Talonflame and Noivern grazed the Ravaged Path. Aaron and I dropped from the flying Pokémon and landed in a sprint; I returned them to their Poké Balls without breaking stride. The grassy area here brought back memories for both me and Aaron. The young man pointed at a Budew balanced on the picket fence. "This is where Ace caught a Budew just like that one. She was a shy little thing, but a young treasure hunter with a Chansey gave Ace a soothe bell to help Budew open up."

"How generous!" I exclaimed, running past a youngster training his Magikarp, who kept flopping on the grass.

We arrived at Jubilife City without breaking a sweat. Not every Pokémon trainer is athletic – a lot of the time, Pokémon help people whose bodies can't keep up with their spirits – but being fit comes in handy when traveling.

Aaron and I slowed to a stroll as we merged with the city crowd. A man with a languorous voice advertised mask accessories by the street. Piplup stared intently at a Piplup mask, making me giggle. "You don't need a mask of yourself, Piplup!"

"How about this one instead?" Aaron picked up a comical Drapion mask. It didn't do justice to his ace's menacing pincers or ferocious glare; instead, it resembled a flattened bean paste bun.

Piplup loved it. I bought the mask for him, and the merchant beamed with crooked teeth. "I hope to see you in a Pokémon Musical someday!"

"I'm a coordinator," I told him.

"Pah!"

The bustle of Jubilife City soothed me. City life was my thing—if I had to choose a place to stay for the rest of my life, it would be somewhere like Jubilife or Lumiose. As we headed down the west end, the crowd thinned. I pointed to a wide building where a clown was handing out flyers. "That's where I got my Poketch!"

"It looks like a new place opened up next door," Aaron remarked. A shiny glass boutique captivated my eyes, and I darted toward it.

"Aaron, they have a lucky Tuesday sale!"

Aaron's mouth twitched into a smile. A hostess opened the door for us. "Welcome to the Jubilife Boutique—Jooboo for short."

"That's such a cute name," I gushed.

Aaron nodded at the hostess, and then we explored the selection. "I'll take no more than twenty minutes," I told Aaron, setting a timer on my Poketch.

My mission began. Aaron hung back, while Piplup and I scoured the racks. The Jooboo hostess followed us, asking if we needed anything and carrying the outfits I planned to try on.

I emerged from the fitting room in my new outfit just as my Poketch beeped. I turned off the timer and spun around. "Ta-da!"

This close to a large body of water, Jubilife and Canalave had a much more temperate climate than most of Sinnoh. I ditched my jacket and wore a sleeveless black blouse with silver diamond buttons and tails that reached the back of my thighs. My thick white scarf was swapped for a thinner but longer dark pink one with pearl-like tassels at the ends, and my pleated pink miniskirt flared around my waist when I spun. The toes of my matching high heel boots squeaked on the polished floor.

Aaron was admiring a multi-colored haori. "This looks authentic."

The hostess smiled politely. "Miss Valerie from Laverre City in Kalos poured her heart into this one. With the help of another Gym Leader in the region, she collected photos of every known Vivillon and integrated each wing design into the fabric. I hear it was a painstaking process, but Miss Valerie never loses her composure." She pointed at the periwinkle-speckled white end of one of the sleeves. "For example, this part was inspired by the Vivillon you'd find around Mount Coronet."

I noticed a dark turquoise patch near the hem, streaked with brown and white. "Hey, Aaron, this part looks like your Vivillon." When Aaron didn't reply, I stifled a giggle. "Are you thinking of buying this for Ace?"

Aaron's face turned Cherubi-pink when he looked at me—but then his gaze softened. "You're looking more and more like Cynthia."

Now it was my turn to turn pink. I backed away, my new block heels echoing on the dark glass floor. "No way! The Champion has way more grace and, um, class. Also, no way am I wearing stilettos."

"Right." Aaron cocked his head toward the doors. "Ready to keep flying?"

"You're not buying the haori?"

"There's no way I can afford it." He raised his chin in defiance. "I'll come back when I become the Champion of Sinnoh."

Now I burst into a bubble of giggles. "Looks like you're saying good-bye here, 'cause the only way anyone will replace Cynthia as Champion is if she retires!"

Aaron huffed and stomped out of Jooboo.

"Aw, cheer up." Piplup hopped onto Aaron's shoulder to pat his head.

Aaron smiled as we arrived at the pier. "No, I get what you're saying. Do you remember the young man who won the Sinnoh League that Ash competed in?"

"Tobias." I'd never forget that enigma. Talonflame and Noivern looked at each other in confusion when I sent them out. They'd probably never heard the name; Ash didn't talk much about his participation in previous Leagues.

"He beat me and the rest of the Elite Four with just half his team," Aaron continued, "but when he got to Cynthia, her Spiritomb scared the bejeezus out of his Darkrai. And her Garchomp swept through his entire team—though you wouldn't believe what his last Pokémon was."

My eyes widened. "What was it?"

With a mischievous look at the Pokémon, Aaron bent down to whisper. A wave crashed on the pier. Piplup whacked Aaron's head repeatedly with his flipper, furious at being excluded. We flew over the waters, laughing and chasing the sun.

The joy didn't last long. When we arrived at Canalave City, the gravity of our quest took hold. We needed to find Byron.

"I'm sure the others will pull through if Byron says no," I assured Aaron. "There's no need to worry." The sunset turned the waters under the bridge a stunning orange.

Aaron leaned on the bridge railing. "But I feel responsible, so I want to be the one who fixes this. I was the one who wanted to battle Ace for his exhibition match. I was also the one who lost. If I'd put up a better fight, made smart switches..."

"You fought valiantly. Look at how amazing your Pokémon are!" I showed him clips of the battle. One of my favorites was how Vivillon dodged Roserade's Hidden Power. I planned to send it to May for her Beautifly to attempt the feat.

Aaron pumped his fist. "You're right. My Pokémon are awesome! So are Ace's. We're gonna find Byron and get him to help us show the world how awesome our Pokémon are!"

"Yeah!" We high fived, determined.

Byron had other plans, though. Plastered to his gym door was a GONE FISHING sign.