An epilogue set after Voyage Of Wisteria. Can be read here.
Some time after Goh's return from the Infinity Train, Parker gets two unexpected but inevitable visitors...
- Adults Are Useless: This trope gets combined with Wise Beyond Their Years as part of Chloe's interview segment; hers and Parker's belief that being into horror somehow made them more mature than kids their age, coupled with stories typically featuring adults that almost never help the situation, resulted in them applying the same label to the adults in real life, causing them to close themselves off from the help they could've received.
- Aesop Amnesia: While Parker is adamant that he did learn his lesson after the Unown incident, the actions he took afterward gave people every reason to believe that he was still far too willing to destroy people because they slighted him.
- Armor-Piercing Question: As he is verbally dressing down the younger boy, Goh asks Parker point-blank if he really hated him enough to want him dead.
- Beyond Redemption: Parker confesses that this is why he kept attempting to justify his actions even up to his court date; he may have realized by that point that what he'd done was horrendous...but he believed that giving a good reason for his actions was his only chance to prove that he wasn't "evil". Because, if he was evil, then it would all be over—he would never be able to go home, any help his mother or sister could offer him would be a waste of time, and in the eyes of the public, even his death would be justified punishment for his actions. Unfortunately, Ash points out that in defending his actions in an attempt to avoid this trope, Parker just made it seem that he hadn't learned anything and would still be willing to hurt those who had "hated his sister."
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Back in the original story, Parker utterly detested being seen as Just a Kid, and wanted to be treated with the respect he believed he deserved. This story gives him exactly that: by having Ash and Goh take off the kiddie gloves and refusing to sugarcoat both how disgusting his actions with the Unown were, and how much damage he inflicted on everybody just to appease his need for revenge.
- Black-and-White Insanity: Parker suffers from this in more ways than one. One of the reason he has so much trouble accepting the seriousness of his actions is that he'd have to classify himself as evil, which in his mind would condemn him as a lost cause forever. Ash and Goh make a point to assure him that while he undoubtedly did terrible things, they don't have to define him for the rest of his life.
- Brought Down to Normal: Sometime before the events of the story, Parker had help from the Hales in order to get rid of his future vision powers. How they did it isn't explained, but Parker feels better about it regardless.
- Brutal Honesty: After everything Parker has done to them, Ash and Goh aren't exactly interested in pandering to his feelings during their visit, making it clear how his actions were not only disgusting from multiple points of view, but that he caused way more damage and ultimately didn't fix anything.
- Call-Forward: This is apparently where Ash became aware of A Christmas Carol enough to identify it during the Christmas special.
- Commonality Connection: Downplayed, but Goh does have a degree of empathy for Parker upon learning that his powers put him in an even more drawn-out version of his hindsight accusations, constantly thinking about how better things would've been if he'd been different and seeing just how good things could've been. Apparently, Parker hit his limit and got rid of his powers after seeing his prospective tenth birthday.
- Convicted by Public Opinion: This is the other reason why Ash wasn't present for Parker's trial. Had he testified, and he would've had to testify, given he was one of the victims of the Unown attack, then the public would've immediately called out for Parker's blood at best, having the wrath of some of Ash's most influential friends on top of it at worst, or both.
- Dénouement: Serves as this to Parker, Ash, and Goh, featuring the latter two having a long-needed talk with the former in order to fully close this chapter of their lives.
- Didn't Think This Through: As Ash points out, while he might not bring much attention to it, he's still a very popular guy with tons of friends, some in very influential positions, and hundreds of Pokémon at his beck and call. Parker deciding to torture him alongside everybody else means that he made himself an enemy in all of them, and the only reason he didn't get absolutely annihilated by them was because Ash didn't testify and reveal just how badly Parker hurt him.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Parker is initially excited to recap A Christmas Carol to Ash and Goh...until he reaches the part involving the Ghost of Christmas Future, as it's then that the boys start to realize what Parker's intention with the nightmare therapy actually was.
- Epic Fail: Goh points out that Parker's attempt at "Nightmare Therapy" was a really nasty example of this. When Goh had gone up against Ogami, armed with nothing but the Serial Killer's tape and his observational skills, he had broken through the villain's self-justifications and thus killed him in the space of about half an hour. Parker had set Goh up with Zeno, a mental construct with total control over the dream world and access to all of Goh's memories as well as some information inherited from UnChloe. The "Nightmare Therapist" had trapped Goh in his mindscape for TEN HOURS...and the end result was a traumatized boy who wanted to end it all!
- Framing Device: Several interviews bookend the story, as the interviewer is considering Parker for parole from the Calla House and is looking at all perspectives. The ones we see on screen are Delia, Talia, and Chloe, with it being implied there were several others offscreen.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: The best that Parker can hope for, in the end. It's implied, though not outright stated, that Ash and Goh are on their way there.
- Hanlon's Razor: Discussed, with both Chloe and Parker noting that the notion about them just being mistaken isn't all that comforting, since they'd have to be mistaken about so much that they come across as simply stupid. Chloe even admits that she'd almost rather be a Drama Queen than an "imbecile."
- Horrible Judge of Character:
- Ash wryly notes that Trip is still grappling with his stint as one of these, casting Goh as the Spoiled Brat who needed a wake-up call, and Parker as the scared child who needed support after everyone had allegedly failed his sister so badly.
- At the same time, Parker realizes that this conversation with Goh at the Calla House was the first time he'd actually spoken to the older boy. All his anger toward Goh had been rooted in what Chloe had said about him being an "insensitive, uncaring jerk obsessed with Mew."
- It had taken her until the end of Voyage of Wisteria for Chloe to realize that Ash and Goh had never intended to hurt her, and were capable of learning from their mistakes.
- Insane Troll Logic: Turns out Chloe and Parker's belief that Adults Are Useless and they knew better came from this; since they were into horror stuff, which most kids their age normally aren't, then that meant that they were more mature than their fellow children, and by extension, adults as well.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Parker nearly mentions Trip by name when talking to Ash, only to quickly swap his name with "training". Ash isn't fooled.
- Loving a Shadow: An Inverted Trope. During his What the Hell, Hero? speech, Goh outright tells his former tormentor that he and Chloe had been hating a shadow when it came to their friendship. Goh certainly had his faults, and their friendship needed some serious work, but Chloe and Parker had exaggerated his flaws in their own heads until he became nothing but a caricature in the scary stories they adored that existed solely to suffer a spine-chilling fate in retribution for their treatment of the hero.
- Soon after, Goh delivers a variation of this trope: he makes it clear that the Chloe he despises is the one from the beginning of Blossoming Trail, who broke his phone, broke off their friendship after leaving him to think she might've been lost or worse, and who slandered everybody she thought had wronged her, and not the one from the end of the same story, who was at least willing to apologize and try to become a better person.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Parker is already in this mindset when Ash and Goh arrive, but their calm, focused call-outs just intensify this state of mind. This reaches its climax when Parker is finally able to comprehend that Ash and Goh are kind and helpful people who would have been great friends to have and nothing like the attention-stealing "Black Hole" or the unreliable, obsessive "No-Show" that Chloe made them out be. But he threw it all away for "a fake, evil copy of his sister and a chance to play Cryptkeeper."
- Necessarily Evil: How the talk between Parker, Ash, and Goh is seen: nobody wants to do it, especially the latter two, but it's their only chance to fully move on from everything that's happened.
- Not Helping Your Case: Ash points out that Parker's outburst at trial undermined his case badly, though he does concede that Parker still took responsibility to a degree and didn't pin everything on Zeno or UnChloe.
- Not So Similar: Goh points out that he and Ebenezer Scrooge are this when explaining to Parker why his A Christmas Carol plot didn't work. Scrooge was an old man, set in his ways, and he needed a harsh wake-up call before he squandered his last chance at redemption. The three ghosts were able to demonstrate to him completely accurately that the actions Scrooge had habitually performed for decades had hurt everyone around him, and that if he didn't devote the remaining years of his life to making things right, no one would mourn his passing. Goh, on the other hand, is ten years old, and his actions were born out of No Social Skills and a genuine belief that things were okay between him and Chloe before she ran away. Showing him a world where everyone had moved on and was happier without him only convinced him to try to kill himself in order to ensure he didn't drag everyone down with him.
- No Sympathy: Chloe mentions during her interview that she's had to deal with some people who have been chewing her out on the #CallingChloe forum for her actions, with one user even claiming that she should've more understanding of Sara, her former bully, and what she was going through.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Ash hasn't seen A Christmas Carol due to being on the road during the holidays, so Goh and Parker have to explain to him what happened in order to get how it relates to Parker's Nightmare Therapy.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: This epilogue serves as this for both Parker and the boys. Parker has fully come to terms with all the mistakes he made, and is about to be paroled and set out for the Sinnoh region, where he might be able to make a fresh start. He's reminded that "no one heals the same way," so while some people will likely never forgive him for how he'd hurt them, perhaps some people will in their own time, and the door is left open for him to try again. Ash is well on the road to recovery, and Goh might still have a fair bit of trauma to work through, but he has managed to gain some closure by confronting Parker, and he and Ash are finally reunited again, so things might finally get better.
- The Scapegoat: Discussed. Ash and Goh question why Parker didn't just outright blame what he did on UnChloe or Zeno, given that they were The Heavy during his entire rampage. Parker counters that it wouldn't have mattered: They weren't so much separate people as they were extensions of himself, unleashing things he subconsciously wanted to do.
- Secret Test of Character: Goh comparing notes to his own experiences with Ogami was designed to test if Parker would rationalize his "nightmare therapy" as something he could've done better. Parker doesn't do that, accepting that it was the wrong call to begin with and giving the boys a sincere apology.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Ash not knowing about A Christmas Carol is one of the only times that Goh and Parker share the same reaction; utter disbelief.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Ash adds another layer of explanation for his absence during Parker’s trial...he was actively attempting to avoid invoking this trope. The anime may downplay the fame Ash gets for his accomplishments outside of a few specific moments, but even if he's not a public figure, per se, there's no denying that he's made a ''lot'' of friends during his travels. If all those friends were to see Ash Ketchum, the cheerful, determined boy that had saved the world at least a dozen times traumatized to the point of night terrors, it wouldn't take much for Parker to be Convicted by Public Opinion. And though Ash was rightly furious with Parker, he still held enough pity for his family to want to avoid escalating the situation any more than it already had been.
- Super Gullible: Discussed. Parker's idolization of Chloe meant that believed every word out of her mouth without question, including her saying that she wanted to throw herself off the roof to escape her troubles, and her belief that their parents wouldn't help her and no one would ever understand her...because surely his brilliant sister wouldn't misjudge people!
- Tears of Joy: Parker can't help but shed these when Ash and Goh tell him he still has a chance to make things right.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Talia's interview has her describe Chloe and Parker's relationship as becoming rather unhealthy, as they began to constantly depend on each other and close themselves off from people.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Ultimately averted. Ash and Goh reaffirm to Parker that they aren't about to forget what he had put them all through...but at the very least, they were willing to visit him to get closure, and they inform him that acknowledging your mistakes and working to better yourself is never All for Nothing. However, Ash states quite plainly that Parker shouldn't expect to see Trip, since the photographer is nowhere near willing to give Parker a second chance.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Ash and Goh deliver many of these to Parker.
- What You Are in the Dark: There's theoretically nothing stopping Ash and Goh from utterly destroying Parker over how badly he messed up; the kid himself is feeling too broken to snipe back, and the Calla House workers won't interfere unless the duo either get physical or start verbally abusing the boy. However, not only do they not call out Parker more than necessary, but reassure him that he still has a chance to make things right and make amends. It's this moment that gets Parker to realize how horribly he misjudged the duo, and he apologizes for it.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: This trope, along with Adults Are Useless, is discussed and deconstructed in Chloe's interview. As she ruefully explains, she and her brother were into things that were not recommended to children—and they were aware of it. Thus, they began to develop the idea that they were inherently "more mature" than other kids their age, and that that children were "more grown-up than they really were."
- Written-In Absence: Trip isn't present for two reasons: He simply wants nothing to do with Parker anymore, and he's still trying to come to terms with how his inability to properly judge someone's character led to him worsening the situation rather than helping it.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: Parker's Nightmare Therapy is confirmed to be based on the Christmas Carol story, with it being explicitly focused on the Ghost of Christmas Future part.
