enfin, so it shall be, a pokémon fanfic

enfin, so it shall be

'The Lost Tower is where the spirits of departed Pokémon are put to rest. Those that enjoyed long lives . . . Those whose times were short . . . All the departed Pokémon will find solace here.'

We pray for our sorrows to end and hope our hearts will blend.

'That Fantina . . . It's hard to tell what she's thinking. But she has a compassionate heart. You know, she's a regular visitor.'

Fantina mourns and prays for the departed soul of her dear Drifblim, but is snapped out of her catatonic stupor by a familiar young woman, and finds a new companion after she finally comes to terms with her Pokémon's death.

Now I will step forward to realize this wish.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is copyright © 2017 Turnabout Writer. All rights reserved.

"The Lost Tower is where the spirits of departed Pokémon are put to rest. Those that enjoyed Long lives . . . Those whose times were short . . . All the departed Pokémon will find solace here."

We pray for our sorrows to end and hope our hearts will blend.

"That Fantina . . . It's hard to tell what she's thinking. But she has a compassionate heart. You know, she's a regular visitor."

Now I will step forward to realize this wish.

Her Gym has been closed for a while.

After her Drifblim's passing, she hasn't been able to bring herself to battle. Her amie, her darling Drifblim — whose egg had been handed to her by her father when she was starting out her journey in her home region of Kalos — is no longer by her side at the battlefield, so how in the world can she find the will to?

For every day of the three weeks that her Gym has been closed, she goes to the Cathedral. She sits quietly to herself in the back corner, kneels on the kneelers of the pew, and prays for an hour. Before she departs for the Lost Tower, she quietly walks up to the mural in the front and touches it, as if she is paying her respects.

And then, she goes to the Lost Tower to visit Drifblim's grave; she kneels and prays for her departed soul, wishing at least once to see the Pokémon dance fantastically through the air one more time.

Thinking of you, wherever you are.

It's the second to last day of the third week when it happens.

The day starts off with Cynthia's call.

Of course, only close family and friends, and some of the Gym Leaders know about Fantina losing her Drifblim, along with the League Association — at Cynthia's request, they allowed Fantina to close the Gym for three weeks, for which Fantina has been very grateful.

Cynthia informs Fantina that her three weeks of mourning is coming to a close, and reminds her on behalf of the League Association that she must open her Gym in two days, and that she must find a third ghost type Pokémon to fulfill the 3-on-3 Pokémon requirement for Gym battles.

After the phone call, she goes to the Cathedral. She prays and then touches the mural like always.

When she exits the building, she is stopped by the sound of a familiar voice.

"I knew I'd find you here."

She whips around to see the young woman in gray, leaning against the wall of the Cathedral's exterior.

"Ceres," she breathes, feeling a small bit of life come back to her lifeless-feeling soul. "What are you doing here?"

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Don't call me that. I am Jupiter now."

"Still my little planète either way," Fantina can't help but murmur in response, as her eyes cast downward.

"Oh, please." Ceres — Jupiter — rolls her eyes in annoyance. "I have no intention of living as a stupid, little dwarf planet. I have bigger plans than to live a meager, dull life."

Fantina smiles sadly, as she looks back up to meet Jupiter's face. "Ceres may be a dwarf planet, but you're still young, ma chère. You still have a lot to learn before you can evolve into a big planet like Jupiter."

"Shut up!" Jupiter shrieks, as she steps forward with an accusatory finger pointed at Fantina. "You know nothing, Aunt Fantina! I'm more than just an asteroid; I am Jupiter, the biggest, most colorful planet in our solar system, named after the Roman God. The planet that is always changing with its fast rotations that it's hard for the ordinary to keep up with. I'm not the ordinary Ceres, but the marvelous Jupiter!"

She exhales lightly. "You're right. You're not just an asteroid. You're a beautiful celestial being that your mother immensely loves — did you know that she has been in love with the galaxies and the sky since we were children? And when you were born, you became the little planet in her galaxy; that's why she named you Ceres. She misses you dearly, you know." She swallows — since it is the most she has spoken in the past three weeks — and then her voice takes on a sad tone. "If you quit working for Team Galactic, or even just stop to visit her once in Santalune — "

Jupiter growls in frustration and clenches her fists. "Please, just stop it! I just came here to tell you that you need to get your head out of whatever shitty funk you're stuck in, not to be lectured on my life. Your Drifblim may have passed away from the mutated Pokérus, but your other Pokémon are still counting on you to go on, if not for yourself, then for them. Move on and live your damn life, Fantina, and, for Arceus's sake, please, let me live my own!"

We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.

She is in front of Drifblim's grave, and this time, she leaves some honey for her — Drifblim loved honey, especially when she caught the virus and was unable to digest much.

Ceres, or Jupiter, is right. Fantina has to move on from Drifblim's passing. Her Pokémon are counting on her to be strong. And she cannot fail Hearthome City either — she is their pride, their joy, their leader.

Now I will step forward to realize this wish.

She rises from her kneeling position, the determination hard in her bones. Her gait is slow, but purposeful and full of newfound confidence. Her beloved Drifblim may be gone, but her esprit will live on in Fantina and her battling. For Drifblim, Fantina promises to perfect the battling style that she worked to achieve with her, that combines the strength of a Gym Leader and style of a contest battle.

She will be strong and lead Hearthome City with all of her might and love.

And who knows:
Starting a new journey may not be so hard,

Fantina, with her back turned to the grave, as she heads towards the staircase, fails to see the Duskull popping from behind Drifblim's grave until it ghosts around, in a fantastically graceful dance.

Surprised, Fantina turns to see the little Pokémon, intrigued by its curious, glowing red eyes. It cries to her softly, and her lips can't help but twitch into a smile.

"Hello, ma chère." She continues to walk, but the Duskull croons in protest, floating around her in circles to stop her.

She tilts her head, puzzled. "What's wrong?" And then it occurs to her. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Dus . . . Duskull!" It answers back in happiness, and it reminds her of when her Drifblim was a newly hatched Drifloon.

It's as if Fantina feels Drifblim's presence within Duskull.

Her eyes prick with happy tears.

or maybe it has already begun.

She stares at the Pokéball in her hands and smiles to herself.

"Enfin, so it shall be," she whispers to herself, hugging her new Duskull's Pokéball to her chest.

She puts the Pokéball into the hidden pocket of her dress, and makes her way to the exit of the tower, feeling impossibly more confident before. It feels like a huge burden has been lifted off her chest.

As Fantina walks back to Hearthome City, she thinks about the eventless events of the past three weeks, and how lifeless she has been. She thinks about this sudden, good change in her. She thinks that she needs to tell Jim Gai, the guide and referee of their Gym, that the Gym has to open again in two days. She thinks about how she's going to have to start training Duskull tomorrow morning.

She thinks of her sister, she thinks of Jupiter, and she thinks of Drifblim.

She knows that her Drifblim has sent this Duskull to her. She knows that it's a part of her fate, her destiny, that Duskull was hiding behind Drifblim's grave and that she caught her here today.

And for the first time in these three weeks, Fantina feels hopeful for the future.

There are many worlds, but they share the same sky —
one sky, one destiny.

Surprise, surprise, I'm still alive (just barely)! This is just a little sad but kinda corny thing I wrote as I try to finish my other stories. It hasn't been completely proofread in my rush to post it, so please excuse any mistakes!

I've been replaying Platinum, and right before I started it, I had been playing Kingdom Hearts II; I started thinking about why Fantina didn't have her Drifblim in Platinum after playing through the Lost Tower, and this is the product of it all.

Three things caught my attention while playing through the Lost Tower in Platinum recently:
1) Fantina frequents Lost Tower a lot in Platinum, as stated by the old woman on the left on the fourth floor (this was not stated in Diamond and Pearl).
2) Duskull has a 20% encounter rate on all floors of the tower in Platinum (in Diamond and Pearl, it can only be found on Route 224).
3) The honey you find in front of a grave on the second floor of the tower is Platinum-exclusive, and though it might be another trainer leaving it for their Pokémon, I thought it fit well into my theory so I brought it along.

This is what has led me to believe that Drifblim has passed away and that Duskull has come from the Lost Tower.

For those who are unaware, the italicized lines are from Kairi's bottled letter to Sora in Kingdom Hearts II. I thought it was quite fitting here.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :)