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COMPLETE: Pokemon Academy Year II: Second Year Rhapsody

As of this review, I am completely caught up to the most recent climax chapter. Woohoo!

Can I just say, I knew it! I knew there was an ulterior motive to the enforcers and their "unprofessional shenanigans" and dammit I was right! Ha! My authorial instincts haven't failed me yet!

Goodness, what else should I say...

I'll reiterate what I said earlier about "large unwieldy ensemble cast". To that I'll add however, while it started off kind of confusing and getting me lost, over time (in the later arcs especially), each of the characters became more distinct and clear in my head. Like, in my first couple reviews, I could barely tell Fin from Jack from Kevin from other Kevin. Seriously, two major Kevin characters in one story? So good on you for that.

So there's an Eevee in Reggie's repertoire now? I suppose the implications of what that means for him will become apparent in the next entry in the series, since there wasn't much plot impact here. Still, it was cute for there to be a bit of a side episode for the Eevee.

Noah and his little band of misfits seem like a fun way to wreak havoc. Interesting way to make the "zombie infection" thing work in a Pokemon-style plot. I'm surprised no one tried something like Heal Pulse or other "targeted recovery" techniques on the infected. Maybe they did and just weren't featured. Also of interest were the gun-armed grunts, and how the Pokemon setting would react. The Tyranitar getting in the way and simply stopping bullets is one thing. I always figured in a "serious warfare scenario" conventional firearms in the Pokemon setting would be rendered, at best, inconvenient (obsolete at worst) by the myriad of protective/countermeasure techniques the mons can know; as simple as Protect or iron defense, or as advanced as say, catching the bullets with psychic powers Matrix-Neo style (and maybe even sending them back).

It seems the "Kevin" characters in your story have a coincidental predisposition to betraying the villainous force for the protagonists. Actor Kevin seems to undergo a very weird kind of progression: starting off shaky-but-likable, then descending a kind of lopsided downward spiral before bouncing off of "full asshole" to a final position where his motivations remain ambiguous. Did he seek out the villains out of vengeance and regret the decision, or did he seek them out with the intention of betraying them from the beginning? (you don't have to answer, I'm pretty sure a question like that is supposed to be open and unanswered)

Small observations: I noticed the inclusion of Gen-VI references in the later parts of the story, after the games were released: things like Kalos, and even Gen VI mons like Delphox and Mega Evolution. I don't know if you're going to think about a total retcon to include them proper, but that's your choice.

Quibbles: I think there are a number of places where I'm guessing your Beta Reader/Editor highlighted errors with red font-coloring that show up in later chapters. Similarly there's still a fair number of the "weird typos" I mentioned earlier, where a word is replaced with a homonym or similar-looking word. It's minor, but the times that they appear are really jarring.

Overall, pretty good stuff!

I gotta collapse and pass out for several hours now. Hope to hear back soon!
 
“Scared you didn’t I?” he chuckled.

“What are you doing here?” Miko asked once more, her eyes now glaring intensely at Kevin. Kevin in turn moved his gaze to her, noticing that she was now clasping one of her own pokeballs.

“Well I guess it’s better if I’m honest here,” Kevin shrugged before letting out a sigh. “I’m the one that caused all of this.”

I like that you have Miko being wary of Kevin here. At the end of the last chapter, I think it was Reggie who was more concerned about Kevin's presence, and I wondered about Miko. At any rate, she has a good reason to be afraid of him. And he's being blunt/snarky as usual. Nice. :p

“A few weeks ago I was approached by the guy that did cause all of this. His name is Noah and simply put he offered me a chance to help him in order to get my dignity back,” Kevin shrugged.

It just goes to show how skewed Kevin's views are if he thinks -that's- how you regain dignity.

She was all but ready to send her Pokemon out to pounce on Kevin, yet there was something that pulled her back, the fact that Kevin’s grin was slowly breaking.

Even after all he's done to her and her friends, she still wants to be humane toward him, huh? I guess that's the main difference between your protagonists and antagonistic characters.

“I’m not strong enough to do anything,” Kevin shook his head at her. “Instead I’ll rely on you guys,” he stated bluntly before turning back to Reggie. “I want to help you out in defeating Noah; all I want in exchange is for you to not tell anyone about my involvement in this whole thing…I don’t want any trouble for my family.”

Miko's wary still, but I have a feeling Kevin is being sincere, especially after the flashbacks you had of his past not too long ago. Also, I like the idea of one of the antagonists relying on the protagonist to redeem himself.

“Pfffft, you actually thought I was gonna let you grab your pokeballs! That’s so rich!”

This guy sounds like you! "Pfffft" = Flaze's most commonly used phrase

“I’m so lucky I had Delphox use Future Sight,” Noah let out a sigh of content. “Not like I didn’t expect this to begin with, frankly I expected more from you Kevin,” he said with disappointment, resting his arm against the armrest of his chair. “This plan of yours was so lackluster that I’m honestly trying not to yawn.”

I wouldn't have been too surprised if Noah noticed their plan without Future Sight. It wasn't the most well thought out plan. :p

“When the fuck did you get a Mega Stone?” Tyson inquired, eyes staring widely at the Mega Pokemon that had appeared in front of them.

I asked myself the same question. :p Miko is just full of surprises today, isn't she?

Something came over Miko the more she focused on the battle, things started to go slower and she felt her own senses increase. The biggest change was the connection she felt with Absol, even though she had been unsure of herself she now felt confident and determined, she knew that her Pokemon felt the same.

So your idea of mega evolution bonds are similar to the red pill effect? Interesting.

She never expected to go through it herself though and rather it scared her to think that she could get hurt if the battle kept going.

Now that I think about it, Miko's not one of the battlers who fights -with- her pokemon, which you sometimes have your characters do. I like that you put a bit of a spin on it with Miko.

“It’s okay,” Miko shook her head, her eyes falling on her slightly burned arm. “I can’t believe this is what the Pokemon have to go through though, I mean I knew they got hurt but actually feeling it is completely different,” she glanced at her Absol, a guilty expression on her face as her Pokemon walked closer to her and rubbed its head against her hand. “I’m sorry Absol,” she said gently, petting the Pokemon’s head.

I'm sure all pokemon species have adapted their bodies to be able to withstand the pain better, but yeah, the realization Miko has isn't often seen, so that's nice.

“You see,” Noah added, ignoring Reggie’s pleas. “There were times when I was just a kid where I could just sneak around a place without people noticing, even if I walked directly to them,” he explained with a soft chuckle. “I don’t really know how I do it but somehow it’s as if I was some kind of ghost or something, it’s a form of misdirection if you think about it.”

“So I guess Memento Mori are a bunch of freaks aren’t they?” Reggie spat, still doing his best to try and locate Noah.

“That’s a good way of putting it,” Noah informed a tone of realization in his voice. “Makes for great parties though.”

Noah's a strange one. I wonder what he means by a "form of misdirection"? Either way, interesting character interaction and dialogue here.

“It’s the truth,” Reggie chuckled. “Even if you try to make me feel better I know I’m the one that put us in this situation, you’re not exactly a Pokemon that can be found anywhere,” he nodded his head before standing up once more. “I know that you’re already hurt, but if it’s okay I want you to keep helping me out!” he yelled with determination, his eyes staring straight into the dragon’s. “This time I will help you too though.”

Alagon nodded its had gently, raising his neck slightly an resting it on Reggie’s shoulder.

Oh God, isn't that the cutest image ever there. ;_; I wish Reggie would accept when people try to comfort him, darnit.

Anyway, I was wondering if Miko was somehow going to be the main hero, but Reggie sure got his shine in the spotlight as well. Overall a good battle - I can't say I've read many battles taken place in the sky, so it was a good touch, made even more special by Noah's ability.
 
You've certainly managed to write a really solid climax here, all things considered. You've somehow managed to find a way to fit all of the many characters that this story has used at one point or another into a concrete, followable string of scenes. That's actually really cool, given that a huge part of this fic is the many characters. Funnily enough, though, after a whole arc focusing on other characters, it was kind of odd to come back and remember that Reggie is still the protagonist. Maybe a little bit more focus on him and his development before the climax would have made his victory that much sweeter.

I liked what you did with pretty much all of the other characters though. Rafael kicks ass. I'm glad he's not evil, since that would have been such a cop out way of breaking the love triangle. I looooved that Miko was a huge part of the finale. It really brought her development to a head. Also, like I mentioned to you in VMs, you're the first person I've seen use mega-evolutions and you did it really well. I especially like the downside and the tie in with the Pokerus plot (another great example of adapting game mechanics to make them interesting plot points). It was also kind of interesting to see the other teachers.

There are too many examples to name, but you write great banter. Really solid dialogue skills. Always amusing to read.

"It's not a drug," Sax shook his head immediately. "...well, technically. See what this does is that it increases your perceptive and mental abilities."

Sax, that's exactly what a drug is.

"You're not going to say some bullshit like it allows you to use more than 10% of your brain right?"

"No! Even I know that's dumb," Sax argued.

HA! This fic has now received the official AetherX seal of 100% scientific authenticity for this line alone.

"It's happening again," he muttered softly.

The battle cry of every protagonist of a series.

“Noah is very impulsive and unsightly, if there’s anything I learned while being with him is that he’s way too cocky as well,”

Unsightly as in ugly? I mean, maybe that's what Kevin's saying, but I don't know. Just thought I'd point it out because I thought it was funny.

Boom, there's your review. Sorry it's kind of half-assed. You'll get a nice big proper review once you finish.
 
Finally finished Arc 1! Sorry it took so long. Because I read it over such a big time period I might have many specifics about the earlier chapters, so sorry about that. :/

First of all, you already know about the grammar in the earlier chapters, so I won't touch too much on that. During the first couple chapters the grammar mistakes were impacting readability, but you improved fairly quickly, and by around Chapter 5 the story was able to shine through more. If you want a tip on grammar, I always recommend reading your chapter out loud before you post it. It's a great way not only to spot spelling mistakes and types, but also awkward wording and sentences that don't quite make sense. Maybe you're already doing that, but I thought I'd recommend it anyway.

As far as characters go, Reggie's great, a real fun protagonist, and I can't wait to see more of Chigon. >w< He's a little cutie. I like Darren too. Fin seems a little one-dimensional to me at this point, but I'm hoping he'll get fleshed out more as the series goes along. (Maybe he was already fleshed out in Dragon's Roar and I just missed it.) My favorite character has to be Claudia. Maybe it's because I've known her from her introduction, but I just really like her character. I may or may not also ship her with Reggie... my dreams are going to get crushed, aren't they?

One thing I'm a little confused about is the dorms. What are the criteria for getting into each dorm? I'm sort of getting the impression that it's by major, but I'm not entirely sure. Maybe you could include a quick run-down of each dorm in the first post, like you did with the Chigon evolutions? (I can't wait to see one of those, by the way.)

Not much is happening story wise yet, but from what I understand this is the more episodic slice-of-life arc. Lots of fun little plots so far. The story's been pretty light-hearted up to this point, and I'm curious to see if it gets more serious or keeps the same tone. All I know is taht I want to see these characters get dug into more.

Anyway, my attention is piqued and I'll be moving onto the next arc soon. Keep up the good work!
 
@Beth Pavell; @AetherX; @Tophat Dragoneye; @System Error; @Warrior of Fire; @Instrutilus; @Soulmaster; @Rediamond; @kintsugi; @Midorikawa; @diamondpearl876;
@chaos_Leader;

Now for individual responses (yes you are getting two mentions :p)

@chaos_Leader; well you actually read it a lot faster than I expect it so I have to congratulate you for that xD I'm glad that you liked the story though. There's a lot of things you said that I want to answer but I don't really have enough time right now to do proper answers >.< but I will say that Kevin himself was actually approached by Noah, granted he's the one that decided to help him out in the end. As for the subject of weapons. A lot of people in the field do still use weapons and the like because they help against humans, particularly in wars or situations or self defense weapons are useful as a last resort in which you could go afte a trainer, plus only certain types of Pokemon can actually stop bullets like Tyranitar did (psychics can with psychic powe obviously but if it hits them then they're going to suffer)

@diamondpearl876; I actually put up a short side chapter at the end of 46 that showed Brendan giving Miko a "gift" xD you can kind of guess what gift it was now.

@AetherX; Well a review is still a review so I'm thankful you did anyways, it really means a lot. And yeah I guess Reggie did get a little overshadowed with every other character, which is funny cause originally I ws afraid the other characters would end up just being in the sidelines instead. And thanks for the comment about the dialogue >.< I'm not entirely sure myself, I feel like the dialogue can be my weakness sometimes but thank you all the same.


And so with the battle against Noah over we finally move on to the last chapter! (there's still the Epilogue left) and to be hoenst this chapter has actually been ready for months but I hadn't been able to finish the epilogue till only a couple of days ago. I'm hoping that it can be betaed and I can post it within the next few days so that SYR can finally draw to a close.

Thanks for all those that are still reading this >.< I know my story isn't really that amazing, especially compared to a lot of the great pieces that you can find in the fairground here but I still appreciate all the feedback I've gotten and plan to use it to make the third installment three times better than SYR (at least that's my goal) I'll probably give more thanks later.

Also if you haven't done it I suggest checking out Cross Over Battle, a new fic series that started last month where two characters from different fics are pit against each other. It's really just mindless fun for having two characters fight each other but you'll be wrong if you think it's not at least a little bit cool :p

Chapter 50: And So Life Goes On

The dimly lit studio room stood quietly in front of Noah, the light from the reading lamp at the edge of a well polished wooden table being the only thing that allowed him to detail the room.

He had been there before, albeit it was always grudgingly, he wasn't one for progress reports after all. The young man groaned as he walked into the room, his feet sinking into the crimson colored carpet.

He turned towards the intimidated maid next to her, her face staring at the figure standing on the other side of the table and in front of the large transparent window that reflected the stormy skies outside. "I think your assistance is done now," Noah groaned, practically shoving the girl back as he closed the door.

He wasn't sure if closing the door was a good thing. The pressure in the area seemed to have increased, though part of him wondered if it was just his nerves. He found it odd though, he didn't have anything to be nervous about.

He turned around and made his way to the two chairs in front of the desk, passing through the two bookshelves on either side and the multiple piles of book sticking out on the floor.

"Sir," Noah greeted in an I characteristically respectful tone, even if his eyes didn't reflect his voice.

Finally the figure reacting, raising his gaze-quite coincidentally with the sound of thunder as Noah realized- to look at the younger Memento Mori agent.

The short black haired man looked over at Noah, his aging and slightly wrinkled face contorting into a smile, his amber eyes in turn giving off an oddly kind expression.

As the man raised his gaze Noah couldn't help but detail the tailored white striped black suit he was wearing, the man even complimented it with a black coat that was perched around his back. He never understood how someone could spend even their hours of leisure in a well dressed fashion.

"You may sit down Noah," the man gestured politely, bringing Noah out of his trance before he complied with the request. As he sat down he noticed the man lowering the book that he had been reading. "Interested?" He asked curiously.

"I'm not really a reading person," Noah shook his head. "I'll catch the movie of it."

This ensued a gentle grin from the man. "Still so formal towards your boss, though I guess that's not a bad thing either," he declared. "You should read more though, every person should know the true beauty of a good book, I've always seen is as the most immersive medium myself."

"What were you reading anyways sir?" Noah asked carefully.

"Dawn of Galactic, it's a sort of biographical book detailing the creation and life of the infamous Team Galactic from years past. It even includes memoirs from it's leader Cyrus," the man commented in joy as he got lost talking about his book. "Having known the man on a semi personal basis I find it interesting."

Noah simply nodded his head as his spoke, even when the conversation turned dull for him, he had no interest in talks about the past. "But anyways," the man finally called out. "Onto why I called you here. I wante to hear your progress report on the mission at the academy."

"I sent you an email before sir," Noah drone out. "I think I went into great d-"

"I do not care for what you make your subordinates say Noah," the man interjected, raising his hand carefully. "I believe that these type of things should be done in person when the situation merits it. Right now it does."

Noah sighed, noting the amuse expression at the man had. "As you will sir," he complied. "The mission went mostly without issue. I was able to test drive the Pokerus Infection Clarisse created successfully, the results are all right and mostly how we planned it but I'd say that it'll be best if we can make it so that the effects can be controlled a little more."

"I also got the sample that I was requested to retrieve, though I will say that maybe the boy and that academy in general have grown to be a bigger threat than anticipated," Noah explained, his tone sounding formal and at the same time with slight boredom.

"Is it true that ten of our members were captured?" The man asked, now becoming serious and increasing in his intimidation of Noah. "Basically your whole team got captured."

"They had mind blocks up anyways, they won't speak and if they try they'll...well they won't speak basically," Noah shrugged.

"That's not the poor Noah, the point is that you must take better care of your subordinates. Don't just throw them away as you please," he scolded, ensuing a silent groan from Noah.

"As you wish sir," Noah nodded his head grudgingly.

At that moment he heard the door opening, causing Noah to turn his head half around to look at the person entering. The man didn't react, instead he showcased an even kinder smile than the one he had given Noah.

The appearance of a new guest was something that made Noah groan, especially when he saw the person walk in. Standing by the entrance of the room was a girl-seemingly in her late teens-with long white hair that reached down to her slim waist. Her whole body was covered by a black jacket that fell and wrapped around her legs yet still detailed her figure slightly. Lastly was the black masquerade mask that shrouded her eyes and only served in raising the mysteriousness of the girl. Noah's gaze went down to the silver tray she was carrying, two cups of tea had been set up on it.

"Excuse my intrusion dirt," the girl greeted in a monotone voice.

"Don't worry about M, I didn't expect for you to be the one sent here though," the man motioned for her to walk inside.

The girl followed her boss' orders and proceeded to walk up to the desk, setting the tray down gently. "Has your training progressed well M?" The man asked cordially as he gently grasped one of the cups and raised it up to his mouth, allowing the soothing taste and smell of the tea to wash over him.

"Yes it has," the girl known as M replied, bowing politely. "Ms. Naomi has been a great instructor."

"Good. You may go."

"I also finished the copy you lenses me of Dawn of Galactic," the girl added. "I find it is a very engaging and informative read."

"Why thank you," the man laughed. "I only wish everyone thought the same as you," he said cheekily before eyeing Noah.

After that M proceeded to walk ou of the room, bowing towards both men as she closed the door. "I don't get why you give so much attention to that brat," Noah stated with seething annoyance as she grabbed the other cup and began to gulp the tea down.

Memento Mori's boss kept sipping from his cup, only to lower it on the table and finally look at Noah. "M is a very great asset of Memento Mori, I'm making sure she's homed into our organization's best weapon, if you're not careful she might take your spot as the next in line for taking over tMemento Mori after Jabber," he added playfully, something that only make Noah tense up and glare at the man.

However not all was lost, a small grin crossed his face as he realized he had a way to get over his Leander's composure. "So that basically means you're just using her? Quite an evil mastermind move yo-"

"On the contrary," the man corrected carefully. "I'd say M is the only one in this organization who agrees with my goals the most, besides you know that none of you are here against your will," he shook his head before sighing and smiling at Noah. "That being said, I think you can go now, you have told me what I wanted to hear and we even got to enjoy some tea time together."

"Don't try to act like a father," Noah pulls himself up, pushing the chair back as he did. "You with that condescension is just annoying."

"I believe that a certain level of familial bonds are necessary for every organization," he replied cordially, staring at the younger member as he walked to the door.

"Are you unaware of all the Sins trying to go for your head or do you just rather look away," Noah pointed out in annoyance.

"On the contrary, I wholeheartedly approve," the man announced, laughing brightly. "And if someone does manage that then I will congratulate them with my dying breath."

Nothing more was said, nothing more needed to be said and as such Noah simply left.


***

“I know that I made a huge mistake but you have to give me another chance here!” Brendan protested, slamming his fist against his desk in frustration and gritting his teeth. He was sitting in his office and was staring at his laptop screen with fury.

On the other end of the screen was a man with short, well combed white hair and a slightly wrinkled tanned face. He donned a pepper beard and mustache on his stern face, matching well with his grey eyes. Lastly he was wearing a tailored black suit and red tie with a pin that showed the symbol of the Pokémon League attached to the left side of his suit’s neck. “You keep talking as if this whole thing was just some accident,” the man replied dryly. “But must I really remind you that letting the academy get attacked while under your, one of the long revered Pokédex Holders, nose is not an acceptable mistake,” he spoke harshly, his eyes glaring back at Brendan.

“I kept security tight as I could,” Brendan argued. “I had guards at all times, but Memento Mori isn’t an easy organization to deal with, I mean all you have to do is ask Interpol and you’ll know how many times they’ve failed to catch them!” he exclaimed, only to shut his mouth when he realized that his tone had been louder than he had originally hoped.

“That is beyond the point,” the man shook his head. “We of the Pokemon League struck a deal with Interpol to leave you there in charge of the academy so that you could protect it. We even allowed that rundown assassin and ex Memento Mori member to assist you because we believed you’d be able to stop another crisis from happening,” the man reminded, making Brendan shift uncomfortably in his chair. “That was all at your request as well wasn’t it? As far as I remember Interpol originally planned to take that boy and Pokémon away until you protested.”

“Because I don’t think that grabbing a boy and a Pokémon hostage just so that you can do all your research and study is right,” Brendan frowned, clenching onto the armchairs.

“They planned to protect him, it’s true that they would’ve run tests on the Pokémon but that’s only to make sure they can understand everything about it,” the man clarified.

“Well there’s no need; I can protect them,” Brendan refuted, turning away from the man. “I know that I messed up, I know that. But, I just need one more year; once he graduates you can come to him if you want,” he announced, now looking back at the man with the same stern expression. “I even made a deal with the Special Agents that came to do the clean up. They agreed to leave the Agent they sent undercover as a precaution.”

The man seemed a bit uneasy about Brendan’s statement, scratching his bearded chin in thought. “I’ll have to ask them,” he noted calmly. “That being said, if we do agree to let you take care of things for one more year then I’d need you to train your replacement; once next year is up you’ll be out of there.”

Brendan cast his eyes to the floor when he heard this, feeling the full weight of his actions and mistakes fall when he heard that statement. “That’s a fair choice,” he said hesitantly. “I’ll try and find a replacement.”

“I hope you see to it then,” the man nodded his head in acknowledgement before leaning against his chair. “And what of the people that were affected by Memento Mori’s experiment?” he asked.

“Everyone that ingested the pill has gone back to normal. The wounds they received while in that wild state recovered quickly, they don’t seem to have retained any memories of events of around two hours before ingesting the pill or being infected,” Brendan explained with a low monotone voice. “There have also been no side effects, though a lot of the people that recovered seem to have improved capabilities, nothing out of the ordinary though. The Pokémon have also recovered just as they would from a normal case of Pokérus,” he added.

“That is a relief then,” the old man added uniformly. “I want you to send any remaining pills to the Biology Research Institute in Unova, they’ll run some tests on the pill to see how it works.”

“I bet you guys just want to see how you can do it without the side effects,” Brendan muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something?” the man asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Brendan to shake his head in return. “Good, then I expect to hear more news about this matter later,” the man stated. “Oh and congratulations on your wife’s pregnancy, tell miss May that I send my regards,” he added with a nod before ending the conversation.

Brendan let out a loud sigh, his body slipping slightly off the chair as he rested his head on the back of it. “I’ll have to handle this mess and be a father…now I know why my dad needed some time to himself,” he groaned while rubbing the back of his head. He couldn’t help a smile cross his face though when he saw his laptop’s screen, which showed an image of May and him embracing each other in winter clothing while snow fell on the background. “Though I guess it can’t be so bad.”

His moment of silence was interrupted by the door to his office opening. Freed slowly walked into the room, alerting Brendan of his presence. “Am I interrupting anything sir?” he asked carefully.

“No, it’s okay,” Brendan sighed in frustration before adjusting himself once more.

“I assume the Pokemon League has been pulling your hairs,” Freed commented, closing the door behind him gently.

“You have no idea,” Brendan groaned, closing his laptop and moving it aside. “I’ll be reminded of this incident until I die,” he said before eyeing Freed up. “What about you? Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. My body and mind have both stabilized and my leg is completely healed now,” Freed replied cordially before nodding his head. He noticed Brendan turning away from him, an embarrassed and uneasy expression on his face. “It’s okay sir, I don’t blame you for what happened,” he shook his head calmly. “Noah’s ability to completely erase his presence is not something that can be detected easily.”

“Yeah but the fact he convinced students to do his bidding so easily is my fault,” Brendan replied bitterly. “I knew that this academy was competitive, I just didn’t think the students were so affected by it.”

“That is a mistake yes,” Freed agreed. “But if it wasn’t competitive then it wouldn’t be one of the best schools here now would it?” he inquired. “Besides, I feel like this whole incident will give all the students a new outlook even by a little, everyone pitched in and those that were affected should understand that their attempt at getting power was a wrong one.”

“I guess I should thank her properly,” Brendan chuckled. “Even though I kept her in the dark about this whole thing she was the one that helped out the most.”

“I think you’re right. Though I never doubted her myself,” Freed grinned proudly while putting his hands behind his waist.

“Anyways, you mind getting me the coffee mug over there?” he requested before pointing towards a small cart on the other side of the room. A round coffee-filled mug sat next to the cart surrounded by multiple cups of varying sizes as well as spoons. “I don’t have any sugar or cream but you can grab some if you want.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Freed smiled, walking over towards the cart and grabbing the coffee mug along with two cups. “But anyways, I was coming here to tell you that I was done with the job you assigned me.”

Brendan looked down at his desk, his eyes showing regret as he clenched his fists. “I’m sorry I had to make you do that, but the League and Interpol both ordered me to do it,” he said somberly. “They didn’t want to deal with any of the students that didn’t agree to keep the events secret spilling any information out.”

“I understand,” Freed nodded his head before lowering the mug on Brendan’s desk. “It was just a question of setting up a few mind blocks. If they try to tell anyone about what happened their minds will just start thinking of something else, same as when you want to tell someone something and forget,” he shrugged, pouring a cup for Brendan. “Memento Mori had me and Metagross do far worse.”

“Still!” Brendan groaned, running his hands through his lush straight black hair. “I didn’t want to do that to the students to begin with,” he gritted his teeth in frustration, clenching on his head slightly. “Life was a lot easier when I was eleven and all I had to worry about was not running out of food or getting killed by a Breloom in the woods.”

“Well, life gets tougher and tougher,” Freed nodded his head as he served his own cup. “What worries me right now is what will happen next year.”

“I don’t wanna think about it,” Brendan sighed, grabbing his cup and taking a sip of coffee. “Let’s just focus on the now for now.”

***

Reggie sighed to himself as he finished putting on his uniform. His eyes drifted off to the empty hospital bed next to him, causing him to sigh once more.

He looked around the sterile hospital room he was in, ignoring the sound of the news being broadcasted on the small TV hanging on the wall. The room consisted of a pair of hospital beds standing side to side, with only a small drawer dividing the two. A flower vase sat on the drawer and there were comic books with titles such as “Crobat Man” on one side of the base as well as a couple of books titled “Dawn of Galactic: Legacy of Cyrus” and “Dark World Burden” on the other. Reggie just looked at his books for a moment before grabbing them and setting them inside his bag.

After the battle against Noah he had to be brought to the hospital wing and had stayed there for the next few days after the event. He rubbed his hand gently against his right cheek, running it along the small cut-shaped scar that had resulted from cutting himself against one of the branches. “Regeneration Surgery always misses the smallest spots,” he noted.

“Chi!” He heard Chigon call out cheerfully before jumping onto Reggie’s shoulder, making the teenager jump a little.

“Glad to see you’re back to full health again buddy,” Reggie chuckled before he was licked by Chigon. “I get it buddy! I’ll be more cheerful like you,” he laughed, hearing a flushing sound coming from the bathroom.

“Aaaaah I’m gonna miss being here,” Fin called out melancholically once he walked out of the bathroom while zipping up his pants. “I mean it was a lot of fun just hanging out, playing video games and eating with you here,” he replied before walking over to the bed on the other side of the room and grabbing a hold of a cylinder-shaped bag.

“I’m honestly doubtful of how someone who was found in a near dead state can be so lively as you are,” Reggie pointed out dryly as he turned to look at his friend. “What even happened to you?”

“Eh, all I needed was some rest and a lot of free hospital food,” Fin anwered, laughing slightly as he turned away from Reggie.

“Weren’t you found lying on the ground among a bunch of defeated grunts?” both Reggie and Fin turned towards the door, noticing Miko had now entered the room. The girl smiled and waved at the two before walking up to Reggie and kissing his cheek.

“Can we just stop talking about it,” Fin frowned at this, though his answer only made Reggie even more suspicious. “I mean I’m not the only one that pushed himself too hard,” he argued before glancing at Reggie, his face becoming serious. “You overused Full Synchro.”

Reggie turned away from both his friend and his girlfriend, making him unable to see her worried expression. “The doctors were all shocked about your condition,” she stated. “The principal told me the truth though. About that Full Synchro ability you and Chigon share,” Miko added. She could understand why Reggie had pushed himself but she was still worried, the effects of the Key Stone taught her of the burden Reggie had gone through and even then it wasn’t anything compared to Full Synchro.

“Don’t worry Miko,” Reggie reassured, finally gathering the strength to face her once more. “I won’t do it again I promise.”

“I don’t believe you,” both Miko and Fin refuted in unison.

“Let’s just forget about all that for now okay?” Fin protested before slinging his bag around his shoulder. “I heard there was a huge barbecue being prepared for tonight,” he smirked, his eyes gleaming with delight.

“Yes Fin,” Miko rolled her eyes, trying to hold her laughter at Fin’s reaction. “You know the academy likes to hold their end of the year barbecue.”

“Then let’s go eat!”

***

Tail Island was probably the smallest island found in the Dragonic Archipelago, being completely round and small enough for someone to walk around the whole island in less than twenty minutes. However, this was the thing that made the island a good hangout place for the students of Elemental Academy.

The island was completely prepared for the students to have fun and enjoy themselves, with umbrellas and beach chairs set up all around the shore of the island along with multiple shacks that served food and drinks.

Unlike the other islands which were shrouded in greenery the only trees found in Tail Island were all arranged in a ring separating the center of the island from the beaches. The center itself was a grassy terrain with various benches and wooden tables set up around the area along with barbecue grills.

Today the grills were being used to their maximum extent. Smoke went up into the sky along with the smell of the meat and vegetables being cooked. The students walked around, serving themselves and enjoying the day. A certain unease still retained itself after the events that had transpired only a few days before but everyone seemed to be trying their best to put it behind them at the moment and make the best of their last day at the academy.

“Now go for an Iron Tail!” Allison commanded loudly. She and Angelo stood opposite to each other and were battling in a small spot away from the tables alongside their Raichu and Garbodor.

Raichu nodded its head-understanding her command-before he began running at the large waste-like Pokemon. Garbodor noticed this and slammed its foot forward before firing a barrage of sludge at the electric type. “Agility,” Allison muttered as Raichu zigzagged through the sludge, ending up right in front of Garbodor.

“Pro-“

“Iron Tail!” Allison yelled out quickly, giving Raichu enough time to spin around and slam a metallic tail down on Garbodor’s body. The force of the crash was enough to push the Pokemon back and making it crumble to the ground. “I did it!” Allison threw her fist in the air triumphantly before running over to hug Raichu. “We finally got our revenge!”

“My beautiful painting was ruined,” Angelo whined as he returned his Garbodor. He smiled though, a part of him happy that Allison had managed to improve enough to actually defeat him. “You did well,” he complimented. “Now let’s go back to the table with the others.”

The Media Club and Enforcers had grabbed two of the tables and were all sitting with each other, plates in front and ready to eat. “A toast! To my wonderful self for surviving!” Fin exclaimed while raising his can of soda. “Oh and to you all…doing stuff,” he shrugged before sitting back down.

“Gee, you’re so humble Fin,” Valerie pointed out dryly. She noticed Rafael looking at her from the other side of the room but simply turned away. “We all did our own part remember.”

“Fine, I guess if you wanna get technical,” Fin shrugged and sipped from his can.

“Getting rid of that hoard was plenty of fun I have to admit,” Jack stated, taking a bite out of his steak as he spoke.

“Jack why are you sitting all the way over there man!?” Fin exclaimed with a pout.

“Because I don’t like you,” Jack replied with annoyance.

“I told you,” Reggie said to Fin, causing Miko-who was sitting next to him-to laugh.

“But anyway, I think everyone in this academy did their part during the attack,” Zephyr commented calmly, taking a sip of a glass filled with iced tea. “I guess even we underestimated them.”

“That’s certainly true,” Keith agreed with a nod from his head. “That means we can leave things here without worry,” he added, smiling at the second years. “Just don’t go too crazy.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t think Mr. Uptight could smile like that,” Fin gasped in shock, earning a frown from Keith.

“Why does everyone have to repeat that!” Keith yelled in annoyance before glaring at Tyson.

“Hey don’t look at me, I didn’t say it this time,” Tyson shrugged, holding his hands up in defense.

Claudia laughed brightly, even though she hadn’t spoken before she was enjoying herself being around the others. She adjusted her glasses a bit before looking down at her plate, a content expression on her face. The year before she had been scared of being the only member left in the newspaper club but now she was in charge of a whole different club and even had made friends of her own. She felt Valerie grab her hand gently, making her smile at her friend.

Reggie’s attention was somewhere else though. From the corner of his eye he had been able to spot Matthew walking towards their table. He was walking nervously and fidgeting with the tips of his jacket. Reggie hadn’t talked to Matthew since their chaotic encounter days before, not like he wanted to either since he didn’t know how he could even approach the boy after what had happened.

Regardless Matthew was there and all Reggie could think about was trying to settle what had happened. “Hey Matthew,” he called out, making the boy hurry his pace once he noticed everyone looking at him.

“Hi Reggie,” Matthew replied shyly, noticing that everyone had their gazes fixed on him. “I actually wanted to talk to you ab-“

“I’m sorry,” Reggie declared, staring at Matthew’s confused eyes. “The reason you took that pill was because you believed the idea it would make you a better trainer. The only reason you would do that is if you were feeling like it was your last resort,” he looked down at the wooden table, his fists clenching slightly. “Even though I said you could always count on me I had left you alone once more, I never really gave you a chance to feel like you had someone that worried.”

“It’s okay though!” Matthew protested, letting go of the tips of his jacket. “I was just weak and insecure, it’s true that I felt like I had no choice…but that doesn’t excuse it,” he said while shaking his head. “So I’m the one that’s sorry for causing trouble for you all, I just hope we can keep being friends.”

“Gee you guys are so sappy,” Miko pointed out with a sigh of frustration. She turned to face Matthew and laughed. “Of course you guys can keep being friends, you can join all of us if you want too,” she reassured with a nod.

Matthew nodded his head, a blush of embarrassment on his face. He seemed relieved though, as if a huge pressure had been taken off his shoulders.

Reggie couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at this, his eyes drifting towards the Pokemon that were running and playing around not too far from there. He fixed his eyes on Chigon, who was wrestling with Eevee and Pichu before turning back to its trainer and smiling brightly.

***

Having returned from Tail Island, Allison proceeded to make her way back to her room, carrying a container filled with leftover food. She yawned and stretched slightly as she walked, feeling the toll of the day catching up to her body.

As she passed through the halls of the Houndoom Dark Dorm she couldn’t help but think about Darren and the encounter the two had in the forest a few days prior. She hadn’t tried to contact him after that, not knowing how to approach him. Part of her still wanted to try and convince him to just move on but knew that it wasn’t that easy either.

Arming her nerves she decided to go over to his room, just like she had done the first time she had asked for a rematch from him. She held on tight to the container as she made her way to the boy’s side of the building and towards the door to his room

She stared at the door in thought. It was strange feeling, she had never felt nervous about approaching him before and usually knocked loudly or announced herself. This time it was different, she knew that she couldn’t just barge in headfirst and that it wouldn’t solve anything.

Instead she opted for lowering the container on his doorstep, her eyes looking at it for a moment before she turned around.

She heard a light creaking sound as she walked though, becoming alert but telling herself not to turn around. Eventually she heard a door close, causing her to turn around once more and realize that the container was gone.

“Next time I’ll show you what I’ve got,” she grinned brightly before turning around once more and proceeding to go on her merry way.

***

Darkness had fallen over Elemental Academy, causing the whole island to go quiet and become calm as the Pokémon that roamed the night came out.

Freed and Stacy were lying in bed together, black bed sheets completely surrounding their bodies. They usually didn’t spend nights with each other since they always had duties to take care of in the morning. However, the two had decided it’d be okay for the last day as long as they got up early.

Freed shook in his bed, a slight beeping sound filling over his ears and causing him to open his eyes. He turned towards the small white drawer on the right side of his best, noticing his phone ringing. He scratched his eyes drowsily as he sat up on the bed, thankful that Stacy hadn’t woken up but annoyed at whoever was calling at such an hour.

He lifted the sheets off his body and sat on the side of the bed before grabbing the device and answering the call “Hello?” he asked lazily.

“I guess it was rude of me to wake you up huh?” Freed’s eyes opened widely when he heard the voice on the other side. That calm and sly tone on the other line was one he could never mix up. He clenched his phone tightly, his drowsiness vanishing instantly. “Are you there Sieg?”

“How did you get my number Jabber?” Freed spat, trying his best to not awaken Stacy as he spoke.

“Oh please don’t use that one with me Sieg,” the Memento Mori member replied innocently, a slight chuckle to his voice. “Can’t I call my little brother? It’s been years after all.”

“We’re not brothers and that doesn’t answer my question,” Freed added with rage, his hands opening on of the cabinets in the drawer and pulling out a pokeball.

He stood up from the bed instantly and began inspecting the room carefully. The room was carpeted in crimson and there was a flat screen HD TV hanging from the wall in front of the bed. Next to the TV set, on the left side of the room, were steps leading down to a small circular terrace. Two black couches were set up on the sides of the terrace, with a similarly colored sofa in the center overlooking the clear glass window that towered over the area.

“Well you’re right. Technically we’re only half brothers,” Jabber noted curiously, making Freed’s irritation increase. “As for how I got your number…well that’s a secret now isn’t it Sieg?” he added playfully.

Freed began going down the steps to the terrace, thinking carefully about what he should reply. “Why did you call?” he questioned.

“Again, I just wanted to talk to my brother,” Jabber repeated. “I mean, Dad misses you too you know, it’s never fun when one of your sons doesn’t want to continue the family business,” he chuckled. “Though I got the better end of the deal out of that, you can’t even begin to imagine all the money and fame I get.”

“Wolf in sheep’s clothing as always,” Freed gritted his teeth.

“Not like you can reveal anything too specific anyways,” Jabber replied nonchalantly. “Otherwise that little mind block Dad set up in your brain when you ran away will leave you brain dead, I bet you wouldn’t want your girlfriend to deal with the aftermath of that now would you?”

Freed almost shattered his phone when he heard this line, his eyes shooting daggers at the floor as his breathing sped up. “How do you know about it?” he asked, trying his best to hold his fury back.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jabber apologized cautiously. “I didn’t expect to get that reaction, usually you only reacted that way when I talked about your mother.”

“You know that the only reason I’m still talking to you is because it’ll be annoying to get a new phone right?” Freed asked, repeatedly tapping his leg on the floor.

“Yeah, I guess we should talk business then,” Jabber commented, clearing his throat. “I originally called you because I wanted to hear your voice, but I do have two specifics reason to why I did,” he informed.

“Out with it.”

“Well first of all I wanted to say that I’m glad you’re okay, Noah ended up going way too far. He was originally supposed to be there for something but ended up using the pills just like that. That's as far as I know at least, dad may have allowed it,” Jabber sighed with exasperation. “I’m glad that everything’s okay though, it’d be sad for our fun to end so suddenly.”

“But mainly what I wanted to tell you was another thing,” Jabber’s tone became much more serious, even slightly venomous. “It’s nice that you’re trying to play Teacher and that you’re making a whole new life for yourself…but you can’t escape.”

Freed tensed up at this, his confidence wavering a little bit. “You and I are different from all the other members, we’re children of Memento Mori and are destined to end up in it,” he added slyly. “So no matter how much you try you will end up coming back to us one way or another.”

“We’ll see about that,” Freed replied after a few seconds, unease in his voice.

“The other reason is to tell you about this very amusing thing I found out the other day,” a slight laugh escaped the man when he said this, making Freed raise his eyebrow in curiosity. “It seems like you and I aren’t the only “children” out there.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have a baby brother,” this revelation made Freed’s eyes open widely, completely shocking the man. “And it seems he attends that academy of yours as well.”

“Wait! Who is it Jabber!?” Freed yelled desperately, pushing himself back up from the sofa.

“Make sure to look after our little brother,” Jabber laughed heartily. “Because if you don’t come to us then he will!”

And with that his voice was replaced by a long beeping sound. Freed cursed under his breath before turning his phone off. He put his head in his hands, confusion and uncertainty in his eyes as he processed what his brother had just said.

***

Reggie had finished packing his bags the next morning and had returned all of his Pokémon. He looked around his dorm room melancholically, a smile going through his face as he remembered what the year had been like. It definitely had its ups and downs, from the Black Knights to Kevin dating Miko to Memento Mori’s attack. But it was also a better year than he expected, he finally got to date Miko after all and he felt like he really had grown from the person he was when the year started.

“Chi!” Chigon pulled Reggie out of his trance, making him turn to look at the small dragon as it scratched its ear.

“Yeah, we should get going buddy,” Reggie nodded his head before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door, allowing Chigon to crawl up to his shoulder as they left the dorm room.

The two proceeded to make their way down to the dorm’s Pokemon Center where they met up with Miko. “You guys took a while,” she pointed out before walking up to her boyfriend.

“Yeah, I was just reminiscing a little bit,” Reggie replied before kissing his girlfriend lightly. “I just can’t believe the year’s really over.”

“I sure can, I need a good vacation,” Miko nodded her head diligently before stretching her arms out. “I really miss Olivine and the beaches and the guys.”

“What?” Reggie asked nervously.

“Just kidding….probably.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Miko laughed innocently. “Come on let’s go down to the port,” she stated before grabbing his hand and pulling him along with her.

However, just as they walked out of the dorm building they noticed Kevin waiting just outside of the entrance, his bags next to him and his arms crossed. “Well there you are,” he greeted while leaning his head back. “I was hoping you guys would appear.”

“What are you doing here?” Miko asked, frowning as she glared at her ex boyfriend. After Memento Mori’s attack on the academy they had made good on their promise to not tell anyone about Kevin’s involvement in the event, that didn’t exactly settle any of the matters they had with him though.

“I’ll just get down to the subject,” Kevin announced, uncrossing his arms as he looked at the two. He sighed, seemingly trying to figure out what he wanted to tell them. “I want to say sorry again for what I did, I really didn’t know what I was getting into with that one,” he sighed once more, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “And I also wanted to say thank you for not ratting me out, that really helped.”

Reggie and Miko looked at each other for a moment, smirks going through their faces before they turned back to Kevin. “Don’t worry about it,” Reggie reassured, noticing a smile going through Kevin’s face.

“Of course that doesn’t mean I’m going to apologize for anything else I’ve done or something sappy like that,” he replied slyly. “I only apologize for what I regret I don’t really regret anything I did besides what I just mentioned,” he shrugged before grabbing his bags.

"Of course not," Miko shook her head slightly, not really surprised at what he had said.

Reggie stared at Kevin for a moment. Even though he had had a lot of problems with him before and the two had ended up getting into a fight he couldn't help but feel that a large part of his growth was thanks to the boy's involvement in his life. "Thanks," he said suddenly, causing Kevin to raise an eyebrow in curiosity, only for him to smile and nod his head.

“Oh, how about coming with us?” Reggie inquired.

“Nah, I’m gonna be leaving on my yacht,” Kevin shook his head. “I don’t really wanna have to wait so long to get to Lillycove.”

“Well then, see you later,” Reggie nodded his head, noticing Kevin smiling at him once more.

“Yeah, see you next year.”

***

The sun as rising over Academy Island, casting a shadow above the multiple cruise ships harboured at the island’s port. The sound of yelling and pacing was heard as the students each scrambled around the port, gathering their things, saying their goodbyes and finding the ship that would take them to their region of origin.

Valerie was standing at the entrance to the port. She was leaning back, taking pictures of her surroundings and all of the people that were gathered around the area. She marvelled at her pictures. “This would go well for my next competition,” she said proudly.

As she looked back through her pictures she happened upon a picture she had taken of Rafael. The boy was wearing a pair of reading glasses as he wrote down on his notebook, his expression showing how focused he was on his work. An uneasy smile crossed Valerie’s face when she saw this, remembering the problems that she and Rafael had after she found out about him being a Special Agent. She understood why he had to hide his identity but she was still uncertain, Special Agents were made to go all around the world on missions and she knew that with Rafael’s mission over his chances of staying in the academy were none.

“You seem pensive,” Valerie was brought out of her trance, her eyes meeting Fin who had now walked in front of her. “Something the matter?” he asked with a grin.

“What do you want?” Valerie furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Fin. She and Fin hadn’t spoken to each other much since Valentine’s Day and the night they had shared a few months ago didn’t help in making the moments they had to spend with each other any less awkward.

Fin noticed this and stepped back a bit, an embarrassed expression on his face. “Listen, I know we…haven’t really had the best of track records and such,” he replied hesitantly while keeping his gaze away from Valerie. “But, I just wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry for what happened and…well it was my fault to begin with, and then I went and acted all entitled because of that fact,” he said sincerely before glancing at Valerie. “We’ve never gotten along that well but we have one more year left for us, so I was wondering if it’ll be okay to start from scratch,” he stretched his hand out to hers before grinning once more.

Valerie couldn’t help but let out a chuckle as she looked at Fin. She had been suspicious while he was talking but the tone he had used and his expression made her feel like he really did mean it. “Okay,” she nodded her head before shaking Fin’s hand. “Though I certainly hope you’re not doing it because me and Rafael are having trouble, we’re technically still together and I still wouldn’t go out with you either.”

“No it’s okay,” Fin nodded his head before laughing. “I could do with some more friends,” he turned to look towards the ships for a moment before looking back at Valerie. “Well I’ll better get going, I was gonna wait for Reggie but I’ll just see him in the ship,” he said calmly before waving at the girl and walking off.

Valerie stared at his back as he walked off, taking a picture of it and the scenery around him. That’s when she felt someone tap on her shoulder, causing her to wheel around and come into contact with Rafael. “Hey,” she said simply, still shocked from the tap.

“You’re just the person I was looking for,” Rafael said with relief as he looked at Valerie, a cheerful smile on his face. “I mean I was afraid you had already left and…well, I know that you’re still mad at me for keeping my motives a secret, I’m really sorry about that,” he apologized, his eyes looking down at the floor. “If you can give me another chance then I would like to try again.”

“But you’re a Special Agent,” Valerie reminded, taking a step back from Rafael. “I mean, won’t you be sent on missions or something like that? I wouldn’t mind doing long distance but…that’s not just distance that’s my boyfriend going on missions where he could die, plus it’s not like we can keep in contact when you’re out there either,” she explained, remembering all of the reasons that had made her uncertain of her relationship before.

Rafael chuckled at this, his smile increasing while he fidgeted with his hands in an attempt to keep his composure. “That’s actually what I wanted to tell you,” he stated eagerly. “My squad leader Elliot called me and informed me that I’ll be stationed here for next year in case anything happens again,” he informed with a large grin on his face. “That means I get to stay here!”

A smile crossed Valerie’s face when she heard this, making her worries vanish almost instantly. She still wasn’t sure whether things would work well with her and Rafael but at least it made things easier.

She looked at him warily. “And you promise not to keep anything from me? I swear I won’t tell anyone what you tell me, but I at least want to know if something bad could happen.”

“Well…my superiors won’t be happy if they find out, but as long as you really don’t tell anyone without my consent then you won’t have to worry,” Rafael reassured. He grabbed Valerie’s hands and pulled her into a hug, feeling her jump a bit at the sudden motion before hearing her chuckle and hugged her back.

“Anyways, let’s get going,” she said as she grabbed her boyfriend’s hand.

***

Miko and Reggie had now arrived at the port. They looked at the ships that would head for Kanto and Johto, their hands never separating from each other as they stared at the cruises. “So I guess this is it huh?” Reggie said somberly.

“Hey don’t be sad,” Miko reassured, finally letting go of his hand and patting his shoulder. “We’re still gonna talk obviously, and we said we’ll see each other during the summer.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Reggie nodded his head as he smiled at his girlfriend. He was a bit sad that he wouldn’t be able to spend every day with Miko and the rest of the friends he had made, but he knew that he’d see them again and that they still had one more year to enjoy together. He petted Chigon lightly, silently thanking the small Dragon Pokemon for the changes it had made in his life.

“One more year,” Reggie muttered to himself before feeling Miko tap on his shoulder.

“Ready to go?”

“…yeah.”

End of Chapter 50
Next Time Epilogue: Memorial

Last Minute notes:

So this chapter was mainly of closure but it also had a LOT of foreshadowing for the next part. I really enjoyed developing and finally getting to mention some plot and character points that I have been saving up and that you'll see later. I'm also glad to have finished Kevin's character arc, he's not that bad of a guy, he just has his own personality and that puts him at odds with others some times.

The first scene of the chapter is actually a last minute scene I wrote up only a few days ago, I don't know but I've been spending the lsat month or so reworking some things on the story as well as adding new things (M) into it, so I wanted to do a scene to kind of show some of that. Also I have to say yes and no on the fact of where I got the M from, she's not supposed to go through the same things as N :p it's just mostly...she's important...there's a reason why it's M but of course I can't say that here.
 
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Can't believe it's been 3 years since you started the second saga of Pokémon Academy, and that it is now reaching it's end. Quite a ride, I'll tell ya.

I'll first give my thoughts to the most recent chapters before I move on to the entirety of your fic. Even though you're still missing the epilogue, I still find it fitting to give it my overall impression at this point.

First things first, the final arc here was nothing less but epic to me. Memento Mori's attack on the academy was something we all knew was inevitable, but the way you did it was something I didn't expect in a good way. Instead of just being a couple of powerful trainers, they brainwashed more than half of the academy's students into mindless beast/zombie. Definitely one of the more original ideas in Fanfiction Fairground if you ask me.

Noah, the main villain in this final arc, is great. Being the main orchestrator behind the scenes, you can't help but love/hate the guy as he continues to taunt our heroes throughout the arc. I was actually surprised that he wasn't the boss of Memento Mori, as I had the impression he WAS the boss. That was an interesting surprise and you'll no doubt introduce him and the others in Memento Mori in the next saga so we can learn more about them.

When it comes to our heroes, I was a bit surprised about how much we switched points of views here. It's a bit of a shame that Reggie didn't get prime attention until at the end of the arc, but nonetheless, I found the levels of attention each character got here to be satisfying. But again, some more attention to Reggie wouldn't hurt here. Instead of just flying to Noah's hiding place, I would've liked to see him fighting his way through to his destination.

Now for the entire fic in general. Initially, compared to Dragon's Roar, it started a bit slow with the action. There's nothing wrong with having character-focused chapters (they were all quite enjoyable, make no mistake), though it wouldn't hurt if it had some few hints of things to come. The next couple of arcs, however, is where things really start to get heated up. From the trip to Unova, where they encountered the Black Knight (I think it was their name?) and helping Victini (I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO IT XD), to the tournament featuring the Enforcers so on.

Each character also developed quite nicely throughout the story and we even got to meet new ones as well (Alison being my personal favorite) and we finally see Miko and Reggie together, whose relationship was built up since Dragon's Roar if I remember correctly. Fin being Fin, as usual, though he did change a little bit when it came to Valerie, surprisingly developing feelings for her. Definitely an interesting little change in him. And Darren being... well, Darren, though I have noticed he's avoiding the others more than the previous and it seems only Alison can get close to him at the moment. And with the little bits of info we got in this fic about him, I got a suspicion why. While these are just a couple of characters mentioned here, I'll say here that each character's development were done very well in my opinion.

As for grammar and stuff, definitely a huge improvement compared to Dragon's Roar, you even improved while you wrote this fic, though there's still a couple of places that could use some polish.

Overall, while it had a somewhat slow start, Second Years Rhapsody turned into a really good fic. Can't wait to see how the third fic of this series will do :)
 
He had been there before, albeit it was always grudgingly, he wasn't one for progress reports after all. The young man groaned as he walked into the room, his feet sinking into the crimson colored carpet.

Oh, I see you fixed the carpet thing. It's better now. Also, I don't think anyone likes progress reports. ;)

"You should read more though, every person should know the true beauty of a good book, I've always seen is as the most immersive medium myself."

Is this guy Makishima? just kidding

"I do not care for what you make your subordinates say Noah," the man interjected, raising his hand carefully. "I believe that these type of things should be done in person when the situation merits it. Right now it does."

Liked this particular bit of dialogue, I must say.

“Life was a lot easier when I was eleven and all I had to worry about was not running out of food or getting killed by a Breloom in the woods.”

*sigh* Brendan is such a child, like, all the time... :p

A flower vase sat on the drawer and there were comic books with titles such as “Crobat Man” on one side of the base as well as a couple of books titled “Dawn of Galactic: Legacy of Cyrus” and “Dark World Burden” on the other.

LOL did you steal my fic's potential title you jerk

“Eh, all I needed was some rest and a lot of free hospital food,” Fin anwered, laughing slightly as he turned away from Reggie.

Sounds like Fin's hiding something!

“A toast! To my wonderful self for surviving!” Fin exclaimed while raising his can of soda. “Oh and to you all…doing stuff,” he shrugged before sitting back down.

Yes, Fin, sit down. I like his dialogue, seems he's trying to recover just like everyone else.

“Gee you guys are so sappy,” Miko pointed out with a sigh of frustration. She turned to face Matthew and laughed. “Of course you guys can keep being friends, you can join all of us if you want too,” she reassured with a nod.

VERY SAPPY INDEED. But it must be nice for Reggie to know he's not the only shy/weaker person around the schools.

She stared at the door in thought. It was strange feeling, she had never felt nervous about approaching him before and usually knocked loudly or announced herself. This time it was different, she knew that she couldn’t just barge in headfirst and that it wouldn’t solve anything.

Is this character development I see? I like it. You know I love Allison/Darren. ;o;

“Again, I just wanted to talk to my brother,” Jabber repeated. “I mean, Dad misses you too you know, it’s never fun when one of your sons doesn’t want to continue the family business,” he chuckled. “Though I got the better end of the deal out of that, you can’t even begin to imagine all the money and fame I get.”

I assume this is part of the foreshadowing you mentioned?

“Again, I just wanted to talk to my brother,” Jabber repeated. “I mean, Dad misses you too you know, it’s never fun when one of your sons doesn’t want to continue the family business,” he chuckled. “Though I got the better end of the deal out of that, you can’t even begin to imagine all the money and fame I get.”

stop being so cute reggie wow

BRING ON THE EPILOGUE
 
Dropping a review between reading Crossover Battle fics.

The first scene could've used another grammatical check. Everything else was fine, so I knew what had been the last bit added even before you said it outright. Maybe you could look over that again?

And Dawn of Galactic: Legacy of Cyrus. OK. Shout-outs are a thing, I guess. And bad guys talking about other bad guys is a thing.

Other than that, it was mostly just set-up for Year Three and a reminder that this story has a ton of characters. But everything beginning and ending with Matthew, however much happened in the meantime, was nice. I've always been a fan of book-ends.

Otherwise good job on actually finishing a second story. That's pretty big.
 
Welp, I finished the VS Enforcers arc finally. I really, really liked the various challenges and it was obvious that some real thought was put into them. I'm kinda surprised that Reggie's fist fight with Kevin was allowed, but it made for good drama. I kinda wish Reggie could've had a straight-up Pokémon battle with him, but what we got was good enough.

I really think the most organic relationship so far is Marie and Jack. I know they're not actually together yet, but the writing's on the walls, man. Fin is a scoundrel. Valerie's semi-advances on him feel a bit out of left field, though. Not a huge deal, as it's about time she gets a bit more characterization. :p
 
@Beth Pavell; @AetherX; @Tophat Dragoneye; @System Error; @Warrior of Fire; @Instrutilus; @Soulmaster; @Rediamond; @kintsugi; @Midorikawa; @diamondpearl876;
@chaos_Leader;


And here it is...after so many years the epilogue is finally here. You know, there were times I didn't think I would finish this, I particularly felt sad back in 2012 when I was able to post half of the freaking story in only 6 months only for...life to take its toll and completely kill my posting frequency since then. I still like writing, but...well I didn't have as many other hobbies as I have now. I hang around the forums a lot too xD but I read fics and school is there and I have friends and I like to watch anime and play games from time to time, so it's not that I don't like writing, it's more that while writing was my escape during high school, the thing I did the most to entertain myself now I have more things to entertain myself with. Mind you I'm not saying they're more important but I like them.

Writing too has gotten more complex for me, there's so many things I learned while writing SYR that I didn't know while writing DR, I grew a lot as a person and a writer both from meeting new people, reading new stories, watching different mediums and just in general learning more about the world and I think that influences. Writing is fun but now I have to plan things out more, I actually research (mostly, I'm still getting the hang of it) and think multiple times about what to do and if what I'm doing works or not.

And I honestly don't know why I'm saying this here, it just feels like I'm dragging it but I guess I'm thankful for those that are still reading even after so long, it really means a lot and I'm sorry if you ever felt like it was a bother to read or like it wasn't worth as much time. I certainly know my story isn't nearly as good as the other stories here even with more chapters and content, in fact I think that's a disservice to it.

But anyways, enough with the long speech! it's time for the closing Epilogue, it ended up being a lot longer than I originally wanted but I think it does a good job of both foreshadowing and showing the characters in different settings to what we're used to.

So, enjoy the Epilogue.

Epilogue: Memorial

Grand Mare was the most popular restaurant in Sootopolis and one of the most famous in the world. The restaurant was located atop Sootopolis Hills right at the edge of the crater-like city. Standing at five stories and overlooking the city, its dark glass windows shrouding it from the outside but allowing the guests inside the restaurant to look upon the beautiful land of Sootopolis made it one of the best restaurants in the world.

Brendan sat quietly in the third floor of Grand Mare, marveling at the shining, golden chandeliers that decorated the clean white roof of the building, lightning the whole room and adding to the radiant atmosphere of the restaurant.

He leaned back against the circular red restaurant booth he was sitting on, edging closer to the corner as he felt his body sink deeper into the leather seats. He tapped his right hand against the round table that stood in front of him, his eyes looking out through the window, staring at the bright night life of Sootopolis and the reflection that stared back at him as he tugged on the tie that he was wearing around his neck.

He hated wearing suits, they made him feel so constricted; he was a trainer after all, a man that had grown used to wearing what he found most comfortable. Because of this he tended to hate formal gatherings like these, especially when it was among people he already knew. Alas his wife had advised him to wear one in order to look presentable, though he figured it was probably just her way of punishing him for not taking her.

“Sorry we were taking too long; I had to redo my make up a bit,” his attention was taken away by the sound of a pristine feminine voice not too far from him. He turned towards the direction of the voice; coming into view with one of his dinner guests: Lisia.

Lisia was one of Hoenn’s best and legendary Coordinators, having started off her Contest career at such a young age and climbing her way through stardom in only a few years. Brendan himself had known Lisia since his journey days, particularly through the ongoing rivalry that he and his wife used to have as kids.

“It’s okay, it worked very well,” Brendan replied with a kind smile as he looked at Lisia, noticing that the men in the tables and booths around them had all turned to look at her immediately while the women stared at her with amazement and shock. He had to agree with them at least, just being in her presence was something that always surprised Brendan, especially the way she carried herself with a certain outgoing elegance and cheerfulness.

He scanned her for a moment as she sat down, his eyes staring at her aqua blue gala dress that hugged her figure, with glitter scattered around it to give it a certain gleam that just begged for other’s attention. She had tied her hair around in a long ponytail similar to the one she used to wear during her younger days and she had bangs that fell just above her beautiful ocean blue eyes.

“Like what you see?” Lisia teased with a soft chuckle, causing Brendan to turn away from her as she sat down on the other side of the booth. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure not to tell May about it.”

“Well you can’t really blame me,” Brendan argued with slight annoyance as he grabbed a breadstick from the basket in the center of the table, taking a bite out of it and causing a loud crunch sound to be heard through the table.

“Sorry for the wait,” This time Brendan was distracted by Stacy’s voice as she walked into the booth right behind Lisia. Her blue hair had been straightened for the dinner and she was wearing a navy blue strapless dress with a light, diaphanous dress that fell over her legs and with a embroidery in the shape of a heart on the torso. It certainly was a dress that stood out less than Lisia but at the same time reminded Brendan of Stacy’s previous model status.

Stacy looked away from Brendan shyly, probably worried to show up in such different attire in front of her boss. “Oh don’t be so embarrassed Stacy dear!” Lisia exclaimed brightly as she smiled to her cousin and asked for her to sit down next to her. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of looking pretty.”

“It’s not that,” Stacy shook her head as she turned to Brendan. “It’s nice to see you again principal,” she greeted respectfully.

“Same here Stacy, but really don’t worry too much,” Brendan shook his head reassuringly before handing a bread stick to Stacy. The woman looked at him for a moment before nodding his head and grabbing it.

“Anyways, I didn’t think you’d be able to afford dinner in this place,” Lisia commented with a sly smirk as she looked at the man, putting her chin on her hand as she took out a smartphone covered in a Swablu case. “You must be raking in the money with your new job.”

“The league does offer some pay, but all the money I gathered during my days as a trainer, champion and Frontier Brain help out as well,” Brendan explained with a laugh. He didn’t want to admit that the only reason he had even arranged for that dinner was because he knew that it’d be the only way to get Lisia to sit down and talk. “I figured it’s been a while since we saw each other so we might as well have some fun.”

“And you didn’t invite May?” Lisia countered, making Brendan groan at the fact that he had mentioned his wife yet again. She giggled at this. “Fine, I’ll stop bothering you with that.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll get a good scolding once I get home,” Brendan sighed, clearly unhappy with that realization. “She’s four months pregnant now so she thought it’d be best to not risk traveling around. I told her there was no problem but you know how she can get.”

Stacy didn’t say anything; instead she just opted for biting into her breadstick, trying her best to not make it sound loudly. “Anyways,” Brendan added calmly. “We’re here so let’s enjoy ourselves,” he suggested before gesturing for one of the waitresses to walk over to them. “Could you please bring us a bottle of the best wine you’ve got?” he requested with a charming smile.

“Oooooh you really are pulling out all the stops,” Lisia replied with a soft laugh, her eyes becoming slightly more serious as she stared Brendan down. “That means you have a reason to do it though, doesn’t it?”

“I can’t fool you huh?” Brendan let out a sigh before smiling back at the Coordinator.

“You were never the best liar cutie.”

“I guess that’s a good point,” Brendan laughed heartily before noticing the waitress walking back to their table, this time carrying a bottle of wine on her left arm and three glasses on her right. “I guess I’ll get down to the point. I did all of this in order to get you to actually come talk to me seriously for one,” he explained while the waitress set up the glasses and opened their bottle. “I wanted to make a proposition for you. I heard that you had been thinking of leaving the Contest scenario after winning the Geo Carnival.”

Lisia’s playful grin decreased when he said this, something that shocked both Stacy and Brendan as the woman finally put her phone back inside of her purse and leaned against the booth. “That is true. I’ve been in the business for about 20 years so I figured it was a good time for a break, I wouldn’t say it’s complete retirement but I feel like I’ve left my mark,” she explained with an air of pride and professionalism to her voice, her sharp eyes fixated on Brendan. “That doesn’t mean I’d like to be a teacher though.”

Brendan put his hands on the table, keeping his gaze on Lisia as well. He knew that she would be tough to convince, she was a woman that preferred to do her own thing, to travel around and enjoy herself, something she wouldn’t be able to do if she had to stay at the Academy year-round. “Hear me out. All I’m saying is that being a teacher could prove to be a new experience for you; you’re a skilled Coordinator and you were able to teach both me and May the basics of Contests, you’d be a great teacher,” he explained as he tried his best to keep up his serious expression. “If you do join I plan to have you teach Coordination to the third years, kids that will have to decide where to go once they graduate. You could be the one that helps them gain the experience to actually go into the industry.”

“You need talent and charms to make a name for yourself in it remember?” Lisia countered coyly. "And connections, and good social skills and...you get the idea."

“Weren’t you the one that told us that if we tried hard we could make it as far as we wanted,” Brendan smiled, enjoying her grimace when she remembered her own words. “Plus if you ever make a comeback imagine how the media will be all over you to know that you spent your wonderful resting time teaching the new generation,” He added playfully, grinning at the defeated Coordinator.

Lisia only sighed before letting out another giggle. “That is also a good point if I do say so myself,” she pointed out before grabbing a hold of her glass and taking a sip from it, a smile on her face. “Maybe I’ll consider it if the pay is good.”

“I already discussed it with the League, they think it’ll be nice to have an experienced trainer such as you among our ranks; so yes, the pay will be good.”

Lisia nodded her head at this, a dream-like smile crossing her face once she thought of the prospects of joining the academy. “Okay I’ll bite,” she smirked before taking another sip from her glass and laying it back down gently. “Plus it means I’ll get to spend more time around my favorite Trainer and cousin!”

Stacy finally took her chance to speak this time, having listened carefully to what the other two discussed. “Well I’m glad that Lisia is going to be working together with us next year, it’ll be nice having another new Coordinator around,” Stacy pointed out with a warm smile towards her cousin. “But what about Ms. Rose and the other Coordination teachers? Also why am I here if you wanted to speak to Lisia?”

Brendan nodded his head, processing Stacy’s question as he took a swag of his own glass, waving it around slightly before drinking some of the wine down. “I actually discussed it with Ms. Rose and the other teachers, it took a bit but it was decided that only Rose and Lisia would be teaching the third years if she agreed to becoming one,” he explained carefully as he turned towards the Biology teacher. “As thus Rose would stop teaching first years and would only stay with the second and third years in return.”

“As to why you are here, well….let’s just say that’s another matter,” his expression became dry, maybe even slightly cold as he stared at Stacy, making the woman become hesitant and worry about the timing of her question. “What I’m about to say is information that you are not allowed to tell anyone, only Freed and May know about this,” he explained, receiving a nod from the two of them.

“After Memento Mori’s attack a month or so back the League decided to finally put their foot down in regards to the way I have been handling the school,” Brendan stated bluntly, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I’m lucky I didn’t get fired but basically the League thinks that we should increase our security as well as the skill of the people we have at hand in order to protect the students. That’s why I decided to recruit Lisia,” Brendan explained quietly, making sure that no one else would be able to overhear what he was saying. “The League also said that starting next year they would be working together with InterPol, the Agency and the Ranger Union to try and bring down Memento Mori, assuming that they succeed I am to step down from my post as principal of Elemental Academy.”

Stacy didn’t react to this, not even seeming surprise over the revelation. How could she though? Even during her single year working in the academy she had been able to tell that Brendan had implemented a very relaxed approach on how to deal with the Academy and the students, something that had clearly come to a head during the attack of Memento Mori. Of course she still did her best in giving the man a smile of pity and slight regret, even if it was mostly complementary.

“So with that in mind I figured that it would be best if I focused on training my replacement next year,” he continued, looking firmly at Stacy now before giving her a kind smile. “That’s why I wanted to make a proposition?”

“A proposition?” Stacy asked, curiosity and hesitation in her voice.

“Starting next year I would like for you to take on the role of Elemental Academy’s first Vice Principal,” Brendan announced. Stacy gasped in return, her eyes bulging with realization as she turned towards her grinning cousin.

“Wait..why me though?” she asked, her voice breaking slightly. She couldn’t see why the principal would pick her over so many others, especially teachers that had been in the academy longer. She thought back to the events of Memento Mori’s attack, about how she had caved in and lost her will after Freed’s capture.

“I want someone responsible, firm and confident to take over my place,” Brendan explained clearly, grabbing her hand slightly. “I also want someone who can look on the more professional side, who worries a lot more about their choices and who can act professional and mature about it, someone who will take on leadership and remind others of what matters and what’s acceptable.”

“And you think I’m that person?”

“I’ve heard all of your complains, they were always sound and on point, your opinion is one that clearly puts reason and the safety of everyone involved,” Brendan reassured, nodding his head. “You’re a good teacher that the students like, you also took on the role of looking after the Newspaper and then Media Club; heck, changing the name of the club and what it did actually helped it become more well known and gave it more to do in the school grounds, that shows you have skills in decision-making.”

“But I…I’m not strong or-“

“You led the students and teachers through the Memento Mori attack when no one else would,” he reminded, causing Stacy to gasp once more. “That shows confidence and a will that even when broken down never wavers, it shows that you’re willing to put everything on the line to protect everyone,” his smile became brighter as he let go of the woman’s hand, staring at her grateful face as he saw a few tears trail her eyes. “Regardless of what mistakes you might’ve made in the past or your skills as a Trainer I believe that you are the best candidate for Principal. I’ll be delighted if you would take the role.”

Stacy chuckled a bit at this, trying to regain her composure. “Fine, I guess if you need me that much.”

***

“And then the Metang just started nuzzling against me and it was just so sweet I tell you,” Miko was laughing heartily, the sound of her voice and laughter causing a smile to go through Reggie’s face as he looked back at the screen of his laptop where her face was being displayed. “Anyways, I think I might catch it. Jasmine is teaching me a lot too,” the girl explained with a confident smile to her face as she showed her bicep to Reggie.

“Are you working out with her or something?” Reggie couldn’t help but chuckle, causing the girl to blush slightly before she lowered her arm. “Don’t worry, some muscle is kind of cute on you,” he commented calmly.

“Shut up you, you’re not allowed to be cheeky with me,” Miko scolded, her face still looking flustered.

“Get a room you two!”

Reggie groaned as he heard the voice, causing him to turn towards the sound of the voice.

Sitting down on the other side of the dining room table was Fin, who had been comfortably enjoying a slice of pizza while he was listening to his best friend speak. The boy grinned back at Reggie when he saw him recognize his presence. “I forgot Fin was there,” Miko replied dryly.

“Hi Miko!” Fin called out as he got up from his seat and ran over to Reggie, putting his head above his friend so as to get a better look at the screen. “It’s nice to know everything’s going well on you side, you’re looking pretty good,” he complimented with a wide grin.

“You’re not looking bad yourself,” Miko chuckled back, trying her best not to let out an actual laugh when she realized Reggie’s annoyed expression.

“You know you should come over. Poor Reggie here spends all his nights frustrated and by his lonesome s-“ Fin was cut off by Reggie’s elbow colliding with his rib, instantly making the teenager jump back and groan.

“Don’t listen to him,” Reggie replied, still seeming embarrassed after Fin’s interference.

“It’s okay, I like it when you think about me,” Miko replied with a sly smirk on her face, ensuing Reggie’s own blush. “Yay I got my revenge!” she cheered.

Reggie couldn’t help but laugh as he heard this. It had been a month already since they had gone in summer vacation and while talking to Miko over long distance wasn’t the same as having her there he still felt a special connection. He smiled as he looked back at the picture, all of his worries and fears of the year vanishing the moment he looked at her fae.

“Do I have something on my face?” Miko asked, rubbing her forehead.

“Not really,” Reggie shook his head in return. “Anyways, you should probably get some sleep, you have to be up for morning training early.”

“Oh you’re right! Damn it!” Miko put her hand against her face as she realized what time it was already. “I also had to go with Mina to this movie that she’s been wanting to see,” she groaned loudly. “I swear I still don’t get how dragging me with all her college friends is ‘socializing’ I might as well not exist there.”

“Well, only two more months. It’ll be over soon,” Reggie reassured, turning his own head towards the living room sofa where his mother, his sister Carey and Fin were sitting down watching TV. “I mean, being at home is great…but not being able to see you guys just doesn’t feel right either.”

“Am I chop liver now?” Fin shot Reggie a glare.

“Yes,” both Reggie and Miko replied in unison before they broke into laughter.

“Anyways, I gotta go. Good night love,” Miko waved at Reggie before her screen vanished from in front of Reggie, causing his smile to diminish.

***

Reggie groaned softly, his body moving around on his bed, shuffling the blankets that were over him and wrapping them around his body as he moved erratically. His eyes fluttered open in a half sleep state, his hand resting on his bed as he scanned his dark room.

Another thing he had noticed during his summer vacation was that being in his room felt a lot different. Spending most of his time at the academy made his bed, which had once been a safe haven, feel like a complete stranger’s bed. During those moments his mind would wander too, always going back to the academy, though it wasn’t to the happier events.

He rubbed his fingers against the scar on his cheek slightly as he thought back to Noah. He knew he couldn’t blame himself for what had happened, that wouldn’t have been right for the others, but that didn’t stop him from feeling that he still failed at being unable to beat the man. His eyes then fell on the sleeping Chigon, resting on a basket that had been set up for it in the corner of the room, its body folded up as he rested its head against its behind.

Was Memento Mori really after Chigon? If so then why had Noah left just like that? Those were the questions that plagued his mind, kept him up…those were the questions that made him wonder and fear for his and his friends lives.

Finally he convinced his body to push itself up, pulling the blankets off of himself as he sat against the edge of the bed and sighed, seemingly alerting Chigon who raised its head and began looking around. “Sorry to wake you up buddy,” Reggie smiled before pushing himself up from the bed and walking towards his closet in search for his shoe. “Wanna go on another night walk with me?”

“Chi!” Chigon nodded its head in excitement before it ran over to Reggie, its innocence amusing the trainer as he finished putting on his sneakers.

He did wonder where Fin had gone to, his eyes falling on the small inflatable mattress that had been made not too far from his bed. “Well, I bet he’s in the bathroom,” Reggie shrugged as he let Chigon climb up to his shoulder and walked out of his room.

Reggie made his way silently down the stairs and through the house, making sure not to wake anyone in his family or Medi-their household Medicham-as he walked and made his way to the front door. The door clicked swiftly and he pulled it back, causing it to make a low creak that made the teenager wince. “…I think we’re in the clear,” he whispered to the small dragon as he walked out and closed the door as quietly as he could.

He had to admit that even at the dead of night Celadon was still a very nice city. The suburban streets around here were completely dark with the exception of a few carefully located light post, yet the light of the buildings and sky scrapers in the more urban areas of the city were still able to light the streets somewhat.

He also couldn’t forget about Celadon’s night wind, which blew against his face and chilled his skin as he walked. He was amazed by the fact considering they were in the middle of July still. As gust blew around him he noticed the loud rustling of the tree leaves, a rustling that called him and directed him towards where he wanted to go.

Reggie came upon a small park in the center of the suburban area, a park that he had been all too familiar with for years. His eyes turned towards the swings that were being pushed around lightly by the wind. The same swings with which he had spent many lonely days as a little kid. He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of those thoughts as he paced towards the center of the park.

Finally he came upon his destination, a square-shaped black memorial that stood in the center of the park, with white letters engraved on the memorial, listing multiple names on it. He could never truly describe what he felt when he looked at it. Grief was always one thing, but regret usually followed soon after that as well.

He squinted his eyes, his fists clenching instinctively with frustration as he looked at the memorial while Chigon jumped down from his shoulder. “I know it’s not okay for me to come here every day,” he said towards the dragon, his eyes fixed on the engraving. “But…with everything going on lately this just comes back to me every single day I’m here.”

“Boy you sure walk when you sleep walk,” Reggie’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Fin’s voice from behind him, causing him to turn around as he noticed Chigon licking the boy’s foot. “Seriously man, it’s cold as fuck out here and you’re out for a night walk? You’ve got some balls…frozen balls but balls all the same,” he chuckled lightly, patting Reggie’s shoulder as he faced the memorial.

“Sorry…I just…I just come here once in a while,” Reggie answered, facing away from Fin nervously. “There’s nights where I can’t sleep properly so I come here to think.”

“Hence my balls comment, you’re in a fucking park at this late at night, you’re asking for murderers to come get you,” Fin shook his head, meaning what he said only half jokingly. “What’s the memorial for?” he asked in a quieter tone.

“Victims of the Black Cloud,” Reggie replied quietly, his voice sounding hoarse as he did.

At first he expected Fin to ask more about it, while it was a huge event for him and Celadon he wouldn’t have been surprised if Fin hadn’t heard it. Instead he noticed that his friend’s expression had completely changed. Gone was the cheerful laughter and sympathy from before, instead they had been replaced by shock, dread and…grief. “I see,” he said quietly, walking closer to the memorial and gently patting it with his hand, allowing the cold to crawl up his hand. “Did you lose someone then?” he asked, glancing at Reggie with regret filled eyes.

Reggie was taken aback by the expression a bit. Of course he didn’t expect Fin to act the way he always did, but the fact that he seemed so sad-maybe even a little guilty-was something that completely threw him off. Just how much did he know about Fin? He certainly seemed to have a connection with this event himself in order to become like that, had he lost someone as well? If so why hadn’t he told him.

“Reggie?” Fin urged, finally pulling Reggie back to earth.

“Oh…I lost a friend,” he stated silently, his eyes falling on the floor as his earlier feelings resurfaced. “She was, well, she was my best friend really.”

“She huh?” Fin asked, giving him a half hearted grin.

“It was nothing like that,” Reggie shook his head. “Emily, she was a person that was always there for me, my first real friend,” his head turned back to the swings from earlier, his gaze fixed on them as his mind was lost in the memories of his past. “I guess it isn’t hard to believe but I wasn’t really well liked as a kid. I was timid and I couldn’t really get close to anyone, I used to come here a lot and the only person I would play with was my brother, at least until his own friends came and he had to go with them….I always turned down his offers to play with them too.”

“Then I met Emily. She was completely different from what I was used to, she treated me nicely and was always there for me,” he explained, his mind racing as he realized that there was another similar person in his life.

“So that’s your thing huh? You like to be rescued from your lonesome self by cute chicks? It’s a pretty tame fetish at least,” Fin commented, only causing Reggie to sigh at having his best friend say what he was thinking.

“But anyways, Emily and I were friends for years and whenever Valerie and Johann came to visit the four of us would always play together and it was just…” he stopped, smiling brightly. “They were really fun times.”

“But then…when the day of the Black Cloud came to be it all just ended, it was as if someone had suddenly erased that from my life,” he raised his hands slightly, his eyes looking down at them as he clenched them. “I just..”

“You know, didn’t the events of Black Cloud happen at the pier?” Fin asked curiously, stopping Reggie from descending deeper into his depression.

“It’s um-it’s a custom in Celadon, the city doesn’t go through many accidents or life changing events but when it does it tends to put multiple memorials in key spots of the city,” Reggie explained hesitantly. “It’s not the way it’s done but this city has a lot of different customs like that.”

“I see…” Fin trailed off, slowly getting down on one knee as he stared at the memorial. He stay silent, his eyes fixed on it before he put his hand against his chest, pressing on it tightly and closing his eyes. “Thanks Emily,” he smiled, making Reggie’s eyes open widely. “For taking care of such a useless rascal like this guy,” he chuckled, opening his yes and patting the memorial once more. “Don’t worry, he’s not alone anymore, he has me and many other people that are with him to push him along.”

“Fin…you…”

“So you can rest, the same goes for the rest of you in there,” he kept talking before slowly pulling himself back up. “We’re only kids now…but when we grow up we’ll be sure to make this world a better place,” he vowed, his eyes staring deeply at the memorial. “I know that sounds completely naïve and idealistic but it’s the best I can do,” he laughed before turning back towards Reggie. "And that is a custom in Kin Island."

“Dumbass,” Reggie chuckled softly as he walked over to Fin. “But thanks, that means a lot,” he nodded his head as Fin wrapped an arm around him.

“Only one more year.”

“Yep…one more year.”

Even if he still felt uneasy about the event with Memento Mori and what would happen in his next year he couldn’t help but feel relaxed, having Fin next to him helped, working as a beacon for the good things in his life. Maybe life at the academy was tough sometimes but there was always something good about it too, things that were important to him and that he appreciated greatly.

END

And that's the Epilogue folks! it's been a really fun ride and I hope you all have had fun with it just like I did. I certainly enjoyed developing the characters and the story more and plan to do it even more as I go into the third, more serious and way more story and character driven part of this story.

And as always remember to R and R and I hope to see you guys again next time, there's cake in the back and no it is not a lie.

But first...

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NEXT TIME: It was our final year, a year where we had a lot of fun times and moments, where we smiled and laughed. We had battles and met new people, we faced opponents that we thought we could never overcome.

But…that was it…it was our final year.

Pokemon Academy Year III: Childhood’s End
 
Grand Mare was the most popular restaurant in Sootopolis and one of the most famous in the world. The restaurant was located atop Sootopolis Hills right at the edge of the crater-like city. Standing at five stories and overlooking the city, its dark glass windows shrouding it from the outside but allowing the guests inside the restaurant to look upon the beautiful land of Sootopolis made it one of the best restaurants in the world.

I think one of the things that I liked about this academy fic in particular was your use of other cities, such as Celadon and, here, Sootopolis. With college ending I've kind of realized I should have traveled outside of my college town to meet more people and make connectionsa and just generally see what other sights are out there, and so it makes sense for you to put that aspect in your fics.

He hated wearing suits, they made him feel so constricted; he was a trainer after all, a man that had grown used to wearing what he found most comfortable.

I quite like a man in a suit, but I can appreciate the detail about trainers being able to (and kind of having to) wear comfortable clothes.

“It’s okay, it worked very well,” Brendan replied with a kind smile as he looked at Lisia, noticing that the men in the tables and booths around them had all turned to look at her immediately while the women stared at her with amazement and shock. He had to agree with them at least, just being in her presence was something that always surprised Brendan, especially the way she carried herself with a certain outgoing elegance and cheerfulness.

I always got that impression from Lisia too. I'm glad to see you'll (probably?) be bringing her in as a character in the 3rd fic.

Stacy didn’t say anything; instead she just opted for biting into her breadstick, trying her best to not make it sound loudly.

There's clearly a lot of tension between Brendan/Lisia/Stacy for some reason, and you're showing it well.

“You need talent and charms to make a name for yourself in it remember?” Lisia countered coyly. "And connections, and good social skills and...you get the idea."

Is that her insulting all of Brendan's students? Haha.

“I already discussed it with the League, they think it’ll be nice to have an experienced trainer such as you among our ranks; so yes, the pay will be good.”

Teacher pay generally sucks, but this is pokemon, so...

“And then the Metang just started nuzzling against me and it was just so sweet I tell you,” Miko was laughing heartily,

I didn't think a Metang could be cute, but there it is.

Finally he came upon his destination, a square-shaped black memorial that stood in the center of the park, with white letters engraved on the memorial, listing multiple names on it. He could never truly describe what he felt when he looked at it. Grief was always one thing, but regret usually followed soon after that as well.

Nice emotional description... I feel bad for Reggie. It's just like him to be so upset over this and to visit all the time.

“It’s um-it’s a custom in Celadon, the city doesn’t go through many accidents or life changing events but when it does it tends to put multiple memorials in key spots of the city,” Reggie explained hesitantly. “It’s not the way it’s done but this city has a lot of different customs like that.”

Again, like the little bit of worldbuilding here.

“Thanks Emily,” he smiled, making Reggie’s eyes open widely. “For taking care of such a useless rascal like this guy,” he chuckled, opening his yes and patting the memorial once more. “Don’t worry, he’s not alone anymore, he has me and many other people that are with him to push him along.”

Fin can be nice when he wants to be. ;o; Aw.

And as always remember to R and R and I hope to see you guys again next time, there's cake in the back and no it is not a lie.

Cake, please.

In all seriousness, congrats on the completion of the 2nd book in your little trilogy here. It was an interesting ride and reading it, as you know, gave me some ideas that I want to incorporate in my own fics. And it's my personal opinion that the best thing a writer can do is inspire others. I'll be back for the third fic!
 
Awww, hell. I leave for five months and you go out and finish your fic. Kids these days...

Anyway. I kind of blitzed through the last ten chapters/however many you've published since I last reviewed (which was, like, a year ago? Nine months? It's been a while, heh), but damn that was a rush. There was tons of action everywhere, and I actually enjoyed having all of the split perspectives/not just focusing on Reggie the whole time--he's definitely taken a bit more of a backseat as protagonist in this arc, and that's actually pretty neat. Anyway, tons of action, lots of explosions, a bunch of people shouting at each other and having emotional arguments about their beliefs; I think Ace would be proud. Also, Miko, fuck yeah.

The epilogue was hella sweet. One more year, man. One more year. but in publishing terms that means like five? Six? Heh.

I felt like the Pokerus plot came a bit out of left field. This is probably almost certainly because there was a ~nine month gap between reading chapters (my bad D:), but I feel like all of this unfolded within the last five to ten chapters. There was always this vague Memento Mori plot running in the background, but I think it just took me way too long to link "oh their evil plan = pokezombies and peoplezombies" so that the last couple of chapters felt like a giant explosion of EVERYTHING HAPPENING EVERYWHERE. (again, if this was mentioned tons of times earlier and I'm just a sleep-deprived nobody, ignore me haha you know the drill). That being said, the whole concept of Pokerus -> Zombies was pretty cool and this was one of the better times I've seen it executed, and I really enjoyed watching the school come together to deal with the massive threat. It kind of made for a culminating experience for the Academy, and I'm really glad that you chose to set the climax mostly on our home turf--it made things a lot more personal for the characters and the readers, and that was a clever touch.

Also, Mega Evolution fuck yeah
Mega Absol fuck yeah
Miko fuck yeah

Dawn of Galactic: Legacy of Cyrus
this is by far the best line of fanfiction I have ever read

Anyway, I feel like anything I've said has either already been said or is just outdated, heh. My bad. You did it, though. This was a hell of a ride, and it's been a pleasure watching you improve through this. You rock, bud.
 
I never thought I'd get to use this gif again for the same fanfic, but here goes...


I really enjoyed the second Valentine's Day chapter. It was nice to just kinda slow down and get some more development for the characters, especially with everything seeming to be set in motion at last. I really liked the introduction of Rafael, though I thought here and there he seemed a tad creepy... Hope he doesn't turn out to be a jerk. I also totally ship Matthew/Tyson now.
 
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Okay, now for the full review.

Let's start off with the negatives first, shall we? Your grammar isn't always up to snuff. I know this is something you've struggled with from the very beginning, and it has improved remarkably since you started writing and I have to commend you over that. Even still, I found your word usage rather odd at times, and occasionally straight-up incorrect (for example, M isn't being "homed" into a weapon, she's being "honed" into a weapon; I know, English is kinda stupid).

I also think that your plotting could still use work in spots. First and foremost is your buildup. Things get announced to the academy and you have a tendency to skip straight to the events beginning, rather than leading up to them and building that sense of excitement. Another big thing is the Memento Mori plot. They had a few appearances here and there, a sort of background threat hiding in the shadows, and they more or less just stay there until the final arc kicks in. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but considering they were (as I recall, perhaps incorrectly) that they were behind the Black Knight incursion in Castelia City, which was a pretty public crisis, I would think people would be talking about it more. There's also the PokeRus thing, which just sorta comes out of nowhere. It wasn't bad, just a bit underwhelming compared to everything else.

However, I think your strength continues to lie in your characters, as it always really has. Reggie in the first story was a fairly generic likeable underdog type of character, but you pushed him so hard this year and put him in new situations with new characters that really forced him to grow outside of his comfort zone and it was awesome. I really like how he draws strength from his friends, as it forms a nice dichotomy with Darren, who draws his strength from within himself. The double battle with Matthew against Sax really points this out, and it gets brought up more than once throughout the story, and I think it forms a pretty strong theme for the story. Though I was sad to see Jordan leave at the end of last year, I do think his departure may have made room for all these other characters to stretch their legs (though I'm still not letting you get away with shipping him off on a bus like that!!). Fin in particular has grown from a somewhat bratty, spoiled, and rebellious child into someone more layered and interesting (even if I still kinda hate his guts). I think, however, that the biggest change was in Miko. Last year, she seemed to be little more than a decently competent trainer who served as the love interest for the hero. This year, we got to watch as she grows into a confident woman who takes charge when the situation demands it, and refuses to take shit from anyone. Valerie got some much needed personality this year too, and I think her relationship with Rafael and her awkward encounter with Fin helped characterize her a lot. Speaking of Rafael, you REALLY had me going there! As for Darren, he hasn't really grown much, but again, I think this forms a really nice dichotomy with Reggie. While both go through crises of character, they both deal with them differently, with Reggie reaching out and opening up and Darren withdrawing even further into himself. Claudia wasn't a particularly compelling character, but she's a very competently-done supporting character and it was very satisfying to see her win her competition with Zephyr. With all this, however, I think that Marie and Jack really suffered the most out of the main cast. They had disappointingly little screentime, and mostly served to make the antagonists look more powerful.

As for the Enforcers, I really liked them. Keith is a bit of a stuffy prude, sure, and maybe took things too far with Darren, but for the rest of the story he seemed like a level-headed, competent leader. Tyson I always kinda liked, but I think he became my favorite of the group. So fiery. Alexa was nice, but kinda underdeveloped. I ended up not hating Angelo as much at the end. Zephyr I really like too. She does what she thinks she must but never takes things too far, and plays fair.

Now, onto the teachers. Really, only four ever get much spotlight, but I think they all worked well. Brendan was nice as the slightly-too-easygoing principal, and he had a very clear story arc. Freed was charming. Stacy really shone at the end, I think, after having been just kinda there for most of the story. Incendio sticking around was kinda neat, and I like how hard he is on Darren. Somebody has to be.

The villains are where it kinda falls flat though. I understand we'll be seeing more of them next year, but Envy kinda paled in comparison to Charles Whoever from last year. I suppose, though, that that's really just because of stylistic differences in the story, with this one being more episodic and the last one being more of an epic. Anyway, he just kinda felt a bit bland. Sure, he thinks things are all fun and funny and everything, but he didn't actually do that much and then ran away for no clear reason during his fight with Reggie.

[REVIEW GAME]For the ending, particularly the epilogue, it was a bit of a mixed bag. I kinda wish we got to see a bit more of the students and teachers making their last stand in the stadium, as well as Marie, Jack, and the others attacking the rear of the horde. There's also little followup to Brendan's fears of Reggie's battle lasting too long. Like, I get the idea of it, but nothing really happens there. Hm. Well, the epilogue did tie things up nicely, and did a decent job setting up a few dangling plot threads for next year. I really liked the scene in Celadon City at the memorial. I don't recall that being brought up before, so I'm thinking maybe it'll have repercussions next year. It also included a nice bit of worldbuilding with Fin's cultural nod. Also... cliffhanger! Another person related to MM similarly to Freed... My money's on either Matthew or Darren. I actually really hope it's not Darren. :p[/REVIEW GAME]

So overall, it was definitely a marked improvement over the first story. The characters were mostly better, your grammar and diction were way better, detail was better. The only thing that I think was not as good was plotting, but that's really moreso because of the style of story you were telling here. I'm definitely looking forward to more.
 
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I win the award for longest overdue review, maybe? Congratulations on finishing the story, here’s your FULL FIC REVIEW.

PLOT: There was a plot. It took a while to rear its head but it was there. That’s what was so different about this installment of the series though (i.e. just different than the last one). It wasn’t about some big epic plot, it was meant to slow down and take some time to get to know the characters. UNTIL IT WASN’T. I’m with the other people who said that the Castelia arc was a little… out of nowhere? Like it happened suddenly and was pretty cool, but then it was done and seemed to have little to no impact on the rest of the story.

Then Memento Mori came around and started dabbling in the plot and stirring things up, which led to the climax. And that was a pretty sweet climax. One of the things I really liked about the climax of Dragon’s Roar is the fact that each character got their time in the spotlight. This time around the plot didn’t work out in such a way that that was so easy (each protagonist getting an antagonist to face off against), but you managed to do it again anyway. Even Stacy, who I had doubts about throughout the story, managed to show some development and really shine. Since pretty much everything I have to say has to do with characters, I’ll go ahead and move in to that.

But first I want to point out that you do a great job of adapting game mechanics. Mega evolution was a must for this story at some point, given that you invented it in Dragon’s Roar before it was even a thing, so it was really cool to see a whole explanation behind it as well as some unexpected Mega evolutions in the climax. And then of course there’s the whole Pokérus thing, which was a really novel way to deal with that.

CHARACTERS: You cut out a few characters, or at least didn’t put as much emphasis on them. That was probably for the best, because you did a really solid job with the ones that remained. Plus you needed to make room because there was a whole new supporting cast beyond the usual group, which was fun.

Matthew was a great character to play around with in the beginning, helping Reggie get back up and running again, and it was cool to see him show up again throughout the story. Claudia was cool as well, if only because I’m a sucker for the one normal person among a crew of super special save the world types.

Stacy and Freed were interesting. It was kind of cool to see certain events from a teacher’s perspective without it being some random third person POV-less thing. They were real characters that changed and developed over the course of the story.

Valerie was another excellent addition. There really needed to be some new blood as far as shipping fuel goes, and it was nice that she was another regular person. Let’s be honest here, Fin is going to need a regular love interest besides just whoever happens to be around and is vaguely attractive. On that topic, I actually liked the Valerie-Fin-Rafael love triangle. Each character is wildly different, so it makes for a great dynamic. Not to mention you didn’t do the “Rafael’s actually evil and Fin saves the day” cop out I was worried about for a little while. I look forward to seeing where all that goes in the sequel.

Now for the main cast. Fin was as entertaining as ever. I keep wanting to punch him and hug him all at the same time. As with everyone else, he got some much needed character development. The Valerie situation helped significantly on that front. I always like seeing characters with a tough façade like that get broken down. You did a little bit of that here, but mostly just sowed the seeds for an even bigger break down in the sequel. Yet another thing I look forward to there.

Not a lot to add about Miko beyond what everyone else said. I’ve always kind of liked her, although I’m still not entirely sure about the Miko-Kevin-Reggie love triangle. I have a hard time believing a girl like her would look past the sheer douchiness of Kevin. Regardless, the Celadon arc was nice, and her involvement in the final chapters was welcome and entertaining.

And then there’s Darren. It’s hard for a character like him to play a big part in a story like this. He’s not the kind of guy to compete for fun or go to barbeques or be part of a love triangle or any of the other things that this story dealt with a lot. The dynamic between him and Allison was really interesting, and not something I expected coming in. It was a great way to play with the “battle girl” archetype. And then making him Reggie’s mentor was a good way to force some interaction out of him.

And then there’s Reggie. The main dude. He really manned up this time around, which was very welcome. I’m okay with seeing guys getting beat down over and over again, but eventually they have to learn to stand up for themselves. There’s no reason Reggie shouldn’t be able to really start kicking ass, and this fic he finally started to do just that. That said, the climax of his character here was in two parts. The first was the emotional climax: the Celadon arc and winning Miko over. That was cool and needed to happen. The second part was his physical climax: the final battle. He’s been training and growing over the course of the fic, and it showed. Unfortunately, like I pointed out in a previous review, Reggie kind of got overshadowed by other characters in the climax, since the arc leading up to it had little to nothing to do with him.

WRITING: As always you pretty consistently improve here with every chapter you write. Your description picked up considerably to a near acceptable level by my (too high) standards. The world really opens up when you add description, and it’s helped me appreciate this story much more. Doing research and planning things out is immensely helpful. It may not seem like it makes much of a difference at first, but it really helps the readers. You know that though, which is why you’re starting to do it more. Definitely keep that up. It’s worth the extra effort.

I’ve told you before how great your dialogue is. The banter in particular. Sometimes the more serious conversations can feel a little bit forced, so I’d suggest taking your time with those and maybe rewriting lines a couple times to make sure they really feel natural.

Really nothing else to add that others haven’t already said.

OVERALL: good job u did it. Two whole fics down! That’s seriously impressive. This was a fantastic ride from start to finish, and I eagerly look forward to the sequel (but please take your time to make it as awesome as possible). Once again, congratulations on writing a really solid story. Be proud of how far you’ve come and what you’ve done to get here! Good luck in the awards!

It’s 3AM. Told you I’d get this done eventually. Am tired. I typed half of this with my eyes closed. Hope it’s readable etc etc. Time for bed.
 
Massive feedback wall incoming!

Plot: 9/10 Like its prequel, the sequel is equally action packed, there's adventure, danger, intrigue, emotion, and many more twists and turns. But this time around, we get to see more of daily life at the academy, making for moments that will make you smile and provide character development in between the white knuckle moments.

Setting: 9/10

While some things have changed--such as some characters from the first story moving away, teachers retiring, and especially Brendan becoming the principal, there are also whispers of the familiar. Either way, Flaze has gone the extra mile to build the world, which almost makes the story read like a movie.

Characterization: 9/10

This is where the story really shines--while the characters start out like any other stereotype in an academy story--the eager to make an impression new kid, the shy bookworm, the jock, the tough guy--as the story goes on, we see them grow as people and see different sides of them. Many times--especially Kevin's story--you'll want Kleenex handy.

Style: 9/10

Once the scene is set and the characters get introduced, the story takes off on a grand adventure filled with twists and turns. But Flaze also knows when to take time out for the audience to catch their breaths, adding in some more intimate moments in between epic clashes.

Technical: 9/10

There were some minor comma issues, but this was more annoying than annything.

Overall: 95/100

A wonderful sequel that pulls off the rare feat of being as good as or better than the prequel.

Darren:

Depth: 6/10

While Darren is meant to be Reggie's best friend, and he plays this role well, there are still glimmers he can be something more, especially during more intimate moments. He and Reggie are very close, and it is wonderful to see this friendship grow, change, and at times be threatened.

Originality: 6/10

Every main character seemingly has a best friend, and Darren is no exception. But he does have potential, (which is likely expounded upon in the prequel), but if you are only reading the sequel, it can be hard to see how Darren stands out. It could help if you read the prequel first.

Entertainment Value: 8/10

Darren really shines when he is with Reggie, Fin, and Miko--their camaraderie reminded me a lot of Ash, Misty, and Brock in many ways, making scenes of the group together a joy to read.

Contribution to the Plot: 7/10

While Darren doesn't get quite as much of a starring role on his own as the other two do, he still has his own role to play in the group and drive the plot along.

Overall: 75/100

Although he came across to me as a background character, Darren still has plenty more potential to grow.

Depth: 8/10

While Fin can come across as the laid-back goofball, he can and does take charge when the situation requires it. His interactions with Darren, Reggie and Miko just make any scene he is in, but he has a more quiet and caring side in more intimate moments.

Originality: 7/10

Laid back goofballs have been done before, but Fin stands out for being heroic when he wants to be, as seen in a "big darn heroes" moment during the finale arc.

Entertainment Value: 9/10

I practically smiled every time Fin appeared, and his "big darn heroes" moment both hrew me for a loop and made me want to laugh a little at how over the top he was. He makes every scene he is in, but I have always had a soft spot for goofball characters

Contribution to the plot: 9/10

Alongside Darren and Miko, Fin has his role to play in driving the plot--but it is his "big darn heroes" moment that is pivotal to the final battle

Overall: 85/100

Though he has potential to be developed further, Fin is a very well done character whose heroic moment was easily my favorite part of the fic

While it is clear Reggie and Miko had feelings for each other before, it his here in the sequel those initial Beautiflies are beginning to become young love.yet Miko does not easily fall into the insta-relationship trap we see far too often--their relationship gradually grows and develops on its own, allowing her and Reggie to grow as well

Originality: 7/10

Yet Miko is not bound be her growing relationship to Reggie, she still maintains an active life on her own and with Darren and Fin. She is also not afraid to do any butt kicking on her own, either.

Entertainment Value: 8/10

As is said in my reviews to Darren and Fin, Miko's camaraderie with the boys was one of the most enjoyable parts of the fic. It goes to show that she is hardly the "delicate flower" most love interest characters tend to be.

Contribution to the plot: 8/10

In addition to her growing relationship, Miko does some battling and exploration herself to move the plot forward

Overall: 85/100

A believable love interest who can also hold her own in battle--Miko was another one of my favorites, and her relationship with Reggie is beautiful to read.

Noah:

Depth: 6/10 Noah may look and behave like your standard evil team leader (which is turned up to 11), but there are glimmers of a sympathetic side I wanted to see more of

Originality: 5/10 He reminds me a lot of Kefka from Final Fantasy 6, but mentally unstable megalomaniacs have been done before

Entertainment value: 8/10 His resemblance to Kefka is also his biggest strength--while explanations of evil plots are typically a no-no, how Noah explains his plot with the zombification pills (for lack of a better way to describe them) sent some chills down my spine

Contribution to plot: 8/10 He is the leader of a (very original) evil team, so it makes sense he is important.

Overall: 75/100

While the mentally unstable leader (or at least he came off to me as mentally unstable) has been done, and is his double edged sword, he does have potential to be even better.

Reggie

Depth: 8/10

While Reggie appears to be a typical Ash clone with a Fakemon as a partner,he takes a far different path than an Ash clone--he actually strategizes when he battles, but at the same time, is not afraid to take a few risks. In addition, we see immense development most Ash clones never get, his backstory, his emotions, his dreams, his regrets, his hopes, and his wishes

Originality: 7/10

While trainers that dream of being the very best are older than dirt in this fandom, Reggie stands out not only for having a believable Fakemon as a partner, but having gradual and believable growth and character development.

Entertainment Value: 9/10

This is where Reggie really shines--his relationship with Chigon is almost like Ash and Pikachu, plus he really cares about his friends--I especially like his camaraderie with Darren, Fin, and Miko

Plot Contribution: 9/10

While there is a cast of thousands in this story, this is mainly Reggie's story, and watching his transformation from student to hero once again is a wild and beautiful ride

Total: 88/100

Reggie's growth over the course of the story allows him to rise above a cliche
 
Alright, you finished the whole goddam fic. There's not a lot I can say about the last chapter and you already know my thoughts on the various components, so here's some sequel advice:

I suppose the greatest weaknesses of most fics are the flip-side of their strengths. Here it's definitely the cast. While diverse and large, it does occasionally make it difficult for newcomers to figure out who's who, enforces some cliche by necessity, and ultimately leads to everyone getting a little disregarded. Looking back on a fairly battle heavy story that clocks in at about fifty chapters, the nominal protagonist has... maybe three fights of significance? (Noah | the Matthew arc | Kevin... maybe something in the Genesect arc but I don't remember any of that and struggle to understand how that even made the story in hindsight) While that's perfectly fine for this story, if you're trying to really close the arcs and bring closure to the whole story and its characters, you might want to trim down your focus a little more to get more development and a better conclusion for a few characters rather than a little bit of a token sendoff for all of them. AetherX mentioned you already started doing that here, and I definitely agree since the final list of definitely significant characters (Reggie, Miko, Fin, Darren, Stacy, arguably Zephyr) is far less than it was at the start. I'd say keeping the sequel more or less focused on those six is a good way to prep for the endgame in character terms.

Plot-wise I don't have much. Again, mostly character-driven and slice of life arcs here were a strength of the story, but made the final appearance of a seriously threatening villain group feel kind of... odd? If the entire saga really is supposed to build to one final showdown, you might want to have earlier and more frequent villain appearances or otherwise build up their threat and the necessity of defeating them before the final battle rolls around.

Otherwise, just stick to your strengths. Setting is definitely one of them. Ensemble cast is good, but just needs kept in check to make sure that development isn't stretched too thin.
 
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