Travelling with renewed purpose, Louis led the group away from the dark forest. Before them, wild fields of salt-swept grass. Small yellow flowers dotted the landscape, dancing in the light wind of the sunrise.

"It's so good to be out of there," said Tracey.

"Y-yeah, ...yeah it is," agreed Taki, while staring at a distant Louis.

The boy walked ahead, alone.

'I can't believe she's gone,' he thought. 'Why? Why her?'

There seemed to be nothing that could snap him out of this miserable trance. Louis' mind had been clouded by the mixed array of emotions he couldn't express to the others. It was beginning to take a toll on his psyche.

"Louis!" a voice called. "STOP!"

This time, it worked. The boy froze, suddenly taking in his surroundings. Ahead, where there should be more ground, lay an edge.

The group caught up with him as his hair wildly flung about in the sea breeze.

Three more steps and Louis would have plummeted down the sheer, rocky cliff toward the sea below.

Taki was about to speak when Tracey pointed into the distance. On the sea below, a red-sailed vessel bobbed on the water's surface, waves lapping at the pristine, white hull.

Louis' gaze stayed in the distance. On a landmass not far across the sea, a jutting point touched the clouds. A vast, foreboding mountain scratching the sky with dark, stone fingers.

"We may need that boat," said Louis, quietly.

Taki nodded as she began plotting a path, for the group, down the rockface, to an area protected from the sea.

Eventually, and cautiously, all four of them found the base of the cliffside, relaxing as sand found their feet.

Shapes emerged from the cabin in the boat, milling around the deck and checking sails. A bright, salmon-coloured headband drew Taki's attention.

"Hey, that person's got a similar headband to you, Tracey" she pointed.

"What?!" exclaimed Tracey, squinting.

Louis, failing to notice the details Taki could, produced the pair of binoculars from his bag. He was about to use them himself, before handing them to an excited Tracey.

"Here," he said. "These should help."

Tracey snatched the binos and whipped them to his eyes.

"I...don't believe it," he said with his jaw-dropping.

Then, in one motion, Tracey launched the binoculars over his shoulder and dropped his bag into the sand. No one expected what happened next.

The child ran into the sea, arms flailing in an attempt to swim. Taki panicked and instinctively focused on Totodile. She pointed at the struggling boy.

"Quick, help him!" commanded Taki, in a panic-broken tone.

The small Pokémon dashed seaward and were soon underwater, leaving only the noise of Tracey splashing toward the boat.

"What the heck are you doing?!" exclaimed Louis.

Ripples emerged next to Tracey as Totodile emerged, who bit Tracey's shirt and helped bring him to the boat. Tracey looked back to Louis and Taki.

"That's my parents!" he shouted.

A small smile formed in the corner of Taki's mouth. She picked up Tracey's backpack, turned to Louis and gestured toward the boat.

Tracey reached the hull. His fingers slipped against the white, wet fibreglass, before finding a mooring rope dangling off the port side of the vessel. Totodile scrambled up the rope first. Once reaching the top, it leaned back over and bit into the rope, struggling to draw it back up.

"Hey, where did that Totodile come from?" a male voice cried.

The boat's occupants ran to the small monster, confused. The female leaned over and saw Tracey, her son, climbing the rope.

"It's Tracey!" she exclaimed.

The male occupant gripped the dangling rope with tears building. An explosion of relief burst in Tracey's father's heart, and with an immense pull of the rope, hoisted his son on deck.

Tracey was about to speak when he was engulfed by the tightest hug he ever had.

"Where have you been all this time?" asked the happily sobbing mother.

Tracey looked off the boat.

"With them," he answered.

A few feet away in the ocean, Louis and Taki waded toward the boat, with Taki carrying Tracey's bag over her head.

"Who are they?" asked the father.

And, smiling, Tracey responded.

"My friends."

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