Steven studied his reflection in the full-length mirror propped against the wall. He had already changed into the Survey Corps uniform — all black, in contrast to the earthy tones he had seen on Akira's set. The difference, Akira had explained earlier, was intentional: Aya had always worn black, and the uniform had been made to match her preference. Steven ran a hand down the front of the jacket. It was surprisingly thick, almost like a padded coat, yet it trapped very little heat. He suspected that was by design — the extra layering likely helped Survey Corps members withstand the impact of Pokémon attacks in the field.
He looped the red scarf around his neck, adjusted it once, and decided he was done. He left the red hat on the shelf. It didn't suit him.
Steven tidied himself up, drew out his phone, glanced briefly at the wallpaper on the screen, and then headed out the door.
Akira was waiting just outside, arms folded, his expression cheerful and impatient in equal measure. The moment he saw Steven, he reached into his satchel and held out a folded sheet of parchment.
"Steven! Captain Cyllene asked me to pass this along — it's a map of the Hisui Region."
Steven accepted it and unfolded it carefully. The map was hand-drawn with clean, simple lines, but compared to the detailed, colour-coded charts he was used to back home, it felt sparse. He studied it for a moment, trying to orient himself, and found it harder than he expected.
"Also," Akira added, "Captain Cyllene mentioned she'd like you to come by her office tomorrow for your team entry assessment. She hopes you'll perform as well as Aya did."
Steven folded the map and tucked it under his arm. "Understood. I'll be there."
"Great!" Akira's face lit up. "Now — let me show you around Jubilife Village!"
The tour began in earnest. Akira moved at a brisk pace, pointing out buildings and landmarks with the enthusiasm of someone who had memorised every corner of the settlement.
"That small building in front of Galaxy Team Headquarters," Akira said, gesturing ahead, "is the Wallflower. That's our canteen — you can eat there any time, and the Galaxy Team covers the cost, so no worries there."
He swept his arm to the left. "Over here is the Fieldlands Gate. Beyond it is the outdoor training grounds and Horseshoe Plains — good place to practice without bothering anyone in the village."
They continued down the main road, and Akira gestured at the ground beneath their feet. "This is Canala Avenue — the main road running through Jubilife Village."
"The ranch is to the east," he continued, walking briskly, "and the farm is to the west. We source a lot of our food and materials from both."
Steven followed along, taking everything in. He was surprised, as they passed a modest storefront, to find what appeared to be a photography studio — already operating in an era this far removed from his own. The equipment inside was bulky and primitive, nothing like the compact devices people carried everywhere in his time, but the idea of capturing images at all felt unexpectedly advanced for Hisui. He filed the observation away quietly and kept walking.
After passing the general store and the barber, Akira came to a stop in front of a large, well-stocked establishment to the right of the Galaxy Team Headquarters.
"And this," he announced proudly, "is the Ginkgo Guild. Their merchants travel all across Hisui, gathering rare items and trading as they go. They stock a lot of things that are genuinely useful for fieldwork — supplies, materials, items you'd struggle to find anywhere else."
Steven stepped closer to look, and found his attention pulled not to the shelves inside, but to the man standing near the entrance. He was blond, short-haired, with a leather satchel over one shoulder — and there was something about his grey eyes, calm and quietly observant, that gave Steven an immediate, inexplicable sense of familiarity.
The man noticed Akira first and smiled.
"Akira. It's been a while." His gaze moved over Akira's uniform with mild approval. "I didn't expect you to make it into the Survey Corps."
Akira laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wouldn't have without your help, Volo. That Orb you gave me made all the difference in the assessment."
"It was nothing," Volo said simply. "Happy to lend a hand." His grey eyes drifted to Steven with unhurried interest. "And who's this?"
"This is Steven," Akira said. "He just arrived in Jubilife Village today. He seems to have some kind of connection to Sister Aya."
"Oh?" Volo's expression sharpened slightly — not suspiciously, but with the focused curiosity of someone who had just spotted something worth knowing. "Like Aya, then — did you come from somewhere else?"
"You could say that," Steven replied evenly. He extended his hand. "Steven Stone. It's a pleasure."
Volo shook it without hesitation, his grip firm. "Volo. I run trade for the Ginkgo Guild." He studied Steven for just a moment longer than was strictly necessary. "I have a particular interest in rare things — people included. I'd like to speak with you more when I return. I'm heading out shortly, but I hope you'll still be around."
"I'm not going anywhere," Steven said, with a slight smile.
Volo gave a short, satisfied nod, then turned back to Akira. "Take good care of that egg, all right?"
"Of course!" Akira said, with complete confidence.
Volo smiled at them both, said a brief farewell, and walked away toward the Fieldlands Gate, satchel swaying at his side.
Akira watched him go, then looked at Steven with an expectant grin. "He's a good person, isn't he?"
"He seems to be," Steven agreed. There was something else, too — something he couldn't quite name. Volo's face was almost startlingly familiar. The blond hair, the grey eyes, the measured way he moved and spoke. If he hadn't known better, he might have thought— No. The resemblance was simply very strong. Volo looked, in nearly every way that mattered, like Cynthia. The same sharp features, the same quiet intensity behind those eyes. Could he be her ancestor? It seemed more likely than not.
Steven kept that thought to himself.
"Oh — Steven." Akira turned suddenly, as though something had just occurred to him. "When Sister Aya first arrived, she had a really powerful Pokémon with her. Did you bring something like that too?"
Steven considered the question. Latias had told him that Aya had only been permitted to leave with her Lucario — none of the Legendary or Mythical Pokémon she had encountered before the journey had been allowed through. It made him think of Diancie, who had come through with him. Diancie was a Mythical Pokémon — so why had Dialga permitted her to remain in the present world rather than stay behind in Hisui? He had no clear answer.
"Are you thinking of Lucario?" Steven said, returning his attention to Akira.
"Yes, exactly — Lucario!" Akira's eyes went wide with excitement. "Can I see it? Can I see yours?"
Steven gave a quiet smile. "Sure. Let's head to the training grounds."
"Yes!"
They walked back out through the Fieldlands Gate to the outdoor training area. Akira was maybe fourteen or fifteen, a few years younger than Steven, and he had just spent the better part of the afternoon guiding him around an unfamiliar settlement without complaint. It was a small thing to ask.
Steven recalled all ten of his Pokémon at once.
Akira went very still.
"Sister Aya only had one Pokémon when she came," he said slowly, blinking at the assembled team. "Steven has... so many."
In Hisui, where even three or four Pokémon marked a trainer as someone exceptional, a party of ten was almost incomprehensible. Akira's eyes moved from one to the next, visibly trying to process what he was seeing.
"And a lot of them are kinds I've never seen before," he murmured.
"Hello." A clear, polished voice broke through his thoughts. "My name is Diancie."
The small Pokémon stood with her hands clasped neatly in front of her, tilting her head at Akira with quiet poise.
Akira's mouth fell open. "It — it can talk?!"
"She's using telepathy," Steven said.
"H-hello! I'm Akira!" He recovered quickly, bowing slightly in Diancie's direction.
Akira's gaze swept across the group again, more carefully this time, and landed on the Lucario standing at Steven's side — calm, composed, watching Akira with steady eyes.
"You have a Lucario too, just like Sister Aya."
"That's right," Steven said.
Akira looked over the rest of the team with something close to awe. Then his eyes settled on Metagross and Scizor, and he went very quiet for a moment.
"How strong are they, I wonder," he said, almost to himself. "Compared to the Kings."
Steven caught the word immediately. "The Kings?"
Akira straightened up, nodding seriously. "Yes. The Kings are Pokémon whose ancestors were blessed directly by the Sinnoh Grandeur — their power is on a completely different level from other Pokémon. Even their descendants carry that strength and are called Kings by everyone here." He paused, then brightened. "Once Captain Cyllene gives you clearance, you should come with me to the Temple of Sinnoh — there are statues of the Kings there. You'd have to see them to really understand."
The Sinnoh Grandeur.
Steven unfolded the map Akira had given him earlier and looked it over. Near the foothills of Mt. Coronet, he found it — the Temple of Sinnoh, marked in simple strokes. His eyes lingered there. That area looked very much like the place where he had arrived in Hisui.
And those statues... those were the Kings?
The Sinnoh Grandeur. The Temple of Sinnoh.
He turned the words over in his mind. The region was called Hisui now, but a thousand years from this moment, it would be known as Sinnoh. Perhaps that name itself had come from this — from whatever power it was that these Pokémon had been blessed with. The Sinnoh Grandeur most likely referred to Arceus itself: the Pokémon said to have shaped the very world.
If that was true, then the Kings Akira spoke of were Pokémon that had received Arceus's power directly — and they represented the highest tier of strength in all of Hisui, second only to the Legendary Pokémon themselves.
Steven folded the map again and said nothing. But his eyes stayed on the mountains in the distance for a long moment before he looked away.