The boy in distress found solace in the hug of his friend. Waves of relief washed across the boy in a tidal surge of emotion. Soon, his heart calmed and his breathing steadied.

"There's only a little bit more to go," said Taki, positively.

"Your crystal is glowing again, that means we're close," she continued, smiling.

Louis attempted to smile back. He managed to form the face, but not the feeling.

"Uh,...guys?" called Tracey. "You said that Lugia was a guardian, right?"

"Yes?" questioned Taki.

– "Well, I think it's waking up!"

The pair focused their attention to the silver statue. Tracey pointed to the Lugia's head, where a white glow emminated like a diamond in a full moon's glint.

"Everyone, get behind me!" suggested Louis, snapping back to the mission's purpose.

The group covered behind the boy as the intense glow continued to fill the temple. Louis shielded his eyes, an effort that quickly became useless as a matching glow burst from his chest pocket. The quartet, now blinded by the dual sources of light.

A rattling sound from the direction of the statue built, and with it, rose the fears of the group.

And suddenly...silence.

The tiny shard housed on the Lugia ripped itself from the confinement and struck Louis in the chest like a bullet. The boy flew back from the impact, crashing into and through his friends. Taki and Tracey fell, screaming in panic.

Darkness flooded the temple once more, as Louis lay in agony, clutching his chest.

"Ow! Something hit me!" he groaned.

The group worryingly stared at the boy, before Tracey pointed at the now complete crystal.

"Whoa, how did you get that shard?" he inquired.

"Huh?" struggled Louis, winded.

"Louis, we got it!" said Taki, ecstatically.

Louis, still in pain, gazed at the pocket on his jacket. The complete crystal glowed, but the pocket in question now had a hole in it.

"Aw, my mom got me this," grumbled Louis.

Totodile trotted over to the fallen boy. It picked up the crystal from Louis' jacket. Mesmerised by the colourful display, Totodile's eyes twinkled.

"Cool," it muttered.

Panicked footsteps reached the entryway.

"What happened?!" shrieked Tracey's father. "Is everyone alright?!"

"I'm ok," voiced Tracey, and then a thought.

"Wait...did you guys follow us?" he asked.

"We wanted to make sure you were safe," answered Tracey's mother.

Soon, the group left the temple and arrived at the family's yacht, the Team Rocket vessel no longer visible.

'Good, they're gone,' thought Louis, hoping to never see the people with the red 'R' shirts ever again.

With a Herculean effort, Louis lifted himself to the white deck of the sea craft and assisted pulling the rest of the group on board. He staggered momentarily and collapsed to the wood and fibreglass deck, where an exhaustive, and restless sleep took control of him.

Hours of sailing passed, and as the mainland crept into view, Totodile, having stared at Louis through the last leg of the journey, formed an idea on waking the sleeping boy. It opened its jaws wide and approached the boy's arm. The Pokémon leapt toward its target. But then, it was caught mid-flight by its owner, Taki.

"Oh no you don't," she said, restraining the bitey creature. A frown formed on Totodile's face, upset that its grand idea was interrupted.

"Just soak him with water," whispered the girl.

This new idea got Totodile grinning again. A quick gush of water delivered to the boy's face would wake him. Totodile planted its feet and prepared to use its Hydro Pump ability. The force built up within the little Pokémon before a sharp jet of water ruptured across Louis.

Louis coughed and sputtered as the water cascaded from him to the deck.

"Whe-...where am I?" he said.

Totodile placed its claws on its hips and smiled in accomplishment. The boy was awake.

"We're back at the mainland!" called Tracey's father, answering Louis' question.

As they prepared to disembark, Louis noticed Tracey wasn't getting ready. He looked questioningly toward the young artist.

"I'm...gonna stay with my parents," said Tracey.

"We hope he's helped you..." said Tracey's father.

"...but we'd like our boy back," added Tracey's mother.

The boy approached with open arms and hugged Taki.

"Thank you for saving me," he said.

"Anytime, kid," replied Taki. "Just be safe, ok?"

Tracey nodded. He then turned to Totodile and swept up the little creature in a tight hug.

"Toto-dile," it voiced.

"Totodile said she'll miss you," translated Louis.

A confused visage crossed the parents.

"He can talk to them," explained Taki.

"Oooohhhhhh," realised Tracey's parents in unison.

Finally, Tracey approached Louis. They shared a warm embrace.

"Thank you, Louis," said Tracey. "And good luck."

"You too, Tracey," replied the boy. "I know you'll be a great sketch artist in the future."

"Just stay close to your parents, ok? They love you a lot," he finished.

Soon, the groups waved at each other as the vessel once again departed the mainland. Totodile, Taki and Louis splashed ashore as the vessel faded from sight.

A sense of accomplishment filled the group.

"Hey," voiced Taki.

"Hey hey," continued Louis, finally smiling.

All three began to laugh, eventually collapsing into the sand in hysterics, an impromptu outpouring of relief flooding the group.

"We did it..." spoke Louis, "...we actually did it."

Taki let the group sit in calm, before speaking.

"I … guess we are supposed to see the Chief now, right?" she launched the question at Louis.

"I suppose so," he answered.

The group rose to their feet, triumphantly.

"Then next stop…" Taki pointed through the trees.

"...the Ho-Ken...temp-"

Taki froze. The group joined her and stared into the sky. A dark, void-like shadow crept across the land and darkened the sky, blotting out the sun. Vast, lightning-filled thunderheads formed in the darkness. Louis spoke.

"Uh...what's going on?"

Good news...the crystal is finally complete! The bad news...the sky has gotten dark for some reason.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)

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Thanks again. See you next time