"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine…"

The tape measure in Lee's hand maxes out, refusing to budge any further at thirty feet.

Meanwhile, the ribbon wrapped around the fingers of his other hand still feels as if it has much more slack to give.

"Thirty feet, at least." Lee smiles and lets his eyes follow the ribbon back to its owner, who is sitting on the other side of Zinnia's backyard and holding the other end of the tape measure in her teeth.

Across the way, Sylveon wears a bemused expression, just as she has with all of Lee's other tests. The expression is shared by Zinnia and Brendan, who are sitting on the weathered wrought iron patio furniture by the back door of the house.

'Her ribbons just keep extending, seemingly generating new material from nothing! No lights and no sounds to indicate excessive TE usage, so this must be an instinctual skill that most, if not all, Sylveon possess. Is it a property of Fairy TE, perhaps? Could Nine or Octillery learn this trick?'

Lee is already imagining Nine extending her namesake tails across a whole battlefield, manhandling a foe without ever needing to stand. 'If we could combine that with Iron Tail…'

Crash!

Screeeech!

Lee and Sylveon aren't the only ones busy in the backyard. Near one corner, Ninetales and Grovyle clash against Corviknight in a steady rhythm, tail and blade vs. wing.

Grovyle is throwing himself into the swordsman manuscripts provided to him. It took some time and research to find what would fit best with his long, katana-like Leaf Blade, but, with Ninetales' help, they picked out a fitting style: one where, as luck would have it, the writer used a sword of unusual length with a single hand, similar to how Grovyle uses his blade. Some bits had to be translated, and they've yet to read the whole thing, but the opening lessons on wrist exercises and the inherent pratfalls of such an unusual style were already bearing fruit. Grovyle's stance is sure and steady.

Nine, meanwhile, used her Iron Tail TM earlier this morning before they arrived back at the Draconid village. The knowledge imparted by the TM turned Ninetales' cumbersome and rather useless Iron Tail into something much more practical. With Lee helping her modulate her Steel TE output, she's been able to utilize the attack in two different ways so far.

The first by wrapping all of her tails tightly together and using Iron Tail as a great club. This was borderline instinctive, but Lee definitely heard the little voice in the back of Ninetales' head scoffing at the idea of using such a 'lowbrow' technique.

And secondly, hardening the tip of a single tail with Steel TE and using it as a spear.

The latter has proved much more difficult than the former thanks to the fine control required, which is why Ninetales is practicing it now.

In the middle of the two, Corvi stands tall with a handful of scratches and dents in his armor. Taking a deep breath, the great corvid spreads his wings slightly. Seemingly from nowhere, motes of light-blue light manifest and gravitate towards him, seeping through his feathers and into the skin beneath. In just a handful of seconds, the scratches on his armor fill themselves in and the dents push themselves out.

Corvi exhales sharply, his wings growing slack for a split second before he pulls them back into his sides.

Ninetales wasn't the only one who decided she was ready for a new TM. Corvi learned Roost earlier this morning, and, in typical tough guy fashion, decided that letting his teammates whale on him is the best way to practice a self-healing technique.

On either side of Corviknight, Ninetales and Grovyle tense.

Ninetales holds her steely, silver-tipped tail like a scorpion might, the spear-like weapon quivering in anticipation. Her chest rises and falls more harshly than Grovyle's, the recuperating lungs beneath still aggravating her.

On the other side, Grovyle holds his humming blade perfectly still, mirroring the stance depicted in his manuscripts perfectly.

Then, at an unseen signal, both explode into movement, lashing out like vipers the instant Corviknight is in range.

Bang!

Screeech!

Nine's strike puts a conical dent in the obsidian armor protecting Corvi's wing, and Grovyle's Leaf Blade throws sparks as it drags down the opposite wing. Once both Nine and Grovyle bleed off the momentum of their leaps, they jump back and reset, waiting for Corvi to heal the damage.

Baby Shinx isn't totally left out either. The kitten sits in the shade by the side of the house, panting and taking a break from her own workout, one Lee is proud to say that he came up with himself.

Sitting before Shinx is a small, industrial fuse box fitted with replaceable fuses. From the box comes a pair of electrode clamps, which are secured to each of Shinx's ears. The first three fuses in the box are popped, destroyed by Shinx's electrical output, but the last two are rated for an impressive amount of current, remaining stubbornly intact despite Shinx's best efforts.

Shinx rises to her paws again, and with a growl, she clamps her eyes shut and lights up her whole body with a crackling coat of electricity, dumping everything she has into the second-to-last fuse. Cracking open an eye, she looks at the unbroken fuse and redoubles her efforts, arching her back with a yowl of fury.

Pop!

The fuse burns out and pops.

Shinx cuts off her electricity and leaps for joy, her face lit up in victory. In her happiness, she totally forgets about the electrode clamps to her ears. One slips off, but the other one yanks her ear painfully, drawing a yelp from her.

Sylveon is at Shinx's side in a flash with the aid of an expert Quick Attack, forcing Lee to drop his tape measure before it recoils and whips him in the knuckles.

At the same time, Mawile bursts from her ball on Brendan's belt, leaping to aid Shinx, only to stop when she realizes she's been beaten to the punch. Mawile's face swiftly transforms into an ugly glare.

"Mawile!" Brendan groans. "Not again! I told you, just play it cool for now and we'll figure everything out later!" he says, taking Mawile's ball from his holster and recalling her in one move.

Sylveon doesn't pay the dematerializing Mawile any mind, too busy using her ribbons to take the clamp off Shinx's ear.

'… At least it's not Ninetales that Sylveon is beefing with,' Lee sighs, bending over and picking up his tape measure. 'Small blessings… I don't know how Mawile is going to handle the sudden competition for her niche, though. Sylveon has been doing this for thirty years, and Mawile isn't any older than ten.'

Lee jogs up to the back porch of Zinnia's home, scooping his notebook up off of the patio table. He turns to Sylveon's section and pats down his pockets, searching for his pen. "Dammit, don't tell me I lost another one."

Zinnia rolls her eyes and clears her throat. "Your feet, Dolittle," she says, pointing at the ground.

Lee looks down, and sure enough, it appears as if he dropped his pen in his haste. "Oops."

As Lee retrieves his pen, Zinnia shakes her head and looks over toward Sylveon, who stares back pensively. "You know, it took some time to sink in, but you really did bring a Fairy back into a den of dragons. You got some brass ones to pull a stunt like that."

"Stunt?" Lee asks, leafing through his notebook's latest page and beginning to write his findings down. "I know I'm probably violating some kind of unspoken protocol for outsiders, but I didn't take Sylveon for that explicit purpose. Her prior trainer simply wasn't equipped to care for her."

"I'm sure some will understand the kindness, but definitely do not go around advertising that you have a Sylveon," Zinnia warns, leaning forward slightly. "It might scare off punks, but it's practically wearing a wailing siren to anybody who's anybody around here."

Lee shakes his head. "Wonderful," he grumbles, jotting down his last note and closing his notebook. "Any news on those talks that the elders were having?"

"None yet." Zinnia shrugs apologetically. "Like I said, it's probably going to take a few days. I have faith in Granny's ability to convince the other two, but it's going to take time. If we're lucky, it should only be another day or two."

"Works for me, I suppose." Lee pulls out one of the chairs around the patio table and sits himself down. "Once we're in the stronghold, am I going to be able to leave? I've been skipping out on my therapist too much, and I've got an expert who is going to help with a side study of mine I need to meet."

Expert is an understatement. Once Nigel confirmed that he was able to acquire her services, the professor informed Lee who exactly would be on their way.

Anabel, one of the Frontier Brains.

The Battle Frontier is an odd place mired in the murky waters of semi-independence, and Lee had to send Ninetales into the deep end of that political maze simply because of how it made his head spin.

On paper, the Battle Frontier is a massive, luxurious resort for the rich and talented that doubles as a free economic zone for Hoenn, but in reality?

The Battle Frontier is a rogue state.

They mint their own currency, they have their own laws and charters, they control their own seas and airspace, they collect their own taxes, and they have all the firepower of a full region despite being a fraction of the size.

The last point is the most damning one. Scott, the owner and CEO of the Battle Frontier, has a large number of Elite level trainers and a Champion level trainer on payroll. Which is why no one can really do anything about Scott's shenanigans.

Each of the Frontier Brains are the elite of Elites, no questions asked, but Pyramid King Brandon, widely acknowledged as Champion material, overshadows them all. Owning a Regirock, Registeel, and a Regice, the man holds the record for the most legendary pokemon captured by a single trainer, and rumors are circulating that he captured a fourth legendary pokemon sometime recently.

Of the other Frontier Brains, Anabel is the closest one to matching Brandon's prowess.

'And she's coming here next week,' Lee thinks. 'Damn.'

"You have to have someone escort you to and from the stronghold," Zinnia says apologetically. "It's only accessible by air, and without a dragon with you, someone might mistake you and your bird for an intruder."

Lee simply shrugs, having expected that. "Fair enough. Is there anything you guys need from Fallarbor? I'll be flying over to meet with Mable after lunch."

Zinnia shakes her head, but Brendan chimes in. "Yeah, can you get me a fresh bundle of Oran berries and a Sitrus if you can find one?" he asks. "I used up my last Sitrus trying to get my team's food to taste right, and I'm nearly out of Oran."

"Maybe cut back on training that water cutter move and Marshtomp wouldn't need so many Oran for his sore throat," Zinnia dryly interjects, looking at a number of deep gouges in her backyard.

Brendan has the good grace to appear mareepish.

Reopening his notebook, Lee jots Brendan's request down, then turns to his pokemon. "Great work everyone! Let's call it for now and get some lunch in you!"

Ninetales and Corvi perk up, gladly disengaging at the prospect of food, and while Grovyle hides it better, he still powers down his Leaf Blade a little bit faster than usual. Shinx practically teleports into Lee's arms at the call, leaving a flabbergasted Sylveon behind.

'How does Iron Tail feel, love?' Lee sends to Ninetales, adjusting the purring kitten in his hold. He can feel the ache in the tip of a tail that he doesn't own. 'Getting the hang of it?'

Ninetales lets out a tired huff. 'I suppose I am. I believe there is quite a ways to go before I can realize any of your daydreams, however.'

Oh. Nine must've caught some of Lee's stray thoughts. He definitely imagined Nine wrapping herself in her own tails and using Iron Tail, turning her luscious fur into thorny armor.

'What can I say? Iron Tail is a versatile technique,' Lee replies, giving Shinx one last stroke across her head before setting her down. In short order, he makes his way to his backpack, which is leaning against the side of the house, and pulls from it six saran-wrapped food bowls, one of them twice the size of the others. 'Having nine extra limbs to fight with is going to be invaluable down the line.'

'If you say so,' Nine says back, too focused on her upcoming lunch to give Lee's words more thought.

Lunch is unfortunately a little bit tense, as all of Zinnia's team gaze distrustfully towards Sylveon, who doesn't seem to notice as Lee spends the entire time encouraging her to eat. Brendan's pokemon, being the team players that they are, stand between the visibly disgruntled Mawile and Sylveon, letting both fairies eat in peace.

Once everyone's food has had time to settle, Lee recalls his pokemon sans Corvi, saddles the great raven up, then flies off for Fallarbor. It takes Corviknight a mere ten minutes to fly all the way to Fallarbor at a leisurely cruising speed, and Lee is once more mystified by how easy traveling is on the back of a pokemon.

Corviknight touches down just outside of the Fallarbor Pokemon Center and kneels, letting Lee dismount.

"Thanks, Corvi." Lee reaches up and strokes the raven across his metallic beak. "I hope I'm not bugging you too much, having you fly me everywhere."

A disapproving croak rumbles from Corvi's throat paired with a sidelong stare, telling Lee to stop that line of thinking immediately.

"All right, all right." Lee smiles and takes out Corvi's ball. "I get it."

Corviknight nods once, then is sucked back into his ball for a rest.

Lee exchanges Corvi's ball for Nine's, then taps the button, popping open the sphere and releasing his ace. Once she blinks the spots from her eyes, she gives Lee a reassuring smile and a soothing mental hug, chasing away his prickling nervousness.

Stepping inside of the Center, Lee and Ninetales ignore the people turning to look at them and instead head down one of the side hallways leading out of the lobby. They turn a corner, find meeting room number three, and pause as Lee raps his knuckles on the doorframe.

"Come in!" a familiar voice calls from within.

Lee takes a deep breath, then opens the squeaky door.

Inside, Lee and Ninetales find a smiling Mable, sitting in her chair with a pad of paper on her crossed legs. "Lee, Ninetales, it's wonderful to see you two again!" she exclaims, bright smile widening. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I know we've got a lot to catch up on."

"It's good to see you too, Mable." Lee smiles right back, meaning every word. As he sits on the couch across from his therapist, he glances around the room, and finds it to be the exact same as all of the other meeting rooms they've used in past Centers. 'Seriously, do the Pokemon Centers standardize this room in particular?'

Ninetales hops up after him, draping herself across his lap and focusing her eyes on Mable. However, Lee can feel her mind beginning to wander.

'Speaking to Xatu, probably,' Lee realizes.

"So!" Mable claps her hands together once, making the charm bracelet on her wrist jingle. "How have you been doing, Lee? It's been quite a while since our last talk, and I understand that you've been up to quite a lot recently."

Lee leans back on the couch, trying to gather his thoughts. "I'm… I'm doing really well, all things considered. I understand that Nigel or someone else informed you about everything that happened in Lavaridge?"

"I did get one such email, yes." Mable nods. "But I'd like to hear things from your perspective if that's okay."

Breathing out a harsh sigh, Lee slowly combs his fingers through the fur of Ninetales' back, prompting her to lean into him. "Yeah, sure. Team Magma and Aqua, the gangs that recently got reclassified into terrorists, I know what they're up to, and what their ultimate goals are. Stupidly, I decided – "

"Unwisely," Mable suddenly and firmly interrupts. "You are not a stupid man, Lee, even if you made a bad decision. Call it unwise, if you must, for wisdom is something that comes with experience."

"…Unwisely, I decided to get caught up in trying to stop them, and despite having so many resources, I put my friends and team in unnecessary danger," Lee continues. He stares down at the scuffed toe of his boot for a moment, then returns his eyes to Mable's. "We figured out that Magma was doing something up on the volcano and directly confronted them. We… I didn't expect their leader, Maxie –"

Ninetales openly growls at the name.

"– To show up, or to be willing to kill us." Lee pauses, finding his mouth dry as he remembers everything. "He overpowered all of us, he used his Claydol's psychic powers to… To pilot his Camerupt like a meat suit, keeping Camerupt going long past the point of falling apart. That Arceus-damn Claydol was even pinching Camerupt's wounds shut and keeping his shattered bones in place! I-I didn't expect that someone would ever be willing to do something so… So…" Lee can't find a word extreme enough and stumbles over his speech. If not for Ninetales in his lap, he would have risen to his feet in fury.

Mable's face transforms into a deep frown, but she listens dutifully.

Taking a deep breath, Lee calms himself and gathers his thoughts. "He nearly killed us…" Lee murmurs, wrapping Ninetales in a loose hug, letting him feel her heartbeat. "He nearly killed Ninetales. If we didn't figure out his little trick at the last second, we all would have died."

Mable nods slowly. "I'm so sorry that you were forced to endure such a thing, Lee," she says quietly. "This is a fact of life that pains me more than any other, but sometimes people are simply cruel and twisted. If I can have a wish, just one, then it would be for such people to become well again."

"Heh…" Lee shakes his head. "It would surprise the hell out of me if he was ever sound in the first place. I don't know what can twist somebody that much."

"Are you having any flashbacks, or nightmares?" Mable asks gently, quietly writing something on the pad in her lap. "It sounds like you already understand how to avoid such an unfortunate situation in the future."

Lee shakes his head. "No, no flashbacks or anything. I'm doing my best not to dwell and to just keep going forward. In a fucked up, roundabout kind of way, maybe Maxie did me a favor."

Mable, who was opening her mouth to reply, instead stops, a hint of bewilderment on her face. "Can you elaborate for me, Lee? I'm afraid I don't quite understand."

"Well…" Lee licks his lips. Dammit, what is it about talking to Mable that always makes his mouth dry? "I've just been aimlessly bumbling along as a trainer, and scared to death of doing anything that would attract attention to us – my team, that is. I didn't like pokemon battling when I first became a trainer, and if I'm being honest, I still have mixed feelings on the subject. If I could have someone else fight all my battles for me, I would, but the fiasco in Lavaridge taught me something."

The dusky-skinned therapist remains quiet, letting Lee talk.

Lee shakes his head with a rueful smile. "I have to be responsible," he says, poking himself in the chest with a finger. "I'm responsible for my own safety, I'm responsible for the safety of my pokemon, and sitting around wishing I wasn't doesn't do anything." He punctuates every point with a tap of his finger. "I've got the means and the resources to make sure that my pokemon and I aren't victims ever again, and I just refused to use them! Well, not anymore. While I was sitting there in the Pokemon Center waiting room in the wake of all the aftermath, I decided that I was done, that I'm not going to mope and complain. No!" Lee exclaims, making Ninetales jump slightly.

The zoologist smiles, and damn it feels good. "We're just going to be better. I am going to be better. I still want that peaceful, idyllic life with my pokemon, but now I know it's not just going to drop into my lap. We're going to be strong, work towards the life we want, and it'll be all the sweeter when we get there. I won't let anything get in the way."

As the last word leaves Lee's mouth, he stops and replays what he just said in his head, his face turning red as he realizes just how unbearably corny the speech Mable elicited was. 'Arceus, if you're merciful, you'll smite me where I sit before I die of embarrassment.'

'That was hardly embarrassing!' Ninetales interjects, looking at Lee with disbelief. 'Lee, I felt you speak straight from your heart! It's not something that you can – '

Ninetales is interrupted by slow, steady applause.

On the other side of the room, Mable is positively beaming. Her hands come together in one last clap before she folds them in her lap. "I was worried, you know," she begins, smile still in place, "worried that you would have regressed or had problems after we missed so many sessions together, and I am overjoyed to be proven wrong. I knew that there was a confident, capable man beneath your exterior. This is such a momentous leap forward, goodness me! I should've known from the beginning, because it was like watching a different man walk in here."

"A different man?" Lee questions, pushing away his embarrassment. "How so?"

"How so?" Mable seems incredulous. "The Lee Henson I met so long ago was a shy, unsure man who was letting his demons weigh him down. He looked to the floor, spoke quietly, twiddled his fingers and then some. You walked in today with your head held high and without so much as a moment of hesitation. I heard you walk up to the door and knock on it immediately. Last time, you waited for almost a minute before coming in."

'Shit. Did I really?' Lee blinks and recalls the last distant therapy session. 'I did…'

"It hurts me down here," Mable says, putting a hand over her heart, "that you had to go through yet another horrible ordeal, but you bounced back with such strength that it's blown me away! I'm convinced that there's nothing in the world that can keep Mister Lee Henson down!"

Lee looks away, embarrassed once more. "I don't know if I would go that far… But thank you for the vote of confidence."

Mable reins in her giddy happiness, returning to placid professionalism. "Anytime, Lee. Anytime. So, you feel as if you've come to terms with everything that's happened in Lavaridge, correct?"

A nod is Lee's answer. "Yes. I can't really do anything about the past, so I'll just count my blessings and be more prepared next time."

The therapist gestures forward with her pen. "Well then, how about you take the lead for a while? What would you like to talk about?"

'Here's hoping she agrees,' Lee thinks, considering his words carefully. "This might be a little outside of your scope, Mable, so feel free to decline, but do you think you can help me with…" He hesitates to call the telepathic connection between himself and Ninetales a problem. "... I don't want to call it a problem, but it's in regard to the telepathic bond between Ninetales and myself, and if possible I'd like to have a three-way meeting between you, me, and a natural telepath I would be working with."

Ninetales perks up once more, apparently pulling out of her conversation with Xatu to listen. Her red eyes shift between Lee and Mable.

"I'll be happy to lend my expertise if I can." Mable nods, her pen scratching at her notepad. "What's this not-problem you seem to be having? Is it in regards to Miss Ninetales' trainer fixation?"

'So she has been speaking with Xatu about it this entire time,' Lee realizes. He's been avoiding Ninetales' inner thoughts since they stepped into the room out of a sense of privacy.

"That, yeah…" Lee confirms. "We spoke with a Pokemon Master who specialized in the Ninetales line, and she advised that we cease using telepathy with each other, or Ninetales is just going to get worse."

Mable raises an eyebrow. "My darling Xatu is a telepath, and I can certainly see how the talent would prolong trainer fixation, but to make it worse?"

Oh.

It hits Lee that he has never explained just how deep the telepathy between him and Ninetales goes. As one, he and his fox lock eyes before turning in-sync to Mable.

"About that…" Lee wonders just how to explain this. "Ninetales' telepathy has evolved beyond simply sending and receiving words. It's tied us together deep, very deep. So deep that we can no longer disconnect or tell where one side ends and another begins. By the loosest definition of the word, Ninetales and I are a gestalt."

The woman sitting across from Lee has learned of nuclear bombs, listened to a man lament his vivid death, heard stories of loss and grief, and none of that phased her. As soon as she hears the word gestalt, though, her eyes widen.

"Each side can feel the other's emotions, hear their thoughts, feel their bodies, share their senses," Lee continues on. "As we sit here, without me focusing, I have a vague, fuzzy awareness of Ninetales outside of my own senses, just as she does for me. If I do this," he says, reaching over and pinching the tip of one of Ninetales's tails, "I can feel it. It's like phantom limb syndrome, or mirror-touch synesthesia."

It suddenly strikes Lee how it no longer takes focus for he and Ninetales to share their senses, and how doing so causes no discomfort anymore. Just a few months ago, sharing Vulpix's vision made his head hurt and his stomach turn. Now? It's as easy as breathing.

Lee recovers from his own revelation and resumes speaking. "When Lokoko, the Ninetales expert I was referring to, warned us about the possibility of becoming a gestalt, I got the feeling she was referring to something much more sinister than what we have currently. I don't want anything to happen to Ninetales and I, but neither can we just stop. I don't think we're physically able, which is why I'm asking for your help, Mable."

For the first time ever, Mable appears stunned. In record time, however, she recovers and schools her face back into a professional smile. "My, oh my! It's not every day I'm not prepared for something!" she exclaims, bouncing back from her shock. "I would be delighted to help. This does push the boundaries of my qualifications a bit, but a brand-new learning experience isn't something old Mable is about to shy away from! Let me know when and where, and I'll be there to help as best as I can."

Both Lee and Ninetales smile as one. "Thanks, Mable," Lee says, inclining his head. "It means a lot to us."

The woman waves away the thanks. "Oh, think nothing of it. I told you, Mable Lane does not stop until her patients are as well as can be. Is there anything troubling you about the situation?"

"Only the possibility that Ninetales and I might have to…" Lee hesitates to say the word. "Disconnect."

Even entertaining the notion feels wrong on a visceral level. For a split second, Lee's entire body grows cold, and he definitely feels Ninetales shiver slightly.

"And we'll take a look at that bridge as soon as we get there," Mable says. "Let's rewind things a little. Have you been feeling down recently about Earth and your old life?"

A slow shake of his head is Lee's answer. "No. I still think about it sometimes, but already it seems like it was a lifetime ago. I still miss my family, my zoo, and everyone in between, but it's more of a background thing now. I have trouble believing it's only been six months." He frowns. "Sometimes I worry that I'm forgetting everything too fast, though. It's left me feeling somewhat guilty."

"Hmm…" Mable hums in thought. "Time sure does fly, doesn't it? You shouldn't totally forget your time and experiences on Earth. Your memories are an important part of who you are, but neither should you let the past pull you down." A sudden thought seems to strike Mable, and she smiles. "Lee, about that wonderful idea you had during our first meeting…"

The sun is beginning to set when Corviknight swoops in for a landing just outside the front door of the Littleroot Pokemon Laboratory. Tucking his stiff wings in, Corvi kneels and allows Lee to hop off of his back.

"Still think I'm not a bother?" Lee jokes, rubbing a hand across the downy feathers of Corvi's chest.

The massive bird gives his trainer the stink eye and defiantly shakes his head. Lifting his wings slightly, Corvi casts Roost on himself, drawing in sky-blue lights that seep past his armor and ease the aches of the cross-region flight.

Lee huffs playfully. "I knew Roost was a good pick," he says, doffing his scarf and flight goggles, which are stuffed in his jacket pockets. Lee then rubs a hand across his face with a grimace. 'Euh. Even with the scarf I still have wind burn. I guess an all-day flight does that.'

"Holy-! He's even bigger in person!"

Turning around, Lee is treated to the sight of Nigel Birch gaping at Corviknight, who puffs up proudly.

"Too bad Corvi isn't a chicken pokemon, or I'd have a real dumb joke to make" Lee grins and steps towards Nigel. "It's been a hot minute since I've seen you in person, Nigel. How are you doing?"

"You adopt a Sylveon and give the PR guys a ton of work to do, and you have the gall to ask me how I'm doing?" Nigel rolls his eyes, but his small smile tells Lee the man isn't serious. "At least we're getting a funding increase from the Academic Board for it. Having three pokemon with a research value index over a zero-point-eight between two lab trainers is really getting their attention."

Lee furrows his brows. Why does the Academic Board insist on their weird value systems? "Three? I know Nine and Sylveon are two of them, but who's the third?"

"Brendan's giant Electrike."

"Ah." That makes sense. "Any idea what you're going to use the funding increase on?"

"We are definitely expanding the ranch grounds," Nigel says, pointing to where the ranch behind the laboratory meets the tree line. "You and Brendan are attracting new trainers to the scene, and our boarding capacity is starting to get low. If we don't expand, I'm going to have to adjust the boarding prices for trainers without sponsors, and I'll let you guess how well that will go over."

Lee cringes. "Oh. Yeah, that sounds like drama the lab doesn't need."

Nigel nods with a sigh, resting his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "Hopefully we can do everything in time. The Rangers need to survey the land we intend to expand into and confirm there's no protected pokemon there, the town auditor needs to review the land deed and resize the parcel, the contractors need to come out here and actually build the extended facilities… I'm hoping it'll be over sooner rather than later." Nigel then raises a hand and points in another direction, back towards the corner of the ranch grounds. "The stone I mentioned is in the northeast corner of the ranch. You don't need to worry about any of the pokemon touching it. I'll have Medicham, uh… Let them know what it is," he finishes awkwardly.

His cheer dying down, Lee smiles and gives Nigel a grateful nod. "Thanks for letting me do this here, Nigel. It means a lot to me."

The professor simply pats Lee on the arm. "When you're done, meet me at my house, okay? You can stay the night with us. My wife has been dying to meet you anyway."

As Nigel makes his way to the jeep parked beside the laboratory, Lee takes a deep breath and reaches down, tapping the button of every still-occupied pokeball on his belt.

Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!Pop!

Ninetales, Grovyle, Shinx, Octillery, and Sylveon join Corviknight outside of their capsules, each one emerging in their own flash of light.

Ninetales, who already knows what's happening, steps forward and presses herself into Lee's side, lending him her warmth and support, drawing stares from the others.

"C'mon guys and gals," Lee murmurs, "we've got just one more thing to do today."

Taking point, Lee leads his pokemon forward, leaping the fence and making for the corner of the lab ranch that Nigel pointed at. As they walk, the ranch pokemon still out and about during the evening hours quietly move out of their path. There is no fear or apprehension from the pokemon who see Lee and his team.

Today, there's only melancholy.

The northeast edge of the fence leads into a wooded area, where bird and insect pokemon watch the group march past from above, sometimes flitting away when Corviknight's head gets too close to their branch.

As they walk, Lee hears Sylveon murmur a question to Grovyle, too quiet for a human ear to hear, but personally audible to Ninetales.

Grovyle answers Sylveon's question with a low, mournful warble, making the Fairy go quiet.

Finally, they arrive, and Lee brings the group to a halt.

Before them is a featureless boulder, utterly plain and unassuming.

"Grovyle?" Lee asks over his shoulder. "Can you get us a nice, flat face to work with on this thing?"

The Grass-type steps forward, extending and palming his Leaf Blade. His yellow eyes inspect the stone closely, then with a flash of movement –

Shink!

– his Leaf Blade cleaves through the face of the boulder at a diagonal angle, slicing off a thin chunk that shatters when it hits the ground, and leaving behind a perfectly flat face.

Lee rubs a hand across Grovyle's head as the lizard retracts his blade, making Grovyle look away bashfully. "Nine?"

'Yes, Beloved. I already know the words.'

The vixen steps forward, bringing a tail to bear as she hardens the tip with Iron Tail. Bringing the tail forward, she drives it into the face of the stone and begins to carve. Letter by letter, word by word, a mournful message takes shape. When the final word is done, Ninetales steps back, allowing everyone to see what she wrote.

In memory of all who are no more.Loved and never forgotten.Born again, I live for you.Here in this charmed place.

Lee's very being hurts, and the world seems to fade from his vision.

Almost immediately, Ninetales returns to Lee's right, pressing herself to him and burying her head in his side.

Grovyle leans into his trainer's left, visibly fighting with himself, before wrapping an arm around one of Lee's.

Shinx jumps into Lee's arms, cuddling into his chest without so much as a sound.

Corviknight wraps a great black wing around them all.

The two outliers, Octillery and Sylveon, stand in front of the group and stare at the words.

Octillery's expression shifts constantly, as if he's not sure what he's supposed to be feeling. From calculating, to indifferent, to frustrated, before returning to calculating.

Then, as if Arceus descended to reveal a great secret to him, Octillery turns and stares at Lee, comprehension dawning in the cephalopod's eyes, before that too is gone. Finally, he settles upon an expression of practiced sympathy, just barely masking the intense curiosity within his eyes. He shuffles close, wrapping a comforting tentacle around one of Lee's legs.

Sylveon, meanwhile, reads the words over and over again, as if doing so will reveal some hidden knowledge. After the tenth rereading, nothing changes, and one of her ribbons snakes its way into the sleeve of Lee's jacket, wrapping securely around his wrist.

The Fairy suddenly stiffens as if electrocuted. Great shakes wrack her body, and she lets go. Staring at the ground as if the dirt at her paws wronged her, she shuffles backwards until she is standing between Lee's legs, and leans into his knee, ever so slightly.

The warmth of his pokemon returns Lee's senses, just a little, letting him read the inscription once more.

In memory of all who are no more.

His family, his friends, his animals, his entire world. It's gone, and will never come back. It's all been reduced to nuclear ash. Sometimes, he still expects to wake up, choking upon dust and bereft of purpose.

Loved and never forgotten.

Oh, how it agonizes him to admit it, that he'll never get to make new memories with the ones he loved, but… Is it all bad? Those memories aren't gone. They'll be with him forever.

Born again, I live for you.

…No. No, it's not all bad. Someway, somehow, he cheated death and now lives while everyone else has perished. If he does nothing with this chance, it's practically spitting upon everyone who didn't get the chance.

Here in this charmed place.

Lee blinks, suddenly realizing that his pokemon are all huddled against him, warding off the chill of the evening with their bodies. He looks down, left, right, and even up. In every direction, he sees naught but faces looking at him with love and support.

Love and support from his new family.

A smile crosses Lee's face, and with the hand not holding Shinx, he dabs at his eyes. 'Charmed place, indeed. Nine must be making me flowery. I guess its - no. No guessing. I know it's time to let it all go.'

All at once, the ache in Lee's chest is gone, and the man is left feeling lighter than air. "It's good to be home," he breathes.

Together, they all stay until the horizon swallows the sun's last ray.