Pokemon Evolution: A fanfic for older Pokemon Fans

A Note + Finale 'Chapters'

Hi, my name is Sylvia, and I'm the creator of Pokémon Evolution. It's been roughly a year since I posted the last batch of chapters, and even longer since I started planning the finale arc. I fully planned for the 80s to be a longer arc wrapping up some of the looser threads of the series, such as addressing what happened with Kale after so long, and showing you are what occurred with the character Naomi Wisteria, the Pokémon Professor in-training. 

2020 hit everyone pretty hard, and regrettably, I lost the motivation to continue a story I started roughly 5 years ago. Pokémon Evolution originally began on my DeviantArt account, with chapter 1 being published on July 23rd, 2016. Back then, it was meant to act as a sort of journal through metaphor, a way for me to process all the changes and developments of being a recently out transwoman through a lens most could understand, Pokémon. March 13th, 2018 was a big day for the series, while DeviantArt received Chapter 26: Ultra Burst, the climax of the Ultra Space arc, it also marked the posting of Chapter 1: An Evolution, here on Wattpad. Eventually, I began to migrate more and more to Wattpad, with Deviantart only reaching up to Chapter 65, and Chapters 66-85 being Wattpad-exclusive.

I thought only a few weeks would go by before I was ready to continue writing, but life got in my way. June 16th of 2020, it was announced that most of the people in my workplace would be losing our jobs. Thankfully, I would be rehired in April once we began preparing to reopen, but other life events got in the way too. I began DMing a D&D 5e campaign for some friends, which essentially became my full time job at the time. My partners (yes, I have 2 now) and I have been dealing with a variety of issues that I won't go into in respect to all of our privacies. I've had family problems from several fronts and medical issues that hijacked most of my May. It's been a hell of a year since you heard from me last! 

Part of me wanted to just let this project go, and in a way, I am, but I know that my most loyal of readers would want to at least know what I initially had planned. So, here is the closing arc of Pokémon Evolution -

- - - - - -

• Chapter 86: Mallow - Following the conflict with Kale, Ryanne and Kira contacted Mallow, trying to figure out why she would send Kale after them. Mallow would reveal that she, ironically, met Kale shortly after she and Ryanne had broken up, and that she had let her heartbreak and pettiness get the better of her. She knew that Kale felt that too, so Mallow had help train Kale. But, time had passed since then, and she had recovered. Mallow felt remorse for everything that had happened, apologizing, and saying that Kale's feelings weren't malicious, she just wanted her friend back and to not keep feeling rejection.

• Chapter 87: I Was Wrong - Continuing their Kanto trip, Kira and Ryanne visited Bill, the Pokémon researcher who gave Kyu to Ryanne so many years ago. At the time of the plot point's conception, it was going to be revealed that the reason Kari knew Double Kick, a move MOST Eevees can't learn, was because Kyu's mother was to be implied to be the Eevee from the Let's Go games. The "Let's Go" Eevee couldn't evolve, but had access to special moves, hence my inspiration, though this was ruined in the Gen 8 games, Pokémon Sword and Shield, with Double Kick being a move Eevee can normally inherent... so I guess Kari isn't that special after all now, Lol. 

After leaving Bill's they'd cross paths with Kale again, but this time, because of their conversation with Mallow, Ryanne would genuinely apologize for abandoning Kale, asking her forgiveness, and offering friendship once again. Though reluctant, Kale would accept.

• Chapter 88: Mom - This would have been an important chapter, not just for Ryanne, but for me as well. As many of you may know, Ryanne's mother rejecting her is based after my own mother not accepting me when I came out. In my own life though, my mother is making baby steps towards acceptance, a welcome development after 6+ years of being Out. Meanwhile, Ryanne's mother would called her up, sincerely apologizing for her behavior, and asking if she could have her *daughter* back. At first, Ryanne is angry and hangs up, but Kira reminds Ryanne that everyone deserves an opportunity to redeem themself. Ryanne calls her mother back, apologizes for hanging up, and forgives her, ending the cycle of violence and beginning to build a relationship again.

• Chapter 89: A Birthday - After the three emotional chapters, and the tension from Chapters 84 & 85, I wanted the next chapter to be a bit lighter. A party celebrating Ryanne's birthday would require a bit of a timeskip, but it felt necessary to show the growth of our characters. Kale would be there and had made friends with Zossie, the mentee of Ryanne's old rival, Kaladin/Fleet Finebones, both of which are there too. Paul, Naomi, Mallow, and a couple others make cameos too, and the idea would have just been a relaxing chapter with friends hanging out and spending time with their Pokémon. The chapter would have ended with presents, with Kira's present to Ryanne being, of all things... a necklace?!? Now where have I seen that before?!

• Chapter 90: Our Future - Another time skip sends us 15 years in the future, where an older and hopefully wiser Ryanne is preparing a lunch and sends Kyu upstairs to wake 'her' up. Snuggled up in bed with Patches and Kari, it's revealed that the 'her' in question is not Kira... but Nisha. Nisha quickly dresses herself, scooping up Kari in her arms before rushing downstairs. In the living room, Nisha's brother, Liam is watching Kira, now an extremely famous Pokémon Coordinator and Performer's latest competition. The fridge in Kira and Ryanne's home is covered in photos of Trainers and their Pokémon who have come to their home for Ryanne to mentor, her job when Kira is away for competitions. Ryanne hands the lunches to Liam and Nisha, telling her twins that she loves them and is proud of their growth together. A Galarian Yamask sits on Liam's shoulder and Kari is still happily snuggled in Nisha's arms. The veteran Trainer kisses her twin children goodbye, wishing them a good day at Trainer School, and watches them run together down the street, closing out our story.

And... that's the end. Making amends with people we've hurt and who have hurt us seemed like a fitting ending to me, followed by that "everyone is happy and the next generation's journey is just beginning ending". Is it cliche? A bit, but it's what I wanted. Maybe I'll come back and write these finale chapter someday, but for now, even getting the motivation to write all this hasn't been easy, and I apologize to you, the loyal readers who made it here. Pokémon Evolution started as a way to help me process my emotions and feelings and ideas, and while I no longer need it as such, I recognized that it needed an ending worthy of my history with it. And I hope I did it justice.

Thank you all for reading Pokémon Evolution, your comments and support has meant so much over the years. I love each and everyone of you.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Moonbeam