The clock in the room is ticking. It’s old-fashioned and not something that contributes to peace, but it tells me what time it is and that’s good enough. The hands will soon pass ten o’clock and I still haven’t heard from my Pokémon. Meanwhile, I’m stuck in this guest room for trainers and don’t know what to do.

Again and again, my hands run through the white hair with the purple tips that I have dyed myself as an accent. My clothes are dirty and although there is a new pile on the table – nurse Joy has found something suitable for me in the racks of old stock that is sometimes donated – I can’t bring myself to shower or do anything else. My legs carry me up and down the room.

Once again, my gaze wanders to the clock and clings to the two hands that are moving forward, yawningly slowly. Time just won’t pass and deliver results and yet it seems to be this very breath in which there is a knock at the door.

Immediately, I rush to the barrier and yank it open. Nurse Joy is standing in front of me with a tray – laden with dinner, Pokémon food and three Poké Balls in transport form.

“How’s Ra- ... I mean Growlithe?”

“She’ll be fine,” Joy replies. “A charge of max potion stopped the bleeding and heal the injury. But we’ve refrained from giving her any revive.” She raises her index finger, admonishingly. “Your Growlithe shouldn’t just be sent back into battle. It’s important she gets some time to process the circumstances.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. As long as Raya is okay, all is right with the world. While we haven’t really bonded yet and our adventure together is new, it would be cruel to go back to the old man and tell him I’ve completely failed as a trainer. Beginning of my journey or not. So fate seems to be giving me another chance. One of what feels like a thousand I’ve needed in the last few hours.

“Your Growlithe is still very exhausted. Rest well tonight. Aside from that, your Pikipek is chipper and your Zorua can also speak of good health after a little potion.”

At last she hands me the tray, and all I can do is bow and thank her. But only when nurse Joy wishes me a good night do I close the door and put the tray aside. First, I turn my attention to my team.

All three of them come out of their balls and indeed Raya looks like new. Not a single scratch remains. The other two stretch for a moment before they see the food and stare at me as if I have only one job in the world to do.

I can’t wipe the smile off my features as I put my companions’ dinner on the floor and sit down beside them with my plate. It’s fried potatoes with bacon.

As the three of them dig in, I can’t take my eyes off them. Within a day, I have found two more companions besides Ying. Two Pokémon who also want to travel wherever it takes us. I’m probably luckier with this than most trainers and simultaneously it holds a certain charm that makes an idea flare up in me.

“I’ll make my team out of Pokémon that come from Alola...”, I mumble half in my mind and I like the sound of it. A full team of six companions, made up of Pokémon that all come from where my journey began. It could hardly be more beautiful.

The low yet enthusiastic hum in my throat tugs at Zorua’s ears, causing her to glance in my direction, and I return her curiosity with a smirk. Another idea makes me point a finger at her.

“We should keep it uniform. If you’re Ying,” my finger slides to the Growlithe, “and you’re Raya,” I point to the Pikipek, “then I need a name for you.”

The Pikipek's head lifts at my statement and it takes a moment before it flaps its wings and waits. It at least finds my suggestion interesting. Briefly I go through some names silently, but nothing wants to fit a small creature like this. Still, I decide on something short. “How about Coro?”

Finally, I’m still clueless what gender Pikipek is and Coro sounds like something that works for both sides. It’s fair enough and my partner seems to be able to live with it. At least it puts its head back into the bowl of its food and continues to eat, undeterred. I do the same. Being with my team again just lifts the weight off my shoulders as if it was never there. Still, I can’t forget what happened. I have to become much better at what I do to avoid disasters like today. My path to get there may be rocky, but it is a path that must be walked. I must not take the hurdles lightly.

The certainty makes me reach into my trouser pocket, where the Z-Crystal still rests. It is colourless, somehow boring, and when I hold it out to my team, no one shows any interest. I have no choice but to put it in my pocket and hope that I will meet someone who knows more about these things than I do.

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Away from my wild thoughts that keep going over the struggle to find a thousand ideas to do better next time, dinner passes uneventfully. Pikipek and Raya more or less get along with each other. They are both gentle in their dealings, though prove clearly stubborn when they don’t want to share something. Zorua stays out of all this. She usually looks at the two a few steps away and waits. Her character isn’t made for the chaos her companions create. But she arranges herself.

It doesn’t take long before everyone has found their place to sleep and I get comfortable under the shower. The pleasantly hot feeling of the water triggers a certain sleepiness in me, too, which I can’t escape forever, and by the time I’ve squeezed into fresh underwear at the latest, I’m already falling into bed.

Zorua instantly snuggles up to my side, while Raya finds space at my feet. Only Coro relaxes on the back of the only chair in the room. It is pleasant silence that envelops us all in its wings. But my thoughts don’t remain motionless for long.

The quiet and the darkness drive my senses in a different direction, straight into doubts that I don’t want to face and that nevertheless lurk behind me. Staying in the Pokémon Center means that I will be found. Maybe not today, but tomorrow morning for sure. My father probably assumes that I’ll be at the harbour looking for a way off the island, or that I’ll be resting somewhere to come up with a plan. I still have a lead, but no one can say how long it will last.

All at once, I sit upright in bed. The airship isn’t far now, and if I’m going to get away from Melemele, I need to reach it before it flies away. That is at least one unknown in my hopes that I must forestall. If this unknown force takes off without me, an alternative route will have to be found and I’m not sure the opportunities will present themselves so favourably again.

So I peel myself out of bed and take a deep breath before turning the light back on. My Pokémon are fast asleep. They don’t even notice when I put them back into their Poké Balls and finally turn my attention to the set of fresh clothes that had seemed so unimportant before. Now it plays into my hands and it doesn’t take long to slip into the tight black top and snow-white skinny jeans. Probably won’t stay clean for four hours, but it’s better than nothing.

Back in my boots, I let my gaze glide once over the home furnishings of the room. The loft bed looks a bit rumpled thanks to me. The wooden floor gleams under the artificial light and the darkness behind the window is only illuminated by distant lamps. The Poké Balls, transformed into small balls by the light pressure of my fingers, find a place in my trouser pocket. That’s the best I can offer for now. Fortunately, the balls are quite stable.

For a moment, the adrenaline keeps me impatient on my feet. The next I disappear through the door outside into the corridor, and from there I wander back into the entrance area of the Pokémon Center. Sister Joy, who is patiently waiting for customers behind the counter, doesn’t stop me. Only a smile reveals that she only wishes a quiet farewell before I end up outside in the sweltering heat.

Hands on hips, I go through my things once more. The old mobile phone is in the back pocket of my trousers. Next to it, the Z-Crystal. My Poké Balls are in a front pocket, together with the ring, and my hopes are up to my toes. Everything I have is here. There is no need to look back.

My legs lead me down a few steps, past the side of the Pokémon Center, back onto the trail I ran down earlier. The Verdant Cavern is only a stone’s throw away, which I couldn’t manage on my first attempt. This time I won’t be stopped. Still, my muscles groan as I begin the ascent. After the first few metres, the exertion already presses my breath to my lips and when I take the top bend an eternity later, I think my shirt is already completely sweaty.

The humid air makes it difficult to breathe. Every step takes three times more energy than under the burning sun. The oxygen tastes stale and my lungs think they are taking in more moisture than breath. Yet I drag myself forward, my gaze always fixed on the road ahead. The bend has ushered in the end of the climb and the straight path ahead at least makes progress easier, while the darkness grows more impenetrable with each passing minute.

On the left, it isn’t far to the abyss that promises watery cooling. On the right, cliffs rise, spellbinding me for a moment as I think the shadows are speaking to me.

“Freedom! So big. So beautiful.” A childlike voice echoes in my head. Clear and distinct, so that I recognise it immediately.

Although fatigue is slowly taking hold of my muscles, I speed up. I have no idea where the voice is coming from, but part of me still thinks I can follow. I can hear my breathing, feel the tickle in my throat and the thirst welling up. Then, all at once, I catch sight of a place in the rock that is darker than the rest of the island. The moonlight doesn’t reach this corner and I have to take a few steps closer to realise it’s a passageway. A short distance, on the other side of which the moon appears a little brighter.

The glow of the night beckons me and leads me through the wide stone archway, straight to a sea of flowers whose yellowish glow shimmers like gold under sunbeams. For a moment, I hold my breath. Then I gasp a few times to shake off the exhaustion and let my gaze roam over the beauty of nature.

“Beautiful. So beautiful. So peaceful!”

It’s impossible to find the owner of the voice, no matter how painstakingly I narrow my eyes. Pokémon aren’t to be seen. And yet a voice startles me out of my search, causing me to jump a few steps to the side.

“Domino!”

It takes time for my brain to place Lillie. “What are you doing here? At this hour?”

“I... Nebby got away from me.” She points to a spot on the other side of the sea of flowers. “And I wanted to catch it.”

“How could it just get out like that?”

Briefly, Lillie looks at me before adjusting a backpack on her shoulders. She looks like she’s on the run, too, and when she opens her mouth, I hardly want to believe her words.

“I got my zip caught on your windowsill when I tried to jump out.”