It was still early when the young man touched down. The people of Littleroot Town hadn't yet begun to wake up and start their day. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed to find the quaint little town still dark, devoid of anyone else. He had planned on making a bit of entrance, nothing too flashy, but in his anticipation, he had mixed up Hoenn's timezone with Johto's and arrived too early.
Just as well. He could use this time to get readjusted. Looking around, he was already seeing old things in a whole new light.
It was amazing what a change in perspective could offer. In his childhood, this town had always seemed so small. It felt restricting, like it was squeezing him out, egging him on to go on the journey he had always wanted to. All that had mattered were the professor's lab, his and his daughter's house, and of course, the young man's own house; though he had only been a boy at the time. Yet now... as he looked around as a young adult, he saw much more. It had been a town all along, with houses and other buildings beyond those three, but in his childhood, he had only seen what he had wanted to.
It was funny. He bet his house would be no different once he looked inside. He had never cared about the other rooms upstairs, but sure enough, they had always been there.
Shaking his head and shifting his one box of belongings, the young man smiled ruefully and turned to the door to his old childhood house.
His parents, mostly his mother (his father too was something of an adventurer after all, and a Gym Leader at that!), had lived here for a long time until recently. With the two of them settling down in Petalburg together and the young man thinking about returning to Hoenn, it seemed obvious what should be done.
This was to be his house now, for his own family someday.
It was quieter than he remembered it being inside. The television wasn't on and there was no one else in sight. Despite how familiar it was, it was just as alien, being so dark and quiet like this.
He'd just have to do something about that, now wouldn't he?
The young man tossed a Pokeball onto the ground. What emerged from the ball was his oldest companion. The Swampert blinked, looking around its surroundings quizzically, before looking to the young man. There was a question in that gaze, something only someone close would be able to see. Grinning, the young man nodded at his partner.
"Yeah. We're staying here."
Unpacking hadn't really taken much time. He had never had a home before, so most of his important belongings were either stored through the world famous item storage service online, or were small enough to carry. It had been humbling to go up to clean his room and find it filled with Pokemon dolls and other such toys... He wondered if his old Secret Base was still out there somewhere. He'd have to look someday.
Breakfast, on the other hand, had been a bit more chaotic. Only his Swampert and Salamence, the Pokemon he had flown home on, had ever seen this house before, and it had taken some time calming his party down before they could finally sit down and eat. By the time all was said and done, the sun had already risen and Littleroot was waking up around them.
It was time to let his old hometown know that they had a new... no, an old face to look forward to seeing in the mornings.
He opened the door eagerly, his Pokemon following behind him. The sun was shining, the Flying types were singing... It was a perfect day. A perfect way to start this new chapter of his life.
At that moment, another door opened. The young man turned his head to the side. His neighbor was waking up as well. If anyone was going to be greeted first by him, it had to be the person coming out if that house right now.
Upon catching a glimpse of the young professor next door, stepping out of her home looking as though she had overslept, the young man smiled broadly. He watched her catch his gaze, gaping at him as though she wasn't sure if she was still dreaming. His childhood friend had grown as well, but at the same time, it was as though she hadn't aged a day from the moment he met her when he first moved to Hoenn.
With that, Brendan leapt over the sign post his mother had put up outside their house the day they moved in and began jogging over to May, taking a deep breath in of Hoenn air for what felt like the first time in a lifetime. The smile she offered in return was as bright as any old sun.
He had seen Sinnoh's mountains from top to bottom, undergone many trials in Unova, captured Pokemon unlike any he had never imagined in Kalos and Kanto, and even jogged alongside the champions in Johto. He had seen so much of what the world had to offer, but in doing so, he was now sure of one thing more than ever.
Hoenn would always be home.