FIVE MONTHS LATER…

Roy sat by the sakura tree as he happily strummed a tune on his Dad's guitar. A number of cherry blossoms fluttered to the ground with each chord. The cool wind and warm heat from the sun brought the boy enough comfort as he played. He then heard the sound of grass rustling beside him. He turned his head to the left and spotted Azul hopping over.

"Froak!" it called.

"Oh, hey Azul," greeted Roy.

Azul sat beside the boy playing the guitar and listened on.

"I thought you'd be with Louis and the others," added Roy.

Azul pointed to the distance, where Louis, his team of Pokémon and Violet making their way over.

"Ah, there they are," Roy pointed out.

He waved to the group as they approached. Louis and company placed themselves beside Roy and Azul and took in the calming weather. Then, an important thought crossed Roy's mind.

"So...today's the day, isn't it?" he said.

"Yeah. Suzuki's graduation," answered Violet.

Louis closed his eyes and thought back to the memories of him and Suzuki during his time at the academy.

"Feels like it was just yesterday when we first met," said Louis.

"Tell me about it," Violet responded.

However, Louis then remembered another event happening alongside Suzuki's graduation.

"And Azul will be leaving for the Kanto region today as well," he revealed.

The realisation dawned on some of the other members of the party.

"I completely forgot about that," Torracat spoke.

"Me too," said Riolu.

The group sat in silence for a brief moment, with the blowing of the wind being the only audible sound.

"Y'know, even though I've been looking forward to this, a part of me doesn't want to go," said Azul.

Louis turned his head to the frog Pokémon and placed a hand on his head.

"Believe me, Azul," he began. "I felt the same way before I came here."

"You did?" questioned Azul.

"Yeah. I knew I was gonna miss my family and friends, but I was also just really nervous about going."

The boy gestured a smile to his little blue monster.

"Don't worry, we'll miss you too," he finished.

Without warning, the echoing sound of a speaker being switched on reached the party's ears.

"Attention, students," a voice spoke. "Please make your way to the main hall for the graduation ceremony."

The group collectively took a deep breath.

"Shall we?" said Roy.

"We shall," answered Violet.

The party of friends quickly made haste to the academy's main hall. Along the way, they spotted Suzuki entering the room, wearing a black robe.

"Hey, there he is!" exclaimed Louis.

"Nice dressing gown," joked Roy.

This was met with an elbow from Violet, making him groan in slight pain.

"Should we..." paused Louis.

"No," responded Violet. "Let's wait until after the ceremony."

The boy nodded.

As the students and faculty gathered together in the main hall and found their seats, a cloud of mixed emotions swept over every attendee. Some with sadness, others with a sense of accomplishment and happiness.

Then, the professor made his way onto the main stage, catching the attention of the attendees.

"Thank you all for coming," he began.

"Before I start, I just want to say how proud I am of every single one of you for everything you've done this year."

The professor's opening speech was being tuned out as Louis' thoughts began playing over the top.

'I never thought this day would come,' he thought. 'With both Azul and Suzuki leaving, it's...it's just so hard to believe.'

These words played on a continuous loop through Louis' subconscious.

The group sat in silence as student after student stepped onto the main stage and received their graduation certificates and said a few parting words. Before long, the name call reached the individual that each of the audience members had been anticipating.

"Suzuki Hamada..." called the professor.

This announcement was met with applause. Not just from his friends, but the gathered others that filled the place. They watched as a confident Suzuki took the stage and approached the lectern in controlled excitement.

"Look at him," said Violet, smiling. "I don't think this place will ever be the same without him."

"You got that right," replied Roy.

The graduating trainer shook the professor's hand, received his certificate and stepped up to the podium.

"Wow..." he began. "I can't believe the year went by so fast."

Some audience members sat in excitement while others began to shed tears.

"Y'know, before I came to the academy, I never once thought that I would be considered a top student among the entire student faculty," Suzuki continued. "If anything, I also never thought I'd make any friends during my time here."

"But look at you now," whispered Louis.

It was then that Suzuki was spotted wiping a single tear from his eyes.

"Um...I just wanna thank the academy for everything over the years and...especially my friends, for helping me get through these years."

Suzuki waved at his group of friends, where they waved back in reply.

"Before I go, I'd like to leave you all with this," said Suzuki, before pausing briefly.

"We aren't here long. Over the years passed, I've grown to consider you all friends. ...and in the years to come, we may meet again. Take care of yourselves, and each other. ...and if we do meet up, feel free to take a shot at the champ. My team will be ready."

Suzuki giggled, as did the crowd.

The students and faculty applauded as Suzuki stepped down the stairs and sat back down.

Before long, all graduating students had received their certificates. It was soon time for the ceremony to draw to a close.

The professor stepped back over to the podium.

"Well, it's now the time where our ceremony will come to an end," he said.

"Once again, I wanna thank every single one of you for coming today in saying farewell to the students who will be leaving today. So, I hope you'll enjoy this being a half-day today."

"Half-day?" blurted Louis.

"Yeah," replied Roy. "Every time graduation day comes, the professor gives us a half-day."

"Oh...cool."

"As for our graduating students," the professor continued. "Even though your time here has ended, your journey has only just begun. Whatever happens, never forget what you've learned here. I'm positive they will help you over the years."

Soon, many hats were thrown into the air in celebration. The rest of the attendees clapped as the graduating students stepped into the outside world. There were barely any dry eyes as they gazed upon the sight.

As the day passed, Louis and the rest of the gang stood by the stairs leading to the docks, waiting for Suzuki. A warm breeze caressed them on the steps as they sat. As they waited, Louis believed that this should be the right time to give Azul something special.

"Hey, Azul," the boy said.

"Yeah?" Azul responded.

"There's something I wanna give you before you go."

Louis reached into his vest's pocket and produced the spare pendant that Chief Tanaka had given him.

Azul's eyelids raised.

"Is that what I think it is?" the frog Pokémon asked.

"Yep," answered Louis.

"I figured I'd give you this so...you wouldn't forget about us while you're in Kanto."

"Why would I?" Azul inquired.

"I don't know."

Louis placed the pendant around Azul's neck. He seemed to enjoy wearing it.

Suddenly, the sound of a ship's horn met the ears of the trainers and Pokémon. It was the Lapras Express arriving to pick up the graduating students and return them home. Before a small horde of trainers wearing black robes began making their way down the steps. At the end of the line, the group caught sight of their friend. They waved, hoping to get his attention.

Thankfully, he managed to spot them in the crowd.

"There you are," said Suzuki. "I've been looking all over for you guys."

"We thought we'd wait here," replied Roy. "Figured that we would give you some space."

As Suzuki adjusted the straps of his backpack, he returned his focus to his friends.

"So...this is it, I guess?" he said.

"Only for now..." replied Violet. "I'm sure we will meet again."

After a brief moment, Suzuki, Roy and Violet got into a big group hug with one another. Louis watched on, smiling.

Soon, Suzuki relinquished his grip with Roy and Violet and stepped over to the boy from Johto. He brought Louis in for a tight hug.

"Take care of our friends," he said.

"I will," Louis responded. "You can count on it."

As he was embracing Suzuki, Louis spotted Riolu walking over to Azul and bringing him in for a hug.

"Don't forget about us," said Riolu.

"I won't," replied Azul.

Soon, the rest of Louis' Pokémon joined Riolu in locking Azul in a group hug. Louis excused himself and joined in his team's warm embrace.

As soon as the Pokémon relinquished their grips, Louis and Azul locked eyes.

"Well, are you ready?" asked Louis, bringing out a Pokéball.

Azul nodded.

"As always."

A red beam shot out from the Pokéball and brought Azul into the spherical device. The boy walked back over to Suzuki and handed him the Pokéball containing Azul.

"I'll take care of him for the journey," reassured Suzuki.

The party watched as Suzuki began to walk down the stone steps leading to the docks.

However, Louis decided that they should stand by the docks and see their friends off. They carefully stepped down the stairs and stood by the wooden structure as Suzuki stepped onto the Lapras Express and brought out Azul.

Then, the horns of the boat emitted again as the vessel departed.

"See ya, guys!" yelled Suzuki, waving.

"We'll miss you!" exclaimed Violet.

"Be careful in Kanto, Azul!" called Louis.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" replied Azul.

"Good luck out there!" cheered Roy.

Each of the friends waved as the vessel got smaller and smaller in the distance, as many tears flowed from the group's eyes.

Louis sat on the edge of the docks with his Pokémon and friends joining in.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" asked Marowak.

The boy from Johto turned to the beast with a bone for a weapon and said with a confident smile;

"...of course we will."

THE END

There we go.

That's the of the second chapter in the Louis Serrano Chronicles. It was an incredible run.

Thank you so much for reading this story. Did you like it? What did you expect would happen in this story? Are you looking forward to a sequel?

Either way, feel free leave a review detailing any of these options above. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)

Even though this story is over, that doesn't mean that you don't have to follow the story, because the sequel to the Louis Serrano Chronicles is now in production. And when it is live, the announcement will be on this story, so stay tuned. And please feel free to share this with your friends.

And if you would like to catch up on Louis' journey, check out the previous story "Pokémon: One of a Kind".

Thanks again. Buh-bye for now.