Ash's Story (Part 6: Unova)

Chapter 100: Next Light

Nuvema Town looked gentle in the morning.

After Vertress City, the Hall of Fame, Alexa's interview, and the Champion battle that still echoed in my chest, Professor Juniper's lab felt like the kind of place that could hold an ending without making it too heavy. The sea wind moved around the town, soft and familiar, and the ferry schedule on the board made everything real.

We were leaving Unova at last.

Professor Juniper stood outside the lab with Bianca and Cheren nearby. Cedric Juniper waved from the doorway, already telling us to use the Super Rod properly and not treat fishing as only a way to fill records. Bianca looked like she wanted to cry and ask ten research questions at the same time. Cheren looked calm, but his hands stayed folded too tightly behind his back.

Iris had packed faster than everyone, probably because she hated showing that goodbyes bothered her. Cilan's bag was neat enough to make the rest of us look careless. Alexa adjusted her camera strap while Helioptile stayed close to her ankle, watching Pikachu with less fear than before.

Professor Juniper smiled at me. "You completed more than the Unova Pokédex, Ash. You completed a journey that made this region face many of its own questions."

I looked back toward the lab, the town, and the roads beyond it. "Unova gave me a lot of answers. It also gave me more questions."

"That is how a good journey should end," she said warmly.

Bianca hurried forward and hugged me before stepping back with wet eyes. "Tell Professor Oak I said hello, and tell him Professor Juniper needs to compare notes with him again."

Cheren smiled faintly. "That sounds less like a message and more like a warning."

"It can be both," Bianca said.

Golly accepted a small folder of travel documents from Professor Juniper and checked it immediately. "Ferry tickets, transfer confirmations, and contact numbers. Good."

"You sound like you expected disaster in the envelope," Eve said.

"I always expect disaster in envelopes," Golly answered.

Cilan bowed to Professor Juniper. "Thank you for the many flavors of knowledge you gave this journey."

Iris grinned, trying to keep the goodbye bright. "We will come back. Unova is not getting rid of us that easily."

Professor Juniper laughed. "I would never expect it to."

When the ferry horn sounded, everyone moved at once and somehow slower than they needed to. I gave Professor Juniper one last wave before stepping onto the ferry. Unova's shoreline waited behind us, and the next road waited across the sea.

Pikachu climbed onto my shoulder.

Pikachu's meaning came quietly. "Goodbye is a door that looks backward."

"Yeah," I whispered. "And forward."

The ferry pulled away from Nuvema Town.

For a long time, I stayed at the back rail and watched the coastline shrink.

Nuvema was not Pallet Town, but it had become one of those places that marked a version of me. I had arrived in Unova carrying old victories, old pain, and the strange truth of being Ash and N at the same time. I was leaving with new partners, another Champion title, and a completed record that still felt less important than the people who had changed beside me.

Golly stood near me without opening her notebook. That alone told me she was feeling more than she wanted to process aloud. Alice rested one hand on the rail, watching the same water. Eve looked toward Professor Juniper's lab until the town was only a line.