Pokémon Homecoming | A Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 57: The Strength to Heal

Every Trainer prowling Poni Wilds sought strength and improvement. Sandshrew struggled in the heat, but was reassured by Abbey's Ninetales, because that challenging environment was precisely why it was so strong. Looking out at the sea from a rocky cape, they spotted Hop and Victor battling Hau and a Surfer on Poni Beach. Staying to watch Zacian vs. Tapu Koko was tempting, but they walked on. There had to be some competition, after all.

The relentless sun forced them to take breaks to stay hydrated and energised. That was Leon's first trial: accepting his health was worth more than the warped opinions of anyone who might be watching. By the time they'd battled their way to the crumbling gateway of the Ancient Poni Path, he was too sweaty and excited about their adventure to care. At the same time as it reminded Abbey of the boy she once knew without the burdens he carried now, she saw someone entirely new, because he no longer sought to be Galar's greatest Champion. He was just another traveller determined to improve as a Trainer, but more importantly, as himself. The boy she knew would never have allowed himself time for that.

Hapu's house was amongst the ruins dotted about fields on the Ancient Poni Path. They were imposing, yet insignificant against the walls of the Vast Poni Canyon, the source of the island's hues of earth and sunshine visible from the boat. It was impossible to see, or even comprehend, how far they stretched. The dirt road forked, with paths leading to Poni Plains, the deep black rock of Poni Breaker Coast and into the canyon.

'Now this,' Abbey said as they gazed up at the clouds topping the canyon walls, 'Is Victory Road.'

'I hope you know the way. I'll get us both lost forever.'

'I'll be honest with you – I was lost for days on my island challenge and it was simultaneously the best and most terrifying week of my life. But I don't think I really made the most of it. Then I got scared of coming back in case I didn't live up to my own expectations. So here I am.'

Leon felt uncertainly for his phone. Abbey reminded him to charge it the previous night, but she shook her head now.

'No use, mate. There's no signal. And my power bank won't last forever.'

He remained neutral, but she knew from Charizard's concerned expression he was having second thoughts. She and Cinderace began to walk. No footsteps followed. Maybe this was Abbey's first trial... facing those who meant the most instead of running away in fear of rejection.

'I know you're scared, but...'

'I'm not scared.'

'It's OK to be scared. It's OK not to be the unbeatable Leon who "loves pushing past the fear to–"'

'Hey! I thought you didn't watch my matches?'

'You were everywhere! Do you know how annoying that was when I was trying to pretend I didn't like you? But that's not the point. You're not that person anymore – and you don't have to be.'

'I'd really like to tell you to go and have a champion time and walk away.'

'Exactly! Which is why you're not going to. I know I wasn't there when you needed me. But I'm here now. You have Hop and Victor and Raihan and your new friends here in Alola. We're going to make it together. 'Avin a champion time, ey?'

Dust crunched. Abbey's heart sank. She was ready to chase him, but he walked stiffly after Charizard until they joined Abbey and Cinderace in the canyon's shadow. He glanced back at the messy footprints his anxious feet drilled into the path.

'I don't think I want to have a champion time anymore.'

A little silhouette approached. 'Then those footsteps you left over there are Champion Leon's last.'

He looked up, startled. Kahuna Hapu's stern face was illuminated with a smile.

'I saw you pass by and felt it my duty as kahuna to see you off. I pass on to my trail-goers something my grandfather, the kahuna before me, always reminded us: that people cannot survive all on their own. They must help one another out, as a Pokémon and Trainer must work together. This place, this greatest of physical and mental challenges, is where many come to accept that. And that can only be a wonderful thing.'

Her smile grew wider. 'And Abbey was trying to scare you, of course. If anyone finds themselves in need anywhere on Poni Island, they need only to use their Ride Pager's distress call function and Mudsdale and I will hasten to them.'

'But – I'm not a trial-goer. I'm just a foreigner.'

'Why should that matter? I would tell any foreigner that if this is where they find themselves, perhaps it is where they were waiting to be found all along. However, if it is the kahuna's approval you seek... know that anyone Hala spoke of with such respect has my respect also.'

He hastily directed his eyes at the ground as they welled up. Hapu sidestepped to face him.

'Do not feel ashamed. Even my venerable grandfather shed tears. They are the sign of a soul with strength to heal.'

She stepped back, sensing her work was complete. 'The doubt that haunts you... let it be left behind with those footsteps. And when it compels you to look back, there will be 13 loyal friends by your side to guide you on.'

Abbey's eyes overflowed, too. Hapu met her gaze with a knowing smile. Only a few steps from that spot, she comforted a trial-goer who didn't feel worthy of her Pokémon's loyalty after their days lost in the canyon.

'But I'm not loyal,' 25 year-old Abbey said, 'I'm selfish. Why should they be so loyal to me?'

'You are not the same person I met in Heahea City. Your Pokémon, too, have seen you grow with their own eyes. And one day, perhaps you will stand here again and whoever it is you feel so disloyal to – you will stand here knowing you have grown and they forgive you.'

For a moment there in the present, it was as if they stood in Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain and her friends' intertwined minds experienced that memory, too. Hapu nodded.

'That feeling is because Tapu Lele is always with you, Abbey, in that Sparkling Stone it thought you worthy of. Now, I shall bid you farewell.'

Abbey did not have a kahuna's gift with words. She understood that regardless, the kahuna stepped in at the moment she was prepared to run, as if her life depended on it, whether the outcome pleased her or not, after that person she felt so disloyal to until they both believed they could tackle any trial together with their Pokémon. Abbey took toilet paper from her backpack to dab at their damp faces. They shared smiles of renewed resolve as they strode forward into the Vast Poni Canyon.