he smiles as the last words were exchanged. kyle offers his part before he was left alone in the darkness of space.

"one day," he tells the being.

he hadn't be the type to judge based on appearances, backgrounds, or any other superficial matters. what he values are qualities that he sees himself, and what the being showed him was instability.

the answer was direction. kyle simply provided them with the option that they have forgotten about. it was clarity, as what was mentioned.



the trip home was melancholic.

he did succeed with the objective, but the story wasn't wrought with action as the name suggested. still, it was an adventure, just not in the way he expected.

on hindsight, he supposed that was a plus. subverting expectations was one thing he liked about stories like these, even if it meant he has to experience the ending of the story.

kyle dreads the ending, but when he learns that he was to be welcomed like a hero once he'd reach the space station, he heaves a sigh and smiles. it was a simple denouement, but it's satisfying.

eager eyes from both the kid and the pyroar were enough to weaken kyle to make a decision. it's the final nudge of his own pyroar that finalized his decision.

"you're behaving yourself," he sternly tells his pyroar, who politely nods its head. he turns to the child afterwards. "you too."

kyle positions himself on josh's pokemon, who, unlike his own pokemon, seemed more comfortable taking people into rides. it's one of the many differences josh's pokemon differs with ones like his who are trained traditionally instead.

"yell really loud!" the kid answers josh. "go fast pyroar! woosh!"

kyle keeps his mouth quiet, ready to learn from the sidelines as the gym leader handles the childish eagerness that he once had. this wouldn't be his first time riding a pokemon, but races were different from what he was used to.

with his abundance of energy, the child turns to his chaperone. "let's race, kyle!" the kid shouts.

"the gym leader?" it is how he knows him by. "he visited my office last time. he's cool."

not saying much was in character, but not for the wrong reasons. there simply wasn't enough time to explain the intricacies of their interaction when something else much more interesting surfaces from the conversation.

"oh, that reminds me. come visit me sometime. i started a detective agency like the one you had before. the office is right by my apartment."

his residence was what he rented when he lived in slateport many years ago. it's resurgence alone is retelling of how he held himself, disregarding his home at verdanturf for reasons unknown to navy.

another hint of the differences between what they know makes itself known soon after.

"i quit the force at my colleague's request. is this the reason why?"

"yes!" he answers fast.

he motions with his head to follow the mabosstiff, completely on board with the suggestion. he doesn't need any more words to explain it when she explains it better.

a nod to both vespa and gookey was given before he turns to go after his pokemon. they follow the source of the barks, which only grew louder and louder as they come close.

at the very least, it didn't take them long to reach an abandoned house, where the mabosstiff remained at the entrance. kyle arrives first, who then turns to both of them as they come following shortly.

"deputies, we have a problem!"

multiple drifloon float away from the building's interior as the barking and the shouting disturbs them. children who have been using the house as a secret base fell asleep by the door, unbothered by the noise.

he doesn't need to explain the problem as wild pokemon swarm them. kyle attempts to shoo them with his arm, while some flock to vespa, trying to tug her grookey away to the sky.

"who knows? i could pretty much be an illusion. those aren't uncommon around here."

he mirrors eddie's thoughts with his words.

keldeo turns around and faces the two, turning its horn against them. a serious expression challenges the two, but a pat on the head from kyle's palm disturbs the show of determination.

the previous top champion crouches to keldeo's level, facing the two with his new companion on his side.

"why are you guys here anyways?" unlike keldeo, there is no note of threat in his voice. "it can't be because of me, right?"

his eyes go to terrakion.

"i know someone here is too proud to apologize for going against the plan."

kyle vaguely recognized her. "oh! i know you, i think."

yuina higashi was another museum curator he had met during his inquiry of lilycove's own museum curator, invited to meet with one of the pokemon under league's care. in an unprecedented twist of events, it now follows one of her closest friends.

he approaches gabe when he starts talking. hearing his name perks him up, but being volunteered work quickly dampens the mood. he laughs awkwardly as steps draw closer.

"i suppose we have all the time in the world to do what we want," he comments cheekily before turning to the lost trainer. "hello. what brings you to the border?"

if they know their objective, at least they can guide her to meet up with the other person at their destination instead. people usually come to the border with an intent as far as he knows.

at the very least, they aren't near any of the broken seals at the moment.

"a bunch!"

"you should stop lying," kyle reprimands the kid without missing a beat. "isn't this a bit dangerous for him?"

i can do it!

"you're, like, six." he turns away from the kid and addresses the gym leader. "but it's pretty much his first time."

his words suggest that he isn't interested, though reality is closer to him being reserved. it might be the talk of money that subconsciously deterred him, but it's always easier to argue if it's for the sake of a child.

the child races for the reins, but kyle holds him still by his shoulders.

"i-is it safe for him to go for it alone?" it was the kid's wish after all, and it felt like he's muddying the memory by adding another character in the picture.

he already was aware of what people thought of him. the truth he adheres to is the truth he believes in, and as far as he knows, he has not died. the idea of playing along comes to mind, but not when he was wished a death sentence.

"do you want me to actually die?" he asks back, unabashed.

actually was the key word.

"heh. help? i'm surprised you're changing your stance on getting people around you involved. but for real? me? helpful?"

he wasn't like gabriel navidson. he doesn't have the fervor to put the greater good above himself. in his point of view, he was a normal individual with a realist perspective of the world and would run at the earliest sign of danger.

as much as he wants to speak fondly of the late navidson and use him as a subject to tease the older brother with, it leaves a bad taste in his mouth to mix and match his name with the topic they're treading on.

idly, he paddles forward to reach for navy. the gyarados and its sapphire scales, despite its reservations, brings him closer.

"injured is really loose term. are you sure you're really not dead?"

he swings his hands on the phantasmal navy, giving in to his curiosity despite not matching the mood of their exchange.

one after the other, kyle realizes the reasons why people around him have suggested for him to hole up in slateport.

he abandons the previous job without second thought. everything expected from him paints a different picture from how he perceives himself, dragging him down like gravity.

his head runs on fumes, clutching what remains of his available pokemon on his waist as he sprints away from the epicenter of chaos.

he feels his stomach drop when he finally catches what seemed to be the supposed general of rocket's campaign. whether by coincidence or fate, kyle is overwhelmed by fear.

in the timeline he was made to believe in by the system, he was nothing but a bystander to the story. miracles are the only chance of survival against gods of old.

upon catching the eyes of the general, he tenses on the spot. he would say he was simply waiting for the other to move first so he can react appropriately, but it would be a lie.

aborting missions weren't anything big for kyle. destruction was less than ideal, but self-preservation comes before anything else.

it was irony that everything rolls back to zero and all development returns to nil when the realization of his role under the protection of ho-oh becomes realized. a gift that was meant to be abused has resulted to little use.

despite the rather optimistic ending of the previous encounter, retreat becomes the move for who was once considered the emergent. it's a title that doesn't belong to him now, nor will he ever take it back.

there is no emerging in scrapping the chapter when ideal conditions weren't met, especially so when luck doesn't favor him as much as it did before.

he smiles, cracking a chuckle, as he faces another individual in his tracks. a coincidence, really, but one that he doesn't embrace.

any pokemon he doesn't recognize is deemed an unbeatable boss. he gauges the opponent before making any sudden move as turning his back around anyone in this warfront doesn't logically bid anyone a good time.

pokeballs on his waist are on the ready, mentally preparing himself for the worse to come should it happen.

ignorance is bliss.

when too much insistence is placed on prohibition, it is natural for delinquency to spring from curiosity. while not one to fall for such temptations, bigger incentives place the act higher than the supposed risk a civilian should be aware of on kyle's priority list.

stories tell of forces that make themselves known. kyle is content with sneaking into the shadows and remaining a piece on the backdrop as he heads for his objective:

medical records from the demolished petalburg hospital.

a request from a survivor of the facility who had been denied a chance to get back to the city for safety reasons. it was the type of request you give to individuals like kyle who can go around prohibitions.

kyle attempts to sneak through the vegetation of the strip of land connecting oldale with petalburg, using the conflict as a smokescreen. he lays low to avoid detection, but there is only so much he can do when eyes were expectant of reconnaissance from the other side.

like an inexperienced author who cringes at his own work, knowing that he couldn't bear with what he wrote, he braces for the impact of the consequences of proofreading his work.

he shuts his eyes close when noah goes for the kiss.

warmth comes to his lips. the unusual feeling triggers an unexplained nostalgia, but with no memory to connect it to, the spark dissipates in the air.

slowly, he opens his eyes to the gym leader bridging the distance between them.

"heh, y-y-you should've taken me out on a date first," he comments as his tongue instinctively sweeps his lips clean.

the comment comes as a taunt-- challenging as he always does when he teases. it's one of those blunders that he does when he's overwhelmed, releasing cliched lines one after the other to fill in the gap in his incompetence.

"i-i-if you said we got married, t-t-then you'd have no problems doing it again."

it doesn't break the spell. it never will. reality drags them to the least expected ending, but given the other options, replication is the next best thing if the favored closure of this predicament involved the impossible.

he doesn't deny the advances. he cannot.

a man who has no inclinations for relationships finds himself sensitive against affection. noah would feel kyle's muscles tensing, his palms sweating and his heart beating faster.

still, he doesn't let go.

"p-people did say things about the late champion," he opens up, whispering softly on noah's ear from their precarious position. "it is possible that we are the same."

he may not return the gesture out of good faith, but intuition tells him that feelings were genuine.

"i don't think i'm capable of things they say i did but..." kyle mentally prepares himself, unsure if he'll regret the coming words. "do you want to prove me wrong?"