Chapter Ten: Team Tenacious

"No matter whether it comes from fear or admiration... The world can't help but change."

Alder, Black & White

The leader of my old team waited patiently for me to respond. I could have laughed. He'd never been a patient Pokémon before, what changed? Jane stood behind him, now a Gothitelle, towering above us all. Enid was hovering a few inches off the ground with her long trails swaying. A Mismagius. Both of them looked poised, as if I was likely to attack them at any moment. Maybe I was. But in that moment all I could do was look to Alex and wonder wether I should ask for him to stay or to leave.

Alex had never asked about my old team. He knew I was ashamed of them, and despite the many people who tried to "warn" him, he'd waved them away, stating that it was none of his business what my past was. I was enormously glad to have someone in my life who didn't know about that part of my life, and now here they were, about to ruin that. As if they hadn't ruined enough.

"What the hell is this?" I asked. I think my anger gave me the strength to look my old leader in the eye.

"We wrote to you a dozen times, you never—"

"I tore it up. What are you doing here?"

"We've been sending out a signal, we were hoping you'd-"

"No," I said, and I noticed my voice had gone gravelly, "what are you doing here?"

"Tobias-"

I hit him in the face with Brine. Takahashi was knocked backwards into the wet sand. Enid put herself between us while Jane helped him to his feet.

"That's enough!" said the Mismagius.

My hand twitched. I was ready for a fight. Taka had gone down easily, we weren't so mismatched anymore, and I had a team of my own now. But Alex put an arm out to stop me. He kept a careful eye on the Pokémon in front of us but he wasn't in a fighting position. He wanted to do this diplomatically.

"Wait!" Taka said, holding up his brown paws. "Please, just wait!"

"Give me one good reason why I should!" I barked back, hoping they would. We'd come all this way for them so help me Yveltal if it was for nothing.

Enid looked at Alex imploringly, as if he could somehow wrangle me into lowering my hand. No. I was the leader here. They were going to address me now.

"We need your help," Jane said, in that strong but graceful voice I used to love, now deeper with her new form. "This city is in peril. You were the only one we could turn to, because you're the only one who will listen to us."

"Well that's where you're wrong," I said, already turning around, "I don't ever want to hear any of your voices again for the rest of my life."

I turned to leave.

"You're not going to abandon Pokémon in danger!" Enid called.

I stopped. She was right. And I hated her all the more for it.

"We're scared. All of us. Every single Pokémon in this city. How long have you been here? A day? How many Pokémon have you spoken to since then?"

Alex gave me a "maybe we should listen to them" look. I turned around.

"The Archon is corrupt," said Jane. "He's made a wreck of the civilised areas and of his own city, he's left hundreds homeless and countless more in poverty. He's filled the guardsmon with pinions and exiled any dissenting voices. Some have yet to be found."

"I know that," my voice was rising but I couldn't stop it, "I know that because I was here when he did it! I was one of them! I know exactly what the Archon is like and why the hell do you think I haven't been back here in so long, do you think it was because I just never felt the need to! Do you not think I'd have been back here years ago if I'd thought I had the slightest chance in fresh hell of doing anything about it?! I'm one Pokémon! How on earth do you expect me to do anything about the Archon?!"

"You overthrew a king," Taka said, "didn't you?"

Alex and I looked to one another. We had, with the help of several thousand other Pokémon, reached King Dreigo's hideout. Alex, Professor Buckeye, and I had defeated the three Varia brothers with our own hands. And Alex had almost died because of it.

"We wouldn't be asking this if we had any other choice," Taka said. "Believe me, we don't want to put either of you in danger, but we couldn't stand by and do nothing."

"Suddenly you're all so concerned about doing the right thing," I said.

The Raichu's face was stone. "Even a corrupted Pokémon can see when something is truly evil, Tobias."

The waves hissed against the sand, so much coarser than Oran Berry Beach. The ball of cyan light by their feet still shone, but it was an ugly colour now, giving us all a sickly glow. It was clear glass filled with shimmering blue, around the size of a Whimsicott.

It was Enid's soul, I realised without quite knowing why. She was always the calmer of the three of them. It would've been Jane the researcher who got her hands on it; most likely stolen it. And the whole plan reeked of Taka. Still a team, after all this time. I'll confess it softened my heart just a little.

"If everyone in this city knows about the corruption," Alex said, "why are you three the only ones reaching out for help?"

"Good question, partner," I said.

"We have information from a friend that might point to Grieve's ultimate goal," Taka said. He was speaking so formally, so clipped. Who did he think he was fooling? I wanted to slap him.

"How reliable is this friend?" asked Alex.

"I'd trust her with my life."

"In my life I've learned how little that means," I said.

"Can we put the little digs to rest?" Taka responded. "We're trying to help you!"

His tail flicked in agitation. It always used to do that. Except now it was long and heavy, a thunderbolt-tip at the end of a thin black rope, leading to an orange back. I swear if I'd passed him on the street, I wouldn't have recognised him at all. Was this even the same Pokémon?

"What information do you have?" Alex said.

"Our friend is an explorer, she's travelled across the Tenrai region for years, and she's noticed a pattern in Grieve's targets. They're all civilised areas- semi-civilised areas, I should say- that contain hidden passages with traces of lost civilisation. That's why they're so random and scattered."

"Nobody else figured this out?" I said.

"Nobody else has explored every single one of these regions so thoroughly," Taka said, "and if they have, none of them have managed to sneak into the temples and shrines and see for themselves."

"Wow, birds of a feather really do flock together."

"Our friend has an idea where he might be headed next," said Jane, ignoring the jab. "A few ideas, in fact, but she believes she knows exactly where he'll end up looking. It's called the Epsilon Cavern. You'll find it down south in the shrubland region, close to the River."

"But what does he actually want with it?" Alex asked.

"Religious grounds have always been rumoured to hold "legendary power,"" Enid said. "Of course any Pokémon of piousness would believe so, but apparently these ideas have gotten into his head."

Her accent, the way she pronounced words like "rumoured" and "power", it was all so familiar. She was from the moor region in Tenrai (very different to the moors here), I'd never heard an accent quite like hers before or since. It had faded a little.

"If you're so worried, what's been keeping you stuck on this beach for four weeks looking for our help?" I said. "Why haven't you gone down there yourself?"

"We're outlaws, Tobias," Taka said, grimly. He had never been a grim Pokémon. "The moment we come out of hiding we'd be clapped in chains and shipped back to Itori to await trial, and what good is that going to do anyone? We've built new lives here, we can't throw all that away."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why here? Why did you build your new lives here? Of all the places you could have gone, all the places in the world, why this city?"

Taka blinked. He looked over his shoulder at Jane, at Enid.

"We could not stay in Itori," the Gothitelle said, "leaving the country was the safest thing to do."

"That does not answer my question," I said. I was on the verge of screaming but didn't know if I'd have the strength. "Why did you have to come to my home?"

"You…" the Mismagius began. "You said this wasn't your home anymore, that Emerald Town—"

"My name was mud in Emerald Town!" Oh look at that, I did have the strength. "You ruined me! I was stripped of my badge, of my achievements, of my godsdamned pride! I was loved there, until I became the pathetic, weak little boy who let his criminal friends escape the Academy and the police after you three idiots got someone killed! You ruined everything! You ruined the life I built for myself then you came back to march all over the one I left behind! Is there a single fucking thing you aren't going to destroy for me?!"

All three opened their mouths to speak.

"No! I'm telling you! The answer is no! You are never going to take anything from me ever again!"

I turned and I ran. They called after me but I kept running. I heard Taka's footsteps, then Alex yelling at him to leave me alone. I was angrier than I'd ever been in my life. Then I felt a wave of relief and joy, and suddenly I was laughing as well as crying. I'd finally done it. I'd finally told them how I felt, how they'd hurt me, how little I thought of them anymore. I was free. I never had to think about them ever again.

Alex found me sitting on the ledge thinking about Team Tenacious. He shuffled in next to me and stretched out his legs.

"I'm sorry I left you back there," I said.

"It's a straight line," he said with a reassuring smile, "the fog's not that bad!"

The waves hissed onto the shore. The place had an salty, earthy smell, and the cold pricked at my arms. I shuffled in closer to Alex and was warmed form behind my the flame at his tail. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Fortunately, we were left alone.

"I don't know…" I began. "I don't know why I was so upset."

"You have every right to be mad at them!" Alex said. "I'm mad at them!"

"But I don't know why I was so upset. I'm ashamed to admit it, but, when I saw that they'd evolved, I felt so… disappointed. I don't know why I was horrified."

"It's always a shock when someone goes through a big change like that."

"But isn't it hypocritical to talk so big about "I don't need to evolve!", then resent Pokémon when they do?"

Alex shrugged. "You can't help how you feel."

"I just want understand why. I remember how you were treated by the Skarsgards after you changed, I don't want to be the kind of person who would do that to an old friend."

"I wasn't their friend, Tobias. I was their enemy. And Team Tenacious is ours. Or… they were… I'm not really sure what to call them."

"Neither. They're neither. They're nothing to me anymore."

I felt a weight in my chest dragging my body down. I ran my hands over my face.

"Why does change have to be so hard?" I asked, just to vent, not really hoping for an answer.

But Alex thought long and hard about it, and he said:

"Well, if it was easy, wouldn't everyone just change everything about themselves? Any time they were even a little unhappy?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"So how would you know which change was good and which was bad? How would you know which parts you wanted to keep? What would actually be… you?"

That's when I saw it. I had to direct Alex's attention to it, but then he spotted them too. Bubbles, shining over the sea. I looked to my right and saw Krabby sat along the shore. They looked a little different here; redder, with darker undersides, but they were here all the same, to shine a ray of beauty into a dark autumn evening.

"At least some things don't change," I said.

Alex smiled. "'Cause some things don't need to."

The next morning I was woken by the sound of a bell. Can't say I missed that very much. Wyatt slid open the door to the spare room I was resting in.

"Someone's at the front door," he said, then glanced down the corridor. "A Raichu called Takahashi, you know him?"

Wyatt had gone to bed the second we came back, I hadn't told him about my encounter with Team Tenacious, and to be honest, I hadn't planned to. I was furious Taka had actually come to the door, but I hid it behind a smile as I rolled out of bed and stretched, as if this was just another visitor.

"Someone I spoke to about the Archon yesterday," not technically a lie, "he must've tracked me down."

"A problem?"

"Nah, sure, he'll have no more love for the Archon than the rest of us. I'll go see what he wants."

Wyatt left to prepare breakfast for the kids. I hurried to the door and opened it wide enough to poke my head out.

Takahashi leaned to the side. "Good morning."

"Is it?"

"Tobias," he said exasperated.

I heard footsteps behind me. Alex jogged over to stand beside me. Taka looked like he minded. I didn't.

I looked the Raichu up and down. "What are you wearing?"

A pale green buttoned shirt, a yellow and orange ascot, and thick black gloves on his paws.

"This is my uniform," Taka said, a little indignant.

"You have a job?"

Taka chuckled. "How do you think I pay for food? I'm not one for foraging, you know that. Jane's an astronomy tutor, and Enid's a sleep therapist - she helps Pokémon suffering from insomnia." He wore a proud look on his face. "I'm an electrician."

"That doesn't sound like a real thing."

"You've developed quite the lip, haven't you?"

"Unless you want to develop a limp, get to the point."

"What is an electrician?" Mikey asked, fascination in his eyes.

I almost leapt out of my shell. I looked down and Evie was there as well, seemingly unaware of the hot chocolate staining her colour.

"Some folks at the Magnezone Forge are working on a special electric-powered device that's supposed to help Pokémon recharge their energy," he explained, then glanced down at himself. "I'm the electric-power, as you can see."

"That's so cool!" Mikey looked at me. "I mean… uh…"

"You shouldn't have come here," I said. "You being in Karma City is hard enough to wrap my head around, but this is my home."

"I know, I'm sorry," he said, "I promise after this I'll be out of your hair forever. Or whatever it is that Squirtle have." He cracked a playful smile. I didn't return it. His face dropped.

"I wanted to ask if you've made up your mind about the mission."

Alex and I had discussed it, in fact. We decided no matter who the tip came from, it was worth checking out if it gave us any answers. But I kept my face stony in front of Taka.

"Thinking about it," I said.

"Well if you do decide to go, I'd like to suggest you bring my son with you."

I just stared at him. For a moment I didn't even know what I was feeling.

"You have a son?"

Taka nodded. "I do. He turned three last week actually."

"That seems way too young for an important mission like this," said Alex.

Taka's eyes widened. "Ken is an excellent battler!" he said, offended. "He's the smartest Pokémon in his class, and he already knows Thunderbolt!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Ken?"

"What?" the Raichu replied.

"You named your son… Ken."

Taka's tail flicked. "I'll have you know that I've had that name picked out since I was a Pichu, and I'm not going to let some other similar-sounding name ruin it for me."

"Ruin it?!"

Alex had to hold me back.

Taka held up his gloved paws. "Listen, I'm not going to force him on you. But Ken and his friend are explorers, and they want to help. His friend's a Meowth, her name's Cream." He leaned in and dropped to a whisper: "She's the tip-off. Believe me, you're going to want her there."

"Hold up," Alex said, "you won't come on the missions yourselves because you're afraid you'll be caught and have to uproot your lives again. But you're okay with sending your son?"

"Ken and his mother can make as much noise as they like. I might be living in hiding, but they're not, so long as I keep my head down. I'd only draw attention, and for the love of Ho-Oh, nothing is more important than not drawing attention right now."

He'd even adopted Karma City's God. Impressive dedication, I had to admit.

Taka looked over his shoulder. "Grieve is already summoning soldiers. I don't know what he's planning to do- I mean, hell, how would I know? I don't even technically live here. But Pokémon are patrolling the city now as well. Jane was stopped by other day; Ken had to rescue her himself!"

"Oh, well, wouldn't want to take him for too long, then," I said sarcastically.

Taka's face changed suddenly. "I'm going to say this, Tobias, and don't you dare attack me for it. Whatever tension there is between us, Ken is not a part of it. That's my child. You'd better not let anything happen to him, do you hear me?"

Rage boiled up inside me. "Let." I knew actually what this slime ball had meant by "let". I had to physically restrain myself from yelling in his face. I didn't want to wake the kids.

"I am not some monster who uses children for his own gain. That's not me, Takahashi."

"Gotcha," he said, his voice clipped, "well, as long as we're on the same page."

He turned to leave.

"I don't like you," Alex said.

"I'm not here to be liked," Taka said over his shoulder. "I'm here to make something right. You can respect that, at least."

Wyatt, Alex and I carried the kettle and leaves to the tea ceremony room. Wyatt slid open the door and caught one of the children red-handed in the act of hiding a red bean cake in one of the pots, standing on his toes to reach the table. He was a Squirtle, if I had to guess around 6 months old.

"Giuseppe," Wyatt said, with a stern tone I'd never heard from him before.

Giuseppe dropped back down on his heels with a pout on his face. Wyatt set the kettle down over the copper pot and wrestled the small cake out of the Squirtle's sticky clenched fist.

"Okay, time out, you know the rules," Wyatt said, nodding to the corridor that led to the bedrooms.

Giuseppe let his arms hang at his sides and emphatically dropped his head. But when he passed me by he looked up, fascinated by the sight of eyes just like his. When the door shut behind us, I said:

"The River?"

Wyatt nodded. We kneeled before the copper pot and he set to work stirring the grey earl leaves.

"No one comes in here these days except to hide junk," he said dejectedly, "I offer to teach them the ceremony, but hardly anyone shows up."

I laughed. "You always hated the ceremonies!"

Wyatt returned smile. "What can I say? People change."

He poured us each a cup and sat back down. Alex started sipping at his right away while Wyatt and I waited a few minutes for it to cool. He eyed the Chariz-Fang on Alex's wrist.

"Where'd you dig that up?" he asked.

Alex looked at it if remembering it was there. "Oh, a friend from Ruby Forest gave it to me. He was a Charmeleon."

"You didn't happen to get his name did you?"

"Miloslav." He tilted his head. "Do you know him?"

"I used to know a Charmander who came from the River. He was… unusual, but not in a bad way. He just seemed so much older than everyone else from the moment he hatched. He left before you were born," he said to me.

"Why'd he leave?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. He just snuck out in the middle of the night and then he was gone. Bruiser went mental looking for him. Before he left, he kept talking about wanting to see the mountains."

"There aren't any mountains in Tenrai," I said, frowning.

Wyatt shrugged. "Just repeating what he said."

Then he looked just past me, at the sliding door behind which small Pokémon toddled along.

"That Pokémon that came by this morning…"

"I'd rather not talk about him," I said quickly, "I don't want anyone to know I'm associated with them."

"I know Takahashi."

My heart jolted.

"He used to bring his son to play with the other kids when Ken was a Pichu. For some reason he didn't want to introduce him to any of the neighbours' families. Ken's too old for it now though, I suppose. I'd no idea you knew him."

"Small world, right?" Alex offered.

"Yeah," I said as I stared into my drink, "funny that."

Wyatt held up a palm. "Look, I'm not interested in digging into your private life. But I need to know why that Pokémon is sniffing around here. If this is a person we need to watch out for I don't want him around the kids. A lot of desperate people with nowhere else to turn find themselves wrapped up in a life of crime. I've seen it happen."

"I'd say just stay out of his way. That's what I intend on doing."

"Although he did just give us a mission," Alex said, sipping his already half-empty cup.

"A mission?" said Wyatt.

We explained what Takahashi had told us about the "Epsilon Cavern".

"We're going into town for supplies," I said, "we'll probably leave this evening."

"Would it be better to leave in the morning?" Alex suggested. "If we want to keep up the pretence the we really are explorers who have nothing to do with the Archon—"

"Then it's probably not a good idea to go on this mission at all," said Wyatt.

We soon heard footsteps behind us. Soleil entered the room and silently slid the door shut. Her eyelids were heavy and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"You're up," Wyatt said, eyebrows raised.

He shuffled over and she kneeled down next to him. He reached out to pour her a cup but she held up a hand and took the kettle herself.

"How was your trip to the beach?" she asked as she poured.

I explained what happened in as little detail as I could. She nodded, her eyes fixed on the rising steam.

Wyatt stirred the kettle and said: "Have to say I'm not so keen on the idea of the two of you going all the way to the shrublands on your own based on a tip from someone you apparently can't trust."

"I share your sentiment," said the Heliolisk, "but I fear this Pokémon may be right."

I sipped at my tea, glanced at Wyatt. I felt a childish glee at being right where he was wrong. I feel a little ashamed of that now. Was I seriously becoming a two-year-old again?

"If Malik Grieve has his eye on the Epsilon Cavern," Soleil continued, "we need to ascertain as to how much he knows, and what his plan is."

"Whatever it is," Alex said, "it seems shifty."

Soleil looked me in the eye. A simple gesture, but somehow startling.

"Tell me, Tobias, have you ever heard tell of the Fortune Relic?"

"I haven't."

"Hang on hang on let me guess," Alex held up a hand. "Is it, bare with me now, something to do with the Fortune River?"

"It is," said Soleil.

"Groundbreaking."

"The Fortune Relic lies beneath a prophecy carved into the walls of the Epsilon Cavern. The prophecy speaks of a human and a Pokémon with an incredible bond."

Alex and I shared a look. My very first thought was that the human must be him. Before the day before yesterday, I would have believed that without question. But it just so happened that the "Second Human" had confessed her identity to us fifteen miles from where we were sitting.

"Do you…" Alex said slowly, "know who that human might be?"

"I do not. In truth, until yesterday I had not personally known any humans at all. Then two appeared at our doors at once."

She took a sip of her tea. She didn't look at either of us.

"But the Relic Guardians have passed on these secrets for years upon years. There's no doubt in my mind this human exists, and that they possess some knowledge of soul magic."

"That rules me out," Alex said.

"Could Evie be a sorceress?" I suggested.

"She doesn't wear bangles or jewels or carry around a magic wand."

"Neither do I," Soleil pointed out.

"Yes, but you live in a witch's den, let's be honest."

"Did the Evie or the Grovyle mention anything about the Fortune Relic?" Wyatt asked.

"No, nothing," I said, "it didn't even seem like they knew where Karma City was."

"Do you think…" Alex began, staring into his empty cup. "Do you think it could be the third human?"

"Unless Evie happens to be a very well-concealed sorceress," Soleil said, "it could be."

The room was silent. My tea was growing cold, but suddenly I'd lost my appetite. I looked over at Alex. He was staring into space with a blank expression on his face.

"During the ancient times," Soleil said, "when humans and Pokémon still shared this world, the humans had a hand in sealing legendary power away in tombs in order to freely control the earth. I say a hand as, though many choose to ignore this part of history, Pokémon were responsible as well. I do not believe in the myth that Pokémon cannot be as harmful and selfish as humans were said to be."

She looked at Alex with compassion.

"Said to be," she emphasised, "but our history is written by the ones that remained here, and try as they might, they have not been able to write out every way in which they were culpable for the damage humans left.

"One such way is the nature of the Ancient Catacombs. Long-buried tombs containing the secrets to the legacies of the Gods. I do not know how many there are scattered across the world, but I do know that one such place exists in Tenrai. The Epsilon Cavern."

There was a shuffling sound behind us followed by hushed whispers. Wyatt sighed and got to his feet. He'd always been a noisy Pokémon, but now he tread so softly the two Pokémon behind the door didn't hear him until he'd slid it open. Giuseppe the Squirtle bolted the moment he saw the Wartortle standing over him, but the Cyndaquil bowed her head in shame.

"Him I would expect this from," Wyatt said, "but I didn't take you for a nosy Pokémon, Cynnamon. Despite that big schnoz."

"Oh my god," Alex whispered to me, "that is the cutest name I've ever heard."

Cynnamon looked past Wyatt at Alex and I, the two intruders.

"Don't worry about them," Wyatt said to her in a soothing tone. "They're friends. In fact Toby," he nodded to me, "used to live here."

Cynnamon fidgeted nervously.

"Go on, get yourself cleaned up, it's almost lunchtime."

She shuffled away. Wyatt slid the door closed and retook his place beside Soleil.

"A human's soul as well as a Pokémon's bonded to it is required to open the Epsilon Cavern," the sorceress continued. "Based on the information your informant has provided to us, I'd imagine that's what Malik Grieve has his eye on. Where on earth he will have found a human soul, I cannot tell you." Her voice turned suddenly grave. "But I do not trust this Pokémon. I do not think he will use such power for anything good. I would place my life on such a wager if necessary."

"Why a human soul?" Alex asked.

"They possess a different kind of power. In many ways a Pokémon's soul could do terrible damage to humanity. But equally, anything built to keep our souls at bay will be useless in stopping a human. With the will to do so, it could rip the Pokémon World apart."

Pots clattered outside. Wyatt gave an angry growl, got back up, stormed over to the door. He yelled down the corridor:

"Right, whoever's trying to sneak food five minutes before lunch time, you can stay in your room and eat after everyone else!" He leaned back in. "I'm sorry, I have to take care of this."

Alex stood. "All I heard was lunch time. You coming?"

"Just a minute," I said, holding up my now lukewarm cup of tea.

"It better be a minute, or else I'm having your lunch too," he teased. He followed Wyatt out, slid the door shut behind him. I placed my cup down and let out a long sigh.

"What ails you?" Soleil asked, her hands folded in her lap.

"No, it's stupid."

"If it were "stupid", it would not be bothering you so."

Soleil had never been a huge part of my old life. I must have met her half a dozen times before now. It felt safer to talk to her. I explained to her about the Pokémon on the beach, my old team. My "friends", so I'd thought.

"I don't know why I was so upset when I saw them. I wasn't just mad at them for what they did, or for being there when this should have been my home, but for some reason I can't explain I was so upset that they'd changed so much! It felt like I was directing all this anger at Pokémon I didn't now! And I don't really know them, not anymore. Enid's accent has faded, Jane the class-clown is a teacher, Takahashi's a father. Why do I even care?"

Soleil thought for about a moment.

"May I tell you a story?"

"Sure," I said, though unconvinced that any story she could tell me would help.

"Before I settled down in Karma City, I used to travel the country with a friend, a Wimpod named Meuric. We were together years, inseparable from the moment we met. Yet one day, we did in face separate along the neck of Fortune River. For over a year we searched for each other. Through the jungle region and the shrublands and the wetlands and the moors, battling all the while, forced to grow ever stronger in the absence of a companion. Then one day, miraculously, we found one another. But at first I did not recognise him. I could only truly accept it was him when he showed the scar under his chin. It had remained, despite his evolution.

"He did not seem like the same Pokémon to me. Not only had his body changed, but his mannerisms, his combat style, his personality had undergone a dynamic shift I couldn't have prepared for even had we never been apart. But one day, sitting along the bank of the river, I opened up to him about a great inner pain I was experiencing. Instead of climbing onto my lap, as he'd always done during moments like this, he'd placed his great arm around me and brought me closer. He spoke to me, reassuringly, and held me there until my sadness had ebbed away. The love and care we'd had for each other had never faded. The heart that beat inside remained the same."

"But there is no love and care!" I said. "They're not my friends!"

"May I get to my point?"

I held my arms up in weary surrender.

"We subconsciously attach superficial qualities to the genuine qualities we love in a person, and when those superficial qualities disappear, it throws us through a loop, to use a colloquial expression. What we must do is look deeper into the things we love. And eventually those qualities will shine through, even if their faces have changed."

"That's the problem," I said, "those qualities don't exist in those Pokémon anymore."

Soleil nodded. "And you're grieving them, what once existed in your friends, that are now gone. And seeing those superficial things disappear as well, you've lost the last remnant of good your mind could cling onto. But this is a lesson, an important one on how Pokémon can change. And how sometimes, Tobias, you have to let them."

"Let them?! You don't have any idea what they did to me—"

"I have a notion. You've told me who they used to be to you, and how you parted. However, would you rather have stopped them and lived the rest of your life with Pokémon you knew weren't truly good? Truly good like you are?"

Something shattered outside.

"Be careful!" Wyatt yelled. "Sharp objects! Be careful! Alex could you help me pick up the children?"

"I think you're right…" I said. "Zygarde, that is what I was doing. Thanks, Soleil, that story really helped."

"It wasn't true."

I blinked. "Huh?"

"It was completely fictional. I never had such a friend. I took his name from a character in one of Giuseppe's picture books. I invented this story to illustrate my point."

"Oh…" I said. I was a little disappointed. Soleil picked up on this, and she smiled.

"The story was superficial, Tobias. The message was real."