CHAPTER 290

I might have been foolish to have expected this place to change. The street I'd been brought to was so familiar, even now. I'd passed through it on the bus every time it had brought me home from school. The hums of a hundred car engines filled me with nostalgia that caught me so off-guard I had to blink a few times before realizing I was home. Hundreds of people walked through the streets, with a similar number of conversations happening at the same time. People talking to each other, people on their phones, or in wireless earbuds, going back home from a day's hard work. Even during the evening, the street was well-lit enough to fool me into thinking it was daytime. A couple of Starly hung on top of one of the streetlights, huddling together so they could all fit. A Rattata scuttled across the street and into an alley, causing the passersby to grunt in annoyance when they nearly tripped on her. People were used to that kind of thing here, and Pokemon in cities were almost never aggressive with humans.

My eye twitched when a pressure in my head became more pronounced, and I leaned against my crutch for support as my legs wobbled at the sudden rush of emotions. My empathy's acting up. Even after practicing with my gift for so long, being in Sinnoh's largest city was taking its toll. The air here was thick with smog, especially after having spent so long outside of Jubilife, and the streets were dirty and littered with plastic cups, foam containers, wrappings, and even a newspaper. They always tended to be dirty late at night, before the city cleaners started their shifts.

The Teleportation turned a few heads, as it always did, though they did not stay focused on me long. Jubilife was a busy city, and people saw a lot of those all the time, especially near Pokemon Centers. With a very tired huff (given the fact that I'd been Teleported across the entire region), Kadabra gently bid me farewell, waving one of his spoons and disappearing again as if he'd never been there. I placed a protective hand over my wrist, caressing Mimi so they wouldn't freak out at every new sight and reveal themselves. Already, I could feel them vibrating and I almost regretted not shoving them in my backpack for the time being. Taking another two minutes, I verified that Princess and Honey had been sent to this Pokemon Center, and then I entered the street again. It wasn't that I didn't trust the League, but I just wanted some peace of mind. Togekiss, I'd be able to pick up in three more days, at least. Honey would take at least another week.

Meltan rattled around my wrist again, and there was a small prickle on my skin. They had taken to poking me like this when they were in bracelet mode and they were angry, since they fit tightly enough for the prodding to be discreet.

Right. I needed to release at least one Pokemon so they could keep watch of me and my hands. There had been only a few urges since I'd spoken to Aliyah, and the two times I'd answered to those, I'd been caught and yelled at, so that was certainly working. I didn't know Mimi understood that, though. Part of me wanted to let Sunshine out so we could spend more time together and I could work on repairing things between us, but this was a proper city. He wasn't allowed to be out except in specific areas like Pokemon parks, just like Sweetheart. Angel was a little big and it would be too cumbersome for him to squeeze past the sidewalk. Claydol would start an uproar for being an ancient, rare construct, and they'd get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people in the city and since they were actually dangerous enough to cause an accident, I didn't want to risk it. Buddy, well, he had the same issues Angel had. Too wide, and prone to terrifying people when he wasn't.

I moistened my lips, terrified at myself for almost finding a convenient excuse to be on my own. Mimi was there, but the steel type was a baby. The worst they would do was prod me…

I want to get better.

I called out to people around me, giving myself enough space to release Tangrowth. "Hey Angel," I said, looking into his large, round eyes. He was silent, but they were so full of life and emotion that one could get lost in them for hours, if they knew him well enough.

The urge to caress his side was strong, but I knew he wouldn't let me, not when my hands needed to heal and he wanted them to rest. Instead, the grass type wrapped a vine around my wrist, holding it like he would to guide a child, and then he dragged me forward to hug me. It had only been a few hours, since I'd told him and the others about my issues. The pain was still fresh in his mind, and having been in his Pokeball for a while, there was no doubt he'd been worried about me.

"Sorry," I said. "I'll do better."

Vines squirmed across my back in response.

"Let's go see Dad, yeah? It's about time you see where I lived before all of this. Before I met you all."

Instead of his usual vine around my good ankle, he had his around my left wrist, this time. It was so gentle I could barely feel it, but he wanted to hold on. On the way to Dad's… to my apartment, I told him and Mimi about spots I was familiar with. I never went there on my own after class, but Dad would take me there during our father-daughter dates. There was the bowling place he took me at least once per month, its fluorescent lights headache-inducing after such a long time spent away from the city and during the night.

"I'll take you there eventually," I grinned. "You can play with Honey, since they accept Pokemon, unlike that place we went to in Eterna. The others don't really have the body type for it, though Princess could use her psychic powers to throw the ball."

The grass type silently laughed, signing that she would cheat and control the ball the entire way through.

A chuckle escaped my throat. "Yeah, that sounds like her… I miss her and Honey."

Mimi shook on my wrist, eliciting Angel's soothing pets. They wanted to play, even though they had no idea what the rules of the game even were. There was a certain frustration they harbored with having to stay hidden, but the League had promised it wouldn't have to be forever.

Two minutes later, I pointed toward another, larger building that wasn't as uniform as the others, despite the outside looking quite bland with pale, faded blue bricks and a few windows.

"See that? It's a battling spot, kind of like the clubs in Sunyshore, but way less organized. They run mini-tournaments there with small prize pools, but the people who battle are mostly kids who don't go on the Circuit. Y'know, people who do this as a hobby."

The grass type sagely nodded, waving across the window. Unfortunately for him, no one saw the gesture. Only a few night owls were left in the establishment, and none of them were battling. I sensed Mimi salivate at the sight of a metallic trash can next to the building.

"They also put on battles on TV," I continued. "Dad tried to take me there a few times to try to make me catch the bug by watching actual battles with my own two eyes and not through a screen, but I always vehemently refused."

That seemed to surprised Meltan, who had already learned to know my passion for battle in the week we'd known each other.

"It's this thing with me," I muttered. "When I do something, I want to be really good at it, and back then the fear of failure crippled me. Better be blind and not truly know what I was missing, or at least that's what I thought at the time. He knew me better than I knew myself."

We passed by an Arlyle's, my favorite fast-food chain, and I made a mental note to go get myself fries and a burger tomorrow before my meeting at Poketch Headquarters. Even Craig was around, in fact, he'd been there for a while after having Dot Teleport him from Hearthome.

"I actually told Dad about it, when I first started training and it was only me and Princess," I continued, limping across a street. We were only one block away, now. "The fear of failure cripples, and it somehow manages to trick you into doing anything but facing that fear. I'd tell myself I didn't want to risk my life, that a life outside the city sounded like a pain in the ass, that I'd miss Dad too much…" I trailed off, thinking back to the hundreds of signs that had pointed toward Pokemon training being what I'd wanted all along. "You get paralyzed, and if no one is there to push you, you end up doing nothing. Just lying there, waiting to fade, I guess."

Nothing else was said the entire way to my apartment, but I knew they'd both taken the words to heart. I did check my phone, making sure to text Melody, Craig, Ramon, Bobby and a few other Poketch people I'd connected with after I'd been ambushed in Eterna to let them know that I would be here for the meeting in two days, and already they were asking to meet tomorrow to prepare strategy. Some were also confused at how I'd made it here so quickly. Me having me Teleported to Jubilife by a Kadabra was known news already, and the fact that I'd been involved with League stuff was spreading. The hand injuries were also new, though that was a lot easier to wave away. Trainers got injured all the time, after all.

And then finally.

I was home.

Our apartment block was just… average. Its exterior was a mess of weathered bricks and faded pale blue paint, a color scheme that so many buildings in the city shared. It was sandwiched between two smaller structures, one a commercial building with a bunch of offices made almost completely out of glass, and the other a quaint furniture store where Dad had bought a lot of our own stuff, like our beds. Angel melted back into his Pokeball with a flash of red, and I made my way up the stairs leading to the entrance. The doors were automatic, sliding neatly to the sides and I entered the building with excitement bubbling in my chest. I had babbled so much on the way here that it was only now that the fact that I was going to see Dad again was actually settling in. I scurried my way across the entryway and toward the elevators as fast as I could with a broken ankle and repeatedly pressed on the button.

Seventh floor. Come on. The elevators here had always been so damn slow I'd always taken the stairs. The steps were nostalgic now, a motion I'd gone through thousands of time when coming home from school.

Apartment 714.

I knocked on the door.

I heard Dad swear behind the threshold of my old home, and then something fall on the ground. There were slow steps, than a run, and then…

The door opened, and I jumped into my father's arms, returned to being a little girl again. The hug was silent, though not without some of my sobs filling the dead air. My tears were soaking his… was he wearing a polo shirt? Had he dressed up for this? I chuckled in his chest, feeling his hand stroke my hair.

"Dad…"

"I missed you, kiddo. I really did."

He basically had to push me off because of how long I was taking. Dad was a hugger and a big softy. I'd gotten that trait from him, after all, but if it had been up to me, we probably would have stayed there for five minutes. My father patted me on the shoulder as we separated. He still looked the same. He had balding brown hair, a bit of a belly and a scruffy beard, but it was clear he'd dressed for my return. Normally, he would have been in boxers and a shirt at this time of day and would just be lazing around, watching TV or reading articles about investing. Instead, he had cleaned up and there was a faint smell of… uh, something emanating from the house, but whatever it was, it smelled good. There were bags under his green eyes that hadn't been there the last time I'd seen him. Was work running him ragged? It wasn't really the season…

I wiped my eyes. "Well, you look like hell."

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Still like hurting your old Dad, don't you?"

"It wouldn't be the same otherwise." I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind me. "Wow, this is, uh…"

"The place is the same," he spoke behind me. "Go on. Get your bearings."

This place felt like coming back home after a long day. Like returning to a book or a show I was so familiar with, but hadn't seen in a long time. After taking off my shoes, I felt at the smooth, beige walls with one of my arms and walked into the living room. Part of me felt like if I sat on that earth-toned couch and sank into the fabric, I'd feel just like I did all those months ago when I'd spend hours on there with Princess as a Togepi. It was there, that she had gotten her first taste of battling. Looking at that TV with me. Back then I thought her uninterested, with the way she seemed to fall asleep all the time, but she had looked, and she had internalized all of it.

"Oh, crap."

I glanced to the right, toward the kitchen counter and saw that the dent I'd made when training Rollout with Princess was still there.

"I never got around to getting it fixed," Dad said, scratching the back of his head. "Feels like an important landmark, now. You know, I look at it sometimes, and then I compare it to what you can do now, and it's mind-boggling. It's like a snapshot in time."

There it was. A single dent on an aluminum-coated kitchen counter only slightly larger than my daughter had been as a Togepi.

That had been what we had managed to do with Princess at full strength.

"That's… trippy," I mumbled to myself low enough so that Dad didn't hear.

A hungry tug from my wrist snapped me out of my thoughts. Mimi wanted to eat at the aluminum, and I'd better not keep it in their line of sight. I'd have to tell Dad about Meltan soon enough. Keeping them hidden while I stayed here would be impossible.

"I like it," I told him. "It'd be kind of weird if you had people over, though."

"Oh, no one comes over anyway," he shrugged.

A pang of guilt wracked my heart as I continued through the living room. Just like I did with my mother these days, Dad and I texted and called, but that wasn't the same as seeing people. He was just as much a people person as I was, but a job was a job and he only occasionally went out with colleagues. He must be lonely, I told myself. The wooden planks were smooth under my feet as I glided toward my bedroom. It was next to the balcony that we never went on and I wasn't even sure the door could actually open, but the view from here was nice. Our street always had a lot of stuff happening on it and I'd stand next to the window sometimes and look at it with Princess, though never going out myself. Indoor Pokemon, I used to call her, a laughable notion now, with the way she loved to roam the skies whenever she needed to have a think.

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I pushed the door of my bedroom open.

The ceiling was lower here than the rest of the apartment in a way that instantly felt cramped, especially compared to the numerous Pokemon Centers I'd stayed in. My room was longer than it was wide, with my bed being along the wall and my desk on another. Old school books were laid about, neatly arranged into piles and organized by year. I was happy to see my scissor collection still in place, around thirty of so had been placed in around five pots at the edge of my desk. Dad leaned against the wooden frame of my doorway, turning on the light switch as I sat on my bed. The light flickered a few times before turning on fully, something we'd always procrastinated on fixing.

I hummed. "You kept this place tidy."

He crossed his arms. "Felt like the right thing to do. You never cleaned your room up."

"Sorry about that."

"Woah, nothing? Just a sorry?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"What can I say, journeying changes a few things about you," I shrugged.

"It's not the same, seeing it in person and seeing it over text," Dad said. "Are you sure you're alright? Your hands…"

"It's like I told you on the phone. They just got hurt on the road," I said, avoiding the truth. I'd tell him more later, just not now. I didn't want to ruin the reunion, and there were far worse things I was planning to tell him. I had talked to Aliyah about how I wanted him to know the real me. The one who had watched a man die for hours, killed his associates and enjoyed it. He had a right to know, but not now. Staring at the ceiling, I continued. "I don't think I'll be able to fit my team in here. It looks smaller than I remember."

He nodded. "I guess you can't really fit a Tyranitar in here. I think she's too heavy to stand on these planks anyway," Dad said. "There aren't that many places that'll take her in Jubilife."

"I'll be busy with a lot of Poketch stuff, so my team won't really have time to see me, but I don't want them to stay in their balls all day," I started, staring up at him. "I was wondering if you could take them out for me? I was thinking of only keeping Buddy with me… and, uh, someone else."

"Who?"

"I want to introduce you to someone, but don't freak out, okay? They're really cute, but they're a secret. You can't tell anyone."

"As long as it's not dangerous."

I nodded. "Mimi."

The metal liquefied, unwrapping from my wrist and slithering onto my shoulder until Meltan took form, and my father flinched back at the sudden activity. Mimi happily waved at him, and I could tell after a split second that he had relaxed when he realized that they wouldn't be growing any bigger.

"This is Mimi. They're more of a traveling companion right now, but they're really rare, so you can't tell anyone about them, okay?"

The steel type accompanied my words with a vibrating mewl, their cold metal seeping through the cloth of my clothes and somehow touching my skin. For a few seconds, his mouth just gaped, as if he couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. Metal given life.

"I'll keep it a secret," he finally agreed. After a pause, he took a few steps forward to get a better look. "I've never seen a Pokemon like this."

"Wanna touch them?"

Needles spurted out of Mimi's skin, poking the skin of my shoulder, and all of a sudden they appeared like a cactus. Or maybe a morning star would be more appropriate.

His skin paled, and his hand recoiled. "No thank you."

"The spikes aren't sharp enough to poke through skin, they're too weak for that— but I guess Mimi doesn't want to anyway."

The steel type on my shoulder squealed in agreement, their body returning to its smooth state. They wanted to explore the city with me, not someone else. It felt like a compulsion to me, a remainder from the promise I'd forged with their predecessor.

"And it's— I'm sorry, I know you're doing a lot of work for Pokemon personhood… is it they?"

Mimi didn't really understand pronouns, nor gender, in fact. "Yeah, 'they' is fine."

My father cleared his throat. "So they can just transform into a bracelet?"

"Oh, not just a bracelet, a lot of things. Mimi, show him your knife!"

Instantly, the steel type elongated, the gear on their head joining with their tail, the latter becoming a handle for the knife and the rest of them turned to a glimmering silver blade curved downward like a scythe. Mimi's head was still the same, a golden gear at the edge of the handle that acted like the pommel of a knife. They were quite a long blade, too. Nearly eight inches, good for deep cuts.

"Cool, huh?" I smirked. "They like to change shapes a lot, it's a part of how they express themselves. Like I said, they're not sharp enough to actually hurt anyone though. They just look menacing."

"It is… nifty," he admitted. "Not sure I would call it cool. I'm going to finish up dinner, what do you say we catch up over some ribs?"

I'd have pumped a fist, if it hadn't hurt. "Aw, sweet! But, uh, I also have another Pokemon to show you? This one, you know, though."

Claydol popped out of their Pokeball, hovering around a foot above the ground. Claydol were rare, but not 'I have no idea what this is' rare, so Dad just frowned and looked at me instead, clearly asking where the hell I'd gotten myself one of these.

"Salutations, progenitor of my sovereign. Preceding notification of this interaction has been processed. It is now opportune to acknowledge the architect of such regal lineage. Cease motion temporarily, as you are now slated for inclusion in the registry of entities under my protective purview."

It was said out loud, because Dad wasn't practiced with Telepathy yet, but I was happy Claydol was talking to him so quickly. There was another reason I wanted to leave some of my Pokemon with him. As we approached the Red Chain's completion, the odds of something happening rose higher and higher, and I wasn't taking any chances. Sure, I'd have to take them back when I left for Canalave, but the fewer days Dad spent defenseless, the better.

"Designation concluded. Mobility is now authorized."

"Oh, they don't mean that in a bad way, by the way," I quickly intervened. "They won't, like, take charge or anything. They're way too subservient, actually, I want them to stop, but they won't."

"Negative. The King remains the King. The concept is straightforward," the ground type said, before their eyes turned to ancient glyphs. "Alert. There exists a multitude of pointed implements within this space, potentially presenting a hazard to all extant life forms.

"Oh, those are just my scissors, don't worry about those. I actually got one or two that can actually cut things other than paper, if you want to see…"

—

Dad was an okay cook. Not spectacular by any means, especially when compared to Mom, but there was heart in what he made, and it was strange, but I could tell, and that made all the difference. The meat was too chewy, but the barbecue sauce was homemade. Jellicent hovered over the table in his usual shapeless form, his two red eyes staring intently at me and my hands. Having to eat ribs with a fork and knife not to dirty my bandages sucked, especially when I wanted to just dig in there. The ghost had been the only one other than Princess who had actually been here, though he hadn't stayed for more than a few days, since Denzel and I had been in such a hurry. Angel was next to the table, and I'd occasionally hand him a rib to snack on. Since he even ate the bone, I just handed those to him too. Seeing this from a grass type known for photosynthesis weirded Dad out, but I reassured him by saying that Angel could eat anything.

After all, Tangrowth were known to live in thick forests where sunlight didn't often penetrate, and sometimes they needed to hunt to get the nutrients they needed. Those vines weren't just for show. Sunshine was sleeping in the living room, and we could hear his loud snoring from here. He'd taken the space between the couch and the TV stand, claiming it as his territory. I hoped he wouldn't be too difficult with Dad, though I knew he would probably think he was 'weak' for being scared of large Pokemon he'd seen blow shit up in so many Gym Battles being present in his house. Pokemon that he had only seen a few times, and hell, I hadn't even shown Sunshine to him back in Hearthome because I'd been scared the dragon would roast him alive. Mimi was on the table, trying to commit war crimes against a bone that had been picked clean. They were trying to penetrate through the dense outer shell for reasons unknown to me, but at least the futile task was keeping them distracted enough from eating the utensils. Claydol was at the door guarding it in case any 'intruders' came by no matter how many times we told them that was basically as likely as the apartment spontaneously collapsing. Jubilife was unfortunately very stimulating for them and they couldn't help but be alert. I'd definitely recall them in their Pokeball tonight so they could get some rest.

"So your strategy meeting's at noon tomorrow?" Dad asked. The conversation had pivoted away from my journey and toward the topic of Poketch.

"Yup. It's going to be… mind-numbingly boring, I think," I sighed, throwing another bone at Angel. He hastily caught it, slinking it into his vines, the bone never to be seen again. "I'll see Mel again, though! I've been missing her."

"Ah, I see her sometimes when riding the elevator up. She's been working hard for you."

"I don't doubt that. She's a badass, you know? I had Ramon tell me that she was really good despite it being her first time being a liaison."

"From the whispers I hear that make it into the engineering department, it's a thankless job most of the time," Dad said. "Make sure you thank her properly."

"I will, I will! And guess what, she says that you've been thanking her. Relentlessly. That's the word she used."

"Maybe I was being a little too overbearing," he acknowledged. A burp bubbled up his throat, and I wrinkled my nose. "Come on, Grace, it's just a burp, no need to get all uppity about it. Remember when you were ten— or maybe nine, and you asked me how to burp on command?"

There was a silent giggle from Angel, and a surprised glint in Jellicent's eye.

"Why would— why would you bring that up?!" I yelled. "Arceus, you can't just say that!"

"What? You can't tell me you're embarrassed in front of your Pokemon. If it was in front of Cecilia, I'd get it, though I would say it anyway—"

"I'm going to kick you in the shin if you keep going. I still have one good foot."

"There she is," Dad beamed.

"Don't act like this was a planned attempt at bringing back some sort of childlike version of myself, because I am not buying it."

Buddy clicked from above, saying that it was actually a very likely thing, though I would never tell Dad about it so he wouldn't get a win over me.

Dad innocently raised his hands, which were full of sauce. "Hey, don't glare at me, I didn't say anything. I was just thinking, it's nice to see that part of yourself, because you are still a kid."

"I'm sixteen."

"Case in point," he said. "Hey, I wanted to wait until you approached this topic yourself, but how has therapy been going? Are you doing okay, with the raid?"

"Shoot, I nearly forgot! Uh, my therapist will show up here tomorrow at nine. She'll probably knock at the door."

"Oh, they know my address already?"

"She works with the government, Dad."

He sipped on some water and spoke behind the glass. "I know, but it's still a little surreal. Do you want me to leave, or to clear any space, or…?"

"Oh, no, we'll just go in my room. Aliyah can brew some really good tea, if you want any."

"But you didn't actually answer my question," Dad said. His eyes glanced toward Mimi, who had started repeatedly slapping her bone with an elongated, sharpened hand. "How's it going?"

"It's, uh, it was going great, but there's been a little hiccup recently." I stopped, and saw that he was clearly expecting more. "I'll tell you about it soon, I promise. Just not tonight? Please?"

There was a flash of guilt on his face. Why do you feel guilty, when nothing is your fault? "I'm here for you if you need it, okay? You'll be okay."

"Yeah," I meekly answered. "Yeah, I hope so."

In the air, Buddy had stopped constantly shifting, and Angel ran one of his clean vines through my hair.

"Alert! Intruder identified behind entrance. Acoustic analysis indicates female subject, estimated weight 121 pounds, height 5 feet 4 inches. Weapon status undetermined but non-zero probability," Claydol rang out.

"That's just called a neighbor, Claydol," I snorted. At least they've learned about the units of measurement in one of the books they devoured through. "What's wrong? You weren't freaking out like this at the League."

"Too many individuals present. Concealed blades are a possibility; someone might be waiting to strike, my King."

My Dad stared back, an arm slung back over his chair. "What's with the King thing?"

"Oh, it just makes it easier for them, I think," I said, before raising my tone. "Claydol, you can rest up, okay? Being vigilant is good, but I promise you no one's going to break in."

Reluctantly, the psychic asked if this was an order, and I ended up saying yes. I didn't want them to just do nothing this entire time, even if it was what they'd decided was their job. I needed to find them a hobby, and soon, along with a name. Having the psychic just be Claydol while everyone else had one felt exclusionary. The ground type disappointingly hovered toward the living room, and Buddy offered to go with him in case Sunshine ever woke up and got grumpy. Arceus knew he could be angry when someone got him up from his nap.

"That's a real peculiar 'Mon. More robot-like than I was expecting, though I'm not really a Claydol expert."

"Their personality shines through sometimes, but they're just nervous right now. I might need to keep them in their Pokeball after all and go with them at the Poketch meeting instead of handing them to you."

While Mimi was a born explorer and liked seeing so many people and new sights at once, Claydol had designated themselves my guardian. I knew Jubilife would be a lot for them, but I should have known that they would have been completely overwhelmed, and the whole ordeal clearly had them anxious about protecting me.

"Good idea. I'll already feel overwhelmed with a Tyranitar there…"

"Come on, Dad, it's Sweetheart. She won't do anything bad," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "I'm not asking you to train them or anything, just bring a computer or something and shove a cartoon in front of her. It's like babysitting, and the rest of the team will be there to help out. Angel and Sunshine are really good with her."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just nervous, is all."

Scrolling gently with my thumb through my phone as dinner ended and Dad started clearing the dishes on the table, I sent a text to Mira asking if she had any plans in the near future. It'd be a shame to be in the same city and not meet up at least once. She had been largely silent these past weeks and I was worried about her. Push come to shove, I'd try to find her if I had enough time. Plus, it was her birthday soon. Princess' was on the 28th, and Mira's on the 30th, and there was no way I was letting her spend that alone.

"Need any help with the—"

"No. You stay put and relax," Dad interrupted. "How are you going to help with your hands in that state? I saw you wincing every time you held onto a fork or a knife too tightly."

I grumbled, saying that there were plastic bags I could use to keep those bandages from getting wet, which was how I showered anyway. It was the same deal with the cast on my leg. Instead, I placed Mimi on top of my shoulder and wandered into the living room. Sunshine had woken up, as expected, even if his eyes were still closed. His breathing was far too uneven and strong for him to still be asleep, and I always caught onto stuff like that. I plopped myself down on the couch next to him, with Claydol and Buddy hovering around us and Angel following close behind me. On the TV, a battle was playing between two people whose names I didn't know the names of, but I did recognize one of them. One of the few first years outside of my group or Barry that had a real shot of making it to the Conference was participating in some kind of show match, and his use of Parasect instantly soured me on the quality of his character.

"You know, I used to watch battles all the time here," I started. "Part of me had convinced myself I was only doing so because there was nothing better on TV."

"There was a reason you kept looking, though!" Dad yelled across the kitchen.

I nodded. "Kept coming back to them, over and over…" Sunshine opened an eye as silence settled in. "I don't know. I was scared."

I was quieter, now. Enough so that Dad wouldn't hear me when I spoke.

Biting my lip, I continued. "Sunshine, I know it's been tough for you especially. You watched me give up."

Give up like Kamaile had in Mount Coronet, resigning to his fate and desperately trying to get his Pokemon back into their Pokeballs, just like I'd done. I'd made the decision for him, and again, he truly believed he was going to have to lose a trainer he had learned to love, and it ate at him. The dragon huffed, not bothering to look at me or even saying anything.

"I've apologized a million times, but that hasn't gone over well, so I'll tell you this instead." My back straightened, and I looked directly into his closed eyes. "You may think I've forgotten, but I haven't. The pain you felt— the pain you still feel about Kamaile, so strong that it drove you to fight for so many days while you were half-dead until I stumbled upon you in that cave. Do you remember?"

Heat sizzled at the edge of my skin, not harsh enough to hurt or actually burn, but enough to express displeasure. The dragon answered that I'd said I planned on traveling every region and becoming the best in the world, a dream he still found ludicrous.

"It is. It's fucking stupid, isn't it?" I grinned. "But you believe in it, now, just like we do. I want to be the best, Sunshine, and I don't plan on dying before that happens or we get retribution for what happened to Kamaile. Two promises bind us, two promises I'll see through. An apology was never what you wanted, was it? It was dedication to the cause, a renewal to what we'd committed to."

Because down there, in Lakhutia, I'd forgotten about both those promises.

"I won't ask you to forgive me, because that's not how dragons do things," I continued. "But I'll ask you to look past my flaws and to know that it won't happen again."

Turtonator pushed himself off the ground, looming over me with curious eyes. The fire type grunted in agreement, though he said I was on my last strike. He demanded I never think to force him into his Pokeball again because I'd abandoned the idea of being alive. Angel happily bobbed up and down and Jellicent contributed with a 'well said'.

I affirm that if your demise precedes mine, the failure of my guardianship would be catastrophic, Claydol transmitted.

"I know," I smiled. "Now, do you guys want to eat or what? I know Honey's not there and my hands are screwed, but we can ask Dad to cook. Angel can be the sous-chef…"