The warm spring breeze blanketed Serene Village in a comfortable silence, occasionally broken up by the chirping of Kricketune. The sun had long since set, and a tapestry of stars glowed in the night sky. This quiet comfort spread throughout the little town and up a certain hill, only to be pushed away by a very loud, very excited conversation.

At the top of the hill, three Pokemon stood below an ancient, gnarled tree. Two of them, a Treecko and Riolu, clumsily carried satchels far too large for them. The third, an Ampharos, told them all about a certain Expedition Society and the responsibilities of its members. The Treecko fiddled with a golden badge. Meanwhile, the Riolu simply stared in awe as the Ampharos held out a metallic, circular gadget. The Ampharos said, “Go on, take it!”

The Riolu stared blankly at the gadget. The Treecko elbowed her, then she realized what Ampharos was asking. “Oh, right.” She gingerly took the device into her little paws.

A blank screen nested on the front of the gadget, grey orbs lining the edges. The top of the device had an empty slot. A tap on the screen elicited no response; the gadget remained stubbornly silent. She gestured vaguely at the Treecko. “Aster, any idea what I’m supposed to do with this?”

Sighing to himself, Aster snatched the gadget from her. “It’s easy, Vallea. The thingy is turned off, because of this.” He jabbed the gadget’s empty slot. “Something’s supposed to fit here, in this hole. And that would be…Uh…” Aster fell silent, as he realized he was just as lost as his partner. He examined the device from several different angles. None of them showed him how to turn on the gadget. Desperate to appear competent, he muttered, “Hold on, lemme see…” Even without his memories, something in this technology seemed familiar. “Just a second, I almost got it…”

Ampharos gently lifted the gadget out of Aster’s thin fingers. “You had the right idea. Something does, in fact, need to be inserted into the slot at the top.” Embarassment pooled in Aster's stomach. Poorly suppressing a chuckle, Ampharos continued, “But I wonder, what could it be?”

Vallea’s eyes widened, some revelation invading her thoughts. She gasped. “I know!” She grabbed the gadget out of Ampharos' paws. “We take Ampharos’ Connection Orb…” Reaching into Aster’s satchel, she retrieved said orb. “Then, we just shove it in!” Sure enough, the Orb fit snugly into the open slot.

The device’s screen lit up with a bright yellow flash, illuminating the warm spring night. As the light faded, it was replaced by an image. The screen displayed several landmasses surrounded by an endless ocean. Wispy white clouds covered parts of the deep blue ocean in a pale fog.

Vallea let out an ecstatic giggle. “Woah!” She jabbed at the screen. The gadget let out several little beeps and boops in response. “This is so cool!” Her excitement drew out a chuckle from Ampharos, who simply stood by and watched.

Aster squinted at the screen, but he found neither rhyme nor reason among the gadget’s buttons. One button zoomed the image in, another rotated it, and a third button swapped the colors to a yellow and orange mess. The technology quickly overwhelmed him. “Uh…Lea?”

She finally looked up from the screen. “Yeah?”

“What the heck are we looking at?”

She cocked her head, her aura tassels hanging limply. “You seriously don’t know?” The gadget was roughly shoved into his face. “This is a map of the whole world, Aster! I can’t believe this little thing contains something so big and complicated!”

Aster took a closer look. Now that he thought about it, the image certainly did resemble a map. Of course, he wouldn't know it was a map of the world, considering his lack of memories. For all he knew, it could have been anything! He puffed up, a retort at the ready.

Unfortunately, Ampharos started talking before the Treecko could say anything. “Vallea is right on that count,” Ampharos said. “But the Expedition Gadget can do far more than just display maps. You can view requests made by Pokemon around the world, as well as the connections made between them! Hence the name, ‘Connection Orb’. And in addition…” Ampharos gave the gadget’s screen a single tap. A keyboard popped up on the screen. “You can set a team name!” He held out the gadget and gave Vallea a significant look. “What do you think? Wouldn’t you like to register your very own team?”

“Oh…” Vallea took the device, her brow furrowed. Staring at the keyboard, she asked, “Any ideas, Aster?”

Aster scoffed. “You got me there. I’m no good with names.”

“Neither am I.” Vallea gazed at Aster with wide, pleading eyes. “C’mon, won't you help me out?” Some strange, fluttery sensation invaded his chest.

Folding his arms, Aster pointedly glared at the tree’s gnarled branches. Without Vallea’s look to sustain the unusual feeling, it faded. He grumbled, “Don’t look at me like that. You know I hate it when you try to guilt-trip me.”

She laughed, a wondrous and airy sound. “It was worth a shot.”

They both looked to Ampharos, who merely chuckled. “Don’t expect me to be of assistance. Why, I once asked Mawile if our team could be called ‘Mellow Yellow’. She didn't even grace that with a response, she just left the room!” Ampharos laughed, though neither Aster nor Vallea joined in.

The two exchanged glances, then Aster cleared his throat. “Team name,” he said. “We need to think of one.”

Vallea sighed. “Okay, let’s see…” She pressed a hand to her chin for a few seconds, then groaned in frustration. “Ugh, I can’t think of anything!”

Aster snickered. “Come on, you barely even tried.”

“Alright, let’s see you do better!” She placed her paws on her hips. Her glare seemed to emanate an intimidating aura.

He quickly stopped tittering at her demand. “Uh…” From what he heard in Serene Village, most expedition teams named themselves based on the Pokemon comprising them. He rubbed the back of his neck, then muttered, “Well, you’re a fighting type, and I’m a grass type…’Tree Punch?’”

Vallea visibly slumped. “Er…I don’t know if that’s the best name.”

Ampharos chuckled quietly.

Aster preemptively cringed, then murmured, “…’Kick Plant’?”

Vallea simply shook her head. “That’s even worse.” She stared off into the distance for a second or two, then clapped her paws together. “I’ve got it! How about we make the name a concept?”

“Whaddya mean?”

“A word that sums up our values and priorities! But it can’t be some simple word, like ‘Good’ or ‘Brave’. It has to be something specific, something fancy.” Vallea’s voice gained a dramatic flair as she continued, “Something that, when you hear it, you think, ‘That’s definitely Vallea and Aster’s team.’”

“A concept…” One word, summing them up perfectly. That was a tall order. What words would even work? “Could you narrow it down a bit?”

Vallea’s eyes had closed while he was thinking, but they shot open again at his request. Her paws found their way to each other, and she began twiddling them. Embarrassment forced her to look away. “Well, I was thinking an adjective. Something like…” A sigh escaped her lips, but a gasp quickly followed it. “Wait, I got it! ‘Unstoppable’!”

Scratching the back of his head, Aster replied, “Nah, I think that’s too blunt.”

“Dang it.” Vallea fell into silence, her brainstorming demanding all her attention.

Ampharos chimed in, “If you want a single word to summarize your personality, you’ll have to think about your life experiences and struggles.” He raised a single paw into the air, the orb on his tail glowing faintly. “I know you’re young, and you probably have not been through much. But think about something you struggled with. Something you overcame. Think about how you grew as a person because of it.”

Throughout Ampharos’ speech, Vallea had stared, starstruck. After he finished, she let out an excited laugh. As Aster looked on, she began pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. With each turn, her aura tassels swung to and fro. She stopped, turning to face Aster. “I know!” A self-satisfied grin graced her face.

The three remained silent for a few seconds, then Aster said, “Well, don’t leave us in the dark. What did you think of?”

She struck a pose, her paws at her hips. “The Defiant! You know, ‘cos I defy everyone’s expectations! Everyone in the village thought I was crazy, that I’d never become an Expedition Society member. But thanks to Ampharos, I’m already a Junior member!”

Aster furrowed his brow. “’The Defiant’…” It certainly worked as a team name. And, judging by the short time he had known her, it definitely fit Vallea’s personality and values. She was always going on about how she would accomplish her dreams, regardless of what anyone else thought.

“Well, what do you think?” Vallea's question tore Aster out of his thoughts. Her little ears pointed up, eagerly awaiting his response.

He tried to give her a thumbs up, but having three fingers instead of five stymied that idea. Instead, he just grinned. “Yeah, I think it’s great.”

“Sweet!” Vallea looked down at the gadget's screen. Its on-screen keyboard was a hassle for her to navigate, but she eventually figured it out. Using the classic finger-pecking method, she slowly typed in the name. The gadget responded with a happy boop.

“And with that, you are officially an Expedition Society member!” Ampharos declared. “Wait, no, you’re a…Junior Expedition Society member!”

Vallea showed no signs of disappointment at Ampharos’ correction. “All right!” She pumped her fist and jumped high into the air. But her excited grin quickly faded as she landed. After a few seconds of thought, she turned around, her tail hanging low. “U-um, Aster…” She paused, shifting from one foot to the other.

“What's up?” Aster prompted her.

She seemed reluctant to meet his eyes. Kicking at the dirt beneath her, she mumbled, “…You do want to become a Junior Expedition Society member with me, right?”

…Did he? From what Aster had heard from the schoolchildren, Expedition Society members regularly explored Mystery Dungeons. And while he found little pleasure in fighting feral Pokemon, he certainly appreciated the gratitude of the Pokemon they helped. He pressed a hand to his chin.

“Aster?”

“…Oh, screw it. Sure.”

“All right! Thanks, Aster!” Without warning, Vallea leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Aster’s neck. The sudden contact made him instinctively tense up, but he slowly relaxed and hugged her in return. Her blue fur was so soft…A wet nose found its way to his neck as she held him closer. The fluttery feeling returned, ten times stronger than before. His face felt hot. He had to do something quick, before she noticed!

A nervous chuckle fell out of his mouth. “O-okay, Lea, that's enough.” He awkwardly patted her back, then gently pushed her away.

Mercifully, she hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. She let him go and stepped away. Her smile was gentle, a far cry from the toothy grin she beared before. Turning to Ampharos, she asked, “So what now?”

Ampharos replied, “Now? You two should go to bed. We’ve been out long enough, and it’s getting late. Tomorrow, you two will go on your first expedition!”

Vallea hopped from one foot to the other in excitement. “Yes!” The gadget was roughly shoved into her satchel. Before Ampharos could say a word, she sprinted down the hill, her satchel bouncing wildly on its strap. A hasty wave served as her goodbye.

Aster met Ampharos’ eyes and grinned hesitantly. Hoisting his bag onto his shoulder, he muttered, “Er…See you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow,” Ampharos replied. “I’ll be in the plaza.” Thankfully, the ‘Dashing Wanderer’ seemed to hold no grudge towards Vallea for her hasty goodbye.

By the time Aster reached the bottom of the hill, Vallea was already several meters down the road. Breaking into an jog, he shouted, “Hold up! Lea! Wait for me!”

Vallea screeched to a halt. Turning around, she bashfully rubbed the back of her neck. When he approached, she muttered, “Guess I got a bit too excited, huh?” She giggled nervously.

Aster bent over, taking a second to catch his breath. The sudden exertion had winded him. Looking up at her, he chuckled to himself. She was as energetic as ever. He stood up straight. “C’mon, Vallea. Let’s race.” During his time in this world, he hadn’t lost a single race against Vallea. He doesn’t intend to start now.

She responded with a cocky smirk. “You’re on.”

After counting to three, the two began sprinting down the dirt path. Aster initially gained a solid lead, but Vallea slowly caught up to him. Instead of breaking ahead, she ran next to him for a few seconds. For some reason, she kept staring at him.

In lieu of commenting on Vallea’s unusual behavior, Aster shot her a grin. Her eyes widened, and she returned her gaze to the village before them. But she soon came to a halt. This did not go unnoticed by Aster, who stopped running and turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Can I ask you something?” Vallea was looking down again.

“Shoot.”

The next few seconds passed by in silence, then Vallea shook her head. “Never mind. It's stupid.”

“No, really, what did you want to ask?”

“Don't worry about it. It’s nothing important.”

“Oh, come on,” he groaned. “You know I’ll bug you about it until you tell me.”

Her only response was a grin. “Yeah, I know.” She started walking back to the village. As she passed Aster, she poked his nose with a paw. “See you tomorrow, leaf-brain.”

Aster exhaled slightly harder than usual. “Your nicknames are, as ever, truly brilliant.”

“It’s nice to finally have my genius recognized.” The Riolu shot him one last smile, then turned around and ran to the village.

Despite the Treecko’s best efforts, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. “…See you tomorrow.” Scoffing at nothing in particular, he started the trek back to Serene Village. The chirping of Kricketune guided him home