PMD: Explorers of Light and Shadow

Epilogue: A Future of Light

Six years after our fight with Darkrai, me, Priscilla, Zelot and Sara were sitting on a high hilltop overlooking the sea, having a picnic. The weather couldn't be more perfect than today. The sun beaming down brightly, the sea winds calm and cool and I just felt so… satisfied and happy with how my life has gone ever since that fateful day. That fateful day Priscilla found me unconscious on the beach. It's been eleven years since our adventure began and now both of us were at a ripe age of 25. Assuming fatigue didn't catch up with me, I still had many, many years to live and more adventures to come. But I knew the biggest one was finally over. Fate would stop using me as their pawn to challenge gods no normal Riolu could possibly stand up to.

"Woo hoo! I did it!"

"Wow, you did it Rylin! Daddy! Mommy! Come here and look!" A young Eevee and Riolu paired bounded up to us, their expressions pure joy and happiness, like all children should be. I smiled warmly at the children. Me and Priscilla's children.

"Rylin he… he used Force Palm to break a boulder in half!" The Eevee, Eviolyn babbled "It was amazing! He pressed his hand against the rock, closed his eyes and then BOOM! The rock exploded!"

"Ha ha! You're making great progress Rylin. Soon, you'll be just as strong as I am" I patted the Riolu's head affectionately and he giggled "Maybe someday, you can join us on an exploration. Go out and see the whole wide world"

"The whole world? Like the one on your… wonder maps?" Rylin asked "They aren't that big. I could walk over those"

"No, no, Rylin. The map is a heavily scaled down version of this land. The world around us is much, much bigger" Priscilla, an Espeon now, checked Rylin's hand "Did you feel something wrong with your hand after using Force Palm?"

"No, I'm fine mommy" The Riolu shook his head, then looked behind us "Hey Ruben and Rivera! Are you done eating yet? I want to play in the forest with you guys!"

"Just a couple more minutes. Be patient!" Ruben, a Misdreavus born two years before Rylin and Eviolyn, called "I think Rivera's ready to go though!"

"But I don't like the forest! It's filled with those icky bugs that crawl all over your skin" Rivera, a Ralts shivered at the thought while Sara and Zelot laughed "I like being out in the open plains here"

"Okay, meet you in the center of the fields and we'll play tag!" Rylin grinned, then looked at his sister "And don't use Quick Attack to cheat, alright?"

"Aww… fine" Eviolyn pouted, then looked at Ruben "You better get here before we start otherwise we're going without you"

"Can't have that. Go on Ruben, join up with your friends" Sara goaded the young Misdreavus forward "You can't sit here and admire the sea all day"

"Alright. But tag's no fun when I'm the fastest" Ruben said smugly and Rylin grinned.

"Bet you I'm faster. Race you to the center of the fields!"

"You're on!" And the four children bounded off down the hill, their laughter echoing through the tranquil valley.

"Watching them reminds me so much of when we first met you two at Fogbound Lake" Sara smiled, remembering the memory fondly "Two young children without a care in the world, doing what you enjoy best: Exploring and being with friends"

"I remember myself and Priscilla being more serious than them back then" I laughed "But I get what you mean. Watching them is like looking at ourselves through a mirror. Hard to believe I looked exactly like Rylin when me and Priscilla faced Darkrai"

"No wonder Sara and Zelot saw us as children when they first met us. We haven't grown at all during our adventures" Priscilla lied down beside me on her belly and yawned "But look at how far we've come. Now you're a tall, handsome and powerful Lucario"

"And you're an elegant, beautiful and intelligent Espeon" I complimented back and Zelot smiled, exasperated.

"You two aren't shy with how much you adore each other, do you? I hope you don't do this in front of your children. It's awkward" The Gallade sat down warily beside us. His and Sara's age were starting to show, with both of them being in their late 30s and approaching 40. The energy and power behind both of them was starting to wane slightly "Still, I can't agree more with how far you've two have come. First you were two rookies in a ragtag exploration team. At that time, your greatest achievement was defeating Groudon"

"Which turned out to be an illusion" Priscilla turned her head to the sea of trees lining the coast line "We got to fight the real Groudon at Shimmer Desert though, so that makes up for it"

"Speaking of the desert, the next part of our adventure was going to the Northern Desert to find the Time Gear" I turned to Zelot "You and Sara accompanied us. Remember the quicksand pits near the end?"

"I still don't know how you figured out something was under those quicksand pits. I would of given up right then and there if I couldn't find any clues" The Gallade turned to Sara, who was floating down to join us on the hillside "Then after that, you took on Grovyle at Crystal Lake along with Zach and Niko"

"Sorry to interrupt, but who's watching the camp while we're gone?" Sara asked "I remember hearing Zach was taking Eliana to watch the stars atop Sky Peak while Ezra and Alster took a vacation to the Marine Resort. Henry, Aria, Julia and Aluciad flew to Happy Outlook. That leaves…"

"Selenia, Manaphy and Niko at camp" I confirmed "It's alright Sara. There's nothing in the world that can possibly threaten the camp while we're gone"

"Yeah… I guess I'm just being paranoid. I always get worried whenever I leave someone alone where I can't protect them" The Mismagius shook her head "Ah, I'm fretting too much. There's nothing to worry about, right?"

"Of course not" I looked ahead into the fields, where I saw Eviolyn with her paws over her eyes, counting down loudly "Looks like the kids are playing hide and seek. Want to join them?"

"I could use some whimsical fun for a bit. Haven't done that in forever" Zelot turned to Sara "Come on Sara. Let's go hide"

After the two left, Priscilla turned to me with a amused expression.

"Two adults in their late 30s playing hide and seek. That's not something you see everyday" The Espeon noted.

"Their lives would of been like this if bandits haven't burned their village down. I'm sure they're joining along to reenact those moments" I offered my hand to Priscilla "And we should too. Your parents passed very early in your life and I don't even remember who mine are. We should take this chance to be children and remember those happy times"

"Life would of been so much easier if fate hasn't chosen us" The Espeon stood up and kissed me deeply on the lips "But that journey has taught and robbed me of so much, yet I gained so much more. Our friends, our team, the peace of the world, our children and of course… you"

"Let's make our children's future the brightest it'll ever be. A future of light" I stood up and began walking down the grassy hillside "They shouldn't suffer the miseries we went through on our adventure. Children should be happy. I will always fight to keep their smiles bright"

"Then our first step to that goal is right in front of us" Priscilla noticed everyone gathering around to start a new game of hide and seek "Perhaps your evolution wasn't all good. You won't be good at hiding with your height increase"

"We'll see. I have Dig for a reason" I smiled "Come on, let's join them. They'll start without us if we lag behind"

"Ha ha. Can't even wait for their parents, can't they…?" Priscilla smiled back warmly and we walked down the hillside, hand in hand. Together, with our friends, with our loved ones and our children. On the night I was revived into this world, I thought I could never be happier.

I was wrong. I was more happier than I ever was now.

And thus, the story comes to a close. I have never felt more satisfied in my life for completing something and now that's it done, I feel like this is the end of another arc of my life. Thank you all for sticking through with me on this journey and I appreciate all the silent love through views, favorites and follows. A big thanks to my girlfriend and the best online friend I had, Duplecian for being my main motivation for continuing this story. Like I said in the previous chapter, I'll be starting a PMD1 novelization soon, so expect a prologue chapter to be up in the coming weeks. Thank you all again and see you all in my future fics here. Until next time!