There was a big party at the Cade household on the day before Tia and Aidan left on their research trip. Both Tia and Aidan’s families got together, as well as Kurt and his family, Kit, and several members of the university research lab, to wish them well.
Aidan’s mother and sister handled most of the cooking, fortunately, as Naomi was not allowed within ten meters of the new oven and stovetop she and Nathan had bought (“for cooking only!” Nathan had said) and the traditional recipes they cooked made the kitchen smell heavenly.
With the party in full swing, Tia and Aidan spent most of the time telling about their adventures, while at the same time looking around to see how their families and friends were doing together.
Tia smiled as she saw her father and Aidan’s grandfather bonding over creepypasta legends and little-known Pokemon myths. Grandfather was quite the storyteller, she had found out, and Aidan’s interest in Pokemon myths and legends stemmed from him.
Kit and Amelie talked mostly about raising and battling Pokemon, with Amelie sharing her experiences as a Dragon tamer. Aidan’s father joined in periodically, sharing his experiences as a Move Tutor to the Dragon Pokemon of the clan as well as to the Trainers who visited Blackthorn City.
Aidan’s mother spoke with Kurt and Cameron about art, and found they had a lot in common when it came to sculpting figures and crafting Poke Balls.
Taiyu and the rest of the research lab members were fascinated with the Horde and the various projects they worked on in the yard, and Naomi had her hands full explaining everything to them. All of the Pokemon were on their best behavior, including Naito and Garlic, who had fun playing with Maizie.
After dinner, when everything had quieted down, the guests were eager to hear from Tia and Aidan.
“Say something, guys!” Kit urged them, “It’s your party, after all!”
Tia and Aidan looked at each other. Tia nodded, and spoke.
“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all their support. Thank you for putting up with me through the ups and downs of doing my research and writing my thesis. Thank you for being there when I needed it.”
She turned to Aidan. “And thank you, Aidan, for not giving up on me. No matter how absorbed I get in my research, you’re always there to get me out of trouble.”
There was applause and a couple of “Awws,” then Aidan spoke.
“To my family. Thank you for supporting me when I left to find ‘the girl in the picture.’ Even if you thought it was a useless venture, you knew it was important to me.” He looked to Tia and smiled. “And I’m thankful my journey ended the way it did, finding who I was looking for.”
Then he looked out at everyone. “And thank you all for supporting us as we go off on our next journey.”
The next day, Tia and Aidan got up early to make final preparations before leaving. As Tia finished packing and slipped her pack on her back, she looked around at the familiar surroundings of home and was reminded of the last time she left on a journey – alone and in an unfamiliar place, on a trip toward the unknown. It seemed as if everything had come full circle: on a trip toward the unknown, but this time, she wasn’t alone. She had a wonderful partner to share her hopes and heartaches with.
As the sun rose over Vermilion City, Tia and Aidan set off on their next journey, and toward the future.
So this is the end, for now. I started this project on a whim after playing through Pokemon Crystal Clear and Legends: Arceus, and reviewing my old Pokemon Tabletop RPG notes. I was still on a writer's high after writing a bunch of microfics for the Dragonriders of Pern, so this series was something to write about to keep the creative juices flowing, so to speak. I was definitely not expecting it to be over 50 parts long! I hope that anyone who's made it to the end has enjoyed the ride! It'll be interesting to write more in this universe if/when inspiration hits.