Epilogue – One Year Later

"No one is going to buy those, Hibiki. Besides, we shouldn't really be using Kotone's Champion status to sell off her old crap."

"Come on, who wouldn't want to buy Champion Kotone's old, used-Super Potions. Just look at them… feel them… smell them. Silver, they smell like Kotone." Hibiki sniffed the box of Super Potions for emphasis, and Silver crinkled his nose. "Who wouldn't want old Super Potions that smell like Kotone? They're collectibles for crying out loud! They're rare! Silver. They smell like Kotone, man."

He glanced over at me, pointing a hand in my direction before returning his gaze to Silver. "Go smell her, and then smell these. And just try and tell me that these don't reek of Kotone."

Silver just rolled his eyes and pushed the box away as Hibiki tried to force it on him. Hurrying over to me, like I could be of any help protecting him, he stood behind me. Hibiki followed, simply walking around me to get to Silver. He continued to shove the box of Super Potions at him, and I would have been beheaded if I hadn't ducked out of the way.

"Hey, you're going to hurt her! Just smell the stupid Super Potions!" Hibiki yelled, receiving several looks from people shopping at our yard sale. I winced, waving to the people apologetically; the murmurs commenced from the crowd of people. I definitely hadn't expected such a large turn-out. I was just trying to sell the stuff I didn't need anymore—it had been Hibiki's idea to sell everything. My old Super Potions, for example.

Silver finally gave in, sticking his nose into the box and inhaling deep. He handed the box back to Hibiki without a word. Then, shrugging, he walked back over towards me. "I guess it smells like her," Silver said, but that was enough for Hibiki to be satisfied. He walked away, setting the box down on one of the tables and slapping a sticker with a completely unreasonable price on it; they were used Super Potions, not antiques.

"Look, everyone!" Hibiki waved his hands around, trying to get everyone's attention. Several people walked over to him, and I couldn't help but slapping a hand to my face. This was ridiculous. "Kotone cares so much about her Pokémon that whenever they were hurt in battle, she would use a little Super Potion to heal them! Isn't that kind, everyone?" The soft roar of mutterings rang again from the crowd. "Well, now these Super Potions can be yours! They smell like Kotone! Show them off to all your friends!"

More murmurs from the crowd. Now, Silver slapped a hand to his face, shaking his head. I couldn't believe people were actually into it. This had to be the weirdest yard sale I had ever been to in my entire life.

"Kotone, it's not possible that you could move out any faster, right?" Silver questioned, and I smiled. As strange as Hibiki was, he was only doing it for show, trying to have the whole 'salesman' perspective. And, honestly, I thought it was working pretty well. People were actually buying the trash that I had laying around in the house, if only because Hibiki was hounding into their heads how cool the stuff was.

"What, and move in with you? Mr. Stoic? At least Hibiki is entertaining," I joked, but Silver didn't smile or laugh. I gestured to his face, trying to keep my chuckling to myself. "See? Mr. Stoic. But I suppose you're entertaining in your own way. It's easier to make fun of you than it is to make fun of Hibiki. There's a plus."

Silver made a little humph noise, crossing his arms and turning away from me like a little child. I just laughed again, running around to face him again and putting my hands on his folded arms. He didn't try to turn away from me again, though he wouldn't look at me. But I could tell that he was just fooling around. He wasn't easily offended by my jokes.

"Ah, but you make it so easy. You don't even respond! So, I could just keep going and going, and it would be completely fine. I wouldn't even know it annoyed you because you wouldn't even tell me. Right, Mr. Stoic?" He dropped his arms, and I slid my hands down until they met his. I weaved my fingers in with his, and he didn't pull away. He hadn't pulled away from me in a long time. Not since I returned home from the hospital.

"Next week, Mr. Stoic," I whispered, and he nodded, as if next week couldn't come any faster. I had to admit, though, I felt sad that I was leaving Hibiki and moving in with Silver. Sad and happy, really. I wanted to move in with Silver—I really did. Now that we were officially dating, things couldn't be better between us. But Hibiki was my best friend, and I would miss him and his crazy antics.

I forgot all about Hibiki and those crazy antics when Silver kissed me, but I didn't feel guilty about it. I removed my hands from his, moving them instead to around his neck. Silver, on the other hand, moved one hand to my back and the other to my head, finding the scar that I had from falling down the stairs. It was a constant reminder of how I used to be, but I liked my scar. It was a part of me, my past, how I had been a year ago.

It wasn't like I was completely better because I wasn't. I was still taking medication for my illness, which, while they still didn't know what it was one-hundred percent, they were pretty sure that they could control the symptoms. And I felt much better when I wasn't flushing my medicine down the toilet. I actually felt normal. Like Kotone.

"Ew, can you please keep stop sucking each other's faces in public? That's disgusting," a familiar voice snapped, and I pulled away from Silver to look at the speaker.

"Asa, be nice," Granny said, and I shook my head. Asa was just joking… I could tell. There was a smile threatening on his lips, and as I laughed, it finally grew, a clear curve on his face. He certainly looked like he was getting better, too. He wasn't nearly so irritable, but that just meant that his medication was working, too.

I didn't know why I was so happy to see both of them here—even Asa—but I was. I had seen Asa and Granny far too many times lately, but that was all right with me. When Asa wasn't being such a jerk, he was a good kid, and Granny actually acted like a grandmother to me.

"How are you doing, Asa?" I continued to smile despite my solemn tone, hoping that this would at least make him feel a little better.

Asa shrugged, looking at me with sad eyes before walking away. I stood watching him maneuver around the yard sale, picking at the random pieces of trash that Hibiki had put up for sale, for what seemed like minutes. But I knew it was only a few seconds later when Granny cleared her throat, and I turned back around to face her.

"How is he really doing?"

Granny started her head-bobbling again, nodding and nodding. "Better. Well, he's still upset about his mother's death, but I think he knows that she's better off now. He knew she was never coming out of that coma, but now she can be in peace." She continued nodding, and I frowned, watching Asa again as he picked up one of those old Super Potions. "He's been training to cope. I think he could definitely give you a run for your money, Champion Kotone."

I laughed, though I knew she was serious. "I'm sure he could. But I'll wait for him to ask me for a battle. He doesn't think he's ready yet." I watched as he sniffed the Super Potions curiously before staring back at me. "His mom would be proud of him. He went down as Champion with more honor than I did. And who knows? He could definitely be Champion again someday. But I think he should take the League challenge first. He beat Matsuba. He could easily defeat the other Gym Leaders."

"Hmm, yes, that might be a good idea." Granny looked at Silver, the nod a constant variable. "Go get him, Silver; I want to have a talk with him." Then, with an annoyed look from Silver, she added, "Please."

And Silver went off towards Asa. Hibiki was talking to the teenager, probably trying to trick him into buying something as payback for everything he had done, but as Silver approached, he slinked away.

"He really isn't that bad, Granny," I said, referring to Silver. She smiled, shaking her head now instead of nodding. I sighed, staring Granny right in the eye. "He's really not. He's made some mistakes, but I think he's corrected them. You just have to get to know him. I mean, it took me a while, but…"

"But you love him."

I smiled then, nodding like a fool in love—or maybe just like Granny. "I do. He's been there since the beginning, and he was there at the end—had it been the end, of course. And it's been really hard on him, so the fact that he's still here… well, I think that just means he's here to stay if I am. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, so…"

Granny laughed now, putting a wrinkly hand on my shoulder. "No. You look much better. Those doctors did one heck of a job saving you. And I'm just messing with Silver, by the way. I think he's a wonderful young man—he always helps me without a fuss! Such a good boy!"

"That's because you scare him, Granny," I noted, but she just waved a hand at me.

Asa and Silver finally made their way back over to us (Asa carrying several of my old things, including one of those used Super Potions, which I found a little odd—but that must have been what Hibiki forced him to buy). I had to admit, Silver even looked better now that he wasn't stressing out so much about me. Everything seemed to fall into place after that battle at Granny's house, and—though there was that scare—everything was perfect now.

Well, as perfect as things could be with a sick girl.

"Kotone said that you should take the League challenge, Asa. What do you think about that?" Granny started her nodding again, and Asa just looked blankly between Granny, Silver, and I. Then, shrugging, he handed his stuff to Silver to hold.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little metal case, still shiny from being new. Opening it, he showed me its contents, and I had to admit, I was surprised. There, right in that case, were three badges: a Fog Badge, a Plain Badge, and a Hive Badge. I gasped in surprise, so shocked by this that I stared at them until Asa closed the case.

"Granny!" I yelled, and she just laughed.

"Surprise!" She winked at me, and I rolled my eyes.

"I got the Fog Badge first," Asa explained as he put the case back in his pocket. "Matsuba said I didn't have to battle him again since I already beat him once, but I wanted to. He said he thought I had improved since the last battle. After I got this one, I went to Leader Akane. She wasn't too bad, but I had trouble battling her Miltank. Once I beat her, I battled Tsukushi, and I had the type advantage there. It was an easy battle."

"Well, good, but remember that you had the type advantage when I battled you with my Meganium. You need strategy as well as strength if you want to complete the League challenge. And once you finish that, you can take on the Elite Four—but be careful because they're really strong—and I'll be up at the Indigo Plateau starting in a month—"

"Kotone." It wasn't often that Asa said my name without sounding completely disgusted by it; he was still ashamed by everything he had done, perhaps, so he didn't like calling me by name. Even hearing it felt funny in my ears, but I probably had to get used to it. He would be battling me again someday. "Let's get there when we get there, okay?"

I couldn't help but laugh at this. "We? I've already done it once, buddy…"

Asa's face turned red, all the blood rushing to his face in embarrassment. "Hey! I didn't mean it like that! It's an expression! Haven't you ever heard it before? You don't say, 'Let me get there when I get there,' you say, 'Let's get there when we get there!' Hey, stop laughing at me! I didn't mean it like that!"

But I didn't stop laughing. I laughed and laughed, something striking me so hilarious that I couldn't control myself. Maybe it was that I was standing here having a conversation with my newest rival. Maybe it was that I had a way of making friends out of my rivals. Maybe it was that I just thought the Asa-on-medication was nicer, but he still had his moments. Maybe it was that I could laugh like this and not lose my breath anymore. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But either way, something was funny.

"Kotone! What the heck is so funny? And how come I wasn't here to see it?" Hibiki threw his arm around my shoulder, and I managed to stop laughing long enough to straighten up and look at him. "It's nice to hear you laugh."

I smiled, turning my eyes on the Super Potion that Silver was still holding. "Hibi, give Asa his money back. That Super Potion is worthless."

Hibiki furrowed his eyebrows, backing away from me like I had told a horrible lie. "It's valuable!"

"No. It's not. Asa, that's a worthless piece of junk. Come with me—we're going to get your money back for it."

Asa pulled his stuff back from Silver, almost dropping some of the other random pieces of crap that he had purchased. Arceus, what was Hibiki selling these people? I could see a tiny photograph of me and Silver from when we were Asa's age peeking out from behind the Super Potion, and I tilted my head to read the writing on it: "You can be a Champion, too! Love, Champion Kotone" was scrawled on it.

I was pretty sure I never wrote that on my own picture.

"I don't want my money back!" Asa said, and I raised an eyebrow. I didn't know whether to be worried or just confused. "In case you haven't realized, Kotone, you are famous. You've been Champion twice, technically speaking, and you survived whatever illness you had. Everyone in the entire world knows who you are. I am selling this stuff for twice what I got it for! I'm going to be loaded!"

Oh, no, I didn't need to be worried. Just confused.

"What?" Hibiki exclaimed, but Asa just stuck his tongue out at him. "You shouldn't really be using Kotone's Champion status to sell off her old crap!"

Well, that sounded familiar.

"Hold on, hold on!" I waved my hands in the air, trying to get everyone's attention. When everyone turned to me, I snatched the picture away from Asa. "I didn't sign this. Hibiki, are you going around forging my signature on stuff to make it worth more?"

Hibiki smiled innocently, backing away slowly before making a run for it.

Silver looked bored, but I could tell he was secretly amused by all this. "I'll get him," he volunteered, walking off in the direction Hibiki had just sprinted. "Hibiki, you're a dead man!"

Dear Arceus…

"Well, okay, do whatever you want with that junk. I'm not going to use it; I was just going to throw it all out." I looked down at the photo, smiling back at the two young teenagers smiling up at me. Well, maybe I would have kept that picture, but since Hibiki ruined it with his manly handwriting… no, he didn't ruin it. He just added a piece of himself.

"Actually," I started, looking up at Asa and Granny, "can I keep this?"

"What? No way—"

"Asa, let her have it. It was hers to begin with, anyway." Granny smiled at me, winking once again as her head bobbled.

"But I paid for it—"

Granny just shushed her grandchild, waving at me as she walked off with Asa. As they got further away, Asa turned around and waved, as well. It was like a new beginning, a redo, something to start with the next time we met. I couldn't forget my past, or his, but I could move on. How would I get better if I didn't move on?

"Mommy, Daddy! It's Champion Kotone!"

That little voice was vaguely familiar to me. I turned around, seeing a tiny girl, and I recognized her. She wasn't nearly as small as she had been a year ago, but I still remembered her. Chouko. I remembered telling her to continue calling me Champion Kotone. And she was… she remembered me.

"Chouko!" I exclaimed, hurrying towards her and squatting to lower myself to her height. She held up a hand, and I high-fived her.

"See, Daddy, I told you I know Champion Kotone!" Chouko looked back up at her parents, and I straightened up, extending my hand to the man. He shook it without saying anything, clearly in shock that his daughter had been telling the truth all this time. "She promised that the next time she saw me, she would be Champion again!" She looked up at me, eyes serious. "Are you Champion? Did you tell the truth?"

I felt Silver's hand on my shoulder as he came back over to me (having clearly given up on searching for Hibiki—who was probably hiding). There was something reassuring about all of this, like everything was finally working out.

"Yes, Chouko. I'm the Champion again."

Author's Note: I want to start off by saying this: when I first pictured this epilogue, I knew that many of you would be unhappy with the way I ended this (well, I figured you'd be happy that Kotone lived, but I thought most of you would be mad that I skipped everything that happened between this point now and chapter sixteen). This is definitely the way I intended it to end, though, so I'm all right with that. And I had always planned for Chouko to reappear. She's so cute! :D

Second, I want to thank everyone who has been following this the whole way! I really appreciate it. I know I say that a lot, but I seriously do appreciate it. :D (Do I sound like I'm accepting an award? Haha!)

Third, Kotone was never going to die. Come on, I'm not THAT mean! Do you guys really think I'm that mean? ;)

So, I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfiction as much as I enjoyed writing it! I think I need to write something happy after this, though. Too much angst. XD

Disclaimer: The last one for this fanfiction! So sad… Hehe. Anyway, I do not own Pokemon!