The morning of their departure dawned clear and bright, the kind of perfect sailing weather that made Marcus practically vibrate with excitement.

  "You couldn't ask for better conditions," he said for the third time as they walked toward the harbor. "Steady wind from the northwest, calm seas, clear skies all the way to Slateport. We'll make good time."

  "You said that already," Hana observed.

  "Because it bears repeating. Do you know how rare it is to get a crossing this smooth? The currents between Dewford and Slateport are tricky—usually you're fighting chop the whole way."

  Jason let their banter wash over him, his mind still processing the previous day's encounter. Steven Stone knew about him now. The Champion of Hoenn had looked at him and seen... something. An anomaly, probably. A piece that didn't fit the puzzle.

  He's going to be watching, Jason thought. Whatever I do from here, he'll hear about it.

  The realization should have been terrifying. Instead, it felt almost like relief. If Steven was paying attention, maybe Jason's hints about Aqua would actually reach someone who could act on them. Someone with the power to make a difference.

  Or maybe it would just make things more complicated when the truth eventually came out.

  "Jason? You with us?"

  He blinked, realizing they'd reached the harbor and both companions were looking at him expectantly.

  "Sorry. Thinking."

  "About the Champion?" Marcus guessed. "Can't blame you. That's not an encounter you shake off easily."

  "Among other things." Jason looked out at the harbor, where fishing boats bobbed gently at their moorings and the ferry terminal bustled with early morning activity. "Where's Mr. Briney's dock?"

  "Other side of the harbor. He keeps the Seagallop separate from the commercial traffic—says the big boats make Peeko nervous."

  They made their way around the curve of the waterfront, passing fishermen preparing for the day's work, vendors setting up stalls, and a few early-rising tourists taking photographs of the picturesque scene. Dewford had a charm that grew on you, Jason realized. The island's isolation created a sense of community that larger cities couldn't match.

  He'd miss it, in a way.

  Mr. Briney was already aboard the Seagallop when they arrived, Peeko perched on his shoulder as he checked rigging and prepared for departure.

  "There they are! My favorite passengers!" The old sailor's weathered face split into a grin. "Ready for another voyage?"

  "Ready to get home," Marcus said, though his answering smile took any edge off the words. "Been away too long."

  "Slateport's a fine city. Grew up there myself, you know. Before the sea called me away." Briney gestured expansively at the boat. "Come aboard, come aboard. We'll catch the morning tide and be there by evening."

  They loaded their packs and settled into their positions—Marcus immediately moving to help Briney with the sails, Hana finding a spot near the bow where she could watch the water, and Jason claiming a seat amidships where he wouldn't be in anyone's way.

  Sprigatito emerged from her ball without being asked, apparently having decided that any journey was her business. She investigated the deck with practiced movements—more confident than she'd been on the trip to Dewford, already familiar with the boat's rhythms. Still, her tail twitched as the Seagallop shifted beneath them, and she watched the water with the wariness of a creature who respected its dangers.

  "Getting used to it?" Jason asked her.

  A chirp that conveyed something like tolerating it. She settled beside him, close enough to feel his warmth but positioned where she could watch the waves.

  The departure was smooth, Briney guiding the Seagallop out of the harbor with practiced ease while Marcus handled the sails. Within minutes, Dewford Island was shrinking behind them, its rocky cliffs and clustered buildings becoming a postcard image against the morning sky.

  Jason watched it recede, thinking about everything that had happened there. His second gym badge. Ralts's brave stand against Makuhita. The caves and their ancient secrets. Steven Stone's measuring gaze.

  Two badges down. Six to go.

  I'm actually doing this, he thought. I'm actually becoming a trainer.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The idea still felt surreal sometimes. Back home—his real home—he'd played Pokémon games, watched the anime, imagined what it would be like. But imagination couldn't capture the reality of it. The weight of a Pokéball in your hand. The rush of a battle's turning point. The quiet moments of connection with creatures that trusted you completely.

  He looked down at Sprigatito, who had curled up against his leg and was determinedly ignoring the ocean spray. At Ralts's ball on his belt, containing a Pokémon who had literally gotten back up for him when she had nothing left.

  Whatever happens, Jason promised silently, I'll be worthy of that trust.

  The hours passed peacefully. Marcus spelled Briney at the wheel periodically, the two sailors falling into easy conversation about currents and weather patterns and the best fishing spots between islands. Hana read something on her Pokégear—Ranger training materials, Jason guessed—while Ren dozed in a patch of sunlight.

  Jason released Ralts around midday, wanting her to experience the journey. She materialized looking more comfortable than she had on the trip to Dewford, her psychic senses reaching out to taste the familiar-yet-different environment.

  Calmer today, she sent through their bond. The water feels... quieter.

  "Marcus said the conditions are good. Smooth crossing."

  I like it better this way. A pause as she watched the endless blue stretch toward the horizon. Still so much empty. But beautiful.

  She settled beside him, her small form pressed against his other side so that he had a Pokémon on each leg. The three of them sat together, watching the waves roll past.

  "Your Pokémon really trust you."

  Jason looked up to find Marcus approaching, having handed the wheel back to Briney.

  "I hope so. I try to be worthy of it."

  "That's more than some trainers manage." Marcus settled onto a nearby coil of rope, stretching his legs out. "I've seen people treat their Pokémon like tools. Means to an end. Disposable if they don't perform." His expression darkened briefly. "Never understood that. A Pokémon gives you everything—their loyalty, their strength, their lives sometimes. How do you repay that with anything less than everything you have?"

  "You can't." Jason stroked Sprigatito's fur, feeling her purr vibrate against his palm. "They deserve better than that."

  "Exactly." Marcus studied him for a moment. "You know, for a guy with no memory, you've got a pretty solid moral compass."

  "Some things are fundamental. Memory or no memory."

  "Yeah." Marcus was quiet for a moment, the only sounds the creak of rigging and the splash of waves against the hull. "Can I ask you something?"

  "Depends on the question."

  "Fair enough." Marcus leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Back in the cave, when you talked about Steven Stone's hobbies—the rare stones, the geological interests. Hana noticed it too. How did you know that stuff?"

  Jason had been expecting this conversation eventually. He'd prepared answers, partial truths that would satisfy without revealing too much.

  "I research," he said. "When I woke up with no memory, I felt... vulnerable. Exposed. So I started learning everything I could about this region. The gym leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion. Important figures, significant events. If I couldn't remember my own past, at least I could understand the present."

  "That's..." Marcus trailed off, considering. "Actually, that makes sense. I'd probably do the same thing in my position."

  "It's not a perfect system. Sometimes I know things I shouldn't, just from reading too much. Other times I'm completely blind to stuff everyone else takes for granted." Jason shrugged. "I'm working with what I have."

  "Aren't we all." Marcus's expression relaxed, apparently satisfied with the explanation. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing pretty well. Two badges, two solid Pokémon, heading to Slateport with a plan. A lot of new trainers can't say the same."

  "Thanks. That means something, coming from you."

  "Don't let it go to your head." But Marcus was smiling as he stood. "I'm going to check on Briney. We should be hitting the Slateport approach channels soon—traffic gets heavier."

  He moved toward the stern, leaving Jason alone with his Pokémon and his thoughts.

  That went better than expected, Jason reflected. The explanation he'd given wasn't a lie, exactly. He had been researching this world obsessively since arriving. The fact that he'd arrived with pre-existing knowledge from games and anime... well, that was a detail Marcus didn't need to know. Not yet.

  Ralts stirred against his leg, sending a gentle pulse of curiosity through their bond.

  He believes you, she conveyed. But he wonders.

  "Everyone wonders," Jason murmured. "It's okay. Wondering isn't the same as knowing."

  Will you tell them? Someday?

  Jason looked out at the ocean, thinking about the future he knew was coming. The Weather Trio crisis. The moment when his knowledge would become undeniable.

  "Someday," he said. "When it's time."

  Slateport appeared on the horizon in the late afternoon, its harbor a forest of masts and the city sprawling up the hillside behind it.

  "Home sweet home," Marcus breathed, something soft entering his voice.

  The city was larger than Jason had expected—significantly bigger than Rustboro, with a commercial port that dwarfed anything he'd seen so far. Container ships sat at massive docks, cranes swinging cargo with mechanical precision. Fishing boats clustered in their own section, while pleasure craft and ferries occupied yet another area. The whole harbor buzzed with activity, a living organism of commerce and travel.

  "Impressive," Hana said, joining them at the bow.

  "Biggest port in Hoenn," Marcus confirmed. "Maybe the biggest in this part of the world. Everything flows through Slateport eventually—goods, people, information. If you want to find something, this is where you start looking."

  "And if you want to hide something?" Jason asked.

  Marcus gave him a sharp look. "Then this is also where you start. Lots of places to disappear in a city this size. Lots of people willing to not ask questions."

  The implication was clear. If Team Aqua had operations in Slateport—and they almost certainly did—they'd be harder to find than in smaller towns.

  "We're not here to hunt criminals," Hana reminded them both. "We're here to resupply, rest, and continue toward Mauville."

  "Right." Jason watched the harbor grow larger as they approached. "Mauville. That's the priority."

  Six more badges. Six more challenges to overcome. Whatever was happening with Team Aqua and Team Magma, his primary goal remained the same: get stronger. Train his Pokémon. Become the trainer they deserved.

  Everything else was secondary.

  The Seagallop slid into the harbor, Briney navigating the crowded waterway with decades of experience. Around them, Slateport waited—full of possibilities, dangers, and a future Jason was only beginning to understand.