Reiji & Mira

The Pokémon Center bustled with activity. Trainers came and went, chatting with Nurse Joy, healing their Pokémon, or picking up quests from the mission board.

Among them, two young trainers stood side by side, studying the available tasks.

Reiji, a tall, athletic young man with short brown hair, had his Machoke standing behind him like an unshakable guardian. His Poliwhirl hopped next to him, eagerly looking at the task board.

Beside him, Mira, a petite girl with dark hair tied in a ponytail, scanned the board with sharp eyes. Her Butterfree fluttered above her, while her Psyduck stood by her feet, rubbing its head as if it had a headache.

Mira sighed. "Ugh, most of these are just gathering herbs or delivering mail."

Reiji smirked. "What, you were expecting some grand adventure?"

"I don't mind a small adventure," she shot back. "But come on—'collect 10 Oran Berries' is boring."

Reiji chuckled. "Fine, let's pick something interesting."

After a few minutes of discussion, they settled on an escort mission—helping a traveling merchant transport supplies to a nearby town.

Satisfied with their choice, they walked over to the Pokémon Communicator Booth.

The screen flickered, and soon, the familiar face of Hagen—Reiji's father—appeared.

"Ah, Reiji, Mira! How's the journey so far?" Hagen's voice was warm, though his eyes carried a hint of exhaustion.

"We're doing fine, Dad," Reiji said. "We just picked up a task from the Pokémon Center."

Mira waved. "Hey, Uncle Hagen!"

Hagen chuckled. "Still traveling with this idiot, huh?"

Mira grinned. "Yep! Someone has to keep him from running into trouble."

Reiji rolled his eyes. "I don't 'run into trouble.' Trouble finds me."

Hagen laughed before his expression turned more serious. "By the way, have you two heard? Rei came back to the village."

Both Reiji and Mira blinked in surprise.

"He's back?! For real?!" Reiji asked, eyes widening.

Mira leaned closer to the screen. "I thought he disappeared for good! After all he suddenlly left with Elder Garon and didn't even say goodbye. What happened?"

Hagen sighed. "It's a long story, but let's just say he came back way stronger than before. His Pokémon are unbelievably powerful."

He scratched his chin. "Oh, and... he's married now."

Silence.

Reiji and Mira froze.

Mira blinked. "Wait. What?"

Reiji's jaw dropped. "Rei? Married?"

Hagen nodded. "To Elise."

Mira gasped. "Elise?! That Elise?! My Elise ?!"

"The same one," Hagen confirmed.

Reiji ran a hand through his hair. "This guy just shows up out of nowhere, stronger than ever, and gets married? Man, what the hell has he been doing?"

Hagen chuckled. "That's not all. He took over the Dubwool farm and merged it with his fruit farm that he built. Very quickly. I think I saw a lycanrock building his house ???"

Mira whistled. "Damn. He's really settling down, huh?"

Reiji folded his arms. "Guess I'll have to go see him for myself when we get back."

Hagen's smile faded slightly. "That's not the only thing going on."

He sighed. "As you know, our village was already small. We had only 123 people, and most of them were old—fifty or sixty years old."

Reiji and Mira exchanged glances, sensing where this was going.

Hagen continued, "Recently, a lot of the older folks and their families have left. Their children, who had moved to the city years ago, have become moderately successful, so they finally brought their parents to live with them."

His voice grew quieter. "Now, including you two, there are only 80 people left in the village."

Mira frowned. "That's... a lot of people gone."

"It is," Hagen admitted. "And Mira, your parents... they're thinking of selling the Butterfree farm."

Mira's eyes widened. "What? But that's our family business!"

Hagen sighed. "They want to move to the Water City of Combodia. Your sister got a job as a Gym Assistant there, and they feel like it's time for a change."

Mira was silent for a moment.

Then, she clenched her fists. "They didn't tell me anything about this..."

Hagen gave her a sympathetic look. "Maybe they wanted to be sure before they told you."

Reiji nudged her. "Hey, you okay?"

Mira exhaled slowly. "Yeah. Just... surprised."

Hagen smiled gently. "It's not like they've decided for sure yet. Maybe you should call them and talk it out."

Mira nodded. "I will."