December 2nd, First Year

Akari struggled to pull herself out of the viscous muck that sucked at her pant legs, weighing on her like hardened cement. She clawed the thick residue off of her exposed arms and collapsed onto the nearest rock shelf, feeling a slight tingle as the flesh of her hands and face began to burn. So it had been for the past few hours. Akari knew that some kind of immunity- prevention more than likely- was keeping her from burning to death inside the narrow, magma-filled cave she was in; she just couldn't find the patience to dwell on it more.

Right behind her, Gliscor was no better. They had dove in after her in an attempt to save her, but hadn't been able to pull either of them out the way they'd come in from. After the two of them had been tossed around and flushed out from numerous other caves higher up the chain, Gliscor looked just as exhausted as Akari felt with their sunken eyes and battered exoskeleton.

Everything will be okay, Akari reassured herself. Even though her entire body ached and even though the brightness of the cave rendered her essentially blind, Akari got her hands underneath her and pushed herself back up, panting. I'll be fine. I just need to find a way out of here and back to the cliff.

Minutes passed. Akari gradually found the strength to clamber back onto her feet, feeling along the cave wall as she shakily stumbled through the passageway and into a new maze of twisting corridors and slow-moving magma streams. Still blindingly bright. Still overwhelmingly hot. Akari kept moving forward despite it all, still moving forward no matter how many walls she stumbled into. No matter how many times she stepped off the rock shelf only to find herself waist-deep in bubbling magma yet again. No matter how many times she had to lean back against a nearby wall to catch her breath. No matter how many times she was forced to wait as the numerous burns across her body healed. She would find a way out no matter how long it took.

Akari's breath hitched in her throat when she eventually entered a wide cavern with a low-ceiling. Wide rivulets of magma poured from the rocks and into a wider magma pit where a huge boulder loomed under the streams. But unlike the many other caverns, the low-hanging ceiling sloped upward to reveal a small hole many leagues above where Akari could just barely see the far-away sky. Gliscor immediately latched onto Akari's back and began to furiously beat their wings to lift her upwards but with no carrying breeze and in such a narrow space, Gliscor had to eventually relent, apologetically nudging Akari's shoulder when they were set back to square zero.

"It's okay." Akari reached behind her back and ruffled the scant fur along Gliscor's cheek. "You tried. We'll find a way out. We just need to think and keep looking." Akari was about to speak again before she was interrupted.

Pluto appeared shakily from their pokéball and tottered toward the edge of the rock shelf, the feathery frill along their flank immediately catching fire. Pluto then hunched over. The telltale scarlet aura of some psychic mystical power washed over them and then to Akari's horror, over the massive boulder in the center of the chamber too.

The pool of magma shifted and lurched. It dipped an entire foot lower as the boulder in the center began to move. Steam hissed as the unknown creature let out a harrying growl that rattled Akari's bones and sent loose pebbles clattering high into the air. The creature's rocky exterior brightened and then began to glow a dull red like heated metal.

Akari was left shaking, attempting to hide behind Gliscor's outstretched wings but failing as the creature turned itself around to stare beseechingly at Pluto whose once-pristine white feathers were now black with soot and ash, burned down to the point where Pluto's frail hip bones could be seen. A pokémon. Akari was staring directly at a behemoth of a pokémon.

The pokémon then approached closer. Its eyes, brilliantly white with an unknowable heat, roamed over Pluto before focusing on Akari next. It shifted closer to the rock shelf, opened its fanged jaws and growled.

"...help."

Akari paused. She glanced over to Pluto who was quickly ambling over to her, shaking its feathers to put out the embers that had landed upon them. "...Pluto?"

"Help. They'll help us." Pluto then slapped their hand on their pokéball and disappeared, leaving Akari and Gliscor to stare down the pokémon who had shifted even closer, turning so that its back was facing her.

Akari slowly got to her feet. "You… you'll help us?" She asked softly. She was met by a shaky hiss that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up. She carefully watched as the giant pokémon lowered itself into the magma, turning an expectant eye upon her as she slowly clambered onto its back. And though her palms burned and though Gliscor was careful not to touch the creature, Akari remained unharmed, the stench of burning flesh the only indicator that Akari was still inevitably taking damage. She let out an involuntary gasp as the massive pokémon rose onto its feet and began moving through the magma pool over toward a nearby cave wall. "The hole? In the ceiling? Can you lift us up there?" Gliscor was quick to use the nearby cave wall chippings as a chain to keep Akari firmly on the pokémon's back.

Wordlessly, the giant pokémon sank its clawed hands into the cavern walls before slowly heaving them all upwards, streams of fresh magma as white as snow oozing from its open jaws. Though it moved slowly, the creature didn't so much as struggle to carry them to the opening in the ceiling where it reared back one hand to smash through the hole.

Akari nearly cried at the sensation of much cooler air surging over her. She continued to hold on as the strange pokémon carried her all the way out of the volcano and onto the hardened black grounds of the outside world, continuing to tramble a path through the hardened lava rivers until it carried her lower.

She scanned the horizon for any signs of her party. Of the two brothers. Of the bandits. Of Charm. When she sighted a group of bandits milling around near an exposed rocky overhang, she tensed only to watch as her escort pokémon reared back and forced a chunk of earth upward out of the earth, disintegrating the entire cliff while spraying the rocks with freshly-cooling lava. The bandits plummeted to the ground and then the air was still again. Before Akari could call out for her escort to stop, she saw the same bandits scrambling down the cliffs with their clothes and gear smoldering. This is fine. They'll live.

Akari hadn't been expecting the strange pokémon to carry her so far. It didn't stop or pause or even so much as pay attention to her concerned ramblings, using any and every opportunity to attack lingering bandits and expel them from their shoddy holdouts until they fled down toward the beaches. And as her escort continued its rampage, Akari realized that the pokémon was taking her somewhere; that it had a target in mind.

It had circled the base of the mountain and as Akari consulted her map, she realized that the pokémon had effectively cleared the island of lingering bandits until only she remained. It had then changed course to take her straight to the summit of the Great Firespit Volcano, steam pouring from the pores on the creature's skin. She could only heal up her pokémon and mentally prepare for what she knew most likely awaited her at the top. Everything will be fine, she reassured herself. The hope grew stronger the more she repeated it. Things will work out.

As they climbed higher and higher and the heat gradually intensified, Akari prepared to dismount the strange creature only for it to pause. A ways away, Akari made out figures also summiting the mountains. She peered through the smoke and fog and immediately began to beam, recognizing a familiar jacket shape. "Ingo! Over here!" Joy flooded her when she heard Ingo's responding shout. Her escort pokémon stopped just long enough for Ingo and his party to catch up to her where she immediately dismounted only to be caught in a bone-breaking hug. "You're still here?" she wheezed.

"I never departed from these tracks!" Ingo croaked back. He carefully released her only to stare as the massive creature she'd been riding on let out a hiss of steam before plodding onwards without her to the summit. "...Is that a… co-conductor of yours?"

Emmet clicked his tongue but his eyes were as wide as moons. "Not a co-conductor. But. They are for sure banned from the Battle Subway."

From behind the two brothers, Mangrove shook his head and pulled out a handful of spines from his back. "Yeah, no. That's fucking Heatran, a legendary pokémon, you dolts." He turned his head to stare disbelievingly at Akari. "You were riding on top of Heatran like they was some kind of horsey?"

"... They insisted?" Akari muttered confusedly. "Pluto asked them for help… and they agreed."

"That don't make it any better, girlie." Mangrove then approached and carefully sniffed her over before snorting. "No blood, no foul," he reported to both Ingo and Emmet before stooping to Akari's level, gently poking her side with one of his claws. "What are you humans made out of, anyway? I'm a water-type and even I'm burnin' up a little here."

Akari shook her head. "Trust me… You don't want to know." She then glanced back at where Heatran was still doggedly climbing the volcano. "I know where they're heading to."

"Lord Arcanine?" Ingo guessed, his voice cracking. "Hmm. Perhaps we may not need the assistance of Lord Basculegion after all if we have Heatran's help on this matter."

Mangrove wordlessly plucked Akari off of the ground and situated her on his back, using his cravat to secure her in place. "Whatever the case is, we shouldn't care. Let's just get this over with so we can get the hell off of the island."

"Please do not swear around minors," Emmet chastised. He took hold of his hat before he was unceremoniously lifted off of the ground and sat on top of Ingo's Machamp's shoulder, Ingo helping to balance him.

"I'll do whatever I please, toothpick. You ain't gonna be much use with your electric-types anyways, backseat boy."

"Verrry clever," Emmet grunted, his smile sharp. "You can do better than that."

"Quit squabbling amongst yourselves," Ingo cut in. He cuffed Emmet gently before quietly gesturing for his Machamp to go forward. "Let us depart."

With his Haxorus at his side and with his Machamp keeping him and his brother safe, Ingo took the lead and carefully found a trail in Heatran's compacted footsteps that took them to the very summit of the volcano in no time at all. The earth shook and trembled beneath their feet as they approached. The air was split by a howling shriek. Quickly sheltered behind both Ingo and Emmet's outstretched arms, Akari watched as Heatran reared back onto their hind legs and swiped at Lord Arcanine. The frenzied noble ducked low and lunged forward, snapping at Heatran's legs. Lord Arcanine then shook their head in disgust as Heatran's leg disintegrated into a mess of hardened lava, leaving room for a fresh new one to form just as quickly as it had gone. The two goliaths locked together and crashed into the sea of frothing lava, snapping, biting, and howling at one another. To Akari's glee, Heatran was clearly winning.

Much larger than Lord Arcanine and with a body that couldn't be wounded, Heatran effortlessly overpowered Lord Arcanine and held their struggling body down in the lava, slamming their metallic claws into the back of the noble's head. Though slow, the impact rattled the stone walls of the volcano, the residual gust nearly toppling her over from the sheer force alone. No matter how much Lord Arcanine squirmed, howled or sent up cascades of fresh fire and lava, Heatran kept their position, barely even flinching at the assault. Lord Arcanine began to whine. It turned itself over onto its belly and attempted to drag itself out from underneath Heatran's grip only to be grabbed by their legs, lifted, and slammed back into the arena floor with a resounding crack.

A golden beam of light radiated from the two clashing titans. Akari let herself relax. She watched as Heatran lifted itself back onto its hindlegs allowing the defeated Lord Arcanine- now a trembling and scorched Lord Growlithe- to scramble blindly out of the arena and over the lip of the exposed earth, collapsing in the dirt a few paces away from Akari's party. "I'll check on him," she volunteered instantly. "Can you three keep an eye on Heatran?"

Mangrove snorted. "You're good. Go check on the little pup and make sure to haul him back when you're finished. We're leaving this place as soon as you got him under wraps."

December 3rd, First Year

"Okay. Set down your foot super hard so I can take down your footprint." Akari diligently took notes as she studied Heatran, knowing well that Professor Laventon would most likely faint when she showed him her studies on the legendary pokémon. She checked through all of her notes and then bowed, careful to avoid the residual drips of lava that leaked through Heatran's saw-like teeth. "Thank you very much!"

Heatran let out a grunt and then sauntered off away from Veilstone Cape and across the exposed sandbar back to Firespit Island, leaving a trail of smouldering footprints behind in their wake.

Akari gathered up her notes and her pokédex before starting back across the way toward the Trail Encampment, shivering slightly as a new wave of snow began to fall around her. When she arrived, she found Ingo and Emmet speaking in hushed tones beside the dining tent, Lady Sneasler hand-picking out berries from a woven basket with Mangrove fighting her for scraps.

"What are you guys up to?"

Ingo sighed from his position on a wooden stool, setting down a handful of papers that were scattered about the table he sat near. "Emmet and I have been making a few observations and we have discovered quite a few… worrying ones."

Akari's eyebrows raised. "Like?"

"Sneasler is due to become frenzied next," Emmet supplemented, absentmindedly running a fine-toothed comb through his Galvantula's thick fur. "There is a pattern. Sneasler first. And then Electrode. And then…?" He turned to Ingo, his eyebrows furrowed. "Who is next?"

"Lord Braviary and then Lord Avalugg," Ingo finished. "At least, that is what my brother and I are supposing. Some nobles are praised more than others and as such, with the frenzies working themselves south to north, it is only reasonable that the nobles of the Coronet Highlands should be next in line, so to speak."

Akari took a seat at the table but not before glancing over at Lady Sneasler who held a plump berry directing in front of Mangrove's face, seeming to take delight in teasing the crocodilian pokémon. "Oookay. You might be right... But have we considered whether there's a way to… prevent noble pokémon from becoming frenzied in the first place?"

Ingo shook his head only for Emmet to put his hand down on the table. "...Yes, Emmet?"

"Catch her."

Ingo blinked. "...I beg your pardon?"

Emmet fished a regular pokéball out of his bag and made a gesture of tossing it at Lady Sneasler. "Catch her. In a pokéball. It might work."

Ingo immediately shook his head, his hands moving to fidget with his ceremonial wooden bracelet. "Noble pokémon cannot and should not be captured in pokéballs, Emmet. I am unsure as to whether such a thing would even work if it were attempted."

"They are pokémon, Ingo," Emmet reasoned slowly, teasing out a large tangle in the fur along Galvantula's legs. "Why should it not work? Sneasler wants to accompany us back to our time." Emmet then snorted, covering his smile with his hands. "Legendary pokémon have been caught in regular pokéballs before."

"That is a statistical oddity and should not be counted!" Ingo argued back. He then immediately flinched back in his chair though. His eyes widened and he confusedly turned away from the table. "...Apologies. Is it a statistical oddity?"

Emmet grinned, his smile practically audible in his tone. "No."

"Concerning."

"It is."

Akari instead turned to Lady Sneasler. "What do you think? Would you be up to trying it, Lady Sneasler? Would you be okay with being caught in a pokéball?"

In response, Lady Sneasler slowly got to her paws but not before struggling to balance, sluggishly picking her way over to Ingo where she proceeded to shove her entire face into her warden's bag only to fish out a dinged-up pokéball that looked as though it had never seen better days. She then dropped it squarely on the table before nudging it over to Ingo, purring.

"I think that's a 'yes'," Akari giggled. "She even picked out which pokéball she wants. Can't get any clearer than that." She was about to say more when she noticed Lady Sneasler lay back down on the grass, panting. "...Are you okay, Lady Sneasler? You don't look too good."

Ingo carefully knelt down and did a quick once-over of Sneasler's condition but his exasperated expression didn't falter for a second. He made a few hems and haws before reaching over and shoveling a few more handfuls of berries out of the basket and into Lady Sneasler's outstretched paws. "Safety checks have been performed," Ingo rattled off. "All is well."

"You're sure?" Akari muttered. "Doesn't she seem a bit tired to you?"

Beside her, Emmet clicked his tongue, pointing at Sneasler's swollen flank. "Your observations are incorrect! Lady Sneasler is most likely expecting a clutch."

Akari blinked. "...A what?"

"The Sneasel lineage tends to breed during the colder months," Ingo explained slowly. "Their hatch times are rather short, meaning that they will often have their eggs in the spring when the weather is fair and the food is plentiful. An excellent adaptation!"

"...She's gonna have babies?" Akari gasped.

"Indeed!" Ingo cheered. He took a seat at the table before reaching over to flip to a new page on the pokédex where Akari had made hasty notes about Sneasler some time ago. "It is nothing unusual, even in times such as these. Lady Sneasler will more than likely have another brood come summer. And perhaps it is a good thing that she is expecting." Ingo gaze rested upon his noble. "After all, if Lady Sneasler wishes to accompany us back to the future, she will need an heir to inherit her territory."

Akari drew on the idea for a few seconds. "I wonder what would happen if Sneasler became frenzied while she's carrying her babies. Do you think they'd be okay?"

"...An interesting question," Emmet muttered. His grin disappeared. He took Sneasler's chosen pokéball and pushed it into Ingo's hands, closing his brother's hands over the capsule. "Let's not find out the answer. Ingo?"

"Now?" Ingo murmured. "Are you quite certain this is appropriate? In our time, I mean."

"I am Emmet. You are overthinking this. Now is the right time," Emmet insisted. "You care deeply for Lady Sneasler. Catch her. She has already consented to being a captured pokémon."

Ingo let out a sigh. He gently picked up the beaten pokéball, approached Sneasler, and held it out to her. "Go on, then. You have the final say-so, my lady."

Lady Sneasler eyed the pokéball, devoured another handful of berries, and then proceeded to bump her head against the contraption without much fuss. She then disappeared inside the capsule in a flash. The pokéball rocked only once in Ingo's palm before sparks shot out the top. A painless catch. Before Ingo could rise to his feet, Lady Sneasler appeared back outside of her pokéball to go back to eating while stealing more and more food from Mangrove's stash.

Ingo slowly got to his feet, his gaze caught on the pokéball in his palm. He swallowed. "...I suppose that's that, then."

Akari snorted. "Don't tell Lady Irida," she teased. "She's gonna be so mad when she finds out you caught a noble pokémon."

Ingo's face suddenly drained of all color. "... I haven't told Lady Irida!" Just as quickly, Ingo fixed his appearance and siddled back in at the table. "Not to worry! Lady Sneasler will choose her successor before we are due to depart this station."

"You don't think we'll be done quelling the nobles before winter's over?" Akari asked. "This is the fastest we've ever quelled a noble. Who's to say that we won't be able to do it again for the next four noble pokémon?"

"We can't rule out that possibility," Ingo nodded. "You are right, but it is best to think ahead and plan for the worst-case scenario."

"Worry-wart," Emmet teased, playfully shoving at Ingo's shoulder. "If Lady Sneasler remains non-frenzied, we then have a plan to address the other nobles."

Ingo blanched. "Lady Irida would sooner have my head than allow for any of us to capture more noble pokémon, even if it is for the sake of Professor Laventon's studies. And perhaps a bit of selfishness on my part."

"She won't be mad if we ask nicely and explain ourselves," Akari suggested. "The end goal is to get rid of the rift on top of Mount Coronet."

"Quelling the nobles is not doing anything to the rift," Emmet noted, his tone somewhat dour. "How do we get rid of the rift?"

Akari paused. "I… I don't know. But I'm sure we'll figure it out," she deflected, leaning back on her stool. "After all, Jaku's still busy doing whatever it is Almighty Sinnoh told her to do. Then you're next, aren't you Uncle Ingo?"

Beside her, Emmet tensed. The carefree atmosphere around the table disappeared in an instant, replaced by an air of uncertainty. Emmet quietly asked Ingo for his map and then for Ingo's watch, his eyes widening. He looked back-and-forth between the two items, an increasing amount of confusion evident in the way he began to tap his feet noisily under the table, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper by the second.

"Is something the matter, Uncle Emmet?"

Emmet ignored her. He instead turned to Ingo, his voice barely audible. "Her marker is gone, Ingo."

Marker- oh… Oh no. You're joking. Akari immediately scrambled over to the other side of the table to see Ingo's watch. With dread, Akari quickly realized that Emmet's observation had been correct. Akaricould see her own marker, Ingo's and Emmet's all lined up neatly on the same spot but Jaku's was nowhere to be found. She slowly eased back onto her stool. "She can't be gone yet," she immediately deduced. "We would've noticed something change… right? She said she was gonna tell us when it was time, remember?" Akari let out a nervous laugh. "We're not there yet."

Neither Ingo nor Emmet brightened nor did they respond to her questions. Akari noticed with increasing dismay that Ingo's panicked look from before had returned with a frighteningly new intensity. Akari knew that the quest of quelling the nobles had been a distraction from the rift. That whatever Jaku and Ingo job's were would be a helping hand to get rid of it on her part. But Akari didn't know what her own job would entail and as she thought more about it, she realized that Ingo was in the same boat as her.

"...Do you think Alakazam would be able to find her? Or maybe Pluto?" Akari and Ingo sent out their psychic-types. Both attempted to teleport only to fail, something that greatly unnerved Akari. No amount of telepathy or further teleportation yielded any results. She can't have left yet. She would've said something… right? "Where would she be if she's still around here somewhere? Where would she go to? What would she be doing right now?"

"Easy." It was Mangrove who had spoken, his eyebrows furrowed as he wandered over, forced to stoop low to peer at Ingo's watch. "If I know Burr- which I do- she's probably locked in on that job of hers. I got wind of her route when we were still partnered up so I think I know where she's at. Or at least, I can make an educated guess. Last time we checked in, she was up north between these two areas." Mangrove pointed at the verge between the highlands and icelands. "If she's anywhere, she's probably in the highlands working on getting those two gears she mentioned were up there. Burr may have changed, but I doubt she managed to get two of those thing-a-ma-bobs without taking rest days, even if there's no map marker to show where she's at. She ain't that efficient," Mangrove snorted.

"The cursors have always been present for as long as I have had the ability," Ingo argued. "What then might it mean when Miss Jaku's suddenly disappears? Why would this be happening?"

"Interference, most likely," Mangrove reasoned quietly. He tapped his claws to his jaw. "Burr's the closest to that rift right now. Who's to say that it ain't messin' with her cursor point right now? Don't mean she's right next to it. Could be that it's just an effect. Could happen with your points tool."

Akari found herself slowly nodding. Right. Right, that might explain it. But though Mangrove's educated guess brought some ease to the table, it didn't ward away the gnawing sense of dread in Akari's gut. "...Should we go looking for her?"

December 4th, First Year

Thin curtains of snow fell upon the coastland valleys. Akari kept in step next to Yuki and a handful of other Galaxy Team scouts. A pang of sadness fell upon her. She was finally leaving the coastlands and hadn't had a single day of being able to enjoy the beach. I'll just come back when the weather's warmer, she resolved. That thought was immediately snuffed out by the intense feeling of guilt and dread that washed over her. If I'm still here by then.

She had said goodbye to both Ingo and Emmet who had departed for the Coronet Highlands to both help Lady Sneasler settle into her den for the season and to figure out where Jaku was. As much as Akari wanted to help in the search- to figure out whether her fellow faller had really and truly left them behind without a word- she was needed back at Jubilife to be formally recognized and welcomed back into the settlement sans Commander Kamado. A new letter from Captain Cyllene had informed her that the skeptical clan leader had travelled north to meet with Lady Irida of the Pearl Clan. Convenient.

The barren, snow-clad mountains of the coastlands grew ever taller until Akari recognized the beaten dirt paths zig-zagging across the boundary mountains separating the coastlands from the mirelands. She only hoped that it would be a straight shot back with no diversions. Akari hoped- begged really- that she'd have a break before being forced to tackle the next frenzied noble- Lady Sneasler or not.

Afternoon broke and dusk came swiftly. The Galaxy Team scouts set up their temporary tents in a narrow mountain clearing where scraggly trees provided the barest of shelters from the howling winds and descending snow and hail.

Akari crept into her tent only to bed down alongside her pokémon, pulling Saturn into her lap where the Purugly was more than happy to be stroked. Just as Akari was about to sort through her bag in preparation for the long trek ahead, she heard a noise at the flap of her tent. Soft footsteps just barely crunched through the snow, hopping back-and-forth as something small but sharp repeatedly pressed its face into the cloth tent wall.

Akari slowly unfurled the tent opening only to watch a battered-looking Staravia immediately hop into the tent, dropping a letter on the ground. A Staravia? That doesn't make sense. Why would Yuki… Akari froze. This isn't from Yuki... This is from Rei.

Akari took a deep breath, fed Rei's pokémon a few berries, and then slowly unwound the sealed letter.

Akari,

I know this letter will reach you. My Staravia is plenty strong so please feed her some berries for her troubles.

I know what you've been up to. With Volo. I remember our battle and I remember him poisoning me. And I also remember you helping him.

Akari's blood froze in her veins. Volo said he wasn't going to remember that for a long time! Trembling, she continued to read the letter.

I trusted you and you lied to me and hurt me. You nearly killed me. Whether it had to do with Volo or not is a different matter. I thought you were better than that, even if we weren't ever really friends.

So, I'm sending you this letter as a means to an end. I'll make it clear: you and me are going to have a long talk. One-on-one. No cheap gimmicks. No poisoning. No nothing. You said once that pokémon battling is a good way to read a person and their bonds with their pokémon, so I'm formally challenging you to a pokémon battle as well. Captain Cyllene and Professor Laventon know that I've sent you a challenge letter. Neither of them know the real reasoning behind it but I'm still holding the battle in Jubilife for protection reasons.

Somebody told me that you've changed since we've last talked to one another. Before I remembered being sick for so long. They told me that you're trying to be better. I want to see if they're telling the truth. Please prove them right.

Rei

Akari clutched the two papers and shut her eyes tight, still shaking. So he knows. He knows and he wants to battle me at Jubilife. And both the captain and the professor know. Akari immediately wanted to slap herself. I thought the captain's letter was a bit off! She's in on it too! And there's no way to tell whether Rei is lying or not.

Akari then paused, shame and guilt making her curl up the letter and toss it away. I don't think he'd lie… like I have. She took a deep breath and then reached over for her bag, pulling out a singular piece of scrap paper and a writing utensil. He'd have his revenge. Akari would agree to the terms and battle him honorably. No poison. No gimmicks. No trickery. And with a shudder, she added the last detail to her letter. Volo would not know about this battle and she would make sure that he wasn't present either.

She rolled up the letter, attached the paper to Staravia's leg, and made her way out into the frozen night, watching as the full moon rose between blankets of dark clouds. Her breath billowing out as steam, Akari was gentle as she helped Rei's Staravia take flight, watching the bird pokémon disappear into the night. And that's it, then. I said I'd be responsible and take accountability for everything. It starts now. Fully. Akari turned to make her way back to her tent only to pause.

A mile or two away spun a distortion, so small that it barely consumed the trees it had been born between. So quiet that neither Akari nor the rest of the scouts had heard it.

A distortion bubble? Akari snorted, curling her arms into her chest. I wonder if Jaku really did leave us here without saying anything. Without thinking, Akari pulled on her warmer clothes and quietly approached the tiny distortion bubble, Jupiter on her shoulder to accompany her. I wonder what it'll be like when it's time for me to go. Will it be painless or will it hurt? Akari stepped under the tree cover and over beds of pine needles, crunching through the snow. Will I forget again or will Arceus let me remember everything? She stood away from the distortion bubble, close enough to where she could reach out and touch it if she wanted to. Would I even want to remember all of this when I'm back home? Slowly, Akari fought against her urges to stay away and entered the distortion bubble.

A cool breeze washed over her. Gentle sunshine dappled her skin. Flower pollen hung heavy in the air. Akari found herself standing in the midst of a birch forest, listening as branches creaked overhead. She stared at her calloused hands stretched out in front of her before slowly peeling off her outer layer to reveal her bruised skin. When she pressed on her bruises, she felt the expected ache and stared again at her surroundings.

"This place doesn't feel like how regular distortion bubbles do." But it's a welcome change from the mountains. Akari tied her jacket around her waist and stepped deeper into the woods until she approached the edge of the looming birch trees, taking in a deep lungful of sweet, crisp air. Leaves crunched underfoot. Tall grass wavered in the wind. She gasped.

A few paces away from the treeline were a handful of small white brick buildings reminiscent of the Galaxy Team Headquarters. But these were less imposing and more… welcoming. Familiar. Smoke rose up from old chimneys. Flowers grew from terracotta pots in window sills. And Akari could hear the sound of… people. People talking. People laughing. She followed the treeline around the building- around the house- until she was looking down an old dirt road where large oak trees loomed over flowering gulleys.

Houses. Akari was looking at houses that her heart remembered but her mind did not. Pokémon that she didn't fully remember scampered across open grass fields or lounged on roofs, enjoying the sun and the cold breeze just as much as she did. She stood and stared at the sleepy little town with its cozy brick houses and dirt roads. At the sleepy little town surrounded by dense, beautiful birch forests and grassy hills under a deep blue sky with giant clouds. At a sleepy little town that hurt so much to look at that Akari thought she might start crying.

Something creaked. "...Dawn?"

Akari flinched and turned toward the origin of the noise only to see a middle-aged woman staring back at her from the window of the nearest house. She took a hesitant step back, reaching for a pokéball belt that was nowhere to be found. "...Hi… Do I… Do I know you?"

The woman with short black hair and dark eyes disappeared into the house only to exit a few seconds later through the side of the house, taking a trembling step toward Akari, tears streaming down her face as she approached. Her voice choked, the woman babbled, "Am I really seeing you?" The woman then fell to her knees, a sob in her throat as she curled up on the grass, clutching at her hair. "Are you really here? …Are you finally back home? Or am I- am I just imagining all of this?"

Akari awkwardly shuffled in place. "I'm sorry, but… I don't know you. But you know me…? Do you need help? Can I help you?"

The woman stared at Dawn with a mixture of confusion, anger, and grief. "I need my daughter back," she croaked. Her gaze sharpened and she then shut her eyes tight. "And you're her. You're my- you're my baby- my Dawn…!" She grew close enough and before Akari could react, the woman wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug. "Doesn't matter! You're home now! You're home! Arceus, you're finally home!" the woman sobbed.

Akari marvelled at the touch. This is a distortion, right? This isn't real, right? She allowed the crying woman to hug her- my mother- taking in as much as she could from the dream. Her mother's sturdy hug. The lingering smell of something sweet and doughy on her mother's apron. The sound of her mother's choked cries as she refused to let go. "...It's okay," Akari murmured sluggishly, growing sleepy. "I'm… I'm back home," she rasped, tears forming in her eyes. She shuddered. "...I'm back, mom."

The woman hesitantly let go of Akari but only for a moment. She took hold of Akari's wrist and pulled her out from underneath the trees, getting a good look at her. "...My baby, what happened to you?" Fresh tears rolled down the woman's cheeks as she took Akari's smaller hands in her own, both of them shaking. "You're all scarred and bruised…"

Akari only smiled, wiping the tears off of her face. More came to replace them. "I'm alright, mom... Everything's okay." She allowed for the woman to lead her back toward the house and through a small wooden door… only to wake up nearly frozen stiff against a fir tree, Jupiter having huddled over her to keep her warm.

"...What?" Akari got to her feet. She pinched herself. Nothing happened. She looked toward where she had last seen the distortion bubble only to realize that she had fallen unconscious right where it had spawned. "...Was any of that… real?" That woman… was she really my mom? Did we really speak to each other? Akari bit back a fresh wave of frustration… and something new: grief.

It took all of her strength to turn away from the darkness of the woods and toward the barren hills where the sun was rising in a cloudless sky. And without thinking of anything, Akari made her way back toward her fellow scouts, scraping frozen tear trails from her cheeks.