Chapter 3: Too Kool to Fool in Skool!
"Ahhhhhh! Whatta morning!" Quinn grinned, stretching himself out. "Best couch bunk I ever had. Yo, Mimikyu! Up and at 'em! We're goin' to Kukui's place today!"
"Mimikyuuuuu." The Pokémon groaned, peeking out from underneath the covers.
"I getcha, but we owe it to her for giving us good grub and a roof over our heads, right?" Quinn reasoned.
"Mimik..." The Pokémon reluctantly agreed, jumping up.
"Hey, where's Rattata?" He realised they were a member short.
"Rattata!" He looked over to see the basic Pokémon eating from the fruit bowl.
"Woah! Eating breakfast already, ya little glutton?" Quinn walked over as Rattata continued eating. "Geez, 5 was right, you guys eat a ton!"
"Rattata!" The Pokémon jumped out of the bowel, wagging its tail.
"From now on, I gotta keep my peepers on ya, lest ya steal MY goods. Back in the ball with you." He held up the Poke-Ball as the red light returned it to its confine, before getting out the Dusk Ball. "You too, Mimikyu."
"Mimiiiiiik?" The Pokémon pleaded, staring up at him.
"Don't go using those eyes! Charm's not very effective against me!" He yelled, but was still sweating as the Pokémons eyes widened. "Ngh...gah! Fine, you can stay out longer. Just stop it with those too adorable eyes."
"Mimikyu!" The Pokémon cheered.
"Good morning, Quinn!" Luna greeted him as she emerged from her room, Poke-Balls at her belt. "I've let my mum know, so are you ready to leave for Kukui's lab?"
"Let's get the show on the road!" Quinn confirmed as they headed out.
They went down to the beach where they spotted a beaten-up looking shack with noises coming from inside of it. "...Uh...this looks like the home of a maniacal hermit, not a professor." Quinn stated.
"I'm sure this is the place...look, there's Lillie!" Luna pointed, making them walk over to her.
"Oh, Luna, Quinn, good morning." She greeted them. "It sounds like the Professor and Rockruff are practicing moves again...and I'd just cleaned his coat too, now it's going to be full of holes, and I'm no good at sewing."
"Eh, what's a few holes?" Quinn shrugged, walking up to the door.
"Ah, Quinn, wait!" Lillie tried to warn him.
As Quinn opened the door, a rock suddenly hit him square in the face, making him cry out as he fell back into the sand.
"Mimimimimimik!" Mimikyu laughed.
"What are you laughin' at!?" Quinn yelled, clutching his face.
"Oh! Quinn! Luna! Alola!" Kukui greeted them. "You okay there?"
"As peachy as a Bounsweet." Quinn grumbled, massaging his facial features.
"Sorry about that, we were just testing out some moves! Whoo!" He smiled.
"Ruff! Ruff!" Rockruff barked.
"So, what did you call me over for, Professor?" Luna asked.
"Oh yeah! That's right! Come on in!" He beckoned them in, making the group file in.
Quinn marveled Kukui's house as the rest of them talked about something he didn't care about. There was a large fish tank with Luvdisc swimming inside, and a desk covered in research papers. Looking downstairs he saw a gym with several Fighting-Types exercising, and more research stuff he couldn't understand.
"Zzzt! Hey there!" He jumped as something flew into his field of vision. It looked like Luna's Pokedex, but it had eyes, a mouth, arms, and two little feet.
"What the-!? What are you supposed to be?" He gasped.
"This, is the Rotom Pokedex, the latest advancement in Dex technology." Kukui proudly introduced it.
"A Rotom?" QUinn echoed in confusion.
"Zzt! Whatzamat? Never seen one before, zt?" Rotom giggled.
"Actually, no." Quinn told it flatly. "Come to think of it, I've never seen a talking Pokedex, either!"
"Good to know, zzt! Gives me a special feeling in my circuits, zz zz zz!" Rotom laughed before hovering off.
"That's weird..." "Mimik..." Trainer and Pokemon agreed.
"Hey! That reminds me!" Kukui remembered. "You've got a Z-Ring by the looks of it, Quinn, but you haven't got an Island Challenge Charm!"
"Oh yeah, I need one of those, huh?" Quinn realised.
"Here, I gave one to Luna, only fair you get one too." He handed the teen the charm, which he hung from his belt.
"Thanks, Prof." Quinn nodded.
"Hey, Quinn! We're heading off!" Luna called to him, to make him see Lillie and Hau also leaving.
"Hold your Mudsdale's, I'm comin'!" He yelled, running behind them.
The quartet walked along the first street of Hau'oli City, with Hau cheering on the beach as Quinn strolled along with his hands behind his head. "Whaddya know, this place is actually pretty nice. But, that's not what I'm after..." He pointed forward dramatically. "I'm after all the Pokemon running around in this place! I'm definitely gonna catch the strongest!"
"Mimikyu!" The Pokemon by his side agreed.
"Quinn!" He looked over his shoulder to see Luna waving at him. "I just got a camera fitted in Rotom! Come on, it's gonna take our picture!"
"Eh? A camera?" Quinn mumbled. "Sorry, I'm not really a photogenic person."
"No worries! Just smile!" Hau assured him, before pulling him over.
"H-Hey! Leggo!" He said, joining the rest of them.
"Say cheese! Zzt!" Rotom told them.
"Cheese!" "Ch-Cheese..." Rotom snapped a pic, and spun around to show it on his screen. Everybody was smiling (Though Quinn's looked a bit forced) as Luna held Popplio in her amrs and Mimikyu jumped into shot.
"Pop! Pop!" Popplio approved, clapping its hands.
"Lovely..." Quinn sighed.
"Let's head over to the Pokemon School, now!" Lillie suggested.
"I'll catch up, I wanna stay on the beach a little longer!" Hau told her.
"Same. I wanna see if I can catch anything." Quinn explained.
"Alright, well we'll see you there, then." Luna nodded.
"Right." He clapped his hands together. "Let's see if there's anything good here to catch."
He vaulted over a fence and started looking, shuffling through the tall grass. "Gimme something awesome to catch, tall grass! I'm on this!"
He then spotted something floating near him. "An Abra! Nice! These things evolve into major Psychic powerhouses! Though...uh...what was it about them?" He trained as he tried to remember. "...That's right! They Teleport away! So I gotta catch it right away or else!"
He got out a Poke-Ball and tossed it at the back of the Psychic-Type's head, making it flinch as it was sucked into the ball. "Stay in the Ball...stay in the Ball..!" Quinn muttered.
The Ball shook once, twice, three times...then burst open as the Abra escaped, before it teleported away.
"Argh!" Quinn groaned. "Whatever, whatever! I'll get it next time!"
Very soon, Quinn sat cross-legged, several empty used Poke-Balls surrounding him.
"Gaaaaaaaah! This is so frustrating! Why can't I catch a stupid Abra!?" He cried out. "I'm down to my last Poke-Ball!"
"Mimikyukyu." His partner said.
"I get it, okay? No more wasting it on Abra's!" Quinn swore off it. "Still though...there's gotta be a super Pokemon around here somwhere!"
"...Mimik?" The Pokemon pointed with its claw.
"Hm?" Quinn looked in the direction his Pokemon was pointing to see a Pokemon walking through the grass. It had its arms folded with a bored look on its face, and only gave Quinn a passing glance. "A Meowth?"
A memory then flashed through his mind, of a man with a cat Pokemon, making his eyes widen as he jumped to his feet. "We're catching that Meowth!"
"Meow?" The Meowth looked at him, uninterested.
"Since it's a Dark Type, you'll have a disadvantage, Mimikyu." Quinn went it over, getting out a Poke-Ball. "So we'll go with this guy! Rattata!"
"Rattata!" The Pokemon cried out as it appeared.
"Alright Rattata! Time to show us what you got, got it?" "Mimikyu!" It's teammates told it.
"Meowth..." The wild Pokemon turned to them with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's hit hard, Rattata! Use Quick Attack!" "Rattata!" The little rat charged forward at a blinding speed.
"Meeeeee..." Meowth raised both its paws up. "OWTH!" It suddenly clapped them together, unleashing a small burst of air that hit Rattata, making it recoil in shock from the move.
"Huh!? What was that!?" Quinn cried.
"Meowth!" The Pokemon then began slashing at Rattata wildly, making the little Pokemon cry out as it flew back.
"Crud! it got us good! Rattata! You okay?" "R...Rattata." The little Pokemon shook off the damage.
"We'll hit it so hard the bump on its head'll look like a Voltorb! Focus Energy!" "Raaaaaaaaaa..." Rattata's body glowed bright orange.
"Me...Meowth!" The Pokemon looked unamused as it ran forward with its claws out.
"Quick Attack!" "RattaTA!" The little rat suddenly slammed into the Moewth's body, catching it by surprise and flooring it into the grass. "Don't let that sucker up! Bite!" It then quickly bit down on the cat Pokemon's arm, making it cry out in pain.
"I'll bet it all on this one! Go, Poke-Ball!" The ball bounced off of the Meowth's head and sucked it inside, wiggling to the left and right as it tried to contain the Pokemon within.
But, the ball soon stopped with a click.
"Alrightalrightalright!" He ran over and picked it up. "This is it! Gang member number 3! Meowth!"
"Mimik!" "Rattata!" The two other Pokemon cheered.
"Geeze, I'm exhausted." Quinn sighed. "C'mon, let's go to the Poke-C and heal up...and get a Komala Coffee or something..."
The team returned to heal themselves before making their way to the Pokemon School. On the way Quinn drank a Komala Coffee whilst Mimikyu and Rattata sat on his shoulders eating Poke Beans, the Normal/Dark Type wolfing them down.
"If you eat any faster you'll gag on the freakin' air!" Quinn commented, taking a sip before shuddering. "Chill my bones, that's strong!"
They entered the school only to see a familiar face. "Kukui! Man, you get everywhere!"
"Hey, Quinn! I was wondering where you were, everybody else is here!" The Professor waved at him.
"Yeah, I was out catchin'." Quinn shrugged.
"Good to hear!" He grinned. "Luna's taking on the principle at the moment, so maybe you wanna challenge some of the students?"
"Oh, I am allllll over that!" Quinn grinned. "Oi, Rattata, time to get your digestive track working, we need to train you up!"
"Ratta..." The Pokemon didn't look entirely pleased.
A beaten Pikipek, Yungoos and Grimer later and Quinn entered the school. "Sheesh, not much of a challenge, but at least t was good for training. Wonder where Luna is, it did say she'd finished up here."
He walked around for a moment, opening the door of a classroom and peering inside to see a mostly empty classroom, save for a teacher, two students, and something on the left-side table.
"Woah, yo, is that a Pokémon Egg?" Quinn thought aloud, walking over to it.
"Yeah!" One of the kids cheered. "We get to take care of it 'till it hatches!"
"You little runts are looking after it?" Quinn stared at it, with it being mostly grey in colour, save for a yellow stripe around the middle of it, and a black lower half.
"It was found abandoned on another island, possibly by its mother." The teacher said. "Sometimes certain Pokémon leave an Egg if they can't take care of it."
"Huh...so you're a reject, are ya, buddy?" He asked the Egg.
"Mimik..." Mimikyu spoke softly.
"Quinn! There you are!" Hau suddenly jumped in the room. "We've been looking for you! Come on! We're going to the Malasada Shop!"
"Malasada, huh?" He could already feel Rattata scrambling on his shoulder. "Sounds good. And you, stay calm until we get there." He returned the Pokémon to the Ball and followed Hau outside, reuniting with Lillie and Luna.
"Wow, did I miss you or something?" Luna joked.
"Must've." He shrugged. "And are we gonna get some food or what?"
"Yeah! It's this way!" Hau pointed frantically, his feet ready to leave the ground.
They started walking, when Quinn froze midstride as a crowd had gathered nearby. "Uh, you guys go on ahead. I gotta gravitate towards the pinnacle of interest."
"Huh...? Okay...?" Luna stated as Quinn jumped over.
"'Scuze me, 'scuze me, 'scuze me." Quinn shoved his way past everyone with elbows like a Skarmory's wings, making his way to the front of the crowd. "What the...?"
He certainly did not expect to see the aptly named Phantom on a makeshift stage, with his Minior, Rowlet, and a Grubbin.
"Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, please watch our final performance!" Phantom and his three Pokémon bowed. "Robin! Use Leafage!"
"Roooooooow... Rowlet began flapping its wings causing green energy leaves to begin swirling around it.
"Now, Obscurus, use Spark!"
"Grubbin!" The little Bug-Type became enveloped in brilliant electricity as it jumped skyward, shooting upward like a lightning firework.
"And now, Newton! Use Swift!"
"Miniiiiiiiiiii!" The Pokémon spun around, launching stars upward as it spun into it.
At the same time, Robin tossed its leaves upwards as the Grubbin charged into the Minior, making its rock shell suddenly burst apt in sparkles, revealing the silly face of its green core beneath it, as the Leafage and Swift clashed into each other, making the two attacks burst apart in a brilliant burst akin to fireworks.
The crowd erupted into cheer as Phantom and his Pokémon took a bow, though Robin quickly started flying around and picking up the coins tossed at them, also cheekily going to take some notes too.
As the crowd dispersed, Quinn stomped forward as Robin continued attempting to pickpocket people and Obscurus ran around in some kind of happy mood. "Hey! 'Phantom'!"
The performer took notice of him. "Oh, it's you Quinn. Did you enjoy the performance?"
"Performance? What are ya? A Trainer or a Jester!?...I know they're also a type of Trainer, but you get my point!" Quinn yelled.
"Believe me, I am a Trainer. But I also have a love for entertaining. I figured in the biggest city in all of Alola, I might get some attention." Phantom told him, as Robin flew back with several stolen objects looking very pleased with itself, and Obscurus bounced around excitedly. "Calm down, you two. We're heading off now."
"Hang on! Another thing! Tell me your name! None of that secret identity wannabe junk!" Quinn ranted as he returned the owl and bug to their Moon and Great Balls.
"Sorry, that's my own little secret." He continued to smirk. "Why don't you try to find out for yourself, hm? Until then, I bid you adieu!" Suddenly, Newton flashed brightly, forcing Quinn to shield his eyes. When the light faded, he was gone.
"Ah...? Oh, come off it with those fancy, gaudy tricks! Leave like a normal person why dontcha!?" Quinn raged at thin air. "That guy really irks me."
Just then, a scream rang out behind him, aking Quinn look over his shoulder. "What the-? Did that come from the school? Did they drop a beaker or something?" He started jogging back over there.
"Mi...Mimik..." Mimikyu called after him, stumbling over its own costume.
"Right, right, you're probably tired. Rest up for now." Quinn quickly returned it to its Ball before continuing to run.
He came to the gates of the School, but stopped before nearly crashing into two familiar figures.
'Team Skull Grunts!?' He thought staring at them. 'What the heck are these guys doing here!? Don't tell me Boss sent them to drag me back!...Nah, he knows how strong I am, he would've sent Big Sis or Gladion!'
"Hey, guy! Step out of our way, yo!" The first told him.
"Yeah, we got important cargo here, and we don't want it to get scrambled, yo!" The other added.
'I and 9...these guys are, like, bottom of the barrel. Good thing, too. They might recognise me otherwise.' It was then that he spotted what they were carrying, the Egg from the classroom. 'They're here just for one Egg? Lightweights...still, it would lave a bad taste in my mouth if I let them off.'
"Where you guys going with that Egg?" Quinn questioned them.
"None of your business, yo! We got told by the Boss not to say!" The first cried.
"You bonehead! You just said so!" The other shouted.
"You BOTH have thick skulls!" Quinn yelled, pulling out a Poke-Ball. "Meowth! Time to crack some skulls!"
"Meowth." The Pokemon folded its arms with a bored expression as it appeared.
'If I use Mimikyu, that'll give me away too easily.' Quinn thought.
"Oh, you wanna throw, yo? I'm game!" He tossed a Poke-Ball, making a Zubat appear. "Yo! Go, Zubat! Absorb!" The Pokemon screeched before flying forward.
"Meowth! Fake Out!" "MeeeeeeOWTH!" The Pokemon clapped its paws together, unleashing a small shockwave that made Zubat fly back.
"Ngh! Poison Sting!" "Screeeee!" The bat fired purple needles from its mouth.
"Dodge it!" Meowth jumped back with uninterest as the attack hit the pavement. "Now, Fury Swipes!" It then jumped forward with impressive speed, its claws extending before slashing through the opposing Pokemon viciously, making it fall at the Grunt's feet in defeat.
"No, yo!" The Grunt gasped, returning his Pokemon. "This guy's strong! Too strong!"
"Let's split, yo!" The other cried.
"Oh no ya don't!" Meowth and Quinn stood in the way. "Hand over the Egg, chumps."
"F-Fine! Here! Take it!" The Grunt hurriedly handed over the Egg, before the both of them booked it.
"Oh, thank goodness!" The teacher and children from before rushed over to Quinn. "Those Team Skull thugs suddenly broke in and grabbed the Egg, I'd thought we'd lost it!"
"Well, keep an eye on your stuff, okay? Team Skull can get their hands on anything they like the look of." Quinn told them, speaking from personal experience.
"You really are a talented Trainer." The teacher praised. "...You know what? I think you should keep this Egg."
"Huh? You don't want it back?" Quinn asked.
"We were going to give it away once it hatched anyway." One of the kids said. "Besides, I'm sure you'll take good care of it!"
"When it hatches, put it in this!" One of the other kids gave him a Friend Ball. "This'll show that we love it very much!"
"Uh...got it, thanks kid." Quinn nodded, pocketing the Ball.
"Take good care of it for us." Everybody nodded.
"Right...gotcha, I'll...do that." Quinn hesitantly agreed, walking back down the street carrying the Egg. "Huh, whaddya know, good deeds really do pay off."
"Meowth." The Pokemon beside him shrugged.
And that concludes Chapter 3! What do you think of Quinn's team so far? What do you think his new Egg will hatch into? So many questions!
Now, as an announcement, the Villain has been decided! Bit early I know, but I had SO many good Villain submissions, that I can't accept anymore! Same goes for the Friend slot as well, but I've decided to give it one more chapter to make up my mind. It's hard, and I don't want to disappoint people, okay!?
But now! The creator of the OC that will be featured in Quit Skullin' Around is...ShinyEevee! Congratulations! I chose this OC because the idea behind them is very interesting, as well as their evil plan, they had a lot of detail...and they weren't tied to Team Plasma in any way. I got so many Villain OC's tied to Team Plasma, I get they were a great villainous team, guys, but we're past them now!
In any case, thank you to Forgotten Tyrant, Icecakequeen, St. Elmo's Fire, Cat of Flame, Kamico-chan, Eon the Zoroark and InariKurenai. You all had really good ideas, and I'm sorry I couldn't use them all! In fact, I might use one of them in a similar role in the story, ust not the main villain role, so let me know if you want that!
Anyway, all that's left now are the Friend, Spy and Traveller spots, so everybody is still free to try for those, even if you've already submitted! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!
