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In the quiet lab of Professor Oak, a place usually full of life, only two people talked seriously. Dr. Fuji, looking worn out in his dirty lab coat, and Professor Oak, older but strong, discussed deeply.

"Samuel," whispered Dr. Fuji, hopeless, "what's the point? It's been two years. Maybe... she's never coming back."

Oak, sad, replied, "Fuji, hope is weird. It's all we have when everything looks bad."

Fuji, tears in his eyes, shared how every clue led nowhere and how Lily, his wife, couldn't face the world, finding comfort only in drinking. "I'm tired, Samuel. Tired of chasing ghosts."

The room fell silent, only broken by the distant sound of a Pokémon.

Oak, carefully, said, "It's dark now, Fuji. But we've gotten through tough times before. This will pass too."

Fuji laughed sadly. 

"I don't believe that anymore, Samuel. Every day, I hope for a miracle but wake up to the same pain. Maybe it's time to let go."

Oak, feeling his friend's sorrow, said, "Giving up is hard to live with. But you have to choose."

Fuji, avoiding Oak's look, said he tried everything to find Green, his daughter. 

"I've looked everywhere, used every lead. Still, nothing."

Oak said, "You've done your best. But we keep hope. For Green, and for your peace."

Fuji asked Oak, showing his pain, "If it was you... would you give up?"

Oak shared his own loss when his wife died. "I chose to keep going for my son. Pain stays, but we choose how it shapes us. You have to decide if you can live with not searching anymore."

Fuji, struggling, said, "I don't know if I can keep going, Samuel. It's too hard."

Oak, understanding, said, "If you stop, be ready for what comes. Think about Lily too."

Fuji, crying, worried about Lily's pain. 

"She's lost so much. I don't know if she can face more loss."

Oak, comforting him, said, "Decide together. Grief is a journey you share. Acceptance isn't giving up. It's finding a way to live with the loss."

Fuji stood up, "Thank you, Samuel. I need to talk to Lily. We need to decide our future."

.....

The rain intensified, pelting the windows of the house, muffling the world outside. 

Dr. Fuji's house, which was once filled with the joyous laughter of a child, now echoed with haunting silence. 

The muted hues of evening gave the surroundings a bleak and melancholy tone, matching the heaviness in Fuji's heart.

Approaching the door to Lily's room, Fuji hesitated, his hand hovering above the door for a moment before he finally knocked. "Lily? Can we talk?" 

Silence was the only response. 

He pressed his ear against the door, trying to catch any semblance of movement or sound from within. 

But there was nothing.

With a deep breath, his voice growing more desperate, he pleaded, "Lily, please come out. We need to discuss Green."

A few more heart-wrenching moments of silence passed before a frail voice from within the room whispered, "Talk."

Dr. Fuji, his voice strained, began, "Lily, there's something I need to confess, and I hope you'll hear me out."

Silence reigned, but he could feel Lily's attention, a quiet acknowledgment for him to continue.

"For two years," he started, his voice barely above a whisper, "every day, every night, every moment, I've kept this glimmer of hope alive. A belief, perhaps a delusion, that Green would walk back through that door, that we would find her, that our family would be complete again."

A deep breath shuddered through him as he continued, "But recently, I've been feeling this... this weight. This realization that maybe, just maybe, the hope I've been clinging to is nothing but a painful mirage. And I know, I know that sounds awful, but Lily, I'm exhausted."

He paused, trying to find the words to express the torment ripping him apart, "Every time the phone rings, every time there's a knock at the door, every time I hear a child's laughter... my heart leaps. It leaps with hope, only to be crushed, time and time again, by the stark reality."

His voice started to waver, breaking under the weight of his anguish, "It's a relentless cycle, Lily. Hope, despair, hope, despair, over and over. I feel like I'm being torn apart from the inside. And the worst part? The absolute worst part is the guilt. The guilt of even considering giving up. The guilt of moving on. The guilt of being able to breathe when our child isn't here."

Dr. Fuji's voice grew louder, more desperate, "I see her everywhere, Lily. In every corner of this house, in every shadow, in every dream. And I keep asking myself, what kind of father am I? What kind of man gives up on his own flesh and blood?"

A choked sob escaped him as he continued, "I've even thought, maybe, maybe it would be easier if I wasn't here anymore. If I could just escape this agonizing existence. But then I think of you, locked in this room, and the thought of leaving you alone in this misery is even more unbearable."

The weight of his words hung heavily in the silence of the room, punctuated only by his ragged breaths and quiet sobs.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Lily," he confessed, tears streaming down his face, "Every fiber of my being screams to keep searching, to never give up. But another part of me, a growing part, is begging for relief. For an end to this torment. And I don't know which voice to listen to."

He slid down the door, the weight of his emotions bringing him to the floor, "I'm lost, Lily. Utterly, completely lost. And I need you. I need you to help me find a way out of this darkness."

In the crushing silence that followed, Dr. Fuji's raw emotions were laid bare. For what felt like an eternity, he waited, hoping for a response, a sign that Lily was still there, still with him.

The silence that enveloped the room was shattered by Lily's voice, raw and piercing, "You think you have the right to give up? To play the victim? You dare to come here, in front of me, and talk about quitting? Pathetic coward!"

Fuji looked up, his face red and tear-streaked, his emotions a chaotic whirlwind of pain, guilt, and anger. 

"You think I wanted this, Lily?" he roared, his voice echoing with the pain of a broken heart. 

"Every day, I've been out there, searching every nook and cranny, chasing after every lead, every whisper, every rumor! While you... you just locked yourself in this room, drowning in your sorrow."

Lily's voice trembled with fury, "You think this is easy for me? Sitting here, day after day, wondering, waiting, hoping? You were out there, at least you had something to do, some direction! All I had was the deafening silence of this room and the crushing weight of my thoughts."

Fuji's voice cracked, his frustration bubbling over, "I was ALONE out there, Lily! Alone with my thoughts, my fears, my guilt. Every single day, I faced the accusing eyes of our neighbors, the whispered conversations behind my back. The world moved on, but I couldn't! And you? You just retreated into this shell, leaving me to face it all by myself."

Tears streamed down his face, "Do you have any idea how hard it was? To put on a brave face, to keep pushing, to hold onto hope, all while being constantly reminded of our loss? Every night, I came home to this empty house, praying that maybe, just maybe, today would be the day we'd find her. But it never was."

He sank to the floor, his body wracked with sobs, "I'm tired, Lily. So, so tired. I want our daughter back. I want our life back. But I don't know how much longer I can keep going like this."

The room was filled with the heavy weight of their shared pain and loss, the raw emotions of two broken souls trying to find their way back to each other.

The door slammed open with a force that took Fuji by surprise. He stared in shock at the room beyond. What he had imagined to be a room filled with sorrow and desolation was, in reality, a makeshift operations center. Computers, police scanners, phones, and papers strewn everywhere, a chaos that only a desperate mind could navigate. 

Lily stood in the middle, her eyes blazing with an intensity he had never seen before. "How dare you?" she spat, her voice dripping with fury and resentment. "You thought I locked myself in here, wallowing in self-pity, drowning in alcohol?"

Fuji stumbled back a step, reeling from the onslaught of her words. He could see the dark circles under her eyes, the haggard look of someone who had been running on pure determination and little else.

"I worked every damned day, Fuji!" Lily shouted, her hands gesturing wildly at the mess around her. 

"You think there aren't people who would lie to get the reward we put out? I listened to every damn lie they spewed out! FOR 2 DAMN YEARS, every call you received was filtered through me. Every lead, every tip, every whisper! I sent investigators all over Kanto, paid them from our savings, listened to police radios for hundreds of reports. I went out and spun tales for young trainers, promising them rare Pokémon or unique adventures, just so they'd comb the wilderness that you couldn't legally search for any trace of our daughter. I ruined lives because of this, and I stopped sleeping, but the guilt of everything remained. YOU THINK I GAVE UP?!"

Fuji, his voice barely a whisper, tried to speak, "Lily, I-"

But she cut him off, pointing a shaking finger at him, "You saw me as a broken woman, but I was fighting, Fuji! Every single day! And you? You come here, ready to give up, to accept defeat?"

Before he could muster a response, she slammed the door in his face. 

Minutes passed, and just as Fuji was about to knock, the door swung open again. 

He looked up, ready to apologize, to bridge the gap, but the words died in his throat. 

Lily, clutching a suitcase, pushed past him.

"You can give up if you want," she said coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion. 

"But I won't. Not until I find her."

And with that, she stepped out into the pouring rain, leaving behind a devastated Fuji, grappling with the reality he had just been confronted with.

....

The heavy rain hid his tears, making every drop a part of the storm. The streets he knew well now looked like dark, wet mazes. He kept calling out, "Lily!" 

But his voice just came back to him, as if the night was mocking him.

His shoes splashed through puddles, making his socks wet and cold. Every step felt heavy, his heart and mind weighed down with worry. The rain made it hard to see, turning shadows into ghosts. People passed by, hidden under their umbrellas, but none of them was Lily.

He ran to the park, hoping she might be there. 

"Lily!" he called out, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry, Lily! Please, just talk to me!"

As time went by, Fuji got more tired. The sadness and stress of two years weighed on him. He found the park's fountain, its water reflecting the city lights. Looking at his reflection, broken by the rain, he remembered happier times. Green throwing pennies into the fountain, making wishes. Lily laughing with sparkly eyes.

When dawn came, the rain slowed down. The sun started to shine, making the world look golden. Birds sang, not knowing his pain. Fuji realized he had been out all night. He felt he had lost everything, Green and now Lily because he didn't understand.

He fell to his knees on the wet ground, his hands getting dirty. He screamed and hit the ground, asking, "Why?! What did I do wrong?!"

He remembered the good times - Green's first steps, Lily's laughter on their wedding day, and how proud they were when he finished publishing his book. But now, all he felt was loss, guilt, and failure.

With one last scream, filled with all his pain, Fuji collapsed. 

His tears mixed with the mud. 

The world was waking up, but for him, everything stopped.

In that moment of complete sadness, he really felt how much he had lost. 

Not just his daughter and wife, but the life and dreams they had. 

He was alone, stuck in the past, while the world moved on.

.....

After everything changed, Fuji's house became very quiet, like a place full of memories but no people. He couldn't sell it. It felt like giving up on all the happy and sad moments lived there. So, he just locked it up and moved to a small, plain apartment far from the city center. This new place was nothing like his old, cheerful home. It had plain walls and very few things in it.

Fuji's new job was boring compared to his old one. He used to work with Professor Oak, exploring the exciting world of Pokémon. Now, he just did paperwork at the Pokémon League, a job that didn't match his skills but was easy and didn't require much thought.

Every morning, Fuji would wake up to his alarm, eat a quick breakfast, and go to work. The city, once a place of adventure, now felt too busy and noisy. At work, people would smile at him, but they didn't know how sad he was inside. He ate lunch alone, watching others have fun, feeling very far from that happiness.

In the evening, Fuji would eat dinner from a box while watching TV. But he wasn't really watching; his mind was on his lost family, making it hard to sleep. He'd have dreams about Green and Lily that made him wake up tired.

On weekends, Fuji would walk around the city, seeing life go on without him. Markets, parks, and people chatting about their Pokémon - he felt like he was looking at it all from the outside.

People thought Fuji was doing okay, starting fresh with a new job and living a quiet life. But he felt broken inside, missing his old life and the people he loved. His world, once full of color, now seemed gray and empty.

...

One quiet evening, after returning from another mundane day at the Pokémon League, Fuji found an unassuming envelope slid under his apartment door. 

The paper was thick, off-white, and held a simple, hand-written address to him, with no return information. 

The elegance of the handwriting, every curve and stroke meticulously crafted, gave the letter an oddly personal touch amidst its anonymity.

Trepidation filling his heart, he carefully opened the envelope, revealing a single piece of paper. 

As he began to read, his eyes widened, heart rate quickening.

...

Dear Dr. Fuji,

We have been closely observing you and are well aware of the deep despair that engulfs you, along with the yearning in your heart for your beloved daughter, Green. It has come to our attention that we may hold the power necessary to reunite you with Green. However, it is important to understand that such miracles come with their costs.

In exchange for this glimmer of hope, we seek your unparalleled expertise. Your achievements and knowledge are of great value to us, and we believe that with your assistance, we can achieve remarkable things together.

Should you decide that the possibility of seeing your daughter again is worth the exchange, and you are prepared to pay the price, we encourage you to act. Please call the number provided within this letter to discuss further details.

We await your decision with great interest. Remember, opportunities such as this are rare, and the decision you make now could change everything.

Yours truly,

The Boss of Team Rocket

.....

Fuji's hands trembled as he read the message over and over again, each word imprinting itself onto his mind. 

Could it be a hoax? 

A cruel joke? 

Or was there really a glimmer of hope? 

The pain and void of the past years flooded back, overwhelming him with a concoction of hope, fear, and desperation.

Without a second thought, he grabbed his phone and dialed the number. After a few rings, a calm, composed voice answered, "Dr. Fuji, we've been expecting your call."

Swallowing hard, Fuji stammered, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"All in due time, Doctor. For now, just know that we have been watching you. We know of your expertise, your past work with Professor Oak, and your own personal ventures into the realm of Pokémon revival. We can offer you a chance, a slim one, but a chance nonetheless, to see your daughter again. In return, we need your skills."

Fuji's thoughts raced. 

This was the moment he had yearned for, even in his darkest hours. 

But the mysterious nature of the call, the lack of details, it all seemed too surreal. 

Yet, the pull of hope was too strong to resist.

"I'll do it," Fuji whispered, his voice heavy with emotion.

"Very well," the voice responded, a hint of satisfaction seeping through. "Expect further instructions tomorrow. And Dr. Fuji, this is your path to tread. Involve no one else."

...

Lily's journey took a turn she never expected after leaving Fuji. She tried to find their daughter Green, just like Fuji had, but without his resources and connections, her efforts felt small. She realized that even Fuji, with all his efforts, couldn't find Green. What chance did she have?

Walking away from Fuji, Lily finally understood that the world didn't stop for her grief. No one called, no leads came her way, and she couldn't offer rewards like Fuji did. Her days were spent either working or listening to police radios, hoping for any clue about Green. But nothing came.

After a year of silence and despair, Lily found herself in front of their old home, now sold since Fuji had disappeared. It was then she accepted her loss fully. She gave up the search and decided to move as far away from Pallet Town as possible, to escape the memories of her shattered life.

Lily ended up on the Sevii Islands, where she found work at an orphanage. Caring for the children there, giving them the love she wished she could give to Green, helped her start to heal. She accepted that things would never be the same again, yet she moved on, carrying a sliver of hope that Green was still out there, somewhere.

There's a saying that captures the essence of loss and grief: 

"Life moves on, even when it feels impossible. Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim."

....

[ Flashback end ] 

.....

[ Present Day ] 

Green and Lily sat together in silence, letting the weight of their conversation sink in. Then Green spoke, her words careful but filled with understanding. 

"I think it was for the best that you moved on. I saw what staying stuck did to dad."

Lily's head shot up, her eyes wide with surprise and hope. 

"You met Fuji!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with the possibility of seeing her husband again, of apologizing for everything, and of thanking him for all he had done.

Green's expression turned solemn. 

"He died..." she began, and slowly, she shared everything about Fuji's final days, his involvement with Team Rocket, and his desperate attempt to bring her back through cloning. 

Lily listened, her face frozen in shock, absorbing the heartbreaking story.

It was a strange twist of fate. 

Both Lily and Fuji had given up in their own ways. 

Lily felt powerless against the vastness of their loss, akin to the saying, "You can't move mountains by whispering at them." Fuji, on the other hand, had sought a miraculous solution, only to meet a tragic end.

Amidst the revelation, Lily realized the true impact of their choices on Green. She gently asked, "How do you feel?" hoping to bridge the gap that had grown between them over the years.

Green's response was simple yet profound. "I'm glad that you're alive." In that moment, Lily saw the transformation in her daughter. 

Green's acceptance was a testament to her strength. 

She didn't need to question their actions or lament the past. 

To her, knowing that her mother was still there, still fighting through life, was enough. Though her father was gone, Green found solace in having Lily by her side.

"Mom, what's with those gangsters bothering the orphanage?" Green asked, her curiosity piqued.

Lily explained, "There's this company that wants to build apartments where the orphanage stands. They're using those gangsters to scare us into selling the land."

"Okay," Green said, pulling out her phone. Lily watched, intrigued as her daughter dialed a number. 

"Austin," Green spoke into the phone, a soft smile playing on her lips. 

Lily noticed the way Green's eyes lit up, the gentle tone of her voice, and the relaxed posture she adopted as she talked to Austin. 

It was clear to Lily that her daughter had deep feelings for this person.

Green quickly shared the situation with Austin, her voice filled with urgency but also a hint of confidence. 

"I found my mom," she said, and then detailed the scheme the real estate company had cooked up, using gangsters to pressure them.

Finishing the call, Green said, "You know how to deal with bad guys. Do your magic." She hung up, her smile wide and hopeful.

"Austin?" Lily questioned, intrigued.

"He's just a friend for now," Green replied, making Lily raise an eyebrow at the "for now" part.

Curious, Lily asked, "How did you two meet?"

"Well, I tried to scam him, but he ended up robbing me instead," Green said so casually that Lily almost missed the part about her daughter being involved in scams.

"Wait, what? Scam?" Lily pressed, surprised.

"I am hungry. Let's have porridge," Green suggested, catching Lily off guard since Green was never fond of porridge before.

Lily smiled softly, touched by the moment. "Looks like my little leaf has really grown up," she said, affectionately ruffling Green's hair.

"But I still need to know about these scams," Lily insisted.

Green, trying to dodge the question, pretended to get a call. "Oh, Austin's calling," she said, holding her phone to her ear.

Pretending to listen, Green then covered the phone and whispered to Lily, "Mom, Austin bought back our old house."

Lily, looking serious, asked, "Tell me the truth."

Green put her phone away. 

"I had Austin buy our old house before I came here. I just wanted us to go back," she confessed.

Lily gently placed her hand on Green's head. "Green, we can't go back to how things were. I know it's tough, but it's time for you to move on too. Our little family, as it was, is gone."

Green looked down, feeling her mother's comfort.

"But that doesn't mean we can't start over. This time, let's make our new lives something wonderful," Lily encouraged, her words full of hope.

At those words, Green smiled through her tears, feeling a mix of sadness and hope. "Yeah," she agreed, ready to face a new beginning with her mother by her side, understanding that "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

....

[ Author's Note:

Sorry for not uploading last week; I was kind of sick. 

However, to make up for last week's missing chapters, I am going to release 2 chapters on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. 

Also, this author's note is from me, asking a few things:

1- Would you guys be fine with more slice-of-life content? Obviously, this series is incredibly intense in terms of plot, but with everything done and Austin being OP as hell, the gyms are going to be a breeze. So, I wanted to ask if you'd be okay with the next arc being more relaxed human and slice-of-life, featuring Austin going to therapy and bonding with his Pokémon. Reconnecting with Misty and Brock.

2- What do you think of the villain, the masked man? Obviously, I've dedicated many chapters to his backstory, including his involvement in Fuji's death and the torment of Green and Lily because he is going to be the big bad for the Johto saga.

The masked man isn't an OC but an actual character from the Pokémon Adventures manga, though my version of the masked man is slightly different. 

Also, all of you know who the masked man is if you've been reading between the lines. Comment down below: who do you think the masked man is?

3- Should I skip the Orange Islands arc or not? You guys decide.

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[Omake Paragraph]

It is said that while Pidgeot move faster than sound, Ninjask move faster than light. This is an exaggeration, at least in the latter pokemon's case; it is more accurate to say Ninjask are much faster than the optic nerve and the brain. This saying recalls another connection between these two pokemon: because Ninjask are well able to outfly any predator except Pidgeot, it is thought that the Ninjask's high speed developed as a means of evading them, although a Pidgeot who approaches from behind can sometimes take advantage of Ninjask's poor acceleration and sink their talons into one.

Yet if this theory explains the initial development of their speed, it does little to explain the exponential speed boosts which Ninjask gain in mid-flight. As many trainers have learned to their chagrin, a Ninjask which has been allowed to fly for too long becomes all but impossible to hit and will usually defeat six pokemon with ease. When other pokemon try to attack them, they appear to make contact when using special attacks, yet Ninjask continue flying without even a scratch; with physical attacks, the body part used moves through the Ninjask like it was using Double Team. Only techniques with perfect accuracy or pokemon who have studied its flight patterns can hit Ninjask's astronomical speed. The rest score a direct hit on where the Ninjask was a few seconds ago and can only lose; whenever only one pokemon can attack, that pokemon, however weak its techniques, will inevitably be the victor.

The true secret of how modern Ninjask gained their speed can be found in Fuchsia City. The method of breeding they used is known only to the Koga clan, but their motive is transparent: what ninja wouldn't want a pokemon too quick to be seen?