Dante was awoken to the very distinct sound of a creature howling. The howl was loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood if everyone hadn't been up already. Dante had slightly overslept, but fortunately for him he had planned for this. He showered and had everything packed the night before. All he had to do was get dressed.

He opened his eyes fully and turned his body to look at the very enthusiastic gray-furred Poochyena staring back at him. "With you around who needs an alarm? Alright, alright. I'm up." Dante slipped out of bed and into his prepared outfit. Once that was done he finished up his morning routine of brushing his teeth and fixing his bed hair. Today was the day and he was starting to find himself a bit overwhelmed despite his calm exterior. He went back into his room to grab his backpack and quickly placed it on his back. He felt like he was forgetting something, but ignored the thought and headed to the kitchen with Howler following closely behind him.

His mother was waiting for him with a banana and a bottle of water. She must've known he was going to be late. That woman truly did know her son. A floating ball of gas was hovering beside her and on its head was a cap. "I was looking for that, but I'm glad you already have it. And thank you, mom."

Dante walked over to her to get his breakfast. "It's not much, but I know you're in a rush. If you and your friends get a chance actually eat something. You're probably not gonna be the only one missing a balanced meal. And promise me you'll be careful. I can't..." She fell silent. She couldn't get the words out. It was as if her body was stopping her from tempting a terrible fate. Dante placed his hands around hers and looked in his mother's eyes.

"I'll be fine. We'll have each other's backs. Plus I have the unstoppable duo at my side. I'm going to be the Champion, mom. For you, for Tai, and for..." He trailed off and shook his head. "I promise I'll come back. But for now I have to go. Come on, you two. It's time to go." He took the banana and water from his mother's hands and started walking towards the door with Spirit and Howler following close behind him.

When Dante reached the door he stopped. The room suddenly felt smaller and his memory flashed to the first time he attempted to take a journey. His fear overcame him then and it was starting to rear its ugly head once again. It crept towards him slowly getting ready to devour him in its darkness. A small press against his back was enough to snap him back to reality. He turned his head to see Spirit hovering behind him. He had given him a nudge. The push he needed to escape his overbearing thoughts. He whispered a silent thank you and opened the door. They were off.



Man, that banana was good. The trio came upon the entrance or exit of their fair little town and noticed a familiar silhouette perched on the customary danger sign when nearing an area with tall grass. He recognized the silhouette immediately and laughed lightly to himself. Of course she'd be the first one here. "I should've known you'd be here first, Cho. This'll be the last time I come in second to you."

Alrighty, that should do it for this trip. Barry sprayed the last of his Super Repel on himself and Tribute, the lovable thirty-pound bundle of feathers lying face-up on Barry's backpack, as they approached the twinkling morning daylight that marked the entrance to Dark Cave 1. Deli-deli!! Tribute hopped onto the ground and reached into his tail—an oddity of an appendage that functioned more or less like a sack—and extracted two granola bars, reaching up to hand one to Barry. The duo feasted on their oats while they trekked out of the cavern and onto Route 45.

Barry carefully navigated onto Route 29 and set his sights on the growing town in the distance, the same town that he had once called his home: New Bark. He checked his Pokegear—there were still three hours before the scheduled meeting time. Barry considered tossing a message into the group chat to let his future-travel companions know that he had arrived safely, but thought better of it and instead decided to make a quick circle around town. First stop: the research lab, all the while narrating his childhood experiences to Tribute, who had only known life in Blackthorn. He went on to describe how children in the town were selected by Professor Elm to receive their first Pokemon, some to become Champion, others to fill out the Pokedex, and yet others with the simple goal to go out and catch 'em all. Tribute seemed to listen with a passing interest, which was good enough for Barry; all he cared about was reliving older memories side-by-side with a newer friend.

And this, Barry gestured dramatically, is where we used to set up shop before opening Apotheberry in Blackthorn. Our stuff was mostly the same; you had candy, apricots, medicine, the whole shebang. But you liked to have lost it, seeing as we only picked up maybe one batch of ice poffins a year. Tribute made a face as Barry laughed at the idea of his friend missing out on his favorite snack year after year. His laugh ended with a glance up at the replacement of his family's old store, now owned by Johto Antiques. Barry considered for a moment taking a look inside to see what they had done with the place, but after a few seconds of hesitation shook his head and chose to leave that particular memory in the past. He walked with Tribute and showed him some of his favorite stores, shops, and homes before stopping in front of the subtle neon "We're Open!" sign of Maw's Diner. Perfect, breakfast time.

I'll show you more later. For now, return. Barry held his Great Ball forward and pushed the button on the front, recalling Tribute into the unfathomably complex device by what appeared to be a wide bolt of red lightning. Barry entered the diner and ordered his usual: a side of hash browns, grits, and sausage with a cup of black coffee. He had to keep his energy up if he wanted to hit the road again in the next couple of hours. Once he had finished his breakfast—along with no fewer than three catch-up conversations with townsfolk he recognized—he paid his tab, mounted his backpack, and set off toward the entrance of New Bark. Alright Tribute, you can come out now. Barry tossed the ball in front of him and, in a white flash, once again stood his red and white-feathered friend. It probably would have been a faster trip had Barry left him in his pokeball until he got to the meetup, but Tribute needed to get used to the warmer air anyway. Besides, he couldn't wait to introduce him to all the friends he had known in New Bark—and hopefully enough to justify their little tirade around the town.

As the two strolled toward the entrance to the town in search of his friends, Barry caught the glint of Dante's hair against the morning sun in the distance. Hey there! He shouted with a grin. You're early!

---

Judas awoke to a rather sharp tingling sensation in his leg. It kind of hurt. Opening his eyes he looked down to his leg. Had he slept on it wrong? No, in fact what had happened was that Squegg had managed to climb up onto his bed, and was chewing on his leg. Judas let out a groan as he removed Squegg from his leg. "One of these days Squegg you're going to bite through my femur and kill me. And when you do, with my dying breath, I'm going to have Ace punt you into the stratosphere. Go play with your toys."

Judas set Squegg down on the floor, watching him slowly waddle over to a collection of chew toys, all of which were covered in bite indentations and rips. Going about his morning routine, Judas began to notice a slight limp in his walk, a result of Squegg chewing on him. But after a while, everything had been taken care of.

He grabbed his bag, put Ace's and Squegg's pokeballs on his belt. Ace didn't mind being in his ball, but Squegg could get pretty irritable after being in his ball for too long. So, he did something he had to, but wasn't exactly proud of. Strapping a harness and leash to Squegg, it jumped up and down excitedly. "Sorry buddy, but this walk is going to be a lot longer than you're used to." With that, he walked out the door, after saying goodbye to his mother and headed towards the entrance to route 29.

A few people had already arrived before he did, which wasn't surprising. Limping ever so slightly, he approached the group and held on tight to Squegg's leash, keeping a close eye on him. The last time he wasn't paying attention, Squegg ended up gnawing on a branch and getting a splinter. Judas shuddered at the thought of having to deal with that again. Putting your hand in a Trapinch's mouth is like putting your head in a Carnivine's mouth. Not a good idea. But with a tight grip and a watchful eye, he waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

Sam had gotten up early that day, stopping by both his mother and his father’s place on the way out. His dad packed a nice lunch for him and his mom gave him an old but reliable wilderness survival guide. Sam doubted that he’d read it. Both of his parents had given him gentle warnings about how difficult the journey might be, but Sam was good at ignoring them, and both of them knew that all too well. Sam lived on his own, and he’d deal with the consequences on his own.

He was off for the town gate as soon as he had Wilbur’s saddlebags loaded up. His actual supplies were in his backpack, but he needed Wilbur’s carrying capacity for his cargo. One of the local tea plantations had been discarding the excess from a disappointing batch, not wanting it to hurt their reputation for quality. It was supposed to be composted, but after slipping a few pokedollars to one of the field hands he was able to run off with a few satchels of them. Soon enough he’d be looking for a buyer for this load of “exclusive, genuine top-quality New Bark Town tea”. Plus, there’d be plenty to share with the rest of the group. He wouldn’t even charge them for it, as long as they’d back him up when he went into his sales pitch.

Wilbur took his time through the streets even though his load wasn’t heavy, but Sam was fine with that because he knew there would be a lot more distance to cover today, and he didn’t want Wilbur to waste his energy. Smith was perched on Sam’s shoulder, enjoying some fresh air. As he got closer he could see that the group was already half-assembeled. He waved hello and shouted “Wassup! You guys ready to go out and make some history?” As soon as he waved, Smith began shaking and shrieking all over his shoulder, shifting its head and flapping it’s wings. Sam had no idea what was with his Natu, it just had a way of freaking out over nothing. He tried to calm it down by snapping his fingers and waving his other hand in front of the Natu’s face. Their relationship was a little rocky at the moment, Sam had won him in a poker game at college only a few months ago. Supposedly it could see the future, but all it ever seemed to do was get spooked and cause Sam anxiety. Still, he kept it around because he had a feeling it’d be useful to him someday.

This is it. This was how she would die: buried alive in a mountain of Ditto. Zola lay there on the ground in the entrance hall and let the swarm overtake her, twice as active as they were during feeding time. Duo had been absorbed into the pile, and even Mr. Spike – standing off by the side – had a few brave hangers-on of his own. Somehow, the rescues could tell that their favourite babysitter was leaving them, probably because all of the hustle and bustle of last-minute preparations.

"Mom, help!"

Zara Amari folded her arms, a fond smile on her face, but she didn't make any move towards the pile. "Aw, look, they miss you already," she said unhelpfully. "It'll be so much worse when you're actually gone. Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

Even if her Mom had put on a polite, concerned tone, it was easily recognisable as just one last rehash of the old argument: it's not safe out there and you're needed here. Zola gritted her teeth and slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, catching Three-Three and Two-Eight-Nine before they slipped down the back of her sweater. "Alright guys," she said, "Everybody off in three... two... one..."

The countdown had the Ditto stumbling over one another to pool at her boots, and she was careful to shuffle into a space that was otherwise unoccupied. "I love you all very much, and I'll be back before you know it – with gifts! One for each and everyone one of you, how about that?" She glanced up at her Mom while speaking to let her know she wasn't exempt from that statement. Surprisingly, she said nothing in return as Zola picked up her hiking bag and threw it over her shoulders, buckling the straps to distribute the weight.

Duo wriggled forward out of the crowd, impossible to mistake for any other because of its unique motion: alternating between swinging its knubby arms wildly back and forth for forward momentum or rolling forward over its face. She swept it up into her arms, though it would surely want to walk itself the moment it saw another larger pokemon to copy.

Mom stepped forward and helped to untuck her hair from where it was caught. "I added some extra candy. You didn't pack enough. Those are important travel rations when you're on the trail, you know."

"I know. Thanks, mom."

"And you, Spike," she said, crouching down to the eye level of the Cacnea clinging to her trouser leg. "You keep her safe out there, okay?"

Mr. Spike was a Cacnea of few words, but tugged on Zola's sleeve in understanding before hauling itself up onto the top of her backpack.

"I've got to go before I'm late," Zola said apologetically, and her Mom patted her on the shoulder, because going for a hug would disrupt the natural calm around them and prompt another pile-up. As she made it to the garden gate, she turned to wave at the Ditto tsunami her mother was holding back. "I'll send postcards, promise! Love you!"

She didn't stick around to hear the response.

They'd practiced their strategy in the time it took for the others to make arrangements to come home to New Bark Town. Zola had gone on several walks around the village to make sure it wasn't too heavy to carry both of her Pokemon and all of her belongings and found it was just on the edge of bearable. Duo had enough bad experiences of being in enclosed spaces, and Mr. Spike's anxiety shot through the roof whenever he couldn't cling to a trusted person, so she was definitely in favour of keeping them loose outside of Pokemon-Free areas.

As long as they adhered to the buddy system, everything would be fine. There's nothing scary about the outside world, or so she told herself as she approached the entrance to Route 29, where her friends were gathering. Admittedly, though she'd never seen the appeal of The Journey, a hard pit of nervous anticipation was forming in her gut. Whether it was from the dangers of tall grass or the whirling mix of emotions from meeting up with old friends she hadn't seen in years, who could say?

Duo started wriggling as soon as it saw the other Pokemon, and Zola set it down gently on the path. In a few seconds, it half-morphed into a Taillow, shook itself out into a horrifyingly slimy Delibird, and finally settled on a squashed copy of Sam Quinn's shrieking Natu – something it surely had never seen in person before today. "Good morning, everyone. Long time no see," she greeted. Is that a new Pokemon, Sam? She's beautiful."

The computer's startup chime sounded more like triumphant fanfare to her ears. Naoko logged into the device victoriously, only pausing momentarily to grimace at the insecure "pokemon1" password the laboratory staff insisted on. Everything seemed to be working correctly—no random screen flickering, no abrupt shut downs—which seemed almost miraculous given the nearly irreparable state it had started in. Apparently, one of the lab assistants' Poliwag had accidentally used water gun on his work station, soaking everything.

Normally, Naoko would have stayed to hear the full story, but there was no time for that today. Even less than she'd realized, now that she'd gotten a look at the time. They better hurry!

"Alright, Fritz, it's all you." Naoko gave the excited Porygon a playful salute as it slowly dematerialized and entered the operating system. This was what Fritz did for each and every project they worked on for quality assurance, something she must have seen a million times over, and yet the sense of wonder she felt upon watching it work never waned. There was never any proper visualization of Fritz at work, but Nao had taken to imagining a little desktop version of it hard at work, sifting through folders, rearranging files, and throwing things in the trash icon.

It took only seconds before Fritz was beside her again, giving her a firm nod and humming contentedly. That was that then. Their last job, at least for a while.

The two of them strolled out of the lab and locked up, punching a code in the keypad to set all the alarms. Technically, their last job had been reassigned to her dad, but Naoko knew it would have bothered her if she didn't finish it herself. She thought of it as a nice parting gift and a sort of closure for her.

It was the same with her parents. Naoko had already said her goodbyes to them earlier that morning. They made it brief and nonchalant, as though she was only leaving to go to a store and not a long journey, because otherwise, they knew her mom would change her mind. It was sort of lonely not receiving a proper send-off, but it was for the best. For now, they were onto bigger and better things.

As they made their way to the planned meeting spot, Naoko attached her Pokegear to a lanyard and slipped it around her neck. "Okay, Fritz," she made exaggerated adjusting motions to show her Porygon it was ready and facing front.

Fritz inspected her and cooed in approval. Within moments, he disappeared from her side and resurfaced in the screen of her Pokegear, filling it with its familiar pink and blue color. Fritz's digitized eyes blinked several times, as though acclimating to the new view. Nao had always thought it was funny how Fritz preferred to travel like this—the Porygon liked to look around and see everything but absolutely abhorred walking for long periods of time.

Clinker was the exact opposite. It loved to roam around and touch everything within reach curiously. The only reason it wasn't out right now was because it was too early in the morning. Although she was already missing its presence, Nao knew it was for the best; with the journey ahead of them, she had no doubt Clinker would quickly exhaust itself with all the new things they'd be encountering.

"Bet if you walked around with me and Clink more, you'd actually like it," Naoko teased. Her Pokegear buzzed and beeped loudly in response, Fritz's way of saying "hell no," coaxing out a peal of laughter from her lips.

The town limit and connection to Route 29 wasn't too far from the laboratory, and before long, Nao could see figures dotting the horizon. Fritz beeped happily through her Pokegear, no doubt sensing its friends nearby. It would have happily gone and transferred itself to one of the others' Pokegear, but her dad had reprimanded them about how that was a breach of privacy or something dull like that and so Fritz has since refrained.

Instead, it had to wait until Nao's short legs carried them the rest of the way.

It took several minutes, but once they arrived, both Nao and Fritz marveled at the sight of the group. She was aware that they would be traveling with a sizeable group, but to actually see everyone come together was another thing. "Wow, everyone's really here! Hi, guys!" In her excitement, Nao couldn't decide who to pounce on first, but eventually settled for Judas. She had heard Zola asking Sam something and she didn't want to hear whatever scheme he was plotting so early in the day.

Naoko approached Judas and grinned at Squegg in his leash. As much as she wanted to give the Pokemon a fond pat on the head, she'd learn her lesson after getting one of her older prosthesis damaged by his monstrous chompers. "Morning, Jude!" Nao greeted. "I see you've survived another day with Squegg. Congrats!"

"Thank you for your hospitality." Flynn's voice was light even if their words were heavy with gratitude. Sleeping on a futon was so much nicer than in a tree. Not only that, but Flynn had been able to wash their clothes. Some still had holes, but at least they didn't smell anymore. The barest touches of a smile came to Flynn's face as they bowed gracefully, and the old woman at the other end of that bow giggled and shook her head.

"It was nothing, we all have to help each other in these times," she said, "I saw your Oddish wandering around by the road early, seems it wants to get going. Stay safe!"

Flynn watched the woman's back as she made her way back inside. They took note of the address and their expression faded to blankness as they considered the woman's words... oh, right.

I suppose it is 'my' Oddish, Flynn thought, I never really wanted it, but it's been with me through a lot... and it has a name.

"Iris?" The runaway dancer moved towards the road, walking along it towards the town's exit. Flynn didn't really have any plans in mind, had no goal at the moment, but staying in New Bark wouldn't be that bad, right? Though Iris apparently didn't agree. The Oddish was indeed a little further ahead, halfway between Flynn and a group of people gathering up. Most of them seemed to be roughly Flynn's age. Some of them even looked a little a familiar. Wait -

They didn't just look familiar, Flynn was fairly sure they knew most of those people's names. Dante, Cho, and was that Naoko? Bartholomew? Flynn slowed to a halt, their mind piecing the scene together. People that had lived in New Bark for years, and those that had moved away - ones Flynn knew well, and some only serving as playmates at the park. They all had bags with them, they looked ready to go somewhere. Was it... some kind of trip? It made sense, a group of old friends getting together for a getaway. One that Flynn may have even been invited too, though they were sure their grandmother would have thrown away such invitations. That said, would it... Would it be rude of me to try and tag along? they thought. Kat entered Flynn's vision, and their heart ached a little. They all look like their already having fun. I...

Iris turned to look at Flynn, waving it's leaves about. They might have imagined it, but her leaves did look a bit healthier since yesterday. Leaving Ecruteak had been good for the Oddish. It had been good for Flynn too, even if most of the time was spent walking aimlessly. Only a few more moments of hesitation passed before Flynn sighed, then stood up straight and walked forward. Their posture was perfect, their steps were graceful even just walking down a road, and when they passed Iris the pokémon happily chirped and followed along until both of them were standing close by the group of friends.

"Excuse me, I'm not sure if any of you remember me - My name is Arata. Ah, Flynn Arata." How sad it would be if Flynn had been purged from their minds, but the dancer would deal with it if that was the case. Still, they mentally chastised themself for the slightly botched opening before moving on, an air of determination twinkling in their eyes. "I... would like to come along with you all. Very much."

The others started joining them at the entrance one after the other. It seemed that no one really wanted to be late for their Poke Adventure. It almost made him feel like they were all kids again taking the first step that they all missed out on long ago. Dante still wasn't quite sure if he was actually ready to do this, but at this point it seemed way too late to turn back and forget all about this foolish dream. He doubted the others would've let him go back home, especially not Kat. And there was no way he was going to look weak in front of Cho. But all of those very good reasons for moving forward paled in comparison to the worry that he'd let his brother down if he didn't go through with this.

Dante released all of the excess thoughts from his mind. They were a product of his fear and overthinking and he wasn't going to let them drag him down before this journey even started. He let out a deep exhale and smiled before looking around the others. They were all excited and raring to go except for a particular screeching Natu. For some reason he had a feeling it wasn't freaking out from excitement. He decided it would be best to put that potential omen out of his mind.

The re-meet and greet quickly turned into the departure once Kiel arrived. It had been years since he's left town and he was as enthusiastic and quick footed as ever. He didn't even check and make sure everyone actually had been there. Though Dante himself wasn't sure exactly how many were supposed to tag along on their journey. Their group seemed rather big already. While he was busy counting Spirit had snuck away in pursuit of Kiel or rather what rested on his head. The cute and curious ghost caught up to his target and cut the two off by making a sharp turn to appear in front of Kiel's face.

Dante's attention however was turned to a face he never imagined he'd see again. He was suddenly hit by a wave of flashbacks of their greatest misadventures. He almost hadn't recognized Flynn, not with that hair at least. That was definitely new and so was the Oddish that accompanied them. But there was no way Dante would've forgotten his partner in crime. He moved through the crowd to join them and Kat greeting them both with a large grin. "You honestly didn't even have to ask. It wouldn't be a real adventure without you at my side getting in some kind of trouble."

Howler left both Spirit and Dante to their own devices and made his way down Route 29 towards Cherrygrove. He didn't know about Dante and the others, but he had no intention of becoming a rotten egg.

---

"Morning, Jude!" Nao greeted. "I see you've survived another day with Squegg. Congrats!"

Judas recognized the voice. It was Naoko, teasing him about Squegg and his biting related antics. Judas looked at her and rolled his eyes. "It is a battle, keeping this thing from destroying everything. " he pointed to Squegg, who was currently sprawled out down on the ground. "We've had to basically baby-proof the house so he doesn't leave bite marks in everything. But, he's adorable, so we keep him around. And Ace usually helps keep him in line. He's not the worst thing we've had in the house. Dad brought home an Alolan Muk once. That didn't go over very well as you might imagine."

Judas raised arms in a stretch, and then gave a slight tug on his leash, telling Squegg "come here". Reluctantly, the mouth with legs got up and trotted over to Judas' leg.

It was about this time he heard a meek voice ask if they could travel with them. A "Flynn", apparently. "I don't see why not, safety in numbers and all that. Just watch your step, y'hear? Squegg here'll bite your foot off if you make that mistake." Judas shook his head, a vibrant, bloody memory resurfacing. They were travelling around in the outskirts around Ecruteak, when they got attacked by an Ursaring. It made the mistake of stepping on Squegg, and in an instant, there was a crunching sound as Squegg had bitten through the Ursaring's entire leg. There was blood everywhere, and Squegg's killer instincts set in, as he then managed to bite through the Ursaring's skull in one bite. Judas had never seen Squegg do anything like that before, and still hasn't seen him do anything like that since.

But that was enough of that. It looked like everyone was here. A few of the group took off shouting "Last one there's a rotten egg!" Judas looked down at Squegg. "Well boy, something tells me we're going to be the rotten egg. Though something tells me you don't much care for that." Judas tugged his leash once more, and began walking out of the town.

A Natu's cry is always an omen of disaster. It was a mantra no self-respecting countryside family would let themselves forget, and for the first time since deciding to go with the group, doubt sprung up in Barry's mind. Was it really the smartest idea to leave everything they've ever known to travel across Johto in hopes of achieving... well, something? Barry's eyes scanned across the ragtag group of travelers; the hodgepodge reminded him a bit of the annual groups of youngsters that would set out to begin whatever their version of a Pokemon journey looked like from Professor Elm's lab. Except this time, none of them were kids and none of them could afford to waste their lives chasing after pie-in-the-sky dreams of fame and success.

Again, his eyes darted across the remaining faces as Kiel and Cho sprinted toward Route 29, clearly in some kind of hurry. Of course, a few of them looked familiar—there was Dante, and Naoko, and now Flynn? Of the others, faint names and faces danced across his memory, but he couldn't quite place them. He knew he had seen just about everyone at some point or another—usually because they or their parents had bought something from the shop—but the pink-haired girl with the Pokegear around her neck stood out from the crowd.

"Hey, Nao! Long time no see—how's that arm of yours doing?" Barry had no shortage of moments mixing Kee and Chilan berries for the Jin family; after her incident, they were regulars at the shop for pain medication and treatment to keep infections in check. The Mulkapers always tried to send them off with an ice cream or soda along with the medicine to encourage a happy heart along with a healthy body. Barry loved to be the one to fetch the treats from the cooler—after sneaking an ice cream for himself, of course.

He wondered if Shuckle would recognize her or anyone else when he eventually let it out of its ball. Shuckle as a species could be a little on the slow side, so if he had to bet on it, the odds weren't exactly stacked in its favor. And while this particular Pokemon did have history in Little Root, Shuckle weren't known for having the greatest of memories. But they're great at what they do, and for this new adventure, that's all that could possibly count.

Naoko threw her head back in a hearty bout of laughter at the image of Squegg wreaking havoc at home, a trail of bite marks left in his wake. Babyproofing was absolutely necessary, she agreed. As one of his many, many victims, she could attest any and all precaution is mandatory when it came to him.

"Ugghh, you're so cute though!" Nao crouched so Fritz could see Squegg as well—it had been beeping its "let me see" pattern nonstop—although made sure to keep at a safe distance. Probably best not to have an accident five minutes into their journey. "I wish I could rub your belly without losing another arm. Ace is a trooper for taking care of you, huh?"

A person—a very familiar one—approached them then, distracting Fritz from its curious inspection of Squegg. Nao could practically hear it combing through its database for information about the newcomer. She did the same, but Cho and Kat had beat her to it. It was Flynn! What a blast from the past. Nao didn't think she would have recognized them if the others hadn't pointed it out; they'd grown up a lot since she last remembered seeing them.

Knowing that both Kat and Dante had been particularly close to them, Nao gave the trio some space to reconnect. Instead, she diverted her attention on the next person to join their motley crew, who was gone just as quickly as he'd arrived. She only had time to return Ez's wink with a playful flying kiss, and then he was out of sight.

Soon after that, Cho had trailed after Ez. Naoko would have been next to run out if it wasn't for another blast from the past. "Barry!" Nao greeted him with a brief hug. It had been a while since they've seen each other, although her mom probably spoke to his just days ago. "I didn't know you were coming too. I definitely feel safer already."

Barry had asked about her arm and she proudly showed off her prosthesis in response. "It's getting better and better every year," she grinned and gestured toward her bionic fingers, which were flexing ever-so-slightly. "Look, I can kind of move each finger now!"

An incessant buzzing came from Pokegear then: Fritz, impatient and excited and ready to start their adventure, motioning through the device's screen to go toward Route 29. If it could physically move the Pokegear in its current state, Nao knew Fritz would have been dragging her by the lanyard around her neck.

Naoko laughed and beckoned for Barry to follow as she started making her way toward the route. "Let's go! We can catch up on the way. Fritz is gonna go upload itself to Cho's Pokegear if I don't follow them soon." She called for Zola, too, wondering if she had escaped getting roped in whatever Sam was scheming. "C'mon, Zo, you too!"

As she started to run, she passed by Judas and gave him a pat on the back, expertly sidestepping Squegg to do so. "See you tonight then?" Nao teased, knowing full well the Trapinch liked to move at his own pace.

Cho and Ez were quite a ways ahead, but Nao was determined to catch up.

Sam walked alongside Wilbur on the trail. He knew he could ride on Wilbur and keep the same pace. Wilbur was a Mudbray and could easily bear the load, but there was something else on the line. Sam didn’t want to look lazy next to the rest of the group, so he stayed on his feet just like everyone else. His Natu, Smith, was quiet now, nodding off a little on his shoulder. That bird pokemon loved sleeping almost as much as it loved getting upset over nothing.

At that moment Sam was near the back of the group, but then he took a look at the map on his Pokegear and saw that they were making good time. It wasn’t a sure thing, but based on a little mental calculation Sam figured out that if they went a little faster they could be there in time for him to make a few sales pitches that same day. Time was money, and even a few hours could be valuable if he used them right. With ideas of how to figure out how to find good prospects in his head, Sam picked up his pace by jogging a little and headed towards the front of the group, closer to Cho and Ezekiel.

Along the way he waved at Judas and Naoko, but kept a wide berth from Squegg. He had heard about how a Trapinch could chew through anything, even had an idea for an excavation company using some of them at one point. He kicked himself for not patenting it, just the other day he saw a news story about a billionaire trying a similar idea for building a tunnel network. Evidently that man thought that the commute between his rocket factory, his mansion, and his car factory was too onerous when he had to wait in traffic; that sounded like the kind of problem Sam dreamed of having.

When he got close to the front of the group, Sam decided to try and liven things up by starting a little conversation. He said “So, we got a ways before we hit Violet City, but I was wondering. When we get there, are you guys going to go straight to it and challenge it, or are you going to try to prepare a bit?” after a little hesitation, he added “Who do you think will be the first of us to get the badge?” He didn’t say it out loud, but he had the feeling it wouldn’t be him. Sam could talk a big game, but when he was honest with himself he wasn’t too confident in his skill as a trainer.

Relief flooded Flynn's body knowing that they weren't forgotten. Everyone's enthusiastic attitudes seeped out and effected Flynn, if only a little, and the red head let a smile form on their face. The expression became somewhat apologetic as Flynn turned their head to give Katalya their full attention. It had been a long time. Kat looked great - happy, perhaps a bit nervous, but that was her way. At least that was how Flynn remembered them, but the fact that Kat was even here as part of such a large traveling group was remarkable. She'd grown up, and Flynn deeply wished they'd been there alongside her.

"Kat," Flynn breathed out warmly in greeting. They could tell that the young woman in front of them wanted to reach out... but they were glad that she didn't. Getting back to their hometown and then meeting all their old friends again was enough to drive Flynn's inner emotions crazy, even if it didn't exactly show on their face. An embrace with Kat would have pushed Flynn over the edge, maybe even made them burst into happy tears. That would be embarrassing, not to mention unbecoming, so Flynn kept a slight distance between them. They hoped that their eyes showed how happy they truly were to meet again, though.

When Dante appeared beside Kat, Flynn's smile brightened even more, though his words briefly gave Flynn pause. That's right... we really did have a knack for finding trouble back then. I'd forgotten... and I had the nerve to even ask if they were the ones who forgot.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone. It's... really nice to be back."

I'm a lot different now, though. I hope we won't be getting into too much trouble - or... maybe...? Flynn's thoughts trailed off. The whole of their group had grown up, everyone handsome and beautiful in their own ways, and now they were moving on, going on a journey. For Flynn, this kind of trip was more like... going back in time. Returning to something. Were they going to be stuck in the past? Or was going back a good thing? Flynn stood still, their face betraying none of the tangled thoughts in their brain - then, a chirp from below from Iris.

Flynn blinked and looked down, noticed Kat's Pokemon for the first time. It seemed eager to get going. A few other Pokemon had gone on ahead too, and the rest of the group was already getting a move on.

"Ah, you... we don't want to be left behind, right?" The Oddish at the trio's feet bounced up and down, staring between Kat, Dante and the Sneasel. Lately Iris had been a lot bolder than normal, and that was true now as well. Even with her torn up leaves, Iris looked positively radiant and ready to go. "We can catch up on the way, if you'd like. I know I would very much."

There were so many things Flynn wanted to know - how was Kat's mother doing? Tai? Barry's family shop? And Nao - she was gorgeous, but what happened to her arm? And those Flynn hadn't been as close with, what were they up to now? Zola looked well traveled, though she had looked like that even as a child too. Cho and Sam seemed fine enough, and the last member... one Flynn didn't recognize, but apparently had a vicious "Squegg" on a leash. Flynn eyed the Trapinch with suspicion and took a small step away from it before even starting to follow the rest of the group... then they realized that they had no idea where the group was actually going, but that was another thing they could find out while on the road. Honestly? The longer the journey, the better.