Really late response, but I finally did catch up after some pretty major life events happened last year. I’ll admit, I fell far behind, and had a lot going on as time just kept on slipping by, but I finally caught up after months of pushing and reminding myself that this was still out there. I haven’t forgotten and this has still been on the back of my mind all this time.

What a heck of a ride this has been. The amount of sheer DEPTH you dive into for each character and their own unique journeys and career futures is incredibly impressive. What really makes me smile is how tactfully and carefully you took the baton for Cassandra, Jarena, and Violet and further developed their characters after the events of the Spiritwater RP. It was a pleasure to read how each of their unique journeys and careers would continue and the impact the Eon Academy had on each of their lives and the development of their Pokémon teams. I’ve never read a Pokémon fan fiction like this where this level of depth and development was covered with such care and great detail.

Moreover, you do a great job of knowing when and how to add in side-plots and developments and when to shake things up. And nothing feels disruptive or like an obstruction to the main story as all these things get woven together and interconnected with no loose ends left untied.

The battling strategies are also very clever. Even for Cassandra, Jarena, and Violet, you did a fantastic job working with the Pokémon they had during Spiritwater and did the homework on what kinds of moves and attacks their Pokémon could use, how the character personalities would reflect their battling strategy, and still keep it compelling. You recognize that to keep things interesting, keep the reader guessing. You get us invested in the success and future of these characters and when the stakes get high, who knows what may happen?

I think the only small criticism I have is that there are points when there are a lot of back-to-back battles. I think the best way I can describe it is each individual battle is like a sweet and delicious unique cupcake with its own unique flavors, toppings, and creamy fillings. Individually, they’re a good read and have fun surprises in store (although the Protect move gets used a bit too much in my opinion and some variety to dodge the attack, take cover, or otherwise negate the attack would go a long way). But in some cases, (the showdown battles with the Blackstone operatives for example), there are just a lot of cupcakes to eat all at once. And in that final Blackstone showdown, the way they’re broken down is half of one cupcake gets eaten, a new one is started but not finished, a third is introduced, and so on until coming back to the original first cupcake. It was a pretty intense final showdown with some clever strategies and surprises implemented and we got to see just how strong Jon and his crew have become, but it was a lot to digest all at once, too. I still think you did an awesome job with it all and the incorporation of each of the characters trapped in their own pocket dimensions was unique, but I think maybe a bit of modification of the delivery would have been good so it just didn’t feel all at once with one battle cut short to immediately drop into another one. It just made it a little tricky to follow but, in the end, it was still a very satisfying showdown with Blackstone having to fight tooth and nail against time while Eon Academy was on defense and collateral damage to their home and school threatened their entire livelihood. Both sides had a lot at stake and everything was on the line.

Overall, I feel you’ve done an amazing job with this story and it’s incredible to see what you’ve created stemming from what was just a fun but incredibly memorable RP of mine. You impressively took the reins and ultimately took this to become an even more impressive and deeply fleshed out saga that far surpasses what simply started in the Wishmaker RP. The values of rites of passage, redemption, coming of age, protecting family, being true to oneself, and friendship and kinship are all here. There’s way more than what meets the eye and it’s a refreshing take to see values like that defended and fostered as opposed to just another story that’s morally gray. In a trending and jaded sea of morally gray movies and stories, it’s great to see this rise above that and build on promoting the values that matter.

I’m not sure if you have plans to continue this and complete that final last farewell to the incredible characters you’ve created here, but even if Epilogue Episode 4 is the final page, it was a good way to end it and symbolic that what started as a journey on the wrong path for Cassandra and who had her tumble from ill-gotten grace can begin again on the right path with that critical introspection, acceptance of accountability and responsibility, and being true to oneself and others, regardless of what the rest of the world throws in opposition. For someone who came so close to just giving up on everything, you’ve recognized that value of finding that light at the end of the tunnel and running for it with every step a fight against time and against the darkness that keeps trying to creep in. It recognizes how sometimes we need to confront and fight our own demons instead of hiding them under the rug where they can still live with us in the shadows. It isn’t until you outright evict them out of your life and be true to yourself that you can truly move forward and be at peace with yourself. And many of the other characters faced similar struggles and all faced difficult choices, each with their own rewards and consequences. At the very end, you made them all feel like real people with real stories and futures to look forward to.

Thanks for the journey and reminding us all of the values that are important in life.