Thanks for the 3.5k+ views everyone!! It means a lot you've taken the time to read and comment and enjoy my story!!! :) Now time for the last chapter.
-------------------------------
Leon rumbled happily as he woke from his slumber, reaching over to the other side of the bed. He expected to find Cassandra's warm form waiting for him, but only met empty air and lukewarm sheets. He opened his eyes to frown, puzzled. Last he recalled, he'd embraced the love of his life after a thorough round of love-making and fallen asleep after a long day of meeting her parents and then video-calling his own family. That, of course, had been a joyous occasion. He was elated to find that, not only did both of her parents still like him despite waiting so long to "come for their daughter", but his brother and mother got along great with Cassandra's folks. Frankly, if he didn't know any better, he'd say their parents were already expecting a wedding. A bit too soon, but it wasn't like he hadn't considered it lately. After all, he didn't see himself being with anyone else in his life, and they'd been together technically for over a year. Long distance, sure, but he'd held no one else in his heart, and now he could be with her for real.
At least, if he could figure out where she'd slipped off to. He grumbled as he sat up, stretching his limbs a bit. It had a been a long trip to get to Johto, although it had been more than worth it. He glanced around the large bedroom, one of three that had been built into the Ranch's home. This was the master, tough, the other two set up for day care workers when she was gone. Since she was home, though, they were empty, and her parents stayed in their own abode just a few miles down the dirt road to New Bark Town. As such, they'd been given their privacy, and he found he quite liked the aesthetic of the Johto region. It wasn't quite as lavish or grand as Galar, but it was homely. It was definitely a different culture, one he would eventually get used to—except maybe sitting on his knees. He didn't know how his lover and her family could stand it and not have their legs fall asleep every fine minutes. Johto-jin were something else, that was for sure.
Yawning—it was past midnight now—he glanced to the door, and as luck would have it, his lover appeared. Her radiant red hair was down and a little disheveled, and she wore only a shirt. His shirt that exposed the entirety of her collar and one shoulder, and fell just barely to her thighs. Needlessly to say he was thoroughly aroused and would have gladly gone another round of ravaging her right then and there, but the light of her phone—thank Arceus he convinced her to buy the upgrade—and her moving finger told him she was reading. She was engrossed enough to not give him much mind as she returned to bed, lying on her stomach. Naturally, his hand found its way to her back, slipping under the shirt to gently trace up and down, making sure to find the scars he admired—and her rump.
She giggled when he squeezed and gave him a look.
He just grinned and motioned to the phone, "What's got you so enamored over moi?"
"Oh, hush, don't get jealous now. We just had sex a few hours ago," she snickered and shifted so he could see the browser she had up. "I saw I had an e-mail from the League when I went to the bathroom. It was pretty lengthy so I checked it on my laptop. Turns out they have a job available."
"A job? Like what? And where?" he frowned, peering at the images. They were of a region he didn't recognize, although that list included anything besides Johto and Galar, and even then he was still iffy on the former.
"Kalos. It's about three to four days from here by ship, a little longer by bird. The League's gotten word of... trouble."
"'Trouble'. Like... the brothers trouble or Team Rocket trouble? What's the scale here?"
"Sounds like maybe Team Rocket, but they're not sure. A Professor... Sycamore? Yeah, that sounds right. He's the one asking. Actually, it's two things. He's working on some research into a phenomenon unique to Kalos—something about a Mega evolution? It sounds amazing, but he also asked for discreet help from the League about looking into some strange activity going on with 'nefarious characters'. We won't get anymore specifics unless we accept...
Leon couldn't stop a grin, "Sounds like some crazy organization is at it again."
"Considering the track record I've seen... Yes, yes it does," she grinned back.
"So. When do we head out?"
"'We'?"
"Uh, duh. There's no way I'm not going. Not only are you my woman, which means I'm going to make sure you stay safe and help you out, but I want to see new places, too. Not to mention, I'm also a Champion, and therefore League representative, so it's fine, right?" he replied with a grin, to which she nodded with a laugh. He was technically right, anyways, so he shrugged, "I originally wanted to start with Johto since it's your home, but, well... I think it'll be fun exploring a new region together. Er... You haven't explored Kalos, right?"
"Nope! It's why I've been going through their Pokedex database, seeing who we can take with us, and I have good news: we can bring our Charizards!" she laughed, raising her hand up for a high-five. He laughed, too, and returned it, though entwined their fingers so he could roll her over. She giggled as he snatched her phone, scrolling through the database she'd pulled up while he used her as a pillow.
"Hmm I see you can bring Pidgeot, too... and Gallade and ooh I can bring Doublade! I can't believe it! Oh man and Haxorus! Ha! At this rate we won't even need to catch all these new ones."
"But we definitely should. I plan to only bring Charizard and maybe one more that I haven't used in a while. That way I can catch a handful of new Pokemon. There's a lot of interesting ones there after all. Like look at that Chespin? It's one their super rare Pokemon but maybe we can find one if Sycamore doesn't have any? Or look at the poison-dragon type there, Dragalge. How great of a combo is that? Or ooh, that Tyrantrum is so cool! Ha! Raihan's gonna flip when he sees these new dragon types!"
"Oh I bet. There really are some cool ones. So, for real, when do we leave, babe?"
"'Babe'?" she mused, testing the word. "I like it. And to answer your question, babe... as soon as we want. Although, I'd say let's give it a week so my parents can dote on you a lot more and give your team time to get acclimated here."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Although, can you tell your mom to tone it down on the hugs? She's got one crazy squeeze! I think I almost died back there."
"Comes with being a former competitive power lifter. Did I forget to mention?" Cassandra smirked playfully.
"Yes, you did. Although, explains her Machamp and Primeape," he mused, settling down so his chin was resting on her breast. Her hands ran through his hair gently, much to his enjoyment. "I'd like my team to get used to being here, too, since they'll have to stay. It's going to be weird having new Pokemon after so long."
"Trust me, it's worth it. You find so many new companions and you bring new friends home to your older teams."
"Man, I can't wait to head out—traveling a whole brand new region with you! It's going to be one heck of a champion time."
"Oh my Arceus—did you really just use your catch phrase?" she laughed, and he only grinned as he turned off her phone's screen and set it on the night stand. He growled playfully as he sat up and kissed her and then her jawline and neck where he nipped playfully.
"Yes, I did. And I think you need some punishment for laughing at my favorite phrase," he rumbled, and by her moan he knew she had no objections. "Now then... as much as I love seeing you in my shirt... I much prefer it off."
"Round two already?" she mused right on back, but pulled off his top and tossed it aside. He was all too happy to admire her gorgeous, naked body. She snickered, "I suppose we do have a lot of time to make up for. I was practically starved by the time you got here."
"Well then, allow me to rectify that error," he purred and kissed her again, hands roaming. Pleasure was soon their companion, and if she had doubted him earlier or their first round, she was sure of it now.
Leon was still in love with her, and, now they would be doing a lot more than sharing a bed together. They had a whole new region and a very large, vast world filled with Pokemon and new experiences to explore. There were certain to be new dangers, but also countless new, amazing things waiting for them out there. They weren't afraid, though. No, together, they knew they could accomplish anything and everything.
In time, of course. One week or perhaps two. Maybe even three if they wanted.
Whatever the case, until the day they set out, they were content to share in their love and passion, knowing everything would be alright so long as they had each other.
Life, after all, was just one crazy adventure.
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
In another, colder land.....
A Nosepass wandered through the aged landscape, it's blue body and red nose standing out glaringly against the tanned-colored marble as opposed to the darker mountain face surrounding it. It twiddled this way and that around broken spires with flat edges, situated in a circular form. Some were taller than other, broken half way up in jagged edges; while others were worn to the rounded nub. Even the cobblestones beneath the Pokemon's feat had aged well beyond their years, and the only true piece in tact looked to be the square-shaped indent upon which a triangular symbol sat.
It mattered little to the Nosepass, which merely wished to cross tot he other side of the mountain as it had done for many years now. It had a vague memory of fear once long ago in this place; a hazy remembrance of some terrible aura that terrified it and its brothers. That had been a long,long time ago, though, and there had only been a still, calm silence atop the mountain ever seen. As such, the Nosepass gladly crossed the strange rock, which, despite its wear and tear, was still smoother than the boulders and had a different scent and taste—one it cared little for and so only used the strange place that smelled of human still to cross when it so desired.
It was but another day in the quiet evenings atop the mountain, its home and place of birth.
Then there was a crack—like thunder after lightning.
The Nosepass flinched, startled, and turned to face the center of the area; its eyes narrowed. Storms were not so common here, not with rain. Snow, certainly, but lightning was a stranger, and the Pokemon had felt lightning before from strange, unknown Pokemon that came wandering through with humans sometimes. This was different, though. In the wake of the echoes, an immense pressure fell over the place. The Nosepass rumbled uneasily, eyes focused on the triangular indent—or rather, the empty air above it.
Only, it wasn't truly empty. No; when it peered closer there was something there. Even in just the moonlight, it could make out a blackness--a thing line, like a fracture in the air. It was strange and unnatural and filled the Pokemon with fear. It wanted to run, but could not bring itself to move, frozen to the spot. It could only watch as the crack slowly, but surely began to widen, and a dark fog escaped it with a low hiss. The pressure was worse, but still the frightened Pokemon could not move as a shadowy mass began to push through.
It was shapeless—at first—as it emerged; hissing and crackling and slowly drawing towards the ground. It was slow and almost like it struggling to pull through, and the seconds drew by agonizingly slow until, at last, the mass dropped with a an odd thud, like splashing into a sticky fluid. It was still for a moment, and then rose up, slowly taking shape. From the blackness, two legs formed to carry the rest of the mass, followed by two arms, a torso, and a head. It was a shape the Nosepass knew: a human.
"At.... lassst...." the mass croaked, voice slurring and coarse as the final shape took form. Even as the last of the shadows dulled, revealing pale skin, it was almost impossible to fully make out the human, only that they wore dark clothes and had dark hair on their scalp. Nosepass watched as the human turned to face the crack. A low, almost guttural sound of frustration came from its lips. "I know... it was not enough..."
There was a pause, as if listening to something.
"Then the brothers failed. Are you surprised? I told you it was foolish to entrust the—" the human snorted, then flinched, grasping at its head as if in pain. It lasted only a few moments and then the human was released, groaning. "My... apologies. I am as frustrated as you are. I wish to see the subjugation of this world, too."
Again, a pause.
"Yes, I suppose they did succeed in that at least. But it's just a crack. You need more to return, do you not?" the human continued, pausing to listen. "Then what do you propose? The brothers clearly failed. It is not hard to deduce we can no longer use the Galarian Particles as planned.
They went quiet, then spoke again, "A device? Where? Who?"
The human hummed as it listened, rubbing its chin.
"I know the location, and vaguely the man. But I cannot do this alone. I will need Pokemon. Ones stronger than what I had before," the human grumbled, which was met with a hiss from the crack.
Like before, a shadow mass began to emerge and dropped down to the ground. The human stepped back as it took shape, forming a bipedal creature with a large lower abdomen supported by legs standing on two, thick toes, thin torso with long, thinner arms with three fingers, and a long, sinuous tail. Its eyes, when opened, flared red, and its skin was a obsidian black. It stood taller than the human, coming a few inches over their head. The Nosepass sensed it was a Pokemon, immensely powerful, yet strange, and wrong. It should not be that way.
It stared blankly at the human, which laughed, "Oh... Oh yes... This will do nicely. I will see your work done. And unlike those foolish brothers, I won't fail."
Another pause followed, both human and shadowy Pokemon looking to the crack.
"You will have your freedom soon," the human replied, bowing their head politely, and then turned to the strange Pokemon. "Ironic, isn't it? You escaped me once, and now here you are... mine once more. It seems your naivety got the best of you. Well, then. It's time. Teleport us to Lumiose City. We have a man we need to speak with."
The Pokemon said nothing, only raising a hand that glowed with a dark, pale light that soon enveloped them both. One second they were there, and then they were gone.
The Nosepass collapsed down to its legs, the pressure suddenly less. It wasn't totally gone, though; some still spilled out from the crack in the air, the black haze slowly frothing from it. It had abated enough, though, for the Pokemon to scrambled back up and sprint away to the safety of the mountain, never to transgress here again.
And in the dark, a pair of red eyes glowed.
-------------------------------
CHAMPION'S SWORD, GALAR'S SHIELD
THE END
------------------------------------------------------------------
......FOR NOW.
Leon and Cassandra will be back!
Prepare for an all new adventure with new Pokemon, new friends, and old enemies in Kalos!
Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed my story!! Y'all make it that much more enjoyable, and I hope you'll be up for Leon and Cassandra's next adventure because the stakes are getting raised! :) I hope to start writing it soon, but for now I'm still focusing on the outline for things.
Until the next installment is posted! :)