Hisa’s daughter led me back down the hallway again, but we didn’t go quite so far this time; we stopped at one of the first rooms that branched off of it. Ninoko told me that these rooms were actually dressing rooms where the dancers prepared their outfits and makeup, but they could be used for other things in a pinch. Three thin bedrolls already lay on the ground, two with blankets folded neatly at the bottom and a third in the middle that still had its blanket strewn all about, like someone had only just woken up.

I claimed the bed furthest from the door and sat down with a sigh as Zubat flew around the room, probably trying to map it out. Pausso had wandered in after me and sniffed around the messy bed, almost like he could still smell the dreams that had taken place there before. Well, that was relevant to the conversation we needed to have.

“Over here,” I told him, patting the spot on the sleeping roll next to me. “Let’s talk.”

Pausso wandered over to me and sat down, then looked at me expectantly. I scratched at my ear in response. Where to start?

“I’ve been taking this dream-eating thing for granted for a while now,” I finally said. “But I figure now I should learn more. You can eat dreams – is that the same for you as eating food?”

Pausso hesitated, then waved his trunk in a noncommittal way. Y̸̫͝e̷͈͑s̵̙̐ ̶̝̄ b̵͓͠u̵̺͝t̷̫̊ ̷̬͊ n̶̢͝o̸̻̅, he thought to me. B̴̠̚ō̴ͅt̷̼̃h̷͚̄ ̸̲͐ǹ̵͈o̸͍̒u̵̹̚r̷͓͒i̸̗͌ṡ̴̙ḫ̴̎,̵͉̎ ̶͖̑ b̵̭̏u̸̢͒t̸̼͘ ̴̬̀ d̴̼̈́i̶͇͠f̵͇̂f̶̟͝ḙ̷̿r̴̤̍e̶̛̯n̸̖͌t̶͔̚ ̵͉͒ w̵̢̅a̷͖͛y̴̰̎s̸̡̀.̶͇̀

“How?”

He scratched his ear and scrunched up his trunk before replying. F̸̟͒o̷̤̓o̵̜͒d̴̯̓ ̵̫͘ ǵ̷͙ĭ̸̯v̸͍̐ẽ̴̡s̷̛̳ ̷̠̿ s̶̨̓t̷̢̍r̷̯͗é̸̠n̸̕ͅg̷̗̓t̶̟͋ḥ̴̔.̷̫͝ ̵̲̌ D̵͖̀r̵̢̿e̶̢̓ä̷͈́m̵̬̑s̷̃ͅ ̷̦̀ g̴̜͋i̷͔͗v̵̮̅e̶̤̊ ̴̣͑ e̶̙͆n̴͕̈e̷̱͝r̶̞͐ǵ̴̡y̷͉̓.̴̓͜

“Strength and energy? Aren’t those the same thing?”

I̷̙̾s̵̩̍ ̴̯̀ c̵͕͝o̴̘̕m̸̙̚p̴̺̎l̵̞̚i̷̧͋c̷̥̚a̸̺͠t̵̮̂è̴̬d̸̘͌. Frustration bled through our bond as he tried to find the right words. I̸̖͘ẗ̵ͅ ̶̤̀ í̴̲s̶̼͛ ̷̲͌ ļ̵͛i̷̭̽k̸̝̽ē̴͓ ̸̻̐t̶̪͑ṙ̸ͅa̶͚͛i̸͈͠n̸͍̆i̵̥͒ǹ̷̞g̷̡̈́.̴̲̄ ̴̪̾ S̸̳̒ó̶͇m̵͙̎ḛ̷̎ẗ̴̖i̵͕̿m̷̳͆ě̵̞s̶̫̽ ̸͕́w̴̮̏ḛ̴̚ ̴͉̊ r̴͔̿u̸̺͂ǹ̷̲,̶̦̓ ̴̤̃ s̶̪̈́ò̴͈m̴̥̀e̵̳͒t̷͍͝ị̴͆m̶͐ͅe̷̩̕s̵̘̈́ ̵̬̌ w̷̟̓ȇ̸̺ ̶͔̋ m̷͚̈́ė̶͇d̴̟̕ḭ̵́t̵̥͝a̵̦͘t̸̹͘ȇ̸̞.̴̖̀ ̶̱͒ Ḋ̵͕i̵̫͗f̴̤͝f̷̹̋e̶͇͂r̴̲͝ḛ̵̋n̷̯̑t̶͙̚,̷̠̓ ̸̺̓b̶͍́u̶͖̿ẗ̶̖́ ̶̠̄ ả̷͎l̷̮͊ŝ̷̨o̴̝͑ ̸̢̿s̸͓̀a̵̧͛m̸͍͆e̸͇͌.̵̹̈

And suddenly it clicked. “Physical and special attacks,” I said, nodding. “So dreams power your special attacks, and food powers the physical ones?”

C̶̹͆ó̴̱ṁ̶̲p̴͓̀l̴̬̈́į̵͠c̸̡͗a̷͍͐t̴̔ͅē̴̝d̷̰͂, Pausso repeated. B̴̤̔o̵̜̍ṱ̶̇h̴͖̕ ̴͇̄ h̷̹̅e̵̦̓l̷͓̽p̶̨͝ ̷͎̍ w̶̖͛i̷͎͊t̸̮̍h̴̜͋ ̸̗̍b̶̘̾ö̵̰t̸̯͝h̵͚̏.̶͉͂ ̶̺̕ Ḃ̴̨ư̷̩t̶̲̎ ̴̕͜ d̷̗͝i̴̲̔f̷̠̀f̶̧̈ȩ̸̕ȓ̴̯e̵̠͘n̸͇͗t̶̩̀l̴͍̀ẙ̷͚.̶͑͜

We argued these semantics back and forth a few more times until eventually we settled on something we could both understand. Basically, anything a Drowzee ate would help give it both physical strength and the energy for special attacks, but sometimes it would support one more than the other. Dreams were especially good for special energy, which psychic types generally prized above physical strength. And Drowzee as a species had little to no natural competition for dreams compared to regular food, and they generally thought dreams were tastier than physical food too. Of course they would eat dreams almost exclusively.

I had never realized Pokemon diets could be so complicated. Dad’s Magneton just drew in electricity from special batteries he bought for it, and Mom’s Jigglypuff was a glutton who would eat anything. Then again, neither of them did much battling. Did most trainers’ Pokemon require special diets of some kind? Maybe I could ask Isaac, he might know.

“So long story short, we can’t just replace dreams with regular food when I’m not sleeping well, or you won’t get the energy you need.” I sighed. “I guess I could ask Florence if she’d be willing to let you eat her dreams sometimes. She sleeps much better on the road than I do.”

Pausso’s ears lowered slightly. Y̶̻͂o̵̰̚u̶̖͒ ̷̟͋ ą̷̀r̷̞̐e̸͚̿ ̴̱̄ u̸͖̍ṇ̸̐c̵̪̑o̶͇̚m̵̘̌f̷̗͂ò̸̳ŕ̴͔t̸͕̾ả̴̫b̵̂͜l̵͎͆e̵̝͒.

“Well, yeah. It’s a weird thing to ask someone to do.”

Y̵̡͋o̷̖͆u̶̞̐ ̴͇͠ t̵̨̆h̸͕͠ḭ̴̌ñ̶̰k̵̦̏ ̴̥̅ ē̶͈a̷̼͆t̴̻͛i̵̠͆n̴̢͗g̵̜̏ ̵̻͠ ḑ̵̓r̶̟̂e̷͖̒a̶͕̓m̴̘̏s̷̲͠ ̸͇̿ c̸̰̈́r̶̻̕e̷͔̾ȅ̶̹p̷̬͘y̴͇̏. I winced, remembering our argument from a few nights before. W̷̤̆h̷̫̊ỷ̷͕?̴̣́ ̶̮̽ Y̶̝̎o̸̤̾ū̵͙ ̵̰͒ n̴͔̏o̷̡̍t̶̳̕ ̷̫͑ ũ̴̼s̸͝ͅé̵͜ ̵͔́ t̵̨̚h̴͚̕é̸͈m̷̛̹ ̷̗̔ o̵̥̎ť̸͔h̵͚́e̶̪̽r̴̘͑w̴̟̉i̶̤̓s̸̭̆e̶̼̋.

My gut reaction was to say it just was creepy, wasn’t that obvious? But I stopped myself in time, because that wasn’t fair to Pausso. Instead I made myself think about it more deeply.

“Dreaming happens when you’re asleep, and vulnerable,” I finally said. “And dreams are usually really personal. Having someone else see that dream and take it from you… I guess it just feels embarrassing to me.”

Pausso scrunched up his trunk. B̵̘̽u̴̼͠t̷͚͘ ̶̼̆ y̸͍̅o̶̥̅u̵̯͋ ̴̟͋ ṅ̸̝ō̸̩t̸̬̂ ̶̲̓ĉ̴̥h̴̦̑o̵̮͆o̶̳̽s̴̛͓ẻ̴͚ ̸̗̇w̶̫̄h̴̜͋a̷͍͗t̸͔́ ̷͚̈ t̸͈͊o̷͍͋ ̷͉́ d̴̟̔r̵̹͠e̶̮͛ä̶̫́ṃ̵̾, he thought alongside a strong feeling of confusion. W̵̬͑h̸͔͗y̵̪̍ ̴̤̓ f̴̬̅e̴̛̳e̸̱͘l̴̩̆ ̵̲̌ ṱ̴͛h̵̯̊ä̸̞t̸͎̓ ̴͇̄ w̵̼͂a̵̛̲y̶͓̚?̴̹̋

I shrugged. “I dunno. Feelings are feelings, sometimes they don’t make sense.”

He considered that for a moment, then nodded his trunk. T̸̪͋r̶̮̈́ü̴̝e̸͓̾.̸͔̓ ̷͓̏ B̵͎͑ṵ̸̄ț̷͑ ̸͙͐d̶̺͝o̸͖͂ ̶̣̕ n̵̨͠o̷͉͋t̶̪͌ ̶̮͛ f̴̪͐e̷̻̎e̶͎̚l̴̡̊ ̷͚͐ e̷̦͘m̴͇͂b̴͚͒a̵̝̕r̸̢̒r̶̻̒a̸͚͑s̸̱͋s̶̭͠é̴̫d̷̝̅, he told me. I̶͍͌ ̸̗̒n̵̳͆o̸̬͝t̶͍̑ ̶̳̐ j̷͉̽ụ̵͒d̵̈͜g̴̰͑ê̷̤ ̶̫̀ w̸͇͝ḧ̸̫́e̸̹͗n̴̪̐ ̵̣͝ y̷̫͑ǒ̶̦ū̷̯ ̸͎͂d̸̜͋r̵͙̎e̵̮̐a̶̡̐m̵͉͝ ̷̘̃ s̸̻̓ẗ̶͔́ṳ̵̾p̷̿͜i̷̻̔d̶͍͐ ̸̰̆ t̵͎̑ḥ̴̑í̵̟n̴̹̐g̵̳̈́s̸̱͐.

“You see, that’s part of the problem. I don’t even know what I dreamed afterwards – I can’t remember it after you’ve eaten it.”

Pausso perked up at that. Î̶̼ ̶̛͙ c̷̲͒ã̴͜n̴͚̽ ̸̡̈́t̷̼͊e̸͚͝l̴̳̄l̴̼̒ ̷͍͊ ÿ̴͔o̷̠̓ù̶̠!̷͇̀ ̴͎̌ O̴͊ͅr̵̡̿ ̷̟͝ s̷̤̕h̴͍͑ơ̷͈w̶̼̽ ̷̝͘ y̶͙͊o̶̭̾u̵̧͘.̵̜́ ̸͑ͅ W̸͕̉e̸̯̿l̷͖̚l̷̢̀,̵̝͂ ̸̮̕t̶͔͂r̸̘̎y̴̖͊ ̴̯̀ t̴͈̎ǒ̴̦ ̷̤̐ s̴̹̾h̶̩͌o̴͉͑w̷̯͠ ̸̰͘y̷͍͗ȯ̷̰u̴̹̓.̶̧̔

“That could be fun to try someday,” I replied. Then I made a face. “Maybe not one of the stupid dreams, though.”

T̴̩̈́h̴̩̕ā̷͜t̸̞̃ ̶̆͜ i̵̹̿s̸͖͝ ̶̱͊ h̷̞̔a̸̢̅ȓ̷̫d̴̬̈e̶͛ͅȓ̴̙.̶̜͘ ̵͓̑ T̵̢͠ḧ̴̳́e̸̳̽r̷͓͝e̶̜̐ ̴̮͗ a̶̲͋r̸̛͓ḙ̴̛ ̵͍̈ m̵̮͊ǎ̸̖n̵̥͊y̷͍̒ ̸͓͊ṣ̶̔t̸̘͆ṵ̵͂p̸̙̂i̴̺͆d̷̲̎ ̷̠̏ d̷͇̋r̷͔͛e̷̘̊a̴̺͌m̷̹͘ṡ̵͓.̶̬̕

“Hey!” I said, swatting his shoulder lightly. “You said you wouldn’t judge!”

He snorted and wiggled his ears. Then we sat there for a bit, quietly watching Zubat as she flitted from rafter to rafter and tried to find a comfortable place to hang from.

“I’ll make sure you get enough dreams to eat from now on,” I eventually told him. “But I want you to promise you won’t eat people’s dreams without asking for their permission first. Maybe people forget their dreams, but the dreams still belong to them. You can’t just take them.”

Pausso considered this for a few moments. Then he shrugged. H̵̖̑u̶̢͆m̴͙̌ȁ̸̹n̷͙̽ ̸̤̓w̵̬̔ȃ̵̩y̵̙͝s̵̲̍ ̴̗̃ a̸̲͗r̷̗̓e̵̮̐ ̴̙̑ ş̷̔t̴̨̽ŗ̵͘a̴͓͐n̴̦̂g̶̨͛ė̷̻, he thought. B̶̪͝u̴̜̓ť̵̝ ̸̨͌I̴͉̾ ̶̟̾ s̵̲̈́e̶̙͑e̷̪̾ ̶̳̈́i̸̱̾t̶̥͑ ̴͇̓ b̸͔̐o̶͍͌ẗ̷̬h̶͖̚e̶̥̓r̴̝̄s̴͍̓ ̸̡̅y̸̩̌ǒ̸̖ù̷̡,̴̖͘ ̷̗̇ s̶̠̓ō̴͖ ̶͎̍ I̴͕̽ ̸̠̄p̴̪͂r̸̦͘ò̵̟m̴̢̏i̶͔͛s̵̞̉e̷̛̜.

I breathed out a quiet sigh and smiled. With that, our argument from before was basically resolved. I felt relieved to know we were back on the same page again.

Also, all this talk had made me curious. “What’s it like, anyway?” I eventually asked. “Eating dreams?”

Pausso was silent for what felt like a long time before he tentatively shared a thought. I̵̳͘t̵̨́ ̶̝͝ m̸̤̍o̵̜̒ṛ̴̑e̸͎̿ ̷̌ͅ l̶̥̿i̶̲̾k̴͈͒e̴̛̪ ̴̫̄ d̵̥͒r̶͈͆ỉ̷͍ǹ̴͕ḱ̵͓ ̷͕̊ t̸̻̅h̶͇͋ä̷͈ņ̸̇ ̸̐͜ ẹ̴̉ả̵̞t̸̳͐.̵͔͌ ̷̻͘ B̸̛̦ụ̷͂t̶̢͋ ̷̳̀ t̸͚͂h̵̫̔ṙ̵̡ȯ̷̺u̵͍̽g̶̿͜h̸̠͝ ̷̨̽ b̶͈͋r̴̦͆ḁ̶̅i̷̍͜n̷̖̑,̴̻͘ ̷̙̆ ņ̷̚o̷͇̾t̵̳̓ ̴̢̐ t̸͈͒h̶͉̕r̷̺̔ō̴͙ǔ̵͖g̸̼͒ĥ̵̻ ̶̠̔ m̵̭̓o̵̳̒u̶̥͊t̷̨̔h̶̭͠.̷̻̀

I raised my eyebrows. “That’s not helpful.”

Ï̵̞s̵̰̚ ̸̯̽ĥ̴̫a̶̢͐r̸̺͒d̷̼̿ ̵̳̍ t̶̺̎ȏ̸̗ ̶̺̍ d̷̖͠ẻ̴̲s̸̠̄c̶̥̆r̸̈́͜i̷͙̇b̸͔̀e̷̼̚. He furrowed his brow in thought for a few more moments. Y̶̋͜o̸̪̓ȗ̵̥ ̴̛̣ k̵͌͜ṉ̵̚ö̵̙́w̷̞͝ ̷̤͗ f̷͇͒è̷̟e̷͍͠l̶̳͋i̷͇̍ṇ̴̐ǵ̴̙ ̴̹̏ ẅ̷̯h̸͇̀e̸̳̾n̴̅ͅ ̷́͜ m̵̪̍o̵̹̚û̸̗t̸̡̒h̷̙͊ ̴̘̌ i̷̯͋s̶̬͠ ̵͔͝ d̶̙̊r̷̤͂ỵ̵͝,̷̟͊ ̷̻̓ ȃ̴̖n̴̮̋d̸̺̉ ̵̝̀ y̸̛͙o̸̟̿ų̵̿ ̵͖́ť̴͜a̵͔̕k̸͍͂e̴͓̿ ̶̻̈́ l̷̗̚ō̷̺n̸̢̎g̷̦͘ ̶̦͘ d̵͚̃r̷̩̊i̷͍̚n̴̥͛k̷͉͝ ̵̿͜ o̴̜͐f̵͓̀ ̷̧̀ w̴̥͑ą̷̊t̵̗̅ë̷̡́r̵̮̿ ̷͚̈́ ḁ̴̓n̶̖͆ḓ̴͊ ̸̼͊f̶̙̏e̶̞̋é̵̺l̶͕̐ ̷̙͌ r̴͝ͅẻ̴̝f̶̭͛r̵̮͛e̸̲͊s̷̭̀h̴̜͝e̷̫̕d̶̫͝?̵͍͊

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“Yeah.”

L̸̠̎i̴̘̎k̵̦̊e̴̹̚ ̵̬̍ t̴̗̐h̸͇̊ä̶̖́t̵̢͛,̴͕͝ ̷̻̉ ḅ̷̈ŭ̷̺t̸̰̒ ̵̯́ w̵̭͠i̵̺͝ţ̸̄ḧ̷̡ ̶͇͝ m̴͉̑e̷̪͂n̷̤̏t̷͎̍a̷̺͐l̵̛̹ ̵̥̈́ e̵̩͝n̶͔͌ȇ̴̡r̴̨̿g̵̱̈́y̴͓̎.̵̗̚ ̷͉̂ B̵͙̓r̴̨̽a̶̻̕i̵̪͆n̶̢͒ ̸̭̒f̵̤̊ë̷͚́e̸̺͝l̷̞̽s̷̫̓ ̸͎͂f̸͔̏a̸͖̿s̵̒͜ţ̵̛ḙ̷̓r̵̫̓.̶͔̊

I hummed and nodded. I still didn’t really understand, but I could at least tell that it made Pausso happy, and it hadn’t hurt me so far in all the weeks that he’d been eating my dreams. Maybe that was all that mattered.

Well, Pausso and I had figured things out; that meant it was time for my second conversation. “I want to try this next part mostly on my own,” I told him, “but I might need your help. I’ll let you know.”

I could feel that he was curious, but he simply trunk-nodded his agreement and sat back, content to watch what I was going to do. I stood up, stretched, and moved to stand under the rafter that Zubat was currently hanging from.

“Hey, Zubat?” I said, waving to get her attention. She perked up and her ears twitched towards me, so I waved towards myself. “Can we talk?”

She squeaked and unwrapped her tails from the wooden beam, then fluttered down towards me. Without really thinking about it I held out my left arm for her to land on. She expertly twisted her tails around my forearm and slung herself to hang upside down from her grip, and I grunted; she wasn’t very heavy, but it still felt awkward to have that much weight pulling on my arm.

I bit my lip and tried to think about what I wanted to say. Well, it was probably best to start with the obvious.

“Do you understand me when I talk like this?” I asked.

She cocked her head to the side and chittered in confusion.

“Yeah, that’s a no.” I had expected that, since she was a wild Pokemon, after all. Yet in a way, that didn’t seem to matter.

I used my free hand to gesture towards her, then towards myself. As I moved, I spoke. “You and I – we share a bond, don’t we?” I lightly thumped my fist against my heart to emphasize my point.

She chittered and flexed her wings outwards, and it felt like she was agreeing. I can’t explain how I knew; I just did. It was like what Edwin had told me earlier in the day, when we’d walked through the forest together and he’d described how he met his Spearow. Even though Zubat and I had met mere hours ago, I felt like I’d known her all my life.

I sighed. This didn’t feel like it should be complicated, but it was. “I already have a Pokemon partner,” I told her as gently as I could, gesturing to Pausso as I spoke. He had been watching us with narrowed eyes before, but now he sat up straight and felt surprised. “Pausso was here first. I won’t leave him behind.” I gestured between myself and Pausso now, and put my hand against my heart again to make what I was saying clear.

Zubat turned her head so her ears were pointed at Pausso and considered him for a few moments. Then she unwrapped her tails from my arm and glided over to where he sat. His ears perked up in surprise as she hovered in front of him, bobbing up and down in the air. “Zubah, bat zu,” she squeaked at him.

Pausso looked wary, but after a moment he nodded his trunk. “Zee,” he replied shortly.

I found myself smiling. I was pretty sure that was Zubat’s way of saying she was okay being part of a team instead of the sole partner, and it looked like Pausso was on board too. Still, that wasn’t the only complicating factor.

“There’s something else too.” I glanced at the door to make sure it was still closed, then lowered my voice anyway just to be safe. “Pausso and I – we aren’t actually from this time. We’re from the future. And we’ll need to go back to our own time eventually.” I rubbed at my arms. “When that happens you’ll either have to say goodbye to us forever, or come with us and leave everything here behind.”

No reaction. Well, that was a more complicated concept, and I had no idea how to pantomime it. I locked eyes with Pausso and shrugged helplessly. “Can you explain that part?”

“Zee.” He looked back at Zubat and launched into a string of speech. At first she let out a loud screech of surprise and her wingbeats faltered; then her ears focused forward, and she looked very serious for a while.

When he finished speaking, she spent a few moments hovering in the air, apparently thinking. I realized that I was holding my breath.

Then she turned on a wing, flew back over to me, and promptly landed on my head, using her wingtips and tails to grip my hair so she wouldn’t fall off. “Zubat,” she said decisively, and I felt a rush of warmth in my chest.

She knew, and she wanted to come with us anyway.

A silly little smile spread across my face. I reached up to pet her gently, and when I spoke my voice was a little wobbly. “Welcome to the team, Zubat.” Then I paused. Just calling her that didn’t seem fitting. She deserved her own name. “Hey, Pausso, can you ask her what she’s called?”

Pausso asked her a brief question, and she replied with a long string of squeaks and chitters that I couldn’t keep up with. He apparently had some trouble too, as she had to repeat the string a second time. Then he turned back to me.

C̴̙̐o̶͔̕m̸̼͑p̸͖̈́ḻ̶̆i̵͝ͅc̸̤̿a̸̢̋t̸͚͂é̴̺d̸̤͠, he told me wryly. Ȋ̷̥s̷̝̊ ̸͙̅s̵̻̋p̴̣͗e̷͍̅c̵̮̿i̵͖͗f̶̣͋î̷͔ĉ̵̻ ̵̻̀ r̷̲͒ĕ̷̮v̸͍͝e̵̯͘r̶͙̚b̶͍̏e̵͊ͅr̴̙͌a̶͉͋t̸͓͂i̸̠͠o̶̪͌n̵̯͝ ̵̱̈́ ò̶͕f̴̢̛ ̴̞͊ t̵̝͘ḣ̴̭ë̸̫́ ̵̜̆ t̷̯̄a̷͓͘l̵̲͗k̵̗͆ ̵̖͋ o̵̹͆f̵̼͛ ̷͇̉ ó̶̺t̵̫͗h̸͓̕ë̴͇́r̵̺̈́ ̸̙͐P̶͛ͅö̵͉́ḱ̸̼é̷͜m̵̤̒ö̷̘́ṇ̶̀ ̷̛̠ ö̸͍́f̵͈̽f̶̭̎ ̶͕̅ t̷͇̊õ̴̺w̵͔̉e̴̝̾r̶͓̒ ̷̤̆ w̸̼͠a̸̤̅l̵̝͝l̷͓͐ș̵̾.

I thought for a moment; then it clicked. “Like an echo,” I said out loud. “What do you think, girl? Should we call you Echo?”

She chittered happily and rubbed her head against my hand, and my grin grew even wider.

“Echo it is.”

~

That night I slept soundly for the first time in ages. I was inside, I had a real bed, and I was back on good terms with both of my Pokemon. What else could I ask for?

When I woke to the sound of the city’s morning bells, I found that Pausso was feeling positively chipper, so he must have eaten well. Echo dove for my head as soon as I sat up and immediately nestled herself in my hair. She seemed even more clingy now that she was officially part of my team; I’d probably have to get used to having her on my head or shoulder.

My team. I had a team now. That would make training more complicated, wouldn’t it?

I decided that was a problem for future Monroe. For now I managed to get my glasses onto my face and looked around. Michael was sound asleep in the middle bed, and Hoothoot was making little whistling noises in her sleep as she stood on one of the rafters overhead. Luca yawned widely as he made up the bed closest to the door, while Piloswine ‘helped’ by butting their pillows back into place with her nose as she made little snuffling sounds.

I cleaned up my sleeping roll and followed Luca out of the room, trying to step quietly so I wouldn’t wake Michael. We wandered down the hallway and found that we weren’t alone; Isaac, Kiah, and Cyril already sat around one of the tables as they ate a light breakfast.

One other person in the group particularly caught my attention. “Jordan!” I said, bounding over to the table in excitement. “You got out of the camp!”

Jordan looked up at me and grinned through a mouthful of porridge. “Ah hahd halp,” he said, the words garbled through the food.

“Not that you needed it,” Cyril grumbled from the other side of the table, where he was nursing an excessively large cup of tea. “Monroe, I thought you said he was still tied up when you left? When we got there this madman was running feral around the camp, destroying supplies and dodging everyone who tried to capture him.”

Jordan swallowed and shrugged, still grinning cheekily. I noticed that he now had a black eye in addition to his swollen nose and split lip, and a new bandage had been tied around one of his arms. “I figured it wouldn’t be that smart to run right up to the back of the army and get captured again,” he said. “So I decided to cause some trouble before scampering off to hide in the woods.”

“Woo, sudo oh,” Sudowoodo said severely as he thwacked a branch against the back of Jordan’s head.

“Oww! Obviously I was going to look for you too,” Jordan said as he rubbed the back of his head. “I was just trying to be smart about it!”

“Doo woh,” his Pokemon replied, sounding entirely unimpressed.

I laughed and settled down next to Kiah; then I heard a loud yawn come from behind me. I glanced back to see that Michael had joined us, with Hoothoot drowsing on his shoulder. He still looked half-asleep as he wandered into the room. “How is it morning already?” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

I turned back just in time to see Jordan elbow Sudowoodo, making him scooch further down so that Jordan could move over and open a space on his other side, at the end of the table. He then looked down at his bowl and focused on shoveling more food into his mouth while he pretended he hadn’t noticed Michael at all. Michael paused, then walked halfway around the table to settle into the new space, ignoring several other open spots that were closer.

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Teenagers. I hoped I never ended up acting so silly when I got older.

Well, relationship drama didn’t matter; food did. I spooned up porridge with fruit mixed in for myself, and also grabbed a few berries for Echo and a small dish of picked plums for Pausso. He pretended that he wasn’t interested, but I could see how he sniffed at the dish, so I was confident he’d eat them before the meal was over.

Kiah looked over at me in surprise as I passed a berry up to Echo. “Who is this?” he asked, gesturing at the little Pokemon on my head.

Right – everyone had been so excited about reuniting with their partners the previous night that no one had noticed one extra Pokemon in the mix. “This is Zubat,” I told him as I reached up to scritch her back and let her know we were talking about her. She squeaked a greeting around her berry. “We met at the tower. She’s going to stick around.”

That earned me a few raised eyebrows from the trainers seated around the table, though Kiah gravely congratulated us. They probably all assumed I had bonded with Pausso the traditional way, instead of having him caught for me, and it seemed like bonding with multiple Pokemon was mostly unheard of. That would probably start changing once people got used to having poke balls around.

At least the Pokemon didn’t seem bothered. Corsola looked up from Kiah’s lap and trilled a greeting, and the other Pokemon waved and called their hellos as well. Ledyba even buzzed up into the air so he could do a flip in celebration.

Luca had been busy setting up a plate of mixed vegetables and berries for Piloswine; now he grabbed an orange for himself and flopped down onto the floor next to Isaac. “So the visit to the enemy camp worked out. What about the tower?”

I frowned, confused, and Kiah noticed. “We split into two groups last night after dealing with the army,” he told me as he passed another strip of dried seaweed to Corsola. “Lady Chiyo, Researcher Isaac, and I went to investigate the Brass Tower. The others left to clear out the enemy camp.”

“Not all of us,” Luca said with a grumble. “I still cannot believe Chiyo made Florence and me go to bed.”

“Brass Tower was fascinating,” Isaac told Luca in response to his question. He had been quietly focused on his food and tea before, but now he perked up. “The reactions of the wild majū to the tower are unique to me – I will need to find time to return and investigate further in the coming days. And we found many traces of the sacred birds still lingering on the rooftop. I was able to gather several feathers, a small amount of Ho-oh’s golden dust, and a cupful of Lugia’s rain. Who knows what we may learn from such artifacts!”

Luca stared at him. “I meant did things go alright with the soldiers,” he said, barely holding back a giggle.

“Oh. Yes, the others had that part well in hand.”

“Wait, wait,” I said, trying to keep up. “This happened after you dealt with the army? How did that part turn out?”

Luca’s eyes lit up, and he abandoned his breakfast in favor of telling me all about what had happened. Apparently the takedown of the army had gone remarkably smoothly. Hisa had been right; the wild Pokemon proved easy to talk down from fighting once our side knew what was going on and had Pokemon of our own to explain what had happened. The double blow of losing the general and losing the fighting Pokemon had been too much for the army to bear, and most of the officers had surrendered immediately.

Just as Luca was wrapping up his explanation Chiyo came into the room through the main entrance, closely followed by Hisa, his family, and Florence. Chiyo clapped her hands once to get everyone’s attention, and we all turned around to look at her.

“You will be pleased to hear that the army cooperated with our investigations,” she said without preamble. “Last night our forces retrieved forty-three poke balls from the Violet army. We will need the majū with advanced sensory abilities to do a second pass over the army before they leave, to ensure that none were missed, but I do believe we have secured the vast majority of the captured majū.”

“There might be some majū back in Violet as well,” I said, catching her attention. “When the general was questioning me I overheard something about not all them agreeing to fight for the army. I don’t know if Finnegan left them behind or not.”

Chiyo’s eyebrows rose at this news, but she nodded her agreement. “That is good to know. Hisa, please have one of your apprentices ask the officers for further information. Perhaps Trainer Tomouji?” Then she looked from me to Florence, and from Florence to Isaac. “I have been told that the three of you understand how to release majū from these poke balls. Will you be able to free the captured majū over the following days?”

“Of course!” I said quickly, overlapping with Florence and Isaac’s words of agreement. I already felt bad that the wild Pokemon had been tricked and used so badly for several days. Helping free them was the least I could do.

She nodded and walked over to sit down at the table, and the others funneled in behind her. Florence sat down next to Pausso with Natu in her hands and Hoppip trailing behind her, and she looked pointedly at Echo. “Why did you catch a Zubat?”

“I didn’t,” I said, passing another berry up to my girl. She took one bite, then made a clicking noise and dropped it back into my hand. I glanced at the chesto berry and nodded to myself; she didn’t like dry foods, then. “We just… well, bonded, I guess.”

I had just passed Echo a new berry (pecha, this time, as I figured she’d like sweet things) when I noticed the look on Florence’s face. She was trying to smile, but her eyes looked empty.

“Oh,” I said, feeling awkward. “Don’t feel bad. You’ve still got plenty of time to find a majū that you bond with.”

“I know,” she said quietly, picking out three smaller oran berries and setting them on the table in front of Natu. The little bird pecked at them immediately, barely missing Florence’s fingers. “It is fine.”

I very much got the sense it was not fine, but I wasn’t sure what I could say to make her feel better either. So I turned my attention to what was happening at the rest of the table. Kiah was awkwardly fiddling with his food as he fielded questions from Hisa’s kids, who were very curious about what Corsola was like; Jordan and Michael were arguing about something, though I noticed they were sitting close enough to each other that their knees were touching; Isaac was talking Luca’s ear off about everything he’d learned at Brass Tower (poor Luca looked like he would fall asleep again); Hisa and Cyril were having some kind of intense conversation about the future of Violet City; Chiyo and Kiri were…

Wait. That last one had sounded important. I focused back on Hisa and Cyril just in time to catch Hisa raise his voice. “I know you do not want to,” he said, sounding impatient. “It is not always about what we want.”

Cyril shook his head, looking unhappy. “We are not ready,” he told Hisa. “We have only been training for two years.”

Chiyo broke off her conversation with Kiri to look at Cyril with new interest. “And yet Hisa tells me you and Ledyba have already mastered Reflect and Light Screen. That is highly impressive.”

That just made Cyril look even more wretched. “Why not bring someone else in to lead?” he asked weakly. “Someone with more experience.”

“Violet will heal better if change comes from inside, not without,” Hisa said firmly. “Ho-oh’s wings! You need more confidence in yourself, man.”

“We will not abandon you,” Chiyo said gently, and Espeon crooned her agreement. “Ecruteak and Violet have been allies in the past. We would offer that support once again to help your city recover. I am sure Cherrygrove will do the same, perhaps Azalea as well.”

“Look at your partner,” Hisa said. “He believes in you. Why do you not believe in yourself?”

Cyril looked down at Ledyba, who rested on the ground beside him. The bug jumped up to hover in the air, buzzed happily, and raised his top four arms in excited jabbing gestures. Cyril sighed and bowed his head in acceptance.

“Fine,” he said morosely. “I expect I will be the worst lead trainer Violet has ever had, but I will do what I can.”

“Good man!” Hisa said, thumping him on the shoulder. Then he grinned mischievously. “Do not let these doubts bug you; if you focus on your work, I’m sure you will fly high.”

Hisa’s kids groaned loudly, and his wife reached around Chiyo and Cyril to swat at him. Chiyo just shook her head gently, but her mouth betrayed her; she looked like she was barely holding back laughter.

“We will have to introduce you to the remaining captains,” she told Cyril. “We are letting them return to Violet, though we plan to keep many of the supplies they brought as restitution, and they have agreed to send crews back here to repair the damage they did. It will be your task to help them transition your city to a more stable environment.”

“What about Edwin?” I asked, curious despite myself. “Is he going back as well?”

Hisa grimaced and shook his head. “He does not want to, and I am not sure we would be willing to let him go even if he was willing. He will stay here for now to reflect on all that went wrong on his path.”

I nodded at that and looked down at my food quietly. I felt bad for Edwin, sure, but I was also glad he was facing consequences. Out of all the people that had made bad decisions in Violet, he was the one I most felt should have known better.

The talk around the table transitioned to easier topics, and I found myself looking around so I could take it all in. It had been less than a week since I had met most of these other trainers, yet so much had happened that it felt like much longer. We’d been through hard times together, and that forged strong bonds.

If I managed to open the mysterious poke ball and get Celebi to send me back to my own time, I’d never see them again. That made me suddenly melancholic. The thought of never hearing Hisa crack another joke, never going on another wild adventure with Luca, never getting to see Jordan pull another crazy stunt… it just made me feel sad.

Well, there wasn’t much point in sulking about it. We still had to spend a few days in Ecruteak and Violet to release the wild Pokemon, and I was sure Isaac would want to gather data on who-knew-what as well. We didn’t have to say goodbye yet. And it would be good to get back to Azalea anyway; Charity had probably come up with a bunch of crazy ideas for poke balls in our absence, and I could take a second look at the gold and silver ball to see if I could find a new approach for opening it.

For now I smiled and focused on spooning up more pickled plums for Pausso and passing another berry up to Echo. For now, I would just live in the moment and enjoy what we had.

END OF PART THREE