Epilogue
A week had passed since the downfall of Team Dark. Black Jack, as promised, returned home to his niece and took her to a nearby park.
He sat on a bench, observing a game of tag involving Alice, Big Brother, Little Sis and his pokemon. As he watched, a familiar figure kept on appearing in his mind, a figure that he would ever doubt erasing him from his mind, a figure whom he hated the most…
Suddenly, a large figure walked close to him, snapping him out of his trance. He turned his attention to his visitor. It turned out to be Tyranitar, who decided to take a break from the game.
"(Hey, Jacky)," Tyranitar started. "(Still thinking about that guy?)"
No one exactly knew how, but recently Black Jack began to understand the Pokemon language.
He looked at his pokemon with an expressionless look on his face. He didn't know what to say at that very moment because he had a mixture of feelings of anger and sadness.
"Tyranitar," he said in response. "We've been together for a long time… how would you describe me?"
Tyranitar gave him a strange look as he thought that he was asking an odd question. "(Well, a lot of the time you're an easygoing guy, but when you fight human fights or get involve in a pokemon battle, we kick butt no matter what happens,)" he said. "(But you've been quiet ever since that last adventure and I know why)."
Black Jack slightly smiled at the pokemon that he travelled with since day one of his journey. "Thanks for noticing," he said. "But not a word to anyone, okay?"
"Not a word about what?" asked a girl's voice.
Black Jack turned to the girl's attention with a surprised look on his face. It turned out to be Alice sitting next to him. "You're good," Black Jack said in an impressed tone. "How did you get here without me noticing?"
"I don't know," Alice replied with a shrug. "So, what were you guys talking about?"
"Nothin', just guy talkin'" Black Jack replied. "Just training stuff."
"What training stuff?"
"I'll tell you when you're older," Black Jack said as he got up from the bench, noticing that the sun was setting. "C'mon, it's getting late. Let's get back to the mansion."
Upon their return to the mansion, everything was dark as they entered it. The curtains were closed and no light bulbs were switched on. "Why's everything dark, uncle?" Alice asked.
"Don't be scared, young cub," Black Jack said. "I'll ask one of the butlers to explain."
"I'm not scared, uncle," Alice replied. "I'm just curious."
"Just hang on to me, kid."
"Can't we get one of our pokemon to use a move like Flash so we can see in the dark?"
"No, we don't want give ourselves away in case some burglar is robbing this house. Besides, the guys and I can see in the dark."
"You're smart, uncle."
"You have no idea," Black Jack said with a smirk.
Alice held onto Black Jack's hand while Black Jack's pokemon took care of Big Bro and Little Sis. Despite the darkness around them, Black Jack knew what room he was in. He entered into another room and noticed a light switch next to him.
"Hello?" Black Jack called out as he lifted up a tiny lever of the light switch, switching the lights on.
"SURPRISE!" a group of people yelled as they sprung up from their hiding places, a number of pokemon also yelled but in their own language. The room was a sitting room where different types of furniture were moved aside to make room for the dinner table where it had plates of food on it. The room had a posh looking carpet and historic looking walls, decorated with banners and different coloured balloons. One of the banners showed the words, 'Happy Birthday, Alice!'
Alice and her pokemon gasped in surprise while Black Jack smiled happily. "Nice job," he said as he spotted his acquaintances in the group of guests.
Alice looked round to see who was there. A lot of her friends and relatives were there, most noticeably her parents. "Mum! Dad!" she cried as she ran over to them, giving them a hug while her parents hugged back. "I missed you."
Her parents sobbed that they missed her as well as one of the butlers announced that the food and drinks can now be eaten. "Finally," Ash said as he walked quickly to the table. "I'm starvin'."
Black Jack walked slowly to the table and picked up a bottle of beer. He then looked at Alice still talking to her parents before walking the balcony outside the room. As he got out, he leaned over the carved stone barricade looking up at the starry sky. He thought various images in his mind to pass the time until…
"Black Jack," a voice said, catching his attention. He turned round to see a young girl wearing a white t-shirt with blue sleeves, blue jeans, red trainers, and red ponytail hair. Behind her was a Gardevoir. The girl was one Black Jack's old acquaintances, Cassandra.
When they first met, they both got off from a bad start because of their arrogant attitudes towards each other but after they teamed up to defeat a group of petty thugs they began to respect each other, despite that they don't see each other as friends.
"Cassandra, Gardevoir," Black Jack replied back, leaning his back on the barricade. "How are things?"
"Everything's a-okay," Cassandra replied. "By the way, I nicknamed Gardevoir Sonya. Wally nicknamed his Orion. Not the best nicknames I admit."
"I'm not a fan of nicknames… but I have to thank you for taking care of Alice for me while I was away."
"Alice told you?"
"Yeah, it means a lot."
"Anytime. So, what did you guys do?"
"What do you think?"
Cassandra looked back at Sonya, who was showing a pained expression on her face. She realised that it wasn't really necessary to ask that question; they both knew what Black Jack's capable of. "Well, they obviously got the message," Cassandra said.
"Excuse me for interrupting, sir, madam," a butler said as he walked out into the balcony. "But the time has come for Alice to open her presents."
The two trainers nodded as they headed back to the party. After everyone gathered around, Alice opened her presents. Most of the presents revealed to be cuddly toys, storybooks based on pokemon, dolls and other various toys. The last present to open was Black Jack's.
The present was resented in a wrapped box. After she tore away the wrapping paper, opening the box and removing some small sheets of paper, it revealed to be… a pokemon egg. It was white with green and yellow triangle shapes in various parts of the shell.
Everyone gasped in shock and surprise. "Jack," John said. "Where did you get it?"
"My boys and I found it," Black Jack replied. "On our way back from Orre. I was looking around to see if this egg belonged to anyone but I couldn't find anybody. We couldn't leave this egg lying around."
"Nice idea, Black Jack," Wally said. He was another one of Black Jack acquaintances, "Who knows that some Snorlax might come round and eat it."
"Big Brother and Little Sis," Alice called out her Teddiursa and Eevee, showing them the egg. "We're gonna have a new friend!"
Her two pokemon happily danced after they heard that announcement.
While everyone else was celebrating, Misty looked down as she made her out to the balcony. No one noticed this… except Ash.
Misty was leaning on the barricade of the balcony as tears were forming in her eyes. "Misty…" a voice said, catching her attention. Knowing whose voice it was, she slowly turned her attention to the young teen she held dear to her heart, wiping away her tears.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked in a concerned tone.
"It's… the egg that Black Jack gave to Alice," Misty answered, trying to hold back her tears. "It… it reminds me of… of…"
Ash knew what Misty was trying to say. Between them, this wasn't the first time they talked about a creature that Misty loved and cared like it was a child. Knowing how Misty felt, Ash walked towards her and gave her a heart-warming hug with Misty hugging him back while in tears.
"It's okay, Mist," Ash said. "I know that Togetic isn't here but… trust me, I know how strong he is and he's fine because it's been cared for by a trainer who loved it as a mother and it'll never forget that."
Misty smiled at the fact that Ash was referring to her as she felt the warmth of his body hugging her and a joyous lift of her soft beating heart. "Thank you, Ash," she said.
While they hugged, they didn't notice that May was checking on them. "Misty… she doesn't know how lucky she is…" she thought to herself with smile.
Meanwhile, as Black Jack was opening a door, making his way out of the mansion, he spotted an old man with a suit and a bowler hat walking up to the door. That old was Black Jack's adopted father, Jason Hummingburg.
"Black Jack, my son," Jason said with a small smile.
"Jason," Black Jack replied, showing his usual expressionless face. He then spotted a newspaper under Jason's arm and remembered about the psychotic pokemon. "Hey, have you any news on those pokemon nutcases?"
"Afraid not. After their escape from that criminal base, they haven't caused any damage nor has anyone spotted. I think that they're maybe good as gone."
Black Jack stroked his beard in doubt. Knowing how psychotic and strong they were, there was a strong possibility that they would survive almost anything. Then another set of thoughts came into his mind.
"Something wrong, my boy?" Jason asked in concern.
Black Jack was in deep thought. "It's nothing," he replied tonelessly as he walked passed him.
He visited the graves of his deceased parents, which was not far from the mansion. He was carrying two bouquets of flowers and slowly placed them on the graves. He looked at their tombstones with an expressionless look on his face as an image of the one person he hated most came into his head.
"Mom… Dad… I've found him," he said. With that, he walked away.
As he left the cemetery, he remembered that Alice would be a pokemon trainer in a year's time. More thoughts came into Black Jack's mind as disturbed feelings crept under his skin – If that man knew about him and his family, then chances are…
No, he couldn't think that way. There was no way that Black Jack would let that creep hurt his niece or his other relatives!
There was only one solution…
He got on his motorcycle and drove back to the mansion where a number of people he respected celebrated with one of the few people he cared the most, thinking of the idea he thought and hoping that the others would agree.
While he was driving back to his home, unaware that a rare and mysterious creature that he made acquaintance with in the past was spying on him from the sky. "Black Jack," the creature thought to himself before hovering away. "You have taken you're first step into darkness."
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And that my friends, is the end of the series. To tell you something, I can't believe it myself.
It may be the end of the series but it ends with a question. What is Black Jack's solution?
That solution will come up on the next series of Pokemon Impact, which will be here on… late September of this year. Coming to think of it, the waiting is not going to last long.
In the meantime… reviews please!