To avoid future confusion, I will clarify something now.

The two chapters of Luca in the past have not been one-off things.

This story takes place at two different points of time. Present Luca and Past Luca.

If you are having trouble distinguishing the time period the chapter is in, you may distinguish it by observing its title.

Chapters taking place in Luca's past, where he is 13 years old, have chapter titles consisting of only one word.

Chapters taking place in Luca's present, where he is 19 and a Pokemon Trainer, have chapter titles consisting of exactly 3 words.

This titling scheme will stay consistent throughout the whole work.

Enjoy.

––––––––––

"We're sure this isn't a fake?"

"I… Spectral, is that seriously the first thing you're going to say after reading that?"

Spectral's eyes hadn't even left the paper. "All I asked is if we're sure this isn't fake. That so wrong?"

"You're not concerned?" Luca asked. "This is blackmail!"

"No shit, Sherlock, I figured that part out," Spectral sighed.

"Boys…"

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"I'm trying to find a reason to be!" Spectral said, aggressively throwing the letter down on the table. "Panicking over this stupid thing isn't going to solve the problem, and neither is wallowing for hours in your room with no support!"

"Oh what, so I'm not allowed to be emotional? Maybe you'd understand if you actually chose to show your family some emotions other than pride!"

"BOYS!"

Elliot rose off his chair and slammed both hands on the counter, instantly making the twins flinch and fall into a terrified silence.

"Be nice." That was all he said before sighing and sitting down again, but his firm tone was more than enough to make Luca and Spectral understand.

The twins wasted no time remorsefully apologizing to each other.

It was the morning after the delivery of the letter. Luca was up far earlier than his normal waking hour for work, rising even before the sun itself.

He didn't even make ten steps out of his own room before being assaulted by a hug from his father. The hug lasted several seconds as Elliot explained, in tears, that he couldn't get a wink of sleep with Luca on his mind.

Once the hug was over, Luca found his brother waiting for him in the kitchen. Spectral had only a single question for Luca when he walked in.

"You wanna talk about it?"

At first, Luca said no, citing the time as absurd for a discussion like that.

Spectral called bullshit, leading Luca to immediately realize why his excuse was terrible.

Spectral normally went to sleep at roughly the same time Luca woke up for work. The only surprise about Spectral's presence at this hour was the fact that he wasn't spending the morning in his room.

Even disregarding what Elliot had told Luca about his inability to sleep, Elliot's presence in the early hours was no surprise at all. Just as Elliot was always ready with breakfast in the kitchen no matter when Luca or Spectral awoke, the man would be in the kitchen before his kids at the most unorthodox hours, even if all one of the twins wanted was some water or a late night snack. It was a bit creepy at times, but they both knew he meant well.

So, Luca called his father over to the kitchen and asked if the three of them could sit down and talk about the situation as a family.

When Elliot agreed and settled in the kitchen, Luca gave him the letter, instructed him to read it, and to tell nobody outside of the family of its contents.

When Elliot was done reading, he merely sighed and passed the letter to Luca's brother.

And after Spectral read the letter, the beginnings of his fight with Luca had to be stopped by the booming voice of their father.

"You're both scared," Elliot said, sounding much calmer and compassionate. "That's fine. I'm scared too. We're all scared…. It's been several years since the last family crisis, and a lot has changed since then because of it. But still, in times like these, you can't let the emotions in your heads rule you entirely."

Elliot turned to Spectral. "Spectral, your brother's the one being suddenly directly attacked here. He needed time to cope with that. He might still need some time. That's not something you recover from easily."

Spectral sighed dejectedly. "Right..."

Elliot then turned to Luca. "Luca, you know your brother. Just because he's not showing his concern doesn't mean that he's completely lacking in empathy."

"He shows it in other ways," Luca finished. "I know, I know… Sorry again…"

"As long as we're clear," Elliot nodded. "Now… Luca, I think your brother brings up a valid concern. One that may be obvious to you, but not to us. How do we know this letter isn't fake? They didn't address anything specific."

"They were just specific enough," Luca replied. "I thought about why they didn't say the exact information they plan to use against me last night, and I think it makes sense. What happens if this letter ends up in someone else's hands?"

"They lose complete power over you," Spectral said. "Someone else gets to blackmail you too, and that becomes a mess any blackmailer wouldn't want. So by not saying exactly what the information is but still leaving just enough clues for the intended guy to understand the implications…"

Luca sighed. "You get it."

Elliot nodded. "Ok… So how do we know the letter is really from—"

"The Champion?" Spectral finished. "I hounded Jean about it yesterday before you guys walked in. The bird told me he had no doubts about the seal's authenticity. Both from just the perspective of a mail carrier...and because of the letter's source.

"According to Jean, he specifically got a request to pick up that exact letter. And where'd he go to pick it up? The Pokemon League. Who gave him the letter? That woman who made that announcement a couple days ago. Poor guy flew all the way from here to the Pokemon League and back in a single day…"

"My god," Elliot gasped. "No wonder he looked so tired."

"He's resting now in my room," Spectral said. "Poor guy deserves it, terrible as this letter is. Damn did he do his duty and do it flawlessly."

"Be careful, Jean," Luca muttered.

"Ok so back to the implications. Your file? What was the info they had again?" Spectral asked.

"Testimony from 5 years ago, research from Juniper, records from Interpol," Luca said, not even needing to re-read the letter.

"Judging from your reaction, at the very least one of those hit the mark," Elliot said. "Research from Aurea sounds right, considering the amount of time you spent with her."

"And we know some crazy shit went down five years ago," Spectral added. "Which we still don't know the details—"

"All three," Luca said suddenly.

That stunned both the others into a short silence.

A silence which Spectral broke. "Ok, so, not trying to judge or anything...but how the fuck did you get involved with International Police?"

"I'd like to know as well," Elliot said.

Luca looked away as he spoke. "I'm claiming house law."

"Oh come on!" Spectral said, rising from his seat. "The very reputation of our family is on the line, and you want to claim house law on an important topic!?"

"Spectral!" Elliot rose again, this time giving Spectral a terrifying glare that made even Luca flinch a bit.

Spectral, however, cowered when his father said his name, even raising his arms in defense a bit. "Ok! Ok… He can have house law. Just...chill, Dad. Please."

Elliot took a moment to think and calm himself before sitting back down with a brief "You're right." He loosely covered the top of his face with his hand and groaned. "Luca. Will you hear me out on this?"

Luca didn't say anything, but gave a nod to his father.

"You can have house law on the matter if you want. We won't challenge that. But…if we're going to make it through this, I think that you should consider telling us, Luca. Even if it's not telling us absolutely everything, just tell us enough so that we can try to help."

"I made friends with an officer once," Luca said abruptly. "An Interpol officer. He's the only form of association I've ever had with any law enforcement."

"His name?" Spectral asked.

"I never learned it. He only ever went by a codename. Not like it matters anyway. He's not from here, he's from Kanto."

"How'd the hell you meet him then?" Spectral asked, leaning in a bit. "What was he in Unova for?"

Luca turned away again. "Five years ago..."

"Oh god damn it." Spectral stood up from his seat and made his way over towards Luca. His father looked ready to interject again, but stopped when Spectral gave his brother a pat on the shoulder.

"Look. Shit happened five years ago and you all don't like talking about it. Fine. I can understand not wanting to talk seems like a painful life experience. But."

Spectral spun Luca's chair around so that he could lock eyes with his brother.

"When's this testimony from? Five years ago. When were you at Juniper's lab? Five years ago. When did you meet this Interpol guy? Five years ago. What do you and Ephraim and Jean not like talking about and always claim house law on? Five. Years. Ago."

Spectral sighed and backed off a bit. "Fashionista, I dunno what the hell you did five years ago, and I'm not gonna be the guy to judge you for it, whatever it was. But it's clearly enough for someone to wanna blackmail you over it."

"We all realize that this blackmail could be...something else, right?" Luca asked. "Like...yeah, sure, blackmail over what happened five years ago makes sense. But… One of those things scares me a lot more than the other two."

Elliot's response was a depressed shrug. "So what are we going to do then?" he asked. "Even if we know what's being leaked, we don't know how to stop the information from being leaked other than just...compliance. And well… I know Luca doesn't want to do the tournament."

"Do we even have another option?" Spectral sighed. "We can't exactly barge into the Champion's home and threaten 'em back, and knowing you, you wouldn't want to make some kind of public confession. Both because you hate public speaking and are introverted, and because you don't want to come out with it to the public."

"I'll figure it out," Luca said, groaning and rising from his seat.

His father immediately stopped him, putting a hand on Luca's back as he started to leave the kitchen. "Luca. Don't make this decision alone."

Luca never responded, simply walking to his room with the letter in his hand.

––––––––––

Mornings at Aspertia City Grade School were often very packed and eventful for Cheren.

The droves of students piling into the school building and its numerous classrooms made things hectic enough already. The minor scramble of teachers to ensure that classrooms were perfect and ready for another day of teaching made things worse. Pokemon needed to be checked on and cared for right away in the Pokemon House, often waking all at once as the school became packed with noise.

Cheren himself would be tucked away in his office, talking to parents, to staff, into his phone, or to himself as he read over documents vital to the school's everyday functions.

All of which needed to be taken care of before the morning announcements, which Cheren was also fully required for.

It was a miniature nightmare at the start of every day for the headmaster.

Early mornings, however, were much kinder to the man and the school he took charge of.

From the moment the school doors were unlocked, virtually the entire building was his for an entire hour. He could eat, he could work, he could relax, he could even goof off if he wanted to.

Sometimes he would be joined by a teacher looking to make an early arrival to their classroom on a big day. Most of the teachers working at the school were former teachers of Cheren's, and they would get to reminisce and laugh about years past and how far Cheren had come as a person in such little time. Newer teachers who didn't know Cheren as well would simply appreciate the assistance he gave.

Other times he would wander to the Pokemon House and spend time with all the Pokemon there. Though his presence wasn't as calming as someone like Elliot's or Luca's, the Pokemon there still recognized Cheren as a caring person towards all of their well being. He couldn't understand the Pokemon, but that wouldn't stop him from attempting to hold conversations with them as best he could. The 3 Mararcich men had all imparted in him different tips for communicating beyond the language barrier; Cheren was determined to make sure their teachings did not go to waste whenever he interacted with the Pokemon.

On this particular early morning, Cheren was looking to just lounge in his office, enjoy his morning coffee, and read his weekly magazine.

Unfortunately for him, shortly after settling in to his office and starting his drink, he noticed an unusually high amount of chatter coming from the Pokemon House. Since no one else was in the school at the hour, that was an issue that fell on him to resolve.

Much to his relief, however, virtually all of the Pokemon in the Pokemon House respected Cheren and quieted down when he asked them to.

Once that was taken care of, Cheren returned to his office without any delay. He'd only lost a few minutes of time, the morning was still young and for the taking.

Then he got a phone call. One that he sighed at the sound of and answered without even checking to see the caller ID.

"Hello?"

His expression changed from frustrated to pleasantly surprised just from the sound of the voice on the other side.

"Oh. Hey. You're up early. … Yeah I'm at the school. … In my office." Cheren's face turned a bit concerned. "Are you okay? You seem breathless. … Am I free? Of course. It's a quarter past six in the morning, no one else is here. Why? Do you need me?"

A tired voice came from behind. "Yes."

Cheren gasped and spun around at the sound of the voice, reaching to his pocket for a Poke Ball.

Though when he processed who had arrived behind him, Cheren gave a sigh of relief, loosening up and hanging up the phone.

"You couldn't have said something before showing up at the door?"

"I was already on my way when the thought occurred to me to ask."

Luca looked tired, like he'd just finished a long run. He held Ephraim up against his chest with one arm, and carried his phone in the other, though he seemed to be putting it away now.

"Did you really run all the way here at six in the morning with Ephraim in your grip like that?" Cheren asked.

"I've made longer runs with this guy in my arms before," Luca said with a nod.

"It's still just as uncomfortable," Ephraim muttered.

Cheren sat behind his desk. "That look in your eye tells me this is something urgent."

Luca pulled out a folded piece of paper and put it on Cheren's desk. "It is."

Cheren picked up the paper and investigated it, not even reading its contents. "What's this?"

"Just read it," Luca said with a dejected sigh as he pulled up a chair for himself and sat down. "Please. I can't talk unless you do."

"Hm. Very well then."

Cheren unfolded the paper and began to read. It wasn't long before his expression began to change as he did. What started as a neutral face began to turn into one of shock. Despite Cheren's attempts to calm himself, that shock would only grow stronger and stronger as his eyes continued to scroll through the page. Cheren's eyes would widen frequently. He would take bigger and louder breaths in than he would exhale out.

At one point, Luca saw Cheren close his eyes and slightly lower his head with a soft sigh. The break only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to allow Cheren to mentally refresh and regain his standard, solemn, neutral expression.

This would be the expression he kept throughout the rest of the reading, whatever remained of it.

It didn't seem like there was much. Not even a minute after Cheren resumed reading, he waved the paper back and forth a bit, then turned to face Luca.

"I'm flattered that you trust me with this," he said, somehow sounding neutral yet sincere at the same time. "Truly. I can't imagine how you felt reading this for the first time. Could you even sleep? Is that why you're up at this hour?"

"I slept eerily well, actually," Luca said, forcing a chuckle. "But I slept early, too; just a couple of hours after returning from work yesterday I was asleep. Early sleep, early wake…"

"I see." Cheren offered Luca the letter back, but Luca rejected it.

"That's not the point though," Luca said. "I'm showing you this because I need help."

Cheren simply placed the letter on his desk instead. "As I said, I'm flattered that you trust me enough to show me this and ask for my help regarding this situation. But why me? What about your father and brother? What about Ephraim right next to you?"

"You seriously expect me to be able to solve a blackmail problem? What the heck am I supposed to do?" Ephraim asked.

Cheren gave Ephraim a slightly apologetic look. "Sorry if you didn't like that. I'm just trying to say that you seem more helpful than I am, considering how much you two trust each other compared to the trust level between Luca and I."

Luca arched a brow at that response. "You're getting better."

Cheren smiled briefly. "Thank you. But still, I'd like to know why—"

"You know what's being used against me here," Luca said, pointing to the letter on Cheren's desk.

"What's being used against you? I have my guess but, are we thinking of the same thing?"

"You know it," Luca said. "Why else would I come to you?"

"So we both think this is—"

Luca raised up both hands defensively. "Don't. Don't…" He sighed. "I don't want to be reminded of any of that…"

"Running away from what happened isn't going to resolve this issue," Cheren said firmly.

"Then what will?" Luca asked, sounding aggressive. "That's why I'm here. That's why I'm talking to you. Showing you this. As much as my father and brother want to help, neither of them know what happened five years ago. Ephraim wants to help but...he doesn't know how."

Ephraim looked away with a depressed groan.

"So you decided to come to me for help," Cheren said. "I'm still shocked that you trust me this much."

"You seem to trust me an awful lot too, in spite of what happened back then," Luca nodded. "You didn't hesitate one second in offering me this job that I never even asked for. You relied on me to give your students a strong demonstration just yesterday. You trust me. A lot. So I trust you a lot back."

"I see…." Cheren found it impossible to hide the surprise on his face after such a comment, but managed to regain his stern look after clearing his throat. "My advice. You want it."

"Yes."

Cheren spoke clearly and without hesitation. "Do exactly what the Champion wants. Beat all the gyms. Partake in the tournament. Don't hold back. When all is said and done with, you brush it off like it never happened, and return to your normal life."

Luca jumped out of his seat in a fury. "How could you tell me to—"

"HEY!"

Immediately the young trainer found himself paralyzed by Ephraim's own outburst. When he looked down at his Pokemon, the Bulbasaur simply nodded his head towards Luca's chair.

"Sit back down," Ephraim said. "I get it, I don't like what he's suggesting either. But you two just got done talking about how much you trust each other. He wouldn't tell you to do something you don't like without a good reason. Ask him why."

With a low grumble and grit teeth, Luca sat back down in his chair. "Why that?" Luca asked.

"That must have been quite a stern talking to," Cheren said, arching a brow towards Ephraim. He quickly refocused towards Luca. "I'm well aware that you don't like Pokemon battles. I talked about this with you yesterday. But running away puts your family into a terrible situation, and coming clean to the world preemptively makes the situation slightly better for your family, but infinitely worse for you."

"And what if what I do is worthless?" Luca asked. "What if the Champion just tells me that what I did wasn't good enough for them, even if it was my best?"

"Can I be blunt, Luca?" Cheren asked.

Luca nodded.

"I think that if you bring your absolute, genuine best to that tournament, that you stand a very real chance at winning it."

There was a brief pause. Afterwards, Luca laughed. "You're kidding. I'm not that good. Don't take yesterday as an indication or anything. I know you were holding back some."

"If you collected the other seven of Unova's badges as quickly as possible, then spent the weeks until the tournament doing nothing but training your Pokemon… If those six Pokemon are like Alan? Where you've used them in the past and trained them to a high level already? I daresay you stand a chance at the Hall of Fame, Luca."

The look of defeat on Luca's face was all Cheren needed to see.

"And that's the last thing you want," Cheren continued. "You don't want to win the tournament either. But if you take a set of Pokemon that strong into it, you risk doing just that. So." Cheren leaned back in his chair a bit, opening an arm and spreading it out towards the wall. "The Pokemon House is yours."

Luca leaned forward a bit. "Excuse me?"

"I'm giving you full permission to use any of the Pokemon in the Pokemon house for this. Take them, train them, keep them if you want."

Cheren seemed confident, yet Luca seemed completely bewildered. "Why would I do that?"

"So you can restrict yourself."

Luca reared back in shock. "You want to put a handicap on me when the Champion wants me to give my best performance?"

"Your best effort doesn't require your best team," Cheren said, shaking his head. "Nor does your best performance. It's more about how you battle, not as much about what you battle with. You should know this."

"You're still asking me to limit myself," Luca said firmly. "I don't want to do that."

"Do you want to win that tournament?" Cheren asked.

"Don't go in circles, Luca," Ephraim added.

"No," Luca sighed.

"There. We've devised a plan for you." Cheren eased back into his seat. "Do exactly as the Champion asks, but use a new team of weaker Pokemon taken from the Pokemon House. Your fundamentals will carry you and showcase your talent still, but the weaker team will prevent you from overachieving. Get the badges. Lose the tournament. Fulfil the conditions of the blackmail satisfactorily. Return here like nothing even happened. Your father can cover for your work here while you're gone, and I'll give you your position back when you do return. Yes, you have to deal with the Pokemon battling on the way, but at the end of it all, you win."

It took a while for Luca to acknowledge it at all. At first he sat there in silence, not looking at anyone. Then he moved a bit, looking as though he was mulling it over in his head. He'd occasionally shoot a brief look at Ephraim or Cheren, but never say anything to either of them.

Eventually though, he sighed again and looked up. "Okay. I think I can live with that."

"Good." Cheren smiled. "I'm glad everything worked—"

"But there's one part of that plan I just can't agree to."

Ephraim groaned, bringing a vine to his face. "Come ON man! You can NOT be this—"

"I don't want to use your Pokemon," Luca said, sounding even more stern than Cheren and Ephraim combined.

"Relax. I'm okay with it. It's not even..." Cheren stopped himself when he saw Luca's piercing gaze staring straight at him.

Something clicked in Cheren's head after seeing that. "Oh." He nodded. "Okay. Don't use those Pokemon—"

"—But I'd like to request to take Lira with me anyway."

Cheren arched a brow. "Oh? That's the Growlithe pup, right? She seems a bit young…"

"Under normal circumstances I'd agree," Luca nodded. "Too young for fighting. But...I don't know how much longer her mother has, Cheren. She's getting worse. If I leave for a few months and her mother passes during that time..."

"Ahh. You needn't say more." Cheren thought briefly. "Explain the situation to the mother. If she approves of it, then you may keep her during your travels and beyond."

For the first time since waking up, Luca looked hopeful. "You're serious?"

"Absolutely," Cheren said. He lightly chuckled. "Of what I've heard, she treats you like a parent already."

Luca got out of his seat again, this time with a large smile. "Thank you." He picked up Ephraim and began walking towards the door. "I'll go ask her right n—"

"Wait just a minute."

Luca heard Cheren rising out of his seat. It wasn't long before he was standing next to Luca.

"Don't forget this," Cheren said, offering Luca the letter. "This is rather important, yeah?"

Luca chuckled and reached for it. "Yeah, it is."

Cheren pulled the letter back a bit. "Do this now, Luca."

"Hm?"

"The gyms. The team assembly. The training. There's only three months until this tournament. Gyms are going to explode with challengers. I've already gotten three requests. The longer you wait, the harder it'll be to do everything." Cheren offered the letter again. This time he let Luca take it. "No dawdling around in cities or routes. Assemble this new team of yours as fast as possible. Train them as best you can. I don't expect to see you here tomorrow."

Luca pocketed the letter. He couldn't help but look a little upset over the situation, but managed to keep his smile up. "If everything goes well? You won't."

––––––––––

The border of Aspertia City was never something that people stopped at for any reason.

In Nuvema Town, the home of Professor Juniper's lab, new trainers go directly to Route 1 after obtaining their starter Pokemon. However, oftentimes, several trainers will wait right at the border of Nuvema Town in hopes that they can take their first steps onto Route 1 in the company of another new trainer, so that they might share the first steps of their journeys together. Whether it was with close friends or a group of strangers, the tradition had become so deeply ingrained with Nuvema Town that Professor Juniper herself marked the line where Nuvema Town ended and Route 1 began.

Professor Juniper still offered her starter Pokemon all across the region. She had assistants in each of the major areas of the region that she would send Pokemon to in the event that a starting trainer didn't wish to travel all the way to Nuvema just to start their journey, and several of those areas had their own fun traditions. For the southwest area of Unova, where Luca lived, trainers could pick up their Pokemon at the Aspertia City Lookout, just north of the school. Trainers there would often let their starters admire the view the moment they emerged from their Poke Balls. But such traditions were never at the border.

Yet there Luca was. One step away from Route 19. And he wasn't there alone.

Nestled safely and comfortably in his arms was Lira, the young Growlithe, looking and acting calm, yet smiling with anticipation.

When Luca had finished talking with Cheren, he immediately made his way to the Pokemon House to ask Lira's mother about bringing the pup with him. Lira herself was up and hyper in the early morning, especially with Luca around, but the mother was completely exhausted and in a state where she could barely speak for several hours. Luca was well in the middle of working and talking to excited students when the two could finally discuss the idea properly.

Peter had to keep Lira's attention long enough for Luca to explain what he could about the situation to her mother. Luca kept the details sparse, simply discussing that he would be leaving for a few months without returning, and that he feared the worst could happen while he was gone, leaving Lira practically alone. When he mentioned that he wanted to take Lira with him to care for her during his departure, the mother started to silently cry. It was impossible to tell if they were tears of joy or fear until she gave her response.

A bittersweet but still resounding "Yes. She's yours."

Luca took Lira home with him that afternoon after the pup and her mother said their goodbyes. She sounded very excited by the prospect of going on an "adventure" with Luca.

Lira wasn't the only Pokemon with Luca. Sitting comfortably on Luca's shoulder was Ephraim.

When Luca came home after work, he wasted no time discussing Cheren's plan with his brother and father, asking them for their approval and if they had any suggestions.

Spectral completely agreed with Cheren's plan, saying he would have suggested something extremely similar if he'd been given the chance. He tried to convince Luca to leave the house that very afternoon, but couldn't win that argument against the hyperactive pup wanting to spend more time with her "uncle."

Elliot meanwhile seemed a lot more cautious over the ideas presented. Though he trusted Cheren both as a person and as a counselor, something just didn't sit right with him about someone outside the household deciding what to do over what felt like a family affair. But if Luca trusted Cheren with advice on this matter, then Elliot would too.

Of course, Luca still had to explain everything to all his previous Pokemon, most importantly about how they couldn't join him. Elliot had already explained to all of them about the blackmail and terms involved in it, and when Luca went to check in on them, several immediately volunteered to be a part of his team to tackle the Champion's challenge. The enthusiasm made it a lot harder for Luca to explain to everyone that he wouldn't be relying on any of them. Several were upset to hear that he would be starting the journey mostly alone, but nobody protested the choice.

None except Ephraim. As the day drew to a close and the trainer prepared to get an early night's rest, Luca found Ephraim on his bed, sitting there, waiting for him. He wasted no time explaining to Luca what he wanted.

"I'm going with you. Period."

Ephraim explained that he wasn't interested in battling, and that Luca didn't have to consider him as a part of his team. But he refused to let Luca go out and handle the situation without him. He felt like he was a part of it, and he wanted to be involved somehow, even if just trying to support from a sideline position.

Luca wasn't convinced at first, citing that he needed to treat his Pokemon fairly, and that favoritism couldn't influence him into bringing Ephraim. But the Bulbasaur finally swayed Luca with an emotional argument about how he deserved to be on the journey just as much as Luca himself.

Luca couldn't say no after that.

He took a deep breath, tightening his grip. Luca wasn't sure why he had this strong apprehension to leaving, but he knew that it had to be done. Yet he just couldn't take that step…

He felt a comforting couple of pat on his back at his hesitation. When Luca looked to his left, he saw Alan giving him a meek smile as he gave another pat.

Everyone had agreed that Luca shouldn't use any of his stronger Pokemon from his old adventures. Even the Pokemon themselves had agreed to that. When Luca got up that morning, he bid them all one final farewell, thanking all of them for understanding and promising his safe return with new friends. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but still a satisfactory one for all.

Or so he thought.

Luca left his house as he expected to that morning. Just before stepping out the front door in his usual terrible fashion sense, he gave a long farewell hug to his father, then to his brother. Ephraim and Lira were already both with him, saying their goodbyes to the family as well. And once Luca was out the door, that was it. The three of them had started on the road to complete the Champion's demands.

As they were passing the school, Luca was explaining to Ephraim and Lira his plans for the first stop on their trip, but suddenly heard his name being called from behind. At first he assumed it to be someone from the school trying to pull him in to work, completely unaware that he would be taking a hiatus from work for multiple months. But when Luca's name was called again, he noticed just how unusually desperate it sounded.

Ephraim's bewildered reaction to turning around is what finally convinced Luca to do the same.

When he did, he was greeted by the sight of Alan trying his very best to run towards Luca without falling flat onto his face at every step. A task he'd succeeded at, as Luca not only stopped to allow Alan to reach him, but even closed some of the distance between them to ensure the Ampharos would be okay.

Once Alan had regained his breath enough, he slammed his Poke Ball into Luca's hand. "C'mon, man. Just in case."

If that had happened back at home, Luca would have said no. Even there, in the middle of Aspertia City, Luca had half a mind to tell Alan to go home while he still could. But then Alan talked about how he grabbed his Poke Ball and left the house without help or contact with anyone else. How he refused to stop running, despite fatigue and lack of balance and poor speed, all the way to Luca, no matter how far he'd already gone. How he felt like he was already an important part of the journey since he'd gotten Luca his first badge and desired to keep going, even if he wouldn't see as much battle time as the others.

Luca wasn't sure exactly what part of Alan's argument resonated with him the most, but after hearing the Amphaos make his case, every part of him was compelled to let him stay. He pocketed the Poke Ball and invited Alan to walk alongside him, filling Alan in on their current plans.

Luca took a look behind him at Aspertia City. His house was too far away to see, but he couldn't stop himself from trying to find it anyway. "Last chance for you guys to back out," he said.

Lira nestled herself further in Luca's arms silently.

Ephraim gave Luca a couple pats on the shoulder he was sitting on.

Alan turned Luca's head back away from Aspertia.

"I take it that's a resounding 'no,'" Luca chuckled as took the first step onto Route 19.