A/N: A gift for Romerzia!
Merry Christmas, y'all! Have some Sinnoh Trio shenanigans :)
"Speaking of Pokémon…"
"Speaking of Pokémon!"
"They sure look different here in Alola, huh?"
"Yeah! They sure do!"
"Look, here's my Diglett from Sinnoh, and here's an Alolan Diglett."
"That's Alolan Diglett? But…
"It looks like it just needs a haircut!"
"Diamond! Put those scissors down!"
"Ehehe…"
"Alolan Pokémon don't just look different. They have different types, too!"
"Wha-? You mean Alolan Diglett isn't a Ground-type?"
"Nope! Alolan Diglett is a Ground- and Steel-type Pokémon!"
"Really? It doesn't look like a Steel-type…"
"Those hairs on its head are actually steel whiskers!"
"Oh! And I bet the fact that it has to tunnel through volcanic rock all the time really steels the deal!"
Pearl groaned. Platinum laughed.
"That has to be the worst pun you're ever written," Pearl said.
"It can't be that bad! It made Lady – I mean, Platinum – laugh," Diamond said.
"Platinum laughs at all of our jokes," Pearl muttered.
The trio was making their way through Diglett's Tunnel, and Platinum was certain that they would be reaching the end of it soon. Sure enough, after turning the next corner, they saw daylight streaming through an exit up ahead. Platinum eagerly grabbed her friends' hands and pulled them through.
Outside the tunnel, a large, grassy hill sloped down to the ocean, where a fisherman stood hoping for a catch. There was a police station halfway down the hill, though there was no officer patrolling outside. A gravel path led from the exit of the tunnel to the foot of the hill and split at the base, with one path heading left and one path heading right.
Platinum pointed to the left path. "That leads to Memorial Hill." She pointed to the right path. "And that goes to Konikoni City!"
"Are you sure?" Pearl asked.
"Of course," Platinum replied. "I did a great deal of research on the Alola region before we left."
Pearl sighed. "I shouldn't be surprised at this point."
As they headed down the hill, Diamond asked, "What's Memorial Hill?"
"It used to be a cemetery for Alolan royalty," Platinum answered. "Now people from all over Alola are buried there."
"Oh," he said softly.
"They say the spot was picked because of its proximity to the Ruins of Life, where the island's guardian deity lives," Platinum continued. "The island kahuna holds burial ceremonies to bring the guardian's blessing on the deceased."
"What's the island kahuna?" Pearl asked as they turned onto the right path.
"They're like modern-day Alolan royalty!" Diamond exclaimed. "The kahunas are chosen by the tapu to protect the people and Pokémon of their island, and they help run the island challenge, too. Everyone on the island looks up to them!"
Pearl stared at his friend. "Tapu? Island challenge? What in the world are you talking about, Dia?"
Diamond smiled sheepishly and held up a book. "I read about it in the guidebook this morning."
Pearl scowled. "Give me that," he said, snatching the book from his friend. He opened it up to the section on Konikoni City just as they arrived at the gate to the city.
"The large gateway at the entrance gives a unique impression," Pearl read. "This is a city of merchants, where you find lots of shops and even a photo club."
"Does it say where the shop we are looking for is located?" Platinum asked.
"Yeah, let's see…popular tourist attractions include the lighthouse and the open-air market…listing of all the shops…ah, here it is. Konikoni's jewelry shop is located near the end of the market, across from the Pokémon Center." He looked up from the guidebook and surveyed the road ahead of them. "There's the Pokémon Center," he said, pointing to a red-roofed building on the right side of the road in front of them. "Which means the jewelry shop is…"
"There!" Diamond shouted, eagerly pointing to a shop with an evolutionary stone on the sign.
"Perfect," Platinum said.
She led Diamond and Pearl into the jewelry shop. A bell jingled above them as they entered. There were several display cases around the shop, which mostly held necklaces, earrings, and charms. The bell caught the attention of two ladies behind the counter, who wore pink aprons with "Konikoni Jewelers" embroidered on the front.
"Hi, welcome to Konikoni Jewelers!" said the girl on the left, who had brown hair and a nametag with "Julia" printed on it.
"Can we help you with something or are you just here to browse?" asked the girl on the right, who had blonde hair and a nametag with "Lacey" printed on it.
"We are looking for a certain type of evolutionary stone," Platinum said.
"We certainly have those!" Julia said, pulling a box out from behind the counter. She fiddled with the latch on it while she asked, "What do you need? Water Stone? Leaf Stone?"
"We need an Ice Stone."
Julia froze. She frowned and looked up at Platinum. "I'm sorry. We don't sell those."
"You don't?" Platinum said, furrowing her brow. She glanced at Diamond and Pearl. "The professor said we would be able to get one here, did he not?" The boys shook their heads.
Lacey pursed her lips. "What professor?"
"Professor Rowan of the Sinnoh region," Platinum replied.
"Ah, yeah. Olivia told us some kids sent by Professor Rowan might stop by today," she said. Then she glanced over at her coworker. "Uh, do you remember what she said we were supposed to do when they arrived?"
Julia looked back at her in bewilderment. "She must have mentioned it after I left yesterday. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Right, I forgot you left early yesterday," Lacey sighed. She glanced over her shoulder. "Hey, Toni! What did Olivia tell us to do with the kids from Professor Rowan?"
Another employee, an older woman with reddish-brown hair, responded without looking up from her work. "She said that they might show up before she comes back, and we're supposed to ask them to wait here until she comes back. She'll be back before five o'clock."
Lacey turned back to Platinum, Pearl, and Diamond. "You heard her. Sorry for the inconvenience," she shrugged. "In the meantime, would you like to browse our accessories?"
"That sounds lovely!" Platinum declared, clapping her hands together. "Do you have any hair accessories?"
"Of course, they're right over here…"
Pearl groaned. "Just how I wanted to spend my afternoon. Stuck in a jewelry shop. Why don't we check out something else, Dia? …Dia?"
"Look, Pearl! Friendship bracelets!" Diamond cried, racing over to a display.
"Fine, I'll go check out the market by myself," he grumbled. The bell jingled over his head as he slipped out of the shop.
Pearl headed down the main street of Konikoni City, paying attention to the shops he passed along the way. One girl was selling incense; another woman was offering lomi lomi massages for Pokémon. Next to them was a guy selling Technical Machines and a guy selling herbal medicines. On the other side of the road, there were an apparel shop and a hair salon. Deciding that TMs sounded the most interesting to look at, Pearl headed for the Technical Machine shop.
"Look out!" someone exclaimed. Pearl turned to see who had shouted it and–
THUD.
A girl collided with Pearl, knocking him to the ground. "Sorry, sorry!" she cried, bouncing back to her feet immediately. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Pearl said, sitting up.
Despite her question, she didn't appear too concerned about Pearl's health – she was busy scooping up Berries and putting them back into the basket she had been carrying. He picked up some of the Berries that had fallen near him to help her out.
"I'm sorry for not getting out of your way," he added.
"No, no, it was entirely my fault for being in such a hurry," she insisted. She glanced at the ground around them. Seeing no more Berries, she picked up the basket and straightened up. Then she noticed the Berries that Pearl was holding. "Oh, did you pick those Berries up for me? Thanks so much!" she exclaimed. "Follow me and I'll show you where to put them!"
"Wait, I–" Pearl started to say, but the girl had already begun sprinting down the road. So much for putting the Berries back in her basket and continuing to the TM shop. He sighed and dashed after the overall-clad girl and her bouncy green pigtails.
"And now, a little pinch of my secret ingredient…"
"You said your secret ingredient was love."
"No, I didn't. I said Lum, as in crushed Lum Berry leaves!"
"Oh," Pearl said sheepishly. "Right." He watched her begin covering the Berry salad with plastic wrap. "So, it's all done then, Mallow?"
"Yup! And…" She checked the clock in the kitchen – fifteen minutes past five. "I'm only going to be fashionably late for the kahuna's party! Thanks a lot for staying to help, Pearl. I would have been so late if it wasn't for you."
"No problem," Pearl said, wincing a little at the time. Olivia should have been back by now, but he didn't feel right abandoning Mallow in the middle of preparing her dish. After all, he had promised to help her make the whole thing. "I had a lot of time to kill."
He opened the back door to the restaurant, so Mallow could carry the tray through. "Why are you and your friends visiting Konikoni, anyways?" Mallow asked. "I didn't give you the chance to answer earlier, sorry."
"We're supposed to be picking up an Ice Stone for Professor Rowan. He's a famous professor in the Sinnoh region who studies Pokémon evolution," Pearl explained as they made their way around the side of the restaurant.
"Oh, neat!" Mallow said. "But…where in Konikoni City can you find an Ice Stone?"
Before Pearl could respond, he hard someone calling his name. Diamond was running up the street towards them, waving an arm frantically to get Pearl's attention. Pearl waved back to let Dia know that he had seen him and jogged to meet up with him.
"Pearl, where have you been!?" Diamond wheezed. "I checked all the shops and even the restaurant, and I couldn't find you anywhere!"
"I was in the kitchen in the back of the restaurant, helping her make a dish for the kahuna's party," Pearl said, gesturing to Mallow. "This is Mallow. Her family runs the restaurant here. Mallow, this is my friend Diamond – he's the awesome chef I told you about."
"Sweet! Nice to meetcha," Mallow said, nodding to Diamond. "But I really need to get going, and the kahuna's place is right here. Maybe I'll see you around?"
"Wait, wait, wait," Pearl said, glancing up at the sign above Diamond's head. "This is the kahuna's place? The jewelry shop?"
"Well, yeah," Mallow said. "She doesn't get paid to be island kahuna, you know. She runs this jewelry shop to make money."
Pearl blinked at her a couple of times. "Olivia is the kahuna of Akala Island."
"Yep, and she's also got an Ice Stone for us," Diamond said cheerfully. "So why don't we go inside instead of making her wait longer?"
Mallow laughed. "You're kidding! We're both going to the same place? What are the odds?"
"I can't believe it took us this long to figure that out," Pearl muttered.
Dia led them inside and up the stairs to Olivia's apartment. It was surprisingly spacious, with a couple of couches and a TV in the living room area, a small kitchen in the far corner, and an alcove that held the bedroom. The entire room was filled with lifelike plushes of a cute pink bear Pokémon, which two of the guests were examining.
"Why does she have so many Stufful plushes? They're not even Rock-type," a dark-skinned young man around Diamond and Pearl's age commented.
"They help her mask her loneliness and heartbreak," a small pale-skinned girl with blue hair deadpanned.
"Oh, Lana, you're such a kidder," Mallow laughed. The two turned around and their faces lit up.
"Mallow!" the boy exclaimed. "Finally! I thought you'd never show up!"
"Kiawe, you were only waiting for her because of the food," Lana said.
Their conversation caught the attention of the pair talking in the kitchen – a dark-skinned boy about Mallow's age with his hair up in a ponytail and a dark-skinned woman with styled black hair. "Mallow! So glad you could make it," the woman said. "Ooh, and you brought Berry salad? Yum! Be a dear and put that on the counter over there." She pointed to a place where Mallow could put her dish.
While Mallow was putting the dish on the counter, the woman turned her attention to Diamond and Pearl. "So, this is the friend you were looking for?" she asked Diamond.
Diamond nodded. "Olivia, this is Pearl, my best friend. Pearl, this is Olivia, the island kahuna!"
"Pleased to meet you," Pearl said, shaking the kahuna's hand.
"But where's, um, Platinum?" Diamond asked.
Olivia directed them to the bedroom alcove, where Platinum was gushing over how adorable one of Olivia's Stufful plushes was. When Diamond and Pearl hurried up to her, though, she immediately shifted her attention from Stufful to her friends. "Diamond! Pearl! I'm glad to see you," she smiled.
"Did you get the Ice Stone?" Pearl asked.
Platinum reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a large chunk of ice. But it didn't melt in her hand, and when the light hit it the right way, a faint snowflake pattern was visible through the ice. The stone shimmered in the light.
"It's beautiful," Diamond breathed.
"It is incredibly rare, even in Alola," Platinum explained. "It can only be found naturally on an icy-cold mountain on another island, so Olivia's shop does not sell them. However, since Professor Rowan requested one for research purposes, Olivia agreed to make a special trip up the mountain to get one. She was returning from the mountain when we arrived."
Diamond glanced over his shoulder. "Do you know who that kid with Olivia is?"
"That's Hau. You ran off to look for Pearl before he introduced himself," Platinum replied. "He's the grandson of another island kahuna and a champion of the island challenge. He accompanied Olivia up the mountain this morning."
"I see," Pearl said. "Well, I suppose that means we've done what we came here to do, right?"
"But I don't want to leave!" Diamond protested immediately. "We've barely seen any of Alola!"
"We ought to return reasonably soon. We do still need to give the Ice Stone to the professor," Platinum said diplomatically. "Although, I believe we could spare at least a couple of days for sightseeing…"
"Hey, when did I say anything about leaving?" Pearl said, raising an eyebrow. "I like this region. I like the people we've met so far. I want to see more of it."
"Yay!" Diamond cheered.
"I'd sure like to meet the Pokémon that these are plushes of," Pearl said, bending down to pick up the plush that Platinum had been admiring. "They're adorable!"
Platinum's eyes widened. "Pearl, stop! That's–"
As soon as Pearl wrapped his arms around it, the "plush" immediately started flailing. Its arms knocked Pearl flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him. It ran over to Olivia's side.
"–not a plush," Platinum finished.
"Are you okay?" Diamond asked worriedly.
"Give me a minute," Pearl managed to get out.
While Pearl regained his breath, Platinum whispered an idea in Diamond's ear and giggled. He whispered something back, and the two started a hushed conversation. When Pearl had finally recovered enough to sit up, he glanced between Diamond and Platinum. "What are you two whispering about?"
Platinum grinned. "Speaking of Pokémon…"
"Speaking of Pokémon!"
"Stufful is a very popular Pokémon in the Alola region."
"Yup, I can see why! It's so adorable!"
"Be careful around it, though. It will attack if it is touched or hugged by a stranger."
"Well, duh. Its name should tell you that."
"How so?"
"I would hate for people to touch or hug me when I'm stuffed full of food!"
A/N: Review and favorites are always appreciated! 3
Pearl: "I stand corrected. That was the worst pun you've ever written."