Chapter 1: Welcome To Melemele Island
Chapter Text
Lillie ran for her and Nebby's life. Desperately avoiding the guards as she rode up to the conservatory. What was she thinking? She couldn't avoid them forever, and when they caught her it would be all over. What would her mother say? What would her father say if he were still here? What about her brother? He did the same with Type:Null, would he be proud of her?
She remembers overhearing her mother speak with the scientists, they said that Nebby might not survive if she uses all of it's power to open an "ultra wormhole." How did this get so bad? How did mother get so bad? How did the foundation get so bad?
Her thoughts were cut off as she was caught in between two guards. They were closing in. This was it. She didn't have anywhere to go. Or at least that's what she thought before Nebby panicked and teleported them to a beach.
As soon as Lillie hit the ground, she collapsed. She was so exhausted, she ran for what felt like ages, not to mention the amount of mental stress from the house that seems like it multiplies by the day. She just wanted this to be over. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep. She heard footsteps, but she didn't have any more energy to run away.
Lillie then woke up on what felt like a sofa bed. Turns out the person that approached her was a lady that went by Professor Burnet. She was kind and caring, making sure she was alright while her and Nebby recovered. When Lillie finally felt comfortable with sharing her story, she wasn't judged at all, her and her husband, Professor Kukui, said she could stay with them for as long as she needed. They just asked that she would assist with lab work.
And she was more than happy to oblige, she loved pokemon after all and loved to observe them, she found peace and comfort when it came to studying pokemon. Learning their preferences in food. The traits of different species that make them so unique, watching them play together....
So peaceful and calm.....
SO WHY DOES KUKUI OBSERVE BY HAVING THE POKEMON ATTACK HIM?? THEY KEEP HAVING TO FIX HOLES IN THE WALL, ROOF, FLOOR. BUYING LAB COAT AFTER LAB COAT CAUSE HE KEEPS GETTING THEM TORN AND LIT ON FIRE. ONE OF THOSE FIRE INCIDENTS WAS FROM ROCKRUFF! HOW?? THIS ROCKRUFF DOESN'T KNOW ANY FIRE TYPE MOVES!
Forgive the impoliteness but he finds new and unusual ways to give her a mental stroke. Professor Burnet's office is on a whole other island so after Lillie recovered and started working as an assistant she started going back to her office on Akala Island.
Speaking of recovery? Nebby took ages, for a long time they couldn't even move, she's trying her hardest to protect them so they don't ever have to use their energy like that again. She hopes it will stay that way.
When the professor couple did more research on Nebby, apparently it's a pokemon called Cosmog. It's from another dimension. She can't imagine how hard it would be to get ripped away from your home and used for cruel experiments...
Maybe there's a way to return them home?
-3 months later-
Elio was excited. He had always wanted to go on an adventure.
Back in Kanto, his adoptive mother had mentioned that her cousin, Kukui, was coming down to Kanto to challenge some of the gym leaders. He was so excited. He's always loved watching others battle. He's not gonna lie Kukui got his rear end handed to him. But he was still so positive about it and how he got to learn about their moves and abilities. When Elio mentioned how badly he wanted to go on an adventure, his mother smiled and told him that he might not have to wait much longer. That's when she mentioned that they would get to move to the Alolan region. He was ecstatic.
Not to long after they did move. They spent the first day getting their boxes unpacked and making the place as homey and functional as could be. Kukui called him that night and helped him get his trainer ID set up.
The next day Kukui showed up and took him up to Iki Town. He was told to look for the kahuna, which, how?? He doesn't even know what the kahuna looks like??? But then he saw something odd.
A girl...
Not that he thinks girls are weird and have cooties or anything (ok maybe he did think that at one point but that was kindergarten so shut up) but this one has a large duffel bag that seemed to be almost moving? Then she walked up the path, if he remembers right it was Mahalo Trail?
Is she the kahuna? Maybe, in that case he'll go follow her and then ask. Mahalo Trail had a lot of stairs, he finally reached the top and saw her standing at the beginning of the bridge. Her bag was practically pulling her forward, and then a pokemon flew out of it. Was this one local to alola? It was pretty cute and colorful. It flew along the bridge until a group of Spearow appeared.
Ok so it turns out the Spearow were pretty hungry and they might have mistook this creature for cotton candy. But the girl was frozen in fear and didn't look like she could move. He walks up to her and asks if she's ok.
"Please! You have to save Nebby!"
"What? But-"
The mysterious girl then breaks into tears.
"P-please I can't---"
He walks up to the first step of the bridge, he has to help, what else is he gonna do just let that pokemon die? Then he realizes why she's so scared. The bridge is over a large ravine and river. Not to mention it's pretty worn down. Oh boy. But if he doesn't do anything that pokemon could die!
He starts running across the bridge, he doesn't like how it creeks and wobbles. One misstep and...
Elio makes it over to the pokemon and tries to shield it. This isn't working how is he supposed to fight off a group of Spearow when he doesn't have any pokemon and the one under him in unable to fight back.
What does he do? He can feel the birds scratching him.. What does he do? He can feel the bridge creaking... What does he do? He can feel the bridge shaking.... WHAT DOES HE DO---
Just then he sees a bright light coming out from under him? It's the pokemon he's trying to protect?
That's when the worst happens.
The pokemon explodes the bridge
'Oh no.
OH NO
NO NO NO NO... PLEASE I DON'T WANNA DIE HERE... PLEASE I WANNA GO HOME... I JUST WANNA SEE MY MOM AGAIN... I DON'T WANNA GO YET.... OH GOSH PLEASE LET THIS BE A DREAM... I DON'T WANNA DIE YET PLEASE...'
All of his internal pleas seemed in vain though.. he just kept falling and falling. Fear had overtaken him. He knew he was going to die. He was going to die without ever going on his journey. Back in Kanto he wasn't really good at anything, he wasn't athletic, he wasn't smart, he wasn't really sociable, he wasn't anybody. He wanted his journey cause he wanted to change and be somebody that everyone would like. He wanted to be a pro battler and be adored by everybody. But that was all gone now... He was just gonna die..
A bright light flashed above him as he kept falling. His eyes were blurry.. what was that? Is this the light that everyone sees when they die? But that light grabbed him and picked him up.. what?
This light carries him to safety. His vision started to come back as he was set on the ground next to someone? Blueish- greenish eyes stared back at him before making what sounded like a pokemon cry.
The person beside him turned out to be the girl. She was crying even harder than before and trying to speak to him. Her pokemon was carrying a weird white rock. But he couldn't see what it was, he couldn't hear her over the sound of his heartbeat. He was breathing so fast but it still felt him there wasn't any air in his lungs. He couldn't feel his body. His vision got blurry as he heard footsteps.
He blacked out
--------------------------
Lillie was panicking, this boy almost died trying to save Nebby. Nebby almost died too. She couldn't do anything. He was breathing so fast and when she tried to feel his pulse. His body had static all over it. Was he paralyzed? Everything happened so fast.
Nebby was trying to get her attention. They were holding a strange stone. That's when she heard someone running. It was Kukui.
"Lillie what happened??"
She couldn't respond. He picked the unconscious boy up and started running down telling her to follow him. Once they made it back to Iki Town Kukui called over a girl named Selene. He set the boy down on the battle stage as Selene pulled out a medic kit and immediately got to work.
She remembers how Nebby couldn't move after saving her from those guards. Why does this keep happening? Why can't she ever protect anyone? Why do people always get hurt in her place? This can't keep happening. Those are lives, those are people.
She's not gonna let this happen, not ever again.
She looks over at the boy and Selene. He's awake and it looks like he's been treated already. Selene asks him his name and he answers. It's Elio. He starts breaking down again and Selene starts to comfort him.
Professor Kukui starts talking to her and explaining who they are. Apparently these two were going to get to choose their first starter tonight.
They're going to become pokemon trainers? If she has the confidence of a trainer then... Wait....
"Professor? Once these two pick one of the starters... what will happen to the third one?"
"Hmm... I hadn't planned that out yet... Wait? Lillie do you-"
"I want to be a pokemon trainer!"
Chapter 2: Pick Your Starter
Summary:
"Sorry you had a traumatic experience, here have some wild animals!"
Chapter Text
After the bridge incident, Kukui had decided that it would be best to wait a few days before letting the kids pick their starters. Lillie has been putting a lot of effort into studying pokemon for the next few days. She seemed like she was pretty fired up, don't get him wrong he's really excited for her but he's also a bit worried. She's always mentioned how she hates pokemon getting hurt. How is she doing to do with battling others?
He's also worried for Elio, apparently he's been mostly holed up in his room after what happened. His mother has been complaining about how he feels so distant now. To tell the truth? Kukui couldn't find it in him to explain the severity of what happened, or any details. He was lucky that Selene was already there, she's very talented when it comes to medicine and healing. When Elio made contact with Tapu Koko, the island guardian, the electricity from their powers left him with paralysis. When he walked the kid home and his mother greeted him and asked what he chose, he looked so empty.
"Mom.... I almost died..."
Kukui had then said that there was a bit of an accident and it would take a while longer. Oddly enough his cousin seemed almost completely calm. She joked and said that whatever happened couldn't have been that bad cause he didn't have any serious wounds. Elio just mumbled something about wanting to sleep and stumbled to his room. Once again she started joking about how dramatic he could be sometimes. He didn't have the heart to tell her. He hopes this won't screw up his love for adventure. Maybe once he's got a pokemon they can revisit the topic?
--------------------------
Elio had been struggling for the next few days. Nightmares, panicking, the works. Particularly one recurring nightmare stood out in general...
~~~
He opens his eyes so see an outdoors funeral, an empty one aside from his mother who isn't even paying attention. In his arms there's a bouquet of black roses and poppies. A voice calls out to him.
"Let him out, give him your respects, it's the only respect that someone like him could deserve."
He slowly walks towards the closed casket as a heavy storm starts to pour. The sound of falling rain and the wood beneath him creaking...
He opens the casket to find himself. Mangled and bloody, like he'd fallen to his death, he barely recognizes it, it doesn't even look like him anymore. He's drenched in blood and river water.
He looks at his mother, the only guest, still wasn't watching, still didn't care at the mangled version of her son. Doesn't care that he's gone forever.
He places the flowers on the grave, and just then, lightning strikes the body he could hear familiar screaming as if that corpse were still alive
~~~
He always wakes up in a cold sweat whenever it happens, it feels so real. He struggles to go back to sleep cause he's tired of seeing it.
He mostly just hides in his room now, afraid of what could happen. Of course his mother tries to make him go explore the great outdoors and neighbors. He's formally met Lillie but it was awkward, she apologized but he didn't know how to respond. He shouldn't be so mad, he shouldn't be so scared, he didn't die so what's the problem? She handed him a strange rock, the one her pokemon, Nebby was holding. He can't lie, he wants to chuck this thing into the ocean. He just moved here and he's already starting to want to go back to Kanto, back to the place where he was just a nobody.
He's also met two other kids named Selene and Hau. Selene was the one that treated him after the fall, he felt so embarrassed, he broke down into a sobbing mess in front of a stranger. All he wanted was to make a good impression on the people here. She doesn't really seem like she's judging him. She's also not much of a talker, not to mention her facial expression never changes from that constant blank smile so it's hard to get a good read on her. She just asked him if he was ok and that if he needed anything, whether it's medical attention or just to talk she'd help him out however she could. And then they made some other small talk before going their separate ways.
As for Hau, "hau" do I put this... He's... Very... Alive..?
He shared some snack called malasadas with me, he ate so much in one sitting I'm surprised he didn't immediately puke his guts out. It's like a black hole... but it's just some dude's stomach.. Anyways, he's pretty friendly and energetic (probably all the sugar he takes in on those almost daily malasadas runs-) I can't say that I hate this guy, actually his "brilliant mind" normally pulls some sort of crazy crap that kinda shocks me into feeling better, or well less sad, so far he's my favorite out of my 3 new friends.
Whenever my mom makes me go out I usually just hang out with these 3, we typically just play on the beach or help the professor out with small tasks here and there. I've never had friends like this before. I still have my grudges and discomforts but maybe Alolan isn't entirely bad....
---------------------
Selene can definitely say, she was not expecting to be handed an unconscious stranger and be told "fix it."
Now look she IS a medic and she's definitely seen worse from both people and pokemon, to be honest this job has left her a little bit jaded when it comes to injuries. But the reason why she was caught off guard was because she wasn't expecting to have to take care of any injuries at the moment. She had arrived in Iki Town and was told that someone was looking for the kahuna when she heard a large crash. Professor Kukui said he'd check and that it was probably a wild pokemon messing around. Only for him to come back holding a knocked out, paralyzed stranger. She took care of his injuries and tried to help calm him down when he woke up.
Later when she was releasing some wild Slowpokes who had just regrown their tails, she saw him again. They hung out for a little while and talked a bit. She wouldn't say they're besties or something but they get along ok. For the next few days they hung out with some of the other local kids while waiting for the next (hopefully not life threatening) chance to get their first pokemon.
---------------------
Hau was just dropping by for a visit one day, Kukui and his gramps Hala, the island kahuna, battled and interacted quite a bit so he kinda sees him and Burnet as family. Lillie was later added to their household and he was ecstatic at the possibility of having a new friend! Later Selene just showed up around the island and they ran into each other quite a bit, and now he has two new friends! So when Kukui mentioned his cousin was moving nearby and she had a son around his age, ecstatic didn't even begin to cover it!
But when he first met Elio he seemed kinda... gloomy? Like there was a part of him missing? He wanted to cheer him up so he ran as quickly as he could to the malasada shop and got a whole bunch of them! Elio always seemed a little shocked whenever they hung out but sometimes hau could make him so surprised that he'd burst out into laughter! For the next few days he was having a ball with his new pals, he was even more excited at the thought that he could battle and adventure with them soon. He had received a Pichu from his gramps and soon, Lillie, Selene, and Elio would get a new pokemon too!
---------------------
Lillie steered herself as she walked up the steps and next to the stage with the others. Today was the day.
Kahuna Hala started to explain how they would bond more and grow as both a person and a team as they adventured. Kukui held out 3 poke balls before announcing their type and name.
"The grass (and flying) type starter Rowlet! The grass owl!"
"The fire type starter Litten! The fire cat!"
"The water type starter Popplio! The water sea lion!"
"Now which ones will you choose?"
Lillie wanted a pokemon that would be strong, one to grow along side her, one to drive the passion in her heart and never let herself sink back into what she once was.
Her eyes locked with Litten, it may have acted aloof and unimpressed but she could tell it had that same passion as her.
She walked up to Litten and asked
"Litten, I want to become more than what I am, I want to be strong, and I want us to travel along side each other. I promise I'll always do my best to be the best trainer I can be! Will you join me?"
Litten just stared at her blankly. Unmoved by her speech, almost daring her to prove it. 'Yeah yeah, same old same old, why should I go with you? How do I know were actually going to be able to work together?'
Lillie just sighed and snuck some catnip into her hand.
'Ok now we're talking
She picked up Litten in her arms and smiled.
"I'm gonna name you Sizzlefuzz!"
'meh it's better than the kid who named my uncle "DankLitMemes" I guess...'
Meanwhile Elio was admiring the creature before him, Rowlet, it was so soft and fuzzy looking, it didn't look scary at all! It was open to chin and head scratches and the sounds it made were adorable! It didn't seem like it would hurt him at all.
"Rowlet do you wanna come with me? I'd really love it if we could be friends.."
Rowlet happily cooed
"Awww your so sweet! I wish I could understand what you were saying..."
Internally Rowlet was thinking...
'Yes mortal soul choose me as your companion, I can tell that your soul is wounded but we shall rise to the top! We will enact our revenge on those who have wronged you!'
Last but not least was Popplio, who wasn't too thrilled about being left last. It was always like this, she'd been in 3 different groups already and still nothing..
Popplio suddenly felt eyes on her, she turned around to see a girl smiling down on her. She smiled back, hoping this girl would take her with her, she'd always wanted a trainer, she'd always wanted a companion!
"Hey there, your Popplio right? I've read about your species and I think your abilities are really useful, not to mention you seem like a fun partner to travel with, what do you say? Wanna come with me?"
Popplio let out a loud "bwork" in excitement! She finally had a new pal!
Selene fed her new buddy some treats she had made that morning.
And with that all 3 of the starters now had companions.
So for course Hau immediately challenged everybody to a battle.
And lost horribly each time.
Seriously Hau you had the type advantage that last time.
Chapter 3: The Island Challenge And Preparations
Summary:
Now that these kids have critters it's time for them to learn how to use them.
Chapter Text
Everyone had finished their battles with each other. It was a good experience to get to know their partners better and start really becoming a team. Even Nebby got to spring out of hiding to play with the others. It was getting rather late at the end of their battles, everyone was ready to turn in for the night when Hala noticed something.
"Elio, would you mind being so kind as to showing me that sparkling stone in your pocket?"
Elio froze, confused he pulls it out and explains it was a gift from Tapu Koko.
"I really don't know what it is or it's supposed to do though..."
"... Could it be?.."
Even Hau looked a little surprised.
"Isn't that?.."
"Elio, do you mind if I take this stone off your hands?"
'Yes please.' He thought.
"Fret not! I'll return it to you tomorrow evening."
'Dang it.' Elio thought again.
"So it even decided to give you a stone? Maybe your in Alola because you were meant to be here!"
Everyone all started smiled at the thought, (except Selene who constantly has the same blank smile 24/7.) but the more Elio thought about it the worse it got. He nearly died the second night of being here and that's why he has the stone, is this the price of power? Is this what his journey is going to be like? Is he going to keep having moments like the bridge incident? Is he going to have all the awful things plague his mind? Never being able to get rid of the panic, the nightmares, the grudges that he can't help but hold? Or will he just become numb to it? Is he going to keep having moments like the bridge so often that he will burn himself out and not be able to feel anything? Are moments like these normal? Is he too sensitive? Or is this world too dangerous?
Selene noticed the look on his face and nudged him. Elio looked back at her as she quietly muttered.
"It's gonna be ok, we have your back man."
He slightly relaxed at that, he hadn't known his friends for long but they at least show that they care. He had friends back in Kanto but they never stuck around for very long. If he was too "emotional" for any small stupid things they'd leave. But with these 3 they saw him at his absolute worst when they barely knew him and they still stayed. But it didn't take long for the bad thoughts to come back. Was this pity? Was Lillie only here cause she felt bad for how he almost died for Nebby? Does she know how salty he feels about it? Was Selene only here cause she was worried he'd die if left on his own? Why was Hau even here?
For the time being he tried to shut off his thoughts as everyone said their goodbyes, he and Rowlet made it back to their house.
------------------------------
His mother and her Meowth greeted them.
"Welcome back sweetie! What starter did you pick? Or did you "almost die" again? Hahah"
Elio tries to ignore the small pang of insult that comment sent. He moved to the side to show off his new companion. The companion who was not too pleased about that comment.
'Is this one of the mortals that pains you so my partner? If so I'll see to it that when the time comes her punishment shall be deadly!'
Rowlet tries to threateningly coo at the woman.
Meowth look somewhat disturbed at the strange new bird hurling unsavory insults and threats at their trainer.
"My my! You sure are the talkative bunch! Well anyways sweetie you should head to bed now, I heard there's a festival tomorrow evening! Good night!"
Elio nodded and went to his room, Rowlet (still cursing out his mother and the "unfortunate soul that birthed her" all the way) trailed behind him.
Elio set up some spare pillows on his bed for Rowlet and they both fell asleep.
----------------------------
Lillie set up a spare bed for Litten as her mind wandered. Did Elio hate her? He seemed to be trying his best to forget about what happened and move on but he seemed a bit... bitter? Mostly just kinda empty and gloomy, though he had seemed to cheer up some as he spent more time with her and the others. She didn't really have a chance to get to know him before he moved but one time when his mother called him over for dinner she said something like "Sorry he's never been good at talking to people but he's usually more cheery than this."
Honestly seeing how torn he was right after he got saved was burned into her head. She remembers how grateful she was when he first agreed to help Nebby. Then how quickly that turned into horror when the bridge collapsed when Nebby panicked and basically exploded the bridge with them both still on it. The shock of Tapu Koko showing, that quickly turned into guilt when she saw how broken he looked.
She remembers talking to Selene about it the day after and all she said was,
"Try not to take it personally, you can't really know how you would react to being in his place. I don't think he really hates you but he has some mental crap to work through first."
She's right. And being just sorry about this isn't going to fix things. That's why she's going to put her best foot forward and become a trainer. She and Litten did pretty well with their first battles, the only loss was a draw with Elio. It feels weird to have this confidence, it feels like just yesterday she was that scared little girl who did everything she was told, not out of respect but out of survival.
She doesn't ever wanna go back to that.
--------------------------
The next morning Kukui woke up excited, he got ready, kissed his wife goodbye, got Lillie to come with as he found Hau and Selene, and headed over to his cousin's house to fetch Elio.
Today was the day he would teach them how to catch a pokemon!
He always liked getting to teach all the newbie trainers different things and help them find their talents. Maybe in another life he'd be a teacher at a pokemon school.
He didn't even bother knocking as he headed straight in and said "Alola" to his cousin and her son.
"Hey Elio why don't you come outside, yea? I have something I wanna show and the other kids."
Elio seemed confused but he nodded anyways.
Outside all of the kids greeted each other and made their small talk (aka not so quietly debating what inspired the professor's odd fashion sense) while they made their way to a patch of tall grass.
"Alright new trainers! Imma show you how to catch a pokemon!"
Aside from Hau's excited "yay" everyone just kinda stared at him. Awkward but he'll make it work.
He goes through the motion of using rockruff to show how to catch a wild pokemon, particularly a pikipek. Then he asks if anyone wants to go ahead and give it a try.
Elio steps up as Kukui hands him a few pokeballs. He then almost effortlessly catches it. Kukui and the others congratulates him.
"That was awesome! Keep this up and you'll be a real pro!"
Elio's eyes slightly light up at that, Kukui remembers just how excited the kid was when watching him battle those gym leaders, or how he'd rant about wanting to be just like Red and Blue. Maybe he will enjoy the island challenge after all. He'll bring it up at the festival.
-------------------------------
Later that evening, the festival was undergoing preparations. Food stalls were coming in, decorations were being set up. Hau was happy to be born in Alola, the festivities were always the best! He's already eaten quite a bit from the malasada stand.
He was setting up the decorations with the help of his friends while he explained to Elio what they would be doing.
"So basically we get to go on stage and have a blast battling each other and use our full power! We do this for good luck from the guardians or something. But either way it's pretty fun."
"In front of all those people?"
"Yeah but don't sweat it these people are out neighbors, they're good people! They won't really care if you loose they just wanna see you do your best!"
"..."
"You good buddy?"
"Yeah I'm fine, and I'll do my best so good luck!"
"Heck yeah! That's the spirit! Battling is meant to be enjoyed! All you need is to do have fun!"
"Pfft- you seemed like you were having a lot of fun loosing 3 times in a row to me and the girls hahah!"
"Hey! I did do good! hahaha!"
They both kept snickering and making jokes until they were done with preparations.
-------------------------
Hala stood on the stage as he announced the full power tournament's start. The crowd cheered as Hau and Lillie entered onto the stage.
Lillie's Litten and Hau's Pichu battled. Honestly it's a testament to how sturdy that stage was with all the times fire and electricity hit the stage. Litten managed to triumph in the end.
Next up was Elio and Selene. That match was ended pretty quickly cause of the type advantage.
Lastly was Lillie and Sun all eyes were on them as Litten was set out and Pikipek was also released. Litten scratched and burned the poor bird as much as it could. Pikipek fainted and Rowlet was sent out.
Litten burned as Rowlet dodged and used whatever normal type moves it has to it's disposal, desperate to avenge his friend.
'How dare you attempt to slay an innocent lady you fowl four legged beast!'
Litten seemed unimpressed.
'Look man I was gonna go easy but that knightly talk is getting annoying, I'm just tryna secure more catnip and fish from this girl.'
The fight went on for what felt like hours, at this point neither pokemon was fully listening to orders, just trying to take the other down.
Popplio watched this in shock.
'You guys do know that everyone is watching you both ignore your trainers and wrestle like little kids who both want the same toy right?'
Eventually they both fainted from having to use the move Struggle.
Everyone was silent for a moment before Hala spoke.
"Well I suppose they both fought to their full power.... OUR WINNERS ARE BOTH LILLIE AND 'SIZZLEFUZZ' AND ELIO AND ROWLET."
The crowd cheered as they both exited the stage. The festival went on throughout the night as most people left at midnight.
Before the kids left Kukui and Hala pulled them aside.
"Elio, I wanted to return this to you, this is a Z Ring!"
Elio took the bracelet in his hands, the sparkling stone was turned into this? Does this mean he has to wear it all the time now?
Hala begun explaining how Z crystals and z moves worked.
"And the crystals that I mentioned can only be obtained through the island challenge! Kukui I believe this is your turn to explain."
Kukui smiled and held up four fingers.
"Four Islands! You all will explore these island and take on their trials. For each of those trials you will face a Totem Pokemon! If you win you get a Z crystal! Once you complete all the trials for that island you get to face off against the kahuna for your grand trial! You'll also get a crystal from this too. It's the best way to reach your full potential as a trainer! Who's in?"
Hau beamed at this.
"Yeah! I've always been waiting for this moment!"
"That's great Lillie?"
Lillie thought for a moment about all the happened up to this point, nodded and smiled. She was going to become her best self, get Nebby back to their home, and confront her mother!
"I'm all in professor."
"Awesome! And you Elio?"
Elio couldn't give this chance up, he's always wanted to go on an adventure. He was scared but he'd have to make it work and hope for the best.
"Yeah, I'll do it!"
"Alright! I'm sure you've got some great potential as a trainer, and you Selene?"
"Sorry but I'll have to pass, I haven't figured out my exact path yet but it's not really power that I want. I'll still do my best to keep up with you and I'll support you all though."
"Ah I see, that's too bad then, I'm glad you'll still be traveling with us then!"
She nodded and said,
"Besides, every good party of adventures needs a medic."
He handed Hau, Lillie, and Elio their island challenge amulets.
"One more thing before I go. Meet me at the lab tommorow kids I have one more thing that I think will help you all on your adventures. For now, goodnight!"
Everyone said their goodbyes and goodnights and made their way back to their homes.
Chapter 4: Rotom Dex
Summary:
Haha robot go brrr
Chapter Text
The next morning came and the kids were playing on the beach. Kukui said he had to go and get things set up before they could see their next surprise. Elio was making a sand castle, Lillie was gathering up seashells, and Hau and Selene were having a semi-heated debate on whether a coconut counts as a mammal or not.
"Hau please-"
"C'mon! It has milk and little hairs!"
"Yes but it doesn't have a spine, and it isn't warm-blooded either. It's a fruit."
"But it lives in the sunlight! That's gotta make it warm right?"
"That's not how it-"
Just then they heard the professor yell at rockruff to use a move. Lillie groaned as she said,
"We literally just patched that hole in the roof. And we just washed that lab coat and hour ago, now it's going to be in shreds. I'm not good at sewing so that's his problem when he complains about buying another."
Elio stares at the house for a bit before asking,
"Hey Lillie? He mentioned one time that his research method was "the best way to study battle" what did he mean by that?"
"Don't believe a word of it! He has his pokemon attack him to observe their moves! Honestly it's a wonder the house is still standing! On my first month of living here I managed to gain a first name basis with almost everyone from the local fire department, the local police, and the local medics!"
"Wait that bad?"
Lillie sighed,
"Yes, some accidents were bigger than others though. Actually that's how me and Selene met each other."
Selene nodded and Hau explained,
"Apparently Professor Kukui went to go look around Ten Carat Hill because there was a rumor about a legendary pokemon lurking around there! But he slipped and hit his head! Pretty bad too! So he called the emergency people and since Selene was nearby she headed over there, did her first aid thingy and took him to the hospital. Eventually Professor Burnet and Lillie were contacted. Once he got released the next day Selene went over to see if he was doing fine and she met the others there."
Selene nodded again and said,
"He's one of my best costumers, which isn't something you wanna hear from a medic. But I enjoy his, Lillie's, and Professor Burnet's company."
Elio was about to ask about the legendary pokemon when Kukui walked out the door. He had cuts and bruises all over but thankfully nothing serious. And of course his lab coat was torn.
"Hey new trainers! Who's ready for a surprise?"
Hau cheered, Lillie smiled, Elio looked confused, and Selene just stared.
The kids follow him inside the lab and immediately spot the tv with the rocks impaled in it and the traumatized looking luvdisc inside the fish tank, along with all of the sand and dirt around the room.
Lillie just sighed and said,
"This is how I pay my rent."
Kukui sheepishly apologized and said,
"Anyways, come over to this table here. Take a look at the machine on it."
The kids look at the coffee table and see a small red device on it. The kids asked what it was and Kukui responded.
"Have you all heard of the pokemon Rotom? It can possess different machines to help it in battle. So I invented this device so Rotom could possess a pokedex!"
The kids were impressed but then Selene asked.
"So where's Rotom?"
Kukui smiled widely and pulled out a pokeball, releasing the pokemon inside who was, of course, a Rotom. Rotom scanned the room before looking at the small red dex and immediately possessing it. It took a few minutes to set up with it's new body but then started to communicate.
"Zzzt- Zzzt! Alola! I am Rotom Dex! It's nice to meet you!"
The kids were in awe and started to introduce themselves.
"Alola! My name is Lillie! It's nice to meet you!"
"Alola! I'm Hau! What's it like being a robot? What do you eat anyways? Can you fight like this?"
"Alola? I'm Elio!"
"Alola, I'm Selene."
After a while of debating what to do next they sent out their pokemon to see what Rotom would say about them. Rotom went on and on about their pokemon's unique features and personalities. After that Kukui announced that to kick off their Island Challenge they would be visiting the pokemon school for some quick lessons on battling. As they were walking there the kids made conversation. Hau said,
"So guys I've been here a few times, usually with my gramps for business stuff but they like to give quick lessons to visitors. Usually I'm homeschooled though, I haven't really gone to public school since kindergarten."
Lillie replied with,
"Now that I think about it I've only ever been tutored by people, me and my brother have never been to school..."
Elio asked,
"I didn't know you had a brother, what's he like?"
Lillie sighed and answered,
"Well he was always very sweet and caring, he would often protect me from our mother and argue with her in my favor. Although one day he ran away from home, the employees said he took some pokemon with him called Type:Null? I've never seen it before. But I do miss Gladion a lot. It's been two years since I last saw him."
Selene patted her back and said,
"I'm sure he misses you too Lillie, on a lighter note we're almost here."
Elio looked up and could see it nearby.
"I wonder what this school is like, the one I went to in Kanto wasn't bad but I didn't have any friends there so it was kinda boring. What about you Selene what school did you go to?"
Selene shrugged and replied,
"I went to a private school for a while, but eventually my parents decided that I wasn't doing good enough there so they switched me to tutors."
Hau was a bit surprised and asked,
"Were you really doing bad there? Your like, one of the smartest people that I know?"
Selene shook her head and answered,
"No, straight 100s actually, they just didn't think i was reaching my full potential."
Eventually they heard a loud noise and turned to the left. Some Tauros was standing in the way of the entrance to the city. Luckily they didn't need to go there to reach the school, otherwise they would have to choose a sacrifice to be the bait while the others ran, Tauros are strong man.
They reached the school and walked up to the outside of the building, there stood a teacher, she asked if the kids were ready and Kukui told her to go ahead and start. He told the kids that there were four trainers around the building for them to fight. Each one headed off in a different direction.
Lillie found a girl standing by an incinerator. The girl challenged her and sent out her pikipek. Lillie sent out Sizzlefuzz the Litten. Pikipek laughed when hearing it's nickname. Litten responded by setting the bird on fire.
'Meh, I don't care if that Rowlet shames me for this when he finds out I knocked out another Pikipek girl, they were asking for it...'
After the girl recalled her pokemon she shared some battling advice before reporting to her teacher.
Next up was Selene who found some kid sitting next to a shed. He sent out a metapod and after a few minutes Popplio managed to knock it out.
'That metapod kept speaking in riddles- how was I supposed to know "what spelled forwards is what I do everyday but spelled backwards is what I hate?" And why was it staring at me like that?'
The kid also recalled his metapod and then said that he doesn't have any advice cause he doesn't do his homework. After that she decided to go searching in the nearby grass patches for pokemon, there she found an Alolan Grimer. Rotom saw her and flew over.
Rotom explained by how this pokemon was an expert for waste management since it eats garbage. Selene thought this was interesting and useful, she decided to catch Grimer and add it to her team.
Next on the list was Hau who ran into a little girl inside the building. She started threatening him and asking if he wanted to fight. He was confused but he accepted her challenge. She sent out her Bonsly. Pichu one-shotted it.
'Man I'm so strong. I'm so muscular. I'm gonna be a super cool Pikachu in no time, maybe even a super awesome Raichu!'
Lastly was Elio who was spotted by one of the schools rising stars. He seemed a little full of himself and challenged him. He sent out his Alolan Grimer. It was a tough battle due to the type matchup but Rowlet and Pikipek managed to pull through.
'GOOD HEAVENS! What a dastardly creature! It had no manners whatsoever! It ATE my feather and almost my talons too! Even Lady Pikipek seemed disturbed! Not to mention his trainer! So stuck up, I suppose partners really do reflect each other!'
After Elio defeated the boy, the "rising star" started talking about how frustrating it was that he wasn't the strongest anymore and that maybe he should aim for being a pretty boy instead. Then he gave Elio a TM for the move Work Up and explained the move and how to use the TM.
Lillie then caught up with him and they heard the school bell chime. Then an announcement calling Elio to the teacher's office came on. Lillie looked at him in shock.
"What did you do to get called in so quickly?? We haven't been here for more than an hour!"
"I don't know!"
Elio nervously walked up the steps as he met with the teacher.
"Elio.... I can't believe that you...."
Oh boy here it comes...
"Defeated one of our strongest students here! I'm very impressed! So as your reward... I would like to challenge you to a battle!"
She pulled out her first pokemon which is Magnemite. Immediately Elio is in trouble cause both of his pokemon are birds. (and still kinda weak from his last fight) He struggles for a while but eventually Pikipek learns Magnemite's patterns and is able to dodge more efficiently and land the finishing blow. She's almost fainting though so he calls her back and sends out Rowlet as the teacher sends out an Alolan Meowth. Thankfully since Rowlet and his mom's Meowth tend to butt heads sometimes Rowlet has enough experience to deal with attacks. Rowlet lands the last hit and the battle is over.
'I've had enough of these foul four-legged creatures. I will always triumph.'
The teacher was ecstatic! Elio can't remember ever having a teacher compliment him so much. She even joked about having him take over as teacher. Soon, Kukui, Lillie, and some mysterious guy around their age walked in.
Lillie and Kukui took some time congratulating him and eventually the weird dude introduced himself as Captain Ilima. He's the trial captain that runs the local trial on Melemele Island, the normal type trial.
"I couldn't help but watch you and your friends battle. You and Lillie especially have excellent talent as trainers, I would love it if you both took my trial sometime."
They agreed to take it and left the building. It was getting rather late out. There they met up with Selene, Hau, and Rotom Dex.
All of the students bid their goodbyes and as a present before leaving, each kid was given an experience share to help train their teams. As they walked out of the school and on their ways home for the night, they discussed their plans for the next day. They all decided to go wander around and explore Hau'oli City. They bid each other goodnight and walked home.
Chapter 5: Hau'oli City
Summary:
Time to spend all of our money! And fight heathens-
Chapter Text
Lillie woke up and started getting ready for the day. She was excited to get to run around town with her friends. She put on her dress and started to brush and braid her hair as she realized something. There were a few clothing stores in town, and really, the look she had just wasn't practical, not for adventuring anyways. This was just the style that her mother picked for her, and to her mother? Anything that didn't look and act "beautiful" in the way that she wanted wasn't worthy of her love. There was always a lot of pressure on her and her brother to be "perfect little children."
More like perfect little dolls.
Lillie liked dressing in cute clothes as much as the next person but there was always something kinda eerie about this outfit. Her mother insisted that this was the best look for her, always insisted on this dress, with these colors, and this hairstyle. It almost felt like her mother was trying to use her to replicate something.
But now that she isn't with her mother she can find something else to wear. She can try out different styles. And she can finally find something that is easy to walk around an island in.
She finishes getting ready and starts heading out the door. (After having to bribe Nebby to stay in the bag of course-)
------------------------
Elio made his way to Hau's place. He had a rough morning because he and his mom had gotten into an argument. She was still making fun of him for the bridge thing and he just snapped. He screamed at her and she just kept saying she was just joking and that he shouldn't be so sensitive. What made him storm out was when she said she was glad it was obvious that he was just adopted because she didn't want people thinking she was just as dramatic as he was.
He kept walking as he tried to choke down his tears. Eventually he knocked on the door and Kahuna Hala greeted him and invited him in. It didn't take long for Hau to run up and start showing him around the place before he asked if Elio had eaten yet. When Elio replied that he hadn't and that he got caught up in other stuff Hau insisted that he join him for breakfast.
A lot of the people who worked for them, chefs, maids, even the gardeners were very kind to him. Everything felt so lively and warm here. All of the staff and Hau's relatives all seemed like one big family.
As they were eating Hau was rambling on about a weird dream that he had, and Elio wondering where is brain even got the ideas for something so absurd. Eventually they finished and left to go play jenga in the living room as the girls arrived.
Lillie greeted them and said,
"Hello everyone! Are we ready to run around town?"
The other three agreed and walked out the door to make their way to the city.
"Hey Hau? That Tauros from yesterday kinda looked like Kahuna Hala's do you know what ended up happening to it?"
"Hmmm I don't know... Sometimes it just refuses to go anywhere until it gets petted. But don't worry! I'm sure it's gone by now."
-------------------------
They eventually make it into the city and Hau excitedly pulls them into the tourist shop. Rotom Dex flies out of Elio's bag and the lady gave him a free new update for a camera function. Which confused Selene quite a bit,
"Wait so you just casually had that update available? Rotom Dex wasn't made that long ago.... how do you already have an update for a camera function?"
The lady just shrugged and said Kukui had given it to her and told her to hand it to them.
The kids decided to walk outside and try it out. Rotom Dex flew in front of the four and took a picture of all of them together. Elio was very impressed and wanted to take some more pictures.
He and Hau ran off to different areas where wild pokemon were.
Some of these pictures included:
-Hau getting knocked over by the ocean waves at the local beach
-A Pikachu throwing berries at random Wingulls
-An Alolan Ratatta stealing food from an unfortunate couple
-Said couple scolding the Ratatta while it looks down in shame
-Elio falling off a fence
-A Slowpoke wearing a hula dance outfit
-Some guy with a sunburn so bad he could fit in with a family of Delibirds
------------------------------
Lillie found one of the two clothing stores in the city and asked Selene a question,
"Hey Selene? Forgive the odd question but.. do you pick your own clothes? Or do your parents pick them out for you."
Selene looked down at the ground, seeming a little sad, before responding,
"Yeah I pick them, my parents don't exactly have the same taste as me... What about you?"
"Well.. my mother has always decided what I wear, this was her favorite outfit on me... I do think it's pretty but.. it doesn't really feel like me. Besides I want something easier to adventure in."
Selene looked back up at her with her classic smile,
"Alright, so let's go check out what they have."
---------------------------
The girls had been looking around the shop for a little bit before Lillie spotted something. It was a nice dress that seemed more fit for moving around, there was only one left and it was her size. She called Selene over to see what she thought.
"Yeah I think this would look nice on you."
"I'm going to start looking for some other stuff to match it."
Lillie found a pair of sneakers and a pink bag that seemed like it would pair well with the dress. She walked into the dressing room to try it on. It actually fit her pretty well and everything paired together nice but there was something that seemed off about it. Lillie unbraided her hair and tied it up into a ponytail and adding one braid to wrap around it.
She looked like a whole new person, she looked less fragile, she looked more confident, and she looked like she could actually adventure in this.
But there was something eating at her. She's trying her hardest to be more brave and decisive but she could just hear her mother's words about how she looks ugly in this. So ugly, so unrefined, so ungraceful. Her spiral was cut off by Selene knocking on the wall,
"Lillie? You ok? You've been in there for quite a while now."
Lillie opens up the curtains and shows her new look,
"Do you think this looks ok?"
"Yeah, it definitely looks more comfortable and practical for an adventure, and the colors look nice too."
Lillie sighs in relief,
"My mother would think this looks horrible."
Selene had an understanding look in her eyes and replied with,
"You should be able to wear whatever makes you feel good. Your mother shouldn't be making you feel insecure for just being and expressing who you are. If this is what you feel like suits you the best then go for it."
Lillie felt better hearing that, this was her, and she's never going to go back into hiding who she is.
"You're right, I think this suits me perfectly."
--------------------
Hau was wandering around the ports while waiting for Elio to come back from the bathroom. There he noticed Captain Ilima standing around. He ran up to greet him immediately,
"Alola Ilima!"
"Alola Hau, how is your island challenge going?"
"It's going pretty well! Me and the others are having a lot of fun-"
Hau was cut off by,
"YO YO YO!"
Ilima sighed and muttered "here we go again..." as Hau looked over to see two people who looked like those gang people you would see in movies. With chains, bandanas, and skulls all over them.
"Hau, let me introduce you, these people are members of Team Skull and they-"
"YO NUMBSKULL! QUIT ACTING SO TOUGH!"
Hau gave an awkward "Alola?" But the grunts just ignored him and kept looking at Ilima.
"Yo captain just give us your pokemon already man."
But Ilima, seemingly unfazed by these hooligans just turned to Hau again.
"Hau, you take the grunt on the left and I'll take the one on the right."
"Sounds good!"
The skull grunt just called him a numbskull before sending out his pokemon. And then immediately getting defeated.
While the skull grunt was on the ground sobbing and whining about how he shouldn't have lost to a little pipsqueak, Hau glanced over at Ilima who also defeated the other grunt fairly quickly. After that the grunts ran off while yelling,
"WHATEVER, WE DON'T NEED YOUR WACK POKEMON ANYWAY!"
Ilima sighed and looked back at Hau and started complimenting him for his skill.
"I have to thank you for that Hau, I have already assessed that your friends were ready for my trial but I never properly assessed you. My apologies for being so unfair. How about a battle so I can learn more about your talent?"
Hau smiled and agreed,
"Your on!"
Ilima's Yungoos and Smeargle were no joke. Despite normal types not having a lot of type advantage, a lot of them can still be very difficult to deal with and have a large variety of moves. But Hau persisted and won.
"My goodness! You too show quite a bit of talent! I'd say you're very ready for my trial. I hope to see you there soon."
Hau was beaming, this was his first ever trial! Of course he's going to accept it!
As he responded to Ilima, Hau saw Elio walking back to them.
"Heya, what did I miss?"
"Dude how big of a turd was that you've been gone long enough for us to get attacked by a gang."
--------------------
After a while of running around the group met up at the malasada shop. Hau and Elio were shocked when they saw Lillie.
"Wow! You look like a whole new person!"
"Thank you Hau! I really like this a lot better than what I had before. What do you think Elio?"
"I have to agree with Hau on this one, it's cool but I almost didn't recognize you!"
"Haha, thanks you guys."
Hau then changed the subject,
"So what kind of malasadas do you want?"
The group gave their preferences and Hau immediately ran up to ask for them, a few minutes later he came back with a tray of them.
"Ok so sweet for me, dry for Lillie, sour for Elio, and bitter for Selene."
The group enjoyed their food and told each other about their day. Hau eventually mentioned Team Skull.
"Ilima said that they go around stealing people's pokemon and trying to shame whoever takes the island challenge or has a Z Ring."
Selene sighed and asked
"So these are basically knock off, Halloween variants of Team Rocket?"
Elio nodded,
"Apparently, and apparently they aren't very strong either, at least the grunts aren't."
Lillie looked a bit worried,
"These people sound awful! I hate it when pokemon get hurt for no reason because of awful people... I can't imagine what would happen if someone I cared about got hurt by them, like you guys... or the professors.... or my family.. Who would willingly join them?"
After a while of eating and discussing the group decided it was time to go home. They bid each other farewell and headed home for the night.
Chapter 6: Totem Trial
Summary:
Can you imagine having to fight a totem pokemon in real life? I'd probably cry-
Chapter Text
It was morning time, and Selene was already exhausted.
You'd think that the super easygoing, paradise region would be easy to work as a medic at right? Well today one of the beaches that are trying to set up a mantine surfing area got confronted by a police officer, for not getting a permit to build this or even to build it at that beach. This resulted in some of the surfers picking up the mantines and throwing them at the officer who called in for backup. This resulted in the weirdest standoff she's seen in a while where one side is throwing mantines and the other side is trying to dodge while reading off laws they broke.
She's pretty sure they aren't getting permitted to build this for a while. Not only are mantines technically considered an invasive species but after that display? Not for a while. She's pretty sure her friends will be done with their Island Challenge by the time they get permission.
So why was she called there? Mantines typically have a docile nature and are very peaceful pokemon. But they don't take too kindly to getting picked up and thrown. Every pokemon has potential to be dangerous so it isn't smart to unecessarily provoke them. Thankfully the all mantines and the humans are alright now.
So now she's walking up route 2 trying to relax before she gets called in for another emergency when she feels something tug at her bag.
It's a Delibird? It looks distressed.
She decides to follow it in case there's a genuine emergency and it leads her to a small berry farm. At the main house she can see an elderly man and in front of him what looks like the team skull grunts her friends had mentioned.
Of course.
It doesn't take her long to learn that they are trying to bully the old guy into giving them free berries.
Of course.
And right as she approaches she hears this gem,
"I'll gladly share my berries with any pokemon for free but not to either of you!"
"So what I'm lower than a pokemon? I already got self esteem issues man!"
She confronts them,
"You guys know that there are plenty of berry trees around the region right? You can get them for free there but you don't need to harass a business owner for them."
They look back at her,
"You got a bone to pick with us homie?"
"Look I don't know who you think you are but Team Skull takes what they want and we want this geezer's berries;"
The old man sighs and tells her,
"I appreciate this child but you don't need to handle this, they're all bark and no bite. Just carry on with your day young lady."
The grunt on the left looked at him shocked and said,
"Yo, were standing right here! At least act a little afraid of something, y'know?"
The grunt on the right looked at her and said,
"Yo, you gonna run away? Cause after we take those berries we're gonna take your pokemon."
Selene doesn't hesitate to pull out her pokeball and send out Popplio.
'Alright battle time! Wait who is this----'
The same grunt sends out a Drowzee and says,
"Yo check how hard headed Team Skull can be!"
Selene just stares at him and says,
"Yeah there's a reason why 'thick in the head' is an insult."
His Drowzee went down in two hits.
The grunts, now annoyed at losing to her, said they were just going to go mess with Captain Ilima at Verdant Cavern. They ran off without stealing a single berry.
The elderly man and gives Selene some berries as a thank you and they talk for a bit about berries and their healing properties.
And then she gets called to deal with an accident consisting of: Kahuna Hala, Tauros, a game of tag, and several innocent bystanders.
---------------------------
Lillie was taking a rest at the area where route 2 and Hau'oli City meet. She was doing some training in the grassy bushes outside Hau'oli City Hall, after getting her trainer ID updated to match her new look.
And then she got lost in the city.
She's never been that great at directions to be honest. But when she looked up from where she was sitting she saw Elio and Rotom Dex.
"Alola Lillie, we're doing our trials today right? Ready to head up there?"
She nodded and stood up,
"Alright Rotom Dex, lead the way to Verdant Cavern."
"Zzzt- Right away!"
They begin their journey up to the cavern, battling pokemon and trainers along the way. Eventually they find a Pokemon Center and see Hau standing right outside it.
They all greet each other and Hau asks,
"How are you guys pokemon doing? My team has seen better days for sure!"
They agree and all head into the pokemon center for a quick heal. They then start discussing Verdant Cavern.
"Hey Elio? Lillie? Did you guys know that Verdant Cavern is like, sacred to Tapu Koko? I hear you're not even allowed in there unless you're on your island challenge!"
Lillie sighs and says,
"I can't imagine anybody wanting to break in though, why would you want to enter a place if you know there's a chance a Totem Pokemon or a Guardian spirit might attack you? Although I would like to see Tapu Koko again, we never got a chance to thank it properly for saving Elio and Nebby that day..."
Elio froze at the mention of that incident but quickly replied with,
"Yeah I guess I never did, though I don't know if I could walk on that bridge again. Even if it gets fixed it's still... Nevermind anyways I don't doubt someone around here is stupid enough to try sneaking into the cavern..."
Hau chuckled before saying,
"Yup and- Oh wait a second! I just remembered I had something to give you guys!"
Elio and Lillie watch him reach into his bag and pull out six small yellow crystals.
"These are revives! They'll wake up your pokemon if they faint but with these small ones they don't fully heal their injuries."
Hau hands his friends each 3 of the crystals. He then turns over to the cafe,
"Anyways you guys can go on ahead of me, imma grab me a bite to eat so I'll be energized for my trial!"
They all say their goodbyes and Elio and Lillie walk out the door.
-------------------------
They see the trial gate just up ahead and find Ilima waiting for them.
"Alola you two, my trial is just mere steps outside of this gate. Although note that the pokemon who live here are quite fierce. Also Selene and I ran into each other earlier today and she mentioned the Team Skull grunts from before are planning on messing with me today. They haven't arrived so I believe it would be ok to start now but I just wanted to warn you both. With all of that in mind, are you ready?"
The duo share a glance before nodding.
"Excellent, now follow me."
They follow Ilima into the cavern, it was quite large and had all sorts of plants growing inside.
And to Elio's dismay, a weak looking bridge made of two long wooden planks.
This was going to be a rough trial.
Ilima began explaining that they had to beat all of the pokemon hiding in the mini caves before challenging the Totem Pokemon.
Elio walked up to the nearest mini cave and got to work on defeating the Yungoos inside. He could hear Ilima behind him,
"Excellent work Elio! Now to just get the other ones!"
Lillie then ran up to the next mini cave and defeated the Alolan Ratatta inside. Once again Ilima complimenting her skill.
The duo then started checking the other caves. But the pokemon must have some tunnel or something because the kept switching which cave they were in. But right as Lillie was walking across the flimsy bridge,
"Yo, yo, yo!"
"It's your theif boys back at it again!"
The duo and Ilima look at the Team Skull grunts, not entirely surprised but still wondering what it is they are planning to do. Ilima yelled from across the cavern, just to annoy them,
"Who are you two again?"
The grunts looked at him shocked, they quickly swapped places,
"Yo just because I was standing on the left this time you don't remember me?"
The other grunt shakes his head and says,
"Who cares about that? We're here to ruin their trial!"
They run off to cover the other holes looking for the pokemon hiding inside, but they aren't having any luck. The last hole is the one across from the bridge,
"Elio follow me! We can still win the trial!"
"But... the bridge...."
"Look I promise I won't let you fall again! Just take my hand and we'll both walk together."
Elio thinks for a moment, if he doesn't defeat those pokemon, he can't challenge the Totem Pokemon. And if he doesn't do that, he doesn't complete the trial. He's so tired of having the fear and memories control his life. He doesn't want to be restricted by this forever. He's always wanted to have an adventure and he shouldn't have to stop because of this.
He takes his friend's hand and they slowly walk across the bridge. Each step fuels his fear more and more but he gets through it! His eyes might have tears ready by the end but eventually he makes it to the other side.
"See? I told you I wouldn't let you fall again! Great job!"
He smiles, that bridge was even more dangerous than the one he fell from and he managed to cross it. He wipes his eyes and runs to the small cave with Lillie right beside him.
Inside they find both a Yungoos and another Ratatta. They easily defeat it and climb up to the top cave. This one is much larger than the other ones and they walk in to see a giant empty hollow part of the cavern, there isn't a ceiling above them, they can see the orange sky above them.
"Hey Lillie? What time is it?"
"I'm not sure but it must be getting late."
Just then, the room got colder as they could hear loud footsteps coming from all around the cave. They looked around but couldn't see anything. Immediately a bad feeling washed over the both of them as they grew more anxious.
Something was coming for them but where? They couldn't see anything except for a pedestal with two small crystals on it.
Were these? Z crystals?
Immediately the anxious feeling in them grew worse. Something was coming for them but where? What were they supposed to do? How were they supposed to fight an enemy they couldn't see? What was it waiting for?
Were they supposed to take the crystals? It sounded like a trap but the duo decided this was the only way to find out. Just as they reached for it.....
Two pokemon, a Gumshoos, and an Alolan Raticate, jumped out in front of them! These things were huge! It probably wouldn't take much for both of them to tear these kids, who were like 1/20th of their size, limb from limb.
Both Lillie and Elio were frozen in fear. They both swore they'd be brave but they've never encountered a Totem Pokemon before. These giants just jumped at them from no where. How were they supposed to fight both of these at the same time?
Totems Gumshoos and Raticate roared at them, challenging them to a battle.
The kids were in tears, but if they didn't do something they might die. Elio sent out Pikipek and Lillie sent out Sizzlefuzz.
'Lillie..... WHAT IS THAT THING? DO YOU SERIOUSLY EXPECT ME TO FIGHT THAT?'
Pikipek was pretty freaked out too but it still sent out attacks, trying to damage Gumshoos. Pikipek wasn't much in terms of attack power, but she managed to out speed pretty well since she was tiny. This was usually utilized to dodge attacks.
Sizzlefuzz was trying to light Raticate ablaze with Ember. But there's only so much a Litten can do.
Good news, they were doing somewhat decent damage. Bad news, they couldn't dodge forever, Pikipek fainted and Rowlet was sent out.
'Elio.... what on the everloving greasy green earth are those.'
Litten called out to Rowlet
'Look I know we don't see eye to eye but if you and I don't have at least a little teamwork here then we're more dead than a Jumpluff visiting Mount Lanakila.'
Rowlet huffed and replied,
'Very well then, I won't allow my partner to die in a horrid place like this.'
Rowlet and Sizzlefuzz managed to combine their attacks. With Sizzlefuzz using ember to light Rowlet's leafage on fire, and then Rowlet using his flying type abilities to blow the burning leaves around the room.
But the totems grew agitated and almost seemed to power up.
'Ah geez, goodbye fish and catnip, look birdie we aren't getting out of this.'
'Well... I suppose we are at rather low health but...'
Rowlet looked back at Elio, he remembered the moment Elio cared for him, providing him with food, a place to stay, and put his best effort into training. But also remembered what he had to go through to get to this point, the troubles they both had to go through to get to this point.
'Sizzlefuzz, I'm not giving up here, and as much as I dislike you I need your help. You wouldn't seriously want to forfeit here now would you? It's not just our lives on the line here but your partners as well.'
Sizzlefuzz thought about what Rowlet had said, he looked back at Lillie and while she was still very scared, she was determined, so was Elio. That's because they trusted them as their partners.
'Dang it, I guess you're right mr.nobleman, I'd miss too much if we died here.'
The pair of pokemon stood up and this time as they were attacking they began to glow. Elio and Lillie looked at them in shock.
"Rowlet.... are.... you?.."
"Sizzlefuzz?..."
The creatures began to change shape, growing bigger and stronger. As soon as the light settled Rowlet and Litten had evolved into,
"Dartrix?..."
"Torracat?..."
Dartix let out a strong razor leaf as Sizzlefuzz used a hard bite.
"Lillie? I think we can still win here!"
The trainer duo worked in sync with their newly evolved pokemon, calling attacks and dodges until....
Totem Gumshoos and Raticate fainted!
"Oh my.. Elio.. we?"
Just then the duo jumped as they heard a voice behind them,
"Congratulations you two! You defeated the Totem Pokemons! Go ahead and take your crystals, you earned them!"
Dang it Ilima.
The duo took the crystals, watched Ilima show them the pose to unlock the z move, and immediately booked it to the pokemon center.
----------------------
Elio and Lillie were now relaxing after healing up their teams, spending time with their newly evolved pokemon. What happened in that cave was terrifying but also thrilling.
They both defeated not one but two Totem Pokemon. They both made it out alive. They both were able to overcome their new fear of bridges. They both evolved into better versions of themselves along with their pokemon.....
And they both tore Ilima a new one for not warning them there were two totems.
Chapter 7: The Meadow and the Mystery
Summary:
Pokemon sun and moon starter trio my beloved. Popplio evolution line it's your turn.
Chapter Text
Both Lillie and Elio were not dealing with the trial in the best way.
To Elio, this wasn't AS scary as the bridge thing kinda. BUT IT WAS STILL TERRIFYING. He didn't go into the same state as he did when he almost plummeted to his death but he's gotten his fair share of nightmares from the totem pokemon.
His Dartrix seems more confident now, he seems like he really likes his new form. So much so that he freaks out if even a single feather is out of place. He asked Rotom about it and apparently Dartrix really values their appearance. Dartrix has also been getting into more fights with Meowth. (And trying to threaten his mother.)
Lillie has had a hard time looking at Alolan Ratatta and Raticate the same since what happened. The same goes for Yungoos and Gumshoos. She's also had a hard time sleeping right since the trial. She always wondered why it was more common for kids to not take part in the island challenge and now she has her answer. Because it's terrifying.
She's not going to give up though, but she would like a break before her grand trial. Seems like Elio had the same idea, in the meantime she's been doing more work around the lab with the help of Nebby and Sizzlefuzz.
Sizzlefuzz has gotten a lot stronger since it evolved. It requires more food now and wants stronger opponents than before. It can also be a bit spoiled at times but according to her books that's basically every feline pokemon. But she can still see its old behaviors from when it was a tiny Litten. Like licking its fur only to set its entire body on fire to burn away excess fur. Thank goodness the professors were there because that gave her a heart attack.
Ah the joy of taking care of pokemon.
-------------------------
Professor Kukui was walking around route 3 looking for Lillie. He had wanted to talk to Ilima about the trials a few days ago. While he was more than proud of Lillie and Elio for passing, they also seemed a bit freaked out. So he wanted to ask Ilima for advice on how to encourage them and help them move past their fears.
He then learned some interesting things such as:
-Team Skull targeting them because they couldn't steal berries.
-Hau was supposed to challenge them that same day but he got distracted by these weird green squishy pokemon and went to investigate.
-Elio and Lillie's colorful language for him right before they left for home.
So yeah it sounds like yesterday was quite eventful. But somewhere around his conversation with Ilima, he realized he forgot where Lillie went. Lillie had only greeted Ilima but said that she was going to walk a bit to this one area that looked interesting to her. But he forgot which one that was.
Great going Kukui you're such a wonderful and responsible guardian.
After he had finished talking to Ilima, the captain had left to go help Hau with his trial. As he wandered around he spotted a cave. That's weird, that looks like the entrance to Melemele Meadow.
He walked in and took in the sight of all the beautiful yellow flowers, they stretched upon the ground and even some of the cliffs. As he looked around he saw a girl in the back,
"Alola Lillie! What are you doing over here?"
"Alola professor! After we explored around a bit I saw the meadow and wanted to have a look around, Nebby flew out of my bag so I had to chase them but we ended up playing out here for a bit."
"Well this is a nice place to catch and observe some new pokemon!"
Lillie giggled and replied,
"And I did! Two of them actually."
She pulls out two pokeballs and out comes a Cutiefly and an Oricorio.
"This Cutiefly is named Queenie, and this Oricorio is named Nectar!"
Nectar gave some greeting chirps and started to do a little dance, meanwhile Queenie hid behind Lillie a bit, landing on her shoulders.
"Queenie is still a bit timid so I'm going to wait a bit before I add her in any battles. But I'd say Nectar is ready to fully fight with me!"
Kukui chuckled and said,
"Well take all the time you need! It's better than rushing things."
The two talked for a bit about the species that lived in this area. Gathering data for research as well before they decided to leave. Upon leaving the meadow, they heard a familiar voice calling out to them both,
"Alola you two! Me and Pikachu beat the trial! Man it was tough but we pulled through!"
Lillie chuckled and replied,
"That's wonderful Hau! Guess you have been getting stronger too!"
"Haha yup! Hey Lillie? I already ran to the pokemon center, so wanna battle?"
Lillie and Kukui were both a bit shocked and Kukui asked,
"Aren't you a bit tired from the trial?"
Hau giggled and responded,
"Actually after resting for a bit me and Pikachu have been raring to go!"
Lillie smiled and said,
"I just caught a few new pokemon, I think this would be a great opportunity to try one of them out!"
Kukui smiled and said,
"Alright let the match begin!"
Lillie sent out Nectar the Oricorio, and Hau sent out his Pikachu. Both of them were quite speedy pokemon and were pretty good at dodging attacks. However they still managed to get some good chip damage in.
Unfortunately for Hau, Pikachu noticed a puddle on the ground. He started looking inside of it while Nectar was using stat boosting moves. Hau tried calling it's attention but Pikachu was so fascinated by his appearance.
'Wow, ever since I evolved.... I've never looked so gorgeous. Such a handsome face I have... Such muscles I have.'
Pikachu was so obsessed with flexing in the puddle mirror and kissing its pretend biceps that it didn't notice Nectar approaching. Hau tried to call Pikachu to move and attack but it was too late. Nectar landed the finishing move. Hau sighed as he called back Pikachu and replied,
"Sorry, Pikachu can be a little self-obsessed sometimes! During the trial he was completely locked in but during smaller fights he can get a bit distracted-"
Lillie and Kukui laughed a bit as they invited Hau to walk back with them to the lab.
----------------
Lillie and Hau were eating some ice cream in the kitchen when Hau got an idea,
"Hey guys! Why don't we have a sleepover with the other two?"
Lillie looked at him and asked,
"Tonight? Where at?"
Kukui laughed and said,
"You guys can have it here tonight, I'm sure Burnet won't mind considering you guys already hang out here quite a bit."
Hau beamed and said,
"That's great! Once I finish this I'll find the other two and tell them!"
Lillie looked back down at her ice cream,
"I've never been to a sleepover before, I'm not against having one tonight since I also wanted to talk to them about my new teammates but..."
Hau chuckled and replied,
"Don't worry I've had a few of them before! And chances are those two have never been to one either."
---------------------
Lillie, Hau, Elio, and Selene were sitting around the tv watching whatever shows they could find. Hau started up some conversation,
"Hey guys what kinds of anime do you guys like?"
Lillie thought for a moment before responding,
"I haven't really watched a bunch of them but so far I like ones about adventuring, it pumps me up a little and I like the courageous protagonists."
Hau chuckled and said,
"I like watching stuff about cool superheroes and other kinds of people who fight bad guys! They can be a lot of fun but sadly some of their fanbases ruin it sometimes. Which is sad because the show itself is good but all people see is the cursed stuff the fans make. What about you Elio?"
Elio sighed,
"Slice of life. Also highschool drama themed stuff. It's kinda relatable but it's also somehow a nice break from reality. But they can also be kinda stupid and overdramatic sometimes which is fun to laugh at."
Elio turns to Selene and she replies,
"I like animes that are complex. Whether it's the characters getting put in wacky, outlandish situations that are the epitome of 'never let them know your next move', or psychological horror that doesn't need an overload of gore to be gut wrenching just good writing."
They hear knocking on the door and Burnet goes to answer it,
"The pizzas are here!"
The kids and the professors all grab some pizza and sit down to eat.
Kukui starts a conversation,
"So Lillie how are your new pokemon doing?"
Elio glances at the Cutiefly and Oricorio that are playing with all of the other pokemon present,
"Yeah I've never seen pokemon like that before, how do they do battle wise?"
Lillie looks at her pokemon and says,
"Well Nectar the Oricorio seems to like battling, and Queenie the Cutiefly is starting to warm up to my other pokemon but I don't think she likes battling."
Selene nods and says,
"It's not uncommon actually, most pokemon do enjoy battling but you have to admit that it's a stressful thing for them to do. I mean I doubt that I would be too happy if my guardian threw me in a fistfight over some petty reason of who's stronger."
Burnet agreed with her and added,
"Maybe don't have her on your team when you go out to battle, but do make sure to spend time with her. She seems to really like you."
Lillie smiled and replied,
"I wouldn't ditch Queenie, maybe when I'm just doing research work I'll take her with me. And luckily thanks to the PC at the pokemon centers I should be able to visit her there too."
Elio looked at his newly evolved Trumbeak,
"Yeah when I first got Pikipek I was worried for her. She wasn't doing so well in battle and I was wondering if she just didn't like doing it. But eventually sometime after the trial she evolved too. Turns out she just needed some time and patience but if you think that Queenie doesn't like it then that's probably the route to go."
The group continued to discuss their pokemon and training techniques they could try. Hau started eating more of the pizza while Elio just watched in surprise,
"Hau isn't that like your sixth slice?.."
"Yeah why?"
"Do you not get sick or something?"
"Oh please I never get sick! It's basically my superpower."
Selene snickered and said,
"Yeah I'm sure you're feeling real super on the rare occasion that you do."
Hau pouted and replied,
"Yeah ok I feel like I got hit by a semi truck, but it's not often!"
Elio stared at him more before realizing,
"Wait Hau.... don't tell me.... YOU LIKE PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA?"
Hau pouted even more before responding,
"Yeah! And I'm not going to listen to anyone who says otherwise!"
"Hau please- why do you commit such an atrocious crime with such ease..."
The two kept arguing back and forth while the professors and the two girls watched.
-------------------
It was now nighttime and Selene couldn't sleep. She kept hearing noises that sounded like your average pokemon cries, but every once in a while she'd hear one specific one that she couldn't identify. She looked over at her friends, all of them and their pokemon were asleep.
But the mysterious cries kept getting louder and louder.
Selene decided nobody would notice if she snuck out to go take a look around. Except her Popplio did notice and followed her out the door. She picked up Popplio in her arms and started looking around outside. She followed the sound to Ten Carat Hill. The entrance was guarded by some rocks that you usually needed a pokemon's help to remove, but she was a good climber so into the spooky cave she went.
As she walked around, occasionally battling a carbink here and there she reached the end of the cave. The area had an open sky and plenty of tall grass and trees to cover it.
In the middle was a large crystalized pokemon laying in the middle, the back of its head was lighting up a little bit before it spotted her. It seemed injured and weak. She cautiously approached the pokemon and was about to give it a potion that she made before a group of Sableye approached her.
The Sableye decided to attack her and the injured pokemon. Popplio immediately jumped out to protect her. With it's trainers guidance it was able to defeat all of the Sableye by spamming disarming voice.
Suddenly Popplio began to glow and change shape a bit,
"Popplio..."
When the glowing aura disappeared, there stood a proud Brionne.
'Yes! Finally! I thought I would never evolve! I finally caught up with the other two!'
Selene sat down on the ground and hugged her new Brionne.
"Congrats on evolving buddy, I think this new form of yours is very fitting."
The pair was startled by another grumble from the mysterious pokemon behind them.
Selene approached the pokemon and used her potions to heal it up. The pokemon looked her in the eyes as it turned its head down. The backside of its head was almost completely flat except for one small crystal that looked like it could be a z crystal.
The pokemon's head started to glow and the small gem changed color to a light blue, a symbol on it's crystal took shape of what looked like a pokemon's head. The pokemon's hand plucked the crystal off of the top and handed it to her. It suddenly made a loud cry and flew off into the night sky.
"Were you the legendary pokemon that was rumored to be here?"
She turned back to Brionne and picked her up,
"Thanks for helping me with that, I don't know how to feel about that pokemon. I think that's the rumored legendary but I'm not sure. I believe it gave me a z crystal but does that mean it's the creator of them? I don't know if I should tell the others about this or not. Usually legendary pokemon stay in hiding for both their sake and others sake as well. Let's hold off on telling the others for now, I don't want word of this to get around if that pokemon is hiding for a reason."
Selene remembered some of the legendary and mythical pokemon she had heard about back home. She also remembered hearing about lots of different villainous organizations, some of which specifically targeted legendary pokemon. It's a relief that they were defeated.
Who knows what sort of damage they could have done.
Brionne bworked back and they exited the cave. When they reached the beach the sun was just starting to rise.
"Well Brionne, if we're going to get strong enough to use this crystal then we're going to need to put some more effort into our training. Let's make an effort to battle and practice with our friends more."
Brionne was excited, it didn't know Dartrix and Torracat to well when they were first caught for starter selection. Brionne had been in a few groups before this and hadn't been picked so she had already learned to not get too attached.
But things were different now, she had a trainer who was friends with the trainers of the other starters. Not only does her trainer have new rivals but she has new rivals too!
'I'm not the most bestest, most strongest out there but I'm gonna become stronger with Selene!'
---------------------
The next morning Kukui and Burnet got up and got ready for the day. When they went to go wake up the kids they noticed that Selene was gone. So was her Popplio and her Grimer. The other kids and their pokemon were still here.
When Elio was awake enough to also notice he told the professors and the other kids that he was going to go out and look for her. He walked outside to see Selene, Grimer, and a Brionne, all three of them practicing battling each other.
He walked up to her and they greeted each other,
"Morning Selene, what's with Popplio? Did it evolve?"
"Yep. Last night I heard some weird noises so we went to investigate, we had to fight some Sableye while we were there and now my partner is a Brionne."
"Strange noises? What was it."
Selene remembered what she told Brionne last night about legendaries hiding for good reasons,
"Didn't find it, it stopped eventually."
"Ah I see."
"Brionne and I wanted to practice battling some more so I went in earlier to grab Grimer and we've been practicing for a while."
Eventually the others walked out and Selene explained the name as she did to Elio.
Dartrix and Sizzlefuzz headed over to Brionne.
'Good morning Lady Brionne! I see you have evolved! This is a wonderful new look for you!'
'Ah thanks! Me and Selene are gonna be putting more effort into battling now. I can't wait to challenge you both!'
'Tch you better give it everything you got then. Although I agree with Edgar Allen Coo here this is a better style than what you had before. Now c'mon let's go pester the human peeps for food.'
Chapter 8: The First Grand Trial
Summary:
Sorry Crabrawler I like you as a pokemon but someone had to say it.
Chapter Text
Elio stepped onto the stage, feeling more confident than usual.
This was the moment he had wanted, to get to face off with a strong trainer with an important role. Back in Kanto he'd always wanted to challenge gym leaders. They were the stars of their town and everyone there knew their names. Known for their excellent battling skills, gaining their badges was incredibly hard. Trainers who had a lot of badges were at least somewhat popular throughout the region. They were able to make names for themselves and get acknowledged by tons of people.
The Island Kahuna was a title even more grand than that. They were chosen by guardian spirits and weren't just influential to their towns but to the whole island. Not a lot of kids took the Island Challenge (because it's horrifying) so word got around quickly when they beat their grand trial.
Of course it's weird knowing that he's not only beating up an old man's pokemon in exchange for a valuable gem, but his friends grandpa's pokemon but still--
He'd looked into fighting type pokemon and was super excited when he learned that he had a huge advantage. Dartrix and Trumbeak were both flying types so he had a type advantage over Hala. He'd trained with his buddies quite a bit, anticipating this moment.
It was so refreshing to hear that he could battle an important person and not some giant pokemon that could eat him in a single bite. He's going to hope that the next totems are friendlier.
He looks around and sees Lillie, Hau, Selene, and Kukui. They all helped him train and now they're going to watch him. Lillie and Hau were due to battle Hala after him. He turns back to face Hala.
"I am Kahuna Hala of Melemele Island. I am here to challenge your skill in battle in the form of your grand trial. Let the battle begin!"
Kahuna Hala sends out mankyey to start. Elio sends out Trumbeak and immediately commands her to attack. Mankey tried hard to get a grip on Trumbeak but she always flew faster. She had sustained some damage but took Mankey down rather quickly.
Hala's next pokemon was a Makuhita. Another pure fighting type, and another victim to flying type moves. Elio was having a blast, he wasn't battling for that long and he was already winning. Trumbeak using the strength gained in its evolution has much more attack power now. It may be slightly harder for it to dodge with a larger body but it's still rather quick and is able to take more hits.
Makuhita fell to the ground, fainted. Elio was beaming, he was winning, and against the friggin Kahuna! However his luck started to turn with the last pokemon, Crabrawler. Another pure fighting type so Elio was still feeling rather confident until...
Crabrawler surrounded itself with Z power as Hala began to form with poses. The fighting type Z move...
All out pummeling.
Even Trumbeak wasn't able to dodge and sustain every hit. Trumbeak fell to the ground, too dazed to fight. Elio grew nervous, honestly he shouldn't be all that surprised that the fighting type expert and Kahuna used the fighting type Z move but ok. He only had one more pokemon but so did Hala.
"Dartrix! Come out and finish the fight."
'Kahuna Hala, the guide of the island, I briefly remember him from before I met my partner but.. I never actually faced him as my foe...'
Dartrix started fixing his feathers as he awaited his trainer's command. The Crabrawler started to chuckle and called him "pretty boy" as he started throwing in insults to stir the pot.
'Hmph, who do you think you are, you scrounger? At least I attempt to look presentable. And to think you're the ace and partner of such a respected man.'
And then the Crabrawler decided he didn't like that last comment and started verbally attacking Dartrix's bloodline, Trumbeak and how quickly she went down, and Elio. Dartrix snapped,
"EXCUSE YOU? LADY TRUMBEAK ONLY WENT DOWN BECAUSE SHE TOOK DAMAGE FROM WHATEVER LACKEYS YOU HAD BEFORE THIS. AND MY BLOODLINE ISN'T EVEN IN THIS FIGHT, YOU'RE FEELING ATTACKED BY SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER SEEN! AND YOU LEAVE ELIO OUT OF THIS, WHEN WE BEAT YOU YOU'LL BE CRYING FOR MERCY. MAYBE YOU'RE UPSET BECAUSE NOT EVEN THE MOST SKILLED DENTIST CAN'T WHITEN THOSE TEETH? MAYBE YOU'RE UPSET BECAUSE YOUR HAIR LOOKS LIKE A DRILBUR'S CLAW. IF YOU'RE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO INSULT MY APPEARANCE AT LEAST COME TO CHALLENGE WITHOUT A BLACK EYE! I SUGGEST THY WATCH HIS TONE!"
Elio and Hala just watched them angrily bicker before Hala cleared his throat and ordered Crabrawler to attack. Elio called out for Dartrix,
"Dartrix let's give him a taste of his own medicine, let's use our Z move."
Dartrix surround itself with it Z power as Elio tried to recreate the pose Ilima showed him.
Breakneck Blitz.
By the end, Dartrix had driven Crabrawler straight into a bush while it was barely clinging on. Both trainers called out a move but by the end, Dartrix was merely scratched, Crabrawler was unable to battle.
Kukui yelled out,
"The winner of this match.. is Elio!"
Kahuna Hala recalled his Crabrawler and dug into his pockets and presented Elio with a Fightium Z!
Elio ran down to his friends who all cheered with him. He's done it. He beat the Island Kahuna! He can move onto the next island and take on more battles! This was a bigger rush than anything a gym leader could give him! He's never been that confident (shocker I know) but this is the most proud he's ever been of himself.
But it's still weird to brag that he beat up an old man for a gem and some money.
---------------------------
Lillie was now the one walking up the steps to the stage.
Kahuna Hala had finished healing his pokemon so that meant it was her turn. While she's glad he's not as nightmare inducing as the "Totem Duo" she still knows he's stronger than them. She's always been grateful for him, he understood her situation with Nebby and promised to protect them if anyone tried to hurt them or take them away. But to think she's challenging him, the representative of the island, is kind of nerve wracking.
She's not given up on her journey but after the totem battle she realized how much danger she was really in. It's like as soon as she saw them a switch flipped in her head and she realized all the awful things that could happen, it just became real for her. All she could do was repeat to herself that she wasn't ever going back to her old self.
She took a deep breath and challenged him to a battle.
Kahuna Hala once again set out his Mankey, Lillie quickly sent out Nectar in return. Similar to Elio, she had an advantage here because of the typing. And she utilized that as well as she could. Mankey went down in a matter of minutes.
She heard Hala mutter underneath his breath that he needs a new method of training for that one.
Next up was Makuhita, he was a harder challenge. She was fighting as hard as she could but eventually he went down too. She could then hear Hala mutter,
"Again really? Alright I suppose I should invest in vitamins after this."
Nectar was barely keeping it together when Crabrawler came out. Lillie decided to switch as well and sent out Sizzlefuzz. Crabrawler still feeling salty, tried to start riling up Sizzlefuzz but was met with,
'Chill out, we're just fighting here man. At least Beakspeare is creative with his jabs.'
Crabrawler was even more pissed at this, the first guy got under his skin but this one doesn't even care! Kahuna Hala noticed his pokemon's frustration and attempted to steer it back into focus,
"Crabrawler! Focus! We won't win here if you allow your anger to get the better of you!"
Both trainers instructed their pokemon and fires off moves. Burning, punching, but Lillie started to realize that Sizzlefuzz, who was normally quite tanky, was taking quite a bit of damage. Crabrawler took a significant amount too but it clearly has the upper hand.
Crabrawler listened to Hala as they began to strike the pose for their Z move. Lillie grew anxious and decided to make the last minute switch to Nectar. Sizzlefuzz might not have a type advantage but it was generally had better attack stats. Her best bet with finishing this off with a Z move was with him.
All out pummeling.
She quickly managed to heal her Torracat to full health by the time the Z move was over. She apologized to her fainted Oricorio and thanked them for carrying them this far. She sent out Sizzlefuzz and wasted no time in beginning her Z move. Her pose was a little wonky but Sizzlefuzz surrounded itself with Z power, and by some magic it felt like she was Z powered too.
Breakneck Blitz.
'Pal I felt more fear at those totems than I did with someone who's supposed to be the ace of the strongest guy on the island.'
Crabrawler barely tanked the attack but it didn't matter because before he could get another attack in Torracat set him ablaze.
"And the winner of this match is.... Lillie!"
Hala took out a second crystal and congratulated her,
"You've grown excellently, not just as a trainer, but as a human as well. You used to live in fear, but now you've taken on your first grand trial and passed with flying colors."
Lillie felt like she was going to tear up at his words. She accepted the crystal and ran down to celebrate with her friends.
This was another step towards her future.... and maybe some petty revenge against her mother on the side... but mainly her future-
------------------------
Hau was exhilarated as she ran onto the stage.
He's always wanted to take on the Island Challenge, but more than anything he was just excited to get to challenge his grandpa at his full strength! A lot of the people in his family were good battler's but his grandpa was something else! Nothing was better than a great battle with your loved ones.
He'd gotten to training a lot with Elio, Lillie, and Selene. All of them felt like they were growing and he wanted to keep up with them. He did win against Selene half of the time but Lillie was a much harder, and Elio he couldn't top at all! But he had his hope.
His grandpa once again gave his formal introduction and the battle begun.
Mankey was once again set out and this time looked kind of annoyed but shook it off and got into position. Hau set out his trusty Pikachu and also got into position. He only had one pokemon and didn't have a type advantage to rely on but he did have trust!
He had a bit of a harder time getting Mankey to go down but with the help of paralysis he managed to get the upper hand. His grandpa just sighed and sent out his Makuhita.
This is where the trouble sets in.
While Elio and Lillie had flying types, and therefore were immune to ground type moves, Pikachu is pure electric which is weak to ground type moves. And it felt like Makuhita was so in love with the move sand attack, he was two minutes away from hearing engagement news.
But Hau persisted and eventually Makuhita ran out of the move so Hau was able to get in several attacks without it dodging. A long and hard fight but not impossible to overcome. Very tedious though.
Out came the big, bad, Crabrawler.
This was going to be interesting because both Crabrawler and Pikachu have superiority complexes in different ways. Hau might even go so far as to say that Pikachu learned it from Crabrawler. He can't understand pokemon talk but he did see Crabrawler start shouting at Pikachu like how he did with his friends pokemon.
But Pikachu half ignored it and started to unintentionally taunt back a little,
'Oh you don't have to be shy, we all know how intimidating it is to bask in the presence of a creature so beautiful.'
Pikachu then started to kiss its "guns" again as Crabrawler rolled its eyes. No way was it going to lose the epitome of narcissism.
One last time Kahuna Hala and Crabrawler got into position.
All out pummeling.
But somehow the impossible happened.
Pikachu.
This little mouse.
This little electric rat.
Managed to dodge every hit.
You'd think you were watching a scene in an anime with how plot armor like that was-
Crabrawler was stunned and slightly tired from having to use that move so much. Pikachu ran up to him and they started fighting. More punches were thrown, more electricity was fired. Until Hau gave the signal to his Pikachu, Z move time.
Hau got into his pose as Pikachu surrounded itself with Z power.
Breakneck Blitz.
The last one of the night.
Crabrawler, haven taken significant damage from its earlier encounter, fainted on the spot.
'Now that was a glorious finale!'
Hala recalled his pokemon and smiled big,
"All of my challengers tonight were excellent opponents and their victories were proof of that. But I'm most proud of you Hau! My own grandson has beaten me and passed my trial! You're going to become an excellent person!"
Hau beamed at this, ran up, and hugged his grandpa tightly.
This was his best battle yet.
Hala let go of him and handed him the Fightium Z.
--------------------
After the kids, the professor, and the kahuna all celebrated with dinner, Hala called the kids outside and mentioned that he had one last surprise to give.
Everyone headed outside and Hala handed each child a ride pager.
"As you all know, the people in the Alola region use pokemon as means for transportation along with other vehicles. This pager allows for you to call upon pokemon to assist you. As you continue your journey you will gather much more pokemon to add to your pager. The one you all have right now is Tauros. If you're all going to be traveling in Alola's vastness I figured this would come in handy."
The children all practiced riding on Tauros and breaking rocks with it but Elio remembered something.
Ten Carat Hill.
He wanted to go since he heard strong pokemon lived there, but also because there was sighting of a legendary. The path was blocked with rocks before, but now he can clear them.
He now has plans for tomorrow morning.
Later that night, everyone bids each other goodbye and heads home for the night.
Tomorrow in the afternoon, they had a boat to take.
Chapter 9: Welcome To Akala Island
Summary:
We somehow made it here in one piece.
Chapter Text
Elio woke up in the morning feeling somewhat lighter.
His mom seemed happy for him cause of the grand trial. He told her that he had to leave for Akala Island the next day and she seemed okay with it. A little too okay with it but maybe he's just overthinking it. At least things didn't end in an argument. Things almost seemed a little too good.
He got ready for the day and headed to the door and-
"Don't "die" on me sweetie! Have fun on Akala Island!"
There it is.
-------------------------
Hau had already packed and was now just looking for ways to kill the time before the trip.
Lillie and Kukui had to get the boat set up as well as get their accommodations set up. Lillie mentioned something about having to meet someone in a hotel? And Kukui wanted to talk to his wife about stuff since she works on the island. Selene mentioned having to deliver a bunch of medicines and supplies and also take care of last minute patients.
So off he skipped to Elio's house!
And he arrived just in time too because he saw him leaving the door. He ran up as Elio walked down the steps with Dartix on top his head,
"Alola! Pretty nice morning right? Where ya headed?"
"Ah Alola, I wanted to head down to Ten Carat Hill before we go."
"Yeah now that we have Tauros those boulders don't stand a chance! Wait why'd you wanna go?"
"Do you remember the rumors of a legendary being there?"
"Oh yeah Regigigas hosts a book club there every Saturday!"
"What--"
"I'm just teasing, you think the pokemon is there?"
"Yeah, and I heard other strong pokemon live there too so I wanna see if I can catch one."
"Heck yea let's go!"
The two continued to walk along to the cave as they talked,
"Weird to think that we'll be visiting another island, it'll be my first time!"
"Hau, didn't you say that your grandpa visited a lot to talk to the other kahunas? Did he not ever take you with?"
"Nah he just went to talk to them about politics and the tapus. Younger me was not too interested in that. But nowadays I think it'd be kinda cool to be a kahuna. I wanna be strong and make people smile!"
"Heh I guess that'd suit you, but if you wanna be strong and make people smile you could always be a clown. You'd have to survive being shot out of a cannon and all sorts of silly stuff. And you've already got the looks..."
They both snickered at that and Hau responded,
"Well I'm gonna show up at all your birthday parties if I do! Every year I'll be sure to give you embarrassment and your guests a good show of it. And I'm gonna charge you for every penny!"
-----------------------
The boys reached the cave and called out Tauros.
They both rode on top as he blasted through every rock. Dartrix decided to sit this one out and head back into his pokeball. Having to dodge the Carbinks and Sableye were a bit tough though considering they were tiny and hard to see. Eventually they spotted an opening in the cave and dove straight in. Elio was captivated by the sight,
"It's weird that all of this was behind some cave.. but I don't see anything resembling a legendary?"
"Yeah I don't either, how about we go look around for some regular pokemon?
"Yeah that seems like a good idea, I also wanted to see if there were any pokemon I could add to my party."
"Gonna add another bird?"
"I like bird pokemon and all but I was thinking maybe something new. Besides, I love Dartix and Trumbeak a lot but they claw up everything with their talons...."
"Yep and Pikachu hogs every reflective surface he can find."
The boys step off the Tauros and thank him for the ride, Tauros decides to wait by the exit since they still need to leave later. Elio steps into the tall grass to look for pokemon. He turns to the side and sees His playing with a small group of puppy looking pokemon. Rotom Dex flies out of his bag and describes the pokemon as Rockruff, a rock type which is a pretty friendly pokemon that grows somewhat more distant and aggressive as it grows. They have cool evolutions that depend on the time of day.
Hau looks pretty happy over there playing with all the puppies. He's always been really friendly towards everything that does and doesn't breathe. Elio was super stoked to move to a new region, his life was okay before but kinda boring and lonely. Some people like to live like that but he was craving something more. He didn't realize Jirachi would take his wishes as near death experiences.
But the people in Alola didn't ignore him (other than his mother), and they didn't make him feel bad for feeling bad (other than his mother), and it was nice. Hau didn't judge him, Hau was just happy he there. He spent a long time feeling scared and empty, Hau didn't make the thoughts go away but they were easier to ignore when he was around.
His other friends were nice too. Kukui was pretty encouraging but also understanding whenever he was going through it. He was always super glad when Elio would visit and/or help him out with research. Selene was pretty calm and always listened when he had an outburst or rant. she was also pretty good at giving advice and calming him down. And Lillie was....
He was so angry with her and for what? He knew it wasn't her fault and he still couldn't help but resent her a bit. They still hung out together but when he saw her he just thought back to that night. But she was always so nice to him even when he couldn't help being a bit cold and empty. She even seemed to know he was upset and still wanted to be his friend....
But he spent time with her and found himself liking her as one of his friends. They went through that awful trial and she helped him cross the bridge and fight by her side. Even when they were both a bit messed up afterwards they still hung out and talked about it.
He was starting to feel pretty guilty.
Did he even deserve a friend like her with how he was at first? What if this got brought up in the future and she got tired of him? He wanted to apologize but it's been so long so would it be awkward to bring up? He just didn't know anymore.
He felt something grab his pants leg and was immediately cut off of his thoughts.
He turns down to see a Machop.
He crouches down in the ground to get a better look at it. It was smiling at him, it had large red eyes and a small tail. In some sense it kinda looked like a small baby. It was kinda cute looking. He asked Rotom to tell him about it and apparently this thing has some serious power. I mean he knew it evolved into Machamp but for such a small creature it had quite a bit of power.
He smiled, took the small Machop into his arms and began to play with it,
"Hey Machop, I'm Elio and I'm a pokemon trainer. I hear you're pretty strong and we wanna get stronger. Do you wanna join me and my team? We can train together if you do."
The Machop happily agreed and Elio took out a pokeball, he caught it and sent it out as well and Dartrix and Trumbeak so they could meet their new buddy. Dartrix was a little skeptical at first but seemed to quickly take a liking to Machop.
'My, my, you're quite the warrior! I'm sure you'll make for an excellent addition, my new ally.'
After the team got acquainted, Elio called over Hau to look at the new pokemon he caught. The Rockruff pack and Pikachu all followed too. They ended up playing around before realizing they were late to the boat.
They scrambled to say goodbye, grab their stuff, and run like the wind.
-------------------------
Lillie huffed, the guys were late.
Setting up the boat and taking care of last minute tasks took forever, she was hoping they'd show up early to help but they didn't. Selene had shown up a few minutes late but brought lunch for everyone. Now they were just waiting on the last two.
Selene nudged Lillie and the girls glanced over to see the guys running and looking a bit panicked. She ran off to tell the professor and Selene greeted the guys and brought them into the boat where the food was. Although Hau wasn't too pleased with the cold meal,
"Aw my fries are cold..."
Selene shrugged and said,
"I wasn't counting on you guys being 35 minutes late, sorry. We do have a microwave here but it's a little broken so you might burn your food."
Hau chuckled and walked over to the microwave to put his food in,
"Better than cold food!"
Elio looked up from his food and replied,
"Those are gonna get all soggy though."
Hau looked back at him and smiled,
"Well aren't you little mister picky!"
Elio pouted and went back to his meal while telling Selene about the Machop he caught and the Rockruff he and Hau played with. Lillie walked in and heard about the Rockruff and started telling stories about Kukui and his Rockruff's shenanigans.
Elio remembered how he wanted to apologize earlier and asked Lillie,
"Hey Lillie, could we go outside for a bit? I wanna tell you something...."
Lillie was confused but agreed.
--------------------
It was just them standing on the outside of the boat.
"Lillie.... I just wanted to talk about the bridge thing.."
Lillie looked a little worried and asked,
"What about it?"
"Well, I know it messed me up a bit but for a while I was kinda angry at you... I know it wasn't right but it felt like if you had gone then I would have been fine but...."
Elio took a deep breath and continued,
"You were always nice to me even when I was cold, even when I couldn't always talk clearly to you.. You were a great friend and I wasn't... But I got to spend time with you and I really like being your friend.. I like hanging out with you, Hau, Selene, and Kukui... I like getting to talk, I like getting to battle... But I'm worried about this driving a wedge between us...."
Lillie looked a bit shocked at all of this and waited as he took another deep breath. Both of them were near tears. Elio's voice began to break as he said the last part,
"I wanted to say sorry for being so rude earlier. I'm sorry Lillie."
This is what brought out the waterworks for both of them. Lillie shakily replied,
"You don't have to be sorry! I know how bad you were hurting, I couldn't blame you even if I wanted to! But this is why I wanted to go on my adventure, so I would be able to stop people from getting hurt when they protect me! You are my friend and I promise you that it will stay that way!"
This brought Elio some relief, it was like some of the weights had been lifted off. This had been eating him up for what felt like ages. Both of them hugged and tried to relax for a bit before going back in.
--------------------
Everyone had took a small break inside before they decided to get some more fresh air. Hau was having a blast watching the waves go by and the next island slowly coming into sight.
"We-e-e are off! Come on grandma! Kick it up a notch!"
Lillie wasn't impressed,
"If we push the boat much harder than this, we may all end up at the bottom of the ocean!"
Hau laughed and replied,
"Ha ha ha! At least you don't have to worry about that old silly hat of yours flying off!"
Lillie sighed and smiled,
"Yeah that last outfit of mine would have made boat rides difficult huh?"
They all enjoyed the boat ride with the occasional sea shanty.
Although only Hau and Kukui sang. The other 3 just kinda watched them.
-----------------
Down in the room, all of their pokemon were playing together. Brionne, Torracat, and Dartrix all talked amongst themselves.
"Alright bubbles and bowtie, what do you think this island will be like?"
Dartrix thought for a moment,
"I never really heard much of the other three, I do say though, I'm quite excited."
Sizzlefuzz sighed,
"I'm just hoping it doesn't completely suck. Having some good opponents would be nice though."
Dartrix huffed,
"Well I'll say, I'm still not happy about you stealing my food you thief! I'd be happy to teach you a lesson as soon as we leave this ship!"
Sizzlefuzz was unimpressed,
"Yeah try it. We all know we'll end up in a tie, that's been happening a lot as of recently."
Brionne giggled,
"But that's a sign you're getting stronger right? Besides I think you'll all like this island! I've been in a few starter groups before you two but since I didn't get picked I learned quite a bit about some of the islands! Sizzlefuzz I think you'll like Wela Volcano! There's also a Battle Royale thingy with a lot of strong trainers! There's also a large farm so a lot of the food there is pretty fresh and nice from what I heard."
Sizzlefuzz though about it,
"Y'know that doesn't sound too bad..."
Brionne turned to Dartix,
"As for you there's an area called Lush Jungle! It's this huge forest with a lot of resources. Plus there's this cave called Diglett's Tunnel, I know you like dark places so this might be a good training ground for you! Considering all the ground and rock types anyway. And there are the ruins which are said to hold a great, beautiful, guardian spirit!"
Dartrix seemed intrigued,
"Color me surprised! This does sound like a wonderful island! You're quite smart Lady Brionne!"
Brionne laughed,
"This is just stuff I heard the last few groups talk about with the professor. They were definitely the "plan ahead" type!"
Sizzlefuzz smiled,
"I guess it's good to be picked last sometimes. I didn't realize it'd give this much of an advantage. Good for you seashell."
The three talked until they finally reached the next island.
-----------------
Elio, Lillie, Selene, and Kukui all stepped off of the boat.
But Hau decided to jump off onto the concrete.
"Land ahoy! Akala Island here I come!"
Lillie smiled and teased,
"Isn't it a bit late to declare "land ahoy" when you've already arrived onshore?"
Hau looked at the others,
"What a stick in the sand! Elio buddy, Selene my pal! Help me out here!"
Both of them stared for a bit before simultaneously responding,
"Was it supposed to be funny?"
Hau pouted and put his hands of his hips.
"What about you professor?"
"The land is certainly ahoy, oh boy!"
The others groaned a little but ended up laughing with them. Even Nebby who somehow snuck out of the bag for the 1,000,000th time was laughing.
Just then they heard a voice call to them,
"Still haven't managed to find a shirt that matches that lab coat Kukui?"
They turned around to see two ladies looking over at them,
"I've told you, you're going to be scaring people like that."
Selene looked back at Kukui and laughed a little,
"Imma have to agree with her on this one professor. I mean at first I thought yours got torn from when we first met. Imagine my shock when I found out that this is just your look."
Kukui laughed too and started talking about his researching system for pokemon moves when he noticed Lillie's panicked look,
"Nebby, back in the bag, now."
"It's alright Lillie, trust me, these two can be trusted!"
The two ladies then introduced themselves with the older one starting,
"Nice to meet you! I'm Olivia, I'm the Kahuna for Akala Island."
Next, the younger one spoke,
"Thanks for stopping by! I'm Mallow, one of the captains here!"
Olivia then began to explain,
"I was coming to see who was pulling into the harbor here when I ran into Mallow, who was apparently on a delivery."
Mallow smiled and nodded,
"Yep! My grassy trial will be a chance for all of the fine ingredients that make up your team to shine. Especially you three with the Island Amulets! You three look ready to cook with gas!"
Selene turned to Mallow and asked,
"I'm guessing you're a chef?"
Mallow happily nodded again,
"Yep! My family owns a restaurant down in Konikoni City! Be sure to stop by sometime!"
Selene agreed,
"I'd be happy to try it out, I'll make sure to give it a visit."
Olivia continued,
"Mallow isn't the only captain here of course. So what's the plan kids?"
None of them were sure yet, there was so much to do. Olivia nodded,
"That makes sense, well enjoy your time here! I'll look forward to getting to face you in battle."
The two ladies then bid everyone goodbye and left. Selene started some conversation between her and her peers,
"I like that Mallow girl, she seems really friendly."
Lillie responded,
"Yeah she's energetic but not too much so, I wonder what her trial will be like?"
Selene shrugged,
"I don't know but she said grass type, that would make for an interesting trial. Wasn't Lush Jungle said to be full of resources? I wonder if you're allowed to enter if you're not on trial?"
Kukui smiled and nodded,
"Of course! Maybe you can go while one of your friends is on trial."
Kukui then continued,
"Anyways, there are three trials here! If you want to take the water type trial go up ahead to route 4 through Paniola Town and go north. If you want to go to the fire type trial, go to the long road down there and go north, or go to Paniola Town and go south. That will take you to Royal Avenue, head towards the sea and take a left and take the grassy route. If you wanna go to the grass type trial, head down to where the grassy route I just mentioned is but take the long clear tunnel instead. Make your way along the route and you'll reach the trial!"
Hau just chuckled,
"Shoot! Well I know where I'm headed, straight to the pokemon center! I wonder what kind of malasadas they make on Akala Island anyways?"
Selene turned to him and replied,
"Honestly at this point Hau you should make your own flavor. I can help you with the cooking if you need me to."
Hau thought about it for a moment,
"Hey that's not a bad idea! But I'll need inspiration first..."
Lillie then chimed in,
"I think I'll do some shopping of my own, I also need to find out about the ruins for Nebby's sake."
Elio then responded,
"Maybe I'll check out that tourist area and see what they have."
Selene nodded and said that she was going to check out this hotel area,
"I heard that there's this pokemon called Pyukumuku. Apparently it's slime can be used to treat sunburnt skin. I heard that it tends to stick around this hotel a lot so I'm going to see if I can get some samples."
Kukui smiled,
"Sounds like everyone has some ideas of what they want to do! I'm gonna stop by to see Burnet, I'll see you all later!"
The kids then said their goodbyes and left in their own directions.
Chapter 10: A Weird Duo From Another Region
Summary:
Imagine getting paid like 20k to throw animals----
Chapter Text
Selene has to admit, this job is pretty weird.
She has had her fair share of weird medical cases that make her job weird too of course. But getting paid money specifically to throw pokemon into the ocean is kinda wacky. Apparently the pokemon Pyukumuku, does in fact make a slimey substance that can soothe sunburns, and she caught one.
The one that she caught was actually pretty calm and friendly. But it didn't really seem like it liked conflict of any kind. It would help talk to some of the other Pyukumukus so she could gather slime samples from them too. She wanted to see if there was any difference in how well slimes from different Pyukumukus worked. Or if there were any factors that might boost effectiveness. But whenever another Pyukumuku so much as glared at the one she caught it would "nope" itself outta there and hide behind her.
She looked over at Brionne who was using its water bubbles to toss the Pyukumuku back into the ocean. When Pyukumuku spends too much time on the land, it starts to dry up which isn't good for its health. That's why people can get paid to chuck them back into the ocean.
After a long, long, while, she couldn't spot any more of them. She and Brionne had cleared the whole beach already. She walked up to the man who had given her the job and he gave her---
$20,000
She forgets how grand this hotel is sometimes because she made that much money in less than an hour.
Anyways she thanks the man and decides to try and regroup with the others. If she remembers right one of the ways to the trial was through Paniola Town. The Moomoo Milk there is apparently super healthy, to the point where it can actually heal pokemon. Maybe she'll look into catching a miltank or something.
Pokemon research has always been pretty fun, especially if she can find new methods to improve her job. Especially if this job is the only thing keeping her from starving to death.
But anyways she'll head over to Paniola Town and try to find the others.
----------------------------
Lillie meant to start looking for the Ruins of Life, she really did.
Oh well, she did mention she'd do some shopping of her own as well. Nebby had been a lot more energetic as of lately and wouldn't really stay in the bag. Nebby had decided to just float around her as she walked up to the building of the local clothing store. As she was looking at their display she saw a somewhat disappointed Elio walking out of the tourist shop. She called him over,
"Elio! Over here!"
"Ah.. alola Lillie, you shopping for clothes again?"
"Yes, I meant to start on the ruins first but I got a little distracted and figured I wanted to shop too anyways. How was the tourist shop?"
"Boring. There was barely anything or anyone in there. At most there was a guy who claimed that fortune came with pokemon nicknames. He claimed that nicknames were a special bond between the trainer and their pokemon but he makes it his life mission to judge that bond by how much he likes the nickname. The little girl across from him apparently had a Magnemite named "Chromedome" how do you even think of that?"
Lillie laughed and replied,
"I just give my pokemon nicknames I think are both cute and fitting. Sizzlefuzz might be capable of burning buildings if he randomly decides but he's still just a little fuzzball!"
"Yeah I guess so, so what are you up to next? I think imma go start one of those trials and hope I don't wet myself in front of another one of those totems."
"Yeah those totems are... something else.... But I'm going to head over to the Tide Song Hotel. There's someone there I have to meet, they're very important to me..."
"Alright well have fun with your meeting, imma go snag a snack or something from the pokemon center. Cya Lillie."
"Bye Elio, the hotel is just up ahead so hopefully not even I will get lost!"
Lillie watched him leave and turned back to the clothes store. Maybe she can go shopping another time. It was pretty fun to go with friends though. Typically her and Selene would go together since she has the closest style to hers. It was fun getting to try on different outfits and see how much they changed how she looked. Of course she liked her usual outfit the most. Elio and Hau would also go with her half the time and sometimes managed to find some really neat stuff that fit her pretty well. But usually their favorite things to do in the city are the more battle and food themed stuff.
She realized she was getting distracted again and turned her attention to Nebby,
"Alright it's time to go to the hotel. And you'll have to stay in your bag mister!"
Nebby fussed for a bit but eventually got inside. But Lillie wasn't about to risk something bad happening to Nebby like getting captured by those Team Skull---
"YO, YO, YO!"
She turns around to see a few Team Skull grunts harassing a few innocent strangers.
Her meeting is soon but if she doesn't get rid of these heathens then those peop risk loosing their pokemon.
"Sorry brother, I hope you can wait a bit for me."
---------------------
Hau felt more refreshed after the pokemon center.
Hau walked up to the hotel, there was a path right beside it that led to Paniola Town. He's pretty sure that's where the next routes are so that's where he's headed! But just when he was about to reach the path he heard,
"Stop right there!"
He froze as these two people who looked like tourists approached him. They were smiling which was weird cause they just screamed at him to stop in his tracks. He knows Selene has this weird perpetual smile even when she's super exasperated but these didn't seem like that. They looked friendly and not like some weird glass doll staring into your soul (sorry buddy) and their postures seemed relaxed as if they were just walking up to a friend instead of some random kid they aggressively yelled at.
"Uh alola? Can I help ya?"
The guy on the left laughed and said,
"Sorry we didn't mean to surprise you! You must be doing your island challenge right?"
Hau relaxed more and nodded,
"Yup, a bit challenging but super fun! Who are you two? You on vacation?"
"Yes, I'm Dexio."
The woman beside him introduced herself,
"And I'm Sina! A beautiful name for a beautiful lady!"
Hau immediately thought back to his Pikachu at the sound of her introduction, but anyways,
"So what are you two up two?"
This time Dexio responded,
"Yes we're sightseeing in Alola. I must say the island challenge is very fascinating."
Sina then piped up,
"Hey I've got an idea! You and Dexio should battle!"
Dexio looked a little annoyed,
"And why should I do that? Although testing my skills would be nice.. if that's alright with you?"
Hau chuckled and replied,
"I just came from the pokemon center so I'm in good shape to battle right now!"
Dexio smiled and sent out his Slowpoke. Hau sent out Pikachu in return. With the type advantage it didn't take very long for Slowpoke to get knocked out. Next Dexio sent out an Espeon.
"Oh wow an Eevee evolution! They're pretty neat!"
Dexio smiled,
"Which one would you say is your favorite evolution?"
"Hmm I don't know. I like Vaporeon, Flareon, and Leafeon the best but I don't know if I could pick an exact favorite."
Meanwhile Espeon was trying to aim and fire at a dancing Pikachu, and failing miserably. Eventually Pikachu set out a few attacks and knocked it out.
Dexio was impressed,
"That's what I'd expect from a trainer in the Island Challenge, I could feel your bond with your Pikachu quite well."
Hau smiled,
"Pikachu's my only pokemon at the moment but I'm sure I'll get some more soon! So of course he's gonna be my strongest! He is my partner after all!"
Sina was happy too,
"I felt like I could feel a bit of the Island Challenge myself! Let me heal your Pikachu as a thanks!"
As Sina was healing up Dexio and Hau's pokemon Dexio spoke up,
"That reminded me of a group of trainers I knew in the past! I think I've made up my mind! I'll entrust this to you!"
He handed Hau a strange object called the Zygarde Cube. Sina started to explain a bit,
"The object is used to store cores and cells of a pokemon called Zygarde. I'll tell you the details another time! We'll be taking out leave now. Bon voyage!"
The strange duo left and Hau had quite a bit of questions.
What was that? Who were they? And what do they mean cores and cells? But his train of thought was interrupted when he saw Lillie leave the hotel looking a little dismayed.
"Alola Lillie what's up?"
"Oh hello Hau! I had a meeting with someone but by the time I got there the staff said he had already left..."
"Aw that sucks! Did ya get lost? You're usually not late to stuff."
"No I saw some of those Team Skull thugs harassing some people so I intervened. I won but I needed to run to the pokemon center, where I realized I needed to stock up on materials. I also saw Elio there and got distracted talking to him. I try my best to be punctual but I can be so scatterbrained at times... I was really hoping I'd be able to talk to him too..."
"Cheer up Lillie! I'm sure whoever he is will understand, and I'm sure you'll see him again!"
"Thank you Hau, I think I'm going to head up to Paniola Town now, care to walk with me?"
"Yep that's where I was headed! I thought more about the "me trying to make a malasada flavor" thingy and I heard there's an island that grows Pokebeans! A bean malasada could be kinda cool don't you think?"
"That's a bit out there, but if you want to try it out I promise I'll taste test it! How are you going to get to that island though?"
"Easy! I'm gonna do the fire type trial! I heard you can get a Charizard on your ride pager from that so I'll just fly over there!"
"Well I wish you luck! Better hope a second totem doesn't come out of nowhere."
Chapter 11: Paniola Town And The Captains
Summary:
Om nom
Chapter Text
Hau and Lillie took a look at the town around them.
It looked like something you'd see out of those cowboy movies. Like they were just a few seconds away from seeing a sheriff and a crook duel in front of the stores. Lillie took a look at her team, Sizzlefuzz looked exhausted after going through the route. She turned to Hau,
"I'm gonna head up to the pokemon center I'll see you later."
Hau just nodded and smiled,
"Yep! Cya!"
Hau looked around the city, wondering what he should do when he saw someone. He had a weird pendant.. where had he seen that before? Then realization struck, that was that weird symbol the trial captains had! And judging by the looks of it, it was definitely the fire dude. Hau ran up to the guy,
"Alola! You're the fire type captain right?"
The guy looked confused but answered,
"Yeah, I'm guessing you're a trial goer?"
"Yup! And I wanna take on your trial! Can I?"
"It's been a while since I last had a challenger, how will I know that you're up to it? This trial isn't exactly a walk in the park. You need to have a certain fire in your heart, some passion.."
"You sound like every anime character going through a training arc- I mean! What'd you have in mind?"
"...I'll ignore that comment, come with me.."
-------------------------
Lillie was sitting in the pokemon center's cafe area, Sizzlefuzz was sitting silently on her lap.
Both of them were happy to take a breather, going on a pokemon journey was liberating, but also exhausting. How could something that gives you so much freedom also suck the life out of you? Well it's not like she's the only one of her friends thinking that, she had Elio ask her if he was being too lazy or if they'd been training for too long. But for now she just took out some of the combs and brushes in her bag.
Selene had found some of those pokemon refresh kits in the mall and bought some for her and the guys. It was nice to just brush Sizzlefuzz's fur, since it's the most aggressive in her team it gets used in fights the most. And when it gets into fights it somehow finds a way to track remnants of every element at once. It reminds her of the lab in a weird way, all of those "how did this even happen" moments while assisting Kukui and his observations.
Yeah sleeping back in her loft sounds really nice right now.
--------------------
Ok Hau can't say he was expecting this for a trial to see if he's ready for a trial.
Looking after three eggs that were meant to hatch really soon. Apparently someone whose pokemon had those eggs had just left them there? The trial captain, Kiawe, insisted that looking after eggs was a great opportunity to judge a person's character. It proved that they were responsible, protective, caring, and whatever other adjectives he used.
But to be honest he kinda needed this, he's been struggling to get by on a single narcissistic Pikachu. He loves that Pikachu to the end of the earth but he can't go through every island like this. Elio said he was surviving on the power of optimism alone. All of his buddies had several of their own pokemon. This will put him ahead, even if the new pokemon are babies.
Now to just wait for these three to hatch.
But what kind of pokemon even are they? Is he going to have one of those teams where people have 3 of the same pokemon or are they all different? They were all left by the same person so it might be safe to assume the first. He laughed a little to himself when he thought of being like that champion guy in Johto who traumatized whoever tried to defeat him (especially if they challenged him multiple times) with his three identical Dragonite. People had said it was like doing that Beanboozled challenge but with a pokemon fight.
But he started realizing something.
He's going to be sending actual babies to fight.
Even if he powers them up they're still newborns, and speaking of that how's he supposed to train them? The pokemon here are way too strong! And would putting them against each other create sibling rivalry? Would he be a bad parent to have them train like this? He can't speak pokemon! He won't be able to reassure them that there's no favoritism!
He needs to go for a walk to clear his head...
He puts the eggs back into their capsules and sets out on the road. Until a spooky looking stranger challenges him to a pokemon battle.
Parenthood.
Is this why his father left him?
-------------------
Elio finally made it to Paniola Town.
Why was he so late you may ask? He saw an interesting fight break out between the local police and these Pikachu enthusiasts. Apparently the people there were trying to set up a "Pikachu Valley" or something? But they didn't have the right to open a business on land they didn't purchase or whatever.
This resulted in the Pikachu peeps screaming that it was like camping but the cops argued that they were trying to take over a piece of land that didn't belong to them. Then they were questioned as to where all these wild Pikachu's even came from because they aren't even found on this route.
The Pikapeople claimed that they just transported them in their trailer. When asked to search this trailer, the owners surprisingly agreed with them. Only for the guy who walked in to immediately run away terrified. Once he calmed down he started berating them for whatever was inside and the Pikachu possessors got really mad and ordered the Pikachu's to electrocute the officer. With all of them going at once, the officer was immediately unconscious on the ground.
He guesses the owners of the van realized what they just did cause they scrambled to gather all of their Pikachu in the van and ran away. The actually ran over the cop's leg on their way out while the officers were giving chase.
After that Elio decided it was time to leave.
And now he's in Paniola Town.
As he walks in, he sees a familiar face. Elio immediately runs up to greet Lillie,
"Alola Lillie!"
"Alola Elio! Would you care for a battle?"
"Really? Right now?"
"Actually I was exhausted not too long ago but the food here really fills you with energy. It's actually so effective that it's strange."
"Yeah isn't there a farm near here?"
Suddenly they heard a voice behind them,
"Yeah it is. Moomoo Milk actually specializes in restoring health and energy, it's the main factor in the food here."
Lillie and Elio turned to look at Selene, who had just exited one of the buildings. Greetings we're given and Lillie asks,
"And I know about the Moomoo Milk, I actually drink it a lot but it doesn't feel the same as the stuff on Melemele Island."
Elio nodded and Selene continued,
"The farm here is supposedly the best one in Alola, and since the food here is the main reason why any tourists visit they pour their heart and soul into making it. Also, the milk isn't the only ingredient with health benefits, but it is the main one."
Elio thought for a minute,
"Huh, weird.. I guess I'll have to try it out sometime.. Oh! Yeah Lillie didn't you want a battle?"
"Yeah! Selene you gonna be out referee?"
"Yeah sure I got you."
Elio sent out his Dartrix and Lillie sent out Sizzlefuzz.
They tied, again.
And Sizzlefuzz and Dartrix bickered the entire time.
Mainly "your mother" insults.
--------------------------
Lillie and Selene had headed to the farm area to check out the Miltanks.
There they ran into Mallow who insisted they stay for a chat. She taught them a lot about the Miltanks, from how to take care of them, to how to use the milk for specific recipes, the works. Selene even caught a Miltank. Now they were sitting on the side of the fence, eating some of the snacks that Mallow made.
"So Lillie? You looking to take on a trial right now?"
"I did want to do yours first, so I would be open for something like that."
"Sweet! Lemme do you a quick favor then! Hand over your ride pager."
Lillie handed it to Mallow who added in a new pokemon, Stoutland.
"This here is Stoutland! We're gonna need him for our trial since he'll be helping us scavenge for stuff."
"Oh a scavenger hunt?"
"You could say something like that!"
Lillie was excited,
"It does sound like a lot of fun but I am worried that I'll get lost along the way, care to help me out with instructions?"
"Oh sure! I can help you out I have a few maps at the wagon, how about you Selene? You gonna be ok?"
"Don't worry about me, I'll manage fine. I'm going for a walk, I'll try to visit when Lillie is doing her trial though."
Lillie replied,
"Will you make it in time?"
"Yeah I studied up on this place during the boat ride, it'll take a while to get there but I'm somewhat of a fast traveler. I'll cya around."
The two other girls bid their goodbyes.
"Now let's go looking for those maps."
"Thank you, I couldn't find my way around even if I had a Nosepass on my team."
------------------
Elio was screwed.
Elio had ducked past Hau and whoever he was fighting, he was getting more and more anxious as he thought about the trial. The last one it felt like he was gonna die. Those totems mouths were bigger than his head. Way bigger.
Please let this be a normal trial. Please let there be only one Totem. Please let said Totem Pokemon not make him want to piss himself. Please let the captain be a decent human being about the trial and not lie to him about the stupid totems.
He's alone for this trial, Lillie isn't here with him. Nor is Hau, Selene, or Kukui here. But now he's staring directly into the entrance for Brooklet Hill.
Please let the type advantage be enough to pull him through.
Chapter 12: A New Rival
Summary:
Time for the appearance of my favorite pokemon rival. And the next chapter will be the next trial.
Chapter Text
What is the weirdest way you've ever met a new friend?
Selene was on her walk, she was hoping for some more alone time since she had been busy all day. She loves her friends and her job but she needs a break too. She's constantly handling injuries, making medicine, gathering supplies, distributing supplies to her friends, and handling all of the emotional stuff too. Again she doesn't regret that, she knows what it's like to be put in a situation where nobody will help you and she doesn't want her friends to feel like that. But still...
So naturally her alone time lasts 10 minutes before she has to interact with people.
And mediate.
Just ahead of her she sees Hau and a stranger. Hau looks pretty tired but he's still smiling through it. And then she sees the eggs he set to his side. (Where'd he get those-) And the stranger tucking away his pokeballs looking pretty peeved. He kinda looks like an edgy pack of fries. Or like when the kids at the pokemon school have to make collages and they cut some of the paper in a fringe square way. Hau just laughed and recalled his fainted Pikachu,
"Man I lost again!"
This made the stranger scowl even more
"Are you even taking this seriously?"
"I am! So seriously! I'm seriously enjoying it!"
Never change Hau.
Especially since it's low-key entertaining to watch your attitude piss people off.
"...Enjoying it? You can enjoy pokemon battles when you put everything you have into it. Which CLEARLY you haven't."
She decides to go and say hi, it'd be kinda weird if this stranger just sees her staring at them from a distance anyways. Hau spots her immediately,
"Woah hey Selene!"
"Hey."
Hau starts pointing his thumb to the edgy french fry man.
"This guy is plenty scary!"
"You were just laughing?"
She immediately feels his gaze turn to her and he asks,
"So your Selene?"
"Yeah that'd be me."
He seemed even more mad somehow.
"Hmph. Not very cautious. Apparently some pokemon have a better sense of self preservation than you do."
Selene had to take a moment to process what he just said to her,
"So if I understand this right.. your upset with me cause I told you my name?"
He seemed a bit shocked and embarrassed for a moment but quickly went back to angry,
"I'm Gladion. I battle for my partner, Null, to make it strong. Though most of our time gets taken up doing small jobs for Team Skull."
Ok now she was REALLY confused. Let's recap for a moment. This guy just got mad at her for telling him her name even though HE asked. And didn't even ask "what's your name" or something. Literally "so this dude, who judging by his tone and extra friendliness obviously already knows you, said your name is Selene is this right?" Even if she did say no that's not her he'd obviously know she was lying so what's the point?
And then this genius. This absolute. Genius. Introduces himself. After calling her "not very cautious." Not only that but he doesn't stop at giving her his name but his pokemon's name, current life goals, and occupation, and piggybacking on that last one casually telling her he works for a gang.
"Battle me. I won't take no for an answer."
"Alright your on."
Gladion sends out his Zubat and Selene sends out her Brionne. The entire time he was angrily clutching his hand and shaking the entire time. Selene couldn't tell if that was an "edgy" thing or a "I'm in physical pain but I'm too stubborn to go rest" thing.
Zubat went down with one hit. Hau looked shocked and so did Gladion. Gladion huffed and sent out his second pokemon. She didn't recognize this one so she guesses that pokemon is "Null." She can't tell what type it is though, and no way this guy will tell her. But so far her best bets are dragon, dark, steel, ghost, fighting. But depending on if/how some of those types are combined using her fairy type move wouldn't do anything significant.
The pokemon itself is interesting because it looks like a patchwork pokemon. It's front and back paws are different from each other, it also has a giant fin for a tail, a rectangular fringe mane, and it's face is covered by an iron mask. If she's right that this is some sort of artificial pokemon then it might be that whoever made it was trying to cover multiple types at once. Is that what "Null" is referring to? It's type? She had heard of several pokemon who were able to cover all 18 types, but those were legendaries and mythicals.
She feels a chill run down her spine. Is someone trying to recreate the power of a legendary? She wouldn't guess that Team Skull could be trying to do this, but the owner (or at least the current one) is their enforcer. She didn't really get any evil vibes from him but maybe she should keep an eye on him just in case.
Either way she still needs to attack so she decides to test her theory out with a disarming voice. Null takes damage but not a large amount. So that means either her guess on the makeshift legendary thing was right or it's a dual type with fairy coverage. She decides to stick to water type moves for the rest of the fight. Since Brionne is a pure water type her water type moves should deal more damage.
Eventually Null goes down and Selene wins the battle.
Gladion seems shocked and stumbled to the ground, he mutters something about annoyance before getting back up. Now he seems really pissed, he puts his hand on his head and the other holds his side (it kinda looks like he's trying to strike some fashion pose) and then he speaks up more clearly,
"Hmph, it's not like me to slip up like that. Looks like I'm still not strong enough, I need stronger opponents."
"What? Stronger opponents?"
His gaze turns to a now nervous Hau as he replies,
"That guy there, his pokemon isn't weak.. And sure it's fine to enjoy battling... But this brat... He's just using that as an excuse because he can't beat the kahuna. He can't beat Hala when he's serious."
Selene and Hau have to both hold back the urge to say Hala got destroyed by three kids in a row to the point where he's now investing in vitamins. Hau pipes up this time,
"So you know my gramps? Wait so you think I'm strong?--"
"Awww look at you Gladion! Aren't you just a real cool guy? Heh heh heh.."
The three kids turn around to see two team skull grunts.
"I guess it's no surprise a homeless kid would turn out to be so spineless."
"But don't worry! We've got enough backbone to cover for you yo!"
Just as they step ahead to Selene and Hau, Gladion warns the grunts,
"If you two can't beat me in a fight what makes you think you could beat her? You'll just get your pokemon hurt for no reason."
The grunts seem a bit miffed by this and shrug,
"We came all this way and for what? It was just a big fat waste of time thanks to you! We could have stolen the Totem Pokemon if it wasn't for you!"
Petty as always, she thought. And then the second one spoke up,
"Listen Gladion, the boss does like ya, that's true. But you aren't really one of us, just some errand boy at least. And some extra muscle at best."
Well that was harsh.
The two grunts begin to walk off. And before Gladion does too Selene speaks,
"Hey Hau, Gladion? Before you two go let me heal up your pokemon."
Hau seems relieved at that,
"That'd be great! The only other pokemon I have haven't hatched yet."
Gladion just looked annoyed,
"Are you just doing this because you pity me?"
Selene would be lying if she said that wasn't a part of it. She did feel bad for him but saying that out loud doesn't really seem like it'd help the situation,
"I mean you probably know where the nearest pokemon center is better than I do. But either way you never know when you need to fight so it'd be better to go ahead and heal up now."
They group pulls out their fainted pokemon and Selene gets started on healing them up,
"Hau where'd you even get eggs anyways?"
"The trial captain said this would be a good way to test my "worthiness" for his trial."
"So he just randomly gave you pokemon to see if you're ready for a trial?"
"I guess so."
A bit of time passes and Hau's already left, Selene is tending to Null's wounds as she asks Gladion,
"Do you have any injuries yourself that you need help with?"
"No. What makes you ask that?"
"You were clutching your hand and shaking earlier."
"That was nothing.."
She just nods as she finishes with Null,
"Well that should take care of everything then."
"How much do I owe you?"
"Don't worry about it. It was just a few revives and potions, you can make both of those pretty easily. I won't be petty over that."
"Alright well I'm leaving."
"I'll cya around then."
So much for a peaceful walk but at least she got some free entertainment.
Chapter 13: Brooklet Hill's Trial
Summary:
Ok but why does Lana say in the middle of the trial like 3 times:"I sure do hope there's a hot guy I can date"
Chapter Text
Elio walked into Brooklet Hill, taking in the scenery around him.
Lots of water (shocking I know) below and around him. As he walked along the bridge he saw a lady at the end of the bridge. She noticed him and approached him in the middle of the bridge,
"Hello, I'm Lana. I serve as the captain of Brooklet Hill."
Elio looked down and sure enough she had the little captain charm on her belt,
"Oh hey. I'm Elio, I'm here to do the trial actually."
Lana looks him up and down,
"Well you seem able-bodied."
"Uh wha-"
"Could I ask for your help with something?"
"Uh yea what is it?"
"Follow me please."
Elio followed her down the path until they eventually made their way through some patches of small grass. Elio could feel his nerves returning, after all this could be a test, or a part of the trial itself. He doesn't even know anything about the totem other than it's a water type. Suppose it has a secondary typing that beats grass? And if there's two then he's really screwed cause he doesn't have any of his frien-
Just then a loud squeal came out of the grass. Elio was hit in the head with a burst of water. He instantly reached into his bag for one of his pokemon. But by mistake he accidentally grabbed an empty pokeball and threw it.
Ding-ding-ding-CLICK!
He didn't even see what kind of pokemon he caught. He grabbed the pokeball and let out his new...
Poliwag!
But the Poliwag absolutely hated him and kept spraying and spraying and slapping him with his tail while screaming. Elio panicked, returned Poliwag to its ball and figured he'd figure out what to do about this later. After all Lana was ahead of him asking what was keeping him.
Eventually he reached the next body of water where Lana was waiting for him.
"Do you see all that vigorous splashing over there?"
Elio looked ahead and saw what she was talking about, a rather large splashing pool of water.
"I wouldn't be surprised if a fearsome pokemon were causing it."
Yeah no that wasn't helping his anxiety one bit. Was she just jumpstarting him into the totem battle? But once he looked at it again it seemed a bit too small for a Totem.
"So brave trial goer, I want you to investigate the splashing! But don't worry I won't ask you to swim all the way there."
Next thing he knew, Lapras was added to his ride pager.
"How many accidents happened here to the point where you have to give these out for free-"
"Just go investigate please."
--------------
The splashing turned out to be caused by a small pokemon called Wishiwashi.
It was so small but pretty cute looking. And when Rotom Dex, who had spent the entire trip on the water complaining about how he's not water proof, told him about the pokemon it was literally called the "small fry pokemon."
How could he be scared of this "fearsome pokemon?"
When he got back to the shore Lana greeted him,
"So it was Wishiwashi kicking up all that water? I suppose even a small pokemon can make such big wave-"
Just then they were cut off by an even larger splashing noise.
Oh no.
"What could be making that? A pokemon? A person?"
"I'm gonna get eaten by a Gyarados."
-----------------
After a short ride on the water, and then a small walk through the land with Lana, they made it to the next pond? Lake? He never paid attention in environmental science class.
The sky started to get cloudy as they approached the shore, Lana grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him to look in the direction she was facing,
"Look over- I'm sorry what was your name again?"
"Elio."
"Elio... It's a lovely name... Just lovely.. Anyways! Look over there!"
"What's wrong with Elio- oh it's one of those splashy spots!"
"Whatever's kicking up over there has to be rather big! A strapping young swimmer perhaps? Or an amazing pokemon specimen?"
Yes you heard her right. She actually said this.
"A STRAPPING HUH?"
"ANYWAYS GO CHECK IT OUT!"
Elio was then pushed into Lapras and he sailed off. As he approached the puddle he saw some small fish looking pokemon swim away and the splashing got thinner. He approached the puddle closer and what he found in there was...
Another Wishiwashi?
With a little bit more work he took it down. It ended up calling an ally to fight beside it. Nothing he and Dartrix couldn't handle!
He looked over to Lana like "what now?"
"Hmmm how unfortunate... So it wasn't a strapping young swimmer after all"
Just then they were interrupted with even more splashing,
"WHAT THE- LANA WHAT IS THAT?"
"I don't know! It sounds as big as a wailord! Maybe it is a spry young swimmer in need of saving!"
"You're not the water captain you're the thirst captain--"
-----------------
As he walked with Lana she started telling him about Brooklet Hill.
"It is said to hold the legendary pokemon that is the embodiment of the sea... Kyogre..."
This got him to fall into shock instantly,
"HUH?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS KYOGRE? YOU'RE TELLING ME I HAVE TO FIGHT LITERAL KYOGRE FOR THIS TRIAL??"
"Oh no I'm just joking! You're rather trusting aren't you?"
Elio sighed in relief, call him gullible or whatever but why do trial captains like screwing with the heads of everyone who takes their trial?
"Yeah yeah whatever, are we even near the sea?"
"We are, and it's raining too, which means that whatever's kicking up down there is likely going to be a tough battle."
As they reached the bottom he and Lana walked through the trial's gates.
"I knew it! I knew this was the trial!"
"Quite sharp! The totem you must face is all the way down there!"
He looked over to where she was pointing at, the largest puddle so far.
But what kind of totem would be there?
He hesitantly got on top of Lapras and began to sail over the puddle.
Thunder began to crash over the open sea, the rain became heavier too. He could vaguely hear Lana yell something about proving strength but he couldn't hear much over the sounds of the storm and his raging heartbeat.
Oh boy, this is really happening. He-he's done this before so why does he feel so nervous.. why does it feel like his heart is simultaneously going into overdrive and wringing itself dry at the same time. Why is it getting hard to breathe? Why is it-
Just then the splashing stopped out of nowhere. A large shadow bigger than Lapras began to loom over once it was just a few feet away from him..
The largest aquatic beast flew out of the water. It looked like some sort of fish but one that belonged in the deep sea where nobody could find it. It unhinged its mouth wide open. He swore he could see glowing dots? Eyes? Lost souls? Whatever it was he didn't want to know.
You are challenged by Totem Wishiwashi.
He threw out Dartrix in an instant.
'GOOD HEAVENS! WHAT IS THAT DASTARDLY BEING? I REMEMBER THE LAST TWO TOTEM'S VIVIDLY BUT THIS IS SOMETHING ELSE! A-ARE THOSE EYES? IT LOOKS AS IF IT WERE SPECIFICALLY CREATED AS A LEGEND TO KEEP OTHERS AWAY!'
"D-Dartrix! I-I feel like im- I feel like I'm aboutta pass out! But this is the totem pokemon! I think rotom said it has the schooling a-ability so t-try to tear them apart when you hit them.."
'I see! Don't fret my companion! I'll assist you in any way I can!'
Dartrix turns to Wishiwashi,
'And YOU! I see you now for what you are! A bunch of Buizel in a trenchcoat! I'll have no trouble handling the likes of you!'
Elio wasn't sure what his pokemon was saying to the Wishiwashi, but seeing it so fired up to fight helped him to calm down a bit and catch his breath.
After chipping away with some grass type moves, Totem Wishiwashi called for its ally pokemon, Alomomola. This pokemon would boost Wishiwashi's power and still attack Dartrix. He needed to get rid of it.
Elio sends out Machop, who gets straight to work on Alomomola, its fighting type moves aren't super effective but they do some decent damage. But Wishiwashi isn't giving up yet. Once he finally had it weakened it just ate a berry and got up again. How'd it hold a berry underwater all this time without it getting too soggy?
But Elio decided to heal too, taking out a super potion and using it on Dartrix. After a few more grass type moves Elio decided to finish Wishiwashi off with a single move. He got into position, struck his pose, and watched the light from his Z ring flow into Dartrix as they prepared their final attack on Wishiwashi.
Breakneck Blitz
As soon as a Z powered Dartrix slammed into Totem Wishiwashi all the smaller fish started falling off in groups until there was just one fish left. Honestly if you had told him these things would be so terrifying he wouldn't have believed it. Rotom had told him about Wishiwashi sure, but this was something else.
"Dartrix! Finish him off!"
'Totem Wishiwashi! You may have been a terrifying foe but with the dedication of me, Sir Machop, and my partner, we have overcome you!'
Dartrix fires off a few leaves straight into Wishiwashi and the small fry faints.
Now he has to take care of-
Elio looks over to Machop to see it punching an unconscious fish.
"Uh Machop? I think you got them bud... You two did great! Go back to your pokeballs and rest for now, later we'll get something nice to eat as a reward."
He recalls his pokemon and swims back to the shore. The rain starts to clear up and now all he can see is the blue sky and a few clouds. Stepping off of Lapras and walking over to Lana is difficult, he won't stop shaking, he feels dizzy like he's in a daze, and he keeps stumbling but eventually he makes it over.
"I must say that I find myself at an impasse here... I've trained each and every one of those Wishiwashi so diligently.. So seeing that they've been beaten is frustrating..."
"You. Told. Me. To. Beat. Them."
"Heheh yes I did, and I won't let your hard work go uncelebrated. Here."
A Waterium Z was placed in his hands.
Then, she showed him how to do the water type Z move pose. She even gave him a free fishing rod! And also some dive balls to help him with catching the pokemon that live underwater.
"By the way! Did you know that I once reeled in a red Gyarados?"
"Wait seriously? How did you find one?"
"Heh just messing with you again!"
Trial captains...
"Shall I see you back to the pokemon center?"
"My legs still feel like cooked pasta so sure."
----------------
Hau was resting on a bench, traveling with three eggs is pretty difficult.
Or at least he was traveling with three eggs until...
"Hm? Wait!"
The eggs were hatching!
The first one that cracked open revealed itself to be a baby Eevee! It looked up at Hau with bright and shiny eyes. He swears his heart melted in that moment!
The second egg revealed a second baby Eevee! It stumbled over to its sibling and started rubbing its face against it. Awh that was so sweet he could get diabetes from it!
The third egg hatched a third baby Eevee! He had triplet Eevees! The three babies crawled onto his lap and started begging for attention. They might be needy for a while but these three were so sweet he'd never need to season his food again!
Pikachu was let out of his pokeball. Pikachu wandered over to the babies and immediately took a liking to the small trio.
And by liking I mean him trying to teach them how to strike the same poses as him.
Charmander (Guest) on Chapter 9 Sat 05 Oct 2024 03:22AM UTC
Comment Actions
AlolanLightTheRewrite (orphan_account) on Chapter 9 Sat 05 Oct 2024 03:36AM UTC
Comment Actions
Charmander (Guest) on Chapter 10 Sat 05 Oct 2024 03:36AM UTC
Comment Actions
AlolanLightTheRewrite (orphan_account) on Chapter 10 Sat 05 Oct 2024 03:57AM UTC
Comment Actions
Charmander (Guest) on Chapter 11 Fri 25 Oct 2024 01:07PM UTC
Comment Actions
AlolanLightTheRewrite (orphan_account) on Chapter 11 Fri 25 Oct 2024 07:30PM UTC
Comment Actions