Words could scarcely describe how I felt after my reunion with my parents. It was utterly amazing how relieved I was. The dark cloud of constant anxiety that had hung over me for months had all but dissipated, leaving only residual tenseness. And what hadn't left was unwillingly reserved for Valerie.

   But surprisingly, there had been no signs of her or the Insurgents in general. It may have had to do with the fact that we were constantly on the move, but it was a welcome change compared to the previous madness that nearly cost me what I considered to be my livelihood.

   I told Wallace and Winona what was going on, and I was shocked when they said that they still wanted to travel with me. This brought me great relief as well, adding on to what I already felt.

   Now freed from my oppressive guilt and shame, I was able to focus on my new goal: Becoming the Hoenn Champion. Two successful battles at the Petalburg Gym later, and we were on our way back to Hoenn's east side. Being that there was no real way to easily return to Mauville we had to backtrack through earlier towns. Besides Dewford, it was a trek through good memories, memories that seemed to happen so long ago yet were formed mere weeks prior.

A little over a month had now passed since we left Rustboro and we were on the route to Fortree City, home of the sixth Gym.

—~*~—

Orbit and Mantine stared each other down, the recently-evolved Claydol trying to seem intimidating against Mantine's impassive eyeing. The surrounding terrain was soaked with water, evidence of past Surfs and Bubblebeams.

   "Come on, Stevie! We've been waiting for almost two minutes," Wallace sighed.

   "Then it seems you'll have to give me another minute!" I responded, frustration glazing my reply. It wasn't because of his impatience, I could more than empathize with that, it was because it was my fault that we were in this situation. Orbit glanced back at me, hollow red and black gaze looking bored as well.

   "Says the person who wanted to train instead of continuing on," Wallace said with a smirk.

   "Touché," I replied. "If you so insist on rushing me..." I let a small smile take over. "Orbit, Hyper Beam."

   "What?" Wallace's cry went unheard as Orbit let loose a horizontal column of yellow and white energy that carved a gash into the earth and swallowed Mantine in its destructive wake. The attack continued to wreck havoc until Orbit had to stop to regain their strength. Mantine had been literally blown away into the nearby river where we found her floating and unconscious. Wallace angrily whirled to face me, and I spoke before he could say anything.

   "You have no reason to be mad at me. You wanted me to hurry, and that was what I did!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms defensively.

   "Okay, I won't push you into the river, then," Wallace passively replied, smiling when he saw my inadvertent look of brief shock. "When did Orbit learn Hyper Beam of all moves?" he asked.

   "It happened when they evolved. I checked their status at the Pokémon Center we visited that day, and I saw they had forgotten Reflect in place of Hyper Beam. I value Special Defense over Physical, so it wasn't too much of an issue," I answered, recalling Orbit. "My victory places us at an even one to one. Shall we go for a tiebreaker?"

   "Sounds good to me." He shrugged. "Swampert against Meteor?"

   I shook my head and took out a Poké Ball  from my bag. From on the grass next to my things, a sleepy Winona looked up at me. She gave me a quick thumbs-up before closing her eyes again. She had been napping there since I proposed this little training session, and I was amazed that she could sleep through all the racket our battles caused. I stood up and showed Wallace the Quick Ball I was holding.

   "I was thinking of using Maverick instead, actually. She hasn't had too many opportunities to battle, and I think she'll appreciate fighting your ace."

   "No, it's because you want the Flying-type advantage," Wallace scoffed.

   "It's all I can ask for after you had a Water advantage over Silvette and Orbit," I stated, shrugging. "I say it's only fair."

   "Fine, I'll play fair." The Water Trainer sent out Swampert, who had evolved after his battle with the Petalburg Leader's ace. He was a formidable opponent I was positive Maverick would love to fight.

   "I'm glad you could see my point." I let out my Skarmory and she instantly psyched herself up for the oncoming battle, spreading her metallic feathers and throwing a devilishly playful look Swampert's way. "Maverick, start by using Agility!" I called to my Pokémon. Maverick closed her eyes, allowing herself to become more relaxed but alert at the same time.

   "Swampert, use Rock Slide!" Swampert slammed his powerful fists into the ground, causing the earth to rupture slightly and toss a dozen large stones into the air that then rained down on Maverick.

   "Dodge it and use Steel Wing!" Maverick spread her wings out and took off, dancing around what airborne boulders she could and cleaving in half what she couldn't with her now-strengthened wings. Beautifully glimmering feathers of light flecked from her wings and trailed behind her, disintegrating as they touched the ground.

   I had liked Steel Wing since the moment she first demonstrated it in battle, and it only took twice more of her using it for me to fall in love with the move. It was so cold and unrelenting yet irresistibly flashy in execution. I think those descriptors were what drew me to Pokémon like her in the first place.

   Maverick finished the attack expertly, slamming her wings into Swampert and soaring upwards out of range. "Double back and use Slash!" I commanded next. Maverick lapsed into a midair backflip, throwing her talons out before her and preparing another strike.

   "Counter with Surf!" Wallace retaliated. A wave of water rushed out of the river behind Swampert and crashed into Maverick. She was swept up in the torrent and thrown to the grass. She scrambled to her feet, dripping wet and struggling to gain purchase on the wet flora until she could sink her talons into it. When Swampert laughed at her fumbling she let out an angry shriek and gave him a death glare.

   "Use Agility again." If Swampert tried to use Surf so suddenly again, Maverick could out-speed him. Maverick wasn't so keen on not attacking as she directed her glare at me but still used Agility nonetheless.

   "Swampert, use Take Down!" He ran at Maverick, dead set on hitting her even at the cost of some of his own health.

   "Use Steel Wing!" The Armor Bird Pokémon shot off like a bullet towards the oncoming Mud Fish, flying at him in a silver blur. She plowed into him, and her insane momentum drove both him and herself into the river. My heart stopped dead at that. She had gone way too fast. "Maverick? Maverick?" I called her name frantically, searching the water's surface for any sign of my Pokémon.

   A dazed Swampert then emerged from the river, holding Maverick under one arm. He unceremoniously deposited the waterlogged bird on the shoreline and collapsed in a dead faint. A second later Maverick sprung back to life, anxiously jumping about and shaking off water, anticipating Swampert's next move. Obviously, she had no need to. She observed her fallen opponent and screeched triumphantly when she realized her victory.

   "Skarr!" Maverick crowed happily and tugged at my hair with her beak. I cried out more in surprise than pain and stroked her head in return.

   "I know, Maverick! We won and you did an amazing job," I praised her. She crowed again and rested her head on my shoulder.

   "Well, that happened," Wallace muttered as he returned Swampert to his ball. "You seem to be getting better recently. Are you doing some super secret training you should totally let me in on?"

   "You answered your own question. It's a secret for a reason," I said slyly.

   Why don't you tell him? I'm sure he could find it useful, Meteor suggested.

   Didn't you hear me say it was a secret? I replied. I wasn't about to tell him what I'd been up to. Wallace seemed surprised by my response, though for what reason I couldn't fathom.

   "It's nearly six. Should we set up camp for tonight? Winnie's been nodding off since noon." He looked to his sister who was still asleep, using our bags as pillows. "And looking at the time we have an hour or two of light left at best. At least, I think so. It's hard to tell with all the clouds. Looks like it might rain tonight."

   "If that is the case then it's probably for the best if we make camp now. I'm not in the mood to be caught in a storm." I directed my gaze up at the sky. Wallace was right, it did look like it was going to rain. At the moment the trees were our best source of cover. Gathering up our belongings, we retreated into the treeline where we proceeded to make camp for the night.

   As was the norm by now, around three in the morning I was jolted awake by the nightmares I had all but grown accustomed to. They still terrified me, but pretending they were normal was all I could do to keep myself from not sleeping altogether.

   Upon returning to conciousness, I heard the sound of light tapping. I looked out of my sleeping bag to see faint white lines streaking through the air, landing in small puddles that hadn't been there when I fell asleep. Rain. The tapping I heard was from a stray drop or two hitting the bag every so often where the trees couldn't shield it. Setting up in the forest had proved to be the right choice. This wouldn't change what I planned on doing next, though. The rain wouldn't stop me.

   I climbed out of my sleeping bag, went into my satchel, and took out a nondescript blue notebook and a pen I had stored in there. Once I had the items in hand I pulled up my jacket hood and vanished into the trees.

   The rain fell softly as I made my way through the night-cloaked forest. Refreshingly cool droplets dappled my clothing with small dots and the air hung heavy with moisture, giving it a damp but clean scent.

   Rainfall was one of the few weather conditions I knew of, and it was by far my favorite. Sinnoh and Unova were known to be frequented by rainstorms, they were practically marshes compared to Hoenn's desert-like dryness. If I were ever to travel abroad, perhaps I would make either of the regions my first destination merely because of the weather.

   I soon found myself at the base of a large tree with sprawling roots and a wide canopy. It wasn't too far from the camp but was distant enough for a sense of seclusion, perfect for my needs. Taking a seat on a cluster of roots, I removed the notebook from the safety of my jacket and opened it, uncapping the pen as I did so.

   To anyone, a quick glance would make the cursive lettering scrawled across each page look like nonsensical gibberish. One page contained a list of what looked like names with a series of check marks and "X's" scribbled next to them. Another had line after line of sentences, each starting with the same one or two words and ending with a set of tally marks. And more had random notes, seemingly disconnected from one another in terms of content.

   I began looking over my notes. Always begin with Iron Defense, avoid Physical with S,R,G, and F, and refresh Light Screen and Reflect every three turns. I crossed out Reflect and added a new note. Two Agilities before attacking.

   At it again, huh? Meteor asked tiredly.

  Of course, I replied. How else can I keep myself busy?

   You really need to cut back on this, he said, sounding concerned. Losing so much sleep isn't good for you, you know that!

   I'm used to it, I replied with a shrug that would go unseen. You should be out here strategizing with me. You're my lead Pokémon, you need to communicate what I cannot to your teammates.

   I was out two nights ago!

   Suit yourself, I remarked. Knowing his complaints were falling on deaf ears, or a stubborn mind in this case, Meteor sighed and went silent. It was now me and the rain, the two of us tolerating the other's company. For countless minutes all that could be heard was the scratching of pen against paper, hardly perceptible over the late-night storm.

   An indeterminate amount of time passed, and out of nowhere I heard the crack of a twig. My muscles tensed, and I instantly became acutely aware of every little sound in my immediate vicinity. I didn't think there would be any wild Pokémon awake or out at this hour.

   "Stevie?"

   My head snapped up, and I relaxed when I saw Wallace standing on the edge of the tree's protective canopy. His clothes were damp from being out in the rain, and he had a puzzled look on his face. He flinched back a little when he saw me.

   It came as no surprise to me why he did this. With my hood casting shadows on my face, my eyes stood out dramatically against the dark circles under them that had all but become a part of who I was at this point. They appeared as rings of sky blue against near-blackness that made me look positively haunting to an unsuspecting witness.

   "It's you," I mumbled when my eyes met his. "What are you doing out here?" I asked, raising my voice so it was actually audible.

   "I was going to ask you the same thing. These two were freaking out and after they accidentally woke me up, they insisted on dragging me into the forest after them. I guess they were looking for you," he responded. With those words, River and Vinya literally fell out of some nearby bushes, landing in a blue and green heap.

"Arma!" River pointed at me excitedly and Vinya emitted a hissing noise in agreement. I frowned and gave them a stern look.

   "I'm sorry if I caused either of you to worry but you both know I wouldn't go anywhere without Meteor. Besides, do you think I would go too far knowing what could be out here?" I questioned them bitterly. The two Rock-types adverted their gazes sheepishly. I realized how harsh I was sounding and tried to soften my tone. "I'm not mad at you. I know you're following Dad's orders. You can go back to the camp and wait for me there, I won't be out here for much longer."

River shook his head. "Ma! Arma!" He seemed to insist on staying.

Wallace turned to the Plate Pokémon. "I'll be staying out here, too, River. I'll make sure your Trainer doesn't get hurt," he promised. River squinted suspiciously at the teen, reluctant.

"Crayy..." Vinya looked disappointed but complied, hauling River to his feet with her petal-like tendrils and pulling him away with her. He then finally gave in and left with his prehistoric companion.

"Thank you, Wallace." I watched the retreating forms of my "guardians," sighing. "I thought they were used to me doing this by now. It has easily been a month since I first started it."

"What are you doing, anyways?"

   "I... I couldn't sleep and decided to try and get some fresh air," I replied quickly. "The night air really is nice," I waited for him to respond. All he did was shift from foot to foot awkwardly. "Wh-why don't you come sit? It's better than loitering about there like that." I offered.

   "You sure can be blunt when you want to," he laughed as he sat down on a root a preferable amount of distance from where I was. I noticed him trying to look at my notebook. So much for keeping something a secret.

   "If you really want to know what I'm doing, I'm writing down strategies and taking notes." I showed him the book. "After all, a Pokémon can only be as good as their Trainer."

   "Is that your secret training technique? Taking notes?"

   "Partially. On nights when they're feeling up to it, I test out these strategies with my Pokémon. If they work then great, I can leave the note. If not, I cross it out."

   "Knowing you, I'm sure not many of your strategies don't wor—whoa." He stopped when I showed him two entire pages of scribbled-out notes. "Never mind then." I handed him the notebook and he proceeded to scan its pages. "This is crazy. You've figured out the type-advantage and weakness charts for your entire team, and you made guidelines for entire battles depending on whether you're facing a Physical or Specially-proficient Pokémon."

   "When you're striving to be Champion, you need to try and plan out a few things," I commented. "Although it seems I have every possible matchup scenario planned out, it's all purely superficial. In truth, you'll never know what kinds of opponents you'll come up against. But writing it all down makes me feel more confident, in an odd way."

   "Yeah, that makes sense." Wallace nodded as he kept flipping through the pages of my strategy guide. While I watched him do this I realized that this was one of the only "normal" conversations I'd had with him. A drop of normalcy in a lake of oddities. How ironic considering that it was raining.

   "You've changed."

   That came out of nowhere. Wallace's face had taken on a look of intensity as he looked up at me. "I've 'changed?'" I asked, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

   "You haven't noticed it? You weren't ever this serious about battling before. When we were training earlier you seemed a lot more... I don't know, self-assured? And it's sort of carried over into your overall demeanor. I didn't really notice it until then."

   I haven't noticed it either. It wasn't too difficult figuring out why I was apparently acting differently. I had promised Dad I would become the Champion, and he said he had faith in me. That bit of reassurance was something I clung to like a lifeline. If he thought I could do it, then I know I could. "Why? Are my changes not preferable?"

   "No, of course not! It's great that you're acting more confident." He handed back my notebook. "You have it all figured out, don't you?" I let my confused expression be my answer and he continued. "You have a goal: Become the Champion. Battling is your life and you're happy with it. Meanwhile I'm still floundering about trying to figure out what I should do. After we left Rustboro I realized that I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. Traveling with you has been fun and all, but what'll happen if you achieve your goal?"

   "There are no 'ifs,' I'm going to be Champion," I stated.

   "But when that happens, I don't know what I'll do. I'm sure Winnie won't want me to follow her around for the rest of her journey, and my parents wouldn't appreciate me sticking around Sootopolis for another year or two."

   He went quiet for a moment as his expression grew solemn. With a sigh, he continued speaking.

   "I don't want to remain a normal Trainer forever, I want to make something of myself. But Coordinating isn't appealing to me anymore, and while I love battling, trying to become Champion myself seems like a goal I'll never reach because I don't take battling as serious as a Champion should. I guess that doesn't make us rivals anymore, huh?" he laughed weakly.

   I always thought Wallace knew what he was doing with his life. Hearing him sound so unsure of himself was borderline depressing. "Do what makes you happy." I found myself repeating a phrase I'd heard so much it was ingrained in me. "It's all you can really do. Find something in between and reach for that."

   Wallace scoffed. "You make it sound so simple."

   "Then try to make it simple for yourself," I said plainly. I didn't know what other advice I could offer. "That is what I'm trying to do, and it's working for me."

   "If you think it'll work, then I'll try." His expression shifted, turning brighter, and with it his mood uplifted. "I'm glad I'm traveling with you, Stevie. Thanks," he said.

   "You're the one who asked me initially," I responded, tilting my head. "There isn't any need for thanks."

   "Well, you're getting it regardless," he said matter-of-factly. "Funny how all this started with us running into each other. I guess the stars must've bumped into one another while aligning, huh?"

   I exhaled a small laugh and smiled. He was definitely feeling better now. I hoped I helped him with this. He had helped me so much thus far, I had to return the favor in some way, no matter how miniscule. Finding your purpose was one of those things you could only do yourself. I thought about how quickly I had found mine and realized how blessed I was when it came to that.

   Wallace then stood up and held out his hand to me. "Wanna head back now?" he asked. I nodded, accepting his offer. He pulled me to my feet, and we left the cover of the tree. All was silent, save for our footsteps treading across the puddle-ridden forest floor.

   The days that followed went by swiftly with nothing of note happening. Whenever we weren't walking we were training. I was determined to be prepared for the Fortree Gym, and I wanted Wallace to be ready alongside me. Winona was content to cheer us on from the sidelines, and her flock of birds joined in on it with gusto. I felt like this was what a journey was meant to be like, and I made sure to imprint every one of this blissful events in my mind. Then at long last, we arrived in Fortree City.

   My memories of the one and only time I visited this city were complete understatements. Impossibly tall ancient trees with houses sat in their branches that perfectly blended in with the surrounding foliage made up the majority of the city. The sky was almost entirely covered by leaves and small gaps in the expansive canopies were like windows to the sky above. Wooden walkways suspended dozens of feet above the ground by ropes connected the treetop houses, making for a network of thin roads. It was an awe-inspiring sight to behold.

   "I wonder where the Gym could be in all of this?" I wondered aloud.

   "Don't tell me we have to go up there..?" Wallace asked faintly, staring worriedly at the mess of bridges. I'd almost forgotten he was afraid of heights.

   "If you want to challenge the Fortree Gym then you're gonna have to." A middle-aged woman riding an Altaria emerged from behind a tree, looking down at us, and smiling wryly. She landed a yard from us and dismounted her Pokémon. She was short and somewhat stocky with shortly cut blonde hair dressed in varying shades of blue and white, wearing a pair of goggles that were similar to Winona's.

   "The name's Sierra, and I'm the Fortree Gym Leader," the woman introduced herself proudly. "Going off of this handsome young man's words, I'm guessing you're challengers?" She cocked an eyebrow and pushed her goggles up.

   I felt my face redden as I nodded. "Yes, we are," I agreed. "Are you accepting challenges at the moment?"

   Sierra's reply was cut off by a loud gasp that came from Winona. "You train bird Pokémon, don't you?" the young girl cried excitedly.

   "If you want to be technical, then I specialize in Flying-types. But yes, I have a soft spot for the feathered creatures." She patted her Altaria's cloudy feathers. "It seems I've found another bird lover! Why else would you be wearing those other than for some high flying?" The Leader pointed to Winona's goggles, grinning.

   "Yeah, bird Pokémon are my favorite! I have a Combusken, Pelipper, and a Skarmory!" Winona stated proudly.

   As the two bird enthusiasts talked I glanced at Wallace who was staring at the ground, pale-faced. "There's probably a way we can get to the Gym without having to go up too high. A Leader surely wouldn't alienate her challengers like that," I said.

   "I hope you're right," he muttered, swallowing thickly.

   I gave him a reassuring smile. "You know, I haven't forgotten what happened in Lavaridge. You helped me, and rival or not I want to do the same for you. If a coward like me can face my fear, then I know you can do the same."

   "Thanks, I appreciate it," he sighed, trying to mirror my smile. "But... you can go first."

   "I'm fine with that," I said.

   "So who wants the first challenge?" Sierra asked.

   "I'd like to, ma'am," I answered.

   "Do you have any flying Pokémon? Not Flying-type, I mean Pokémon that can naturally fly or levitate."

   Meteor, Orbit, and Maverick came to mind instantly. "I have three."

   "Great! This is gonna work out perfectly! Three on three it is!" she exclaimed, distracted by her own excitement.

   She returned her Altaria and tossed its ball to me. I only managed to catch it out of reflex, and I spared myself from having the metal sphere smack against my forehead. This was followed by her then throwing me something else that I almost fell over from trying to snatch it from the air. It was an earpiece, similar to the one I had seen Arietta wearing.

   "You're going to need some assistance if all your flying Pokémon are gonna be in use," Sierra said. "And don't worry, Alti's used to being lent out like this."

   "What are you talking about? Why are you giving me these things?" I questioned, absolutely bewildered.

    Sierra turned to me, her eyes gleaming brightly through her goggles and an exhilarated grin almost splitting her face in two. "You ever heard of Sky Battles?"