Goldenrod City was a daunting venue for newcomers. There were so many sights and sounds bombarding them in all directions that it could be overwhelming to navigate the streets and buildings if they were unfamiliar with their destination. And sometimes, even the veterans needed a minute to get their bearings.

The humans and Pokemon that lived in the City, or visited with greatest frequency due to their line of work, were much more desensitized to the absurd number of stimuli within the city, and so it was a cinch for those with a trained eye to differentiate between tourists and city residents.

With so many different faces and sounds and sights passing by them every day, few things really stood out to residents. The presence of Pokemon in the city never drew much attention, even if they were normally rarer or exclusive species, because the city was also a plaza for Pokemon trainers eager on visiting the Goldenrod City gym, or trying their hand at one of the other attractions in the city, such as the Game Corner.

For Cecilia, the city was a wild world of nostalgia. She had been born at the outskirts of the city, and even now, the streets and crowds had a sense of familiarity and homeliness that could not truly be replicated elsewhere. Not all the memories associated with the city were welcome, of course. She could also remember cold, lonely nights of wandering the streets, devoid of company except for the occasional night owl human or Pokemon that happened across her.

The Quilava's blue eyes scanned the streets as she walked, taking great care not to inadvertantly burn any of the passerby. She was given a slightly wider berth than the average resident, even with her flames extinguished, but she still got jostled now and then by humans that were walking at a brisker pace than she was. Many of them wore formal clothing, suggesting to her that they were running late for work or some other appointment, and so their rudeness was excused.

It had been a rough few weeks for Cecilia, but the past week in particular stuck out as especially trying, both physically and mentally. She had regrouped with Lin and Force at the Old Chateau back at Sinnoh, just in time for Iris and Kaito to return from their mission, empty-pawed, which didn't surprise Cecilia as much as it probably should have. Not every venture the team went out on turned up something of value. They had to have gone through half a dozen or more sites and ruins before they came across Diablos' Keystone fragment, so failure was something they had accepted as part of their ventures.

Good luck telling that to Kaito, however. The Togetic had been more irritable than usual, which was saying something, and his mood did not improve on being filled in regarding the mishap at the Solaceon Ruins, even though they had returned with that peculiar stone. Kaito had likewise been unable to identify it, but he took note of the odd rune inscribed upon the stone, admitting that it looked familiar, but his study of runes in general meant that almost every symbol looked familiar, and this did nothing to aid them in determining the stone's significance.

There had also been a bit of conflict within the group concerning Diablos. Recent events had suggested that Diablos was perfectly willing to act on his own agenda with little concern to how it affected the group, or those unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire, such as Rio. Cecilia's stomach still squirmed with guilt at the very thought. Force had been especially vocal about his displeasure, whereas Lin had inexplicably played the devil's advocate.

Kaito had listened to the discussion with a surprising amount of patience, whereas Iris and Cecilia had both chosen to say minimally. In Iris' case, this was probably because she was prone to siding with Force by default, but had nothing of her own to add to the discussion, and she couldn't really get involved without the risk of alienating someone. Cecilia just didn't want to get involved. She had made her own decision regarding the Spiritomb.

Cecilia paused her line of thought long enough to consider where she wanted to go next. If she kept walking in her current direction, she'd be heading out of the city entirely, which wasn't the worst idea in the world. As much as she didn't mind the bustle of the city, there were few familiar faces, and doing little else but immerse herself in nostalgic feelings wasn't going to remain satisfying for long.

A sad smile graced the Quilava's face. She never was the type that could spend most of her time alone. She needed other people to focus on, and to devote her energy towards. She liked to surround herself with others and feel like she was a part of their lives, even if it was brief. If anything, the brevity made her crave and appreciate the companionship even more.

Already, she missed Lin.

It wasn't that the Weavile was entirely inaccessible, of course. Kaito had decided he needed to re-examine some of his Johto-based research materials for whatever reason, and had managed to convince Lin to come along. Cecilia had jumped at the opportunity to travel to Johto and reacquaint herself with the region that had been her home, but she was unwilling to use this opportunity to pore over books or whatever other mundane activity that captured Kaito's interest, so she had set off on her own with plans to meet back up with them at a later time.

Yet she still found herself missing Lin's presence. The Weavile was a loyal friend, possibly the best friend Cecilia had, what with the majority of others drifting away with time, like a sand castle at the beach. Force and Iris were wonderful friends, of course, but those two had opted to remain in Sinnoh, once Iris returned from the exhausting task of Teleporting them. Cecilia had never realized how much effort it took for the Kirlia to Teleport others until then.

Iris had Teleported the group, one member at a time, and needed to rest for several minutes between trips, each time looking increasingly drained. If nothing else, it made Cecilia feel guilty for asking such a favor. Unlike Kaito and Lin, whose purpose for travel was related to Kaito's agenda, Cecilia's wish to go to Johto was little more than a selfish excuse to escape from Sinnoh for a while.

Something abruptly collided with Cecilia, nearly bowling her over, and she shot the offender a nasty look which went unnoticed. Sure, it might have been her fault for mentally zoning out in the middle of the sidewalk, but that didn't excuse someone for running into her so roughly without as much as a word of apology.

Cecilia sighed. Maybe Goldenrod wasn't the best city to be hanging around in during the mid-morning commute. With that in mind, she began walking towards the city gates. People and Pokemon were darting about the streets and sidewalk, some heading for work or school or whatever it was they did in the mornings, whereas a few others walked determinedly towards the northeast section of the City, where the infamous Goldenrod Pokemon Gym stood.

Although Cecilia normally wouldn't have minded sitting in to watch the battles, she somehow doubted her presence would be welcomed, as she was neither a challenger nor associated with any of the challengers. It just wasn't worth the potential hassle. It would be much easier and more beneficial to find a somewhat friendlier or more familiar face to hang around with.

The Quilava abruptly jerked her head up, surprise rapidly overtaking her features as she caught sight of a legitimately familiar face. For a moment, she was simply too taken aback to do anything other than stare at the Pokemon that had drifted into the city. A blue bird-like Pokemon with large, cloud-like wings, and a feathered tail.

Of course, her hopes died almost immediately afterwards. The Altaria may be a familiar face, but she couldn't really forget the fact that Sorin didn't particularly like her. They had met previously, and while her tendency to be playfully flirtatious didn't sit well with the dragon Pokemon, he wasn't very socially outgoing, either. Their interactions were quick to become awkwardly quiet, and he always regarded her with extreme wariness, admitting at one point that he didn't like Fire-types invading his personal space.

Then again, she wasn't really interested in trying to flirt with anyone for a while, so maybe there was a chance to get off on a better foot this time around? It was worth a shot.

"Hey, Sorin!" Cecilia called out, wincing a bit at the volume of her shout, before immediately remembering that due to the traffic of the city, it was actually necessary to call that loudly. The Altaria flinched and turned towards her, only to promptly flinch again. Wow, they were off to a fantastic start already. Despite the less-than-enthusiastic response, Cecilia began walking nearer, taking care not to approach so rapidly that he would immediately feel like his personal space was threatened.

In doing so, she soon spotted the other Pokemon that was standing in close proximity to the cloud dragon, a quadruped with bright orange, fluffy fur. Cecilia blinked at this Pokemon with mild confusion, swiftly managing to label it as a female Flareon. She had the weirdest luck ever when it came to encountering members of the Eevee evolutionary line.

"Oh, um...hi, Cecilia," Sorin muttered.

"Hi Sorin," Cecilia said, keeping her tone casual and pleasant, but then cocked her head at the Flareon. "Did you finally overcome your aversion to Fire-type females?" she wondered pointedly.

"No, he's still got that in spades," the Flareon replied dully. Cecilia stifled a giggle, a feat made more difficult by the exasperated look that Sorin shot his companion.

"Hi there! I'm Cecilia," Cecilia chirped, and offered her paw to the Flareon.

There was an uncomfortable pause as the fire Eon regarded her paw, before flicking her gaze up to meet Cecilia's eyes. "Celes."

Cecilia allowed her paw to just drop back to the ground, immediately put off a bit by the Flareon's somewhat standoffish demeanor, but rolling with it. "So, not a girlfriend, right?" she teased, before sobering. Even such a playful question might given Sorin the idea that she was going to hit on him, and his aversion to her would skyrocket.

"Baffling why you would think otherwise," Celes sniffed. "Are you always quick to assume romantic attachment between acquaintances of the opposite gender?"

Cecilia considered this for a moment, swiftly running down a list of examples of Pokemon she interacted with regularly. The weirdest part was, it really wasn't that rare for her to see potential couples within every group that involved at least one male and female. Rio and her mate had gotten attached very quickly, and then there was Force and Iris. She herself had the borderline need for affection and companionship, so she was always looking at options. If anything, the odd ones out were Kaito and Lin, but Lin fell into a different category entirely, and Cecilia had begun to assume Kaito was also uninterested in any sort of relationship.

"Yeah, kind of, I guess." Cecilia shrugged.

"Was she one of the contacts you mentioned?" Celes wondered, looking up towards the hovering Altaria.

"Weirdly, no. Running into her was a complete coincidence," Sorin admitted, shrugging his wings, yet somehow staying afloat. Then again, Kaito managed to stay afloat whether his wings were moving or not, so maybe Cecilia just thought it looked weird and it actually was totally normal for flying Pokemon to be able to do.

"Who are you contacting?" Cecilia wondered, her ears perking up a little. This was starting to sound potentially interesting, or at least more sociable than anything else she was going to do today.

"Um...just a friend or two that I keep in touch with, share gossip and news, you know?" Sorin answered awkwardly. Now he had both Fire-types giving him perplexed looks, and Cecilia could swear he was practically fidgeting in mid-air.

"Anyone specific? Like a name?" Cecilia pressed. "I grew up in the area, I might know them."

"Uh...his name's Matthias. He's human-owned, but-" Sorin began, but Cecilia brightened, remembering quickly to keep her flames at the softest of simmers if they had to be ignited at all.

"Runs the pawn shop at night?" she asked eagerly.

"Is that what that place is?" Sorin wondered absently. "Might explain how he gets his information and gossip."

"Ooh, and he likes me, so that's even better," Cecilia added. "What do you need to meet with him for? Is it about her somehow?" she asked, looking at Celes curiously.

"I'm looking for my brother," Celes said stiffly. "Sorin thinks someone in the area might be able to keep an eye out for any signs of him."

Cecilia blinked. "Do...all Eevee families have two or more kits? You're like...the third one who's mentioned having a brother."

"Siblings were very rare at my clan," Celes answered curtly. Cecilia frowned a little, but relaxed when she saw that Sorin was giving her an apologetic look. Apparently, Celes' clipped tone when speaking was not specifically directed towards the Quilava, which did make her feel a little better about the situation. It was hard to get too bent out of shape from rudeness when one was used to interacting with Lin.

"Wait, are you from the clan near here?" Cecilia wondered, pointing her paw towards one end of the city. Sorin looked baffled, following the direction of her paw. Celes also furrowed her brow in confusion. "No? Huh, because that'd have made a lot more sense why you're all uptight about me joking about you being Sorin's girlfriend."

"That's not even the right direction," Sorin said, squinting at the sky. "Violet City's the other way."

Now it was Cecilia's turn to be confused. "How many Eevee clans are there in this region?" she asked incredulously. "There's supposedly like three of them in Sinnoh."

"Isn't there a Daycare near this city? I blame them," Sorin deadpanned.

Cecilia fought the urge to scowl at Sorin for that remark, but privately reminded herself that Sorin didn't have the slightest idea why that comment might have been hurtful. Just the fact that he wasn't inching away from her was a good enough sign without his nonchalant comments creating conflict and hostility towards one another.

"So who's your brother? Knowing my luck, if I haven't met him, I might in the future," Cecilia chirped, looking over at Celes with a friendly smile.

"His name's Blaze, he was still an Eevee last I saw him," Celes answered with a heavy sigh, her dark brown eyes focusing on the ground. This did cause Cecilia's smile to fade a little, but she shrugged it off.

"Nope, haven't met him, but again, I might in the future. Especially if I stick around Johto for a while."

"Why are you even in Johto?" Sorin asked, wincing when Cecilia gave him an affronted look. "I'm curious, not...disgruntled."

"Could you maybe catch up later?" Celes asked impatiently, and she gave the surrounding area an anxious glance. It abruptly occurred to Cecilia that the Flareon probably hadn't spent as much time in human-controlled areas as she and Sorin probably had, and Goldenrod was definitely no friend to the uninitiated. The fact she hadn't gotten frazzled already by the noise and crowd was almost miraculous.

"Ooh, right!" Cecilia said brightly. "Let's go this way, less traffic," she suggested, and immediately set off along one of the side streets. Even without looking, she could tell that Sorin and Celes had chosen to follow her lead, which was another boost to her mood. Maybe the day wasn't going to be completely terrible, and her interactions with Sorin could still be salvaged.

If only the same could be said for all of her relationships and interactions. She supposed that was just a simple fact of life that she would have to one day adjust to and accept.

Even the side streets of Goldenrod City amounted to a huge maze at times, and if it weren't for Cecilia's almost intimate familiarity with all the city's hidden routes and alleyways, she was willing to bet that they would have gotten lost or at least extremely confused. Minimal traffic went through this way because it was almost impossible to judge one's location by the landmarks that made up sizeable portions of the City. Thankfully, Goldenrod was not really a popular location for criminal activity or other such concerns, but like every city, it did have its fair share of low-lifes.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Sorin asked uncertainly, as the alleyways began to get a little narrower and lighting became more scarce. Cecilia had taken a moment to ignite her flames again to assist with spotting anything hidden in the darkness, but she had almost forgotten that Sorin and Celes probably weren't as confident with taking these routes and shortcuts.

"If you want, we can backtrack and take the main sidewalk the rest of the way," Cecilia offered. "Only slightly longer, but probably safer."

"Yes, let's do that," Celes said promptly, already making her way back towards the previous fork in the path. Sorin blinked, then obligingly followed after the Flareon. Cecilia giggled to herself, and followed on their heels. Sorin ended up taking the lead once they had returned to a section of sidewalk, as Celes was preoccupied with warily observing the passing humans and Pokemon, several of which glanced at the Flareon, some of their gazes lingering or flicking back for a second glance, but no one stopped or said anything.

"Not used to cities much?" Cecilia asked the Flareon curiously.

"No," Celes answered bluntly. "I dislike the attention."

"Really?" Cecilia asked, pleasantly surprised at getting a more thorough answer from the fire Eon. "I kind of like it, although it can be annoying sometimes. Depends on the day, really."

Celes glanced at the Quilava from the corner of her eye, but was silent for just long enough for Cecilia to have refocused on their destination. Sorin was still leading, but he kept glancing back to make sure he wasn't accidentally leaving them behind. It baffled the Quilava how he was able to do that mid-flight and not just as quickly look forward again. It was dangerous enough glancing back when walking, to say nothing of when one had three dimensions to worry about.

"How does it depend on the day?" the Flareon asked abruptly. Cecilia blinked, but then giggled a little.

"More my mood. Some days I might be up for some casual flirting, other times I might just want to chat and hang out, or maybe have a spar. If no one is paying any attention to me, then it's hard to determine who'd be available or interested, you know?"

"I suppose," Celes sighed. "To each their own."

Cecilia was about to ask for elaboration as to what this could possibly mean, but Sorin had stopped in front of a familiar-looking building, signaling that they had arrived at the destination. It was a simple building, nearly impossible to distinguish from the other small shops along the same street, and the sign was fairly bland, a simple brown slab of wood with the name of the shop engraved in white lettering.

"Shall we?" Sorin asked, gesturing his wing to the door. Celes gave him a perplexed look. "Only problem is my wings can't open the door," he admitted.

"Got it!" Cecilia called, sitting back on her haunches and using her forepaws to pull on the door handle, the door swinging inwards once the lock was disengaged. There was no bell or other chime to indicate that someone was entering the store, but Cecilia strode inside anyway, extinguishing her flames as a safety measure. Sorin maneuvered through the doorway with a little more difficulty, and Celes followed with blatant apprehension.

The interior of the store wasn't any more elaborate. It was a dimly lit building, and to some people, it would be filled with nothing but random items and junk. Some of the small shelves had more commonplace items for purchase, such as candy bars or hygiene items like soap and oils.

A middle-aged human man sat behind the front counter, paging absently through a magazine, although it was clear that he was aware of the door opening, because he glanced up every few seconds. After several seconds of observing no one, he straightened up until he could get a clearer view of the three Pokemon that had come inside.

The man blinked blankly at them, giving Sorin the longest look of bafflement, then he chuckled to himself and pulled on some sort of cord hanging near the register, causing a bell to chime with a gentle tinkling sound.

"Hey, Matthias, there are Pokemon guests up front!" the man called out, immediately returning to his magazine. Celes was fidgeting a little bit, and Cecilia noticed she had drawn her tail up around herself in what was probably a display of self-consciousness.

There was a short silence after the human's announcement, and a cold wind seemed to fill the store. The human sighed quietly and began to drum his fingers impatiently on the counter as the dim lighting darkened further, extinguishing his only means to continue his magazine browsing. Cecilia flared up her flames a little bit to counteract the darkness and cold that had taken hold of the store, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Sorin wrap his fluffy wings tighter around himself.

Pale pink eyes materialized in the middle of the dark room, followed by the glitter of gold underneath that formed a horizontal mouth. Then the rest of the creature's dark grey body phased into existence, making up the shape of a vaguely humanoid-shaped creature, its head extending in the back like a ribbon. Its legs were stubby, and its slightly longer arms each ended with three fingers. As light gradually returned to the room, they could see that the gold sparkle beneath the creature's eyes was in reality a zipper that made up its mouth and teeth. An odd, star-like object acted as a tail.

The ghostly Pokemon leered at them ominously, with enough intensity for Celes to shiver a little, although her eyes narrowed and her stance shifted to a more aggressive form. Cecilia simply observed the display with faint amusement and awe. She knew this Pokemon, and appreciated the effort he put into his dramatic appearances.

"Hi, Matthias!" Cecilia greeted brightly. The Banette's zipper mouth widened into a grin.

"Cece! Long time no see!" he stated, darting forward and wrapping his arms around Cecilia's neck in an affectionate embrace. The touch of his ghostly body was cold, but not so intense as to be unpleasant, and Cecilia giggled and returned the hug, squeezing the Banette's body slightly like one might to a plush toy.

After they broke apart, Matthias turned to Sorin and gave him a nod of acknowledgment, which Sorin returned.

"Sorin, right?" Matthias asked, pointing a finger of each paw at the Altaria. Sorin chuckled and nodded again. "Good to see you're well, too."

The Banette then turned his eyes to Celes and studied her for a few seconds. After an awkward pause, he cocked his head sideways, as if this would improve his recognition abilities.

"Don't tell me, let me guess," he insisted, as the Flareon began to open her mouth. Celes rolled her eyes, but didn't argue this. Cecilia stifled a giggle, as Matthias tapped his chin thoughtfully, but finally, the ghost Pokemon chuckled. "You know what's funny?" he asked, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "I don't actually know any female Eevee evolutions."

"Celes," the Flareon supplied irritably.

"That's a pretty name, but I've got a rule 'round here," Matthias said, lowering himself to Celes' eye level, his legs phasing through the floor. The Flareon blinked, discomforted by the Banette's proximity. "Manners count, milady," Matthias continued, applying a gentle scolding tone to his words. "So none of that eye-rolling you did before, and no talking like I'm wasting your time, you hear?"

"Um...okay," Celes said nervously. Her eyes were focused on the ghost's zipper mouth, which didn't give any indication that it was speaking words, yet his sentences could be heard clearly.

"Splendid!" Matthias clapped his paws together, rising back into the air and sitting himself on the counter, crossing his legs casually and gazing down on them. "So what can I fix you with?"

Celes was the one who answered this question, applying a softer version of her otherwise clipped tone. Interestingly, this seemed to be an advantage, as it demonstrated how direct and to the point the Flareon made her statements. In far fewer words than it probably would have taken Cecilia or Sorin to pass the same information, Celes gave the Banette her brother's name, estimated age, last known species, and time since she had seen him last.

When she had finished, Matthias stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I thought asking you might help her with the search," Sorin explained. "We haven't ruled out the possibility of him having gotten captured by a trainer, and that'd be almost impossible to confirm without checking registration files."

The Banette shook his head. "Won't do no good. Most trainers register their team under names they pick out, not the Pokemon's original name, and some don't even do that, so they'll just be registered as 'Eevee'. Only way that'll help is if you miraculously hit upon someone who registered an Eevee under the name 'Blaze'. On the bright side, that's an easy database search, but you're not getting leads from anything else on files."

"Yeah...I knew that was a long shot..." Sorin conceded. Celes sighed audibly, her ears drooping a little.

"Keep your chin up, milady," Matthias said, grinning at her. "My palate has no appreciation for despair and self-loathing. How does my adage go, Cece?"

Cecilia blinked, but then smiled with a hint of fondness, recalling a stormy evening in front of a fireplace. "Keep your chin up, don't you dare start to pout; things will look up, and your flames won't go out."

Sorin snorted with laughter, whereas Celes raised an eyebrow incredulously. Cecilia continued to smile, unfazed by the reaction. Yeah, it had been kind of childish at the time, but it had done its job of reminding the young Cyndaquil to not let temporary setbacks destroy her outlook on life.

Matthias scratched his head. "Sure, let's...go with that one," he said finally. He turned towards the human sitting at the counter and snapped his claws. The man responded by sliding the Banette a notepad and pen. Matthias busied himself for a few seconds scrawling something on one of the pieces of paper and showing it to the man, who just stared at him.

"Sure, Matthias, I'll get right on that one," the man said, rolling his eyes and climbing to his feet before disappearing into the back room. Satisfied, the Banette dropped the notepad on the counter.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, his zipper mouth grinning. "So, what else can I get for y'all?"

"Uh...that was it, actually. Just wanted to ask about her brother," Sorin answered.

"I'll definitely get some eyes and ears out on that front," Matthias reassured him.

The Banette considered for a moment, and then abruptly reached his arm through the counter and withdraw a glittering object that Cecilia often observed attached to the wrists of humans in most cities. The ghost Pokemon inspected the object, turning it over several times before phasing his arm back through the counter, presumably returning the object to wherever it had been stored previously.

"In exchange, how about we go out for lunch, my treat?" the Banette asked, grinning widely. "Anyone hungry?"

"Sure!" Cecilia chirped brightly. She wouldn't mind a chance to catch up with Matthias for about an hour, even if Sorin and Celes chose to decline. Before either of the other two could speak, Celes' stomach rumbled audibly, and the Flareon flushed in embarrassment.

"Splendid!" Matthias chuckled, seizing the notepad and scrawling a hasty note, then slapped the notepad down and leapt off the counter, landing in front of the door. "Shall we?"