I…I can't believe it…it's her…it's really Skitty! Or, I guess I should say 'Delcatty;' I can't believe she evolved! And…if I heard correctly, she's the Master of the Center?

My chest tightens; I'm so proud of her!

"Gwen!" She bounds into the room, knocking me off my feet. She's rubbing her head against my neck, "I-I thought I'd never see you again! It's been so long…!" We're both crying, I'm only vaguely aware of our audience. I hug her tightly, my throat feels thick and I can't get any words out, so I'm just making some awkward noises between sobs.

"Ahem, Master Delcatty," an ampharos says, appearing beside her slightly out of breath (he must have been chasing her down the hallway). I guess they're all a little tired of our display.

Delcatty pulls away wearing the same huge grin I recognize from before. "I can't believe you're actually here! Welcome back Gwen! And who's this? Upgraded from Serperior huh?" She winks at me. "Haha…not quite. This is Seviper, my wife's partner pokemon," I say, suddenly becoming very aware of the distinct lack of Stephanie…of Elliot…

I hope they're not too worried about us. What ever happened, I make a promise in my heart that we'll make it back home asap.

"Well Seviper, nice to meet you! Any friend of Gwen's is a friend of mine, and welcome at the esteemed Exploration Center." She says, bowing her head slightly. "Oh! Uh, thank you," Seviper replies, "I-I've heard a lot about this place…and about you, uh, Master? Sk-Delcatty," she stammers while bowing her head in return. "All good I hope," she says, nudging me. From Rotom's translations, I know she's at least been referred to as the 'pink demon with a soul made of sandpaper,' which, based on Seviper's awkward smile, I assume is along the lines of what she's recalling now.

"Well! I'm sure our dear friends are exhausted from their journey! Ampharos? Would you be so kind as to show Seviper to her room? I'd like to speak with Gwen, if you're up to it, of course," she finishes, turning to me. Seviper looks nervous for a moment, "I'd actually really rather—" "come now, let me bring you to your room, you'll need a good rest to properly be able to enjoy everything the Center has to offer!" Ampharos says brightly. Seviper and I make eye contact for a moment, and I try to convey with a look that she's in good hands. She looks slightly more at ease as she's guided out of the hospital room. I feel bad as she's lead away—I'll try not to be too long.

"Skitty—Delcatty, sorry—I…I can't believe it! It's really you!" She snorts, "the one and only! Let's go back to my quarters to catch up properly," she says, guiding me out of the room. It's amazing, the little, fun-loving, sassy pokemon that lead team Starburst…she's really in charge of the whole Center now. I can't believe she's so grown-up. But, to be honest, I can't imagine anyone who'd be better suited for the job.

She leads me through the various rope bridges, ladders, and sturdy tree branches, up, up, up into the canopy. The Center truly has some striking architecture—the whole thing is built on, around, and under several massive trees, larger than anything I've ever seen before. Treehouse-style structures are scattered throughout, some of which offer services, like the hospital we've just left, or training sites, while others serve as dorms to house exploration teams and visitors. It's a wonderful set-up that has such a sense of community about it.

I try to forget how that community almost tore us limb from limb last time we were here—we'd been caught stealing pokeballs containing Dragagle and Rotom from the Center's Artifacts Wing and barely managed to escape.

So many memories made in such a short time. I've often regretted not being able to stay…to make new memories with Skitty. But then again, it seems we've both been making lives for ourselves.

We finally reach a grand treehouse teetering high in the canopy. It's made of a rich brown wood, quite similar in color to the branches surrounding it. The combination of its coloring and the way it's nestled among the leaves almost make it look like it was grown from the trees themselves. Several large windows adorn the walls, no doubt filling the rooms with brilliant colors as the sun works its way across the sky. I steal a glance down—the view to the ground below is dizzying…I'm not sure how she can stand living this high.

"Well Gwen, this is it, where the new members of team Starburst and I live." She shows off the interior; there are maps everywhere, some hanging on the wall, pins and strings across them, some spread out on tables, and a few bound and scattered on the ground. There are also books, papers, and a few artifacts that appear to be in the process of being classified.

Simply put, it's a huge mess.

"Wow…this is…" I search for, and fail to find, the right words, "it's alright, I know it's chaos in here, but it's organized chaos." She says with a smile. I can't see any shred of organization, but I'll take her word for it.

"Come, let's catch up," she says, beckoning me to a large hay bed. We settle side by side and I look at her again. "Congratulations for evolving, by the way, it suits you," I offer. "Oh, it's nothing really, all in a day's work for an explorer! Congratulations to you on everything that's happened since you left! Getting married, having a kid…wow!" I consider her words for a moment. "Does that mean…a few months ago, when my letters—" "that's right! My team and I tracked down Giratina, and they opened a portal so we could see your world!" Wow, she actually managed to find Giratina? That's incredible! I wonder absentmindedly how she accomplished such a thing, and how long it must have taken. "That's amazing! Does that mean they've lifted my ban here? Is it Giratina that somehow brought me back?"

She makes a face, scrunching her nose slightly, "not exactly…they let us see your world that day, but after that, I haven't seen any sign of them." I start feeling nervous, if Giratina isn't why I'm here…then how? And what will they do to me if—when—they discover I've breached our pact?

"Gwen? Watcha thinking about? A face as stormy as that doesn't belong at a reunion!" Delcatty jokes. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to wrap my head around…around being here. How did we get here? And…and if it wasn't Giratina…" I voice my concerns about the implications of me, a human, being here, when I explicitly promised a legendary pokemon that I, nor any other human, would never return.

She processes my words for a minute, brows knit together as she studies the floor. Then she looks back to me, eyes full of remorse, "Gwen…I'm sorry, but I…don't know how or why you've returned," she says, voice wavering slightly. "But, if Giratina does come…we'll figure something out. They can't blame you if you don't even know why it's happened!" She says fiercely. True, although I'm not sure if the powerful pokemon would actually care.

"And…and what about getting home? My family? To them, Seviper and I probably just vanished! What if—" a terrible thought pierces through my mind, "Delcatty, what if they're here too? Lost and confused in this world?" My breaths are starting to come a little shallow. "Don't worry Gwen, Serperior and the others have been here before and were all publicly pardoned by the Center, I'm sure they can hold their own." "I'm not worried about them! It's Stephanie and Elliot! Stephanie knows about this place from my stories, but Elliot? He's just a little kid! And…and if Dr. Laurel and I both turned into pokemon here…Delcatty what if they've turned into pokemon? Or lost their memories? How will we ever find them!?" My thoughts race, one after another. I'm feeling pressure build behind my eyes. There's just so much that could go wrong… so much danger for such a small boy…

"Shhh" Delcatty says, touching my shoulder. "Same old Gwen, huh?" She smiles, "you're forgetting I'm Master of the Center now, with all its resources at my disposal. I'll send out a notice to be on the lookout for members of your team, plus anything strange—any humans, pokemon who seem confused about this world, anything out of the ordinary. If they're here, we'll fine them. I promise," she says, face resolute.

Tears prick my eyes at her words and I hug her tightly, "thank you…if anything happened to them I…I don't know what I would do." I say, burying my face in her fur.

I try to slow my breathing and my thoughts. Thinking about the one million things that could happen to a kid waking up alone in the body of a pokemon will do nothing for my sanity, and there's a chance they're not even here. I pray to Arceus that it's just Seviper and I.

At this point, it's all I can do.

—

I still can't believe she's actually here! Being able to talk to her…to catch up, as though she's just been on vacation or something…it's amazing!

Still, I'd be lying if I didn't admit my disappointment at how they got here. Why in Arceus' name were they not all together? When I stepped outside of the Center, all I could see were the unconscious forms of Gwen and Seviper. I hope that little imp isn't shortchanging me—we're going to have some words.

And I feel just awful lying to her…but when I saw how excited she was to see me…and then her panic about being here…well, I don't think she'd be best pleased to learn how she managed to get here just yet. I couldn't bare our reunion to be soured so soon.

When things have settled down and we've found the others, I'll figure out a way to tell her to set her mind at ease. She seems content to accept it's a mystery for now, at least. In the meantime, it seems like I've got to organize a scavenger hunt for the rest of them. But my explorers should be able to find them, no problem. And then we'll finally have a proper reunion.