Episode 10: Ceruledge Returns

A whole day had passed at Blueberry Academy, and there was still no sign of Ceruledge anywhere. Everybody had combed the Terarium as much as possible in order to find the Fire/Ghost Pokémon and nothing had come up, not even so much as a hint of his presence. Antonio had been dismayed when he came back to the First Aid room and gave Salma the bad news that Ceruledge was still missing. He'd been searching the hardest for his sister's Pokémon, not even stopping to eat at any point in the day. Both he and his Pokémon were exhausted and looked like they could sleep for a century. Salma had had the worst ordeal of anyone as all she could do was lie in bed worrying for her partner. She wanted to be out there looking for Ceruledge herself, not lying here praying that he'd be found. When Antonio had come back to her bedside empty handed, that had been the last straw for Salma. She thumped the sides of her bed.

"That's it! I'm not lying here worrying any longer!" she declared, "I'm going out there to find him myself!"

"No sis, you mustn't." Antonio pleaded, "You're still recovering. You must stay in bed and rest like…"

"I don't give a Slowpoke's tail what the school nurse says!" Salma snapped angrily, "Ceruledge is out there likely feeling very sorry for himself and he needs me now more than ever! Since I can't rely on anyone else to find him, I have to do it myself!"

Antonio frowned at his sister, feeling hurt by what she'd said. He'd been working VERY hard to find Ceruledge for his sister and this was how she thanked him? It wasn't often he got mad at Salma, but right now he was fuming. He folded his arms and looked away, scowling.

"Well…screw you too." Antonio said bitterly.

Salma gasped and patted her brother on the shoulder apologetically. She hadn't meant to imply that Antonio was unreliable and only now realized how poor her choice of words had been.

"I'm sorry hermanita, I didn't mean it like that." she said quickly, "I'm sorry. I do appreciate you going out to look for Ceruledge, I really do. I'm sure no one's worked as hard as you Toni." she said appreciatively.

Antonio yawned loudly as if to show Salma just how hard he'd been working.

"Me and my Pokémon are run ragged, sis." the teen boy confirmed, "We didn't stop to rest for one second. We didn't even stop to eat because I wanted that badly to find him for you."

His stomach growled as it to back up what he'd been saying.

"I appreciate the effort Toni, but you shouldn't sacrifice your health and well-being just for me." Salma said sternly, "I don't want you starving yourself to death just to find Ceruledge!"

Antonio just looked down at the floor meekly.

"You and your Pokémon have a good feed and rest well for tonight." Salma insisted, "I'll go and look for Ceruledge."

"But it's night time." Antonio noted, "Won't you get in trouble if anyone sees you roaming the Terarium past everyone's bedtime? I think you're best off waiting until morning. You'll only have a harder time finding Ceruledge in the dark." he pointed out.

Salma nodded, finding Antonio's suggestion to be logical.

"Yeah, we have more chance during the day to find him." she agreed, "I don't want to have to wait, but tomorrow will be the best course of action."

"I just hope the school nurse won't be too annoyed at you disobeying her instructions." Antonio said grimly.

In spite of Salma's determination to go looking for Ceruledge, she'd stayed put and lay in bed the whole night through. But she didn't sleep a wink. Salma lay tossing and turning for hours on end, unable to rest or settle down. She was so worried about Ceruledge that she no longer noticed her headache. To her, it felt as if she'd never been injured in the first place. She couldn't get Ceruledge out of her head. As she lay there worrying for him, all she could picture was his face looking back warmly at her. A single tear trickled down the teenager's freckled face.

"Please…just please let Ceruledge be OK…" she sobbed to herself.

After what seemed like an eternity, the next day dawned and despite getting no sleep, Salma felt more than ready to go looking for him. The school nurse gave her breakfast and a quick check over. She could see that Salma wasn't in bad shape despite the accident the other day and she was recovering nicely. Salma asked the nurse if she could leave, hopeful that she'd say yes.

"Personally, I think you should still rest Ms. Noceda." the nurse said firmly, "But if you feel well enough to leave and go searching for your Pokémon, then I suppose I can let you go. But you better not be getting yourself hurt!" she insisted.

"I'll be careful miss." Salma reassured her, "I won't get injured again. If it makes you feel better, I can come back once I've found Ceruledge."

"I'm cool with that." the nurse said reasonably, "For Arceus's sake, please be careful out there. And I really hope you find your Pokémon." she added kindly.

"Thank you miss. And I hope so too." Salma said anxiously.

Salma left the First Aid room and headed straight down to the Terarium. She put a hand to her head, feeling the bandages she still had wrapped around it. The bandages would be a handy reminder for her to be careful and not to get hurt. If she took another big blow to her head, then she might not wake up next time. Salma entered the Terarium and brought out Miraidon. The Paradox Pokémon would be the absolute best Pokémon to use for searching out Ceruledge. It could cycle at high speeds, climb mountains and glide through the air. Antonio had used Koraidon when he'd searched last night, but hadn't had much luck. Salma was sure she'd fare better since Ceruledge might be more willing to respond to her voice than anybody else's. She climbed onto Miraidon's back and patted the side of its neck.

"OK amigo, it's up to you and me now." Salma said softly, "We must find Ceruledge, no matter how hard we may have to search for him. Are you ready?"

Miraidon growled with anticipation. It was just as keen as its trainer was to find its friend.

"Then let's go!" Salma cried.

Miraidon deployed its motorcycle wheels and sped off through the Savannah Biome, its jet engines whirring softly as it cycled through the plains. A part of Salma enjoyed the feel of speeding through the Savannah like this. It made her think of her adventures back in Paldea where she would cycle from town-to-town and city-to-city on her Gym Challenge, defeating Gym Leaders and collecting badges along the way. Ceruledge had been with her every step of the journey, even being the one to claim her first Gym Badge when he was still a Charcadet. She remembered it like it was yesterday: her Charcadet and Katy's Teddiursa as the last mons standing for either side, both Terastilizing with Charcadet a Tera Fire type and Teddiursa a Tera Bug type. It had been a furious showdown, but Charcadet had emerged victorious and Salma cycled out of Cortondo Town with her Bug Badge in hand. Those were happy times, and Salma was determined not to let those happy times end on a sour note. Ceruledge would be found and would be back in her party, that much she promised herself.

She spent much of the morning looking through the Savannah Biome. Miraidon cycled through plains, climbed onto rocks and drove by tar pits for any sign of Ceruledge. If he was in this biome, he'd stand out easily due to his purple colours and how he would be the only Ceruledge roaming the place. Salma observed all the wild Pokémon that were walking about. Maybe Ceruledge would pick a fight with any of them and she'd find him that way. Ceruledge did like to battle after all. But so far, any wild Pokémon she saw in a fight were just battling other wild Pokémon. A couple of hours later, Salma was about to move onto another biome until suddenly, she came across another student who was roaming around as well. As Miraidon rode up to the student so Salma could get a closer look, she saw to her surprise that it was someone she knew. She'd come across Crispin, the Fire-type specialist of the Elite Four. Crispin was unmistakable, even to Salma despite the two having yet to properly meet. His orange and red hair, large chef's coat, yellow neckerchief and chunky brown shoes made him easy to recognize even from a passing glance. The fact he always carried a frying pan with him made it even harder to miss him. Crispin saw Salma approaching him and waved to her.

"Hiya Salma!" he said jovially, "What's cooking?"

"I'm looking for Ceruledge." Salma explained, "You had any luck finding him?"

"Not a bit, buddy." Crispin muttered, shaking his head, "I've had Talonflame roaming the skies all morning and still nothing. I thought I'd have a good chance finding him given I specialize in Fire-types and all."

"Well me and you can always look together." Salma offered, "We might have more of a chance if we team up."

"Sure! Let's do it!" Crispin said eagerly, "And when we find your Ceruledge, your pal Crispin can check him over and see how he's doing!"

"Oh you can?" Salma asked curiously, "How so?"

"It's a talent I have as a result of being a Fire-type specialist." Crispin explained, "I can tell how a Fire-type Pokémon's feeling just from the temperature they're burning at or how their flames are flickering."

"Wow, that's impressive!" Salma said in amazement, "I'm definitely curious to see how you do it."

She invited Crispin to jump onto Miraidon's back so he could travel with her. Crispin's Talonflame was flying up above, swooping down just to see what its trainer was doing. Crispin informed Talonflame what was happening and the Fire/Flying Pokémon returned to the skies to keep on looking. Miraidon set off again with Crispin holding tight to Salma as it sped up. The Elite Four member wrapped his arounds around Salma's waist, whooping with delight as Miraidon zoomed through the Savannah. This was a thrilling ride as far as he was concerned.

"WHOO HOO! This is like a ride at Virbank Amusement Park!" he cried excitedly.

"You haven't experienced anything yet, amigo!" Salma declared.

The ride got more exciting for Crispin when Miraidon climbed up a large rock and jumped off of it, then deployed its gliding wings from the sides of its head and slowly glided from the sky. Crispin stared in awe, marvelling at the sight of the Terarium down below him. He'd never seen it from this high up before. Miraidon glided across the Savannah and passed over a row of white blocks that marked where the biome ended and the next one began. Salma and Crispin were now gliding over the Coastal Biome. Crispin winced a bit as they were gliding over the water, but he relaxed as they passed over land again. Salma saw Lacey over at Costal Plaza and waved down to her. Lacey looked up and saw Miraidon gliding by with Salma and Crispin riding on it. She waved back.

"Hi Salma! Good luck finding Ceruledge!" she called up to him.

"Thank you! Let me know if you find him!" Salma called back to her.

"I will!" Lacey promised.

Miraidon carried on gliding until finally touching down on a clifftop. Salma and Crispin watched out for any sign of Ceruledge. They couldn't see him so far, but Salma had a feeling that they were close somehow. Miraidon sniffed the air intently for Ceruledge's scent. Talonflame flew over Costal Biome, still keeping its sharp eyes out for the ghostly Pokémon. Salma patted Miraidon on the head.

"You sense it to, don't you?" she said softly to her Pokémon, "Ceruledge is here. I don't know how or why, but I feel like he's here somewhere."

"Must be the deep connection you two have with each other." Crispin declared, "Trainers with exceptionally strong bonds can sense where their partners are. What did Amarys say it was again, a sixth sense or something? I didn't quite get it." he said meekly.

"Yeah, a sixth sense sounds about right." Salma agreed, "Ceruledge must be here, so let's have a good look."

"I hope we don't have to go on the water! I ain't so keen on that stuff!" Crispin said worriedly.

Luckily for Crispin, Salma and Miraidon kept to the land as they searched the biome and if they had to go across the water, they glided across it. They searched all over the biome for any sign of Ceruledge. Despite Salma sensing he was here, they weren't able to see any sign of him. Talonflame hadn't been able to spot him either. But then Salma noticed some caves as Miraidon glided around the biome again. Ceruledge liked dark places, so a cave was a good place to look for him in. Crispin informed her that the biggest cave in Costal Biome was Torchlit Labyrinth. It was so called because there were a lot of flaming torches lit up inside the cave and it was a bit of a maze to get through. Salma decided they'd go inside as Ceruledge was likely to be hiding in there. Miraidon cycled into Torchlit Labyrinth with Salma and Crispin holding on tight to its back. Crispin returned Talonflame to its Pokéball as it was no good at searching for Pokémon in a cave. The cave was narrow, but not too narrow, and as Crispin had described to Salma, there were plenty of flaming torches lit inside, so the cave wasn't too dark to see through. There were colourful blocks in some of the walls, providing convenient ledges for anyone to climb up on to reach higher places. Crispin admired the torches, almost hypnotised by the flames. Salma cupped her hands to her mouth and called out for Ceruledge. Some Pokémon scurried further into the cave, frightened by Salma's shouting. Salma saw some Alolan Diglett, Happiny and a Mudkip running away. The sight of a Mudkip was intriguing to Salma as she'd never seen one before. Maybe another time, she'd see if she could observe one more closely. She resumed her search and called out for Ceruledge again.

Miraidon carried the two teens through Torchlit Labyrinth with Salma calling out the whole time. Crispin sent out another Pokémon to search further ahead. This one was the Fire-type variant of Rotom, known as Rotom Heat. The Fire/Electric Pokémon zipped up ahead to look for Ceruledge. Salma was impressed to see how fast it could move. She was also getting an idea on what Pokémon she was going to be up against when she battled Crispin in the BB League. He had a Talonflame and a Rotom Heat. Who knew what else he had? The search continued for a few more minutes with Salma calling Ceruledge's name and Crispin and Miraidon peeking into crevasses every so often. It seemed as if they were getting nowhere again. But then suddenly, Rotom Heat came back to the group and was babbling frantically.

"What's that? You found him?!" Crispin exclaimed in excitement.

"It has?!" Salma shrieked, "Where is he? Where?!"

Rotom beckoned for the teens to follow it. It zipped on up ahead, making sure not to move too fast so they could keep up. Salma returned Miraidon to its Pokéball and sprinted after Rotom with Crispin beside her. They followed the small Pokémon up a long straight until it suddenly took a sharp turn right and pointed at a tunnel in the wall ahead. Salma ran into the tunnel. Her eyes lit up with relief as she saw Ceruledge sitting huddled up at the end of the tunnel, still looking sorry for himself. Salma was so happy to see Ceruledge that she ran up to him.

"Ceruledge! Thank Arceus, we've found you!" she cried joyfully, "I've been so worried about you!"

Ceruledge looked up and saw Salma coming to him. He wasn't sure how to feel. A part of him did feel happy to see his trainer again, but he was still feeling ashamed over hurting Carmine and he was sure Salma was going to scold him for it. He didn't move from his spot. Salma stopped running and took note of Ceruledge's posture. She could see he wasn't happy.

"Ceruledge, it's me! Please don't be upset, I've come all this way to find you." she said gently, "I was worried about you and I wanted to know that you were alright."

Ceruledge still didn't move.

"Is this about the other day?" Salma asked, putting a hand to her head and feeling her bandages, "Ceruledge, I'm OK! You can see that I'm OK! I wasn't too badly hurt. And if you're worried about Carmine, she's fine too! You don't need to feel guilty about what you did, she's alright!"

Ceruledge didn't respond. He remained where he was, refusing to even look at Salma.

"Ceruledge, please talk to me!" Salma begged, "Don't just sit there feeling sorry for yourself! I've told you, everything's alright! I'm a lot better now and Carmine's not badly hurt! If you're worried about what you did, then let me make this perfectly clear Ceruledge: I'm NOT mad at you!"

Ceruledge lifted his head up. He seemed genuinely surprised to hear Salma saying that. He was so convinced she'd disown him after what he'd done, but his trainer was making it clear to him that she wasn't mad at him or scared of him. He stood up, staring at Salma in wonder. Crispin come up beside Salma and stared in awe at Ceruledge. Seeing this Pokémon that he'd never seen before was quite a sight. He'd only seen an image on Antonio's Pokédex when he'd passed on an image of Ceruledge to help everyone find him, but seeing one for real was something else entirely.

"Look at that thing…those flames it has…they're marvellous!" Crispin cried in amazement.

"See, even my new friend here's not scared of you." Salma insisted, "This is Crispin and he wanted to help me find you. He's actually been quite keen to meet you."

Ceruledge stared at Crispin, astonished to hear that this boy wanted to see him. Perhaps he wasn't aware of what he'd done, or at least hadn't seen it happen. Crispin approached Ceruledge and ran his eyes over the knight-like Pokémon studiously. Salma knew what he was doing. He was figuring out how Ceruledge was feeling. Crispin was completely still save for the occasional tilt of his head and narrowing of his eyes as he observed this new Pokémon. He turned to Salma.

"Yep, the way his flames are burning make it clear as crystal to me." the Fire Specialist concluded, "He's scared he'll hurt someone else after he attacked Carmine the other day. He's hiding here so he won't be a danger to anybody."

"Oh bless you!" Salma exclaimed, putting a hand to her heart, "You poor thing! So that's why you've been hiding away like that."

She approached Ceruledge. Ceruledge backed away, looking worried as if he'd hurt Salma if she came any closer. Salma held up her hands and smiled gently at Ceruledge.

"It's OK Ceruledge, I'm not mad at you, and I'm not afraid of you either." Salma insisted.

Ceruledge looked back to his trainer in astonishment. He relaxed his posture and stopped backing away.

"Cer…uledge?" he asked.

"Yes Ceruledge, I mean it." Salma reassured him, "I understand why you did it. You were angry at Kieran for what happened to me. You were just trying to protect me. I don't approve of you attacking Kieran, but I understand that you didn't mean it. You just got angry and lost control. I get it, we humans are just as bad, if not worse than Pokémon when it comes to getting mad!"

Ceruledge took in Salma's words with amazement. He couldn't believe she was being so understanding and sympathetic to his plight. He'd been so sure she wouldn't love him anymore, but it seemed he was wrong.

"You're worried you'll hurt someone again, and I understand that." Salma continued, "But you're really upset over the fact you hurt someone, right? That'll serve as a lesson never to hurt anyone again! I can teach you to control your temper and we'll make sure that you never attack another human again! Please Ceruledge, come back to me and let me heal your hurt."

She held out her hands for Ceruledge to take. Ceruledge didn't respond at first. He was still hesitant to come back to her. He was still worried about hurting another trainer again. He looked away briefly as he considered what to do.

"Please." Salma begged, her eyes brimming with tears, "Please come back. I love you and I want you on the team. I can't get through the BB League without my closest partner."

Ceruledge recoiled. Partner…that was what he and Salma were: close partners. Despite everything that had happened and what he'd done, Salma still saw him as her partner. Wasn't that what he wanted, to still be valued as a partner in spite of attacking another trainer in rage? He thought back to everything he and Salma had been through together. It had all started one rainy day in Cabo Poco back when he'd still been a Charcadet. He'd been wandering lost and alone in search of sanctuary. He'd collapsed on the doorstep of the Noceda family and Salma had taken him in. His flames flared warmly as he remembered how kind Salma had been to him. She'd nursed him back to health, fed him, kept him warm and treated him like he was her own Pokémon despite her not being a trainer at the time. Then when Salma had become of age, she'd officially made him her first Pokémon. What started for the two was a journey that saw them take on tough Gym Battles, conquering the Elite Four and even taking down the Top Champion Geeta together. He'd been by Salma's side when she'd had to stop the AI Professors Sada and Turo from using their creator's time machine to keep bringing Past and Future Pokémon to the present. He'd helped his trainer save the Paldea region! They'd been through so much together and nothing had been able to stop them from conquering any challenge, and nothing had ever driven them apart. And that was because they were close partners, a trainer and her Pokémon with a bond deeper than anyone could ever imagine. Ceruledge found himself overwhelmed by his emotions as he remembered all those wonderful times with Salma. He couldn't just let it all end now because of one bad incident! She wanted to keep making wonderful memories with him, so why deny her that chance? Weeping heavily, he threw himself into Salma's arms and hugged her. Salma hugged him back. It felt so good to feel her Pokémon's warm, armoured, strong body again. Salma shed a few tears of joy as she and Ceruledge hugged.

"Thank you Ceruledge!" she cried happily, "I hope we never end up apart again!"

"Ceruledge!" Ceruledge exclaimed happily.

Crispin watched the whole scene with his eyes gleaming with joy. He had a wide smile on his face.

"This…this is just what I love ta see! No more drama between friends, just pure friendship through and through!" he cried gleefully, "And look at how those fires burn on Ceruledge! Flames of joy are the always the best!"

His Rotom cheered in agreement. But the celebration was cut short as all of a sudden, the ground gave way underneath everyone's feet and they fell down into a deep crevasse! Salma, Crispin and Ceruledge all landed in a heap at the bottom of the pit. Rotom was spared the crash landing as it was able to hover. Ceruledge was the first to get back up and he quickly helped Salma back to her feet. The Paldean girl gripped her head in pain. The sudden drop and impact upon crashing at the bottom had caused her headache to flare up again. She felt dizzy and swayed on her feet. She worried for a minute that she was going to pass out. Crispin stood up and brushed dirt off of his coat.

"You OK Salma?" he asked with concern.

"I feel like my skull's been cracked open!" Salma grunted, massaging her temples, "What the hell was that?!"

The answer came in the form of a few Alolan Dugtrio appearing from underground and glaring venomously at the humans. Salma and Crispin stepped back and the Dugtrio advanced towards them. The Alolan Diglett line was quite common in Torchlit Labyrinth and there were a lot of them here now, both Diglett and Dugtrio, gathered together and looking very unfriendly.

"I'm guessing we're invading their territory and they're mad about it!" Salma deduced.

"They'll have dug that pit just to get the drop on us!" Crispin declared, "Well if they want a fight, I'll cook up a real scorcher for them!"

Rotom Heat nodded in response and floated in front of Crispin. Salma looked to Ceruledge and the Fire/Ghost Pokémon deployed his blades for the first time since the battle with Kieran. He stood in front of his trainer and pointed his blades at the Dugtrio.

"Let's do this Ceruledge!" Salma declared hotly, "Use Bitter Blade!"

Ceruledge rushed towards Dugtrio and slashed it viciously across the face, his blazing swords draining away some of Dugtrio's health and replenishing his own. He'd knocked it out in a single hit.

"We'll help too!" Crispin yelled eagerly, "Rotom, use Will-O-Wisp and then follow up with Hex!"

The cooker-possessed Pokémon hit one of the Dugtrio with Will-O-Wisp, inflicting a burn on it instantly and then it used Hex immediately after. Hex was a Ghost-type move that did double damage to Pokémon suffering from a status condition like burns or paralysis. Salma whistled, impressed with Crispin's strategy. As a member of the Elite Four, he was clearly more strategic than the average trainer. Rotom Heat inflicted huge damage to the Dugtrio and it reeled backwards. Another Dugtrio tried to hit Rotom Heat with Earthquake, but it missed entirely as Rotom Heat simply levitated out of the way. Ground attacks were useless against a Pokémon with the Levitate ability. Salma retaliated by having Ceruledge attack the Dugtrio that had used Earthquake. Ceruledge slashed it with Bitter Blade and took it down instantly. Another Dugtrio decided to make things tricky for the unwilling invaders by using Sand Tomb. The Dugtrio disappeared underground and then suddenly, a swirling vortex of sand began to spiral and suck Salma and Crispin down towards the centre. Dugtrio was lurking there, waiting for Sand Tomb to draw the two trainers in and then it would attack. Salma cried out and tried to claw her way out of the Sand Tomb but all she did was grab at clumps of sand and slide ever closer to the centre. Rotom flew down and Crispin grabbed hold of it so it could carry him away. Unfortunately, Ceruledge wasn't able to fly or levitate so he couldn't carry Salma out. But he did have another way to save his trainer. He used Phantom Force to dive into a portal and then jump out another portal that opened underneath Salma. He grabbed his trainer as he sailed up towards her and carried her safely out of Sand Tomb. Salma brushed sand off herself and coughed and spat furiously, having gotten some of the sand in her mouth. She turned to Ceruledge and smiled graciously.

"Thanks for saving me!" she exclaimed gratefully, "Now let's wrap this up!"

"I'm with ya on that!" Crispin agreed, "Why don't we turn the heat up a bit…"

He reached into his coat and pulled out his own Tera Orb. Salma grinned with excitement. Now they could really make things fun! She also supposed this could be considered a preview for her upcoming match with Crispin when she began to BB League. She knew already that the Elite Four had Tera Orbs and now she'd get to see one of them using Tera right now.

"Rotom, let's whip up a firestorm!" Crispin yelled hotly, holding out his Tera Orb.

"Ceruledge, haunt your opponent!" Salma called after Crispin had finished talking, whipping out her own Tera Orb to join in.

Both orbs activated and Ceruledge and Rotom were quickly Terastilized. To no one's surprise, Rotom Heat was a Tera Fire-type, dropping its half Electric-typing like how Ceruledge went from Fire/Ghost to pure Ghost. Salma wondered if she'd have to fight the Terastilized Rotom Heat in her battle with Crispin, or if he would use Tera on another Pokémon, most likely his ace that she'd yet to see him use.

"Take as many down as you can with Phantom Force!" Salma ordered.

"Sizzle em' all with a searing hot Overheat!" Crispin commanded.

Ceruledge and Rotom launched their attacks simultaneously. Ceruledge dived into a portal and jumped out another one, slicing into several Dugtrio and Diglett upon exiting. Rotom Heat let out a huge funnel of flames that swept over another bunch of Diglett and Dugtrio. The flames were white with a mix of orange and red around the edges. Due to being Terastilized, the Overheat was enough to simultaneously KO several Diglett and Dugtrio at once. Salma found herself jumping back in surprise, feeling the intensity of the flames herself. Once Ceruledge and Rotom were done, Salma and Crispin returned them both to their Pokéballs and Salma brought Miraidon back out so they could escape. The teens climbed onto Miraidon's back and the Iron Serpent Pokémon clambered quickly out of the pit before anymore Diglett and Dugtrio could arrive and dig them into deeper trouble. Once they were out of the crevasse, Miraidon cycled on out of the cave and soon, it, Salma and Crispin were away from Torchlit Labyrinth and back out into the Terarium again. Salma and Crispin both sighed heavily, relieved to have gotten out of there alive and intact. Neither of them had even been badly hurt, although Salma's earlier head injury from the battle with Kieran had started to flare up again. She massaged her scalp tenderly, fighting as hard as she could to stay conscious until they got back to the First Aid Room. Thankfully, the artificial breeze of the Terarium blowing over her rejuvenated her a little so staying awake was easy enough for her. Crispin whooped with excitement.

"Was that a blazing hot match, or what?!" he cried gleefully, "I didn't think I'd get to kick butt with you Salma, but I did! Man, I know I'm in for a fiery hot battle with you when the league begins!"

"Seeing you in action today? I can hardly wait!" Salma said jovially, "I'm keen to see what else you have in store alongside that Rotom of yours!"

"I'll be giving you everything I've got, and I ain't going easy on ya!" Crispin warned, "So you better come at me with yer best Salma, cause anyone who's unprepared for me get burned real bad!"

"Oh I'll be ready Crispin." Salma insisted, "Especially now I have Ceruledge back and won't be worrying about him anymore."

With her closest friend and first Pokémon back in her possession, Salma only had the league to focus on now. While she wouldn't be using Ceruledge against Crispin, she planned to use him against other Elite Four members and she was sure he'd be ready to face them when his time came…

A while later, Salma returned to the First Aid room and settled back down in her bed. Crispin had been dropped off back at the Savannah Biome so he could resume his Elite Four duties. Salma was given some paracetamol to deal with the headache that had come up again and the nurse gave Salma a firm warning that she wasn't to get out of bed again. She needed to give her head time to rest and getting caught up in another adventure like today could risk doing serious damage to her. Salma was all too happy to oblige. She felt like she needed the rest after all that. But most importantly, she had Ceruledge back and thus she didn't feel a need to get out of bed anymore. She lay back comfortably in the bed, her head resting gently on the soft pillows. She drifted off to sleep for a few hours before being woken up by somebody gently patting her on the arm. She opened her eyes and saw Antonio kneeling beside her bed, his kind face lit up with delight.

"Afternoon sis. I just wanted to see how you're doing." Antonio said softly.

"I ache, but I'm doing fine considering." Salma said casually, "You'll be glad to know that I found Ceruledge and got him back."

As she said this, Ceruledge came out of his Pokéball and materialized beside Antonio. Antonio hugged the Fire Blades Pokémon.

"I'm glad you're back." Antonio said happily, "How do you feel now?"

Ceruledge just glanced at Salma with a look of appreciation in his eyes. Salma smiled back at him.

"I imagine he's still sorry about hurting Carmine, but he wants to come back to the team and he'll try to control himself in future." Salma said brightly.

Ceruledge nodded, confirming what Salma said was right. The Nocedas and Ceruledge then heard somebody coming into the room. They all turned and saw that it was Carmine and Kieran. Kieran had come to check on his sister and Carmine was returning to her bed after getting up to use the toilet. Both siblings were astonished to see Ceruledge was there in the room as well. Kieran hid behind Carmine in fright, expecting Ceruledge to try attacking him again. Ceruledge looked away awkwardly, understanding Kieran's reaction.

"Oh…you got him back, I see." Carmine acknowledged.

"He was hiding in Torchlit Labyrinth over in the Costal Biome." Salma explained, "He was that shocked over what he did to you that he wanted to isolate himself from everyone so he wouldn't hurt anyone ever again."

"And yet here he is now." Carmine noted, "I guess you got him to come around in the end?"

"I did." Salma said brightly, "And I think Ceruledge at least wants to apologize to you both to settle this once and for all."

Ceruledge approached Carmine and Kieran very gingerly. He was anxious to think how they might react to him. Luckily, Carmine didn't seem to show any signs of fear or hostility as he approached. Kieran didn't move from behind his sister. Ceruledge stopped in front of Carmine and then bent down on one knee. He looked like a noble knight addressing his queen and begging for forgiveness. Carmine smiled softly and patted Ceruledge on the shoulder.

"Don't sweat it tall, dark and spooky. I get it, you were mad about what happened to your trainer. You acted out and it was just unfortunate that I got hurt." she said sympathetically, "I forgive you, you big lug! Now a certain brother of mine needs to apologize for hurting your trainer." she said, glaring at Kieran.

"I don't owe that monster anything!" Kieran snapped, "What happened to Salma was an accident! How many times do I have to say it?!"

"Just apologize you little jerk." Carmine said bluntly.

Kieran rolled his eyes and glared at Ceruledge bitterly.

"OK, fine. I'm sorry Salma got hurt. My Dragonite was very careless and I promise it won't happen again." Kieran spat, his voice dripping with venom.

Ceruledge scoffed. He knew that Kieran didn't mean a single word of his apology, but he didn't really care. He was just grateful that Carmine had forgiven him. Kieran looked over to Salma, his yellow eyes narrowed with loathing.

"I'm relieved to see you're recovering well." the BB Champion said, his voice devoid of any kindness or compassion for his former friend. The way he talked, it was like he was only glad Salma was getting better because it meant he could have another shot at her and not because he was relieved she was going to live and was recovering.

"Why? Are you in that much of a rush to get your butt kicked again?" Salma retorted.

"That's not going to happen." Kieran insisted, "Once you're all better, I expect to see you taking on the league at last. I'll be watching over you Salma. I expect you to beat the entire Elite Four on your first try. DON'T disappoint me."

"As if I'd let a former friend of mine down." Salma scoffed, "I'll begin the league the moment I'm allowed out of here. I'll climb up the ranks and battle my way to you. And then hopefully, I'm going to knock some sense back into you Kieran."

Kieran put his hands in his pockets and walked away haughtily.

"I've got all the sense I need. You're the one who will need it knocking into you…" he warned.

And the boy from Kitakami was gone, leaving the Nocedas, Carmine and Ceruledge alone together. Ceruledge let out a low growl of anger. He despised Kieran's attitude and wished he could do something about it. Salma patted him on the arm.

"Don't worry about him." she insisted, "We'll teach him a lesson. We've just got to clear the league first. And I know I can do it…especially as I have you by my side." she said kindly.

Ceruledge beamed with pride. He swore he'd make his trainer proud and he would battle his hardest for her. With him and the rest of his teammates, Salma would become the next Blueberry Academy Champion, and not even Kieran would stand in their way…

Dedicated to Rachael Lillis

1969 - 2024

She'll forever be remembered as a voice from our childhoods and the one who gave Misty, Jessie and others their voices, their characters and their souls

Rest in Peace

Yeah, big shock, Ceruledge came back. Did any of you actually think he'd be gone for good? =P Salma and Ceruledge are reunited and now the Paldean Champion can finally begin the Blueberry Academy League! Join me next time as she begins the league by facing Crispin first...

Trivia: Crispin wasn't originally going to be in this episode, but I thought his inclusion would've helped set up his later battle with Salma and also provide a way for him to make Ceruledge's feelings clear to Salma. I'm glad I included him honestly as I think he helped the story a lot. :)