When Blastoise came ashore, he happily ran toward Roy, but Lucario intercepted him halfway.
"Come with me. I need to have a word with you about your health."
Blastoise didn't understand what was happening, so he obediently followed Lucario into the nearby grove.
Moments later, the anguished wails and cries for help from an unknown turtle echoed through the trees.
Roy stood at the shoreline with his hands clasped behind his back, appearing completely deaf to the sounds.
"Well... I hear sparring is very popular these days," he muttered to himself.
It didn't take long before Blastoise emerged looking completely deflated and uninspired.
Roy quickly understood where Blastoise's newfound dejection was coming from.
Based on how Blastoise kept sneaking glances at him from time to time, then immediately looking away after making eye contact, Roy guessed that Lucario had told Blastoise everything about the Abomasnow incident.
Roy didn't know what to say about the situation.
Should he say it was fine? But Electivire and Roy himself had genuinely been threatened and injured.
But if he made a big deal out of it, that seemed like making a fuss over nothing since they'd survived.
Roy sighed. Sometimes dealing with straightforward, earnest Pokémon was quite difficult.
They would only let go of their vigilance and guilt little by little in the days to come.
However, Roy suspected this particular turtle would probably recover faster than Lucario would.
Thinking this way, Roy climbed aboard Blastoise's shell for the ride.
This time, Blastoise was obviously much more careful and stable than before. Even his favorite paddle-melting technique was absent.
The result was a remarkably calm sea crossing.
Roy lay comfortably on Blastoise's shell, thinking this might actually be a blessing in disguise, right?
Still, he sincerely hoped such disasters would occur less frequently in the future.
Soon, they arrived at Akala Island.
The reason Roy chose to land on Akala Island wasn't only because he needed to check on the injured Caroline.
It was also because after Caroline completed Kommo-o's trial, many Wingull had taken off from Melemele Island simultaneously.
They had been arranged by Tapu Koko at the very beginning of the island challenge.
Once someone successfully passed Kommo-o's test, a signal would be sent to all testers from Melemele Island, indicating the trials had concluded.
However, because Tapu Koko and Island Kahuna Rosa weren't on Melemele Island at the end due to various circumstances, the signal transmitted by the Wingull changed the final gathering place from Melemele Island to Akala Island instead.
This was also one of the main reasons why Roy and the others chose to head to Akala Island.
Following Roy's subtle gestures, Blastoise kept his speed relatively slow.
So when they leisurely landed on Akala Island, they encountered many testers—some familiar, others complete strangers.
Judging from the expressions on their faces, they didn't seem particularly dissatisfied that the Island Kahuna title had gone to Caroline.
Some were even gathered together whispering excitedly, their faces flushed, looking quite happy about the outcome.
Roy privately noted that the Psychic Queen's fan base really did cover an impressively wide range of demographics.
Look—that was already the third Trainer he'd seen asking the Queen for an autograph.
The number of participating trainers had decreased significantly compared to the beginning of the trials.
But the voices of people whispering together mixed and blended, creating quite a loud din.
For a while, the scene on Akala Island became somewhat chaotic and disorganized.
However, the appearance of Tapu Koko soon put a stop to this commotion.
Needless to say, Tapu Koko descended from the sky with a stern face and expressionless demeanor. Combined with the reputation of being a Guardian Deity, the Pokémon still looked quite authoritative and convincing.
Of course, there was also the fact that Tapu Koko usually communicated with people who were several generations older than these young testers.
This made the testers, who were still children in comparison, feel somewhat intimidated and respectful toward Tapu Koko.
"Koko!"
First of all, congratulations on successfully completing the island challenge. Although there were some unexpected twists and turns along the way, our Island Kahuna was successfully chosen.
In approximately thirty minutes, the Alola spiritual realm will open a node connecting back to Earth at this location.
At that time, everyone will be able to return to the familiar Earth you came from.
So, I wish you all a pleasant final thirty minutes here in Alola.
I hope to see you all again in the future.
After delivering these words, Tapu Koko flew over to Caroline's side, gesturing for her to come along.
The Guardian Deity also deliberately nudged Tapu Lele aside, indicating that the younger deity should stop causing trouble here.
Tapu Lele bid farewell to Caroline with tearful eyes, a sight that made Roy feel genuinely uncomfortable watching it.
During these remaining thirty minutes, Akala Island probably wouldn't restore its peace anytime soon.
Thinking this, Roy summoned Salamence and flew with the Dragon-type in the direction of Poni Island.
He had been away for quite a while, but there had been no news from Solgaleo. Roy had no idea how the Lunala situation was progressing.
The moment Roy's feet touched the ground at the Altar of the Sunne ruins, Roy couldn't believe his eyes.
Solgaleo was pacing back and forth with obvious impatience written across his face. On the ground, clearly terrified by Solgaleo's threatening presence and not daring to move, sat someone Roy recognized.
Wasn't this Adam, the person the Island Guardians had been searching for all this time?
"What's going on here?"
Solgaleo spotted Roy's return and happily bounded over, rubbing his large head against Roy's body affectionately.
His eyes were full of sparkling little stars that clearly said, "Praise me! Praise me!"
"Leo~"
Caught him off the coast! That guy absolutely reeks!
Roy guessed it was probably the stench of the Illumaniti's corrupting influence on the soul.
After all, Adam still looked neat and tidy even after evading capture for so many days.
Should it be expected of an Elite-level figure?
He had even used his main Pokémon as bait, all just to hide until the dimensional node opened.
Roy enthusiastically petted both lion heads and praised Solgaleo's strength with genuine admiration.
"You did really well!"
Adam naturally also noticed Roy, and a wry, bitter smile appeared on his face.
"I didn't expect to fall into your hands in the end."
"If it weren't for all my Poké Balls being confiscated by Solgaleo, I would definitely fight my way out of here against you."
Roy blinked in confusion. What?
Did that mean Adam didn't have any Pokémon on him right now, so Roy could beat him up with impunity?
Adam hadn't guessed what Roy was thinking, nor had he realized there was something problematic with his own words.
But Roy suddenly burst out laughing.
"No way, no way! Does Adam actually think I'm going to politely challenge you to an honorable battle?"
"No, no—surely no one actually thinks I'm that much of a fool, right?"
Adam's complexion turned deathly pale. He suddenly didn't look very intelligent at all.
Seeing that Adam remained silent, Roy understood that Adam might genuinely have thought of him as that kind of naive fool.
Just because I haven't personally done something doesn't mean I haven't seen how it works!
Which villain who actually said those words and gave the protagonist a fighting chance ever ended well?
Oh wait—technically speaking, Roy should be the villain in this scenario on the surface.