As I recall my now-defeated Pokemon, I play back the events of my journey so far. I look at the 4 dimmed pokeballs on my belt, and the one in my hand. Then I look at the opposing Pokemon glaring at me. It's been severely weakened. And it took 5 of my team members to bring it down that far. Cleopatra, sweeper of the Veilstone and Pastoria City Gyms. She took Maylene and Wake down with no help whatsoever. Not even a Potion. Ace, who cleared out Fantina and her Ghosts with his Normal typing, whose egg I received from the very trainer standing across from me. Ryu, the brave fighter who annihilated Byron and Candice. Jet, the hyperactive goof, who cleared house with Flint and Bertha. Skippy, who provided unpredictable support when sweeping became an impossibility. And now… It all comes down to him. He started this journey with me, and one way or another, he will end it. My fingers tighten around the sixth pokeball. My starter, and my most trusted friend. He beat Roark when none of the others could touch him, and he breezed past Volkner's whole team, shaking the world as he did so. I blink the tears out of my eyes, and take a deep breath.

"It's all you, buddy. We just need one hit. You're bulky, you're defensive, and you hit like a bulldozer. You can do this… Come on, Sequoia!"

I toss the pokeball, and my hope is revived for a moment as the Torterra inside emerges with a triumphant roar. This is a familiar sight, but I am reassured by the confidence he has. Sequoia has carried the team since the beginning. He is my last hope.
"This is it, my friend! For everyone who's made it this far! End it with an Earthquake!"

My opponent waves her finger at me.
"Sorry, kid. But this ends here. Garchomp, Flamethrower!"

I watch intensely as the Dragon inhales, before breathing out a large mote of fire. Sequoia raises his foot, and is about to bring it down when the flames engulf him.

It's a Critical Hit!

I hear a tremendous thud, and for a moment, I believe it's done. Then the flames clear, and my heart sinks. My great champion, my last hope, lies defeated on the ground. That's it. It's over. All that work, everything we've done… all for nothing. I recall Sequoia and fall to my knees.

The champion walks over to me, smiles sympathetically, and offers me a hand.
"Come on, kid. It was a real close fight, I'll give you credit for that. Tell you what, I'll heal my team up, and I'll fly you back to Twinleaf."

I take her hand, stand up, and she walks me down to the Pokemon center. She goes over to the nurse, and hands over her pokeballs. I simply sit down on the bench and wait, trying desperately to ignore the looks from the other trainers. At first, it's confusion. They want to know why I'm not healing my party. And then it clicks. I start to hear murmurs. I hear them speak, talking about what they saw on the screen. And hearing it hurts. The champion finishes getting her team healed up, and she walks over to me. I guess that means it's time to go. The two of us walk out the door, to the top of the waterfall, and she calls out her Togekiss. We hop on, and it takes to the sky.

As we fly, I start seeing some familiar places, evoking memories, happy and sad at the same time. Not too far in, I see Veilstone city. Cleopatra made Maylene feel… well, pretty Thunderstruck, I'd say. Shortly after that, Mount Coronet and Hearthome City. I managed to exploit Fantina's Ghost types, and made it through scot-free. As we pass to the south of the mountain, I see Spear Pillar in the distance, on the mountaintop. There, we leapt into the Distortion World to fight against Cyrus for the final time. Once we pass the great mountain, My eyes pass over Oreburgh City. This was where my journey truly began. Finally, we pass over Jubilife, Sandgem, and finally descend to Twinleaf. Cynthia drops me off in front of my house. I enter without so much as a word to my mother. Drained from the events of today, I walk up to my room, and lie down on my bed. My failure is all that I can think about. I could have done something. I could have done better. If only I could see them again…

A few hours later, Johanna's POV

Dinner smells pretty good. It's about done, so I suppose I had better call him down.
"Kiddo? Dinner's ready!"

I don't get a response after a few minutes. The soup is done (Kalosian Onion), so I ladle it into a bowl and figure I'll just leave it on his nightstand. He might be asleep, after all. After setting my bowl at my usual spot, I glance at the TV. His challenge was on earlier, so I saw what happened. I honestly couldn't believe it. He had come so far, done so well… I can understand why he's in such a bad state. Perhaps tomorrow I can talk to him about it. Maybe I can help ease the pain he feels. I know what happened to him, from experience no less. I walk over to the stairs. On the walk up, I take note of a few squeaky steps. I really gotta fix those. When I get to his room, I scan the room before my eyes snap to one particular thing. My mind is entirely focused on what's in front of me. Something no parent ever wants to see. I take a few slow steps forward as my mind starts to blur. I'm vaguely aware of a small ceramic crash at my feet, and then a very hot feeling shortly after, but I'm too shocked to care.
"No… Arceus, No…"