Once Is Enough

Epilogue

~10 years later...~

The bird Pokemon chirped gleefully from atop their perches. They let their sweet, soft melodies travel throughout the berry-filled trees that flourished with abundance. Sunlight brightly shone on the other inhabitants that were busily working on their daily tasks in the thick of the day. They had not a care about their surroundings; their fur never bristled when another Pokemon was crossing their path. Instead, they waved neighborly and even chatted if they were in the mood.

All the flying types that were capable of flight were found swooping from the high branches and collecting fruits for their families. Some even dropped their gatherings onto the ground below them to make the land Pokemon's hunt more convenient. They didn't mind; there was plenty to go around.

And as the woodland of creatures continued on this bustling like they began to five years ago, two of the small children, a Bidoof and a Starly, hopped through the maze of bushes and shrubbery, calling back behind them.

"Come on~! Don't lag behind!" the Starly chirped brightly.

"Yeah! We'll show you back to our place and see if you can stay with us!" the Bidoof added.

As they made their way down the path back to their families, the two noticed their new friend pause suddenly at the sight before her. The Starly glanced at her buck-toothed playmate intently before they padded to her side.

"Mom and Dad said to stay away from here," warned the Starly as she reexamined the jagged rocks and high cliffs. Moss and ivy had grown over it for the past few years, making it seem friendlier than it really was. The flowers seem to beckon her over, and the Pokemon beside her sighed.

"...But it's so pretty..." she mused. The Bidoof shook his head.

"My grandma told me that some bad Pokemon used to live here before we moved," he explained. "They ate all the food and scared off all the Pokemon, so this forest was actually almost empty once." The words he said caught the girl's attention for a moment, but she shyly shrouded away in agitation of the eerie atmosphere that seemed to almost choke her alive. "Once, I even heard that they hunted other Pokemon when the berries ran out!" he exclaimed.

"Really?!" the Starly shrieked, startled by the gruesome comment. "What else did they--"

"Can we leave?" the other Pokemon squeaked. The two turned to her, staring at her yellow eyes until they got the point. The Bidoof cleared his throat.

"Um... Okay. Let's go," he suggested.
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When the three of them finally arrived at their tiny "village" of habitats, they noticed that all of the residents were gathered around in the far side. They all looked curiously at the clump of Pokemon, then back to each other. And like the children they were, they ran over to see what the commotion was about.

The Starly tried desperately to flap her wings and hover over the crowd, despite them being still to small and weak as her mother put it. She huffed when all she did was flail her wings around like some maniac. Having an idea, the Bidoof lead the three of them through the crowd. They tried their best not to bump into anyone and carefully weaved themselves through the rest of the front-most Pokemon.

Finally, their sights fixed on a tall, lean, and brawny Pokemon with some distinguishing scars around his body. His pelt was an ocean blue color with black streaks down his face and waist. White fur covered his abdomen along with three white spikes poking from his chest and paws. His eyes were the color of damp clay that had been buried within the earth for many centuries, and the gave off a rigid, yet wise aura from his presence.

The kids could only stare in awe at his breathtaking stature.

"Oh my Arceus...! It's really him!" the Starly whispered. The other girl faced her, trying to hide herself behind the crowd to avoid getting attention.