AUTHOR'S NOTES (1):
So, this is a new story of mine, which is a continuation/finale for one of my OC's, Cyan Kokura. Usually, I like to write my sequels so that they can be read by old readers and newcomers. However, this time, I'm not going to take that route. This story will be VERY confusing if you haven't read Cyan's other stories. I apologize to newcomers, but this story is a reward for those who have read it all and are invested in Cyan's adventure. I have a guide on my profile for what stories you can read for Cyan! So, please give that a check if you're interested!
Chapter 1 - Homecoming
It was a smooth plane ride back to Alola. The landing was soft and didn't make Cyan Kokura sick, as he had now become adjusted to flying. The plane carried roughly one hundred people, trainers and tourists, from all around the world who were coming to watch the Manalo Conference.
Cyan sat back in his seat and looked out the window at the Alolan sea, a smile coming over his face. He waited for most of the other passengers at the back of the plane to gather their belongings and get off before he grabbed his large backpack and made his own exit.
Upon hitting the air, an overwhelming sense of relief came over Cyan. He hadn't been home in months, and he missed the smell and heat of Alola.
Behind him walked a white Vulpix with purple eyes. She had slept the entire plane ride, but when she felt the air, she became invigorated. She didn't realize how much she also missed Alola.
"Vul!" she cooed.
Cyan nodded. "Yeah. We're home!"
He didn't have to wait at the carousel for his luggage, as he had packed lightly with only his one bag. He was able to leave Melemele airport quickly. His home was only a few hours away by foot. He could have called his mother to come and pick him up, but no one was even aware that he was making his return.
The excitement carried him, and he walked as fast as he could. He felt like he was walking on air and he could trip over his feet at any moment. He couldn't handle it much more. He picked Vulpix off the ground, put her on his shoulders, and then started to run as fast as he could toward Route 1.
He raced through Hau'oli City's streets, which were packed with people. He passed by the market and the mall, not stopping to say hi to anyone or gaze at berries like he was well known to do. He passed by the trainer's school, where he had his first-ever battle. He slowed down momentarily to look at the grounds where he battled with Lilo. There wasn't a student to be found.
He nodded, took a breath, and then took off once more. He was only a few minutes away from his mother's cooking and his bed. He felt like he could smell the food from a mile away. He could only imagine the shock and surprise on his mother's face when he stepped through the door.
"I'm coming home!" he shouted. But before he could take another step, he suddenly found himself frozen, purple energy surrounding his body. He and Vulpix were dragged away from the route and to the side. Cyan didn't have enough time to register anything, and within a second, he found himself being squeezed. He yelled out from shock, and white fur entered his mouth.
"Oran-guru!" his attacker called.
Cyan stopped struggling, and his eyes widened. He quickly moved back his head and locked eyes with an Oranguru, a smile coming over his face.
"Oranguru! You look so healthy! I'm so happy!" he said while hugging his elderly Pokémon.
"I didn't know you were coming back," a familiar and soft voice said.
Cyan jolted and looked to Oranguru's side. A woman with black hair and dark brown eyes wearing a long light blue dress stood with a smile on her face and a grocery bag over her shoulder.
"Mom!" Cyan shouted. He tried to squirm away from Oranguru, but the Pokémon forced him into another hug.
"Okay, okay. Ease up, Orangi," his mother said.
Oranguru finally relented and let go of Cyan. He took a moment to gather himself before he dashed over to his mom and gave her a hug. They hadn't seen each other in months, and during that time, he had a growth spurt. They now stood relatively even.
"You've grown," his mom said as she pulled back and looked at him. "How was everything? Orange Islands, a little bit of Kanto, and some of Galar? You've been a busy boy."
Cyan nodded. "My Pokémon and I have trained a lot! I've learned so much, and I have new faces to introduce to you!"
His mom handed over the cloth grocery bag. "First, let's eat. It must be a coincidence or mother's intuition, but I was gonna make nikujaga tonight. It's your favorite, so that's good."
Cyan looked into the bag, finding potatoes, thin noodles, and a collection of meat. His mouth watered at the idea of a homecooked meal.
"Orangi will have to clean up your room," his mother said. "He's gotten lazy, and I'm gonna assume that his magazines are scattered everywhere."
"And what about Aoi? Is she around?" Cyan asked.
"She's got a project on Poni Island that she's working on. I'll tell you about it after dinner," his mother said. "Let's eat and get caught up."
They returned home, and his mother began cooking. Cyan told her of his adventures in the Orange Archipelago. He wanted to be as honest with her, which meant telling her of his battles with Daidai Rocket.
"That sounds so dangerous, Cyan," his mother said while she peeled the potatoes. "But, I'm glad that you could save Lugia."
He then told her of the couple of weeks that he spent in Kanto. He had gone with the sole purpose of battling and defeating Neo Rocket, which lead to a battle against Mewtwo.
His mother sighed while she broiled the meat. "You and your sister both just keep getting yourselves in danger. But, I guess if you don't get yourself involved in these things, then who will? I wish that the Kanto police weren't so passive. How many times is Team Rocket gonna come back?"
"Well, I hope that we took care of them for good," Cyan said.
She looked back at him. "Anything else? How was Galar?"
Cyan told her about the Isle of Armor. He shared the stories of the trials that he had to take part in, and he explained what it was like to take part in a raid battle. No matter how much he tried to stress how big a Dynamax Pokémon was, his mother simply couldn't grasp the concept.
They ate dinner together, and she updated him on her life on the island. With Cyan and Aoi both out of the house, she started to work at the market. Not much else had changed.
"How are all of my Pokémon doing?" Cyan asked. "It's great to see Oranguru doing so well, but what about Butterfree and Primarina?"
"Primarina is an outside Pokémon. He loves to swim around the beach. Also, he keeps a lot of the kids around here entertained," his mom explained. He left Primarina with his mom before he went to the Orange Islands, and he only called upon the Water-type once to battle Team Rocket. He transferred him back to his mom when the battle was over.
"And Butterfree?"
"Butterfree enjoys the weather here. She often goes with me to the markets, and she's befriended an elderly lady who is from the Orange Islands. They're both a bit homesick, probably," she said. Cyan had sent Butterfree to his mom before the battle in Kanto. Butterfree was intended to be a present for her, and if worse and came to worse, he wanted to make sure that he at least sent Butterfree over.
"I assume that you're here to finally battle Kaarina," she said. "Why else would you come home after so much training?"
Cyan tucked in his head slightly. In reality, battle or not, he wanted to come back home. He enjoyed traveling, but not as much as he enjoyed his mother's food.
"In that case, you should know about your other Pokémon. I keep tabs on them," she said with a smile. "We knew that you'd come back eventually."
"Has much changed?" Cyan asked.
She shook her head. "Lycanroc is known as the Guardian Lycanroc of Poni Island. It's seen as good luck if you happen to come across her. Salazzle is on Akala Island, and believe this or not, but she's working at a farm. She helps with keeping the eggs warm. I think that all of the attention from Salandit was getting to her. And Golem continues to run his gang on Ula'ula Island. They're rough and tough, but they help with the construction of roads."
Cyan laughed. The first time that he had met his Golem, at the time a Graveler, the Pokémon was making a ruckus on the road. It was an odd thought to imagine the Pokémon building roads.
"Your Pokémon are all so strong," she said. "I'm sure that any one of them would be happy to help you in your battle."
Cyan put his hand to his chin and thought. "Well, before I make any decisions on what Pokémon I want to use, I'll have to gather them, right? And maybe I should ask around to see what kind of team Kaarina has."
"You know the best person to ask."
PONI ISLAND
Poni Island was a place of discomfort for Cyan. He admired that his old friend Kala could make a living on the island despite what they had gone through roughly four years prior. But Cyan didn't want to look back anymore.
Cyan got off the ferry to Poni Island early in the morning. Since the Manalo Conference was taking place, there were no trainers on the island. Only the regular inhabitants, who all seemed to recognize Cyan and his signature hat. They were friendly and waved to him as he walked through the Poni Wilds. He missed being around a community that felt like home.
He knocked on the door to the gym and then waited for someone to answer. He wasn't even sure if the gym would be open, as Kala probably wasn't taking challengers during this time. But then, the door opened, and a small girl, roughly the age of someone who would soon be getting their very own Pokémon, appeared.
"Can I help you?" the girl asked. She recognized Cyan from somewhere, but she couldn't figure out from where.
"Is Kala around?" Cyan asked.
Before the girl could answer, Cyan heard a bark, and the door exploded open. Cyan's orange-furred Lycanroc came through and landed directly on his chest. She began to lick his face wildly while Vulpix watched on and laughed.
"Oh! You're Cyan! Mr. Kokura! You're the former champion!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm Lokelani, the gym assistant!"
"Not-a-former-champion!" Cyan said through the struggle of having Lycanroc viciously lick his face. Lycanroc finally relented, and Cyan sat up and took a few deep breaths. "But I wanted to come to talk about that."
Lokelani helped Cyan get back to his feet, and then she blushed. "Kala isn't at the gym right now. Actually, she's taking care of some business on the other side of the island. I'd take you there, but I have to sweep."
"What part of the island?" Cyan asked. During his travels, he didn't get to do much exploring on Poni Island, so he was curious.
"It's called the Poni Gauntlet," she said. "Actually, you might be surprised! There's someone else there you might know!"
"Someone else?" Cyan wondered.
Cyan, now joined by Lycanroc, hiked to the other side of the island. As they went further, the jungle got thicker, and the air became humid. He had missed the hot weather of Alola, but he wasn't a big fan of the humidity. Vulpix didn't seem to like it at all though, as she had gotten used to the colder climate in Galar.
They walked for what seemed like roughly an hour. Cyan hadn't done much long-distance walking recently, as the last month was spent on a small isle. Luckily for him, Lycanroc lead the way, and since she knew where they going, there was no needlessly getting lost.
And then, Lycanroc barked and ran forward. Cyan quickly followed, and they exited the jungle, entering a small clearing. Cyan's eyes widened as one large tree came into sight. In front of the tree stood three figures. Cyan recognized all three of them, and his smile became wide.
Lycanroc barked again, and the three turned.
"Cyan!" Kala shouted excitedly. She wore a purple sundress with Alolan print. She started to run for him, and Cyan was so excited, so he met her in the middle. The two embraced tightly until the other two figures caught up with them.
"It's so good to see you," Aoi said. She wore her usual BayStaryu hat, a yellow midriff top, and short jean shorts. She pulled Cyan away from Kala and gave him a hug, knocking off his hat. When she finally let go, Cyan turned to the third figure and stuck out his hand.
"It's good to see you safe and healthy," Midori said. He was the last person that Cyan had thought he'd see in Alola. He wore a grey short-sleeved button-up shirt and green shorts. Around his neck was a necklace with a mega stone on the end. "The last time that we met, you were covered in sweat, tears, and blood."
Kala and Aoi glared at him. They weren't appreciative of the way he said such a dark thing in such a light manner.
"What are you doing here?" Kala asked.
Cyan stood up straight. "Well, I've come to challenge the champion! I left, I trained, and I'm ready!"
Aoi put her hands on her hips and regarded her younger brother. With the ultra space mishap, he was now technically three years younger than her, but he was growing, and they were roughly the same height. She could tell that he had done a lot of changing over the past few months.
"I think you are ready," she said. "The Cyan that stands before me isn't the same as before."
Midori nodded. "I know that we only met momentarily a couple of months ago, but I have to agree. There's something a lot more mature about you now. I can sense your confidence."
Kala crossed her arms. "You should know, Cyan, my mom is the strongest trainer in all of Alola. If you really think you're ready, I'll talk with her, and we'll set up something, but you have to be sure."
Cyan looked down at Vulpix. "I'm sure. We've been through so much. We can win."
"Then I'll talk with her. They're currently running the Manalo Conference, so she's busy with that. But afterward, I'm sure she'll take your challenge," Kala said.
Cyan nodded excitedly. He then looked past the three and at the giant tree. "So, what's going on here?"
"Well, being an Elite Four member has given me a lot of free time," Aoi said. "I've decided to pick up a few projects. One of the things the committee has asked us is to think of ideas to bring strong trainers to Alola. We're playing with the idea of contests. However, I came up with the idea for the Battle Tree. I want to create a club where the strongest trainers from around the world can come and battle away."
Midori took a step in front of his old rival and confidently put his arms on his hips. "There are places called Battle Towers around the world, and I've even heard of something called the Battle Subway in Unova. We want to emulate it here in Alola. I won't have time to manage it as much as I'd like, but I told Aoi I'd help fund it."
"I think it's a great idea! The more people who can come to Alola and experience it, the better!" Cyan exclaimed.
Aoi looked back at the large tree. "This tree has been here forever, however, it's dead and hollowed. No one knows why. I figured we could use it if that's the case."
Cyan observed the tree from a distance. It still looked alive, but he couldn't tell either way.
"Anyways," he said. "Kala, I was wondering if you could give me some advice! I wanted to ask you if you know what kind of Pokémon your mom uses."
Kala looked slightly taken aback by the statement, but then she smiled. "Actually, I don't. Mom is super secretive about her Pokémon, especially now that she's the champion. I think that she one day dreams of battling me, so she won't tell me. The only Pokémon that I know of are her Kommo-o and Incineroar. Other than that, I couldn't tell ya."
Cyan nodded. "Okay. Okay. Well, that's two out of six, if we're doing a full battle. That's not too bad. And, I think it can be argued that a good battler doesn't need to know what they're going up against, as they'll be prepared for anything."
Midori laughed. "You're figuring all of that out by yourself. You'll be fine, Cyan. You battled Mewtwo and came out of the other end alive."
The two girls glared once more.
"In that case, I need to gather the rest of my Pokémon," Cyan exclaimed.
"I'll go with you!" Kala said. "We can catch up. So much has happened recently!"
AKALA ISLAND
"So, you're thinking about dropping your position as a gym leader?" Cyan asked as their boat arrived on Akala Island. "You have any idea what you'd like to do?"
Kala shrugged. "Seeing Lilo travel to another region sort of made me want to try it out again. And, the entire reason why I built the gym on Poni Island was to wait for you to come back. I'm not even sure if there's a reason for me to do it anymore."
"Traveling is fun, but there's no place like Alola!" Cyan exclaimed happily.
Kala smiled. "Yeah. The only thing keeping me here would be my grandfather's health and maybe my boyfr-" She stopped, and her eyes widened.
"Boy what?" Cyan asked.
"It's nothing!"
Cyan cocked his head.
"Anyway! We're here for your Salazzle, right? She spends time at Paniola Ranch! It's a bit of a walk from here, but I'm sure that she'll be so glad to see you. She went from being the queen bee of Akala Island to being a mother-like symbol for the ranch. Kind of cute," Kala explained.
"I'm so excited to see her! After her, I have to go call on Golem as well. Then, the old team will be back together!"
"Are you planning on battling mom with your old team?"
Cyan shook his head. "I have some powerful Pokémon from my adventures in the Orange Islands and on the Isle of Armor. I think it'll be wise to mix it up. However, I want to see everyone."
"You got to do so much in so little time. I'm sure that some of the battles you had were intense," Kala said.
"Well, the Isle of Armor was definitely difficult. The training was more challenging than anything I've had to do yet. And, battling against Daidai Rocket wasn't necessarily easy. But, when I think about my journey, I just think about how much fun it was," Cyan said. "Have you had any fun battles recently?"
Kala crossed her arms. "Yeah, of course. But, what's unfortunate about being a gym leader is that our job isn't necessarily to beat everyone. We weed out the weak, but all in all, we have to lose. Because of that, I don't feel like I've gone all out in a battle for a while. However, there were a few trainers this year that took me to my limit."
The two continued their walk through Akala Island, recalling their adventure from so many years ago. So much had seemingly changed, but the feeling in the air remained the same. Cyan was thankful for that.
While walking through Heahea City, they passed by an electronics store with massive television sets in the front. Live battles from the ongoing Manalo Conference were displayed in high quality. A girl with a Rowlet battled in a four-way battle royale. She looked intense as she made her commands, and Cyan couldn't help but feel inspired by her energy.
"She's feisty. She's loud. But, she's sweet," Kala said.
Cyan grinned. "You'd know!"
"Are you saying I'm loud?"
Cyan shook his head. "No, you'd know since you probably battled most of the trainers at the Manalo Conference."
Kala took a step back and sighed. "That's what you mean. Yeah, I guess so."
"Any predictions about who'll win this year?" Cyan asked. He had never actually participated in the Manalo Conference, and the idea of ever entering a Pokémon tournament never really crossed his mind. He had watched his sister's battles, but other than that, he had limited exposure.
Kala put her hand on her chin and thought for a moment. "I don't think that any of our younger trainers from Alola stand much of a chance. The foreign competition is strong this year."
They continued their small trek and were at Paniola Ranch within a few more hours. It was lunchtime, and all of the farmers were eating outside. Cyan kept an eye out for Salazzle, but he couldn't find her. All that he could see were dozens of Miltank and Tauros.
Then, Cyan suddenly tripped. He closed his eyes to brace for impact, but before he could hit the ground, something caught him. He opened his eyes, finding Salazzle beaming down at him. She almost had tears in her eyes while she hugged her trainer.
"Salazzle! I've missed you!" Cyan said as he tried to hug his Pokémon, but she hugged him too violently to allow him to get a good grip.
"It's as though you two were never apart. That only leaves your Golem," Kala said.
Cyan managed to stand back up, petting Salazzle on the head in the process. "Yeah! And I have something awesome planned for him!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES (2):
So, this is Cyan Kokura's final story. A lot of what I've been writing for him has lead up to this moment. I'm not positive how many chapters this will end up being, but we'll see! Ultimately, this story will end up being a very long battle between Cyan and Alola champion, Kaarina. It's going to be the longest battle that I've ever written. I'm kind of putting extra detail and care into the battle, so I hope it turns out well (I hope it also doesn't make my other battles look bad).
For those who are following Logan/Yurie and Leinani's stories, this story takes place during and after the Indigo and Manalo Conferences. Chapters 1 and 2 take place during the conferences (kind of obvious from this chapter), but Chapters 3 and on will take place when the conferences have wrapped up. I won't spoil what happens to Leinani, but if you've followed Logan's story, then you know how he's done.
