Calypse tapped the end of his charcoal pencil along the margins of his book, his eyes only able to read a few lines at a time before drifting up to the door, hoping to see his friends finally return home. Barely a glimmer of evening sun remained over the ocean. The Clefable rested his head in his palm, but snapped up, trying his best to keep himself from nodding off. As his eyes closed, he thought himself dreaming, unsure if he really did hear the ring of the bell over his bookstore's door. He groaned and peaked open his eyes again, but they widened as he saw the two familiar faces coming through the door.

"Jenny!" Calypse jumped off his stool and skipped over to the Wartortle, giving her a warm embrace. Garley anticipated he would be next, so before Calypse could give him the same hug, the Crobat had already flown up to the rafters to rest.

The Wartortle tried to return the friendly gesture, despite the Clefable's grip around her arms. "Heh, I missed you too, Calypse," Jenny said through getting squeezed.

Calypse let her go and smiled back. "You two had me so worried! Guess you guys had no trouble with that island after all, huh?"

Jenny laughed as she took off her goggles and set them aside. "Oh, you know. Nothing me and Garley couldn't handle."

Garley just scoffed from his perch.

"Well, I'm glad you both are back safe," Calypse said. "No treasure this time?"

"No treasure, unfortunately." Jenny took a seat at one of the tables in the store and gave her sore legs a rest. "We did manage to find a hidden chamber, but it looked like someone else found it a long while ago."

Calypse's eyes lit up. "A hidden chamber? Ooh, you'll have to tell me all about it. The travel logs I have for Memory Cay might as well be blank for all the information we have on it, so this will be a big help. Turns out the only reward of your adventure was knowledge!" Calypse chuckled.

"If only," Garley said.

Jenny waved off the Crobat's comment. "Ignore him, Calypse. It's been a tiring day. I did have something I wanted to ask you tho-"

The bell over the bookstore's door chimed again. An elderly face poked through the doorway, smiling as it saw Jenny and Calypse inside. Jenny's eyes widened, recognizing the Pokemon as another Wartortle, though considerably more weathered.

"Ah, good evening," the Wartortle said. "I wasn't quite sure if you were still open or not. May I come in?"

"Of course, friend," chirped Calypse. "Though, I don't think I've seen you around before. Did you arrive on Starlight today?"

The elderly Wartortle nodded as they closed the door behind themself. "Indeed I did. My name is Kino. I'm simply dropping by for a visit. You see, over my travels, I learned that one of my kin had come to live on this island, so as I was stopping here for the night, I wanted to meet them. Though," Kino said, looking over to Jenny, "I didn't expect you to be so young. How old are you, miss? Sixty? Fifty, maybe?"

Jenny gave a nervous laugh as she shot a look over to Calypse. "Uh, I'm twenty-two," she said. "And my name is Jenny."

Kino put a hand to their cheek. "That young, eh? Why you were practically born yesterday. Do you happen to come from any of the tribes around the Central Reefs, Jenny?"

"No, I don't. Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Haha, I certainly don't think so," smiled Kino. "Ah, but I'm forgetting myself. We haven't even greeted each other properly yet. Forgive me." Kino turned themself around, facing their discolored shell towards Jenny and brandishing their wide, fluffy white tail.

Jenny knit her brow, but tried to mimic the gesture. She clumsily maneuvered herself to face her back towards the new visitor, letting her tail nearly meet theirs. Kino then took the initiative, giving Jenny's considerably smaller tail a forceful brush of their tail along hers, then brought it back again to complete their greeting. Jenny wasn't sure if this was like some secret ritual Wartortles performed when they met each other, but she did her best to act like she wasn't completely oblivious to her species' apparent customs.

Kino chuckled again as they completed the greeting and turned back around. "You must not meet too many others of our kind, eh?"

"Not exactly. It's just where I'm from, we just sort of say 'hello' and that's it."

"Really?" Kino asked. "How peculiar."

Calypse had watched the awkward exchange with such amusement, though he could always tell how Jenny squirmed when she met new Pokémon, so he decided to step in. "Well, Kino, I'm sure Jenny appreciates the visit, though she has had a long day. She was just saying how she wanted to head to bed before you arrived."

"Is that right? Well, that's too bad. I was hoping to have a familial battle with my kin. I'm quite interested to see if her battling style is as peculiar as her customs. I'm sure we could both teach each other something. What do you say, Jenny?"

The Clefable's eyes widened, though as he went to respond, he couldn't help but yawn. "A battle? N-no! Especially not in the shop! Jenny, didn't you say you were tired?"

Jenny put her hands on her hips and locked eyes with Kino. "A battle? Now that's something I know how to do. You sure you want to, old timer?"

The elderly Wartortle nodded. "Of course. Ooh, and I can sense that youthful confidence in you. I'll definitely have something to teach you. Let's head down to the beach where we can get plenty of moonlight."

"You're on," Jenny said. As she was following Kino out the door, Calypse caught her by the hand.

"You sure about this, Jenny? You did just get back."

"I'm sure, Calypse. You get some sleep, okay? I can tell you're tired. Besides," she said, getting in closer to the Clefable and letting her voice fall to a whisper, "I haven't met another Wartortle before. This can be good to learn how to better fight as one, right? You're the one always saying I don't fight properly."

"I...suppose. Fine. Just be safe, okay? And see if he can teach you a water attack."

Jenny smiled. "I'll see, I'll see." Before she left, she looked up to the rafters of the shop. "You want to come spectate Garley?"

However, the perch where the Crobat once rested was empty and he was already gone.

Kino gave the moon-soaked beach a soft tap with their foot and scraped at the sand with their toe. "Ah, nice and sturdy," they said. "Should be good for a bit of sparring."

Jenny was already stretching her arms, crossing one over the other, then in the opposite position. "And you're sure you don't mind me going all out?"

"Be my guest," Kino chuckled. "These old bones could use a bit of competition."

Both Wartortles took a stance in the sand: Jenny taking a wider stance, raising both of her arms up, while Kino kept their arms out at an arc, as if expecting to brace some kind of impact. Jenny waited, but Kino made it clear that they had anchored themself until Jenny moved.

"Fine, then," she said to herself. "Have it your way." Jenny breathed in, then exhaled, her breath growing icy and cold. She kept her claws clenched, holding some kind of energy in them as it quickly spread along her arms. A frosty white color grew on her hands. Satisfied, Jenny smirked at her accumulated power, then charged at Kino. Kino didn't budge, watching as the younger Wartortle charged with her frozen fists. Jenny pulled her right arm back, aiming for a blow into Kino's chest.

Kino ducked down, though knew it would only make their head the new target. As Jenny's Ice Punch nearly struck Kino's mouth, the Wartortle let their head slip into their shell, disappearing completely as Jenny's fist whizzed past and over them. Kino smirked and braced themself for the expected follow-up. They moved their body to face towards where Jenny had just punched, knowing the most common move to follow a misdirecting punch like that would be a swipe of the tail to double down on their offense. Kino got ready to intercept Jenny's tail.

As Kino popped their head back out, their orientation was off. At least, for what Jenny's true intentions were. Jenny had instead halted her previous momentum and brought her left arm around into an uppercut. Kino had barely enough time to react and throw their head back, narrowly escaping the blow. In retaliation, Kino whipped their head back and shot a disorienting Bubble Beam point blank into Jenny's face, then leapt back to get some distance. Jenny used the remaining power of her Ice Punch to swat at the bubbles, each broken one turned into frozen crystal fragments that fell along the sand.

The elderly Wartortle's face felt cold. Even the tip of their chin bore bits of frost from how close they came to getting punched. "Heh, throwing out punches like a Hitmonchan, eh?" Kino asked as they wiped their face. "Not even gonna try a long ranged attack? Quite the unorthodox style."

"Almost hit you though," Jenny said, shaking out her cold hands.

"Let me know how many opponents you've beaten by just 'almost' hitting them."

A strong wind began to pick up along the beach. The ocean breeze rolled over the two Wartortles as Jenny brought her fists up again. Renewed icy energy formed in them with Jenny poised to close the distance between her and Kino. She charged again, throwing out another Ice Punch from the right, but Kino took a step forward. They were ready for it. Kino held up their own hand and caught Jenny's punch, holding her fist back. As Jenny tried to force the punch through, Kino caught the shape of Jenny's stance. Much too wide for a Wartortle to be safe in close combat, at least if they wanted to avoid their most fatal design flaw. Kino simply brought a foot behind Jenny's heel and scooped her leg up, knocking her off balance. Jenny lost her footing and madly flailed her arms to keep from toppling back, but was powerless to stop herself and fell onto her shell.

Jenny grit her teeth and tried to rock her body back and forth to get back up, but she knew too well from what experience that it would take a miracle to get back on her feet. Humiliated, she sighed and looked up to the elderly Wartortle smirking at her.

"Guess I noticed a flaw in your style, eh?"

"I just slipped," Jenny said. She tried to stretch her arms out and get some momentum going, but it was hardly moving her.

"Do you admit defeat, kin?"

"No! Just give me a sec and I'll be back up!"

Kino shrugged. "I'll count to ten. If you're still down by then, I'll help you up and we'll say I won. Okay? One…"

Jenny continued to struggle. She had been close a few times before, barely feeling the sand hit her heels, but her shell always got the upper hand and kept her floored. As Kino counted down, she did all she could to get back up. Then, she heard a familiar voice whisper to her so softly from inside the darkness of her shell.

"...Jenny? That's your name, right? Are you stuck? ...Here, I can help."

The Wartortle's eyes widened. She had almost forgotten about Zenji in the excitement of the battle. Were they still attached to her? Kino had just counted to eight. In a final motion, Jenny flung herself up one last time, though beneath her shell, she felt two warm little hands press against her back. The hands boosted her shell up more than enough for Jenny to not only get up, but to land firmly on her feet.

Kino recoiled and took a step back. Jenny acted like it was all planned and shot a defiant grin at the elderly Wartortle, though Kino was less shocked by the fact that Jenny had gotten back up. Rather, they noticed the odd color swimming in Jenny's right eye; her left eye remained its normal green shade, while her right eye now became a bright crimson color with a yellow pupil. Kino didn't have any time to process it as Jenny burst forward with another Ice Punch. The power came much faster to her this time, as did the swing of her right fist aiming right for Kino's stomach. Kino's guard didn't have time to recover. They knew they couldn't move out of the way to avoid it.

Jenny shot her Ice Punch into Kino's front, aiming to turn the tables and get them on their shell. However, where Jenny expected some sort of impact, even with her arm fully extended, she met nothing. She gasped as she noticed it. Where Kino's torso had once been, their cells rearranged themselves into some kind of pink slime and separated outwards, leaving a gaping hole in their shell that went through their whole body. Jenny's fist passed right through.

Kino gave a sigh of relief. "Phew. Just in time. A moment later and you might have put me on ice. Heh."

Jenny shuddered and pulled her arm back as Kino's body began to fill itself back in. She shook out her cold hand, then brought it to rub her irritated right eye. As she did, the odd aura that Kino had noticed on it began to dissipate. When Jenny removed her hand and tested her eye again, it had returned to its normal color.

"I wasn't aware that a Wartortle could do that," Jenny scoffed.

"A normal one can't," Kino said, patting the front of their newly recreated shell. "As a Ditto, though, my body lends itself to a few special perks."

"So you're not really a Wartortle, then?"

"Technically, I am. At least according to my body. I am every Pokémon all at the same time."

Jenny tensed up. "Then why pretend to be a normal Wartortle and come looking for me?"

Kino looked up to the full moon overhead. "Like I said, I was told one of my kin lived on the island, and that happened to be you, Jenny. I wanted to meet you and make sure your battling prowess was up to snuff. Can't say I was disappointed, either."

"But I never even hit you."

"Now that would have been quite impressive to see," Kino chuckled. "Still, that last Ice Punch you made wasn't like your other ones. It was much faster, I'd say. Stronger too. It came about as close to hitting me as could be. Any lesser opponent who couldn't dodge that or have the constitution to take it would surely have had a few of their ribs cracked like twigs."

"Really?" Asked Jenny, looking down to her hand. "I had been practicing it for a while, but I didn't know it was that strong." As she pondered it, the Wartortle heard a soft giggling coming from her shell. She was reminded of what Zenji had whispered to her when she was on her back. Had they really helped her get back on her feet? And if that was the case, did Zenji also somehow enhance her last punch?

"Well, whatever the case may be, I'm pleasantly satisfied with our little battle. Thank you, Jenny," Kino said, extending their hand out.

"A hand shake?"

"I figured this might be more customary for you."

Jenny laughed. She met Kino's hand and shook it.

Latias smiled to herself as she watched the conclusion of Jenny and Kino's sparring match. From the moonlight drenched cliffs of Lumina Peak, Latias had a clear view of the beach below, taking note of how Jenny performed. As she saw the two Wartortles exchange their handshake, Latias took it as her signal to meet back up with Kino, though as she was about to depart, she felt a new presence appear from the shadows several paces behind her. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Not even going to say 'hello', Garley?"

The Crobat eyed Latias from his stone perch. "How did I know that if Kino was here, I'd find you hanging around somewhere close by?"

"And how did that I know if a new human showed up in the world, you and your team would suddenly make an unwanted appearance at the exact same time? Just where have you been hiding out these last seven years, Garley? To think Beth was finally convinced that you really did die at the Mount Nova eruption, but I knew better. I've fought you too many times, Garley. Just like a plague, you always seem to come back."

"Times have changed, Latias. And Jenny is under my protection."

"That's a laugh. If she knew everything you've done, you'd be the last Pokémon she'd want around."

"I have told her everything."

Latias turned to face Garley, shaking her head. "Really? Everything? Even how you and your crew hunted down Beth for months when she was just a Charmander? How you tried to kill her? How you let Omar die?!"

"Omar's death was not on our hands!" Garley tried to regain his composure, his gaze cast to the dark ground. "We're not proud of what we did seven years ago. Aivel, Komi, and I...If we could erase it all and take back what we did, we'd do it in a heartbeat. Now, at least, we've been given a chance to make up for it. To atone, even at the cost of our lives."

"And who was foolish enough to give you that chance?" Latias asked.

The Crobat hesitated. "That's my secret to keep."

"Figures," spat Latias. "And what happened to Omar...I don't know how you three can live with yourselves. You might not have cut him down yourself, but you know who did, and you could have stopped them."

"You weren't there."

"Tch. Well, I'm here now, and Kino and I have been tasked with bringing Jenny to the High Flyer's club. And if she wants to go, you have no right to stop her."

"I know," Garley said. He flapped his wings and became airborne. "...It was nice to see you again, Latias."

Latias didn't respond. She watched the Crobat glide into the darkness below and back towards Calypse's bookstore.