An unusual ringing sounded from my backpack, interrupting my conversation with Bree. She watched me curiously as I rummaged around until I had located my PokeCom. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw who was calling but I quickly accepted the call and brought it to my ear.

"Hi Aryan," I responded, albeit a little hesitantly. He had really scared me with his last set of texts, I hoped that this would be a happy call. "What's up?"

"Where are you at right now?" Aryan responded immediately and I stiffened, glancing around at the forest path we were walking on.

"Ummmm," I said hesitantly, looking up and down and trying to figure out how to describe where we were.

"Tell him we're about halfway between Veilstone City and Celestic City," Bree said quietly.

"We're already halfway?" I asked in surprise and Bree shrugged.

"We'll probably be close to halfway if Aryan is planning to try and catch up to us," Bree said with a chuckle.

"Tell her being cheeky won't get me there any faster," Aryan said with a chuckle, obviously having heard our conversation.

"He said that being cheeky won't get him here any faster," I relayed to Bree with a teasing smirk and I grinned widely when her cheeks colored and she folded her arms with a huff.

"Who said I wanted you here anyway?" Bree snapped out, loud enough for Aryan to hear her. I switched it to speakerphone and Aryan's deep chuckle floated out loudly from the speaker.

"You know, Bree. If you were a pokemon you would be a Togedemaru; cute and adorable one second but then you unleash your spikes and wreak havoc."

Bree spluttered and I could tell that her brain was spinning between trying to get over the fact that Aryan had just called her cute and vicious within seconds of each other. I couldn't help but laugh and soon all three of us began listing what pokemon we thought the other was most like. The conversation came to an end though when Aryan said he had gotten to his motorcycle and would see us as soon as he could. I was a little confused why he was suddenly coming to join us, but Bree began ranting at how she hated how Aryan treated her like a kid but in the same breath was moaning about how hot his voice sounded over the phone and my question was quickly forgotten.

The next few days went by fairly quietly. Bree and I traveled for a few hours every day, then set up camp so she could get some training in and I could practice for my upcoming contest. I was really excited because It was another double battle contest and I would be using Majestoat and Milotic in the performance round.

I had been deep in concentration as I explained to my pokemon exactly the move combination I wanted to create for the performance when the sound of flapping wings caught my attention. Turning around, I gasped when I saw a gigantic dragon type descending from the sky, swooping down straight towards me. My fight or flight instincts kicked in and I scrambled back, giving the monstrous pokemon ample space as his leathery wings beat at the air to stabilize himself before touching his trunk-like legs down to the ground.

Blinking in surprise, I couldn't help but smile when a familiar form slid off from the large Salamence's back and gave his neck an affectionate pat. Majestoat beat me to my greeting though. She practically flew across the grass as she ran towards Aryan and leaped up, landing on his hip and dexterously scrambling up his clothes so she could sniff his neck and face in a warm greeting.

Aryan laughed and gripped Majestoat around the waist, dangling her in the air in front of him as she wriggled and tried to get back to continue sniffing his face. I laughed as well and jogged over to Aryan, taking Majestoat from his hands and holding her gently against my chest.

"I thought you were riding your motorcycle here," I commented as Majestoat twisted in my arms and pulled herself up so she could drape herself across my shoulders, letting her long tail hang down in front of me. Her cold nose nuzzled against my neck, causing me to flinch slightly before she rested her head on top of her paws and let out a content sigh.

"I can't give both you and Bree a ride on the bike so I left it in Veilstone and had Salamence give me a ride to catch up with you two," Aryan said with a shrug, tossing a berry at Salamence who snapped it from the air and devoured it in two large bites.

"I'm glad you decided to join us for a bit," I said with a grin, although I was still a little worried about why his sudden change of heart had occurred. "How long can you stay?"

"We'll see," Aryan said vaguely, reaching out and ruffling a hand through my bangs. I swatted his hand away with a laugh and he smiled down gently at me. "Where did Bree get to?"

"She took her pokemon out for a run," I explained, pointing in the direction I had last seen them heading. "Everyone except Avalugg of course."

"Mmm," Aryan intoned before looking over at Milotic who was basking in the sun. "Are you... practicing?"

"Yup!" I said happily, gesturing to Milotic. "Celestic City has a contest coming up soon that I am getting prepared for. If I win then that will be my fifth ribbon and I'll be able to participate in the Grand Festival!"

"Ah..." Aryan said, sounding awkward. I frowned, confused by his reaction. Honestly, I thought he would have been excited for me, but he seemed to have something on his mind as he glanced between me and my pokemon.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling alright?" I asked, walking closer and peering up into his face to see if maybe he was lacking sleep. Aryan blinked down at me and I yelped when he suddenly reached out and flicked my forehead. I clapped my hands to my head, staring up at him in surprise and he let out an awkward chuckle.

"I feel fine," he said, resting a hand on his hip. "You should be worried about yourself instead of me."

My lips stretched down in a deep frown at this comment and I slowly lowered my hands from my forehead. Seeming to sense the mood change, Majestoat lifted her head from my shoulder and whistled gently into the air as if she were trying to dispel the heavy tension that was suddenly around us.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly, slowly folding my arms against my stomach. When Aryan didn't give me an immediate answer my frown deepened even further. "Why did you come, Aryan?"

A deep sigh fell from his mouth as he looked at me with a painful sigh. "I'm sorry, Serena. But I need you to not participate in any contests for a little while."

I blinked rapidly at this unexpected request and I could feel my entire face scrunch up with confusion.

"What? Why?" I asked incredulously, looking over my shoulder at Milotic who had raised her head, apparently having overheard our conversation. "I just need one more ribbon!"

"It's just for a little while," Aryan said soothingly, holding up one finger. "Just one month."

"A whole month?" I gasped in shock. "But Aryan, the qualifying contests will practically be over in a month! I don't understand. Why can't I participate in contests?"

"Oi! What's going on?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Bree's voice called out from behind me. I turned to see her jogging up to us, breathing hard from her run. Her pokemon were already beginning their warmups for battle practice farther down the path and I wondered how I had not heard them all coming up the path.

"Aryan doesn't want me to compete in contests for a month," I said petulantly. Honestly, it almost felt like I was tattling to my older sister, but my insides were boiling with confusion and indignation over this ridiculous request that Aryan had made.

"Hah?" Bree asked in shock, pulling up her shirt to wipe at the sweat on her lip as she looked at Aryan with confusion. "Why can't Serena participate in contests?"

"Does it matter?" Aryan asked with a shrug. "It isn't safe for Serena to participate in contests for the next little while."

"Not safe? Risa's a coordinator too, is she in danger?" Bree asked, her spine instantly straightening as a protective glint entered her green eyes. Aryan winced but then reluctantly shook his head.

"No... your sister should be fine," Aryan said hesitantly. I blinked and frowned up at Aryan. I had never seen him as anything but confident, but he looked hesitant and awkward now.

"So only Serena is in danger? Why?" Bree asked, reaching out and holding onto my elbow. I looked down at her strong grip on my arm before returning my gaze to Aryan. He reached up and ran his fingers through his feathery bangs, obviously trying to decide what he should say. My mind called up the memory of his last cryptic texts that he had sent me and I frowned deeply.

"Does this have something to do with that evil organization you were telling me about? Team Galaxy or something?" I asked quietly. Bree's entire body tensed at my question and I looked over at her to see her gaping at me in shock.

"Do you mean Team Galactic? What the heck is going on, Aryan?" Bree demanded, taking an intimidating step towards him. Aryan was not cowed though, he only looked sad as he let out a sigh and shook his head.

"I can't tell you girls any details," Aryan said apologetically before his eyes flicked over and seemed to settle on Majestoat for a moment before he turned them to focus on me. "But I can't let you participate in any contests for the next month, Serena. Please trust me on this."

Bree huffed and muttered under her breath something about cops being full of themselves but I looked up at Aryan, meeting his serious brown eyes. I believed him when he said he couldn't tell me any details, I didn't know about Team Galactic but obviously Bree had recognized the name and it wasn't like I wanted to be difficult but...

"But... I'm so close," I said, hating the wobble that was in my voice. "I don't want to just give up like this."

"You don't have to, Serena. Just wait for things to blow over. I'll keep you company until it's safe to go back to participating in contests," Aryan said with a grin that was obviously meant to cheer me up, but only made me feel worse.

"But I thought you were looking for someone... I don't want to keep you from your work," I said with a heavy frown.

"What I don't get," Bree interrupted, stepping up and poking Aryan in the chest lightly. "Is how Serena managed to get tangled up with Team Galactic in the first place. I've been with her every step of the way and the worst thing we've come across was some class A bullies from Alola!"

I couldn't keep a shiver from going down my spine at the thought of the Stoak siblings. Aryan let out a sigh and I gasped at the same time as Bree let out a yelp when Aryan suddenly spun her around and pulled her into a headlock. Bree yelled angrily, pulling against his hold as Aryan began to tickle her sides. Majestoat, never one to turn away from a chance to cause mischief, leaped from my shoulders to land with her back feet on Bree's shoulder and her front feet on Aryan's and then stretched her tail down and began tickling Bree's other side.

Bree's laughter rang through the forest at the double attack. Normally the ridiculous scene would have made me laugh... but a deep sense of foreboding was making my insides numb and I rubbed my arms, surprised to feel that I had goosebumps forming even though the day was warm. A soft hum came from behind me and I looked over just as Milotic's large head extended over my shoulder so she could look me in the eye. I reached up to gently touch her scaly neck and she leaned forward gently, rubbing her cheek against mine in a comforting gesture.

Bree's laughter was turning into gasps and she finally begged for Aryan to stop. He let her go and she slithered down to the ground, panting heavily after the tickle attack and Majestoat hopped to the ground to press her nose against Bree's cheek. Aryan glanced over at me, noting my subdued expression, and sighed, plopping down on the ground next to Bree as she desperately sucked in oxygen and waved his hand towards me to signal me to come.

I slowly slipped away from Milotic's comforting presence and sat down on the other side of Bree, crossing my legs as I waited for Aryan to say something. He suddenly let out a pain-filled grunt when Bree whammed her closed fist into his thigh and he scowled down at her, rubbing the spot she had just pummeled.

"You deserved it," Bree huffed as she laboriously turned to her side and forced herself to sit next to me, rubbing her abs as if they were in pain from all of the laughing. Aryan's lips lifted into a half-smile and he shrugged, not looking at all sorry.

"I've had two days to figure out what to say to you girls and I still have no idea how to explain myself," Aryan said with a sigh, looking genuinely conflicted. "All I can say is that Serena needs to stay away from contests for the next few weeks. It's not just for her safety either... But I can't say any more than that."

I blinked, feeling my stomach flip at his strange explanation and I looked down at my hands. Not just my safety... is he talking about Satoshi? He couldn't be, right?

"Must be convenient being a cop so you get to know all these secrets and keep your friends in the dark," Bree huffed, obviously still annoyed at the tickle attack she had been put through.

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," Aryan said with a teasing glint in his eyes and Bree scoffed at him.

"Maybe I will," Bree shot back challengingly and my eyes widened.

"You want to join the police, Bree?" I asked in surprise and she blinked, seeming to only now realize what she had said.

"Pfft, yah right. I like pokemon battles too much," Bree said with a chuckle, looking off to the side as her cheeks colored slightly. She cleared her throat, seeming to reset herself before looking back over at Aryan. "Don't think you distracted me though, Aryan. What does Serena have to do with Team Galactic? I thought they were wiped out years ago."

Aryan grimaced at Bree and let out a sigh, running a hand through his bangs again in a sign of discomfort. "Team Galactic is the cockroach of the evil organizations around the world. No matter how many times you think you killed them they come back stronger than ever. But you don't have to worry, just stick with me and I'll make sure you're safe."

Bree scoffed, reminding him that they had tied in their recent pokemon battle, and told him not to be so cocky. That of course lit a fire in him and soon they had started a battle.

Normally I would have been interested to watch the battle, but not today. I turned away from their heated battle and walked over to where our tents were set up. Milotic slithered through the grass after me and when I sat down Milotic spun around me, laying her serpent-like body in a protective circle around me before resting her head in my lap. I smiled sadly down at Milotic and stroked her forehead, trying to come to terms with my emotions.

Of course, I trusted Aryan. If he said that I was in danger then I would be crazy to go to any contests until he said it was safe... But what if I waited a month and I wasn't able to win my last ribbon in the three contests that were left? I would feel like this whole journey had been a waste if I gave up now.

How will Satoshi find me again if I don't go to the Grand Festival? My treacherous thoughts whispered to me. I hated how sad I felt at the thought of never seeing Satoshi again. He had saved my, Absol's, and Misteon's life that night when he found us in the forest during a blizzard. But he still had not given me anyway to contact him... If I wasn't participating in contests then what were the chances of me stumbling into him again?

But is it Satoshi that Aryan is trying to protect me from? I wonder, feeling my heart clench tightly. I could not bring myself to believe that, but I hated the doubts that were flooding through my mind. It's not like I could deny how suspicious Satoshi acted, or the way he wouldn't let me contact him... but that didn't mean he was a member of an evil organization and had somehow put me in danger!

I couldn't bring myself to ask Aryan, though. On the off chance that this danger was related to Satoshi, I would prefer just not to know.

A/N *Peeks through a slit in a curtain* Uh hum. Hi there. So, it's been a REALLY long time and I am sorry that the chapter is on the shorter side... but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been waiting for this update. Especially @Tanishiistic Your little check up DM's really helped motivate me to write this chapter. I appreciate everyone's patience and support!