Chapter 30 - "It's Moving!"

A Few Months Prior

"Have you heard anything about the new kid?" Lilo asked.

The two girls walked slowly through Iki Town. It was finally the day that they would receive their Pokémon, and they were set to meet the new boy from Kanto at the town square.

"His name is Cyan," Kala answered. "He's from Kanto."

"That's it?" Lilo wondered. "That's so boring."

"I bet that he doesn't think so."

"Not Kanto! I mean, like, do you know anything about him? If he's from Kanto, and he's 11, then that means that he's got a whole year of experience under his belt."

"I guess that could be the case. He's probably even stronger than you," Kala said with a laugh. "He'll probably blast through the Island Challenge with no problem."

"And there's another thing," Lilo added. "But I'm not sure if it's okay to talk about."

"What?"

"His sister."

"His sister?"

"Yeah. She won the Indigo League Conference almost a year ago. It was her first year as a trainer, which is almost unheard of."

"Oh wow!"

Lilo nodded and then continued, "But that's not what's so amazing about her story."

The two had now arrived at the town square, and they leaned up against the stage where the townsfolk would have Pokémon battles or traditional Alolan dances.

"What's amazing about her story?"

"Well, you see. If you win a conference, then you get to battle the Elite Four."

"And she swept through the Elite Four?"

Lilo shook her head. "No. She never made it, I heard."

"What?"

"Yeah. She went to train for the Elite Four in a dangerous place called Mt. Silver, and she never came back. People don't know if she simply decided she liked it up there and just kept training or, ya know, worse."

"Wow…"

"Like I said though, it's probably best to not talk about. I'm not sure how he'll take it."

Kala wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't sure how she'd feel if anyone from her family ever went missing. It must have been incredibly lonely for the boy, and now he's had to move to an entirely different region with no friends or extended family. Before she could think of something to say, Lilo pushed her lightly, bringing her attention to the entrance of Iki Town where a boy, dressed in a pink shirt and white shorts stood. He ran to the square excitedly with a small green Pokémon at his side.

This boy did not fit the image that she had just built up. This boy had a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. Had she not heard the story about his sister, she would have never guessed that anything like that could have ever happened to him. In an instant, his smile erased all of her preconceptions, and she smiled back.

"You must be Cyan," she said.

Present Day

The duo had arrived on Poni Island only a few days previous, and Cyan was seeing exactly what Nanu had warned him about. The trainers that they had battled so far had all been very intense with high level Pokémon that Cyan had never seen before.

Although Cyan had promised he wouldn't lose anymore, out of the five battles that he had on Poni Island, he had so far only won two of them. He needed a new strategy.

Cyan and Kala sat in the back of the Pokémon Center that was based at the docks. It had a rather small courtyard area, but it was large enough for Cyan's Pokémon to rest and play. Lycanroc and Litten relaxed together, taking a nap next to one another. Primarina played in the water near the docks, amazed at his newfound speed in the water. Oranguru and Venusaur both sat next to each other and ate food. They seemingly had conversations that only the two of them, experienced and wise, could have. Graveler found a friend in Kala's Dartrix, who was just as mischievous. The two mocked Venusaur and Oranguru, although they didn't seem to notice. And finally was Salandit, who found herself stressed out over the overly friendly and overly curious Jangmo-o. He'd repeatedly approach the water, and Salandit, visibly annoyed, would stop him from falling in. Jangmo-o took delight in Salandit's stress, and continued.

"Maybe I'm out of my league," Cyan mumbled while he looked at his Pokémon.

"What do you mean?" Kala asked.

"I couldn't beat Guzma, and the trainers here are brutal. Maybe I'm not meant to complete the Island Challenge," he answered.

Kala shook her head. "Chill out. You'll be fine. You have months to complete it, so there's no need to stress. The trainers you fought here have probably been training for a real long time."

Cyan didn't answer. He just continued to look at his Pokémon. He had formed a decent team over the past couple of months, and seeing them progress like they had did make him proud. But his sister was a former Indigo Conference champion, so he had high self expectations.

"It does seem a bit crowded on the island though," Kala said. "I was reading about a place where a lot of people don't go, because the wild Pokémon there are really strong. Maybe it'd be a good place to train. What do you think?"

"Is it close?"

Exeggutor Island was only a fifteen minute boat ride away from the Pokémon Center. And Kala was right. There was not a single other trainer to be found. Cyan stepped off the boat and onto the dock. He looked around. It all seemed silent. The only noise was the wind that blew through the trees, making the leaves rub against one another.

"This place is called Exeggutor Island?" Cyan asked.

Kala nodded. She held Litten tightly in her arms, careful to not drop her in the water. "Yeah."

"There's supposed to be strong Pokémon here?"

"Yep!"

Cyan looked around. Once again, he saw nothing. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Just keep your eyes up," Kala said with a slight snicker. She couldn't wait to see his reaction to what was bound to happen.

Cyan slowed down his pace as he entered the tall grass. He looked down, trying to see if he could find any Pokémon that were hiding, but there was seemingly nothing. He sighed, frustrated at the lack of things to battle. But then, something caught his eye. Through the grass was a small pink figure. It weaved through the grass and emerged, revealing a singular egg-like Pokémon. It looked up at Cyan and smiled.

"Exeggcute!" it said happily.

"It's just a singular Exeggcute head," Cyan replied. "Hey, buddy."

"There's bound to be a lot of them here," Kala said. "This island is full of them." She had kept her distance from Cyan.

"It's kind of cute," he said.

Then, a shadow loomed overhead, but Cyan seemed to not have noticed. He knelt down to pet the singular head of the Exeggcute, a sinister smile forming on its face.

"What?" he wondered. He looked up, now realizing that something was coming towards him. He looked up towards the tree that was now closer than it had been only a few seconds ago. "What?!"

Without any warning, energy built from blue fire rained down from the top of the tree. Cyan, quick as ever, grabbed ahold of the Exeggcute head and then jumped backwards. He looked up at the tree and glared.

"Something's up there!" he yelled.

Kala laughed. "You can say that."

The tree then moved in a way that Cyan never thought a tree could before. As though it had legs, it span around, using a root that had been uplifted to knock Cyan backwards.

"It's moving!" Cyan said after he managed to stand back up. "It's alive!"

The tree then started to slow down, and from the very top, eyes gazed down upon Cyan. Before, he thought that they were some kind of fruit, but as it turned out, they were faces.

"Is that… Exeggutor?" Cyan wondered. "Alolan Exeggutor?"

Kala smiled. "You got that right. They're pretty strong, so be careful."

"We got this!" Cyan said, his demeanor instantly changing. "Go, Oranguru!"

The simian Pokémon emerged from the Poké Ball, and he stretched his back. Upon seeing the size of his opponent, he took a couple of steps back, unsure of what exactly Cyan's plan was.

"Trust me," Cyan said. Oranguru huffed, but he believed in his trainer's abilities. "Start with Nasty Plot!"

As though he was already a few steps ahead of Cyan, Oranguru instantly put his hand to his chin and began to think, focusing his energy. A red aura started to surround him as his chakra increased and his attack capabilities were momentarily enhanced.

Exeggutor appeared confused by Oranguru's lack of an attack, and it stared down at the smaller Pokémon with blank expressions on its many faces. It soon grew tired of nothing happening, and then let loose its attack, raining more arcane fire down towards the simian Pokémon.

"Dodge it! And use Feint Attack!"

Oranguru rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the fire. He then jumped up and with ease, started to climb up Exeggutor's lengthy neck. Upon reaching the top, he lightly jabbed at Exeggutor with his left palm, seemingly doing nothing. Exeggutor flinched and then opened its many eyes, confused as to why Oranguru's attack was so weak. And then, without warning, Oranguru swung the entirety of his body and smashed his massive right arm into a few of Exeggutor's heads. Oranguru howled with laughter as he slid down the falling Exeggutor's neck.

Exeggutor stopped just short of falling completely, and was somehow able to find some balance. It glared at Cyan and Oranguru, enraged by the cheap attack. Its multiple heads started to glow, and as though they were bombs, it started to drop large, baseball sized seeds from the top of its head. One by one, they exploded, making Cyan and Oranguru dodge frantically. Cyan was sure to never let go of the Exeggcute head, but he also tried his hardest to not squeeze too hard, fearing that he'd accidentally crack it.

"Stop them with Confusion!" Cyan ordered.

Oranguru nodded and then raised his arms into the air. Using his psychic energy, he stopped the bombs from continuing to fall, freezing them in place. Then, with a pump of his arms, he sent them all back up, making them explode in Exeggutor's face. The wild Pokémon howled with pain once more as he continued to stumble.

"Zen Headbutt!" Cyan yelled.

Oranguru lowered his arms and took in a deep breath. He started a slow forward run, and a psychic veil began to form over him. Soon, he was charging as fast as he could, and he crashed his entire body into Exeggutor. Somehow, someway, the Exeggutor still managed to remain on its feet, and it glared daggers down at the simian Pokémon.

Cyan quickly reached into the pocket where he held his Z-Crystals, and he pulled one out and snapped it into place. He raised his arm into the air, revealing the black crystal he received a few days prior.

"Let's do this, Oranguru!" Cyan called while he began to strike poses, increasing his and Oranguru's energy with every stance. Dark energy crept through Oranguru's body, and it exploded outwards. "Black Hole Eclipse!"

"Oran!" the Pokémon howled as the energy raced towards Exeggutor. It began to wrap around the massive Pokémon's body until, after seconds of patience, the Pokémon was engulfed in complete darkness. The darkness then shrunk in on itself and exploded, making Oranguru and Cyan fly backwards. They landed in the grass together and then looked towards Exeggutor, who simply stood still. It didn't take long, and soon, the Exeggutor fell, stiff as could be, crashing into the ground in an unconscious state.

"Y-yatta!" Cyan yelled, blown away by the power of Oranguru. "We did it, Oranguru!"

"Um, Cyan," Kala said quietly.. She inched closer to her friend and tapped him on the shoulder. He stood up and looked around, immediately noticing what had made Kala's voice shaky and nervous.

It was as though the island was now moving as the dozens of trees all inched closer to Cyan. He looked around frantically, trying to form a plan to take all of them on, but then, before any more of his panic could take over, they all stopped. All of the Exeggutor looked at them with smiles on their faces.

"What's happening?" Cyan wondered.

Kala grinned and sighed with deep relief. "A lot of trainers avoid this place at all costs. I think that these Exeggutor don't get to see humans very often. Maybe they're excited to see us."

"Oh yeah?" he said while looking up at them. The Exeggutor all conversed with one another, seemingly taking delight in Cyan and Kala's presence.

"Oran…" his Pokémon mumbled.

"Exeggcute!" the egg-like head that Cyan held tightly exclaimed happily.

"You mind if we stay here for awhile?" Cyan asked loudly.

One of the Exeggutor swung wide and then leaned downwards by Cyan so he wouldn't have to yell. All of the faces that it had were dopey in expression.

"I'd love to keep playing with you," Cyan said. "I think we can have a lot of fun together, ya know?"

"Exe-" the Pokémon said while it heaved its body, standing back up straight. "-ggutor!"

"I think that's a yes!" Kala said happily. "We'll be able to train all we want as long as we're here."

Cyan grinned and readjusted his black hat with the silver Staryu patch. "Oh yeah!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I don't like writing the characters actually training, because it seems a bit like filler, but Cyan and Kala are going to spend some time training on Exeggutor Island. The next chapter will take place roughly three weeks to a month after this one, and their Pokémon will all be considerably stronger. TIME JUMP! Only 10-11 more chapters!

REVIEWS:

pokemonking0924 - "Another island completed and Cyan really needed this win to get his confidence back up after losing to Guzma twice. Can't wait to see how he uses those new z crystals. Plus it looks like he'll be batting Kala soon too." - Well, he used one of the crystals in this chapter! He doesn't have any Dark-types, so he can't use that crystal very often.

wisdom-jewel - "So Cyan's Brionne became Primarina finally. I would like to see how people think it is a female Pokemon while it is a male. This would be entertaining to say at least. I always like Nanu, he seemed so chill and almost lazy. But he does do his job rather well. I do like to see how Cyan deals with both Mina and Hapu. Best wishes for the next chapter." I really liked Nanu. As for Hapu, I'm a bit excited, but I don't think I'll be introducing Mina to this story. She was more a threat in Ultra Sun/Moon, so if I ever wrote part of Logan's journey, then she'd be featured.