Tanner took a seat at a round table and looked around at the heroes around them. The old men wearing colorful patterned robes, poring over tomes and scrolls. The sly foxes in hooded leather gear, gambling with heaps of gold. The knights in bright steel armor laughing over drinks.
He couldn't help but feel a little out of place. He was just a kid, lost in a world that he didn't know anything about.

Hoopa had gone to get food, which didn't make much sense to Tanner. Hoopa could get anything he wanted from a portal…

Either way, he waited. He glanced down at his scarf and tried to relax.

It was an odd situation to be in. Where he was. The fantasy world, and before that, the fairy forest. It was a bit overwhelming at times. That said, he wanted to see what other dimensions and adventures were out there. It was something nobody else had ever experienced.

He also wanted to go back and spend more time with his friends. He missed their time together, their training, and the adventures they went on. He felt comfortable there, he felt like that was where he was supposed to be. He had just started to get used to the pokemon world when he lost it again.

It was nothing compared to what he really lost though. He wanted to be himself. He wanted to be back home with his family.

"Here we go!" Hoopa came over and placed food and drinks on the table. "You can drink alcohol, right?"

"No? I'm in high school." Tanner frowned. He was also a tiny fox. The glass was as big as he was…

"Shame. I'll have yours then." Hoopa shrugged and pulled the drink over happily. "So you had a mohawk as human. What's that all about?"

"It's my music. A lot of the drummers in bands I listened to had mohawks." He didn't expect Hoopa to understand. Tessa and Landon certainly didn't.

"Oh, that makes more sense! Metal, right? You a metalhead?" Hoopa asked with his mouth half full of food.

"Wait, you know about rock metal?" Tanner sat up, surprised.

"Sure, I've been to a few concerts. They're fun. They'd blow Meloetta's mind. So what kind of metal you listen to? Screamo? You seem like a screamo guy."

"You've been to a few concerts!? When?" Tanner couldn't believe it. He wouldn't have guessed that Hoopa would listen to metal, even if he had the ability to go wherever he wanted. Hoopa didn't seem like he'd be into it.

"My guy, there isn't much I haven't done. It's an infinite multiverse, and I've seen most of it. It would be easier to ask what I haven't done. So… Screamo? Death metal? Power metal?"

"Power- yeah. Though I listen to other stuff too."

"Nice. I should have guessed." The legendary leaned back in his chair, balancing it farther back than it should have physically been able to go. "So, you like metal. What else do you do?"

"I… what do you mean?"

"Tell me about yourself! What are your likes, your dreams, your passions? Who is zis… Tannér ?" Hoopa slowly transitioned to a french accent as he spoke.

"Uh… I play drums. I go to school." He said with a raised eyebrow. There really wasn't much to talk about. Nothing exciting or interesting ever happened to Tanner. Nothing like… this.

"Drums! Nice. You in a band?" Hoopa asked, dropping his accent.

"Not really, no. I was going to play with a guy who played bass, but it didn't really pan out." It could have been the start of a cool band. That idea died when Ricky punched him.

"Shame. I'm sure you'll find a group when you get back. And maybe we can get some practice in while you're here. I don't know of any Zorua-sized drum sets, but I'm sure there's something out there. It's an infinite multiverse, after all." Hoopa sat back up straight and looked through a small ring, before continuing. Hoopa spoke quieter and avoided Tanner's gaze. "Do you have any family?"

"My mom," Tanner mumbled. He hoped that she was okay. It had been weeks that he had been gone. By now there would have been a police investigation into where he was. He would also have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on.

"Just your mom?"

"Yeah? My parents are divorced. I don't have any siblings or anything."

Tanner had lived most of his life without any family other than his mom. She was gone for work a lot of the time, so usually, it was just himself. He didn't know where his dad was and he didn't care. The guy was a deadbeat, Tanner didn't need him.

"Oh. That's rough… Listen, you'll be back before you know it, I promise. We can even go visit your mom once you get good enough illusions not to scare her."

"Really?" Tanner hadn't even considered that he could use illusions to go home and make sure that everything was okay. Being able to check in and assure his mother that he was alright was the one thing that had been on his mind since he had been here.

If he had been given some notice by Hoopa, he might have actually been willing to come be a Pokemon. The fact that it had happened without any warning at all made this whole adventure a lot harder than it had to be.

"Sure!" Hoopa continued. "We'll have to be careful about it, but we'd be able to go to your dimension no problem. The biggest issue is keeping hidden. Humans tend to freak out when they see something they don't understand."

"Alright. Yeah, I'd like that."

Tanner sat back in his chair and looked at the world around him. It was amazing. His past few days had been so overwhelming. His past few weeks had been overwhelming.

He felt a bit like a seed, blown about in a storm, waiting for a place to land. The storm just kept blowing around him though. It didn't stop. He didn't know what would happen next, and he wished that he at least had something to hold on to. Some kind of stability.

"What was the thing you needed to check on here?" Tanner tried not to sound irritated as he asked. This was starting to look like just another place to hang out.

"Hmm? Oh, I already checked it. There's a guy here who owes me a favor. He's busy, we'll have to come back later." Hoopa held out a ring and looked through it into a quiet library. The genie nodded, then the ring vanished.

Tanner nodded, then ate while he waited.

He thought about what Hoopa said earlier. Yes Tanner was feeling lost and overwhelmed. Yes, he wasn't sure about where he and Hoopa were going next, or even how they were going to find the legendary's lamp. He wasn't sure how he would help Hoopa, or what it would mean for him.

Tanner was still thinking about the words he heard in the fairy forest. His journey would end with him being alone. He didn't want that to be true, and fortunately he didn't put too much stock in psychedelic fruits or talking trees. Despite that, the words still echoed his fears. The fear that those words would be true no matter how they ended. That even if he went home he would still be lost and alone.

The booming laugh of a knight with armor that was far larger than necessary drew Tanner's attention. The crowd around him laughed as well, and he smiled.

Hoopa was right. This was okay. He could have fun with this. He could just… enjoy this adventure while it lasted. The best he could do was to enjoy it while he was in the middle of it.

"So, how long are we going to be here?" Tanner asked the genie.

"Depends. Probably long enough to make sure that you aren't tripping. You seeing anything unusual?" Hoopa raised an eyebrow as he asked.

"It's all unusual."

"Sure, sure. But anything… REALLY unusual?" Hoopa alternated raised eyebrows, making his forehead look like a wave.

"Yeah, you." Tanner chuckled.

"Pff. Whatever. We'll hang out here for a day then start your training tomorrow. I have a good idea of somewhere you might like."