It had been so long since HIkari had been on a cruise that she nearly forgot there were video phones for use. At least until Haruka reminded her. They had decided upon waking up that they would get ahold of some of their friends to catch up. They didn't expect the news they got though.

Both girls had expected the bland image of white and red walls of the pokemon center, but Haruka called their friends personal number instead of the centers. The picture on the other side of the screen was a nice sight. There were tall redwood trees in the background and lots of green grass. But the hyper voice of Satoshi was the best part in Hikaris opinion.

"You guys are coming to Nedlle? You're gonna love it. Theres lots of kawaii pokemon that would be perfect for contests!" Not much had changed in the years since either of them last saw him. His long raven hair was as messy as ever, still hidden under his custom pokeball cap. It looked like his mother had made him a new outfit as well.

Much like his past training outfits, He wore a black long sleeve shirt under a light grey and silver vest. His pants were a slightly darker grey with matching dark grey shoes. "Pikachu pika!" Pikachu was perched in his usual place on Satoshis shoulders, seeming to agree with his trainers statement. Both of their chocolate eyes were glinting with excitement.

"How long have you been there Satoshi?" Haruka asked just as enthuastically. "What kind of pokemon are you talking about? I need some new fire pokemon for my team!" Cringing at the idea of having to befrend so many fore types, Hikari instinctively began to rub the pokeball around her neck, its warmth bringing her comfort.

As Satoshi and Haruka kept their conversation going, Hikari fought with her mind to block out the memories that threatened to resurface. It annoyed her to no end that stupid things like a single word, could send her anxiey skyrocketing. Once she was successful in calming herself down, she turned her attention back to the video screen and caught the end of Satoshis answer. What he said was enough to bring her back to thechat actively. "About a year now. I finished the gym challenge here but decided not to go for the championship trial."

"That doesn't sound like you Satoshi." She said with a worried tone of voice. Haruka noted the apprehension in her friends face as she spoke to the slightly older man and found herself wondering the same as Hikari. It was strange that Satoshi didn't go for the final challenge. He always wanted to beat the league, no matter the region, so what had changed?

"Oh well," rubbing the back of his head nervously, Satoshi stuttered over his words until finally sighing and giving a real answer. "You see in the last couple years, I've had to change the way I do things." Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Satoshi tried to think of the best way to explain his choice. The opinion of his friends meant a great deal to him, and he didn't want either of the girls to think he had given up on his original goal. "Ever since they changed the politics behind being champion, I don't feel right trying to go for the title unless it's in Kanto."

"That makes sense. I guess it wouldn't make sense to let a trainer from another region take over as champion." He sighed in relief upon hearing HIkaris words. So happy in fact, that he figured he should point out, he never wanted to be champion in the first place.

"Its not like it ruins my plans or anything. I just have to change my strategy a bit." Pikachu nodded in agreement with his trainer, and the both of them took on a look of concentration that was quite foreign to the girls. "I think, instead of challenging all the regions champions, I am going to try to catch one of every pokemon!"

"Well I think it's great that you have the maturity to know when not to battle. You've grown up a lot haven't you?" Haruka chimed in. This made Satoshi sigh in relief again. Both of them agreed with him deciding to skip the champion challenge. That was good enough for him and he quickly changed subjects. His pokedex was running low on battery and he was going to have to hang up soon.

"Hey, when do you guys land?"

"In six days, why?" Hikari paled, she didn't realize they were going so far away. But Haruka and Satoshi acted like it was no big deal, and she realized just how ling it had been that she had been in the world. Honestly she just wanted to go home, but she knew that was just her depression talking and that Haruka was right. She needed to get far away and have fun. Based on the ongoing conversation, Haruka and Satoshi were going to make sure she had just that. Fun.

"Awesome its a plan! Takeshi is gonna be stocked to see you Hikari, it's been way too long."

"I know, its just- Haruka?" Without any warning, the brunette jumped up and pushed past her blue haired companion and rushed out of the room. "Haruka? Where are you going?!" Hikari began to grow worried and gathered both of their things before standing up to leave. She nearly forgot about Satoshi until she heard him yelling behind her.

"What's going on?" He looked as confused as she felt, and honestly, Hikari didn't have an answer for him. But she knew she needed to go see what was wrong with Haruka. Disregarding how rude it was, she gave the bewildered trainer a rushed farewell before abruptly hanging up on him. "No idea, gotta go, see you in a few days Satoshi."

XxX

It was like her body had become possessed when she saw that familiar flash of evergreen hair. Her heart pounded in her chest as her legs moved on their own. She didn't care that she was walking out on a call she started. All she cared about was finding him. It had been nearly three years since she had seen Shu outside of the contest hall. Somehow, in that whole time, she had never faced him in battle, but instead watched from the sidelines like some lovesick fangirl.

She hated it. She hated how much his opinion meant to her. How much what he had done had hurt her. She didn't know why she followed the man she thought was Shuu. Did she want to see him and hope he talked to her? Or did she want to yell at him? Scream and make him feel as embarrassed as she was that awful day they last spoke.

But when she finally cought up to the person with the green velvet locks, She realized it was all a huge mistake. Tapping on the yellow cotton draped across the mans shoulders, Haruka nearly passed out from humiliation when she saw his face. It wasn't Shu. It was someone she hadnt ever seen before. "O-Oh I, I'm sorry I... thought you were, someone else." Her voice was dripping with disappointment, but little did she know, this particular mix up wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

"I get that a lot. Would you believe it if I told you my hair was really this color green and that I wasn't copying that pretentious twat Shuu Tadashi?" Haruka nearly choked on the air she was breathing when the stranger said Shuus name. Not trusting herself to speak, she simply nodded her head and waited for him to introduce himself, which he did almost immediately.

"My name is Jeon Suk, from Fortree City. I'm a huge fan of yours." The man who had introduced himself as Jeons golden eyes shone bright in admiration as he smiled widely. He reached out a hand which the brunette took cautiously.

"Erm... Thank you?" Before she had a chance to say anything else, Hikari came running out of the phone room.

"Haruka, are you okay?" Taking a moment to look her friend over, the bluenette was satisfied she was okay. That's when she noticed the green haired man. "Who are you?" She asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"My name is Jeon Suk. You wouldnt happen to be the famous Hikari Masumi?" The one thing she didn't miss about competition training was having fans. It was exhausting and most of them were psychotic in one way or another. Based on how Haruka was acting, he had said something similar to her and she didn't know how to react.

Raising a brow in irritation, Hikari stared Jeon down without giving him the courtesy of responding. Seeming to understand her reluctance, he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm a pretty big fan of yours too. It's been years since anyone has seen you, why did you quit?"

"That's none of your business." She growled, her voice low and very out of character. Looping her arm in Harukas, she glared at the 'fan' letting him know just how unwanted his presence was. "If you don't mind, we're busy." Shoving past a now dejected Jeon, Hikari drug the confused brunette away from the fanboy and to their room. She didn't have time for this crap.