Chapter 37 - "The Coldest It Gets In Alola."
Kala, Lilo, and Emma all stood in silence. Kala hadn't said a word since Cyan disappeared into the portal. The four members of Team Skull had gathered behind them, and they sat down on the cold stone and waited.
No one knew what to say. But after one hour and then two hours, and nothing, their concerns became intense. No one wanted to give up hope that Cyan and Solgaleo would come back through the portal, but every second that passed by made them feel worse.
After the third hour, Emma and Lilo finally relented, and they sat down next to the Team Skull members. They watched Kala. Her usual positive attitude had been completely wiped away. She stood with her shoulders slumped, but her hands were clasped together as she prayed for Cyan to come back. Her red Alolan print dress had been torn from the battle. Her usual neat short hair had been dirtied and ruffled.
"I think the writing is on the wall," Guzma whispered quietly enough to where Kala couldn't hear him. "He's not coming back."
Lilo and Emma glanced at one another. They didn't want to admit it, but they had started to feel the same way. Through all of the years that they had to study about Pokémon and how to handle different situations on their journey, they had never studied how to deal with something this serious.
Throughout the entirety of the Island Challenge, they were taught different lessons and given various obstacles to overcome, like how to get through a cave or make proper food for their teams, but nothing could have prepared them for Solgaleo. Nothing could have prepared them for Necrozma. And nothing could have prepared them to lose a friend. But with every passing minute, second, and hour, they soon had to come to the realization that it was now a reality.
Cyan was gone.
"Maybe, he's not," Emma muttered quietly. "Maybe he's taking a detour on his way back."
Plumeria scoffed. "For someone who dresses like you do, you sure are positive."
Emma pulled her knees to her chest. "I try to be."
"Maybe he found some rare Pokémon on the other side, and he just wants to spend a couple of hours catching them," Lilo added. She bawled her fist and tried to fight back tears. "Or maybe there's some beautiful girl over there, and he fell in love."
"Maybe he and Solgaleo are traveling through space and seeing sights that we'll never truly understand. Maybe he's enjoying an adventure like no other," Emma exclaimed. "I can't wait to hear all about it."
Guzma glared and then he punched the ground. "I should have gone with him! This should have been me! Stupid kid!"
Kala remained still.
And for hours, they waited.
And they waited.
It took awhile, but Team Skull finally decided to depart, leaving the three girls alone. Lilo and Emma were able to convince Kala to return with them to the Pokémon Center where they could let their Pokémon rest. Cyan did ask Kala to take care of them afterall.
After they handed over all of the Pokémon, they took a seat at the diner, where they could watch out the window. Kala had hoped that something would happen. Even if the darkness came back, they could still get some kind of answer. No news was the worst news at the moment.
And they sat in the diner, waiting. And waiting. The three stared out the window, but everything seemed calm. Everything seemed peaceful. Everything was quiet and normal, which put them at an incredible unease.
"Your Pokémon," a voice said, breaking the three trainer's daydreams. They looked up, finding Nurse Joy's familiar gentle smile. She held a tray out in front of her with all of their Poké Balls.
The three took the balls and then went out to the back of the Pokémon Center. They could still keep an eye on Vast Poni Canyon, but they decided that it was probably best that they talk to Cyan's Pokémon sooner than later. One by one, Kala released Lycanroc, Salazzle, Oranguru, and what she thought was going to be Graveler, but instead, a new Pokémon was in his place.
"Golem!" the Pokémon cried out upon being released from the ball. He grinned as he showed off his newly grown beard.
"I guess that Graveler being transferred to a new trainer made him evolve," Lilo thought out loud.
Kala was happy for the Pokémon, but it was only momentary, as the group of four quickly took note that Cyan was not around. Looks of panic and worry came over their faces, and it was now time for Kala to tell them.
The news that he had gone missing quickly spread between the Island Kahunas and trial captains, and it was up to Kala, Lilo, and Kukui to tell Cyan's mom before she would find out from television or radio.
She didn't take it well. Upon hearing the news, she broke down, and Kala and Lilo broke down with her. Kala didn't leave her side that night, and anytime that she started to cry again, Kala would hold her hand.
And every day, for two months, Kala would visit her. She would wake up early, do a few chores for her grandfather, and then head off to the edge of Route 1 where the lone house was built. She would knock on the door, be let in, and then she'd make Mrs. Kokura's breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The two were always silent.
Every night, Kala would leave, but Cyan's mom was never alone. Salazzle and Oranguru stayed with her, and Oranguru slept in Cyan's bed, keeping it warm. Salazzle relaxed on the beach nearby, and she always kept her eyes on her trainer's mom. Salazzle considered herself the mother of Cyan's team, and the loss of Venusaur and Primarina had broken her heart, but she wasn't sure how to cope with it. Nonetheless, she felt connected to Cyan's mother in that regard.
Lycanroc stayed with Kala as often as she could. She'd spend time sleeping with Litten nearby Iki Town's stage, and sometimes, the two would play with the children of the town alongside Dartrix and Jangmo-o. She was silent though.
Golem spent all of his time with Kala's grandfather, training against his Fighting-type Pokémon. His memory of Cyan was now foggy because of the evolution, so he was the least affected by the absence of his trainer. He remained positive, and he'd often try to cheer up the others when he'd see them. But deep down, he felt like something was missing from his heart.
But one thing remained between them all. They all held out hope that their trainer would come back. As terrible of an idea as it was, they had all hoped that the sky would go black once more, because then maybe that would mean that their trainer was on his way back.
But as every day, and every week, and now two months had passed, for everyone else in Alola, their hope was starting to slowly fade away. The boy who had saved Alola had unfortunately met his end on the other side of the portal.
The day was like any other day the past two months. Kala went to Cyan's house. She made breakfast and then lunch. Cyan's mom remained silent. But then at dinner, Kala felt the need to speak. She felt that it was her duty to get her mind off of something else.
"This might be the coldest it gets in Alola," she said.
There was no response.
"I read that it gets a lot colder in Kanto, though. I'm not sure if I could handle it."
There was no response.
"Mrs. Kokura?"
"Hmm?"
"What's the Kanto winter like?"
Mrs. Kokura looked up from her bowl of stew. "You were with Cyan for months."
Kala nodded. She wasn't sure where she was going with this, but it was the first sentence that she had said in a few days, so she'd take anything at this point. "Yeah. He-he became my best friend."
"Did he ever tell you about Aoi?"
"Aoi?"
Mrs. Kokura motioned towards the picture on the wall. Cyan, his sister, and two parents were all framed together. They all had big smiles on their faces, which was something that Kala had cherished about her friend.
"He mentioned that he had a sister a few times, but that's all," Kala said. At this point, she had started to cry, but she wiped the tears from her eyes, and she had a sudden realization of what Cyan's mom was referring to. Cyan had never mentioned his sister by name, but Kala knew the story about what happened to her. She didn't know the details, and she wasn't willing to ask out of fear of ripping open some kind of wound.
Cyan's mom's lips trembled. "Aoi…"
It went dead silent. Cyan's mom started to cry once again, and it looked as though she were choking on the stew.
"My little Aoi… My little Cyan… No…"
Kala tried to remain calm. She held tightly on Cyan's mom's hand. But the grip was getting too strong for her. She bit her lip to distract her through the pain.
"My daughter was a natural at Pokémon battling. She was the top of her class. And, to no one's surprise, she won the Indigo League the first year she competed."
She took a moment and breathed deeply.
"Then, she was challenged by the Elite Four. She accepted the challenge and went to Mt. Silver for training. We all knew it was dangerous, but she was incredibly talented, so none of us were scared."
There was one more pause, as Cyan's mom was trying to build the courage to say her next sentence.
"She-she never came back."
Kala was silent. She was unsure of how to respond exactly. The past few couple of months were a blur, and she felt like she had cried every single day. Right now, she wanted to remain strong and let Mrs. Kokura talk.
"Cyan and I were devastated. Cyan-my little boy-he wouldn't leave his room for months. But I think that something eventually came over him, and the day that he received Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, he became his regular bright self again. It was like Aoi never disappeared. Cyan was the light of my world."
Kala nodded. "I couldn't have even guessed something like that happened to you two. Cyan was so incredibly happy all the time. Even when he lost, he just kept smiling."
"I wouldn't let him go on a journey. I know it was selfish of me, but if you lose a child when they're on an adventure, then it's really hard to let another go. Cyan was okay with this, at least for the time being."
"And then you moved to Alola?"
Cyan's mom nodded. "I thought it'd be safe here. And I thought that if he had the extra year to mature, he'd be okay. But…"
She paused.
"But… now he's gone too…"
Kala stood up, and she walked to the other side of the table. She wrapped her arms around Cyan's mom and hugged her gently.
"I'm so sorry."
The two stood in silence and Kala held her as tightly as she could. She sobbed in Kala's arms.
"I'm almost positive he's not gone," Kala whispered. "He's still on the other side. And he's still smiling. I know he is."
"Cyan used to say the same thing about Aoi."
Then there was then a sudden knocking on the door.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I've been unsure of how to tackle this chapter. I wanted to make it clear that Cyan is gone and now the characters have to deal with his absence. For Mrs. Kokura, it's her second child that's gone missing, and I imagine that she'd feel very emotional numbed/damaged. The harsh reality that they have to deal with is that they have to continue moving forward.
REVIEWS:
wisdom-jewel - "Hopefully Cyan can find an exit. And I can get that Cyan is only 11 years old so he will make a bunch load of mistakes." - As of now, I'm not sure if he's getting out. Kala is holding out hope though!
CrescentApple - "Aw, this chapter felt too short. Solgaleo and Cyan against Necrozma makes more sense when a legendary pokemon injures another legendary pokemon. Enhalus is just plain weird. At least he didn't have another Ultra best to counter with. And... Cyan is just stuck there? Wow,... is that like thing in his and nebby? can it open wormholea? Im assuming it can... Gotta love Venusaur acting all stone-faced despite their dire situation." - I'm gonna go back through this arc to make a few things longer, but I didn't want to overdo it. I'm not sure if you played USUM, but the characters from other dimensions were very odd. And yes, it's a Cosmog/Nebby. I kind of see it as Solgaleo dying and being reborn.
pokemonking0924 - "The bad guy is beaten but Cyan is trapped in the ultra beasts world since his only ride Solgaleo regressed back into Cosmog. I wonder how he'll escape and if he'll have to wait until Logan goes to Alola to be free from this dimension." Well, we'll have to wait to find out when/if he ever gets out.
