Chapter 3. - Finalmente

White.

As far as Kyle could see, all of Snowpoint lay covered in the silky frozen white. Only did the rooftops of houses and spires of office buildings breach the milky expanse, jutting out into the skies of overcast grey and white clouds. Pure and pristine was the layer of snow that reached across everything, and Kyle could not help but admire its beauty.

Unfortunately, to his chagrin, this also meant that everywhere around him was as cold as the dickens. Years had gone by since he'd been anywhere with freezing temperatures, only used to lounging around in lovely 70-75F weather, and now to be so swiftly enveloped by the all consuming frost… it quite frankly made him reconsider being out here at all.

" Gahhhh … where is this blasted boat already? "

Standing around the relatively abandoned dock for the past 15 minutes, Kyle checked his phone to see the time nearing 10:20 at this juncture. Even late as usual, it seemed the road ahead wouldn't be so kind to him after all this time. He leaned on the railing that overlooked the docks and watched the waves crash half frozen against the stony wall.

While boredom was not unfamiliar to him, it only became accentuated by the frigid air and lack of distinct colors to focus on. With his hands in his pockets though, he felt Apollo's Luxury Ball fit within his hands; A comfortable feeling fidget toy that brought some familiar solace, knowing his partner was always with him no matter what. The thought of letting him out for some fresh air in the meanwhile crumbled with the knowledge that Apollo despised the cold as much as he did, and no matter how much he wanted to have his partner beside him, he wanted even more to ensure Apollo could enjoy himself.

As Kyle rubbed the ball's surface, he felt it jiggle in his hand just a tad.

"I know bud, I know." He rubbed it once more, gently tapping his index finger across it. "Just wait a bit longer, we'll be somewhere warm soon ok?"

Kyle knew well Apollo's distaste for the inside of a PokeBall, even his upgraded Luxury Ball. But with as limited movement as he could manage, he conceded to being lugged around like this until there was truly something worth seeing. For now though, he would have to wait. Patiently, it seemed, until-

PHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The sudden foghorn blaring through the distant foggy waters nearly blew Kyle back with its entrance, only now was he able to make out the hull of a reasonably large cargo ship in the coarse sea. Kyle watched it dock nearby over the course of another few minutes, marching up alongside a small number of other passengers, only to be stopped by one of the sailors.

"Hold it," The tallest of the bunch stopped Kyle with an arm by his chest, Kyle noting the man had the gall to wear short sleeves in the snow. "Cargo gets loaded first. Passengers need to wait."

"Okay," Kyle rubbed his arms to shake off the cold. "And uh… how long does that usually take?"

"Luckily we have a pretty light haul this go round, so I'd estimate…" He flipped through his clipboard a few pages, and glanced down to Kyle. "2-3 hours."

"You're joking. " Kyle's shoulders drooped at hearing the estimation. "The tickets said the boat departed at 10- "

"That's what they all say," One of the shorter sailors piped in, lugging a cart behind him. This one had the sensibility to wear a parka that nearly swallowed him whole. "Never listen to boat ticket times, kid."

The frozen trainer planted his head into the nearby pole with aggravation, sending a reverberation up the metal pole and prompting a layer of thick snow to PLAFdown atop him.

X-X

Seeing as the two had their fair share of waiting to be done, seeking warmth inside the nearest cafe seemed to be the best option. Taking a corner seat that lay secluded from the rest of the eating area, Apollo languished on an oversized cushion as Kyle brought him a plate of Razz Berry crepes.

"They were out of Pecha, hope this'll do."

As Kyle laid the strange looking food before Apollo, the Venusaur tilted his head and snorted.

"Saur Vee? Venus aur. "
' No PECHA? This is Heresy.'

Kyle chuckled to himself at Apollo's sarcasm, smiling at seeing Apollo graciously chowing down on his breakfast, even if it wasn't anything he was used to. Once he was assured Apollo would be content with his own breakfast, he once more wandered up to the counter to choose his own meal for the morning. Only a short line persisted at the register, an older gentleman at the front, and a businesswoman behind him. Kyle stood at the end of the line and glanced at the menu of mainly sweet breakfast items.

Wearing a fashionable blue parka with a fur lined hood, Kyle blended in rather well with the crowd in an attempt to keep himself on the down low. He remembered well the hassle of crowds and reporters edging to get a comment, and decided that this particular mission of his would be best done incognito. Fortunately, the sleepy looking cafe looked to be safe from any hustle and bustle that might recognize him. He prodded forwards to glance at the menu a bit closer-

"Um, excuse me?"

The businesswoman in line turned to meet Kyle's eyes. Kyle, having gotten no sleep earlier, blinked a few times before recognizing that the woman was speaking to him.

"Oh, uh yes?"

Kyle regarded the woman with a short glance, immediately picking out her lengthy hazel haircut, intuitive and piercing eyes, and a microphone in her handbag, which she seemed to be picking up. He glanced back to the menu, still trying to piece together what he wanted to eat at this hour. Amidst chocolate pancakes, berry crepes, eggs and toasts and bacons, it became increasingly hard to-

' Microphone? '

"You… wouldn't happen to be Kyle Hall , would you?"

' Oh SHIT. '

Before she was able to pull out the microphone, Kyle put his hood on and shook his head, donning a slightly deeper and gruffer voice.

" Ah, no. I get that a lot, but we're not related. "

The businesswoman balked for a moment, wondering if she'd misrecognized the trainer.

"Oh, my apologies I just-"

Now taking a more critical look, the realization of what Kyle was doing lit up in her mind. She squinted with recognition at him, before crossing her arms still with a microphone in hand.

"...Has that ever worked for you before?"

Kyle sighed to himself again, looking up slowly so as not to garner any more attention.

"...look, I'm on a little bit of a time crunch, can we just-"

"I saw you trying to get on that boat earlier, it's not leaving for another hour."

" Woman- "

" Next in line! "

The business woman turned reporter turned back for a moment before looking back to Kyle with an idea forming in her mind…

"...Tell you what. I'll buy you breakfast in exchange for answering three quick questions. After that, I'll leave you alone, and I'll make sure no one here knows who you are. Deal?"

While Kyle eyed the reporter dubiously, any other options would no doubt lead to undue stress on him and Apollo, so for the meanwhile…

"...deal."

"Wonderful!"

The reporter turned in place, looking towards the man at the register with a look of certainty.

"Two breakfast combos please, and toss in two Espresso Freezes."

"I uh, don't do well with cold stuff-"

"Nonsense, coffee always helps with boat rides."

While taken aback at this reporter's enthused forwardness, Kyle didn't have the wherewithal to argue against it. He simply shrugged and accepted the breakfast platter handed to him by the man behind the counter, and took the tray and his beverage back to where Apollo languished with a freshly finished plate. The reporter set her tray down and eagerly knelt beside the Venusaur.

"Oh my gosh… this must be Apollo , right?"

"Yep," Kyle offered a semi forced smile as the Venusaur froze in place for a moment, now being petted by a stranger. "The one and only."

"Urr… Saur?"
'Um… what's happening?'

While the reporter rubbed Apollo's head for just a moment, she soon collected herself and sat at Kyle's table in a more professional manner, bringing out her microphone once more.

" Ahem… Kyle, it's an absolute honor to meet you. My name is McKenzie Reigel, I'm with the station in Goldenrod City."

"Johto eh?" Kyle tilted his head some. "Long way from home aren't you?"

"I'm working on a story about Cynthia, but of course the Champion of Sinnoh is never actually in Sinnoh anymore. " McKenzie sat back with a huff, obviously disgruntled with the conversation's subject matter. After a second, she sat back forwards with more intent towards Kyle, setting up a small stand for her mic between the two of them. " Buuut, if I can just get a short little interview with you, I think that'll more than make up for my trip!"

"Beats going home with nothing." Kyle sat forwards again and spoke a bit lower in volume. "Say, um… any chance this can just… not end up plastered over the news? I'm trying to lay low here…"

The attentive reporter puts a hand over her chest and nods. "You have my word as a News Woman."

"...Any chance you could give me a different word-"

"First question."

" *Sigh* Okay… go on."

McKenzie leaned forwards, repositioning the mic between the two.

"...Where have you and Apollo been for the past three years…?"

Kyle chuckled to himself under his breath, slowly picking at the still warm breakfast on the table.

"Well… Just, home , really. Kind of retired early what with… y'know…-"

"The incident in Kalos."

"Yeah…"

"I'm so sorry that happened to Apollo and you, Kyle. It broke the world's heart when you two retired from the battling scene."

…Kyle's gaze looked down at Apollo, laying his head down on the fuzzy carpet, averting his eyes from the conversation.

"...Ours too… Which," Kyle put his attention back on the topic at hand. "-is why we stayed home and out of the spotlight for so long. Apollo was in no condition to travel, much less battle. We figured the media and the eager trainers would be best left behind us."

"That's completely understandable," McKenzie, somehow in the span of the 4 seconds Kyle wasn't looking at her, now had a notepad and scribbled furiously into her notepad. "Sometimes after a crash like that, there's no place like home."

"Indeed…" Kyle began to pick up a piece of his somehow still sizzling bacon, before McKenzie spoke up again.

"Question two."

Kyle paused for a moment, deciding to take an earnest bite of that bacon before nodding.

"Goh ohn."

"Well, in the time that you and Apollo left the spotlight, how has he recovered?"

The reporter turned in place to give a bright smile to the Venusaur, who did his best to offer one in return.

"Considering you're out here in Snowpoint of all places," She turned back in place to look towards Kyle. "He must've recovered to a good degree."

"I mean…" Kyle stopped for a second, twiddling the bacon in his hands after swallowing. "He certainly has healed, but his strength is something that comes and goes. It hasn't come back fully yet, but he's not giving up."

Kyle leaned down a little more to Apollo's level, offered a cheery smile with a gentle stroke under the Venusaur's chin. " Right bud? "

Apollo's previous aversion from the conversation faded into slightly begrudging confidence. He nodded and leaned his head onto Kyle's hand.

"Venusaur saur. "
'Not while I have you. '

Kyle's smile grew from cheery to heartfelt, rubbing Apollo's head a bit before sitting up once more. McKenzie seemed to catch Kyle's smile herself, still scribbling in her notepad.

"Well I'm glad to hear that, but I do notice I don't see the rest of your team…"

"Ah, yeah… once I retired, I thought it best to make sure they had other friends and trainers to take care of them."

"I see. They were a spirited few if I recall correctly."

"Oh yeah," Kyle began to laugh to himself while delving into those memories. "Had me a handful of a team back in those days! They got into so much trouble, arceus the stories I could tell…"

"I'm all ears. ~" McKenzie leaned forwards a bit more and leaned on the table.

Kyle nearly launched into a story that had tickled the forefront of his mind before stopping himself, catching on to what the reporter was doing.

"Hey! You said only three questions!"

"And I've only asked two! Technically, everything else was just me remembering, and you wanting to answer."

Kyle pointed a finger at her with squinted eyes, keeping it there while he chewed on another piece of bacon.

"... you're good. "

"Best in class.~" The reporter put her notepad down and took a breath before continuing. "Ok… last question…"

"I'm ready."

McKenzie looked between Kyle and Apollo, then out to the ship. Her gaze stayed there while she spoke slowly and cautiously:

"...Why leave now?"

Kyle mulled over the question in his head, thinking on how best to respond without divulging any more information than was absolutely necessary. He leaned forwards (pushing his breakfast aside for the moment) and let his gaze fall downwards for a second.

"...It's a complicated answer, but to sum up-"

"Complicated is better. Take your time."

The retired trainer shot a glare at the reporter, taking in another breath while rethinking his answer.

"Okay… how about this… Me and Apollo were beginning to lose hope. Hope that we'd… ever , get back to how things were. We weren't leaving the house, we just sat there and… well, we weren't moving forwards. Apollo was getting better, and I was still helping him but we only continued to stagnate. We just… stayed stuck in our ways."

"I know how that feels…"

"...I didn't realize it until it was too late, but thankfully I just recently had lunch with Professor Rowan. He… inspired me to start taking more steps forward again. We're heading to Paldea, admittedly somewhere I've never been, and… without revealing any sensitive information, we're gonna try something we haven't before."

"Wow," McKenzie finished her thought in her notepad, putting it down and regarding Kyle with a look of surprised admiration. "That's a pretty big step forward, adventuring in a new land after what happened… must be something worthwhile out there."

Kyle huffed to himself, nodding but keeping mum. McKenzie kept quiet, just waiting for Kyle to speak once more… to which, he kept his lips pursed shut. Fiddling with her notepad once more, the reporter sighed to herself and took a few more notes.

"Guess you're done humoring me, huh?"

"There's just some things I can't talk about," Kyle crossed his arms and offered a consoling expression. "Even to a top-of-the-line reporter."

McKenzie offered back a courteous smirk, before packing her mic and notepad into her back.

"I fully understand Mr. Hall. I won't intrude into your privacy any longer."

McKenzie graciously offered her hand to Kyle, to which he grasped it and shook it firmly… but something about how easily she seemed to give up didn't sit right with him. Even with how professional she came off, a gentle aire of defeat settled across her persona.

"Thank you again, Kyle. I wish you and Apollo the best."

With that, the reporter figure stepped away, headed towards the glass door.

It was after only a few more steps that she took, her heels clacking against the tile floors, that the steaming scent of his breakfast wafted against Kyle's nose once more. While the first time it tickled his senses, it had reminded him of something distant; yet he remained distracted from the thought with the reporter in front of him. But now that it returned to him… that memory it recalled replayed in his mind's eye-

-like it had happened merely days ago.

X-X

There could be no better nights than this.

A forest clearing in the middle of nowhere, the skies aglow with stars and the galaxy's grace, no light pollution to speak of. A roaring campfire with roasting food and sweets all around it, and best of all were the friends that surrounded him:

As Kyle sat on an oak trunk, he admired the heartwarming view of his team having fun around the campfire: A Floatzel and a Heracross cuddling tiredly on the dirt to his right, Apollo and an Aggron wrestling playfully to his left, a Noivern hanging down from a tree on the other side while chewing on their food, and a Zoroark leaning onto his side tiredly.

No one had a single care in the world, nor a worry to darken their mind. Kyle could feel no darkness, even with the night around him. Hunger may have rumbled within his belly, but a certain happy fullness crept into his heart with each passing second… being in the middle of a Gym tour in Unova, there could've been no interruption or sudden happening that could tear him from this happiness.

Kyle sat there and closed his eyes momentarily, just drinking it all in. This became the thing he cherished most, knowing that nights like this were the reason he did any of it in the first place. How could he ever forget such a scene?

X-X

…Indeed , how could he?

Kyle's gaze focused back onto the now, with only Apollo at his side. Compared to the roaring campfire of the past, his current surroundings weren't as warming, but even so it reminded him that even an adventure such as this cannot continue without company. He had but Apollo now, and the only other company he had was walking away.

"Hey," Kyle called out, standing up halfway. McKenzie just barely opened the door, but stood there as Kyle called out to her.

"…you um… interested in hearing some of those stories I mentioned…?"

…It was a strange sensation, being happy to see the smile of a stranger, especially McKenzie's sudden uplifted grin of all things. Kyle couldn't explain it, but once the seat in front of him no longer lay empty, the warmth he sought felt just a bit stronger.

Apollo had little care that the reporter had come back, but something in Kyle's smile reminded him of old times too. As the two continued to talk, the Venusaur leaned into Kyle's leg gently, hoping that this feeling he missed didn't go away any time soon.

X-X

Open ocean and salty sea air came as a refreshing change of scenery for the Grass Type 'Mon, Apollo sitting happily by the side railing of the ship and taking in the soothing waves and cerulean waters. Kyle on the other hand-

" Hurngh… "

Having puked up what little remained in his stomach for the third day in a row, Kyle leaned on the railing and closed his eyes.

" Fish… why do they serve nothing but fish on this Arceus forsaken boat… "

"Saur venusaur vee."
'I thought you liked fish.'

"Sure," Kyle slumped down and sat next to his partner, back to the railing. "Fish is great… But it's a different story when it's every day for three days in a row… "

Apollo chortled a low and rumbling chuckle as he allowed Kyle to lean on him, his previously worried spirits worked over by the change in scenery.

"Vee Venusaur… Saur Venusaur."
'Oh you'll be ok… I'm here for you.'

Kyle's first reaction was simply a lighthearted smile, still focused on not heaving over the railing once more. As soon as that wave of nausea faded though, that little snippet of encouragement pinged something in the back of his head. He looked to his partner with a more serious expression this time, measuring those words with a bit more recognition.

Apollo hadn't reassured Kyle of anything in months it'd seemed, Kyle was nearly always the source of comfort and optimism for both parties. Perhaps it was too soon to say, but a single comment of reassurance from Apollo let Kyle know that indeed, the change of scenery was working its magic already.

Kyle rubbed behind Apollo's ears gently, causing the Venusaur to tilt his head and close his eyes a little. A gentle rumble of approval and a nudge into Kyle's hand was the trainer's reward, a slow creeping smile of warmth spreading across his expression.

"Yeah…" Kyle finally replied. "I'll be ok if I've got you."

Apollo more eagerly pushed his head into Kyle's hand, Kyle keeping it there firmly and happily. It only took another moment for Apollo to flump himself sideways onto Kyle, the whole 280+ lbs of Venusaur nearly toppling Kyle over.

"Woah- Okay! Jeez, I'll give you more rubs, don't worry!"

"Rurr… Saur."
'Rurr… You better.'

"Yeah yeah," Kyle massaged behind his ears gingerly, already feeling that nausea fading some with his partner cuddled next to him. "But only because you're such a big goofball ."

Apollo chuffed at the statement, but nonetheless melted into Kyle's fingers, a low and sustained grumble of pleasure at the massage made barely audible above the tides behind them. Kyle, encouraged by the lovely song of contentment, worked his way down the Venusaur's neck, massaging down over and over to work the stiffness out of his neck; a common massage technique that seemed to really help his partner out over the years.

It didn't take long for his hands and fingers to work their way down to his upper back, where he usually stopped… His hands tensed up, just shy of the spot he dreaded to even look at now. Maybe he shouldn't have-

"Vee."
'Lower.'

…Kyle paused for a moment, torn out of his thoughts before they could spiral downwards.

"...You want me to go lower?"

"Saur."
'Yep.'

"You sure…?" Kyle rubbed lower a bit more gingerly. "I don't want to make it hurt y'know…"

Apollo shifted in place just a tad in response.

"Saur Venusaur."
'It's okay if it hurts.'

Once more, a smile of warmth graced Kyle's face, seeing Apollo hang true to his promise to keep trying for him. Kyle exhaled sharply, brushing off whatever dark feelings clung to him before, and let his fingers knead down a bit more to the base of Apollo's flower, slowly but firm as ever.

"Just… let me know if it's too much."

Kyle worked down the shoulder blades just as firmly, around that flower's thick brown base, then slowly and methodically working towards that accursed scar. Working his hands like this down the Venusaur's pale green back brought to mind bits and pieces of his training, techniques shown to him by an older masseuse he tracked down living high on Mt. Coronet; deep tissue massages were sanctioned by the Nurses Joy after an official confirmation of Apollo's healing, but there certainly were some moments where it seemed to bring more harm than relief… Now that Kyle put into practice what he'd learnt all that long ago, it seemed to come more in handy now that Apollo was more willing to put up with any pain that came his way.

His thumbs gently pressed atop that scar tissue, working their way down with much less force than-

"Vee…"
'Harder…'

…Kyle pressed his thumbs down on either side of it, slowly circling inwards with more force this time. He worked a bit slower as he reached the discolored skin across his back, slowly working the area of that faded stitching and listening to Apollo's reactions just to ensure he wasn't hurting him. Apollo seemed unfazed, breathing deeply and contentedly, allowing Kyle to push further with his massaging motions.

It took a minute or two more for Kyle to work up the courage and dig in a bit harder and deeper, finally enough to elicit a gentle groan from Apollo.

"Mrfhn…"
'Mrfhn…'

Instead of backing off though, Kyle continued digging in, working down his spine still. Once his thumbs pressed into the lower region of that scar, the Venusaur tensed up slowly, huffing out and stretching his back legs out with great strain.

"Nggrhssauurr…"
'Nggrhffucckkkk…'

Kyle paused for a moment, seeing his partner's reaction.

"That a good fuck or a bad fuck?"

"Ngmf… Saur… Venusaur ."
'Ngmf… both… don't stop. '

Kyle snorted in response, but kept on massaging with that same firmness, further eliciting muffled grunts and rumbling from Apollo. Short twitches and subdued spasms in his legs were the rewards in question, which only seemed to lessen but not stop once he moved off the scar location. Once Kyle worked downwards towards the base of the spine, he worked back up to the scar with the same firmness as before, and just before his thumbs made contact with that spinal injury-

"V-Vee- VEE!"
'A-Ow- OKAY!'

Kyle immediately relinquished that pressure, rubbing the area tenderly.

"Too much?"

Apollo relaxed back onto Kyle's lap, flopping limp with a quiet groan.

"Mrfhngh…"
'Mrfhngh…'

"Here," Kyle gingerly continued to apply pressure to the upper parts of his back once more. "I'll focus more up here for now. Let me know if you want me to try your wound again."

Apollo sighed out a lengthy sigh into Kyle's lap, going back to enjoying those massaging rubs into his back, though a certain air of depression settled around him now that he'd been reminded of what pain he'd nearly been free of.

"Rffrf… Saur Vee… "
'Rffrf… damn that sucks.'

"I'm sorry man, didn't mean for that to hurt you."

"Saur, Saur… Venusaur."
'No, no… wasn't your fault.'

Kyle switches focus, one hand kneading his back and the other slowly caressing underneath Apollo's chin.

"We can take it slow as you need, Apollo. We got time."

The Venusaur merely nodded and let Kyle continue to soothe him… Kyle enjoyed the moment as it was, spending time with his buddy as he always did, the generally positive mood and change of scenery serenading the two of them into a sort of hypnotic state for the time being.

Seconds turned to minutes, turned to nearly half an hour of Kyle loving on his partner and chilling by the ocean waves, the nausea of the boat's tumultuous rocking settling into a contented normality… A few Wingull flew by, one or two even landed on the railing beside them, watching them curiously before flying off.

Finally Kyle decided to break the silence, trailing his thumbs down Apollo's back.

"Want me to try again now…?"

"Rurf… Vee."
'Rurf… no.'

"You sure…? I'll be more gentle…"

Apollo sighs once more, summoning his strength to stop leaning on Kyle, and instead sit up. The Venusaur then cast his gaze out to sea once more.

"...Saur Venusaur Vee."
'...I just really hope this works.'

While such comments usually brought malaise to Kyle as he would overthink the whole thing, Kyle had no time for such things as he patted Apollo on the back.

"Hey, it will . I promised, remember?"

The Venusaur craned his neck around with a half forced smile, nudging Kyle's hand again.

"Saur… Saur Vee."
'Ok… I trust you.'

Kyle replied in kind, giving Apollo a kiss on the top of his scaly head.

"And I you, my friend." Kyle sat back against the rails once more, bringing out his phone. "Now hey, let's just try and get our minds off depressing topics today, eh? Let me see if I can find that streamer we like watching-"

…Kyle froze for a moment, seeing a particular notification on his phone he hadn't seen for a while. Being as popular as he did, he had a code written that brought up news articles keywording his name, perhaps a little out of narcissism, but mostly to watch his image in public. For a long while there was no mention of him, which was mostly how he preferred it.

But lo and behold, it looks like the spotlight had latched onto him once more.

"Saur?"
'What's that?'

Apollo leaned around to look at Kyle's phone, as Kyle tapped the notification and brought up the news site:

"-and coming up next is our very own McKenzie Reigel, with our next story."

After the male anchor introduced her, the camera panned over to an ever professional and dashing-looking anchor woman:

" Gooood afternoon Johto, this is McKenzie Reigel on the Rod5 news, bringing you the latest stories from around the globe. While our weekly Cynthia update left much to be desired, we have an interesting storythat will more than make up for it."

Kyle huffed a displeased sigh under his breath. "Knew I should've made her swear on something else."

" Late last week in Snowpoint City, buried underneath the snowy blanket that covers it all, a certain retired and dormant trainer seems to be back on their feet. Nestled in a quaint cafe, I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing the one and only Kyle Hall, former Battling Extraordinaire and worldwide sensation in his prime."

"Hold on McKenzie, " The male anchor followed up. "You mean THE Kyle Hall?"

"Oh yes Darren," McKenzie replied with an interesting amount of venom in her retort. " ThatKyle Hall. And you won't believe what he has planned next."

X-X

"Folks, they tell you not to meet your heroes, and for the life of me I could never figure out why."

Across the world in a quaint beach house in Hoenn, a Floatzel lazes on the couch watching the news half asleep… barely listening to the news.

"But for the one and only Kyle Hall, they're dead wrong."

The Floatzel immediately perked up hearing that sentence, sitting up straight as an arrow with eyes glued to the TV.

"Years after the trainer sensation retired from the scene, it seems he's not given up just yet, and neither has his trusted Venusaur companion Apollo."

By now, as Kyle and Apollo's face graced the TV screen, the Floatzel began jumping up and down on the couch, and as his trainer, a bored looking mocha skinned dude donning sweats and thick glasses, turned the corner to see what the Floatzel was raving about, the two nearly jumped on the couch with each other.

"Considering what took the two out of the battling scene in the first place, a battle accident of severity not seen in ages, it's heartwarming to see the two raring to get back into the spotlight."

The trainer, still hugging onto his Floatzel, pulled out his phone to call up a certain friend, excitedly telling them to turn on the news.

X-X

Atop the Mountains of Kalos did a female hiker and her Aggron camp, who stopped to marvel at her phone as the news anchor continued to speak.

"Sounds like you got a good interview with him, McKenzie!"

"You better believe it Darren, this battle superstar was gracious enough to allow me a couple minutes of his time, and I think you'll all be happy to hear what he has to say."

The Aggron behind the hiker nearly toppled over in joy as it heard the news caster speaking, the Hiker climbing atop it laughing along with the Steel Type Pokemon. As she rode atop the Aggron's back, the two raced back down the mountain side towards the nearest city.

X-X


"Apparently the duo have taken their time healing, resting at home and doing their best to get back in shape."

High above the sunset and Alolan clouds did a helmeted rider listen in to the newscast, their Noivern companion listening in too. The two exchanged a surprised glance, listening even more intently now.

"But even then, the two felt that they were stagnating where they were, and Kyle felt he was doing his faithful old partner a disservice by not pushing them both forwards."

The rider gave his Noivern an affirmative head nod, patting his side. In an instant, the Noivern swung off to the right, delving towards the islands below with a renewed sense of vigor.

X-X

"Speaking of, it seems Apollo, the nigh unstoppable Verdant Paladin, isn't going easily into that good night. While Kyle reports that his strength might not be what it was before, apparently Apollo isn't letting that stop him now!"

Before the surrounding mountains sloped into the green hills, a forested edge of Castelia City held a perfect view into the piercing skyscrapers, where news channels broadcasted across the side of buildings with massive projections. Upon a cliff's edge did a Zoroark sit and watch the anchorwoman speak, their breath caught in their chest as they watched.

"It's unclear to what extent the duo have trained or recovered, but judging by their next moves they must be feeling pretty cocky to venture back out into unknown territory!"

The Zoroark stood to their feet, paw to their chest as they steeled themselves. It took a moment of courage for them to look down at the bustling city below, and with a swift jump, flew off that cliff into the fading shrubbery below… and into the city.

X-X

"I'm impressed McKenzie! It's not every day that one scores an interview with someone so famously hard to get a hold of! What else did he tell you?"

All the way in Johto, Silver Town's off season contained few trainers to roam the forested parks at twilight, but one trainer sat in the grass with his Heracross and Talonflame sitting side by side, both with eyes glued to their phone.

"Well Darren, it would seem these two have some sort of plan worked out for some sort of training or therapy, the only reason I caught Mr. Hall at allwas that he was about to leave Sinnoh!"

The seasoned looking trainer looked to his two Pokemon partners, both of which nodded with the same sly and determined grin as his.

X-X

"He made sure not to elaborate on specifically what he was going to do, which certainly tracks for his record of leaving his audience in suspense."

In the dead of night in Kanto, a lone gilded mansion lay barely illuminated with the lights of Viridian City in the distance. One window lay thrown open however, with the TV letting loose it's audio into the forested night.

"However it's safe to say, this CERTAINLY won't be the last time we hear from this talented trainer. Even wanting to stay relatively undercover, he did have something to say:"

From within the fanciful bedroom within did a Frogadier carry a small pack, hesitating before climbing that window and perching on the windowsill. It looked back to the TV for a moment as it listened.

" Me and Apollo were beginning to lose hope. Hope that we'd… ever, get back to how things were. We weren't leaving the house, we just sat there and… well, we weren't moving forwards. "

The Kalosian Water type looked back out into the forest before jumping down, hitting the grass and running without looking back.

X-X

"...I didn't realize it until it was too late, but thankfully I just recently had lunch with Professor Rowan. "

"No McKenzie, no! "

Kyle groaned out at the phone, annoyed endlessly that millions of people were about to be aware he was back in the fold once more, and with what McKenzie was about to reveal to the public, they would know exactly where to find him .

" He… inspired me to start taking more steps forward again. We're heading to… admittedly somewhere I've never been, and… without revealing any sensitive information, we're gonna try something we haven't before. "

…Kyle's apprehension and anxiety seemed to instantly transmogrify into confused relief. He knew he said exactly where he was going, yet that audio playback seemed to skip it without sounding edited…

"Huh… well I'll be."

"Well that's great to hear McKenzie, but did Kyle mention anyindication of where he might be going?"

"Not even a hint Darren. And in his situation, I don't blame him. The last thing he and Apollo need is pressure, from us or from anyone else."

Apollo tilted his head a bit at the phone.

"Saur… Vee Venusaur."
'Wow… That was nice of her.'

"I guess she was a top of the line reporter."

Kyle held the phone still while listening a bit more intently now.

"Now Kyle did have a few stories to share about his old team, but I'll leave those for our website so our viewers can read them on their own time. I had one more thing I wanted to say, and this goes out to Kyle."

McKenzie cleared her throat and faced the camera more squarely now.

"Mr. Hall, I know you're watching this, and I wanted to thank you again for allowing me to talk to you. I can't imagine what you and Apollo have been through the last few years, but let me speak for all of us here at the station, and those of us watching when I say we are thrilledto see you back. Even though you might not be back in the battling scene just yet, even if you don't return, we hope to see more of you in the coming months, no matter what."

A slow tug at his lip forced a deep smile of gratitude to creep across Kyle's face, Apollo's too for that matter.

"You inspired so many of us before, and I know that you'll do the same again soon. There's still a place for you out here, whenever you and Apollo are good and ready. This has been McKenzie Reigel, signing off."