Goodbye Camp, Goodbye Home.

Laying down on a hill, I observed the knight sky with my musketeers by my side. I knew tomorrow would be the last day of camp, so we would be separated soon. Even once Rowan returns to Sinnoh I would probably end up either going to Olympia's school or going to Veilstone city for some time to join the fighting school. Who knew how long that would take. I would probably see my musketeers less and less as time passed.

They couldn't join me on my journey once I turned 15. They didn't enjoy fighting, and they also would stay with the professor, as he was their trainer. It didn't mean I couldn't visit them, it just meant this would be one of our last chances to be together until many, many years in the future.

"I think I will create my own pokemon farm to retire in. Something like this… I like this." I said as I looked down onto the fields around me. I could see some of the nocturnal pokemon wandering around.

It was fun. It was peaceful.

I had somehow managed to befriend most of the people and pokemon here. I could tell the pokemon loved the farm, as I saw them lazing about and gracing. Professor Carolina had left a while ago, but I was able to leave a good impression.

Honestly, maybe too good of an impression by how much she pinched my cheeks and called on me during her lessons. She told me that she wanted to send me my starter pokemon when I turned 14, she wanted to steal the privilege from Rowan. She said that she would write a letter of recommendation for me to be able to obtain a pokemon earlier even if Rowan and Oak also did.

There was also another thing I noticed during one of the camp events where we got to hang out with pokemon was what I believed to be Ash's type. It was hard to confirm, but I was sure he must at least be a Fairy type by how easily he befriended all of the pokemon. Either that or he was just that good at making friends naturally. If he was just that good naturally without the help of the Fairy type I would have to admit I'd be a bit jealous. I looked forward to battling him in the future.

Serena had also become a big fan of my mom. She looked her up online to see some of her old contests and instantly became a fan. I was glad for both her and my mom, I could tell they both enjoyed talking to each other, and my mom was really happy to reminisce about her past. My mother had motivated her to strive to challenge the pokemon gyms and to challenge the pokemon league.

It would imbue both confidence and a better relationship with her pokemon. Plus, it would give you a big advantage in knowing how to impress a crowd if she had a lot of battles. Apparently, the biggest reason most pokemon coordinators failed is because they were not able to capture the thrill of a battle and the elegance of the pokemon together on the stage.

Laying back down in the grass, I looked up at the stars for some time before closing my eyes and resting.

— — —

"You are gonna get sick if you sleep outside." A girls voice said that woke me up

I opened my eyes only to see Serana and Ash.

"We saw you sneak out, and we got worried when you didn't come back."Ash said, which was followed by Serena nodding.

Next to me, the musketeers had fallen into a deep slumber. I held back a chuckle as I saw them so relaxed.

"Sorry about that, I closed my eyes for a second, and the next thing I knew, I was asleep." I said before looking back up at the stars.

"You should try it." I added.

Both of them looked at each other with hesitation before laying down on the grass. A minute of silence passed before Serena spoke.

"Camp's almost over."

"It's weird, isn't it?" I asked

Both of them responded with a soft

"Yeah."

A few silent minutes passed before Ash suddenly sat up before saying enthusiastically.

"Let's make a pact! Once we all become pokemon trainers, we should meet up again before heading out on our journey! We can even keep each other updated on how it is going! I know Gary and the others will also want to do the same thing. So I can get them in on the pact when they wake up."

As he said this, he seemed to get even more excited before adding.

"A lot of us come from different regions, so we can even compete to see who can defeat the gym challenges the fastest! Plus, there are multi-region competitions! We can even face each other in the future!"

Serena and I laughed

"You are gonna wake up the musketeers, Ash." I said in a whisper.

Ash suddenly covered his mouth before continuing, this time speaking more quietly.

"What do you think? Will you sign this deal under the supervision of the Lord of the Flies?"

I had to hold back my laughter at that. They really took that stupid joke to heart.

"I would like that. I will join the pact under the Lord of the Flies." Serena said in a bit of a joking tone.

"Still, that's 10 years from now…" I took in a big breath before adding. "Let's make sure to work hard until then. I, the Lord of the Flies, do not want to see any of you slacking."

I heard both of them trying to hold in their laughter.

Before we even knew it, we had all fallen asleep on the hill.

— — —

One by one, everyone started to leave the camp. My musketeers and I were up on a hill overlooking all of the departing vehicles.

Standing up and holding up a stick to the sky as if it were a rapier, I said.

"Alright musketeers. Just because this is a goodbye, it doesn't mean we will not be together."

Tapping my chest with my other hand, I lowered the stick to point at them.

"So be sure to remember that! I will make sure to get a place like this for all of you in no time. A lot will change in the future. But remember who your family is. I know all of you will become quite strong in the future, so I will work hard not to fall behind."

The musketeers all quickly brought their own sticks in front of them by using telekinesis. Holding the "rapiers" to create a circle formation.

"Remember to always be happy, ok?"

I got nods from the musketeers before we all raised our makeshift rapiers to the sky.

"I will see you all soon." I said those words before teleporting away.

It was easier to rip off the bandaid than to slowly walk away.

Hopping into the taxi that had been waiting for me, I turned to my mother.

"Let's go."

— — —

The flight home was unusually exhausting. Once we arrived at the familiar home, both of us collapsed into our beds for the night.

The morning after, during breakfast, we were both sitting down watching the news.

"It seems the mysterious prodigy known as Sabrina is starting to create a big name for herself.

During an intense pokemon battle yesterday between the police and Team Rocket a building in Pewter City a building was in the verge of collapse when the up and coming trainer showed up and used her psychic abilities to hold the building for long enough to allow the people inside to evacuate.

Earlier reports had rumored that the trainer was heartless and efficient. But today we can see a new side of her. Sadly, she refused an interview. In other news…"

My mother took the last bite out of her food before saying.

"She seems nice."

I choked on my food as she said this, making my mother look at me with concern.

"She's kind of…" I wanted to say crazy, but looking at my mother's expression, I decided to change my words. "Weird."

On the small clips they showed of Sabrina, she wasn't holding onto her doll. But she still had that icy expression on her face, even if it wasn't as cold as before.

Seeing as my mother continued to look at me with concern, I decided to change the subject.

"Do you want to start doing contests again? I noticed that while you talked to the people in the camp about being a performer, you looked really happy."

Her expression softened as she heard this

"I can't say I don't miss it. But I enjoy being a mother now. I don't want to get distracted and make you feel like I am not there for you."

…

…

That answer caught me a bit off guard. Looking back, I realized how she was always right behind me, supporting me. Even as I ran around from place to place, she made sure I would be able to explore and learn as I wanted.

"Mom… I was thinking about Olympia's school."

She let out a small sigh.

"I know it's sort of like a boarding school, plus it is all the way up in Kalos. So it's not like we could really visit each other very often.

But you could join the pokemon contests again. I know you really like them, and I know you would be there if I needed you."

I felt a bit uncomfortable as I said those words, but I saw my mother smile at me.

"I spoke to Rowan and Oak about it, and they said I should probably just ask you your opinion. Lucas, you are a smart kid, and I trust you.

If that's really what you want, I will do my best to support you. But how about this? Let's wait a year. You can't ask your mom to part with her baby so soon, ok? You gotta give me some time to get ready."