Chaser and the Faraway Island

Afterword

Hello there. This is Purim, the author of this story, as well as all of 'One Who Chases'. If you've read this far, thank you for reaching the end of the story. And if you've been here since 'Temple of Stone', thank you for joining me on this long journey we've taken together. It feels so long since Goh and Chloe were bickering on the slopes outside of Stone Town, doesn't it? It certainly feels like a long time to me. I would like to thank the artists who have helped me bring One Who Chases to life: rikirinka, rohanite, jessu_uu, and Laura (nerdinsandals). I would also like to thank those who have helped as beta readers: mezamun, pennychu_, and Viroro-kun.

When I started 'One Who Chases', I had a few ideas where the story would go and how it would develop. As the story was written, though, it changed before my eyes into something different. I'm surprised at how much remained from my initial ideas draft and how much was borne from snap-decisions as I wrote. The more I wrote for the story, the more I saw Goh's loneliness. While it's a part of his character I had in mind, I didn't originally plan on it being the 'theme' of this story: How loneliness and being alone shapes us, and how the people we choose to surround us with can help us get through that loneliness. Goh, Argent, Zoroark, and Lawrence all were lonely beings for various reasons, and they were all hurting because of that lack of connection. Goh, with help and inspiration from Chloe and Ash, was able to learn how to reach out to help others, and in that way he connected with Argent and then Zoroark, saving them from loneliness. And in his words after Lawrence was destroyed in the Genesis Supernova, he wished he could have connected with Lawrence as well. But Lawrence would not let himself connect with others, only with objects, and it is that loneliness that led him down this path.

The other major theme of this story (Faraway Island) and the entire series is the role of gods in the world. The entire series deals with forgotten gods, gods of our own making, gods who are still actively worshiped, gods who are present, and gods who are absent. Ho-Oh, Lugia, Celebi, and Mew all have different relationships with the humans who treat them like divinity, and it was through this lens that I wanted to explore their role in the world. I think the conclusion reached by Goh fits my own world view enough, at least for talking about how it relates to the world of Pokémon, but maybe you have a different set of thoughts.

With that in mind, I think this is a story that I could have only written with a main character like Goh.

From the start, I wanted to write a story where Goh is the main character, and I hope you've enjoyed watching him grow with me as we've made our way. If you haven't before, I would appreciate it if you left a comment/review on the story and told me what you really thought about it. This project has been going for almost a year and a half, and making sure every update came wasn't always the easiest with everything else going on in my life. In fact, I'd say the beginning of 2023 has been incredibly difficult for me. It's been difficult to sit down and write since the end of January.

That's why I am announcing here that after the next two side stories, I'll be going on hiatus for a while as I work on the next chapter of what I want to write. One of the side stories will be two chapters long, so there's still a bit of time left with Goh and Chloe. I want to thank you all for joining me for this story as we enter what is effectively its epilogue; like Professor Amaranth said, we're leaving the talk of Gods behind and returning to Project Mew, with an eye to the future that waits for all of us.

As an aside, I would urge you to seek out the 'Archive of Our Own' version of the last chapter to this story, which has an extra surprise not found in the other versions for technical reasons.

I hope you all enjoyed this journey with me. I'll see you all at the next horizon.