I spun on my heel to wave goodbye to the old tour guide who had greeted me at Cherrygrove's flower orchards, then turned around again and continued onward. The wildflower's natural perfume (that the town was always engulfed in) was soon replaced by the scent of ambiguous flora and fauna, and I breathed in deep as the nostalgic sights, sounds, and smells comforted my mind. Cyan followed behind me, and we would both stop occasionally so that he could investigate whatever interested him. I laughed happily as he tried to wrap his head around the entirely new surroundings – new to him, at least.

I heard my shoes make a soft 'crunch' in the wild grass as I entered Route 29, and Cyan let out a slight yelp. I looked at him and stopped, waiting for him to finish talking with a wild Sentret, and soon he toddled back to my side, staring up at me with big eyes, full of wonder and excitement. I smiled and swept him up into a hug, holding him close to my chest as we got closer and closer to our destination. I dropped over a ledge to take a shortcut, and soon enough the forest gave way to a familiar sight, and Cyan let out a slow gasp of surprise. I patted his head.

"Don't worry, buddy. You'll see Vivi and the rest of my Pokemon really soon." He gave me a thumbs-up and a "Dewott!" of reassurance, and I casually strolled into New Bark, the path leading to my childhood house permanently etched into my mind. The town was bathed in an orange glow from the slowly setting sun, and I exhaled, pure euphoria entering my mind.

The town was rather busy, considering it was the middle of the evening; there were children out all around playing with their Pokemon. One of them noticed me and pointed at Cyan, and I soon had a whole gaggle of toddlers, no higher than my knee, crowding around me for a good look at the unfamiliar Pokemon. I looked at Cyan, who looked back at me.

"Well, Cyan? Want to say hello?" Cyan's face broke into a goofy grin, and I set him down on the ground, where he was immediately beset by the children and their Pokemon, fawning over him in admiration. I let him play with the kids for a while, and simply waited as they began a game of tag. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see an older man smiling at me. His labcoat was stuffed full of papers, pens, and pencils, and he pushed his rectangle glasses onto his nose. I smiled.

"Hey there, Professor Elm." I said, and his smile grew wider.

"I suppose you've come back home for a quick pit stop?" He asked me, and I nodded, turning back to watch Cyan get tagged by a particularly nimble Pidgey. The Pidgey's trainer giggled at their victory, but it soon turned to mock-disappointment as Cyan tagged him back and dashed off again. I clapped slightly.

"Bill, promise to come by and show me your new Pokemon before leaving for Sinnoh." He wagged a finger at me, and I scratched my head. I probably should have expected him to be curious.

"Sure thing, Professor. How about tomorrow morning?" He looked up, 'hmm'-ing in thought, then nodded absentmindedly.

"I think that works, I don't have anything going on tomorrow morning…" As he continued to talk to himself, I headed over to Cyan, giving him a short nod that it was time to go. The children let out a groan of disappointment at having their game of tag cut short, but soon waved goodbye and continued the game without us. Cyan seemed to skip along, his first impression of the town quite the enjoyable one. I was glad that he liked the town, since if he liked it, the other probably would as well… well, except Reshiram – releasing him in the middle of the town would cause too much of an uproar, so I decided to wait until the town was asleep to let him roam around. Besides, I'd need his help to get to the Resort Area. Arriving in front of the last house, closest to the waterway that separated us from Kanto, I knocked on the worn, wooden door.

I heard a few pairs of footsteps, one very soft, the others a bit loud, and the door soon opened to reveal a very confused face, that soon broke into smiles as she saw me, her visitor. At her knees were the two others I had heard: the lavender fur of an Espeon contrasting with the glowing blue-and-black of an Umbreon. I knelt down to pat Crescent and Vivian, then stood back up to look at my mother, her bright hair waving slightly in the wind.

"Hey." I said. I suddenly heard – and felt – a mini-earthquake under my feet, and I shifted my feet to prepare for the inevitable shaking that never came. Cyan let out a surprised squeak and dashed over to my mother as I was beset upon by a veritable army of Pokemon, hugging me, cuddling my legs, chattering nonsense in their excitement. I yelped out in surprise, falling over, my messenger bag flying off of my arm onto the dusty ground, and felt all sorts of sensations at once. The face of a Raichu peeked out from under the pile of Pokemon, and gave me an overjoyed look, big brown eyes overflowing with happiness as she let out a "Rai rai!" I laughed and stroked her ear before attempting to extricate myself before I was too tangled. As I was freed from the dogpile, I saw a smiling red face standing next to my mother.

"Did you tell everyone about our adventures, Vivi?" He let out a nod of contentment, and I sighed in relief. Suddenly, a voice invaded my head, and I looked at the Espeon next to my mother.

"C'mon, Bill! Get inside before everyone tackles you again!" Nodding to Crescent, I grabbed my bag and quickly stepped inside, and Cyan, Crescent, Vivian, Vivi, and my mother followed, leaving the pile of Pokemon behind to recompose themselves.

We entered the living room, the television blaring out the weather for our area of Johto, and Crescent and Vivian made themselves comfortable on one of the beanbag chairs in the corner, cuddling up for a nap. Vivi sat on a couch opposite the one Cyan and I sat on, and a wonderfully-delicious smell wafted in from the kitchen, where my mother immediately went into. Cyan picked up on the smell before I did and began to drool, and I smiled as my mom came out, carrying a few of her Cinnabar Volcano burgers, barbeque sauce overflowing onto the plate. Vivi took a plate eagerly, and so did I, my mouth watering at the sight. I carefully broke the burger into pieces, and set it on the table, away from Cyan's pleading reach. I took out four Pokeballs and tossed them up, releasing Erin, Eiko, Refia, and Setzer, and before they could panic at their new surroundings, I jammed a small bite of burger into each of their mouths before finally allowing Cyan and myself to take pieces for ourselves.


"So, I suppose you'll be heading up to Sinnoh tomorrow?" My mother asked, as the last of the burgers were finished off. My Pokemon sat all around the living room, sighing happily, and most began to toddle off into the backyard to find a good place to sleep for the night. I watched the crowd file out before nodding to my mother.

"Yeah, I'm heading out after showing Elm my new Pokemon in the morning. Gotta get an early start to get to the Resort Area before dark." The partial truth, I suppose. I picked up the plates and dumped them in the sink, and I flicked on the faucet, running water over them before beginning to scrub them with a sponge. My mother let out a 'tch' and I could feel her smiling at my back.

"You just want to get there early so you can surprise Rose." I didn't respond, seeing as she had hit the nail on the head. As I loaded the dishes into the washer, I let my mind wander. How had Rose been since I had left for Unova? Had she earned any more of the Frontier Prints? Was she doing alright money-wise? Closing up the washer, my eyes drifted onto my bag. The strap drooped low onto the floor, and I saw a small purple object inside. I snapped my fingers.

"Hey, mom? I'm gonna go take a walk." I strode over to my bag and plucked the Master Ball out, pocketing it so that she wouldn't see. She cocked her head, then smiled.

"Alright. Don't be out for too long, though, or else you'll oversleep!" Waving to her, I walked out of the house and carefully closed the door behind me, hearing it click shut. I began to walk through the city as quietly as I possibly could, and didn't stop until I had reached the base of the mountain, at the very end of Route 46. Making sure nobody was around, I lightly tossed the Master Ball forward, and it landed on the ground with a plop and opened, releasing Reshiram in a flash of purple energy. The white dragon craned his neck upwards and stretched his wings, letting out a soft cry of contentment, and I walked up to him, retrieving his ball and slipping it back into my pocket.

"Hey, Reshiram." I said, rubbing his side. He turned towards me and smiled, his cyan eyes gazing intently into my deeper blue ones. "I thought you also might want some time to relax, but since you're... well, legendary, I thought it might have been better to let you out here instead of in town." The dragon nodded his head, letting out an odd chirp in response, and he nuzzled the side of my face. I laughed at the dragon's warm touch, and stroked the top of his head in return.

"Bill?" I heard a voice in my head, and I jumped slightly, turning around to find the perpetrator. I couldn't see anything... who was... I felt a fuzzy thing on top of my foot, and I reached down to pick up the little green hedgehog, who let out a squeak of protest. I held her up to my face, and she shrunk back as both Reshiram and I looked at her accusingly.

"Shaymin, what are ya doing here?" I asked her, holding her close to my body to keep her warm. She curled up into a tiny, shivering ball of fur before answering.

"I wanted to see what you were doing... you don't normally go out by yourself at night." Smiling, I gave Shaymin a quick hug before uncurling her myself and tickling her underbelly. She began to laugh uncontrollably and rolled around in my cradle-hold, and I continued to tickle her until she was all out of breath. Sighing happily, I sat down against a tree and gazed at the sky, thinking about nothing in particular. Reshiram let out another soft cry and sat down next to me, covering us up with one of his wings. Shaymin nested herself in my jacket, and I stroked her back, getting a happy purr out of her in the process. And suddenly, out of nowhere, a brilliant idea popped into my mind.

"Hey... Shaymin?" I began, and the little hedgehog peeked her face up at mine.

"What's up?" She replied, letting out a yawn in the middle of it. I stroked her back one more time before lifting her up and placing her on my head.

"When we head back to Sinnoh... would you head over to the Flower Paradise?" I asked, and Shaymin tilted her snout. Giving her a small smile, I began to explain my plan.

I returned to that same spot the next morning, after letting Elm look over my Unova Pokemon (excluding Reshiram, of course) and sending the rest of my Pokemon to my Villa from the lab. After waving a hasty goodbye to my mother, Crescent, and Vivian, I practically ran all the way to the base of the mountain and released both Shaymin, now in her Sky forme, and Reshiram. As Reshiram stretched his wings and flapped them a bit, I handed Shaymin a small pouch, which she tossed onto her back.

"Alright, so I just bring this pouch to the Flower Paradise?" She asked, and I gave her two thumbs-up.

"Yeah, that's it. If you can't actually deliver it, you can do what you like with it - leave it there, wait to deliver it, whatever." She jumped side to side a few times to ready herself, then pushed off the ground and began to hover.

"Alright, Bill. See ya back at the Villa!" She exclaimed (as much as she could, telepathically), and zoomed off before I could wave her a proper goodbye.

"Then again... it's not really a goodbye if it's a 'see ya later'." I rubbed Reshiram's flank before I swung one foot over his neck. He crowed out a bit in surprise, but I patted him to calm him down. Taking my Pokegear and my Go-Goggles out of my bag, I strapped the Pokegear to my wrist and switched it to the Map card. I then took the Go-Goggles and secured them to my face, testing them a few times to make sure they wouldn't unstick.

"Alright, Reshiram... let's goooooooooooo-" I cut myself off as Reshiram gave a mighty push into the air, causing me to shut my eyes and hang onto his neck for dear life, and he flapped off into the sky with a joyous cry.

I remember staying in that position for a long time, only half-opening my eye every once in a while to check the Pokegear's map. Each minute that passed in darkness, each time my resolve failed. My dream...

"Reshiram... I'm going to try something new... and if I freak out, will you find a place to rest so I can calm down...?" Despite my deliberate blindness, I could feel Reshiram nodding in agreement. I began to draw on all my courage. There was a sudden bounce in the flight, and I gasped loudly, but gritted my teeth and continued.

"Be brave... use all your courage!" I whispered to myself, the words a mantra in my mind as I steeled myself. Slowly, very slowly, I peeked one eye open all the way. Unfortunately, that eye immediately looked down and saw the sea, at least a good few miles below, and it shut in fear. Reshiram let out a chirp and I felt him going into a dive.

"No!" I scolded myself. "My dream... N, I promise, I'll live to the fullest!" And as I felt Reshiram leveling off again, I forced both of my eyes open.

And I gasped.

We were no longer high above the sea and clouds, but right at the edge of the water, our speed creating waves all around us. The wind whipped at my face and ears, but my eyes stayed protected by the Go-Goggles. I looked all around us, but I couldn't see anything other than the bright, sparkling, open ocean. I felt myself chuckle under my breath, and it soon turned to full blown laughter.

"I don't believe it!" I yelled to myself in triumph. "Ha-HA!" I felt my blood replaced by pure ecstasy, and I suddenly let go of Reshiram, punching both fists into the air, laughing wildly all the way. Reshiram looked back at me, smiled, and put on a burst of speed, shocking me back to hanging onto his neck. I didn't care what he did anymore, to be honest.

Because for the first time, I was finally flying.


As I recalled Reshiram into his ball, I stumbled into my Villa, exhausted but oddly happy. I placed the Master Ball onto the small glass table that greeted me at the front door. Flopping onto the bed, I heard a soft yelp of surprise, and I jumped off the bed and twisted around in midair, breathing hard at the sudden intruder. My shock was gone as quick as it came.

"Rose?" It was less of a question and more of a statement, as her chocolate-brown hair peeked out from under the bed's covers. As she burst out of the bed in excitement, a Vulpix dashed out from under the bed, standing on her hind legs and staring up at me. I laughed and patted the little fox's head before looking over Rose. She was still wearing her big, fluffy red winter coat, and I looked into her big, burgundy eyes lovingly.

"Good to see you, Bill. Have a nice trip?" She asked coyly, folding her arms. I wrapped her into a hug, holding her close, and she sighed into my shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess. It was pretty nice..." I started, and her eyes shifted towards me. "...But I think I'd like to bring you along next time." She chuckled into the hug, falling backwards onto the bed and taking me with her.

"Well, then... next time you get to go to Unova, I'll come with you. Deal?" She asked, and I snubbed her nose playfully, kicking off my shoes and kissing her cheek.

"Deal." Cara the Vulpix hopped up onto the bed and fidgeted a bit on the pillow before curling up and falling asleep, and soon, I could hear Rose snoring as well. Looking out the window of the Villa, I smiled, contentment taking over my body, and I soon drifted off into an afternoon nap as well.

If only for a little while, my journey was over. If only for a little while, I was finally home.


"Finally, I made it..." Shaymin muttered to herself, dropping the pouch onto the grass and panting slightly. As she looked at the orange-blue sky, she felt herself morph back into her Land forme, and she nibbled on the grass of the Flower Paradise for a snack.

"I wonder if I'll have to wait very long..." She didn't have to wait long at all, as she suddenly saw her shadow grow much, much larger. She spun around and screamed, seeing a large, black dragon towering over her, his tail crackling with bright blue electricity, and she scampered behind the pouch and looked out in fright.

"Relax, little Pokemon... he won't hurt you." She felt a hand pat her back, and she squeaked in surprise, turning around to see herself being petted by a young man with a green ponytail, a black cap on his head. Her eyes lit up, and she wriggled her way into the pouch, coming out with a piece of paper.

"You're a green-haired guy with a big black dragon! This must be for you, then." She nudged the man's leg, and he plucked the piece of paper from her mouth. She stepped back and smiled uncertainly, hearing the dragon behind her growling slightly, but the man's smile only grew more and more as he looked over the paper. When he was finished, he folded up the piece of paper and put it into his breast pocket, and he knelt down and patted Shaymin again.

"Did he ask you to bring this here?" She nodded a yes, and the man's smile grew even wider than she thought was humanly possible. He picked the little hedgehog up, taking off his cap and putting her on his head, and he walked over to the dragon, where they began to watch the setting sun.

"So this is why he said I would like this place..." The man muttered under his breath, and he looked fearlessly into the sky. "Little Pokemon?"

Shaymin looked down at the man with a curious expression on her face. "What is it, mister?"

"Tomorrow, when you go back to him... tell him I said 'thank you'." Shaymin smiled.

"Sure thing, mister." She yawned, and felt her eyes droop from the now chilly night air. "Good... good night, mister..." The man felt the Pokemon fall asleep on his head, and, feeling rather tired himself, he sat down, leaning on Zekrom for support. As N felt the dragon radiate a warm energy, he felt himself fall asleep as well.

"Bill... thank you."