Here it is! The final chapter of the introduction arc! A few months ago we crossed the One year mark of this story being up and I want to thank everyone for bearing with me and my horrible upload schedule. I will hopefully be done with this entire part of the story by the end of next year but for now, let's wait and see what today brings our heroes!
2027 - Unova, Star City Retsuko's Apartment
Kaz slept peacefully in Retsuko's room, sharing Kuu's Pokemon bed and sleeping in a ball cuddling with the avian pokemon.
Retsuko typically kept his other pokemon in their pokeballs to sleep, but they all had free rein over their status of captivity in the devices.
Ace burst out of his pokeball, nearly falling off of the desk that he landed on.
He scurried over to another pokeball, which he recognized as Hai's and pressed the button, releasing the large dragon pokemon.
Hai made quite an impact, shaking the apartment but everyone remained asleep.
She carefully and nervously scooted over to Ace, who climbed up her snout happily.
"Rattata-Rat!" He said, balling his paw into a fist and slamming it against his other open paw.
Hai rolled her eyes and reluctantly snuck her way over to, stopping at Kaz and Kuu's bed.
Kaz turned over in her sleep, but her eyes snapped open to find Ace and Hai standing above her, Ace smirking mischievously.
"Care for a little... Fun?" He asked.
The next morning, Retsuko once again woke up late, grabbing his phone and banging it into his desk in frustration.
He rushed downstairs, still in his pajamas to find Kyu and Via standing in the living room and packing their things.
"Bawo Ni." Retsuko greeted, holding onto the doorway with his right arm and leaning to the left.
"Todays the day, huh?" He said, walking over to them.
Kyu zipped his massive travel bag and looked back at Retsuko.
"That's a sentence I've heard too many times from your mouth." He joked.
Retsuko rolled his eyes.
"What's with the massive bag?" He questioned.
"I guess Kyu hasn't changed since we were trainers. Always overpacking." Via added.
She swung her satchel over her shoulder.
"Okay, first of all we're going to Sinnoh, and you all know how I feel about Sinnoh." Kyu replied defensively.
Retsuko and Via looked at each other and then back to Kyu.
"No, we don't." They said in unison.
Kyu got up after putting his heavy bag on and leaned on the edge of the couch near the door.
"You should go and pack. Asther said the train to the airport leaves in the afternoon." He said.
"I hate planes..." Retsuko groaned as he made his way upstairs.
He fixed himself up after washing his hair and moisturizing it, then replaced his hair clip.
After finding his father's hoodie in the pile of clean laundry that he was too lazy to fold, he threw on his jeans and an undershirt.
Finding his old black sling bag from his time as a pokemon trainer in his closet, be began to pack it with his essentials such as spare clothes and pajamas, his grooming products, some extra pokeballs and healing items for his pokemon, his toothbrush, and his Z ring.
Retsuko admired the bracelet before attaching his Decidium Z to the front of the bands, placing it into the bag gently.
He zipped it up and put it on, clipping the two sides together to tighten it.
"Right then."
Retsuko walked over to Kuu and whistled in a pattern, signaling the Decidueye to wake up.
Kuu stretched and yawned, sprouting up slowly.
"Where's Kaz?" Retsuko asked, noticing the absence of a small Buizel that was sleeping right beside him when he'd last checked.
Kuu cooed with a worried expression causing Retsuko to frantically dash over to his pokeballs on the stand.
Through the See-through red caps of the devices Retsuko counted 2 out of the four Pokemon that should have been there, which were Rio, Sol, Hai, and Ace as he had sent Zwe back to his storage in exchange for Kaz.
Retsuko grabbed all of the Pokeballs and attached them to his belt, releasing Rio and Sol, his only two pokemon remaining.
"Rio! What happened to Ace, Hai, and Kaz?!" He asked frantically.
"Lycanroc!" Rio barked in retaliation.
"Yeah, I know you aren't their babysitters but still, you're normally out of your pokeball at night in the living room so did you see anything at all?" Retsuko asked again.
Rio sighed and shook her head, and Retsuko sank down in defeat.
"Kuso…" Retsuko mentally cursed.
Kaz, Ace and Hai walked through the streets of Star City and Ace danced happily.
"Why so happy?" Kaz spoke.
Ace paused and smiled as he did a front flip, landing in front of the larger pokemon.
"Allow me to introduce you to the wonders of the Night!" He said cheerfully.
Kaz tilted her head cutely with a confused expression while Hai smiled absently.
"Ace is a naturally nocturnal Pokemon, so he thrives at night time. It's kinda fun, watching him goof off." Hai said warmly.
"Guys, come over here!" Ace shouted, interrupting the two of them.
Kaz and Hai turned around to find Ace performing and entertaining a small group of traveling Pokemon Trainers with his acrobatic skill, finishing his routine with a back paw spring into a flip.
"Ta-Da!" He said proudly as he landed and the trainers clapped in response.
Collecting himself, he dashed over to the other two pokemon.
"When people aren't content with their days, they stay up until late at night to find meaning. By giving them a little entertainment, they'll get satisfied!" He explained.
"Don't you normally do it because they give you food in return?" Hai questioned, detecting Ace's lie.
"Oh pul-ease! This is nighttime, the time where we can be fully free! I would never shave it down to something so shallow!" Ace replied defensively.
"Mmmhmmm." Hai said, not believing him.
"Well Kaz, why don't you try it!? Take a second to release yourself, and truly be free!" Ace suggested.
Kaz tilted her head in confusion again.
"It's easy, trust me. Just walk up to a young happy-looking kid and do something cute!" Ace explained.
"Right." Kaz said.
She looked around at the surprising amount of people near her, and chose a random middle aged man holding a bottle of booze.
"Wait, Kaz I said a ki-" Ace began to say but it was too late.
Kaz leaped in front of him and began to dance around, kicking her feet to a melody that she sang aloud.
She stepped to the side and swept her paws up as a small crowd began to form around her to watch her perform.
She flipped backwards and then leaned into another as she winked at Ace, who snapped in approval.
Hai started to jokingly mimic her but stopped as she began to stumble around and lose her balance, readjusting herself in embarrassment.
The initial man clapped and cheered for the young Buizel, but something inside of him welled up and he ran off, covering his mouth.
He puked on the floor right in front of Kaz, causing her to stop her performance abruptly and the crowd to disperse.
"He didn't like it." Kaz said disappointedly.
Ace rushed up to her and shook his head violently.
"He definitely did, don't worry, he was probably drunk or something." He said, brushing off the man's reaction.
"Drunk?" Kaz questioned, not understanding.
"You'll understand better when you're older…" Ace said, jumping up and giving her a head pat.
Hai sighed.
"Kaz, don't you feel sleepy at all?" She asked, sounding concerned.
Kaz's blank expression remained.
"Not really." She replied.
"Good, cuz I'm starting to get bored. Wanna have some more?" Ace questioned.
"Yes!" Kaz replied eagerly.
Ace smiled and Hai put her paws on her hips.
Ace rushed further into the fourth district but bumped into a larger pokemon.
He looked up to see a large watchdog towering over him with a furious expression.
"Yo." He said.
Ace gulped as he backed up slowly.
"Buddy…" He replied sheepishly.
"I hear that you're still smuggling food from my territory at night. Is this true?" The watchdog asked with a deep and serious expression.
A large gang of Patrat began to appear from the shadows, surrounding Ace, Hai, and Kaz.
"Of course not! Why would I ever go against your word like that? I've only stolen food from the fine establishments in the 5th district." Ace explained.
"Don't lie to me! Didn't I tell you to stay away from my turf?!" The Watchdog shouted as he fired up a thunderbolt and shot it at the pokemon.
Ace jumped up comically and dashed off and Kaz and Hai followed him.
"The electricity!" Kaz shouted but Hai jumped in front of her and used bide to absorb the damage.
She generated a small rain cloud above both Kaz and Ace to heal them.
The trio made it to another alleyway far from where the Watchdog and his lackeys could find them.
Hai caught her breath and looked up at the other two pokemon.
"This. Isn't. F-Fun. -A-Anymore." She said between pants.
"All of this… Over food?" Kaz wondered aloud.
"Well, not all of us are fortunate enough to have a loving trainer or be born into their natural habitat like you. We city Pokemon had to scrape up what we could, so territoriality is common." Ace explained with a serious expression.
"You're strong. Very strong. Why don't you fight?" Kaz questioned.
"Sometimes it's not worth it." Hai answered.
"Aye…" Kaz replied.
Ace smiled brightly along with his brightening mood.
"Speaking of food, let's get something to eat. Away from their territory now."
Hai rolled her eyes but Ace climbed up the shaft of a gutter and made his way to the roof of a building, where he slid down into it.
Exiting through a small crawl space, he went around back and opened the back door for Kaz and Hai.
The two walked in to find a fully stocked refrigerator with a large quantity of food.
"The motherload!" Ace said proudly.
Hai walked closer with her mouth agape.
"H-How did you- When did you?- Whatttt?" She stuttured.
"Just trust the process." Ace said, swiping a piece of food and popping it into his mouth after flipping it around.
An alarm went off, and Ace grabbed as much as he could before snatching Kaz and hopping on Hai's back as she ran out of the restaurant.
"You've got to be kidding me, Ace!"
The owner ran out after them, sending out his Stoutland to attack them.
"Why do you keep putting us in these situations!?" Hai shouted as she ran awkwardly.
As Ace and Hai were fleeing, Kaz stayed behind, having paused at the sight of a video in a holographic ad.
The video showed an image of the ocean, as waves crashed along the shore and marine pokemon swam around as avian bird pokemon squawked above.
Ace rushed back to her with a strained expression.
"Kaz, we need to hurry up and get out of here before we get caught! What are you doing?!"
"What… Is that?" Kaz asked slowly, pointing her paw at the screen.
Ace looked back at the screen and walked up to it.
"That? It's the Sea. Beautiful, right?" Ace said.
Kaz extended her paw out to the image. "Yes…"
"I'm guessing you've never seen it yourself before?" Ace asked her, and Kaz nodded.
"Well if we run away right now, I promise I'll show it to you soon!" Ace said, grabbing Kaz's paw and dragging her along as he ran off.
"Really?" Kaz asked, her eyes shining with hopefulness.
Ace smiled as he continued running.
2027 - Unova, Star City District 4
Kion stood on top of another building wearing his same infiltration bodysuit from before, but this time he wore a scarf to mask his identity.
He pulled the scarf closer to his face as the wind blew, pressing a button on the comm system hidden in his ear.
"Bri. Are you really down to help me do what I'm about to do? There's no going back after this." Kion warned.
Saabrina responded from her makeshift lab in her studio at her apartment.
"I know what I'm getting myself into. Also don't get your ass caught, because if you go down, I go down further." Saabrina added.
"Chill out, it's not like I'm breaking into the Octagon." Kion replied, deflecting Saabrina's worry.
He signaled Neptune, who slammed the panel covering the ventilation system of the building and Kion jumped in with his Samurott.
Meanwhile, Madame Asther and Sir Shino were in Asther's apartment together as Shino poured her a cup of tea after an adequate breakfast.
"Yet another facility has been broken into." Shino informed, taking a sip of tea.
"Was the trespasser identified?" Asther questioned.
Shino looked over to his Gothitelle informant and back to Asther.
"Kion Diaz I assume?" Asther guessed.
The Gothitelle nodded.
Asther smirked. "As expected." She said, taking a long drink.
"Shouldn't we put an end to his tomfoolery?" Sir Shino questioned.
He looked at Asther with a concerned expression.
"It would be best to prevent Young Master Diaz from attempting to thwart the goal that we've spent years of preparation to accomplish." Shino suggested.
"No, let him piece it all together. Though our current situation clashes with my idealized version, our collaborator has special interests in the boy and has made it apparent that we leave his fate to him." Asther explained.
"I see." Shino replied.
Kion landed in a room and activated the light on his suit to find himself surrounded by armed Pokemon trainers, who immediately opened fire on him.
Kion looked around the room and caught sight of a metal workbench, and leaped behind it to take cover from the barrage of attacks.
His leg was grazed by a Dark Pulse attack and Kion winced.
He pressed on his comms.
"YO BRI, WE REALLY NEED TO WORK ON YOUR ABILITY TO TELL WHETHER IT'S REALLY SAFE OR NOT FOR ME TO RUSH IN!" Kion screamed, ducking under a stray shadow ball.
"Well I didn't expect a full assault squad waiting for you. Who knew that they'd be onto us this quickly!?" Saabrina replied, typing away at her keyboard to find a solution.
"If Neptune had the other Seamitar then we'd be able to take them out pretty quickly, but that's out of the question..."
"Should we do anything to confirm his safety then?" Shino wondered.
"I advise you not to worry too much." Asther warned, waving him off.
Shino raised a brow.
"And why is that?"
Madame Asther chuckled, finishing her tea.
"If Kion Diaz is anything... He's reliable."
"Yo Bri, gimme a sec!" Jackon said.
As soon as all the pokemon ran out of energy, he threw Neptune's remaining seamitar into the wall as a distraction.
Kion smiled, taking the opportunity to leap from the desk as Neptune knocked out two of his assailants with a kick.
He appeared behind the leader of the trainers and knocked him down, standing over him as he whimpered in fear of his shadowy figure, smiling viciously.
"Surprise, Dickhead!
2027 - Unova, Star City District 4
Retsuko and Kuu rushed through the City, dodging people around them on the sidewalk.
Retsuko crossed the street on a red light yet again and drivers slammed on their brakes and honked at him in response.
Retsuko paused and looked around, overwhelmed by the sounds.
Via caught up to him and pushed him to the other side of the street frantically as Kuu hooted irritably.
"Retsuko you seriously need to pay attention to your surroundings!" Via scolded.
Retsuko blinked slowly.
"Yeah... Right..."
Via sighed.
"You're such a weirdo. …But I love you for it," she said, knocking on his head.
Retsuko chuckled.
"Can we hurry up and find them? We haven't got long before we have to meet Kyu at the air-" He began to say but was interrupted by a familiar scratchy and high pitched voice.
"SUPER MEGA INCREDIBLE SPECTACULAR ULTIMATE THUNDER ATTACK!" Gill shouted as Spike came roaring through the streets towards Retsuko.
Retsuko turned his head slightly in acknowledgement of the incoming attack.
"Kuu!" He said as his Decidueye jumped in front of him and used a leaf blade to stop the speeding rodent.
"Are you always gonna greet us like this, Gill?" Via asked.
Spike jumped back and landed on Gill, who walked up to them.
He dapped Retsuko up and then waved to her.
"Sure am!" He responded energetically.
"What brings you out in the City today?" Via asked.
Gill smiled widely.
"There was a practice clubsplosion tournament happening downtown and Spike and I won gold!" Gill explained.
"Makes sense seeing as you're a champion level trainer. That can't be fair..." Retsuko mumbled.
"What about you guys?" Gill asked.
"Uhh. We were going on... a trip?" Retsuko lied.
"To visit Sinnoh." Via added.
"To see Via's step cou-" Retsuko continued.
"-Cousin's brother's aunt." Via finished.
Gill blinked in suspicion and a large bead of sweat slowly slid down Retsuko's face.
His face suddenly turned back to its normal happy-go-lucky expression and Retsuko took a breath in relief.
"We got sidetracked because a few of my Pokemon kinda went missing…" Retsuko said sheepishly.
"You lost your pokemon?" Gill questioned.
"He sure did." Via said.
Gill smiled again.
"Those Pokemon wouldn't happen to be a Buizel, a Ratatta and a Goodra?" He asked.
Retsuko's eyes brightened.
"You've seen them?!" Retsuko asked in hopeful excitement.
Gill smiled as widely and mischievously as he could.
"Oh yeah, I can tell you all about it. …If you buy me lunch!" Gill said, holding up a finger.
Via facepalmed and Retsuko groaned in frustration.
2027 - Unova, Star City District 3
Kion and Neptune made their escape from the building by slicing a window open and diving through the high story building after leaping from it.
He released his Medicham by the name of Athens to psychically soften their landing.
"Preciate it." Kion said, fist bumping the psychic type.
He pressed on his comms and was met with the frantic yelling of Saabrina.
"Motherfucker I thought you were gonna get put on a shirt! Congrats for surviving that." She said, clapping sarcastically.
Kion frowned, turning his call with her to a video stream.
"We're not done yet." He said.
"What'd Ya find?" Saabrina questioned as Kion reached into his pocket.
He pulled out the drive from earlier and sent a file on it to her with a dark expression..
"A few months ago, your brother Naoki Kourada called me and asked me to give him information on the location of Kalosian ruins and to tell him about them. Ruins of the Métamorphose clan. MY people. I found out he was working for Asther."
"Naoki?! What did it link back to?!" Saabrina demanded.
Kion sighed.
"Paldea."
2027 - Unova, Star City District 3
"WHATTTTTTTT?" Retsuko shouted in confusion as he stared directly at a cafe with the same branding as the ones from his home region, across the street from an apartment complex.
"What's up?" Gill questioned as he walked into the restaurant.
"I-I can't believe it. There are Malasada places in Unova?"
"Course there are." Gill said, leading them to a booth where they all sat down.
"I didn't know they had good Alolan food here! All I've seen Unovans eat is a bunch of fried greasy crap!" Retsuko said.
A waitress walked up to their booth with a notepad and asked for their orders.
Via looked up from her menu and smiled.
"I'll have cranberry tea." She requested kindly.
"Gimme the usual!" Gill said to the waitresses, who jotted down the order.
"YOU'RE A REGULAR HERE? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS PLACE YOU BASTARD!?" Retsuko exclaimed, shaking Gill back and forth.
"Order something Retsuko!" Via scolded as she pried Retsuko off of Gill.
"Of course Kyu and Gill would know about every food joint in Unova, all they do is eat. Still I wish they would've told me." Retsuko said as tears of frustration welled in his eyes.
"I'll have a sweet Malasada…" He said, putting his head on the table in defeat.
The waitress disappeared behind the counter but immediately came back screaming at the sight of an Alolan Rattata running out with a Malasada in his mouth.
Retsuko got up to check what happened and found himself looking directly at Ace, Hai, and Kaz.
Retsuko blinked twice in confusion and Ace did the same.
Ace had led Kaz and Hai on a wild goose chase that had gotten them in a cycle of getting in trouble, running away, getting hurt, and having Hai heal them with her special water.
The cycle ended with the three of them becoming tired out by the constant running and hiding out in another restaurant, where they ended up spending the night.
Retsuko sighed, walking over to the Pokemon.
Ace ran up to him and crawled his arm, sitting perched on his shoulder.
"I'm glad you guys are okay. Did the three of you sneak out to get food this morning?" Retsuko questioned.
Kaz jumped onto him and wrapped herself around his neck for warmth and Hai gave him a hug as tears of relief streamed down her maw.
"How'd you know that they would be here?" Via asked.
Gill smiled.
"Only Ace would know how to find this place. Besides, I saw the three of them wandering last night but figured you were just out with them." Gill explained.
"They definitely came in for food alright!" A voice shouted.
The manager walked out holding a checklist that she shoved into Retsuko's face.
"Seeing as you're the trainer of these Pokemon, and they've eaten our entire day's supply of Malasada, someone is going to have to reimburse us!" The manager said.
"Right-" Retsuko said as he looked into his wallet and found two used covers made of a rubbery material (not balloons), a few cards, and an image of Kyu's family in the side pocket.
"Waiiiiiit. This is not my wallet! It's Kyu's!" Retsuko thought in a panicked realization.
"I don't have any hard cash on me!" And plus, I don't get paid again until my next official match as Champion…" Retsuko remembered.
The manager sighed but Via stepped up as she opened her wallet to pay the expenses.
"I'll cover it. It's the least I can do to thank you for letting Kyu and I stay with you for so long." Via said warmly as she handed the manager her money.
She retired back to her office and Gill sighed as he finished his fifth Malasada.
"That's that!" He said, dusting off his hands.
He fed Spike a spare piece of a sweet Malasada while Retsuko returned Ace and Hai to their Pokeballs.
Gill headed for the door as he waved his right hand at them.
"This has been fun but Carmen's waiting for me in the shopping district. Catch ya later!" Gill shouted as he left the premises.
Just as soon as Gill left, a familiar person that Retsuko and Via immediately identified as Kion walked in.
"I just ran into Gill on the way here. Funny seeing you guys out today. What's up?" Kion greeted the two of them.
"Yurr." Retsuko replied, fist bumping Kion as he sat down.
Kion lowered his eyebrows in suspicion of the passive aggressive glare Retsuko was directing at him.
"Speak up. What's on your mind?" He questioned.
"You knew about this whole place and never said a damn word to me. I've been living in Unova for two years and I had no idea that there were places that sold Alolan food!" Retsuko said, feeling betrayed.
Kion sighed in pity and annoyance..
"Have you ever pieced together that the internet exists? Look up food places on your Rotom-phone next time." Kion said, waving him off.
Retsuko paused, gawking at his statement.
"I never considered that…" Retsuko said bashfully, rubbing the back of his head.
"Dumbass." Kion mumbled.
He got a notification from his phone and checked it before rolling his eyes.
"Welp, I would love to stay and chat but duty calls. Peace!" Kion said, dipping out of the cafe.
"Well that was quick." Retsuko said in response to his abrupt disappearance.
Via was about to say something in response to him but was interrupted by a notification from her own phone.
"Huh. Kyu's already at the airport waiting." She told Retsuko, finishing her tea.
Retsuko scarfed down his Malasada and left the restaurant after Via.
The two caught a Pokemon taxi to District 7's Transportation center and entered it, going through security.
Kyu was waiting down in the terminal for them, along with Madame Asther when he caught sight of the duo.
"Hey! Via, Retsuko!" Kyu said as he waved to them.
Retsuko and Via spotted him and walked over.
"Yurr." Retsuko said.
"Salutations, Young Champion. Ms Olivia." Asther greeted.
"Hey.." Via replied nervously, still thrown off by the Madame's powerful aura.
"The three of you will arrive in Eterna city, where you must migrate to snowpoint city. An escort will meet you there and take you to the training location. The three of you have four months to harness and develop your power. DO NOT disappoint." Asther informed sternly.
Via stood there frozen, not knowing what to say or do in response.
A monitor which recorded and announced the arrival times of the trains above them repeated a line of text shown on the screen.
"Flight Route 80 to Sinnoh Is Now Boarding." It said, interrupting them.
"I suppose that this is goodbye for now, Young Champion." Asther said, extending her hand out for a handshake.
Retsuko accepted it with a smile.
"Keep Unova safe while I'm gone. And make sure to call me back if anything serious happens." Retsuko said.
Asther nodded and retreated back to the elevator, where she waved the trio goodbye and departed.
"Haha, the OG squad has returned! Retsuko, Kyu, and Via are back and better than ever!" kyu said, pumping his fist into the air.
Via lowered her head in disappointment.
"So nobody's gonna come to say goodbye?" She wondered.
"This entire thing is top secret so I'm guessing our friends like Carmen, Gill, and Kion don't know the truth. As for my siblings, they're probably just busy." Retsuko explained.
Before He walked down onto the platform, Via grabbed onto his hand, startling the boy and the Buizel who was wrapped around his neck like a scarf.
"I have a gift for you, Kaz. I made a sheath for your blade." Via said, taking a box out of her bag and handing it to Retsuko.
Retsuko inspected the shell colored sheath, mesmerized by the beautiful blue highlights and subtle carvings of waves and pearls.
Kaz sniffed it and took it from Retsuko, taking her turn to appreciate its beauty.
She let Kyu take it from her so that he could look at it.
"Duuuuuuuuuuude. You gotta name the blade now!" Kyu suggested, handing it back to Retsuko.
"I gotta do what now?" Retsuko questions.
"Name. The. Blade. They always give swords cool ass names in the games and shows i've seen. Like Silencer, or meosjin geom ileum sab-ib!" Kyu repeated.
"Just stop speaking at this point-" Retsuko said irritably, but paused at Via who stood in front of him and pressed her head against his.
"You're not going anywhere until you give my baby a name. This sheath is my pride and joy, and it will NOT go unloved!" She scolded.
Retsuko's face grew slightly red at the physical contact and tried to back up but Via had him pinned.
"Retsuko looked to Kaz for help and then decided to hand her the sword.
"This weapon is rightfully yours. Kion and Neptune passed it down to you. It's your duty to name it, Kaz." Retsuko said.
"Fucker Buizel'd his way out of it." Kyu thought bitterly.
Kaz looked at the blade deeply, thinking as hard as she could.
She tapped the blade with the tip of her paw and it ignited, bursting into a large pulse of water shaped like the blade of a sword.
"Seatana. Katana of sea. I want to see the sea. It's pretty, master." Kaz said softly, sheathing the blade and slinging it around her back.
She tightened the strap and hopped up and down to test the fit.
"Right then, Seatana it is." Retsuko said, smiling warmly.
"Can you actually understand her or are you making this up, cuz what type of bullshit name is Seatana? I asked for something cool!" Kyu pouted.
Via smiled. "I like the name. It sounds elegant and besides, the choice isn't yours to make, it's Kaz's." she said.
"You're right." Kyu pouted.
The three made it down to the platform and Kyu heard a familiar voice call his name.
Riatsu had been waiting for them at the platform to the airport, having accepted Kyu's offer to meet from before.
Kyu looked at Riatsu in surprise.
"Wow, it seems like someone hasn't gotten so uptight that she wouldn't even come to see her childhood best friend off." He said arrogantly.
Riatsu raised a fist at him causing Kyu to flinch.
She scoffed in annoyance, putting her hand down and then looked around.
"So, this is it..?" Riatsu asked.
"We're headed to a purposefully secluded place called The Temple of the Oracle. I can't get into all the details cuz it's classified info, but hopefully, we can find some much-needed information and answers there."
Riatsu frowned. "This is about the gijinka thing you told me about on the phone isn't it?" She questioned.
Kyu didn't respond, instead shushing her as politely as possible and looking around in paranoia.
Riatsu sighed understandingly.
"Don't go around chasing some false power you aren't even sure you have..." She scolded.
"I'll be careful," Kyu said.
"Tell Retsuko and Via to stay safe as well," Riatsu added.
Kyu waved his hand in irritation. "What about me?" He asked, sounding jealous.
"You can take care of yourself," Riatsu reassured, pulling Kyu into an extremely tight hug.
"A hug is all I get?!" Kyu shouted over the roar of an approaching plane.
Riatsu giggled and flipped him off as the doors hissed open.
"You're definitely gonna rot in distortion." Via said, entering the plane cabin with Kyu.
"She definitely wants me." Kyu replied confidently, causing Via to roll her eyes.
Retsuko paused, looking back at the massive city filled with busy people and pokemon, moving cars, the screech of trains underground, the operators of bus transportation systems calling out the routes, and the beautiful lights that brightened the entire City.
He had only one thought.
"Sayonara, Unova."