Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Origins of the Ninetale's Curse ❯ Epilogue ( Epilogue )

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Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x

 

Chapter 3: Epilogue

 

The small fire flickered late in the night. The faint, smoky trail drifted upward but vanished before it reached the stars. You watched the flames dance, almost hypnotized, as you waited for sleep to take you. You wrapped the blanket tighter around your shoulders to better ward off the chilly breeze that swept down the not-so-distant mountain. The large plain area didn't offer much protection and you huddled closer to your small campfire to keep your toes and fingers warm.

 

Your eyelids were sliding shut with more and more frequency, but sleep still grabbed you before you realized it. One moment you were watching an ember twirl into the dark, the next you were totally surrounded by a thick fog that made it impossible to even see the ground that you were standing on. A warm breath tickled the back of your neck and you knew that someone was nearby.

 

“Who's there?” you asked, turning around to try and find the other presence, but all you could see was the same fog on all sides. A faint sound, almost like a whisper, reached your ears although you could not understand a single word. “What was that? Who's there?”

 

“C... hear...?” the light voice asked, slowly becoming clearer. “Can... you hear... me?”

 

“Yes! Who are you?” you asked. A vaguely humanoid shape was now coming closer, emerging through the fog. At first you thought it was a woman in a long gown but as the fog thinned out you could see that it was a Pokémon, and a very familiar one at that.

 

She smiled, “At last you can hear my voice! We can finally speak.”

 

“G-Gardevoir!” you stammered, your jaw dropping.

 

It was the same Gardevoir that you found in the forest just under two months ago. You could tell because she still had the golden mark on her left arm. She floated gently over the fog which somehow lightly rippled her skirt and her hair. You only briefly noticed her faint smile before your initial shock wore off and shoved aside all other thoughts except a sudden barrage of countless questions.

 

“How can I understand you? Where are we? What's going on? Are you okay? What are you doing here?” you paused for breath and asked the last question in a forced whisper. “You...don't hate me...do you?”

 

Gardevoir chuckled lightly, relaxing you a bit. “How can I hate someone who worked so hard to help me?” She approached you and stopped about a yard away. “You can understand me now because this is a dream and our thoughts are communicating instead of our words.”

 

“A dream?” you echoed, slightly confused. “Why are you in a dream of mine?”

 

“This is the only way I could speak with you. Mortals cannot hear the voices of spirits,” explained Gardevoir.

 

A new stab of guilt rammed itself into your stomach. You knew that you were the reason that she was a spirit and thus unable to act in reality. “I'm sorry...”

 

Gardevoir cut you off. “Do not apologize. I want to thank you for freeing me from the pain of that curse.” Her eyes met yours and you could see her earnest gratitude. She gave you a reassuring smile before taking a more serious tone and continuing. “But there's another reason that I came to you.”

 

“What is that?” you asked.

 

A distant look crossed her eyes and she looked passed you, staring into some unknown spot in the fog. After she gathered her thoughts she shifted a bit and continued, “I had a vision, and not just me, many psychic Pokémon are foreseeing the same disaster.”

 

“Disaster?”

 

She nodded grimly. “The land will be crippled by multiple natural disasters—fires, floods, earthquakes, droughts, volcanoes, blizzards, tsunamis, hurricanes...All of these are forerunners to a calamity that will shatter the very foundation of our world.”

 

You closed your mouth when you realized that it was hanging open. You were half tempted t laugh at the scenario except that Gardevoir was dead serious. For a long moment you were unsure how to reply to her and so you rubbed the edge of your sneaker along the unseen ground.

 

“But... why come to me?” you finally asked.

 

“Because along with the visions of calamities there is always a beacon of hope. One shall go on a quest which will turn the world away from the brink of destruction,” she answered confidently. “That's you.”

 

“What?!” you exclaimed. “I'm no hero!”

 

Her eyes met yours and she gave you an amused smile. “Yes, you are.”

 

“No, I'm not!” you insisted vehemently. “I'm just a dime-a-dozen Pokémon trainer, and not a very good one at that. My battle record stinks and I can't even catch a wild Pokemon! There's no way I could save the world!”

 

“Yes, you can,” she said calmly. “You already saved me and I know that you can save others.” Her words left you with nothing further to say for a few seconds so she continued. “I have searched everywhere this past month but no one—human or Pokémon—possess the traits needed for this task. Those are the very traits I see in you.”

 

You shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Her eyes focused on you in a way that made you feel like she was examining your soul.

 

“There...has to be some kind of mistake,” you feebly protested. “I'm just...me.”

 

Gardevoir, for some reason, smiled brightly at your comment. “That's why the world needs you. Don't be so hard on yourself.” She reached out as if she was going to touch you but then withdrew her hand. “No one is going to force you into this role if you don't want it.”

 

“So...you'll find someone else?” you asked, trying not to sound hopeful. You surprised yourself by not having as much hope as you thought you had to begin with.

 

Gardevoir looked away and softly said, “There is no one else.”

 

You began to feel guilty although you couldn't label the reason why. You took a deep breath and rubbed the back of your head as you tried to sort through your thoughts and emotions.

 

“Gardevoir, listen, it's not that I don't want to help. It's just that...I'm going to end up letting you and everyone else down.”

 

“Why don't you believe in yourself?” she asked. It was such a simple question. She looked you over in the pause. “What will it take to convince you of your own strengths?”

 

“What will it take to convince you that you have the wrong person?” you asked, mimicking her tone. However, you were already thinking about the answer to both of your questions. “Test me.”

 

“Beg your pardon?”

 

“Test me,” you repeated. “Make it so I can't remember this conversation and then test me somehow. I won't know that I'm being tested so I'll react normally. Then we can both see that I'm not fit to save the world.”

 

“Very well then,” said Gardevoir, contemplatively. “That is a good idea, though you will prove yourself wrong. As for the test...” She trailed off in thought, her eyes glazing over slightly. She placed her knuckles on her chin and pondered for a moment. Then, she looked up with a smile. “I know the perfect test!”

 

“What is it?” you asked, shifting in discomfort despite yourself. You were wary about what this might lead to even thought you had suggested this idea yourself. You were beginning to regret opening your mouth in the first place and secretly hoping that this dream would end soon and turn out to be just a dream. However, all of your senses told you this was real.

 

“In the world before the calamity strikes,” Gardevoir started to explain, “the natural disasters will leave Pokémon everywhere looking for a hero to save them from peril. I can put you in that situation without your memories. Surrounded by those calling for help—will you rise to the occasion and save them, risking yourself in the process? Or will you stand safely by and watch without so much as raising a finger? Yes—that will be the test. The world will need a willing and selfless hero—and I know that you can be one.”

 

It did make complete sense to you, but you still felt uneasy about it. You were wondering if you had been too kind in trying to find a compromise. Not only that, but there was something vague about Gardevoir's plan that didn't sit well with you, and it wasn't just losing your memories.

 

“Isn't it natural...to help someone who needs help?” you asked. “When someone sees anyone hurting, how can they do anything less than help?”

 

Gardevoir once again gave you a sad smile but she also seemed pleased with your answer although she didn't quite meet your eyes when she said, “Not everyone is as good as that.” She regathered her thoughts and straightened up. “There is one more thing...”

 

Her hesitation did not go unnoticed. “What is it?”

 

“The place that this tragedy will strike...is a land filled solely with Pokémon,” she paused and bit her lip. “To work there, you would need to become a Pokémon as well.”

 

“W-what?” you murmured, your mouth hanging open too far for you to be coherent. “That's...impossible, isn't it?”

 

Gardevoir shook her head. “Maybe for mortals...but not for a spirit.” She looked away but you could see the guilt written across her face.

 

“I...would become...a Pokémon?” you asked, still in stunned disbelief. Gardevoir gave you a single nod of affirmation. “And you can really do that?”

 

Gardevoir replied with another nod before she said, “I know that it's asking an awful lot. But there's no other way, the world is in danger! And once it's all over, we can restore your humanity—and, if you chose, you can completely forget about it all as well.”

 

You glanced at the non-existent ground so as not to meet her eyes while you thought. Potentially facing amnesia twice, being turned into a Pokémon, having to save the whole world—it was almost overwhelming. But the other option, to just sit by after hearing all of this...that was equally hard to fathom. The dreamscape shifted around the two of you; the hazy violet-pink clouds started turning yellower.

 

“Dawn is coming...” Gardevoir murmured. She looked at you pleadingly. “I don't wish to rush this, but time is working against us. What is your choice?”

 

You hesitated a moment, then your mouth said, “Yes, I'll do it.” You surprised yourself with this answer. Your had decided to ask for more time to think things over, however the words came out of your mouth on their own, without any conscious thought. Gardevoir's face lit up with delight, destroying any attempt that you could muster to withdraw your previous statement.

 

“Thank you so much,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I know you won't regret this.” She wiped the tears away and looked directly and deeply into your eyes. “I believe in you.”

 

When she finished speaking she began to fade, slowly turning more and more translucent. The dreamscape around you turned dark and soon it had vanished entirely as you drifted off into blackness. A knot twisted in your stomach as Gardevoir vanished. But as you teetered on the edge of consciousness you felt a strange sense of calm.

 

“Take care...of my partner...” you murmured as you drifted off.

 

Only a few embers of the campfire were smoldering in the last few minutes before dawn broke. It was almost completely silent save a small breeze through the long strands of grass. The night Pokémon had retired and the morning ones had yet to awaken. The stars slowly faded into the lightening shadows of the pre-dawn sky. Dew dripped from the long weeds that surrounded the campsite.

 

Your partner's head bobbed before jerking straight up, instantly waking up. After looking around the camp frantically, your partner hurried over to where you had been sleeping. You were gone. All that remained was a path of warm ground. Your partner touched it, sniffing the air for any sign of where you might have gone. But the breeze held no clues. It was as if you had vanished entirely.

 

A faint glow drifted across the grass, away from your partner. At first glance it might have appeared to be an early beam of sunlight, but the sun had yet to rise and it moved too independently. Your partner focused on it in amazement until it had just about vanished.

 

“Stop! Wait! Please!” your partner called at the light, speaking in Poké-speak.

 

The light stopped, hovering over the reeds. Your partner hurried over, stopping just inches from the grass.

 

“My friend... Where... You did something!” your partner stammered, tripping over words in a desperate attempt to say too much at once.

 

The light pulsed slightly, then spoke, the words barely able to float on the wind. Your partner strained to listen and watched carefully, just barely seeing a silhouette to that light.

 

“Your friend,” said Gardevoir, “has agreed to go upon a lengthy journey in order to carry the burden of the world's fate. All of our hopes ride on this journey.”

 

“Without me?” your partner gasped, a waver of pain and worry shining in the eyes. Gardevoir remained silent, unsure about what to say.

 

“Take me too!” your partner exclaimed, shaking the head to clear it. “I don't care where, I want to be with my friend!”

 

“There will be great risk,” stated Gardevoir after a pause.

 

“I don't care,” your partner vehemently insisted.

 

“Think about what I am offering carefully,” said Gardevoir, slowly, as if thinking it through herself. “I can send you to join your friend. But because of the nature of this journey, neither your friend nor you will be able to remember the life you have now. You may not even recognize your friend any more.”

 

“But why?” your partner interrupted.

 

“Your friend has agreed to be turned into a Pokémon in order to stave off foreseen calamity.”

 

With mouth hanging open, your partner stood their dumbfounded. That was a lot of information to process all at once. Too shocked to move, everything was still as they sky faded to grey. Early morning bug-type Pokémon began to buzz.

 

“There is not much time left...” Gardevoir said in a voice that was gradually going fainter.

 

“I'm coming,” your partner said firmly. “I don't care if we forget the now. Our friendship is irreplaceable. Even if we don't recognize each other, I know that our hearts won't forget that bond. We are friends!” Tears formed in your partner's eyes after speaking.

 

“Very well,” said Gardevoir with a nod. She was hiding tears herself because she was so impressed with your partner's loyalty. “Just relax. When your friend awakens, you will be the first there.”

 

Your partner and irreplaceable friend too a deep breath and vanished into the starlight. Each speck blinked out as Gardevoir used all of her powers to send your partner to another time and place. After a moment, no trace of your partner could even be detected, just like what had happened to you. Exhausted, Gardevoir's light grew dim and went out just as the crest of the sun peaked.

 

“With strength of heart like that...there is certainly hope for our world,” thought Gardevoir. Then she was gone.

 

The last ember of the campfire smoldered out, sending a wispy line of smoke into the sunrise. A flock of Spearows flew overhead and then further into the distant forest. A couple of Lediba flitted below them and started looking for breakfast. A single Zigzagoon crawled into the deserted camp, looking around cautiously for the human that it could smell. However, no one remained there. They had all been sent on a journey so that the world could continue seeing peaceful sunrises like this.

 

The Beginning