One Step Forward, One Tumble Back

Inyssa woke up certain that someone had lit a box of firecrackers inside her skull.

She looked up at the ceiling of the poorly illuminated room, feeling something heavy and wet on top of her forehead. A few minutes passed in that stupor until she turned her head to the side and saw Barry sitting in a nearby chair, reading a magazine that looked like a comic book. His anxious fingers fidgeted on the corners of the pages.

"Barry… I think I died."

Her voice, rough as sandpaper, startled him. He lowered the magazine to his lap strongly, relief flickering across those big, brown eyes of his. The corner of his mouth quirked up.

"Not until you become the Champion and pay me that million dollars I fined you."

It took her a few minutes to get used to the world turning into a dizzying blur every time she moved her head. With difficulty, she managed to sit against the frame of the bed while Barry got her some water to wash down the taste of alcohol and shame in her throat.

She didn't feel quite there yet, as strange as it sounded inside her head. This wasn't like waking up after Enma left her or after Mars beat her up, there was no invisible poison clawing through her veins in an attempt to paralyze her. She was fine, other than her pounding headache and the ache in her muscles. That was kind of the point. For once all the pain was only physical, and she was grateful for that.

"What the hell happened last night?" she asked after downing a glass of water.

Barry grimaced in one of those specific ways that only she could understand.

"How much do you remember?"

"Uh… until, I fell, I think." She rubbed the back of her head, noticing a small bump there. "Did I pass out?"

"You'd be in the hospital if you had." Barry shook his head disapprovingly. "We saw it, you know. We were just looking for you with Reiko, Percy and Lucas when we saw you fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes."

"Come on, I'm sure I was more graceful than that."

A smile came easy to her, though she didn't understand why. By all means she should be dying of shame, horrified that everyone had seen her embarrass herself in such a way. And yet… she literally didn't have the energy to care at the moment.

It felt incredibly liberating.

"You did a flop in the air like a drunk ballerina."

She raised one hand weakly and punched his leg.

"Don't make fun of your poor, bedridden best friend," she said, feigning frailty.

"I mean, it wasn't funny at the time. Those guys you were hanging out with were super worried and… it almost got pretty ugly," he said, nibbling on his lower lip. "Reiko thought they'd been coercing you to drink and almost punched the guy in the mouth, until you told us everything was okay. At least… I think that's what you said. It wasn't easy to understand you when half the words you said sounded like they were from a different language."

She tried to imagine that scenario, along with her friends' confusion, and she couldn't help but laugh. What was happening? Why wasn't she feeling bad about it?

"Reiko didn't fight them, did she? They're super nice and didn't do anything to me."

"Yeah, you told us. After that you didn't want us to go so we just… hung out for a while," he shrugged. "It was fun, and you're right in that they're nice peeps. But after a while I brought you back because I was worried."

It could've been a lot worse, Inyssa thought. At least she hadn't caused any strife and –hopefully– she still remained on good terms with Zachary and the rest. So what if the price had been a bit of drunk humiliation on her part?

She shook her head slightly, placing a hand against her forehead. What was she…?

"So… what else did I do?" she asked, and noticing the confusion on Barry's face she added: "I mean, I'm sure I did a lot more stupid shit. I'd just like to have a log of it all so I can read it later and weep with horror."

Barry let out an 'Oh boy' and leaned back into his chair while Inyssa tried to pay attention to all her drunk transgressions against common sense.

Apparently she'd invited all her Pokemon to hang out with them, and at one point tried to dance with Shadi, not remembering that her arms were literal scythes and as such not something she should grab onto. She tried to climb a tree, though her poor physical state and lack of coordination landed her on the ground a few times. She hugged Reiko and apologized to her at least twenty times for being previously angry at her. She flirted with Simone and then stopped because she felt embarrassed, and she spent an unreasonable amount of time telling everyone how cool and amazing Barry was.

He blushed as he told her that last part. The worst part for Inyssa was being absolutely certain that he wasn't lying.

Still, as much as she tried to listen her mind began to slowly drift away, eyes turning a pale, almost sickly green as her gaze became distant.

Why was she okay with all of this? There was no anger to summon, no more poison to cloud her judgment. The only thing wrong with her was the piercing, disorienting pain of her body failing her. She shouldn't be happy about that, and yet she was.

She looked down at her hands while the sound of Barry's voice faded around her. As much as she wanted to hate her past self for drinking too much, all she remembered from that night was that feeling of pure bliss. Like nothing in the world could possibly be wrong, like all the broken, jagged pieces of herself fit perfectly for once.

She found herself missing that feeling, and that's when panic hit her. A familiar image flashed in front of her. A fragile, miserable woman laying on her bed, surrounded by empty bottles. Her eyes faded, devoid of any care in the world.

Inyssa felt a sudden urge to get off the bed and run towards the bathroom's mirror. Would she look the same as her? Would her eyes be just as empty?

Fear tried to break through the hard shell of apathy built around her, though it only managed to shake her mind a little. Was this what her mother felt every day? It would've been easy to block everything out that way, Inyssa thought. Her husband's death, her oldest daughter's disappearance. The unbridled hatred she received every day from her youngest daughter…

She desperately tried to convince herself that she wasn't anything like Johanna, that never in a million years would she become the same as her. But then again… had she not tried to escape the pain too, back then? In a more drastic way, a more permanent one. If she'd known about this feeling, about how easily she could get rid of all the hurt and anger by only sacrificing part of her wellbeing…

She wasn't sure she would've chosen differently from her mother. That doubt was enough to finally crack part of her armor, and all of a sudden she felt like throwing up.

"Niss? Hey, Niss!"

The world came back into focus with a jolt. Barry was staring at her, a crease in his forehead.

"Y-yeah?"

"You look…" He hesitated for a moment. "…pale. Do you feel fine?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she said blankly. "Thirsty. Do you mind getting some more water?"

He nodded and left the room a few seconds later. With a strange sense of urgency Inyssa grabbed the Pokétch from the bed table and turned it on. Hao's floating body appeared first; he seemed to be sleeping, judging by his closed eyes and loud snores. Ignoring that, she opened the message app and stared at the white screen for far longer than she should have.

Her fingers pressed strongly against the edges of the device, and the faintest spark of anger had resurfaced from the depths of her stomach. She knew it would happen sooner or later, and wanted to write the text before it took over.

No, she thought with conviction. We're not… I'm not going to go back to that.

What had happened last night wasn't the answer, she knew that better than anyone. But it'd been a start, a strong jolt that had allowed her to be someone different for a few hours. She wanted that feeling back, but knew that she would need to achieve that through work and effort instead of by emptying a bottle.

I'm stronger than her.

For the first time, she didn't feel angry at that realization. She felt pity, and something else that reminded her of better days, when she could hug and smile at her mother without dread and fury paralyzing her.

I have to be the bigger person.

With trembling fingers she began to type. At first it came easy enough, though when she got to the end of the text it felt like trying to write through a block of cement in her stomach.

After a full minute she finished it, and before she had a chance to regret it she hit the Send button. The words appeared on the white screen:

Hi, mom! It's me, Niss, I just wanted to know how you were doing.

We're in Pastoria right now with Barry and a few friends. It's beautiful here, I'll see if I can send you a few pictures when I have time.

I already have three badges, and I'm about to get my fourth. You'll never believe it, but Crasher Wake is the Gym leader. I know you're not a fan of wrestling but I think it's pretty cool. I want to take a selfie with him once I beat him.

I'll talk to you more when I get the badge. I hope you're not having too rough a time over there. I'll come back to visit when I can, but for now I gotta go.

I love you.

She read it one last time and put the device back on top of the table, as if it were about to bite her. She knew there was a chance of her regretting her actions later, but as far as she was concerned, future her could go fuck herself. If she wanted to improve then she had to take any advantage she could.

Trying to distract herself she looked around the room, and noticed her coat and belt full of Pokeballs hanging from a nearby chair at the other side of the bed. The sight of them brought an involuntary smile to her face, and she felt as if the air she was breathing became clearer. All six of them were still th-

Her smile dropped dead.

S-six?

Why… why where there six? She'd broken Hao's Pokeball back in Veilstone, hadn't she?

The door opened then, startling her. Barry came in with a bottle of water on one hand and a small bag of biscuits on the other. The bag was opened, and his cheeks were puffed like those of a Pachirisu.

"Hey, Barry…"

"Hhm?" he perked up his nose, swallowing. "What is it?"

"Did you accidentally give me one of your Pokeballs?" She pointed at the belt. "There's six of them."

Barry raised an eyebrow, as if he didn't understand the question.

"Niss, I told you that already," he smiled. "Did you doze off or something?"

"T-told me what?" she asked hesitantly, sitting up straight against the frame of her bed.

"That… weird Pokemon, the blue one you and those people were hanging out with…" He pointed at the sixth Pokeball, "…You caught him, remember?"

Inyssa's jaw dropped, and her eyes went wide as plates.

"I did WHAT!?"

"And… you're sure you're okay with this?"

Inyssa spoke to the screen of her Pokétch, at the other side of which Simone showed her a patient smile. She'd decided to contact them as soon as possible, even if she was still bedridden and her head practically bursting open with pain. In the chair next to her bed, Barry had pressed a hand against his mouth to stifle laughter.

"I told you, it's all good," said Simone with a wave of their hand. "He's the one who wanted you to catch him, remember?"

Inyssa crinkled her nose and looked down, heat rising to her cheeks. She had absolutely no idea how the whole thing had transpired.

"But… isn't he your friend? Aren't you and Zachary going to miss him?"

"The only thing Zach is missing right now is hangover medication," Simone chuckled. "He got even more hammered than you; poor guy's gonna be laying down for a while."

She tried to speak up again, but Simone interrupted her by raising their hand.

"It's okay, Niss, seriously." She somewhat recoiled at the sound of someone else using that nickname. Had she… had she told them to use it last night? "Johnny's… kind of weird, but he's been a good friend to us when we were down. Now that we're all making it on our own, he must've decided that you needed him more than us."

An odd discomfort grew inside Inyssa's chest. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed and unconsciously tried to make herself smaller.

"Alright… but you guys can call me and talk to him whenever you want. I'll also bring him back to visit once in a while."

She couldn't shake off the image of her as the Quagsire's divorced mother, making arrangements for him to meet the rest of his parents every weekend or so. A smile broke through her efforts to hide it.

"I'm sure we'll miss him plenty, but he's the one who wanted to go with you," said Simone. "Besides, I reckon he'd be pretty useful to you. For battling and all that."

Inyssa's eyes went wide. She hadn't considered that at all. Indeed, as much as she didn't like water types she needed to catch one sooner or later, and the Quagsire's secondary ground type along with his beefy defenses would fit in her team perfectly.

"I… think I could make that work," she said, a dozen battle plans running through her head already. "He'll need some training though. I'll start on that as soon as I can get out of bed."

She looked at Barry, who leered back with a look of 'That's not happening until I'm absolutely sure you're feeling better.'

"Well, whenever you're ready to fight Crasher Wake let us know! We'll be there to cheer for you." Simone smiled. "Though now I gotta go to work, so we'll talk later! I hope you get better soon!"

With a blip their face disappeared from the screen, which returned to the familiar sight of a snoring Hao. Her lips slowly pursed, and the faintest spark of an idea began to form on the back of her mind.

Ignoring that for the time being, she lowered her wrist and leaned back onto the frame of the bed, letting out a sigh.

"I guess Wrathia and Auri will get a new training partner," she said, looking up at Barry.

"Why don't you let him out now?" he said. "That way you can start getting to know each other."

She nodded, and hesitantly grabbed what she knew to be his Pokeball, judging by how new and shiny it looked. She moved it between her fingers for a moment, feeling its weight, and let it open with a flash of light.

The Quagsire appeared in the middle of the room, his tiny eyes as dazed and his smile as aloof as she remembered from last night. It took him a few seconds to realize he was out of the Pokeball. He moved his head slightly to the right and left, and then stared directly at his new trainer.

"Saair," he said, opening his mouth wide.

Inyssa hesitated for a moment. How was she supposed to introduced herself so a Pokemon like him?

"Hey there…" She waved weakly. "…I guess your name is Johnny? It'd be rude to change it now so I guess that's what I'm gonna call you. Definitely not gonna use the Jigglejam part because that's just stupid."

Johnny didn't blink, and Inyssa didn't know if he was even listening to her.

"Er… anyway," she stammered, trying to get the words out. "I'm your trainer now, and I hope we can work together from now on. I'll introduce you to the rest of the team later, alright? All you'll need to do is work hard and I'm sure you'll be a great asset."

She offered him her hand to shake. At first the Quagsire didn't react at all, and Inyssa feared he might've fallen asleep with his eyes open. However, after a few seconds, he raised his short fin of a hand and bopped her on the nose.

She could hear Barry cackling next to her, and with her cheeks turning red she tried her best not to do the same.

"Alright then… I guess your aim's the first thing we'll have to work on."

A few bottles of water, one Ibuprofen and several instances of Poochyena eyes against Barry later and she was as good as… well, as good as she would ever be considering how little she took care of herself. Certainly good enough to start training again, which she did as soon as the world stopped spinning around her with each step she took.

However, it wasn't all roses and Pecha berries. It became apparent after a few hours of training that Johnny would need some time to catch up to the rest of his teammates.

Not that he was weak, far from it, as Inyssa discovered when he made the ground shake and crumble with a single stomp of his foot. A reasonable amount of power was hidden in that chubby body of his, the problem was that he didn't know how to use it optimally. He was slower than a Shuckle, dimmer than a pitch black room and it took him an unreasonable three seconds to perform each attack.

On the positive side, it was extremely hard to take him down. As much as Steven and Shadi had tried to weaken him the Quagsire absorbed damage like a sponge on water. By the time they managed to defeat him they were so out of breath they couldn't fight anymore.

Bret was the only one who had no difficulty winning against him, as his grass attacks were incredibly effective on the poor thing.

"Now now, don't get so cocky," Inyssa said, patting the Roselia on the head. "You're not gonna fight someone four times weak against you every day, you know."

A sly smile formed on Bret's face, and she could see him raise an eyebrow expectantly.

"Oh?" Inyssa smiled back. "You think you're that good? You think you could defeat Crasher Wake on your own, big guy?"

Bret didn't respond. Instead he turned around and started walking away. After a few seconds he stopped, took in a deep breath and raised both rose-covered hands to the sides.

"What are you-?"

She exhaled sharply; recognizing that pose.

Bret took one perfect step forward, and began to dance.

Less than a minute later, Inyssa stared dumfounded at the cracked and uprooted circle of earth in front of her. Clouds of dust still floated all around them and a couple of trees had been toppled violently to the sides. It looked like a hurricane had just passed by.

"Wh-when… when did you learn…?"

Bret's legs failed him and he fell to his knees, breathing heavily. The green of his body looked paler, and the roses on his hands had lost a surprising amount of petals. Even so, he looked to the side, towards his trainer, and showed her that same sly smile once more.

And just like before, Inyssa shone it back to him.

"I guess I know how we're gonna take him down tomorrow."

The day of their battle came without much fanfare, which in a way might've helped their chances.

The crowd cheered, the commentators screamed, and Inyssa wished they would all shut the fuck up a bit so she could concentrate on the damn fight.

"Keep it up with Leech Seed!"

Her yell reached Bret, who nodded and jumped into the air, pushing himself up with one of his vines against the floating platforms of the arena. His opponent flew just under him, covered in a coat of swirling water.

Turning around mid air, he saw the Floatzel dive into the water once more. His dark shape moved through the pool like a bullet, and he knew there wasn't much chance of hitting him with that kind of speed.

He smiled to himself. It was a good thing that hitting him wasn't the plan.

Pointing with both arms below he shot a handful of small, brown seeds that rained all around the pool. None of them hit Floatzel, who had gotten tired of waiting and now lined himself up to jump up at his opponent. Bret could make out his gleaming yellow eyes and the bright orange of his fur even while underwater.

The commentator's voices resounded around him.

"Is this going to be the end for Inyssa once more!? Both combatants have their last Pokemon out, but it doesn't seem like that Roselia has a chance to hit his opponent!"

"Indeed, I would be inclined to count this one as a loss already."

Inyssa smiled brightly at their words. If only they knew…

"Use Magical Leaf!"

"Counter with Quick Attack!"

Bret Joined both arms together and shot down a torrent of glowing, sharp leaves. His opponent shot upwards from the water like a jet, and in mid air dodged every single projectile as if it were the easiest thing in the world. In a blink of the eye he was gone, and before Bret could react he felt a heavy impact on his back, and plummeted down towards the pool. The impact against one of the platforms knocked the wind out of him, barely avoiding knocking him out.

"Was that all, missy? This wasn't any different from our last match!" Crasher Wake yelled at Inyssa, earning cheers from the audience. "I would've expected a trainer like you to at least have half a mind to try harder!"

Floatzel fell elegantly into the platform in front of his trainer, his bright teeth forming a mocking smile. Wake mirrored this, his eyes gleaming with the confidence of someone convinced of their victory.

The same gleam that was on Inyssa's eyes that very moment.

"Half a mind?" she chortled. "Judging by how blind you and your Pokemon are I'd wager you two don't even make up a quarter of one!"

Without waiting for a response she threw her hand forward, and gave the command:

"Bret! Grass Knot!"

Wake raised an eyebrow, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. How was Bret going to use that attack when he had no solid ground to place his hands against?

The Roselia closed his eyes, deep in concentration, and a moment after dozens of vines exploded upwards all around the arena.

"Wha-! How…!" Crasher Wake took a step back, mouth gaping. "Floatzel, try to…!"

But it was too late, and his Pokemon had been too startled to react. More than thirty vines shot all across the room towards him, coiling around his limbs and lifting him high into the air with the strength of iron chains.

"Didn't you see, Wake?" Inyssa raised her palm, her lips forming the mocking hook of a smile. "All those failed attempts at using Leech Seed… I guess you didn't consider the vines inside could be triggered remotely?"

He shot her a grim look, balling his fists.

"Floatzel! Cut them up!"

The fox' twin tails started glowing with energy, and Inyssa knew they didn't have more than a couple seconds until he freed himself. He hadn't received any damage so far; there was no way a single Magical Leaf could finish the job. But she had an idea as to what might.

"Bret, NOW!"

He closed his eyes, and time seemed to stop as he moved. First he took that delicate step forward, and a moment after he spun in place, not too fast nor too slow. His rose-covered hands left a floating trail of petals with every movement they made. They stayed frozen in the air, as if held by an invisible thread, and soon created a thick cloud of red and blue that detailed with perfection each step in the Pokemon's complex and beautiful dance.

He stopped just before reaching the end of the platform, and finally opened his eyes. Looking up he set his gaze on his opponent, who had already begun to break free from his thorny bonds. He parted his lips and blew a miniscule gust of wind forward, releasing the attack.

The petals, now free, began to circle all around him. Soon Bret was the eye of the storm, standing in the middle of a wide, raging maelstrom of razor-sharp petals that traveled like bullets towards Floatzel. It engulfed him completely, severing all the bonds keeping him in place, and threw him upwards like a ragdoll. Like a paper tiger inside a tornado.

Unable to even move, he spun and spun in the middle of the air while the petals dug into his skin. Bret stared from below, only ordering the attack to cease when he saw his opponent fall unconscious. The projectiles stopped moving once more, and after a moment fell as petals should, slowly and methodically. Floatzel had no such luck; his body hit the pool with a sonorous splash, sinking to the bottom before his trainer could retrieve him back into his Pokeball.

Wake hesitantly lowered the arm holding it, eyes meeting with his opponent. They exchanged a knowing look and a fleeting smile, and he nodded.

Inyssa seemed to deflate from relief alone. She took a heavy step back, breathed in and raised her fist to the sky, victorious.

The audience exploded in cheers, followed by the muffled voices of the commentators.

"I cannot believe my eyes, folks! Inyssa has just earned herself the Fen badge with the help of that terrifying strategy! What even was that attack!?"

"That was Petal Dance, a highly damaging and very complicated move to execute. I'm surprised a simple Roselia could pull it off."

"Well Matchstick, after all we've seen I'd say that surprising is falling a bit short to describe these trainers, don't you think!?"

"Yes… I suppose you're right, Melissa."

Their voices faded into that of the audience and, down below on the almost empty arena, an exhausted yet satisfied smile flashed across Inyssa's face.

Having their badge cases halfway filled up put a spring in Inyssa's and Barry's step for the rest of their time in Pastoria.

Unfortunately, that wasn't much. With the end of the month approaching, they only had a couple days to make it to Celestic before the Festival of Spirit began. They'd both agreed that they were not going to miss such a spectacular event, especially when it was being rumored that the Champion herself would make an appearance. Their plan was to spend the day in the town and then fly towards Floaroma, where they could visit Bertha's grave and from there take a boat to the location of their next Gym battle: Canalave City.

Lucas was also heading there, as he told them just before boarding a cruise ship on the docks of Pastoria. Professor Rowan was supposed to attend a scientific convention held in the city's hall building, and that would be the perfect opportunity to show him the project he'd been working on. It also didn't hurt that there lay one of the biggest and most impressive libraries in the whole world, something that even Inyssa and Barry were interested to visit if they had the chance.

She hung out one last time with Zachary, Simone and Rory, and let Johnny the Quagsire properly say goodbye to all of them. There were a few tears here and there, which utterly baffled her, but she managed to keep her mouth shut for once. In the end they exchanged numbers and she promised them she'd message them once in a while.

The problem –at least to Inyssa– was with Reiko and Percy, who would head out towards Snowpoint soon to get their seventh badge. And she couldn't quite have that happen yet.

She'd been thinking her fair share the past few days, slowly ruminating on an idea she had during her time being hung over. At first she had considered it ludicrous and chastised herself for even thinking about it, but the more and more it simmered in the folds of her brain the more it began to make sense. She didn't want it to, because it would mean losing yet another friend, but…

It's the right thing to do, that nagging voice inside her head wouldn't stop saying. She could swear it had gotten louder ever since the night of the party.

So, after a lot of debating with herself –which she was sure looked quite odd from the outside, as evidenced by Barry's concerned expression every time it happened– she finally decided to go with it. The day before Reiko left she told her to meet her on the outskirts of town, where no one could hear their conversation.

"What is it?" Reiko asked once the two of them were alone. "I swear if you apologize to me one more time I'm gonna slap you so hard your neck will spin like a Hoothoot's."

"It's not that!" she hurried to say. "It's… it's about Team Galactic, and Charon."

Reiko's shoulders tensed up at the sound of that name. Her eyebrows formed a grim line over the bridge of her nose.

"What about them?"

Inyssa's wrist itched under the weight of the Pokétch, and she had to stop herself from touching it.

"I know… someone that might help you find them," she declared, voice firm. "Someone whom Charon created himself. And he's as eager to punish the man as you are."

Reiko fell silent, a shadow of a doubt flashing across her eyes. "And who would that be?"

Hesitantly, she raised her hand in front of her chest and spoke.

"Hao, you can show yourself now."

It took about five minutes for Reiko to stop freaking out and for Inyssa to explain, by the time of which Hao was almost exasperated enough to electrocute everyone around him.

"So that's the Pokemon you used against Fantina!" Reiko slapped herself on the forehead, letting out a nervous laugh. "I knew there was something weird about it!"

"You know it's rude to talk about someone when they're right in front of you." Hao's avatar raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.

"Ah shit, sorry."

Reiko gulped, and then looked at Inyssa with a half-witted grin. It wasn't hard to notice that she was still struggling to make sense of the situation in front of her.

"And… you're telling me that Charon created him?" she asked, voice faint. "And you want him to come with me?"

Hao looked up at Inyssa as well, as if waiting for her to reply to that question. She didn't want to, if it were up to her selfish desires she would've never told Reiko any of this.

She felt the weight of Johnny's Pokeball on her belt, and frowned. Just like him, Hao deserved to follow his own path, and she was keeping him away from it. She was…

"I'm… too weak to help him find Charon," she confessed, cheeks turning red. "I promised him I'd go after Team Galactic, but after what happened in Veilstone… I don't know if I'm ready yet." She looked up to Reiko with a sad smile. "But… I feel like you are. Your Pokemon are a lot stronger than mine, and you're two badges away from being able to take on the Sinnoh League. Hao would be much better off going with you."

There was a long stretch of silence in which she felt the heavy gaze of both Reiko and Hao on her. She avoided them by looking down, her hands playing with each other in front of her stomach.

"Kiddo…" Reiko said finally. "…I'm gonna ask you one last time. Are you sure?"

She choked on the words the first time, but managed to get them out with a bit of effort and patience.

"Y-yeah. I'm sure."

Reiko looked down to Inyssa's wrist. "And how about you?"

Hao shrugged, trying to sound casual. "If she's okay with it, then so am I."

"…Alright then."

That's all that needed to be said. With a simple command Hao jumped out of her Pokétch and traveled towards Reiko's. And even though she knew it was impossible, she could've sworn her wrist felt lighter and colder.

"Well, that's… all, I guess." She shrugged haphazardly. "I hope you two can find–"

Before she could finish her sentence she was pulled into a bear hug by Reiko's massive arms, which trapped her behind them. She'd experienced her hugs before, but this time it didn't feel like she was about to break her spine. It was gentle, which in a way made it worse.

"Thanks a lot, Niss," Reiko whispered, and she could hear the smile on her voice. "I promise I'll find those bastards, and I'll make them pay for everything they've done."

"Yeah..." Hao's faint voice added. "I'm gonna miss you, Ni Ni."

Inyssa stood as still as a plank, her eyes welling up ever so slightly. After a few seconds she nodded without much strength, and hugged Reiko back.

The next morning came sooner than expected, forcing Barry and Inyssa to their feet with cold winds and the heavy scent of familiarity, which they hadn't felt ever since leaving Twinleaf. They packed their possessions in silence and left the town just as dawn broke over the horizon, past the dark wall that was Mt Coronet.

The only sound around them was the loud crunch of shoes against fallen leaves, which Inyssa noted dwindled in quantity as the days went by. She took in a deep breath, smelling the unmistakable scent of the coming cold. Even though winter had arrived a few weeks ago, it seemed the season had taken its sweet time unpacking its bags and was only now ready to unleash its might all over Sinnoh.

This one would be a harsh winter. She could feel it in her bones.

"Hey, Niss," Barry said next to her, looking at something on his Pokétch. "Do you really think we can make it to Celestic in time? It's only two days 'til the festival and… it's kinda far."

She furrowed her brow, breathing out a thin line of mist. That was one of the many things she'd been thinking about during the past few days.

"We'll use our Pokemon to get there faster," she said. "Kitsune can teleport you a few miles ahead every few hours, and I'll use Steven. He can't carry me for long, but he flies really fast."

"Right… I just hope I don't vomit again like last time he teleported me somewhere." Barry made a face. "It feels so weird. Like having your stomach and brain switch places."

"Well, it's either that or missing the festival."

He didn't protest further, though she didn't fail to notice that he had a constant, almost imperceptible frown. She doubted it had anything to do with what they'd just talked about, seeing as he'd shown it a few times already every since his first fight against Crasher Wake.

And she had a slight hunch as to what might be causing it.

"Barry, is there something you'd like to share with me?"

He stopped in his tracks, looking like a Stantler who'd just been hit by the lights of a car.

"Wh-wha…?" he stammered, fingers fidgeting. "S-something?"

"Yeah… maybe something related to your eyes changing color in the middle of your Gym fight?"

His face lost color, and for a moment he seemed fearful, until she flashed him a warm smile and his shoulders relaxed.

"You… noticed?"

Inyssa rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot, Barry. I was looking at you from the stands and I know the color of your eyes better than I know my own hands," she said, shaking her head. "I saw it back in Eterna too, when you could read that weird language on those stone plates. If you want to keep something from me that's fine, but at least learn how to hide it better."

"I wasn't trying to hide it!" Barry hurried to say, cheeks flushed. "I just… I didn't wanna tell you because you'd maybe think I was crazy…"

She sighed in that same disapproving tone she remembered so well from Sarah, and placed a hand on her hip.

"After all the weird shit we've seen, do you really think I'd do that? Come on Barry, just tell me."

"…I… well…."

He looked all around, as if something in that deserted route could get him out the situation he was in. He didn't seem to notice much, because he let his shoulders drop and sighed.

"…Alright. I'll tell you."

It took him a few minutes to put his thoughts in order and properly explain what had been happening to him. He went off-topic a few times and she had to remind him to come back to the actual story, but in the end she got a pretty clear picture of the situation.

"The crystallization of emotion," she repeated, stroking her chin. "And this voice didn't sound familiar or anything?"

"No, it just said… it was time I synced with it." He scrunched up his nose. "I… don't know what that means, but it felt like I could turn my eyes gold easier that time. I think… it has something to do with the way I was feeling, it's a lot easier when I'm angry, or happy or…"

"So intense feelings can trigger it, but it's also been getting easier as time goes by," Inyssa summarized. "Do you think you could do it right now if you tried?"

His eyes went wide, and she could swear the crescent shape of his hair got even pointier.

"Like… right now?"

She shrugged. "We're alone in the middle of nowhere. Where else?"

He looked around nervously; there didn't seem to be any living creature around them, even though they were walking through the main route towards the next town. She figured it had something to do with how early it was.

"Alright…" He nodded, his voice as faint as a whisper. "I'll… try it."

He took a couple steps back and closed his eyes, letting his arms hang at his side. For almost a minute all he did was stand there, looking like he was about to doze off, his breathing turning slower with every second that passed.

Even so, she saw the thin line his eyebrows formed over the bridge of his nose, and the way his shoulders were slightly tensed up. He was deep in concentration.

"Voice… please, if you're there, I want to talk to you," he whispered into nothing. "I want to know who you are…"

At first nothing happened, and Inyssa debated whether she'd have to make him really angry for it to work. However, just before she told him that, the temperature around them seemed to rise.

The change in the atmosphere was so sudden and powerful that Inyssa could feel the hair on her arms standing up, along with a shiver that covered her entire body. An invisible, non-physical wave of heat washed over the route they were standing in.

Her eyes fell on Barry; his shoulders and posture were relaxed, and she could make up the distinct golden glow behind his closed eyelids.

"…Barry?"

He slowly opened them, and the full brunt of his golden eyes momentarily paralyzed her. It wasn't like with Mars, where she was completely frozen by fear. This was a familiar, pleasant feeling, if only slightly overwhelming. She smiled at him.

However, that pleasant warmth evaporated once Barry smiled back. At first she didn't notice why, after all it was just her best friend showing her that it had worked. But slowly she realized something was… off. It wasn't the wide, goofy grin she was accustomed to, but a slight curve of the lips, something that didn't extend to his burning eyes.

His lips parted to speak, in a way completely unfamiliar to her, and the voice that came out was one that did not belong to Barry.

"Ah… finally," the voice said, raising Barry's arms as it examined them. "It's been so long since I've inhabited a human body."