That night, when my siblings and I got ready for bedtime, we noticed that our sister Selene wasn't with us.
"I wonder what happened to her?" Zeus, the oldest said, taking charge of the conversation as usual.
"We know Selene likes to be alone, but why'd she go off by herself at night?" Sage, the second oldest said.
"She's looking at the moon, possibly to contemplate her future." Soleil said.
"You always think you know everything, don't you Soleil?" Rekka interjected, being the second youngest made him always search for attention.
We argued with each other, until I said, "Wherever she is, mom's going to be furious if she's not in bed. We'd better go find her."
"There's no need, Luna." The door opened and mom walked in, with a sad smile on her face.
"Momma, what's wrong?" We all asked.
"Nothing's going wrong, but Selene has decided to leave the farm."
"WHAT!?"
. . .
Some days before, Selene had met a young female trainer who's just gotten a Piplup as a starter. They both enjoyed the quiet and read lots of books. One night the trainer and Selene were attacked by a Steelix. Piplup was hurt and the trainer put herself in danger to protect them. Underneath the bright moonlight, Selene found her strength and evolved into a beautiful Umbreon! Her Moonblast did great damage to the Steelix, who apologized and quickly ran away.
Selene told us that the trainer asked her to come with her and Piplup on her journey. After finding out it belonged to the ranch, they asked the family if she could adopt her, which they all agreed to.
When Selene came back, we bombarded her with thousands of questions, oohs, and ahs. Being introverted, Selene was more out of her element than in any battle. She was relieved when our mother put us all to bed.
. . .
We had a few days to spend together and say goodbye to Selene, so we played together on the ranch every time we had. We played with a small red ball we liked to toss and smack like a volleyball Celia played with at sports practice. We also practiced special moves on it too, like Swift. Finn was the best at it, using his trunk to catch and throw; he even learned Rollout while playing one time. Selene was great as well, and now as an Umbreon, she practiced her newfound moves in the game, learning Dark Pulse!
On Selene's last night on the ranch, we had a large feast courtesy of the ranch family. We shared laughs and stories of her life with us.
At last, Selene made a speech.
"Thank you all so much for this! I know sometimes I seemed aloof to all of you, but I really do care about each and every one of you. Mother, Finn, all of the ranch Pokemon, Zeus, Soleil, Rekka, Sage, Aphrodite, Aurora, and Luna, I love you all so much! I have a good trainer, Hotaru, who's aiming to become a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four, and our journey will be a long one. Whenever possible, I'll visit you and tell you all about the adventures I'll soon be on. No matter how far I go, or whatever happens, we will always be together within our hearts and minds. I know the road will be tough ahead for all of us one day, but we must always remember what our mother told us, to never be consumed by the darkness that we come across. For now though, let us enjoy the remaining time together!"
"CHEERS!" We all cried out in unison.
. . .
Before bedtime, I saw Selene looking at the moon.
"Aren't you worried?" I asked.
"Of course I'm worried, Luna, but that doesn't mean I don't want to go with Hotaru."
"Doesn't being scared make you stop doing stuff you like?"
Selene laughed, "Sometimes, but only if you let it run wild. Fear can help us realize that some chances are worth taking, because we don't want to be stuck with the alternative."
"You mean, staying here with us?" I asked sadly.
"No, not anything like that," Selene reassured me. "I love you all silly, but I don't want to miss out on all the other stuff that also could enrich my life and help me grow."
"You're right Selene."
We turned and saw our mother behind us. She sat in between us as she continued.
"A challenge can help us grow stronger and wiser; some of those challenges are to be discovered on a journey."
"A journey?" I asked.
"Yes, I can tell you from experience that some circumstances out of our control, either good or bad, can change us over time. Some never leave home while others go on journeys. In the end however, we must realize that though we may change, we'll always be ourselves."
Those last words kept repeating in my head, long after Selene, mother and I went to bed. I didn't really know what they meant though.
. . .
The next day the entire ranch went to say goodbye to Selene. Hotaru thanked them all and promised to keep us up to date on their journey as well as occasional visits. Hotaru made friends with Celia and promised to have a Pokemon battle with her when she visited.
"When the school year is over, I'll become a trainer and enter the Pokemon League with you!" Celia was enthusiastic.
"I can't wait! Let's do our best!" Hotaru said.
With that, Selene and Hotaru left south on Route 204 for Jubilife City.
After Selene was gone, we felt sad, but assured that she would become a great Pokemon partner. As for me, I wondered about the conversation I had with Selene and mom, with the last words she said still in my head.