The skyline of downtown Goldenrod was something Josh never thought he would see again after being locked behind the invisible dome that had kept Hoenn isolated from the rest of the world since early July. It never looked more beautiful than it did today. The weather couldn't have been any better. "It's only gotten bigger since my own high school days," the Mauville Leader related as Johto's largest park came into view while the aircraft was lining up for its final approach into the Johtonian airport. "And there's Goldenrod Gym," he pointed outside the window. "Many, many League challenges end there. I wonder who the Leader is now?" The rest of the landing was buttery smooth, though Josh got quite the chill as he led Cian, and unbeknownst to him at the time, Ghost, in deplaning.

Johtonian winters were harsh, after all. Perhaps he didn't pick the greatest time to return home, especially with friends used to tropical weather. "You did remember to bring a coat, right? We do get snow in the winter." As the three were waiting to pick up their baggage, Josh sighted a familiar face. "Ghost, is that you?" he asked, his head tilting in the budding Ranger's direction. "Didn't expect to run into you out here! I'm sure family won't mind seeing another friendly face!"

The wait was a bit longer than he would have liked, but not unexpected, given the number of people looking to leave Hoenn after the Meteno crisis. "My parents' apartment isn't too far from the airport. It shouldn't take us long to get there by flying Pokémon. They are a bit older, and my dad is a bit of a chatterbox. Just a heads up."

It was a good thing that it only just started snowing; otherwise, their landing almost certainly would have been delayed! As the trio's baggage came onto the conveyor, Ghost had expressed curiosity in Josh's time management skills, what with juggling his chase of Raikou, his Gym, and professional racing. "That's...not quite true, Ghost," the Leader admitted. "With my Gym taking up a lot of my time, I had to give up semi-pro racing as a career. I still enter races on occasion, but I don't grind the circuit anymore." He laughed for a moment. "Gyms aren't just run by the Leader. The Mauville Racing Grounds employs almost thirty people now, you know! Besides, I'm sure Shawn, Ace, Aravan and the others are handling my challenges just fine. They'll have to for the next week or two. Depends on how much time I need to spend here."

At least Cian was dressed for the occasion. Smart man, he was. After all, he, too, was a Gym Leader. "I've got three flying Pokémon we can use to get to my folks' apartment. It's not that far." Once they had left the airport, Josh would send out his Dragonair for himself, his Skarmory for Ghost, and his Pidgeot for Cian, unless they had their own Pokémon to carry them to their destination. Regardless of the travel arrangements, Josh would lead the way to his family's large, two-level apartment. It was immediately obvious that this was in a lower-upper-class neighborhood; the family had to be millionaires, but weren't ultra-wealthy like the Silphs were.

Once the trio were on the ground, Josh rang the doorbell to his parents' pad. His mother was fairly quick to answer, reaching out with open arms. "Josh! You're okay!" The Gym Leader, likewise, opened his arms to return the hug.

"I'm glad to be able to see you in person, finally," the Hoenn Gym Leader answered. "These two are Ghost and Cian. They're friends I made while we were locked away in Hoenn. Cian here is a Gym Leader."

"Cian, Ghost, nice meeting you," the older, retired woman offered a handshake. "I baked home-made pizza, but it looks like I'll have to bake more! Come on in. I'm sure my son wants to show you around!"

The pies she had ready were small, but she seemed willing to make more. "It's healthier than frozen pizza or anything you would get from a pizzeria. I miss Marie's Pizza. We used to order from them almost on a weekly basis, but they had a kitchen fire earlier this year and never recovered from it." It was the worst way for any local restaurant to go. "I forgot to say. I'm Jamie. Lived in Goldenrod since before Joshie here was even thought of. It'll be a while; I'll holler when it's ready."

"Where's Jimbo at? I haven't even seen him at all."

"He's... in the hospital. And he's not doing well. Remember when I got really sick last month?"

"Don't tell me...?"

"We had dodged it for so long, too. I got it around two or three weeks ago but wound up fine. Then he got it about a week and a half ago. It pisses me off I can't even see him."

The news was devastating. Josh looked like he was going to break down in tears at any moment. Hoenn had toughened him up, but nothing could toughen him up enough to prepare for the possible loss of one of his parents. From what she described, the sickness Jimbo had was so contagious that he wouldn't be able to visit him. "Can you set up a video conference sometime while we're here? I want to talk to him if he can talk."

"I'll do what I can. Now you move him to the back of your mind and have fun, okay?"

There was no response. He simply walked off and led the way to the upper level of the upper-class apartment. It was almost like a middle class private home. "Sorry the two of you had to hear that. I wanted to catch up with them, but their plates are clearly full as is. Anyway, I'll show you around." The Mauville Leader began leading the way upstairs.

Josh led the Gym Leader and Chaser upstairs to the apartment's second level. Having this much space to himself had to have been lavish for someone his age prior to the Hoenn move, especially as a teenager. His retro game enthusiasm showed, a tube TV connected to three consoles that were older than he was. He had a home Step Step Revolution setup, too. It was no arcade setup, but it was quite convenient to be able to play without making a trip clear across Goldenrod. If either of them were video game enthusiasts, they would have noticed primarily Eastern RPGs, platformers, puzzle games, and racing games on the bookcase to the side of the entertainment center.

Neatly arranged on dressers and shelves was a staggering amount of merchandise depicting the Johto Beasts: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. With sightings of the legendary Pokémon during the Kanto War, some of them looked quite close to the real thing. There was one missing spot, though, and that was for a fairly large Raikou plush that he had taken with him to his Mauville residence when he moved to Hoenn. It meant a lot to him. "This was where I spent much of my life until I moved to Hoenn. Life sure was a lot simpler back then."

Cian's words were comforting. Both of theirs, really. "I'm not so sure. Remember a couple years ago when the sports world kinda stopped because of a health crisis that could have turned global? Well, my dad got it. You know, that virus. He's also 62, and for people who get sick enough to be hospitalized with it, it's a huge roll of the dice whether they'll come out alive. Of course I have my fingers crossed. I'm just worried."

The two guests would have some time to game with Josh, if they wanted, before his mother shouted that the pizzas were ready. "On our way!"