Okay guys, this chapter is going to be pretty short and empty because it's pretty much just a follow up to the aftermath of the previous parts. Hopefully it isn't to boring, or too quick, but don't worry because the last five chapter are Elite Four based. Thank you for reading this far and for enjoying the story. I'm so greatfull for all the support I get doing this and hopefully I can keep it up to the end.

- Two Days after the battle of Goldenrod City -

Joe looked down at the grave with his father's name on it. His arms were crossed, his hoodie pulled up around his neck and the hood low over his head. Rain was falling. It was cold. Autumn had officially set in to stay for a while, and it had chosen the perfect time to do so. The rainwater soaked through his clothes, making his skin prickle with goose bumps. Joe barely noticed. Of the many things he cared for this was not one of them. He continued to look at the grave. He read the words once more.

'In memory of: Enlai Cheng, previously Fraser Glende. A Redeemed Hero. February 19th 1963 - October 11th 1997. Rest in Peace.'

The young trainer inhaled a weary breath. He hadn't slept well in the last few days. He'd been unable to relax. The fight was over. Archer was dead. Team Rocket had fallen, and all its commanders had been imprisoned. Ariana had eventually been caught. Winter had been able to keep her attention long enough for the police to show up, and when the commander had seen their numbers she'd been unable to talk her way out. But it had cost so much. So many good people, blameless people, had lost their lives that day. The casualties had been too great to predict, even with the titan destroyed. So many young trainers would never return home. So many brave police officers would never sign out. So many pokémon would never battle or travel or act or perform again. Everyone had lost someone that day, and for what. The city was half in ruins. One in every three building needed repairs of some kind. Many were so destroyed that they could never be rebuilt. All that could be done is demolish them so new buildings could be put up. The radio tower stood empty to the west end of the city, its top floor blown almost completely off, the glass windows shattered in and the many radio broadcasting devices on the roof bust beyond repair. It would take a long time to fix it all, maybe even years. The council that run the city were already in discussion about how to fix the aftermath of the battle. But it was hard to see. There had been a mass funeral. All the civilians and defenders who had lost their lives had been given graves and gravestones in the large churchyard. Even the pokémon that had been lost had been given a burial. Some of them had even been buried with their owners, in a sort of ancient Egyptian style, so that they could go with them to the afterlife. It was sort of sweet, although calling anything involving death sweet was probably a sin to nature. That funeral had ended an hour ago, and Joe was still standing in the graveyard, the rain soaking into his clothing.

He heard a small concerned grunt behind him. He turned to see Ralph looking at him from a short distance behind, clearly worried. Joe smiled weakly back. His smile was clearly fake, but he was trying. Ralph nodded questioningly to him.

"Just give me another minute." Joe asked of him. "I need some time." Ralph understood. He smiled kindly at Joe and flapped away. Joe watched him go. His crobat friend flew across the churchyard and stopped under a yew tree, where Winter was standing. She was standing under it for shelter, her arms crossed and shivering a little. She smiled back at Joe when he spotted her. Joe looked away again, unable to make himself smile. He didn't know how he felt at the moment. His head was a mixture of emotions, none of them were positive. He had barely known his father. He'd only known about him for a few months, and when he'd discovered who he actually was he thought he'd wanted him to go away. And now his father had gone away and he was never coming back, and Joe suddenly realised that he missed him again. He hadn't liked Cheng. He still had some form of hate for him because of what he'd done and who he worked for. Cheng was the first Rocket Commander Joe had fought, and he had been relentless in his job. But when he'd learned that Joe was his son he'd changed. He'd become another person. It was like he was trying to suddenly be a good father. And now he was dead. Joe felt he should still hate him. It seemed right, because of all he'd done. But he couldn't bring himself to hate him. This wasn't like when Sting had died. That had hurt a lot, but not in this way. This was different. Joe had no idea how to feel, but all he knew was that he was sad. Depressed even.

He turned away, glancing down the rows of newly filled graves. Crystal was kneeling in front of one of them, and behind her Silver stood, holding an umbrella over the two of them. Beside his stood and flapped a solemn houndoom and gloomy golbat. They had been Danning's pokémon, but now they were ownerless. As Joe watched the girl placed a small flower on the dirt under the gravestone. Its yellow flowers had already begun to wilt from lack of roots. A tear fell from her eye. Silver glanced over at Joe, noticing he was watching them. He nodded. Joe nodded back. He handed Crystal the umbrella, then slowly Silver walked over to his friend, leaving the grieving girl to herself. "How's she doing?" Joe asked, his voice slightly faint. Silver shrugged unsure.

"I dunno to be honest." He admitted. "She's been through a lot already, and she's clearly shaken after losing Danning." Joe nodded, understanding only too well what she must be feeling. "I had no idea he was a parent." Silver continued. "His real name was Nicholas. Apparently he had a wife, and two kids. Dunno where they'll be, but I think the police will inform them." Joe nodded again. "How are you holding up though?" Silver asked him, noticing his withdrawn stance and quiet attitude. Joe didn't answer. Silver glanced at the grave. "If you want to talk…" He started to say.

"I'll be okay." Joe muttered. He wasn't speaking too truthfully. He knew he was going to have a rough time, but he'd somehow get through it. He just needed time, and his own space. So he told Silver that. "I just need to be alone for a while." He explained. Silver nodded.

"Sure." He told him. "But, you know… if you need to talk just come find me." Joe smiled at his friend.

"Thank you, Silver." He said, a small grateful smile rising on his face. Silver smiled back at him.

"You're welcome, mate." He stepped forwards and put a hand on Joe's shoulder. "The least I can do for a friend." He said. Joe watched him walk away, back over to Crystal who had stood up once more. He embraced her in a comforting hug as she began to sob in his arms. Joe looked down at his feet. He never believed he'd ever say it, but Silver was a good guy. Deep down he'd just needed a friend, and now that he'd had two he became a great friend himself. He and Crystal would keep each other in line, he imagined. They were good people, even though they came from bad backgrounds. Joe smiled to himself. They make a great couple, he thought. They're able to see past each other's flaws and find the things that really matter about them. In a world as mad and insane as this one was proving to be, it was heart-warming to see two people like them find one another amidst all this chaos.

He felt a long purple wing wrap around his shoulder, and a large form appeared to his left. Joe looked down at the wing. He chuckled a little.

"Thanks, Ralph." Joe said as his pokémon hugged him. Ralph smiled back, putting on a big warm grin to make the boy happy. It worked. Joe found his smile becoming brighter and larger. He put his left arm around the bat, hugging him back. "I'm glad that you're still okay." Joe told him. Ralph looked at him. "I was so worried that Meian's words would mean you." Joe continued to explain. "Someone you love will be lost forever" He repeated. "Of all the people I could lose, I would never want it to be you." He paused. "Or Winter." He stopped. Ralph was blushing with surprise. He was glad that his trainer cared so much about him. The large bat turned and scooped Joe up in a massive hug. Joe gasped in surprise. He hadn't been expecting it. But he hugged his friend back, crushed against the crobat's body by its large and strong winds. Ralph began nuzzling Joe's head with his own.

"Cro." He chuckled affectionately. Joe also chuckled.

"Easy buddy." He said, holding Ralph back with his hands. "You're heavier than I am. You might crush me." Ralph ignored him. The crobat began to spin on the spot, using his smaller wings to rotate himself, still grabbing hold of Joe. The trainer began to yell out as the world blurred around him. "Ralph!" He exclaimed, trying to hold back his laughter but failing. "Stop it!" Ralph continued to ignore him, laughing like an insane animal as he spun on the spot.

From a distance Winter watched them, and chuckled to herself. "Those silly idiots." She muttered to herself. She caught Joe's eye once more and continued to smile, having to stop herself from laughing at him too hard.

After a minute of spinning Joe was thoroughly dizzy. And several minutes after that he finally left the graveyard. The duo walked over to Winter, the rain soaking them to the bone. She leaned against the tree, watching as they approached.

"How are you doing?" She asked. Joe nodded back to her in a confirming way. He was still smiling, although that smile was quickly wearing off again.

"I'll be okay." He told her, his voice fading once more. She smiled at him.

"Good." She said. They were silent for a little while. Winter didn't really know what to say. "If you're not okay…" She began.

"I'm fine." Joe told her, his smile now completely gone from his face. Winter nodded.

"Alright." She said, sighing a little. There was quiet again. "Would you like to get out of here?" She asked. Joe looked back at her.

"Sure." He said, his eyes averting to the floor once more. Winter smiled at him once more. She stepped forwards and took the boy by the hand. Then together they walked away, stepping out from under the tree and heading for the gate out of the graveyard. "God, it's bucketing down, isn't it." She muttered as they sped up the place.

"Hmm." Joe agreed, falling into his own thoughts.

"I hope there isn't a storm on the way." Winter continued, trying to start up a conversation. "Lightning doesn't tend to mix to well with my pokémon." She had wanted Joe to join in and make some kind of witty comment, but he didn't.

"Hmm." He said again. Winter fell quiet once more, her attempts to cheer him up proving vain. They continued on, their feet crunching the gravel path as they paced quickly down it.

"You would tell me if you weren't okay, wouldn't you?" Winter asked suddenly. Joe snapped out of his thoughts.

"Sorry?" He asked quietly.

"You wouldn't lie to me just to keep me away?" She asked again.

"Of course not." Joe told her with little effort to hide his lying tone.

"Because I don't want to believe that you're fine when secretly you're really suffering." She explained. "You're my best friend. Well, you're a bit more than that now I guess." She gave him a smile, then a wink. This made him smile back. At least she had been able to do that.

"I guess you're right." He said, his cheeks going a little pink. She grinned at him. Slowly her arm moved across his shoulder.

"Still…" She said with a sigh as they walked. "At least this is all over finally." She glanced at him. "What's the plan now?" Joe looked back at her. He hadn't thought of what he'd do after all this. His mind had never been able to think that far ahead. He guessed that subconsciously he'd always assumed he'd die in the final fight, or that he'd fail before it ever got that far. Now that it had passed he didn't know what he'd do next.

"I don't know." He told her truthfully. "There's always the Elite Four, but…"

"But?" Winter asked.

"I don't know how much I want to fight them anymore." He explained. "I mean, I've already been through it once. Why bother with a second time."

"Johto has a different League to Kanto." Winter told him. "You'd be battling a different champion." Joe shrugged.

"Maybe then." He told her. "I just need some more time." They continued on. The rain was starting to clear up now, but its drizzle was still tapping all around them. Ralph followed behind the trainer duo, using one of his large wings to shield himself from the rainfall.

"Did Silver of Crystal tell you what they were going to do?" Winter asked. Joe shook his head.

"No." He told her. "I don't imagine they'd want to hang around with us for anymore. Crystal still has her family to find, and I imagine Silver will want to help her with that." He glanced back at his friend in the distance. He and Crystal were hugging once more, preparing to leave themselves. He could see Danning's old pokémon follow after them. It appeared that Crystal had adopted them as her own, now that they had no owner.

"It's a shame." Winter said suddenly. Joe glanced back at her. She was smiling. "Silver was a nice guy. You two were getting along really well." Joe found himself smiling and nodding back in agreement.

"I'll ask him later." He told her. "Just to make sure."

"Alright." They continued on in silence for a bit. Joe glanced around.

"Where's my uncle?" He asked.

"He's in the pokémon centre." Winter told him. Then suddenly she snapper her finger. "I forgot. Team Ace passed by not too long ago. They said they wanted to talk for a minute." Joe looked at her in surprise.

"Team Ace want to talk to me?" He repeated.

"Yeah." Winter said. "I was also surprised, but they seemed quite honest about it. Didn't seem like they were planning any tricks." Joe was quiet. "Are you going to go find them?" Winter asked. Joe waited a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"I guess." He said. "Where are they?"

"They said they'd be hanging around the pokémon centre for the next hour or so." Winter explained. "You'll probably find them there." Joe sighed.

"Alright, I'll do that first." He said.

"I'll join you." Winter stated, hugging him a little tighter around the shoulder. He smiled.

"Hey, Winter.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what I asked you in the rocket base?" Joe said. "About possibly being more than friends?" Winter smiled back at him.

"I thought we already were?" She said slyly. They smiled at each other. Winter reached over and kissed him on the cheek. "But we won't talk about that just yet." She told him. "Let's go find Team Ace first."

"Sure." Joe said, blushing a little. The duo walked away, Ralph following them as they headed back to the pokémon centre.

The glass doors opened and the group entered the pokémon centre. Sure enough Team Ace were waiting inside, sitting on one of the benches to the side of the room. They looked quite solemn, which was unusual for them. The pokémon centre was quite full today. The trainers that had made it through the battle were still lining up, either to see their injured pokémon that were recovering still or to have a name engraved onto an empty pokeball. The few nurses the centre had were rushing back and forth, filling out the orders that the sad line of trainers requested from them. It reminded Joe that he should be glad none of his pokémon had been seriously hurt. A small collection of Chanseys waddled past, carrying eggs into a ward to help heal up the injured pokémon inside. One of them was Lucky, Winter's pokémon. She waved as she passed, then continued waddling on with her colleagues. Winter waved back.

Team Ace stood up as they spotted Joe enter the room. Joe nodded to them in a welcoming way. He didn't know yet what they wanted to see him about, but hopefully it was nothing devious. His doubts were quickly extinguished. Their faces made sure of that. Each one of the trio was wearing a solemn frown. He walked over to them, as they also walked to meet him. He nodded as they approached.

"You wanted to speak with me apparently." He stated simply. Ruby nodded for her team, her hands meshing together against her lap.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "It's not really something I expected us to say, but…" She went quiet. She glanced back at her companions. Ross and Frank looked as though they were unsure what to say.

"We're sorry about your dad." Frank said suddenly.

Joe looked a little surprised, but also a little grateful. "Thank you." He told them.

"Your uncle just told us that the commander was your father." Ross said, speaking up. "We didn't know, you see."

"We can't imagine what you're going through right now." Ruby continued, interrupting Ross.

Joe nodded at them. "Thank you." He muttered.

"I'd just like to say…" Ruby said, stepping forwards, her expression revealing self-disappointment. "…That we're sorry… for everything we did to you and your friends. What we were trying to do wasn't right. Now, after everything that's happened in the last few days, we can't help but feel awful about it." She held out her hand. "I hope that our apology can help us become better people than the ones we are." Joe looked at her hand, then back up at her sad face.

"You helped us win this fight and save the city." He told her. "You don't need to apologise. I forgave you already." A thankful smile grew on Ruby's face.

"Thank you." She said. Joe shook her hand, smiling weakly at the blue haired trainer. Ross stepped forwards now, reaching his hand to his pokeball belt.

"I believe I have one of your old pokémon on my team." He began to say, unclipping a pokeball. He held it out in his hand. "Would you like him back?" Joe looked at it. He knew which pokémon Ross was talking about. He'd seen Cutter battling by their side during the fight. So he surprised Ross with what he said next.

"You keep him." He said. "He behaves under your instruction. He's best of with you." Ross was a little speechless.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "I mean, I'm offering to hand him back. He is yours after all."

"He's your now." Joe told him. "Trust me. I'd rather you take care of him. I couldn't control him, but you three clearly can."

Ross gave him a big appreciative smile.

"Thank you." He said. He put Cutter's pokeball back onto his belt, still smiling. He'd clearly become attached to Cutter. It only seemed right to Joe that Ross keep him. Cutter certainly seemed happier with him.

"What will you three do now?" Winter asked them curiously. Team Ace looked at each other. They didn't seem to sure themselves.

"We don't know." Ruby told them.

"You could come with us." Joe offered.

"Where are you going now?" Frank asked curiously.

Joe didn't speak for a few seconds. He was trying to think of what he wanted to do. "I'll probably be heading to fight the elite four." He explained finally. Ruby shook her head.

"We won't be heading that way." She told him. "We'll probably return to Kanto, and then who knows after that. Maybe we'll try and learn to be better pokémon trainers."

"That would be a good idea." Joe agreed. "You're not too far from being likable as it is."

"Then maybe there's some hope for us still." Ross muttered.

"The Aces will keep going though." Frank spoke up, speaking for his friends. "No matter where we go, we'll always be a team." Ruby and Ross smiled at their friend and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Ross agreed. "No matter what, we'll stick together.

"Good luck to the three of you." Winter said. Ruby bowed back.

"And to you both." She said in the kindest voice she could muster. "I don't know if we'll ever meet again, but if we do may it be in better times." She held out her hand welcomingly. Joe hesitated at first, but after a second he obliged and shook it. The blue haired girl smiled at him and Winter. "Good luck against the league." She said and stepped aside, allowing Ross to shake their hands.

"And whatever endeavours may follow." Ross added, nodding his own respects to the duo. Then he stepped away. Frank didn't bother to shake his hand, nor turn into his human form. He simple slid past them and nodded with a grin.

"It looks like Team Ace is sodding off again!" He chuckled. "So long, kid." With a finally wave goodbye Team Ace left the building, taking even their smugness with them, which usually would waver around for a bit before departing. Joe, Winter and Ralph watched as they went. A few seconds after they were gone Joe decided to speak up.

"You know, I'm going to miss them." He said quietly.

"I never thought I'd agree with you." Winter agreed.

"Cro." Said Ralph sadly.

Joe sighed heavily. "Well, what now?" He asked.

"We've still got seven hours at least till it gets dark." Winter said. She turned to Joe. "You wanna go get something to eat?" Joe smiled back at her.

"Sure." He said.

- The next morning, 2:23AM –

Joe sat bolt upright in his bed. He was sweating heavily. His heart was pounding through his shirt. He'd had a nightmare, again. The second in the last two days. The dream itself had no possible way of being described. Nightmare's tended to be tough to remember. What he did remember was being surrounded by flames, and that he couldn't move. He'd look around, but all he'd see was blackness and flame. And when he looked down he saw that he had no body. All he saw was a grave. A filled grave with an engraved stone. He couldn't read it, but he knew the words. His name was on it. And then he awoke, sweating once more. He gasped for air, the feeling of psychosomatic smoke trapped in his lungs causing him to cough. And when he finally realised he was awake again he began to sob quietly into his pillow. He was still coming to terms with his grief. He was still in denial about the whole thing. And now he was having nightmares. Joe wondered if he'd ever sleep again.

Ten minutes passed, and as Joe was unable to fall back to sleep he decided to get up and go for a walk. He didn't change out of his pyjamas but he did throw his shoes and hoodie on to keep him walk. He walked down the hall of the pokémon centre and entered the waiting room. It was empty. The nurses had all left their station. Even the night nurse was not at her desk, probably getting a drink to keep herself awake in case anyone did turn up. Joe stood looking around the room. It felt so abandoned now, not just because of how empty it was, but because of how dark it was outside too. It was as if the universe outside the building had ceased to exist while he'd been asleep. He strolled a few steps across the room, breathing slowly as if to intake the colder air. And then he realised that he was no longer alone. There was another pair of eyes watching him from the other end of the room. He turned. Casey, his newly evolved Togetic, was sitting at one of the benches, half asleep. Joe was rather surprised.

"What are you doing up?" He asked. Casey shrugged at him. Joe sighed. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked. Casey nodded a little. Joe smiled at his pokémon. "Well why'd you come out here?" He asked him, taking a few steps forwards. Casey didn't answer. Instead he looked at the floor. Joe sat down beside the white pokémon. Casey seemed to be in deep thought, but Joe couldn't figure out why. "Are you okay, Casey?" He asked. Casey shrugged. "You'd tell me if you weren't, wouldn't you?" Joe asked.

"Togi-tic." Casey said in a confirming yet sad tone, still looking at the floor. Joe was still a little unsure, but he took his pokémon's word as honest.

"Okay." He said. They were quiet for a while, sitting at the bench as the night passed them by. Casey sighed a couple of times. Then, after a few minutes, he reached to something by his side and placed it on his lap. Joe made a glancing look at what he was holding. It was Casey's pokeball, the one Joe had placed him in when he'd been born. He'd never ended up using it because Casey had stayed in Joe's bag for most of their travels. But now he had evolved and he was too big to fit in the bag. Joe wasn't sure how he'd found it, but continued to look at it with a concerned expression. "Where's you get that?" Joe asked.

"Tic." Casey said. He pointed to where Joe's belt would've been around him, then did a charade of sleep.

"You took it from my belt?" Joe repeated. "While I was asleep? Why?" Casey shrugged once more. "Casey!" Joe said, a little more sternly than before. Casey sighed. He didn't seem to have a response to Joe's question. He stood up and fluttered away on his new small wings. He exited the building, the glass doors opening for him. "Where are you going?" Joe called after him, standing up himself and running after the pokémon.

The trainer exited the building. Casey was already fluttering away down the street, his head held low. Joe called after him. "Wait." Casey glanced back, but continued on. He wasn't moving very fast, so Joe had no trouble catching up to him. "Casey, where are you going?" He asked. Casey looked sadly at the street under him. Joe looked worried and confused. "Why are you running away from me?" Casey looked up finally. He stared into his trainers face with his small adorable black eyes. Something seemed to click in Joe's brain. He seemed to realise what was going on, what his pokémon was trying to do. "You want to leave?" He asked. Casey nodded slowly. Joe was a little confused. "Why?" He asked.

Casey looked at the horizon. "Togi." He said, pointing a small chubby hand at the distance. Joe followed his point. The tree line on the horizon was blurred dark purple as the dawn approached, needing a few hours to get ready before arriving. Joe looked back, still unsure what Casey was trying to say to him.

"I don't understand." He said, looking rather hurt that his pokémon wanted to leave him. Casey smiled warmly at him now. He turned back to the horizon. It felt so far away at this light level, but if he wanted to he could make a flutter of his wings and then he'd be there. It would barely take him a minute, then he'd be gone. But first he had to explain it to his trainer. He turned back to Joe and inhaled to talk.

"To-Gi-Tic." He said slowly. Joe looked black.

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." Joe muttered, his eyes preparing to water. The news was hitting him pretty hard. "Please Casey, I don't want you to leave. I took care of you for your whole life. You mean too much for me to let go." Casey sighed sadly. He'd hoped to get away before Joe woke up so they wouldn't have had this happen. He wasn't leaving to hurt Joe, but there was no way he could explain that. But the figure approaching clearly did.

"I think he's trying to say he's ready to fly from the nest." Joe turned. His uncle was standing behind him, smiling slightly.

"Where've you been?" He asked, his eyes still tweaking a little with sadness and grief. Walker Glende held his head a little.

"I had some other business to see to." He explained. "A few things to sort out about your fathers passing." Joe looked between him and his pokémon.

"Uncle, I don't understand this." He said simply. "Why does Casey want to leave me?" His uncle stepped forwards and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Joe, I understand that this is a hard thing to learn." He said kindly. "But I think Casey may be ready to head off on his own now." Joe looked at him, then glanced back at his pokémon. Casey nodded in agreement. Joe turned back to his uncle.

"Why does he have to leave?" He asked.

"Joe, he's a pokémon that's not meant to be cooped up in a pokeball his whole life." Walker explained. "It happens. Sometimes a pokémon you raise decides to explore the world for themselves. It doesn't mean they don't love you, or that they didn't care about their time with you. It's just their choice."

"But why now?" Joe pleaded, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Why after all this, why not before or in a few days' time."

"It doesn't work like that." Walker told him. "Why do you think he tried to leave without saying anything? It was most likely to protect you from feeling this way."

"This just doesn't make sense." Joe told him.

"I know." Walker told him. "But the thing you should do is just say goodbye. Don't make it any harder for the two of you." Joe sighed, tears beginning to choke him.

"He's my child, uncle." Joe muttered. "I was there for him from the beginning when his mother couldn't be."

"I understand that all too well." His uncle told him, embracing him in a hug. "I had to look after you too, remember."

"How do you cope with that idea?" Joe asked him.

"Because I know you won't be gone forever." Walker told him. "One day you'll come back and find me. And you can take care of yourself." He smiled down at his Nephew. Joe sighed, tears choking him.

"Alright." He said, pulling out of the hug. He wiped his eyes.

"Good lad." His uncle muttered. "Make it quick. Just wish him good luck and tell him he's free to go." He patted the boy on the shoulder, but Joe shook him off.

"You're right." Joe inhaled, then exhaled heavily. He turned around and took towards his pokémon. He inhaled again. "Do you really want to leave?" Joe asked him. Casey nodded with a sad expression. Joe sighed, letting out his inhale of air. "Alright then." Joe held his hand out. "Pass me your pokeball." Casey grew a small happy smile on the corner of his mouth. He held his hand up and dropped the small red and white ball into Joe's palm. Joe closed his fingers around it. "You can leave." Joe told him. "If it's what you want then I won't stop you." Casey looked at Joe. He saw sadness in his eyes, but at the same time behind that sadness he could still see the same kindness he'd always had. It was a little withered with all that had happened to him, but it was still there. Casey only hoped he'd stay holding on to it. Joe's kindness was one of the only things keeping him from being like Archer and Team Rocket. Casey smile grew a little larger. He reached out and hugged his trainer gratefully. Joe hugged him back, tears falling again. "I'm going to miss you, buddy." Joe whispered, his tears shrinking his voice to a minute sound. Casey nuzzled the side of the boys head with his own.

"Togi." He murmured back. Joe chuckled.

"Whatever you say." He laughed. He pulled out of the hug. "Thank you for saving me." Joe told him, smiling through his tears. "I don't think I got the chance to say that. I'm so glad you were a part of my team. Even if you didn't battle, you were a large part of my family." Casey began to form his own tears now, tears of joy. His smile expanded to the width of a star belt and glistened as brightly as one. Joe took a step back. "You can leave now if you want to." He told him. "I'll watch you go."

Casey nodded. He turned around. He could see the horizon again. It was still painted purple. The sun wasn't close enough to lighten it up yet. But it would be soon. And by that time he'd be there at its centre, and the next horizon would be a brand new one. His wings began to flutter quickly. His feet lifted of the floor. With a final glance back and a wave, Casey took off into the air. He rose up like a white rocket, turned in a circular movement towards the distance and flew away, growing smaller as he got further away. A minute later he was gone, the darkness shrouding him from sight. Joe closed his eyes, his final tears falling down his cheeks.

"Casey may come back one day." Walker told him kindly, putting a hand on the boys shoulder. "And by then who knows what stories he may have to tell you."

"I'll miss him." Joe whispered.

"And I've no doubt he'll miss you too." Walker told him. He patted his Nephew on the shoulder. "It's time we went back inside. It's cold out here." Joe nodded in agreement.

"Alright uncle." He whispered. He stayed looking out to the horizon for a few more second. He could see Casey's vapour trail through the clouds slowly fading away. He didn't know where he would go, but he wished him luck all the same.

Joe went back to sleep. When he opened his eyes again it was morning. He felt tired still, but just about able to get going if he needed to. He'd had a quick talk with his uncle, and they'd decided that they would try and get to the pokémon league. Even if Joe decided not to fight them they had a chance to then head home from there. Joe got up again, this time changing into his clothes and heading out of the pokémon centre. Winter and Ralph were already waiting there for him, as were Silver and Crystal. They greeted him as he entered. He greeted them back.

"Did you sleep okay?" Winter asked. Joe shrugged.

"Not really." He told her. His friends looked at each other.

"Your uncle told us about Casey." Silver told him. Joe nodded.

"I thought he would."

"Are you okay?" Winter asked him.

"I'll manage." He said, trying to be stoic but instead coming of as tired and slightly depressed.

"I'm sure he'll be okay." Winter reassured him. "He's an adult now. He can take care of himself.

"I suppose." Joe sat down beside her. Ralph joined him and put a wing around the boys shoulder. "Did he also tell you what we were planning?" Joe asked. Winter nodded.

"You're going back to league to face Johto' Elite Four." Winter said. Joe nodded.

"I assume you're coming with us?" He asked.

"Of course." Winter said. "Why would I not want to go? I want to see you win again." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Joe turned to the others.

"What about you two?" He asked. "Are you going to join us?

Silver looked at Crystal, and she looked back. They smiled at each other. "We'd both love to join you on that journey…" He began to say. "But we have a few other things we have to sort out first. The first being a family issue." Crystal stepped forwards.

"I'd going home. I need to apologise to my family, for running away like I did. They deserve to know where I've been." Joe nodded.

"I understand." He told them. "Of course your family should come first."

"We might be able to turn up to watch at some point." Silver told him. Give us a few days and we might manage to make it. I can't promise though." He smiled a big grin at his friend. "And, of course, we'll be routing for you." Joe smiled back.

"Thank you, Silver." He said gratefully.

"I'd wish you luck, but I don't think you need it." Silver continued. "Not when you have her looking out for you." He nodded towards Winter. Joe looked at the girl beside him. Winter smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Yeah." He agreed. "You're probably right." Silver unfolded hi arms and let them hang beside him.

"Well, we'd probably bets be getting off then." He told him. "But, you know, for what it's worth…" He held out his hand. "Thanks for being my friend." He stated. Joe looked at the hand.

"You don't need to thank me, Silver." Joe told him with a smile. "I'm just glad I got to know you better." Joe shook the boy's hand. Silver grinned at him.

"Go get 'em, kid." He chuckled, and stepped away once more.

"I hope it goes well with your family, Crystal." Joe called after them. Crystal bowed back to him in thanks. Winter waved them goodbye as the couple walked from the building and out into the city. Then Joe and Winter were alone again, except for Ralph of course, who was sitting beside Joe and nearly falling asleep again.

"What now?" Winter asked. Joe turned to her, smiling a little.

"Now, I think we'll wait till my uncle gets back." He told her. "And then we'll probably get going."

It took an hour for Joe's Uncle to show back up, and by then they were already packed and ready to go. Silver and Crystal, and anyone else that'd been in the city with them had already left, and now it was just the four of them again. Walker led the way. He knew a path back to Violet city from route 36, and from there they could head back to New Bark town and be there by four of the clock. As it turns out they arrived twenty minutes earlier than that. This left them with enough time to start their trek up Route 27 before night fall. They managed to bypass the waterfall and walk beyond the lake and wooden bridge before eventually the night caught up with them. And then they made camp by the lakeside, a small controlled fire keeping them lit and warm as they slept.

Walker stayed up on watch, just in case any unfriendly wild pokémon tried to get close. It had happened to him before, so he was always on guard for it. He glanced at his nephew asleep and wrapped up in a sleeping bag. Winter was lying next to him, and Ralph not too far away from them. Walker smiled. They were a cute couple. He'd thought that since they day he'd met her. But he'd seen that this would happen. He recognised the signs. It was so obvious to him, but less to them. He sighed. That was probably something to do with the age. As you got older silly little feelings like that became easier to spot. Still, at least they'd both acknowledged it and acted. He knew that, at that age, he hadn't been brave enough to do so. He still wasn't brave enough really. There was many thing that Walker Glende could and would do, but enter a relationship, long term or short, was not one of them. He looked back to the fire. It was glowing orange and red. He prodded the wood lightly with a stick. The flames flickered and sprayed embers. A happy smile rose on his face. "They make a good team." He muttered to himself. "Hopefully he'll do better than his father at this."

The next morning they awoke early and set off again, heading for Victory Road. Joe, Winter and Ralph had been there once before, so they knew the path. It wouldn't take them too long to traverse that place. The road there was still long though and would take several hours still to trek. So the sooner they got going the better. They packed up again, put out the few remaining embers of the fire and headed off once more on their journey. Apart from the occasional trainer practicing for victory road they didn't come across much worth noting. The journey for the most part was pretty uneventful… apart from one point.

They walked along the grass path north, having moved from the road and now enjoying a scenic path towards the Johto League, when suddenly they came across a rather muddy area of land. A pokémon was lying in it, enjoying a dirt bath. It was small with grey-blue skin, and it had a long snout, big ears and four fat legs with tiny feet. Walker quickly identified it as a Phanpy.

"Don't think I've ever seen a wild one before." He muttered as Joe put his pokédex away. The quick scan the boy had made had told him it was a ground type, which explained why it was playing in the mud, but also it surprisingly told him that this was a rather old Phanpy. The age was important. That meant it was close to evolving. And it had barely noticed them. Joe glanced down at the empty space on his pokeball belt. A silly little idea popped into his head.

"You think I can catch it?" He asked, glancing at Winter with a cheeky smile. She returned it with her own.

"I think you can try." She told him. Joe's grin grew wider. He grabbed his hat by the ridge and turned it, pointing the end back behind his head and letting his hair ruffle in the air. He turned to Ralph.

"You up for catching one more pokémon?" He asked. Ralph turned to him. His grin told Joe exactly what he wanted to know. The boy smiled back. "Then let's do this." He said. "Just like old times." He thrust a pointing hand forwards. "Ralph, use wing attack on phanpy!" He called. Ralph nodded and sped forwards. The small elephant had barely a second to react before suddenly it was lifted from the air. Ralph struck it in the side, his wig slashing its belly as he flew past. But he was surprised to find that the phanpy had its own defence mechanism. As he flew past, trying to circle it at a low air lever, phanpy snorted a pile of mud up its trunk and sprayed it at him. The dirt caught in Ralph's eyes, taking him by surprise and blinding him for a few seconds. He managed to blink enough out for him to dodge an incoming tree, but by that point the wild phanpy was surprising him again. It had curled up into a ball and was now rolling in his direction, gaining speed as it moved. It was trying to use rollout on him. "Pull up!" Joe commanded. Ralph skidded to a quick halt, curving upwards and raising twee feet higher in the air. This was enough for Phanpy's attack to pass harmlessly under him. But the wild phanpy wasn't giving up just yet. For something so small it was not only defensive but also fierce. It was desperately trying to strike down its attacker as best it could, not letting anything get in its way. "Use Cross Poison!" Joe called. Ralph lowered himself to just above ground level again as Phanpy came rolling back in for a second try at rollout. As it came in to land its attack Ralph struck. Two purple lines cross across Phanpy's body. The little elephant pokémon collapsed, its attack failing. It grunted, its trunk curling up dirt to its face to protect itself. Now it was catchable. Joe didn't wait a second longer. He pulled out a pokeball, it blurred through the air, and then it was over. Phanpy was caught, without as much as a further struggle to break out.

"Looks like you've still got it." Walker muttered with a smile. Joe didn't hear him. He was already over by the mud pit where Phanpy had been bathing. He picked up the pokeball which now encased the small pokémon. He was surprised by how quickly that had gone, especially after it had shown itself to be pretty cunning, let alone strong and quick for something that bulky and small. He held the pokeball in his hand. Ralph joined him, looking a little worn out from that surprise battle. He'd clearly been expecting it to be more than easy.

"And now to name it." Joe thought aloud. He rummaged through the piles of names in his brain, trying to come up with a good one to give it. He thought of its type: ground. He thought of its shape: bulky. He thought of its location of finding: mud, soil, clay, earth, terra. He hummed and thought further. Terra. Terrence. He turned back to his friends. "What about Terrence?" He asked. Winter and Walker seemed to digest that name in their heads for a few seconds.

"It's okay." Winter told him. "Not terribly imaginative or colourful."

"I could call him Sod if you'd like." Joe told her.

"Terrence is fine." Winter corrected herself. She knew Joe too well. He probably would name it that if she disagreed further. She knew that it probably wasn't a good thing to be the person at fault for giving a creature a name like that. Joe pocketed the pokeball, placing it in the empty space he had on his belt. Now he had a team of six once more, and hopefully they'd be ready for the league by the time they got there.

They set off once more, heading for Victory road. After another days' worth of travel they reached their destination. The caves were open to them, and they still had the rest of the day to get through it. So they spent no time hanging around. They entered inside. Joe remembered it perfectly. It was the same dark dank space that he'd been though once before. He remembered the path. He remembered the swinging rope ladders he'd had to climb. He remembered the sounds and even the smells that seemed to emanate through this place. He let it wash over him, and then he continued inside. His friends and companions followed him, letting him lead the way.

The journey though Victory Road was short, taking less than a day. Inside they encountered very few trainers and even less wild pokémon. It seemed that at this time of year the league had less competition from challengers. That probably meant Joe would get in with ease. He didn't let anything slow him. No human, pokémon, sound, smell, sight or inanimate object made of rock could stop him from getting through to the other end, and by the time he did the sun had only just begun to set.

There wasn't much to do after that but get an early night's sleep. There was no point fighting a league of very strong trainers when you're too tired to keep standing up. The next day Joe decided he would trainer, and he did that for a whole weak. Each day, every day for the next seven days, he'd wake up at the crack of dawn, grab his bag and walk down to Victory Road again. There he and his pokémon would train, both inside and outside the cave, with him, with each other, with wild pokémon and any with any other trainers that happened to pass them. And each day he found that every one of his pokémon was improving in various ways. Then, on the fourth day, he was surprised. As he was training Terrence, his team's latest edition, he suddenly evolved. In a snap of light and a slap of mud the small grey-blue elephant brew into a large, tough skinned and sharp tusked bull elephant. He'd evolved into a Donphan. Needless to say Joe was speechless about this. It had taken both him, and his opponent Pippy, by genuine surprise. But it had also given Joe a sign. He was nearly ready.

Three days later he decided that he'd done enough practicing, and that it was time. He gathered everything he'd need, medical equipment like potions mostly, but also a few revives for the tougher fights later on if things got too hairy. And then he was done. All that was left was signing up. Before he did so he said goodbye to his uncle, and to Winter. His uncle wished him a quick good luck, which was all he needed to do. But Winter spent a bit longer. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek once more, telling him she'd be watching from the stands. And then Joe moved on. He headed up to the entrance counter, had himself signed up, and then when he was called he entered through the large doors, ready to fight the Johto Elite Four.