Epilogue: Through the Years

Niko thrust his hand forward excitedly. This was it—the end of a Pokemon match that had been a long time coming! "Go Kaila!"

"Ruffy, use stone edge!" Kaila commanded decisively. Her Lycanroc leapt into the air, summoning pointed stones and firing them down at their opponent—a Charizard. The Flame Pokemon swiftly moved to the right before launching forward with a steel wing attack. "Ruffy, accelerock!"

"Ruff!" Lycanroc shouted, rocketing forward, a stream of light appearing behind him as he tackled the Charizard, head-on. Both of them collapsed to the ground, but only Ruffy managed to get back up before collapsing once more.

"Charizard is unable to battle, Lycanroc is the winner! The victory goes to Kaila from Hau'oli City!"

"That's it, folks!" Colton Goodshow declared. "The winner of the Indigo League Conference is Kaila from Hau'oli City in Alola!"

"Yes! We did it, Ruffy!" Kaila shouted, her Lycanroc running up to her, licking her face happily. "We have to go tell Niko and Charlotte!"

Kaila was about to leave when she was summoned to receive her trophy. Turning around, she saw Colton Goodshow and the Champion of the Kanto League, Lance, approach the center of the battlefield. Sighing, she stood up. "Guess we have to do this first, Ruffy."

"Ruff!"

"Congratulations, Kaila. As winner of the Indigo League, you now have the opportunity to face the Kanto Elite 4," Lance said. "Are you prepared to do this?"

"Yes! Yes of course I am!" Kaila shouted excitedly. "Right, Ruffy!?"

"Ruff!"

"Heh, awesome," Lance said with a smile. "Your first match will be against Lorelei. It'll be held here tomorrow afternoon, and will be a five-on-five Pokemon battle. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you!" Kaila said, taking the trophy and showing it to Ruffy. "Now let's go find them!"

"Niko! Charlotte! I did it!" Kaila shouted, running up to her foster father and his girlfriend.

"I'm so proud of you, Kaila," Niko said, hugging her. "Ruffy, you did great, too!"

"Ruff!"

"Now you get to face the Elite 4," Charlotte added. "You're further along than I am!"

"Oh come on, Charlotte," Niko said, standing up and looking at his girlfriend. "You lose on a fluke, that's all!"

"That Feraligatr was almost as strong as yours!" Charlotte said. "I can see how you had difficulty with the Silver Conference, it's really something else!"

"Can I go there next, Niko?" Kaila asked. Niko turned again to her, crouched low, and nodded.

"Wherever you think you belong, Kaila. Do you want to travel on your own again?"

"Kinda, if that's okay," Kaila replied with some nervousness.

The year prior, only months after Niko won the World Championship, Kaila officially became part of Niko's family; his adopted daughter. Then, she decided to step out into the world and challenge the Kanto gyms, just as Niko had done at the start of his journey. She wanted to go off alone, just like he did. So, to give her space, Charlotte decided to head to Johto, with Niko tagging along for most of it. Like her boyfriend, and like her father, Charlotte and Kaila started anew, catching and training different types of Pokemon.

When it came time for their respective Pokemon Leagues, Charlotte made it to the finals once again, and Kaila ended up narrowly winning her regional conference.

Now Niko, almost 25, watched the two women in his life continue their journeys in much the same way that he had done. They got to see the world as he had seen it growing up. He also got to go re-live it as well.

"Do you need any help preparing for the Indigo League, Kaila?" Niko asked as they walked off to grab something to eat.

"No, I think I've got it. What type does Lorelei use again?"

"Err…" Niko said, thinking about it. As World Champion, he has gotten to know most Elite 4 members, as well as their type specialties. "I think she uses ice types. But Kanto has a lot of ice and water types, so she uses a mixture of the two."

"Like Lapras?"

"Especially Lapras," Niko replied.

"Oh, we can win that, right Ruffy?"

"Ruff!"

Niko smiled at his daughter's eagerness. It was the same eagerness he felt at the start of his journey.

Kaila managed to make it past Lorelei and to the second member of the Elite 4, Bruno, before losing to his Machamp. She was upset about it, but only briefly. She resolved herself to go to Johto now and continue training and meeting new types of Pokemon.

"She's definitely not my daughter," Niko joked at his mother's home in Pallet Town as she was enthralling Daisy in her adventures. "She dealt with her loss way better."

"She's learned from it, though," Charlotte replied. "As did you."

"By the way, when's Jake coming back?" Niko asked. Because of Kaila's Elite 4 challenge, he hadn't gotten a chance to go see Jake's. "He better have won the Kalos League."

"Did you have any doubt!?" Jake shouted from the front door, hands out to each side. "Any doubt!?"

"Jake!" Niko shouted, scrambling up to embrace his brother. "You won?"

"Lost to Drasna," he winked.

"Damn, it's always her," Niko muttered to himself. "That's amazing, though!"

"Isn't it?" Jake said excitedly. "My opponent in the finals was a bit too easy, honestly. The semifinals were much harder."

"Sorry I couldn't make it. Kaila had her Elite 4 challenge, too," Niko said.

"Really now?" Jake said excitedly, turning to his adopted niece. "Great job!"

"Thanks, Jake!" Kaila said, high-fiving her foster uncle. "Congrats to you, too!"

Niko went back to sit down with Charlotte. He turned to her and smiled. "I need to do a better job of seeing everyone's battles…"

"Yeah, but now it's hard to do that," Charlotte said. "With Jake, and Kaila…"

"And you," Niko said, raising an eyebrow. "Can't forget yourself."

"Yeah, but I don't mind if you miss a league or whatever to see your daughter's."

"It's so weird calling her that," Niko said, "Still getting used to it."

His decision to adopt Kaila was not one of necessity, at least on his part—he didn't want a child so early in his life. The reason was more for her sake—she needed a place to call home, someone to call her family. In that way, Niko was more than happy to step in. He wanted her to have the sort of life he had had. If that meant he'd be a father to a 12-year old girl, then he'd do it.

She seemed happier than ever—living out her best life with Niko, his family, and Charlotte.

"I was thinking of going to Oak's Lab today," Jake said, "is Fay around?"

Niko thought about it for a moment. He couldn't recall hearing from the Pokemon researcher recently. "I…think he's still in the Orre Region, studying shadow Pokemon."

"Shadow…Pokemon…?" Jake asked curiously. "Wouldn't those just be ghost types?"

"Yeah, you'd think right? Fay said that's not the case, but he didn't elaborate. Some laboratory experiment went haywire, and he decided to head there to investigate and study it further. He's been gone for a few months now."

"Hope he's okay…" Charlotte said, slightly concerned.

"It's Fay, he'll be more than okay," Niko said with undying confidence for his friend.

Niko got up and walked outside to the backyard, where his Pokemon were running around playfully—well, at least some of them were. He could see Sceptile sitting up in a tree, as he usually did, with Venusaur underneath it. Incineroar was wrestling with Aggron, as they tended to do. Serperior was angrily fending off a playful Delibird. Niko witnessed her furiously spray the Delivery Pokemon with a leaf tornado, knocking him high into the air.

Oh, buddy…Niko thought to himself. He noticed Charlotte following him around. Her Pokemon also stayed at his house, which made them consider where—and how—they were going to continue to hold all of these Pokemon, now that Kaila was training and catching more as well.

It was a problem Niko was eager to solve, and would spend the next several months doing so.

One year later

"I'm so excited to see Warren again!" Kaila shouted as she exited the plane in Castelia city with Charlotte and Niko.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Niko said. "About a year, I think," he looked to Charlotte for confirmation. She looked up and nodded, holding her carry-on at her side. The trio started to walk towards the exit of the gate and, as soon as they did, Niko felt a full-body tackle, this time actually knocking him to the ground. "Oof," Niko said, looking up to see Warren getting off of him.

"NIKO!" Warren shouted excitedly. "How're you doing!?"

"Fine, until you tackled me," Niko said with a smirk. "Hey Sydney!"

"Hi Niko!" Sydney shouted back.

"Kaila, I've got something for you," Warren said, "close your eyes, okay?"

Kaila nodded, eagerly closing her eyes and holding out her hands. Warren then reached into his pocket and pulled out a pokéball. Once she felt something in her palms, she opened her eyes, excited at her new gift.

"It's a Luxury Ball!" Warren said, pointing to the black and gold pokéball. "It's supposedly very comfortable, so use it on a Pokemon that you really think you'll like."

Kaila hugged it before looking up at Warren. "Thanks, Warren! I love it!"

They left the airport and started walking towards Sydney's car. "Where do you guys want to go? That sushi place we like?" the others, remembering how much they enjoyed it two years prior when Niko was at the World Tournament, nodded. "Let's do that, then. Hit it, Sydney!"

"You don't have to say that every time I turn on the car…" she said, rolling her eyes and laughing.

"So…what's new with you two?" Niko asked after they sat down.

"Well, for starters, Sydney is now the assistant producer at her radio station," Warren said amidst claps from the three visitors. "And I'm still running my orphanage."

"That's been open for…a year now?"

"Year and a half. Last time you were here, we had hit our six-month anniversary," Warren replied plainly.

Niko then heard Charlotte gasp. He turned to look at Sydney's hand. It took him a moment, but after blinking he finally gasped as well.

"You…you did not…" he said, turning to Warren.

"I did."

"When's it gonna be!?"

"You're getting married!?" Kaila shouted.

Warren nodded. "Probably next summer. We still need to save up money for it. Actually, now that you're here, Niko…" Warren said, leaning forward. "I'd like you to be the Best Man."

"On it," Niko said with a quick and decisive nod. "Absolutely."

"Excellent. See Sydney, I knew he'd say yes!"

"Did I doubt you…?" Sydney asked curiously. She then turned to the trio again. "He asked me a couple weeks ago, so it's still all fresh and new. Anyway, how have you three been? Any new Pokemon Leagues conquered?"

"I came in second in the Silver Conference!" Kaila shouted eagerly.

"That's Johto…right?" Warren asked, with Niko nodding in response. "And how about you, Charlotte? What have you been up to?"

"I finally won a conference—the Indigo League," she said happily. "Lost to Agatha."

"Who is surprisingly still alive," Niko said. "I remember battling her when I travelled in Kanto."

"Niko that was over 9 years ago…"

"I know!" Niko replied, eyes widened.

"And you, Niko?" Warren asked curiously.

"Nothing much, really. Been training my Pokemon, travelling with Charlotte in Kanto, seeing old sights, that kind of stuff. Jake's off somewhere in Alola now, I think. Fay is travelling to the Sevii Islands on a research mission.

"Actually, I should mention—Lauren stopped by our orphanage the other day. She is taking on the Unova League now," Warren said. "At least, I think it was your friend. Her name was Lauren and she had some wild hair."

"That's probably Lauren then," Niko said with a laugh. "Glad she's getting back into it, though."

The next day Niko, Charlotte, and Kaila visited Warren's orphanage on Liberty Street after visiting Charlotte's mom. It was a warm, welcoming atmosphere in a large bottom-floor suite on the side of a busy street. Warren did well. Very well, as it turned out.

Niko walked around, looking at parents with their children, teenagers, and even elderly couples gazing at the different kinds of Pokemon Warren was taking care of. He walked up to the front desk, where Warren sat, eagerly watching potential new owners.

"This is incredible," he said, turning back to see parents and their small child play with a Lillipup. "And you just find these Pokemon?"

"Or they're brought to me. Either or," Warren said as he noticed Leavanny walking out of the backroom. "Hey, were you able to fix up that Snivy?" Leavanny nodded happily, looking down at the Grass Snake Pokemon, now in an arm-sling, walking out nervously. "Great job! Hey, Snivy, you feeling better?" he asked, crouching down. Snivy looked up and nodded. "Good, I'm really glad. Now go on now, socialize!"

Snivy nodded, walking back into the front room towards its friends—a Sewaddle and a Deerling. Leavanny placed her thin hands on her chest, where her heart was, admiringly. Niko then noticed a young boy walking up to the Snivy, in confusion and awe at the creature. Seeing an opportunity, Niko walked up to him.

"Why is that Snivy—woah…" the little boy said, looking up at Niko. "You're…you're…"

"Who? What?" Niko said with a smirk.

"You're the World Champion…"

"I guess word gets around. Hey, I'm Niko," he said, holding out his palm. The kid high-fived him, and Niko crouched down onto a knee. "And to answer your question, this Snivy is bandaged up because it got hurt. I don't know how, but it's recovering from something.

"You know, Snivy is a really strong species of Pokemon," Niko explained to the kid. "It needs a strong and capable trainer to help it out. Do you know anyone who could do that?"

"…you?" he asked cautiously.

"Hah! No no, I have my own Snivy. It's a Serperior, though…" Niko said. "And she's one of my strongest Pokemon."

"You have a Serperior?" the kid asked with awe.

"Yup. Met one here in Castelia City, actually. I found her in a dumpster. She had run away from home, and I helped her out. Then, she wanted to join me, and we became best friends after that."

"I want a Snivy when I become a trainer," he said.

"Well, this Snivy is looking for a home," Niko said. The kid turned to the Grass Snake Pokemon, who looked back at him nervously. "I'm sure it would love to get to know you more."

"I don't know…" the kid said, seeming indecisive.

"Well, get to know it a little. I think you two could be best friends, too," Niko said, patting the kid on the back and winking to the Snivy before standing back up. He turned to see an awestruck Warren, and a not-so-surprised Charlotte. "What?"

"I quit, Niko," Warren said, "you can have my job."

"Hah! That's hilarious. I know nothing about running a business," Niko said teasingly. "Kaila, are you enjoying this too?"

"Yep! Thanks for taking me!" she said, particularly interested in a Venipede who was being rather social with some of the other Pokemon. Niko took note of it before asking her and Charlotte when they wanted to leave.

"You seem…a little antsy," Charlotte asked as they were walking out. "Is everything okay?"

Niko turned to her and nodded. "Yup, of course!" he said, turning to Warren and briefly showing him something shining from his back pocket as they left. His eyes widened, looking just as surprised as Niko expected him to be. "So…after we get back to Pallet Town, what do you two want to do?"

"I'd like to visit Maizie in Alola, actually," Charlotte said. "If that's okay with you."

"Perfect," Niko said. "I meant as far as your journey, though."

"Oh! I haven't thought about that, honestly," Charlotte replied. "I was thinking of maybe going to Hoenn. You talk about that region a lot, too."

"Can I go with you?" Kaila asked excitedly. "I've never been!"

"Of course you can. It can be a family thing," Niko said.

"Family…thing…?" Charlotte asked.

They had now reached the pier. Without realizing it, Charlotte and Kaila had been walking on autopilot with Niko to Liberty Pier.

"Yeah. Family thing," Niko said. "Because we're a family."

"Well, not technically," Charlotte said. "Kaila's your daughter, and I'm just—"

She paused.

Niko was looking up at her.

Niko was normally looking down at her.

There was a ring in his hand.

"Will you marry me?"

"Uhh…what…"

"Charlotte," Niko said, tilting his head.

"I know what you said!" she replied, hands up to her mouth. "Um…yes! Yes, yes!"

Niko took a deep breath, relieved. "Thank Arceus…" he said, standing up and kissing Charlotte. "You had me worried there for a moment."

"You had me surprised there for a moment!" Charlotte exclaimed. "I did not expect that, honestly."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I thought you were going to wait another year or so."

"Well, this is just an engagement. We can wait another year or so. But, Charlotte…" Niko said, "I meant it when I said I wanted you in my life. Remember when I told you that I was adopting Kaila? Well, I was going to ask you then, but that would've been too much."

"That's what I thought you were going to ask me!" she said, lightly punching his shoulder. "You troll!"

Niko smirked, winking at Kaila. "I have her permission, too."

"Of course you do!" Kaila shouted. "Why wouldn't you!?"

"Hey, she's going to be your mother. I wouldn't have done it without your permission, young lady," Niko said in a mock serious tone. He then noticed Warren was standing down a ways on the pier, watching them and jumping up and down. Next to him was Sydney, and on his other side Emily, Charlotte's mother.

"Niko, this is incredible," Charlotte said.

"So are you," Niko replied, hugging her.

Two months later

They had gotten back from Castelia City to announce their own engagement. Daisy, who had known prior to their trip, was nevertheless through the roof about it. Jake was excited at the prospect of having a sister-in-law. Fay, who had just gotten back from his second trip to Orre, seemed excited, but was certainly not himself.

This worried Niko, and when he visited Oak's Lab a few days after his trip, he saw his friend looking incredibly exhausted.

"What…happened…?" Niko asked curiously.

"Some of the things that I saw in Orre were, well, unusual," Fay replied. "I'd rather not go into detail about it."

"You need some rest, though."

"Yeah, I'm heading home in a bit. By the way, I meant it when I said congrats. You deserve happiness, Niko."

"So do you. Please remember that," Niko said, walking out of the lab.

A couple of months later, Brittany and Maizie visited Pallet Town. Brittany had been spending a lot of her time helping Maizie run the ranch and raise Valerie, as Niko was off doing things. It made him feel somewhat guilty, though—he was Valerie's godfather, technically, so it should be his duty to help Valerie in any way that he could.

Brittany and Maizie both shrugged it off, though. "Niko, it really is fine!" the brunette coordinator said. "Cayden and I love being with them. I mean that."

"Oh, Cayden?" Niko asked. Brittany had mentioned the boy before, but not much.

"Yeah, my boyfriend!" Brittany said excitedly. "He's a coordinator, too!"

"You mentioned that," Niko said. "That's really exciting!"

"It is," she said, blushing a little. They all then looked down at Valerie, now two and a half years old, walking around the backyard of Daisy's home in Pallet. "She doesn't stop walking!"

"Or talking," Maizie said with mock-exhaustion.

"I can't imagine," Niko said. He then turned to Charlotte, who's face was light pink, as if she were blushing. She was also looking down at her stomach. Niko didn't think much of it, instead watching Valerie play with Serperior's tail. She at first threatened to send the toddler into space, but when Niko sternly shook his head, she allowed the tiny hands to grab onto it and pull, which hardly seemed comfortable for the Regal Pokemon. He then watched Braviary help Valerie up and fly her across the ground, only a foot or so in the air.

It's these moments that we'll never forget through the years…Niko thought to himself.

"Hey, Niko," Charlotte said, slowly standing up. "Can…I talk to you?"

"Sure, what's up?" Niko asked. His fiancé got up and walked with him, albeit slower than usual. "Are you okay? You're grabbing your stomach."

"Y-yeah, heh, I'm just fine," she said with the widest smile he had seen in a long time. "Niko, err, I'm pregnant."

Niko felt his brain stop working. There was no way.

No way.

"Huh?" he finally replied.

"Yeah, we're having a child."

"Oh…oh my god…" Niko said, still unsure of how to react. He noticed Venusaur eyeing him, with a smile etched on his face. Feraligatr did his best whistling impression and, soon enough, all of their Pokemon were cheering and clapping for them. He saw Valerie, Maizie, Jake, Daisy, and Brittany all doing the same. Even Fay was there, clapping happily as well. "They…they all knew?"

"Well, they all knew you were going to propose to me," Charlotte said with a wink. "It's only proper that I return the favor."

"Geez…Charlotte," he said, hugging her tight. "I love you."

"I love you too, Niko," she said softly.

He then turned to his friends and family. His Pokemon and partner. Niko couldn't be happier. The past nine years felt like an eternity to him. But he had grown more than he had expected in those nine years.

From starting out with a Bulbasaur at Oak's Lab, to winning the Pokemon World Tournament with that same Bulbasaur, now a Venusaur, he had achieved his dream as a Pokemon Master. He had become a role model to trainers around the world, a father to an orphaned child, and now a soon-to-be husband to his best friend and a father to their child.

If the next nine years were to be anything like the last nine, then Niko couldn't wait to see what would happen through the years.

Author's Note: So...that's it. That's all the story left to tell.

What'd you all think? I'll ask the usual questions: What did you like and/or dislike about the season? Did the plot move smoothly? Do you think the characters were developed enough and, if not, who wasn't and why? What can I work on in the future? As always, you are by no means obligated to answer these.

There is an Afterword with more thoughts from me on this story and other things.