Heavy Heart

AN: This turned out much darker then it intended for it to be.

Hello there and welcome to my first fanfic! I recently finished replaying through Explorers of Sky with my usual team of Eevee as the hero and Shinx as the partner, and I thought it would be interesting to write about those few months where the partner was alone and how they dealt with the loss of the hero, all from their perspective. It's not really established on in the games, so I thought I'd leave my interpretation here.

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A storm in my head. A hole in my heart. These things weighed heavily upon me as I lugged myself back to the Rainbow Stoneship. I felt so... empty. Lifeless. A big part of me was ripped away suddenly. A lot of thoughts floated around in my mind, 'why?' being the most prominent. Why did Ailey just have to disappear? Why didn't she tell me about this?

If history were to be altered, then Pokemon from the future would be erased. Dead. Gone. As if they never existed in the first place. Ailey left me mourning over the loss of my best friend, the one who went through hell and high water with me. Her parting wish was that I tell the story of what happened here in Hidden Land so that it would never happen again.

'Why? Why? Why, why, why?'

Anger, sadness, confusion, all of these differing emotions surged through me as I felt my heart rip in two.

Lamenting my sorrow, I tripped and stumbled all the way back to the Rainbow Stoneship. As it descended downwards towards lower grounds, my thoughts drifted what I should tell the others. Our friends back in Treasure Town.

I eventually made it back to the Hidden Land's entrance and found Lapras waiting for me. He noticed my tears and on the way back I poured my heart out to him. I told him about our journey through Hidden Land, Dusknoir's ambush, Grovyle sacrifice, our ascent up Temporal Tower... and then about Ailey, He listened patiently and politely, but I knew he didn't know how to respond. Nobody knew about how the Pokemon from the future would disappear, aside from those who are actually from there. Grovyle, Celebi, Ailey...

Lapras dropped me off at the beach. I still hadn't thought of what to tell the guild. When I arrived, I did the usual and stepped on the grate. Heh... I remember how I couldn't even do that before Ailey arrived. I was too timid, and Ailey was the one who boosted my confidence.

Sure enough, I heard the squeaky and gruff voices of Diglet and Loudred. When Diglet announced that it was me, every member of the guild came rushing out to greet me, eager to know about our- my adventure. I saw the confusing looks smeared across their faces as they noticed that I had returned all alone. I had to tell them. I had to tell them everything, and so I did. It hurt. It hurt like hell to tell them. To see their heartbroken faces when I told them of Ailey and Grovyle's fate, but I couldn't stop. Everything just spilled out, each word stroking my tongue. When I finished, tears were streaming down my face. Chatot requested that Bidoof escort me to my room so I could be left alone.

But I still wondered...

'Why?'

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It has been over a week since the incident at the Temporal Tower. Everybody else has settled back into their ordinary daily routine. Chatot is still as bossy as ever, probably doing a better job at running the guild than Wigglytuff can, no disrespect to the Guildmaster. The pink puffball himself is still sneaking perfect apples when he thinks nobody's looking.

The other folks in Treasure Town are still as cheerful as ever. They all greet me with warm smiles, but I just wish that they would cut the bullcrap. I still want to be alone. They might be able to just get over what had happened, but I certainly can't. Ailey was the first Pokemon (or human) who I felt a special connection to. I was all alone until I met her, and now that she's gone...