Chapter 71 - Goodbye.
Logan sat down at the fountain that was in front of the giant dome of Ever Grande City. He sighed, and looked out at the setting sun. The Ever Grande Conference was officially over, and most people had already left the city. They celebrated Kenta's win only a few hours ago, and people wanted to beat the rush. Only a few people remained.
"Can I join you?" a voice quietly asked. He turned to find Luna standing to his side. She held a small white packaging in her hand.
Logan moved over to create space even though it wasn't necessary. "Go ahead."
She sat down next to him and crossed her legs. "So, we both lost."
He nodded. "Yep."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I had some of the best matches of my life. I have no regrets."
Luna smiled and then waved her hand with the small packaging around playfully. She tore off the top of the wrapper and then pulled an orange flavored icy treat out. She grabbed both of the sticks with her hands and broke the popsicle in half, handing one half to Logan.
"For old time's sake?" Logan asked.
She nodded.
Logan took the popsicle and started to suck on it before quietly saying, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The two remained silent for a few moments.
"I'm sorry about what I did. I don't know why I did it the way that I did, but I'm sorry. I should have been honest with you," Logan said.
"I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. You said you wanted to go our separate ways, and I wasn't ready for that."
"I always depended on you to help get me to the next level."
"And I always depended on you for emotional support."
Logan laughed. "Think we're both stronger now?"
"Of course."
They remained silent for a little while longer, sucking on their orange popsicles.
Logan smiled. "Thank you for staying to watch. You didn't have to."
Luna took a giant bite of her popsicle and then stood up. "I promised I'd always support you, Logan."
"Where you off to now?"
She started walking away. "I think I'll try Johto."
"I'll keep my eye on the news. I know you'll win."
"And you?"
Logan paused. "I haven't decided yet. But, wherever it is that I go next, I'm going to give it my all."
"Good luck, Logan." With that, Luna walked towards the sunset. Logan watched her until she was out of eyesight. He sighed, finished what remained of his half of the popsicle, and then stood back up. When he turned around, he noticed Yurie and Himawari standing by the fountain and looking at him.
"How long have you guys been there?" he asked.
Himawari laughed. "I assume you're not going to Johto?"
"I'm going to avoid it at all costs," Logan replied with a wide grin.
"We saw Yuichi off," Yurie said. "He said he's going to Galar."
"That'll be good for him. This was a fun little adventure, guys. I'm thinking I'll head back to Unova for a few days. I want to relax with all of my Pokémon for awhile."
Yurie looked down. "I see. I still haven't decided my next move."
"I'll be going back to Mauville. It's been a blast to do this all with you guys, but I've got my duties as a gym leader now," Himawari said. "But please, whatever it is you two do, keep me updated."
"This isn't goodbye yet, Himawari. We still have the ferry ride back," Logan said. He lightly punched Yurie's arm. "Let's get going."
The three all walked to the docks while they reminisced about their journeys together. The ferry ride would take a day, and during that time, they partied as a trio, and their Pokémon all enjoyed each other's company for what felt like would be the last time.
Logan's Mightyena and Manectric both played with Himawari's Luxio. Magnezone calmly floated above Torchic and Turtwig, acting as a sort of mother to them. Himawari's Raichu had pretend fights with Aggron while all of the others cheered them on.
Himawari looked out at his Luxio and the others. "It's a shame that we gotta break up this little group."
"Yeah…"
"I've been thinking. Feel free to say no. How about I take your Manectric off of your hands?" Himawari asked. "I'm sure it'll be better for him than being at a lab. He'll be with other Electric-type Pokémon."
Logan looked at his Manectric as he played with Luxio, and then he nodded. "That sounds perfect to me. It also gives me a real excuse to call you sometimes."
The two laughed, but Yurie stayed quiet.
The ferry ride, while long, felt incredibly short. Eventually, they arrived in Slateport City. And then they walked to Route 110, which is where Himawari was set to leave. They approached the familiar Trick House, and Himawari looked down his path. He sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"Welp, this is it," he said while he tried to hide his face from the other two. "Guess… guess I'm going to go be a gym leader now."
Logan stepped forward and grabbed Himawari's shoulders. He turned his friend around and then gave him a hug, but Himawari's arms stayed slumped to his sides. "You're going to be an awesome gym leader, buddy. You have dragon's blood."
Himawari laughed and then sniffled as tears started to roll down his cheeks. "I do have dragon's blood."
Logan let go of his hug and patted Himawari on the shoulders again, and then Yurie stepped forward. She had already started crying, so she instantly buried her head into Himawari's chest.
"Goodbye, Yurie."
"This isn't goodbye, stupid."
Himawari sniffled once more. "You're right. This isn't goodbye." He lifted his arms and squeezed her tightly.
Eventually, they let go, and Yurie backed up a few feet. Himawari stood straight and wiped the tears from his face.
"Okay! Here I go!" he choked out. He turned around and looked down his path. He was now on his own, but the past year prepared him for it all. "Wish me luck!"
"You don't need it."
Himawari nodded. He straightened his backpack, and then started to walk away.
"Jah…"
After a few moments, Himawari raised his hand and held out his thumb. With that, he took off running as fast as he could, tears following in his path. Within moments, he disappeared.
Yurie and Logan looked at one another, took deep breaths, and then they continued onto their own path. Silent almost the whole way, they walked through Route 103 and within a few hours, arrived in Oldale.
"One last dinner?" Yurie asked. Logan nodded. He wasn't ready.
"Gramps, I'm home," Himawari called as he entered the gym. He walked past the counter and then opened the doors to the battlefield. It was different from the last time that he was there. The field was black with glowing yellow lights serving as the markers for the trainer boxes.
"I feel like this matches your look," Tessen said as he noticed Himawari. "You're always in black clothes, and your blonde hair sticks out like lightning in the sky."
Himawari smiled as he took an even closer look at the field. "It's perfect, gramps. I'm excited to take over for you."
Tessen put his hand on Himawari's shoulder. "I'm excited to take a nice long vacation! I'm thinking Alola!"
Himawari laughed. He paused and took one long look at the field which would soon be his. He would protect this gym with all of his might, making sure that challengers had a rough time. "Think you can tell me about my mom?"
Tessen nodded. "Probably about time, ya."
"Dagojiru?" Logan wondered as the two received their food.
Yurie smiled. "You remembered the food's name!"
Logan nodded. "I definitely tried to." He secretly got a look at the menu as they entered the store.
"Itadakimasu!"
The two started to slowly eat, but they were oddly quiet. It was the first time that they had been alone for months, and they got so used to Himawari leading the conversations.
Eventually, Yurie spoke up. "Do you have a favorite food from Hoenn?"
Logan thought for a moment. "Omurice was really good. But my favorite was motsunabe." This time, he truly remembered the names of the food.
"That's what we had at Birch's!" she exclaimed. Logan nodded. Yurie was slightly taken aback. "It feels so long ago. This time last year, I hated the idea of going on an adventure. I hated the idea of leaving my mom, but now, I can't wait to see what's next."
"I understand that feeling."
Yurie slowly nodded. "So, what's next?"
Logan was deadpan in his expression, unsure of how to answer the question seriously. "Dessert."
The two finished their food and then ordered ice cream. It didn't take them very long to finish, and soon, they stood on the edge of Oldale Town and Route 101 where their journey together would come to an end.
"This is it," Yurie said. "You've still gotta go to Petalburg. Another day of walking for you." She laughed and then playfully punched him in the shoulder.
Logan grinned. "It's night time, so I'll deal with it. I also bought a pack of water bottles, so I'll be fine."
Yurie looked down Route 101. Her home and comfortable bed was only a couple hours away.
"Have you decided where you're going next?" Logan asked.
Yurie thought for a moment. "I'm going to Kanto. Michika will be there too, so I think it'll be fun."
"I see."
"And you?"
Logan shrugged. "I don't know yet. I'll get some rest in Unova, and then I'll go from there."
"I see."
Logan sighed and then turned. "Well, I guess I'll see you again sometime."
Yurie grabbed Logan's hand. "Logan…"
He didn't move, and it felt as though his heart had stopped beating. "Yeah?"
"When you figure out where you're going, let me know. I want to watch your battles when I can."
"And I'll make sure to catch all of your contests," he said. "I promise."
Yurie let go of his hand, and he started to walk away. "Promise?"
"Promise."
"Let me know!"
"I'll let you know."
Yurie bit her lip to help hold back her tears. "You better!"
Logan waved goodbye and walked away, never once turning his head. Mightyena followed in his steps, but the canine Pokémon occasionally cocked his head back towards Yurie, a look of sadness on his face.
Eventually, once Logan was out of sight, Yurie turned and looked down Route 101 once more. She smiled at Torchic. "Let's go home."
"Second place in the Hoenn league? Not bad," Logan's friend, Aaron said. He laughed. "Not bad at all."
Logan had been back in Unova for a few days, relaxing with his Pokémon and contemplating his next move. When Logan heard that Aaron was returning from his journey, he met with his old friend at the docks.
"I saw that you also placed second. Sinnoh sounds like a nice place."
Aaron nodded. "The weather is comparable to Unova, I guess. When it snowed, it came down hard." He picked up a stone and tried to skip it across the water, but it sank within a few leaps. He had a cool look to him, dirty blonde hair, and a keen fashion sense with the color blue, but he was clumsy. "I think you'd have a fun time there."
"Where are you going next?"
Aaron thought for a moment. "It's always hard to make that decision. Galar looks like it could be fun, but I also loved Johto and Sinnoh. I think I'd like to spend another year in that part of the world. I know I can win this time around, so either Hoenn or Kanto. And you?"
Logan looked down at his reflection in the water. His face had gotten considerably thinner since the last time that he was there, and the black hat that Yurie bought him now looked a bit too big for his head. "I don't know."
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
So, I do plan on continuing Yurie's story, and because of that, she'll be doing contests in Kanto. Once again, I want to feature my readers' OC's in contests, so if some of you want to PM me about sending in a simple OC, then please do so. Otherwise, I'll be making up my own simple characters.
One more chapter. It'll go up tomorrow because I won't be able to post it when I'm on vacation.
Where do you see Logan going?