Kairi had an aesthetic.

Her style and preferences revolved around cutesy wholesomeness, though she would wholeheartedly object to such an ordinary description. She was a simple girl. Her favorite color was pink, she liked fruity drinks, and she was capable of performing feats of strength and magic unheard of by mortal men.

Maybe that was why she was so thoroughly unnerved by the professor's manor. It looked haunted. It had to be.

"Are we sure this is the right place?" Kairi asked, warily looking around the decrepit woods that surrounded them.

She, Riku, and their new Pokémon – it still felt weird to refer to a sapient creature as theirs – stood outside what was obviously the lab of a mad scientist. What should have been a simplistic, idyllic manor was marred by the glum, decrepit forest that surrounded them. The two trees flanking the entrance to the manor were barren of leaves (and any semblance of life, really) and the two massive electrical coils adorning the roof of the house like antlers really drove home the Dr. Finkelstein look.

"No, you're right." Riku said, crossing his arms. "Definitely looks more like something from Halloween Town."

'There's a whole town dedicated to Halloween?!' Ralts squeed in their heads. 'That sounds amazing!'

"Lar."

'What do you mean, "easily excitable"?' Ralts pouted.

"Larv. Tar Larvitar."

'Well excuse me if I like this new adventure our new trainers are taking us on. This is awesome!'

Kairi smirked. Larvitar was right (or she assumed as much). Ralts was enthusiastic about everything, it seemed. Almost like a child in her endless wonder of things. Naive, certainly, but Kairi could get on board with the optimism that came with it.

They walked through the rusted front gate and got a better look at the peculiar fountain standing in the middle of the courtyard. Well, it was less of a fountain and more a raised circle of standing water with a statue of some reptilian creature atop the pedestal in the middle. A Pokémon, perhaps? It looked monstrous, to be sure.

'Oh, that's Groudon!' Ralts helpfully explained. Kairi ignored the blatant mind reading and focused on the answer. 'They call them the Lord of the Land.'

"Are they like the rulers of this world, then?" Riku asked.

'Nah, that'd be Arceus. The Creator. They made everything.' Ralts explained. Meanwhile, Larvitar nodded sagely in agreement. 'Also, Legendary Pokémon like Arceus and Groudon are genderless. Some of them answer to he or she, but most of them prefer "they".'

"Lar-lar. Vitar."

'Exactly!'

At their questioning look, Ralts translated. 'Larvy said that there's some out there, like Mew, that bounce between genders whenever they feel like it. It gets pretty confusing, so we just go with "they" to be safe.'

"I…see." Riku said. "I think we need to have a talk at some point about the history of your world. We wouldn't want to stick out because we didn't know something obvious."

'Ooh, history lessons! Yay!' Ralts cheered.

Normally, Kairi abhorred history, but she was willing to make an exception here. Something told her that the history of a world filled with powerful and cute monsters was sure to be exciting. She was drawn out of her musings by the sounds of battle. She and Riku immediately flicked their wrists, summoning their Keyblades and ducking behind cover. Were the Heartless already here?!

'Whoa!' Ralts cooed. 'Oh, wait, wait! It's just a Pokémon battle, look!'

"What?"

"Huh?"

Kairi peered over the wall they'd taken cover behind to a curious sight. A young boy – who couldn't be any older than twelve, honestly – was facing off against a rather diminutive spectacled man. Between them were a small fluffy fox-like creature and what looked like a sapient seed kernel. A comically large seed kernel, that is. Both were Pokémon, probably.

'Oh, right! I forgot you both are aliens.' Ralts realized, either ignorant or uncaring at the deadpan stares she received from the two off-worlders at the oversimplified title. 'We like to have Pokémon battles here for fun on this world!'

"Isn't that just… I don't know, animal abuse?" Kairi wondered, though she was quick to amend that question. "Not that I'm calling you animals or anything!"

'Nah, we like it!' Ralts explained. 'Pokémon like to fight and battle. It's in our blood! Or rocks… metal… plants… sometimes gas? Anyway, it's perfectly natural!'

"Really?" Riku asked incredulously.

'Yup! So long as it's not taken too far, it's how we grow! Some of us can even evolve into stronger forms as we grow. It's super cool!'

"And Pokémon trainers help you with this?" Kairi asked.

'Yup! When we're on the battlefield, sometimes it's hard to see the bigger picture. That's where trainers come in! They've got a certain, I don't know, spark that helps us be better… you know?'

Kairi did not know, but chose to trust her Pokémon's judgment on the matter.

"So trainers never enter battle alongside their Pokémon, then?" Riku inquired.

'Nah, most humans aren't as strong as Pokémon, so they'd just get hurt. Pokémon get hurt, too, but we heal faster. You two are different, though, from what I've seen. Keyblades and magic? So cool!'

"So… do we just approach?" Kairi asked uncertainly. "Is that considered rude?"

'I don't think so? You should be fine. Probably. We should say hi!'

Deciding that her Pokémon was too extroverted for her own good, Kairi stepped out and started walking towards the battle, Riku and their Pokémon following behind. She smirked as she realized the boy's affinity for primary colors; between his red hair (another redhead!), yellow jacket, and blue pants all made for a very vibrant color palette. It really made the boy seem younger than he probably was. The enthusiasm he held for the battle before him certainly matched.

"Tackle, Eevee!" The boy shouted. The little brown creature before him – seriously, were all Pokémon adorable little balls of happiness?! – bounced a bit and rolled itself into a ball before rocketing into the little sapient kernel.

"Huh. Little guy can move." Riku chuckled as the two combatants separated.

"No!" The bespectacled man lamented. "Quick, Sunkern! Absorb!"

Tendrils of green energy snaked out from the little fox creature, each stream of light feeding back into the oversized corn kernel. There was a visible change in – what did he call it? – Eevee's posture as its energy was sapped. Kairi's brows shot up; that looked scarily like magic. No magic she'd ever used, but magic nonetheless.

"One more time, Eevee!" The boy ordered with a grin on his face. "Tackle!"

Once more the brown ball of fluff slammed into the plant. Sunkern skidded across the ground before coming to a still, its eyes no more than disoriented swirls. Poor thing was out for the count. Twin beams of red light emerged from their ball devices – they probably had names for those – and the two Pokémon were retrieved.

The man, so overwhelmed by his defeat, fell forward onto his knees in an overly dramatic way. His glasses fell off his face before clattering to the stones below. Before Kairi could move to help him up, the man scrambled to his feet and placed the glasses on. He fixed the boy with an irritated frown. "You've made Chobin angry now! Even though Chobin lost, you're still not going past Chobin!"

Wait, was this not a friendly spar? Was the boy some delinquent trying to trespass?

"If you'd let me finish before throwing your Sunkern at me, I would have explained!" The boy cried out in frustration. "I'm just here to pick up my sister! THAT'S IT!"

The man – Chobin, apparently, if his tendency to refer to himself in the third person was any indicator – squinted and hunched forward as if to get a closer look at the boy. "Huh? Closer observation reveals that the subject is a child. Ergo, the subject is not a burglar!"

Kairi blinked once, then twice at the man's logic. She looked over at Riku, who appeared just as baffled as she was.

"But you two!" Chobin suddenly rounded on them, pointing an accusatory finger at Kairi and Riku. "You are not children! Therefore, you are burglars!"

"Whoa, hold on a second." Riku held his hands up defensively. "We're just looking for Professor Krane, that's all. We're not burglars."

"A LIKELY STORY!" Chobin pressed. "You are lucky this boy – "

"I already told you, my name's Michael!"

" – defeated my Pokémon, otherwise I would thrash you about myself!" Chobin declared. "I will have to retrieve one of my associates! They'll drive you from the property instead!"

"We're not burglars!" Kairi most certainly did not screech. She sent a pleading look towards Michael, who could only shrug helplessly.

"You said you were looking for Professor Krane?" He asked, ignoring Chobin's continued tirade. He shook his head. "You're not gonna find him here. This is Dr. Kaminko's lab. Professor Krane and his lab are northwest of here. After I find my sister, I'm heading back there myself, so I can guide you if you'd like."

"That'd be great." Riku said. "Thanks, kid."

"So where's your sister, then?" Kairi asked.

"Oh! Big brother!"

A younger child, perhaps eight years old by Kairi's estimate, came running out to meet Michael. Her blue hair was in stark contrast to her brother's red, and while his hair was pulled and slicked back in edgy spikes, she'd taken two clumps of her hair and tied them up into what could only be described as ears. Huh, they kind of resembled King Mickey's, but shrunk down.

"What are you doing here? Oh! Jovi gets it! Big brother, you got lost, didn't you?"

Michael looked absolutely done with his sister already. His eyes rolled, his posture slumped, and Kairi could tell it was taking every ounce of patience for the boy not to snap back with some sassy remark. "No, Jovi. I did not get – "

"Uh-uh-uh!" Jovie wagged her finger right in his face. "There's no hiding stuff from Jovi! Because Jovi knows!"

Kairi leaned over towards Riku, trying her best to keep her volume low as she whispered. "I wasn't like this when we were kids… was I?"

"Thank the Light, no."

"This big house is Dr. Kaminko's. Dr. Kaminko's job is to make incredible inventions!" Jovi explained. Meanwhile, Chobin puffed his chest a little with pride. "There's a whole bunch of neat machines like they have at the Pokémon HQ Lab. You should come in, big brother. You too, strangers!"

With that, the little blue-haired girl ran back inside, leaving three adults and one child stunned in her wake.

"So, you are her older brother, then, Michael?" Chobin asked, his right arm poised across his stomach in something akin to pride or arrogance. "Sometimes, she comes here. She likes to wander everywhere. Chobin has a hard time keeping her out of trouble, not to mention out of the Doctor's hair. Well, in any case, you are welcome to come inside and look. I trust you will not be like your sister and keep your hands off the inventions inside, yes?"

"...Right." Michael agreed. "Wasn't really planning on touching anything. Just wanted to bring my sister home. That's it."

"Very well, then!" Chobin said, making his way up the steps leading into the manor. "Come along! You too, miscreants, but Chobin will be keeping an eye on you…"

Michael glanced back at them and offered a mouthed "sorry" before following the diminutive scientist inside. Both shrugging, Kairi and Riku entered as well, their Pokémon following along curiously.

'What a strange human.' Ralts commented as they walked through the doorway. 'He just kept talking and talking, and no one had a chance to say anything.'

"Larv."

Ralts somehow managed to gasp telepathically. 'I don't…! You take that back!'

The inside of Kaminko's manor was impressive, Kairi mused. It wasn't anywhere near Ansem the Wise's setup at Radiant Garden, but it was leagues more sophisticated than what she saw at Pyrite. A massive computer was set up along the far wall of the lobby, with various dials and measuring devices set along its width. A large screen sat in the center, and a very proud Chobin stood nearby, probably ready to give some sort of grand speech and presentation.

"Behold! The inventions of the inestimable Dr. Kaminko!" Chobin boasted. "Truly the number one in the world! Chobin is full of admiration! Why does Chobin know that they are number one worldwide? Allow me to explain!"

Kairi exchanged bemused glances with Riku and Michael, while Ralts giggled in the background and Larvitar huffed impatiently. Chobin then proceeded to give a 10-minute presentation about how grand and innovative Dr. Kaminko is, all while somehow failing to explain exactly how the good Doctor's inventions worked and would help the world. If anything, the inventions sounded absolutely counterproductive in every way.

Purposefully uncomfortable sandals?

Light bulbs that purposefully use up more energy than necessary?

A refrigerator that saves power by letting food spoil?

If Cid ever came to this world, Kairi was certain he would raze this lab to the ground in a hail of Gummi ship fire. She wasn't sure if that would necessarily be a bad thing, really. Why in the world would someone purposefully make a calendar with only 300 days in it?

"Well, that was enlightening." Riku deadpanned. "Michael, weren't you saying you needed to pick up your sister?"

"Right!" The boy cried out, latching onto the excuse like a lifeline. "I think I see her in the next room over!"

Chobin gasped. "Ooh, that hooligan of a child! She's undoubtedly distracting Dr. Kaminko again. Quickly, take your sister and leave! As an appreciator of incredible inventions, she is always welcome, but the doctor is working on an invention of the utmost importance today. He is not to be disturbed!"

She and Riku made to follow the twelve year old, and got about a step in to the Doctor's office when they heard Jovi again.

"Are you going home already, big brother? But you just got here! Oh… Jovi gets it! Jovi has to show you how to go home, right? Okay! That's what Jovi will do! Jovi will take you home!"

Michael had the patience of a saint.

"Jovi will visit again, Doctor! Bye-bye! Let's go, Mimi!"

After calling over a small mouse-like Pokémon, Jovi all but dragged her exasperated brother past Kairi and Riku, out of the office, and out the front door. Kairi found herself aimlessly following along; she and Riku didn't really have much reason to stick around, especially when Michael was willing to guide them to Professor Krane's lab. She and Riku offered a half-hearted goodbye to Chobin on their way out, and before they knew it, they were passing by the Groudon statue.

"Uhh…" Michael trailed as they walked up to a moped parked outside the gates. He glanced between the two adults. "I can fit Jovi on my moped, but I definitely can't fit you both too."

"Oh, that won't be an issue." Riku waved him off. He walked off and around the corner. "I parked my bike over here. Let me go get it."

About a minute later – during which Ralts and Larvitar looked absolutely smug as they waited for the reveal – Riku came cruising by with glider. Michael and Jovi were gobsmacked.

"Whoa." Michael gaped. "I've seen some pretty cool bikes, but that's something else, mister."

"It's like Wes'!" Jovi declared. "Well, except without the wheel."

"Wes?" Riku asked.

"Y'know.. Wes." Michael unhelpfully clarified. At their blank expressions, he continued. "Wes Leo? The Snagger? That guy who cleaned up Orre 5 years ago?"

"Jovi doesn't think they know who Wes is, big brother."

"Huh. Not from around here, then, I'm guessing?" Michael asked, earning a couple of head shakes. "Ah, well he's kind of a big deal around here. He's got this awesome bike with one wheel, but the rest of the thing floats. Looks awesome."

"I see." Riku said, nodding sagely as if he understood. Kairi scoffed; boys and their bikes.

"Oh!" Michael said as he started up his moped. Jovi hopped onto the back of it just as Kairi, Ralts, and Larvitar joined Riku on his glider. "I don't think I ever got your names."

"I'm Kairi, and that's Riku." The Princess of Heart said before gesturing to their Pokémon. "That's Ralts and Larvitar."

"Lar."

'Hi there!'

"Whoa. First time I've heard a Pokémon talk in my head like that." Michael chuckled. "I knew psychic types could sometimes do that, but to hear it firsthand is weird… but, like, in a good way. Well, you ready to go? If we leave now, we can get there before sundown."

"Sounds good." Riku said, bringing his glider alongside the boy's moped. "Lead on."

Kairi expected a state-of-the-art research facility, based on what Michael and Jovi told them while they rode.

What they were greeted by instead was a soot-stained building with a smattering of shattered windows and broken dreams. More than a few people and Pokémon lay defeated on the ground, many of them sporting injuries of varying degrees.

"Arceus, what happened?!" Michael exclaimed, bringing his moped to a screeching halt. He and Jovi clambered off and ran straight for the damaged building, the former with worry and the latter almost on the verge of tears. Kairi and Riku were hot on their heels, Ralts and Larvitar trying to keep pace with their longer-legged trainers.

'So much pain…' Ralts lamented as she ran after her trainer.

They all ran up to the nearest person sprawled out on the paved pathway, who was lying next to a large beaked man with four arms. A Pokémon, maybe? Both man and Pokémon were bruised and beaten; the man was slumped up against the nearby fence while the Pokémon was unconscious next to him.

"Sebastian!" Michael knelt next to the man. "Sebastian! What happened?!"

The man, Sebastian, tried to open his swollen eye. "Oh, thank Arceus you're safe. I worried you and your sister were inside when it happened. I'd forgotten you went to Kaminko's."

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked, kneeling down beside the man. She wished she could whip out her Keyblade and heal the man, but a regretful shake of the head by Riku reminded her of the World Order. She hated that rule sometimes. Instead, she began to carefully look over his wounds to see if there was anything she could do without her magic.

"I've had worse." Sebastian chuckled before wincing. Likely some bruised or broken ribs. He turned his head back to Michael. "Cipher. They're back, and they took the Professor."

"Cipher?" Riku asked while looking over the Pokémon's injuries.

Sebastian looked confused for a moment. Then he chuckled and immediately regretted the decision, wincing in pain. "Your friends aren't from around here, are they Michael? Cipher's the local criminal organization here in Orre. They experiment on Pokémon, turn 'em into Shadow Pokémon by closing their hearts. They had stronger Shadows this time, though. Didn't behave or look like any Pokémon I'd ever seen. Seemed more shadow than Pokémon."

That set off all kinds of alarms for Kairi. A quick glance at Riku confirmed he was thinking the same thing. That sounded an awful lot like the Heartless.

Sebastian's Pokémon groaned as it came back to consciousness. It winced in pain, but managed to stagger onto its feet. The creature was only a couple inches taller than her, but Kairi could tell it was in another weight class. This thing had muscles on its muscles. "Champ."

"Hey, bud." Sebastian grinned. "Glad to see you up."

"Machamp, can you help bring Sebastian inside?" Michael asked, clearly familiar with the Pokémon already. He received an affirmative nod, but suddenly his eyes flew wide open. "Wait… Mom!"

Michael and Jovi sprinted inside as if their lives depended on it. Riku and Larvitar were right behind them, the urgency not lost on either. Kairi felt Ralts jump on her back as she made to follow as well. She spotted Machamp gently drawing Sebastian into its arms just before they left.

The inside of the lab was a mess. Papers and stray bits of metal and tech were strewn about as if a small storm had blown through. The secretary, understandably, was still hiding under her desk, though she had not gotten off without a few cuts and scrapes. Thankfully, there did not appear to be any casualties, which Kairi knew was likely when the Heartless were involved.

While Michael and Jovi scoured the lab for their missing mother, Kairi and Riku went around and helped – and healed, when they could get away with it – those who were injured in the attack.

'These Heartless sound scary.' Ralts gulped. The little empath clearly picked up on Kairi's recent thoughts. 'Is it that bad?'

Wordlessly, lest any eavesdroppers pick up on the conversation, Kairi thought of the threat the Heartless posed to the many worlds they'd visited. Images of the Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed flashed through her mind as she tried to convey just how serious the threat was, and how some worlds had fallen to the Heartless in the past.

'We'll…' Ralts hesitated a moment. 'We'll help too! This is our world, and we're not going to let it fall without a fight!'

"Lar!" Riku's Pokémon heartily agreed, thumping his chest once with a stubby green paw.

"Thanks, guys." Riku smirked. "Sounds like we've got some training to do, then. First, though, did anyone see where Michael and Jovi went?"

Kairi's head perked up as she scanned around. Where had the kids gone?

'Over there!' Ralts exclaimed, pointing towards a side room. 'I think they found their mom. There's a lot of 'happy' and 'relieved' over there, so she's probably okay.'

Kairi – with Riku and the Pokémon in tow – navigated past the mess littering the hallway and entered the room in question. Inside were Michael and Jovi, both of who were fiercely hugging a taller woman clothed in a purple dress and pink coat. The overly formal wear and the bun atop her head suggested she was a person of importance in the lab. The woman was just as relieved to see her children, as fresh tears flowed down her face. To the side stood a scuffed up man in a lab coat, watching the scene unfold with a degree of fondness.

"Is everybody okay?" Riku asked, cutting through the emotion-filled atmosphere like a knife through butter. Part of Kairi wanted to snap at her friend and scold him for interrupting an emotional moment, but the rational part of her mind realized that ensuring that everyone was okay was the priority here, not to mention assessing the situation properly.

"Yes, we're all okay." The woman sniffed, wiping away her errant tears. "Who are you?"

"Oh, this is Riku and Kairi." Michael explained, tearing away from his mother's embrace. "Jovi and I met them at old man Kaminko's. They were looking for the professor."

"Oh." Their mother replied, a look of sadness returning to her face. "Well, I'm afraid your timing couldn't be worse. Had you arrived earlier today, I'm sure he could have met with you…"

"Any idea where they might have taken him, Miss…?" Kairi asked, trailing off with the lack of a name.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The woman admonished herself. "Lily Ryuto. I wish we'd met under better circumstances. We don't know. At least not yet. A lot of our equipment was destroyed during the attack, but we might be able to track him once we repair it."

"How long will that take?" Kairi asked, trying – and failing – to keep the impatience out of her tone. The sooner they found the professor, the sooner they could find Sora.

"Easy." Riku cautioned, laying a calm hand on her shoulder. "Sorry. We're looking for a friend of ours and we think the professor might know where he is."

"Oh?" Lily intoned with a raised, bruised eyebrow. "Who are you looking for? Maybe we could help."

"His name's Sora, and we're pretty sure he's traveling with somebody named… Ash Ketchum?" Kairi asked, hesitating at the last second in recollection of the man's name.

Lily snapped her fingers. "I knew your names sounded familiar! The professor said Sora mentioned you when he and Mr. Ketchum visited. He's looking for you as well!"

Kairi exchanged a confused glance with Riku. Sora was asking about them? Did he think he was on another world, rather than an entirely new reality? Something about this didn't quite add up. "That's a surprise. We weren't even aware he was here until recently. He knew we were here?"

"Apparently." Lily answered. Her mood dropped as she sighed. "Unfortunately, the professor's office was destroyed thoroughly during the attack. Cipher didn't want any of the professor's research left intact, so they made sure nothing was recoverable. Their Pokédex contact information would've been in that as well. We don't have any way of contacting them, I'm so sorry."

Kairi frowned. One step forward, two steps back.

Business as usual.

"Don't be, nothing about this is your fault." Riku assured her. Then he paused. "Pokédex?"

There was a beat of silence, and Kairi immediately knew this was something they should have known about.

"Wow, you really aren't from around here, are you?" Michael chuckled. Lily lightly backhanded his shoulder. "Err, sorry. It's just… everyone knows what a Pokédex is. Are you two even trainers?"

"We… didn't have Pokémon where we're from." Kairi chuckled nervously. "This is all new to us. Ralts and Larvitar here were some of the first Pokémon we met, actually, and we just kind of hit it off. We're not… trainers."

"Huh." The scientist off to the side hummed. "I recall the professor saying something similar about Sora not being a trainer, but apparently he has amnesia."

Amnesia. Well, that was certainly a good way of explaining any lack of knowledge about this world. At least that lazy bum could think on his feet still.

"Our communications are down, but let me see…" Lily walked over to a cabinet, one that didn't look quite as damaged as the others. "I wonder if… aha! They still work, too!"

Lily pulled out two devices that looked like Gummi phones, but different. One looked more scuffed up than the other, and more than a few soot marks tarnished the otherwise sleek piece of technology. "I can't register you as trainers until our system comes back online, but their default states and programs should help you learn as you go, especially if you intend to keep Ralts and Larvitar."

"Well, if they're willing to stay with us…" Riku trailed.

'You can't get rid of us that easily!' Ralts cheered in everyone's head. Lily and the other scientist flinched in surprise. 'Oops, sorry! I forget not everyone's used to that.'

"That's… quite alright." Lily sweatdropped. She turned and looked Riku and Kairi in the eyes. "Tell you what. It takes a special kind of person to befriend the Pokémon you have. Ralts are incredibly perceptive and receptive to emotions, and Larvitar are usually quite stubborn and choosy about their trainers. That tells me you're trustworthy, at least. We could really use some help finding and rescuing the professor."

"We were going to offer our help anyway." Kairi shrugged. She smiled when Riku didn't object.

Lily smiled. "Exactly my point. Help us build this place back up to working shape, help us rescue the professor, and we'll do everything we can to reunite you with Sora. We'll also teach you the basics about Pokémon and Pokémon battling. You'll need it if you're going to help us rescue Professor Krane, let alone survive out here."

"How long do you figure it'll take?" Riku asked. "Not that we're in any hurry or want to abandon you. Just curious."

Lily scanned the room carefully, her eyes undoubtedly picking up on details that would have otherwise been missed by the untrained eye. "A couple of days, at least. We'd provide you food and shelter, of course."

"That would be great, Lily." Kairi smiled. "Thank you so much."

"We should be the ones thanking you." Lily chuckled. "You brought my children home unharmed and are willing to help complete strangers when you have every reason to stay out of this trouble. Please, this is the least we can do."

Obvious tragedy that this was aside, this worked out well. Staying and helping would be a good way to get truly ready to find Sora. Assuming they could repair the lab and find the professor soon, they'd be well on their way to establishing contact with her lazy bum. On top of that, they could learn more about this world and how things worked, and learn what Ralts and Larvitar were capable of. If Pokémon really were as powerful as she'd heard, they would be great allies to have around. Plus, she actually enjoyed being around Ralts, and she knew Riku felt the same about Larvitar. Making some new friends was always a plus, in her book.

"Dont you worry!" Michael boasted, pointing a thumb at his chest. "I'll teach you everything you need to know about – wait, ow!"

Michael was summarily shoved aside as Jovi marched up to a startled Kairi and bemused Riku.

"Don't listen to big brother, he only has an Eevee – "

"You don't even have a Pokémon, doofus!"

" – so Jovi will take care of you and teach you everything about Pokémon! I'll make you Pokémon champions before you know it!"

Kairi glanced up at an exasperated Lily, an irate Michael, and a snickering Riku. Ralts was rolling on the floor with laughter while Larvitar tried to remain stoic. The quivering shoulders betrayed him, though. She gave an uneasy chuckle as Jovi stared up at her with enthusiastic, almost manic eyes.

Well… at least this adventure wouldn't be uninteresting, she supposed.