Summertime for Cassia always meant she and her grandfather would be taking a trip to Paldea.  It had been this way as long as she remembered and now that she was old enough to understand this was an annual tradition, she looked forward to it all year round.  Their home in Unova was nothing to sneeze at, but the summer home in Paldea felt like something out of a storybook.  Everything was so green and lush, trees growing over each other.  Where they stayed wasn’t far from the ocean, and the smell of the salty sea breeze welcomed her back each year.  The sun shone brightly overhead, never seeming to get too hot.

This summer in particular was a special one.  Now that she was ten, her grandfather promised she could get her very first Pokémon. She had spent the past year trying to pick which one she wanted.  Naturally, she would rather have a Paldean Pokémon to a Unovian one, as she could catch Pokémon from Unova any time she pleased.  Being the bookworm that she was, all of her time since her last trip was consumed in research.  There were so many interesting Pokémon native to this region, she didn’t know which one to choose.  Pawmi? Fidough?  Maybe even a Quaxly or a Sprigatito like her grandfather had suggested? She couldn’t decide.  While she wanted one as soon as possible, she had all summer to choose a partner and she wanted to make sure she chose the very best one for her.  She decided that she would know her partner when she saw it.

Rainy afternoons seemed less common in Porto Marinada, but the coast town still had its fair share of summer storms.  Cassia stared out the window with a frown.  Her grandfather had promised to take her to the beach, yet the weather had other plans.  It appeared that she would be stuck inside for the next few days.  She tried not to pout, but she was indeed upset.  Each moment she was stuck inside this house was another moment she wasn’t out there meeting the Pokémon of her dreams. Growing bored, she decided to explore the large manor.  She somehow found herself in the attic, a place she had never ventured into. Before this year, she was afraid of the ladder that led up to it.  It still made her nervous, but all that was forgotten when she was inside the mysterious old room.  There was so much more stuff than she would have ever imagined in there.  Being the curious little girl that she was, she began to plunder through the boxes and chests.  A lot of it appeared to be things that belonged to her late grandmother- a lot of old fancy dresses and hats, some gaudy costume jewelry, feather boas. Cassia’s afternoon went from dull to the most fun she had ever had as she played dress up with all the old things she found.  

She continued digging through the chests, trying to see what other kinds of silly things her grandma used to wear, when she came upon a small one in the corner of the attic. Somehow, she knew this one was special before she even cracked it open.  The old wooden chest was painted red, trimmed in gold, and had a leather strap keeping it shut.  She was careful as she unhitched the silver buckle to peek inside.  When the lid was up, she noticed the chest housed a pile of golden coins.  She gasped at the sight of them.  They glistened in the dim light of the old bulb hanging from the ceiling.  She’d seen coins like this before; she was pretty sure she had one in her tepiggy bank at home.  In awe, she reached in to touch the gold.  When she stuck her hand in the chest, something grabbed it.

The little girl screamed in fright, pulling her hand back and shielding it against her chest as she scrambled backwards against the dusty wooden floor.  Her heart was pounding as she stared at the chest from the wall she bumped into.  She heard her grandfather calling out for her from downstairs, but she was too scared to speak up.  She tried to peer across the room as she caught her breath, but couldn’t see inside the chest from where she sat.  On her hands and knees, she cautiously crawled back towards it.  The creature popped out when she got close, causing her to gasp and freeze up again at the sight of it.  It was a small, silver… thing.  She’d never seen anything like it.  

“Cassia?  Are you up there?”

As soon as her grandfather spoke, the creature disappeared back into the coins.  She crawled closer still, peeking into the chest again to see what happened to it.

“Cassia!  Are you all right?” the older man asked when he popped into the attic.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

Still unable to speak, she pointed at the chest.  Her grandfather raised a brow, but crossed the floor to where she sat.

“Did you see something?” he calmly asked.  “Was it in the chest?”

She bobbed her head. Her grandfather reached into the chest and pulled out a handful of coins…  The creature she had seen before popped out the moment he did so.

“Oh!” he laughed.  “Cassie, is this what you saw?”

He picked a coin out of his palm and offered it to the creature.  It made a strange noise as it accepted it.  Cassia knit her brows.  It seemed… happy?

“This is a Pokémon,” he told her.  “A Gimmighoul.”

“A Gimmighoul…” she repeated.  Her eyes were wide.  Her grandfather held out the coins to her, and she took one to offer to it.  It grabbed the coin from her, causing her to giggle.  “What’s it doing up here, Papa?”

Her grandfather shrugged, dropping the rest of the coins back into the chest.

“They live in these chests, protecting their treasures,” he told her.  “This one must have gotten packed up with the rest of your Nana’s stuff on accident.”

Cassia looked at the Gimmighoul as her grandfather spoke.  She couldn’t take her eyes away from it.  She held out her hand and it jumped out of the chest into her palm. She beamed wide when it came to her.

“It’s so small!” she said excitedly.

“Why don’t we bring this chest downstairs?” her grandfather asked.  “I think this little guy would appreciate a change of scenery.”

Cassia nodded and tried to place the Gimmighoul back in the chest, but it didn’t want to leave her palm. Instead, it climbed up her arm until it rested in the crook of her elbow.  As soon as her grandfather opened the attic door, the creature began to climb up the sleeve of her dress.  She giggled and fished it out, placing it instead on her shoulder.  After her grandfather climbed down the ladder, she followed until she was back on the second floor.

“Why don’t we put this chest in your room?” he asked.  “We can keep it open and it should stay safe if this Gimmighoul wants to play with you.”

Cassia nodded and held out her hands to accept the chest.  It was small, but a little heavy from all the gold inside.  She managed to get it to the nightstand beside her bed. Afterwards, she sat on top of the bed and the Gimmighoul crawled down her arm and back into her hands.

“Can I keep it?” she asked. “Please?”

Her grandfather smiled at her.  “I’m guessing you found your partner?”

She nodded excitedly, causing the older man to laugh.

“I think the Gimmighoul is a fine partner for you, Cassia,” he said, ruffling her hair.  “Not many people have one.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Really.  They don’t trust too many people, especially not around their treasure,” he told her.  “I’ll tell you a secret, Cassie…”

She held her breath and nodded, wanting to know the secret.  Her grandfather laughed and leaned in to whisper.

“If you really want to get on its good side, you should keep your eyes out for more of those coins,” he told her.  “Bring them back to it.  I’ve heard something good happens if they have enough of them.”

Her eyes were starry as he told her this.  She looked from her grandfather, to the coins, down to the Gimmighoul in her hands.

“Like what?” she asked in awe.

“I dunno,” he said, patting her head.  “Never found out, but I think you will be able to…  Maybe after the rain, we can go on a treasure hunt.”

She nodded eagerly, excited at the prospect.

“Good.  Well, lunch is waiting for us downstairs, missy,” he said. “Why don’t you and your partner come grab a bite to eat?”

She grinned wide and nodded, holding the Pokémon to her chest as she followed him downstairs to the dining room.  She sat the Gimmighoul on the table before seating herself.  A peanut-butter and jelly sandwich was already prepared and cut for her, as well as a juice box and her favorite snack— string cheese.  As she bit into the sandwich, her grandfather opened the package of cheese for her.  The moment he sat it down on her plate, the Gimmighoul reached for it.

“Hey!” she frowned, sitting down the sandwich as the Pokémon nibbled on the snack.  “That’s my string cheese!”

Her grandfather laughed. “I’m sure there’s another one in the fridge.  Why don’t you let him have that one?  It seems like he likes it.”

The man walked away into the kitchen, leaving Cassia with her Pokémon.  She watched as the Gimmighoul pulled the cheese apart and ate the strands.

“You sure like that cheese, huh?” she giggled.  She pulled another string off and handed it to him.  The Gimmighoul made a grateful noise as it held its little arms out to accept it.  “Me too.”

***

Cassia had lost count of the number of coins she collected over the years.  She always kept a look out for them when she was in Paldea, and managed to find them in the strangest places.  Each coin that she found ended up in Stringcheese’s chest.  Because of all of her offerings and love, he was the most loyal Pokémon anyone could ask for, even if he wasn’t the strongest or bravest.  None of this changed as an adult when she transferred from Noir University in Unova to Naranja Academy in Paldea to finish her degree.  When Director Clavell announced the school’s annual treasure hunt, she may have taken his words a little literally.  While her main focus for the school year was filling out the Pokédex to cement herself a job as a researcher after graduation, she looked for coins wherever she went.  

Arven took notice.  He didn’t say anything at first, too busy thinking about how cute it was that her eyes lit up each time she found one.  He didn’t ask her why she was obsessed with them, but he began to associate them with her.  It got to the point that he found himself picking them up when she wasn’t around.  He told himself that he’d claim that this was his way of thanking her for helping him out with all the titan stuff, but the reality was he wanted to see her smile and let her know that he had been thinking about her.

“Oh, hey, Cass,” he said after running into her on campus.  

“Hi, Arven!” she excitedly said back.

“I was hoping I’d run into you.”

“Really?” she giggled. “What’s up?”

“I… hope you don’t think this is weird,” he said, digging into his pants pocket.  “I got something for you.  To, um… thank you.  For helping me out with Mabosstiff.”

“For me?” she asked. She tilted her head in confusion. “Oh, Arven… You don’t have to thank me. I’m happy to help.”

“It’s no big deal,” he said. “You, uh… collect these, right?”

Arven pulled out a handful of coins and placed them in her palm.  She smiled wide when she realized what they were and accepted them from him.

“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed.  She shoved the coins into her own pocket then threw her arms around him.  “Thanks so much, Arven!”

He froze at the sudden contact, unsure how to react.  He could not remember the last time he had been hugged.  In that moment, he realized this was the first time anyone had given him any physical affection since he was a boy.  It felt… nice.  His arms hovered behind her for a moment, then he wrapped his around her waist in return. Her body was so soft against his. He felt so warm in her embrace. The hug lasted a little longer than he expected, but he wasn’t complaining.  His face was bright red after she pulled away.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, tucking her hair behind her ear as she averted her eyes.  “It’s just…  My partner really loves these.  My Papa always told me that if I collect enough of them, something special would happen. So, I have been looking for them everywhere for half my life at this point.”

“Wow, really?  Well, I’ll be sure to pick up any one of them I see,” Arven said.  “Just for you.”

She smiled in appreciation. That was all he needed to see. His heart swelled with happiness when he watched her cheeks turn pink.  To say he was getting feelings for this girl was an understatement.  He was falling in love…  

…And she was too.

Just like Cassia had helped him with his partner, Arven unknowingly helped her with hers. Neither of them realized that these coins were the key to her Gimmighoul’s evolution.  Between the two of them, they had to have found more coins in the span of a month than she had over ten summers in Paldea.  Each coin she found, she quickly put in Stringcheese’s chest the moment she was alone.

One late afternoon, a handful of coins that Arven had given to her when she saw him between classes earlier was burning a hole in her pocket.  She may have taken the long way to her next class just to see if she could run into him, and it worked.  Gimmighoul had been acting even more appreciative lately and for some reason, she thought her grandfather’s prediction may be close to coming true. Just like she had done her entire life, she placed the coins in the chest.  When she turned around to get ready for bed, she heard a strange noise behind her and saw a bright light out of the corner of her eye.

She spun around, gasping as she caught the evolution taking place.  The blinding light made it difficult to see what was happening. When it was over, there was no more Gimmighoul in front of her.  Instead, there was a Pokémon made of solid gold.  It was almost as tall as she was, but had the same eyes she had known since childhood.

“Stringcheese?” she asked is disbelief.

Her partner nodded at her. She grinned wide, pulling it close and holding her to her chest.

“You evolved!” she squealed happily as she squeezed it.  After a moment, she pulled away and looked it over.  “What are you now?”

Her Rotomphone activated in that moment, scanning Stringcheese’s new form to identify him.

“Gholdengo- Its body seems to be made up of 1,000 coins. This Pokémon gets along well with others and is quick to make friends with anybody,” the Rotom explained.

“Gholdengo?” she repeated. “Oh, wow…  You’re so cool!  And you look like a string cheese now, too!”

Stringcheese giggled at his trainer’s excitement.  Its entire body seemed to jingle with its laughter.  Cassia laughed along as she pat the metallic dreads that hung from the top of its head.

“Wait ‘til we tell Papa!” she exclaimed.  “Ooh! Or Arven!  Let’s show Arven!”

Stringcheese nodded at her, seeming to agree with the decision.  She pulled out her phone and dialed Arven’s number.  He answered after three rings.

“Cassia!” she heard him exclaim on the other end of the line.  “What’s up?”

“Arven, are you busy?” she asked.

“Nuh-uh.  Did you need something?”

“There’s something really cool I want to show you,” she said.

“Where are you now?” he asked.  “I’m in my dorm.”

“Can I swing by?”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

“Be there in a minute!”

After the call, she held out Stringcheese’s pokéball, calling it back so she could travel the halls. A few students looked curiously as she quickly headed up the stairs.  It took her a couple minutes before she got to Arven’s room.  As soon as she knocked, he opened his door.  His Mabosstiff came to the door too to welcome her. She laughed and rubbed the dog’s head as she entered.

“What’d you want to show me?” he asked after he shut the door.

“Well, you know how my grandpa said something good would happen if I got enough coins?”

“Yeah?” he said, his smile growing wide.  “Did it happen?”

“Yeah!”  She exclaimed.  She pulled out Stringcheese’s pokéball.  “Wanna see?”

Arven nodded and stepped back as she called out her Pokémon.  It appeared in front of them a second later, making a low noise as it did.

“What… is it?” Arven whispered; awe evident in his voice as his eyes scanned over the golden creature standing before him.  “Is this your Gimmighoul?”

“He’s a Gholdengo now! Our coins helped him evolve!”

“That’s amazing!” he said, folding his arms over his chest.  “Wow… I’ve never heard of a Gholdengo before!”

“Neither have I!” Cassia exclaimed.  “This is the coolest surprise ever!”

“I think you know what this means, Cass,” he said with a laugh.

“What’s that?”

A wide grin crossed Arven’s face.

“Now that your partner looks big and strong, I bet you want to see what he’s capable of, huh?”

“Yeah!” she giggled.  

“Good!  Me and Mabosstiff do too,” he said.  “You should do us the honors of being the first one Stringcheese battles in his new form…  Before Nemona finds out you got a beast on your hands.”

“Of course!”  She looked over at Stringcheese, who looked like it could take on anything.  “You ready to kick their tails?”

Her question prompted it to jump up for joy and make a noise of excitement.  

“C’mon, big guy,” Cassia laughed, holding out her pokéball.  “Let’s get down to the courtyard.”