Hi everyone. I know I usually don't write notes at the beginning of chapters like this, but I decided I would try. I am newer at writing fanfiction, and I would love to know your thoughts on the story so far. I would really appreciate it if you would leave reviews on the story so I can get feedback on what you like and what you think I should improve on. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5: Amica At Last

As thanks for helping with the deliveries, one of the farmhands offered to give me a ride to Amica Town. My phone chimed, telling me it was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. "we're here," the worker said. "we're just outside of Café Wooloo. You know your way around?"

"Yes, thank you," I replied with a smile of recognition. My parents and I would go to Cafe Wooloo after our visits to the movie theater. It was owned by a woman named Milly, who had moved here from the Galar region with her daughters years ago. The café was known for its cozy atmosphere, and just to add to the charm, Wooloo wool was used to cover the chairs, and Wooloo helped the waitresses serve food.

I happily stepped inside the café. A woman with a Galarian accent greeted me. "Welcome. Will you be dining alone or with a guest?"

"It's just me and my Pokémon," I said.

"Wonderful," the woman said cheerfully. "if you like, we can bring some treats for them along with your order."

"Thank you very much," I replied as I was led to a table.

Flora and Cinder were given some Pokémon treats to eat, while I ordered a cup of traditional Galarian tea. It was one of the café's specialties. As I began drinking, I heard someone walking towards the table. Then I heard a familiar, friendly voice. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Wren!" I said in surprise. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good," he said, taking a seat. "I got stuck in that storm the other day. I ended up catching a Pawmi that came out of hiding because of the thunder. I didn't even know they lived in Laria."

"That's amazing! I didn't even know you could find those here either. I caught a Fletchling on my way here."

"I wonder if Kate caught anything new. Have you heard anything from her lately?"

"No," I replied, realizing I hadn't heard from her since we all left on our journeys.

Wren started to say something else when suddenly, we heard a loud siren blar past us. "That's the Team Astra alarm," he said. "I wonder what's happening."

I was wondering the same thing. Team Astra were famous around Laria for their kind and heroic actions. They often partnered with police, doctors, or scientists to try to help the region however they could. That siren meant they were trying to stop some sort of trouble.

"Let's go see what's going on. Now that we're trainers, maybe we can help them."

before I could respond, he grabbed my hand and we got up to leave. He dropped some money on the counter as we rushed out of the café. As we ran through the streets, I could hear the sounds of a crowd forming. I could also hear something that sounded like crackling and smelled smoke.

"it looks like a house is on fire," Wren said.

many people in the crowd were talking all at once. Although it was hard to make out most of the conversations, I was able to pick up a few things.

"That's the Tian residence."

"I hope the old man is OK."

"A shame too. He just won that auction not long ago."

Suddenly, a loud voice spoke over a megaphone. "Everyone, please stand back. Do not panic. Everything is going to be fine."

"That guy is from Team Astra," Wren explained. "He has a Blastoise and some Squirtle putting out the fire."

I tried to think of a way we could help out. There had to be something we could do in this situation. It was like Wren had said. We were trainers now, so we had to try and do something.

That's when an idea hit me. "Wren, you can use your Mudkip to help with the fire. I'll have Cinder check to make sure everything is all right."

"Great idea," Wren said.

We made our way to the front of the crowd and released our Pokémon. Wren told Skipper to use water gun on the fire while I explained the situation to Cinder and told him to check the building.

Cinder understood my instructions and flew away. A few minutes later, he returned. He was flapping his wings frantically and chirping loudly. "Fletch fletch fletch!"

I tried to ask him what was wrong, but the sounds of everything going on were just too loud and chaotic for him to hear me. About an hour went by before everything finally calmed down. A Team Astra member approached me and Wren. "Thanks to both of you, we were able to stop the spread of the fire. Thankfully, no one was inside the building when it happened."

I noticed that Cinder was still flapping around wildly. "Sir, I think there's something wrong," I told him. "I think my Fletchling saw something when he was in the building. I think he wants to show someone."

"if it's OK with you, I'd like to borrow him so he can show me what he saw."

I nodded in approval and told Cinder to lead the way. The two of them left quickly, Cinder flying and the man walking behind him.

"I wonder what Cinder saw that freaked him out so much" said Wren curiously.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Whatever it was, it must be pretty important. He's never acted like that before."

"Let's follow them," he whispered. "I'll let you know if I see anything."

Even though I knew this wasn't the best idea, my curiosity was getting the better of me, so I said it was OK. We made our way through the crowd toward the building. We stopped a little ways from the entrance so we wouldn't be seen by Team Astra.

"I can see Cinder and that guy," Wren whispered. "They're looking at something on the ground. It looks like broken glass and some footprints. That's weird. I don't see any broken windows or anything like that. You don't think someone came here to steal something and set that fire on purpose, like a distraction?"

"I hope not," I said.

We decided to head back to where we were since there wasn't really anything else we could do at the moment. After a while, Cinder was returned to me and the investigation was over. Wren decided we should stay together for a while in case there were any criminals around. As I was thinking about what we should do next, I couldn't help but worry. Laria wasn't exactly a region known for crime. Somethings happened now and then, but it was usually nothing major, and the criminals were usually caught right away by Team Astra. Who set that fire? What did they possibly want to steal? Questions swirled around in my head as I thought about where our next destination would be.