Epilogue

Jordan:

Jordan was taken into the custody of the International Police after being discharged from the hospital. He is currently spending time in Unova Penitentiary until a date and venue for his trial have been decided.

His Pokémon – Haxorus, Aggron, Conkeldurr and Skarmory – have been sent to a special shelter, where the debate to have them put to sleep is still ongoing.

Andy:

Andy was arrested by the International Police after being discharged. Devastated at the loss of his colleague, Gabby, he anonymously gave evidence against Jordan. Because of his co-operation and understanding that he had no part in slaughtering Pokémon, Andy was sentenced to 4 years minimum in Sevii State Prison with a chance of parole after 2 years.

His Scrafty fell ill from hypothermia, but later died as a result. Arbok and Fearow were sent to a Pokémon shelter; the decision to let Andy keep them has yet to be made.

Gabby:

Following her death, a post mortem was carried out. Her autopsy revealed her cause of death to have been a depressed skull fracture – as Clinical Lead Mr Kendrick predicted – which caused pressure to build up in her brain.

Her Roserade never regained consciousness; she died from hypothermia. Liepard and Swanna were sent to the same shelter as Jordan and Andy's Pokémon; Liepard was put to sleep for being a dangerous Pokémon, but Swanna is currently awaiting adoption.

Keith, Alexa and Keenan:

Keith and Alexa's MRI results came back, and revealed no abnormalities. The pair were discharged after a couple of days of observation in the hospital. Professor Hastings gave them sick leave and were allowed to stay in Johto until they made a full recovery, physically and emotionally.

With Jordan no longer a threat, Keenan looked forward to spring without fear of anyone ruining it for everyone else.

Phoenix and Robbie were discharged from the hospital before Alexa and Keith. Because of their injuries, Phoenix was left unable to fly for at least several weeks, and Robbie had to put as little pressure on his front left foot as possible for a couple of weeks.

One day...

The Goldenrod City Department Store was fairly busy for a weekday. The shops were open and relatively busy, the coffee shops were full of resting shoppers and people flooded the pathways. There were people of all varieties around; groups of friends on a shopping spree, families on a day out, couples on a date...like Keith and Alexa. Alexa and Keith ignored the screaming children and the chortling teenage groups around them and focused on their own conversation as they each carried several different coloured shopping bags between them. Even though their outing was a casual one, both Keith and Alexa looked casually smart; Keith wore his white shirt and black jeans – which had since been laundered after his unintentional dive into the Kanto ocean near Cinnabar Island – with his treasured dog tags hanging around his neck, over his shirt, while Alexa wore her teal single-sleeved shirt with her grey leggings, as well as her cherished emerald choker and, for some unknown reason, the headband with the turquoise bow from Ollie and Elaine's wedding on her head.

"Man I am loving this place!" Keith said joyfully as he admired the large shopping venue. Ignoring the potentially annoying customers all around him, of course. "You were right about this place, babe!"

"Now you see why I love coming here," Alexa smiled.

"Yeah, I do," Keith nodded. He soon lost his smile, which confused Alexa until Keith spoke up again. "Where's a good place to eat?" Alexa giggled.

"I'll show you, come on," she replied as she led Keith down an oddly quiet pathway.

The food court wasn't as busy as Alexa had thought, especially given that it was lunchtime. Only approximately 20% of the 1,000 or so seats were occupied, and the restaurants circling the seating area weren't nearly as busy as expected. Regardless, Keith and Alexa purchased their lunch – handmade sandwiches with milkshakes and one large cookie each – sat down on a table furthest away from the masses and ate their lunch in peace. However, Alexa felt concerned about the lack of conversation during lunch, and chose to ask about it as she gradually consumed her strawberry milk, which, to her sheer delight, was in fact made with fresk MooMoo Milk.

"You okay?" Alexa asked. "You haven't said a word since we sat down."

"Sorry," Keith sighed. "I guess I'm still thinking about everything that happened," he admitted, stirring his banana milkshake with the red and white straw.

"The avalanche or the rest of it?" Alexa asked reluctantly.

"Both," Keith answered. "But I know I shouldn't," he added, looking at Alexa straight in her eyes. "I should look ahead, not back."

"Agreed," Alexa smiled. "And you'd better look forward to tonight; I bought a new game for us to try while you weren't looking." She pulled out a thin rectangular plastic case from one of her bags and passed it over to Keith; after a quick glance of the cover, which depicted a Zorua with a Chimchar, Piplup and Turtwig, he read the text on the back of the box.

"...huh. Looks cool."

"It's pretty much an adventure game with minigames here and there," Alexa explained as she reclaimed the box when Keith handed it over to her after he finished reading. "Nothing overly special, but I thought it'd be nice to play it with you," she said as she returned the box into the bag she pulled it out from.

"I'm game," Keith smiled. "Alexa?"

"Hm?" Alexa glanced over at Keith as she drank her delicious beverage through her yellow and white straw.

"Are there any other places worth visiting?" Keith asked. Alexa smiled at him as she removed the tip of the straw from her mouth.

"Of course, this place is full of them," she replied.

"Great. You know...I'm glad we chose to come here after Jordan was taken care of," Keith said kindly. Alexa nodded.

"So am I," she agreed.

After their milkshakes and cookies were consumed, Keith and Alexa left the table, Alexa courteously taking the plastic tray with their rubbish with her as they left. She dropped the rubbish in the nearby bin and placed the tray on top of the pile of other trays on top of the bin before she and Keith left the food court entirely, destined for more shopping and fun.

~ Fin...