After Alola
Chapter 1: The Beginning
The time had come. Moon swelled with pride as she examined the slick navy-blue belt that contained the six Pokemon that brought her to this point. The final battle of the Alola Pokemon League, a testament to her strength.
Taking a deep breath, she clipped the belt back over her hips and stepped onto the rainbow-colored platform. Light enveloped her, and when Moon opened her eyes, the sight she took in made her knees weak. When Hau told her Mount Lanakila was the highest peak in all Alola, he sure wasn't kidding! A giant circular battlefield had been ingrained into the top of the mountain, with menacing sheets of ice with a faint blueish glow to them acting as the field's border. Just over the ledge of the field were mounds of dark clouds blocking any view of the normally sunny region below. Professor Kukui sat in a stone-grey throne lined with the same blueish glow as the ice surrounding it. Noticing her, he rose.
Moon turned her bright cerulean eyes towards the man who stood in her way and studied him. The pearl lab coat was opened to reveal his sun-kissed skin, and his light grey sweats fell just above his calves. The man tilted his white hat with the slight rainbow pictured on it towards her with a determined glint in his eye and a confident smile.
"Congratulations! You have made it this far Miss Moon, but I am sorry to tell you that this is as far as you go. This Pokemon League is my baby, and I intend to defeat any trainers who strive for the title of 'Champion'" he declared with a gruff voice.
"Professor Kukui." Moon began with a smile. "I sincerely thank you for helping me begin my journey last March. And the work that you have put in to make Alola's first Pokemon League a reality is second to none-I commend you for that. But my Pokemon and I have been through thick and thin together to make our dream a reality…and you are standing in the way of that dream. I respect you, and I appreciate you, but..I hope you are ready for the fight of your life!" The girl drew a small red and white sphere from her belt and gently pressed the button in the middle to enlarge it so the sphere now fit snug in her delicate hand, and raised it towards the Professor.
"I, Moon Skyrah of Pallet Town, challenge you for the title of Champion of the Alola Region!" her voice rang unwavering. She was steadfast in her stance, ready for Kukui to begin the challenge. A strong breeze slid the girl's long pale-blonde hair off of her shoulders, and she tilted her chin up slightly to let the soft curls fall down her back. Her ruffled white blouse tossed in the wind, and she felt the goosebumps crawl up her toned arms and legs as she silently scolded herself for forgetting a jacket and only wearing her too-short charcoal shorts to the top of Mount Lanakila.
The Pokemon Professor grinned widely at the challenge. "It's been a long 16 months Miss Moon, let's see how far you have come!" With that, he enlarged a sphere decorated with yellow and black and tossed it into the air.
…...
"Lycanroc, let's go!" A giant wolf-like pokémon with tough fur the color of hazelnut and icy blue eyes appeared before her and bared its sharp teeth towards Moon.
"I see your Rockruff has evolved. Let's see how your puppy stands against Primarina!" Moon declared as she tossed her pokeball in the air to reveal her mermaid-like seal Pokemon.
"Rrrinaaa!" cried as she looked on her opponent with determination.
"Lycanroc, use Stone Edge!" Kukui ordered.
"Primarina, send those rocks straight back with Psychic! Then follow up with Aqua Jet!" Moon countered.
Lycanroc jumped up slightly and came down with such force-pummeling a collection of sharp-tipped rocks towards Primarina, but the Soloist Pokemon lifted her giant flippers and cried out as her eyes began to glow. With a flick of her flippers, the sharp-tipped rocks flew backwards towards Lycanroc, who took the hit dead-on with wide eyes. Not giving it a chance to retaliate, Primarina shot an incredibly powerful jet of water straight towards the Wolf Pokemon, sending it flying towards the edge of the mountain.
"Lycanroc!" Kukui cried as he watched his pokemon struggle to stand. "Shake it off and get her with Crunch!" Lycanroc shook its fur roughly and took off in a fit of rage towards Primarina, its sharp teeth glowing-rearing up for the attack.
"Oh no you don't! Primarina, Moonblast!" Moon commanded.
Primarina lifted her flippers up as she quickly took in the power of the moon, and blasted Lycanroc full force right as he was upon her. A shield of mist followed, and both trainers waited anxiously to see what had become of their Pokemon. The mist cleared, and Lycanroc was lying unconscious on the field while Primarina's glow from the moon's power diminished.
"Lycanroc, you fought a good match. It will be difficult to best her starter Pokemon." Kukui lifted his ultra-ball towards the Wolf Pokemon and a red beam of light enveloped Lycanroc until it was safely resting back in it's poke-ball. "Great first round Miss Moon! I'm impressed! But let's see how you fare against Magnezone!" he exclaimed as he tossed a poke-ball in the air to reveal a large steel contraption with smaller magnets sticking out like hands.
"Magnezone, Thunderbolt" Kukui quickly ordered.
Moon gasped. "Primarina, try to counter with Moonblast!" Unfortunately, the Soloist Pokemon wasn't fast enough powering up her attack. The super-effective lightning strike sank through the purple mist created by her Moonblast and struck her dead on. Primarina flew towards her trainer, weak and disoriented, but still able to battle.
"Primarina, I'm going to let you rest for now girl, I don't want you to take another one of those Thunderbolts!" Moon told her starter, her face etched with worry. Primarina nodded towards her trainer as Moon recalled her to her pokeball.
"That is one powerful Thunderbolt Professor! But it will take a lot more than that to shake our confidence! Come on out Marowak!" Moon declared as she tossed out her next pokemon.
A mid-size bi-pedal Pokemon with dark fur appeared in front of Moon. It had interesting white markings on its back and a crystal white skull on its head and stood ready for battle.
"Marowak, use Shadow Ball!" she yelled.
"Magnezone, dodge and use Flash Cannon!" Kukui responded.
Marowak took the bone in its hand and ignited the ghostly blue fames on the end, twirling it around swiftly until a pitch-black ball of energy formed and shot towards Magnezone. The Magnet Area Pokemon rushed out of way, but was not able to fully escape the ball of energy as the attack struck its side, spinning the Pokemon towards the ground. Magnezone levitated back up, and used its magnetic hands to create an equally powerful white ball of energy and shoot it towards Marowak.
"Marowak, dodge and use Return!" Moon commanded.
The bone-keeper Pokemon quickly rolled out of the way of the oncoming attack, and rushed forward with an enormous amount of energy swirling around its body, ramming straight into the steel contraption. Magnezone cried out in pain as it fell to the ground towards Kukui.
"Magnezone, let's get back in there and use Thunderbolt!" The Magnet Area Pokemon hoisted itself back up and charged up the energy to summon a powerful lighting strike.
"Finish it with Fire Blast!" Moon countered. Marowak twisted its ignited bone quickly and summoned an intense blast of all-consuming fire and shot it towards Magnezone before it could complete its last-ditch attack. Magnezone fell towards the ground, completely unconscious.
"Great fight Magnezone, return," Kukui praised his Pokemon as he returned it to its pokeball. "Braviary, come on out!" He released a giant bird Pokemon with dark feathers lined with red. The pokemon's face was painted with the colors red, white, and blue and turned on its opponent with a stoic cry.
"Brraaaaaav!" it shrieked.
"Are you still okay to battle Marowak?" The bone keeper Pokemon nodded towards its trainer and stood ready. "Alright then, let's start with Shadow Ball!" Moon chimed. Marowak responded by twisting its ignited bone again to create the pitch-black ball of energy and fling it towards its opponent.
"Braviary, dodge and use Tailwind!" Kukui ordered. The Valiant Pokemon quickly avoided the attack and used its giant wings to whip up a powerful wind to increase its speed for the next 4 turns. "Great job! Now use Brave Bird!" The Professor pumped a knowing fist in the air.
Braviary flew up high in a blink of an eye. "Marowak! Try to surround yourself with flames from Fire Blast!" Moon gulped, trying to make the best of a bad situation. Marowak was able to envelope itself in white-hot flames before Braviary came out of nowhere with incredible speed to land a critical-hit right in Marowak's core. The Bone Keeper Pokemon hit the ground at a high velocity and stayed down. Braviary cried out in victory...and then pain. Kukui's smile faltered when he realized that his bird Pokemon was burned from Marowak's closing effort to defend itself.
"You did a fantastic job Marowak, thank you for lending me your strength." Moon praised as she recalled her fallen Pokemon. "Vikavolt, I choose you!" The giant blue stag beetle appeared from its pokeball and snapped its pincers in Braviary's direction.
"Braviary, we are on a time crunch here, use Crush Claw!" Kukui ordered with a grimace.
"Vikavolt, counter with Crunch!" The Stag Beetle Pokemon dove straight into Braviary's oncoming attack, and matched the Valiant Pokemon's glowing claws with its own powerful glowing jaw and bit down hard. Braviary cried out in pain as Vikavolt released it from its clutches.
"Great job Vikavolt! Now use Thunderbolt!"
"Braviary dodge it!" Kukui cried out to his wounded Pokemon, but Braviary had taken too much damage to make full use of its speed to avoid the incredible lightning strike headed its way. Professor Kukui recalled the Valiant Pokemon with a grimace as it dropped towards the ground, defeated.
Moon celebrated with Vikavolt as Professor Kukui sent out his next Pokemon.
"Snooooooooooor!" Moon's eyes widened as a hulking shadow appeared over her and her teammate. The Snorlax that stood before them was the biggest she had ever seen of its species, it was obviously well trained, making her wary.
Moon shook off her nerves, she had to stay focused in order to win this battle. "Come on Vikavolt, don't let its size scare you! Use X-Scissor!" Vikavolt picked up speed as it charged the enormous Snorlax. To her surprise, Professor Kukui didn't order Snorlax to dodge the powerful bug-type attack. With a smirk, he watched the Sleeping Pokemon take the attack head on.
Snorlax hissed at the pain, but shook it off as it had done very little damage. "Now that you have successfully made my Pokemon angry, how about we take this up a notch? Snorlax, use Heavy Slam!"
With blinding speed, Snorlax jumped into the air, and slammed itself down hard onto Vikavolt. Moon gasped at the scene that just unfolded before her, a 1,000lb Pokemon should not have been capable of that kind of speed. To the credit of her Stag Beetle Pokemon, Vikavolt was still standing-well hovering, no matter how shakily.
"Vikavolt, I know that hurt buddy, but let's hide with Dig!" Moon implored with a line of worry etched across her face. Vikavolt burrowed its way into the mountain top and disappeared.
"Snorlax, be on the lookout! Use Crunch when it shows itself!" Kukui warned.
The Sleeping Pokemon stood on alert, trying to determine where Vikavolt would pop out. However, the Stag Beetle Pokemon must have been out for revenge because it rushed up out of the ground right behind Snorlax with a force strong enough to send the 1,000 pound Pokemon flying.
Professor Kukui flashed a confident smile when in mid-air, Snorlax completed a summersault and landed on its two feet and rushed back towards Vikavolt and opened its giant mouth wide opened for a Crunch attack.
"Wow, Professor. That Snorlax is something else!" She recalled her unconscious Pokemon and muttered her praises towards the pokeball. Her eyes flashed back towards her opponent, "But, even he isn't a match for Dugtrio!" She called with a smile, sending out a pokemon that looked like 3 chesnut-colored mounds of dirt with flowing golden hair.
"An interesting choice Moon…" Kukui mused. "But I don't think Dugtrio will be enough to take on Snorlax." He shrugged and called out his next attack.
"Use Body Slam!"
Moon smirked. "Never underestimate my Pokemon Professor. Dugtrio dodge, and use Flamethrower!"
The Mole Pokemon simply disappeared underground, avoiding the oncoming attack easily. It popped back up right behind the Sleeping Pokemon and unleashed a flurry of white-hot flames right onto it's back. Snorlax reared back, roaring in pain, and turned around in fury to face its opponent.
"Snorlax, don't let it get away with that! Use Horsepower!"
"Sorry Professor, that's not going to happen. Dugtrio, Fissure!" The Professor paled as she called out her attack. Snorlax was headed full speed towards Dugtrio when all of a sudden, the ground beneath it was just gone. Moon smiled as the one-hit KO attacked hit its mark. Kukui shook his head as he recalled his unconscious behemoth of a Pokemon.
"Man, Snorlax didn't stand a chance against Fissure. Well done Moon! That is one of the hardest moves to teach your Pokemon!" Professor Kukui praised her. "Let's go Ninetales!" A beautiful fox-like Pokemon appeared gracefully from its pokeball. It's light blue fur coat and giant fluffy tails were splendidly shiny, and its demeaner commanded the attention from those around it.
Moon's Dugtrio, on the other hand, was breathing hard and struggling to stay upright. "Hey buddy, that Fissure took a lot of energy out of you, how about I let you rest of a while?" Moon smiled down as she recalled her hard-working Pokemon.
"Your Ninetales is magnificent, but I am sorry to say that she will still come second to my next Pokemon!" she giggled as she enlarged another ultra-ball. Ninetales growled and turned her long nose up to Moon's comment.
Now it was Professor Kukui's turn to widen his eyes in surprise as the Moone Pokemon appeared before them. It had a bat-like skeleton form, with brilliant deep violet wings outlined with golden crescents. Lunala's bright fuchsia eyes settled on the Fox Pokemon from its moon-shaped head.
"So this is what Cosmog evolved into…. how lucky am I that I get to see Lunala right here in person!" the Professor gushed with loving eyes.
"She is quite the beauty" Moon agreed as she looked up at the Moone Pokemon proudly. "How about I show you what she can do? Lunala, use Moongeist Beam!"
"Ninetales, dodge and use Blizzard!"
An intense beam of energy formed from Lunala's moon shaped head and blasted towards its opponent. The Fox Pokemon leaped out of the way and summoned an icy storm and directed it towards Lunala.
"We can handle a little ice, can't we Lunala? Take out the blizzard with Moonblast, then follow up with Night Daze!"
The wall of ice that had hit Lunala was shattered instantly with the power of the moon. Its fuchsia eyes began to glow as dark energy wrapped itself around the bat-like Pokemon. With a powerful *swish* of its wings, Lunala sent the dark energy charging towards the Fox Pokemon with a cry.
"Ninetales, safeguard!" the Professor croaked. A wispy silver shield appeared in front of Ninetales, but the force of the Night Daze was just too powerful, and the safeguard shattered. The Fox Pokemon was blasted back ten feet by the dark energy and landed with a thud. "Ninetales, come on girl, let's get back up and use Dazzling Gleam!"
Ninetales shakily stood up, shook off the powerful attack, and cried out as stunning gemstones appeared from the ground and were sent flying towards Lunala, hitting it dead on before Moon could call out a counter-attack.
"Let's go Lunala! Phantom Force!" The monstrous Moone Pokemon shuddered out of sight, effectively confusing Professor Kukui and his Ninetales.
"Be on the lookout Ninetales…it could come out of nowhere!" he warned.
In the blink of an eye, Lunala appeared directly behind Ninetales and assaulted it with a full force blast of dark energy. The Fox Pokemon cried out as she was thrown back towards Kukui with incredible force.
Professor Kukui gaped at his unconscious Pokemon. He recalled it with sad eyes, but muttered his praises towards its pokeball. "You have me down to my last Pokemon Miss Moon, and I am very impressed. Let's make this a battle to remember!" He declared as he tossed out his last pokeball.
A tall owl-like pokemon appeared before them. The upper portion of its face was dark green with a thin, orange mask-like marking encircling its eyes. A leafy hood covered its head and flowed down onto its back like a cape.
"Lunala, you did great out there! Come back and rest!" Moon called as she returned it to its pokeball. "Let's turn up the heat on this battle, let's go Smaug!" she chimed with a huge grim plastered on her face as she tossed out her last Pokemon.
A tremendous blue dragon with burly red wings roared as it materialized before them. Professor Kukui cocked his head to the side. "Smaug huh?"
Moon chuckled at her beloved dragon's name. "Believe it or not, Salamance was the only Pokemon from my team that actually wanted a nickname! As a Bagon, he wanted something he could grow into."
"Very interesting. Pokemon are quite unique, aren't they?" he retorted with a grin. "How about we get this last round started off with a bang? Decidueye, use Spirit Shackle!"
"Blast through it with Flamethrower Smaug!" she countered.
Decidueye's sharp eyes began to glow as a shadowy dark presence appeared from the mountaintop and soared towards Salamance. However, before it could hit its target, Moon's Salamance released a powerful flamethrower that completely blew through the attack.
Professor watched the scene before him with gritted teeth. "Darn, come on Decidueye, use Brave Bird!"
The Arrow Quill Pokemon flew up high to gather energy for his next attack. Moon narrowed her eyes as she saw it come back down to attack. "Smaug, shoot it out of the sky with Draco Meter!"
Moon's Salamance shook the battlefield with its mighty roar as it summoned fiery comets from the sky. Decidueye was able to avoid two or three of them before one struck its left wing and the energy it had built up to perform Brave Bird dissipated.
"Smaug, finish it with Devastating Drake!" Moon beamed as she gave her final command. A purple fire erupted around Salamance as Moon stood tall, crossing and uncrossing her arms flowing into her claw-like Z-powered move.
"Decidueye, try to counter with Sprit Shackle!" Kukui choked. His last pokemon sent a hurried flurry of shadow energy towards the explosion of purple fire that was headed towards it. But there was no defense against the sheer power of Smaug's dragon powered Z-move. In a blink of an eye, the purple flames quickly overcame the giant owl-like pokemon and there was no escape. Professor Kukui and Moon held up their arms to shield themselves from the debris of the blast. When the smoke and ash had cleared, Decidueye was unconscious and Moon's Salamance was hovering just above the ground, roaring powerful flames into the sky acknowledging his victory.
…
Moon stood in shock as she watched Professor Kukui recall his beloved pokemon. She had done it…She defeated Kukui! Her eyes lit up with exhilaration and filled with tears as she sprinted towards her faithful dragon. Moon wrapped her arms around Salamance's slick cobalt neck, and her pokemon grumbled happily and pulling her close with its monster-like head and nuzzled softly.
"Smaug, I am so proud of you! Thank you for working along beside me to win!" Soft tears trickled down her tanned cheeks.
"Well Miss Moon, let me just say that I am astounded. You have really grown up into an incredible trainer who loves and cares for her Pokemon. You were in complete synchronization with each one of your Pokemon during our battle, and it was an honor to witness! Let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming the first ever Alola Champion!" Professor Kukui praised the young trainer with a large grin and held out a hand for her.
Moon let her hands fall from her dragon and rushed over to give Kukui and bone-crushing hug-much to his surprise. "Thank you thank you thank you! You helped me start off this incredible journey. Thank you for believing in me, and pushing me to become the best Pokemon trainer that I can be!" She let go of the professor and stepped back. She released all of her friends that helped her get to this point and turned towards them.
"Did you hear that guys? We did it! Each and every one of you is so dear to me. I love you all, and thank you for trusting me to be your trainer." The six Pokemon cried happily at Moon.
"This is a milestone for us, and each of you will go down in history! That doesn't mean that this is where our story ends, no no! It is only the beginning! I will work with you to travel so we can see things we have never seen before, to meet Pokemon we have never met before, and to train hard to become the best there ever was!" Moon gushed as she raised her first in the air and jumped up, her team following suit.
"What a fantastic speech Moon!" Professor Kukui's remark prompted Moon to turn around to face him. "Now how about we get you registered into the Hall of Fame," and then head back to Iki Town for a celebration?"
"Sounds great Professor!" Moon responded happily. She recalled her Pokemon and followed the Professor down a set of stairs that seemed to randomly appear out of nowhere near the Champion's throne. They spiraled down into a warm room that smelled like chocolate chip cookies. Moon inhaled deeply with a peaceful smile plastered on her face.
"It smells like someone has been baking down here."
"Well, that's because someone has been. We decided to have this room available for challengers to warm up after freezing their bums off on top of Mount Lanakila, and Burnet must have been watching you win the match to be ready with some cookies." Kukui answered.
As if on cue, Professor Burnet walked around the corner with a silver tray full of the most delicious looking chocolate chip cookies. Her iron-colored tank top was as snug as ever, and her black and orange jacket was tied around her hips, covering her turquoise shorts. She smiled warmly at the duo who had just reached the bottom of the stairs. "Ah congratulations Moon! I am so proud of you, and It looks like you are just in time for some snacks while Kukui registers your Pokemon into the Hall of Fame!" She turned towards her husband. "Honey, I am sorry for your loss, but I think we can agree that the title of Champion will be in good hands from now on."
Professor Kukui nodded and stuffed three cookies into his mouth. *munch* *munch* *munch* "Y-ou…go-t…it..hon-ey" *munch* *munch.* Moon giggled and handed him the navy belt that contained her prized possessions and took a cookie of her own. "Be careful with them!" She called after him as he took each of the pokeballs and placed them into an impressive looking machine in the middle of the room. It reminded her of the machines used for healing Pokemon back in the Pokemon center, but this one had glowing blue lights etched into it. As it processed each of the pokeballs with a bright spotlight, she saw images of her friends appear on the screen.
"Primarina, the Soloist Pokemon" Moon jumped, almost knocking her second cookie out of her hands as a loud, but pleasant voice announced from the machine. The screen switched images to the next Pokemon in line.
"Vikavolt, the Stag Beetle Pokemon" After the initial shock, she watched proudly as the rest of her Pokemon were announced and showed up on the medium-sized screen: Marowak, Dugtrio, Lunala, and Salamance.
"Almost done! Now Moon, we just need a handprint from you, and then we can take a picture with you and your Pokemon!" Kukui waved her over excitedly.
Moon placed her hand on the designated portion of the machine and relaxed when it was warm to the touch. A red laser peeked out and scanned her handprint up and down twice before letting out a *beep* indicating the process was over. She lifted her hand and clipped her belt back around her hips. The girl felt a strong hand clap her on the shoulder and turned towards the couple, grinning like a maniac. Moon's Rotom Dex, flew out of her bag in a hurry, "Letzzzzz go take that picture guyzzz!"
…
The trio made their way back up the spiral staircase to take the picture outside since Smaug and Lunala were too big to fit inside the cozy room below. Once they reached the battlefield, Moon let all her Pokemon out of their pokeballs and looked at them expectantly. "Now guys, Rotom is going to take our picture for the Hall of Champions, so I need you all to be on your best behavior," with that, she gave them all a wink and her Pokemon cried happily at her hidden message.
They all gathered around their beloved trainer, and each one struck its own unique pose. Marowak ignited his trusted bone with a ghost blue fire and spun it quickly around, Vikavolt hovered next to Moon and pretended to snap her hat in his pincers, Dugtrio plastered an elated grin on each of her three faces with all of her tongues sticking out towards Rotom. Primarina wrapped her large white flippers around Moon, snuggling her nose towards her trainer's beaming face, Salamance puffed out his chest and shot Rotom a stoic look, all the while Lunala took up all of the space behind the team with her massive violet and gold wings and gave a mighty cry as Rotom's flash went off. *snap* *snap* *snap*
Moon giggled as she watched Professor Kukui place her now framed picture onto the wall marked "Hall of Champions." Each one of her team members had a unique personality, and she was so happy that Rotom was able to capture such a special moment. Professor Kukui walked over and threw one arm around his wife and turned towards Moon.
"Well Moon, I think it is time to go celebrate with everyone in Iki Town! Meet you there!" With that, the couple smiled to each other and headed back outside.
Moon, on the other hand, froze. Professor Kukui said "everyone." Did "everyone" include a certain blonde hair boy who made her heart skip a beat every time she saw him? She had a sinking feeling that Kukui's "everyone" really did mean "everyone…"
She took a deep breath and placed one delicate hand on her white ruffled bag that was slung over her shoulder, while adjusting her hat with the other. "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this." She reassured herself as she took one last cookie and stuffed it in her mouth before heading up the staircase.
…