Here is the last chapter, excluding the epilogue. I'm sorry if it was late, but for me, Thanksgiving break does not end until near the end of November. Anyway, as I'm sure that hopefully most of you know, parts of the first chapter was based from the preview of future Pokémon episodes in Japan, which included Ash training a Gible to learn Draco Meteor, Dawn practicing with Mamoswine and Cyndaquil, Zoey appearing with a Kirlia and Leafeon, and two of Ash's Pokémon learning new moves.

So now, please enjoy both this chapter and your holidays…


"Shinx! Get the lead out and move!" Angie cried, sprinting as fast and far as her feet could take here. Following behind her with palpably increasing fatigue was the Flash Pokémon with a rather groggy expression on its face. "This is not good! We slept it! Slept in! My parents are going to kill me before allowing the rest of my relatives take their turns!"

"Shi-nx," Shinx groaned, shaking its head as the brisk wind pressing against its fur made it more alert by fully waking it up from sleep. Feeling rather refreshed from the run, Shinx sped up and sprinted alongside Angie down to the route to Floaroma Town.

It was the second to last day that the generous botanist of Floaroma Town would give out her remaining collection of fresh Gracidea Flower bouquets from her care. In exchange for these rare and beautiful flowers that represented gratitude, the receivers in turn must have gratitude in their hearts for all of the blessings in their lives, aside from showing thankfulness for receiving the Gracidea bouquet. These special flowers would definitely brighten up someone's mood if given to them as a gift, knowing that the giver appreciated and was grateful for everything the person had done to him or her. This day, however, was not looking too bright for Angie and Shinx as they had slept in at the Eterna City Pokémon Center.

The one day that their morning alarm malfunctioned and Angie failed to set up a wake-up call from Nurse Joy was the most crucial.

"Faster, Shinx! Faster!" Angie yelled, forcing her own legs to stride longer and warrant more ache in her burning slim thighs. "AAH! No holding back!" She bore the pain and coped rather well, opting not to scream or swear upon the gradual buildup and was determined to continue running for her life to Floaroma Town for the sake of her family and visiting relatives. She had to get the bouquet and make it back to Solaceon Town before the holidays officially started. Shinx shared the same steadfast persistence its best friend had, pale-bluish sparks crackling around its fur for an extra speed boost.

Unbeknownst to either of them, a small creature hidden amongst the flowers swiftly stalked them from a fair distance, scurrying within the beautiful plants at the grassy sides of the road.

"This girl's as fast and as stubborn as him," it commented, picking up the pace as to not lose sight of the fleeing girl and the Flash Pokémon trailing behind her. Strangely, a contented smile had formed upon its small white face. And that is why I'm so grateful that he was my friend…


"Alright! It's time for Coin Toss!" Dawn announced, proudly holding the wrist wearing her pink Pokétch high in the air, the shiny model refracting the bright morning sun. "What a great way to start the day!" It was time for the scheduled One-on-One battle between Ash and Paul, compromised upon yesterday. As the former's Pokémon were fatigued from yesterday's training session, Paul calmly agreed to the terms and waited for tomorrow with them. The day had begun and the battle was to start soon. Brock stood by the side next to Dawn; his offer to referee the battle was apathetically turned down by Paul, claiming that it would not take long and that there was no point to it. "Ash, Paul, call it!"

"Then I choose he-hea—!" Ash stopped, a familiar tingling sensation irritated his nose. "Hea—Ah-choo!"

"Ash, that's not a viable option for the Coin Toss App," Dawn commented sarcastically, shaking her head disapprovingly with a sigh.

"Hey, I sneezed; what else could I have done?" Ash argued, shrugging it off. It was weird, but the sneeze had helped him relax. It was as though the abrupt coincidence expelled his pent anxiety upon facing Paul once again, considering how ill-prepared he was the last time he faced the dark Trainer in battle. "Anyway, I call heads."

"Then tails," Paul added curtly. With a brief nod from Dawn, the young Coordinator activated the Coin Toss in her Pokétch. The virtual gold coin flipped up before landing back in the same spot it originally was. The side facing up depicted a sketch of a Magikarp.

"Wow, you must be lucky to get heads again, Ash," Dawn noted, fascinated upon recalling that in the past encounters with Paul, her friend called heads and won the Coin Toss. Is he really psychic? He could've actually tried winning against Paul if he did predict all of his moves, but then again, Paul makes full apparent use of brute strength every battle. Even with predictions, is there any way that Ash could survive Paul's onslaught?

"Right," Ash muttered, tightly gripping onto the enlarged Poké Ball in his right fist. Pikachu looked up to him, concerned as always, but confident in his abilities as a strong, competent Trainer. He had no doubts that today's match would reveal the progress of his unique battle style as of now. "Now Gible, I choose you!"

"Weavile, stand by for battle!"

Two bright flashes of white materialized onto the field upon release from their Poké Balls. On Ash's side stood the small and naïve Land Shark Pokémon; it eagerly waited to take on its opponent as soon as it took form from the light. Gible suddenly jumped back, startled by the vicious growl Paul's Weavile hissed upon breaking out of the white energy. Its sharp claws slightly extended, the Sharp Claw Pokémon immediately took an intimidating stance to further discourage and frighten the startled Gible.

"Just stay calm, Gible," Ash called out, gritting his teeth in frustration upon the fact that Paul purposely chose a Pokémon that had the type and power advantage over Gible just to ultimately prove to him just how blind his faith was and could possibly be. "I'm here for you."

"I hope you don't plan to continue preaching today," Paul muttered; his hardened expression continued showing his displeasure of Ash's battle style. "What happens to the weak, stays with the weak." Ash bit down on his tongue, preventing his own mouth from betraying him. He was not about to let his anger get the better of him and throw him out of sync with his Pokémon before the battle.

"We'll show how we are not weak at all, Paul!" Ash shouted, declaring the first move of the battle with an open hand thrust at his rival's Pokémon's direction. "Gible, let's start with Sandstorm!"

"Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib!" Gible chattered, rapidly tossing up grains of sand in the air with its small chubby claws. The sand gradually cloaked the battlefield and the visibility of both Pokémon, yet Paul remained silent. His Weavile, on the other hand, fidgeted with the Sandstorm, irritated by the obtrusive bronze grains in its way. It covered an eye with its sharp claw, preventing more sand from blinding its sight.

"Get rid of the sand with Swords Dance!"

"Wea!" Weavile grunted, zealously mobilized into action upon command from its Trainer. "Wea-vile!" Violet energy emanated from its claws, extending out and forming into long sinister, sharpened scythes. Weavile performed tentative slashes with its extended purple claws in the sand cloud; the Sharp Claw Pokémon's increased power was palpable as the brief Sandstorm was split apart from Weavile's refined swipes.

"Gible, get out of there with Dig!"

"Gib-Gible!" Gible shouted, hastily burying a tunnel into the earth and out of sight. Weavile escaped the Sandstorm with a swift leap, landing right next to the hole where Gible once stood.

"Blizzard!"

"Vile!" Weavile growled, spraying a strong gale of frigid snowballs into the hole from its mouth, much to Ash's frustrated chagrin. He wanted to shout an extra command to alert Gible for an escape, but with the Land Shark Pokémon still underground and Weavile unleashing a powerful Ice-type attack into the self-made hole, there was nothing Ash could do. The ground briefly rumbled as a result of the prolonged Blizzard. Several cracks formed upon the earth a few feet away from the first hole Gible dug. The amount of cracks multiplied rapidly and Gible was forced through the earthly layer on top of a frigid updraft of snowballs and brisk winds.

"Gible, you got to get off of there! Use Sandstorm to cover yourself!"

"Gib-Gible-Gib!" Gible grunted, its mind and attention intently focused back into the current battle. "Gi-ble!" With a loud cry, a warm airstream of sand emanated from the Land Shark Pokémon's body, colliding against the Blizzard that carried it out of the ground. The Ice-type attack seemed to have melted away from the Sandstorm, allowing Gible to land back upon the earth with minor numbing injuries from Weavile's Blizzard attack.

"Metal Claw! Go!"

"Wea!" Weavile growled, leaping forward in a blur towards Gible with sharpened, luminescent silver claws on hand.

"Stop Weavile with Dragon Claw!"

"Gib-Gible!" Gible grunted, its own stubby hands attaining a powerful navy-blue glow before charging in to confront Weavile at the center of the battlefield.

The Land Shark Pokémon stumbled forward, quickly picking up the pace as Weavile dangerously neared it at its fleet velocity. Almost simultaneously, the two of them threw their attacks forward; the mere touch between sharp, opposing energies and claws caused an acute sound to resonate upon collision, as well as a minor explosion of black smoke as a result. Weavile was the first to escape out of the portentous cloud, retracting its Metal Claw with minor injuries to boot. Ash immediately tensed, worried about Gible's safety more than anything else. Before he had a chance to call out for it, Gible managed to jump out of the dissipating haze. However, it seemed to have taken a greater beating due to Weavile's enhanced ferocity from its earlier Swords Dance.

"Good job, Gible!" Ash praised; he saw that Gible was still eager to fight, even after its brusque exposure to Blizzard and the swift collision with Weavile. He noted to himself how far Gible's progress had been since its capture. Its desire to learn Draco Meteor was rather astounding and inspiring; Gible never gave up and neither did Ash. Their training together helped the both of them surpass their own shortcomings, but it was not over yet. However, Ash felt confident to test out how far he and Gible had come; he wanted to finally get Paul to acknowledge him as a strong Trainer. "We can do this; Gible, it's time to try out Draco Meteor!"


"Hold everything! We're here!"

"Huh? What's going on?" a young woman behind the counter of her outdoor flower stand inquired, glancing at the direction on where the shout had originated from. From the side boundaries of Floaroma Town, she discovered a familiar girl and a Shinx running for their lives just to reach her flower stand. "It's Angie."

"Forsythia, hold up!" Angie yelled, striding her legs widely as to leap closer and closer to her destination. She was aware that the botanist who collected and preserved the Gracidea for the holidays would always entrust her close colleague, Forsythia, with the responsibility of taking care of the special flowers just as she had with her berry garden. Angie and Shinx were nearing a sparse amount of meters left of the distance between her and her goal. "Please tell me you still have some Gracidea bouquets left!"

"Nice to see you again too, Angie," Forsythia replied in dry amusement, smiling at her rash antics as always. "So I'm guessing that you and your family want the usual?"

"By 'usual,' I hope you mean that you managed to save at least one Gracidea bouquet because my parents and relatives will kill me and have my head at the center of the table if I don't get it," Angie muttered while attempting to regain her lost breath from her run. She looked down at Shinx, who was also panting heavily by her feet with its tongue hanging from its jaw in dehydration. "You could have so held it in, Shinx! If you didn't need to go for some potty break, then we wouldn't have lost as much time as we have." The Flash Pokémon rolled its eyes, half expecting this sort of exaggerated reaction from her. Nonetheless, Angie's usually heated actions cool down within a minute or so upon recalling her true directive.

"Hey, Angie? Lucky for you, I managed to find one Gracidea bouquet left in stock," Forsythia announced casually, holding out the rare bouquet of pink flowers with lush green stems and leaves held together in an immaculate white flower wrapping in her arms. "Here you go!" Angie beamed upon the sight; her brief infuriation with Shinx had disappeared without a single trace at all.

"Shi-Shinx…," Shinx mumbled, its expression rather deadpan from predicting Angie's behavioral patterns from rage to relief.

"Thank you so much, Forsythia!" Angie squealed, jumping for joy upon the wave of relief washing through her entire slim body. As she slowly reached her hands out to take possession of the precious bouquet, taking her time as to savor the graceful moment, the Gracidea bouquet seemed to have taken a mind of its own upon hopping out of Forsythia's hands. "Wha?!"

"Not on your life!" an unknown, childlike voice yelled; its origins have yet to be determined. The Gracidea bouquet was seen skittering down the road, past some befuddled pedestrians that immediately got out of its way. "You're not grateful! You're not grateful!"

"Hey! Get back here!" Angie screamed, her righteous fury flaring up once again. She took off like a rocket and left a minor cloud of dust from where her feet kicked up upon sprinting. Forsythia and Shinx were left behind, coughing in the Solaceon tomboy's fierce wake.

"Is Angie always this hot-headed, Shinx?" Forsythia asked the stunned Flash Pokémon.

"Sh-inx," Shinx mumbled, tilting its head to the side to signify its lack of knowledge of its own Trainer and best friend. At least anyone can find a match of her in Ash. Who knew from reading Angie's diary that she and Ash had so much in common, including that hot-headed streak? At least I know of it, and she will realize it soon enough…


"Giiiiib…!" Gible growled, zealously gathering its power into its stubby little hands. A bright, swirling orange sphere gradually took shape for all to see in awe. Even Paul secretly noted the potential of the powerful Dragon-type attack if the Land Shark Pokémon had somehow mastered the move, but he had not given his Weavile a command to interrupt the process.

"Why isn't Paul attacking while Gible's charging up Draco Meteor?" Dawn inquired, believing that the moment would be a perfect opportunity to strike.

"Paul wants to see the power of Draco Meteor in Gible's hands, just to get a feel of what he's up against," Brock explained. "Just like in his previous battles against Ash, Paul's carefully devised ways to counter Ash's Pokémon's moves with his own Pokémon's pure strength, even when improvised."

"I'll give him that he's smart, but things can change overtime before he can realize it," Dawn commented, confident that Ash would surpass the surly Trainer this time around. "I hope Gible's mastered Draco Meteor by now, considering how much it and Ash have gone through to practice it."

"Now Gible, get ready to—!" Ash began to signal the launch of the Draco Meteor, only to sense a familiar and mildly irritating sensation within his nose. "Ah-choo!"

"Gible?!" Gible yelped; its Trainer's sneeze threw off its timing for unleashing the power of its powerful Draco Meteor. The brilliant orange sphere held above its head completely dissuaded into nothing within one second, its energy dispersed harmlessly into the environment. Several expressions of widened eyes and gaping eyes ensued, all except for one with a dissatisfied, derisive smirk on his hardened face.

"I guess that's another point for that blind faith of yours, assuming that's what you wanted to prove to me," Paul remarked, his expression cold and condescending. It was no surprise that he was on the receiving end of a few vicious glares from his opponent and his supporters. "What a pathetic execution between an equally pathetic pair of Trainer and Pokémon."

"What?!" Ash growled, his anger nearly flaring beyond its limit. It took him most of his willpower just to prevent him from doing anything drastic to Paul, himself, or anyone else around him. However, he could help but see some truth in Paul's gruff insults and could not really retort back at him.

"Though you obviously have good intentions about teaching your Pokémon powerful moves, you should have considered the full potential of them as well," Paul explained strictly. "For instance, you want to teach that Gible of yours Draco Meteor, one of the most powerful Dragon-type moves known in the world."

"What's your point?"

"Hmph, has the possibility ever occurred to you that your Gible cannot handle your expectations?" Paul asked; the meaning of his brutal, realistic taunt was becoming palpable. "Perhaps you're teaching the right move to the wrong Pokémon. That pathetic Gible's probably not even good enough."

"Wrong!" Ash interrupted fiercely. His sudden burst of defiance caught all of them off guard; his shared determination with Gible even wiped the smirk off of Paul's face. "I remember those words the first time we met, Paul, about the Starly I caught. There's something you should know, though." Before he even said anything more, Ash pointed solely upon his rather fatigued Gible, whose fighting spirit had not been put out by Weavile's Ice attacks as of yet. "Learning Draco Meteor was not my idea, but Gible's desire to become stronger." The tension of the moment was reaching its peak as Ash jerked a thumb in his direction this time. "You can insult me all you want, Paul, but don't you dare insult my Pokémon and their hard work! If there's anything that I'm grateful of, it's that my Pokémon are always there for me and that we all help each other become stronger than before. Even with our current strength, we're still enough of a match for you! And we will master Draco Meteor before the end of this battle!"

"Pika Pi-ka!" Pikachu concurred with the same steadfast attitude as his best friend's, electrical sparks crackling from his cheeks as a result.

"Gible-Gib!" Gible yelled in agreement as well, hopping up and down enthusiastically while kicking up some dirt into the air from its jumps. Paul looked unimpressed despite his idealist rival's childish claims, opting to recline back with his hands buried in his pants pockets and his eyes coolly shut.

"Hmph, so you think your faith and teamwork can beat me? Let's see you try it then," Paul announced, his fierce eyes jolting open in a flash. "Weavile, Beat Up!"

"Wea-viiiiile!" Weavile shouted ferociously, its dark cry echoing in the wide horizon. Several flocks of Starly fled from the trees nearby, having been terrified by the savage call of the Sharp Claw Pokémon. Ash, Gible, and all the others except for Paul covered their ears with their hands, trembling from this sinister power Weavile was conjuring up. At that moment, five bright flashes of white energy escaped from Paul's being, each taking the form of a powerful Pokémon from Paul's team as they took their places around Weavile.

"Tor-terra!" Torterra bellowed, materializing and taking its large shape from the light.

"Ur-ring!" Ursaring roared, angrily flexing its arms out as part of its intimidating introduction.

"Ele-boo!" Electabuzz hissed, static discharge furiously crackling in its antennae.

"Honchkrow!" Honchkrow screeched, ominously descending upon the ground and standing straight up arrogantly.

"Mag-mortar!" Magmortar growled, creepily leering down upon the little Gible frozen in fear from thinking that it would have to fight against six powerhouses.

"Hey! No fair! What's this having six Pokémon against one?!" Ash demanded, furiously outraged by the sudden shift of odds.

"Beat Up is an exclusive move known to Weavile and Sneasel," Brock explained, recognizing the severity of the situation for his young friend in battle. "In battle, the Pokémon using the move is able to briefly call upon the power of other able-bodied Pokémon in its team in order to gang up on the opponent. That's typically the case, given their aggressive nature of attacking together in packs to overwhelm their prey."

"That's just not right!" Dawn complained.

"Piplup Piplup Pip-lup!" Piplup agreed, flailing his flippers to express his disdain as well.

"Cynda Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil exclaimed heatedly along with Dawn and its rival for said Trainer's affection. Both small Pokémon curtly exchanged glances before directing their attention back to the ongoing battle.

"Well? You said that your faith and teamwork would help you win," Paul sneered, stating from what he had listened to Ash from before with his arms folded crossed his chest. "Do you think you can stand a chance against these guys all together then since you value faith more than I do?" His daunting Pokémon all stared down upon the lone Gible that had dared to oppose them. The Land Shark Pokémon, on the other hand, did not seem to look so well, but then again, that was what would happen when facing against six Pokémon bigger and stronger than it.

"Gible, hang in there!" Ash called out, ignoring all other environmental factors such as being outnumbered and being outclassed altogether. "We're not giving up no matter what! I believe in you!"

"How pathetic," Paul muttered to himself, sounding rather disappointed than infuriated at Ash's pointless tenacity. "To think, I actually thought that he's finally going to clean up his act." He looked upon the battlefield where his Pokémon were eager to fulfill their responsibility as part of Weavile's Beat Up. "Play time's over. Get going, all of you!" Upon the blunt command, all six of his Pokémon advanced forward, their relentless attacks looming toward the vulnerable Gible.

This is our last chance, Ash thought, gritting his teeth upon watching Paul's team reaching closer and closer to Gible. It's now or never. I hope Gible's strength is enough to last them all out. The pressure was beginning to affect him badly, forcing him to lose his nerve. But it was time for him to fight back against those that would come in between his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, something that he would always be grateful for having. "Gible, Draco Meteor!"


"Hey! I know that you're around here!" Angie yelled, searching far and wide in the flowery streets of Floaroma Town with Shinx for her runaway Gracidea bouquet. Several pedestrians stepped aside from the strange tomboy thoroughly examining every nook and cranny around town. "Come out! Come out!"

"Shinx Shinx!" Shinx yelled out, scanning the area around it briefly only to discover a small green and pink blur scurrying away from behind. "Shinx!"

"There it is!" Angie proclaimed gleefully, quickly sprinting off to make sure the runaway bouquet of rare flowers remained within her sight. The rather sentient Gracidea fled into the northern forest nearby; regardless, Angie and Shinx gave chase to the special centerpiece for their family's holiday gathering and overall feast. "After it!"

The energetic duo entered in between the trees, evading and sliding through every stray branch and flora in their way. Even in the autumn season, the forest near Floaroma Town was gorgeous to behold and admire. The beauty within the flourishing plant life was to be recognized as the greatest gift for the Sinnoh region. It was once said that the land around Floaroma Town in the long past was barren and uninhabitable. That was until a miracle happened and the inhabitants eternally expressed their gratitude for being able to live in a place such as Floaroma Town as of now.

However, as days turned to months turned years have gone by, the true meaning of gratitude had been long forgotten and people claimed to be merely celebrating as an excuse for holding lavish festivals and unnecessarily extravagant events. Though people have begun losing their perspective over the holidays and what gratitude truly meant to them, there was a certain type of Pokémon determined to reignite the true meaning of gratitude into the hearts of humans and Pokémon alike, at any cost. Unfortunately, this Pokémon was also known to be incredibly shy concerning public places and exposure, which was why this Gratitude Pokémon worked in secret.

This was their way, and right now, one particular Pokémon was set on changing a young girl's heart for the better. This was for her to finally grow up and experience the world for herself.

You'll see that this is for your own good, it thought, quickly scurrying underneath several bushes to avoid detection from its persistent pursuers. It smiled, thinking that its mischievous plan had finally come into fruition, but that was before it bumped right into a foot of another human carrying real Gracidea flowers, having just left Floaroma Town a while ago. "What ironic luck!"

"Ack!" the young man yelped. He felt something collide against his left foot, tripping him and causing his grip on his own Gracidea bouquet to become loose. "No! The Gracidea meant for me and my girlfriend!" After landing upon the ground with a thud, he had come to see that there were two identical Gracidea bouquets sitting next to each other. "What the…?! Am… Am I seeing things or are there really two Gracidea bouquets?"

"Hey!" Angie's voice resonated, the volume and intensity increasing as she and her Shinx neared closer to where they last saw their escapee bouquet. "One of them is mine!"

"Oh, so sorry about that," the young man replied, getting back to his feet and dusting himself off. Angie and Shinx caught up to him, breathless from their vigorous run as usual. He merely smiled in politeness and observed the strange tomboyish girl reach down to pick up one of the Gracidea bouquets by her feet.

"I don't think so!" a childlike voice commanded, the sudden announcement startled Angie and the young man. It sounded like that of a little girl. Shinx leapt close to its best friend in a defensive stance, ready to protect her when necessary. "You, of all people, don't deserve these flowers!"

"Says who?!" Angie demanded, stomping her foot tentatively near the bouquet, but made her power known through the force of impact on the bare forest ground.

"I'm actually grateful that you asked," the same childish voice replied. The bouquet by Angie's feet started to glow brightly, the bright light overtaking a small radius of area. Everyone around had covered their eyes with their arms, unable to see clearly from the brilliant sensation. The phenomenon only lasted a few seconds, however. Angie was the first to see the result of the light.

"What in the world…?" Angie mumbled, falling into a loss of words upon the sight before her. A small, green and white reindeer-like creature with a red scarf-like appendage hovered right in front of her. Its facial expression signified its serious and audacious demeanor, yet it also gave off a playful vibe as well, making it not too unapproachable. "What are you?"

"That's a Shaymin, from what I've heard," the young man answered, feeling also wordless from the rare sight before him. "They almost never show themselves to humans and they have the ability to purify polluted areas and turn them into lush flower fields, like the ones in Floaroma Town. It's such a treat to see one appear before us now, especially in its Sky Forme." He looked down to his Gracidea bouquet with a knowing look. Of course. It must have been exposure to the pollen of my Gracidea that changed it.

"Floaroma Town?" Angie repeated incredulously, calming down after gradually regaining her breath. "No way…"

"You better believe it, Angie," Shaymin affirmed; its young voice had deepened slightly to match a boy's voice this time. "Floaroma Town's one of my favorite places to visit, but that's besides the main point."

"How do you know who I am?" Angie asked calmly, not wanting to stress the situation further with the appearance of Shaymin forcing her to think instead of act.

"I've been watching you for the past couple of days, and frankly, you have no sense of real gratitude in you," Shaymin explained bluntly, turning away from her in a rather disdainful manner. "You want only so much, yet you aren't satisfied with what you already have. If you act instead of whining about it like a spoiled brat, then I might deem you as a person of gratitude in her heart."

"What did you just say?!" Angie shouted in outrage to Shaymin's comment, but was restrained and held back by the young man by the arms before actual harm would have been done. "You're just asking for a beating, you punk!"

"This is just what I've been saying before," Shaymin sighed, its expression melancholy and regretful. "You remind me of someone else, a close friend to be exact." Angie cooled down from the Gratitude Pokémon's brief explanation, feeling a surge of shame welling within her being. She looked remorseful for trying to attack Shaymin, not knowing of its real intentions.

"I… Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you… 'helping' me like this?" Angie asked hesitantly, her arms falling limp at her sides once the young man released her. "Why me?" Shaymin gave a soft smile; it had just begun.

"Like I said, you remind me of a close friend," Shaymin explained, hovering closer to Angie as their faces were merely inches apart. "And I was grateful to him for helping and saving me." The moment fell silent as peace and understanding had come together in their area, reaching its pinnacle in a matter of moments. "But I'm afraid you still need to learn about being grateful, so no Gracidea flowers for you."

"What?!"

"Bye!" Shaymin called back after immediately taking off before Angie had a chance to strangle its thin neck. It could have sworn it heard a few naughty words slip out of the Solaceon tomboy's mouth, but regardless, its work was done. She really is like Ash! I bet she and him would be grateful to have each other once they finally meet! Hee hee!


Yeah, so I've had a little bit of trouble making this, even though Thanksgiving is really over. But I did say that I was going to finish this somehow; all that's left is the epilogue in which all questions will and should be answered. I also know that Ash and Paul's battle here had taken up a major part of the chapter, but like its predecessors, this story will focus on both on Ash's and Angie's lives as their everyday interactions will relate to each other more than ever. It's almost like a dream come true, hence the minor MorpheusShipping… Okay, that was kind of lame.

If you would please review, it will be appreciated. Your feedback to this chapter is welcome. I won't bite… much.

Ciao!