When dreams come true.
(The closing chapter.)
Except for going back to MTG, Scyther’s dream was, in retrospect, more prophetic than I had thought at the time.
Hitmonchan thinks back on the past weekend.
Worlds 2005 was the very best Pokemon event ever. Even more fun than Worlds 2004. The friends, new and old, the battles, the trades. Again, those mysterious signs that read, “
Garry was here, Ash is a loser!” And he could have sworn he heard someone paging Samuel Oak at the San Diego airport Monday morning.
The Grinder was one of the best tournaments in which the trainer ever played. He only won one round, but every battle was well fought every opponent a great sport.
Even with so many players the time between rounds was short. Still the trainer and the kid managed to get out and see the party for the World’s invitees between rounds two and three.
Winning three of the first four rounds of the Grinder, the kid was disappointed when they announced that only the top eight would make it in to Worlds. But both the kid and the trainer had a blast the next day with all the side events and other fun things to do at the hotel.
The trainer got two cards signed by the creators of the card game.
Ishihara-san smiled when the trainer presented a common card for him to sign. “Ah, Pikachu!” He had said with a big smile.
When, in thanks for his signing a card the trainer had said, “Pokemon itsumo,” Akabane-san smiled as well, nodded and agreed, “Pokemon forever.”
The USA took back the World Champion title this year, but later Sunday evening last year's champ gave an almost super human show of endurance and skill in a marathon battle against all comers. The trainer wondered if perhaps Yamato had been holding back in the main tournament?
Now at home, Hitmonchan walks through the old dojo, now the kid’s private fun zone, and looks at the vacant spaces on the walls where the Pokemon posters and silk Japanese Pokemon banners used to hang. The walls in this room used to be almost completely covered with such Pokemon trappings. All gone now. Some have been replaced with anime posters but most just show an empty yellowed space on a dull white wall.
Through the open window a cold breeze drifts into the room. Summer is over and autumn has arrived.
The plush Pokemon toys that used to play on the futon and the floor have likewise been put away. Most given away to other children, some stored in the attic.
“
Toys in the attic,” Hitmonchan laughs to himself. But the laugh is hollow.
The old fighter's heart was broken when he heard the kid telling his friend on the plane ride out to California that this would almost certainly be his last Pokemon tournament. Those words struck Hitmonchan harder than any opponent's blow ever had.
From outside he hears the faint strains of an old folk song, ♪
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys. ♪
A car door slams.
Just then the kid and the trainer come through the door. Hitmonchan looks between the two but they no longer see him. The kid is now every bit as big and tall as the trainer himself.
The trainer says something and the kid laughs. His laugh makes Hitmonchan smile, but it’s no longer the musical laughter of a child.
The kid has become a man.
A man with interests that, at least for now, no longer include the Pokemon that so entertained him when he was a child.
Hitmonchan takes a long look around at the play room, smiles again when he hears the kid and trainer laughing. He laces up his running shoes, and heads out the door for an evening run. The autumn air is cool. The sky is clear and, other than a car’s horn in the distance, the night is silent.
He chances on a different path tonight and he soon finds himself in a small clearing filled with Pokemon!
He sees his old friends Scyther and Electrobuzz. They smile and wave him over. He notices a Furret and an Umbreon engaged in an animated conversation and experiences a brief feeling of deja vu.
Furret "
Umbreon... "
Umbreon "
Yes? "
Furret "
Do you think they will forget us? We live within their dreams you know. "
Umbreon "
You asked Espeon that before, remember? "
Furret "
Espeon used Future Sight then. "
Umbreon "
And what did Espeon see? "
Furret "
That they would not forget. "
Umbreon "
Don't you trust Espeon? "
Furret "
Yes, but I needed to hear it again. I miss everybody. "
Umbreon uses Moonlight and makes a pretty glow.
Furret smiles "
Thanks... "
And from the dreams of a child grown to a man, and the dreams of a man who got to play again for awhile as a child, Hitmonchan smiles as well.
=========
in truth, here ends the Thoughts of Hitmonchan. Read further for the fictional happy ending if you like.
=========
Two A.M. and the clearing is silent. Some of the Pokemon have gone home, some sleep on the ground, a few sleep in the trees. The air is chilly and Hitmonchan stretches hard. Unable to sleep, he heads for home.
Coming in the back he hopes that maybe the trainer will be up for a late night scotch and some smoke, but the patio is as empty as his heart as Hitmonchan creeps in through the back door. He heads for the dojo, then remembers that the dojo is gone. Still, a light on in the room draws his attention.
There sitting on the floor, binders of Pokemon cards all around, stacks of cards piled high, sits the trainer with his back to the futon. A noise on the stairs causes Hitmonchan to turn, he sees the trainer coming down.
“But then who?” He thinks. He looks again and realizes that it’s the kid sitting on the floor sorting through the Pokemon cards.
“What are you doing up so late Bud?” The trainer asks.
“Since the format is changing next month I wanted to take the old cards out of the modified binders and file the new cards we got at Worlds.” Says the kid. “Also, I had an idea for a new kind of haymaker.” The kid smiles holding up a Tyrouge.
Hitmonchan stares, the joy building in his heart, as he realizes that the kid has no intentions of quitting Pokemon.
The trainer nods and turns to go back upstairs. Just then he glances down and catches Hitmonchan’s eye. Hitmonchan's smile streches across his face. He feels as though he could fly like Syther!
The trainer smiles and heads back to bed.
Pokemon Forever!
