Aphrodite looked up at the sky. It had been a few days since she and her sisters had begun their journey, or at least that's what Athena and her notebook said. Aphrodite didn't really know herself. She wasn't sure why but remembering things was hard… really hard.

Aphrodite played with her necklace, staring down at the bright, beautiful flower pendant. She didn't remember where she'd gotten it or from whom, but it was so pretty; she just wanted to wear it all the time. Athena seemed to want her to wear it, or at least she'd insisted on it that morning. Maybe Athena thought it looked nice on her too.

Aphrodite watched Growlithe run around Artemis' legs as they walked together. Artemis was the happiest her sister had seen her in a while, laughing and smiling as the little dog Pokémon played. Aphrodite smiled; they were practically made for each other.

Wait, when did Artemis catch a Growlithe? Aphrodite racked her memory and came up with nothing. Huh. Maybe she just didn't remember. She wasn't very good at remembering things.

"So where are we going now?" she asked her sisters. If they were walking, they had to be going somewhere, right? She couldn't think of any other reason.

Athena looked up at Aphrodite and then back at her atlas. "Well…" She studied the map inside the book, frowning in concentration. "There's a city not too far from here, but obviously we don't want to go there…"

"Why not?" Aphrodite asked.

Athena frowned in what looked like worry. She and Artemis shared a look before Athena turned to her other sister. "Well," she said, "we are trying to avoid people."

"Oh, okay," Aphrodite answered with a nod. "So where are we going?"

She didn't understand why Athena seemed frustrated when she answered that. She'd only asked the question once.

Athena knew it wasn't Aphrodite's fault. She wasn't to blame for the fact that she couldn't remember anything or that her memory essentially refreshed itself every thirty seconds. But it was still immensely frustrating sometimes when she had to explain things to her sister multiple times and she still didn't get it.
If Athena was telling the truth, it worried her. She didn't know what had happened to cause this problem in Aphrodite's brain; neither she nor Artemis had been present to see it, and no one seemed keen on telling them no matter how much Athena asked. Still, Aphrodite was her sister, and Athena would be there for her no matter what.

"What's the plan from here?" Artemis asked, looking at her sisters.

Athena frowned again. "I will admit, I'm not quite sure how we're supposed to get any money… especially if we're trying to avoid people."

"We could pickpocket."

"Artemis!" Athena cried. "So instead of just runaways, you expect us to gather more attention by becoming wanted criminals?"

"Better than anything else," Artemis said with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like it's hard, and we wouldn't get caught. If anyone found us out I'd beat 'em up."

Growlithe barked in agreement.

"Oh, for goodness' sake…" Athena sighed, rubbing her temple. "We're not doing anything illegal. We're in enough trouble as is."

"Worth a shot." Artemis picked up Growlithe and hugged it. It barked happily in response.

"So what are we going to do?" Aphrodite asked, concerned. "If we don't have any money, we can't leave the region…"

"Hm…" Athena racked her brain. She liked to think she was smart, or at least that's what everyone told her. She could program a computer in her sleep, but this seemed much more difficult. "…short of swimming across the ocean to Unova… I guess I don't know."

Artemis gave an exaggerated gasp. "The great Athena doesn't know something? Growlithe, did you hear that?"

Athena decked the back of her sister's head in response.

"Hey!"

"Oh, shut up," Athena muttered before going back to her atlas. "Goodness' sake, we've been walking for a long time…"

"It does look kinda familiar…" Artemis frowned. "You sure we haven't been here before?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Athena's heart sank. "We've been walking in circles!"

"Well, that is what happens when you have no idea where you're going."

"Any other wise words, Professor–"

"Hey! Hey, Cinna! Over here!"

All three sisters shared a look at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Athena's heart froze. Had they been found already? What was going to happen next? Would her sisters be okay? What about her?

Before Athena could process what was going on, she heard Artemis shout in surprise and saw her sister being pulled into a tight hug.

"Man, I thought I'd never see you guys again!" the stranger said as Artemis squirmed her way out of the hug.

This was getting concerning already.

Aphrodite knew him from somewhere. She just didn't know where… and it wasn't like he would be easy to forget, either. His bright red hair, done in the shape of a fire, and red eyes were too distinctive to be forgotten.

So… where did Aphrodite know him from?

She watched him as Artemis wriggled out of his hug, backing away and glaring warily at him. He looked… oddly hurt, which made Aphrodite's heart hurt with him.

Artemis, however, didn't seem to feel anything but defensive. "Growlithe, use Ember!"

As sparks flew out of Growlithe's mouth towards the stranger, Aphrodite felt the urge to defend him. Yes, it was weird that he seemed to know them, but that wasn't any reason to hurt him.

The Ember hit its mark, and Artemis ordered Growlithe to do it again. Aphrodite watched while the stranger kept trying to get the little Growlithe to stop.

Aphrodite ran in between Growlithe and the stranger, facing Artemis. "Stop it! Stop!"

"Aphie, get out of the way—"

"No!" Aphrodite planted her feet. "Stop it!"

Artemis frowned, looking between Aphrodite and the stranger, before sighing. "Alright. Come on, Growlithe, that's enough." She picked up the small dog Pokémon as it ran back to her, hugging it.

Athena stepped in front of her fiery sister, keeping her eyes focused on the stranger like she expected him to hurt them. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The stranger stood up, having been knocked back by the multiple Embers in his direction, and brushed some stray hair out of his face. He was frowning, and Aphrodite could tell this interaction had not gone the way he expected. "…my name's Chili." He looked at each of them in turn again, as if he expected them to know that. And Aphrodite did know that, or at least she felt like she did… somehow. But how could she know someone's name if she never met them before? "I'm just on my way to a cooking contest in Jubilife City. I'm sorry, I… guess I must have mistaken you for someone else."

Before Aphrodite's better judgment could stop it, her desire to know more about this person and who he had mistaken them for took over. "We could go with you. It gets lonely traveling by yourself." She tried to smile.

Athena just looked at her sister, wide-eyed. Artemis was clearly confused. After a few seconds of silence, Athena looked over at Chili. "If you'll just excuse us for a minute…" She pulled Aphrodite by the arm, Artemis following. When they were out of earshot, Athena grabbed her sister by the shoulders. "Just what in the name of Arceus do you think you're doing?!" she hissed.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I know him. I don't know where from, but I think it might be—"

"Oh, for Arceus' sake, not those ludicrous dreams again! Aphrodite, you know what I—"

"I know you think they're just… I don't know, coping mechanisms or whatever, but they're not! I know I've seen him before, and that doesn't look like anything I could come up with on my own!" Aphrodite tried to put on her best pleading face as she looked at her sister. "Athena, please, just trust me." She looked at Artemis in a silent plea for help.

"Come on, Athena," Artemis finally intervened. "I don't fully trust him either, but if he wanted to kill us or something, he would have. And it's not like we have any proof Aphie's just dreaming it up or whatever. And if things do go south, we can handle it. We can handle anything if we stick together." She grinned.

Athena sighed. Aphrodite could see the resignation on her face. "…Fine. We'll go to Jubilife City, and no further, with Chili. And after that, we're back on our own, got it?"

Aphrodite nodded, now smiling widely. She had a feeling Athena would feel differently by the time they actually got to Jubilife City, but for now, she would take what she could get.

The three of them returned to where Chili was, and Aphrodite looked up hopefully, "So, is it okay if we go with you?"

Chili nodded with a grin. "Sounds good to me." As the group started walking, Athena pulling her map out to look at where Jubilife City was, Chili looked around at them, "So what are your names, anyway?"

Athena sighed, looking very reluctant to answer the question. "I'm Athena. My sisters are Artemis and Aphrodite." She nodded at each of them in turn.

A frown crossed Chili's face, as if those weren't the names he expected to hear. But it was gone as soon as it came, and Aphrodite figured it was nothing. Still… the whole thing did make her very curious.