"We're still an awfully long way from Jubilife City…" Athena frowned as she looked at her atlas. "At least two days and that's if we don't stop unnecessarily…"

"That's okay!" Aphrodite smiled. "It just means we all get to spend some extra time together."

Artemis snorted derisively, and Aphrodite frowned. She knew her sisters weren't exactly fond of Chili—they'd made it abundantly clear in the two hours he'd been traveling with them—but they could at least pretend to be nice…

Chili didn't seem to hear Artemis as he looked over at Athena instead. "Hey, what's with the gloves?" He nodded at the pale blue gloves that had been a staple of Athena's wardrobe since Aphrodite could remember.

Athena started and looked down at her gloves. "They keep the germs off my hands. Why?" She eyed Chili suspiciously.

"Jeez, just wondering, no need to get defensive." Chili threw up his hands in mock surrender.

Aphrodite frowned up at him. "I'm sorry about them… I don't know what's wrong; they're usually really nice."

Chili looked down at her and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Cl—" He stopped himself before he could finish the word.

Aphrodite looked around at the others. "So where are we going now?"

"As I've told you ten times already," said Athena with a sigh, "we're going to Jubilife City. Something about our friend here entering a cooking contest."

Aphrodite bounced a little on her heels. "Oh, that sounds fun!"

"Yeah…" Chili didn't seem all that excited as he frowned at Aphrodite. "You do remember me saying that a few hours ago, right…?"

Aphrodite frowned and racked her brain. "No?"

Chili just nodded at her, frowning a little more deeply. Aphrodite wondered why he did that so often; there were so many reasons to smile.

Chili turned back to look at Artemis, who was trailing a little behind the others and carrying Growlithe. "So, a Growlithe, huh?" He grinned.

Artemis just nodded, smiling a little in the cocky way she usually did. "Found it in the woods trying to scare us. I thought it was cool, so I caught it." She hugged Growlithe, who seemed very happy with its current travel arrangements. Chili just smiled at her.

As the group walked on, Aphrodite began to drift further and further to the back of the group. She wasn't aware it was happening, and no one else seemed to notice either, until Aphrodite was at the very back, straggling slightly behind the others as they walked. As they walked onward to Jubilife City, Aphrodite looked down at her necklace and played with it a little. It was just so pretty…

She looked up and saw… no one. That was weird. Her sisters had been right there earlier, so what had happened?

Where was she again?

"Hello?" Aphrodite called, looking around for any familiar faces. "Artemis? Athena?" She whimpered when there was no response, leaning against a nearby tree. She was lost, and she didn't even know how to get back home.

Aphrodite slid down until she was in a sitting position, hugging her knees and trying to fight back the tears.

"Tur turtwig?"

Aphrodite looked up, swiping at her eyes, to see a small green Pokémon looking at her. A Turtwig. She smiled at the turtle-like Pokémon, shaking her head. "It's okay, I'm fine… what was I crying about…?"

She looked at her fingers, wet with her tears, and noticed no one else was around. Where were her sisters? Aphrodite began to panic. If they weren't there, then where was she? What had happened? She didn't have any way to get home, either. She was stuck out here. Aphrodite started to cry all over again.

"Turtwig tur twig." Turtwig nudged Aphrodite's dress with its nose.

Aphrodite stood up, picking Turtwig up and hugging it. "You're right. Let's go." She paused. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't ask if you wanted to come with me…"

"Turtwig!" Turtwig nodded in confirmation.

Aphrodite giggled and hugged it again as they walked around the woods.

Athena couldn't recall ever feeling like she did currently. Her heart was frozen, and cold fear radiated through her body. Aphrodite was gone, and no one had seen where she went. Athena really was trying not to think of the worst outcomes, but… what would happen if they never saw their sister again? What if she was taken by…

Athena decided to stop there.

"She couldn't have gone that far, right?" Chili asked, looking at the two children with him. "I mean, it's not like we got very far before we lost her."

Athena sighed, shaking her head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple," she said quietly. "Aphrodite has… well, she gets lost very easily. Her, er… condition… means she doesn't remember things very well. Short term memory loss, I believe."

"Huh." Chili frowned, "So that's why she didn't remember why we were going to Jubilife City…"

Artemis nodded. "Something happened. We don't know what, but whatever it is, Aphie can't remember anything new. I mean, she can for a little while, but not for very long…"

Athena huffed impatiently, "Enough. We have to find her, and we have to find her soon." She looked at Artemis. "Growlithe can find someone by scent, right?"

"Yeah." Artemis nodded as she realized what Athena's plan was. "Do we have anything of hers?"

Athena dug around in her bag before finding a bracelet with a daisy charm on it. "That's right, she was wearing this earlier. She must have put it in the wrong bag." She knelt down to match Growlithe's height as the Puppy Pokémon approached her. Athena held the bracelet out as Growlithe sniffed at it. "Do you think you can help us, Growlithe?"

Growlithe barked and sniffed at the ground, slowly deciding on a direction. As it walked around gathering scents, Athena only hoped it could find her sister before anyone else did.

Aphrodite could tell Turtwig was beginning to lose heart. She didn't quite understand why—it had only been a few minutes, right? They hadn't been looking for that long, surely.

"Maybe we should find something to eat," she said, already reaching out towards a berry tree. "Look! These look good." She looked back at her friend. "What do you think, Turtwig?"

"Twig!" Turtwig said with a nod.

Aphrodite giggled, "Okay, let me just…" She reached out to grab some berries, but she reached a little too far and found she was touching something different. Definitely not edible. It wasn't until she saw what came out of it that she realized what it was.

"It's a Combee nest!" Aphrodite cried as she jumped off the tree. "Run!"

She heard buzzing as she and Turtwig ran away, along with the angry cries of Combee. Aphrodite looked behind her to see that Turtwig was having trouble keeping up, and she picked it up to carry it with her. Aphrodite and Turtwig ran for a few minutes more, all the while pursued by angry Combee, until Aphrodite tripped over a root in the ground. As the Combee grew closer, a yellow barricade of rage, Aphrodite looked down at Turtwig and hugged it. "I'm sorry, Turtwig…"

"Tur turtwig." Turtwig shook its head.

The Combee moved out of the way for their leader, a Vespiquen. The leader of the nest stared at the girl and the Pokémon for a second, sizing them up.

"Pansear, use Flamethrower!"

Aphrodite looked over to see Chili—how did she know that name?—running into view, joined by a Pokémon that she guessed was Pansear. As the fire monkey Pokémon unleashed a flaming torrent at the angry Combee, Athena pulled Aphrodite out of its way.

Aphrodite watched, holding onto Turtwig, as Pansear fought the Combee. She knew Pansear was at an advantage—it was a Fire-type versus a bunch of Bug-types after all—but there were so many Combee, plus Vespiquen…

"Growlithe, Ember!" Artemis called, running up to join Chili and Pansear. She looked up at him, "I'll get Vespiquen, you get the Combee."

Chili nodded, and Growlithe and Pansear continued to battle the Combee and Vespiquen. Aphrodite watched as the two Fire Pokémon did their worst, and eventually it began to pay off. Combee began to fall to the ground as Vespiquen put up a fight against Growlithe.

Something struggled in Aphrodite's arms, and Turtwig jumped to the ground and ran out, looking back at Aphrodite expectantly.

Aphrodite blinked. "You want to battle them too?"

"Tur turtwig!"

Aphrodite nodded, "Alright then… Tackle, let's go!"

Turtwig complied, tackling one of the Combee to the ground. Combee retaliated with a solid Gust, sending Turtwig flying. Aphrodite watched as Turtwig fought its way through the Combee, helping Pansear as Growlithe dealt with Vespiquen. Aphrodite called orders every now and then, telling Turtwig to use Tackle or Razor Leaf.

After several minutes, the Combee and their leader had all fainted, and Pansear and Growlithe returned to their respective Trainers. Chili smiled, "Good job, Pansear. Return."

He returned Pansear to its Poké Ball as Artemis laughed at Growlithe's energy. "Good boy, Growlithe. You were awesome." She hugged Growlithe as it barked its agreement.

"Oh no!" Aphrodite cried, running over to Turtwig. Its cheeks were a dark purple, and Aphrodite noticed it was warm to the touch as she picked it up. "Turtwig, are you okay?"

"Turtwig is a Grass-type," said Athena quietly. "Combee is a Flying- and Bug-type, which puts Turtwig at a double disadvantage. And it looks like it's poisoned too."

"We need to get to a Pokémon Center," Chili added. "Nurse Joy will know what to do."

"No." Aphrodite shook her head. "We don't have time, and I can do it on my own. I just need a Pecha Berry or two."

Artemis nodded, "You got it, Aphie."

She and Growlithe ran off into the woods as Aphrodite held onto Turtwig. "Come on Turtwig…" She looked down at the small turtle Pokémon, "Just hang on a little longer, okay?"

"Twig…" Turtwig leaned its head on her shoulder. "Turtwig…"

Artemis came back with the Pecha Berry, and Aphrodite promptly held it close to Turtwig's mouth. Turtwig ate it slowly, taking small bites until the whole Berry was gone. Aphrodite felt its body warm up, and the purple color disappeared from its cheeks. Aphrodite sighed in relief. "The poison's gone."

"Twig turtwig!"

Aphrodite giggled as Turtwig leaped out of her arms and onto the ground, running around her feet. "You sure are happy, huh, Turtwig?"

"Tur tur turtwig!"

Aphrodite picked it up again and hugged Turtwig tightly. "You're so cute!"

"Turtwig!"

Aphrodite's eyes widened as she got an idea. "Hey Turtwig. What do you think about coming with me?"

Turtwig nodded in agreement. Artemis tossed Aphrodite a Poké Ball from her bag, and Aphrodite tapped the button to Turtwig's head. The ball shook a few times in Aphrodite's hand before coming to a rest. Aphrodite smiled at the Poké Ball containing her partner. "Alright!"

Artemis grinned. "You and Turtwig are gonna be great together, Aphie!"

"You two certainly blend well together," Chili added.

"I hope so." Aphrodite smiled. "Let's do the best we can, okay, Turtwig?" The ball shook, and Aphrodite giggled. "Sounds good to me."

The moment was interrupted by the sound of growling stomachs. Artemis rubbed the back of her neck. "Guess it's lunch time…"

Chili just grinned. "Sounds good to me. I'll get everything set up, okay?"

Athena frowned, "You don't have to do that… Really, we can find some berries or something. It's no big deal."

Chili shook his head. "If I'm gonna enter a cooking contest, I need all the practice I can get, right? So I'll make us some lunch."

Athena nodded, seemingly reluctant. "Alright then… thank you."

"No problem." Chili began to set up his cooking equipment while Artemis and Growlithe wrestled playfully on the ground.

Aphrodite looked at Turtwig's Poké Ball and threw it up in the air. "Come on out, Turtwig!"

Turtwig tilted its head. "Turtwig?"

Aphrodite smiled as she sat on a nearby tree log. "Maybe we can use this time to get to know each other."

"Tur turtwig!"

Artemis' and Growlithe's wrestling match got closer and closer until some of the dust settled on Turtwig's shell. Turtwig glared at them, shaking the dirt off. "Twig! Turtwig!"

Aphrodite giggled. "I guess you don't like being dirty either, huh?"

Turtwig shook its head.

"Neither do I." Aphrodite smiled. "We're gonna be great partners, I can already tell!"

"Turtwig!" Turtwig jumped into Aphrodite's lap. Aphrodite just smiled and hugged her partner Pokémon. Even if she didn't remember exactly how they met, she was glad they did.

A/N: First of all, if anyone who read this has gotten this far, thank you so much😅 I know the pacing for this volume isn't the best, and I promise it only gets better after the Sinnoh arc wraps up. But I really do appreciate everyone who's giving this fic a shot, so if you're reading it, thank you so much.

I'm going to stop doing daily updates and start updating weekly on Saturdays instead; I have all the chapters already written out and posted on other platforms, so expect chapter 5 next week. I'm excited to introduce this story to FFN, and I hope y'all like it. Feel free to review if you feel up to it, and thanks for getting this far. See you next week.

- Darcy