Hello everyone. This is the final installment of A Second Chance. There is an author note after the chapter stating my final thoughts on this story. It has been an honor for me to hear that a lot of people have enjoyed this story and now it is time to put the little red bow on the big box.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon but I do own my OCs.

Chapter 70- Eternally Grateful

We all stayed the night on the farm since I didn't want to risk anything happening to Furret. She whined from the pain that the egg was causing her despite Growlithe's best attempts to calm her down throughout the night. When it became evident that she would have a hard time all night, she wedged her way underneath my arm and dragged my hand over her stomach to which I woke up to give her some attention. It felt weird cradling her because I didn't think I'd have the soft touch like my mom had when she held me.

"It's okay girl. We're all right here. You're doing good," I whispered as she started to fall asleep. When she was out cold, I sat her next to Growlithe. The guest room was silent for the rest of the night.

If the sunlight didn't wake me up, Furret crawling over me would've done the job. She looked more relaxed after we made our way to the kitchen table for breakfast. The family left a note to tell me that I could cook what I needed. I kept my breakfast modest by eating one bowl of cereal while everyone else had their fill. I felt bad that Gyarados couldn't be in the kitchen but with Ampharos going outside to eat with him and having the window open for him to peek through helped. In the middle of it all, Furret went to door to calmly paw at it.

"Need some air?" She continued to paw at it until I let her out. She then started walking away from the house. "Hey! Where are you going?"

Furret wandered around slowly while Growlithe and I followed her. She stopped to scout the land until she confidently walked through a field that was next to the shed. Nick saw her walking in and sent a Miltank to get Laura. He already hooked her up when I walked in. Unlike Ruby, Furret looked like she was at peace with the start of the process.

"She's calm for now but that'll change. These types of beginnings lead to unpredictable endings so you'd best watch out."

"Guess I have to play it by the second." Laura walked in with fresh milk and a bowl.

"Another one, huh? Well my husband told me but I didn't believe him," she playfully said while setting everything up. Furret pinned her ears back and had a low growl going on until she snapped at Laura's hand. "Oh my!"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know she would do that!"

"Here, let me finish setting it up," Nick whispered. "Have Marybeth get more blankets too. It'll get cooler tonight."

Furret continued to look around the shed while trying to get as comfortable as possible. The funny part was that she remained affectionate to Nick well after he was done getting everything in place. Marybeth walked in and she started to growl again.

"Here are the blankets!" She stepped closer and Furret pinned her ears back again. "I remember you! How about a tummy rub? Espeon liked it!"

Nick threw up his arm. "No Marybeth. Don't bother her while she's like this. You're gonna get hurt. Go back outside now." Marybeth pouted before exiting and Furret stopped growling. However, she kept looking at the door as if either of them would come back.

"There's no reason she would be doing this," I started to explain to Nick. "I can't remember the last time she was this aggressive outside of a battle. I know that carrying an egg has given her mood swings, but this is ridiculous by those standards. I'm sorry that she's like this." Nick stood up.

"Go get Ampharos and Umbreon. I think I have an idea for why she's all screwy." I left to go get the two and came back to the entrance. "Come in with only Umbreon first." Umbreon stared at her wondering what the fuss was about while Furret tilted her head in confusion from the random appearance. Nick nodded before having me swap Umbreon for Ampharos.

The moment she walked in was the moment Furret stood up and got in a defensive stance. Poor Ampharos tried to talk her way out of trouble only for Furret to snarl at her until I escorted her out. Those two had been the best of friends ever since I introduced them to each other and Ampharos didn't take it well; I had to remind her how much we all love each other on the walk back to the house. Her brought in Daisy to whom she also growled at. Carrying the egg was really messing Furret up.

"Do you have a better idea of what's going on?"

"Yup. I've seen this here a few times."

"And?"

Nick leaned in. "Women," he whispered. "She doesn't like women right now."

Could she really hate every single female on the face of the earth at this point? Jasmine might as well have been her adoptive mother and she's never been hostile outside of battle. Marybeth petting her the first time wasn't a problem even though they didn't know each other and small children are more careless.

"Explain."

"Pretty easy, son. She's afraid that another female would take the egg from her after its out and raise whatever's in it instead of her; boils down to jealousy. Male Pokémon aren't really good with raising newborns by themselves so she doesn't see 'em as a threat. Some Miltank on the farm have acted like that in the past." It's probably more complex than that, but at least I know what was going on.

"How long until that wears off?"

"Depends. Some of 'em calm down once the egg is out or they can act like that until the new Pokémon is a few weeks old. No way to tell."

"Figures. Hey, do you have anything for me to do? I feel like I'm mooching a lot."

He hummed as he thought of something for me to do. "Go work with Tony. It's almost that time where he can work with his Pokémon so why not add you for today? He should be near the front." I rubbed Furret's stomach before leaving Growlithe with her and going to work.

Tony was operating a tractor carrying hay bales when I walked to the work site. He told me to start stacking them in a storage barn near the front gate. They were roughly 50 pounds each so it didn't feel bad at first. Over the course of two hours, my arms turned to noodles. I still had about 20 bales left by the time he was done with his pile. Glad to know I wouldn't cut it as a farm worker early in my farming experience.

We rode the tractor back to the main barn where the milking machines were housed. There were roughly 100 of them and it was time to check for any issues. Laura had the know-how to fix them up but needed someone to remove old parts that were stuck or get into tight spaces. Even though we only did minor repairs on 30 of them, it felt like an eternity. Beads of sweat constantly rolled down my face even though I wasn't moving.

"I'm surprised you asked to help," Tony causally stated while on the ground screwing in a nail on the last machine. "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to stay with your Pokémon or go in the city for a bit."

"City wandering is going to be a little harder now. I know the publicity comes with the territory, but I don't mind helping here in exchange for housing and medical care for my Pokémon. My parents raised me too well to just let something like this be completely free."

"I feel you on that." The family's Growlithe ran in barking as loud as it could when we were ready to move on to the next job. "What's wrong?" It scurried to the door and started going to the shed where Furret was.

"The egg is coming!" I happily yelled. "Hold on Furret!"

I only made it halfway before my happiness turned to fear. A group of Meowth were mingling around the shed with some of the males fighting among themselves. It was probably the group that we saw after we got kicked out of the cab. Doctor Harrison mentioned that wild Pokémon could be drawn in because she was vulnerable; we got lucky with Espeon. My Growlithe stood in front of the closed door unsure if he should torch them now or wait until one of them move. Even if he did get off a Flamethrower or two, it was still one versus an army. Nick or Laura had to have a Pokémon with a water attack, but that might not be enough if he were to keep attacking.

A Meowth spotted me running and met me a few feet from the shed; everyone's attention was on me now. It stood in front of me with its claws unsheathed and cut in front of me when I went to go to the house. My team was on the other side so unless they peeked past the side, they didn't know what was going on. When I tried to yell to the house, it swiped at my leg but missed on purpose. I took a more creative approach by backing up while still moving laterally to the house. The plan seemed to work until a different Meowth caught on and made sure I backed away from the house.

"Growlithe, no fire attacks. Go," I ordered calmly.

Mass chaos erupted as Growlithe rammed into anything in his way. He rammed Meowths into other Meowths, bit as many as he could, and even used one's head as a trampoline. For not using fire, he was holding his own pretty well. The Meowth in front of me didn't take its eyes off me before pouncing at me seeing me as more of a threat after I ordered the attack; I backpedaled while it swung wildly. When it tried to go at my chest, I threw a punch and nailed it square in the face.

Despite the solid hit, it probably took harder hits in the wild and got up almost immediately. A thin line of blood ran down my arm since it grazed it as I threw the punch. Fighting it with my bare hands for an extended period was my only option. If I used Growlithe's full power, I ran the risk of starting a fire since outmuscling the group wasn't going to last long. I don't know if my yells would reach my team or if I would get cut up trying to make a break for it. The shed would be unguarded if he came to my side. My fists balled up for round two.

"Bone Rush!" A Marowak came from behind me and knocked out my problem. "Get in the mix and use Bone Club! Drop the hammer on every Meowth!" Tony ordered while running closer to the scene.

His Marowak moved nimbly among the crowd while delivering powerful blows with its trusty bone. Even when surrounded and having little room to freely swing its bone, it had enough torque to land solid hits. Growlithe sent a few scurrying with his continued ramming until Marowak stepped in front of him to deal with the four that were dumb enough to stay. All four charged it at once only to be beat back with another Bone Rush.

Three of them ran to the forest and as the last one charged, Marowak treated his bone like a baseball bat. When it was an ideal distance away, it swung the bone like a batter waiting on a specific pitch and sent the Meowth flying into the forest. It put its hand on its forehead pretending to look for it in the sky and then doing a bat flip with the bone like it hit a walk-off home run.

"Forgot to mention that I was a huge Fighting Electabuzz baseball fan growing up," Tony noted while smiling. "Excellent job Marowak. How does it feel to be a hero with no strings attached?" It happily jumped in place as the family Growlithe escorted Laura to the scene. "I thought so."

"How did you know there would be a problem?"

"Growlithe doesn't act like that unless there's a problem," Laura explained. "Go in the shed, hon. We'll take care of things out here."

Furret was in tears and hysterical the moment we walked in the shed. I assume she heard the commotion but her breathing was also labored. Growlithe did his best to calm her down by licking her head and hugging her. He even tried to softly hum in her ear.

"It's okay girl. We're right here. You're alright. You're alright. Shhhh," I whispered while I scratched her favorite spot. She leveled out emotionally although the tears kept flowing when she saw the streak of blood. "It's just a scratch. You're such a good girl."

Her calm demeanor didn't last long as she rolled over in pain followed by screaming. She threw one paw out to each of us to grab on to since the egg was about to come out. When it did, she cried on Growlithe's side while he kissed the top of her forehead. He rolled it next to her so she could cradle it while I fed her and pet her to calm her down again. It took some time for the emotional rollercoaster to stop, but she stayed relaxed after I let them have some space. Marybeth snuck in to see the egg and Furret allowed herself to be pet thinking everyone else was guarding the egg for her.

The egg had a large amount of surface area dedicated to cream coloring except the top third. A few lines of black contrasted the cream and dark red. The only thing left in question was if it was going to be a male or female. Regardless, we'd all raise it to the best of our ability. Laura put Tony in charge of guarding the shed so I could go to the house.

Everyone was taking a nap although Espeon was the only one stirring in her sleep. Her egg was moving a little bit along with it flashing at times. I was unsure of the flashing so I put in a call to doctor Harrison in the hopes she was still at work this late in the afternoon.

"Hello?"

"Doctor Harrison? It's Mitch. Hey, I have a question. Why do eggs flash?"

"Oh! Did both of them have eggs already?"

"Yes. Furret had her egg minutes ago while Espeon's egg has been out for a few days."

"Congratulations! What is Furret's egg going to hatch into?" Dammit, just answer the question.

"A Growlithe."

"Ah! Anyway, flashing simply means that the egg is ready to hatch soon. As for the Growlithe egg, it would hatch a lot faster considering it is a fire type. The natural heat from inside helps in the hatching process just like the parents covering it on the outside. Any more questions?"

"Nope. Thanks for the help." I went back to the shed to spend some time with the two as they were curled up together. The egg was pretty hot to the touch so the time it would take for it to hatch wouldn't be too long.

When it got to be dinner time, I was ready to go back home. I made the decision to deposit Ampharos and Gyarados in Bill's storage system to make room for the two eggs; Furret and Espeon were recalled to get some quality rest. Tony offered to drive me back home to which I accepted. The ride was quiet since I stayed asleep the entire time. Mom and dad welcomed me home along with Ruby's mother. She took an interest in the eggs before realizing that it would be better to stay out of the picture until they hatched.

They both were glowing constantly as the night dragged on and I eventually took them into my room before letting everyone out. All four of them stared intently while I relaxed in my bed, fading in and out on consciousness. Light from one egg covered the whole room until it subsided and a newborn Growlithe appeared in front of us crying out like any newborn would. The Eeveelutions moved behind the bed so that it would only see its parents when it opened its eyes; I brought their egg over.

It stared at its parents with its head tilted after the crying stopped unsure of what to do. Furret took initiative by urging it to come over to her side. When it did, she slowly hugged it while talking to it. The newborn yawned in its mother's embrace with my Growlithe gave it a bath. Eventually they fell asleep after cuddling up on a spare blanket.

"It won't take long before he starts taking after his father," Espeon relayed. "Mother will still know best in the end," she joked.

"Are you sure it's a boy?" She took a pillow from my bed and started to get it ready for Eevee.

"Absolutely."

It didn't take much longer for the Eevee egg to hatch in the same manner. The newborn normal type cried out longer than Growlithe even after the three settled in as best they could even after I gave them a spare throw pillow. When it opened its eyes, Eevee pawed at Ruby's face and giggled.

"My baby girl," she squeaked as tears streaked down her face. "I love you so much. Mama will always be here with daddy. With Mitch helping, all you'll ever know is love."

Those three stayed up as long as their child did and then a few minutes after it fell asleep. Umbreon then hopped on the bed before laying his head on my chest. He purred like he was trying to win a contest.

"I'm so happy for you buddy," I whispered while rubbing his head. "It's been a long road to get here, but you did it. You're going to make a great dad." A tear streaked down his face before he hopped back down to curl up with Eevee. Espeon didn't wait to let it out after throwing herself at me.

"Thank you! Thank you for everything you've done! I don't deserve any of this!"

I let her ramble until she ran out of steam. She listed nearly every bad thing that happened to her as to why she shouldn't have been able to live in the present. Her eyes grew heavier as I continued to pet her.

"You do deserve this. And if you think you don't… just look around. Ask Growlithe, Furret, Ampharos, Gyarados, your mate, your mother when we visit, and me if you ever have doubts. Don't let that stop you from crying; it's okay to cry. You've come a long way too."

She sat up and wiped her eyes. "I still don't know how much I want to tell my daughter because she will ask about us."

"Baby steps. Take baby steps. Both of you will be comfortable to have that talk one day. In the meantime, focus on raising her with Umbreon. Take things one day at a time" She looked down and saw Eevee sprawled out on the pillow.

"I guess you're right." I scooped her up and placed her next to the newborn.

"We learned in school that when an Eevee is exposed to a certain region's climate and is raised with love, it can evolve into something else over there."

"Something else?"

"I can't remember the name now, but the possibility exists. I'm focused on living life one day at a time. Now let's get some sleep in our own beds for a change."

The next four days went by slowly as I did my best to juggle my team after I purchased two more Luxury Balls. I found out that I could leave everyone at home and still carry Gyarados and Ampharos on me. If I had more than six teammates on me, the Pokédex would beam any extra balls into the storage system as soon as I put them on my belt. Professor Elm explained that a person can own as many Pokémon as they wanted but could only carry six when I called for clarification. For the most part, I let the Pokémon raise them and get used to battling.

Violet City officials had me running around town doing public appearances once a day and people hired me as a speaker for a private event through the league on the fourth day. The checks were handed to me after everyone cleared the area so I got an understanding how much I was worth to people. It wasn't a huge chunk of change, but it was more money than I had before. On the way home from the private event, I was ready to make a big call.

Lance's offer was something that I should've taken as soon as I got home with the newborns but it wasn't a big deal since he offered it to me himself. I still was unsure about which job to ask for until I remembered the fact that I made everyone on my team happy despite their pasts. Battling for a living would be tough with the current state of my team so I think being a field agent would be a better fit for me in the long run. The goal was to work my way up so that I could take on abuse cases confidently; no Pokémon was going to go through what mine did if I could help it.

"This is Lance," he said bluntly.

"Lance, it's Mitch. I've thought about your offer and I want to work for the league."

"Excellent!" The change in tone made me jump. "I'll send someone to get you so we can talk soon in my office. Where are you?"

"I'll be by Sprout Tower. No rush."

It should have come as no surprise that my escort was the same woman from when I was still battling at the league. She looked more relaxed since the tournament was over and it was nice to have a casual conversation before her Alakazam teleported us back to the main offices. The hallway to Lance's office had every champion's picture on the wall for as long as the league had been taking pictures. I felt disgusted seeing Allison's face next to mine, but history can't simply be erased by taking a picture down.

His office looked like an executive suite with the lavish furniture and figurines of dragon Pokémon scattered about. He looked up from his large stack of papers and waved me in while dismissing his assistant. Even he looked relaxed despite the workload.

"Tell me what you want to do and we'll go from there."

The knot in my stomach tightened. "I want to be a field agent. More specifically, cases with Pokémon abuse. You know the reason why."

"Alright," he sternly replied. "Do you have any idea about process for that to happen?"

"All I know is that I'll have to work my way up because that's not a position anyone can fill."

Lance softened up a little bit. "Glad to hear that you have a realistic view on this. However, you didn't say the one thing that I thought you would."

"What were you hoping to hear?"

He sat back and sighed. "It took years before I could work on my own even though I had the discipline to raise three Dratinis. You must always keep your composure and never let anger get in the way of the job. You may have to do some unethical things along the way, but you cannot get carried away. There's a fine line between justice and vengeance in this line of work. Can you handle yourself off the clock?"

Hearing him say that made me look at the job in a different light. I still have no intention of going out of my way to find Allison, Cory, or Sara so that's not the problem. Whatever happens at work has the potential to leak into my personal life and then it has the potential to spiral out of control in a heartbeat.

"I see."

"I mean it Mitch. You will see, hear, read, or even smell some of the worst things imaginable. The difference is how you take out your aggression because you will get upset. I can help you find an outlet if you don't have one yet." We sat in silence as he tried to ready my body language until he reached into his desk to pull out a few pieces of paper. "Here is a list for every league job. I'll let you look at them to see if anything else catches your eye."

Most of the jobs were either out of my league or something I had no interest in although I couldn't shake the prospect of being a gym leader. Deep down, I knew my team couldn't handle that lifestyle for too long with injuries or raising an egg. Jasmine enjoys it despite the rigorous schedule at times and maybe that might not work for me either. Being a field agent at least gives me a little more freedom with what I can do with my time.

"Field agent and that's final. The league should be able to work around my duties as reigning champion," I firmly stated.

"Very well. I need you to fill out these forms so you'll be set. You have two weeks to relax before you'll be called back for training. Take these." He reached into his pocket and gave me two business cards. "One is a number you can call to have my assistant help you with getting around the region; please don't abuse it. The other is a pass that allows you to visit Mount Silver without having to present your badges every time. Most agents train near the bottom although a few have climbed higher."

"Higher? It gets exponentially dangerous after a certain point."

"Some can handle it. Only my assistant has climbed with the intention to battle Red; she couldn't make it past the halfway point."

My heart skipped a beat. "Red? Is he even up there? Nobody's seen or heard of him hanging around Mount Silver in years."

"Correct. Were you looking to battle him if he was closer to the bottom?" I let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Battle him!? His Pikachu would wipe the floor with me! I may be the current champion, but I know my limits."

"It was just a suggestion," he said shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway, enjoy some quality time with your Pokémon, family, anyone else you want to hang out with. Bring the completed application when we call you back."

"Thank you again for the offer."

"Oh! I almost forgot! You mentioned Ashley getting a promotion, correct?" he mentioned as I was nearly out the door.

"That was a few weeks ago. Did it happen already?"

"We ran a performance review and she didn't qualify at this time. However, my assistant sat down with her and gave her some Pokémon trained by the league to supplement her Kingler. Until she catches her own, she'll have a diverse team if she's chosen for a job."

"Glad to hear that! See you soon!"

I was teleported back to Sprout Tower with a renewed sense of purpose. The knot in my stomach came back on the walk home thinking about what I would be doing or how nervous I already was about the whole thing but it went away when Eevee and the younger Growlithe sprinted to the door to greet me when I walked in.

My last two weeks of freedom were spent preparing for the immediate future. Jasmine helped me pick out my apartment in Olivine so we could be near each other and I could be near the farm if I ever needed to go back. Before I signed on the dotted line, she thought that it would make more sense to move in with me so we could split rent and there would be more room for our Pokémon if they were called out for except Steelix and Gyarados.

I was reluctant at first, but realized I would hate to come home to an empty place every night. I love my team as much as the next guy, but sometimes it would be better to have just the two of us. Her parents were on board with it although they were reluctant to completely trust me living with her; I could feel them visiting a lot in the first few months.

The hatched Pokémon became more social with me which was a goal I had in mind before going back for training. Growlithe preferred to run around outside while Eevee had taken a liking to sliding down Gyarados' body and he was surprisingly fine with it. He didn't look like he was in pain although that could change with one bad movement.

Filling out my application was an emotional roller coaster, especially since I did it the day before I had to go back. When I saw that I was not allowed to have any Pokémon on me, I needed to leave the table and look at it again. The league would provide them for exercises and if an applicant passed, each applicant's Pokémon would have to be registered in a separate process. My team wasn't happy about the prospect of me working as an agent but I explained my reasoning. The fact was that I would be on the bottom of the totem pole for a long time and the league would keep me away from danger until I was ready. With the application done and nothing left to do in the afternoon, I wanted to take a walk.

"Jasmine! I'm going out for a walk," I yelled into the bedroom from the front door. I heard her footsteps go to the window.

"It looks like it's going to rain! Are you sure?" she replied before coming out to meet me.

"I just need to clear my head for a few hours before I head up before training tomorrow." She looked like she wanted to go too, but saw the clouds roll in.

"Just give me a call when you're close to Olivine on the way back." She handed me the jacket she gave me after our night in the lighthouse with a smile. "I love you. Stay safe."

We shared a quick kiss. "Love you too."

Gyarados was the only Pokémon I had on me when I walked out the door. I figured everyone else would prefer to play with each other in the apartment while I went for my walk. From the street, I could see Espeon in the window.

"You forgot something," she relayed while opening the window. "Wait there." A few minutes passed before she floated my replica championship trophy down.

"Thanks," I mumbled with my head down. "This is the best time to do it considering my life is about to get busier but at the same time I didn't want to drag anyone else into this." Espeon nodded and went back inside.

Rain poured down from the moment I left the city and went north. Mother nature added some wind as I passed the ranch house. The storm eventually lightened up as I continued to trek east in silence. Holding a replica of the most sought-after piece of hardware among trainers started to get annoying since the air cooled the trophy; Ecruteak's gate was a welcoming site. Most of the people were inside of homes or businesses waiting out the storm. A few people willing to get wet came out in the street for an autograph but there wasn't a mad rush like if the weather was nicer. When everyone was satisfied, I made my way to the north side of the city.

The rain stopped as I made my way through the cemetery although it remained miserable. I methodically walked past each headstone until I found the one for Tom. A rose had recently been placed there based on how vibrant its color was. I stared at it in silence before sitting in front of it.

"Hey Tom, how's it going? I didn't want to bring Umbreon today although if he asks me to come here in the future, I'll bring him." The stillness of the cemetery got to me so I forced myself to continue. "You saw that we didn't win against Lance and it stung… hard; still does at times. Everything we worked for was practically gone with just a few short sentences from the judge. If I didn't have the support I did that night, I would've been a broken man for a long time." The tears start to well up so I took a deep breath to reset myself.

"But it's funny, really. Umbreon didn't faint when he lost against Lance. You and I both know why he kept going as long as he did. His effort was broadcasted and noticed by people across the world so everyone watching knew he could fight far beyond a judge's decision if he had to. Unfortunately, I don't have it in me to tell everyone that he initially wasn't my Pokémon and I don't want to drag you into this when you can't defend yourself from those who don't know anything. You deserve to rest in peace." I pulled out the replica trophy and set in on the headstone.

"Hopefully this will help with that. This is a reminder that you gave him the start he needed to succeed with me. Our road to this point wasn't an easy one but we stood tall when it mattered the most. You're the Silver Conference co-champion to me. Consider your dream fulfilled." The clouds started to give way to the sun as I observed the newly decorated headstone.

"Umbreon is finally at peace despite all that has happened to him. He's the proud father of an Eevee and has a beautiful mate that loves him more than anything in this world. Even though it may hurt at first, he'll tell his daughter all about you. Don't think for a second that you'll be truly forgotten." I could see a faint light from Ho-Oh's feather in my pocket while the clouds completely disappeared. Again, I sat in silence until I felt ready to leave.

"When my time is up, we can talk about anything for as long as we want. Farewell for now."

Walking through the city brought back waves of nostalgia now that my life was about to drastically change. My first time here was for a gym battle that was sloppy despite me getting the win. My second time was to console a broken Pokémon that had only an Espeon by his side. Having been wild for so long, I could understand if they left me after I brought them to the Mahogany Town Pokémon Center or even after I consoled them at the grave site. Following me into the unknown was a new start in their eyes and I'm glad I could deliver on my promise to give them that new start.

Then there was everyone else on my team. I had no idea how bad everyone had it until that night Espeon acted as a medium near Tohjo Falls. My team worked through their problems along the way and they're only looking ahead in life with everything that has happened since the Indigo Plateau.

On my way to the west gate, a rainbow was on the horizon despite it being a long time after the rain stopped. The warmth of the sun and a gentle breeze was at my back. I took a deep breath as I stood in place to enjoy the scenery. I was eternally grateful for everything I had experienced in my journey.

Sometimes, all someone needs in life is one thing: a second chance.

Over 300,000 words, 70 chapters, and nearly 2 years later, A Second Chance is finished. I have a lot running around in my head and if I could dedicate an entire chapter to author notes, it'd be a chapter length. For here, I'll keep it short.

This story was a blast to write. Yes it was tough finding time to write, yes I posted most of my chapters between 3am and 4am local time (sometimes even later), yes I realized that the process of making all of these characters and connecting everything together was hard, but man oh man... there was a certain feeling I got when I posted a new chapter or got in a groove. It was a mix of me feeling good that people liked my work and me hoping that I made someone's day.

Again, I thank you, the reader, for taking the time to understand how the story was developing as it went along and how everything was connected. Heck, I am always surprised to hear how people even found this because there are thousands upon thousands of Pokémon stories floating around on here, even with a filtered search. Although it is finished, I will do my best to respond to any PMs and/or reviews regarding the story. What matters to me is that I sincerely hope you enjoyed the story from start to finish.

And as always... have a great day :)

-W4f