Note: Sorry for the late post, just got caught up yesterday.

This chapter marks the end of the Johto arc. As I said, this fic will be updated only after the subsequent arc is finished. Currently it is more then halfway done, so this fic will likely be on temporary hiatus for a few weeks.

In other news, the final season of Journeys started airing again recently. Journeys has always been hit or miss, but its decent enough most of the time. Also excited for the returning characters (if-you-know-you-know).

Anyhow, thank you all for your patience, and enjoy.

Johto Epilogue

The functionality of pokémon centers was universal in all the regions of the world. All functioned as specialized hospitals designed to care for injured and sick pokémon. Their interior design did vary based on personal flare and circumstance however. Take Silver Towns pokémon center, a state of the art facility that was exceptionally large, designed to house hundreds of trainers during the Silver conference. For now the interior remained somewhat empty, save for a handful of trainers waiting in the lobby, seated on a set of large couches.

"Just a few more minutes," Gold said, his arms crossed.

"Why are you so antsy? It was your decision to bring them here…" Blue said from the other end of the couch, browsing through his pokedex.

"I just don't trust these Nurse Joys from Red-look-alikes world. One look-alike is one thing, but dozens of them? In every region?"

"You get used to it," Gary said. Besides, once the worlds merged the pokémon center saw an influx of non-nurse Joys working alongside the famous group of twins. For folks from Blue's world, it took some getting used to.

"Well, I ain't complaining when they're so easy on the eyes, still, your world is weird."

"Regardless they're well trained and dependable. Especially here in Silver town. Isn't that right Ash?".

Ash was fast asleep, his head slumped over his shoulder. Pikachu had spent the last five minutes poking his leg to no avail. He turned to Gary, omitting a sad "pika".

"Pancakes must have taken it outta him," Gary said.

"Or we did," Gold said with a devilish grin.

"Or more likely his vision. I doubt his sleep was too restful…" Blue said.

"And he woke up from a coma only a few days ago. Maybe he hadn't fully recovered…" Yellow sounded almost guilty. He offered to help me find Red. I should have declined, or waited till he was healthy, or…

Blue placed a reassuring hand on Yellow. The other trainers perked up. While their faces remained neutral, their surprise was obvious.

"If he's anything like Red, then there's no way you would have stopped him from helping," He said, his tone of voice warm.

"Ya. I know.., thanks Blue," she said.

"Even Blues going soft. The world's really gone mad.." Gold chided as a bell rang. "Looks like they're ready". Gold, Blue and Gary got up and moved over to the counter at the back of the center, Nurse Joy standing diligently for the trainers. Over the counter was a set of pokémon eggs, encased in large, glass containers that Gold had become all too familiar in handling.

"The eggs are perfectly healthy. It's a good thing you brought them here," the Nurse said.

"What can I say, I make good decisions," Gold said, taking one of the eggs. Blue and Gary followed suit.

"Thank you ma'am," Gary said, shaking his head at Gold's remarks.

"Be well, and hope to see you again soon," The Nurse said as she made her way to the back door, leaving the trainers at the counter.

"Least they're polite," Blue noted.

"And pretty," Gold said. Blue rolled his eyes.

They made their way back to Ash and Yellow. Yellow looked to Ash, who was still fast asleep. She looked at Pikachu, who's cheeks flared with electricity. Yellow shook her head, instead tapping Ash lightly on the cheek with the knuckle of her index finger. He jolted awake.

"Huh? What? Oh? Hey Yellow."

"Glad you're back" She said, giving Pikachu a victorious grin. The small pokémon looked confused.

"Thanks for not shocking me awake Pikachu," Ash said, catching the lingering flair on Pikachu's face.

"Pika!"

The group exited the building into a fairly empty parking lot, save for Golds jeep next to the center itself. They carefully placed the eggs on the seats next to the other two. It was a tight squeeze, considering that at least one person would be sitting in the back when they went to return the eggs to the layer. Gold pulled out a translucent pokeball, which contained the Duraludon from the cave, pointing it towards the eggs.

"See, perfectly intact! In a few hours you'll be safe and sound inside Mount Silver again," he said. The Duraludon looked grateful, if a bit uncomfortable being in the pokeball.

"Ya I know buddy, but it was the best way to get you here safely," he said. They had kept Duraludon at the pokémon center the previous night. Luckily, the nurses were well equipped to deal with a pokémon who had sustained injuries from a battle.

"So, guess this is where we part ways," Ash said, double checking his backpack.

"Yep. Sorry I can't come with ya Ash. But duty calls. The old man has me busy these days. A lot of this merging business has raised a lot of questions," Gary said

"I am currently tasked as well. Though I'm sure you'll be fine, especially with Yellow by your side," Blue said.

"Don't worry, we will," Ash replied.

"Besides, it won't just be us two. I've contacted professor Rowan. Some of the Sinnoh dexholders will be joining us," Yellow said.

"More of your friends?" asked Ash

"I don't know them as well as Gold and Blue," Yellow said.

"Don't let that fool you Red-look-alike, anyone from our world with a pokedex is more than a capable trainer."

The group shared handshakes and pleasant goodbyes.

"We gotta meet up again sometime, we never finished our game of cards, or our conversation about your Kalos friend," Gold said, shaking Ash's hand.

"Yeah… sure…" Ash responded with a soft smile, contrasted with Gold's cheeky grin.

"Heh… you're alright Ash. Good luck". Gold said before releasing his grip and hopping into his jeep with Gary and Blue. They drove off, leaving Ash, Yellow and Pikachu in the parking lot.

"Wait, did he just call me…"

"I think he did, Red-look-alike," Yellow said with an uncharacteristically sly grin.

"Please, don't."

Why does Gold get to have all the fun? Yellow sighed.

"There's a flight leaving here tomorrow going straight to Jubilife city. We'll stay at the pokémon center tonight," Yellow said. At that moment she heard what has become an all too familiar sound. The sound of Ash's stomach grumbling.

"Ya, let's grab something to eat. I'm feeling burgers!"

It had been a few months since Blue visited his grandfather's lab. Structurally nothing had changed, with only a few machines either disappearing or being replaced entirely during the merge. Machinery both state of the art and archaically ancient sat side by side, surrounded by shelves containing dozens upon dozens of pokemon. Now there were even more shelves, housing the pokémon collected by Ash and Crystal over the years.

The strangest sight stood right in front of him however. Two identical professors Oaks. He was not happy about this, at all. The professor Oak on the left walked up to him.

"Blue, it's great to see you!" He said in earnest glee.

"Good to see you too, gramps," Blue replied.

"And it's a pleasure to meet you, Blue" The other Oak said, reaching out his hand.

"Likewise, professor Oak," Blue shook his hand in turn.

"You're taking this well," Gary commented, standing beside Blue.

"Trust me, I'm not."

"Well, I have some specimens for you to look at Gary. I'm sure you'll show Blue around," Oak said, turning his attention to a batch of papers in his hand.

"I got it, old man. Follow me, Blue," he said. The Oaks nodded before turning their attention to their papers. Gary and Blue moved over to a set of desks, adorned with very old computers. Gary sat down while Blue pulled up a chair. Gary turned on the computer, the dial up noises grinding against Blues psyche.

"It's gonna be like this for half an hour," Gary said

"Great…" Blue sighed.

"Are you sure about this? You don't have to watch me work, you know. I wouldn't call this exciting stuff."

"I've thought a lot about what you said, about change. I still don't fully understand it all but.." he sighed again, but this time a sigh of regret. "I didn't see Red a lot during those years. I wasn't… there for him, so I never understood why he stopped wanting to battle competitively."

"Or maybe you weren't there for him because you didn't understand, and at the time, maybe you didn't want to," Gary responded.

"Maybe you're right. But I think maybe, by experiencing something new, with a person who used to be like me, maybe I'll figure it out" he said. Gary could tell this was tough for the older trainer. Maybe it was because he understood his stubbornness all too well.

"Well, at least you're trying," Gary said, looking back at the computer, which continued its dial up process.

Blue felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, he was receiving a call.

"Excuse me" He said, getting up and walking away from Gary. He answered the phone, speaking quietly.

"Yes… yep… safely… right in his coat… no… he's bright but not too observant… a LOT like Red… yes… Keep me updated."

He hung up, placing the phone back in his pocket, with one last sigh.

"Pesky woman."

"He said he loves you,"

"... huh?"

Yellow groggily awoke in her plane seat. She never liked flying all that much, so sleeping through the trip helped to pass the time. Ash looked to be somewhat drowsy himself, with Pikachu sleeping on his lap.

"Who..?" She asked, wiping away the crust in her eyes.

"Red. Before he left he… he said he loves you," Ash said. "I'm sorry I… almost forgot. The visions are always fuzzy when I wake up and…"

"No, no it's alright. Thank you, Ash."

"No problem," Ash's smile was weak, though he still felt guilty. Half for almost forgetting, and half for waking Yellow up so abruptly. He figured he would let her sleep for the rest of the trip, uninterrupted as penance. She did try for about 30 seconds before she tapped Ash's shoulder.

"So Ash… tell me about this Kalos girl."

"Oh right… heh…" Ash's eyes lowered. Not again... He steeled himself for whatever Yellow had in store, trying to look her in the eye. When he did however, he realized that her expression was soft, and genuine.

"Hey it's alright. I've been there too ya know."

"Right, well, her name's Serena. We traveled together when I was working my way towards the Kalos league. She actually remembered me from Professor Oak's summer camp from when we were little, and I…" Ash paused briefly to look at Yellow. She stared at him intently, hinged on every word. "... didn't. She traveled with us for a while though, following her dreams of becoming a pokémon performer."

"Did she have feelings for you?"

"Ya… well I think… well…" He stuttered. "Yes. It was kinda obvious when I think about it but…" Ash took off his hat, tussling his hair "I didn't really figure it out till later." he chuckled. In retrospect, his density was quite astounding. "when she, uhm…"

"When she…"

"When she kissed me," he said, bracing himself to what was coming next.

"Aww!" Yellow clasped her hands "was she your first?".

"Well not my first… but," he wasn't even attempting to make eye contact at this point "it was the first that I liked…"

"That's the one that matters the most," Yellow said. "So, what happened after?"

"Not much really. We went our separate ways, I went back home and she went to Hoenn to try out pokémon contests. We kept in touch, and we're still friends but…" he sighed "I don't know. I guess we both just decided not to mention it after."

"Oh… heh…" Yellow placed a reassuring hand on Ash's shoulder. "Take it from me, love is complicated. You're both young, and probably scared of all those crazy emotions. But it's clear you feel something for her, and if she kissed you, well…"

Yellow wasn't exactly sure if Ash went red only at that moment or if he had been like that the whole time. She was still only partially awake ",she probably still feels something for you".

"Thanks Yellow," he said. The embarrassment washing over him, his tiredness returned in full force. He closed his eyes, falling asleep. Yellow decided to open the planeside window, staring out into the starry sky.

"Love you too, Red," she said, quite as the night.