"Aaron? Aaron, is that you? Oh Arceus it is!"
Elaine's familiar voice echoed through the winding cave tunnels. The exit was just ahead, light creeping in at the edges of the cave. I navigated the rocky terrain, jumping a few ledges, before exiting through the mountain's entrance.
Dawn was stood beside the light blonde, both girls looking particularly concerned. They both jumped forward, wrapping their arms around me nearly taking me by surprise. It took a moment for me to get them to calm down, the two girls hesitant to step away.
The volcano had stopped erupting and if I was correct, it would stay dormant for a very, very long time. Although, it still wasn't safe for people to return to the island, thick volcanic ash still covering the skies.
"Hey, can you guys see that?"
I followed Dawn's gaze, turning to the skies. As I focused my vision into the distance, I could see the shadows of something in the sky. The longer I looked, it became clear that it was approaching us, with great speed at that.
The shadows burst through the ash clouds, now in clear view. There wasn't one creature, rather they were four winged pokemon. At the head of the group, there was a large orange scaled dragon with great, broad wings. Even from this distance, I recognised the pokemon and the trainer on his back.
As I looked to the three bird pokemon behind the trainer, I recognised them to the legendary birds of the Kanto region. They were all flying in sync, following the lead of the trainer.
"We'll meet them at the bottom of the mountain."
I spoke up, already starting my descent from the mountain. The girls quickly followed as we made our way down from Mount Stark. It didn't take long for us to arrive at the clearing we landed in earlier. As I looked upward, I could see the four flying pokemon descending from the skies.
"Red! Red! Get your ass down here!"
Dawn stepped forward, shouting up to the trainer as he descended slowly from the skies. I looked up toward Red seeing that his aura glowed with a similar vibrant gold to Dawn's and I's. The silent trainer tried to hide behind Charizard, away from the blunette below.
But there was no escape from Dawn's grasp as the four pokemon landed. The blunette immediately rushed over to get her hands on Red who was helpless against her. Elaine and I slowly followed, seeing that Dawn was shaking the poor boy from his shoulders.
"What do you expect? You keep disappearing and now you're just here out of nowhere again?"
After getting that off her chest, Dawn seemed much calmer. She took a step back, taking a deep breath before looking back toward Red. Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head, turning away slightly as if he knew Dawn was right.
"At least you're still in one piece. But don't think of doing that again."
Red nodded, before turning to face Elaine and I. He seemed a little embarrassed after realising that we had seen everything but those feelings were quickly washed away. He quickly turned to the three legendary birds behind him who were roosting peacefully.
Elaine and I understood what he meant as he climbed back atop Charizard. I had to drag Dawn away from Red's side, Articuno lowering its neck to allow the blunette onto its back. Before I climbed onto Zapdos' back I reached into my bag, pulling out one of the communication devices that Cynthia's grandmother had given us. Nothing needed to be said between us as he slipped the watch onto his wrist, nodding in understanding.
Elaine was already sat atop Moltress and as I climbed onto Zapdos, the four flying pokemon quickly took to the skies.
The journey across the calm ocean waters was quick, the four pokemon cutting through the air at insane speeds. A few minutes later and the mainland was finally in sight. Red and his Charizard took off from the rest of us, speeding toward the mainland below. The legendary birds followed, picking up speed as we neared our destination.
We landed a fair distance from the nearest city, not wanting to reveal the presence of three legendary pokemon. They returned to their pokeballs, Charizard staying by his trainers' side. The five of us set off for Veilstone City, making our way through route 226.
"..."
Red spoke up, mentioning something to me as the two of us were walking a few steps behind the girls. I listened to him as he spoke what was his mind, revealing what I feared to be the truth.
"Fuck, this is worse than I thought."
I looked up from my thoughts, my eyes meeting Red's. His face mirrored mine, a serious expression on his tightly closed lips. He only nodded in response but that was all I needed to see. I turned my attention to the girls who had already walked ahead, into the city.
As agreed, Red and Charizard split up from me the moment we entered Veilstone City. Without thinking too much, I made my way to the pokemon centre, rushing through the crowds of people walking along the sidewalk.
Fortunately, the pokemon centre was empty, with the exception of Nurse Joy behind the counter. As I stepped through the automatic doors, we made eye contact and I could see that she understood the situation.
"Right this way trainer." Nurse Joy lead me to one of the back rooms, a large mattress spread out across the middle of the room. I quickly pulled out Arcanine's pokeball, placing it in Nurse Joy's outstretched palms.
Hours must have passed as Nurse Joy and her partner, Chansey, worked tirelessly on Arcanine as he laid asleep on the mattress. I stayed in the room, waiting for the fire type to wake up from his deep sleep. In the hours I spent waiting, I could faintly sense Arcanine's aura but it was weak.
After a while, Nurse Joy stepped away from the fire type. She turned to me, a half smile on her face and I could tell that she had some news for me.
Arcanine stirred in his sleep, his eyes fluttering open. Without hesitating, I rushed to the fire type's side, throwing my arms around him. He only barked weakly, the smile on his face causing tears to well up in my eyes.
All of the other pokemon had joined me in the hospital room, stood around Arcanine as he lay on the bed. Each of the five had concerned looks on their faces, Aegislash looking particularly worried. I thought back to Kalos where the two had first met and how far they had come since.
Once I was confident that the fire type was alive and well, I stepped away, turning to Nurse Joy. She held her hands behind her back, nervously looking around the room.
"Uh, is everything alright Nurse Joy?"
There was a momentary silence before the pinkette replied, "Well, there's good news... and some not so good news."
I looked over to the fire type who was still smiling. Even through his grin, I could see the truth behind it. He was doing his best to hide his pain, but I knew how much Arcanine wanted to let everything out.
"What's the good news?"
Nurse Joy's lips curled into a genuine smile and as she turned to the resting fire type, she spoke up, "As you can see, Arcanine looks as fresh as ever. His fur just needs a clean, then he should be all good to go."
She paused for a moment, her eyes looking into the distance, past the fire type on the mattress. I could tell that the good news wouldn't be enough to make up for what I was to hear next.
"And the bad news?"
Nurse Joy turned to face me, her eyes staring into mine. No matter how many times she delivered bad news to a patient's trainer, I could see that it never became easier.
"Arcanine won't ever be able to battle again."
As those words echoed through my ears, I was sure I felt my heart break in two. I turned to Arcanine whose smile had now faded. He must have known this ever since Mount Stark and it pained me more than I could put into words, seeing his blank face.
Of all the pokemon on my team, Arcanine's love for battling was unmatched. He strived to become the strongest fire type and he had proved it. After dealing with both Heatran and Volcanion singlehandedly, it was clear that no other fire type would ever come close to him. But, the cost of victory was Arcanine's battling future and that was irreplaceable.
"I'm so sorry, Aaron. I-"
"Don't sweat it Nurse Joy. You've already done more than I could ask for."
Quietly, I turned to face the fire type. Nurse Joy understood the situation, leaving the room with Chansey by her side. The rest of the team returned to their pokeballs, giving Arcanine and I a much needed moment alone.
"Well, I don't know what to say." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
The realisation that Arcanine would never be able to battle again hit me deeper than I expected. My heart felt heavy and I couldn't shake the guilt I felt for putting the fire type in this condition. I wiped a tear from my eye, but it was no use.
Soon enough, the tears began streaming from my face as I fell to my knees, hugging Arcanine as he laid on the mattress. I buried my face into the fire type's side wanting nothing more than to reverse time so that we wouldn't be here, in this situation. I wanted nothing more than to see my pokemon live their dreams and it was my fault that Arcanine wouldn't be able to live his.
Arcanine began nuzzling my head with his, brushing his soft fur against the back of my head. I slowly looked up into his eyes, seeing only peace and tranquility in his black irises. His lips curved into a smile but that only made it harder for me to keep everything together.
I could see that he had no contempt toward me. He only looked at me with happiness and admiration. Even if Arcanine could never battle again, he had achieved his dream, even if only for a moment.
"Humans really don't deserve pokemon."