Memory Restored

Following the guidance Entei had left behind, Banette finally arrived at this hidden Iris Elite Boarding School just before dawn.

The once heavily guarded place now stood with its front gates wide open. A huge gap had been violently torn through the wall as if by some colossal beast, its edges still bearing melted traces.

He lingered outside the breach for a moment, his ghostly body swaying slightly in the night wind. A thread of hesitation wound around him.

Did he count as one of them?

If the true bond between humans and Pokémon was validated by the contract of a Poké Ball, then he—a "heart" that had never truly been given away—perhaps really could not be considered Yan Yang's Pokémon.

This had been his own choice.

He had resisted that seemingly predetermined fate of being a Substitute, refusing to let the shadows of the past cover and replace him before he had reclaimed his true self.

The memories bestowed by Celebi were like flowers reflected in a mirror, water under the moon. How could anyone guarantee that the Substitute Entei Yan Yang sought was not another illusion?

If they ultimately discovered they had still mistaken him for someone else, where would that crushing disappointment lead them?

Would you... make me feel the resentment of being abandoned again because of this?

The thought flashed through his mind, only to be swiftly suppressed.

No. He would not.

Though doubts remained in his heart, Yan Yang's actions were beyond reproach—helping him dispel his resentment, cleaning up his messes, even asking Entei himself to suppress the seething resentment within him...

Not to mention how, at the critical moment during Teleportation, Yan Yang had pushed him away to ensure he remained beside Entei, who could protect him.

Banette remembered every one of those things.