Riolu and I quickly got ready; I packed my bag, checking three times to make sure I had everything for the journey ahead. Riolu helped as much as he could, grabbing some things I'd forgotten. Right after we finished and I texted my father that we were heading over to his house early, I ran into my mother in the hallway on the way to the kitchen. She was still in her pajamas and robe, her hair was filled with cowlicks, and she sported an unpleasant look on her face. Blastoise, who was right behind her, let out a big yawn.

"What was all that yelling about?" she questioned angrily.

"Oh, uh, I just had a bad dream and I was… Scared?" Although my response wasn't entirely a lie, I could tell she wasn't buying it. Riolu was playing along too, nodding yes to what I said. I'd neglected to tell her we were going to my dad's house early, so she was obviously suspicious.

"Something about saving someone… And the names 'Uxie' and 'Necrozma'," she grumbled, walking past us and into the kitchen, Blastoise following. I gulped nervously once she was out of earshot; had she heard too much?

"Uh, just the names of the Pokémon in my dream…"

"A nightmare about Pokémon? Huh." There was a pause as she then asked, "Where are you two going? I saw your overnight bag by the door."

"W-we're going to my dad's house early today. It is Wednesday after all," I added, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Oh, are you? I can drive you there after I wake up some more," she replied in a strict mom voice, plopping a tea bag into her favorite mug.

"No, no, it's fine. Riolu and I want to walk there. I want to show him… around some more." She turned around, stared me directly in the eyes and sighed.

"Lukas, you say you're going to your dad's house, but I have a strong feeling that you're doing something else."

"Y-you do?" My heart dropped and I wished I'd just kept my big mouth shut.

"All moms can tell the signs, sweetie. But… It's just a hunch." I was suddenly relieved, knowing she hadn't heard all the details. I tried not to show my emotions though, or else I'd end up making the situation more fishy. "Just… Please be careful. I know you have Riolu now but take care and don't hesitate to call me if you need something."

"I will mom, thanks... I'll see you Friday." I walked over and we hugged, her scratchy robe rubbing against my arms. I felt a lump form in my throat as I did so; lying to her was something I almost never did.

Heading back to my room, I let out a big sigh, gazing at my packed bags and all the familiarities one last time. Looking down to Riolu, we both had worried looks on our faces. But after a second of silence, we nodded in unison, grabbed the belongings, and headed for the front door, waving to my mom and Blastoise as we stepped out.

As I closed the door behind me with the side of my overnight bag, it dawned on me that it would probably be a long time before I saw my mother again. Although our conversation was awkward, I was glad it went the way it did; at least I got to say goodbye one last time. I tried to suppress the rest of the sad thoughts of leaving home, but that proved hard to do as the tears started coming. Trying to take deep breaths and wiping my eyes with an old tissue that I had in my sweatshirt pocket, Riolu and I got away from the condominium complex as quickly as possible, heading towards my father's house.

The walk was pleasant; it was a beautiful early Fall day. A cold front had come through during the night, so it was perfect weather for a sweatshirt and jeans. By now, the sun had risen high into the sky, filling everything with bright, natural light. The clouds from the day before had blown away, revealing the immense blue sky.

The street perpendicular to Fairport's Main Street, otherwise known as Church Street for obvious reasons, was the key to getting to my father's house quickly. Riolu and I cut through lawns and side roads, until we eventually ended up on the busy, tree-shaded sidewalks. From there, we walked across a paved bridge over the Erie Canal which was a little bigger than the one in town, and then back down the canal path which conveniently connected to my father's neighborhood. All the while, my emotions would flare up and go away at intervals; I hoped nobody would see them as Riolu and I continued our walk.

It wasn't long after we turned off the path into the quiet streets of my dad's neighborhood that his house came into view.

"Hey, Riolu." He looked up to me. "That's the place on the corner there. Come on, I'll introduce you two once we're there, okay?" Riolu nodded and we continued onwards.

We arrived shortly after on the front steps to my dad's small, ranch style home. I opened the storm door and knocked on the wooden door underneath. It reacted, and slowly opened. I gestured for Riolu to follow me in as I pushed it open with my bag. Stepping inside, Riolu shyly hid behind me.

"Hey, dad!" I called out, hoping for an answer.

"Hey, Luke! I'll be up in a sec!" a voice from the basement called out.

"Come on," I said again, coaxing Riolu to follow me. He looked nervous, but I hoped showing him around would help a little. We then peeked inside all the rooms on the right side of the house, including the bathroom, the computer room, and my dad's bedroom before we reached mine.

Opening the door to my bedroom, I flipped the light switch on, bringing light into the blackout-curtained room. My bed faced towards us from the back wall, while my nightstand stood to the right and my closet to the left. Right beside the light switch was the standing lamp my family had in our living room at the old house. Next to that was my wardrobe and to the right was a standing fan. My posters of various video games adorned the walls, tiny particles of dust on them barely catching in the light.

After setting my overnight bag down on the floor closest to the closet and placing my backpack on top of it, I sat down on the bed. Scooching over to allow for some space, I beckoned for Riolu to hop up and sit near me. Once he'd jumped up and got comfortable, I scratched him behind his ears, to which he leaned backwards into my hand, making it more enjoyable for him, but harder to scratch for me. While I was doing this, I couldn't help but look up at the mirror on my wardrobe and stare at myself.

Peering past my pushed-over hair and bulky rimmed glasses, I searched deep inside my eyes. The more I looked into them, the more I felt uneasy and afraid, still unsure how I was going to manage saving a whole world. I stopped petting Riolu, who sat up and noticed I was watching the mirror. He copied me, looking at his reflection too. In that moment, my sadness and skepticism seemed to fade away momentarily, and I couldn't help but begin to think about the little things again.

Why did Pokémon come to this world? And why would Uxie choose me to save theirs? More and more thoughts came into my head. And is it really a good decision to go to Kinzua Valley?

Just then, my dad walked into the room. He was as pleasant as always, wearing a gray short-sleeve shirt with a big green shamrock in the middle. He hadn't shaved in a while, and his grisly gray beard matched the color of his hair.

"Hi, Luke." I waved to him, as Riolu stood up and hid behind me.

"Don't worry Riolu, he doesn't bite," I told Riolu, pointing to my dad. My father never really was much of an animal person, so he just waved to Riolu and replied with a hasty,

"Hey." Riolu nervously waved back, continuing to hide behind me. Silence followed, so I decided to break the awkward peace with a bit of small talk. I started by telling my dad that I'd worked the entire weekend and had spent the last couple days hanging out with Riolu. He then told me that he'd stayed home all weekend and had been relaxing since Friday (typical for him). As we continued our conversation, I noticed he neglected to mention anything about Sunday, or anything about a Pokémon of his own. No matter how much I alluded to it, he would always try to dodge the question and bring up something else. Once we started to run out of things to talk about, I figured it would be a good time to directly question him about it.

"That reminds me, Dad."

"Hmm?"

"What Pokémon did you get? I know that everybody got one… So, where's yours?" A sense of grief and worry immediately spread onto his face after I said this, and he looked away sheepishly. "Huh? What's wrong?" I asked him, naively.

"W-well…" he mumbled, scratching his head. "I had a Pokémon…" There was a pause.

"What do you mean, 'had'?" Riolu looked just as befuddled.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning…" my dad added with a sigh. "Late Sunday night, I awoke to a flash. I thought I heard something next to me, and when I turned a giant, amorphous creature stood before me at my bedside. Before the creature had a chance to do anything, I was shoving it outside with a broomstick." He looked ashamed saying this.

"You... You got rid of your Pokémon? But... why?" I questioned.

"Look, I didn't have any idea what the creature was. I thought it was a dream, and once I knew what it was late Monday night after watching the news, I figured it wasn't worth my time to go looking for it. I just thought the big guy moved on."

"And what made you think that?"

"Well…" My dad looked down again, letting out a small laugh. "I couldn't smell him anymore."

"W-wait. Smell him?"

"That's right; although I didn't get a good look at that creature, all night and day I could smell it. And let me tell you, it was putrid. After work on Monday, I opened my window and there was no more smell coming from anywhere, so that's what made me think the guy went away." Riolu and I then turned to each other with surprised looks on our faces. We both knew right away what Pokémon my dad had been entrusted with; in fact, we'd already met him in Hart's Woods.

"You know, this leads me into something I was going to ask you, Luke," my dad continued.

"And that is?" I asked, still taken back by my realization.

"Could you go out and find my Pokémon? I want… I want to apologize to it. I was just so hasty to kick him out. I mean, it was the middle of the night, and he smelled awful... But I still want to say sorry for throwing him out of the house like that. I would do it myself, but I've been so busy with work... I promise I'll make it up to you somehow."

I took a second to think. Was it really a smart idea going after Garbodor? We already had a bad reputation with it… Would he and his crew even listen to us, or just attack on sight?

Well, I'm sure I could at least try to get Garbodor to come back to my dad's house… Even if he does attack us, Riolu is a lot stronger now, and we already know we can outrun him and Trubbish, I thought. And it would be nice to patch up our problems before we go to Kinzua Valley…

"Riolu?" I asked. He turned to me and gazed up into my eyes. We both looked nervous, but eventually nodded yes at the same time, showing that we had the same idea. "...We'll do it, why not. We didn't have any other plans today anyways." I obviously lied about not having plans, but I was kind of relieved to not immediately get into running away from home. It wasn't the most responsible thing to do, but Uxie was just going to have to wait a little longer.

"Sweet, thank you. You have no idea how good it will feel to get this off my chest!" my dad said with a smile.

"Let's go then, Riolu," I replied, hopping off my bed.

As we headed out the front door, getting ready to head to Hart's Woods again, my dad stopped us.

"Hey, wait. The Pokémon dropped this when he left on Sunday. Why don't you hold onto it in case you need it?" My dad quickly opened the closet next to the door and handed me a sleek Poké Ball from the top shelf. I took the ball, shrunk it down, and fit it into a different pocket of my pants, so that I wouldn't get it mixed up with Riolu's. My dad looked surprised to see the Poké Ball shrink but said nothing about it.

"Another thing," he added. "I don't really want to keep that Pokémon… You know how much I can't stand the smell of garbage. Why don't you hold onto him for me? Or... get rid of him or something, I don't know." Surprised by his response, I tried to hide my anger behind a nasty look. My dad was entrusted with a partner, and he wanted to give him up because of the smell. Of course, I'd never really considered a Garbodor to be my partner out of all Pokémon, but that was beside the point. I could tell that Riolu was angry too, as I saw he was clenching his paw out of the corner of my eye. Before I had a chance to say my opinion to my dad, his cell phone started ringing from the other room.

"Shoot!" Dad yelped, whipping around. "I forgot to move the mouse. It's hard working from home sometimes! I gotta go before my boss gets mad, but make sure you check the woods backing up to the canal path. I just want you guys to confirm that he's not there. Good luck!" He ran off and shut the computer room door in a hurry, leaving Riolu and I in a bad mood with a task to accomplish.

The woods outside the canal path had no specific name, it was just a bunch of trees packed together in a small area. Every once and awhile, I'd take a walk through as a shortcut up to the canal, but that was my only experience with the area. Even so, I figured we'd just be wasting our time looking there, but it didn't hurt to try.

I decided that Riolu and I should head off in the direction down the canal path first to check and see if the missing Garbodor wandered over that way. Riolu agreed and stepped in front of me to lead, just in case we ran into trouble.

All through the long strip of woods, Riolu and I admired the forest landscape and changing leaves; it was a lot like the scenery in Hart's Woods, but a lot less tame. While searching the small forest, we didn't find any clues that Garbodor or his Trubbish crew had been in the area, but we found plenty of Deerling dens and some bird Pokémon nests.

Eventually, Riolu and I came to the end of the woods. On the other side was part of the path that led under one of many busy Fairport roads crossing the Erie Canal. We walked under the bridge to the other side to find that the forest was replaced by the flat fields of a horse ranch. Going off what my father had suggested and figuring we'd just be wasting our time looking any further ahead, Riolu and I decided to head back and check the other smaller part of the woods we hadn't been to yet.

By the time we got there, Riolu and I were almost completely certain that Garbodor was not there. There were no obvious clues and we were running out of trees fast. In fact, I could see just ahead past a hill where the forest opened back up to the neighborhood. I was about to tell Riolu to turn around and start heading up to Hart's Woods when I smelled a familiar putrid odor.

"…Smell that, Riolu?" Riolu nodded his head covering his nose with his paw. "I guess my dad was right… Maybe Garbodor is here. Come on, the smell is the strongest down this hill."

Riolu and I peeked over the crest of the hill to, surely enough, see Garbodor patrolling around a small, ragged camping tent. It didn't notice us from behind the tree cover and continued to circle around.

"...Alright, Riolu. Let's head down there and see if he's willing to come with us." Riolu nodded and took the lead again, slowly treading down the hill.

I focused on Garbodor all the way down, being cautious in case it saw us and attacked. But something seemed different about it now; it didn't smell half as bad as it did the other day in Hart's Woods. Maybe it had taken to eating something different? Not to mention, it seemed slightly smaller and didn't have a scar on its face anymore. Also, where was the Trubbish crew? Could this actually be a different Garbodor, I asked myself.

My thought process was cut when Riolu called out to get Garbodor's attention. It turned around and stared directly at us with its beady black pupils and an agape mouth. I stepped forward to greet it.

"Umm… Hey, buddy. Hope you've got no hard feelings about Monday still… Ha ha…" Garbodor tilted its head sideways, confused by what I'd said. Maybe this truly was a different one. "Look," I added back in. "My dad wants to apologize about what he did on Sunday. It was late at night and he didn't know better. Why don't you come back with us to his house?" I un-shrunk the Poké Ball and held it out to show him proof. Garbodor's eyes lit up when he saw the Poké Ball.

"Gar?" it asked, heading towards us.

"Get going…" I nudged Riolu, so he could start heading off towards my dad's house. I wanted to get this done as soon as possible, as I was uncomfortable around Garbodor after the run in from Monday.

Everything was going well. Garbodor was following us with no problems, and the road was in sight. I was certain we were in the clear when a voice suddenly called out,

"Now hold on jus' a minute!" All three of us stopped in our tracks and turned around to see a man emerge from behind the tent's door flap. Standing in front us was a scraggly old man in tattered clothing. He donned a dirty blue beanie, and had a full gray, scruffy beard that reached down to his neck. The old ripped white t-shirt he wore was surrounded by a faded leather jacket, and he had on some equally frayed denim jeans. His shoes were brown and falling apart, so part of his toes stuck out. His hands and face were covered in wrinkles and marks, showing he'd been around a while.

"Now don't ya take my pardner 'way, ya whippersnapper!" the man called out in a slightly high pitched and raspy voice. "Stay 'way from my camp! All ya kids do is bother me and my pardner here… Get!" The older man looked particularly angry, as if someone tried to take away his Pokémon before. I butted in,

"W-wait, sir. You've got the wrong idea. We didn't come here to steal anything, and we're not here to break your stuff or hurt you either. The reason we came here is because we were looking for a certain Pokémon." Riolu nodded at the end of my answer. The man didn't look like he believed me.

"I don't care what ya young-ins do, jus' stay 'way from me and my property, get it? Also, what's this Poké-mans yer talkin' 'bout?" Slightly confused but not surprised, I pointed to Garbodor.

"His name's Garbodor, and he's a Pokémon," I then pointed down to Riolu. "And this is Riolu, he's also a Pokémon, just a different species." The man paused for a second and looked at Riolu and Garbodor carefully.

"Well, I cert'ly never seen a breed o' dog like yours, and I ain't never seen anything like this guy here. I thought he was somethin' my mind made up… But now I'm confused, cause I know ya can see 'im too..." Garbodor then waddled over besides the old man, letting out an open mouth smile. The old man patted Garbodor on his shoulder, to which Garbodor wrapped its long metal tendril around him. "Ya know, ya seem different from those damn kids 'round here. They us'ly try ta mess wit' my tent by now. Name's Bart. And this here's Dusty."

"Garbo," Dusty said happily, waving with his other arm. Riolu and I nervously waved back, still apprehensive about the situation.

"Umm… My name's Luke. Riolu and I are here because we're running an errand for my dad."

"Ah, for ya pop? What's de guy lookin' for?" Bart asked, walking in closer so we weren't shouting at each other from across the clearing. Dusty followed close behind him.

"Well… A couple nights ago, when Pokémon came to our world, my dad was entrusted with a Garbodor. But out of fear and sleepiness, my dad kicked him out of the house. Now, my dad wants to apologize face to face, but he's too nervous and busy to go out and look by himself. He's working from home right now, and he was waiting for us to bring his partner home to apologize. We think that Dusty is the one he was looking for." Dusty nodded its head.

"Garb, Gar," it affirmed.

"...Well that sounds all fine and dandy, and I know ya don't seem like those kids… But how can I trust ya? How'd I know ya aren't jus' here ta steal 'way my pardner fer yerself?"

"Uh… Well, I've got Dusty's Poké Ball right here. Watch, if I tell Dusty to return…" The Poké Ball opened and Dusty returned into his Poké Ball with a red flash. Bart looked amazed, as if he'd never seen such a marvel before. Then he asked the same question all adults asked,

"Is Dusty gonna be alright?"

"Yep. Come back out, Dusty," I said monotonously, holding the Poké Ball out with a grasped hand. The ball opened again and Dusty materialized out and back out in front of me." Bart gasped.

"Dusty!" he called, running over to the big guy. "Yer okay?" Dusty nodded, happy to see his friend cared so much. Bart then turned to me. "Y'know, this fancy witchcraft still don't prove Dusty was originally yers, or yer pop's. But if ya must take Dusty back ta yer pop's, then hear me out. Kid, I want ta borrow Riolu fer a while. Y'know, eye fer an eye n' such. When yer done with Dusty, bring 'im back here. Then I'll know that ya weren't fibbin'." I took a second to decide on the wager. Riolu looked up at me fearfully.

"Look," I said, bending down to meet Riolu face to face. "My dad really needs this. Could you stay with Bart a little longer? He seems nice enough; I'll just go to dad's and come right back, okay?" I then briefly looked up at Bart before redirecting my gaze back to Riolu. "And if you get scared, just run and come look for me. Cool?" I whispered. Riolu looked a little unhappy and nervous that I was leaving him with a complete stranger, but he still nodded yes. "Alright then, be good for Bart." Riolu nodded slightly and headed over towards him cautiously.

"Ya too, Dusty. Be good fer this whippersnapper, y'hear?" Bart replied, pointing to me. Dusty nodded and turned around, beginning to walk over. The sight of him heading in my direction filled me with some fear, as I was still a bit frightened of the events that had transpired in Hart's Woods (even though I now knew he had nothing to do with it). But I sucked it up and stood face to face with Dusty nonetheless. The smell was atrocious, but I tried to ignore it, as I knew that it would all be over soon.

"We'll be right back, Bart. It'll only be a couple minutes." I turned around towards the road and beckoned for Dusty to follow me.

The walk to my dad's house seemed much longer than usual. I didn't say a thing to Dusty, and he certainly didn't say anything either. The two of us just kind of walked quietly, side to side all the way there. Every once and awhile, I'd look over and catch a glimpse of him quietly observing me from the side.

We eventually came upon the front steps of my dad's house. I knocked on the door which again reacted to my hand and slowly opened.

"Come on, Dusty," I said, heading into the house. Dusty hesitated to walk in, as he was probably unsure it was alright to go back into the house he was thrown out of just nights before. "Don't worry, you won't be in trouble or anything for going in," I told him, reaching out my hand. Dusty looked uncertain to grab it, but when he gazed back up at me, I was trying my best to smile. Relaxing a little, he wrapped his weird, slimy tendril around my hand and I ushered him inside.

Upon hearing us enter the living room, my dad walked in from just down the hall where he'd been working.

"Oh. Hey, Luke. And…" He tried to make eye contact with Dusty, but quickly averted his gaze elsewhere. Both Dusty and my father were looking away from each other, and it seemed that neither of them were going to say anything. I loudly cleared my throat, bringing the attention to me.

"Dad, wasn't there something that you wanted to say to Garbodor?" I really just wanted to get this over with, so not explaining where Dusty's nickname had come from would speed things up. My dad quickly cleared his throat too, preparing to make his apology.

"Garbodor," he began, looking down. "I'm sorry I kicked you out of the house the other day. I was tired and I wasn't thinking right." Dusty nodded, accepting his apology.

"Is that all?" I questioned, raising one eyebrow at my dad and Dusty's weak apology.

"Right, where are my manners?" My dad then slowly reached his hand out to Dusty. "Shake on it," he said, mentally preparing himself to touch Dusty's gross tendril. Dusty hesitated too but let go of my hand and reached out his tendril before wrapping it around my dad's hand and opening his mouth to show its appreciation. An even worse stink filled the room, making my dad and I nearly gag.

"Alright, Garbodor. Let's head back, okay?" I managed to say in between coughs. My dad nodded, continuing to wheeze. I rushed outside, gasping in the clean, fresh air. Dusty looked a bit worried, but I assured him everything was fine and beckoned for him to follow me again. I looked back to see my dad opening all the windows to the house, letting the odor out.

When Dusty and I arrived a little later back at Bart's campsite, it seemed Bart was in the midst of telling Riolu a story. He sat in an old, busted lawn chair, while Riolu sat in front of him, legs crossed.

"We're back!" I called out. Bart and Riolu turned to us, waving to welcome our arrival.

"Hey, ya came back, whippersnapper! I'm glad ya held yer end o' de wager, kid. Why don't ya sit down n' hear my story from de other day?" I nodded and sat down next to Riolu who smiled at me, knowing I was back next to him. Dusty went and stood to the right of Bart, who began to retell his story.

"Like I was saying, on Sunday, I got a Poké-man too. I 'member waking up ta a flash o' light, and a crash in de middle o' de night. When I open my tent, a figure was standin' right in front o' me! I turnt on my flashlight ta see a mighty beast of trash, standin' right there! I couldn't believe my eyes; I didn't know that litterin' would come back ta haunt me!" I couldn't help but chuckle at this statement, but it was an obviously inappropriate time to laugh, as Bart took offense to it. "Hey, I'm tellin' my story here! Quiet, will ya?" I nodded and put my head down, to show I was sorry.

"I was mighty scared at first, but de creature held out some kind o' fancy device an' smiled at me. I din't know what else ta do, so I took de ball and made de beast my friend."

Wait… I thought Dusty was my dad's Pokémon. What's this about getting a Garbodor too? I quickly wondered.

"The beast an' I got along pretty swell de first night. It was nice ta have a pardner ta talk ta. But then, we ran inta some knots. In de mornin', de beast was hungry, an' I told 'im that I din't have any food, an' that he'd have ta wait 'till we got some. The beast got all angry an' began ta trash my campsite, just like those troublemakers do… I told it ta leave if it din't like it, an' de beast stormed off without an other word. After de dust cleared, I was mighty sad. I'd lost a friend, an' my stuff was wrecked taa." I looked to Dusty who stared off into the woods.

Did Dusty do all this? He didn't seem like he'd act this way.

"But then," Bart said, making me switch my attention back to him. "I heard some rustlin'. I turned around ta see another creature just like da beast standin' right behind me! A cloud o' dust was all around da guy cause he'd been runnin'. This creature was cryin', so I walked over ta cheer 'im up. De second beast was happy an' began ta help me clean up my campsite. I named 'im Dusty... Ain't that right?" Bart nudged Dusty who tightened his grasp around Bart. The two of them laughed together. I looked down to Riolu, who was putting the pieces together.

So it's a complete coincidence that there are two Garbodors. Bart's Garbodor ran away to Hart's Woods, presumably to get some berries to eat. That means the Garbodor we ran into then… was Bart's. And Dusty was actually my dad's Pokémon.

"Say, whippersnapper. Ya did an errand fer yer pa… Think ya can do one fer me, taa?" Without hearing Riolu's response, I nodded yes, just to see what Bart had in mind. "Yer pa must be wantin' his pardner back. I would love ta give ya Dusty, but I'm a lonely old man in de woods widout a soul ta talk ta. I want my pardner back, de one I started wif. Could ya go get 'im fer me? I trust ya now, so I could let ya hold onta Dusty fer a little bit longer, if ya need it." Turning to Riolu, he looked apprehensive about Bart's request. Bending down to meet him face to face, I asserted,

"I think we should do it. Bart's a nice guy, and plus we've got Dusty on our side to help us. I know Uxie needs us, but I'd feel bad if we didn't patch up everything here before we left. Is that okay?" Riolu shook his head yes after a second of thinking it over. "Great. Let's head out to Hart's Woods then, guys." Dusty smiled in response and bounded over to me.

"Thanks much, whippersnapper!" Bart called out, waving. "I owe ya one!" Waving back, the three of us walked out of the forest and got back onto the canal path.