Iris...

The journey continued through the night. Many of the gang had fallen asleep, but Iris and Cilan were the only ones awake. 

"You better get some rest," Cilan said without turning his focus away from driving the boat. 

"And leave you alone in the dark? No thanks" Iris chuckled a little bit and then she got up, moving towards the extra little space beside Cilan. She yawned a little but then shook the tiredness away.

The waves from the sea made the boat bob up and down as Cilan killed the engine to make everything quieter for the people who were sleeping. The boat continued to push forward but at a much smaller speed.

"You wouldn't be leaving me alone really, we are surrounded by water after all" Cilan chuckled as well and then looked out to where the light was shining.

"I know you're not alone in terms of Pokemon. That's why I am still awake. Anything could be underwater and decided we are an enemy, who knows?" Iris wondered whether or not there could be a Gyarados in the sea, lurking around. 

"Most Pokemon are probably asleep by now, I don't think you should worry" Cilan sat down and Iris slowly followed him down. 

"There is...something else I worry about" Iris looked around at the rest of the gang and her expression softened. "I worry about how everyone else is handling things. How is Ash holding himself together?" 

"He is a tough guy, Ash. Everyone else is handling it differently, that is very noticeable. I wonder how you are handling it yourself?" Cilan asked Iris, who looked away as if she was dodging the question. "Answer me, please Iris"

"At first...I don't really know. I have been handling it just like you I suppose. A little down, but definitely not out for the count" Iris replied slowly, choosing her words carefully. 

"Precisely. No one here is out for the count yet. Not even Parker, wherever he may be" Cilan sighed a little then he tapped on the deck. "You should seriously sleep"

"Stop pestering me, you're not my Mom" Iris frowned and yawned again.

"I'm not your Mom, but a caring friend. I don't want you to catch a cold or be worn out when we get there. You can use my knee if you need something comfortable to sleep on" Cilan suggested. Iris froze for a moment but she didn't hesitate.

"If..you say so," she said, before dropping slowly onto Cilan, resting her head on his knee. She quickly fell asleep and left Cilan in the dark.

Always looking out for me...Well, I will have to keep an eye on him tomorrow. Take it easy, Cilan.

Cilan...

Cilan continued to watch the darkness move around him. Clouds were not visible but the water reflected the moon's light and Cilan could see his face in the passing waves. He spent some time contemplating what could happen next for the whole gang. He knew that more pain would be required in order to fully pass by the rest of the troubles they had to face. After all, they had all been through too much. One year of peace was just enough to make them all forget about what had happened. Cilan knew this too. He knew they had all gotten to a stage were relaxing was their best option, but then suddenly, Team Shadow had escaped. None of them had even tried as much as they did the previous year, but Cilan was sure that they could pull through. 

His eyes shifted to Bonnie. He wondered what she could contribute in the upcoming fights. She was only a little girl, starting off on her real journey soon. This made Cilan wonder if anyone could have a journey to becoming the best Pokemon trainer after all that has happened. Cilan was sure that many civilians in every region were aware of the trouble that had returned. Parker had gone to try and rectify the problems with Team Shadow and stop them, but Cilan knew he would need backup. They would have to rescue the others as quickly as possible and make it to Parker. If they could figure out his location.

The boat continued to move forward ever so slowly towards the coast of the Alola region. This was a region none of them had visited yet. They had only gotten as far as the headquarters and that was as far as they needed to go. No one was bothered about searching the whole region...yet.

The night continued to pass and Cilan sat in silence, staring around. He didn't realise how fast the time had gone until the sky began to open up an entirely different colour, the orange light rising over the darkness. Dawn came and the sun began to rise, the sky changing in front of Cilan's very eyes. He watched in wonder as the night disappeared like it was never there and continued to stare until someone began to stir from their sleep.

"Huh? What time is it?" Brock was the first to awake. He rose up from his sleeping area and rub his eyes. "Cilan? You're awake already?"

"I haven't slept" Cilan replied simply, getting up to the wheel. He carefully allowed Iris's head to drop onto the deck. "It's very early in the morning, I don't know the exact time"

"Oh, ok. You need anything?" Brock asked.

"Coffee would be great right about now, thanks" Cilan chuckled, before re-igniting the engine. 

The gang set off once more at a rapid speed, the boat roaring to life. This woke everyone up one by one, some murmuring in anger over the engine about being woken up early, while others stayed stuck to their sleeping bags, stretching their legs and arms until they were satsified with getting up. 

"I actually had decent sleep, considering the space we have" Gary commented once everyone had finally sat up. 

"We are almost there now" Iris said, still sitting at the front of the boat next to Cilan, who was behind the wheel.

"I'm hungry..." Bonnie murmured, frowning to herself.

"Same" Miette heard her and replied out loud.

"What?" Dawn asked with a puzzled expression.

"I'm hungry, has anyone got any food?" Miette asked, looking around. 

"I was going to prepare some but I didn't think we would need any right now..." Cilan said while focusing on the water ahead.

"I will make some quick food once we hit the shore" Brock saved the day, adding a little bow.

"That's good because I am starving too" Ash laughed nervously and scratched his head.

"Pika..." Pikachu agreed.

Everyone continued to chat amongst themselves for the rest of the journey. Cilan kept his eyes out for the shore and spoke to himself, in his head.

Half this journey is almost coming to a close. I wonder if I am the only one that is thinking about the future, though. Nevermind the weird dream world. I want to know what will happen to us after this whole journey is over. Will another one begin? Will we finally have some peace? I would rather anticipate the former. I want to be around everyone for as long as possible. Meeting all of Ash's friends over one year ago has made everything so much better and fun. 

"Hmm?" Cilan shook off his thoughts and squinted a little. He could just barely make out the end of the sea, the sandy beach being eaten up by the water's waves. "I can see land!"

Everyone moved their attention away from their conversations and bunched up around Cilan. They all smiled and let out sighs of relief as the beach came into view. But, as they got closer, their faces slowly began to drop. One by one.

"Long time no see" a red-eyed Captain, who was still in his mind-controlled state was standing at the edge of the beach. He had a Pokeball in his hand which he dropped into the water, smirking. "Gyarados, mega-evolve" 

As soon as Gyarados came out of it's Pokeball it began to change, mega-evolving on command. As soon as it had done so, Gyarados let out a monstrous roar that echoed around the beach. 

The whole gang had a Pokeball in their hands within seconds, preparing to fight. 

"He has no chance against all of us!" Misty said encouragingly. 

"Don't get too cocky, let's just focus on the mission at hand" Gary warned Misty, but she ignored him, throwing out her Staryu and preparing to battle.

"Looks like we have our pre-practice round, Gyarados" Captain chuckled sarcastically before staring at Misty in the eyes with a vicious smirk. "Bring it on"

I can tell just from looking that his Gyarados will be a handful for us all. Pansage, I believe that you can help defeat him. 

Gyarados flicked it's tail down into the water and a huge wave came crashing down on the boat, causing it to tip over. Everyone fell into the water. Misty tried to tell Staryu what to do but she crashed into the water and only bubbles came floating back up to the surface. 

One by one, everyone popped their heads back up, some faces full of anger while some focused, preparing to fight. Misty had her arms round a struggling Bonnie, who was spluttering and coughing heavily. Clemont came rising back up, holding his bag tightly with a panicked look on his face. 

"You think I have no chance?" Captain paced up and down on the shore, still smirking. "I am just going to show you how wrong you really are! Gyarados, thunderbolt!" 

Captain's Gyarados roared once again and began to glow yellow in colour. Sparks of electricity flew around Gyarados as it let out the energy into the sky. It looped around crashed into Misty's Staryu, who fainted instantly.

Misty stared in shock for a few seconds, but a smirk grew on her face also. 

"You think it will be that easy? I think I will have to show you how wrong you are!" she had confidence on her face now, taking out another Pokeball. "Gyarados, let's win this battle!"

Gary got his Pokeball out and looked ready to throw it, but Misty threw a hand infront of him. He stared down at her hand like an idiot, then up to see her facing him with a serious expression.

"I've got this" her voice sounded cold and vicious, like she was the one preparing to attack herself. "Gyarados, let's show them what we are made of!"