Goodbye

Ben blinked and stared as he stood there on Lapras Beach, his gaze on his Styler as he stood next to Summer. She, too, stared in disbelief at her own Styler, the small speakers having been retracted back into the device. They stood in silence for a few more minutes before slowly looking back up at each other, not needing a word to convey what they were feeling. The girl's eyes widened as she fell to her knees, hands gripping the loose sand as tears began to trail down her cheeks. Ben sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. How could they have done this? Chairperson Erma knew how close they were, but now… How could she have done that? The Ranger held his now-former partner against his chest as she sobbed, her whole body shaking from the effort of crying. Her Pichu sat off to the side, his ears folded back and his expression downcast as he held onto his ukulele. "Y-You'd better get going…" Summer muttered as she looked up at Ben, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. She did her best to crack a smile, though it was halfhearted at best. She managed to stand up without his help and he sat there for a moment before following her lead, brushing his uniform off. "I guess so…" Ben frowned as he looked at his Staraptor. The bird's head was down, his wings clamped tightly against his body. Even he was feeling the impact of the decision. "Goodbye, Summer…" The boy gently placed a kiss on his friend's forehead before backing up and placing his hand on Staraptor's wing. The Pokemon let out a distressed cry and unfurled his wings, though it was slow and looked pained. Ben's throat caught as he climbed onto his partner's back and waved to Summer, doing his best to hold back his tears. Summer waved back and the Pokemon took off slowly, Summer soon being swallowed up by Renbow Island and disappearing onto the horizon.