//------------------------------//
// Chapter 42 
// Story: Old Scars, New Chances 
// by Arcticbrony 
//------------------------------//

It was a quiet morning for Ethan and his family. They had fed all their guests and gotten most of the more important tasks of the day out of the way early on. Zoey in particular had pushed this, as it seemed like she had something that she wanted to tell everyone. But, the peaceful aura that could be felt in their house was not to last. 

There are, perhaps, only a few handful of things in the world that can truly surprise you in such a way that it will remain with you for the rest of your life. Imprint itself in such a way that you truly can never forget it. Things that no amount of planning will ever prepare you for. Vernus's cooking is an example of one of these things; you would always remember the first time you tasted his foul creation. A Skitty waking you up with a Hyper Voice straight into your ear; Brawly at least was sure to remember that for years upon years to come. And then there is the situation where a god speaks directly into your mind when you least expect it. Nothing–absolutely nothing–can truly prepare one for such a moment, and several cries and screams of shock filled their home as just that happened during their peaceful moment.   

“To All the inhabitants of Equus.

On the last day of the month, Canterlot, the shining capital of Equestria, will be host to something truly special: The Canterlot Contest Spectacular!

That's right, the very first Pokémon Contest in all of Equus. It will be open to all ages and all species. If you and your Pokémon partner think you have what it takes, then come!”

To say that everyone was stunned, surprised, and some even scared out of their wits would have been a severe understatement. Not to mention the chaos that had erupted out in the center of town when all the ponies had heard the message as well, most of them not even having a clue as to what the message was even about. 

“So, a contest, huh?” Unsurprisingly, Brawly was the first to regain his wits and speak up. “Guess that ain't too surprising.”  

“Arceus, the god that brought us here just boomed a message into our minds, and you don’t think that’s surprising?” Ethan countered, still reeling from the mind message. 

“Nah, I meant the contest.” Brawly clarified as the rest of the inhabitants of their home finally started to calm back down. Though they were talking and arguing amongst each other, a god sending out a message like that can have that reaction. “It's not surprising that some of the activities from our old home start to resurface here. I would not be surprised if we get to see some gyms popping up eventually too.” Some of the arguments were starting to get a little heated up in fact, and the warehouse was getting pretty noisy. 

“Oh, you looking to get back into the Gym Leader business?” Vernus, who had gotten a rude awakening, just then chipped in with a small grin on his face.  

“Not particularly.” Brawly shrugged. “I’m content here. But it's foolish to think that some people won't try to bring a system like that back.” And he had a good point. People had a tendency of clinging to the things that they were used to, things within their comfort zone. The idea that some people might want to reinstate Pokémon gyms was not that strange of an idea, if someone had not already tried it, that was.

“Makes you wonder what else from our world we will see pop up eventually.” Ethan thought out loud. Not only did they have traditions, but they also had technology and knowledge about a ton of other things that could potentially benefit this new world and its inhabitants. 

“Only time will tell.” Zoey smiled as she stood by his side. “Also… hey, what are you doing over there!?” Arguments were fine, but when flames and other attacks started flying, then it was time to put a stop to things. 

It took some time, but eventually Ethan, along with Zoey, managed in calming everyone down. Some of them were excited about the news, whether they wanted to join or watch did not really matter. And there were also some that were not too excited about the news and were arguing against them, which only served to heat up the arguments even more. 

But, there was one particular little Pokémon that was staying away from all of the discussions. One that some would have thought would jump at such an opportunity.  

Chii was having some extremely mixed emotions about the news. She really did not know what to think. So, she just kept silent and out of the way as she tried to sort through her thoughts and find out how she really felt about all of this.  

“Wait… have anyone seen Chii?” Ethan asked once they were finally getting everyone back under control. They had told every mon that they could argue and talk amongst each other all they wanted, but told them to please keep their voices under control, and to not launch any attacks inside their home, a rule that Ethan had never thought that he would have to restate. It was not until he could hear his own thoughts again that he noticed that a certain little Skitty was nowhere to be seen. 

“I thought she was with you.” Vernus replied as they looked around for the little furball. She was rather easy to spot, after all. 

“No she… hey, there you are.” Ethan knelt down as he noticed that the corner of a pink tail sticking out from under the sofa. “Why are you hiding under there?” It was not strange for Chii to go away and hide when she wanted some privacy, but Ethan just had a feeling that something was off. And his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the troubled look upon her small face. “Hey, what's wrong?” He asked Chii, who refused to come out from under her hiding place. 

“Nothing.” She huffed, as she usually did when she wanted to avoid a certain subject. 

“...” Ethan looked back up at Brawly, who just shrugged his shoulders. “Do you want to go outside?” Ethan asked Chii as he looked back down to her. “We can talk a little just the two of us…. Would you like that?” He could see the little Skitty think it over. Whatever it was that was troubling her, he could understand her not wanting to tell everyone. And when he saw her give him a small nod, he felt a little relieved. “Okay then.” He held out his hand to her and waited patiently for her to leave the comfort of her hiding place. 

It took a little while, but eventually, Chii came out and climbed into Ethan's arms, burying her face into his fur. 

With the little fluffball in his arms, Ethan stood back up and began to walk towards the door. “I'll find us a quiet little spot, don't you worry.” He told Chii who just kept clinging to him. 

“Um, Ethan?” But before he could reach the exit, Zoey intercepted them. She was wearing her usual purple sweater, and was otherwise really well-groomed. However, she had a pensive look on her face. “D-do you have a minute, I wanted to… oh,” she paused as she noticed how Chii was clinging to him. While not unusual, it was the way she was doing it that tipped Zoey off that something was off. “Is everything alright?” 

“I don't know.” He did not like choose between his family members, but right now, Chii, and whatever troubled her was first priority. “And can you wait a little while? Chii wanted to talk. so we were just about to head out.” 

“Oh, um, do you want me to come with you guys?” She offered, but Chii quickly shook her head against that notion. 

“Sorry, not this time.” Ethan apologized, but he knew that Zoey understood. They all had things and problems that they needed to talk about every now and then, and there were things she was only comfortable talking to Ethan about too. She wanted to help, but knew that now was not the time. 

“Hey, Chii?” Zoey asked the little cat Pokémon. “While you are out there, can you do me a favor and keep Ethan safe?” She smiled as Chii finally stopped burying her head in Ethan's fur and instead turned to look at her. 

She had not been crying, but her eyes were filled with so much sadness. Despite this, however, Zoey's words had reached her, and she managed a small smile while she nodded. 

“That's my girl.” Ethan could not help but crack a smile too as he watched Zoey and Chii. Zoey had truly leant to care for their newest family member. She cared for all the Pokémon in their care, of course, but Ethan had noticed that she treated the little Skitty different. And while she denied it, at times she acted just like a mother would to her.   

Zoey saw the two of them off as they left the warehouse. And once the door closed behind them, Chii finally broke the silence that she had kept. 

“Sorry.” She mumbled in a low voice, if not for his improved hearing, Ethan was not sure if he would have caught it. 

“What are you apologizing about?” He replied softly. 

“I… I just did not want Zoey to come along with us.” She sniffed and buried her into Ethan's chest fur once again. 

“You don't need to apologize about that.” Ethan used his paw to softly stroke her back. Something that he knew soothed Chii. “And I’m sure that she understood. There are certain things we simply don't want to talk to anyone about.”   

“S-so you don't think that she is mad at me?” That made Ethan pause. Chii apologizing for something like that was not out of the norm for her. But her thinking that Zoey was mad at her because of it? He was not sure where that had come from, though it reminded him about how she had used to be, right after they had rescued her. She had flinched at nearly every movement they made, and she had been deathly afraid of making any mistakes at all. 

“Of course she is not mad at you.” He reassured the little Skitty. “I don't think Zoey could ever truly be mad at you.” Chii did not say anything after that, but Ethan felt her relax a little, if only slightly, as he held her. 

“So, where do you want to go?” He asked. He had a few place in mind since she wanted them to be alone, but thought it best to ask. 

“...I don't know.” She mumbled. Her voice was muffled because her face was pressed against his chest fur. 

“Then I think I have just the place in mind.” Ethan said as they started walking. 

They went around their home and further into the forest behind it, following a small path that had been newly created. The grass was pushed down and smaller bushels had been pushed off to the side. The roof of the forest around them was exceptionally thick, only allowing the occasional ray of sun to shine through down to the ground below. 

Chii kept quiet for the entire walk, though when they were halfway, she looked up and glanced at their surroundings. She looked up to Ethan who wore his usual comforting smile. He was one of the few people she fully and completely trusted. 

That was not to say that she did not trust Zoey, Vernus… or even Brawly to some extent. They were her family now after all. She just trusted Ethan more, he knew parts of her and her past that they did not. He had been the one to save her, so it was inevitable that the bond that had grown between them was stronger than the others.

Eventually the two of them arrived at their destination. 

The path had led them to a little opening in the thick forest. Before the two of them was a huge garden: berries, plants, and fruits of all kind sprouted up from the expertly tilled forest floor. Rows upon rows of them stretched out before their eyes, and above, the canopy opened up, allowing sunshine and the occasional shower of rain down to them.   

Vernus was the one who had created and tended to the garden. It was where they grew some of their food and the majority of berries and plants they needed to make the medicine they needed. Vernus truly was a master when it came to herbology. There were very few things that he could not make with the plants that he grew, he was able to make potion substitutes, herbal medicine, antidotes, you name it. 

Ethan had been to this place several times, but Chii had not. She had known that her uncle Vernus had a garden in the forest, but she had never thought to go there before. So she looked in awe at the sight before her as Ethan leaned down and picked up two fresh Oran Berries.

“You want one?” He held the berry up to Chii who looked at it for just a moment, before grabbing it in her mouth and jumping down to devour it with gusto. “Looks like someone was hungry.” Ethan laughed lightly before he took a bite of his own berry. 

Both of them finished fairly quickly, but Ethan gave the little Skitty some extra time to just look around. From how she had seemed, he figured that she was confused enough about whatever was on her mind, and some time to sort it out could do her good. 

So, he just sat there as Chii walked around in the garden, disappearing among the plants. The only sign that she was still there was her tail that was sticking up, clearly visible through the plants.

Eventually though, she came back and settled down next to Ethan. She still looked very troubled, so different from the joyful expression that she usually wore. She was being very quiet, so Ethan decided that he would take the lead this time. 

“So,” he began, “what do you want to talk about?” In such cases, open questions were the best. It made the patient think and avoided the easy escape of a “yes” or “no” question. 

“...” Just like before, Chii stayed quiet, though she shuffled a little closer to Ethan. She felt safer the closer to him she was. “It… it’s the contest.” It was about the earlier announcement.   

“What about it?” Ethan had suspected as much. Chii had competed in numerous contests, but there was more to the story than that. They had worked thoroughly to get her to accept and move past those memories, though it had been extremely difficult since it had been the only life she had known when she came to him. It was a dark part of her life. 

“I like contests,” Chii managed a small smile. “And when I heard Lord Arceus say that there would be another one… I was happy. I remembered all the times I had competed in a contest, and how fun it could be.” Her eyes was practically glittering, it was clear that this was her passion. Or had been at least. And then her smile vanished. “And…. and then I remembered her.” She shivered. “I liked the contests themselves, and I pushed myself as hard as I could because I knew what would happen after should we lose. She… I know that Mary did so many horrible things to me. I realize that now.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. 

She had been in denial about that when they had first arrived in Equestria. So, Ethan was proud to see how far she had come, even though admitting it to herself must have hurt. 

“The contests themselves were fun. We got to meet so many others, and I got to make new friends. And while we were there, it was one of the few times that my Mary seemed truly happy… and then we got home and her smile disappeared.” Chii shuffled a little closer to Ethan, and he could feel her shaking slightly. “W-why?” She asked as tears started to flow freely from her small eyes. “Why do I still love her? I know that she did so many bad things to me, but I still love her… why? W-why don't I hate her?” At that moment, Ethan could not hold back any longer and he swept Chii up in his arms and hugged her close. Chii continued to weep into Ethan's fur while softly repeating “why” over and over again.    

“I can't answer that question for you.” Ethan spoke softly. “But you truly loved her, didn't you?” At that, Chii tried to speak, but her words died in her throat and she just continued crying. “She was your family for so long, your only family. That and I don't think you could truly hate anyone, it's simply not who you are.” That made Chii look up, the fur around her eyes wet from the tears she had tried to wipe away. “You are kind, Chii, like no one I have ever met. Sure, you can hold a grudge, but hate? I don't think you have that in you.”

“Why… why did she do those things to me though?” It almost broke Ethan's heart as he sat there with Chii. She was so small, and still young. But she had been hurt so much, more than most would experience in their entire lives. “I thought she loved me… who does something like that to someone they love!?” Anger was seeping into her voice. 

“I don't know Chii… I truly don't know.” Ethan sighed. Chii wanted to understand, it was the confusion of not knowing, not understanding that was causing her so much pain. “People do the strangest things.” It had ended with her dying, so he had nothing more than guesses and theories to go with. But he had to give Chii something. She deserved, and needed closure in some sort of way. “Maybe she was sick in some way. I think she had problems with herself, and unfortunately, she took out her frustration on you.” It had not been the first case of something like this he had seen. 

“D-do you think I could have helped her with her problems?” Chii sniffed and looked up to Ethan with teary eyes. She really did care too much for her own good. He only hoped that it would not come back to bite her someday. 

“I think you did all that you could.” Ethan reassured her. “She needed some serious help, professional help… but, these things are hard to spot. Just know that none of it was your fault, never was, never will be.” That seemed to be the right thing to say because Chii managed to bring forth a small smile as she nodded. 

The two of them enjoyed a moment of silence after that. Chii leaned against Ethan who kept softly stroking her back. It was something she really enjoyed and she let out a low purring sound from within her chest.

She would never forget Mary, and she was not sure if she would ever stop missing her. Despite all that she had done, she simply could not stop loving her for what she had meant to her, for who she used to be in the beginning. But knowing this, and knowing that it was alright to feel that way, it made her feel so relieved. She did not have all the answers, and never would. But that was okay, because she had her new family to support her now.  

“Um…Ethan?” She spoke up, and saw that Ethan looked down at her, waiting for her to continue. “D-do you think that I should enter this contest?” It had been in the back of her mind ever since Arceus had announced it to the public. 

“Do you want to?” Ethan replied with a question of his own. In truth, it could be very good for Chii to participate in that contest, especially if she was hesitant about it. It would help her triumph over her inner demons, but he could not just go right out and tell her that. He knew how Chii could be. If he told her that she should, then she would. No, she needed to do this for herself, not for him. 

“I…” The uncertainty in her face was easy to read. She still associated contests with pain and misery, that was not going to be easy to overcome. “I don't know yet.” It was not a no. Ethan still had hope that she could overcome this obstacle. She was strong after all, much stronger than she gave herself credit for. 

“That's okay.” He spoke softly. “You don't have to decide just yet.” That seemed to ease her mind somewhat and she nodded happily once more. 

“Ethan?” She asked again. “I think I'm ready to go back to Zoey and the others now.”

“She did have something that she wanted to talk to us about… yeah, okay, let's head back.”  

“Do you think Vernus will be mad that we took berries from his garden?” Chii asked innocently as she nabbed yet another fresh Oran Berry.

“I won't say anything if you don't.” Ethan grinned, sending the little Skitty into a laughter that nearly caused her to drop her berry. It was a good laughter, innocent and pure. The kind that people talk about when they say that a good laugh is good for the soul. 

And Ethan could not hold himself back for long before he was also infected by it and started laughing himself. It was something that they both had needed, and they laughed for the majority of the walk back home. 









However, things were not exactly peaceful once they arrived back at their home. Even from the outside, they could hear raised voices on the borderline of screaming, or rather one voice that was close to that, with another one that was trying to calm the situation down. Vernus and Zoey. 

Some of the Pokémon that lived there had retreated out of the house and stood around the entrance, listening in on the current situation that was going down. They were interested in what was happening, but they did not want to get dragged into it. 

“Perhaps you should wait here with them…” Ethan suggested to Chii, as he was really kind of flabbergasted. He knew that Zoey was a bit of a hothead, and that she and Vernus could get on each other’s nerves at times. But it had never been like this before; not only was Zoey the one who was yelling, but it also sounded like she was on the brink of crying, if she already wasn't. 

However, Chii was not going to comply that easily. “No! I need to help Zoey.” She protested, as she struggled against Ethan's grip. She cared deeply for everyone in their family, and Ethan knew better than to start an argument with her there and then. 

“Fine.” He gave in and entered the building. 

Vernus and Zoey were not hard to spot once they were inside. Rather, it was impossible to miss them. Zoey was yelling up a storm, and her fury was directed straight at their resident Leafeon. Her face was a mess, and it was clear that she was not on the brink of crying, no, she was crying and had been for a while, from the looks of it. 

Vernus on the other hand, was quite calm, only raising his voice so he could be heard over Zoey's volume. From the looks of it… their argument had gotten physical at one point or another as well, as Vernus was spotting a black eye. 

Ethan could not make out a lot about exactly what was happening, though Zoey seemed more sad and upset than angry if anything else. And Chii was was still resting in his arms had stopped struggling. He knew that she wanted to help, but she looked unsure about what to do, and he felt the same exact way. 

However, they could get any closer, a familiar figure stepped up and pulled them back into the background. 

“Brawly?” Ethan looked up at the familiar Mienshao, who, seemed quite calm about the whole situation. “What's going on here?” 

“Yeah, why are Zoey and Uncle Vernus fighting?” 

But despite the situation, Brawly's face retained that carefree nature of his with his usual smile. 

“It's just something that they have to sort out themselves.” He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It started shortly after you guys left… just watch them, I think their fight is heading to a close soon.” Ethan had more than a few notions to disagree and stop the commotion himself. But he had not been there when it had started: he had not seen what sparked this situation between Zoey and Vernus, and he had not heard the words that had been said between them. Even Chii did not seem sure, as she kept glancing between him, Brawly, and the fighting couple. So, against his better judgement, Ethan decided to trust Brawly on this one. 

“B-but… but should we not do something?” Chii finally asked as she stared up at Ethan. 

“We are here to intervene if we need to.” He reassured her. “But Brawly may be right… if they can sort this out between themselves, that might be for the best.” Because sometimes, the best thing to do, is to do nothing at all. 

As they stood there and watched the commotion continue, Ethan finally listened in to the words that were being thrown between the two Pokémon. Zoey had anger in her voice, that much was obvious, but it was also getting softer and quieting down, slowly but surely. Vernus was getting through to her, all that was left was to see how it would all unfold. 









“You don't understand!” Vernus ducked under yet another chair that Zoey threw at him, luckily, this one did not break like some of the others had. “How could you? I…. I…” Zoey's verbal and physical barrage slowed down a bit as she bit back her tears. 

“Then make me understand!” Vernus pleaded with her. It was tearing him up to see Zoey like this. Over the past days, weeks even, the two of them had grown closer and closer. It was not official, but it was the closest thing they could be without going out and acknowledging it. They even slept together during the nights. Vernus had thought that everything was fine, at least that was until all hell had broken loose just a little while ago. 

They had shared another small moment between them, when one of the smaller residents had walked past them, a Venonat. He had just said that the two of them looked like a cute couple, and Vernus had thanked him before the bug type continued on his merry way. But when he turned back to look at Zoey, she looked like she had taken a physical blow. Her eyes was open wide, and she just kept staring out into the air. It was just a few seconds after this, that Zoey had literally thrown Vernus across the room, yelling at him to stay away from her. How the little Venonat's words had managed to spark something like this, Vernus had no idea. But he was adamant on fixing it. 

“I… I just… stay away from me! Leave me alone!” Zoey yelled out in despair. She was afraid, so afraid, though of what? That, Vernus did not know. Zoey had always been prone to anger issues, especially the first few months after they had rescued her. But it had never been like this. 

Vernus continued to dodge the barrage of furniture and whatever else Zoey could get her paws on. She was rapidly running out of things to throw in his direction though, and he was getting steadily closer. 

“Just talk to me, Zoey.” Vernus pleaded once more as he ducked under a small table that went flying over him before being caught by Lady, their resident Abra, who had caught almost everything with her psychic powers. A few things had slipped past her, though, and smashed against the wall. “You can talk to me about anything, you know that. I'm your friend, Zoey, and I-” Vernus had gotten a little too close too fast. As Zoey reached for something else to throw, she instead clipped Vernus, giving him a small gash on the side of his face.

“Oh my, I… I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry.” Zoey stammered out as she backpedaled away from the bleeding Leafeon, though she did not get far. Only after a few steps, her back hit the wall. Her eyes just kept shifting between Vernus and her bloody claw. “I'm sorry… but please, stay away from me.” She practically collapsed, curling up into a small ball that kept quivering as she cried.  

“Zoey…” Vernus kept going, ignoring the small wound as a few droplets of blood trickled down and splashed against the floor. “You know that I can't do that… family sticks together, you know.” He sat down next to her, wrapping his leaf-like tail around her in an embrace. “Besides, how could I turn my back to the Zangoose that I love?”

Hearing those words, only made Zoey cry harder, though she accepted his warm embrace. She had hoped for those words over those past few days, and yet… she really wished that he had not uttered them. 

“You w-w-would not say that if you knew.” Zoey stammered out. She was trying to push Vernus away, but was unable to as her strength had seemingly left her.  

“If I knew what?” Vernus asked as Zoey kept weakly trying to push him away. “Zoey, please talk to me. You always did before, we used to share everything.” He leaned a little away so they could look at each other. “We were so close after we rescued you. We talked about our past, both the good and the bad. We could spend entire nights staying up, just talking to each other...  what has changed now?” With every word he spoke, Zoey's effort to push him away weakened, until she stopped completely. 

But Vernus was on the right track. Something had changed, a very vital thing deep within Zoey had changed, and it made what was happening that much worse to deal with. 

“It’s different now because I love you!” Zoey cried out with all the force she could muster, which was not a lot in her current condition. She leaned against Vernus, her head resting against his shoulder. “I love you and… and you would not l-love,” she stuttered on the word love, as it carried much more weight there than she had anticipated, “me anymore if you knew what was wrong.” Zoey sniffed, she had no more tears to give, she felt completely and utterly empty. 

“That… is not for you to decide.” Vernus spoke, he seemed much more serious now than before. His voice was harder, yet he still retained that soft and caring look on his face. “So Zoey please tell me so that I c-”

“I'm sterile!” She screamed from the top of her lungs, and the entire warehouse went quiet. At that moment, it was like everyone held their breath. The situation was that tense, and no one dared to disturb it, not even by breathing. “I… I c-can, I can never have eggs.” Zoey fell apart. “I love you… but how can you be happy with me?! I can n-never give you a f… a… a family of your own… ever.” Zoey practically deflated as she leaned against Vernus. “I can never give you a child of your own… a little Zangoose, or a small Eevee of ours will never run around you. I can never be what you want me to be. I’m, ” Zoey gripped her chest through her sweater, “...broken.” 

Zoey stared down at the ground, not daring to meet his gaze. But she did not resist once she felt a paw under her chin, lifting her gaze up. She met those brown eyes of his, they were not filled with hate, uncertainty, or anything like that. No, instead they shone with care and love, just like they had earlier. 

“I won't lie to you, Zoey.” Vernus spoke softly. “I always did want a family of my own.” Zoey wanted to look away, but there was something in those autumn brown eyes that kept her still. “But I have a family, we both do. And I have you, Zoey, I don't need anything more than that.” Time slowed down around them, nothing else was relevant, they even forgot all about the audience that they had. “I don't care about the past, and I'm not one for worrying about the future. All that I know… is that I love you for who you are, and nothing that you say will change that.”

Zoey did not know what to say. She had thought herself empty, that she had no more tears to give. But as she stayed there in his warm embrace, the floodgates opened once more, and her tears flowed freely.  

“W-what's the matter?” Vernus said, a little uncertain as he held the weeping Zangoose steady. “I thought you would be happy.” 

“I… I am h-happy.” Zoey cried as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “I am happy, you… you silly Leafeon you.” She was happy, beyond belief, and it was because of this, that the tears simply would not stop. 

Zoey leaned up and locked lips with Vernus. She tightened her embrace, bringing him closer to her and he accepted the action without a seconds hesitation. And in the background, a synchronized “aww” could be heard.  

“I love you too, you big oaf.” Zoey smiled before she rested her head against Vernus once more, accepting his warmth.

But they were not alone and it was not long before a song of cheering and applause filled the air, breaking Zoey and Vernus out of their trance. 

“I think we have time to run away.” Vernus quipped with a small grin as the rest of their family and a small hoard of Pokémon approached. 

“Tempting… but we have to deal with this sooner or later anyway.” Zoey called his bluff, so they just sat there as the wave of congratulations and questions washed over them. 

“I can't believe that it took you two so long to do this… I am so happy for you!” Lady the Abra nearly hopped around the newly formed couple with a huge grin on her face. 

“I said you two look cute together.” The same Venonat that had initiated the fight in the first place, commented. 

“It’s about time… they have danced around each other for a while now.” Brawly said with a shake of his head. 

“Oh quiet you, just let them have this moment.” Ethan waved off. He was incredibly happy for the two of them, not only because they had realized their feelings and acted on them, but also because Zoey had finally revealed her biggest secret. It would do her good. 

But not every voice carried congratulations, or messages of happiness and joy. Chii had snuck through the crowd and now stood before Vernus and Zoey with a saddened look on her face. 

“Zo… you can't have babies?” Chii asked in a quiet voice. 

“No… no I can't, Chii.” Zoey shared a look with Vernus before she kneeled down next to the small skitty. “Something inside of me got damaged you see, so it can't make eggs anymore.” 

“Well... why can't we just get it fixed then?” Chii asked, a little more curious than saddened at this point. 

“It's not that simple, Chii.” Zoey sighed. She had looked for an answer for the longest time. If there was one, then she would have found it. “This can't be fixed.” 

“B-but… I… okay.” Chii hung her head before retreating back into the crowd. 

“Don't worry, Zoey, she will come around. She just needs some time to process this.” Vernus reassured his mate. He knew how emotional Chii could be. And that she probably felt Zoey's pain as her own. 

“Wait!” Chii yelled out as she came running back with an excited grin on her face. “I know how we can fix, Zoey!” 

“Chii, you heard what Zoey just said.” Ethan cut in. He knew that Chii meant well, but pulling the issue up time and time again, would not be good for Zoey. Especially not so soon after she had revealed it. “Just let it go.” 

“N-no, you got to listen to me!” Chii tried again, with a little more power in her voice. “We can just get Arceus to heal her, right?” And just like that, Chii made everyone freeze in their tracks. 

“I… no, we can't… do that?” Zoey slowly started, her brain desperately trying to wrap itself around what Chii had just suggested. 

“Why not?” And no one had an answer to that. Chii had just tossed out the suggestion that they ask a god for help like it was a perfectly normal thing. In fact, none of them had ever even considered the possibility. It had never entered their minds that such a thing was possible. 

“Zoey?” Vernus poked the Zangoose, who now had a blank look on her face. 

“D… do you think that it could work?” She said after a few moments of silence. “Do you think that he could do that?” Was what she said, but she knew that he “could” do it. The question was, would he?

“Why not?” Chii cheered on. “He cares about Pokémon right? That means that he cares about you too!” It was such a simple logic, yet, they could find no faults in it.

“It’s up to you Zoey.” Vernus said as after he kissed her lightly. “If you want to go face Arceus, then I will follow you every step of the way. And if you want to stay here, then I will stay by your side.” 

“:..” Zoey just stared at the one she had confessed her love and deepest secret to, just a few minutes ago. “If there is even a small chance, then I have to go.” She said with determination. “We will face Arceus... together!” Zoey held out her paw to Vernus. And Vernus did not hesitate, he flashed her a confident smile before he met her paw with his.   

“Together!”