Day 16 of the journey to Kanto. Cloudy.

When Reiji got up and sat down for breakfast, his badge was already waiting for him. That rowdy chubby kid had brought it over. Tania never showed her face.

After breakfast, it was time to leave. Reiji’s business here was finished. As for whether Blaine had accomplished what he came for, that was none of Reiji’s business anyway.

Blaine and Agatha were dealing with matters far above his level. Reiji had no desire to get involved in that world too early. If either of those two casually dropped something serious in front of him, he probably would not even know how to respond. Better not to ask.

He had Gyarados and the others carry the luggage, and the group prepared to leave Lavender Gym. No one came to see them off. Agatha only said a few quiet words to Blaine before they left.

The younger apprentices were in the middle of their morning lessons. After speaking to Blaine, Agatha tapped away with her cane and left. The maids all had their own work to do. From start to finish, Tania never appeared.

Reiji found that a little strange, but he did not comment on it. He simply followed Blaine out of the gym and into the forest swallowed by fog. They were heading for the place where they had arrived two days earlier. Blaine had already arranged for a car to wait there.

Only after Blaine’s group disappeared into the mist did Tania finally poke her head out and look around cautiously, checking whether they had really gone.

“They’re gone,” Agatha said with a sharp cough, slamming her cane against the ground the moment she spotted her student.

“Grandma…” Tania lowered her head at once, like a child caught doing something wrong. She did not even dare look up.

In her mind, Agatha had always been strict—strict with herself, strict with Tania, strict enough that even falling in love felt forbidden.

“That fire-armor trick was hard to deal with. Losing was nothing unusual. This was a Gym battle, and that puts a lot of limits on the leader. That boy’s heading for the Indigo Plateau Conference. If you want revenge, beat him there next time…”

The truth was, Agatha would have liked to stamp out her student’s budding crush before it went anywhere.

But after thinking it over, she realized there was no point. This was something everyone had to go through. She had gone through it herself once. It was not something she could stop.

The more you forbid it, the more curious a young person becomes. Sooner or later, they start wanting to find out for themselves what feelings like that are really like.

Even if this boy had never shown up, Tania would have met some other boy eventually. It had been the same for Agatha once. It was part of growing up, and there was no stopping it.

Since she could not stop it anyway, she decided she might as well leave it alone and let the young deal with their own mess. Once they had their hearts broken, they would understand on their own that feelings were rarely as beautiful as people imagined. Most of the time, they only hurt one side.

Tania was already strong enough to protect herself. Once she had lived through everything she needed to live through, she would return to Lavender Gym on her own. She would stop chasing pointless feelings, inherit the gym, and focus fully on pushing for the Elite Four.

If Blaine and the others had not come, Agatha might never have seen it this clearly. She might never have made up her mind to let go and stop meddling in the affairs of the young.

She used to think she could keep everything in her hands. Later, she learned she could not hold on to anything forever. And she was not young anymore. Whether she liked it or not, that was the truth.

The road ahead belonged to the next generation. She had already done what she could. She had already given every warning she needed to give. Young people had the right to choose, and they had to live with those choices too.

“Grandma?” Tania blinked in confusion. Agatha had said a string of strange things, then walked off without another word, leaning on her cane. Tania could not make sense of any of it.

For some reason, Grandma did not seem as harsh today as she usually did. Maybe she was imagining it.

But why had she brought up the Indigo Plateau Conference? Who would go out of their way to beat that jerk there?

Every time Tania thought of Reiji, her teeth itched with annoyance. And yet she could not stop thinking about him. It was bizarre, and it drove her crazy.

Reiji, already long gone, had no idea he had somehow picked up a Gym Leader-level rival for no reason at all. If he ever found out, it would give him a headache for sure. This girl was even better than he was at playing dirty.

…

After leaving Lavender Gym, Reiji and the others rode into Lavender Town.

Amber stayed by the window the whole way, staring at the streets outside. A lot had changed. Many of the roads she remembered were gone, and many of the old houses had already been torn down.

The Lavender Town she knew was disappearing piece by piece. Even the little wooden house where she had spent her childhood had long since fallen into ruin.

Creak—

The old wooden door opened slowly, stirring up memories that had been sealed away for years. Amber stood at the entrance clutching Blaine’s hand with one hand and Reiji’s with the other, too scared to step inside.

The house was empty. Cobwebs hung from every corner, a thick layer of dust covered the old wooden furniture, and the silence inside felt suffocating. Amber stood frozen at the doorway. She could not make herself go in.

In her memories, this was the home where her mother cooked for her and her scientist father told her bedtime stories. But neither of them was here anymore. Neither of them was anywhere…

“Mr. Blaine, no one has lived here for a very long time. The property is still under Fuji’s name, but he hasn’t come back in years…”

“Forget it. Take us to the cemetery,” Blaine said with a sigh.

He had already sent the driver to investigate Amber’s family and the house she used to live in. This was the result of that search.

In truth, he had expected this all along. Ever since Elisia divorced Fuji, she had vanished without a trace. Still, he had needed to give Amber some hope. Otherwise, what was the point of bringing her here at all?

If Fuji was still alive, he was probably still with Team Rocket. If Elisia was still alive, then she had to be somewhere in this world. Blaine only hoped she had not remarried. If she had, Amber would have nobody left but them.

“Grandpa Blaine… my mom…” Amber did not ask about Fuji. She already knew he was with Team Rocket.

But after Mewtwo’s rampage, she did not dare think too much about it, much less contact him. Blaine had already told her she could only reach out to Fuji once she was strong enough to protect herself.

As for Agatha taking her in as a student, they had persuaded Amber without much trouble that day. With Blaine helping from the side, they had more or less talked her into it. Just like that, she had become Agatha’s disciple.

Once they left, Agatha would head straight for Dragon’s Den in Blackthorn City and get Amber a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary there. After that, they would meet up again on Cinnabar Island and start teaching her how to be a Trainer.

And as for Lavender Gym, Agatha was a Ghost-type Elite Four member. If she could not find a stand-in Gym Leader willing to work for free, that would be ridiculous.

It did not take long for the sightseeing car to reach the cemetery. Blaine told the driver and the maids to wait where they were, then led Amber and Reiji in on foot.

The place was quiet and still. Rows of gravestones stood in silence, and the moment you entered, the whole place seemed to press a hush over you, as if the air itself were warning everyone not to speak too loudly.

Before long, they found Amber’s grave. Blaine knew the place well. Set into the stone was a photo of Amber in a white dress, wearing a faint smile.

“There are flowers here.” Reiji crouched beside the grave and picked up one of the wilted chrysanthemums resting there. Its color was long gone. The moment he lifted it, the blossom snapped off, leaving only the stem in his fingers.

“There’s still a bit of moisture in it. Probably because the place is damp. It can’t have been here longer than two months.”

He pinched the stem with his nail and found that there really was still a trace of moisture inside. Judging by how dried out the flower was, he could make a rough estimate of when it had been left.

“One month and three days ago,” Blaine said. He remembered the date perfectly. He would never forget that day. What he did not know was who had come here then.

“Who do you think it was?” Reiji did not dare guess. There were many chrysanthemums in front of the gravestone; he had only picked the freshest-looking one.

“You take Amber back first. I’m going to ask around,” Blaine said, resting a big hand on Amber’s hair before turning and walking away from her grave without saying anything else.

“Come on, Amber. Let’s head back first.” Reiji took her hand.

He really had no way of knowing what it felt like to stand in front of your own grave and look at it. Unless he somehow crossed back and saw his own, he would never understand that feeling.

On the way over from Amber’s house, he had found himself wondering more than once whether bringing her back had really been the right thing to do.

Yes, Amber was alive again. But she no longer had a home. What awaited her was a shattered family, and she was still only seven or eight years old. Looking back, Reiji could not help thinking he had been a little cruel then, and a little selfish too.

He had brought Amber back, but he could never replace her parents. He could not replace what they meant to her, and neither could Blaine. That kind of thing could only come from them. They were her mother and father.

“Rai-nii… does Mommy not want Amber anymore?” Amber never hid her feelings. The moment she realized her mother was not here, she started crying in a small, trembling voice.

She had come all this way, happy and excited to see her mother again. And when she arrived, she found out her mother had been gone for a long time. Her father was gone too. She had no home anymore…

“No. Amber’s mom just doesn’t know you’re back yet. If she knew, she’d be so happy,” Reiji said, though that was all he could do to comfort her.

Amber’s return was not the same as someone crossing over from another world. People like that were adults whose values and worldview were already formed. They could usually adjust fast, start over, and find a new way to live. Even if the environment was harsh, that alone would not break them.

Amber was different. Whether it was the first time she left this world or the day she came back, she was still only a child of seven or eight. There were so many things she did not understand. In a way, that was tragic. In another, it was lucky. For her, those missing years were like a single nap. She had gone to sleep, then opened her eyes to find the world like this.

Bringing someone back from the dead would be a shocking, reality-breaking thing to any adult.

But in Amber’s understanding, it was only like having slept for a while. Accepting it had been easy for her.

“Then where is Mommy? Amber wants Mommy…” She resisted when Reiji tried to lead her away. She did not want to go. She wanted to stay here and wait for her mother to come back.

Left with no choice, Reiji had Darkrai act from inside his shadow and force Amber into sleep. He caught her as she went limp, lifted her onto his back, and started walking the way they had come.

By the time they left the foggy forest, Darkrai and Gengar had already quietly followed him back.

When Blaine had left earlier, Darkrai and Gengar had also slipped back into his shadow. After Amber was put to sleep, he returned Gengar to its Poké Ball as well.

By the time he reached the main gate, Blaine was already waiting there.

The moment Blaine saw him return with Amber asleep on his back, he hurried over. “What happened?”

“Amber wouldn’t leave, so I had Poliwhirl put her to sleep,” Reiji said, telling a harmless lie as he passed Amber over.

“As long as she’s fine,” Blaine said. Then he lowered his voice. “I found the cemetery caretaker. The man said that on the day he was on duty, a blue-haired woman came here…”

“He also said that every year, he sees the same blue-haired woman come with a bouquet of chrysanthemums, stand here in silence, and leave in silence. That woman was probably Elisia…”

“That’s enough of a lead. Whether she comes again next year doesn’t matter. We’d only have to wait another ten months anyway,” Reiji said. He had been bracing for a wasted trip. Since they had a lead now, the rest became much easier.

If they had found nothing about Amber’s mother, he would not even have known how to comfort Amber after she woke up. But now at least they had something to tell her. Still, Blaine did not look nearly as relieved as he should have.

“The caretaker said Elisia drove here. And every time she came, there was a man waiting beside the car for her. I’m worried that…”

Blaine did not finish the sentence. He did not dare think about where that possibility led, and he did not want Amber to face it either.

“She drove here? Did you ask what kind of car it was?” Reiji asked.

“You brat, this is what you’re focused on right now?” Blaine puffed out his beard in irritation. Of all times, this boy was worrying about somebody’s car?

“The roads that connect to Lavender Town only really lead to Cerulean, Saffron, and Vermilion. If they came by car, that means they don’t live far away.”

He continued calmly, “So many years have passed, and Amber’s mother still comes every year to pay respects. That means she still hasn’t let go of Amber. And if she’s that close by, then even better. Maybe the caretaker didn’t know the man, but he might remember the car. If we find the car, we find Amber’s mother.”

“Not bad, kid…” Blaine had not followed at first, but once Reiji laid it out, it clicked. If Amber’s mother had truly started a new life and moved on, she would not have come back year after year to visit the grave.

“And if she drove here, then the trip was only a day at most. Maybe even half a day. Just a few hours. That means the nearest big cities to Lavender Town are the most likely places to start.”

The more Blaine listened, the more he realized they did not have to wait ten months at all. They could find Amber’s mother now.

If she still came every year to visit the grave, then Amber was clearly still in her heart. The chance that she had remarried was probably small.

But they could not afford to drag this out. There was always the possibility that this year had been the last time she would come. He had to find Amber’s mother as soon as possible. If he waited too long, it could become a real problem.

After all, while chatting with the caretaker just now, he had heard the man casually mutter something:

“I see those two every year. They show up in a different car every time. Wish I had one of my own…”

That single line told him the man accompanying her had money. No one changed cars every year for years on end unless they were rich.

“Blaine, did you notice the chrysanthemums?” Reiji asked quietly.

“What about them?” Blaine frowned. “They were just chrysanthemums.”

“The stems were cut cleanly with scissors. They probably came from a flower shop. Amber’s mother wouldn’t have brought them all the way from another city, so there’s a good chance she bought them locally. Find the flower shop and see if anyone there remembers anything.”

“And if that doesn’t lead anywhere, then look for witnesses. See whether anyone noticed an out-of-town car. From there, track the owner by the plate. If the car stopped outside a flower shop, and if it was a nice one, someone will remember it fast.”

He spread his hands. “That shouldn’t be too hard for a Gym Leader.”

That was about as much as Reiji could do. In terms of reach and influence, he was nowhere near someone like Blaine, and Blaine could always call on Agatha too.

Choosing to seek Blaine’s help in the first place really had been the right move. Stuff like this was better left to people like him. Reiji could only help so much.

“Good thinking. I’ve got it. Let’s go back first.” Blaine smiled for the first time in a while, the heaviness finally lifting from him. With his connections, it would not even take a month to track Amber’s mother down.

Only now did the stone sitting on his heart finally drop away. A long-lost smile returned to his face as he carried Amber back to the car.

If they really could find Amber’s mother, then he would bring her to Cinnabar Island and let her live there. He wanted to protect the mother and daughter together.

Once they got back in, the group left the cemetery and headed for the harbor they had come from, still riding the same sightseeing car as before.

The fog was lighter than it had been two days ago, so the ride back to the port went smoothly.

The road was still bumpy in places, but Amber never woke up.

She slept the entire way onto the passenger ferry. The one receiving Blaine was the same captain from the luxury liner they had taken before.

That liner only sailed as far as the northern edge of the Kanto mainland before turning back.

Any farther north was Sinnoh. This ship followed the Kanto coastline, so once it reached the northern end, it simply reversed course. It was not a cross-region liner.

Johto and Kanto sat on the same mainland—Johto to the west, Kanto to the east, with the Indigo Plateau between them.

Far to the southwest of that mainland lay Hoenn, which required crossing the sea to reach.

If you kept going south from Cinnabar Island, you would reach the Sevii Islands, New Island, and then the Orange Archipelago.

Looked at that way, the Orange Archipelago really was fairly close to Hoenn. Hoenn lay to the southwest of the mainland, while the Orange Archipelago stretched south of it. Both sat in the southern seas.

If you sailed west from Mikan Island long enough, you could reach Hoenn. No wonder Steven had come to the Orange Archipelago to dig for ore.

Sinnoh lay to the northeast of the Kanto–Johto mainland, which was why this luxury liner did not continue north. Cross-region routes belonged to different ships. This one only served the Kanto and Johto coastlines.

Traveling by land between Johto and Kanto was difficult anyway. What stood between them was the Indigo Plateau mountain range, cutting right across the continent. League headquarters was built there, and the Indigo Plateau Conference was held there too.

As for the Silver Conference, that took place in Silver Town on the western side of the Indigo Plateau. Both League tournaments were held in the same continuous mountain range—one to the west, one to the east.

On this return trip, Reiji planned to get off at Sunnytown Harbor, then either transfer to another ferry or cross the bridge to Fuchsia City. The route would take six days in total, one day less than the trip over. He was not planning to go back to Cinnabar Island either.

For those six days, he had no intention of going near the underground black market again. If he showed up there another time, somebody might start keeping an eye on him. Better to stay put and train his Pokémon in the ship’s training room than go looking for trouble.

That said, even if the underground black market was off-limits, the open-air matches on deck were still fair game.

In lawless places, people could rob each other black-on-black. But in broad daylight, with everyone watching? He refused to believe anybody would dare try the same thing. Playing a few matches there sounded pretty good. Otherwise, the trip back would be unbearably dull.

[End of chapter]

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