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It was another night in Serene Village. This night was not as quiet as most nights, as rain was pouring down. Lightning flashed through the sky as thunder boomed shortly after. Wind violently shook the branches of trees.
The houses were tightly shut. The villagers double-checked that the doors were locked. Everyone was trying to sleep through the storm's noise.
Carracosta lied in his bed, trying to sleep. The rain reminded him of that night two years ago. The night of the day it happened. Carracosta's flippers were resting on his head.
These memories shouldn't bother me now. She's here now and that's what matters! Carracosta thought to himself. He stared out the window at the stormy sky.
"It's been an hour and a half now. Are they still at the hill?" Carracosta asked himself. He looked at the table where he had prepared lunch for Firefox and Pangonat. He felt his legs getting restless from waiting. "I'm going to go check on them."
Carracosta left his house. He looked at the empty house next door.
"I hope Nuzleaf comes back. I want to assure him that nothing was his fault," Carracosta sighed to himself before moving on.
"Good morning Mr. Carracosta," said Roselia, walking by him.
"Good morning Roselia, how's Budew?" asked Carracosta.
"She's doing better today. She's still a little traumatized by our time in the void," answered Roselia.
Carracosta tried to forget about his time in the void. He remembered when he was planting oran berries when the sky suddenly darkened. He looked up and saw a blanket of purple clouds covering the sky. A voice who claimed to be Yveltal gave a bone-chilling message to the world. A message about how he is the end to all Pokémon and will send all Pokémon to the void. Carracosta shrugged the message off at the time he heard it. He went back to planting his berries as the sky cleared. That was when he heard a child scream. He looked up and saw Yveltal soaring above Serene Village. A very familiar figure was riding on top of Yveltal. Before Carracosta could say or do anything, a purple and black aura was released from Yveltal. It spread to every direction in the village. Carracosta didn't remember much about when the aura impacted him. He just remembered suddenly waking up in a hell-like setting.
Carracosta tried to stop thinking about that scary place. He continued walking across the village, greeting villagers as he passed by them. Just being in the village felt refreshing.
Carracosta walked up the hill with the big tree. It was Firefox's favorite place. She had loved going there ever since she was three.
Earlier that morning, Firefox woke up early. The fennekin went outside and ran back in.
"Pops! Hey Pops, get a look at this!" Firefox shouted, almost crashing into the table.
"What's going on?" Carracosta asked.
"There's a pretty light on the hill with the big tree!" Firefox answered.
Firefox ran back outside. Carracosta followed her to see what this fuss was about. He saw the fennekin staring at the hill with the big tree. A blue sphere of light was floating above the hill.
"Isn't it pretty? I wonder what could be happening up there!" said Firefox.
"You can go check it out if you want. I'm going to go back inside. Is Pangonat still asleep?" asked Carracosta.
"Yeah, he's out like a log. Must be exhausted from last night," answered Firefox.
Carracosta had no idea how relevant that conversation was about to become. A conversation that would start as something without a second thought would become permanently infused into the father's memories.
"Firefox? Pangonat?" Carracosta called, reaching the top of the hill.
Carracosta saw a piplup crying on the top of the hill. His feathers were all ruffled up.
"Pangonat?" asked Carracosta, walking toward the Piplup.
The piplup looked at him upon hearing his name. Seeing the boy's teary eyes both dejected and alarmed Carracosta.
"I'm sorry!" cried Pangonat, shutting his eyes as more tears spilled out. He planted his face into the ground.
"Sorry?! Pangonat! You just saved the world! How could you possibly be sorry?!" Carracosta asked loudly.
"I had no idea what defeating Dark Matter would cost," cried Pangonat, putting his flippers over his eyes.
"Cost? Cost what?! Pangonat, you and Firefox saved every life on this planet. Do you understand how proud I am of you two?! You should feel pretty good about yourself," said Carracosta.
"But without her, I-," started Pangonat, before cutting himself off.
"Pangonat, where's Firefox?" asked Carracosta, looking around the hill. Sirens played in Carracosta's mind when he didn't see the fennekin anywhere.
"And I thought it would be me!" cried Pangonat.
"Pangonat, I don't understand. What are you talking about?!" asked Carracosta. Carracosta had never felt a stronger urge to see his daughter.
"I should have gone back to the human world, that's what I thought was supposed to happen!" cried Pangonat.
Carracosta remembered hearing how Pangonat used to be a human. Firefox mentioned it at the celebration last night. He was apparently a human from the ancient past summoned by the mythical Mew.
"I wanted to stay here, but not like this!" cried Pangonat.
"Pangonat, what's wrong?! Don't tell me you've been like this the whole time! You've been out here for an hour and a half now. You could watch a whole movie at Meowth Theater in that amount of time!" yelled Carracosta, losing his patience.
"What am I supposed to do now?!" cried Pangonat.
"Pangonat! Please tell me what's bothering you!" yelled Carracosta.
As much as he wanted to know what happened, Carracosta was also starting to fear the reason. He has never seen Pangonat cry like this. And Firefox was nowhere to be found. If Pangonat were really this upset about something, Firefox would surely comfort him.
"Firefox.." cried Pangonat, removing his flippers from his face. He took his face off the ground and pointed it at the sky.
"Please tell me where she is! I'm starting to get worried!" shouted Carracosta. He could feel his heart rapidly beating through his shell.
"You told me not to cry, but I already was. I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill your last wish," cried Pangonat.
Carracosta wanted to say something, but he realized who Pangonat was talking to in the distance. He even said her name.
No! It can't be! Firefox can't be… thought Carracosta. His lungs were inflating and deflating rapidly.
"Pangonat! What happened to Firefox?!" Carracosta shouted. He feared that he was about to enter the worst nightmare of a parent.
Pangonat sat up from lying on his stomach. He fixed his eyes on a moving cloud.
"You were just a young child. You had a life. You had a dream. You wanted to be like the clouds. You wanted to explore the world. You had a whole life ahead of you. So much left to live! Me? I'm just a random human. I was sent here to save the world. I only exist here for that single purpose! I may not have memories of my human life, but I know I don't belong here! You did!" cried Pangonat.
The words struck Carracosta like lightning. He still didn't know what happened, but he knew his life was about to become covered with dark storm clouds.
"Why did you have to be a reincarnation of Mew?! Why did you have to be a part of Dark Matter?! Why out of all the Pokémon, was it you?! Why did Mew have to put his spirit into an innocent child, knowing what would happen when Dark Matter is defeated?! Your fate was so unfair. It was either you die alone or with the rest of the world. Your existence always indicated that the world was not safe. You could never live in a world with a future of total peace," cried Pangonat.
Carracosta could barely absorb Pangonat's words. If he were hearing it in another context, Carracosta would have been mind-blown that his daughter was actually a reincarnation of Mew. But he was too distracted by the fact that it was also the reason she wasn't there. The reason she'll never be there again.
Carracosta couldn't listen anymore. He turned away from the morning piplup. He started running back to his house. His vision was blurred by his tears. He didn't even remember the last time he cried.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Carracosta," a voice greeted him. Carracosta passed by as if he were oblivious. "Mr. Carracosta?"
Carracosta felt like he was running through a dark cold dungeon. A dungeon with an infinite amount of floors. A dungeon where the room with the stairs was always the last room to be found. A dungeon with reviver seed consuming enemies. A dungeon where every room was a monster house. A dungeon where kecleon merchants attacked even if no one stole from them. A dungeon with no useful items. A dungeon where every floor tile was a trap. A dungeon that loops back to the start at the end. A dungeon with no way out.
Carracosta felt bleary as he approached his house. His feet and tail were starting to leave a trail in the path. His eyesight felt like a wet windshield with broken wipers, trying to navigate through heavy rain.
"Mr. Carracosta? Are you alright?"
Carracosta did not want to socially interact with anyone.
Carracosta ripped the door of his house open. He nearly pulled that entire thing out. He dashed in and slammed the door behind him.
"Carracosta?! What happened?!"
That night was a stormy one. Wind stirred up around the village. Blades of water violently dropped from the sky. Lightning cracked through the sky.
Ka-thump!
Carracosta already knew he would be having a sleepless night. He tossed and turned around his bed. He closed his eyes, but nothing happened.
It's hopeless. He thought. He looked over at the table. All the food had remained untouched. He had cooked it for Pangonat and Firefox.
A spell of rage brewed inside of Carracosta. He felt a sudden urge to outrage flare inside of him.
"Why did Mew have to put his spirit into an innocent child, knowing what would happen when Dark Matter is defeated?"
Carracosta didn't understand why he was recalling that specific sentence, but remembering that combination of words in that order boiled his blood.
"WHY?!" Carracosta screamed.
He swiped his flipper across the table, knocking over the dishes. He slammed his flipper into the table, splitting it in half. He threw a pot across the room, spilling the contents he forgot were in it. The grieving father used Aqua Tail on a pile of dirty dishes from the previous night, causing a shard explosion.
"WHY WAS THIS THE WAY THINGS HAD TO TURN OUT?!" screamed Carracosta, bashing at every object. He used Rock Slide on the already broken table. "JUST AS EVERYTHING WAS GETTING BETTER!"
Carracosta felt his own words hit him. The flames inside of him shrank as he sat down next to his bed. He observed the mess he had just made.
"What have I done?" Carracosta asked himself.
Carracosta knew he wouldn't be able to motivate himself to clean everything up anytime soon. He put his flippers over his head as lightning lit up the room for a split second.
"This isn't getting me anywhere," sighed Carracosta. He lied back down on his bed. He closed his eyes in an attempt to drift off.
Crack-a-boom!
"Pops! I'm scared!"
Carracosta's eyes popped open. He sat up as if he were waking up from a nightmare. He did not doubt that he knew the owner of that voice.
"Firefox?!" shouted Carracosta.
Carracosta ran toward Firefox's room. He saw two empty beds, still ruffled from when Pangonat and Firefox last slept in them.
"What was I even expecting?" cried Carracosta. He sat down next to Firefox's bed. "Of course she isn't here, she's… gone. I don't even know what to believe right now!"
"Firefox! You should be sleeping! It's a school night! You will not be falling asleep in the middle of class! Go back to bed!"
Carracosta blinked in confusion. He had no idea why he was hearing his own voice. Carracosta didn't know whether he was hallucinating or in a dream.
"But Pops, I can't sleep!"
Carracosta flinched at the false hope. Firefox was gone and he would never be able to speak to her again. The voice was nothing more than a phantom.
"Well, it's the middle of the night! You need to sleep! I don't want to hear any vague excuse from you, you got that?!"
Carracosta cringed at the words he was hearing.
Ka-boom!
"Ahhh!"
"Firefox! It's just noise coming from outside. As long as you are not foolish enough to go out there, you'll be fine! This is my final warning! Get back to bed or you'll have extra chores tomorrow!"
"Did this really happen? And when could have?" Carracosta asked himself. He dug through his memories for a moment like this. That was when he realized that he was not hearing these voices.
"I'm sorry, Pops!"
Carracosta could hear Firefox sniffling in that memory. He remembered it happening a few years ago when Firefox was scared of thunder. He wondered if Firefox did sleep after that.
He remembered what he told his daughter at the surprise celebration. He promised to be a better parent. Even though he knew he wouldn't be seeing Firefox as often due to her job at the Expedition Society, he wanted to try to be less harsh on her.
Tears spilled out of the father's eyes. That celebration was the first and last time he told Firefox how proud he was of her. The first and last time he felt true father's pride. It felt way too late to be the first. Carracosta had known Firefox for her whole life. Ever since that day he walked by Revelation Mountain and found her as a baby fennekin, wrapped up in lime and viridian scarves. Countless questions were spinning through Carracosta's mind.
There had to be at least one other time Firefox did something good. Even with all her mischievous acts, there had to be something! Was I too focused on the negatives to notice? Was I too blinded by the frustration I felt when the villagers complained to me about Firefox's outcast behavior? Was I too focused on making her character flawless to notice the good qualities? I always loved her and only wanted what was best for her, but what if I was a little too harsh? Could that be why she ran away at such a young age? Sure, there was Pangonat trying to escape the Beheeyem and all of that, but...
Carracosta collapsed right in front of Firefox's empty bed. He sank his head into his flippers against the floor.
"There had to be something I missed! Saving a world is never a hero's first accomplishment," Carracosta cried.
He dragged himself out and looked out the window. He felt like he was mimicking what he saw Pangonat doing earlier.
"Firefox… you probably can't hear me now but… wherever you are now, if anywhere, I just want to say sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't be a better father! I'm sorry I always scolded you over the tiny flaws you had. I'm sorry I rarely made you feel good about yourself. I'm sorry for everything I've done wrong!" Carracosta cried.
He continued to stare out the window. He noticed the storm calming down as the night passed. Just before the sun began to rise, the storm clouds started clearing away. A patch of stars was revealed out of the cloud's covering. And Carracosta could have sworn those stars formed the shape of a fennekin's face.
"Did I just recall everything that happened that day and night?" Carracosta asked himself. Carracosta looked at Firefox's bed. "I'm so glad Pangonat was able to bring her back. I had it lucky, compared to most grieving parents out there."
Carracosta sighed as he looked back outside. "I hope they find her. I want them to feel the same joy I did. When Firefox came home. It's sad how unfair life can be sometimes," sighed Carracosta. Carracosta shook his head. "I guess life can never treat everyone equally. No matter how hard we try."
Carracosta noticed the storm starting to calm. A hole ripped through the blanket of clouds, revealing the same patch of stars Carracosta saw that night. It was just an ordinary patch of stars, but Carracosta could never unsee how much they resembled his daughter.
"I wonder if Firefox ever got that message. Maybe I should have a talk with her next time she visits the village," Carracosta said to himself.