Chapter 26 - "Cute Little Guy, Ain't He?"
After Cyan's previous trial, it was now time for the two to hunt down the Island Kahuna. But Kala, even with her vast knowledge of Alola, wasn't sure where to look. So, the two decided to walk to the side of the island where they were yet to visit. This led them away from the creepiness of Tapu Village and towards what was called Ula'ula Meadow.
"I've never seen anything like this," Cyan said as the two entered into the meadow.
Ula'ula Meadow was filled with an ocean of red flowers. Within the flowers, small Pokémon played where they could not be found by trainers. Tourists and the like were given small wooden bridges to walk on as to avoid stepping into the flowers.
The smell that wafted through the meadows was unlike Cyan or Kala had experienced. It was like walking through the purest air that one could. It was nature, mostly, undisturbed.
"I could live here," Cyan said as he tried to look through the flowers for a Pokémon. "This is heaven."
"I feel like you say that everywhere we go," Kala replied.
"I didn't say it about the Tapu Village."
The two slowly continued through the meadows. Kala took the time to pluck one of the flowers, and she tucked the stem behind her ear. The red flower stuck out from her pitch black hair, and it looked rather large compared to her short cut. But she didn't mind.
Cyan stared at her with a dumbfounded look in his eyes. He had never really seen Kala as a beauty, but there was something elegant about her. The innocent way that she put the flower in her hair had made his heart do a flip. But it was something that he couldn't quite understand at the moment.
The two reached the end of the meadows, and they were faced with two paths. One of the paths looked like it lead to a regular route that they had become accustomed to. The other looked as though it were made of stone, and Cyan could smell the scent of water coming through it.
"What's through there?" he asked.
"The Lake of the Sunne and Moone. There's nothing there for us to see."
"I see."
So, the two took the first path, leading them onto Route 17. To their surprise, it was mostly empty of people. There were Pokémon around, but it was an oddly silent route. One person in particular caught their attention though.
A girl wearing a floral print shirt tucked into jean shorts was battling a wild Pokémon. After she won handily, she flicked her long black hair out of her face. She turned to where Cyan and Kala stood, and a smile came across her lips.
"Lilo!" Kala yelled.
"Kala! Cyan!"
The three trainers all ran to each other and the two girls embraced.
"How has your journey been?" Kala asked. She looked down to the amulet that Lilo had dangling from her pocket. On three of its triangles were small stamps. "Clearly, you've been doing well."
Lilo nodded. "Just beat the Island Kakuna a couple of days ago. I had a bit of trouble though, so I've been training here before I head off."
Cyan peered at Lilo's Pokémon. It was a small round Pokémon with a body seemingly made of ice. It was hunched over, and it looked back cautiously at Cyan.
"This is Sandshrew," Lilo explained. "Cute little guy, ain't he?"
Cyan knelt down. He knew that he was familiar with the Pokémon, but he wasn't sure from where. As soon as he heard its name, he put two and two together. This had to be an Alolan variant of the Sandshrew he saw back in Kanto.
"How have your adventures been? I assume you're both getting really strong," Lilo said.
Cyan stood up straight. "I'm real strong now! Kala has been a great coach and guide! I learn something new about Pokémon with every battle. I bet I can beat even you now!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
Lilo looked around. "Well, there's no one here to get in our way. How about a battle?"
"I was hoping you'd ask!" Cyan said. "Two on two sound good?"
Lilo didn't answer. Instead, she took a few paces back, and pointed for Sandshrew to take the field. Cyan responded by lifting his own Poké Ball from his belt. He tossed it into the air, and Graveler emerged.
"Your first battle with Graveler," Kala said. "Be careful."
"We'll be fine."
"Sandshrew, use Swords Dance!"
"Use Rock Slide!"
Sandshrew started to focus his energy, and soon, a veil of red aura began to surround his body. Meanwhile, Graveler pulled stones from the earth with a magnetic force, and he unleashed them forward. They barreled down the field towards Sandshrew, but he was more than prepared.
"Slash!"
Sandshrew's two claws started to glow with white energy, and he slashed furiously, slicing through each and every one of the stones. Then, Lilo quickly made her next command.
"Dig!"
Sandshrew twisted and then dove forward, digging directly into the ground and disappearing. Graveler looked around, unsure of where the Pokémon could have gone.
"What just happened?" Cyan asked.
"She used Dig! Sandshrew can come out from the ground at any time from anywhere! Be careful!" Kala warned.
But before Cyan could make his call, the ground below Graveler started to stir. Sandshrew exploded from the earth, sending Graveler soaring into the air.
"Slash!"
"Thunder Punch!"
Sandshrew continued his forward motion while Graveler sent electric shocks into one of his fists. The two Pokémon jabbed, and their claws connected. There was a small pause while the two attacks' chemicals mixed with one another, and then there was a small explosion. Both Pokémon fell back to the ground. They both appeared tired, but were more than okay with continuing their fight.
"Use Take Down!" Cyan ordered.
Graveler knelt down and then started to bound forward. A white streak of light followed in his path, indicating that his attack was still strong.
"Blizzard!"
Sandshrew was fast. He opened his mouth, and a stream of freezing cold wind poured from it. It overtook Graveler, slowing down his attack, and for one moment, Graveler was lifted into the air. Soon, Graveler's attack came to a full stop, and the Rock-type was frozen at the feet. He yelled as he tried to break free from his icy shackles.
"Finish with Slash!"
Before Cyan could make his next order, Sandshrew zipped forward. Using the energy that he had built up earlier, he sliced, getting a direct hit on Graveler. The Rock-type exploded from the ice, and he landed on his back in front of Cyan. It was clear that he was unconscious, but Cyan still stared at him with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"What just happened?" Cyan wondered. He lifted the Poké Ball and returned Graveler.
"You can't let size fool you," Lilo said. "My Sandshrew may be cute, but he's stronger than you'd think."
Cyan grabbed his next Poké Ball and using a curved pitch, he threw it forward. It bounced off of the ground, and Salandit emerged. Her body shook before she looked out at Sandshrew and then lowered her head to prepare for battle.
"I don't know a lot about type advantages, but I'm almost positive that Ice-types can't cut it against Fire-types," Cyan said. "Let's see just how strong your Sandshrew is."
Lilo looked out onto the field, and she simply smiled. "I like it. Sandshrew, use Dig!"
Before Cyan could even give a command, Sandshrew dove into the ground and disappeared.
"Be careful, Salandit," Cyan said.
Salandit nodded, and she focused. Everyone was silent for a moment while they waited for something to happen. And then, the ground started to rumble.
"Incinerate!" Cyan yelled.
Salandit leapt into the air as the ground from under her started to stir. As soon as Sandshrew revealed himself, Salandit unleashed flames downwards. The flames engulfed Sandshrew completely, and he collapsed to the ground immediately.
Lilo sighed and then lifted her ball. "It was worth the shot. Sandshrew is dual Ice and Steel-type, so one Fire-type attack would be all that it took." The red light then absorbed her Pokémon. "But I do like the challenge."
Cyan looked out at Salandit. She had taken no damage from the previous attack, so she was good as new with whatever Lilo would choose.
"Decidueye, go!" she yelled, throwing her ball forward. A large avian Pokémon burst forth, and it flapped its wings before landing on the ground and then looking at Cyan. It had a familiar look to its eyes.
"Is that your Rowlet?" Cyan asked.
Lilo nodded. "Yeah. He's pretty strong now."
"We still have the type advantage. Use Incinerate!"
Flames exploded from Salandit's back before she opened her mouth, unleashing fire onto the field.
"Sucker Punch."
Before the flames could reach Decidueye, he flew forward. He weaved through the wave of fire and then reached out, jabbing into Salandit's jaw directly. The Fire-type was tossed back, but she was flexible enough to quickly get back to a standing position.
"Razor Leaf!"
"One more Incinerate!"
Decidueye leapt into the air, and leaves fell from the insides of his wings. He swirled around, using his energy to fling them forwards. But Salandit's attack proved too strong. With one more blast of fire, the leaves were engulfed and melted away, leaving Decidueye wide open.
"Ominous Wind!"
The flames continued across the field, but Decidueye started to form ghostly energy at the edges of his wings. He flapped, and the fire was divided in the middle. The energy blasted through, and then crashed into Salandit, sending her into the air once again. She landed with a hard thud, but although her legs shook, she managed to stand back up.
"We're not going to give up!" Cyan said. "Double Slap!"
Salandit nodded, hissed, and then ran forward. She jumped into the air and swung her front limbs wildly, but to her surprise, she sunk right through the Grass-type as though it wasn't even there.
"What just happened? An illusion?" Cyan wondered.
Lilo grinned. "Decidueye gets a wonderful new typing when they evolve."
"Think back to yesterday," Kala said.
Cyan observed the Grass-type and took in his sinister smile. "He's now a Ghost-type?!"
"Spirit Shackle!"
Decidueye flew backward to get distance between himself and Salandit. In one of his arms, he formed an arrow made of ghostly energy. He made a bow with his free hand and then released the arrow downwards.
"Dodge!" Cyan yelled, but it was too late.
The arrow connected directly in front of Salandit, and the Fire-type froze, unsure of what to make of the situation.
"He missed?" Cyan wondered. He took no time to wait for something to happen and instead made his next order, "Dragon Rage!"
Salandit tried to move forward to use her attack, but she was seeming shackled down. She looked towards the arrow from before. It resonated energy into her shadow, which put her movements to a stop.
"What the?"
"Finish with Ominous Wind!"
The air around Decidueye whipped up once more, and he flapped his wings, sending energy across the battlefield. It crashed against Salandit, forcing her from her binds. She flew backwards and rolled against the ground. Once she stopped moving, she fell completely limp, signaling that the battle was over.
Cyan ran over to his Pokémon and tried to pick her up lightly. Her skin stung against his arms, but he ignored it. "I'm sorry," he muttered before returning her. "You're really strong, Lilo."
Lilo pat her Decidueye on the back. "Thanks! We train really hard!"
"Guys," Kala said, breaking the two's focus. She pointed into the distance. "Look."
The three trainers gathered, and they gazed off into the direction that Kala had pointed. A group of four trainers, all wearing black, all with white skull bandanas over their faces and crazy hairstyles, were entering into an entrance into what looked like a sealed off complex.
"Team Skull," Cyan muttered.
"That place is called Po Town," Lilo said. "I was told that it's being overrun by Team Skull right now, and they use it as their base of operations. They've driven the locals out, so it's just a bunch of scum."
Kala glared. "I think we should put an end to them once and for all."
The other two looked at her with befuddled expressions on their faces. They had never seen Kala filled with that kind of intensity before.
"They may be from Alola, but they show it no respect!" she exclaimed.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Cyan loses another battle to Lilo! She's one tough cookie.
So, next chapter will be interesting. I'm not sure how I'm going to go about it, but I think I'll be having all of the Team Skull members from the past show up. It's gonna be a lengthy chapter probably.
REVIEWS:
wisdom-jewel - "The challenge isn't that hard but it can be quite scary. And I love how Cyan's Pokemon got into helping him. And I loved how Oranguru took charged of the situation. He knows he can't face Ghost types unless he uses Ghost/Dark moves or uses a move that allows him to hit a Ghost Pokemon. And Graveler was the one that was following them. At least he got another Pokemon. It would be a good type of coverage for him." - Yeah. I really loved the last chapter. Oranguru taking over and then Graveler coming in for the same. I'm really into it. I'm glad you liked it too!
pokemonking0924 - "It looks like Cyan really can't handle horror films. Graveler coming to his former trainers rescue and rejoining the team was a nice touch. But it makes me wonder if Cyan will catch any more Pokemon now that he has a full team, at least while he still is in Alola." - I don't think he could handle them. Haha. As for another Pokemon, I'm not sure. This story is already so fast paced that adding in another Pokemon would take away from the others. I want to show off their personalities as much as possible.