Chapter 20: A Rock Solid Grand Trial

The next day, the Grand Trial was to be held in a small clearing in front of Akala's ruins. "Nice to see you both again," Olivia nodded as they walked forward. "Which one of you would like to fight first?"

"I mean, I can wait if you'd like to go first," Sapphire shrugged.

"Alright, I'll take you up on that." Willow stepped forward and grabbed a Pokéball, nodding. "No referee?"

"I don't make my Grand Trials as… Grand as Hala does," Olivia chuckled.

"Alright, guess I'll wait by the side. Oh!" Sapphire reached into his bag and pulled out the odd rock he'd found. "I wanted to know, is this special or anything? It looks pretty weird, so I can probably sell it for a lot."

Olivia looked it over and blinked. "This is a fossil."

"Eh?"

"It's a fossil, you can restore it into a Fossil Pokémon."

"Whoa." He scratched his head and looked down at the stone. "Neat!"

"You could take it to that man on Route Eight," Willow suggested, "If he wants to make a fossil park, he can probably restore it for you. If I'm going first, why not go now to get it out of the way?"

"Good idea," he nodded. "Oh, I guess I can try out that Charizard Glide now!" He shoved the stone in his pocket and walked away. "Alright, I'm going to go and fly to Route Eight then, good luck with the Trial!"

He tapped on the pager when he got to an area with enough room while changing into the Gear designated for flight, and selected Charizard Glide. After a short amount of time, a Charzizard swooped down from the sky and landed in front of him. It was a large, orange-colored Pokémon that looked very similar to a dragon, with a horned head, large scaly wings, and sharp talons with a long tail that held a red flame on the end.

"Alright, to Route Eight!" He hopped on Charizard's back, and the Fire-Type nodded as it took off. As they flew up Sapphire made sure to hold on tight to the handle connected to the saddle while Cobalt made sure his bag was zipped tight around him.

"Man, Charizard's are pretty cool, another Dragon-Type would be great to have on the team!"

"Charizard's aren't Dragon-Type," he laughed in response. "Their secondary Typing is Flying, not Dragon."

"What. Wait, how do you even know that?"

"Kanto, baby, I know all about the starting trio!" He chuckled and felt the wind rush past his face. "Also, my dad's starter was a Charmander, nicknamed Blaze. I don't know where he went… he only had six Pokémon, pretty rare for a lot of Trainers, and they all disappeared with Dad. The fact that none of them ever returned, well…"

"Cheer up, we'll find something by the end of this journey! Mark my words!" Cobalt pat him on the head and he snorted in response.

"Alright, alright, I'll quit it with the melodrama."

"Heh, that's the spirit! The son of Flare Chaser must not be so easy to defeat!" They went silent for a minute before Cobalt asked, "but seriously, what kind of name is Flare Chaser?"

"Oh, that's not actually his birth name."

"What."

"Yep, he legally changed to that as a pun after he became a Trainer who solely Trained Fire-Types."

"I thought you said he was named Flare because of his red hair?"

"That? Nah, my dad taught me to say that for dramatic purposes. He actually dyed his hair after choosing to train Fire-Types, then changed his name to Flare Chaser as a pun." Sapphire smiled. "Isn't he a great inspiration?"

"…I hate your family. I despise your family. Your father literally changed his name for a pun."

"Hell yeah he did," Sapphire grinned. "You can't be a Trainer unless your name has something to do with catching Pokémon."

"We are changing your name asap. Hell, get married to Willow and just take her last name instead."

"Nah, I'll always be Sapphire Chaser, Fire-Type Trainer extraordinaire!"

"I'm telling Willow that the only reason your last name is Chaser is that your Dad had Spooks' bad taste in jokes."

"Too bad, you'd need Cream to translate for you."

"Come on, Sapphy, you know I've been working on getting better at translating myself to people besides you! I bet even Willow could understand me now!"

"Hmph. Either way, I will never be ashamed of the glorious pun that is my name."


The man who wished to create the probable disaster that would come of a dinosaur park was all too happy to reanimate his fossil. Apparently, it would be a good test for if his machine worked, which made Sapphire a bit wary when handing over the fossil, but hand it over he did.

Since the process of reviving a Pokémon would take a short while, Sapphire took the time to do some training, using the clearing in the woods that the man's trailer and fossil reviving machinery resided in.

"Alright, Ivysaur, Cobalt, Claws, let's go!" Ivysaur and CLaws popped out of their balls while Cobalt jumped down, stretching. "Now, I know we went over this last night, but we might as well do it one last time! This Grand Trial is the Rock-Type… and that means Cobalt finally has a chance to shine!"

"Nice!" Cobalt pounded his paws together and grinned. "I've been waiting for this!"

"Anyway, Rock-Types are tough and powerful, but slow. That means that you two will shine," He gestured at Cobalt and Claws, "And why Wave isn't here. Even if she now has a way to fight in an area without a water source due to the Contest Seals I bought, she's slow when using that method to move around." He had transferred his pokémon around the night before, trying to see who would be best for the Trial before deciding on the three before him.

"What about me?" Ivysaur questioned, with Cobalt translating.

"You may not be as fast as these two, but you still have Type-Advantage! Plus, I feel a good debut for you will be in a Grand-Trial!"

"Well, that's a lot of pressure for a new member of the team, but we'll take care of you," Claws smirked, lifting his head.

"Wow, that was almost really nice of you, if you didn't fill half your words with barely hidden disdain."

"Don't worry about Claws, Ivysaur. That's just his character type. Fire-Types, you know?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Anyway, what do you want your nickname to be?"

"Nickname? Oh yeah, you two are named Claws and Cobalt, right? I never thought about that…"

"Maybe something simple… maybe something like Emerald? But that sounds more like a female's name…"

"And Sapphire isn't?"

"Silence your face hole."

"Something like Vine or Ivy?"

"Now that's just tasteless…"

"You named me Claws because I scratched you and Haunter Spooks, you don't have the moral high ground here.

"He's got you there."

"Ugh… can't think of anything… oh, Willow's got some Grass-Types, right? Maybe we should ask her."

"She's in the middle of a Grand Trial, I don't think she has the time to pick up the phone."

"Why not ask Anthony? He can probably make a reference to something."

"Yeah, good idea. Hey Rotom, call up Anthony!"

"Zzt, calling Gearface."

"Did you really set his caller id as 'Gearface?'"

"Um, duh?" Cobalt rolled his eyes and the image of a ringing phone on Rotom's screen changed to Anthony's tired face.

"Yo, what the hell are you calling me for at seven in the morning?"

"Oh yeah, the time difference. Alola is a bit ahead… whatever, got any good names for a male Ivysaur?"

"…that's what you woke me up for? Nicknames? I swear to the Legends…" Anthony began muttering to himself angrily. "Next time I see you I'm taking those glasses and throwing them in a volcano."

"You can try, I guarantee you won't survive the attempt."

"Too bad for you that death is a blessing and I fully embrace it." Anthony shook his head, stifling a yawn. "Uh… alright, Ivysaur. Grass and Poison-Typing, it grows a flower atop its back as it evolves… Hemlock."

"Hem-what?"

"Hemlock, a highly poisonous biennial herbaceous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, and it's native to Europe and North Africa. Scientific name: Conium maculatum, while it's higher classification is the Poison hemlock."

"Do you just carry factoids about plants in your mind to spit out at all times?"

"Yeah, and I can recall plenty of times where that knowledge has stopped you from poisoning yourself," Anthony shot back deadpan.

"Alright, Ivysaur, what do you think?"

"Sounds pretty cool. I like it!"

"Alright, he likes it. That's all I needed you for, go throw yourself into a lava pit."

"I hope you get eaten by a pack of Sharpedo."

"Go get stung by a nest of Beedrill."

"I hope your body is paralyzed by a Galvantula and you suffer as your insides are liquified and sucked out."

"Ha! See ya!" The call ended and Sapphire raised an eyebrow at the disturbed looks on Claws' and Hemlock's face. "What?"

"Are all your conversations like that with him?"

"Yes," Cobalt sighed.

"Hell yeah they are! Now, onto business!" Sapphire knelt and tilted Claws' head up to look at the grey stone hidden and tied around Claws' neck. "Is that too tight? We want it hidden, but I don't want to choke you."

"No, it's fine. The stone itself feels weird, but not the string."

"Alright, good!" That morning when they had gone to meet with Olivia, Sapphire stopped in Olivia's store briefly to check out the stones on sale. Besides a Fire Stone, an orange, red, and yellow stone patterned to look like a flame and burning with an inner heat, he had purchased an Everstone. It was an idea that came to him when he laid eyes on the item and asked what it did.

Everstones somehow manage to prevent Pokémon from evolving when they're ready, so Pokémon who don't wish to evolve are usually bought this item to wear and hold. However, from the previous times his Pokémon had evolved, Sapphire knew that they were usually filled with a sudden burst of energy and could fight harder right after evolving.

Claws was close to evolving into his next form, he couldn't tell himself, but Claws certainly could, so to make sure his plan would work, Claws would hide the Everstone on his body until the time came.

Cobalt would be fighting like he always did, fast, hard, and with plenty of kicks, so he wasn't given any items to assist with the Trial. It was Hemlock that needed training the most, so while they waited for the Fossil to be restored, they worked on training up Hemlock and figuring out a fighting style that would work best for him.

Eventually, the man they gave the fossil to exited his trailer. "Hey, come on in! The fossil is almost restored!"

"Gotcha! Alright Cobalt, Claws, keep training Hemlock. Be back in a sec." They nodded at him and turned back to Hemlock while he walked into the trailer. Inside, various machines were whirring and whining, and one that looked suspiciously like a human-sized microwave was humming with the fossil at the center. "So, how much longer?"

"Any second now," the man exclaimed. "Luckily I know what Pokémon comes from that fossil. If it were one of the larger Fossil Pokémon, we'd be using the larger restoration machine outside the trailer." The light inside the machine suddenly cut out, and the humming grew louder.

"Is that—"

"Yes, it is!" Sapphire raised an eyebrow at being cut off like that but watched as the machine continued for several seconds, but without any way to see what was happening inside it. When it finally stopped, the man stepped forward and clicked several buttons. "And now, the moment of truth!"

The door on it opened and Sapphire stepped forward, kneeling. Out of the darkness wandered a small yellow Pokémon that stood on four legs ending in white toes, with a similarly colored bump on its back. Its face was dark gray and oval-like, with a large white rim and smaller rim over a dark snout, and looked remarkably like a shield. "Don?"

"Howdy," Sapphire held his hand out, "I'm Sapphire, nice to meet you."

"Shield, don."

"So, what Pokémon are you? Obviously something with 'shield' and 'don' in the name."

"Zzt, Shieldon, the, get ready for thizz, Shield Pokémon."

"Nice."

"Zzt, Itzz face is incredibly armored, and it and itzz evolution are thought to be the most durable Pokémon of the ancient world, and many modern-day Pokémon due to their hard headzz, but their backsidezz are much more vulnerable."

"Shield?" Shieldon blinked and looked at Rotom in confusion, nudging the device with his face.

"Alright, back up, Shieldon." He chuckled and lightly pulled the Pokémon back. "I guess you're pretty curious about his Rotomdex, right? Come on, let's head outside. It's much roomier out there. Thanks for your help again, sir." The man waved him away, focusing on his machines, so Sapphire shrugged and led Shieldon and Rotom outside.

"Alright guys, meet Shieldon!" The three training Pokémon looked over and inspected Shieldon, barking, mewling, and… whatever Hemlock did while speaking, their greetings. "So, Shieldon, I guess we should give you some context for what's happening right now…

So, Sapphire gave a quick explanation, while trying not to omit anything. How Trainers trained Pokémon, how Shieldon was from a time long ago and a lot of things were different… everyone helped translate Sheldon's questions, and eventually, Shieldon nodded his understanding. "Shieldon."

"Alright, glad you understand everything," Sapphire chuckled. "So, want to be part of my team?"

"He says that it sounds like fun, he's in."

"Great! Now, a nickname…"

"Don?"

"Nicknames are things that friends call each other. For humans, they're usually shorter versions of someone's name, like I call Sapphire Sapph, but for some people, and most Pokémon, they're a name to describe them."

"Shield."

"Alright, so, Shieldon… Crap, I want to go with some famous shield, but I can't think of anything… WELP! Rotom, you know who to call!"

Cobalt muttered 'Ghostbusters!' while Rotom flashed and dialed up Anthony again. When the screen changed Anthony was now dressed in actual clothes and was busy combing his hair as he glared at the screen. "I'll kill you. You're going to make me late."

"Ah, suck it up. You're a teacher's pet, I bet they love you even in your new school. Anyway, more importantly, I need another nickname."

"Nothing is more important than your education."

"Ant, I will fly to Kanto, break down your door, and throw you out your window. I know you run that crappy name-rater site, now give me a nickname for a Shieldon."

"Since I don't doubt you'd do that, fine. Is there anything specific you're thinking of?"

"Some famous or mythological shield."

"You should have gone for a career in theatre," Anthony mumbled. "…Svalinn. In Norse mythology, it was a Legendary shield that stood before the sun to prevent it from burning away the world." Anthony cleared his throat, "Svalinn is his name, he stands a shield before the sun, the shining deity. I know that the hills and, the sea would burn, if it were to fall from its place. That's from Grímnismál, one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda."

"God, you're a nerd…"

"Hey, I'm the one helping you, ass! Other than that… there's Pridwen, King Arthur's shield, Ancile, the shield of the Roman God Mars… It's said that it fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius, and he ordered eleven copies to be forged to confuse thieves. Aegis, the shield of Zeus and Athena that is said to bear the head of a Gorgon, the creatures that could turn people to stone…"

"Wow. Not just a nerd, a super nerd."

"You're dead next time I see you." And with that, Anthony hung up.

"Alright, Shieldon! Any names you liked?"

Shieldon tilted his head and said something. "He says either Aegis or Svalinn."

"Cool, you don't have to decide now. Speaking of, Rotom, have you finally decided on a name?"

"Zzt, don't rush me! Hm… well, I have been thinking of maybe Volt…"

"Great, Volt it is."

"Zzt, hey!"


After a short flight back, Sapphire was rolling his shoulder and grinning at Olivia. "Ready whenever you are, Kahuna!"

Olivia just smirked back. "Your attitude is different from Willow's, isn't it?"

"Eh, just a bit." He snickered. Willow rolled her eyes from where she stood on the sidelines watching after completing her Trial, Shieldon next to her. Sapphire had been slightly worried that Shieldon would still have some trouble adjusting to the modern world, so he got Rotom to disable the transport function on one of his Pokéballs so he could keep Shieldon with him, before letting him stay out of the ball. The flight back was awkward with Sapphire holding onto Charizard's saddle with one hand and Shieldon with the other, but they made it work.

"In any case… are you ready? This will be three-on-three, each side is only allowed one Z-Move." Olivia grabbed an Ultraball and tossed it up and down, and Sapphire nodded in response.

"All right, that sounds good to me." He grabbed his Netball, readying it. "Let's do this."

"Nosepass, ready yourself."

"Hemlock, entangle them!" Olivia's Pokémon looked similar to those rock faces on Easter Island, although it had arms and legs and a large red nose. Hemlock appeared opposite them, getting into their battle stance.

"Volt?"

"Zzt, Nosepass, the Compazz Pokémon. Their nosezz alwayzz face north unlezz they physically turn themselvezz such as in battle, and they can draw in metallic objectzz to protect themselvezz. It can also manipulate itzz powerful magnetic fieldzz to draw prey closer."

"Alright, a good matchup, Hemlock! They sound pretty slow!" Nosepass immediately proved him wrong by summoning several glowing gems and launching them at Hemlock. "Aw crap." Hemlock stomped his foot, and several vines burst from the ground and wove into a wall in front of Hemlock, blocking the Power Gems.

When the barrage ended Hemlock opened a hole in the wall and charged up an attack he'd learned from one of the Technical Machines he'd purchased the other day, Energy Ball. In Hemlock's mouth, a bright green ball of energy grew before he fired it like a cannonball. Nosepass didn't make any noise as it was hit, but it was thrown back a few feet.

Nosepass summoned up more rocks to throw, these too big and heavy for a simple wall of vines to block. Hemlock instead dodged to the side, charging up another Energy Ball. Before he could fire, Nosepass lifted its arms slightly and all the sand and dirt in the area suddenly lifted off the ground and began swirling around the battlefield.

"Ack, it's in my mouth!" Sapphire began spitting out dirt and unwrapped his sweater from around his waist to instead wrap around his mouth. It was a bit big due to it being a sweater and not an actual handkerchief or bandana, but it worked nonetheless. He then flipped his sunglasses down and held them tight against his eyes. "Ha, see? They aren't useless as an accessory!"

Cobalt just rolled his eyes and hunkered down in Sapphire's bag, zipping it shut. Hemlock meanwhile was slowly being battered by the Nosepass and was coughing as dirt kept getting in his mouth. Suddenly, several rocks blasted into him and Hemlock grunted as he was thrown backward. Sapphire couldn't see through the dense cloud now covering the battlefield, but he heard the grunt of pain. "Hemlock! How can Nosepass see where… wait, Nosepass can affect magnetic fields, so it can find you due to your field!"

"Very good," Olivia nodded. "Now, how can you solve this problem?"

"Uh… Alright, use Ingrain! For now, we need to outlast the damage!" Hemlock focused and several vines began slithering down his back from the flower atop his back, sinking into the ground where they began absorbing nutrients and healed him. Another volley of rocks impacted with Hemlock and Sapphire winced when he heard the sound.

"Crap, just make another shield of vines for now! And begin charging up an Energy Ball!"

"Ivy!" More rocks tore through the hastily erected shield, but they were slowed enough that the damage they inflicted was less than the Ingrain healed.

"Alright, spread your Ingrain roots further! We need to find more nutrients to keep you healed!"

Hemlock did as he asked, before he heard the inflection Sapphire had placed on 'find'. A grin spread across his face, and he commanded his Ingrain roots to begin digging deeper and spread out throughout the battlefield. He could feel the vibrations of the earth through each root, and he could feel the rocks being magnetically pulled from the ground as Nosepass used them as ammunition.

Hemlock flinched as more rocks scraped against him, but each time they did and Nosepass had to pull up more ammo, he narrowed down the position more and more. Each time the rocks were pulled up they orbited a small area void of vibrations due to Nosepass not moving. Once he was certain that Nosepass was in that spot, he commanded his roots to burst from the ground, entangling the Rock-Type.

With the enemy trapped he let loose his Energy Ball which crashed into Nosepass, and he knew it did some serious damage, even if he couldn't see them. He made the vines slam Nosepass into the ground and fired a second ball. Nosepass finally let out a grunt, and the Sandstorm died down to reveal a knocked out Nosepass. Sapphire sighed and removed his glasses and makeshift bandanna, breathing in. Olivia nodded and recalled the Pokémon into its ball and readied the next.

"Alright, nicely done, Hemlock! Do you want to keep going or switch out?"

"Saur, ivysaur."

"He says he can keep going."

"Alright, get ready then!"

"Lillep, ready yourself."

What came out next looked like some sort of flowering pokémon, though not in the way that Hemlock had a flower on his back, but it was an actual flower. Volt began scanning, "Zzt, Lileep, the Sea Lily Pokémon. An ancient Pokémon, It stickzz to rockzz permanently with itzz powerful suckerzz and disguised itself azz seaweed before using the tentaclezz disguised azz petalzz to reel in prey and devour them with powerful stomach acid."

"Tentacles? I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going."

"Filth! Your mind is filled with FILTH!"

"Alright, Hemlock, sever your Ingrain so you can stay clear of those tentacles and any ranged attacks, and prioritize using Energy Balls!" Hemlock nodded, and he pulled free of his vines, leaving them in the ground while he shook himself off. Lileep quickly started the battle by launching several globs of acid from where Sapphire assumed its mouth was, and Hemlock began evading.

Though he may have had Poison as his Secondary Typing and it wouldn't do as much damage, the attack was still plenty powerful. Lillep suddenly sent tentacles shooting through the ground, and Hemlock winced as several he couldn't dodge wrapped around his legs.

He was lifted into the air, but he quickly cut the tentacles holding him with Razor Leaf. Lileep made some kind of gurgling noise in response, which Sapphire assumed was because the Pokémon didn't have vocal cords or something similar, and suddenly rocks began floating into the air while surrounded by a deep blue aura. "I think that's… Ancient Power, try and stop them!"

Hemlock began absorbing energy and fired it out in sphere form, launching it at his opponent. Lileep blocked the sphere with one rock and launched the rest at Hemlock. The Ivysaur focused and several of his severed vines burst from the ground, catching the rocks and tossing them back.

Lileep smacked them out of the air using their tentacles, only for a Razor Leaf attack to scythe through their defenses. Lileep flinched back and Hemlock prepared to attack again, only for several more tentacles to burst from underground and begin Constricting him, and a Sludge Bomb to explode against him.

Hemlock winced and Lileep slammed the Ivysaur into the ground, using Giga Drain to steal the remainder of Hemlock's energy. Hemlock struggled for several seconds, before being laid down on the ground. "You did great for your first battle, Hemlock. Return!" Hemlock disappeared into his ball with a red streak of light, and Sapphire threw out the next. "Claws, let's burn them away!"

Claws began padding in a circle, watching the Lileep while yawning. "Well, let's get this over with."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him, "A Fire-Type?"

"Who doesn't love a challenge?" He questioned with a grin. "Alright Claws, Double Kick!" Claws waited until several tentacles burst from out beneath him, and he quickly dodged forward, running through and avoiding several attacks before landing the Double Kick on Lileep's face.

More Ancient Power rocks were launched forward at the small kitten, and Claws quickly jumped onto one of them, then to another, parkouring over all of them before unleashing a Flamethrower into Lileep's face. Claws landed on the other side of Lileep's body, ducking away as globs of poison began flying over his head. "Come on," Claws taunted with a smirk. "Is that all you got?"

"Oh lord, he's gettin' sassy." Claws hopped away and launched a fireball forward, which Lileep batted away, only for another ball hidden behind the first to slam into Lileep's body. Lileep was almost dislodged from the rock they were perched on but managed to keep their balance. When Claws shot forward and tried to hit Lileep with Double Kick the Pokémon recoiled again, but they didn't seem as injured. "What?"

Sapphire checked Rotom as Claws began dodging more rock attacks, and hissed as he saw Lileep could learn Stockpile, and simply assumed that the Pokémon was using it. A rock that Claws didn't see coming suddenly blasted him back and LIleep glowed as it used Swallow, healing its wounds before it began stockpiling again. "Crapazoids, it's a tank Pokémon."

"What-a-zoids?"

Sapphire ignored Cobalt's question, tapping his finger against his jeans. "Cobalt, keep on the offensive, but when Lileep builds up on Stockpiles go on the defensive!"

"Pain in the…" Cobalt launched forward and bit down with Fire Fang, not relenting as he unleashed a point-blank Flamethrower. Claws dodged back as Lileep tried to whack him with a tentacle, dodging away from a ring of stones that blasted at him. "Alright, you slow Rock-Type, just try and keep up!" Claws ignited his body and began running, circling Lileep faster than the Pokémon could follow and impacting from behind with Flame Charge.

Lileep leaned forward as Claws attacked, trying to turn fast enough to attack the Fire-Type. Claws' speed was already higher than the Pokémon's, and that was heightened even further because of Flame Charge. Claws bounded around and attacked from the side, before escaping backward and attacking from another direction, which repeated again and again.

The moment that Lileep had Stockpiled enough to withstand an attack and could retaliate, Claws retreated out of range and began attacking with ranged attacks like Ember and Flamethrower. Lileep repeated its actions of launching several more volleys of Ancient Powers, all while using Swallow to heal.

Claws began closing in again, only to accidentally slip on a puddle of acid that was still sizzling. "Claws!" Claws attempted to get back up, only for dozens of rocks to crash down on him all at once. The FIre-Type was quickly buried under the attacks, and Sapphire looked carefully to see if Claws was still conscious. As he looked, Lileep set up several more Stockpiles and drew up more rock from the ground, making the Ancient Powers float around them. Did his enthusiasm cause Claws to get knocked out?

There was an explosion of flame from the pile of rocks and Claws crawled out, the rocks slowly turning to molten slag around him as he panted and Blaze activated. However, his eyes were narrowed and a deep hissing, almost growling was coming from his throat and Lileep flinched back in fear. "Zzt, alert! Clawzz hazz unlocked another Ability, Intimidate! The power of the opposing Pokémon will be lowered whenever Clawzz enterzz battle!"

"Nice! Awesome, Claws!" The moment was short-lived as Lileep launched the dozens of rocks forward, and Claws stumbled, wincing as the rocks soared down at him. "Alright, no better time! Do it!" Olivia watched in confusion as Claws reached up and used a nail on one of his paws to cut at a string around his neck, before shock etched itself onto her features as the Everstone fell to the ground.

Just before the rocks crushed him again, light shone from his body as he began growing, and a massive inferno exploded from his body. The rocks were melted at incredible speeds, impacting near him as molten slag and as the light died down, Claws' new, larger form was revealed.

The red markings over his body had grown larger alongside him and now dominated instead of the black fur, and tufts of fur flared out from his face. His two front paws were slightly more developed than the back ones, and sharp claws extended from them while his tail grew slightly thicker. On his neck was a ball of flame that looked similar to a bell you'd see on a cat collar, and it flickered brightly.

"Zzt, Torracat, The Fire Cat Pokémon. At itzz throat, it hazz an organ similar to a flame sac, which lookzz very similar to a bell. The bell ringzz brightly whenever thizz Pokémon spitzz fire, and can grow hotter in battle, though it can be safe to touch for trusted Trainerzz."

Blaze activated alongside the burst of energy that came from evolving and the flames around Claws flared brighter and higher, the heat causing everyone to flinch back before Claws unleashed a torrent of flame that washed over Lileep as the bell on his collar rang. Claws bound forward before the flames had even died down and fire surrounded him, but instead of Flame Charge, the fire began spiraling around his body, before cloaking him as he impacted with Flare Blitz.

"Alright, and you've got the hang of Flare Blitz!"

Lileep made a gurgle of pain, using up their Stockpiles to heal while Claws stretched as he jumped away. "Well, that was a rush. Come on, are we gonna keep fighting or what?" Lileep struggled up and began summoning more rocks, and Claws smirked as he placed a paw on one of the Ingrain roots that Hemlock had spread throughout the battlefield. "BEEP! Wrong answer."

Olivia's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen, and Sapphire just grinned as he pointed forward. "Alright Claws, Satan's Hellfire!" Claws ignited the root that burrowed through the ground with an explosive flare, quickly consuming the root and traveling deep underground. All of the roots began going off, cracking the ground and sending up bursts of flame-like hell had encroached upon the earth.

However, as the largest amount of roots was right underneath Lileep due to Hemlock having used them to capture Nosepass, the explosion of flame consumed Lileep, a pillar of fire shooting from the ground and incinerating the Rock-Type. Once all of the flames had died down, some pieces of ground were lower and sinking into the ground, while others were higher and had small embers burning on the surface.

Where Lileep had stood the rock was slag, and the Pokémon was now lying flat on the ground unmoving, with swirls for eyes. Claws purred and sat back, licking his paw and rubbing his ears. "Well well, that was easier than I expected."

"You almost fainted Claws."

"Silence."

"Alright, come on back then. Get used to your new size and power. Cobalt, you're up!"

"Hell yeah! Here I come, baby!" Cobalt did a front flip, doing a superhero landing and posing.

Claws snorted. "Wow, he's so excited he's imitating you."

"Nah, he'd act like this more often but he gets embarrassed that he acts so much like me. Coward." Cobalt flipped him off and Olivia grabbed her third Pokéball.

"Alright, this is my last Pokémon. Neither of us has used our one allowed Z-Move either…"

Sapphire just grinned. "Guess this'll be a dramatic finish then."

"Lycanroc, ready yourself!" Out of her Pokéball came her final Pokémon, and from the name, Sapphire expected a Pokémon like Chrysant, and while it looked similar, it was overall much different. Unlike Chrysant's wolf-like and noble form, Lycanroc stood on its back legs and was slouched forward like a werewolf. Instead of light brown colors and white, Lycanroc had deep red and white. Its tail was shorter and the puff of fur on its back was larger and hung forward and covered its head. The last difference was that its talons seemed just a bit larger than Chrysants, and attached to larger paws.

"Zzt, Lycanroc, Nighttime/Midnight form. The stronger an opponent is, the more their blood boils and causes them to attack with no regard for their safety. They will live alone and won't form packs, and only listen to Trainers who can draw out their true power." Lycanroc threw its head back and howled, and Cobalt pounded his fists together in response.

"Alright, start strong with Bullet Punch!"

"Brick Break!"

Both Pokémon impacted and a small shockwave rang out as their fists collided. There was a brief moment where they were trying to overpower each other, before Cobalt slipped forward, spun, and used his leg to deliver a devastating blow to Lycanroc's gut. The Pokémon grunted but didn't seem fazed, so Cobalt continued by doing a backflip to plant his foot into Lycanroc's jaw.

Lycanroc completely ignored the blows and launched forward, trying to grab him and force the Fighting-Type into a submission hold before he could land. Cobalt didn't let him, holding the Pokémon's arms apart with his own. Lycanroc had been trained for a longer time and his Typing granted him higher endurance, but Cobalt had much higher natural strength due to his typing, so they were mostly even.

Lycanroc suddenly used Headbutt, slamming down on Cobalt. "Agh!" Cobalt winced and for a brief moment his hands shot up to grasp at his head, and that was just long enough for Lycanroc to grasp him and lift him, before slamming him down brutally. Lycanroc raised its paws to crush him, and Cobalt growled as he lifted his legs, pulsing aura through them and unleashing a Force Palm through his feet into Lycanroc's chest.

The brutal Rock-Type was sent skidding back and Cobalt rolled back onto his feet, resettling into a battle stance. Lycanroc Howled and sprinted forward on all fours, prompting Cobalt to ignite his legs and dash forward, meeting the Pokémon halfway and spinning into a roundhouse kick.

His foot met Lycanroc's face, and while the kick itself was plenty powerful, the explosion of flame caused Lycanroc to growl in anger as it flinched away. Cobalt took the opportunity and reared back, shifting his legs and twisting his hips as he used Power-Up Punch. Lycanroc's head shot to the side as spittle flew from his mouth, and Cobalt shot up to land a kick against the Pokémon's face.

Lycanroc grabbed Cobalt's foot after he impacted, and began spinning him around before throwing him against one of the rock walls in the clearing. Cobalt impacting caused cracks to shoot through the rock, and Lycanroc sprinted forward and slammed a fist into Cobalt's stomach. "GAH!"

"Cobalt!"

"Gheh… don't worry about me!" Cobalt's body flashed, and he kicked upwards into Lycanroc's snout with a Counter, launching them away and letting Cobalt fall to the ground. He stumbled, before standing back up and letting out a Howl, grinning as his eyes flashed. "This is a REAL fight! None of that ranged crap, just a straight-up brawl!"

"Cobalt is way too into this… MESS HIM UP, BUD! DESTROY HIM!" Claws rolled his eyes as Sapphire started yelling and pumping his fists, but a small smile still grew at the excitement in his Trainer's voice.

"HaaaaAAAAAH!" Cobalt lasted forward and formed two Aura Spheres in his palms, ducking under a wild haymaker by Lycanroc and smashing the spheres in his palms. Instead of detonating they coated his arms in aura, and he began wailing on the Rock-Type, slamming his fists home dozens of times.

He flipped into a one-handed handstand as Lycanroc tried to attack again, flipping over the attack, and kicking the Pokémon's head to the side. As he landed he swept the Pokémon's feet out from under them and spun, lifting his leg high and bringing it down in an ax kick with an explosion of flame.

Lycanroc slammed into the ground, but instead of looking injured it simply grinned up at Cobalt and lunged for him. Cobalt grinned back, grasping Lycanroc's talons with his paws, and they began struggling back and forth as the uneven ground beneath them began to crack and shatter.

"Come on Cobalt, show them who's boss! Don't give in!"

"Wow… well, as you said, this is certainly an impressive display," Claws noted. "I know that Cobalt is strong, but he may be starting to rival Spooks as the team's strongest member."

"Remember, even though he always acts grumpy around me, he's a Riolu and a Fighting-Type at heart. They all love a good challenge, and this Lycanroc is the strongest Pokémon so far that's around his size and he can properly fight with."

As they spoke, the stalemate between the two Pokémon was broken as the ground beneath Cobalt shattered further, already weakened from Claws' Satan's Hellfire attack. Cobalt fell backward, and Lycanroc took the opportunity and pushed forward.

Cobalt, however, wasn't as surprised as he looked, and quickly used Circle Throw, near-instantly shifting his feet to plant them firmly and throwing Lycanroc over his shoulder. Lycanroc hit the ground and caused it to crumble, while Cobalt descended onto them and unleashed a flurry of Power-Up Punches.

Lycanroc suddenly glowed red and used a Counter of his own, launching Cobalt away. Cobalt flipped midair and skid to a stop, grinning even as he was covered in bruises. "Sapphire! Power me up, we're finishing this strong!"

"Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the Trainer." He chuckled at his Partner's words, before raising his Z-Power Ring and slapping the Fightinium Z into place. Olivia simply watched, before a smile curled onto her face.

"I was just thinking of doing that myself. Ready?"

"Let's do it!"

As he began the dance to channel Fighting-Type energy into Cobalt, Olivia performed her own. It was similar to the other dances, however, hers ended with her shifting her body horizontally, and flexing as she hunkered down. Her eyes became deep-brown colored and similar colored energy flowed through her and onto Lycanroc. Twin Zs were superimposed over the Pokémon's bodies, and they both howled.

"Continental Crush!"

"All-Out Pummeling!"

The ground around the battlefield rumbled as rock began soaring up, forming the familiar slab of rock as large as a house. Cobalt glowed and steadied himself, not launching the barrage of punches and kicks just yet. The rock began falling, and Cobalt finally attacked, letting loose the stored up energy and powering through.

Splinters of stone went flying as he beat his way through the massive boulder, but the sheer weight and size were quickly overwhelming him. He Howled and continued attacking, sending cracks all the way through and to the other side, yet slowly but surely, the rock slammed down and crushed him.

Olivia nodded again him. "Wait just a moment, I'll have Lycanroc dig him—"

"No need," Sapphire chuckled. "My Partner won't go down that easily."

"Oh?"

Sure enough, on the opposite side of the rock that had crashed into Cobalt, even more cracks were beginning to form. Slowly they got wider and wider, until Cobalt burst out, glowing red. Lycanroc slowly looked up, but Cobalt came down on him with the full force of a Hell Wheel and their special Counter move all shoved into one leg.

"Finish this Grand Trial, and Akala Island, how it was meant to be finished! With one big bang!" Sapphire threw his fist forward. "Ultra…!"

Cobalt finished, landing hard and driving his heel into Lycanroc's head, shattering the ground beneath them and sending an explosion of flame skyward. "COUNTER!" The full force of a Countered Z-Move and Hell Wheel combined drove Lycanroc deep into the ground, until Cobalt pushed down harder to spring backward, burying Lycanroc in molten stone.

Cobalt landed and stumbled, falling onto his back and groaning. However, he was still conscious. Just barely. Lycanroc, on the other hand, could barely twitch a muscle. The Pokémon did manage to force itself up, giving a nod of respect to Cobalt, before passing out.

Willow blinked on the sidelines. "…What just happened?"

"Severe badassery," Sapphire answered. He walked forward and picked up Cobalt, before approaching Olivia. She nodded at him as she recalled Lycanroc, walking towards him and meeting him halfway. She looked over the battleground and chuckled at the damage as she walked, and Sapphire grinned sheepishly. "I hope we didn't do too much damage."

"No, it's perfectly fine. I train Rock-Types, remember? We can have this smoothed over within minutes. Willow's battle wasn't as destructive, but it certainly did some damage."

"Makes sense." Sapphire adjusted Cobalt and placed him on Claws, who could now easily hold him and sent out Hemlock. The Ivysaur was still tired, but he managed to stay standing. "So…"

"Yes, let's get to it." She held her hand out, revealing the brown gemstone. This Z-Crystal is now yours. Use it wisely." He took it from her hand and grinned as he showed it to Cobalt, Claws, and Hemlock.

"Alright, guys! We did it!"

"Did you doubt we would lose?" Claws chuckled.

"Ivy, ivysaur."

"Whoopee…" Cobalt muttered into Claws' back.

He then handed over his passport, letting Olivia stamp it with the symbol of Akala Island, before taking it back. He grinned and threw a thumbs-up at Willow, who smiled and gave one back. "Another Island down!"


It is only now when editing that I realize Cobalt's All-Out Pummeling against Lycanroc's Continental Crush was a Star Platinum versus Roada Rolla Da moment. Accidental JoJo references for the win.

Chapter 20 finished. Now, let's see… four islands, two of which finished in twenty chapters… Counting original content I've added and post-League stuff that I'm probs going to accelerate to before the actual league so I can end it right after the league with some cliche ending of Sapphire looking off into the sunset or something… I'm assuming this story will be about forty-ish chapters. A rough estimate of course.

Also, yes... from the very beginning Chaser was a conscious pun by his father. Hey, we got Ash 'Ketchum' so screw it, now we've got 'Chaser.' Come on, with how dramatic Sapphire is, you just know his dad would change his name as a pun.

A Private Messenger asked why I have Pokémon evolve so slowly, for example, in the games Litten would have evolved maybe a short bit before Melemele's Grand Trial, but here Claws evolved during Akala's. I'll explain why here as well. I'd rather have Evolutions spread out over the story so that it's more natural. Storm made sense because he's a Bug-Type and naturally they would evolve quickly, and Wave was close to evolving before being caught, but I like the anime's take where it can be many episodes before a Pokémon evolves.

Readers might also notice Dartrix evolved earlier than Claws, and that's also because, as stated the last chapter by Willow herself, with only six Pokémon, each gets Training with Willow at all times, and not just sometimes at the ranch practicing generally with moves, and sometimes with their Trainer doing special Training like what Sapphire has to do with so many more Pokémon.

Besides, there isn't going to be a team of dozens of Pokémon in this story… Actually, Sapphire only gets a few less than thirty Pokémon, to make it easier to characterize and train them all on my part. Willow herself doesn't even get fifteen. So, I can stretch Evolutions throughout the story and not have them all rushed one after another.

Now, Omake time. This idea just came to me from the weird group-chats me and my friends have with each other, and it sounded like fun. Although, because of this, there'll be some cursing. Since I took inspiration from our group-chats, and I actually curse a lot more in chats than I do in person, they'll be spitting curses for once.

Also, I apologize for how dialogue jumps back and forth, (Character A asking something, Character B saying something to Character D, and Character C answering Character A's question, stuff like that,) because that's just how chaotic a group-chat would actually be, and how you'd see text appearing. So, if you don't care about that, enjoy.

Omake Name: Group-chats suck

Two friends are invited into the chaotic mess that is a group-chat between teenagers.


9:57 A.M. Group-chat: Fucking_Chaos

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Listen, I'm adding them now, let's end this convo.

GOT_GOOSED: Coward! You just don't want to face the facts! Joker is a thief! Obviously he got into Smash by stealing Waluigi's invite! Imbecile!

Your_Supreme_Overlord has added Moon_Wolfe and Sarah_Jones to 'Fucking_Chaos'

Moon_Wolfe has signed in.

Sarah_Jones has signed in.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Welcome to hell, boy and gal.

Moon_Wolfe: Well those are some interesting names

GOT_GOOSED: Bruh, you ain't seen SHIT yet.

Sarah_Jones: Umm…

GOT_GOOSED: It's me Cobalt. Fair warning, Gearface takes pride in giving people shitty nicknames. Your_Supreme_Overlord is his. He's probably cackling in his chair back in Kanto.

GOT_GOOSED: Be prepared for him to inexplicably change your name in the chat for the giggles. Or the chat room name.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Bow to me, mortals.

Moon_Wolfe: Firstly, why does Cobalt have a separate account from Sapphire

Moon_Wolfe: and second, what does 'got goosed' mean?

GOT_GOOSED: I got tired of Sapphire having to text for me so I got him to get me a phone. He's too cheap to get me a dex like his.

Sarah_Jones: that sounds so cute!

GOT_GOOSED: And don't ask about the nickname

Sarah_Jones: Oh, and where's Sapphire?

GOT_GOOSED: He's helping Lillie repair some damage to the Professor's house.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Okay, so you know how geese like to come out of Legends-damned nowhere and just start chasing you?

Moon_Wolfe: I think I know where this is going.

Innocent_Babey_(ᗒᗨᗕ) has signed in.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Yep, back in Kanto a whole flock of Swanna suddenly dog-piled Cobalt. You should have seen the panic on his face as he screeched for mercy.

Sarah_Jones: Oh dear.

Innocent_Babey_(ᗒᗨᗕ): That's why he has that nickname? (^~^)

GOT_GOOSED: And Lillie entered just in time to learn my horrifying backstory. Woe is me.

Sarah_Jones: I thought Sapphire was helping you fix the Professor's house?

Innocent_Babey_(ᗒᗨᗕ): He wanted me to take a break since I was working so hard all day. (b^_^)b Although he does look tired.

Innocent_Babey_(ᗒᗨᗕ): Oh dear.

Moon_Wolfe: What happened?

GOT_GOOSED: Some planks fell on him.

GOT_GOOSED: LOL I think he's being crushed.

GOT_GOOSED has linked a picture: Crushed_Blueberries-jpeg

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy has signed in.

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: He mo

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: Heljf

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: Help

Moon_Wolfe: Should we be concerned?

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Nah. The group-chat's called 'Fucking Chaos' for a reason. This shit happens.

Your_Supreme_Overlord has changed Moon_Wolfe's name to Emo-Kun.

Emo-Kun: What

Your_Supreme_Overlord has changed Sarah_Jones' name to The_Voice_Of_Love.

The_Voice_Of_Love: Is this a reference to something?

Emo-Kun: it is, and I get that, but why am I Emo-kun?

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: Oh shit, let that voice of love take you higheeeeeerrrrrr

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: BTW Is nobody going to help me?

Innocent_Babey_(ᗒᗨᗕ): Hold on, Sapphire! ╭( ・ㅂ・)و

Innocent_Babey_(ᗒᗨᗕ) has signed out.

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: Emoji queen to the rescue. Fuck you, goose boy.

GOT_GOOSED: I'm rebelling against your authoritah, I no longer do your bidding.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Because I wanted to name you Door-kun but you don't have blue hair so it wouldn't work as the reference I wanted it to be.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Besides, Sapphire told me you apparently like Dark-Types so you're automatically emo.

Emo-Kun: …I don't think that's how being emo works.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: ARE YOU DEFYING YOUR SUPREME OVERLORD?!

Blueberry_Bitch_Boy: Go Moon, rebel against the evil tyrant who keeps changing everyone's screenammdmdd

The_Voice_Of_Love: ?

The_Voice_Of_Love: Are you okay, Sapphire?

GOT_GOOSED: LMAO LILLIE MADE IT WORSE

GOT_GOOSED: SHE SHIFTED SOMETHING WRONG AND NOW HE'S COMPLETELY BURIED

GOT_GOOSED has linked a picture: Flattened_Blueberries-jpeg

Emo-Kun: Flat like a pancake, Sapphy boy.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Oh shit, you just gaVE ME AN IDEA!

Your_Supreme_Overlord has changed Blueberry_Bitch_Boy's name to Blueberry_Pancakes.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: HA! HAH!

Emo_kun: Shit, that's good. Sarah's laughing pretty hard at that. Wow, she can't even type right now. My Sapphire is too, the Riolu.

Emo_kun has linked a picture: Cackling_Riolu_And_Girlfriend-jpeg

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Stop flaunting your healthy relationship over us sad single folk

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Wait shit I'm totally dating someone, I swear she's totally real and not a body pillow

Emo_kun: Uh-huh.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Do not doubt the Overlord, mortal

GOT_GOOSED: Lillie's still trying to get him out, but he's more focused on trying to grab his dex so that he can insult us all through text lol. Wonder where Willow is?

Feeling_Thorney has signed in.

Feeling_Thorney: Apologies for not answering the messages sooner, I was busy. Oh, Moon and Sarah already had nicknames assigned? Alola to both of you! Give me a second to go through and read what's occurred so far.

The_Voice_Of_Love: I'm assuming from that name, that's… Willow?

GOT_GOOSED: Holy shit I can summon people by saying their name.

GOT_GOOSED: Just like everything else in this chat, blame the pun on Gearface. Though somehow she remains unaware of what it actually means.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: I'll have you all know I'm cackling evilly. Like, I could be the leader of some evil team right now

Feeling_Thorney: Oh dear, I've finally caught up. Is Sapph okay?

Feeling_Thorney: And Cobalt, I thought my name was a pun on thorny being an upset mood and my name being Thorne. Is there a different pun that was made?

GOT_GOOSED: Someone else tell her I ain't opening that can of worms

Your_Supreme_Overlord: To answer your question about the Blueberry, he has become one with the pancakes.

Your_Supreme_Overlord: Praise to the Pancakes.

GOT_GOOSED: Praise to the Pancakes.

Emo-Kun: Praise to the Pancakes.

Blueberry_Pancakes: I'll kill all of you!

Your_Supreme_Overlord has changed the group-chat's name from 'Fucking_Chaos' to 'Sapphire_Takes_Those_L's'.

Your_Supreme_Overlord has signed out.

Feeling_Thorney: What does 'taking an L' mean?

Blueberry_Pancakes: Coward.

Blueberry_Pancakes: This is proof that I'm a truly feared human.

Emo-Kun: I don't think that's what it means. I think him changing the name specifically states he does not fear you.

Blueberry_Pancakes: I will sell your soul to Giratina for one corn chip. Giratina is right here, I'm signing the contract.

Emo-Kun: Oh god oh fuck

The_Voice_Of_Love: It seems we won't reunite after death in heaven, I'm sorry Moon.

Feeling_Thorney: Did Sapphire just sell Moon's soul?

GOT_GOOSED: R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-RAAAAISE?!

Emo-Kun: LMAO

Emo-Kun: Alright, I already love this chat.

Emo-Kun: Shit we've GTG. I'll set notifications so I can see when people are in the chat. TTYL.

The_Voice_Of_Love: Yep, I'll do the same! talk to you all later!

Feeling_Thorney: Have a good day!

Blueberry_Pancakes: Yeet

GOT_GOOSED: See ya

Emo-Kun has signed out.

The_Voice_Of_Love has signed out.

Feeling_Thorney: Oh dear, Grimer ate something he shouldn't have and seems to be sick. I have to leave as well. Sapphire, I hope you feel better!

GOT_GOOSED: wait what

GOT_GOOSED: what did Grimer eat? What was so bad that a Grimer got sick?

Feeling_Thorney has signed out.

GOT_GOOSED: FUCK I WAS LEFT HANGING

GOT_GOOSED: WHAT DID HE EAT ITLL HAUNT ME FOR DAYS NOW

Blueberry_Pancakes: get cucked loser

Blueberry_Pancakes has signed out

GOT_GOOSED: CREATOR DAMN IT

GOT_GOOSED has signed out.


I think I might make more Omakes revolving around group-chats simply for the chaotic element they bring. Moon and Sarah are Darkwolf573's characters, so if you want to see more of them check out his story. I think I got them right, but it's really hard to write characters when there is only talking through text. And man, Grammarly and Google Docs are really getting on my back to correct the on purpose typos...

I tried making everyone distinct even if you didn't look at names, Cobalt and Anthony memeing, Sapphire making typos due to being crushed and most of the time not bothering with grammar unless he's making a point, Willow trying way too hard to type formally, Lillie using emojis because she's adorable, then Moon and Sarah not knowing what the hell is happening but slowly getting used to it. I like this format, might even put some sections like it in the actual chapters lol.

But anyway, leave a review on everything you liked in the chapter or just a 'nice.' Both are always great to read.

Sapphire:

-Riolu, Cobalt

-Torracat, Claws

-Midday_Lycanroc, Chrysant

-Charjabug, Storm

-Haunter, Spooks

-Noibat, Blast

-Talonflame, Inferno

-Seadra, Wave

-Rotom, Volt

-Eevee, Puffball

-Ponyta, Spirit

-Ivysaur, Hemlock

-Chinchou

-Ditto, Mimic

-Shieldon

Willow:

-Espurr, Cream

-Dartrix

-Slowbro

-Grimer

-Murkrow

-Leafeon

See y'all next time.