I understand the anger in Steven's eyes but I do not care for it. He regards me with a frown made all the worse by the bruising about his face. We are standing in Jasmine's living area, expected to share breakfast but both eager to head outside instead to Ellie.

"So what was your plan then?" Steven demands. "Get her to Paldea and just keep her there?"

"Get her to Paldea," I admit calmly. I didn't have a plan for after and I still don't, it will all depend on Ellie I suppose.

Steven's frown deepens at my repetition, probably he finds it patronising, and I see a spark of pain dart through his grey gaze with the gesture. He should still be in bed but he fears, as we all do, that Team Rocket might know we remain in Olivine City and they may return to us with greater numbers.

"I won't let you take her from me."

His comment surprises me. I realise that whilst I have known Steven calls Ellie his sister and that his family took her in for ten years, I have never actually thought about the depths of the bond they share. Truthfully, I have not wanted to.

"I'm her father," I remind him. It still sounds strange to say it, I have always been Mia's father but I'm not so sure about Ellie's.

"Something you kept quiet for long enough," he snaps back. "Her mother, the one that raised her," he adds bitingly, "is in a hospital bed in intensive care. Do you really think we won't go back to her?"

I see Steven's pain return but it is not from his wounds. I am reminded of his youth in his vulnerability and notice as he clenches his fists that he is close to crying. He has been through a lot and I wonder at how hard it must have been for him to choose to leave his injured mother and run with the teenager who accidentally wounded her in the first place. He may not be related to Ellie by blood but his kinship with her is very real.

"Steven, they found her in Hoenn and here-"

"They found her in Paldea first," he reminds me, "and they know we were going to go there."

I stiffen at the reminder and reach up to tug at the knot of my tie. "I know, I see the aftermath of their visit there every night. Ten years I wondered about Mia, I didn't know where she had gone, if she even lived. The thin sliver of hope that she might be alive is all that's kept me alive. I don't want to lose anymore time with her. Paldea was her home, her mother's home, our home, I want her to see it again."

I lower my hand and look to the former Champion, willing him to try and understand my point of view in all this.

"I'm in the Elite, I have allies there, we can go and mount up a defence against Team Rocket."

I don't bother with speculations over whether Team Rocket will follow us to Paldea or not, Ellie summoned Lugia, of course they will come for her. I also don't voice my concerns that Geeta will want none of this and will certainly have something to say if I bring Ellie and the danger of Team Rocket to her door. What price will make she make me pay for the aid of her and the Elite? I know no matter how steep it is I will pay it for Ellie's sake but what might I lose in the process?

Steven folds his arms and looks to the glass patio doors at the right. The patio out there offers a generous view of the beach. Looker sits on the decking offering his Growlithe leftover crusts of toast whilst just out of sight Ellie is on the sand with Morty, at least that's what Jasmine advised. Ellie, Mia, I can't keep her name consistent in my mind anymore.

"We can't stay here," I point out, "and is Hoenn really a viable option? What about all the trouble you had there even without Team Rocket?"

Steven clenches his teeth and fixes a fierce stare upon me. "What do you know about that, huh?"

"You were taken," I state it bluntly, "and Ellie found you."
"So you think I can't protect her then? I've done it for ten years you know! I'm more than Elite, I was a Champion!"

"I know. Why don't we all go to Paldea? Wait out Team Rocket there and once they come and we deal with them, then Ellie can decide where she wants to be."

Steven's bruised eye twitches slightly and his gaze darts back to the patio doors. "I'll ask Lance for advice," he mutters.

Steven tugs out his mobile and walks over to the other side of the room as he dials on it.

I take my chance to head over to the patio doors and slide one open. Looker and his Growlithe glance over to me briefly before resuming their shared breakfast. I step out on the patio and breathe in the fresh, salted sea air. I close the door behind me and head to the wooden fence to lean out to view the beach.

It's a narrow crescent, cut off from the main strip by the sea, giving Jasmine her own small sliver of privacy. Under the pale grey of a dull morning the sand looks faded and brown. Ellie's Farfetch'd and Stantler are strolling on the sand with a worried looking Sylveon between them. I see Ellie seated cross-legged with a large Golbat in her lap, nuzzling up against her and giving worried moans. I realise they're Kenji's, undoubtedly taken back by Koga from Petrel. I do not spy his Rattata and wonder if it was under his jumper when Lugia came. Morty stands close by, ever the vigilant guard with his hands in his pockets as he looks out to the ocean.

I realise, as usual, that I don't know what to say but I know I should say something. Ellie's fever only broke yesterday, we have spent three days taking advantage of Jasmine's generous hospitality and I have evaded a conversation with Ellie until now. Without saying it we all know we need to leave but I know I need to talk to Ellie first.

I head for the wooden steps that lead down from the patio to the beach and see Morty's head turn in my direction. I have no clue what he thinks of any of this – of my being Ellie's father, of where we should go next, or of Ellie's ability to summon a Legendary Pokemon. Perhaps the latter is why Morty has stayed, he did speak of his hopes to meet with the legendary Ho-Oh.

Morty approaches and offers me a calm but serious stare. "Larry," he addresses me in a quiet voice. "Before you talk to her you need to understand something, Ellie has a lot of voids."

I glance past Morty to Ellie even as I nod. These voids have been mentioned before.

"Larry, you're not psychic so you don't get it. I've been in her mind, I've felt them, these gaps in her memory. Part of the reason she's needing help from a psychic is because they're getting more frequent. When Ellie encounters something traumatic she zones out and sometimes when she comes back the encounter is forgotten. It's a defence mechanism and she's been doing it for so long I'm finding it hard to help her stop."

Ellie's attention is fixed on the Golbat as she strokes its large, blue form. I look from her to Morty. "Has she forgotten me again?"

Morty gives a thin smile traced with worry and shakes his head. "Not exactly, that is she hasn't forgotten what you confessed the other day." He raises his blond eyebrows slightly. "How did you manage to keep that secret for so long?"

"I wasn't sure she was Mia at first," I explain, "and then I didn't know how to tell her. I wasn't there for her when I should have been and it took me ten years to find her. I...I should have been there when they were attacked."

Morty nods this time and I glimpse a glimmer of sympathy in his violet stare. "Well look Larry, between your news, Lugia, and Kenji leaving with Team Rocket, she's not doing too great and I'm finding it hard to keep her grounded." Morty folds his arms and glances over his shoulder to Ellie before fixing his gaze back on me. "She doesn't want to leave here without uniting Kenji with his Pokemon you know and I'm afraid if we push her to go then she's going to end up having another mental break."

"We can't wait any longer."
Morty nods again and rubs at his brow pushing his headband up slightly. "She's spent an hour sitting there with the Golbat and Sylveon and promising to get them back to Kenji. I tried explaining to her that he's with Team Rocket and that we need to leave before they come back here and she went blank. For twenty minutes Larry, I lost her in her mind and when she came back she just started talking to the Golbat again like I hadn't said anything." He rubs at his headband again and sighs. "If she's pushed too hard her mind is going to shatter, Quackles and Lucky are the only thing keeping her stable."

I think about Morty's words and try to think how we can resolve this without damaging Ellie further. "Where's Koga?"

Morty shrugs. "I'm not sure, why?"

"He knows Kenji, maybe he can get his Pokemon back to him without involving Ellie."

Morty gives me another smile but this one has a trace of mockery in it. "Larry, it's not that simple and I think you know it. Ellie is worried about Kenji too."
"Koga assured us he'd be fine," I answer angrily. How can a gangster have such a hold over Ellie? I realise quickly that Ellie doesn't know what Kenji's connection is to the Team Rocket boss, not unless Koga or Looker has told her.

Morty pats me on the shoulder lightly. "Look Larry, I know you have a lot to unload on her and it doesn't take a psychic to guess that you want to hop on the next boat to Paldea and take her with you but go easy on her, please."

I nod and sidestep Morty to approach Ellie. Her head turns up to me so swiftly for a moment I am frozen by her stare. I see what Morty has been trying to explain, there is so much worry and unease tensing up her face I almost imagine her shattering into a million pieces with one more crisis.

I make myself step forward and bend down to crouch before her. Up close, I can now smell the pungent odour of the Golbat. It turns its open maw to me before pushing up against Ellie, nudging her chin up as it tries and fails to fit under it against her.

Ellie wraps her arms about the bat Pokemon like it is a cuddly Teddiursa and murmurs something softly into its tiny ears.

"Ellie-"

"I can't picture her," she interrupts me in a quiet voice.

I look back at her curiously and wait for her to continue.

"I can't see any of it, her or her Pokemon or you and yours."
I nod sympathetically. "Well I still have my Pokemon, you knew my Staraptor as a Staravia, you called him Star-Star."

I see a moment of recognition flash through Ellie's eyes but it is gone as quickly as it appeared.

"The fire," she murmurs fearfully.

"Don't think about that."

"I hurt my mom with it." She bites her lip and tears slip down her cheeks. "It's bad, I burned him with it and he's never forgotten."

"Ellie, I didn't realise how bad your voids were, I couldn't understand why you didn't remember me until Koga explained it. I am sorry I didn't tell you who I was sooner but..." I sigh and realise I need to confess. "It's been a difficult time for me too and maybe I wanted to block out the memory as well. Much as I've tried to find you, I haven't wanted to confront that day. I wasn't there for you, too many days I wasn't there and the day you needed me most I failed you, I failed both of you."

Ellie gives a whimper. "She died," she almost whispers the words, "and her Pokemon too, they were really strong but it wasn't enough, Echo, Duchess..."

Shock ices up inside me as she names some of her mother's Pokemon, names I have not heard mentioned in over ten years.

"And my puppy, Dobbie, he..." She clenches her fists and I see tiny grains of sand start to wisp up in twirling breezes. "He..." She sniffs and looks to me in puzzlement. "On the ship was...was he there?"

I reach into my jacket for the Dusk Ball resting there and pull it out. "Not exactly. We have a Ghost Pokemon in Paldea called Greavard, there is a belief that they are dog Pokemon who died and have been reborn. Usually they say it's dog Pokemon who died in the wild without ever interacting with a human."

"Now that's a nice story."

I jump at the sneering and turn round to face Koga. He stands over me with his arms folded and I wonder how long he has been there and how he approached so quietly.

"You were doing well until that," he adds bitingly. "I imagine Ellie's Pokemon was loved and interacted with until the end."

"The end," Ellie repeats dully.

I realise Koga's point even if I'm unhappy about his interruption.

"He was," I reassure Ellie, "I just...I want you to understand this Greavard may have no connection."

Ellie nods and extends a hand to hover it over the Dusk Ball. "Dobbie, you got him for me, didn't you?"

I nod as I think back to time spent in the caves in the South Province trying to find and capture a Houndour for Ellie. I remember getting sick from a Salazzle's poisonous bite and scratched at by angry Rufflets for my efforts. It cost me time in the office but I got some good honey from a Combee's nest and I succeeded in catching the abandoned runt of a Houndour litter. I can still remember the rage I returned home with, tired, dirty and thinking woefully of the mountain of paperwork waiting for me. I remember my wife opening the door to me and bursting into laughter at my state. With her laugh my anger faded and with Mia's excitable cry to see me and overjoyed hug when I presented her with her first Poke Ball, well of course it was all worth it then.

"Your mom and I didn't know what to think when you asked for your first Pokemon," I confess. I feel a smile bloom and die on my face. "You always said you wanted to be like me and train Normal Pokemon and you had such a fascination with Girafarig, you watched them grazing for hours but when we asked, you said you wanted a puppy."

"A fire puppy, I didn't know the fire would be bad."

"Ellie, it wasn't bad," I try to console her.

The Golbat gives a low whine in time to Ellie's own half-choked back sob.

Ellie shakes her head and squeezes the Golbat like it's a stress toy. A shudder escapes me as its large tongue slips out to soak her.

"Thank you Batty," she murmurs sweetly.

I glance up to Koga, he's so quiet it's unnerving. "Can you get Kenji's Pokemon back to him?" I pry.

He shrugs and glances out to the ocean briefly before looking back to us. "Maybe but maybe they're safer here, they can't be used against him then."
"I thought you said he'd be safe," I say crossly.

"Yes and so he will be," Koga answers dismissively, "but that's him, not his Pokemon."

"What does that mean?" Ellie asks worriedly. "Ratty is still with him, he must be, he's not here."

"Ellie, Kenji is in Team Rocket and he's with Troy, we can't wait in Johto for him, Troy will find you then," I try to reason with her.
Her eyes fix on me and she shakes her head. "His Pokemon need him, I need him."

"Ellie, he's alright you know. Maybe you can leave his Pokemon with someone."

I look up to Koga and will him to chime up and say something helpful but he's opted for silence again.

"No," Ellie says firmly. "I need to get them back to him and I need to know he's okay."

"And if that gets you caught by Troy again, what then?" I demand. "I can't lose you again!" I think of Morty's warning and try to calm myself. "Look," I address her more quietly, "Kenji knows we planned to head for Paldea and Koga has just said his Pokemon might be better with us. So, we'll go to Paldea and perhaps he'll follow."

Ellie seems to contemplate my suggestion but then she looks to the Golbat and over to the Sylveon and the colour drains from her face. "No, Batty and Fluffy say Kenji gets hurt all the time, he's always got cuts and bruises, he's not safe, he's not!"

"He is Ellie, he's the Team Rocket boss' brother!" I blurt out.

Ellie's eyes flash with a moment of shock but then they blur with an alarming blankness. I reach out to grab her shoulders and give her a shake, jostling the Golbat between us as I do. I am smacked in the face with a large wing for my efforts.

"Well now you've done it," Koga remarks sarcastically.

"Ellie!" Morty drops down in the sand behind her and grips her shoulders from behind. "Ellie come on now, come back, come back!"

I can feel my heart thumping anxiously against my chest as her stare remains blank like no one is in there. What have I done to her now?