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Riley raised a hand to his eyes, squinting against the harsh glare of the sun. Beside him, he heard Lucario’s footsteps, and from the Pokémon’s chest resonated a deep chirrup of contentment — a sort of relieved chuff.
Riley chuckled. “I couldn’t agree more,” he muttered.
Morning had broken, and with it came a golden sunrise that cast rosy shadows upon the underbellies of the clouds. Riley hadn’t even realised how long they’d been training; that Iron Island and its monsters had housed them through the night. Now it was dawn, and upon surfacing to catch a breath of fresh, salty air, Riley realised how much his muscles were aching.
“How’re you feeling, partner?” he asked Lucario.
The Pokémon stretched his arms and let out a yawn before gazing back to Riley. His eyes glowed blue for a split second, and in that moment, knowledge entered Riley’s brain.
Exhausted.
“Yeah, me too,” he replied with a sympathetic smile. “Shall we take the day off?”
The hint of a smile curled Lucario’s lip. That was a yes.
The two set off back down the cliff leading from Iron Island’s mine. While the mine took up the vast majority of the landmass, Riley had seen the flat expanse of grass at the back of the isle upon arrival via boat. It would be perfect to rest a while.
Descending the rocky steps and traversing the land beyond the mine, Riley soon saw the vast field beyond, the grass lighting up a fantastic emerald colour in the rising sun. A few Pokémon poked their heads up from the tufts, curious eyes peering out to inspect the intrusion. It made Riley smile — he imagined most of these Pokémon had never seen a human before; the mine had been abandoned decades ago, and visitors were not interested in exploring the island, only in training inside the mine.
A flock of Wingull grew spooked as soon as Riley’s boot touched the grass, and took to the skies with panicked squawks and a flurry of feathers. Lucario stiffened at the noise, causing Riley to scratch him between the ears with a chuckle. “You’re okay. No battling now.”
Lucario cocked his head.
“We’re relaxing today,” Riley told him. “We exist in harmony with the wild Pokémon.”
An understanding rumble sounded from Lucario’s throat, and he looked out at the scenery. The grass stretched out before the two of them, with evergreen trees growing around the edges of the island as if forming a natural barrier to stop anybody falling over the side of the sheer cliff edge. Pine needles glowed golden beneath the light of the sunrise, with the clouds streaked a pure pink colour now. In the distance, flocks of Pelipper flew, and Tentacool bobbed upon the surface of the ocean, their crystals soaking up the sunbeams.
Riley took steps further into the grass, seeing a couple of wild Geodude roll out of his way, regarding him with wary eyes. Lucario’s jaw was set hard — he wasn’t used to seeing wild Pokémon without the purpose of training.
“These wild Pokémon don’t have any intent on fighting us,” Riley explained. “They’re peaceful kinds, not like the ones in the mine — those Pokémon are tough, built to fight. But not these ones.”
Lucario grumbled. After so many years together, Riley could read Lucario’s aura as well as Lucario could read his — now, he could tell that Lucario wasn’t sure what to make of relaxation. Their life together as a team consisted of exploring and adventuring, challenging the Battlegrounds, and training. They were always ready to go — battle-ready at a moment’s notice. So to be outside, surrounded by a plethora of wild Pokémon, and to just ignore them? Lucario was growing antsy.
Riley smiled. He’d get used to it.
“This is a nice spot, don’t you think?” he asked, kneeling down in the grass close to the cliff-edge. It gave a fantastic view of the water and the isle of Sinnoh in the distance, with small outlines of boats and ships visible on the horizon. Here, they could watch the sun rise across the sky until it reached its peak; they could snack on the remaining food in Riley’s pack, and catch the next boat back to Canalave. What better way to spend a relaxation day?
Riley didn’t wait for Lucario’s answer — he sat down, the ground cold against his body, and stretched out his legs with a groan. Lucario joined him reluctantly, sitting delicately down in the grass beside him and crossing his legs in a meditative stance. He fixed his crimson eyes on Riley and a small, woof-like sound left his throat. It was a sound that said, What now?
“We relax, that’s what,” said Riley. He leant back on his palms and raised his face to the sun. The dawn was still chilly, but the sun gave off just enough warmth to make him smile.
A wild Bidoof ambled up to his side, its teeth chattering together inquisitively. It sniffed at Riley’s sleeve, chirped, and two more Bidoof came scurrying over. They inspected Riley’s boots and his jacket, with one even placing its two front paws on Riley’s leg. Riley chuckled at that, causing Lucario to give him a glare of incredulity. What’s funny about a wild Pokémon crawling on you? There are dangers abound! he seemed to say.
Yet Lucario’s ears soon twitched, and he whirled around to face a Buizel that had slinked through the grass towards him. The little sea weasel sniffed around Lucario with interest, causing Lucario to give an affronted huff. Buizel seemed not to care; it still looked young, and Riley imagined a tamed Pokémon was a bizarre sight for a wild creature to see.
Lucario faced out towards the ocean and closed his eyes. He tried to focus, the aura-sensing appendages beneath his ears rising as he tried to slip into meditation. He was soon disrupted, however, by the Buizel sniffing around Lucario’s paws, its whiskers tickling Lucario and making him growl. At that, the Buizel leapt away, raising its hackles and squeaking a couple of insults. Lucario blinked in surprise, then stood and barked his own obscenities back.
The Buizel’s eyes lit up. Ohh, it seemed to say. So this is a game? The little creature jumped up to Lucario on all fours, yapping, snapping at Lucario’s heels, then hopping away.
Lucario raised a fist, and Riley knew exactly what he was yelling back. Why, you insolent child! Lucario stepped forward, the Buizel leapt away, and then the chase was on.
To see Lucario running around after a feisty little Buizel warmed Riley’s heart; it was like he was a Riolu again, young and playful and living life carefree. Forgetting about training, and battles, and being a serious and scary partner. Now, Lucario was having fun.
Riley closed his eyes and laid down on his back, the wild Bidoof curling up next to him beginning to snore lightly. Riley had asked for a day of relaxation, and listening to the gentle breeze, the lapping of the waves, and the game Lucario was playing with his new friend, was all he could want in life.