Zach is seen knelt by the river’s edge. He looks down at his reflection and stares at it for a while. His eyes close halfway and he displays a flat-mouth expression, appearing unamused. “Don’t even think about it, Betty…” He stands up.
The brionne appears before him from the water, pushing past his reflection. “Aw man! How’d you know I was there?!”
“I can see you in the water. You can’t fool me.”
Betty lets out a chuckle as she gets out of the water and sits by the edge with her tail hovering over the river. “You’re just too clever for me now, aren’t you? Any reason you’re out here by yourself?”
Zach turns away. “I… I’ve got a lot on my mind…”
“Still thinking about everything that’s happened?”
“Uh huh…”
“Well, how do you feel? Aren’t you happy…?”
“I don’t know…”
“This was what you dreamed of, Zach… I know you always wanted to work in a guild… And now, we’re going to be serving as one for this region… What do you mean you don’t know how you feel?”
“I mean, I don’t know, Betty…” He turns to her. “I feel numb and empty, okay…?”
“Is that a bad thing…?”
“I don’t know… As you’ve said, I always wanted to be part of a guild and have my own family… I thought I could never achieve that when I was kicked from Team Rescuers… But now that we’re going to be our own guild, I sense that dream has been fulfilled… I’m not sure what I’d do going forward…”
“You do what you’ve been doing the whole time; save pokemon and go on adventures.”
“Hey!” The two pokemon turn to see Ralph approach them. “How come you guys are out here? Taking a break from the party?”
“You could say that,” Zach tells him. “I was just out here to reflect, was all…”
“I came to check on him,” Betty says to the scorbunny. “I’m concerned.”
Ralph looks at the riolu. “Is everything all right, Zach?”
Zach tilts his head down. “It’s just… so surreal… I never thought I’d be part of a guild… Now that my dream has come true, I don’t know what to think or feel right now…”
“How about happy?” the brionne tells him. “This had been your aspiration for a long time, and now it’s finally come true!”
“Yeah.” Ralph smiles at him. “You should be proud to be among great pokemon. And we cannot wait to serve alongside you.”
Zach lifts his head up. “What… We…?”
“Ralph and I will be working with you as partners,” Betty tells him.
Zach faces her. “You don’t want to be a part of showbiz anymore? I thought you’d go back to that.”
“Nah,” she says. “Already changed my mind when I quit Elle and Gloria. Zach, this is way more fun than the circus and theatre! I get to beat the shit out of pokemon!” Ralph looks at her with an unamused expression. “Of course, I get to make a difference, as well.” She puts a smile on her face.
“Right,” Ralph utters. He then turns back to Zach. “Either way, we’ll both be with you, no matter what happens.” His expression mirrors Betty’s.
Zach looks at both of them, soon having the same look as they do. “Guys… Thank you so much… You both are the best pokemon a riolu, like me, could ask for.”
“We love you, too, Zach,” Betty spurts. “Now, let’s get back to the party, shall we? I’m eager for some fruit fizz, and you could use one.”
“I can make a better drink than that,” Ralph utters. “You’ll be asking for more, too.”
“Oh really? Now you have me interested.”
“He makes the best drinks,” claims Zach. “Really knows how to add taste and kick to them.” The three pokemon start ambling away from the river, together.
***
An hour has gone by and the party is still in full-swing. Pokemon of the group laugh, eat, and drink around a big, long, wooden table outside their newly-built headquarters. The village of Leafy Creek join their new protectors, too. Zach, Betty, and Ralph stand on the side, enjoying themselves in their drinks.
“Hey,” begins Gem, standing up with a bottle in her grasp. “Ever hear the story how Apatite shot off some fruit perfectly out of a tree?”
“Yes, we’re all familiar with that tale, Gem,” Diego answers.
“Well, I bet you he could knock off anything on my head!” She turns to the shiny sableye after raising her glass. “Cousin… Let’s show them.” Some of the audience give an “oooh” in response.
“Hold on…” Audrey approaches her with a helmet in her paw. She holds it up to the sableye. “You need to wear this.”
Gem laughs. “Oh, come on, Audrey! I don’t need protection!”
“You’re drunk! At least wear it for your own safety.”
“Oh fine, if you insist!” The sableye swipes it out of the audino’s paw before donning it, standing in the open, and balancing the bottle on her head. “All right, Cousin! Hit it off!” Apatite, standing a few feet from her, readies himself.
“Ha!” Betty calls out. “This ought to be interesting!”
“Looks dangerous,” Zach comments. “She could lose an eye.”
“That’s Gem for you,” says Ralph. “She doesn’t learn…”
Apatite attempts to focus on the bottle, but finds it difficult as it wobbles with the pokemon it’s balancing on. “I-I can’t risk this, G-Gem! Too much w-wobbling.”
“You can hit it while you’re drunk!” She tells him. “Now, shoot!” Apatite performs his shadow ball move and fires it toward the pokemon. When it hits, everyone’s faces quickly turn to shock after gasping. Gem yells in agony and quickly pushes the helmet off of her. “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” The helmet, now laying on the ground beside the broken bottle, shows a dent in the eye visor. “APATITE, YOU FUCKING MORON!”
Apatite remains still; frozen in his pose with shock all over his face. “Oh f-fuck…”
Audrey lets out a grunt. “Oh great…” She gets up and heads over to give aid to Gem. “Hold still a moment…”
“Oh Arceus,” Ralph comments. “Not again with that…”
Betty turns to the scorbunny. “This isn’t the first time this has happened?!”
“And it won’t be the last, I’m afraid…”
“Can’t imagine Gem will be going on missions anytime soon…”
“Oh, she will be… Whether she can do well, that is up for debate…”
Betty chuckles. “Ah, well, this is quite the ending, right?”
“Oh, it isn’t the end,” Zach states. “We’re just beginning. The real adventures are yet to come. But there’s no challenge too big or too small for us. Yet, for me, this has been quite… A RIOLU LIFE.”
