Hey everybody! Hope everybody is doing well. Been busy, but managed to spend time writing at least once a week.
So, here is the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 4:
Liam escorted the mysterious girl down Mahalo Trail. With the bridge gone, they had no choice but to head back the way they came. She remained rather quiet and focused intently on her duffle bag.
No, not her bag. Nebby.
After the whole ordeal, the girl had placed it back into her bag and out of sight. He was insanely curious about the mysterious Pokémon; his mind was racing with so many questions. However, it was clear from the conversation earlier that the girl didn't want to talk about it. So, for the remainder of the trip, they walked in silence.
When they arrived at the entrance of the village, a man was waving to them near the wooden platform. "Liam! There you are!" Professor Kukui called out, "You missed the Kahuna, huh?"
That's right. After everything that had transpired, Liam's quest to search for the Kahuna had completely escaped his mind. Falling off a broken bridge had that kind of effect. He was about to explain what happened, but the professor spotted the girl behind him, "But I see you found my assistant, oh yeah!"
Assistant? Liam glanced over at the girl in new light. He never thought someone his age would be able to work for the Alola Pokémon Professor. Perhaps she was a highly skilled trainer or perhaps a gifted researcher. That would explained everything about Nebby and all the secrecy.
"Oh… um… yes! I never introduced myself." She turned towards him and bowed slightly. "My name is Lillie. I am Professor Kukui's assistant."
Lillie. So, that's her name.
"Hi, I'm Liam."
"Liam here just moved to Alola, yeah," Professor Kukui explained, "Take good care of him, okay?"
"I see. Are you also one of the professor's acquaintances? Have you come to learn about Pokémon moves from him?"
Taken aback slightly by the girl's sudden stream of questions, Liam was saved from answering as shouts came from the entrance of the Iki Town.
"Kahuna Hala! Kahuna Hala is back!" Many of the villagers immediately gathered around at the front.
"Oh?" Professor Kukui looked over with interest. "Looks like he's finally here." Liam glanced over just as the crowd was parting to reveal a large man wearing an opened thin yellow jacket and blue flip-flops. He wore a large blue shirt over his pot belly and a thick white rope tied around like a belt. His dark skin was weathered from the sun while his hair and mustache were white as snow. Despite his casual look, he gave off an air of importance as he glanced around the town, greeting the people.
"Kahuna Hala!" Professor Kukui waved as though they were old friends. The Kahuna looked over in surprise before striding towards the trio.
"Kukui, have I missed something?"
"Naw, but where'd you go off to, Kahuna? I thought we were meeting here."
"Sorry Kukui, but there was a problem on Hau'oli City. As Kahuna of this island, it is my duty to resolve it, no matter the time or day. I came here as fast as I could though when I saw it."
"Huh? Saw what?"
"Tapu Koko. I saw it flying about," Hala frowned, "Very unusual for it to be out in the open, so I figured something was amiss."
"Oh, now that you mentioned it, I thought I heard Tapu Koko's cries, but..." Kukui mumbled, puzzled.
"Oh, um…"
"Lillie, do you know something?" The Kahuna turned to the timid girl.
"Y-yes, Kahuna Hala," Lillie nodded. "Nebby was being attacked by Spearow on the Plank Bridge when Liam helped it get away..." Perplexed, Liam stared at Lillie as she explained to this man what happened after she explicitly told him not to say anything. What's with all the secrecy then?
"Liam?" For the first time, the elderly man turned to the boy. Immediately, he felt shy and looked down at his feet.
"But the bridge collapsed," Lillie continued, "and I thought both of them might fall into to the bottom of the ravine… And that was when the island's guardian deity swooped in to save them!"
"Whoo!" Kukui whistled in amazement, placing his hands on his hips, "That's something you don't hear every day."
Guardian deity? That Pokémon was the guardian deity? Liam recalled Professor Kukui mentioning about some Pokémon called Tapu Koko that protected this place, but he thought the Pokémon was part of some old legend.
"Ho! Although it is said to protect us, our Tapu Koko is a rather fickle creature," Hala said as though reading Liam's mind. "Yet," he turned to the boy with renewed interest, "our guardian was moved to save you." Although Hala looked impressed, Liam didn't see what the big deal was. Sure, the Pokémon saved him and he was grateful, but it wasn't like it made him special or anything. Tapu Koko probably would've done the same thing if someone else was on that bridge.
"Kukui, my boy, I think we have cause to celebrate!" Hala exclaimed, "It seems I should entrust this brave and kind young boy with a Pokémon of his own." Liam looked up surprise. "We'll make a fine trainer out of him!" He continued like a doting grandfather. Professor Kukui nodded and winked at Liam who was unable to hide his grin.
"I'm glad to meet you, child," the man said, turning his attention back to Liam, "Let me properly introduce myself. I am Hala, Kahuna of Melemele Island. I welcome you to Alola. Professor Kukui has told me a lot about you. I'm glad we got a chance to meet today."
"It is an honor to meet you, sir… Kahuna sir…" Liam mumbled, wondering if his greeting was proper enough.
However, Hala didn't seem too big on formalities and walked to the large wooden platform in the middle of town. "Allow me to give you your first Pokémon," he said as he threw three Poké Balls into the air. After a flash of light, three Pokémon appeared on top of the wooden platform.
One was a tiny, rotund owl with short legs and a green bowtie made of leaves on its chest. It hooted in confusion as its head twisted 90 degrees to the side. The second was a black kitten with red whiskers. It yawned and stared at Liam with bored, yellow eyes. The third was a blue seal with a long, white snout and small, floppy blue ears. A large, pink nose was attached at the end of its snout. It barked and clapped its flippers.
"That over there is Rowlet, a grass/flying-type," Hala said, pointing to the owl. "Over there is Litten, a fire-type. And the blue one is Popplio, a water-type." Liam had never seen these Pokémon before and stared at the three with fascination.
"All right, let's start the ceremony. Get on the platform so the Pokémon can see if they want to be your partner."
"What?" Liam said, not sure he heard correctly.
"In Alola, it is not just the Trainer who chooses, but also the Pokémon. Only when you have both chosen each other can you truly call each other partners." Already a crowd was forming; they all seemed to know what was going to happen and all glanced excitedly and curiously at Liam. Feeling the spotlight, he slowly climbed up on one side of the platform while the three Pokémon were on other.
"Go-good luck Liam," Lillie called out timidly.
"So, what do I do?" he asked, clearly unsure what comes next.
"Offer your hand in friendship," Hala said.
"Okay…" He walked slowly towards to the three and crouched down a foot or two away. "Hi, my name is Liam. I wish to become partners," he said carefully, with his hand outstretched. Immediately, Litten hissed and replied with its claws.
"Ouch," Liam winced in pain from the additional scratches added to his arm. The kitten immediately ran off and disappeared into the bushes. Popplio, clearly thinking this was some sort of game, followed after its friend. "Hey, come back here!"
"Don't worry about them," Kahuna Hala said before Liam could take off, "That Litten is a difficult one. I've never seen it listen to anybody, even me. It'll come back."
Then why bother taking it out? He felt his face burning in embarrassment. With rules like these, what if no Pokémon wanted him? The horrifying thought crossed his mind when he suddenly felt something soft rub against his arm. Looking down, he saw the little owl Pokémon, cooing with happiness. He picked it up and the little Pokémon continued to hoot with joy and flapped its wings.
"Ho, so little Rowlet has accepted you," Hala said, "Careful though, that one likes to sleep a lot." The small audience applauded, congratulating Liam. Still embarrassed, he hugged it against its chest. It closed its eyes, clearly drifting off to sleep.
"You'll surely be friends for life," Professor Kukui said, clearly overjoyed as he walked over.
"Nice to meet you, Rowlet," Lillie came over as well and rubbed the sleeping Pokémon's head.
"PEW!"
"Pew?" Startled, Lillie looked down to see Nebby next to her feet.
"Oh! When did you get out again?" Lillie scolded quietly. "I know that Kahuna Hala and the professor will keep you safe from harm, but you should still stay in the bag and out of sight. It's safer that way." Nebby pouted, puffing out its cheek in frustration but complied and jumped back into the bag.
"I think you chose a wonderful Pokémon," Lillie said, turning her attention back to Liam. "It looks so peaceful with you. I know you'll take good care of it."
"Thanks, Lillie."
"Well, congratulations, Liam!" Professor Kukui said, slapping Liam hard on his back. "You're a real trainer, yeah! Here, a gift from me." He handed a red flat square device with a black screen in the center.
"Umm… thanks?" Liam was unsure what to make of it. "What is it?"
"It's a Pokédex. It will record facts about any Pokémon you'll meet. I'm pretty sure you've heard of them." Oh, he'd heard of them; he just never saw one so inconveniently designed. This Pokédex was rather large and bulky compared to the small one in Kanto. He would need both hands to scan the area for Pokémon. Unable to carry both Rowlet and the technological device, Liam placed it in his backpack.
"Okay, I think we should call it a night. We should get you home so you can show your mom your new Pokémon. Lillie, can you show Liam the way back to his place and make sure he doesn't get lost? I have some things I need to-"
"It's fine!" Liam said quickly, not wanting to be escorted like a toddler. "I can find a way back."
"Are you sure?" Professor Kukui looked hesitant, but he shrugged his shoulders, "Okay then. Just stay on the path and follow the signs." Liam nodded and took off.
"Oh wait," Kahuna Hala glanced down at his hand "The boy forgot his Rowlet's Poké Ball."
"Hey, Liam!" But the boy was already gone.
…
Liam ran as fast as he could. His heart was pumping with excitement. His Pokémon, his first Pokémon! Rowlet gave a cooing noise as it continued to sleep in his arms. It was already late. They could start their training tomorrow morning. He would get some practice in with Rowlet, catch more Pokémon, and once they were all strong enough he could head back to Kanto.
And there, my real journey will start.
He could say goodbye to Alola and meet up with his real friends. Just as he left the entrance and was back on the dirt path home, he found a boy about his age strolling from the opposite way. He had dark green hair tied up in a short ponytail and wore a casual black t-shirt over his orange-yellow swimsuit trunks. Orange straps of his backpack were around his arms. He was taking his time and was clearly in no hurry, but the moment he spotted Liam, his eyes widened and he ran until they were face-to-face. And before Liam could even open his mouth to say 'excuse me'…
"Hey! You and me! Let's have a Pokémon battle!"
Author's Notes
Whoa! Wait just a minute. We haven't taken more than twenty steps, and we got ourselves our first battle. And its someone we don't know! Or do we? XP
And it looks like Liam has gotten his first Pokémon – Rowlet!
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter.
-JapanDreamer