Chapter 38 – 200 Years Old Final Day

Nuvema Town – The hill at the edge of town

I had a dream in where Espeon was still alive and talking to me up on the hill at the edge of town watching the sun setting one night. Aqua was still alive and playing with our children, Lisa and Brent talking with Sakura and Isaac. Why cruel? Well that dream felt real to me, and when I awoke it took me some time to realize that it was all a dream and Aqua, Latias, Espeon, Sakura, and Isaac were all dead.

I looked back at Kairi and Light still as Oshawott's playing with Aqua. They were young in the dream, the same age when I last saw them when Aqua and I left our world to this dimension.

"Hey Zackary, what do you think the others are doing now?" Espeon asked as she looked down at the streets of Nuvema Town, watching as people and Pokemon walked by. "Friends such as Bent, LisaLisa, or how about Devon?"

"Brent is trying out to become a writer. Lisa is about to start her new leadership position as the leader of the Savior's Unova branch. Devon is staying with Lisa, he is going to help her get things started with the new team." I looked at Espeon, speaking to her like we used to before the final battle with Team Annihilation Reborn. I never questioned the dream, or ask how Espeon and the others were still alive. I just rolled with this and have a conversation with my good friend.

"That's good." She sighed. "Well done LisaLisa, I knew you had it in you to become a leader. And well nice Devon, look after her well. And Bent becoming a writer… oh how I wish I could read a book or two he had written. I wonder if he ever made me as a protagonist in one of his books." She turned and looked at me with a smile on her face as she asked. "So what about you Zackary, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what happened to you? Having fun on this hill at the edge of town talking to your friend, your family and friends playing and hanging out, surely you are doing something right about now." I looked back at the others, smiling as I saw Latias alive and healthy looking again playing with her mother Maia and our daughter Midnight.

"Enjoying life the way I wanted. I always dreamed of a day were I could enjoy something like this; my friends, my family all here and having fun, a life without fighting anymore."

Espeon sighed and leaned back against the tree. "That's great Zackary. No more fighting, no more crazy new villains showing up with their teams, no more wild encounters when walking through the tall grass, no '!' above a random trainer when seen forcing us into a battle. Yep, we can live a good life." She then looked back at Light after he had almost hit her with a ball he was playing with just missing her head by mere inches. She smiled and tossed the ball back with Psychic. "Hey Zackary? What kind of home would you prefer? Live in the forest amongst the wild Pokemon with your family forming a clan? Or do you see yourself in a nice house?"

"I don't know. I suppose maybe in a house so I don't run into a wild Pokemon trying to fight us." I sighed back and leaned against the tree beside her. "This ability will always be with me, and I don't want to kill another Pokemon. So being in a house away from all of that would probably be the best."

"I don't know about that Zackary, maybe you would do well in the wild. Sure we might run into a wild Pokemon at times, you would have us there with you depending on the type advantage they have against you obviously. Maybe you could do some good out there as clan leader?"

I chuckled. "A leader, huh? I don't ever see myself as a leader. I'm usually the kind of guy would follow orders that I could follow, never leader a team."

Espeon nudged me and chuckled. "Hmm, I'll rephrase that; as a sole leader, not so much. But as a co-leader with his friends beside him leading the clan, yep, I think that would work."

"That's good to know that I won't be alone for that if it actually happens. But right now, I just want to relax and be right here and enjoy this."

"Me too. Soon we could go the bakery your mom works at; I hear she's baking up a nice batch of cupcakes for us. Is that true?"

I nodded and found myself feeling the most relaxed I had been in some time. "Yeah, they should be ready soon. Then I suppose we could go to the laboratory to listen to Gardevoir reading from one of her dictionaries. We did promise to listen to at least one page."

"Oh goodie, the fun will fly by while listening to Gardevoir read from a dictionary…" she said sarcastically and sighed, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the suns warm light on her face, and so did I, finding my eyes closing. Then with a short jolt I awoke.

As the dream had come to an end, I got up out of bed confused and wandering where the others had gone. Then after leaving my room, my mind woke up and slowly did I realize that speaking to Espeon and being with my friends and family again was all but a dream. I shook my head and continued to walk down stairs ready to start the day. There were a few dreams were it seemed to real to me and when I woke up I thought what I dreamed would be waiting for me somewhere within the mansion, a friend of someone in one of the rooms, or I dreamed I was back home and I would wake up there instead of the mansion. i would be disappointed and yet annoyed at those kinds of dreams, but in the end I would shrug it off and continue on with my day trying to have fun and stay active.

Going through Aqua's things she left I had come across a USB with the words written on it 'For Zack'. Grabbing my laptop and inserting the USB into it, I discovered a large file of ten videos all with Aqua on it.

I played the first video. Aqua had filmed the video somewhere within the library sitting at a desk and smiled into the camera.

"Hello Zack, it's me Aqua… duh." She chuckled. "I have made these videos for you to watch after I am gone. I don't know when that will be, but with my health I am pretty sure it won't be long until you get to watch these videos." She paused, looking over at the laptop for a while before returning with the video. "Sorry, I thought I heard you about to come in and interrupt my recording. These videos I have created for you are uh… last words I have for you, words I might forget to tell you before the end." I leaned in and listened closely to what Aqua had to say. With a small inhale she started. "I received a vision before we met. i saw you washed up on the beach. It showed me saving you from drowning. But what the vision didn't show me was you and I captured by Purrloin's gang and joining them. I knew who they were, how cruel Purrloin's gang were, and I thought my vision had doomed me, it had leaded me to my death." A smile grew across her face and looked right into the camera. "But where it leaded me wasn't an agonizing death I feared I would receive with Purrloin or one of her gang members, but instead it would lead me to a Pokemon I would love and have beautiful children with, and live a peaceful life with."

Her messages ranged from the heartfelt good messages to recipes of foods she thought I might like. Some involved the use of ice cream, a mixture of berries and fruit, and others such as healthy and delicious meals.

There was even a video about how to perform other moves I might like to learn, her Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Rainy Day and many more water based ones. They were fun to learn. It had taken me many tries to learn Ice Beam and to use it I had fun learning.

Near the final message she talked about Leafeon and Umbreon, two Pokemon who were once members of Purrloin's gang escaped with us and tried to find a safe place for them to live. The two had died drowning in a partially submerged Team Annihilation base that had fallen in a lake a clan of used as their home. Their son an Eevee survived, we never knew what had happened to him, but we had hoped he had a good life.

And then came the final message, she paused and stared at the camera for a good while and holding the camera with one paw in silence. "Zack? I know this is my last video and that I… I want to tell you that being with you for all these years, I don't regret it. I wish I could be with you for longer than the time I have here. I love you Zack, take care." With one last smile, the video had stopped.

I was happy that found those videos, watching her messages gave me hope that being alone in that dimension I would be all right until the end. Sure the years alone in that dimension were hard, but I continued on.

I sometimes went outside and watched the night sky half wondering what my world is like now after many years had passed, what kind of things had I missed, and the other half wandering what my final day would be like. A depressing thought how you think the final day would be like, how you would leave this world. It was something I thought about for a long time, until the last day of my life.

The Mansion – Living Room – 200

th birthday

Almost one hundred and seventy years I had lived in that mansion, living and sleeping alone until the final day, the day I turned two-hundred. Everything inside and outside the mansion remained the same. I knew this day would be my last, but it was one I was looking forward to for another reason.

The door of the living opened with Psychic. My appearance was pretty much the same, but some days I didn't have much strength left in me, finding myself fatigued over the little things, walking a short distance, doing something for five-ten minutes and it would feel as if I had just many miles without rest. Today I felt restless, I felt younger again, smiling as I began to walk inside.

"Final day… hmm, so let's make this a good one." I said to myself, walking inside the living room. it was a room full of memories, so many memories of a life, of a world I had left behind; photo's, old books with pages turned yellow, and dusty memorabilia lined up beside one another on the shelves, hardly ever been touched.

First before I reached the shelves, I stopped at a bookcase, a bookcase with so many books I had from countless times before. Picking up one of the books was one I remember well, written by a good friend of mine.

It was a book from a series of several other books all written by the same author, a man I knew before I lived in this mansion for the remainder of my long life; Brent Jackson. After Aqua and I left our world to this one, I later learned that Brent became an author, writing children's books, a series of adventure books featuring the same main characters as they explored multiple worlds in search of a way to save their world and all worlds from an evil group. Sadly in his years of writing these stories he never did have any fame, only a small cult following that enjoyed his books. It wasn't until he was an old man when his final book hit the shelves that many people worldwide started taking notice of them becoming an instant classic, a hidden gem. Then a few days after people had noticed his stories, Brent died of old age surrounded by his family.

When I got the book on my one hundredth birthday thanks to this dimension or something else as a birthday present I began reading it all the way to the final page. It was an adventure story about four travellers setting out into the world to save it from an evil sorcerer. The Pokemon travelling with them was a talking Espeon. The story was exciting, it was fun to read, and obviously there were some references of our real life travels together in the story that brought a smile to my face. To my surprise on the final page of the book I saw the final words; 'In memory of my friends; Zack, Espeon, and Lisa.'.

Placing the book back into the shelf along with the others, I walked away stopping again until I found myself at a shelf with an old badge I got from the Savior's. It was a Savior's badge all members receive upon joining. The badge had rusted long ago, the blue 'S' almost faded. I was reminded of Lisa and how she became the leader of The Savior's Unova branch. This dimension also had a book on The Savior's within the library updating on its history every several years. I saw in the book how Lisa became the leader and slowly over time built The Savior's back to what it was. I learnt after the second update of the book that she married Devon and had two sons together. She became a great leader for the team, making things better for the region and helping those still affected by Team Annihilation Reborn, retiring at the age of sixty four, two years after Devon's death of natural causes. The book did mention my brother Ren, Rose, and Jessica briefly saying they stayed within The Savior's most of their lives, but I couldn't find any information about what happened to them.

Next to it was an old wristwatch I had kept ever since I was fifteen years old; one hundred and eighty-five years ago I was given this watch by my parents in the Tri Contest. When we travelled back in time, I met them but they didn't know who I was, I saw them as my parents; they saw me as a kid who had just so happened to be nearby and asked me to help them in the contest. We participated together in the contest, we had fun, and we won these watches.

Ever since, I had kept this watch trying to maintain it, keep it clean and always being extra careful with it as much as I could fearing I may destroy it or drop it. But eighty years ago, it stopped working; although I did try I could never seem to fix it. So in the end, I stopped trying and let it rest on the shelf, silent and motionless along with the others, the sounds of its ticking ceased, but in my mind I still remember what it sounded like after all of these years.

At the edge of the shelf was one thing I hadn't looked at in such a long time, not out of fear of if, but out of sadness. Every time I looked at it, I was reminded of not what her sister did to me, but of her death. The Master Ball, Latias' Pokeball she once resided inside, an old empty ball. I always thought what kind of life she could've had if she were still alive, so I let it be.

Many photo's hung up on the wall of places I had been to, landmarks, cities and towns each had one or more of my friends and Pokemon; Totodile, Bayleef, Lugia, Golurk, Gardevoir and Dewott. I would've liked to have known what had happened to them after Aqua and I left our world, with no information stored about them within the library I could only hope for the best of them that they lead great lives.

I stood in the hallway and looked at the front door and waited as instructed. The night before I had a vision of Arceus talking to me. "Zack Raines, you have done well to keep watch over Infinite. His power will never return to the world and the portals have all but faded along with him. But there is one last portal that remains in the world you called home." Hearing this I tensed up, fearing Arceus would extend my life and force upon me another task involving this last portal. However, Arceus instead told me something I never expected. "I have talked to someone important to you, someone still alive and well wishing to see you again. This I grant you on your final day to see your daughter once again."

"Midnight." I smiled in the vision, but I was also concerned. I didn't want her to be trapped within this dimension.

"Do not worry; Midnight is not going to be stuck within this dimension for the rest of her life. The portal will remain open long enough for her to return home. You and her will have enough time to catch up and to say your goodbyes."

"I thought all of the portals were gone. How come this one remains long after Infinite has died?"

"True Infinite has died but his power remains, small fragments of his very being scattered throughout the world after the battle desperately call out to their master to be whole again. Infinite had been weak during the time you and Aqua watched over him. He had been trying to call his fragments back to him to become whole. Most he called out to have died along with him, but only one remained. The portal I found last year is perhaps the last of its kind. With no master to return to, it will soon die. It is a portal that leads one from the world you called home to this dimension. I know its power, how much life it has left in it before it too will die. The time it has left will be more than enough for the two of you to have one last moment together."

Arcues lowered in front of me. "I am sorry for forcing this task upon you. But the only one suitable for the task was you and no one else. You had experience fighting Infinite, you knew what he was capable of, and you knew how to fight him."

"Forget about it. Infinite was a threat, and if no one was around to watch over him, who knew how to fight him then this world would be once again at the risk of Infinite." I shrugged, not really caring anymore. I got what I wanted out of this in the end; a life without fighting while I lived in that dimension. I probably would've had to fight in my world on several occasions if I never left my world. Probably not Team Annihilation Reborn level of fighting, most likely a wild Pokemon or hunter or two.

The dream ended and I woke up to get things ready, half worried that last night could've been another cruel realistic dream, and the other half worried Midnight not come. I stood finding myself growing more nervous the longer I waited for Midnight.

And then suddenly, the door of the mansion opened slowly and there levitating inside was my daughter Midnight. The last I saw her she was still a child, but now she was an adult. She noticed me and moved closer to me. "Dad?" she smiled.

"Midnight." I smiled back. And I don't know who it was who had moved first or if both of us did at the same time closed the distance and hugged each other. "It's so good to see you again!"

"I missed you so much, dad." She whimpered. I wasn't sure how long we were hugging in entrance hall for, but after that I guided her around the mansion, my home since leaving my world living with Aqua. Midnight asked where she was buried and so I showed her the grave. Midnight placed her paw on the grave and nodded her head. She mourned the loss of her step-mother wishing she could've been there for her. And we sat there for a moment in silence.

As the day went on, Midnight told me so much about my friend and family, what had happened to them after we left to live in that dimension. Golurk surprisingly still lives telling others stories of our adventures, even telling stories to Midnight's children, Light's and Kairi's great grandchildren. Lugia settled in Hoenn as part of another clan of Lugia's like itself. Totodile and Bayleef died twenty years after Aqua and I had left. One day while walking through a forest they saw a group of wild Pokemon trying to kill young Pokemon after they accidentally stumbled upon their territory. Totodile tried to persuade the wild Pokemon to let them go, but they didn't. Totodile and Bayleef had sacrificed themselves to save the lives of young Pokemon. Gardevoir remained with Midnight and Kairi until her death at an old age, I hear she died surrounded by her loved ones and of course her beloved dictionaries. Dewott and his mate Meowstic had stayed with Midnight's clan until their deaths fifty years after Aqua and I had left. Natural causes for Meowstic, but for Dewott he was poisoned after defending the clan from Poison type Pokemon attempting to take over.

I was told about what had happened with Ren, Rose and Jessica. Ren and Rose who stayed within The Savior's for a long time and had a daughter, a Vulpix named Alice. Jessica remained single and had stayed with Ren and Rose. Ren and Rose both died not too long ago, but Jessica remains alive and has stayed with Midnight's clan since the deaths of her friends.

Arceus instructed Midnight to enter through the portal and enter the mansion, and once I had departed from this world, Midnight would have to return to the portal after my death otherwise she would remain stuck in that dimension.

"I wish I could've brought my family here to meet you, the others who are still alive, but Arceus told me how only I could come here since the portal was too weak to bring more than one. I will return to my world after… w-well you know."

I smiled and hugged her. "That's okay. I have a photo album if you'd like to take that with you. You can uh, show your family a photo of me, your mom and step-mom"

"Wait, you had the photo of mom?" She asked as her ears perked upwards.

"Hm? I thought I had left more back in house before I left" I shook my head. "Well, there you go. I'll go and find the photo album for you to take back… w-what…?" Suddenly I felt dizzy, fatigued and almost collapsed.

Midnight held me up with her paw and gave me a worrying look. "Dad, are you alright?"

It had taken a while to get a response out of me, but after catching my breath I shook my head. "I… I think I need to sit down." Midnight brought me to sit on a couch in the living room. A short rest helped recover my energy, but not enough. I slowly started to feel tired and weak. I didn't know how to describe it really, it was really weird. I asked Midnight if she would like to take some things she might want to take to show her family, mostly photos and The Savior's badge for her to keep. I didn't want her to stick around for a long time within that dimension, so I made sure to give her the things she might want to take back so she can leave immediately after I have died.

I knew time was running out for me soon and so I gave it my all to stay and to tell her all that I wanted to say to her before I would die soon. All members of the Team Doom Eight, human turned Pokemon live until they reach the age of two hundred. I wasn't sure when it would happen or how painful it might be. I just wanted to talk to Midnight and spend what little time I had left with her.

"You grew up a lot, Midnight. You look just like your mother."

Midnight smiled. "Grandma said the same the thing many times. But uh, grandma did tell me before I came here to tell you that she is sorry she couldn't come and see you. She wanted to tell you about how Light, Kairi and I found a mate and had children of our own and that she looked after them. She still is looking after Light's and Kairi's great grandchildren."

"You tell her that I thank her for all she has done for us. I wish I could be there in person to tell her this myself, and to thank her for a lot of things. Tell her this, would you?" She nodded and held my paw. I found myself to be lacking in energy as I found it difficult to hold onto to Midnight's paw. My feet, tail and legs started to feel numb.

"I'll tell her."

"You are the leader of your clan, right? How many are there with you? And tell me about where you live."

"Almost thirty of us very close to Castelia City. We are a strong clan always looking out for one another no matter what happens. Our home is located beside a cave deep within the forest. We almost never encounter trainers where we live, but the small few who do so happen to come across our clan they are friendly and treat us well." She smiled. "I remember one time when a young girl travelling with her friends wanted me to come with her; I had to convince her that I couldn't leave the clan. But to do that I had to battle her; if she won I would go with her, and if I won I would stay. I won that battle almost feeling worn out by the end of it. I tried to tell her because of our language barrier that she battled well. She told me once she grows strong enough she would like a rematch with me. That battle was almost ten years ago."

"And did she?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. But I have seen her near Nimbasa City a few days ago. So I may expect another battle with her or she has forgotten about our rematch. But if she has proven herself a strong trainer, I would keep my word and will go with her handing over control of the clan to my daughter."

"Is your daughter ready to take over the clan?"

"She is. If I lose against that girl in the rematch, my mate will watch over our daughter as well as her mate, so she won't be alone when she leads the clan." She smiled. "The world is different and so things have changed pretty much, new buildings in spots when in the past they empty and unused lands, tall skyscrapers we can see from our home. Pokemon battles are pretty much the same but with new mechanics in them. As for technology and entertainment, well it's kind of difficult to talk about that since we don't usually use it where we live."

I slowly nodded. "I have a good idea on what that's like with the things I have been given while living here." Feeling my chest becoming numb, I shook my head and prepared myself for the last moment I would have with Midnight.

Looking into her eyes, I said. "Midnight, I wish I could've been with you longer after the battle with Team Annihilation Reborn, I wanted to make up for the six years we never had."

"Dad…" she looked down at the floor briefly before levitating on the couch beside me. "I know the two years together were short, I was happy knowing I had you as a father. You taught me so much, you and my step-mom. Without the things you taught me, I wouldn't be the Latias you see now. I had so many happy memories in those short years."

"Midnight…" I hugged her one last time before feeling the strange numbness finally reach my arms. As much as I possibly could I couldn't move them in any way. I was scared, but I refused to show it not wanting to scare Midnight.

"Huh, I feel… tired… it's weird." All members of the Team Doom Eight, human turned Pokemon live until they reach the age of two hundred. I didn't know what to expect, sudden pain here and there, my vision fading slowly. I didn't feel pain, I felt… at peace really, hm. With the last ounce of strength I had left, I smiled at Midnight, wanting to tell her one last thing before I die. "Goodbye Midnight you always made me proud, and know that I love you."

Midnight let the tears drip from her tear ducts and began to cry, holding my paw with both of hers. "I love you too dad. Goodbye. I'll never forget you."

I smiled at her one last time feeling the strange numbness reach my face. I closed my eyes and waited for my time. My breathing had slowed down; I couldn't feel pretty much anything, no pain, nothing. And then finally my breathing had ceased and then all of it was gone, it was like falling asleep was the pretty much the best way I could explain it.

After a long life and on my two hundredth birthday I died in that mansion with Midnight beside me holding my paw and refusing to let go, but reluctantly she had to. She buried my body in the yard beside Aqua's grave taking the photos before leaving the dimension through the the portal, the last one of its kind slowly fading from existence for good.

To be continued...

Trivia:

Zack would originally returned home to Nuvema Town to sit beside the tree on top of the hill at the edge of town to watch the sunset one last time before he died.