Casa de María
Even in Jubilife City, where space was tight, this building did not look worn compared to the others around it.
Austin had already heard Maria's story from Zorro.
"Hello, we'd like to go inside. This is the proof Section Chief Zorro gave me."
Zorro had quickly prepared an electronic document and sent it to his Pokégear.
Without it, Austin knew he would likely be stopped at the entrance and forced to find another way in.
The security guard glanced at the document, then at Dragapult, and nodded.
"You can go in. Keep a close eye on your Pokémon. Better to recall it."
Austin gave a small, helpless smile. Dragapult was not going back into a Poké Ball right now.
Casa de María had already received a call from Zorro, informing them of Austin's visit.
The moment they stepped inside, Dragapult saw the person it had missed for so long.
To the left of the entrance stood a large framed photograph. Maria, wearing a hat, smiled warmly alongside a group of children. The frame was protected by glass and carefully preserved.
"Pult~"
Dragapult lowered its head and gently pressed against the glass.
The surface was cold, but to it, the feeling was real.
"It's a Pokémon!"
"That one looks amazing!"
Dragapult and Zenith immediately drew the children's attention.
Drakloak, overwhelmed by the crowd, quickly slipped onto Austin's head and rested there, clinging close. With Austin's height, none of the children could reach it even if they tried.
"Please wait, don't damage it!"
A short-haired woman in her twenties hurried over, clearly worried.
Austin stepped forward at once.
"I'm sorry. It's not causing any damage. It just misses Miss Maria."
"Is that so?"
She hesitated, watching Dragapult's gentle movements, and found no reason to argue.
"Neh, neh, big bro what's its name?"
A little girl with pigtails tugged at Austin's pant leg, her smile wide despite her missing teeth.
"That's Zenith, a Metagross."
"And that one?"
"Drakloak."
"Dra… Drakloak!"
"It's shiny!"
"So cool!"
"Why is there a Pokémon on your head? Are you a Pokémon too?"
The questions came one after another, loud and chaotic, like a busy market.
The security guard chuckled from the side.
"This is why I told you to recall them."
He was not worried about danger. He had seen this reaction too many times.
"Everyone, back now."
Several staff members arrived and began guiding the children away.
"Metagross"
Zenith let out a quiet sound, clearly relieved. A few more seconds, and those children might have climbed onto it.
Among the staff, a woman close to fifty studied Dragapult carefully. Recognition flickered in her eyes, especially as she watched how it lingered by the photograph.
She stepped forward and gave a gentle smile.
"I'm Rosa, the acting director here. May I ask…?"
Twenty years had passed. Even she was unsure.
Austin nodded.
"This is Miss Maria's Dragapult. Drakloak is its child."
Rosa's expression softened with genuine warmth.
"I've been waiting for you. Dragapult, please come with me. There's something I've kept for you."
Austin nodded and glanced at Dragapult.
"Let's go. We can come back to this later."
"Draga"
Dragapult pulled away slowly, turning back toward the photograph every few steps.
Rosa led them down the hall into a quiet room.
Austin took out a Luxury Ball and released Ryu.
"I'll need your help translating."
With Zenith already by his side, Rosa was no longer surprised by another Pokémon.
She gestured gently around the room.
"This… was Miss Maria's room."
Austin felt a strange sense of familiarity the moment he stepped into the room. The layout mirrored almost perfectly the bedroom on the second floor of Mt. Coronet Mountain.
A reclining chair stood near the wall. A neatly made bed rested beside it. A simple dressing table faced the corner, and the bay window let in soft light through curtains that looked nearly identical to the ones he remembered.
Only one detail set this room apart.
On the table sat a photo frame.
It held a picture of Dragapult and Maria.
In the photograph, Maria rested one hand gently on Dragapult's head, her expression calm and full of warmth. Her smile was soft, yet striking enough to draw the eye without effort.
Austin did not need to say anything.
Dragapult already understood.
It moved slowly toward the bay window and sat down, its gaze fixed on the photo. The world around it seemed to fade as memories surfaced one after another.
Rosa gave it a moment before speaking, her voice steady.
"I'll start from the beginning. This is the story of Casa de Maria."
Austin had heard it before. This was for Dragapult.
"Maria came from wealth, but her life was never easy. Her parents passed away in a car accident when she was young. What they left behind was money, nothing more."
She paused briefly.
"The only thing that stayed with her was a Dreepy. It was a gift from her parents."
"That Dreepy stayed with her for twenty-five years. By the time she turned thirty, it was no longer just a Pokémon. It was family."
Dragapult's eyes lowered slightly.
"At thirty, Maria fell seriously ill. There was no effective treatment. Surgery was the only option."
Rosa's tone softened.
"The surgery failed."
"After that, she was confined to this room. She held on for about seven days… then she passed."
Silence settled for a moment.
"She donated everything she had before that. All of it went into building a foundation."
"This place exists because of that foundation. The funds were enough to keep a single home running for a very long time."
Rosa gave a small, respectful nod.
"I'm only the acting director. Someone else will take over one day. But here, the director will always be Maria."
She turned her gaze toward Dragapult.
"As for you… Miss Maria asked us to look for you before she passed."
Dragapult slowly lifted its head.
"She told us to pass on a message."
Rosa met its eyes.
"She said you shouldn't wait for her. She had already gone somewhere far away."
"We went looking for you many times. Ten times, at least. When we couldn't find you, we thought… maybe you had already moved on."
Her voice lowered.
"We never imagined that even after twenty years… you would still be waiting."
Dragapult already knew the truth.
It knew Maria was gone.
Yet it stayed.
Because of a promise.
Because if she ever returned, even for a moment, it wanted to be there… as her Pokémon again.
Rosa walked over to the drawer and gently pulled it open.
"Dragapult… these are what Miss Maria left behind for you."
She brought out a carefully stacked bundle of envelopes.
"Twenty-seven letters."
The paper was old, but preserved with care. Each envelope carried the same simple recipient.
Dragapult.
No address and no destination.
"These are her thoughts… over time. They belong to you."
"Dragapult."
Austin stepped forward and received them quietly on Dragapult's behalf.
They felt light in his hands.
But the weight behind them was something else entirely.