The Journey of A Champion: A Pokemon Fanfic

Chapter 17: Hellos, Goodbyes, and Hard Choices

“ You think we stopped Jaylinn for good!” Sophie said excitedly. The sleek airship was only a dot on the horizon now.

“ No.” Tomas replied bluntly.

“ We may not have stopped her, but you can bet Jaylinn will be much more careful from now on. Maybe it’s too much to hope for, but it’s possible that she could be leaving Unova.” Elesa put in and turned to Riley. “ Don’t be bummed, Green! Look at all the Pokemon we saved!” The gym leader motioned to the gathering of thankful Pokemon.

Roserade stepped out of the crowd to the gym leader. “ Rose-roserade.” She spoke and pointed down the riverbank. Elesa turned to look at what the Bouquet Pokemon was pointing to and saw a young girl wandering down the shore.

“ Lindy!” Sophie shouted excitedly and the teenager glanced in their direction. She ran to them and hugged her Roserade.

“ Roserade, I’m so glad to see you again! They got you back!” Lindy looked up at Tomas, Riley, Elesa, and Sophie. “ Thank you so much! I wish there was something I could do for you!” She put her hand on her chin and thought for a second. Lindy then reached into her purse and took out a Pokeball. Audino appeared in front of the trainer. “ Audino, let’s thank these nice people and Pokemon properly. Use Heal Pulse!” A pink ball of energy appeared in between the normal type’s hands and it burst apart. Light pink sparkles and waves of energy pulsed out from the Hearing Pokemon and blanketed Riley, her friends, and all the Pokemon. Everyone relaxed. Audino had healed them.

“ Thank you.” Elesa said with a wide smile. “ I’m sure these Pokemon were very tired and I suppose they’re very grateful for that.”

“ Thanks, Audino.” Lindy’s Pokemon was returned to its Pokeball. “ You’re heroes.” She said and strolled off with Roserade.

Sophie watched her go and mumbled, “ She’s nice. I hope we meet her again...”

“ Elesa,” Riley said, trying to grab the gym leader’s attention. “ What about all these Pokemon?” The brown haired trainer scanned the crowd of now free Pokemon. There was a Druddigon, an Archeops, a Larvesta, a Swanna, a Zorua, Elesa’s Emolgas, and Tomas’s Tranquill. Seven Pokemon saved including Roserade and Emolga. Riley smiled. I wish we could have saved every Pokemon on that ship... But I’m glad we were able to rescue as many as we could.

“ We let them go back to their homes in the wild. Hm...” The gym leader pursed her lips. “ Druddigon and Archeops should be able to fly somewhere a bit more suited to their liking. I’m sure Archeops would be willing to take Larvesta with him.” The First Bird Pokemon nodded. “ And Swanna and Zorua are native to Driftveil City, which is just over the water.”

Riley hadn’t listened to a single thing Elesa had said, though. The Zorua she had helped rescue was staring at her, looking Riley up and down intently. They met eyes and the brown haired trainer received a mischievous grin from Zorua. “ Riley?”

“ Huh?” The trainer snapped out of her trance and looked at Elesa. 

Tomas, Sophie, and Elesa exchanged glances and the gym leader began to speak again. “ You’re can go find your friends now. I’m sure the reunions will be sweet.” With that, Druddigon took off. Larvesta crawled onto Archeops back and they flew away as well. Swanna turned to Zorua and began to walk away. Though the White Bird Pokemon had just been healed carrying Zorua had still been exhausting. The dark type looked back at the group and then dashed off.

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The Nimbasa City gate was crowded with people. A low murmur became louder when Elesa, Riley, Tomas, and Sophie entered. “ There they are...”