Bronze leaves the gym with his Pokemon flanking him on either side. His eyes are wild as he walks to Shauna and I, who are grabbing hands in the snow. He looks down at us and frowns slightly before coughing once. "We didn't even sustain injury. Team's fine."

"Bronze, I have something important to tell you." I say. Though he's only standing on a few steps before the gym, I feel like I'm looking up at him in more ways than one. He's hardly been himself lately. His Pokemon side shows a lot more now that he's further away for it than ever, as if he had pushed the warmth within him out into his clothing. His eyes are the same slightly narrowed Quilava eyes with their bright bronze pupils that I fell in love with. His breath rises like hot steam above us, a plume so large that from a distance, it looks as if he's smoking instead of breathing. He wears large navy hoodies with a rim around the neck that mirrors the perfect yellow underbelly of a Quilava, once so warm and comforting.

No, he's not a Quilava at all, I remind myself. He's a Typhlosion now, and as much as I've grown, he's come just as far in tandem.

"Well?" he asks. His Pokemon aren't even moving. There's a solemn unity to them that reminds me of league Pokemon, with bonds so strong you can almost feel them from your Pokeball but no warmth, no light, only power and cool energy.

"Shauna got a message from Diantha. We think Lysandre and Team Flare might have a plan that could endanger all of Kalos. If this is what all the prophecies and legends have led up to, we need to be there to help her." I tell him. Shauna nods, clenching my hand tighter. I can feel her heart beating in her wrist.

"Do you really think we can take them on alone?" Bronze asks.
"No. If this is really a Goldeneye plot, we'll need all the Goldeneyes in Kalos to do it." Shauna tells him. "We'll get... the team... back together." She stops for a second. She has no right to be talking about our team and she knows it. She's not one of us.

For a second, his eyes are warm again, even excited, and his mouth curls into a smile before falling straight into a line again. "So we're endangering everyone."

"We're saving a region." I reword it.
"No. You're absolutely right." he laughs, the warmth returning to his face along with the redness of his cheeks. "We're the heroes, right? I'm just a little paranoid. Olympia's gym really did a number on me. You and I can call everyone up right away." He walks up to me and gives me a little tap on the back, sending goosebumps up my spine. Whipping out his Pokedex, he dials up a number as we head towards a nearby hotel. Inside is a lavish but conveniently mainly empty room (except for a few landlines) and we sit down to begin making calls.

"Who takes who?" I ask.

"You can talk to Dill and Toxis while I take Shell and Dusty. Then we can both call Shika together. Three way conference call." he says.

I nod. "I only wish it could really be everyone."
I wait for Bronze to say, me too, but he already has the Pokedex pressed up to his ear. "Hello?"
I dial in Dill and Toxis's number and wait for them to pick up. Sure enough CrobatChat does not disappoint and immediately Toxis's gravelly voice rings through the phone. "Hello?"

"It's me. Are you up for a rendezvous in Lumiose in three days?"

"Hello, 'me', this is your local demon rodent, and though it's extremely inconvenient, I suppose we can do it. What's the occasion?"
"Probably the apocalypse." I tell him matter-of-factly. "Lysandre and Team Flare are building some new invention and Diantha wants Shauna's help in destroying it. Due to some other coincidences, we have reason to believe it could be extremely dangerous."
"After last time, I'm not liking our odds." Toxis says quietly.

"Not with that attitude." I tell him. "This time, we've got a legendary Goldeneye and another legendary hero on our side. We're not going to fail again." I try to convince myself.

"Don't try to convince me. I'm already sold. Just a bit concerned." His voice goes silent for a bit. "We're going to have to delay the ceremony, Dill. There's trouble in Lumiose. I'm assuming we'll get the details later." He pauses before adding, "We'll get out the Impala."
"Yes!" yells Dill in the background. "Road trip! Oh yeah, Lilly! Klaki wants to talk to you?"

Loud, garbled screaming roars through the phone.

"Am I losing connection?" I ask.

"Nope. I can hear him loud and clear. Do you think you can't communicate with Pokemon through a phone?" asks Toxis. "Definitely makes sense. Perhaps our powers work solely in the flesh."

"I suppose so." I say. "Tell him I'll see him soon."

More screaming. "He's excited." Toxis says. "Hey. Before I go... mind promising me something?"

"Of course." I say.

"If anything happens to me..." his voice lowers. "Take Dill and find some way to get him out of there." The phone clicks as he hangs up.

"How'd it go?" Bronze asks, standing across from me.

"They're in." I say.

"Dusty and Shell can get us set up in Lumiose. They're there now." Bronze says. "We're renting half a hall of a hotel. This is going to be unbelievably fun. Say, do you have Chompers's contact information?"
"I remember the lab he works with." I tell Bronze. "We can ask later. For now, we should probably talk with Shika and Ferro."

He nods and we dial at the same time. Shika picks us both up. "Bronze, is that you?" she asks.

Bronze says nothing. "Sure is," I say in his stead.

"We've been trying to contact you forever!" Shika says indignantly. "We found them! We scoured hundreds of record books to do so and probably broke the law at least three times, but we finally found them!"

"Found who?" I ask.

"Sky and Khrys. Khrys is an aviation pilot and Sky is apparently off work right now. She's pregnant. This was great news, especially after we found Rage and Millie too, but you've probably already told Lilly that, right? The only one we're missing is Peckers."

Bronze says nothing, but across the room, the Pokedex trembles in his hand. I glare contemptuously. They found Sky and Khrys but said nothing? Why didn't they tell me? My head's spinning but I ignore it, trying to stay matter-of-fact. Calm, Lilly, calm...

"I don't think we're going to get a hold of him." I say.

"Oh," echoes Shinka through the phone. "Really?"
"Not to be rude, but... were you two close?" I ask. "I wasn't on the team until after you guys... erm."

"Died." Shinka finishes. "Not at all. I just see him in my dreams sometimes. It seems like he's calling out to me. He's looking for a companion."

"No." I say, remembering something from months ago. "Ashley told me... don't wait up for him. I think he's still-"

"Wait, you talked to Ashley? When?! What's going on?"

"I'll tell you everything in Lumiose. We need you to meet us there in three days. I'll send you room details and hotel when we get the information."

"You have sooo much explaining to do." Shika says, her tone menacingly cold. "Both of you."

"You're the one who didn't tell us you found Khrys and Sky! Don't you think I would care about that?" Bronze roars into the phone.

"You didn't care about Rage or Millie, now did you?" she snaps.

"What, a murderer and a lousy replacement? The only thing I could ever feel for either of them is pity, and we allll know how useless pity is." Bronze matches her tone, imitating the almost too exaggerated rises and drops in her voice.

"You're disgusting."

"He's hurt and scared!" I object.
"I am not! Lilly, for Arceus's sake, get your head out of matters that have nothing to do with you!" Bronze yells into the phone, his voice echoing across the room.
"This has everything to do with me!" I scream back, tears running down my face.
"My battle." His voice is a low growl, barely human.
"Our war!"

He hangs up, and I turn across the room with narrowed eyes spilling over with tears. "What's wrong with you?"
He clenches his hands and then unclenches them. He does this again several times without speaking, his shoulders rising and falling. "There's a train in an hour to Lumiose. I'm going to grab my stuff and leave."

"Without us?"
"You know where to meet me."
"Bronze!" I yell desperately, not moving a muscle as he opens the door and quickly withdraws all of his Pokemon. His Pokemons' eyes are wide, but he doesn't hesitate once. I run after him, but he dashes away into the streets and flees into the train station. I bite my own lip, stopping in the cold as Shauna and her team rush to meet me.

"What happened?"

"Shauna... I don't know if my team's going to be as happy to help as I thought they would. This is going to be a rocky family reunion."