Drifting through time itself was a feeling much like being on the cusp of sleep. A light body, a vague floatiness, like Winter was being supported by the very concept of Nothing. It should have been relaxing... She should have felt happy, reflecting on the past months.
It had been nearly four months since she washed up on Prelude Beach. In that time, Winter had befriended just about every Pokémon in the region, done more heroism than any one person should reasonably do, and discovered who she really was along the way.
By any metric, her time spent with the Galaxy Team could qualify as a complete, fulfilling life all on its own.
Winter thought she should be happy about it all. She had made so many comnnections, met so many Pokémon, learned so much about life and the world... and on top of it, she was finally on her way home.
But that was exactly it. For months, Winter was so absorbed in her new life that the old one never occurred to her... not until now, when she could finally be alone with her own thoughts. Now, when Winter would realize what going home actually meant.
A few months isn't usually a very long time... but even a minute seems like eternity when you've stopped existing.
Between the passage of time and her new identity, there was a nonzero chance Winter would have to start over entirely. But the more important problem to her was... what of her Pokémon?
What was going to happen to the team she loved more than anything in the world?
What would Hextra, Winter's partner and goof of a Typhlosion, do without her? Would he just be left alone with nobody to cuddle at night? Would the Galaxy Team take him in?
Who would Pooltoy have to show the new tricks he keeps coming up with? Would anybody have time to play with a Floatzel when life is so busy?
Where would Xat go? It takes a serious bond to make a Golbat evolve - would he even understand what happened, or feel like his trust was betrayed...?
Whose bed would Static take up in the mornings? Winter knew Akari was fond of him, but she didn't understand the particularities of a Luxray well enough to take care of him...
Mishelle was an Alpha, and a Dragon type at that. Nobody really knew how to take care of those, not even the ones considered experts. How long would it takes for her to end up alone again?
Faelet... Hey, wait a second.
Winter wasn't very informed about Pokémon before she was dragged way into the past... but there was one piece of information about Gardevoir which always stuck out to her. The quote went something like, "if Gardevoir senses impending danger to its Trainer, it will unleash its psychic energy at full power."
Did... did Faelet know something Winter didn't? She couldn't recall him ever going on high alert, even when things *did* get risky. Maybe Faelet just had a weak danger sense.
Or maybe,
just maybe,
he knew that everything was going to be okay.
Yeah. I'll go with that for now.
That was the last thing Winter thought for what felt like another eternity.
Winter's eyes fluttered open and glued shut within about a second of regaining consciousness. Turns out, the sun stings like hell when you look straight into it after exiting the void. Shielding herself from the sun this time, she sat up and opened her eyes to see a city on the horizon.
Winter reached for the Arc Phone to see if her suspicions were true. What she grabbed was just a normal phone with a kickass Arceus-themed case. Cool. Thanks, God.
She clicked the power button and checked the time on the lock screen. If she was back, the time should have synced with... huh?
2025?
That can't be right. It was supposed to be, like, 2016. And she only spent around four months in Hisui...
Right?
Winter swiped to unlock her phone, and checked the map.
...
Nevermind. I'm not fucking with that mystery right now. Instead, a different mystery: the contents of her suspiciously-heavy satchel.
She dug around inside, feeling what felt like... Poké Balls? She didn't recognize them as any of her own, though - the feeling was cold and metallic. Dumping one into her hand, she confirmed it to be a very strange Ball. She almost didn't recognize it as a Poké Ball at first... it was a pale, pulsing green color, unlike any Ball that Winter was aware of. Still, she knew how it worked by instinct.
After a deep breath, Winter pressed the button on the strange Ball, and...
First there came a flash of light, then a very confused and jet-lagged Typhlosion.
Fighting past the burning in her eyes and chest, Winter quickly dug out the rest of the Strange Balls from her satchel, releasing her team from within. She couldn't believe her eyes... even less so with her vision blurring like it was.
Winter's eyes could have been lying, but she had no choice but to believe them as the swarm of paws and snouts crowded around her.
She might not have been home quite yet... but still, Winter felt stronger knowing she wasn't alone this time. Even if she had to start over again, she had all of her closest friends beside her now.
As Winter tumbled backward in surrender to her party's violent snuggles, a goofy grin finally graced her face.
Everything was going to be okay.
afterword: this one was written just for me. i lost my legends: arceus save file a few months ago, and i've really missed my team...