Notes

Hello, and happy Sunday! Hope your week has went well. Mine has been super busy, haha. I recently started a second job, so it's been a lot, but I'm slowly figuring out a good routine for myself! Anyways, here it is: the second to last full chapter. Next week will be the last normal chapter, and then the epilogue after that. Thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story, or is even just reading it for the first time now. Your patience with me, and your support, has and will continue to mean the world to me.

Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Twelve: Sky Pillar, part II

May panted wildly as the PokeBall sealed itself shut, the red light in the center finally blinking off. Two of her Pokemon had fainted, but Rayquaza – Rayquaza hadn't been fighting to kill, not like Kyogre had. Every time one of her Pokemon had fainted, the green dragon waited patiently for her to send out a new Pokemon onto the field, easing May's fears and allowing her to properly battle it.

It wasn't an easy fight, by any means, but May was the Hoenn League Champion. Once she felt comfortable and grounded, Rayquaza hadn't stood a chance.

Metagross held itself with pride as May leaned into her Pokemon, exhausted from the match. She may have beaten the legendary Pokemon soundly, but these kinds of battles always tired her out. The amount of energy she expended keeping up Nova's Mega Evolution for as long as she did… it was a lot, to say the least.

"Is it… over?" Zinnia's voice came in a whisper, staring at the PokeBall that sat neatly in the middle of the Sky Pillar rooftop.

May hadn't had many PokeBalls on her, not needing to catch many things since she had a team she was satisfied with. She was lucky enough to even have had the stash that she did, honestly. Looking at the stationary PokeBall was almost surreal, and she shook herself before looking to Zinnia and nodding.

"Yeah," she breathed out, "it's done."

"Congratulations, May," the Draconid Lorekeeper smiled at her – a real, genuine smile. "And… thank you."

Smiling back, May pushed herself into a more upright position; still leaning a lot of her body weight on her shiny Metagross. "You're welcome," she said, not knowing really what else to say – you're welcome felt lame in context, but May's brain was entirely fried.

"History had chosen you," Zinnia whispered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. May let her take her time, not in any sort of position to push the other woman, anyways. "The truth remains that Rayquaza chose you and not me… but… while I don't know how to put it into words exactly," she opened her eyes as she spoke, meeting May's gaze head on. "I think I understand why."

May shifted her weight on Metagross, staying silent at the other woman's admission. She didn't know what to say to that, either. It crashed down onto May in that moment that Zinnia had spent her entire life being told that this was her duty, that this was something only she could do, only to be upstaged by a stranger who happened to have some strong Pokemon. It didn't seem fair, and May frowned as she thought about it. She certainly wouldn't've been that calm if she were in Zinnia's shoes.

"You will be successor to our long history now," Zinnia continued, seemingly unperturbed by her silence, "and I pass to you the final key to Rayquaza's true power."

"True power?" May questioned, brain struggling to keep up. She needed one of those coffees, probably closer to five minutes ago.

"The move that only it can learn: Dragon Ascent." She turned away from May, grabbing the PokeBall containing the legendary dragon and gripping it with care. After a moment of looking pained, the red light in the center flashed briefly, and Zinnia smiled a tight smile, handing it over to May.

Quickly shoving the now empty bottle of coffee back into her bag, she took the PokeBall gingerly. "Thank you."

"I guess… it's time that I do my last task as Lorekeeper." Zinnia's eyes shone in the light as she spoke, and May would recognize that look anywhere. She was thankful to have gulped down that coffee, now. "You have obtained Rayquaza's power for your own, and now I will have you prove to me that you can master that power in battle! That is my final… the final duty of the last Lorekeeper of the Draconid people!"

May was taken aback by her words. Had she really ended an entire thousand years of tradition today? She almost wanted to shove the PokeBall into Zinnia's hands, but the other woman continued, not letting May get a word in at all.

"Show me that you can exceed it – the entirety of history that we have clung to until today!" Zinnia shouted, backing up to allow room for her Goodra to come out onto the makeshift battlefield the rooftop provided. Her grin was manic and wild, and May almost wanted to cry.

It had never been her intention to follow Zinnia up here to rip away her history, her duty, her entire purpose. She had just wanted to save Hoenn – to make sure that there was a way to save the place she loved; the place that she had called home since the moment she'd arrived.

She threw out Rayquaza's new PokeBall, almost reluctantly, but even with guilt and exhaustion gnawing on her May couldn't deny the excitement she felt at the prospect of battling with the legendary dragon. Just as she had been excited to have Latias before, it was exhilarating like nothing else.

"Let's see what you can do!" She called out once it had materialized in front of her, not bothering to fight the grin that was making its way onto her face. "Dragon Ascent!"

If May had been exhausted before from holding Nova's Mega Evolution for so long, she was a dead person walking after finally fainting Zinnia's Mega Evolved Salamence. Rayquaza, too, had a Mega Evolution, just as Zinnia had told her, and May had never felt that kind of pull in her stomach before.

Plenty of Pokemon on her team were capable of Mega Evolution – Nova, her starter Pokemon, of course. Metagross. Altaria. Latias, when she was on her team. Most recently, Sharpedo, though she hadn't even had a chance to try that out, yet. The tug she felt from it was generally the same: it took quite a bit of energy, and her stomach usually felt queasy afterwards, but she could do it, despite the pain.

Way back when she had went to help Latias with Steven, she had wondered if she was worthy of Mega Evolution. If she was capable of unlocking her Pokemon's greatest strength with them; if they would even let her. What she once fretted over heavily became a natural part of any tough or grueling battle, the Mega Bracelet that sat on her wrist full of her own life energy at this point.

But Mega Evolving Rayquaza had been far more than what May had been expecting.

It hurt. May didn't think she'd ever been this exhausted after a simple battle before – Zinnia had not even been that much of a challenge, despite her team of high level dragon-types. Steven had been far more of a challenge for her. But even so, May staggered back after Salamence finally fell, swaying hard trying to keep herself steady on her feet.

"Just like I'd expected of you, May," Zinnia said as she returned her fallen Pokemon, but May hardly even registered the praise.

She fished out a bottle of water after sitting herself down soundly on the ground, gulping it down greedily. "It was a good battle," she finally told Zinnia after a few long moments. Her throat still burned, and she took another long swig.

"I guess it falls to you now," Zinnia began, but trailed off quickly, before shaking her head and walking over to where May sat. She blinked blearily at her, trying her hardest to wake herself up, even just a little. "That settles it, then – May, you should even be able to beat that meteoroid that's approaching the planet. You and Rayquaza… together."

May was sure she must've misheard the Lorekeeper. "You want me to fight… the meteoroid?" May asked, wondering briefly is she was just hallucinating. Or maybe she had fallen asleep after the battle had ended. She wouldn't put it past herself – she was far, far past her normal limit.

"I am leaving this task to you, our new Successor," Zinnia continued as if she hadn't even heard May's question, and May frowned a little. "Successor May. You and Rayquaza must protect nature… Pokemon… the people…"

She held her hand out for May to take, helping pull the Champion up to her feet once again. "You still have that Aqua Suit, right?"

May was absolutely sure she was going to faint, now.

The plan was insane. This was, without a doubt, the craziest thing May had ever done in her entire life. Forget going into the Cave of Origin to drive down beneath the cave to fight an enraged Primal Kyogre. This was, somehow, crazier.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, May wondered if she should call Steven and tell him that despite everything, she was, probably, in love with him; considering she may very well end up dead in the void of space.

There was a large, large part of May that felt terrified of being in the Aqua Suit yet again, too. There was an even larger part of her that regretted coming up here to the Sky Pillar, that regretting fighting Steven and accepting his position of Champion and not letting him continue to be the leader of the Hoenn Region. Not once when she had taken off on her first day in Hoenn did May ever think this was how her life would end up. Not once in her wildest, wildest dreams, did she ever think she would have control over a legendary dragon and would be heading into space to fight a rock.

She shook herself, the fear and adrenaline coursing through her forcing her to wake up, and thought about her Pokemon – how they were all safe and okay. They had been healed before she got into the Aqua Suit, and she had gotten to see each and everyone one of them before returning them to their PokeBalls. Technically, she was living a bit illegally right now, seeing as a Trainer was never supposed to have more than six Pokemon on them at a time, but she did not have the heart to send any one of her team members to the PC. They had been through everything together. May couldn't imagine going into another life or death scenario without any one of them.

Part of her had wanted to send them all back, though. Especially her Altaria, who had broken both of her wings against Kyogre. She didn't think her beautiful dragon-type could handle another injury like that. However, they had all refused when she had taken them all out to heal. She wouldn't go against her Pokemon's wishes. Not in a situation like this. They deserved to have the agency that May had never had when she was younger, and she wouldn't take that away from them.

So May sighed, bracing herself as she climbed on top of Rayquaza. She had never flowed on a Pokemon other than Tropius, Altaria, or Latias, and saying she was nervous would've been an understatement. After all, she was going into space. To fight a meteoroid.

She gave Rayquaza a pat on the neck to let him know she was ready, and the legendary Pokemon shot straight into the sky like a bullet; a green tail of bright light following behind him as he did so. May clung on for dear life as they rocketed into the atmosphere, the Sky Pillar getting smaller and smaller behind them as they went.

As soon as they landed back on top of the Sky Pillar, May fell off of Rayquaza, completely and totally drained.

She wasn't coherent as her Pokemon all forced themselves out of their PokeBalls, one by one helping her out of the Aqua Suit as she leaned on Rayquaza with her entire body weight. Her grip on the PokeBall she had caught the weird space Pokemon – Deoxys, she vaguely remembered her PokeDex saying – in went slack, and it rolled out of her hand, stopping only when Tropius halted its path.

All of her Pokemon gathered around her, comforting her and making sure she was alright as May wept uncontrollably. It wasn't that she was upset, or hurt; nothing about fighting Deoxys had been particularly triggering or difficult for her to do. She was just so emotionally and physically drained that it was like her body didn't know what else to do in that moment.

Rayquaza was patient with her, as were all of her Pokemon, as she cried and cried until she had nothing left in her. After her sobs had subsided, Nova slowly reached into her bag and brought out her water bottle, which she took from him wordlessly.

After what felt like hours, May finally gave a shaky smile to her team, thanking each and every one of them individually for their help as she put them back inside of their PokeBalls, save for Nova and Rayquaza. Nova would stay out, like always, and Rayquaza –

May took a deep breath before pushing herself off the legendary dragon's body, not yet standing but no longer leaning on its body. "Thank you," she said, as she'd said with all of her Pokemon. "I don't know why you chose me, but I'm grateful. Thanks to you, we were able to protect Hoenn – we were able to protect my home." She bowed from her sitting position, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Nova do the same.

Rayquaza, however, just made what she could only interpret as a chortle in response, eyeing his new PokeBall once May had sat back upright. She smiled widely, clicking the button in the center to return him, before putting his PokeBall into her bag where Deoxys' now was, as well.

"Nova," May said, and instantly her Blaziken was on her, hovering over her protectively. "Help me stand." He took her hand gently in his taloned ones, pulling her into a standing position. "Thank you."

She hugged him tightly, arms gripping with as much force as she could possibly muster at the time. Easily, he returned the hug, resting his beaked face on the top of his Trainer's head, letting her know everything was, finally, okay.

May leaned into Nova, surveying the Sky Pillar rooftop after she had taken a bit more time to calm herself. Being fully hydrated had definitely helped, but she was still more exhausted then she thought she had ever, ever been. None of her sleepless nights and terrible migraines could've prepared her for this.

The Whismur May recognized as Aster came out from the shadows, whirring at her softly. May smiled, and took a deep breath before slowly crossing the rooftop to see it.

"What is it?" She asked, leaning down despite the pain she felt. In its tiny hands it held a letter, which it pushed towards May. With care, she took it, but before she got a chance to look at it, Whismur took off for the stairs.

Sighing, May tore open the envelope, scanning the contents carefully.

I was finally able to bring everything to an end. I thank you for that. I think I'll spend some time now trying to find out if it's also possible to forge a new beginning for something once lost. Until we meet again,

Zinnia

Simple and straight to the point, May could easily read how lost Zinnia had been feeling when she wrote this. Her heart ached painfully for the Draconid woman – meeting her had made May very, very aware of what she could've turned out to be like, had she not moved to Hoenn and met her Pokemon. She had once been that brash, that rude and hard to talk to; and more dangerously, she had once been that angry with the world and everything in it. Had she been given a position such as Zinnia's, to protect a world that she felt had turned its back on her…

Well, May wasn't sure she would've acted much differently than her in the first place. Even if her plan had worked out in the end, she had went about it in all the wrong ways; destroying the only back up plan available, refusing to work with others… May was grateful she had learned at least some patience and understanding over the course of her journey.

She may still be crass, still be an easily irritated person and blunt, but she listened a bit better than she used to. May knew there was always room for improvement, of course, and this was just another reminder of that.

For some reason, her thoughts went to Steven as she held Zinnia's letter firmly in her hands. They had a lot to talk about – months of unshared feelings that had brewed between them. Their battle in the Pokemon League had helped May understand, somewhat, why he had stayed away from her following Kyogre, but she needed to hear it from him.

She wanted to be more open with him, she realized. She wanted to tell him straight up, exactly how she felt, no holds barred. And she wanted the same from him.

"The energy reading appears to be diffusing!" One of the assistants called from the front of the Space Center lab. Reading the charts quickly as they popped up onto the large monitor, she continued, tripping over her words to get the information out. "W-we can, can confirm that the meteoroid has been destroyed, sir!"

The scientist close to her was practically bouncing off the walls at the news. He leapt up from his work station, catching the attention of one of the Professors. "Professor!" He finally got out, after stuttering over himself. "The meteoroid! The meteoroid – it's –! Thank the powers above! It's –!"

"Calm yourself, man!" He said, but grinned widely right after, tears prickling the corners of his eyes. "Oh, who am I kidding! I'm so happy, I could kiss you!" He clapped, letting out a shaky laugh. We did it! We actually did it! Success is ours!" His laughter died out slowly, until there was no more laughter left in him. "Thank you, May," he said, tone much more seriously, knowing that it wasn't really them that had stopped the disaster, but her.

And likely her alone.

"I still owe you for your help at the Sky Pillar. Thank you for that," Steven said, his voice reverberating off the walls in the final room of the Pokemon League. His voice was heavy, mixed with various emotions – some of which Steven couldn't quite place himself.

Wallace just laughed, however, not giving Steven any time to reflect. "How unlike you to be so thoughtful," the water-type Trainer snarked back.

Smiling at his friend, Steven let out a chuckle of his own, though his was much more pensive. "You know," he said after a moment, bringing a hand up to his chin in a familiar manner, "This experience really brought it home for me again," he trailed off, and Wallace waited patiently for his friend to continue. After a long sigh, Steven did. "That there is still so much about this world that I do not know. I wonder what would have happened to Hoenn… if Mya had not been here to aid us with this, and the incident with the super-ancient Pokemon… I alone was powerless to stop either."

The guilt had been eating Steven alive. It wasn't that he didn't trust May to handle these situations on her own – quite the contrary. She had more than proven herself as a capable Trainer to him, long ago. It was that he wanted to be there for her. He had been the Champion of the Region when Kyogre had appeared and he had done nothing of use during the entirety of the incident.

There was also the added complication of how he felt about her, but… he wasn't quite ready to delve into that, yet. He wasn't sure if he would ever be ready.

"There is no one person in this world who knows all," Wallace's voice broke him out of his reverie. "None who can do all. Steven," his friend met his eyes, smiling sadly at him. "There is no cause for such worries of concern."

Another light chuckle from Steven – a self-deprecating one. Unfortunately, the kind words of his oldest friend did little to ease his guilt. "Don't worry," he told him instead. "It's not that I am so shocked by my own disappointing performance. But rather," he trailed off, stopping himself.

Wallace gave him a moment, but after he didn't continue, prompted him. "Rather what?"

He shook his head, clearing out his true thoughts. Steven was still not ready to talk about May in that manner – least of all with Wallace, who would see right through him in an instant. "I was just thinking how much more there is I must learn about nature, about Pokemon…" Steven continued with instead, jumping back to his thought train from earlier. "And about my fellow humans as well, if I am to keep living in this huge, wide world."

Wallace opened his mouth, but closed it again, realizing his friend wasn't finished collecting his thoughts out loud.

"I want to walk this world on my own two feet," Steven kept going, thinking back to his horribly sheltered upbringing. "To see it with my own eyes. To feel it on my very skin…" His thoughts had, unknowingly, shifted back to May as he kept speaking, but found he couldn't stop himself. "I need to put into practice all of the advice I ever gave to May. That's what I am thinking now."

Seeing May be free, knowing what little he did know about her family and her life before leaving home to follow her dreams… It had awoken something deep inside of him. His escape had always been caving, but how much of that, Steven wondered, had been to separate himself from the outside world? His father had never let him do what he wanted to do as a child, and in the back of his mind he knew that he would end up becoming the heir of Devon Corp at this rate, no matter how badly he wished to fight it.

May had broken free of expectations – part of his ridiculously complicated feelings for her were, undoubtedly, intertwined with his own desire for freedom, and Steven knew it well. Before he could face her fully, he understood now what he needed to do.

"Steven," Wallace cut through again to him, his tone growing harsh. "You can't intend to…"

Steven laughed aloud at that, starting to feel lighter than he had in many months. He would shed this guilt that was weighing him down, and he would become a man worthy of facing May once he sorted out how much of these feelings were real, and how much of these feelings were his misguided desire for freedom.

"But no need to fear," Steven said, an odd smile making its way onto his face as he spoke. "I won't just disappear at once. I'll still be around doing my duty on behalf of the Pokemon League. But, hm," he paused. "When the time does come for me to pursue my own hopes… well, I hope that you, Wallace, will be behind me to lend a hand."

It was rare for Steven to be so open with anyone, really – even Wallace, who he had known for far longer than most of the people he spoke to.

Wallace looked away from him, but Steven could see the grin on his face. "It seems I have little choice. I bow to the whims of the pampered heir," he said, rolling his eyes in jest. "I, Wallace, will do this thing you wish."

Light laughter broke free from Steven's throat, and he found himself already feeling better after this simple conversation. "Thank you, my friend," he trailed off, watching Wallace turn for the secret door to leave the last room of the Pokemon League, leaving Steven to be with his own thoughts once again.

Aster made a noise at Zinnia, who stared sadly at the flowing water of Meteor Falls. "Aster," she whispered, turning to look at her Pokemon. "It's over… it's all over." It hurt in a way she hadn't been expected.

Footsteps sounded lightly through the cave, and Zinnia turned again to face who she knew to be there – her grandmother.

"Zinnia, my child."

"Grannie…"

"You have worked so hard," her grandmother spoke softly, eyes warm and kind still, despite everything that had happened. "It is enough, child. Be done with your burden. Let it go now." Zinnia didn't want to hear this, and scrunched her eyes shut in protest, hoping that somehow it would make the words stop coming. "For everything there must be an ending," her grandmother continued, paying no attention to Zinnia's actions. "Only then… only then can there be a new beginning. That is the immutable truth that all living things on this planet, great and small, must accept. We Draconids have seen it in our history, as you have seen it in your own life. Now is the time for rest. Let down the great burden you have borne so long alone… so that you might at last take a step forward toward new life."

Zinnia fought back tears, the roof of her mouth burning as her grandmother sighed.

"Now is the time for rest," her grandmother repeated, her voice just as warm as her eyes. Her words were harsh, but they were not cruel. The truth was often harsh, Zinnia knew – she was the Lorekeeper, inheritor of the truth from generations and generations ago, after all.

Finally, she let the first tear fall, and it was like a dam broke then. The rest of them cascaded down her face in waves. "Yes," she finally gasped out, after a moment.

Through her tears, she walked down the stairs of the Falls, not turning around for Aster or to thank her grandmother for her kind, honest words. This was something she needed to sort out alone, for a while, first. And she had the time – after all, now was the time for rest.

It felt like such a stupid end to her day, to sit in the Space Center which she had been to multiple times over the last days with Brendan, to watch a meteoroid shower that could've killed them all. Not even including the fact that May had already seen the Litlenoids in all their glory, from the rooftop of the Sky Pillar, just the other night.

They sat, staring out through the window as the loudspeaker blared, "Thank you for visiting the Mossdeep Space Center…" May heaved a sigh, and tried her hardest to crack a smile as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She felt out of place there, for so many different reasons – one of which being Nova wasn't out next to her, there to calm her down.

It was amazing to her how quickly her Pokemon had become that important of a presence in her life. Two years ago, she watched the last of her classmates leave school to start their own journeys in Johto, jealousy filling her veins. Since then, May had always figured that by the time she'd get to go out on her own… she would no longer even be interested.

How glad she was to have been wrong.

"May," Brendan broke the silence, turning to look at his friend. "I'm really glad I met you."

Two years ago, had someone like Brendan told that to her, she would've ignored them, if not outright laughed in their face at the confession. Today, though, after the past few days that May had…

"Thanks, Brendan," she told him earnestly. It wasn't easy for her, to be honest like this, but the people around her deserved better from her. Hoenn as a whole deserved better from their new Champion. She thought back to Zinnia and almost nodded. She would be better.

"I can tell you have a lot on your mind," he continued, as they got up out of their chairs. May instinctively reached for Nova's PokeBall, but withdrew, knowing she couldn't release him yet when they were about to fly to Littleroot. "And I know you won't tell me. And that's okay! I just," Brendan sighed as they walked through the Space Center entrance. "I just want you to know I know you'll figure it out, okay?"

They were outside now, Mossdeep bustling with people who had all wanted to watch the Litlenoids as well. May reached for Tropius' PokeBall, but decided against it, realizing quickly she had some unfinished business to take care of in Mossdeep.

May flashed what used to be a rare, genuine smile at Brendan. "Thank you." And she meant it. "You fly home, okay? There's something I want to take care of while I'm out here."

Brendan's gaze moved from May to the houses in the background, knowing exactly what she meant. He tried to hide his dejected eyes, but she saw right through him. Maybe she should feel bad, but she couldn't bring herself to. It wasn't anyone's fault, but she knew she didn't return the feelings Brendan had been desperately trying to hide from her.

"I'm sorry," she spoke up again after he didn't say anything. Her fingers itched at her waist over Nova's PokeBall, wanting to badly to lean into him right now.

Truthfully, May thought Brendan wouldn't say anything, and just leave. She certainly wouldn't hold it against him – she knew she was about to head into an incredibly emotionally dangerous situation herself. But he surprised her, and after a minute, smiled at her brightly.

"It's okay, May," Brendan said, eyes looking anywhere but at her own. "Really. I know I seem all… upset, right now, but I just want you to be happy. You're my best friend, after all!"

Part of her didn't understand how she could ever be considered someone's best friend, especially Brendan. For so long, she had just pushed him away from her; being as rude to him as she could possibly be at times. It really wasn't until the incident at the Cave of Origin that she had decided not to be so mean to him, and started treating him more like an equal instead of someone she just wanted to get rid of.

She didn't understand, but she knew he was being genuine. So instead of worrying over it right now, she took a deep breath, and bowed.

"Thank you," she repeated. "I'll see you later."

He gave her a shaky laugh, taking out his Swellow's PokeBall. "See you later."

Standing in front of Steven's house, May was beginning to have second thoughts about this, especially without the support of her Pokemon. She had always gotten a bit nervous around him, but this was an entirely new experience.

Throughout her journey, throughout interacting with him, getting to know him, battling with him… Somewhere along the line, May had fallen in love. She didn't know everything about him, and if she were being honest with herself, she didn't know this version of him that well – but somehow, she felt she knew him more intimately than most could claim to, especially when she thought about her previous dreams.

It wasn't because he had given her so many important gifts throughout her journey. It wasn't because he was pretty, or because he was the heir to Devon Corp. None of those things, really, made any difference to May in the end.

It wasn't something May could put into words. It just… was. It was just the fact that she wanted to be with him, she wanted to listen to him talk and understand him and debate with him and battle him and –

It was a lot of things, May had come to realize.

So with a deep breath, she opened his door, knowing that if he was even there he wouldn't mind at all.

The house was dark, and there weren't any shoes by the front door. May sighed, calling out for him anyways. "Steven? Are you there?"

No answer. She fumbled around for a moment before finding the light switch and flicking it on. Even if he wasn't home, she needed a moment to sit; to figure out what she would even be doing, now, that her journey was more or less over. To figure out what she would be doing about Steven, if she wasn't going to be talking to him that night.

To her surprise, a letter and a PokeBall sat on the small table in the middle of his house. Holding her breath, she quietly, slowly, walked over to it, feeling out of place and out of sorts. She didn't even know if it was from him or for him, but something in her gut told her she should take a look at it. Maybe that was her anxiety talking, she wasn't sure, but when she reached the table, her suspicions had been proven correct.

On the envelope, her name was scrawled out carefully with a flourish.

She shuddered out a breath, picking it up carefully. It wasn't sealed, just folded closed, so she removed the letter with ease.

Dear May,

I'm sorry, first and foremost, that I am a coward and am leaving you this letter instead of facing you directly. You deserve much better than that – than me. I know you will find this letter, because I know you are much braver than I have ever given you credit for, and will want to confront this head on like you always seem to do. This is not easy for me, if that brings you any comfort. So much of me wishes to face you and tell you how I feel, but there are so many things that I must sort out before I can do that with full confidence.

I want to change that, though. I want to be someone who can face you properly; someone who is unafraid and no longer conflicted.

I have something in mind, so I will be away in training for some time. I do not expect to return to my home anytime soon. Which brings me to a request. I want you to take the PokeBall that you should find on my desk. The Beldum inside is one of my favorite Pokemon, so I hope you'll treat it like one of your own.

Trusting we will meet again,

Steven Stone

P.S. I had sent you another Beldum, rather a special one. Did it reach you safely? Of course, both are cool and sublimely strong. I trust they will teach you the joys of Steel-type Pokemon.

May cried as she read the letter, unabashedly, tears falling onto the paper without care. She didn't even know why she was crying so hard. It was so stupid, she thought. He wasn't saying they'd never speak again, or that he didn't care about her at all, or anything of the sort. In fact, the letter told her the complete opposite.

And yet, she wished he had been strong enough, like he mentioned in his letter. She didn't know what was stopping him – he didn't say – but remembering their Champion battle at Ever Grande City, May thought she had some idea.

Vaguely, as she cried at his kitchen table, she wondered if he had felt sheltered his entire life, too. He had grown up the heir of Devon Corp, after all. May certainly didn't expect that to be a pleasant childhood, especially after she had seen the two Stones in action together just the other day. He probably never left Hoenn, had probably become Champion to feel like he had some control over his life, some free will – much like she had left her new home on her first day in Hoenn, just to exercise something she wasn't at all used to.

Instead of Nova's, she pulled out a different PokeBall on her waistband, one containing the strangely colored Metagross she had been given as a Beldum at the very start of her journey. It had been a long time since she had thought about her Pokemon's origins; it was the third Pokemon in her party, after all. It had been given to her at her first Pokemon Center, the attendant just saying he had been instructed to give it to a newer-looking Trainer. May hadn't thought about it at the time, but now that she was…

"Of course," she hiccupped, laughing a little as she stroked her Metagross' cool head gently. "Your Original Trainer. It's Steven. Of course."

She sat and cried for a long time, holding onto her Metagross' arm.

Notes

Oh man, I almost can't believe this is almost done, haha. Next chapter will be up as usual on June 16th, so see you guys then! Thank you as always for reading!