Bridging The Gap; The Final Records In Unova: An Autobiography

Time Zones

"A Sun Stone?" I asked, staring at the golden stone designed like the sun sitting in Courtney's palm.

"Yeah, I don't need it," Courtney smiled at me. "There's only a handful of Pokemon that evolve by this stone, and I already own all of them."

"Really? You do?" My eyes widened.

"Yeah," Courtney nodded. "I have tons of Pokemon, Gary." She giggled. "I actually own every single Pokemon, excluding the Legendary Pokemon, from the regions I've explored."

"Huh?" I gasped, staring at her as if she were crazy.

"You heard me," she winked. "Other than the Legends, I own every single Pokemon in the Kanto, Hoenn, Johto, and Sinnoh regions. I'm missing a lot from Unova, and I don't intend to leave here until I catch them all, too!"

"No way!" I smiled eagerly.

Courtney beamed brightly, flashing her teeth. "That's right! So, I don't really need this stone anymore. And, I think I have an extra one somewhere in my bag, anyway."

June made a noise and I turned to see her kick strongly at the ground, dirt flying up. She grumbled, shaking her lowered head, not turning to Courtney nor I.

Courtney turned to her. "June? Are you alright?" she asked caringly.

June ignored her, not saying a word as she walked with us, a few feet away.

"June?" Courtney tried again.

June still didn't react.

I sighed loudly and glared at her, but I didn't speak. I didn't have to.

June heard me and closed her eyes. Her furrowed eyebrows relaxed and she turned to Courtney with a forced, calmer face. Her breath escaped her nostrils. "Every... Pokemon...?" June asked in a slow, strained voice, her eyes blinking repeatedly with each word.

"Other than the Legendary Pokemon, and some in Unova," Courtney told her.

June swallowed, clearly trying to find the nicest words possible. Her eyes lowered to the ground as she spoke again. "So, you mean to say that you own close to about..." She paused as she looked up to the sunny sky. She mumbled and started counting off on her fingers for a moment before finally looking back to Courtney. "Over five hundred Pokemon? Close to six hundred? Give or take?"

Courtney nodded. "That's about right, ha! I have to call Prof. Birch and ask again to be sure of the exact number. And I think I have some duplicates of some of my Pokemon, too. It's hard keeping track of what I own, you know? But, not counting the duplicates, I have about the number you said."

June inhaled deeply and held her breath.

She doesn't believe her, I thought, watching June smile as she looked back into the sky. It wasn't a happy smile. It was a dangerous smile that meant June was about to go over the edge. She let out her breath. "You know, ha ha ha, Pokemon Trainers have spent their entire lives traveling the world, exploring the farthest reaches of the planet, dedicating their lives to the goal of capturing every Pokemon in existence, many dying on their quest, while others grow too old to continue the effort. Not one Trainer on record has accomplished this goal, or even gotten very close. Although there are an extremely small number of Trainers who have captured an extraordinary amount of Pokemon, including some Legends on excruciatingly rare occasions." June took a breath, still smiling her warning smile, and she turned to Courtney. "I don't remember what number was last recorded from the Trainers who are at the top of the list of Pokemon owned, Courtney," June chuckled. "But, ha, you mean to tell me that you have captured nearly six hundred different species of Pokemon on your own, at the age of sixteen?"