"If you love something, you have to let it go."

It all felt like yesterday in his head.

He was just starting out his journey, in his home region, Kanto. After many years of helping out his family with work, he finally was able to start out his journey, at the age of 18. Wow, that's a long delay.

Upon reaching Viridian City, he looked towards his eager Charmander, and exclaimed as he smiled brightly, "I heard that the Trainer School is here, useful for trainers starting out, like me! Let's head in and have a look, Inferno!"

He had no hesitation as he stepped into the school. The school was small but full of equipment, that being books arranged in an orderly manner, and a blackboard full of information for students to take notes and study up. To add on, there was even a small practice arena, where trainers can put their newly acquired knowledge into good use by battling.

After gathering some new knowledge for his journey, he was about to leave, a younger trainer asked, "You're a new trainer like us here? What a joke. You're too old to start off! I bet you can't even defeat younger trainers like us."

Sigh, kids these days...

He looked back with a somewhat resigned expression, "Look, a Pokémon trainer can start their journey anytime. There's no problem with me starting late."

"Yeah, yeah... But I bet you can't even defeat me in a battle! Let's do it right here!" The younger trainer snorted.

"..." He stood there quietly, before heading to the practice arena, accepting the challenge.

...It didn't go well for him.

As he looked down with a shameful expression, the battle attracted a crowd. Obviously, they were all giggling and laughing at how an older trainer lost to a young kid.

"His career as a trainer will definitely be a flop."

"Why even consider that at such an old age?"

"Just go back and do whatever you were doing..."

Facing insults from a bunch of kids, honestly... it hurt him more than he should have cared. It's just... getting crushed after he was trying to start off was just rough. Especially, when there was no one to help-

"Hold it right there... Who said that he's the only one starting off late?"

Suddenly, a female trainer about the same age as him, wearing punk outfits appeared in front of the sight. She appeared rebellious, as she said, "None of what you all said makes sense at all! We all have a dream, and there's no age limit in trying to achieve that dream. And to all of those people insulting over there, I didn't want to curse because everyone here are kids..."

She took a deep breath and dropped the bomb, "But honestly, y'all are assholes."

...Wow.

The entire atmosphere turned silent as the younger trainer snorted, "Well, what a big mouth! I bet you will walk away in shame when you lose to me, too."

She took out her Pokéball, unfazed as she said, "Bring it on."

"T-Thanks for your help." As he walked out with her, he expressed in gratitude.

"No problem! That cunt needed a lesson, anyway." She smirked, "Anyways, starting off late too? No worries, just keep going, don't care about what those haters say."

"..." He looked at her and smiled. He had never seen anyone like this before. She was one of a kind.

"You do seem quite a rebellious girl." He chuckled, "What's influenced you to be like that?"

"Ah, well… Just that crap family of mine that made me like this." The girl sneered, seemingly not wanting to continue this topic further. The teenage boy noticed it and said nothing more.

"Anyways, wanna tag along with me as we go around the region? Peers would work well for competitiveness, you know." She offered.

"S-Sure! Let's be friends and explore together." He offered to shake hands with her as he asked, "What's your name?"

She took no hesitation and shook his hand and answered, "Sarah."

"Lyron."

As the two finished training for the next gym badge, they sat on a bench beside the park as Lyron panted, "That was hard work."

"But not good enough for the gym badge! Sabrina is known for those strong Psychic moves. You gotta train up your mind for those stuff, they're nasty!"

"Mind training... We'll do that another time. Right now, I just wanna rest, Sarah..." He was tired for sure.

"Yo, you gotta watch out for those unexpected moves coming right at ya! For example, this..."

Sarah suddenly tackled him with a kiss on the lips. His eyes widened in shock, but didn't say anything in return as his face turned bright red.

After the kiss ended, he was feeling dazed, "S-Sarah?"

Sarah had a slight blush on her face, but still remained her rebellious way of speaking, "What, asshole?"

"W-Was that..."

"Yeah yeah, a kiss on the lips for you, dumbass. Can't believe you never noticed." She looked away.

Instead of replying, Lyron held her hands with a soft expression on his face. Sarah looked at him, confused, "Yo, what are you on about-"

Before finishing her sentence, she was cut off with another kiss from Lyron.

She eventually gave into the kiss, as the two new lovers shared their first romantic moment with each other under the cherry blossom tree.

"Yo, now that we finished our journey here, what are you gonna do next?" Sarah looked at Lyron and asked. They were sitting on the balcony, looking at the sky.

"Well... I've heard that Galar seemed like a good place to visit next. Different battling mechanics, different Pokémon. You?"

"Totally different plans. I wanna go to Johto next, and see how it goes."

"B-But wouldn't that mean..." He knew that Sarah was always firm with her choices. But that would mean... separation.

"Hey hey, calm down. It's not the end of the world. We can still call and text each other, it isn't that hard." She shrugged.

"I-It doesn't feel the same... Maybe I should go with you-"

"Aw, hell no. I want you to pursue what you like, alright? Go for what you want. Even if things may seem hard to maintain our relationship, I know we'll both make it work."

"...I guess." Lyron replied.

"Come on, you're overworrying too much. What a dork. Just pay me back by giving me a cup of Sobble Coffee when I meet you in Galar. You know I love coffee." She giggled, as he half-heartedly laughed along.

Suddenly, a shooting star was travelling in the sky in their sight. Sarah said, "Yo, why don't we make a wish right here? Perfect opportunity, you know."

She smiled as she closed her eyes, focused on making her wish. Lyron thought for a while, before closing his eyes and making a wish, too.

They both opened their eyes at almost the same time, as Sarah asked, trying to take advantage of his honesty, "What is your wish?"

"...It's a secret." Surprisingly, he didn't spill about his wish.

"Oh come on." She chuckled, not putting too much into her mind. She knew that he was an honest and kind person, and he had his reasons to keep it as a secret.

He smiled, and gave her a soft kiss. Who knew how long this moment will last, but they were both willing to keep this as long as possible.

...I wish for your wish to come true.

Long distance relationships... are harder than they seem. They were definitely struggling to keep it together, but they hung on, anyway. None of them were wanting this to end.

Lyron wasn't doing the best in Galar. Getting used to another mechanic and learning the basics again weren't the most pleasant experiences. Like how he still struggled to get the hang of Dynamaxing his Pokémon.

It was another day of tiring training. As Lyron was going to rest up in his bed, his phone rang. He picked it up.

[Yo, asshole. What's up!]

"Hey, sweetheart. Doing alright there?" Lyron felt that the tone sounded different compared to the usual, but was too tired to bother with it.

[...Yeah, of course! I'm a strong girl. Johto is like, too fun to quit!]

"...That's good. Keep doing your best there, alright. I'll always be here, supporting you. One day, we will meet again."

[You bet I'm putting my 100%, no, 200% into this! You better work your hardest there, too.]

"Alright. See you around, Sarah." He smiled, as they ended the call.

His tiredness went away for a second, as he started taking notes about battling in Galar. He didn't want to be left behind in terms of progress. They promised each other that they would do their best.

But slowly, his tiredness went back to haunt him, as he fell asleep, leaning on the table.

He thought he heard his phone ringing, but he was too unconscious to answer that.

Slowly, he drifted into a deep slumber, unaware about anything that was going to happen.

Four years later...

"And once again, Lyron is the winner of the Masters League! Congratulations and thanks for everyone participating!"

Lyron held the medal, as he smiled politely at the crowd. After that, he left the arena, and went back to his apartment.

As he was about to take a quick nap, his doorbell rang. He answered it, and a younger girl brought another container, filled with food.

"Hey, Abigail." He smiled lightly.

"I know you'd always be tired after a competition, and food always helps with tiredness... right?" Abigail smiled, having a slight blush on her face.

"Thanks a lot, Abigail. Let's eat together." Lyron kept his smile, as he invited her.

"S-Sure!" Abigail accepted the offer as the two enjoyed a good meal.

"You know, without you, I will always be eating at restaurants, or order food that don't serve good food. Your cooking is the best, Abigail." Lyron looked at her with a grateful smile.

"Really? You think so?" Abigail was surprised.

"Of course. Ever since I moved into this apartment, you've been taking care a lot about me. I only know battling and nothing else, and without you, I probably would fail having a proper schedule in my life. You really are an amazing friend." He chuckled slightly.

"O-Oh, yeah. Friend." Abigail was a little disappointed, but still kept a smile on her face.

Lyron however, noticed her change in tone, "Hmmm?"

"...I was hoping, you know..." She gained up the courage as she said, "You would call me more than just a friend."

She blushed wildly, as Lyron got what she meant. He stayed silent for a few minutes, before giving a response, "...I see how it is, Abigail."

"I-I'm sorry if that sounded so suddenly..."

"No worries, Abigail. You're an amazing person, but... would you mind giving me time to think about it?"

"O-Of course! Now that if you excuse me..." Abigail said as she hastily ran out of his place.

Lyron looked at her running out of his apartment, with an expressionless look on his face.

"...Why me?"

Another nightmare came to visit him again.

He was in another dark place, with no way to escape. He looked in front of him, as a familiar person was in front of him, saying, "You're the one who caused all of this to happen."

Tears fell from his face, as the nightmare went to an abrupt end. He woke up, and noticed the tears on his face. He struggled to get up to get some medicine.

However, while getting a glass of water, the cup dropped onto the floor, and it shattered into pieces. As Lyron looked at what happened, another voice appeared in his head.

"You can't even do anything well other than battling."

Tears started to form in his eyes again, as more and more voices appeared in his mind, taking him over. He failed to even notice the doorbell ringing, as he sat on the ground crying.

Suddenly, someone opened the door and rushed in. Abigail was there, looking at him in shock. "L-Lyron?!"

She tried shaking him lightly to make him snap out of it, only to no avail. She can feel him struggling with his negative emotions, and knew that something was needed to be done for him to recover.

With no hesitation, she went and gave him a tight hug.

Lyron's memory drifted back to when someone familiar hugged him like how Abigail was hugging him at that moment. Slowly, he escaped from the voices, and looked towards Abigail, who broke out of the hug after she saw Lyron feeling better.

"A-Abigail? What are you doing here..."

"I was just checking on you today to see if things were less awkward compared to yesterday... I have your keys, and you didn't respond to me ringing your doorbells, so..."

"...Thanks." Lyron tried not letting Abigail ask further questions, but obviously failed.

"Lyron... I think we need to talk. What's up?" Abigail looked at him, concerned.

"I-I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"You're obviously not okay, Lyron! We're friends, right? And friends care for each other. I-I care about you, so please... tell me?"

"I-It's none of your concern!" Lyron suddenly went into an outburst, "I'm hopeless, I'm unfixable. End of story."

"What are you saying, Lyron?! Everything is fixable... No matter what problem you're facing, I want to help."

"Fixable?! Come on, if my mistake is fixable, then all of this wouldn't have happened."

"W-What happened?"

"..." Lyron didn't want to speak any further about that incident, but his expressions and tears were already betraying him. Abigail looked at him, worried as he cried.

If I wasn't this selfish, I would've at least been with her for her journey...

If I was careful enough, I would've noticed that she was suffering all along...

If I wasn't such a sleepyhead, then I would've answered her calls and maybe helped her...

If I didn't make mistake after mistake...

Sarah

Wouldn't

Have

Been

Dead.

"...I don't know what problems you had faced. But... I love you for being you, Lyron. And I want to help. It might take time, but..." Abigail said.

"...Why me? I don't deserve to be loved again."

"You're an amazing person, and an amazing friend. I'm not sure if you think like this to yourself, but... you're the nicest trainer I've known in Galar. Life after you came to this apartment is so much better... I'm just glad I'm spending time with you all the time." Abigail confessed.

"..." Lyron gave a hug to Abigail, as Abigail returned it. For the next few hours, Lyron just stayed silent as Abigail stayed by his side.

"...I'll be okay, Abigail. You can go now."

"Alright then... Lyron, I'll visit again tomorrow. Call me if you need anything, alright?"

Lyron watched her as she left his apartment. Obviously, this girl is kind, beautiful and caring. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't catch feelings for her.

But... he can never move on from that relationship. That mistake. That girl he loved.

Every now and then, he still had nightmares about Sarah. It might be his negative emotions doing the trick, as the dreams related to Sarah were always bad. He thought he didn't deserve another shot for relationship. What if he messed up again?

Abigail's presence today made him know that, at least someone cared about him, too. It made his emotions calmed down a little. But was that enough?

To recover quicker, he had to move on.

He needed a closure.

Days had passed, and Lyron started to open up a little more about that incident to Abigail. She would always just sit there silently, listening to his problems and struggles, sometimes giving him a hug or two. Being with her... did make Lyron feel a lot better.

However, it wasn't enough yet. He always knew that. To move on, he needed to give him the closure... himself.

But he never knew how. However... the dream that day, might give him a final answer to his question.

He opened his eyes, as he was on the bench under the cherry blossom tree. That was the place... where they had their first kiss.

Sarah was sitting next to him, smiling. She looked exactly the same, and he missed that smile. "Yo, asshole."

"Sarah..." Lyron gave her a hug.

"Back to where we started, huh? Guess this will be a good way to end everything." Sarah chuckled, somewhat wistfully.

"E-End everything? What do you mean...?"

"You know, none of those things were entirely your fault. That relationship... we both had our mistakes and downs. I was also too insecure behind my rebellious look, and I kept too many problems in myself, not wanting to bother you. They eventually exploded all at once... and made me do something I regretted."

"If I answered your calls, maybe I could've done something..."

"No, no. For real, you not answering was fate, and I accepted that. In that call, I would've made you feel more helpless. My plan was to tell you my last words, and just end the call to finish myself off. Don't blame it on yourself... My mind was set that day."

"..." He looked down, not knowing what to say.

"Hey, keep your chin up, asshole." She lifted his head, "The time being with you... was the best time of my life. The reason why I started late... is because of my abusive family not letting me start my journey. When I was finally able to escape, I met you. And hell, the best decision I ever made in my life was making you tag along with me in my journey."

She chuckled sadly, "You know? I loved you so much. In fact, I was this selfish to keep you with me, the wish I made on the balcony was... for you to never forget about me. And I guess it kinda came true." She looked at Lyron with a sad expression, "You can forget about me now, Lyron. It's okay."

Lyron looked at her, smiling slightly, "Nope, I won't do that." Surprising the girl, he continued, "The memories with you... they were memorable, they were amazing. And most importantly, they were real. I would never let go of such memories... You'll always be in my heart."

Sarah looked at Lyron, then beamed happily, "I was a lucky girl, Lyron. Thank you for everything."

"Same to you, Sarah."

He leaned in for one final kiss, savouring the feeling one last time.

As the petals fall from the cherry blossom tree, everything eventually fades away in front of him.

He worked until late night again, making notes before the competition happening the next day. As he ate the food made by Abigail after enough preparations, he looked at his Pokémon beside him, sleeping soundly. He smiled. Some of them used to be Sarah's, but he took them into his apartment for stay. It's the least he could've done for her.

He looked around the things on the table and eventually held a frame on his hands. Inside it was a picture of him and Sarah together. The memories hit him again, but only the good ones without his negative emotions interfering.

I've been so in sulk with my past mistakes, I've been ignoring the ones that matters to me now. Abigail, my Pokémon, everyone who cares about me…

Sarah wouldn't have wanted that.

He continued looking at the frame, appreciating the memorable moment they captured with the camera.

Would she... be proud of how I'm doing now?

...She definitely would be.

He could already imagine Sarah looking at him, with her usual rebellious smile on her face.

"...Thank you." Lyron put the frame back on the table, as he left the table and prepared for bed.

Left on the table was a cup of Sobble Coffee, undrunk and became cooler as the scent eventually stopped surrounding the room.

Hey, how's it going?

It's been a long time since I posted, due to a lot of stuff coming up for me.

I've been also facing some demotivation, but recently, I've been trying to get back into writing again, and being inspired by some work, I've decided to write this.

So, yeah. I guess I'm sorta back. I've also written a new chapter for my journeyfic already, and it's under editing by my editor, so stay tuned for that.

Expect more work from me soon. I won't give up.

-Fancy