I Will Touch the Skies – A Pokemon Fanfiction
Epilogue I

EPILOGUE I

My laptop's fan filled the room with a slow, drone-like hum with an incessant noise that made the heat feel even heavier. The air was thick and unmoving, heavy with the scent of my iced tea. Droplets gathered at the rim and traced uneven paths along the curve, pooling at the base. Sunlight bled through the blinds in pale, listless stripes, and Mimi drooped like melted ice cream over the table. "Blegh," I sighed, sprawling my upper body over the desk. "It's sooooo hot."

"Can't do anything with the A.C. busted," Maylene said. My head spun around so quickly my neck hurt. My girlfriend stood at the door with that teasing smile of hers, arms crossed as she leaned against the frame. "Still watching the footage of your battle, I see."

"Yup." I slowly turned back toward my laptop and heard her steps approach me. There had been a certain mental fatigue permeating throughout my brain since the battle with Cecilia. It wasn't anything debilitating, it just made me feel a lot more sluggish than I usually did. "Can't focus, though. I feel like I'm seeing the battle, but I'm not really learning anything about it." Mimi chimed, their eye bouncing inside their golden gear as they wriggled their arms around. "Pfft. Thanks for the offer, Mimi," my finger softly caressed their head, "but your great mind is better used somewhere else. Like…"

"Like telling Grace to take a break already," Maylene said. Her arms gently draped over my sweaty neck. She placed her chin against my head. "I get wanting to study your loss, but Candice is coming back soon and her Pokemon can cool us down."

My loss—yes. It didn't sting as much as I thought it would, but if one wanted to improve, they needed to have a certain hunger to pick apart your own mistakes—in a healthy manner, of course. My defeat had come one round after my victory over Cecilia at the hands of Souta Mikage, a third-year Johtohan trainer I'd never heard of prior to my assignment against him. That went to show just how big this beautiful world of ours truly was. Half normal, half ghost type specialist, he had hurled interesting tactics at me he had learned in Ecruteak. He was a scion of Morty's clan and had gotten lessons from the Gym Leader before according to Jasmine. His ghosts wove dark glyphs in the air like ink over spell tags to power up his normal types in certain ways. The final standings had been 4-6, an identical scoreline to my battle with Cecilia. His Kangashan had mangled Buddy so hard that the water type had spent the last night and all of this morning in the pool.

"Candice is buying ice cream too," Maylene added. "I guess I can make today a cheat day and have some."

There was a cognitive dissonance to these peaceful days, albeit nowhere as strong as the one that had struck after defeating Team Galactic. Having lost the Conference, there were no more battles left to fight, and so, no more training rhythm to get into. It was like having the wind taken out of my sails a little bit, but maybe it was just melancholy because losing here truly put a cap on this turbulent year.

"If ice cream's involved, count me in!" I shut my laptop and stretched in my chair, letting out a tired groan. I dragged my feet toward the hallway door…

"Wait—" she held out a hand. "Um. You know, you haven't spoken much about your battle with Cecilia. I wanted to give you time to process, but, uh." Maylene scratched the side of her arm. "Basically, are you okay?"

It had been a week now. And honestly? Things felt good. Strangely good. Dandy, even. We hadn't spoken since, of course, but something about that day had worked like a salve for wounds we hadn't known ran that deep. Every step I took now felt ten times lighter than before, like I'd been unshackled from invisible weights around my joints. We obviously hadn't spoken since, but while my friends had asked me all about it the moment I stepped back into the stadium lobby, I'd been avoidant to say too much.

"I'm great!" I smiled, grabbing her hand. "Really. It feels like I can finally move forward now without being haunted by my sins." They would always remain, but at the very least I could treat them as a learning experience now and not something that had ruined Cecilia for good. "Plus, ignoring all of that, it was fun. Like, really fun. And isn't that what battling's all about?"

"Volkner would tell you it's a drag 90% of the time."

I rolled my eyes. "Volkner's Volkner. But I guess it's different when it's your job."

We started walking down the hallway toward the living room. When we'd first gotten here, it had been pristine, but now, empty pairs of shoes lined the walls in haphazard angles as if they'd been kicked off mid-thought. A tangled phone charger trailed from one outlet, half coiled like an Ekans. I still didn't know whose that one was. "I think things are good right now," I whispered. "We'll be okay."

"You said that during the battle, so I don't doubt it," Maylene said.

True enough, a lot of what had been said during our fight had gone over the trainer community's head, especially without the missing context of the fallout of our relationship. Plenty of forum or Chatter users had tried to pin down what the entire thing was about—especially my fans—but no one got it completely correct. Some did come close, but they were screaming into the void that was social media and their theories never went anywhere.

Half of the Gym Leaders were out, at the moment. During the day, the house was more of a spinning carousel than a home. Some would go back to their Gyms occasionally to check up on their Gym, while others would go watch battles or hang around on the Lily. Right now, Wake and Gardenia were camped out in the living room, betting on an ever-growing list of trainers, stringing together risky parlays on who would land where in the rankings. Volkner, meanwhile, was lounging on one of the beanbags with his Raichu hogging the air from his hand-fan.

"I'm telling you, Nia." The large wrestler tapped two fingers on the table. "If you don't bet on this Ellis kid to reach quarters, you're going to lose big." He smirked and shrugged. "Wouldn't want to see one of my co-workers' hard earned paycheck go down the drain."

Gardenia's Leafeon leapt onto her head, tail flicking as it peered curiously over the table where a bunch of names and teams had been written on a whiteboard. The Gym Leader, meanwhile, simply drained her glass of ice water. "Yes, Wake. Why wouldn't you give me such good advice when it would literally help you if I messed up." She spun the remaining ice cubes around her glass by twirling it. "You'll have to try better if you want me to take a bad position."

"Hi guys," Maylene said. "When's Candice coming back?"

"I know, right?! I need my damn ice cream!" Volkner whined like a twelve year old. "When are we getting someone to fix the air conditioning? The heat's killing me."

"Any more and you'll melt into a puddle right on the bean bag," I said. "That'd be a shame. For the bean bag."

Raichu cackled at that. "Traitor," Volkner groaned, pushing the electric type off his stomach. The poor martyr went and ran up to us, and Maymay crouched to offer him head pats. "Look at you, offering yourself to the enemy." He squinted at me. "I see you're done studying your loss and now you've decided to harass me. Arceus, I can't deal with this heat."

"Get a Kadabra to Teleport you to Snowpoint, you'll have an easier time!" Jean-Pierre yelled from the kitchen. He wasn't cooking—not when we'd already all had lunch—but Wake's husband couldn't help but make sure everything was in its place after anyone used the kitchen. If he were a Pokemon, he'd have a Domain all over it. "I'm sure Candice will appreciate it."

"Nice one, J.P.!" Wake slapped his knee and roared out a booming laugh. "She'd appreciate it a bit too much! Arceus, whenever someone visits, they have to fight to leave." That was true enough, given that she'd said she wanted to keep us all in little jars. I offered the fun fact to Wake. "That sounds just like her! I'm surprised she didn't guilt trip you so you stayed an extra day."

"With Craig offering to fly us back, that was off the table," I said. Though I had a feeling he would have remained with us until we were ready to leave, even at his detriment.

Gardenia pinched the bridge of her nose, and brought her cold glass to her temple. "She was just too excited to get challengers during the winter. Anyway, just go take a dip in the pool, Volkner. Your constant complaining's ruining our fun."

"'Been there every day. It's a grand time," Wake said.

Volkner ignored them both and just started browsing his phone. It was nice, being around everyone like this—surprisingly relaxing. Maylene's family of Gym Leaders were eccentric, loud, larger-than-life personalities, but somehow they always made room for me to fit in. I still felt a bit on edge around Gardenia, but the others had allowed me to integrate myself into their dynamic well. The Grace Pastel of one year ago wouldn't believe her eyes and ears if she could see where I was now.

When Candice came back with ice cream and other groceries, we all gave her flak for taking all of her Pokemon with her.

"I got distracted!" The ice type specialist pouted and glared at us. "What about you lot? Making little old me walk around in the sun. You'd think we're in Orre with how hot it is today!"

"The heat wave's going to last all week, apparently," Volkner chimed in.

"You Sinnohans. Always complaining about a little heat," J.P. said.

"If I hear one more dude who grew up somewhere else say that it's not actually hot, I'll go crazy." Candice trudged on to the kitchen, where Gardenia and Jean-Pierre helped her put everything away in the fridge. She bumped her shoulder against Gardenia's arm. "Hey pookie—"

Gardenia's eye twitched when Maylene and I snickered. "I will end you."

"Come on, I know you like it when we're on our own!" she leaned in and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek, ignoring the uncharacteristic blush.

There was a quiet comfort in the banter, in the small, passing conversations only a tightly-knit group could have. Every joke, every half-finished sentence or knowing glance held layers of shared history I was only just beginning to understand. Listening to them—laughing, teasing, arguing like siblings—felt like catching glimpses of who they were beyond the job. Even after weeks of living among them, moments like this still revealed something new.

"By the way, are you still going to visit Clara today?" Maylene asked me before she licked her spoon clean of vanilla ice cream. "And. Um. Natalia."

Clara—one of Mars' victims when she was obsessed with me—was still locked up at the Lily's high security prison, but as I had promised, I often visited her to keep her company among the prison's mindnumbing white halls and few distractions. I'd gotten Clara visitations from Musharna as well, and I had great news for her today. Natalia was… well, I had never gone to see her before, but there was an urge within me to see her with my own eyes. She'd been evil until her Dusknoir had taken her prisoner, but what would she be now?

I nodded. "Yeah. Wanna come with? I was thinking of going at like four or so."

My girlfriend perked up. "Yeah!"

Around thirty minutes later, however, came a message from Melody that cut my time with Maylene and her family short. I had kept in touch with my liaison after the battle with Cecilia and my loss to Souta, but this would be our first in-person meeting since. "Oh shit," I mumbled. "My parents are gonna be there."

"Really? Why?" Maylene asked. "Seems official."

"Trainer visa stuff, I think," I said, eyeing the message.

"Do you have to Teleport to some office?" Wake asked.

"Nah, I'll walk. Get some physical activity in. Thanks for the offer, though." Maylene stared at me like she was looking at her kid walking for the first time. "We work out together multiple times a week, Maymay!"

She let out a cute 'hmph' and pouted. "But you always whine by the end."

"Because my body kills meeee."

After plenty of reminders to put on sunscreen and bring a water bottle, I finally set out. I'd just fished Buddy out of the pool. He was now curled up, content, and tucked into the folds of my clothes. Mimi clung around my neck like a warm, humming necklace. The sun beat down hard, relentless in its heat, but my wide-brimmed hat kept my face shaded, and the loose, breathable clothes I'd thrown on made it all just bearable. And to think that we in Sinnoh had it best.

On my way to the address Mel had given me, plenty of fans stopped me to praise me for my performance or try to cheer me up for my loss. It felt good to be out in the world, to see all these different faces and voices that knew of me and little factoids about my journey. Loss or not, the endless march of time kept going. I even came across Edith and some of their friends out for a drink, but couldn't stay to chat; I would have been late otherwise.

Within the lower levels of the Lily, near the port, sat a rented office building. Its exterior was plain and functional—painted in a dull off-white, streaked with salt and grime from the sea air. My parents were waiting outside; by the looks of it, they were bombarding Melody with questions. The liaison had a rather professional look on her face as if she needed to assuage their worries.

"...my understanding that I could—" Dad's eyes went to Mom for a moment, "—Sam and I thought we could handle this. I had no idea Poketch had to be involved."

He wasn't angry, that I could tell. He just had a way of wanting to understand every little thing about a situation so he could get the full picture. Before Melody could answer back, however, she noticed me and let go of her soothing, public relations approved smile.

"Grace!"

Both my parents greeted me with warm hugs—though my mother noticed the weird sensation of Jellicent. The water type had gotten into the habit of slipping out of my clothing every time I needed to hug someone, but his mind was still sluggish after that shellacking. Mimi chimed out a greeting while Melody specified that we could continue everything inside. I scratched the golden gear on my necklace and followed closely. The moment we stepped inside, the coolness of the air conditioning breathed new life into my steps. My liaison led us inside a modest office space. It was tidy, cool, and quiet. A large table with plenty of water bottles sat at the center, surrounded by high-backed chairs; this was reminiscent of the kind of room I'd seen in Poketch Headquarters in Jubilife. Melody motioned at us to take our seats, and my parents flanked me while she sat opposite of us.

"Now, as I was saying, Mr. and Ms. Pastel," Melody said, smoothing down her blazer, "Poketch would like to take over Grace's travel logistics effective immediately. That includes trainer visa processing, authorization for Pokemon of certain threat levels," she eyed the tentacle slipping out of my sleeve, "and minor work authorization under corporate sponsorship."

That made sense considering I'd be doing ads or whatever. Being a sponsored trainer meant that I was technically working in another country. Arceus, if there was a part of the job I lamented, it was having to waste hours away for a shoot now that there would be a brand new land to explore, especially considering I wanted to go on foot unless the situation required otherwise. With how broad Unova's phone coverage was, Poketch wanting to contact me in the middle of a route wouldn't be an issue.

"I guess it's more convenient this way," Mom said, hands awkwardly folded on the table. She seemed out of place here, having grown up and spent the vast majority of her life in Twinleaf. "What do you think, Arthur?"

He hesitantly nodded. "It's… fine. A warning would have been nice. We just feel a little small—we'd like to be involved in our daughter's travels."

Melody raised an eyebrow. "I emailed Grace about this a week ago…?"

I shrunk into my chair. "Um… I might have been too distracted planning for my fight with Cecilia?" A heavy silence spread throughout the room. "Sorry."

Dad let out a silent laugh. "Always with your head in the clouds, you." He roughly scruffed up my hair until I whined at him.

"I should have sent a message to confirm, but I didn't want to bother you after such a big battle coming up. It's okay." My liaison cleared her throat. "For the authorization of your Pokemon—Unova has different levels of licenses that scale with badges." I remembered Denzel telling me about countries like Galar or Unova having such systems. It felt horribly restrictive and hypocritical considering you could pay extra to bypass some—not all—of this system according to Cecilia, which is how her brother got his start with a Deino. Melody continued. "Since you own eight badges here and participated in the Conference, this is only a matter of… exhausting paperwork. When that's done, you'll be able to carry your team legally and catch essentially anything you find in the wild should you want to add anyone else to your merry band."

I wasn't even thinking about a new family member right now; things felt pretty stable now, and I was content with what I had. Who knew what Unova had in store for me, however?

She pulled out a thin tablet from her briefcase. "She'll also need a local bank account for stipends and performance bonuses, which we'll open jointly under her name with your oversight." Both my parents raised an eyebrow at that. "It's just some legal shenanigans that ensure Grace can remain under Poketch's compensation system. Trust me, we want to get all of our t's crossed and i's dotted to make the transition as smooth as possible."

"So wait—I need an actual bank account?" I asked. "My money won't be linked to my Trainer ID?" It was a rather efficient system run by the Sinnohan government for anyone who was legally recognized as a trainer. Getting my own bank account felt a little grown up.

"Mhm," she hummed in acquiescence. "This is Unova, Grace. Privatization is king." Melody glanced up at my parents. "So?"

"So long as Poketch can't decide how her money's spent and things remain the same as they are now, then I'm okay with it. Sam?"

My mother nodded.

"Currency transfer from Sinnoh to Unova is taxed differently depending on use, so it's up to you how much money you want to hold here. Obviously, you'll have full financial freedom…"

After a lengthy talk about finances and poring over every detail, Melody moved onto the next and final part of this process: the fact that she would be coming with me. This was new to none of us, but there were still some details she wanted to go over.

"I'll be handling media obligations, scheduling, and coordination with Poketch as I'd been doing until now. She gave a tight but not unkind smile. "I won't be alone, of course. There'll be a small rotating support team to ensure your daughter has the support she needs." She waved a hand. "You know. Logistics, public relations, tech—and that'll probably grow if things go well. But I'll be the one in charge of our small team, and I'll be handling nearly all of the PR." There was a pause. "Now… I'm sure you're aware of the… privileged position your daughter has within Sinnoh's League."

As everyone else in Sinnoh did, my parents didn't know the full story—just that I'd gone into Coronet and helped take down grunts, but not that I'd reached the summit itself. Still, they understood how close I was to our government. I expected a tiny giggle from Mesprit, but the Legend remained quiet, as they'd been the last few days. Odd.

"That position will of course be null within Unova, and so Grace will no longer enjoy her many legal immunities she's seen so far. Should something happen, Poketch is committed to offering Grace the best team of lawyers the company can muster—provided the circumstances don't clearly place her at fault and would irreparably harm the company's image. The fine print will all be in the contract…"

I zoned out a little at the legal drivel and the endless clauses about brand risk or liabilities. I'd learned a lot in Sinnoh, progressed leaps and bounds as a person, and I was going to be on my best behavior—save for the fact that I wanted to check out some Pokemon Rights organizations that weren't Plasma when I technically wasn't allowed to. But that wasn't breaking the law, nor was it actually in any contract that I couldn't do that. There was just a lot of heat on any organization of such nature because the Plasma Organization had been banned from parliament. They were still allowed to operate as a movement, at the very least.

The meeting now over, Melody pulled me aside to catch up beyond work stuff. The Board was pleased with my showing at this Conference, and I had their full backing going into Unova.

"It's going to be fun. A lot of work, but fun!" She clapped her hands together and grinned. "If this goes well for the both of us, we'll have designed the blueprint for expansion into other regions. Poketch will be exceedingly grateful." What enthralled her was not helping Poketch—though she was loyal—but the challenge of such a new environment. It was nice, seeing her like this.

"I'm excited too!" Fresh faces, new challenges, a region far larger than Sinnoh I could spread my name in? I couldn't wait! But… "So I'll be leaving when, exactly…?"

"Twentieth of August to give yourself some breathing room before the Circuit starts. Get yourself adjusted to the jet lag, the new environment, and such. Might be a bit of a culture shock."

I breathed out a sigh of relief; that had been in line with what I figured. That date gave me plenty of time to enjoy my summer with Maylene and the rest of my friends. A full month wasn't as long as I wished I had, but I'd made this choice because I wanted it. What kind of people would I meet there? How different would the sky look in a place where no one knew my name, where I could become something new beneath unfamiliar stars?

The meeting now over, I bid Mel and my parents farewell, promising I would see them later today. We hadn't signed anything yet; Dad would have an independent lawyer take a look at it first. Maylene had sent a message saying she'd be waiting home, and that is where I made my way to next, not forgetting to swing back by our room to grab some of Honey's comics. Clara had taken a liking to a few series and he'd told me he didn't mind giving them to her, kindhearted as he was.

The cobbled streets winding up through the Lily were nearly deserted, all the day's energy pulled toward the coastline and the roaring arenas. Not that we were quiet in any way—we chattered away under the blazing sun, talking about my previous meeting with Mel.

"I'd bet like a million Pokedollars you're going to get arrested at least once," the mischievous Gym Leader said with a confident grin. When I opened my mouth to rebuke her, she continued. "Come on. You? I'm not saying that it'll be for anything bad, but you're definitely spending a night in jail."

"Well, if it's just one night."

Maylene snorted. "Now you're moving the goal posts."

"Nuh-uh! I'm just entertaining your delusions!" I huffed and crossed my arms. "I'll be an upstanding representative for both Poketch and Sinnoh, thank you very much." There was a short pause. "Seriously, look at me. Do I look like a lawbreaker to you?"

She stared me up and down a little slower than anticipated; my skin prickled and my face warmed slightly. "Yeah, I'd arrest you on sight, no questions asked."

"That'd be abusing your authority!"

The bickering continued for a while yet. Verbally sparring with Maylene was fun, even if she knew how to press my buttons. I was happy to see her less worried about the fact that I'd be gone soon and that we'd have to go long distance, but I believed we could make it work despite the time difference. She was just… really good for me. Plus, she'd be visiting at some point!

The banter slowed the closer we got to the League's prison, then ceased entirely. It would have felt inappropriate to. The concrete monolith stood stalwart like an affront against the nature beside it. A dull gray, brutal, and unyielding, it felt like a scar upon the land where Sinnoh's worst were gathered to rot forever. Louis had come with me the first time to see his father and get closure, but every subsequent instance, I had gone alone to visit and chat with Clara. The guards were used to my presence by now, and Maylene was Maylene, so we were let in easily after recalling both Buddy and Mimi—the latter of which endlessly complained about having to go in their Pokeball again. I promised them some extra scrap later, and they quieted down.

There was only the standard psychic sweep, a brief mental check to ensure we hadn't been tampered with or influenced in any way. I waited as the cold seeped into my mind, expecting Mesprit to play a prank like usual…

The Mr. Mime's eyes went wide, and tears began to flow down her face. Her trainer, as usual, believed she was just playing up theatrics, but the psychic once again swore that something was up with me. She called me terrifying under her breath.

There you are, I thought as I entered the compound.

Hmph. Whatever! they jeered. I could almost picture their pouty face. I couldn't resist toying with this cute Mr. Mime. And I am NOT pouting!

Pretty sure she'd love it if you stopped. Where have you been?

There was no answer. As usual, the blinding white of the prison washed over me and overwhelmed the senses. It was a ruthless decor designed to scrub every trace of humanity from the air. Too clean, too polished, footsteps that echoed too loudly. Even Maylene seemed uneasy at how close the walls felt. They felt suffocating, yet transient—like you could touch one of the walls, and it'd just give away.

"There. Inmate 58," the accompanying guard said.

Clara still looked the same. A taller, older version of me with a longer face and fewer freckles spread further apart; her hair—she had cut it short into a bob—was blonder than mine too. Her burns on the left side of her body mirrored mine, a little deeper in some places. The first time I visited Clara, she hated my very existence; I was a reminder of why she had suffered under Mars for so long, the source of every ounce of pain she had been given. Today, the girl perked up and dragged her chair closer to the impenetrable glass that separated us from her cell. Her once blank room had been decorated with little things that she'd asked for, like a few flower pots she took care of. There was art all over what used to be sterile walls, mostly of how she dreamed when Musharna was allowed to visit. A few old books and comics were stacked near the corner of her room next to her bed.

"Grace!" Clara beamed, a hand over the glass. "And…" she blankly stared at Maylene, not knowing how to refer to her.

"Maylene's fine," my girlfriend said. "I'm just here to add a new face to chat with—but I can leave if you want—"

Clara hurriedly shook her head. "N—no! That would be absurd. Stay."

"I got some more comics for you," I said.

I passed her the next edition of Gallade X through a thin opening in the glass, and spoke to her at length about the previous books she'd read. At first, I'd come to visit once every two or three days, but all my… relationship issues, and now with the Conference ramping up, I hadn't had the time to keep that cadence up. Clara was quite sympathetic for my loss, but she'd never really involved herself in battle. It had never been her passion, preferring to study dreams and how they could help in therapy. Maylene gelled rather well with her—especially since she knew more about said comics than I did. Honey lent them to her as well; it was something the two enjoyed bonding over.

"Are they still treating you okay in here?" I asked, not caring for the facility guard behind us. Clara did look better. There was life in her eyes that used to be void of anything but misery and anger. "One word from you, and I'll… tell someone about it."

There. That was a perfectly normal thing to say.

"Things are good. I even get to see Musharna every day now! They've stopped sending that psychologist so often recently, though."

"I have good news, actually." I couldn't help but pause for dramatic effect. "I've got word that you should be out of here soon. It'll take a month or two, but—"

"Oh Legendaries, Legendaries, Legendaries, Legendaries!" Words spilled out of Clara's mouth so quickly she just about choked on her own spit. She jumped excitedly and clapped her hands in a display of excitement one couldn't help but smile at. "Ha…! I can't believe it. Am I dreaming? This is real, right?" She pinched her own cheek.

"It's real," I said. "I told you I have a lot of influence here, didn't I?" It honestly took barely any effort. All I did was write to Cynthia, tell her I didn't mind waiting while she sorted through the endless tasks required of her after having gone through Distortion and stared its master in the face—I held back a shudder and felt something crawling on my back—and everything else fell into place. If I was a Shard the Champion wanted to keep in her good graces, then the least I could do was to help those who had been wronged because of me. "Though the one caveat is that you'll have to go through some community service for a few weeks—"

"I don't care! I'm in!"

I glanced at Maylene and she gave me a quiet, knowing look in return.

This felt right.

My visiting hour would unfortunately have to be split today, however, given that there was still one prisoner I had to see. Natalia was held in the deepest recesses of the facility, buried beneath layers of reinforced concrete and winding, labyrinthine corridors. You could hear the low, constant hum of the prison's inner ventilation system, and everything here sounded slightly muffled, like in Bella's route. That must have been because of the thin film of psychic barriers covering every wall to prevent a malicious actor from blowing this place up.

"Creepy place, huh?" Maylene offered, as if she needed to break the silence. "I had no idea this was in here. I'd go crazy down here."

"That's definitely by design," I whispered.

Natalia, however, looked right as rain, even with the collar around her neck rigged to explode on command should she try anything. It still felt uncomfortable looking at her—bright red hair just like Mars', though it had grown long enough to flow down her neck. It wasn't as if she could keep it styled down here. There was that same, threatening smile plastered on her face—or maybe I'd just learned to associate it with danger. A certain edge to every movement that had me on edge, not knowing if she would suddenly become violent.

She donned the same pale white prison uniform as everyone else did. Her eyes lit up when she saw us, but only for a second before dulling once again.

"Hey kids."

I blinked, taking a step back as if I'd been struck. I expected some snarky greeting, something that radiated confidence. Something that showed that this predicament meant nothing to her and she would always carry herself with aplomb, that showed she was still this untouchable enemy who I would forever scorn. Not this tired, tepid, deflated version of her. She was not Mars; she was Natalia. Over seventy years old, Johtohan, and a full-fledged human with regrets, wants, and the capability to love. Her starter's death had, after all, made her decide to retire, not that Dusknoir allowed her to.

"Can I help ya?" Natalia said, unmoving. "Need some more information on Team Galactic? I'm surprised they're sending you lot."

Silence remained for a few dozen seconds. What had I come here for? To see what had become of her? To try to see if she was truly a monster, and if her wanting to stop being a mercenary had been a lie? To taunt her with the freedom she would possibly never taste, knowing that she had two decades left to live at most?

"Natalia. I—I honestly thought you'd be infallible. That this wouldn't hurt you at all." She looked drained. Utterly spent. That felt weird. "I guess I just came to see what's become of you and to speak."

She chuckled. "Speak?"

"I dunno." I shrugged. "Of course, I can leave if I'm pestering you." I sat down on the cold, hard floor and crossed my legs. "But you're lonely, aren't you?" She'd killed many, but hadn't I? Then Dusknoir had kidnapped her soul and forced her to watch as he tried to bring her back over and over again, manipulating her clones as a sick gesture of love, and now she was stuck in a strange land five decades past her time. "I definitely can't do anything about you being here," she had killed far too many Sinnohans to be let out, even if that was decades ago, "but I guess I just wanted to like, give you a chance. I got mine." I glanced at Maylene.

She'd been rather quiet, the weight of Natalia's presence pressing hard on mind, despite it being a shadow of her former self. "Yeah. Plus, Grace is leaving in August, but I could come and give you stuff. B—Books and the like. Maybe teach you how to remain active in such a cramped cell."

Natalia stared at us, a flabbergasted expression plastered on her face. Mouth and eyes wide, she began laughing so hard she doubled over. It was… uncomfortable, the way her laughter mirrored Mars'. The retired mercenary wiped tears from the corner of her eyes and let out a long, joyful sigh.

"Children are so precious."

And thus, we began to chip away at the invisible wall between us.

—

"Angel! Don't touch his hair, he gets very particular about it!" I said.

The Tangrowth retracted his vines from my father's balding head and started touching mine instead. While I'd originally visited my father's hotel room after signing Poketch's contract, we'd met up with my Mom to spend some time together—we'd gone out to eat lunch, shopping for souvenirs, and now we'd settled in a park until Denzel came to pick me up. It felt odd, seeing the two together, especially when they were acting so awkward around each other when the topic of conversation or matter at hand didn't have to do with me or my future.

It was quality time nonetheless, and most of my Pokemon took quickly to my parents' company. Princess, naturally, gravitated toward Dad, clinging to him and soaking up every ounce of attention when she wasn't curled beside Buddy, reveling in the steady stream of cool air he gave off. Sunshine was in his element, quite literally, stretching out under the sunlight with obvious delight even more than Angel was. Sweetheart was playing next to a sprinkler system where plenty of human children and Pokemon were fooling around—under strict supervision from Cassianus.

Well, 'strict' might have been stretching it. They'd just been instructed to call me if she moved at all so I could recall her, but she was behaving well. Just sitting in the grass and letting the water wash over her scales. Cass, for their part, had taken a new liking to letting their barriers protect them from water after my battle with Cecilia. They called it 'proving their dominance' over their mortal enemy. They would often talk to water and taunt it as if it were alive. Even my parents' Herdier was playing in the water, though he would occasionally come back for a treat.

"I remember when you and Princess were just starting your journey!" Dad reminisced, misty eyed. "I knew you had potential!" He wagged his finger at me and turned to Mom. "She'd tell me she didn't want to battle—no clubs, or anything, but she'd watch them on TV because there was 'nothing else on.'"

Mom snorted, and I felt myself blushing. Arceus, did he have to embarrass me every time? "You do that too! Your construction shows?!" I protested.

"You don't get it from me, you get it from Samantha," he said.

"You were just as bad as I was! And Arceus, you're still onto those shows, hm?" she said, half-teasing. "Arthur loves the idea of getting his hands dirty, you see? He wanted to be a mechanic when he was a kid. Well, only after his stint as a trainer didn't work out."

I had… never known that. "Wow."

"I loved the idea of fixing cars, especially in a city as busy as Jubilife. Engineer worked out best, in the end."

It was nice, seeing them speak; it was a glimpse at the childhood I'd missed. Not that they would ever get back together, and they would rarely have a reason to speak for any reason not involving me, but maybe they'd remain on these terms. It'd be better than complete and utter silence—I knew how difficult this was for Dad, still. It always would be.

Eventually, Denzel showered up flanked by his Lopunny, who was glued to her phone—and surprisingly, Emilia. The tall boy was dressed how I'd expected Chase to, with shorts and a tank top to survive the heat. I did not even want to know how Emi was okay with wearing a cute outfit in this heat. She was wearing a frilly dress and tights. Tights! Only Marley was that committed.

"'Afternoon, Mr. Pastel. Samantha. Killer weather, eh?" He ignored Sunshine's grumble of disagreement. Emilia also offered a polite greeting.

"Oh please, I've already told you Arthur's fine," Dad said.

"Mister makes him feel old," I chimed in, happy to get my revenge.

"Can we steal your daughter away for a bit? We've been planning things," Emi asked.

Goodbyes were shared, my Pokemon were recalled save for Buddy and Mimi, and we made our way toward Denzel's hotel room, chatting about anything and everything on the way there. The awful heat, the Conference, Unova—

"Don't let 'em steal you away, yeah?" Denzel said half-jokingly. "Unova's all the rage. People always want to move there."

Denzel wasn't showing much of it, but I could tell my departure was going to hit him hard. He was my first trainer friend, my first companion, as I was his. I owed him so much. He was the one who had splashed that bucket of cold water on my face after the raid, the one who had made me understand that should I continue to tread that path, I would lose everyone I knew.

"You don't have to worry about that." I offered him a smile as we stepped inside his room. Sylveon, who was napping on the bed, jumped down and embraced me in countless ribbons. "Yes, yes, I missed you too, Sylvi!" My fingers scratched the back of his ears. "So, what did you two want to get me in here for? Want to assassinate me? Kidnap me and hold me for ransom?" I joked.

"That comes later," Denzel snorted. "You texted that you'd leave on the 20th, right? What we want to do is to organize a farewell party for you on the week-end beforehand."

My eyes widened. "Oooooh."

Emilia's eyes sparkled at the thought, the socialite that she was. "We'll combine our funds and rent a venue at the Hotel Grand Lake for the entire day—"

"Wait, I can help—"

She cut me off with a scoff as Sylveon dragged me toward the bed and made me sit. "Absolutely not! This is your party!" The fairy barked in agreement. "Originally we wanted it to be a surprise, but…"

Denzel picked up where she left off. "Since it's a party for you, we want you to have input on what we have in it. Food, drink, events, you know the drill."

"Aww, you guys!" I jumped up and hugged them both, making sure not to press too hard on Denzel's back. "Thanks for looking out for me! I thought about doing a get-together before I left, but you were already on top of things. And the Hotel Grand Lake? For a whole day? Man, you guys are rich. Remember me when you're the most famous influencers in Sinnoh!"

"You remember us," he said before scratching the back of his head. "Um. You know."

I held onto his hand and squeezed. It was rough, calloused from his rough year as a trainer. "I will not forget. Ever. Don't even joke about that." A silence spread throughout the room; I realized he must have felt unsettled, so I laughed it off. "Anyway, we're inviting everyone, right?"

Emilia grabbed her phone. "Yup. All of our friends except, um, Maeve. I reached out, but she said she didn't want in."

Ah. She still wanted to get away from us at all costs, huh? We'd been a magnet for trouble this past year, but I was going to turn a new leaf with the worst behind me.

"Bummer."

"But yeah! Mira, Lauren, Louis, Pauline, Marley…" Denzel continued listing off names, "Oh, and Maylene if she wants, of course. And guess what? Chase said he'd come too."

That was—surprising. Especially considering I figured he wanted nothing to do with me after the harm I'd done to Cecilia. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Denzel beamed. "I saw him after your battle with Cece. Basically, he was like…" his face grew harsher for a moment. "Huh?! A party? I don't know, I guess I'll come now that the battle's done. They seem to have made up—but I won't like it!"

"Horrible impression," I said. "He'd be more like: A fuckin' party, Williams? I dunno, if you want me to come, I'll come—" I couldn't keep the bit going; making a voice that deeply wrecked my throat. "You get the gist of it, right?"

"He did add the 'fucking' and the 'if you want me to come' in there…" Denzel chuckled.

Emilia rolled her eyes, but we could both tell she'd almost cracked. "Let's stay on track, yeah? Grace! What food do you want at your party!"

They gathered a list of everything I wanted—some of them pretty extravagant. I even asked about a chocolate fountain, to which Emilia said she'd see what she could do. Pink fireworks, a tower of cream puffs shaped like a Togekiss. It was kind of an incredible answer to my requests, and not to reject it outright.

I was happy to have met them.

"Too bad Cecilia won't be able to come," Emilia said.

At the very least, it was because she would be busy up north, and not because of a rift between us. Last I'd heard, she'd gone down back south to one of those villages she'd spent those weeks in. She had people she wanted to see there, people she had helped and who had helped her in turn. Then, she would be spending practically the whole month of August with Cynthia in the Battle Frontier. She had her path to walk, and I had mine. One day, we'd meet like normal and talk about all the great things we'll have done together while apart over some juice and a nice meal.

—

My knuckles rasped against Jasmine's office door.

"Who is it?" It felt odd, hearing her voice devoid of the warmth usually reserved for me. Her tone while she worked and spoke to strangers was curt, sharp, and most of all, had a hint of a threatening inflection to it.

"If you talk like that to strangers, you'll have a tough time making friends!" I shot back through the door.

"Grace! Come in!" There it was. Like a sword sliding back into its scabbard, Jasmine's voice softened instantly, the edge gone and buried. My mentor, Olivine City's Gym Leader, and most importantly my friend greeted me with a warm hug. "You elusive little shadow! You'd think you were a Ho-oh with how much you disappear."

I'd visited her a few times since winning against Cecilia, but not as much as she would have liked. There was so much advice she wanted to give me, so many stories she still wanted to tell, and so much work she wanted to complain about.

"I'll take being Ho-oh. Being that well known seems pretty cool."

"Bet it has a lot of responsibilities, though," she added. "You can sit, I was just going through this paperwork." Jasmine nudged her chin toward her desk. "Most of it is just plain boring—just the usual diplomatic tangle. Agreements that need five signatures, for fifty different people to look at it, and a phone call with both Lance and Champion Cynthia to make sure no one's insulted by the order of names on the page."

"Sounds like fun, actually." After all this time, there still was nothing that made this office feel like Jasmine's. I supposed that was because she'd never been at home here. "Leaving soon, huh?"

"Two more weeks of this and I'm home," she said with a tired smile. "Sinnoh's been good for me, really. It gave me the space that I needed. The Gym… felt suffocating after all those years. Plus, believe it or not, I'm starting to miss my co-workers."

I raised an eyebrow, leaning against my palm. "The co-workers you spend hours complaining about? Those co-workers?"

"Yeah. There's a bit of a love-hate thing going on, I think," she sighed. "I want Morty to tell me he'll torture me so he can get another Gengar because I forgot to answer his work email, and then I want to sneak into his Gym at night and hold a knife to his throat just to show him I could. I want to scream at Blue for never answering his work emails, and then I want to sic Metagross on him and give him a migraine for twenty-four hours when he threatens to blow up Olivine until the whole beach is glass."

"But…?" I probed.

"But I also just want to spend time together and chat about life. We're only human."

"I want you to have a relaxing year next Circuit—or, um, Challenge." They called it Challenge down in Indigo. "Ease back into it. Take a bit after Volkner. Remember how to swim before you jump in the ocean again."

The Gym Leader snorted, drumming her fingers against the table. "I will. Lance can't give me shit for this after I've been his perfect little foreign dignitary. I've gained a lot of goodwill." She lazily pointed at me. "But that goes for you too."

"Hm?"

"A year's a long time. Don't rush into things in Unova; take your time. You said it'd be a vacation, right? It's a big country. Take the time to appreciate the sights and go slowly."

I snorted. "Jasmine? Saying good things about Unova?"

"Just how beautiful the land is, independent of the people." She took a deep breath. "But you know, being a coward isn't all that bad. Keeps you alive. I bet the kids like not having to risk their lives. The parents, too." She traced circles on the table with her sharp nails. "Sometimes I wonder what would have become of me without Team Rocket to whet me."

She often spoke of her old self—shy, reserved, and always by-the-book, the complete opposite of who she was now. Sometimes, however, one could see glimpses. Those moments had become more frequent since she'd stopped using alcohol as a shield, no longer numbing herself into someone untouchable. Above it all and basking in violence.

"Did you know someone?" I hesitantly asked.

She stared at me, memory flashing in her eyes. "Who didn't?" A pause. "Take care in Unova, kid. You'll always be welcome in Olivine."

"Well, my girlfriend thinks I'll get arrested…"

Jasmine burst out laughing, slapping her desk. "That sounds just like you!"

"It does not!"

"And call me! I want to hear about how you'll weird those softies out."

"I will not!"

I'd make them love me!

—

It was another sunny day on the Lily. Countless spectators in the stands had come with cold drinks, portable fans, or their own Pokemon to cool them down, and I'd brought my friends with me to watch. The Conference finals were underway: Aubri Schneider against Jamie Pearce. The first girl had needed no introduction from the announcer. She was my Poketch colleague, though we shared little more than an uneasy acquaintance—though recently, it felt as if she had warmed up to me some, even if she could only handle a few minutes of me before getting tired. The second boy, Jamie, I had met while getting my authorization to get a seventh Pokemon by pure chance in Veilstone. Then, he had been mentioned by Craig as his biggest threat, and after that, he had rolled over me in the group stages, beating three of my Pokemon with only his Gholdengo.

Yet his ghost of gold and avarice which had seemed so insurmountable to me had fallen, as had his Glimmora, Stonjourner, Lokix, and Aromatisse. The score was five to five, and all that remained was his Dragapult against her loyal Chatot. I'd never actually seen the scrappy flying type fight, but Legendaries, he was a menace.

Talons tipped in darkness, he kept pace with the Dragapult, tracking the dragon even as it vanished through slivers of torn space, slipping between cracks in reality like a phantom. Dragapult flashed Madness into Chatot's mind in an attempt to tear it asunder, but it only afforded him half-a-second—long enough for the dragon to launch a salvo of draconic darts from its horns, each one shrieking through the air before erupting mid-flight in bursts of pressure and draconic flame. Everything both Pokemon did, they did better than us. Their mastery of technique beyond their typing, their stamina, their precision; it was a beauty to see in action, and encouraging to witness that I was nowhere near the summit. To survive Dragapult's constant barrage, the Chatot would constantly use Power Switch to bulk up when he got hit and make his hits count double when he was on the offensive. The dragon, meanwhile, moved with terrifying ease. Faster than even Talonflame in full dive, and with control over the Distortion that was almost casual. Attacks aimed at him flickered out of existence mid-flight, swallowed by cracks in space like they'd never been real to begin with. Sometimes, he seemed to exist in two places at once—half a step ahead of himself, flickering through the air in layered afterimages that felt just as real as his body.

Chatot violently shook his head and extinguished the flames with a burst of air, commanding a complete mastery over the air. Images of something wrong, a world that would tear a living mind apart, kept nagging at him. Half a second here, half a second there, and further still, he continued to slow to Dragapult's relentless assault.

And yet.

"Now, Chatot!"

A scream tore out of his throat and made my hearing aid spike. The entire audience covered their ears, and Dragapult halted mid-air as if he'd been ensnared. The screech melted into a song that made the dragon's eyes dull and heavy. Jamie Pearce's jaw clenched—Aubri had been waiting for this. Chatot's voice was his most dangerous weapon, but one he used sparingly. Too much, and its effects dulled. He'd been saving it for the moment it would matter most.

Dragapult did not fall asleep, but him stopping for even an instant was what Chatot needed. Talons and beak now covered in pink dust, he began a ferocious assault on the dragon with a Play Rough that sent him barrelling toward the gold-covered ground. Pearce called out to his Pokemon.

There was no answer.

Aubri's arms went limp. Cheers broke out all around us, louder than they'd ever been for me.

She'd done it.

After years spent in Craig's shadow, Aubri Schneider had finally claimed her first Conference win by the skin of her teeth. I expected her to break into a triumphant grin, to finally let the weight lift and show something close to joy. But she didn't. She gave the crowd a curt nod, acknowledged her opponent with the bare minimum, and walked off without a word, jaw tight and eyes unreadable. Most people who had come to see this battle, who were packed like Magikarp in these stands, would not understand her reaction. A lot of trainers, especially at our level, would very easily do so. To Aubri, her victory felt fake. Something she could only obtain because the man she had chased for so long had sacrificed his life for Sinnoh and saved them all.

I wanted to tell her she was wrong, but could I blame her for getting into her own head and thinking that? She and Pearce had been this Conference's clear front runners, but throughout this scorching month of July, loudmouths had been filling the airwaves or screaming online about how whoever won this year would not have deserved it because the crown was Craig Goodwill's to take.

"Think she'll make it to Cynthia?" Pauline asked, genuinely curious.

"No," I said.

And that was that. The world was beautiful, but it was also cruel in its indifference. With the Conference now over, there would be a ceremony at night to celebrate the end of the event, a final opportunity for people to enjoy the Lily's activities before the island closed to the public for another year. We waited for the crowd to filter out before leaving ourselves, and once we did leave, we stumbled upon a particular group. A lanky boy donning a green scarf even in this heat, a striped shirt and golden hair. Another with his red cap tilted just so slightly and a yellow backpack slung over one shoulder. The last, a girl, with a pink and dark dress and sneakers, her hair somehow flowing in the stale air.

Barry Lane and the twins, Lucas and Dawn Sinclair.

"Woah!" His head turned toward us, and he honed in immediately in a way that was honestly unsettling. "Look who it is! My rival, Denzel, Pauline King, and you um, whatever your name is!" He looked at Emilia. Right, his rival. It was more of a one-sided thing— "Aw, man! It's such a shame we didn't get to battle again! You've come so far since Pastoria!" Barry had made it past groups, but had gotten eliminated in the top sixty-eight. He and Lauren made it the furthest out of all the first years— "Watcha guys doing here? The twins and I were watching the finals. Arceus, are Aubri and Jamie good or what—"

"Please stop talking," Lucas groaned. "It was hard enough with you commentating on every little thing in the fight."

"But I wasn't sure you'd noticed everything! You totally didn't get the intricacies of Aubri's Lumineon being able to snatch light out of the entire battlefield! That wasn't some dark type energy nonsense, it was the real deal! And…"

While Barry kept talking Lucas' ear off, somehow dragging Denzel into his orbit, Dawn settled with us girls. There was a certain look in her striking grey eyes I didn't recognize—not that I knew her very well. I'd only seen her by chance in Sandgem months ago.

"Lulu really hates it when Barry gets going," she said. "He's the kind of guy that likes the quiet." She glanced at her brother. "Friggin' edgelord, I swear. Always talking about how he hates everything."

Pauline hummed. "I've always wanted to have a twin."

"And have two of you?" Emilia took a deep breath. "I don't think the world's ready."

"How long have you guys been here?" I asked. If they'd been at the Conference this entire month, it'd be surprising if I missed them. The island was large, and there were tens of thousands of people on it at the moment, but fate had a way of bringing people together.

"Oh, we were busy with an assignment from Professor Rowan, so we could only manage to Teleport when Barry had battles. It was very quick—in and out," Dawn explained before pausing. "You know, there's this thing; it's odd. I've never really looked into battling, but then I've seen so many fights this past month, and I… understand them. The mechanics behind them. And when I don't, I desperately want to."

I nearly took an instinctive step back.

"Barry's wrong, you know?" she continued. "I'm sure Lulu gets it too. How Lumineon bent photons into its skin so none of them within the arena reached our eyes. All we could see was her. It was beautiful. Like she was floating in a void."

"You'd make a good coordinator," Emilia offered.

Dawn shrugged. "I dunno. I thought I'd be content with Infernape, Clefable, Pachirisu and Kadabra at the lab, but… maybe I'll give this Circuit thing a shot next year. The professor will let me, I bet. Lulu better not copy me."

Barry barged in suddenly, feet excitedly stomping on the ground. "WHAT? DAWN, YOU'RE JOINING THE CIRCUIT? OH MAN, WE'RE GONNA BE THE BEST OF RIVALS. GRACE, YOU'RE RETIRED!"

"What?! Dawn, I'm gonna have so much work if you go prancing around Sinnoh for a year!" Lucas whined.

A new fire was born, embers stirring within Dawn's heart. I would not remain to witness it, but I feared for those who did—my friends included. They might just be swept away by this girl should she grow her flame into something real.

And so, the Lily of the Valley Conference ended that very night, with everyone leaving the island like grains of sands scattered to the wind. My friends flew or Teleported back to their hometowns, Gym Leaders closed down the house and returned to their work to prepare for the next Circuit, Aubri began to mount her Elite Four challenge—hers was set to be a private affair, unviewed by the masses.

As for me?

I soon found myself back to where it all began.

Jubilife City, a T.V. remote in hand with Princess—now far too big for my lap—curled up on me anyway, and battles from the tournament playing on the screen.

"Princess! Your fluff is blocking the T.V.!"

My daughter chirped happily and snuggled up tighter against my stomach. I smiled at her, my hand drifting toward her head.

Twenty more days. Plenty of places left to visit to say my goodbyes.