This chapter was... admittedly difficult to write. My beta and I were constantly back and forth on what to use. Hope you guys like it though...
After quick discussion they reached a consensus on the beds, they had split up between two rooms, both containing two bunkbeds, each bunk containing a pair consisting of a servant and their master, Illyasviel had insisted on staying with her Onii-chan and Saber, Sakura would have objected if it werent for Rider persuading her and Rin to take the oportunity reconect as siblings.
Once they all made their beds and the magi projected themselves some sleepwear they reunited in the library to study the books provided by Garchomp,
After a while Rin let of a defeated sigh, "You know... a part of me was hoping it wasn't possible but now it's undeniable,how are those weak letters able to use the Kaleidoscope? And why did they send us here instead of Fuyuki?" Rin rubbed her temples in frustration until she felt a nudge on her side causing her to look down at the strange landshark.
"Gaar?" Garchomp growled in concern.
"What do you want?" Rin said irritably.
"I believe Garchomp was concerned about you Rin." Her blonde companion answered.
"She's an animal Saber..." Rin snapped back, with Garchomp shooting a glare at her.
"A highly intelligent animal." The fallen goddess inserted up not taking her eyes of her book.
"And it looks like they don't like being compared to the weak, ordinary animals." Illya added.
Illya's contribution reminded Rin of yet another revalation about their new world, that being that most of the animals they know from home went extinct in this world because Pokemon became more dominant. They either became prey or became Pokemon themselves to adapt; now the only normal animals left fish, small insects and some livestock.
"Alright, alright. Sorry..." she apologised as Garchomp snorted a bit and went back to Saber's side as her Servant entered the room looking thoughtfull.
"Where have you been?" Rin asked the Counter Guardian sighed before responding;
"I've been watching our hosts to get a feel from them. I think they are suspicious of us."
Rin gave him a flat expression; it seemed as if her Servant had a grasp of the glaringly obvious,"We practically told them we had no clue of something that is common knowledge in this world, Archer. It makes sense they would be suspicious."
"It's not just that. I don't know how but I think they have technology that somehow KNOWS we have magecraft."
The room fell silent, but only for a moment.
"R-Really?" Sakura stuttered. When Archer gave her nod, they can already here Rin mumbling 'great... Just great!' under her breath.
"I guess we need to hypnotize them after all" Illya shrugged. Garchomp gave them all a 'don't you dare!' look; she may like Miss Saber, but she wasn't going to let her friends harm the professor.
"That may not be necessary..."
Everyone turned to Rider, who was the one who spoke up.
"I have an idea..." She said as she held up a book titled Sinnoh Folk Tales.
The next morning...
The sun had barely risen when Shirou woke up, as he silently climbed out of his bed he saw Saber still sleeping on the lower bunk and heard his sister snoring lightly in the bed behind him. Not wanting to wake them up he silently left to wander the blue halls of the Sycamore home remniscing about the tatami walls of the Emiya estate, thinking about how he might never see it again...
But Shirou was soon broken from his remniscence by a certain shark-dragon turning the corner and looking him in the eye, tilting her head in on what to do, he settled for a simple greeting "...Hello."
"Gar." Garchomp greeted back with a nod.
Shirou couldn't get over how intelligent these Pokemon were. Knowing that he decided ask Garchomp a simple question,"Do you know where the kitchen is?"
The dragon nodded and gestured Shirou to follow her in a certain direction. "Gar! Gar!"
So he followed Garchomp into the kitchen where he was suprised to see the professor taking some ingredients out of the fridge. "Gar!"
"Calm down, Garchomp! I'll have breakfast ready soon..." The Professor said before turning around to see that his Pokemon had company. "Oh Shirou! I didn't realize you were awake."
"I'm usually up this early, sir. I asked Garchomp to take me to the kitchen. I didn't realize you were here." Shirou explained.
"Do you need anything?"
"Um... I hope I'm not imposing or anything but... can I help you make breakfast?" The redhead asked sheepishly.
"Oh? You cook?" Sycamore inquired. When his guest nodded the Professor gave him a smile. "Sure, you can help me."
Shirou smiled as he went to the kitchen counter but his smile faltered a bit when he saw the ingredients. The were some ingredients he recognized but they were others he didn't, like certain fruit.
"Is something wrong, Shirou?" Sycamore asked in concern.
"Uh... Nothing's wrong Professor." Shirou assured as he taste tested something that, upon a quick use of structural analasis turned out to be a distant decendant of the peach, aparently a lot of plants had to evolve to survive the new ecosystem when Pokemon came into being, the idea of getting to cook with new ingredients excited him more then he'd care to admit.
Later...
"This... is... AMAZING!" Liam gushed as he devoured more of Shirou's food, as did everyone else at the table; a large one they moved to the entrance to make room for everyone. As usual, Saber ate the most and was currently trying stare down Rider for a pancake. And the gorgon was staring at the king just as hard.
"You two already ate enough to compete with a Snorlax, save some food for the rest of us!" Kaimana spoke up.
The two servants turned beet red with embarrassment. They had no clue what a Snorlax was but they knew it wasn't a complement.
"Kai!" Liam scolded.
"You know it's true." Kaimana said unapologetically, making her half-brother sigh.
"Anyway..." Professor Sycamore interrupted. "I'd like to talk to you all about something."
The Fuyuki group braced themselves for questions Archer told them to watch out for.
"I know you may not be familiar with Pokemon but maybe you've heard of the term Potens or typers?"
Rin chose her words carefully. "Well... I know the former is Latin for 'powerfull'."
"Not really sure what Latin is but I suppose you have the right idea." Sycamore said.
"A Potens is someone who has more access to their to their dormant Pokemon genes, correct?" Saber answered, remembering the book Rider showed them.
"Exactly. Some historians believe that Pokemon and humans were one in the same. Evolution simply took them in different paths over time. The Potens are believed to be a remnant of the path we didn't take, while not on the level as Pokemon themselves they are powerfull in their own right."
"Pardon me for being forward, Professor but where are you going with this?" Shirou asked. Everyone knew what he was going to ask but they decided to play along.
"Well... we're not sure you all remember but my computer accidentally scanned you last night and it came to the conclusion that you were all Potens. At least most of you, the only one we didn't get a good read on was Miss Tohsaka." Sycamore explained.
Everyone was silent for a bit. But to avoid further suspiscion Rin decided to ask.
"Why are you telling us this?"
Surprisingly, Liam was the one who gave the answer.
"To assure you guys you don't have to worry. If it's us that your afraid of." He said with a smile on his face.
That... caught them by surprise. Kaimana even had an brief look of... relief on her face before it vanished just as quickly. This didn't go unnoticed by Archer.
"Having powers because of a bloodline, while not common knowledge, is not exactly a secret either. Me and Kai's dad is a hydromancer. Human Water types if you wanna split hairs." Liam said gesturing to the two of them. "But being in the bloodline doesn't exactly guarantee you'll have the abilities. Take me for an example, I'm powerless!"
"What about Kaimana?" Archer spoke up.
"No. I don't either." She answered quickly scratching her neck. Archer might once have been oblivious enough to believe liars like Shinji, but he'd long since learned how to spot a lying child, the fact that she smelled like sea salt didnt help her believablility.
Archer wasn't the only who had suspicions about Kai. Liam glanced at her with worried eyes, reminiscing about the time the time they met...
The week before, in the Alola region...
In Akala Island, Liam and his mother Maeve just got off from the airport in Heahea City and headed towards the police station. They sure were surprised when they got a call from an Officer Jenny who was an old friend of Maeve's telling them that Marcus Fischer, her ex-husband and Liam's father, was arrested for assault. They weren't here for him though, he was out of their lives since the divorce. No, they came for the real bombshell from the call: to figure out what to do his ten year old daughter.
A daughter they didn't know existed.
Since the child's mother past away and she had no other family, that made Liam the closest blood relative the police could find.
"Liam, are you sure you're ready for this?" Maeve asked her son who was silent for the whole walk. "I applaud you for wanting to help Kaimana but there's no guarantee she's going to accept it. I wouldn't be surprised if she was just as in the dark about you as we were of her."
Liam sighed heavily. "I know that, Mom. But she is my... sister. Wow, it still feels weird saying that. Anyway, no doubt Dad was as harsh to her about being a hydromancer like he was with me, even if she doesn't want come with me I wanna at least make her feel better if she isn't a Typer either."
"Awww~! And that why I love you! You're always so thoughtful!" Maeve said as she leaned in for a kiss; making him blush with embarrassment. When they arrived at the police station, they saw Officer Jenny, along with an attractive dark skinned woman, for some reason Liam felt like he's seen her before.
"Hey Jenny."
"It's nice to see you again Maeve. Wish it was under better circumstances..." Officer Jenny said apologetically.
"You two must be the Sanders family." The dark skinned woman inquired as she stepped forward.
Maeve nodded "We are, miss..."
"Call me Olivia."
Liam then realized how she looked familiar. " I remember now! You're a member of the Alolan Elite Four! I've seen you on the news!"
Olivia chuckled. "Yes, but I'm the Kahuna of Akala Island first and foremost. Our League hasn't been around for that long."
"Kahuna?" Liam said remembering the term from the phone call. "Wait... does that mean you were there when the... incident happened?"
Olivia suddenly frowned. "Yes... I tried to settle the problem myself. Your father sure is a real piece of work, thinking because he's a potens that gives him special treatment. Not when you nearly kill someone with your gift! I just feel bad for the poor girl... She saw more than I did."
Liam couldn't help but gulp a little. "...W-Where is Kaimana?"
"She's inside. A little shaken but she's otherwise unharmed." Officer Jenny stated. "Would you like to speak with her?"
"Yes, ma'am."
The two of them walked inside to station the lobby. That's where they saw Kaimana watching her Popplio trying to cheer her up with dancing but still kept a stoic expression.
Wow... she inherited Dad's looks. I guess she is his kid... Liam thought absentmidedly.
"Pop po...?" The Popplio barked trying to get a rouse out of her.
"Sorry Pippa... Your dancing is lovely as always but... I'm just not not in the mood." Kaimana sighed.
Pippa whimpered a bit until they saw two people come in with Officer Jenny and the Kahuna. "Who are they?"
"Kaimana, these are the Sanders. I told you about them, remember?" Jenny answered.
"Oh yeah... Dad's old family that I never knew about..." Kaimana responded almost bitterly.
"Hey... um... Is it ok if I talk to Kaimana alone?" Liam asked tentatively.
"Um... Sure. Miss Sanders shall we talk in my office?" Jenny said as she escorted Maeve and Olivia out of the lobby. The green haired young man took a seat next to his apparent half-sister.
"Hey there..."
She was silent for a moment, so at first he thought she was ignoring him until she spoke up again. "Hey... I guess your my half-brother?"
"Uhhh... yes. I'm Liam..."
The two of them sat in awkward silence for a while until Pippa couldn't take it any more and made a large bubble with her nose and it popped right in front of them; making them jump in their seats.
"Popplio! Pop pop pop!" Pippa cheered as she clapped her flippers together.
Liam chuckled at the Water type by their feet. "That Popplio of yours is a real cutie."
The blue haired girl didn't really respond other than petting her starter. After more awkward silence she decided to ask. "Did Dad train you in hydromancy too?"
He was surprised that she asked that but at the same time he wasn't.
"Yup. Training day and night to try and jumpstart my 'powers'. And BOY was he mad when he found out I didn't have any powers to begin with." He answered. "Let me guess, he did the same to you."
"Doing the same hand exercises over and over, training in the middle of a rainstorm, the whole shebang." Kaimana responded flatly.
"...And I'm guessing you got the shallow end of the gene pool too, so to speak?"
Again, more silence before responding.
"Yes... like you I'm powerless." She muttered
He nodded but for some reason he didn't really believe her. Her answer felt sincere and yet it wasn't, why?
Liam rubbed the back of his neck nervously. This was WAY harder than he thought.
"Well... is there anything you want too do Kai?" Liam asked awkwardly.
She then looked at him funny. "Kai?"
"Oh... well... 'Kaimana' was a little to long. N-Not that I don't like your name our anything! Because it's not that! It's a really pretty name!" He stuttered and then blushed. I'm so blowing this...
...
"I want to know the Potens history. From the real masters." Kai said seemingly ignoring his blunder.
"Huh?"
"I mean... just because I don't have powers doesn't mean I want to know more about our bloodline. But I seriously doubt our father's overbearing teachings is the whole story. But what about those who really do know what these abilities are all about, the ones who really get it but don't let the power go to their heads."
Kaimana was silent before looking at her hands. Liam looked closely to see that she was trembling. This set off some alarms in his mind but he didn't want to push her further.
"Do you know where to start?" Liam asked.
She shook her head.
"You know... I happen to know a Gym Leader in Kalos who's a Potens. Much more gifted than our old man but she's as humble as humble could be. I was going back to Kalos anyway for a Doubles Tournament if you want you can come along with me and you can meet her ..."
When Kaimana didn't respond, he thought he screwed something up.
"You don't have to come with me. The choice is yours and I know you still have your island trials..."
"Okay."
"What?"
"You heard me."
Liam's jaw dropped for a moment before regaining composure. "...Not that I'm complaining or anything but why? I'm still a total stranger to you."
Kai just shrugged before picking Pippa up in her arms. "I don't know... call it curiosity."
"What about your trials?"
"Honestly? I was only doing this to please Dad. I might continue another time but for now... I kinda want to leave Alola for a while."
Back to the present...
That brought them to today. After telling Kahuna Olivia she was bowing out of the trials to clear her head, Kai was given another Z-Crystal exclusive to the Popplio line as a parting gift and looks forward to when she decides to come back to Alola, but no rush. After his mom went back to work in Coumarine City, it was just the two of them. It's not like their time together was bad, just awkward, especially when Kai gives her blunt responses.
"What puzzles me is..." Liam snapped out of his thoughts when his godfather spoke up. "Is that all Potens are usually a single type and you people are two types or more. That was previously believed to be impossible..."
The Fuyuki group came up with an answer immediately.
"We're not 100 percent certain Professor, but when we were reading last night we might have jogged a memory." Rider said calmly.
"Oh?"
"All we remember was some type of facilty and someone saying that he wanted to 'repair the break between man and Pokemon'. I'm afraid that's all we remember...' Rider skillfully lied.
The Professor looked... pensive for a moment. So did Liam and Kaimana, though the latter looked like she was skeptical.
Do you think they bought it Rider? Sakura asked through their mental link.
Let's hope so... She responded back.
At least the chapter gave me a chance to establish Liam and Kaimana a little more. So there's that...
Like what you see? Anything you wanna ask? Comment below and let me know! See ya!
