Chapter 2: Catchin' n' Batllin'!
"Alright! Time to drop in on Tapu Koko's abo-huh?" Quinn stopped as he came to the entrance of Iki Town as he saw something unexpected.
Right in the middle of the path were two trainers having a battle. The first one was a girl with mushroom cut black hair and a red tree-like hat, whilst wearing a yellow top, green shorts, and a shoulder bag that looked like a slice of melon. The guy she was fighting had chocolate coloured skin and a goofy grin on his face, with shaggy dark green hair, a black tank top, yellow shorts and sandals, with an orange backpack. He commanded a what looked like a black and red cat, whilst she commanded a little blue seal.
"Popplio! Bubble!" The girl called, making she seal blow a bubble from its nose that splashed over the cat, causing it to fall onto its side, unconscious. "Yes! We did it, Popplio!"
"Pop! Pop!" The little seal cheered as it jumped into her arms and clapped her hands together.
"Man, that was an awesome battle! Thanks, Litten!" The guy praised the cat, before it shook its body and splashed water onto his face.
"Uh, looks like we dropped in on a battle." Quinn said to himself.
"Hey there! Were you watching?" He jumped as a tanned man wearing a lab coat (but no shirt) a cap, and glasses approached him.
"Geez, dude! You proud of yourself or something?" He flinched from the guys bare chest.
The man just laughed. "Well, I've never been greeted like that, before! Name's Kukui, nice to meet ya!"
'Kukui?' Qunn thought. 'Wait...the Boss always mentioned a guy named Kukui...oh, wait! This guy's Alola's Poke-Prof!'
"Uh...a pleasure, Prof. Kukui." Quinn strained the niceties into his dialect. "Yes, it was a great battle."
"It's always good to see a fellow Trainer enjoy another battle!" An old, fat guy with shaggy white hair complimented, wearing a lazy open yellow shirt over a blue one with white shorts and sandals.
'Now who's this old geezer?' Quinn racked his brain. 'The way he looks...it's REEEEEEALLY familiar...'
"Glad you had fun watching it!" The boy ran up to him with a big goofy grin. "Nice to meet you! My name's Hau, and this is my partner, Litten!"
"Liiiiit!" The cat purred.
"And I'm Hala, the kahuna of this island." The old guy nodded.
'Kahuna!?' Quinn screamed in his head. 'This guy!? That just goes way over my skull!'
"Um...hello." He then noticed another person standing around. It was a girl with blonde hair, a big white hat and matching dress, and a bag at her side. "My name is Lillie...it's nice to meet you."
'Woah...there's some eye candy if I've ever seen it.' Quinn thought before he could stop himself. 'Gah! Even my brain's a Grunt!'
"So, you must be from around here, right?" The other girl asked, walking over to him. "My name is Luna. I just moved here recently...and this is my new partner, Popplio."
"Pop-lio!" The seal cried, clapping its hands together.
"Oh, so you must live in that house back there..." Quinn nodded. "Okay then, uh...Alola, welcome to Alola, or...something."
Here eyes then suddenly lit up as she knelt down. "Oh wow! I didn't know you had a Pikachu!"
"MimiKYU!" Mimikyu cried out in a flustered and embarrassed manner.
"Woah, girl. This is Mimikyu." Quinn knelt down and picked his partner up. "He just dresses up like a Pikachu, see? Pika are super popular here in Alola, so my buddy here wears this so he can be popular too ya-" He stopped himself before he could say 'ya dig?'
"Oh! I'm sorry, Mimikyu! It's very nice to meet you!" Luna greeted him again.
"Mimiiiiiiiiik..." The Pokémon blushed.
"Well, we haven't even gotten your name, yet." Kukui pointed out. "Want to introduce yourself?"
"Heh, of course!" Quinn grinned. "The name's Quinn Strix! And I'm gonna be the strongest Trainer in Alola!"
"Whooo! What a greeting! That hit me like a Hyper Voice!" Kuku approved.
"The strongest...?" Lillie echoed.
"So, does that mean your doing the island challenge?" Hala asked.
'Urk! The island challenge!' Quinn remembered. 'Of course! I'd just been putting it off for so long...or maybe I wanted to forget about it...'
"You gotta be 11 to do it, right? But you're a bit taller then me and Luna." Hau pointed out.
"I'm 15." Quinn stated with a deadpan expression.
"Um, what's the island challenge?" Luna spoke up.
"Well..." Kukui paused in thought. "In fact, why don't we wait for the ceremonial battle this evening, then I can tell you all about it!"
"A fine idea, Kukui. I think everybody should be getting some rest right now." Hala said.
"Uh...actually, I was headin' over to the shrine, so..." Quinn began inching his way past them.
"Th-The shrine?" Lillie blushed in embarrassment. "Um...I'm sorry but...the bridge collapsed, recently."
"Huh!?" "Mimik!?" Both Trainer and Pokémon cried, before hanging their heads. "Great...just great." "Mimik..."
""Um, QUinn, if you don't have a place to stay until the evening, you can come to my house." Luna offered.
Quinn jerked up. 'A proper house...? With proper food?'
"I'll gladly take your offer!" Quinn declared.
"Alright then, I'll let my mum know where we get there." Luna nodded.
"Mimikyu! Hot food!" Quinn whispered.
"Mimikyuuuu." The Pokémon gave a thumbs up with one of its claws.
He followed the girl back to her house, with Mimikyu and Popplio bouncing around next to each other as they went, before arriving at the house. "Mum! I'm back!"
"Hello there, dear!" A tanned woman with wavy black hair greeted them. "Oh, have you brought a visitor?"
"This is Quinn, he's a new friend of mine." Luna gestured.
"Heyo, Miss." He waved.
"Oh, and what adorable little Pokémon you have!" She complimented them.
"Popplio!" "Mimiiiiiik..." The former clapped its hands whlst the latter blushed.
"Meooooow." A cat near her feet meowed.
"Woah! Is that a Meowth from a different region!?" Quinn gasped, staring at it in fascination.
"Yes, he's been with me for a while." The mother confirmed, scratching it behind the ear. "Now then, would you like to join us for dinner, Quinn?"
"I am HERE!" Quinn agreed.
The family plus one sat down to a dinner of tropical fruits, meats and breads. Despite trying to restrain himself, Quinn snatched the different foods and shoved them onto his plate as fast as possible before shovelling it down his mouth without hesitation, causing him to nearly choke several times.
"Ah...that was the best I've eaten in a while. Ace meal, miss." Quinn gave it his seal of approval.
"Mimik." Mimikyu also agreed, the body of its costume bulging out.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. You certainly have a healthy appetite." She nodded.
"Incredibly healthy..." Luna whispered with slight shock, as Popplio barked and clapped in agreement. "Oh, mum, I'm taking part in this, ceremonial battle thing, so we're going to be going out for a bit, okay?"
"Of course! Good to see you getting out for a change!" Her mother agreed.
"I'm gonna catch up...I need a second." Quinn coughed.
"Well, follow on soon." Luna told him as she picked up Popplio and headed out the door.
"Alright...Mimikyu! Let's use all our willpower...and get out the door!" Quinn declared.
"Mimiiik!" His partner cried.
The two of them managed to make it outside despite their full stomachs, meeting up with Luna and Kukui as the sky was bathed orange. "Ah, Quinn! Looks like you just used Stockpile, huh?"
"Guess so..." He grunted. "So, you're going to this ceremonial battle thing, right?"
"Yep, I'm gonna give it my all!" She cheered.
"That reminds me. Here, Quinn. I saved some of these for you." Kukui said as he gave him some shrunken capsules.
"No way! Poke-Balls! that's wicked, Kukui!" Quinn cheered.
"Glad you like 'em." Kukui nodded. "I'll see you at Iki Village!"
"Are you coming, Quinn?" Luna asked.
"Hm? Yeah, yeah, in a minute." He told her. "Now that I've got some Poke-Balls, we can add more members to our gang, Mimikyu!"
"Mimikyu!" The Pokémon cheered.
"Alright, toughest Pokémon around! Come out!" Quinn yelled as he started stomping around in the tall grass, whlist Luna shrugged and left him.
Soon the sun had set and day had turned to night. Luna returned to the spot where she had left Quinn...to find him still there.
"You're still here, Quinn?" Luna asked.
"Ugh...nothing but Pikipek's, Yungoos' and Ledyba's!" Quinn groaned. "Why can't I find a Pokémon with that 'oomph' I'm looking for!?"
"Well, I managed to win my ceremonial battle, and I caught a Pikipek." She beamed, the brd Pokémon resting on her shoulder as Popplio clapped and barked. "And look! I even got a Z-Ring, just like yours!"
"Eh? Just like-?" He stopped as he remembered the object he'd stolen. "Oh! Right! Just like...mine..."
"I also told my mum I'd be taking the island challenge." Luna went on. "And Hau's gonna do it too, and since you say your doing it, I was wondering if-"
"Wait!" Quinn suddenly shouted, pointing into the grass. "There!"
Peeking out at them as a small black furred rat with red eyes and a long tail with a curve on the end.
"Iis that...a Rattata?" Luna thought aloud. "Wow! I can't believe they have an Alolan variant too!"
"Just check it out!" Quinn emphasised. "Those fierce red eyes, those sharp fangs, that look of determination, to never give up!" He clutched his own head. "Ahhhhhhhhh! I can't stand it! I MUST catch it!"
"Are you okay...?" Luna squeaked.
"Mimikyu! On it!" "MimiKYU!" The Pokémon leapt into the tall grass, making the Rattata cry out. It charged towards Mimikyu at an incredibly speed, but only passed through the Pokémon, making the rat gasp as it crashed into the groun.
"Sorry, but Normal moves don't do a thing against Mimikyu!" Quinn smirked. "Slash attack!" Mimikyu's shadowly claw stretched forward and slashed the Rattata, making it cry out as it fell to the ground.
"OkayokayokayOKAY!" He clutched his Poke-Ball tightly. "You're mine now, Rattata!" He tossed the Poke-Ball with all his might.
It hit the Rattata and absorbed the Pokémon into it via a red light, wobbling around as it button blinked red, until it froze in a small burst of light.
"Ooooooooooooh YES!" He shouted, jumping over and picked up the Poke-Ball. "We got our second member! It's Rattata!"
"Mimikyu!" His partner cheered.
"Well done, Quinn!" Luna cheered as Pikipek chirped and Popplio clapped.
"So awesome..." Quinn marvelled his achievement. "Alright, Rattata, come out!"
He tossed the ball up and in a burst of light the rat appeared. "Rattata!"
"Heyo! Rattata, good to meetcha!" "Mimikyu!" The two greeted him.
"Rattata!" The Pokémon greeted him as it ran up onto his shoulder.
"Nice, now we're prepared!" The Trainer nodded. "...So now what are we gonna do?"
"I'm gonna meet with Professor Kukui tomorrow, so do you wanna stay at our place until morning?" Luna asked.
'Sleeping? In an ACTUAL BED!?' "I would like that...very much!" He said.
"Who are you?"
Quinn jumped and spun around in time with Luna to see a figure standing behind him. The guy was fairly tall with the faintest sign of a tan and viridian green eyes, wearing a shadowed smirk. His lanky body was clothed in a black short sleeve shirt with a navy blue open sweatshirt, tennis shoes and black sweatpants. Scraggly blonde hair peeked out from underneath a black mini top hat perched on his head, whilst a Pokémon floated next to him, looking like a circular stone.
"What the-!? Who the heck are you, buddy!? Sneaking up on a guy in the middle of the night, I can sock you for something like that!" Quinn shouted.
"My apologies. I was just passing through, and I saw you catching that Pokémon. A Mimikyu is quite the rare Pokémon." He noted.
"What's that supposed to mean!? Passsing through? Yeah, right!" "Mimikyu!" The two of them commented.
""Miiiiiiiii..." The rock floating next to him stirred.
"Eh? Is your pet rock threatening me or something?"
"Ah! Hold on!" Luna held out her Pokedex. "That's...a Minior!"
"Minior?" Quinn repeated, staring at the spinning rock.
"Don't worry, Newton." The Minior floated back as its Trainer held out a Moon Ball. "This one should show off its new abilities."
"You wanna fight!? Is that it!?" Rattata hissed. "Hang up, Rattata, we gotta show you how its done! Mimikyu! Time to crack a skull!"
"Mimikyu!" The Pokémon cried, jumping forward.
"Very well, it' time for your opening night! Robin!" The ball burst open to reveal an owl with green feathers inside its wings.
"Rowlet!" It cried.
"We'll end this in no time, flat! Slash that hack!" "Mimiiiiiiik!" The Pokémon charged with its shadowy claw outstretched.
"Robin, dodge with style!" "Rooooowlet!" The Pokémon took to the skies with a stylish spin, avoiding Mimikyu's attack.
"A stylish spin? What?" Quinn mumbled.
"Use Leafage! Skyward!" Rowlet nodded as five glowing leaves appeared, before it swung its wings up, sending the leaves up into the air.
"Now what?" Quinn grumbled. "Whatever! Mimikyu! Shadow Sneak!" Mimikyu's shadows shot upward, hitting Robin in the chest and making it fall back to the ground. "Slash again!" Mimikyu shuffled forward, its claw outstretched.
Suddenly, the Leafage from before fell down and struck Mimikyu on the head of its disguise, making it flop over. "Huh!? What was that!?" Quinn gasped.
"Now! Peck!" "Rooooowlet!" Robin instantly flew forward, hitting Mimikyu in its body with its beak, making the Pokémon stagger back.
"...What was that!?" Quinn cried.
"Did you enjoy our performance?" The figure bowed.
"Rowlet." Robin bowed with one of its wings.
"Like I care about that! Mimikyu! Use Mimic!" "Mimiiiiiiii..." Mimikyu gained a dark aura as it copied Peck.
"Oh? So you have some tricks yourself? Interesting..." The figure mused.
"Alright, Mimikyu! Use Peck!" Mimikyu gained a dark aura as he ran at Robin, charging into the Pokémon and stabbing it with one of its costume ears, making it bounce back into a wall, before weakly flying around. "Finish it off with Shadow Sneak!"
"Time for the turnabout! Astonish!" Robin's head spun around 180, before quickly spinning back around with a shadowed expression, making Mimikyu freeze in fear, along with its shadow.
"Argh! That's so annoying!" Quinn cried.
"In that case, how about this? Robin! Spin and use Leafage!" "Rooooooooooowleeeeeeeet!" The Pokémon spun around as a tornado of energy leaves surrounded it, forming a pure rung of leaves.
"What the...?" "Mimiiiiiik?" Both Trainer and Pokémon gasped.
"Show them, Robin!" "RowLET!" The Pokémon tossed its ring of leaves that shot towards Mimikyu.
"Mimikyu! Dodge that junk!" "Mimiiii-IK!" Mimikyu tried to jump over the leaves, but the edge of it still caught the Pokémon, making it fly off to the edge.
"Did you enjoy that?" The figure bowed, alog with the Rowlet.
"Nnnnnnnnngh! Mimikyu! You up!?" "Mi...Mi...Mimikyu!" The Pokémon recovered, looking quite injured.
"That Mimikyu is quite strong..." The figure noted.
""Mimikyu! Time for the secret weapon!" Quinn called out, making Mimikyu bob its costume head. "Time to rock some skulls! Uuuuuuuuuse...Charm!"
"Mimikyuuuuu." The Pokémon bounced around, waggling its costume around.
"Rooooow..." Robin cooed, blushing at the sight.
"Now use Slash!" "MiMIK!" The Pokémon quickly returned to its battle state, slashing the Rowlet in its body with its claw, making the Pokémon fall back into a tree, and then to the ground with its eyes turned into swirls.
"Robin!" He gasped in shock.
"Heck yeah! We win!" "Mimikyuuuu!" The two cheered.
"Rattatata!" The Pokémon on his shoulder also cheered.
"Your performance was excellent. Return for now." The figure said as he returned Robin. "I admit defeat. You are quite strong."
"Of course I am! You're looking at the guy who's gonna be the strongest in Alola!" Quinn smirked.
"The strongest, huh...?" His smirk widened into a grin. "Interesting. It was nice meeting you. I hope to fight you again."
"Miniooooooor." Newton said.
"Hey, hold on a second! Who the heck are you!?" Quinn yelled.
The figure tipped his top hat. "I am known by the name 'Phantom'. Remember it." He then jumped up onto the above ledge into the bushes, and was gone."
"...Phantom? Phantom!? What kinda shady, fake punk name is that!?" Quinn shouted. "Get back here you showboat circus reject and tell me your proper name! I'm not done talking to you you too-good-for-me freak!"
"Um, Quinn, I think he's gone." Luna pointed out.
"Stupid flaunty Crobatman wannabe." Quinn mumbled. "I'm exhausted."
"To be fair...me too. It's been a busy day." Luna agreed. "Let's get to bed, everybody."
"Tell me about it." Quinn grumbled. "C'mon, guys."
"Pop! Popplio!" "Pikikikipek!" "Mimikyu!" "Rattata!" The Pokémon cried as they followed after their Trainers.
And so concludes the second chapter of 'Quit Skullin' Around', an early update, yay! I hope you all enjoyed it!
And, as you can tell, our Rival appeared this battle! 'Phantom' was created by Phantom4700, congrats on winning! I chose him because his personality, and performance loving nature are so different to what you usually expect in a rival. Plus, his personality is practically the opposite of Quinn's with his flashy strategies and moves, so the two counteract each other very well!
Thanks goes out to Angel of Darkness and Light, FrozenHydra and St. Elmo's Fire for also applying for the trle of Rival, and I'm sorry your OC's didn't get picked. They all are great though, make no mistake, and I hope you can find a good story for them!
In other new, the positions for Friend, Traveller, Spy and Villain are still open! Yours are gonna have to be REALLY unqiue now though, as a lot are already very interesting. And to the three listed here who couldn't get a Rival position, you can still submit for one of the other four positions. Or, you can stick around and see how this story goes. Who knows, I might branch out into other stories with Quit Skullin' Around, if you catch my drift.
Thank you all so much for reading and for all the great feedback, and I shall see you all in the hopeful next chapter!