Chapter 25 - "Crazy People, Huh?"

Fire Island

The villagers from Shamouti Island were at a loss. They collected where the last treasure had been destroyed. The leader, Melody, and the girl that was designated as the 'Chosen One' stood around, unsure of what to do. The heavy rain had stopped, which was either a good thing, or it was the calm before another intense storm.

"Look!" one of the villagers shouted while pointing to the sky.

Everyone awed as Lugia and the three legendary birds came from the clouds. They slowly descended before landing on the icy island. Skylar and Cyan disembarked from Lugia; Cyan still had no feeling in his legs, and needed his friend to keep him standing.

"You're the two from the restaurant," Melody said.

Skylar grinned. "We got caught up in everything. I know it's too late to save the treasures, so your little yearly festival is ruined, but I was told that the legendary birds were going to restore them."

The village leader stepped forward. "We're not too worried about the festival. We're just worried about all of the islands and the safety of our people."

"No need to be worried anymore!" Skylar exclaimed. "My friend is amazing and saved Lugia."

Cyan was embarrassed, and he shook his head. "But I wouldn't have been able to without a little bit of a push."

"We thank you so much," Melody exclaimed. "Thank you for everything you've done!"

Everyone bowed their heads. "Thank you!"

"It's too much," Cyan muttered.

Everyone was then cut off by a loud screech. They turned to Moltres, who flew into the air. Its body let off a fiery glow, which turned as bright as the sun. Everyone shielded their eyes until the light dimmed, and when it did, a small glass orb floated back to the people, landing in the 'Chosen One's' hands. Moltres had disappeared and in its place was a new treasure."

"It sacrificed itself," the village elder said. "But as is legend, it'll be born again."

Zapdos and Articuno flew into the air while howling. They didn't glow like Moltres did, but instead took off towards their respective islands. Surely, their fates would be similar to Moltres'.

"Daidai Rocket forced them to do this," Skylar muttered.

The village leader smiled gently. "It's okay. This is the cycle of life. They are our guardians, and they're doing what is necessary."

Cyan slowly nodded. "Everything and everyone has to play their part."

The 'Chosen One' stuffed the treasure into her bag and then grabbed Melody by the arms. "We should get to the islands quickly and grab those treasures before something bad can happen again."

"I agree!" Melody exclaimed.

The two ran off, and most of the villagers followed them. But the leader remained, and he approached Cyan and Skylar, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"Everyone on the islands is indebted to you today. Neither one of you may have been the chosen one, but you've proven that that is only a title," he said. "Please stay with us on Shamouti for the rest of the festival and get some rest."

Cyan and Skylar looked at each other. Cyan's stomach rumbled and he slouched. "Free food?"

"Free food!" the leader exclaimed.

"Can't hurt to celebrate our win for a bit, right?" Skylar said.

"I guess not," Cyan said before standing up straight all on his own.

Shamouti Island

After the 'Chosen One' retrieved all three of the treasures, she and Melody returned to Shamouti Island. Cyan and Skylar did the same, but they got a personal ride from Lugia. The two stood in a nearby flower garden and watched as the villagers from Shamouti Island finished their yearly ceremony.

They placed the three treasures into a stone shrine, and Melody played her pearl-colored ocarina. It was the same tune that she played at the restaurant. Skylar was wary, afraid that Cyan was going to have another panic attack, but he was fine. In fact, he seemed to take a lot of joy in hearing the tune, as it meant that the Orange Archipelago was at balance once again. It came at the expense of the three legendary birds' lives, but the village elder assured Cyan and Skylar that they would be reincarnated in some form, as it was all a part of the circle of life.

Melody finished playing her song, and everyone clapped. Lugia looked at Skylar and Cyan before nodding and then taking into the air. It flew high before diving back into the ocean, disappearing once again.

"Lugia is awesome!" Skylar exclaimed. "I wish I could have battled alongside it at my next gym battle!"

Cyan was quiet. He hadn't thought much about what was going to come next. He had completely forgotten about Skylar's gym challenge. His eyes widened, and he took a step back.

"What's up?" Skylar asked.

"I-I'm not sure if I can go with you for the rest of your challenge," he said quietly. "I have to get to Kanto as fast as I can. I have to stop Team Rocket."

"You can't be serious?"

Cyan was still.

"I was really hoping that you'd be there till the end of my challenge. I know a lot has happened in the last twenty-four hours, but our journey shouldn't come to a sudden stop because of it," she said. "Please don't continue to stress about Team Rocket."

Cyan sighed. "I think that we didn't stress enough about Daidai Rocket, and because of that, they were able to get so far with their plans. We treated them like jokes."

"But no one died. We were able to save the day. You were able to save the day," she said while putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Kanto might not be as lucky," Cyan muttered. "My hometown was marked. I want to know why."

"So-so, you're just going to leave m-me?" Skylar asked. She was starting to cry, but she did her best to hide it.

"I don't want to, but I can't let Team Rocket run crazy in Kanto. They need to be stopped."

"You're going to drive yourself crazy if you don't calm down and make a plan," Skylar said. "I know that it sounds counterproductive in many ways, but stay here on the Orange Islands for only a little while longer. Think everything through. Make a plan. Don't just go without thinking everything out. You need to be prepared for every possibility. It's really selfish of me, but I can't just let you leave without thorough thought. You will die."

Cyan slowly nodded. He looked at the statue with the glowing treasures, a deadpan expression on his face. "I'm willing to do everything that I can to stop them."

"If you want to stop them for good, then you have to be smart about it," she said. "You can't stop them if you're dead."

"What do you propose I do, then?" he asked. "I can't just wait around here forever. For all I know, they could be starting their evil plans as we speak."

"I doubt that. We learned a couple of things from our battle with Okane. They're actually really smart, and they're patient. They're going to make sure that they have all loose ends tied down before they try anything again. You need to do the same thing."

"You seem awfully calm about this."

She shrugged. "I come from a region that seemingly has a war every five years. I'm a student of the game."

"I have no idea what that means," Cyan said, finally cracking a smile.

"Stay here for two more weeks," she said. "Give me two weeks to finish my challenge. Even if I lose against Ruriko or the Supreme Gym Leader, I'll call it quits. I can't let you do this alone, but I'd also hate myself if I didn't finish what I started here."

Cyan's expression changed, now looking conflicted. "I don't think you should go with me. It's one thing if I go and get hurt, but if I drag along my friends and they get hurt, then I won't be able to forgive myself. Daidai Rocket was nothing compared to the horror stories that I've heard about the original Team Rocket. They had their hands in everything. They were really dangerous."

Skylar flexed her thin arm. "Not as dangerous as me, eh?"

Cyan laughed and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how to tell Skylar, but no matter how much she argued with him, he had no intentions of bringing her along to Kanto when the time came. "I'll stay for two more weeks. I'll think things through. I'll watch your battles. But-"

"But what?"

Cyan paused and clenched his fists. "You have to promise me that you'll beat the supreme gym leader. Work hard, and defeat them. No more losing from either one of us, okay?"

Skylar flexed her other arm. "You got it, dude!"

Cyan laughed to himself.

"It looks like we don't have a lot of time," Skylar said. "We'll let our Pokémon rest tonight, and then it's back to Kumquat Island. I have my last badge to earn."

"You're eager," Cyan said. "But, you're also ready."

The two stayed around for the remainder of Shamouti Island's festivities. The villagers celebrated Cyan and Skylar's victory over Daidai Rocket, which seemingly overshadowed the 'Chosen One,' but she didn't seem to mind too much.

And then the next morning, after Cyan and Skylar's Pokémon had a full night's rest, the two were set to be off for Kumquat Island once more.

"You're not going to stay any longer?" the village leader asked. "We'd love it if you rested here."

"Thanks for your hospitality," Skylar said. "But we have things we gotta take care of. I'm a gym challenger afterall! Watch out for my battle on the news!"

The villager laughed and stroked his beard. "We only have one television in the whole village, but we'll definitely make sure to catch your battle. Good luck to the both of you, and thank you for what you've done. That can't be said enough."

Cyan bobbed his head from side to side. "Well, your kindness has been more than enough!" He looked to Skylar. "Should we be going?"

Skylar nodded and then gripped onto her Poké Ball. She did an underhand throw, tossing it into the ocean. It exploded open, and Wailord emerged. The villagers looked on in surprise as both Skylar and Cyan climbed on by use of Wailord's tail. The two waved goodbye while Wailord began to leave the shore. The villagers waved back.

"You think they can hear us from here?"

"I think we're safe."

"Crazy people, huh?"

"Absolutely nuts."

The two looked at one another and laughed. They gazed at the vast ocean and towards Kumquat Island. In only a day or two, Skylar would have her rematch.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I was originally going to make this Rind Island (the one where the Magikarp evolve up the waterfall), but I think that it was okay to give Cyan and Skylar a little bit of rest on Shamouti Island and let them finish out the festival.

Cyan has agreed to stay on the Orange Islands with Skylar while she finishes the Orange League so he can make sure to get in the proper training and planning. We have only five chapters remaining. Any predictions for the last five chapters?

REVIEWS:

CrescentApple - "I expected Gyrados to go down from an escaped Lugia. Not from a Venusaur. Does that mean Cyan has Elite four level potential? Cyan has a Kabutops, finally! Cyan seeing his dad, was that all in his mind, or was his dad using some sort of power to visit his kid from the afterlife? Maybe near death experience helped enable the connection?" - Gyarados did have to fight Lugia first, so Venusaur had a lot of help. Also, Cyan is preparing to battle a champion, so I think it's fair to say that he could be Elite Four level. I think that the near-death experience was enough to bridge the gap momentarily. Or maybe Cyan was simply dreaming it.

pokemonking0924 - "I'd say that this adventure was some good therapy for him due to facing his fear of team Rocket, Skylar's support, and his dream about his father but it sounds like Cyan has one more thing to deal with and that is probably Okane herself but thats for another day. She also does remember Cyan but it also sounds like she sealed up her true feelings and memories deep inside in order to become more like her father. Also congrats on Kabuto evolving and finally pulling off a z move, speaking of z moves the original one Venusaur was incredible and was it a one time thing." - I was going to have it be a one-time move, but if people were okay with it, then I planned on him having to use it a few more times. And yeah, Okane forced herself to forget about Cyan and their friendship. I'm not sure if she's as evil as is presented, but maybe she's instead trying to be evil.

wisdom-jewel - "Now what would Cyan and Skylar would do with the next chapter. They would need to figure out howt o face Okane and how to beat her and save the Orange Islands and the world." - It's now weighing very heavily on them. It looks like they'll have one more encounter down the road.