Chapter 24 - "No More Nightmares."
Roughly Six Years Prior - Johto Region - Route 22
"One must acknowledge one's defeat before they can move on. I will go solo for now," Giovanni said as he put on his black bowler hat and beige trench coat.
"You're leaving?" a young Okane asked.
"Putting together the potential of many is how you produce a huge power. That's what an organization is. That's the strength of an organization. I failed to make the best use of my subordinates' potential," Giovanni responded, seemingly ignoring Okane's question. His loss to his former student had been affecting him in ways that he couldn't explain. "This is something that you must also learn. You must learn to detach. You must learn to organize. Before you can become the leader of our great organization, you must obtain these qualities."
"Detach?" Okane wondered.
Giovanni nodded and then looked at his daughter in the eyes. "I'm leaving. Forget everything and everyone else. Train and organize. When the time is right, I'll return. Until then, you and your mother are on your own."
"Where will you go?" Okane asked.
Giovanni waved over his taxi. He didn't answer Okane, and he refused to look at her in the eyes. His driver grabbed his bags and lugged them over to the trunk before letting him get in the vehicle. The windows were tinted, so Okane couldn't see her father. And in a matter of seconds, he was gone.
Okane had started to cry as the vehicle drove away. She balled her fist and then lowered her head.
Detach.
Forget.
Train.
Organize.
Present Day - Orange Islands
Triremis Island
Skylar looked on in fear as Lugia rose into the air, caged by the stone rings. She shook her head, withdrew Blaziken, and then glared at Cyan. "Hey!"
Cyan didn't respond.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, Cyan!" she yelled again. "Fine! Don't respond! But just know that if you don't pull yourself together and help me do this, then a lot of people are going to get hurt! You don't want to be chosen as a hero, and that's fine, but right now, it's not about being chosen, it's about stepping up! So, step up! Think about all of the people that died when the ultra beasts attacked Alola."
Cyan's eyes widened.
"That wasn't your fault!" Skylar exclaimed. "However, if you don't step up now, and if you don't help me, then the people who live on the islands, the people and Pokémon who are drowned by Daidai Rocket, that will be your fault!"
Cyan glanced at Skylar and then back towards Okane, who faced away from him yet again.
"Step up and save the Orange Islands with me, Cyan!" Skylar shouted.
"What a riveting speech," Okane said while she clapped lightly. "But it's too late, little girl. Lugia's storm will continue across the islands, and every single person will meet their inevitable fate. There's no convincing him to help you. He's frozen in fear, like a child."
Cyan shook his head and then reached for his Poké Ball. He threw it forward, and Venusaur emerged. "We're going to take you down right now!"
Skylar sighed with relief and relaxed her shoulders. "About time. Better late than never."
"Skylar, find a way to free Lugia and three legendary birds. We'll battle with Okane and defeat her," Cyan directed.
Okane laughed. "You really believe that? I told you that my Gyarados is already of elite standards."
Cyan nodded. "I don't care about what you said. Your Gyarados is nothing compared to my Venusaur. Venusaur, use Petal Blizzard!"
"Gyarados, Thrash!"
While the two Pokémon used their attacks, Skylar observed the cages of the legendary Pokémon. She wasn't sure which one to target first, so she went with the biggest, Lugia. When she reached its cage, she could feel the energy radiating off of it. With every rotation of the rings, she was blasted with warm air.
"We have no choice!" she exclaimed while throwing four Poké Balls into the air. Gothita, Emolga, Onix, and Sawsbuck emerged. "Dark Pulse, Electro Ball, Rock Slide, and Solar Beam! Go!"
The four Pokémon unleashed their attacks at the same time, barraging Lugia's cage. It caught Lugia's attention, but it was unable to move. And when the attacks finished, it appeared as though they did nothing to the rings.
"One more time!" she shouted.
On the other side of the room, Okane and Cyan were continuing their battle.
"Outrage!" Okane commanded. She had climbed onto Gyarados' back and was giving it direct orders.
Cyan remained close to Venusaur, making sure to run anywhere that his Pokémon went. The two knew that their chances of winning were low, but they had to keep Okane and Gyarados away from Skylar.
"Dodge!" Cyan yelled.
Venusaur unleashed a dozen vines from the base of his flower. With one of the vines, he grabbed ahold of Cyan, and with the remaining, he thwacked them against the ground, flinging himself into the air to avoid Gyarados' strike.
"You can't keep just running!" Okane yelled. "Gyarados, attack!"
Gyarados continued to wildly fling itself at Venusaur. An arcane fire erupted from its wide mouth, and with every movement, it increased in power.
She's not wrong. I gotta do something. But what? Cyan thought. "Sludge Bomb!"
Venusaur came back to the ground and lowered his head. He blasted the purple goop from his back, launching it into Gyarados' face. The Water-type howled while it reeled backward.
"Now, lay into it with Solar Beam!" Cyan ordered.
Being underground wasn't good for an attack like Solar Beam, but with Gyarados distracted with the poisonous sludge in its eyes, it gave Venusaur ample enough time to build up power for the attack. Venusaur roared and then blasted the straight beam of light from his flower, hitting Gyarados once again and knocking it over. Gyarados landed on its back, sending Okane to the floor. Cyan panicked momentarily, but she landed on her legs and then grinned.
"You won't be able to defeat me," she said. "My Pokémon is too powerful!"
"You talk a lot for someone who's losing!" Cyan snapped back.
"Gyarados, use Outrage!" she commanded.
Skylar's attacks had done nothing, leaving her at a loss for what to do. She looked up at the cage, which had been impenetrable by all of her attacks. Her Pokémon were exhausted from repeatedly blasting it, and she was unsure how much more they could do.
She looked around. There had to be something that they could do if the stone rings weren't going to budge. Then, her eye found the podium with the glowing Silver Wing that Okane had used to activate the rings. She rushed over to the podium and examined it. There was an ancient text on the top tablet, nothing that she could read. She pulled out the Silver Wing, but it did nothing for the cages.
Her shoulders slumped. "How do we handle this? Do we blow it up or do I learn an ancient language?"
"Emo!" her Pokémon exclaimed.
Skylar nodded. "If ya'll got one more attack in you, then it can't hurt to blow it up, right?" She took a step back and allowed her Pokémon to charge up their attacks. One by one, they blasted the podium.
Venusaur was knocked backward, his massive legs gliding against the stone path. Cyan remained close to him. He put his hand on his Pokémon's head and sighed.
"We're both running out of energy, so we have no choice," he said. He quickly switched his crystal back to the green one that he had planned on using on Daidai Island. He raised his wrist, making the air in the colosseum shift.
Okane paused. "What are you doing? I told you that you need more than a key stone to mega evolve."
"This is better than mega evolution!" Cyan shouted. He struck his pose, and his body was surrounded by a natural green aura. The aura exploded into a violent flare after he hit his next pose, and then the energy fed into Venusaur, making him roar. Cyan looked up at his Grassium Z. It began to glow with a different kind of energy before transforming into a new crystal, taking on a different form, now complete with what looked like flower insignia.
"Saur!" his Pokémon howled.
"Oh yeah!" Cyan exclaimed. "Stronger than Bloom Doom, and more intense than Solar Beam! This is our new attack, Venusaur!"
"New attack?" Okane wondered, still no fear on her face.
"Venusaur, use Frenzied Forest!"
The energy exploded from both of their bodies as Venusaur used the attack. Vegetation exploded from the ground, creating grass, bushes, and trees from seemingly out of nothing. The hardwood surrounded Gyarados, trapping it within. Venusaur then lifted his body and slammed his front legs into the grass, causing everything to vibrate before it all imploded, causing the entire island to rumble and fill the colosseum with smoke.
"What was that?!" Skylar yelled while she prevented Emolga from flying away.
The smoke finally settled, and both Pokémon remained staring at one another. Gyarados was still as stone, but Venusaur breathed heavily, his body bobbing up and down. Okane stared on in shock while her Pokémon collapsed.
"I can't believe it," she muttered after Gyarados' head smacked into the ground. The energy surged off of it before it returned to its original form. "How did you do that?"
Cyan couldn't answer. His throat was dry and his body was numb. He fell against Venusaur's side and his Pokémon soon followed, landing on his belly with his legs sprawled out.
"Go!" Skylar ordered.
The podium exploded after Sawsbuck's final strike. The crystals that lined the walls shifted and changed into a different color, becoming red.
Okane sighed and then cocked her head. She didn't appear worried, but rather contemplative. She lifted her Poké Ball and withdrew Gyarados. "Stupid girl. You've just activated the island's defense system," she muttered. "Well, kind of."
"It has a defense system?"
Okane grinned. "It looks like you have stopped my plans to take Lugia with me. However, the island will soon implode in on itself, taking the legendary Pokémon with it. The storm will continue, so it's not all a loss."
"Boss, we have to go!" Hajime yelled from the staircase. Eri stood behind him, and she looked panicked. "C'mon!"
Okane laughed. "Well, it was fun. Too bad your journey ends here." She looked at Cyan who was exhausted, unable to stand. "I do remember you."
His eyes widened, but he couldn't respond.
"I heard that you perished a couple of years ago, and seeing you in this state isn't something that I could have imagined. It was terrible that we couldn't continue to be comrades. It breaks my heart to know that you're on the wrong side of history. However, if you must die for me to ascend to the throne, then so be it. Goodbye, Cyan."
With that, Okane dashed across the stone ground and towards the staircase. She passed by Skylar and her Pokémon without giving them another glance. Then, Daidai Rocket disappeared, leaving the trainers and their Pokémon to die on the island.
Skylar withdrew her Pokémon and then ran to Cyan and Venusaur. The colosseum was beginning to crumble, creating cracks in the ground, and dropping the red crystals from the ceiling. It made it a dangerous run, but she knew that she had to get them out of there.
"We gotta go!" she exclaimed. "It's my fault! I'm sorry!"
Cyan shook his head. He stood up with her help and then looked at the legendary Pokémon. "We can't leave them."
"Cyan, we gotta. We have to get out of here. There's nothing we can do. I tried everything!"
Cyan removed his arm from Skylar's shoulder and then stepped forward. He straightened out his posture before drawing out a Poké Ball. "Not everything."
"What are you doing?" Skylar asked.
He threw the ball forward with what energy he had, releasing Kabuto onto the stone floor. It looked around the room, feeling a sense of nostalgia.
"Kabuto, I really need you to pull through for me, buddy!" Cyan shouted.
"Ka-ka-ka!" the Pokémon responded, filled with confidence.
"Cyan, you can't do a third-"
"Yes, I can," he snapped back. "I'm stepping up."
Cyan switched out the Z-Crystals, changing to a blue one. He raised his wrist into the air, and the energy shifted around Triremis Island one more time, seemingly forming a barrier from the rain outside.
"We carry the spirit of Kanto and the heart of Alola with us," he shouted. The energy flew from his body and surrounded Kabuto in a fiery blue aura. "Let's go, Kabuto!"
"Ka-bu-to!"
"Use Hydro Vortex!" Cyan screamed. "Surround this place!"
Kabuto responded with a howl of his own. The two were perfectly in synchronization, and the energy radiated off of both of their bodies in a way that Cyan had never felt before. Kabuto's entire body started to glow, and he shifted and grew. He took on a new form that was engulfed by the aquatic power. Gathering all of the rain that had been collecting on Triremis Island, Kabuto in his new form started to swirl around the room, creating a cocoon of water. He surrounded all four of the legendary Pokémon, Skylar, and then finally Cyan and Venusaur.
The island then imploded, but they were protected by the aquatic barrier and lifted into the sky by some sort of unknown power. Cyan couldn't make out Kabuto's new form, but he was amazed nonetheless.
Cyan laughed, his voice muffled by the water. All of the energy had been drained from his body, and he slowly started to close his eyes. The last thing he saw before everything faded away was Skylar's light brown eyes looking directly into his. He couldn't tell because of all of the water, but it looked as though she were crying.
He couldn't hear anything, just the sound of his own heartbeat ringing in his ears. But even then, that started to fade.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
He could feel Skylar's hand against his arm. She was trying to shake him awake, but he had already lost feeling. He wanted to scream back at her that he was alive, but he couldn't bring himself to. Maybe he wasn't alive.
Thump-thump. Thump.
He felt a sudden rush of energy, and although he kept his eyes closed, everything turned white. He saw his Pokémon. He saw Venusaur, Primarina, Lycanroc, Salazzle, Oranguru, and Golem. He saw Vulpix, Quilava, Butterfree, and Kabuto. He saw the faces of Kala, Aoi, and Skylar. He saw his mother.
Thump.
…
Everything was all black once again. Cyan couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. There was no smell, and he felt nothing. He walked forward, unsure of the path that he was taking, and slowly a light pierced its way through the darkness.
Cyan continued forward, his steps slowly starting to make noise and reverberate off of something. He got closer and closer to the light until it became overwhelming. He put his hands in front of his face to shield himself.
And then, someone spoke.
"You must be Cyan."
Cyan's eyes widened. He peeked at the space between his arms, and he slowly started to shake. He lowered his arms and glanced up at the figure that stood in front of him. He wore a white lab coat over a pink dress shirt and tan khakis. His hair was dark brown like Cyan's, but long and pulled into a ponytail. His eyes were black, like his older sister's. On his head, he wore a Silver BayStaryu hat.
"Dad?"
"You've done well," he said. "You've been working hard. I can tell. You're exhausted."
"Is it really you?" Cyan asked.
Cyan's father nodded.
"Am I dreaming, or am I dead? At this point, I don't know which I'd prefer."
Cyan's father laughed. "You still have a sense of humor. That's good. I want you to sleep, Cyan. No more nightmares. I'm so proud of what you've done. I've been watching you, and I'm so proud of everything you and your sister do. You're both so strong. And I see so much more from you in the future. You'll continue to do really well."
Tears started to stream down Cyan's cheeks, and his shoulders quivered. He dashed forward and buried his face into his father's chest. "It's so hard! It's so hard, dad!"
"I know," his father said while patting him on the head. "It's not easy. But, you have to keep your head up. You can't be chosen or born as the hero, Cyan. You either are a hero at heart, or you're not. Unfortunately, our family is made up of heroes."
"I don't want to be," Cyan said through sobs.
"And that's fair," his father said. He pulled away. "But you're not the type of person to let a bad deed go unpunished. You have a little bit more in you, don't you? There's one more thing that you have to face, correct?"
Cyan wiped a tear from his eye. "What?"
His father smiled but refused to look at Cyan directly.
Cyan balled up his fist and then cleaned up his face with his forearm. "I know."
"You'll do the right thing when the time comes. I know you will. I hope your heart is cleansed of hate in the end," he said. He then started to back away, as though the ground was pulling him from Cyan.
"Dad?" Cyan exclaimed, panicked. "Don't go! Don't go again! Don't leave!"
"You have one more demon to face, Cyan," his father said. "Don't let it consume you."
"Don't go! Dad!" Cyan yelled. "Dad!"
All of the light was sucked away, and Cyan was engulfed by the darkness.
…
Thump. Thump-thump.
"Cyan, wake up!" Skylar's voice called out.
Cyan jolted awake and sat up. A cool wind hit his face, and he immediately noticed Skylar. She smiled at him and held out his hat. "You'll lose this if you're not careful."
He looked down, noticing that they weren't on Wailord like usual; they weren't even on the ocean. Instead, the ocean was thousands of feet below them, and the cold air that he felt was from being high above the clouds. The two of them were on the shoulders of the legendary Lugia.
"I didn't want to wake you up, because you were smiling, but you'd really kick yourself if you didn't get to see this," Skylar said.
There wasn't much to see in the air, but light blue. But it was breathtaking for Cyan. He looked to the left, finding Zapdos next to them. And to the right was Moltres. Below Lugia was Articuno, who peeked at Cyan and smiled.
"Your little Kabuto saved us. I was terrified because I can't swim, but he made a nice barrier for us. The stone rings all ruptured, and the legendary Pokémon were freed. And you might not believe this, but Lugia spoke to me!" she explained.
"Kabuto, Venusaur, what happened to them?" Cyan asked. His memory of everything was fuzzy.
"I withdrew them for you," she said. "And your Kabuto ain't a Kabuto anymore. I didn't have time to scan it with my Pokédex, but congrats on the new Pokémon."
"Where are we headed?" Cyan asked.
"Fire Island. Each of the legendary birds needs to return home and restore their treasures," she said.
Cyan nodded and smiled at his friend. She looked so confident on Lugia's shoulders, and he was proud of her. She got her hero moment.
"I'm sorry that I almost killed us both," she said, cutting off Cyan's train of thought. "It was my fault that Triremis Island blew up. Had you not done your third Z-Move, we wouldn't be alive right now. And doing a third Z-Move almost-well- I shouldn't have put you in a position like that. I'm sorry that I did."
"Nah," Cyan said quietly. "I'm sorry that I didn't jump into action right away. I wasn't prepared to face my past like that. I wasn't ready for someone that I once trusted to turn out to be evil. I couldn't believe it."
"You still trust me, right?"
Cyan smiled. "Of course. You're my friend."
"Best friend?" she asked, her voice slightly shaking. She had been trying to hold back tears.
He reached out and grabbed her hand to console her. "Best friend!"
No Author's Notes. Just a thank you for reading and reviewing!
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "The final battle against this splinter group of team Rocket has officially begun. They have beaten the grunts and now they face Okane. Skylar tried mega evolution but failed due to have no key stone, maybe Cyan will have better luck." - I don't intend on having Cyan use mega evolution... for awhile.
CrescentApple - "Curious what the red dots were supposed to mean in the Kanto region. I think those were the areas Team Neo were affiliated with in Kickin it in Kanto. Its mind boggling this is happening around the same time Logan and the others are still traveling around Kanto." - Ascending Alola is also taking place at the same time, but there is little to no connection to the other stories.
wisdom-jewel - "Interesting that Okane couldn't remember Cyan. I'm guessing that her memory have been tampered with. Such as been removed. So in a sense that she isn't the same person that Cyan remembers. Hopefully it would go through. I'm guessing someone, like Skyar, had to get it through." - The idea that I have is that she had sort of repressed everything with Cyan, and even if she did remember him, he appears to be two years younger than she would have anticipated. But, I guess you could say her memory was tampered with.