A Watcher's Reflections

Thomas is still sitting by the gates, waiting for his wife. He really adored her, even though they weren't together much at the end. He's not really waiting for his daughter as much. No, that would be selfish. Besides, he watches over her too, and knows that she's grown up strong. She's had Rose as a best friend, so of course she's strong.

Dear sweet, unfortunate Rose. She has already gone through so much, and she's still so young. Up here in heaven you get the chance to see the way everything happens, even if it eventually doesn't happen because something else changes it...

I saw her die during the War, after giving birth to her only daughter. And I saw Bara grow up into a respected and yet unhappy woman far in the future. But now that's been fixed -- it's not going to happen.

Now the War has ended, at Rose's hand. Or, at least, a thte wings of her Pidgeot.

Things have ogtten a lot better in the years following the War. The Pokemon came home, and most of the angers that grew with that terrible time have faded into obvilion. The physical pain brought on by a departing Pokemon did not hurt trainers as much as losing their beloved friends themselves. Rose lost most of her Pokemon at the start of the War, but when it was over, the ones that survived returned to her...

Rose is happily married now, and Bara is growing up properly with her parents. Rose is still the Rocket City Gym leader, and like her dear 'Aunt' Sabrina, she's still tought to beat. Bara is already training hard, and in a few years will become the new leader at the Saffron City gym. Sabrina held on to the position for all these years, even though she's also still the Pokemon League president.

And yet things will not stay so bright for Rose. She was chosen by fate to bear many a burden, and she still has a final great challenge ahead of her to face before she's finally fufilled her task. And then maybe she can be happy. That's uncertain, like everything else.

Her parents, Jessie and JAmes, are still deeply in love, despite everything that's happened to them. The War left James' hair gray, but you can't really tell. He and Jessie make wonderful spoiling grandparents. Not just for Bara, of course; Rose's little brothers have been quite prolific. They're all still together, despite everything. Their familial ties are very strong, and although they've been strained before, they remain unbroken.

I should know, of course. I sit and watch hem all the time. I'm not really a guardian angel or anything, but I feel tied to the Rochesters somehow. I didn't leave any family of my own behind, and so I guess I've just claimed them instead. Especially after getting to meet Rose...

Things went almost the same the first time through. But I didn't die quite the same. Oh yes, I still ended up fallen, crumpled on the floor of the Saffron City Gym, immobilized by several shattered vertebrae and a cracked rib. But it wasn't the same... The first time I died alone. The first time, I was already gone when James made it back inside. The first time... he did not get to make his peace. And neither did I. But like I said, nothing is definite. In the end, I did not die allone. I stayed a little longer, with Rose patiently waiting for the end. For five years she was part of me--the second time through. When the end came the second time, I managed to hold on until James arrived. Death wasn't as frightening with them there.

Thomas was waiting for me when I arrived. I was so happy to see him... I suppose I did love him a little. But never in the romantic sense. I was never the romantic type in life anyway. he was my partner though. We spent a lot fo time together, right up to the end. I felt a bit guilty abomut not being able to save him that night. But when I arrived, he promised me that it wasn't my fault. Maybe he was just saying it because he was happy to see me, but I believe him. That night was meant to happen-- it hasn't been changed.

I do not regret the way I lieved my life. I wish that I might've gotten the change to have a family, but that wasn't meant to be. I never even got to try, but I don't mind. I have found a family to call my own, in the lineage of Jessie and James.

Thomas is still sitting by the gates waiting for his wife to arrive. She'll get here eventually, for now he's just patiently watching. And I'm never far away, doing my own watching. We're not angels, but Watchers--faithful guardians keeping watching over the ones we love, so that Fate may take its winding and indecisive course.

I'd like to meet that Rose again someday...