Chp. 4 - Brave New World

Blue. Lots and LOTS of blue.

Kyle didn't have anything against the color, usually preferring it to a lot of other bright colors, but considering he'd been on the open seas for the past week, a change of color scheme would've been nice.

Porto Marinada had its share of other colors too, but once more the blue that crowned the majority of the port town seemed almost nauseating at first. Not that anything could be done about it, Kyle was simply glad to be able to eat something other than seafood now. Once the docking procedure was completed, the ship's crew allowed the passengers off at last, and let Kyle take his first steps onto a brand new region.

Long ago Kyle might've looked at the ground beneath his feet and felt a strong pang of adventure calling to him, the soil and air of a new land stirring up wonder within him. What little of that feeling that remained now, however, was soon swallowed up by the torrent of anxiety that befell the whole reason he was here. Touristing and adventure be damned, he had a job to do here, a mission he would not fail.

Once Kyle's salt-brined tennis shoes stepped onto the closest patch of grass though… his gaze stuck to the verdant soil, the grass surrounding his shoes now. A familiar sight…

X-X

Unova. Towering spires of man made steel and mountainous ruins clashed for dominance of the skylines, nature wrestling control from both of them all the while. Kyle's brand new boots sunk into the sandy grass of Undella Town's shores, a younger and happier Apollo standing with his feet in the water. Another new region awaited them both, having just landed here from a long flight.

To Kyle's left stood a Noivern, and to his right a Floatzel, both equally enamored with this new land. Apollo led them both ahead to the grassy patches ahead, while Kyle knelt down to the sandy grass and put a hand to the earth… and closed his eyes.

"... In this new land- "

Kyle spoke to himself, softly yet firmly.

" -I will do what is best for my team, for the growth of my partners, and for the betterment of my friends and family. "

The young trainer's hand gripped the grass gently.

" This I promise, to myself, and to my team. I will not let you down. Not now… "

With a renewed sense of vigor and grace, Kyle relinquished the grass in his hands.

X-X

"... Not ever. "

As Kyle opened his eyes once more, the Paldean grass met his gaze again. It was an old ritual, the one he'd performed just now, meant to keep his focus on what he aimed to accomplish in a new land; whether it be a gym challenge leading to the Elite Four, or merely relocating one of his team members to a better place.

While Kyle didn't necessarily intend on performing that ritual again… old habits die hard, especially ones from better times. It bounced around in his head for a moment, the words and their intentions, before the rumbling of the Luxury Ball on his belt caught his attention.

"Alright, come on then. Get out here and take a looksie."

Kyle activated the Luxury Ball, before it popped open and released Apollo onto the grass, the Venusaur shaking his head a little before gazing around with a pleased expression.

"Hrmm… Saauuur. Venusaur."
'Hrmm… graaasss. I like this grass .'

"It's nice huh? Pretty soft."

Apollo shifts around some atop that patch of earth.

"Saur. Venusaur… Vee…?"
'Weird. It's kind of… spicy…? '

"Spicy Grass, huh? That's a new one. I'm sure it'll grow on you, can you feel anything else?"

Apollo digs his front paws into the dirt of it a bit more, wriggling his toes into the roots now. Being a Grass type, Apollo had a 6th (or possibly 7th) sense for the natural forces around him, especially those extending into the earth as roots and flora. In any given continent or land, there was a specific tingle or vibration from the types of plants around; the Venusaur made it a habit of digging in and connecting wherever he was, just to feel the "vibes" of the area.

After a few moments of letting that tingle set in, Apollo let a goofy and contented grin settle over him, his toes still wiggling in that grassy rooted area.

"Veeee… Saur Venusaur."
'Ooooh yeah… we got good vibes.'

Apollo's goofy grin seemed contagious, Kyle caught on and grinned in return.

"Glad to hear bud! Let's get on the road then, shall we? I've heard they've got a flying taxi service here, kinda like in Galar."

Apollo chuffs and lays himself on that grass.

"Rurf… Vee. Saur Venusaur."
'rurf… Meh. I always preferred walking…'

"I know bud. C'mon, back in the ball for now, we'll stop for snacks in about an hour. Can't spend too long here."

"Saur, saur. Venusaur , Saur Venu saur Vee…"
'I know, I know. Just be careful , I can't battle anyone…'

Kyle kneels down to the Venusaur and rubs his head.

"…Not yet.~"

Apollo offers a shy smile, graciously nudging Kyle's hand.

"Saur… Vee Saur ."
'Yeah… not yet.'

Kyle presses the Luxury Ball's button to return Apollo, before putting it back on his belt.

"Alright…" Kyle blew out a sigh that meant to relieve the building anxiousness from his head, and yet it only seemed to stir the embers into flame.

What now? He had a name, a Pokemon he'd never seen until a few days ago, and barely set foot in a region he knew shockingly little about. Kyle whirled his head around, taking in the mountains and the seas that clashed together in a subtle beautiful collision, something he grew too nervous to enjoy at the moment.

"…Arven… okay, where… how do I find…"

Alas, the older trainer's struggles weren't kind. Kyle stood there for a few minutes trying to piece together the disorganized mess in his head. "UGH this is harder than I remember…"

After a few moments of banging his head with his fists, he perked up.
"aaAAHA! The LIST! List, listlistlistlist-"

Kyle fumbled for his wallet, pulling out a folded up paper that lay tattered in the back most pocket. Gingerly he unfolded it, the handwriting faded from the years of being kept in there.

"I KNEW you'd come in handy!"

It was the summer that Kyle had gotten Apollo as his starter that this paper had been written on, immediately after beating Roark as the first gym, in fact. Where Kyle deflated after being overwhelmed by the prospect of going on, Roark knew just how to help having seen this in quite a few trainers before.

Roark wrote down a few simple bullet points on a piece of blank white construction paper, an outline of sorts:

"Okay… first steps. One, visualize success. Done that… Two, Map the route. RIGHT, a map would help."

Kyle couldn't believe he forgot the most crucial step, even in preparation for the trip! Even just a map on his phone would've done, and considering how easy it was to get a map off the internet-

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO CELL SERVICE?!"

As Kyle looked at the top right of his phone, he found not a single bar of reception, no internet. Seems being a few hundred miles away from your cell service would prove to be too far away. Kyle groaned out, looking at the path ahead… seeing as just wandering around in the Paldea wilderness was NOT a good idea, he had no other options, so to a WiFi spot it is.

With grumbling under his breath, Kyle meandered back into the bustling port town of Porto Marinada, weaving around people as he searched for a blasted WiFi signal anywhere. The majority of which were locked, of course, and no signal seemed to come his way either. The main pavilion of shops and assorted stands rang with people shouting their goods and wares out, like any good bazaar would have. Maps or phones weren't on that list, so none of that did him much good.

He sighed in defeat after roaming the whole of the shops, finding nothing. He leaned against a pillar near a vending machine, rubbing his face roughly in an attempt to keep him from slowing down. Kyle expected to run into issues in his first travels since Apollo's injury, but not something that would stop him so suddenly, nor something so mundane as a lack of internet access-

"Oh. My. GOSH."

Kyle's train of thought cut itself short by another interruption, this time manifesting in the presence of two younger men stopping to gawk. Usually Kyle wouldn't give it much thought considering he had more important issues at hand, but the sheer visual overload made him stop and squint slightly.

The shorter of the two, latino and short cut violet hair, wore denim short shorts and black and white striped thigh high socks, monotone converse to match, with a dark purple tank top that read "Tienes Leche?" with a smug looking Miltank beside it; nevermind the inch wide gauges in his ears or multiple facial piercings, OR the Jigglypuff backpack hanging from his arm with enough buttons to classify as a makeshift tambourine. This guy held onto his partner's hand tight, which led Kyle's gaze to the other one.

Absolutely all of the taller pale dude's clothing was long sleeve tie dye: Blue and Pink Tie Dye sweatshorts, rainbow tie dye hoodie (with sleeves rolled up) with a stoned looking Shiinotic graphic on the front, tie dye crocs(?), even the dude's beanie was a combo of bright pinks and greens, all the way to his long hair down his shoulders was faded multicolor blues and greens.

Overall the duo made the colors of Porto Marinada pale in comparison, eliciting a slow drawn out double blink from Kyle, as the shorter guy began to slowly freak out with glee.

"ohmygoshohmYGOSHOHMYGOSH!"

Kyle would have usually tried to calm down the obviously adoring fan by now, if he hadn't been flash-banged by youthful and eye popping fashion. The younger latino guy pulled out a softcover biography with Kyle's own younger face plastered across the front, a particular memory of being interviewed years ago rang in the back of his head once the picture slapped his brain with a particularly powerful cringe.

"DUDE. I-I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU, I'M LIKE-"

Before Kyle had a chance to try and make the guy calm down from his fanboying, the larger guy covered his mouth preemptively yet carefully.

"...dude-" His voice was deeper but as mellow as can be. "-my boyfriend is obsessed with you."

Before letting his hand off of his much more enthused boyfriend's mouth, he put a finger to his mouth. "Don't make a scene."

The younger guy calmed down some, his fanboying calming to a gentle bubble from its initial broiling overflow.

"Whew… Okay, okay, right. I'm sorry, I just… you mean the WORLD to me."

Kyle found his bearings finally, and he cleared his throat, gently guiding the two to the sidelines instead of directly in the middle of everyone.

"Heh, it's always nice to meet a fan!" Kyle, with practiced coolness that wore a slight rust of anxiety on it, extended his hand with a smile. "As you, uh, guessed already… I'm Kyle!"

"It's an HONOR to meet you." The younger guy vigorously accepted Kyle's hand with both of his own and nearly shook it off while rambling. "I'm Beto! I was a trainer as a kid when you were on TV, I-I modeled my entire trainer career after yours, you were SUCH an inspiration-"

"Beto, hand." The taller dude spoke chill-like once more, reminding Beto to relinquish Kyle's hand.

"Oh sorry-"

Kyle took his hand back and flexed it for a second.

"Oh, y-you're fine! It's um… refreshing, honestly." Kyle regarded the taller guy in tie dye next. "You are?"

Kyle offered his hand again, only to have the taller dude fist bump it instead.

"Alejandro, dude. Call me Ali."

"Right," Kyle withdrew his hand again, looking at it for a moment with initial confusion at the fist bump. "Ali. Nice to meet you both, I um… Don't have time right now for much of anything but… I could…"

…The older trainer had a moment of doubt before continuing and trying to end the conversation. He looked down at his phone, still no signal and it was doubtful that he'd be able to make much use of his current circumstances. Looking at the other two though… maybe he had some help after all…?

"...actually… look, I… I'd never, EVER ask for ANYTHING from a fan. Not money, not favors, not anything at all. And you two are the…" Kyle had to stop him from saying any other adjectives that came to mind. "-NICEST fans I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, but I regret to say… I kinda need some help."

Beto's expression went from adoring to flat out fanatical, a subtle shift in his stance made him appear as if he was ready to spring into action. Kyle could've sworn he noticed his pupils dilate.

"Really? What can we do?! Whatever it is, we won't let you down!"

Ali simply crossed his arms and leaned back a bit coolly. "We gotchu dude."

Kyle took a moment to heave a heavy sigh, already regretting his choice.

"So, I'm here to find someone, and, like… if you could just keep the fact I'm HERE a secret, please…" The nodding from the two signaled for Kyle to continue. "Now, I don't know exactly where they are, and this person isn't a celebrity or anything, so… I'm gonna have to track them down. Thing is, I don't know where to start, and I don't have a map, or even PHONE SERVICE on this continent, apparently-"

"What carrier do you use?" Beto inquired curiously.

"Uh," Kyle looked at his phone for a moment. "...Ghostsparks."

"Ooooh, yeah." Beto winced. "They went out of service in Paldea about 2 years ago."

"That blows dude."

"Yeah, figures." Kyle put his phone back in his pocket. "Anyways… I can figure things out once I get some sort of cell service or something, but I'm kinda-"

"-Shit outta luck, huh?" Beto rubbed his chin in thought. Kyle nodded slowly.

"Seems so…" The further this conversation went, all the more Kyle felt helpless in the current circumstances; a far cry from the usual preparedness and exhaustive planning he usually did beforehand, nevermind the fact he had not a single available battler in his party… "I uh… I feel really bad asking for assistance here, but like… any chance you can-"

"Are you kidding me?"

Kyle nearly got whiplash Beto's enthusiastic reply cut off his apologetic request, the younger latino looking as though he was about to burst from excitement.

"I get to call a taxi for my LITERAL HERO?!"

"W-well-" Kyle tried to slow him down. "I don't know where to-"

That didn't seem to stop Beto, who already had his phone out and furiously scrolled to find what he needed.

"Listen my fine trainer friend, if you want to find someone in Paldea, you need only go to one city:"

Beto held up the phone to show Kyle the heart of Paldea.

" Mesagoza. "

Having done a bit of research on the boat ride over, Kyle had indeed heard of Mesagoza, being a pretty large city in the heart of Paldea. Considering his lack of resources, it might've been a good idea to start somewhere like that. Still, being ferried over there by one of your "biggest fans" felt almost demoralizing.

"You're gonna love it there! It's definitely kinda touristy, but like in a GOOD way, not a "spend-6000¥-on-this-cool-looking-but-definitely-fake-legendary-pokemon-relic" type of way."

Ali shook his head. " Can't trust him with any money, dude."

Kyle simply blinked at the statement. "…right, okay-"

"They've got everything you could possibly need there, trust me. And hey, I can even get the word out that you're looking for someone if-"

"NONononono, just- the taxi is fine, thank you so much."

Beto nodded as he remembered the "secretive" nature of this request.

"Right, right. Secret, scouts honor." Beto pinged the request and closed his phone. "Okay… taxi should be here pretty soon, app says 4 minutes."

"Oh wow," Kyle had heard of the efficiency of flying taxi services, but didn't expect THAT fast of a turn around time. "Uh… okay, that's great! I'm indebted to you my guy, thank you so much-"

"BEFORE you go, can- …can I just ask for one thing?"

Kyle had to admit the tenacity of this odd fan of his was admirable, seeing as Beto took the reins of conversation so forwardly. He knew the kid didn't mean anything negative by it, and he didn't take it as such, but it was certainly a strange experience he'd had thus far.

Nonetheless, Kyle nodded in agreement, Beto definitely earned a modest request.

"Yeah man, anything."

"Can… can my partner Pokemon meet you too?"

Kyle didn't think anything of it, he'd been around Pokemon of all shapes and sizes all his life. He nodded assuredly.

"Of course!"

"Sweet!"

As he nodded, Beto's smile could have reached through the roof while he pulled out a wildly customized Pokéball, with so many stickers and markings on it he couldn't even tell what type of ball it was originally.

"Oye Leche, look who we found!"

Kyle watched as the ball was tossed in the air, slowly descending as-

'Wait, Leche …?'

The light from within the ball formed into a 4' mass that soon solidified into a well built and surprisingly cute Miltank .

'...Okay, now his tank top makes sense.'

At first glance, Kyle noticed it proudly wore a black spiked collar, a few minor silver piercings on its ears, and what looked like a tattoo of a milk bottle on its shoulder…? The Miltank glanced around as it got its bearings, first glancing behind itself to Beto, seeming confused as to why it was out of their ball.

"Miltank?"

Beto pointed at Kyle excitedly.

"Leche, miralo! Look who it is!"

The Miltank, who Kyle could now confirm was indeed nicknamed Leche, turned around on the spot in a battle stance, before looking up at Kyle. Kyle, putting on his best "formal and friendly" persona and smile, nodded with the best smirking grin as he could.

"Name's Kyle, nice to meet you."

As common a sight as it was back in the day, Kyle admittedly never got tired of seeing a fan (human or Pokemon alike) break into fangirl mode. Leche immediately put its paws/hooves to its cheeks and gasped with eyes of childlike wonder, going over to Beto and jumping up and down, side to side and from foot to foot as it pointed to Kyle.

"MILTAAANK! Milta-Milta-Milta-Miltaaank!"

Beto held his Miltank for a moment as the two fangirled in synchrony.

"I KNOW! This is the best day ever!"

Ali, still on the sidelines cool as a cucumber, had a chill but still happy grin.

"Told ya. They idolize you bro."

Leche hopped out of Beto's arms, picked out a black permanent marker from Beto's Jigglypuff backpack, and ran up to Kyle with hopeful eyes.
"Miltank Mil?"

Kyle tilted his head, accepting the marker.

"Want me to sign something?"

"TANK!"

Leche felt at its collar, but huffed after remembering it's black moving to feel for anything else that adorned it. Beto tilted his head in thought.

"Hm, maybe you could sign his back tattoo?"

As Beto suggested it, Leche spun around to present the tattoo on his back proudly in a smug pose. "Tienes Leche?" was in a medium print, stylized as spilt milk might've been. It was, in all fairness, an impressive tattoo to put on a Miltank, even despite how cliche it might've been. Leche displayed his back proudly, and-

"Wait." Kyle stopped for a moment, looking back and forth between the two. "...His? Aren't Miltanks all female genetically?"

"OH!" Beto exclaimed, having just remembered that was an oddity in itself. "Right, I forgot to tell you, Leche is like… one of the ONLY male Miltanks in existence! That's what makes him so special."

Beto knelt beside his partner, patting him on the shoulder as Leche turned around to lean on him affectionately.

"When he was back in his hometown in Johto, he was raised on a farm to be a dairy Pokemon, but the nurses didn't discover he was a male until he grew up a bit more. They said he wouldn't be able to be a dairy cow and that kinda bummed him out… When I came and visited before I was a trainer, Leche was just bored and lonely because he didn't fit in, so he came with me!"

Leche nudged into Beto's arms a bit more, obviously comfortable. "See… it turns out male Miltank are a bit more powerful and rowdy than female ones, so battling really came naturally to him. He became a big fan of yours with how passionately you and Apollo used to battle, I think it made him feel more like himself whenever he watched you on TV. I was already a huge fan, but I think Leche is an even bigger fan of you and Apollo!"

Kyle, soaking this information up like an over filled sponge, squinted as he put his hand to his mouth contemplatively. Once Beto finished talking, he drew a deep breath and spoke carefully.

"...so, you have a one in a million male Miltank as a partner, who cannot be a dairy Pokemon, and you named him Milk in Paldean, when he can't make milk…?"
Leche nodded enthusiastically. "Tank!"

"I mean, he seemed to like it, and I was only 11 at the time…"

Kyle shrugged, seeming pleased with that explanation. He HAD seen stranger things, and this was wholesome anyways, so he had no qualms.

"That makes sense I guess!" He exclaimed in a semi-exasperated tone. "Well, I'm glad to have met you two, and I'd gladly sign whatever you want me to."

"MIL!" Leche immediately pounced over again, turning around to show the tattoo again, this time extending his hindquarters and patting the space right above his tail.

"Miltank!"

"oHKayyy, uhh-" Kyle had begun to regret his choice of words when he said "anything". He looked to Beto, who seemed ever so slightly embarrassed that his partner had just asked his idol to sign his butt essentially, and Kyle spotted the wildly decorated Poke Ball still in his hand. "Hey! What if I signed your ball? Would that work?"

The Miltank unexpectedly drew back with shock.

"Mil… T-TANK?!"

Beto facepalmed loud enough for Kyle to hear the head-to-hand contact. "Leche, tu pokeball, no tus huevos!"

Leche blushed with an embarrassed realization, and Ali sighed audibly.

"Dude why would he want to sign your-

"ALRIght, alright, he gets it." Kyle, rapidly losing his cool in this situation, motioned for the Pokeball from Beto, who tossed it over immediately.

Leche shyly handed his hero the marker, and Kyle found a nice suitable spot on the side where the black stood out the most. While the other stickers with bright colors and faded logos had overlapped each other and created a neat mishmash of nonsense across every part of it, Kyle's signature stood out quite nicely, and was practically the only thing that could be made sense of.

"Here," Kyle showed the signature to Leche, who took the ball and admired it. "How's this look?"

Once again Leche turned wide eyed and youthful, jumping up and down to show Beto who ogled at it with pride. The two shared the moment with joy, and Kyle nearly said something else if it weren't for the distant wingbeats of the taxi slowly coming into Porto Marinada. He let the two oddballs enjoy their moment for a few seconds more, before clearing his throat once more…

"Hey uh, the taxi is here now."

"Oh!" Beto glanced in the distance where the taxi came into view, his expression dropping just a bit with the knowledge that his idol was about to leave just as soon as he'd graced them with his presence. "Good, good, I'm glad it got here so quick!"

"Yeah, me too. Listen Beto, thank you so much for your help, I'm really glad I got to… meet you guys…"

Kyle slowed down as one final idea popped into his head. Perhaps it was out of guilt, but he still felt as though he should part with one more gift to them. After all, he was a bit touched by their story, strange as Leche and the two trainers might've been.

"...can you give me one sec?"

"Uhh, ok…?"

Kyle turned around, taking the Luxury Ball that held Apollo into his hands from his belt, and speaking in a hushed voice.

"Apollo, listen… I'm gonna ask a favor, and I want you not to freak out ok? I… would like for you to meet a fan-"

The immediate jolting of the ball back and forth told Kyle his partner hated the idea, and Kyle kept his other hand on the ball to keep it from jolting out of his hand.

"-look look look, I know I know… but these guys deserve something special for saving my ass out here, all you gotta do is sit there and look pretty, just… be you. It'll be less than a minute, ok?"

Another good jolt still signaled he didn't want to.

"Please, my guy… I won't make you do it again. Cross my heart."

Another second passes, and the ball shakes just a tad this time. Usually this meant Apollo agreed, albeit with grumbling and not so nice phrases under his breath.

"Thank you… I'm sorry for springing this on you, just go with it. Ok?"

Kyle turns back around and takes a deep breath to steady himself.

"Alright… you three heard about what happened with Apollo, right…?"

Ali, Beto and Leche all nod slowly.

"Good, just making sure. That being said, he wanted to come out and just say thank you to everyone."

It was an odd moment of holy elation that fell across Beto and Leche, and it seemed to hang in the air as Kyle held the Luxury Ball out flat on his palm.

"Alright big guy, come on out."

Light flashed onto the brick tiled floor, an amorphous blob at first, then taking shape into the legendary figure of Apollo. As usual, he sat up straight to regard his crowd… then he took another moment to actually take in all of the sight in front of him, the Miltank and his flashy trainer, then he gathered himself up to look proper, best he could

anyways. He puffed a breath of air from his bottom lip to get the front most leaf of his flower out of his face, then regarded the trio with a half pleasant smile.

"Saur!"
''Sup!'

The trio waved, while Apollo bowed a bit in courtesy.

"Venusaur Vee Saur. Venusaur."
'Kyle told me how you helped us. I wanted to thank you.'

Kyle cleared his throat to translate.

"He says he wanted to thank you guys for your help."

Ali nods at the Venusaur. "No prob dude."

Beto didn't dare say a word, instead looking down to Leche who stood just barely at eye level while toe to toe with his absolute hero Pokemon.

"M-Miilll…!"

A shaky tone in his voice, held his hooves to his face in disbelief. Apollo, noting the fanatic adoration of this odd Miltank, regarded him with, at first, a slightly anxious smile. Then, once he took a sniff of this new fan, eyed him with a puzzled yet fond expression.

"...saur… Vee Saur Venusaur, Vee?"
'...wait… you're a male, aren't you?"

"T-Tank!" Leche nodded vigorously as he spoke. "M-Miltank Mil!"

Apollo chortled a snickering chuckle.

"Saur? Venusaur Vee, Saur Venusaur?"
'Leche? You're a male Miltank, and your name is milk?'

Leche rubbed the back of his head shyly, his foot hoof rubbing the floor.

"M-Mil…"

"Heh… Saur, Vee Saur."
'Heh… weird. I like it.'

The shyness of the Miltank burned hotter across his face.

"M… Tank, Miltank Mil?"

Apollo arches an eyebrow. Kyle can only guess what's going on.

"...Saur, Saur Vee."
'...ok, lemme hear it.'

To the trio of trainers' surprise, Leche leans into Apollo's right ear and whispers indistinctly. Kyle wasn't entirely sure why, it wasn't as if he could understand him, but it made the display a bit more odd. Apollo's reaction was that of surprise, though he didn't seem entirely caught off guard by it.

Leche stood back again, hooves behind his back as he shyly swayed side to side. Apollo eyed the Miltank critically… before shrugging dismissively.

"Vee, Saur. Venusaur.~"
'Eh, why not. You're cute.~'

To everyone else's surprise (ESPECIALLY Leche-), Apollo leans forwards and plants a quick kiss on Leche's cheek, to which the Miltank immediately stiffens up with hearts in his eyes. He lets out a squeaky "mil…!", before promptly toppling on his side, unresponsive.

Apollo watches Leche topple to the floor, apparently KO'd from a single peck on the cheek. He waits a beat, before looking back at Kyle.

"Venusaur?"
'We done here?'

"...yep, that'll do bud. C'mon back."

Kyle, deciding that was a good hopping off point, nodded and withdrew Apollo into his ball. Beto did the same, withdrawing Leche into his newly autographed Pokeball and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Heh... he uh… did say he had a thing for Apollo, shoulda mentioned that-"

"Beto, if I had a Poke (*the currency, or whatever its called*) for every time another trainer's Pokemon hit on Apollo, I'd be one of the richest men in Sinnoh. You and Leche are just fine, I'll see if I can run into you guys again, yeah?"

Beto smiled an excited and wide smile.

"O-of course! D-did you want my number or-"

"Nope! Seeya around guys!" Kyle shook his head as he ran off into the Taxi. Ali and Beto waved at him as he ran off, and watched as the Flying Taxi service took off into the air, the small crowd of 15 or so Squawkabilly hoisting the extended size cabin across the sky.

Ali stood next to Beto with his chill demeanor.

"Huh. That was fuckin' epic we got to meet him."

"Dude, this was the actual best day of my life."

Ali glanced down to see Beto texting someone at a breakneck pace. He could see only a few words:

"UR NEVER GONNA BELIEVE WHO I JUST MET AT PORTO"

X-X

"Hey, driver?"

As far as first experiences went, his first time in a flying taxi wasn't too bad. Beto had requested a large cabin so there was plenty of room, with a small army of bird Pokemon Kyle didn't recognize ferrying them around. Being about half a mile in the air did give him a bit of the willies, but it wasn't anything he hadn't done before.

Kyle knocked on the window to the outside, where the driver glanced down to see him.

"Yeah kid?" The driver was most definitely an older gruff gentleman, but Kyle wasn't sure if that meant he qualified to be called a kid.

"Hey uh… I have a Venusaur who I'd like to see this view, but I know you've only got so many uh… bird Pokemon up there-"

"Oh you can definitely let him out, don't worry about it."

"You sure? Venusaurs can be-"

"Kid, we once ferried a damned Orthworm in this cab, I wouldn't worry."

"I have no point of reference for what that is."

"Imagine a Steelix but goofier."

"Oh… wow, ok. I'll let him out, just wanted to let ya know."

"Fine by me kiddo."

"Okay-" Kyle shut the window with a tint of annoyance, having been called "kid" and "kiddo" three times in a row.

A short burst of light, and a slight sway in the cart, and Apollo was seated right in front of Kyle, looking a bit more uncomfortable than usual.

"Ssaaauur… Venusaur?! Saur Vee Venusaur…"
'Heeeey… what gives?! You know I hate heights…'

"Oh, live a little. We'll be fine." Kyle patted Apollo on the shoulder.

"Vee Saur… Venusaur Vee."
'Easy for you to say… I'm starvin' over here.'

"We'll be down in a big city with lots of food and snacks real soon, ok? Besides-" Kyle motioned to the window. "Look at this view, huh?"

Kyle rolled down the window to his left, enough for Apollo to get a clear look out to the passing by landscape… passing by were stunning mountains and plateaus, buildings of lavish Paldean decor, spires and deserts and forests… all within such close proximity to each other it was a little mind boggling. Apollo didn't dare put his head out the window, but was able to admire quite a bit from his seat, a serene smile spreading on his lip.

"Vee… Saur Vee, Venusaur."
'Yeah… gotta admit, it's beautiful.'

Kyle repositioned himself to sit with his partner, side by side.

"To think, you almost said no to this.~"

"Hmph… Saur Venusaur, Vee?"
'Hmph… I did promise, didn't I?'

Kyle pats Apollo's shoulder as he leans back. "Yeah, and I'm grateful you did too." The older trainer yawns as he stretches into the surprisingly cozy cabin. "Sure would be a lot less fun without ya, y'know."

Apollo sighs contentedly as he settles into his seat, admiring the stellar view. The cabin rests in the quiet for a little… a few minutes go by before Kyle speaks once more.

"...so that Miltank back there-"

"Saur."
'Do not.'

"What?~ I was just gonna ask-"

"Saur! "
'NO.' "-what was up with them! What did he whisper to you?!"

Apollo grumbled and settled into his spot, leaning on the window ledge.

"Rurrur… venusaur saur venusaur…"
'Rurrur… he confessed he had a crush on me…'

"Awwwe…" Kyle bumped Apollo with his elbow playfully. "I remember when you had someone crushing on you every other day in the Battle Leagues.~ Ya gave him a smooch though, what was up with that?"

It's difficult to see a blush on the Venusaur evolution line, but Kyle knew just when and how to spot it on his partner. Apollo shifted around a bit, perhaps a tad uncomfortable on the subject.

"Saur-... Vee Saur Venusaur… Saur, Venusaur Vee…"
' I mean- …I just wanted to be nice… and, he was kinda cute… '

"Oh?" Kyle had to keep from grinning like a madman, partially for the fact that Apollo INDEED had a thing for Leche the Miltank, but more so for the fact that this first face to face meeting with another Pokemon in years since Apollo's injury ended up going so well. No matter how unorthodox it may have been, it was yet another small sign of hope for the two. "Any other comments on him?"

…Apollo rolled his eyes around for a little, debating something internally before nonchalantly admitting quietly:

"...Saur."
'...Would.'

From above the cabin, the gruff gentleman who piloted the Flying Taxi could make out uproarious laughter from down below.

"What are those kiddos laughing so damn hard at in there…?"

X-X

MESAGOZA!

Now THIS was a city ! The strident colors and opulent buildings surrounded Kyle warmly as he took it all in, and it fulfilled exactly what he'd been missing since he got here; not that Porto Marinada didn't have its fair share of beauty, but what Porto lacked in substance, Mesagoza made up for with so much more to offer .

The next two hours were nonstop walking, going from shop to shop updating positively everything he had on him to be current and functional, blending in with as much casual streetwear as possible to avoid recognition, getting the ever crankier Apollo whatever snacks he desired ( and he desired a LOT of snacks- ), and finally settling into a little nook in the main courtyard while Apollo chilled outside his ball in the sun, chowing down on a smorgasbord of various churros.

"OKAY! New carrier and SIM card and another phone just in case I need it, plus an additional case for it-" Kyle held it up with the new Fuecoco case it came with. "Also, this Fire Type Starter Pokemon is kind of adorable, wonder if we could see one while we're here…"

Apollo lifted his head from the churros for just a moment.

"Saur."
'Focus.'

"Right. Stocked up on a few snacks for the road, got a PHYSICAL map in case all else fails, we got new shoes and a jacket, groovy hat and shades-" Kyle donned his lightweight field jacket, a soft blue corduroy with a detachable hood, as he put on his new black Gatsby Cap and mirrored Aviators, all wrapped together by a pair of surprisingly comfortable, low rise monotone running shoes. "-and… the usual couple Hyper Potions and a few Ultra Balls just in case. We are SET."

Apollo, about done eating his fill by now, lifted his head with quizzical intrigue.

"Venusaur? Saur Venusaur?"
'Pokeballs? Plans changed any?'

"No, just…" Kyle went to work on swapping the SIM cards between his phones very carefully. "Better to be over prepared. Especially being so rusty, y'know?"
With a successful transfer, Kyle's mobile phone suddenly buzzed to life with missed notifications on a few social apps, a good few dozen news mentions that brought a wave of malaise, and 6 missed calls from none other than Professor fucking Rowan.

"Fucking shit, of COURSE he'd call me when I have NO cell service-"

Wildly did Kyle input a callback to Rowan, as Apollo looked on with a smirk, a sing-songy voice taunting his partner.

"Sauuuuuur, Venusaur Veeeee.~"
'Ooooooh, Kyles in troouubleee.~'

"Oh shut up you.~"

Not two rings later did the Professor's studiously stern voice ring through-

"KYLE! For heaven's sake boy, why don't you ever answer your phone when I call? "

"Hiiii, I am SO sorry about that, turns out my phone carrier doesn't work at ALL in Paldea. Got that fixed now!"

"Hah, rookie mistakes eh? You really have gotten rusty. "

"Yeah yeah, but look -"

Kyle turned his phone camera around to pose with himself and Apollo, enabling the videochat function as Apollo looked to the screen, awaiting the Professor's face.

"Heyyyy! We're in Mesagoza, just got here too!"

A few seconds of silence go by without reply.

"Professor?"

" Oh for- I hate these blasted things, how do I turn on my-"

A pleasant tone rang through Rowan's line as his camera enabled, his face much too close to his screen. The usual stern expression greeted Apollo and Kyle, before Rowan's gaze softened into a joyous meld of fondness.

"There you two are! Apollo, it's good to see you again! "

Apollo smiled a wide grin as the professor's voice rang through.

"Venusaur!"
'Hi professor!'

"Hey listen," Kyle leaned on Apollo as he spoke. "I just wanted to say that we're extremely grateful for the opportunity here, and we're gonna make the most of it. Right Apollo?"

Apollo nods with a resolute grin.

"Saur!"
'Right!'

"That's very good to hear my boy, I know you won't regret it. On that subject, I have news for you two!"

"Oh?"

"Indeed. I communicated with Arven once again, he let me know a few things on how to find him. He primarily stays at Uva Academy since he is a student there, he seems to be taken with his studies quite a bit."

"Ah. Bookworm type person?"

"Not necessarily. Apparently he wants to be a chef, but I lack the whole story. Seek him out there, the academy should be nearby."

"Huh… haven't seen any schools around here yet-"

"It's literally behind you."

Kyle swivels around to glance behind him, seeing the distant steps trailing up to the grand Uva Academy not too far off.

"…Oh, well that's convenient."

"Yes. Less convenient though… you have friends looking for you."

"Friends?" Kyle perked up and looked to Apollo, Apollo's ears perking up as he glanced to Kyle in return. "Friends as in good friends or bad "friends"?" Kyle used his free hand for air quotes.

"They seemed genuine, I'm pretty sure you don't have any rivals looking to gang up on you right now."

"Okay good. Got any names?"

"Didn't catch their names, but they seemed pretty enthusiastic to find you. I mentioned you were out with Apollo doing something of critical importance, but that didn't seem to stop them from figuring out where you were. And considering that reporter's story on you- "

"Ah. Saw that one, huh?"

"Ihave some choice words for you on that matter, but you'll hear that later. Right now, focus on finding Arven. He knows you're coming to meet him, don't dilly dally."

" Vee Venusaur!"

'No dilly dallying here!'

"Aye aye captain. I'll let you know when we meet him."

"And Kyle, one last thing."

Kyle nearly closed the call if not for the Professor's voice. "Yes Professor?"

Rowan readjusted himself as he set the phone on the table.

"...It's more than possible there might not be enough Hérba Mystica there for Apollo to heal entirely. We don't know what to expect per se, but… try and leave some of that stuff behind, there's a scarce amount of it left from what Arven told us."

Kyle and Apollo shared a glance, but what the other felt regarding that statement seemed indecipherable to each other. Kyle nodded slowly, mulling over the implications of that.

"We'll leave enough for analysis. Some is a lot better than none, right?"

…Apollo forced himself to nod along, albeit with a noted hint of hesitance at that sentiment.

"...Saur."
'...sure.'

"Thank you both. Be safe you two, please. You didn't bring another Pokemon or two for protection did you?"

"No sir."

"Then I'll spare you the whole "tall grass" speech since you know what you're doing, but if you're not traveling with any battle ready Pokemon, please be careful out there, the Paldean wilds are… exciting, to say the least."

Kyle nodded assuredly, speaking with that suave confidence only a seasoned trainer would.
"Rowan, we'll be ok, I promise."

"Alright, alright. I'll let you get to it now. Rowan out."

The dial tone of the phone call brought the rest of their surroundings back to them, the plaza's lively chatter and distant calls of school bells rang for them to get moving again. Kyle stood up and stretched again.

"Alllllrighty… let's get to finding this kid. You stuffed your face enough, bud?"

…Apollo didn't answer. His gaze still stuck to the floor as if it had him in a chokehold. Kyle took note with a healthy helping of worry sprouting in his chest.

"Hey, c'mon bud, we're almost there. No time to let doubts creep in."

Apollo shifted his weight in place, his claws digging in the brick a bit.

"...V-... Venusaur Saur Vee, Vee Saur."
'...I-... I don't think I'm strong enough, not for this.'

…Kyle sat back down beside his partner.

"...For what? You mean... If this doesn't work?"

Apollo nodded silently. Kyle sighed, not really able to counter that argument.

"...I wouldn't be either…" Kyle positioned himself right next to Apollo, shoulder to shoulder. The Venusaur slowly let his chin rest on Kyle's arm, and like clockwork Kyle's hand found itself atop Apollo's scaly head. "...but hey, we made it here, didn't we? You've had a pretty decent time so far, yeah? You havin' fun with me as your personal chauffeur?"

The lighter hearted jest did little to budge Apollo from his current state of mind. He merely shifted in place, glancing back to Kyle.

"Venusa-..." Apollo stopped as if he didn't want to even entertain the possibility of saying what he wanted to. Kyle caught on.

"...then we keep on keeping on." Kyle's stoic reply kept the darkest thoughts out, both for himself and for Apollo. "Keep moving forwards, remember?"

"Saur, Saur… Venusaur Vee."
'I remember, I remember… it's just hard sometimes.'

Kyle leaned down to give Apollo the grace of eye contact, a gentle and reassuring smile alongside it.

"...then imagine how sweet the victory will be when we get to the finish line."

The Venusaur blinked away a tear while exhaling a firm puff of air, determined to drive out those dark thoughts plaguing him. Kyle patted his side again.

"I said I wouldn't let you down, you know you can trust in me. All you gotta do is hop in the ball for a bit, and we'll see what's what. Alright?"

Apollo gently nodded, planting his head onto Kyle once more.

"Saur… Vee Saur Venusaur."
'Ok… just don't take too long.'

"You got it. Let's get on the road, bud."

"Saur."

Apollo nodded once more, as Kyle withdrew him into his Luxury Ball and stood to his feet. His gaze surveyed the area for a moment, taking in the ever-refreshing city of Mesagoza as well as its crisp autumn air. Kyle gathered his things in his bag, before taking the short walk up the steps to Uva Academy with determination in his step.

While he had walked by it once, he didn't pay it much attention on his shopping spree. He hadn't taken much of it in, but now that he was walking up to it, how on earth did he miss this gargantuan building? It stood out as less of an Academy, more so a full on University with how well ornamented and huge the building itself stood tall. Kyle would've thought it to be a cathedral with the amount of care and thought put into the design alone. Walking up the strenuous amount of steps to get to it painted the whole thing in an oddly divine light too, maybe this was some sort of holy building after all? He wouldn't have doubted it, with how much-

OOF!

A small shove was all it took to send Kyle down a few of the steps downwards, just barely able to stop himself as he lay on one of the steps with a decent amount of pain in his ass and back. After the world stopped spinning, he found a hand helping him up, and the ringing voice of someone frantically apologizing.

"Ach… ow…"

"OH MY GOSH I'M SO SORRY! Are you hurt?!"

Kyle took a second to get to his feet, dusting himself off. His hat and glasses lay on the floor, the glasses half broken.

"Dang it… just got these-"

"I am SO sorry, let me give you some… wait, are you-"

The source of the voice became clear as Kyle's vision swirled back into view, two different teen school girls, Upperclassmen probably. The darker haired one looked a little scraped up, more than likely the one who bumped into him. The other, a paler red-head, looked at Kyle with an intrigued squint.

"...oh you definitely are him, ain'tcha?"

A pretty heavy Galarian accent shined through as the red headed teen gawked at him. The other girl took a more studied glance at him, before lighting up with recognition.

"OH! Oh wait a minute, my little brother LOVES you!"

Kyle sighed, knowing that his disguise to fly under the radar more than likely wasn't going to work now. "Yeah, yeah it's me. I would love to stay and chat but-"

"Hey, I think a teacher was looking for you two."

Another voice, a male this time, prodded through the conversation. The two girls turned around to look, including Kyle, who caught a glimpse of an upper(-er)classman. Same uniform in the male variation, just worn more sloppily with an untucked shirt, loose tie, and a lengthy blonde and brown mess of flowing hair. A vest and a hiking backpack punctuated the whole outfit as well, Kyle couldn't get the feeling he'd seen it before somewhere…

"Really?" The girl who bumped into Kyle looked at him, then stiffening up as she remembered something. "OH! I HAVE A PROJECT DUE IN HOME EC!"

With a stumbling rush forwards up the stairs she ran up to the Academy. "S-SORRY AGAIN!"

As the red-head followed suit, she winked at Kyle silently, and hoofed it up the stairs after her friend… leaving Kyle with this new guy.

Kyle, having put himself back together again, offered a hand warily to this new guy.

"...sup?"

"Not much." New guy shook his hand graciously, before looking down at the broken glasses. "Kyle, right?"

Figures he knew Kyle, he'd gotten used to it all these years considering his level of fame. What threw him off was the lack of adoring response, or even enthusiasm for that matter. This guy barely smiled, it seemed like. Then, with the pieces falling together, the backpack, the hair and such… he didn't just know Kyle, he was expecting him.

"...Arven, I'm assuming?"

The guy let a smile tug at the corner of his lip. "Yeah, that's me. Figured you'd get swamped by a couple students over here, ain't easy to stay unrecognized over here."

"Heh, so it seems. Good to meet you finally, it's been a long trip over here."

The clanging of the bells atop the Academy spires drew a myriad of students towards the church-like building, Arven looking to it himself out of habit.

"Yeah, I imagine. Sinnoh's a long way off, right?"

"Oh y'know," Kyle sighed and shuddered a bit as the ship's sway swam around in the back of his head. "Just a couple hundred nautical miles."

"Oof. Well," Arven pat him on the back before heading down the steps again. "I can promise we're not gonna be riding any boats anytime soon."

"I appreciate it," Kyle followed Arven down the steps, about 5 or so before stopping. "I'm personally not a… fan… aren't we going inside?"

Arven continued down without looking back. "No, something I gotta show you first. There's something I haven't told your professor yet."

"Oh?" Kyle followed along a lot closer with intrigue. "What's that?"

Arven paused on those descending stairs, tapping his foot with a hint of annoyance.

"...I need help."

X-X

"So lemme get this straight-"

Kyle continually found himself surprised by the sheer variety within Paldea's climate. A short 30 minute hike into the stony crags to the right of Mesagoza pulled Kyle into what felt like a totally different world, surrounded by the huge walls of layered granite and the odd bit of vegetation here and there. Combined with all that, Arven had to stop periodically to be a tour guide to fill Kyle in on what Pokemon were roaming around, the older trainer being quite fascinated with the non-familiar Pokemon he'd been encountering this whole time. He nearly had to have Arven stop him from trying to catch a lone Charcadet roaming around.

At the end of their journey, what greeted them was a pretty huge cave entrance into a relatively dark tunnel. The pair stood at the edge of it for a bit, Kyle with arms crossed glancing to Arven.

"-this Hérba Mystica stuff hasn't grown ANY where else, so you're trying to grow it in the original spots where you first found it, and even then it doesn't look like it's doing too well?"

Arven nodded. "Right."

"And you haven't gone to get HELP from the other professors you reached out to because… reasons?"

Arven nodded again. "Reasons I can't disclose. Not yet."

Kyle knew damn well whenever someone was hiding something, it wasn't something that necessarily irked him all too much, but when it came to his partner's wellbeing, there wasn't a whole lot he would tolerate otherwise… "...Right…"

"I know that sounds suspicious, and you'd have every right to be," Arven turns in place to regard Kyle a bit more squarely. "But I just ask that you don't pry too much into it.

It's… sensitive information, nothing that'll come back to hurt us though, I can promise you that."

Kyle shrugged. "Whatever you say man, I'll respect your privacy, but I trust you've given me all the relevant info about this, right…?"

A forthcoming and honest nod from Arven assuaged most of the unease brewing in Kyle's head.

"You have my word. Whatever that means to you, coming from someone you met only half an hour ago."

"Nonsense," Kyle gave Arven a firm pat on the back as he slowly moseyed into the cave. "You're like a brother to me already.~"

A chortle from Arven reverberated around the cave as the two entered, Kyle stopping short at the familiar glow he recognized from the picture… a little deeper inside the chamber revealed an offshoot room, still cavernous but somewhat smaller and cozy. And on that spot in the center, a soil mound in the middle, sprouted forth a luminous little herb of both white and blue light that nearly turned the interior of the cave into daylight.

"... arceus, that's incredible… "

The pictures were pretty, but failed to capture just how gorgeous this tiny little plant actually looked: Without researching too much of the Terastal phenomenon, Kyle had seen a few photos of the jewel-like forms that Terastalized Pokemon would turn into, the sheer luminosity alone made it a sight worth beholding. This plant exhibited much of the same properties, at least to Kyle's eyes, if not amplified those properties threefold.

'Are the two related…?'

Kyle found himself unable to take his eyes off it for a while, circling it as he studied the herb plant's structure, its glimmering shine and its jewel-like refraction. He noted the split coloration of blue and white, the two never mixing but always distinct.

"...is… is it supposed to be two different colors?"

"No, actually." Arven knelt down beside it slowly. "That's a new one. I had small samples of both the blue and white variety, I planted them together and hoped for two separate buds, but… this happened. Usually it doesn't look like this, but… maybe it's like… supercharged in some way?"

"That sounds promising." The prospect of having an even MORE powerful version of whatever cured Arven's partner did inspire a bit more confidence out of him. Kyle took as deep a breath as he could slowly letting it out to get his head back in the game-

dont get your hopes up

Kyle nearly slapped himself to get those voices out of his head.

'NOT now.'

He huffed a firm breath out now, glancing over at Arven this time.

"...hey so… did Rowan tell you anything else about why I'm here?"

"I know who you are, Kyle." Arven replied flatly. "I mean… I'm not like a fan or anything, I read up on you before you got here. I can guess why Rowan sent you specifically."

Kyle nodded slowly. "...then... yeah…"

"...speaking of which… C'mon out bud." Arven pulled out a normal Pokeball, tossing it in the air beside him, releasing onto the ground a burst of energy in the shape of an ever familiar Mabosstiff.

"Rrroorf?"

The Dark Type Canine shook his head a bit, glancing around until his gaze landed on Arven, who knelt down to love on his partner a bit.

"Hey big buy, you doin' good?"

Mabosstiff leaned against his master and friend, letting his snout rest on his hand.

"Urrurroof."

"Hehe… good, I'm glad. We got friends to meet, you remember me tellin' you about Kyle and his Venusaur?"

Mabosstiff perked up at the thought, and he sniffed the air as he turned around and landed his gaze on Kyle.

"...Rruff…?"

Slowly he trotted over to Kyle and sniff-snorfed all up and down the older Trainer's jeans and shoes. Kyle gently rubbed and patted his thick fur.

"Hey there big fella, ya smellin' around for Apollo?"

"Heh, yeah," Arven smirked as he watched his partner go to work. "He's big on sniffin' new people."

Mabosstiff chuffed and rowled with genial happiness under his sniffing and puffing, before sitting at Kyle's feet and gazing up at him. Kyle knelt down to stroke his head and scritch under his chin fondly.

"He's a handsome guy for sure!" He said loudly to Arven, before going back to Mabosstiff himself. "You just know you're a handsome devil, don't you?~"

Mabosstiff simply let his chin rest in Kyle's hands, closing his eyes contently as that tail of his wags a bit harder.

"Rurrurrrrr… Rrrrmabosstiff…."

"Hah!" Arven chortles. "He thinks you're a sweet talker."

"Heheh…" Kyle pats the good boy on his side. "Hey, so… there's someone I want ya to meet, he's my partner." Kyle spoke respectfully as he regarded Mabosstiff, no less than he would a guest in his own home. "He's very dear to me, and… well, he um… he was injured pretty badly a few years ago… you two have a lot in common, actually."

Mabosstiff perked up some, tilting his head gently before sniffing over to the Luxury Ball on Kyle's belt. Kyle took out the ball and held it in his hands.

"Alright Apollo, time to meet some new friends. You ready?"

As Kyle spoke to the ball, his partner caused a gentle jiggle inside of it, usually meaning he was ready. Kyle clicked the button on its front as he held it out in front of him, a burst of light creating the form of Apollo facing Kyle and Mabosstiff. The Venusaur looks nearly eye to eye with the Mabosstiff, blinking a couple times in confusion as he regards the new 'Mon.

"Hmh… Venusaur Saur."
'Huh… Never met one of you before.'

"Apollo," Kyle pats both Apollo and Mabosstiff on the head. "This is Mabosstiff, who is also, a Mabosstiff. He's the Pokemon who was injured that we talked about."

The Venusaur sat up a bit straighter as he regarded Mabosstiff, the new Pokemon moving forwards and around Apollo as he sniffed him right up.

"Saur."
'Howdy.'

The Mabosstiff nearly booped Apollo on the nose with how much he was sniffing up the Venusaur.

"Rroorf… Mabo… Rrf… Stiff?"

"Heh, Saur?"
'Heh, thanks? "

"Apollo smells grassy, he says." Arven tilts his head some with a confused smile. "You do know he's a Grass Type, right Mabosstiff?"

Mabosstiff walks all the way behind Apollo, still sniffing him up as canine Pokemon usually do. It's not until Mabosstiff curiously pokes his nose to the base of his flower where those stitches resided, that Apollo grunted in pain and pulled away some.

"Ngh, S-saur…"
'Ngh, c-careful…'

Mabosstiff pulled back immediately as Apollo flinched a bit, and as if acknowledging the poor Pokemon's fate, he circled around besides the Venusaur, and leaned on him with a soft whine.

"Rrf… Mabosstiff…."
"Vee, Venusaur Vee…"

'It's okay. Just still hurts…'

Arven circled around to Kyle and the two 'Mons, kneeling to pat his partner on the side.

"Yeah… he's almost in the same condition you were in before."

Apollo nudges down to Mabosstiff gently, craning his neck as much as he could without any pain from his back.

"Saur… Vee Saur Venusaur?"
'Hey… how did you get better?'

Mabosstiff perked up again as he turned behind him, sitting directly beside the Hérba Mystica hybrid. Since Apollo was seated facing directly away, it took him a second to reposition himself the opposite way without much use of his hindlegs, but as he settled back into place…

…Kyle had witnessed Apollo's reactions to a great many things in their lives, since usually the Venusaur, even from a baby Bulbasaur, had worn his heart on his sleeve. You could tell the majority of what Apollo felt or thought from the expression evident on his face. And if not that, then he usually spoke what was on his mind too, not holding much back from his life long partner.

As Apollo's eyes settled onto the wondrous small herbal plant of luminous glory, Kyle couldn't make out exactly what was going on behind those red eyes of his… wonder was definitely in there, but fear was also evident in his expression. Shock maybe? It didn't look like disappointment, more so hesitation… a sort of joyous worry perhaps…? No, that wasn't right either. Kyle could only describe his partner's reaction as if he'd been watching his life lead up to this moment… a precipice of sorts. A mixture of elated wonder… and the most intense dread and hesitance he'd ever felt.

Kyle didn't blame him in the slightest, a lot of the same feelings building up within himself.

it wont work. nothing will.

'Shut UP.'

That same dread poured over him, but he dared not act on it until Apollo said something… to Kyle's surprise, Apollo mustered all his strength to approach the plant, taking achy, pained and wobbly steps towards it as he planted his rear back on the ground, now right in front of it… he studied it intensely before calling out:

"Saur?"
'Kyle?'

"Yeah bud?"

Apollo shot Kyle a more hopeful glance.

"...Venusaur Saur Venu saur? "
' ...why didn't you tell me it looked like THIS? '

Kyle managed to crack a smirk at his partner's comment. "So that's a good sign?"

Apollo went back to looking at the plant with more and more obvious intent.

"Vee… Venusaur Vee Saur?"
'So… am I supposed to eat this thing? '

"Uh…" Kyle honestly did not know. "Good question… Arven, how did you use the plant before?"

"Well uh," Arven rubs the back of his head nervously. "Me and this other kid who helped me find it just… like, used it in sandwiches as an ingredient… wasn't very scientific, but it did the trick I guess."

"Huh… okay then."

"I mean," Arven begins digging through his pack as he sets it down. "I should have lunch ingredients here if you wanna try that."

"Okay, I mean if you want to…" Kyle stood by Apollo and tilted his head in thought. "...Hey, Apollo."

"Vee?"

He kneels down beside his partner. "...Think you can help this little guy grow some more? We need all that we can get, anything you can do here would help."

It was a commonly known fact that Grass Type Pokemon had some influence over plant life, though it usually wasn't a huge amount of control. Apollo however had an unusually high affinity for plant life around him, even with being injured all those years ago. With a bit of physical contact and energy transference, the tallest of trees would bow to him, though… Apollo had his doubts about what this plant would do. Some plants even had the tendency to fight back.

"Vee… Venusaur."
'Dunno… Let's find out.'

Apollo let out a deep breath as the twin vines from behind his flower slowly moved towards the plant. One of them dug into the dirt around its roots, the other gently poked into the stalk in the center, both making firm but gentle contact. Arven sat his sandwich-making materials down on the ground, Mabosstiff backed away from the plant to give Apollo some space, Kyle doing the same.

"Rrr… saur vee." Apollo muttered under his breath. "venusaur…"
'Rrr… c'mon lil guy. work with me…'

A gentle green light emanated from Apollo's flower and vines, slowly spreading to the plant as-

BRRRRRIIIIIIIINGGGG!

The plant thrummed with twice the amount of light in return, a shimmering sound echoing around the cave. Apollo nearly drew back with the sudden reaction, but found himself stuck in place through amazement. Slowly that light increased to a nearly blinding level, Kyle and Arven shielding their eyes with their hands, Mabosstiff looking away from the scene with tightly shut eyes.

"What the fuck?!" Arven's exclamation barely rose over the sound, Kyle had to yell simply to be heard.

"APOLLO, GET BACK!"

Kyle called out to his partner, but that thrumming sound crescendoed along with the light, engulfing the room totally as the last thing visible to anyone… was that blinding light slamming into Apollo and sending him back a few feet onto his side, before the room settled back into a murky dimness…

"Shit, APOLLO!"

The Venusaur's body glowed with that same green light even still as Kyle went to his side. Apollo was out cold, and just a tad bit scraped up.

"No no no no no, FUCK! Of COURSE this fucking happens, I KNEW SOMETHING WOULD GO WRONG-"

"HEY, look!"

Arven interrupted him to point out that the plant previously inhabiting the center of the cave had totally vanished, leaving a small hole in the middle of the dirt. And the energy that surrounded Apollo had grown stronger now, that green glow growing brighter, and notably much more blue.

"...Oh, fuck."

The last time Kyle witnessed so much energy flowing through a single Pokemon was when Apollo had Mega Evolved in Kalos, and even then this was a much higher level. Apollo now floated above the cave floor about 3 inches, that divine glow almost as blinding as a minute ago, his entire form bathed in pure energy. It persisted for just a few moments more…

...before fading out to nothingness, leaving Apollo's body to flump to the ground. To Kyle's relief, Apollo groaned out a soft grunt."S-HRur… urfh…"

Kyle sped over to Apollo's side frantically, checking his vitals.

"Hey, you okay?!"

"Rrrfh… Sauurrrr…"
'Rrrfh… that suuucked…'

"Is he alive?" Arven hurried over beside Kyle. "I-I've never seen that before, Mabosstiff never went through any of that…"

"W-well, maybe it's just a Grass Type thing, since we don't know what interactions happen between-"

"Saur VenuSAUR Vee…?"
' Could you get OFF me please? '

"Ohp, shit. Sorry bud… you feelin' alright?" Kyle took a few steps back to give his partner some air.

"Rrf… Vee Saur… Vee Venusaur…"
' Rrf… feels like I got… a monster fuckin' hangover… '

Apollo slowly got off his side and sat back onto his rear, blinking his eyes as the world came back into view.

"Rrfh…"

As if waking from sleep in the morning, Apollo worked out the cricks in his neck with some stretches, extending his front paws to the ground and groaning out softly, wriggling his toes and extending his hind feet in front of him to stretch his-

"... hrm? "

Apollo's expression immediately shifted from semi-sleepy to wide awake with realization. Whereas before his toes barely moved at all, and any shifting in his hind paws were met with a sharp pain traveling up his leg to his hip… now it was all gone, as if nothing had happened in the first place. His gaze focused on his wiggling clawed toes, more and more alive as he had full control without any of the pain associated. It didn't take Kyle long to catch on.

"Wait… waitwaitwait-"

"Did-" Arven drew closer to watch Apollo move with renewed vigor. "Did it just work instantly? "

"VE-NUS-SAUR!"
'NO FUCKING WAY!'

Of course, as the increasingly ecstatic Apollo tested out what he had control of, he slowly rose to all fours, stretching out his hind legs and into a Downward Dog pose, straining before a POP and a solid CRACK of his hip joints popping made the Venusaur nearly collapse into a pile of groaning relief.

"HRRFRHfrhhrhsssauurrrrrr….~"

Kyle stood there dumbfounded. This was a dream wasn't it? Nothing so fantastic could just happen like that, right? It barely reached his brain that this was all unfolding in reality, and as he witnessed Apollo rise to all fours again and take his first shaky steps that the Venusaur had taken in literal years… something finally clicked in both of their brains.

"SAAUUR!"
'I'M BAAAACK!'

It took no time at all for the 280lb Venusaur to start charging around the room with all the reckless abandon of someone who could walk for the first time in years, and with him Mabosstiff started running along with him, barking excitedly.

"Dude!" Arven put his hands to his head in disbelief. "It's a miracle!"

"RROORFROURF!"

"SAURSAURSAURSAURSAUR-"
'IMBACKIMBACKIMBACKIMBACKIMBACK-'

Apollo did a full circle around the room, Arven whooping and hollering along with the two ecstatic 'Mons having witnessed Apollo perform a full recovery from a potentially lifelong injury. Kyle nearly followed them around, if not for Apollo running to Kyle himself, and jumping up on his hindlegs.

"SAUR VENUSAUR!"
'KYLE LOOK AT ME!'

Apollo put his arms over Kyle's shoulders, standing up on his newly recovered legs to get as close to his partner as he could, the two matching gazes with equally tear filled eyes.

"S-SAUR! VENU-SAUR!"
'I-I'M BACK! IM FUCKING BACK!'

…it took Kyle a moment to truly appreciate the moment between the two, just lost in Apollo's absolutely euphoric gaze. Had Kyle been able to hold this moment in the palm of his hands for as long as he wanted to, he would've seen a young Bulbasaur's childlike wonder in his partner's eyes again. As he held Apollo up on his hind legs, Kyle couldn't help but wonder… How long had it been since Apollo had experienced the joy of something like this? How long had it been since he had his partner hug him, without anyone else helping him up…?

…How long had Kyle been without this hope?

Too long. Too fucking long. Kyle wasn't about to stop and gawk any longer, he practically throttled his partner in as tight a hug as he possibly could, burying his face in the big scaly 'Mon's neck.

" I missed you so much buddy. "