'I said she's right behind you.' An exasperated voice pulled me into full consciousness and I blinked, the harsh sunlight burning my sleep encrusted eyes. 'Hello? Back in the land of the living? Your Lucario should be fine, as long as she gets lots of rest.' I whirled around, attempting to find Taiyaki among the white and pink blurs. Joy rolled her eyes. 'Behind you. She insisted, and it's my duty to maintain the physical and mental health of my patients.' I spun on the spot like an idiot until I discerned a fuzzy blue ear poking out of the sheets of my makeshift sofa bed. 'She seemed to find something calming about you. That's a very loyal Pokémon you've got there, you should be proud.' I had to correct her. 'She isn't mine at all. None of my Pokémon are mine. They are friends and allies.' That much was true, without them, without Taiyaki, I would be nothing. It had just been me at first, accompanied by a young Riolu for longer than either could remember, but one day we came across (This was years ago in Sinnoh mind you) a near dead Larvesta, crushed under piles of old tankards; Jäeger. Soon after that on our travels we came across a weakened Buizel that had been abandoned at birth and a hungry Misdreavius working in tandem to support an unconscious Ralts covered in blood; Haitono, Waffles and Airalin. A pair of Eevee that had become polluted with oils and dried out Goomy all searching for clean water out in the Eterna forest; Viktor, Yuuri and Shishimei. And then finally, while exploring the divide between the Rii zones we found a young Absol, hunted by narrow minded townsfolk who blamed her for a recent tremor; Sherrin. And just after it looked like we would finally settle down at Canalave city there was the whole business on Mount Coronet and Absol became victims of the hunt again, so we were refugees once more, headed towards Snowpoint. This time,though, we were accompanied by a child of no more than eleven but completely alone, dragged from the gloom of Route 217 by Jäeger, who then immediately bonded with this boy of no name. He was beyond cold in the middle of the snowstorm and despite Jäeger's warming flames he seemed unable to give a name for himself except to point at a surprisingly unfrozen pond, which my cold-addled brain interpreted as Koi, the species of fish that was dominant in Sinnoh. The name stuck and our little band of ragtag rejects moved on, spending the last of our money on boarding the final ferry out of Snowpoint hoping to find better fortunes in Unova.
Nurse Joy seemed taken aback as I finished my silly little tale, and I made preparations to leave, lifting Taiyaki carefully up on a stretcher, aided by Cynthia who had returned from dissipating the Helix rally with convenient timing. 'Why did you choose me, over all the people in the crowd?' She gave an exasperated but amused look. 'You really can't work it out can you? Huh. I forgot to mention earlier, I ran into a lost looking Gardevoir with a Goodra. They seemed very worried as to your whereabouts.' I asked where they were excitedly. 'I sent them on their way, they seemed to know their way home enough.' I gave a relived sigh. 'Thanks (next left please) Did you happen to see a young boy, green hair, with a Volcarona?' She shook her head and I felt a stab of anxiety, if Koi had gotten hurt because of me not paying enough attention... I dreaded even thinking about it. Cynthia clearly saw the solemn look upon my face for she spoke out with a smile. 'C'mon cheer up, they probably made it home safely, a Volcarona is no small thing to tangle with.'
The walk up to the door of my house seemed to take even longer than usual as I reached out a hand and fumbled with the lock, only for it to burst open from the inside, Airalin standing by with a worried look on her tired face. I stepped inside, Followed by Cynthia (while I would normally be reluctant to have somebody in my house, well, you don't argue with the champion) and saw that everyone was sitting by the table with an air of great exhaustion about them 'Did you all stay up all night? Now you know that you shouldn't do that...' I caved in to the anxious looks on everyone's faces and gave the all clear, with an almost audible release of the tension. Koi, to my relief, came running and attempted to simultaneously reach Taiyaki and back away from Cynthia at the same time, resulting in him tripping over Haitono. 'Sorry Koi but she really needs to rest, so we should all try not to disturb her, Okay?' The child looked undaunted as he ran around the table, chased by a happily barking Haitono, and I turned to the rest of them, who seemed content with the knowledge of Taiyaki's condition. 'I'd like you to meet Cynthia, cham-' I was interrupted by a squeal from Airalin. 'Cynthia, The Cynthia?' She leapt up and ran towards her, suddenly stopping and composing herself before Cynthia's startled reaction, turning red. 'Umm sorry I umm-' Cynthia laughed and waved her hand. 'I thought my presence in Unova was pretty unknown but apparently I already have a fanbase. Hah! Why the red face, (what was it, oh Airalin, Ok).' I felt a need to stand up for Airalin. 'Sorry, we used to live in Sinnoh and well, we've always been fans.' I shrugged, nothing really left to say. 'We should probably all have some dinner now. Waffles, do you want to help?' The Misdreavius gave confirming squeak and wafted over to the sink while Shishimei oozed on my hand until I allowed him to help too, hoping that this time he would make it from the fridge to the kitchen without filling the milk with slime. During dinner Airalin entered an animated conversation with Cynthia, who was apparently staying, about the extreme differences between Sinnoh and Unova while Taiyaki feebly took a dinner-in-bed with a muttered gratitude, matching the colour of her eyes when Cynthia popped upstairs for visit. Afterwards the process of washing up was only slightly marred by Haitono trying to join in and wreaking havoc with the soapy water, not helped by Airalin mischievously reinforcing the bubbles with psychic energy to be near unpoppable.
After the whole bubble havoc had been sorted, and Koi consoled for the loss of said bubbles I set about doing the daily tasks around the house, assisted in the cleaning by a surprisingly functional system that involved Shishimei coating a surface in his rather sweet smelling slime and then Jäeger carefully blasting it with his flames, creating a sterilised surface with a pleasant aroma from the now evaporated goo, having taken the brunt of the attack. Having now sterilised most of the house I called for Viktor and Yuuri to do their job, melding their bodies with soapy water and then simply playing around in the area while acting as living sponges for all the dirt and grime, which was then bundled into clumps along with any waste by Airalin and sent to the local council to help with the training of some recently imported Alolan Muk. I stepped back, exhausted but proud of my monthly clean and turned towards my team of helpers (and Haitono, who had sidled in to join in the play with Viktor and Yuuri). 'Thank you very much for all the help cleaning, and a special mention to you Sherrin (she was the only one who had bothered to go downtown with the waste) And now, quite frankly, we've had a tiring weekend and really should be getting to bed soon, see you all there. Oh and Koi?' The boy looked up, his face the picture of innocence. 'Do try to remember that you can't use everyone's toothbrushes as tools to unblock a drain. Just call me next time, ok?' He gave a little giggle and ran of with Haitono and Sherrin, Jäeger floating after him with an almost human-like sigh. I rolled my eyes and began to make my own way upstairs, followed by a now dreary looking troop of Pokémon. Remembering that Taiyaki needed to brush her teeth as well I let myself into the Pokéroom (as Koi dubbed it) to find Taiyaki in a quiet but animated conversation with Cynthia. 'I was under the impression that you had left, sorry.' She laughed. 'Why sound so disappointed? No, I'm joking, I guess I have outstayed my welcome. Thank you for your hospitality, in return I would like to invite you to the Champions Head on Friday, if that would be ok?' Of course, the sudden invitation to the most expensive restaurant in the region took me aback, and I was only able to nod dumbly, Taiyaki having a simliar reaction in the background while Cynthia smirked. 'Oh, and you made it into the semifinals with record scores. Oh come on, why the stunned look? Surely you saw how well your Pokémon performed.' She stepped out into the night and laughed. 'I'm Champion, they tell you these things!' And as abruptly as she had appeared, she was gone into the eleven o' clock mist with a swish of her cloak.
Strolling upstairs with a strong sense of déja vu, I entered the Pokéroom with a rush of warmth filling my heart at Koi's sleeping form, curled up with Haitono and Sherrin who had taken rest behind Jäeger, using the warm air flowing from his fiery wings to their advantage. Airalin and Shishimei were reading a book together but rapidly drifting off, sharing a bed with Viktor and Yuuri who were both entwined with each other like young Dratini at the foot of the bed, burbling happily. Waffles slowly meandered with the air, her usually disturbing death-rattle snore sounding unnaturally sweet, like a tiny river flowing in the distance and I turned, content and ready for bed. Yet, when I climbed into the inviting sheets of the double bed that Koi had abandoned to join the Pokémon the instant we had moved in, I felt a strong sense of... Something missing... Racking my mind failed to provide an answer and I turned over in the sheets, ready for sleep but for some reason not receiving it. Frustrated at my sudden attack of insomnia I sat up, reaching for the glass of milk I kept ready for nights like these, only to find that Viktor and Yuuri had taken it, being as terminally addicted as me. Giving an extensive sigh I gathered my thoughts together in one last attempt to force my mind to function on the sense of missing something. Someone? No... That can't be right, Koi was fine sleeping with the Pokémon and Taiyaki had seemed happy enough in her own little world, staring into space with a rather unidentifiable air about her. My door was inexplicably ajar and I climbed out of bed, dressed in a silly looking nightshirt to shut it, hoping the dark would consume not only me but eventually my thoughts as well. When I shambled over to it I heard the sudden patter of feet, my curiosity drawing me out into the hallway to catch a glimpse of something yellow disappearing down the stairs. Probably Haitono on one of his late night 'patrols'. I strolled downstairs and called softly, trying not to wake anyone 'Haitono, try not to cause too much noise, Ok?' Another patter of feet. I yawned and, content with myself, turned around and returned to my room, the double bed seeming even more devoid now as I slipped in. Smiling, I drearily reached out and took the glass of milk from the side, thankful that Viktor and Yuuri hadn't claimed it tonight. Something was definitely wrong, now not only the sense of being incomplete but also... déja vu... for some reason. Looking up from my glass of somehow still cold milk I rolled my eyes at my own ineptitude, having left my door ajar again, despite being sure that I had shut it, so it was once again that I was clambering out of my ever growing bed. To be stopped in my tracks by the red eye in the gap of the door.
'- Cnt slp - cn - y' I sat down on the side of my bed, attempting to force my ears to actually cooperate with my brain so I could understand the muttered comment. 'I'm sorry Taiyaki I really can't hear you. If you want to tell me something then feel free to come in.' I patted the bed next to me, still slightly too tired to think straight. Taiyaki seemed reluctant and slowly made her way to the bed, as though afraid of being seen. 'Master (don't call me that) I- I- cantsleepcanisleepwithyousorrybye.' I registered the flurry of syllables just as she turned to run from the room, an alarmingly bright shade of crimson and I found myself not wanting her to leave, oddly. 'Taiyaki, we used to sleep together all the time in Sinnoh, just because we actually have proper beds doesn't change anything.' I held out an inviting hand, moving over to one side of the suddenly small bed. 'It's warm.' An internal dilemma seemed to have been reached and she hesitantly made her way over to the bed. 'You're the one with the sharp teeth, not me.' She awkwardly sat down, a final barrier still to overcome but that suddenly burst like a damn as it finally clicked that I wasn't going to suddenly develop horns or something and she climbed in, muttering an embarrassed thanks. I told her to think nothing of it, confirming to her that the presence of a trusted relative will indeed help people to sleep. 'You see, it's a win-win situation, we both get to sleep quicker. That is if you do trust me as much as I trust you?' She turned around, her eyes suddenly a fiery blue that cast beautiful shadows upon the wall and I shifted back a bit, alarmed, as she reached out a paw and placed it upon my forehead. My vision was immediately consumed by the icy waves eminating from Taiyaki's eyes, surrounding me, filling me with.. power? no... Knowledge of power, the blue suddenly forming shapes, like those seen in the flames of the furnace; dancing forms of apparent life, perhaps seen by humans due to a longing for... A uniform, under the chaos, the fleeting bursts of sentience matching our short lives, gone in a instant, so few lost in so many.
I opened my eyes. Then I opened them again, now enthralled by the bolts of Aura that flowed through me, inside of me on much more than just a physical level, like an extra limb, part of my psychology; moving with me, following the same inexplicable ways of thoughtless direction as a leg or an arm. I moved these new eyes of mine around me, entire universes of information flowing from everything, but now they were no longer objects, just clouds of probability and law. Rapidly becoming drunk with this new vision I extended a tendril like a snake of ice towards a Joltik, skittering along the window sill and knew the Joltik, saw its movements, past present and future rolled into one and gift wrapped in an infinitely deep blue. I paused to think then sent a misty blue arm towards the door (or at least the outline of the door), which bypassed through it and formed a cocoon around the sleeping forms of the Pokémon next door. Each of them was eminating a unique but brilliant shade of the rainbow that, when my searching tentacle of sky brushed against, burst into astonishing patterns of Aura that somehow arranged themselves in my mind to create streams of information about their movements, both physically and mentally. I curiously examined Koi's shade of luminous black (though confusing this is the only way I can properly recount the colour of Koi's Aura), intrigued by the contrast to everyone else's brighter but somehow less intense forms. Finally I looked down, taking in my own shades, a sunset orange that was somehow both beyond deep but unlimited in height at the same time. The slight feeling of duality finally found and forced my mind at gunpoint to address the fact that Taiyaki seemed not to have an Aura, but was somehow part of mine... No, She had the same Aura as me. I pulled back, removing Taiyaki's paw and gasping for air that until a few seconds ago I could predict exactly what path would be taken by every single current. Taiyaki looked me in the eyes, somehow drawing me into that bottomless vermillion and I flushed a powerful claret. 'Do I trust you?' I gave a stunned sigh, possibly one of the only humans ever to have been gifted with full control of Aura. 'Ok, point taken. I umm, I don't really know how to respond to that.' Turning a shade to match mine, she suddenly pulled me into an embrace, narrowly avoiding her chest spike. 'You don't need to, just... just don't go.' More than a little confused I returned the hug and then slipped back into the covers, tired out. 'Come on, I really don't mind, I mean, we're practically siblings.' Taiyaki gave a nervous smile and relaxed from her perch on the edge, cautious of her spikes but also somewhat eager. I quickly began to doze off, somehow feeling full again with nostalgic bursts of my time in Sinnoh flooding back to me as, on an impulse, I lightly kissed the muzzle of her already sleeping form, looking for all the world like the most vulnerable of Bounsweet.