The sunlight over Mt. Moon felt… different now.
It wasn't just the time of day—it was the feeling. As if the entire mountain had exhaled for the first time in weeks. The dark pulse was gone. The wind didn't taste like ash. Even the Zubat had begun returning to the upper caverns.
Skylar sat on a large boulder near the League's mobile HQ, overlooking the path leading back to Pewter City. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, revealing fresh bandages across his side. Gardevoir sat beside him in silence, meditating with eyes closed.
His aura still buzzed faintly beneath his skin.
It didn't hurt anymore.
But it felt different.
Deeper.
More connected.
He looked up as Misty approached from the tents, a file tucked under one arm and a water bottle in the other.
—"Still playing the brooding hero?" she said.
Skylar gave a tired grin. "Only until they take the mountain off my record."
She handed him the bottle and sat beside him.
The sun glinted off her orange hair, now tied back in a looser braid. Her jacket was freshly washed, but her boots were still caked with dried black sludge.
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
Then Misty broke the quiet.
—"The League's confirming the corruption's gone. At least… from this site."
—"But not from the world," Skylar said. "This was just one place."
Misty nodded.
Then she turned to him.
—"Do you feel it still?"
Skylar tapped his chest. "Yes. But it's not screaming anymore. More like… whispering."
She didn't press further.
Instead, she handed him the file.
He flipped it open.
Inside were pages of reports: aerial scans, crystal residue analysis, aura readings. And a photo—grainy, taken from a Ranger drone—of the core mid-shatter.
Skylar's hand hovered over the image.
—"We shouldn't have been the ones to face that."
Misty's voice was firm. "And yet we were. And we won."
Skylar sighed. "Barely."
She bumped her shoulder against his.
—"We didn't win because we were powerful. We won because we didn't leave each other behind."
His hand slid over hers, and this time, she didn't pull away.
They sat like that for a while.
Above them, Gary's Blastoise stomped past, grumbling with a towel over one cannon. A medic laughed behind it, trying to hose off what was left of a corrupted venom spore.
—"Gary said we'd get recognition," Misty said, smirking. "Might even be fast-tracked for the League evaluation tests."
—"And after that?"
She looked away.
Then quietly:
—"I want to keep traveling."
Skylar turned to her, surprised. "You do?"
—"Not for fame. Not even for gyms." She looked back at him, serious. "Because there's more out there. If one hive was buried in Mt. Moon… how many more are hiding in plain sight?"
Skylar swallowed.
—"We stop them. Together."
Her smirk returned. "That's the only answer I'll accept."
From behind them, Kalei stepped into view, her cloak now patched and her aura staff strapped to her back.
—"You two planning your next crusade already?" she asked, smiling.
Skylar chuckled. "Just staying ready."
Kalei's expression softened.
—"I spoke with the Council. They've agreed to begin training others in aura sensitivity again. Quietly. The world may need it."
She turned toward the horizon.
—"You'll be one of the first."
Skylar nodded solemnly.
Then looked back at Misty.
—"When we first entered Mt. Moon, I thought I was ready to be a great Trainer."
She raised a brow. "And now?"
He held her gaze.
—"Now I want to be a great protector."
The wind swept through the mountains again.
But this time, it carried no fear.
Only silence.
And the promise of everything still waiting just beyond the next road.