Chapter 2

Accepting and Remembering Before Leaving

Leon and Blaze, now having formed the new Team Poképals from the Water Continent, went on worldwide exploration duties for the first several days, before one day, they had heard widespread reports that the rate of pokémon turning to stone had increased at an alarming rate. The duo, along with the help of the Expedition Society, conducted an investigation to discover that the Dark Matter had indeed been reborn, and caused other pokémon like Nuzleaf and Yveltal to be possessed in order to turn innocent pokémon into stone.

Most of the Expedition Society members were turned into stone trying to save them, and at one point, Leon and Blaze were also turned into stone and were trapped in a negative, abyssal world, but the two destined heroes managed to escape from it with the help and sacrifice of those members. Once they got back to the pokémon world, they headed straight back to the headquarters of the Society within Lively Town and discovered that while most of the pokémon there were turned into stone, some of them, including what was left of the Society's members, had survived.

Ampharos and Jirachi, the only surviving members of the Expedition Society, along with Espurr from Serene Village, and a runaway beheeyem, offered support for Leon and Blaze as they traveled to the Prehistoric Ruins, located just outside of the Air Continent. The beheeyem led them there, only to discover that they were led into a trap set up by Nuzleaf, who was possessed by Dark Matter. Team Poképals discovered that he had ordered the beheeyem to lead them there so they could be destroyed. Despite the close call, Jirachi, along with the time travel pokémon Celebi, transported Leon, Blaze, and company over to one of the islands on the Sea of Wonders where the Tree of Life was situated.

Before they made their way over to the tree itself, Ampharos, along with Jirachi and Celebi, explained to a still amnesiac Leon that he was the human that confronted Dark Matter a long time ago. He, along with Mew, were also the two heroes from the legend that unsuccessfully defeated the negative entity once before. Next, Ampharos and company explained to Blaze that he had been destined to confront Dark Matter now, much to his confusion. With that said, everyone made their way to the Tree of Life.

When the pokémon arrived at the tree itself, they discovered it was greatly withered due to the planet being pulled closer to the sun. Dark Matter was also at the top of the tree, further eating away at its energy. As they tried to make their way toward the tree, they were confronted by the possessed group of beheeyem, Nuzleaf, and Yveltal. They managed to defeat and free them from Dark Matter's possession, but it began to lift the Tree of Life off the ground in a last ditch effort to prevent Team Poképals from going inside it. However, thanks to the help of several legendary pokémon across the world, Leon and Blaze managed to get inside the now airborne tree to make their way upward to Dark Matter.

Thanks to the power of the mysterious Harmony Scarves they had on around their necks, Leon and Blaze evolved to their final forms instantly, with the piplup evolving into an empoleon, and the chimchar evolving into an infernape. Their enhanced strength was what they needed for the final battle against Dark Matter itself, as they traveled inside the Tree of Life.

When they confronted the negative entity, they managed to weaken it for the first half of the battle. However, it suddenly regathered its energy by draining the Tree of Life's own vitality completely, meaning that Leon and Blaze had reverted back to their piplup and chimchar forms. Feeling that hope was completely lost, they were suddenly urged by all of the pokémon around the world, those who were alive, and even those who were turned into stone, to never give up and keep fighting. Thanks to the much-needed encouragement, Leon and Blaze finally defeated Dark Matter.

Only the core of Dark Matter itself remained, telling the heroes that it would presumably never be destroyed permanently, no matter how many times it was defeated. However, Blaze told it that he accepted the fact that everyone in the world, including himself and Leon, had negative feelings that they would have to let out themselves from time to time. Blaze also told Dark Matter that everyone, including the evil entity, indeed had a good side in which happiness and other positive feelings resided so pokémon could comfort each other when it mattered the most. With that being said, Blaze finally tells Dark Matter that it belongs with everyone, and he accepted it being a part of him as well, before he punched it into oblivion. Dark Matter graciously thanked him for being accepted, before it faded away for good.

The Tree of Life returned to the surface, and was revived completely, freeing all of the pokémon who were turned into stone. It also released Xerneas, the Tree of Life reincarnate, who thanked Team Poképals for their heroism. The years-long crisis was now finally over, thanks to Dark Matter being permanently defeated. Leon and Blaze returned back to the Expedition Society headquarters in Lively Town, and were awarded several days off of exploration duties so that they could reunite with their friends back in Serene Village.

Once Leon and Blaze arrived back at the village, the pokémon there threw a party in honor of Team Poképals' accomplishment for saving the entire world back home, but Nuzleaf was absent from his home, still feeling regretful for deceiving Leon and his best friend Blaze while being under control of Dark Matter. The piplup was welcomed by Blaze's adoptive father Carracosta to stay at his place for the night. Knowing that Leon would have to leave his best friend behind, now that the world was saved, he quietly reminded himself to request to Blaze that he really wanted to stay in the pokémon world for tomorrow.

The next morning, Leon, as promised, went to see Blaze over at the big tree on one of the hills just outside of Serene Village to discuss that he wanted to stay here in the pokémon world. He sat down beside him to begin their critical conversation.

"You like being on this hill, don't you?" Leon began.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it," Blaze replied, "you and I came up to this hill the first time we met. I told you about my dream to become a member of the Expedition Society then, and it was where I gave you one of our Harmony Scarves, too."

"Yup," Leon answered. "It was just like yesterday when we first met."

"How 'bout that other time when Ampharos let us became Junior Expedition Society members, huh?"

"And when we last came to this hill before we left the village and set out together? Those were all the times we came to this spot, Blaze."

"You're right, Leon. There are so many memories up here."

"No wonder it's a great spot to be at. The wind feels pretty nice here, too."

While they took a pause in their conversation. Leon thought to himself.

Speaking of which, I've gotta tell Blaze that I really want to stay in this world.

He took a deep breath before he spoke out loud again.

"Blaze, old pal...I must tell you something important."

"Go ahead, Leon."

"My time here in this world as a pokémon is almost up. My role in saving this wonderful world is over...but I really don't want to go! I want to stay here longer with everyone here...and more than anything else, with you here, Blaze. We have to find a way for me stay here...so that I won't ever have to say goodbye to you."

"...That's very touching to hear, Leon. Thanks for saying that."

Blaze had a brief pause before he continued.

"Now...it's my turn to tell you why I came here. I saw light falling onto this hill here. That light...was actually Xerneas."

"Xerneas?!" Leon exclaimed in shock.

"That's right. When he found me here, he said...that he was here to wake me."

"Xerneas came...to wake you, Blaze?"

"Yup. He said he'd promised me. I gotta say...why would he promise me something like that? A-and when, even? At first, it all seemed like some kinda weird joke...but when I touched Xerneas' horns...I understood, and remembered."

Blaze turned his head to Leon.

"Leon, the truth is...I'm your old best friend from the past, and I'm Mew."

"What?!" the piplup exclaimed in utter shock in disbelief. "I'm your old best friend from a long time ago...and you're Mew?! That Mew?! The one who-"

"Yeah," Blaze said, cutting off Leon's statement. "Back when Celebi told me that he thought this battle would be my battle to fight...I somehow knew that he was right. It was like something just clicked. Although I had no idea what it meant then...I finally got the truth of it all once I touched Xerneas. In my previous life...I was your best friend...and then I was Mew."

"In...a previous life?!"

"That's right, Leon. We met a very long time ago. Way longer than you can even imagine."

The piplup listened closely to Blaze as he turned his gaze to the village and continued to speak…

"We were the best of friends back at the Grass Continent. I met you on the beach where you first came after that time travel incident. We formed a team called, oddly enough, Team Poképals, and we strove to become one of the best exploration teams on the continent. We saved the world not once, but twice back then, and things looked to be on the bright side from then on. However...I made a mistake in allowing Team Go-Getters only in operating Wigglytuff's Guild, instead of them and us sharing it together once we reached the guildmaster rank. I began to get self-centered, and I wanted you and I to have the glory for ourselves. You became very upset about this idea, and you stormed out of our team by leaving us...and by leaving me alone. I desperately tried to search for you across the Grass Continent, but I knew you left from there...so I had left as well to search the world for you. Months and months went by, and later, I was very depressed and weak that I still couldn't find you. By then, Mew came to me."

Leon, still having no memory of those events occurring, looked confused as Blaze took a deep breath before he continued his long speech.

"He asked that if I wanted to live longer, he would allow my own spirit to fuse with his own so I could go on. By doing this, however...I would lose my body, and most of my memories temporarily at least, until the world was completely saved from Dark Matter. I accepted all of that so that I could help save everyone once more. Then, when you and I first fought with Dark Matter, way back in the past...we defeated it, thanks to the stars aligning just right. That's what we thought at first...but it really wasn't true."

Blaze turned to Leon once more and spoke again.

"Leon, you and Mew defeated Dark Matter using all your strength...but it's no good to just defeat Dark Matter. All the hatred inside it rained down upon the world...so that it would be reborn in the distant future...and it was. It's like Dark Matter told us in this battle."

The chimchar and the piplup stood up and faced each other, as Blaze continued on…

"In other words, Leon...the last time we defeated Dark Matter, we actually failed. Mew messed up...I messed up. So it was then that I was prepared to take full responsibility for that particular slip-up. I sent my own spirit into the future...to be reborn as Blaze."

"So...what exactly are you saying? I still don't get it..." insisted Leon.

"It wasn't the beheeyem that made you lose all of your memories, Leon...it was me. I...or Mew...erased your memories. We also transformed you back into a human when you left Team Poképals, and then back into a piplup when we unknowingly reunited. It was what you agreed to...before you came to this continent."

"I agreed...to all of that?!"

"We'd made all those plans, like sealing the Luminous Water and all that. But I realized...if we just depended on what we already knew...we'd just repeat the same mistakes. We couldn't win like that."

Leon had a somber look on his face from Blaze's last sentence. The chimchar spoke once again…

"Dark Matter was born from the negative emotions lurking within ancient pokémon. Some of those emotions originated from Mew as well. But when I accepted Dark Matter...it disappeared, along with the part of it that came from Mew. It was my battle. I was fighting to forgive Mew...and myself. Not just for our failed attempt to stop Dark Matter...but for also what I've done back at the Grass Continent to ruin our friendship. The moment that I accepted Dark Matter...I set my own destruction in motion, as a part of Dark Matter."

Blaze now had an apologetic smile on his face.

"So, Leon...it's not you who has to go...it's me."

He backed away from the piplup, as a yellow orb surrounded him.

Blaze! Leon thought.

"I asked Xerneas for one more favor." Blaze said. "When I remembered everything...I knew I would be gone from this world. But...I wanted to at least tell you, Leon. I had to explain… I begged Xerneas not to make me disappear before I at least got to do that. I'm very glad that he kept his end of the bargain."

"Blaze..." Leon said out loud.

"It's a strange feeling that I'm Mew...but at the same time, I'm not. I'm Blaze too, ya know. I'm not the same Mew that I was back then. The part of me that is him is filled with joy at finally having done what I was meant to do...and by finally reuniting with a long lost friend. That reunion part is also the part of Blaze, which is me of course. But...another part of my true chimchar self...hates that I have to give up on my dreams right when I was just getting back on track...and hates that I have to say goodbye to you...again."

Blaze now had tears streaming from his eyes, as he sobbed, but continued speaking.

"Just so you know, Leon...I really, really wanted to stay with you too… I actually wanted to stay with you forever...even after what I mostly put you through after that stupid mistake I made that disbanded our old team back at the Grass Continent."

The orb got brighter around Blaze.

"But...I guess I'm out of time… Just remember that this world only keeps going because everybody supports one another. They live every day accepting one another. The one who taught that truth to a self-centered fool like me...is you, Leon. I'm so, so very sorry for what I did back in our old exploration days."

"B-Blaze!" the piplup could only respond, as he got closer to the chimchar.

"I had a lot of fun getting to revive our dream, though… Getting to reunite with you...and getting myself to live again as well."

"Blaze, w-wait!" Leon said, as he also had tears streaming down his face, desperately trying to hold onto his best pal's hand in an attempt to prevent him leaving.

"Thank you...for making all of that possible, Leon."

The orb around Blaze obscured his body, as he and the orb begun to float up into the sky, prompting Leon to step back and let go of him.

"I'll be fine, Leon! I'm always fine, aren't I?" shouted Blaze. "So do me two last favors...remember who I was, big bro...and don't you cry!"

"Blaze! Don't leave me!"

Leon had a piece of his lost memory come back to him, as he finally recognized who the chimchar really was.

W-wait...Blaze was my old best friend back in the Grass Continent! Not only that...he was also my adoptive little brother! So...why is this happening?! Th-this isn't how it was supposed to end… Is this why I chose to forget everything?! Did I know that this was the only way things could end…? Did I have to forget...to be able to go through with it all...for the sake of the pokémon world...and most of all...for Blaze?

"Blaze! BLAAAAAAAAAZE!" Leon shouted helplessly to his long lost little brother.

He collapsed onto the grass and cried heavily, knowing that there was nothing more he could do to prevent Blaze from leaving.

Leon had indeed remembered his old pal Blaze again, but it was too late at the moment when they had to say goodbye once more.