So, in the end, despite the significant pressure of Kellyn's authority, we lost the push, and Lucille went to jail. For the cloning experiments, for the creation of an artificial life form.
Neither my father nor I would admit it, but we found it a relief. Throughout the course of her five year sentence, reduced on appeal as she had been working underneath Rudi Larkspur, we took the needed time to get used to having her back in our lives. At first it was just a weekly hour-long visit, which we wasted to talk about school and the news, but gradually we all began opening up to each other again. We would sometimes continue our conversations over the phone, especially Lucille and Kellyn, because there was a serious amount of gossip to catch up on and troublesome Ari behaviours to unpack (come on, it was inevitable), and never enough time to do it.
By the time Lucille came home, her presence had ceased to be a talking point. Even ancient Auntie had gotten over the shock eventually, though she now had a deep mistrust of the paparazzi as well as mines and rock-type pokemon.
Kellyn stepped down as head of the Tandor Rangers. He did it the day that Lucille's court battle ended in defeat, and the gossip rags lapped it up – Tandor's beloved, noble ranger chief devoted to supporting his long-lost wife through her persecution. Auntie was sour and thought it unnecessary; Kellyn had left an outstanding salary behind. I introduced her to Gentleman Sr. Goldkorn. They are still close friends to this day.
Kellyn moved in with me and Auntie, and got a job working security at Drake's petrochemical plant. He sometimes spent the whole day cooking a nice meal for Lucille, or preparing their room for her return. He helped me with my homework too, though he usually got it wrong.
As for Urayne, it stayed in a pokeball with us at first, before a court trial was held to determine what to do with it. Lucille's heartfelt testimony shook the jury and the general public, much to the judge's horror, and there were riots for days when he still insisted that Urayne be destroyed. Eventually, he had to relent under the crushing pressure, and it was specified that Urayne could remain unharmed, as long as it was given into the hands of a capable and trustworthy trainer.
Somehow, they decided that this trainer was me. Lucille cried happy tears when Urayne was put into my custody (bit dramatic, really), and I kept it in my party to fill the empty sixth spot.
I entered the April 2017 take for the Championship, to coincide with my school holiday, and lost to fucking Theo. It was even worse than Shalegas's unassisted victory. Even now, he sometimes still mentions it, the goading little shit.
We were never bullied at school because we had become Championship finalists; besides, Theo's new appearance was useful for buying alcohol for weekend parties, so he was very sought-after in the popular circles.
Theo dropped out of school after Year Ten. This infuriated Cameron, but Lucille wrote him a letter reminding him that there are more important things to hold close. It wasn't like Theo's resume would've been completely empty, anyway.
Cameron retired from Interpol after helping to shut down the blue ranger network and Silverport lab, comb through the Baykal copper mine with a fine legal needle, and destroy the remains of the two stasis tanks. Some of the tunnels were kept open for use in Subway extensions, but not very many.
Theo surprised us all when, halfway through my swot vac for year 11 exams (honestly, I swear he did it to spite me), he was announced as the replacement 7th gym leader, a position which had been vacant since Vaeryn was ousted as a fugitive (he went to jail too). The group of us – me, Kellyn, Cameron, Theo's mum, Bamb'o – went up to Snowbank Town for a housewarming party, me furiously cramming my economics notes the whole way, and were joined by most of the other gym leaders. Rosalind was happy to see me again, and I hadn't realised I'd been worried she wouldn't.
Theo turned Snowbank Town around. His feisty personality, his energetic battling style, and probably in no small part his celebrity drew thousands of challengers and visitors alike every year, and coupled with the relocation of the TAPCO headquarters (the bombed site was transformed into a 'Friendship Garden' – a huge joke amongst the locals), Silverport and Snowbank became bustling tourist attractions, the ski fields reopening after a renewed rehabilitation effort by the government.
I finished year 12, but my results were pretty shit. Kellyn wasn't disappointed, though Auntie (predictably) was. Sheldon kindly offered me a job at the rebuilt Vinoville Metals Research Institute, but I politely declined. I asked around at Epsilon Uranium Mine (oh yes, Sheldon and Solana broke up, and the latter was now living very monogamously with Stan!) and Baykal copper mine, but nobody was hiring. It seemed like Tiko's campaigning efforts had seen recent successes, and Amatree was being electrified by tourism.
I decided, with Kellyn and Lucille's help, to use my compounding savings from my battling days to fund a Green Energy start-up, which I immediately hired my mother and Solana as scientists for. (After actually being cut from Inhore University, Solana had returned to Tandor, but was reluctant to take up tenure at the Vinoville MRI due to her sullen ex still lurking around there.)
Lucille started immediately after her release from prison.
We felt like it was time for a shake-up after all those years in Auntie's mansion, and Solana hated Moki Town after all, so we all upped and relocated to Venesi City (a bit of a shame, as Kellyn had spent so long decorating the room). After a couple of years, during which my company saw limited success, I moved out of home and in with Rosalind. We're still, uh, together.
There are a few more employees I should probably mention. Fired from his job at the Baykal copper mine (and definitely his one in Interpol), Bruno joined us as a lab technician. His father Hen Rodriguez (you guessed it) put him through the paces for delicate experimental work.
And our rising star, a genius who graduated high school with a 99.5 ATAR (I'm not joking), who has published almost all of our papers to date, turned out to be Amy. She's working on an enhanced form of solar energy which has finally broken the photovoltaic efficiency barrier.
I still battle with my beasts sometimes. During lulls at work, where I mostly sit in the office doing spreadsheets or bantering with the others (I'm like the producer, I just hand out the money), I will take a break and head to the Venesi Gym for some training with my girlfriend. Shalegas was, unfortunately, the first on my team to reach level 100, and I still regret it. Shalegas's personality has not changed in the slightest.
I re-challenged the Championship and won in 2024, even with the beasts' levels set back to 70, though I had to spend a lot of time studying up on types and move combos again, because you forget that shit when you get old. Theo and Rosalind were both a lot of help here, and kitty's now absolute trust in me proved invaluable.
It's now the year 2026, and I'm 24 years old (I know, I might as well just call it quits already). I have a great new life. I'm the CEO of a... well, admittedly kinda lacklustre green tech company, I'm enabling my beleaguered mother to help Tandor in a legal way this time, and I have an awesome partner who loves me very much. I also have a steely green cat who greets me every day with a mangy smooch when I get home from work.
I sometimes think back to the story I told you earlier, about that twisted ass month that happened when I was 14. There were some times there when I really just wanted to give up and join Shalegas's discretion in hell. Well, I'm here now to tell you that it gets better. Don't give up, because when you turn the page on a new chapter, there's always a chance that the sun's gonna come out and the rain is gonna stop.
Just like that time my underlevelled beasts defeated Ninja Boss Hokage's Tubareel, it can really pay to play on chance.
...
Massive thank you to everybody who's read and commented. It's been a fun ride!
