Glad this story is still getting written after a very long hiatus. Any and all feedback is appreciated. As always, I hope you enjoy it.

I'm studying N's face for a reaction. There is nothing to find; he won't even look at me. I am met with stony silence.

I don't take back what I said. It was a dumb speech. Pokemon liberation? Please. Pokemon and people are partners, we benefit too much from one another to not coexist. I'm feeling good and dopey, the best I've felt all day, so I don't give a damn if he disagrees. The pain is behind me. I feared collapsing on the hike from Undella bay to this backwater village. I'm kind of surprised I didn't.

"Hey, let's go somewhere to sleep," N pulls me out of my disjointed thoughts.

"Yeah… Well, actually," I chew my lip. "Why don't you find a room? And I'll head to a pokemon center and make sure Ombra is taken care of."

He mulls this over, "Good idea."

"Great." I ease myself off of the ground and grab two-hundred dollars out of my backpack and hand it to N. "That should cover it. Meet me at the pokemon center when you've found something."

"Okay."

"Great, I can see the pokemon center from here, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding me." It's true; in fact I can pretty much see the whole town from behind this building.

"Right, I'll see you soon." N's looking around nervously. I wonder what this paranoia is about. Eventually he takes off toward the north side of town, looking for a place to stay.

I head west towards the pokemon center, clutching Ombra's pokeball. This is my first sliver of aloneness I've had all day. After spending all that time with N, I'm positive he's hiding something. He is quiet at brooding by nature; but his 'holier than thou' attitude doesn't add up. I don't know what motivates this behavior, so I don't trust it. I'm tagging along with him, but to what end? I need to help myself out too. Maybe I can get some more information about the area at the pokemon center.

I walk inside. The inside is sterile and familiar. Maybe pokemon centers duplicate through mitosis?

I stride up to the counter. The nurse greets me, "hello, and welcome to the pokemon center. Would you like to rest your pokemon?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll your pokemon for a few seconds then." The nurse removes the pokball from my outstretched hand and hooks it up to her medical device; it beeps a few times before it flashes bright white to indicate completion. "Thank you for waiting. Your pokemon are restored to full health. We hope to see you again!" She smiles warmly and returns my refreshed pokemon to me.

"Hey, nurse?" I venture, "Are there any international methods of travel in this region?"

I doubt she gets questions often, I can tell by that look on her face, "Well, yes, all of our international cruise liners leave from Castelia city." She offers.

"Um-where is Castelia city?"

She's disheartened. "There is a map of Unova on the wall dear. I'm sorry but I need to take care of the people behind you."

I turn around. There's a line of trainers waiting on me to move, herded together like a little band of Mareep.

Baaaaaaaaa.

I mozy away from the nurses counter and examine the map on the wall until I find sleepy little Lacunosa town. I scan for Castelia City.

Son of a bitch.

Castelia City is halfway across the region. Well, at least by the time I leave Unova I'll be able to say I've seen most of it.

I rest my forehead on the map, and close my eyes tightly. I have weeks of travel ahead of me, and I don't even know where N is headed. Maybe to Castelia, if I'm lucky.

I can feel someone looking at me. "Miss, are you okay?" I glance over. It's some cooltrainer type, peering at me through rebellious locks of blue hair.

"I'm triple dipped in three flavors of…" I can feel angry tears welling up. "…Fuck. Right now. So, no. I'm not fucking okay." I exhale, the tears evaporate with my breath.

This cooltrainer looks baffled. "Um okay… Well, can I look at the map? I'm planning out my travels."

I throw my hands up in frustration and back away from the wall. "Go right ahead sir." I say it through my teeth. I glare straight at him.

He looks decently frightened.

I turn my heel on him and decide to walk outside. I'll wait for N out front.

It must be summer time because it's seven O'clock and the sun doesn't even threaten setting yet.

But the place is deserted. No one is outside. I hear the low cooing of something that reminds me of Noctowl. Evening has begun.

I set up shop right outside the pokemon center and imagine time rolling over me. I pop a Percocet in my mouth and envision my cares being washed away by some distant tide.

I try to concentrate on memories of home. Of Jhoto. I remember a pokemon called Chikorita. I remember living near a Violet City. It was ironic, I smile to myself, because it was called Violet City and it was still fairly rural. Anyway, Violet City had this big tower on the north end. It was like a tourist attraction. And the tower was dedicated to this pokemon.

But what pokemon? I concentrate, the tower was a homage to some pokemon on the tip of my tongue.

"Charlotte?" N sneaks up on me, and my concentration is shattered. Ah, my only friend. My suspicious, delicious, mysterious partner. "What are you doing out here? It's going to be dark soon."

This is funny to me for some reason, "Come on." I grab him at the arm and pull him down next to me on the grass. "I'm just watching the time pass by."

"It's peaceful here," N adjusts himself. "Was the pokemon center couch not good enough?"

"You know," I shake my head. "Too much stimulation in there. Those bright lights are bad for your eyes," I add.

He seems amused. "I see." He nods in the direction of the front door. "What about all that foot traffic?"

I press my tongue against my cheek, considering the passerbys bustling on through. I shrug, "you get used to it."

N doesn't say anything.

We sit in this manner until the blue fades from the sky.

"People are going to start thinking we're odd if we don't move," I finally say, breaking the silence.

"Right." N clambers to his feet. "Let's go and eat. And sleep. We need it."

The inn at Lacunosa Town is shabby; but well kept. Everything is made of wood, giving off the impression you've walked into some Milktank ranch.

Mooooo.

They have a buffet for travelers. They've even got poffins for Ombra. Some special import from the Sinnoh region.

I'll go with it.

We ate wordlessly. Too tired to really interact with each other. I loaded my plate with juicy meat and steamy pasta. I grabbed a whole bowl of exotic berries. I was famished.

I dig in; the meat feels so dry in my mouth. I feel nauseated as I swallow. I look at my plate longingly. My stomach must have shrunk in the hospital. I give up and just let my eyes do the eating.

I can feel Ombra's fur graze my thighs. He rubs his wet nose on my knee.

Good boy.

N's across from me, apparently having no problem stuffing himself. He glances over at my plate, his sharp eyes lingering on my berries. In between mouthfuls he gulps and points at the bowl, "You going to eat that?"
I slide the bowl across the table, "Go nuts."

"So was that the feast you imagined? You don't seem to eat much. Are you watching your weight? Because you probably shed enough at the hospital." N's leading me back to the room he purchased, actually offering conversation for once.

"My stomach isn't back up to speed yet." I admit, he stops in front of room 126, and looks at me as he digs for the keys in his pocket.

"I didn't think about that." He gives me an 'I'm sorry' look but don't say it. I haven't seen him do this yet.

It's an interesting development. Maybe he mulled something over on his alone time. Maybe he reached really far up his ass and pulled that stick out. I hope so.

He locates the key and unlocks the door to an all brown room with an all-white bathroom to match. The green sheets on two single beds look musty.

Hallelujah.

I toss my bag on the floor and throw myself on the bed, spread-eagle.

N neatly sits on the adjacent bed, closest to the window.

"You've got properness about you." I smirk up at the ceiling. "Were you raised to be princely?"

He's taking off his shoes. "You could say that." He's looking over at me.

I slide off the bed onto the floor. N doesn't say anything but follows suit. He takes off his hat and places it on the bed, shaking free messy hair. We're eye to eye. I look at his face properly for the first time since I was in the hospital. He looks about my age, but there is a bruised color beneath his eyes, as if he saw something really bad once. I shake my head to loosen the thoughts from my brain.

"I need to talk to you." I wring my hands together nervously. "Since I woke up, it's just been you and me together. I don't know if you know this." I swallow hard, "but I can't remember anything before waking up in the hospital with you and Ombra. At least not anything recently before that. Do we know each other? How did we end up like this? Where are we going?" I kind of just stop and throw my hands up as if to indicate the massive weight of all my questions. The meat in my stomach is settling uncomfortably.

N is speechless the entire time, drinking everything in. "Is there some reason you waited to mention this. What about being in the hospital? You didn't tell them about this?" He looks incredulous.

"I…" Maybe this was a mistake. "I was so overwhelmed by the present it's like I almost didn't notice it at first. I just woke up and there I am, with tubes coming out of my body and all these nurses around me- it was fucking freaky." I can't help but laugh. "But I'm noticing it now. And I think, at least I'm pretty sure, that I'm not from around here. I wasn't bluffing about being unfamiliar with Unova. I need to go home."

N's jaw drops. "I knew about it. Sort of. Ombra told me while you were sick that if I left, you would have no one."

It's my turn to be speechless. He was talking to my pokemon? Do they do this often? I give an uncertain nod.

"Huh." He rests his thumb on his chin. "It's not often we get foreigners in Unova. Do you remember why you came here?" He seems intrigued.

I sigh, "No. I swear it feels like I've never even heard of this place. I was hoping maybe you knew. Maybe we knew each other from before the hospital and I just forgot." Now that I've admitted to my amnesia, this all seems terribly silly. I chuckle to myself.

I think N feels this. "Nope. You know, I just found you and brought you to the hospital."

"I think maybe the nurse said something like that." I'm a little horrified when I realize I'm not even certain that happened.

"Anyway, you were in bad shape. You were washed up on shore, barely alive. I think they suspected an accident at sea after I told them where I found you and brought you to the hospital." He looks uncomfortable, like he wants to say something else.

"I don't even remember being on a boat." I look away.

He changes the subject. "We're headed to Icirrus City. I want to be there in two weeks, max."

"Where is that in relation to, let's say, Castelia City?" N's wearing that same face the nurse from earlier had and my heart drops in my chest.

"About another two months from Icirrus City, why?"

I wince. "Because that's the only international port in this region."

"Oh my." N looks like he's in deep thought. "You just want to go home, don't you?"

For the first time since I've been awake, I feel relief. I lift my shoulders, enjoying their weightlessness. "Yes." I close my eyes. "Yes." It feels so good to say that word.

"You know Charlotte." N isn't looking at me anymore.

My mouth is dry again. "Yes?"

"It wasn't a bad talk." He says after a pause. "We'll revisit this. But get some sleep first." He smiles weakly. "Goodnight."

I want to say more, but there really is nothing left to say. I'm just afraid. "Goodnight." I crawl over to the bathroom. It's immaculate. I undress and step in the shower. I'm too tired to really clean myself so I just stand under the hot water, indulging in the empty warmth. It's dark when I come out, and N is asleep. I crawl under the covers.

I'm sitting on a log near a dirt road and a Togetic is fluttering its diminutive wings above a nearby bush. The sun is hot on my skin.

"You should come with me." Togetic offers, buzzing around excietedly.

Holy shit.

Did that Togetic just talk?

I try to talk back but no words will come out. I feel myself getting up, ready to oblige, like some marionette on a string.

Togetic flutters carelessly through the trees, "I wanna show you something."

What? Where?

I feel compelled to follow. We eventually arrive near a clearing.

Togetic hums, "Well! Take a peek!"

I am overwhelmed by the smell of grass as I peer through the blades of grass to examine the grove.

It's Absol.

Those yellow eyes are paralyzing me. I can feel my soul squirm under that amber stare.

I hear the sound of glass breaking.

Absol rushes off with its elegant swiftness.

The sound of footsteps on carpet pulls me out of the dream.

The details of the grove are melting around me.

I open my eyes.