Chapter 52: What will you do next, my dear Celeste?
Four Island hospital, true to form, didn’t have rooms with televisions.
“No worries,” the nurses had told Celeste when she explained how bored she was. “We have a radio for you.”
Like in the time of the Kabuto.
She had tried to protest, even attempted to take over the TV room near the lobby. But with only Luan and Bob-with-the-hernia by her side, her mission failed.
Spectacularly.
Three days in, and Aria was still cracking up every time Celeste grudgingly turned on the radio.
“Instead of... whatever this is... how about getting us some chocolate?” she grumbled to her Eevee, tuning in to her favourite radio station (because yes, she had one now). A ballad quickly filled the room—something from DJ Jiggly Jams’ new winter playlist.
She slumped into a chair by the radio, under the window. The room was washed in the weak, late-afternoon sun, a soothing kind of quiet filling the space. An autumn breeze played with the curtains, bringing in a hint of chilly days ahead.
Outside, despite the piles of torn out branches, a handful of leaves stubbornly clung to the trees.
“The worst blizzard in decades,” the newspapers had declared. “So severe it reached all the way to Six. Scientists were baffled.”
Celeste sighed, her eyes lazily wandering to the clutter on the table by her side: candy wrappers, her pokéballs, a backpack, small boxes, get-well cards... her Slowpoke.
“Arceus, Pat!” She dug him from in between a box with an incense kit and a pile of clothes.
He blinked lazily, giving her this big goofy grin before flopping back on top of the clothes—not a word spoken, not since that first battle with Ryder. Still, Celeste couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he was, sprawled out, tail wagging to its own rhythm, but totally off from the DJ’s tune.
Her stuff would survive.
Because, yes, Celeste had stuff again. Her lawyer had brought most of it from Goldenrod with him, at her parents’ request. Although the incense kit (along with a Protect TM and a coupon for a hot spring in Cinnabar) was part of the prize she got from winning the Snowflake Cup.
And also, yes, she had a lawyer… and a hearing scheduled for the next day.
It felt like a lifetime since she was locked up with Lori and Topaz. After the cave ordeal, she’d thought her problems would just… go away somehow. Articuno spared her life—who knows why—and some poachers got arrested.
Case closed, life goes on? She wished.
Celeste shuffled her incense kit to the floor, giving Pat some extra room to laze around. But her gaze lingered on the burner, branded with Razzo’s slick logo. The silver lettering popped against the black paint. Something about the font was familiar, but she couldn’t really place it. The kit had fifteen sticks, five unique scents, and surprisingly, none were the usual lavender or jasmine.
Turns out, Razzo Co. was branching out from cosmetics to trainer… utilities. So the scents—Pure, Wave, Odd, Honey, Rose—were probably not very soothing. Pure allegedly repelled wild Pokémon, while the others attracted Water, Psychic, Bug, and Grass Types.
How’d she know all this? Well, she’d read the entire brochure, of course. Celeste was not only bored out of her mind, but also ignoring... everything else.
The wounds and pain she’d have to live with? Pass.
Creepy things stalking her shadow? Nope.
The whole ‘being wrongness’ thing and those freaky visions? Ab-so-lu-te-ly not.
Losing Ryder’s body? She was not even going there. But he was gone, right?
“Hey, this song’s kinda catchy!” Celeste blurted out, snapping herself away from her spiralling thoughts.
Powder, dozing off on a pillow, lazily lifted her head and tilted it to one side.
“…and it’s like snow at the beach. Weird but fuckin’ beautiful,” the song went, making Celeste wiggle her head with an excitement that wasn’t very genuine. “Flying in a dream, stars by the pocketful. You wanting me tonight feels impossible…”
She winced. “Snow on the beach” and “Flying in a dream”? Not what she needed at all. Didn’t Ryme have a new song about her ghost puppy or something? Celeste would rather listen to that.
As she reached for the radio, her hand knocked over a box, spilling its contents. Out tumbled a brand-new mobile phone. The latest PokéGear model was one of those flip phones everyone was obsessed with, decked out in a metallic blue shell, belt clip, and customisable stickers.
The PokéGear’s parent company was also diving into the trainer market. This new phone boasted a bunch of “trainer-centric features”: battle schedulers, a huge contact list that you could use to store your rival’s teams and their known moves, text messaging for when you were in the wild, and a GPS to rival any PokéNav. That and ‘SO. MUCH. MORE.’ all in the palm of your hands.
Yeah… Celeste had also read the brochure that came with it.
Picking up the phone, a small card fluttered from the box.
“To make sure you don’t vanish again. —Love, Mom and Dad.”
Celeste exhaled. After the caves, she’d reached out to them. Of course she did. Almost dying tends to break down some barriers. There were tears, more than words. But a real talk was overdue.
She opened the contact list. One entry already saved: Prof. Tiana Diaz.
Taking a deep breath, Celeste pressed call.
—*——*—
Celeste stroked Pat’s belly, waiting for the call to connect. The radio hummed softly in the background, the volume now lowered. As Ryme’s latest hit started playing, a familiar voice finally answered.
“… Frost, quiet down with that bird, will you?—Oh, hi, sorry, this is Professor Diaz.”
“Hey, Mum. Everything okay with Frost?”
“Celly?” Her mother’s voice held a hint of surprise. In the background, Celeste could hear the faint sound of a voice. The other Professot Diaz, no doubt.
“Did you seriously get your Sandslash a bird to play with?” Celeste couldn’t help but smile at the idea.
After a brief pause filled with a silent chuckle, her mom replied, “It’s a whole thing. We’re even remodelling the office upstairs because of it. Frost’s attached, though. But hey, are you on your new phone? Do you like it? And the other things we sent—did the clothes fit okay?”
Celeste hit the speaker button and set the phone down, giving Pat more vigorous belly rubs. She glanced at the pile of clothes squashed under him.
“Most fit fine,” she responded. “The jeans are a bit short in the legs, though... And the phone’s great, thanks. Oh, and the lawyer you found for me, he’s been really helpful.”
“Short on the legs? You’re growing up so fast,” Tia said softly. In the background, her dad’s voice chimed in, cheerfully saying hello. He got pulled away, however, mentioning something about his Claydol, some old temple and the renovations.
“I guess I am… growing, I mean,” Celeste mumbled, watching Pat stretch. A lazy “Po” escaped his mouth and filled the entire room.
For a moment, there was only the sound of the Slowpoke and the distant melody of the ballad on the radio.
Tia’s voice, once she began speaking again, treaded lightly, as if navigating a minefield. “So... how’s the arm?”
Celeste hesitated, not even glancing at the bandages. “It’s okay… just a scratch, really...”
There was a pause, filled with a heavy sigh from Tia. “Celeste, it wasn’t just a scratch,” she said, her tone growing firmer. “I’ve spoken with Delia and your doctors. The cut was deep, there’s going to be scarring, and you had frostbite. And... this Snom thread you used as bandages? What were you thinking?”
Celeste bit her lip, recalling the doctors’ warnings about lifelong sensitivity and chronic pain in the wound area. So maybe it wasn’t her best idea to wrap her exposed injured arm on Snom thread, but it helped... somewhat.
“Why don’t you ask Delia about it?” she deflected.
Another silence fell on Tia’s end. “Let’s not go there,” she replied. “You’re lucky to have a friend like Delia who actually communicates.”
“Yeah, adults can be tough to talk to, huh?” Celeste chuckled dryly, then got distracted as Aria tackled her leg with a chocolate bar in her mouth, looking triumphant.
Thanking Aria with a gesture, she began unwrapping the chocolate, calling Powder over to share.
Celeste had been told how her lawyer, Levy, had arrived just after the prison fire, only to find out she was being blamed for the incident and nowhere to be found. With Opal’s help, they got Olga’s number for her mum.
What was it people said about an immovable object and an unstoppable force again?
She knew Tia had confronted Olga with a barrage of accusations, as she often did. And she knew Olga met that with groans and grunts, as she also often did. Before things could get worse, however, Delia had stepped in.
Her mother might have hated Olga, but she just loved miss People-Pleaser-Ketchum. Delia told Tia about Celeste’s escape from prison in detail and about how she and the others went to the caves after the poachers. And when Celeste was unconscious in the hospital, her parents kept in contact with Delia, who was constantly sending them updates on the situation.
“If you can call that woman an adult...” Tia’s voice trailed off, clearly disdainful of Olga, before swiftly changing the subject. “Delia’s been a great help, keeping me informed. You could learn a thing or two from her.”
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Celeste broke the chocolate bar into four pieces, giving the largest chunk to Pat, followed by Aria and Powder, and keeping the smallest for herself.
“Don’t you go there,” she murmured. “Look, it’s… Thinking about my arm just makes it hurt more. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Tia’s voice softened, suggesting, “Maybe if you came home, we could—”
“Mum!” Celeste’s voice spiked, cutting her off. Aria looked up with a worried expression, placing a paw on her leg. “I just... I want to keep going on my journey, okay? Can we just drop it?” Taking a deep breath, she steered the conversation elsewhere. “So, how’s your semester going at the university? Students are already crying for you to be nicer?”
There was a pause on the other end. When Tia spoke again, her voice was flat, emotionless. “Always deflecting, aren’t you, Celly?”
Celeste exchanged a silent look with Aria, opting to remain silent.
“That’s your way, isn’t it?” she insisted. “To look for the quick fix. When going gets tough, Celeste gets going with the first idiotic idea that comes to mind. Often a joke.”
“I’m not—my arm is hurting. Do you really want me to think about the pain?”
“I simply want you to think.”
“Okay.” Celeste shot back. “The cut’s bad. The skin is completely white and blistered, from shoulder to elbow. It stings, then it’s like sharp, stabbing pain. What more do you want? For me to think about how annoyed you’ll get when your realise that you won’t be able to parade me with some sleeveless top in front of your cameras and fancy friends?”
“Parade you in front...?” Tia started, then stopped herself. “You know what? I’m not playing this game. You don’t want to face your wounds, fine. But you can’t avoid your hearing tomorrow. Levy will be there later to discuss it. A league representative is attending too.”
Actually, Levy had already been there earlier. Unlike her mother, he had been comforting, suggesting Four Island could even be held liable. But Celeste didn’t want to pursue that, especially with Olga now acting as the town’s representative.
Yeah… that was a thing that happened too.
While she was in the caves, Mia had confronted Mayor White, uncovering some connection to Team Rocket and various corruption scandals, including Pokémon trafficking.
And since he was out, Olga stepped up to organise… pretty much everything.
“Celeste, are you even listening?” Tia’s voice snapped her back to the present, a bit more forceful now. “I can tell when you’re tuning out.”
“Of course you can,” Celeste grumbled back.
Pat, his chocolate finished, sprawled back into the clothes, his belly up, eyes hopeful. Celeste resumed the belly rubs without hesitation.
“Tell me,” Tia’s voice prodded through the phone, “what do you really want to do?”
Celeste glanced at the phone, a bit dazed. “…What?”
“It’s a simple question,” her mother pressed. “Your father and I, we’ve set a path for you. Travel with us, learn from the best, have safe adventures and even play trainer in your spare time. And with that internship we got you at the Aether Foundation? People dream of the life we were giving you. But you... you shouted to the heavens that your life was your own and left.”
There was a pause, filled only with distant birdsongs.
“Finding your own path is admirable,” Tia continued. “But this thing you are doing? That’s just wondering from one disaster to the next, testing how bad things can get. So I ask again: what is it you want to do, my little Celeste?”
Celeste’s hand paused over Pat. “I’ve told you. I want to be a trainer, to get strong…”
“That’s not good enough.”
“Is anything to you?”
“I need a concrete plan,” Tia persisted. “I want… I need to understand what is it you are doing if you are going to insist on doing it.”
Celeste looked outside at the yellow leaves. “I’m training. I even won a tournament, remember?”
“Yes, but why? Just being in the right place at the right time is not an answer. Is it gym badges you’re after? Or something more specific? Like a ranger, or joining ACE? They’re the ones known for doing crazy stuff, not random trainers.”
“I... I guess I’ll go for the badges,” Celeste replied quietly.
“Still vague.”
“I gave you an answer. What more do you want?”
Tia’s voice was steady, like she was steel wanting to bend, but being hard enough not to. “I want you to think, really think, about your choices.”
“I do think. I make plans like you keep telling me to. Like in the prison, I wanted to stay back, but when I did it went bad anyway. It doesn’t matter what I choose, it’s always… always wrong.” Celeste’s voice faltered. “…maybe I’m wrong.”
“You’re not wrong, just... lost,” Tia sighed. “We have a path laid out for you. If you’d just—”
“Stop, please!” Celeste’s voice cracked. “Lost, wrong or whatever the hell I am. I still don’t want you controlling my every move.”
The silence that followed was suffocating, and for a moment, Celeste was grateful that video calls weren’t yet a thing on these PokéGear phones.
“Fine,” Tia’s voice finally broke the silence.
“Fine?” Celeste repeated, unsure.
“Yes, fine. You’re in charge of your life. But I’ll ask again: What do you want to do with it?”
“I—”
“Don’t,” Tia interrupted, her tone shifting from maternal to something Celeste recognised all too well—this was the professor who commanded attention in packed lecture halls. “Don’t answer now. I want you to seriously consider it. Reflect on it. When you reach a conclusion, act on it concretely. This summer, we’re heading to Sinnoh for our show. If you haven’t figured it out by then, you’re back with us. Full-time. This whole trainer experiment? It’ll be over.”
Celeste’s gaze fixed on the phone, and she felt the pain in her arm shooting up. For what felt like a long time, she couldn’t find words.
“That’s not fair,” she finally managed.
“I’m giving you months, Celeste. Even though I’m sure you’ll keep trying to find new ways to jump off some cliff.”
“You can’t just force me—”
“You’re a kid, Celeste. My kid. So yes, of course I can,” Tia stated matter-of-factly. “I can cut off your funds or even have your trainer licence revoked, if necessary.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because I love you, Celly.”
—*——*—
“It’s not that bad...” Luan shifted uncomfortably in his hospital bed.
Night had fallen, and Celeste, along with Rey, sneaked into their friend’s room. They needed to discuss what had happened with Articuno and whether they should share their story with others—namely, the police.
However, Celeste’s mind was elsewhere.
“Of course it is!” she vented. “Who does she think she is? Giving me an ultimatum like that?”
“She’s your mother,” Rey retorted, trying to play it cool while leaning against the wall, even though he was in his hospital gown. “And she’s right. You should get your shit together.”
Celeste rolled her eyes loudly.
Aria, curled at her feet, opened one eye lazily, as if to remind her to keep it down. There was no other Pokémon in the room. While Rey simply didn’t bother bringing them with, Luan’s team—which was oddly nocturnal—had gone out. His Hoothoot liked to fly around at night, and Lunatone was probably moon-gazing somewhere.
And then there was the Munna, who had gone out hunting...
“We’re friends, Rey. Can’t you be on my side?” she tried, leaning back in her chair until it teetered.
Rey just shrugged. “I’m not.”
“On my side?”
“Your friend.”
“Hey!” Celeste’s protest was loud enough to earn a shushing from Luan.
Rey looked at her bravado and lifted his eyebrows with a smirk. “You know you still owe me an apology for making me look bad on One Island, don’t you?” He grimaced. “But hey, after all we’ve been through, I will be friendly and release you from having to go on another date with me. You’re awfully unreliable to be my girlfriend, anyway.”
“That’s still a thing?” Celeste blinked in surprise, but twitched her eyes when she realized what he said. “I am not unreliable!”
“You were sleeping while we were digging out for Lite,” Rey said, as she stuck her tongue out at him childishly.
For the last couple of nights, Celeste and her friends—Rey definitely included—had been holding these secret meetings. They were piecing together the chaos of recent events.
Celeste kept some details to herself, like the visions or the full extent of her conversation with Articuno. No point in stirring that up. She did, however, share that she saw Lite glitching in the dreamscape and that Articuno wasn’t pleased about it. Which… her friends accepted as an explanation without much fuss. Even Luan’s Munna.
The boys had their own story to tell, though. They recounted waking up together, how Articuno, freed from the Dream Mist, had commanded Jynx to teleport them to Lite’s location. The legendary bird had been cautious, not getting close until they confirmed the Vanillite was safe.
Once they did, there was an emotional reunion of sorts, but it didn’t last long. They all kept growing more concerned that Celeste wasn’t waking up, so with no big goodbye, they just teleported to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the island was in chaos: Mayor White arrested, a blizzard wreaking havoc, and part of the police station destroyed. Lori had been in the hospital too, after handing over the Team Rocket members they’d captured to the authorities.
With all that, it took a while for them to notice the disappearance of Ryder and the Zubat in Luan’s bag. Initially, they thought he’d just been left behind, but Luan’s Pokémon went out to search and all they got in the end was Menace carrying an empty backpack.
No sign of anything. Not even a body.
If Celeste thought too much about that, her nights would become even worse. She was painfully aware now that she was having nightmares of some sort, though she could hardly recall any.
Luan, lying back on his bed, broke the lull that had fallen around them. “So, what about Articuno? Should we tell the police?”
“I’d rather keep Polaris a secret,” Rey said nonchalantly. “I vote no.”
“Me too,” Celeste chimed in with a smile. “Now, can we focus on more urgent issues?”
“Did you just say ‘no’ to switch topics faster?” Luan asked, deadpanning.
“Of course not,” Celeste rolled her eyes theatrically. “I just think Articuno should decide if he wants to be known. Anyway, let’s talk about my problem. I need something to tell my mother.”
Rey gave her a slow, deliberate look. “Celeste, you said she wanted you to think long and hard about your future,” he said, stressing each word. Even Aria perked up to pay attention to him. “You’re not solving this in one night.”
“But I need a plan for when we leave here tomorrow.”
Luan lazily waved his hands in the air. “Don't you have a hearing with some league big shot tomorrow?”
Rey frowned. “Is it a big shot?”
“Mia heard it is,” Luan shrugged. “Imagine if it’s Lance?”
“Lance? Here? No chance...” Rey scoffed, and just like that, their conversation quickly derailed into an argument about Jasper, the former champion, being much better than Lance. The discussion spiralled further away when the Kanto Elite Four members were involved and they began weighing which of them would be more likely to visit Four Island.
Their consensus? None of them would bother. But Celeste soaked up the information like a sponge, learning loads about Indigo’s league from her friends.
The champion was Lance—everyone knew him. But unlike in Galar, he wasn’t championing alone. There were four trainers beneath him forming the Elite Four. To challenge Lance, one had to win at the conference, then defeat all four.
First, there was Irene, a Steel-type expert from Olivine City in Johto. Because, yes, apparently, Kanto and Johto—or just Indigo—had a joint league. Then came Anton, a fighting-type specialist no one knew much about. Local gossip (AKA Rey) said he used to travel with the circus…?
Next up was Taro, a dark-type specialist and Luan’s personal favourite, since they were both from Mahogany town—
“Wait, since when are you from Johto?” Celeste asked, surprised.
“Since I was born?” Luan laughed. “Anyway, Taro is the best! He and his brother came from pretty much nothing, you know? My grandma says they used to play in the streets right by our house.”
“Taro has a brother?” Rey looked genuinely surprised.
Luan blinked. “Really? I thought you followed all that league drama. They had a falling out a few years back, so… I guess it’s not widely known out of Mahogany?”
The conversation veered off track again. Rey feigned disinterest in Taro’s brother, while Luan teasingly refused to divulge any gossip. Celeste, now way too intrigued by the Elite Four, prodded for more info.
Finally, they dropped one last name: “Agatha,” said with an exaggeratedly spooky tone. She didn’t quite get what that was about, but well… she could always look it up on her own later.
“So…” Celeste tilted her chair forward, balancing on two legs as Rey and Luan’s banter finally died out. “What’s next for you, Rey? Going for your third badge?”
Rey gazed at the crescent moon, now disappearing behind clouds. They were well into the night. “I need to train harder before it. Catch some new Pokémon.”
“But we’ve been through so much,” Celeste muttered, feeling Aria’s steady breath as she slept in her lap. “We’re a lot stronger now, right?”
Luan laughed. “Feels more like we barely survived. But…uh… what about Hoenn, Rey? Is it still where you are heading?”
“Hoenn?” Celeste looked puzzled. “You’re restarting there because you won’t finish the circuit in time?”
Rey rolled his eyes. “Indigo’s different from Galar, Celeste. You don’t have much of a time limit, but the gym challenges are tougher.”
Luan nodded. “There’s still a learning curve. You are not gonna battle some powerful, fully evolved Pokémon on your first go, but they’re supposed to hit harder.”
Celeste hummed, her fingers gently tracing patterns on Aria’s fur. The idea of challenging gyms had always sounded fun for her, yet she wondered if that would satisfy her mother’s demands for progress. What if, come summer, she had nothing to show for her journey? No badges, no concrete proof of progress. Would her mother ever consider ‘a fun challenge’ or ‘good way to focus on training’ as valid reasons for a goal?
Her mind then wandered to Hoenn. She realised she knew even less about its league. Maybe it would be an easier path? Aria was originally from Sootopolis City, so she might enjoy a visit home. Plus, it was warm there… and Celeste was really into warmth right now. The only problem was that there was no Taro from Mahogany or mysterious Agatha with a spooky voice.
“Damn,” she thought to herself, a small smile playing on her lips. “Am I really getting attached to this idea?”
“Why Hoenn, though?” she asked, refocusing on Rey and leaning forward on her chair.
After muttering something about having to explain the obvious, her friend conceded. “Having Pokémon from other regions makes you stand out. Especially rare ones.”
“But you already have a Larvesta,” Celeste pointed out.
“I’m after something specific,” Rey said, vaguely.
Luan waved dismissively. “He’s jealous of Powder’s Moonblast and wants a Ralts on his team.”
Celeste’s laughter burst out, tipping her chair over. She landed with a thud, still chuckling.
Rey’s eyes widened. “Hey, what’s with the gossip now?” he complained. “Gardevoir are powerful as shit, okay?”
Aria, startled awake, found Celeste on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.
Isn’t Karma a bitch?
Still, the idea of Rey with an empath on his team seemed hilariously out of character.
And so, as the night wore on, their conversation drifted through battles, badges, and travel dreams. They laughed and joked, momentarily setting aside thoughts of poachers, legendary birds, and the looming future.
For those fleeting hours, they were just teenagers, laughing away their worries under the moonlit sky.