"How are you today, sweetie?" the blonde woman asked again. "Remember anything?"

May doubted that he would still be there, in the house by the water, if he did remember anything. A man doesn't wear something like a brown overcoat and indulge in goofing off like pretending to have amnesia. A man in a brown overcoat got things done.

She could only really call him the man in the brown overcoat, as though it were a title, because she didn't know his name. He didn't even know his name, so the idea of calling him anything that specifically represented him was moot anyway. Unless he came up with his own name in the future, she had to resort to giving him a title that was too long for anything but her own mind.

Of course, May didn't actually call him the man in the brown overcoat to his face. That would be rude.

(If she would give the man a name she picked out herself, she would have called him something like John – a name that didn't hold much personality, the kind of name that the person had to make their own.)

The woman who had taken him in based on some sort of misplaced act of kindness – he could have been a murderer, or at least a pervert, for all she knew – had taken to calling him a slew of pet names that left May feeling some sort of mix between flustered and annoyed. May found nothing wrong with the woman, if she was honest, but there was something about her that rubbed May the wrong way.

May already knew that she was bad around new people – it took her months to not flinch whenever Lisia hugged her – but the blonde woman created a whole new level of awkwardness.

The woman was a big reason why her visits to the man in the brown overcoat were few and far between. The other reason was her busy schedule.

Between holding her title as the champion of Hoenn, tidying her and Brendan's shared apartment in Mauville, and still managing to explore and actually enjoy her success left her very little time to visit the strange man with no memories.

If she was honest with herself, she did like him. He had a truthful sort of face, one that reminded her of Professor Birch. He was kind and sweet, but sort of naïve in the way that even a kid like her could see.

But it was also partially because the kind, sweet, naïve man in the brown overcoat had woken up on a beach and, before anyone else, had seen her. It hadn't been luck or circumstance. May did actually see a struggling man on the beach, soaked to the bone, and decided to help in some misplaced desire to be the hero again. But the fact that she was the first person he saw really did mean something to her, even if she rarely indulged her sentimental side.

He also gave her the only thing that he owned besides the clothes on his back. Although she didn't actually own an audino at the time, the gift of the familiarly coloured mega stone prompted her into finding one.

(Audino wasn't much of a battler really, but her mega form did spectacularly in contests alongside Pikachu.)

While the audinite was useful, it wasn't exactly important. Not like the meteorite or the orbs or even the eon flute. It wasn't going to help her save the world, but it was the last thing the man in the brown overcoat owned, and that brought at least a little bit of respect. Respect that demanded she visit him every once and a while to see how he was holding up.

Misplaced duty aside, she was mostly just curious about him. Where was he from? What was his purpose? Why was he dressed like that? All burning questions in May's mind.

So, every few months, she would visit him and see how he was going. She had visited a few times already, with no luck.

"Nothing today, I'm afraid. But do not fret! I'm sure tomorrow will be the day!" exclaimed the man in the brown overcoat. He was always exclaiming things. Not quite yelling, but never speaking normally either. May wondered if it was a foreigner thing.

The blonde woman smiled thinly and puttered off to the kitchen.

"I'll take a tea," May said as she sat at the table, the man across from her. She hadn't actually ever bothered to get the blonde woman's name. She thought it was something to do with plants or flowers, but she wasn't sure. "So, no luck still?"

"You wouldn't believe it!" he exclaimed and threw his arms up in the air. "After months upon months and nothing, I could swear I've never had any memories, no recollections of the past!"

"Destined to be a drifter?" May asked gleefully. The man was just too much.

"Must be, must be," he nodded sagely and crossed his arms. "My future is not to be a man of substance, a man of knowledge or depth. I am to drift from place to place, learning new things and helping where I can!"

May smiled as the woman – Lily, maybe, or Daisy – put a cup of green tea in front of her.

"I think he's fine here," the blonde woman said as she sat down at the table with them. "I've told him he's welcome for as long as he wants."

"Well!" the man in the brown overcoat said, "I do not wish to be such a burden. I'm no use here, really. Perhaps I should start a club or something. I think I like clubs."

"There's a pokémon fan club in Lilycove," May suggested. "They watch my contests, but most of them like Lisia."

"Oooh," the blonde woman cooed. "I love Lisia! She's so adorable."

"Her uncle is cuter," May remarked, and turned to the man. "I think you're fine just watching television or reading, to be honest. I get that you're bored, but what if you go and do stuff and just end up hurting yourself more?"

"I should have taken you to a doctor," the blonde woman despaired. "You woke up on a beach with amnesia! Of course you needed medical attention!"

May shrugged. "The closest doctor is probably in Sootopolis, maybe Pacifidlog if you're lucky," she said, looking the blonde woman in the eye. "But you've probably missed your window if he had any brain damage."

The woman looked at May with something just shy of icy. May thought she looked remarkably like Glacia.

"Now, now. I believe I am fine – truly!" The man in the brown overcoat rushed to placate them. Not that May needed placating, but the intent was sweet. "I don't need a doctor, I'm fit as a fiddle."

"Oh, honey," the blonde woman cooed.

"You're amnesiac," May deadpanned. "you're not fine."

"Pish posh!" he said, and May narrowed her eyes at him. In a moment of kinsmanship, she looked at the blonde woman who was already looking back.

"He's been watching a lot of television," she admitted.

May pursed her lips and looked at the man. "Maybe you should stop watching tv, it's probably making your brain damage worse."

May looked down at her tea with disinterest as the blonde woman started fussing again. The man in the brown overcoat was clearly uncomfortable, or at least, May would have been uncomfortable if she was in his position.

"But I like watching the television," the man said with a grin, "Especially the one with the little creatures – pokémon you said they were?"

"They all have pokémon," May said and took a sip of her tea.

It had gone cold, and the woman was still talking.

"I think I'll be going now," May said, a plan forming in her mind. "I'll be back later."

—

May didn't get back to the house on the water for longer than she'd like to admit.

"May!" the man in the brown overcoat exclaimed when she arrived, as though she was only gone a few days instead of months. "I was just about to go for a walk!"

May raised an eyebrow. Before, when she had time to visit, usually the most he did when she showed up was to tell her was about what new programs were on tv, or what obscure book he had read. Sometimes he told her about the seashells he had found on the beach. May suspected it had something to do with the blonde woman, but she wasn't present for once.

"I actually have something to tell you, so we can walk and talk?"

"Excellent idea!" the man in the brown overcoat said as he closed the door behind him. May noticed he didn't lock it, and wondered what the crime rate was on the island. She knew her mother never locked the door in Littleroot, but they had always locked up in Olivine.

The idea of Olivine had become a distant memory to her, and she honestly wasn't sure if she was sad about it or not. She knew there were days when her mother missed the seaside or her dad missed his friends, but she thought they enjoyed their new life in Hoenn. She did.

But May honestly couldn't say how her parents felt. She hadn't been home in over a week, and hadn't actually stayed the night in over a year. There was something about owning her own apartment that made going back to her parent's house – with bedtimes and peas and her mother's incessant fussing – unbearable. Not to mention that Mauville Hills really was as accommodating and high class as everyone said.

She even found that having Brendan as a roommate wasn't so bad. He spent more time in Littleroot helping his dad out with his research than he did at their apartment. He always remembered to buy milk, too.

But Brendan's own absence from the apartment made her own even more striking. She had thought that her duties as champion would have slowed down by now, but she was busier than ever. It was a running joke between her and Steven – when he occasionally returned to Hoenn, that is – that she had more free time when the world was ending than she did now.

It wasn't something she thought about often, but May had been debating passing the championship over to someone more worthy of the title. She knew Wallace had been rigorously training for over a year, and had even passed ownership of his gym on in the meantime. Perhaps she could see if he wanted a rematch with her—

The man in the brown overcoat startled her out of her own thoughts, bursting into the simple kind of conversation that only he could seem to draw out of her.

"Oh, May! I was watching a television program the other day – such wonderful things they are, truly amazing technology – and I saw this program of a far away region! The snow itself was just incredible, but there was this mountain, and beautiful lakes!"

"Sounds like Sinnoh. It's nice there, but really cold." She smiled, thoughts of the championship already leaving her mind.

"Ah, cold," the man said, almost fondly. As far as May knew, he had never experienced the cold. Hoenn was sunny year round. "I'd like cold."

"You think so?" she asked. "I hate it. You need too many layers just to get the mail in the morning."

The man looked down at himself, at his brown overcoat, and laughed. "I'm already dressed for the occasion, then!"

May cracked a genuine smile. "I don't even know how you can get around in that. I'm sweating in a tank top." She stopped by the sea and frowned. "By the way, I have something for you, and since you mentioned Sinnoh…"

"A gift for me? How lovely of you, May! How could I ever repay you?"

May shrugged, already knowing that it was her repaying a debt, but pulled out the pokéball in her bag anyway.

"He's a little… difficult, just to warn you," she said as she threw the ball. The bright light of pokéballs barely made her squint anymore, but she could see the man covering his eyes.

"What is he?" the man asked once the light had faded. "He's wonderful!"

The purple pokémon croaked and looked around.

"A species of pokémon called croagunk. They're both poison and fighting type, so they can pack a bad punch when they want to. But they're native to the Sinnoh region, so I have no clue how he ended up here."

"Why is he acting like that?" the man asked curiously as Croagunk hobbled away, eyeing her warily.

May shrugged. "I don't think he likes me very much," she said. "I mean, when I saw it and knew it wasn't native to this region I did battle it, and maybe using Metagross was overkill but everyone else was too tired and I had to have one in my Pokédex or Professor Birch would have killed me. Or Brendan."

The croagunk was still eyeing her from behind a palm tree. May just found it funny.

The man in the brown overcoat knelt down and held his hand out to the pokémon, beckoning it closer.

"Come here, little fellow."

"Be careful," May said as she wandered back a few paces, "they have a nasty poison jab."

"Now, now," the man tutted. "He just needs a gentle handling is all. Here, little fellow, I won't hu—ah!"

"I told you," May muttered as the man held his hand close to himself. "He's got a nasty jab."

The pokemon in question flinched and hid behind the tree further.

"You must have defeated him quite thoroughly for him to be this skittish." The man shook his hand a bit before extending it towards the pokemon once more. "No problem, my friend. See? All good, no hard feelings. I know you're scared."

May watched with interest as the croagunk began to inch out from behind the tree and into the man's arms.

"Wow, good work," she said, impressed. "You're a regular old hero, aren't you?"

The man in the overcoat stood up with the pokemon in his arms. "A hero?" He asked quizically.

"Yeah, like a firefighter or a policeman," May explained. "A hero for regular people."

The man was quiet for a few seconds. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to Sinnoh to find my purpose," he said with finality. "I know there's more I need to do with my life, and staying here is not going to help me discover it. Do not get me wrong! You've been a wonderful friend, but I need to discover who I am!"

May raised an eyebrow. "Sinnoh is pretty far away, you know. It's a lot different to here. Will you be okay?"

The man in the brown overcoat nodded. "I'm sure. There's something I need to do in Sinnoh, I'm sure of it."

"You really do sound like a superhero," May teased. "Mister Super Secret International Police Officer Man."

The man laughed. "I do like the sound of that!"

"Well, you should train that croagunk up some more. He'll be a big help if you're going to be travelling around taking on bad guys," May said and gestured to Croagunk. The pokemon huddled closer into the man's chest. "Once he grows a spine, that is."

"Oh no, no!" the man exclaimed. "He will be my companion more than anything else – I couldn't possibly ask him to fight. Besides, I much prefer peaceful negotiations."

"Good luck," May said. "In my experience, people tend to react better to force."

The man sighed and shook his head. "You've experienced much, May, but have yet to understand that violence is never the answer. I will show you that it is not!"

May laughed. "I'll miss you when you go. You're pretty funny."

The man smiled. "I shall too!"

—

The ferry was set to leave, but the man in the brown overcoat wasn't on it yet. May should have known to peg him as the sentimental type, but didn't mind too much, really.

"Oh, May," he said quietly for once, "it has been so lovely here. I will miss this amazing land."

She looked to the side, uncomfortable. She didn't even say goodbye to her friends in Olivine when she left, she hated goodbyes so much. In some ways, she was actually happy that Steven had left so abruptly. It had hurt, but it had been quick. This was practically torture.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool here," she said and looked around. "Hey, where's…uh."

"Rose and I said goodbye before. She believed it would be too sad to see me off."

May nodded, finally finding something she and Rose – she'd been so close before – had in common.

"Smart lady."

For once since she had met him a year ago on that beach, the man in the brown overcoat was silent. May looked up at him and noticed that he was looking out to sea.

"You know," she said awkwardly. "My mother says it all the time since we moved here, but I think it's pretty true. She says, 'the more wonderful the meeting, the sadder the parting.'"

"That is beautiful, May. Truly inspirational."

May shrugged, but said nothing. She held out her hand instead and looked into his eyes. The man took it, and they shook hands.

"I think you'll find what you're looking for."

The man in the brown overcoat smiled. "I do, too."