It is early autumn - nearly my birthday - when we finally hear back from Castelia U. I'm out back, raking leaves, my little buddy curled up on top of my head, when the Professor sticks her head out the door and bellows. Cheren and Nolene come running - one covered in leaves, the other with her Snivy wrapped around her head like an enormous leaf-serpent crown - and I drop my rake and scamper up next to them.

The Professor is shaking her head angrily, a single sheet of paper clenched so tightly in her hands that it's threatening to rip.

"My office, please." She bites out - and though it's clear that her rage isn't directed at us, the force of it still makes me flinch - and out of the corner of my eye, I can see Cheren and Nolene wincing, too.

We follow her, terrified into mindless obedience, our partner Pokémon cradled in our arms, and she leads us into the office. She all but slams the door behind us once we're all in, flings herself angrily into her chair and slams the sheet down on the desk, smoothing it beneath her hands furiously. "Sit. We need to have a talk." She is tense, terse, her face drawn taut with sheer fury.

"Professor, what did they say?" Trust Cheren to be the axe when we need a scalpel. Nolene and I exchange an anxious look - but, far from the explosion of wrath we expected, the Professor merely puffs out her cheeks, and sags in her chair.

"That we need more data. That we could very well have trained those Pokémon to respond to subtle commands, that -" She shakes her head. "- they basically invalidated all of our research with a single loophole. I should have seen it coming."

"So, what're we going to do about this?" I can't help but burst in. "We're not giving up, right?"

The Professor sits up straight at that, and she slams her fist down on her desk with a burst of righteous fury. "Damn right, we're not!" She leans forward, sliding the sheet out of the way - it wafts to the floor and lies there, forgotten. "Listen to me, you three. This is going to sound ridiculous, especially considering your age and occupation, but..."

"But?" Nolene butts in, evidently miffed at not getting to speak before now.

"I'm going to ask something strange of you - take the League Challenge."

"WHAT?!"

All three of us shout the same thing in, more or less, unison - and our partners, startled, leap away, cower beneath the desk.

"The Challenge! Take it!" She waves her hands. "Between the gyms and capturing new subjects, there's bound to be some sort of irrefutable proof to be had! Consider this." She settles back in her chair, tents her fingers. "They claim we trained these Pokémon from birth -" she gestures at the two Snivy and the Tepig, who are still cowering under her desk, startled, "- to obey very subtle commands. Very well. Can they claim the same thing about, oh, a Lillipup you captured the very same day, or even a month before? Surely not."

We're all silent for a moment, exchanging thoughtful looks, when -

"...I'll do it." Cheren again, making us look bad. "I think that you have a good point, Professor."

I heave a long-suffering sigh. "I will, as well. There's no reason to make Cheren do this alone."

"Of course I will." Nolene adds. "Someone needs to keep these two out of trouble."

"Then it's settled?" The Professor leans forward, the sparkle in her eye twice as intense as usual. "You'll do this for me? I'd do it myself, but -"

"We know, Professor." I smile, lean forward to pat her hand. "I'm in, if these two are?"

"I am." Nolene nods firmly.

"Of course I am!" Cheren chips in, shoving his glasses up, and his expression is passionately determined.

"All right then!" The professor sits back in her chair, opens a desk drawer, pulls out three Poké Balls. She tosses one to each of us.

"Might as well make it official, then - thumbprint those, Dawn can show you how if you don't remember, and I'll go put your paperwork through." She rises from her chair, steps over our Pokémon - pauses at the door.

"You might want to discuss nicknames with your partners - you can't go calling them "Snivy" and "Tepig" on the challenge. It's considered unlucky."

The door clicks open and shut, and she's gone, for the moment.

The three of us drop from our chairs in unison, and for a time, the room is almost noisy with hisses and grunts as we coax our partners out from under the desk, apologize for scaring them.

My little snakeling is the first to muster the courage to come to me, and I let him snuggle into my hair as my silent apology for overreacting, not minding the mess he makes... well, not too much, anyway.

"Have you decided on anything?" Nolene asks softly, coaxing her Snivy into her lap, and I nod, silently. Cheren shrugs, lightly patting his Tepig. "Have you?"

"Ivy." Nolene responds, simply. "Sometimes simple is best - she seems fine with it. Her name means 'vines climbing a strong tree' anyway."

"I think mine likes the name Felicity." Cheren adds, softly, stroking his Tepig - she coos her assent, snuffles her soft snout over his wrist.

"And you, Dawn?" Nolene smiles, gently. I pause, reach my hand up to tug my little Snivy's tail - he slides, unresisting, into my hands, coils comfortably up, resting his head on my forearm and gazing up at me adoringly.

I lower my voice, switch to a pidgin-dialect of both common and Serperior, careful with my words so that he can understand everything I have to say. "I had a friend, once, whose memory reminds me very much of you, my darling." I pause, bump my nose affectionately against his snout. "Your name is very long in my tongue - you understand?" He nods his tiny head, and I can't help a smile.

"Tell me, as a substitute, would you accept being called Godfrey? It means 'gods' peace', and it was his name." I pause again, swallow a lump in my throat. "...and - and I would be very happy if you would bear it as well." I stop, waiting for his response, a pang of sorrow twisting my gut - it may have been five years, but the loss is still fresh, still painful. It hurts a bit less when my little Snivy nods, brown eyes strangely understanding - he's still just a baby by anyone's standards, and loss is a stranger to him, but I would swear he knows.

I glance up from my little friend, realize Nolene and Cheren are watching me, and force a broader smile than I feel up to. "Yes, and he's okay with it." I rise, feeling suddenly a little bit naked. "I'm calling him Godfrey."

Cheren doesn't understand - of course he doesn't, we've only known each other about three years - but Nolene does, and she smiles a little, nods.

"It's a good name." Her voice is very gentle.

"Yeah, it is."

We touch our little partners with the balls almost in unison, and they dissolve without resisting, are captured without a struggle. Then the Professor comes back, arms full of Poké Balls, three shiny new trainer cards fanned between her fingers, and there's no time for more conversation between us.

"I've arranged everything," she beams, shoving the balls at us, "and you should have no trouble. However, to keep things easier for everyone, I have another request to make of you."

"Fire away, Professor!" Nolene chirps - chirps, for Arceus' sake! She's never seemed so delighted before, it's almost scary -

"I need you to each restrain yourselves on the catching." The Professor settles on the edge of her desk, tosses us each a simple, pale-blue slip of plastic - our ID for this... I'll be generous and call it an adventure. "One per area, no more, and different Pokémon in each area - we need a variety of dialects and sub-dialects for this."

We nod in unison. It's simple enough.

Silence falls.

"Well?" The Professor finally breaks the silence, flapping her hands dismissively. "Get out of here, go pack! You're leaving first thing tomorrow."

We obey. What else can we do?

...

It's early the next morning - desperately early, the-sun-won't-be-up-for-two-hours-you-maniac early - when Nolene kicks me out of bed. The mental patient is already dressed, fiery hair stuffed under a stocking cap, swathed in a thick beige sweater and jeans, a single-strapped pack slung across her back.

"Fuck off." I slur, jamming my pillow over my head - she ignores me, rips the warm blanket off my bed, jerks the pillow away.

"Get up, it's almost five, you've slept enough - we need to be off early."

"Fuck you." I grumble, pulling my knees up to my chest, hugging them and trying desperately to drift off, shivering in the cold air pouring in from the now-open window.

"No, Dawn - get up already! We're meeting Cheren at six. Go get ready."

I hiss wordlessly - but her next words shut me up.

"I'm making pancakes."

I'm almost instantly up and stumbling for the bathroom, because Nolene's pancakes are worth just about anything - even getting up at the crack of ass in the morning.

...

It's just barely sun-up when we finally walk out to the simply-named Route One - Nolene helped me pack, the new bag slung across my back a last gift from the Professor, filled with everything I can possibly foresee needing... for myself, anyway. At my belt - my new belt, this one a gift from Nolene, with slots for Poké Balls - six orbs bob, the one in front just slightly heavier with Godfrey's presence.

He's still asleep, or he'd be out - I know he'll be clamoring to get loose when it's a little later in the day.

Cheren is leaning against a tree when we finally arrive at the first little grove, toying with Felicity's Poké Ball - he looks up with a tired smile as we join him. "So, early start, then. Accumula today?"

"Hopefully as far as Striaton." Nolene responds, and there's a strangely fiery determination in those blue eyes. "Do you want to go together, or separately?"

He rubs his chin, frowns thoughtfully. "...together has the advantage of safety in numbers, but... Apart we stand a better chance of finding different Pokémon."

"Separately, then." I say, adjusting the strap of my bag. "Who wants to go first?"

Cheren is moving before Nolene can say a word - he nods to each of us, flicks a casual salute off, and strolls off into the trees. I can just barely hear him shout back, "see you in Striaton!"

"Douche." I mumble.

Nolene chuckles her agreement. "So, yeah. I'll see you in Accumula, Dawn - meet me at the Center tonight, maybe?"

"Sounds like a plan, Leenie."

"Don't call me that." She snaps automatically, then smiles. "Ah, whatever - just... yeah, see you later, Dawn. Be safe."

"You too." I sigh, and lean back against the tree, watching her go until she passes behind a tree, and out of my line of sight.

A flicker of movement catches my eye, and my attention is instantly elsewhere.

It's a bird, a small, black and grey bird - a bird that I immediately recognize from my childhood, in Sinnoh, which is odd - Unova is far, far away from the land where I grew up.

I hunker down, carefully, withdraw Godfrey's orb from my belt and press the button, releasing him in a coil on the ground. He yawns ponderously, and I scoop him up, cradling him close to my chest. "Godfrey, sweetie, wake up." I whisper - he blinks, flicks my cheek with his tongue, hisses a wordless question.

I nod towards the bird, hiss-mutter. "Do you remember how to speak Starly?"

He chirps softly in response, then wriggles out of my arms, and scuttles over to the oblivious bird.

A series of chirps and twitters ensues - and then he's quite suddenly on my shoulder again. Not alone, either - the little bird is there as well, looking at me quizzically, and her beady brown eyes are bright with curiosity.

"Wind-that-blows-across-the-sea comes." He hisses tranquilly, and though it's clear he's still quite sleepy, he sounds very proud.

I'm proud of him, too. He's just negotiated with his very first wild Pokémon, and carried it off successfully, while half-asleep - it's a good start, an excellent omen for things to come.

"Ask her if she minds the name Zephyr." I murmur and hiss back to him - he translates into a flurry of chirps, nudges me to say the name at the end of his chatter.

"Zephyr."

The Starly cheeps amiably - and, with a smile, I raise a ball to her face, let her peck the button and vanish safely into its confines.

"Not bad. Welcome to the team, Zephyr." I realize I can't stop smiling, even though my face hurts - but I can't bring myself to mind. Godfrey curls triumphantly around my neck, is soon asleep - and I shake my head fondly, start walking.

I can always run from whatever jumps out at me, after all.

...

We make it to Accumula town in good time, around noon - the place is nearly deserted, weirdly enough.

I can't stifle a frown - this is strange. Confused and feeling intensely nosy, I begin snooping around.

There's no one in any of the main areas I can see - not even around the Pokémon Center, and that's frightfully unusual.

As a last-ditch effort, I check the small park just west of the center of town, and, lo and behold, there's someone there - jackpot.

He's big - really big - really, really big, easily seven feet tall, and for a moment I question the wisdom of disturbing him. But then, I'm a scientist - we don't shy away from the things that might hold answers to our questions, no matter how dangerous they look.

I decide I'm going to bother him, and I go into the park. Do I question my own sanity? Every moment of the day.

"Excuse me?" I lightly touch the big man's trenchcoat-clad shoulder, only able to reach it because he's hunched over, scrutinizing something closely - and the response is immediate and violent. He yelps in surprise, grabs me by the wrist so hard I can feel the bones grind together, and for a moment I'm genuinely terrified I've just gotten myself killed - but then he looks at me, really looks, and relaxes all at once. Then he lets me go with a sheepish, "Ah, I am apologizing."

He rises to his full - impressive - height, makes a polite bow. "I am indeed very sorry, dear young lady, yes? I am on the trail of mine arch-nemesis, as you say, and I am very... how do you say, jumpy? Yes, jumpy." An almost shy smile spreads across his face. "You are not hurt?"

"No - no, I'm fine." I can't help but smile back, though I'm sure the latent terror shines through. "Thank you, though - I'm just fine. Who're you?"

"Ah, my dear young lady." He smiles, and it softens the deep-worn lines around his mouth, on his forehead. "I am... undercover, yes? You may be calling me, ah... Looker, I am supposing."

I nod. "Well, Looker - my name is Dawn, Dawn Blaise - it's, er, very nice to meet you, and I ought to be going."

I turn without waiting for a response - and nearly run straight into a Garchomp.

Naturally, I scream like a little girl - because, really, all those teeth right in front of your face? Just a little terrifying - but then, Looker stands up and shouts something in a language I don't recognize, and the Garchomp settles onto its haunches and offers me a claw for a handshake.

I stare at it, uncomprehending for just a moment, but then I recover, gently shake its claw. "And who might you be, my scaly friend?"

Looker chuckles, a deep, rumbly sound, from startlingly close behind me. "I am apologizing once again - this is my little friend Vanya, yes? He was only coming to see what was going on." His voice softens. "Excuse my, how do you say, my prying, but - Dawn Blaise of Twinleaf Village?"

My breath catches in my throat, and I whip about to look at him. "Y-yes, by way of Sandgem..."

"Ah, then we are perhaps friends by proxy." He smiles again, but this time the expression is painfully sad. "I was known of one Gavin Evans, who I am believing you also knew, yes?"

I bite my lip until I taste copper, and nod. "...yes, he - we were friends, yes."

"...ah." He looks away. "...I apologize once again. I am wishing you well, Dawn, yes? You have nothing to be fearing from me." He turns away, gestures sharply to the Garchomp - I watch as he begins to leave, then, impulsively, shout, "wait!"

He turns back to me, openly confused - and, hastily, I rummage my bag, bring out a plastic bag of liquid-gel pills, which I hold out. "Y-your Garchomp, his scales look a little dull - this is a supplement, it should help."

For a moment, we stand unmoving, me with a bag of pills in my hand, him just... there, hands hanging by his sides, his Garchomp gazing at me quizzically.

Then he smiles, that sad, little smile, and steps forward to take the bag. For a moment, that huge hand envelops mine, and then he bows once more, just a little, murmurs a polite, "thank you," and... then he walks away, and I'm left just standing there, confused.

With a helpless little shrug, I turn away, too, and head for the Pokémon Center. I have a friend to meet, after all.

It's not until nearly twenty minutes after I reach the Center that I realize - I never asked him what was going on.