Pokémon training turned out to be a lot of fun. I had always liked working with animals in my past life—even giving my life to save a young pup—so to say that I enjoyed the aura training with Horsey more than meditating was the understatement of the century.

  Luckily for me, Horsey was as keen to train as I was. Kingdra informed me that while most Pokémon look to improve themselves and strive to grow stronger, few pursue it with the relentless enthusiasm her son did.

  Having a partner did wonders for my control. While I still couldn’t detect my own aura like Kingdra could, I had enough control to stop Horsey from draining me dry every time he used it to power his attacks.

  Our constant training had also resulted in another surprise: he could draw on my aura from a distance. It was significantly less efficient according to Kingdra, with much more aura being wasted than when he took it in physical contact, but it would give us options in battles that opponents wouldn’t expect.

  However, while I could cut Horsey off from drawing on my aura when reserves got low, I still wasn’t able to prevent him from drawing on it outright. Kingdra hypothesized that this was likely due to me having far too much aura for my measly level of control. So, while I could protect the precious few reserves that, if spent, would leave me unconscious, everything else was fair game.

  This was good enough for me. While I was appreciative of everything Kingdra had done for me since arriving in this new world, living in a cave with a sea breeze—while being naked—had gotten old fast.

  “I think it’s time I started getting ready to leave,” I told Kingdra one morning as we sat around the fire eating fish.

  “Horsey, Horse Horsey!” my Horsey agreed eagerly.

  “Why are you so keen to leave, young one? There is still much I could teach you both.”

  “While I don’t doubt that’s true, at some point I would like to see another human. Arceus did give me that mission after all,” I responded, trying to stay diplomatic.

  “Human, I have known you for the better part of a month, during which time you have shown very little urgency in hatching the egg,” Kingdra replied, seeing through my lie.

  “Okay, maybe I just want some damn clothes. The sea breeze is freezing at night, and I’m tired of my nether regions being so exposed!” I complained. This was not the first time we’d had this conversation. Me complaining about my lack of clothes had become a daily occurrence—something Kingdra tolerated only because of how dedicated I was to training the rest of the time.

  “I have enough control now not to die if any random Pokémon passes by, and Horsey is getting pretty strong.” Horsey perked up at this comment; the little guy loved it when I complimented him, though I was exaggerating a bit.

  While Horsey had grown considerably over the past few weeks—my aura doing wonders for his training—he still couldn’t hold a candle to his mother. His siblings, however, had begun refusing to spar with him after losing so many times.

  “I suppose your future growth would be stunted without appropriate opponents. After you finish eating, go and grab your egg and we’ll get ready to leave.”

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  As soon as I heard this, I devoured the rest of the fish with renewed ferocity before heading to the back of the cave where the Manaphy egg was resting.

  I hadn’t visited the egg much over the last few weeks. I’d always kept an eye on it, of course, but getting too close caused it to start drawing on my aura.

  Kingdra assumed that my aura would help the Manaphy develop in the egg. It’s probably why the damn llama gave me so much aura in the first place—so I could help the egg hatch quicker, I mused.

  Approaching the egg, I felt the pull on my aura as usual. This time, however, I was ready. Focusing internally on the little aura I did have control over, I locked it down, letting the egg take the excess while keeping just enough to function normally.

  That’s not to say the approach didn’t leave me worn out, but at least I wasn’t left a heaving mess on the floor just from picking the egg up like I had been a week ago.

  Carrying the egg back to the front of the cave, I could feel its warmth radiating outward, and at one point I swear the whole thing even shook. Drawing Kingdra’s attention, I asked if she had any idea how long it would take to hatch.

  “Unsurprisingly, I don’t have much experience with eggs only found in legends. But if I had to guess—based on the amount of ambient water aura it has absorbed from you over the last few weeks and how it’s been shaking more and more—I would say any day now.”

  “Hear that, Horsey? Looks like you’ll be getting a new baby brother or sister soon!” I called out to my excited seahorse, who chirped happily back at me.

  As if to return the sentiment, the egg started to wiggle in my arms before a bright glow built up from the center, slowly growing to engulf the entire shell.

  “Soon may actually be right now!” I said excitedly.

  Manaphy had always been my favourite Pokémon growing up, and the first mythical I obtained as a child. In the games, you had to play through a bonus mission in Pokémon Ranger to get an egg you could transfer to the other games. As a kid in the countryside, I didn’t have the chance to go to other distribution events for mythicals like Mew or Deoxys, so Manaphy always held a special place in my heart.

  As the light grew brighter, I had to place the egg on the floor so I could shield my eyes.

  And then it happened: a large, expanding ring of water aura shot out from the egg, traveling off into the distance as the Manaphy hatched.

  “Mana, Manaphy!” the newborn cried. Its small blue body was adorable—round bulbous head with big eyes, each with two small yellow circles above them. In the center of its chest gleamed a beautiful red gem. Two tails with small balls on the ends sprouted from its head. One of my favourite things about Manaphy was how its feet looked like someone had trapped them in a sack.

  “You are so cute,” I said, bending down to reach eye level without crowding them.

  “Mana?” they cried, tilting their head in confusion.

  “They are asking if you are their mother,” Kingdra translated.

  “No, I’m not your mother,” I said with a laugh. “First of all, I’m a man.”

  “Manaphy,” they responded with a nod.

  Looking to Kingdra for translation, she explained, “So you’re Papa, then.”

  You know what? I think I can live with being Papa to one so cute, I mused, not bothering to correct them.

  Needless to say, our travel plans were completely derailed by Manaphy’s hatching. I felt it was important to bond with a newborn as soon as possible so I could better tend to their needs. I didn’t have any experience raising children, but I knew enough not to drag a newborn through wilderness teeming with dangerous wildlife—dragon protector or not.

  We ended up spending the entire day at the cave entrance. First, Manaphy was introduced to the Horseys, who befriended them quickly—even the two who were usually shy. If I recalled correctly, the Pokédex listed Manaphy as being able to befriend any Pokémon, something to keep in mind for the future, before the day devolved into the four young water types playing around in the water, splashing each other at every chance they got.

  As the sun began to set, I noticed something flying in the distance. I wasn’t the only one: Kingdra levitated out of the water and hovered at the cave mouth, acting as a guard.

  Once it was close enough, I identified the newcomer as a Staraptor, thanks to the red feathers forming its fringe. The Staraptor itself wasn’t what excited me, however—that honour belonged to the person riding on its back.