Thanks to Blue Kitten for reviewing! Wow, sorry about that misunderstanding... I must have been tired, haha! About Red's battle, like you said, the Anti-Red was going to be a really strong opponent who knew a whole lot more about Red's battling style than Red knew about his Anti. So, yeah, Red didn't just finish him off quickly, it was a hard battle. But he's Red, so he still won.
Wow everyone, last chapter! It's been exactly three months since I started writing this, and I'm kind of sad to see this end. But I've had this chapter planned for a while, so it was fun just to get it out! I've had a great time writing this, and I hope you guys had a great time reading it too. Thanks so much!
I walked across the grassy park, hand-in-hand with a little two-year-old girl. She tottered along excitedly, trying not to get too far ahead of me.
"Wook, Mommy, wook!" she cried, pointing at a large square stone set in the middle of the park. The sight of this stone made her go faster, and I almost started running to keep up with her.
"What is it, Mommy?" she asked, running her hands over the engravings.
I crouched down next to her. "It's a monument, sweetie. You remember the stories I tell you before bed?"
She nodded delightedly and I continued. "Remember the one about how your daddy and I met the Dexholders?"
"Yeah," she said, watching me now with her huge brown eyes.
I noted for the billionth time that they were her father's eyes.
"Well, some people thought that battle should be remembered. So they put up this stone and carved the Dexholders in,' I told her, and started pointing at the engraved Dexholders. "See? There's Uncle Red, Aunty Yellow, Aunty Blue, Uncle Green, Uncle Gold, Uncle Silver, Aunty Crystal, Uncle Emerald, Uncle Ruby, and Aunty Sapphire!"
She smiled, running her fingers over each one, then she pointed at a small, indistinct figure in the background. "Who's that, Mommy?"
I put my head next to her shoulder and hugged her before I answered, "That's Mommy."
She grinned brightly, her fingers lingering on that particular engraving. I stood up and took her hand again. "Come on, I thought you wanted to play on the playground!"
She turned to go, and I noticed a ribbon with "10th Anniversary" printed on it.
Had it really been ten years?
I let her pull me towards the playground. She released my hand and raced off, blonde hair waving, as soon as we reached the sand. I laughed quietly and let Blissey out to help me watch her. I seated myself on a park bench, seeing her make a friend and play in the sand, but my eyes wandered back to the monument. I knew the design well: the first ten Pokedex holders and a tiny me faced a plane on the ground. A small inscription briefly described the battle. There had been such a fight over that engraving with the Pokemon Association. I remembered the meeting as well as the engraving.
"I have called this meeting to approve the design of a monument commemorating the battle between Team Shield and our Pokedex holders," the chairman read off. "The finished design will be this," and he waved his hand at an image projected on the screen behind him. "It portrays the ten Dexholders fighting valiantly against a plane and will be placed in the field where the plane crashed." He continued on, describing the engravings and reading the inscription. I looked at Blue, who had snuck me in here, and mouthed, "Why am I here again?"
She winked at me and turned back to face the chairman.
Finally, the chairman finished. "Are there any questions?"
Blue raised her hand calmly. "What about Sky?" she asked, drawing the room's attention to me, who wasn't supposed to be there. Blue didn't seem to care about my discomfort and kept going. "She's the one who told us where to go, how to battle, and she took on the master herself at the risk of her own life! Personally, I'd like to see all the Antis there, but you'll only portray them as evil, so I won't ask for that. But what about Sky?"
"Yeah," Gold chimed in. "What about Sky?"
The chairman adjusted his glasses, and looked back down at his speech, which I didn't think would help him much against Blue. I tried to get Blue's attention and tell her that I didn't need to be on a monument, but she just smiled at me and continued her stare down at the chairman. He finally cleared his throat and said, "The committee does not wish to put any of the Antis on the monument, as they were all members of Team Shield, and will be represented by the plane. Sky will be no different."
The room exploded into chaos. Committee members started yelling their views at the Dexholders, who immediately retaliated. Blue wheedled with all of her skill. Sapphire yelled at the top of her lungs, Emerald's voice in competition, and Gold's shouting contest with one committee member looked like it was going to get violent. Red, Yellow, Crystal, and Ruby all argued more reasonably and quietly with the chairman and committee members. I sat with Silver and Green, feeling completely mortified.
An earsplitting thunk resounded through the room. I jumped and turned to stare at Green, whose fist rested on the table. The entire room fell silent under Green's death glare. After a moment, he spoke in a quiet, angry voice. "You either put Sky on the stupid monument, or you don't get it at all." He turned and walked straight out the door. Silver rose and followed him, glaring at the committee member arguing with Blue. Soon, all the Dexholders were heading out the door.
I struggled to get out of my seat, since I was eight months pregnant with my baby girl. Thankfully, Yellow came and helped me up.
"How's she doing?" she asked, as I leaned a little on her before the dreaded stairs.
I smiled, and said, "Feels like I have a Hitmonlee in here instead of a girl."
She laughed and gently helped me down the stairs. We retrieved our Pokemon at the front desk, since no Pokemon were allowed upstairs, and walked outside, where the other Dexholders were waiting for us. I immediately let out Gardevoir to help carry me.
Blue smiled, holding on to her husband's arm. "And that is why I brought you here."
Two hands on my shoulders interrupted my thoughts. "Hi, sweetie," I said, smiling.
He jumped over the back of the bench and sat next to me, quickly kissing my cheek.
I laughed as I tried to straighten his black hair under his red and grey hat. As always, it failed.
"Hey," he said, grabbing my hand. "I found her."
"You did? Where is she?"
"In Jubilife City, Sinnoh. It'll take us about an hour or two to get there from here."
"Really? Let's go! Sea, come over here!"
"You do remember that we're meeting the Dexholders and Antis for dinner tonight, right?"
"Yes, but we'll make it back before then. I'll let Blue know that we might be late."
He laughed and let out his Salamance as I returned Blissey. Sea ran over to him and hugged his leg as she screamed, "Daddy, Daddy! I made a fwend!"
"That's great, Sea! Did you tell him goodbye?"
"Bye!" Sea cried enthusiastically as she waved her hand at a small boy. He waved back.
"Okay, now we can go," my husband said, lifting our daughter up on Salamance's back.
"You remember how to ride, right sweetheart?" I asked, fussing with her little dress.
"Yeah, Mommy," she told me, smiling.
He hopped up, and gently helped me up, although he knew I didn't need it.
I smiled happily at him and we took off. To entertain Sea, I began telling her stories of the Antis and Dexholders, new and old. I told her about the battles fought for people and Pokemon, but she tugged my arm sleepily for one last story.
"Mommy, what about when you met the Dexholders?"
I exchanged looks with my husband, and began the story. "Well, one day I woke up in a hospital bed and I had no idea what happened to me…"
I told her everything, and she managed to keep her eyes open for the whole thing, although she quickly dropped off to sleep afterwards. So much had changed since then. True to our word, the Antis had taken off in our plane, trying to find what our new purpose in life would be. We finally chose names for ourselves - my husband, the former Anti-Silver, had changed his name to Kaj, which he says means earth. Of course, we had to name our daughter Sea, so our family would literally be earth, sky, and sea.
The Antis were spread all over the world now. We still believed in helping people, and we all did so in some way. Kaj and I traveled the world, helping anyone in our path. The Anti-Red became a police officer. The Anti-Yellow used the healing skills she gained from her training to become a Pokemon Center nurse. Some, like the Anti-Ruby, had settled down, had families, and were simply being good neighbors. Few of their new friends knew of their past with the now-dissolved Team Shield. Well, except the Dexholders.
They hadn't changed much in ten years. Many had married each other; they had graciously invited the Antis as well as the other Dexholders to their weddings. Blue had even asked me to be her maid of honor at her wedding to Green. How she had arranged for me to catch the bouquet she threw, I never could figure out, but when she turned around, I could see in her eyes that she had planned it. Kaj and I had recently been engaged, but we hadn't told anyone yet.
"Looks like you're next, Sky!" she said, hugging me.
And of course, I stuttered out the truth in front of everyone.
"Well, you're getting married earlier than any of us expected, then!" she said, laughing, although it was clear she didn't include herself in the "any of us".
My thoughts turned back to the battle. Master Ciril hadn't died of a heart attack, but he still had been sent to jail. The Antis would all go together to visit him once a year, since we were the only family he had left. He had died peacefully in his sleep about three years ago with a smile on his face. Finally, he'd joined his wife, Isobel.
A small jolt banished my thoughts. We'd landed in Jubilife City. Kaj jumped off first, then picked up a very sleepy Sea. He set her on the ground, and she immediately sat, legs straight out in front of her.
He turned around, and helped me off. I attached small cameras to my green shirt and to the back of my husband's vest. Each of us took one of Sea's hands, me on the left, him on the right, and we walked through the streets of the city. It was time to cross something off my bucket list.
The cameras recorded a video that I would hold dear for the rest of my life. I watched it over and over just to see one part of it. It showed a woman with my wavy blonde hair walking down the street with her friends. She turns around, with a shocked look in her sky blue eyes. When her friends ask what's wrong, she gives herself a shake and says, "Nothing, but I could have sworn I saw myself walking that way!"
Again, thank you all so much for reading! Please review, but if you want an answer from me, please use your Fanfiction accout to PM/review!