The next morning begins with me hugging my blanket closer. I hear a mumbling voice from somewhere and Lili is chirping on the other side of the door. I know Lulu is right beside me because her big paw is wrapped around my head. I cuddle into it with a hum and enjoy the sparks playing with my hair. It’s almost normal. It would be if I hadn’t panicked in the middle of the night and released my hug-lioness to cuddle with. And Lili. That nightmare was…

Anyway. I feel a probing snout press into my blanket-fortress and giggle at the soft purring coming from the other side. I peel my eyes open and find myself peeking at my big softy over pink hair. Wait.

I squeeze my arms, or rather whatever I’m hugging, and hear a soft squeak. The pink moves and a small red gem comes into view. The pink is not hair, I realize, as two bleary eyes open and I feel two somethings flick my legs.

“Squee!” Mesprit coos.

I press her into my body and wiggle.

“Morning,” I manage to mumble.

“Good Morning?” a ladylike voice speaks into my head “That’s all you got to say after disappearing on me for two centuries?”

I giggle.

“Yup. Too early for anything complicated.”

“Hmmpf!”

The voice projected into my head is at great odds with the tiny squeak of the pink-grey blob in my arms. I respond by hugging her again. Her, even though she doesn’t have a biological gender. That’s what she told me, anyway. Her tails wrap around my hips as the tiny arms gently pat the back of my neck.

“Better?” she asks when I eventually let go.

“Much,” I say.

She nods and leaves the blanket with a tiny pop. I flinch at the gust of fresh air penetrating my flimsy pyjamas before the soft cover falls back on top of me. Lulu purrs and nuzzles my face before standing up, her paw using my body to stand on of all things.

“Oof! Lulu, heavy!”

She snorts.

“No, not fat! Heavy! You’re a big pile of lean muscle, but still big!”

She huffs and stands up, making to walk away but immediately finds herself trapped in my small bedroom. The house I had in Jubilife Village was much more comfortable for her. It would probably be best to move out into the wilderness until I managed to get a job. Oh. Right. School.

“You get up, too!” Mesprit says.

I narrow my eyes at her.

“So we can play!”

I grin but then I shake my head.

“Not right now, Mes. I,” a yawn interrupts me “I gotta deal with all this… life stuff first.”

“Blegh!” she pokes out her tongue “I’ll wait for you at Lake Verity.”

I roll my eyes as she pops away. It seems my absence wasn’t too bad, at least. Well, she knew I was trying to get back home. And she knew how much I wanted to see my family again. I thanked her for visiting me as I crawled out of bed. Lulu made a pawing motion at the door, thankfully not pressing against it. She might just break it out of its frame with sheer muscle.

“Sorry, girl. I think it’s best if you stay in your ball for the time being. This is my home but it’s also just kinda small for you.”

She whines.

“I know. I’ll look for a better place once I get the chance. If my parents don’t clog me with too much school, I might be able to get a job and rent a larger flat somewhere.”

“Grawl?” she tilts her head.

“I know I came back to see them again. Doesn’t mean I want you to suffer for it. We can visit as long as we live close enough.”

Lulu nods in understanding. I keep her out as I try to find something to wear. The Survey Corps uniform is on the ground in all its dirty glory. I’ll have to get down to the river and… no, wait. We have a washing machine. Will it hold out? It should, right? Maybe I’ll tell Mum to wash it on care settings… I have another four sets in my satchel so it’s not an issue.

Speaking of, that would look weird on modern clothes, right? No, I know it looks weird on modern clothes. A grin comes to my face as I remember the first week in Jubilife Village. They didn’t give me a uniform until I managed that ‘impossible’ mission to get into the Corps. I had to wear the satchel on the only set of clothes I had: A T-shirt and jeans shorts with trainers. That… might be a good choice for today. Just simply… coming home.

I climb over Lulu and find my way to the closet. I have to push the lazy oaf back a little to fully open it and freeze when I see the options. There are a few dresses and skirts hanging on a rack. I barely remember most of them. I never was much for fashion. Mel had picked them out and told me I would look good in them. Underwear is in a drawer below. T-shirts have a stack underneath those, strap-tops beside them. Another drawer has pants, both short and long, mostly jeans. A few sets of yoga pants make me cringe. The exercises ended up helping when I had to run from wild Pokémon out for my blood but still… Mel’s obsession with looking sexy never sat well with me. Even more so now that I was mentally 35. I push back the dread at the thought of going back to school and force a smile on my face. I’m going to see my friends again. I just hope we’ll still get along…

After getting dressed, I recall Lulu and make my way into the kitchen. Mum is the only one there. I can’t see Dad, Rob, Geodude or Machop. A yawn interrupts me right as I want to say hello and Mum turns around.

“Good morning, sweetie. Did you sleep well?”

I nod.

“Yup. Mostly. I cuddled with Lulu and Mes.”

She looks puzzled.

“Mes?”

“Oh, Mesprit. She already teleported out. Must have sensed me sometime yesterday. She showed up in the middle of the night.”

“A… Pokémon? I never heard of that species.”

“Not a species. Lake Guardian. Is only the one… What’s for breakfast?”

Mum looked at me dubiously before shrugging.

“Cereal, right now, or pancakes if you can wait a bit.”

“Pancakes sounds nice.”

I grab for the fridge and pour myself some milk while Mum gets started on mixing the batter. I simply watched her for a few minutes. At some point, Lili walks in, her leaves wet and holding a towel. She’s softly patting water off her body. A chirp greets me.

“Morning Lili. You good?”

Another chirp and she gives me a slightly wet hug.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

I look her over.

“Did you take a shower?”

She perks up and shows off with a twirl. I laugh.

“Oh, no, no. There’s no Pokémon trapped in there. It’s all technology. I told you about it, remember?”

She tilts her head and pats her chin. Another chirp and she’s back to her playful self.

“She dripped water all over the hallway,” Mum says “I had to show her how to use a towel. Did you not keep up your hygiene…” she trails off.

“We did. Just, not with technology. Rivers or water Pokémon were the only options. Didn’t even have soap in the wilderness.”

Mum smiles wryly.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back,” she says.

“So am I, Mum. So am I.”

Silence falls over the room as the pancakes sizzle. It takes a few minutes before she places a plate stacked high in front of me.

“Lili said she doesn’t need anything but if…”

I shake my head.

“Lulu will be fine for a bit. I’ll give her something later.”

“Really? And how do you plan to do that?”

“I got a whole lot of berries and rations in my satchel. Or I can just buy something. We’ll see.”

I dig into my food.

“Right. Say, Zoe. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on you yesterday but… you’re going back to school, right?”

I nod hesitantly while swallowing my pancake.

“Yes and no? I’m not sure where I’m gonna end up but I’ll go and see. I… do miss my friends. It’s just a little weird to go back there, you know?”

She shakes her head.

“No, I don’t know. Tell me about it.”

“Mum. I’m 35. I may not look it but I’m an adult. And I feel it might be… annoying? I wanted to try being a child again. I just don’t know if I can keep it up.”

She smiles softly.

“That’s fine. As long as you get your degree.”

“I can probably get one for the dex.”

“The what?”

“I wrote a Pokédex with Laventon and Akari. I still have it.”

I make to pull out the first one from my satchel before remembering it’s in my room.

“I’ll show you later. Point is, I can get a job with the Lab or the Rangers with my experience.”

She sighs.

“You don’t have any credentials, Zoe.”

“But I do. I have my Pokémon and my research notes.”

“Those aren’t credentials. You need at least four badges to even apply to the Rangers. And the lab won’t give you a position with less than six. Unless you’re a Lab Trainer, in which case you’ll be sponsored to get badges.”

I groan.

“Really? It’s all badges? Maybe I’ll just stomp the circuit real quick. What’s the record for that?”

Mum blinks.

“It’s 98 days. Which is how long it takes to walk straight from city to city. You’ll have to schedule your matches perfectly and if you miss one, you lose two weeks at least.”

“Can you get more than one match per day?”

“Zoe!” she raises her voice “Please take this seriously!”

I meet her eyes.

“I am. Mes won’t have any issues with teleporting me around. She might even join my team if I spin it well. And from what I remember about Cynthia and saw from her Garchomp… I’ll get through with just Lili, Lulu, and myself.”

She presses her lips together before letting out a sigh.

“Fine. I’ll wait to see your match with Cynthia. But you’re not going out there and fighting Pokémon yourself.”

“I will be sparring with my team.”

Mum gives me a stare.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“It’s important to stay in form. I’ve taken a Sludge Bomb from Arceus. I can deal with a bruise.”

“Zoe,” her voice is low and quiet “Please don’t get yourself killed.”

I take her hand and meet her eyes.

“I won’t, Mum, I promise.”

Lili puts her arm-leaf on top of our hands and chirps. I laugh.

“Right. Lili will protect me, too. And Lulu. And any other Pokémon I might catch.”

Mum smiles.

“Alright. I’ll trust you. I just don’t want to lose you ever again.”

I keep my mouth shut lest I say something stupid. Instead, I give her a smile and go back to my pancakes. They are just as fluffy as I remember and the butter and syrup give them that sweet, sweet juicy note.

“With pancakes as good as this, I’ll never be able to leave.”

Mum chuckles.

“Why, thank you. Now, about school…”

“Right. What day is it, anyways?”

“You don’t know?”

“It’s probably on my phone but I didn’t check yesterday.”

She sighs.

“It’s Wednesday.”

I check the clock. It’s 8:47 in the morning.

“So I already missed first period today.”

“You did. I’m thinking we’ll let you rest a little more. You can get back to it on Monday. What do you say?”

“You don’t have to…” I stop myself “No, actually that’s a good idea. I need to find a place where Lulu can exercise. She’s not used to staying in her ball all day. I need to have that match with Cynthia. And I need to see how much weaker I got.”

“Weaker?” Mum looks worried.

“Yeah. Time travel isn’t easy on the soul. I can just barely get the stamina for a Play Rough. And that’s a physical move so it relies on your body to reach the target. If I tried a Flamethrower, I’d probably fail. I hope I can still pull off a Volt Switch. That’s one of my most important moves to dodge.”

“I… really don’t follow.”

I give her a smile.

“Wanna come along and watch me train?”

“Maybe you should find a secluded place for that, Zoe? Otherwise, people will freak out. I know I am.”

“Right. I’ll ask Cynthia. The top of Mount Coronet should always be an option but I won’t be able to bring you along with a Teleport. Never figured that one out.”

“Go eat your breakfast, girl. I’ll do the dishes.”

Lili chirps and moves to help her. I listen with half an ear as Mum shows her the dishwasher and how to use it. And what not to put in it, like that pan my partner was just enthusiastically holding.

I have a lot of stuff to do. With the changes in landscape and the cities, it would be a little risky to just Teleport to my usual spots. Some of them should still be fine, though. Like Lake Verity. I carefully tug on my soul. The Legend Plate responds a little slower than I’m used to. And it took such a long time to get it to be near-instant. Now I’ll have to re-learn my reaction times, especially when swapping types for defence and offence.

I channel the Psychic TE into the beginnings of a Teleport and quickly cancel the move as I realize how far away I am from finishing it. A second attempt targets the chair to my left instead of Lake Verity. This one seems possible. It takes some focus and a few seconds of channelling before my vision swaps. The tiny pop makes Mum turn around. I smile and put the last bit of my pancakes in my mouth. Good. I can still carry stuff that I’m holding with me.

Lili is a great help, distracting Mum by opening the cupboards all over the place and chirping for explanations. Microwave, fridge, electric scale, and a few other devices keep her going and going as I go back to my room and check on my phone.

A pang of guilt hits me as I pull up my messenger again. I barely checked it yesterday, just looking at the messages from my family but my friends were just as worried. Mel, or Melanie, is the first one I check on. I felt closest to her before, as far as I remember. The first few messages are jokes about me skipping class to get some cute clothes or visit contests. There’s a drastic cut four days in where the tone is worried. One message reads:

Hey where u at? School just said ur missing :( We r worried. Come back soon?

My heart breaks a little. She slowly returns to a more jovial tone as the messages get rarer. There’s one per day where she poses with her Lumineon in a contest outfit. I smile as I take in all the designs. She’s really just that skilled. Some of them I saw her in on stage but a few are new. Probably for the new season that starts… I check the date. In three weeks. There are only three weeks of school before the summer break. Holy shit.

I take out my notebook and start taking notes on what I still have to do. I check my messenger app with half an eye in the meantime. Sara was pretty consistent with asking for my whereabouts. She was making some comments about me running off to train in secret for the next Gym Circuit so I could beat her class record of two badges. There are questions about the Pokémon I was catching and if the training was going well. And if I needed help. Her messages make me smile.

The next one is… a bit tough for me to go through. Min. My best friend up to the end of our first journey. We had started our first Gym Circuit together at 10 years old, making the trip along Route 203 and Oreburgh Gate after setting out from Jubilife. Almost everyone got there to start on their first journey so it was supposed to be easy. About 90% of first-timers made it to Oreburgh with enough willpower left to get the Coal Badge from Roark. Or try, at least. 60% get it sometime in their first year. Min and I just barely succeeded. And then we fought about going for the journey to Eterna City. We had two months left but I wasn’t really looking forward to trying a Grass Gym with Geodude. She was confident, somehow, that her Diglett would succeed.

In the end, we made the trip. When I gave her my ‘Told you so’ after failing the Badge, we fought. Hard. It took two months before we even talked again. We are ‘friends’, now, but there wasn’t really that deep of a connection before I got whisked back in time. That makes it all the more painful to read her desperation as she couldn’t reach me. My vision grows blurry as I read about her going out to look for me if I don’t come back by the end of the school year. She was training again and even caught a second Pokémon. A Ponita. The pictures are beautiful. I… Yes. I’m looking forward to seeing her again.

I wipe my tears. My fingers hover over the screen for a second. Then I begin typing.

Sorry, Bestie. I had no reception where I was. Your new friend looks beautiful. You’ll have to introduce us. I’m back to school on Monday. See you soon xoxo

I wait a full twenty seconds before hitting send. It feels right for her to be the first to know, after my family. I quickly write something for Mel and Sara as well, letting them know I’m back. I have to wipe my tears again. They’re tears of happiness, now.

I scroll down further. A few more of my classmates sent a message or two after hearing I went missing but nobody else kept it up for all that time. I can’t really fault them. I wasn’t the biggest social butterfly. The very bottom has a name I haven’t seen on my phone. Arceus. I grin.

Hey buddy, I’m back. I’ll come visit if you need a hug.

The familiar chime plays. The same notes they had used to talk to me in the past. Instead of the usual black screen with golden writing, it’s a simple message in my app, though. I grin as I read it.

Welcome back, Zoe. Thank you for the offer. I hope you will find happiness.

What’s with the changes to my phone? I ask.

Giratina has made some changes. Please do not bother me too much. I can still see.

“Ah, right. I almost forgot,” I say.

The chime plays.

It is no bother. This application is annoying whenever you use it. I would appreciate you not doing so unless in an emergency.

“Got it, Arceus. We’ll talk some other time.”

I give them a second to respond. When a much more nostalgic chime plays, I nearly jump. That wasn’t Arceus. I scroll up to see Min has responded.

U!!!!!!! today! after school! the usual place! my treat.

I’m confused for a moment before remembering how we always go to Vanilluxe’s Dream in the summer to get ice cream. It takes a few minutes to pull up the schedule and see I have until 2:30 p.m. to do other stuff.

Invite Mel and Sara?

I send.

K

I smile. Seems like the afternoon is settled. Then the phone rings. It’s Cynthia. I pick up.

“Hey, what’s up?” I greet her.

“Morning Zoe. You’re not back in school, yet, huh?”

“Nope. Gonna go there on Monday.”

“Sounds good. Hey, when do we want to battle?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, I’m pretty free. No clue what your schedule’s like.”

“Right. I got some time this afternoon. How about 3 p.m.?”

“That’s… Hey, wanna come eat ice cream with my friends?”

“Yes!”

I freeze for a moment at her enthusiastic reply.

“Okay. We’re meeting at Vanilluxe’s Dream at 2:30. They’ll probably freak out but it’s gonna be useful if you can confirm my story.”

“Oh, that’s a good choice. I wonder what I should get? Do they have any special types?”

“Um… Sorry. I honestly don’t remember. It’s been 20 years for me.”

“Right, right. I forgot. Anyway, I’ll be there.”

“We’ll have to find a secluded place for our match, though.”

“I’ll sort that out, no worries. See you.”

“Thanks, see you.”

Before she hangs up I can hear a quiet ‘squee’ from the other side. Whatever that was about… I scroll back to the conversation with Min.

I’m bringing a friend

She doesn’t respond so she probably got busted for being on her phone in the middle of class. Then my phone rings again. It’s Min.

I hesitate for a moment before picking up.

“Hi,” I say “Aren’t you in class?”

“Yes, we are,” an older woman’s voice comes from the other end “Who am I talking to?”

My eyes widen.

“Mrs Reed!” I grin “Is that you?”

“Yes, it is. Now, who might you be that you recognize me over the phone?”

“It’s Zoe.”

The silence is telling.

“Is this a joke?”

“No. And I’m sorry for disappearing. It’s… well, complicated. I’ll be back in class on Monday. I promise.”

There is a deep sigh on the other end.

“As long as you’re fine… You are fine, right?”

Her voice has taken a very worried tone.

“Yes. Absolutely. Now that I made it home, I’m better than ever.”

“That is good. I’m looking forward to seeing you again, Zoe.”

There are gasps on the other side of the call.

“I fear I have to continue the lesson, now. I will talk to your parents, just to make sure.”

“Of course. Have fun!”

“You too, Zoe. Goodbye.”

“Hey, wait!” someone shouts in the background, then the call is cancelled. That had to be Min. Well, I’ll see her later. A knock interrupts my thoughts and Mum peeks into my room.

“Who were you talking to, sweetie?”

“Mrs Reed. And Cynthia before that.”

“Your teacher called you?”

“I was texting with Min. She was in class. Mrs Reed must have taken her phone and then called back.”

“Oh. I see. I was planning to call the school soon, anyway. Might as well do it now… Anyway, I wanted to ask what your plans are for today?”

“Go out and run with Lulu for a bit. I’m meeting Min, Mel and Sara for ice cream at 2:30. Cynthia is coming, too. After that, we’re having that friendly match.”

“And what about me watching?”

I can see a hint of excitement in her eyes. Was she… oh. Right. She wants to see the Champ fight. It’s not really about me.

“Don’t you have work?” I ask.

Mum shakes her head.

“I took off the rest of the week.”

I smile.

“I’ll tell her to call you when she knows where the match happens so you can be there.”

“Okay. What about lunch?”

“I’ll just eat something out in the wild. Together with my buddies.”

She nods.

“Right.”

She hesitates only a moment before sitting down next to me for a hug. Lili follows and joins in. This is nice. I could spend a lot of time like this.