A compact sedan carefully traveled through a packed parking deck, the bright orange fluorescence of outdoor lighting created a searing ambiance contrasting the twilight of a humid Alolan morning. Within the aged car, two siblings worked in tandem to find a suitable parking spot, one looking near while the other looked far. In time the search bore successful fruit, after seeming like they could’ve circled that deck an innumerous amount of times. The sister backed her little red car into the parking space, and the brother began collecting his things. 
 
[color=#EEA1F6]“You got all your stuff? Phone, wallet, keys?”[/color] Esmerelda Daly doted as the sibling pair transitioned from the drab parking lot into the airport’s expansive lobby. Ezra Daly quickly replied in kind, patting down his overly baggy grey sweatpants for the listed items. Patting progressed to his equally baggy grey hoodie to continue the search. His long gait slowed to a stop as his hands quickly moved about his person to locate the items. He began to break into a bit of a goofy dance to find his stuff.

[color=#00FFAE]“Has- to- be- here- some- where-”[/color] He assumed a wide stance as he patted to a rhythm, causing Esmerelda to notice.

[color=#EEA1F6]“Seriously, Eazy? I know you ain’t leave that stuff at home.”[/color] Her serious tone undercut the smile stretched across her face. As she chuckled, he procured two of the three items.

[color=#00FFAE]“Phone and wallet, check.”[/color] He smiled back.

[color=#EEA1F6]“Keys?”[/color]

[color=#00FFAE]“Y’really think I’d need them? I gave ‘em to Tawny. If we’re both gone, they’re gonna need them to get in if dad’s at work.”[/color] 

[color=#EEA1F6]“I’m just saying you coulda kept yours since I gave mine to Eli.”[/color] 

[color=#00FFAE]“...Oh. We probably should’ve discussed this beforehand.”[/color] Ezra suggested with a formal tone. With a shrug shared between the two, they continued into the airport. The boy rummaged through the wallet as they walked. 

[color=#00FFAE]“Passport card...spending money...the joint account debit card~”[/color]

[color=#EEA1F6]“That you’ll only use in emergencies~”[/color] Esmerelda sang back. [color=#EEA1F6]“Swear to god Eazy I better not see that hit account the red, it’s supposed to be for both of us-”[/color]

[color=#00FFAE]“Speak for yourself, Ezzie!”[/color] Ezra raised his voice, feeling attacked. [color=#00FFAE]“I ain’t gonna let you and Sammi just go on a shopping spree in Goldenrod.”[/color] 

[color=#EEA1F6]“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”[/color] The girl feigned ignorance in defense. The conversation died down as the two crossed a threshold of large sliding doors, greeted by a large gust of wind as they entered the bright, clean lobby. Ezra made a verbal thought of getting to the right terminal, and the two were sure to head in the correct direction. 

[color=#00FFAE]“...Think Dad can handle the kids without us?”[/color] Ezra eventually brought up.

[color=#EEA1F6]“Well, he handled [i]us[/i], didn’t he? Besides, the boys are old enough to handle the load of the girls.”[/color] His sister rationalized.

[color=#00FFAE]“They’re gonna be so sad when they wake up…”[/color] Baby sisters Ester and Elena reminded the boy of himself at their age, always reduced to a whining, crying mess when a parent was out of sight for too long. He knew they weren’t going to be too happy once they realized he and his sister would be missing from the picture. 

[color=#EEA1F6]“Just make sure to call when you can. Put us all in a group call.”[/color] 

[color=#00FFAE]“Yeah, you already know.”[/color] Ezra nodded back with a smirk. He’d probably call on the flight over, but he knew he’d have to wait to hit solid ground again before he could do so.

The conversation went quiet again as the two traversed the massive establishment. Even at that time of the morning, the place was busy with employees, commuters, tourists, and security with their service pokemon in tow. Ezra was sure to not get too distracted before he found his flight. He read over the printed boarding passes once more, double and triple-checking the letters and numbers of his assigned gate. 

[color=#EEA1F6]“E6, dead ahead,”[/color] Esmerelda announced, bringing his attention forward. Sure enough, a big blue placard hung from the ceiling, emblazoned with the location the two were searching for. 

[color=#00FFAE]“Siiiiick.”[/color] Ezra sped up his walk, the jostle of his duffel bag making noise as it jiggled about on his back. Esmerelda was quick to get ahead of him before his excitement gave him tunnel vision. 

[color=#EEA1F6]“Now I know you ain’t gonna leave without saying goodbye.”[/color] She stopped him dead in his tracks. 

[color=#00FFAE]“‘Course not.”[/color] He replied with a hug that was immediately followed by an elaborate handshake, complete with no less than three fistbumps, some pattycake, a little synchronized jig, and other elaborate hand gestures. The two quickly stopped and chuckled once they realized a line was forming behind them. 

[color=#00FFAE]“I’ll touch base when I make landfall, and meet up with Zappollopher. He said he’ll meet me in Celadon.”[/color] Ezra added lastly, having to leave his sister behind as he crossed the metal detectors. 

[color=#EEA1F6]“And I’ll call when me and Sammi get to Aunty Dalia’s!”[/color] Esmerelda called back, the quickly moving line creating distance between the two siblings.

[color=#00FFAE]“Bet! I wanna see how big Charlie’s gotten!”[/color] The brother loudly replied as security examined his bag and person. A couple of feet between the siblings almost felt like miles. Esmerelda stood by and watched her brother move through processing. As he reached the end of the line, he got a brief chance to look back to his sister in waiting. He found her waving at him over the crowd. 

[color=#EEA1F6]“Have fun, bro! Love ya!”[/color] She practically yelled, almost creating a bit of a scene.

[color=#00FFAE]“Love you too!”[/color] He yelled back, showing a toothy grin as he waved himself. In time, he merged with the crowd to another side of the airport, and Esmerelda disappeared from view. The family always shared loud, lengthy farewells. Today would be no different. Under other circumstances, the whole clan would’ve been present to see him off, creating a commotion of excitement and happiness and sadness all along the way. 

Those feelings were still there in this case of separation, naturally. Ezra took a quick breath as he found himself alone. Pokemon wasn’t allowed outside their balls unless they were performing a service, so Brie would have to wait until they reached Kanto before she could come out. The boy’s quick breath turned into a seemingly troubled sigh as he found somewhere to sit. They got to the terminal pretty early, he knew was going to wait a while before they could board the aircraft.  

Hours later, Ezra shuffled with the rest of the boarding crowd onto the plane. His duffel bag was just big enough to stow under his seat. He was was grateful to get to his window seat without any hiccups. The formalities of flight proceeded without a hitch, attendants capturing the attention of the travelers and instructing them on the rules of flying. 

In time, everyone got seated, and the plane began down the runway. Ezra brought forth his phone, seating his earbuds comfortably as he gazed out of the window. He put on a favorite playlist as the plane took up speed. 

The first song came on, an oldie-but-goodie about a woman soulfully reminiscing about times past, reveling in old love and family and friends that came and gone, sad for the times passed but grateful for the times spent and shared. An emotional number Ezra couldn’t help but softly sing along with. Such a song sent the boy on his own path down memory lane. It was his mom’s favorite song, after all. 

Briefly, his gaze shifted downward as he let out a regulating exhale, the edges of his lips curled in a small, wistful smirk. He succumbed to the lyrics and got lost in the music as the airplane took off.

[hr]

In about nine hours, the plane successfully landed in the Kanto region. Ezra was sure to stretch his legs as he made his way off the flight, following the crowd into another bout of extraneous processing. 

With all that said and done, Ezra couldn’t help but feel like a stranger in a strange land. He was easily towering over the average pedestrian as he proceeded out of the small airport, most of which did well to give the boy a wide berth. Ezra failed to notice such trivialities, however, as he was quick to bring his phone forth. He quickly rung up his cousin on video chat, eager to let him know he had arrived in the region. 

The call rung several times before going to voicemail.

[color=#00FFAE]“Seriously, Zapp?”[/color] He muttered, opting to call one his cousin’s sisters. Franny’s call went straight to voicemail, but he managed to get ahold of Kelly.

[color=#00FFAE]“Kells? Hey. I made it to Kanto. I thought Zapp was meeting me at the airport? He’s not picking up his phone.”[/color] Ezra quickly explained as he surveyed the hustle and bustle of his surroundings, watched what looked like a pointy red phone zoom out of a girl’s bag and hover around her.  
 
“Uh yeah, he was supposed to…” She explained. “Me and Franny are at work, so he doesn’t have much of a choice.” The two were interrupted by another call. Ezra added the tardy cousin into the conversation.

“Where you at, Zapp?” The two asked at the same time. 

“Shit Eazy, I forgot all about picking you up!” Zapp replied, his husky voice taking on a tinge of panic. “I’m at an interview right now, got offered a gig at the Safari Zone in Fushia!” The panic in his voice was quickly replaced with excitement.

“You’re doing the league challenge anyway, right?” Zapp added. “All I would’ve done was escort you to Pallet Town. Catch a cab to Vermillion, and from there you can ferry over to Pallet. The docks are pretty big, so you shouldn’t miss ‘em.” He explained.

“You seem pretty quick to brush our cousin off, Zapp,” Kelly replied through gritted teeth. Ezra’s expression stretched into a grin of opportunity.

[color=#00FFAE]“Don’t sweat it, Kells. It shouldn’t be too much to find my way.”[/color] He was already flagging down a taxi. [color=#00FFAE]“I’ll meet you guys in Saffron, okay?”[/color] He signed off as he entered a vacant cab. 

As he told the driver of his destination, he released his young otter from her capsule. The Oshawott yawned and stretched as her settings faded into view. 

[color=#E3CA19]“Wott…? Oshawott?”[/color] She asked through another yawn. He had no idea what she was saying, but a bipedal pokemon such as herself gestured enough to make most intentions known. He figured she was asking if they had arrived. 

[color=#00FFAE]“Yup, we’re here. Sorry for the wait. S’gonna be a short drive, then we gotta hop on a ferry, [i]then[/i] we’ll be in Pallet.”[/color] He caught the pokemon up to current events. 

[color=#E3CA19]“Osh osh.”[/color] She quietly confirmed, gripping at the sleeve of his hoodie to stave off disorientation.