Trevor awoke from a long, dreamless slumber to a strong scent of sawdust, rays of morning sunlight sneaking past a nearby set of curtains and gently pushing the Meowth's eyelids open.He slowly rose to his feet and looked around to find himself surrounded by a spacious, circular room chock full of lovingly carved wooden furniture, the resulting scent causing Trevor to imagine himself in the middle of a gargantuan forest as opposed to a cozy, comfortable little house which had been finished days prior.

Trevor's mind traveled backwards to the fateful day when this new home was unveiled to both him and Aiden months after their trials at the Dawnbreak Woods several months prior: how he had instantly marveled at the house's sheer size upon lowering his blindfold, Aiden's visceral elation at seeing her house, after being reduced to a pile of ash, now standing taller than ever before, how the friends had helped them at their time of need now cheered and heartily congratulated one another for a job well done...

"Speaking of Aiden..." Trevor thought to himself as he began looking around for any sign of the bright-eyed Scorbunny.He swiftly caught sight of Aiden hanging something to the leftmost wall. Upon seeing Trevor rise to his feet, Aiden instantly greeted him with a giddy smile.

"Ah, you're awake! As slow to wake as ever, eh Treph?"

"Heh, I suppose." Trevor responded before noticing the contents of the poster which she was admiring. "No way, is that..."

Against the wall stood a crumpled poster, Aiden's smiling face placed neatly above the word "WANTED" written in bold, capital letters.

"What? It looks cool!" Aiden protested. "It'll make a nice memento of our latest adventure."

"We nearly died, you know." Trevor remarked with an incredulous grin and a raised eye.

Well, I think it looks badass. But never mind that- just look at this place! Isn't it just the best?! Nice wooden paneling, a cozy new fireplace, and look-" Aiden enthusiastically pointed towards the massive staircase perched near the southmost wall. "A whole new story! I have no idea what we're actually gonna use it for, but isn't it the coolest?! Our house is back and better than ever!"

Trevor joined Aiden in admiring the spacious interior of their new home before jumping up in sudden realization. "You know, we really ought to go pay a visit to the Kecleon siblings. We haven't properly thanked them yet, have we?"

Aiden immediately froze up. "Shoot, you're right! Good call, Treph- I completely forgot!" Aiden hastily scrambled towards a nearby drawer, then returned with a familiar pair of goggles cradled in her arms. Despite the various burn marks and wear which riddled its metallic lenses, Trevor nonetheless felt waves of warm comfort surge through his entire body as he strapped the goggles onto his forehead.

"We haven't seen Sunrise Town in a while, have we? Seeing as how we've been stuck at the hospital for months." Aiden asked, voice shaking with anticipation, "You ready, Treph?"

"Of course," Trevor happily responded, "Let's get a move on."

-

Trevor could feel the weight of several piercing gazes pressing down upon him as he stepped foot onto the cobble roads of Sunrise Town. The normally energetic atmosphere of the town dissipated into a series of hushed murmurs as crowds of Pokémon huddled and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the human who had made headlines months ago. Trevor could not but fidget in visible discomfort as every living thing in his vicinity refused to avert their piercing eyes from Trevor's every feature, a few brave reporters even daring to inch nearby to shoot a sensitive question or two.

"Hey, shoo, all of you!" Aiden suddenly shouted with a dirty glare upon noticing Trevor's mounting discomfort, "Find something else to gawk at!" Several onlookers swiftly looked away so as to avoid meeting her eyes.

"Everything just... feels different, doesn't it?" Trevor mused sullenly, "The atmosphere's completely changed now that I've been outed as human."

"Yeah," Aiden responded while frowning, "I never would have imagined that being so famous would be so... annoying. Let's just get to the shop before... before..."

Aiden's voice trailed off upon drawing near the iconic golden replica of Zephyr which lay at the heart of the city, now stained in a myriad of black paint marks. The eyes of the statue's usual confident visage were blinded by a pair of black crosses while the word "COWARD" remained crudely painted onto its stainless chest. At the statue's feet stood a trio of frustrated-faced Buizels tirelessly shooting streams of water towards the paint in a seemingly fruitless attempt to wash it off.

"What... who..." Aiden stammered as surprised horror turned to seething rage, her eyes beginning to twitch twitch involuntarily. Trevor himself felt a newfound sense of angry confusion coarse throughout his being, yet managed to force himself to look away.

"C'mon, Aiden," he muttered bitterly while gently tugging on Aiden's paw, "Standing here isn't going to do us much good. Let's ask Camo and Kino about this after we thank them."

Trevor and Aiden locked eyes for a brief moment before the latter finally heaved a great sigh. "You're right as always. I just hope whoever did this gets whatever's coming to them."

Trevor gave a slow nod in agreement before the pair tore their eyes from the defaced statue and continued onwards.

-

A massive tent stood elegantly in the place of the site of old, comparatively tiny stall of the Explorer's Haven, several streaks of vibrant purple zigzags clashing against its melon green exterior. A massive sign perched next to the tent's gaping, triangular entrance boasted the striking title of "THE EXPLORER'S PARADISE" in bolded, multicolored letters which practically threatened to pop out at any onlookers passing by. Trevor and Aiden exchanged a quick, puzzled glance before tentatively made their way inside.

What met the pair as they entered the brightly lit interior was shelves upon shelves of orbs, seeds, rope, thorns, goggles, berries, and just about everything an experienced Explorer would deem as essential. Trevor could only stare in dazed awe as he took in the cacophony of wandering Pokémon, quality items, and eye-catching advertisements which lay before him. Several lanterns which hung from the tent's towering ceiling lent the shop a sophisticated, almost grand aura.

Several Pokémon instantly froze up as upon seeing Trevor entering the tent, several of which began crowding around the pair in an eager attempt to capture a better look. Any attempts by Trevor to dissipate the crowd only seemed to draw more Pokémon near; The Meowth felt a wave of adrenaline spread across his entire body as the space between him and his "fans" lessened with each passing second...

"Alright, that's enough!"

From the far end of the tent emerged an angry-faced Kino, her shrill, scratchy voice turning every head in the shop. "Get away from them, all of you! No loyal customer of mine's gonna get treated like that in my shop!"

The crowd finally dispersed with a sea of groans and bitter grumbling as Kino enthusiastically strolled towards the discombobulated members of Team Spirit. "Hey, Aiden and Trevor! It's been a while, hasn't it- how've you two been? How's the house?"

"The house is great, better than anything we could ever have imagined." Trevor responded. "By the way, where's Camo-"

"BOO!" shouted a voice from behind.

"GAAAH!" Trevor screamed, leaping upwards before spinning around to find Camo mischievously snickering nearby. Kino and Aiden erupted into fits of hearty laughter; Trevor could not help but join in.

"Long time no see!" Camo proclaimed, "Good to see that your reflexes haven't dulled a bit since we've last seen you."

"Yeah, yeah," Trevor muttered abashedly, "Seems like this shop hasn't dulled one bit either. What's happened to this place since we were gone?"

Kino smiled pridefully. "It's a funny story. Ever since you fought Jett and lived to tell the tale, word spread out that this shop is where Team Spirit frequently visits."

"We may have had some hand in spreading that little detail," Camo added coyly.

"Anyways," Kino continued, "Pokémon from all over the world have been coming in droves because of your new reputations! Some come here as a tourist attraction, others buy everything they can to mimic your fighting style, y'know, with the thorns and the seeds and stuff. Given our recent rise in profits, we thought it appropriate to... redecorate a bit."

Trevor's face reddened slightly, worry spreading across his face. "Pokémon are trying to be... like me?"

It's just... weird, is all. Going from someone most people don't bat an eye at to some kind of... exhibit in a way. But that aside, what happened to Zephyr's statue?

Oh yeah, what's with that? Have the vandals been caught?

Kino's face darkened slightly. "The statue was supposedly vandalized last night, though whoever did it haven't been caught yet.

Witnesses are claiming that the crime was done by a small group of shady-looking Pokémon. Authorities have linked it to the Purists' recent hate-protests.

Aiden cocked her head to its side. "...Purists?"

"You haven't heard?" Camo asked glumly. "There's this insane group of Pokémon who've been rioting against society's re-acceptance of humanity since Zephyr's speech months ago. They've mostly limited it to loud speeches and picket signs until now, but defacing such an important site like Zephyr's statue? This is taking it to whole other level."

"That's... horrible," Aiden muttered contemptuously, "To think that there could be Pokémon so unimaginably evil."

Kino and Camo glanced towards each other uncomfortably. "Well, all that aside, the former chimed in with a more optimistic tone, "What did you two want from us? As our unofficial business partners, we're more than willing to help out with anything you need. Take anything you want from here..."

"For a discounted price, of course," Camo chimed in, "It's not like we're not running a charity or anything."

Trevor abruptly began shaking his head. "Oh no, we just came by to say thanks for your help with the house!"

"Ah." Camo replied flatly, evidently at a loss for how to respond. "Well, err, you're... welcome?"

Both pairs stared towards each other in complete silence, attempting and inevitably failing to devise a new topic of conversation which would distract from the dread and anxiety which still lingered in the air. "Well, it was really nice seeing you two again," Aiden hastily said after a while, "But we've gotta go home and get finish setting everything up at home."

Following a cheerful farewell, Aiden and Trevor began walking towards the light of the tent's giant opening. They were stopped before they could leave, however, by the Kecleon siblings' insistence that they stay for a short while longer. With a bashful grin, Kino walked towards Trevor with a clean satchel cradled in her arms, then shoved it into Trevor's paws despite his confused expression.

"It's all yours," she declared, "On the house."

"N-no, really, I couldn't!" Trevor said abashedly, "After all you two have done for us..."

"Trevor. Word of advice, if a good friend gives you something quality for free, you take it," Camo replied slyly, "Every great explorer needs a bag, especially if their old one happened to get completely incinerated."

"T-thank you!" Trevor practically shouted as Team Spirit finally started heading away from the tent, much to the visible disappointment of several Pokémon listening in to the conversation.

"Ya'll take care, now!" Kino called out before while the pair were still within hearing range, "Try not to land yourselves into too much trouble!"

-

Aiden eyed Trevor nervously as their new house came into sight in the distance, their entire walk home thus far being permeated by even more silence.

"Hey, are you okay? That was some heavy stuff back there."

"I'm... fine." Trevor muttered after some deliberation.

"So, you're not worried?"

Trevor shook his head. "I mean, of course I'm scared. Everything's gone all crazy and wrong since we got chased away months ago. Yet, we've been through so much together that I don't think anything can really faze me anymore." Trevor's wistful gaze shifted upwards. "This was inevitable, really. Everyone's been taught to hate humans for years now- it's not like what Zephyr said was going to change everyone's mind."

Aiden offered a silent nod, an aura of discomfort continuing to linger. "Whoever these idiots are, we'll overcome them like we always do. Let's just try to take our mind off of all this. Hey, look!" Aiden said suddenly upon nearing their new home, "We just moved in and we've already got mail!"

Aiden practically sprinted towards their newly placed mailbox, its metallic lid slamming shut as she snatched the stack of paper wedged inside. Her excitement disappeared almost instantly upon seeing how it was comprised mostly of interview requests, fan-mail, and inquiries regarding conspiracy theories related to Trevor's humanity.

"Junk, junk, junk... what's this?" Aiden muttered as she reached the final letter in the stack. Trevor watched as her expression gradually shifted from annoyance to intrigue, then to wide-eyed panic.

"What's wrong?" Trevor asked tentatively.

"It's a... ransom letter!"

"What?! What's the ransom?!" Trevor immediately asked.

Aiden raised her head to meet Trevor's worried eyes. "Rin!" she answered frantically.