[Ash: Well… since my wife and Pikachu aren't with me, guess I'll do the disclaimer then. NEBSparky86 does not own the characters and story elements of the Pokémon franchise. Game Freak, Nintendo and the Pokémon Company all have ownership of it. He's just borrowing them for this story to entertain readers for fun.]
9: Journey to Samiya and the Anointing of the New Princess of the Sea
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Cynthia's POV
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"Really Mom?" I asked my mother as I listened to my mother tell me that she sensed that the Temple of the Sea, Samiya, the same temple that she and Big Brother Manaphy disappeared to visit, was drifting in Alola. "You expect us to believe that the floating 'invisible' temple of the People of the Water has come to Alola? No one, except you, Daddy and some of your other friends have seen the temple. How can it be here in Alola?"
"Have you been recently having dreams about an underwater sea temple and a little baby Manaphy that's eagerly seeking a motherly figure to guide it to this underwater sea temple?" Mom asked as she remained calm and patient with my demeanor on Samiya as it had changed over time once I grew into an older girl.
"Uh sure," I answered my mother dismissively as I thought the dreams of Samiya I'd been having were just dumb dreams and nothing to take seriously. "But Mom, they're just dreams. Stupid dreams that don't mean much of anything nowadays."
"Momma! Momma!" Big Brother Manaphy said to Mom as he was pointing to the lagoon. "Egg! Egg in water Momma!"
"Th-That Pokémon just… talked?" Lana asked in a quizzical manner as she was confused as to why and how Big Brother Manaphy could talk.
Before Mom could explain anything to Lana, I swam into the lagoon with Primarina following me. Both of us then dove under the water to see if we could find this… special egg that was different from all other Pokémon eggs. After searching for about 15 minutes, Primarina and I found the super rare Pokémon egg and it was definitely different compared to all other Pokémon eggs. The egg was blue with a red yolk and a crown of golden dots, just like the egg that Big Brother Manaphy hatched from. Guess I was fortunate that I didn't have to worry about a Pokémon Ranger breathing down my neck like Mom did when she had Big Brother Manaphy with her. Still, hatching the baby Manaphy was going to be quite a process, but I also knew that one of my Pokémon had either the Flame Body or Magma Armor abilities to help in hatching the egg. So I scooped up the Manaphy egg and resurfaced with Primarina still following me. Mom was waiting for me to resurface as she stood, feet in the water and just… stood there. As I waded ashore and saw Mom standing there waiting for me, I half expected her to say or give me a look that said "I told you so." But I got no such thing from my mom as instead, she gave me a slight nod of approval when she saw me with the Manaphy egg in my arms.
"You're now one step closer to taking my place as Princess of the Sea," Mom said to me… before she tossed my clothes to me. "Now put your clothes back on. We're going to back to Heahea Harbor to meet with the Underwater Pokémon Circus family that've helped me with my pilgrimages to Samiya."
As we were leaving Brooklet Hill, Lana looked a bit hesitant to speak up but Mom then said to Lana, "You're coming with us too. I'm sorry, but with what I've heard about this Lusamine person, I don't wish to take any chances if she ever comes and tries to look for Cynthia."
"I'm fine with that," Lana said to Mom happily. "Besides, the amount of trainers arriving has gone down quite a bit no thanks in part to the blockade."
'But who's gonna run the Waterium Z trial while you're journeying with us to Samiya?' my Psychic/Fire-type big brother asked Lana.
"My mom will run it," Lana answered Big Brother Victini with a smile. "She told me that if I wanted to take a break during the summer trial season, to just give her a call and she'd take over while I'm gone."
As we exited Brooklet Hill, Lana made the call to her mom and explained that she wanted to take a break from running the Waterium Z trial and asked if she could take over while she herself was going on a small trip and would be back… in a couple weeks, just to be on the safe side. Once Lana got her mother's approval, she gave us a thumbs up and a slight nod for reinforcement. It was then that we started making our way back to Heahea City.
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"Hey there May, it's great to see you again," Aunt Lizabeth said to Mom as the two hugged each other. "I see you brought your little boy again and your husband's Pikachu this time."
"I was lucky that Ash let Pikachu come with me," Mom said to Aunt Lizabeth as Big Brother Pikachu moved to Aunt Lizabeth's right shoulder and happily nuzzled her right cheek as he was happy to see her. "Where are your parents? Aren't they coming to Samiya with us?"
"Not this time," Aunt Lizabeth answered my mom as we boarded the Blue Lagoon after receiving a supply drop from Aunt Rhea that included some armored dive suits, mass production Kaukau dive masks that were finally being released to the public by one of small companies established by the Beck Family back home and we got a couple members from Lady Aquila's Amphibious Corps from Team Trident… the Kyogre hybrid, Lily… and Lady Aquila herself. To be honest… I was not liking that Lady Aquila was joining us, but then again Aunt Rhea never took any chances with my safety. I was sure that some of the some of the higher ranking officers were tired of having to be assigned to bodyguard duty for me. The shiny Eelektross hybrid looked to me with her trademark cold and ruthless eyes as if she didn't like that she was being assigned to bodyguard duty.
"Oh?" my mom asked of Aunt Lizabeth out of curiosity, especially since there was word that there were some strange activity going on there though it couldn't be the work of Phantom the Pirate as from what I heard, Aunt Rhea eliminated him for good following my mom joining Team Trident. "How so?"
"Well, they have their reasons" answered Aunt Lizabeth with a shrug due to them being assigned to a secret mission elsewhere though she didn't want to get too in-depth on the details so she figured the best she could do was to give a brief explanation on what it was going to be. "Besides, it has something to do with a kingdom called Thule..."
"Thule?" began my mother, becoming somewhat curious on what that place is, and then again I was just as curious as she was as neither of us had heard of it before though Aunt Lizabeth didn't blame us for not knowing. "What exactly is that place?"
"I'd like to know too" I said, although part of me wished I could have gone with them on that mission but hey, maybe I might go some other time since I'm more interested in knowing what Samiya was like since my father and mother had been there along with Brock and Uncle Max during their travels through Kanto, back when dad took on the Battle Frontier.
"It was a kingdom where we think ours and your people, the People of the Water, came from. It was a kingdom rich with coastal plains, elegant coastal cliffs and peace" said Aunt Lizabeth as she thought about the only information she had regarding the mysterious kingdom of Thule that Aunt Rhea had sent her to search for. "But one day a man of great evil brought a power with him…With its strength at his command; he spread darkness across the kingdom."
"Oh my, how horrible…" muttered my mom as the two of us were shocked to learn that such a beautiful kingdom had come under siege by such an evil man.
"Yes, however just when all hope had died and the hour of doom seemed at hand… a young man who was known as the Son of Thunder" Aunt Lizabeth continued from where she left of, a smile forming on her face as she had become aware that there was a legendary hero that managed to intervene against this powerful evil man. "Wielding a sword that we of Team Trident have come to know simply as the blade of divine thunder, he banished the dark one from the land and gave it light."
This made me sigh in relief at hearing the good news. "Well I'm really glad to hear that" I said to Aunt Lizabeth with a smile forming on my own face, something that my mother showed as well though something immediately clicked into the back of my mind. "What was this young man's name?"
Shaking her head, Aunt Lizabeth closed her eyes. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that because Rhea and I don't exactly know his name since we weren't around during that era" she replied, although maybe some research on the old kingdom might shed some further light on what his identity may be. "The only thing we know about him is that he was known as the Warrior Son of Thunder since he traveled throughout the land to save it and that his tale was passed down through generations until it became legend."
"Wow…" I muttered in awe, remembering how Celebi usually was the only being that could travel through time but never in my entire life had I ever heard of someone capable of doing so which made me even more curious on how he had been able to do it.
Aunt Lizabeth smiled brightly upon seeing my curiosity and that of my mother though it immediately faded away since the story wasn't over just yet. "Unfortunately a day came when a fell wind began to blow across the kingdom and the great evil that all thought had been forever sealed away by the hero once again crept forth from the death of the earth, from hell itself, eager to resume its dark designs" she spoke, knowing how much the next part of the legend would shock us and she saw right from the reactions that my mother and I gave her. "The people believed that the Warrior Son of Thunder would again come to save them but sadly the hero did not appear."
Both my mom and I were so shocked that we were completely speechless, shocked to hear that the Warrior Son of Thunder never returned to stop the evil that came back to finish what it started. "Faced by an onslaught of evil, the people could do nothing but appeal to the gods" she concluded, lowering her head in sadness as that was pretty much where the story ended.
"What happened to the Kingdom and its people, and this great power?"
Hearing my mom's question, Aunt Lizabeth shook her head again. "I'm not sure what happened to the kingdom, since none remain who know, although from what we researched despite the memory of the kingdom vanishing, its legend survived on the wind's breath" she replied simply which tied in with the current assignment that was given from Aunt Rhea. "There was one island on a faraway land where it became customary to garb boys in green when they came of age and that being clothed in green of fields would make them aspire to find heroic blades and cast down evil with the elders wishing only for the youths to know courage like the hero of legend."
"Wow" said my mother with a hint of uncertainty over the fate of the kingdom and how the Warrior Son of Thunder didn't appear to save it like he did long ago, hopefully that evil man wouldn't appear to our home anytime soon or the other regions since my father and mother have friends there along with some of our family members too. "Is that why your parents are heading off on their mission?"
"Why yes, plus I heard they were considering asking your husband to come with them on the task while we head for Samiya" said Aunt Lizabeth as she surprised me and my mother by the fact that she said my father was going to be accompanying them on the assignment. "There is rumor that a sword is located there so your husband might be able to use it once he is trained on how to use a sword, after all Pikachu and Victini were given outfits that allowed them to change their typing before battle and he was able to unlock a form of Greninja called Ash-Greninja, a form that he named himself due to the fact no others had the strong bond capable of achieving such a form."
"A shame that he had to release both Greninja and Goodra in Kalos though" added my mother remembering how Daddy traveled to Kalos and got himself a Froakie from Professor Sycamore while Clemont got a Chespin from him and Serena previously got her Fennekin, my dad later caught himself of Fletchling, a Goomy, a Hawlucha and a Noibat, three of which he raised along with Froakie into their fully evolved states Greninja, Talonflame, Goodra and Noibat plus Clemont previously caught a Dedenne which he left in the care of his little sister Bonnie, who would end up succeeding him as the Lumiose City Gym Leader following his battle against my dad, a Luxio which he befriended with as a Shinx when he was younger and had long since evolved into Luxray during the battle with my father at the Lumiose Gym, and already had a Bunnelby on his team for quite some time and I was surprised he left the Gym under the care of a robot called Clembot.
Also from what I remember, Serena's Fennekin evolved into Braxien and she caught a female Eevee that she raised into a lovely Slyveon and a male Pancham while two former foes Jessie and James each caught a Pumpaboo and an Inkay, the former being a female Super-Size Pumpkaboo which ended up evolving into a Gourgeist under Jessie's ownership and the fact Serena tried to become the new Kalos Queen and initially failed in the end plus her friends Tierno, Trevor and Shauna each started out with a Squirtle, a Charmander and a Bulbasaur respectively with Tierno's Squirtle becoming Wartortle and then Blastoise and he later added a Raichu, a Ludicolo, a Hitmontop, and a Politoed while Trevor's Charmander became Charmeleon and then Charizard with the ability to Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard Y and he added an Aerodacyl and a Florges and Shauna's Bulbasaur became Ivysaur and she added a Flabebe, a Swirlix and a Gothita.
I even heard about how Korina used Mega Lucario when my dad had his Gym Battle against her and how Diantha the Kalos Champion has a Mega Gardevoir, albeit a normal one, not a shiny one but hey not complaining there nor am I complaining about how Viola's sister Alexa had a Heliopitile, a GoGoat and a Noivern with her when she first met my parents.
Then there's dad main rivals in Kalos, first was Sawyer, who like my mom, Uncle Max and Uncle Brendan, originated from the Hoenn region and came to Kalos after getting his starter at Littleroot Town, his Treecko later became Grovyle and then Sceptile with the ability to Mega Evolve into Mega Sceptile, he also had a Bagon which he raised into Shelgon and then Salamance, a Slurpuff, a Honeedge which had long since became Doublade and then Aegislash, a Clawitzer and a Slaking like my grandfather from the Petalburg Gym.
The second of course was a skilled trainer named Alain, who wanted to battle if not defeat every other Mega Evolved Pokémon out there as his main Pokémon was Charizard which could Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X and he also had a Metang which became Metagross, a Tyrannitar, a Weavile, a Bisharp and a male Unfezant all of which gave dad some trouble during their battle in the final round of the Kalos League, sadly my dad was defeated in the end and Alain became the Kalos League champion though he was at one point part of Team Flare following his victory against Malva and her Mega Houndoom until he learned of their true colors and helped bring them down though Lysandre and his shiny Mega Gyarados were also a pain for my dad and Alain to defeat plus he did have a soft spot for Marin and her Chespin nicknamed Chespie.
Part of me wished I could have seen Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion, three Legendary Pokémon that my dad mentioned meeting in the Kalos region but I know that I'll get my get my chance to meet them myself one day. Ren had told me that she had seen Volcanion when she had to go into the interior of Kalos with her now fiancé.
As for my dad's current lineup, he had a Rowlet, a Litten which he received following the death of an old Stoutland that once looked after him and a Lycanroc which he raised from a Rockruff, although the Lycanroc my dad had looked way different than the Midday and Midnight ones I have heard about until learning recently that there was a third form called the Dusk Form which my dad had the only one not to mention he got a Z Power Ring and plenty of Z-Crystals if needed as well. Then there was Jessie who got herself a Mimikyu and James who now had a female Mareannie sure they and dad weren't traveling anymore due to having settled down in the Atlantica Islands following the final travel through the Kalos region but that didn't mean they couldn't get new Pokémon from time to time.
The biggest surprise was the fact that Brock now had a Key Stone and a Mega Stone for his Steelix and Auntie Misty had a Key Stone and a Mega Stone for her Gyarados, especially as I remember having seen them having paid Alola a visit and brought us to a Gym so they could show us what Mega Evolution was like first hand, I have to admit that I was really impressed seeing Mega Evolution happen right before my eyes and maybe I might get a Pokémon and a compatible Mega Stone and a Key Stone one day but that's for another time.
Although there was the fact I was surprised that the Jigglypuff I met and befriended with happened to be one that usually put my dad, my mom, my uncle and their friends to sleep, even more so my dad and his friends since my mom and uncle only met her one time in Hoenn though dad wouldn't be happy that she's still around and I allowed her to tag along with me provided that she stayed out of trouble.
For now, I just wanna enjoy the trip to Samiya, maybe even catch some new Pokémon along the way… since I heard we may end up making a few stops before eventually reaching our destination and hopefully nothing would ruin our day.
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(Third-Person POV)
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What the small group didn't realize was that they were being watched by two shadowed silhouettes as one had a pair of binoculars in their possession and a scowl on their face. "There they are" he said to his small task force as they've managed to see where the Blue Lagoon was headed off to.
"We better report this back to our boss" said one of the members of the task force as their group leader made contact with a certain purple-haired man with a scowl on his face.
"Your report?"
"Master Paul, the vessel belonging to Team Trident had left the dock although we do not know where they're headed off to" reported the leader of the task force, knowing full well that his boss had a deep hatred towards the Ketchums ever since the Sinnoh League years ago and how it deepened even more throughout the years plus being dumped by Ursula in favor of a vampire boyfriend didn't help matters either. "However, there had been word of pirate activity, probably just something to scare off any trespassers or keeping them away from any kind of treasure."
"Is that so?" Paul asked the task force with a scowl on his face and Electivire by his side, knowing there was not much they could do for now since it would be too soon to strike at them without risking being taken out by any possible members of Team Trident that accompanied the two female Ketchums. "In that case, keep an eye on them for the time being and report to me if you discover anything that pipes my interest."
The squad leader nodded his head in confirmation to his boss. "Understood sir" he replied with a stern expression on his face before ending communication, like Paul, he could never stand Team Trident and hoped that they'll be able to rid themselves of that problem once and for all though they needed power, enough of it in order to eliminate Rhea herself since she's so powerful, none of their Pokémon would last even 10 seconds before she unleashed hell upon them.
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"Milady, are you sure that I'm the right person to go to Samiya?' Aquila, the head of Team Trident's Amphibious Corps said to Rhea. "I do understand you wish to keep your niece safe, but I really don't think that I'm the right one for the job."
"On the contrary," began Rhea, "you're the perfect choice in the light of Team Skull having a new leader who usurped the previous one. Not to mention, there is the chance you may encounter this wicked Weavile, Dark Blizzard."
"I understand that, Milady,' Aquila tried to interject with Rhea.
"Then you will do this body guard assignment, without protest," Rhea replied back as her tone became a strict growl. "I've asked you to do this type of assignment because my great niece is part of our overall plan in creating a new humanity. A new society that does not know the afflictions of this corrupt humanity."
"I understand, Milady," relented Aquila after letting out a sigh of defeat.
Aquila was focused on ensuring the success of Team Trident's mission to rid the planet of the old humanity. Almost nothing was going to deter the shiny Eelektross hybrid from seeing Rhea's mission through to the end. Aquila had not said anything to anyone just yet but she was looking to have a family and start laying it's foundations with her husband. The two had been trying for a while, but were unsuccessful. After Aquila had voiced her complaint in order to try and get Rhea to switch her out with someone else, the screen snapped off as the leader of the Amphibious Corps yielded and went back to her assignment. Once Aquila had yielded, Rhea let out a sigh and then shook her head. Behind her was her faithful attendant who saw to her needs as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and then began give her a massage.
"That Aquila," Rhea's male attendant said in a soothing country-like accent as he massaged her back, "she definitely can be a handful, right Milady?"
"That she can be, Akiro," Rhea replied as she was happy to be getting the massage from her attendant and lover. "I just wish that those I ask to watch over my great niece would understand that I'm not trying to show favoritism. Cynthia Ketchum has a role to play in the future and I've been preparing her and those that I've picked to become the new leaders of the new humanity that is spreading like wildfire."
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Cynthia's POV
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"You want me to take this journey just so I can be a custodian for some free floating temple?!" I asked my mother and Aunt Lizabeth in disgust and contempt after hearing them explain to me why I was taking this journey with them. "Forget it! Take me back to Alola so I can complete the assignment that Aunt Rhea gave me and my friends and we can go home to the Atlantica Islands!"
"Cynthia," Mom began as she tried to reason with me, "this journey is the most important one of your life as someone born into the People of the Water."
"I don't give a Hoothoot about this stupid journey!" I shot back angrily to my mom. "I wanna go back to Alola! NOW!"
'Little Cynthia, you need to calm down,' Big Brother Victini said to me as he tried to get me to cool off.
"No Big Brother, I wanna go back," I said to my Psychic/Fire-type big brother as I was still furious. "I want no part of this journey to go find some stupid fabled temple, only to become a wrinkly person who gets laughed at every time they talk about it. I am not going to become the crazy person in the family or anywhere else."
"So… you think I'm the crazy person in the family then?" Mom asked me calmly after I was careless with my comments once again. "I'm going to become a wrinkly person who gets laughed at because I speak of Samiya?"
"What? N-No!" I stammered after realizing that I made a mistake once again, just like I did when I accused Daddy of being overbearing and trying to smother and lock me up.
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"Great, I just had to run my mouth… again," I muttered to myself as I nursed my sore left cheek after getting slapped in the face and then being left on a small island with nothing but the Manaphy egg I found at the lagoon at Brooklet Hill and my male Lampent that I caught when I journeyed through Unova.
Big Brother Victini was told to not accompany me while I stayed on the small island to think about my choice of words and reflect on what path I was going to take. To be perfectly honest, I was angry at… at… I guess I was just angry at the fact that I wasn't getting much of a say in how to run my life. At the time, I didn't want to accept the dreams I had been having as real. A fabled temple that drifted in the oceans… I believed the tale… as a little girl. But now as a 14 year-old teenage girl, I had just dismissed it as something from a story book or something from the Royal Archives in Costa del Sol. As I was lost in my thoughts, my stomach grumbled as I was hungry. Unfortunately for me, Mom left me with nothing to eat and didn't even leave me with a knife so I could use it for cooking. I was left on the island with only my survival training that I learned in the Survival Corps of Team Trident taught me when I went through basic training at the age of 6 after I met and befriended Shelby and Benjy. So I was stuck foraging for food to eat and firewood to use to make a fire with I waited for Mom and Aunt Lizabeth to come, pick me up off the small island and take me back to Alola instead of chasing an old wives tale that no one had seen since Mom and Daddy saw it when they were 12. It was simply a battle of wills. My will against my mom's will and I had hoped that Mom would give up on me becoming something that I didn't want at all. I was the master of my will… my destiny and no one was going to tell me otherwise. The island wasn't big, but there was enough of an area for me to go walking and with my Lampent's Flame Body ability, I figured that I'd at least hatch the little guy and send him on his way to Arceus-knew wherever he would go. Don't get me wrong I did want to own a Manaphy, but if getting a Manaphy meant going on a journey that told me what I was going to do with my life, then I didn't want to own it. I gave a slight nod to myself and to the plan that I had thought up.
"Hatch the little guy and send him on his way to Arceus-knows wherever he needs to go," I said to myself as Lampent came out of his Moon Ball. "That sounds perfect to me. No one is going to dictate to me what I do with my life. And Mom is gonna learn that… the hard way."
'You sure that's best thing to do?' my male Lampent asked me with a hint of concern in his tone. 'The poor little Water-type will be all alone.'
"Now don't you start on me too," I replied to my male Lamp Pokémon in a stern tone. "I'm not going to let anyone tell me how to run my life or dictate to me what my path is. Everyone is going to see that I'm not whatever it is Mom or anyone else thinks I'm supposed to be. I'm just plain Cynthia Ketchum. Nothing more and nothing less."
'And here I thought you wanted a Manaphy as your own Pokémon,' my male Ghost/Fire-type Pokémon countered back as he was following me. 'This is your big chance, Cynthia. Don't blow it over your big ego.'
"I'm not changing my mind," I shot back sternly to my Lampent. "I'll hatch the little guy and set him loose. Once Mom comes back and sees I released the Manaphy to go endlessly chase after an old wives' tale, she'll give up and take me back to Alola so I can finish my assignment for Aunt Rhea and that'll be the end of it."
'I really don't think that's gonna happen,' my male Lamp Pokémon said loud enough for me to hear him.
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After trying to get the egg to hatch for most of the afternoon, I decided to call it quits for the night and try again the next day and hopefully hatch the little guy only to let him go. Though during the day my swimming partner, Primarina, disobeyed my mother and swam all way to the island I was on and joined me in the afternoon. I was happy that my faithful swimming partner had joined me and I hoped that she would agree with me that the Manaphy should be released. [Sigh] I should've known that my mother was using Primarina to break my will. At any rate when it was time to sleep, I held the Manaphy egg close to me just in case someone or some Pokémon got the idea to try and swipe it from me. As I fell asleep, I heard my swimming partner singing a lovely song to aid in helping me fall asleep. Once I fell asleep, I began to drift into the dream land as I caught the scent of something sweet. It was then that I began to feel as if my soul had left my body.
My dream started really beautiful as I was drifting away from the island and into the ocean. Though in my journey through dream land was starting off well, I had noticed that I was completely naked and no clothes were nearby. I shrugged my shoulders as I figured as long as I was in the dream, being naked really didn't bother me at all. Then all of a sudden a large caravan of Water-type were swimming in the direction that I was being transported to. Then… I saw it. I saw a floating temple, just the way that Mom described it to me when I was a little girl.
'I was one gullible little girl,' I thought to myself as I was tightly holding on to my stubbornness despite the fact what I was seeing was quite real.
Then the next thing that I saw was a little baby Manaphy, like Big Brother Manaphy. However this Manaphy was a lot different than Big Brother Manaphy that I grew up knowing my entire life. Even though he was bathed in a soft white light, I could tell that the baby Manaphy was definitely a shiny Manaphy as it was a different shade of blue than ocean blue.
'Mommy coming for me!' the baby Manaphy cried out happily to me as he circled around me joyously. 'Mommy coming for me!
'Happy!' the baby Manaphy exclaimed as he was still quite happy before I saw him being snatched up by hands that were glowing a dark purplish glow.
"Oh no!" I cried out as I tried to go after the little baby Manaphy and get him back, to no avail.
What came next was a picture of the temple itself having the same dark purplish glow coming from the center of the temple itself that glowed brightly and then blasted a hole through the barrier keeping the water out of the temple. With the barrier gone, I had watched helplessly as Samiya sank into the crushing depths of the ocean, never to be seen again. As I watched Samiya fall into the ocean, I could begin feeling my stubborn will breaking down in strides. Instead of staying where I was, I decided that I would brave the crushing depths of ocean to see if I could do something to save Samiya like Daddy did when he and Mom were trapped in the temple as it was sinking into the crushing depths. As I started my pursuit, instead of catching up to the sinking temple, I was taken somewhere else and I noticed a pedestal and a throne. The pedestal was made with a special blue marble with blue sapphire and aquamarine inlayed on the edges of the pedestal and then noticed something shiny resting on a royal red pillow and it definitely looked catching to my eyes. Sitting on the pillow was a crown made with platinum and sterling silver and had various blue gems set into it. I made my way to the crown thinking that I could just pick it up and put it on… you know just to indulge myself in a small delusional fantasy where I think I'm some long lost princess returning home. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to even touch the crown as something blocked me from touching it. Then a plaque made of yellow gold appeared on the pedestal written a language that I didn't even know… or care to learn about. I looked at the ancient writing trying to see if I could make heads or tails of it and then just shrugged my shoulders pushed myself away from pedestal as I wasn't ever gonna ever be able to decipher what it said, not that I wanted to do so.
"So what its saying is that meddling kids need give up on the things they can't grasp," I said to myself in a mocking tone. "Huh… I can live with that. I ain't gonna be able to get that crown. Guess Mom should hurry up, come back, pick me up and take me back to Alola."
Then what I noticed behind the pedestal was a throne, or as I saw it… a place to sit down and think about what I was gonna do once my assignment in Alola was complete. And it certainly wasn't gonna be chasing after an old wives tale and become the looney person in the family. Again, trying to enjoy something was not gonna happen as it seemed like the throne was blocked by a barrier.
"Oh come on!" I huffed in annoyance as I couldn't at least try and have a seat briefly.
The last thing that I saw were multiple doors that lead to Arceus-knows where. I crossed my arms across my chest and huffed in annoyance as I wasn't able to see what was inside the doors. The dream was getting to be real annoying and I certainly didn't have the patience for riddles. In fact I certainly didn't have much patience much like Daddy during his first journey through the Kanto region.
"I know what you're trying to do," I called out to the empty space. "You want me to go chase after some stupid myth and eventually become a looney person. Well I got some news for you. It… ain't… happening! There's only one person that I take orders from, and that's me! Neither you, nor my mom or anyone else is gonna tell where to go or what to do with my life. You got that?!"
I got no response from whoever was giving me the dream, but I started to feel something bouncing on my stomach. I looked around to see who or what was bouncing on my stomach only to find no one. After a few minutes, I finally woke up from my dream and saw what was bouncing on my stomach. It wasn't my Primarina as she was too big and heavy to be bouncing on my stomach like a child. My Lampent wasn't doing it either as he never liked childish antics after he evolved from Litwick. I couldn't believe my eyes as to what I saw was bouncing on my stomach. It was a happy little baby shiny Manaphy that was bouncing up and down on my stomach.
'Happy! Happy!' the energetic baby shiny Manaphy exclaimed as he continued to bounce on my stomach until I sat up and caught the little cutie. 'Mommy's awake! Mommy is awake!'
'Morning sleepy head,' my shiny female Soloist Pokémon said to me before pointing to the horizon. 'Looks like the boat is coming back to come and get us.'
oooooooooooooo
"It seems you've come to your senses," Aunt Lizabeth said to me as she saw the baby shiny Manaphy hopping into the Blue Lagoon and then into my arms wrapping his long arms around my neck.
Before I could speak, my mom gazed at me and then said to Aunt Lizabeth, "No. She's still being stubborn and trying to deny the existence of Samiya and the path that's been set before her."
Just hearing Mom make that assumption was making me very upset. And I know that Mom occasionally had that problem with me. I lost my temper at first for a few minutes as my first reaction. But for the little baby shiny Manaphy, I calmed down, but I still glared and rolled my eyes at my mom as my response to her assumption.
"Look Mom," I retorted as I still glared at her, "I'll give this journey to Samiya a chance. But if it turns out we're going on a wild Ducklet chase, then I want out and I want to go back to Alola to finish my assignment for Aunt Rhea."
"Fair enough," Mom replied to me softly as she and Big Brother Manaphy held their arms up in mock surrender.
'Fair enough Little Cynthia,' Big Brother Manaphy added in agreement with Mom.
'CYNTHIA!' Shiva shouted as she ran down to tackle me in the water as her 'welcome back' greeting.
"WAH!" I exclaimed as the baby shiny Manaphy and I were tackled back into the water that we just got out of.
'Oh Cynthia, I thought you weren't ever going to come back,' Shiva whined to me before Big Brother Victini used his Psychic attack to lift me and my shiny female Ice/Fairy-type Fox Pokémon out of the water.
"Some things never change," I said as me and Shiva were set back onboard the Blue Lagoon.
oooooooooooooo
"We're really getting lucky here," Lana said with a grin on her face as she caught a Goldeen and a Remoraid to add to her other Pokémon. "I just caught two more Pokémon. I hope I can get some more Pokémon along the way to Samiya."
"Provided that we even find Samiya in the first place," I said calmly yet unconvinced that the sea temple that the People of the Water still existed. "I still have my doubts that Samiya even exists. I wouldn't put it past the People of the Water to have buried their own temple in order to protect the Sea Crown."
"We would never try to bury our own temple," Aunt Lizabeth told me plainly. "Besides the Manaphy would still find the temple regardless of where it was buried."
I shrugged my shoulders and accepted Aunt Lizabeth's explanation as it was the only thing I could do. But of course Mom took it as I was still trying to get out of the journey to Samiya. Typical of my mother to make her assumptions. At any rate, I got settled into the quarters that I was sharing with Shelby. And Shelby was happy to see me again… after she smacked me upside my head for being stubborn just like Daddy. Well… everyone else smacked me upside my head except Lana. Even Lavender used her Tail Slap to smack me upside my head too. I really didn't like it, but I guess it had happen after being quite stubborn like most teenagers today. Once I was done getting slapped by my friends… and Lavender, we continued on our way to Samiya. The baby shiny Manaphy definitely took a liking to me, not that I'm not likable by Pokémon. He definitely was very comfortable as he slept in my arms happily. But, not all of my Pokémon were happy to see the baby shiny Manaphy in my arms. The exception was Shiva as she glared at the baby shiny Manaphy as he was sleeping soundly in my arms.
"Sorry Shiva," I said to my shiny female Ice/Fairy-type Fox Pokémon. "Looks like he's taken your place as the baby on the team."
'Mommy!' the baby shiny Manaphy exclaimed happily as he woke from his sleep. 'Baby… love… Mommy!'
"And I love you too, my precious little boy," I replied to my baby shiny Manaphy with a cheeky grin before I kissed him on his forehead.
'Hey! I love you too Cynthia!' Shiva whined to me as she tried to get my attention by pawing at me.
"Yes Shiva I love you too," I replied to Shiva after I sighed and rolled my eyes at the antics of my shiny female Ice/Fairy-type Fox Pokémon.
'Someone is very jealous,' Victini said with a grin on his face. 'Guess Shiva needs to realize that she's not the baby anymore.'
'Shut up Victini!' Shiva shot back to my big brother. 'I'll always be the baby of the team.'
"Not anymore Shiva," I said to Shiva. "Aqua is the baby of our team."
"So you've given the baby Manaphy a name then," my mom said as she heard me giving the baby shiny Manaphy a name. "I'm pleased to see that you are bonding with the little baby Manaphy. That's one of the steps towards accepting the path set before you."
"Uh… sure Mom. Whatever you say," I said trying to avoid the subject of the role that I was supposed to inherit. "I'm just coming to prove or disprove that Samiya exists."
"The more you try to fight it, the stronger the feeling of belonging will come on to you," Aunt Lizabeth told me in a tone of concern. "Speaking of which, I've got something for you.
"You haven't been keeping up on your weapons training," Aunt Lizabeth said to me before tossing a familiar spear to me. "So I guess it's time for you to start your training from the bottom."
"Wait, weapons training?" Lana asked us in confusion as she saw me taking a fighting stance against my aunt as I was ready to prove that I hadn't forgotten about my weapons training. "Why do you have to do weapons training? Is it absolutely necessary to learn how to use a weapon?"
"For us, it is necessary," Benjy answered Lana. "We have to learn to defend ourselves if we're ever separated from our Pokémon."
"Oh… I guess that makes sense," Lana replied to my boyfriend as she shrugged her shoulders.
Before Benjy could continue with an explanation, he and Lana heard me clashing with Aunt Lizabeth as both of us clashed with each other using different weapons. Aunt Lizabeth used a specially crafted sword that was used by the People of the Water. It almost reminded me of a sword from that recent Zelda game that Big Brother Victini got me hooked on whenever I wasn't training for swimming competitions. As for the spear that I used, it was a spear that I had custom ordered and made to look like a spear from another fighting game that I liked to play so much. Aunt Lizabeth was quite surprised that I had indeed not neglected my weapons training. The only reason why I hadn't been keeping up on my weapons training recently was because of the laws in Alola that prevented my friends and me from even bringing in our training weapons just so we could practice. Not to mention that we couldn't become private citizens until the age of 21. Putting aside the side details, while I was showing Aunt Lizabeth my improving skill with my spear, little Aqua was leading the way to Samiya. The more Aqua was guiding us towards the temple, the more I started to think that maybe Samiya wasn't just a myth and legend that Mom told me as a little girl.
oooooooooooooo
"Come on little cutie," I said to a stranded shiny male Rockruff as he had been abandoned and left to drift in the endless ocean on a small raft. "Don't you wanna get out of the raft?"
The shiny male Rock-type Puppy Pokémon wanted to come as he saw me holding my arms open for him to leap into, but unfortunately, I was in the water and he felt uncomfortable at the thought of having to doggy paddle through the water just to get to me. Fortunately for him, Shiva was standing on the deck of the Blue Lagoon and used her Ice Beam to create a sheet of ice towards the stranded Rock-type Puppy Pokémon. Shiva even walked towards the Puppy Pokémon as she used her Ice Beam to create the sheet of ice that he could walk on. Seeing the sheet of ice helped to ease his nervousness. I gave Shiva a slight nod of thanks for helping to ease his nervousness and decided to get out of the water and on to the sheet of ice so I could speak to the Rockruff. The Rock-type Puppy Pokémon seemed to like what he saw as he was infatuated with me… at least I think he was after he affectionately tackled me on the sheet of ice and then started licking me.
'Oh thank you kind human,' the affectionate shiny male Rockruff said to me happily before continuing to lick me. 'Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!'
"Uh… it's no problem," I replied as I had to gently pry him off my face. "How about it? Wanna travel with me and my brothers and sisters?"
'You bet! I wanna be one of your siblings too!' Rockruff exclaimed happily as he wagged his tail joyously.
"Hey Mom!" I called out to my mom. "Toss me a Friend Ball from my backpack, please!"
Mom complied and tossed me one of the Apricorn Balls that I usually carry as per Aunt Rhea's instructions… and personal preference over the other Pokéballs that my parents still used. Once Rockruff saw the Friend Ball, he wagged his tail faster and happily. I then tossed the Friend Ball at Rockruff and he leapt up and hit the button of the green Pokéball, letting himself get captured. After the confirmation click, I decided to send Naomi home, giving her a break from having to babysit and put the terror into Shiva. I certainly wasn't gonna send Lavender home because she always acted as the team mom and was one of my first Pokémon that I caught. I was tempted to send Shiva home, but I knew she'd find a way to come back to me. Once Naomi was sent home and Rockruff was in my party, Shiva and I got back on board and Shiva used her Extrasensory attack to break up the ice sheet that kept the ship connected to the small raft. Once the raft started drifting away, Aqua then proceeded to continue to lead us towards Samiya. Aqua did come on board on occasion and met his new brother, whom I named Apollo. As Aqua met with his new brother, I scanned Apollo and looked to see what his ability and move set.
"Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon," my Pokédex chirped. "Rockruff tends to be very friendly with people and rubs the rocks on its neck. Over time, its temperament becomes more aggressive as it gets close to evolving into its next stage form. Its ability is Own Tempo, which prevents Rockruff from getting confused."
"I know what the Own Tempo ability does," I said to my Pokédex as I had been tutored by Uncle Max on Pokémon abilities.
"Its move set is Crush Claw, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Thrash, Iron Head, Earth Power, Stone Edge," finished my Pokédex.
"So he was just recently born," I summarized after putting my Pokédex away. "The Pokédex didn't show Fire Fang, Thunder Fang and Crush Claw as moves he learns as a Rockruff or his evolved form. I would have to say that his parents must've had those attacks and passed them on to Apollo."
'I take it you're going to pair me up with the new Puppy Pokémon, right Cynthia?' Lavender asked me as she snuck up behind me and then sat next to me.
"Yup," I answered my shiny female Fire-type Kanto Fox Pokémon. "You did designate yourself as the team mom after all. So that's your responsibility."
'And I'm looking forward to taking this young pup under my wing,' Lavender informed me with a smile.
'You wanted to see me, Big Sister?' Apollo asked me as he arrived to see me and Lavender.
"Yes I do Apollo," I answered my shiny male Rock-type Puppy Pokémon as he sat down wagging his tail so cutely. "I'm pairing you up with Lavender in order to get you used to battling with others on my team."
'So I'm gonna be with the team mom?' Apollo asked me curiously as he tilted his head and got me to be even more infatuated with him.
Before I could give Apollo my answer, I just had to hug him and love on him as he was just so… CUTE! Apollo seemed to like the attention he was getting from me and he licked my face and rubbed the rocks around his neck along my neck and my ankles too. I know that Shiva didn't like seeing me showering Apollo with attention and affection. She glared at Apollo in jealousy as if she thought that she didn't have enough to worry about with Aqua stealing attention away from her. Oh Shiva, my precious Shiva still acted like the spoiled little Vulpix I took under my care with Diamond Flake's blessing. At any rate Shiva would have to deal with fact that I wanted to give my other Pokémon attention, a little more attention then what Shiva wanted me to give them.
oooooooooooooo
"Alright Mom," I said to my mother after searching for a week and finally finding the mythical temple, Samiya, "you were right. I was wrong about Samiya being an old wives tale."
"Your mom really didn't have to tell you that you were wrong," Benjamin said to me before Mom could chide me.
"But why didn't you take me with you to Samiya?" I asked my mom as I wanted to know why she didn't take me. "Had you brought me with you, I wouldn't have doubted you."
"You were not ready to enter the temple yet," Mom answered me calmly. "Nor were you allowed to enter the temple until you were ready to enter it as you are now."
'You were younger than Little Cynthia is right now when you first entered Samiya,' Big Brother Victini said before I could protest.
"And that prevented me from becoming what you are meant to be," Mom said to me and Big Brother Victini. "But to be honest, my role was to begin preparing the way for you."
"Uh… okay," I replied as I rolled my eyes. "Well… let's just find the Sea Crown, make sure it hasn't been stolen and we'll be on our way back to Alola."
"Do you think that it's simple?" Mom asked me in a stern tone of voice. "Do you think that you can just… go check on the Sea Crown and then leave?"
"Well of course Mom," I answered with a Mareepish grin on my face. "You said you wanted to find Samiya, right?"
"Unfortunately for you, it's not going to be as easy as you think," Mom said to me as she halfway narrowed her eyes at me. "Sure you must find the Sea Crown. But once you find it, you will begin facing the trials that you must undergo to become Princess of the Sea."
"I thought you were the Princess of the Sea," I said to my mom.
Mom shook her head as she replied, "No, I'm just a Duchess. A steward who had been taking care of Samiya for the time when you begin your journey to become the Princess of the Sea and eventually the Queen of the Sea."
I was really speechless by what Mom said at first. Before I could reject the notion, I instinctively ran back to the Blue Lagoon where I knew Shiva was bound to ambush pounce on me once I stepped foot on the ship. Things were moving so fast that I couldn't make heads or tails of what was transpiring right before me. Then as I boarded the Blue Lagoon, Shiva did in fact ambush tackle me as her greeting and wrapped her front legs around my waist and arms.
'You came back!' Shiva exclaimed happily as she nuzzled the back of my neck. 'Oh good, we'll get to go back and leave that little Manaphy here and things can go back to the way they were.'
"Shiva! Get off of me!" I shouted before she was recalled into her Dream Ball by my mom.
"I hope you're not planning to leave before your trials start," Mom said to me as she remained calm before tossing Shiva's Dream Ball back to me.
"Mom look…," I began as I was still trying to process what was going on. "I… I… I just… just need time to process this. This is all too sudden… all too fast for me."
"Process it quickly," Mom told me patiently. "Because the temple itself will not wait for you. You have two days before it starts to sink back into the sea."
"Great, no pressure," I said as I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
oooooooooooooo
"Come on Mom, I need my spear!" I protested, a day later after deciding to go through with the trials… only to have my mom take my prized weapon from me only to give me… a dinky tree branch. "If I'm gonna pass these trials, I need my spear. Not a dinky little tree branch you picked up from the oak tree in our backyard!"
Shelby and Gabriella couldn't help but laugh as they saw that I had to fight using a tree branch instead of using my favorite special ordered spear. I glared at my two friends and then glanced at Isabella and saw that she maintained a straight face like her shiny Meowstic sister and companion, Rika. For once, I couldn't tell if Isabella and Rika were snickering inside or if they had no emotion concerning my trials. I was at least grateful to Mom that I could keep my Pokémon at my side as she told me that they would help play an important role during my trials. Plus, I was given some supplies to help me through the trials. Mom told me that I would have to pick up other supplies, like food at various rest points as I went through the temple trials. With Aqua at hand and in a Dive Ball along with my other Pokémon, I was ready to take on the trials that Samiya could throw at me. Before I started the trials, I had to make sure that Aqua was ready to play his part in helping me with the trials. I used a few of our TMs to help give Aqua a better chance when I would need him. After making my final preparations for my trials, I then went to the Sea Crown and it resonated with my presence and glowed brightly. As for Aqua, he instinctively leapt into the pillar of water that housed the Sea Crown and the Sea Crown glowed even brighter as I was somehow transported from the Crown Room to another room that housed a pedestal which held the crown that I saw in my dream. Before I stepped forward, my first Pokémon that I captured and the oldest one, Lavender then let herself out and proceeded to walk by my side. To be honest, I was glad that Lavender was at my side rather than Big Brother Victini. The mystical stuff was more her department than Big Brother Victini as I was going to need her expertise. Lavender padded over to the pedestal and looked at the ancient writing on the gold plated plaque while I followed her from behind.
'Hmm… this is quite interesting,' Lavender said to me after reading the ancient writing.
"What's up?" I asked my shiny female Fire-type Fox Pokémon. "You find something interesting?"
'Yes I have,' answered Lavender as she looked to me before looking back at the plaque. 'It seems that the only way to receive this crown is to gather fragments of this plaque and restore it before you can inherit this crown.'
"Something tells me there's more to it than just gathering a bunch of fragments," I said to Lavender as I knew that she never sugarcoated any explanations with me. "What else do I have to do? Recite some spell or understand some hidden meaning?"
'Heh, you know me too well, young one,' Lavender replied with a slight chuckle. 'I will act as your guide and translator, but you will have to understand the meaning behind the message on the fragments you're seeking out throughout your trials.'
"I take it that I just reach out to the crown in order to start the trial, right?" I asked Lavender as I began to reach out for the crown.
'No, reaching out for the crown will take you someplace that you really don't wanna go,' Lavender answered as she shook her head before noticing a sword on a separate pedestal. 'Trying pulling the sword out of that pedestal instead.'
"Uh okay," I replied as I was feeling that same sense of déjà vu when I saw the sword on the pedestal from playing that fantasy game that Big Brother Victini got me hooked on. "Maybe I can use that sword instead of this dumb ol' tree branch for my trials."
'I highly doubt it,' Lavender said to me we headed to the pedestal with the sword lodged in it. 'You'll need to recall me into my Dream Ball before you pull that sword out of the pedestal.'
I pulled out Lavender's Dream Ball as I said, "Sure thing. Return Lavender!"
Once Lavender had been recalled to her Dream Ball, I then began trying to pull the sword from the pedestal and found it hard to pull at first. But I wasn't going to give up so easily, no sir not me! As I continued to try and pull the sword from its pedestal, I began feeling the strange electrical surge that was coming out of the pedestal, almost as if the pedestal was trying to repel my effort to try and pull the sword from it. It was then that I dug deep and found the strength to begin loosening the sword, with help from my Tsunami Aura power that I was tapping into. Thankfully since I was at Samiya, Aunt Rhea's order to keep my Tsunami Aura power in check didn't apply at the Sea Temple. With help from my Tsunami Aura power, I was able to pull the sword out of the pedestal and I survived the lethal electrical surge. Though I couldn't say the same for my favorite outfit as it had been charred and singed by the electrical energy that tried to repel me. Plus I was even burned from the electrical discharge and scars all over my body along various cuts that adorned my legs, arms, face and upper torso.
"Great… this is gonna hurt my sex appeal greatly," I said in annoyance as I tried to see if there was some sort of first aid kit nearby, only to have no such luck. "Great… this is just… perfectly GREAT!"
It looked like that I was starting my trials with a severe handicap. Like Lavender said, the sword that I pulled wasn't going to be there to me help me out in my trials. However, I looked ahead to what my first trial was going to entail. What stood before me was a pair of two doors that blocked my way to what was supposed to be my first trial. I certainly wasn't going to let a pair of doors block my way through these trials. As I went forward I felt something striking me and knocking me back as I was charging towards the doors.
'Sorry, but you'll not be getting past me, Lassie!' an invisible Pokémon said to me as it was blocking my way.
There were only four Pokémon I knew of that could naturally make themselves invisible and I owned one of them and another one of the four was one of my older Pokémon siblings who raised me. The other two Pokémon that I knew of, I didn't own them. Before I could call out a Pokémon, a Dream Ball appeared in my hands to indicate that the Pokémon had a Dream World ability.
'If you want to get past me, you're gonna have to find me… Lassie!' the invisible Pokémon shouted to me as then moved somewhere else.
"Uh… sure," I replied nervously as I, at first, tried to tip toe to the door. "That's fine and all, but I think I'm just gonna… mossy on past you."
As I reached for the door, I felt something long smack my hand away from the door. The long invisible object that struck my left hand that reached out for the door really hurt. It seemed that whatever was blocking me, surely wasn't going to let me pass until I caught it. And given the Dream Ball in my hands, I concluded that the Pokémon blocking my way had to be a Kecleon. I knew the Eon Duo and my Psychic/Fire-type big brother did not have Dream World abilities like Keckleon.
'Okay Cynthia,' I began to think to myself, 'Kecleon's Dream World ability is Protean, like Froakie and its evolution line has as its Dream World ability. That means if I use my Aura power, he won't change to the Fighting-type.'
'You can make all the plans you want, Lassie,' the invisible Kecleon said to me as he was moving around to evade any chance that I'd capture him. 'But good luck trying to get past me.'
"Who said that I wanna get past you?" I shouted back to the invisible Keckleon in a challenging tone as I hefted the Dream Ball in my hands. "I'm just gonna catch you!"
'Good luck to you, Lassie,' shot back the invisible Kecleon as he made a mistake and landed in a small pool of ankle deep water.
"I don't… NEED it!" I exclaimed as I quickly threw the Dream Ball at him and striking the invisible Kecleon.
'NOOO!' shouted the invisible Kecleon as he became visible after being struck by the Dream Ball. 'Not yet!'
The Dream Ball shook eight times with two confirmation clicks in between as he tried to break out of the Dream Ball to no avail. After getting the final confirmation click, I let out a sigh of relief after capturing that Kecleon. Once he gave up, the Dream Ball was transported back home to Tsunami Island and the doors that I tried to open without capturing Kecleon finally opened and the doors to a plaza that revealed several doorways. It was just like my dream back on the small island. Before I could try to go to a random door, Lavender let herself out of her Dream Ball and surveyed our surroundings. To be honest, I really just wanted to enter through one of the doors and just go through these trials and be done with them. However, before I could reach one of the doors, Lavender cut me off with a precise Flamethrower aimed near my feet.
"Whoa!" I exclaimed as I had to jump back to avoid getting hit on my ankles by Lavender's Flamethrower.
'Please young Cynthia,' Lavender said to me as I got back on my feet, 'I wish for you to heed my council. These trials are not something for you to just go through and say, 'Oh well. I did the trial that I'm probably gonna forget about'.'
"Alright Lavender," I replied as I sighed and shook my head, "what am I supposed to do?"
'Like I said, heed my council and listen to what I have to say,' Lavender answered me as she stressed the importance on listening to what she had to say.
Before I could get anything else from Lavender, Apollo let himself out of his Friend Ball to see where we were and then he decided to sniff around to get comfortable with his settings like any canine Pokémon usually does. But Lavender didn't let the little Rock-type Puppy Pokémon stop her from doing what she was doing. She read the different texts on the doors and deciphered their meanings. Apollo did try to get Lavender to play with him while she was deciphering the texts and just ignored him. The baby shiny male Rock-type Puppy Pokémon didn't like that Lavender was ignoring him and tried once again to get her attention to no avail. When he was unsuccessful, I called him to me so I could give him the attention that he wanted since Lavender was a bit busy. Apollo was very happy that I gave him attention that he was craving.
"Sorry Apollo but Lavender is busy right now," I told my shiny male Rock-type Puppy Pokémon as I rubbed his belly, much to his delight.
'Ah… that feels so good,' Apollo said happily as he enjoyed me rubbing his belly. 'If only Momma would pay attention to me.'
'I've finished deciphering the texts,' Lavender said to me as she strode over calmly and noticed Apollo on his back and his tongue out as I switched to scratching his belly much to his pleasure. 'I'm afraid the break is over.'
'Ah… but I was enjoying the attention Momma,' protested Apollo as he situated himself back upright.
'And you'll get more attention later,' Lavender informed Apollo sternly. 'Right now young Cynthia must continue through her trials in this temple.'
I recalled Apollo to his Friend Ball and then looked to Lavender as she was ready to explain things to me. She told me that each door had a certain set of trials that I had to face in order to proceed further into the temple. I asked her why I couldn't just… pick a random door, go through it and complete the trials. Lavender explained to me that certain trials required me to complete various trials first and/or to have a certain amount strength before proceeding further. But I currently wasn't strong enough to just pick a random door and go through a trial. Not to mention that my body wasn't exactly healed as I still had cuts, bruises and the burns from the electrical discharge from pulling that sword out of the pedestal. Following Lavender's direction, I followed her to the first door that she suggested that I go to. Before I opened the door, I recalled Lavender to her Dream Ball before I opened the door. After opening the first door, I saw what looked like a closed in meadow field with a few treasure chests.
"Okay… maybe I've been playing Breath of the Wild a little too much," I said to myself before I went to the first treasure chest.
"This trial is not like any… sport or child's game you might've played," a mysterious feminine voice with a British-like accent echoed to me. "Call upon you guide and ready yourself for your next trial."
I shrugged my shoulders and threw Lavender's Dream Ball up and released her from it. My 735 year-old shiny female Ninetales looked to me and gave me a slight nod. Unfortunately, Apollo thought that he needed to come out too and let himself out of his Friend Ball. As the owner of the echoing voice came forward, she noticed that Apollo had come out.
"Apollo, you weren't called upon," I said to my shiny male Rock-type Puppy as I tried to reprimand him.
"It is fine that your… Apollo has joined you," the woman said to me with a smile on her face. "Perhaps he can help you in this trial."
The woman that appeared before me had a deep dark skin complexion, yet wore a one strap brightly colored sarong with the strap over her right shoulder. She also had scarlet red hair and blonde yellow eyes and had quite the figure too. Apollo seemed to be fascinated by the lady and padded over to her, seeking some more attention. The woman smiled as Apollo came to her and picked him up as she scratched him behind his left ear, much to his delight.
"You certainly are a friendly little puppy," the woman said to Apollo before rubbing his belly.
'Ah… that feels so good,' Apollo said as he enjoyed the second belly rub.
The woman finished rubbing Apollo's belly and then set him down and said to me, "This trial requires you to have an exemplary memory. Pass this trial and you will be able to find items that will be useful to you through your trials as you go through the temple."
"You mean there might be something to heal all my wounds?" I asked the woman after recalling Apollo to his Friend Ball for the time being.
"Perhaps," the woman answered with a smile. "Now let your second trial begin."
"What the?" I asked as I saw that nothing had changed at first until I saw one of the chests slightly rattling.
"Take heed as you approach the chest," the woman cautioned me as I slowly approached the rattling chest.
Of course I had to be an eager Bibarel and I opened the chest… only to have a Voltorb use Explosion in my face. Apollo found the look I had on my face to be amusing as he chuckled. But Lavender didn't find my approach to the trial to be amusing as she shook her head. Of course Lavender would be disappointed since she told me that I needed to heed her council. And like always when I get frustrated, I lost my cool and just started opening the chests only to be met with repeated with multiple Pokémon that used Self-Destruct or Explosion, blowing up in my face and a few of them even caused a bit more injury to me too. After the fourteenth failed attempt to figure out how to go through the trial, I think the woman was about ready to have me expelled from the temple until she noticed Apollo jumping into action and using his trusty sniffer on the treasure chests.
'Not this one,' Apollo informed me as he backed away from one of the chests that were rattling.
oooooooooooooo
'I do ask that you forgive my human,' Lavender said to the woman after I barely passed the second trial. 'She can be like her father at times. Dense and a bit thickheaded.'
"Say what now?!" I sharply asked with me barring my fangs as Lavender apologized to the woman.
"Think nothing of it," the woman replied to Lavender as she then snapped her fingers to allow me access to the three treasure chests in the meadow. "Though I will admit that I didn't think she would clear this trial."
"Finally," I said as I huffed and finally went to the chests to open them. "I don't have to worry about something blowing up in my face.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't find a first aid kit to deal with my wounds. All I found was a dinky little wooden shield, a torch and some little gems that resembled rupees from that Zelda game Big Brother Victini got me hooked on. It certainly wasn't the things I was hoping to get from the treasure chests, but at the time I had to take what I could get. After opening the chests, I continued to proceed through the trials, earning fragments for that golden plaque. I certainly was facing some very tough trials just so I could become the Princess of the Sea as I was destined to become. As for those injuries I sustained when I pulled the sword, they wouldn't be healed until I got to a hot spring and relax in it.
oooooooooooooo
3rd person POV
oooooooooooooo
A week later
"So what happened with you?" May asked the head of Team Trident's Amphibious Corps as she had returned with her shiny female EleFish Pokémon companion. "You were gone for quite a while."
"Yes well, I was checking the perimeter of the temple to make sure we weren't followed," Aquila answered May cold and callously as she retracted the claws on her armbands.
'And we were definitely followed by some thugs dressed in black and white,' Aquila's Eelektross added to the explanation.
'I'm afraid to ask what you did with those buffoons,' Rika said with her still famous stoic look on her face. 'But I know that you and the Amphibious Corps aren't exactly known for being merciful with enemy spies.'
"You're right about that, female Constraint Pokémon," Aquila replied to Rika. "They have been dealt with… properly and outside of the temple's barrier so not to defile this place."
"Cynthia's been gone inside the temple for a week now," Lana said with her recently evolved Primarina as she had evolved after a week of training and capturing new Pokémon for her to train and use in her Waterium Z trial back in Alola. "Someone needs to go inside and check on her."
"I'm sorry, but we can't allow you to enter the temple," Shelby Summers said to Lana as she and Isabella cut her off from entering the temple courtyard. "The temple is off limits. Even for you, you cannot enter unless you want something bad to happen to you."
"Why am I not allowed into the temple, but you are?!" Lana demanded to Shelby and Isabella angrily.
'N-Now Lana I'm sure that they have a reason for not allowing us to enter the temple while Cynthia is in there,' Lana's recently evolved Primarina said as she tried to calm her human down.
"You need to understand that Cynthia is going through the trials to prove that she can prove herself worthy of becoming Princess of the Sea," Isabella explained to Lana calmly. "Anyone who is not of the People of the Water will be repelled or something far worse while the trials are taking place."
"Well I'm going, regardless of what of you say," Lana said as she tried to enter into the temple courtyard, only to be intercepted by Isabella using Psychic attack and setting her back to where she started.
"Please understand that we're only trying to protect you from the temple," Isabella said to Lana as the glowing psychic energy dissipated from her eyes. "Even Shelby and I are forbidden to enter the temple."
'Whoa!' exclaimed Lana's Primarina as she was astounded in witnessing Isabella using Psychic attack. 'That was a Psychic attack if I ever saw one. I've never known humans that could use Psychic attack so perfectly!'
"That's because I'm not completely human," Isabella said as she stunned Lana and her Primarina. "My father is really a Victini who became a human so he could be with my mother."
Lana couldn't say anything after having a bombshell dropped on her, neither could Lana's Primarina as both Alola natives were speechless. For Lana and Primarina, neither of them had learned about Pokémon/human hybrids who lived mostly in the Atlantica Islands region. She, Mallow and Lillie had been kept in dark about Pokémon/human hybrids. Though for Isabella, Shelby and Cynthia, their Alola guests hadn't even asked about Pokémon/human hybrids while they were visiting the kingdom.
'Yes, we owe you an explanation,' Victini said to Lana and her Primarina. 'And before you ask, I'm not young Isabella's father. Her father is my older brother. So you can say that Isabella Greyson is my niece.'
"Please understand that only those who are born to the People of the Water are permitted to enter across the threshold of the temple courtyard while the one chosen to be the Princess of the Sea is undergoing the trials of temple," May said calmly to Lana. "Shelby and Isabella are only trying to ensure your safety."
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Cynthia's POV
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"Ahh… finally," I said as I completely shed all of my clothes, including my swimsuit and then got in the hot spring so I could finally relax and hopefully heal my wounds. "That last trial of strength was brutal."
'You're not kidding, Cynthia,' Primarina said as she joined me in the hot spring with Lavender too. 'Though praise be to the Alpha Pokémon, Lord Arceus, that little Apollo came through in the end.'
'Yes, I agree with that Soloist Pokémon,' replied Lavender before she dove into the steamy water of the hot spring for a brief minute and then resurfaced. 'He's coming along quite nicely and I'm positive that he'll be quite the battler in the near future.'
"Where is Apollo?" I asked Lavender as I figured that he would join us in the hot spring to relax with us.
'I think he doesn't wish see you without your swimsuit on,' Lavender said to me as she sat across from me while Primarina was right there next to me.
"Apollo, you don't have to worry about any bad happening to you," I called to my shiny male Rock-type Puppy Pokémon.
'R-really? I won't get my brain kicked out of my skull?' Apollo asked me as he was hiding behind a rock.
I was baffled by Apollo's question and looked to Primarina as I thought she might've said something like that to scare Apollo. My shiny female Soloist Pokémon looked and shook her head as she said to me, 'Don't look at me. I never said anything like that to Apollo.'
"Shiva," I said in an annoyed and irritated tone as I now had a vein popping on my forehead. "I'm going to have to go one round with her once we get back.
I then looked back to the rock where Apollo was hiding behind and said, "Come over here Apollo and join us in the hot spring."
'O-okay,' Apollo replied nervously as he used his ears to shield his eyes and came over to the hot spring to join us, 'I'm coming to join you.'
Apollo came slowly over to the hot spring as he was very nervous to be with us. Primarina just let out a sigh and rolled her eyes before using her Psychic attack and just dunking poor Apollo in the hot spring. My poor little Apollo didn't like that he was forcefully dunked into the hot spring as he surfaced near Lavender.
'GAH! Someone call the Coast Guard, I'm drowning!' Apollo cried out in terror as he thrashed around and trying to stay afloat. 'Mommy, I'm too young to die!'
'For the love of Arceus,' Lavender said as she rolled her eyes and used her Extrasensory attack to bring Apollo over close to her. 'Next time, be more gentle with little Apollo.'
'What?' Primarina asked Lavender. 'I thought he wanted to join us in the hot spring.'
'I'll definitely be speaking with Shiva once these trials are done,' I thought as I was relaxing with Primarina next to me and Apollo was next to Lavender, being comforted by her.
oooooooooooooo
"You have finally completed your trials," the woman said to me after a few days of more trials. "Those who have faced you and the People of the Water have deemed you worthy of becoming our Princess of the Sea and eventually the Queen of the Seas when the time comes for you to take your rightful place on the throne in this temple."
'Momma, love you!' little Aqua exclaimed happily in my arms as the barrier for the crown came down and my guide through my trials approached the pedestal with the crown sitting on it.
"With this crown that I place on your forehead, you are now recognized by your people and the lord of the seas, Kyogre, as the Princess of the Sea, who shall become queen over all of waters of this world," my temple guide said to me as she looked at the crown and then a weapon had materialized into her left hand. "Your quarry shall now be allowed to come see you sitting on the throne provided that you can defeat me."
"Are you kidding?" I asked in an irritated tone as I was tired and the bruises that I still had from the previous trial before finally the throne room that held the crown and the throne where I was to finally sit on to confirm my position as the Princess of the Sea had even more bruises. "I'm tired and really need to rest. My bruises have bruises themselves."
"Do you believe yourself to be worthy of this crown?" the temple guide asked me in sharp tone as she readied her weapon and had it trained on me.
"Don't… you think… it's a little late… for jokes?" I asked as I caught my breath, only for her to come and lunge at me. "Whoa! Put the sword away and let's talk this out!"
"The time for talk has come and gone," the temple guide said as I dodged her lunging attack. "You must prove to me that you are worthy of this crown."
"AHH! Why me?!" I complained as ran for my life from the temple guide as she chased after me.
"The more you run from your destiny, the harder it will be for you understand the symbolic meaning of the crown," the temple guide sharply said to me as she was like heat-seeking missile still in hot pursuit.
I then sighed and shook my head as I had had enough of being chased and decided to fight back. Looking around my settings, I saw what looked to be like a spear and grabbed it. Pulling the weapon out of the ground, I saw that the tip of the spear was quite rusty and didn't look like it was usable or durable for that matter. Durable or not though, it was still a weapon and I needed to defend myself from my opponent. I swung the rusted spear at the temple guide, only for her to dodge my attack swiftly and so effortlessly. As my opponent, she brought down her sword on me as she had performed a leaping slash in an effort to put me down with lethal intent. I tried using my Aura power to form a shield to block the lethal blow, but I wasn't fast enough to completely block the attack as it had made contact my arm and left a shallow cut near my left elbow. As it looked like I was about to cry and throw in the towel, I remembered that Big Brother Victini always told to look and see if the opponents in the video games I played had an attack pattern. Using that knowledge from my Psychic/Fire-type big brother, I decided to charge at the temple guide to see if she indeed did have an attack pattern.
"Do you intend to try and defeat me with brute force and reckless abandon?" the temple guide asked me as I charged at her… before noticing that I didn't have any of my Pokéballs on my belt. "You will find that I will not fall so easily."
'That's what you think!' Apollo, my recently evolved Dusk Form Lycanroc, shouted at the temple guide as he had burst out of his Friend Ball and then used his Scary Face, thinking it would work on her. 'How do you like having your Speed reduced by my Scary Face?'
"Foolish puppy," the guide replied to Apollo, "did you think that your attack would work on me?"
"Hey Zelda!" I shouted to the temple guide as I threw the rusted spear at her and getting her attention.
The rusted spear did hit my guide, but it didn't kill her as it struck her on her left side and then shattered. The temple guide just brushed the attack off like it was nothing and charged at me again. Apollo wasn't done with trying to slow her down though. He used his Accelrock and was able to smash into the guide, catching her off guard. My next move was to find another weapon, but with guide down thanks to Apollo, I couldn't pass up the chance and decided to attack her with my fists instead. The guide tried to block my blows with a magic shield, but I had channeled my Aura power to power through the magic shield while Apollo held her down for as long as he could keep her down. Once I powered through the magic shield, I let her have it as I slugged her with everything I had… aura powered too. After about a minute or so pummeling the temple guide with my fists, she channeled enough magic power to knock me back along with a charging Apollo too. Once she had calmed down, I gave a slight nod as it was now Lavender's turn to strike at the temple guide. The guide wasn't expecting to get tagged by Lavender's Heat Wave attack… and then a telekinetically thrown log coming from someone I should've known would follow me even though I didn't want him to follow me. Of course, my big brother made himself visible as he had come to help me out. I didn't want his help, but I was glad that he was present to help me.
"For once, Big Brother, I'm glad you're here," I said to my furry and adorable Psychic/Fire-type big brother. "Let's go get her."
'Works for me!' Victini exclaimed as we joined the rest of the team to battle against the temple guide.
An hour and twenty minutes later, the battle against the temple guide ended with a narrow victory for me and my Pokémon. We thought that she might have an attack pattern, but every time we caught on to her attack pattern, she would turn the tables on us and we would have to repeat the process all over again. Though it didn't help that Apollo was looking to go on an all out attack and try to use brute force against her. I'll admit that Apollo's strategy did give us some wiggle room and allow for me and the rest of my Pokémon team to inflict some serious damage to her.
"You have beaten me," the temple guide said to me as she dropped her sword and fell to her knees. "Go on. You have every right to end my life."
"Yeah uh, that's gonna happen," I replied to the guide as I held the sword that I drew from a pedestal… and nearly killed me a second time pulling it out. "All I want is for you to yield. I don't wanna kill you. It's not my way as I'm sure that might've been how things were done in the past. Besides, I'd rather entrust you with your continued custodial duties while I'm away from Samiya.
The guide looked to me confused as I continued, "I've got a life and there's so much that I wanna do and see before I have to sit on the throne. Doesn't mean that I won't come back to Samiya with my mother."
"I see," was the guide's reply as she bowed her head to me in submission, accepting my decision. "You have indeed proven yourself worthy of the Crown of the Sea. Come with me, let us get your wounds healed and get you properly dressed for the crowning ceremony.
oooooooooooooo
It took about three hours to get prepared for the crowning ceremony. Getting my wounds and the wounds for my Pokémon healed took no time at all. What took the longest was all of the fancy preparations that she was doing to make me look presentable. To be honest, I didn't understand why I needed to dress in fancy clothes if I was just gonna be given a crown. But I was quick to banish that thought from my mind as I was becoming a little more like Daddy… a bit stubborn and thick-headed. But back to the dress, it was very beautiful and I certainly felt like a princess wearing it. The outfit that I was wearing was certainly a very beautiful outfit, not exactly something that I'd wear out in public. The dress left my upper shoulders exposed and went down to my feet. The dress was pretty much in the colors of a shiny Primarina like my trusty and faithful swimming partner. There was some jewelry that went with the dress too as it seemed like the guide was really going all out to make me presentable for the crowning ceremony. She set around my neck a really bright and beautiful pink sapphire gemstone necklace with a white ribbon as the string around my neck along with a couple of 18 kart white gold arm bangles with blue sapphire gems that were set along my upper arms. The guide did try to place earrings on my ears, but I was dead set against her piercing my ears and wouldn't allow her to pierce my ears.
oooooooooooooo
A few more hours later, I was finally ready to be presented to those who came to Samiya. What took the longest after getting me in the dress and jewelry was getting my hair done. The guide wanted me to have my hair set in a bun so the crown could easily placed on my head. I'll tell you the truth, I really hate having my hair in a bun because it made me feel like an old person, even with all the braiding that she did to help me feel at ease. So I just settled with putting my hair into a braided Ponyta tail much like Aunt Relena has. The guide didn't seem to like the idea, but she relented just so we wouldn't take up more time as the ceremony needed to be done before the temple sank back into the sea.
oooooooooooooo
The time had finally come for me as I was fully ready to be presented with the Crown of the Sea… not to be confused with the Sea Crown that kept Samiya from being crushed by the depths of the sea. The temple guide lead me along with Lavender taking the lead behind the temple guide and Apollo following me, taking the rear as he said that he wanted to make sure no one followed us from behind… right before apologizing for chewing on what was left of my favorite outfit from Aunt Jessica. As much as I wanted to get after Apollo for chewing on the remnants of my favorite outfit from Aunt Jessica, the crowning ceremony came first and then I would deal with Apollo chewing. Everyone was there in there in the Throne as Gabriella, Lana and my two Aura Knights assigned to protect me were there along with Aquila, Lily and my mom. Shiva wanted to pounce on me, but shook her head to put that thought out of her mind as would wait until the ceremony was finished. Lana's Pokémon bowed as I walked past them as did the other Pokémon that were there in attendance too. I then knelt on my knees in front of the throne that I would sit on once I had the Crown of the Sea placed on my head. The temple guide then looked to the Kyogre hybrid, Lily and gave her a nod as it seemed that only a Kyogre hybrid could unlock the barrier keeping the Crown of the Sea safe and sound from anyone.
"Man, it's hard to believe that the Crown of the Sea has been in Samiya the entire time," Aunt Lizabeth said to my mom. "Guess it's a good thing that Phantom never knew about the Crown or about the first Queen of the Sea."
Mom gave Aunt Lizabeth a slight nod and then replied, "My mother told told me about my heritage. Well… she told both Max and I before Max married into the Beck family. Seems that both Max and me were direct blood descendants of the first Queen of the Sea and that she was born a mermaid and not the typical mermaid like everyone knows and believes in."
"I never believed that mermaids that were half human and half fish in the first place," Aunt Lizabeth whispered back to my mom. "My parents told me about mermaids too."
"This is so cool," Lana said happily as she was amazed by the temple of sea… and I think by the ceremony too. "I never thought that I'd get to see a historical location in my life."
'Yeah, you and me both,' Lana's Primarina agreed with her. 'But I'd never thought that Cynthia was born to some royal line.'
"But we have to keep it a secret," Lana said to her female Primarina. "Or at least I would think that we have to keep it a secret."
"The time has come for the Princess of the Sea to be crowned and began the healing of the seas," the temple guide said as Aquila's chief Lieutenant set the beautiful looking crown on my head. "With the Crown of the Sea on your forehead, you have now become the Princess of the Sea and shall soon become its full ruler as Queen of the Sea. May your rule be just and may your rule come with the wisdom."
'Hail Cynthia Ketchum, the newly crowned and anointed Princess of the Sea,' Lavender said as I then sat on the throne, therefore establishing my position as the rising ruler of the seas.
'May her reign over the seas be a rule that is blessed and approved by the divine Lord Arceus,' my Psychic/Fire-type big brother called out to all who were witnesses to my crowning ceremony.
'Amen, may it be that Lord Arceus does so,' the Pokémon called out in response to Big Brother Victini's call for Lord Arceus to bless my reign.
"Lord Arceus is witness to such a presentation," Shelby and Benjamin called out in unison… before we got the biggest and most shocking surprise of all.
'Indeed I shall be witness to this presentation and sear this oath in my mind,' Lord Arceus said after making an entrance that surprised all of us, even Lana.
Most of us knelt and kept faces down as we were in the presence of the one who created all life and gave us the breath of life. Even I got off the throne and knelt in his presence. But as for Lana, she was quite confused and couldn't make sense of what we were doing or why all of us were on one knee before the mighty and majestic Alpha Pokémon. It seemed that even Lana's Primarina bowed before the Alpha Pokémon herself out of fear and reverence.
"Uh…," Lana began to say before looking to Lord Arceus. "I'm sorry, but what are you? Are you a Pokémon?"
'I am indeed young Lana Felicity, daughter of Sapphire Felicity,' Lord Arceus answered and surprised Lana as I could barely make out Lana winding her eyes in shock and trembling before the Alpha Pokémon. 'Now the time has come for me to anoint the true heir. And she has indeed come home to Samiya.'
oooooooooooooo
"I never thought that I'd get to see Arceus with my own eyes," Lana said as we boarded the Blue Lagoon and began our trek back to Akala Island. "It's such a great honor."
"There are other mythical Pokémon that many will never get to see with their own eyes," Mom said to Lana. "You're definitely one of very few people who got see Lord Arceus with their own eyes."
"We'll be back in Alola in a week," Aunt Lizabeth said said to us. "We've done so much searching that it took a bit longer than we thought."
"At least I now have Aqua on my team," I said as I looked to the shiny male Seafaring Pokémon I had in my arms, sleeping peacefully, and then had Apollo pawing at me. "And I've got you too, Apollo. Though you and I are going to go a round if you keep chewing my stuff… especially my favorite outfits."
'I said I was sorry for chewing your clothes,' whined Apollo before tilting his head. 'What more do you want from me?'
Before I could answer that question, I turned to look at the horizon towards Alola. To be honest, I didn't take off the dress after the crowning ceremony as I wanted to wear it a little longer. [Sigh] I had no idea of what… I mean we had no idea of what we were returning to since we had left for the Sea Temple nearly three and a half weeks ago. Once I had worn the dress long enough, I went to mine and Shelby's room and put on more comfortable clothes… clothes that I liked. Once I changed my clothes, I made sure that the dress I wore during the crowning ceremony was neatly folded and put away along with the crown I was given. To be honest, I wanted to leave the crown back at the temple so it wouldn't be stolen should we run into problems during our assignment in Alola. However, the temple guide said that the crown was mine and needed to stay with me as it was a way for others to see that I had now become the. Princess of the Sea. After talking to my mom about the crown, I decided to get on a computer and check to see when the next swimming competition was and where it was going to take place. Little did I know, we were going to be walking into a long struggle.
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Author's note: And cut! Here's the next chapter of the story. I'm sorry it took so long to get it finished. I hope you guys like it. Please read and review it if you like it. Until then, see ya later!
