Jared's eyes went wide, as he seemed to discover the old man for the second time, 'Three hundred years? Just how old is he. This must be related to what Gilbert told me, but I never knew it was this exaggerated. Do strong pokemon trainers really live so long, and can they live even longer? ...Is immortality possible? '

Giving a pained expression, the elder gestured his hand in the direction he came from.

"But when I came outside today for a stroll in the countryside, I encountered you and witnessed such an event under my very own roof."

The white-robed elder sighed, then looked Jared in the eyes.

"For that I am sorry, I should have educated them better. "

Jared shook his head.

"It's not your fault."

The elder's eyes seemed to glow brighter, "But I want it to be, and I want to assure you that this event will be personally dealt with by me. You have my word."

Thinking for a moment, Jared spoke his mind.

"But I don't think I have that illness, or at least probably?"

Bannock was taken aback.

"You don't? Then why did you run away without explaining yourself, and why did you say you never bonded with a pokemon if you were able to?"

Richard came to Jared's aid, "He did lose his memories, so it could be the case that his pokemon is still out there, and probably looking for him."

"Separation is truly a painful thing, and losing your precious memories is not trivial either."

Bannock nodded compassionately.

"I see. I see. While I cannot help you have your memories returned, perhaps my clan can assist you in mending your missing knowledge. If you are so inclined, visit our clan's gym. Search for the tallest and largest building in the city, and you will find our Pewter clan there."

As Bannock said his goodbyes and stepped out, Brinock stepped forward with a smile. His chiseled face had the same small angular nose like his father.

"Richard is a good man, I have faith that he will connect you with those you have lost, even if you're memories do not return."

"I have taken up enough of your time here, and I have duties I must attend to. If you would like, do visit my gym."

Before turning around, he pulled out a card and asked Jared to accept it.

"For the trouble we have caused, you may attend the lectures or use some of our facilities for free. This card also halves the fee of participating in the daily, weekly, or monthly battling ground tournaments."

His face turned stern for the next sentence.

"However, I warn you, this gift is not to be abused."

"Cheer up, and remember, for every storm, there is a silver lining. If you give up, you will not find the limitless future just over the horizon. do not disappoint me, and good luck young man."

Hearing such 'poetic' words, Jared felt like he was participating in a cheesy play.

"Okay."

With that, the two took their leave.

Closing the door, Richard shook his head ruefully.

"You're quite lucky. unaffiliated clan members would kill to have that card you're holding."

"And you are part of that clan?"

"I am, in this city, you will find it hard to discover a place untouched by their hands."

Fiddling with the beautifully detailed silver card in his hand, Jared mouthed the words on the card's front; "Pewter Clan Outer Gym Member."

Flipping it over, he read the back too, "Will Can Move Mountains. Determination Can Break Stone."

"More poetry..."

Jared opened the door and found the two guests were already gone, and out of sight.

"You aren't going there right now are you?"

"Why not?"

"Go then. Just don't forget how to get back."

Richard closed the door and went back to the bedroom.

Seeing Growlithe sleeping soundly, he stroked the pokemon's head.

"I don't know anymore Growlithe. To think one day I would have so many regrets, and I keep making more mistakes lately. I can't take back what I've done, but at least I should be able to make up for it. At the very least, I can have that kid reunited with his family."

.

Jared looked this way and that.

"Tallest and biggest?" Murmured Jared.

When he looked towards the city center, there was only one that fit those criteria. In fact, nothing came even close.

However, It looked more like a castle than a building. With its oriental style, its size compared to everything around it made it seem fantastical. Even from far away, it loomed over everything else.

Passing a dirt road not ten minutes from the house, Jared spotted a lone pidgey sitting on the branches of a charred tree.

Trying his best to appear confident, he tried to distract himself from his insecurity. He knew how dangerous pokemon could be, and he was nothing more than a defenseless weakling in this world.

Focusing on the tree instead, he wondered if perhaps lightning had struck it.

As he was about to pass by, he braced himself when he caught the pidgey flying at him from the corner of his eye.

It wasn't that uncommon for small wild pokemon like pidgeys to be living in the city, and while Richard had said he would be quite safe as long as he was within the city limits, right now he was alone.

The pidgey in question began flying a few feet around Jared's head as if inspecting him.

Unsure of what to make of this situation, Jared just stood there for a moment and watched it circle around him.

Tentatively, he held out his arm, and the little pidgey actually landed!

The weight of the bird wobbled his arm, but he held it steady. Its small talons dug in lightly but he didn't flinch.

"Hi there. Don't kill me okay?" Jared joked nervously.

As the small four-pound bird crept up his arm, Jared asked, "Is your trainer nearby?"

When it ignored him, he was getting a bit creeped out. Just what did it want?

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Soon the small bird crept onto his shoulder, and suddenly the pokemon's forehead began to glow!

Seeing this sight, Jared got a flashback of his first day in this world. He remembered the Rattata ripping into his shoulder and, forcing its will on him.

Jared instinctively shrugged the pokemon away and ran for it.

Meanwhile, the pidgey in question hovered in the air for a few seconds before returning to his previous perch.

Looking over his shoulder as he ran, he found that the pidgey wasn't pursuing him.

Relieved, he slowed down and continued walking to his destination. However, now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was feeling a deep-seated weakness.

He considered for a moment about cutting his trip short and returning to his temporary home, but he was wary of encountering that pidgey again.

"Suck it up, Jared, we came out here for a reason didn't we?"

Jared actually had a habit of sometimes talking to himself. When he was kept in prison and had nobody to talk to, he found it comforting to pretend he wasn't all alone.

As the castle loomed closer, the streets grew busier.

He noticed that there wasn't exactly a residential district, but rather shops were more likely to appear closer to the city center. Besides the shops, there were also fancy homes, with expansive terraces.

Passing by a particularly exquisite garden, Jared wondered if perhaps The individuals who lived there were afraid that people wouldn't know they were rich.'

These houses were all beautiful, and their gardens were carefully maintained. This was in stark contrast to the kind of houses that Richard lived in. If Jared could describe it, he would say the city center reeked of wealth, while the periphery ate the scraps. Even the pokemon were more exotic. He even saw a young boy walking next to a Charmander! Even if he was a little fearful of pokemon, if there was ever a pokemon he wanted, it would be a Charmander hands down!

Even though it wasn't more than a thirty-minute jog from the outskirts, the bustling center was a world of difference.

With the castle a stone's throw away, Jared saw his second evolved pokemon, the first being an ivysaur. He then wondered why he had not seen them everywhere, and why those with them seemed dressed in riches.

A beautiful red-headed young woman with long white robes had an enormous butterfree flying over her head. WIth every flap from the massive bug pokemons head, specks of dust would part from its wings. This was the first stage three pokemon he had seen thus far, and it was much bigger than he thought butterfree to be!

Jared was increasingly finding that some of his memories weren't reliable. A butterfree was big, sure, but this one was more like a dragon!

By chance, Jared read the beautiful calligraphy on the back of her robes, "Pewter Inner Gym Member"

In fact, now that he thought about it, there were many people young and old dressed similarly. However, the writing on the back of their robes was not quite as beautiful.

Then he recalled the elder and the gym leader had worn similar attire. If he had seen their backs at the time, would it have said something similar?

"This has to be their clan attire then" Murmered Jared, putting the obvious pieces together.

He then watched as she entered the gates of the castle.

This all but confirmed the destination in Jared's mind, especially when he saw the Writing far above. "Pewter Gym Entrance and Battle Grounds."