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Yame and I followed behind the boy at distance, not saying a word. We were led into the dig site, the rain still soaking through our blankets, but, having on proper rain gear he had found, the child was dry. He stopped abruptly.

"When I was in the outside world, this was yet to be excavated," recalled the boy. "It was simply a path through the forest: the very path on which my Diglet was blocked and I discovered the tablet. I'm certain many other artifacts have been discovered since then in this very spot."

Yame knew the area well, having seen it on his way to work each day.

We were silent for a while, allowing the boy's memories to flow through him, when suddenly Yame's eyes caught yet another creature in the stormy skies. He looked at me and I knew to call out Noctowl to retrieve it. And so I did. It was placed on the ground and I called Noctowl back into his ball.

"An N?" guessed Yame.

"Maybe another S," I said, apparently looking at it wrong.

"Z," said the boy, and again, the ritual of light and disappearance occurred once more.

"S, O, and Z," recalled Yame.

"Soz?" I said. "We've got to figure out what's going on."

But the boy just turned away and continued walking toward the lab.

"He's given up hope," Yame said.

"No thanks to you, mister motivational speaker." I ran after the child, once again leaving Yame behind.

When the three of us had reached the center, the scientists were crowded around the door, holding it open for our entry. Their faces seemed puzzled.

"There's something you need to see," said one of the men.

We followed the group to the room where the majority of us had woken up, but most of the men would not enter. On the counter still lay the tablet, or at least its other-worldly copy.

"Look there," said a scientist.

It caught the corner of my eye, floating above us, circling the room.

"What is it?" I asked, following the creature with my eyes.

"That is an Unown," a staff said. "It is an ancient Pokémon as displayed upon the tablet which got us here in the first place."

"Unown," Yame repeated, also watching the creature circle overhead.

"They look like letters," I said.

"Precisely. Each Unown resembles either a letter of the alphabet or a punctuation mark."

"Another O," said the boy.

The Unown dropped instantly to the floor, shining, but this time, not disappearing. The Unown from before came up from beneath our feet and ascended overhead again with the one that had just fallen.

"Unown," they sang in harmony. "Unown, Unown…" They circled back and forth, chiming all the way.

"S. O. Z. O.," the scientist read.

"I… I know what that is," said the boy. "That's…. that's my name!"

We all darted our eyes toward him, but he continued to watch the Unown dance above.

"My name," his eyes teared up. "My name is Sozo!" he cried out.

At once, the Pokémon were still and the wind, once more from an unknown source, picked up and swirled around us all. The building was filled with the howling of the wind and all of our bodies were suddenly bursting with light, but our skin did not ache. Rather, a soothing feeling overcame us all, and we felt warm despite our surprise and confusion. Everything went black.

"Wake up." I heard Yame's voice calling to me. All around, I heard jubilation and laughter, but Yame's voice had what little attention I was able to offer. I opened my heavy eyes. "Yame?" I asked, my face flat on the floor.

"We're back!" he cried out. He lifted me to my knees suddenly and all too quickly, for things blacked out for a moment.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my eyes as he held my shoulders. "We're what?" I realized the situation and threw open my eyes. We were still in the lab, but something felt different.

"We're out!" shouted Yame, releasing me, standing, and running about the room. "I wanted to wake you before I went outside. I'm going now, and you should come too when you're ready!" He didn't wait for a reply, but ran out of the room.

I rubbed my head and pushed against the counter as I rose to my feet. I yawned and looked about. I saw the boy lying on the floor behind me. I quickly ran to his side, knelt, and shook him. "Wake up, kid, wake up!"

But he was over one hundred years old in this world, despite remaining in a child-like body, and I believed his time had come the instant we had left the alternate earth. I sunk to the floor and wept over him.

"My name is Sozo," I heard. I looked to his face, finding two life-filled eyes staring back at me. He smirked, tired as could be, cheek pressed against the clammy lab floor. The final sad tears dropped from my eyes and I lifted him to a sitting position and embraced him. I laughed with gusto and he did the same.

"Thank you," he said. "Since I was the first to find the tablet, I suppose it was my name which was taken."

"The question is, 'Why.'" I said, wiping my face.

"Hey, are you coming?" Yame called from the hallway.

Sozo and I smiled, standing together and walking down the bright, white hallway.

"So what now?" I asked. "Will you join me on my journey across the world? I bet it'd be a nice break after over a hundred years in one city," I smiled.

"I watched this city grow around me for years: empty and cold. Now I think I will remain here still. I would like to see Violet City full of life and discover all the wonderful things this city alone has to offer- and the ruins as well."

"The ruins? But what about what happened?"

"I'd like to unravel the mysteries of the Unown and all other ancient Pokémon and powers. Who better than someone with over a hundred years of hands-on experience?" he jested.

"I guess you're right," I laughed.

When we reach the lobby, we witnessed the staff running about, cheering, and some even using the desk phone to call their loved ones. Yame smiled at us and threw the doors open, following us outside. I had never been so happy to see the sky. It was a beautiful day for flying.

here...