Both adults entered the living room, followed by Lily and Mothra. With a quick burst of aura, he sent a message to Lily to prepare some tea and snacks. Meanwhile, Rodan brought the sleeping assistant to the guest room to recover independently.

  “Au!”

  The Audino nodded with a smile and trotted to the kitchen to prepare them. They sat on the couches and the oversized moth curled beside her trainer. Out of reflex, he began stroking her fur, much to her delight.

  “I have an older brother. His name is Aidan.” Daniel sighed, already feeling his chest tightening. “I was never as good as him. He finished his circuit months before I did mine. He became champion first, too. In the end, he became the World Champion and I joined the ace trainers.”

  “Sounds impressive.” Aurea nodded at him. “Were you feeling jealous of him?”

  “Jealous? Mew, no.” He vehemently shook his head. “I got traumatized by the amount of paperwork and politics on the position. Can’t imagine being a World champion.”

  Lily entered carrying a tray with cake slices and hot tea. Since they were accustomed to sweeter berries, extra sugar went on all their dishes. Those were extra calories they needed to burn, but nothing he didn’t plan on, anyway.

  His joy was immense as the variety made up for the “lack” of flavor. Many extinct berry species were available, like Salac berries, which they used to make the cake. And Watmel berries, their new favorite for juice and smoothies.

  A gentle tug on his arm drew his attention. Lily looked at him, concerned, and tilted her head. He laughed awkwardly and pinched her cheek.

  “Sorry for that. I’m rather… scatterbrained lately.”

  “Don’t worry, I can imagine.” She looked nonplussed. “You were telling me about your brother?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He sipped his tea with a smile. “We used to fight a lot. Physically. We had arguments almost every day over everything. Over my pranks, or who got the bigger slice of bread, over a single block of cheese… If dad didn't have white hair from birth, he would have gone gray by the time he was 30.”

  Daniel’s eyes clouded as his aura slipped. He had avoided thinking about his brother since the time traveled for fear of losing control. His trembling hands confirmed his concerns. He unconsciously gripped the teacup, watching his reflection.

  “If it’s too painful we can stop here for now.” The Professor noticed his sudden change. She reached out with a concerned expression and gently grabbed his hands. “We can continue another time if you prefer or do something else.”

  Daniel took a deep breath and circulated his aura, reigning in his emotions. He gently shook his head, and the woman nodded at him.

  “The night I came here my brother died.” His breath hitched, but he continued. “He and his Elites were fighting Anarchy’s main force. I was on support duty that day, just... taking down any stragglers and protecting the civilians. That was supposed to be enough. It was in the past…”

  Lily silently sat beside her trainer and hugged him.

  “I love them from the bottom of my heart, each and every one of them, but they are not my main combat team. They are my search and rescue team.”

  He absentmindedly petted Lily, who desperately clung to him. He was terrified of uttering those words, but his guilt gnawed him from the inside. What if he used his main 6? What if he asked for a full deployment of his 16 combat Pokemon instead of a standard cell? What-

  “Daniel.”

  Aurea’s voice startled him. He could feel the weight of a mountain behind her words. Unshakeable. Grounding. She squeezed his hand and looked him in the eye.

  “Breathe.”

  Seconds passed as his emotions receded and his heart relaxed. With a heavy sigh, he slumped back on the sofa, Lily still clinging to him.

  “Thanks for that.” He muttered.

  “Not a problem.” The Professor smiled and shook her head. “Anyone else in your family was a champion?”

  Daniel recognized an attempt to change the topic when he heard one. One so blatant as that one even more. He let out a tired chuckle and rubbed his face with his free hand.

  “Our father.” He snorted. “The old man is a monster. He became Alolan champion when he was 14, then World champion at 18. He stayed there for about 40 years before Aidan finally defeated him. It only took him 4 years to become World Champion because he had us.”

  The professor was about to speak but stopped herself with a curious expression, then she frowned. Daniel chuckled at her expression. “You noticed? He got Aidan’s mom pregnant at 15 and mine at 16. His teenage years were wild.”

  He told her the story of his father: Alex McGowan. An orphan that came from Alola with a burning Fairy aura and took the world by storm. The man was a genius at strategizing and team building. He managed to catch dangerous Pokemon from all around the world and used strategies never thought of. Managed to defeat several champions and took the crown for himself. And above everything else… was a serial flirt.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Aidan was born in Kalos while he ran their circuit. His mother was the daughter of a businessman who specialized in Volcarona silk. They were spearheading the resurrection of Kalosian Volcarona and, going by what Daniel overhead, were the closest ones to succeed. By the time they noticed that he got the girl pregnant, he was long gone already.

  Daniel, on the other hand, was Unovan. His mother was the third daughter of the Joy clan matriarch. They were not happy about one of their nurses eloping with a patient, especially one with his ‘credentials.’ So, Grandmother Joy forced them to marry. That brought him down to the ground and ended his escapades. That was enough for him to settle and raise his family.

  He was not privy to the family drama that involved his older brother. What he remembered from those times is meeting Aidan when he was 4 and living together from then on.

  “He was a wonderful dad.” He finished his tea now that it was a bit colder. “Told us a lot of stories, trained us as Aura users, gave us our starters… Even if he was a bit of an idiot.” His smile grew a bit strained as his chest ached. “He ended up mixing up our starters. Can you imagine how furious our moms were? Mothra was supposed to be Aidan’s, and I was supposed to get Ghidorah, his Deino.”

  He sighed and reclined on the couch. Lily finally relaxed enough to separate from him but remained sitting beside him, paw still clinging to his shirt.

  “But I was happy. And wouldn’t give anything to change what happened.” The moth cooed at his words, snuggling up in his legs. “Aidan was the best brother, always having my back when I fucked up. He gave me a job when I got defeated. Bastard even gave me my mega stones.”

  “And I imagine there’s no way for you to go back?” Aurea’s tone was subdued, likely catching on to how he felt.

  “There are. Of course, there are. But they’re too risky.” He shook his head with a groan. “What if I end up in another timeline? Or go alone? Or end up in the distortion world or a parallel universe? What if something happens to this universe? The risk is too much. Still, it feels like I’m just running away. Not trying hard enough.”

  “From what you’ve been telling me, your brother wouldn’t blame you for that,” Aurea said confidently, briefly bringing him out of the spiral. “Much less your father. They loved you too much to do that.”

  “Still…” He slumped on the couch. “I’m just… I don’t want to run away, but I don’t want to risk what’s left of my family.”

  “There’s not a correct answer to your problem.” She returned her empty cup to the tray. “It’s going to be very hard finding a way back home, and very dangerous. If you want that, nobody will blame you. But, if you decide to settle down, be with your team, and build something here, that’s ok too. You’re not running away; you’re making a choice.”

  Lily held his hand with a sad smile on her face. He was strong; he knew that. His team could easily dispatch some of the best trainers of the present without that much issue like he did Drayden. Finding Jirachi, Celebi, or stealing Professor Turo’s time machine would not be easy, but not impossible. Distortion. If he wanted to, he could even replicate Anarchy’s plan.

  But could he risk putting his team in danger? He could butt heads with the league itself, causing chaos. He could confront Giratina again… But Daniel didn’t want to lose them.

  Several auras brushed against him while he contemplated. Even though they were not in the room, he could feel his family calling to him. His Pokemon convey their feelings. Even though they felt incomplete. That something had been ripped away from them. Even if there were no modern conveniences or intense battles out there. They still supported him.

  Even if they got permanently stuck 300 years in the past.

  “Alright.” He whispered, then nodded a couple of times. “I’ll stay. I’ll do my best to deal with it for my team.”

  The professor smiled in approval. “Do it for yourself, too.”

  Lily looked at him with teary eyes, agreeing with the woman. He could only resist her gaze for a moment until he caved. “You got me. I’ll do it for them and myself. Happy?”

  “Excellent!” She clapped her hands, his Pokemon celebrated too with happy cries. “Now, let me collect my lovely assistant. I think it’s time for us to go.”

  “Aurea… thank you.” He let out a genuine smile for the first time in a while. He retracted his aura and let it go.

  A weight he didn’t know he was carrying lifted. His heart felt at peace for the first time in days. Instead of a mask of serenity, he felt truly relaxed. It hurt not having Aidan or the rest of the family by his side. Or the rest of his team. It would take a while to fade away, yet he felt ready to start healing.

  “Don’t worry about that. It was my part of the deal after all.” Her smile seemed brighter, likely catching on to his true feelings. “Take care of yourself and call in case you need me. That cake was amazing.”

  “Audino!”

  Lily stood up and bowed to the Professor, then jumped back to her trainer’s lap.

  “Thank you too. Wouldn’t be here without you.”

  “Vooool!”

  A furry meteorite crashed into him, blowing the air out of his lungs.

  “Y-yes Mothra… Lo-love you too.” He groaned as the oversized insect crooned in delight.

  Casper quietly appeared in front of him with an aloof expression. Daniel smirked and scratched her chin, making the dragon murmur in delight.

  “Yes Casper, you’re still my ace.”

  Weight suddenly crashed on his head as Elizabeth enveloped him. If he didn’t have Mothra as a counterweight, he would have ended up on the floor. Still, he was not mad at her for that.

  “You’re my best dancer and my bruiser, Elizabeth. I didn’t forget you.”

  Rodan and Gamera poked their heads from the backyard. The tightness of the corridors prevented them from entering.

  “No, I didn’t forget about you, Gamera. Not you too, Rodan. You can read my mind.”

  Rodan chuckled.

  [Sorry master. I did not want to feel left out.]

  “You sure did, buddy.”

  Finally, R2 and Donald burst out of the TV, assaulting the remaining areas that Elizabeth had not covered.

  [MASTER, ARE WE ALSO PART OF THE ‘FAMILY’?] Donald said in a monotone voice. Still, he could feel the nervousness coming out of the digital duck.

  “Of course you are. I’ve been taking care of you both for almost 30 years. How are you not part of the family?”

  ***

  Aurea quietly left while Daniel was having his moment with his team. He had wounds to heal and scar, but she believed in his strength and resilience to overcome it all.

  Bianca followed behind silently, ignoring the touching moment in the living room. She used her hat to cover her face. If she got any redder, she would be considered a Leppa berry.

  “Don’t worry, Bianca, you’ll get used to it.” The professor said, amused. The girl seemed to go even redder than before. “Dragons are usually the harder ones to study, thanks to their aura.”

  “Please, Professor… don’t remind me…” She pulled her hat over her face even more, trying to cover her shame. “Hilda is going to laugh at me…”

  “It’s going to be a secret.” She released her Braviary. This one was bigger than normal specimens, but considerably smaller than ‘Rodan.’ “Let’s go already. We have a lot of work to do.”

  “Understood…”

  With a powerful flap of his wings and a piercing cry, the Pokemon lifted them and flew away.