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Heather's Pokémon Journey
by Sailor Chronos

Epilogue: Homecoming

Five months later.

A light snow was falling in the forest outside of Twilight Village. Heather was walking on the path which led to the backyard of her family's house. She had travelled on the road for most of the way, then went into the woods just before the town limits.

Her adventures during the summer had been many. When it came time for school to begin she hadn't felt ready to return home, so enrolled for a term in Pokémon Tech, a classy school for Pokémon trainers outside of Vermilion City. By then she had enough badges to qualify for advanced standing, and found the classes a good challenge.

To raise a little extra money for herself she had worked with Nurse Joy in the Pokémon Centre and with Lt. Surge in the Gym. Her spare time was spent with her Pokémon, taking care of them the way a good trainer should.

Now she was back, hoping to spend the winter festival with her family. She had no idea what to expect, since she hadn't communicated with them at all since she had left. Would they accept her and her friends?

She shook the snow off the red and white League cap that she wore, marched up to the front door and knocked.

The door opened, and the look of absolute astonishment on her mother's face was priceless.

"Heather, darling!" Her mother embraced her tightly and began to cry. "Where have you been all this time? We were so worried! The whole town searched for days and there was no sign of you!"

"What's all this?" asked a gruff voice, and her father appeared.

She disentangled herself from her mother's arms. "Hello, Papa."

"Miss, you have a lot of explaining to do," he said.

"Dear!" her mother said angrily. "She has finally returned to us, and that's all you have to say?"

"Hey!" Jack's voice came from inside. "If we're going to have a reunion, sis, how about you come in and shut the door?"

"Hello yourself, brat!" she called, but in fact she was very happy to see him. "I'll be glad to answer everyone's questions, inside." She followed her parents into the house.

The family assembled in the house's large main room and she told her story. Jack and Mom had hung on her every word, but her father still remained somewhat unconvinced that she had been able to control the 'monsters'. So she decided to show them her friends as proof.

Under her sweater was a belt holding six PokéBalls. One by one she opened them. "I'd like to introduce... Eagle! Firey! Fletch! Skye! Blaze!" The birds lined up on the floor and bowed. "And last but not least," she opened the last one and a long-eared yellow creature appeared. "Loki!"

"Chu chu!" He climbed up onto her shoulders, and she gave him a treat from her pocket before leveling a finger at him. "No zapping in the house."

"Pika!"

The following autumn.

Heather walked up and cut the ribbon that was strung across the doors to the town's brand new Pokémon Gym. It had taken a lot of planning and hard work, but she finally had a place of her own. The facade was her design, an intricate interlacing of bird wings.

The main road had undergone extensive repairs and people from other cities were coming to enjoy the town's solitude. No longer would Twilight Village fear the outside world.

Her two Junior Trainers, Christy and Craig, followed her inside.

In the battle ring sat a young boy, playing with a Pidgey.

THE END

Sailor Chronos
April 1999

I would like to thank the authors of these Web sites; without their terrific information, this fanfic would have been a lot more difficult.
(Author's Note: GeoCities was shut down in October of 2009. Most of these sites no longer exist, but they remain noted for posterity.)

Charmander's Pokémon Centre

Pikachu's Pokémon Centre

Pokémon Picture Archive

Strata Strike's Pokémon Illustration Marathon

The Pokédex