Maylene was sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding a towel and rubbing out any smudges she could spot on the egg. It had only been a few days since Crasher Wake gave her the egg, but she was sure that it would hatch soon. Whatever Pokémon was inside, it was going to be Maylene’s first Pokémon.

‘Come on, hatch!’

Maylene started swinging the egg around; maybe it’ll hatch then. Her mother was sitting on one of the dining room chairs, and papers filled the space in front of her. It was probably some grownup thing that Maylene couldn’t care for; all she wanted was for the egg to hatch. She started shaking it; maybe that will wake the Pokémon up.

‘Stop that, Maylene,’ said her mother. ‘It can’t be safe for the baby.’

‘Fine,’ said Maylene, putting the egg back on the floor. ‘I just wish it would hatch sooner, you know?’

‘It’s been four days,’ said her mother. ‘Why don’t you walk with it? Pokémon hatch faster when you walk with them.’

‘Maybe I’ll go to the big man who gave me the egg,’ said Maylene. ‘Pastoria City isn’t far, right?’

‘You’re not allowed to leave Veilstone City,’ said her mother. ‘At least, not alone.’

‘Then come with me!’ said Maylene. ‘You look like you need fresh air.’

With a slight chuckle, Maylene’s mother gave a nod of agreement and waltzed back to her room to get ready, humming to herself as she did so. Maylene kept on observing the egg. She considered tossing it into the air; maybe it’ll fall back in the form of a Pokémon.

Her mother emerged from her room, wearing a white sundress. She put her sun hat on as she walked to the door.

‘Come on, Maylene,’ she said. ‘We want to get there before it’s dark. No, no, wait. Where are your shoes?’

‘I keep forgetting,’ said Maylene. ‘And I don’t really need them, anyway.’

‘I’m sure you can walk just fine without any shoes, but we wear them because we don’t want our feet to get dirty.’

‘Dad doesn’t care,’ grumbled Maylene, reluctantly putting on her sandals. ‘Dad would let me go out without these.’

‘Well, I’m not dad,’ said her mother. ‘You know what would be a good idea?’

‘What?’

‘If you take the egg with you.’

‘I forgot!’ Maylene rushed back to the egg, which had been lying motionless on the floor. She grabbed it between her arms, and dashed through the door.

Her mother was following closely behind, and it seemed that she could never walk fast enough. She would stop to smell flowers, or say hello to people that she knew, and all Maylene wanted to do was rush to her destination. The sandals felt restrictive, like each of her feet was being squeezed into itself.

Maylene wanted to fling them off, and run towards Pastoria City, but with her mother’s slow, pandering walk, they only got to Pastoria after a little more than fifteen minutes. It was not her first time in Pastoria City, but Maylene was still amused by all the Croagunk adoration; from kids walking with little plush toys of the Pokémon to graffiti of it. What if her egg hatched into a Croagunk?

But regardless of all the distractions, Maylene ran to the Gym and smashed herself against the doors. She heard her mother gasp in awe when she reached her; the Gym was a large pool, with some platforms and wooden planks dotting the clear blue waters.

Maylene took off her shoes, as politely as she could, and started running. She jumped over the water and landed on the platform on the other side, almost stumbling into the pool. She was never fond of water, as it mostly hindered her sight. Maylene didn’t need to see her mother to know that she was shaking her head at her daughter’s actions. Maylene jumped to another platform; it was bigger than the one before it, and she continued her run to jump onto yet another platform.

It was then that she heard the loudest laugh. It was as if the walls exploded and filled the Gym with more water; the man had his arms crossed in front of him, and he was laughing joyfully. He pressed an orange switch on the wall behind him, and the water started draining.

‘Do you like it?’ Crasher Wake shouted.

‘I don’t like water…’ Maylene said, unnecessarily jumping towards the last platform.

‘What brings you here?’ Crasher Wake said with a loud voice. ‘Is it the egg?’

‘Yeah,’ said Maylene. ‘It’s not hatching fast enough!’

To her side, Maylene saw her mother walking on a single long platform; it must have been a simpler way around.

‘I don’t have any experience with Eggs!’ Crasher Wake laughed. ‘I caught all my Pokémon without hatching them! But I will try to help you!’

‘Maylene insisted on seeing you,’ Maylene’s mother said. ‘You must be Crasher Wake.’

‘And you must be Averell!’ said Crasher Wake. ‘Maylene told me about you in that party, and she only had nice things to say!’

‘It’s a wonderful Gym, by the way,’ said Averell. ‘Love this design. I used to be on the swimming team, so pools are a soft spot for me.’

‘You’re welcome to come to the Gym anytime,’ said Crasher Wake. ‘And you can bring Maylene, if you want. I understand she wants to be a Gym Leader?’

‘Yes!’ Maylene said. ‘The Strongest!’

‘Well, to start with, we better hatch that egg!’ Crasher Wake let out yet another one of his loud laughs. ‘Let’s start by going back to Veilstone; I think eggs need warmth, and there’s only damp in here!’

Without a warning, Crasher Wake heaved the two girls onto his shoulders. Maylene squealed with delight, and Averell in fear. He jumped down entire flights of stairs before zooming out of the open doors. Maylene started laughing as her surroundings shifted and changed at such a rapid pace for the first time.

*

She was still running through the streets of Saffron when the sounds of battle reached her. She could make out Floatzel and his attacks, even though her eyes were closed; he must’ve been battling at least two Pokémon.

Riolu was still running by her side, but the pain coursing through his body seemed to intensify with every second, and every step. He started falling behind, helpless to do anything but watch as Maylene became a silhouette and disappeared into the darkness. He tried to run faster, to keep the vow of always protecting Maylene, but his body gave in to his wounds, and he stumbled to the ground.

Maylene opened her eyes to the sight in front of her; Crasher Wake’s Gyarados and Quagsire were unconscious on the floor, and her Machop was barely standing as Floatzel was battling the Arbok and the Weezing.

‘Riolu! We have to help!’

Normally, there would be some sort of response from the Pokémon, but there was just silence next to Maylene. She halted herself between the battle and the darkness.

‘Riolu!’ Maylene shouted. ‘Are you behind me?!’

Once again, there was silence. Maylene didn’t want to choose between Crasher Wake and Riolu; she was already on the verge of breaking down, and that decision could be the one to push her. Her voice quivered as she called for Riolu again, fearing the worst once more.

It was then that his outline emerged from the darkness; his walk was sluggish, and he was holding his head in pain. Maylene walked over to the Pokémon just in time to catch him from his fall. She had hoped to battle with Riolu, to help Crasher Wake in any way she could, but it seemed impossible after seeing how badly injured Riolu was.

‘I don’t get it,’ said Maylene. ‘You should have recovered by now. What’s wrong?’

Riolu knew exactly what was wrong. A little more than a year ago, he had sworn to never use his Aura powers, so long as Maylene is unable to use them. His powers had quickened his recovery in the past, but since locking them away, he needed all the help he could get to heal his injuries, especially since he was inexperienced.

‘Riolu,’ said Maylene. ‘Please be okay.’

He could just draw these powers; open the gates and flood his body with the Aura that would give him the strength to stand up. He didn’t want to watch Maylene be sad or concerned, but he didn’t want another rift between them. He didn’t want those powers if Maylene couldn’t use them. He didn’t want the powers.

‘You’re not even moving,’ Maylene started crying. ‘Please, Riolu. I shouldn’t have made you run. Please, don’t die. Please. I don’t know what I’ll do without you. I love you, Riolu, please.’

It felt like silence. The sounds of battle were still behind Maylene, but Riolu’s lack of sounds was unbearable. It was Maylene’s worst nightmare. Riolu’s chest was rising and falling with unsteady breaths, but no sound came from him. The clouds shifted in the sky and covered the faint moon. It was the darkest night, and Maylene could barely make out Riolu’s outline.

There was something different about him. His ears were longer, and his snout was more defined. With her hold over him, Maylene could feel the bumps on the back of his hand turning into spikes. He got heavier, and his body got longer.

His hand reached up to touch Maylene’s face; it was different, yet familiar. The clouds slowly revealed the moon, and he became clear to Maylene.

The Riolu she once knew had become something else. He looked at her with determined eyes, and all Maylene could do was stare back in awe. He lifted his body off of Maylene’s lap, and stared back at his Trainer.

‘Riolu, you…’ Maylene started. ‘You… You evolved… You look amazing.’

The Pokémon grinned as Maylene slowly shifted from sadness to excitement. Her smile spread across her face, and she threw her body onto her Pokémon, taking him in an embrace.

‘You evolved!’ Maylene shouted. ‘I can’t believe this! You’re a Lucario!’

Lucario gave another grin. He wrapped his arms around Maylene and flung her onto his shoulder. He vowed to protect her, and that is exactly what he’ll do. Crasher Wake meant a lot to her, and he would never forgive himself if anything happened to him.

Lucario started running towards the battle, Maylene still on his shoulder. Floatzel was clear and protecting Machop, who desperately wanted to fight, but froze when he spotted the approaching Lucario. His eyes widened as he immediately recognised Riolu.

Maylene saw Crasher Wake picking up his Quagsire, and taking him back towards Gyarados; he was unaware of anything that was happening, but he was safe, and that was all Maylene could care about.

Arbok hissed as she saw Lucario, and lunged towards the new opponent. Her fangs were dripping with purple liquid; it seemed that the poison was rushing from her. She was furious, and the pattern was clearly shifting and glaring at the Lucario. The Aura Pokémon stepped out of the way; he was bigger than Riolu, but much more agile.

Arbok crashed into the ground, screaming as she did so. Her body whipped around to face the Lucario, eyes unfocused, and rage coursing her body. She lashed towards her opponent again, but with a swift move, Lucario ducked and put his palm against the changing pattern, and with a quick punch, fired Arbok into the night sky. He leaped after her, and Maylene clung to her Pokémon’s neck in fear of slipping off.

‘I remember now,’ said Maylene. ‘Lucario, use Close Combat!’

Balling his hands into fists, Lucario waited until her was level with Arbok. She was falling, and he was rising, but only a split second was enough. His hits landed on the Arbok without fail, and she fell motionless to the ground.

‘You’re great, Lucario,’ said Maylene as the pair started descending. ‘I didn’t think you could get any better, but you proved me wrong. You were perfect as Riolu, and you’re ever more perfect now!’

The pair hit the ground next to Arbok; she was unconscious, and Ariana was staring in disbelief. Her face quickly turned from confusion to anger as she shouted for a retreat; it was bad enough with just Floatzel, but now that a new Pokémon joined the battle, there was no hope for winning.

‘MAYLENE!’

Crasher Wake rushed to the little girl, picking her up and pulling her in a tight hug. An onslaught of Team Rocket members flooded out of the building, pulling Ariana and the others into the commotion as all the opposing Pokémon were retreated into their Poké Balls. Floatzel and Lucario rushed to the crowd to round as many of them as they could, but Crasher Wake refused to let go of Maylene.

‘I was worried!’ Crasher Wake shouted. ‘I didn’t know where you went!’

‘I’m fine,’ said Maylene. ‘But I was worried about you too.’

‘There’s no reason to worry about me!’ Crasher Wake said. ‘I’m a rock!’

*

‘There! It’s hatching!’

Maylene picked up the egg and held it close as whatever Pokémon inside was squirming around, and the shell was slowly being broken. She was sitting on the floor of her father’s Gym, and Crasher Wake was opposite her.

The crack in the egg started widening, and small parts of the shell fell onto the wood. In quick seconds that seemed to have lasted forever, the egg fell apart to reveal a small, blue Pokémon.

‘It’s a Riolu,’ said Crasher Wake in a surprisingly hushed voice. ‘Congratulations.’

‘Welcome to the world, Riolu!’ Maylene said. ‘We’ll both get Strongest!’