Shifting the strap of my backpack to fidget a little taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. Looking around carefully, slowly, already I could miss the fresh air of the Pokemon world, the life around me seemingly duller at the edges of my senses. The Shrine in some levels of disrepair, moss growing up some columns and concrete spiderwebbed with cracks and paint long faded to time. Turning to look back to the temple, coming face to face with a Gyarados statue. Power old and worn seemed to radiate from it. Within the eyes of the statues were shards of the Tree of Life. Marking this place as a safe place to transfer between worlds. Turning to face the statue fully I bowed low. Feeling the power hum and fall silent. No doubt a guardian within or around the statue.
'What now?' Akio asked as I straightened up, reaching out instinctively to pet the top of his head, only he was safely hidden away inside of his pokeball. He reached out with his aura, knowing what the empty gesture was for.
"We… find a safe place for us to stay." I answered him, pulling out the old cell phone that had once been stuffed to the bottom of my trainer bag. "Rotom?" The AI pokemon quickly released himself from my wrist computer and inserted himself into the old phone, the cracked screen coming to life and the glass fixing itself and starting up at the Plasma pokemons presence.
"Miss," I jumped a little looking to see a caretaker, a woman dressed in a traditional kimono, hair pulled up in a knot with hair sticks. "The shrine is closed to visitors today. I must ask you too leave and come again another day." I frowned a little.
"Can I ask why, I don't remember the shrine being closed outside of holidays." Confused as I stuffed my now Rotom phone into my back pocket. Hiding him away while letting him boot up and process information about this place.
"It's to honor an old patron, a little girl who was taken from here. Her case was never solved and no one has tried reopening the case so we close this day to pray." I hummed softly at her answer, reaching up to rub the back of my neck.
"I'm sure she is thankful for your kindness in remembering her." I offered her a kind smile, and the caretaker blinked at me. I smiled and nodded my head before starting down the hill. Though at the top of the stairs I stopped looking back to the Caretaker. "I'm sure the quirkless girl would be happy to know that there were people looking for her." An indirect thank you, her mouth opened as her eyes widened in surprise before I was trotting down the stairs.
"She is correct, a girl matching your description went missing here 5 years ago to date, matching-"
"The time I have been missing, right?" I finished, not glancing at my phone or pocket. Though maybe I should be holding it. Hiding my pokemon, how would I explain them, would I be going back to before? That made me stop short.
I could take the attacks just fine, the pa-
'No!' Akio's voice echoed in my head, the others chorasing in a roar within my ears even though only I could hear them.
'You are not going back to what was before. You are going to live a better life, cause you have us now.' and just as Xerneas had promised so long ago I felt happy, protected, I had some of my friends with me. My life time friends who would stay by my side, always.
Things were different. Of course they were. The difference in population alone made it a necessity. The unity between cities made it useful, but some things always work. Selling a few giant gold nuggets to a pawn shop. Setting up a bank account and letting Rotom go wild online he had us set up by the third night. A ln apartment manager willing to turn a blind eye, a plasma pokemon able to make documents and pick up trails left from leaving so long ago. Changing status from dead to alive. Faking reports of interviews that never happened so that if stopped no one could claim anything. The worst part was Rotom showing me my mother. Pictures and videos, of her in America. She looked happy, just as Xerneas promised. A young son often in the pictures with a quirk a perfect mix of mom's and dad's. The real twisting of the knife was the fact that the name was my name. The exact same name. Sometimes the sight of the Legendaries were just a little too spot on.
Taking a walk after a hard conversation on the phone was a great way to get my head to stop swimming after the conversation. The deal struck I stay clear of the Midoriya family, she signs any papers Rotom sends her way. Didn't help with the massive sting in my chest. So the walk slowly eases some tension out. Which led to another problem now that we were in the park. My pokemon were babies again. Little monsters in their first levels of their first evolutions. Except for my Lucario, Akio, my little hero, his evolution requirements still hit but his power is so much less than what it was. So now my once Talonflame, named Talon, was a little Fletchling again. Flying around the park. Alighting on one perch, whether it be a bench, or a branch, or the top of a swing set before flying back to my shoulder, giving me a small peck to show his displeasure before flying off again.
"Wish we had a warning about this," I huff, it felt like a lot of the work I had done was for nothing. What good was knowledge and skill if the body could not perform such skills without getting hurt.
'The Legendaries work in mysterious ways," Was all Rotom could really offer much to even Talon's displeasure as the next peck was aimed for the bluetooth device in my ear. Only saved by a quick turn of the head and catching of the bird.
"I get your a fire type and you hate being small, but come on, if you really want to be big again we will train." Holding the songbird by their feet, the bird's feet wrapped around my finger just as much. Talon pointedly looking the other way. I sigh before shaking my head, gently righting the bird before nudging him onto my shoulder where the bird on I tried to just relax, letting myself sink into aura and feel the life around me. Just as I would back within the wilds, and rather than feeling, well, life, instead I felt pain and panic off towards one of the other paths. Turning to go figure out what was wrong. Walking through a grass path to find a playground nestled in the trees, seeing two boys messing with a smaller one. The teen was a stuttering mess asking them to stop as the two messed with him. One of the bullies had bat-like wings, and the other extendable fingers by the look of it. Just as I was stepping out to act, another beat me to it. An ashy blond-haired kid was running up to the group of three.
"I told you not to mess with him!" The blond barked loudly, hands popping in familiar explosions. I remember those. Stepping back into the shadows of the trees as Katsuki Bakugou scared off his two once friends and turned to the third who cowered. Stretching out aura to feel what I could not hear. The victim was frightened and scared, but receptive, taking back his bag that was shoved into his hands and quickly running off. Katsuki, though, he felt of rage, protectiveness, remorse, and guilt. Watching as the victim dashed off before shoving his hands into his pockets. This was not what I expected. It would seem just like me, Kacchan had changed too.