Looker followed Anabel to the bollards lined up along the coastal walls. She sat on one of the bollards and dangled her legs over the edge, just above the splash of the gentle waves. He slowly walked and sat next to her.

A moment's silence later, his superior turned towards him. She wasn't the composed woman he'd known for years right now. Tonight, Anabel's tight frown and darting eyes brought him back years ago, to when she was a terrified little girl in Interpol custody.

"Anabel?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

She stammered, unsure of how to say whatever was in her mind. After a moment, she sighed and hunched over.

"What are we?"

"Excuse me?"

"What are we?" Anabel repeated. She turned back towards the sea. "Just spokespeople selling a fantasy?"

"No," Looker immediately answered. "No, you are who you are because of everything you've seen, learned, and done. Don't let whatever Haruki said make you think otherwise."

"How? You heard him. Someone designed us. Someone made me fall. Someone made me forget! I'm the way I am because someone else made me so! Maybe…maybe I never had a past to begin with," she choked.

He now understood what troubled her so severely. He had a family to reminisce on and a place he called home. Anabel didn't have any memories of such things, at least from before she fell. For all she knew, she could've been spontaneously created on that morning beach years ago.

"But he was wrong, wasn't he?" Looker clasped Anabel's hands. "About the Ultra Beasts and the Champion. About you. You never fell after your time at the Battle Frontier. The Champion position never switched hands while we were investigating here. It was the pharmacist and courier who helped us, yes? And no one captured a single Ultra Beast. Remember your decision?"

"Yes, yes, I remember," she whispered. "'They all escaped through an Ultra Wormhole, back where they belonged.' That was our report."

"He's wrong about what happened here. He's wrong about this world, its people, and us. Even if the same things happened in a game, comic, or show, they'll never account for everything we do. Everything that life has to offer." He took a deep breath.

"You feel my hand? You taste the salt in the air? Remember the time you've spent with me, your Pokemon, with all of your friends? That's real; something no franchise, however hard it tries, can replicate."

"What about the Pokemon? What about us? How could a franchise line up how everything and everyone looks so perfectly?"

Looker thought for a moment, then continued.

"We don't know where Ultra Wormholes connect to. Maybe somewhere in the cosmos, a world just…happened to make the same designs?"

"A coincidence? Is that what you think all this is?"

"Well," he shrugged. "I don't think we'll ever know for sure. We can't go to Haruki's world; hypotheses are all we'll get."

"I- I think I understand," Anabel whispered. Her shoulders relaxed a little as she leaned awkwardly across the bollards onto Looker's body. He felt Anabel's heart slow with each deep breath. Then, the Pokeballs on her belt began to rattle.

Before either Trainer could react, there was a sudden popping sound. Anabel was pulled backwards as she was smothered by the gentle embraces from each of her partners.

"Aw, guys!" she mumbled from under her Snorlax's thick arms. As she wiggled out of her Rook's arms, she turned towards the rest of her team. A team she cared for over her entire life, a team she depended on throughout many battles, and a team that beamed comforting smiles her way. Mona's eyes flashed with pink light.

Warmth. Reassurance. The Alakazam's psychic abilities were potent enough to connect the earnest feelings from everyone to her Trainer. As the psychic link gently backed out from her mind, Anabel wiped her eyes.

"Thank you. For being here for me," She said, receiving rumbles, giggles, whines, and nods of affirmation in return.

Finally, she grunted and sat straight. She then reached out and squeezed Looker's hands tightly.

"Thank you. Everyone. I really don't know what I'll do without you."

"You're welcome, Anabel," he replied. "Do you want to stay here a little while longer?"

She nodded and glanced back at the sky. Her partners, human and Pokemon, shifted and sat down next to her. They gazed upon the twinkling stars for a long time and took in the beautiful world they were so fortunate enough to live in.

Haruki hissed as water streamed onto him. He twisted the knob back and forth for a few seconds–too hot, then too cold–until he gave up and settled for water a smidge warmer than he liked.

The staff already gave him a sponge wash when they first brought him in, but even if he didn't smell of salt anymore, Haruki still wanted to take his nightly bath. Thankfully, there was a bathroom tucked next to his hospital room.

As Haruki scrubbed his hair, he thought back to Anabel's reaction from a while ago. After replaying the conversation in his mind so many times, he wished he could shut his past self up. He should've said something else. He should've spoken differently. Now however those two felt was entirely on him.

"They'll manage." How could he possibly think that after Anabel looked at him that way back then? He just ruined the worldview of two important people and just rolled with it. He needs to apologize the next time they meet. And that would be… Yes, Anabel said they'll come tomorrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. Haruki washed his way down his body. Outside of discussing what he just revealed tonight, what else would they do? What else was there to talk about besides the Pokemon franchise? He could probably talk for ages about that. There's the anime, the games, the card game, the plushies, the merch, and probably a million other things he can't think of right now. Maybe they'll talk about home some more.

Home. There was also that issue. He leaves the hospital soon, but then what? Would Interpol take him in? According to the games, they did so with Anabel and it was safe to say that they did the same here, regardless of when she arrived in this version of the Pokemon world.

Maybe they'll train him into some kind of agent like Anabel and Looker. Wouldn't that be a jump; going from making jewelry to fighting the forces of evil. There was no chance that he'd ever make the cut though. He hasn't exercised in forever.

Home. Damn it. There was something missing. Haruki felt cold despite the water running down his body. He turned the temperature up. He only felt a bit warmer.

He was pretty sure he couldn't go with Interpol. So what did that leave him with?

Nothing.

Where else could he go?

Nowhere.

Haruki turned the temperature up to its highest. The water was scalding now, but even that couldn't stop the pit of horror growing in his mind.

He only had the clothes on his back and whatever he carried on his person: a sea-soaked phone and a necklace in police custody. He had nowhere to go, no place to call home on the entire planet, and there was nothing to do. No, there was nothing he could do.

He didn't have a single scrap of equipment, a single gem, or even a penny to his name. Even if he was granted all the supplies in the world, he had no workshop–not even a garage– to work in. And where should he sell his work? How should he advertise them?

All the effort and time spent finding suppliers, building connections, and improving his craft amounted to nothing.

He can't just start over from zero. He can't. No one can. He needed help. He needed his family and friends-

But they weren't here. They would never be here, next to him, or anywhere on the planet.

Haruki shut the faucet off.

He was alone. Truly and forever alone. He'd never talk or see Yuuto, his mother, or his father ever again. No more family-get-togethers playing Catan, no more chatting about random trivia they learned that day, and no more tranquil dinners.

There was so much he should've told them. He wanted to hug his wonderful family and say he was so grateful to have one that supported his dreams, one helped pick him back up when he fell into a slump. It was how proud they were of him that kept him moving. There were so many memories of joy, laughter, and celebration that were only possible because of them.

But now, he'd never get to share those feelings.

He stood in the stall for a very long time.

Whatever dreams the two Interpol agents had that night in the safehouse were cut off by the desk phone's ringing.

Anabel simply mumbled, pulled her blanket over her head, and nudged Looker with her leg. He nudged back in retaliation, which she returned. This escalated into a battle under the bedsheets, until Anabel relented. She groaned, crawled out of bed, and staggered towards the phone, cursing Looker's longer legs on the way.

"Good morning- Yes?" Anabel snapped awake at the caller's urgent questions. "Yes, this is Anabel speaking. Ok, alright. Just watch him. We're coming."

She quickly hung up, shook her partner awake, then stepped into the safehouse's bathroom to change.

"What happened?" Looker asked, still rubbing his eyes.

"It's Haruki. He's not responding to anyone and from the look of things, he hasn't slept at all last night. The staff think he's at a breaking point."

Now it was Looker's turn to snap to attention. "He was fine yesterday!" he exclaimed, now dressing himself. "What could've possibly happened between last night and now?"

"That's what they want us to find out," Anabel said, still tying her ponytail as she stepped out of the bathroom. "Let's go."

As the pair reached Haruki's room, the nurse who stood outside let out a sigh of relief.

"He didn't eat breakfast at all. We tried talking to him about what's wrong, but he's unresponsive; been like that since about seven o'clock. Normally, Liz would use a calming move on a patient, but your protocols yesterday…" The nurse trailed off. Looker patted her on the back. The inaction must've been rough on her.

"It's ok. You all did what you could. We'll take it from here," he reassured. After a quick nod from Anabel, he opened the door and they both stepped into the room.

Frankly speaking, Haruki looked like shit. He was slumped over in the furthest corner of the room; his face etched into a permanent frown and his unkempt hair struck out in numerous directions. His eyes would close briefly, flutter open, then close again.

For an instant, Looker stared at a decade-old snapshot. He'd lived this exact moment before–years ago– with the woman next to him. Except that time, she was the one curled up on the floor.

He blinked and refocused his attention onto the young man. He had a hunch on what this was about since the early morning call, but he prayed that it was wrong.

"Hey." He stepped forward and knelt down as Anabel shuffled awkwardly to the side. Haruki's eyes flicked upwards before he rested the back of his head on the wall.

"Can I sit next to you?" Looker continued to whisper. The faintest of nods was all he received. He took off his coat, draped it over the Faller's shoulders, and sat down on the cold tile floor. He slowly reached out, and when Haruki made no attempt to shy away, Looker firmly grasped his hand.

'Is there anything you need?"

No response.

"It's ok. You can tell us. We'll do what we can to-"

"-I want to go home," Haruki finally gasped. His face suddenly turned red as he bit down on his lip, but his eyes were already welling up.

Looker immediately pulled him into a tight hug. Internally, he braced himself for the upcoming conversation and lamented that it wasn't the first time he had to listen to it.

"It's ok. It's gonna be alright-"

Whatever reassurance Looker offered afterwards was drowned out by the rambles erupting out of Haruki's throat.

Looker heard it all before. Wails over missing family, friends, home, and how he would give anything to see them again. But there were some new things said. Whereas other Fallers lamented on the invasive emptiness now in their minds, Haruki's regrets were over unaccomplished dreams and an unrealized future now completely blank.

Haruki had just cursed bitterly at how meaningless his life and work was when Looker fished out a packet of tissues from his pocket. Haruki finally paused as he blew his nose.

"It wasn't meaningless. Life is never meaningless," Looker whispered as Anabel sat down next to him. "We'll figure something out. I swear, we'll take care of you."

There were no words of appreciation sent back, just the sounds of sniffles and tears buried under Looker's now-stained coat. When Haruki settled down after a few minutes, he finally looked up.

"I'm sorry," he sniffed. Looker shook his head.

"There's nothing to apologize for-"

"About yesterday," Haruki continued. "I'm sorry about everything I said."

"Ah." He turned to see that Anabel was just as surprised as he was. Did Haruki regret that for an entire night? "No, we talked it over last night. It's fine. She's-" Anabel nodded. "-fine. Thank you for your transparency last night."

Haruki just snorted and wiped his eyes. "Some good that did."

"No." Looker squeezed his hand tightly. "What you did yesterday was brave and honest. It's honesty that will let us help you to the best of our ability, but we can only do so if we know what's troubling you. What you need."

"I should've said it differently-"

"-Then that's a lesson to remember for next time." Looker immediately added. Having enough of this self deprecation, he decided to change the topic.

"You haven't eaten breakfast yet, right? Do you want me to bring something?"

"Yes, but later," he added. Haruki was about to take the brown coat off when Looker put his hand on his shoulder.

"Keep it."

"But-"

"Keep it. Until we get you a fresh change of clothes. You can't keep wearing a hospital gown forever." Haruki nodded and wrapped the coat tighter around his body. Looker made a mental note to get his measurements for a trip to a clothing store later.

"Do you want us to stay?" he asked. Haruki just leaned even closer onto Looker's body. Anabel opened her mouth to say something, but paused and decided against it.

They all sat there for a moment, until there was a knock at the door. A doctor opened it, poked her head through, and gave a small wave. Looker returned the gesture and was about to speak when the doctor raised a finger to her lips.

He turned to see Haruki already asleep on his shoulder. He was out like a light.

"Bed," Anabel silently mouthed. She already shifted towards his legs and wrapped both arms around Haruki's shins. Looker nodded and slowly reached around Haruki's shoulders and under his thighs.

In one trained yet gentle maneuver, the pair slowly lifted Haruki up off the floor; Looker taking extra care in bracing his arm and shoulder around Haruki's back and neck. As they tucked him in bed, Looker lifted his coat up and hung it on a mounted rack.

They then silently exited the room and turned off the lights behind them.

It was when Anabel started to snap her fingers that Looker finally decided to speak up. She always did that when she was intensively thinking.

"You ok?" He sipped his morning Earl Grey tea. "Food's getting cold."

Anabel snapped out of her thoughts and glanced down at her own untouched plate. She and Looker sat outside a bustling breakfast cafe, but her mind clearly wasn't in the moment.

"Yes, I'm fine." She crunched down onto her morning toast; it was probably lukewarm now.

"You're awfully quiet this morning." Looker placed his cup down. "You didn't say a word to Haruki."

"I know, I know. It's just…" She turned back towards the hospital building, just barely visible a few blocks away. "I saw a bit of myself back there. But I don't know what to think about everything else."

"He's quite the case, isn't he?" Looker wiped his mouth and leaned over the table. Anabel nodded, wiped her hands, and buried her face in them. When she looked back up, frustration was plastered all over her face.

"What on Earth do we do?" she sighed. "The things he knows can't get out. We might have widespread panic if it somehow does. But we can't just put him in custody!"

As the head of Interpol's Ultra Beast division, Anabel had jurisdiction over all incidents involving Fallers as well. With a few phone calls and signatures, Haruki could live in isolation and learn from the best educators and psychologists available to him, until Interpol deemed him adjusted to the rest of the world. Just like she did years ago.

"He's not gonna turn out well if we do that." Looker leaned over the table. Anabel let out another frustrated sigh, but she nodded in agreement.

"We both heard him. He's not a blank slate like me. He had a life before coming here, so we need to reconstruct that environment–that life– as best as we can. But where can he go?"

"Let's start from the top. What exactly does he need right now?" Looker pulled out his pocket notebook and drew a few bullet points.

"Well, safety and confidentiality is top priority. Somewhere more urban."

"Urban?" Looker glanced up from his notebook. "Wouldn't rural areas be better for getting him acclimated to Pokemon out and about?"

"You read the report on what happened yesterday. He reacted terribly towards a trained Audino and a Florges. I don't want to see what happens if he stumbles on something wild, something more extreme. By his standards, whatever they are."

"Fair, fair." Looker noted that they needed to investigate what counted as a normal animal in Haruki's world. "So, urban and…near a school?"

"A school? Why? You want him to attend?"

"What better place for him to learn?" Looker simply shrugged. "He'll be in the right facilities and I think he'll take education a bit better if it's as natural as possible, rather than a tutor going to him."

"And confidentiality?" Anabel raised an eyebrow.

"That would be best left to an instructor we trust. I suppose it will be like private lessons."

"In a public space." Anabel thought for a moment, then continued. "With an instructor that we trust. That rules out a lot of people. Why not an instructor from one of our other divisions? I'm sure plenty of institutions are willing to lend us some space for lessons."

Looker shook his head. "Perhaps. Let's focus on where first."

He placed his notebook in the middle of the table and scooted next to Anabel so they could read it together.

"Jubilife City?" Anabel asked.

"Too busy. It might be overwhelming for him. That crosses out Castelia City as well," Looker muttered.

They went through a list of as many cities they could think of, until Anabel snapped her fingers.

"Rustboro!"

"Oh?" Looker wrote the city down under a fully crossed-out list of their progress. "Why there?"

"They have an extensive Trainer's school, don't they? Top in the region, some classes even structured by Gym Leader Roxanne Stellar," Anabel answered. "It's got quite the relaxing architecture and people only really start coming in during the League season. Then again, what city with a Gym isn't?"

Looker nodded, wrote the city down on his notebook, and snapped it shut. Anabel stretched her arms and stood up.

"We'll have plenty of calls to make. Better start now." She already had her phone in her hands. Looker was about to do the same when Anabel placed a hand on his, stopping him.

"I can start. Would you mind talking to Haruki for a bit? We'll need to know where and how he lived; more about his world in general, really. The more we make things feel normal for him, the better."

"Alright then. Meet each other at, say two o'clock?" Looker glanced at his watch. Anabel nodded and punched in a number into her phone as Looker made his way back to the hospital.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait! This chapter was an absolute slog to get out; I haven't really written emotional scenes that much before.

We get a sneak peek of Anabel's full team! I didn't want to dump all their names in one scene and chapter, so here I just introduced her Snorlax. Two down, four more to go! Also, four chapters in and we finally catch a reference to the last remaining main character!

And here we have the main emotional backbone of the story. I wished that more isekai stories placed the fact that the MC is in an entirely different world and lost literally everything into the forefront. I guess it feels something like going overseas for the first time; you don't know anybody, you don't know where to go and what to do, and you just don't really belong. It's an idea I'll revisit more and more, especially after I reach Rustboro, but I still want this to be an uplifting story. Haruki will get better; it'll just take a long time and lots of help.

And an update for the future; chapters will likely come out on an even more sporadic schedule now that college has started. I won't be able to put in all my focus onto the story like during the summer. As always, thank you for reading and if you have any criticisms and reviews for the story, please share them!