Professor Werner was buried on a hillside outside of Everspring in a traditional Nanzonese tomb. It was a beautiful place, with a sweeping view of glistening rice fields and green mountains. The funeral was held in the morning, and Liam was a little surprised by the number of people he found there. Students, staff, family members—even dignitaries from the Nanzonese government were all in attendance. It made Liam realize just how much more there was to Professor Werner than he had seen in the past year at Everspring.
Not even a year, Liam reminded himself. He had known Professor Werner for less than 10 months. And the more he listened to the stories the family members and old friends told, the more he realized what a brief time that had really been.
Jacob Werner seemed to have been everywhere, done everything, and met everyone. He was the oldest breed of third-culture kid. Born in Nanzo to Unovan missionaries, he was the only child with blonde hair for a hundred miles. Nanzonese culture was his culture—even more than the culture of his parents. He flew with Unovan pilots in the Flying Incineroars, but only to save his homeland from the Kantonian Empire. He mastered the teachings of the School of Virtue, then put them into practice as he wandered the world as a young Pokemon trainer. He had married a woman from Ferrum, raised his children in Alola, and spent the Third Pokemon War in an internment camp in Kanto. He had battled the greatest trainers of the modern age—Agatha, Pryce, Diantha. He had seen Pokemon so rare they were dismissed as legends. He had established himself as one of the greatest living practitioners of Pokemon battling.
Then, after everything, he returned to Nanzo, took up a position in the Elite Four, and began teaching the next generation of Pokemon trainers. Even after he stepped down from the Elite Four, he had never given up on teaching. When Everspring Academy grew from a large homeschool co-op to a genuine school, he had accepted its offer to teach Tactics without hesitation.
Liam spent a long time staring at the stone edifice of Professor Werner's tomb. He couldn't bring himself to look at Werner's body—it made him feel sick—but now he was sealed away in the earth. Liam had found closure earlier than he expected.
"Well, Professor," said Liam quietly. "I'll do my best. I know you always wanted more than that, so I hope that isn't too disappointing."
Liam closed his eyes and prayed. When he opened them, he noticed a man standing next to him in a dark green military uniform. He was old—perhaps as old as Professor Werner had been—with deep wrinkles on his brown face. He smiled pleasantly at Liam in the way older people often did when they saw a foreigner.
"There are many foreign students here," the man observed. "Jacob must have been well-respected."
"He was," said Liam. "He… we all looked up to him."
The old man gave an understanding smile.
"He was a brave man."
Liam nodded. They were both silent for a moment.
"How… uh, how did you know Professor Werner?" asked Liam hesitantly.
The old man laughed. His pleasure at the question took Liam off-guard.
"We flew together for Colonel Chandler," he said. "In the Kantonian War. He became a Pokemon trainer, I remained a soldier."
"You were in the Nanzonese army?"
The old man nodded.
"Jing!"
An elderly and elegant Nanzonese woman embraced the old man, kissing him on the cheek. His face lit up as he recognized her.
"Madame Chandler," he exclaimed. "Ah, there is no face I would have rather seen at the graveside of our dear friend."
He gave a formal bow.
"Is this one of Jacob's students?" asked Madame Chandler.
Liam nodded.
"I'm Liam Holbrook," he said, trying hard to be polite in front of these (evidently) important adults. "Professor Werner was my mentor."
"This is Mrs. Anna Chandler, the wife of the late Colonel Chandler," said Jing.
Madame Chandler offered Liam her hand, which he shook awkwardly. He was a little in awe. Ever since he had first seen Colonel Chandler's hawk-like countenance on an old photo on the wall of Wei's Pizzaria, Liam had been reading everything he could find about the Flying Incineroars. He wondered what, if anything, he could say.
"Your husband… was a hero," Liam stammered. "It's an honor to meet you."
Madame Chandler gave a graceful smile, but Jing clearly found Liam's apparent embarrassment amusing.
"Jacob taught them to respect their elders, at least," said Jing with a laugh.
"We're not all as old as you, general," said Madame Chandler.
Jing appeared to concede the point.
"Was Jacob still holding on to that old bird?" Jing asked Liam. "The one with the broken wing?"
"You mean his Skarmory? I saw him battle with it a few months ago. He won, even with the bad wing."
"You didn't think he would really let go of it, Jing?" said Madame Chandler teasingly. "You still have your Pokemon from the war, don't you?"
Jing detached an old-fashioned Apricorn ball from his belt and showed it to Liam and Madame Chandler.
"My old Dragonite. This Pokemon took down more Kantonian planes than our finest pilot."
He returned it to his belt.
"Professor Werner's daughter is gonna take care of his Skarmory," said Liam, pointing towards a thin, dark-haired woman that was talking to Principal Kahakai.
"Ah, I must go and speak to Jacob's daughter," said Madame Chandler. "It was nice to meet you, Liam."
Liam bowed as the general and Madame Chandler excused themselves and moved on. He was more than a little in awe. Even in death, Professor Werner continued to connect him to Nanzo's remarkable past.
"You ready, bro?"
It was almost noon. The mourners were gradually departing, leaving just a few students and family members. Chelsea Whitaker's mascara was smeared and her eyes were red, but she was smiling. Liam reminded himself that this was the second burial she had attended this year. She had been through all of this before when she sent Scraggy to Celestial Tower.
"Give me a second," said Liam. "I got a few more things to say to him."
Chelsea tilted her head curiously.
"Mind if I hear what you say?"
Liam flushed. He couldn't think of a good reason to say no, especially not to Chelsea, but he was embarrassed by what he was planning to say.
"S-sure," said Liam. "If you… yeah."
He sighed. Carefully avoiding Chelsea's gaze, he fixed his eyes on the stone slab engraved with Professor Werner's name in Unovan letters and Nanzonese characters.
"I'll take care of Chelsea, Professor. I know that was important to you, even if you didn't show it. I'll make sure nothing happens to her."
He looked back at Chelsea. Her face had gone very red.
"You said that just to mess with me."
"I promise I was already going to say that," said Liam. "Really."
Chelsea shifted uncomfortably. Liam wondered if she had read more into his words than he had intended.
"Chez, I didn't—."
"Liam, I'm not a kid," said Chelsea seriously. "I'm not that girl who couldn't stand up for herself. I don't want you as a protector. I want a friend. Okay?"
Liam felt incredibly stupid. He realized immediately that Chelsea was right—she wasn't the crying, helpless middle-schooler he remembered from last year. Everything she had been through had made her strong. She was still immature—she was a freshman, after all—but he wasn't being of any help to her by treating her like something to protect.
"Okay," said Liam. "I… Sorry. You're right. I was just… thinking of last semester. But you can handle yourself."
"That's all fine, bro," said Chelsea. "But… I think you're missing the point."
Liam thought for a moment.
"Thanks for being my friend, Chez," said Liam.
Chelsea grinned.
"That was it," she said. "C'mon, the van is waiting, and I wanna go get burgers or something. I'm starving."
Liam took one last look at Werner's grave and, with a sigh, followed Chelsea to the van. He noticed that the younger members of Team Virtue were looking at him anxiously as they pulled away and began the long journey back into town. Liam tried his best to look confident, even if he didn't know what to say. He felt like he was already messing up as a leader, but he had good friends to set him right when he did.
That made everything feel okay.