Pokemon A Jo Jo!

by Auragongal

Summary:

Two Worlds. Two Members of the Joestar Bloodline.

Jonathan Joestar had died. He remembered he died, but had woken up in a new world full of technology and creatures he didn't fully recognize.

Joanna Joestar moved to the Paldea Region after being set up for an incident she claimed was done by someone else and just wanted to have fun in her new home and solve the region's mysteries as well as help her new friends.

When these two meet the day Joanna finally heads off to Uva Academy, however... well, there's most likely going to be the kind of chaos that only a Joestar is used to on this Bizarre Treasure Hunt. After all, it could be a lot worse, right?

Notes:

This is probably going to be a stupid idea. But, eh, might as well have fun with it!

Chapter 1: Death and New Beginnings

He was dead.

Jonathan Joestar was at peace as his vision darkened and his breath finally stopped before he left his body behind. He had ensured the safety of his beloved Erina and the infant that was in danger when the vampiric horde ran amok on their ship. He had ensured that-- hopefully forever-- Dio would never again harm anyone as he held his brother’s head in his arms while the ship burned around them.

Hopefully, it would sink to the bottom of the ocean and the remains go undiscovered until both of them had decayed to nothing.

“Jojo! Let go… think this over… you can… forever! …wounds will… sp…ter…Erina…”

The voice he heard just then. Was that Dio? He couldn’t tell due to how faint it was now. The golden clouds surrounding him were making things quieter as he drifted towards the sky. He could barely hear the explosion he put into motion now, but he was positive that Erina and that baby girl would survive. Dio’s soul was nowhere to be found as he rose towards the sun, and he assumed the vampire simply went to someplace else.

Father, Danny, Baron Zeppeli… they were waiting for him. He was sad that he would be seeing them again so soon, but he had made his peace the moment he knew his wife was safe. He planned to watch over her for the rest of her life and also prayed that the child that survived with her would have a happy life with the woman he loved.

Perhaps leaving his wife behind so soon after their wedding was his only regret now.

His soul continued onward, the silence of the void making him feel lonely. He could no longer speak thanks to what Dio had done to him, and whatever important thing had torn when he used the last of his Hamon was what had finally killed him. He was fine with this. He knew he would be fully healed upon reaching his destination. That was how it worked, wasn’t it? The dead would have a healthy body upon reaching Heaven?

There’s an interesting one.

What was that?

He deserves a chance, doesn’t he?

Was somebody speaking?

He does, considering how he was robbed.

Robbed? Of his life? That was true…

But his life is gone, and he cannot stay in our world without Their permission! How is he to have his second chance?

Second chance?

*******, Master has already allowed it.

Was something out there?

Very well. If They allow it, then so be it.

The next thing he knew, he felt like something was dragging him. Was he being deprived of Heaven? Was he going to Hell? No, he heard mention of a Second Chance. But at what? Life? Was he to go back to the beginning, and repeat his life until he could change his fate?

No, that sounded wrong.

He felt something fuse together, something important. A burning pain in his lungs. He saw brilliant colors surround him and overtake his vision.

He heard water rush past him.

~0~

“Really, Glory, I’m fine!”

That is what Joanna Joestar said while looking at the screen of her Rotom Phone, the lavender case looking a little worse for wear ever since recent events caused her and her mother to leave Spikemuth for her Dad’s new house in Paldea. While her sharp-looking gold eyes looked at the bob-haired brunette onscreen, she could tell her famous cousin was exhausted due to, well, everything going on back in Galar.

“Well, pardon me for being the only one to worry about you and Aunt Erina, Jo Jo,” her sixteen-year-old cousin then said. “I mean, yeah, I’m glad you two were able to move to Paldea safely, but with your dad missing, the mess I need to look into as Champion over here, and well… Grandad, you can imagine why I’m worried. Especially with how you and Uncle Nicky seem to attract trouble.”

“Glory, really, I’ll just be attending school here in Paldea and staying in the dorm there. What sort of trouble can I possibly get into?” Joanna asked while giving her cousin a cheeky grin.

“Jo Jo, you’re fourteen. You’re a little older than I was when I tripped my way into saving Galar with Hop’s help. I don’t even have that birthmark you and your dad do, and I can just tell that you’re going to get caught up in something without even trying. Again.”

“You seriously don’t think I did it, do you?” Joanna asked, her eye twitching as she recalled The Incident, “I keep telling you, I was set up by that Creepy Corviknight Taxi Driver!” 

“I know, I know,” Gloria sighed, before changing the subject. “So, how’s the new house? Must be a lot bigger than your flat  back in Spikemuth, right?”

“Oh yeah, I got a nice loft on the second floor, and I can just look down to see who comes and goes thanks to how the room’s set up. Might be useful in case Grandfather Pendleton decides to darken our door one day.”

“He really doesn’t have a reason to go to Paldea, you know.”

“Yeah, and that’s certainly a benefit of the move. I don’t have to listen to him go on and on about how amazing you are, while in his eyes I am going to be nothing more than a Worthless Spikemuther.”

“And that last bit is why he’s banned from entering Spikemuth, according to Marnie,” Gloria said with a groan. “I seriously don’t blame Uncle Fionn and Dad for doing as much work in other regions as they possibly can. Grandad can be… a handful when it comes to Uncle Nicky, Jo Jo.”

“Trust me, I know,” Joanna said as she replayed the little promo video she got in her email from Uva Academy. “Hopefully my attending the famous Uva Academy will shut him up… well, once Mum manages to get the paperwork ready.”

“We both know it won’t,” Gloria sighed, while pushing the head of her overly affectionate Intelleon off camera, “He just hates you on principle at this point.”

“Yeah, yeah, Sins of the Father and all that. Feelin’s mutual. ” Joanna said, before shifting to a brighter subject. “So, how’s things with Future Professor Hop?”

“Oh come on, not you too!” Gloria wailed, while she covered her face with her hands during the call. “I get enough of this from Leon! Just because I caught the bouquet at Sonia and Raihan’s wedding… I swear Jo Jo, when you start dating, I’m going to pay you back a hundredfold! Mark my bloody words!”

Joanna giggled as she tucked her ash brown hair behind her ear, before walking over to her bed with her phone in hand, the poor Rotom inside it barely able to hover after The Incident. The device itself still worked, but she still knew she had to get a replacement before heading off to school.

Still, it was at that moment that something crossed her mind, while she placed a hand over the star-shaped birthmark near her neck. For a moment, she thought she felt a strange tingling coming from the spot before it stopped as suddenly as it started.

That... probably wasn't normal. At all.

“Hey, Glory, the day you and Hop met Zacian, did you ever feel like you were about to go through something incredibly bizarre?”

She watched the screen as her cousin blinked at her, before pulling her hair back in thought, the apartment she had in Wyndon showed the skyline behind Gloria, while Joanna had a nice view of the sea from the window just next to the stairs leading down.

“That was three years ago, but… I was just looking forward to seeing Leon again and hanging out while having some great food with him and Hop. I never expected my life to get turned around like it did starting with Hop’s Wooloo getting lost in the Weald next to my house. I mean, even after meeting Zacian… I just thought that was a weird thing that wasn’t all that important at the time," Gloria said with a sad smile. "I just didn't register I was maybe involved in something bigger until Team Yell helped us break into Macro Cosmos. And... Chairman Rose is still out there somewhere, according to Oleanna. Maybe he's just atoning in his own way."

Right, that whole mess with Eternatus during the finals three years ago. She was lucky she was just watching TV at the time with her mum and much cooler Grandpa Tats. Still, she supposed it was for the best that was all one happy coincidence in the long run. 

“Well, glad to know there’s not like, a Pokemon tied to the concept of Fate, right?" Joanna then said, rubbing the star-shaped mark when it started to tingle again, while she wasn't even sure why she brought that up. "Sure, there’s Absols that can detect danger and a load of Psychic Types, but that’s probably something completely different than actually deciding or controlling a person's Fate.”

“Jo Jo, what are you getting at now?”

“Eh, just got a feeling just now that I may be in for a very interesting time here in Paldea, is all,” Joanna said as she laid back in her bed, before eyeing the stack of boxes at the foot of her bed. She still had more unpacking to do.

“... Just try and stay out of trouble, alright?”

“Can’t promise that, sorry!” Joanna said quickly, before ending the call just as Gloria was about to tear her cousin a new one.

Still… what would the future even hold for her?

Chapter 2: Welcome to Paldea!

Summary:

Joanna Joestar prepares for her first day at the Academy, well, until something weird happens

It had taken a week longer than expected, mainly due to something happening on the Academy’s Part, but Joanna Joestar was almost ready to take on the world as she put on the dark violet tie of her school uniform. The off-white shirt, the matching violet shorts with a yellow drawstring, the plain brown shoes, and the black socks with a yellow stripe, she looked like an upstanding student as she looked at herself in the mirror.

“Hmm… not exactly right yet, is it?” she said while tying her ash brown hair back into a ponytail, before applying some dark denim mascara to her lashes. After a moment, she finally realized what was missing, before she headed to her desk, pulled out a tube of lavender lipstick, and quickly applied it.

That was better. For the moment anyway. Hopefully, once she got a better idea of what was and wasn’t allowed for the school uniforms, she’d be able to add her own tastes to her appearance that wouldn’t get her sent to the office.

The last thing she needed in Paldea was to get expelled for something stupid.

After sweeping her bangs to the side and doing some last checks on her looks, Joanna was about to head on down for breakfast, when the “ro-to-to-to” of her brand new phone sounded followed by the device flying out of her shorts pocket. However, after seeing the words “Grandpa Tats” on screen, she smiled and accepted the call.

“Oi! How’s my favorite Granddaughter, eh? Settling in all nice and good?” said Cronin Joestar, the wild-looking old man with a magenta tattoo on his face that resembled the wings of a Beautifly. Sure, he and Joanna weren’t related by blood, due to him adopting her father years and years ago, but he was still her awesome Grandpa.

“I’m doing pretty good, Gramps,” Joanna said as she gave a thumbs up, “I was just about to head down for breakfast and wait for whoever the Academy’s sending to finalize things, and then I’ll be off to Mesagoza.”

“Ah, good! Believe me, I was heartbroken to hear what happened when you and your mum went to visit Wyndon! When I get my hands on whoever tried to set you up, I’ll sick me dear Mordred on’em! And also have Mackey joinin’ in the fun!”

Uh oh, the Hydreigon and Bisharp “Death from Above” combo was something her grandpa was infamous for back in his prime as a trainer. And if he was considering pulling that out, then he was serious.

“Well, Gramps, the only problem are that those two knucklehead celebrities are still out cold last I heard,” Joanna said, while her grandfather’s withered visage began to pout. “Not to mention that the Creepy Corviknight Taxi I saw is nowhere to be found, so you may have to wait a bit before getting a lead from Gloria.”

“I mean, I do still have some contacts that could help…” the man said while scratching his bearded chin.

“I really don’t think this is worth their time, Gramps,” Joanna said. “I mean, do you really think they’ll spare a moment to look into something like this?”

“I still got some dirt on some of the higher-ups, my Little Hellion,” Cronin said with a grin while Joanna enjoyed hearing his nickname for her. “But, just so your dear mum doesn’t have a heart attack, I’ll keep my cards close for now. But the moment you decide we need to escalate, send the word, aye?”

“Don’t worry, Gramps, I will!” Joanna laughed out before she smiled and looked out the window over her desk. “Mum and I have been busy unpacking while waiting to hear from the Academy, but I wish you could be here too, Gramps. Dad picked a really nice spot here in Paldea- it’s a little spot known as Cabo Poco in the Southern Part of the region. The house is on top of a sturdy cliff, Mum has a beautiful garden she can work on with Ringo’s help, and there’s only a mansion down the road in terms of neighbors. Haven’t met them yet, but I have a feeling I will soon enough.”

She frowned as she felt her birthmark tingle again. Ever since she moved in a week ago, she’d been getting a weird feeling that something was going on. She had no idea what, and it irritated her that she didn’t know, but whatever it was, that tingling was either going to drive her mad, or warn her about danger in the future.

“Something wrong with your neck, Joanna?” Cronin asked, causing her to realize she’d been rubbing the spot again.

“Ah, just my birthmark tingling. Did Dad have to deal with that? He’s got one in the same spot too, after all.”

“Not to my knowledge, then again, since I found and adopted my sweet Nicky in my prime, I’m not really sure what’s going on. I mean, you two having the exact same birthmark is weird enough. Maybe ask him about it when he finally gets back, aye? He’s probably had a job come up. You know how he gets when he’s well, looking for treasure.”

“Yeah, and he’s got Aunt Emilia with him too,” Joanna said with a smile. “So, whatever’s going on with him, I’m sure he’s perfectly fine, eh? Anyway, I read the student handbook for Uva Academy again, and I might be getting my first Pokemon today!”

“Oh, the school provides your first partner?” Cronin asked, “Ah, I remember when I was a youngster, and trainers got their first Pokemon from either a professor or dumb luck like I did! Good ‘ol Arthur and I had all sorts of adventures, let me tell ya! I mean, he also tried to bite the shit outta me when we met, but I showed him who’s boss by biting him back!”

Joanna laughed again, recalling the story. “I probably won’t have to bite anything to prove I’m in charge, Gramps.”

“Well, whatever you get, I expect plenty of pictures! Battles, day to day, whatever is going on, I want you to show me that first partner of yours as they are, got me?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send as many pics as possible, Gramps!” Joanna said as she moved towards the stairs, “Pokemon, interesting sights, whatever catches my interest, I’ll show you everything I can!”

“That’s me girl!” Cronin said as he gave a pretty hearty laugh in return. “And remember this, Joanna! We Joestars might not be related by blood, but we share a spirit! Be it Hell or Heaven! With Friends and Foes! Whatever comes our way, we’ll face it head on! Never let the shitty things in life get to you, Joanna, and instead let that spirit of yours burn like the sun!”

“Thanks, Gramps, I’ll definitely keep that in mind!” Joanna said as she gave a thumbs up. “Anyway, I better head on down before The Baron drags me down for breakfast. You know how that Golurk gets.”

“Believe me, I know,” Cronin said as he glanced away onscreen, “That Pokemon’s got quite a hook to it, that’s for sure… Anyway, stay as safe as you can out there, Joanna, but if you do get into a brawl or two, give yer opponent hell, aye?”

“Will do, Gramps! Love you!” Joanna said, before ending the call and heading downstairs. Of course, waiting for her with its arms crossed was The Baron, a silver, black, and green example of a Golurk that, in Joanna’s opinion, had the most frightening temper when someone managed to set it off. Most likely due to the cracked seal on its chest. As The Baron tapped its flat metal foot on the floor and showed how impatient it was getting, Joanna smiled and waved before walking along to the kitchen.

“Oh don’t look at me like that, Baron,” she said as she spotted her mother making a pot of tea to go with their final breakfast together before Joanna headed off to school. “Grandpa Tats called to check in on me.”

The Golurk didn’t make a sound as it followed after Joanna, the sunlight coming in through the window making the Pokemon shine a little more than usual. Of course, just as Joanna reached the breakfast table, her mother seemed to sense she was in the room, and the woman with her long blonde hair tied back into a simple braid turned to give a tired smile as she started moving toast, eggs, and some sausage to the table. The Baron, however, decided to use Psychic to take care of that for its trainer, while Joanna spoke up.

“Rough night of sleep, Mum?” she asked, only for the older woman to sigh and shake her head before her cyan eyes gave an annoyed glare at no one in particular.

“No, my father decided to call while I was making breakfast, to once again try and convince me to come back to Galar… without you,” she said, before she adjusted the sleeve of her blue shirt, and started to untie the yellow apron she wore. “Though, mysteriously enough, the call dropped just as he tried to explain why leaving you alone in Paldea until your father returned was such a “good idea” in his mind.”

Seeing the smile on her mother’s face told Joanna everything she needed to know after that.

“Right, well, I got a call from Grandpa Tats checking in,” Joanna said, as she enjoyed her breakfast. “He was himself, and he’s looking forward to seeing pictures of whatever my first partner’s going to be.”

“Well, the call I got from the Academy before my father called did say that something important was going to be here today…” Mum said, before looking at her daughter with a stern gaze. “You will do your best to stay out of trouble at the Academy, won’t you?”

“As best as I can!” Joanna said before she looked towards the empty seat at the table and sighed, while The Baron stood watch near the front door. “Wish Dad was here with us, but he probably got swept up in something or other. I’m sure he’ll be back eventually, and he’ll definitely apologize for the late arrival. I mean, as long as he’s got his Pokemon, Aunt Emi, and his lucky charm with him, he’ll be fine, right?”

Mum suddenly gained a worried look on her face, which in turn started making Joanna worried, while she watched the woman reach into her shirt pocket.

“Listen, Jo–”

“Do forgive the intrusion!”

Joanna ended up distracted as she turned towards the door, at first seeing The Baron’s back blocking the way, before moving aside to reveal a lanky old man with a thin face, his white hair going down to his chin, and wearing a dark gray shirt under a violet blazer with white slacks, matching white dress shoes, round white glasses, and a puffy white collar around his throat. Notably, the man had six red and white premier balls on his blazer. His gray eyes seemed to show some worry before The Baron returned to stand by the door but crossed his arms to show that he was watching the unexpected guest carefully.

Joanna, however, kept her mouth shut as the stranger walked over to them with an awkward expression on his face, clearly uncomfortable about something. Whether it was because he came in unexpectedly or the threat of The Baron looming behind him, Joanna wasn’t sure just yet.

“You are… Miss Joanna Joestar, yes?” he then asked, as he looked directly at the girl with ash brown hair.

“Yeah, and you would be?” Joanna asked, and while she was pretty sure about who this man was as she recalled the Promo Vid she had watched countless times since she arrived in Paldea, well, one never knew when someone was a Ditto in disguise or a Zoroark or something these days.

“Ah, right, pardon me for not introducing myself right away,” the man said, before clearing his throat. “I am the Director of Uva Academy, please call me Mr. Clavell. I must also apologize for the unexpected issue that came up regarding your enrollment documents, Miss Joestar… it seems your father had already prepared some enrollment documents for you, but we haven’t been able to get in contact with him to help sort out this error. Especially after your mother sent in a copy as well. So, on behalf of the Academy, I decided to bring them to you.”

He raised up a bag he had in his hand, before offering it to Joanna’s mother, the surprised older woman looking back at the Director.

“Oh! So that’s why there was such a delay in the enrollment process,” she said as she accepted the documents, with a relieved look on her face. “I was worried that… ah, never mind, I’m just glad Nicky thought ahead.”

“Ah, just… where is Mister Joestar?” Mr. Clavell then said, before her mother sighed.

“Joanna, why don’t you finish getting your uniform together? I need to have a word with the Director. If he’s willing to wait and have a cuppa.” Mum then said, while Joanna nodded and got up from the table, to head back upstairs.

“Oh, no need to trouble yourself for my sake, I did come in unannounced after all,” Mr. Clavell said before The Baron made some noise to remind the man of its presence. “Of course, I’m not one to refuse such a kind offer…”

“Oi, Baron, be nice to Mum’s guest,” Joanna said, watching as the mighty Golurk nodded while her mother apologized for her Pokemon’s personality.

Once she got back to her room to grab her hat and leather backpack, Joanna stopped for a moment to look around her room one last time. The Piers and Team Yell posters on the wall by her bed, the wardrobe with some star-shaped stickers along with some showing Pokemon like Litwick, Dreepy, and Morpeko. The desk having her notebook and Adventure Guide on top after she packed up her laptop for school, made her feel a little sad as she realized she was going to be leaving Mum alone for a while. Sure, Mum would have her Pokemon for company until Joanna or Dad got back, and she’d be able to visit home for a while, but it was still… a little sad she’d be on her own in a fancy school.

If rumors about The Incident that jump-started the plans to move earlier than expected reached Paldea, would she even be able to make any friends there?

She shook her head, trying to dismiss the sad thoughts as she grabbed the gray hat she had resting on her desk, before reaching for her bag next. Well, until her phone started to give a musical jingle instead of the standard “Ro-to-to-to” as before.

Her eyes lit up, as she saw her phone fly in front of her, showing she was invited to a Voice Chat with her online friend, OgreBuddy. They met by chance online for a game that had gone under, before they decided to keep in touch. All she knew about him was that he was a shy kid with an older sister, and both of them attended a pretty fancy school off the coast of Unova, but she did consider him a good friend who needed a bit more confidence.

“Hey Ogre, how are ya?” she said after accepting the invite. She never did get a chance to see her friend’s face, since he never turned on his computer’s camera, and he didn’t have a phone yet for some reason, but she returned the favor at his request. Probably to make the day they met face to face more interesting or something.

“O-Oh, hey, uh… Hey Seeker, ho-how are you? Oh! Um, I’m doing alright. School’s normal.”

“I’m doing alright, just about to head off to my own school, finally,” Joanna said with a smile. “Hopefully I’ll get my first Pokemon today too. Oh, right, what was your first partner, anyway?”

“I-I have an Applin.”

“Oh cool! Was it hard to get? I hear that they’re a bit of a pain to find back in Galar. In fact, there’s even a rumor about them.”

“O-oh? Applin is pretty common back home… what’s that rumor about, anyway?”

“Just that if you give someone you love an Applin, you and your lover will be together forever,” Joanna said with a shrug. “Probably started because of how hard they were to hunt down. I mean, I guess if you give a Pokemon you spent days searching for to someone you love, then it shows your dedication to them, right?”

Silence.

“Ogre, you still there, mate?”

“O-Oh, yeah, s-sorry, I um… had to turn my mic off for a sec to check something… um, so… how are things in Paldea, anyway?”

“Well, that pompadour’d bird Pokemon on the roof’s been causing trouble for Mum’s garden, and we’ve spent the past week unpacking, but so far so good,” Joanna said, before looking out the window. “The weather’s pretty nice too.”

“That’s good, it’d probably be a bad thing if it rained on your first day of school… Oh, um… if I ever end up visiting Paldea someday, do you think we’ll be able to meet up?”

“I hope so, Ogre!” Joanna said, “In the meantime, how do you feel about me sending you photos from time to time? Pokemon, local scenery, whatever you like!”

“I-I’d like that, Seeker. Um, anyway, I need to go, so… talk later?”

“Sure thing, mate, chat as soon as I’m settled in the dorm,” Joanna said before the call ended with that. Of course, after waiting a moment to ensure there weren’t any more calls, she then slipped on her leather school bag, the silver shield depicting a bunch of grapes shining in the overhead light. After making sure her ponytail was tucked into her hat for the sake of comfort, she then headed back down in time to see Mr. Clavell appear at the bottom. From the look on his face, he had probably heard how much of a trouble magnet Joanna and her father seemed to be, especially as he tried his best to look composed as he spoke to her.

“Ah, Miss Joanna, I see that the uniform of our storied academy suits you quite well,” he said as Joanna took a moment to adjust her school hat. She wasn’t fond of the style, and she intended to find a proper cap the first chance she got. However, she soon noticed that Mr. Clavell seemed surprised for a moment before he headed towards the door. “Oh, gracious! How very careless of me, I had entirely forgotten I’ve something else for you, Miss Joanna. A most important thing.”

Yes! She knew what was coming, though, when she noticed that Mr. Clavell started to speed up while The Baron was looming close to her mother, she had a feeling what else was going on. “But your living room is hardly the place for it. Would you please follow me outside?”

And then he was through the door. She shot her mother a questioning look as she indicated the Golurk next to her, only for the woman to wave in a way to say “Don’t worry about it.”

A few moments later, Joanna was outside her house with Mum right behind her. The garden was nice as always, even with her mother’s loyal Rillaboom, Ringo, standing guard as it glared up at the pompadour’d pest nesting on the roof. The various vegetables and fruit trees that were just about ready for harvest acted as a sign that Dad had thought ahead for their impending move, especially as Joanna and her mother had been surprised by the garden that was already waiting for her mother, along with a little surprise from Joanna’s dad– a flower garden in the back with a golden Applin statue watching over it.

Her mother had laughed at the sight, before mumbling “Ah Nicky, you’re certainly a treasure.”

Unfortunately, the happy mood was ruined when Joanna’s neck started to tingle again, which caused Joanna to frown and rub her birthmark yet again.

“Ah, Miss Joanna, is everything alright?” Mr. Clavell asked before Joanna just smiled and moved her hand away as the tingling disappeared.

“Ah, probably just slept wrong, Mr. Clavell,” she lied, “Gotta get used to the wide open spaces of Paldea, I guess. It was a lot more cramped back in Spikemuth!”

She then gave a laugh of her own, knowing her mother was just shaking her head as Ringo decided to head to the backyard. Even the confused expression from the Director was more than enough to tell Joanna her attempted joke fell a bit flat.

“Right then,” Mr. Clavell said after a moment, before pulling out three normal pokeballs and tossing them up into the air. “Dear Pokemon, time to come out of your pokeballs!”

When they appeared, Joanna wasn’t quite sure what to make of them yet, as she recalled how her cousin Gloria had received her Intelleon from well, the previous champion after picking it out back when it was a Sobble, with a Grookey and a Scorbunny being the other options. Sure, Gloria said she picked James Pond because it looked cute, but Joanna didn’t think she’d select her first partner based on such a thing while she looked at the three Pokemon before her.

The green cat? Eh, it was cute with its big red eyes and all, but Dad was allergic to Cat Pokemon fur, so that was a no-go.

The duckling with the blue pompadour? That one was off the table for a variety of reasons. Mainly because the thing reminded her of Grandfather Pendleton with how stuck up it seemed. Not to mention she didn’t want the rooftop pest a reason to come back and be a bigger bother, just because of pompadour rivalry or something.

“We provide each student entering the Academy a Pokemon of their own,” Clavell then said, while Joanna crouched a bit, her eyes on the little red crocodile that was staring back at her. It did look kind of cute as she heard Mr. Clavell mention something about picking one of them before he introduced each of them. “Sprigatito the Grass Cat Pokemon, Fuecoco the Fire Croc Pokemon, and Quaxly, the Duckling Pokemon. They’re all very good company, I assure you! Why, they never even leave my–”

He was cut off as Fuecoco waddled closer to Joanna, eyes sparkling as she reached down to pet its… his snout, the white face, the fiery hair on its head, and the overall air of blissful ignorance making the little pepper gator just so cute! Unfortunately, Sprigatito and Quaxly rushed in soon afterward, seeming a bit jealous of their fiery friend as the duckling tried to push him out of the way, looking dejected as Joanna pulled her hand back and glared.

“Ah, it seems they’re much more interested in you, Miss Joanna than familiar old me,” Mr. Clavell then said, before turning around. “Well, I do wish I could see which one you’d choose, but I have business to attend to down the road. Take time with your decision, and come find me once your mind is made up. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

For an old man, Mr. Clavell was quite quick on his feet.

“Looks like The Baron scared another one, Mum,” Joanna said, while the three Pokemon crowded around her, begging for attention.

“Unfortunately…” Mum then said in agreement, before reaching into her breast pocket. “Well, anyway, I’m guessing you already made your choice then?”

“Obviously,” Joanna said, “But I’ll walk all three of them down the road, since, well, Mr. Clavell still has their pokeballs on him.”

“Well, before you run off, I… found a couple of things in Dad and mine’s room, Joanna.”

The teen turned towards her mother, seeing the worried look on her face, before she pulled out her discovery. Dangling from a leather string was an unusual-looking gem that looked like a fusion between a comet shard and a star piece. The eight points alternated between a pale red and sky blue, before swirling together in the middle, and Joanna’s heart sank as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“That’s… That’s Dad’s Stellar Compass, isn’t it?” she said, earning a nod from her mother. “He never leaves home without that…”

“I know,” Mum then said as she slipped the pendant around Joanna’s neck, before taking a moment to play with her braided hair. “I found it stashed away behind the headboard, so he must have hid for a reason, Joanna. However, I still need to get everything fully unpacked, so… it seems I’ll have to leave this in your care, dear. After all, it may end up guiding you to whatever Nicky’s gotten himself into.”

“Right,” Joanna said, before turning around. “Thanks, Mum, and… I’ll make bloody sure he comes straight home when I track him down! Promise!”

“Oh, I know you will,” Mum said with a laugh, “Now, run along with those three little ones, alright? Best not keep Mr. Clavell waiting”

“Sure thing Mum!” Joanna said, already heading down the path to the mansion down the road. Of course, the three Pokemon with her seemed to want to steal her attention, especially Quaxly as it kept trying to fight off Fuecoco whenever the poor thing got close to her. So, to spite the possessive bird, she decided to pick up Fuecoco and carry him in her arms, while Sprigatito seemed unphased and sauntered behind her.

Quaxly was forced to withdraw cooly.

A short while later, Joanna decided to set Fuecoco down, before heading through the neighbor’s gate. The place looked pretty nice, in her opinion, and she did take a moment to admire the Dratini fountain before she felt three somethings run past her. It didn’t take long to figure out what was going on before she heard splashing in the fountain next to her she frowned as she saw Quaxly start preening itself in the water like some sort of fancy shampoo ad.

Moving on.

Sprigatito had retreated to a nearby flowerbed, snoozing in the sunlight, which Joanna simply shrugged off as Cat Pokemon Behavior and looked around for–

Ah, there he was! Joanna found herself smiling as she watched little Fuecoco sneeze before roasting an orange that had fallen on the ground. However, before she could walk over to the little guy, she watched as some girl appeared to give the Pokemon a pat on the head before Joanna froze. 

Was she too late to make her choice? 

“Oh, hey, are you these three’s trainer?” the girl said, while Fuecoco picked up its roasted fruit and ran towards Joanna. The fourteen-year-old had to admit, her neighbor looked pretty nice, with her black hair tied into a ponytail, a pair of green streaks poking out on her forehead, the freckles on her face, and her kind amber-orange eyes. She wore the same uniform as Joanna did at the moment with the addition of black tights leading to her white and magenta sneakers and no lame hat to mess with the sporty look. However, what really drew the brunette’s attention was the magenta thing on her arm. It looked kind of like a gauntlet with one of those health monitors attached to it, in her opinion, and she was about to ask about it when Mr. Clavell appeared.

“Not quite,” he said as he stood next to the tall girl, “Miss Joanna has yet to ma–”

“Oh, I pick Fuecoco here,” Joanna said, picking up the fire croc while it munched on its snack. “You ran off before I could tell you.”

“O-Oh, my apologies,” Mr. Clavell said before Sporty Girl rushed forward.

“Ah! Buenas, we haven’t met, have we?” she asked.

“Not until now,” Joanna said before this hyperactive student looked toward Clavell.

“Wait, Director, is this who I think it is?” she asked, with Joanna swearing this girl’s eyes were sparkling.

“Yes, this is our Academy’s newest student, Miss Joanna Joestar,” Clavell said as he suddenly looked a little tired. “She will be attending as of today.”

“Ah! So you’re the new kid that moved in up the road!” the older girl said, “I’ve been dying to find out more about you! Also, who owns that cool Golurk, is it yours?”

“Nah, The Baron’s my Mum’s,” Joanna said before giving a slight frown, “But, we moved in a week ago. You could have just swung by and said hello…?”

Sporty girl paused for a moment, before looking around a little nervously.

“Ah… well… I wasn’t feeling too great for the past week,” she said, “I mean, I normally stay in the dorms, but home’s here! Ah! Right! I’m Nemona! So, whaddya say New Neighbor, want to be friends?”

Well, that was certainly a shift, as Joanna was stunned into silence. She watched as her neighbor seemed to notice the situation, before becoming worried.

“Er… wait, did I come off a bit too strong? Sorry! I just… you know, got really excited to meet new friends and–”

“Miss Nemona is president of our student council,” Mr. Clavell said as he looked over at the sporty girl, while Joanna started to rub her neck again as that tingling sensation was really getting on her nerves. “As well as a Champion-ranked Trainer in her own right.”

I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO THE CHAMPION!? Joanna internally screamed, before realizing what Clavell actually said. “Wait, wait, are you saying there are multiple champions in the region?”

“Oh right, you’re not from Paldea, huh?” Nemona said, before giving a nervous chuckle. “Well, anyway, I’ll explain it in more detail later, but let’s just say I really, really love to battle! In fact, I think we should battle right now! You and me, Jo Jo!”

“W-Wait, what!?” Joanna said, she just got her first pokemon, and now a Champion wanted to battle her!? She was going to be destroyed!

“E-Easy now,” Clavell said as he put an arm between the two girls, “You two will be in the same class, so you’ll have plenty of time to battle later! And get to know each other better of course.”

He was… probably not helping as much as he thought he was, in Joanna’s honest opinion.

“We’re going to be neighbors and classmates!?” Nemona said with pure glee, “Nice! We’ll be able battle all we want!”

This girl would have been amazing in the Galar League.

“Er… well, I mean… I did just get my first pokemon…” Joanna said, holding Fuecoco close to her body, while the Quaxly glared at her.

“Ah, right! Fuecoco is like, the best choice for a first partner!” Nemona then said, “I mean, it’s fully evolved form’s part Ghost type, which is like, terrifying? But in a totally good way! Not to mention I feel like you two would make a great combo, Jo Jo!”

This little guy isn’t going to turn into like, a skeleton or something, is he? Joanna thought while looking at the adorable fire croc snuggling against her body. Still, if Chandelures could be terrifying, she was curious to see what this pokemon will turn out to be. Plus, she did admittedly like Ghost Types anyway…

“Can I choose one of the other two, Director?” Nemona then asked, surprising both him and Joanna as she watched things unfold a bit. Especially as the Quaxly seemed to gain a vengeful glint in its eye. Was it really that mad about not getting picked?

“Oh, but… did you not receive a Pokemon when you entered the academy, Miss Nemona?” Clavell asked, while Joanna was eyeing the duckling with suspicion. She wasn’t sure what kind of trainer Nemona was, but if she was a Champion, then there was a good chance she’d pick the pokemon that would be strong against Fuecoco, right?

“Not back then, no!” Nemona then said, “I had other Pokemon I was focused on raising at the time. But, now I want to raise a new Pokemon alongside Jo Jo while she raises her own new partner!”

Why was a Champion Trainer wanting to start over for her sake?

“Indeed, a rather splendid idea,” Mr. Clavell said after a moment of thought, while Joanna thought he looked relieved as well. “If you wish to raise one of these Pokémon on equal footing with Miss Joanna here, I shall be more than happy to allow it.”

Nemona cheered as she rapidly started talking about Joanna’s choice of partner, while Quaxly tried to reach out for her, as if trying to make sure it was picked. However, the duckling’s dreams of revenge were dashed as Nemona walked past it and picked up the sleeping Sprigatito.

“Welcome to the team!” Nemona said, while the grass cat yawned and the pompous duckling was frozen in despair over being rejected twice in one day. Personally, Joanna thought that bully of a duckling was getting its just desserts, before Nemona decided to grab Joanna’s hand with her gauntlet-free arm. “Now that we’ve chosen our Pokemon, we have to battle, right? Plus, I want to see how well you know the basics! I mean, you already had a choice in mind, so you have to know some things, right?”

She didn’t need Mr. Clavell to tell her that Nemona was a battle fanatic. Especially since the rich girl had her own private pitch on the beach. No, wait, that term wasn’t much of a thing here in Paldea, was it? Arena? No, that didn’t sound right… 

Best go with battle court for now. 

Still, Joanna did enjoy her classmate’s enthusiasm, and the fact she chose the grass type probably meant she wanted to help the new student get used to training in Paldea, without suffering like some trainers she heard about back in Galar.

Once they were in the middle of the court, Nemona let go of Joanna’s hand, before stepping back and grinning, while Mr. Clavell brought up the rear and sighed as Joanna realized that this might be a normal thing for her new friend.

“So! I believe anyone can be a Trainer as long as they have a pokemon by their side,” Nemona then said with her hands on her hips. “And it’s our duty as Trainers to help our Pokemon grow stronger through battle! So, you ready to battle me, Joanna?”

Setting down her new pokemon, Joanna grinned back as she slammed a fist into her palm. 

“Right then,” she said as she got into position, “Grandpa Tats told me the gist of things back in Spikemuth, so… let’s get started, and have our spirits shine like the sun!”

Nemona cheered, and was about to reach for a pokeball, before the Director spoke up while the glowering Quaxly looked down on the group from the short cliff nearby.

“Miss Nemona, please keep in mind that this is Miss Joanna’s first battle…” he said, causing Nemona to pause, before removing her hand from the pokeball she was about to toss, and looking at Sprigatito.

“Hehe… whoops!” she said, “I got so excited, I was about to toss out one of my usual partners right off the bat…”

“Oi! Still a newbie here, Nemona!” Joanna snapped, while her new friend laughed it off.

“Well, I’ll just take this chance to try out my new friend!” Nemona then said as her enthusiasm became infectious, “You want our spirits to shine like the sun, right? Well, let’s have us a fruitful battle, Joanna!”

So, the challenge began.

“Go, Orpheño!” Joanna said, the Fuecoco seemingly responding to the new name on instinct as it ran onto the court ready to go.

“Aww! You already gave it a nickname? That’s so cute!” Nemona said, while Sprigatito ran out for battle. “Anyway, I know this is your first battle, so let’s just have some fun!”

“Right, then!” Joanna said, before thinking for a moment. Fuecoco was a fire type, obviously enough, so it was logical to assume… “Orpheño, use Ember!”

The fire croc’s fiery hair seemed to flare up as he opened his mouth, the little Pokemon sending out a small fireball at the green cat. A yowl was heard as the move made contact, while Nemona seemed to get extra excited.

“Oh! Your grandpa taught you pretty well! Smart move since fire is strong against grass! And it looks like it’s a Critical hit too, which is like, super lucky!” she said, “Now then Sprigatito, use Tail Whip, and follow it up with scratch!”

“Dodge it, Orpheño!” Joanna shouted, watching as her partner managed to fall over and roll around to avoid Sprigatito’s fluffy tail, “Now, uh… use Leer! I really hope you know that move…”

Luckily, he did, as the fire croc narrowed his beady eyes at the cat, causing it to cower as it lowered its defenses. “Now, another Ember!”

Another shot of fire and the battle was done. The newly named Orpheño cheered as he bounced on the court before Joanna caught her new partner and hugged him as tightly as she could. The little crocodile seemed happy as well, his tail wriggling around as he snuggled his trainer back.

“Wow! Not bad, neighbor!” Nemona said, “Look at you, winning your first battle ever! You’ve got even more potential than I thought!”

“Honestly, I’m surprised I managed to beat a Champion,” Joanna said, before sending Orpheño back into his pokeball. She was looking forward to taking photos later. Maybe on the way to school? 

“Hey, if you can battle like that on your first try, I think you definitely have what it takes to– What?”

That was when Joanna started to feel a little off. Well, more off as her birthmark started to tingle again, followed by a strange mist rolling in around her, Nemona, and Clavell. As the mist seemed to cycle through all sorts of colors, Joanna had a very weird feeling that this wasn’t supposed to happen. Especially once she recalled what her cousin said about meeting Zacian in the Slumbering Weald, and how the fog in that forest became thicker and thicker as the legendary sword watched the current Champion of Galar and Hop before testing them.

“What’s with this weather!?” she heard Nemona say, while Joanna grunted as the tingling in her neck was starting to get stronger.

“Not sure, but if a Pokemon shows up, don’t fight it! It could be like an illusion or something!” Joanna said, before feeling someone grab her hand as Nemona’s voice became a little louder. The mist was thickening into a fog of some kind, while she heard Mr. Clavell say something she couldn’t quite make out.

“What kind of Pokemon would do something like that!?” she heard her friend say.

“Long story, but my cousin Gloria had something similar happen at the start of her journey… though she got knocked out by that Pokemon!” Joanna said, before seeing something start to form in the swirling fog. 

What was that?

It was getting a bit hard to breathe as Joanna leaned on what she was pretty sure was Nemona since she couldn’t see much else. This was insane! She had no idea what was happening, and whatever was forming in the fog in front of her looked kind of big… before it fell over with a thud on the sand.

Then, as mysteriously as it appeared, the fog dispersed. The sunlight overhead blinded Joanna for a moment as she used her free arm to shield her eyes before she felt Nemona’s arm start to tremble. She caught the sound of very angry quacking before her vision cleared up, and she saw…

“Is that a person?!” Nemona shouted, and without thinking, Joanna ran over to make sure whoever that guy was, was still breathing. 

As she got closer to the water, she could see the stranger was definitely on the big side as he looked like a wall of muscle. His blue-black hair was soaked through with seawater, while his clothes looked old-fashioned. Well, what parts were still on his body, as he looked like he had also survived a shipwreck. 

She couldn’t tell if this man was alive, but she needed to know. And she sure as hell couldn’t check while he was face down on the sand. Her birthmark tingled again as she tried to flip him over before Nemona rushed in to try and help. Whoever this guy was, he was heavy from all that muscle, as the two girls grunted. Joanna was surprised that someone as sporty as Nemona was struggling, but decided to ask later as she heard footsteps running towards them.

“Joanna, what’s going on!?” she heard her mother cry out, followed by the sound of The Baron making a landing on the sand. Next thing she knew, she was yanking Nemona away from the stranger before he was surrounded by a faint aura as the mighty Golurk used Psychic to lift the man, and Joanna could finally see the stranger’s face.

His eyes were halfway open now, and he was breathing at least. However, the stranger seemed to be struggling to stay conscious as the Golurk continued to use Psychic to force water out of the man’s lungs. He seemed too out of it to struggle, until her mother moved closer to see who this guy even was.

“Joanna, are you alright!?” Mum then asked before the stranger grunted as if he recognized something.

“Eri…na…?” was all he could say before he ended up passing out. Joanna looked at her mother, wondering why this guy seemed to know her name. However, the blonde was just as baffled as she was, as Mr. Clavell rushed over with a Pokeball in hand, most likely holding the currently missing Quaxly.

“Mrs. Joestar, what are you doing here?” Mr. Clavell then asked, “More importantly, we need to get a doctor out here immediately!”

“I-I’ll get my family’s doctor out here!” Nemona said, before pulling out her Rotom Phone and making the call. As Joanna tuned out the frantic sound of Nemona explaining the situation, she tried her best to keep calm as she looked at the stranger who had washed ashore. Or did that weird fog bring him here?

Either way, as The Baron set the stranger on the battle court, Joanna decided to do a bit of preliminary investigation by searching the man’s body to check for any form of ID. Unfortunately, his pockets were empty, and his shirt was on the verge of falling apart as she noticed how torn up it was. She wondered what could have done that to him as she circled the body carefully before her eyes landed on something unexpected.

There on the stranger’s neck, was a star-shaped mark exactly like her own.

Notes:

So! Here we are with the first real chapter of Pokemon A Jo Jo, and as y'all can see there's already some differences between this story, and how things kick off in Pokemon Violet. Starting with what pokemon meets the player downstairs, some dialogue changes here and there... and what happens after getting the player's first pokemon.

I will also say that Joanna's team will be based on my final team for the main game of Pokemon Violet. And that the name chosen for her Fuecoco is a combination of Orpheus and Jalepeno.

Also, I like to think that Nemona, in her efforts to become a great battler, also studied a lot about pokemon types and the like, to figure out her best team in general. And yes, I'm leaning into the "Nemona's got some health problems" theory for this. I mean, I also have a theory about *where* those health problems come from, but that can be revealed in a couple of chapters from now.

Anyway, for the JJBA fans reading this... yeah. Jonathan's going to be hit hard emotionally when he regains consciousness, especially considering what was going on when he died. And just to be clear, Joanna's mom is the Pokemon World's version of Erina Pendleton-Joestar.

Also, as for why Jonathan didn't show up until the end of the chapter? I mean, I thought that was a good way for Jonathan's entrance to the Pokemon World to well, get witnessed...

Also, an unintentional thing is Quaxly's attitude. That was just something that happened while writing. Not sure if that pokemon will become a recurring enemy of Orpheño yet. Though, whether or not the rejections so far become a hat trick or not...

Well, let's just say that I have a plan for a member of Jonathan's team, and I've been told the idea is quite evil so far...

And with that, I'll see you next time, when Jonathan wakes up and realizes the situation he's in.

Chapter 3: A New World

Summary:

Jonathan awakens to find himself alive, but in a world quite different than what he's familiar with...

He felt odd.

He could remember his last moments clearly. The explosion, Dio’s Head, getting Erina and the baby to safety, all of that. He could remember the pain his body endured, using the last of his Hamon, and something important tearing.

And yet, he could feel himself breathe. He could feel sheets and a soft bed under his back, and a blanket over his…

Bare chest?

That didn’t sound right. He kept his eyes shut as he ran his fingers across his torso, only to feel skin beneath his fingertips before he slowly trailed down to his leg. A bit of cloth gave him hope he still had his trousers on, though when he felt the skin of his knees after that, he realized he was off by a garment. 

Perhaps he dreamt of that disaster on the ship? Yes, that… that had to be it. Maybe he was actually in bed on the cruise ship with Erina. Maybe his death was all a nightmare!

He felt around his body, hoping to feel his wife’s body next to him. However, he was met with nothing but a large mattress on either side.

He was alone.

He couldn’t hear the waves outside, either. So it was likely he wasn’t still on his honeymoon after all.

Nervously, he reached up to his throat to feel the spot where Dio had struck him on the ship… in his memories? in his nightmare? He wasn’t sure. 

There was skin. No scars, no bandages, just warm, undamaged skin met his fingertips.

His eyes were still closed. If he opened them, would he find himself in his bedroom? When was he? Before his wedding? He felt like he was an adult, so it had to be somewhere between his wedding day at the latest and at the earliest…

Before Father died. 

Before Dio threw aside his humanity.

Before he met his friend, Speedwagon.

He couldn’t delay it any longer. He needed to know where… possibly when he was. He needed to know how much he dreamt, and how much was real.

He opened his eyes.

After hissing at the sudden burst of light, his vision cleared and he saw a smooth, white ceiling and cream-colored walls. The wooden floors were swept, and there was a dark blue rug decorated with a constellation design between the bed and the plain wooden door. Lastly, he noticed a desk by the door covered in notes and journals and a strange device Jonathan didn’t recognize. Perhaps he was in the room of an academic? But how did he…?

He remembered he died. That wasn’t a dream. He died, and yet here he was, in someone’s room in their bed dressed in just his undergarments and…

His heart was beating. He was alive, and his heart was beating. Did Dio actually turn him into a monster? 

Sunlight was pouring through the nearby window and seemed to rest on the blanket covering him. If there was only one way to know for sure, this was it. 

He reached his hand out.

Warmth, and nothing else. No sign of his body turning to ash, just the warm sun on his skin.

“Good to know I’m still human, at least,” he said to himself, “But… how did I get here? More importantly, where even is here?”

He frowned as he tried to remember what happened. Well, what happened after his death. There…

He heard a voice, didn’t he? Something about a second chance?

And then he was blinded by a blast of various colors, followed by…  by his body restoring itself somehow? That had to explain his lack of injuries… and that was followed by…

Water rushing over him. The ocean? Yes, that had to be it. He must have somehow fallen into the ocean after his resurrection, and then…

He recalled a beach. He recalled two girls trying to flip him on his back, going by the voices he had heard. He heard a name being called… Joanna? That was probably it.

He remembered something lifting him into the air and seawater leaving his lungs, before…

Erina. 

He thought he saw Erina before he passed out again. 

But… was that really his wife he saw? The expression she had on her face was… odd for some reason he couldn’t explain.

He decided to look around the room a little more, hoping to get a few answers. As he sat up a little better on the bed, he glanced around to see a few small landscape paintings on the wall, though he didn’t recognize half the subjects. A fortress, a misty woodland somewhere, a strange forest with giant colorful mushrooms…

That last one seemed right out of a storybook.

He looked to his left next and found another pair of clues. The first was a clock. At least, he assumed that was the case as he read “9:15” on it, before noticing some odd symbols. He didn’t recognize the language but strangely enough, he was able to read it just fine. 

Perhaps a gift from whoever, or whatever brought him back to life?

As for the other clue, that was surprisingly enough a color photograph. Yes, he had recalled hearing that some people were experimenting with the idea, such as a Frenchman by the name of du Hauron, or Wilhelm Vogel in Germany, but even Jonathan thought the idea was a little impossible.

Well, until his father died, he supposed. After learning firsthand that vampires were a very real thing, he supposed something like color photographs were much more believable in comparison. Perhaps wherever he ended up had such a method available to the public? He didn’t really understand the science behind it, something about photosensitive dyes from what he recalled overhearing while getting his degree in Archaeology.

Right, he could dwell on that later.

He then looked at the subject of the photograph, and while momentarily distracted by how brilliant the colors were, he noted that it showed three people- a young girl with ash brown hair and sharp-looking golden eyes playing with a man with similar features out in a woodland somewhere. As he spotted part of a blue tent, he assumed it was taken during a camping trip… though, he was surprised that this photograph seemed quite lively as he thought about how much time it took to have his and Erina’s wedding portrait taken.

Perhaps photography in this place had advanced to a point that it took far less time to prepare the camera and subjects?

He then focused on the third person in the photograph, and his heart sank when he saw the woman he thought looked like his wife. Same golden hair, cyan eyes… everything he recalled about his wife, he could see in that woman. The Other Erina and her family were all dressed oddly, in his opinion, with the man wearing shorts and a black, open-collared shirt over a white undershirt, while the daughter in the photo wasn’t even wearing a dress! In fact, he thought she looked more like a boy, save for her pigtails. As for what Erina’s double wore, that consisted of a green plaid shirt with blue trousers and black boots, and going by how she just smiled at her child and husband while she was working on a painting, it was clear this woman was happy with her life.

He wondered if Dio hadn’t attacked them one last time to steal his body, he would have been able to share such a happy life with Erina.

It was at that moment when he felt an odd tingling in his neck, followed by hearing voices at the door.

“Oye, Joanna, are you sure you want to go in there?”

“I’m just going to get some answers from him, Nemona! Something’s telling me that guy’s awake.”

The first voice sounded like there was a very slight Spanish accent, in his opinion. While the second voice… Joanna? She did sound like she came from… Wales? He thought he could detect a hint of a Welsh accent on her, anyway. Maybe mixed with a Lancashire accent as well? And a touch of Irish? Whatever it was, it was certainly distinct.

“Ok, I don’t know about any ESP stuff, but Dr. Pannacotta said not to overwhelm him right away! It’s possible he won’t remember anything, either, Jo Jo!”

“Well, I don’t trust him around Mum, ok? Now— Oi! Orpheño, what are you–”

The door opened, revealing the two girls he had seen before, the taller one holding back an older version of the girl from the photograph. He noticed they were in the same basic, if still boyish, uniform, though he wasn’t sure what school those two were attending, and why they weren’t in class. Was it some sort of a break from their lessons?

Still, that was nothing compared to what had walked into the room carrying an orange. To Jonathan, it looked like a bipedal crocodile a little over a foot tall. Red and white scales with a yellow square on the chest, and black… claws? On its feet. Its white face made him think of an apple thanks to the beady eyes, though the three visible fangs made him wonder if it was teething. Not to mention the “hair” on its head looked like a fire burning on a split candlewick.

Oh. They flickered. Those really were flames on its head. That was… alarming, actually. Still, the strange creature did seem to be docile as it waddled closer before holding up its fruit to Jonathan.

“Do you want me to have that?” he asked as the two girls entered the room, the taller one with black hair– though he wasn’t sure how to feel about the green streaks in it– looked uncomfortable, while Joanna looked at Jonathan with suspicion.

Did he do anything to offend her somehow?

“Fue!” the little lizard then cheered, before doing its best to push the orange towards Jonathan. Maybe he could let these girls know he wasn’t a threat?

After accepting the fruit and starting to peel it by using his thumbs to puncture the rind and pull it away, he watched as Orpheño waddled back to Joanna, looking quite happy for doing a good deed. However, Joanna still glared at him, while she picked up what he assumed was her pet.

“Right then, let’s get straight to business, shall we?” Joanna said, her sharp golden eyes coming across as a little intimidating when combined with the blue-black lashes framing them, and the pale violet… ah, that was only lipstick. Alright then. “First off, who the hell are you?”

“Joanna…” the taller girl, Nemona then said as she placed a gauntleted hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “Come on, we should really just let your mother and Director Clavell know this guy’s awake, and head to the Academy.”

“Oh, I don’t mind answering any questions,” he then said after popping an orange segment into his mouth. Sweet, a little sour, and juicy enough to quench the thirst he didn’t know he had. “My name is Jonathan Joestar, and I apologize for any trouble I’ve caused.”

“Hey, Jo Jo,” Nemona then said to Joanna, “Is this guy related to you somehow? I… don’t think Joestar’s that common a name.”

What? There were other Joestars besides him? As far as he knew, it was just him and his father… though, with the strange clock and that other device in the room, it was possible that he could have arrived in a distant future. And if that was the case, then did that mean Erina had a child after his death? His child?

Was Joanna a descendant of his?

“Not unless Grandpa Tats decided to adopt another kid without telling me or Dad,” she then answered, causing Jonathan to take note of her wording. Did she mean that the Joestars of this place were adopted by this “Grandpa Tats” as she called him? “But, that doesn’t explain why this guy has the same birthmark me and my dad got.”

“Wait, what birthmark?” Nemona then asked, the taller girl looking a little confused. However, before Jonathan could explain, Joanna started loosening the violet tie around her neck, causing the man to panic as he quickly turned his head away from this unladylike behavior! It was odd enough in his point of view to see two girls dressed like boys, but for a potential female relative to do this in front of him would have sent even the kindest of governesses into a rage!

“Woah, Joanna, you really do share a birthmark with this guy!” he heard Nemona say before he placed his hand on the spot where his own star-shaped birthmark happened to be located. He shut his light blue eyes to prevent himself from looking over at the two girls as well, while he listened and continued eating the orange he’d been given.

He needed to remain a Gentleman in this situation.

“Still… this is like, really weird,” he then heard Nemona say, as he felt eyes on him now. “I mean, Big Jon here did just… appear with that weird fog that showed up…”

A fog?

“I’ve actually got a theory on what might be going on. Or at least, it explains how this guy has the same mark me and Dad have, despite never seeing him before in my life,” Joanna then said, causing him to open his eyes and stare at her, and also look relieved she was in the middle of putting her tie back on.

“Like, what? A long lost brother that your dad doesn’t want to talk about?” Nemona asked, only for Jonathan to interject.

“I… don’t have any biological siblings,” he then pointed out, while thinking of his “adopted brother” for a moment. “And unless my Father had an affair, I highly doubt the possibility of such a thing.”

“Anyway…” Joanna then said, clearly annoyed by the situation. “Before I explain my theory, Nemona, I have another question for Jonathan.”

Going by that glare he was getting, it was probably not going to be an easy one for him.

“What else would you like to know?” he asked, trying to keep calm and maybe calm down Joanna as well.

“How the hell did you know my mum’s name was Erina?”

What?

His mind went back to the Erina he saw before passing out. The look she had he couldn’t quite recognize suddenly became clearer in his mind. It wasn’t the look of seeing him alive and well after everything that happened. It… It was…

Concern for her daughter around a stranger.

That woman he saw before he passed out wasn’t Erina. Not his Erina.

He had seen the signs around him, but it only just now seemed to come together to say that this was not the world he left behind. The strange creature Orpheño, the clock, the device on the desk, the strange language he could somehow read, why didn’t he realize it sooner? 

He was alive. But he wasn’t in his world.

“I… I thought she… I thought your mother was… was the woman I married, Erina Pendleton,” he finally struggled to say. His body felt like it was freezing despite the warm sunlight entering the room. If he and Erina– his Erina – were here together, that would be one thing, but if he was here all alone…

No, not alone. He was holding onto Dio’s head when he died. What if…

What if Dio was here too? What if he was hiding from the sun, waiting for the chance to steal Jonathan’s body again?

“Bloody Hell, he’s a Faller!”

Those words from Joanna brought forth some confusion for both him and Nemona, as he stared at the girl like she grew a second head.

“Faller?” both he and Nemona then asked, while Orpheño tilted its head to the side. Joanna merely adjusted her hat as she decided to explain.

“Right then,” Joana began, “I only know this information thanks to Grandpa Tat’s connections, but a Faller is basically someone who enters this world through an anomaly of some sort. Time Warp, Ultra Wormhole, Act of Arceus, or even just because some poor sod caught the interest of a Hoopa. Whatever the case, the Faller winds up here. Though… strangely, it seems that Jonathan still got his memories if he thought Mum was his wife…”

Ah, so memory loss was a side effect of “Falling” it seems. Could he work with that somehow? He wasn’t sure… Not to mention that “Arceus” sounded like the name of some sort of deity. As for everything else, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Honestly, they sounded like something Jules Verne might have written. However, he supposed that a “Hoopa” sounded like something more akin to what Lewis Carroll would have written about.

“This sounds like Occult stuff…” Nemona then sighed, “I don’t believe in that sort of thing, and I won’t judge you if you do, Joanna, but, I don’t see how Jonathan’s wife and your mother sharing the same first name points to him being this Faller thing…”

“Erina Pendleton’s my Mum’s maiden name, ” Joanna bluntly explained, while Jonathan heard a noise coming from the door, though he didn’t see anyone there when he looked. However, that wasn’t as important as the fact that it seemed Erina’s double was actually this world’s version of the love of his life.

And in this strange world… she didn’t marry him.

“Are… Are there any other Pendletons?” Jonathan then asked, not even sure why he was asking. It wasn’t like his Erina was in this world as well.

“Just my grandmother, Uncle Tommy, and… Mum’s father,” Joanna then answered, and while Jonathan wasn’t sure what he was hoping for, he did find how the girl addressed her own grandfather was… not normal. As he watched her fiddle with an odd, red and blue gemstone around her neck, he was about to press for more information when Nemona spoke up.

“Hey, Joanna, maybe we can chat more about this later? You and I should really head off to Mesagoza now, and you know, get your first day of school started? Finally?”

Jonathan was starting to have a feeling his sudden appearance had caused their delay. However… he didn’t find himself very comfortable with the idea of staying in this house in the event Joanna’s mother was tasked with aiding his recovery. Not only was Joanna’s mother his wife’s doppelganger, but more importantly…

He didn’t trust himself around her because of the resemblance, and that frightened him.

“How far is it to this… Mesagoza?” he asked, earning a confused look from Nemona, while Joanna seemed more curiously amused than anything at the moment. “Also, what school do you two attend? Some sort of finishing school?”

The two girls just stared at him now, before Nemona started breaking down into laughter. Jonathan wasn’t quite sure what was so funny unless this reaction meant that the educational differences between men and women in this world were far less divided.

“Uva Academy isn’t some finishing school,” Nemona said as she rubbed the back of her neck once she composed herself, “It’s like, the biggest school in the whole Paldea Region, open to students of all ages, and it’s a great place to learn how to be a Pokemon Trainer!”

That was not a word he recognized, nor was it a language he knew. Paldea at least gave him a location to work with, as did “Mesagoza,” but Pokemon?

“What… is a Pokemon?” he asked, earning a shocked gasp from Nemona while Joanna’s eyes widened. Right, best come up with an excuse. “I… might have forgotten the term due to erm, Falling, as Joanna put it.”

“Orpheño is an example of a Pokemon,” Joanna then explained after a moment of just scrutinizing Jonathan’s face, before pointing towards the now sleeping crocodile on the floor next to her. “His species is called Fuecoco, and a Pokemon can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes… and can be up to two out of eighteen different types. Using him as an example again, Orpheño’s a Fire Type Pokemon.”

So, it seemed that these “Pokemon” were the local fauna of this world? At least, that’s what Jonathan was able to figure out from that quick explanation. Though, he wasn’t exactly sure what these “Types” were about, and how they were decided.

“I… think I might join you two on your trek to school,” Jonathan then said, “Erm… once I’m dressed, that is. I don’t think staying in this house will help me recover my missing memories, either.”

He felt terrible for lying like this, but he really didn’t think these two girls would believe him if he said that Pokemon just did not exist in the world he came from. More importantly, he’d probably be sent to a madhouse if he even told them he remembered dying, much less who killed him and how! Even as he went through his own memories of the strange things he had encountered in his life- the Stone Mask, Vampires, and Dio’s experiments, he felt they would be unbelievable to a normal person.

Plus, traveling around this region might give him answers as to how he got to this world. As well as keep himself as far away from this world’s Erina as possible.

“Wait, what?” Nemona said in surprise, while Joanna seemed to head towards another door. He didn’t see a wardrobe anywhere, now that he thought about it. “Now hang on a sec! Dr. Pannacotta said that if you woke up, you'd need to take it easy! I seriously don’t think walking with us to school’s going to be taking it easy! I mean, the walk isn’t that bad, but there’s this kinda unsafe cave on the way, and I really don’t want either you or Joanna ending up in there…”

Jonathan said nothing as he saw Nemona grip her gauntleted arm, making him wonder if that pink gauntlet was really some sort of arm brace instead. Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted as he was suddenly hit in the face by a collared shirt and a pair of beige trousers. After clearing his vision again, he saw Joanna grab Nemona with one hand while the other held some sort of small box, the look on her face unreadable as she spoke again. As for the Fuecoco, it woke up and followed its owner out of the room with a yawn.

“Come on, Nemona, it’s better he comes with us instead of staying here and making Mum uneasy,” Joanna said while her words pierced Jonathan’s heart like a knife. While the revelation that Joanna’s mother was just as uneasy around him as he imagined being around the woman was one thing, the fear he would project the feelings he had for his wife onto her double was another matter entirely. Especially since he wasn’t sure as to the whereabouts of Joanna’s father.

As a gentleman, he refused to cause unneeded misunderstandings for a married woman. And also as a gentleman… he needed to leave as soon as possible, as he decided to pull on the clothes he was borrowing once the door shut behind the two girls.

~0~

“Sooo… your father had a Pokemon waiting for you in his closet?” Nemona asked while she sat on the couch next to Joanna, while the ash-brunette was staring at the Pokeball she had found while getting something for Jonathan to wear. 

“Yeah,” she said, while she heard Mum shuffling around in the kitchen area. “I think he planned to give it to me as soon as Mum and I moved in, but… I guess whatever surprise expedition he was dragged into put a wrench in the plan.”

“Oh…” Nemona said a little awkwardly, before she turned her head towards the Golurk nearby holding onto Quaxly. As Director Clavell had something come up, he had to hurry off to the school, but not before leaving behind the Duckling Pokemon for Jonathan to use, if he so chose. Personally, Joanna was going to loan out her dad’s gift instead, but that was the man’s choice to make, not hers. Besides, even if he did claim amnesia regarding his knowledge of Pokemon, the man’s face showed he was a terrible liar.

She just wanted to make sure that damn bird stayed away from her and Orpheño. And it wasn’t just because of the bullying behavior it showed to her little fire croc on the way to Nemona’s house, either.

“So… your mother’s Golurk seems pretty strong!” Nemona then said while Joanna looked up at her. “Do you think she’d be up for a battle when we have a break from school? I mean, Golurk aren’t found anywhere in Paldea, so I’ve never battled one before, plus, it could be fun!”

This girl… really liked to battle, didn’t she?

“The Baron’s not really up for battling anymore due to the cracked seal it's got,” Joanna said, “I mean, they could in theory, but uh… Mum won’t risk it. After all, if a Golurk’s seal breaks, it will go berserk.”

“... Oh,” Nemona then said after a moment, “I… guess I can relate, though it’s pretty sad that it might not be able to battle much. Oh! But if the seal can be repaired, it’d be all good, right?”

“Er… I guess,” Joanna said, before turning her head to examine the mighty Golurk in the room, while the Quaxly in its hands looked annoyed at the world as it tried to leave the Pokemon’s palms… only to freeze as the Golurk made a noise that spooked it back into place. Joanna’s knowledge of The Baron was only based on what her Mum told her, how it was found as a sleeping Golett covered in vines in the Wild Area’s Watchtower Ruins. How after Mum had woken it up by accident, the Pokemon decided she was its new master, and as a result became her first Pokemon… even if she did have to hide it from her father as Mr. Pendleton seemed to despise ghost types for some reason.

Still, as Joanna recalled the story some more, it went that when Mr. Pendleton discovered The Baron in Mum’s childhood room while she was asleep, he tried to remove it. Unfortunately for the man, the Golett was determined to protect its Master and instead sent the man out of the room with Psychic… via the window that just happened to overlook the pool at the Pendleton estate.

Mr. Pendleton made an exception to Ghost Types after that.

The sound of a door creaking open caught her attention then, leading Joanna to turn to look past the back of the couch to see a now-dressed Jonathan standing in the doorway, and adjusting the sleeve of the white collared shirt she pulled out for him. She had to admit, she was very close in guessing that Jonathan and her dad were about the same size, though, seeing that the shirt was a little snug on the man had made her realize that the Faller seemed to have just a smidge more muscle on him than she realized.

At least up top.

“Are you sure it’s alright if I wear this?” Jonathan then asked a little awkwardly, “I mean, I would have been fine if what clothes I had before were returned.”

“Er… yeah… so…” Nemona began as she started to shift around uncomfortably.

“Did… something happen?” Jonathan then asked, clearly confused by the situation as Mum spoke up from the kitchen.

“Sir,” she said, while Joanna glanced back at Jonathan and noticed how hurt he looked. Though considering what she had just learned about the Faller, she could figure out why he had that look. “Your clothes were turned to scraps while the doctor Nemona called in looked you over.”

“O-Oh, I… I see…” Jonathan then said before he turned his attention to The Baron and its current prisoner. “Erm… What is that? Another Pokemon? Why is it holding… is that a duck?”

Joanna couldn’t blame Jonathan’s awkwardness at the moment. Poor guy had to be going through a lot, still, the sooner he got away from Mum, the better. Sure, he seemed to be a nice guy, but… well, she still didn’t trust the man to be alone with someone who apparently looked exactly like his wife.

“Ah, that’s The Baron, a Golurk Mum trusts with her life,” Joanna explained, the name causing Jonathan to blink as he mumbled something under his breath. She wasn’t sure what, but going by the sad smile he had, it was probably a memory. “As for the Quaxly, The Baron’s holding onto… well, Director Clavell had something come up and needed to leave but wanted you to use the bird as a companion while you’re in Paldea. If you want to, of course.”

“Ah, yeah, as a Water Type Pokemon, Quaxly are pretty good for putting out a fire,” Nemona said, “Though, uh… their upkeep can be pretty difficult for some people since they really don’t like their crest getting messed up. Not to mention they can be prone to overthinking things, according to my older sister anyway.”

That one doesn’t seem so anxious, Joanna thought as she and Jonathan stared at the duck that was currently smoothing out the sky-blue feathers on its head. She watched as Jonathan seemed to walk closer to the blue-footed duckling as if to get a better look at the thing, while The Baron held it up to the man. Quaxly also seemed to be glaring at Joanna and Nemona as well, as if still angry at its rejection, before it took on a smug expression the moment Jonathan picked it up. The way they locked eyes with each other seemed… weird, to Joanna, before Jonathan gave the small Pokemon back to The Baron and stepped away.

“I think I’ll be fine without a Pokemon for now,” Jonathan said, the indignant quacking that followed showing that once again, that Git of a bird was rejected. Still, before anyone could say anything else, The Baron then stood up and headed out the front door, Quaxly in hand as it walked outside. However, the tall Pokemon did crouch a little to do so on the way out. “Er… where is The Baron going?”

“Ah, I suppose they’re off to return Quaxly to Mr. Clavell,” Mum then said, causing Joanna to rush to the window to see the Golurk stand there for a moment.

“Are they going to walk all the way to Mesagoza?” Jonathan asked, only for Mum to laugh as Nemona joined Joanna at the window to watch.

“Ah, no, Golurk can fly if they feel like it,” Mum said, and going by the sudden rush of footsteps, Jonathan had joined them at the window to watch as The Baron started to rise in the air while its feet retracted into the body, followed shortly by blue flames blasting out as it flew off into the horizon. She was used to the sight, though as she heard Jonathan’s flood of questions and theories relating to the purpose of The Baron’s flight capabilities, she couldn’t help but wonder if the man was some kind of researcher before ending up in this world.

Not to mention, she had questions about what sort of world Jonathan came from originally… as well as what might have happened to bring him to this one.

“Alright, you three!” Mum then said, getting their attention before Joanna noticed the woman had a few things in her arms- a trio of sandwiches wrapped up in a newspaper from the day before, as well as a bag of Potions, among other things. “Now, I overheard Jonathan’s plan to go with you girls to Mesagoza, so I took the liberty of making you three some lunch for the road. Also, you girls may need some supplies for any injuries your Pokemon could get as well, since well… Jonathan seems to refuse to bring one with him.”

“Oh… Thank you, Eri… Madam,” Jonathan said a little awkwardly as he tried to avoid making eye contact with the woman. Then again, as Mum was just as uncomfortable around him, Joanna could easily imagine why. “As for why I did not wish to bring Quaxly with me… well, it reminded me of someone I knew before my arrival here in Paldea. Not to mention… As a Gentleman, I did not feel comfortable putting my safety in the erm… feathers of a duckling, so I decided to try and fight on my own. I have faced some tough challenges before, I believe I can handle a few local beasts just fine.”

As Joanna stashed the potions and a sandwich in her bag, she watched as Mum just sighed and handed Jonathan a leather pack, one that Joanna recognized as one of her father’s spares, as well as the pair of boots that managed to survive Jonathan’s entry into the world, unlike the rest of his clothes. Though going by the annoyed expression the woman had, the ash brunette just knew her mother was thinking some things along the lines of how foolish Jonathan was being right now for the sake of manliness.

“Well, I won’t stop you from being foolhardy, Sir,” Mum then said, before looking at Joanna and giving a sad smile. “In any case, Joanna… I know you’ll be staying in a dorm at school, but if you ever feel like visiting for whatever reason, well, I’ll keep your bed ready and waiting for you, alright?”

“Thanks, Mum,” Joanna said as she hugged her mother, “And when I see Dad, I’ll be sure to tell him to get his arse back home, alright?”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that a bit,” Mum laughed, and so, as Nemona had already left and was calling out to Joanna, she knew it was time to go, passing by Jonathan after he got his boots on, and watching for a moment as he gave one last pained look at her mother, before following her outside.

It was a little later than expected, but she was finally beginning her journey. However, as she walked down the road with her new friend and Jonathan behind them, she couldn’t help but feel that something interesting was on the horizon…

~0~

Of course, the locks on the lighthouse lab had been changed.

Arven growled in frustration as he leaned against the wall, messing up his long hair in frustration. He had hoped that after that disaster of a trip to Area Zero, he could find something useful in his old home. Well, the place he called home before The Incident a couple of years ago led to dear old Dad and The Brute heading back to that damn crater, while he was sent to Levincia to live with his mother until he enrolled in Uva Academy.

And that wasn’t even counting the craziness of what happened last month when Mom came home one night with a new guy and announced he was staying with her until he got back on his feet. He had no idea where his mother found the guy, but as far as Arven knew, if he made her happy, that was that.

Not like he had any love left for his dad, anyway. 

He sighed as he watched a Skwovet bouncing around nearby before he heard a weird noise from above. 

“That… sounds like a very freaked out Quaxly,” he said to himself, before looking up, only to see what looked like an Arceus-damned Shiny Golurk overhead, looking around while holding onto a screaming Quaxly. Which, in his opinion, was definitely not something a normal Paldean would see… ever, to be honest.

And then, the thing spotted him and came in for a landing right in front of him. 

Oh shit, was he about to be attacked!? Wait, no, he didn’t have a Pokemon that could keep him safe now! Especially since his buddy was…

Wait, wait, maybe he could get out of this without a battle?

“Er… hi?” he said as his voice cracked a little, while the looming Pokemon seemed to glare at him. At least, that’s what it felt like. And those cracks on the seal were not very reassuring, either. “You… uh… seem lost. Need any help finding your trainer? Or uh, that Quaxly’s Trainer?”

Seeing the duckling in the Golurk’s hand, he noticed the normally pristine pompadour well known for the Pokemon now looked more like a head of lettuce. Maybe a bunch of broccoli instead. Not to mention that the crest on its head combined with the tears in its blank eyes and the way it looked like its soul was trying to flee the body, Arven couldn’t help but feel bad for the thing.

He then felt a sense of ease in the air, as he looked back at the Pokemon’s head, watching it nod before something he didn’t expect happened.

“Uva… Academy…” came a distorted voice from the Pokemon, which almost gave Arven a heart attack as he realized the damn thing could talk. Kind of. 

Weirdly enough, this was only the second time he had encountered this kind of weirdness in the past week.

“Uh… it’s that way,” Arven said, pointing towards the North, “Uva Academy’s this big building that looks like a castle, and has a giant shiny Pokeball in the middle of it. Very hard to miss.”

The Pokemon nodded, before it walked away from Arven, heading toward the nearby town of Los Platos… at least until it was far away enough to blast off again into the air and speed off towards Mesagoza, the sound of the screaming duckling fading into the distance.

Once he was alone, Arven looked around again and saw the Skwovet from before lying against the wall of the lab, a bump on its head as it seemed to have been blown back by the Golurk’s arrival.

“Well… I do need something to protect me until I can help Guido…” he said to himself, and quietly pulled out a Pokeball.

~0~

Director Clavell sighed as he sat in his office. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest that the reason for his immediate return had something to do with Raifort causing trouble again, but that also didn’t help the fact that Miss Geeta was going to be arriving later that afternoon for a chat. He was sure it was just about how the school was handling things, and probably how it mishandled Miss Joanna’s enrollment, but as his thoughts wandered back to the event that happened only a couple of hours before, with the strange fog and the appearance of that man, he couldn’t help but worry about the cause of it. Surely, it was the act of some Legendary Pokemon such as Arceus, but part of him worried that there was another reason.

Specifically, one that could be answered by a certain man he hadn’t heard from in a long time.

“Turo, my friend… what are you doing in Area Zero?” he asked himself before he heard a tap coming from behind him.

… A tap?

Feeling a chill in his bones, he slowly turned his chair towards the window, before he swore his heart stopped for a moment. Mostly due to the fact that hovering outside his window was The Baron, and after hearing how the Golurk’s damaged seal could lead to moments of erratic behavior, as well as the fact he had read that Golurk were supposedly built to protect people and Pokemon, he personally did not want to do anything that could label him as a miscreant in the Pokemon’s eyes.

And yet, now The Baron was hovering outside of his office, holding the Quaxly he had left behind for the man who had appeared only a couple of hours before. He was worried about what might have happened, even though Dr. Pannacotta had deemed the man to be in perfect health, surprisingly, even though the man’s breathing was unusual from what he was told.

Unfortunately, questions would have to wait as the Golurk looked like he was preparing to throw Quaxley at the closed window, prompting Clavell to leap up and open the barrier of glass and metal between him and the terrifying Pokemon outside.

Next thing he knew, he was on the floor with his back against his desk, the disheveled Quaxly in his lap and his body aching. 

“Good gracious… The Baron seems to have quite a throwing arm,” Clavell said before he silently wondered if today could get even more eventful than it already had. 

The chill that went through his body just then quickly made him dismiss those thoughts.

Notes:

And here, we see the first thing I'm being a little evil about. And that's the fact that Jonathan got to see his wife again... but it's the version of her native to the Pokemon World, and she has no idea who he is. Oh, and this isn't the idea I had people call me evil for. That's going to be in the next chapter.

I would have had him compare it to a wish made on a Monkey Paw, but that story apparently wasn't published until after the year Jonathan died in canon. Hell, I actually did some research while writing his POV section to check to see what was going on up until 1889 to make sure I didn't make a mistake. So yes, he knows about Alice in Wonderland and possibly other works by Lewis Carrol. Also, apparently, color photography was being experimented with in the Victorian Era, but as it was still in said experimental phase, it wasn't available for public use, and might have just been a thing Jonathan heard about, but thought it might never have taken off because of how much time it took to get a color photo, well, in color.

Also for the sake of convenience, Jonathan gets to know how to read in the Pokemon World. As a treat.

Next, I am so glad that Gen VII gave us lore regarding Fallers. Also, since that may not be public knowledge, it also points to what kind of connections Grandpa Tats had, and who he might have some dirt on to get that information. Not to mention it provides a nice excuse for Jonathan to well, get people to explain things that might be common knowledge.

As for Nemona's thing about Occult stuff, I'm just taking a comment she made about Arven's quest for the Herba Mystica at the start of the game, and expanding it into "Nemona does not believe in aliens or the Occult in general."

Speaking of Arven, The Incident he had prior to meeting the player may have changed a bit due to certain things I won't reveal. Have fun speculating on how. Also, yes, Sada exists in this story's timeline. And is present in Arven's life, unlike Turo. She might not be the best mom, but she's still putting some effort in. Though, I wonder who the guy she brought home out of nowhere could be?

I mean, I know who it is, I'm writing this, but I wouldn't mind hearing theories from you readers, lol.

Finally... yeah, Quaxly got rejected again. And then delivered back to Uva Academy instead of tagging along anyway. The Baron does not care, nor does it like the duck. Sadly, Clavell is collateral damage in the Quaxly abuse.

ANYWAY! Next time, we'll meet Miraidon, and see what Pokemon Joanna's dad was going to give her. Since, well, now she has two Pokemon on her team already. Jonathan might also catch something.

Chapter 4: The Iron Serpent

Summary:

Jonathan, Joanna, and Nemona walk down Poco Path. Of course, things get weird.

He had to admit, despite having just left the house, Paldea was a lovely place. The air seemed fresher than what he was used to, though he wasn't sure whether it was because things were different in the world he left or because he had a chance to take in this new world. As the smell of blooming flowers on the path filled his nose, he walked and focused on his breathing, just to see if he could still use Hamon in this newly revived body. As the girls in front of him were talking about this and that, Jonathan smiled as he saw the golden sparks dance along his skin, before flowing into the ground and causing some grass to sprout beneath his boots.

Good, he might be able to use this not only to protect himself but if Dio was in this world as well, he’d be able to fight back against the Vampire. However, as he looked up at the sunny sky overhead, he did wonder if Dio truly did arrive with him, whether or not the vampire’s head had a chance to find a place to hide. Especially as he looked down the path towards a mansion by the sea.

“Ah, is that place where I washed ashore?” he then asked, pointing toward the building as he grabbed the girls’ attention. Joanna and Nemona stopped to look at him, before looking at the mansion again.

“Ah, yeah, that’s my house,” Nemona said, surprising Jonathan as he thought that Joanna’s home was rather nice if a little humble in his opinion, but to realize that Nemona had come from wealth and lived just down the road surprised him! “Joanna and I were having a quick Pokemon Battle when you showed up at the private battle court my family made so I could have a chance to practice against the servants. Or my older sister when she had time to visit with Mother and Father when they’re home from work.”

So, Pokemon were used not only as companions and bodyguards but also for sport? Well, he assumed Pokemon Battles were more for sport like boxing was for him when he was a boy. However, the fact that Nemona practiced her skills with the servants also made him wonder some things about the energetic girl. Especially since he never even dared to consider sparring with the butler when he was growing up. If only because he was certain his father would have reprimanded him for such ungentlemanly behavior!

As the trio turned left, Jonathan’s eyes widened as he saw more of the local wildlife along the tree-lined path. From large, oddly cute spiders with balls of silk covering their bodies, to small birds, to what looked like some sort of caterpillar, a strange pink creature with ears like a cat flying overhead thanks to the twin fronds on its head twirling around, and finally, the most familiar thing were the round pigs roaming about. Though their eyes and nose were comically big, he assumed that was just how they looked in this world.

It was… a little unnerving to find something that looked familiar but was most likely very different, now that he thought about it.

“So, this is Poco Path!” Nemona said as he realized he was starting to lag behind a little. “This path is going to lead the three of us to adventure, well, mostly to the Academy for me and Joanna, but I’m sure you’ll find something to do, Jonathan!”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he could tell Nemona was feeling a little awkward. Maybe it was his presence and choice to not use a Pokemon of his own?

“A-Anyway,” she continued while Joanna seemed to be scanning the area with an odd device. Maybe that was a camera in this world? She was tapping at it to capture pictures, from what he saw.  Which, in his opinion, was a great advancement compared to what he recalled about Photography in his world. “Out here, things out here are going to be much different than in town. I think you already have an idea about this, Joanna, but for Jonathan, we’re going to see wild Pokemon on the path or out in the grass, or even in the sky or water! Get too close to one, and you might have to battle unless you encounter a Pokemon known for running away like Sudowoodo or Chansey. But, Joanna has Orpheño and the other Pokemon her Dad left for her, while I have my new Sprigatito, so we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, sounds similar to Galar’s Wild Area, to be honest,” Joanna said after snapping a picture of a few spiders hanging from a tree, “Though, outside of that area, Pokemon just hid in the tall grass or the water. By the way, what are some of these Pokemon, Nemona? I recognize the Fletchling and Hoppips, and I think I see a Scatterbug or two, but…”

“Oh no!” Nemona said, as Jonathan wondered what this “Wild Area” Joanna mentioned was, and how it differed from other parts of this “Galar” place. Perhaps that was the land she came from originally? However, remembering that the name was also the Irish term for “disease,” according to an Irishman he met while getting his Archaeology degree, anyway.

“I am so, so sorry, Joanna! With everything that’s happened today, I forgot to give you the Pokedex App!” Jonathan heard Nemona say next, causing him to look up and see… a similar device to what Joanna was holding fly out of Nemona’s bag, and just… hover in front of her. Though the black device was sleek looking, Jonathan had no idea what those things on either end were for, however, as Joanna’s lavender device seemed to hover in front of her as well, he started to wonder if this was normal for this world.

More importantly, he assumed that a “Pokedex App” was some sort of way of getting information on various Pokemon, which, he had to admit was useful. Perhaps he could get one of these devices for himself?

A flash of light, and the things returned to their owners, as Nemona continued.

“Alright, so glad Father okayed the ability to share things between Rotom Phones at last year’s meeting,” Nemona then said, causing Jonathan to realize the source of Nemona’s wealth. Especially if being in charge of communications was very lucrative in this world. Not to mention he now had a name for the device itself. “Anyway, the Pokedex is super useful, and it was made by one of our teachers at the Academy, Jacq. He’s also my homeroom teacher since I’m in the General Track.”

“Oh, that means we’re in the same class then,” Joanna said, before taking a moment to think, “I have a feeling that Students will have to fill this out by catching Pokemon then?”

“I mean, if you want to do it that way, yeah,” Nemona said, “But, there’s an option to just… unlock everything if there’s some Pokemon you want to avoid. But, doing that locks you out of any extra credit for Biology class from what Jacq said at the start of the year… Oh! Right, I forgot to mention, due to some stuff on my end… we’re going to be in the same year, Joanna!”

Joanna said nothing as Jonathan watched Nemona seem a little uneasy for a moment as she tapped the strange gauntlet on her arm. He thought he saw something appear on the wrist guard for a moment, but as it seemed to vanish, he wondered if it was a trick of the light.

“Right, well, let’s get going, aye?” Joanna said, “First chance I get, I’ve got some Pokeballs to purchase if I want to get that extra credit.”

“Oh! You know how to catch a Pokemon?” Nemona asked while Jonathan wondered what a Pokeball was. Before noticing that he didn’t see Joanna’s Fuecoco around. Perhaps a Pokeball was some sort of way to capture and transport Pokemon?

“I understand the basics,” Joanna said with a smirk, “Battle to weaken it, toss the ball, wait a bit, and pray the ball doesn’t break open during the last step. Though Quick Balls are best to use if you want to avoid battle, even if they can fail on occasion. And that there are a lot of different Pokeballs for a variety of other methods.”

“Oh, good!” Nemona said before she moved to dig around in her bag and pull out what looked like a few red and white spheres with a button on one side, and a very tiny hinge on the other. They also looked rather small, as Nemona handed some to Joanna before doing the same for him.

“Ah, no, I don’t think–” Jonathan began, only for Nemona to frown at him.

“Come on! They could come in handy if you do decide to get a Pokemon on your own!” she said, “Better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it, right? Not to mention if you don’t want to battle with other Pokemon Trainers– even if I’m not sure why anyone wouldn’t– you could still keep one as a pet.”

He had a feeling that Nemona was not going to take no for an answer in this instance, and so with an awkward smile, he accepted the gift and moved to put the balls into his own bag, before he accidentally caused one to enlarge in his hand.

He wasn’t sure what that was for, but he could probably ask about it later, as the trio kept moving. 

“So, Joanna, what kind of Pokemon did your Dad give you?” Nemona then asked before the shorter of the two girls pulled out a black, red, and gold ball from her belt. It seemed rather expensive, in his opinion. However, he also noted that meant that different types of Pokeballs probably had different designs for quick identification.

“Well, might as well find out now, huh?” Joanna said, before gently tossing the ball towards the ground. Jonathan watched as it burst open when it landed, golden sparks appearing as the light faded to reveal…

It looked like a possibly living version of a fossilized amphibian that had been discovered in Texas a decade ago, from his point of view. He vaguely recalled the strange, boomerang-headed newt to be called Diplocaulus and while this creature floating about with its flippers dangling in front of its body, and the spiked ring around its midsection was definitely a far cry from what people assumed the creature might have looked like in life, he had to admit the large eyes made it seem kind of cute. He watched as the green and red creature looked around, before spotting Joanna, and flew towards her, happily flying around as its tail seemed to move like a misty wisp.

Of course, as he watched Joanna bring out her Rotom Phone, he wondered what she was doing before a strange voice came from the device. Oh! Perhaps this was the Pokedex App in action?

“Dreepy, the Lingering Pokemon. Dragon/Ghost Type. Height: .5 Meters. Weight: 2 Kilograms. It has a habit of biting at Clauncher even though it doesn’t feed on them. This is said to be a vestigial behavior from when Dreepy was alive.”

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the idea that even spirits could be Pokemon. Or that Dragons were apparently real in this world. At least, in some form with what that “Type” seemed to indicate to him.

“Ah, Joanna, what does the Pokedex say about Orpheño?” Jonathan then asked and watched as the girl hummed in thought for a moment, before she picked up the black ball on the ground, and pointed it towards Dreepy.

“Well, let’s find out, shall we?” she said, “Alright, I think I’ll name this Dreepy, D’arc, so… Return! ” 

A shining beam fired from the ball, and Jonathan watched as the newly christened D’arc became enveloped in light before disappearing back to whence it came. He had no idea how the process worked, or if humans could be subjected to being trapped within the tiny sphere, but he decided he could ask someone who was much more knowledgeable about the world later.

Once D’arc’s ball was placed on a holder on Joanna’s belt, he would watch as she would take off a red and white ball, expand it, and then open it to send out Orpheño in a burst of blue light. As Jonathan started to assume each Pokeball would also have a different look for unleashing the Pokemon within, Joanna would repeat what she did to get D’arc’s information.

“Fuecoco, the Fire Croc Pokemon. Fire Type. Height: .4 meters. Weight: 9.8 kilograms. Its flame sac is small, so energy is always leaking out. This energy is released from the dent atop Fuecoco’s head and flickers to and fro.”

He wondered briefly if there was a way for Orpheño to grow bigger, before realizing another problem. He didn’t really understand the system of measurement used in this world. He vaguely recalled in 1882 his father mentioned something about an agreement being secured about the French Government supplying 30 standard meters and 40 standard kilograms to use as a basis for a more consistent unit of measurement, but he honestly couldn’t remember if anything came of that. He probably had other things on his mind that might have been more important to a thirteen-year-old boy at the time.

“Hey, Nemona,” Joanna said as she recalled Orpheño into his ball and walked along the path, “We don’t have to catch Pokemon for extra credit, right?”

“Huh? Oh, I guess just scanning them for info might work,” Nemona said, “But, catching them also earns you some prizes along with extra credit for Jacq’s Biology class. Especially since catching Pokemon can help his ecology research.”

Ah, so their teacher was letting his students get some optional fieldwork done in a way that could be seen as a game, from what Jonathan understood, anyway. He wasn’t quite sure how good of a teaching method it was, but this world was still quite different from what he was used to, so that was probably just normal.

“Right… I’m just going to scan some, catch others, and go from there,” Joanna said with a shrug, before pointing the phone at one of the pigs roaming about, and beginning a series of explanations that Jonathan happily listened in on.

“Lechonk the Hog Pokemon. Normal Type. Height: .5 meters. Weight: 10.2 kilograms. This Pokemon spurns all but the finest of foods. Its body gives off an herblike scent that bug Pokemon detest.”

So, that probably meant that the Normal Type was more akin to regular animals he was familiar with, such as pigs. And that Orpheño was heavier than Lechonk despite being a little smaller. However, the scent could also mean that it has a natural repellent against certain pests in the wild, from his understanding. As for the picky eating… he wasn’t sure if that meant that Lechonk had a preference for the quality of food, or if it’s just hyperbole added from someone who just happened to have a picky eater on their hands.

“Hoppip, the Cottonweed Pokemon. Grass/Flying Type. Height: .4 meters. Weight: .5 kilograms. Outside of cold regions, Hoppip can be found practically everywhere. This is because the wind carries this species all over the world.”

So, that flying pink creature he saw floating about was some sort of living plant? It did look oddly cute, but he wasn’t sure if that was just to lure prey in or not. Not to mention the way it could fly by spinning the leaves on its head around was very strange, and he wasn’t sure what could allow such movement. Truely Hoppip was the most alien of these Pokemon he’d seen so far.

Next, was a little white and gray, bucktoothed worm scuttling about, the square pupils in its beige eyes looking a little unnerving to the Gentleman as he walked along behind the girls.

“Scatterbug, the Scatterdust Pokemon. Bug Type. Height: .3 meters. Weight: 2.5 kilograms. This Pokemon scatters poisonous powder to repel enemies. It will eat different plants depending on where it lives.”

As he saw the caterpillar’s three white hairs wriggle a bit, before it scattered about tiny spores to stun a Hoppip that had landed nearby, Jonathan decided that he probably didn’t want one of those things near him. He also didn’t want to know if that fang the bug had could pierce human skin, either.

Maybe the little bird Joanna scanned next would be less monstrous than the caterpillar?

“Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokemon. Normal/Flying Type. Height: .3 meters. Weight: 1.7 kilograms. Fletchling can be found in both rural and urban areas. They once had a huge territorial dispute with Squawkabilly. Fights broke out all over town.”

That was a robin? He hadn’t heard of any robins with an entirely red head. The ones he was more familiar with tended to have an orange face and breast. Also, while he didn’t have an idea what a Squawkabilly was outside of probably being another bird Pokemon, he couldn’t help but imagine what those fights might have looked like.

“Bloody hell,” Joanna then said as she interrupted Jonathan’s thoughts, and he noticed they were nearing a bend in the path. “I didn’t think I’d hear about disputes between Fletchlings and another Pokemon. I can only imagine the fire damage involved in that, especially if Fletchling’s evolved forms got involved too.”

“Evolved forms?” Jonathan asked, causing Nemona to take over as she giddily started explaining.

“Ah yeah, most Pokemon can change form, and even type as they grow stronger!” she said, “We call that evolution. For example, Fletchling can evolve into a Fletchinder and exchange the Normal Type for a Fire Type which then remains as it evolves again later into Talonflame. Anyway, all Pokemon that can evolve might evolve faster or slower for a variety of reasons. And some can only evolve with the use of an item, or some other trick.”

“Ah, like how back in Galar, a Milcery can evolve into Alcremie if you give it a certain sweet and then spin it around! Though, depending on the time of day, what direction you spin and for how long can affect the result…” Joanna said while Jonathan could only imagine what kind of Pokemon they were. He wasn’t too sure about Milcery, but if Alcremie sounded like a corruption of alchemy with cream added in, combined with the addition of a sweet to evolve into it, then was it possible that there were Pokemon based on food?

He was starting to get a small headache from trying to figure it all out.

“Ah, what’s that spider there in the tree?” he then said, pointing at the yellow arachnid dangling from a nearby branch. He noted the green tips of its legs, the ball of silk surrounding its body, and the strangely cute face all came together to sort of make him think of an old woman.

“Well, let’s find out!” Joanna said, directing her Rotom Phone towards the gently swaying Pokemon as Jonathan realized it was just taking a nap.

“Tarountula, the String Ball Pokemon. Bug Type. Height: .3 meters. Weight: 4 kilograms. The thread it secretes from its rear is as strong as wire. The secret behind the thread’s strength is the topic of ongoing research.”

Spider silk as strong as a wire? He had heard from Speedwagon once that a man in Arizona had his life saved by a silk handkerchief in his pocket stopping a bullet, but he wasn’t sure that was actually what happened. However, the idea of a cloth that was comfortable but also strong enough to possibly resist a blade and a bullet could save countless lives.

Perhaps if his father had such a shirt, then Dio’s knife wouldn’t have…

“Oh hey! There’s some Pawmi!” Nemona said, drawing Jonathan out of his thoughts. As he looked towards the bit of land jutting out nearby, and the palm trees growing on top of it, he wondered just what the taller girl was pointing at, until he saw something move.

It looked kind of like a swarm of small rodents, that were orange and cream in color with very fluffy forearms, and a tuft of fur on their heads. The beady eyes, the yellow spots on their cheeks, and the very tiny paws made him wonder just what it resembled from his world. Though he also noted they seemed very cute, he also wasn’t sure if they weren’t carrying some sort of disease.

“Right, so, I know you understand how to catch Pokemon, Joanna, but I think I should give Jonathan a demonstration real quick!” Nemona said with a smile, though that look in her orange eyes made him wonder if she also wanted something else as she pulled out a Pokeball from her pocket. “Let’s go, Esmerelda!”

What he saw next was the appearance of a green kitten with rose-colored eyes and a fluffy tail. Jonathan noticed that as it stepped out into the sunlight with a yawn, a sweet scent seemed to fill the air. However, as he looked at the strange kitten, he thought it was a mammal, but he thought there was something more… plantlike about it he couldn’t quite figure out.

At least, until Joanna started up the Pokedex and scanned the two Pokemon.

“Sprigatito, the Grass Cat Pokemon. Grass Type. Height: .4 meters. Weight: 4.1 kilograms. The sweet scent its body gives off mesmerizes those around it. The scent grows stronger when this Pokemon is in the sun.”

“Pawmi the Mouse Pokemon. Electric Type. Height: .3 meters. Weight: 2.5 kilograms. The pads of its paws are electricity-discharging organs. Pawmi fires electricity from its forepaws while standing unsteadily on its hind legs.”

The fact that there were plant-animal hybrids in this world was not what he had expected in all honesty. Though, that also probably explained what Hoppip seemed to be, in Jonathan’s mind. However, the fact that there were also electric pokemon had him a little curious. What could have happened to allow the local beasts to develop a way to harness electricity to defend themselves? Or become part plant like Sprigatito? Or even produce fire, as his thoughts went back to Joanna’s Fuecoco.

The implications of such a drastic evolution would probably cause the late Charles Darwin to spin in his seven-year-old grave, or cause his ghost to come back to haunt the world of the living just for the sake of pursuing this knowledge.

… After seeing and fighting vampires, the idea that Jonathan had that ghosts were probably real as well might have spoken volumes about how bizarre his life had become. Even without waking up in a new world after his death.

“Alright Esmerelda, let’s kick this fight off with a quick Scratch!” Nemona then said, causing Jonathan to come back out of his thoughts again to witness the cat lunge at the rodent, while claws seemed to come out of the fluffy fur surrounding its… her paw. Pawmi seemed to just barely dodge, indicating that speed might have been important in a battle before the little rodent started rubbing its cheeks until he saw sparks.

I see, so it’s using friction to generate static electricity! He thought to himself, before watching as the small rodent wobbled like a newborn colt as it stood on its hind legs and held its front paws out. He thought he saw a flash of blue on the central pad… palm? They did look more like hands, now that he thought about it– before he flinched as yellow electricity jumped out and shocked the green feline. Thankfully, the Sprigatito seemed to recover quickly, before the darker green ruff of fur, or possibly leaves, started to shine a bright green.

That… seemed weird.

“Right! Use Leafage, Esmerelda!” Nemona said, and Jonathan soon saw that glowing leaves flew from the cat’s neck like a barrage of blades, before pelting Pawmi’s small body. It didn’t seem to draw any blood, thankfully, so it was possible that Pokemon were more durable than he thought. Or that the leaves weren’t as sharp as he initially believed.

Pawmi let out a noise as it stumbled back, moving a little unsteadily as Jonathan thought the rodent was about ready to faint.

“Alright, time to catch it!” Nemona then said before Jonathan heard her mumble, “I really hope my arm doesn’t cause any problems this time.” 

So, there was something wrong with the girl, as she pulled out another Pokeball and carefully aimed it at the dazed Pawmi. He watched as Joanna seemed to raise an eyebrow before muttering something he couldn’t make out before the girl pulled her arm back and tossed the ball. Next thing he knew, there was a burst of blue light, and once the spots disappeared from his vision he saw Pawmi was gone, and a shaking Pokeball was in its place.

“Come on… don’t break out…” He heard Nemona say, making Jonathan realize that was probably a hazard when it came to catching the things before he heard a “ping” coming from the Pokeball followed by the sphere no longer moving. “YES! Haha, yeah, so, that’s how catching a Pokemon normally goes!”

Nemona grinned as she walked over to pick up her newly caught rodent, recalling Esmerelda back into her own ball while she continued to explain things. “Anyway, sometimes a Pokemon can break out of the ball while it's shaking, and there have been times when a lot of balls end up getting wasted because of a very strong fighter. Or the trainer has poor aim for one reason or another. Though some trainers are lucky enough to not need to battle, and can just… earn a Pokemon’s respect, I guess? I uh… haven’t been as lucky as that, but it can happen!”

“Thank you for the lesson, Nemona,” Jonathan then said, while Joanna looked around the area and also held that odd gem in her hand.

Was it just a trick of the light, or was one of the stone’s points shining on its own?

“Ah, well–” Joanna began before she was interrupted by a roar. Whatever it was, it sounded close as Jonathan felt on edge, before realizing it also sounded like it was in pain.

“Woah, what was that!?” Nemona asked while Jonathan wondered the exact same thing as another roar sounded, though it sounded weaker than the last one. “I’ve never heard a cry like that before…”

“I think we should probably find it,” Jonathan then said, “It sounds like it might be hurt!”

As Nemona looked around the area, he saw the previously cheerful girl look a little intimidated as she seemed to stare at the path ahead while she started moving, with Joanna following close behind. 

“Ah, y-yeah, but we should also be careful,” she then said, “I mean, there’s a kinda unsafe cave not far from here, so you should steer clear, Joanna. Oh! And you too, Big Jon!”

He had a feeling his size was probably the reason for the nickname but decided not to comment as he started moving as well, while Nemona continued. “A-Anyway, the cliffs are pretty steep as well, and while mine and Joanna’s phones can keep us safe thanks to the Safety Feature that Father insisted on getting added last year… you don’t have that luxury yet. Especially since you looked like you were in a shipwreck or something.”

It was more an explosion he set off to stop a swarm of vampires and his brother’s severed head, but Jonathan wasn’t going to mention that to the girls.

“I’ll be careful, don’t worry,” he said, while Joanna seemed to remain silent as she walked over to a gap in the nearby fence, while the Lighthouse they were walking towards was now in full view.

“Hey, I think I see something!” she shouted, but before he and Nemona could move, another roar sounded, louder this time, followed by the sound of crumbling stone, and Joanna screaming as she fell. Jonathan didn’t even think as he rushed ahead, stopping just at the edge to see the girl grab at her phone as it flew out of her pocket before he watched as it seemed to slow down her descent for a safe landing on the sandy beach below. However, as relieved as he was that she was safe, he soon spotted what looked like a pair of black dogs flee into a cave before his eyes went to…

What… What was that? Some sort of purple metal… he couldn’t make out what it was! He needed to get down there and see for himself and possibly even protect Joanna in case of trouble. 

But how?

He didn’t have a rope, but perhaps, he might not need one.

He took a moment to focus on his breathing, before raising his hands high. If he could just get this to work, then perhaps he might be able to create a smaller glider for himself to be able to get down on the beach. He watched as large palm leaves and grass started moving towards him, while Nemona seemed to shout in confusion as he kept his focus. In seconds, he felt he had enough material to work with, and while keeping the leaves together with Hamon, he rushed ahead and leaped off the cliff.

Just as he hoped, the makeshift glider helped slow the descent downward. Once his feet landed on the ground, he smiled as he swapped back to a more normal way to breathe, the plant life he used falling around him before he spotted Joanna actually moving towards the metal creature. Though, now that he was on the beach with her, he could tell it seemed injured, and that it also looked like some sort of metallic reptile.

He decided to move closer, his footsteps getting Joanna’s attention as the strange creature seemed to eye him warily when the girl turned towards the man.

“How’d you get down here?” she asked, while Jonathan suddenly found himself hesitant to answer. On one hand, he could tell her the truth, but there was still a very high chance she’d consider him mad. Not to mention he wasn’t sure if Hamon even was common knowledge in this world. 

“I…” he began, before the creature let out a weak groan which caused Joanna to turn her attention to the strange metal… whatever it was. “Just… what is that, Joanna?”

“Never seen it before,” she said, “But, we can check later, for now… I think it might need some food.”

“Why do you think that?” Jonathan asked, watching as Joanna started moving closer while getting the sandwich her mother gave her a short time ago out of her pack.

“My Dad’s got a Pokemon that likes to act as pitiful as possible when she wants food,” Joanna said, “Spook… doesn’t really trust things like Potions, and prefers eating food to recover.”

He’d ask about what this “Spook” was later, probably another Ghost-type.

In any event, he watched as Joanna laid her sandwich down in front of the strange creature, Jonathan flinching as he saw that its eyes were… he wasn’t sure how to describe it. Dots of blue light came together to form an iris, while the rest of the eye looked like black glass. Perhaps some sort of projection? As he tried to ignore the feeling of fear welling up in him, trying to see it more as an injured animal in need of aid, he focused on the creature’s body- it looked to be the size of a horse, but its anatomy seemed more like a mechanical lizard. He wasn’t sure what kind, but it was certainly a lizard. 

He watched as the Automaton–since that was the only thing that made sense to him about this thing– blinked at the crouching Joanna, before glancing at the sandwich in her hand. It sniffed as if trying to detect anything off about the food before it dragged itself forward to take a cautious bite.

It… It could eat food. 

The machine was now devouring the sandwich in front of his eyes, and all he could think about was how wrong it seemed to him.

It wasn’t long before the mechanical beast finished its meal before it managed to stand up. The silver and black head had four pointed bits coming from the sides of its head, or rather, the eyelids or what stood in for them. A silver, segmented tail seemed to trail out behind a ridge that jutted out where it met the spine, as well as some sort of purple armor on the rest of its body. Even stranger, almost like it came out of a dream, there were these markings that seemed to give off a faint glow even in the sunlight, as he swore he saw something move around inside these markings.

“There, feeling better?” he heard Joanna say, bringing him out of his brief stupor as the creature let out a cheerful “Agias” in response. At least, that’s what it sounded like to him, anyway. He then watched as the iron lizard started walking at a slow pace, its metal feet padding across the sand before it stopped and looked at him. Despite the artificial nature of this creature, Jonathan could see curiosity in its eyes and also thought there was a hint of something else.

“I just wanted to make sure Joanna was safe,” he found himself saying, before the beast looked back at the girl, and started moving towards a cave in the cliff wall.

“Now, where does that lead?” Joanna then said as she walked up next to Jonathan, before giving him a slightly annoyed look. “You got any ideas on how to get back up?”

He had to admit, he didn’t think too far ahead when he made his descent. Thankfully, the mechanical beast let out another, louder cry, grabbing the pair’s attention as they watched it become engulfed in a brilliant blue-violet light. He had to shield his eyes as he heard Joanna swear in a very unladylike manner before another roar sounded ahead of him.

When he was certain he was able to see again, he saw that the Iron Lizard had turned into some sort of serpentine dragon. Its hind legs had retracted into its hips as it hovered in the air, its throat and tail gaining pale violet and yellow lights, while bolts of electricity seemed to emanate from the sides of its head, and the tip of its tail.

To Jonathan, the sight was both majestic… and terrifying to behold.

“H-Hey, wait!” Joanna said when they saw the serpent glance back at them, before entering the cave. She immediately chased after it, and Jonathan, worried she might get into trouble, soon followed.

The cave itself seemed rather normal as he ran into the shade, though the light emitted by the iron serpent’s body gave everything a slightly eerie feeling. He almost had to laugh, considering what he faced after that tragic night his father died, and yet this trek through a cavern seemed to make him feel more on edge than anything else. As he brought up the rear, he couldn’t help but realize that this creature seemed to know the cavern well, the rock giving way to glowing green moss as it tore through a stone with its claws, while Joanna seemed frustrated about something as she remained close.

As the cave opened up into a grotto, however, he was about to take note of the local wildlife, when he felt a sudden chill go down his spine, followed by a stinging in his skull. He grunted as he tried to keep himself from falling before he glanced around and spotted something watching them from a ledge. Another stinging sensation caused him to hiss before he looked back and felt his blood run cold, while his heart became heavy with sadness. 

White with black spots. A lean body. Black ears raised.

Jonathan knew that sight all too well, and he whispered a name he hadn’t spoken since he was a child while hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Danny?”

He blinked back the tears, only to see his beloved childhood friend replaced by something else. It still looked like a dog with a black body and reddish brown muzzle and belly, but instead of ears, it had long curved horns on its head, what looked like bones curving down its sides across the back, and bony bands that reminded him of shackles above its paws. The terrifying red eyes, the pointed tail, and the strange, skull-shaped growth on its chest all brought to mind one thing.

A hellhound.

He couldn’t understand what this meant. Was… was that dog really Danny in a new body? Was what he just witnessed a hallucination?

He had no answers as the hound tilted its head, as if examining Jonathan.

“Oi, Jonathan! What’s the holdup?” he heard Joanna shout, causing him to look ahead to see he was dragging behind, however, as he looked back at the ledge, the mysterious hound had vanished.

“Ah, sorry! I was lost in my thoughts!” he said, and quickly started running to catch up, though not without feeling a sense of dread as they kept moving. His thoughts were swarming with questions about what had just happened, enough so that he barely registered the strange grinning weasels, or even whatever was poking their heads out of the ground as they walked along. He swore he had just seen his dearly departed dog, and yet he became some monster? It was enough to make him question if he was dreaming, but as the memories of his own death came to mind, he dismissed the idea.

However, the thought that this was just another way to torment him by whoever or whatever gave him this second chance was starting to become a strong possibility. After all, a woman with his wife’s name and face existed in this world but was as much a stranger to him as he was to her. What’s more, the way she called him sir before he left Joanna’s home felt like she was further hammering in the idea that she wasn’t his Erina. That the woman he had seen and spoken with briefly led her own, quite different life than the woman he knew back in his former world.

That… that hurt him far more than anything Dio had done.

“Oyeeeee! Joanna! Jonathan!”

The sound of Nemona’s voice echoing through the cave grabbed his attention, looking around the chamber with Joanna and the iron serpent escorting them, before he spotted the other end of the cavern, the light coming in revealing that there were several ledges between them and their exit. Though it was hard to tell, he could see Nemona’s figure at the entrance as he and Joanna moved ahead, though the fact she seemed to refuse to enter the place was a little worrisome. 

“We’re down here!” he called out, grabbing the older girl’s attention as her silhouette shifted a bit in the light.

“Ah! Good!” she shouted back, “Are you two ok!? You’re not hurt, right!?”

“We’re fine, Nemona!” Joanna shouted, “My phone helped keep my legs together!”

“Oh thank goodness!” Nemona called back in relief, “I was really worried! I mean, after Jonathan somehow pulled together a leaf glider to his hand after you fell, well, if anything happened to the both of you… No, never mind that! Right now we’ve got to focus on getting both of you back up here!”

“I’m sorry, Jonathan did what!?” Joanna shouted while the man himself noticed how panicked Nemona sounded. Combined with how she wasn’t even entering the cavern, and her comment before about it being unsafe also made him wonder if she ended up in here by accident in the past.

“I’ll try to explain later!” Nemona said quickly, “Anyway, you two just need to find a way to climb out of there! If you can get close enough, I’ll try pulling you both up with one of my other Pokemon’s moves!”

“Well, I am curious what else a Champion Ranked trainer’s got, so I’m looking forward to it!” Joanna called out, making Jonathan wonder what she meant. Didn’t Nemona just have Esmerelda and her newly captured Pawmi? And what was a Champion Ranked Trainer in this sense? Was Nemona not a beginner like Joanna? If that was the case, then why was Nemona starting from scratch with Esmerelda as her partner?

Oh, they were starting to move again.

As he rushed forward to keep from being left behind, he also heard Nemona comment on their third companion.

“Hey, so, what’s that Pokemon leading you two? It looks SUPER strong! Though, I guess it also seems to know its way around here. Oh! Right, just a heads up but… there’s a pack of some pretty rough and rowdy Houndour that live in the cave! I mean, I’m glad you two got a bodyguard, but they’re still pretty strong! So, watch your back!”

As soon as she said that, Jonathan saw a pack of small black dogs rushing towards them, however, they seemed smaller than the “Danny” he had seen earlier, with short, pointed ears, and skull-shaped “caps” on their foreheads. Smaller Hellhounds? Or those “Houndour” that Nemona mentioned before?

Either way, the small beasts seemed ready to attack, until the Iron Serpent roared at them to make them turn tail and flee.

An understandable reaction, he supposed.

They continued forward, entering a tunnel completely lined with more of that glowing moss before a boulder stood in their path. However, their guide made short work of it, and Jonathan soon saw they were almost out of danger as he saw the exit ahead of them, and Nemona waiting as well. In fact, it seemed that all they had to do now was to find a way to climb up those rocks!

“Oh my gosh!” Nemona said in surprise, “It straight-up pulverized that rock! Just how powerful even is it!? Oh! I wonder what that move was? I really want to see it up close!”

Battle obsession aside, Jonathan was starting to be reminded of Speedwagon, and how he’d commentate on the action from the sidelines. He also wondered how his friend was faring after Jonathan’s death. Was he doing well? The last he saw him, he had rushed to the dock to see Jonathan and Erina off on their honeymoon cruise to America. Perhaps he was living his life on Ogre Street, maybe trying to reform as more than a mere thug after their adventure with the Baron. Maybe… Maybe he hadn’t heard what had happened at all just yet.

If he had, his dearest friend probably hadn’t handled the news well.

“Hey! Look out!” he heard Nemona cry out, “Something’s coming!”

That put him on high alert as he looked around, shifting his breathing to better channel Hamon as he saw his breath flow past his eyes from his mouth. Joanna had her hand on a Pokeball, ready to send one of her companions out, while their guide growled as it kept to the front.

Now where…

“BEHIND YOU!” Nemona shrieked, “It’s behind you!”

Jonathan barely had time to turn as he saw the dog from before. It growled as it walked into the chamber, while he got ready to fight. He didn’t care if whatever hallucination from before showed this thing as Danny, right now it was acting like a threat, and he needed to protect Joanna.

The Hellhound howled out what sounded like the word “Doom,” causing a slight shiver to go down his spine as it charged in. He barely had time to raise his arm to defend himself, before the dog leaped up and bit down on the limb. It also didn’t seem willing to let go as it kept on, reminding Jonathan of how he met Danny when he was little as he vaguely recalled his beloved dog doing the same thing when they met.

Another sting in his head, and for a moment, he saw this monster as Danny, while his dog’s eyes seemed confused. What was going on? His head started to feel like it was on the verge of splitting apart as Danny and the Hellhound started switching back and forth before his eyes, his heart racing as he was starting to bleed.

Without thinking, a golden surge of sparks flowed down his arm and into the dog’s maw, the red eyes widening as he saw Danny once more before it returned to the more hellish form as was forced to finally let go of his bleeding arm. It ended up landing on it… his back, looking dazed as it struggled to stand.

The hellhound stared at him again, and instead of the eyes of a wild animal…

He saw Danny in those eyes.

He didn’t know how, or why, but as the pain in his skull faded, he just… knew that was his dog reborn. However, he couldn’t just leave him behind, so he pulled out one of the Pokeballs Nemona had given him and gently tossed it. 

A flash of light, and a ping, and Danny was home. 

“Bloody Hell…” he heard Joanna say as he picked up the Pokeball and slipped it into his pants pocket, and also seeing that his arm was still bleeding through the now ruined shirt. A moment to breathe, and more golden sparks and his arm started to rapidly heal itself, even if the sleeve was still bloodied.

He turned around to see the Iron Serpent stare at him in surprise, while Joanna looked more amazed than anything.

“Santa mierda! Did you just… tame that monster of a Houndoom!?” he heard Nemona yell, though he felt that her words seemed to indicate she’d tangled with it before. As he looked up, he also swore she looked like she’d seen a ghost, though if anything, he’d seen the ghost. Probably.

Unfortunately, the moment of peace was short-lived, as a swarm of the smaller hounds, now confirmed to be Houndour, ran into the chamber. He was also ready to fight, but the next thing he knew, the iron serpent had just picked up him and Joanna in its arms and was now flying towards the exit. He barely had time to register what was happening as he gripped Danny’s ball in his hand, feeling dazed as the metallic being came to a stop next to Nemona and set them both down. Or rather, let Jonathan land on his feet and then set a now hatless Joanna down gently on the ground, a short distance away from the entrance.

“I’m so glad you’re all ok!” he heard Nemona say, bringing him back to reality as she turned her attention to him, while Joanna sat on the grass and groaned, while the metallic serpent remained close to her. Probably because of the food. “Seriously though, Jonathan, you’re lucky that Houndoom didn’t use a fire-type move!”

Fire type…? Wait, did that mean that…

Memories of how his dog died, and that bit of information made him wonder if whatever brought him here had a twisted sense of humor. 

“It wouldn’t have been the first time I’ve been burned,” Jonathan said, recalling what happened not only the night that Dio had turned into a vampire but also what he did when facing him in Windknight’s Lot.

“But… But burns from a Houndoom’s fire breath never heal!” Nemona then said in shock, while also clutching her gauntleted arm as she started to tremble.

Oh. That… that explained a lot, in his opinion.

It was at that moment, that he heard a thud, followed by a groan that grabbed the girl’s attention as Jonathan looked to see Joanna crouching down by their unexpected ally. However, when Jonathan saw that the creature had reverted back to its more quadrupedal form, he wondered what had happened to it as Nemona rushed over to her classmate.

“Woah! What’s wrong now?” Nemona said, clearly panicked as she stopped next to Joanna.

“Not sure,” Joanna said with a frown as Jonathan joined them. “One moment, it looked exhausted, there was a flash of light, and then it went back to this form.”

“Maybe it used up all its power?” Nemona mused, before frowning herself. “Ah, right, just… what is this Pokemon anyway? It kinda looks like a Cyclizar, but I’ve never seen one quite like this one before… and it looks so different than it did a minute ago too. Do… Do you think its ok?”

“It probably just needs to rest,” Joanna said as Jonathan looked at the mechanical monster on the ground. He was tempted to see if he could use Hamon to heal it, but… could Hamon even affect machines? Sure, it was apparently able to eat sandwiches, but…

“What about you, Nemona?” Joanna then said, “You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”

“Ah!, W-Well, I’m just… just glad you’re both ok!” she said, forcing a smile. “Anyway, Joanna, let’s exchange numbers so we can keep in touch! And you know, so you can call me in case there’s trouble. Again.”

Exchange numbers? Jonathan assumed that was just a way for people to call each other with the Rotom Phones, as the devices flew out and seemed to exchange information for a moment before returning to their owners.

“Anyway,” Joanna then said, before turning her attention towards Jonathan, and also glaring at him with her sharp, golden eyes. “What the bloody hell did you do back there!? And what was with that thing Nemona mentioned with the leaves!?”

“Ah! Right! That! Oh my gosh, that was insane!” Nemona then said quickly, “Like, I have never in my life seen anyone just… What was that? Like, golden sparky stuff!? And… and using it on a Houndoom!? And taming it!? Wait, shoot! You were bitten too, is your arm alright!?”

“Ah, I’m fine! Really!” Jonathan said as he raised his arm, even if the blood on it was starting to dry. However, the metal dragon seemed to see this as its irises seemed to shrink down as it found enough energy to scramble away from him… and then hide behind Joanna.

He had no idea how to react to that, all while watching as Joanna awkwardly tried to soothe it by stroking its side. As it started giving a soft growl as it seemed to relax, he figured he’d let Joanna take care of the creature, since, well, it seemed to be either afraid of him, or more likely the blood on his arm.

“Well, uh, it seems to like Joanna, so, if this fella was the one making that cry from before, maybe it will let her become its trainer!” Nemona said though she seemed to be trying to distract herself from recent events as she kept holding onto her arm. “Oh! And if that happens, maybe I can battle it? Though, uh, we should maybe take a breather after, like, everything. So, uh, let’s get to the Lighthouse, like, now? I mean, it’s right over there!”

Ah, well, that was convenient, and he supposed he did need a chance to clean up his arm as he didn’t want to disturb anyone else with the sight of blood on his arm. Especially if it led to someone believing he killed someone with his fist, as… that would be a very bad situation for him, now that he thought about it.

Thankfully, the mention of the lighthouse just ahead of them caught the attention of their mechanical companion, as it seemed to perk up a little before it got moving again, padding along towards the building. Jonathan also saw what looked like someone with a large yellow backpack on their shoulders standing in front of what seemed to be a window.

That someone, also seemed to know the metallic reptile as it seemed to speed up and growl, gaining the stranger’s attention. As they turned, Jonathan was met with a boy with long, dirty blond hair with a few brown streaks in it, while his bangs covered one eye. The yellow, puffy vest with the emblem he spotted on the sleeve of Joanna and Nemona’s shirts, combined with the long purple trousers, and the matching cuffs on the sleeves of his white shirt (which wasn’t even buttoned up properly, in his opinion!) and the tie around his neck proved this was another student at Uva Academy. It also proved to Jonathan that the school wasn’t just for girls after all. Though, Jonathan did have to admit, that with the visible cyan eye, the young man would probably be the kind of gentleman ladies would swarm around when he was old enough to be considered a man.

However, Jonathan also noticed the young man’s expression turned rather sour as he muttered something before stomping over in his brown boots, right towards them as he spoke up.

“What are you doing out here!?” he shouted, causing Jonathan to wonder if they weren’t supposed to be at the lighthouse.

“Pardon?” he asked, while Joanna seemed annoyed with the young man before he stopped to glare at the group.

“I’m not talking to you three,” he then said, indicating Jonathan and the girls. “So you can shove off!”

“Who’s this arse?” Joanna asked, and while Jonathan didn’t approve of her use of that word, he was still wondering the same thing. Just a lot more politely.

“Wait, I know you…” Nemona then said as she looked at the boy who approached them, while their mechanical companion seemed rather happy to see him. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who recognized this person. “Aren’t you Arven? You’re enrolled in the Humanities Track, right? And aren’t you the son of those famous Pokemon Researchers– Professors Sada and Turo?”

That last question seemed to put young Arven on edge, as Jonathan watched him grit his teeth and glare at Nemona.

“It doesn’t matter who my Dad is!” he snapped out, while Jonathan started to get a bad feeling as he recalled Dio once again. “The real issue is why in the world this Pokemon is doing out here! And what’s with the form it’s in!?”

As he gestured wildly towards the large metal lizard with them, and the way the creature tilted its head, Jonathan soon had an idea as to why their companion seemed to know Arven.

“Hold up a minute,” Joanna said as she walked between Arven and their rescuer, while her ponytail seemed to flutter a little in the sudden breeze that had picked up. “Are you saying you know what this Pokemon is?”

“I-I mean, it’s not like I… uh…” Arven said as he started to flounder a little. Probably caught off guard by Joanna’s question, from how Jonathan saw it. Well, before he shook his head and growled. “Wh-what’s it matter to you, anyway!?”

Next thing Jonathan knew, Arven was grabbed by the tie as Joanna yanked him down to her height.

“Now listen here, mate,” she said, keeping a death grip on the tie as her already pale knuckles turned even whiter. “I fell off a cliff today, and the big guy with me and Nemona followed me down on some sort of leafy glider he pulled out of his arse. So, pardon me for wanting to know the bloody name of the Pokemon that helped us back up here, instead of becoming lunch for a pack of Houndour!”

“Ah, yeah!” Nemona said, while Jonathan silently wondered where Joanna got her temper from. Her father? Her mother? He wasn’t sure of anything other than Arven looking around in discomfort as he remained silent. “That Pokemon did do all that, but… it kind of got slumpy afterward. But you should seen it before! It looked totally different before, and it was unbelievably strong!”

“Well, yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to be,” Arven said as Joanna let go of his tie. “But, it can’t fight right now. That other form you saw? That’s Miraidon’s true form.”

“Thank you so much for telling us its name,” Joanna said flatly, while Nemona seemed confused still.

“So… how’d you know what it's called?” she said, only for Arven to rudely ignore her as Miraidon seemed to head towards the window… or rather door, on the side of the Lighthouse. In fact, the way it started pawing at the door like a dog made Jonathan wonder if it was trained like one as Arven let out a groan.

“You can’t go in the lab,” he said to the mechanized reptile, which let out a confused growl. “It’s locked, I already tried. I think Da… Professor Turo changed the locks after sending me off to Mom.”

… Arven’s parents didn’t live together? He had heard in his previous life and world that Divorce was only available to the wealthy and that only the fathers could gain custody of their children, as they had wealth and land to pass down to an heir, while the mother… wasn’t so fortunate. From what he heard once at his former school, it might have been easier for a woman to become a widow, than to get a divorce due to the scandal it would cause, along with how the process worked.

Maybe Paldea was different.

“Wait,” Arven then said, as he turned his attention back to Joanna, “I… don’t remember ever seeing you around. But given the uniform… you go to the Academy too, right?”

“Starting today, actually,” Joanna said. “Why?”

Arven seemed to hum a bit as he pulled out a Pokeball that seemed to have a bit of dried mud on the red half, before looking between Miraidon and the girl. Jonathan could tell he was up to something but remained silent as he wanted to see where this could go before he would step in. 

A Gentleman shouldn’t jump to conclusions, after all.

“Well… Miraidon isn’t the sort of Pokemon just any trainer can hope to command. It’s pretty special.” the boy then said, while Miraidon started padding back to Joanna to nuzzle her side, just before Arven smirked.

“What sort of Pokemon is it?” Nemona and Jonathan said, and though Arven glared at the taller girl, he did seem surprised to see Jonathan. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to answer as he refocused on Joanna.

“So, you think you’re up for ordering Miraidon around?” he then asked, causing the shorter girl to stare at him like he’d just grown a second head.

“What?” she asked. “Are you seriously trying to pawn Miraidon off on me?”

“Well, I can’t take care of that bru– I mean, that Pokemon right now. I’ve got other problems on my hands,” Arven said with a huff. “And there’s no way I’m letting the Student Council President and local Battle Maniac Nemona take care of it.”

“Rude!” Nemona said, while Jonathan just sighed and shook his head.

“Well, what about Jonathan?” Joanna asked, pointing towards the man, “I mean, he just tamed a Houndoom without any Pokemon, he’d probably be a better choice than me, right?”

Arven quirked an eyebrow, before staring Jonathan down for a moment, before glancing at Miraidon while it quickly shook its head before sticking very close to Joanna like a puppy starving for affection.

Considering how it acted when it saw his arm a short while ago… that was probably for the best.

“I mean, it clearly likes you better,” Arven said, “But if you want, I could probably test you with a quick battle. Or something. Or like, let you use it as stress relief after what you described. Then again, I’m not in the best of moods either, so it’ll be good for both of us!”

Jonathan watched Joanna sigh before he thought the eight-pointed gem she had around her neck shine for a moment, which she seemed to notice as well as she looked down at it and let out a groan.

“Fine, let’s just do this and move on already,” she said as she started moving towards the lighthouse. “Name’s Joanna Joestar, by the way.”

“Arven,” the young man said as he walked with her closer to the Lighthouse, while Miraidon stayed near Jonathan and Nemona. “So, how many Pokemon do you have, Jo Jo?”

“Two, you?” Joanna asked, while Jonathan realized they were actually preparing for the fight, while he heard Nemona start making some excited noises. While he had seen a battle against a wild Pokemon, he was curious as to what was normal between… what was the term again?

“Ah, Nemona,” Jonathan then whispered, while Arven and Joanna did their preparations, “What exactly is about to happen? Some sort of fight?”

“Ah, just a Trainer Battle,” Nemona whispered back, “It’s just friendly fun, normally, and since you’re a Trainer now too… with Houndoom… you might find yourself getting a challenge now and then as well. Anyway, I’ll be happy to answer any questions if you have any while we watch.”

“Thank you,” Jonathan said before Nemona reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of bottles of water. “Oh?”

“Ah, well, you need to wash the blood off your arm, right?” she said, “And don’t worry, I carry plenty of water, the bag’s bigger than you think on the inside. So, uh, use this to wash up and maybe stay hydrated as well. Trust me, not drinking enough water when traveling around is not a good idea.”

He was starting to get the feeling that students at Uva Academy wouldn’t always be in the classroom, as he silently accepted the bottles, and started using one to get the dried blood off of his arm… well, after rolling up the sleeve, anyway. He had to admit, that Nemona did seem to do her best to watch out for others, even if she also seemed to be a little lacking in some social areas.

Once he managed to at least get his hand clean, Nemona nudged his side with her elbow, causing him to look up and see Joanna and Arven with some distance between them, probably to show the fight was starting. He watched as Arven seemed to get himself focused, slapping his cheeks and practically motivating himself before he pulled a Pokeball off of his belt, reminding Jonathan that he had slipped Houndoom’s… no, Danny’s Pokeball into his pants pocket. Well, before he remembered the odd protrusions on the belt he was borrowing to keep his pants up. He decided to take a moment to slip the ball onto the belt for the moment, satisfied it seemed to stay in place once he had done so.

Right, back to the battle.

“Let’s go, Peanut!” Arven then yelled, tossing a ball out and unleashing…

That was a gray squirrel with an unnervingly chubby face and beady eyes. The tail was also bushier than what he was familiar with and seemed darker halfway down its length.

Thankfully, Nemona’s Rotom Phone provided more information.

“Skwovet, the Cheeky Pokemon. Normal Type. Height: .3 meters. Weight: 2.5 kilograms. No matter how much it stuffs itself with food, it is always anxious about getting hungry again. So, it stashes berries in its cheeks and tail.”

He had no idea what to even make of that before Joanna sent out her Pokemon of choice.

“Let’s go, D’arc!” she shouted, sending out the Dreepy from before, while Nemona seemed rather surprised.

“Oh, this will be an interesting battle!”

“Why’s that?" Jonathan asked, watching as the two Pokemon seemed to size each other up, while Arven seemed surprised at Joanna’s choice.

“Well, Normal Type moves don’t affect Ghost Type Pokemon,” Nemona explained, “And in return, Ghost-type moves don’t affect Normal Types. So, depending on what Skwovet knows, there’s a chance that Arven might not be able to do anything.”

“And what about D’arc?” Jonathan asked.

“Oh, Dreepy know only four moves from when they hatch out of the egg, to when they evolve into Drakloak,” Nemona explained, “Astonish, which is a Ghost Type move, Infestation is a Bug Type Move, Quick Attack’s Normal Type, and finally Bite, which is classified as a Dark Type Move.”

“So, Joanna’s got more to work with then?” Jonathan asked, watching as the squirrel tried to bite at D’arc, only for the ghostly dragon to dart out of the way with surprising speed.

“Pretty much,” Nemona said, “There are other things to consider when it comes to the match-up, though. For example, Skwovet’s a lot slower than Dreepy. But, it can take more hits than a Dreepy can.”

That did make a good bit of sense to him, now that he thought about it. Though, as he watched the serpentine spirit weave around Skwovet’s attempts to attack, and even became startled as he watched the rodent’s attempt to tackle D’arc fail when it phased through the dragon without any issue.

The fact that D’arc responded by calling forth a swarm of insects that seemed to latch onto Skw… Peanut. That was what Arven called the squirrel.

“Oh! Yeah, that’s going to be a drain on Peanut’s stamina,” Nemona said, while Jonathan watched as the rodent in question seemed to shudder as it tried to scratch at the tiny insects covering it. Personally, he hoped that what might as well be fleas weren’t carrying any sort of disease.

“Oh come on! Seriously!?” Arven cried out, while Joanna shrugged and gave a cheeky grin in response.

“Hey, you were the one who wanted a fight!” she then said with a laugh, while Arven paused and found himself laughing a bit as well.

“Well, let’s how how well your Dreepy can take a bite!” Arven then said before Peanut ran in as Jonathan swore he saw its tooth glow in the sunlight. Unfortunately for Arven, D’arc was just too swift for its chubby opponent, flying circles around the bitey rodent until Peanut fell over from a mixture of fatigue and possibly dizziness.

The fight was over, as Arven recalled his squirrel back to its Pokeball. As Joanna did the same with the cheerful D’arc, Jonathan walked over to the victor as he rolled his sleeve down, while Nemona hugged the girl.

“Haha! That was great, Joanna!” she said, squeezing the shorter girl.

“I guess I wasn’t ever going to stand a chance using only a Pokemon I just caught…” Arven then lamented before Joanna spoke up.

“Actually, I think you did alright,” she said, “From what I heard, some Pokemon won’t listen to a trainer right away, but Peanut seemed to like you.”

“Oh, uh… thanks?” Arven said, “Where’d you learn to battle like that?”

“Oh, I’m from Galar,” Joanna said. “Battling’s practically the Regional pastime, what with the League Season every year. Besides, Grandpa Tats would be heartbroken if I wasn’t able to put up a fight once I finally became a trainer. After two battles, I think I’m doing a pretty decent job so far, so, uh, not bad for my first day as a Trainer, right?”

“Oh. Great. Another Galarian,” Arven then said, causing Joanna and Jonathan to become confused. “Well, you seem a lot nicer than that guy who enrolled in Humanities, at least. What track are you in, anyway?”

“Ah, General,” Joanna said, “Who’s the guy you’re talking about, anyway?”

“Florian,” Arven groaned, “He’s some hotshot son of a celebrity or something and living in Los Platos with his mother. Said his dad and uncle were caught up in an accident in Galar, and also seemed pretty pissed off that someone else nabbed the house his mom was hoping to get on Poco Cabo. Some guy named Nicky Joe…star…”

Arven paused as he, along with everyone else stared at Joanna, who seemed to be forcing a smile that, when combined with her sharp-looking golden eyes, made her seem almost evil.

“Joanna, do you know this Florian boy?” Jonathan finally asked, only for the girl to shake her head.

“Nope, but I have a bad feeling about who his dad and uncle are,” she said, “Anyway, Arven, you think I’m good enough to handle Miraidon’s recovery?”

Arven said nothing as he looked around, holding the muddy Pokeball from before until he saw Jonathan’s sleeve, and paled. Next thing the man knew, Arven had shoved the ball into Joanna’s hands and started bolting, showing surprisingly impressive speed for someone lugging around such a heavy-looking backpack.

“That brute’s your problem now, good luck!” he shouted while kicking up dust down the path ahead.

“Hey! You better show up at school, you weirdo!” Nemona called out after him, before sighing as she looked towards her current companions while Joanna cleaned up the Pokeball with her shirt. “Geeze, I really think that guy knows more about Miraidon than he’s letting on.”

“Well, if his father is this “Professor Turo”, perhaps the man might have been researching Miraidon, and Arven knew about it before living with his mother?” Jonathan suggested, while Nemona shrugged, and Joanna was quiet as she recalled the mechanical Pokemon into its ball.

“Well, whatever the reason, he and I are going to battle next time!” Nemona said while Jonathan started to wonder if Arven’s use of “Battle Maniac” about her was true. “I’m gonna wring the answers out of him!”

She paused before she started to look like she was reaching her limit as she let out a sigh and gave a weary smile. 

“But first, let’s have lunch, and then climb up the Lighthouse, I want to show Joanna the view.”

“Sounds good,” Joanna said, and Jonathan found himself in agreement.

It had been… a rather short, but eventful walk, in all honesty.

Notes:

Sorry, this took so long. Since I decided to write this chapter completely from Jonathan's Point of View, I had to stop every now and then to do research into what life was like up until his death, just to keep him as in character as possible in well, his current situation.

As well as look up the Violet Pokedex entries for the Pokemon in this chapter. It probably made things drag, but well, Jonathan probably also needed the info. Plus, it was fun writing out his thoughts here and there.

Anyway, some fun facts:
1. Apparently, Charles Darwin died almost 7 years before Jonathan did.

2. Automatons were a thing in and even before the Victorian era, and I personally find them, and clockwork machines in general to be awesome. This info also helped me better figure out his reaction to Miraidon, and see how almost alien it would be to a Victorian Gentleman.

3. Divorce was apparently only available to the Upper Class in Victorian England. And could only be initiated by men most of the time, and said men would get custody of the kids for inheritance reasons. Women had a rougher time even initiating Divorce and also got the short end of the stick from the thing in general. At least, going by the quick research I had to do.

Now with those out of the way, yes, I know the encounter with Arven plays out a bit differently in terms of dialogue. Mainly because Joanna's not a silent protagonist like in the game. I am also playing with the idea that as the more experienced trainer, Nemona knows a lot of things, be it Pokemon Battles, or just the fact she needs to keep hydrated while traveling around Paldea.

Also in regards to Nemona, this chapter showcases hints of a theory I have about what happened to Nemona's arm, and how it might tie to how she acts when the player and Miraidon are going through the Inlet Grotto.

Also yes, the default male protag of Scarlet/Violet will be showing up. Yes, his name in the game's canon is Florian. In this fic's universe, he's also tied to a pair of assholes from the post-game for Sword and Shield. Not counting DLC.

Oh, and finally, this chapter reveals the Evil Idea I had: Danny the Houndoom. I'm not *quite* sure if this means that Jonathan might meet other people he's lost in his life as Pokemon, or even people yet, but time will tell, right?

Next time, the group at least reaches Mesagoza. Might run into that Florian kid too.

Chapter 5: Los Platos

Summary:

After checking out the Lighthouse, our trio finally reaches Los Platos, where Jonathan gets a new companion, a potential foe is met, and Joanna reveals some things about her life.

Lunch was rather nice, though Joanna did feel a little guilty that her new friend Nemona decided to split her sandwich with her. As did Jonathan, who commented that since Joanna was the youngest and still growing, she might need plenty to eat. On the other hand, since she sacrificed her own sandwich to help a Pokemon in need, Joanna did appreciate her new friend looking out for her. As well as the strange guy that showed up.

She still didn’t trust Jonathan around her mum, though.

In any event, once their sandwiches were devoured, and they had a nice drink of water provided by Nemona, the trio decided to climb up to the top of the lighthouse, after Nemona mentioned she wanted to show them the view. Sure, it also meant climbing a ladder instead of some stairs, but Joanna didn’t mind it. In fact, she had to climb a few ladders, and fire escapes to get around sometimes in Spikemuth’s streets with her friends.

Well, until she had to move to Paldea, anyway. Still, she did smile as she recalled the little “Farewell Party” her friends Heather, Aster, and Tony gave her as a last goodbye, with a homemade apple cake for them to split, and her friends having made her a gift she currently had in her bag. Of course, as she made her way up after Nemona and Jonathan, she also remembered her friends’ faces as they said their goodbyes to her. The way Heather squeezed her tightly, sobbing as she didn’t want her best friend to go away, how Aster coolly wished her luck in Paldea while he would care for Spikemuth and Tony…

Well, that kid thought it was a brilliant idea to fly by the boat on the back of a Drampa he caught just because he slept in and missed Joanna’s departure. Sure, she was surprised he even managed to catch one as his first partner, but she was even more surprised that Drampas were even capable of flight. Still, she couldn’t help but laugh as she recalled what Tony said to her, before performing a loop on Drampa’s back and heading home.

“Jo Jo, I swear to Arceus, you better not forget us while you’re in Paldea! If you do, I’m going to hunt you down, and… and make you kiss a Shelmet!”

She had to admit, the boy she saw as her brother was certainly creative when it came to his promises.

As soon as she reached the top of the ladder, she was surprised to see Jonathan help her onto more solid ground. Though, considering recent events with how he was willing to jump down a cliff to check on her, and then take a Houndoom to the arm to keep her safe, maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

After thanking the man, she decided to look around the top of the lighthouse and brought out her phone to take some pictures of the view. Of course, while her phone was doing that, she did take a moment to take out her friend’s gift: a heavy metal band that Heather had found under the floorboards of her room, which Aster then “revitalized” by using his family’s knowledge of making jewelry to attach some midnight blue shards to the metal. Finally, there was Tony’s contribution- an old Thunder Badge he found in a gutter that he cleaned up. As the sunlight yellow badge glittered on the top of the bracelet, she slipped it on and smiled.

As long as she had this, she felt like the friends she left behind in Galar were with her.

“That’s an interesting bracelet,” she then heard Jonathan say as she looked out at the sea, causing her to turn her attention toward the giant of a man and realize his face seemed a bit serious. Was he mentally appraising her friend’s gift or something?

“It’s just something my friends back home worked together to fix up,” she said, holding her left arm up so that Jonathan could get a better look. “What, do you think it’s tacky or something?”

“Oh, no, not at all!” Jonathan said quickly, “I was just curious about how it might have looked before your friends repaired it. I mean, I did study Archaeology back in… my old world, I suppose, so I wondered if it might have been a refurbished artifact… which… might also potentially hide the historical value.”

Joanna wasn’t sure what to make of how dodgy he was about where he came from. Sure, he sounded like he came from somewhere in Galar, going by his accent, maybe even a part of the upper class with how he acted, but something just wasn’t adding up about the man, and it was bothering her.

“What did you want to study Archaeology for?” she then asked, before watching the man freeze for a moment before his expression turned into something sadder as he looked out over the ocean.

“That…” he began as Joanna realized she hit a nerve. Unfortunately, it was then that Nemona called out to them, preventing the girl from learning more about this other Joestar.

“Joanna, Jonathan, come over here and see Mesagoza!” her first friend in Paldea had called out, causing Joanna to hum as her phone returned to her bag and she walked on over. She had wondered what all the fuss was about until her eyes widened at what she saw in the distance.

“It seems like an ancient fortress!” Jonathan said while Joanna had thought that the sight was just as impressive as seeing Hammerlocke’s walls for the first time.

“Yeah, and see that building with the giant Pokeball?” Nemona asked, pointing it out as Joanna saw the painfully bright glimmers on the ball even from this far. She also hoped it wasn’t holding a Pokemon, as the last thing she needed to worry about was another region with giant Pokemon running about. “That’s our school, Joanna! It’s going to be so great having you in the same class!”

“Well, if everyone’s as friendly as you, Nemona, then I’m sure life at Uva Academy won’t be too bad,” Joanna said with a grin, while her new friend laughed.

“Well, I mean… I don’t have as many friends there as you think,” Nemona said a little nervously. “I mean, yeah, I’m a Champion Rank trainer, but that kind of just… happened before I knew it. Probably doesn’t help that everyone thinks I had the title handed to me on a silver plate because I’m rich, or some sort of battling prodigy… but I’m not like that at all.”

“What exactly does it mean to be a Champion Rank Trainer?” Jonathan then asked while Joanna decided to let Nemona handle the explanation, since, well, she was more familiar with Paldea.

“Ah, it basically means I worked hard enough to pass the Champion Assessment, Paldea’s version of the Pokemon League challenge,” Nemona said as she leaned on the red railing in front of her. “You see the white building peeking out behind that rock near Mesagoza?”

“Yes,” Joanna and Jonathan said together.

“Well, after you travel around the region and collect eight badges, you need to go there for the final leg of the assessment,” Nemona explained. “Think of that building as the League Headquarters where the Elite Four and La Primera are found.”

“And you were allowed to do this alone, during school?” Jonathan asked, “That… sounds dangerous for a child.”

“I mean, it’s normal here,” Nemona said before Joanna decided to ask a question of her own.

“So, are there any special requirements to take on this challenge?”

Nemona turned to look at her, clearly confused. “No… wh– Wait, Joanna, are you considering taking the Assessment!?”

The way her orange eyes sparkled seemed to indicate Nemona was probably looking forward to the idea. 

“I mean, maybe,” Joanna said, “Back in Galar, the League’s a lot different than here and other regions. We don’t have an Elite Four, and the Gym Challenge season ends with a tournament before the final match between the current Champion and the tournament winner to decide if there’s a new Champion or not. However, the most annoying bit is that not just anyone can enter. Challengers need to get an endorsement letter before even thinking of registering for the season. And a lot of Sponsors are extremely picky about who they want to endorse. Then there’s the trouble from a couple of years ago with the Ex-Chairman of the League doing something incredibly stupid that put the whole region in danger! Luckily, the current Champ managed to stop him, but sweet Arceus did all that just come out of nowhere!”

As she realized she was ranting now, she cleared her throat as she saw the looks she was getting from her current companions- Nemona’s bewilderment, and Jonathan’s… she had no idea what to call that expression, to be honest. Confusion? Fear? A bit of… understanding? That last one seemed kinda weird to consider, but she thought she saw it in his face.

“I… actually think I saw that on the news a couple of years ago,” Nemona said before Jonathan spoke up.

“What exactly did the former Chairman do?” he asked, though Joanna thought she caught a bit of an edge in his tone. Weird.

“Well, Ex-Chairman Rose decided it was a brilliant idea to solve an Energy Crisis that wouldn’t be a thing for a millennium from now, by waking up and pissing off the Pokemon responsible for Galar’s famous Dynamax Phenomenon,” Joanna explained, and upon seeing Jonathan’s confusion added, “Dynamax is basically using a certain type of energy found only in the Galar Region to make a Pokemon grow very, very big, for a short amount of time, and it can only be done in certain parts of Galar, which have Stadiums built over those spots. Except for Spikemuth, which thankfully doesn’t have to deal with that nonsense. We get a more normal Gym same as the rest of the world, and we’re proud of it! No matter what some Challengers or tourists might think. And it certainly saved our arses from some shite a pair of Noble Twits tried to pull…”

“That… is like, a lot to unpack,” Nemona said, before changing the subject while Jonathan just stared at her blankly. Maybe it was just too much for him to process. “So, uh, who is the current Galar Champion? I haven’t been keeping up with what’s happening in other regions lately.”

“Ah, that’s–” Joanna began, just as her phone started to ring. “Oh, now what?”

Upon answering, she was surprised to see that said current champion was on the line. 

“Hey Jo Jo, Aunt Erina let me know you were starting school today, so I thought I’d check in and… where are you?”

“Just checking out the view with my new classmate Nemona, Gloria. We were actually just talking about you,” Joanna said with a shrug while her friend grinned and waved at the camera. However, as she looked behind her, she could tell Jonathan was staring in sheer bewilderment while the call was taking place. Probably another hint at what kind of tech he might have been used to, as she recalled how terrified and confused he seemed when he saw Miraidon. 

When she looked back at her screen, she saw her dear cousin give her an annoyed look.

“Your mum also mentioned that something strange happened?” Gloria asked in an “I know what happened, do not lie to me” tone, causing Joanna to nod. “Then, am I to assume that big guy is the madman who claimed he married an alternate version of Aunt Erina?”

Jonathan made a noise behind Joanna as he looked away, the teen unsure what sort of expression he was making as Nemona moved closer to the ash brunette.

“He’s clearly decided to come with me and Nemona for both his and Mum’s sake,” Joanna pointed out, “Also, I’m guessing my Grandpa Tats already knows the situation?”

“Obviously, and I would not be surprised if some of Cronin Joestar’s old contacts pay a visit to Paldea to investigate,” Gloria sighed, while Joanna spotted the Galarian Champion’s Intelleon appear in the background. “Also, are you sure it’s a good idea to travel with him? You don’t know much about him, or if he’s being honest with you! What if he’s really some sort of blighter who’s willing to stab you in the back?”

“It’s not that much farther to Mesagoza, Glory, and from what I’ve seen, I highly doubt he’s willing to hurt anyone. Besides, he did help after I fell off a cliff and encountered an odd Pokemon…” Joanna said, causing her cousin to push her ever-affectionate Intelleon away and grip the phone on her side of the call, going by the slight cracking noise she caught on speaker.

“YOU WHAT!? What do you mean you fell off a cliff!? And what about an odd Pokemon!? Joanna, Joestar you’ve been in Paldea for a week. How are you already caught up in bizarre shenanigans!?”

“Family trait,” Joanna said with a shrug, recalling the stories her father told her of his own adventures. “Anyway, after traversing through a tunnel with that Pokemon, Jonathan here caught himself a Houndoom on his own merit, and I managed to get myself the task of taking care of that Pokemon I mentioned before after it helped us both out when a pack of Houndour showed up.”

Seeing her cousin’s eye start to twitch, Joanna sighed as she sensed what was coming next.

“Jo Jo, you do know that if our Grandfather finds out, he’s going to go on a whole ‘nother rant about how you and your Dad are nothing but trouble for Aunt Erina,” her cousin said, while Joanna just wondered how the old git could possibly find out in the first place.

“Mister Pendleton’s always been more your Grandfather than mine,” Joanna simply said before she decided to change the subject. “Anyway, how’s the Champion's life today?”

The forced smile her cousin gave said everything before Nemona decided to join the conversation.

“Hi! I’m Nemona, and you’re really Galar’s champion?” she began while Gloria awkwardly nodded on screen, “Awesome! Do you think if you ever visit Paldea, we could have a battle? I’m a Champion-rank trainer here in Paldea, and I really think Jo Jo’s got some talent for battling too, and I really, really, want to see if it runs in the family! Plus, it would be really fun to battle some Pokemon from Galar! Like, I’m sure it’d be an amazing way to get to know each other, you know?”

“Uh… I… might have to run the idea of an inter-regional exhibition match by Leon… I mean the Chairman…” Gloria said, clearly stunned as Joanna mentally thanked Nemona for the save. “A-Anyway, I have a date tonight, so I—”

“Oh, so you and Hop are official now?” Joanna decided to tease, causing her cousin’s face to turn red.

“J-JO JO! Please! We already have Leon joking about winning a bet with Sonia! Can you not double-team us on the teasing with him? Please?”

“Sorry, can’t!” Joanna said with a grin, while her cousin sighed.

“I’ll call back later… and I swear, when you start dating, Jo Jo, I will get my revenge!”

“Looking forward to it,” Joanna said and still grinned as her cousin ended the call.

Once that was over and her phone returned to her bag, Joanna turned to her friends with a smirk on her face… until she saw Jonathan looking at her with disappointment and annoyance.

“You didn’t mention you had a cousin when I asked about other Pendletons before, Joanna,” he said, while Nemona was excitedly mumbling strategies to use for the potential battle against Gloria.

“Hm? Ah, right, I assumed you were only asking about Mum’s parents and any siblings she had,” the girl said casually, before realizing what she said as she added, “and I was honest about her immediate family when it comes to, well, the Pendleton side.”

No need to bring up that mess just yet.

“So! Isn't it awesome what we can see from up here?” Nemona said as if she was able to sense the tension that was brewing, and successfully distracting the two Joestars as they looked around. “Mountains! Forests! Grasslands! Beautiful nature stuff as far as the eye can see! And you know what’s waiting for us all over these natural spaces?”

“Adventure?” Jonathan asked.

“Mysterious phenomena?” Joanna suggested, wondering just what could be hidden in the nooks and crannies of the region.

“Well, that too, I guess,” Nemona said, “But there’s also tons of Pokemon! So, consider this me officially telling both of you: Welcome to Paldea!”

Joanna couldn’t help but laugh, feeling more at ease as she grinned at Nemona.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, well, despite recent events,” she said jokingly, causing her new friend to laugh while Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck.

“No problem,” Nemona said, before looking ahead. “Anyway… it’s still kind of a hike to get to school from here. So, let’s make it to Los Platos for starters! That’s right on the way, so vamos! C’mon!”

And with that, Nemona was heading towards the ladder, and it was time to continue the surprisingly long trek to school.

~0~

Jonathan wasn’t sure what to think about what he had just witnessed. Sure, he was appreciative of the fact he now knew how long-distance communication worked in this world, however, the matter of how Joanna seemed to have willingly omitted information about her family had him a little worried. Not to mention what she had about her mother’s family. 

He found the slip about siblings, followed by clarification about the “Pendleton side” of her family to be quite concerning. Even more concerning, were the possible reasons as to why she had to clarify it that way… And If both the Joestars and Pendletons existed in this world, then it was likely that there was a Brando family as well. However, it also seemed that the head of the Joestar Family, “Grandpa Tats” wasn’t actually related to Joanna’s father, which made him wonder about where the currently missing parent had come from originally. Not to mention he had a feeling that the Joestars of this world might not have had the same social status he did when he was growing up.

Perhaps he needed more information. However, he also wondered why Joanna might have wanted to hide certain details from him in the first place.

Ah, right. He wasn’t being completely honest with the girls either, considering his own circumstances. Not to mention that he was hurt, but understanding of how this world’s Erina had told people about what he said. Especially now that he knew she had heard him after all. 

Even if Gloria’s comment about him being a madman stung. He wasn’t sure what an asylum was like in this world, and for several reasons… he honestly did not wish to find out. Nor was he sure he wanted to meet those “contacts” that Joanna’s grandfather had.

At least now had a name for the head of the Joestar family in this world. However, for some reason, the man’s name made his fingers ache.

As he followed the girls down the path heading north, he glanced at the rocky ledges on either side, noting the grass growing on top of them, more Pokemon wandering about and—

Was that a treasure chest just… sitting there out in the open? Sure, it was high up, but the red and gold chest seemed quite out of place. Unfortunately, it seemed to be too high up for him to reach, and he wasn’t sure if he could climb up the ledge just yet, so, decided to investigate another time.

Or perhaps, since Nemona seemed more familiar with the area, he could ask her. Unfortunately, just before he could say anything, he spotted something worrying just ahead of them: A young child in a black hat, a yellow shirt, and red shorts with black suspenders standing by the side of the road, tossing a Pokeball up into the air and catching it.

“Why is a child out here alone!?” Jonathan found himself saying, earning the attention of both Nemona and Joanna, while the child— a young boy, probably, stared at Jonathan in confusion.

“I’m a Pokemon Trainer, Mister!” the child then cheerfully exclaimed. “I wanna challenge people so Thready can get stronger! Do you want to battle?”

There was only one answer to the request, and as a Gentleman, he needed to say it.

“No.”

The youngster’s face fell, while Joanna and Nemona looked at him with a bit of disappointment as he explained himself.

“I do not feel comfortable battling a child,” he began. “More importantly, his family might be worried about him, so I believe he should head home. Especially if there’s anything else as dangerous as a Houndoom lurking about.”

“I-I’m not afraid!” the youngster protested, “And, if you’re not going to battle me, Mister, then I’ll just challenge someone else!”

“Even me?” Nemona said hopefully, while Joanna just gave her friend a questioning look. However, despite Nemona’s cheerful smile, the boy seemed to freeze in place, before bolting down the road towards the town.

“I, uh, just thought I heard my mom call me for lunch, so… gottagobye!” the boy shouted, while Nemona looked utterly dejected as Joanna patted the tall girl on the back.

“Ah… it’s lonely at the top,” Nemona lamented before she started heading towards the town just ahead of them, while Joanna got out her Rotom Phone to scan more Pokemon along the way, starting with what looked like a tall, bipedal, yellow duck with the look of… well, Jonathan wasn’t quite sure what the most polite term was for the blank look it had reminded him of, but he was sure such a term existed.

“Psyduck, the Duck Pokemon. Water Type. Height: .8 meters. Weight: 19.6 kilograms. If its chronic headache peaks, it may exhibit odd powers. It seems unable to recall such an episode.”

“Yeah, nothing new there,” Joanna said, as Jonathan realized that Psyducks were probably quite common in other parts of this world. Though odd pudgy duck creatures were probably not the strangest thing he’d seen… yet, now that he thought about it, he did suppose the arms in place of wings probably meant it was a flightless bird of some kind. Alternatively, it could have been that Australian creature that caused many scientists to debate what it was supposed to be for decades. Sadly, he couldn’t quite recall the name at the moment. What was it again? A “Duck Mole?” 

A bird was probably more likely, in all honesty.

Next, was a strange blue mouse with a zigzagging tail that ended in a blue ball. At least, he thought it was a mouse. It only had a pair of feet, strangely enough, and white “cheeks” on its small blue body, as it ran around before floating along the stream they were nearing. The Psyduck he spotted before just relaxing by a wooden bridge.

“Azurill, the Polka Dot Pokemon. Normal/Fairy Type. Height: .2 meters. Weight: 2 kilograms. Its tail bounces like a rubber ball. It flings that tail around to fight opponents bigger than itself.”

So, fairies were considered a form of Pokemon then? He wasn’t sure what kind of fairy could be compared to the blue, apparently bouncy rodent, but he also questioned the use of Polka Dot to describe it as well. 

As they crossed the bridge, however, he thought he heard a strange croaking noise coming from below that the girls didn’t seem to hear. So, out of curiosity, he decided to kneel down and take a peek. At first, he didn’t see anything right away, until a glint caught his attention. The moment he looked towards it, however, he was surprised to see a tiny, gray… creature with bent black antennae and a golden coin on its back. 

“What’s this?” he found himself saying, causing the croaking creature to pause and turn around to face him, allowing him to see its coin-like eyes and a mouth wide open in surprise. Next thing he knew, the creature had dropped the coin and started running for the hills away from him.

“Oi, Jonathan, what are you looking at?” Joanna then said just as the man had grabbed the coin for a better look. It wasn’t one he recognized, going by the design on it as he stood up.

“Oh, I heard a noise and saw some sort of tiny Pokemon holding this coin,” he said, holding up his find as Nemona stopped and stared at him, while Joanna looked at him with a more questioning look.

“Ah, that was just a Gimmigoul,” Nemona then explained, while Jonathan started to wonder how Pokemon were named. “You probably saw its Roaming Form before you scared it off, but trainers can only seem to catch its Chest Form. Probably because the Roaming Form moves pretty fast.”

“Pokemon can have different forms without evolving?” Jonathan asked, recalling the encounter with Arven and what he said about Miraidon.

“Well, yeah,” Joanna said, “Hell, some Pokemon can look different depending on what region they’re found in, which could also affect what they evolve into.”

This was definitely sounding like something Darwin might have been interested in, with the more Jonathan learned of this world.

“So… what does the Pokedex say about either of Gimmighoul’s forms?” he asked and also recalled the odd chest he spotted as they left the lighthouse.

“Ah, give me a sec,” Nemona then said as she pulled out her black Rotom Phone and started pulling up the requested information. He had to admit, these devices did seem rather versa—

Did the back of Nemona’s Rotom Phone just blink at him? Must have been a trick of the light.

“Well, let’s start with what a Trainer can normally catch, the Chest Form,” Nemona said, while she tapped away at the screen before showing it to Jonathan and Joanna. As he thought, the image showed the red chest he noticed before, though now open to reveal the tiny Pokemon he had discovered surrounded by coins. It actually seemed pretty happy, in his opinion.

“Gimmighoul, the Coin Chest Pokemon. Ghost Type. Height: .3 Meters. Weight: 5 Kilograms. It lives in an old treasure chest. Sometimes it gets left in shop corners since no one realizes it’s actually a Pokemon.”

Jonathan found himself snickering at the description while rubbing the old coin he had picked up with his thumb. Perhaps something like that was common if a Pokemon was a little too good at hiding itself. Of course, as he examined the coin, he was considering the idea of keeping it with him as a souvenir until he heard the entry for the Roaming form.

“Gimmighoul, the Coin Hunter Pokemon. Height: .1 meters. Weight: .1 Kilograms. It wanders around, carrying an old coin on its back. It survives by draining the life force from humans who try to pick up its coin.”

Jonathan paused as he looked down at the coin he had picked up, before immediately flipping it back into the stream to get rid of it. He already died once, it would probably be best not to die a second time so soon because of a cursed coin. 

A little further down the path, would lead to another unusual sight for Jonathan to take in: a line of four waddling brown creatures with no arms, and a tail that kind of reminded Jonathan of a tadpole. There were also a total of four bone-shaped, purple protrusions on the sides of each of their heads, and a simple, sort of friendly-looking face as they moved around on just a pair of legs.

“Hey, Nemona,” Joanna then asked, “Are those Wooper? They look different from the ones I saw back in Galar.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s just how they look here in Paldea. They’re… blue in other regions, right?”

“Yep,” Joanna said, as Jonathan remained silent, watching the “Wooper” just mind its own business as it walked across the road to a nearby pond, while Joanna decided to scan it with the Pokedex.

“Wooper, the Poison Fish Pokemon. Poison/Ground Type. Height: .4 meters. Weight: 11 kilograms. It’s Dangerous for Wooper to travel alone. They line up in groups of three or four and help each other as they walk around the wetlands.”

Probably best not to touch them, if they’re poisonous. Though…

“Are Wooper known as a Poison Fish in Galar as well?” Jonathan then asked, watching as Joanna shook her head.

“Nah, they’re called the Water Fish Pokemon, and they seem to be a bit heavier in Paldea…” she explained, and started moving again, while Jonathan took in more of the scenery as she scanned more Pokemon, starting with a creepy-looking, round Pokemon with red eyes just floating with the breeze.

“Igglybuff, the Balloon Pokemon. Normal/Fairy Type. Height: .3 meters. Weight: 1 kilogram. It likes to sing but is not yet good at it. With praise and encouragement, it will get better little by little.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Or who was coming up with the Pokedex’s entries, either. However, he was soon distracted by a structure just up ahead of them: a red building showing what seemed like some advertisements, from what he was guessing, anyway that seemed to change every minute. However, below that was what looked like two people and a strange machine behind three differently lit parts of a counter. Was this some sort of shop?

“Alright! We’ve made it to Los Platos!” Nemona said as she started walking and talking again. “Anyway, this is what the Pokemon Center here in Paldea looks like. Joanna is more familiar with them, I’m guessing, but anyway Jonathan, here a trainer can heal up their Pokemon at the red section, buy pokeballs and medical supplies, and a couple of other things at the Pokemart- the blue counter, and the green counter is something found only in Paldea for now! The Technical Machine, or “T.M.” Machine! It basically…”

What followed, was something that made Jonathan’s head hurt as he tried to follow along, something about discs that could only be used once, to teach skills to a Pokemon? And needing materials shed by a Pokemon, and some strange currency to produce them? All he knew while listening was that Joanna seemed to follow along, showing surprise at how fragile they were while in other parts of the world, the “Technical Machines” could be reused multiple times… before he started feeling lost again.

Upon spotting a few tables and chairs nearby, he decided to take a moment to sit and think, while the girls were chatting about how Pokemon Centers were different in other regions compared to Paldea. As he reflected upon the past hour, he had to admit that this was probably the quickest he’d found himself in a bizarre situation. After all, mechanical dragons, ghosts, fiery crocodiles, and plant-based animals were not at all normal back in the world he knew. Well, maybe the ghosts were, but as he’d never seen one he couldn’t say for sure.

Still, as maddening as this all was, he had to admit it was also a little exciting. Adventure in an unknown land with technology far beyond what he was familiar with, with creatures both alien and yet familiar, and thankfully, seemingly no sign of vampires or anything like that accursed Stone Mask thus far.

… Maybe he shouldn’t get his hopes up on that last one. It was still daylight, and as he looked up at the blue sky overhead and watched the clouds roll by, he still wasn’t sure if Dio had arrived in this world with him. There was no telling what his adopted brother’s head might do if the vampire ever gained a body on par with Jonathan’s revived one. And as he recalled the monsters Dio had created in Windknight’s Lot, the fear of what he might do with something like a Pokemon was chilling to even consider.

It was then that the possibility that he was here all on his own came to mind. While it might be for the best that it was only him there, he wasn’t sure if he’d be happy if he was stuck in this world where it was likely the people he knew existed but led very different lives.

Much like this world’s version of Erina.

However… Perhaps he wasn’t as alone as he might have thought, as he pulled Danny’s Pokeball off his belt and let the hound out to enjoy a little fresh air. As the hellhound seemed to shake his head in confusion, like he was unfamiliar with his current form,  Jonathan worried for a moment that he might have been wrong about what he had seen in the cave. That this truly wasn’t his dog reborn and just… a Houndoom, he was certain the beast was called.

“Danny?” he asked quietly, watching as the black dog seemed to respond as it padded closer and sniffed the man’s hand. It was strange to see a lack of ears on the beast, now that he could see the Houndoom better in the sunlight, and wondered how Danny could hear him at all. Maybe the horns were actually its ears? Sure, the idea might have been silly, but he couldn’t really think of anything else at the moment.

Danny soon let out a bark, before placing a paw on Jonathan’s leg while his barbed tail wagged about. However, as Danny started licking Jonathan as if he hadn’t been seen in years, the man found himself laughing as he tried to settle the dog down. The way he acted, felt like reassurance to Jonathan that this really was Danny, even if he had a new appearance. Though, he couldn’t blame any hesitance at first. After all, neither of them had seen each other since Jonathan was a boy, and he’d certainly grown in the nine years that had passed since Danny’s death, at least from his point of view. 

For all that he was aware, time could have flowed differently for Danny starting from when he might have been reborn in this world to their recent reunion. However, there was also another issue on Jonathan’s mind while he patted Danny and felt the bony growth that formed a natural collar around the Houndoom’s neck. Namely, the fact that Jonathan seemed to see both Danny's previous and current forms switch before his eyes until a spark of Hamon caused it to end… along with the strange pain he felt in his head as well. 

Just… What did he end up doing? More importantly, if it happens again and a person is involved, what would happen to them?

His thoughts were interrupted again as he heard Danny bark and it didn’t take too long to see why. Sitting on the black dog’s back was what resembled a tiny child, though with a body the color of fresh snow, thin arms, and overall looked like it was wearing a pair of shorts that seemed a tad too long, as he saw what covered its legs had a slight train to them, in his opinion. Though, it also had a pair of rose-colored flat horns coming through the front and back of its head, while its eyes were covered by pale green hair. Was that hair? Well, at least it looked like hair to him. For all he knew, it could have actually been leaves.

Still, watching the new creature pat Danny’s head was rather adorable.

“Well, you seem to be a bit lucky,” he then heard Joanna say next to him, causing him to almost jump out of his seat. However, he also noticed she was fiddling with her pendant again, and wondered why.

“What do you mean?” he asked, before the girl pointed towards Danny and the odd Pokemon, before he caught Nemona heading toward them from the corner of his eye.

“Oh, hey! It’s rare to see a Ralts be pretty social,” Nemona said, pointing towards the Pokemon currently stroking Danny’s neck. “Normally they keep their distance, unless they sense someone with a positive disposition.”

“Pardon?” Jonathan asked, before looking at the green-haired being that was acting like a curious child.

“Ah, right, Pokedex time,” Joanna said, deciding to let the machine do the talking as it scanned the small Pokemon.

“Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon. Psychic/Fairy Type. Height: .4 meters. Weight: 6.6 kilograms. It is highly attuned to the emotions of people and Pokemon. It hides if it senses hostility.”

“I think it might have been drawn to Danny, more than me,” Jonathan then said as he smiled at the dog. “I’ve been… having mixed feelings about my situation this past hour.”

“Oh, you… you named the Houndoom,” Nemona said nervously, while Danny seemed… apologetic about something as he lowered his head and whined. Though, despite this, the Ralts seemed to remain where it was on Danny’s back. “He’s… also acting pretty different from before too.”

“You can tell Danny’s a boy?” Jonathan asked, “I only assumed it, more than anything…”

“Ah, some Pokemon have a tell when it comes to checking if it's male or female. Though, sometimes those tells are harder to find than others,” Joanna said before pointing at Danny’s horns. “Male Houndoom have longer horns than females, for example. Ralts, however, don’t have a tell, but I’m pretty sure that one’s a girl.”

“I am… very surprised a newbie trainer like you can tell a Pokemon’s gender just by looking at it,” Nemona said before her eyes brightened a bit. “That’s so cool though! Like, did you learn how to do that?”

“Ah, no? I’ve always just… known, I guess…” Joanna said with a shrug before Jonathan felt something crawl onto him, before looking down to see the Ralts now seated in his lap. Before he could say anything, however, the Pokemon started rifling through his bag until it pulled out a Pokeball with its… her thin arms and tapped her head with it.

A flash of light, a ping, and Jonathan found himself with a new companion.

“I.. wh… HOW!?” was all Nemona said after that. “How did you manage to catch two Pokemon without actually battling them!? This is just… insanely lucky! Like, oh my gosh there are a lot of trainers that would love to have this sort of talent!”

“I… really don’t think it’s a talent,” Jonathan said, “I’m not even sure why this… Ralts even decided to do that.”

“Well, you’re stuck with her now, whatever her reason,” Joanna said with a slight laugh in her voice. “Honestly, I think a Ralts is a better option than the… other empathic Pokemon I know of.”

“There’s another Pokemon like Ralts?” Jonathan asked, watching as the shorter of the two girls started shifting about on her feet uncomfortably.

“They’re called Hatenna,” she began, “And they do not like people with strong emotions. Not to mention their evolved forms can be… well, let’s just say you don’t want to be around them when you’re having the time of your life.”

He thought there was a hint of fear in her eyes when she hesitated. However, he wasn’t sure what she might have experienced before moving to Paldea. Especially if he wasn’t sure if it was an encounter with a wild Pokemon, or more frighteningly, an incident with someone using that Pokemon.

He felt it might be better to move away from that subject for now, lest he made the girl more uncomfortable.

“So, the Pokedex said something about Ralts being a Psychic type?” he then asked as he stood up and slipped the newly acquired Ralts’s Pokeball onto his belt. “How many types are there? I know there’s at least… Fire, Grass, Water, Electric, Normal, Dragon, Ghost, Fairy, Bug, Flying, and now Psychic, but are there any others?”

“Oh, there are eighteen known types,” Nemona began, “Besides the eleven you just listed, there are also Ice, Dark, Fighting, Poison, Rock, Ground, and Steel types. Each type also has its strengths and weaknesses, but I can give you a chart later if you think that might help.”

“Thank you, I would greatly appreciate that, Nemona,” Jonathan said, thankful for the taller girl’s kindness. However, he also believed that as she was a more experienced trainer, she most likely also wanted to help someone who was very new to this. However, as he looked at Danny and patted his friend as he had when he was a child and Danny was a different species of dog, he also couldn’t help but worry about Nemona’s wariness around the Houndoom.

“By the way, what does the Pokedex say about Houndoom?” he asked, causing Joanna to take over and scan Danny.

“Houndoom, the Dark Pokemon. Dark/Fire Type. Height: 1.4 meters. Weight: 35 kilog–”

“My apologies, but is there an alternative form of measurement?” Jonathan then asked, “I… am having a bit of trouble grasping what’s been mentioned so far, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, give me a sec,” Joanna said, before tapping away at her Rotom Phone, the lavender device staring at him as it too, blinked. Before he could wonder if the things were actually somehow alive, the strange voice sounded again.

“Height: 4’07”. Weight: 77.2 pounds.”   it said, Jonathan sighed in relief as he could definitely recognize the Imperial System. He’d probably need to check other Pokemon himself later, but at least he wouldn’t have to wrack his brain trying to guess what the Metric System equated to what he was familiar with!

“Upon hearing its eerie howls, other Pokemon get the shivers and head straight back to their nests.”

Well, that didn’t sound so bad, until he recalled what Nemona said before about their flames. However, he soon saw Joanna’s eyes widen before she spoke again.

“Oh, looks like Houndoom has more info,” she said, before tapping at her phone again.

“The flames they breathe when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever. People also thought that Houndoom’s identifiable eerie howls to be the call of the Grim Reaper, and feared it.”

He now had an idea as to why Nemona’s arm might have been in terrible condition. And judging by her reaction to Danny, and how his dog now seemed guilty as he looked at the girl…

The only conclusion he could think of was that the two had a past altercation and it didn’t end well. However, as a gentleman, it wouldn’t be wise to press Nemona about it while she was afraid, would it?

Another thing for later, if at all.

Perhaps he should change the subject again to a more… happy topic. Hopefully.

“So, erm… anything I should know regarding Psychic type Pokemon?” he asked, referring to his new Ralts. He would need to think of a name for her later.

“Um…” Nemona said, before frowning in thought. “I… actually don’t have that much experience with Psychic Types, so I’m not sure.”

“Oh, I have a bit of knowledge about Psychic Types thanks to my Dad,” Joanna said with a smile, “According to my main source, some psychic types can use telepathy to communicate with their trainer or other people. Not all of them are willing to do that, but if you start hearing a voice in your head that no one else can, it will most likely be Ralts.”

“How do you know that?” Nemona and Jonathan both asked, while Joanna hummed to herself.

“Ah, right, Dad managed to befriend a—” she began before a new voice interrupted her.

“Excuse me, has anyone here seen a wild Ralts?”

The source of the voice belonged to a boy around Joanna’s age. Pale blond hair that had a slight cowlick to it, innocent-looking, round blue eyes that made him seem angelic, and apparently a student at Uva Academy, going by his uniform. However, while Joanna and Nemona had shorter trousers, this young man had on a longer pair, a long-sleeved shirt, and suspenders. More importantly, the young man sounded British to him. And while Joanna’s accent was certainly… distinct, in Jonathan’s opinion, the boy currently adjusting his sleeve sounded more akin to someone from the upper class. Especially as he sounded like he practiced the Queen’s English like Jonathan had growing up.

As for the boy’s question…

“Oh, a Ralts?” Joanna asked, “Well, there was a wild one here, but she decided to put herself into one of his Pokeballs for some reason.”

The way she jerked her thumb towards Jonathan, combined with how for a split second the boy’s innocent blue eyes seemed to darken, suddenly gave the man a bad feeling.

“Oh… I see,” the boy then said as he sounded disappointed. “Oh well, I guess Clarent will be disappointed that it won’t have a companion to accompany us. Shame, really, my dear Honedge was looking forward to the company.”

Honedge? Most likely another Pokemon, and going by Nemona trying to look it up while Joanna seemed to frown, it was likely that one wasn’t native to the region. As for the name the boy used, it sounded familiar. Now, where did he hear it again?

“You do know that Honedge and its evolutions are gendered, despite looking like a sword, right?” Joanna then said, sparking something in Jonathan’s memory.

Clarent. A ceremonial blade that King Arthur inherited from his father Uther which was later stolen and used by Mordred to kill him. That act of Patricide, from what Jonathan could recall of the legend, also gave Clarent the moniker of The Coward’s Blade. He wasn’t sure if Arthuriana was well known in this world, but he also couldn’t shake that terrible feeling he now had. Perhaps it was his memories of his previous life coloring his thoughts?

“Oh? I guess you learn something new all the time!” the boy said cheerfully, before humming in thought as he looked at Joanna. “Oh, right, are you new at Uva Academy?”

“Yeah,” Joanna said with a shrug, “Starting today actually. Name’s Joanna Joestar and I didn’t think I’d see another Galarian at the school.”

A chill in the warm air sent Jonathan on edge as the boy’s eyes darkened again despite the serene smile on his face. He saw Nemona seemed unaware as Joanna quirked an eyebrow at the sight before the boy spoke again.

“Oh. So you’re the one that caused Father and Uncle Shielbert to get hospitalized, aren’t you?”

What?

“I assure you, the security footage recovered from that incident proved I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Joanna responded coldly. “Then again, I never knew Sordward had a kid… by the way, your name wouldn’t happen to be Florian, would it?”

The boy’s eye twitched as a slight disgusted contortion appeared on his face before that serene expression reappeared.

“Yes. It is a… pleasure to meet you, Joanna,” Florian then said, while Jonathan couldn’t help but feel on edge. Yes, this was a child, but something about this boy made him uneasy. Was it because he reminded him of Dio? As he recalled, his adopted brother did have a way of bringing people to his side, though he hardly looked as innocent as Florian did now. Perhaps his potential misunderstanding of what had happened to his father and uncle was simply putting him under a bit of duress? Though, as he recalled Arven’s words about the boy’s anger regarding the house Joanna’s father had bought, he had to wonder if that was simply due to the fact Joanna had been involved in whatever incident had occurred. He also wasn’t sure what “Security Footage” meant. It sounded like a record of events, but he wasn’t sure how it could have proved anything.

“Let’s try to get along, yeah?” Joanna then said before she started walking away from the Pokemon Center. Jonathan watched as Florian remained silent, unsure of what the boy was thinking while he stood up and urged Danny to follow him and Nemona as the taller girl brought up the rear.

“As if I’d ever get along with a disgusting, worthless Spikmuther like you,” Florian then said before he headed towards the Lighthouse, causing Joanna to stop and glare at him. Still, she said nothing at the obvious provocation while Jonathan had a developing idea about what Spikemuth was like in Galar, and instead kept walking into Los Platos itself… before Nemona spoke up.

“Hey, uh, Jo Jo? You and Jonathan go on ahead, I… got something to take care of real quick.” Nemona said, before going after Florian with a scowl on her face.

At least Joanna had someone on her side, as he recalled how isolated he became at her age after meeting Dio.

He then decided to try and distract himself by looking around the town of Los Platos, admiring the quaint town, and what looked like to be a park in the very center of it. However, he also noticed a very dark-skinned Academy student with what at first looked like a small black bull, until he noticed the metal studs trailing down its face, and the three tails. 

He’d probably look into it later, as Joanna headed to a nearby cart that was selling…

Ice cream? 

He had to admit, that while he enjoyed eating the dessert once in a while at home when he was a child, his father had been very wary of eating it in more public areas. Something about how those “Penny Licks” and the water used to clean the glass the treats were served in probably being a potential cause of illness. Though he was certain that this world hopefully didn’t have that problem as he watched Joanna talk to the vendor- a woman, to his momentary surprise, before deciding that it was very likely that this was quite normal in this world he was in. Still, as he remained where he was, he watched the woman pull out two wafer cones and started filling them with two different, colorful scoops of ice cream: one cone was filled with a pale green scoop flecked with what looked like chocolate, and the other looking more earthy in tone, with… well, he hoped that was a sugar cube added for decoration.

After he watched Joanna pay, and realizing her mother most likely hid some pocket money in her bag for a small surprise, the girl walked back to him and offered the pale green cone to him.

“Here, figured you might need this,” she said as he smiled and accepted it. As he caught the smell of mint, he had to admit, he did start to feel a little less on edge.

“Are you sure?” Jonathan then asked, “I mean, you don’t know what I might prefer, but I do appreciate the gesture.”

“Jonathan, anyone who dislikes chocolate without having an allergy to it, is likely to be pure evil in my book,” Joanna then said, causing him to snort. “Besides, the cart was sold out of plain chocolate, so I had to make due with what was left.”

“What flavor did you end up getting, then?” Jonathan asked, taking a lick of his ice cream and finding the combination of mint and the bitter dark chocolate to be rather pleasant, well, once the surprise of just how strong the mint was wore off.

It was probably due to him getting used to being alive again.

“Ah, I decided to try a specialty of the Paldean Region,” Joanna said as she took a lick of her own ice cream cone, “Something called “Nacli Salt.” From what I can tell, it’s made with the salt produced by a rock-type Pokemon called Nacli that’s found here.”

Salt-flavored ice cream? That… sounded very strange, in his opinion. However, the additional knowledge that there was indeed a Pokemon that could produce salt probably meant there were other Pokemon that were used to assist in cooking. Or other things. 

Well, at least she seemed to be enjoying the strange confection, judging by her smile, while he decided to focus on his own treat. Thankfully, the wafer cone it was put in meant he didn’t have to return anything to the vendor, and also added a sweet end to a delicious dessert. As well as the portability of it, since the hollow cone also meant more ice cream could have been eaten! However, it was a shame that such an innovation didn’t exist before his death. An edible cone sounded like a nice way for anyone to enjoy something as nice as ice cream. Not to mention probably cut down on having to wash things, now that he thought about it.

“You know you're a terrible liar, right?” Joanna then said, causing Jonathan to nearly stumble forward.

“Pardon? What… what could I have lied about?” he said, realizing they had just left the small town and were now traveling along a dirt road leading to Mesagoza’s gate.

“Where you came from,” Joanna said, causing Jonathan to blink in confusion.

“But, I’m truly not from this world. Why would you doubt that?” he replied, while Joanna rolled her eyes as she took the cube from her ice cream and popped it into her mouth.

“I figured that, but I don’t think you lost your memories regarding Pokemon,” she said before shuddering at the revelation that the cube was made of salt. “Sure, you don’t seem to recognize any, but… if you lied about losing some memories, then that only leaves the idea that you came from a world where they just don’t exist. Not to mention… It's possible that very same world doesn’t have the same technology that this one does, at least, based on your reaction to Miraidon. Your face looked like you were trying to figure out what you were even looking at… especially when it started eating.”

She saw that!? More importantly… the fact that she was actually correct in her assumption made him wonder if she read any mystery novels. He wasn’t sure what was considered the closest thing to Auguste Dupin in this world, but he was certain this girl might have used a similar method of analysis to figure him out so easily.

“So… what gave away my lie?” he then sighed as he focused on his ice cream when he discovered the cone’s interior was lined with a layer of chocolate! This edible invention only got better, in his mind. Even if this was supposed to be a serious discussion.

“You get this guilty look in your eyes,” Joanna said plainly, while Jonathan wasn’t sure what to even say to that. “But, I can probably get why: You’re in an unfamiliar place, and you feel the need to try and not draw too much attention to yourself until you get your bearings. So, why not lie a little to avoid people catching on, right? I’d probably do the same if I ended up in your home world instead.”

Definitely Dupinesque in her analysis as he nodded in silence while bracing for questions about where he came from, or what happened just before his arrival.

“Anyway, you never answered me about why you wanted to study Archaeology,” she said instead, catching the man off guard as they were now halfway up the path, and halfway through their ice cream cones.

“It… had to do with a mask my late mother bought before her death, leaving me to be raised by my father,” Jonathan said quietly, while he pat Danny’s head with his free hand while the Houndoom stayed close. “That stone mask ended up becoming the cause of a long, tragic, and rather bizarre tale that… Well, it’s a miracle I managed to survive it at all.”

Well, it was technically true. He did die, but a miracle brought him back to life. Even if he wasn’t sure why he was revived into another world.

“I’m guessing that thing you did when you made that leaf glider, or… well, whatever you did to Danny has something to do with that mask?” Joanna asked, causing Jonathan to nod.

“Yes, though… Danny’s a more peculiar case. It’s hard to explain, but… I think this Houndoom is my old pet reborn in this world,” Jonathan said, “I mean, I actually thought I saw how he used to look in my world before his death when I first laid eyes on Danny before I blinked and saw his current form. And after I accidentally used Hamon– that technique– on him it was like… he became the Danny I used to know.”

“That… is very weird,” Joanna said, “I mean, Dad told me about some of his wilder adventures, but this is probably beating all of them.”

“You believe me?” Jonathan asked in surprise.

“Considering what happened when you got here, I’d consider anything’s possible,” Joanna said, with Jonathan admitting she had a point. “Though… How did Danny die, originally?”

He stopped for a moment as he heard Danny whine at the question. Was it possible his dog remembered how he died as well? He could scarcely imagine what it might have been like for Danny, but… he still felt he should answer the girl. There was, after all, something else he needed to know about this world.

“He… was burned in the incinerator at my old home,” he said, before giving a sad laugh, “I never managed to get any proof at the time, but I do believe a boy my father adopted drugged Danny and arranged it so that my dearest friend wouldn’t be discovered until the fires started burning.”

“And now, it seems Danny’s a fire type himself,” Joanna said, while Jonathan remained silent about the potential irony. “Who’s the git that killed him, anyway?”

“His name was Dio Brando,” he said, before seeing Joanna flinch for a bit. “Have you heard the name before?”

“I’m aware of the Brando family, yeah,” she said with a frown. “However, the ones I know don’t have a Dio in the family tree, and if it weren’t for them, my parents wouldn’t have gotten together in the first place.”

“Pardon?” Jonathan said, not sure whether to feel relief or terror that Dio didn’t seem to exist. At least, to Joanna’s knowledge.

“Ah, right… so… I didn’t want to mention it back at the Lighthouse, because it’s just a mess,” Joanna began as she continued eating her ice cream cone. “But the reason Mum’s father doesn’t like the Joestar Family is because my dad swept Mum off her feet at the request of the man Mister Pendleton wanted her to marry: Fionn Brando.”

“And why did he go to such lengths to avoid marriage?” Jonathan asked, as his mind went to possibilities such as Fionn getting cold feet, Erina’s father in this world having a difficult personality that would intimidate any man, or maybe the man just preferred to remain a bachelor.

“Ah, so… Gran revealed to mum that Fionn was her and Uncle Tommy’s older half brother,” Joanna said, as Jonathan’s eyes widened. “Turns out, before Gran married her husband, or even met the man, she fell in love with Fionn’s father, Ezio Brando. One thing led to another, Gran got pregnant, and after Uncle Fionn was born, her parents made it clear that Fionn would be raised by Ezio, and Gran shipped off to some other relatives for “Penance” since, well, they just did not approve of the relationship for one reason or another, and even said nothing when Gran met Mister Pendleton.”

“And your grandfather never found out?” Jonathan asked, “And how did he meet Fionn in the first place?”

“Oh, Mister Pendleton knows, he’s just in severe denial about the whole thing,” Joanna explained before returning to the story. “Anyway, Fionn returned to Gran’s life when Ezio suddenly died. As Uncle Fionn tells it, he had been told that his own father died trying to help evacuate people from Cinnabar Island when the volcano erupted… over 25 years ago now, I think. And well, since Gran was Fionn’s only living relative, she got to raise her son after all, along with Mum and her twin brother Tommy.”

“How old was he when Fionn arrived at the Pendleton Family home?” Jonathan asked, before adding, “And where do the Pendleton’s live, exactly?”

“I believe… Fionn was 14 when he arrived at the Pendleton Family’s estate in Wedgehurst, while Mum was twelve, why?”

“Just trying to get an idea of the timeline, I suppose,” Jonathan said, while noting that while the world, and possibly some names were different, there were some strange similarities to his and Dio’s lives

“Right then,” Joanna said after giving him an annoyed look. Well, he wasn’t lying this time! “Well, anyway, even before learning the truth, Uncle Fionn wasn’t interested in my Mum and treated her like a sister as he should… despite Mister Pendleton thinking otherwise, even deciding that Mum wouldn’t be able to marry anyone but Fionn, as well, Mister Pendleton considered my uncle the “ideal son-in-law,”  with no regards at all for either Fionn’s or Mum’s wishes on the matter.”

“So, that’s where your father came into the story?” Jonathan asked, while Joanna grinned.

“Yep! Dad and Fionn had a few encounters in the past, starting off as friendly rivals in the League Challenge— which they both failed in the tournament’s first round, and eventually becoming best friends. So, when Fionn met up with Dad to vent about the situation, well, my uncle got an idea, and set up the meeting between my parents. According to Mum, it was a bit surprising to see Dad come into the cafe covered in dust, complaining about a sandstorm that some Pokemon started, but she did find him pretty charming in a roguish sense.”

“I assume then, that Mister Pendleton wasn’t so happy with the arrangement your uncle put together when he found out?” Jonathan asked, earning another nod as he was now fully invested into the story. This was the sort of thing that he was quite sure a lot of people would consider a scandal worth talking about over tea.

“Oh not at all!” Joanna said with an impish grin, “In fact, his attempts to keep my parents apart could fill a book, but… in the end, Mum and Dad ran off to elope, and Uncle Fionn helped them as their getaway driver while his Weavile ran interference.”

“I’m guessing Weavile’s a Pokemon?” Jonathan asked, while also feeling a little uncertain about the Pokemon’s name. 

“Well, yeah,” Joanna said, “It’s a Dark/Ice type Pokemon. Moves pretty quick on its feet, and the claws are not something you’d want to be on the receiving end of.”

“So, what do your Uncles do for a living?” Jonathan then asked as he decided to learn a bit more about the Pendletons of this world. He recalled his wife trained to be a Nurse, which led to him meeting her again as she tended to his injuries after Dio lost his humanity, but he was also curious about what kind of man Fionn Brando was, and prayed he wasn’t on a dark path like his adopted brother had followed.

“Well, Uncle Tommy’s a Pokemon Ranger. Think of him as someone who works out in the wilderness, protecting the natural beauty of the world, and also making sure trainers find their way in the Wild Area back in Galar, and also help them out of trouble if he has to. He also gets a bonus if he ends up having to escort the current Chairman, Leon.”

“Because of Leon’s importance to the League?” Jonathan asked, finding the man’s job to sound a little exciting.

“That, and also because Leon’s sense of direction is notoriously horrible,” Joanna said as she finished off her ice cream cone, and making Jonathan realize that his was almost gone as well, as he saw the melted ice cream pool in the bottom of the half-eaten cone. “Before my cousin took his Champion Title, there were times where Leon needed to have a tracker hidden on his clothes, just so that he could be found in case he was running late for a match. One time, he got so lost that a kid heading to watch his match ended up giving him a ride in the taxi so they could both make it on time.”

He had to admit, that was probably not an exaggeration after what he’d been through since he woke up in Joanna’s house.

“And Fionn?” he then asked, causing Joanna to hum a bit.

“Uncle Fionn’s part of the International Police,” she said, nearly causing Jonathan to stumble in surprise. If only because after what he had been through in his previous world, the idea of a “Brando” working with the police in any capacity sounded implausible. Sure, Dio was studying to become a lawyer, but after it came to light what his adopted brother had actually been doing behind the scenes, Jonathan also wondered if Dio studied Law to better cover his tracks.

However, his mind then started wandering back to the pendant around Joanna’s neck, and how he could have sworn it seemed to shine in an odd manner before.

“By the way, is your pendant a common gem in this world?” he then asked, causing the girl to stop and hold up the eight-pointed, star-shaped crystal. He still wasn’t sure what kind of gem it was, and so he started wracking his brain for what he recalled were the usual gemstones in the world he died in. An agate was one possibility, but as he recalled the banded gemstone was more like the rings of a tree, rather than swirling from the center into eight distinct points that alternated between red and blue. As he got a better look at the gem itself, he soon noticed that there wasn’t any sign of it being cut, with a silver cap on one of the points acting as a way for it to hang from the leather string around Joanna’s neck.

Was there even a gem that could grow into a starburst like that?

“Ah, this? It’s my Dad’s,” Joanna explained casually. “He claimed that the thing came from a meteorite that almost hit him when he managed to enter the Pokemon League as a kid. Despite how he found it, he always took it with him as a good luck charm, so… when Mum found it hidden at home earlier today, it made me worried about my Dad. But, with this Stellar Compass, as he calls it, I’m sure I’ll find my way to him.”

Well, he had to admit, the “Stellar” part of the name certainly fit. And he supposed that if something wasn’t from Earth originally, it might not have developed in ways that were considered “Normal” for well, the world it ended up in. Still… a Compass? Maybe it was just because it resembled one?

“How do you think it will guide you?” Jonathan asked, while Joanna hummed in thought.

“I… think it just… hmm…” she mumbled, before focusing on the stone in her hands. “I have no idea how this thing works. But, I’ll figure it out, hopefully.”

Well, it certainly never hurt to be optimistic.

Before he could inquire further, Jonathan heard footsteps coming up from behind them, causing them both to turn just in time to see Nemona heading their way. Even though she was running, Jonathan could tell the girl looked exhausted, and was starting to worry about whether or not there was something wrong with her. From what he knew, she was the one to quickly contact a Doctor to look him over, probably one she saw frequently, if his blooming theory about what happened to the girl’s arm was correct.

“Hey, hope… hope you guys didn’t miss me too much!” Nemona then said as she caught her breath, while Jonathan was slightly taken aback by the use of “guys” before assuming it had just become a common term for addressing men and women. Or at least people a few years younger than him.

… Why was he, a man who died at twenty and given a new chance at life, suddenly feeling much older? Was it because the local culture was so different from what he was familiar with?

“Ah, nah, me and Big Jon here just chatted a bit,” Joanna said, before getting a bit of a suspicious look on her face… as well as a slight hint of fear in her eyes. “What was that thing you had to take care of?”

“Oh, I just wanted to have a quick battle with Florian,” Nemona said with a grin. “I’ve never seen a Honedge before so I thought it would be a good idea to test my skills against it. I even used one of my other Pokemon too!”

“So, you didn’t use Esmerelda or your Pawmi?” Jonathan asked while the taller girl nodded.

“Those two are strictly to help with Joanna’s growth as a trainer!” Nemona replied, “I mean, I really do think she’s got some talent to be an amazing trainer and well if she’s ok with it, I’d be happy to do what I can as a rival and help nurture that talent!”

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Sure, he felt that a friendly rivalry was nice, but he also worried it could turn bitter in the future. Still, as he glanced at Joanna he noted that she was deep in thought for a moment until she started laughing.

“That’s an interesting way to say you want to be my best rival, Nemona,” Joanna said, while the taller girl looked stunned, before tearing up.

“Best… Rival?” she said with a smile, “You mean it, right?”

“I mean, my cousin called her boyfriend Hop that, well, before they started dating so… why not?” Joanna asked, and the next thing Jonathan saw was Nemona attempting to crush her classmate in a hug. He heard the taller of the two let out a stream of “Thank yous” and Spanish he couldn’t quite make out, all while Joanna grinned.

“Alright!” Nemona said once she finally pulled away. “Let’s have another battle then!”

“Wait, what?” Joanna stammered while Jonathan wondered if Nemona just… had some sort of addiction to battling. It was a weird thing to consider, but he wasn’t sure what else to think. “You just got done battling someone else, why do you want to have another one already!?”

“Oh, I just remembered that there’s this cool thing in Paldea I wanted to show you… and it’s only seen in battles!” Nemona said cheerfully, while Joanna just sighed.

“Well, as long as it doesn’t lead to giant Pokemon duking it out, I don’t see why not,” Joanna said, before taking a Pokeball off her belt, while Jonathan and Danny decided to stand near the gate and watch, and the battle began as the two girls sent out their first Pokemon. As Nemona had sent out Esmerelda the Sprigatito first, and Joanna her Fuecoco, he mentally went over what he knew about Pokemon Types so far. If Orpheño was a fire type, then it would make sense that it’d be strong against a Grass Type, wouldn’t it? So, perhaps Joanna had the advantage here.

“Ah, right! I noticed that you had a bit of trouble figuring out Orpheño’s moves when we first met,” Nemona said, “So, don’t be afraid to use your phone’s Battle Assist function, ok? It’s pretty useful for trainers who have trouble memorizing their Pokemon's moves, or are battling with one they just caught for the first time, and just… Newbie Trainers in general!”

Why did he feel that the last part was aimed at him? Well, he supposed he was new at this, but he wasn’t quite sure what Nemona meant by “moves.” Perhaps it was what a Pokemon could do in battle? It made sense to him at least, and as he watched Joanna bring out her phone and let it hover near her head, he also realized he may need to rely on Danny’s help… even if he preferred not to, in the event that it turned fatal. The same could be said for his new Ralts as well.

Ah, right the battle. He should probably focus on that as well, shouldn’t he?

At the moment, it looked like Orpheño was trying to avoid being bitten by Esmerelda, before tackling the green kitten while Joanna stared at her phone and strategized on the fly. Unfortunately, Orpheño’s short tail became the target of his opponent’s fangs, causing the red crocodile to bellow in pain. However, that bellow also sounded like the lizard was singing to Jonathan, before he heard the Sprigatito yowl in pain before she passed out.

“Oh wow, you didn’t even tell Orpheño to use Round!” Nemona said as she recalled her , while Joanna sheepishly shrugged.

“Just lucky, I think!” Joanna said, before pulling out a purple bottle from her bag with some sort of white trigger on top. As he realized that was one of the potions this world’s Erina had packed for Joanna, he watched as the girl squeezed the bottle and sprayed the contents on Orpheño’s tail… before the bottle warped as Joanna frowned at it.

It certainly wasn’t made of glass.

“Why can’t Potion bottles be reusable?” she mumbled as she tossed the bottle aside. “Well, at least the things are compostable, I guess.”

Just another thing to ask about later, he supposed as he watched Joanna and her Pokemon get ready for the next round. He idly scratched Danny’s head between his horn as he watched Nemona’s Pawmi appear, while Orpheño did his best to appear more serious.

“So, what’s this thing you wanted to show me?” Joanna asked, before Nemona grinned and pulled out another ball, though this one seemed to be made of some sort of dark glass.

“Right, so, this is something only available in Paldea!” she said before holding the orb out in front of her, causing Jonathan to realize it resembled a black pokeball. However, as he saw energy start to flow into it he also realized it was some sort of support, instead of containing another Pokemon. He frowned as he watched Nemona flinch in pain, before grabbing her arm to steady herself before tossing the orb at Pawmi.

Before he could do anything else, there was a bright burst of light, followed by Joanna loudly cursing while he was blinded. Thankfully, his vision cleared quickly, though Joanna was still covering her eyes with her arm and swearing up a storm.

The fact she was sensitive to such a burst of light was a little alarming. Though she seemed to handle the sun well enough, the fact she reacted this way to a sudden flash made him worry just what Spikemuth was like for her and her family. 

Or perhaps, something more terrifying he didn’t wish to consider.

“Oh shoot, are you ok, Jo Jo!?” Nemona called out, “Should I end the battle? I swear, I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

“Don’t worry about me!” Joanna said as she squinted her eyes and forced a smile. “A flash isn’t going to knock me out, Nemona! Let’s finish what we started, aye?”

Nemona was silent. She seemed extremely hesitant as she looked at the giant crystal formation on top of Pawmi’s head, which Jonathan realized looked a lot like a light bulb, of all things. The way that crystal shone along with the rest of Pawmi’s body seemed to darken everything around it, in Jonathan’s opinion, and with how brightly it sparkled in his sight, he also had to admit it was almost dreamlike. 

“No,” Nemona said after what felt like several minutes.

“What?” Joanna said, watching as Nemona returned Pawmi to its Pokeball. “Why? Come on, Nemona, we were just getting started, right?”

“Jo Jo, there’s clearly something wrong here,” Nemona said as she walked over to her friend, while the world around them returned to normal. “I don’t know what, but… well, people normally don’t scream in pain when Terastillization is used in battle. Yeah, the shift to a Pokemon’s Terastillized form is pretty bright, but it normally doesn’t hurt. And, well, I may love to battle, Jo Jo, but… I can’t continue this if you’re going to get hurt too, ya know?”

Jonathan had to admire how much Nemona cared, however, he also noticed that Joanna seemed worried about something. The way the brunette shifted on her feet uncomfortably, before rubbing her shoulder in a way that Jonathan seemed to realize something.

“I… I mean, it’s not the worst I’ve been through! Really!” she said though Joanna’s smile was faltering.

“Joanna,” Jonathan then said as he moved towards the girl, “Does this have to do with that incident Florian blamed you for?”

“What?” Nemona asked, before looking back at Joanna in confusion, while the Brunette’s golden eyes seemed off, as if they hadn’t fully readjusted to sunlight. 

“I…” Joanna began, before she called her sleeping Fuecoco back to his Pokeball. “Listen, I swear I didn’t do anything that day!”

“Joanna, that’s not what I meant,” Jonathan said, while Nemona seemed to realize something. “Were you injured in whatever incident caused Florian’s family to end up in the hospital?”

She nodded, and talked while she moved towards the gate. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t so bad according to the Doc. I got lucky.”

“Wait, Jo Jo, where are you going?” Nemona asked, only to stop as the shorter of the two girls turned to smile at her.

“Just need to clear my head a bit. Maybe get a pair of shades to wear when I get a chance to use that cool trick you showed off, Nemona! Definitely going to need a new hat. Well, at least the uniforms are a bit lax in what we can and can’t wear.”

And with that, Joanna walked into Mesagoza alone. Jonathan was about to follow after her, only for Nemona to grab onto his shirt. He looked at her in confusion. Wasn’t she worried about her friend?

“Hey, I think Jo Jo needs some time to herself,” Nemona said. “I mean, yeah, I can tell you want to know about whatever happened to her in Galar, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to force it out of her. Besides, uh… I need to talk with you about that crazy stuff you did after she fell off the cliff.”

While he, as a gentleman, felt that he shouldn’t let a young lady wander off alone in a city, he also couldn’t help but feel like Nemona might not let him go so easily. Especially as she was still looking a little ragged.

“Alright, what would you like to know?” Jonathan said, before remembering that Danny was still out and about. Looking around and seeing his friend snoozing near the wall, he decided to return the Houndoom to his Pokeball for the moment.

Joanna would probably be fine on her own for a little while, right?

Notes:

So, this is just a side project to my main project, Standing Synthesis. Which is why there was a good wait between the last chapter and this one.

With that said, this chapter also continues my love/hate relationship for writing from the viewpoint of a Victorian Gentleman and making sure things were consistent with when he died. Which meant a lot of research and all that. So, some bits of trivia I learned while writing this chapter for the Victorian include the dangers of Penny Licks and how they were served, which mainly resulted in the dirty water used to wash the shallow glass dishes the ice cream was served on. As well as the fact that a Platypus was referred to as a Duck Mole, which was pretty cool to learn.

As for why I went with Dupin instead of Holmes... well, there was apparently only one Sherlock Holmes book published at the time of Jonathan's death, so he probably wouldn't have known how that series would take off. However, there was another detective story that had been around longer than Holmes, and that was Edgar Allen Poe's Dupin, so there ya go.

Now, as for Joanna's battle with Nemona, originally that was going to end with Joanna losing to Nemona and nothing weird happening when Terastallization occurred. And then I had an idea which led to what y'all see here. As for why Battle Fanatic Nemona decided to end the battle... well, I feel that Nemona is the type to find battling fun, but if the trainer she's up against gets hurt in the process, then it will no longer be fun for her or anyone.

So, since she saw Joanna was in a bit of pain after getting flashed by Pawmi's Terastallization, she felt that continuing wouldn't be a good idea in case that caused Joanna more pain, especially since it was possible she couldn't see the battle properly.

And yes, this is going to be tied to The Incident Joanna was caught up in... and there might be more to what happened on Shielbert and Sordward's side that she didn't realize.

As for Florian, yes he's named after the male trainer's canon name for Scarlet/Violet. I also went with the basic blond form for the male trainer because to me, that felt closest to the Sword and Shield brothers in terms of appearance. The fact Jonathan's new Ralts went so far to force her way into Jonathan's protection might speak volumes about how bad the kid might actually be. Even if he did get utterly destroyed by Nemona off-screen.

Anyway, next time Joanna explores Mesagoza on her own, and will most likely get into trouble.

Also, if y'all have suggestions for a nickname for Jonathan's new Ralts, feel free to drop them in the comments!