It wasn't often that Barry would go through Victory Road again, considering that he could just call out his Staraptor and use Fly to get anywhere he wanted. Although he didn't mind taking on the powerful trainers that littered the dark arduous cavern: some Black belts here, a bit of Aces there, and even a few Dragon Trainers that never fail to boast about how majestic their Pokemon are—now there was no reason for him to be here. He already reached the Pokemon League and was even allow in the battle zone. It was only because of professor Rowan that he had to go through this place again.

~~~FLASHBACK~~~

"Ah, Barry. I'm glad you're here," says Professor Rowan as he came out of his Pokemon laboratory.

"Hi, Professor! It's been a while! I just finished visiting my mom today and about to head back to the Battle Zone."

Rowan chuckled. "It's nice to see that your still as passionate as ever when it comes to Pokemon."

"You know me. Soon to become the greatest Pokemon trainer in the entire world!" he pointed at himself proudly, then looked away for a moment. "Although that's until I can beat our new champ."

"With the way you've been training, I'm sure you're going to surpass him someday," Rowan assured, receiving a smile from the blonde. "Say, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I have this friend and colleague that just visited recently and I failed to give him this," he hands him a small brown envelope with a red wax seal stamped on the center. "I want you to deliver it to him. His name is Professor Oak. He's a well known professor from the world's authority on Pokemon. You can find him in Route 224 just pass through the west of Victory road."

Barry takes the letter and looks at the professor with determination. "Of course! Anything for the guy who gave me my first Pokemon. I'll be off now." Then he left in a rush before the other could say anything else.

~~~FB END~~~

Now that Barry's back in Victory Road, he didn't realize how much of the place he wasn't able to check out. The last time he was here he remembered rushing through the place, hoping to catch up with his best friend, Lucas, before his best friend takes on the Pokemon league and become the next new champion of Sinnoh. There was never any doubt in Barry's mind that Lucas was going to become the next Pokemon champion. Not after everything he did to stop Team Galactic. And he was right. Lucas stepped out of the Pokemon League as a champion. His best friend and Rival.

Now he felt giddy. He couldn't wait to go back to the Battle Zone in hopes to get stronger and get a rematch out of him.

If only he could figure out where this Professor Oak was in all of Route 224.

He looked around the place and decided to approach a timid girl dressed in black and white. "Hi! I was wondering if you've seen a professor Oak around here?"

She looked at him weirdly for a moment before pointing at an old man wearing a lab coat, too busy looking off to the distance. "I don't specifically know a professor Oak. Why not try that guy with the lab coat over there."

"He does look like a professor. All right, I'll ask him. Oh, and thank you by the way!" He rushed off, eager to get the delivery over with.

"You're welcome..." the girl said, confused at his hasty nature.

Barry closed in on the old man who was a bit startled at his abrupt entrance.

"Oh, who might you be?" the old man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi, I'm Barry! Are you Professor Oak?" He asked while bringing out the letter from his bag. Before the other could answer, he continued. "Professor Rowan sent me to give this to you."

Oak takes the envelope, examining it before smiling down at him. "Why thank you young man. I assume you're one of the kids that my colleague entrusted the Pokedex with?"

"Oh, uh...Well, not exactly. He was going to but I kinda left too soon so he wasn't able to give me one." He scratched his head in embarrassment.

Oak chuckled, "You're a rash one then. You remind me of my nephew when he was a lot younger. Anyways, thank you for this."

"All right then, I'll be off now!" He was about to head to the battle tower, but then a glimmer from a lone white rock caught his eye. "Wait a sec, what's this thing?" He observed.

"Ah, I see that the stone tablet caught your eye. Something like it was also discovered in the Kanto region." Oak informed.

"So there's two of them. What's the point of it. And what are these markings?" He grazed over the embedded inscriptions.

"Well, that is indeed a mystery. A mystery that I've been trying to solve. You see, I tried deciphering the engravings on the stone tablet. Apparently it's for a trainer to engrave his or her thoughts after growing as a person on an adventure."

"Hey, I've been on an adventure for a while!"

"That's promising to hear." The professor chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Would you like to help me solve this mystery. I want you to sincerely tell me who affected you the most throughout your journey. To whom do you want to say your thanks?"

"To who do I want so say my thanks?" Barry asked himself, rubbing his chin in question.

Throughout his entire journey. He has met so many people and even Pokemon that helped him out in his adventure. There was his mom whom he will definitely always be grateful for. His dad for being such a great trainer and is most likely the reason why he wanted to become a Pokemon trainer in the first place. Then there's professor Rowan who gave him his first Pokemon. Even Dawn who always shares her knowledge since she got a head start on both him and Lucas.

Lucas.

Lucas was the guy that always stood by him whenever he did anything. He's slow, sure. But no matter what, he seems to always be the only one willing to put up with his shenanigans. Even when he is in trouble, Lucas was always there.

He remembered the time when Team galactic was trying to catch Uxie at Lake Acuity. How weak he was after losing against the Galactic commander. How guilty he felt as he heard the cries of the lake guardian. He felt so helpless and disappointed for his failure, only for Lucas to appear by his side again. During that time Barry just brushed him off, afraid of what his best friend would think of him for his failure, but then he remembered the worried look on Lucas' face. How quickly his best friend stood by his side and held his hand out to comfort him.

Barry now felt guilty. He didn't realize how much he needed to apologize to his best friend. In fact, there was also the time on Mt. Coronet. Memories of two incredibly powerful legendaries looming over them. The feeling of fear freezing him in place, only for Lucas to step in front of him as if to shield him from the danger that threatens the both of them. Although Barry only took that opportunity to flee the scene, leaving his best friend to face the boss of Team Galactic and be at the mercy of two legendaries. Now that he was thinking about it, he definitely has to apologize and make it up to Lucas.

Lucas, the person that took the fate of the world in his own hands.

Barry really is grateful for having him as a best friend.

With that thought, he looks at Professor Oak who is handing him some kind of engraving tool, silently telling him to write his answer on the stone tablet.

So he did.

For some reason, seeing his best friend's name engraved on the stone gave him a warm feeling. It's as if it deserves to be there all along. Conveying not just an answer or a message, but also feelings and memories for whomever may see it in the future.

Suddenly, the grass beneath their feet were blooming numerous flowers, covering the landscape with vivid colors.

"Astounding," Oak says as he was awestruck by the sudden birth of fragrant life in the area.

Then, the girl in Black and white gleefully ran towards the two of them. "Over there!" She shouted, pointing behind them. A long grassy path also filled with vibrant flowers appeared out of nowhere, but what caught their attention was the small figure walking down the pathway. A Pokemon Barry have never seen before.

"Shaymin," the girl whispered, awestruck.

"Shaymin?" Barry asked, rather loudly as he glanced at her for an explanation.

The girl blushed in embarrassment, not expecting the attention. "The Gratitude Pokemon, Shaymin. It is said that it's able to sense the feeling of gratitude of others," she explained.

"Barry," Oak called out. "Your feelings of gratitude for this person must be so strong that even Shaymin was able to sense it."

Barry scratched his head, blushing for a reason unknown to him. "Thanks...I guess."

The professor chuckled and looked back at Shaymin who was eagerly staring at Barry before turning around, going back to the flowered path. "It seems that Shaymin wants you to follow it. Go on ahead, who knows what you may find."

So Barry went on ahead. If he was paying attention to how far he's been running he would have grown tired and bored, but the beautiful scenery kept him distracted. The sight of flowers littering the ground with vibrant colors, and the feeling of the ocean breeze against his skin felt as if everything that was happening was all dream.

Once he arrived at the end of the path, he met up with Shaymin, on a lone island filled with flowers he has never seen before. Floaroma Town couldn't compare to this.

"So um..." He scratched his head, "This place is beautiful and all but why did you bring me here?"

Shaymin only moved about, revealing a special kind of flower unlike any other. It was eager for him to come and take it for whatever reason.

"You want me to take this?"

Shaymin nodded.

"Ok, thanks. I guess."

Shaymin smiled at him and wandered about, tending back to the flowers on its cheeks.