Pokemon Delta Sun and Theta Moon

Written by SkittleBoxx

Episode 21: In Some Real Cliff-Chief!

At last, bathed by the orange glow of the setting sun was the quiet Cliffside Town.

The three travelling teenagers stood on a hill overlooking the town. Although small, Cliffside Town looked peaceful and a nice place to visit. But they didn't have time to look at the town: they were here to be at the town.

In the small community, Cliffside Town was even cozier. There were tons of families eating together and playing, and many younger kids holding farce battles with their Pokemon. Stephanie seemed the most enamored by the display, always smiling and wistfully looking up, probably thinking of her small hometown.

Eventually, the three teens found the orange-roofed building. They walked in, one especially exuberant about finally getting to sleep on a fluffy mattress for the night after nights of camping and hair torture.

That night, as Cindy wrapped herself up in the soft bedding the Pokemon Center provided, her mind went off. Was there really something happening in Verdant Cavern, or was Stephanie right, dismissing it with facts? If there was indeed something happening there and they completely ignored it, what terrible things could happen to Verdant cavern and Cliffside Town? After all, Ilima's old Trial location was a little less than a mile from the quiet town...

But pretty soon, she felt her eyes close. She finally cozied up and let her sleep take grasp of her daytime worries.

It was still night, but the sun's golden rays were just starting to peak over the horizon. If one were to sit on the edge of the road and dangle their legs off the cliff, the light would be dancing off the water along with the stars that still shined.

However, the crowd of around twenty people around one chain link fence really didn't care about what nature was beckoning them to see.

In the crowd of people that circled one person, the common outfit was any variation of a black and white sleeveless shirt, and black or white shorts seemed popular as well. Over the spectrum of hair in the crowd, hats normal people would deem silly sat upon their heads. Some even had bandannas covering their mouth... for some reason.

The small girl not in the crowd cleared her throat. "So, I guess I'll start with this mission plan's schedule. First, welcome to Verdant Cavern. In case you dense-headed ones out there can't tell, this is where our mission plan begins."

"Yareta!" one grunt yelled without permission, "What the Distortion are we doin' here, anyway?"

Yareta gave a nonchalant nudge of her glasses. "I'll explain that, don't worry." She folded her lab coat-clad arms behind her back. "Let's give a little background. As you all know, Verdant Cavern is the old Trial site of Ilima's used about... oh, three years ago, before they introduced contest and changed up the League system a bit. Anyway, this place has been abandoned for the same time frame." She turned to her following with a smug grin. "That's hopefully what's going to help us."

One female grunt raised her hand. "But aren't there scary Pokemon in there, and isn't it dangerous considering the Alola government shut it down due to health concerns?"

"Well, that's why you go in quick, come out quick." She gave a smile, albeit not the friendliest one. "Just be careful and you should be fine."

"But... you don't really do anything, Miss Yareta."

Yareta scoffed. "I do things! Like planning and researching. Things that the Boss said I was smart enough to do. Besides, I'm only a sixteen year old super genius. Who wants to put someone like that in a physical mission?"

The grunt scoffed in return.

The small girl brushed some long auburn hair away from her eyes. "Okay, serious time. The Boss wants us to go in because there could be some kind of rare treasure in there." She dug into her pocket and nodded as she felt her fingers rub against something small. "Ahah. Although a polycarbonate replica, this should get the message across." In a split second, she thrust her hand into the air.

Between her tiny fingers was a small, eight-faced gem of some sort. It was a dull white and had circle pattern on the front vertex. It caught a gleam off of the rising sun, the light streaking across it.

"Behold, the treasure! Inside Verdant Cavern, there should be tons of these!"

Another raised hand. "What... is it?"

Yareta chucked lightly to herself. "Oh, nothing too hard." Her eyes filled with little stars as she rambled, "just a piece of molecules arranged in a homogeneous manner that have arranged themselves into a symmetrical pattern of flat faces, which in turn allow a Pokemon to break down key components of the energy stored in the covalent bonds of the body that organize into a new physical offense!"

Twenty quirked eyebrows.

Yareta facepalmed. "It's a gem that allows a Pokemon to use a powerful move."

The crowd then nodded and was filled with a choir of "ooooohs".

The small girl nodded. "These are called Z-Crystals. This is Normalium Z, to be precise. Now, when this was Ilima's Trial site, it was said that every challenger that got through the Trial would earn one of these Z-Crystals." She pulled her arm down and stuffed the replica Normalium Z into her pocket. "That's where you guys some in. You're going to try and find Normalium Z Crystals in Verdant Cavern! Who knows, there could be one... or a stash..."

The crowd cheered in response.

Yet another raised hand after the whooping had died down. "Um, what do we need the things for?"

Yareta shook her head, auburn hair flowing with her movements. "That's the one thing G never told me. So quite frankly, I have no Arcues-darned clue. My hypothesis is that if the Boss wants Z-Crystals, then he's going to peg me and the other four scientists with how to extract the raw power from the Z-Crystals because he needs the power for something."

She walked down to the crowd of grunts, then handed the nearest one a slip of paper. "Give this to Amaryllis. I sure hope she can read." She then turned to the chain link fence while pulling a Pokeball from her pocket.

The grunt with the note gasped. "You told us all this time you can't train Pokemon!"

Yareta laughed. "This is a different kind of training: the one that involves building and research and sleepless nights called nothing better than science." She used her teeth to pull off a pin, then she chucked the smoking Pokeball forward. "Now back!"

he Pokeball made contact with the cold steel, and then a huge fireball consumed the area. When the hazard dissipated, all that was left of the fence was a mangled mess of sharp metal.

"Exploding Pokeballs. Classic." Yareta then thrust her hand forward. "Let's go, everyone!" she commanded as she already saw the blurs of action pass by her.

Despite the sun literally in her eyes, Cindy woke up without a hitch (or pillows, for that matter). She sat up and stretched, Litten replicating her. Cindy dangled her legs over the edge and found the ladder with her toes, to which she climbed down.

Due to the creaks of protest the ladder made, Allen turned his head to the commotion and whistled. "Woah, Cindy;s up early! And I didn't even have to use a pillow..."

Cindy gave a huge grin and laughed. "Don't worry! Sometimes I'm just eager to get on the road... the title of Alola Top Coordinator waits for no one!"

As Cindy wandered with her day clothes to get dressed in another room, Allen raised an eyebrow. "Funny... Cindy's never this happy, especially when she wakes up. Steph, any ideas whatsoever as to what could be going on?"

Stephanie, who was rapidfire tapping her PokeNav Plus's screen, shrugged off the question. "I don't know. I think you would know better considering you've known her for about three days more than I have." Her aquamarine eyes finally peeled away from the brightly colored screen. "Just a note."

Allen took his frames off and quietly laughed while polishing them. "You stop that sarcastic humor." He placed them back on the bridge of his nose.

"But seriously." The girl slipped the watch back on her wrist. "I remember something back at Hau'oli City. Remember the day after Cindy lost her contest and when we were sitting on that bench?"

The boy nodded in understanding.

"She told us that she really was upset about losing that contest, yet she acted like it was fine," she continued. "Now... you fill in the rest."

Allen crossed his arms and bit his lower lip. "So Cindy's really worried about something maybe happening at Verdant Cavern..." He stared at the only female in the room straight in the eyes. "Okay, I know that you think going to Verdant Cavern will waste time, but I've decided that we just have to go. For Cindy's sake."

Stephanie gave a small nod. "I understand, Allen. If she never finds out what happens- or doesn't happen- she'll be sulking for a while, won't she?"

A few seconds later, the girl of the hour burst out. "I'm ready!" She bent down to let Litten hop onto her shoulder as she pointed her index finger up. "Now let's go to..." Her finger hunched over in defeat. "Umm... where are we going?"

The boy took the map sitting on his bed and unfurled it. "Melemele Island is a bit strange- we're circling around the mountain. When we cross the little bridge, we'll actually end up back in Iki Town, which is great considering I can battle Hala with my Charm Piece with me." He folded the yellowed parchment back up and slipped the square in his back pocket. "But first, we're going to check out Verdant Cavern."

Cindy's face darkened for a second, but she erased it with a painful smile. "Well, whatever you want to do! Right, Litten?"

For once, Litten was silent as it picked up on its Trainer's demeanor.

The two Pokemon Trainers shared a concerned look, but Allen stepped forward and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Well, I guess we're off!" He stepped out of the room, the two girls following and closing the door.

It seemed the sound of footsteps pounding against the ground could be heard from Cliffside Town. All the grunts running in and out of Verdant Cavern was beyond counting. The number of Z-Crystals the team of teenage rejects was quite equal to bite from Pokemon.

On a high rock, a taller girl with short purple hair watched. Yareta had seemed very hesitant to let Amaryllis go on the mission when she arrived minutes after the raid had started. When the lower-level grunt asked if it was because she was "stupid and dense" by the scientist's words, Yareta gave no answer, but rather dismissed it as a capacity overload in the cave.

One of the grunts ran to the pile of Z-Crystals near the rock when he caught sight of Amaryllis. He dug into his pocket and handed her a folded up paper. "Miss Yareta requested this to be given to you."

"Rets, huh?" She took the letter and stuffed it in her pocket after reading the contents. "I wonder where she went." Amaryllis jumped off the rock and gasped at the sheer amount of crystals piled under a mesh net for easy getaway after. "Whoa! That's like, a bajillion crystals!"

Another grunt came up and put her hands on her hip. "Actually, around four-hundred ninety. Yareta told me to keep track for some reason." She displayed the clipboard with tiny markings. "She's mean, and you have to work with her. I pity your poor soul."

Amaryllis sighed. "Rets ain't mean at all. She just know what ta do." She pulled out the paper. "See? She uses such nice words like "I swear to Arceus don't" and "I swear if you do this I'll regret it because I have a chance of losing my best fr-"

"Umm..." a quiet male's voice rang as he dumped three Z-Crystals into the pile, "what would Yareta do about those three...?"

On the top of the hill, the shadows obscured the identities of three people. While one looked like they had never heard of a hairbrush and the other the opposite with a nice braid, the smallest one had a sinister glare in their eyes, a mix of red and aqua.

Amaryllis hopped back onto the rock and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Don't come any further! We're trying to steal Z-Crystals from a cave it's illegal to go into!"

"Amaryllis!" around twenty voices scolded.

"Now I see why G paired you with Yareta... you're practically hopeless without her..." another grunt mused under his breath.

One of the silhouettes pointed out while the other took a hold of the smaller. "I think that's two reasons to stop you guys today!" They stepped forward and all eyes were instantly bombarded with bright orange hair. "You're not stealing anything on my watch!"

Amaryllis grabbed a Pokeball and smirked. "Aw, it's little pretty Coordinator girl! Whattcha gonna do, use them move combos to beat us with princess points?" A few laughs from below her.

Cindy growled. "absolutely not! Litten, the spotlight's on you!" She turned her head as Litten ran off of her outstretched arm. "Allen! Get Stephanie to calmly command Rowlet to grab the net and bring the What's-It-Crystals to us! Allen, you send out Rockruff and help fend off these thugs!"

Allen gave a salute. "Got it. Rockruff, come on out!" He turned to Stephanie who was bound by their linking elbows. "Steph, get Rowlet out!"

Stephanie tilted her head down further as the fire in her eyes burned hotter. "Right." She took her Pokeall off her belt and chucked it forward. "Rowlet, take the skies!"

In the air, white plasma formed into the shape of the Grass Quill Pokemon while Litten had a partner in the form of the Puppy Pokemon.

At the same time, three grunts, Amaryllis one of them, called, "Salandit, go!"

Three Pokeballs spun in the air and burst, three similar Pokemon staring the two down.

On the hill Stephanie focused on Rowlet. "Rowlet, fly around and find the net the Z-Crystals are on! Once you find it, grab it and ring it to us!"

Cindy thrust a hand forward. "And now it's out turn! Allen, work with me here and fill in a move when I make one! It's like a Double Contest now! Litten, use Ember!"

"And add a Rock Throw to that, Rockruff!"

Litten backed up and shot a multitude of flames forward, while Rockruff's collar glew white and fired jagged rocks forward. The Ember fused with the rocks, flaming stones heading towards the three Salandit. It hit them all squarely and sent them backwards.

Meanwhile, Rowlet used the battle as a distraction and soared around the skies. It cooed when it spotted the net, so it dove down and used its little talons to grab the mesh. It took a while to start up again, but soon Rowlet was flying victoriously with all the stolen Z-Crystals.

One grunt pointed at the heist reversing their heist. "Guys, the Rowlet just took all of our Z-Crystals!"

Cindy shouted, "use this as a distraction and end the battle with a Scratch!"

Litten's longs claws started to glow white, then it raked all three Salandit with the claw. All three sprawled out on the ground, no more energy.

Amaryllis returned her Pokemon, then shouted, "abort mission! Abort mission!" She ran up the hill, and pretty much every grunt followed along.

Cindy rejoined her friends at the top of the hill, then looked at the net. "Whoa, what are these? There are so many!"

"These are Z-Crystals," Allen explained. As for what they do... you'll just have to find that out the fun way."

The girl kept looking at her friend, and she saw a mischievous spark flash in his eye.

Allen took the net and slung it over his shoulder. "Well, that was something. I think we should take these to the Cliffside Town Pokemon Center and have them decide what to do with these."

The girls agreed, then started back to Cliffside Town. All the while, Cindy's mind went off again. The fun way of learning about a Z-Crystal? Whatever this fun way was, she smiled in hopes of seeing it in action one day.

The quiet area of Cliffside Town isn't so quiet today! The villainous thugs known as Team Skull decide to take advantage of the old Trial system by raiding Ilima's old site, where tons of Z-Crystals were said to be. However, the voices Cindy encountered in the Berry Fields were right: a full-blown raid was going on as soon as our heroes got there! Using a skilled system of teamwork, they managed to take the Z-Crystals back and send Team Skull on their way. But what's this way of learning about Z-Crystals? The answer will unfold as the journey continues!

A/N: Spring has taken chokehold of me and my writing schedule again (and a glitch that wiped pretty much all my progress a bit back)! Despite these late chapters, I really have to thank you for actually sticking by and waiting! I love you all for that, and I still can't thank you enough.

Two things I would like to say before I sign off, though. First thing: I have a friend named NerdyMcNerdface on the site, and she's currently writing a pretty good fanfiction called Tano Platinum. It's well-written and an original concept never-before seen, so do check it out! It really is an underrated story, and if you're enjoying DSTM I'm sure you'll enjoy an original Sinnoh JourneyFic. Please check it out, I do recommend!

My last thing: have any of you guys heard of a site called Lake Valor? It's a super nice Pokemon forum with many discussions and members who are nothing but friendly. I'm actually a registered user of the site, so if you join, it's one of the ways to actually talk to me! Of course, I'm not the only one who you'll talk to, so I do want some new members to join and make Lake Valor a fun and happy place! If you do, make sure that my username (SkittleBox) is your referrer. I hope to see you guys there!

With those notes out of the way, I sure hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for more! Summer is right around the corner, so you'll have to live with potentially one or two more late updates if those happen! Just keep in mind: the summer light is at the end of the tunnel.