Episode 9: An All-Out Pummeling
Niko and Charlotte spent the next couple of days training their Pokémon, awaiting Hala's return, usually finishing with the only z-move available to them—Breakneck Blitz. Occasionally Melinda would join in with her Popplio and Growlithe, but didn't battle either of them in any official battle during those days.
When he wasn't battling, Niko wanted to talk with Charlotte, but it never seemed like the right time. Usually, Melinda wanted to catch up with him, and so they spent a considerable amount of their free hours chatting, which seemed to bother Charlotte.
On the evening before Hala's supposed return, Charlotte and Warren were eating dinner, waiting for Niko and Melinda to get back. Noticing his brunette friend furiously eating her food, Warren placed a hand on her wrist, immediately stopping her.
"You alright?" he asked in a sympathetic tone.
"Yeah. Fine," she said, continuing.
"You know Niko only likes you, right?" Warren said, stopping Charlotte a second time. "If you don't believe that, then you have no idea who your boyfriend really is."
"I—I do!" she snapped back.
"Do you? Then you would know how hurt he was by his comments to you a few days ago. You would also know that he doesn't see Melinda as any more than a friend."
"How do you know all of this?" Charlotte asked.
"It's not difficult to see. You're just not looking for the right things," he said with a smirk before continuing. This seemed to frustrate Charlotte, who remained silent long after Niko and Melinda got back.
Before that, though, the former—and now current—rivals took a walk around Iki Town, the moonlight illuminating the path forward for them. Niko had initially felt uncomfortable being around Melinda, but after seeing her more over the past few days, it was getting progressively easier.
"You and Charlotte…" she said. "I've noticed you two don't talk much. Is everything alright?"
Niko shrugged. "I hope so."
"What do you mean?" Niko then relayed to Melinda everything that has happened since they arrived on Melemele Island—the big and small confrontations. The entire time, she walked in silence, soaking in his words. When he finished, she took a long, but shallow, sigh. "You've never been good at communicating your feelings, Niko. I remember your emotional intelligence in Hoenn and, judging from the bits and pieces you've given me since then, it hasn't changed much," she stopped and look at him, "it's important in relationships. By conveying your feelings in a less antagonistic way, you can avoid conflict.
"I think Charlotte sees a lot in you. Even if she's mad at you, the way she has looked at you, the way she watches your battling, is one of awe. And I've noticed it the other way, too. You two work well together, far better than, say, either of us would have. You've known that for a while, haven't you?"
Niko nodded. He wasn't going to pretend anything Melinda just said wasn't true. She was, of course, correct. He just needed an opportunity to talk to Charlotte. Hoping that moment would be later that night, Niko walked over to her as they were heading to bed, only to find her already asleep, with Noibat and Rowlet sleeping on their bed board. It would have to wait until after their battle with Hala.
"Kahuna Hala has returned!" someone shouted. A small crowd of townspeople gathered at the entrance of Iki Town as Hala, Hau, Professor Kukui, and Ilima all entered the town. Niko and Charlotte knew that Kukui and Ilima wanted to see them challenge Hala, but it seemed odd that they would arrive at the same time. Kukui didn't live too far, and Ilima needed some time to travel from Hau'oli City.
Hala waved to the townspeople before scoping out the area for Niko and Charlotte. Finding them, he smirked. "You two!" he pointed to them. "You wanted to challenge me?"
Niko and Charlotte nodded. They had imagined Hala would need some time to rest after whatever business he had to attend to before battling the both of them. As it turned out, he didn't have to—he was clearly ready to go toe-to-toe with two entirely different trainers.
"Cousins!" Kukui said, shaking the trio's hands. "And…Melinda! Fancy seeing you here!"
"Alola, Professor," Melinda said with a bow. "I hope you're well."
"I'm doing great! Thanks for asking. Niko, Charlotte, are you prepared for Hala?"
"We think so," Charlotte said, looking up at Niko who, without bothering to look back at her, nodded. "Did you come to watch?"
"Of course! Ilima told me about your first trial, and I couldn't help but come to see the amazing moves you two will use against Hala!" Kukui made a fist and pumped it.
"Hah! It seems like Kukui is more excited about the battle than I am!" Hala said with a raucous laugh. "Alright, well then—who's first?"
Niko stepped forward, since Charlotte started in the Verdant Cave trial. "I'll go first, Hala."
"Excellent! If your Pokémon are ready, then let's head to the battlefield and begin!"
The Kahuna led the crowd to the center of town, where he had battled Melinda a few days prior. It was a wooden platform raised a few feet from the ground. The wood was painted in an intricate pattern, resembling a stylized dohyo in sumo wrestling. Hala stood on one end; Niko on the other. The referee—summoned by someone in the town, stood on the sidelines between them. The battle would be a two-on-two battle.
"Crabrawler, I choose you!" Hala commanded, summoning the familiar blue crab. Niko knew it was a fighting type, and had the ideal counter, but chose something less conventional.
"Litten, you're up buddy!" Niko shouted, summoning the Fire Cat Pokémon. "Use ember!"
"Power-up punch!" Hala commanded. The Boxing Pokémon charged forward, its spherical claws glowing a bright orange-brown color. It attempted to hit Litten, but missed when Litten leapt to the right and out of the way of the attack. "Pursuit!"
"Litten, use ember again!" Niko called out. Litten spit out more fireballs at Crabrawler, who scuttled around them this time before slapping its opponent with its round, blue claw. Litten rolled across the platform before slowly getting back up. He had more fight in him—Niko knew that much. "Use scratch!"
"Power-up punch!" Hala commanded.
When Litten got close enough, his small paw glowing white, Niko switched strategies. "Now, double kick!"
Hala's eyebrows raised when Litten halted in front of Crabrawler, ducked under the power-up punch, and spun on his front paws before kicking with his hind legs, rocketing Crabrawler backwards. Niko then commanded Litten to use ember, which seemed to subdue Crabrawler momentarily.
"So that's what Niko was training to do…" Charlotte muttered. She did, however, catch Warren's attention.
"Yep. Double kick isn't terribly effective against fighting types, but Niko thought it suited Litten's battling style quite well. Even though it knows ember—and uses it well—Niko always took the cat to be a physical fighter."
"Litten usually are," Ilima said, scratching his chin. "It and its evolutions are, at least."
"Well done, Niko," the Kahuna said. "Kukui has told me about you and Charlotte—he tells me about every new Island Challenger. This Litten is something else, that's for sure. But it's our job to make sure you're ready for the harder trials ahead. Crabrawler, power-up punch!"
"Litten, use double kick!" Niko commanded. Litten charged forward, again towards his opponent before flipping through the air and, in an intricate spin move, attempted to kick Crabrawler in the air. This failed, and the Fire Cat Pokémon was rocketed into the air with power-up punch. "Ember!"
Litten regained his bearings and, still in midair, fired off fireballs down at his opponent while descending. Crabrawler tried to use protect on Hala's command, but the attack failed, and the Boxing Pokémon was hit by the move. Once Litten landed, Niko commanded a final double kick.
"Power-up punch!" Hala shouted. The paw and claw met, both powerful enough attacks. Litten and Crabrawler repelled one another in opposite directions, and towards their trainer's opponent. Litten, on Hala's end of the platform, slowly got back up as he awaited Crabrawler. The Boxing Pokémon, however, was unable to continue.
"Crabrawler is unable to battle, Litten is the winner!" the referee declared. "Kahuna Hala will use his second and final Pokémon!"
"Crabrawler, return," Hala said with a smirk. Meanwhile, Litten returned to his end of the platform. "Well done, Niko. Color me impressed. Let's see how you handle this next one—Hariyama, I choose you!"
"Litten, you ready?" Niko asked. The Fire Cat Pokémon nodded, slowly standing back up. He looked exhausted, Niko noticed. But Litten wasn't the type of Pokémon to give up so easily. They could handle this Hariyama. "Alright, use ember!"
"Hariyama, block them with arm thrust!" Hala commanded. The massive fighting type beat back the embers with its massive, orange glove-like fists. This, however, gave Litten time to charge forward and leapt into the air to use double kick. "Knock off!"
Hariyama thrust its palm upwards, colliding with Litten's outstretched leg and launching it sky-high. The Arm Thrust Pokémon squared its body as it readied for Litten to land. Once it was within attacking range, Hala commanded it to use arm thrust, which it did and rocketed Litten across the platform towards Niko.
"Litten, can you continue?" Niko asked with concern in his voice. Litten nodded, slowly getting back up. His breathing was heavy, but he could still go. "Then let's go. Use ember again!"
"Arm thrust!" Hala commanded. The fighting type thrust its hands forward to block the ember which, again, Litten used to run down the platform and attack. "Use belly drum!"
"Double kick!" Niko shouted. Litten leapt through the air, spun around, and kicked Hariyama's upper chest with double kick before being swatted away by his opponent's hand in what seemed like an effortless swing. The Fire Cat was thrown off of the platform and onto the ground behind the referee. He tried to get back up, but couldn't.
"Litten is unable to battle, Hariyama is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now use his second and final Pokémon!"
"Litten, return," Niko said. His next choice was an obvious one—there was one Pokémon that he trusted could take on this kind of Pokémon. "Pikipek, I choose you!"
"What…?" Warren wondered. When the others looked at him, only Charlotte understood his confusion. "Pikipek has never been used in an official battle before…why is Niko using it against a Kahuna's strongest Pokémon?"
Melinda smirked. "Niko has too much trust in his Pokémon. That's not a bad thing."
Warren nodded. He agreed, but it still concerned him. Was Niko taking an unnecessary risk here?
"Pikipek, use echoed voice!" Niko shouted. The Woodpecker Pokémon cried out, sound waves rippling the air around them. Hariyama, clearly disturbed by this, covered its ears with his massive hands before using, on Hala's command, arm thrust. The ordinarily large Pokémon charged across the field before attempting to use its attack. Pikipek skillfully dodged each one. This, Niko knew, was why Pikipek was battling. It knew how to evade moves better than any of Niko's Pokémon, despite it being larger than Cutiefly.
Pikipek then used peck on Niko's command, slamming down its long beak on the Arm Thrust Pokémon's shoulder before being unexpectedly swatted away. Regaining its orientation, the Woodpecker Pokémon used echoed voice again. This time, the sound waves produced a stronger rippling effect that certainly disturbed Hariyama, enraging it and causing it to charge at Pikipek. It successfully used knock off to thrust the flying type into the platform before trying to slam down its hands with arm thrust. Pikipek managed to evade the second move before using echoed voice again.
"I see your strategy, Niko," Hala said as Hariyama returned to his side of the platform. "You're tough—and your strategy of irritation is certainly creative. But it ends here," his pulled out a white z-ring and latched it onto his wrist. "Hariyama!" he shouted, producing a series of synchronized poses alongside the Arm Thrust Pokémon. Niko witnessed the z-power transfer from Hala's body—and the z-ring—into Hariyama, producing an orange aura around it. "Use All-Out Pummeling!"
Hariyama repeatedly thrust its hands outwards, firing off large orange, hand-shaped energy at Pikipek.
"Dodge them!" Niko shouted. Pikipek did so, successfully evading the first few before accidentally turning the wrong way and getting hit by several more of the energy blasts. The Woodpecker Pokémon collapsed onto his back, struggling to get back up. "Pikipek…come on. You're tough, buddy. You can do this!" Niko said. "Use echoed voice!"
"Hmm…not many Pokémon survive All-Out Pummeling…" Hala said. "Well done, Niko. Hariyama, block it with arm thrust!"
The echoed voice was difficult to block, since the arm thrust didn't interact with sound waves. In addition, Hariyama was too pained by the loud, annoying sound emitting from Pikipek that it had to cover its ears to shield its eardrums from being too damaged.
"Peck!" Niko commanded. Pikipek charged forward and tapped Hariyama in the shoulder before repeating the attack multiple times on different parts of the body—stomach, arms, other shoulder. Hariyama attempted to swat it away successfully. That's when Niko called Pikipek back to him. "Let's finish this, alright?" an exhausted Pikipek nodded, knowing perfectly well what his trainer was about to command.
Niko raised his z-ring up to show Hala before performing a series of practiced, synchronized moves with Pikipek and finishing off by shouting "Breakneck Blitz!" out loud. The Woodpecker Pokémon burst into an orange glow as he rocketed down the platform towards Hariyama, colliding into it with the full force of its body. Hariyama took the hit before falling backwards onto the platform. It crashed onto the ground in defeat.
"Hariyama is unable to battle, Pikipek is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"
Niko ran over to Pikipek, who crashed into the ground from exhaustion. "Well done, buddy. For a first battle, that wasn't too bad!" He then returned the Woodpecker Pokémon. He stood up and turned to Hala, who was holding a small, brown z-crystal in his hands.
"Niko, congrats. As proof of your victory here, I award you with Fightinium-Z. It's the z-crystal I used in our battle, and allows your Pokémon to use All-Out Pummeling, provided that they know a fighting type move. Congrats again," he gave Niko the crystal and shook his hand. "Now, Charlotte?"
"Yes," Charlotte said exchanging spots with Niko. He briefly side-hugged her before leaving the platform. When she stood up to face Hala, she noticed he was briefly gone—presumably to heal up his own Pokémon.
"This will be a battle between Island Kahuna Hala and Charlotte from Castelia City," the same referee declared before explaining the rules. When he finished, he allowed both trainers to begin.
"Crabrawler, I choose you!" Hala shouted, summoning the same blue crab from before.
"Noibat, you're up!" Charlotte shouted. "Use screech!"
"Protect!" Hala commanded. Crabrawler created a spherical forcefield around itself to protect from the annoyingly loud sound. Noibat then dove down to use tackle, only to be met by Crabrawler's power-up punch, which hit the Sound Wave Pokémon directly in the face and launched her backwards. "Now, pursuit!"
"Noibat, use gust!" Charlotte commanded. Noibat furiously flapped her wings, whipping up a strong wind around her that hit Crabrawler, knocking it off of its feet. "Use screech again!"
"Crabrawler, protect!" Hala commanded. The Boxing Pokémon obliged, rendering the screech once again useless. Noibat then swooped down to use tackle, only to be once more slammed by power-up punch, rocketing her backwards and off of the platform. Quickly, she got back into the air and used gust as powerfully as she could, which seemed to now have an effect on the blue crustacean.
"Use tackle!" Charlotte shouted, hoping for a miracle. As Noibat got close, like Niko, she switched her strategy last minute. "Gust!"
Noibat pelted Crabrawler with a powerful gust of wind that knocked it off of its feet. She then dove down to use tackle and managed to avoid a lame attempt at power-up punch before rising back into the air. Charlotte commanded the Sound Wave Pokémon to use tackle once more, only to ask her to use screech as soon as she collided with Crabrawler. Noibat not only knocked it to the ground, but also pierced its eardrums.
"Finish it off with gust!" Charlotte shouted, thrusting her hand forward. Noibat vigorously flapped her wings, which seemed to do a fair amount of damage to Crabrawler. However, the Boxing Pokémon managed to step forward and slam its fist into Noibat before being blown away in defeat. Noibat, seriously injured by the power-up punch, also collapsed onto the ground.
"Noibat and Crabrawler are both unable to battle! Charlotte and Hala will send out their final Pokémon!" the referee declared.
"Hariyama, I choose you!"
"Rowlet, you're up!" Charlotte commanded, summoning the Grass Quill Pokémon. "Use leafage!"
"Block it with arm thrust!" Hala commanded. Hariyama thrust forward its palms vigorously, blocking the onslaught of glowing green leaves. "Now, use belly drum!"
"Now, Rowlet!" Charlotte shouted, raising her z-ring. It was a bit early, but she knew belly drum only increased the attack power of Hariyama and, which a move that hit directly like Breakneck Blitz, it made more sense to just use it then. Charlotte and Rowlet synchronized their movements before the latter burst into an orange aura. "Use Breakneck Blitz!"
Rowlet cooed wildly as he charged forward, his body shimmering a light orange color. He crashed into Hariyama, who felt the full force of the attack and was knocked back a few steps. Rowlet then tried to escape after completing the exhausting move, only to be slammed into the ground by knock off. The force of the attack nearly broke the wooden platform underneath, leaving Rowlet sitting there, struggling to move.
Hala and Hariyama waited to see what the owl would do. Slowly, but surely, he got back onto his feet, albeit stumbling a little. He turned around to look up at the menacing Hariyama before charging forward and using peck, which seemed to irk the Arm Thrust Pokémon, who slapped Rowlet aside as if he were some fly.
"Our turn," Hala said, his z-ring glowing. Like with his battle against Niko, Hala synchronized his movements with Hariyama's before using All-Out Pummeling. The large, orange bursts of energy hit Rowlet consecutively, rocketing him backwards, across the platform, and nearly into Charlotte's arms before crashing into the front wall of a nearby house and collapsing in front of the door in defeat.
"Rowlet is unable to battle, Hariyama is the winner! The victory goes to Island Kahuna Hala!"
Charlotte was devastated. However, she put aside her feelings and ran over to Rowlet, who was laying there unconscious. She picked him up, returned him and, in a state of shock, only looked up at Hala. Niko tried to hug her, but she held out her arm—the last thing she wanted in that moment was comfort.
"Charlotte…" Hala said, walking the length of the platform and down the steps towards his defeated opponent. "If you wish to learn how you might be able to defeat me, go to the Mahalo Trail," he briefly tilted his head to his left, clearly referencing the dark, forested tunnel nearby. "I think you'll find what you need there."
"O-okay…" Charlotte said with a light sniffle. She just needed to be alone for a moment, more than anything. Defeat, regardless of the opponent, was not an easy thing for her to deal with.
Author's Note: So, Charlotte didn't do so well. What will she find in the Mahalo Trail? Can she defeat Hala on her second try? Find out in the next episode!
