The Dashing Wanderer

"So that's Serene Village huh?"
A lone, tall yellow figure stood below the hill with the giant tree, looking onwards at the small village below.
"And in record time too! Only took me 2 days!" He said as he looked at a yellow circular badge that he was holding, and placed it in his bag.
"Best not attract too much attention, my badge would definitely be a dead give away to who I really am."
----Entry #1
So Nuzleaf got me this notebook. Said he got it when he was returning from his trip, didn't say where though. Said I could "write down my thoughts" or something along that line. I noticed a few pages torn from the notebook, but I figure it was nothing.
I guess I could write about what has happened for the past few days. I still have no recollection of my memories though. But hey, life here so far hasn't been that bad. Unless you count being transformed into a mudfish Pokemon and have to walk on all fours, but I digress.
I finally was able to reconcile with Patience, after days of distancing ourselves, we finally made up and exchange "gifts".
Speaking of Patience, I guess I could talk about her. She was not that annoying Fennekin that would always get in my way like I imagined that's for sure. She's the closest friend I have in this world right now. I'm surprised she believed my "being a human" reason, but she did bring up some clever observations. Although her childishness sometimes bug me, I do find it... cute at times.
Ian looked out his window and noticed that sun was already up, and it was about time he got ready for another day of school.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
He ended, and closed the notebook and placed it and his pencil next to his bed. He got up and headed into the next room.
"Mornin Ian!" Nuzleaf greeted. "Another fine day huh?"
"Sure is." Ian replied.
"Might I ask something I was meaning to ask last night." He said. "Where did you get that fancy scarf you're wearing?"
Ian looked down at his scarf and decided to tell him.
"Patience gave it to me, we both are wearing it as a proof of our friendship." He explained.
"Is that so? Well I think that's awfully nice of her, and cute." Nuzleaf said. "Looking at that scarf makes me want to go out and get one for myself!"
"Haha!" Ian laughed. "I'm sure you'll manage."
Ian had his breakfast and after that waved goodbye to Nuzleaf, leaving the house. As he got out, he cool feel a cool breeze of air hit his face, he felt optimistic for the day. The sun was shining, the birds were-
"Goooooooood morningggggg Ian!"
Before the mudfish Pokemon could even react, something landed on his back, causing him to fall face first onto the ground.
It was Patience, who had showed her "affection" to her new best friend by jumping onto Ian.
"Hehehe! Ready for school bestie?" She excitingly said.
Ian tried getting up, but the weight of the fire fox Pokemon was crushing him.
"Be-bestie? Are we really going down that road already...?" He managed to say.
Patience got off Ian, as the mudfish Pokemon got up and faced her. Her cheerful smile and amber eyes, he couldn't get mad at a face like that.
"Of course silly! What do you think the scarf and twig necklace is suppose to represent?" She said.
"Touché."
"Let's get going! Off to school!" Patience exclaimed, happily skipping off.
"Good old Patience." Ian said to himself and chased after fire fox Pokemon as the two head into the village plaza. As they were walking towards the path that leads to the school, they heard a commotion from behind them.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" A voice said.
"A-apologies!" Another voice said.
Ian and Patience turned around, and saw a tall yellow Pokemon, black stripes covering his tail, neck and ears. And a red circular object sticking out of his forehead, dizzily bumping into everyone and everything. Patience ran up to the Pokemon to see what was wrong.
"A-are you alright?!" She asked.
"Ye-yes, I'll be fine." The Pokemon said. "It's just that I'm really bad with directions every time I'm in a new place..!"
The Pokemon recovered quickly and looked at the two Pokemon that were in front of him.
"And who might you two lovely kids be?" He asked.
"I'm Patience, and this is my friend Ian." Patience introduced.
"Hello there." Ian greeted.
"I see, well nice to meet you, Ian and Patience!" He exclaimed. "But oh my, I haven't even introduce myself. My name is Ampharos, and I'm known far and wide as-!"
He posed flamboyantly, to the surprise of Ian and Patience.
"The Dashing Wanderer!" He said.
Ian and Patience looked at each other in awkwardness, not knowing how to respond to this. He seemed more like The Dashing Model, Ian thought.
"I-I see..." Patience awkwardly replied. "So why have you come here?" She asked.
"Oh, me? Well I came to Serene Village for I have heard many good things about it!" Ampharos said.
"Where are you even from?" Ian asked.
Ampharos pondered for a bit, not knowing how to reply.
"That, my friend, is classified!" He decided to say, albeit it wasn't a really good answer.
"That so huh? That's too bad..."
"Anyway, I think I should be heading off now, tally-ho!" He said, switching back to his dizzying self and clumsily walking towards the village gates.
"What an odd fellow..." Ian said.
"Agreed." Patience said. Just then, at the corner of her eyes, she noticed something blue laying on the ground.
"Hmm? What's that?" Patience said.
Ian turned to where Patience was pointing to and saw a blue ball-like object laying on the ground. He approached it and picked up the item. It was a crystal clear blue ball, and had several white engravings on it. Ian could see his own reflection through it.
"Want me to see into your future?" Ian joked.
"Very funny..." Patience said. "Do you think it belongs to that Ampharos guy?"
"Most likely." Ian said. "We can give it back to him later, right now we got to head to school."
"You're right." Patience agreed.
Ian placed the crystal blue ball into his bag. They both then continued making their way to school.
"Wait... I just realized something." Patience stopped and said.
"What is it?" Ian asked.
"We skipped school yesterday." She stated. "I know we did it in order to save Budew, but still... I don't think Vice Principal Watchog is going to be happy to see us."
Ian, suddenly realizing this, cursed under his breath.
"Well then..." He said. "Guess we got no other choice but to face the music."
"Wait! I got an idea!" Patience exclaimed.
"Idea?" Ian asked.
"How about we just skip school again! That way we don't have to face any sort of punishment!"
Ian stayed quiet, looking at Patience with a "You're joking, right?" look on his face.
"That... has got to be the stupidest plan I've ever heard." Ian replied.
"Yeah... I didn't thought that one through huh?" She said. "You're right, we should just face the music..."
Ian nodded in agreement and the two continued on walking towards the school. When they arrived, they saw Vice Principal Watchog at the entrance, awaiting their arrival.
"Good morning Vice Principal Watchog." They both said nervously.
Watchog looked at them in the face, although he had a blank expression on his face, he was most likely very angry with their actions yesterday. His twitching red eyes speak for themselves.
"The principal would like to see you two..." He calmly said.
Ian and Patience, both confused as to what was going on, decided to obey that order and headed up to the principal's office.
----When Ian and Patience walked by the class, everyone stared at the two in silence, unsure whether it's shock or respect, they didn't really know. As they entered Principal Simipour's office, they were surprised to see Roselia there as well.
"I'm sure you know why you are here today." Simipour said.
"Yes... We skipped school." Ian said "But we did it because-!"
"I know, Mrs Roselia told me about what happened. It is true that you skipped school, for that you need to be punished."
Ian and Patience both frowned at the mention of that.
"However, given the circumstances, you two realized the imminent danger and acted on your own free will. For that I commend you. Because of your actions, I'll pardon the both of you for breaking the rules."
Patience eyes lit up when she heard that, and so did Ian. The two looked at each other in joy and exchange a high-five.
"Thank you so much Principal Simipour!" Ian said.
"No." He said. "Thank you, for your ability to decide for yourself, to make your own decisions and be responsible for them., I'm proud of you two." Simipour smiled.
"Thank you, again. For all that you've done." Roselia said.
"Always willing to lend a helping hand!" Patience exclaimed.
Simipour stood up from his chair and walked towards Ian and Patience. Placing his hands on the two.
"Now, shouldn't you two be getting to class? I'm sue Mr Farfetche'd has another exciting lesson for the class!"
"Yes, sir!" Ian and Patience said. As they excused themselves and left the office.
"You really do teach kids into great Pokemon, Principal Simipour." Roselia praised.
"That's what I love doing Mrs Roselia, that's what I love." He proudly said.
----"On behalf of all of us in class. We would like to apologize." Deerling announced.
"It's alright guys, really." Ian said.
"We shouldn't have doubted you. Not even for a second!" Goomy said. Feeling bad for doubting the Pokemon who had save him once.
"Fine, I'll admit, you did good this time." Pancham said. Facing away from Ian and Patience in embarrassment.
"How nice of you, Pancham." Patience said.
"B-but that doesn't mean you're not annoying. You still are." He reassured.
Patience shrugged. "If you say so." She said.
Ian smiled at this scene. He felt as if they are starting to not only believe him, but also respect him for his actions.
"If all of you are done talking! We got a class to start!" Farfetch'd interrupted.
The students, only now noticing Mr Farfetch'd quickly got back to their seats.
"Now, with that settled, let's begin another fun day of learning!"
"Yes, sir!" The class exclaimed.
----When class ended for the day, Patience and Ian quickly left the school grounds and headed for the plaza.
"So where do you think Ampharos could have gone?" Patience asked.
"I honestly do now know." Ian said, holding the crystal blue ball in his hand.
As the two arrived at the village plaza, Patience came up with an idea.
"How about we ask Kecleon about the item?" She suggested.
"Kecleon? How's he going to help?" Ian wondered.
Patience snatched the crystal ball from Ian's hands, to his surprise and began examining it.
"I think I remember seeing a couple of these being sold a Kecleon's shop. So I think he would know what this is."
"Huh, that's a good idea. Let's get to it then."
By sheer coincidence, they were right next to Kecleon's shop, and three steps later they were in front of the shop counter.
"Welcome! What will you be buying today?" Kecleon happily greeted.
"Actually, no. We would like you to examine that we have here." Ian explained.
"Is that so? Well then, show me what this item is then."
As Patience was about to hand the crystal ball over to Kecleon, he immediately recognized it.
"Oh! That's a Connection Orb!" He exclaimed.
"A Connection... Orb?" Patience wondered.
"Yes, this is an orb that lets you see the connections that you have made with other Pokemon." Kecleon explained.
"See connections? That sounds pretty ridiculous." Ian commented.
"Ridiculous?! My child, this is a technological wonder! It's usually carried by shop owners like myself, and Expedition Society members!"
"Wait, what did you say?!" Patience said in surprise. "E-expedition Society members?!"
"That is correct, the Connection Orb was created by the Expedition Society after all." Kecleon said.
Patience gulped nervously, unsure as to how to react to that revelation.
"Well, that was unexpected..." Ian said.
"I believe this Connection Orb was from our visitor this morning, correct?" Kecleon asked.
"That's right, we were wondering if you knew where he went." The mudfish Pokemon asked.
"He mentioned something about heading off to Poliwrath River for some investigation. Let me show you."
Kecleon squatted down and was grabbing something from below the counter, he got back up with a rolled up paper in his hand, he opened it and it revealed to be a map of the world. With some red spots marked on the many continents.
"This is where we are now, Serene Village." Kecleon pointed to small red area on the west side of a place labeled "Water Continent". "And this is where Poliwrath River is." He pointed again, this time further east from Serene Village to a marked area labeled "Poliwrath River".
"I see, thanks for the info Kecleon!" Ian said.
"Here, take this map with you." Kecleon said, rolling up the map and heading it to Ian. "Consider it a "loyal service reward"." He said.
Ian nodded and took the map from the shopkeepers hand, thanking him once again.
"Come on Patience, let's-" Ian was interrupted with the fire fox Pokemon suddenly pushing him forward, quickly heading towards the village gates.
"Woa- hey! Stop pushing me!" Ian demanded, breaking free from Patience and facing her.
"You didn't have to push me you know." He said.
"Don't you know what this means Ian?!" Patience asked, half excited and nervous at the same time.
"Enlighten me."
"This Ampharos fellow could well be working for the Expedition Society!" She said.
"Oh right." Ian finally getting it. "You. Expedition Society dreams. I forgot."
"If we give this Connection Orb back to Ampharos, he might see us as candidates to become Expedition Society members!"
"Easy there, cowboy. You're really jumping the gun here."
"Cowboy...?" Patience asked.
"Never mind, what makes you think he's just going to let us join anyway? Besides, didn't you say kids weren't allowed?" Ian said.
"I know, I know! But hear me out, what if he lets us join the society and decides to turn a blind eye on that rule?"
"I don't know about that..." Ian said unsurely. "Let's just hand this Connection Orb back to Ampharos first and cross that bridge when we get to it alright?"
"Alright, alright..."
After Ian reorganized the items that were in his bag, the two made their way towards the village gates, when suddenly they bumped into Carracosta.
"Hey, pops!" Patience greeted.
"Hello Patience, hello Ia-" Carracosta stopped himself, when he noticed dark green scarf that was wrapped around Ian's neck.
"Could I speak with you for a minute, Ian?" Carracosta requested.
Ian, confused as to what was this all about, followed Carracosta, away from Patience. After making sure that the fire fox Pokemon wasn't within hearing distance, Carracosta spoke.
"This is only between the two of us, understand?"
Ian nodded.
"When I stumbled upon Patience, wrapped up in those scarves when she was nothing more than a baby Fennekin, I took it upon myself as an adult to raise her." Carracosta paused for a second to catch his breath. "Although we may not share blood, I treat her as if she was my own."
"What are you trying to tell me?" Ian asked.
"Patience giving you that scarf can only mean one thing: Patience is willing to open up to you. A part of her is now with you. And a part of you is with her, she really treasures that twig necklace that you made for her."
Ian looked down at his scarf, he never really thought of it that way, not until Carracosta mentioned it. The two of them are basically connected now, inseparable by anything.
"So, I want to ask you a favor." Carracosta said.
"What is it?"
Carracosta placed his hands on the mudfish Pokemon.
"Stay true to Patience, you mean everything to her. Trust is an important thing in a dangerous world like this."
Ian stood silent, his mouth opened, but no words came out.
"I-I understand." Ian said. He honestly wasn't expecting such a request from Carracosta
"Now go on, you wouldn't want to keep Patience waiting."
Ian nodded and excused himself, leaving the prototurtle Pokemon behind. He saw Patience, who was waiting patiently, casually twiddling with the twig that he had given to her.
"About time." Patience said." "What was that all about?"
"It's nothing." Ian lied.
"Is that so, huh? Okay then, off we go to Poliwrath River!" She exclaimed, running off ahead of Ian.
Ian sighed, and followed after the fire fox Pokemon. The words of Carracosta still fresh in his mind.
"Stay true to Patience."
Ian calmed himself down, he had nothing to worry, after what had happened over the past few days, he knew that befriending Patience was not a mistake.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." He said to himself.