Bo whistled happily as he led his friends through the dim & disheveled entrance into the Moon clan compound. As they entered, the dirt road they’d been walking upon gave way to cobblestones and grass. Unbidden, he took a deep breath as his childhood home came into view directly across from him. The gangly building hadn’t changed a bit since he’d left.
The old Moon clan home was unlike any other building within the village, having been constructed almost entirely from stone gathered and shaped by the Moon clan founder’s Tyranitar. The manor formed around a massive central, three-story building with two wings arching off of it to either side. Seemingly untouched by the elements even decades later, the black stonework eschewed any ornaments or decorative work. Instead, the walls seemed to simply jut up from the ground haphazardly at various angles, some ramrod straight while others seemed to curve and bow and random. Windows, likewise, dotted the walls and random intervals and sizes. All told, Bo always thought the old manor always seemed to look like it was being viewed through a funhouse mirror.
“Hey, Skittles,” Dani’s voice came from beside Bo, while he was admiring the sight before them. “Is that-?”
“Yup,” Bo interjected happily. “That’s home.”
“…Yeah, no mate. We already guessed you grew up in goth Barbie’s sorority house. I was asking about the bloody building that looks kinda like a Gym… You know, after Moltres went berserk and cut it in half.”
Wincing slightly at her sharp tone, Bo’s eyes drifted off to the right. “Oh, that.”
The old Gym facility too, was just as Bo had remembered it. The sprawling, domed building was constructed entirely from metal and dwarfed even the Moon clan home, but the years had rendered the once gleaming exterior dull and tarnished, the layers of paint chipped away by time. Vines and lichen had also creeped across the building over the years. Even the various battle courts and training grounds ringed around it were unkempt and overtaken by foliage. The Gym’s most notable feature though, might possibly, in some peoples’ opinion, be the gaping line scarring the edifice, the edges burnt and scorched from where the building had seemingly been split in two by tremendous heat. At the very peak of the building, where the building’s emblem was once prominently displayed, there was nothing but a gaping hole surrounded by warped metal.
“That’s the Gym we’re supposed to be running, isn’t it Skittles?” Dani asked dryly.
“It’s really not as bad as it looks. Just needs a little TLC.”
“Grim,” Brute pointed out while helpfully making a chopping motion to illustrate his point.
“Well yeah, it is technically split in half, but that just makes the fact that it’s still standing even more impressive, don’t you think?” Turning to see his friends’ doubtful expressions, Bo chuckled weakly. When they didn’t look relieved, he ultimately sighed and shrugged. “Ok, so it will take a lot of TLC. When we lost the clan compound, the people who took it from us moved into the Gym, because they thought our house might be haunted for some reason. They also weren’t really agreeable with the idea of giving us our property back, so Old Man kind of had Goliath take a Hyper Beam to the building. It’s been like this ever since.”
“Let me guess,” Carter drawled. “He thinks it gives off the right vibe?”
“Yup,” he answered with a pop.
“Alright, whatever. Another thing to add to tomorrow’s problems,” Dani sighed while stretching her arms with an audible pop. “I’m ready to drop, so can we just say hey to Huntress and check to make sure everyone’s gotten settled before calling it?”
Bo opened his mouth to agree but paused as a faint sound reached his ear. Tilting his head, he smiled wide as he just made out the sound of a piano being played before the notes rose in volume, accompanied by the swelling thrums of stringed instruments. Picking up on it as well, Carter & Brute started laughing while Dani & Witch rolled their eyes with and identical huff. All around them, an eerie yet beckoning song filled the evening air.
Once he was sure that the music was coming from the old stone house in front of them, Bo too chuckled before sling an arm around an exasperated looking Dani. “You got to admit, you kind of teed her up for that one.”
Dani shot him a baleful look, but she couldn’t hide the slight grin playing at her lips. “Yeah, yeah, let’s not keep the drama queen waiting.”
Still chuckling, Bo lead the group towards the house as the music swelled, the song turning fast paced and rallying. As they walked, it seemed like more and more instruments joined in, forming a full chorus while dozens of piano notes rang out in unison. The beautiful melody was only slightly marred by an intermittent jangling that rang out intermittently. Bo saw Dani and Carter’s eyes widen slightly in confusion as the discordant sound hit their ears, but his smile only widened at the coming surprise. Even he was practically vibrating with excitement.
Before they had a chance to ask any questions, he made it to the door and whipped it open as the music reached a peak, allowing them to see into the small foyer of the house. It took a few seconds, but Bo felt a glow of satisfaction as Carter whistled softly and even Dani gave an uncharacteristic squeal of happiness. Within the foyer, the first thing that inevitably drew the eye was the lanky Gothitelle perched imperiously behind a baby grand piano, her hands dancing above the keyboard and her icy blue eyes staring past them all. Astra was alight in the blue glow of psychic energy as dozens of keys pressed up and down, weaving a symphony of notes.
Oddly enough, the next form everyone saw was the one figure not adding to the chorus of music. Nor were they even standing, instead lounging casually against the wall with a bemused smile on her face. Nevertheless, Huntress’ towering size, her full height stretching head and shoulders above even Brute & Carter, made the Ursaring impossible to miss. Despite this, it was neither her nor Astra that had rendered his friends stunned.
Standing primly to Astra’s left, a stone-faced Gothorita waved his hands like a conductor, four stringed instruments floating in the air next to him. The instruments played in time with his gestures, accompanying Astra’s piano notes. Nearby, standing joyfully atop Huntress’ lap, a fluffy Teddiursa giggled as he tried to bang on the tambourine he held in time with the music. As the piano & stringed instruments drifted off into an eerie silence, the song finally reached its end with one final clang, earning enthusiastic clapping from the small audience. The two younger pokemon each swept a short bow towards their audience, one prim and stiff and one nearly sending the pokemon tumbling.
“Ursa-aa,” the large bear pokemon laughed heartily while greeting them with a wave, nudging the baby pokemon in her lap to do the same.
“Well hello to you too! That was definitely worth the wait. I have to ask though, Astra, did you actually move that piano here just for this?” Bo greeted them only to be cut off as Dani elbowed him.
“Ignore the git, lovelies. He’s already in trouble for not telling me about you two adorable ones,” Dani cooed happily before marching over to the group. The Teddiursa seemed hesitant at first, but a reassuring nudge from his mother had him giggling as Dani swept him up in a fierce hug. She made to scoop up his older brother too, only to have him teleport out of the way. The juvenile psychic blinked into place next to Bo and silently reached up for a fist bump before blinking away again, reappearing away from both humans. Dani rolled her eyes at the act, but seemed content to just give the normal type in her arms another squeeze while she whispered greetings to him. Witch and Brute soon joined them before pulling Huntress in as well.
Bo couldn’t blame them really. With the little tyke having been born just a few months ago, even he hadn’t gotten the chance to meet him in person yet. A twinge of sorrow went through him as he realized that he had barely had time to spend with Astra & Huntress either, let alone their older son. The two had been with him for years, Astra in particular having been with him ever since he was born, but they had decided not to travel to Paldea with him in favor of starting a family. Feeling a hint of concern pulling at his spirit though, Bo quickly shook off the feeling and smiled as Carter waved towards the group.
“Good to see you two again,” Carter greeted much more calmly while Apollo gave Astra and Huntress a short nod. “I take it congratulations are in order?”
“Gothi,” Astra finally broke her silence as she rose from her piano and dipped her head in acknowledgement.
“Yup,” Bo translated. “Everyone, meet two of the newest members of the family; Saturday, the future superstar DJ, and Fid, who just came to us a few months ago. It’s wonderful to meet you in person little buddy. You ready to cause your moms all kind of trouble?”
“Ursaaaa-sa-sa-urs,” At Bo’s words, the Teddiursa stared back at him with wide eyes before pointing excitedly at him and crying out, his gaze whipping back and forth between Bo and his brother. Saturday simply nodded in response, though Bo noticed a slight grin on his typically expressionless face.
Looking at her excited child, Astra let out a put upon sigh, before an ethereal eye appeared above her head, glowing with an indescribable light. Bo only managed to glance at it briefly before his eyes began to hurt and he had to look away. Nevertheless, he was soon greeted by the comforting sensation of a spike being driven into his skull. It wouldn’t be too hard to reject the feeling, but Bo happily reached out with his spirt for the bond he and Astra shared to let her through.
‘Yes, Fides. That is ‘funny man’ who introduced your brother to his beloved rock music,’ Astra’s monotonous voice filled everyone present’s heads, her bemusement clear, despite her lack of inflection. ‘Rainbow, it’s bad enough you’ve corrupted Saturday with that cacophony disguising itself as music. You don’t need to go shortening my sweet boy’s name. The heavens have already dictated that Fides is a perfect name.’
“So what you’re saying is that now would be a bad time to mention that I had Rotobi download the new track that Maximizers just dropped?” he asked playfully, dutifully ignoring the point of her reprimand and enjoying watching Saturday’s eyes light up at the news while Huntress coughed to hide a laugh. Her laughter redoubled as the Gothorita’s eyes soon glowed and Bo’s phone flew from his pocket over towards the psychic type. Astra sighed in response, but Bo still felt a wave of affection through their bond. After all, of all his pokemon, Astra had technically known him the longest and he knew she loved him dearly.
“Don’t worry Astra,” Dani reassured while giving Fides a final hug before handing him over to her. “Auntie Dani will make sure Skittles doesn’t teach him anything weird.”
Astra only shot her a dead look as her son squirmed in her arms and started to chatter excitedly. ‘Yes, Fides, this is the human who will teach you to hit things,’ she intoned, much to the Teddiursa’s excitement.
“Like I said, nothing weird.”
Bo thought his psychic might try to retort, but she just shook her head as her wife walked over to scoop up their son, gently nuzzling her cheek with a quite rumble as she did so. Bo smirked as Astra blushed slightly and her presence faded slightly from his mind. A split second later, both normal types disappeared in a shimmer of light.
‘Fides and Saturday wanted to be here to welcome you home. You arrived slowly and it is now time for Fides to explore the Dream World. Saturday,’ she spoke without pausing as her son teleported himself away before she could send him to bed, only to forcefully reappear in her arms. ‘You may play with the ‘music’ for another hour and then you shall join us. Agreed?’
The younger psychic nodded blankly before disappearing once more without a word, this time not returning. Soon after, the piano too disappeared with a flick of the hand while Astra very pointedly did not look at Bo.
‘I’ll await you above,’ Astra intoned before she too teleported away without bothering to explain, her presence fading from the groups’ minds. A moment later, Witch gently dipped her head towards Dani before reaching out and whisking Brute away as well, apparently having decided to wait with the other psychic. Bo shook his head but he had at least an idea of what Astra was referring to. Suzu too must have had understood as she started walking deeper into the house.
“C’mon. I’ll give ya’ll the discount tour on the way to the roof so ya can check out the reserve and make sure everyone’s settling in alright. Alice, you come too, I don’t think ya’ve seen this view yet.”
Suzu chatted easily as they moved, pointing out various aspects of the house. “Off to the right wing, there’s your home gyms, showers, armory, bathes, meeting rooms, training supplies, etc. for the normal day-to-day stuff. Left wing leads off towards a mess hall we share with the local school and anyone walking in for a meal so the wing has extra supplies, poison, cleaning products, and what-not. Further back in the house is a dining room and a kitchen if you just want to fix yourself something. There’s also a pretty nice lounge with a bar & card tables. There is no basement so don’t go looking for one. If you do find one, forget about it as soon as possible. If not, Ma will do so for ya.”
Hopping up onto the staircase before anyone could ask questions, she quickly led the group up to the second floor. “Second floor has all the rooms for people living in the main house. Apparently the place used to be packed back in the Old Man’s days, but it’s pretty empty nowadays. Alice & Bo already have theirs, but Dani, Carter, you can go ahead and grab some for yourselves. As far as everyone here’s concerned, ya can consider this place home for as long as ya want. If the door’s open, then the room is free for the taking. Nothing too fancy, but there’s a mix of studios and even some three bedrooms for families. Should probably check out the third floor first.”
Despite Bo spotting her hiding a yawn, Dani shrugged in response and propped her bag against the wall before following after Suzu, Alice skittishly walking along behind with her Persian. He idly wondered if the teenager and her partner had ever been up to that floor yet. Carter looked a little more hesitant, probably wanting to check out where his family would possibly be living in the future, but Apollo started sniffing the air with a curious expression before nudging his human to follow. Bo himself slowed slightly beside Carter as they started walking up to the third floor. Part of him was hoping they’d be in for another surprise, but he still felt a twinge of something he could never quite place flutter through him at the thought of seeing what was up there again.
“Fuck!” ‘Hisss!’
Thankfully, Dani’s exclamation of surprise, soon followed by an irritated hiss, broke Bo from his thoughts.
Standing at the top of the stairs, the three women were each looking around the latest floor. To those who didn’t know her, Suzu maintained an expression of casual concern with barely any trace of amusement while Dani had a look of pure bewilderment on her face. It was Alice’s expression that caught Bo’s attention the most though, a look of pure excitement graced her face as her eyes flickered between the room and the lanky feline at her side. It was Carter, making it to the top of the staircase and peering over their shoulders, that broke the silence.
“So Skittles, does the Moon clan also really love cats, for some reason?”
Bo snickered in response. The landing around them expanded out into a large, open space, the heavily scarred walls adorned liberally with decorative filigree and expensive paintings. Lounging around them upon various, high-end throw pillows were over a dozen feline forms, several of which had awoken at Dani’s outburst to glare at them. Bo picked out nine Meowths, four of them having the distinctive gray coat found in dark type variants, and four Purrloin, as well as a single slender feline with a stark white coat except for its dark, mask-like face. The last of which was still snarling at Dani for daring to get too close to it.
“The third floor is where the Moon clan operates our breeding program for Meowths and Purrloins,” Suzu explained. “In addition to being a premier breeder of normal typed Meowths in Kanto, we are the sole breeders of dark typed Meowths outside of Alola. Technically, the Clan Head’s office is also somewhere around here, but I can’t remember the last time anyone’s used it.”
“No kidding,” Dani huffed while shooting a look at the snarling form below her. By then Apollo had poked his head around to snarl back, but the feline simply glared back at him dismissively before turning around. Within seconds they were wholeheartedly ignoring the whole group as they groomed themselves. Apollo snorted at being ignored before he began padding through the room with an inquisitive gaze. “What’s this one’s deal?”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“That, my dear Dani,” Bo said dramatically. “Is what is referred to as an actual cat.”
It took a few seconds for the meaning of the word to sink in before her head whipped towards him in surprise. “You mean like a cat, cat? The animal kind?”
“Mm-hmm,” he hummed back, smirking slightly at the agape expressions on her, Carter & Alice’s faces switching back and forth between him and the cat. In fairness, their shock wasn’t too surprising. Scientists still hadn’t quite pinned down when the non-pokemon had emerged into the world, but it was obvious even at a glance that the animal population stood no chance at claiming resources when competing with pokemon. Nowadays, it was near impossible to see most animals outside of carefully guarded preserves or farms. Nevertheless, Bo was certain that the cat before them wasn’t the only one hiding within the old house. The third floor was full of little rooms designed for comfort and luxury that the various felines made their homes in.
“Uh, Skittles, why exactly do you have a cat?”
Bo exchanged a quick glance with Suzu before shrugging and offering a partial explanation. “The pokemon up here like having them around.”
Personally, he wouldn’t mind explaining to the rest of the group in more details, but Yuzu and the Old Man had always been cagey about giving out the Moon clan’s breeding secrets. It was a shame, because it was honestly kind of fascinating. Animals didn’t give off any sort of detectable energy like pokemon did, but something about the cats’ presence seemed to increase the odds of a Meowth being born a dark type. Bo’s personal opinion was that cats gave off such a prominent air superiority that it somehow leaked into the eggs.
Seemingly accepting his answer for now, the group continued on, stepping gingerly around the various pokemon as Suzu led the way. They’d almost made it to their final destination when a growl from Apollo pulled them up short. Bo felt another odd flutter at the sight of the room the fire type was peering into, but pushed it away as the others wandered over. Baron glanced up at him but Bo just flashed him a brief smile. Following after his friends, Bo found them staring at the cluttered walls.
Large swathes of the walls were decorated by a crawling mural depicting a large and complex family tree. In between the twisting branches and names, the walls were covered with framed pictures and portraits, some new and some old, but all of them showing members of the Moon clan. Even Gastron’s photo hung within the room, though Bo vividly remembering the man himself scoffing at the inclusion. Idly, as his friends took in the room, Bo looked over at a few familiar photos. As always happened whenever he entered the room though, Bo inevitably felt his eyes get dragged towards two pictures in particular.
The first showed three figures. To the right, a fit young man with a tan complexion and dark hair that appeared to be about Bo’s age now lounged easily. His smile was wide & carefree, radiating a wild joy. Bo’s eyes flicked away from him quickly. On the left, was Astra’s familiar form hovering protectively over the third figure. Though she’d assured him herself several times, Bo had never been able to tell whether or not her happy expression was actually masking sorrow at what was to come. Lastly, his eyes settled on the third person in the photo, nestled lovingly between Astra and the young man. With a face like porcelain, delicate-looking limbs, a pale halo of hair, and amber eyes, the young woman’s smile stretched ear to ear as she stared directly into the camera. Even through the photo, she had an almost ethereal quality to her. Below her smile, her hands rested over the obvious swell of her stomach.
A few feet away, hung a second photo. Within, Old Man Moon stood alone, cradling a tiny baby & an Eevee egg in his arms. His eyes were still red.
“This,” Suzu said softly, drawing Bo from his stupor. “Is the Moon clan’s history. Every living member of the Moon clan has at least one picture here, and the family tree shows just about every member of the family since our founder, Mahina Moon.”
He stood tensely as his friends’ eyes roamed over his family’s history, wondering what it was they themselves were seeing. The dozens of names at the top dwindling to barely any below. The faces still hanging of the walls that they would never see, living or not. The countless branches cut off at his grandfather’s generations. The clan head position transitioning from the Honua line to the Old Man. The two names Bo knew were scrawled above his own. The-
“So if I’m reading this right, Mahina Moon really liked to get it on, huh?”
‘Or that,’ Bo thought to himself, his mood lifting slightly at the observation.
“Pretty much, yeah,” he responded to Dani with a shrug. “The families making up the Moon clan don’t actually branch out from generation to generation. Rather, they’re descended from the people Mahina had children with. The Kahale, Na’u, Honua & Mahina herself originally immigrated from Alola while the Summers came from Rota, and my branch, the Yasei, were Kantonian.
Dani whistled, a slightly impressed look on her face before she paused to squint at one of the branches.
“Wait, so the two of you are related then? Cause some of the marriages I’m seeing here seem a little…”
“Oh that. Yeah, some of the other families married into the Kahale family. Apparently, it was fine.”
“…You want to run that one by me?”
Hearing her question, Bo could only shrug lightly as he exchanged another glance with Suzu. “You got to understand, it was a different time back then, and Mahina would apparently get really annoyed if anyone asked where her children with the first Kahale matriarch came from. Because of that, all of our records related to their children’s births just say that ‘the two seem to get along very well!’ The Kahale family themselves have the actual paternity documents, but it’s against clan laws for them to share them with the rest of us.”
“Uh-huh. So, Suzu, by law, your family is allowed to kill this idiot for just about any reason and are the only ones allowed to know who’s actually related to who?” Seeing Suzu nod in agreement, Dani turned to look back at Bo. “Mate, why the fuck did the rest of you agree to these laws?”
Bo opened his mouth to give a very reasonable and totally logical response, but Carter thankfu, err, abruptly cut him off. “Actually, it’s apparently the rest of us Moons, Dani. Funny though, I kind of feel like I’d remember agreeing to these laws… And if I had married the two of you idiots.”
““Huh?””
Turning together, both Bo and Dani looked towards the section Carter was pointing at.
Rainbow Moon
Refocusing on what Carter was looking at though, Bo’s mouth dropped open slightly. There, connected on either side to his own name, was Dani Maven & Carter Rosen. Carter further had Emma, Reese, & Maddison Rosen attached to his name, but all were unmistakably adjoined to the Moon family. What’s more, the space around those names had been adorned with two pictures, one of Dani and her team proudly hoisting a trophy at the Vertress Conference and the other showing the entire Rosen family gathered together and smiling.
Bo closed and opened his mouth several times before meeting his two friends’ eyes. “But I didn't even get to toss the bouquet!”
Pfft* Suzu laughed to herself at their awkward expressions. “Calm down. Old Man Moon had Dani and Carter added to the family tree, like, four years ago or so. You never noticed, Bo?”
Four years ago, Bo realized would have been just a little before he’d left for Hoenn. Bo felt his heart something churning in his stomach at the thought. Theoretically, he had returned home for a time between Hoenn and Paldea, but… Unbidden, flashes of memories came back to him. The pain, the anger, fear, the crying, the screaming, the praying, his soul collapsing, his heart breaking, his hope dying, the world ending, the-how-dare-this-fucking-world-not-end-when-everything-important-is-already-
“Umbreon!”
Baron’s cry broke Bo from his stupor as feelings of warmth and safety flooded his spirit. Glancing down, Bo was met by his partner’s reassuring eyes. Everything was fine.
This room was just really unsettling, what with all the annoyingly happy faces of people he would never get to see. He was okay though. He’d do the smart, mature thing. Just ignore all those negative emotions until they go away, and focus on happier thoughts in the meantime. As Guru Capiche liked to say, when life gives you dirt, just will it to taste like cotton candy. While he didn’t have the time to test that particular guidance again, the thought did help Bo push off the lingering weight that had been pressing down on him.
Smiling wide, Bo looked up to find five concerned pair of eyes looking back at him, but he simply shrugged.
“Must have missed it. I was a little out of it the last time I was here,” he responded to Suzu, causing her to nod only a little worriedly.
“Anyways, no need to worry. The clan laws don’t actually apply to you. I think Old Man Moon just wanted it on the record that you two were his kids as well as Bo,” she finished hurriedly, managing to make Bo laugh as his two friends blushed bright red.
Ahem* Carter coughed gently before straightening up.
“Well I for one, am proud to be related to…” he trailed off to look around at the nearby names before landing on a distant cousin of Bo’s. Unfortunately, that particular cousin probably wasn’t what the man was looking for, located below the only two names on the family tree to have been scorched off.
“Question mark-Question mark-Question mark? I’m proud to be related to Question mark-Question mark-Question mark?” he asked Bo incredulously.
Bo chuckled awkwardly. “Long story. He was born outside the village and his parents are of the kill on sight variety, so we never learned too much about him. On top of that, he apparently joined up with Interpol so all his public records are sealed now. He did actually swing by the village once, back when I was younger, but some of the Kahales were a little overeager on the ‘kill on sight’ part and ran him off before we got a name.”
Taking in the groups’ reactions, Bo nodded in satisfaction. Finally, he wasn’t the one they were all staring at with judgement. Suzu, on the other hand, fidgeted slightly under the weight of five incredulous stares before ultimately throwing her hands in the air in protest.
“It wasn’t me! Grams was in charge back then! Look, forget about all that. Didn’t ya want to see where y’all’s pokemon were at? Yeah. C’mon.”
Feeling much lighter as Suzu scampered out of the room, Bo waved for the others to follow. It wasn’t long before they reached the short staircase leading to his favorite part of the house. Stepping out onto the rooftop where Astra, Witch, & Brute were waiting, Bo spread his arms wide and felt the gentle glow of the moon surround him. As always, it just felt nearer here in the village than anywhere else Bo had ever been. Soon joined by the rest of the group, he happily led them towards the edge at the back of the house. Stretched out below them was the rest of the Moon clan compound.
Sure, the first few acres or so wasn’t much, mostly a few small vegetable gardens, a meandering athletics track with an obstacle course vibe that was left over from when they’d lost the compound, and several dusty training courts. Probably the most conspicuous sight was the second house that the Kahale family maintained for private use. Bo vaguely remembered that most of the other families used to keep private homes on the compound as well, but they had all been abandoned and since dismantled by the time he was old enough to walk.
The truly impressive sight, was the acres and acres after that, stretching out to form a broad valley nestled within the mountainside. Even nestled within the evening shade and from a long distance, it was possible to make out how the terrain within the valley twisted and shifted unnaturally. The Moon clan had spent over a century cultivating and maintaining the diverse biomes to allow a wide variety of pokemon to call the place home. Like the rest of the compound, Bo knew that the reserve was much emptier than it was in the past, but it would still serve as the perfect place for a future Gym’s pokemon to dwell & grow. Two either side of him, Dani and Carter stepped up to take in the view.
Turning towards where she stood, Bo swept his psychic a dramatic bow. “Astra, would you do the honors?”
He got another baleful look for his trouble, but Astra nonetheless conjured her Miracle Eye again before reaching out to the gathered groups’ minds. This time, rather than just hearing her in his head, Bo felt his vision pull away from him and sweep out over the land as she spoke.
‘The reserve covers approximately one-thousand acres of land split between a variety of biomes. Old Man Moon’s team has largely been responsible for maintaining these habitats in recent years, though the rest of us have assisted when we are here. Most of your team have already found suitable dwellings, though the two idiots are still debating.’
At her words, Bo felt a brief moment of queasiness as his perception whipped away before resettling on a small, pebbled riverbank set far in the back of the reserve. The manmade river bisecting the area and flowing down the mountain was currently occupied by two Samurott that were inches away from locking horns. Saber lay nearby, watching the two intently, though Bo thought he could detect an unusual amount of amusement radiating from the Legendary's spirit. As he watched, his Storm’s seamitar flicked out and slashed a line through the river, before Storm pointed decisively towards the other side of the riverbank. In response, Dani’s Warrior slashed another line in the river that Astra helpfully informed them was infinitesimally closer towards Storm’s riverbank than the initial line had been.
Bo had to resist the urge to smack his head into his hand as he realized they were arguing about the border between their two sides of the river, down to a hair’s breadth. Plopped down nearby, Carter’s Slowbro, Dawson, slumbered away without a concern for the two bickering rivals.
‘Ignore them. They will get tired of arguing one of these centuries. Carter, several of your team has settled within Wicked’s grove.’
Bo again had to fight the instinct to lean as his sight spun and swerved towards a heavily forested area centered around a large, twisted Sugi tree. Soon, the foliage faded away from his vision, allowing him to see where his Shiftry languished up in her tree’s branches alongside Fay. The older pokemon seemed to be enthralling her younger sister with another wild tale that Bo guessed would come back to bite him soon. Before he could look further though, his sight proceeded to move unbidden, giving way to the sight of Carter’s Swellow, Jaffar, perched in another nearby tree with his Obstagoon, King, and Regina splayed out below it. As Bo watched, the plants around them shifted and reshaped themselves, providing cover and comfort for the three pokemon.
‘Wicked is fairly accommodating as long as none disrupt her tree. I also dwell nearby if they have need,’ Astra offered monotonously as she shifted the group’s sight towards a small bungalow sat conspicuously within a clearing in the forest.
‘Hobbes & Raider have settled within the sand dunes,’ she said while giving them a view of a dessert-y area that rolled off to the east. Carter’s Cacturne had seemingly planted himself there and fallen back asleep while standing. Dani’s Krookodile, meanwhile, was happily swimming through the earth like it was a large bath. ‘We don’t have any Sandiles or other Cacturne residing here at the moment, so the area is a little less cared for than others, but a series of heat rocks and smooth rocks still keep the sand warm and fine.’
‘As for the others, Fang and Honor have assisted Sampson in his initial burrowing within the bogs.’ Carter grunted in appreciation as their eyes moved over to a swampy area nestled between the forest and a stony canyon built into the mountain’s side. Within, Carter’s Skuntank was happily chatting with Bo’s Gliscor & Drapion, the three Sinnohans seeming to continue enjoying their reunion.
‘Riley, Dahlia & Rooster seem to be looking into the canyon area overseen by Goliath,’ Astra continued speaking as she moved their vision further into the canyon area dotted by numerous caves and rocky knolls where Carter’s Golurk and Tyranitar and Dani’s Scrafty were wandering around. ‘Fortunately, Goliath is quite serene and won’t object to another Tyranitar’s presence. They can also search the cave systems as well if they’d like. Gizmo, Princes, and Song have all carved out homes within them already. Please do ask them to be cautious if they do so though, as several of the cave systems lead further into the mountain where the Clefairy make their home. Goliath already nearly obliterated Rainbow’s new birdbrain when the imbecile thought dropping rocks on them would be funny.’
“I’ll be sure to remind them. Dahlia might be tempted to poke the big guy a little, but she knows not to bother the fairies,” Carter promised. “Quick question though, does anyone know who the little candle-looking guy Riley’s holding is?”
Bo laughed at that, knowing said little candle-looking guy would probably kick up all kinds of fuss if he had heard that description. Indeed, the pokemon’s small, flickering form still stood proudly atop the towering Riley, though at some point he had transitioned to the Golurk’s shoulder. “That is Charcadet. I helped him out of a bit of spot back in Paldea. Some over eager trainers had been getting a little rough with him, because he refused to get caught. Apparently, he’s got pretty high standards.”
“So he’s not one of yours?”
“Technically no. He just really likes hanging with me so I’m looking out for him until he finds what he’s looking for.”
‘He hates Rainbow,’ Astra blatantly lied for them all to hear.
“He does not!”
‘He will not be caught by you, because he deems you to be severely lacking in moral character.’
“He hasn’t let anyone catch him.”
‘He pronounced you the pinnacle of villainy, evil, roguishness, evil, & evil.’
“He meant that as a compliment.”
‘He’s here because he has declared it his life’s goal to vanquish you first, before smiting all other evil within the realms.’
“He’s a tad tsundere with a side of chuuni. It doesn’t mean anything.”
‘He’s sworn an oath to Arceus upon his honor to defeat you in combat.’
“…That doesn’t mean he hates me.”
‘He mutters in his sleep. Apparently, the first chapter of his autobiography is to be titled “In which I and my most valiant of companions slew the king of all sin, Dark Lord Skittles.”
“I would buy that book. It sounds informative,” Carter tried to state seriously, but his clipped voice gave away his amusement, even without Bo being able to see him while Astra channeled his sight.
“Fine, he might have a slightly negative viewpoint of me. Apparently I should have challenged the trainers that had been hassling him to a fair and equal duel rather than just tossing them into a lake. It certainly doesn’t stop Charcadet from eating the food we give him. Anyways, he doesn’t cause trouble, so he should be fine with Riley. Assuming that Apollo & Noelle are sticking with you, I think that’s all of yours Carter,” Bo hurriedly changed the subject.
“Hound.”
“Toooomb.”
“Yeah, they’re good bunking with me for now,” Carter translated. “They might go exploring later, but it doesn’t look like they’ll have an issue finding a place to rest.”
“That’s swell bud. I do want to know where the rest of my mates are though. I’m not seeing them.” Dani spoke up with a hint of urgency, causing Bo to reach out instinctively squeeze her shoulder. Dani would be able to feel her team nearby and he was pretty sure that Witch would have already found them, but he also knew Dani wouldn’t relax without laying eyes on them herself. Unlike Bo, she had always moved her entire team to each knew region she traveled in just to make sure they were all together.
‘Doc showed them a suitable place before returning to his lab. Knowing your preferences, Old Man Moon had one of the disused dojo’s refurbished. They just finalized the work a few days ago,’ Astra explained as their view shifted again. The long wooden building sat within the small bamboo forest that Bo never understood how the Old Man kept maintained. Astra’s sight allowing them to see past the walls, Bo spotted several sturdy training dummies & punching bags hanging within the central space, while a loft like construct had been built in to allow for several beds. Further attached to the building were a few strange rooms designed almost like in law suites.
As he watched, Dani’s Urshifu, Brave, was helping tuck Bancho into one of the beds, while her Incineroar, Demon, was tossing around one of the dummies with Wrath. Off to the side, her Bisharp, Shogun, seemed to be meditating quietly. Bo felt his eyes raise as his vision shifted once more to see where the last two had wound up. Saint, the snow covered Darmanitan was sleeping happily atop a bed positioned within one of the in law suite lookalikes which was actually a walk in freezer lined with never-melt-ice. Meanwhile, her Toxtricity, Rebel, was fist-pumping alongside an almost smiling Saturday inside a garage-like extension, the numerous speakers within visibly thumping along with them.
‘Hahhh,’ Astra sighed at the sight. ‘Adding the soundproofed room and freezer took the longest but the results seem to be working. Though, I suspect Saturday will find himself in there quite often now.’
“Hah, he’s welcome anytime,” Dani responded happily as everyone’s vision started returning to normal. Dani gave Astra a deep nod. “Thanks Astra. Also, could you point me towards who I have to thank for the dojo?”
Rather than speaking, the willowy psychic simply pointed towards Suzu before nodding to the group and disappearing with a shimmer. Bo could literally feel Baron roll his eyes at the disappearing act, but they both knew she was just eager to return to her family. Dani too, was more surprised by Astra's gesture than her disappearance. Dani turned to look towards where Suzu was shrugging bashfully.
“I just laid out the plans for it and signed off on the work. It was nothing really,” Suzu tried to wave if off.
“It wasn’t nothing,” Dani bluntly rejected the redhead’s modesty. “Most of my team really aren’t the outdoors type so it means a lot to me. Thank you.”
“Re-re.”
“Sna-arl.”
Bo couldn’t help but feel warm all over. He was home, surrounded by some of the people he loved most, and they were all getting along. Dani and Carter seemed happy to be here, Suzu was blushing, and Alice… well Alice actually seemed to have fallen over from Astra-induced vertigo at some point, but it looked like she was recovering well enough. Plus, her Persian couldn’t figure out how to get past Baron to take his annoyance out on Bo, so that worked out well. Best of all, starting tomorrow, they were all going to start on a whole new kind of adventure. Life felt pretty great just then.
“It really is impressive Suzu,” Carter added on when the young woman still seemed hesitant to accept the thanks. “Honestly, I’m amazed you were able to get a walk-in freezer and a studio room installed in just a week.”
“Oh,” Suzu perked up. “We didn’t. We started the work on those over a month ago.”
Bo nodded at that before her words truly registered. “Wait, a month ago? The Indigo Pillars Tournament hadn’t even been announced back then.”
“Yeah,” Suzu nodded with an impish smile playing at her face. “That was one lucky break, ya know? The original plan to get you lot back here involved a lot more rope, sleep powder, & shipping containers. This was much easier.”
… “““Huh?””” “Bree?” “Houn?” “Grim?” “Terene?”
Suzu just smiled pleasantly at the stunned faces around her.
“Welcome home!”