Surprisingly, Haruki was already awake by the time Looker arrived at his room. Although what little sleep he got didn't seem to do him any good, judging by the way Haruki lazily gazed at the other patients having a morning stroll through the hospital garden.

Looker cleared his throat as he sat in a chair opposite to Haruki, who didn't seem to acknowledge him. He ran his fingers over and over the buttons on the borrowed brown coat.

"Did you sleep well?" Looker asked. Haruki simply nodded. Clearly a lie, but he'll overlook it. Looker took a deep breath and leaned forward.

"I have some good news. We have an idea for where you can go."

Haruki finally turned his attention towards the agent, although he did so half-heartedly.

"Hoenn, Nihoku. Specifically, Rustboro City. Chief is working on getting cross branch assistance. They'll work out the minor details while we make our way there-"

"I'm not going. There's no point," Haruki cut in. He turned back towards the garden and ignored Looker's concerned expression.

"Why do you believe that?" Looker gently asked. Haruki's eyes hardened as he paused for a few seconds, contemplating what to say.

"Because I have nothing there. I don't have anything anywhere."

"That's not true. You-"

"No cash. No home. No job. No family. Tell me, what do I have left?"

"You have yourself. Your own being."

"That's no replacement," Haruki snapped, not shying away from Looker's new intense glare.

"You're right, it's not," he admitted. "But that's still precious. It's something only you can call your own and you're the first–and probably only– Faller who can ever say that."

"Some good that does," Haruki scoffs. Surprisingly, Looker shook his head.

"You'll be surprised how much knowing about yourself helps with starting over. It's not exactly easy living when you're experiencing every part of life for the first time. You don't have a reference or any likes and dislikes in your mind at all. Every other Faller can attest to that."

"It'll be hard starting over, I get that. I've seen many people go through the same, Fallers or not," Looker continued. "Once you take it towards new opportunities, things will turn out for the better. I'm sure of it."

Haruki took it all in and after contemplating Looker's words for a minute, he sighed.

"Fine. I'll go. I'll try."

Looker beamed a bright smile. Finally, he was willing to take a small step.

"Thank you."

"What for? Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?" Haruki asked.

"For giving yourself a chance."

They both sat silently under the afternoon shade for a while. Eventually, Haruki spoke up again.

"Why Rustboro? Why not some-" He struggled to find the right phrase. "-some Interpol facility or something? I'm a Faller, aren't I? Why am I not going there?"

"Do you want to live in the middle of nowhere?"

"No, but-"

"-If you were a normal Faller," Looker continued. "That's where you would've gone. But you're not. Since it's Interpol's duty to reinstate as much normality as we can into Fallers' lives and since we actually have an idea for what 'normal' is for you, that's what we're aiming for."

"But still," Haruki asked again. "Why Rustboro? Why not…Castelia City or something?"

"Is there something wrong with Rustboro?"

Looker thought back to Haruki's game experience with the Ultra Beasts. He hadn't considered Rustboro City's depiction through fictional media? Did Haruki have a negative experience in it? Luckily, he just waved a hand.

"Nah, it's just…plain? I haven't done much there, so I don't have any strong memories about it. In the games, I mean."

Looker smiled as his worries were washed away. He took out his notebook and ran his finger down the written bullet points from this morning and recited them.

"Well, Rustboro's pretty urban, has some of the best educational facilities in Nihoku, quite the stunning architecture if I say so myself, and a modest population. You'll only expect a bump in visitors once the League season starts, so it strikes a fine balance between busy and soothing. Quite 'plain,' as you put it."

"Pause." Haruki raised his hand. "You said 'educational facilities.' You mean schools? What do schools have anything to do with me?"

"It would be quite careless to not clear up the discrepancies between what you know and how things actually are here. We'll provide a teacher and-ah, don't worry. You won't attend publicly. Chief had the same concerns herself," Looker chuckled.

Haruki let out a sigh of relief at that. Then, he perked up at something Looker mentioned earlier.

"You mentioned Nihoku twice now. Where's that?"

Looker raised an eyebrow. How has he never heard of one of the most influential nations in the world? Perhaps it was another quirky game characteristic.

"It's the nation that encompasses Hoenn and the other Eastern Regions. Surely you've visited there in-game at least once?"

"Yeah, I have. Never heard of Nihoku though. The games only ever let us visit regions and I can't remember if they ever mentioned nations before," Haruki admitted.

"I see. Which reminds me." Looker took out a pen and clicked it open. "Are you alright with answering some questions? Knowing more about your world would help us decide which instructor best suits you."

"Sure, shoot."

"Let's see…Yesterday, you explained a little about animals in your world; that they were typeless complex organisms with no sapience. What's it like living around them?"

"Um…" Haruki scratched his head shyly. "I haven't hung around much with them. We mostly see rodents, small birds, and insects. On rare occasions deer and rabbits visit the neighborhood, but pretty much everything runs away if you get too close. I haven't owned any pets either, but the most common choices are dogs, cats, and fish."

Looker mused over the limited eco-diversity and interaction as he wrote. The animals Haruki listed were mostly avians, insectoids, fish, and mammalian quadrupeds. No bipeds at all and combined with how skittish and unexpressive Haruki described those creatures, no wonder he didn't take the Audino well when he first woke up.

"Would you agree that the closest classification type-wise for your organisms is Normal?"

Haruki nodded. Looker took out his phone, searched a registry of all Normal-type Pokemon, and asked him to name as many Pokemon on the list that looked closest to the animals in his world.

"The Pikipek line, but without the cannons. Ratata, but smaller. The Lechonk line…" Haruki rattled on. As he closed the list off with Bidoof, Looker proudly glanced over each written entry in his journal. Now they had an idea of which Pokemon were best suited for Haruki to interact with, even as Haruki added that he hasn't seen many of those animals in-person.

"It's honestly quite an interesting list," Looker admitted. "Did you take Kecleon's and Chatot's unique species abilities into consideration? Or did you only examine their physical characteristics?"

"Both. Chameleons and parrots in our world can do the same, if you were talking about color changing and voice mimicry. They're on the more exotic side of animals at home. I guess the developers wanted to add some 'realism' into the games. You know, turning animals that already existed into Pokemon."

"Alright…" Looker trailed off as he scribbled down the rest of this newly-shared information. "And on the topic of the games, how in-depth were they? In terms of day-to-day activities, not the confidential Ultra Beast content. You mentioned the general game formula last night and–forgive me if I sound ignorant–it sounds very basic."

"Yeah, that's how every game goes," Haruki admitted.

Looker waited, until he realized that was all there was to say.

"That's it? Every game? It's just 'travel, catch, battle, and repeat?'"

"Not every game. We have some spinoffs about random stuff here and there. But that's the main game formula they've followed for almost thirty years."

Looker frowned as he clicked his pen on and off. Haruki hadn't spoken about something yet. He thought back to the game formula that this world was primarily depicted through.

Travel, catch, battle, and…

"What about husbandry?"

"What's that?" Haruki blurted out. He immediately looked away from embarrassment.

"That's alright. It generally means the care of Pokemon. I heard of some educational games here that talk about feeding, grooming, first-aid after battle, treating diseases, things like that. How do your games…compare…" Looker trailed off as Haruki slumped deeper and deeper in his chair. The embarrassment on Haruki's face was a clear enough response.

"None at all?" Looker whispered, his face pale as he spoke. "The games never touched on this?"

"They kind of do." Haruki sounded like he was coping with himself. "It's more like an interactive minigame than any sort of ownership sim. You're not actually taking care of anything."

"Excuse me for a minute." Looker slowly wrote that detail down into his notebook. He then thought long and hard on how to word his next questions.

"May I ask something rather personal about your time with the games?"

"Sure?"

"What is the player-to-Pokemon relationship like? When you play the game, how do you feel about the Pokemon you travel and battle with?"

"How do I feel? Oh, jeez." Haruki rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know. Nothing much. My favorites are all because of how strong they were or how cool they looked. Sometimes, my team is just made up of what's available."

"Then by those metrics–strength and appearance–which Pokemon are your favorites?"

Haruki had to ponder a long time over that question. He eventually settled on-

"All I can definitely name off the top of my head are Flygon, Froslass, Chandelure, and Diancie. Those guys are on all my favorites lists."

Looker sputtered as he copied the list. Of course Haruki picked the notoriously hard-to-care-for evolutions in a Dragon, Ice, and Ghost line, as well as a regional myth. He briefly considered asking him about what he knew about Diancie–a rare Pokemon who's only been in the public eye once during a Pokemon Contest– but shelved the idea. This wasn't the time for that and whatever answers Haruki had could be unreliable.

Looker set his pen down and reread his notes again and again, piecing together what's been shared for the past few minutes.

He knew that Haruki lacked any real experience with Pokemon; that was incredibly obvious once he shared that his home only depicted them through media. But his lack of experience spread to even basic knowledge and interactions with life in general.

He tried putting himself into Haruki's shoes. A life where your only companions were other humans. Only being unable to get close to most animals; none of which being capable of providing the same bonds between Trainer and Pokemon. Those connections weren't even replicated in fiction for people to experience. Rather, it sounded like they intentionally designed around it for decades.

What a lonely life.

In comparison to even children in this world, Haruki was a shut-in for all his life.

"I'm sorry if this is causing any trouble. I'm just being honest," Haruki whispered. He must've noticed Looker's scrutiny.

"No, it's not. I'm just surprised, that's all." Looker still examined his notes. "At least we talked about this now rather than later."

He took a few deep breaths. Alright, so Haruki knew much less than he expected for someone who had an outside perspective of the entire world. How ironic; he knew the existence of classified alien encounters, but ask him when to re-moisturize a Politoed and he'll draw up blanks.

"We can get over this," Looker muttered. "Your education will just start from the bottom up. I'm sure there are many instructors that can accommodate that; if not in Interpol then in Rustboro itself."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Haruki asked dreadfully.

"You. There's a great fit for you out there. We just have to find them."

"I'll let Chief know about this so we can start searching now," Looker said as he stood up and pocketed his notebook. Thank you for answering today. You were a great help." Looker patted Haruki on the shoulder. He just nodded then perked up as he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, this is for you." He took the brown coat off, folded it the best he could, and returned it to its owner.

"One more thing," Looker tucked his coat under his arm. "There's a chance we may need to depart rather suddenly, depending on the flight time. Are you alright with that?"

"Sure. It's not like I had anything planned in mind."

Looker checked the time. It was just around lunch, just enough time left for some shopping.

"And in case if we do leave today, what sort of clothes would you like?"

"I'm back~!" Looker cheerfully declared as he threw open the safehouse door. After a quick trip to a clothing store and back to the hospital, he had kept to his promise and met up with his superior at two o'clock.

Unfortunately, Anabel lacked his enthusiasm as she gave an exhausted grunt of acknowledgement from underneath a pillow. Mirage continued her slow incantation as she joyfully flew over from the bedside and twirled over Looker's head.

He immediately felt his emotions soar through the Mismagius's soft cries. Anabel must've had a difficult morning for Mirage to perform like this.

Looker quickly shook his head free from the aloof sensation and sat down on the bed. Anabel turned to face him, revealing a tired, but still triumphant smile.

"How was your morning?" They both chuckled at the shared question.

"You go first," Looker deferred. "It might take a while to explain things on my end."

"The great news is that everyone is onboard and doing their part. Progress on documentation is smooth and someone's already in Rustboro finding Haruki a suitable home," Anabel exclaimed.

"Hm, who is it?"

"Green."

Mirage immediately fell into a fit of giggles at the mention of the cunning agent.

"Oh." Looker mentally sent his regards for whichever landlord that spoke to her. At least now Haruki definitely wouldn't need to worry about his living accommodations. For all Looker knew, there's a chance a luxurious mansion in Rustboro will fall into Haruki's ownership.

"They also started going over the necklace we found in the sea." Anabel pointed to the still-open laptop displaying a series of diagrams and columns of text.

"They haven't estimated yet how long the analysis will take, but it's a start on our only lead for why he hasn't lost his memories," Anabel elaborated as she crawled out of bed and reached for a glass of water on the desk.

"And how was the morning with Haruki? I doubt it's as boring as mine." She leaned on the desktop.

Looker opened his notebook, read every detail inside, and summarized it for his superior. Her floating companion decided to pause her incantations to listen in as well.

Her reactions were about the same as his: intrigue towards another world's ecosystem that only increased as Looker spoke about the battle-centric games.

"I'll have to talk to him about that later." A grin flickered across her face before she composed herself. "This is a great development for where he stands and which Pokemon best suits him. Great work, Looker."

"Now what to do about this?" Looker stepped next to her and circled his finger around his notes regarding Haruki's interactions with nature.

"Truth be told, I really don't think someone from our department suits him. He needs someone with a more delicate touch, who is also used to teaching from the ground up." Anabel jabbed a finger at the notebook.

"And flexible," Looker added. "We might need to look towards public instructors in Rustboro, but I'm not personally familiar with any that can keep a secret. We'll have to investigate each-"

"I do," Anabel immediately perked up and wore a cheeky smirk on her face. "Well, we've fought and talked a few times, but that was back in my Battle Frontier years. But I still trust her. Three guesses who?"

"Roxanne?" Looker immediately concluded. He tapped his notebook and frowned. "A Gym Leader…She does fit our criteria, but wouldn't she be particularly busy?"

"I'm pretty sure she's alright this time of year," Anabel answered. "The Hoenn League circuit starts in a few months, which leaves her with her normal teaching duties at the moment. Still, we'll need to ask her personally first."

Anabel immediately pulled out his phone, only for Looker to raise a hand.

"You've made enough calls this morning," Looker explained as he searched up and dialed a number. "In the meantime, mind if you look up some flights for Rustboro?"

"Coming! Polaris, the pan!" Roxanne shouted over her cell phone's jolly ringtone.

Who could possibly be calling this early in the morning on a weekend? She played a quick mental game and hypothesized that it was one of her students, calling about homework.

She wiped her hands on her apron and sprinted across the kitchen, leaving her Probopass to temporarily take over breakfast duties. Polaris rumbled amusedly at her Trainer's morning rush and immediately grasped the pan with her magnetic powers.

Roxanne glanced at the caller ID. It was Anabel; certainly an unexpected result. The last time they met was months ago, when Anabel came to visit the Battle Frontier anniversary celebration and joined in an all out free-for-all with the Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains.

They had briefly spoken about their duties–life was sailing smoothly–before Anabel's Lucario had punched Polaris squarely in the nose and all conversation had been replaced by battle commands.

"Hi, Anabel! How are you doing?" Roxanne cheerfully greeted. She stepped back into the kitchen and put the phone on speaker. Polaris let out a high-pitched buzz as she flipped the pan.

"Good morning, Roxanne. You too. Polaris. Doesn't sound like I woke you both up too early."

"Nope! It's a fantastic morning here and hopefully wherever you are too!" Roxanne peeled back the curtain to see the rest of her team enjoying the sun.

"It's the afternoon in Alola, Roxanne."

Ah. Yet another surprise.

"What are you doing over there?"

Anabel explained everything. How they found a Faller named Haruki, his intact memories, his anxiety around Pokemon due to the unique ecosystem of his world, and his desperate need for an educator.

"A world without Pokemon?" Roxanne blurted out. "Fascinating! Does he have any sort of pictures of what organisms occupy the biosphere? I'd love to see what the keystone species are! Well, that depends if our basic understanding of ecology applies across universes; perhaps their ecosystem is so drastically different from ours, what we consider a keystone species might not be needed at all! Oh! And fossils! That's the most important part! Please, tell me that he knows about those! An entirely different evolutionary path, separate from ours-!"

She was suddenly cut off by one of Polaris's Mini-Noses bumping into her side. Her partner gave her a side eye as she slid a pancake onto an empty plate. The Mini-Nose then gestured to the dry bowl of flour sitting abandoned on the countertop.

"Anyways, this is all super exciting stuff, but why are you telling me all of this?" Roxanne recomposed herself. She cracked a few eggs into the bowl and hurriedly mixed it.

"We hoped you had time to take him as a private student."

All of Roxanne's bubbling excitement fizzled away as she frowned. She set the bowl down and placed a finger on her chin.

"A private…student?" she repeated, distracted once again. Polaris rolled her eyes, poured the mixture into the pan, and cooked the pancakes herself.

"Yes, he's in a rather difficult position, as you heard. His knowledge base is all over the place, which makes him a poor fit for standard education, but we can't just leave him to his own devices either. I know the Trainer School has the resources to handle him and that you can keep a secret while providing the best education to him. I'm asking this as a friend, not as an Interpol agent; are you alright with taking him on? I understand if you don't have the-"

"No, no, no!" Roxanne shook her head. She thought hard over her duties this semester. If she allocated some time after school during the weekdays and a few hours, that should be enough for Haruki to get set before the next League season starts! She took a quick glance at the paper calendar hooked on the wall.

Just a few months to go!

"I'm fine!" she proclaimed. "I can make this work! It'll only take a moment to prepare! Say, when is he coming over?"

There was some discussion and questioning in the background before Anabel snapped back into the call.

"Roxanne!"

"Yes?"

"The next available flight is tonight!"

"Alright! Thank you so much! I need to prepare now, bye! Have a nice flight!" Roxanne blurted out. Anabel had enough time to thank her before Roxanne hung up, grabbed the plates of pancakes, and sprinted outside. Polaris grumbled as her Trainer took every available plate in her rush, then floated after her with the pan in tow.

Roxanne slid onto the picnic mat, slammed the plates down, and immediately served them for her team.

"First, breakfast!" she exclaimed as she took two pancakes and drowned them in syrup. "Then, we have lessons to plan!"

After he said his goodbyes to the hospital staff and received a tight hug from both Afuro and Liz, Haruki stepped through the hospital's front entrance. He jammed his hands into his jean pockets as Anabel and Looker made their way towards him.

"Ready?" Looker asked. He placed a hand on Haruki's shoulder.

"Yeah. So how are we getting there? I don't see a car." Or any parking space, as a matter of fact. Rather, a cobblestone road and empty stables were the only signs that transportation went to and from the front of the hospital.

"We don't live that sort of life, Haruki." Anabel chuckled. Haruki's blank stare promptly wiped the amusement from her face.

"Ah, cars are commonplace where you're from?" she guessed.

"If you don't have a car at home, you're doomed," Haruki sighed. "Anyways, I'm guessing we're riding something? What's it gonna be? Tauros? Rhyhorn?"

Instead of answering, Looker placed another hand on his shoulder, turned him around, and tightened his lips.

"Haruki, we're flying."

"What, were we going to swim to Rustboro?"

"I meant to the airport."

"Excuse me?!" Haruki's face immediately paled.

"The airport's across the sea. If we go on foot, then transfer onto a boat, it'll take too long."

"Then take the next flight!" Haruki argued. He started to fidget.

"That's weeks away," Looker shook his head as Anabel unclipped a Pokeball from her belt. "You can't stay here that long. If it's the height you're scared of-"

"Damn straight!"

"-Raze can fly slow and low." Anabel cut in. "He won't let you fall, I swear."

"Who's Raze?"

"My Salamence." Anabel held up the Pokeball clutched in her hand. Its red cover was surprisingly transparent, revealing yet another one of her partners inside.

The shrunken dragon looked up from inside his container and flashed his sharp fangs towards his soon-to-be passenger. Haruki immediately felt a shiver down his spine and turned his gaze away.

First a walking plushie, then a sentient plant, and now a literal dragon. They were only three species out of over a thousand in this world; did he have to go through this fear during every first encounter?

Well, that was why Anabel and Looker wanted him to take lessons. Haruki took in a deep breath and slowly nodded.

"Fine, let's go."

Anabel pressed the Pokeball's button, tossed it in the air, and released Raze from the contraption. The beast landed with a thud and whatever stability and courage that resided in Haruki's mind dissolved instantly.

Anabel and Looker completely disappeared from his view and attention. At that moment, the only things in this world were Haruki and the dragon before him.

As expected, Raze was huge; so much so that he had to tilt his head downwards to look Haruki dead in the eyes. Eyes that Haruki found so fiery and intense, yet he had no idea why.

Every fiber of Haruki's body begged him to run, to put as much distance between a beast forged through countless battles. Yet he couldn't move. There was no point in doing so. In the face of the dragon's toned muscles, the four angular fangs, and the blood-red wings that cast a fan-shaped shadow on the lawn, he knew that any sort of movement was completely futile.

A deep rumble sounded from Raze's throat as he bent his head downwards. In the instant his jaw opened, Haruki thought that he was going to die. Death from a dragon tearing his head from his neck was the only thing in his mind as the dragon got closer-

And promptly washed all the tension out of Haruki's body with a slobbering lick across his cheek.

Haruki stammered and immediately wiped his face with the back of his jacket. Raze let out what sounded like a chuckle and continued to butt his head against Haruki's.

The dragon then let out a deep exhale and emanated a faint glow in the back of his throat. Even in the Alola afternoon sun, Haruki could feel the added warmth on his face, almost like entering a sauna.

He shakingly rested a hand onto Raze's crested head and patted it. His scales were oddly cool to the touch. The dragon grumbled and nestled his head comfortably into Haruki's shoulder.

"Scratch under his chin. He likes it there." Anabel covered the smirk on her face as she spoke.

Raze glared at his Trainer and snorted. He lifted his head high up and puffed his chest out. This dragon won't be pacified by something so simple.

"Alright, alright. Let's settle off now." Anabel shook her head and hopped onto Raze's back as naturally as a horseback rider. She rested her legs in front of her dragon's front pair of legs and reached out a hand for Haruki to grab.

He didn't take it. Instead, he stared at the unconventional seating position.

"That's it?" he asked. "We're just gonna sit on his back? No saddles or reigns?"

At the mention of a saddle, Raze rolled his eyes.

"There aren't any saddles for Salamence," Looker answered. He took his superior's hand and sat behind her, leaving just enough room in between for a third passenger.

"Sounds awfully risky," Haruki admitted.

"To be honest," Anabel said, hand still extended. "If you need a saddle for your Salamence, you aren't ready to fly it in the first place."

Haruki still didn't take her hand. Anabel then ran her free hand along her belt.

"You'll be wedged tight between us," she reassured. "And if you fall, I have three Pokemon to catch you."

"I think it should be 'when,' not 'if,'" Haruki sighed. Then again, this was Anabel he was riding with. He finally grasped her hand and took his seat on Raze's back. The dragon didn't even buckle from the weight.

"Remember, low and slow," Anabel reminded. Raze huffed, clearly unhappy with the limitations. But he still nodded and stretched his wings, ready for flight.

"Ready?" Looker asked. Haruki nodded.

Raze flapped his wings once and immediately took to the skies. It happened so quickly, Haruki didn't even have time to brace for the sudden acceleration. Haruki instinctively wrapped his hands around Anabel's torso and squeezed

"Haruki! Ribs!" Anabel hissed, but it fell onto deaf ears. Haruki squeezed his eyes shut from the buffeting wind. He had no idea what was happening; he couldn't tell how high up they were or feel any of Raze's muscles moving. The only thing he heard was the wind and the splashes from the ocean's waves.

Did he even flap his wings after take off? Was he just gliding across the air? He squeezed his arms even tighter, much to Anabel's discomfort. He'd rather stay like this than fall back down into the freezing waters again.

"Haruki," Looker whispered in his ear. "To your left. Look."

What could possibly be to the left of a flying dragon in the clouds? Fear and curiosity tore at each other in Haruki's mind, until curiosity triumphed.

He opened his eyes and was greeted by the most fantastic view of his life.

Raze had kept to his Trainer's word and glided a few stories above the ocean surface. And in the afternoon sun, the ocean was the most welcoming it could ever get.

The water looked straight out of a nature documentary; crystal clear and level. It was as if the storm that battered him days ago never happened.

Through the tranquil water was a dazzling ecosystem Haruki could only dream of. Wishiwashi darted in and out of vibrantly colored coral reefs, a school of Mantyke joyfully dived in and out of the water as they followed Raze's shadow, while a Sharpedo patrolled nearby.

There was just so much life and color; most of it blurring from Raze's speed, but not enough for Haruki to miss the beauty of what lived below. This wasn't an ocean poisoned by rising acidity and invaded by litter, but one that thrived for miles and miles.

Looker tapped his shoulder and pointed to his left. Haruki followed and gazed upon the endless sea, only broken up by scattered islands off in the distance.

Even from here, he could tell that they were largely untamed. The tropical forest was largely untouched and even its coastline was uncovered by urban sprawl. Instead, what tall buildings visible from here were all closely grouped together.

Haruki then followed Looker's finger to see a few Pokemon swam on the ocean surface. It was a school of Lapras. Haruki immediately remembered the beast that lifted him out of the ocean and waved in their direction.

"Thank you!" he yelled. "Goodbye!"

He wasn't sure if they heard him from so far away–nor did he believe that the Lapras who saved him was in that school–but the chorus of joyful cries emanating from them was enough to put a smile on his face.

For the first time since he fell to this awe inspiring world, Haruki reveled in its beauty.

Author's note

Much thanks to Apollo32 on Discord for coming up with Nihoku's name! Since regions are called that, I never really thought of them as nations.

Sorry for the long wait; I thought for a long time about how this chapter is supposed to go. I decided on making it a bit longer than usual and put the first flight scene with Raze just so we can reach Rustboro faster. One of the most annoying parts of writing this was picking a name for Anabel's Mismagius! I wanted to use Jinx or Hex, but one is already an existing Pokemon and the other belongs to a move! I eventually settled on Mirage.

For Haruki's favorites list, I picked one Pokemon from each generation he grew up on.

Also, another Pokedex Holder mentioned! This time it's Green! I went with her English name since that's what I grew up with. It's kinda funny how the Dex Holder with the blue starter is named Green in the English localization, isn't it? I still can't believe that she had a single-panel cameo in XY. Kusaka really dropped that she's working with Interpol in some capacity and just dipped.