Epilogue

Lavaridge Town is a small town in Hoenn. Tucked away at the base of a dormant volcano; it features hot springs, a herb shop and a fiery gym. Part of the multi-leaders initiative; an initiative aimed at improving the gym experience, the Lavaridge Town gym has two leaders. Monday to Thursday, challengers can expect to face Gym Leader Flannery, the hard-worker and long time leader the people have come to respect. Friday to Sunday, challengers will be facing the new Gym Leader Zeannah. But, don't think that this new leader is easy. Hailing from Johto, Gym Leader Zeannah was not only a key player in disbanding the Trainers Excel organisation but also defeated the various gyms across the region. Trainers beware.

The new Gym Leader has this to say; 'maybe it's because all the ash from the volcano gets blown the other way but, the sky is always blue. And when it rains, it's like a mist. Ever tried sitting in a hot spring while it rains? I have. It's like heaven.'

Gym Leader Flannery just says what she always says; 'you have to try the hot springs.'

Zeannah sighed and put down the magazine clipping.

"I thought it was a good article," Tom said, taking a small sip of his tea. "The picture of you is great."

Zeannah glanced at the image of her batting a challenger and sighed. It had been one of the few times she had been allowed to let her Typholosion fight in the gym because it was too high levelled for the ordinary challengers. The challenger that day hadn't been an ordinary one. A large, round Pokémon, wrapped in black bandages and holding one of its unattached hands high, the Dusclops had achieved victory moments after the photo was taken. The caption failed to read the Pokémon's nickname; the writer had made sure it wouldn't be printed, but it didn't matter. Everyone in Lavaridge Town already knew about how the young woman, Lilly, and her Dusclops, Cam, had defeated the new Gym Leader in a one-on-one battle.

"I really should invest in some dark-type Pokémon," Zeannah commented.

"You won't be able to use them in the gym," Tom commented with a raised eyebrow, "fire types only." He paused for a few moments and then pointed to the blurry image of Lilly's back. "Who'd have thought she'd get so strong?"

"I did," Zeannah pointed out, holding her chin high. "After all, I did train her."

Tom shook his head in disbelief, hiding a smile.

"So, how are you doing?" Zeannah asked, changing the subject.

Tom sighed, "I've been swamped with paperwork for weeks now. You guys had it easy; walk in, defeat the leader and then leave. I'm the one who has to complete the paperwork, the one who has to go around arresting those who try to revive the organisation. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing. The trainers who defeated the leader get all the credit."

"I thought Latios was assisting you with the investigation."

"He's trying, but he keeps cutting work to spend time with the new Latias. And if he hears that Lilly's nearby, well-" he stopped. They had both seen what happened when Zeannah mentioned that they left the previous day. Latios had flown off without a 'hello', let alone a 'goodbye'.

"So, what's this about you buying a house here?" Tom asked.

Zeannah smiled, she had unpacked the final box that morning.

"It's only a small house," she told him, "two bedrooms, a kitchen and bath. I'd been saving for a while so, I figured, why not?"

Tom chuckled. "You're the last one I expected to settle down."

Zeannah shrugged.

"This place, it's just perfect. I can't imagine living anywhere else."

"See, I never thought I'd ever hear those words from you," Tom replied.

Zeannah shrugged. She felt so comfortable living in the town that she couldn't imagine returning to the travelling life. Besides, she got all the Pokémon battles she could want working at the gym.

Lilly twisted the map around, trying to get a good idea of their surroundings. She was sitting cross-legged in the grass, leaning against Alphonse. His warmth spread along her back, comforting even in their current predicament.

"Weren't you born here?" he asked, leaning back. His head knocked lightly against her and his hair tickled her neck, making it very hard to concentrate on the squiggly lines which formed the map.

"So?" she questioned.

"So? So, we shouldn't have ended up so lost that we can't even find the next town."

Even though he couldn't see her face, she still frowned. They had spent most of the previous day walking around Route 111 & 112. They had tried walking through the fiery path and then walked through the sandstorm, which landed them right back at the beginning. And when they had finally managed to pass back through the sandstorm; there were less Pokémon in the sandstorm than the fiery path, it was almost sunset. Thankfully, there was a rest stop near the edge of the route. The 'Old Lady Rest Stop', where they spent the night. The old lady who ran it was also nice enough to give them a map. Not that it helped. As soon as they had walked onto Route 113; Alphonse had a sneezing fit. Both the ground and sky were grey. Ash softly floated around them, blown by the gentlest breeze. To top it off, every step in the grass tossed up ashes.

There was no way he'd be able to walk the route. So, they were stuck trying to figure out how to get Fallabor Town. Otherwise, they'd have to go back to Mauville City without getting lost. Again.

"We should have asked Zeannah to fly us back," Lilly sighed. She would have liked to travel down the route and play in the ashes, but she didn't want Alphonse to be in pain and he wasn't willing to let her go alone until Shiver returned.

"Why did we have to send Shiver first?" Alphonse sighed, knowing full well that he was the one who had sent Shiver flying back to Mr. Pokémon's with the package containing his souvenirs. The herbs that they had bought for him wouldn't have lasted the trip back.

Lilly squealed as he leaned back, squishing her flat.

"Looks like you're having fun," a voice grumbled. Its speaker dropped from a nearby tree, in front of Alphonse.

Lilly's heart leap as she saw the silver hair. Within moments, she was running towards 'Larry' and enveloping him in a hug. She barely heard Alphonse's grunt as he hit the ground.

"You would not believe how hard it was to find you two," Larry commented, "I thought you would have been further away by now. Anyway, how have you been sis?"

"Good," she replied, releasing him from her grip.

He smiled down at her.

"I have someone I want you to meet," he told her before whistling up at the trees. The wind blew and leaves rustled. Slowly, a small red face popped out from behind the leaves. White ears twitched and gold eyes surveyed the area before the young Latias floated down to meet them. She landed softly on the ground, like a bird, with her head held high.

It hurt. Lilly hadn't expected the stabbing pain at seeing someone else with her form; her old form. It just seemed to serve as a reminder of what she had lost.

"She's a bit nervous at moving around visibly," Larry told them, excitedly, "doesn't seem to understand why I want her to meet you."

"'Course not," Alphonse countered, "Pokémon are Pokémon and humans are humans. It's almost unheard of for one to change into the other."

"You of all people shouldn't be saying that," Larry pointed out, moving to stand before Alphonse.

Lilly smiled at them. For all that they acted like they hated each other; they had a lot in common. She turned to face the new Latias.

"Nice to meet you," she said simply. She could think of no other words to convey the situation. It was a situation which was unheard of. Latias was not meant to meet Latias; even if she wasn't 'Latias' anymore.

Latias nodded back. But, she couldn't help imagining what it would be like if she still was Latias. She would be flying across the world with her brother and ... she didn't know what else. But, she did know that she wouldn't be with Alphonse; Pokémon and humans viewed love and approached relationships differently and legendary Pokémon weren't able to attach themselves to one trainer anyway. She wouldn't have been able to train with other Pokémon.

And that's when it hit her. Yes, she missed being Latias but, she had moved on.