Reader (Male) X Zoroark (Female) A Dark Bond

One Final Trip

Several months had gone by since your confrontation with Azrael. The Wraiths were no longer a threat, and you had been administered to the hospital. More forced than willing, but you were gonna go there eventually. Your arm had been shattered and was just barely starting to fully heal. Your parents... they were understandably livid at what you had done. Telling them was out of the question, because you knew they would have done something to ruin what you had planned. Still, they were relieved that it was over. Though they vowed that they wouldn't let you out of their sight after what you pulled. You openly challenged them to try. Since then, Dad's Sharpedo has been constantly stalking you from the water. Though, he was pretty easy to distract if you could just direct him towards some Wishiwashi. That was always a fun spectacle to watch every so often.

Moving on, as time had moved on, Shadow and Lucario had been... disappearing more often. You would always look at Zora whenever they would make an excuse to go outside by themselves, and the two of you would always smirk and make sure they would squirm a little before letting them go. Io has been staying with you and Zora ever since the battle ended. She may be a Zoroark, but she's still a child. This was further proven when she would try to lie down on your lap and try to fall asleep.

Everyone else was doing their own thing. Exploring around the region, sparring with each other, or even just relaxing. Silvally and Noivern were constantly getting into fights to the point they almost seemed like siblings. Salazzle was still being... herself. Though, now with all of it over, Zora would kick her in the face everytime she did it. Mawile was doing her own thing. You occasionally caught her with some metal in her horn, and every time it happened, she would try and hide it. Even if she was horrible at it. Ninetales and Glaceon would spend most of their time inside or under the shade of something while outside. Glaceon would always stay close, but would occasionally create enough snow to throw a snowball at someone. Lycanroc was with Incineroar and Gallade doing something in the backyard. Whenever you or someone would go check to see what they were doing, they'd immediately stop and act as if they weren't doing anything. Primarina was either always in the kitchen or out in the ocean. She apparently got interested in cooking, and that would cause her to go out into the ocean to grab some food from underwater to try and cook. The first few times were... less than desirable, though, to her credit, she did get better.

Catching up to current times, you had gotten a plane ticket to Kalos. Torben had been... "Taking care of Azrael" while you were recovering yourself. Ashlyn and a few others would "assist" where they could. All they really did was stop his wounds from making him bleed out. They seemed relieved when you had taken his pokéball away from them. Ashlyn said something about the cave being a lot quieter with him gone. As soon as you had his pokéball, you could practically hear the screaming going on from inside. Ever since you had used your Hell's Torment on him, he would always be screaming either inside or outside from what the others have said.

Walking along Route 13 with Zora, Io, Shadow, and Lucario, you would look around, trying to spot out any similarities from those times ago. As you looked around, you heard several leaves rustle against each other. You would turn your head, only to see branches hitting against each other. You scoffed slightly, then looked forward. Io was sticking particularly close in between you and Zora. She was looking around uncomfortably from every noise. She would grab on to your right arm. Even though you were almost completely healed by this point, you would still flinch every time someone grabbed onto your arm. You were still trying to get past all of it mentally, but with everyone around, it made it a lot easier. Turning your head to Io, you could see the anxiety on her face. You smiled and pulled your hand from her, putting it on her head and rubbing it a little.

"It's alright Io. This won't take long." Io's concern didn't really go away, but she did seem somewhat comforted. After some more traveling, there was some more noise from the foliage. Io jumped, figuratively, and literally. She clung onto your right side, making you stagger until you fell on the ground with a grunt. When you snapped out of the initial shock, you looked at Io and saw the scared expression on her face. She was holding onto you tightly, and you could feel her anxiety in the air. You were able to rub her head with your left arm while pushing yourself to at least sit up straight. Io looked at you, distressed about what was going on. You had to remember that while she was a Zoroark, she was still very young. Though... thinking about that... Shadow... wasn't too far off.... There was going to be a lot to think about later. You gently grabbed onto Io and started to stand up when you saw several other Zoroarks emerging from around you. Io's eyes immediately started darting around, and her grip on you tightened. Shadow and Lucario seemed uneasy, but you and Zora knew who they were.