"I'm still here…" Sophitia thought to herself. Or at least, that was what it felt like. She couldn't tell where she was or what she was doing, just that her thoughts came aloud. The words echoed through whatever was her consciousness.
She shuffled and opened her eyes. Everything had a warm, golden filter over it. Not that there was anything else around her as is. She was in a transparent orb made of the golden light that had taken away her Pokémon body, but beyond that was a strange void filled with stars and darkness. It looked like outer space, only prettier, warmer, and more fantastical.
"Oh, right. I had to say goodbye to everyone. I'm going to go back to being a human, soon," she thought, closing her eyes again. "I managed to make them all smile, I hope. But it was all so abrupt."
She opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. The way the stars around her moved, it was as if she was slowly rising. She sighed and closed up again. "It's no use complaining about it now. But I hope they're doing alright."
A strange, elevating sound took her attention, and she opened up once more. She wasn't expecting to find anything, but someone did show up. They had their own glowing orb, just like her. She made a sound and reached out, but leaned back when that orb began to take form. It took the shape of a Floette, and then coloured in to reveal a Pokémon she knew. "Floette? Is that really you?"
"It is. I'm not supposed to be here, and nor are you supposed to be awake. But… something told me. Just by an extreme hunch, something told me to stop you here, on the border between worlds," Floette said. She paused, and Sophitia didn't say anything. "You are moments away from discarding everything and returning to your original human life. Your old memories, your old friends, your familiar world. Everything would be returned to you as if you had never been in our world."
Another pause.
"And yet, I… do pardon me for making a great assumption here. But you have regrets, don't you?" she said.
Sophitia made a sound.
"You don't want to leave, do you?" she asked.
"It's not that I don't want to leave. I have to, don't I? That's the way things have to be," Sophitia thought. Floette was the one hesitating, now. "It's best if Lute gets the chance to grow up, and find love in some other Pokémon. And where I came from, I'm sure I have so many people waiting for me. Who miss me, and are wondering where I am. I need to go to them, too."
"You have regrets, but you have resolve. If I may say, you truly are the hero of Aseria." Floette put her hands together.
Sophitia didn't reply.
"… I will not waste any more of your time. I am here because I owe you one favour. In the names of Diancie and Artemis, we all owe you one great favour. To complete that, I would travel even here, to the border between worlds," Floette said. "Once you cross, you will never be able to see anyone from this world ever again. This is the only chance we have to truly repay you."
Sophitia remained quiet.
"Sophitia. You are leaving this world reluctantly, your heart full of regrets. If – and this is entirely hypothetical – but if there was some kind of way that you could perhaps… stay here, tell me… would you decide to stay?" she asked.
Sophitia felt herself shiver hard.
"I know what you're thinking. Since your memories began to return and you learnt of your destiny, as a human who had been brought here by Diancie and Artemis, you have resigned yourself to the fate that you would have to leave this world abruptly. That is why it was so easy for you, and yet so painful at the same time. You always knew that this was inevitable, so you saved yourself the pain by never once considering if there was a way for you to stay," Floette said. "So let me ask you once again. If there was a way in which you could stay, above all laws and forces, would you take it?"
Sophitia took a deep breath. "I understand rules. More than anyone else, I understand rules. But I have precious friends here. Invaluable memories that I wouldn't dare to forget. Despite knowing and understanding all that, I found love here. Love I would never act on."
A moment of silence.
"Floette. Is there a way I can come back?"
Another moment of silence.
"There isn't, is there. Not without evoking sin."
"There is. It is a dangerous proposition, but it is possible, particularly thanks to the permissions granted by the favour we owe you," Floette said. "We can grant you the title of Diancie's Champion, Nymphina."
"Nymphina?"
"By becoming Nymphina, you will return and live as an ordinary coloured Sylveon. However, you will lose much. The forces of life will erase your existence from the human world. No one will ever know you existed there. You will also lose the powers granted to you by Diancie and Artemis – the shield and swords of crystal that you wielded so well. And lastly, as a champion that stands amongst us, you be duty-bound to protect the Pokémon world for the remainder of time, exactly as we mythical Pokémon do," she explained. "This is the only way that you can go back to them."
"Nymphina. I knew I had heard that name before. The title of a hero," Sophitia thought. "Ironic, isn't it? That to become a true hero in your world, I have to do the one thing I was told not to do, and defy the forces of life. I have to be totally selfish and leave everyone behind, everyone who cared about me in my original life. All just to see a boy again."
There was a lengthy pause this time. Floette didn't make a sound. "Take as long as you need. This is your only chance to make this decision."
Sophitia laughed this time. "You knew the answer the moment you came here and teased me about it."
"I was not testing you, I was speaking severely out of hand." Floette looked away.
"But you don't want me to leave either, do you?" she thought. Floette didn't reply. "I only have one question about this."
"Go on. I will answer any."
"I'll stay as a human Pokémon, won't I? Falling in love is out of the question, and mating would revoke my position immediately," she said.
"It remains as so. You will never be allowed to earnestly reciprocate the romantic feelings of any human or Pokémon ever again."
"Well then. What're you waiting for? Sign me up," Sophitia whispered. Her eyes were gleaming.
"This is not a decision to be made lightly. Please, Sophitia you must—"
"I made my choice when I responded to the call of Pokémon and came to your world in the first place. I lived with you both, Diancie and Artemis, for many thousands of years and never broke those rules. And even when my memories were taken, I remained who I was. This where I want to be."
"Floette. This is where I belong."
…
The trip home had been a long one for Lute and company. Angel, being a Togekiss, caught every emotion the group felt, and responded in kind. She glided slowly in silence, keeping her altitude high so that they had a clear view of the world around them. They headed for Everend first, and by the time they arrived, the sun was setting.
The whole village came for their return, of course. Cheers and waves shook the air before the realisation that Sophitia wasn't with them had hit, and the chatter diminished into respectful quiet. Still, Lute did as he was told and relayed his story to the Pokémon, and he did it all with a strong smile.
When all was said and done, it had been a very long day for the group. The agents helped to disband the crowd, while Infia offered her place for everyone to stay at since it was big enough for them all. For them, this was to be a celebratory rest before any sort of real party was thrown. With the comfortable summer chill coming on as night descended, they prepared to head inside and call it a night.
Lute held them back for a minute, though. He took in the view of the sunset sinking below the horizon, and adored the magical colours of the sky. After all, this was their trophy, the very thing they had been working towards ever since. He had forgotten what the sunset really looked like, so this was like experiencing it all over again.
Amongst the glistening stars and shades of black, orange, and navy, he caught sight of one golden glow that didn't fade or change with the sunset. An orb of warm, glowing gold light that slowly descended towards them. As soon as he saw it, he argued against his mind that he recognised it. He kept telling himself that this miracle wasn't real, even as it landed before them and began to take shape. Only when it formed into Sophitia did he freeze up and stop thinking completely, stuck staring at her.
It was her in everything but her shiny colouration. Her round form, her spiky head fur, her confident pose mismatched with a caring, almost motherly smile. He wanted to believe it but couldn't, and blankly stepped forward without taking his eyes off her.
Sophitia had to take a moment to get where she was, but stared right back once she realised. She eventually took her own steps to meet him halfway, where her feelers lightly brushed him. "You're wearing my collar."
He gave his feather a tap. Finally, a smile burst from him, and he started laughing.
He laughed with gradually increasing happiness, and jumped right into her paws. She held him up with her feelers and started laughing as well, nuzzling her cheek into his. Like this, they twirled and hopped and danced, laughing until tears filled their eyes and they sounded as though they were crying. By then, Infia and the others had skipped forward to join them, and the group fell into one big cuddle.
