>>29337359Years later, I found myself training a Sawk and a Hitmonlee on the slopes of Mt. Coronet. During one particularly brutal winter, we found ourselves caught in a blizzard. I hardly saw the Abomasnow until it was upon us. It was a monster of a Pokemon, and my Sawk was knocked unconscious before I could tell it what to do. My Hitmonlee didn't even wait. It knew there was no time for order, as I had been grasped violently by the neck. What ensued was a fight for survival, and we only barely won. I found myself with a broken arm bruised trachea, and a broken wrist on my unbroken arm. My Hitmonlee fared much worse as the fractures and muscular tearing he suffered threatened to keep him from fighting at full capacity ever again. The next few months of my life were some of the most surprising I'd ever had. To the my utter amazement, my Hitmonlee was recovering twice as fast as he most would have in ideal circumstances. He trained with me even while it pained him to do so. After three months, he had healed completely, and I was still in a cast. His willpower and strength must have allowed him to confront the pain he felt and move forward regardless. As you can guess, that was my second lesson.
To move forward, you have to confront the pain that holds you back.
As soon as I realized that, I traveled back to Kanto, to visit my Dragonite's grave for the first time since his empty casket burial. It was there that I learned my final lesson. Someone (I assume one of the flight 107 crew who had fought through PTSD to remember the events of that fateful day) had carved a word onto the gravestone. The word itself brought me to tears, and I cried harder than I ever had before.
The last lesson I learned was what it meant to give your life and limb so that others may survive. On that gravestone was carved the word HERO.
I appreciate anyone who took their time to read all this. Thanks, and remember to share what your Pokemon have taught you.
