That night was even rougher than the nights before it. Even Clef's Sing and Gastly's Hypnosis couldn't help Chris and Gloria sleep. They would doze off, but they'd wake right back up. Eventually, at about five in the morning, they just gave up, and went outside together. "I wonder when we'll find them?"

"I don't know, Gloria. Part of me wants it to be soon; yet another part of me wants it to never come, the part that's afraid of what might happen."

"I know. I don't want to lose you, Chris."

"I don't want to lose you, either. Hopefully it won't come to that." Chris leaned over and kissed her, and they held each other close.

They spent the next couple of hours walking around hand in hand, checking out the base. They ate breakfast, then went to help out with returning the Pokemon again. They were working now at trying to find a way to learn where the trainers were at, or at least where there homes were. They wanted to make sure that all of the Pokemon were returned to their trainers safely. The one bright spot in their morning was when a girl named Sam came in and got her Ralts back that had been stolen.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you're safe!"

"Yay! Sam, you found me!"

"Heh, that's really sweet. I'm glad that we could help you." Chris gave a little bow, and the girl giggled.

"Thank you so much!"

"It was our pleasure." Gloria gave a mock curtsy, making the girl and her Ralts laugh. Chris and Gloria laughed too, though they still felt that nagging inside.

Later on, they went and got onto the ship to take them to the Orange Islands. They ate lunch on the ship, and kept to themselves in their cabin.

"So, what are the Orange Islands like?"

"I'm not really sure. I've only been there once or twice, and have just been on the one island where the port is."

"Ah. Okay. What do you remember though?"

"I remember that there are five main, larger islands, and a bunch of smaller ones. Those five contain four gyms and a League challenge, if I remember right."

"Heh, maybe in the future we could challenge that league."

They continued to talk until they got into the port, when they got off the ship.

"Wait, something's not right. This doesn't look like what I remember at all. Don't tell me that..." She ran over to where a map of the islands was posted.

"What's wrong, Glo?"

"We're on the wrong island! I'd noticed that it was coming to the Orange Islands, but I'd forgotten the name of the island I'm used to. We're on the wrong end of the archipelago!"

"Ouch. Well, how hard will it be to get to the other end?"

"Probably a few days. None of the larger ships make that trip, and I don't see any going from here to Olivine, either."

"Did you say Olivine?" They turned to see an older girl walking up to them. "Yeah, the only way to there from here is through the other port. I'm actually heading down there tomorrow, if you two need a ride."

"Oh, thank you!" Gloria jumped at hearing that.

"We'd really appreciate that." Chris wasn't in much mood for jumping, but he did appreciate the gesture.

"Ok, I'll meet you two in the Pokemon Center tomorrow morning. My names Caroline, by the way."

"I'm Gloria, and he's Chris."

"Thank you for helping us."

"Oh, one thing, tomorrow night we'll be stopping at Shamouti Island. They have a really cool festival that they put on every year."

"Sure, I guess that works."

"Probably can't sail well by night anyways, or at least safely."

"You got that right, Chris. So it's not like it's a delay or anything." Caroline turned and started to walk off. "Tomorrow morning, remember!"

"Okay! Thanks again!" Caroline missed a step, but kept on her way.

"Well, Chris, let's go and get something to eat."

"Ok, sure. I probably won't eat much, though. I don't have much of an appetite today."

"Eh, I understand. But we need to eat something. Let's go." Hand in hand they walked into town to find someplace to eat.

The Pokemon Center turned out to be booked full already when they got there, but that didn't bother them too much, with how they'd been sleeping the previous few nights. So they ended up sitting together in a chair in the main lobby of the Pokemon Center, comforting each other through the night.

Caroline woke them up the next morning. "Hey, sorry, guess I should have warned you that it might have been full. Anyways, let's get some breakfast and get going."

"Okay." Caroline's misstep was slightly less noticeable.

They ate there at the center, and then headed out to her boat. "Well, let's get going then. I want to get there before the festivities start. By the way, they may end up having you two participate in the festivities, too. They like to get travelers involved whenever possible."

"Okay, cool." Gloria wasn't too sure about that, but figured she'd go along with it.

"Yeah, I guess so. Maybe a distraction like this will help." Chris hoped that it would. He didn't want to forget Kyogre, but he wanted to forget his problems for a while.

They went along peacefully for most of the day, and Chris and Gloria spent a little time fishing as they went along, though all that they caught were Magikarp.

"Heh, I know that they evolve into Gyarados, but they're such a hassle to get to that point."

"There's a lake in Johto that was supposedly made by Gyarados rampaging. They're a hassle either way, just stronger once they evolve."

"Hah, good point, Gloria."

"Hey you two, look ahead of us. There's Shamouti Island."

They looked, and saw a beautiful tropical island ahead of them. "Oh wow!" Gloria exclaimed.

"Heh, reminds me of home, really." Gloria nodded in agreement.

"Well, we're almost there. Prepare to go ashore!" Suddenly the wind picked up, blowing them even faster in towards the island. "Blast, this gale won't help us. The harbor's protected by a reef, which is pretty tough to navigate. I know the way through, but I'll have a hard time making it at this speed."

"We'll try and help!" Caroline gave them a funny look, more for what they said than for how they said it.

"Dratini, help us get through!"

"Skarmory, try and slow us down!"
Dratini headed out ahead of the ship, spotting the safe path through the reef. Skarmory beat her wings to try and blow the little boat backwards, though it didn't slow very much. Dratini got ready to help steer the ship.

"Here we go! Brace yourselves!" Chris and Gloria grabbed onto the rails as the ship entered the reef. Dratini hit the ship with a well timed Hydro Pump, barely averting a collision. As they entered the harbor, the wind suddenly died.

"Microburst. I'm sure glad that you two were here, or my goose would have been cooked! Can your Skarmory help blow us in to the beach?"

Skarmory nodded, and helped the little ship dock on the island. A crowd quickly gathered around.

"Hey, we've got a welcoming committee! Hey guys!"

"Caroline, good to see you again." A young woman came out of the crowd.

"Likewise Melody. I've got passengers this time, too. Meet Chris and Gloria."

The crowd, who had started dancing around a bit, suddenly went still. "Wait, you mean THE Chris and Gloria? The Kanto League Champions?" Melody asked.

"Heh, guess our reputation preceded us after all, Chris."

"This island may look primitive, but they've obviously got some tech to know who we are," Chris responded.

"Wait, you're telling me that you really are...I brought you the whole way here, and I didn't realize that?" Caroline hit her forehead with her palm. "Wow, it's an honor to meet you."

"We're all honored." Melody came forward, and shook their hands.

"Indeed we are. Welcome to our island." An old man, apparently the local leader, came forward as well. "We would indeed be honored if the two of you joined us in our celebration this year."

"Sure, we'll join you."

The crowd broke out in a cheer, not caring that they spoke in unison, and they started to dance again. The wind was still dead, yet no one noticed as they headed inland to begin their festivities...