After letting Claire rest for the morning, I made her get up after packing most of our things. While I would have loved to let her rest some more, I had no interest in sticking around an area where we knew a malicious and incredibly dangerous Pokémon like the Gastly was dwelling.

The rest had helped Claire somewhat, she no longer stumbled around like a drunk but was still weakened. After only half an hour of walking, her breathing started to become hoarse and we had to slow down. Luckily, the path along the river was reasonably easy, with little of the dense underbrush hindering our path.

Given her state, I had packed most of the heavy things into my pack, leaving her as light a pack as I could manage and kept the lead, pushing aside some of the vegetation and dealing with any Pokémon attacks. While battling was mostly done by our Pokémon, having your partner in battle forced you into a state of higher alert, the excitement and tension taking a physical toll on your body, something I wanted to spare Claire while she was weakened. I considered having her ride on Twiggy but that would put a different burden of responsibility on her. While I liked Twiggy and we got along decently well, he was her partner and if we were attacked, Claire would have to fight.

Near the river, most Pokémon we encountered were either water-types like Buizel or grass-types that preyed on them, either type easy prey for Su and Charm respectively. The afternoon became a slog, as exhaustion was starting to wear me down, the uncomfortable night taking its toll on my body. Finally, after we had trudged maybe ten kilometres in five hours, a snail's pace by any measure, I called for a stop. When Claire slumped, leaning against a tree and barely moving, I realised just how hard she had pushed herself to keep up.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I pushed the exhaustion weighing down my limbs away, forcing myself to keep moving. First, I had to take care of Claire, just like she had taken care of me after the encounter with the Zubat.

Once she was settled, I set up camp and prepared dinner, happy that there was fresh water nearby and glad that cooking in the wild consisted of little more than making porridge, adding some berries and nuts and nothing more. It was especially easy with Charm, as he could regulate the heat and I didn’t have to worry about the fire getting out of control, something that I couldn’t have guaranteed in my state, not with a normal fire.

After feeding Claire dinner, I gave her some of the medicine from our first-aid kit, happy to see that her complexion recovered somewhat but she was still pale, cold sweat covering her body and she complained about a headache in a quiet, hoarse voice. I had no idea what to do if she were to get sick on top of the Gastly’s poison she still suffered from.

Once she was in the tent, hopefully resting, I settled in against a tree, calling out Vio to have some company. My little dear happily allowed me to spoil her, sitting on my lap and snuggling against my chest, while I kept nuzzling her head.

As the evening dragged on, I found myself fading, thinking I’d briefly close my eyes, only for minutes to pass in the blink of an eye. Knowing that Claire wasn’t in any state to keep watch, I stood, letting a pouting Vio walk with me, as I kept moving to avoid falling asleep.

That way, I managed to remain awake till night had well and truly fallen. I was startled out of a fugue state by Vio, who held my hand and dragged me towards the tree I had rested against earlier. I might have been able to shake her off, but I just couldn’t muster the mental energy to do so. She gently, but firmly, pushed me to the ground, before hopping onto my lap, her tiny hands massaging my face for a few moments.

“You’re really tired, aren’t you?” my brother’s voice asked, sounding concerned.

“Yeah, I’d love to sleep, but really, I can’t. Claire’s in no state to help and if that Gastly comes back, we are done for.” I replied, trying to find him in the darkness. Why was it so dark around? Reaching to my hip, I wanted to grab Charm’s Pokéball, only to grasp nothing but air, my belt gone.

“You’ve always been trying to do everything on your own. Few people would decide to travel all on their own, you know?” he asked, now amusement creeping into his voice. “But then, you wanted to go your own way, and we all know how it ended.”

“You might know, I certainly don’t. How could I, if I’m still walking on my path? I don’t even remember starting my path, let alone finding the end of it.” I mused, happy to talk to him again. It had been far too long.

“Well, it’s been quite some time, so maybe it should be expected. What do you remember?” he asked, the amusement gone, alongside the concern. Now, he sounded almost detached, like a doctor or nurse. Or maybe a researcher.

“So very little.” I shook my head, thinking of the earliest memory I could be certain of. Right before Cynthia had found me on Mount Coronet. The three legendary Pokémon, the Lords of Space and Time, alongside the Renegade Lord had been there and I could somewhat remember just how confused I had been.

My memories of that time were a little jumbled, even the first few hours at the Poké-League were a blur, but I could remember that some things weren’t as they should be. Cynthia had theorised that I had been pulled from the past, which would account for the changes, some cultural drift in objects and behaviour, in addition to the regional drift between Sinnoh and wherever I came from. Cynthia thought I might be from the Kanto region, but that was entirely based on circumstantial evidence, mainly the fact that my Pokédex, prior to its upgrade by Lucian, was likely made there, during the times of Professor Poké himself, a Kanto resident.

“Mhm, Kanto. It’s been a while since I’ve been there.” my brother mused. “So, you’ve seen those three again? The Lord must be so sad that you don’t remember. Maybe you’ll remember in time, I’m sure the Lord would be happy. The Guardians might be able to help.”

“What do you mean, the Lord would be sad?” I asked, now utterly confused.

“Mhm, how can you know, when you have forgotten? The significance of your memories, all o them, will become apparent in time. But the time has yet to come.” as brother spoke, his voice changing, morphing into something almost inhuman, far deeper than any voice I had ever heard, vibrating in my bones. “For now, it is time to wake up.” the voice growled and my body was flooded with terror, the need to move, to flee, overwhelming all rational thought.

I shot up, trying to run, only to stagger, stiff limbs not cooperating with my brain and sending stabs of pain back, protesting the abuse they were getting. Vio, who I had accidentally thrown off my lap in my sudden attempt to flee, was pushing herself up from the ground, quickly catching up to my staggering steps and taking one of my hands, holding it securely.

The contact caused a new surge of adrenaline and only a tiny sliver of my mind, the part that recognised Vio, allowed me to keep from panicking any further. Focusing solely on my partner, I reached down again, at finding Charm’s Pokéball. With a press of a button, my partner appeared in the forest, his flame shedding some light on our surroundings.

His presence banished the last shadows from my mind, with him here, I would be fine, no matter what. He must have noticed my state and after a quick check of our surroundings, he stepped up, his arms and tail wrapping around me, burning heat enveloping me and burning away the last shreds of panic. His warmth even helped my aching muscles, the heat soothing them as I gently moved around in his embrace, stretching them just a little.

“Thank you, Charm,” I muttered, putting my hands on his claws, their presence and giving me some more courage.

“It was only a dream,” I muttered, repeating the thought like a mantra. A dream that didn’t make sense, but might hold some truth. Parts of my memory seemed to be surprisingly vivid, my brother’s voice etched into my mind with crystal-clear clarity but even my own thoughts seemed to have more clarity in the dream.

Closing my eyes, letting Charm’s heat keep me safe, I tried to recall my brother’s words. Or maybe the words of my own subconsciousness, given voice by a voice I imagined to be my brothers.

Shaking my head, I walked over to my backpack, got a notebook and wrote down my memories, hoping that maybe, in the light of day, they would make more sense.