Chapter 14 - "Ah-eh-eh. Peek-a-boo."

Cyan and Kala left Maui and Vulpix behind as they scrambled to find a Pokémon Center on Route 8. They weren't properly prepared for Jangmo-o to hatch, and the only place where they could get the proper food would be a center. After an hour of searching, they eventually spotted the famous red roof, rented a room, and bought supplies.

"Shh, shh," Kala said as she tried to feed Jangmo-o milk through a bottle. "Just try it."

Jangmo-o was starving and took the bottle with no problem. He sucked down the milk, and for the first time since his hatching, everything was quiet.

"So…" Cyan said quietly. "About my next trial…"

Kala glared at him. "Are you seriously going to bring that up now?" she said through whispers. "Can you wait, like, five minutes?"

Cyan's shoulders slumped. "Okay…"

Cyan didn't bring it back up again until the next day when Kala was in a better mood. She had finally found a way to keep Jangmo-o silent by giving him toys to chew on. She was also too nervous to put the baby Pokémon into a ball for the time being, so she had Jangmo-o ride along in her backpack as they walked to Cyan's next trial. Jangmo-o happily popped his head out and played peek-a-boo with Cyan.

"Any advice for the next trial?" Cyan asked while Jangmo-o withdrew his head into Kala's bag.

"I actually don't know a lot about what you're getting into," Kala said. "But it takes place in the jungle." She pointed in the direction of a mass of trees with dark green leaves.

Cyan looked towards his destination, and for some reason, the quietness of what awaited him sent chills down his spine.

"Jang!" the Pokémon cried out while it popped its head from the bag.

Cyan jumped back, genuinely surprised. "Ah-eh-eh. Peek-a-boo."

The baby Pokémon giggled before retreating back into the bag.

Cyan and Kala made their way to the jungle, and at the entrance sat a girl in a lawn chair in front of the gate. She had long green hair that was pulled into two pigtails, and wore overalls with the legs cut into shorts. She smiled upon seeing Cyan and Kala.

"You here for a trial?" she asked.

Cyan nodded.

The girl stood up. "My name is Mallow, and I'll be your trial captain for today!"

"I'm Cyan Kokura."

"And I'm Kala Māhoe."

She did it again. Cyan thought. The way that she pronounced her own name sounded so foreign and cool to him. He could speak two languages himself, but the way that Kala pronounced the one word, her last name, blew his mind.

"It's nice to meet you two. Both challenging or…?"

Cyan shook his head. "Only I'll be doing it today. Kala is my tour guide!"

Kala laughed. "That's one way to put it. Would it be okay if I went in with him? I won't be helping, just offering conversation, I guess."

Mallow thought for a moment and then shrugged. "It's okay, but promise to not help him! This challenge can be pretty difficult!"

"What's the challenge?" Cyan asked.

Mallow slowly opened up the gate to the jungle. "Something that a lot of trainers aren't very good at is providing a proper diet for their Pokémon. Human food isn't healthy for your average Rowlet, and unfortunately, most trainers don't understand that. Today, I want you to make a stew!"

Cyan looked at Mallow, dumbfounded by what he just heard.

Mallow reached out and handed over a slip of paper. On it was listed four different items. "I want you to rummage through the jungle, find these ingredients, and then bring them back to me. I'll teach you the proper way to make a delicious stew that any Pokémon would love. But if you bring back bad ingredients, then the stew will also be bad."

Cyan looked at the list. "Tiny mushroom, mago berry, revival herb, and a miracle seed? What about battling?"

"Oh, you want a battle? Look, taking care of your Pokémon's diets is just as healthy."

"I know. I know," Cyan said defensively. He felt like he was being scolded.

Mallow raised her finger. "If you do come across any Pokémon that may attack you, then by all means, you're allowed to battle them. But until the challenge is over and I've given you your Z Crystal, no catching anything! Got it?"

Cyan nodded, taking one last look at the list. "Got it."

"This is dumb," Cyan exclaimed. The duo had found a tree that provided the proper kind of shade for tiny mushrooms to grow in. The soil was nice and soft. He pulled a few tiny mushrooms from their roots and put them into his knapsack after wiping the dirt off of them.

The jungle was cool and quiet, but not without sound. In the distance, cries of Pokémon cackling at one another could be heard echoing off of the trees. Because it was morning, the ground was wet with dew, and there was a light mist in the air that fogged out the distance. And the trees that towered above Cyan and Kala casted shadows upon the jungle, only leaving some room for light to trickle through.

"This isn't a challenge. This is a cooking class."

"All of your challenges on Akala Island have tried to teach you something valuable. Patience, observation, and now you're learning about feeding your Pokémon. Use this knowledge to the best of your ability, and quit whining," Kala lectured.

Cyan sighed and then continued to dig. But then something caught his eye. A white mushroom, slightly bigger than the ones he was pulling, began to move. Cyan withdrew his hand in surprise, and then noticed two small black eyes staring back at him.

"That's a Morelull," Kala whispered. "They feed off the energy from the trees, and they usually sleep during the day. You probably woke it up with all of your whining."

The Morelull blinked at Cyan. Cyan backed up a few inches. "Sorry. You're very cute," he said. He then turned his attention back to his list. "Okay, now I need a mago berry."

They continued into the jungle, looking for anything that resembled the berry. It didn't take them long to find an area filled with tiny trees, berries dangling from their branches. At the base of the trees were small Pokémon chewing on a few of the berries that had fallen. They were small, green, pink, and white Pokémon with bulbous eyes. Upon noticing the two trainers, they all retreated into the tall grass.

"That was a Fomantis. They're very popular here," Kala explained. "They've got a really good smell to them, and if you come here during the morning, you'll see them expand their leaves to suck up the sunlight. I've seen it in pictures, but not in person. Kind of weird that they're eating mago berries like that though."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, mago berries are healthy, and they restore a Pokémon's energy, but they also have certain side effects, and they can confuse the Pokémon."

"Like a drug?"

Kala nodded.

Cyan giggled. He then reached up and picked a few of the pink, claw-shaped berries. One of the Fomantis continued to stare at him through the grass. Cyan slowly knelt down and handed out out of the berries. "Go ahead. You can have it."

The Pokémon continued to stare with its large eyes before slowly taking the berry from Cyan's hand. It chewed on the berry, a curious stare remaining on its face. When Cyan stood back up, the Pokémon retreated again.

"What do you need now?" Kala asked. She pulled the list from Cyan's hand and looked at it. "A revival herb or miracle seed?"

"This is ridiculous…"

It didn't take the two long, but after a little bit more of a trek through the forest, they came across a patch with herbs that matched the description of what they were looking for.

Cyan knelt down and sifted through the small garden. He grabbed one of the herbs and pulled it from its base before running the plant under his nose, taking in the scent. The smell stung at his senses, almost knocking him back.

"Strong," he said while coughing, his noises bouncing off of the trees. And then, a deep sound, similar to that of a drum, reverberated back. Cyan looked into the trees, noticing a rather large Pokémon with white fur and a purple cloak layered over its shoulders. It was chuckling at him, and on its face was a mischievous smile.

"That's an Oranguru," Kala said. "They're supposed to be one of the most intelligent Pokémon on earth."

Cyan finally got his cough under control. "It's laughing at me."

Kala nodded. "Probably thinks your dumb."

Cyan glared. "I'm not dumb!"

Once again, his voice reverberated off of the trees. The Oranguru continued to laugh before it stood up. It swung from its current tree to another, disappearing into the canopy of the jungle.

Cyan huffed and then stamped his feet. "I'll show him."

"Only one more thing to go. Don't get distracted," Kala said. "Let's go."

By this point, the duo had been around most of the jungle, and were now walking in what seemed like a circle. It wasn't long, but they soon came to a part of the path with odd looking, small trees. The trees were no larger than Cyan and Kala, and they were almost animal like in nature with thick green berries on the tips of their branches, but they were still. And at their roots was exactly what Cyan was looking for.

"A miracle seed!" Cyan declared while picking one up off the ground and looking at it.

"If you have Ivysaur hold onto that, he'll actually get a boost for his Grass-type attacks. I don't think it could hurt to take an extra one," Kala said.

"Sounds like a plan!" he said while picking up another seed and stuffing it into his pocket. "Time to go back to Mallow and get this over with." He looked at the odd tree that stood before him, and he could swear that it moved. Maybe he was just seeing things.

The duo walked back towards the entrance where they met Mallow. She was standing next to a large pot that was hoisted above a fire.

"Did you get all that I asked for?" she asked.

Cyan held out his knapsack. "Yeah. I got it all." He peeked inside of the pot, taking note of the boiling water. The steam hit his face, making his forehead hot.

Mallow pulled a large wooden spoon from her back pocket and then reached out. "Okay. First, put in the tiny mushrooms, and then make sure to stir them in real good."

Cyan nodded. He fumbled around with the knapsack and pulled out what he believed to be the best tiny mushrooms that he had pulled. He dropped them in one by one, and then started to stir the pot. The mushrooms tumbled around inside the water, but other than that, nothing else of note happened.

"And now, the mago berries," Mallow said. "Crush them in your hand, and let the juices flow into the pot."

"Okay," Cyan said as he pulled out some of berries. He put them in between his hands and then squished them together, popping them open. The juice slowly seeped out, dripping into the water and staining it pink.

"Now stir."

Cyan did as instructed, mixing the juice with the tiny mushrooms. The mushrooms were now soft to the touch.

"Let's lower the heat, and then mix in one revival herb."

Cyan knelt down and twisted the dial on the side of the heater. The fire popped as it shrank in size, decreasing the heat. He then dropped in the revival herb with a plop and stirred it in. The juices were starting to make the broth thick, and the herb melted immediately, making it even harder to stir.

"And now, crush the miracle seed, and sprinkle it on top."

Cyan grabbed his last ingredient. He squeezed it in between his figures, and it cracked. He then moved his fingers back and forth, sprinkling the remains on the top of broth, allowing them to sink in by themselves.

Suddenly, from the steam of the broth blasted a sweet smell. It filled the air, and Cyan and Kala relished in the fresh scent.

"That's nice," Cyan said. "We can feed this to our Pokémon?"

Mallow nodded. "Yup! It'll give them a nice boost."

Cyan slowly ran his pinky finger through the broth and then took a taste. His face squished together, and he started gagging as the bitter taste ran down his throat. "It's awful!"

"It's Pokémon food!" Mallow snapped.

Cyan coughed and then backed away from the pot. "I-I see. Lesson learned!" He bent over and then started to laugh. "Alright, that trial was easy!"

Mallow grinned. "Oh, but didn't you want to battle?"

"Huh?" Cyan wondered. A shadow then loomed overhead, and he turned around. What stood behind him was a tall Pokémon with brightly colored legs, pointed arms made of sharp petals, and red, bulbous eyes. It cried out, startling Cyan. He fell on his backside, and the Pokémon towered over him even more.

"Good luck."

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I've decided to cut this trial into two parts. This battle was the most difficult for me when I played Ultra Sun. It's going to be really challenging for Cyan, which means that it'll be rather lengthy.

This chapter had a lot happen, and also nothing. However, one of the Pokémon that Cyan met while he was on his scavenger hunt will come back. Who do you think it'll be? I personally love the idea of any of the Pokémon that he saw making another appearance.