Gigarot: Anabel's aware of what she's done.
Hapu's a strong girl- as for the pictures, Asalie mentioned she had USB drives in an earlier chapter.
K-KRRRRZZZ-ZZSSSH-!
Anabel's eyes stung from the light, even with this thunderbolt was weaker than before.
Mega-Steelix's iron tail up-rooted Xurxitree's wires and Mega-Sceptile's lightning-rod ability kept the Ultra Beast's electricity from harming the officers while Mega-Lopunny gracefully pummeled it whenever they got a chance to get close. Xiao Po's protect and special defense kept the officers protected from Xurkitree's power whip and other attacks but he was slowly losing more and more power as the stalemate went on.
Just a little longer, the officer thought, fist clenching. We can outlast it and then strike, we just need a little more time!
As the Xurkitree lurched with another power whip, Anabel saw how much slower it was becoming, how it's cables dragged against the ground and became tangled in the unearthed rocks and dirt- how the pale blue joints on it's legs were beginning to crack. She plucked another poke-ball from her belt and withdrew a lithe Weaville.
"Kama, quick attack towards it's legs, then slash apart the joints!" Anabel ordered and Kama barely touched the ground as she sped to her target.
However, Xurkitree's powerwhip's whiplash came down and knocked Kama away, nearly smacking her into the cave before she righted herself. This did nothing to deter the Weaville and she shot off the stone and latched herself onto the Ultra Beast's leg. Claws gleaming, she slashed apart the joins and the cables shuddered as they lost support.
"All right, take it down!" Anabel yelled as the Pokemon readied their attacks, Kama quick attacking out of the way.
Seconds later, Xurkitree screeched in agony as frenzy plant, earthquake and last resort smashed into it's form. It tried to shield itself but was too weak and collapsed. After almost a minute of constant attacks, it stopped moving altogether. Anabel smirked grimly at it's crippled form before her officers returned their Pokemon to heal them.
They ran to KoniKoni City before Anabel noticed the ground in front shuddering. She held her arm out to stop the officers before it completely crumbled away and sharp stalagmites shot out of the ground, reaching nearly three meters high.
"I'm Officer Anabel of the International Police!" she called across the rocks. "We're here to help! We've already defeated the Ultra Beast outside here!"
At that, the stalagmites receded and a groups of trainers led by a gorgeous dark-skinned woman made themselves shown- with them was a creature similar to Tapu Koko, though with a pink shell that reminded Anabel of a Shuckle. She also noticed the smell in the air- spicy yet sweet- and the smalls pink scales that covered each of the trainers.
"Come inside, all of you," the woman said, motioning them forward.
Slowly, people came out of the houses, apprehensive but hopeful. When the woman- Kahuna Olivia- told them that the Ultra Beast was gone, they cheered with relief, hugging each other and the trainers.
"When that thing appeared, it sucked away all of the electricity in the area- not even the back-up generators were spared," Olivia explained as they settled in the center as one of the officer's Manectric helped recharge the batteries for the healing machine.
"The Ultra Beast stuck it's... wires? Into the ground and refused to budge. It took everything we had just to get it out of KoniKoni, but by that time the damage had already been done and we entered a siege. Whenever someone tried to go outside, it would shock them- we couldn't even find it because it could blend in with the trees so well."
Anabel nodded to this- a tactic Xurkitree was all too fond of: drain a place dry and become too powerful to move until it could take no more and then destroy anything that got in it's way. "I only got the information to a distress call from the island, and one Kahili told me that you had seen the Ultra Beast."
Olivia smiled at this. "I'm glad to hear she's okay- she tried to fight the Ultra Beast off but her team was no match..."
"How long have you been like this?"
"It's only been about two days- we've had to constantly keep watch and fight since then." Olivia gave a grateful smile to Tapu Lele. "Thanks to our guardian, we were able to keep up the fight. They healed our wounds and exhaustion and joined in the fight as well.
Tapu Lele nodded to all of this with crossed arms, looking rather haughty. Anabel stifled a snort at this gesture before asking, "Do you know if there are any other Ultra Beasts on the island?"
"No- and aside from Kahili, we've had no contact with others."
"Then there's the chance there's more than one Xurkitree."
"Wait, where're you going?!" Sina exclaimed as the man began to walk out.
"Out."
Grimsley pulled out his umbrella and Honchkrow before boarding it and flying away
"I'm really, really, REALLY sorry, mom," Detect apologized again as she followed Officer Lien down. "I promise this won't take long- you could show him the photos you got from that girl to distract him, maybe?"
["Please just try to get back as soon as possible,"] her mother said gently, though Detect knew she was trying to keep calm for the boy probably upset she had to be called to work the second he looked away.
"I will."
She turned her phone off right after the call ended, Lien giving her a sympathetic look- it was never easy being called to duty when one was supposed to be on leave.
They reached the basement with the Secret Lab and saluted Officer Looker. "What have you learned about the room so far?" Detect asked once he saluted back.
"From what we've gathered from the employees that are actually coherent, this area was sealed off around five and a half years ago," Lien explained. "A little more digging and we found the reason was because a scientist was killed because of the experiments she was doing in here. But we've yet to find any employees who know how the scientist was killed or the circumstances leading to it- whether they're awake or not."
Detect nodded to this as she looked around the room closely- the red stains were obviously blood but she had no idea what the black stains were. The dents in the walls indicated claw marks and strength enough to break apart the plaster. The bookshelves were empty and the space back where a desk used to be was covered in dust. Her eyes closed as she mulled over what she learned.
The best option is to go back just long enough to get an idea of what happened here, if not a full scene, Detect concluded and brought out her Xatu- Merlin- and Gothitelle- Vivian.
Officer Detect was aptly named- her specialty was recreating crime scenes and playing out different scenarios of what could have or what truly happened in areas of interests. This was half her own talents in induction, sharp analytic skills, deductive reasoning and logic and the rest her Pokemon partners.
Legends had said that Xatu's right eye could look into the future while it's left gazed into the past, which was why it stood so still with an empty gaze if allowed to. Gothitelle had powerful psychic abilities related to the stars and could tell a person's life span if need be, even projecting their own memories with their power onto another.
With the aforementioned arsenal and her team, Officer Detect had made a powerful name for herself in recreating crime scenes- literally if need be- and recovering evidence within said scene.
Merlin's left eye grew brighter as he took in the surrounding area while Vivian closed her eyes, hands extended and glowing blue as she concentrated. Detect before raising his left wing to signify he had found a time to watch. She placed her left hand on Merlin's back and her right on Vivian's- a moment later, her body seized up before her eyes began to glow bright blue.
A woman with bronze and freckled skin, black hair and eyes yawned from where she was typing away at her desk. An Ariados was fast asleep on one of the unoccupied bookshelves. There were several books- no, journals, log-books and a few diaries- crammed in the shelves below, papers hanging out from the pages and covers.
The desk was covered with papers, notes, an occasional doodle and several photos- the oldest had the woman, a teenager, smiling with an older blond man and a stout boy that resembled the man, save for bright green eyes. Other pictures showed her wearing the Aether uniform and the boy wearing a white labcoat over simple clothes, then with a rather curvaceous woman with kind smile and a blond and red-haired bespectacled man and woman.
Another showed the stout blond in wedding dress to a timid-looking woman with long black hair and amber eyes. A few others down showed the woman with a brunet with olive skin, both wearing wedding clothes with a bulge noticeable beneath her dress. More photos down had her balancing a toddler boy on her lap, her in the hospital with the man and ten-year-old boy crowded around a new-born baby, and then the woman with a solemn-looking seven-year old brunette with black eyes trying on new clothes.
The screen showed a portal and several calculations around it and ever few seconds, the woman would completely erase a section and retype a calculation or theory only to either leave it be or delete it all over again. Days passed with the woman only going out for food, the bathroom or to take her notes outside.
Suddenly, the woman shot up from her chair and nearly tripped over the desk as she grabbed several papers hanging off the surface while yanking open drawers and pulling out a file. Her fingers were a blur as she typed on the keyboard, new calculations coming up and a picture of an indigo, blue and black creature with beady yellow eyes came up by said calculations, same as the one in the files.
"YES!" she shrieked and leaped out of her chair before her foot got caught and she fell flat on her face.
This did nothing to deter her and she scrambled to her feet, racing out of the room. Some time later, she yanked the stout blond man with green eyes in the photographs to her desk and the laptop.
"Here! I just picked up some of the formulas from before that Magnolia showed me the last conference and then plugged in a few more!" the woman exclaimed animatedly, gesturing to the screen. "I think we can make this work, Mohn!"
The blond, Mohn, looked at it closely before he typed a few keys in and the calculations became slightly altered. "Now I know we can make this work, Astrid," he said with a grin.
The woman, Astrid, punched him playfully before leaning back on the chair with a sigh. "After all these years, we'll finally be able to see their world- I can't wait! And it's even on Bring-Your-Family-To-Work Day!"
Astrid's expression became solemn at this. "I hope she'll be able to enjoy herself here- my star's never been very out-going..."
"Well, maybe she'll get along with Lil- I know she'd like someone her age to be able to play with," Mohn suggested.
"Maybe..."
Two days passed with Astrid finalizing the calculations. She wiped at her forehead with an excited grin- on the laptop was a simulation of a portal opening up. "Okay- okay," she said again and took a deep breath as she moved the files into the USB drive and then printed them out just in case.
"In a few hours, we're gonna open the wormhole."
But then not even two hours later, the door to the lab slammed open and Astrid walked in with a shell-shocked expression before collapsing against the wall. She gasped harshly, trying to breath even as tears streamed and mucus streamed down her face. The sob that shook her body was one of utter despair as she sank to the ground.
When they returned to the Seafolk Village, the villagers remained silently respectful as Hapu came in- the fate of Kahuna Iole was obvious.
"Where can I take your friends, Kahuna?" Chief Lapis asked respectfully, a far cry from the boisterous man the three had met earlier that day.
"We're heading to Exeggutor Island."
With the destination in mind, they boarded the boat and went out to sea. "You just tell me when you want to head out once more," Chief Lapis called.
"Okay!"
Exeggutor Island was rather small with several palm trees dotting it and what looked to be caves on the hills. "This place... many years ago, it was a trial site," Hapu remarked as they went further inland.
"What kind?" Hau asked.
Hapu was about to reply but then a palm tree suddenly screeched and smashed down on them with indigo power resembling a hammer. Gladion grabbed Lillie out of the way while Hau and Hapu jumped back as the palm tree began to walk towards them. "Screeee!"
"An Exeggutor?!" Gladion exclaimed in surprise.
"Another Alolan form- this one is part dragon!" Hapu said as they avoided another dragon hammer.
Then it's weakness to fire is gone- but it should be doubly weak to ice! Lillie concluded and looked down to Asalie's poke-balls.
"T-Titus!" Lillie called out as she threw the heal ball rather clumsily.
The Alolan Ninetales blinked as he came out, looking around before his eyes landed on Lillie. His expression became sour before the Alolan Exeggutor smashed another dragon hammer down. "Look ou-!" Lillie began to cry out only for the energy to pass right through Titus, the Alolan Ninetales arching an invisible eyebrow.
Right- dragon types don't effect fairy types! "Titus, please use ice beam!"
Titus narrowed her eyes at the blonde before pointedly ignoring her and began to groom himself. "What is he doing?!" Hau exclaimed.
"She's not his trainer, so he's not listening," Hapu grimaced as she threw out a Flygon. "Dragon tail!"
The Flygon swooped down with her tail and smashed into the grass/dragon type, knocking it out swiftly. Titus sniffed before prancing over to his poke-ball and returning himself inside. "... yeesh," Hau muttered.
Lillie returned the capsule to her bag, resigned but understanding. "It's okay," she told Gladion when he reached to her. "It's okay."
He misses her and I'm not a trainer.
Not yet at least.
They traveled further inland, Hapu, Hau and Gladion's Pokemon keeping the Alolan Exeggutor from reaching them. Lillie was not idle, making sure to heal their teams in case they were hurt and taking in their battling and strategies when she could focus. When they came in full view of the hills, they heard the rumble of thunder and not a minute later, it was pouring.
"There's a cave ahead!" Hau shouted over the rain and they ran to the base of the hill.
While not so much a cave as an alcove, it still offered the four protection from the rain. Some of the rain dripped off the rock and landed on Lillie's skirt but it wasn't much. She looked to the dark gray sky, barely wincing at the lightning and thunder that rolled after.
They kissed one more time before Kathy left Don. But Don wasn't unhappy- he looked over the moon, he began to dance and sing into the rain, a grin on his face as he danced without care in the world. He even stopped holding the umbrella altogether by giving it to a soaked passerby.
"That looks like fun!" Lillie chirped from where she and her brother were curled up on the couch, a bowl of popcorn between them.
"You'll catch a cold doing that stuff- he would have too if the rain was real," Gladion said.
The younger blonde stuck her tongue at him before jumping off the couch and nearly knocking the bowl down to get a good look outside. It was still raining. "Lillie..." her brother said in a warning voice.
But she was already running to the door and flung it open, jumping into the rain. In all but an instant, she was soaked to the bone and cold but she didn't care. "Lillie, get back in here!" Gladion shouted, wincing as the rain hit him even with an umbrella.
"Si-i-i-i-ing in the ra-a-a-ain~ Just si-i-i-i-ing in the ra-a-a-ain~"
Hau looked up at the few bars of song before he saw the blonde murmuring it under her breath as she watched the storm. "I didn't know you could sing," he said in surprise.
"It's quite a lovely voice you've got there," Hapu remarked with a smile.
Lillie smiled at this. "Thank you- it's from a movie I saw when I was younger," and turned to her brother. "Do you remember that movie, Gladion? About the man singing in the rain?"
"A little," Gladion admitted before smirking. "Didn't you run out into the rain to try the same thing?"
Lillie chuckled as she nodded. "I was so captivated, I had to try it for myself and you kept trying to pull me inside- you eventually gave up."
"Yeah. And then..." Gladion's expression became softer.
"Then what?" Hau asked.
She was getting cold but she didn't care, it was so much fun! Lillie kept trying to sing, even when the thunder drowned out her voice and she kept forgetting some of the lines. Then, someone grabbed her from behind and she yelped in surprise before turning around.
Mother was panting for breath, eyes wide in surprise as she held the younger blonde to her. For a moment, Lillie was afraid she'd get scolded- mother had been more strict as of late since...
But then, a smile spread on her face and she took Lillie's hand and twirled her around. The girl was so surprised, she nearly tripped but caught her footing before her mother twirled herself.
"What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again! I'm laughing at clouds, so dark up above~"
Hau looked shocked at this while Hapu's eyes were closed. "That really happened?!" the green-haired boy asked.
"It did- they both got colds to prove it," Gladion affirmed with a slight huff of laughter. "They couldn't near anyone for nearly a week."
"She even let me sleep in her bed with her the whole time," Lillie said, a trembling smile on her face as she recounted. "I was... I was so happy, I kept waking her up just to make sure I wasn't dreaming."
Hau smiled. "That sounds really nice," before Gladion and Lillie's expressions fell.
"That was the last time we saw her... acting like herself."
"But then she started to change- all she could think about were the Ultra Beasts," Lillie said softly.
"First, she wanted to kill them and devoted her time to making Null and the others."
Gladion's hand clenched around Silvally's poke-ball.
"Then she wanted to bring them here, using Nebby."
Lillie's hands trembled as she hugged her bag to her. "Both of them suffered so much because of her... and I couldn't do anything..."
"But you did do something!" Hau exclaimed. "You got Nebby away from her and you tried to protect them the best way you could! That's not nothing, Lillie!"
"He's right- you did what you could," Hapu assured her gently while Gladion placed a tentative hand on her shoulder.
"You've already done what I would do in your place."
The blonde's smile trembled as she took this in. "Thank you, all of you. I'm not discouraged, not now. I'm going to keep going forward."
Her hand came up to her heart. "It's all right to be afraid and unsure when you decide to go through with something. I've learned that, watching her. Watching her be afraid and unsure but still going forward."
She could see it in her mind's eye- Asalie as afraid as she felt and was without Pokemon, but she still did her best to save Nebby. Being beaten up by Team Skull but resolving to get stronger despite her weakness. Even at Aether Paradise, she still made herself fight even when her mind had been going through such turmoil.
"Every time I doubted myself because of my fear and felt I couldn't do anything, she... just showed up and- and did something, even though she was afraid and uncertain herself. She showed me it was possible to keep going forward, regardless of fear and doubt."
Hau and Hapu smiled at this while Gladion looked to the rain.
She never knew what she wanted to do once she finished the Island Challenge, the blonde thought, hand clenching, but if I could keep traveling with Asalie once this is all over, not as a companion but as an equal...
It was then she noticed the pitter-patter of the rain had died down and Lillie looked up to see the clouds parting something. They got out from beneath the alcove and Lillie winced at the rays of sun that spread across them. When er eyes adjusted, she saw a rainbow stretching across the horizon.
"Whoa! Hau beamed at the light. "If this isn't a good omen, I don't know what is!"
"Indeed," Hapu agreed, her smile becoming peaceful.
They went further up the winding hills until they came to the top. There, was a small alter and pedestal holding an orange flute carefully- the symbol of the sun was carved into it. Lillie pulled her book out while Hapu carefully took the flute from the pedestal and compared it to the picture. "This is it," she affmired, carefully putting it in Lillie's bag.
"Great!" Hau cheered. "One down, one to go!"
"We still have to get the Moon Flute from Officer Anabel though," Gladion reminded them.
Anabel's eyes narrowed through her binoculars as Hida flew over Route 8. Since they left KoniKoni, they had been looking all over the island via the sky to see if anything looked like Xurkitree could be there. The city had been left without electricity and Manectric could only charge so much.
Still, Olivia came with them along with Tapu Lele and half of the trainers there and had fanned out across the island to look for Xurkitree. The Guardian Deity was especially helpful as they healed the officer's Pokemon of their wounds and exhaustion, using the same scales Anabel had seen on the trainers at KoniKoni the first time around. "I have a duty to all of Akala," she had said before sheepishly adding, "I just had the misfortune of getting trapped in my own home."
This island is so much bigger than Melemele, not to mention more geographically diverse, the officer thought, eyeing the motel and Pokemon Center. With so many different areas and so many different towns, how-
"Squawk!/ Grough!"
Anabel's legs were already clutching Hida's sides as the Salemance quickly flipped to avoid Toucannon as it nearly flew right into them- it was covered in scorch marks. Kahili's previous stoic demeanor was all but gone, eyes wide and chest heaving frantically as she tried to breath- her arms were covered in burns.
"Down- HeaHea- Dr. Burnet!" the golfer rasped out and Toucannon was losing altitude, eyes flitting shut.
The Salemance quickly righted the two and directed them back down to the ground. Anabel hoisted the golfer up and returned Toucannon to it's poke-ball before running to the Pokemon Center. Anabel had never been so happy to see the lights on in the center as Nurse Joy and her Audino took Kahili and Toucannon from her. She ran right back out and leaped onto Hida as he took off.
"Olivia, Kahili says Xurkitree is in HeaHea!" Anabel barked into the walkie-talkie.
["I'm on my way!"] Olivia declared. ("Lele~")
Within ten minutes, they had made it to the City and Anabel saw Xurkitree clutching a large white building- but it wasn't trying to steal it's electricity, none of it's cables were buried in the ground. Rather, it was trying to break open the building, cables trying to smash the windows, walls and roof. There was also someone less than three meters away from the creature who seemed to be trying to get in closer.
"Dive now!" Anabel barked and the Salemance quickly shot down and the officer plucked the person away from the Xurkitree-
"Get your hands off me! This is a chance of a lifetime!"
- only for the person to try and push her off, causing them both to fall off Salemance and crash onto the ground. Anabel rolled to stop her head from hitting the concrete but the person- a blond with a blue hair strand, glasses and dark gray coat and gauntlet- scrambled back to his feet, typing furiously into said gauntlet.
"Astounding! Truly astounding!" the bespectacled blond exclaimed, all but enraptured. "I've never seen this kind of creature before- is it a Pokemon, or something else?!"
Anabel didn't bother asking if the man was sane or not, not when there were more important things to do. Hida flew back down to her while she brought Xiao-Po and Solomon out and turned to the Alakazam. "Are there any people inside?"
Solomon's eyes glowed and Anabel set her hand on his head before her gaze was drawn past the walls. Professor Magnolia Burnet, Pokemon Professor in studying spacial distortions caused by Pokemon, was trying to comfort two young aides while the rest of the scientists huddled in the back, along with a determined looking janitor.
Suddenly, Xurkitree smashed through the windows and it's cables slithered inside. It knocked aside the scientists before curling around Burnet.
Anabel withdrew sharply from Solomon and leaped onto Hida's back. "Xiao-Po, distract it! Solomon, be ready to catch her!" she barked as Hida took to the air.
Burnet struggled against the cables as Xurkitree brought her closer to it's jagged face. Krrrsh... it rumbled.
Then, flames slithered up it's back and Xurkitree hissed as Hida circled around. Xurkitree began to power up a powerwhip only for it's step to be halted as Xiao-Po grabbed it's tail. ZZSSH! it snarled, setting Burnet down on the rooftop before it began to crackle with electricity.
Wait, what?
The next moment, Anabel was knocked off of Hida before Xurkitree slammed the Salemance by flinging Xiao-Po at him via tail. She felt Solomon's psychic power cushion her fall and start to right her back up only for cables to snake around her torso, trapping one of her arms to her sides. She heard Solomon cry out before electricity crackle down Xurkitree's other arm and his cry was silenced.
Anabel stared stunned at her Pokemon down- Xiao-Po was the only one who could move but he was too slow to reach her. She was yanked up to Xurkitree's face, mere inches away from the jagged spike of it's face. Her face contorted into a snarl- she wouldn't die like this, not before she took them all down!
"Le- Le-e-e-e!"
Anabel stared in surprise as Tapu Lele floated to the Xurkitree, landing right on the jagged spike right between the two. They reached out and touched Xurkitree's face, eyes glowing with psychic energy. Xurkitree took a step back, the cables slowly unfurling around Anabel and setting her down carefully.
"Officer!"
She turned to see Olivia touch ground from an Arcehops and run to her. "Are you all right?"
Anabel nodded, unsure of what to say. Tapu Lele withdrew one hand and gently sprinkled the same scales from before over Xurkitree and the Ultra Beast seemed to calm, slowly backing away from the building. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bespectacled blond reaching for a poke-ball but Xiao-Po quickly pulled him into a bear hug.
"Gggkk!" he gasped as he tried to get free. "Let go- I haven't gotten nearly enough data!"
Tapu Lele rolled their eyes as they brought forth the beast ball and Xurkitree allowed them to tap it against the jagged spike, pulling it inside. Anabel was silent as she took this in.
The four islands of Alola might have been the largest, but they weren't the only part of said region. There were many tiny islands that dotted across the sea surrounding Alola, either too small or too wild to sustain human civilization. In ancient times, these tiny islands were often used as meeting places and neutral ground during war as leaders did not want to risk damage to their homes.
The only sign of civilization came from one of the tinier islands- the ruins of a settlement by Johtonians that was eventually overrun by Pokemon before it was even finished building. There, the homes had been repaired somewhat with a small well and multiple gardens dotted along the ruins. Said repairer- a stout blond man with bright green eyes and olive skin was now taking care of large beanstalks, clipping the dead leaves and rotting vegetables while gathering the ones that had ripened properly.
"Everyone in the place, come on with the rain~" the man sung as he collected the bounty in a straw basket before heading to the back of his hut. "I've got a smile on my face, I walk down the lane~"
He opened up a small trapdoor to a cellar where other baskets of vegetation sat snugly. Since Fall began, he had been stocking as much as he could- once he had gathered enough, he'd dry what he could and eat what he couldn't. Of course not all of this was just for him.
"Well, looks like you're finally up now, eh?" he remarked with a light smile.
So, Lycanroc has a new form.
I originally had Ruby evolve into a completely different form of Lycanroc that would happen at dawn or dusk when the sun and moon were in the sky. I don't know if I dodged a bullet or let a golden opportunity fall through my fingers.