It's amazing how much more you notice when you're just sitting quietly and observing instead of walking and talking. Mara had only been resting a few seconds before she straightened, eyes lighting up with recognition and wonder.

"Ro," she whispered. "We did leave Alola, didn't we?"

His only response was a look of quiet bewilderment. But when she pointed to a not-too-distant patch of scrub brush, he looked, and huffed a canine chuckle.

Maybe we didn't after all.

A Gumshoos was standing perfectly still, almost invisible except for the white, jagged glint of his teeth.

"I wonder if they'd be interested in a spar... I hope we wouldn't be bothering them. It looks like they might be hunting."

I think I could go over and ask without making too much noise, Ro offered, slipping away before Mara had the opportunity to reply. She hoped the Gumshoos was in a mood to interact; it made her so unexpectedly happy to have a taste of Alola back in Hoenn that she was loath to see the opportunity slip away too soon. She watched Ro creep smoothly across the field, approaching the Gumshoos from the side. Long before she saw him reach the pokemon's hiding spot, she noticed that the rodent had turned his head to watch Ro's approach.

At that distance, Mara heard nothing of their interaction. But she grinned when The Gumshoos glanced her way, and after a moment both pokemon set off back in her direction. She gave a small wave as they drew near.

He was intrigued when I told him we had been to Alola, Ro reported.

"Is he down for a battle?

In spite of the Gumshoos' statuesque stillness, the eager glint in its eyes was answer enough. When Ro nodded, Mara pulled out Lily's pokeball and stood.

She was expecting an easy, laidback fight; that's why she'd went with Lily, her least experienced battler. But when the Gumshoos' Super Fang nearly took the Rockruff out in one blow, Mara snapped to attention, awed. Immediately shifting strategies, she had Lilly use Double Team and get some distance between her and her opponent, throwing rock-type moves and staying out of range of Gumshoos' close combat style. Several minutes later and the fight was still going, though both pokemon were clearly getting tired. Ultimately, it was Mara who ended it, calling Lily back to her.

"That's enough, girl--don't want you to get too hurt," she said to the panting canine. Meanwhile, she saw Ro go over to talk to the Gumshoos out of the corner of her eye. When she returned Lily to her pokeball, she looked up and saw that the Gumshoos was looking at her again.

He enjoys battling, said Ro. He's wondering if he might have more opportunity to do it if he comes with us.

Well! Filling out her team roster was certainly on her to-do list. Mara pulled an empty pokeball out of her bag. She held it toward the pokemon with a it's your choice sort of look. The disheveled Gumshoos regarded it for a moment, and then waddled over to tap it with his paw, vanishing in a swirl of light.