Chapter 22 - "A Cute Bluff, But I Love Your Spunk."

(Uncharted Island)

The two had been to most of the populated islands in the archipelago so far, but since Skylar wanted to train uninterrupted, they decided to go to one of the uncharted islands. They ended up on a heavily forested island with a nice rocky beach. It was the perfect place for the two of them to train as hard as they possibly could.

The two tried out a new training technique, so Skylar would be able to find the perfect combination of Pokémon to battle with. They spared for hours, trying out different combination attacks to see which Pokémon worked with well one another.

"Quilava, use Flame Wheel!" Cyan ordered.

"Quilava!" his Pokémon shouted while engulfing himself in flames. He rolled forward like a wheel set on a path of destruction.

"Onix, get in front of Gothita!" Skylar directed.

Onix roared and then guarded his partner. He moved his large body in front of Gothita, taking Quilava's flame-filled tackle.

"Now, Dark Pulse!"

Gothita used Onix's body like a staircase and ran up as fast as her small body could take her. She jumped off of Onix's head and then raised her arms into the air, forming a ball of dark energy. She lunged the dark energy downwards, directly towards Quilava.

"Air Slash!" Cyan shouted.

His Butterfree with the orange wings swept forward and flapped, unleashing white energy in the shape of blades. They sliced through the ball of darkness, nullifying it completely.

Skylar grinned. "Alright! I like what I'm seeing! C'mon back, Gothita!" she said while withdrawing her pink Pokémon. "And go, Emolga!"

"Emo!" her Pokémon cried out before gliding and landing on Onix's horn.

Cyan clicked his tongue before returning Butterfree. Then, with this curveball pitch, he threw forward a Poké Ball, and Kabuto materialized onto the beach.

"Kabuto, use Aqua Jet!"

"Emolga, you're on defense! Acrobatics!"

Kabuto was much faster than Emolga, but the Electric-type was close enough to dive from Onix's head. The two collided in the middle of the air, sending out a small pulse of energy from their bodies. They locked eyes, but before Kabuto could run away, Emolga grabbed him by one of his small legs. She flipped over his body and threw him towards the ground.

"Catch him with Quick Attack!" Cyan directed.

Quilava dashed across the field and sat upon his hind legs. He caught Kabuto before gently putting him down and patting him on the head playfully.

"This is what I'm talking about," Cyan said. "You gotta find the perfect balance between your Pokémon. You want them to protect one another." He lifted his Poké Ball and let the red light retrieve his Quilava. He looked down at Vulpix and nodded, giving her the signal to enter the beach battlefield. He wanted to see how Skylar would respond. She only had one Pokémon that would be one hundred percent effective against Vulpix.

Skylar withdrew Onix, which surprised Cyan, as the Rock-type would have some kind of advantage over Vulpix, and then pulled a Poké Ball from her belt. Cyan smiled and waited in anticipation for Blaziken to make his appearance.

"Sawsbuck, go!"

The Grass-type exploded from the Poké Ball and grunted while it stamped its feet against the beach.

Cyan crossed his arms. "Emolga and Sawbuck are both weak to Vulpix's attacks. What are you up to?"

"Sawsbuck, use Sunny Day! Emolga, try Electro Ball! Go!" she ordered.

While Sawsbuck focused and shot an orb of light into the air, Emolga jumped. She flipped and unleashed the electric ball from her tail. It hit the ground in front of Vulpix and Kabuto before exploding into smoke.

"It's just a distraction! Be careful!" Cyan warned.

"Solar Beam!" Skylar yelled through the smoke.

"Vulpix, get in front of Kabuto! Use Ice Beam!"

Vulpix rolled her body and then got in front of Kabuto. She couldn't aim because of the smoke, but she unleashed the jagged beam of ice from her mouth. Because of Vulpix's high experience, the attack usually would freeze anything in its path, but for some reason, it was incredibly weak.

Then, Sawsbuck's attack came through the smoke and connected with the weakened Ice Beam. It canceled it out before continuing down its path, barely missing Cyan's two Pokémon. Because they were sparring, they intended to miss, but Cyan knew that if Skylar had wanted to, both of his Pokémon would have been in trouble right now.

He stood in shock before his shock turned into a smile. "Amazing!"

The smoke dissipated and Skylar shrugged. "Yeah, Sawsbuck would be weak to an Ice Beam, but ice melts under heat, and with the sun as hot as it is now, Vulpix's attack can't do much."

Cyan put his hands on his hips. "You make a good point. Sunny Day is sometimes used as a counter towards Water-types. People don't consider what it can do against Ice-types though. Thinking outside of the box. It's exactly what I'd expect from you, Skylar."

Skylar grinned and then jumped up and down. "I'm getting it! I'm really starting to get it!" She stopped jumping and lifted her Poké Balls, withdrawing both of her Pokémon. She looked up at the bright orb that Sawsbuck had created. "What do you say we put this weather to more use while we can?"

"Huh?"

"Blaziken versus Venusaur! C'mon, Cyan! I want you to use one of your Z-Moves! Blaziken and I have been working on a counter, and I need to know if it'd work! Please!"

Cyan withdrew Kabuto and then called Vulpix back to his side. He smiled and then drew out Venusaur's Poké Ball. He threw it forward, adding in his usual curve at the end of his pitch. Venusaur emerged onto the beach and roared, soaking in the hot artificial sun.

"Yes! Let's go, Blaziken!" Skylar yelled while tossing her ball forward. Blaziken appeared and sent fire out from his wrists. He crouched his body down low and waited for Skylar's command.

"Venusaur, start with Sludge Bomb!" Cyan ordered.

"Be careful! Don't let it touch you! Use Blaze Kick!"

Venusaur lowered his body and unleashed the thick gunk from his flower. It blasted across the beach, but Blaziken was fast, like usual. He swerved his body around and jumped over the purple gunk, taking into the air towards the heated orb. His leg started to burn with flames and he pointed himself directly towards Venusaur. The flames were much stronger than usual, and he came down like a meteor.

"Solar Beam!" Cyan commanded. He wanted Skylar to put Blaziken in a position where he couldn't easily dodge.

Venusaur took in the energy from the light, and his body started to glow yellow. He pointed his flower towards the air before blasting the powerful beam. The beam was strong enough to stop Blaziken's attack and knock the Fire-type out of the air. Blaziken fell backward and did a flip. He landed on his hands before spinning his body around and then coming back to his feet.

C'mon. Use a Z-Move, Cyan. Give us your best shot, Skylar thought.

"I can see you waiting eagerly," Cyan said. "Fine." He raised his arm, and his bracelet started to glow forest green. Wind whipped up around his body. He struck a pose, and the green energy surrounded him.

"I carry the spirit of Kanto and the heart of Alola with me," he announced before hitting his next pose and giving his energy to Venusaur. "Let's go, Venusaur!"

"Blaziken, use Blast-"

But before the two trainers could give their commands, they suddenly came to a stop as someone familiar came out from the jungle. They were eating a sandwich and mindlessly staring at a tablet of sorts. He had dirty blonde hair, a dopey look on his face, but most importantly, he was dressed in all black with an orange 'R' on his chest. He took a bite of his sandwich and looked up, noticing the Pokémon and the trainers. His eyes widened, and he spit out the sandwich.

"The dorks!" he yelled. "What are you doing on Daidai Island?!"

"Daidai Island?" Skylar wondered. "Wait, is this where your base of operations is at? No wonder you guys are losers! There's nothing here!"

Cyan froze. If this is where Daidai was based, then this was his chance to put a stop to them. All of the energy that he had built up from before washed away and dissipated into the air. He glared at the Daidai Rocket member known as Tatsuya.

"Yeah! There's nothing here! Just me!" he exclaimed. "Everyone else is on a super-secret mission!"

"What super-secret mission?" Skylar asked.

"I can't tell you! It wouldn't be super secret!" he retorted while looking out towards the sea. Logan and Skylar hadn't noticed, but a storm was brewing a couple of miles away, and the color of the ocean had darkened.

Cyan caught Tatsuya's glance and then looked out at the sea. He noticed the dark clouds in the distance. "What super-secret mission?"

Tatsuya laughed. "Ya know, it's already too late, so there's no harm in telling you. We've destroyed all of the treasures, caught all of the legendary birds, and soon, we'll have Lugia too."

"The legendary birds?" Cyan wondered. He remembered the Moltres that he met on Mt. Silver. "No way. Please no."

It slowly started to rain, getting rid of the artificial sun that Sawsbuck had created. Cyan and Skylar could see that the storm was violent in the distance, and it was spreading quickly. They were beginning to feel the effects of it on Daidai Island.

"In only a matter of hours, the boss will catch Lugia too!" Tatsuya exclaimed. "You both called us morons, but look at us now! We're on top!"

Cyan clenched his fist. "Boss? Giovanni?"

Tatsuya blew a raspberry. "Nah. We have no clue where he went. His heir took over for him."

"Heir?"

"Cyan, he's an idiot. Don't listen to him," Skylar warned. She looked at the ocean once more. "This ain't good."

Cyan cracked his neck. "Who? Who's his heir?"

"Who's asking?"

"I am!" Cyan declared while raising his wrist once again, sending the built-up energy throughout the island. "Tell me what I want to know, or I'll use every last bit of my energy to destroy this island."

Tatsuya took a bite of his sandwich. "A cute bluff, but I love your spunk. You know what, I'll tell you. It is our goal to have her name strike as much fear into the hearts of people in the East as Giovanni's did. Might as well start here. Sakaki Okane."

All of Cyan's energy came to a stop, and he lowered his arms. His body shook, and his legs started to feel like jelly. The name felt like a punch to the stomach, and he had no idea what to say. The boy had to be lying, right?"

"Yeah! That's the look we want!" Tatsuya exclaimed. "Perfect!"

"Cyan, if we leave right now, we can stop them. Let's go, and put an end to this!" Skylar exclaimed. She ran to her friend and grabbed him by the arm. He was still frozen out of fear though. "C'mon!"

"You're right. This is our chance to end Daidai Rocket," Cyan said.

Tatsuya dropped his sandwich and began to panic. "I don't think so! I should stop you! I'll be a hero! Go, Magnezone!"

His Pokémon emerged and glared at Cyan and Skylar. With every little bit of rain that hit it, it sparked ever so slightly.

Cyan raised his wrist, but then Skylar stopped him.

"Save it. You'll need to use that energy for when we come across the rest of the dorks," she said.

As much as he didn't want to, he lowered his arms. He continued to glare at Tatsuya and Magnezone. He hated the teenager's dopey smile.

"Magnezone, use Discharge!"

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick!"

"Venusaur, Petal Blizzard!"

"Go!"

The three Pokémon used their attacks. Magnezone unleashed an electric charge from its body, which pulsated across the beach. Blaziken dove forward with his knee stuck out. His leg was set aflame once again, but it was much weaker than Cyan or Skylar had ever seen it. Venusaur surrounded himself with the pink petals and then blasted them. The three attacks met, and Blaziken was put to a stop. He fell to the ground, electric sparks coming from his body.

"No! No!" Skylar exclaimed.

The petals met with the remainder of Discharge, and the attacks tore into one another. The electric attack was strong, and it tore apart each pink petal with ease. However, Petal Dance was strong enough to keep the electric attack back.

"Use Flash Cannon on Blaziken!" Tatsuya commanded.

"Venusaur!" Cyan yelled.

Venusaur quickly moved, jumping in front of his companion. He took the entirety of Magnezone's attack before he fell to the ground. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but Flash Cannon was a strong enough attack to stun any Pokémon.

Tatsuya clapped his hands together. "Am I-am I winning?! I'm winning! I'm destroying you two!"

Cyan gritted his teeth together and clenched his fists. "Shut up! Use Giga Impact, Venusaur!"

"Saur!" the Pokémon roared as he collected white energy at his hind legs. He bounded forward, shaking the entirety of the beach. Tatsuya had been celebrating what he believed to be a victory, so he was distracted. By the time that he realized that Venusaur was coming for Magnezone, it was too late. The Grass-type crashed into the Steel-type, causing an explosion of energy. Magnezone was knocked back into the forest, and Venusaur was left stunned, forced to remain at the crater of impact from his attack. Slowly, Magnezone emerged from the forest, floating weakly.

"That's not good," Tatsuya muttered.

"Sky Uppercut! Go!"

Despite the electric sparks coming from his body, Blaziken managed to stand back up. He shot himself across the beach, passing by Venusaur. He plunged his fist into Magnezone's underbelly, flinging the Steel-type clear across the island.

Tatsuya was left in shock and silence. He tried to squeak out a sentence, but nothing came from his dumb mouth.

Skylar lifted her Poké Ball and let the red light withdraw Blaziken. She looked towards Cyan. "You ready to go? It might be scary, but it's necessary. If not us, then who?"

Cyan took a deep breath and then returned Venusaur. "Let's go."

The two turned around, ran towards the beach, and Skylar released Wailord into the ocean. Tatsuya panicked and started to stamp his feet. He wasn't sure whether to warn his comrades or run for his Magnezone. His mind couldn't handle the pressure, and he collapsed onto the beach.

The journey through the ocean was by far their roughest yet. As they got closer to the island that Tatsuya had pointed to, the storm got worse, and the water got darker. Cyan looked off of the side of Wailord and into the sea. He'd usually find a reflection of himself looking back up, but now it was like looking into the abyss. It reminded him of his nightmares, and he shuttered. He returned to the middle of Wailord where Skylar was preparing for their upcoming fight.

"I've taken the liberty and healed our Pokémon," she said. "We got lucky that Blaziken was able to pull off Sky Uppercut. I'm guessing that the rain weakened his Blaze Kick, though."

Cyan nodded. "I know that I can do two Z-Moves a day. To my memory, I've never done three. I'm kind of afraid that if I'm forced to a third one, I might pass out, or worse."

"Well, we'll just make sure that you don't have to do three then," Skylar said. "We'll protect each other, got it?"

"Got it," Cyan said while kneeling and looking towards the island that they were on course for. "It looks like you're getting your hero moment."

"Not if either one of us doesn't make it."

Meanwhile…

Triremis Island

"Articuno," Okane muttered while walking past Articuno's unconscious body. It had been tied up with electrical wire. "Moltres. And Zapdos." Okane approached a podium and she drew out the Silver Wing from her pocket. She placed it onto the podium, giving light to the ancient room that she was in. Blue crystals lining the walls started to shine brightly, revealing a colosseum sized cave. She stood on a giant platform with ancient drawings and text etched into it. The three legendary birds surrounded her.

The platform started to buzz and rings made of stone lifted from the ground, surrounding the three legendary birds in energy, forming orbs around their bodies. They each woke up and started to struggle, but their cages were impenetrable.

Okane looked down at the stream that flowed around the platform. The water had slowly changed color, now becoming midnight black. She grinned with a sinister smile before something caught her attention. She looked to the right, finding a cave entrance where a large creature stood. Only its blue eyes shone through the darkness.

"It's about time, Lugia," Okane said. She drew out her Poke Ball. "Let's take over the world."

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So, Daidai Island and Triremis Island are ones that I've made up. There's nothing special about Daidai Island. However, I'm gonna try to add some lore to Triremis, which I think will be pretty cool. I've also added wiki pages on the Kokoro Echo's Pokemon Universe Wiki for them, featuring where they're at in the Orange Archipelago.

Next chapter: Cyan and Skylar arrive on Triremis Island where Okane is trying to capture Lugia. Can they defeat the remaining members of Daidai Rocket and save the legendary Pokémon?

Finished posting for this week. Next week, we'll be getting two adventure-filled Ascending Alola chapters, the final chapter to The Blizzard King vs. Articuno, and chapter 23 of Overcoming the Orange Islands.

REVIEWS:

pokemonking0924 - "As for Okane it looks like she plans on attacking Kanto with the legendary birds maybe to search and destroy her father, or revenge on either the old team Rocket or the people that ruined her family life. Guess we'll find out soon, although the sacred treasures being just glass in this world is a surprise." - We'll be finding out her plans in the next couple of chapters!

CrescentApple - "I like the skills you introduce here. Cyan saw just one double battle with Skylar and immediately knew what she did wrong. Even knew that Sawsbuck was stronger than the opponents pokemon. It was easy for me to forget how skilled Cyan is at pokemon battles. He took such a step back coaching and relaxing, but this chapter bought it all back again." - You'll be very surprised by the next couple of chapters, then!

wisdom-jewel - "I think Skylar is slowly getting it but I think she needs to try it out a few times. I think Cyan does have a point with each trainer having different skills in battles. Some are better with single, double or triple. And Skylar does have a point of not wanting to overuse Blaziken." - It's difficult to make the trainers' battle styles distinct, and one way that I'm going to go about making them stand out from one another is by making them good at specific things. For example, Logan is good at defensive battling, Cyan is good at double battling, Skylar is now good at using weather. It's something I want to consider.

pokestets23 - "This was a great chapter! Love seeing her not rely on Blaziken." - With what's about to happen, she'll have to rely on Blaziken a bit.