Because We're Still Standing Here ~ A Pokémon Fan Novel

Prologue - A Second Chance

• 00:00, 16th of September, 2027

It's all finally over. The dreadful war has come to an end. I stand over the body of a Jolteon. Her Leafeon themed hoodie is very colourful, but the same cannot be said for her fur nor her eyes.

She's no longer breathing.

"Η°´Ә°!"

I heard another Pokémon calling my... Name...? For some reason, the only thing I could never remember my whole life was my real name. I've had people call me nicknames that an average Pikachu would have and nothing else.

I put the blade that I've been holding back in its sheath and I turned in their direction. It was a Jirachi. He has been my friend for 10 years. He's bringing alongside him a limping Arcanine. That Arcanine is also my friend. I turned back to the Jolteon I called my wife.

"... My fault." I told myself, holding onto the carcass. Jirachi shouted at me for saying such a thing.

"It's not! We shouldn't even be tangled in this war if it wasn't for-!"

"And you wanna blame Arceus for that?" I cut him off. He stood there, at a loss for words. Soon, the Arcanine began to speak. His voice was quite raspy, but he sounded more lifeless than he sounded like an adolescent.

"Η°´Ә°... You shouldn't... Blame yourself... For being unable... To protect us..." He told me those words with pauses, coughing and gasping for air. I noticed a spear struck through his abdomen. His fur has also lost its colours. He was near death. The loss of my own spouse had affected me to the point that I could only shed some tears for him.

"This world... It's..." He tried to talk more. I told him to keep it to himself and wait for reinforcements to come. He ignored me and continued.

"Beautiful, isn't it...?"

I stared into his eyes as the colours started to fade away. I shed even more tears, realising that I will lose another friend. "You can't go..." I hold onto him. His eyes finally lost their colour. I failed.

Soon, the Jirachi and I heard people running towards us. I recognised some of the Pokémon as my battle mates.

• 09:26, 16th of September, 2027

The remaining survivors buried every single Pokémon who had fallen in the event. Only a few countries survived, and my country was one of them. Thankfully, most of us here are still alive, so it doesn't take long for the burial.

Most of us paid respects to every single one buried that day. One by one, the survivors left, until it was just me, Jirachi, a Pikachu, and a Leafeon. The Pikachu was trying his best to comfort the Leafeon over her dead husband. "Leena. I understand that you're upset, but you shouldn't kill yourself." He responded to her. I couldn't make out what she said to him due to her soft spoken voice, but I saw her hugging him. She stopped shouting, too.

The Pikachu's name is Satoshi. He is my dad, but we rarely talk about anything. The Leafeon is my wife's mother. We're quite close because she always wanted me to be her son-in-law so that our family would be eternally linked.

It took them a while to get over visiting the graves of their spouses, but then they both walked towards me. "Son, I know you hated me."

I turned back to my wife's headstone.

"... I just wanted to give you some advice."

I reluctantly turned back to him, only looking down at his feet.

"We can never change fate, but we can still change our destiny, because at the end of the day, our choices still make a difference, even if they are small."

I slowly look at his face, filled with sadness.

"Just don't forget about me when you were 11 again, okay?"

My eyes widen. I immediately ran away from the place. I could see Jirachi following me from behind, but he was much slower than I am. A few hours later, I reached a hidden place in Pallet City, my hometown. This is where I first met my wife 10 years ago. In front of me is an enormous acacia tree. Under the tree is a pedestal. The one that's supposed to hold my sword.

"Well, here we are again." The Jirachi said to me. "If you put the Katana Of Time back into its pedestal, it will revert itself back into its original form, and time will reset back to when you first pull it." He continued.

"So, 10 years back, like promised." I responded with a rough voice.

"Yeah, but-"

I pulled my sword out of its sheath and immediately put the sword back into the pedestal.

"But that would mean our adventure will end!"

I widen my eyes again. For some reason, I felt like I could burst into tears again and cry for hours, but this time, I didn't. My eyes start to fade away with its colour.

My surroundings are filled with blue light. I began levitating. This is the exact same sensation I felt for a long time as I always bothered with how time goes. I closed my eyes and tears flows down. The Jirachi hugged me from the back.

"I promise, I won't forget you..."

• 18:42, 16th of September, 2017

I opened my eyes. I turned around and noticed Jirachi looking at me with a sad grin. He flies away. Moments later, I couldn't even see his silhouette.

I walked away from the pedestal. My colourful blue eye were replaced with a monochromatic palette. I wiped whatever tears left on my cheek, looking all grim.

As the Pikachu take more steps away from the pedestal, a news report can be heard in the background.

"With the disappearance of one of the strongest Pokémon, it is safe to assume that he has fallen in battle against the mysterious serial killer who has taken over 2 billions of innocent lives. The research team have recently reported that the strongest Pikachu in the world, Thunder, was last detected on an island alongside other of the strongest Pokémon in the world. However, the rest of them are alive and well-"

• 07:56, 16th of September, 2022

A mysterious Pokémon stood in front of a statue. It was a statue of the Pikachu we previously saw. Even after his disappearance, Pokémon from all over the world still admired him enough to make a statue. That's pretty sweet.

The mysterious Pokémon kneeled down, paying respect to the statue. Soon, another Pokémon can be heard calling the mysterious Pokémon by the species. The Pokémon turned around as a name was shouted from the distance.

"Sylveon!"

To be continued...