Chapter 229.??? (Extra) (Patreon)

That’s strange. An extra chapter?

Cliffhanger warning. Again, I can’t overstate it enough, but cliffhanger warning. Given that the fiction is over, this might be worth putting off until I’ve released a few extra chapters down the line.

(If you missed the final chapter, you can read it here.)
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There was still more work to do. Cleaning up the Aether Foundation would take weeks, even with the Conference going on. Lillie, Gladion, and Elio were all yet to be eliminated. Though, my battle with Hope had already come and passed.

“So... just wondering, but what do you plan to do next, Alex?” Hope asked, loosely kicking up her legs with each step, raising her hands behind her head as we walked through the hallways of Aether Paradise.

“Honestly, I’m thinking about heading to Galar. One of the few Fairy Type masters in the world lives there, and I know that one of the region’s main Legendary Pokémon is a Fairy Type, too. It’s probably dumb, but I kind of want to see if I can figure out a way to meet it.”

She shook her head, exasperated.

“Not even nervous about that, huh?”

I laughed.

“Sorry, but with the amount of Legendaries I’ve seen, I don’t feel that something like this is truly impossible. Plus, I like the Fairy Type! It’s a good motivator!” Hope chuckled, slightly. “So, yeah, I plan to head to Galar. What about you, Hope? What do you want to do next?”

“I, uh...”

The Grass Type specialist turned away, awkwardly scratching her cheek.

“I was actually wondering if you still wanted to travel together? I haven’t been to Galar, either. It would be fun to take it on as a team.”

“Yeah! Let’s do it. Sounds like fun!”

She grinned and smacked her fist into her palm.

“Great! You’ll meet the Legendary Pokémon, and I’ll fight it! How does that sound?”

Hope was filled with the same confidence she always carried as we continued to walk through Aether’s headquarters. I couldn’t help but to smile as well, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the tips of her ears were almost red with a... blush?

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but we reached our destination before I could dwell on that thought for long. Ahead of us laid an office with an empty plaque that once held Lusamine’s name. Unceremoniously, we knocked before entering the room. This place had already been mostly cleaned out, but a desk and a wardrobe-like cabinet still remained.

Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh, sat behind Lusamine’s old desk while Steven, Champion of Hoenn, stood at her side. He almost looked bothered. Cynthia didn’t stand up when we entered the room, choosing to stay in the seat while sending Steven a taunting smirk.

“Alex. Hope. Glad you two could make it,” Cynthia said.

Steven rubbed his temples. He purposefully looked away from Cynthia and towards us.

“Glad to see you two again,” he said.

“You know, we literally met up last night,” I replied, closing the door behind me. “You don’t have to turn this into some big thing. So what’s going on? What did you need to call me for so urgently?”

The pair of Pokémon Champions exchanged a look before turning back towards us. Cynthia leaned forward. A knowing grin stretched across her face.

“Remember how you won the Lily of the Valley Conference just over a year ago?”

“...Yeah?”

I was already nervous.

“And do you remember what you asked for?” she continued.

“Well, I received a lot of money, a set of TMs, and Tinkaton joined my team.”

Cynthia shook her head.

“Not just that. You asked for something else as part of all of your rewards. Unfortunately, I had to turn you down due to it not being feasible. Remember what that was?”

My eyes went wide as Cynthia’s smile seemed to grow almost exponentially. Steven shook his head once more, and Hope looked around in utter confusion next to me.

“Someone gonna fill me in?” she asked.

We didn’t, much to her annoyance. Instead, all I did was let out a long breath to ensure my emotions stayed under control.

Cynthia continued.

“During the investigations of Lusamine’s belongings, we found something of interest stashed away and long forgotten. Asking around, no one could claim ownership of it, nor did Lusamine hold a strong attachment to it. Going off of that, and considering the... issues its existence may pose, we decided to turn to an expert for help. A specialist, if you will.”

Cynthia gestured to the only other piece of furniture in the room, and I cautiously approached the wardrobe’s door.

“To put it bluntly, we need a solution, and you’re our best option,” Steven said.

No longer willing to wait, I threw it open, being greeted with exactly what I expected. It left me speechless anyway.

A mechanical body. Gears like a maid’s hat on its head. Two metal plates resembled bunny-like ears. Dull, red eyes and a layer of dust told me this had been deactivated for a very long time.

“Your thoughts, Alex?”

I didn’t have any. I was in a state of shock.

Hope walked up next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“...Alex?” she asked. “What is this?”

In the end, only one word left my mouth: the name of the species this Fairy Type Legendary Pokémon belonged to.

“Magearna.”