Chapter 10: The last three letters of "Friend"

Cass's Point of View

I look around as I approach Lumios Tower. Ava, John, and Jo are there. No sign of Hades, though. I run up to them quickly, not wanting the Malamars to spot me. As I get to them, the three look at me with relief.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Ava exclaims, rushing into me with an embrace. I hug her back tightly, as if she'll get Malamarized if I loosen my grip.

"Have you heard from Hades," John asks, the worry evident in his voice. I let go of Ava and shake my head.

"No," I respond sadly. John nods, disappointed. "Don't worry though," I continue, trying to be optimistic. "I'm sure he'll come flying in on Char's back!"

"Just like that," Jo says excitedly, pointing behind me. I turn around and smile, seeing Char flying in. However, my smile falters as I notice the lack of a person on its back. Everyone else sees that, too.

"Where's Hades," Ava asks, but we all know the answer. Char looks down at the ground, growling sadly and confirming our fears.

"Looks like we gotta go on without him," I say with a sigh. John pulls the orb out of his bag, setting it on the ground in front of us.

"Let's get this over with," he states, sending out Mewtwo. Ava nods, sending Chewy out.

Time to save Hades and the world.

Switching over to John

I watch the two Pokémon continue to use Thunderbolt on the ball that will fix this mess. I look at the streets, making sure there are no Malamars watching us. We each took turns doing look out all night and right now it's my turn.

When I'm sure the streets are empty, I look over at Char. It has been pretty unresponsive all night. It's spacey and you have to say its name constantly before it finally notices you. I don't blame it, though. Losing Hades hit me pretty hard, too.

The guy is annoying and awful at ranking the team, but he's a great fighter, amazing motivator, and good friend. He always helps others, puting them first even when it would put him in danger. He's a great person, and honestly, I've came to love him. Not that I'd ever tell him that. He'd never let me live it down.

I sigh, turning my attention back to the orb. As I watch it, it pings, a light that was red turning green. Curious, I get closer to it. "Guys, wake up," I say, not loud enough to get us caught but at a volume that they would come out of their slumber. "I think we've made progress."

The others make their way over to me, rubbing their tired eyes. As they look at the green light, it dawns on them what it means.

"We're ready," Ava says with a wide smile. She picks it up, handing the object to Cass. He takes the sphere, sending Embers out.

"Let's do this," Cass states, tapping the Key Stone on his belt. It shines with power, the light from it going to Embers's Mega Stone. Embers then shines as the power fills it, pushing it past its limits into Mega Evolution. A broom appears beneath its feet and three wands are summoned to its side. When the light disburses, Mega Delphox stands before them.

Cass hops onto the broom. Ava returns Chewy and puts Espurr in her backpack, joining Cass on the broom once done. Jo let's Cinder out, beginning to stretch as he prepares to fight. I walk over to Char, tapping its shoulder. It looks down at me with a tired sigh.

"Let's go get Hades," I tell it. Char smiles widely, growling in agreement.

IIIIIIIIIIt's Hades!

Empty.

That's how I would describe this feeling.

I'm floating in a pitch black void that's filled with nothing but me. Has it always been this way? I can't recall. I don't even remember my own name. I'll start to remember stuff, but then pink and green will fill the void and I will forget whatever it was I was thinking.

Black hair, bright yellow eyes, neon orange jacket, navy blue jeans, black T-Shirt, a belt with a Key Stone in it. A bipedal fox with burning twigs. Very kind and strong in battle. FLASH. Gone.

Shoulder length pink hair, silver eyes, black hoodie and black shorts, squeaky red sneakers. Key Stone bracelet that goes with her large zappy mouse. Protective of those she cares about, but for strangers she attacks first and questions later. FLASH. Gone.

Short brown hair, brown eyes, black jeans and T-Shirt, brown jacket, and a brown satchel. Had a humanoid cat that glares at everyone. He was arrogant and got on my nerves, but I knew I could rely on him. FLASH. Gone.

Messy red hair, bright red eyes, maroon jacket, red T-Shirt, and red shoes. Energetic and fun to be around, but very easily agitated and aggressive. His Pokémon was the same and the two of them in battle were chaotic but powerful. FLASH. Gone.

A tall, powerful lizard with huge wings. It breathes fire and can become a blue dragon. It is extremely powerful and I have a very fond feeling towards it. My brain feels like it's splitting as a name comes to me. Cha- FLASH. Gone.

It's annoying, being so close to figuring something out and then, in a literal flash, can't remember any of it. This must be how a Slowking feels. Wait... Slowking? I don't remember what that is. I only know one Pokémon.

"My friend Malamar," a voice says, echoing through the empty world. I hear that voice often and it always says that. I think it's my voice but I'm not sure. I feel movement as my body does something, but I don't know what its doing. I don't have control over myself, but I don't know how to control. I'm strangely fine with that.

Out of nowhere, a bright white light fills the whole void. It is completely different from the pink and green. I feel relief wash over me as figurative chains are broken from my mind, releasing me from this place. Suddenly, a powerful force hits me straight in the gut, forcing me back into reality.

I'm laying in the middle of the road, unable to see anything but white. I have to squint my eyes, the bright light being as strong as the sun. A figure stands in front of me, its hand reaching out for me. I extend my own hand.

"Are you a god," I ask, ready to accept my fate and accend to a better place.

"So you finally admit that I'm powerful and divine," the figure says, and I stop my hand. I know that voice.

I rub my eyes and blink a couple times, focusing on the person in front of me. It's no god! That's John! Mewtwo it's standing next to him, shaking its hand, steam rising from its fist.

"Fire Punch," I question. John nods. "Clasingla may have said physical force would put them back in their right mind, but you didn't have to use a Pokémon attack!"

"I know," John replies, smirking. "But it was more fun using one."

I roll my eyes, trying to be mad. But I can't help but smile. If I were in his place and he in mine, I would have done the same thing. I push myself to my feet without his help, brushing myself off. I hear a loud, happy howl and look up, smiling as Char comes flying in. I open my arms, grabbing its neck and hugging it, getting swept off my feet.

Char lands on the ground, rubbing its head against me affectionately. "I missed you too," I tell it, petting its neck.

I look over at John. "So y'all did it," I ask, and he nods.

"Yup. Now come on. Let's go attack some Malamar," he says, smiling at me. I nod, hopping onto Char's back.

"Let's go!"

Time skip. Six months later. Still Hades point of view.

"Found some Malamar breeding in a cave," I say, Char dragging them out. "I now know how eggs are made."

"They just appear out of thin air," John says, coming out of the cave with more Malamars, all unconscious.

"Sure," I say, John laughing. I take my defeated Malamars and put them into the Lumios Labs truck. "We're sending a bunch your way."

"Good," Clasingla responds in our ear piece. "I never realized how interesting Malamar is. The feeling when hypnotized is intriguing and I can't wait to learn how it works!"

"Just make sure you don't get hypnotized," Ava tells him, her voice in my ear piece, too.

"FOUND SOME," Jo shouts, running down a hill to the truck, Cinder right behind him. Clasingla groans.

"Jo. Stop screaming in my ear," the green haired man snaps. Jo rolls his eyes and makes a mocking gesture with his hand. He then dumps a bunch of Pokéballs from his bag into the truck. All of them are filled with Malamar.

"I can't believe that we are still finding this many Malamars trying to take over the world," John says with a sigh, closing the truck doors.

"Me neither," I respond. After a bit of silence, I gasp, remembering something random. "Clasingla!"

"What," the scientist responds, sounding annoyed.

"Don't forget that tonight is the Malamar Hatars monthly dinner night," I tell him.

"You know I never actually became a member of y'all's little team, right," he says, pretty much trying to get out of coming.

"After these last six months, you practically are a member," Ava states. Even though she can't see me, I nod in agreement.

Clasingla doesn't speak for a bit, but then gives a defeated sigh. "Fine. But only if Cass is cooking," he says.

"Of course he is," I tell Clasingla, who gives a satisfied hum. "He's making his roast!"

"My favorite dish of his," Ava says excitedly.

"That's my favorite, too," Clasingla responds, actually sounding happy.

"His Torhic wings are my favorite, but his roast is close second," I tell them. My mouth waters just thinking of it.

"Guys, stop," Cass cuts in. "My cooking isn't that great."

"Have you tasted it," John asks, sounding offended that Cass said that. "Me personally, I think his Tepig ham is the best."

"Not a bad choice," I say, giving John a thumbs up.

"Can we stop talking about food? It's making me hungry," Jo exclaims. My own stomach grumbles in agreement with him.

"Why don't we take a lunch break," Ava asks. "Wanna meet up at Nouveau Cafe and grab a bite?"

We all agree to that and start making our way to the food truck. "If y'all are going to meet up for lunch then why do dinner together," Clasingla questions.

"It has different feeling to it," Cass replies.

"Yeah. A friendly get-together sounds way different than team dinner," I add. I can hear Clasingla's eye roll.

"Whatever," he says. "Enjoy your lunch. I'm gonna continue my research."

"Have fun," Jo tells him. We all take out our ear piece and continue to the food truck, excited to meet up with the others even though we just saw each other this morning.

That is the FINAL chaptet of the Malamar story!

This is a pretty big deal to me

I don't normality finish my stories, losing motivation in the first three chapters

I've only ever made it to the end of one other story, and that one was short

This is the longest I've ever completed

@clasingla @Catcatmyoop @UnovanZorua @fineasmatei @Pokémaniac25 @dragonitebeam @Voltareon2012 and @Joeybear7

This is it!

To anyone that has read this, I hope y'all liked it and to those who have been here since the beginning, thanks for sticking around!

And a special thanks to my character inspirations:

@UnovanZorua Cass

@Voltareon2012 Jo

@clasingla Clasingla (who would have thought!)

@Thur55555555555 was supposed to be John, which is why he has Mewtwo

I truly hope y'all enjoyed!