Entering the woods east of Petalburg City with a complicated expression on her face, Mara rubbed her temples and sighed. Trees creaked and leaves rustled around her in the wind. A few wild Pokemon in the vicinity skittered away upon seeing her. Her shadow cast a lonely figure in the quiet forest.

Shaking her head to clear whatever thoughts were on her mind, she looked up at the tree canopy with a solemn expression. Then, she raised two fingers to her lips and whistled loudly. The shrill sound echoed through the woods.

Before long, a sharp cry echoed back in the distance. The next second, a shadow launched into the sky from deeper in the woods and then plummeted straight toward Mara.

Watching the shadow approach like a Bullet Punch, Mara smiled wryly and shook her head. She waited until the shadow arrived above the clearing she was standing in. In the sky several meters up, a large bird with navy blue, blood red, and snow white feathers flapped its wings to slow its descent, whipping up a strong breeze that whipped Mara’s hair into a flurry. The moment the bird Pokemon met eyes with Mara, it chirped happily and dropped to the ground.

“Swellow! Swellow, Swellow!” The Pokemon chirped while hopping in circles around Mara with an excited glint in its eyes.

Chuckling to herself, Mara knelt down to put herself at eye-level with the Swellow, scratched the bird Pokemon’s head plumage, and said, “You’re way too happy to me, Kiwi. Well, I’m happy to see you, too. How have you been?”

“Swellow!” Swellow chirped happily.

Suddenly, another two shadows flew into the small clearing and landed nearby. Mara looked over and raised her brows upon seeing a larger Swellow staring at her with a serious expression and a small Taillow tilting its head at her with curious eyes.

“Is this your family?”

“Swellow,” Mara’s old partner affirmed with a small nod.

Lips curling up into a wry smile, Mara said, “Good for you.”

“Swellow?” Kiwi asked with a concerned gaze.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing. Anyway, would you happen to have a few days to help me take my son to Rustboro?”

“Swellow?”

“...My husband should be the one to take him, but that man is… out of town.”

The Swellow blinked and tilted her head back and forth in thought before turning to the other Swellow with an inquisitive gaze.

“Swellow,” The bigger Swellow said with a nod.

The crack of Kiwi’s beak curved into a thankful smile before she turned to Mara and chirped, “Swell, Swellow.”

“Thanks, Kiwi. Your family can come, too, if they want.”

The two Swellows discussed in Pokespeech for a minute. The bigger Swellow eventually shook his head and, after some affectionate cuddling with each other, flew away with the Taillow.

“Sorry to take you away from your family like this, Kiwi,” Mara apologized.

“Swellow!” Kiwi replied while fluttering back to Mara’s side. The Swellow then rubbed her head on Mara’s thigh as though attempting to tell her she was happy to go on a small adventure.

“Thanks, Kiwi. I really appreciate it.”

* * *

Spike packed everything he wanted to bring to the Hoenn Intermediate School dorms into a box strapped to the back of a chubby white and blue feathered seagull-like Pokemon that was quietly sitting outside his front door. Turning his head, Spike nodded at a well-dressed moving company employee and said, “Everything’s there now.”

“Alright,” The employee replied before looking at a seagull-like Pokemon and saying, “Pelipper, you can take this box to our Rustboro location now.”

“Pelipper,” The seagull-like Pokemon lazily replied. It flapped its wings and fluttered into the air before flying north. Spike raised a brow since the weight of the box didn’t cause any noticeable hindrance in its flight.

“Pokemon never fail to impress me,” Spike mumbled.

“Sign here,” The employee said, pushing a clipboard toward him.

After skimming through the document, Spike signed off on the bottom and handed the clipboard back. The brief note about the company not being liable for damaged belongings due to attacks by aggressive Pokemon didn’t bother him. At the very least, he figured a Pelipper could handle the bug or grass Pokemon that tended to inhabit the Petalburg Woods.

Shortly after the employee left, Spike walked back inside and grabbed his travelpack. Aria was already sitting in the main pocket of the travel bag and playing with a rubber ball, so he gently slung the bag over his shoulders to avoid jostling her. Unsurprisingly, he found Ares training in the backyard and said, “Come on, Ares, we’re leaving as soon as my mother comes back.”

Ares stopped punching the wooden slab and nodded in response. He followed Spike back inside the house and out the front door. The two then sat on the decorative bench surrounded by potted plants and waited for Mara to return. Before long, they saw the familiar head of purple hair, but Spike’s eyes widened when he saw a Swellow trotting alongside Mara.

“You have Pokemon?” Spike couldn’t help asking the moment Mara stepped into the front yard.

“Yes. Kiwi, this is my son, Dilon. Dilon, this is Kiwi, my old partner back when I was still a league trainer.”

“Huh. I didn’t realize you were a league trainer,” Spike mumbled. Then, he smiled at the Swellow and greeted, “Nice to meet you, Kiwi.”

“Swellow,” Kiwi chirped in return.

“These are Ares and Aria,” Spike said, pointing out his partners. Ares coolly nodded at the Swellow while Aria quietly waved. Kiwi chirped at them in greeting.

“Let’s leave now. We shouldn’t make Carrie and Flannery wait too long,” Mara said, cutting the greeting short.

“Sure, but tell us about your trainer days later. I’m sure Flannery could benefit from it, and I’d love to hear about it,” Spike replied while grabbing Mara’s hand.

Briefly glancing at their clasped hands, Mara hesitated for a moment before saying, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to teach you two a few things.”

Before long, Spike and Mara arrived at the path leading west out of Petalburg and met up with Carrie and Flannery who were waiting for them by a large wooden road sign. Unlike her normal summer dresses and skirts, Carrie wore black travel pants and a loose-fitting, long-sleeved red blouse that showed off her midriff. A black travel belt with three Pokeballs holstered to it wrapped around her waist. Two travel satchels were strapped to each of her thick thighs that Spike couldn’t help admiring for a few seconds. Carrie giggled at Spike upon noticing his gaze, and he smiled back at her. The woman didn’t show an ounce of embarrassment.

On the other hand, Flannery looked the same as normal in her jeans and t-shirt. The only difference was that her hair was tied up in a fluffy ponytail. Spike couldn’t help raising a brow at the sight since it reminded him of the passionate redhead he recognized from his previous life. The moment the redhead saw Spike, she ran over to him and asked, “What did you do during the break, Spike?”

Shrugging, Spike answered, “Eating, training, and sleeping.”

“Ugh. How can you be so boring like that? You should’ve come over to play with me instead!”

“By play, you mean battle?”

“Well, yeah, but also just playing,” Flannery quietly replied while averting her eyes and twirling her bangs around her finger.

Spike chuckled and rested a hand on the girl’s head. Petting her hair drew a pout from the redhead.

“You’re going to mess up my hair again…”

“Yet you never try to stop me,” Spike snickered.

“Hmph,” Flannery turned her head and didn’t say anything else.

The two mothers smirked at each other before leading the way out of Petalburg City. Before long, they arrived at the beach, which was already crowded despite it only being mid-morning. Unfortunately, they did not have time to stop for a swim and continued northward until reaching the thick treeline of the Petalburg Woods. Near where the woods met the shore, Spike noticed a shack where an older man sat on the front porch while watching a Wingull fly around and squawk happily. The old man greeted them with a friendly wave, which their group returned before continuing on into the woods.