"No?"
"Why do you start cursing the moment you open your mouth?"
"And with that gentle face, too — saying something so hurtful?"
The girl studied Steven, and the longer she looked, the more something felt off about him.
"My name is Steven. Let me take you to the infirmary," he said with a light chuckle.
The girl raised an eyebrow, eyeing him with suspicion.
Wait a second… what did he just say his name was?
"You said your name is Steven?" she asked, both surprised and curious.
"The one and only," Steven said quietly.
The girl glanced at the Shiny Metagross standing beside him, and her guard eased considerably. She stepped closer, still cautious.
"The former Champion of the Hoenn region — that Steven?"
Steven gave a small nod. "That's certainly true."
"The third-ranked Pokémon Master at the World Championships?"
"Uh—" Steven faltered. That wasn't him.
"Steven, the one who stopped the twin embodiments of land and sea?"
He scratched his cheek awkwardly. It seemed this girl had come from a timeline that wasn't quite his own — in his own history, he hadn't competed in the World Championships yet, and he'd captured Maxie and Archie without ever having to face down Groudon or Kyogre.
"Aren't you a little too young for all that?" the girl asked, studying his face doubtfully. Though, admittedly, the resemblance was uncanny — just younger.
"I am Steven. Just not the Steven from your timeline," he explained.
"Not the Steven from my timeline?" She blinked, surprised.
"This is the Hisui region — the land that will one day become Sinnoh," Steven said. "You and I have both traveled here from different points in time. Does that make sense?"
The girl nodded slowly, only half following.
"So you're a Mr. Steven… just not the Mr. Steven I know?"
Steven smiled gently. "Exactly."
"Oh — I'm Keito!" she said suddenly, remembering she hadn't introduced herself now that her guard was down.
Keito. The name meant nothing to Steven.
"Let's go see Captain Cyllene first," he said.
"Captain Cyllene?" Keito repeated, confused.
"We're both outsiders here, without any papers to our name. Joining the Galaxy Team gives us somewhere to belong," Steven explained. "Cyllene leads the Galaxy Team's Survey Corps."
"Are you part of it too, Mr. Steven?"
He nodded, leading her toward the Galaxy Team's headquarters. "For personal reasons, I need to join the Survey Corps to find a way back home. They deal with all kinds of strange phenomena — there's a good chance they know something that could help."
Keito nodded along. If anything, being stranded in an unfamiliar timeline only made her want to go home more.
"Could I join the Survey Corps too?" she asked, trailing a little uncertainly behind him.
Steven glanced down at her. She didn't even have a Pokémon of her own yet, did she?
"As long as you can pass Captain Cyllene's entry assessment, you're welcome to join," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Believe in yourself — just think about what you're good at."
"Would… accurate Poké Ball throwing count as a strength?" Keito asked hesitantly. It should, right? Most people in Hisui who wanted to catch a Pokémon had no choice but to keep their distance and throw a Poké Ball at it from afar — with luck, it caught; without luck, at least there was enough distance to make a run for it.
Steven brought Keito to the Galaxy Team's headquarters. He first took her to the infirmary to be checked over, in case her fall had left any injury to her head. Once she'd been given a clean bill of health, he led her to the Survey Corps office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The two of them stepped inside together.
"Mission comp—" Cyllene looked up mid-sentence, spotting the unfamiliar face beside Steven, and stopped short. "Who's this?"
Steven stepped forward. "This is Keito. A space-time distortion appeared over the Obsidian Fieldlands right after the Forest King was subdued — she must have come through it into Hisui."
Cyllene nodded, folding her hands atop the desk. "Congratulations on completing your assessment. So, what brings you here with her?"
Steven glanced back at Keito, prompting her with his eyes to speak for herself.
Keito nodded and turned to Cyllene. Meeting her sharp, no-nonsense gaze, Keito straightened up at once, standing almost at attention.
"Hello, Captain Cyllene! My name is Keito! I'd like to join the Survey Corps!"
Cyllene regarded her calmly. "As long as you can prove your ability in the entry assessment, you're free to join."
"Um… does accurate Poké Ball throwing count?" Keito asked, scratching her head bashfully. Back in her own timeline, she'd trained extensively as a Trainer, and Poké Ball throwing technique was something nearly everyone practiced — especially before the League Tournament reforms, when it had been essential in the old no-rules battles.
"What did you say?!"
A dark-skinned old man with a purple headscarf poked his head through the doorway, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Keito. She shifted closer to Steven, a little unsettled by his intensity.
"Dr. Laventon," Cyllene said, nodding to him in greeting, then turned to the others. "He's an expert in Pokémon ecology."
"Hello, Dr. Laventon," Steven said warmly.
Keito, following his lead, offered her own greeting.
"Captain, why not let this child try working with me?" Dr. Laventon asked. "Those three Pokémon brought back from other regions ran off, and I've been at my wit's end trying to find someone to help track them down!"
Cyllene nodded. "In that case, if you can demonstrate your ability to Dr. Laventon's satisfaction, that will be enough for you to join the Survey Corps."
Wait — was it really that simple? Keito gets in just by throwing a few Poké Balls, while I had to fight the Forest King? Steven thought, smiling helplessly to himself. Then again, Keito didn't have a single Pokémon of her own yet.
"Come along, child," Dr. Laventon said, beckoning to her.
Keito hesitated and glanced up at Steven. He nodded, urging her forward with quiet confidence.
Once Keito and Dr. Laventon had left, Steven turned his attention back to Cyllene, who motioned toward the door behind him. Understanding, he pushed it shut.
"Survey Corps member Steven," Cyllene said, her voice growing serious, "I'm assigning you the case of a missing Survey Corps member. At the site where they vanished, there's a sketch left behind of a pillar-shaped stone — there's a strong chance it's connected to a relic of Dialga."
"Understood, Captain," Steven said with a nod, accepting the task.
"Head to the Molten Arena in the Cobalt Coastlands and see what you can learn about the missing member."
"Understood!"
…