Back home

"I figured you'd be here," Elicia said. 

"I thought you'd be celebrating," Ayan replied without looking at her. "You know after all you and him are going to be famous." 

"You really don't your name in this?" Elicia was still finding it very hard to understand that someone wouldn't want their name to be attached with the discovery of a Pokémon.

"Naa.. I don't need it. I don't want to add more names into the books who are going to study this Pokémon in the future. Our course is already big." Ayan said. This made Elicia chuckle a bit, as they had always complained that their course of Pokémon and general studies were already too much to handle. 

"Still... it's strange. Most people would kill for a chance to have their name next to a newly discovered Pokémon." Elicia said. 

"Exactly why I didn't want it," Ayan said. "People kill for less."

Elicia went quiet again. She came and sat with him while both watched the stars. 

"We are really small in the vast expanse of the universe. Aren't we?" She asked. 

"Yeah we are. Whatever we think of the universe, I am sure that it is much more wild than we can imagine." Ayan said. Nobody knew it better than him. He had been transmigrated, so of course he knew that the universe or maybe the multiverse was wild. 

"True.. By the way.. What do you think the Alliance will name the Pokémon as?" 

"I don't know.." Ayan said. He hoped that they could name the Pokémon as Celebi. For some reason the names of the Pokémon didn't change in this world so Ayan believed that someone definitely had some knowledge of these Pokémon from before hand, and also the reason why he didn't want his name associated with Celebi.

Celebi was a legendary Pokémon and he didn't want anyone from the alliance to come and investigate much deeper. There were Pokémon out there who could control and hypnotize. Thus he was very careful of his steps. Even the full heal spray that he had applied on Lombre, they could be found in market though in a very steep price, but it wasn't impossible.

The method of injection was different in different kinds of potions available in the market. Most of them were ingested while a few could be sprayed but they were still around. Elicia might know a lot, but Ayan was sure that she didn't know enough and was sure that he was safe. 

"Would you want to be famous?" Ayan asked her. 

"I think so. I mean… I was born into a well-off family, but everything always came with expectations. I want to be known for something I chose. Not just who I am." Ah yes, the dilemma of these rich people.

"That's fair," Ayan said as he could only say those words and not be rude. 

"And you?" she asked. "If not fame, what do you want?"

He thought for a long moment.

"Freedom," he said at last. "The ability to choose my path. Fame makes people watch you. That's not freedom. That's pressure." Ayan didn't add the other word, and that was fame brings danger too. At the moment he couldn't just flutter his wings. 

Elicia didn't say anything for a long while. She just sat beside him in silence, watching the stars move ever so slightly. The fire pit crackled in the distance, and their classmates' laughter echoed faintly through the night air. The stars were clear, scattered across the deep navy sky like scattered pieces of memory, both distant and impossibly old.

Eventually, her mobile vibrated. She glanced at it and smiled.

"Neil's looking for you," she said.

"Tell him I'm on my way."

Together, they stood. Elicia dusted her pants, and the two of them walked back toward the circle of celebration. The group had started roasting berries over the fire, and a few had even begun humming old trainer anthems from their childhood. Neil spotted them and waved frantically.

"Took you long enough! You missed the part where they announced us as the top capture team!" Neil beamed. 

"It's just pictures. They have also done the same." Ayan reminded.

"C'mon man, I also got a Lombre." Neil said. 

"Thanks to him." Elicia reminded Neil of who was responsible. And Elicia actually didn't need to do that because Lombre had already slapped him on his butt, which made Neil wince. He couldn't scream because he needed to maintain his image. 

Ayan and Elicia laughed at this but didn't pour oil on his fire. 

"I saved you some grape berry jam!" one of the classmates called out as Ayan returned. He smiled faintly and nodded in thanks. Despite his exhaustion, it was hard not to enjoy the moment just a little. But even celebration had its limits.

As the fire wore down and the food was picked clean, most students retired to their dorms. Ayan excused himself, giving Neil and Elicia a small wave, and headed inside.

The next morning dawned late for him.

By the time Ayan stirred, the sun had already begun its arc toward noon. His mobile had several messages—Neil had sent him blurry photos from last night, mostly food, a few group shots, and a picture of the fire pit with a caption that read: "Next time you better join the toast!"

He smiled faintly and rolled back over. His body ached from both the excitement and the sheer effort of the past couple days. He hadn't realized how completely drained he was until now. Eventually, the school shuttle arrived to take them back home. Bags were loaded, sleepy students slumped into seats, and even the most talkative of them had quieted into tired murmurs.

Back in the city, they were dropped off at the main academy checkpoint. Students filed out in groups, waving goodbye, and others just left in silence due to exhaustion.

Ayan, however, didn't linger. He made his way directly to his apartment building.