar, which is why you would be unfamiliar with them."

"Galar?" Cameron noted, his curiosity spiked. "That's on the opposite side of the world. What would someone from Galar be doing in Kanto?"

"I'm a Pokémon Professor," Ero answered. "I study variation in Pokémon species, whether through divergence in evolutionary lines, or gender form differences, or regional variation. I came here to study the Kantonian Meowth in its home environment, to see how the vastly different natural conditions affect its biology."

"Incredible," Cameron said with a wide-eyed amazement of the new professor.

"It is pretty cool," Daryon agreed.

"You should travel with us!" Cameron suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah-wait, what?" Daryon asked, stunned by Cameron's sudden request.

"Thank you very much for your interest, but-" Ero began.

"It makes perfect sense," Cameron interrupted. "We all have Pokémon native to this region, many of which may not be native to Galar. You study them in the wild, but that doesn't tell you anything about what these Pokémon are like in battle conditions. If you traveled with us, you could study native Kantonian Pokémon in extreme situations."

Ero looked down at Cameron for a moment, then up at the sky, thinking. After a few seconds, he let out a sigh, smiling. "You've convinced me. So long as I get to study your Pokémon before and after significant battles, I see no problem with joining you on your travels through Kanto."

"Hey, Cameron, can I talk to you for a moment?" Daryon said, grabbing Cameron by the shoulder and pulling him aside.

"What is it, Daryon?" Cameron asked, bouncing with excitement.

"You just invited a stranger to travel around the region with us. Why would you do that?" Daryon asked.

"Well, you asked Skye and Max to travel with us, and you didn't check with me first. I figure this makes us even."

Daryon sighed. "That is true."

"Yeah, it is," Cameron said, turning around and rejoining Ero and the others. Skye was subtly trying to flirt with Ero, making him incredibly uncomfortable. However, Ero was able to shut that down quickly, letting her know he had a boyfriend back in Galar that he was seeing. She seemed to immediately lose interest after that.

"So, where are you planning on going next," Ero asked Cameron.

"The next Pokémon Gym is in Cerulean City, so that is where we are aiming."

"Wonderful, the owners of the local inn are friends of my father, so I get my room free of charge. I should be able to reserve similar accommodations for the rest of you."

Daryon grinned. Free stuff. Maybe Ero wouldn't be someone to worry about after all.