Ugh, I've been sick for, like, five days… Right now it's only some mild headaches, but the reason I didn't upload Monday or sooner was because I couldn't even read for long enough periods to edit the chapter. Hopefully the headaches lesson soon so I can write and get next week's chapter done by Monday, but either way, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 23: Mount Hokulani Training
"So, I'm thinking Karasu for Murkrow."
"Ah, I get it, because it means crow or something similar, correct?"
"Yep! Sounds pretty cool, right? Then, for Grimer, how about Abaddon?"
"Abaddon? As in the Place of Destruction in Hebrew and the Angel of the Abyss?"
"I dunno, he's just a cool Persona."
"Creator damn it, stop naming Pokémon after Personas."
"Don't make me change your nickname to Mara. I swear I'll do it."
"Anything but that."
Willow blinked, "I don't think I follow."
"Never look up Mara."
"Isn't Mara a demon from Buddhism?"
"Why do you know so much about various religions? Anyway, he probably is, but just never search up Mara and Shin Megami Tensei at the same time. I've never been so traumatized by a chariot in my life…"
"I don't think I want to know anymore… But Abaddon does sound like an interesting name for Grimer."
"I mean, I just came up with it because they're both blobs, and it's cool." Willow laughed at his reasoning.
"I suppose that's good enough from someone who named their Torracat Claws just because they scratched him."
"And you named a Meowstic Cream, even though neither the male or female Meowistic have any cream-colored fur after evolving from Espurr," Sapphire shot back.
"Cream is still a better name than Spooks," Willow glared, a smile pulling at her lips.
"Oh please, at least he has a nickname! You're the one using me for all of your other Pokémon's nicknames!"
"Well, maybe I should try out some online sites instead since you don't seem to be the best at nicknaming!"
"Fight, fight, fight, kiss, kiss, kiss," Cobalt spoke deadpan.
"Great idea, Willow, let's kiss."
"Back! Back away!" Willow took a step back as Sapphire snickered and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up. Willow shook herself around and began hitting him on the head, while he just spun her around and laughed. "I haven't even decided if we should date!"
"This is the most lovey-dovey thing I've ever seen. I'm gonna throw up now." Cobalt then faked gagging, and Sapphire let Willow down as he nodded.
"I've taught Cobalt the ways of being melodramatic well…" Willow ran her hands down her skirt, glaring at Sapphire with a blush.
"Don't do that."
"Alright, no more hugs, I understand."
"Wait, no, I'm fine with hugs, just don't lift-"
"More hugs!" Cobalt's gagging increased, and Cream giggled.
"This is disgustingly sweet."
I don't know, I think it's cute!
"Sapphire, Willow?" Sapphire turned, still holding Willow, to see Lillie.
"Howdy, what's up, Lils?"
"Not much… Why are you holding up Willow?"
"She deserves hugs but does not want them."
"Help me," Willow said while struggling against Sapphire's hold.
"Um…"
"I shall also be giving headpats, do not resist, human."
"I don't want headpats."
"Everyone wants headpats." He patted Cream, and she leaned into his hand. "See?"
"I don't want headpats." He turned and patted Cobalt. "…Don't do that again."
"I'm… just gonna get going…"
"Where are you heading to? Should we come with? After all, you get lost pretty easily, right?"
"That's true… Well, right now I'm on my way to the library at the end of town, I don't think I'll get lost since it's just a few straight streets, but…"
"A'ight, we'll come too!" Lillie smiled and nodded at his words before they began walking.
"I also wanted to ask you, um, the President of the Aether Foundation, what did you think of her?"
Sapphire paused, exchanging glances with Willow. She shook her head and he nodded back. "I'm not sure. She seemed nice on the surface…"
"I-Is that so?"
"Yeah. I mean, you can't tell exactly what someone is like on your first meeting, but she seemed okay."
"Right. Of course. She must be nice, she's trying to protect Pokémon, isn't she?"
"It's not like people can't do the right thing for the wrong reason," Willow murmured.
"That's true. Um, I also wanted to ask you-"
"Lemme guess, the ruins?"
"Ah, yes."
"I'm fine with going."
"Yeah, me too! It sounds fun!"
"Wait, but- They're located in a deep desert, and I don't want to ask that much of you. That's why I'm on my way to the library right now. There's a book there I want to find."
"Well, let's get going then."
"Onwards!" They walked through the small town, spotting several shops like a restaurant or… "does that say gym?" Sapphire blinked and approached the building, leaning down. "Hey, it does! It's styled after a Kantonian Gym!"
"It is?"
"Oh wow this is awesome, let's go inside!" Sapphire pushed the doors open and Cobalt sighed at his enthusiasm, while Willow rolled her eyes. Lillie followed meekly, and they beheld a large yellow room with several Trainers standing around tossing Pokéballs up and down. "This is Lieutenant Surge's Gym, The Lightning American! He trains Electric-Types that are as strong as thunder and faster than a storm!"
"How can you be as strong as thunder?" Lillie questioned.
"Don't look at me, Electric-Types are objectively worse than Fire-Types."
"You say that about every Type."
"But am I wrong?"
"Objectively? Yes."
"You're just upset because Grass-Types are weak to the fire and the flames."
"I actually don't prefer Grass-Types, but the more mysterious Types like Ghost and Psychic."
"…But your name is Willow."
"And your name is Sapphire, I don't see you exclusively using Rock-Types."
"Well, as your people would say, touché." She snorted at him, and he shrugged with a grin.
"Hey, are we going to take down this Gym or what?"
"Alright, alright, let's do this!" Sapphire kicked open the doors and ran inside, his companions sighing as they followed.
"I'll sit this one out and just watch," Willow commented, sitting down on a bench inside the building, Lillie doing the same.
"Come on, Cobalt, let's wreck this Gym and get our first Badge!"
"Oorah!"
Lillie looked around at all the books inside the library, Sapphire and Willow walking behind her. Willow was thrust as interested, while Sapphire was a lot more bored and holding in a yawn. "Man, can't we search for some fantasy book?"
"We're looking for something specific, Sapph." Willow pulled a book out and looked it over before putting it back with a grin on her face.
"I know… ugh, I hate old textbooks. Well, that one your friend Korrina got me is good, but why would you read some dusty history story when you can read a story about knights or robots?"
"You're still reading that?"
"Yep. I can understand Cobalt and most of my own Pokémon, but I can't do wild Pokémon. I need some more training for that, and the book gives some good tips." He saw Willow trying to reach for a book on a higher shelf and reached up, grabbing it for her. "Here ya go, shorty."
"I'm perhaps an inch shorter than you," she glared.
He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her high heels, before smirking. "Uh-Huh."
"What? Girls wear high-heels!"
"Yeah, but on a journey? When they're walking around dirt trails all day?"
"I'm just used to it is all…"
"Besides, without them, you're definitely shorter than me, so you earn the nickname of 'shorty.'"
"I do not."
"Wanna bet?" He knelt and began taking off her shoes, causing her to stumble and begin hitting him on the head.
"Watch it! Hey, be careful! S-Sapphire, we're in a library!" Willow whisper-yelled, grabbing a book and hitting him on the head.
"Too bad for that I'm a stubborn idiot who never gives up until he proves his point!" He finally got her heels off and grinned at her, standing up straight. "See? Complete shorty."
"I-I-I'll kill you," she whispered, shaking.
"Hey, you're already copying my sayings! We're a perfect match! Date me."
"No!"
"How has nobody noticed this."
Besides Willow, we are the only people on the second floor.
"Um, did you two find the book yet?"
"Not yet, I'm too busy teasing Little Willow about how short she is," he grinned as he held her heels over his head, out of her reach.
"You're lucky no one else is on the second floor with us," Willow grumbled, standing on her toes to try and reach the shoes.
I already said that.
"I think she's too busy trying to get her shoes back to pay attention to us."
"Are you all looking for something specific?" Sapphire jumped in shock as someone new began speaking, and they all turned to see a girl speaking with them, dressed in a stitched together purple dress and with similarly colored hair and eyes.
"Yeah, it's a book on, uh… hey, Lillie, what's the book about again?"
"Old myths and legends about Alola and its legendaries."
"...Are you not giving me back my heels?"
"No."
"Well then," the odd girl smiled and gestured to a book on a table, "I think this book may have what you're looking for, princess!"
"Ooh, that's a good nickname for Lils," Sapphire murmured, continuing to hold Willow's heels over his head.
Lillie, meanwhile, nodded at the girl and sat down, bending over to read from the book. Sapphire sat down as well, followed by Willow who finally grabbed her footwear back. The girl in the dress skipped to the side of the table and began humming as Lillie started to read. "Well… alright, it's titled 'the Light of Alola.'"
"Sounds fancy," Sapphire noted.
"'The empty sky broke asunder, a hole appearing where had been none.' Did I read that right?"
"That grammar is broken as all hell, dear lord."
"It's correct. Old English grammar is very different from modern English."
"Why do humans change their languages so much?"
"Don't ask me."
"'Twin beasts appeared from in it: one named the beast that devoured the Sunne and one who called the Moone. The king of Alola bowed before it: the beast that shone so like the sun and the beast who stole all heaven's light. The island guardians fought against it,
But in the end the beasts had won, the guardians had fallen. Then did the beast that calls the morn and brings the dark shine its light and cast its pall upon the line of kings.'"
"What's a pall?"
"In this context, I believe it means a dark cloud."
"Ah. Thanks, shorty."
"'Then did the beasts that had won bring nature's gift to bless all and mark the path for all such finished things. Beast of sun and beast of moon. Through their union, they brought new fragile heirs in Alola born that island guardians would keep from strife. The ancient kings sang their thanks for Solgaleo and Lunala with song of flute. Two tones rang out across the altar- a perfect pair, ever after mute.'"
"...God, and I thought learning modern English was hard after speaking Japanese my whole life, old English sucks!"
"I believe it's called archaic English."
As Willow corrected Sapphire, the odd girl grinned at Lillie and placed her hands on her hips. "Well? Isn't it great? My dad's books are all great!"
Lillie blinked and looked between her and the book. "Huh? Wh- I mean, yes, it is. But when you say your father… Isn't this book very old?"
"Yeah, it belonged to my dad! I know I don't really look it, but my family used to be pretty much royalty!"
"What, were you expecting her to be some thousand-year-old ghost girl?" Sapphire questioned with a smirk.
"You never know~!" The girl teased with a grin. "I had to have all my dad's books moved here so that they didn't get ruined by the Pokémon. I can tell you a lot of other super old stories about Alola, too! You interested?"
"Oh, that would be delightful! Thank you very much!"
"Well, I'd love to stay, but we've got our next Trial to complete."
"Yes, good luck with your search, Lillie."
"Thank you, and good luck with your Trials! You'll be heading to the bus stop on Route ten?"
"Yep! Might spend an extra day training before the Trial though. See ya, Lils! And thanks for helping our buddy, uh…"
"I'm Acerola, it was very nice to meet you!" The girl winked, and Sapphire and Willow waved goodbye as they descended the stairs.
When they were out of hearing range Sapphire leaned over to whisper at Willow, "Was it just me, or was she making a constant owo face?"
"...A what?"
"owo?"
"Please stop."
"UwU."
"Oh no."
"How are you making these noises?"
"OWO!"
Sapphire was woken up by Willow as the Exeggutor Express reached the top of the mountain, and they got off with several other passengers. The Professor, who'd ridden the bus with them, grinned and motioned them along walking towards the edge of the mountain. "Over this way!"
"What's this about Professor?"
The Professor just pointed into the distance, where another mountain reached into the sky, also on Ula'Ula island. Even from the great distance they saw it from, they could tell it stood much taller, and the peak had a visible amount of snow and ice. "Mount Hokulani is the second tallest mountain in Alola. The tallest mountain… would be that one, the mount with the steep, jutting, majestic peak! Mount Lanakila!"
"Whoa… now there's a place for a Fire-Type Master to train! The freezing cold challenges my burning spirit!"
"I refuse."
"I think the cold will just give you frostbite," Willow noted.
"If you do train there, it'd be a pretty special place to train! After all, It's a sacred spot, the closest you can ever get to the Legendary Pokémon of Alola, the sun and moon incarnate."
"Definitely gotta train there! The sun will guide my training!"
"NO."
"Make sure to at least bring a coat."
"I don't think you'll be the only one, cous." The Professor grinned, pointing at the peak. "Because right there… On the peak of Lanakila! That's where I'll establish our Pokémon League!"
"I heard about that from Crystal," Sapphire leaned over the railing at the cliff-edge, "he said it was just a rumor though. So this means it's for real?"
"Yep! Leagues in other regions operate on the Gym system, as I'm sure you both know! Trainers get eight badges from eight of the numerous Gyms around a region, before fighting in a Pokémon Tournament once a year, after which the winner of which gets to battle the Elite Four and the Champion. Since we don't have Gyms here, we'll get everyone who finished the Island Challenge and have the Tournament be held atop Lanakila!"
"What about the Elite Four, or the Champion?" Willow questioned.
"For now, we'll have the Kahunas acting as pseudo-Elite-Four, and whoever can beat them all will become the very first Champion of Alola!" The Professor adjusted his hat, turning away from the mountain. "I've always admired and valued our old traditions here in Alola, but it's time to make a Champion the whole world will recognize! It's time to get our own Elite Four and make our own Pokémon League!"
"Man, that sounds awesome!"
"I'd be into that."
"It sounds like a splendid idea, Professor."
"Yeah! To think that, someday, the kiddos in Alola will be able to go from being an Island Challenge champion to the Champion of Alola! And then, when we have our own Champion, they can show the rest of the world what's so special about Alolan Pokémon and their Trainers, yeah!"
"I'm looking forward to it," Sapphire grinned. "I hope Alola's ready for their first champion because he's right here!"
"I'm sure," Willow nodded with a teasing grin. "Well, I'm off. With my Pokémon, I believe I have an easy shot at completing this Electric-Trial now."
"Good luck! I'll probably try it tomorrow, make sure all my Pokémon are ready."
"Hm. Farewell, everyone."
See ya!
"Ciao."
As Willow and Cream walked towards the observatory, Sapphire looked down the mountain. "So, people train down there?"
The Professor nodded at his words, confirming them. "Yep! There are some pretty tough Pokémon on this mountain, so you'll get plenty of training up here!"
"Great! I've got the team that I'm going to use on me already, so let's get started as soon as possible!"
"Good luck! Smash through that Trial like you're using Giga Impact!" He waved goodbye to the professor, before wandering towards the road that led down the mountain. It took a few minutes, but eventually, he reached an outcropping large enough for his Pokémon to safely Train on.
"Alright, let's go, team!" Cobalt leaped from his shoulders as his other Pokémon appeared from their balls. Storm appeared asleep, as always, while Mimic popped out in his normal blob form before transforming into Storm to copy him. Spooks cackled as he was released, hanging over the two Pokémon, while Blast hovered nearby giggling. The contest seal on Wave's ball popped as she exited, creating a bubble for her to swim in, where she began circling happily.
"Zzt, I'm here too!" Volt buzzed.
"Everyone ready to train?!" Cobalt called, placing his paws on his hips.
"Hai, sensei!" Mimic saluted as he transformed into Cobalt, causing Spooks to chuckle.
"Looks like Mimicry really is the sincerest form of flattery!"
"We'll kill you."
"Can you kill a ghost?"
"If they can be knocked out, I assume they can be killed too," Wave answered Blast, shrugging as best she could with her seahorse body.
"Then again, that can just be confused as him running out of stamina. Can ghosts have stamina and not endurance?"
"Aren't they the same thing?"
Mimic transformed into Sapphire and brushed his hair to the side. "I think we're getting off track."
"Yes, thank you, Sapphire the second. On to training!" Sapphire got out the various weights and other equipment they used while going over everyone's regiment in his head. "Alright, we'll do the standard exercises we always do before bed, but we'll need some specific stuff for the Trial."
"What Typing is this Trial?" Blast questioned.
"It'll be Electric-Type, so that means you and Wave are gonna be given a chance to shine."
"Are you sure? Our disadvantages might mean we're out of the fight quicker…"
Sapphire just chuckled, reaching into the water bubble and petting Wave. "Don't worry, while having the advantage in a battle is great and all, I also want to make sure some of the Pokémon I bring into a Trial are at a disadvantage so you can all grow more! After all, you don't become a pro at a game by constantly playing on easy difficulty, right? You've got to challenge yourself, no matter how many times we lose!"
"Well, you're the Trainer here," Mimic shrugged, "but what if we do lose?"
"Then we lose. There's no limit to how many times you can attempt a Trial. So we keep trying till we get it! We haven't lost yet though," he said while laughing. "Now, if you guys don't believe in yourselves, then there's one thing that you can do… Believe in the me that believes in you!"
Wave and Blast smiled widely and nodded, while Cobalt just facepalmed. "They're happy, so I can't ruin this by saying he stole that line from a show…" Spooks pat him on the back in sympathy.
"Now, let's start the actual training! Mimic, try and get faster at Transforming. You can transform into any Pokémon, so should we get videos of Pokémon on the Pokédex for you to study?"
"Nah, I can do everything that everyone here can do because they're here in person. If I try and copy a Pokémon that I see online I'll be extremely average for that species."
"Alright, but study up on some Ground and Rock-Types anyway to get an advantage. Wave, because your water will conduct electricity, we need to train you so you're faster at manipulating the water bubble around you and maybe try splitting it. We can also use your water to short out any electricity, not just avoid it."
"I'll do my best. Sounds difficult, but I think I can do it."
"Great! Storm-" He nudged the Electric-Type awake, and the bug immediately launched a bolt of lightning into him. Sapphire had expected it though and grabbed Volt from where he was hovering and positioned the Pokémon in between them. "Exactly! You'll be working on power output! Focus on charging up as much electricity as you can store as quickly as possible before discharging it all at the same rate all day." Storm rolled his eyes before he began doing as he said.
"Volt, your moveset is really tailored for support, so just focus on getting as fast as possible! Wear some more weights than you usually would and zip around the training site as quickly as possible!"
"Zzt, Soundzz easy! Let'zz do this!" Volt popped out of his dex mid-sentence and Sapphire attached the weights necessary for training to the Electric-Type.
"Blast, you aren't exactly suited for speed, so we'll be working on both your evasiveness and durability. You'll be doing the same exercise as Volt, so let's put on some weights, but you'll also be watching Storm to learn how to tell when an Electric-Type is about to attack. When you think he's going to discharge his stored up electricity, try and get as you can get while still being able to dodge and avoid as many attacks as you can. Whatever you can't dodge will help your endurance."
"I-I'll do my best!"
"Don't push yourself," he warned, attaching the weights to her. "When you feel like you can't take anymore, take a break. Spooks, your training is the same as always, but it'll involve Cobalt. You still need to learn some more varied moves, so hopefully, by having Cobalt beat the crap out of you it'll spur you to learn some new stuff. Heat of the moment learning, and all that. Maybe you can finally figure out Ice or Thunder Punch!"
"Eh?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Yep! No dodging or phasing through attacks, Spooks! And Cobalt, make sure to not hold back. Your training is going to be about pushing your body to its limits, so attack with full force even when you're completely out of stamina. Unfortunately, you won't be able to take breaks like Blast because of this, so until I call for lunch, you'll be going all out."
"Sounds rough… but alright, let's do it!"
"Come on everyone, get to it! I'll call you all back when it's lunchtime and we'll take a quick break! Afterward, we'll get right back to it for a few more hours, before reverting to our standard Training for the rest of the night."
"Gotcha!"
"Ugh…"
"Okay!"
"Right!"
"Rightio!"
"Yep…"
"Hai!"
Cobalt wheezed into the air as he lay on his back, eyes spirals. Spooks was similarly winded, groaning as he half-phased into the floor. "Come on guys, it isn't that bad." Sapphire chuckled and fed Cobalt some of his Ehomaki, the jackal-like Pokémon too tired to eat by himself. Mimic chuckled and transformed into Cream, grabbing the chopsticks from Sapphire.
Just let your little sister take care of you!
Cobalt opened his eyes to stare at Mimic blankly. "...That's Omega-level gay."
I'm Cream right now.
"Yeah, but normally you're a Ditto."
She rolled her eyes and transformed back into its regular form. "Ditto are genderless."
"Doesn't make it any less weird."
Blast giggled at their byplay, nipping at her food. "You really are like a tiny Sapphire!"
"You say that like it's a good thing."
"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Friendships based around insulting each other are a little odd, but they're fun to watch," Wave noted, floating in her bubble.
"You should see the messages he has with Anthony," Volt added. "If you think the group chat is bad, those two could be seen as mortal enemies. I' know everything that goes on in that dex, and let me tell you, he should get a Porygon for this."
Sapphire rolled his eyes as he listened to everyone, feeding Cobalt again before eating his own food. "Just make sure you're all rested and eat everything before we get back to training. You need to be in top form."
"Gmmphh…" Storm grumbled into his food.
After finishing their food the Pokémon quickly got back into training, with Sapphire doing light jogging of his own while continuing to read his book on aura, trusting his Pokémon to take care of their own training.
Spooks and Cobalt meanwhile were training hard in the most open space they could find on the small plateau. "Twin Sphere Cannon!" Cobalt roared and threw two Aura Spheres, both of which crashed directly into Spooks, due to Cobalt using Foresight. Spooks grunted and powered up Fire Punches, which Cobalt dodged acrobatically. He powered up another Sphere and attacked Spooks' back, before kicking off the ground and unleashing an aura-powered kick into the Ghost-Type's back.
Spooks tumbled midair while trying to attack with Dark Pulse, which Cobalt managed to roll under as he hit the floor, smashing two Spheres together and unleashing his Seeker Spheres attack. They swarmed Spooks and the Evolved Pokémon growled as he swept his flaming hands through them to disperse them revealing Cobalt who was right in his face and was unleashing a flurry of kicks.
After the multiple blows, Cobalt kicked off his face, backflipping away and dashing around him with Quick Attack. "Stay still you- gah, damn!" Spooks extended his shadow, washing it over the battlefield in an attempt to hit the smaller and faster Pokémon. Cobalt grunted as he was pushed back, before slamming his paws into the ground to unleash a dome of aura, protecting him from the shadows. Once they were gone, he howled and used Ignition to wreath his entire body in fire, blasting forward to unleash another shower of blows.
Spooks scowled and used Fire Punch again, trying to fight fire with fire and countered each kick from Cobalt with a punch of his own. Neither Pokémon let up, but Cobalt began to gain the upper hand, slowly pushing the Haunter back with each attack. Spooks growled, before finally grabbing Cobalt's legs and attempted to somehow absorb the fire from Cobalt to power his own fists up.
Nothing happened at first, and Spooks' hands got more and more burnt, until a wave of cold washed out of Spooks' body, extinguishing the fire and causing ice to crawl up Cobalt's legs. Cobalt yelped as he lost balance, and Spooks grinned as he pushed more cold into his hands, finally using Ice Punch to launch Cobalt back. "How about you cool off?"
"I'd rather keep the heat on!" Cobalt flared up his fire once more, combating the freezing cold coming from Spooks and launched forward. They clashed again, sending flares of heat and shards of ice flying with each attack before they each landed a final blow, a Blaze Kick to the face, and an Ice Punch to the gut. Spooks was launched into the air and shook himself out, while Cobalt skid along the ground, scraping himself, and smashed into a rock.
He got back up with a grin, fire flickering around him. "Alright, Spooks, you ready to keep going or do you need a little break?!"
"You Fighting-Types get way too into this!" Spooks cackled and let ice coalesce around his body, preparing for another brawl.
"01010111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 01101001 01110011 01100101 00100000 01100001 01100010 01101111 01110101 01110100 00111111 00100001" Both Spooks and Claws turned as a blast of noise hit their ears, and they beheld an angry-looking Metang glaring at them.
"What?"
"Did you understand what it said? Cuz I sure didn't."
Metang waved its arms, narrowing their eyes. "01010011 01110100 01101111 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101110 01101111 01101001 01110011 01100101 00100001"
"Uhh…"
"I'm gonna get Volt and Sapph." Cobalt dashed away, and Metang glared at Spooks.
"So, you're a brainy one, ain'tcha?" Metang twitched, before unleashing a Psychic blast. Spooks dodged with a cackle, firing a Dark Pulse back in retaliation. Metang flew forward and tried to attack with the claws on its arm, which were shining a bright silver as it used some form of Steel-Type attack.
He ducked beneath it and hit Metang's underside with an Ice Punch to slow it down, before delivering a Fire Punch to Metang's face. Metang flew back and shook itself out, snarling in its weird language. "01000111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101111 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100001" Metang tried to attack again, and he quickly ignited his fists in retaliation before Sapphire called to him.
"Spooks, Toxic Armageddon!"
"Well, you heard the man!" He began barfing out a smog attack and lit his fists aflame, launching the embers from them to ignite the poison.
"01010100 01101111 01111000 01101001 01100011 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100001 00101101" Metang blinked before it was consumed by the explosion.
"Volt!"
"Zzt, Metang, the Iron Claw Pokémon! It hazz two brainzz due to the two Beldum that merged to create it, and so itzz psychic power izz immense! It can fly at high speedzz, and itzz sharp clawzz make sure it never releasezz itzz prey!"
"01001101 01101111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01100101 01110011 00111111 00100001" Metang turned but wasn't prepared for the Blaze Kick by Cobalt. The Fighting-Type sent the Metang flying into the air while Volt jumped from his Rotomdex and launched a bolt of electricity at the Steel-Type. After it was struck the Pokémon fell to the ground, knocked out.
"You know, our team doesn't have a Psychic-Type, we could definitely use one!"
"I don't think any of us can understand binary though," Cobalt blandly noted.
"Eh, I'll download a translation app." He grabbed a ball from his bag and spun it on his finger, before winding up like a pitcher and throwing. "Pokéball go!" Metang was drawn into the ball, which began wobbling erratically before flashing and vanishing as it was transported back to the ranch. "Niceu!"
"Cool, now let's take a break."
"Nope, back to training."
"Creator damn it…"
Sapphire leaned against the Pokémon Center's counter as he waited for Nurse Joy to return with his Pokémon and saw Willow as she left the dining area of the building. "Howdy, Wils!"
"Oh, Sapph. Finished with your training for the day?"
"Yep, just waiting to get my Pokémon back, then I'll grab a room. Unless you already have a room?"
"I do, so you can stay with me."
"Cool. How'd the Trial go by the way?"
The female Trainer showed him her bracelet, where a golden colored crystal with a black lightning bolt in the center sat snugly. "It was difficult, but we pulled through."
"Nice! You'll be heading for the next Trial then?"
"Yes, once I wake up tomorrow I'll be making my way to the next Trial location."
"I'll probably be able to catch up then since you'll wake up by twelve."
"I will not!"
"Uh-huh, just make sure you don't stargaze tonight then." Willow puffed her cheeks out in frustration, before walking away.
"Our room is one-one-seven, good night!" He snickered at her response, turning to smile as the Nurse returned with his Pokéballs.
"Here you are! They were pretty worn out, but their injuries weren't too bad."
"Ha, yeah, they're pretty tough." He thanked the Nurse before releasing Cobalt onto his shoulder and attaching the rest to his belt. "Alright bud, one last thing before we go to bed."
"Yeah? I can't think of anything else we had to do…"
He walked towards the terminals the Pokémon Center had and sat down, dialing Anthony. When the blond picked up the boy adjusted his glasses and smirked. "Well, at least you're calling at a much more reasonable time now."
"Shove it."
"Yeah yeah. 'Sup, Cobalt?"
"Yo."
"Aura translation doesn't work through technology," Sapphire told the Pokémon. "What's goin' on back in Kanto?"
"Not much, classes are going well. I've got a test coming up though, so I've been spending some time studying. What about you, which Trial are you up to?"
"Electric now, so I might be fighting a Totem version of Bolt." He snickered as Bolt buzzed excitedly on the other side of the screen. "Maybe I'll lend you the Electrium Z or whatever it's called next time we see each other."
"I don't think Bolt could handle that much energy."
"Yeah, Cobalt's much more used to it, and he still gets tuckered out after using a Z-Move." They both snickered and Sapphire scratched his neck. "By the way, I gotta ask you to do something, though now that I know you're studying I'm a bit reluctant."
"Hasn't stopped you before, jackass."
"Silence your face, or I'll dress you in lettuce and feed you to snails. It'll be slow, and painful."
"That's a new one."
"Anyway, I need you to uh… research something for me."
"Of course you do. Even in school, I had to do all the research on our projects."
"Right. Okay, you know the Aether Foundation?"
"Of course, it's becoming more and more famous outside Alola. Why do you need me to research stuff about it?"
Sapphire tapped the table the terminal sat on nervously until Cobalt nudged him. "Uh… You don't really need to worry about that."
"Yeah, just hearing that makes me worry."
"Um… Listen, I visited the Paradise place, and I got a really bad feeling about things there."
"Really? I heard that most people who go there think it's rather impressive."
"Ha, guess so… Well, can you just do some general stuff? Like, when they established branches in other regions and stuff?"
"Ha… Alright, it isn't like I don't already know everything I need for the test. I'm not sure exactly why you need all this, but I'll get back to you."
"Thanks. Alright, see you, Gearface."
"Screw off." The screen went blank and he chuckled. "Alright, Cobalt. Let's get to bed for tomorrow's Trial."
"Gotcha. Want to bet Willow is still up stargazing?"
"Oh please. I don't take bets I know are true."
Chapter done. Be prepared if you ever do search up "Mara Shin Megami Tensei". That's some disturbing imagery.
I prefer the anime's leagues since they make sense. Once a year a tournament is held for everyone with eight badges in that region. I guess I'm doing a sort of mix since canon-wise this is the first tournament held in Alola in the games. Whoever wins the tournament fights the Elite Four, and if they beat them they become Champion since there's no Champion currently.
On another note, Metang! Since it's the only real mechanical Pokémon Sapphire is going to catch (and by mechanical I mean technology-wise) and I know that Metang and Metagross are organic and not machines, but with how 'Metagross is said to be as smart as a super-computer,' I had the idea to just have him speak in binary as a joke. Translations are "What is all this noise about?!, Stop making noise!, Get over here!, Toxic wha-, and More foes?!."
Leave your thoughts on this, while I thought it was funny myself, if you guys think it's a bit too much I'll definitely consider it and if enough people don't like it, I'll change it. Another note, "believe in the me that believes in you!" Never watched Gurren Lagann, but I saw a clip of one of the battles and now I'm going to binge the entire series. Because it looks bat$hit insane and awesome at the same time. There isn't much else to talk about this chapter, so yeah. Omake time!
Omake name: Class time
Smash messes with time and space really weirdly.
Sapphire studied the dark-haired boy next to him, lifting an eyebrow. The boy kept writing, listening to the professor at the front of the room before his eyes slid to him. "Something you need?"
"Not really… just kind of weird to think of you as my alternative-universe son."
"Think about how I feel," a third boy snorted, leaning forward in his chair to glance at him from the other side of the first boy, a grin on his face. "Howdy, I'm Sapphire Starr."
"Howdy, I'm Sapphire Chaser."
"Oh my god, this is going to go on forever," the boy in between them buried his head in his hands, and they both chuckled.
"Come on, son, don't be like that."
"You're a thirteen-year-old version of my dad, don't call me son." The boy stared deadpan at the younger Sapphire Starr, while he chuckled. "My name is Akira, so call me that."
"Akira Starr," Starr grinned at Akira. "Can't believe I have a kid in the future."
"I wonder if my future kid will look like you," Chaser hummed. "Our genetics are probably incredibly similar, the only differences really are our eye-colors. Plus I'm two years older than you, but I don't know how age affects genetics. Does it?"
"Probably," Starr shrugged.
Akira rubbed his temples, "Even Arsene and my other Personas don't talk as much as you both do. I thought you were obnoxious enough as my dad."
"Oh, speaking of Arsene, do you have Mara on you? I want to prank Willow."
"The only time I've ever had Mara on me was when I first fused it, and immediately guillotined it away."
"Damn…"
"What's a Mara?"
"Oh yeah, in your time period it's nineteen-ninety-four or something, right? Your video games suck." Chaser snickered.
"My video games are the alpha versions of all of your video games, watch it." Starr snarked back to him with a snicker. "How does all this work, anyway? I mean, we're all from different universes and time periods, and I'm in a class with my son, alternate self, a squid girl-"
"Woomy!" The orange squid said from a nearby desk.
"And am being taught by a male and female mercenary slash professor."
"It's Smash bros, bro. Don't worry about it."
"That sounds like an explanation Skull would give…" Akira sighed and shook his head.
"Oh I wanted to ask, your intro to Smash was pretty badass, none of us knew what the heck was happening. How'd you hack Smash's computers and stuff? I thought all of that was impenetrable!"
"Mona and Oracle took care of that," Akira shrugged. "Oracle once hacked all of Japan, and her Persona is specialized for that kind of stuff. Necronomicon is a creepy as hell Persona, but it gets the job done."
"Silence!" three pieces of chalk suddenly flew through the air towards them. One hit Chaser square in the forehead, Akira tilted his head slightly and let the chalk whizz by his ear with a smirk, and Starr dodged the last by letting his body become intangible.
"Ow my face!" He leaned back while Starr grinned and waved at the professors.
"Sorry Professors Byleth and Byleth, we'll pay attention now!"
The male Byleth turned back to the blackboard annoyed, while the female one nodded and continued to read from the textbook. "Turn to page fifty-seven."
"Still don't know why I have to go to class at Smash…" Starr and Akira snickered at him, going back to reading their books.
I write interactions between the different Sapphire's for fun, and because they all have different personalities it can be pretty entertaining, so I wanted to do this as an Omake. The only future stories I have planned now are a Persona 3 story where the main cast is replaced by completely original characters, not just Sapph, Wils, Ant, and Noct, as Minato and three members of S.E.E.S., but a bunch of others for the members of S.E.E.S., as well as replacing Strega with original characters and replacing the Dark Hour, Tartarus and Nyx with a new dungeon and god. Of course, the Dark Hour just has a name change, but y'know. But, if I ever do more Nintendo stories or other stories involving characters in Smash, I might make a oneshot story about interactions like this, lol.
Whatever, uh, 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
-Metang
Willow:
-Meowstic, Cream
-Dartrix
-Slowpoke
-Grimer, Abaddon
-Murkrow, Karasu
-Leafeon
See y'all next time.
