Chapter 1

"Hey everyone, welcome back to another Q&A session with me, Justine, right here at my home in the beautiful Harvest Island. It's been a long while since I last did a Q&A session… In fact, I guess it's been almost half a year now!"

The blonde-haired, green-eyed woman smiled at the camera facing her as her friend adjusted its focus. She then glanced just below the camera where her laptop was. The laptop's fan hummed noticeably louder than usual; she would have to buy a new one soon, she thought to herself. She hoped that the noise wouldn't be picked up by the microphone on her collar.

"I'd been very busy with my recent travels in Unova, and a lot of stuff happened there over the last few months. If you haven't watched any of those vlogs yet, definitely do so! I'll link a couple of my favourite ones in the description."

She swiftly opened the folder on her desktop and opened one of the first images in it. There were about thirty or so images saved in it. Her friend refocused the camera, keeping her in the center and including some more of the background around her—that was to say, the view of the dock from her window.

"I got a lot more questions than I was expecting," she said, taking a brief, surreptitious glance at the screen above the camera. The screen showed the camera recording so she could make sure it was to her tastes and up to the quality she expected. "A lot of you were very interested in knowing if I was ever going to cover Alola and their recent foray into forming an official league. For instance, take this question from ACoolRaider42: 'Hey Justine, with Alola announcing its entry into the official pokémon league structure, what do you think they can do differently for their conference venue?'"

A slight breeze blew in from the window, lightly ruffling her shoulder-length hair. As she tucked it back behind her ear, she exchanged glances with her friend, who gave a nod back. That meant there was ample lighting on her from the front to make sure that she herself wasn't in the dark or that the light from the window didn't form a weird halo around her. She had to thank Alexa for that. That Kalos reporter sure knew a lot of video-recording related stuff despite being a journalist. Or perhaps, being a journalist required those skills? Justine didn't know.

"Another question about the same thing we have here from a Martha: 'Do you plan to cover Alola and their new league structure at some point in your vlogs?'"

A clatter interrupted her recording. She turned her head towards the source, almost certain who it was. Two red-and-yellow eyes looked back at her; their owner frozen like a Deerling caught in headlights.

Justine kept an even look onto the pokémon until he hung his head in shame. The action made her chuckle. But she returned her focus back to her work. "And there were more such questions about Alola," she continued as if the interruption had never happened.

It shouldn't be a problem to edit it out. Interruptions were nothing new in her line of career. If anything, she had been told often that a bit more openness of behind-the-scenes work and its footage would net her more views. She did not like the idea as much, but the idea had never left her mind—not since before when she started her career as a pokétuber. She just had no idea what exactly to show and what to hide. She did not want her actual home address being revealed, even accidentally.

As if not satisfied with the first interruption, Patrat took an aim and jumped, landing right on top of Justine's head. The unexpected ambush made Justine squeal and she almost lost her balance. She moved her leg to the side to stabilize herself before lightly patting her partner.

"Come on, Patrat, I know you want to play but I am recording a video right now."

Patrat seemed to not like what he had heard. He made some unsatisfied noise as he moved away from her face and onto her lap. Justine reflexively started petting him. "Yeah, yeah, not your favourite time of the day."

Once she was sure he wouldn't move or disturb her any longer, she looked back up with a smile. "Anyway, to answer the questions, yes. Yes, I am planning to go to Alola within the next month or so. And I will be covering the league as well as the islands themselves. I'm yet to fully research on what else is worth watching and exploring there, but I welcome any and all inputs from all of you."

She quickly changed the image on her laptop. "Now then onto the next question: 'What did you think about all the pokémon in the Lumiose Conference? Did any specific one catch your eye?'"

Patrat, evidently bored, jumped off her lap and towards the friend, using the camera as a stepping stone, and dislodging it. "Patrat!" The camera fell off its stand—right in Justine's hands. She had leaned forward, having expected it. She re-set the camera onto its tripod as her friend handled Patrat.

A quick exchange of looks and nods, and the friend decided to indulge Patrat while she recorded. It was necessary to get the video done soon. She would likely not have much time; her next flight to Alola was in less than 24 hours. Long 20-hour connecting flights—at which point whatever she said about the region would be useless for the video.

Sighing to herself, she quickly took back her position in front of the camera and got working. There were still about 25 more questions to go through. It was going to take some time.

"Now that Bill has taken Patrat out to play, I can focus on answering the questions," she said to the camera with a laugh. "To answer the question, as far as Lumiose Conference is concerned, there is a lot I'd have loved to talk to the participants about but that will have to be put off till later. I have no plans at the moment to visit Kalos. That said, a few pokémon did catch my eye. One of them was the winner, Alain's Charizard X, and another was the runner-up, Ash's Greninja. In fact, that Greninja… was something different. It seemed to evolve much more differently than what we have seen of Mega-Evolution. But I'll talk about that with Professor Sycamore some other time. Then, another pokémon that caught my eye was uh… Sawyer, I believe was his name? His Sceptile."

She continued on, answering questions one-by-one that she had picked from the bunch thrown at her.

An hour or so later, she finished and stretched her tired limbs. It was no fun just sitting at one place but it was the easiest way to do the Q&A videos that she did. She turned off the camera and connected it to her laptop. The laptop whirred louder in protest, seemingly saying that she was putting too much load on to its processor.

Perhaps, she was. That laptop was almost five years old now, having supported her through most of her first few years of her content creation. Considering the technological advancements since then, she would be better off buying a new one. But the lingering attachment she felt for the old partner… surprised her. It wasn't like she was abandoning a pokémon but somehow she still felt that she was betraying her laptop.

Chuckling to herself, she shook her head. It was a stupid feeling. There was no need to let it influence a decision that could improve her quality of life. After a few moments of consideration, she came to the decision. She would buy a new laptop that day itself. Before going to Alola. Stuff there was likely to be expensive as it was an island chain, separated from mainland.

It was already past four in the evening by the time the laptop had finished copying the video of her Q&A. Once that was done, she closed everything and left her home. The shops were bound to close by six; she would have to get the laptop by then. It was an expensive purchase and she wasn't taking enough time to consider all features that she would want. She had to hope she wouldn't come to regret her purchase.

A scampering of feet attracted her attention. She turned and was greeted by a tan sky. That landed on her face. The force almost toppled her but she took a few steps back.

"Pat!" The tan sky shouted, seemingly excited.

Try as she might, she couldn't hold back her laughter. "Yeah, yeah, Patrat, I am free now," she said, despite her concern that she might miss the chance to buy a laptop. "I'm going for a quick run, if you want to come with me."

Patrat nodded excitedly before scampering off ahead of her. Bill, who was just on his way back, tried to catch the little scout but Patrat easily dodged him, and jumped off his back and farther ahead. The exasperated expression on Bill's face made Justine burst out laughing.

"Could you stop laughing and help me?" Bill said with annoyance. "That little shit never ever listens to me and plays me for a fool every time!"

"Perhaps, you should try and be more friendly?" Justine suggested with a chuckle. "I'm not sure calling him 'a little shit' is helping in any way."

"You would be frustrated too if he acted with you the same way he does with me!"

Justine had to agree with Bill. She had noticed that Patrat seemed to let out his mischievous side every time Bill visited. Neither of them knew the reason though. Perhaps, he just found Bill oddly enticing as a target for teasing? Justine shrugged to herself at the thought.

"Anyway, I'm done with the recording," she said, changing the topic. "I am thinking of buying a new laptop before I leave."

"How do you plan to do that?" Bill asked, cocking his head. "You're not in Unova right now, you know?"

The statement stopped her in her tracks. A long, tired sigh escaped her as she turned her attention back to her friend. The fatigue was plainly visible on her face.

It was enough to make Bill sigh. "You did not rest after coming back yesterday, did you?" He asked bluntly.

Justine sighed again before nodding. "Yeah, I didn't. Figured I should get a video done of my last day there."

"And then you went ahead with the Q&A video today… and then there's a late-night flight today to Alola…"

"Yeah and yeah…"

"…" Bill gave a shrug. "Well, I tried to stop you but here we are. You should really try and take better care of yourself since you are travelling all the time."

"I know; I know that, Bill, but damnit." She sounded oddly frustrated. "I haven't been able to get out of my habit of churning out as many videos as I can. If I don't post at least one video in a week, I feel like I might be missing out on a potential subscriber or income."

"You literally earn thousands per week. You don't need to push yourself that hard now, like before."

"Like I said, I know that-"

"Pat!"

Patrat interrupted their conversation, impatient to go on a quick run. Justine nodded at him, then turned back her attention to Bill. "Well, let's talk later tonight when you will drive me to the port. I think you're right and I should take some sort of a break. Alola is a perfect destination for that."

Bill snorted. "You better. I'd rather not see you half-dead in your next videos."

Justine laughed. "Is that how I look to you?"

"Of course! I've seen you working on your channel for years now. You think I wouldn't be able to recognize obvious signs of fatigue?"

"… I guess that's right. Anyway, talk to you later. I should go before Patrat decides to sulk again."

"Right. See ya!"

Justine waved and set off after Patrat who was already tearing through the crowd on the road. Despite him disappearing ahead, Justine wasn't perturbed. She knew Patrat's favourite running spot—on the Port Road. It was a particularly long stretch of road that ran along the edge of the island with a clear view of the ocean on all sides. Justine herself loved jogging there too, in the early morning.

She didn't go too far this time; she needed to rest after all. But there was still dinner to be made… The thought made her sigh. She considered getting a home delivery. It would save her the trouble of going to a restaurant in addition to not having to make dinner herself. After a moment of thought, she nodded to herself. She could afford to splurge a bit.

She and Patrat soon returned to their home to a savory smell wafting from the kitchen. A quick glance inside showed Bill slowly stirring a pot on the stove.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to be treated like this," Justine said as she enjoyed the smell in the air. "I thought you said you wouldn't work for free?"

"Yeah, but I thought you would appreciate not having to make dinner for once." He stopped stirring and looked at her. "Don't you prefer it?"

"I just feel like you're spoiling me," she replied even as she smiled. "I appreciate it though. I'm never turning down your food."

Bill laughed, returning his attention to the pot. "I'm glad you love it that much."

Bill was a chef and his dream was to establish a restaurant of his own. Justine knew that he was searching for a location which would turn over a decent profit for him. Their island was too small to be worth it with only the annual Grand Harvest Festival that brought in crowds. He would have to look for a place that got a decent number of tourists all around the year.

Perhaps, Alola would work?

"Say, Bill, do you want me to scout for places in Alola?" She asked as the thought crossed her mind. "It's a pretty popular tourist place most of the year."

"If it isn't too much trouble, sure. I'd appreciate it."

"Alright, one more thing in my itinerary!"

It was an early dinner for Justine. She still needed to pack up all her equipment to take with her. Then check-in at the port and waiting for the seaplane. Packing and check-in were likely to take the most time.

Quickly finishing the dinner and showering praises on Bill as she did so, she went back into the room and started packing up her camera. It was the most important thing to take with her. Lighting equipment, screens, and other stuff was not necessary since she wasn't going to be staying in one place for too long. Besides, it was too bulky anyway to take with her.

She swiftly packed up the cameras in their watertight cases, then went to the cabinet in the corner of the room. From there, she picked up her compact cameras which she could take with her anywhere and attach to herself anywhere. They were particularly durable cameras specifically made for adventure sports. She didn't do adventure sports but she definitely adventured enough to justify buying them.

Not long after, she had three bags ready with her: one large suitcase that held all her clothes, her main camera case, and a backpack to travel light as and when necessary.

It was time to leave for another months-long trip. After ensuring everything was closed nicely, she locked the door, and handed the key over to Bill. "Well then, take care of the house."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "Like I haven't been doing that for the last few years."

"Come on! You know that it's a farewell of sorts."

Bill shrugged and nodded. It seemed like he couldn't care less; he had just accepted his duty of maintaining her house. And although she appreciated it, the thought made her wonder if she should do something for him too. As a payback for all his help so far. Finding a good place for his restaurant to start was not enough. But try as she might, she couldn't think of anything worthwhile at that moment.

They soon reached the port and bid their farewells to each other before Bill drove off leaving Justine behind. Thankfully, the check-in wasn't going to take too long; it was not a busy night that night. The seaplane was scheduled to arrive on time. It was just a matter of patient waiting.

Well, time to start recording for the next set of videos!

Justine pulled out one of the smaller cameras she had—the size of her palm—and quickly set it rolling. It was well into the night and she stood right under a street light so she and her expressions were visible to the camera.

"Alright guys, we're off on our trip to Alola," she said with a smile. Then, she turned the camera towards the dock and started walking. "It's going to be a long trip—20 hours in total. I have two connecting flights: one from here to Vermillion City, and after that, I'll have to take a train to Saffron City. From there, we get our last flight to Alola. I think we land in Heahea City there."

She soon reached the entrance and after a security check, she was let in. Security was fairly lax, and the only instruction she got was to not record anything once boarding started and until she was inside the plane. She still had another couple of hours or so to go, so she decided to spend some time recording all the familiar stuff around the port.

It wasn't going to be the first time, but she had to cover it for new viewers. Older videos rarely trended again; hence, any new watcher was more likely to see her recent videos than her older ones. Besides, any of the regular viewers could skip through this section of the video anyway so that wasn't going to be a problem.

"And now we wait," she said once that was done. She turned her camera to the large clock in the waiting room. "It's past midnight now. The scheduled arrival is at one. About an hour to go!"

She paused a moment to look outside, then turned off the camera. She slowly breathed out, glad that that was done. She could probably stop covering her island at this point, she thought to herself. She had covered it enough times that she risked losing her active watchbase if she covered it again next time. The decision also served to relieve her a bit since that meant one less hour to spend on recording, and one more hour that she could use for resting.

A yawn escaped her as she adjusted all her stuff. She had probably brought a bit too much with herself. But there was always that one time when she didn't bring something and she would end up needing it. She hated that. So, she usually brought everything with herself and only took with her what she would need that day for her recording.

A loud whine caught her attention. She got to her feet. The plane was probably coming. She would think of what to do once she would reach Alola. For now, completing the tiring trip was necessary.

Hey ho! Am I back? Perhaps. The pandemic and the nostalgia of re-reading 'The Blue Spirit' by silentplayermc03 brought me back to this site. After we chatted, the idea popped up and we both liked it and thought it was worth writing on about. There will be no update schedules and there is no guarantee how long each chapter will take. It is going to be more of a slice-of-life series so there is no overarching arc or a bad guy or anything evil of the sort. Well, not in focus anyway. I don't see an end to this series just yet either so let's see how it goes.

Constructive criticism and new ideas welcome! I will try and incorporate as many as I can in the story.