We traveled across the water in complete silence. Me on Voir, Nate and Rosa on Saber, and Hugh on Coral. It was close to daybreak and the sun was just beginning to crest the horizon. The huge yellow sphere streaked the black sky with red and pink and turned the water into a shimmering sheath of orange. It was a beyond beautiful sight. If only I were able to enjoy it to its fullest.

The tension in the air was so thick it could've been cut with a knife. I could tell they wanted to ask me questions, anyone who knew who I really was did. Always; Why did you leave? What happened between you and the Hero of Truth? And the always prevalent: How are you able to talk with Pokemon? Though I was sure they didn't know I could do that last thing.

As Driftveil's coast came into view, I couldn't take it anymore. "You want answers, right?" I asked suddenly, turning my head to look at them. They looked up at me with tired expressions and it dawned on me that none of them had slept. I was used to sleepless nights, so pulling an all-nighter wasn't too rare of a thing for me. I also had to factor in that all three of these kids were hurt in some way. Nate had his slashes, Rosa her bruises, and Hugh's head injury. I was genuinely surprised that they were holding up as well as they were.

"Of course we do," Hugh said.

"You could've told us that an hour ago," Nate added in a weak voice. Rosa didn't say anything, she just nodded in response to Nate's comment.

"Yeah... you're right," I laughed nervously. "After we get everything sorted out at the Pokémon Center, I'll answer any question you ask, okay?"

"Can I ask one right now?" Nate said. "Won't people recognize you when we get to Driftveil?"

Now that he mentioned it, how would I hide my identity? The mask and uniform were great, but I couldn't very well just waltz into a public facility wearing such shady garb. Wait a second! I then remembered that Nate had a Zorua. I had heard her calling out to me while I was rescuing the young Trainers' stolen Pokémon. Zorua could cast illusions, capable of disguising itself and any being it focused its power on. That was it!

"Hey Nate, can I borrow your Zorua? I have an idea," I asked.

"I guess so... why?" He tossed his Zoura's Poké Ball to me. He had good aim, and I was able to catch it with ease.

"Zorua is known as the Tricky Fox Pokémon. It can disguise itself to look like any Pokémon, or even a person if they're experienced enough," I explained. "Though it hasn't been recorded too often, it can disguise actual people. Both my friend and I had used this ability quite a few times, actually."

"So you want Zorua to change your appearance? Great idea," Hugh commented.

"When you're one of the most recognizable people in Unova, you get good at finding ways to hide your identity," I said, shrugging. "I'll show you how it works when we get back to Driftveil."

Our Pokemon dropped us off on a small beach located near Driftveil's cargo yard. I recalled Coral and Voir, and Nate recalled Saber. While I was putting Voir and Coral's Poké Balls in my bag, I found a hair tie in the bottom of my bag, left there when I was forced to cut my hair. I quickly put my hair into a low-lying Ponyta-tail, it had grown past my shoulders and I was glad to get it out of the way. After that, I let Zorua out of her ball. When I saw her, I was instantly face-to-face with a memory, a memory from nearly four years ago.

"Finally out!" the Zorua yipped. "It was so cramped in that ball... I thought I would never get out!"

Arceus, she even sounded like her. I felt a familiar ache in my heart, but I managed to suppress it. This was no time to reminisce.

   I felt wasn't ready to tell those kids I could talk to Pokémon yet. So instead of going into an in-depth conversation like I would with most other Pokémon, I kept my responses how any Trainer would talk to their Pokémon. No introductions, no "how are you?" just simple questions.

"Can you use your Illusion ability on humans?" I asked.

"I don't know. I haven't tried it on a human before. But I will if you need me to."

I was amazed. No Pokémon I'd ever spoken to was this cooperative. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the young Trainers watching me, waiting for the demonstration. For some reason I felt nervous. Years of being an introvert did that to you, I guessed. I nodded at Zorua, and she smiled.

"This'll be fun! I'll try it!" Zorua's eyes glowed green for a few seconds. "There we go!"

I gazed into the water to see my reflection, and I was relatively pleased with what I saw. My brown hair had turned pitch-black and my eyes had changed from blue to dark green. They were pretty simple changes, but they were enough to make me mostly unrecognizable. This would have to do for now.

On the way to the Pokémon Center, I ditched my vest and gloves which both had the Neo Plasma emblem sewn onto them. Wearing all gray wasn't as suspicious as wearing anything with such an infamous emblem clearly visible.

As we approached the iconic red-roofed building, my nervousness grew into anxiety. I hadn't shown my true face anywhere in Unova for over two years, and the thought of being recognized filled me with dread. The only real things that were different about me after I came back to Unova were how long I kept my hair and minor facial changes for obvious reasons. I remembered from past experiences that my disguise would work as long as I needed it to, only involuntarily wearing off if I made physical contact with any other being, human or Pokémon. I prayed that the changes, both natural and caused by Zorua would be enough to hide who I really was.

We entered the Center and from the moment the nurse saw us, everything happened on its own. Nate, Rosa and Hugh were rushed into the part of the building made for treating injured Trainers, their Pokémon were taken in for safekeeping, and I just kind of stood there, not even getting a single glance from any of the on-duty nurses. I sat down on one of the couches in the lobby and waited. It wasn't until a while later that one of the younger nurses approached me.

"You were the one who found those Trainers?" she asked, giving a kind smile.

"Uh, y-yeah," I stuttered and looked away from her, nervous about making eye contact with her. Please don't recognize me!

"The head nurse would like to talk to you. It's about those kids you brought in."

"Will they be okay?" Though they had looked fine to me, I knew the damage would be internal.

To my relief, the nurse nodded. "They'll eventually make full recoveries, though they have to be transferred to the local hospital for proper treatment."

"Thank Arceus..." I sighed. I looked back to the nurse to see that she was staring at me intently, a puzzled expression on her face. My heart jumped into my throat, for a terrifying moment I thought she knew who I was. Had Zorua's disguise worn off or something?! Thankfully, her confused look was replaced with the one she had before, smile and all.

"I'm sorry! It's just... for some odd reason, I thought I had seen you somewhere," she said apologetically.

"Oh really? That's strange," I said, my heart racing a mile a minute. "Well, I gotta go." I stood up and tried to slip past her without making it obvious that I wanted to get away.

"Wait a second! I have to ask you something," the nurse said. "I'm Bailey, what's your name?"

What? I couldn't very well give her my name, so I came up with one on the spot. "Aaron. I'm Aaron," I said. Bravo, Hilbert! Master of acting, and now master of improv! I would probably be setting the record for most false identities in three months.

"Nice meeting you, Aaron." Bailey took a pen from her pocket and scribbled something on a scrap of paper she tore off a magazine. "I hope we can talk again another time." She handed me the paper with a wink. As she walked away, I glanced down at the paper. Written on it was an Xtransceiver number! Shocked, I looked up at the nurse. Before she went into the treatment section of the Center, she turned to me and tapped her wrist, mouthing, "call me!" I felt my face flush red, and I hastily shoved the paper into my pocket.

I knocked hesitantly on the main office's door, asking if anyone was there. A woman's voice faintly reached through the wood.

"Yes, what do you need?"

"Nurse Bailey told me that you wanted to see me," I said as confidently as I could.

"Oh, yes! You may come in, the door's unlocked," the head nurse replied cheerily.

I entered the office and saw the nurse sitting at a desk covered with framed pictures and... Pokemon plushies? There was a Chansey, an Audino, along with a Blissey. It was like an explosion of pink cuteness had occurred, and this was the fuzzy aftermath. She told me to have a seat in the chair across from her.

"I'm Nurse Helen, the nurse in charge of the Driftveil Pokemon Center." She extended a hand to me and I shied away from it, Zorua's warning echoing in my mind. Helen took notice of this and frowned at me.

"My name is Aaron, ma'am," I said awkwardly.

She withdrew her hand and nodded slowly. "Ok, Aaron. I called you in here to ask you a few questions."

Yay, my favorite, I thought sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Instead I began coming up with fake answers I could respond with. Burgh and Iris had said I couldn't reveal what I would be doing with Neo Plasma, or what even Neo Plasma was for that matter.

"We scanned the children's Pokédexes and they were identified as Nathan and Rosalyn Acress, and Hugh Vallance. Their parents have been contacted, and they're on their way," Helen said. "You never told us where you found them."

"I found them on the beach near the Driftveil cargo yard," I answered. Calm exterior, keep casual eye contact, don't answer too quickly. I ran over what I had learned about lying. Because, sad to say, I was pretty good at it. Helen nodded and typed something into the laptop on her desk. Like everything else, it was pink too.

"Did you see any suspicious individuals or Pokemon in the area?"

"No, I didn't."

"Do you know these children?"

"I had met them previously in Castelia, though it was just for a moment when we passed each other."

"Were they in the condition they were earlier when you found them?"

"No. My Joltik created the bandage Nathan had."

"Do you have any idea of who could've done this to them?"

I had to think about this one for a moment. Should I tell her about Neo Plasma? Wait, why did I even consider that? Iris would have my head if I told anyone what was going on. I came up with a simple lie that I had just arrived in Driftveil this morning.

"Alright then. Thank you for answering, Aaron. The authorities may try to contact you for further questioning, so I'll need your Xtransceiver number."

"I don't own an Xtransceiver," I said. Out of all the lies I had said, that answer was one of the only truths. "We don't use them in Sinnoh." And back to lying. Lie twenty-million and counting.

"Oh, so you're from Sinnoh? That explains why I've never seen you around here. I remember every new Trainer I see, and I'm sure I would've remembered you, especially since you look a little too old to be just starting your journey," Helen said. She gasped a second later and began apologizing. "Sorry if that offended you! I didn't mean it!"

"Nah, it's fine. Usually it's people telling me I look young for my age," I replied truthfully, sighing internally. At least one person thought I looked my age. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Yes, what I said about the police. You'll have to stick around in Driftveil for a week at the least while the investigation takes place."

"Investigation? No that's not gonna happen!" I blurted out. Would I have to tell her about what was going on? At this rate, that was the only option.

"Yes there is, for good reason too! What happened to those children was unforgivable, and it will not be taken lightly," Helen objected.

"There will not," I argued. This nurse could ruin everything I'd been working for!

"Yes. There. Will!" Helen snapped. Her hand twitched towards her Blissey plushie, and for a second I involuntarily flinched back when I thought she was going to throw it at me.

"No, there won't," I stated firmly, giving Helen a well-practiced death glare. "And if you keep insisting, you'll have to take it up with Clay. All suspicious events reported in Driftveil, Castelia, and Opelucid are not to investigated by anyone other than the Unovan Gym Force."

Helen's eyes widened in either shock or disbelief. "How do you know anything like that? You said this was your first time in Driftveil!"

I froze, realizing my mistake. This was the first time I had been caught in a lie, and I didn't know what to do next. Fine, some truth would have to come out. I gave Helen the super short gist of what I was doing, removing the major points including Neo Plasma and my mission. Basically I said that a few Leaders were leading an investigation about the mysterious people seen around Driftveil, and the police were not to be involved.

Still wary about my rightly fantastical claims, Helen began dialing a number into her (surprise) pink Xtransceiver.

"I believe that won't be necessary."

Both of our heads snapped around to see who had spoken. I had left the office door open, and someone was now standing in the doorway. It was an older man with fiery red hair and worn, tan clothes. It was Alder, an old acquaintance of mine. I instantly relaxed. I had met Alder years ago, and I was kind of his student for a while. He taught me how to battle and what strategies would suit me. Alder also knew of the U.G.F.'s plan, and I knew he would take my side if it came down to it.

"I was stopping by the Center and I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. What this young man is saying is correct, believe me," Alder said nonchalantly.

Then I was practically tossed out of the conversation. Alder and Helen began talking and I sat there and listened to them argue, zoning out within minutes. I just hoped that the topic of who I really was wouldn't come up. If Helen found out who I was, she might call them. Then I would have to flee Unova and never come back. I didn't want to go back. I never, ever wanted to go back there.