The house looked smaller than I remembered.
Maybe it was the quiet. Or the cracked tiles on the walkway. Or the faint dust still coating the outside windows where tremors had shaken the island. Whatever it was, when I stood at the edge of our yard with Lila and Kai beside me, it didn't feel like home. It felt like walking through the shell of a memory.
Infernape stood at my side, silent and watchful. His flame crest flickered just slightly—enough to warn people to keep distance, not enough to cause alarm. He didn't like this place being so still. I didn't either.
"You okay?" I asked Lila.
She nodded quickly, eyes fixed on the front door."Yeah. Just… weird coming back."
Kai squeezed my hand tighter. "Are—are we gonna live here now?"
"For now," I said softly. "We'll figure everything out together."
He nodded, but his grip didn't loosen.
I pushed open the door.
The house smelled the same and completely different. A faint trace of cinnamon from Mom's baking. A hint of Dad's old cologne lingering near the coat rack. But layered over it all was the sterile scent of dust, fallen plaster, and months of disuse.
The kind of smell you only get in a house that survived something it shouldn't have.
Lila stepped inside first, her shoulders tightening as if bracing for impact. Kai stayed behind my leg until Infernape gently nudged him forward.
"Th-thanks," Kai whispered to him.
Infernape gave a soft grunt and ruffled Kai's hair.
I walked into the living room. The ceiling still showed a long crack where the tremor hit. A framed photo lay face-down on the table. I picked it up. Mom and Dad—standing outside the Gym, proud and smiling, Arcanine sitting between them like a living banner of fire.
My chest tightened.
Lila saw the picture, lips pressing together sharply. Kai looked away.
I set it gently on the shelf.
"I'm gonna check the rest of the house," I said quietly. "You two stay together."
"We're not babies," Lila muttered.
"No," I agreed softly. "But I'm not leaving you alone either."
She didn't argue after that.
I walked through each room, taking everything in slowly. I had fought in collapsed buildings before… but walking through one that belonged to my family was different. The walls felt haunted by voices that should still be echoing.
The kitchen counters had plates still drying from the last meal my parents made. The pantry door hung crooked. A few fallen jars littered the floor—Kai knelt to stack them neatly.
The bedrooms were mostly untouched except for dust and hairline cracks in the ceiling. Mine had the old posters still on the wall—champions, gym leaders, an old volcanic landscape. My training gear from years ago still lay in the corner, the way I left it when I ran off to join Interpol four years earlier.
Funny. I left thinking I'd come home triumphant, with stories and medals and parents waiting proudly.
Now I was coming back with scars, grief, and two kids who needed me more than any organization ever could.
When I returned to the living room, Lila sat cross-legged on the couch, Arcanine's Poké Ball resting in her lap. Kai leaned against her shoulder.
"Place doesn't look too bad," I said gently. "We'll get it fixed."
Lila nodded. "The League said they'd send help. Gym inspectors, builders, Pokémon support teams… They, um… they really liked Mom and Dad."
"Yeah," I murmured. "They did."
"And they like you too," she added softly, but didn't meet my eyes. "Everyone keeps saying how strong you are."
I smiled faintly. "I try."
Kai pulled his knees up. "Alex… are you gonna leave again?"
The question hit harder than any punch I'd taken in the field.
I kneeled in front of him."No. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Kai nodded, satisfied, and crawled into my arms. I held him close, feeling his small heartbeat against my chest.
Lila watched quietly, her eyes shining. She wasn't crying—she refused to—but she didn't look away either.
I sat with them until the sun shifted through the window, warming the dust-filled air. Infernape curled up by the couch, pretending to nap but keeping one eye half-open. He always pretended not to worry, but he was watching the kids like a protective guardian.
After a long silence, Lila spoke.
"Alex… what was it like? Being out there?"
"Dangerous," I said with a faint smirk. "Long nights. Bad food."
"Hey!" Kai protested. "Bet it was cool."
"It was," I admitted. "But… it was lonely too."
Lila's voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Did you ever wish you came home sooner?"
I swallowed.
Every damn day.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I did."
No one spoke for a while.
Eventually I stood. "Come on. Let's get cleaned up. Then we can unpack, check the utilities, maybe get food delivered."
Kai brightened immediately. "Pizza?"
"Sure."
Lila cracked a tiny smile. "You always spoil us."
"That's my job now."
Infernape snorted in agreement.
We spent the afternoon cleaning the house. I fixed the back door hinge. Kai dusted shelves, humming to himself. Lila organized the kitchen, moving with that quiet determination she inherited from Dad.
Every now and then she paused, staring at a familiar mug or picture frame. Each time, she inhaled deeply and kept moving.
Strong kid.
By sunset, we'd made enough progress that the house felt… not normal, but alive again.
Lila sat with me at the table while Kai drew pictures of Pokémon training with Infernape.
"Alex?" she said after a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Can… can we go to the Gym tomorrow?"
I hesitated.
The Gym had suffered more damage than the house. And worse—its heart was gone. My parents had poured everything into that building. Stepping inside would feel like reopening a wound that hadn't even begun to heal.
But Lila needed this. Kai probably did too.
And I?If I was going to take over the Gym one day, I had to face it eventually.
"Yeah," I said finally. "We'll go together."
Lila nodded, relief flickering in her eyes.
"Thanks."
Kai looked up. "Can Arcanine come too?"
Lila touched the Poké Ball gently. "Of course."
I smiled. "Then it's settled."
We ordered pizza. Infernape stole half of mine. Kai laughed so hard he fell off the couch. Lila pretended not to smile, but her shoulders relaxed for the first time all day.
When night came, the house felt a little less empty.
I tucked Kai in, then checked on Lila—she was sitting on her bed, brushing Arcanine's Poké Ball with a cloth, as if polishing a relic.
"You alright?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Trying to be."
"Trying counts," I said softly.
She looked down. "Alex… were you scared? When you were doing missions?"
"Yeah," I admitted. "A lot."
She blinked, surprised. "But you're… you."
I chuckled quietly. "Yeah. I'm me. Still human though."
She smiled faintly. "That's good."
"Good?"
"Means I'm allowed to be scared too."
Her words hit me straight in the heart.
"You're allowed to feel anything you need," I told her. "Fear. Anger. Sadness. Even happiness. There's no wrong emotion right now."
She nodded slowly.
"And I'm here," I added. "Always."
Lila's eyes softened. "Thanks, Alex."
When she finally lay down, I closed her door gently.
Back in the living room, Infernape sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the crack in the ceiling.
"Yeah," I murmured, lowering myself beside him. "I miss them too."
Infernape nudged my shoulder. A simple gesture. But it said everything.
I rested my head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling with him. The silence of the house wasn't suffocating anymore. It was… heavy, but manageable. Something we could work through.
Tomorrow would be hard. The Gym. The League. The funeral preparations. Everything.
But I wasn't alone.
Not anymore.
For the first time since Looker delivered the news, I let myself breathe fully.
This house wasn't a home yet.
But it would be.
I'd make sure of it.