If there was one thing that Accident knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was that he and Radic would always be together.

There may have been a lot of things about the world that he didn't understand, and a lot of new Pokémon in each new place they went, and Radic might have gotten older and Accident got older too, but he knew, he knew they would always be together. They would always be partners, and they would always be friends.

Radic promised him.

He didn't remember much from when he was a Squirtle, but he remembered that.

Radic promised him.

He promised him that he would never take him out of his team, that he would never abandon him, that he would never turn his back on him. That they would always be together. Forever.

Accident believed him.

When Johto was discovered, and Radic tried to tell him what they were going to do, Accident had been confused.

"It'll be okay, Accident," Radic told him. "I'll always have your Pokéball with me, no matter what. You'll always be with me. It'll just be a long time before we see each other again, okay? Like you'll be asleep, and then you'll wake up and we'll be together again."

"How long?" Accident asked him.

"I don't know, but I promise you, Accident, that you will always be with me. No matter what happens, I will always keep your Pokéball with me, okay? I promise."

Accident believed him, because Radic wouldn't lie to him. He went into his Pokéball, and it was a long time until he saw Radic again, but he did see him again. Radic told the truth, because Radic didn't lie to him. Accident didn't doubt for a second that Radic kept his Pokéball with him the whole time, just like he said. He hugged him fiercely when he'd been released, still not quite sure why Radic had to keep him locked away for so long, but it didn't matter as long as they were together again.

And they were together again for a while, until Hoenn was discovered.

And again, Radic asked him if he would wait for him in his Pokéball. That he'd keep Accident's Pokéball with him the whole way through. He'd never leave him, he'd never abandon him, he'd never forget him. Accident just had to trust that Radic would let him out again someday, when he finished whatever he was doing. In a way, it was the same test of faith all Pokémon faced when they were returned to their Pokéballs... the threat of going in and never coming out. No Pokémon wanted that. Many of them feared it.

But Accident knew Radic wouldn't do that to him.

And he didn't. Just like he said, he was released and Radic hugged him again, glad to see him after what felt like ages, and Accident knew he wouldn't lie to him.

They would always be together.

Then the path to Sinnoh was opened.

"Will you wait for me again, Accident?"

He said he would. He'd do anything for Radic. They were partners for life. He would wait.

When he woke up this time, he expected to see Radic's smiling face like always, and instead he found himself in a lake.

Accident got up slowly, shaking himself, trying to remember what had happened. Radic asked him to stay in his Pokéball... if he'd been released, that meant that Radic must have let him out, right?

Accident sat up and looked around, but he didn't see anyone. No Callima, no Kitsune, no Nova, no Ruby, no Takachan.

No Radic.

Just the brown dirt of the lakeside, hills behind him and trees and grass in front of him, calm waters all around him.

Accident had never spent more than twenty minutes away from Radic's side. Either he was out and walking with Radic, staying by him, protecting him, watching out for him, talking to him, or he was in his ball.

Radic would never leave him alone like this. Where was he?

Accident looked at his reflection in the water, then up to the sky, then around again just to make sure he hadn't missed him.

Radic wasn't there.

Where was he?

Radic promised him when he asked him to come to Sinnoh that when he woke up, he would be there. That they'd be together again, like always. That he wouldn't forget him.

Where was he?

Where was he? Had he forgotten him? That couldn't be right, but where was he? Where was Radic? Why was Accident alone? Why wasn't he here with him?

They were partners, this wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening to him. Something must have happened to him, or... Radic wouldn't have left him here, he wouldn't have abandoned him, he wouldn't do that to him. He promised him.

He promised him that Accident would never be alone because Radic would always be there with him.

But he wasn't. Accident was all alone.

Frightened and alone in a strange place, Accident made a soft whining sound in his throat and slowly crawled over the bank of the lake. He didn't know this place. He'd never seen it before. Where was everyone? Where had they gone? Why did they leave without him? What did he do wrong?

He never meant to do anything wrong. If Radic was mad at him then he was sorry, he was so so sorry. He didn't mean it. He just wanted Radic to come back, to appear and tell him that things would be okay.

"Radic?" Accident called out, feebly at first. He didn't hear anything in response except the rustling of leaves and the call of some strange birds above.

"Radic?" Louder a little, and the fear he felt was getting stronger and stronger and usually someone would be there, someone would help him, Radic would help him but he wasn't here- "Radic!"

Accident stood up, and he bellowed as loud as he possibly could. "Raaaadiiiic!"

He didn't hear anything in response, and beside himself with fear, confused and hurt, Accident started sobbing.

Why wasn't he here? What did he do wrong?

He promised they'd never be apart.

He promised.

---

"That can't be how it works!"

"I'm sorry, it's a very strict system."

"You can't- I can't let this Pokéball out of my sight." Radic held onto Accident's Pokéball as if the woman at the counter was going to take it from him. "I can't, I promised him I couldn't. Can't you just... can't you open it here?"

"Sir, the rules are very clear. Pokémon from other regions have to be released into the Pal Park and then recaught by their trainer, it helps us keep track of what comes in from where-"

"But I can't- some of my Pokémon, I promised them I'd never abandon them, I didn't know..." Radic ran his hands over the Pokéball he was holding, the device faded and chipped after years of use with "Accident" etched into one side. "I thought this would be like Hoenn or Johto, they'd let you unseal them if you had all the badges, I didn't..."

"Sir, this is how the system works in Sinnoh. Those balls won't unlock until they are processed by the Pal Park system. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. If you want to see the Pokémon in those Pokéballs again, you'll have to give them to me so I can release them into the Pal Park." She sounded somewhat tired. Presumably this wasn't the first time she'd had this particular conversation.

"Are you sure you can't just... unseal them here? Just this one?" Radic held out Accident's ball. "Just this one, the others will understand but I promised this one..."

"Sir, I'm sorry. There's no way around it. Either you do it the Pal Park way, or the balls stay sealed."

Radic thought back to Accident's smiling face in Hoenn through Saeb's eyes, the confusion that always came when he told him that they were starting over again, the fear and how many times he had to reassure Accident that it would be alright. They'd see each other again, he would never let his ball out of his sight. Accident would wake up to see him smiling at him, just as he had before. Accident barely understood the process despite going through it multiple times, but he did understand that Radic promised him they'd see each other again.

The thought of releasing him into a park like this, to have to find him... Accident would be alone.

But to leave him in his ball forever... Radic could not do that. He could not do that. He promised him that they'd see each other again. There'd just... there'd be a delay.

Thinking of it that way didn't make it any easier. Radic reluctantly set Accident's Pokéball down on the counter.

"Alright... I'll do it."

"Thank you, sir." She sounded a little relieved... maybe she'd expected more of a fight than that. "I'll try and release them close by for you."

"Thank you," Radic said faintly, and he heard her walk away. Come to think of it, she probably didn't even know he was blind... that was going to make this even more difficult, if that was possible.

But if there was one thing he could do, it would be finding Accident as fast as possible, and he resolved to do his best.

He owed it to him.

---

When Radic stepped out into the park, six Park Balls in his bag, he closed his eyes and tried to listen. Any auditory clues would be useful, and he needed all the help he could get.

Nothing... just leaves rustling and the sound of birds, and water nearby.

Accident was probably drawn to water... Radic started to head in that direction.

They hadn't said anything about calling out for your Pokémon. Radic put his hands around his mouth and shouted with all his strength

"Accident? Where are you? Can you hear me?"

He could hear his voice faintly echoing, but nothing else. He kept walking forward, shuffling his feet to try and avoid hazards on the ground, and he kept calling.

"Accident, can you hear me? Where are you? I'm coming to find you, okay?"

No response. Radic took a few more steps forward, and all he could think about was how crestfallen Accident had sounded when he explained that he'd have to be sealed away and wait again, how depressed he was at the thought of not being by him, how much he said he missed him, how he'd promised he wouldn't do this to him... what if the Park was flawed, what if Accident had run away or escaped, what if someone had stolen him, what if the entire thing was a scam, what if any number of terrible things had happened to him while he was out here by himself...

Radic braced himself and screamed as loudly as he could. He could feel tears coming to his eyes as his voice tore his throat.

"Accident, come back!"

---

Accident couldn't move. He was crying too hard and he was afraid that if he did try to go somewhere, he'd get even more lost. He didn't want to make this worse, although Accident didn't know how this could get worse. He was lost, alone, frightened, and he didn't know where any of the people he loved were, or what had happened to them, or why they'd abandoned him.

He must have done something wrong, misunderstood something, maybe they had talked about this with him and he just forgot or didn't understand, but Accident didn't know why they'd do something like this to him. He'd always tried to be good, he always did his very best to help everyone and help Radic and be a good Blastoise, and he hadn't done anything wrong, not on purpose, and Radic would never do something like this to him, but why wasn't he here, why wasn't he here...

Something echoed from far away, causing a few pebbles to fall from the hill behind him. Accident paused, sniffling a little, and looked behind him. Nothing on the hill... was he just hearing things? He took a few gulping breaths, in the process giving himself the hiccups. Maybe it was someone who could help him.

His ears twitched, and Accident turned his head sharply. He definitely heard something that time.

"Radic...?" Accident took a few steps towards the sound, trying his hardest to listen. If it wasn't him, maybe it was someone that could help him... but maybe it was him! Maybe Radic had been looking for him! Maybe he'd just gotten lost and forgot how he got here, maybe Radic was trying to find him...

"Radic?" Accident called, and he waited to see if he'd hear a response.

"Accident, come back!" Faintly from far away, and Accident's face lit up. He was right! He was right he was right he was right he was right he knew Radic wouldn't leave him, he knew he wouldn't abandon him, he knew it he knew it he knew it-

Accident took off running towards the sound of his voice as fast as his short legs could carry him. He knew it, he knew Radic would come find him.

Radic promised him, after all.

---

"Accident!" Radic called out again. More rustling, and then some kind of noise from far away... desperately, Radic screamed again with all his strength. "Accident, come back!"

He could hear something definitely coming closer to him at a high speed and for a moment, he wondered if maybe he'd angered a Rhyhorn or something that was now charging at him, but no, he was sure that wasn't it. He was sure this had to be him, it was Accident and he was okay, he was okay and he was coming back to him, and-

He heard something like something large sliding down a hill, and thudding footsteps towards him.

"Accident, is that you?" God, he wished more than anything he could see right now. "Accident, I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

Something hit him hard, like running into a brick wall, and then he was mashed against his Blastoise's breast plates, the breath crushed out of him by Accident's fierce hug. He knew this feeling well, and he couldn't help laughing in relief. He'd thought something terrible had happened to him...

Accident rubbed his head against his, apparently beyond any kind of words, hugging him and spinning in circles and making inarticulate happy sounds, although Radic could hear his voice wavering. He'd been frightened, Radic was sure of it... and he had every right to be, waking up in a strange place all by himself...

"Accident, I'm so sorry, I didn't know... Sinnoh does everything differently, I thought I'd just unseal you like in Hoenn or Johto, but they made me let you go for a little while... I'm so sorry-"

Accident crushed him tighter, cutting off anything else he could have said, and he finally sat down, still holding Radic tightly. It was a bit of a relief to stop spinning in circles as he was getting slightly dizzy, and he felt something hit the top of his head. Accident's breath caught, and it sounded like he was laughing and crying at the same time.

It was very hard not to do the same himself, and in the end Radic decided there was no reason he shouldn't.

"I didn't mean to scare you, I was so worried, I tried to get them to let me do it any other way, but... I'm so glad you're alright, I'm so sorry, Accident. I'll never leave you again, I promise."

Accident just held him tighter, and it would probably take a while for him to calm down so he could actually speak about what he was feeling. In the meantime, Radic didn't mind just being in his arms for now. He'd missed his Blastoise so much while he was in Sinnoh, and it was such a relief to know that he was okay...

"I'm so glad to see you again..." Which reminded him, he'd have to introduce Accident to Farnsworth and the rest. "Well, you know what I mean. Now we just have to find the others..."

Accident made a questioning noise, and Radic squirmed a bit until Accident put him down. Radic kept a hand on his arm.

"The others... our friends. Nova, Ruby, Takachan, Callima, Kitsune... they're all here. We have to find them, Accident, okay?"

"Uh huh."

"They're probably lost somewhere in the grass I was feeling... Accident, can you help me look?"

"Uh huh."

Accident would help him do anything now that they were together again.

They were partners for life, after all.

He promised.