The air in this room is heavy, tastes stale and forgotten, as if Fennel hasn’t dusted the room for a while. Or maybe it’s just the scarf Conia has put on me to make sure none of our group catches the flu again.

  It’s cold enough outside to see my breath. Standing at the window, it’s easy for the glass to fog up, and Coro and I have found joy over the last hour in doing nothing but breathing the world out of sight.

  All these things are probably part of a normal November when the ground freezes, people wrap up thickly, and I wonder if there’s any chance of swapping my uniform skirt for a pair of trousers because otherwise I won’t be able to feel my calves after five minutes outside.

  “You must feel the same way...” With a quick glance to the side, I check my Toucannon, who lets out a gentle snort. Sure, his beak ensures he warms up quickly when he settles down somewhere, but I can’t imagine his feathers holding this warmth. I’d love to ask Fennel to give him a blanket or make him a cup of hot chocolate so he can join us at the table, but that’s nothing but nonsense. I know that.

  For a moment, I dare to look over my shoulder. Fennel and Conia are sitting on the sofa, talking about the company the Explorers do business with. The break-ins and threats against said Devon Corporation have gotten worse, and all of Hoenn is in an uproar over a few activists turning everything upside down. Four days ago, a handful of this organisation demolished two new apartment buildings. Part of the nearby forest was cut down to build them, and, despite some protests, the companies went ahead with their plan for more living space. At the same time, members of the troublemakers collected rubbish from the surrounding sea and dumped it in front of one of the country’s government buildings before setting it on fire. The result is twenty injured and four dead.

  The thought makes me sigh. On the whole, the world looks fine. On the surface, there don’t seem to be any problems. If someone asked me, I wouldn’t be able to tell them about the problems in Unova. But I can’t deny that this region certainly doesn’t hide a skeleton or two in its closet. Not least because I still can’t figure out how Team Plasma could get away with its schemes for so long.

  “Doesn’t matter now.” I casually run a hand over my eyes. In these seconds, the problems of the world are just background noise, and I don’t want them to ruin my precious time with Coro.

  Once again, I look at my partner. He has now had a little time to get to know Unfezant, and they do indeed appear to be growing closer. Their initial rejection has turned into interested glances and affectionate cooing, and I can’t say Coro isn’t visibly happy about it. Whenever she looks at him, he stretches to appear taller. Then he turns his head so she can observe all the beautiful sides of his colourful beak.

  He is smitten by her.

  “Coro?” Almost whispering, I turn to him so his attention immediately swings in my direction. “Do you still want to go travelling? With me?”

  His slightly narrowed eye, staring at me, pierces me for a few breaths before he makes a muffled sound that seems a little indecisive.

  He probably doesn’t know what’s going to happen next any more than I do. My journey has only just begun. I’m sure I’ll experience a lot more with the Explorers, but I can’t tell if Coro sees the world the same way.

  “Do you remember when you jumped into battle for me?”

  It was almost half a year ago. Almost half a life ago, I chose to take a Pikipek with me on my journey. Soon to be six months in which we experienced a lot. There was never a point where we stood still. Not like now, when Unova seems peaceful and I’m waiting for the Explorers to set a new target. Maybe that’s why it feels like it was only yesterday I was running away from my father.

  Toucannon, meanwhile, closes his eyes. He probably remembers his incredibly brave moment. How he just jumped out of his hiding place to help Ying and me. The day he made the same decision as me.

  The shallow cooing of his throat reminds me of the purring you hear in the Sprigatito videos Conia shows me when no one is around.

  “We wanted the same thing back then, and that’s why I chose to take you with me on my journey. You were ... like me. You had a desire to escape from this island and see more than what you already knew ... I think.” A soft laugh escapes me. I have no clue what drove him back then, but I hope it was the desire for a bigger world. “We’ve experienced a lot in that time, and I think ... even if I would like to say otherwise ... I wasn’t the best coach you could have had. I didn’t do you justice, I know that.”

  I know it now.

  Halloween wasn’t that long ago, but after that lovely evening I spent with everyone, I realised I rarely think about Coro. I kept telling myself that he was in good hands here. The conversation with Amethio beforehand, where I could let out all my worries, helped, and suddenly it didn’t seem so bad that Coro was no longer with me. It was fine, and I want it to stay that way.

  Anything else would be ridiculous.

  “We both had the same goal, and I think it’s normal to find out along the way how your goal was actually quite different. We both wanted to get out of Alola. But while I’m looking for answers ... maybe you’re just looking for a place that makes you happy.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Coro’s eyes open, and as he looks at me sideways again, I’m overcome with a gentle tingle. It’s as if he understands every word I say.

  It makes it easier to talk things through with him, even though I might look a little crazy.

  “It’s ... fine with me if you want to end your journey here.” That’s how it should be. Still, there’s this tightness in my chest that’s trying to suffocate me.

  There are so many things I can’t quite understand because feelings are complex and I have to question everything all the time. Like my affection for Amethio. This feeling of love that I want to push away and that is finally no longer fluttering like crazy but yet is no less intense. Just when I think I’ve got over it, I realise once again that I enjoy being with him and that I miss him a little when I haven’t seen him for two or three days.

  It’s the same with Coro in these seconds. After my match with Amethio and over Halloween, there was this peace inside me. The certainty that Toucannon is safe and happy and in good hands. All these thoughts felt a lot less like saying goodbye than this moment of everything falling apart.

  It should be okay to let him go if that’s what he wants. But if I’m honest, I don’t want to. I want to prove that I can do him justice. That he’s a solid team member and that I’m counting on him. A thousand proofs he’s strong and that I need him – although the latter is probably a lie.

  “I’ll have to search a bit more before I can finish my journey,” I continue. It’s another thought I’ve barely dwelled on, but I’m sure one day, ten or twenty years from now, I’ll find a place I want to stay. Like Coro. “So ... I won’t force you to come with me if you’d rather stay with Unfezant.”

  All I can manage is a thin smile. Part of me wants to tell Toucannon that everything is all right. Even though I can barely breathe and my eyes are burning and my nose is tingling, I want to prove to him there’s nothing wrong with going our separate ways. After all, it’s not as if we’ll never see each other again.

  The Explorers’ headquarters are here, and I’m sure I’ll have endless opportunities to visit him. Maybe then my heart will get used to the fact his absence isn’t much different from his absence over Halloween.

  Actually, nothing will change. Except that I will eventually leave this region with one less Pokémon.

  Coro’s gentle coo reminds me of the lovely sounds that Unfezant sometimes makes in his direction, and I’m sure in those seconds he’s trying to tell me how likes me despite all my failings. It elicits a soundless laugh from me as I run a hand over his smooth beak and savour the warmth behind it.

  “You don’t have to decide right away.” I take a deep breath. “Not much is happening here at the moment. We’ll probably stay over Christmas. That’s still ... a lot of time. Other Explorers are monitoring the break-ins and all that, which means you can still make your decision in a month, if that’s easier for you.”

  He gives me a nod – clear and firm – so I swallow and drop the subject for the moment. One step at a time, that’s all that matters. As Amethio mentioned, it’s okay to focus on things one at a time rather than trying to break something over a leg. Here and now, the ‘Coro’ issue is closed for the time being. I can put it aside and devote myself to Conia and Fennel without feeling guilty.

  But turning around to the two of them doesn’t make things any easier. I want to discuss the issue further and find a solution. An answer is much easier than waiting in uncertainty. Still, I force myself to put some distance between me and the two women and sit down on a cushion next to the table.

  “Any news from Toucannon?” Fennel immediately turns her attention in my direction. Raising her brows, her eyes look very round under her glasses.

  “We agreed he could take a little more time before he has to decide,” I reply before turning my interest to Conia. “It’s not like we’re leaving here tomorrow, right?”

  Mouth twisted, Conia tilts her head from side to side. “Probably not, but there’s a good chance we’ll be sent to Hoenn. Hamber has already approached Amethio. Master Gibeon doesn’t seem too keen on sending us, but right now the others are all tied up, and there’s no way we can send those without rank who just do the loading and hauling.”

  I know the Explorers’ travelling around can be counted on both hands. As far as I know, Spinel is currently working on the Dream Mist with a woman called Agate. On top, he seems to have other research going on that he can’t turn his back on.

  Then there are the two people I met once. This odd couple consisting of the energetic girl and the tall bloke.

  Including Amethio’s squad, the Explorers have five admins, two assistants, Hamber, Gibeon, and me. If I assume Gibeon is busy funding the Explorers and offloading missions to others, that leaves nine people travelling around. Eight, if I assume Hamber only leaves the base occasionally when he has to.

  That makes five teams at best, and between us, there’s science, testing, the black Rayquaza, the Rising Volt Tacklers with Terapagos in tow, and now maybe the problem that’s brewing in Hoenn, which could mean we have to deal with something else temporarily.

  All of this is far from ideal, but it’s probably not bad enough to get Gibeon to hire more people to make themselves useful outside the storerooms.

  A long-drawn-out sigh escapes me as I massage my temple with two fingers and try not to think about all this. In these seconds, it’s easier to follow orders than to worry about who has to take care of what. This chaos belongs solely to the leader of the whole thing.

  “Oh, that reminds me, there’s something else I should pass on to you!” Out of nowhere, Fennel speaks up, so Conia and I drop the subject of Hoenn and turn our attention to the professor, who digs her Rotom Phone out of the pocket of her lab coat. “I don’t have much to do with them, but now and then paths cross because everything needs a bit of research,” she continues. “Anyway, one of the region’s champs got in touch with me ... Alder. He said he’d like to meet with you and hopes you might make some time for him.”

  Alder. The man who, between all the confusion of Zekrom and Natural and me, was momentarily horrified by my presence. Someone who seems to know something about me and is, therefore, another source of information that might help me. Unlike Ghetsis, he gave a solid impression. And since he’s a champion, I can’t imagine him cornering me in the same way Team Plasma tried.

  “Did he say when would suit him?” I fold my hands and lean forward a little.

  Fennel takes a quick look at the display on her Rotom before nodding. “He suggested you meet next week on Friday. At Café Sonata.”

  At least I know where our meeting place is. This café is the first place I’ve settled here to let Unova wash over me. It also seems to be the point in this region where everything has started. There I savoured my change, tasted freedom and got to know Aurea Juniper. Small building blocks that will become even bigger when I meet Alder there.

  So I agree to the date, and Fennel texts him in a flash. This time I hopefully get a lot closer to myself, and although my heart is still as heavy as lead, I can’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. Maybe this time it’s okay to hope for answers.