"Hey, it's alright," Mom assures me, her gentle arm wrapping around my shoulder as she comforts me. "I want you to enjoy this. It's been years since I've seen you this happy about anything. For a long time, I'd been really worried."

I wipe at the tears with the heel of my hand, blinking the last few away as I look at her. She looks so tired. "What were you worried about? Was it the bills?"

"No, it was…," her voice trails off as she looks away from me before redoubling her effort. "I was worried that you hated me. I felt bad knowing I couldn't help you work towards your journey, then you gave up any chance to help me." She bit her lip and put on her bravest face, but it was an expression I'd seen, even if it was rare. My mother was holding back tears of her own.

"I never hated you. I was angry at the circumstances, but not you, Mom."

"Thank you. I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too."

There's a stack of mail on the coffee table that had already been opened, but one envelope left untouched. As I'm looking over it, I find it's addressed to me in rather awful handwriting, and from Glen of all people.

Titus,

Didn't git to send you your last check. I know you were missing tips from the jar so I threw in a little extra. Feel awful about those shitheads attacking you but I hope your feeling better. Don't worry about your lost paychecks or the medical thing, I got it taken care of back at the clinic. I'll invite you over for a drink once the bar reopens.

-Sincerely, Glen

I hadn't been expecting that at all. I'd actually been worried about paying for the clinic visit and not having the income from Lucky Andy's. It made me chuckle though. Of all people, Glen would be the one to forego a phone call or a text message in favor of writing a letter. He hated using his phone if he could avoid it.

Mom sits back down in her spot on the couch, flicking through the channels until she lands on the commercials for an upcoming battle. The ads end before the feed resumes with the beginning of the match commentary.

"And here we go Harvey, it's Hector Whitaker vs Roland Emerson! This is gonna be a wild one for sure!"

"Sure will, Alicia! Roland's the underdog this time for certain and his opponent is no pushover, let's see what these two Conference hopefuls have got up their sleeves!"

Mom, unlit cigarette in her mouth, quickly hits the button on the remote, flicking to another channel. I wanted to tell her that I was fine, that it would be okay if we watched, but I didn't know if I'd believe those words myself. She knew Hector's name, what seeing him battle and succeed on TV meant to me. Before she can say anything I shuffle out of the living room and flop on to my bed, covering my face with my hands.

Late in spring the following year, I arrive home from a late shift soaked from the rain. The apartment is dark and Mom is likely asleep. I put on dry clothes and settle down in front of the TV with something to eat before bed. The screen comes to life displaying a Gym match, against Byron of all people. It was incredibly rare to see live broadcasts of Gym battles, so the challenger had to be something special.

The camera changed angles, and I realized I knew this challenger. It was Hector, trying for his eighth badge.

Next to Fantina, Byron might've been the toughest opponent to have for an eighth badge challenge. But my friend didn't seem to care. His hair was dyed a fiery orange color, his glasses had been exchanged for contact lenses, and he wore a jersey that featured half a dozen brand logos on the back of it. And he was having the time of his life, a manic grin plastered to his face as he and his team faced down the Steel Type Leader for dominance of the field. The camera changed to a woman with platinum blonde hair who was excitedly cheering him on. Teysa. Of course she had been there.

I felt my throat catch, and a sour feeling spread through the center of my chest. I hadn't spoken to her, to either of them, in over a year at that point. They'd left to begin their careers as Trainers while I banged my head against a wall trying to keep my mother and I afloat. Even when Teysa had offered me a Poliwag as a starter, one of only a few to come from her mother's Politoed, I had to turn it down. She'd called me a coward, spineless, and a dozen other things that made me feel dejected and worthless before storming off. It happened in public too, where strangers were staring at me.

Hector was an incredible Trainer. To make it to seven badges as a rookie was an impressive feat, but pulling off the eighth was the toughest by far. I watched my friend stride into battle, his confidence in himself and his Pokemon unwavering throughout. Even as Byron put up wall after wall, shutting down every tactic, maneuver and trick thrown his way only to counter with one of his own, Hector did not relent. As his team fell one by one, he wouldn't give in to the mounting pressure. As it came time to send in his last Pokemon to Byron's remaining three, one that hadn't made an appearance, the dominoes fell into place. What appeared on the field was Hector's beloved Growlithe now fully evolved into Arcanine, a behemoth of a Fire Type that moved far faster than something of its size should've been capable of. The canine Pokemon tore through Byron's remaining team members, setting the field ablaze and laying into them with every ounce of strength it could muster. Hector didn't just recall Arcanine when the victory was awarded to him, he ran onto the field and hugged the hulking canine as they celebrated. Teysa ran down out of the stands to meet him, pulling him into a kiss while the crowd roared around them.

I clicked off the TV and hung my head in the darkened living room, faint light filtering in from the windows. I was jealous of his strength, of his passion and dedication. I wondered when he struggled, if he even had struggled.

Was being a Trainer easy for him?

Was his journey more enjoyable without me there?

More questions left answered.

As I begin my third week into volunteering with the Rehome Project, I start to feel like I finally belong somewhere. The other volunteers know me by name, and I begin to learn more about them. Elaine was from Pastoria City, but moved to Jubilife for college classes while helping out here. Wendell was an ironworker for almost 40 years, but found he needed something to keep him moving in his approaching retirement. Apparently he had a knack for the care and enrichment of Pokemon, something he'd learned from a childhood spent on his family's ranch in Solaceon.

As I stepped into the reception area, I noticed Elaine speaking with an elderly woman wearing a fuzzy wool hat and a thick purple coat. The woman took a seat in one of the chairs nearby.

"Ah, I thought you'd be here soon," she said with a warm smile as I approached the desk. "You're like a bad cold, y'know that?"

"Oh, I make you sick to your stomach and you want me gone, is that it?"

She giggles before checking some papers at her desk. I watch her Audino come into view behind her and give me a friendly wave, which I return.

"You're with me today, Titus."

"Is Wendell sick?"

"Nope, he just said it might be time for you to interact with some of the Pokemon. We've got some new intakes. Deeni and I can't do it all. Have a seat, I just have one more thing to take care of."

I relax in one of the chairs, and in a few minutes Elaine calls the older woman back up to the counter as Wendell walks through the door with a Meowth by his side. The Normal Type has patches of fur that look to be missing but are slowly growing back in and it looks around nervously before it spots the woman at the desk. The older volunteer gives me a nod before they make their way to the desk, where Meowth slowly pads forward towards the elderly woman. Her stern expression melts into a warm smile as the feline Pokemon hugs her leg. She signs a few more papers before being handed a Pokeball and departing with her new companion.

Whoever said that Grass Types are a breeze to handle, I will personally call you a liar.

Elaine and Deeni went into the room first to meet all of the new Pokemon. I stayed behind, as the two of them would be better equipped to handle the introductions. If I got the all clear, then either her or her Audino would come back to let me in. After several nervous minutes of waiting, the pink Normal Type pushes the door open and waves me into the room.

Elaine has a handful of berries and is attempting to coax a few more of the Pokemon towards her. So far, only a Pachirisu and Lillipup have gotten brave enough to venture towards her, while a Sandile and Seedot bat around and chase one of the berries she's handed them. The Grass Type is having trouble keeping up but it looks to be having fun. Forming a rough semicircle around her are the rest of the Pokemon: A shy looking Hoppip and Phanpy, along with a Marill and a Fletchinder darting around nervously over the Water Type's head. As I enter the room, the Flying Type lets out a few screeches and chirps, which immediately alerts the rest of the Pokemon. They all cautiously begin taking steps back away from me, and even Seedot and Sandile abandon their game long enough to join the others. Deeni leads me back over to Elaine, who currently has the Pachirisu taking berries from her hand while the Lillipup appears to be standing guard. It takes a little while, but the two Pokemon eventually accept an Oran berry from me, and I'm overjoyed when they do. I'd never owned or been particularly close to Pokemon before. Mom and I had never had the means to take care of one, and in an apartment it could be really tough to give them the environment they needed if the landlords even allowed it. Still, watching the Electric Type grab the fruit with his tiny paws and bite into it was worth every paddock and stall I'd had to shovel and then some.

A few minutes pass, and Lillipup steps close enough to Elaine to allow her to pet him. He looks like he wants to bolt at first, but that quickly dissolves when behind the ear scritches come into play. Pachirisu doesn't sit still long enough for head scratches, but she does decide to climb atop Audino's head for a better view of things. I notice a tiny shadow moving around us, and look up to see Fletchinder hovering up above. Marill has tears in her eyes as she approaches Elaine and Deeni, and even Hoppip waddles towards me on its little feet.

The fuzzy pink plant creature doesn't dare hop or jump to get around in this room. The ceiling is too tall for anyone to reach it without a ladder so I'm not sure how we'd get him down if he floated up there. I reach out with a berry in hand, to which Hoppip quickly becomes frightened and the leaves on its head twitch and snap as a burst of powder surrounds me. I don't feel anything at first, but my eyes begin to water to the point where it's blinding, and it becomes impossible to breathe through my nose. I sit down on the spot and try to breathe but end up sneezing several times, which causes Pokemon near me to scatter and run away. There's crying from what I'm guessing is Hoppip as I hear Elaine and Deeni rush over to me, and I'm fairly certain I can hear Lillipup barking.

"Shit, shit shit shit shit, are you okay? Can you breathe? Can you move your body at all? Does anything hurt?" Elaine quickly rattles off in a panic.

Between sneezing and a runny nose and the most pathetic and nasally voice I can manage, I let her know that I'm fine

"Oh, thank Arceus, I thought that was Stun Spore or something. Deeni knows Heal Bell, but that only works on Pokemon. I really didn't want to have to rush you to a hospital," she replies with palpable relief coming through her voice. "I'll go look for something in the first aid kit, I'll be right back."

I felt a pair of tiny hands pressing into my back, along with a faint humming noise. I wipe my eyes clear and make out Audino trying her best to comfort me.

"Thank you, Deeni," I'm cut off by another sneezing fit but the Normal Type doesn't run. I feel something cold and wet poking my hand and look down to find Lillipup sniffing at me. The tiny canine Pokemon looks up at me with wide eyes before bringing his head low to the ground and wiggling his rear. I think he wanted to play but before I could answer, Pachirisu tackles him from behind and the two roll across the floor before the rodent bounds off across the room with Lillipup giving chase. In a few minutes the other Pokemon have begun playing and running around as well, and Marill approaches me with Hoppip following shyly behind her.

"Hi there. It's nice to m-" I sneeze again, but force my face into the sleeve of my jacket to stifle it. "Ugh, Arceus. It's nice to meet both of you. I'm Titus. I'm supposed to be helping you get adjusted to your new home. Here," I offer them one of the berries, but Marill looks unsure at first. I eat one myself, and find the fruit has a nice mix of sweet and tart flavor. Cautiously, the Water Type accepts the berry from me, biting into it and chewing before squealing in delight.

"Marill, marill!", the blue mouse exclaims happily.

"Me too, I guess? I don't know what you're saying, but I'm glad you like it."

Marill gently pushes Hoppip towards me, the leaves atop its head going slightly droopy to hide its face.

"I guess I've got you to thank for my sneezing and runny nose. That's okay though, you were just scared, and I don't get sick much so I'd say I'm long overdue for a cold."

"Hoppip-pip?" the Grass Type says, the long leaves finally parting to reveal a curious set of bright yellow eyes.

"You're fine. I think I've got another berry, here!" I hold out the last of the fruit Elaine had given me, and surprisingly, Hoppip eats it from my hand. Marill begins to wander off and Hoppip begins to chase after her but not before waving goodbye to me, which I return in kind.

"You did really well with them, I'm surprised they even went near you," Elaine commented before sitting down next to me, handing me a white pill and a bottle of water. I down the pill and about half of the water in a few seconds. "You're lucky Wendell's always prepared, he had some allergy pills kicking around in his desk."

"You saw that? I thought they were all scared of me, I didn't think they'd even want to get close."

"Some of them might not, a lot of them do want to trust humans but that hurt and pain is still there, y'know? But we can work with them and they'll come around in their own time if they want to."

We spent a good long while in that room, getting to know each of the new Pokemon and playing with them. Elaine brought a few rubber balls in for them to play with and Lillipup was over the moon once we started playing fetch. A few times the other Pokemon intervened to steal the ball from him, but it was all in good fun. Phanpy took a nap next to me, splaying out on the floor while Fletchinder rested comfortably on the Ground Type's head.

As we were sitting there resting, Elaine answered a call on her phone and walked away to take it. A few minutes later, she slid her phone back into her pocket as she approached.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind sticking around a little while longer, would you?"

"Probably not, why, what's up?"

"I just got a call from a Ranger friend of mine, says he got a Baby Pokemon for us to take," she said.

Baby Pokemon were a subset of unevolved Pokemon. They were smaller, weaker versions of certain species and varying in rarity, and they often needed more work put into them than other Pokemon of their Type. I'd heard that Bonsly had a tendency to cry a lot and the food requirements for feeding a Munchlax were on par with feeding three to four fully grown human beings, while Pichu could hurt itself with its own electricity and Mime Jr had tendencies to become pranksters.

"A Baby? What kind?"

"It's a Tyrogue. It doesn't have a previous Trainer. It was the first thing he checked but he doesn't have the time to raise it himself so he asked if we'd take him in. I was going to pick him up myself, I just need you and Deeni to watch the others if you don't mind?"

"No, not at all, I'd just be happy to meet him myself if he's up for it," I admitted.

"We'll have to see, Nathan didn't explain much beyond wanting to find him a good home. Hopefully some of the other Pokemon can give Tyrogue what he needs. They can be kind of a whole project on their own."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they want to exercise and train constantly. It's not enough to do it on their own, they need people and Pokemon working with them, and they get frustrated and somewhat destructive if they can't get that," she admitted. "I should be back within an hour or so, but if some of the Pokemon get hungry then Wendell and Deeni can feed them. I'll let him know that I'm heading out as well."

It was nearly two hours before Elaine finally returned. I actually had to have Wendell come and help with feeding the Pokemon. While they were friendly with me, I thought it would be best if the older man was taking care of their food. After all, he spent more hours here than any of us so it was probably best if he was building a connection and rapport with the new intakes first.

Even while Wendell distributed bowls of food, I was interested in what the proper diet for each of them looked like. Sandile for example, is fed raw meat but Lillipup is given the same with wild rice and vegetables thrown in. Phanpy eats things it would have access to on the ground such as mushrooms, greens and berries while the Grass Types are given a kind of dark food pellet to supplement their unique growth. I'd never seen or heard of such a thing before. Wendell explains that normally they'd draw nutrients from the soil and absorb sunlight and rain, but because that's not always an option that food pellets like these are necessary.

"It's sorta a misnomer 'bout Grass Types bein' self-sufficient and cheap to raise," the older man states.

"What do you mean?"

"Most Trainers are told or hear that Grass Types don't need fed or somethin' or that they can get what they need from the soil alone. It's the same thing as thinkin' you can save money by just not feedin' 'em. It takes time, and water and sunlight for 'em to do that. And most Trainers aren't waiting around for them to do that. They won't have proper growth, and they won't be healthy in the long term. We do it for their well-being, to supplement the nutrition they might be lacking in. They're still Pokemon, still living creatures, and they gotta eat all the same."

I hadn't actually thought about what feeding the Pokemon under my care would've looked like. For most people, raising a Grass Type was probably a cost cutting measure they took when they heard about how cheap they were to feed and raise. It's likely, overwhelmingly so, that I would've done the same at some point. And my Pokemon would've suffered for it, if what Wendell was saying was true.

When the bowls were emptied and collected, Wendell and I sat and watched the Pokemon play, while Deeni joined them. It was funny watching them all interact with the Normal Type, each one of them seeming to look up to her like a big sister and she was gentle with each of them.

The doors behind us opened up, and I noticed Elaine walking in. Following her was a pink, blotchy skinned humanoid creature with brown shoe-like feet. Three horns jutted from his head, and he glared at everyone with fierce yellow eyes. It would've been intimidating, but Tyrogue was just a baby. The Fighting Type stayed close behind Elaine's leg, and looked around warily as she approached us.

"Tyrogue? These are my friends, Titus and Wendell. This is your new home now, we're gonna take care of you, ok?"

Tyrogue looked at me first, stomping forward with his head high. His lower lip curled, and he glared at me, his fierce scowl growing more intense by the second. I thought he might attack, but he made no motion to do so.

"Titus?" Elaine asked. "Maybe you ought to not stare at him? I think it's making him nervous…"

"Nah, keep it up," Wendell chuckled. "This one's a little shit starter."

Over the course of two hours, we would begin to see how right Wendell was.

It was bad enough that Tyrogue had an attitude with myself and Elaine, but he only listened to Wendell and only when the older man raised his voice. But the Fighting Type insisted on picking fights and getting into trouble with the other Pokemon. For seemingly no reason, he tackled Phanpy and pushed him over, only to regret it when the Ground Type hit him back and sent him scurrying away. They were usually docile Pokemon, but like any other they'd fight back when provoked. And this went on for a while. He pulled Marill's tail and ate a blast of water to the face for his efforts. Once, he tried to do the same with Lillipup but the Normal Type fought back twice as hard, turning on him and knocking the Fighting Type down. After each of these little outbursts, we tried to intervene and separate them but Tyrogue would run away to sulk by himself.

It finally came to a head when the Fighting Type picked on Pachirisu, opting to kick the Electric rodent when she wasn't looking. Deeni quickly intervened before we could, grabbing Tyrogue before more damage could be done but he wasn't having it. He began lashing out, kicking and punching with his small frail limbs before a pink glow emanated from the Normal Type's eyes and Tyrogue began floating up above her, struggling to move against the restraint he'd been placed in. Elaine pulled out the Pokeball and recalled him, looking visibly flustered and even Wendell breathed a sigh of relief once the little monster was contained.

"Was that a Psychic move? I didn't know Deeni could do that," I said with genuine curiosity.

"Mhmm. She's a very talented Pokemon. Normal Types tend to have the easiest time learning moves of other types, though she and I don't battle much," she admitted. "Arceus, Tyrogue's a handful though. I just wish I knew why he was like that. Nathan told me that he tried the same thing with evolved Pokemon too, said his Sawsbuck almost flattened him for trying to pick a fight."

"Could be he's just hurt 'n confused," Wendell grumbled, scratching his chin. "Maybe he did have a home and a family, but they're not here now are they? We just gotta show 'im a little love and patience. He's only a baby after all, and we don't know what the poor thing's been through."