The flight from Celestic Town to Ethan’s ranch wasn’t much of an issue. Flying cut down travel times to a fraction of what was required on land. The routes maintained by the Pokemon Rangers were the only safe way to travel for the vast majority of people across the world, and they were few and far between.

The trip to Ethan’s Ranch, Berry Falls, was a two-hour flight. The ability to cross over Mt. Coronet to avoid taking Route 211 towards Eterna City to avoid its varying inclines, hazards, and pokemon was something she wished she could have done during her own journey.

Ethan’s ranch wasn’t easy to find, even from an aerial vantage point and having been there before. His clearing, while large, was still a miniscule fraction of percent of the surrounding forests. Eterna Forest had an area of several hundreds square miles, with many breaks for clearing such as his own.

When she found the familiar patch of colorful berry trees, the only real marker from so high in the sky, she spiraled down to land. Aiming for the open meadow, which now boasted a large, out of place, rocky cave. As she dropped low, her eyes locked onto the three humans inspecting nearby plants.

It appeared that Ethan had some visitors.

As Togekiss leveled out, sending gusts of displaced air down towards the ground, causing the surrounding grass to billow and wave about, Ethan’s guests abandoned their research to approach.

“Well, well, well. Isn’t this a surprise? How long has it been since we’ve crossed paths Cynthia?”

Looking towards the voice, Cynthia smiled. “Last year at Oak’s symposium in Saffron, I do believe Professor Elm. I have to say, I did not expect to meet you here. I didn’t even know you were in the region. Trying to hide from me?” She teased.

“I would never!” He waved away her accusation with a warm but curious smile. “Now, I don’t mean to pry… but what brings someone of your station to Mr. Reed’s ranch?” Elm asked as his aides stared at her with the all too familiar look of awe and surprise.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Cynthia walked forward to give the esteemed professor a solid handshake.

“Priiii!” Togekiss spun in circles, eyes locked onto the field of berries ripe for the pickings.

Elm noticed and inspected her travel companion, adjusting his glasses as his eyes turned inquisitive. “What a fine pokemon. I’m sure Mr. Reed wouldn’t mind sharing his berries with you.”

“Prrrrriiiii!!!” Without another word, Togekiss glided across the meadow towards the field of berries, disappearing over the treetops.

Cynthia raised a brow and shot Elm a sly smile. “Ordering my pokemon around, are you?”

“A simple suggestion goes a long way.” Elm coughed, a little embarrassed. “Now, what brings you to Berry Falls? I am here studying the natural births of a group of Oddish. Joyce Joy sent in the recommendation for study.”

Cynthia’s smile faltered. “I’m here to make an apology to Ethan. I wronged him, and am looking to make things right.”

Elm nodded in understanding, but didn’t pry. “Well, I won’t keep you. Although… if you could do me a small favor while you’re speaking with him?” He leaned forward to whisper. “If you would, could you have your Lucario look over Mr. Reed for any signs of Aura? Joyce had suspicions, but my results were inconclusive.”

‘Of course, Joyce is sticking her nose into matters beyond her control.’ Cynthia would need to have a talk with her after this. They’ve both been too heavy handed when dealing with a man who did his duty, and then wanted to be left alone. If Ethan, a man not born in a world with pokemon, had aura, she’d eat a pokeball.

From her waist, her ever faithful companion emerged from his Luxury Ball. Cynthia stood quietly, her gaze fixed on her Lucario as it stretched with fluid grace. The pokemon’s sleek, cobalt-blue fur gleamed in the sunlight, contrasting with the sharp black patterns on its limbs and face. She knew he had a duty to find those with Aura, so he would do what was asked of him with or without her input.

Lucario’s red eyes locked with her own, then flickered over her shoulder. The subtle ripple of muscle under fur and the lowering of his stance cause her to spin around. Behind her, sneaking up from behind, a large, battle hardened Ursaring stood. Its claws were spread wide in anticipation, and its calm, murderous eyes sent a chill down her spine.

Elm hastily, and bravely, shoved himself forward and spoke up. “That is Ethan’s pokemon! Ursaring, this is Champion Cynthia! Please do not—Don’t start a fight! She’s here to talk with Ethan! Not to start any trouble!”

The Ursaring’s eyes flicked from Cynthia to Elm, then to Lucario, who had swiftly moved to stand before her. They all stood in a tense standoff for five seconds, each of the pokemon minutely posturing for any hostilities, before the soft cry of “Teddi!” erupted from the cave off in the distance.

Ursaring looked at Lucario, then spoke in a deep rumble. “Ursaring, Ur-Urs…”

Lucario heavily frowned, but eventually nodded and relaxed. The Ursaring walked backwards, much too quietly given her size, and never removed her eyes from them before eventually entering her cave, where more Teddiursa cries rang out.

Telepathically, through their bond, Lucario spoke to her. “She threatened to kill us if we hurt any of the pokemon or Mr. Reed, and she wasn’t lying either. She’s strong, but not strong enough to beat me.”

That was worrying.

“I think it's best for you to make your intentions clear. Go on and speak with Ethan. He can clear the animosity between you. That Ursaring is not a danger, I can attest to that.” Elm spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

“I think you’re right. Is he in his house?” Cynthia asked, tearing her gaze away from the Ursaring’s den.

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“Yes. He’s recovering from a minor injury. His newest pokemon gave him a solid, accidental wack to the foot.” Elm attempted to give her a smile, but it was strained.

“We’ll speak more later. It was good to see you again, Adrian.”

“You as well, Cynthia.” And with that, she made her way off towards the simple wooden home off in the distance.

Looking around the ranch, nothing much had changed since her last visit. The den for Ursaring and her presumed cubs were the only outlier as far as she could tell. She hadn’t spent much time exploring previously, and now that she took her time, Ethan had a wonderful home. As the vibrant green leaves of the surrounding forest faded into their autumn hues and the chilling air of the season ran its way through the clearing, she could see herself sitting down next to a roaring bonfire as she enjoyed a relaxing vacation.

As she made her way past the very subtle resting grounds of the Oddish who called this place home, she could hear the giggles of various pokemon, the faint sounds of very unique music, and then Ethan’s voice.

She paused at the door, listening in.

He was singing. From outside, she couldn’t make out the words to the song nor the music clearly, but she could tell that he was an above average singer.

Peeking in through the nearby window, she saw Ethan sitting in one of the many chairs that surrounded his dining room table. He was singing to his pokemon, with his back turned towards her. The pokemon either made a complete mess of his living room, or they were allowed to toss all the couch cushions, blankets, and pillows from around the house onto the floor in a hodgepodge fortress of fluff for play.

One of the pokemon caught her peeking, and its eyes crinkled in mischievousness. Extraditing himself from the mound of entranced pokemon, Smeargle wandered over to the door and silently opened it to let her in. The painter pokemon held a finger up to his lips and pointed to some of the unoccupied chairs surrounding the dining room.

Before she could even respond, he slunk back off and rejoined the pokemon watching Ethan’s little show with none the wiser. A few of the other pokemon noticed her take her seat, but wrote her off as they focused on Ethan’s singing.

The song gave a sense of optimism and the outpouring of love. She couldn’t quite place the genre, as it was unlike anything she’d ever heard before, but music transcended language—and even perhaps worlds. Ethan was quite a good singer to be told, and he was definitely pouring everything he had into the song. Not wanting to interrupt, she sat and listened in as Lucario joined her side.

“♫ I hope you're happy ♫”

“♫ I hope you're good ♫”

“♫ I hope you get what you wish for ♫”

“♫ And you're well-understood ♫”

“♫ And whatever your progress ♫ Whatever your progress ♫”

“♫ I know you'll be fine ♫ I hope you’re fine ♫”

“♫ Because I hope you're happy ♫ I hope you’re good ♫”

“♫ Even if you're not mine ♫”

“♫ Try to remember that ♫”

“♫ I, I, I, I hope you're happy ♫”

Sadly, she must have caught the tail end of the song, as it ended only after a minute. Ethan reached towards an older, banged up looking phone and began swiping across its touch screen as the song ended. “Ethan.”

Turning in his seat, the man finally registered her presence. He instantly turned around to glare at the Smeargle, who at that moment, found the nearby walls to be most fascinating. “You’ve been my pokemon for less than a day and you’re already betraying me. I see how it is.” The other pokemon in the fluffy fortress laughed at his expense, and she saw Ethan smile through his embarrassment.

From where she sat, she could see all the pokemon having a fun time playing inside. Some were familiar; There was the Chatot and Pachirisu that she battled in the past, an adorable Shuckle, an excited and happy Munchlax, what had to have been the Emolga she’d given him, now hatched, a quiet calm Skiddo, and a Tinkatink who was the most excited of the bunch. The little pink pokemon was swinging her tiny hammer over her head like there would be no tomorrow as she yelled and babbled.

Tinkatink was a very rare pokemon outside of Paldea, and she wondered where he got his hands on one.

“Alright you guys, pick up the mess while I talk with Cynthia.” Ethan told his pokemon as he got up from his chair. With a notable limp, he dragged it towards her and sat close by. “Are you here as Cynthia, or Champion?”

That was a jab, and she felt it land. “Cynthia. I came here to apologize to you for my previous behavior. I thought long and hard about what you’ve said, and I realized that I have not been treating you with the respect or dignity that you deserve. For that, I am sorry.”

Ethan ran his eyes across her face in an attempt to find out if she was being sincere—Which she was.

“I accept your apology, and I thank you for taking the time to come by and say it to my face.” Ethan looked serious. “I can tell that you thought you were doing things for my benefit, and you were not malicious in your intent. Your character also speaks for you, so you are forgiven.”

His eyes strayed toward Lucario, who stood stalwartly at her side. “I assume your pokemon knows about me? Like, really knows?”

“No, he doesn’t. Some secrets are yours to keep.” Cynthia replied.

He nodded in response, then said something that caught her off guard. “In my world, Lucario was a very popular pokemon. A favorite for many. Did you know that every single Riolu learns Aura Sphere when they evolve? At least, in my world, that is.”

Cynthia blinked, unprepared for the sudden otherworldly discussion. “No, I didn’t know that. That might be the case here as well.” Lucario nodded along, but kept its eyes on Ethan.

“Do you know how Riolu evolves?” He asked, again catching her by surprise.

“No, it’s a mystery, one that various researchers are still trying to uncover.” She said, and Ethan looked like he didn’t believe her.

Ethan looked at Lucario. “How about you? Do you know how you evolved?”

Lucario looked at her for a moment—the tiniest flicker of the eyes, but she noticed, then shook his head.

“Well, I do.” Ethan dropped that bomb in her lap with such… casual ease that she didn’t know what to say in response. He continued. “You know, when I gave up all my knowledge to the league to prevent the disasters that I knew about, I thought that someone would come by and ask me more questions. They didn’t. I was never good at battling in my world, but I knew things. Mega stone locations, pokemon evolution requirements, egg groups, egg moves… I could go on, but nobody came to ask me about any of those.”

He looked away from Lucario to look at her again, and she could see the hint of betrayal and sadness in his eyes. “Almost everyone dropped me the second they got the information they needed. Joyce Joy stayed around, helped me, and became my friend. She didn’t do it for information, or to shove work and duties onto me. She did it as a newfound friend. Agent Looker set me up with the basics for my home, which I am thankful for, and I am sure he is busy dealing with the many issues my knowledge caused, so he gets a little bit of a pass… but you?”

Ethan shook his head. “You told everyone about my tutoring of Swinub, which caused a flock of trainers I wasn’t prepared for to immediately swarm my ranch. Someone almost got someone killed.”

“Then, you battled me. The Champion of the region vs a complete beginner. At the time, I resented you for that, but I saw that you were trying to prepare me for this new life. What didn’t help, is that people recorded it and it’s all over the internet now. This has caused even more people to know who I am, where I am, and that I am weak.”

“And now you asked me to harbor criminals. Probably to have me be around people I am ‘familiar’ with, but I am not ready for that. My pokemon aren’t ready for that. I forgive you, but please don’t make any decisions that have anything to do with me before asking me beforehand. I am barely keeping it together as is.” He sighed and looked worn.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before she said. “I understand. I would like to know you better—Ethan Reed, not ‘the man from another world.’”

“That would be nice.” Ethan said with a slight smile.

“That it would.”