Author's Note: I've been extremely busy and haven't had time to write, but I've finished one of my degrees and am done with the second after this year. Around that time expect plenty more new content! This chapter will likely be a bit longer than what's typical.

Another Chance

Alan awoke with a jolt, opening his eyes in an instant and sitting up just as quickly. He rubbed his eyes and stretched before looking around the room and processing what had happened last night. He noticed that Combusken was still asleep in the corner, and checked the time on his Pokégear.

11 AM.

Alan slid off the bed and sauntered into the connected bathroom.

Holy shit, he thought to himself as he splashed cold water onto his face and began to brush his teeth. His mind immediately went to the Gardevoir that he and Combusken had brought home from the beach.

Door hasn't been kicked in, that's a good sign. I wanna know who's after her though, but more importantly why. I should check on her.

He gently opened the door to the living room, which the Gardevoir sitting on the floor of noticed immediately and turned her attention toward.

"You're awake!" he said with an overtone of surprise.

"Oh, hey!" the Gardevoir replied, startled.

Alan took a seat on the floor about a meter to her right and crossed his legs.

"So uh, what's your name?" he asked nervously.

"Symphonia," she answered hesitantly.

Alan lifted his brow.

"Symphonia," he repeated, "interesting. I've never heard that before. Last name?"

"I don't have one. You?"

"I'm Alan. My last name's Su."

"So you're Johtoese," Symphonia replied curiously. "You have an interesting first name then too."

"Yeah. I used to live in Unova when I was young. I was born there too, so my parents gave me a name that was more typical to there. I grew up in Johto though."

"Ah. Do they not live here?"

"Huh?"

She noticed the puzzled expression on his face.

"I mean your parents, I see that there are two bedrooms here. I woke up in one of them and you came out of the other. Unless they're sharing it with you, but you seem a bit old for that."

Alan paused for a moment, but he smiled and shook his head.

"Oh yeah, uh...they're...not alive. I grew up in an orphanage here. They left me this place as an inheritance. I just went through the process of emancipation recently too."

"I'm sorry. I just assumed, you know, because-"

"You're fine, don't worry," Alan chortled, "It's very logical to assume that. Honestly I'm impressed, you seem to be on top of things considering how I found you last night."

"Yeah...thanks for that," Symphonia responded as she turned her head down to the floor.

"So...what happened? You looked like you were in pretty bad shape. My friend- the Combusken, don't know if you remember, we were just walking on the beach and we saw you out there."

"I was kidnapped," she answered with a sigh. "I was out in Slateport City, late at night, and I got some drinks at a bar. I must've gotten drugged, because I woke up on a ship. They had me locked in some sort of storage space under the deck..."

Symphonia shook her head.

"That's all I can remember. Last night, the people who kidnapped me were arguing with each other and they forgot to lock the door after they gave me water. I got my hands loose and snuck out, but as I was moving around they noticed me. They chased me around the ship until I eventually got onto the deck, and I jumped."

"Fucking animals," Alan spat.

Symphonia cocked her head at him, curious at his sudden change in tone.

"The kidnappers, I mean" Alan continued, "They're absolute filth. I imagine they were traffickers...I swear I would kill them myself."

He noticed Symphonia's look of surprise, and added, "Sorry."

"It's alright, your response was a bit strong is all," she giggled.

"I mean, seriously though...people like that are evil. They've got to be. I don't think everything is black and white but there's no way you could convince me slavers are any good."

The Gardevoir thought back to her conversations with Cyrus, the fervor with which he lectured about his mission and the way his face hardened exactly as Alan's had now.

"Anyway, what did you do in Slateport?" Alan asked. "Er, if you lived there, I mean."

"I haven't been doing much. I got an inheritance too recently, from some distant aunt. I didn't have parents myself either and I've never been close to the rest of my family. Grew up in an orphanage in Mossdeep that was part of the Steven Stone Foundation."

"Hell of a coincidence," Alan replied empathetically. "I don't get much contact from my aunts and uncles. I have an aunt that lives in Ecruteak City, I get holiday wishes and stuff from them sometimes but that's basically it. Is there anyone you need to contact or?"

"No," Symphonia shook her head. "I don't have any family or friends that this would concern."

"Caaaaaaaaaw!"

Alan and Symphonia both turned their heads to the bedrooom door, from which came the sound of Combusken's yawn as the feathered biped awoke.

"We can talk more about this later. You must be hungry, I know I am," Alan shrugged.

"I ate the crackers you gave me. Thanks."

"Yeah, well I meant like, you wanna get some breakfast...brunch?" the boy responded as he checked his Pokégear. "I haven't had a chance to really do grocery shopping yet, all we have is instant ramen and snacks."

"Uh, definitely, I love Johtoese cuisine!" the Gardevoir answered with enthusiasm.

"Great. I have a spare coat too, it'll be big but it'll fit."

"It's so incredible that you survived," Alan mused as he read the menu printed on the bamboo panel hanging behind the counter.

The two stood side by side in a small restaurant, the size of a single storefront with Combusken sitting on Alan's shoulders. Behind them was an eating area full of little tables, about half of which were occupied. The line wasn't very long; only two men and a Medichamp formed the line ahead of them.

"I've read that psychics have more control of their body than most beings. Like, a lot of reflexes such as breathing and blinking you can prevent entirely. That must be how you didn't drown, right?"

"That's right," Symphonia acknowledged. "Well, for those who have developed their powers a decent amount. Combusken is what saved me from the cold, though."

Combusken clicked his beak and nodded in satisfaction.

"Wait...I can't pay. I can't log into my bank account right now because I don't have my phone for authentication," the Gardevoir began, but Alan cut her off abruptly.

"It's fine. We can worry about that later."

"Are you sure? I'd hate to be a burden."

"Yeah. After everything you just went through? A meal is the least I could do."

Alan smiled and nodded, then tilted his head toward the menu.

"What do you think you're getting? I've never been here before but I saw it after we moved into my new place. I want to try the beef one."

Symphonia paused for a moment in consideration.

"The seasonal special sounds great, the clam and bonito one."

At that moment, the last customer before them moved aside and the trio stepped forward to order.

"What'll it be?" asked the old lady behind the counter. She was dressed in a kimono, adorned with a modern design featuring a flock of cranes above schools of koi.

"Yeah, uh, can we get a beef classic, with some extra beef shank on the side, raw, and the seasonal special, the seafood one?"

"Drinks?"

Alan looked to Symphonia.

"Two green teas, please."

The lady nodded affirmatively.

"It'll be 40.35."

Alan handed her his card and took the receipt from the machine after it printed, then made his way to the seating area, leading with Combusken still atop his shoulder and Symphonia following closely. He grabbed a child's seat from a stack in the corner then took a seat at a table closer to the side of the restaurant, with Symphonia taking hers across from him and Combusken perching himself atop the booster placed upon the chair to Alan's right.

An Ambipom dashed out of the kitchen holding two cups of hot green tea in its tails, ran over over to their table then set them down with a small bow next to Alan and Symphonia.

"So...how are you feeling?" Alan inquired.

Symphonia looked at him blankly, unsure of what to say.

"What do you mean?"

"Um...just...what emotions you're feeling. It's been stressful, all the stuff that happened, right?"

"Hmm, no one's asked me that before. I feel...anxious. Worried. But it isn't all bad, I think I feel relieved too."

Alan nodded in solidarity.

"I'm glad to hear that. That you're at least relieved."

Alan took a sip of his tea.

"No one's ever asked you how you feel?" Combusken inquired.

"...I've never had any friends."

"I can be your friend!" the avian chirped.

"I think I would like that very much," Symphonia giggled.

At that moment, the Ambipom waiter returned with their orders, and Alan cleared room on the table for their food. Symphonia immediately leaned forward to take in the aroma from her bowl of noodles, much to Alan's amusement. A few clams were sticking out of the gold-tinged broth, as well as some headless peeled shrimp, scallops, enoki mushrooms, konbu, and daikon.

"How's it smell? It looks amazing from here!"

"Incredible," she responded before tasting it. "Mmm. You can tell the seafood is all fresh, the natural sweetness is so prominent and it goes so well with the light savoriness of the broth! I'm getting the ginger and green onion, and uh, I think there's a bit of mirin in here too? The flavors are balanced perfectly, in any case."

"I see you're into the culinary arts," Alan said excitedly. "I'm sure we'll get along great then, I've always liked cooking and now that Combusken and I have our own place I've got a lot of plans for dishes I wanna make."

"It's only natural, right? There's so many types of food around the world, and the differences in flavor profiles and ingredients and techniques that are used in a dish are so indicative of the region it's from. Eating a region's cuisine is like experiencing part of their culture!" exclaimed Symphonia with an equal amount of enthusiasm.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Alan lifted his soup spoon and dipped it into the bottom of his bowl, bringing it up full of coffee brown beef soup. Fat from the beef gave the soup a bit of a sheen, and small rounds of green onion provided some contrast in color. He brought the spoon to his mouth and sipped its contents slowly.

"Like this beef noodle soup, it's obviously one of Johto's most iconic foods, and I must have had this a hundred times but I still wanted to order it today because you can have so many variations on it. This is great too, by the way. It's uh, got the traditional rich bone broth and soy sauce flavor, but this one has pickled chili and garlic in it...you wanna try some?"

Symphonia nodded eagerly and telekinetically scooped up a spoonful of broth, which she brought to her lips and sipped from slowly. Alan eyed the floating spoon with great curiosity.

"So how does it uh, feel? When you use your powers like that?"

The Gardevoir thought for a moment.

"Doesn't feel like anything. Right now, at least, because I'm only holding up this spoon. If I did something heavier I'd feel strain."

"You mean like, when you lift weights?"

"Sort of," she responded with slight hesitation, "it's not a physical feeling, you know what I mean? When you strain your muscles, your muscles hurt but when I overuse my powers it gets harder and harder to focus. Harder to think, takes me longer to process what's going on...you get the idea."

"So you'd probably pass out then, if you push yourself too hard?"

"Yeah, instead of my muscles giving out. But I've never gone that far before."

"Ah, I see. Aliuman powers are so cool!"

Alan took another big gulp of his soup while Combusken conjured embers to char his portion of raw beef before chowing down.

"I wish I was born as one."

"Hm? An aliuman? Symphonia inquired through a mouthful of noodles.

"Well, a psychic to be specific. I feel like it suits me way more. I mean, most of the stuff I'm into involves a good bit of thinking...I guess I'm trying to say I think humans are pretty dumb, and I hate being a part of this."

"I haven't heard anything like that before," Symphonia said with a hint of surprise, "Why do you think so?"

"Because of how many humans are just barely conscious!" Alan exclaimed. "Because of how they hardly even think, how they don't question anything around them, and live an illusion their whole lives!"

The look on the Gardevoir's face turned into one of shock. She recalled the times she'd had discussions about Cyrus with his ideals, and how strikingly similar Alan's tone had been to some of the conversations she remembered.

"I'm sorry, I know that came off as aggressive. It's not like I hate humans. What I mean is that I hate society. How fitting in means following this bullshit system where you go to school, learn how to be a good drone for the people who control everything, then grow up to be a cog in the corporate machine.

I wish free thinking and intelligence were valued. Instead people care about what their favorite celebrities are doing, or whatever politicians are arguing about when in reality they're all working with each other...but maybe I shouldn't act like I'm surprised. I guess people have always been this way, especially humans."

Symphonia took a sip of her tea.

"I'm not offended. Surprised, is all. Because I've heard stuff like this before, and I don't think I agree. I think humans are pretty smart."

"Seriously?" Alan gasped as he stopped chewing. "I don't mean this in like, a stereotyping way, but psychics are so smart, I'd figured a Gardevoir especially wouldn't think very highly of human abilities, much less their intelligence!"

"Seriously!" she insisted. "For example, the way humans adapt their environments to themselves. Agriculture, science, architecture...in all of human history you can see ingenuity, all around the world. Irrigation techniques to make dry places inhabitable, biology which led to advanced medicine, arches to support bridges using less material...I think your species deserves a bit more credit than that."

"That's very interesting. I kind of always felt the opposite. Lots of early technology like irrigation techniques and basic engineering is just stuff that we adapted from nature, and often it's made possible by aliumans. Early humans in this prefecture got help digging rocks up to make farmland from Nidoking and Nidoqueen, for example."

"That's true. Though, aliuman species have worked together too, like Combee and Bellossom. I don't think that takes much away from human accomplishments. It's all relative too, right? Humans not having anything like aliuman powers makes their accomplishments even more impressive to me."

"I hadn't considered that before. You make a good point. I mean, I don't know, I guess I'm just disappointed because I feel like humans could and should be doing better. I know that we're supposed to be among the smartest when it comes to sentient life, and there's so many of us compared to the individual aliuman species near our level, but with the world in the state it is and the fact that most of the governments are controlled by humans, well...it feels a bit shameful."

"I see," Symphonia pondered, thinking again back to Cyrus. "You know, I've thought sometimes that I might like to be human."

Cyrus scanned his eyes back and forth over the carnage before him. Bullet-ridden corpses lay strewn about in the hallway of the research compound, guns scattered amongst them in pools of drying blood. He shook his head slowly as he sighed.

"Such loyal soldiers. On their own initiative too."

The Mismagius next to him on the left bowed its head in shame.

"My gravest apologies. I thought those last traces of life essence were fading away...I was too concerned for my own safety and I should have-"

"No, it's my fault," Cyrus interrupted dryly. "I should have known this would happen. She was always arguing, always unwilling to see the truth that I set out so clearly in front of her...and it was my own arrogance which made me think she would change. I had too much faith in prophecy."

"You can't let this shake your resolve. You were right to have her created, you gave her a destiny that billions would have traded their lives for. She's an ungrateful child that spat on everything we fought for!" the man behind Cyrus seethed. He was still wearing his fatigues and tactical gear from his assignment earlier.

Cyrus nodded.

"It's a shame about the Aether researcher and the Cosmog, though. A suicide capsule full of his best friend's poison...and, being one of the most gifted researchers at the institute on their most cutting edge project...his way out seemed obvious in retrospect."

"I didn't think to search him thoroughly. We'll find another. I could go to Alola myself tonight!"

"Relax, Darius. We can't show our hand now. The Aether Foundation is probably going to be expecting something else after this."

"So what then?!" Darius fumed. "The clock is ticking. In the meantime, she could go to the Johto government! The whole world will find out about us! We aren't even close to being prepared for a fight like that yet, and you're willing to risk it all now?"

The former Team Galactic leader closed his eyes and began laughing to himself, Darius' irritation growing with every chortle.

"It'll be no problem at all. Who would even believe her? A Gardevoir without any identifying documents or people to vouch for her, claiming that I've come back to life with an ace in my sleeve? She doesn't even know enough to reveal our exact plans, in any case.

What I'm more concerned about, aside from finding another Cosmog that powerful, is the hero."

"And yet you just said you had too much faith in prophecy. Cyrus...Cyrus...you certainly haven't changed over all these years," Darius sighed as he shook his head slowly.

The dark orange sun was sinking behind buildings off in the distance, and the party led by Alan was now making their way down a wide street. Traffic had increased compared to the relatively light amount in the afternoon, both in the road and on the sidewalk.

"Look! All those people! Are they going home?" Combusken inquired, his head turned toward the gridlocked traffic.

"Yeah, from work, probably. Good observation," Alan replied.

Trailing closely behind them was Symphonia, and a few bags of groceries levitating behind her at waist height.

"You're sure you don't mind me staying at your place?" the Gardevoir asked with a nervous inflection.

"Nope. It isn't like anything's being done with the extra room. Besides, it's been a fun time so far."

"What has?"

Symphonia stopped walking, and Alan and Combusken ceased momentarily after.

"The...the stuff we've been doing and talking about, I guess? I mean, I know it's only been one day. But you don't find someone washed up on a beach every day, huh?"

He giggled, much to Symphonia's confusion.

"You think our conversations are...particularly enjoyable?"

"Mm, yeah, I do. I'm sure you could have noticed, but I've never had any friends either."

"What about me?!" Combusken chimed in.

"Aw come on man, you know what I mean!"

He turned back to Symphonia.

"I didn't get along that well with people at school or at home. Or at least I could interact with them, but I didn't ever feel like I could talk to them and have the type of conversation we had today."

"What do you think was so special about it?"

Alan took a sports drink from the plastic bag he held in his left hand, twisted the cap open and took a sip. He smiled and started walking again, and the other two did as well.

"The depth of it, mainly. The type of things you seem to be interested in. History, philosophy, science, how people think...I've never met anyone who has as much to say. Like, I know there's plenty of smart people out there, I just wish I had the chance to meet more of them. I think it will be better when I start college, but who knows? Lots of people only go to college to party and get a job later anyway."

The trio approached the condominium complex that contained Alan's apartment. It was highly modern, sleek, and monolithic; the main building a few stories tall wrapped around a rectangular courtyard filled with neat patches of grass, benches and cherry trees scattered about. A tower in the center of the far side of the structure stood roughly twice as high as the main building. There were more than a few humans and Pokémon enjoying the evening in various ways; a Parasect milled about next to an old woman who sat on a bench near the group, a young man in a hurry dashed out from a side door with two Mankey in tow, and immediately ahead there was a lit charcoal grill topped with sliced meats and vegetables, tended to by a burly man and surrounded by a small crowd.

Combusken ran eagerly toward the far tower: Alan followed shortly behind, with Symphonia not far either, and they began to weave through the plaza.

"I wish it was a time where we could see the cherry blossoms," Symphonia noted as she observed the bare trees.

They entered the lobby of the residential tower, the floor of which was polished black stone surrounded by wood-paneled walls engraved in an eastern style. Combusken jumped to hit the call button when they approached the elevator.

"What's your place like?" Alan asked Symphonia.

"Er...it's a house. Two stories, not big like a mansion, but not small either. I have a lot of spare rooms because I mostly use my bedroom when I'm home."

"Ah, ok. I take it you're an outdoors person, then?"

The elevator car jolted slightly and began ascending.

"Uh...kind of. I go out a lot. I like traveling, but on my downtime I like to read and study."

Alan's eyes lit up.

"Are you in college? Or, are you working already?"

"No," Symphonia responded, shaking her head wistfully. "No to both. I'd like to someday, though."

Ding!

The elevator stopped, and they stepped out with Alan leading the way. He motioned toward the left and they walked several doors down the hall before they reached the one marked *512*. He fumbled in his pockets before producing a key, and unlocked the door to his apartment, gesturing for Symphonia and Combusken to head in. As his companions entered, he closed the door behind him which was immediately followed by a solid thump.

"Oh, the groceries!" exclaimed Symphonia.

Alan opened the door again so that she could bring the groceries in.

"That's so cool how you can move things through walls!" Alan declared gleefully. "Hey, would you mind putting the rest of the drinks and stuff in the fridge?"

"Mhm."

She gracefully separated the cans and bottles from the packaged snacks in the grocery bags, opened the fridge door and set them all neatly on the top shelf, then left everything else on the kitchen counter, all using telekinesis to Alan and Combusken's great amusement. Alan strolled over to his desk in the living room and opened his laptop.

"Hey, is there anything either of you wanted to do tonight? Come take a look at attractions and stuff."

He opened a travel website and lifted Combusken up so that he could sit on the desk and see the screen. Symphonia turned her head to look, but remained where she stood, lost in thought.

If I'm spotted by any of Cyrus' agents they'll come after me.

She glanced at Alan, who was still busy browsing.

They'll come after them, too.

"Hey, Symphonia!"

I can't let them get hurt because of me. But if I were to tell them would they even believe me? Alan would just give me up when they come for me, wouldn't they? Who would want to deal with something like that?

"Symphonia?" Alan called again.

"Oh, uh, coming!"

She hurriedly made her way to the desk Alan and Combusken sat at, and took a look through the listings Alan was clicking through.

"Do you wanna go to the mall?" asked Combusken. "It looks so big!"

"Yeah, it's not very far and they have a lot of stuff to do- movie theater, arcade, you get the idea. Could pick up some clothes, maybe. If they have a culinary store I'd like a nice set of knives, pans, all that stuff so that we could actually cook here. I'm in a mood to celebrate a little, y'know?"

Symphonia's concern seemed to dissipate; she recalled the last time she had been to Goldenrod City and lamented that she couldn't stay for longer. Her blank expression turned to one of eagerness as her eyes lit up.

"I didn't realize we were this close to the Golden Gateway! I didn't get a chance last time. Yes, I'd love to!"

"Great then!"

"But before we go," Symphonia began. "Could I take a shower first? I can still feel the minerals in my hair."

"Of course. There's a washing machine and dryer in here, too."

Symphonia nodded, and Alan led her to the bedroom she'd slept in the previous night. Across the room from the entrance was the bathroom, and Symphonia hurried in and shut the door.

"Wait, what do we do about your dress?"

The door clicked open again, and Alan reflexively turned his head away and closed his eyes.

She's certainly feeling comfortable here already!

"You won't need to wash this. Its fibers are antimicrobial, if you didn't know. Stain resistant and hydrophobic too! It feels a bit stiff though, so could you iron it? Just a little bit should have it back to normal. Thank you!"

Symphonia's dress levitated out from the bathroom and dropped onto the floor. Alan grabbed it by the hem, and was instantly surprised by its texture. Despite having been submerged in the ocean, it was still soft and silky and lighter than he felt it ought to have been. After showing Combusken and letting the bird see for himself, he brought it to the small laundry room opposite from the entrance of his kitchen, retrieved the folded board and iron and got to work.

Meanwhile, Combusken returned to the computer desk and began scrolling through the Golden Gateway mall's website, gawking at all the restaurants and shops that were advertised.

This is so bizarre, Alan thought to himself. She's in no hurry to get back home. I can understand that, given how similar the situations we're in are. But still...

"Alan!" the Gardevoir shouted from the bathroom.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get me a towel in a minute?"

The man retrieved a case from his backpack and took out a blue microfiber cloth. As he polished his glasses with it, he boarded a crowded escalator and looked up ahead of him.

What'll it be tonight...Hoennese, maybe...

Alan, Symphonia, and Combusken arrived before a massive glowing arch that wrote out 'Golden Gateway,' and a flight of stairs flanked by ramps lay beneath. It was the late evening now, and a half moon was visible overhead. Crowds of people and Pokémon surrounded them, moving every which way. Before the group at the top of the stairs was the entrance to the mall, a titanic doorway of glass shining from the light of the paper lanterns hanging from the arch.

"Ah, this is amazing!" Symphonia exclaimed. "It's even more dazzling in person!"

"If you think this is amazing, wait til we get inside," Alan chuckled.

Symphonia took the lead and nearly sprinted up the stairs in her excitement. Combusken and Alan upped their pace to keep up, but as she entered the lobby she froze in awe, gazing up and around.

Directly above was a massive crystal chandelier, glistening with an almost ethereal shine from the various colored paper lanterns hanging in every direction above and below it. Several open floors above encircled the chandelier, and from her position hundreds of people and Pokémon could be seen already. A small fenced off pond decorated with gilded Magikarp fountains full of koi fish sat below in the center of the circular structure.

"Biggest mall in the country," she mused to herself, smiling from ear to ear.

"I honestly wasn't as excited as you were, but I'm so glad we came," Alan said as he craned his neck to read the store names on the floor above.

"Let's get a map!" Combusken suggested, and Symphonia and Alan nodded in agreement.

They noticed a small group had formed in front of an electronic display in front of the fountain, and headed over to check the map.

"Damn, and this is only one building in the whole mall," Alan said under his breath as he pored over the directory.

"We could take a walk around and see if we find any stores we want to look at go to," Symphonia suggested. "I'm up for anything here!"

"There's so much to do here, I don't know where to even begin...I like your idea though," Alan responded enthusiastically.

The Gardevoir pointed to an escalator near a tanghulu stand that led directly to the second floor, and they began to walk in that direction. Alan purchased a stick of candied hawthorn and another of mandarin oranges before they boarded.

"Have you been to Johto before?" asked Alan as he munched on a hawthorn. "I'm just curious, because you said you missed your chance to come here last time?"

"Mhm," Symphonia acknowledged as she took a mandarin slice from the stick Alan was holding. "Goldenrod City, specifically. I wasn't there for long though, and I was very young...I don't remember much, other than that it was autumn. I went to one of those revolving sushi bars and ate a lot," she giggled.

She thought back to the assignment she'd had where she came to Goldenrod to assassinate a detective, and winced.

"What's wrong?" Combusken questioned when he noticed her expression.

Hastily changing the topic, Symphonia pointed to an area ahead of them lined with designer clothing stores. "Oh uh, nothing...hey, you want to go deeper in?"

Combusken and Alan nodded, and the party changed course toward a rectangular section that led to another building in the mall complex. Along the length of this small atrium on both sides was a variety of shop fronts all decorated in unique ways. There was a posh and older looking store specializing in coats and accessories, a glitzy contemporary women's clothing shop with sequined dresses in the windows, and a sleek sportswear store all directly to the right of the path they were taking- which Symphonia pointed out were Galarian, Kalosian, and Unovan respectively.

As they entered the next building in the mall, they noticed their surroundings had changed significantly. The white tile and marble floors and walls had become a light brown stone, and the shape of the building itself seemed to had turned into an irregular wave, with restaurants and cafes of various sizes all over the place rather than in the regular structure of organization in the previous building.

"We must be in the food court," Alan remarked. "You guys wanna eat before we go in further?"

Ahhh...Hoennese curry is so delicious...much better than the Johtoese adaptation. Nice and spicy.

The man cleared his throat and washed down his last bite of coconut curried fish with a mouthful of water. He adjusted his glasses and rose to his feet then walked out of the restaurant after leaving a few dollars on the table as a tip.

Might as well have a drink tonight too.

He headed further into the mall, looking around for the nearest elevator to get to the level which contained his favorite bar.

Huh?

He slowed his pace; he caught a glimpse of a Gardevoir sitting in the window of the Kalosian restaurant he'd passed. The man furrowed his brow and continued moving, then entered a bubble tea shop. He pretended to study the menu for a while, change his mind and exited the shop to turn back in the direction he came from. He walked briskly back toward the Kalosian restaurant with his head turned slightly down, and as he passed the window again he studied the face of the Gardevoir he saw engaged in conversation with the boy she sat with.

Retrieving his phonefrom his pants pocket, the man scrolled quickly to Darius' contact info.

"I spotted Symphonia just now," read the text message he sent.