บท 52: Cinnabar Island

"You have to tell him, the sooner the better."

"You'll regret it if you didn't tell him by yourself."

Leaf's words echo through the white trainer's mind. Her mind was in a storm of whether or not she had to confess to Yoake or not. Every passing moment tortures her as she doesn't know how or when to finally reveal the truth. She may have a storm poker face on the outside but on the inside? Her thoughts are in a wild race, panicking as she tries to find a good moment.

Claudine was confused by Ren's weird anixus thoughts, she may never know what are the contents trainer's thoughts are lying on but she was worried nonetheless as she has been thinking like this since they left the Celadon Port.

"Ren, are you alright?" A concerned Claudne asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ren assured her. The Embrace Pokemon knows that Ren's claim is a lie since her thoughts are too strong to be unnoticed but since she assured her, she has no choice but to accept it. Even if she tries to ignore it, the lingering feeling of wanting to know Ren's thoughts is something Claudine wants to know.

"Don't worry too much about it." Ren told Claudine. She knows that Claudine might be reading her thoughts and her current inner mood draws attention to a worried Claudine.

"Okay then…" Claudine muttered as she turned around and continued to look at her book.

'I have to tell him at some point.' Claudine heard Ren's thoughts. Thinking it was some sort of confession of love interest because of how often these two like to be with one another, she thought that Ren is the one who is willing to break the ice.

'Do they like each other? I mean it kinda makes sense oh my…' Claudine begins to brainstorm about what she should do to bring the two far closer than it should be. However, unknownst to her, the secret that Ren is hiding is not a romantic one.

Later on, they finally docked at the Cinnabar Port. Majority of the tourists, who were with them throughout the entire boat ride, took pictures with them as a sign of respect from what they did and finding out that they're the only two Pokemon trainers that are competing for the league.

With the tourists out of the picture, the two looked around and saw the beauty of Cinnabar Island.

The island was bigger than before, way before the volcanic eruption three years ago. It used to be a small remote island with little to no interest from the government nor the public. It houses the Fire-type gym and nobody knows why. The island was left to those who inhabited it until the rise of Kanto's economy. With the majority of Kanto's best seashores being used for profit, many companies gained interest on this island. That was until a major volcanic explosion occurred and nearly covered ¾ of the total surface of the island, rendering the island as useless.

However, in recent years, a group somehow reclaimed the island by covering the volcano and a quick succession of land reclamation projects. It was odd for the public but many investors and companies ignored that suspicion and began investing on this island, turning this small remote useless island into a city-like realm with a combination of modern and traditional Kantonese architecture.

"Wow. I still remember that this island got covered by volcanoes, now it's covered by corporatism." Ren muttered as she looked around and saw the beauty of the island and buildings filled with advertisements for the restaurants in the island.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Ren asked Yoake.

"We can head to the g-." Yoake was about to suggest that they should head to the gym but he was interrupted by a growl. They turned around and looked at Claudine as they knew where the growl came from. Claudine saw the two and decided to justify her hunger.

"What? I got hungry because of fighting Zapdos and some random Gyarados." Claudine cried to the two. They agreed as it was getting to 2 pm and they hadn't eaten any lunch.

"Alright. Let's get some lunch." Yoake said.

"Okay then." Ren agreed.

The three went to the plaza as they found a restaurant that they could eat at. They looked around and found a restaurant. They decided to eat there for lunch and discuss their plans for the 7th and 8th gym. With Zapdos under Yoake's possession, he can just slide it through and abuse the powerful Pokemon but he decided to take some time and used other Pokemons on battling the 7th gym.

"So, what's your plan about battling in the 7th gym?" Yoake asked Ren in curiosity.

"Well, I guess I'll just let Blastoise and Golem handle it." Ren giggled.

"So, who's gonna go first?" Ren asked Yoake.

"Well, I don't know. How about you? So I could be more prepared when dealing with the gym." Yoake answered her question.

"Haha. As if I'm going to give you tips and tell you what Pokemon that the specialists will use." Ren chuckled.

"It's still the fire-type gym, right?" Yoake wants to ensure that the gym type is still the same as the others.

"Yeah." Ren assured him. They heard a burp nearby, they turned to Yoake's side and it was none other than Claudine. She was full after eating 2 platters, it was surprising how much food Claudine ate and Yoake realized how hungry and energy-reliant the battle bond is. Whenever he uses battle bonds, he has to check if Claudine is hungry or not.

"Alright then. How about we get the bill?" Ren suggested.

"Yeah.."

After paying the bill, the three left the restaurant and headed to the gym. While walking, they stumbled upon an Arcade store and this caught Claudine's attention. Thinking that she could use this opportunity to bond the two more (Yoake and Ren), she quickly told them about it.

"Don't get too emotional when I beat ya in the 8th gym." Ren teased Yoake.

"Haha, Don't cry like a baby if I win." Yoake teased her back.

"Hey guys! Look!" Claudine interrupted the two. They turned around and saw an excited and mesmerized Claudine whose finger was pointing to the arcade store.

The arcade store is filled with flashy lights of neon mixture of blue, violet and red. Different and diverse arcade machines dominate the entire store, from motor racing to claw machines to pinballs to token earning games, it was a sight to be seen. Yoake looked at the store, standing firm as he felt like this was a dream world for him. All fun with no responsibility. While Ren sees it more as a distraction, she feels disgusted by it, seeing flashy screens to distract people and to let them waste their time on tokens and tickets. It was a nightmare for her.

"ahh an Arcade Machine. I haven't been in one of those for a very long time. How about we play some games before we hit the gym?" Yoake persuades Ren. He felt like his childhood with Leaf flashed through his eyes as he remembers the fun they had in an arcade store. Winning Tickets, clawing out plushies from the claw machine and eating some ice cream afterwards.

Ren, who is clearly disgusted by the arcade store, tries to decline Yoake's persuasion.

"Uhh how about we just headed to the gym?" Ren tries to make an excuse, finding reasons for not entering the arcade store but since both Yoake and Claudine want to spend some time, she has to accept their offer at some point.

"Come on, it wouldn't bother that much. It's just 4 pm. 30 minutes and we'll head to the gym." Yoake assured her. He knows that they don't wanna waste their opportunity to battle the 7th specialists today and against each other tomorrow so having 30 minutes of casual fun is enough to satisfy the amount of stress Yoake dealt throughout the entire day.

"Fine. Just 30 minutes." Ren rolled her eyes as she sighs on agreeing to Yoake's offer.

The three entered the arcade and saw the massive diverse machines across the store. There were families and tourists in the store, enjoying every single win and loss whenever they play a game.

"I'll buy us some tokens, stay here, okay?" Yoake told the two. Claudine nodded as she impatiently looked around to see games such as 'Whack-A-Diglett', 'Rapidash Race', and so many more.

Ren saw a family near a claw machine. She saw a kid, probably 8 years old, win an Azumarill plush. And on his shoulder is his Pokemon, Marill, who was also cheered when its owner won a plush.

"Look, mom! dad! I caught one!" The boy proudly showed his newly caught plush to his parents.

"Awww here, lemme take a photo and send it to your aunt." His mother said as he took a photo of him holding the plush alongside Marill.

"I'm proud of you kid. How about we get some curly fries?" His dad said as he suggested taking him out for some curly fries.

"Curly fries?! Those are my favorite! This is the best vacation ever!" They cried with full confidence and pride. His family laughed as they left the machine, headed to the exit and enjoyed their vacation.

Ren couldn't help but smile as she watched the family leave with nothing more than enjoyment with each other. The feeling of love is what drives her to continue on and even if she was separated from her family, she has only one person that she considers as her family, Yoake. She couldn't help but think of a scenario where she, their parents, and her siblings are having a good time, sharing some laughs with their wins and supporting one another with their losses.

Thinking that she could emulate the joy she saw, she headed to the claw machine and looked at the plushes inside. There were 5 Azumarill plushies left in the machine, she tries to move the joystick thinking that she could catch one but without any tokens, she lets her victory as her imagination.

"Playing the gambling game huh? Here are some tokens, let's test your luck." Yoake interrupted Ren as he handed her 10 tokens. She took the tokens from Yoake's hands and tested her skill in the claw machine as she tried to get 1 Azumarill plush.

She dropped 1 token into the coin hole and began to play the Claw Machine. She moved the claw to the plush that is near the dropper, thinking that this will be the easiest way to win, she pressed the button that allows the claw to grab what is below, but to her dismay, the claw failed to grab the Azumarill as it slides to the floor and pulling back up, headed to the dropper empty-handed.

"Welp, that's normal, how about we play some different games?" Yoake insisted Ren as this was a normal thing to claw machine but instead of listening to Yoake's advice, she decided to play once more thinking that this time, she'll win.

However, just like her first trial, the claw failed to grab the Azumarill and headed back to the dropper empty handed. Yoake made a small giggle as he watched Ren trying to win a one-sided game and letting her frustration grow with her. She tries and tries again until she reaches her fifth token and instead of letting her lose, Yoake decides to step-in and help Ren.

"Here, let me teach you a trick that Leaf taught me. It's a simple yet sly one." Yoake said. Instead of him doing the claw, she let Ren do it and teach it to her instead.

"Alright, try again." Yoake told her. She sighed as she dropped a coin and the machine started.

"I want you to get the plush on the center." Yoake instructed Ren. She was confused by this and decided to argue.

"What? Why? Isn't the one near the dropper better?" Ren argued.

"Yeah but you can get the risk of the claw might getting widget with the dropper. The center increases your probability since that's where the majority of the plushies are." Yoake explained to Ren.

"Okay then." Ren decided to follow Yoake's advice and moved the claw to the center, where there are 2-3 Azumarill plush lying around.

"Then, wobble the claw and release it." Yoake told her. She wobbled the claw and released it. The claw landed in one of the plush, grabbed it and slowly picked it up.

Ren's heart began to thump as she was nervous about the plush possibly falling down but to her surprise, it held on. The claw headed to the dropper, dropped the plush in it and Ren's heart dropped.

Yoake takes out the plush from the receiving hole and gives it to Ren. Ren jumped for a hug to Yoake as she never felt so thrilled and happy at the same time. She hugged him tight as if they were close relatives, Claudne saw this and blushed as she thought that Ren actually likes Yoake. Yoake was shocked by Ren's action, blushing red as Ren continued her hug. This was the first time she hugged someone who is close to her.

Ren snuggled to Yoake but she stopped herself as she realized what she was doing. She immediately jerked away from Yoake with a small blush on her cheeks. Yoake felt some awkwardness but he decided to brush it off.

"Sorry about that." Ren looked down as she apologized for her action.

"No… it's okay.." Yoake blushed as he scratched his head.

"Here." Yoake scoffed it off and decided to give the Azumarill plush to Ren.

"Thanks." Ren thanked him.

Claudine squealed at the distance as she saw the event that took place. She tried to calm herself down but she couldn't help it. The two trainers tried to ignore what just happened and had some fun for a while. The two bonded for 30 minutes as they had fun with the competitive arcade games. Ren laughed and enjoyed every single second of it as she bonded with her twin brother. While Yoake was reminiscing about the bond he had with Leaf, thinking and hoping that she will be alright and one day, be proud of him when he becomes the champion.

After having their short amusement, they headed to the gym with full optimism. Helping and supporting one another after they bonded. They entered the gym and saw grunts with red hoods and eye-catching blazing M pins on their chests. Yoake realized who these people were and prepared his Pokemon.

"This is… Team Magma! What the hell are you guys doing here?" Yoake thought that this could be an attack on the facility since he knows these people are, he was about to tell Claudine to attack but the grunts pointed them with their guns.

"Team Magma?" Ren curiously asked Yoake as she has never heard of this team organization.

"Yeah, an evil organization from Hoenn. They want to capture Groudon and use it to expand the land." Yoake explained to Ren.

Claudine was about to transform to her Battle Bond form but a voice at a distance echoed through the place as he interrupted the stand-off between the two trainers and the rest of the grunts.

"Now. Now. There's no need to fight." A man appeared from the shadows as he interrupted the scenery. He's a red-head with a mullet, dashing shield framed glasses, a red open coat that was shaved with black and red cuffs, he wears a bleeding red necked sweater and knee socks, red shorts with a golden belt that secures it, and red boots. It was none other than the leader of this organization, Maxie. And behind him were his grunts, watching the scenery with bitter silence.

"You, I know you." Yoake laid down his Pokeballs as he looked at Maxie with a stirn look.

"I assume you know what we did for the past six years." Maxie told the trainer.

"No but all I know is that you guys left Hoenn after realizing the things you have done." Yoake answered Maxie's assumption.

"I see. Well since both of you wanted the badge, we only allow one challenger at a time." Maxie told them. This confused the two as they thought that Blaine is the specialist but with Team Magma in the gym, they were starting to think that Team Magma is the one in control of the gym.

"Wait…. WHat? Who's the specialist of this gym?" Yoake asked Maxie.

"That would be me." Maxie stated in a cold and bold firm.

"But since my daughter is here at the moment, she'll be handling the gym battle. While I deal with somebody else." He said as he looked at Yoake.

Realizing how important Yoake and Maxie's conversation would be, Ren decided that she'll challenge the gym first so that the two could have time to talk. She gave the Azumarill plush to Yoake and walked forward as she offered herself to partake in the challenge.

"I'll go first." Ren said. Yoake was shocked to see Ren's sudden decision to be the first one to challenge the specialist.

"Very well then. My grunts will escort you to her." Maxie stepped aside as his grunts escorted Ren to the challenger room. She took a deep breath as she followed the grunt to the inner halls of the gym.

"Now, shall we take things clear?" He asked the trainer after seeing Ren and the grunt left. He looked at Claudine and noticed how she was about to use her sword .

The two, Yoake and Maxie, were walking towards a memorial of Blaine which is a fountain in the town square. The two looked up at the statue as they admired the gazing and strong look that it gives.

"So you're telling me that he grants you asylum after leaving Hoenn and you guys rehabilitated the island to what it is today?" Yoake asked Maxie after summarizing the story on how Team Magma is inhabiting the islands.

"He was a kind man, just surrounded by evil people." Maxie stated.

"I've heard he's the creator of Mewtwo." Yoake stated as he remembers Leaf talking about Blaine and his creation, Mewtwo, the strongest Pokemon ever known to man.

"Indeed. Without him, Team Rocket wouldn't be able to create that monstrosity. But there's one thing that's been overlooked by the public." Maxie's tone changed as he took a sigh.

"What is it?" The curious trainer asked.

"His failed prototypes." He muttered.

"Those pinky blobs that can transform into Pokemon, objects or Person at will." Maxie described a familiar and Yoake quickly realized that he was referring to Ditto.

"Ditto? What about it?"

"My boy. I want to be clear with you. Those things are walking and living among us. They can pretend and imitate the people you know and hold dear. Those things destroyed many families, lives and relationships." Maxie said in a concerned tone.

"Wha- How? Why?" A shocked Yoake asked Maxie.

"We don't know why or who they are working for but can I entrust you to always be skeptical of the people around you?" Maxie continued.

"Uhh how can I be sure that you're not one of those? Why are you telling me this?" Yoake was paranoid because of this but Maxie knows how to handle and calm people down after hearing this bizarre news.

"Only a Pokemon can detect a Ditto. I can assure you, I'm not one of those." Maxie assured him.

"Before Blaine died, he told me about the sudden increase of Ditto in Kanto, he couldn't tell why and he quickly alerted me about this." Maxie continued as he remembers Blaine warning him about the huge amount of Dittos among the public. Blaine, who has a connection with Mewtwo, gave him a caution about this. They couldn't tell why but all they know is that this was Giovanni's doing.

"I see. So he entrusted you the most huh?" Yoake assumed after hearing Maxie's explanation.

"Very."

The two walked back after learning that Ren's challenge was over and she won the badge. As they entered the gym, Yoake looked at Ren with an odd look as if he was skeptical after hearing about the Ditto situation that Maxie told him but the leader quickly noticed the suspicious look in the trainer's eyes, he touched the boy's shoulder and shook his head.

Yoake calmed down as he approached Ren.

"Congrats!" Yoake congratulates Ren as he sees the Magma Badge on her chest.

"Thanks." Ren thanked him.

"How difficult was it?" Yoake asked his rival as he was curious on how difficult the challenge was and Ren snickered as she didn't want to give him the absolute answer.

"Let's say, very." Ren giggled. Yoake made a small chuckle as he handed her the Azumarill plush to the whie trainer.

"Alright then, Claudine, shall we?" Yoake turns around as he looks at Claudine, who's been sitting on one of the chair lounges for the entire time.

"Good luck."

"We will."

As the two enters the inner hallways alongside the grunt, he quickly noticed that in the end of the hallway, there was symbol that caught his attention.

A Red Sun.