EPILOGUE – TWENTY YEARS LATER

A dark-haired man pushing a baby stroller made his way through the cemetery until he came to a huge oak tree. He parked the stroller under the tree and lifted out the tiny, auburn-haired baby that was asleep inside it. Cradling the baby carefully in his arms, the man walked over to the two graves that lay underneath the tree.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Professor Oak," smiled Ash as he looked down at the two headstones shining in the morning sun. "I brought somebody here to meet you." He smiled at the infant peacefully snoozing in his arms. "I'd like for you to meet Delia Ashley. I always thought Ashley was a better name for a girl than a guy…no offense, Professor Oak." Ash tucked the blanket around his daughter's chin and lightly stroked her cheek. "Her hair's almost exactly the same color as yours was, Mom." Ash shifted his daughter to the crook of one arm and reached inside his pocket. "Here, sweetheart," he whispered to the sleeping baby as he held up the sapphire ring that had once been his mother's. "This is yours now." The baby opened her eyes for a fraction of a second, yawned, then shut them again. "Well, I'll hang on to it until you're old enough to wear it." Ash tucked the ring back inside his pocket and turned around at the sound of a twig snapping.

"Hey, Ash," said Gary as he came wandering up the path. Ash lifted a finger to his lips, and Gary smiled slightly at the sight of the baby asleep in her father's arms. "So this is your kid, huh?" Gary peeked inside the blanket at the auburn-haired little girl. "Well, she's definitely better looking than you. Good thing she took after Misty in that department."

"Thanks, Gary," Ash said dryly as he placed his daughter back inside her stroller.

"What's her name?"

"Delia Ashley."

"Name her after your mom, huh?" Gary said as he looked down at the pair of graves.

"And your grandfather, too," Ash said, nodding in the direction of the headstone that read "Samuel Ashley Oak."

Gary was momentarily taken aback by this piece of news. "Thanks, I guess," he said somewhat awkwardly. Gary read the name on his grandfather's headstone silently. "You know, Ash, all these years I believed that Grandpa liked you more than me."

"I don't think that's true, Gary, but you can believe whatever you like."

"For crying out loud, Ash, you're named after him! And when I learned the truth, I hated you. Hated you and your mother." He looked at the headstone next to his grandfather's. "Because I thought that if it hadn't been for your mom, Grandpa would still be alive."

Ash felt his hackles rising. It was the long-standing argument that they had never been able to resolve.

"I'm not going get into a fight with you, Gary. So I'm going to leave now." Ash reached for his daughter's stroller.

"Wait, Ash."

Ash paused in mid-reach then turned back to face his lifelong rival.

"What I was going to say," Gary continued, "was that now that Molly and I are engaged, I understand now how it feels to love someone like that. Like the way Grandpa loved your mom. And now I can understand why he did what he did, although I don't think he made the right decision."

Ash regarded Gary silently for a moment. "Grief makes people do things they wouldn't normally do."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, Ash. And I also understand why Grandpa felt the way he did about you, too."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's kind of like how it is with me and TJ. Even though he's Molly's kid and not mine, I don't love him any less because of that. Matter of fact, TJ needs a father now more than ever. Especially after Todd ran out on him and Molly."

Ash smiled. "I've seen the two of you together. You'll make a good stepdad."

Gary raised his eyebrows and grinned. "Thanks." He then peered over at the baby in the stroller, who was starting to stir. "Maybe when she's a little older, she and TJ can play together."

"I think she'll like that. Oops, looks like she's starting to wake up. I'd better get her home so Misty can feed her." Ash smiled at his brown-eyed daughter, who cooed as her father softly touched her cheek. "How's things at the lab?" Ash asked as he began pushing the stroller, and he and Gary headed down the path running through the middle of the cemetery.

"I'm busy holding down the fort while my future father-in-law is in the Orange Islands studying a rare flock of emerald-eyed Dragonair. Oh, that reminds me…I heard from Tracey the other day."

"How's he doing?"

"He and May are fine. You wouldn't believe how much money those two make running Pokemon-watching cruises out of Valencia Island. Sometimes I think I'm in the wrong business."

Ash grinned. "Nahh, you're doing all right, Gary."

"Well, I try not to spend a lot of time in the lab -- I'd rather be out at the preserve. TJ likes playing with the Ponyta. I promised him that when he turns ten I'll give him one."

The two men had reached the cemetery entrance when the baby began to whimper. Ash picked up his daughter and held her out to Gary. "Say hello to Professor Gary Oak, Ashley."

Gary grinned at the gurgling baby. "Hey, kiddo. Stop by my place when you turn ten and I'll give you your first Pokémon, too." Gary then smiled at the baby's father. "I'll be sure to save her a Pikachu." With a wave, Gary headed off in the opposite direction.

With a grin, Ash nuzzled his daughter and put her back into her stroller. "Let's head home, Ashley. Your Grandpa Brock said he was going to stop by later and cook some of his famous bacon double cheeseburgers for lunch."

And father and daughter headed for home.