Thanks to mirrorkinomoto and IanAlphaAxel for reviewing the previous chapter.

This is the last chapter unfortunately. Thanks to everyone who read this story (and if you have returned for the third or fourth time... Or whatever) thanks again.

This story was originally uploaded at the end of 2013 and finished in three months. It had over 150 reviews at the time, and almost 100 faves and follows.

Thank you again for the support over the years! It's greatly much appreciated!

Where to from here? Read Ravaged World. Then Spirit of Champions will be released (hopefully in the next few weeks or so). See you then!

.

Chapter Thirty: Epilogue

Morty was sitting in the basement of the Burned Tower, legs crossed and eyes closed. This wasn't his usual spot for meditating, but the gym was rather busy at the moment because one of the old ladies was celebrating her one hundredth birthday party. Morty had congratulated the lady, but had left immediately afterwards to clear his mind. Fortunately, the Tower was empty of guests. He suspected they were still in Goldenrod trying to catch a glimpse of the Champion.

As much as he wanted to join in the celebrations, he knew it was best to give some space to Lyra, to allow her to settle in her new position. Distancing himself would allow her to spend some time with Lance. He wasn't too thrilled with the new coupling since he believed Lyra could do better than Lance, but if she was happy, then he could be happy for her. He hoped it wouldn't stop him from being friends with her.

His time alone gave him the opportunity to tie up a loose end himself regarding Eusine. Lyra had mentioned she had crossed paths with him on the way to Victory Road – Eusine presented a threat. His obsession with Suicine had led him down a path of madness, and he knew his friend would not recover from it. Obsession was his greatest flaw. He had to be dealt with in a discreet manner as to not arouse the suspicions of the authorities.

"You called me here, Morty," Eusine said, striding up towards him, black bags under his eyes. The boy looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a couple of weeks – most likely he had been obsessing over Suicine, and coming up with ways to take the legendary Pokemon's power for his own. "Have you changed your mind then?"

Morty stood up, and dusted his clothes, removing it of dirt. "I wanted to talk with you. It's been awhile since we last spoke."

"I remember being driven out of the city because of you."

"Yes… Well, it was a mistake." He motioned for Eusine to step closer, and the young researcher did, although he took cautious steps, his eyes darting around in all directions, as if fearing an attack. "You look frightened. Do not be concerned. The ghost-type Pokemon here will not hurt you."

"I'm going to ask you for the last time to stand with me. Together, you and I will make an indestructible team. We will seek out the legendaries and we will make them submit to our will. Isn't that what you have always wanted, Morty? To feel the power of a legendary?"

Morty nodded. "I have considered it."

"And?"

"I will join with you."

A smile broke out on Eusine's face. "That is excellent news! With your skill, and my knowledge, we will tame the legendaries and their power will be ours!"

"Sounds great," Morty said. "But first, I want to show you something. I think I've found a way to obtain the legendaries."

"Then share it with me, old friend."

"It's going to require taking a trip to the Spirit World… You are okay with it, right?"

There was a brief flicker of hesitance in his eyes, but the man nodded as Morty expected him to. The man was so blinded by his obsessions that he could be manipulated into believing anything. "I am glad. I shall perform the necessary steps and together, you and I will enter the realm."

Connecting his mind to the Spirit World was often a risky idea. An untrained person could lose their minds to this place and become unstable, but Morty was practiced in this profession. Only the strongest and most stable of ghost-type trainers could venture into the realm of spirits, but even for someone like him, it was still risky. If he lost focus for just a split second, he would leave his mind vulnerable to hostile spirits that searched for vulnerable minds to invade. All it required was a bit of ghost-type Pokemon's blood and a rift would open. He already had the vials of blood prepared in advance for this moment. Reaching a hand down to his pokebelt, he handed one of the vials over to Eusine then took the other one for himself.

"What will we see?"

"Be patient. All will be revealed in due time." Morty took a sip from his vial, as Eusine did the same. He screwed his face up in disgust, and hunched over, as if he were about to lurch. Fortunately, he managed to keep the contents of his stomach down. The rift to the Spirit World appeared before them as a shadow door. "You should enter first."

Eusine moved to the door then stopped. "Shouldn't you be the one to enter first?"

"I want you to be the first to witness it."

"All right." Eusine stepped through the door and Morty followed after him.

The Spirit World always became the environment the trainer wanted, but other environments could easily be explored by walking through a shadow door. Morty always thought of the surrounding forest in Ecruteak City so that's where he was now, walking along a misty path following his Gengar. He could catch glimpses of other practiced ghost-type trainers walking through the fog, but he could not make contact with them.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?"

"Nothing," Morty answered. "And you'll never see anything either. There was a time I once called you a friend – but you never cared. You only saw ambition in our friendship – you saw a chance to get closer to the legendary beasts. As a gym leader, it's my duty to defend this city from threats. I hope you can understand that I can't let you leave."

His eyes flashed. "You're a coward, Morty! You planned this!" He tried to lunge forward, but Morty nimbly stepped to the side. Eusine fell on the ground, face-first. "You choose to fight me here in the Spirit World and not in the real world!"

"It's over, Eusine." In the corner of his eye, he spotted a couple of hostile spirits floating towards them, drawn to Eusine's negativity. His mind was unprotected, and thus he would be defenseless against them. He would not die here; his mind would be trapped in this realm for eternity, whilst his physical form on earth would be in a comatose state until death claimed him.

"We were supposed to be friends!"

"You intended to enslave the legendaries so you could use them against us!"

"You wanted the legendaries as much as I did!"

"It doesn't concern me any longer. Ho-Oh chose Lyra, and I can think of no better person who deserves the phoenix more. I wish it did not have to come down to this, but you have left me with no choice. Farewell Eusine. We will not meet again."

Morty stepped through the rift, as a piercing scream filled the air. He heard his name called, but the screams died out, replaced by the ravenous growls of the spirits. He might not have been the one to save the world from Team Rocket, or become Ho-Oh's owner, but he had done the world a favour by removing a madman. He set foot on the real world again, and glanced down below at the basement. The three legendary canines were standing in a circle. He could've sworn Suicine had nodded, but that might've been a figment of his imagination.