I glance over my shoulder and wonder what I am instigating. While I spent a lengthy morning with Geeta and the Elite, Ellie and the others explored Medali. When we reunited Ellie asked for me to show them the sights. Judging from Lance and Steven's frowns, it was clear they didn't want to see anymore of Medali. Intrigued by them, Geeta offered to treat everyone to a late lunch but Ellie asked again for me to show her Medali so I gave in and we split up. Only on the condition of course that we stayed within a twenty minute range, Steven would not consent to anything further. It took me too long a moment to realise exactly what Ellie was after.

Ellie sits at a round table under a parasol with Quackles in her lap and opposite her Kenji sits with Ratty perched on his shoulder taking in the sights. They're on a date and I'm chaperoning. Ellie didn't want to see the sites again, she just wanted to get away with Kenji from overbearing eyes.

"I'm not sure about this Mister Larry," Looker pipes up scornfully. "I'm grateful for the ice-cream but does the criminal deserve it?"

Looker insisted on coming with us, I thought to take in more of Medali but I actually think he is concerned about me. It's odd to think I've made a friend this way. I think his presence is the only reason Steven didn't insist on coming too, though he grumbled half-heartedly about it. I wonder too if maybe Steven is attempting to give Ellie and I space to reconcile.

I ignore Looker and return my attention to the street vendor. I offer him cash and pass over two filled cones to Looker. Officer Pawly gives an excitable bark and I glance down to see the Growlithe looking up to me with hopeful, wide eyes.

"Um..."

I turn back to the vendor. "Could I get three cones? Just cones."

He nods with a smile and plucks up three, putting them inside each other before handing them over with two other filled cones. I presume from the lack of change that the cones were not free.

I thank the vendor and lead the way back to Kenji and Ellie.

Ellie looks up with eyes shadowed in fatigue and offers me a small smile. I do not believe she has slept very well here and worry that she is still troubled by the intrusive thoughts of Pokemon.

I hand down Ellie her teriyaki glaze ice-cream and wonder if she even likes it anymore.
"Thanks." She takes the cone and gives it a lick.

The curious head of her Farfetch'd pops up over the table and he gives a cross quack.

I fumble to pull one cone out of the three and offer it down to him. For my troubles, my fingers are almost lost to the greedy beak of an ungrateful Quackles.

The cone becomes shredded to crumbs in an instant.

"Quackles behave!" Ellie tries to scorn her Pokemon but her giggles slip into her voice betraying her lack of ire.

"Aww thanks Glancer!" Kenji accepts his mint chocolate chip cone with delight.

"It's Looker." I don't know why Looker bothers with the correction, does he really not get that Kenji knows his real name? Well nickname or codename I suppose, I doubt his mother actually named him Looker.

I offer down a cone to the patiently waiting Growlithe, he takes it gently in his mouth before carrying it under the table to savour.

Looker takes a seat between Ellie and Kenji and frowns pointedly at Kenji. The effect is ruined by his repetitive licking of his ice-cream.

I hold the last cone out towards Kenji. "For your...Ratty."
Kenji smiles up at me. "Too kind Larry. Come on Ratty, get your cone off the nice man."

He raises his shoulder as the gold furred Rattata appears on it. It rises up on its hind legs and wrinkles its nose curiously before stretching up its paws to take the cone. In a flash of movement it is gone with the cone.

I take a seat at last and sigh as I become aware of the melting ice-cream staining my hand.

"Here."

I look over as Ellie offers me up a napkin. I give her a faint smile as I accept it and wipe it around my sticky hand.

"Do you still like that flavour?" I pry. "Do they have it in Hoenn?"

"Ice-cream wouldn't be common in Hoenn," Ellie admits. She gives the ice-cream another few licks and smiles. "I missed it without knowing I did." Her smile widens as she turns up to me. "I love this flavour."

"My favourite flavour too," Kenji pipes up cheerfully, "free! Hyuck-hyuck-hyuck!"

I fill with annoyance but it is dispelled quickly by Ellie's laugher. Arceus help me, the Rocket Grunt actually amuses her.

We eat in relative peace. Looker makes some bland comments about the weather whilst Ellie observes some Starly with interest. We finish and I give the table a quick wipe with a napkin.

Ellie takes the lead with Kenji, holding his hand as she halts every so often to look at a building with curiosity. I expect her to say something or ask about the streets and sites but she doesn't. She goes still for a few seconds, shakes her head and starts walking again. I wonder if the voids are keeping the pain of the past away.

"Larry, aren't you going to say something?" Looker grumbles to me.

"About?"

"Well they're touching!"

Kenji glances over his shoulder at the yelling and flashes a mischievous smile at us before turning his attention ahead.

"It's...hand holding," I say the words quietly and with some difficulty, trying to act like it's not bothering me when it is.

"It could be worse," Looker speaks as if he is making a threat.

"I know."

"Well Mister Stone isn't happy about it," now he sounds smug as if he appreciates Steven's attitude better than mine. "He made some mentioning of throwing the ruffian out to sea."

"I don't think he was being literal." Well I don't, maybe there's a small chance Steven was but it's very small I'm sure.

Pain shoots up my ribcage and I give a gasp of pain. Alarm fills me as I become aware of something smacking against my ribcage. I reach into my jacket and fumble through its inner pocket for the source. I grasp at a Poke Ball that is jumpy with energy, as I pull it out it opens without warning or order and out comes the Greavard in a flash of red light.

When the Pokemon starts to face ahead and bark I realise Ellie has halted. She is no longer holding Kenji's hand but stands aloof staring up at a familiar place.

I fill with grief, worry and fresh fear all at once. I did not want to come here but something in Ellie has drawn us here anyway.

I step forward as the Greavard bumps against Ellie's ankle and nuzzles her with several barks accompanying the gesture.

"Is this where it happened?" The question comes out of Ellie before I can say anything. Not – is this where we lived, is this home or anything nostalgic like that? No, the good memories are gone and only the nightmare stays.

"Yes."

Ellie hugs her torso and bows her head. I frown as I see damp drops spill from her onto the ground.

"I didn't want to bring you here," I say softly.

"Dobby and mom," she almost whispers the words.

I see her shudder and here a whimpering as she tries to swallow down a sob.

"I endangered them, the bad people wanted me and Dobby and mom..."
I pull Ellie into a hug. "It was not your fault."

"Did you stay here after? Why is it still here? It feels so sad." Ellie sucks in a breath and quivers against me.

"No, I went looking for you, I went everywhere, all over Paldea as many times as I could. I think Hassel took me in briefly, I'm not sure. I became very tired and no one seemed to know anything. I didn't stay here ever again but I kept it because... well at first I thought you'd come back and I needed your room to be ready for you. Then, it was guilt I suppose, I needed the reminder of my failing, to see the place I should have been at and remember what I had lost because I wasn't here."

Ellie starts to cry and it takes a lot for me to hold back my own grief. The Greavard whimpers and I glance down to see it is still nuzzling Ellie.

"Stop it," I snap as I tried to push it away with my foot.

Ellie pulls back and looks down at the Pokemon. "You feel familiar," she says softly, almost sounding afraid. "I don't understand. You're not Dobby, are you?"

"Dobby's spirit perhaps," Looker suggests, "or essence. A subtle influence on this Pokemon."

"This Pokemon will drain your life force," I caution, "without even knowing it's doing it."

Ellie kneels down and extends a hand out tentatively to it. "It's okay, I can sense it for both of us so I'll tell you when to stop."

The Greavard extends its tongue to lick her hand and wags its tail excitably.

"I don't know," Ellie says sorrowfully. "I mean, you're a Ghost type and I don't understand you. No, I understand you, just..." She shakes her head. "It's complicated."

Ellie stands up and hugs her torso once more as she looks about with unease.

"Ellie?"

I turn in surprise at the voice and see Geeta and the others approaching. The voice is Steven's. He breaks from his group and hurries forward.

I fix my gaze on Geeta as I wonder if she has had us followed or if this can really be a coincidence that we are meeting up here.

I sense the stares of the others and pick them out – Hassel looks sympathetic, Rika worried and Poppy a little puzzled.

"Ellie what's wrong? You're crying!"

Steven grabs Ellie protectively and his glower darts from me to Kenji.

Kenji holds his hands up weakly and gives a sheepish smile. "I didn't cause it."

"It's fine Steven," Ellie says. She sounds so tired. "Just...memories."
"Oh, of course," Geeta pipes up. She strides forward with shock in her stare that I know is fake. "But this is where you used to live, it must be so hard for you seeing it again and such a tragic place it's become too." She sighs and shakes her head. "I suggested it be tore down so Larry might be free of the grief but then without closure over you he couldn't let go."

I hate how her words twist my reality, she's right in what she says but not how she says it. I didn't want to let go and I'm glad I didn't because Mia survived and now she's back in Paldea.

"You lived here?" Steven sounds confused as he stares at Ellie.
"We did," I answer because she cannot.

"It happened here then," it is Lance who states the obvious.

I see him observing the house with interest and I do not like it.

"You know Medali has a lot more to offer," Rika attempts to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"Daddy would walk me to school on his way to work," Ellie murmurs, "and mommy would pick me up. We'd always go home over a hopscotch, Duchess would play on it too. When I got Dobby we'd go via the butcher's sometimes and get him a bone."

"That's right," I confirm. "You were happy here Ellie, we all were."

Ellie shakes her head. "I brought the fire, just like in Hoenn Steven! I burned things and it brought them!"

"Shh Ellie," Steven attempts to soothe her, "we've talked about this, it's not your fault."

"It is! It is!" Ellie jerked back from him and I see smoke slipping out from her fingertips. "It just happens but it is my fault! I burned things here and...and I burned mom in Hoenn Steven, I did that!"

"Starshine stop." Kenji is calm as he moves to stand in front of her. "You're getting worked up now, fiery in more than one sense of the word. Come on now, take a breath."
"You don't get it Kenji." She shakes her head at him as tears continue to stain her cheeks and tiny flames start to bud at her fingers.

"I do."
"How could you?"

"Ellie..." I see him stiffen and clench his hands slightly. He bows his head. "You know what I am, I've done bad things and I've caused pain. I regret it every day but I still did it, can't get away from that."

"I burned my mom, what's worse than that?"

Kenji reaches up to scratch at his dark hair. "You're going to make share then huh? Like your friends and family here need another reason to hate me, hyuck-hyuck-hyuck," his laugh comes out in a wretched sound.

I don't think I want to hear Kenji's grisly confession and I definitely don't want such a large audience hearing it.

"Ellie," I speak up for a rare change, "you don't need Kenji to absolve you. I am sorry for all your suffering, you were too young to understand your powers and you needed your mom to show you. It really wasn't your fault, you were just a child in Hoenn."

"Larry's right," Morty speaks up gently as he steps towards her. "I'm a psychic, I know better than anyone else here. Ellie, you had no guidance and you suffered a lot with Team Rocket, they made you unstable, that's on them, not you. Look," he stares up at the house briefly, "let's get away from here, it's not helping you."

I feel a twinge of woe at Morty's words even as I agree with them. Is this how it will be in Paldea, that only bad memories are conjured for Ellie? Will she go back to Hoenn with Steven then? I have until Troy shows up to try and improve things here for her.

Ellie nods and reaches out to grasp Kenji's hand again. She gives it a squeeze. "I'm sorry Kenji."

"It's okay starshine, I just... I've got my guilt too."

"Let's go outside the city," I blurt out, "and see the Girafarig, you always loved seeing them Ellie. Maybe I could get one for you."

Ellie gives a small smile and glances over to Steven. "You used to take me to Safari Zone to see them in Hoenn, Steven."

Steven nods. "Never understood the obsession until now."

"A Normal and Psychic Pokemon," Geeta observes, "a bit of both, that sounds sweet, almost like Ellie but she is clearly a psychic, not normal." It's another dig at my expense and I know it.

"I like Normal Pokemon," Ellie insists. She glances down to the Greavard, I had forgotten it for a moment. "Sorry."

I raise up its Dusk Ball and call it back, it comes without resistance.

"Why?" Geeta pries. "I mean there's nothing wrong with them but why them when you have so much choice?"

"They're not flashy, they're just what you see, no secrets, no changing." I feel a bloom of pride with Ellie's words.

"No changing?" Poppy asks innocently.

I try to spy Ellie's expression as she faces the girl but I can't.

"My Pokemon don't evolve."

"Oh, well Girafarig evolve," Geeta points out bluntly. "Doesn't sound like the right Pokemon for you." She smiles cheerfully and I hate it. "I guess your tastes have changed since Larry knew you but that makes sense, it has been years. Don't worry, Paldea has so many Pokemon to offer, even Normal ones, we'll find you something else if you are looking to expand your team."

"Girafarig evolve?" Morty queries dubiously. "They don't in Johto."
"Must be native to Paldea," Geeta answers.

"We can still go look at them," I suggest weakly. I feel deflated, Geeta has taken the joy out of my plan.

"Let's just get away from here," Morty insists.

Everything feels bad again. I see Ellie looking upset and I don't know if it's the house, the news about Girafarig or a combination of events. I want her to be happy here but I don't think it's going to happen.