Chapter 35: Epilogue: Wherever Fate Takes Us
Meanwhile, in Alola…Not long after arriving in the Region, both of them check in to the Hano Grand Hotel in Heahea City…And thankfully for both of them, Rosa outright refused to spill the beans on their location…
…
"So, let me get this straight…" Yancy tells Nate as they make their way through Heahea City to the Hano Grand Hotel. "The only other person who knows where we are who isn't either of our parents is Rosa?"
"Yup." He replies. "I trust her enough to keep this little trip of ours a secret."
Just then, they're stopped by a familiar face walking in the opposite direction as them. Despite wearing completely different outfits, both parties manage to recognize one another.
"Hello again, Nate. It's been a while." Colress tells the former Unova Champion. "I heard what you did against the Shadow Triad. Thank you for finally putting them to justice."
"Colress, what are you doing here?" Nate replies, clearly wondering what the former Team Plasma member was doing all the way here.
"Nate, who is he?" Yancy asks.
"And you must be Yancy." Colress says, directing his attention to the young lady. "I am Colress, young lady. And I was once a high-ranking member of Team Plasma. I heard your name thanks to recent news."
For a moment, this concerns the pink-haired girl, before Colress, seeing her expression, makes a reassuring statement.
"I see you look a little concerned there, Miss. Don't worry. I've long since cut my ties with that organization, and I had nothing to do with the Shadow Triad's attempts on your lives. In fact, I've denounced their actions as terrorism when I was asked by colleagues."
Upon listening to his claim, she calms down somewhat, and lets her now-fiance continue conversing with the former Team Plasma scientist.
"As for your question earlier…" Colress then tells them about what had happened prior to their arrival. Things ranging from a mysterious organization asking for his help, Pokemon fusion, and finally, an encounter with a villainous organization hailing from multiple alternate universes, including a victorious Ghetsis from an alternate Unova.
Nate, still amazed and confused at Colress' narration, asks first. "So...let me get this straight...Ultra Beasts, a world-ending cataclysm, and an evil organization from another universe, of which included a Ghetsis that ended up killing N and Black? Did I get that right?"
"Yes, you did." Colress replies with a confident smile on his face. "Long story short, I pretty much atoned for my past actions, managed to get the research results I wanted this entire time, and I helped save Alola and the world from a world-ending threat."
"I see…" Yancy says, who turns out to be just as amazed at the scientist's story. "And I thought Nate's ordeal was pretty bad…"
"Anyways…" Colress then directs his attention back to Nate. "Now that I've answered your question...I'd like to know what you're doing here, all the way in Alola. Maybe I can help you."
"Well…"
"We…"
Both of them then, with some hesitation, then tell him their story, with the former Team Plasma member listening intently.
"Interesting. Very interesting." He says, before pulling out a few items from his pocket. "If you're considering honing your skills as Trainers and bringing out your Pokemon's potential, you might want to try taking on the Alola Pokemon League and the Battle Tree. These might help." He then hands them two Steelium Zs, as well a TM91 for Yancy.
"T-thank you." Yancy says while bowing at Colress.
"Thanks…" Nate says a little hesitantly.
"Well, in any case, I'd better get going." Just as he makes his way further into the city, he says one more thing. "Oh, and don't worry about your little secret being spilled. Enjoy your little honeymoon together. And if you're looking for the Hano Grand Resort, you're heading in the right direction. Just keep going straight and you should see it in no time." Colress then smiles at the two, before waving goodbye to both of them and leaving.
"(But we're not even married yet…)" Yancy mutters.
"(Well, he isn't completely wrong…)" Nate replies, with a smirk on his face. "(This trip of ours is kind of like one…)"
"Ahaha, yeah…I can't argue with that point…" Yancy then takes a look at one of the signs near their current location. "And...It looks like that Colress guy was right…" She then points to one particular sign. "It is straight ahead."
"Right, let's get going. I can't wait to see what that hotel looks like."
…
Sure enough, the Hano Grand Hotel is soon within their sights. Both of them are in awe at the size and scale of the place, with it making all of the hotels in Driftveil City look much smaller and less luxurious by comparison.
…
"Ah, Ms. Ruri. We've been expecting you and Mr. Kyouhei." The receptionist tells the young lady. "Unfortunately, Ms. Kahili is unavailable today due to an upcoming event."
"Awww, that's a shame." Yancy replies, clearly a little disappointed she couldn't meet her. "Did she say when she'd be available?"
"I'm sorry, miss. She didn't. But she did instruct me to give you this, the key to her family suite as promised."
"Thank you." Yancy then places the card key in her pocket for the time being. "If she ever does contact, tell her I said 'thanks'". Not long after getting the key to their room, she comes across another familiar face talking to Nate.
"Professor Kukui?" Yancy asks, just as the Alolan Pokemon Professor turns around.
"Ah, there you are, Nancy. Or should I say, Yancy."
Nate, standing in front of the Professor, explains "I contacted him while you were checking in, and he just happened to be available. He said he had something for us as a return favor for making it here."
"That's right." He then grabs a briefcase next to him, opening it to reveal two PokeBalls inside. "Consider this as thanks for accepting that invitation to Alola. Since you're here, I might as well offer you one of two Pokemon I have here."
"Two? Where's the third?"
Instead of the Professor replying, however, Nate does instead.
"I have it." He then shows her the Poke Ball, which in this case contains a Rowlet.
"So, Yancy, what will it be? Will you be taking the Fire Cat Pokemon Litten, or the Sea Lion Pokemon Popplio?"
Without any hesitation, she picks Popplio, with her knowing it evolves into the Fairy-type Primarina.
"Nice choice." The Professor says. "I think you might also want this." He then hands her a book labeled Official Guide to the Alola Region. "This should help you two regarding the ins and outs of Alola."
"Thanks, Professor." Yancy tells, clearly grateful for his help.
"No, thank you." The Professor replies. "Good luck, and I'm hoping you'll consider taking the Island Challenge. As much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have something I have to attend to." Not long afterward, Professor Kukui waves goodbye to the young couple, and immediately makes his way out.
With that out of the way, both of them take the elevator up to their room, a luxurious penthouse suite.
"Damn…Even this Suite is massive!" Nate says, clearly impressed. "H-how did you even manage to get us this room? From what I've heard, you need to book this place a year in advance, and that's just for a regular room…"
"My parents are close friends with the owners of the place…Not to mention that their daughter was also my senior back in school." Yancy then continues with "That's basically how we got this room. This is actually one of the rooms normally reserved for their relatives. And the best part? We got this at half the price!"
"The perks of being insanely rich…" He replies semi-sarcastically. He then decides to change the topic to something else entirely. "Anyways, are you planning on taking on the Alola League like I am?"
"Honestly? Yeah. From what I'm reading right now, it's not the usual 'beat a gym, get a badge' sort of thing, but something else entirely…"
"Let me see that." He then takes a quick glance at the aforementioned Alola Region guide that she had until now been holding. "Hmmm...You're right...This is gonna be a different experience."
…
And so, both of them decided to take on the Alola Pokemon League. Both found the Trials and the Kahunas to be a challenging but unique and fun experience. In a record 2 weeks, both of them had managed to complete the entire Island challenge. Making their way to the summit of Mount Lanakila, they both challenge the Pokemon League, with Yancy going first, then Nate not long afterward...
...
"Go for it, Greninja!" Nate then sends out the Ninja Pokemon against his opponent, the Alola Region Champion...a young girl known as Selene. "(This should be enough against whatever remaining Pokemon she has…)" At this point, this is his last one, having had most of his team mutually kill her team of Legendary Pokemon, the four Guardian deities of Alola, as well as her starter, the Soloist Pokemon Primarina.
*Champion Selene sent out Dawn Wings Necrozma!*
"What the!?" Immediately, Nate realizes he is almost pretty much screwed, given that the Pokemon standing before him is most definitely a Legendary, and one he has never heard nor seen prior to this point. Recovering from his initial shock, he decides to face his opponent regardless. What happens in the next few minutes shocks both Trainers, as, despite having much better stats than the Ninja Pokemon, the Prism Pokemon is at a severe disadvantage when it comes to type matchup. With nothing left to lose, Nate orders one last attack.
"Greninja, use Dark Pulse!" While the move does manage to pull off quad Super Effective damage, it's still not enough to take out the Prism Pokemon. "Drat, not enough…"
*Bright light is about to burst out of Necrozma!*
"What the heck!?" Nate shouts, clearly not expecting the phenomenon in front of him. "(I really think I'm screwed at this point…)"
*Necrozma regained its true power through Ultra Burst!*
*Necrozma used Photon Geyser!*
*Greninja fainted!*
*Champion Selene defeated Pokemon Trainer Nate!*
"That was pretty humiliating...I must admit, though...That was one exhilarating battle. You're one tough nut to crack, Selene. Don't expect this to be the last time we'll meet."
*Selene received P20,000 for winning!*
"This is the first time I've lost in a good while. I think I'll need to reflect on what I did wrong and learn from my mistakes. Good luck in your future battles." With that, Nate leaves the Champion's chamber, hiding any remaining bitterness he has to the younger girl standing proud there.
…
Making it to the Pokemon Center, he enters and subsequently takes a seat next to his girlfriend, who had been waiting there for him the entire time.
"Let me guess…" A rather bitter Yancy says to the clearly still sour Nate. "You got curbed by one of her Legendary Pokemon too?"
"Y-yeah…" He says, clearly still shaken from the earlier battle. "And not those Tapu Guardians which I easily took out...I got totalled by her Necrozma…"
"T-that's how she took my last Pokemon out, too…" She replies, clearly unsurprised by it. "Just when I thought I had gotten the hang of serious Pokemon battling...She just toyed with my new Primarina…Sigh, now I know how you felt when Red beat you..."
"Well, don't feel too bad about it." A disembodied female voice tells her. When the young couple look around for the source of said voice, they find none other than the Elite Four member Kahili in front of them. "The fact that both of you beat me effortlessly and managed to actually force Selene to go all-out is testament to your strength."
"K-Kahili!" Yancy then stands up and faces the Alola Elite Four member. "I know I didn't have time to say this earlier when we were battling, but thanks for letting us book that suite."
"Anything I can do for a family friend and one of my old juniors." She replies, still maintaining a stoic appearance. Noticing Nate's awkward stare, she then reintroduces herself to the young man. "Oh, let me reintroduce myself. I am Kahili, one of the Alola Elite Four, as you know. I am also the daughter of the owners of the Hano Grand Hotel, and Yancy's senior back in Trainer School. Does that sound good enough?"
"Yeah…" He replies, realizing that this tough trainer standing in front of her and the person his girlfriend had mentioned to him a while back were one and the same. "Small world…"
"So, with that out of the way...I have these for both of you." She then hands the two Unovan Trainers a Z-Crystal.
"Is this the Flynium-Z?" Yancy asks her.
"Yup. Consider these a gift for beating me fair and square in battle earlier." She then poses, showing to both Trainers on how to activate the aforementioned Z-Crystal. "This is also how you activate it, just in case you didn't know."
"Noted." Yancy says, managing to imitate the pose.
"I got it." With that Nate, also manages to successfully get the pose right.
With that out of the way, Kahili then recommends something to the two Trainers. "Oh, and one more thing. Given your impressive strength and skill in Pokemon battling, you two should head over to the Battle Tree located on Poni Island."
"Wait, Nate…" Yancy says, remembering that name. "Didn't that Colress guy mention the Battle Tree before?"
"Yeah, he did...But, wouldn't we need to beat the Champion to be given access there?" Nate asks, having tried going there when he was doing the Trials on the island.
"No need to worry. I'll make arrangements so that you can be given access." She then picks up an electronic device, dials in a number, and makes a call. After a minute or two of chatting with the other end, she then hangs up, with a smile on her face. "And there. You should be able to get to the Battle Tree without any issues."
"Thanks, Kahili." Yancy says, clearly grateful for her help.
"Thank you." Nate seconds.
"Think nothing of it, you two." She replies. "You both proved yourselves back there, and I failed as a host. This is the least I could do to both make it up and reward your hard work." Not long afterward, the Elite Four member checks her watch, realizing she's still on-duty. "I think I might have to say goodbye soon since they still need me manning my chamber. Oh, but, before I go, here's a word of advice."
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
"There's this guy at the Battle Tree handing out invitations to this faraway place. I think it was called Pasio? Anyways, I was one of those fortunate enough to be given an invitation, and from the looks of things, it's probably worth a visit. You two should see if you can get an invitation. Just be warned though, he's a bit of a jerk in person..." With that, she waves the two goodbye, and hurriedly heads back inside the Pokemon League.
"So, that was Kahili." Nate mutters. "She's...friendlier than I expected. My first impression of her was a no-nonsense serious type of person."
"She was like that even back then." Yancy replies. "On the surface, she looks cold, stern and serious all time. But underneath that cold exterior is someone who's pretty chill."
Wasting no time, they both head back to Poni Island, and make their way to the Battle Tree, where this time they're both allowed access. Upon making it to the entrance of the facility, they both see a couple of very familiar faces.
"It's...him!" While both of the young men are wearing completely different outfits, Nate immediately recognizes the pair standing right in front of him and Yancy. "It's Red…"
"Come to think of it...Yeah! It is him." She then takes note of the other Trainer standing next to him. "And that's Blue, alright…What are they doing all the way here, though?"
"Let's see." Nate then approaches the duo, who in turn immediately recognize him despite also being in different clothing.
"!" Red is the first to recognize the young man. "..." Without a word, he takes a good look at the former Unova Champion, which confirms to the Kanto Champion that he's looking at the same young man who had defeated him months ago.
"Hey, wait a minute...You're Nate, right?" Blue asks the young man, before turning his attention to the girl standing next to him. "And you must be Yancy, correct?"
"Yeah. I guess you probably still recognize me from the previous Champion Tournaments."
"Yes, that's right."
"See that, Red? I've still got it." Blue then turns his attention back to the young couple. "I guess there's no need for introductions, then."
"Yeah, pretty much." Nate replies.
"By the way, I saw the news earlier. Congrats on your engagement, you two." Blue says in a sincere manner. This surprises the two Trainers, who then sport blushes on their cheeks. "And don't worry, I won't spill the beans on your location." Not long after Blue says this, Red can't help but smile and chuckle to himself, noticing that his former opponent and his now fiancee are trying to hide their clear embarrassment, to no avail.
"T-thanks…"
"T-thank you…"
Blue, trying to hide in his own laughter while also trying to sound sincere, continues with: "Also...Judging by your expressions earlier, I'm guessing you're wondering what the heck the two of us are doing all the way over here, right?"
"H-how did you...?" Nate asks, clearly not expecting Blue to guess his question correctly.
"Kahili called us, and told us to expect you two." Blue replies. "Anyways, to answer your question, we were asked to be the heads of this facility. Or to put in in our official titles, we're the Battle Legends."
"So basically...like the Subway Bosses and Frontier Brains?" Yancy asks.
"Yup. Right on the mark." Blue replies, liking her answer. "Say, I remember seeing your performance in the World Leaders Tournament. Care to demonstrate your strength against one of us?"
"But why, though?" She asks, clearly not expecting a challenge then and there.
"Oh, uh, sorry. It's just that, when I sense or see a strong Trainer, I can't help but ask for a battle."
"I see." She replies, before ultimately deciding to agree. "Well, I did come here with Nate to battle, so I might as well agree to that challenge." She then readies one of her Poke Balls.
"Alright, so who will it be? Me, or Red here?"
Unsurprisingly, she chooses Blue, knowing that Red, having already beaten her fiance once, was probably someone she couldn't handle on her own. Instead of saying it outright to him, she just points her finger at Blue himself.
"Huh. Good choice." Blue then pulls out something from his bag. "Here, before we battle, heal your Pokemon. These are all on me."
Immediately, she puts the medicines given to her to good use, healing each and every Pokemon in her party, with a number left to spare.
With that out of the way, Blue then readies one of his own Poke Balls. "Now it's just you, me, and an awesome battle up ahead! Here I go!"
What follows is an epic Pokemon battle, just as Blue had wanted. Despite having a weaker team on paper, Yancy manages to give the Viridian Gym Leader a run for his money, when she manages to take out more than half of his team in exchange for 2 of her own Pokemon fainting.
"I knew I found someone strong!" Blue says, clearly excited that Yancy was indeed a strong Trainer like he had hoped. "But I'm not ready to give up...Go for it, Arcanine!"
Yancy, wisely, switches out her Pokemon. "Eve, come back!" She then pulls out another Poke Ball. "Go, Primarina! I know you can do it!"
*Primarina surrounded itself with its Z-Power!*
*Primarina unleashes its full-force Z-Move!*
*Oceanic Operetta!*
"No way!" Blue says, realizing that his defeat at this point is all but inevitable.
*The foe's Arcanine fainted!*
*Yancy defeated Pokemon Trainer Blue!*
"The fact you beat me means you're a pretty big deal! That was a pretty epic loss!"
*Yancy got P20,000 for winning!*
"Hey, Red!" Blue signals to his friend. "Do you...think that she might be worth giving one of those invitations to?"
Without a word, the silent young man nods.
"Well, there you have it, Yancy. I think you've earned this." He then hands her a special card saying "You've been invited to the Island of Pasio." on it, as well a picture of what is presumably the location in question.
"Wait, this is…"
"Yup, it's what Kahili mentioned." Nate tells her. "But didn't she say that some rich jerk would be handing these out?"
"Well, you'd be right…" Blue tells the young man. "But he left not too long ago for somewhere, and he asked the two of us to look for promising Trainers through the Battle Tree. And since she proved herself even before actually taking the Battle Tree Challenge, I say she's earned it." He then pulls out one more of those invitations out of his bad. "And, since you're already established as a strong Trainer, I think you deserve one, too." Blue then hands it to Nate, who accepts.
"Who else did you give these to or who else received these invitations?" Yancy asks, curious as to the intention of these invitations being handed out.
"Let's see...From what I recall, Lear, the guy who was handing these invitations out, gave them mostly to some pretty strong Trainers who visited the Battle Tree recently such as Colress and Cynthia, as well as myself and Red..."
"Huh, so they've gone here too…" Nate mutters, referring to the first two Trainers Blue had mentioned. "Figured they'd get it…" He then asks Blue "So what's this Pasio like?"
"How should I know? I have yet to go there myself. But what I do recall, it's a fairly recent construction project, an artificial island to be precise."
"We'll consider the offer…" Yancy says, putting the invitation in her bag. "Right now, we still have a few things we have to take care of once we head back to Unova."
"Seconded." Nate continues. "It's an interesting offer from what I'm reading here, but I can't just go there at this time yet…"
"Sure, sure." Blue says. "Anyways, enjoy the Battle Tree. Me and Red are looking forward to facing off against you when the time comes." The two Trainers then head back further inside, leaving the young couple alone together near the entrance.
…
Following this, the two of them take on the Battle Tree challenge, battling and defeating both familiar faces and new foes alike. Ultimately, they both manage to clear the Multi and Super Multi Challenges, facing off against both Red and Blue and barely defeating them after a long and challenging battle...
…
A month later, back in Unova…Aspertia City, Rosa's house...
…
"Huh...Pasio…" Rosa then begins reading the fine print written on the Pasio invitation, as well as checking out the images of the island in question. "This looks like a very tempting offer, alright…Thanks. I don't have any further Pokestar Studios projects as of now, so I'm practically free." She then asks Nate a question. "By the way, how's Yancy? I haven't seen her even since you two came back."
"She's been very busy with the shooting and production of the upcoming Princess Sylveon film. Not to mention the paparazzi and the journalists, which I'm also having to deal with, by the way…"
"Haha, I can tell." Rosa then continues with "Speaking of which...I kept your whereabouts secret like I promised. I do believe you owe me…" Before she can finish her sentence, however…
"Here, you can have this. Professor Kukui gave it to me as a thank you gift for taking on the Alola League." He then hands her a Poke Ball containing the Fire Cat Pokemon Litten, complete with a Firium-Z.
"H-how did you get this Pokemon?" She asks Nate, all the while overwhelmed, confused, and somewhat grateful. "And thanks. I uh, kind of wanted one of these Alola starter Pokemon after seeing them at the Castelia Comic Con..."
"Professor Kukui gave me that Pokemon in exchange for requesting me to continue promoting tourism to Alola, as well as that Pasio gig."
"Sweet! And thanks again, for everything."
"Just keeping a promise to my childhood friend." Nate then pulls out something else from his bag. "Oh, and speaking of which...Here's that invitation to Pasio if you're up for it." He then hands it to Rosa, who accepts it without hesitation.
"Blue asked the two of us to hand these to any strong Trainers we know or meet, and you were the first one to come to mind."
"Huh, interesting…" Rosa replies, reading the invitation given to her not long afterward. "This one, I'm definitely accepting...Though, do you think you could help Hugh as well? He's been telling me he wants to catch up with you and Yancy so badly."
"Yeah, uh, sure...I'll see if I can make another deal with Professor Kukui and get Hugh a Z-Power Ring and a Z-Crystal. Heck, maybe even an extra invitation to Alola." He then takes a look at the time on Rosa's wall clock. "Well, I think it's time I get going."
"Off to see Yancy, I presume?"
"Mmm hmm. The usual Ferris Wheel and dinner date at 7PM." He then picks up his bag, then waves at his childhood friend. "See you later. I promise I'll get in touch regarding that offer, and maybe some more."
"Enjoy your date, lover boy." She says with a smug smile on her face.
…
Meanwhile, at the Celebrity Channel Studio…
…
"Thank you, Nancy, or should I say, Yancy Ruri, for allowing us to interview you about your engagement to Nate Kyouhei." Christoph says to her in a very grateful manner.
"And cut!" Yancy's uncle screams, ending the taping of the show. "Thank you for accepting this interview. I know you're not part of this channel anymore, but I'm glad you showed up, and not long after you returned, too."
"Think nothing of it, Uncle." Yancy replies. "I'd rather accept an interview from you and the rest of the Celebrity Channel crew than some random tabloid or shady website."
"Good to hear, haha!" Zachary Ruri then walks away, in order to answer an important phone call.
"Looks like you're in a rush." Curtis says as he notices her actions. "Guessing you're going to meet your now-fiance?"
"Yup." She replies. "At the usual spot, near the Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City." She then tells him one more thing. "I...got permission from my parents to tell him that you were my fiance before him."
"I see...He would have had to find out sooner or later...How did he take it, though?"
"Surprisingly well, actually...Ahahaha, he was more concerned about the possibility of having to pay back millions of Pokemon Dollars to my dad than you being a potential romantic rival."
"Good to hear."
"Well, I have to get going now. Good luck on hosting the Celebrity Channel alone." Yancy then exits the studio, hastily making her way to the elevator.
"Yeah, I will…" Curtis mutters to himself.
...
"Nate!" Yancy says as she runs towards her fiance. "You made it on time!"
"Yeah, I did…" He then embraces her tightly just as she buries her head into his chest. "Thought I was going to be late for a second…"
"So, Ferris Wheel first, dinner at Join Avenue second, then back to my condo, right?"
"I was, uh, thinking about enjoying a nice walk on Marvelous Bridge before the last one…"
"Why, though?" She asks, before assuring him. "Not that I'm against the idea. I think it's a great change of pace. I just want to know your reasons for doing so."
"Well, I just thought it'd be great to enjoy the view, especially since it's a clear evening, full moon and all." He then pulls out something from his bag. "Rosa also gave me this thing earlier. I think it was called a "Lunar Wing", or something like that. She said she got it from this spooky old mansion near Lentimas Town. She didn't say what it was for exactly, and she told me to stay the heck away from that house in exchange for this. She also told me something would be waiting for us there, but didn't say what exactly."
"Alright, sure. I'm kind of curious as well."
With that, the two of them then head to the Ferris Wheel, enjoying the city view once more.
…
THE END
…
Final Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who's been following this story. All good things must come to an end, and this story is no exception. I acknowledge this may not be the best nor the most original ending out there, but I'm at least glad that I could finally find closure to this whole passion project of mine. If there was anything I disliked a lot with fan works, it was those that were left hanging and had no ending. It was this dislike that motivated me to continue after being on hiatus back in 2016, as I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't finish this.
One final thanks to my friends who encouraged me to finish this fic and give me some much needed advice. I dedicate this part to all of you.