Episode 55: A Champion in the making
Niko sat at a table in the dining hall. It would be his last night at the stadium, the last night in Lumiose City, and his last night in Kalos. To his left and right were his friends and family, all of whom were consoling him, congratulating him on the progress he made, and how proud they were of him.
"Thanks," Niko said. He wanted to say more—say how I didn't think they should be proud, that while he made progress it seemed like it was for nothing. But he didn't want to create conflict. He didn't have the energy to argue.
Then he felt Charlotte touch his wrist. He turned to her and, in that moment, it seemed like they both said all that they needed to. And Niko smiled. He felt a little bit better. Plus, he needed to remember Drasna's words to him: No great trainer should believe that they are invincible; that they are unbeatable. We all lose eventually. But…we can all rise to see another day, too.
As he plotted what he wanted to do next, he had to remember that.
The following morning, Niko and his Kalos team began the first of several goodbyes that day—with Aurorus.
"Still going back to Wulfric?" Warren asked, looking up at the Tundra Pokémon.
Niko nodded. "I haven't really found a way to keep her at home yet, but I'll keep in touch with her. I promise," he said, looking directly into Aurorus' blue eyes. "Thank you, Aurorus, for everything. You did really well, and I hope you had fun with it too."
Aurorus lowered her head to nuzzle Niko, giving him a brief brain freeze. In turn, he rubbed the side of her face. He really was going to miss her.
Each of Niko's Pokémon came up to Aurorus and said their farewells as well. Chesnaught, Talonflame, Slurpuff, Clawitzer, and even Pangoro all walked up to it. Pangoro in particular said something to Aurorus, who nodded and smiled.
Niko returned her and took her inside to a room in the stadium's Pokémon Center where he could send the pokéball to Wulfric. After that, he returned back outside to hang out with the rest of his friends and family.
Next to leave were Emily and Sydney. Charlotte and Emily had an intimate moment where they said goodbye to one another, as Charlotte had decided to go immediately to Pallet Town with Niko. Warren was going to do the same, but then go back to Castelia City to visit with Sydney.
"Niko, well done," Emily said, adjusting her glasses. "I can say I'm proud of the man you are, and an excellent friend—and mentor—to my daughter."
"And boyfriend, as it turns out," Niko said, turning red as he looked away.
"Huh?" Emily and Daisy both said.
"YES!" Warren shouted, thrusting two fists into the air. "YES! I knew it! I told you, Niko! I told you!"
"Yeah, literally," Niko said with a smirk as he put his arm around Charlotte, who also blushed.
"Well, of all of the men in the world, I think I can trust you the most with my daughter," Emily said. "Charlotte's told me about, err, some of the trouble you've gotten into. Ironically, you seem like a safe person to be with."
"I appreciate that…I guess," Niko said nervously. "Anyway, thank you for coming to support me. I really appreciate you taking the time off for it."
"Well, I was here to support Charlotte, too," Emily said.
"You stayed long after that. It means a lot."
"You're welcome. Let me know what you two are up to. I mean, as far as travelling is concerned," she said, ignoring JJ's and Jake's snickering as well as Niko's and Charlotte's profusely red faces.
"Will do, Mom," Charlotte said, looking her mom in the eye.
"Niko!" Sydney said, running up to embrace her friend. "I'm so proud of you. You're becoming the trainer you've always wanted to be."
"I think so, too," Niko replied. "Thanks, Sydney."
"Anytime. Please come and visit Castelia City sometime."
"Absolutely."
With that, Emily and Sydney left for the airport, leaving the rest of the group to wait until they had to leave for their flight—a couple of hours.
"So Brittany, JJ, Fay," Niko said, turning to his friends. "What're you all up to now?"
"I was thinking of going back to Kanto for a bit. Maybe participate in some contests there," Brittany said with a smile. "You should come and watch them."
"Absolutely. I'd love to. Fay?"
"I'm heading back to Oak's lab. He called me a couple days ago and has a new assignment for me," Fay said. Niko nodded and then turned to JJ.
"I need to get back home. Not Pallet Town, my new home. I left Maizie and most of my Pokémon in charge of our daycare business, and I'm actually a little afraid…she doesn't really know anything about breeding."
"Where is home for you, now?" Niko asked.
"Akala Island in the Alola region. You guys should come visit sometime! They don't have any gyms or anything, but it's a beautiful place to vacation."
Niko turned to Warren and Charlotte. "Actually, I think we could all use a vacation at this point. So, yes, we'll take you up on that offer. I just need to go home first."
"Absolutely. If you're ever in the area, let me know. I'll gladly show ya around."
"Looking forward to it. So, you're leaving soon then?" Niko asked.
JJ turned towards a cab nearby. "Yup. Sorry for the short notice," he held out his hand. "Pokémon Master."
"Heh. Breeding…master?" Niko asked. It sounded weird the more he said it.
"I have no idea what that title would be, but sure. Breeding master," JJ said, pulling Niko for a hug. "I'm very proud of you, man. You've come a long way."
"It's because I had such great friends to help me along the way," Niko said. JJ let go and looked up at Niko, his curly blonde hair lightly shaking in the wind.
"I'll catch ya later," JJ said, waving to Niko. Niko and his friends all waved as well before looking at one another.
"Guess we should head for the airport, too," Niko said, at a complete loss for words otherwise.
"Yes, our flight leaves soon," Daisy said. "Got everything?" she asked not just of Niko, but of Charlotte, Warren, Brittany, Fay, and Jake as well. They all nodded, and soon enough the group was off to the airport, and away from Kalos.
"Pangoro, use hammer arm!" Niko commanded. The Daunting Pokémon charged down the field, arm glowing bright white.
"Blastoise, use rapid spin!" Brittany commanded. The Shellfish Pokémon spun around, easily deflecting it. "Is that all you've got, Champion Niko?"
Niko shook his head. "It's only the beginning. Sky uppercut!"
"GORO!" Pangoro shouted, slamming his fist into Blastoise's chin, launching it into the air and onto its back. Niko then directed him to use hammer arm on Blastoise's underbelly, which then defeated him.
"You were saying?" Niko asked as he high-fived Pangoro.
"Fair enough. Well done though, Blastoise," Brittany said, returning the water type. "It's been a while since we've battled. I enjoyed that.
"I did too," Niko said before turning to Charlotte and Warren, who were watching their Pokémon play.
It had been a little over a month since Niko's defeat in the Champion's League. During that time he largely spent it showing Warren and Charlotte more of Kanto, alongside Brittany. They went to a couple of Pokémon Contests in Saffron and Fuchsia City, where Brittany won one ribbon and nearly got a second. At one point, Niko thought he saw Ash from the Lumiose Conference, but wasn't entirely sure about it, since there wasn't a pikachu nearby. Otherwise, Charlotte and Niko hung around with their Pokémon and occasionally trained with them.
Charlotte wanted to help Noibat learn how to fight as well, and found herself only able to battle Warren's Pokémon, who had far less battling experience than any of Niko's or most of Charlotte's. She also tried mega evolution with Tyranitar on a few more occasions, usually going against Niko's Aggron, which quickly developed into a friendly rivalry, where the two quickly became evenly matched in strength. Warren, too, got better at battling, as did his Pokémon. His Litleo improved immensely, eventually learning fire fang in a practice battle with Noibat. However, he didn't get too much new experience, as he tried to split his time between Castelia City and Pallet Town, spending more time in the former for obvious reasons.
Niko didn't attempt mega evolution with Venusaur as much, and when he did he tried to focus on controlling the energy he found within himself. He also brought this up to Professor Oak one day, about a month into the summer that year. He seemed to agree with Professor Oak's assessment, and pledged to look more into it, specifically asking Fay to re-direct some of his research projects towards mega evolution. The young research assistant wanted to observe Niko's mega evolution up close, including testing his vitals before, during, and after the process, for analytical purposes.
Niko also went to visit his father's grave for the first time while at home. On his first day back, in fact. With Charlotte and Venusaur by his side, Niko knelt down in front of the slab of stone and laid down a pink-petaled flower that Venusaur found. "I won, Dad," Niko said, his voice cracking a little. "I won a Pokémon League, just like you said I could. And I wish you could've seen it. Venusaur here kicked ass. I, err, miss you. A lot," he closed his eyes for a moment, holding in all of the feelings he had before releasing them all out in one, long, powerful breath of air. "I'm going to continue improving. Doing whatever I can to achieve the future you wanted for me. The future I want for myself. I love you," he then stood up, turning to Charlotte and hugged her while resting one of his hands on Venusaur's forehead.
While Niko, Charlotte, and Warren were figuring out what to do next, or where to go, Jake had little difficulty with it. He had decided to explore the Sinnoh region, as it was where Niko met some of his—in Jake's mind—coolest Pokémon. Niko, with the help of Oak, set up a meeting with him and Professor Rowan. On the day he decided to leave, Niko gave him some advice.
"Don't give up."
Jake looked up at him, and nodded, remembering what the Sinnoh League ultimately did to Niko's psyche. They hugged, and soon enough he was off on his own again. It made Niko truly consider the passage of time for a moment. It seemed like yesterday he was in Hoenn, letting his little brother travel with him and see the world. Now, he was off on his own, aiming to compete in his fourth Pokémon League, just like Niko did when he went off to Sinnoh. Jake, like his brother, left his Pokémon at home, with the exception of the gligar he caught on a recent trip to Johto, while he was visiting a friend of his.
Lastly, Niko and Charlotte spent a lot of time together, improving their relationship. They went on the occasional date, Niko showed her places in Kanto that he particularly liked—such as the eastern coast near Lavender Town, and then the one near Bill's House. He showed her some of the places he caught Pokémon, and they even made a trip to Johto, visiting Olivine City for a day or two. He tried to keep the two of them busy, not just for the sake of doing things, but for the sake of doing things with her. Niko could tell she appreciated it, too, especially since they were all places he had been before.
But they both needed something new, something to fill that void that was missing in their life as a couple—adventure. That's when, one day, Niko got an idea.
"We should visit JJ," he said. Charlotte looked up at him—it was late at night, and they were about to fall asleep. Off at the other end of the room sat Niko's six badge cases and his incomplete Battle Frontier case, alongside his trophy for winning the Lumiose Conference.
"Isn't it too late to be discussing this?" Charlotte said, rubbing her eyes.
"You're right, but maybe we should consider it! I mean, we don't have much else to do anyways. C'mon, let's leave the Pokémon here and grab Warren on the way. JJ said Alola isn't as far from Kanto as Unova is. So next time he visits we should go!"
Charlotte, wanting to sleep more than vacation in Alola, simply nodded and fell back on the pillow, quickly falling into a restful slumber. Niko followed suit, but stayed awake for some time more, thinking more about the logistics of the vacation.
"Of course I'll go!" Warren said the following morning on a video chat. "I'll have to talk to Sydney about it—she's used up all of her vacation days for a while, so she might not be able to visit, but I'm sure I'll be able to go! When're you leaving?"
"We were thinking in a week or so," Niko said, turning to Charlotte, who nodded in response. Warren exploded with excitement.
"I can't wait! I'll get my plane ticket and meet you in Pallet Town!" Warren said.
"Actually, why don't you meet us in Alola? Save some money," Niko said. Warren nodded eagerly.
"Gotcha. Guys…this'll be so exciting! I can't wait to tell Sydney!" he then hung up, just as his Pokémon were about to wave hello.
Niko sat back and took a deep breath. Charlotte looked at him, a smile on her face.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I have a feeling this'll be more than just a vacation," Niko said. Charlotte didn't say much else, she only nodded. It's as if she knew that their lives were about to whipped up into some new adventure, badge quest or not. After the surprises she saw at the Kalos League, and in Kalos more generally, anything was possible.
Author's Note: Ending this season was...difficult. Ending most seasons are because all I want to say is "yo they're going to [insert region here]," but that's poor story-telling. I think I did it well enough. Let me know if you have any suggestions, as always (and I don't mean ones like "have Niko beat the champion" or "hey have Niko catch [x] Pokemon!"...those don't count).
Season 8 will begin on February 1st and, as always, two episodes will be scheduled for that day.
I'm also thinking of going back and editing parts of previous seasons. I've wanted to do that for a while but, now with some extra time on my hands since I won't be writing, I might go back and do that. If I do, i'll update it here, in the Author's Note for later episodes, since doesn't let you know when i'm replaced or updated a chapter. At least, I don't think it does.
Also, like last season i'll pose a couple questions. I'd appreciate some construction (positive and negative, if possible) feedback on this season as a whole. To remind you, here are the questions. You don't *have* to answer these, only if you have comments, questions, or criticisms. As always, you can also PM me as well:
-What did you like about this season?
-What did you not like about this season?
-What could I have done better in this season (don't say that [insert character here] didn't get so-and-so Pokemon, or that I should ship two people. No. Those aren't acceptable answers, because I plan all of these things out ahead of time. I already know who gets who)?
-What can I do better moving forward with the story (same rules apply here as they did in the previous question)?
Lastly, as always, i'd like to thank everyone who commented, followed, and favorited this season. As I always say, it's y'all that keep me accountable, even when I feel like I have freakin' carpal tunnel (which I should prolly get checked out). Anyway:
Thanks to Athios, Eeveefan20, Galisoneh, Hello 12, Jolteon2404, Kell5009, Mega Espeon, RubyOmegaGroudon, TheArmedShadowYT, YellowFlashCannon, Elven-in-name, HunterZX, Light Flame Blast, Micky223, Mortem Ensis47, PokeDude802, Hydroshuriken05, Pokemaster3164, and St. Elmo's Fire.
Until next time,
-Evanibble
