Professor Oak's Laboratory, Pallet Town.
At the bottom of the pond in the backyard, Mudkip lay hidden in the mud, blowing bubbles out of sheer boredom.
Every so often, Caster's face came to mind.
It missed his smile. It missed his bait. Most of all, it missed his Energy Orbs...
"Mudkip~"
With a sigh, Mudkip released a large bubble. It wobbled up to the surface and burst, sending tiny ripples across the water.
Then Mudkip swished its tail fin and swam up until its head broke the surface. It looked toward the northwest.
It did this three times a day, as regularly as mealtimes.
The Indigo Plateau lay to the northwest!
Sadly, the sky was empty.
Caster had promised to come and pick it up after the Indigo League Conference.
But it had been almost ten days. Why wasn't he back yet?
Had some other Pokémon lured him away?
Or had he died out there?
Then it would never get to eat his bait again. What a terrible waste!
Mudkip's thoughts ran wild, like a lovesick girl pining for someone.
Suddenly, the fin on its head twitched. It seemed to have picked up a faint movement in the air.
It looked up again and saw a slender, wingless blue dragon with a boy riding on its back.
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip was overjoyed. The boy was Caster, the person it had been thinking about day and night.
As Dragonair descended, Caster spotted Mudkip's head poking out of the pond and shouted excitedly, "Mudkip! I'm here to pick you up!"
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip waved its forelegs, then flicked its tail fin hard and leaped out of the pond onto the grass.
Soon, Dragonair landed. Caster jumped down and hugged Mudkip tightly, like lovers reunited after a long separation.
He really had wanted to claim Mudkip as soon as possible, before anything could go wrong.
Mudkip, meanwhile, had been waiting for him to take it away so they could be together from then on.
One of Professor Oak's assistants saw them land in the yard and hurried over.
Professor Oak hadn't come back with Caster. He wanted to stay for the Indigo League Conference final, and at his age, making an extra trip back and forth would have been a hassle.
Before Caster left, though, the professor had called the assistant who was looking after the lab and explained everything.
The young assistant handed over a Poké Ball with a smile. "Caster, the professor told me all about you and Mudkip.
"Here's Mudkip's Poké Ball. It's yours!"
"Thanks for your help!"
Caster accepted the Poké Ball. Mudkip was officially his now.
"Here's to being partners, Mudkip!"
He held out the Poké Ball, pointing its button toward Mudkip.
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip nodded, happily swishing its tail fin.
Then it pointed at its open mouth. The meaning was obvious.
Trainer! Hungry! Feed me!
"You little glutton!"
Caster couldn't help laughing, but he readily brought out some bait to feed it.
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip looked adorable, but its table manners were another story. It tipped Caster's bait box straight into its mouth and gulped down the contents as though it hadn't eaten in ages.
"Well, there's another bottomless stomach!"
Caster shook his head and sighed.
Gyarados and Dragonair were enormous, so naturally, they had enormous appetites to match.
He could accept that. Bigger bodies needed more food, after all.
But this little Pokémon's appetite was wildly out of proportion to its size.
"Could Mudkip's appetite have something to do with its strength?"
A possibility occurred to him.
Mudkip was unbelievably strong, after all.
Greater strength meant greater energy consumption. That made sense!
Then he remembered the Power Orb in his fishing space. He'd received the rare item as a reward for catching Mudkip, and using it would greatly increase a Pokémon's strength potential.
At the thought, Caster shuddered. A fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He almost didn't dare imagine how much Mudkip would eat once it evolved into Swampert.
"It's probably too late to return you now!"
Mudkip finished the bait in a few gulps and still seemed to want more. Caster could only smile helplessly.
At least it seemed pretty fond of him.
"I'll leave you two to it, Caster. I've still got plenty to do!"
Professor Oak's assistant left as quickly as he'd arrived. He clearly was busy. With the professor away, he had to do all the work himself.
"All right, Mudkip!"
Caster took a deep breath, smiled, and crouched down. "You're my Pokémon now, so you need to listen to me. Understand?"
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip nodded obediently.
It was the finest Mudkip in this batch from Hoenn, and that wasn't just a matter of strength and potential. It was also exceptionally gentle and obedient.
The League took great care in raising its starter Pokémon. Before being given to new Trainers, they received special training so they would know how to work with their partners in battle.
Caster nodded in satisfaction and smiled. "Good. Now I'll give you something really special!"
Bait and Energy Orbs were useful, but his most valuable treasures were his TMs and rare items. Those were the key to making a Pokémon stronger fast.
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip's eyes lit up with curiosity.
Then Caster remembered how many deceptively powerful Pokémon lived in Professor Oak's yard. Bringing out his treasures here might cause trouble.
After a moment's thought, he decided to go somewhere else.
He recalled Mudkip to its Poké Ball, climbed onto Dragonair, and flew to a small, uninhabited island just offshore.
Once he was sure no one was around, he let Mudkip out again and had Dragonair and Pikachu keep watch.
"First up, this Ability Orb!"
With a thought, Caster took a deep blue orb the size of a grape from his fishing space. Faint patterns of flowing water marked its surface, giving it an ancient look.
It was an Ability Orb for Torrent, the reward he'd received for catching Blue's Champion-level Blastoise.
According to its description, it could greatly improve how well a Pokémon with Torrent developed and used that ability.
"Mudkip~"
The moment the Ability Orb appeared, the fin on Mudkip's head twitched again.
That fin was an extremely sensitive radar. By sensing movements in water and air, Mudkip could detect its surroundings without using its eyes.
It had clearly sensed something special about the Ability Orb.
Before Caster could even explain what it was or give any instructions, Mudkip leaped up, trying to swallow it whole.
Luckily, Caster reacted quickly. With a thought, he returned the Ability Orb to his fishing space.
"Mudkip~"
Mudkip stared at him in confusion.
As far as its radar could tell, the treasure was gone. It had vanished into thin air.
"Mudkip!"
Caster's expression turned stern. "When I give you something, it's yours. Until then, you don't get to snatch it. Understand?"