Potential trigger warning: There is a brief mention of survivor's guilt in this chapter. I'm just putting that out there ahead of time.

I have also never seen the TV show "Stranger Things", though I've heard good things about it. I'm also told I resemble one of the actors, which is usually a compliment. Anyway, this is the fifth chapter of Spirit Animals, and I had a good time writing it. Hopefully you all have a good time reading it, and please tell me what you think.

EVAN RAMIREZ, 17

After I had finished eating, Manuel told me that he was going to return to his chambers to prepare for bed. Apparently it was already night out there, but you could have fooled me; the room had felt bright and welcoming during the meal. It would certainly have looked differently had there been windows.

I still had a lot of questions about how I'd gotten here, where 'here' was exactly, and why this Blue Light Society had decided to save my life when they'd seemingly had every incentive not to. While I trusted these people (what choice did I have?) that trust didn't come without some reservations.

Even so, I was so exhausted that it didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep. It also didn't hurt that the bed was ridiculously comfortable and soft, which felt almost as nice as my bed at home.

Thanks to falling asleep so quickly, I didn't have much time to dwell on the untimely demise of my hometown. That could wait until tomorrow.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt a hell of a lot better. The IV had been taken out of my arm, and my left leg barely even ached anymore. If anything, it was pleading with me to make use of it.

Noura, that weird lady from last night, brought me a tray of food again. "Hi there" she said, showing off those pearly white teeth.

I didn't say a word back as Noura set the food down on my bedside table. "I'll bet you're hungry, so eat up!"

I found myself staring at a small bowl of berries, a short stack of pineapple pancakes, scrambled eggs, and some bacon. My mouth watered as I took the fork that had been provided and stuck it into the eggs.

Prior to this, I hadn't been a big fan of eggs, but these eggs tasted very fresh indeed. Clearly they had just been cooked, as evidenced by the steam rising from them, and I practically inhaled them.

As I ate, I thought more about what Manuel had told me last night. He'd called me a Spirit Animal, told me that my birthmark was an indicator that I'd been blessed by the Creators. That's the word he had used: Blessed.

I laughed dryly as the "B word" ran through my mind. If being blessed meant having to run away from storm spirits after they inundated your hometown and killed most of the people you cared about, I wanted no part of it.

Manuel had also said that the fact that my birthmark was Lucario's head meant that I aligned with Aura. Exactly how much power that gave me was still up in the air, but there had to be some reason the storm spirits were so afraid of me.

The Blue Light Society…it's named for Sir Aaron. But what did Sir Aaron do to become famous, exactly?

Even though I'd attended a small schoolhouse thousands of miles from where the events had taken place, I felt certain that I knew at least part of the story. But in the midst of all the excitement, I was drawing a blank.

Perhaps Manuel will explain it the next time he comes back.

After I finished my breakfast, every part of which was absolutely delicious, I began to feel increasingly restless despite my whole body being stiff. I rose from bed and began pacing back and forth, still in my pajamas.

That is, until I remembered: There's a reason most people in Alola don't wear pajamas to sleep. I felt uncomfortably warm before long, even in a room without the sun beating in. I decided to look in my dresser for other clothes.

There was only one set of clothing in the drawers: A dark gray cape, a teal vest, and gray pants. Despite their appearance, the clothing seemed quite lightweight, and I decided to try them on.

Sure enough, everything felt very comfortable. More than that, the clothing fit me exactly, which made me wonder just how they knew what size I was. I mean, even clothing stores don't have all possible sizes, and they were bound to miss slightly on some people, but this set of clothing had been practically tailor-made for me.

As soon as I'd finished putting on the cape, I was reminded of stories I'd heard about superheroes. Almost all of them wore capes, after all; perhaps I was meant to be a superhero.

It certainly feels like I could be one if I wanted to. I have all the energy in the world, and aura vision to boot!

I could also walk around remarkably easily; I wasn't tripping over the cape at all. It was almost perfect.

There was a knock at the door, snapping me out of my reverie. As much as I would have liked to bask in the glory of imagining myself this way, I just couldn't.

"Come in," I said plainly.

Manuel opened the door. Today, he was dressed in a white tank top with bright red sleeves, an image that brought to mind an arsonist. Unlike an arsonist would, however, he greeted me with a warm smile and offered me his hand to shake.

I shook his hand, and then Manuel asked me the following question: "How did you sleep, Evan?"

"Pretty well, thank you very much" I replied, being as polite as possible. How else was I supposed to speak to the people who were treating me like a prince? "Were those clothes made specifically for me?"

"Yes," Manuel said simply. "We take the measurements of every new member, including those who are still growing. A few of our members who align with Grass are very skilled at weaving, so they help with making the outfits. Your measurements were taken while you were unconscious."

"Noted" I responded, trying not to picture the process of measuring my limp body. "So where am I?"

Manuel looked a bit uncomfortable, but I didn't think he was trying to hide anything from me. After a few seconds, he appeared to realize that there would be no point in doing so, and so he gave me an answer.

"You're in Sele City" he told me. "Or rather, you're in a castle not too far from Sele City. If you go to the top of this tower, you'll get a good view of said city."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if it had been more due to luck that I'd ended up here, the fact remained that I'd reached my goal, as had Monica…hopefully.

"Is Monica here?" I asked Manuel next, to which he nodded.

"Yes, she is. She's been in her dormitory for the last four days, occasionally leaving to meet with the other specialists. She'll be very relieved to know that you're doing better; she has been worried sick."

Manuel then beckoned for me to follow him through the doorway. "If there's nothing else", he said, "I can give you a tour of the castle. You can become more familiar with your new home."

"That sounds good," I told him. "But…".

"But what?"

I was afraid to answer, because any mention of my parents or Palmwood would likely cause me to tear up. Already I was fighting hard to choke back sobs.

"Nothing," I replied, sniffling. I regretted even saying the word "but", because I didn't want Manuel to think anything was wrong.

"It didn't sound like it was nothing," the young man in the tank top replied, "but if you say so."

With that, Manuel exited the room, and I followed him into what looked like a spiral staircase. The walls were draped in deep blue, which was also the color of the rug that covered the stairs.

"You're in the Southeast Tower right now," Manuel told me. "This is also referred to as the Aura Tower, since this is the tower where all of our Aura specialists reside. You'll likely meet a few of them today."

I followed my new companion down the staircase, past several other dormitories. As we passed one of them, the door opened, and I nearly ran right into it. I would have if Manuel hadn't been in front of me.

A tall, skinny young man with very pale skin stepped out of the room. His curly black hair stood straight up, meaning that he'd evidently just gotten out of bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," the pale boy said apologetically. "I didn't know you were out there."

Then, he turned to me, and his eyes lit up. "Are you the new guy?"

"Uh…yeah" I responded, a bit weirded out by how excited this boy seemed. "I got here yesterday. Actually, wait, a few days ago." It was hard to keep track of time when I had been out for a couple of days.

"It happens," the pale boy replied. "Although you weren't in great condition when you got here, it could have been much worse. Many people don't find the Blue Light Society in time."

Deep down, I knew how lucky I was. It was just hard for me to feel lucky when I'd lost almost everything familiar to me, when I had to make a new life starting from scratch.

"Your name's Evan, right?" the pale boy asked me.

I nodded. "What about you?"

"Isaiah. Isaiah Zavala" he replied. "It is a pleasure to meet you; I greatly hope we will be good friends."

I didn't argue with that. As hard as it would be to adjust to my new existence, I knew that it would be preferable to have at least one person I could confide in. The more allies I had, the better.

"Icebreakers aside", Manuel began, "Evan and I had better get going. We have a lot of ground to cover today. Besides, don't you have other things to do?"

Isaiah nodded. "They give us homework; it's like we're in high school again. I'm supposed to read three hundred pages on the history of aura, and the text is small."

I didn't have the heart to tell Isaiah that he'd reminded me of high school back in Palmwood. Even the memories of having too much homework were memories I sorely wished I could relive. They were far better than not having parents anymore.

"Well, I'll see you around" I told Isaiah.

"You too."

I followed Manuel down the spiral stairwell until we reached a large circular room. On one side of the room, the wall contained an elaborate painted mural of a tall, skinny blue Pokemon with red eyes, black dreadlock-like organs on its head, and beige chest fur with a white spike on it. He stood next to a man wearing an identical suit to mine.

It was a Pokemon I'd only ever seen pictures of. One so rare in the Alolan Islands that it would be a lifetime event to even see one. And yet, it was the same Pokemon tattooed on my chest by the universe. Which meant that the man pictured was most likely Sir Aaron.

"That's a Lucario on the wall!" I exclaimed, instantly regretting the volume at which I spoke. There was one other person in the room, a young woman who wasn't Monica, and she gave me a sharp glare as she looked up from the book she'd been reading.

"Yes, it is. What other Pokemon would it be if this is the Aura Tower?"

I didn't have a good answer to that, so instead I marveled at the room a little more. The mural took up half the wall, whereas the other half contained a floor-to-ceiling window. That window was my first glimpse of the outside world since I'd arrived here.

It was a sunny morning in Sele City, and from what I could tell, the city stretched out for several miles until it reached the ocean. The castle, if this was indeed a castle, was located some distance away from the city, on top of a tall hill overlooking it.

Manuel led me out of the common room and into what seemed like a veritable maze of hallways. Most of the carpeting here, to the extent that it existed at all, was a neutral shade of gray. My guide explained that each tower belonged to members of a different alignment, such as the Aura Tower (mine), or the Tower of Illusions (where, according to Manuel, was where Monica had been sleeping the last few nights.)

"Down on the first floor is the dining hall," my guide told me. "I won't take you there yet, since it's not nearly time for lunch. But if you want me to bring your meals up to you for another day or two, that's fine as well."

"Why would I want that?" I asked. "Would it be because the others will give me a lot of attention?"

Manuel nodded. "I'm afraid so. But don't worry too much about it, Evan; newcomers get a lot of stares. It's just the way things are, the members want to know your background."

I didn't feel comfortable giving away all my secrets to people who were still strangers. I didn't even know how many of these people there were; there could be dozens, hundreds, or even thousands.

Okay, probably not thousands. This castle seems pretty big, but probably not big enough for thousands of people to live here.

After a few more twists and turns, we arrived at a door with a symbol over it: A flower with a green stem and pink petals. There was a small golden plaque next to said door, which said GARDENING CLUB on it.

"Can I go in there for a few minutes?" I asked Manuel. "There's something about that room that just seems…like I want to see what's in it. I promise, it won't be too long."

I realized that my tone was reminiscent of when I'd plead with my parents to let me stay up later than usual. It wasn't very mature for a seventeen-year-old, but it was too late to turn back now.

Besides, I was very curious as to what lay beyond the door. All I knew was that I could sense an aura of beauty, of springtime. (There were obviously no winters in the Alolan archipelago, but I imagined that had I lived in a more temperate climate, I would have appreciated this greatly.)

Manuel smiled at me. "I would have expected nothing less from an Aura specialist. Yes, you may go in, but don't take too long there."

After assuring him once more that I wouldn't, I walked through the door to the Gardening Club.

Almost immediately, I had to cover my eyes so that they could adjust to the bright light of morning. It was already pretty warm out, and I could smell luscious flowers that were in full bloom.

There were all manner of plants in pots all over the balcony. Most of them were brightly-colored, the type that can only grow in a tropical climate such as this. There were bright red flowers, tall chartreuse stalks that grew small palm trees, as well as white buds that I couldn't name, but remained in a small pot next to the soil.

Digging a hole in which to place some seeds, a teenage girl, probably my age or so, wiped a hand across her forehead. She didn't seem frustrated, but she was sweating a good deal from the warm weather and effort that it had to take to plant these flowers.

The girl herself wore a white dress and had caramel-colored hair tied back in a ponytail. Her concentration didn't seem to waver from her project as I walked closer to her.

"Hey, may I see what you're planting?" I asked.

The girl turned around and screamed in surprise. It was rather startling; but then, I must have startled her as well.

"Oh…I'm really sorry about that" the young woman said, clamping a hand in front of her mouth. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just didn't expect you to come. A few people here thought you'd never wake up."

"Well, I'm sorry about that," I replied. "But it seems like you're already heard about me."

The girl nodded. "You're pretty much the talk of the castle. All of us were targeted by the storm spirits, but many made it here unscathed. You didn't seem to, but at least you're okay now."

Her voice was extremely soft; not in terms of volume, necessarily, but in terms of the emotion behind it. She was expressing the utmost sympathy towards me.

She knows what I've been through. What Monica's been through as well.

"You probably don't want to shake my hand right now, it's covered in dirt from the garden," the girl said, laughing slightly. "But my name is Demeter. My parents say I was named after an ancient goddess of agriculture, but I'd never heard anything about that goddess. Perhaps she's from a different world."

"A different world…" I trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Demeter asked me, frowning. "You seemed happy a minute ago, now you just look wistful."

My vision became blurry, and my nose was stuffy. If I wasn't careful, the floodgates would open within seconds.

"There's a different world where my parents are still alive. Where my village wasn't just levelled by the storm spirits. There's a different world where I'll never have to worry about any of this."

Demeter smiled sadly. "Not many people would choose this life, for it is a complicated and difficult one. I'm not saying you chose for your parents to die, of course; I'm simply saying that…".

"No, no, I get what you mean. It's just…what wouldn't I give to take my parents' place in the hereafter? Whatever happens after you die, why did it have to be me who got left behind?"

Demeter shook her head. "No, don't think of it that way! You've got your life, and you have to make it count! Your parents would be so proud of you if they could see you right now!"

Truth be told, I didn't know what there was for my parents to be proud of me about. All I'd done up to this point was stumble around in the wilderness, make poor decisions, and end up here by sheer dumb luck.

The girl was still talking. "Survivor's guilt isn't going to get you anywhere, Evan. I hate to preach to you like this, but don't even think about trading your life for your parents'. Even if that could happen, it wouldn't be worth it."

She was right, and I knew it. I hadn't really been entertaining the idea either; it was only a dark fantasy in which I could make things right. Of course, if the scenario described above were to occur, that would not make things right.

I sighed. "You're right, Demeter. I shouldn't have gone there; I apologize."

"It's okay" the girl responded, turning back to her gardening work. "I have to plant some more flowers, but if you'd like, you can take a look over the edge of the balcony. The view's too good to pass up."

I knew that Manuel didn't want me to spend too much time here, but I'd only look for a minute or two. At least, that's what I promised myself. Little did I know, however, the vantage point from this balcony would induce me to take more time than I'd meant to.

I stood on a stool that had been placed next to the railing and looked over the side. It immediately became clear to me that Demeter had greatly undersold it.

Beneath the balcony, there was a long dirt road weaving its way through the rainforest. There was a van driving along the road away from the castle, negotiating the turns slowly and carefully. And beyond the edge of the rainforest, there stood Sele City.

I had remembered hearing about how this place was sometimes referred to as the Garden City due to its large amount of greenspace. Monica had been the one to tell me that, although I hadn't been able to focus as much as I'd wanted to thanks to the overall anguish of that situation.

Sele City consisted of a wide variety of neighborhoods, and from this height, almost all of them were visible. There stood what looked like the old town, with its stone buildings painted yellow, red, and aquamarine. Ponyta- and Rapidash-drawn carriages could just be made out in the distance; in the old town, they seemed as numerous as cars.

There was also the city's business district, containing buildings that were far more modern in their architectural style. None of them seemed to be more than eight or nine stories tall, which made me wonder if the building codes prohibited this. Perhaps nothing was supposed to be taller than this castle.

Finally, there were a number of public parks all over the city. In each of them, several types of tropical trees grew; even living in that type of climate my whole life, I couldn't have named all of them.

It was almost too much to take in, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to experience all of it. But coming from such a small village, I'd often dreamed of seeing the world, and this was a good start.

Minus, of course, the part about my parents being dead. This city seems a lot more durable than Palmwood, of course. If we'd lived here instead, would they still be here?

I shook my head. It would do no good to speculate about the past when there was nothing to be done. My parents were gone, they were never coming back, and I'd never know whether their deaths could have been prevented. All I could do was live my life the best I could.

I wish they were here to experience this with me.

After what must have been several more minutes of trying not to cry, as well as admiring the impressive landscape, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder, as well as an aura of annoyance.

I turned to face Manuel. He was gesturing for me to snap out of it, and I felt bad for dragging the tour out longer than necessary. I hoped he wasn't missing anything important.

"Sorry about that," I told Manuel. I'd been saying the word "sorry" a lot lately. I knew who I should really be sorry for, but I couldn't contact those people, so my new companion would have to do.

The muscular young man grumbled. "Evan, do you want to see the rest of the castle or not?"
"I do" I responded, nodding feverishly. "The city is just very…mesmerizing, you could say." That wasn't a word I'd used very often, but it sounded good.

"Yes, a lot of people say that," Manuel replied, sounding indifferent. "There are of course many things to do in Sele City, many places to explore. I know you come from a small fishing village, so this must be a bit of culture shock for you."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so instead I followed Manuel out of the "room" and back into the hallway. We walked through a few more corridors before the other boy turned to face me so suddenly that I nearly bumped into him.

"Noura?" he asked no one in particular.

Out of nowhere, the same woman, in the same purple dress, appeared. I was pretty sure she hadn't been there a second before. And then I had the following thought:

Does Noura align with Psychic or something? It certainly seems like she can teleport.

"Hi there!" Noura announced, showing her perfectly white teeth once more. Turning to Manuel, she asked, "How may I help you?"

"Show us to Tyson's location" Manuel requested. Turning to me, he said, "I'd like to get this over with quickly; nothing against you, but I have other things to do today. I'll take you right to our leader."

"Very well," the lady replied, still smiling. "Tyson Brentwood is in his office, Manuel Angeles. I'm sure he'll be pleased to meet the new member, Evan Ramirez."

I rolled my eyes. "Please don't talk to me like I'm not here."

"Ah, yes, sorry about that," Noura said. "But yeah, he's in his office, and I'm sure Manuel Angeles knows the way, doesn't he?"

The dark-skinned boy nodded, and then Noura walked away. Once the woman was out of earshot, I asked Manuel the following question: "Why does she use our first and last names, and talk to our faces like we're not there."

Manuel shrugged. "That's just the way it is here. I didn't make the rules."

What do you mean, make the rules?. Doesn't Noura have her own autonomy?

I didn't voice this to Manuel, but there were all sorts of little things about Noura that seemed rather creepy. She could appear basically out of nowhere, and she spoke like a robot. Of course, now that I was an initiate at the Blue Light Society, I'd no doubt see and experience stranger things.

"Come on, let's head to Tyson's office."

I followed Manuel through more and more hallways. We passed a few other members along the way, one or two of whom gave me weird looks. While I knew they meant no ill will towards me, the discomfort with such looks remained.

Finally we arrived at an elaborate door in black and blue (but much more attractive than a series of bruises would be.) Manuel knocked on it several times.

"He's normally here by now" the other boy told me. "Noura said he'd be here, so what's taking him so long?"

I could sense an aura of frustration over Manuel, but I didn't want to say anything. I knew there was no point in doing so.

The door did eventually open, and on the other side, there was a middle-aged man wearing a light bathrobe.

"Tyson, sir?" Manuel asked the man.

"What is it?" the older man replied. "I see you've come to visit me with the new recruit. Evan Ramirez is your name, right?"

Upon asking the last question, the man turned to me and I nodded.

"Very well," the man identified as Tyson said. "What were you going to ask me, Manuel?"

"I was wondering what the purpose of the bathrobe is. Today's going to be a real scorcher."

"Truth be told, it's quite comfortable," Tyson replied. "I like pajamas, I like bathrobes, and I like slippers. Even in weather such as this, I don't mind. My office is cool enough thanks to the air conditioning."

Sure enough, after Tyson led us inside his office, I was hit with a blast of cool air. I hadn't realized just how stuffy the rest of the castle was until now, but now that I'd experienced AC here, I didn't want to go back.

"Wow" I mouthed as I looked around the office. It was a circular room with a domed stone ceiling, underneath which there was a chandelier. Leaning against one wall was a series of bookshelves, laden with volumes so thick that they'd probably be a nightmare to carry, even one at a time.

In the middle of the room, there was a circular desk with a computer on it, where I assumed Tyson worked. There was also a lamp there, which had an interesting shape. I would have recognized that pointy hat almost anywhere, even if it wasn't the same color that it was in real life.

"That lamp is shaped like Sir Aaron!" I exclaimed.

Tyson nodded. "Yes, yes, this place isn't called the Blue Light Society for nothing. I'm sure Manuel has told you this already, but this society is dedicated in Sir Aaron's honor."

"He did tell me that," I said. "Speaking of which, where did Manuel go?"

It had suddenly occurred to me that Manuel was gone. It would be very difficult for someone as muscular as him to hide, so I assumed he must have taken his leave while I'd been gaping in awe at the office.

"He just left," Tyson told me. "Anyway, I haven't yet introduced myself, so I will do so now. My name is Tyson Brentwood, and I'm the head of the Blue Light Society."

I got a better look at the man's face. He was probably in his late forties or early fifties, with glasses and thinning dark brown hair. He was relatively tall and broad-shouldered as well. If this had been an ordinary office building, Tyson Brentwood looked like he'd be the CEO.

"Shall we have a drink in the office?" Tyson asked.

I noticed that there were two mugs of something on the large circular desk, which was essentially more like a table. There was also a plate of cookies covered in powdered sugar.

"Well, I don't drink," I replied. "I'm only seventeen, you have to remember that."

"Ah, don't worry about that, it's just mango juice. I promise you, the alcohol content is zero point zero percent."

If Monica had been present, she'd most likely have interjected that "zero point zero percent" was the incorrect number of significant figures or something like that. I, however, wasn't going to turn down mango juice, even temporarily, so I sat down at the table.

Does Tyson want something from me?

I sniffed the liquid. It was the right color to be mango juice, and there didn't seem to be any weird smells there. I couldn't sense any deceit, either.

"Why are you sniffing your drink?" Tyson asked me. "Do you not trust me?"

"It's not that. It's just…I want to tell just how sweet it is. If there's too much sugar, that's a bad thing, because I'm on a diet."

The man frowned. "It doesn't seem like you need to lose weight, Evan. If you don't trust me, though, that's a problem. I want to be able to trust one another."

I couldn't think of any motive for Tyson to spike my drink with some other substance, but after all I'd been through, I think I can be forgiven for being a little wary.

"I trust you, Tyson. You people could have just let me die, if you really wanted me dead. But it's clear that you don't, because I'm still alive."

"That's the spirit!" Tyson exclaimed. "Now then, please, let's talk for a minute."

"How long has this society been around?" I asked, for that was the first question to pop into my mind.

He shrugged. "Eh, ten, twenty years. Somewhere along those lines."

"But you're the founder?"

Tyson nodded. "Yes, that is me."

"Wouldn't you remember the year you founded this organization? It sounds like it would be a pretty notable life event, no?"

The middle-aged man shrugged again. "When you're as old as I am, Evan, the years seem to blend together sometimes. And it's dangerous to be a Spirit Animal, you know; it can seem like the whole world's out to get you."

"Yeah. Barely got here alive…that's me."

"Indeed. Now, Evan, please show me your birthmark."

It was the second time in as many days that I'd been asked to do this. This time, however, it was more difficult thanks to the vest, but I managed to unbutton it enough so that Tyson could see the marking.

"Yes, you have the alignment with Aura. That is a great gift, but it can come at a terrible cost if you aren't careful with it."

I nodded. "Manuel told me that as well."

"Some would say you've been blessed, others that you've been cursed. It's important to have a nuanced view of your circumstances, Evan, because your gift can be used for good or for evil. It will change your life in both positive and negative ways; indeed, it already has changed your life, both for the better and for the worse."

I took a sip of the mango juice. It was pretty good, although not as sweet as it would've been when served fresh at a restaurant in Palmwood Village. But since the Blue Light Society had given me so much already, I wouldn't complain.

"So what happens next?" I asked Tyson. "Now that I'm living here, I mean."

"Well, later we intend to test you on your alignments."

I frowned. "I thought we knew I aligned with Aura already."

"Yes, you do," Tyson replied matter-of-factly. "However, even if you're an Aura specialist, you can also be skilled at more than one type of magic. Think of it like majoring or minoring in a certain discipline at a university. In much the same way, this can be seen as a university, but for magic."

"Wait a minute…magic? As in, waving a wand around and making whatever you want to happen, happen?"

Admittedly, I'd never looked at the abilities of Pokemon as remotely magical. To me, there was theoretical magic, and then there was the natural world, which both humans and Pokemon inhabited and interacted with. So I wasn't too surprised when Tyson shook his head.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Evan, but you seem to have a very rudimentary, and frankly inaccurate, understanding of what magic is. Magic isn't just a bunch of incantations, weird wizard hats, or all that jazz! Magic is all around us, Evan!"

"So are you saying…that I'm a wizard? That I'll get a wand and all that? This isn't Hariyama Potter, you know!"

"You're not a wizard, you are a Spirit Animal" Tyson replied. "And I think that more things will become clear to you the longer you live in this world, but you're in for some very strange days indeed."

For what it's worth, I imagine Nexus, the planet with Pokemon, as being part of the solar system with Earth. The residents of Nexus are aware of what hapens on Earth. That's my canon, and nobody can take it away from me.

This is going to be my last update of 2021, along with Chapter 21 of Werewolves (which dropped this morning.) I hope that 2022 brings good things to all of us, and I'll see you all in the new year!