After receiving their mission rewards from the old man in the wooden house, Caleb and Terrence rode Dragonite back to the Origin Orphanage...
"That's... Officer Jenny's motorcycle, isn't it?" Terrence remarked, eyeing the bike parked at the orphanage's entrance.
Caleb recalled Dragonite and Lucario, who had been waiting at the crossroads, into their Poké Balls. He glanced up just in time to see Officer Jenny stride out of the orphanage with a furrowed brow.
Forty minutes earlier, Officer Jenny had received a call from the orphanage at the police station. Upon hearing that Caleb had gone missing, she had rushed over through the heavy snow without delay.
"Thank you for your trouble, Officer Jenny!" Sylvain, the eldest of the three children, said solemnly as he followed her out.
Officer Jenny patted his head reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely find him."
They were deep in conversation, so no one noticed Caleb standing nearby at first.
Caleb adjusted his expression and called out timidly, "Officer... Jenny?"
Everyone immediately turned to look...
Three minutes later, Caleb sat in the center of the living room surrounded by the group.
Facing their questioning, he calmly repeated the story he and Terrence had prepared earlier. He glanced 'nervously' at the stern-faced Officer Jenny and whispered, "That Aipom looked so pitiful..."
Sylvain was furious, "You're only three years old! What if something had happened to you on the way?"
He had taken full responsibility for Caleb's disappearance. He was the one who hadn't kept a close enough eye on his little brother.
Caleb put on an obedient act, "I'm sorry."
Sylvain sighed in relief, though his expression remained serious, "Next time something like this happens, you have to tell us, okay? Don't just go off alone."
"Mm-hmm!" Caleb nodded vigorously.
"Well, as long as you're safe," Grandma Isa sighed, pouring Caleb a cup of hot tea with a sympathetic look, "Here, warm yourself up."
As Caleb hugged the cup to warm his hands, Officer Jenny pulled Isa aside and said with a frown, "We contacted other cities' police stations last night, but none of them have reports of missing children matching little Terrence's description."
Isa thought of Caleb's Viridian Forest ability, "What about that? This kind of power has only been recorded in the Kanto region so far."
Officer Jenny pondered for a moment, "We'll contact the Kanto region as soon as possible. Until we get answers, we'll have to trouble you to look after Terrykins."
Isa relaxed, "It's no trouble. It's only an extra pair of chopsticks. Besides, little Terrence is very well-behaved."
She recalled Caleb's behavior since yesterday... No crying, no fussing, dressing himself, using the toilet, eating without pickiness. He was almost like a little adult.
Officer Jenny nodded without further comment. She returned to the room, ruffled Caleb's fluffy hair, and said gently, "Terrykins, I have to get back to work now. I'll come see you again in a few days, okay? Until then, listen to Granny Isa, understand?"
Caleb nodded, blinked his big bright eyes and waved, "Goodbye, Officer Jenny!"
"Such a good boy!" She pinched his nose playfully before mounting her motorcycle and riding off.
Once Officer Jenny was out of sight, Caleb glanced at Smeargle... He had seen Terrence sneak over to eavesdrop on Officer Jenny and Isa's conversation earlier.
Terrence gave him a subtle nod, indicating that they would talk when no one was around...
...
After lunch, Sylvain and the others wanted to take Caleb outside to build snowmen again, but he wasn't interested. He made up an excuse about needing a nap and retreated to his room...
The moment the door closed, Terrence relayed everything Officer Jenny and Isa had discussed, then asked, "Will they send us to the Kanto region?"
Caleb thought for a moment before shaking his head, "I don't know."
He wasn't sure if this world's Kanto was the same one he was familiar with. Plus, the Instance hadn't given him any background... He was just dumped into an orphan scenario...
Even if they did go to Kanto, their situation probably wouldn't improve much. Especially since Caleb was physically three years old and didn't have a single coin to his name.
But before that, he needed to confirm the timeline of this Instance.
Terrence: "I know that. When I was at the Pokémon Center, I saw Nurse Joy's calendar. It's the year 2002 in the League calendar."
Caleb: "..."
He had arrived five years too early...
Even if this Instance shared the same world as 'Bug Catcher' and 'Infernal Affairs', Lance and the others wouldn't recognize him.
Terrence, however, wasn't concerned. He yawned lazily and prepared to retreat into his Poké Ball for a nap, "Alright, buddy, I'm gonna hibernate. The rest is up to you. Goodnight!"
With that, he turned into a red beam and vanished into the ball.
Caleb opened his inventory and, after some thought, used the Speed Enhancer on Lucario...
....
Life in the orphanage was monotonous...
Technology in this world wasn't advanced, and smartphones didn't exist yet. The orphanage had nothing beyond an old-fashioned landline.
So Caleb spent his days following the three kids around, building snowmen and having snowball fights.
But compared to those activities, he preferred patrolling the nearby forest, using the Viridian Power to heal injured wild Pokémon. Before long, the Pokémon around the orphanage grew familiar with him.
Terrence lounged in his dog bed and munched on Pokéblocks. He watched Caleb pull on a winter coat and sighed contentedly, "Ah, it's been so long since I've had such a relaxing time in the Infinite World. I take back what I said when we first entered this Instance... this is hands-down the best one yet!"
Caleb shot him a look, zipped up his coat, and turned to leave.
Terrence propped himself up on the edge of the bed, "Hey, hey! Where you off to?"
Caleb: "Granny Isa said Officer Jenny is coming today to take my photo for the missing person posters. Wanna come?"
Terrence thought for a second before snuggling deeper into his blanket, "Nah, you go ahead."
Caleb didn't press further and left the room... By the time he reached the living room, Officer Jenny was already there, camera in hand.
Nino watched Caleb getting his photo taken and whispered anxiously to Isa, "Grandma... is little brother going to leave us?"
After these past few days, everyone at the orphanage had grown fond of this well-behaved adorable child.
Isa understood what she was feeling and asked gently, "Do you want your little brother to be happy?"
Nino knew what she meant. She nodded reluctantly, "I want him to be happy every day..."