Chapter Text
Several days later found Ash on the beach, throwing himself more rigorously than ever into his nonstop training. His Pokemon, ecstatic to have him and Pikachu back, transferred their hyperactivity into their moves to turn the peaceful sands into a chaotic mess of Rock Throws and Embers and Leafages and Thunderbolts. Life was finally back to normal for the Pokemon Master-to-be.
"Good dodgin', Rowlet!" he praised the owl as it darted to avoid Torracat's fire. "Okay now, Lycanroc, you move in and use – huh?"
A large shape flying across the sky took Ash's attention off the free-for-all, and his eyes widened when he recognized the Ride Pokemon. He got his Pokemon to pause the battle, and a second later, he was flagging down Kiawe and Charizard as they came in for a landing. The old Flame Pokemon touched down heavily, the contents of its saddlebags jangling, and stomped over to greet Ash's team while Kiawe hopped down for a high-five.
"Hey, Kiawe! Doin' your deliveries today?" Ash asked in greeting.
"Yeah, I have to make up for lost time," Kiawe told him… though he seemed a little distant. "I, uh… understand you're getting your Pokemon back into shape?"
"We were gone so long, y'know?" Ash grinned by way of answer. "I'm not gonna be the Pokemon Master I promised Boreus I'd be without great Pokemon! And with Poipole gone, I figured we'd all go out and look for a new partner soon… maybe even a Dunsparce!"
"Right…" his friend sweatdropped. Ash thought he was going to say something else, and was surprised when he left him hanging, looking toward the ocean. He stared forlornly out at the sparkling water as if there was an answer to some question beckoning to him beyond the horizon, leaving Ash to regard him with concern.
"Is… somethin' on your mind, Kiawe?" he asked, frowning at his friend.
It took Kiawe a few moments to turn back to him, but when he did, the uncertainty faded, melted by the spark flickering in his eyes. "I wanted to tell you something," he announced. "I've been thinking about it ever since we returned to Alola, and the more I do, the more I think it's what I want. When the current semester ends… I'm going to challenge the other Kahunas and finish the Island Challenge."
Ash blinked. "Really? I mean, that's an awesome idea and all, but weren't you fine with just your Firium-Z?"
"Yes," he answered, the spark rising into a passionate flame. "But this isn't about getting more Z-Crystals. I've realized that I'm never going to become the Flame of Alola my grandfather wanted me to be where I'm at now. My team and I need to become stronger if we're serious about protecting Alola. We'll be just like the Riders – building our strength with our hearts and minds as one, totally devoted to preserving the harmony between people and nature."
"Sounds like an awesome idea!" Ash jumped, excited at the prospect of his rival growing so much stronger. "That's just what we're gonna do, too! And when we both finish our Island Challenges, we'll have a battle at full strength, no holdin' anythin' back!"
Matching his grin, Kiawe stepped forward with his fire burning all the fiercer. "I'll definitely take you up on that. But there's more," he declared. "After my team and I beat the Island Challenge – I'm going to go on a journey. Like you."
If Ash had been surprised before, now he was blown away. "No way!" he exclaimed, stumbling backwards. "But you love Alola! And your Z-Moves!"
He stopped when Kiawe placed a firm, reassuring hand on his shoulder. They made eye contact, Trainer-to-Trainer, and Ash was surprised further by the warmness and respect radiating from his gaze. "Ash, you were able to accept the Riders – and that whole world – for what it was, just like that. I condemned it, and I needed people like you and Teris to show me the beauty behind the savagery, to prove that it was more than a mockery of Alola. Yes, I love Alola, but I want to see the rest of the world with my own eyes, to battle without Z-Moves and appreciate what makes the other regions so unique and wonderful. Once I do, I just know I'll become a Trainer worthy of my Z-Ring and my Pokemon."
"Grooohhhh!" Charizard nodded at his Trainer with almost paternal pride. Kiawe took that as his cue to leave, rubbing the Fire-and-Flying-type between the horns before mounting up again. With a final wave at Ash, the two took off, passing by with a rush of wind.
Ash watched him go, his stunned expression soon resolving itself into a satisfied one. "I'll be rootin' for you, Kiawe," he said to himself. Then, he spun on his heel and raised his voice, calling out to his team. "But we're not gonna lose to him! So let's double our trainin' and get ready for our next big win!"
His four Pokemon cheered wholeheartedly, Pikachu's voice ringing out above them all.
"Disarming Voice, Brionne!"
Lana nodded to herself as the Pop Star Pokemon's sound waves collided with the Clawitzer's Water Pulse, the resulting explosion throwing both Pokemon backwards. Their opponent fell back in the sea with a plop, and Brionne landed deftly on Lapras' fin, earning a coo of approval from the Water-and-Ice-type. Satisfied with the result of the battle, Lana stood up on Lapras' shell and tossed out a sprinkling of Pokemon food from the canister she'd brought.
"I think that's enough for now," she said. "Thanks for agreeing to be our training partner, Clawitzer!"
The crustacean rose back to the surface long enough to snatch the scattered pellets in its pincer, before flipping its tail in farewell and sinking back into the depths. Lana crouched down to give Brionne a mouthful as well, who accepted the reward with a happy bark.
"Good job on your moves today," Lana praised her companion. "We still have a long way to go if we want to aim for the top, though. The next time the others need us, we need to be ready to face anything."
"Bree brio!" Brionne answered, clapping her flippers in agreement.
Lana was about to reply when she heard the pattering of feet running over concrete, and she paused, turning toward the shore. There was the person she'd been expecting – he was staggering down the road at a lethargic Shellos' pace, his Pokemon ahead of him by several meters.
"You're late!" she yelled out, before getting back in her seat and grabbing the handles. "Alright, back to shore, Lapras."
They cruised over to the dock in front of her house, where Sophocles crouched with his hands on his knees, a waterfall of perspiration soaking the ground beneath him. "Not my fault… the way here… from school… is so… long…"
"Toge togede…" Togedemaru said sympathetically, patting him on the leg.
"It's only a few minutes as the Murkrow flies," Lana, in contrast, cocked a disapproving eyebrow at him. "You spent almost a week in Ultra Space and you're still as out of shape as ever."
"I am… not…!" Sophocles protested, though through his panting he managed a wobbly grin.
Chuckling, she hopped off Lapras and offered him her hand. "If you insist. So, you ready to go fishing? You still want to, yes?"
"Yep…!" he gave her a thumbs-up, then pointed over to her house, where the spare rods were kept. "Hey, is it alright if I borrow one of yours?"
Lana goggled at him. "You didn't bring your own?" she asked in disbelief. "I mean, I don't mind if you use one of mine, but I assumed you'd come with the one you had last time! You know, the high-tech one you bragged about?"
"Oh, that!" Sophocles laughed, before waddling off to swipe a rod from the rack. He came back with it over his shoulder and puffed out his chest. "Yeah, I could probably use the one I bought to locate the best fishing spot in a snap, but I figured I'd try it your way today!"
"My way?" she repeated, mystified.
"Turns out I don't need all that data to make good predictions!" he crowed, steam spouting from his nostrils as his self-satisfied smirk grew. "I figure I could pick out the most likely area to find Water-type Pokemon just by analyzing my surroundings! Like a hunter would!"
The confusion wore off, and a warm feeling simmered in Lana's core. The confident boy before her was nothing like the Sophocles she used to know, stiff and obsessed with numbers and afraid of failure. Those cool warriors must've really left an impression on him if he was suggesting a bold venture into the unknown without a gigabyte of calculations to back him up.
"Sounds good!" she approved, then clasped his hand to help him aboard. He got comfortable on the shell in front of her while Brionne and Togedemaru joined them, and Lana sat back in her usual seat, looking down quizzically at her passengers. "So, you know where you want to start?"
"… The reef!" Sophocles decided after a moment. "Yeah, the combination of adequate light levels and abundance of food should make it perfect for fishing! And if not, then I'll just get it right next time!"
That was reason enough for Lana, who wore a confident grin on her face as she gave a command to Lapras. The five of them set off for the distant reef, heading toward the possibility of success awaiting them beyond the ocean's horizon.
The Hau'oli Cemetery was quiet at this time of day, its dirt paths fenced in by neat, trimmed hedges devoid of visitors other than herself. She glanced left and right at the entrance to this sacred site, a last-minute thought that maybe this wasn't a good idea scampering across her mind. Beside her, her Pokemon whimpered and placed her hand on her leg, a silent inquiry: did she still want to go through with this?
With a long, steadying breath, Mallow finally proceeded onto the silent grounds, her hands tightening ever so slightly on her load and her footfalls stiff with nerves.
A week ago, a visit to this place would've been out of the question, its existence buried so deep in her mind that she would never even consider it in a hundred years. But that had been before her venture into Ultra Space, and she had emerged from it much changed – and what had started as a long recounting of her adventures to her father had turned into a bedside outpouring of emotion, a catalyst for long-buried feelings to climb back up to the surface. With old wounds reopened, and the encouraging words of her dad – and of Teris – fresh in her mind, today Mallow resolved to do something she had put off for a long time.
The soft crunch of her shoes over dirt and fallen leaves stopped. There in the grass rose a small gravestone, sparsely decorated and old enough for the simple carvings to have been worn down by erosion. The plaque in front of it bore even sparser details – naught but a name and a date. Mallow knelt before it, clutching the bouquet of pink flowers close to her chest as though she couldn't bear to let go. Her and her dad had picked them out together.
"… Hi, Mom," she murmured, her voice coming out a quiet rasp. "It's… been a really long time. I think since they put your grave here…? I know Dad visits all the time, but…"
She hung her head, feeling like an idiot, and Steenee huddled closer to her, hugging her arm in a show of support. "Nee nee…?"
"… The Bounsweet you caught for me is a Steenee now," Mallow began anew. The plaque was growing increasingly blurry. "We're helping Dad every day, and the restaurant's doing really well. I've enrolled in the Pokemon School and I have a ton of friends. There's one from Kanto, Ash… it feels like ever since he joined, every day's been an adventure wilder than the last."
She paused again, and this time it was a comfortable one as she set the flowers down beside the gravestone. As her arms stretched, she caught sight of her Kinship Stone, its constant blue glow flaring brighter, just the slightest amount.
"On our last adventure… S-Steenee almost got really h-hurt," she confessed, a tremble in her voice. "Our lives were in s-serious danger… it was the m-most terrifying thing that's ever h-happened to us. I-I was so scared, I wanted to sh-shut out the rest of the world, p-pretend all the scary stuff wasn't there, and j-just focus on getting home."
The cemetery was forever silent, waiting for her to collect her thoughts.
"The th-thing is… I was so f-focused on that, I was ignoring all the good things around me, too," Mallow continued. "I had good people and good… um, P-Pokemon… that w-would've helped me if I let them, but I c-couldn't see that through the fear th-that consumed me. It took the help of… s-someone really c-close to me… for me to move past my fears and o-open my heart again. They taught me to accept the world as it was, a-and to never let bad things s-stop me from embracing m-my love for it."
A weight was lifting from her soul, and the less it weighed on her, the more she blurted out. Words that had waited years to be spoken were spilling out of her at long last.
"M-Mom, I… I-I came today because I wanted to say I-I'm sorry," she said. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks now, pattering upon the stone underneath. "I-I'm s-sorry for blaming you for e-everything… s-sorry for p-pretending my f-feelings didn't e-exist… s-sorry for taking s-so long to t-tell you. I-I just… hated th-that you were gone, I-I thought it w-was s-so unfair of the w-world f-for taking you, a-and I knew it w-wasn't your f-fault b-but I needed s-someone t-to be angry at, and I've a-always b-been so ashamed of m-myself that I-I thought it w-was easier to… to just b-bury it all and not think a-about it s-so I w-wouldn't have to… wouldn't h-have t-to…!"
She was hiccupping and sniffling so much that her speech was barely coherent anymore, and her shoulders were shaking as sobs wracked her body. She cried openly upon the stone for a good few minutes, Steenee never leaving her side.
"T-Teris… he always s-said that bonds of k-kinship connect our h-hearts to every living th-thing in the world, n-no matter how f-far apart," Mallow went on, resting her Kinship Stone hand upon the plaque. Seeing the amulet's steady glow calmed her, gave her confidence. "The world is so w-wonderful, even when bad things h-happen, and I'm bonded to e-everything in it… a-and those bonds will never die. S-So even though you're n-not with us a-anymore… w-we're still together, and always will be.
"It's t-true the world is unfair sometimes, and all the violence and t-tragedy is really awful." She wiped her eyes, voice steadying, and as her vision cleared, she looked down on her mother's grave with a small, earnest, appreciative smile. "But I'm never going to let such things scare me away from my true feelings. I'm not going to be ashamed of myself anymore, Mom, and I'm going to visit you all the time from now on. I'm not going to stop loving you, or the Pokemon School, or Alola, or my friends in the other world. Mom, I-I'm… I'm really thankful I got to know you, a-and I'll treasure my memories of you f-forever. Th-That's a promise…"
She closed her eyes, squeezing a few last happy tears out, and let out a peaceful sigh. The last remnants of her secret shame were cast away, leaving her unburdened heart to swell freely with love and gratitude for her mother, for Steenee, for her friends, for Teris and Crimson.
She felt as though her soul was pure again, untainted and unburdened as a small child's.
"Stee?"
Steenee's squeak brought Mallow's attention back to reality, and she turned, startled, at the sound of rustling leaves. The hedges by the grave were moving, parting to let their occupant out into the light. Mallow gaped, stunned, at the sight of a small Pokemon crawling cautiously toward her – a Pokemon totally unknown to Alola.
"Shaymin…?" the creature said, blinking eyes of deep forest green.
With a mechanical whir, the door slid smoothly aside, and Dulse stepped out onto the street. The sight before him was bizarre – or, rather, the lack of sight was, as all the artificial lights had been doused, their luminous city finally joining the rest of their planet within the all-consuming black. This was no problem for Dulse, however, who merely touched a button on his visor to activate its thermal detection function.
Before him, three human-shaped blotches of heat stood out amidst the cold and endless dark – the other Ultra Recon Squad members. Two were standing at the edge of the city limits, heads bent in deep conversation with themselves, but the third was apart from them, content to rock back and forth on her heels as she stared into the void beyond. There was a fourth heat signature with her, no doubt that of her newly found Poipole. Bemusedly, Dulse strode over to join her, and for a while they stood together in content rumination.
"How're Solgaleo and Lunala doing?" Zossie asked suddenly, craning her neck up at him.
"Both in stable condition and healing quickly," Dulse's response was clipped and automatic. "Lunala exhausted herself and merely requires rest, while Solgaleo was mostly healed by those 'Kinship Stones' described in your report."
His younger counterpart stuck her tongue out at him, to his consternation. "I'm not Phyco, you know. You don't have to be so stiff."
"I-I don't know what you mean," he, appallingly, stammered at her appalling lack of discipline. "As the most junior member of the Ultra Recon Squad, you have yet to adopt the proper –"
Splat. He suddenly found his visor blotted by a familiar slime, Zossie's and Poipole's maniacal tittering filling his ears.
"Aww, don't look like that!" the former giggled. "Poipole's just telling you how excited it is to be back!"
Removing the paint-stained visor, Dulse snapped to the now-invisible girl, "Now that your companion is back, you would do well to train it more strictly!"
"Come on, Dulse," her voice came out from the blackness, and at that moment he felt her head bump up against his waist. "We only bother you because we love you."
Dulse relented with a sigh, and maneuvered his hand blindly to rest against Zossie's helmet. "Yes, I know. And I allow it because I love you back."
Then, without warning, a miracle arrived on the horizon: the sky began to change, from pitch-black to midnight blue. An incredible thrill shot through Dulse's body, excitement like he'd never felt before welling up to suffuse his entire being with energy. Impatiently, almost giddily, he kept his bare eyes on the heavens as they gradually lightened to indigo and further beyond.
Necrozma has returned to us, he thought, breathless with anticipation. I truly never imagined I and my fellows would ever be so blessed…
Thank you, Trainers of Alola, and Riders of the other world. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing us this kindness. We of Ultra Megalopolis… are forever in your debt.
For the first time in countless eons, dawn broke upon their world.