Dear Skitty,

It's been a while, how are you? I've been busy; a lot has certainly changed since I got back.

Firstly, I left Dr. Laurel's lab (shocking, I know). Partly of my own volition, and partly because his project was shut down. He personally never seemed to have fully recovered; he's the same old guy in almost every way, but whenever the 'incident' is brought up, his eyes go wide and he starts muttering about terrifying, horrible things. Giratina really did a number on him.

That, along with my amnesia, were cited as evidence of the dangerous nature of traveling through wormholes. Dr. Laurel made it clear he wanted nothing more to do with them, and the project was completely scrapped. I was also asked to give a few interviews about the whole experience. I never brought up your world, our adventures, any of it; they seemed satisfied enough to hear that what we observed in the lab and the reality we faced were shockingly different, and that Dr. Laurel and I were lucky to escape with our lives (just the type of drama the reporters love, although not quite accurate in the name of science).

And you read that right, my amnesia did not resolve, at least not overnight. As in your world, I've discovered that certain events can help trigger memories. I've had a few people text me (I got a new phone! I wish I could show you all the fun, useless things it does!), asking about what happened or letting me know they saw me on the news, which lead to some spontaneous memory recovery. Although it's unfortunately never much at once.

I've remembered more about my team too. I know you didn't get the chance to know them very well (in all honesty, I still don't know them so well either!) but I did at least get a few flashbacks about when and how we became a team. I met Dragalge as an injured skrelp by the beach, caught Rotom after she kept trying to possess my phone, and picked Serperior as my very first partner back when I was 13, as is (apparently) custom of a human in this world.

After recovering from the trip and facing the great unknown of my future, I decided to take some time off of my studies and travel. What can I say? Your spirit of exploration rubbed off on me. We've been going around the region, battling in gyms and preparing for the Pokemon League (it's a pretty big deal here—an opportunity for trainers to show off their skills and challenge full-time professionals). And with a team of four, I'm pretty well prepared.

That's right, there's a fourth member in my party. It turns out that, when trying to battle with Noivern, Dr. Laurel found he was…'disobedient.' The power thing wasn't a problem anymore, now the issue was that the professor couldn't control it. In reality, I think Noivern realized that Dr. Laurel doesn't truly care for him, just for what he is now, and what he is now is much wiser, larger, and more powerful, so he doesn't have to put up with all that abuse anymore. I was shocked when the professor appeared at my home offering me the pokeball.

"It's the strangest thing…of all the people I know, somehow I feel like he'd…be right for you." I graciously accepted, and didn't want to dwell on how he felt his self-proclaimed disobedient bat dragon would be a perfect fit for me.

As if I've ever disobeyed anything. Ha!

But the most exciting thing so far? I was able to get my hands on a special Pokédex made for rotoms (another human device I wish I could share with you. It was second hand, you wouldn't believe how pricey they are new!). It serves two purposes. 1) Rotom can now be in possession of an appliance at all times (though, I still have to be on the lookout. Once I found the Pokédex empty, just to hear a cry from the kitchen as she tried to stuff Dragalge in the fridge—not sure if she'll ever shake the habit). And 2) she can speak to me using human speech! That was the part I was most excited about. She had me worried at first though; there we were, all gathered around as she went inside and got comfortable, and all she'd offer for the first five minutes were regular pokemon cries.

She's such a trickster. No wonder you two got on so well.

But now? She loves it! It's a fantastic invention, and she can even translate what the others say to me, although, based on the stormy expressions they sometimes adopt after one of her 'translations,' I'm beginning to suspect she's not always…accurate. Noivern almost tore her out of it when she told me he wanted me to let him start the next gym battle, for which he had a huge type disadvantage (I think she's slowly learning not to abuse her power too much, but we'll see). But, with it, we've even experimenting with the writing again (did I ever tell you about that memory? I can't remember now, it was all so hectic! But back in the day I tried—and failed—to teach Serperior how to write so we could communicate). It's slow, but I think with a proper pokemon translator in our midst, we're making real progress. You would be proud to know he can officially write his name! Shame it was too late for the twins, but next time someone wants his autograph? We're ready.

I'm trying to get back to my life…but sometimes it's hard. Spending time with my family and friends helps, although I sometimes still feel like I'm just taking the place of the 'real' Gwen—the one who stressed about her PhD, worked at the lab, and is still, in a sense, missing. And sometimes getting back to my life is hard in sillier ways. I feel nervous around my friend's newly evolved Lurantis (I swear she's judging my every move). I had to consciously suppress the urge to start yelling at an ambipom (your dad should know your bestie is on bargaining terms with Giratina, so he'd do well to behave). I saw a skitty and nearly started crying.

I miss you so much everyday.

What have you been up to, since I left? Have you become a world-famous explorer? If not yet, it's only a matter of time, I'm sure. I hope Lurantis and the others don't give you a hard time because of us. I'm so sorry that it ended the way it did. I've spent many nights awake wondering how it could've gone differently, how I could've stayed and kept your world safe, and every night I come up empty. Maybe if Giratina hadn't intervened…but what's done is done.

I read somewhere that writing letters to the ones you miss can help with the grief, so that's what I'm doing now. I thought, with time, the hurting might stop, but so far, no luck. I know you'll never get this, or any of the other letters that are likely to come, but I hope you also know that, even after all this time, I still think of you, every single day.

Your Friend,

Gwen