Dear Readers: I'm sorry it took so long to finish this chapter. A lot of things had come up in recent months (namely, school), and I was unable to write this. Moreover, this will be the last chapter I, myself, will be writing. My friend, Matt Morwell, will be taking this over. I have written the plot out, but he will do the writing from here on out. Think of me as the producer and he as the writer. I am thankful that all of you were loyal to this and have followed this, along with everything else I have written, since day one. This means a lot to me. I only wish to bring you this story the best I can, which seems to be through Matt. I hope you enjoy my last chapter, along with the chapters to follow. Now, without further ado…Shadow of the Legacy, chapter 21:

"Swellow, Quick Attack!" Julia instructed. The blue bird Pokémon sped at Fearow, knocking Winona’s Pokémon to the ground.

"Fearow, another Drill Peck!" Fearow struck Swellow with another devastating blow. Swellow came back with a Wing Attack, the damage sub-par. Still, it was enough to bring Fearow down to just a sliver of life. "Fearow, take down Swellow with—"

"Another Quick Attack!" shouted Julia. Swellow struck Fearow with lightning-fast speed again, this time knocking Winona’s bird Pokémon out.

"Fast thinking," Winona said. She thought for a moment, and then added, "Pun not intended." Winona called back Fearow and sent out Skarmory. "You won’t be able to take down a Steel Pokémon with your Flying Pokémon." Winona grinned. Julia knew she was in deep trouble.

"Swellow, Razor Wind!" Swellow flapped her wings, creating a whirlwind. Spears of air merely ricocheted off Skarmory’s iron armor.

"Skarmory, Steel Wing!" Skarmory whacked Swellow with its iron-hard wings, knocking Swellow to the ground. Swellow rose up again, trying to fight back, but Skarmory was far too powerful—his steel wings batted Swellow back down again. Swellow collapsed in front of her trainer.

"Swellow, come back," Julia said, distraught. I really only have Marshtomp, Julia thought. None of my other Pokémon stand a chance. "Marshtomp, attack with Surf!"

"You don’t have anything that can counter my Steel Pokémon?" Winona questioned.

Julia didn’t answer—she didn’t want to. She just let Marshtomp attack. Skarmory took the minimal damage from Surf and then counter-attacked with Drill Peck. Marshtomp shook off the blow and retaliated by using another Surf. It’s the only attack Marshtomp can use against Skarmory, Julia thought.

"You’re so predictable. Not only do I know that you don’t have any Pokémon you can use against me, but you are using the same attacks over and over. I though you might’ve given me a good bout, but this is just a slaughter. Recall your Pokémon unless you want to see me defeat it," said Winona.

Julia looked at the ground. She knew Winona was right. Before the battle got any worse, it would be best to call back Marshtomp.

"Well…?" Winona waited for a response. Julia held out a Pokéball and allowed it to swallow Marshtomp up. "A wise decision." Julia didn’t reply. Winona walked over to Julia and put her hand on Julia’s shoulder. "You know, being a good Pokémon trainer doesn’t necessarily mean winning a lot of battles; it’s also making good decisions and taking care of your Pokémon. What you did here proved that you are a great trainer. But—if you want to fight me again, I would advise on training your Pokémon."

Julia looked eye-to-eye with Winona. "Then count on seeing me again," she said, confident. Julia left the gym and met up with her eager, overconfident brother.

"Win again?" Andrew asked morosely.

Julia sighed and replied, "No, actually, I didn’t."

Andrew tried to hide a grin. "You mean the Great Julia didn’t win a match? I guess I have no chance then…"

"Sarcasm does not become you," Julia said sternly. Andrew walked out of the Pokécenter and into Winona’s gym.

Winona looked Andrew up and down. "You’ve come to battle me?" Winona asked.

"Of course. Why else would I be here?"

"Arrogant. Your arrogance will be your downfall."

Andrew scowled. "But I have a right to be arrogant. I’ll show you."

"We’ll see."

Andrew sent out Pikachu. Winona sent out Altaria.

"You actually expect to win with a Pikachu?" Winona questioned.

"You’d be surprised. Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" An electric bolt surged through Altaria, but did almost nothing. "Wha—what? Why?" Andrew exclaimed.

"Electric attacks have almost no effect on Dragon Pokémon!" Winona laughed.

"That’s…that’s not fair…" Andrew murmured.

Winona raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"It…it just is!"

"Your fatal flaw is your ignorance of other Pokémon and inability to accept the inevitable. Altaria, Earthquake!" Winona’s Dragon slammed itself on the ground, causing fissures to open up beneath Pikachu. In an instant, Andrew was down by one Pokémon.

Andrew scowled at what had happened. "This won’t matter, I can still win. Mightyena, get ‘em! Faint Attack!"

Mightyena leapt at Altaria, striking it from behind. Altaria quickly retaliated with Dragonbreath, however, paralyzing Andrew’s Pokémon. Mightyena, unable to move, was quickly dispatched with an Aerial Ace. Andrew was down to his last Pokémon, while Altaria had barely lost any health.

"We’ll pull this off…Crawdaunt, go! Ice Beam!" Winona winced as ice struck Altaria, defeating it.

"Apt choice of attack," Winona commented. "But it’s too little, too late. Tropius, come out and finish Crawdaunt! Leaf Blade!" Leaves sliced through Crawdaunt, lowering Andrew’s final Pokémon to the ground.

Andrew sat there, in a surreal silence, glaring at his tragic loss. It wasn’t even close, Andrew thought. He recalled his Pokémon.

"Train," said Winona, "and fight me again. You have potential."

Andrew didn’t respond. He woefully sauntered out of the gym and met up with his sister. She looked at him in dismay.

"I take it by the look on your face that you lost as well?" Julia questioned.

"No shit, Sherlock," Andrew snapped back.

"Look, I’m trying to sympathize with you! Both of us lost. We’re clearly not good enough, yet, to beat Winona! With a little training, though, I think we can do better. Next time we’ll win. I promise," Julia reassured. She patted Andrew’s back.

"It’s just…you know how dad told us all of these stories about how he succeeded in everything? Why can’t we do it? What’s wrong with us?"

"There isn’t anything wrong with us," Julia replied. "Dad was, and still is, an extraordinary trainer. But I’m sure he didn’t always win. There must have been some period where life was rocky for him."

Andrew sighed, and nodded, trying to hold back tears of anguish and sadness.

Drew sat by Oak’s side, trying to keep up the conversation. Carly was en route to Pallet Town.

"Drew, remember when you told everyone that you wanted to go to Johto to get your Pokémon?" Oak asked.

"Yes…" Drew responded nostalgically.

"You wanted, more than anything, to start out in a land you were unfamiliar with and you wanted to use Pokémon you were unfamiliar with."

"Quite true," Drew agreed.

"What did that accomplish?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do you regret doing that? Do you think that decision bettered you as a trainer?"

Drew sighed and thought for a moment. "I think so," he said. "I learned to adapt to my surroundings. Things were a lot different over there. It made me stronger, I guess, than if I had started over here. If I had started over here and worked my way over to Johto, I think I would have lost a lot more. I wouldn’t have known how to handle it…what’s your point?"

"Do you think the same thing is happening with Andrew?" Oak said in-between deep breathes and coughs.

Drew sat in silent pondering. "Possibly."

"Could you, even unintentionally, be putting him in your position by transferring him to a foreign place for his training?"

"I hadn’t given it any thought, but it is a possibility…but why would I do that?"

"Maybe your struggles in Johto made you learn how to be a better trainer, as you said. Maybe you want the same for Andrew."

"He doesn’t know how I started out, though," Drew admitted.

"Left that part out, eh?" Oak smiled and coughed. "They should know that you struggled to beat your first gym leader. And look where you are now!"

"True…do you think I should tell them? Right now, I mean."

"When the time is right, you can tell them. When they need their father’s advice, you give it to them."

Drew nodded. "Thanks."

"What else am I here for?" Oak grinned.

Drew and Professor Oak sat there, reminiscing about the past and pondering about events yet to come. At the same time, unbeknownst to most men, evil was brewing on the horizon that would shake the world.