Professor Larkspur led the class out of the amphitheater, across the courtyard and past the stadium. Tommy still couldn’t get over how few students were on the campus, it seemed like everyone in the city had withdrawn their children from the school. He and the rest of the procession arrived in front of a large rectangular building at the edge of the park entrance and Zach and Melanie led the way inside.

The inside of the dorms were beautifully furnished, the hall that ran through the center of the building led all the way into the kitchen at the far end of the first floor. All of the kitchen appliances were brand new and there was a massive dining room table, big enough for everyone to sit together and eat. There was a door that opened into the backyard and Tommy saw that outside there was a patio with a built-in grill, a garden, and even a jacuzzi.

Walking out of the kitchen and back into the hall Tommy next walked into the library and marveled at all of the books. There was a complete Pokédex, hefty volumes of information on types of Pokémon and their moves, and encyclopedias of various regions in Johto and Kanto just to name a few. There were more books than Tommy had ever seen in his life and he bet that if he sat here reading every night for the next half year he wouldn’t even be able to read a fifth of the books that were in here. There was a fireplace in the corner that was lit and crackling merrily and beautiful high backed armchairs rested under hand carved wooden tables.

The game room was nice too, there were brand new couches and chairs settled around a flat screen television and a long gaming table beside a shelf that housed games and cards. The computer room was the last room on the first floor, it had enough computers for all eight of the students to review their battle footage at the same time if they wanted to.

There was a set of stairs that Tommy and everyone else climbed to the second floor after finishing the tour of the shared spaces on the first. The room on the second floor closest to the stairs had already been claimed by Zach but there were four identical dorm rooms and a bathroom on the other end of the second floor.

Everyone moved to climb the stairs to the third floor but Zach blocked the staircase after the girls followed Melanie up. “You guys are never allowed to go up there. It looks exactly the same as this floor anyway.”

Tommy turned away from the stairs and walked over to his dorm room. They were all the same so he claimed one at random, room number three. The rooms were sparsely furnished with a bed, desk, and chest of drawers. Even though there wasn’t much furniture, the individual pieces were nice, constructed from solid wood. He ran his hands along the desk and tried to take in the reality of living away from home.

Nessa and Ashley walked into his room and jumped up onto his bed. He looked over at them inquisitively, “Are you allowed in here?”

“Why not?” Ashley shrugged. “All they said was no boys on the third floor.”

He nodded and sat down in his desk chair. “I’m worried about my mom and sister. Dad left on a journey barely a week or two ago, and told me to look after them. How can I do that if I’m living in the dorm? Plus who is going to do all of the chores around the ranch and take care of the Pokémon?”

“I’m sure that it’s already been arranged between the school and your parents,” Zach said. He was leaning against the doorway of Tommy's room. “I think I overheard that the school is sending over some ranch hands to help out your mother. I’m sure that they’ve been thoroughly vetted by both the school and your father after the whole debacle last semester.”

Tommy sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“Isn’t that good news?” Nessa asked. “You aren’t happy that they’ll be looked after?”

Tommy shook his head, “No, that’s not it. Of course I’m happy they’ll be looked after. It’s just my father. It seems that I know nothing about him. It’s like he never trusted me to tell me any of this. I don’t even know who he is.”

“I’m sure that isn’t the case!” Nessa insisted. “Of course your father trusts you, he must have his reasons though for not saying anything to you.”

Tommy looked over at Zach, standing in the door still. “You know my father don’t you?”

Zach stared at Tommy for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah, I know him. By no means are we close but he is acquainted with my employer.”

The King. Tommy had forgotten all about him, the king had even said he knew Tommy’s father.

“Your father is familiar with the school then?” Nessa asked, not in the loop.

Zach’s eyes flickered to Tommy’s face, “Yeah, my employer. Now come on, we’re meeting downstairs.”

The four of them headed back down to the kitchen where everyone else was already gathered around the table.

“Alright then,” Professor Larkspur started. “You are all dismissed to return home to pack. Do any of you need help moving your things from your homes to the campus?”

Krista and Nessa both asked for help so Professor Larkspur said that representatives from the school would take the two girls home and help them pack. He dismissed them for the day, saying they needed to be back by 10. Their curfew was 10 and none of them could be out of the dormitory after that time.

Tommy left to go home and gather his belongings. He rode his bike back through the city and reached his house. There was a white truck he didn’t recognize parked in front of the family’s guesthouse. He walked into his house and found his mother and Tori in the kitchen cooking for two young men and an older one that Tommy had never met before. Their shirts were varying colors of flannel and they wore blue jeans and dark and brown wide-brimmed hats.

“Hey Mom,” Tommy smiled. “Are these the new ranch hands?”

“Yeah,” Mom smiled back. “They got here this morning after you left. They’re going to be moving into the guesthouse.”

“Mr. Hartford, a pleasure to meet you. The name’s Wyatt,” the elder one stood and extended his hand. Tommy clasped it and looked the rugged man over. Though his grip was iron and his mustached face severe, Tommy immediately felt at ease around the man. “Your mother was just informing us that you’ve been asked to live at the school for the remainder of the year.”

“Yeah, I’m here to pack up all of my stuff and move it over.” Tommy said. “I can trust you to look after my mother and sister while I’m away?”

“Of course, Mr. Hartford,” Wyatt said. “You can trust the three of us to handle everything around here. Your mother has provided us with your beautiful guest home and has even insisted that she will cook all of our meals, even though we have vehemently protested it.

“The two of us will help you pack,” one of the younger cowboys said. The two men rose and followed Tommy to his room where he started throwing all of his clothes into a few suitcases. He packed everything he could think of, the last thing he grabbed was his Pokémon egg.

The two younger cowboys helped him carry all of his bags to mom’s truck and then went back inside to eat lunch. Tommy went in after them and sat at the table with everyone, enjoying his mother’s cooking for what he hoped wasn’t the last time. Professor Larkspur had not mentioned how often he could come home to visit.

He really enjoyed talking with the three cowboys. They were all nice and respectful and told the family about all of the different places they had worked and jobs they had. They were wanderers, never staying in one place for more than a few years and Wyatt even told stories of working on a ranch in Sinnoh when he was younger.

The three men insisted on cleaning up the kitchen after eating so Tommy and his mom and sister went outside to walk around the ranch. He tried to take it all in while he could, living in the city was going to be a big change of pace and he would miss living out here.

“Are the two of you going to be okay without me here? Without dad?” Tommy asked.

Mom smiled and leaned into Tommy, “We’ll be fine. Wyatt is an old friend of your father’s and those are his two boys.”

Tommy laughed, “I’m not even surprised. Is every person in the world acquainted with Dad or something?”

Mom laughed too, “He’s been to a lot of places and met many people. Soon that will be you though, right? I know that I can’t stop you, so just promise me that you’ll take care of yourself.”

Tommy looked at his mother who was on the verge of tears already. “I promise that I will. I have many friends who will look after me. And I promise that I’ll come visit as often as I’m allowed.”

“You’re really leaving?” Tori cried. She had been holding Mom’s hand while they were walking around the fields and now jumped up into Tommy’s arms. He wasn’t expecting it and barely caught her. “You can’t leave us! Dad already left!”

Tommy blinked his eyes rapidly as he hugged his sister. “I don’t have a choice, sis. But it won’t be for long okay? It’s just until the end of the year in June. And I know I’ll be able to come back and visit you and mom. I’ll come back as often as I can, okay?”

Tori sobbed into his shoulder and he knew that nothing he said would be able to calm her down. Dad had already been ripped away from their family and now he was leaving too. Plus she wasn’t even allowed to return to school; so it wasn’t as if they would be able to run into each other every day or have lunch together in the cafeteria. But her and mom would still be together, they were both strong and would get through this.

“I’ll stay as late as I can tonight, okay?” Tommy reassured her. “I don’t have to be back at the school until ten, so I’ll stay late. What do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Can we play?’ Tori sniffled. “I want to play with Houndour and Yanma and Solosis. I want to fly in the air again.”

“Of course sis,” Tommy smiled. “Anything you want. Come on, let's go back to the pond.”

The three of them walked back over to the fishing hole and Tommy called his Pokémon out. He sat with his mom under the shade of the oak and smiled as he watched Yanma lift Tori and fly her around in the air. She laughed and squealed in delight, her tears from moments ago already forgotten.

“You have good friends, good Pokémon,” Mom said. She held his hand while she sat beside him. “They will be strong, they will carry you to the same faraway places that your father traveled.”

“Where did he even go?” Tommy asked. “He didn’t tell me anything before he left. Did he say anything to you?”

“I didn’t ask,” Mom smiled sadly. “If I don’t know where he’s going or what he’s doing, then it’s as if he’s just down the road in Goldenrod, buying some milk from the Mart. I tell myself over and over again that he’s nearby, even though I know he isn’t.”

Tommy closed his eyes and listened to his mom as she spoke. He was going to miss her everyday he was gone, he already knew. He wouldn’t get to eat her home cooking anymore, he wouldn’t get to play pranks on Tori anymore. It really felt as if he wouldn’t see either of them again, even though he was only going to be 30 minutes away from the ranch.

“Did he ever tell you how we met each other?” Mom asked.

Tommy cracked open an eye to look at her and shook his head.

She smiled and continued to watch Tori who was now playing tag with Houndour. “He stopped at our ranch, this ranch actually. It has been owned by my family for generations.”

“He had just spent over a month in the Ilex Forest. He and two of his friends, whose names I no longer remember,” Mom said. “Anyway, the three of them had stopped and wanted to stay the night in the guest house. The next morning he saw me working in the fields with all of the Miltank. He ran out there to introduce himself to me but Tauros thought I was being attacked so he headbutted your father across the field.”

Tommy smiled as his mom laughed at the memory. He imagined his dad running across the grass, a big dopey grin on his face, only to get headbutted out of nowhere by the irate bull.

“He visited the ranch every weekend after that, asking me out on a date.” Mom smiled. “I must have rejected him for over a year. I was never interested in dating a Pokémon trainer. Finally I broke down and said yes, we went out and had a great time.”

“We were married by the next summer and together we started living in the guest house,” Mom’s smile left her face as she turned to face Tommy. “Living two lives is impossible though. Your father couldn’t be a rancher and a trainer at the same time. He constantly traveled and was very rarely at home. He never told me where he went and I constantly feared for his safety and the safety of our family since I was pregnant with you soon after we wed.”

Mom wiped her eyes, “Those were the worst days of my life. I felt totally alone and powerless since my parents died soon after your father and I married. The last straw was Officer Jenny showing up at my front door. She informed me that your father was in intensive care after being severely injured while he had been out doing who knows what, I never found out. I rode with Officer Jenny over to the Pokémon Center and my world crumbled when I saw your father hooked up to life support. Nurse Joy told me that he had been maimed in a fight with a powerful Pokémon and that he would never walk again.”

Tommy had been listening silently while his mother spoke this entire time but now he spoke. “So you gave him an ultimatum then, right? I remember you saying in the car at the beginning of the school year that you made him give up Pokémon training.”

His mom was crying softly and she nodded her head. “Yes. By some miracle he made a full recovery. But I told him that if he ever left on another Pokémon journey that he should never come home, that he would never be welcomed back. He had to choose between me and Pokémon.”

“You’re going to let him come home this time though, right?” Tommy smiled widely at her.

She laughed and hiccupped, “Yes. He gave up his training for more than fifteen years. I told him before he left to be safe and that I would be waiting for him to return home. He assured me that this was his final journey.”

“And what about me?” Tommy asked her. He felt a lump forming in his throat. “Will you welcome me back home?”

“Always, my love. I love you more than anything.” Mom cried. “How I wish you could stay with me forever, but you are the spitting image of your father. I know that this is not the life for you, not right now at least.”

Tommy looked out at the rolling fields of his home. He had already been to the mountains and the beach, and while they were both beautiful, they didn’t hold a candle to his ranch. He would come back here someday, but Mom was right. Right now the world was calling and he felt that he had to answer.

“You know that I will visit as often as I can. That being away from you and Tori will be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.” Tommy told his mother. He pulled her into a hug and let her cry.

“I know,” she sniffed. “But you’re strong, just like your father.”

Tori came over red-faced and panting and dragged Tommy to his feet. He spent the next hour chasing her and his Pokémon around in the cool winter air until he collapsed gasping for breath. He shook his head in amazement as Tori still ran on and on.

“Let’s head back to the house, come on! I want to start dinner soon!” Mom called from under the oak tree. She stood and dusted herself off, beckoning Tommy and Tori to come and join her. They headed back to the house and Tommy saw Wyatt leaning on the fence of a corral with one of his boys. The other was in the corral riding on a Rapidash and trying to familiarize the horse with the Miltank that they would be herding.

“Dinner in an hour,” mom said as she walked past the cowboys. They all tipped their hats to her and resumed whatever it was they were doing. Tori said she was going to clean up so she went inside with mom, but Tommy made a detour over to the corral where Wyatt and his sons were.

He leaned against the fence for a few minutes watching one of the boys run the Rapidash around then turned to look at the Wyatt. “If anything happens to my mother or sister, there will be hell to pay.”

The cowboy regarded him unblinkingly for a second, then laughed heartily and clapped him on his back. “You have nothing to worry about Mr. Hartford. I swear to you as I swore to your father that the two of them will be looked after.”

“Thank you,” Tommy said. He went inside his home and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and clean himself up. His mom had already started dinner and it was ready by the time he got dressed and returned to the kitchen. He sat at the table with his mother and sister and they were joined shortly by Wyatt and his sons. Tommy savored every bite of his mother’s cooking, knowing it would be the last meal he would get to eat from her for a very long time. Everyone idly chatted away at the table but Tommy was only half listening, he felt like he had a million other things running through his mind.

Once dinner ended the cowboys said good night and left the main house to return to the guest home. They wanted to familiarize themselves with everything over there and turn in early so that they would be ready for their jobs in the morning. Each of them clasped Tommy’s arm, bowed deeply to Tommy’s mother while thanking her over and over, and then left through the back door.

Tommy walked around his house one more time. He walked up to his room and then stuck his head into Tori's, smiling at all of the plushies that were still on her bed. He headed back outside to the corral and said goodbye to all of the Pokémon. The Miltank all lowed sadly and Tommy scratched each of their heads and patted their rumps. To Tommy’s surprise, even Tauros walked over to say goodbye, so he placed his hand on the powerful bull’s forehead.

“Watch over Mom and Tori, just like you always do. You’re in charge now, okay?” Tommy spoke to the Pokémon. Tauros looked into Tommy’s eyes and snorted in affirmation then turned and walked back to his herd.

Tommy went back inside and spied Mom and Tori waiting for him by the door. He marched through the house one last time, stopping once more in the entrance hall. There was a picture on the front table of him and his family. Dad was smiling with one arm around Mom and one arm holding Tori on his broad shoulder. Mom was hugging Dad and holding onto Tommy with her other hand. He smiled at the photo and grabbed and pocketed it as he walked past mom out onto the front porch.

The three of them got into the car and returned to the school. The sun had long set by now, the only light to see by was given off by the street lights evenly spaced along the sidewalk. When they arrived there was a receptionist with a pair of Machokes who helped themselves to Tommy’s luggage. The receptionist ensured that it would all be delivered to Tommy’s dorm room and would be waiting for him by the time that he got over there.

Mom and Tori got out of the car and each gave him one last hug. He held them for a long time, kissed them both goodbye, and then headed into the school.

He heard the pickup truck drive away and a part of his life with it.