Ecruteak City.

The seemingly simple town was famous for being Johto's historical city, and the origin point of many of the region's myths. Each of the world's regions had their share of fantastical stories and legends bundled within their history, with the most famous landmarks serving as something of a tourist attraction for scholars and travelers alike.

Ecruteak was little different in that regard, for the city still contained the charred remains of one of the city's paired towers, where the other remained intact. The myths surrounding these towers were one of the central themes for study among avid scholars, and countless theories were fashioned about the myths, to the extent that few were even sure how many of the details were fabrications.

The same as any other major city, the historical city contained the necessities for aspiring Pokemon trainers in pursuit of a League Championship, the most important of which was the city's Pokemon Center. It was always well-staffed and efficient, prepared and stocked at all times to tend to the fallen challengers of the Pokemon Gym.

Adrian found this to be an absolute blessing. True, almost every city and traveling stop in the region had a Pokemon Center or even a small-scale Pokemon medical ward, but the blessing was in regards to its staffing and stock. Over the course of his career, he had visited numerous Pokemon Centers, sometimes merely to inspect the premises, other times to meet with a Pokemon that had been 'flagged' as difficult, abandoned, or questionable in some form.

It was the part of his job he relished the least. The Pokemon world was no stranger to stray Pokemon living in urban areas, and the associated difficulties of living in such poor conditions. Wild Pokemon were found injured or weak all the time, and delivered to a Pokemon Center by whatever Good Samaritan happened across them. Sadly, it only heightened his awareness that countless other Pokemon were probably in similar conditions elsewhere in the world, but either not found, not reported, or not saved.

It was always emotionally trying to visit a Center that was struggling to keep itself afloat. The nurses were often stressed and overwhelmed, and the Pokemon staffing were sometimes barely competent, or merely lacking the supplies and funding they needed to give the best care to their flow of patients.

Adrian paused his approach a short distance from the Pokemon Center building, and after a moment's consideration, he extracted two Pokeballs from within his jacket. One ball was marked with a green sticker, and the other a blue one, each indicating the element of the Pokemon contained within. He had no idea what he would use if he ended up obtaining another Grass or Water-type, but he'd cross that bridge if it happened.

Normally, he might have been more hesitant at the prospect of letting Avis and Aureia out simultaneously, considering the Vaporeon's distaste for the grass lizard, but he wasn't sure how long it'd be before they'd have another chance to wander around freely. He had recalled Avis into her ball shortly after leaving the forest clearing, and Aureia hadn't been out since that morning.

The young man clicked both of the Pokeball buttons, and twin beams of white light emerged from the spheres, swiftly forming into the shapes of his Pokemon. The bulkier quadruped emerged first, yawning and looking around the small city with an unimpressed, almost bored expression. Avis emerged next, looking around Ecruteak with far more interest shining in her red eyes. Finding her present vantage point a bit lacking, the Snivy climbed onto Aureia's back, to the latter's obvious displeasure.

"Behave, girls," Adrian warned gently. Aureia grumbled something in response, to which Avis replied by saying something in a curiously smug tone. Whatever was said did not improve the Vaporeon's mood. "I have to stop in the Pokemon Center to get Ember patched up. Feel free to wander around, but don't stray too far, and stay outdoors."

Aureia gave a curt nod, and Adrian glimpsed a moment of confusion flashing in her eyes, followed by an inquisitive sound. Avis responded by squealing excitedly and raising her paw enthusiastically, like a child urging the teacher to call on her.

The Vaporeon rolled her eyes and grumbled something else, and Avis lowered her paw, smirking widely. If not for Adrian's extensive experience with Aureia's tone and mannerisms, he probably never would have gotten the gist of these exchanges, and they amused him endlessly. If he had to guess, Aureia had first asked what happened to Ember, and Avis' response was so blatant that he'd struggle to get it wrong. This most recent grumble from the Vaporeon was almost definitely telling Avis to put her paw down.

"I'll try to make things quick. Hey, it's better scenery than the Ruins, right?" Adrian offered, hoping that this would at least prompt grudging agreement from the Vaporeon. Aureia didn't take the bait, and instead just gave him a deadpan look. Adrian chuckled and stroked Aureia's head, remaining mindful of the fins adorning her face. He gave Avis a gentle pat on the head, and then straightened. "Be back as soon as I can, girls," he said, and continued towards the red building.

The Pokemon Center's doors made a light chiming sound as they slid open at his approach, and he stepped into the open lobby. Other trainers were seated in chairs or benchs that lined the perimeter of the room, some accompanied by healthy Pokemon or their peers, whereas others wore more anxious expressions. Behind the counter, Adrian could see a number of Chansey and Audino moving about, conversing with one another and handing off patient charts.

A young woman sat behind the reception desk, typing rapidly into a computer set beside her, offering friendly smiles of encouragement to every person that approached her, and multi-tasking between the computer monitor and a pen and clipboard with ridiculous ease.

Adrian joined the small queue in front of the desk and silently organized the various clients into a mental list of competitive trainers, people with domesticated Pokemon, and the middle ground. It was a fun way to pass time when forced to stand in a line or linger in a public waiting room for a long period of time.

"Next!" the receptionist called, and Adrian swiftly refocused. He stepped up to the desk and produced the Pokeball labeled with a fire-red icon. He paused for a moment before handing the sphere to her.

"Needs a bit of a patch job. Moderate-level injuries," he stated. The receptionist set the Pokeball on a single-ball tray and pointed a hand-held scanning device at the button on the front of the ball, which made a soft beeping sound. Her eyes then flicked over to her computer, which doubtlessly had brought up Ember's patient history file. Adrian had visited enough Pokemon Centers to have worked out the little details of how a Center was run.

Most Pokemon trainers, no matter how competent and close they were to their Pokemon, simply lacked the medical know-how to properly diagnose their Pokemon, or the severity of their conditions. This was almost never malicious ignorance, but much like with human patients and their own doctors, trainers tended to freak out over mild symptoms and injuries, or dismiss more serious conditions.

Therefore, Pokemon Center nurses were trained to do more thorough examinations, no matter what the patient was brought in for, and there were database files on registered Pokemon, which could be scanned and looked up from their registered Pokeball, similar to a product's bar code at a supermarket. The details of each file varied, but the important fields included the Pokemon's registered name, species, gender, the name of its trainer, emergency contact information, and details of the most recent visits, in addition to any other important notes that might not be a required field for every patient. The database was similarly useful for determining whether there was probable cause to suspect abuse or neglect, which would get reported to the authorities.

"All right, let's see here..." the receptionist said, taking a moment to scroll through Ember's patient file. Adrian just waited patiently and smiled politely. As part of his primary job, he was required to know the ins and outs of Aureia and Ember's patient files, especially since he was legally required to have Pokemon Center staff aware of his Pokemon's potentially volatile personality quirks, and the suspected triggers for said behaviors, for not only the safety of the staff, but also for other trainers and their own Pokemon.

The receptionist took a few seconds to jot down some notes on her clipboard, and then touched one of several buttons near the counter, which Adrian recognized as being a call buzzer, to notify one of the Pokemon staff to report to the desk. Less well-funded Centers still had to call for a member of the staff, and the reason for switching the system in other cities was to reduce how much stress was created by Center staff yelling across the building for one another.

Seconds later, a bipedal Pokemon with bright blue eyes emerged from the back. Its body was covered with a mixture of pink and cream-colored skin. Its ears were floppy, with curled antenna-like extensions at the base of each ear.

Adrian noted the tactful decision to page an Audino, rather than a Chansey. Most Johto Pokemon Centers didn't have as much species diversity when it came to primary medical staff, but Ember's patient file undoubtedly warned about her volatile temper and aptitude with claws, and Audino were better suited to handling the Charmander's temperament.

Also, while Adrian was inclined to chalk it up to a coincidence, he noted that the Audino appeared to be a female, whereas the majority of employed Audino he'd seen in other Pokemon Centers were predominantly male. If chosen deliberately, it was another good tactical decision, because Ember's file would not have bothered to mention that she was uncomfortable with male Pokemon in her personal space, since the vast majority of Center nurses were exclusively female, due to the Chansey evolutionary line being an all-female species.

Then again, Adrian mused, Ember's file WOULD have mentioned that she was only just recently cycled back onto his roster, since he was required to take her for a checkup before doing so, and it definitely would have mentioned the provided reason she was taken off-roster in the first place.

The receptionist spoke quietly to the Audino, which gave a chirp of acknowledgement before carefully carrying the Pokeball tray towards the back room of the Center.

"Everything seems to be in order," the receptionist said, printing off a slip of paper and passing it to Adrian, who took it with a word of thanks. He turned away from the desk, his eyes scanning the perimeter of the room in search of an empty seat for him to wait in. He doubted it would take too long, despite the seemingly high-traffic today, if only because the Charmander's injuries were relatively mild.

She had certainly fared better, injury wise, than the last time she had tangled with that Charmeleon. The young man's forehead furrowed as he made his way to an empty chair in the corner of the room. There was no doubt in his mind that the fire lizard had been the exact same one that he had rescued Ember from almost two years ago. He vividly recalled the scar across the evolved fire lizard's eye, a distinct marking setting it apart from almost all other Charmeleon he had ever seen.

That made it all the more crucial that the Pokemon Center's staff be prepared to handle Ember in a potentially volatile state. She had been reasonably calm during the aftermath of the battle, but Adrian wouldn't let that fool him. Ember was the type to stew in negative emotion, even if she tried to hide the fact. If not for that Altaria's intervention, there was no telling how badly the situation might have gone.

Adrian bit his lower lip thoughtfully. The real heel of the matter was that Ember's emotional state was still too much like a ticking time bomb, even though she was stable enough to be cycled back onto his roster. He could see that much in her fighting style earlier, with how mindlessly aggressive she had been. Even when provoked, Ember's style normally carried a hint of finesse, a display of the skill she wielded, despite her impulsive anger. None of that had been present in her fight with the Charmeleon.

The youth sighed and flipped open his notepad, flipping through pages until he found Ember's designated section. He had put extra effort this year into noting her behaviors during the previous month, and how it affected her energy and mood. He had done the same for Aureia the previous year, with tentative plans to do so again for this year.

Adrian fought the private urge to roll his eyes. Oh, he was definitely looking forward to updating the Vaporeon's medical file for the next month. The only consolation was that it was less of a hassle, as providing a reason for cycling Aureia was as simple as deadpanning "It's almost May", and then if that didn't click on the lightbulbs, adding, "She's a Vaporeon" filled in the rest.

But try being that vague for the Charmander line's heat season, and he could expect to get asked about whether he had experience working with Pokemon breeders at the Pokemon Day Care, as the information was far less common, and being on the ball about it implied past experience in that field. He totally did have experience, but that wasn't the point.

Adrian paused that line of thought to jot down a quick series of notes under Ember's section, pertaining to her battle style and emotional state from earlier, wincing to himself when he wrote a footnote describing how she had completely broken down near the end. As soon as he finished the note, he closed the notebook, if only so he didn't have to dwell on the memory of the scene right now.

It was a horrible feeling. Some people might think a job where one works with troubled or traumatized Pokemon would be like a glorified babysitting position, except with a greater risk of being hurt, but it wasn't like that at all. It wasn't like being a police officer for a convicted criminal, but more like being a teacher for a struggling student. Adrian had bonded with his Pokemon, like any trainer would have, and so he felt their pain and frustration just as deeply as if the hurt belonged to him.

Being able to understand and cherish these bonds was a huge step towards helping them become more stable. Yet after two years, it sometimes felt like he wasn't getting anywhere, through no direct fault of his own, yet the failure belonged to him regardless. Ember had made massive improvements, yet never established her independence. She was still too quick to impulse and anger, and simultaneously craved and rejected affection.

Adrian tapped his chin with the end of his pen, considering this line of thought. He had been making some progress in really figuring out part of Aureia's issues, but now he was starting to mull over whether Ember and Aureia's issues were similar, but with sharp distinctions.

These were things he would need to examine in greater detail in the future. He had a hunch that the battle that occurred today contained many pieces to the puzzle of Ember's issues, and for now he couldn't do anything about them, nor did he feel it would benefit Ember at all to try to dig up those issues right away. He would first need a chance to observe how Ember was holding up in the aftermath.


Outside, Aureia waited for a grand total of two seconds after Adrian had gone inside the building before setting off. Her pace was leisurely, but she nevertheless was walking with purpose towards one of the far corners of the small city. She and Adrian had visited this City a few times in the past, so she knew its features as well as any of the local Pokemon might.

Ecruteak was a historical city, but most of the visitors only cared for one or two of the major sights, usually being the ruined tower, or the Pokemon Gym. Now and then, some visited the Dance Hall, or whatever the building was called. The Vaporeon snorted to herself at the thought. Of course, she had been there previously, as Adrian tended to visit almost every locale in every city he visited, whether he was on business or not. She understood his reasons, but that wasn't necessarily an excuse to drag her along for the ride.

"Where are we going?" Avis wondered from her perch on the Vaporeon's back.

"The fish pond," replied Aureia, without missing a beat. She could already hear the soft sound of running water, and the weather was perfect for relaxing near a body of water. She cast an annoyed glance over her shoulder at the Grass-type. She had only turned a blind eye to what normally would be an unacceptable invasion of personal space because Adrian had mentioned something more concerning, and Aureia didn't feel like jumping through hoops to get information from Avis. It wouldn't be the first time the Snivy withheld information because of rudeness, imagined or otherwise.

Besides, it wouldn't have surprised her in the slightest if Adrian had put them in this sort of arrangement on purpose, either in an optimistic attempt to get them to co-exist peacefully, or just for their mutual benefit. He didn't say they had to stick together, after all, just that he wanted them to behave and stay in the area.

The 'fish pond' as Aureia had dubbed it, was a small body of water in the north-eastern corner of the city. It may have originally been intended for gardening, or as an actual pond to raise fish in, but as time passed, its original purpose was forgotten, and it was used mostly for decoration. Aureia suspected that the city had once wanted to build a fountain of some sort around it, but the owners of the property plot had shot it down, preferring the natural look without the addition of brick and stone.

The Vaporeon scoffed a little and sat down beside the water, studying her reflection for a moment before the presence of the grass lizard began to get on her nerves. "You can get off my back, now," she told Avis blandly.

"Okay!" Avis chirped, and she slid into a sitting position, using the curve of Aureia's back and tail like a playground slide, until she was deposited on the grass with a gentle thump. "That was fun," the Snivy giggled.

"I bet," Aureia deadpanned, draping her tail around her body and allowing the fin to dip into the water. "So how did Ember get hurt?"

The Snivy's expression fell, and she kicked the grass lightly with one foot. "Oh...she got beat badly in a fight."

Aureia watched Avis from the corner of her eye. "When did this happen?" she demanded, frowning. She had been inside her Pokeball for the majority of the day, and Ember had been completely healthy this morning, so obviously it had to be sometime during the day, but she wanted something a little more detailed.

"Uh...I dunno, before we got here," Avis said, squinting at the sky, as if the answer might be written in the clouds. "It was some forest near a split in the path or something. We weren't even supposed to go that way."

"Oh, the route towards Goldenrod," Aureia muttered, earning a curious glance from the Grass-type, which she ignored. Having traveled outside her ball with Adrian on numerous trips, she found Avis' description just enough information to get a mental picture. "What was she fighting? A whole horde of wilds?"

"Huh?" Avis seemed perplexed by the question, but quickly shook her head. "No, no...it was...ooh! I learned some really cool stuff today, though! Hey, don't roll your eyes, this actually matters to your question!"

Aureia sighed. "Somehow I doubt it," she muttered.

Avis crossed her arms into a pout. "Does so," she insisted, but then her expression brightened and she began shifting her weight from leg to leg excitedly, giving the visual impression that she was bouncing. "So, remember at the Ruins?"

"I've been trying not to," Aureia sighed, but gestured with her paw for Avis to continue.

"It matters!" Avis insisted again. "So those Pokemon we met, before all the weird stuff? Remember Sorin? The super-soft dragon?"

"Yeah, we literally mentioned him again last night," Aureia reminded her impatiently. "Softer than the Pillow of Arceus, I get it."

"He's Ember's dad!"

Aureia had no idea what Avis expected her reaction to be, but presumably it wasn't for the water Eeveelution to roll her eyes and respond with, "Yeah, I knew that already."

"You...wha-? B-but...I...but..." Avis sputtered incoherently for several seconds, during which Aureia made a show of licking her paw and rubbing behind her ears. Not that this was an even remotely practical motion to do - Vaporeon didn't really have to groom much, their fur was so short it was almost indistinguishable from smooth skin, and water was much better for cleanliness than using a paw, but it felt like the best way to really express the smugness that she was feeling.

"Well, yeah," Aureia continued, talking over Avis' flustered attempts to form words into a sentence again. "The guy shows up and chats at length with Ember like...every few months. Then there's her whole temperament issue, and didn't you see her Dragon Dance? Her eyes get that creepy dragon pupil thing going for them, and her tail flame shifts color. Even by the Charmander line's standards, she's obviously part-dragon."

Avis just stared at Aureia wordlessly for several seconds, a silence that Aureia relished blatantly. "But I just learned this!" she protested, all but whining now.

Aureia just shrugged indifferently. "Uh huh...and I've known her for two years. She's never outright TOLD me this, but hell, even Adrian knows they're probably related; he's seen them together often enough, so he probably figured it out. Or maybe his Dex device thingy tipped him off, I dunno."

"But why didn't you say this back at the Ruins?" Avis complained, clearly put out at having her information leak turn out to be worthless.

Aureia sighed. "Avis, unlike you, I don't get excited at the thought of telling people random trivia about the other people around them. If they wanted to tell you guys they were related, they would have. It's not my place to do it for them, and I don't care enough to ask them about it. I've seen Ember's mother, too, but last time I mentioned her, Ember nearly slashed my stomach open. Still got the scar, and that's enough reminder for me not to talk about her family around her."

The Vaporeon frowned at Avis, who had spent the second half of her comments stifling a giggle. The look of confusion and disbelief that the Snivy had been wearing earlier had vanished, and instead her eyes were shining with amusement, her paws clasped over her mouth in a vain attempt to conceal her laughter.

"What the hell are you laughing about?" Aureia demanded finally, her tail flicking in irritation. "I'm not kidding about the scar, you know."

"I met her mother, too," Avis giggled, flashing a smug smile in Aureia's direction. The Vaporeon blinked.

"What? When?" she demanded. To her confusion, Avis' smugness vanished and she looked a bit pained, as if regretting her previous amusement. The shift was so abrupt, and so jarring, that it took Aureia a few moments for her brain to realize the connection. "Oh, you're kidding," she muttered darkly.

"No, I'm not!" Avis snapped, but Aureia hastily raised her paw, interrupting the indignant response.

"Not what I mean," Aureia said tonelessly. "I'm not saying you're kidding like 'oh, you're pulling my tail, haha'. I'm saying it in a mildly more vulgar context."

"Oh," Avis said, mercifully accepting the clarification without further outburst. Aureia frowned in thought before glancing sideways at the Snivy.

"Why didn't Adrian send me out? Was he not around when the fight happened? He'd never just sit back and let Ember get her tail kicked by...her...again," she asked, scowling fiercely and emphasizing the pronoun. She had only encountered that vicious Charmeleon once in her life, but she remembered how fragile Ember had been back then, and how it had taken Adrian months to tame Ember after they had rescued her.

"He tried to," Avis said quietly. "But Kuro did something to stop him. Conjured these weird energy chains that kept Adrian from reaching his Pokeballs. All he could do was watch..."

Aureia muttered a few choice phrases to describe the Zoroark, and Avis' cheeks went bright red, which actually amused Aureia more than anything. That meant the Snivy not only heard what she had said, but already knew what the words meant, or at least got the gist of those phrases. Well, well, maybe Avis wasn't so innocent and naive after all.

None of this was going to bode well, though. If Ember had lost another fight to that vicious Charmeleon, then for all they knew, all of Adrian's hard work was about to be for naught. Aureia still recalled, quite vividly, the hellish first few months that she had known Ember, and the difficulty Adrian had had in handling her. Aureia had learned quickly to keep her distance when the Charmander was in a mood, but still carried a number of tiny reminders of just how aggressive and dangerous Ember could be when pissed off.

Ember had gotten better since then, but during those months, her bright blue eyes had burned with pain and anger so intense that she was frightening to be around, because even when she was calm, the slightest thing could set her off. Adrian had obtained quite a few scratches himself, and Aureia a number of small scars, the most serious of which, thankfully, was not readily visible. Ember had confessed, just a few months ago, before Avis had even been added to the party, that she was still haunted by guilt over lashing out at Aureia and Adrian the way she had.

"Hey, Avis?" Aureia asked, breaking the thoughtful silence. The Snivy blinked, looking up at the Vaporeon curiously. "What's your secret to soothing Ember's temper?"

"My secret?" Avis repeated, her eyes widening innocently, but Aureia wasn't fooled.

"Yeah, you have a bizarre talent for calming her before she flips out. What do you do?" Aureia insisted.

Avis fidgeted, almost as if she was embarrassed about something, but her eyes remained focused on Aureia, wordlessly scrutinizing the Vaporeon. After a long silence, Aureia raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well?" she pressed.

"Attract," Avis answered finally, and a slow smirk of amusement grew across her muzzle.

"Attract," Aureia repeated in a deadpan. "You use...Attract...on Ember. Are you pulling my tail now?"

"Nope!" Avis chirped with a giggle. She reached over and gently tugged on the Vaporeon's tail, quickly bouncing out of range of potential retaliation. "Now I am!"

"I'll overlook that stupidity," Aureia grumbled, fixing Avis with a serious stare. "Now seriously, are you just messing with me?"

Avis grinned. "Who knows?" she asked teasingly, spreading her paws outwards like a magician making a show of a coin disappearing. "If I give away all my secrets, I'll have no mystery and intrigue left. But if I keep you guessing..."

"How would Attract even work? You're both female," Aureia demanded.

"Are we, though? Are we?" Avis replied, almost doubled over from the strain of keeping herself from laughing.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," Aureia muttered. "You're just being contrary now."

"Am I, though? Am I?" Avis giggled. Aureia replied by launching a stream of water at the Snivy, the force of the water jet bowling the grass lizard over. Turning away from Avis, the Vaporeon rolled her eyes. Stupid Avis, being such a pointless pain in the tail.

Aureia gasped in surprise as some sort of energy slammed into her side, causing her to stumble and nearly fall over. It was stronger than something she would have expected the Snivy to be able to produce, but it wasn't the same burning type of energy she normally associated with Grass-type attacks. Turning back towards the Snivy, she saw that the Grass-type lizard's body was glowing with a faint green light, and she was smirking widely.

"What was that?" Aureia demanded, too stunned to be aggravated by the retaliation.

"Mirror Coat," Avis answered in a sing-song voice. "Ooh, don't look so surprised. I was bred, you know."

"No, I didn't," Aureia replied dully. There wasn't a single instance where the topic of Avis' birth could have ever surfaced naturally.

"Now you do," Avis chirped.

Aureia frowned. How strange was it that the more she learned about and interacted with Avis, the more wary she became of her? One would think it would be the other way around, where knowing next to nothing made all their behaviors seem suspicious or bizarre. Then again, the Snivy could hardly be trusted to give truthful responses to questions, and for all Aureia knew, Avis was making things up just to mess with her.

The secondary concern she had was the realization that she had legitimately paid next to no attention to Avis, having found the Snivy too grating to interact with frequently, so even when Adrian was working with Avis, Aureia preferred to make herself scarce. The end result was that she didn't really know anything about the Snivy. Didn't even know why she had been added to the team at all. Didn't even know what the issues plaguing her were. Whereas Aureia had abandonment and trust issues, and Ember had several deep-rooted issues from her past that Adrian hadn't even pegged down one hundred percent, Avis was nothing like that...yet for some reason, Adrian had been selected to look after her.

How much more was there to the Snivy than met the eye?

End of Arc 3