AUTHOR'S NOTE:
All right! Here we go! This is the final installment of A Valiant Voice! I'm super stoked for this, and I hope you are, too!
I decided to post the trivia chapter onto Black is the New Beginning (it just seems better because it is its anniversary today).
FanFiction . net is experiencing a problem where views on stories aren't going up. I know you guys are reading this, and I'll be able to see favorites, follows, and reviews, but the view stats are going to be at zero for a while until the problem is fixed. The same goes for all of my other stories. If you're also experiencing this problem, fingers crossed that this issue gets fixed!
I hope you also check out the trivia chapter and spend a moment (even a brief second) to celebrate the anniversary of Black is the New Beginning. If you'd like some pointless facts about the development of the story, check it out!
Remember that I'll be posting on Thursday, too, then resuming the regular posting schedule.
The theme for the fourth and final installment of A Valiant Voice- "A New Dream"- is "Someday The Dream Will End" from Final Fantasy X.
"He's such a lazy bum." Iris grumbled next to me. "Ash, wake up!"
The young girl stood on the post of the bunk bed and vigorously shook Ash, but he replied with a loud snore. Iris jumped back down to my side and growled to herself, crossing her arms tightly in front of her chest.
"He's such a kid." she said.
I chuckled at her frustration. "Relax, Iris. He just needs the right kind of push." I glanced at Pikachu and shot him a wink. "Pikachu, if you would?"
Pikachu nodded, and electricity crackled from his cheeks. With a cry, he summoned Thunderbolt, which landed directly on Ash. The Pokémon trainer's eyes shot open as his scream ripped through the air. He tumbled over the side of the bunk bed and crashed to the ground. He groaned and opened his eyes, absorbing all of us in his upside-down view.
"You're finally awake!" Iris said. "We've been trying to wake you up for the past ten minutes! You're such a heavy sleeper, you'll sleep through anything!"
"Except Pikachu's Thunderbolt." I said, and Zorua snickered on my shoulder.
Ash sat up and rubbed his head. "Oh, yeah, we're back in Nuvema Town, right?"
I nodded. After saying goodbye to my brother, N, and my father, we traveled back to Nuvema Town and stayed the night at the younger Professor Juniper's laboratory. Ash had it lucky from being able to sleep after all the exhilarating events that happened just yesterday. An evil organization called Team Plasma tried to control my father, Reshiram, with their Pokémon control device and use him for their destructive purposes. My friends and I had stopped them, but it almost came at a terrible price. Forced to fight against my father, I used one of the most powerful moves alive, Roar of Time, which I didn't even know I was capable of using. Fatigued already from the fight, when I used the move, it sucked up all the energy left in my body, and I almost died. However, I don't remember the details that happened after that; only waking up with the faces of my friends hovering over me with overwhelming happiness.
Ash stood up and stretched. "Man, I was having a great dream, too!"
"Now, hurry up and go get dressed!" Iris said. She walked to the window and threw open the curtains.
"All right, all right..." Ash grumbled.
Iris and I headed to the kitchen, where Cilan and Professor Juniper had prepared our meal.
"Yum, that looks great!" Iris said.
As I walked by, I snagged a mini sandwich and popped it in my mouth. "Tastes great, too." I said.
Cilan playfully glared at me as he carried another plate of food to the table. "Now, now. Save some for everyone."
Ash bounded down the stairs, and we all sat down to eat. Axew, Pikachu, and Zorua sat near the table, each with a food dish piled up high with Pokémon food.
"So, did you sleep well, Ash?" Professor Juniper said. "I heard it took quite a lot to wake you up."
"Yeah." Ash snickered. "I had a great dream... except for the weird ending."
"Come on! It's not my fault you couldn't wake up." Iris said.
"Let's not forget we've been through a lot, so we were all extra tired." Cilan said.
"Are you kidding me? I could barely sleep last night!" I said. "I was almost tempted to find a Drowzee so it could put me to sleep."
"That's right! My father left a message raving about what you all went through." Professor Juniper said. "It must've been incredible!"
"It was! But I would've been just fine without a few parts." Iris said.
Professor Juniper turned her eyes to Ash. "So, Ash, what are you planning to do now?"
That's right. The Unova League finished a while back, so I wondered about what Ash would do now. The whole Team Plasma thing kept us busy for a while. I was curious to what he would say. As I listened intently, I brought a glass of water to my lips.
"I'm going back to Kanto!" Ash said.
I shot forward, and the water that was in my mouth spewed out like a misty sprinkler all over the table. My friends cried out in disgust and wiped away my spit-filled water. I coughed and wiped my mouth, embarrassingly sliding back in my chair. I crossed my arms and stared at Ash.
"Kanto?" I said. "You're... going home?"
"Yeah!" Ash said, stuffing his face with a sandwich. "I want to tell Professor Oak about my journey!"
"You seem excited! I'm sure he'll be thrilled!" Professor Juniper said.
"Yeah..."
I glanced at my friends, who all stared at Ash with surprised expressions. Apparently I wasn't the only one shocked by the news, albeit my reaction was a little more dramatic than theirs.
"Cilan? Iris? What do you think?" Professor Juniper said.
"Well..." Cilan said.
Iris shot out of her seat and slammed her hands against the table. "I know!" she cried. "I'm gonna go to Kanto with Ash!"
"You are?!" Ash said.
"I want to meet Dragon-type Pokémon from other regions!" Iris leaned over Ash with an excited grin. "Well, can I come?!"
"Uh... sure! Yeah, if you want to." Ash said, sweatdropping.
"That's great!"
"Well, well, Iris beat me to it!" Cilan said.
"Whaddya mean?" Ash said.
"I'd like to go with you, too. I've always wanted to visit other regions with a goal of broadening my horizons as a Pokémon Connoisseur."
"Wow, then I guess we'll all get to travel together some more!"
My friends all looked to me, waiting for my definite yes.
"Yeah." I said. "That sounds great."
"Ah, Kanto! The delicious thought of what kinds of Pokémon await!" Cilan said.
"I'm so psyched! What about you, Axew?" Iris said. Axew chattered happily in response.
"Have you got any idea as to how you'll get to Kanto?" Professor Juniper interjected.
"...Not yet." Ash said.
"Well, you took a plane here, right? How about taking a cruise back?"
"A cruise?"
"A fleet of cruise ships sail from the Nuvema Town port. One of them heads to Kanto after making several stops of the Decolore Islands. There are many different Pokémon living on those islands, and some of them are really rare."
"Sounds awesome! All right, I'll take the cruise ship!" Ash said.
"Beautiful! The turquoise waters, paradise! It sounds like an exhilarating encounter!" Cilan said.
"Yeah, sure does!" Iris said. "I can hardly wait!"
I could. I pushed my plate away, my appetite vanished.
After we had all packed, we piled into Professor Juniper's car and headed to the Nuvema Town port.
"I'll go and get your tickets, so everybody just sit tight!" Professor Juniper said, climbing out of the car and heading to the ticket booth.
"You all right, Rylee? You've been pretty quiet ever since breakfast." Iris said.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." I said, smushed between Cilan and Iris in the back seat. I reached up and touched my locket.
We'll never say goodbye to each other. I promise. This journey might come to an end someday, but you'll still have the memories.
Even if it was going to come to a close after the Unova League, I'd still want you to be with me in the future.
I smiled to myself and looked at my friends. "I guess Ash's decision to go home left me kind of frazzled. But I'm okay now."
"Look! I think that's our ship!" Iris cried, jumping on her seat and pointing at the huge cruise ship floating next to the dock.
"Whoa, it's huge!" Ash said.
"Oh, the glitz and glamour! So gorgeously exciting!" Cilan said.
We climbed out of the car when we saw Professor Juniper heading towards us. She handed the tickets to Cilan.
"Here, you're all set!" she said.
"Thanks so much!" Cilan said.
"I have to get back to work, so I'll say goodbye. Take care, everyone!"
"Professor, thanks for everything!" Ash said.
"You take care of yourself, too!" Cilan said.
"Hope to see you again soon!" Iris said.
"Bon voyage! Best wishes!" Professor Juniper said. She started her jeep and we waved to her as it drove away.
"Let's get on board!" Ash said. We nodded and headed for the docks.
"This will be a nostalgic trip back home for you, Ash. But for Iris, Rylee, and me, this will be our very first journey to Kanto!" Cilan said.
"Yeah."
"I just can't wait to see what it's like!" Iris said.
"I can't either!" Cilan said.
I nodded absentmindedly. We approached the porter and showed him our tickets. He examined each one carefully before handing them back to Cilan.
"I'm afraid these four tickets won't allow you to get on board." the porter said. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" we all said.
"Big bummer." Ash mumbled as we walked along the docks. "I thought we were gonna be able to ride that thing."
"Then what are these tickets good for?" I said.
"Excuse me." A ship assistant approached us. "Perhaps your tickets are meant to be used to board our ship. May I take a look at your tickets, please?"
"Uh, sure..." Cilan said, handing our tickets to the woman. She examined them.
"Ah, just as I suspected! These tickets are ours!"
"Thank goodness!" Iris said.
"All right, then, follow me!"
"Thank you!" we all said.
The foghorn of the large cruise ship went off, but the ship assistant led us to a small, dingy boat that floated next to it.
"This ship is a little smaller than the other one, but it looks pretty cool, too." Ash said.
"All aboard!" the ship assistant said.
"Thank you for riding the waves with us!" the ship's captain said. He had a thick mustache and black sunglasses.
"Sure..." Ash said.
"This ought to be great!" Cilan said.
"Yeah, should be fun!" Iris said.
I glanced at the two ship employees as we boarded the ship. "If you say so..."
The two ship employees directed us to our room.
"You see, our ship offers a wide range of services designed to make our passengers' voyage as comfortable as we can." the captain said.
"What kind of services?" Ash said.
"Well, I'll give you but one of our many examples." the ship assistant said. "We offer special Pokémon food for all passengers traveling with their Pokémon, and we have a playroom!"
Pikachu chattered at the sound.
"We also possess a PokéBall Relax-And-Refresh-O-Matic!" the captain said.
"A what...?" I said.
"It's a wonderful device that allowed your Pokémon to relax and refresh while they're still lounging inside their PokéBalls."
"If you'd like, I'll take your PokéBalls to our relaxation room right now." the ship assistant said. She offered a tray to us. "Place your PokéBalls here."
My friends placed their PokéBalls inside the tray. I crossed my arms as the tray filled.
"Axew, why don't you go to the playroom?" Iris said.
"You too, Pikachu!" Ash said.
"Yeah!" Pikachu and Axew cried. "What about you, Zorua?"
"Um... I'll stay here." Zorua said, and I silently praised her for not being as gullible as everyone else.
"Now, allow me to bring you to your cabin." the captain said.
I glanced back at the ship assistant, Pikachu, and Axew as they headed down the hall.
"You see it too, right?" Zorua said through telepathy.
"Duh. I'm almost offended that you asked me that." I replied.
The captain opened the door to our room. "Here we are!"
There was no furniture in the room, save four beds propped up against the walls.
"It's smaller than I thought." Ash said.
"I'm sorry, cabins on cruise ships are pretty much all this size!" the captain said quickly.
Iris said down on the bed, bouncing a few times on it. I heard loud creaks from the springs. "The bed's pretty hard, too."
"Many customers prefer rock-solid, rock-hard beds nowadays!" I could see sweat forming at the captain's brow. Ash approached the flower painting on the wall, and the painting escaped from its hangers and swung back and forth against the wall. The captain cried out and rushed over to straighten the painting. "Our ship has a wares of antiques and ship history, so many of the cabin retains much of its original decor!"
"You mean it's old." Iris said.
The captain laughed nervously, and I feared he would wet his pants from nerves.
"Let's all relax. We'll have a relaxing time aboard this cruise ship, with some real old world charm!" Cilan said.
"You think so?" Ash said. Iris grunted in disagreement.
"Please stay in your cabin until the ship leaves port." The captain scurried out of our room and closed the door. I noticed the green light below the doorknob turned red.
My friends all plopped down on their beds, and for the next few minutes, it was silent.
"You mean to tell me that I'm the only one that sees through this scam?" I said, facing my friends and crossing my arms.
"What are you talking about?" Ash said, peeking up from a magazine.
I groaned and facepalmed. "You guys are so gullible! Those ship employees are Team Rocket!"
"What?!" Iris hurried over to the door and tried to open it. "The door's locked!"
I sighed and shook my head. All my friends tried to open the door, but to no avail.
"Come on, let's get our Pokémon and get out of here." I said.
"Why are you so casual about this?!" Ash said.
"This is Team Rocket we're talking about. We have nothing to worry about." I said. I reached up and plucked Leavanny's PokéBall from my necklace. "Would you like me to force our way out?"
"Open... up!" Iris cried as she vigorously jiggled the handle. The light below the door handle turned green, and the door flew open. Iris tumbled out, but quickly caught her balance. "See, I had that under control!"
"Right..." I said, placing Leavanny's PokéBall back on the chain. "Now, let's go find our Pokémon."
As we ran down the hallway, we noticed all the doors were wide open, revealing no other passenger on the ship. Ash found Oshawott's PokéBall in the middle of the hallway.
"Ash!" We saw Pikachu sprinting towards us. He leaped into Ash's arms.
"Pikachu, where's Axew?!" Iris said.
"Follow me!" Pikachu ran down the hallway, and we chased after him. We followed him to the playroom, where Axew waited intently by a machine that contained our PokéBalls in it. Cilan opened the door, and my friends collected their Pokémon.
"Now we can get off this ship." Cilan said.
"But first, we still need to find Oshawott." Ash said. He took off down the hallway, frantically calling Oshawott's name. We stopped when we saw one of the doors that lead to the outside was open. We saw the three Team Rocket members looming over Oshawott. "HEY! Get away from my Oshawott!"
"Twerps on deck!" James cried.
"With Pikachu!" Jessie said.
"How'd they break out?!" Meowth said.
Oshawott ran between the Team Rocket members and scurried over to us. Once they finally realized their cover was blown, they threw their disguises off, revealing their Team Rocket uniforms.
"Why are you trying to steal our Pokémon again?" I said. "You helped us back when we fought against Team Plasma!"
"That was then, this is now." Jessie said.
"And now, we plan to catch your precociously precious and powerful Pikachu!" James said.
"'Cause we're through helpin' you!" Meowth said.
"Our plan was proceeding so swimmingly!" Jessie said, pointing an accusing finger at Oshawott. "But Shorty here ruined it!"
"You really thought your plan would work?" I chuckled. "As if."
"Fine, then, I guess we'll have to force the issue!"
Jessie and James called out Amoongus and Woobat. Iris called out Excadrill. I reached up to grab Leavanny's PokéBall.
"Wait! Is battling on board really a good idea?!" Cilan cried, and I brought my hand back to my side. He's right. This ship was as old and outdated as a elderly home; I doubt it would be able to sustain this fight.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Quick, Woobat, dodge it!"
Pikachu attacked, but Woobat swerved around him.
"Amoongus, use Body Slam!"
"Dodge it by using Dig!"
"Iris!" I cried, but Excadrill lunged into the ship. A few seconds later, geyser gushed out from the hole with Excadrill riding the top of it. Water spewed out onto the ship, and it quickly began to sink.
"Oopsy..." Iris said.
"I tried to warn you..." Cilan said.
The ship lurched to the side.
"We gotta get out of here!" Ash cried.
Iris and Ash returned their Pokémon back to their PokéBalls, and we sprinted towards the docks.
"Rylee, can't you use Protect or something to try and clog that hole?" Zorua said.
I paused and glanced back. Team Rocket tried to use their Pokémon as a plug for the gushing hole.
"I... can't..." I said. "I promised Dad and N."
After the events of Team Plasma, I promised my dad and N that I would restrict my powers. I knew that the more I used them, the greater danger I put myself and my friends in. I didn't want any of them to get hurt because of me, so I was determined to close off my Pokémon side indefinitely, aside from occasionally talking with Pokémon. As I looked back, I saw an envelope laying on the ground.
"Rylee, come on!" I heard Ash call. The ship lurched again, and I tumbled to the wall. I pushed myself off, scooped up the envelope, and ran towards the docks. The distance between the boarding ramp and the dock had widened greatly.
"Jump!" Iris cried.
I gulped and picked up my speed. I heard the loud boom and felt the heat of an explosion from the other side of the ship that almost threw me off. When I reached the end of the ramp, I jumped for the dock. My foot landed on the edge of the dock, and I flailed my arms to try and balance myself, but I felt my weight pushing me back towards the ocean. Three pairs of hands grabbed my arms, and my friends all pulled me back onto the dock.
"Phew, that was close." Iris said. We watched as the ship sunk into the water.
I pulled out the envelope and showed it to my friends. "I found this."
Ash took the envelope and opened it. He pulled out four tickets. "It's our tickets! Team Rocket must've taken them!"
"Now we can finally board the real ship!" Iris said.
As Cilan examined the tickets, he gasped and began to panic.
"What's wrong?" I said.
"Our ship is about to leave any second!" he cried.
"Then we'd better hurry!"
We sprinted down the docks towards our ship. The cruise ship bellowed its loud foghorn, and we saw the porter heading towards the boarding ramp.
"Wait!" Ash cried. The porter turned about, and we ran to him, pausing to catch our breath. "Here, we have our tickets!"
The porter smiled. "All right, then. Welcome aboard."
We all sighed in relief and boarded the cruise ship.
My friends and I rested on the bow of the ship. Iris and I sat on top of a large, round seat while Cilan and Ash leaned their backs against it.
"That sure was a close one." Ash said.
"You know, this wouldn't have happen if it weren't for your ignorance." I snickered.
"How were we supposed to know that was Team Rocket?!" Iris said, and I shot her an "are-you-serious" glare.
"Welcome aboard! Glad to see you!" the porter approached us. "I'd like to thank you all for choosing our luxury cruise ship, the Decolore Queen. My name is Porter, and I'm the chief purser. I'm here to make sure your voyage is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible."
"Nice to meet you, Parker!" Ash said, and I stifled a giggle.
"Well, then, enjoy your voyage as we make several stops throughout the Decolore Islands!" Porter said.
"Thanks!" we all said.
We stepped up to the ledge and gawked at the ocean view before us.
"This'll be great! We're gonna have so much fun!" Ash said. "One last adventure before Kanto!"
His words were like a dagger to my heart.