Chapter 81 - Kickin' It In Kanto

Yurie knelt and let her bag hit the ground. She unzipped the top and started to dig. Logan tried to see what she was looking for, but she shooed him away. When she stood up, she turned around and held out two thick notebooks tied together with red ribbon.

"What are these?" Logan asked while taking them. He tugged at the ribbon and then pulled the two notebooks apart.

"I told you that I wanted to write a book. Actually, I ended up writing two of them," Yurie said.

Logan read the titles out loud. "Healing in Hoenn and Kickin' It In Kanto. Interesting names."

"It turns out, I didn't have much to write about when it came to food. Instead, I wrote down our adventures, and all of the chapter names are food from the different cities we visited," Yurie said quietly. She could feel herself about to cry, and her body became still. It shook, and she couldn't move her arms. "I wanted to give you these because I want you to remember all of our adventures together. Please don't forget me or Himawari or Seshiru. Please."

Logan looked at the first book, Healing in Hoenn.

"I won't forget you."

Two Years Prior - Littleroot Town

Yurie put her hands behind her back and looked bothered. "I, um, I-"

"What?" Yuriko asked.

"I came to return my Torchic. I don't think I want to travel," she exclaimed.

"You're returning your Torchic?" Birch said. "That's unheard of."

Yurie nodded. "Yeah. This traveling thing isn't for me, and we don't really gel well. Our conversations don't really go anywhere." She noticed Logan and lightly blushed. "Oh. Hello."

"Sup," Logan said while looking down at Torchic.

Birch sighed. "How about we discuss this after dinner? Motsunabe?"

Yurie took a look at the food and smiled. "That sounds nice."

…

"I don't understand," Logan said. He stood up and knelt down to pet Torchic. "Torchic clearly feels comfortable with you. Starter Pokémon are generally okay with their trainers right off the bat, but Torchic seems incredibly happy."

"How can you tell?" Yurie asked. She stood up and walked over to the Pokémon. Torchic looked up at her.

"It's in Torchic's eyes," Logan answered. "Also, he overall seems very energetic. This Torchic wants to go on an adventure. I can definitely see his potential to become a strong Pokémon."

Tania smiled. "And now that you've mentioned it, Torchic does seem a bit different than before. Only a few hours with you, Yurie, and his demeanor has changed."

Yurie looked back at Tania and then her mom. "Really? I don't see it."

Logan picked up Torchic and handed him over to Yurie. Torchic put his head on Yurie's chest. "Torchic," he cooed softly while looking up into Yurie's eyes.

Yurie took a moment. "Okay, maybe I see it. He's kind of cute."

Present Day

Logan hugged Yurie. "Everything that we went through is unforgettable! Maybe I won't remember every second, but I can at least promise to remember the big things! I'll remember when you gave me my hat!"

"That's a big thing?" Yurie wondered. She looked up at Logan's hat with the white Poké Ball insignia stitched on the front. "It was just a silly gift."

"A silly gift that I've worn on my head for two straight years!"

Two Years Prior - Rustboro City

Yurie pulled the black hat from her bag. "I bought you this! It was Torchic's idea though!" She nervously handed it over.

Logan took a look at it. "It's nice! I really like it!" He tried it over his bushy brown hair and then adjusted the backstrap slightly until he felt comfortable. "And it's a perfect fit!"

"You got a big head, so I was worried." She looked at Logan's Pokédex. "What you doin'?"

"Well, if you must know, I have a battle tomorrow with the headteacher. I'm strategizing."

"Wow! Serious stuff!"

"Yeah. The headteacher is also the gym leader of Rustboro City, so it is serious," Logan said.

"The gym leader? Are you competing?"

Logan shook his head. "For now, it's just a showcase match for students. I can see myself becoming a teacher of sorts, so I'm considering this a test!"

"I see."

"But I'd like a training partner," Logan said. "If you're gonna spend one more night in Rustboro, I'd love it if you could help me. Also, would you want to come watch? I wasn't sure if you'd want to stay in Rustboro another day. I also know that you're not too interested in battling, but maybe you'd learn something."

Yurie paused. "I was gonna go to Slateport City next, but I can stay one more day!"

"Awesome! Thank you, Yurie!"

Present Day

The two had left Pallet Town, and were now making their way towards Viridian City. They'd take a bus from the city to Saffron. Which would only be a couple of hours, but once they were in Saffron, they planned on relaxing for a while, even if it was a place that they weren't entirely comfortable with returning to.

They held hands while walking on Route 1. With every second that passed, they were getting closer to going their separate ways. With every second that passed, the two held on tighter.

Torchic and Mightyena led the way. Torchic rode on Mightyena's back. The two were happy to be together again, as they had started their own journeys at the same time. And since they were always out of their Poké Balls, they became close friends. When Logan and Yurie would train, the two would spar, and when Mightyena left the group for half a year, Torchic felt lonely. But they knew that their time together was short, and they wanted to enjoy traveling together as long as they could.

"How long do you think you liked me?" Yurie asked, breaking what was hours of silence.

Logan's eyes widened. "I don't really know. I can't answer that, I think."

"Why not?"

"Well, how long have you liked me?"

"That's an embarrassing question to answer!" Yurie exclaimed.

"Then why did you ask me?"

"Because I want to know!" Yurie said with a laugh. She looked forward and sighed. "In reality, I think I've had a crush on you since the moment we met. At first, I thought that it was just because you were a foreign boy and you had such a cool aura to you."

"And now?"

"You're not really that cool anymore," Yurie muttered while trying to stifle her giggles. "But, I know that I started to like like you when we were in Sootopolis."

Two Years Prior - Sootopolis

Yurie looked down at Logan, who was unconscious in his hospital bed. The doctors had already operated on him, and his leg was wrapped up in cast. She was yet to shower, so her face was covered with dirt and tears. When she saw Logan being pulled onto the mainland of Sootopolis on a stretcher, she couldn't stop crying. She believed that the worst had happened, and although it ended up just being a broken leg and a concussion, she still shook violently.

Himawari and Michika had managed to keep her calm and distracted momentarily, but as soon as they were allowed to visit Logan, Yurie was in the room in a second.

She put her hand on Logan's arm and then knelt to be at his bedside.

"You jumped out a helicopter?" she asked the unconscious boy quietly. "What did you think you were going to do against Groudon and Kyogre? They were destroying everything, but you still fought them. You idiot."

"Maybe he is an idiot," Steven said from behind. "Maybe he could have died, and that would have been a terrible loss."

Yurie looked back at him. Tears were streaming down her cheeks once more.

"Death is permanent, but a broken leg will heal. With Logan's help, we managed to get everyone in Sootopolis to safety and casualties were low. Without Logan's help, maybe everyone in the city would have been put in danger. He gave it all that he could even if the situation seemed hopeless. We weren't sure if Rayquaza was going to show up or not. We weren't sure if we had a solution, but he still did everything that he thought was right in the moment," Steven said. "You should cherish every second with a friend like that. I'm glad that he was fighting on our side."

Yurie put her arms over Logan's chest and hugged him to the best of her abilities. She could feel his breathing and heart beating. It gave her a small sense of peacefulness. Her friend had almost died, but in the end, he didn't. Steven was right; a broken leg would heal.

Present Day

The two were now on the bus to Saffron City. They sat with Yurie's head on Logan's shoulder. He looked out the window at the road and to the distance. Kanto was such a mountainous area. He never realized it until he could take the time to enjoy the scenery.

He thought over when he realized that he had feelings for Yurie. He always thought that she was cute, but her lack of passion for anything when they first met kept him emotionally distant for a while. He never even considered what type of girl he liked, as he was always focused on training.

However, he also knew that he once had feelings for Luna, even if he didn't know it at the time. He also knew that Luna had feelings for him. He wasn't sure if they were ever boyfriend and girlfriend, but he knew that when he left for Hoenn, it was essentially like they were breaking up.

He looked down at Yurie and thought about the future. When the two would be forced to split up in only a couple of days, would that count as a breakup? He was unsure, so he'd just have to enjoy the time that they had left.

One Year Prior - Oldale Town

Logan dialed the number on the Pokémon Center's video phone. He was nervous about putting in the last digit. He paused momentarily before pressing it and waiting as the phone rang. He watched the screen, half hoping that someone would pick up and half hoping that it'd be a missed call.

Then, a woman came onto the screen. "Kawahara Flower Shop! Oh, Logan!"

Logan smiled. "Mrs. Kawahara. It's nice to see you."

"I can get Yurie on the phone if you'd like."

"No! No!" Logan exclaimed. "It's a surprise, but I'd like to make an order for delivery."

"I'm not sure if the flowers could survive a trip all the way to Unova."

"Actually, I'm in Oldale Town right now. I wanted to surprise Yurie with a small visit. I have something I want to ask her. She hasn't left for her next adventure yet, right?"

Yuriko Kawahara shook her head. "Not yet. She's been in her room for a couple of weeks. I think she'll be really happy to see you."

Logan smiled. "That's good to hear! Um, I don't know what kind of flowers are good."

"All flowers are good, Logan," Yuriko exclaimed. She smiled softly. "What kind of question are you going to ask her? Are you gonna tell her that you love her? I have the perfect flower for that."

Logan blushed. "It's not that!" he yelled. He looked around the Pokémon Center, noticing that people were giving him looks. "I wanted to ask if she wanted to travel with me again. This past year was so fun, and I've now decided to go to Kanto. Maybe she'd be interested in going too. I don't know how good the food is though."

Yuriko nodded. "Let me handle the flowers. Where should I send them?"

"I'll try to be in Littleroot Town in a couple of hours. Can you send them to Professor Birch's lab?" Logan asked. "I made sure to bring water, so I won't die from heatstroke this time."

"I can do that for you. I'm sure that she'll be happy to see you. And just so you know, Kanto has great food!"

"Thank you so much!" Logan exclaimed. "We're gonna head out now. Thank you again! Bye bye!"

"Bye bye, Logan," Yuriko said before hanging up the phone. She took in a deep breath and looked around her shop. "Yurie, can you come down here please?"

Present Day

The two had arrived in Saffron City, and they stayed the night at a Pokémon Center. They were up early the next day and prepared to enjoy the city. They weren't sure how long they'd spend relaxing and visiting the sights, but they knew that they had to cherish the time together.

"You know, we could always go to Vermillion too?" Logan suggested. "Afterall, our journey in Kanto started there, so why not end it there?"

"But won't that be hard for you? You'll have to go back and forth. It'll be annoying," Yurie said.

Logan took her hand. "The more time that we can get together, the better, right? I don't mind walking."

Yurie smiled. "You're sweet. Where would you like to go first? We should at least try to enjoy Saffron. Let's create a good memory!"

Logan nodded. His image of Saffron was mostly tainted by their experience at the Silph Co. building. "How about Saffron Tower? I heard that the view is beautiful!"

One Year Prior - Vermillion City

Logan sat on one of the docks in Vermillion City with his line cast. Mightyena sat by his side, and his newly caught Nidoran ran back and forth to train himself. Yurie cooked on a small grill that the two had rented from the Pokémon Center. After hearing that Logan was missing bacon cheeseburgers from Unova, she figured that she'd try her hand at making them.

"Smells delicious!" Logan exclaimed as his stomach rumbled. "It's gonna keep me distracted from fishing."

"Would you prefer I don't cook right now?" Yurie asked.

"No! No! Please!" Logan exclaimed. "Maybe the smell will attract something amazing!"

Yurie grinned and then mixed together the meat, seasoning, and chopped onions. Little did she know, Logan despised onions in cheeseburgers more than anything else.

"Are you looking to catch anything in particular?" she asked while giving the patties form. She patted the meat in her hands and then plopped them down onto the grill.

"I'd love to get myself a Milotic one day," Logan said. "But, I don't really fish with anything in mind. It's really easy for me to just shut off and relax. Raising Water-type Pokémon can be a hassle, especially if you're not near the water enough."

"I guess it'd take a strong trainer to do so," Yurie said. "I saw a picture of someone who reeled in a Kyogre. I think that'd be terrifying!"

"It was probably a doctored photo," Logan said.

"So, speaking of going forward with things in mind, do you see yourself winning the league this year?

It was impossible to say. Logan looked forward and thought of his battle with Haruto the day prior. It was just one on one, so he couldn't get a full read on his new rival's power. He also recalled his battle with Kenta, who took him and everyone else at the Ever Grande Conference by surprise. He never knew who he'd be battling, which meant that he had to go all out every time. And if his best wasn't enough, then there was no reason to try at all.

He looked back at Yurie and then grinned. "With the energy from your bacon cheeseburgers, anything is possible!"

Present Day

The two stood at the top of Saffron Tower, which overlooked the city. They held hands and looked out the glass, and Yurie pointed at different parts of the city. She had done a fair amount of research about the area, and seeing everything from so high up gave them a different perspective.

"Over there is a garden that they built almost five hundred years ago! People still maintain it though, so it's gorgeous. Maybe we can go there too!" Yurie exclaimed. She used the map that was inscribed in the glass to figure out where she was looking. "And over in the distance is Celadon City!"

Logan smiled. "Technically, no matter where you are in the world, in the distance, there's Celadon City."

"Don't be a smarty pants," Yurie muttered while looking at the map. "There's an area over there which specializes in food from Hoenn. A lot of people from Hoenn have to move to Celadon or Saffron for work, so it's a place for when they get homesick. We could eat Rustboro ramen again!"

Logan looked at the map and then at the city. Saffron, while being the business center of Kanto, seemed relatively tame compared to Castelia City in Unova. He enjoyed the quietness of everything.

"And over there," he started to say while he found a familiar building on the map, "Silph Co."

Yurie sighed and then looked at the building. It was hard to make out from a distance, but she recognized it instantly.

"Although it was scary, when I think of Saffron and Silph Co. I try to only remember the good things," Logan suddenly interjected when he saw Yurie's demeanor. "I reunited with my cousin and my buddy from Alola, we got to see a legendary Pokémon up close, and I finally told you how I felt."

Three Months Prior - Saffron City

"I love you," Logan said.

There was silence between the two for what seemed like an hour but was really only four seconds.

"You-you love me?" Yurie wondered. "Like, as a friend or as a-"

Logan let go of her hand, and his eyes widened. "I mean, as a friend, I love you."

"Oh."

"But, more than that too!" Logan exclaimed. "I'm not good at words and stuff! I love you more than a friend. I would say girlfriend, but you're not my girlfriend, right? Or are you? I have no idea."

Yurie shook her head violently. "No! I'm not your girlfriend! We're just friends!"

Torchic looked up at the two and cocked his head. "Tor-chic?"

"Well, okay," Logan said. "I guess that settles that. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"I guess it does!" Yurie exclaimed, still shaking.

Logan turned to walk away and go back to the room where he could get some rest, but when he noticed that Yurie wasn't following him, he stopped and looked at her.

"What?" he wondered.

"Me too."

"You too?"

"I-I love-love-" Yurie stuttered, unable to properly form her sentence. "I love you too."

Logan froze. "So…?"

"So?"

"So, are we like a couple? Or, how does it work? How does this work?"

"I don't know! Do you want to be a couple?" Yurie asked.

"I-I think so."

"I think so too."

"Cool," Logan said before putting his hands in his pockets. "Then, we're like a couple. That's cool."

The two were silent. Mightyena and Torchic exchanged glances. They were only Pokémon, but they knew that the situation was awkward. Mightyena got behind Logan and started to push on the back of his legs, and Torchic did the same to Yurie. They did this until Logan and Yurie were close. She was roughly a foot smaller than him, so it was still weird, but now they didn't have so much distance between them. Before then, every inch felt like a mile.

Logan looked at Yurie, and she responded in kind, finding it difficult to look at him in the eyes. He finally leaned forward and took her into his arms, and he held onto her tightly. Slowly, she raised her own arms and returned the hug. They stood still for even longer.

Then, Logan kissed the top of Yurie's head. She broke from the hug and looked up at him. He couldn't handle anymore of it though, so he turned. Instead of running or walking away, he held out his hand.

"Let's go."

Yurie took his hand, and a sense of relief came over her. Finally, after over a year of holding in her feelings for Logan, she could just tell him. She was afraid that he'd never say anything, as he wasn't the most open person emotionally. More importantly, she was afraid that he felt nothing for her and simply saw her as a friend.

But, he always wore her hat. And he ate her food with a smile. He trained with her every day. He watched all of her contests. He was with her through everything for almost two years straight.

She followed him, gripping his hand tightly.

Present Day

They continued to look out over Saffron. Most of the people in the tower had already left, leaving the top floor almost completely empty except for staff, and the sun was beginning to set, giving Saffron an orange glow.

"I'll go with you to Vermillion. I want to visit Lt. Surge once more," Logan said. "But, I also want to see you off. I think it's appropriate since you're going back home while I'm staying."

Yurie nodded and looked down at their hands. It seemed as though Logan hadn't let go in hours, as though he was afraid to. She then looked up at his blue eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"I'll miss you," Logan said.

"Me too, but it's not goodbye; it's see you later, right?"

"Right."

They looked at one another, and the sun lit up their faces, giving them a spotlight.

Then, Logan pulled Yurie close, and for the first time, they kissed.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Kissin' It In Kanto. I wanted to make a joke about how bad of kissers they both are, but I think the moment needed to be a bit more romantic. I took a couple of moments from HiH and KiiK to use for flashbacks, but I tried to edit them in some parts or extend them to add something new. There were also a couple of flashbacks that are 100% new. I just wanted to show a quick recap of their relationship/dynamic over the last two years.

One more chapter left. We'll see the two say see you later, and they'll go their separate ways. Also, did you like the twist that Yurie has been writing down their adventures? I guess it explains the chapter titles.

And then I might do a strictly AUTHOR'S NOTES chapter to respond to the final reviews and give out a couple of fun facts about the stories and maybe answer any questions if ya'll have any. Would that be interesting or no?

REVIEWS:

pokemonking0924 - "That was quite a celebration. Lots of great gifts, goodbyes, and a new adventure. Hope we still get to hear about Logan every once in awhile during your next few stories." - We will 100% see him again! He kicked off my stories, so I won't just forget him. He still has a short story, and Yurie will contact him a few times in her next story. Also, Logan's actions in Unova have a deep effect on the Unova story I'll eventually get to write!

Kunoichi - "Also I can't wait to see him train Melmetal and use that master ball (maybe the steel type is a Gigantamax and hopefully he won't accidentally catch a random Pokémon with that master ball)." - Hmm... Gigantamaxed Melmetal? Something to think about.

CrescentApple - "Logan has a huge start already, a Mythical pokemon AND a Master ball. I was surprised he thought it seemed wrong to have one. That makes me wonder if he'll even use it. There is to much to say and this chapter, but it was a good cooldown chapter after all the giant battles. But it was so worth reading each chapter from start to finish :)." - He might have a chance at defeating the whole Elite Four! Also, thank you for reading, and thank you for contributing Clint to my story!

pokestets23 - "Holy moly! This was fantastic. I want to cry! So ready for everyone's next steps!" - Cry away, buddy! I did!

UKEagleClaw - "The Himawari/Seshiru stuff was amusing too: companion fever. Makes me wonder whether you'll do a one-shot/anything short with them in Hoenn." - Given the time, I might! But, I'm kind of focusing on my main stuff now. I'd love it if someone else wanted to write a one-short for it (not necessarily you, but anyone interested).

wisdom-jewel - "Logan is on his own, mostly. It would take him a lot to gain the title, but I'm sure he'll find a way and get it. I do wonder if he and Yurie would date or stay in touch after this." - Unless something goes wrong in the last chapter, then I think they're gonna give long-distance a go.