Chapter 104: Epilogue to the Second Life
In the 20th year of the Dragonite Era.
Queen Liz, in her 38th year, announced her abdication, passing the throne to her niece, the 18-year-old Iris of the Dragonite Clan. Afterward, the former Queen Liz took her few Pokémon partners and her personal maid, Hestia, and left the capital, heading north. No one knew where she went. She didn't tell anyone her destination, except for Queen Iris.
Upon taking the throne, Queen Iris recruited many forward-thinking individuals and established the Ministry of Law. The man who served as the Chief Justice was Ren Damaranchi. One by one, laws related to Pokémon were enacted. Although many people could not understand them, they had no choice but to accept. Whether it was Queen Iris or Justice Ren, they both shared a common ideal: that humans and Pokémon could coexist peacefully. No matter how much time it took to achieve this ideal, they would not give up, and they would teach their descendants to inherit their beliefs.
If one generation could not complete it, it would pass to the next. If two generations could not complete it, it would pass to the ten. One day, they would ensure that a future filled with hope and peace would dawn upon all people and Pokémon in this world. They would pay any price.
Aside from the change of queens and the overhaul of national law, many other things happened. For example, with Liz's departure, the Beedrill swarm that had always maintained good relations with the kingdom also gradually disappeared.
And the founding Queen's Pokémon—"The Guardian Dragon," "The Decisive Ace," Lan—became a figure of faith for the Dragonite Clan. Even to this day, they have never found a second "Lord Lan." But his three forms, from his past to his end, were deeply engraved in the hearts of every member of the Dragonite Clan. Not only that, but thinking of the Pokémon that served both the first and second queens, the clan members developed a deep affection for Pokémon with wings. They felt that such Pokémon were the most trustworthy.
Time passed like a river. Like a white colt flashing past a gap in a wall. In the blink of an eye, 60 years had passed. It was now the 80th year of the Dragonite Era. The throne had been passed down to the third generation, a queen with red hair.
In that year, two major events occurred.
First, the Dragonite Kingdom's naval fleet discovered an archipelago to the south, upon which were countless nations large and small. When the Dragonite Kingdom discovered them, they also discovered the Dragonite Kingdom and showed obvious hostility. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that perhaps in the near future, these two lands, which had been at peace for less than a hundred years, would be plunged into a new war. But this was still far off.
The other event: the founding Queen of the Dragonite Kingdom, Liz, had returned. The entire nation was in shock. Everyone had assumed that Lady Liz had passed away at some point in the intervening years to join Lord Lan. No one expected her to still be alive.
But the people's joy did not last long. The very next day, at the age of 98, Lady Liz, leaning on a cane, left the capital alone. This time, she did not even take her Pokémon.
After that, she never returned. Everyone knew in their hearts what that meant.
Another three hundred years passed. The relationship between humans and Pokémon had greatly improved. It was no longer strange to see them living together. However, the relationship between humans and other humans had not changed. Instead, conflicts only intensified, now fueled by the power of Pokémon. Ambitious men rose up like weeds that could never be cut down. Forget wars between the Dragonite Kingdom and kingdoms from other lands; even within the kingdom itself, villains constantly emerged, attempting to shatter the peace.
At some unknown point, the Dragonite Kingdom fell into its third great war since its founding. This time, it was a war of three kingdoms. The Dragonite Kingdom was caught in the middle, having to face an invasion from the northern continent while also fending off an attack from the southern one. The land of Johto became a three-way battlefield. Humans and Pokémon alike were devastated; the land was filled with wailing and misery. The scale of this war was far beyond what the original war between the Dragonite and Land Kingdoms could compare to. This time, even the countless Pokémon of Mt. Silver were dragged into it, and the great Alphas of the mountain range perished in the conflict.
The endless smoke of war and the stench of death angered the two gods of the sky and the sea. The golden divine bird, shining with rainbow light, spat flames that burned everything, while the silver divine bird, commanding storms and rain, unleashed cyclones that destroyed everything.
All who witnessed it were terrified, falling to their knees to beg for mercy. The war stopped. But the Dragonite Kingdom was also destroyed.
The human survivors of the Dragonite Clan, not knowing where to go, happened upon the innocent Pokémon survivors of the Dragonite Valley clan, who had also lost their homes in the war. The two groups stared at each other. One side saw the red and blue hair. The other saw the chubby, orange dragons.
In the end, they decided to join hands and build their own paradise around the flower garden where the monument stood. This time, they would not participate in any more wars. They were truly, very tired.
The history that followed did not seem to deviate from its original trajectory. Unknowingly, everything returned to its destined path. If there was any difference at all, it was perhaps that the relationship between humans and Pokémon had improved by a few hundred years ahead of schedule.
So... in the end, who was the real winner of that original war between the Dragonite and Land Kingdoms? Those who had first followed Liz believed until their dying day... that the winners were all the ordinary people, and all the Pokémon, of both Johto and Kanto. But looking at the final result, it seemed even they had not made much of a lasting contribution or change.
In the six or seven hundred years that followed, the great state of the world continued: what was long divided, united; what was long united, divided. Human kingdoms were built and then destroyed. Wars began and then ended, over and over, endlessly. It truly proved the old saying:
Those who came after mourned them, but failed to learn from their example, thus ensuring they too would be mourned by those who came after them.
Until, finally, seven pairs emerged from the masses of humanity, and they forcibly brought peace to this restless world.
A Raticate and a Damaranchi.
A Dragonite and the Dragon Clan.
A Beedrill and a Sakaki.
An Eevee and an Oak.
A Butterfree and a Silph.
An Arcanine and a Jenny.
A Blissey and a Joy.
Through the combined efforts of these seven pairs, the organization known as the Pokémon League was established, seated on the Indigo Plateau atop Mt. Silver. The old laws of the Dragonite Kingdom were unearthed, revised, and put back into use. A system more suitable for the new era and the future rose to prominence.
The regions of Johto and Kanto, after enduring countless calamities... finally, welcomed a complete and lasting peace under the sun.
As for the other regions, they naturally had heroes of their own.
And those stories... will be told slowly, one by one.
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